The Covenant (2 page)

All of which shows that he was human.

But still, what a remarkable man.

Michener possessed an incomparable ability to simultaneously
enthrall, entertain, and inform. Nobody else could write a two-hundred-word sentence with such grace and style. And he chose his subjects with great care: the South Pacific (
Tales of the South Pacific, Return to Paradise
), Judaism (
The Source
), South Africa (
The Covenant
), the West Indies (
Caribbean
), the American West (
Centennial
), the Chesapeake Bay (
Chesapeake
),
Texas, Alaska
, Spain (
Iberia
),
Mexico, Poland
, the Far East.

Like millions of other readers, I loved them all.

I never met James Michener. I would have loved to tell him how he sparked the imagination of a sixteen-year-old boy, which led first to a lifelong love of reading, then to a career as a writer. When, in 1990, I decided to write my first novel, it was Michener who influenced me most. By the end of that decade, though, changes had firmly begun to take hold. Today you won’t encounter many two-hundred-word sentences or millennia-long sagas involving hundreds of characters. Instead, in the twenty-first century, story, prose, and purpose are expected to be tight. In the Internet age—with video games, twenty-four-hour news, streaming movies, you name it—there is just little time for thousand-page epics. Toward the end of his life Michener gave an interview in which he doubted he would have ever been published if he’d first started in that environment.

Thank goodness he came along when he did.

Now his stories can live forever.

Mr. Errol L. Uys, a distinguished South African editor and journalist now living in the United States, was exceedingly helpful in the preparation of this manuscript. With a rare understanding of his birthplace and its people, he was able to clarify historical and social factors which an outsider might misinterpret, to correct verbal usage, and to verify data difficult to check. Working together for two years, we read the finished manuscript together seven times, twice aloud, a most demanding task. I thank him for his assistance.

J
AMES
A. M
ICHENER
St. Michaels, Md.
Christmas 1979

On my latest visit to South Africa, I was treated with invariable courtesy, and when it became known that I intended writing about the country, my phone rang daily with offers of assistance, erudite information and untrammeled discussion. When I returned to my hotel at night people waited to discuss points with me, and others offered me trips to places I would not otherwise have seen. This was true of all sectors of the society: black, Coloured, Indian, Afrikaner and English. The number of those to whom I am indebted reaches the hundreds; the following were especially helpful:

General:
Philip C. Bateman, a free-lance writer with commendable books to his credit, spent seven weeks guiding me through his country on my hard-research trip. We traveled about five thousand miles, during which he introduced me to most of the experts cited below. I could not have done my work without his informed and congenial guidance.

Diamonds:
John Wooldridge, Barry Hawthorne, Alex Hall, George Louw, Dr. Louis Murray of De Beers. Peter van Blommestein took me deep into the mines. I was unusually privileged to spend a morning with Lou Botes, a lonely old-time digger still operating in the Kimberley area, and to share an afternoon with J. S. Mills at his modern operation. Historian Derek Schaeffer was of great assistance, and Jack Young spent a day explaining how diamonds are moved through the market. Dr. John Gurney, head of Kimberlite Research Unit, University of Cape Town, checked details most helpfully. Dr. John A. Van Couvering, American Museum of Natural History, brought recent theories to my attention.

Early Man:
Professor Philip Tobias allowed me to spend a day with him at one of his archaeological sites, and Alun Hughes showed me fossils of the great finds. Dr. C. K. Brain, director of the Transvaal Museum, was most helpful. Professor Nikolaas van der Merwe, head of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town, organized an extensive field trip in conjunction with his associate Janette Deacon and others. At the Africana Museum, Johannesburg, Mrs. L. J. De Wet and Hilary Bruce assisted me regarding San (Bushman) materials. Johannes Oberholzer, director of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, spent long hours sharing his conclusions.

Zimbabwe:
Curator Peter Wright spent two days instructing me in the intricacies of the monument. Professor Tom Huffman, head of Archaeology of Witwatersrand University, was invaluable in explaining concepts.

Cape Settlement:
Dr. Anna Böeseken, the nation’s foremost woman scholar, was most helpful both in verbal instruction and in her remarkable printed materials. Numerous Dutch and Indonesian officials instructed me as to operations in Java. Officials of the government of Malaya helped me regarding Malacca. Peter Klein, Rotterdam, offered expert help on the V.O.C. James Klosser and Arthur Doble took me on an extensive field trip of Table Mountain. Dr. I. Norwich showed me his collection of early maps. Christine Van Zyl took me on a tour of Groot Constantia and the Koopmans de Wet Museum. Victor de Kock, former chief archivist, helped. Professor Eric Axelson, distinguished expert on early history, provided numerous insights.

Huguenots:
Mrs. Elizabeth le Roux of Fransch Hoek and Dr. Jan P. van Doorn of Den Haag helped with summarizing data. Jan Walta spent three days showing me the Huguenot memorials in Amsterdam. The proprietors of two historical vineyards, Mr. and Mrs. Nico Myburgh of Meerlust, and Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Krone of Twee Jonge Gezellen, Tulbagh, were unusually hospitable and informative. Professor M. Boucher, Department of History, University of South Africa, provided comment which helped.

