Hans Justus Thode (1859-1932), pioneer plant collector in the Natal Drakensberg

An account is given of the life of Hans Justus Thode (1859-1932) from the time of his arrival in Cape Town in 1885 or 1886 until his death in Durban in 1932. Thode was the pioneer plant collector of the Natal Drakensberg, but also collected wider afield in all four provinces of the Republic. His contributions to South African botany are assessed.


INTRODUCTION
As a student of the flora of the Natal Drakens berg, it was perhaps inevitable that the author should become interested in the life of Hans Justus Thode ( Fig. 1), pioneer plant collector of the Drakensberg and the first to describe its vegetation.
The author was fortunate in obtaining a number of Thode's personal papers, some from Miss M. D. Gunn, former librarian of the Botanical Research Institute, and some from Mr R. G. Strey, Curator of the Natal Herbarium. Otherwise, research on Thode would have been extremely difficult because, from all accounts, he was a retiring and uncom municative person, who rarely spoke of himself.

BIRTHPLACE
Thode was born in 1859 probably in Germany. His death notice (Estate No. 18272, Master's Office, Pietermaritzburg), gives his nationality as Swiss, but all evidence points to a German origin. All the people contacted, who knew Thode, accepted him as German without question. Amongst his manuscripts is a poem entitled "All Red" obviously written during or about the time of World War I. The poem is strongly anti-British and would hardly have been written by a Swiss, even a German Swiss. In an article entitled "Journeys in the South African Mountains", Thode refers to the " Riesengebirge at home". The Riesengebirge or Giant Mountains lie between Dresden and Breslau (Wroclaw), in what was formerly Silesia in Germany, but is now in Poland.
According to Mr H. Struck of Draycott, Natal, during World War I Thode gave the authorities to understand that he was Swiss in order to escape possible internment. This may account for the Swiss nationality given on his death notice.
Thode had four sisters and one brother. The one sister Alwine Margarethe Sophie married Carl Alexander Hammer, a storekeeper who, according to Mr H. Zunckel of Bergville, lived at Oliviershoek. In the death notice of this sister, the birthplace is given as Germany. Another sister, Sylvia, married a Mr Mummbrauer of Noodsberg. The two remaining sisters lived in Germany, the one Mrs Kate Putz in Munich and the other Mrs Suzanna Saphir in Leipzig. The brother Felix emigrated to Australia. Mrs Kate Putz's daughter-in-law, Mrs Emmy Putz, claims that she remembers seeing a baptism certi ficate which indicated that Kate Putz (nee Thode) was born in Manchester, England (letter from Dr A. Schreiber, Munich, to Miss M. D. Gunn, 19th August 1966).
To make tracing of Thode's birthplace even more difficult there are suggestions that Thode changed his name on arrival in South Africa. According to Mrs H. Mummbrauer of San Francisco, U.S.A., he was originally called Freylinghausen, while according to Mr Erich Mummbrauer of Bronkhorstspruit, his real name was Von Ettinghausen. Mr Mummbrauer stated that Thode came of military stock but, because of his love of botany, rejected a military carreer and emigrated to South Africa changing his name at the same time. However, no evidence to support these statements has been found.

ARRIVAL A N D SOJOURN IN CAPE
In Table 1 Thode's collections from 1886-1906 are listed chronologically. The first collection is dated January 1886-December 1887. From this it would appear that Thode must have arrived in Cape Town in 1885 or early 1886. Why he chose to come to South Africa is not known. While in the south western Cape he collected intensively and made notes on the Cape flora. He published his observations under the title " Die vier Jahreszeiten am Cap" in a series of articles in Natuurwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift (1892).

