Zambezia (2001), XXVIU (i).ANIMAL DISEASES AND HUMAN POPULATIONS INCOLONIAL ZIMBABWE: THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMICOF 1896-1898MAURICE K. K. MUTOWO1Publications Department, University of ZimbabweAbstractThis article analyses the impact of the rinderpest animal disease outbreakon human populations in early colonial Zimbabwe. It is informed by therealisation that, while animal diseases may not infect human beings directly,they may cause untold damage to both the health and the economy ofhuman beings and influence human institutions and policies in a variety ofways. By using the rinderpest pandemic as a case study, this article showshow the depredations of this disease brought severe difficulties to the Whitesettler colonialists and the indigenous populations in colonial Zimbabweand may have inspired the development of veterinary infrastructure andpolicies in colonial Zimbabwe. Starting with a brief review of the literatureon the history of animal diseases in colonial Zimbabwe, the article brieflyexamines traditional veterinary medicine and practices and then proceedsto trace the origins and development of the rinderpest pandemic in thecountry. Thereafter, it analyses the colonial authorities' various attempts tocontain and eradicate the disease before, finally, documenting and assessingthe disease's impact on both the animal and human populations of Zimbabwe.INTRODUCTIONThe history of the natural sciences is a relatively new area of historicalenquiry. Consequently, it is not surprising that little has been written onearly colonial Zimbabwean veterinary history even though this history isimportant for a full understanding of the forces that helped shape thecountry's experience. The study of veterinary history is important, notonly as a tool for understanding aspects of human history, but alsobecause veterinary medicine has often had very significant implicationsfor human medicine, apart from playing a crucial role in the provision offood and other material human needs. As Schwabe points out,This article was developed as part of ongoing research into the history of bovine diseasesin Zimbabwe. The author would like to thank Professor A. S. Mlambo for his commentsand criticisms. However, all the errors of omission and commission that might appear inthis article are mine.2 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898veterinary medicine, like human medicine, is a human activity whichwas created by man mostly for its positive effects upon man's physicaland mental well-being, that is, his own health.2The emphasis ,on veterinary medicine's importance to human beingsdoes not negate its concern for the well being of other animals, althoughit has sometimes been contended that money spent on animal diseasesresearch could be better employed to investigate diseases that affectŁhuman beings. This argument misses the important fact that animal andhuman diseases are sometimes so closely related that they cannot alwaysbe studied in isolation from each other. As the Director of VeterinaryResearch in Southern Rhodesia correctly stated in 1924,the study of sleeping sickness of man largely depends upon observationsmade in connection with trypanosomiasis of animals, and knowledge ofthe piroplasmoses of animals may contribute to the investigation ofmalaria fever of man.3Thus new discoveries in veterinary medicine may provide importantinsights for researchers working in the field of human medicine and, forthat reason, the two types of medicine are not as different as mightappear at first glance. Moreover, veterinary medicine came into existencemainly because human beings had become dependent on several speciesof animals as a source of food and for their draughVjfower as well asother uses. Thus this branch of science became essential for the protectionand promotion of society's welfare and needs.4The close relationship between the history of animal diseases andhuman welfare is evident in the history of the rinderpest outbreak inZimbabwe at the turn of the twentieth century, which is the focus of thisarticle. As will be shown, rinderpest not only decimated cattle in thecountry but also negatively affected the human population whoselivelihood was closely dependent on the ownership of cattle.LITERATURE REVIEWDespite the importance of animal disease outbreaks in early colonialZimbabwe, their history, and social and economic effects have not yetbeen subjected to scholarly analysis. In fact, very little usable literatureon the history of cattle diseases such as rinderpest, East Coast Fever, andFoot and Mouth Disease exists with the exception of various unordered2 C. W. Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health (Baltimore/London Williams andWilkins, Third edition, 1984), 1.3 Southern Rhodesia, Report of the Director of Veterinary Research for the Year 1924 (SalisburyGovt. Printer, 1925), 1. ^ *'4 Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health, 3.M. K. K. MUTOWO 3and undigested articles published by veterinarians in such journals asthe Rhodesia Agricultural Journal. Specialist in approach, these highlydetailed contributions are largely incomprehensible to the non-specialistand do not, therefore, present a coherent picture of the origins, nature,and development of disease outbreaks and their effects on both thehuman and animal populations of the country.Where the rinderpest and other cattle disease outbreaks have beenmentioned in scholarly studies, they have generally been treated asperipheral issues that had only a marginal impact on the socio-economichistory of the country. For instance, Machingaidze has written briefly onthe veterinary history of colonial Zimbabwe as it relates to the marketingof beef. He says that the advent of diseases like African Coast Fever andFoot and Mouth Disease hampered the marketing of beef during the pre-World War I period.5 On his part, Cranefield has briefly examined theoutbreak of East Coast Fever, in Rhodesia and the Transvaal but does notanalyse the disease's impact on the social and economic well-being of thepopulations in the two areas.6 As Giblin correctly points out,Cranefield is primarily interested in the sociology of science and inexploring the complex array of political, economic, social, institutionaland personal factors that shape scientific enquiry. The outbreak ofAfrican Coast Fever appears to have intrigued him partly because itinvolved conflicting theories and famous scientists and because itappeared to be a "rare event".7In view of the above, this article seeks to fill this gap in the knowledgeof the history of animal disease outbreaks and their impact on the humanpopulation by tracing the early history of rinderpest cattle disease andits impact on the social and economic history of the African populationbetween 1896 and 1898. Like Van Onselen's study, this article contendsthat