Hills moonlights as a chicken farmer
“For the latter portion of my residence in Pretoria, I stayed with the Bosmans, who ran a small boarding house."
Part 41 in our series on William Hills
William Hills’ labours in Pretoria in 1898 were not always concerned with the Press or the great, he wrote in articles about his life as a journalist.
“For the latter portion of my residence in Pretoria, I stayed with the Bosmans, who ran a small boarding house in Schoeman Street (now Frances Baard Street).
“There was a fair amount of vacant land at the back of the house, and Abram Bosman and I decided to carve our way to fortune by rearing poultry and selling eggs in addition to our ordinary avocations.
“We decided to start with nine hens and eagerly awaited the arrival of the crate.
“The crate duly arrived and the birds released into the run, but there seemed to be something wrong.
“Far from displaying a Rotary spirit, the fowls appeared more anxious to ‘scrap’ with each other.”
He and his partner began to have doubts about the sex of the birds.
On the arrival of an expert, they found there were nine roosters and three laying hens.
Bosman was sent to buy hens at the market to increase the female population of the run.
“Although we had plenty of customers for eggs at 2s 6d per dozen or more and got rid of the plethora of roosters for eating purposes, the eggs failed to materialise in sufficient numbers.
“My vision of thousands of hens working overtime to provide thousands of eggs at a substantial profit to the owner faded out, and as I was appointed war correspondent to proceed at once to Magatoland, I had to retire from the poultry business.”
“When I woke up on Tuesday, November 8, 1898, I had no idea that by the following morning I should be en route for Magatoland (in the Soutpansberg in the extreme north of the South African Republic).
Soon after reaching the Pretoria News office that morning, he was told he was wanted at once by the newspaper’s owner Leo Weinthal.
“It was evident he had something on his mind, and I was not long left in suspense,” Hills said.
Weinthal wanted Hills to cover the burgher forces’ campaign to deal with the “Mphefu trouble,” as a special war correspondent. (Article: Carol Stier).
Next time: Hills becomes a war correspondent
ALSO READ: Part 27 in our series on William Hills: Hills helps to start a newspaper
ALSO READ: Part 28 in our series on William Hills: A call on the president
