In face of this continued adversity people throughout eastern Botswana desperately sought out any means to make a livelihood. Between March and September 1897 many men were temporarily employed constructing the railway line from Mahikeng to Bulawayo. The project’s completion permanently deprived many Batswana who had become transport riders along the route. A few thereafter made a living harvesting timber along the line of rail. For most, the only option was to seek work in the mines of South Africa. The Protectorate’s Annual Report for 1897-98 observed that: “All of the tribes, except perhaps Linchwe’s, are at present very short of food, and many have not the means of purchasing sufficient food for their families.
They are, however, making an effort to obtain money for the purpose of buying food by going out to work in Kimberley, Jagersfontein, Johannesburg, and other places.” Affirming that “so many men have gone that most villages present a quite deserted appearance”, the report added that the territory was “flooded by both white and coloured persons calling themselves Labour Agents.”
