The World and Its People Part 26

One writer has described the country as spurs of wooded mountain and picturesque hills, which slope down like the fingers of a hand from the higher cliff-like edge of the Drachenberg, some eleven hundred feet high.

Fertile valleys, watered by steadily flowing rivers, lie between these mountain fingers of the land; while between the coast and the mountains lie tracts of level gra.s.s-covered land, or fertile undulating sections, on which are pastured great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.

The climate of Natal we may consider as semi-tropical. It has a favorable position, hence the summer heat is not excessive. The winters are unusually pleasant.

Probably no portion of South Africa is so well watered as Natal. As many as twenty-three rivers flow through the country and enter the Indian Ocean. Owing to the mountainous nature of the country, none of these rivers are navigable.

In many places the scenery is very picturesque. Only a small portion of the colony is as yet settled. There are sugar plantations scattered here and there throughout the entire country, however; for they can be worked to advantage by Indian coolies. These coolies have, upon trial, been found more skillful and more steady laborers than the natives.

Coffee is grown in the low sections. Wheat, oats, and maize are raised to quite an extent. The latter cereal is universally known by the name "mealies" in South Africa.

The coast region extends inland for about fifteen miles. It is here that the princ.i.p.al settlements are found. The capital of Natal, called Maritzburg, has a situation about sixty miles inland from Port Natal.

Port Natal is the only harbor, and not a specially fine one; for a sand bar across its mouth impedes navigation.

Quite a wagon traffic is carried on through the interior of the colony down into the Orange Free State and also to the Transvaal, or South African Republic. From these countries the products of Natal are transported to Cape Colony. Considerable quant.i.ties of the products of Central Africa and neighboring sections, such as wool, ostrich feathers, and ivory, are sent out of the country through the Natal Port.

Natal seems to have a promising future. It was originally chosen by the Dutch Boers, who, fleeing from British rule, sought a home where they might establish their own laws. As far back as the middle of the present century it was made a separate colony, though it had not the strong government to be found at the Cape.

The fertile coast section is capable of producing the various tropical crops in abundance. Here the pineapple ripens out of doors, and sugar, coffee, arrowroot, indigo, tobacco, ginger, rice, pepper, and cotton are grown to a large extent.

Farther within the interior, in the more elevated sections, the various cereals and the ordinary crops of cooler climates thrive well. Upon the hills and upland valleys is a luxuriant growth of herbage, which fits them for grazing purposes. In some tracts near the coast and in the deep glens of the Drachenberg Mountains fine forests of timber are found.

Coal exists in some sections, and limestone is very abundant.

The settlers have sometimes complained of the want of laborers. Although there are but twenty-three Europeans in Natal to two hundred and ninety Zulus and Kaffirs, yet the complaint is made that the white man must depend upon coolie labor. This seems an exaggeration of facts, when we consider that on every farm and in every sugar mill many natives may be found at work, earning profitable wages. True, these native workmen are not very prepossessing laborers; for a long time must elapse before a savage can be trained into habits of industry and thrift.

Sometimes the natives are employed for domestic service, and they generally do remarkably well. The "Cape Boys," or the colored descendants of the St. Helena tribes that emigrated to the Cape, usually drive the coaches; but the Zulus are employed to attend to the wagons, and may be found making themselves generally useful throughout the country.

Port Natal and Maritzburg are both small towns, yet they are the largest to be found in Natal.

The Zulu war caused great expense to the colony, and the contract to build three hundred and forty-five miles of railway has swelled the public debt to an enormous sum.

War and national debt are a heavy burden for any country to bear. Yet with peace comes prosperity, and thrift and enterprise will accomplish great results in a country's progress. Hence some changes for the better are now apparent.

Maritzburg and Durban have become very thrifty towns of late years.

Durban is said to be the only gateway of commerce, not only for the colony itself and for Zululand, but for part of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic.

In order to improve the entrance to the inner harbor extensive works have been constructed, and large ships can now cross the bar and lie beside a wharf as safely as in a dock.

Numerous handsome buildings embellish this town, conspicuous among which is the grandest munic.i.p.al hall in South Africa.

A railway has been constructed from Durban to Charlestown, on the border of the South African Republic. It pa.s.ses through Maritzburg and also through the villages of Estcourt, Ladysmith, and Newcastle, farther inland. From Ladysmith there is a branch-line by way of Van Reenen's Pa.s.s in the Drachenberg to Harrismith in the Orange Free State. It goes up the Drachenberg in a series of zigzag sections.