Trekboers:
Gwen Fagan organized a memorable trek to Church Street, Tulbagh (Land van Waveren). Colin Cochrane spent a day re-creating the old glories of Swellendam. Dr. Jan Knappert, London
School of Oriental Studies, gave me valuable perspectives. Dr. D. J. van Zyl, head of History, University of Stellenbosch, offered valued criticism.

Mfecane:
Dr. Peter Becker was generous with his time and insights. In 1971 I met with various Zulu leaders during an extensive tour of Zululand.

Great Trek:
Professor C. F. J. Muller, leading expert, shared his ideas generously. Dr. Willem Punt, Sheila Henderson, Professor Jack Gledhill, Grahamstown, who is writing a biography of Piet Retief, discussed details.

Salisbury and Old Sarum:
Mrs. J. Llewellyn-Lloyd, Surrey.

Oriel College:
Donald Grubin, a student of that college.

Afrikaners:
P. J. Wassenaar; Professor Geoffrey Opland; Brand Fourie. Martin Spring was especially kind in discussing his book on South African–United States confrontation; Colin Legum; Harry Oppenheimer; The Honorable John Vorster, who spent an hour with me in forthright discussion; Jan Marais, member of Parliament, who entertained me socially and intellectually. Dr. Albert Hertzog spent a long evening sharing his views.

The English:
Dr. Eily Gledhill, Grahamstown, took me on an extended field trip to sites of the Xhosa wars. Professor Guy Butler, Rhodes University, was unusually keen. Dr. Mooneen Buys of the De Beers staff discussed her doctoral thesis with me while curators of the Rhodes material provided insights, records and photographs. Professor P. H. Kapp, head of History, Rand Afrikaans University, checked the missionary section.

Black Life:
I made continuous effort to meet with and understand black spokesmen. Some, like Bloke Modisane the writer, were in exile in London. Others, like the gifted social analyst Ben Magubane, of the University of Connecticut, were pursuing their careers outside South Africa; I spent three days with Magubane and he commented sharply on the Shaka chapter. Sheena Duncan was most helpful. Credo Mutwa showed me his witch doctor’s establishment. Justice A. R. “Jaap” Jacobs of Northern Cape District advised me. I spent five different days in Soweto, three under government supervision,
two at night on my own. During these visits I met with many black leaders, those supporting government policies and those who were determined to end them.

Indian Community:
I was able to visit various sites at which Indian merchants were being removed from areas reserved for whites. In Durban, I met with leaders of the Indian community to discuss these measures. Also A. R. Koor, Fordsburg.

Coloured Communities:
My contacts were frequent, especially in Cape Town, where Brian Rees and Paul Andrews showed me squatter areas, in which I visited shacks and held discussions.

Boer War:
Fiona Barbour, ethnologist at the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, Kimberley, analyzed the battlefields; Benjamin and Eileen Christopher conducted a two-day inspection of Spion Kop, Blaauwkrantz and the historical riches of Ladysmith; Major Philip Erskine, Stellenbosch, showed me his extraordinary collection of relics, including much material on General Buller.

Concentration Camps:
Mrs. Johanna Christina Mulder, who survived the Standerton Camp, was wonderfully helpful; Johan Loock of the University of the Orange Free State provided much useful information.

Banning:
In London, I spent an afternoon with Father Cosmos Desmond, who had just finished a protracted spell of banning. In 1971 I met with four banned persons, two white and two black. In 1978 I spent a morning with Reverend Beyers Naudé.

Sports:
Morné du Plessis, major rugby star was most helpful; Louis Wessels, editor of a major sports magazine; Dawie de Villiers, famous Springbok captain (1971); Gary Player, with whom I had an extensive discussion in America.

Mining:
I am especially indebted to Norman Kern, who spent a day showing me the deepest levels of the gold mines at Welkom.

Animals:
Graeme Innes gave me three days of personal touring in Kruger National Park; Nick Steele showed me Hluhluwe and arranged for me to visit Umfolozi. Ken Tindley, a South African naturalist in charge of Gorongoza in Moçambique, allowed me to work with him for a week. John Owen and Miles Turner gave me unequaled aerial tours of Serengeti.

Vrymeer:
I am particularly indebted to A. A. “Tony” Rajchrt, who allowed me to inspect in great detail his farm at Chrissiesmeer, its operation, its chain of lakes and herd of blesbok.

Various scholars honored me by consenting to read chapters which impinged on their fields of specialization. I sought their harshest criticism and welcomed their suggestions. Where error was identified, I made corrections, but where interpretation was concerned, I sometimes ignored advice. No error which remains can be charged to anyone but me.

For each chapter, I consulted most of the available historical studies and found a wealth of material. Some of it substantiated what I wrote; some contested it. Since many biographers of Cecil Rhodes gloss over or suppress his embarrassment with the Princess Radziwill, I was left with only three accounts: two brief statements by two of his young men, and one excellent full-scale treatment by Brian Roberts:
Cecil Rhodes and the Princess
.

I wrote the brief segment in
Chapter XIV
concerning Cambridge University two years before the unmasking of Sir Anthony Blunt as the notorious “fourth man.” My own inquiries had led me to his trail, or to that of someone exactly like him.