The Northern Cape is known of its authentic beauty, rich culture and wide variety of wildlife. As part of this rich culture, one can find the colourful personality of Scotty Smith.
Robin Hood of the Kalahari – Scotty Smith
“WI L D E S T of all the reckless men who rode the Kalahari frontier was Scotty Smith. Every country has its Robin Hood, Dick Turpin or Captain Starlight – highwaymen of varying degrees of courtesy and crime. Scotty Smith was South Africa’s most notorious outlaw for many years, a legendary figure whose exploits live after him.” (Lawrence G. Green).
Scotty was born in 1845 as the illegitimate son of a nobleman. His real name was George St Leger Gordon Lennox, but this was however shortened to Scotty Smith. In all probability the compression of Scotty’s name happened between the taverns and gambling dens of the small towns in the Kalahari. His Scottish heritage might have had something to do with it too.
It seemed as if Scotty was a man of many talents, but not to be tamed. Educated as a veterinary surgeon, he went to Australia in search of gold, before he shipped to India to fight for the Brittish Government. He arrived in South Africa in 1877 as part of the Brittish army. He was however dismissed shortly thereafter, following a court martial.
Deciding that he needed a new personality, Scotty then took a fallen comrade’s papers to become “Smith”. It seems, as Scotty left his real name behind, he also left his will to be a lawful citizen behind. He got involved in gun-running, horse- and general theft, legal and illegal diamond buying and highway robberies. He even crossed borders and became involved in elephant hunting in the old Bechuanaland, now Botswana. What made Scotty famous was not the crimes in itself, but the fact that he was caught and sentenced several times, but always managed to escape at some point or another.
Acting also seemed to be part of his talent pool. After a particularly dodgy deal with diamonds, a search party was formed in Kimberley for his arrest. Scotty then decided to join the search party himself – effectively fooling everyone around him.
In true Robbin Hood fashion, Scotty also did some good deeds. From paying a poor farm wife an extreme amount of money for one night’s accommodation to sharing his spoils with the poor (on some occasions).
Scotty was finally captured and sentenced after a diamond theft went wrong. History has it that he was sentenced with 25 lashes and four years in prison, of which he only received one year imprisonment.
Scotty Smith spent his last years in Upington, farming on the banks of the Orange River. Whether all is rumour or truth, it contributed to the legend of Scotty Smith – the Robbin Hood of the Kalahari.