*~^J' »4V u,J^MrM' 4-i '■i^i^y ■*»■ (/>? '■^* ;■(■ li^'-y' -^^ Pi'^y^, ^ / THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY -fftv GKur? UF ZLLCb. THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS THE UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY By ELISEE RECLUS EDITED By A. H. KEANE, B.A. VICE-PRESIDENT, ANTHROP. INSTITUTE ; COR. MEMB. I I'ALIAN AND WASHINGTON ANTHHOP. SOC. PROKESSOR OF HINUUSIANI, UNIVERSITY COL., LONDON; AUTHOR OF "ASIA," ETC. VOL. XIII. SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS LONDON J. S. VIRTUE cV CO., Limited, 29;, CITY ROAD LONDON : RINTED BY J. S. VIRTUE Al CITY ROAD. CONTENTS. CHAP. ""= I. AxOOLA ^ General Survey, p. 1. Physical Features, p. 4. River Basins, p. 6. Climate, p. 10. Flora, p. 12. IFauna, p. 14. Inhabitants, p. 10. Topography, p. 31. Administration, p. 68. II. DaMAEA and NAiL\QUA Lands ''0 Physical Features, p. 62. CUmate, p. 64. Flora, p. 65. Fauna, p. 66. Inhabitants, p. 67. Topography, p. 75. III. The Oeaxoe and Lmpopo Basins ''^ General Survey, p. 73. Physical Features, p. 81. Geological Formations, p. 86. Rivers, p. 86. Climate, p. 95. Flora^ p. 101. Fauna, p. 105. Inhabitants, p. 107. The Bushmen, p. 108. The Hottentots, p. 112. r\'. Cape Colony axd its Dependencies US Historical Retrospect, p. 118. Topography of Cape Colony, p. 125. Material Resources, Agriculture, p. 137. Stock-breeding, Ostrich-farming, p. 139. Highways of Communica- tion, p. 143. Administration, Public Instruction, p. 144. Griqualand West, p. 147. The Diamond Fields, p. 149. Bechuanaland, p. 15G. The Bechuanas, p. 157. Topo- graphy of Bechuanaland, p. 160. Basutoland, p. 166. Kafirland, p. 170. Tembuland, p. 175. Pondoland, p. 176. Griqualand East, p. 177. V. Nat.al and Zululand IT** General Survey, p. 178. The Natives of Natal, p. 180. Immigration, Coolie Labour, p. 181. Agricultural and Mineral Itesources, p. 183. Topography of Natal, p. 185. Administration, p. 189. Zululaud, p. 190. The Zidus, p. 192. Amatongaland and Swaziland, p. 193. VI. The Dutch Republics and Poetuoxtese Possessions South of the Ldcpopo . . 190 The Orange Free State, p. 196. The Boers of the Free State, p. 197. Topography, p. 199. Administration, p. 200. Transvaal, p. 201. Natural Divisions, p. 201. Historic Retrospect, p. 202. The .Transvaal B )urs, p. 204. The Aborigines, p. 206. Natural Resources, p. 207. Mineral Wealth, p. 209. Topography, p. 212. Administra- tion, p. 214. Delagoa Bay, p. 216. VII. PoETUGUESE Possessions Noeth of the Ldipopo --1 Gazaland, Physical Features, p. 221. River Systems, Marine Currents, p. 223. Climate, Flora, Fauna, p. 224. Historic Retro.spect, ji. 220. The Zulus of Gazaland, p. 227. Topography, p. 231. ^1 \r. ^\ iv CONTENTS. CM A p. PAOB VIII. Zamhese and Ku-Banoo Bisins 235 General Survey, p. T.iS. The Ku-Bango, p. 236. Lake Ngami, p. 2.39. The Chohe, p. 240. The Upper Zambese, p. 242. The Victuria FaU.s. p. 243. The Middle Zambe.se, p. 245. Lake NyasHa, p. 247. The Shire and Lower Zambese, p. 2.50. The Zambese Delta, p. 2.52. Climate of the Zambese Ba.sin, p. 254. Flora, p. 254. Fauna, p. 255. Inhabitants of the Ku-Bango, Ngami, and Upper Zambese Regions, p. 257. The Barotse Empire, p. 260. Topography, p. 2G3. Blatebeleland, p. 264. Topography, p. 268. Inhabitants of the Nyassa and Shire Ba.sina, p. 271. Topf)graphy, p. 275. Administra- tion and Topography of the Lower Zambese, p. 277-9. IX. MoZAMBiaUB 281 Kelief of the Land, p. 282. Rivers, p. 284. Lake Kilwah, p. 285. The Mozambique Coast, p. 287. Climate, Flora and Fauna, p. 289. Inhabitants, p. 290. Topography, p. 295. Administration, p. 299. X. Zahzibae 301 The German Annexations, p. 301. Physical Features, p. 304. Rivers, p. 305. Lake Rikwa, p. 307. CUmate, p. 308. Flora and Fauna, p. 309. Inhabitants, p. 310. Topography, p. 316. The Caravan Trade, p. 324. Islands of Zanzibar and Mafia, p. 326. Flora and Fauna, p. 329. Inhabitants, p. 330. Topography, p. 333. Island of Pemba, p. 333. Administration, p. 334. XI. Mabailand, Kilima-Njako, Kenia 336 Physical Features, p. 338. Lake Naivasha, p. 340. Lake Baringo, p. 341. Usambara Mountains, p. 343. KUima-Njaro, p. 344. Moeru and Ulu Mountains, p. 348. Kenia, p. 348. Mount Elgon, p. 349. Rivere, p. 350. Flora, p. 352. Fauna, p. 353. Inhabitants, p. 354. Topography, p. 370. Tlie British East African Company, p. 375. XII. Somali and East Galla Lands 377 Exploration, p. 377. Physical Features, p. 379^ Rivers, p. 383. Climate, p. 387. Flora, p. 388. Fauna, p. 389. Inhabitants, p. 390. Topography, p. 404. XIII. East Afkican Isl.ands 416 Sokotra, p. 416. Physical Features, p. 418. Topography, p. 419. Madagascar, p. 420. Historic Retrospect, p. 421. Exploration, p. 426. Physical Features, p. 427. Rivers, p. 429. Climate, p. 432. Flora, p. 433. Fauna, p. 436. Inhabitants, p. 438. Social Condition, p. 448. Topography, p. 455. Administration, p. 463. The Comoro Islands, p. 466. The Amirantes and Seychelles, p. 471. Statistical Tables LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. MAPS PEINTED IN COLOUES. PA OR I PAOB 1. Africa, showing- European Annexations and 3. Cape Colony, Natal, and adjacent Territories 178 Claims (1888) SO 4. Zanzibar and Bagamoyo . . . .304 2. The Cape 118 [ 5. Madagascar 424 PLATES. Group of Zulus .... Frontispi View taken on the Banks of the Rio Dando To fair: paye Landscape near Quissama, South of the Congo Quissama Man and Woman Loanda — General View .... Mossamedes — General View . View taken at Walvisch Bay . Angra Pequena — View taken from Nautilus Point The Lion's Head, Cape Town Scene on the Limpopo— The Malikoo-Marico Ford in Transvaal 94 Bu.shman Encampment 108 Cape Town — General View .... 126 PortEhzabeth 134 Convoy of Emigrants in the Makaraka Country 144 Kimberley and its Diamond Mine . . . 152 Shoshong, Capital of the Ba-Mangwatos . 162 Kafir Man and Woman .... Port Natal and Diu-ban — View taken from the Bluff Landscape on the East Frontier of Transvaal General View of Pretoria . To jacc pcujc 21 '2 A Zulu Ki'aal ....... 22(j The Gonye Falls on the Zambese . . . 242 View taken at the Zambese and Chobe Con- fluence 24S Barotae Types ...... 256 View taken at Sesheke, Capital of Barotsc . 2G4 Rovuma and Lujenda Confluence . . . 286 Wasagara Tj-[)es . . . . . .314 Lindi — Seaward View . . . .318 Zanzibar ....... 328 Masai Women of Njiri 368 Somali Tyjjes 392 GaUa Types 400 Street in Berbera . . . . . .412 View taken on the Route between Andovoranto and Tananarive, Madagascar . . . 424 Diego-Suarez Bay — View taken at Antsirana . 432 Tananarive — General View, taken from the West 4.)(i Malagasy Village of Nossi-Be . . . 4il() Said Ali, Sultan of Great Comoro, and a Prin- cess of Great Comoro .... WS IJST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. have crossed the 1 . Routes of the Chief Explorers in Angola 2. The Cunone and Etosha Lagoon 3. Vegetable Zones of Angola 4. Ancient Kingdom of Congo fl. Mn-SoEONGO Woman (). Inhabitants of Angola 7. Routes of Explorers who Continent 5. San-Salvador The Kino of Congo Ambriz Southern Spit of Loanda St. Paul of Loauda . Dondo ... Projected Railway to iimbaca . " Black Stones " of Pungo Ndongo . Malange ...... Tiger Bay and the Cunene Chief Zones of Useful Plants in Angola Coffee-growing Region of Angola . Chief Routes of Explorers in Damara' Uud ..... Herero Land Walvisch Bay . Angra Pequena South-West African Highlands Cape Agulhas . Relief of South Africa The Orange Falls . The Falls of the Orange Gate of the St. John River Delagoa Bay Agulhas Bank . Isothermals of South Africa Rainfall of South Africa . South-African Hottentot Tribes in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century Hottentots, Kafirs, and Be-Chuanaa . Aborigines and Colonists . Successive British Annexations in South Africa ..... 38. CapeToivn 33. S.-ildanha Bay .... 40. Mouth of the Breede— Port Beaufort 41. Port Elizabeth .... 42. South African Lines of Steam Navigation and Cables . 43. Administrative Divisions of Cape Colony and Neighbouring Territories 4 1 . Griqualand West 46. River Diggings in the Vaal Basin 46. Section of the Great Kimberley Mine from North to South .... 47. Kimberley: Appeaeance of the Min IN 18&0 48. Apparatus foe raising the Diamanti FEKons Eaeth 73 70 76 71 80 72 82 73 85 74. 87 75. 89 91 76. 93 77. 96 78. 98 79. 100 80. 81. 113 82. 115 83. 123 84. 85. 124 86. 126 87. 129 88. 131 89. 133 90. 142 91. 92. 145 93. 148 150 94. 95. 152 96. 97. 153 98. 99. 49. Chief Routes of Explorers North of the South African Colonies . 50. Shoshong .... 51. Trade Routes in Bechuanaland 52. Basutoland 53. Kafirland . 54. South Kafirland 55. Natal 56. The Bluff of Natal 57. Port Natal and Durban 58. St. Lucia Lagoon and Backwaters 59. Treks of the Boers . 60. Range of the Tsetse Fly . 61. The Transvaal Gold Fields 62. Pretoria .... 