A curious custom prevails among the tribes of South Africa; namely, the so-called making of rain. Each tribe has its rain maker, who pretends, by certain charms, of which he alone holds the secret, to command the clouds to do his bidding.
These rain doctors, as they are termed by the Kaffirs, are looked upon with awe by the ignorant savages. It is believed that rain can be withheld or granted at the will of these men, who pose as magicians, but who are really the worst of impostors.
When a tribe wishes to invoke the aid of one of these rain makers, much ceremony is shown in approaching him. The chief and his bodyguard of warriors proceed in state to the dwelling of the magician, with presents of cattle to secure his favor. After making known their request a feast is held, lasting often for many days. During all this time the rain maker pretends that he is invoking his magic spells.
One of his devices is to gather a few leaves from each variety of tree in a neighboring forest, and simmer them in large pots over an immense fire. He then kills a sheep by pricking it through the heart with a long needle.
As the simmering goes on in the several pots upon the fire, the steam arises from them. This is supposedto ascend to the clouds and render them propitious, so that the desired rain may fall in grateful showers.
In the meantime the whole tribe joins in a dance. This is continued throughout the day at least, and often until after midnight. Songs are often sung in which a chorus of long-continued praise is shouted forth by the superstitious natives.
Often this praise may be premature. The rain maker may fail, and the young and tender corn wither in the drought.
Other charms are then tried. The young men of the tribe form a large circle to encompass the side of a mountain,—the haunt of the klipspringers. Gradually they surround the poor creatures, until several specimens of this antelope have been taken captive. It is believed that the voices of these animals have the power to attract rain.
The cunning, wily rain doctor urges the poor hunted creatures about the kraal, or cattle pen, and by pinching, prodding, and other tortures, induces them to utter their cries. Should his efforts prove unavailing and the drought continue, the impostor, believing flight to be his only protection, seeks refuge in this cowardly way, and some other member of the tribe is selected to serve as rain maker.
Truly, in the eyes of the tribe, the rain maker is an important personage. When members of a tribe visit him to induce him to invoke the aid of the elements, he often exhibits his so-called magic powers for the amusement and to the amazement of his credulous visitors.
When he believes them to be sufficiently awed by hischarms, he dismisses them with minute directions as to certain observances to be held, without which his charms will fail. Some of these instructions are of the most trivial nature. On no account are they, like Lot's wife, to look backward, nor must they hold any conversation; they must compel every person they meet to turn back and accompany them home; and there are many other directions equally absurd.
Should rain fall, all credit is given to the wonderful power of the rain maker; should the drought continue, the simple-hearted fanatics blame themselves and say they must have failed to carry out the magician's instructions to the letter.
Of course, much time is spent in all these ceremonies, and, in the natural tide of events, the drought frequently passes, and the rain maker is gratefully regarded as the benefactor of his tribe.
The peculiar and terrific war dance of the Kaffirs is described by an observer as a performance far more astonishing than pleasing, exciting alarm rather than admiration, and displaying in rapid succession the habits and ferocious passions of a savage community.
"Let the reader picture to himself a hundred or more unclad Africans, besmeared and disfigured with copious defilements of red clay, and assuming with frantic gestures all the characteristic vehemence of a furious engagement.
"The dance commenced with a slow movement to a sort of humming noise from the women in the rear, the men stamping and beating time with their feet, until the gradual excitement occasioned a simultaneousspring with corresponding shouts, when the action proceeded to an unnatural frenzy, and was calculated to produce in the mind of a stranger the most appalling sensations.
"The dusky glare of the fire blazing in front of these formidable warriors gave an additional degree of awful effect to this extraordinary scene; and all that I had ever read in poetry or romance fell infinitely short of the realities before me.
"It was indeed a most seasonable relief, amidst the bewildering fancies of the moment, to hear the gratifying sound of 'All's well' from the sentries on the out-posts of the fort, which imparted to the mind a feeling of security and composure that, as may well be conceived, was truly welcome."
The Kaffirs gave the colonial government a great deal of trouble in the early part of the present century. Exasperated at defeat, and hostile after their country had been invaded and devastated by the colonists, these barbaric clans occupied the mountains and forests near by and sent out numerous marauding expeditions. These poured into the colony, determined to have revenge, to recapture the cattle of which they had been robbed, or to satisfy their claims by carrying off those belonging to the colonists.
The colonists depended upon the courageous, sturdy Hottentots, armed with guns, to guard their cattle, and ten or twelve of the boldest of them were selected to act as herdsmen.
The Kaffirs used only clubs and javelins for weapons. They knew from experience that these Hottentot herdsmenwere unerring marksmen, and that their own weapons and their mode of warfare could in no wise compete with the trusty firelock in the hands of their opponents.
But the Kaffirs were wily and watched their opportunity. This occurred one day when the Hottentots had driven the colonists' cattle into one of the woodland prairies, and were seated in a group about a hundred feet from the edge of the jungle. Seeing no sign of danger, they began to smoke their pipes, their loaded guns in readiness on the grass beside them. The Kaffirs were watching every movement from the neighboring heights and found this a favorable opportunity to make an attack. With all the stealth of the panther they crept through the thickets, and advanced with the greatest caution till they reached the edge of the copse nearest to the unsuspecting herdsmen. Waiting till their enemies were engaged in conversation and had turned their faces in the opposite direction, they burst out upon them, uttering their hideous war cry.
Throwing a perfect avalanche of javelins as they approached, they closed in upon the bewildered Hottentots, club in hand, and soon overpowered them. A single herdsman escaped by fleeing to the jungle, two of the javelins sticking in his body as he ran. The cattle of the colonists, to the number of a thousand head at least, were captured by the enemy.
This is but one instance where the Kaffirs attacked and overpowered those who had inconsiderately dealt with them, or who had shown them cruel and oppressive treatment. The English nation has only too good reason to remember the Kaffir wars. The Kaffir racehas, however, suffered much diminution, and is likely to become, like the red races of North America, less and less. Quite recently, between thirty and forty thousand Kaffirs surrendered themselves to the colonial government at the Cape. These are now largely employed as domestics and laborers.
It will not, perhaps, be out of place here to consider the Hottentots in their native condition, before the white man invaded their country and homes.
It was no uncommon thing to find skilled artisans among them, practicing the art of skinner, tailor, or blacksmith, while the women were expert mat and rope makers.