the loss of cattle during the rinderpest epidemic caused a lot ofsocial and economic distress among the African people and contributedto their proletarianisation.8Research for this article was constrained mainly by the unavailabilityof well-documented records on the outbreak, development and impact of5 V. E. M. Machingaidze, "The Development of Settler Capitalist Agriculture with ParticularReference to the Role of the State: 1890-1939" (London, School of Oriental and AfricanStudies, Ph.D. thesis, 1980).6 P. F. Cranefield, Science and Empire: East Coast Fever in Rhodesia and the Transvaal(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991).7 James Giblin, "Integrating the History of Land Use into Epidemiology: Settler Agricultureas a Cause of Disease in Zimbabwe" (Boston University, African Studies Centre WorkingPaper No. 176, Unpubl., 1984), 8.8 C. Van Onselen, "Reactions to rinderpest in Southern Africa", in Journal of African History(1972), XIII, (ill).4 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898the disease. The absence of such information can easily be explained bythe fact that the outbreak occurred at a time when the African uprising,known as Chimurenga/Umvukela, engaged the entire attention of thewhite settler community. This, therefore, meant, that the settlers did nothave enough time to closely monitor and report on the disease and itseffects. As the Secretary for Land Development admitted in 1898,the country has been for some fifteen months ravaged by rinderpest,the stamping out of which was greatly impeded through the Nativeuprising which lasted during much the same period.9Nevertheless, it is hoped that the following account, pieced togetherfrom surviving private records and reminiscences of individual settlers,and other archival sources, provides a useful account of the rinderpestepidemic and its impact in early colonial Rhodesia.THE PRE-COLONIAL PERIODLittle is known about the pre-colonial animal disease environmentand the traditional African methods of combating disease outbreaks ifand when they occurred. What is clear, however, is that the indigenouspeople did keep a variety of domestic animals which, by all early accounts,were in a fit and healthy condition. Testimony to this is the fact that, asearly as 1560, Jesuit Missionaries who visited the region that was later tobecome Rhodesia reported in their letters from Inhambane that "there ismuch poultry, very many fine cows, but fewer goats and sheep" in theregion.10 Another example is de Faria's reference to Barreto's voyage tothe Indian Ocean in 1569, in which he said of the land of Monomatapa:"This land bears rice and Indian wheat, has abundance of all sorts ofcattle, fowls and gardening. Their chief care is pasturage and tillage".11Similarly, Father Silveira, the first missionary to be killed in Zimbabwe(then Rhodesia), was reported to have received cows and oxen as presentsfrom "the King of Monomatapa" on various occasions.12The "many fine cows" observed by the Jesuits may have been theresult of the indigenous cattle's natural immunity to cattle diseases asseems to be suggested by the comment of one early settler that,9 LO4/1/2, "Report by the Secretary (Land Department) for the Year Ended 31st March1898".10 E. A. Nobbs, "The native cattle of Southern Rhodesia, South African Journal of Science(1927), XXIV, 329.11 Quoted in Ibid., 330.12 IbidM. K. K. MUTOWO 5native stock are, on the whole, more resistant to disease than Europeanbreeds ... They seem to acquire immunity to introduced diseases morerapidly than do cross-breeds or foreign breeds.13Conversely, the animals may have benefited from traditional Africanveterinary medicine practice, as the following settler colonial official'sstatement seemed to acknowledge:The Mashona possess an intimate knowledge of the medicinal virtuesof herbs, root and bark and use these for their cattle. Generally speaking,these drugs are similar in action to corresponding materials known tous, and in use are in more convenient form whether it be as purgatives,laxatives, diuretics, emollients, as stringers and so on.14If this last statement is correct, then it can be assumed that Africanswere already familiar with cattle diseases in the pre-colonial period andhad developed appropriate remedies to combat them. It is also likelythat, because people stayed very close to their domesticated animals,they could easily detect any diseases that affected their stock and taKcmeasures to cure them. Thus, when an animal became ill, the traditionalhealer would source the appropriate bark, leaves, roots or fruits andadminister them to the affected animal. As Chavunduka argues, overtime, traditional doctors became experts not only at treating humanailments but also in curing animal diseases.15 Because of the traditionaldoctors' tendency to keep the specialist knowledge secret, however,knowledge of traditional veterinary medicine remained limited to a handfulof the population.According to Chavunduka, Africans used certain trees and plants forvarious protective and medicinal purposes. For instance, the roots ofAcacia macrothyrsa (Mutandahonye) were used to prevent poisonoussnakes from entering the homestead and kraals and to cure maggot-infested wounds.16 The fruit of a monkey apple {Mumuzi) was an effectiveeye remedy, while the Bitter Apple (Nhundurwa~) was good for the treatmentof constipation. Similarly, the juice from the Mutohwe fruit was used tocure ear infections. Because of their knowledge of a wide range oftraditional medicines, traditional doctors could switch from one remedyto another if the malady was not responding to treatment.Medicine was prepared by various means. The commonest methodconsisted of soaking the appropriate plant or herb in water and13 Ibid., 336.14 Ibid, 337.15 D. M. Chavunduka, Cattle Production (Gweru, Mambo Press, 1985), 7. I have reliec:extravagantly on Chavunduka for information in this section.16 Ibid., 8.6 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898administering the treated water to the animal orally. Juice from a plantcould also be squeezed onto the affected part or the medicinal plant wascrushed and applied to the wound. Although these traditional remedieshave fallen Into disuse because of the advancement of modern veterinarymedicine, evidence testifies to the effectiveness of such traditional cures.EARLY COLONIAL DEVELOPMENTSThe hope of finding rich gold deposits attracted many settlers to Rhodesiain the early colonial years. Thus, compared to prospecting and mining,farming played a secondary role in the early years following theoccupation. Desirous of settling as many people as possible, the BritishSouth Africa Company (BSA Co.) promised each of the "Pioneers" a grantof 1 500 morgen (about 3 000 acres) of land and prospecting rights 17Consequently, many settlers entered the country with the hope of