History - 20 min read
A World Tour to Repay Debts and See the World
In 1895, Samuel Langhorne Clemens – better known as Mark Twain – embarked on an ambitious round the-world lecture tour. This journey was driven largely by financial necessity. Twain’s investments in a typesetting machine and a publishing firm had failed in the early 1890s, leaving him approximately $100,000 in debt .
Rather than declare bankruptcy, Twain vowed to repay his creditors in full, stating that “honor is a harder master than the law” . With encouragement from his wife Olivia (“Livy”) and friend H.H. Rogers, Twain accepted an offer from Australian promoter Carlyle (R.S.) Smythe to conduct a global lecture circuit through the English-speaking world . The tour – billed in the colonies as “Mark Twain At Home” – would take him across North America, Australia, New Zealand, India, and finally to South Africa, his last major stop before returning to England.
he had been traveling and performing for nearly a year. He was in better health and spirits than when he began – he quipped from mid-tour that “lecturing is gymnastics, chest-expander, medicine, mind-healer”, noting he had gained weight and felt far healthier than at the start . Audiences around the world had flocked to his one-man show, a humorous “at home” talk in which Twain satirically “instructed” listeners on moral improvement by committing various amusing sins .
By the end of the tour (over 122 performances in total), Twain was exhausted but much closer to solvency, having earned perhaps one-third to one-half of the money needed to clear his debt . South Africa was a significant final leg of this odyssey, offering Twain not only much-needed income but also new cultural experiences that would later inform his writing (notably in Following the Equator, his 1897 travel memoir).
Twain reached South African shores in early May 1896 after steaming across the Indian Ocean.
His ship, the SS Arundel Castle, put in at Durban (then in the British colony of Natal) on the afternoon of May 6, 1896 . Twain, accompanied by Livy and their daughter Clara, was immediately struck by Durban’s climate – after enduring “ten straight months” of tropical heat on tour, the cooler autumn weather of Natal was a relief . He did note comically that their Durban hotel had overzealous service: “a bang on the door at 6 [AM]” to clean boots, then repeated knocks for coffee and baths – all before 7 o’clock . This rapid-fire colonial hospitality reminded him of India, as he joked about the servants’ shouting as being “just as in an Indian hotel” . After a few days of rest and sightseeing around Durban (Twain and his family toured the city and wrote letters home ), the author commenced his speaking engagements. On May 12, 1896, he delivered his first South African lecture (“At Home” No.1) at Durban’s Theatre Royal, a venue of about 1,000 seats .
– tickets ranged from 1 to 4 shillings – and
Twain kept the crowd laughing for 95 minutes with a repertoire of his classic comic tales (such as the story of the deadpan boy with a “Mexican plug” horse and the frontier tale of the “Golden Arm”) . The next night (May 13) he gave a second, entirely new talk (the “At Home” No.2, focused on morality humor) at the same theater. Demand was so high that extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate an overflow audience . By all accounts, Durban welcomed Mark Twain enthusiastically. Local papers like the Natal Witness and Pretoria Press published glowing reviews of his wit , and Twain reciprocated the goodwill by attending a supper with the Durban Savage Club, where he
offered a lighthearted impromptu speech for the city’s literary set .
With Natal thoroughly charmed, Twain pressed onward.
he and Smythe boarded a train inland, bidding farewell to the port city. Their first stop was Pietermaritzburg, the Natal colonial capital, 71 miles up-country . Twain arrived that night and spent May 15–16 resting at a hotel and rehearsing for upcoming talks . In letters to Livy from Pietermaritzburg, he outlined the three-part lecture program he had settled on for South Africa (lists of humorous anecdotes grouped for first, second, and third nights) . It appears Twain gave at least one performance in Pietermaritzburg (likely on May 15 or 16), before continuing by rail toward the Boer territories. He joked to Livy about his rigorous schedule making him “engage myself to lunch with 2 different crowds at 1 o’clock” – a mix-up that would never happen if she were there to organize him . Despite the frenetic pace, Twain was savoring the adventure. As the Natal train carried him into the South African interior, he knew the most exotic part of his journey – the African veld and its people – lay just ahead. On the Rand and the Boer Republics: Johannesburg and Pretoria (May 1896).