Their methods of procedure were as simple as they were novel. The tanner took the sheep's skin, warm from the freshly slaughtered carcass, and rubbed as much fat into it as it would contain. This process was conducted slowly and carefully, until the skin became tough and smooth, and the wool rendered secure from falling off.
This was the process if he cured the skin for a European; but if for the use of one of his own tribe, he would give it alternate rubbings with fat and manure from the cattle pen, and then place it in the sun to dry.
The tanner rubbed wood ashes in abundance into the hair of the hide he wished to tan, whether that of a cow or an ox. He then sprinkled it with water. If this process did not sufficiently loosen the hair, another application of the wood ashes and water was made, and so on until the hair could easily be removed. After the hair had been taken from the skin and as much fat rubbed into it as it would absorb, the skin was then vigorously curried.
The Hottentot skinner usually plied the vocation of tailor too. When he cut out the different parts of the native dress, he employed neither pattern nor rule, but measured accurately with his eye, and performed his work with speed and dexterity. When the several parts were cut out, he assumed a squatting position, and employed as his tools the bone of a bird for an awl, and the split sinews of animals for thread, in fashioning his garment.
If he wished to cut a hide up into straps, he made holes at short distances along its edges. He then tied a string in each hole. To each string he then fastened a peg, and by means of the several pegs stretched the hide to its full extent upon the ground.
Then with a knife, guided only by his eye, he cut out a strap, no matter what its length, with the greatest precision. Whether short or long, the width of the strap rarely varied from one end to the other.
These straps were of great service. The natives used them to tie up the materials for building their huts and their hut furniture, when they migrated to new cattle kraals. By means of the straps they girded these goodsupon the backs of their oxen, and employed them in various ways.
The mat makers were chiefly women. They went out in bands to gather the flags, reeds, and bulrushes which they needed. These they brought home and laid in the sun to dry. When sufficiently dry for the purpose, they were woven by the fingers into mats. If the materials for weaving became too dry, they were moistened slightly in water to render them pliable. So closely were these mats woven that neither light, wind, nor rain could penetrate them.
The mats were used to cover the frames for the huts, and hence the care taken to render them impervious to the action of the elements. A good stock was usually kept on hand; for, in the course of time, as some decayed, new ones had to be provided to replace them.
The ropes were made of the same materials as those used for the mats. The flags, reeds, and bulrushes were twisted separately into small strings. These strings were joined, till each length measured about four yards. When a sufficient number of these lengths had been obtained, they were twisted tightly one around another until the cord was about an inch in thickness. The entire work was done by the hands; yet so strong were these ropes that if they were perfect ones, even oxen rarely broke them when drawing a load.
The Europeans at the Cape frequently bought these ropes of the Hottentots and used them for drawing their plows and in various other ways. When required to do so, these rope makers could by the same process produce a rope of any desired length.
Each family of Hottentots made its own supply of earthen pots. They used for the purpose the mold from the immense ant hills, of which we shall read in time.
This mold was taken from the surface of the ground, cleaned from every particle of sand or gravel, kneaded closely in order to bruise and mix with it the ant eggs which were scattered through it. These ant eggs acted as a cement.
The mold, which had now become a clay, or dough, was then taken, in sufficient quantity to make a pot of the required size, and shaped on a smooth, flat stone by the aid of the hands. These pots were similar in form to the Roman urn.
When shaped, the vessel was first carefully smoothed both inside and out, and then set on the stone for a couple of days to dry in the sun. When thoroughly dried, it was removed from the stone, to which it had adhered, by drawing a dried sinew back and forth between the stone and the base of the vessel, or pot.
The pot was then put into a hole just its depth, but more than twice its circumference. A brisk fire was then built over and around it. Here it was left to bake till the fire burnt itself out. The Hottentots believed that while the pot was baking in this simple oven, the substances of which the ant eggs were composed spread throughout its surface and gave it the great strength which characterized all their pottery.
The process of smelting iron ore was as primitive as it was unique. A hole was first made in a mound of earth. This hole was large enough to contain a good quantity of iron stones, of which there was an abundance.A fire was then kindled about the mouth of it. On the slope of the mound, about a foot and a half from this hole, a second hole, much smaller than the first, was made. This was to receive the melted iron.
When the iron in this receiver became cold, it was taken out and broken into pieces with stones. When needed, these pieces of iron were heated in fresh fires and beaten out into shape by means of stones.
One writer thus describes the process, though he neglects to say anything of the action of the fire: "They take a piece of new or old iron, and without any other implement than stone, make a weapon of it. They get the hardest flat stone they can, and putting the iron upon it as on an anvil, bend it with a roundish stone, which serves them for a hammer, into the desired form. They then grind it on the flat stone, and afterwards polish it so nicely that it comes out a very valuable piece of work both for beauty and service, and which no European smith could, perhaps, produce the like to, by the like means."
One traveler watched with interest the process by which a Hottentot smith made knives and spears. His tools were few and primitive. A stone served him for an anvil, while a roughly made hammer and two small bellows made of skin completed his outfit.
The head of the hammer weighed perhaps a pound. The bellows had "a piece of cow horn at one end through which the blast went, the other end being open like a purse and sewed to two round pieces of wood. The two pairs of bellows were laid upon the ground opposite the fire, with a heavy stone to keep the under side steady."In order to make a blast the workman quickly raised and lowered the upper side of each pair of bellows, and with the greatest ease blew both pairs at once.
The Hottentot woman, as she sat in the shade near her dwelling, often employed her time by twisting cord from the bark of the acacia tree, while some of her companions chopped down its branches or stripped off long pieces of bark from its stems. Others, while working at cord making, busily chewed the fibers of the bark instead of pounding them upon a stone. This was not considered a task, but rather a pleasant pastime, since the juices of the bark had an agreeable taste.
Notwithstanding the laborious process of making this cord, it was done very expeditiously. The worker sat upon the ground with a quantity of prepared bark close beside her. By a clever process she was able to make two yards at once. By rolling them down her thigh with her palm, and then, by bringing them close together and rolling them upwards, with a turn in the contrary way, they were quickly and neatly twisted into a strong, compact cord.
The making of wooden bowls was another industry among the Hottentots when the Cape was first colonized. These bowls and jugs were skillfully carved from green willow wood.
As these willow trees had trunks often a foot or a foot and one-half in diameter, cutting them down was a task well calculated to test the perseverance of this people, whose only tools were small hatchets, that could make but little impression at a time upon anything so formidable. Yet often a fallen tree might be found hacked through by these apologies for hatchets.
