Once Upon A Time...

Paid a visit to 'Books of Zimbabwe', which sells books of antiquity. Was trying to find a book I bought and read years ago called 'Three years with Lobengula' written in 1894. It's the story of Irishman John Cooper-Chadwick from Limerick, a failed gold prospector who ended up spending three years at the court of Lobengula, the great Ndebele chief who once ruled Matabeleland, and whose kraal once stood on what is now the modern city of Bulawayo.

Lobengula, according to Chadwick, exhibited 'great cunning and cruelty', had eighty wives who spent most of their day ferrying pitchers of beer to the great warrior king, proving he had both in spades. The book documents Chadwick's time spent with the great King (who called him 'Charlie') and gives a rare insight into the customs, traditions and social structure of an African tribe at the turn of the century.

It's a very interesting book, made all the more arresting by the actual feat of writing it. Chadwick, who is described in the foreword as 'the epitome of the unlucky little man' wrote the book with a pen tied to his right arm, after losing both his hands in a shooting accident.

Leafing through other history books circa the late 19th century, and looking at old sepia photographs of men in Fedoras and droopy moustaches, you can't help feeling a sense of awe. It was a time of the 'white' hunters, prospectors, explorers, adventurers and various shades of assorted villains who descended on the dark continent in pursuit of untold riches and opportunities. In America, it was called the 'Wild West' and has been chronicled and celebrated in thousands of books and films. In Africa, it's called 'colonialism' and can only be found in rare, stuffy old bookshops.