Martha Johanna Ferreira

Known as Cross Martha 'Kwaai Martha'

Judi Marais-Meyer register MRIN 459

Eie boedel MOOC8/17.33 gedateer 1813

http://www.archive.org/stream/recordsofcapecol09theauoft/recordsofc...

10. The Landdrost A. G. van Kervel E. 0. Prosecutor, assisted

with the legal advice of Mr. G. Beelaerts van Blokland, according

to order of Government, versus (1) Pieter Hendrik Ferreira, defen-

dant on a charge of cruel treatment of the Hottentot Kleinveld,

and (2) Martha Ferreira, the wife of P. H. Ferreira, defendant on a

charge of having killed the slave girls Steyn and Manissa and the

female Hottentots Griet, Eoosje, Mina, Abigael, and Kachel, and

cruel treatment of the Hottentots Hendrik, Kleynveld, and Hans,

and the female Hottentot Lys. No grounds for action against the

first defendant were found. A bill of indictment by way of

personal citation was found against the second defendant, and

after a full investigation as far as possible during the residence

of the Commission, the Landdrost was directed to summon the

witnesses to whose testimony the defendant had appealed before

the Court in Cape Town, and further to proceed according to Law ;

the defendant gave bail also to appear.

The second case brought before the Commission at the Drostdy

of George contains the cases of Griet, Steyn, Koosje, Bartje,

Mina, &c., quoted in the statement of the Missionaries, Letter N,

This case, both according to the contents of the said statement

and to the preparatory informations taken so early as the year 1809

by the then Landdrost of Swellendam A. A, Faure, and those now

obtained by the Landdrost of George, contains no less than eleven

very serious charges, namely one against Pieter Hendrik Ferreira,

that he had taken away a little Hottentot named Kleinveld, and

drove him on before his horse in such a manner that the horse

trod on his stomach, in consequence of which he died four days

afterwards ; and the other ten against Martha Johanna Ferreira,

wife of said P. H. Ferreira, for cruel and repeated ill treatment which

had occasioned the death of no less than seven persons, namely the

slave Steyn, the Hottentots Griet, Koosje, and Abigail, the slave

Manissa and the Hottentot Rachel, and the wounding or maiming

the Hottentots Lys, Hendrik, and Klaas, most of all which under

such circumstances as must strike with horror every person pos-

sessed of the least sense of feeling, and which, if proved, could not

be attributed to sudden passion or anger, but to a most malicious

and deliberate cruelty, such, as among others that after having

inflicted several wounds on the Hottentot Rachel and maimed her

in the head and other parts, she intentionally had her burnt alive

with the hut in which she lived ; and that the Hottentot Hendrik,

who was very young, having remained some days out in the

fields with the calves, she put his feet into a pot of boiling

water, and having made a fire under it, the toes fell off in

consequence.

With respect to the charge against P. H. Ferreira of the death

of the Hottentot Kleinveld, it immediately appeared from the

preparatory investigation made by the Landdrost jointly with me,

that the business had happened quite differently, namely that

said Kleinveld being at a grazing place belonging to Ferreira, ho

went to fetch him home to take care of some cows and calves,

that said Kleinveld fell sick some days afterwards and complained

of a pain in his belly, for which Ferreira's wife gave him some

physic, but without effect, he having died in consequence, and was

buried by his father, without anything having been proved either

Records of the Cape Colony. 345

of immoderately driving him before the horse, or of the horse

having trodden on him, or without any mark whatsoever being

discovered on his body, which could strengthen any such suspicion.

The Landdrost therefore made no difficulty to declare that he

had not any grounds of action against P. H. Ferreira in said case,

in which declaration the Commission acquiesced accordingly.

But with regard to the charges against Martha Johanna

Ferreira, it was not possible to judge so favorably, the length of

time which had elapsed since the different cases were said to have

happened before they were brought forward was the cause that no

direct proof of the corpus delicti was to be had, but the joint

circumstances rendered it but too probable that this woman went

to work very immoderately in the chastisement of the servants,

and brought her under ihe suspicion of having thereby maimed

some of them and occasioned some of their deaths, so that it was

absolutely necessary that those charges should be fully investi-

gated, and that the accused should be obliged to give an account

of such of her servants, who having been flogged in her service had

died or were missing. For the regular development of all this, it

was necessary that the accused should be examined on special in-

terrogatories respecting each of the above charges, and a prosecution

carried on against her according to law.