The tree once felled was cut into desired lengths, according to the utensils destined to be carved from the pieces. The soft, tough nature of the wood made it especially valuable for the purpose.
After a rough log had been chopped with the hatchet into a semblance of the desired shape, a common knife was the only tool used to smooth and complete the outer surface. Another knife, with its top bent into a semi-circular hook, was used with the greatest dexterity and neatness to cut and hollow out the inner surface.
When this work was done, the whole surface of the bowl, or jug, was thoroughly rubbed over with fat. This was to keep the wood from warping and splitting on account of the heat and dryness of the atmosphere.
The bowls were of various sizes. Most frequently they measured from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. In form they were mostly oval and quite shallow. The jugs, or jars, were made in the form of a cylinder, quite short, with the mouth, or neck, only about two-thirds the size of the body. These jugs held usually about a gallon; but they were made of other sizes also, to hold from a pint to five gallons.
The Hottentots also carved ivory rings. These were worn as arm ornaments. They were cut from an elephant's tooth, and from the time the carver began the operation till the completion of the perfect ring—round, smooth, and brightly polished—he employed no other tool than his knife. The process, of course, was an exceedingly tedious and laborious one.
The Dutch settlers at the Cape had always been strongly in favor of slavery; hence, when Great Britain caused the emancipation of slavery throughout her dependencies in South Africa, great dissatisfaction and discontent were felt and manifested by the Boers.
Their only desire seemed to be to get into a country where they might not only steal land from the original owners, but capture and enslave the natives of the sections they chose to invade; in fact, to do as seemed best in their own eyes, irrespective of what others might think, and regardless of the laws of humanity and brotherly love. Accordingly, a large number migrated, with their wagons and various possessions, in a northerly direction across the Drachenberg Mountains and the Orange River. Here they settled in the territories now known as Natal, Orange Free State, and the Transvaal, or South African Republic.
The British government, however, did not relinquish its power, but asserted it to such an extent that in a few years Natal was no longer a refuge for these independently inclined Dutchmen, who, anxious to live after their own fashion, had little regard for the distinctions between mine and thine.
After much trouble and fighting, creditable to neither party, the Dutch were permitted to locate in the central district of South Africa. This concession was madeonly on condition that they would not molest the native tribes.
The present republic was then established between the two main streams of the Orange River, west of the Drachenberg Mountains.
Errors in the government which was established threatened, at one time, to sink the country not only into bankruptcy but anarchy. The discovery of the Diamond Fields gave the state a great advantage, and it is now thriving and flourishing, and will continue so while the government can keep on good terms with the neighbors, both black and white.
Orange Free State can never become a very great country. Its natural situation is a disadvantage, shut off as it is from the sea, and accessible only by long railway or wagon journeys either from Port Elizabeth in the Cape, or from Port Natal in the colony of Natal.
Orange Free State is like all this portion of South Africa. As part of the plateau of the inner section, it comprises undulating grassy plains. These are elevated four thousand feet above the level of the sea. They stretch to the north, with scarcely a break to interrupt the view, for miles and miles. In the south we find a little exception to this rule; for the broad level is broken by a number of small, detached hills.
Agriculture is pursued only where there is water or where the system of irrigation can be applied; hence, the people occupy themselves mainly in sheep and cattle grazing. Wool, consequently, is the staple export.
The mineral wealth is considerable. Diamonds, garnets, and other precious stones have been found, and gold is reported to exist.
The Dutch settlers have not cared to encourage the search for the hidden treasures of their country. They neither wished to awaken the greed of their neighbors nor to attract crowds of adventurers to invade their land.
The climate is favorable to Europeans. The winters are cold, but the summers are not very hot. Even when the heat is intense, its remarkable dryness keeps it from being unhealthy in its effect. Frequently the weather will be sultry for days, with a sulphurous odor in the air. Suddenly the rumbling and the rolling of thunder is heard, and amid a veritable storm of lightning the superabundance of electricity is discharged, and the air becomes once more cool and pleasant.
It is interesting to note the contrast in the lives of a Dutchman and an Englishman in South Africa. Even when a Boer has accumulated considerable wealth, he is content to live in a house the floor of which consists of the hard-trodden earth. Here he will live happily, with scarcely any of the luxuries, or even comforts, which the average English settler would deem necessary to his well-being.
The Dutchman is a picture of content; the Englishman one of discontent with the country, the government, the climate, the soil,—with everything and everybody, his neighbors, even, not excepted. He draws the line only at himself and his own disposition.
While the Englishman is naturally a social body, liking company and the general gossip heard among his own people, the Dutchman is rather solitary in his tastes. He cares for no neighbors, and would resent the sight of smoke rising from any chimney within sightof his own. His tastes are pastoral, and this leads him to acquire vast tracts of land. He is tormented by the fear that, in the course of time, his cattle and his sheep will increase to such an extent that he will not have grass enough to offer them, nor land enough on which to pasture them.
A Dutchman finds nothing forbidding in the aspect of the dreary country lying north of the Orange River; the stranger, however, finds the change from the most unattractive sections of the Cape to either the Orange Free State or the Transvaal a most depressing one.
There is nothing of a picturesque nature. The land is not wooded, and in the season of drought no more unattractive country can be thought of than this of the Orange Free State.
Still, it is far from being a wilderness. Work is plenty; for it is a country that is well adapted to keep men from indolence or from drifting into that dreamland of ease and idleness, in which the rich man is often led to wander when he has not had to toil for his possessions.
There is much English property and capital, and a good deal of energy is displayed by the English subjects. A few of the Englishmen, or "Africanders," were born in the Cape.
They are scattered through the country, and occupy themselves mostly as shopkeepers in the English towns, where the English language is generally spoken.
Mr. Trollope does not advise the ordinary traveler to visit the Orange Free State in search of scenery; still, there are other attractions to the tourist, one being thepromise of renewed health. At Bloemfontein, the capital, situated on a branch of the Vaal River, the dryness of the air renders it a safe resort for invalids. It is, in fact, an inland Madeira for persons suffering from weak or diseased lungs. The only objection is the tedious five or six days' journey by coach,—even though the railway has now reached Kimberley and promises to cross the border,—which renders the journey not only expensive, but very trying to nerves and patience.
The town itself lies very solitary, but is perhaps the most attractive spot in the country. Kimberley, which is its nearest neighbor of any special importance, is more than one hundred miles away. Cape Town is nearly seven hundred miles distant to the southeast, while Port Elizabeth, from which it obtains most of its supplies, lies about four hundred miles to the south of it.