He arrived at Park Station around 8:50 PM to find a “large number of admirers and curious spectators” waiting on the platform . Twain checked into the Grand National Hotel on Rissik Street, where eager journalists soon besieged him for interviews. The very next morning, still lounging in bed, he cheerfully gave an hour-long interview to a reporter from the Johannesburg Star, which the newspaper published that same day . Dozens of pressmen from papers like the Times and Standard and Diggers’ News also sought his opinions . Clearly, the Witwatersrand public was excited to host America’s famed humorist.
Twain’s time in Johannesburg highlighted the city’s “instant metropolis” character during the gold rush. He remarked on the conspicuous presence of Americans on the Rand – many of whom were engineers, miners, and adventurers drawn by the gold boom. In fact, Twain slyly observed that “South Africa seems to be the heaven of the American scientific mining engineer. He gets the choicest places and keeps them.” This quip, recorded in his notes, alluded to the numerous U.S. mining experts holding top positions in local companies (such as Cecil Rhodes’ De Beers and Gold Fields) . Johannesburg in 1896 was a cosmopolitan frontier town teeming with fortune-seekers, and Twain took it all in with relish. He met up with an old friend, American journalist Poultney Bigelow, who was visiting the Rand, and even received a small souvenir from his Johannesburg tour manager – a “little gold brick” charm engraved as a memento of the Rand’s wealth.
Over several days, Twain delivered three lectures in Johannesburg, likely on the evenings of May 18, 19, and 20 (as hinted by his correspondence)
Each night featured a different set of stories so that audiences who bought tickets to multiple shows were treated to fresh material. By May 21 he wrote to Livy with relief that he had successfully gotten through “lecture No. 3… just as handsomely as the others.” The city’s theaters were packed with uitlanders (foreign prospectors) and locals alike, roaring at Twain’s frontier yarns and droll observations. When not on stage, Twain explored the environs. He took a carriage ride out to see the mining district with a local hostess, Mrs. Adele Chapin , and spoke with many residents – from prominent mine managers to ordinary prospectors – absorbing their stories of the Witwatersrand gold fields.
From Johannesburg, Twain made a short excursion to the neighboring Boer republics. On May 23, 1896, accompanied by his tour manager Smythe and the Chapins, he took a morning train 46 miles north to Pretoria, capital of the South African Republic (Transvaal) . Twain checked into Pretoria’s Grand Hotel and soon found himself being interviewed by the local Press reporter as well . In conversation, he expressed curiosity about meeting the Transvaal’s legendary president, Paul Kruger, whom he called “the man of the hour.” That wish was granted a few days later. On May 26, 1896, Mark Twain had a brief meeting with President Kruger – though he recorded little about it beyond noting it in his notebook . (One contemporary suggested Twain sought the meeting to clear up any misinterpretation of his press interview comments about the Boers , but if so, the content of their talk remains scant.) Still, the encounter between the American author and the Boer leader was symbolically rich: Twain was intrigued by the Boer perspective, having read about it in preparation for his visit, and Kruger was known for his blunt views of British imperialism.
During his Pretoria stay, Twain continued to charm the press and locals. In an autograph for a journalist, he wittily wrote: “Truth is stranger than fiction — to some people. But I am measurably familiar with it.” Such humor, offered with Twain’s signature flourish, delighted the Transvaal reporters. He learned about the aftermath of the recent Jameson Raid (an ill-fated British incursion into the Transvaal in late 1895) and the brewing tensions between the Boer republics and the British Empire.
Indeed, Twain’s own American newspapers were keen for his impressions of South Africa’s political situation – he received a cable from William Randolph Hearst asking for commentary on the Jameson affair . Twain’s response to his nephew indicated he was aware of the “political machinations” in South Africa, but he trod carefully, preferring to gather facts before opining .
By the end of May, Twain had completed his engagements in the Rand and Transvaal. He departed Pretoria and retraced his route southward. A stop at Krugersdorp on May 28 is recorded, where a Mrs. G. Seymour drove him to the train station amid the mining district’s rugged landscape . In a letter from Johannesburg on May 29, Twain apologized to Livy for missing a day of writing, citing “a busy day yesterday & day before.”