For this purpose the Landdrost of George, assisted by me,

requested and obtained from the Commission a decree of summons

in person against Martha Johanna Ferreira, on a charge of gross

ill treatment and suspicion resulting therefrom of the murder or

maiming of some of her servants, with reserve in case it might

appear in the course of the investigation that Pieter Hendrik

Ferreira, the husband of the accused, was also concerned in such

crimes, of a right to institute an action likewise against liim in

consequence.

The defendant in person having therefore appeared in Court,

the prosecution was commenced against her accordingly, which

was certainly one of the most weij^hty and important that was

ever carried on before the Commission, probably before any Court

in this Colony. It was not a trifling matter to see a woman

bearing all the appearance of a better than ordinary farmer's

education, and a mother of ten children, publicly arraigned at

the bar of a Court as accused of, and under the suspicion of having

murdered and maimed no less than ten of her own servants, to

346 Itccoi'ds of the Ccqjc Colony.

see her described as a woman who was driven away by her brotlier

in law from his place in consequence, and who was stamped by

her fellow inhabitants with the name of Cruel Martha.

Under these circumstances it was not surprising to see a more

than ordinary concourse of hearers, and the public curiosity to see

the veil removed from this interesting secret raised to the highest

degree, so that the silent attention which was paid by all did not

a little contribute to increase the solemnity of this trial. But the

interest which both the Prosecutor and Judges, as well as the

hearers took in this case, was considerably heightened when the

defendant appeared and answered to no less than 240 interroga-

tories with that modest, decent, and at the same time feeling

deliberation and coolness, which can alone proceed from conscious

innocence or from those hackneyed in all| the ways of hypocrisy

and deceit. In this cool and tratiquil manner she defended her-

self on all the points of charge, alone acknowledging tliat she had

once given the abovemeutioned Hottentot Heiidrik a stroke with

a lath of splinter which she intended for his back, but which,

having turned round, fell on his head with the sharp side, whereby

he received a cut, the mark of which was still visible, and f(r

which wound, as being caused by her imprudence, she felt well

aware that she could not escape correction ; while she accounted

for all the other charges, and on confrontation persisted therein

in such manner that some of them were entirely done away, and

with respect to the others, the suspicions under which she labored

were evidently elucidated in her favor.

For example, with respect to the Hottentot Eachel it appeared

that she, having lain sick in her straw hut, was provided with

everything necessary for her food and care, that in consequence

of her illness she was allowed by the defendant to have fire and

candle at night, that on a certain night when the wind blew very

hard the hut caught fire and the unfortunate creature was burnt

with the same, of which the defendant immediately gave notice to

the Field Cornet Rademeyer, but he, being prevented from going

himself to the place, had the body inspected by two other persons ;

that tlie suspicion of having intentionally set the hut on fire was

not supported by proof and even must be considered as unfounded,

from the danger that the defendant's own house must have been

exposed to, it having been proved that just that very night the

wind blew towards the defendant's dwelling, from which the hut

Records of the Cape Colony. 347

was but a short distance, so that it is entirely improbable that

such a night would have been chosen for such a purpose.

In the same manner was the accusation of having maimed the

feet of the Hottentot Hendrik fully accoimted for; this Hottentot,

a young bov, was accustomed to take care of the calves, and on a

certain day being with them in the fields, such bad and stormy

weather arose that he either lost his way or could not reach home

through the swelling of the rivers, three days after which being

at last discovered in the fields, he was found quite benumbed with

the cold and his legs motionless ; that being restored to life through

the care of the defendant by rubbing and giving him warm wine,

his feet however still continued frozen, and the defendant being

adHsed to apply warm poultices of barley meal, or the warm juice

of the Hottentot figs, she had recourse to those remedies, and with

this wholesome intention put the feet of Hendrik into a pot full

of that warm preparation, ^vith no better effect, however, than

that the toes partly fell off and partly became so callous that they

were obliged to be taken off, which the defendant carefully per-

formed, and cured the feet so well that Hendrik was at that time

very well able both to stand and walk.