strikingit rich, mainly from mining. When the dream of a "Second Rand" failed tomaterialise, however, the early settlers decided to shift their attention toagriculture as an alternative source of livelihood.When the "Pioneers" arrived in the country, they found it teamingwith cattle that were, apparently, in good health and were immune tolocal diseases. This is shown by the fact that the Report of the BritishSouth Africa Company for 1892 to 1894 reported, "that this country isgood for cattle is proved by the large herds which were owned by KingLobengula, and attention to breeding is what is required to improve thequality of the stock".18 Having failed to locate sufficiently lucrative goldmines in the vast lands which had been allocated to them by the Companyindividual settlers and the various Rhodesian mining and estate companiesturned to ranching and began dispossessing Africans of their cattle inorder to establish a pastoral industry. Thus, European settlersappropriated many African cattle after the defeat of Lobengula in 1893.Cattle belonging to Africans were registered and branded and were claimedby the BSA Co.19 Moreover, settlers who fought in the war againstLobengula were rewarded by "half the loot" of cattle captured from theNdebele; amounting to about 30 000 cattle.20In addition, on the recommendations of the Land Commission set upby the 'Matabeleland Order in Council, 1894', "the ownership of all cattlein the possession of natives in Matabeleland on or before 31st December17p"; Wntoml^^^ and Development in Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1923,Paper No. 4 (Salisbury, University of Rhodesia 1972) 14218 Quoted in Ibid., 104.19 Premier5 4January°i927* ^^ '" Matabeleland' 1926-1927, CNC to Secretary to the20 Weinmann, Agricultural Research and Development, 104.M. K. K. MUTOWO 71893, as well as its offspring, was vested in the Company".21 Furthermore,according to Government Notice No. 104 of 10 December 1895, the BSACo. disposed of cattle to 'bona fide' settlers on the following terms:The purchase price is fixed at 50/- per head, irrespective of class,payable in instalments. The first instalment is payable at the time ofsale and the three further instalments at intervals of six, twelve andeighteen months from the date of sale.22Thus, African cattle passed into the hands of the settlers and thelooted cattle provided the foundation for the colonial cattle industry.THE RINDERPEST OUTBREAKRinderpest (cattle plague) is an epidemic that is fatal to cattle and otherdomestic and wild animals. Though its virus does not cause disease inman, it is very closely related to both human measles and canine distemperviruses and was probably their parent.23 According C. E. Gray, theGovernment Veterinary Surgeon, symptoms of rinderpest infection include:Extreme depression, arching of the back, disinclination to move andfrequent grinding of the teeth, the eyes appear swollen and very red;there is a discharge of mucus from the eyes and nose and sometimesfrom the vagina with frequently marked dripping of saliva from themouth ... As the disease progresses diarrhoea generally appears, thedischarges are seamy greenish-yellow in colour . . . there is a slightcough, appetite and rumination are suspended in the later stages, andsometimes twitching of the muscles will be noticed. A rise of temperatureis one of the early indications of the disease, duration from 24 hours oreven less to seven days, average duration of five days.24Although it was unknown in Rhodesia until the 1890s, this devastatingscourge had plagued human beings and their stock since ancient times.From the 9th century to the Napoleonic era, epizootics swept Europeevery 40 or 50 years, decimating stock populations.25 The human lossesfrom starvation following the decimation of cattle have been computed inmillions over the centuries. Because of the colossal losses of stock fromthis disease in the European epizootic that ended in 1750, the firstveterinary school was founded by public subscription at Lyons, France,21 Ibid.22 DV1/7/1 Government Notice No. 104 of 1895.23 C. W. Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health (Baltimore/London, Williams andWilkins, Third edition, 1984), 17.24 "Report from the Government Veterinary Surgeon" in Rhodesia Advertiser, 27 March,1896.25 T. Lees-May, "Rinderpest" CSC News (Dec. 1965), I, 2. Ł8 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898in 1762.26 Rinderpest entered Jthe lower Nile Valley of Egypt from Asia andspread as far south as Khartoum during British campaigns in the Sudan in1884-1885, but the eastern extension of the Sahara desert effectivelybarred further spread of the virus southward into the vast Savannahgrasslands.27 However, disaster struck when, as part of the Europeansubjugation and division of Africa, the Italian army invaded Eritrea in1889 and introduced provisioning cattle from India. With these camerinderpest. The effects upon the Ethiopian economy were so sudden andcatastrophic that the belief spread that the Italians had deliberatelyintroduced the disease.28 One result of this scourge was the greatestfamine in recorded Ethiopian history. According to one source,The populace was driven not only to the eating of traditionally forbiddenfood (but was also led to) the abandonment or sale of children .. . self-enslavement, suicide, murder, and cannibalism. The Emperor Meneliktied himself to a plough as a way of example and wept disconsolately,"Oh! How my country has fallen in ruins! My people are finished!29By the end of 1890, the virus had spread as far southwest as LakeTanganyika. The Masai of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya werehard hit. They were on the verge of starvation and "some made faintattempts to engage in farming".30 The Italian, German, and British colonialconquest in East Africa and other parts of Africa was made much easierbecause of this great plague. Although in 1893, Lord Lugard lamented theloss of cattle in Kenya by stating, "never before in the memory of man, orby the voice of tradition, have the cattle died in such numbers",31 he washappy to report that the disease had put paid to the Masai resistance tocolonisation. He celebrated the fact that "these powerful and warlike .. .pastoral tribes [had] their pride . . . humbled and our progress [inconquest was] facilitated by this awful visitation [of rinderpest]".32The Zambezi River temporarily halted rinderpest's march south fromTanganyika. In the early part of February 1896, one R. T. Coryndonreturned from a visit to the Luangwa River, north of the Zambezi, andreported that rinderpest, which for several years "had been steadilyworking its ravaging course of destruction southwards through Central26 Ibid.27 Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health , 17.28 Ibid.29 Quoted in Ibid., 18.30 Ibid.31 Lees-May, "Rinderpest" 2.32 Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health , 18.M. K. K. MUTOWO 9Africa, annihilating vast herds of native cattle and wild game, had crossedthe Zambezi River".33Little notice was taken of this announcement as it seemed to be thegeneral opinion that the plague would be confined to the low, sickly beltsof the country and would not affect the healthy plateau. Then in 1896 aherd of missionary cattle crossed the Zambezi River and were drivendown through the Mafungabusi District before being brought intoBulawayo and sold to a number of purchasers. The disease was firstidentified in cattle in the Bulawayo area on 3 March 1896 from where itspread with great rapidity. This is not surprising because ox-wagonswere almost the sole means of transport in this area. For the first tenyears following the occupation of Rhodesia, settlers were dependent onox-transport for their supplies.Wildebeest and buffalo also played a major part in the spread of thedisease:wildebeest from their intimate mixing with domestic stock and theirhabit of herding near human habitation at night to avoid predators;buffalo from their propensity, when infected, to become aggressive anddisperse for long distances from their normal grazing grounds, carryingthe infection far afield.34Other small game often carried the infection in a sub-clinical form,not being visibly ill and yet being highly infective. Such animals spreadthe disease to new centres as soon as they contacted domestic stock orbuffaloes in particular at watering holes.35 In addition, the grosscontamination of the veldt with decomposing carcasses led to manyshifts in the game population. Thus, the sustained close link betweenbovines and free living wildlife became an important factor in keeping theinfection alive.The disease reached Tuli on the southern border of Rhodesia on 16March 1896 and Mafeking three weeks later.36 It threatened to becomeendemic and therefore a permanent barrier to development of any sortbecause, at that time, the ox was the only means of transporting suppliesof all kinds into and about the country. In his reminiscences, J. Bland, atransport rider, demonstrated the difficulties and cost of transport in the1890s by stating:33 J. M. Sinclair, "A short history of the infective diseases among domestic animals ofSouthern Rhodesia since the occupation", Rhodesia AgrkulturalJournal (1922), XIX, 168.34 Lees-May, "Rinderpest", 2.35 Ibid.36 D. A. Lawrence, "The history of veterinary services in Rhodesia: Earliest veterinarydevelopments, 1890-1899", in Rhodesia Veterinary Journal (1970), I, 29.10 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898The cost of transport in those days was from S60 to S70 for a four-tonnewagonload, and it took from five to six weeks to railhead and back.Then there was the wet season of at least three months when alltransport had to be hung up. There were no made roads and it tooklittle rain to make the roads impassable; merchants had to be careful toimport enough to carry them over the wet season.37Because of the prevalence of rinderpest in the country, a Controllerof Cattle was appointed and given powers to order the isolation anddestruction of infected cattle.38 On 10 March 1896, John Blakinston of theAfrican Transcontinental Telegraph Line reported:News have lately arrived of a frightful disease that has broken outamong the cattle in Matabeleland and Mashonaland, and if this assumesthe proportions they fear and against which they are stringentlylegislating, it will be very serious. Already they have suspended thegreater part of the transport and I expect that everything will shortlybe raised to famine prices, though they might well be described as thatnow.39Elias Gray was the first surgeon to be appointed in a civil capacity in1896. He had previously served with the Postal Telegraphs in Edinburgh,Scotland, and had been seconded for six months special rinderpest dutyin the Transkei after which he returned to Salisbury as GovernmentVeterinary Surgeon.40 At that time, Mashonaland and Matabeleland wereadministered separately. Before his appointment, lay members of theadministration, particularly the Native Commissioners, dealt with mattersrelating to animals and animal health. Gray, who was then a post officeofficial at Victoria, although a fully qualified Veterinary Surgeon, wascalled upon to form a Veterinary Department and arrest the disease.ATTEMPTS TO CHECK THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASEThe Administration at Bulawayo attempted to check the southward spreadof the disease by shooting all cattle in a certain area, but was unsuccessful.One of the early settlers, Stuttaford, recalled how,we children used to walk out on what is now the golf links in Bulawayo,and the whole of that area was covered with mounds. Great numbers of37 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL6/1/1, Reminiscences, "Difficulties and the Cost of Transport in theEarly Days of Rhodesia".38 Lawrence, The history of veterinary services in Rhodesia", 29.39 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL1/1, J. Blaklston to Herbert, 10 March 1896. John Blakiston wasemployed by the African Transcontinental Telegraph Line. It was controlledadministratively by the Post Master General of the Cape Colony.40 Colony of Southern Rhodesia, Official Yegr Book of Southern Rhodesia, No. 1, 1924,(Salisbury, Art Printing and Publishing Works, 1924), 159.M. K. K. MUTOWO 11cattle were simply shot and where they fell chloride of lime was sprinkledon the carcass and loosened earth from round them was thrown overthem. The whole area along the Matsheumhlope was strewn with thedead animals.41The Government Veterinary Surgeon issued instructions on theprecautions to be taken wherever it was found impossible, owing toscarcity of labour, to bury the carcasses of all animals destroyed. Heordered that,in the case of transport oxen, a spot at least 200 yards from the roadshould be selected ... care should be taken that such a spot does notdrain into any neighbouring watercourse.42Meanwhile, the rinderpest disaster brought home to the authoritiesthe urgent need for more veterinary workers and better facilities forresearch work.In an effort to curb the disease outbreak, in March 1896, the Rhodesianauthorities adopted the Animals Diseases Act No. 2 of 1881 of the Cape.This was augmented later by instructions that all infected cattle shouldbe immediately destroyed.43 Government Notice No. 53 of 1896, issued byH. M. Taberer, Controller of Cattle, required all Cattle Inspectors toinform the public, in cases where rinderpest broke out amongst cattle,that it was optional for the owners either to shoot the infected cattle or totry to cure them.44 The Government Notice, however, prohibited thedestruction of apparently clean-although-in-contact stock becauseclean cattle which have been treated by washing