DRAKENSBERG A ND SUBSEQUENT YEARS
In 1890 Thode "first set foot on the blessed soil of fair Natal." Between May and October 1890 he collected along the coast of Natal, but then set off for the "majestic range of the Kathlambe or Drakens berg, which has irresistably attracted and again and again induced me to climb its lofty heights". In the middle of October 1890 he travelled by train to Estcourt, a 10-hour journey, and saw for the first time in the distance the still partly snow-clad Drakensberg. Thode writes: "There it was lying in front of me, the goal of my long cherished dreams and expectations, the rarely visited and little known, almost mythical realm of clouds, once the retreat of robbing Bushmen, whose curious paintings can still be found in many a cave below the cliffs of the river valleys; now a sphere of solitude still unviolated by the devastating activities of man. What an inex pressible incentive to be the first explorer of this terra incognita, to open this veiled enchanted country to investigating science and to return with trophies of its interesting flora in the form of many a plant still undescribed." Medley Wood, the Curator of the Natal Herbarium, tried to dissuade Thode from exploring the Drakensberg, pointing out that the mountains were infested with hostile Basothos. This in no way deterred Thode.
He then travelled to the Empangweni Mission (maintained by the Berlin Mission Society), which he had chosen as his "fixed quarters", because of its fairly close proximity to the mountains. His first Drakensberg expedition (29th October 1890) was to Cathkin Peak and Champagne Castle. Unfortunately inclement weather and recalcitrant Bantu bearers prevented him from climbing either of these peaks. Champagne Castle had been successfully climbed two years earlier by the Stocker brothers. Thode described this trip in great detail in a published news paper article and mentioned some of the more striking plants he encountered. Presumably, his haul of plant specimens was considerable.
A succession of expeditions followed, details of which are given in Table 2.
To enable Thode to pursue his botanical interests, he became a tutor at mission schools and on farms, some situated close to the Drakensberg. He would advertise his services in newspapers. The following is an advertisement found amongst his papers: "Teacher, elderly, ample experience and qualifications desires re-engagement as tutor on farm (Natal or Cape). All standards, Afrikaans, music, etc. Salary £5 p.m. Numerous references." Thode would spend some time in one area and having exhausted it botanically, would take up a post in another area. This was the pattern of his existence to the end.
Thode sent most of his collections to Dr Adolf Engler of the Berlin Herbarium, but apparently did not make much out of his collections financially. Prof. A. W. Bayer (letter of 3rd June 1965) writes that "Thode was convinced that science was to serve mankind and that it was quite wrong for anyone to receive payment or to make money from scientific work". H. Bolus in a letter to A. W. Hill at Kew (26th August 1908) describes Thode as "too peculiar to be hired himself". According to Prof. Bayer, Thode would bring his specimens to Illings Store at Ladysmith and this firm would pack and despatch them to Berlin. By 1894 he had collected to such an extent and seen so much of Natal that he was able to publish an article in Bot. Jahrb. 18, Beibl. 3, 43: 14-45 (1894) describing very accurately the botanical regions of Natal.