Bloemfontein is situated upon a plain. Its boundaries are well defined, but it has no suburb, if we except the native village of Wray Hook.
To the traveler, who has been wearily jolted over grassless plains, the sight of even this isolated Dutch town is as welcome as an oasis in the desert.
The inhabitants number about four thousand people. There is nothing about the town to indicate its importance; yet, here the Orange Free State has established a capital, and here it is in this quiet, respectable, and scrupulously clean town that the government assembles to transact its business without display or ostentation, but with dignity, common sense, and judgment.
The town seems like a Dutch metropolis with a veneering of English and African customs and ways. Very few of the houses are more than one story high. While water is plenty, fuel is very scarce, and, in consequence, very expensive. In fact, everything commands a high price. When Mr. Trollope visited the place, butter was more than a dollar a pound, which indicated that dairy farming was not a very general occupation.
The town—in fact, the whole country—is well supplied with schools. Dutch is the special language supposed to be taught, but English is the far more important, and, as a rule, most of the school books are printed in that tongue.
To quote from the author, Mr. Trollope, who has so charmingly described it: "I will not say that Bloemfontein is itself peculiarly beautiful. It has no rapid rivers flowing through it, as had the capital of Tyrol; no picturesqueness of hills to make it lovely, as had Edinburgh; no glory of buildings, such as belongs to Florence. It is not quaint, as Nuremberg, romantic as Prague, or even embowered in foliage, as are some of the Dutch villages in the western provinces of Cape Colony. But it has a completeness and neatness which make it very pleasing to the eye. No one is kept hungry there, or is overworked. The work, indeed, is very light. Friday is a half holiday for every one. Three o'clock ends the day for all important business. I doubt whether any shop is open after six. At eight, all the servants—who, of course, are colored people—are at home at their own huts in Wray Hook.No colored person is allowed to walk about Bloemfontein after eight. This, it may be said, is oppressive to them; but, if they are expelled from the streets, so also are they relieved from their work. At Wray Hook they can walk about as much as they please, or go to bed."
Orange Free State, like most of the South African countries, is now provided with railway lines. The Grand Trunk line extends throughout the state and connects with the chief ports of Cape Colony.
To the north of the Orange Free State lies a country known as the South African Republic, or, more familiarly, the Transvaal.
The Transvaal remained undisturbed as a Dutch republic until the year 1877. In that year, however, it was formally annexed to the British possessions as a crown colony.
The Transvaal was established as early as the year 1841 by Boers, who had become discontented with English rule. It is doubtful whether England would have made any effort to annex so undesirable a colony, with its unsettled, turbulent government, had not an impending war with the natives threatened to involve her also in the quarrel.
Certain it is that the fate of so unimportant a country as the Transvaal was a matter of small concern until it became a recognized fact that the natives on the border of the Transvaal meditated a descent on this thinly populated country. The ultimate result of such an attack was only too apparent, and the outlook most unpromising for England.
Self-preservation is one of the recognized laws of nature. Hence, in self-protection the Transvaal was annexed to England.
In 1880 the Boers took up arms against England. After many little events, which we need not dwell upon, had taken place, a convention was concluded in August, 1880, and the South African Republic was again constituted under the protection of the British crown. Under this new condition the country became exceedingly prosperous.
The area of the South African Republic, or Transvaal, is not much less in extent than Great Britain or Ireland.
The white population does not exceed fifty-five or sixty thousand. It must be remembered, however, that this population is but a small proportion of the people who inhabit the country; for there are two hundred and seventy thousand Zulus and other Kaffir tribes, in addition to the white men.
The white settlers are scattered all over the country. They live in isolated family groups, each family living in the center of a huge farm of from six to ten thousand acres. In fact, the family life of the South African farmer of Dutch descent follows the universal customwhich resembles the patriarchal system as described in the Scriptures.
Recently, gold, both in alluvial deposits and in the reefs of quartz, has been discovered. These deposits have been worked with profit in several districts. Silver, lead, copper, cobalt, iron, and coal are all plentiful.
Generally speaking, the average Boer cares very little for any other occupation than farming. He has little or no aptitude for commerce, and, in consequence, in the various commercial settlements with which the country is dotted there is little that is Dutch except the names of the towns; for the inhabitants are mostly English merchants, and the shopkeepers are invariably English.
There are a few Germans in the Transvaal; but, as in the Orange Free State, the population is essentially Dutch. In the rural districts it is almost without exception of that nationality.
Compared with the Orange Free State, this country is more favorable for a large population than one might suppose, for its general features and climate are to its advantage.
Like the Orange Free State, the Transvaal is an elevated pastoral plateau, or series of plateaux, broken by low ranges of hills. On the west it has for its boundary the country which gradually merges into the Kalahari Desert. Towards the north, along the Limpopo River, the country has a partially tropical character.
A range of hills, which forms the southern edge of the plateau, is known as the High Veldt, or Field. Itcomprises an area of about thirty-five thousand square miles, composed chiefly of pastoral land, having an elevation of from three thousand to eight thousand feet above the sea. This section, necessarily, must possess a bracing climate, and is, for the most part, well watered in the summer, but dry during the winter months. We must remember how the seasons are reversed in Africa, hence winter would extend from March or April to October.
Several detached ranges of hills join with the Drachenberg Mountains on the northeast to form the region known as the Middle Veldt. This occupies about twenty-five thousand miles of broken country, intersected with kloofs, or gullies, and many valleys. It is well suited in some portions for the cultivation of grain and other crops of the temperate climates. As a rule, it has not the extent of open country which would fit it for grazing purposes on a large scale.
The Low Veldt, or Bush country, is the region on the north in the direction of the Limpopo River. It rarely has an elevation of more than from two to four thousand feet above the sea.
It is in this section that the usual characteristics of the Transvaal disappear and the features of the hot lands of the north become noticeable.
Mimosa groves and thorn thickets become so numerous as to be disagreeable features in the landscape. The climate, too, changes its character; hitherto it has been healthy; it now becomes malarial, particularly during the rainy season, which takes place in the summer months.
It seems quite probable that, were it not for the nature of the country, the Transvaal would possess a semi-tropical climate throughout, since its extension northward places it among countries which, farther to the east or to the west, are hot and pestilential.
The Vaal and the Limpopo are the chief rivers. Neither of them is navigable. During the dry season both rivers are interrupted to such an extent by shallows, rapids, and sand bars as to be useless for purposes of transport even in small boats.