He mentioned meeting travelers bringing news of his family’s well-being, and noted that Bigelow was heading off to Zanzibar next . Satisfied with his successes up north, Twain turned his attention to the Cape Colony to the south – and to the expansive semi-desert heartland known as the Karoo, which lay between him and the coastal cities. Across the Karoo: From Bloemfontein to the Eastern Cape (June 1896)
Leaving the Johannesburg area, Twain’s party embarked on a long train journey south through the Karoo, the great inland plateau of South Africa. They first crossed into the Orange Free State, arriving at its small capital Bloemfontein on May 30, 1896. The trip from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein took 18 hours of continuous rail travel, a journey Twain found remarkably comfortable: “fine cars, easy riding, all the conveniences,” he noted with approval .
The Cape government railways impressed him with their cleanliness and even provided “comfortable beds” for overnight passengers . Riding through the high plains in late autumn, Twain was captivated by the scenery. “To me the veldt, in its sober winter garb, was surpassingly beautiful,” he later wrote . The rolling, sparsely populated plains under a crisp blue sky struck him as an African paradise – a landscape he felt had been accurately foretold by Olive Schreiner’s novels, which he had read prior to visiting .
In Bloemfontein, Twain took a much-needed rest. He arrived around 4 PM to find the town “even prettier than Pretoria,” with its tidy streets and blooming gardens . Being a Sunday the next day (May 31), he spent it quietly, sightseeing around the “City of Roses” and enjoying the clear Free State air . In letters home, Twain described taking notes for a fanciful “extravagant romance” story idea that had occurred to him, and simply soaking up the atmosphere . Notably, he observed the local Basotho and Tswana people in Bloemfontein’s markets – particularly the women with “liquid voices” selling produce – which he found musical and striking . This respectful interest in the indigenous people’s culture and appearance appears in Following the Equator, where Twain contrasts the “dowdy clothes” forced on Christianized black South Africans with their innate grace and beauty absent those trappings .
Moving on from Bloemfontein, Twain’s itinerary took him deep into the Karoo region of the Cape Colony. In early June, he began a lecture circuit through several Eastern Cape towns – a route that doubled as a tour of the Karoo’s arid heartland. Twain and Smythe traveled by train to Queenstown, arriving at dawn on June 4, 1896 . Queenstown (today Komani) was a frontier town (population ~4,000) on the eastern edge of the Great Karoo. There Twain was welcomed into the local Queenstown Club as an honorary guest – his name was dutifully inscribed in the visitors’ book by prominent townsmen . He spent two days there, enjoying the club’s hospitality (and its wine cellar) , and dined at the home of a local attorney, Mr. A.D. Webb . On the evening of June 5, Mark Twain gave a 90-minute performance at Queenstown’s Town Hall, with a packed audience in attendance . The local paper, The Representative, praised his talk in a review on June 8 (signed by “Autolycus,” likely a pseudonym of journalist F.C.T. von Lingen) . Even in this modest Karoo town, Twain’s celebrity drew a full house and enthusiastic notices.
From Queenstown, Twain proceeded southward by rail, following the Midland railway line that cut through the Karoo toward the coast. He arose early on June 7 and caught the 7 AM train, traveling via the small depot of King William’s Town (which they reached that afternoon) . King William’s Town – though just outside the Karoo proper, in the temperate Eastern Cape – was another stop on his lecture schedule. Twain spent the night there and on June 9, 1896 (Tuesday) delivered his “At Home” No.2 talk at the local Town Hall . The audience was smaller than in Queenstown, and critics in the Kaffrarian Watchman and Cape Mercury were polite, if not effusive – one paper opined that Twain was “better as a writer” than an oral storyteller . Nevertheless, the ever-roving humorist had now brought his show to the former Ciskei region, engaging a diverse colonial community with tales of American life.