In 1930 Markotter published a list of plants collected by Thode at Witzieshoek, Oliviershoek Pass and Koolhoek. These collections cover the period 1891 to 1914, consequently Thode must have spent a considerable time in that area. At Oliviershoek he presumably stayed on occasions with his sister Alwine, whose husband C. A. Hammer had a store there. At Witzieshoek it is known that he often stayed with the Rev. Ross, a missionary, and at "Koolhoek" (Fig. 2)  To gain some idea of Thode's movements between 1908 and 1920 the writer visited the Stellenbosch Herbarium, which contains 6309 of his specimens, and scanned as many of the specimens as possible in the time available, obtaining localities and dates from the labels. Judging from the consecutiveness of some of the dates, it would appear that Thode had several fixed bases during this period. These were apparently: "Sweet Home" (Krantzkop), Sept. 1910-Sept. 1911: "Warrock" (26 km west of Lady smith), Oct. 1911-March 1913"Scottspoort" (near Weenen), Oct. 1913-March 1914Empangweni Mis sion (near Loskop), Nov. 1914-Jan. 1915Shakas-kraal, April 1914-Sept. 1916 and finally "Yorkshire Wolds" (near Rosetta), Aug.-Nov. 1918. If more specimens had been examined, the periods might have proved to be longer.
Many other localities were noted, some being near the bases already mentioned. It is clear that Thode paid regular visits to southern Natal between 1908 and 1920: there are numerous and sometimes annual collections from "Friedenau", Kenterton, "Moyeni", St Michael's Mission, Oribi Flats, Marburg, Ivunga River, Beach Terminus and Park Rynie. It is likely that Thode visited H. Rudatis and stayed with him on his farm "Umgai". There was certainly contact between Thode and Rudatis, because some of Thode's specimens are marked "ex herb. Rudatis".
In 1911 Thode visited the Transvaal and collected in Pretoria and Heidelberg and in early 1918 he travelled to the Cape and collected at Worcester, Laingsburg, Montagu, Beaufort West and Matjiesfontein. In 1919 he crossed into Pondoland and collected in the vicinity of the Mzamba River. In 1920 he again visited the Transvaal collecting in Pretoria and Rustenburg.
In 1920 Thode was tutor on the farm "Altemooi" belonging to Mr Adrian Daneel. "Altemooi" is situated about 19 km SE of Wakkerstroom and 20 km N of Utrecht. He taught the Daneel children, as well as those of Mr H. Repsold of the farm "Tweekloof" next door. The portait of Thode ( Fig. 1) was given to the author by Mrs Elizabeth Rachel Kritzinger (nee Daneel), one of Thode's pupils. Thode stayed at "Altemooi" for two years, then apparently moved to "Tweekloof" for another two years. Many of Thode's specimens (1920)(1921)(1922)(1923)(1924) were collected on the farm "Kaffirdrift", another farm belonging to Mr Repsold.
Thode's movements from 1924 to 1931 have been traced by examining the accession book in the National Herbarium, Pretoria, and then getting dates from his specimens in the herbarium (there are 2859 Thode specimens in PRE). In this way Table 3 was compiled. From Table 3 it will be seen that Thode spent a considerable time in the Cape and Transvaal.
In 1925-1926 he was tutor on Mr James Trollip's farm "Glen Makopo", Hobhouse, in the district of Thaba Nchu, Orange Free State.  Eventually, on 3rd May 1934, the Division of Botany offered £36 and this was accepted by the Administrators. There were three or four duplicates of each specimen, so the collection was made up into three sets, one for the Natal Herbarium, one for the National Herbarium, Pretoria, and one for Kew. The specimens were numbered Al, A2, etc. to avoid confusion with his other collections. Unfor tunately Thode did not adopt a system of continuous consecutive numbering. This collection was mainly of Transvaal and Cape plants (see Table 3, which was based on this collection). The large wooden trunk in which Thode stored his specimens and other effects, is still in the Natal Herbarium, Durban. Thode's personal effects, beds and odds and ends, were left to his sister Mrs Alwine Hammer of 340 Vause Road, Durban. Some of his books were sold by M. Thompson & Co., auctioneers, for 4/6d.

