The Talks Start

In many Boer homes, talk of moving away from the 'Kaffirs' (kafir - Arabic for 'unbeliever') and the English increased. The Boers could not move further east but there was frequent talk of an empty country to the north.

This country was not unknown. For many years, traders and hunters had crossed the Orange River into TransOrangia. One intrepid Afrikaner - Coenraad Buys - who had fallen foul of the law, had trekked all the way up to the northern Transvaal with his assorted wives, children and some English deserters. These 'Buys Volk' were known to have settled in lush, well-watered country in which their descendents live today.

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