By June 10, Twain and Smythe had reached the seaport of East London. They left King William’s Town by the 8:20 AM train and arrived in East London at 11:10 that morning . Twain checked into the Beach Hotel on the Esplanade, which afforded him a pleasant view of the Indian Ocean surf . However, the coastal weather proved uncooperative for his events. On June 11, Twain’s first East London lecture (at the Mutual Hall) suffered from torrential rain, resulting in a “meager house” of spectators . Those who did brave the storm enjoyed the performance – one man even brought with him a treasured copy of The Innocents Abroad that Twain had personally inscribed to a friend in 1870 . Twain was touched to see this artifact resurface half a world away. Still, the half-empty hall was a disappointment. He kept his spirits up by writing playful
letters to Livy, who by now had temporarily gone ahead to the Cape with Clara. (When Livy and Clara left Durban by ship on June 6, Clara “exulted” to have a crowd see them off – Twain teasingly mentioned this to Livy in a letter from East London, to amuse their daughter.)
He gave a second lecture in East London on June 13, a Saturday night, presenting his third program (“At Home” No.3). The weather had cleared and a moderate audience turned out. Twain noted that it finally felt like winter in South Africa: after nearly a year chasing summer around the globe, the cool June temperatures in the Eastern Cape struck him as “quite winterish” . Local critics remarked on his endurance – despite smaller venues in East London and King William’s Town, Twain “kept a heavy platform schedule… through bad weather and good” without pause. By Sunday June 14, he had a day of rest. Ever the keen observer, Twain spent that day people-watching. He took particular interest in the local Xhosa men he saw in East London, observing their bearing and dress. As he had done with indigenous women in Bloemfontein, Twain made notes on the appearance of the “native males” – likely remarking on their dignified demeanor – which he would later weave into his travelogue (often with a mix of respect and the era’s prevailing biases)
With his Eastern Cape commitments fulfilled, Twain prepared to reunite with his family and head for the Cape Colony’s western metropole. However, travel logistics added one more Karoo adventure to his itinerary. The easiest route from East London to Port Elizabeth (where Livy and Clara were waiting) was by sea, but the harbor at East London was notoriously tricky – a shifting sandbar often prevented ships from entering or leaving in rough weather. Twain’s party boarded the Union Line steamer SS Norham Castle on June 15, hoping to sail that day . A tug ferried them out to the ship, but high seas delayed departure; they had to wait an extra day aboard at anchor . Finally, on June 16 at 6 PM, in Twain’s words, the “large & very fine ship” got underway, rolling through heavy swells as waves crashed over the breakwater in plumes “100 feet high” . Twain was undoubtedly relieved when the Norham Castle safely reached Port Elizabeth the next morning, June 17, 1896 .
In Port Elizabeth (the Eastern Province’s main port), Twain enjoyed a happy reunion with Livy and Clara at the Grand Hotel . He would spend over a week in “PE,” mixing downtime with a final round of Cape Colony performances. On the afternoon of his arrival, he sat for an extensive interview with the Eastern Province Herald, discussing his impressions of South Africa; the piece ran on June 19 . The Clemens family then settled into a more relaxed pace.
Twain wrote to his publisher friend Andrew Chatto on June 18, remarking that he saw British editions of his books advertised even in Cape Town papers . He also noted plans to sail for England on July 15 – the end of this long odyssey was now in sight.
Twain’s lectures in Port Elizabeth were scheduled for the following week. Three shows were planned, but the reception here proved mixed. By now, the novelty of Twain’s presence had slightly waned (PE had followed his travels via news for weeks), and the local press turned surprisingly critical. After Twain’s final Town Hall lecture on June 24, the newspapers delivered “decidedly negative” verdicts on his talks . Some felt his American frontier anecdotes did not land as well as on the page, or that his drawling delivery was an acquired taste. Twain, a veteran of occasional bad reviews, took it in stride. With no performances over the weekend (June 20–21), he likely took the family on sightseeing excursions around Algoa Bay . Notably, on June 19 news arrived of a tragedy at sea – the ship Drummond Castle had sunk off Mauritius with 400 lives lost – and flags in Port Elizabeth flew at half-mast . Twain mentioned the disaster in a June 19 letter to H.H. Rogers, though he was more occupied with news of his upcoming publishing deals in that correspondence .
This juxtaposition of global events and personal business in Twain’s letters is typical of his South African stay: even as he immersed himself in local happenings, his mind was never far from his family and his literary affairs back home.