63. LorenCj'O Marques 64. The Louren(;o Marques-Pretoria Railway 65. Chief Routes of Explorers between the Limpopo and Zambese 66. Manica and Gorongoza Highlands . 67. Portuguese Africa from Ocean to Ocean 68. Region of Uncertain Waterpartings 69. Kassai, Ku-Bango, and Zambese Victoria Falls The Laputa Gorge .... Region between Nyassa and Tanganyika Zambese and Shire ConHuenoe . Zambese Delta Inhabitants of the Waterparting between the Congo and Zambese Barotse Uplands .... Chief Tribes of the Zambese Basin . North End of Lake Nyassa Uplands between the Shire and Nyassa Quelimaue ..... Chief Route of Explorers East of Nyassa Namuli Mountains .... Lakes Kilwa, Chiuta, and Amaramba Mouth of ihe Rovuma Ports and Reefs of North Mozambique Chief Nations of Mozambique . Landscape in Lujenda Mozambique and its Ports Ports of Femao Vellozo . Chief Routes of Explorers North of the Ro^iinia The Rufiji Delta Maviha Types . East African Tribes between the Rovuma and Pagani ..... Ports of Mikiudani and Mto-Mtwara Kiloa-Kisiwani .... The Two Kdoas .... Dar-es- Salaam .... Bagamoyo. Oceanic and Landward Coasts of Pemba, compared ...... LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. US. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. PAGE Island of Mafia 328 Zanzibar 331 Pemba 334 Chief Routes of Explorers in the Kilima- Njaro Region ..... 337 Line of Volcamc Fault, Masai Land . 338 Region between Zanzibar and Lake Nyanza ...... 340 Lacustrine Region We.st of Mount Kenia 342 Kilima-Njaro and Nyika Uplands . . 343 KUima-Njaro ...... 344 KrBo, Westeen Peak of Kixcba-Njaei) 347 Tribes North of the Pangani . . . 359 Masai Waekioes 365 Mombaz ....... 371 Ports and Hills of Mombaz . . 372 Malindi and Vasco de Gama's Pillar . 373 Chief Routes of Explorers in Somali Land 378 Cape Guardafui . . . .381 Cape Guaedattji 383 KisHafun 384 Mouths of the Juba and Bubashi . . 385 Lower Course of the Webi . . 386 Somali Territory 392 Somali Wom.^n 394 Vitu Land 403 Double Coastline North of Bubashi . .405 Jebel Karoma 406 Kismayu ...... 408 Magdoshu 410 Berbera 413 Sokotra 417 South-East Corner of Madagascar . . 423 Chief Routes of Explorers in Madagascar 425 Lagoons on the East Coast of Mada- gascar 430 Erosions on the East Coast and Anton- Gil Bay 431 Circular Forest Zone, Madagascar . .434 Ravoninahitkanioeivo, Hova Ministee . 439 Betsileo Woman ..... 441 Inhabitants of Madagascar . . 443 Tananarivo and Environs . . . 456 Tamatave 458 Diego-Suarez Bay ..... 459 Nossi-Be 461 North- West Coast of Madagascar . .463 Ambohimanga, Holy City of the Hovas . 465 The Comoro Islands .... 467 Mayotte 470 Seychelles . . . . . .472 Submarine Banks of Madagascar and the Mascarenhas 473 THE UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY. SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. CHAPTER I. ANGOLA. VER since the Portuguese navigators penetrated beyond the equator into the southern waters, or at least since the year 1485, -n-hen Diego Cam set up the stone at the mouth of the Congo indicating the formal possession of the land south of that estuary, the portion of the African seaboard extending southwards from the Congo has been regarded as belonging to the crown of Portugal. Since the year 1574, when a small Lusitanian colony was established in the island of Loanda, the relations between Lisbon and Angola have never been interrupted. This first section of the coast was originally occupied by seven hundred men commanded by Paul Diaz, grandson of the pioneer who discovered the Cape of Good Hope ; but European households were not properly constituted till the year 1595, when the first Portu- guese women arrived in the settlement. General Survev. In many newly discovered regions several generations have often passed after the first appearance of the whites before they have succeeded in acquiring any effective supremacy over the natives. But in this part of the African seaboard the Portuguese have never ceased for over three hundred years in exercising sovereign rights, or at least in maintaining alliances with the surrounding populations. Even in 1641, when the Dutch captured the strongholds on the coast, some Portuguese ofiScials and others remained in the country, upholding the traditional sovereignty of the ancient Mmda Fotii, "King of Portugal," or rather of the Mueni MpoUi, " King of the sea." Nor were they long neglected by the mother country, a squadron despatched from Brazil having soon reconquered the colony. VOL. XIII. B 2 SOUTH AXD