Captain Hendrik van der Decken had just offloaded his cargo in Cape Town and was anxious to get back to sea again in his ship, the Flying Dutchman. His crew, however, begged to to stay in port, as the weather was turning foul and they were scared to sail in the dangerous Cape waters in such conditions. Van der Decken would not listen and he sailed out of Cape Town straight into a hurricane. For days he fought against the elements, even lashing himself to the wheel, so that he would not be swept overboard. His crew pleaded with him to turn back, but he would not listen. He was like a madman – pitching his small vessel against the mighty storm.

As the story goes Jan van Hunks, a Dutch pirate in the early 18th century, retired from his eventful life at sea to live on the slopes of Devil's Peak, South Africa. To escape from his wife's sharp tongue he often walked up the mountain where he settled down to smoke his pipe.

Tokoloshe or Tikoloshe. From the Xhosa word uthikoloshe.