The government has in contemplation the completion of this railway from Harrismith until it reaches the great Northeastern, which runs through Cape Colony and the Orange Free State. This will give an unbroken line of communication between Cape Town and Durban. It is very probable that the Charlestown line will be continued to the gold fields of the South African Republic at an early date.

The chief branch of the system of railways pa.s.ses through an extensive tract of coal of very good quality. This is a great advantage to the country, for fuel can thus be obtained at a low rate.

This main branch is on the plateau which is at the foot of the Drachenberg. It has a central situation and easily transports the coal to the coast along a descending grade.

Not only do these railways and towns receive their coal from the coal-bearing section, but great quant.i.ties are exported. In 1892 nearly three hundred thousand dollars' worth was sent abroad.

CHAPTER x.x.xVIII.

KAFFRARIA, OR KAFFIRLAND.

Northeast of Cape Colony lies a country rich in the natural beauty of its scenery and noted for the great variety of animal life to be found there.

Kaffraria, or Kaffirland, serves to separate Cape Colony from Natal. It is occupied by various semi-independent tribes of Kaffirs. They number more than five hundred thousand.

They occupy a region about twice the size of Greece. Compared with Natal, it about equals it in area. While if we compare it with the Orange Free State, we find its area only about one-half as large.

The territory is bounded on the south by the Kei River. It is for this reason we find it sometimes bearing the name Transkei. It is well watered and fertile. In its more elevated sections it is well wooded.

The country possesses vast tracts of land suitable for agricultural and grazing purposes. Both these branches of industry are followed to some extent by the natives.

While the natives are cla.s.sed together under the general name of Kaffir, yet there are a number of distinct tribes bearing special names and occupying well-defined tracts in the territory. Most of these tribes have been some time under British rule to a certain extent. Constant insurrections and rebellions have been the direct cause of the Kaffir wars, so frequently discussed among the current topics of the newspapers.

The cost to Great Britain in the attempt partially to subjugate these tribes must have been enormous.

Several of the more powerful of them have occupied some of the best agricultural sections of South Africa. Others, while inferior to some tribes in strength and warfare, are superior in intelligence and an adaptability to civilization.

Under the influence of civilization some of the natives have learned not only to cultivate corn and wool, but have become versed in trade and have even learned to acquire money. Periods of war have been of such frequent occurrence that the effects of civilization have not been as lasting as the British nation could desire.

There are several Kaffir countries not included within the area of Kaffraria. The most important of these is Zululand. This country became quite important under the military discipline of a line of warrior chiefs, and soon extended its boundaries until they reached the Limpopo and the limits of Cape Colony.

A war with Great Britain was disastrous to Zululand; hence, its boundaries since 1880 are not so extensive. The country has been divided among a dozen or more native chiefs, some of whom are in nowise Zulus.

The region north of Delagoa Bay has been under the rule of an independent Zulu chief. He has allowed the Portuguese to found settlements here and there along the coast.

Many dissensions have arisen among the different Zulu conquerors; and neighboring tribes, taking advantage of them, have, in turn, subjugated the Zulu tribes or have risen in arms to exterminate them.

The Kaffirs that live beyond the Fish River, on the eastern border of the colony, belong to one tribe of the Bechuana family.

In character they are bold, warlike, and very independent. From the possession of these qualities and from their cast of features, it is believed by many that they are of Arabian origin.

The men are well proportioned and extremely tall; some of them are six feet and upwards in height. The women have good tempers and are animated and cheerful in their temperament. They have beautiful teeth, white, and regular in form. They have neither the thick lips nor the flat noses of most of the African natives. Their figures, however, form a strong contrast to those of the men; for they are short and st.u.r.dy.

The name Kaffir, or unbeliever, was given by the Moors to the tribes dwelling along the southeastern coast of Africa, and was afterwards adopted by the Portuguese. Later, the term was applied to all the tribes in the same region.

The Kaffirs' mode of life is very simple. The diet consists princ.i.p.ally of milk. This is kept in leathern bottles till it becomes sufficiently thick and acid. Boiled corn is a favorite dish. This is served in small baskets, from which each one helps himself with his hands. Some times a kind of pottage is made of the corn. Again, it is formed into thick cakes, and baked upon the hearth.

The winter's provisions are stored either in pits or subterranean granaries. These cakes, with an occasional feast of fresh meat, form a diet substantial enough for this hardy people.

The dress of the Kaffirs is made entirely from the skins of beasts.