their mouths with amixture of paraffin and salt and an aperient given to them has resultedup to the present in cattle so treated being preserved from infection.45Notwithstanding the imperfections in knowledge disclosed by such anotice, the Administration continued with the stringent control of themovement of stock within the territory, destruction of sick animals,establishment of stations at the border for quarantine and the inoculationof all imported stock.41 NAZ, ORAL/ST, Interview held by D. Hartridge with R. P. Stuttaford at Coronation Cottages,Queens Road, North End, Bulawayo, 12 Nov. 1969, 16.42 "Report from the Government Veterinary Surgeon", in Rhodesia Advertiser, March 27,1896.43 DEI/1/2, H. H. Castens (Public Prosecutor) to the Undersecretary, 7 Feb. 1898.44 Rhodesia Advertiser, 27 March, 1896.45 Government Gazette, 1896. According to the notice, H. M. Taberer was Controller ofCattle and not the incorrect designation of Controller of Stock as intimated by Lawrence,"The history of veterinary services in Rhodesia". 30.12 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898INOCULATIONIn his study of the disease in South Africa in 1896, Professor Kochrecognised that the bile from the gall bladder of infected animals, wheninjected into susceptible animals conferred upon them a certain degreeof immunity. He believed that the rinderpest organism was restrained bythe preventive action of the bile.46 In 1897, Koch reported to the Secretaryof Agriculture of the Cape Colony that "blood serum of cattle which haverecovered from rinderpest had a certain immunising effect upon healthystock when inoculated with it".47 In March 1897, Dr George Turner, whowas conducting a series of experiments at the Kimberley RinderpestStation on behalf of the Cape Government, visited Bulawayo, and, on hisadvice, a system of compulsory inoculation against Rinderpest wasestablished in the province.48 The necessary materials were brought upfrom Kimberley in large quantities and cattle were inoculated by a methodof simultaneous injection of virulent blood and serum in order to establishlasting immunity.49 In Matabeleland, inoculating stations were establishedat Bulawayo, Ramaquabane, Gwelo, Manzinyama, Tuli, Khami, and Queen'sKraal.50Towards the end of August 1898, it was found that the number ofcattle entering the stations had decreased considerably. Although policepatrols were sent out in all directions, and inspecting stations establishedon the main roads, it was found that, with the exception of some Africancattle, only a few cattle, which had not been inoculated, could bedetected.51 It was therefore decided to discontinue the use of virulentblood and to use serum alone because the infected blood was apt attimes to give rise to acute infection. In fact, as long as virulent blood wasused at the stations, these had to be considered infected areas. All cattlearriving by road or rail were treated by the latter method. All in all, 18 373head of cattle were inoculated, of which 2 242 head received serumonly.52 In the month of October 1898, the inoculation stations at Bulawayo,Ramaquabane, Gwelo, Khami and Manzimnyama were closed and stations46 L. Bevan, "Veterinary laboratory notes", Rhodesia AgriculturaUournal (1927), XXIV, (xi),1138.47 Quoted in Ibid., 1139.48 LO4/1/2 "Report of the Deputy Administrator of Matabeleland for the Year Ending Sept.30 1898".49 Ibid.50 Sinclair, "A short history of the infective diseases", 170.51 LO4/1/4, "Report by the Government Veterinary Surgeon for the Year Ending 31 March1899".52 Colony of Southern Rhodesia, Official Year Book of Southern Rhodesia, No. 1, 1924, 159.M. K. K. MUTOWO 13established at the Railhead and Queens Kraal. The station at Tuli waskept open.53In Mashonaland, the work of inoculating cattle was started early in1898, but after a few months, the double method of inoculation had to bediscontinued owing to the impossibility, under the existing conditions, ofobtaining virulent rinderpest blood from the organisms of other diseasessuch as gall-sickness.54 Serum alone was then relied on for dealing withthe sporadic outbreaks which occurred from time to time; the last outbreakoccurring on Salisbury commonage in September 1898.The supply of serum was obtained from the Cape Government.However, in July 1898 the Cape Government decided to close the KimberleyRinderpest Experimental Station. The BSA Company decided to lease thestation for a period of three months at their own expense at a rental ofSI 000 per month for the manufacture of serum.55 The aim of the CompanyGovernment was to produce sufficient material to complete the treatmentof all cattle in the Territory and provide a large reserve in case thedisease should re-appear.AFRICANS AND THE SPREAD OF RINDERPESTAccording to H. J. Taylor, the then Chief Native Commissioner (CNC) forMatabeleland, "compensation was paid to owners of cattle in cases wherean animal, not actually attacked by the disease, was killed".56 Salisburywas proclaimed an infected district on March 24 1896, and no cattle werepermitted to enter or depart without the permission of the Controller ofCattle. In this regard, the coach conveying mail was placed in quarantineoutside Charter District.57 However, "Goats were not attacked to anyextent and many herds of native cattle were found towards the end of theyear to have escaped infection altogether".58 It is little wonder then thatAfricans objected strongly to any destruction of their stock since most oftheir cattle escaped infection. Regulations to control the spread of thedisease, which included the shooting of infected herds, were also appliedwith greater vigour to Africans Š an imposition which became an53 LO4/1/4, "Report by the Government Veterinary Surgeon for the Year Ending 31 March1899".54 Colony of Southern Rhodesia, Official Year Book of Southern Rhodesia, No. I, 1924, 159.55 LO4/1/2, "Report by the Secretary for Agriculture for the Half Year Ending 30 Sept. 1898".56 "Report of the Chief Native Commissioner (CNC) for the Province of Matebeleland, 1896-97", in BSA Co., Report on the Administration of Rhodesia, 189&189T (Salisbury, ArgusPrinting and Publishing Co., 1898), 116.57 Rhodesia Advertiser, March 27 1896.58 "Report of the Chief Native Commissioner (CNC) for the Province of Matebeleland, 1896-97", 116.14 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898aggravating cause of the first African uprising (Chimurenga/Umvukeld) of1896-1897.By moving infected cattle to avoid destruction, Africans became asource of contagion and inadvertently helped to spread the infection.However, it is important to appreciate that Africans had not experiencedthis disease before the coming of the settlers. When they moved theircattle away from the Administration's reach, therefore, they weresafeguarding their livestock against what they considered to be yet anotherround