Chapter 35: Cattle and Horses
A month earlier, on April 22, 1866, in the port of Dar es Salaam.
Today, the immigrants from the First Town and the colonial governor came to the Port of Dar es Salaam to receive the goods. Unlike previous days, more people were dispatched today.
"Old Qian, why did Master Kilman call us here today? Usually, only their own people come to this place." asked an immigrant.
"How would I know? Just do whatever the commander tells us to do. Why so much nonsense?" said Lao Qian.
"I am just scared. We finally had a full meal in the First Town. What if they send us back to Qing?"
"Don't let your imagination run wild. Master Kilman also wants us to grow crops for them. The land here is so barren, and the natives are clumsy and can't even farm. Master Kilman can't farm by himself! So what are you afraid of?"
The two were chatting when they saw several large ships appearing on the sea surface in the distance.
"Looking at this situation, they can't be new immigrants! We were brought here by that big ship last time."
Old Qian shook his head: "Who knows? We'll know when the boat reaches the shore."
Soon, the Dutch merchant ship docked at the dock of Dar es Salaam Port. The Dutch opened the fence on the side of the ship, laid wooden boards, and a several meters wide unloading channel appeared.
The German commander began to direct the immigrants to board the ship and unload the cargo. Following the commander's leadership, the immigrants once again boarded the familiar ship, and on the ship the immigrants finally saw the cargo this time.
"This is a horse, and this is a cow!" said the person who had just spoken to Lao Qian in surprise.
"I told you so. Such good land should be used to raise some livestock. The grass near the First Town is so good, but these natives don't know how to grow crops or raise livestock."
Old Qian said disdainfully, "You're getting more and more ridiculous. Why are you even cursing? That's called an animal."
"It's all the same, it's all the same. We can't tell good from bad. Are we uneducated? Haha..." He laughed awkwardly.
"Stop laughing, come and help drive the animals!"
…
After a busy work, they finally drove the cattle and horses off the boat, and the immigrants from the First Town began to drive the cattle and horses towards the First Town.
The German officer seemed to have been prepared. He got a saddle and bridle from somewhere and put it on a horse.
As an old European cavalryman, Del finally found the feeling of galloping on the battlefield.
He drove the horse imported from Russia to test its ability in an open field. The horse was quite docile and carried Del twice on the flat ground.
In recent days, because Prussia is preparing for war, Prussian mules and horses are subject to control, and export is even more impossible.
So Ernst specially imported hundreds of horses from Russia. Horse farming was popular in Europe, so each country had a lot of horses. The Eastern European part of Russia was already rich in horses, and it also had vast grasslands in Central Asia and the Far East that were suitable for horse breeding.
Ernst sent people to Russia to purchase horses, and then sent them to the East African colonies via Dutch merchant ships from the Baltic Sea. When passing through the Netherlands, he also took a batch of cattle.
The Netherlands is a major livestock-raising country, with animal husbandry being the primary agricultural industry, followed by floriculture.
Ernst currently has no way to improve the mechanization of the East African colonies. Europe is still using animal power. Steam agricultural machinery does have some sales in the market, but it is expensive, large in size, and not very efficient.
So Ernst thought of developing some breeding industry in the colonies to provide some animal power for the future. There were no domesticated large livestock in Africa. African animals were very wild, and the natives lived on hunting. The animals everywhere were the source of food for the natives. Although it was dangerous, the abundant resources made these tribes lack the awareness to improve productivity.
…
The immigrants drove their cattle and horses back to the first town, and so many animals successfully attracted the attention of the townspeople.
The sheriff began to order the immigrants to build horse and cattle pens, and at the same time found some experienced immigrants to be responsible for breeding.
The breeding farm is located five or six miles away from the town, between the first and third towns.
There was a meadow here where the settlers set up camp and drove the cattle and horses in with wooden fences.
"They are all good cows! In the past, only the landlords could raise cows that are this strong."
"This horse is not bad. I have only seen horses ridden by high-ranking officials in my life. On the horse sat a fat-headed and big-eared official, with his soldiers following behind him."
"You are talking about the imperial court beating the Taiping rebels!"