EAST AFEICA. The centres of Portuguese colonisation were naturally the seaports, from which points European influences gradually spread inland. Notwithstanding many vicissitudes of success and defeat, the ascendancy of the Portuguese, pioneers of a higher culture, penetrated at last beyond the coast ranges and plateaux far to the east of the great depression traversed by the Congo. This diffusion of Portuguese authority was largely due to the fact that the intertribal communications were much more easily effected on the southern slopes and upland plains than along the wild and rugged gorges through which the great river forced its way from full to fall to the Atlantic seaboard. Doubtless Stanley's great expedition has suddenly shifted the equilibrium of the continent, and the region of the fluvial basin has now become the chief centre of geographical progress and of the great events that are rapidly bringing about the social and ijolitical transformation of the land. But this very circumstance has aroused Portugal from her lethargy, and stimulated her to redoubled efforts in opening up the vast domain which she has inherited, and her exclusive dominion over which is henceforth guaranteed by international treaties. The recent expeditions of Capello and Ivons, and of Serpa Pinto, attest the importance which the Portuguese now attach to the systematic exploration of their great colony in south-west Africa. The American missionaries stationed in the Bihe district have also of late years contributed much to the geographical study of Angola. The superficial area of the whole territory as far inland as the left bank of the Kwango, and exclusive of the small province lying to the north of the Congo, has been approximatelj' estimated at 280,000 square miles. The popida- tion of the districts that have been roughly surveyed amounts to about four hun- dred and fort}' thousand ; but including the independent nations and the communi- ties connected with Portugal by the more or less solid relations of vassalage, the ^^•hole population of the region Ij'ing between the Atlantic and the Kwango can scarcely be estimated at less than two millions. According to Chavanne's calcula- lions, the density of the population in the northern district between Ambriz and the Congo exceeds twelve persons to the square mile, a proportion which would give as many as five millions for the Portuguese possessions, taken in their widest sense. To the whole region has been extended the name of Angola (ligola), a term originally restricted to the province lying east of Loanda, between the rivers Cuanza and Bengo. Some of the kinglets in the interior still bear this name of Ngola. The province of Angola has often been compared to Brazil, the vast region which faces it on the opposite side of the Atlantic. But the " African Brazil," which had not yet been detached from the mother country whence it received its first settlers, is far inferior to its potent rival in extent, natural resources, economic importance, and general importance amongst the civilised, or at least organised, lands of the globe. Nevertheless a real analogy is presented by the geographical structure of Angola and Brazil. In both regions a great river is developed to the north of the plains and elevated plateaux ; in both the relief of the land is formed by a series of terraces rising step by step one above the other, axCtOlan uplands. 3 and separated by intervening ranges, which are disposed parallel with the coast- line. Their position under corresponding parallels of latitude gives to both countries analogous climates and similar vegetable products, and at the same Fig-. 1. — Routes of the Chief Extloeees in Anoola. Scale 1 : 10,000,000. 1,000 to 1,500 1,500 to 2,000 2,C0O Fathoms and Fathoms. Fathoms. upwards. time enables the inhabitants of each to niigralo freely from one to the other without suffering much inconvenience from the change of climate. If Brazil has been enabled to develop a mixed white, Negro, and Indian population of over B 2 4 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. twelve millions, there is nothing to prevent the territory of Angola from also becoming the home of a numerous people with a strong sentiment of national cohesion, instead of being occupied as at present by a few colonial groups almost lost amid the surrounding hostile populations. Nor should it be forgotten in forecasting its future prospects, that