Profiles in Iris Vaughan's Diaries

OGILVIE'S FARM; SALT PANS; BULL FROGS: RUDE SONGS & THE GREAT SPRINGBOK HUNT INCIDENT:
' Here [in Mariaisburg – now Hofmeyer] are also salt pans on Alfred Carrington Ogilvie farm. It is wonderful to see salt scratched out of the ground. They have big dams full of water. Then after a long time it gets hard on top and it is salt, and the boys go with long planks, and scrape the salt and makes heeps of it. We put sticks and things in and when we watch them they are hard and pretty with salt.

Also on Mr O’s farm are many springboks. Pop will take us to see a Springbok hunt. Here is also a big hole where they make the bricks to build houses. In this big hole live many great frogs called bull frogs. Becos they bellow like a bull. Once we were bringing a buul frog home but Mom (Martha Margaritha ''Patty'' Ackermann) was in the yard and saw us and said No this I cannot bear and we had to take bull frog back.

Ogilvie has a boy who comes on a horse to get the post in a bag. His name is Tonio. Pop says from Italy. He tells us many funny poems and once Charles said this funny poem about the old lady who rides on the tiger to Pop and he got savage and said this is not the poems you must say. Now Tonio tells us no more funny poems.

We went to the spring bok hunt. We will not go again becos of being in the line of fire. Many shooters went to and spanned out their carts and we too and Pop put us with Willem away to wait and all the shooters rode away and when the boys drove the springboks for them to shoot at and the springboks turned and came by us and the shooters forgot about us and were shooting the boks and Willem pushed us flat on the ground and said le stil nou and we heard the bullets and then the spring boks were past and many were lying on the ground shot and Pop came fast on his horse and said My God you are alive. Then we made a fire and had a picnic but Mom was savige with Pop and said never again Cecil. ' [Vaughan, Iris. 'The diary of Iris Vaughan'. Cape Town:Stormberg. >1958. Print. p14-15 ]

THE ANGLO_BOER WAR INCIDENT
' Yesterday the first Boers came. We looked at the milk bushes near the brick fields and saw the men on horses bobing and riding from one side to the great sloot on the other. Charles (Charles Theodore Vaughan) said Pop lots of farmers are riding near the bricks. Pop was reading his new book about Minie haha Hiawatha laughing water and would not listen.

Then the next thing lots of men were riding in the street and Willem ran and said "seer dit is de Boers and Pop said My God so they are and then the Boers were opening the gate. They nearly all had beards like men in the bible. They took Pop away in his slippers and no hat. Mom ran after him and heres your cap can I bring your boots He said to hell with boots look after the safe keys....

Pop said today that what he did not see well was a man called Smuts (Jan Smuts) and his 59 Boers going over the dam wall to Cradock. Pop says it is all this silly pass friend and sentry go business taking up so much time. Boers don't have that and they never get caught. They always see the columns miles away and then come after and pick up all the bullets and guns and tired horses the columns leave behind. What a disgrace Pop says. I think so too. Now the boys have taken Naughty and my horse with the mange which military left and Charles also.' ' [Vaughan, Iris. 'The diary of Iris Vaughan'. Cape Town:Stormberg. >1958. Print. pp 19; 23]

THE SINGING INCIDENT:
He called out Benny and Charles first. They must stand in front and he said now you two the long and the short you will sing for us. But they didnt know one single song. Mr. R. was pointing with a stick on the modelater. Not even the Blue bells of scodand or minstrel Boy. He got angry and said in a roaring voice what can you sing, sing anything and Charles said in a weak kind of voice we can sing pretty Polly. Then sing it mr. R. shouted and looked just like the picture of the Bull of bashan. And they began to sing. It was terribel singing. Charles sang Pretty Polly pretty poly whats whats oclock whats oclock in a low sort of voice and Benny who is very long sang pretty poly pretty poly in a high kind of squeaking voice becos of being afraid and all wanted to laugh but being too frightend and then in the middle of the verse they both stopped just as if they no more breath and Mr. R. shouted waste of time waste of time two voiceles idiots in a singing class. Send them out. [Vaughan, Iris. 'The diary of Iris Vaughan'. Cape Town:Stormberg. >1958. Print. p 47 ]

THE PHOTO INCIDENT:
"We have had a photo taken. A man came and sat us on a bench in a row under the peper tree except Charles who had to stand behind Coot (Gwyneth "Coot" Vaughan. We all dressed in our best sailor clothes and tied our hair with ribbons.) The man said when I count 3 look all in this box. When he sais 3 Charles quickly pulled Coot s hair and she opened her mouth very wide. The photo had to be done all over again.

It is for Pop’s sister who is in England becos she thinks we are black. Mom was very savige about black and Pop said if they had listened long ago to his godfather Bartle freer (Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCSI) who brought me to this country to fight the Zulus they would know better becos Governors don't let their godchild marry with Kafers." [Vaughan, Iris. 'The diary of Iris Vaughan'. Cape Town:Stormberg. >1958. Print. p 49 ]