To a certain extent agriculture is pursued in the Middle Veldt. The pasturing of vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and the caring for droves of pigs and the rearing of horses, constitute the great occupations of the Transvaal Dutchmen.
The horse disease, a kind of low fever, is a sad pest. In the summer time it is especially prevalent in localities near standing water. Hence, during the summer months the horses are removed to the high hills for safety. Animals which have had the disease and have recovered bring high prices. The country phrase in speaking of such a horse is that it has been "salted."
Dogs which are English-bred rarely survive long in the climate of the Transvaal. In the low-lying regions to the north the bite of the tsetse fly is fatal to horses and to other domestic animals. Throughout a large portion of Africa this fly is a terrible scourge to the farmer. Livingstone thus describes it: "It is not much larger than the common house fly, and is nearly of the same brown color as the common honeybee; the after part of the body has three or four yellow barsacross it; the wings project beyond this part considerably, and it is remarkably alert, avoiding most dexterously all attempts to capture it with the hand at common temperatures; in the cool of the mornings and evenings it is less agile.
"Its peculiar buzz when once heard can never be forgotten by the traveler whose means of locomotion are domestic animals; for it is well known that the bite of this poisonous insect is certain death to the ox, horse, and dog.
"A most remarkable feature in the bite of the tsetse is its perfect harmlessness in man and wild animals."
At one time in the history of the country, lions, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, and ostriches were common in every part of it.
In the process of settlement the haunts of these animals have been disturbed, and the raids of the hunters have driven them northward or into the more inaccessible parts of the Veldt mountains.
Herds of antelopes, zebras, quaggas, springboks, and other wild beasts are, however, still to be found, and furnish a large portion of the farmers' supplies of animal food.
The Bush Veldt is the least settled portion of the country. Still, even here a few planters find it profitable to grow coffee and the sugar cane.
A greater number of these planters are settled in the Middle Veldt. They are engaged in mixed farming, wheat growing, and other pursuits. Stock keeping is the principal occupation, however.
Various metals are known to exist. Four years afterthe republic was established, extensive and rich gold fields were discovered in the district of Leydenburg, and a little later in the highland that forms the watershed between the Vaal and the Limpopo rivers. Long before this, gold mines had been worked in different parts of the country; but the amount of metal procured was not of sufficient quantity to attract attention.
People soon began to migrate from all parts of South Africa and from Europe in search of the hidden treasure. A settlement named Barbertown was built in the center of the eastern mining district, and for some months was one of the busiest places in the country. Not long after, most of the inhabitants removed to the more important fields of the Witwatersrand. Here the city of Johannesburg arose, as if by magic, and streets lined with handsome, substantial buildings, with all modern appliances, added character and beauty to the town.
The South African Republic possesses an abundance of a good quality of iron. In fact, the supply of iron ore is almost limitless. Silver, copper, lead, and several other minerals are also found to quite an extent.
A railway will shortly be completed from Pretoria to Delagoa Bay, with a branch line to Barbertown. The railroad to Delagoa Bay will open the republic to many favorable conditions and opportunities. Even at the present time good carriage roads cannot be said to exist. Those dignified by the name of roads are mere wagon tracks.
A line of railroad from Pretoria to Vereeniging on the Vaal River, passing through Johannesburg, is now open. At Vereeniging it is connected with the Great Trunkline through the Orange Free State, which branches off to the three chief ports of Cape Colony. From Krugersdorp there is a railway through Johannesburg to the Springs. This passes over a great coal mine, which supplies fuel to the city itself and to the quartz-crushing machinery along a route of fifty-four miles. With railroads at its command, the South African Republic must needs have a brilliant future.
It is rather a curious fact in the history of the country, that as soon as the unbeaten tracks were opened to civilization and cultivation they became freed from malarial fevers. This was particularly noticeable along the borders of the forests and the streams in the lowlands. In course of time vast tracts north of the Vaal became the property of the emigrant farmers, who had been attracted by the facilities for grazing and stock-raising.
As the large game, becoming alarmed, fled from the presence of man, who had invaded their haunts, the dreaded tsetse fly, which had been so numerous as to threaten the extinction of the herds of cattle, also disappeared, much to the delight and satisfaction of the farmers. Hence the republic holds many attractions for the would-be settler, now that its chief plagues no longer have an existence.
In order to enter the South African Republic the traveler must pass the Drachenberg Mountains. These form the source of the Orange and the Vaal rivers.
The undertaking is far from alluring. Some portions of the mountains have a height of over ten thousand feet.
A wagon road has been made by which the range can be crossed. The summit of this road is about sixty-five hundred feet above the sea.
The toil and the danger in crossing the Drachenberg Mountains with an ox wagon has been admirably described by one writer: "Our wagon is to go up first, being supposed to be the heaviest. Hendrick's and Pater's teams are to be put to it,—thirty-six oxen in all,—and if we get to the summit in ten hours we are to deem ourselves fortunate.
"All is in readiness; the cattle are yoked and the treek-trow is stretched out to its greatest length. The drivers have taken their places,—William in front, Pater in the middle, and Hendrick, as the most skillful, behind; whilst Morris and I are instructed to follow close after with a large stone in our hands, which is to be jammed under the hind wheels whenever the wagon stops or we hear the wordklipshouted. The sun had long gone down, but we had a grand moon, one that seemed much overgrown, still had lost none of its brilliancy by the process.
"Hendrick passes the signal to the other drivers toknow if they are ready; having received a favorable reply, with good bass voice he shouts, 'Amba treek!' the words being echoed by each of the others, and off moves the wagon in gallant style.
"For about a hundred yards our course is over the sward; after that comes an abrupt turn entering a steep incline, and the ascent has begun. For a hundred yards or more it was a tremendous pull; but as it was the start, the oxen were comparatively fresh, and no stones were required; but in fifty yards more 'Klip!' was called out, and my friend and I did the klipping, Hendrick at the same time rushing behind to the rear of the wagon to put on the brake.
"Now, this klipping may be a very playful amusement for some people, but Morris and myself very soon came to the conclusion that it bore a very strong resemblance to hard work, with every probability of getting your fingers crushed or yourself run over. Neither was it a joke to carry a rock, about twenty-five pounds in weight, up a hill—mountain, I should say—far more favorable for the progression of goats or Shetland ponies than human beings.
