This work on the pioneering history of the Boers in the Cape Colony (South Africa) before the Great Trek (1835-1846) is primarily based on research in various archives and libraries. However, the author PJ van der Merwe (1912-1979) found it desirable to personally visit different areas mentioned in the book to get to know the country and the people better and to gather oral tradition and personal information.
In carrying out this fieldwork during 1938 and 1939, the author covered 15,000 miles by car and questioned hundreds of people (old pioneers, farmers, teachers, magistrates, school inspectors, livestock inspectors, surveyors and police agents). This investigation not only enabled him to better interpret the sometimes fragmentary data found in the archives and old travel descriptions, but also served to supplement it.