of cattle confiscation by the settler Administration that, after all,had already stolen their herds between 1894 and 1895 as outlined above.Nonetheless, Africans helped spread the infection since, accordingto one source, "the natives themselves, were in the habit of cutting up forfood, animals which had perished from rinderpest, and carrying the meatfrom kraal to kraal".59 In the same vein, in 1897 the CNC for MatebelelandProvince reported that:They (the Matebele) still have some herds of cattle, which are graduallydying, from Rinderpest. The Matabeles eat their Rinderpest cattle andall become infected to a certain degree. One or two of the rebels havecome in with information that a large number of small children havealready died from eating Rinderpest meat.60Ngomambi, a witness to the depredations of the rinderpest epidemic,confirmed the veracity of the above statements, stating:Cattle fell ill and we had plenty of meat. We would cut up what wewanted and leave the rest. The choice was ours. You know if cattle fallill, Europeans kill them. They do not eat the meat. We herded all thecattle and drove them to some hidden area and there they were shot.61It was, however, not in all cases that Africans ate meat from cattlethat had died from rinderpest because "very frequently deaths due toother causes were attributed to rinderpest".62THE DEPREDATIONS OF RINDERPESTThe Chief Veterinary Surgeon (CVS), Charles Gray, could report withconfidence at the beginning of 1901 that "rinderpest did not reappear inthe country and that the check placed upon the importation of cattle59 Ibid.60 Hist. Ms. Collect., GR2/1/2, Vera to Charlie, 14 Sept. 1896.61 NAZ, AOH/58, Interview with M. Ngomambi (n.d).62 "Report ol the Government Veterinary Surgeon. 1899". In BSA Co Report on theif"0" °' RhOdeSia' I898-1900 (Salisbury. Argus Printing and Publishing Co!M. K. K. MUTOWO 15would suffice to keep the country clean".63 His optimism was also sharedby the CNC (Matabeleland) in his Report for the same year, which stated:The year has been most favourable and disease in a serious form hasbeen conspicuous by its absence. The disease (rinderpest) has whollydisappeared, and it is probable that the majority of the cattle in thecountry has become salted against it.64It is difficult to estimate the total number of cattle that died from theepidemic. As already stated, information regarding the introduction andspread of the disease is very meagre because the first African uprisingengaged almost the entire time and attention of the whole Europeancommunity, leaving them with little time to monitor this epidemic.However, it was estimated that by 1897, there were less than 14 000 headof cattle in African possession in the whole of Rhodesia.65 Four yearsearlier there had been over 20 000 in Matabeleland alone. As Blake aptlyputs it, the above is "a measure of the catastrophe partly produced by,partly coincidental with the arrival of the Whites".66The above figures are mere estimates and are therefore highly suspectbecause, by the time of the rinderpest epidemic, the Company had notproperly established itself in the country and had not yet developed anefficient administration. In this regard, the Government's methods ofcollecting and analysing statistical information were still crude. However,these estimates provide some basis for analysing the extent of the ravagesof rinderpest.The terrible visitation of rinderpest decimated the cattle of SouthernRhodesia. Wherever the disease was not promptly and intelligentlycombated, it left poverty, if not actual ruin and starvation in its wake.Little was known about prevention or cure of the disease, and manysettler farmers lost so many of their cattle that they were forced to giveup and abandon their farms. Evidence from those who experienced theravages of the disease indicates the extent of the negative impact of theoutbreak. For example, Lord George Grey, Jameson's successor, sent avivid description of the depredations of rinderpest which stated that,, the coach road to Bulawayo is lined with the corpses of dead oxen andcoach passengers, I am told, vomit continually Š Oh how I wish I hadthe beloved Vera's pretty little nose!6763 "Veterinary Report", in Southern Rhodesia, Report of the Department of Agriculture for theYear Ended 1900-1901 (Salisbury, Argus Printing and Publishing Co., 1901).64 LO4/1/8, "Report of the CNC, Matabeleland for the Year Ended March 31 1901".65 Blake, A History of Rhodesia, 123.66 Ibid.67 Hist. Ms. Collect., GR1/1/1, A. G. Grey to Countess Grey, 18 April 1896.16 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896 1398Similarly, writing to his schoolboy son, Grey reported howall the plagues of Egypt have landed at once upon this unhappy country.Drought, locusts, failure of crops, total annihilation of the cattle byRinderpest Š no milk, no beef in a few days Š but lots of lovely smellsfrom dead cattle.68Grey expressed the feeling that the difficulties created by the Matabeieuprising were of less consequence than the depredations of rinderpest.In his words,our chief difficulty is not the Matebele, but the Rinderpest, which iskilling all the cattle on which we depend for our transport and meat. Imay soon have to tell you that I have become a vegetarian and not bvchoice.69 yAnother settler, one Jarvis, wrote to his mother about the twinproblems of the Matabeie uprising and the scourges of rinderpest interms similar to those used by Grey in his letters. He wrote:1 am glad to say our "Relief" Column has arrived from Salisbury and wehave now got all the ammunition we want but shall soon be short offood! for our cattle have been dying like mad. With this rinderpest andto show you what scourge it is the column from Salisbury lost 500 headof trek oxen on the way!! It is terrible to see them die. They very oftenfall down in the yoke, a few minutes before being apparently well andhave just to be outspanned and left to die in the road as they fall. Itseems hard, but it is the only thing to do.70Yet another settler, John Blakinston, commented:Perhaps the most serious calamity of all however is this cattle diseaseeven more serious than the Matabeie rising. The cattle are still dying Šindeed the disease shows no signs of abatement and, already, so manyhave died, as not only to paralyse all transport, but will further crippleit for the next two years and of course transport is our very existencealthough the Company have done their utmost to substitute mules anddonkeys, their efforts fall far short [of] what is necessary . . . 