"Yes, that's what the soldiers said. Before they left, they robbed several cows from the landlord Wang's house in our village, saying that they were requisitioned by the imperial court. They were more cruel than bandits. The landlord Wang's servants could usually guard the village. There was a bandit near us called Ermazi Dawang. Usually, he didn't dare to go to Mr. Wang's village. As a result, when the imperial court soldiers came, his servants didn't even dare to fart. Usually, they just bullied us ordinary people."
"Bah, they are all bad guys, dogs biting each other, with a mouth full of fur. Why doesn't God take away such beasts? God is really blind!"
"Well, luckily the foreign boss came to recruit workers two years ago. I had no other job at that time, so I thought of finding a way to make a living, so I got on the ship. I couldn't have imagined the life I have now before!"
"Who says it's not true? My family was also struck by disaster. My two brothers starved to death. I was lucky to have waited for Master Kilman to come and survive. Without those bastard officials and landlords, life is better now. Master Kilman always keeps his word and really gives us food to eat!"
"If you ask me, the Qing Dynasty deserves to be destroyed. I've heard from the village scholar a long time ago that the imperial court can't beat the foreigners, and they have to cede land and pay compensation every year. These bastards don't treat us as human beings, and someone will take care of them."
"Well, it's hard to say. Those foreigners, the British and the French, came to our land, and the officials still enjoyed themselves. The compensation they asked for was still imposed on us! I heard that every time the South lost a war, they would increase taxes several times. They called it war repayment. They are like dogs, and they are harmful to people!"
"That's because we don't have to make a living in the Qing Dynasty anymore. We don't have those black-hearted masters above us. People say that foreigners are scary. Master Kilman is a bit fierce at ordinary times, but he is cleaner than those black-hearted Qing officials."
"Alas, Africa has everything good, good food, good clothes, but there are too few women. The natives are so dark that they are unsightly. There are so many bachelors among us and we don't know if we can find a wife in this lifetime."
"You just daydream all day long. You can't even eat in Qing Dynasty. Which woman would like you and live a hard life with you?"
"I am just considering the most important thing in my life. What's wrong with thinking about it? After a few years, when we become rich, we can go back to Qing and find a wife, right? Then we can come back and have a bunch of babies here."
"That's impossible! Master Kilman will let us go back?"
"You don't understand this! You know there is an officer from Kilman in this town. He is also Chinese. He has a foreign name called Pierce Lee. He can talk to people."
"He said he was a graduate of the Heixingen Military Academy. All the land here belongs to that principal, Heixingen. This principal is very powerful. If he were in the Qing Dynasty, he would be a relative of the emperor."
"I also heard that Commander Pierce Lee was spotted by Master Kilman at a young age and went to study abroad at Kilman, so he was able to serve as an official here."
"It was this Chief Pierce Lee who said that we are all hired workers of the Hei Xingen Company, that is, long-term workers. After working for 20 years, we can choose our own life. When the time is up, we can choose whether to stay in Ah Fei Ka or return to Qing. Chief Pierce Lee also said that we must not throw away the pieces of paper given to us every month. They are Kilman silver dollars given to us, and we can exchange them for money at the bank in Qing."
“Those few pieces of paper can be exchanged for money?”
"You don't understand this! This is the money used by the foreign masters. It can be exchanged for silver in the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty does not recognize the foreign masters, they will beat those masters. A few years ago, the British and French soldiers broke into the Forbidden City and sat on the throne. They also burned the emperor's garden, called the Old Summer Palace. In the end, the empress dowager and the emperor had to pay a sum of money to the foreign masters."
"If that's the case, I have to keep those pieces of paper. Master Kilman gave them to me before. There was a portrait of a foreigner printed on them. I thought they were something important and I didn't dare to throw them away. I didn't expect it to be money. I have to keep them well and use them to marry a wife in the future."
"Old man Wang, you are already forty and you still want to get married? How old will you be in twenty years?"
"What's wrong with getting married? You've never experienced the joy of being single your whole life! When you get old, just find an older wife. As long as you have money, you can find anything."
“That’s right…”
The immigrants talked about the past, present and future, their eyes full of hope for a happy life.
(End of this chapter)
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