"Though seeing the matter in this light, yet we dare not remonstrate, for if we did not klip, the wagons, as likely as not, would go over the ledge, and halt—in fragments.
"Grade after grade the hill increased in steepness, and often the oxen were compelled to stop every twenty or thirty yards. The drivers certainly did their work, and did not spare themselves; and the heavy breathing of the cattle showed that their task was no easy one.Although our stoppages were most numerous, still we crawled on,—truly, step by step,—still forward; so if we met nothing more formidable, in time we should reach the top. We were in luck, too, as far as the weather was concerned, for a more lovely night could not have been made to order....
"We have come to a terrible grip; the gun-like reports of the whips, crack! crack! crack! incessantly, like the irregular fire of a company skirmishing; and I had just remarked, 'That's hot, Morris!' when that most objectionable—nay, abominated—shout of 'Klip!' struck on our ears. I did my best to be quick, and in consequence got a finger pinched.
"That last pull was a near thing, but the driving and the energy of Hendrick saved us, or at least the wagon, from trying to discover the sea level.
"That, doubtless, was the worst trial we had; for, although it was only in the middle of the incline, halts afterwards became less frequent and less prolonged. At this time it was fearfully cold, and there was no wind; still our progress was so slow that the blood chilled in our veins....
"Again we are off; the whips crack, the drivers scold and shout the names of lagging oxen, while the poor beasts groan and wheeze with their exertions and the effects of the rarefied atmosphere. From the abyss on our left rises an immense riven rock. Here we are informed that a wagon, at no long distant time back, had gone over, but we pass the dangerous place in safety, and—hurrah! hurrah! we are descending, having passed the summit."
The Drachenberg Mountains were the scene of fierce encounters between the English and the Boers, or settlers, during the late Transvaal war. Two most disastrous battles were fought, in which the English were overpowered and defeated by the Boers, who, though valiant and brave in many respects, did not hesitate to resort to treachery and deceit in their dealings with the English, while they displayed not only cruelty but heartlessness and greed in the victories which they won. They spared neither women nor children in their blind fury and ruthless slaughter, and were indifferent to the cries of the wounded as they searched them for plunder.
The Boers may be considered the real strength of the population of the Transvaal, or South African Republic.
They number at least eight thousand families, which support themselves by farm work of some description.
The Boers are generally peasants, though they are usually the wealthiest land owners in the country.
The character of the Boers has been strongly impressed by their wanderings and sufferings. Their habits of life, too, have necessarily been greatly modified through adverse circumstances and by the peculiar features of their surroundings.
If one of a family is about to ride but a few milesaway from his home, he takes leave of the members of his household with almost as much ceremony and affection as though going on a journey to a foreign country. In the same manner, persons, whether they are visitors, neighbors, or relatives, on entering a household for the first time, greet each member of the family, and, in turn, receive a hearty clasp of the hand from each, as a welcome and a token of hospitality and rejoicing.
This custom evidently originated from the feelings of uncertainty experienced in the vicissitudes of life forty years ago. Friends meeting after an absence were in the habit of greeting one another as though they had been delivered from some great danger. While those who were about to leave home parted from their friends as though they were never to meet again.
In the early days of their settlement the Boers had few candles. Constantly driven from one point to another, their life in the wilderness, where they hoped and planned to found their homes, proved a long and weary pilgrimage. A little coarse fat from the animals which they slaughtered and a bit of rag made their only lamp. Crude as it was, it answered their needs, for these people acquired a habit of going early to their rest and rising at the first break of dawn, in order to utilize every bit of daylight for their labor.
This habit of "early to bed and early to rise" has become characteristic of the Boers. It is a very rare thing to meet with a family that enjoys the pleasant evening hour, clustered around the fireside or about the center table with its cheerful lights, its books, papers, and other features of comfort and culture.
The daily life of the Boers is of the most primitive character. At the close of the day, or as soon as the sun has sunk below the horizon, the cattle and other stock are gathered into the kraals and places of safety, and the labor of the day is practically over. A short twilight is enjoyed, then follows the evening meal, a dinner and supper in one. This is the social meal of the day. At its close, the table is no sooner cleared than the family assembles for prayers; this has been the custom for years in the wanderings of these people. The hour of prayer over, the members of the family retire to their several quarters to enjoy their well-earned night's rest.
The complaint has often been made that the Boers keep their houses untidy, unfloored, and poorly lighted. We must not forget, however, that a house in the country of the Boers is usually the work of the owner's own hands. Such a house was erected under extreme difficulty in a country recently frequented by wild beasts and still wilder barbarians.
Whether we find it located beside some beautiful stream, or standing upon some barren, desolate plain, or nestled under a steep hillside in some lonely and almost inaccessible kloof among the mountains, we may feel sure that it was erected without the aid of skilled labor, and that only the roughest material, found on or near its site, was used in its construction.
It must be remembered that beams and timbers are not to be found ready cut and prepared for the builder's hands. Those that the Boers used to construct their houses had to be brought from very distant points and at an enormous expense.
The extreme difficulty in obtaining heavy timbers made it necessary to change the shapes of the houses somewhat from the most approved plan of dwellings. Necessity is the mother of invention; and the Dutch Boers, in accordance with the trite saying, "Cut your coat to fit your cloth," erected their houses to fit the timbers they were able to procure. They had to content themselves with small rooms, and deny themselves the luxury of a broad spreading roof.
Window frames and the glass to fit them were for years almost unobtainable by such settlers as located themselves north of the Orange and Vaal rivers. In many of the houses the windows were not only few in number, but exceedingly small, often seeming like mere shot holes.
The Dutch farmer has been called slow, and he no doubt is slow; for he belongs to a race not noted for its swiftness of thought or action. For generations his ancestors have lived in the wilds of Africa, and such surroundings have not tended to quicken the nature of the average farmer. Yet with all his moderation the Boer makes an excellent pioneer.
The towns in the Transvaal are as primitive in their way as the houses. In most instances they are mere villages; others are barely more than hamlets, which remind one of some of the drier portions of Holland and Germany.
A town in the Transvaal has generally a square in the center. This is usually the site for the church. There is generally one main street, on which one finds the hotel, several taverns, and a store or two.
The town has usually rather a squalid look. Evidently neither time nor money is ever wasted in mere external ornament. Utility seems to be the plan of life. The one thought of the practical Boer is not, Is it beautiful? but, Is it useful?
