Samuel Daniell was the youngerꦯ brother of William and nephew of Thomas Daniell. No doubt inspired by their achievements in India, Samuel set off for the Cape of Good Hope in 1799. In October 1801, after several months there, he signed up to an expedition organized by Petrus Johannes Truter, the aim of which was to explore the region north and east of the Cape Colony, in the area of the Moloppo and Kuruman rivers (now Botswana borders). The present drawing was made at this time.

By 1804 Sam✤uel Daniell was back in England but the following year he travelled to Sri Lanka where he would remain until h𒉰is sudden death, aged only 26, in 1811.