The death of Abigail also fully appeared to have been caused by

a violent hemorrhage with which she was attacked during her

lying in, while for the rest the defendant was very much attached

to Abigail, and who was so much in favor as to cause jealousy

among the others.

After all the witnesses called upon in this important case were

examined, and the defendant interrogated and confronted on all

the charges, and the most of them being brought to a very ad-

vanced degree of elucidation, the Landdrost however did not find

himself enabled to close this prosecution, so as to state his opinion

of what had now been developed and proved, and to proceed to

make his conclusion, because that the defendant herself after the

examination and confrontation of all the witnesses called upon,

still appealed to the evidence of some other persons towards

clearing her character and reputation, and for the elucidation of

some circumstances which were yet involved in obscurity ; of

whose names having delivered over a list, it appeared to me that

as the accusers had the fullest opportunity to bring every one

whom they knew of, or wished, forward against the defendant.

Justice therefore required that all opportunity to her defence

348 Records of the Cape Colony.

should remain unimpeded, and consequently that her desire would

not be refused ; wherefore I advised the Landdrost to request to

know the pleasure of the Commission, whether they would be

pleased to remain at the Drostdy till all the above mentioned

witnesses should be summoned and had arrived, or as a month or

more would elapse before such could be effected, whether they

might be pleased to direct the Landdrost further to prosecute, and

bring this action to a conclusion through the medium of his

official Agent, before the Worshipful the Court of Justice, which

last mentioned order was resolved on accordingly by the Com-

mission, and the defendant discharged on the usual promise of

hand and word to appear again, whenever required, either in Cape

Town or at the Drostdy, snh poena confessi et convidi ; on which

the session of the Commission being closed, my task in this case

was brought to a conclusion.

The Advocate De Wet, as official Agent to the Landdrost of

George, and to whom I delivered a complete extract from the

criminal records held at the Drostdy of George, containing the

whole of the proceedings in this case, continued the prosecution,

and having summoned the defendant to Town, he examined the

witnesses alluded to in her presence ; whereupon the investigation

being closed, Advocate De Wet terminated the proceedings by a

conclusion with respect to some of the charges for a full acquittal,

with regard to others declaring that he had not as yet any grounds

of action, and respecting the wound inflicted on the Hottentot

Hendrik by a blow on the head for a penalty and condemnation of

the defendant in the costs.

The business is now under deliberation of the Court for a final

decision, and as soon as sentence shall be passed I shall take the

liberty to communicate the same to you for His Excellency's

information.

I hope that this report will prove sufficient to give a good and

clear idea to His Excellency the Governor of the circumstances of

all the several cases, with the investigation and management of

which I have l)een charged, and of the result and termination

of each of the same; and I further beg leave to refer to the

annexed documents, in which all the different circumstances and

proceedings in the said cases are more amply stated.

I submit to His Excellency's more enlightened judgment to

decide in how far the unfavorable character that by the means of

Records of the Cape Colony. 349

a printed pamphlet has been thrown on the generality of the

inhabitants, and even of the Magistrates of the far distant Dis-

tricts, has been corroborated by proofs, and what kind of publicity

may be reasonably wished for, in order to wash out that stain in

the same manner in which it has been so generally and publicly

imprinted ; but which perhaps cannot be effected before that the

report respecting the cases which occurred at an earlier period,

and which is still expected from His Majesty's Fiscal, shall have

been received.

In the mean time, in case I may have been so fortunate as to

have fulfilled the intentions of His Excellency in the management

of the several cases committed to me, and to have met with His

Excellency's approbation, the pleasing recollection of having

fulfilled my duty to the best of my power will always afford me

the most satisfactory sensations in having been selected to con-

tribute to vindicate the honor and dignity of Justice, and to

imprint on the minds of all classes of Inhabitants of this Colony

that they have nothing else to expect than Justice and protection

from the paternal care of His Majesty's Government. I have &c.

(Signed) G. Beelaerts van Blokland.

• Updated from MyHeritage Match via brother Ignatius Petrus Ferreira by SmartCopy: Sep 19 2014, 14:36:11 UTC