Table Mountain Fact or Fiction?
An American, by the name of Joshua Penny wrote a book in which he described how he lived on Table
Mountain for a period of 14 months. In the book he claimed that he was press ganged into the British Navy and when his ship (Sceptre) docked in Cape Town in 1797, he faked illness and escaped on his way to the hospital. Being afraid that he would be recaptured, he fled to Table Mountain and lived there for 14 months surviving on only wild fruits and animals. After 14 months he descended from the mountain and discovered that the ship from which he had escaped (Sceptre) had sunk in a storm at Table Bay. His story was believed to be a fabrication but some years ago a chest featuring his initials was found in a cave on Table Mountain.