On June 25, 1896, Mark Twain embarked on the last inland leg of his South African journey – a rail trip through the Great Karoo to the diamond city of Kimberley. Twain, Livy, Clara, and Smythe boarded a train in Port Elizabeth just before noon (11:50 AM) . The route they took was the Cape Government Railway’s main line, which wound through the vast Karoo desert toward the northwest. The pace was leisurely – the 106-mile branch to Grahamstown took the better part of the day, at an average of only 15 miles per hour. Twain didn’t mind; he gazed out the window at ostrich farms and dusty plains, watching flocks of the great birds strut in the fields as the train chugged along . After sunset, the train pulled into Grahamstown, a historic settler town, around 7 PM.
Though tired, Twain was met with warm hospitality in Grahamstown. An Irish parish priest greeted the arriving party at the station, ensuring they felt welcome . The next day, June 26, Twain was inducted into yet another gentlemen’s club – the Grahamstown Club – as an honorary member, sponsored by the town clerk and a local reverend . (By now, Twain had amassed a small collection of guest memberships at clubs across the country, a testament to his celebrity among the colonial elite.) He found the club lodgings far more restful than his hotel, and actually moved there after a sleepless night in a noisy inn . On June
27, Twain gave one last Karoo-region lecture at the Albany Drill Hall in Grahamstown .
Despite the town’s modest size, the event drew extraordinary fanfare – according to Grocott’s Penny Mail, one admirer traveled 400 miles just to hear Mark Twain speak This devotion greatly tickled Twain. He was nearing the end of his tour and to see such enthusiasm in a small South African town was gratifying. That evening’s performance went well, providing a triumphant coda to his travels in the Karoo and Eastern Cape.
The following morning – June 28, 1896 (Sunday) – Twain’s entourage left Grahamstown, catching the 11:40 AM train northward . Their next destination was the famous diamond-mining center of Kimberley, hundreds of miles away in the Cape’s northwest. To get there, they would traverse the full breadth of the Great Karoo.
The railway journey from Grahamstown to Kimberley was the longest continuous overland segment Twain undertook in Africa. The trip required an overnight run on sparsely populated tracks. The train likely passed through the rail junction of Cradock (in the Midlands Karoo) late on June 28, then carried on through the cold Karoo night. Twain’s diary humorously records one discomfort of this leg: “10 hours without a urinal. Damnation!” – a classic wry Twain complaint, scribbled after a night with no toilet facilities on board. Nonetheless, he endured the privations of Karoo travel with good humor.
On the morning of July 1, 1896, Twain arrived in Kimberley, the legendary Diamond City built atop the world’s richest diamond pipes. (It appears the train reached Kimberley sometime on June 30, and July 1 was his first full day there.) Twain was keenly interested in Kimberley’s diamond mines, which had captured the world’s imagination since their discovery in the 1870s.
He spent July 1 and 2 eagerly touring the mining operations. Guided by Mr. A. M. Robeson, an American engineer with De Beers Consolidated Mines, Twain visited the colossal open-pit mine known as the “Big Hole” .
He peered down into the vast chasm dug by hand in search of gems, and inspected that day’s haul of diamonds – his notebook records a day’s yield valued at $50,000 (though in Following the Equator he exaggerated it as $70,000) . The next day, Twain and his wife Livy (who was feeling well enough to join) donned hard hats to go underground in the Kimberley diamond works .
The Robesons escorted the Clemenses through the pulsating sorting rooms and the giant “pulsator” machines that separated diamonds from blue rock . Twain also paid a visit to the exclusive Kimberley Club, the gentleman’s club co-founded by magnate Cecil Rhodes. There, over brandy and cigars, Twain could mingle with mining commissioners and adventurers, swapping stories of Nevada silver mines and African diamond rushes.
Twain did not give any public lectures in Kimberley – this stop was purely touristical, a chance for him to witness the source of Africa’s mineral wealth firsthand. He was fascinated by the tales of diamond fever. In his later writings he recounted how even the dirt in Kimberley’s streets might contain hidden gems, relating an anecdote of a citywide “wash-up” where residents were allowed to pan the street sweepings for diamonds (and many were found) . He also heard colorful stories, such as one about a Boer farmer who unwittingly prevented a diamond theft decades earlier – Twain spoke with a man who had seen the original incident, which amused him greatly . These Kimberley impressions would find their way into Following the Equator’s chapters on South Africa, adding sparkle (literally and figuratively) to Twain’s narrative. By July 3, 1896, it was time for Mark Twain to head to his final South African destination: Cape Town. That evening at 8:30 PM, the Clemens family boarded a first-class carriage on the northbound Cape Town express . The railroad south of Kimberley ran straight through the Great Karoo, passing desolate plains and occasional farming villages.