In the building of Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal, the Boers have had some thought of the future. It has a situation in a basinlike hollow on a plateau some forty-five hundred feet above sea level. While so fortunate as to have a mild climate, Pretoria is subject to great and sudden changes of temperature, which are most trying to people of weak lungs or of a rheumatic constitution. Frequent hailstorms of great violence are a peculiar feature of the climate. These affect the temperature to such a degree that a hot day is often followed by a dismal, chilly night.
Pretoria, as the seat of government, has quite a dignity of its own, and with the forty-five hundred or more people within its limits has quite an imposing air of grandeur. It has broad streets, spacious squares, and many fine architectural features. There are few houses as yet upon its broad streets. The square has the usual features, the church and the residences of the chief magistrate, the lawyers, judges, and merchants. The center of the square is a paradise for wayfaring horses, for it is their favorite grazing ground.
The inhabitants of Pretoria, warned by experience, and knowing the value of water, have caused plenty of it to be conveyed into their town. So plentiful is the supply that it not only irrigates the flourishing gardens but runs in streams through the streets. Notwithstandingthese streams may be very refreshing to look at, they must be a source of annoyance to the pedestrian, who would prefer to walk dry-shod through the streets.
On all sides may be seen hedges of roses. The weeping willow trees, which are characteristic of all towns in the Transvaal, seem to be, if possible, still more numerous here.
Provisions are exceedingly dear, except such as are native to the soil. In consequence, while the Boers have the actual necessaries of life, they find it impossible to secure the comforts and the refinement that the average Englishman can obtain at home.
Potchefstroom bears a strong resemblance to Pretoria. The Boers, in laying out the city, planned it on so large a scale that it is rather a difficult matter correctly to estimate its extent.
Here we find the great open grass-covered space, the rose hedges, and rows of weeping willows lining either side of the narrow grass-grown roads with their well-worn cart ruts.
Many writers have given interesting accounts of the home life of the Boers. Mr. Burchell, a traveler, tells us that he met with great hospitality, not only from the wealthy farmers, but from the poorest and humblest laborers. They carried this hospitality to such an extent as to manifest a readiness and a willingness to open their doors to every hungry and belated traveler that appealed for help and shelter.
On one occasion he was the guest of a farmer of the middle class. The house had a bleak and exposed situation, and there was little about it to indicate eitherart or culture. This house, which was built upon a broad level space bounded by rugged mountains, had one large room, which occupied the main part of the house. The floor was made of mud, and the solitary window with its broken panes showed very plainly the scarcity and the costliness of glass.
The main occupation of the Boers is raising wool, and great quantities of this product are exported each year from Cape Town. As a matter of economy the meat of the sheep is consumed for food, and the fat, or tallow, is made into soap.
At the time of Mr. Burchell's visit to one of the Boers, there was a large kettle of boiling soap suspended over the deep and spacious open fireplace, in which a cheerful fire was blazing. This open fireplace occupied one end of the main building, the bedrooms occupied the other. A door in the wall at the back led into the kitchen. Near the fireplace was a small window, kept closely covered by means of a wooden shutter. This was the only protection from the cold wind; for the window had neither sash nor glass.
Near the glazed window in the main room of the house was a small table, and on it stood the little old-fashioned copper urn, which was almost constantly in use.
On opposite sides of this table were placed ordinary wooden chairs. These were for the master and mistress. Several chairs and benches and a good-sized dining table were ranged about the room. Upon a shelf lay a large Bible and a few other books.
The labor of the farm was performed by a man slaveand a few Hottentots. The work in the kitchen and about the house was superintended by the mistress, with a black slave and a Hottentot girl to assist her.
There were three daughters in the family. These were under the instruction of a tutor, a native of Holland, who had lived for nearly thirty years in Cape Colony. He had been an inmate of this family for several months. He could speak quite fluently in English and French, and seemed well able to instruct his pupils for the positions they would occupy in life.
It is no uncommon thing to find teachers of this description scattered over the country. They generally traverse the colony and remain stationed at each house for a period of from a half to a whole year. During this time such teachers agree to instruct their pupils in reading, writing, and arithmetic,—in fact, to finish their education.
The head of the family where Mr. Burchell visited employed his time in rearing cattle. For the disposing of his stock he depended upon the butcher's agent. Such a person is sent by his employer in Cape Town to travel through the grazing districts to select and purchase such cattle as he may deem best. For these cattle he does not pay money, but gives notes or drafts signed by his employer, and bearing an official stamp to indicate their genuineness. Such drafts are considered as good as money, and can be converted into cash by the grazier, or he can tender them in payment to his neighbors.
The inland trade connected with Cape Town was in earlier times a matter of great risk and inconvenience.This was owing to its remote situation at the extremity of the country and to the miserable condition of the roads leading to it. The barren condition of the soil and the lack of good pasturage in the section about the town was a matter of serious inconvenience to the Dutch farmers.
It was the custom for those residing at a great distance to undertake the journey but once in the course of a year. The vehicles on such an occasion resembled very much a traveling menagerie. In addition to the principal members of the family, the poultry, goats, sheep, dogs, monkeys, and other animals reminded the stranger, looking at the motley array, of Noah and the animals that entered the ark. As a matter of protection, and for the purpose of procuring game for food during the journey, a musket or two were carried by the farmer and his aids.
The wagon conveying this mixed load was drawn by a train of at least eight, often ten, or even sixteen, oxen. These, with the enormously long whip of the driver, and the scantily clothed figure of the little Hottentot who led the foremost pair, made a most curious and amusing sight for the stranger visiting the country. The driver's seat was considered a post of honor; the office of leading the oxen was considered a most degrading one, fit only for a Hottentot or a slave.
Between Cape Town and the cultivated farming sections lie extensive sandy plains. These are commonly called the Cape Downs. They are marked by numberless road and wagon ruts in every direction. The soil of these downs, which is composed ofloose white sand resting on a bed of clay, is capable of supporting only a few stunted shrubs and coarse rushes. Here and there are scattered a few solitary huts.
Owing to the general barren nature of the country, travelers find no inducement to remain more than a day at Cape Town. After a journey that has perhaps lasted twenty days, during which the barren downs have been crossed, the farmers frequently unyoke their oxen at Salt River, so as to be in readiness to enter the town the next morning at break of day. In this way they frequently dispose of their produce, procure such articles as they may require, and set out immediately upon the homeward journey in the course of a single day.