71Lastly, S. G. Arden later reminisced about how, at the time,Rinderpest loomed in hideous form over Rhodesia - skeletons ofnumerous cattle and the stench of decomposed bodies was [sic]frequently m evidence ... a transport driver told that many good spansof oxen had contracted the disease. The cattle died one after theotheruntil none was left, and there the wagon was stuck indefinitely "68 Hist. Ms. Collect., GR1/1/1, Grey to Charlie, May 189669 Hist. Ms. Collect., GR1/1/1, A. G. Grey to Viscount Howick, 15 June 1896.70 Hist. Ms. Collect., JA4/1/1, Jarvis to Mother, 3 May 189671 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL1/1, Blakiston to Aunt, 19 May 189672 Hist. Ms. Collect., AR1/1/1, "Reminiscences by an Old Timer" (n d )M. K. K. MUTOWO 17Indeed, according to Selous, the disease even affected adversely thevultures, which would normally have picked the bones of the dead animals,but "these useful birds are now as scarce as cows in Matabeleland".7;!SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCESOne of the effects of the disease was that there was mutual suspicionbetween Africans and Whites as regards who was responsible for thespread of the disease. Africans believed that Whites spread rinderpest.The situation was made worse by the decision to "shoot thousands ofhealthy cattle in order to prevent the infection from spreading Š anaction incomprehensible to the Africans and attributed to malevolence".74Whites also believed that Africans were responsible for spreading thedisease. Commenting on these accusations and counter-accusations, VanOnselen argues that,in practice, however, this highly contagious disease was very frequentlyspread by white farmers, who were mobile, active in trade and apt toconsole their rinderpest-stricken neighbours with little regard for therisks of contagion this involved.75Rinderpest invaded the country at a time when Africans, especiallythe Ndebele, were still trying to recover from the loss suffered as a resultof the confiscation of their herds by the settler Administration. Worsestill, those cattle that survived the scourge were shot dead by the settlersin their efforts to control the spread of the disease. Socially, the loss ofcattle affected Africans in that,the relationships expressed in cattle, such as those between man andthe supernatural in sacrifice, between groups in marriage payments,between the ruler and the ruled in tribute, could no longer beexpressed.76Not surprisingly, Africans became increasingly reluctant to have theircattle inoculated because, in their distrust of the White man, they imaginedhe was urging them to submit their cattle to an operation which wouldprobably end fatally, so that they should be compelled to work for him atlow wages. Indeed, Africans rendered destitute by the rinderpest outbreakflocked in great numbers to European centres in search of work. Accordingto Van Onselen,73 Quoted in Blake, A History of Rhodesia, 123.74 R. Blake, A History of Rhodesia (London, Eyre Methuen, 1977), 123.75 Van Onselen, "Reactions to rinderpest in Southern Africa", 480.76 T. Jamu. "The Rebirth of African Cattle Herds, 1895-1910" [B.A. (Hons) dissertation,History Dept., University of Zimbabwe, 1985], 11.18 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898The loss of large numbers of cattle caused considerable social andeconomic distress in African communities. With the disappearance ofthe source of meat and milk, Africans experienced considerable hardshipand, in some cases, starvation. The impoverishment of Africans causedby rinderpest contributed to the growing proletarianisation of Africansand the process of labour migration.77Thus the rinderpest outbreak brought suffering and poverty to theAfricans as was manifest in Matabeleland where it was reported that,"... owing to Rinderpest, all the cattle are dead and the Indunas are aspoor as their followers and will soon starve".78In addition to the social and economic consequences outlined above,Rinderpest also contributed greatly to the outbreak of the FirstChimurenga/Umvukela uprising of 1896-97. According to Boggie, owner ofa trading firm in Bulawayo,The Jameson episode and rinderpest no doubt hastened an event (theAfrican uprising) which had for some time been "casting shadows"before, for warnings from time to time were received from prospectorsand others outside districts that the Matebele were in a state of unrestand in some instances openly defiant. These warnings were howeverconsidered to be but the warnings of alarmists, were treated accordinglyand were generally laughed at by the Native Commissioners . . .79He also contended that,The advent of rinderpest and our defeat in the Transvaal seemed to theMatebele chiefs an indication that the time of Lobengula's propheticsaying had arrived, the Mlimo or high priest was consulted, with theresult that he informed them that in the mystic light of futurity, hecould dimly but distinctly see his assegai dripping with blood . .. 80IMPACT ON TRANSPORT AND TRADEOne of the immediate results of the plague was that transport riding(the conveyance of goods by bullock-wagon) became extremely difficult.Some transport riders lost most of the oxen and had to abandon theirwagons as well.81 One transport rider, Stanley Hyatt, describes plaintivelythe ruin and desolation brought about by rinderpest and the large numberof abandoned wagons thus:77 Van Onselen, "Reactions to rinderpest", 488.78 Hist. Ms. Collect., GR2/1/2, Mother to Sybil, 6 Oct. 1896.79 Hist. Ms. Collect., BO2/3/1, "Bulawayo in 1896".80 Ibid.81 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL6/1/1, Reminiscences, "Difficulties and the Cost of Transport in theEarly Days of Rhodesia".M. K. K. MUTOWO 19Thirty wagons at one outspan, loaded wagons, loaded with stores of allkinds Š 1 have come across this scene more than once. Hundreds ofwagons, tens of thousands of pounds worth of stores, machinery, goodsof all kinds, abandoned on the road. There was too much to loot. Thecattle died within a few hours, died in the water ... poisoning the wholecountryside, and then the transport rider, utterly broken, utterlyhelpless, abandoned all, and, with a boy (African) or two to carry hiskit, tramped back to the nearest outspan, to curse his luck, to drink soas to forget that luck, and, perhaps, to die.82Only those with what were known as "salted" cattle survived in thebusiness. A transport rider at the time, Rorke, provided a useful descriptionof what "salted" cattle were. He wrote:Before the rebellion [uprising] the rinderpest had wiped out almost allthe cattle in the country; later however, a transport rider experimentedon his spans of oxen by inoculating them with liver bile from an infectedanimal. This inoculation was injected into the animal's tail, on thelower half. This inoculation was severe, causing the lower portion ofthe tail to fall off, but prevented the animal from contracting the disease.The men who had cattle immediately carried out this inoculation, andsaved many animals. These oxen were known as "salted cattle", saltedcattle were recognised by their short tails and, owing to their scarcity,prices shot up to exorbitant levels.83Apart from the loss of transport