THODE, THE MAN
Fortunately the author was able to contact four of Thode's past pupils, namely Mr Erich Mummbrauer formerly of the farm "Kronsberg", Noodsberg, in Natal, Mr C. J. Cronje formerly of the farm "Koolhoek" near Memel in the Orange Free State, Mrs E. R. Kritzinger (nee Daneel) formerly of the farm "Altemooi" near Utrecht in Natal and Mrs Lorna Grove (nee Trollip) formerly of the farm "Glen Makopa", Hobhouse, in the Orange Free State.
Discussions with these people revealed a remarkably similar memory of the man. Thode clearly left a lasting impression on them. He was slightly built with a moustache and small beard. He always wore a brown suit buttoned to the top with a widebrimmed hat or helmet on his head. His plant press was slung high up on his shoulders. He was short sighted and wore thick spectacles. Thode was an excellent pianist, being passionately fond of Beethoven. He showed little patience with his pupils if they played incorrect notes. Mr Cronje relates how when the family received visitors the children would be asked to play the piano. When a mistake was made, Thode would storm over to the piano and correct the young pianist. The Cronjes asked him to desist from this practice, so on similar occasions when mistakes were made, Thode would walk agitatedly around the room pretending to put all the pictures straight.
He seems to have been an accomplished poet (there are several unpublished poems amongst his papers) and was very fond of the works of Goethe.
He had a good knowledge of the classics as the following incident will show. Mr Heinz Lorenz a former pupil of Thode's at Empangweni Mission School told Mr R. G. Strey of the Natal Herbarium that Thode once taught chemistry and physics at a school in Pietermaritzburg. In the neighbouring classroom the headmaster was giving a lesson in Latin. Thode overhead him incorrectly quoting some Latin verse or prose. When the headmaster a few minutes later left the classroom for some reason or other, Thode quickly nipped into the classroom and corrected the offending quotation on the blackboard. On his return, the headmaster was furious that the quotation had been corrected and promptly sacked Thode.
Mr E. Mummbrauer recalls that after dinner Thode would retire to his room and could be heard walking aroung the room conducting an imaginary orchestra.
Apparently he never rode on horseback, but used horses for carrying his equipment.
Thode was fond of good food, but disliked Mrs Lorenz's "Mehlklosse". According to Mr H. Struck of Draycott, Thode would sometimes outstay his welcome on the farm and stay for weeks and weeks. The only way to get rid of him was to put sago pudding regularly on the table.
Mr Struck tells of an incident when Thode went visiting the Zunckels in the Bergville area. To get to the Zunckels, Thode had to cross a river in full spate. He took off his clothes, tied them into a bundle and started to ford the river. Unfortunately the current was strong and he slipped, losing his clothes in the process. Mr Struck describes the amusing sight of Thode running from tree to tree to hide his nakedness and when near the Zunckel homestead being spotted by the children, who ran i idoors shouting "There is a naked man outside".
Thode was no respecter of authority. This is amply shown in a letter he wrote to the permit secretary in Durban. He castigated him for his lack of knowledge of geography and ended off with some incredibly rude remarks. He was most indignant when learning from Mr Sydney Barnes, the first conservator of the Drakensberg Game Reserve that he would have to pay 6d per day for each of his party i.e. for himself, Bantu and horse. He wrote: "The Government, or rather the Forestry Depart ment, under whose supervision the Game Reserve is kept, should know best why and for what purpose such an absurd system of (taxation) pillaging travellers has been introduced . . . for our legislators seem too fond of indulging in measures, the wisdom of which is shrouded in mystery quite impenetrable to ordinary common sense".
He was obviously a man with a short temper. Prof. A. W. Bayer (letter to author, 3rd June 1965) tells the story of a collecting trip by ox-wagon made by Thode with Rudolf Schlechter (probably between June and October 1893). Schlechter was apparently rather strict with his Bantu servants and one morning they found that the servants had deserted. After  breakfast, they proceeded to break up camp and to round up and inspan the oxen. Schlechter then picked up the driver's whip and announced to Thode "I will drive; you can voorloop". Thode was so annoyed at this brusque instruction that he went up to the wagon, took his rucksack, turned his back on Schlechter and disappeared into the bush.
His second paper, "Die vier Jahreszeiten am Cap" (1892) showed a surprising knowledge of the south-west Cape flora after only a short period of residence there. Thode described the four seasons of the Cape and related them to the flora; he com mented on the effect of fire on fynbos; he mentioned the exploitation of the flora and urged that con servation measures be adopted.
In 1894 he published "Die botanische Hohenregionen Natals", an accurate picture of altitudinal zonation of vegetation in Natal. This paper stamps Thode as a competent plant geographer. His description of the vegetation of the Natal Drakens berg is the first on record and is extremely accurate as to detail.
In 1901 he published "The botanical regions of Natal determined by altitude". This represents a condensed version of his 1894 paper, translated into English and read before the Durban Field Naturalists' Society on 16th May 1901.
The remaining papers were descriptions of new species.
In conclusion, it may be said that Thode's contributions to South African botany were considerable, especially if it is realized that he was an amateur botanist, attached to no institution, with no library facilities and collecting in remote areas often never collected before. Bolus in writing to A. W. Hill at Kew (26th August 1905) described Thode as "wanting in systematic effort and regularity, and so has not done all he might have done". This is a somewhat harsh judgement, but Bolus does concede that "he has written some valuable papers on the flora of that region".

LOCATION OF CERTAIN THODE COLLECTING LOCALITIES
Taxonomists have frequently found difficulty in locating some of Thode's localities. This is partly due to Thode's frequent use of farm names. To assist taxonomists, the exact location of some of the "problem" localities is given in Table 4.

ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to Miss M. D. Gunn for having done some of the spadework in this research and for her continued interest in its progress. Thanks are also due to Miss E. Hagedorn for translating some of the original manuscripts from German to English.