Now that the South African Republic is so well supplied with railways, no doubt even the primitive and slow-moving Boer will in time avail himself of the advantages of modern ways, and the old time customs will cease to exist, just as in our own country traveling by stagecoach is a thing of the past, except over some of the mountain roads not yet crossed by railways.
British Bechuanaland consists of vast tracts which have been set apart for the Bechuana clans, large sections occupied by European farmers, and a great extent of country still unoccupied.
The country is well adapted for grazing grounds, or cattle runs. Agriculture is a success only in limited localities, owing to the scarcity of surface water. With the exception of salt, no mineral wealth has been discovered, hence there is nothing to attract the fortune seeker or adventurer to the country.
The climate of Bechuanaland is exceedingly healthy, though the midsummer days are unpleasantly warm. The nights are always enjoyable, for they are invariably cool and pleasant.
Under the British rule order is well preserved in Bechuanaland. There are said to be over five thousand Europeans in the country.
Vayling is the seat of government. It is connected by rail with the ports of Cape Colony. This line is now being continued to Mafeking on the northern border. As this is along the great trade route to the interior of the country, it thus brings a large area under the protection of the British flag.
At a distance considerably north of Bechuanaland lies a tract under British protection, and named, not inappropriately, the British Protectorate.
All white people within its borders are under the guidance of magistrates appointed by the high commissioner. The native tribes, in their relations to each other, are all under the control of the same government; yet the rule of each chief over his tribe is seldom, if ever, subject to interference.
A large portion of this territory is without surface water. The country is thinly inhabited by Bushmen and wandering Bechuana. These were formerly heldin slavery by various clans in the neighborhood of the Springs. Although the circumstances of these people have improved much of late years, yet their lives are still characterized by want and misery, for they are largely dependent upon the caprices of their masters.
Order is Heaven's first law, and it is a recognized factor within this territory, for it is enforced by a strong body of mounted police selected from among the Europeans.
The British Chartered Company's Territory is another division of South Africa. It is situated beyond the protectorate, and is a vast territory containing fully half a million square miles. This territory was opened by the British South African Company under a royal charter granted in 1889.
The country has often been called Rhodesia, from the originator of the company, and who is still its chief manager.
The native chiefs of this section have given the company proprietary rights to immense tracts of fertile land and to extensive areas of gold-bearing quartz reefs. In some places there are shafts and tunnels to indicate that at some unknown period in the past the mines were worked, and ruins of buildings far superior to the skill of the Bantu give evidence that the land was not always occupied exclusively by Europeans.
The country does not lack modern ways and means of communication with the adjoining ones; for there is a telegraphic connection and a postal service between all the forts and Cape Colony, and a railway is fast being constructed inland from Port Beira. This willgive easy access to the northeastern portion, while the northwestern portion can be reached without much difficulty from the terminus of the Cape Town Mafeking line.
Such is the march of progress that many appliances of modern times, as printing presses, etc., can be found to-day in a region which a few years ago was known only to a few explorers and hunters.
The German Protectorate, as its name indicates, is under the protection of the German government. The territory, which, since 1884, has been thus protected, occupies the southwest coast of Africa and extends from Cape Frio on the north to the Orange River on the south; from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to an irregular line running from the head waters of the Zambesi to the twentieth meridian from Greenwich on the east.
From this vast territory we must exclude the only port on the coast, Walfish Bay, which with a little tract of land around it belongs to Cape Colony.
The southern part of the country is almost rainless. There are but few fountains, but towards the north the moisture increases. Still no part of this extent of territory is capable of supporting an agricultural population. Notwithstanding this, the land is well adapted for cattle raising.
The mineral wealth of the country is not fully determined. Copper is known to exist in large quantities, and it is generally believed that there are other minerals.
As far north as Walfish Bay the population consists of Hottentots, and beyond here the Bantu are found.The Europeans are chiefly missionaries and a few prospectors.
Thus far the natives have had no trouble with the authorities, except that when one clan refused to acknowledge the German rule, war was imminent; but it was happily averted before the country became involved in a struggle which would have been ruinous to both sides.
Early in the sixteenth century the Portuguese established forts along the principal harbors of the southeastern coast of Africa, but did not attempt to plant colonies.
They at one time occupied a small fort in the magnificent harbor of Delagoa Bay; but, as little trade could be commanded on that part of the coast, the fort was often left abandoned for many years at a time. Mozambique became a resting place for the royal fleets to and from the east, and was of considerable importance. The other Portuguese stations were mere outlying trading posts.
The Portuguese never had any well-defined boundary to their territory; in fact, none was needed, since they had no European rival.
Though they planted no colonies during their days of glory and prosperity, they exerted themselves to open the country to the missionaries, who were zealous to convert the natives. These worthy men penetrated far into the interior, and even established themselves in the deadly localities along the coast.
The traders who crossed the continent from Angola to Mozambique brought vast quantities of gold and ivory and many slaves to the chief ports, to be shipped to Brazil and Europe.
When the Dutch wrested India from Portugal, they cared little for its possessions along the East African coast. True, they occupied Delagoa Bay for some years in the eighteenth century, but did not remain long. The Portuguese continued to hold their old stations in a state of decay, and had a slight claim over the interior lands.
Some years after the South African Republic was established, the Lebombo Mountains became the boundary line between it and the Portuguese possessions. The British Chartered Company took possession of the interior plateau farther north. A dispute arose, but the boundary finally agreed upon is not yet marked off.
Many improvements are noticeable. From Delagoa Bay a railroad is being constructed to Pretoria. From Port Beira at the Pungwé River a railway is being constructed inland, which will reach a large portion of the British Chartered Company's possessions. Thus all these apparently inaccessible portions of the continent are being rapidly brought into easy communication with one another. Swaziland is a tract of country inclosed on three sides by the South African Republic, and on the remaining side by the Lebombo mountain ranges.
The country contains valuable gold fields, and is characterized by fertile, well-watered sections. The climate is generally healthy.
The Swazis are regarded as the bravest of all the Bantu tribes, and were the stanch friends of the early emigrant farmers.
They number at the present time about sixty or seventythousand. Their chief, who died a number of years ago, granted to different white men so many concessions of all kinds—to extract metals, to till ground, to graze cattle—that he left few possessions or rights to his followers. This state of affairs led to the establishment of a mixed government, whereby the Europeans, acting under the approval of the chief, were to rule the country.
At the present time the reigning chief of the Swazis, acting in harmony with the ruling powers in Great Britain and in the South African Republic, has established a form of government which is recognized and upheld by the Europeans of the territory.