Table Mountain's famous 'table cloth'
Ever wondered how Devil’s Peak, the smaller mountain to the left of Table Mountain, received it’s ominous name? Well, legend would have it that once upon a time, in the golden age of exploration, there lived a fearless Dutch pirate named Jan Van Hunks who had retired from a life of plundering and pillaging the Seven Seas to settle in what was later to become the great city of Cape Town. To settle, more exactly, on the slopes of Table Mountain. Now Van Hunks, retired pirate that he was, enjoyed nothing more than heading out to his favourite spot on what we now know as Devil’s Peak and smoking his pipe while admiring the majestic view in front of him. As the legend goes, on this one particular day as Van Hunks got to his favourite spot he encountered another man dressed entirely in black with a large black hat concealing his face. Not to be rude or discouraged, Van Hunks sat next to the man, took out his pipe and began to smoke it. Seeing this, the stranger produced his own pipe.
“I see you enjoy smoking that pipe of yours,” the stranger said. “I’ll wager that I can smoke more than you.” Now Van Hunks was very proud of his smoking ability and in all his adventures he had never once met someone who could out-smoke him.
“Don’t be foolish,” replied Van Hunks, “nobody alive can smoke more than me. I will gladly accept your wager.”
A large pile of tobacco was placed before both men and the smoking contest began (The legend says tobacco, but this being Cape Town I have my doubts…). And they smoked and smoked, non stop for an entire day. Huge clouds of smoke bellowed up around the two men and stretched out covering the whole of Table Mountain. Van Hunks had never encountered anyone who could smoke like this, but he refused to give up. And just when Van Hunks thought he could not possibly smoke anymore, the stranger all of a sudden put down his pipe.
“No more. I concede, you have beaten me.” Van Hunks was elated with his victory but he was still intrigued as to who this stranger that almost out-smoked him was.
“Never have I met someone who can smoke like you. Please tell me your name stranger?”
With that the stranger removed his hat and Van Hunks saw that the man he had been competing against was none other than the Devil himself. Now, we all know the Devil is a sore loser and hates to be beaten at anything, least of all smoking. Should the Devil be beaten at smoking, there would be hell to pay. And so, when the clouds of smoke that had grown around the two finally drifted away, neither Van Hunks or the Devil were anywhere to be seen. Now, when the clouds come again and the famous ‘table cloth’ covers Table Mountain, people say that old Jan Van Hunks and the Devil are at it again.