On July 4, as fate would have it, Twain spent American Independence Day riding through the Karoo scrub. At 8 AM that morning, the train paused at Victoria West Road (now Hutchinson) – a tiny junction station 419 miles from Cape Town – giving Twain just enough time to scribble a postcard of July 4th salutations to a friend in Hartford . Perhaps he reflected wryly that this was his second Fourth of July in a row spent abroad (the previous year he marked it in Australia). By early the next day (July 5, 1896), the train pulled into Cape Town. Twain, Livy, and Clara stepped onto the platform at 7 AM, completing their cross-country trek . They had missed a grand Fourth of July banquet held the night before by American expatriates in Cape Town, but Twain didn’t mind – he was happy to have finally arrived at the Tavern of the Seas, the cape at the end of Africa.
Cape Town: The Final Stop and Farewell to Africa (July 1896)
Mark Twain’s ten days in Cape Town provided a lively finale to his African travels. He lodged at the Grand Hotel on Adderley Street, directly opposite the bustling railway terminus . Upon arrival, Twain asked the public to give him a short respite (“a rest before visitors and interviewers begin”), as reported by The Cape Times . Indeed, he was in “excellent health, indeed better health than he has had since he started” the tour, but he craved a bit of quiet.
That quiet didn’t last long – Cape Town’s press and high society were eager to meet the famous author. On July 7, The Cape Times ran a major interview titled “Mark Twain on Tour: Arrival in Cape Town – Observations and Comparisons”, in which Twain likely shared his views on the city and how it stacked up against other places he’d seen . He found Cape Town charming and its people hospitable.
One observer noted that Twain was struck by the sight of Table Mountain looming over the city and by the cosmopolitan mix of inhabitants at the docks and markets (Malay, European, African), though he also wryly commented on social peculiarities in the colony.
During his Cape Town stay, Twain mixed public appearances with private social calls. On July 8, he enjoyed a unique honor: dining with the military Governor at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town’s old Dutch fortress. General W. H. Goodenough hosted Twain for dinner, where Twain presented the General’s wife, Anna, with an inscribed photograph of himself (they had become acquainted on the voyage to South Africa) . Twain also received postcards from friends afar – Poultney Bigelow sent greetings from Delagoa Bay (Mozambique), tracing a crossing of paths that never quite reunited the two old comrades in Africa .
The centerpiece of Twain’s Cape Town visit was his lecture series at the end of the week. He had three nights booked at the 1,200-seat Opera House on Burg Street. On July 9, he took the stage for the first Cape Town “At Home” and played to a nearly full house . The cosmopolitan Cape audience – including British officials, Afrikaner intellectuals, and English-speaking locals – responded warmly to Twain’s humor. The Cape Argus praised the performance in a review, noting Twain’s unique brand of deadpan wit . The following night (July 10), Twain gave his second Opera House lecture, further delighting the crowds. He was even invited by the exclusive Owl Club of Cape Town (a literary society) to be guest of honor at their meeting the next Monday. Twain apologized that his schedule was so full, but promised to stop by briefly.
On July 11, Twain delivered his third and final Opera House show. This last Cape Town lecture was filled to “utmost capacity”, with every seat and standing-room spot occupied . It was a rousing success, serving as the culmination of his public talks in Africa. The South African Telegraph printed a glowing review on July 13, and several other newspapers ran articles celebrating Twain’s Cape Town appearances . With his formal duties done, Twain allowed himself a bit of sightseeing that Sunday (July 12). He and Livy took in the local attractions – possibly a carriage ride around Table Bay or a trip up to scenic Camp’s Bay – and Twain jotted down final notes for Following the Equator. (He later wrote about Cape Town’s picturesque blend of mountains and sea, and even recounted a humorous local legend about the origin of Table Mountain’s famous “tablecloth” of clouds .)