oxen, it was also reported that"slaughter stock, the few breeding herds that had been started as well asnative cattle were [also] wiped out".84 Foodstuffs for the beleagueredWhites of Bulawayo had to be brought up from Mafeking, in wagonsdrawn by the few mules and donkeys procurable, through 500 miles ofpest-ridden country.85To make matters worse, because of the decimation of cattle by thedisease, the market for livestock and other trade goods shrunk drastically.As Hyatt observed, when the disease got its grip on the country, "everyonerealised that the cattle were doomed, and [cattle] prices fell like lead".86Transport riding as a business was adversely affected, asWe could no longer sell cattle, and so could no longer buy them fromnatives, which meant, too, that the natives could no longer buy tradinggoods from us. Moreover, all our spans were working up on the high82 Stanley P. Hyatt, The Old Transport Road (Bulawayo, Books of Rhodesia Publishing Co.,1969), 293.83 NAZ, ORAL/RO2, Interview held with M. V. Rorke by D. Hartridge at Essexvale, 1970.84 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL6/1/1, Reminiscences, "Difficulties and the Cost of Transport in theEarly Days of Rhodesia".85 "The great cattle plague of 1896-1898", in Zambesi Mission Record (1898-1901), I, 271.86 Ibid., 296.20 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898veldt, and we were not, of course, allowed to bring them down into thelow country ... We had worked so desperately hard, taken such heavyrisks, carried our lives in our hands month after month, and now, whenwe were just on the point of getting our reward, we were to loseeverything. Our task, the task of the Transport Riders, was finished.87The crippling of the transport rider business could not have come ata more inopportune time because, by the time of the first Chimurenga/Umuukela, the railroad from Cape Town had been extended as far northas Bechuanaland. The only mode of transport from there to Bulawayo, adistance of 400 miles, was by ox-drawn carts that travelled only 14-20miles a day.88 Furthermore, the loss of draught cattle and the fact thattransport riders had to pay exhorbitant prices for "salted cattle" meansthat transport rates rose sharply. This, in turn, made the importation ofeither agricultural machinery or seed extremely difficult.89 That "saltedcattle" had become expensive as a result of the rinderpest outbreak isevident in the fact that, soon afterwards, while the Government wasoffering £9 per head, individual dealers were demanding as much as £25per head.90. Commenting on this sharp rise in cattle prices, the NativeCommissioner for Gwanda District observed that "The stock in 1895,which was £2 to £3 per head, is now worth from £12."91For those with the necessary capital, however, transport must havebecome a very lucrative business. After rinderpest had passed throughMashonaland in 1896, a Mr Papenfus bought up all the salted oxen hecould get, which amounted to ten spans. This gave his 10 wagons themonopoly of all transport in the country. He entered a contract with theChartered Company to carry exclusively for them at £5.10.0 per 100 lbs.between railhead and Salisbury.92 J. Bland, who was involved in thetransport business in those days, says that, because of the transportdifficulties when rinderpest broke out, "Salisbury had almost run out ofstores of every kind."93 This was exacerbated by the fact that most of themerchants were only beginners with no capital behind them and theycould not import more than they could pay for transport, becausetransport was "cash on delivery".94 Thus if the merchant could not pay87 Ibid., 298-300.88 Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health , 18.89 LO4/1/2, "Report by the Secretary for Agriculture for the Half Year Ending 30 Sept. 1898".90 Quoted in T. Jamu, "The Rebirth of African Cattle Herds", 12.91 Ibid., 13.92 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL6/1/1, Reminiscences, "Difficulties and the Cost of Transport in theEarly Days of Rhodesia".93 Ibid.34 Ibid.M. K. K. MUTOWO 21for transport, he had to sell his goods to others for what he could get. Inthe Melsetter District, food was very short and Government supplies ofrice, beef, tea and other necessities were sent up by donkey wagon andwere rationed out each week in the township.95Settlers were very reluctant to import fresh cattle from neighbouringSouth Africa because they feared that they would lose all the new cattle.The theory then was that fresh oxen coming into the country wouldcontract rinderpest from the bones of the hundreds of oxen that had diedall along the road.96 What this meant was that, for a while, meatrequirements in the country were met through imports, sometimes fromas far away as Madagascar, at very high prices.CONCLUSIONAs has been shown above, rinderpest indirectly killed untold numbers ofpeople, caused millions of others to suffer grave consequences andsubstantially altered the history of large areas of Africa and its indigenouspeoples. It can be concluded from this account that, firstly, "animaipathogens need not infect people directly in order to precipitate untoldhuman suffering and death".97 Secondly, "their effects upon human healthare multiple ones, often reflecting far more complex problems than resultfrom losses of meat and milk alone".98 Rinderpest caused a seriousdislocation of the transport industry and led to a loss in draught poweramong both the African and White communities. The mutual suspicionbetween the settlers and the indigenous community as to who wasresponsible for the incidence of the disease obviously hardened attitudesto the extent that the African population was to become very suspiciousof whatever schemes the settler community were to come up with infuture.Rinderpest also caused despair and poverty among the Africanpopulation due to the deaths of their herds and may have accelerated theprocess of proletarianisation. It can also be argued that the devastatingeffects of the disease made the task of settler colonisation easier. Thedisease also alerted the Colonial Administration of the need to establishsuitable administrative and infrastructural facilities to ensure that future95 S. Sinclair, The Story of Melsetter (Salisbury, MO Collins. 1971), 31.96 Hist. Ms. Collect., BL6/1/1, Reminiscences, "Difficulties and the Cost of Transport in theEarly Days of Rhodesia".97 Schwabe, Veterinary Medicine and Human Health, 19.98 Ibid.22 THE RINDERPEST EPIDEMIC OF 1896-1898animal disease outbreaks could be more efficiently and effectively dealtwith."99 Further research will deal with the origins and development of three diseases viz,Lungsickness, African Coast Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease up to 1933. Lungsicknesswas introduced into the country in 1861, African Coast Fever in 1902 and Foot and MouthDisease in 1931.