Before the park was established the area was home to a few resident tribes and others who were recently employed to build the railway line. The Ngomane clan and assimilated Sambo people lived in the vicinity of present-day Skukuza. The Ngomane clan, formerly subjects of Soshangane, joined forces with the Sambo people and took refuge near the Sabie River after a defeat by Sotho people near Makhulukhulu mountain on the escarpment. Chief Ngomane's people lived near Skukuza until 1905, when the Transvaal Government relocated them to Tenbosch south of the park, where they were displaced again in 1945. Other inhabitants were resettled in villages around Hazyview, such as Hoxani, Cunningmore, Mkhuhlu and the greater Hazyview area. The resident peoples of the area hunted animals with bows and arrows as well as snares, and eventually rifles obtained from the white men. They used the Sabie River for fishing. Before relocations, Tsonga people occupied the region east of Hazyview, where the majority of private game reserves in Mpumalanga are situated today.