Mark Twain’s farewell to South Africa came on July 13, 1896. That evening, he made one last special appearance at a suburban venue: the Claremont Town Hall, about 7 miles outside Cape Town. There he gave an extra “At Home” lecture (essentially a repeat of his first-night program by popular demand). After this final show, Twain attended a dinner of the Owl Club at Roux’s Masonic Hall, where Cape Town’s literati toasted him. He enjoyed a convivial night, trading quips with local wits – a fitting sendoff for a man whose humor had bridged continents .
The next day, July 14, Twain indulged his curiosity by visiting the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town. He watched a debate from the distinguished visitors’ gallery, though The Owl (a satirical paper) later joked that Twain appeared “bored” by the colonial legislature’s proceedings. It seems even Mark Twain found parliament less exciting than the open road.
On the afternoon of July 15, 1896, Mark Twain and his family boarded the steamer SS Norman in Cape Town harbor, bound for England . At 4 PM the ship weighed anchor. Twain stood on deck as the Cape of Good Hope receded from view, marking the end of his seven-week sojourn in South Africa . The tour manager Carlyle Smythe parted ways here (returning to Australia), while the Clemenses continued on to London . Twain’s world tour – begun almost exactly one year earlier in July 1895 – was over.
He had come to South Africa first and foremost as a lecturer seeking financial salvation, but he left with far more than a healthier bank account. His journey through the Karoo and the colonies had provided rich material for reflection. Twain’s encounters with Boer and Briton, African and Afrikaner, veld and city, all found their way into the final chapters of Following the Equator. In that book, Twain does not merely recount his travel itinerary; he also offers trenchant commentary on the ironies of colonial rule, the follies of racial prejudice, and the shared humanity he observed in this complex country. As he famously wrote, “Travel is
fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness”, and Twain’s own prejudices were certainly challenged and broadened by his South African experience.
Focus on the Karoo: Twain’s Observations and Experiences
Although Mark Twain’s South African tour encompassed major coastal cities and mining centers, he was especially intrigued by the Karoo, the inland semi-desert that was unlike any landscape he had seen before. The Karoo’s vastness and solitude made a deep impression on him. Crossing it by train, he repeatedly marveled at the scenery and the conditions of travel. In letters and later writings, Twain praised the Cape railway system that carried him across the Karoo: “Easy riding, fine cars, all the conveniences, thorough cleanliness, [and] comfortable beds” were provided on the night trains . This was high praise from a man
who had seen the worst of 19th-century travel; the orderly Cape Colony coaches contrasted sharply with, say, the bumpy ox-cart roads of India that Twain had endured months earlier. (To be sure, he did grumble about minor inconveniences – his notebook’s exasperated “Damnation!” at a lack of toilet facilities during an overnight Karoo stint attests that not every need was met on the train.)
Overall, though, the journey across the Karoo was a pleasant surprise for Twain. The cool, clear Karoo winter air invigorated him after the tropics, and he found the emptiness oddly peaceful. In Following the Equator, he emphasizes the “sober beauty” of the winter veld, aligning it with Olive Schreiner’s evocative literary depictions . Twain had familiarized himself with the Karoo region even before setting foot there, largely through the works of Olive Schreiner – a South African novelist who grew up on a Karoo farm. Schreiner’s The Story of an African Farm (1883) was a groundbreaking novel set in the Karoo, and Twain was an admirer. In fact, he jotted the title in his notebook while still in New Zealand in 1895, intending to read it before arriving in Africa . By the time he reached the Karoo, Twain felt he already knew it, thanks to Schreiner. In Cradock on June 29, he learned that this very town had been Schreiner’s home “off and on,” and remarked that she was considered “the best-known woman in Africa.” Her perspective clearly informed his own.
“In some measure Mark Twain saw South Africa through her eyes as he had seen India through Rudyard Kipling’s,” one commentator noted . Twain himself acknowledged that Schreiner’s portrayal of Boer life was accurate and fair: “she would not be accused of sketching the Boer’s portrait with an unfair hand,” he wrote.
One of Twain’s most memorable Karoo encounters was his brief stop in Cradock, a small Karoo town, on June 29. Here, with a free day between trains, Twain immersed himself in the local scene. He stayed at the cozy Victoria Hotel, where (as the Midland News reported) the American author devoured the latest
dispatches from the ongoing Matabele uprising in Rhodesia . The Second Matabele War was then raging far to the north, and colonial papers were printing daily telegrams about battles. Twain read reports of British forces firing Maxim guns at rebels and noted a curious pattern. He wryly remarked to the Midland
News reporter in Cradock: “Strange, how that number, 2,000 natives, recurs in every telegram. Never more — never less!” . This sardonic comment – highlighting how every skirmish report claimed exactly 2,000 African fighters were involved – showed Twain’s skepticism of jingoistic journalism. The local newspaperman enjoyed a “long and enjoyable chat” with Twain, finding him keenly interested in Colonial history, Boer-Uitlander relations, and indigenous customs.
Here was Mark Twain the social observer, as much as Mark Twain the entertainer. The interview appeared in the Midland News and Karroo Farmer on June 30, spreading Twain’s quips and insights to readers across the Karoo. In the Karoo, Twain also gained firsthand insight into Boer culture and the realities of farm life.
In Following the Equator, he includes a comedic vignette set on a Karoo farm (he names the farmer “Mynheer Stinkum” in jest). With deadpan delivery, Twain describes a hallmark annoyance of summer on the veld: “flies prevailed in fearful swarms in the abodes of the Boers, attracted thither by the smell of meat” . This wry observation alludes to the Boer practice of hanging butchered meat in the house (for lack of refrigeration), resulting in inevitable fly infestations. Twain exaggerated the scene for comic effect, imagining a veritable plague of flies – an image sure to elicit chuckles from readers who knew rural life. Such anecdotes showed Twain’s ability to find humor in the mundane and to caricature his hosts with a largely affectionate tone.
While he noticed the less charming aspects of the Karoo (dust, drought, and droning insects), he balanced them with appreciation for Boer hospitality and resilience. He heard stories of legendary Boer generosity – one tale he relays is of a Boer family who welcomed a traveling English bishop with lavish kindness, an anecdote Twain cites to affirm that “the Boers were justly noted for their hospitality.”
Through Twain’s eyes, the Karoo emerges as a land of hardy people and stark beauty. He clearly felt a kinship with the independent, frontier-minded Boer farmers, despite differences in language and culture.Their dour Calvinism and his freethinking humor might have seemed an odd match, yet Twain often sympathized with the underdog. His private notes reveal contempt for the arrogance of some British colonials and admiration for Boer frankness and courage (sentiments he would later make public in essays like “Stirring Times in Austria” and other anti-imperialist writings). In 1896, South Africa was on the cusp of great conflict – the Anglo-Boer War loomed just a few years away. Twain’s Karoo interlude gave him a nuanced perspective on those antagonists: he had dined with English colonials in clubrooms, but also broken bread under the same stars that Boer farmers prayed beneath.
This balanced experience is reflected in his famous character sketch of Cecil Rhodes (whom Twain never met but felt he understood).
Twain dubbed Rhodes “an Archangel with a prodigious tail of Mephistopheles trailing behind him” – half visionary, half scoundrel . It was a description that could apply, in Twain’s mind, to the dual nature of imperial ventures in Africa, and it sprang from the complex impressions he gathered during his travels.
In sum, Mark Twain’s time in the Karoo
– though just a portion of his South African journey – was richly formative. He absorbed the Karoo’s natural splendor, remarking that the winter dusk on the veld held a serene enchantment he would never forget . He engaged with Karoo communities from Grahamstown to Cradock, leaving behind delighted audiences and gaining in return a trove of anecdotes and insights. He saw the humor and humanity in Karoo life: laughing at the plagues of flies and lack of modern amenities, yet respecting the fortitude of people who thrived in such a harsh environment. These experiences in the Karoo heartland added depth and realism to the chapters on South Africa in Following the Equator. When Twain later recounted climbing aboard his ship in Cape Town and gazing one last time at Table Mountain, he carried with him the dust, color, and character of the Karoo. As he sailed north toward Europe, he surely reflected that this wild corner of Africa – which he’d known first only through a novelist’s words – had now become a part of his own story.
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