there is at last an end of the slave trade, by which the Brazilian plantations were peopled for nearly three hundred years at the cost of Angola. Physical Features. In the northern part of the territory limited on the north by the Congo, eastwards by the Kwango, and towards the south by the Cuanza, the section of the plateau exceeding 3,000 feet occupies not more than one half of the eastern zone. It consists of gneiss and mica schists, whose surface is disposed in long ridges, which the running waters have scored with deep gorges. The western slope, facing the Atlantic coast, presents on the whole a more gentle incline than the opposite side, where the escarf)ments fall rapidly towards the Kwango basin. The Cuanza, with its copious affluent, the Lu-Calla, interrupts the parallel series of ridges, which run uniformljr north and south, and which are continued in the same direction beyond these watercourses. Thus the elevated mountain ridges are continuous only in the south-eastern section of the plateau, where the Talla Mangongo border range separates the upper course of the Kwango affluents from those of the Cuanza, and gradually merges by gentle undulations in the waterparting between the Kassai and the Zambese. South of the Cuanza, a series of three parallel steps follows from the sea towards the elevated range which forms the backbone of the land, and which runs at a mean distance of a hundred and twenty miles from the Atlantic. Lofty crests rise above the ridges of this intermediate plateau, which is cut up by the streams into several secondary ridges. Here Mount Lovili, under the twelfth degree of latitude, attains an elevation of 7,800 feet ; Mount Elongo, towards the south-west, rises to a height of 7,600 feet, and several other peaks on the neighbouring ranges fall little short of these altitudes. In the Jamba, or Andrade-Corvo chain, forming the eastern scarp of the plateau, some of the summits exceed 6,600 feet. Most of the higher ranges are here disposed in ridges dominated at intervals by peaks and rounded crests ; some however of these (i)ubas, as they are called, appear to be comjjletely isolated, standing out like pyramids in the middle of a plain. Thus Mount Hambi (7,240 feet) consists of an enormous crag rent down the centre, and presenting the appear- ance of a. huge block of metal fissured during the process of cooling. At the eastern foot of the Jamba Mountains stretches the Bulum-Bulu steppe, which is overgrown with tall grasses heaving under the wind like the ocean waves. Taken collectively, these ranges, massive uplands and elevated plains, which are traversed by the trade route between Benguella and Bih^, constitute the culminating part of Angola. Towards the south the plateau decreases considerably ANGOLAN UPLANDS. 5 in height, the highest i^oiuts here falling below 6,000 feet. Farther M-est the summits, rising on a plateau inferior to the eastern terrace, also fail to reach the altitude of Mount Lovili and the neighbouring peaks, although several present an imposing appearance, thanks to their isolated position, and the steep slope of their flanks. Such are the crags which lie some 60 miles to the cast of Benguella, and which, from their peculiar outlines, have received the name of Binga-Yam-Barabi, or " Gazelle Horns." According to Magj-ar, they exceed 3,000 feet in height, while the neighbouring Olombingo peak is said to attain an elevation of over 5,000 feet. The more westerlj' summits, standing on the last terrace of the plateau as it falls seawards, vary in altitude from 600 or 700 to 2,000 feet. Developing at their base precipitous cliffs, they present in many places the aspect of veritable mountains. But most of the hills skirting the coast are mere table rocks, rising little more than 300 or 400 feet above the terraces. They are usually flanked by steep slopes of talus formation, but may be surmounted by following the long winding valleys of erosion, which have been excavated at intervals in the thickness of the plateau. In the southern region of the Angola territory, the uplands of the interior have everywhere been denuded and eroded to great depths, by the affluents of the Cunene and the torrents of the coastlands. Nevertheless the Chella, or Sierra da Neve, that is, " Snowy Range," a superb mountain mass to the east of ilossamedes, has maintained its integrity in isolated grandeur, some of its crests falling little short of 6,300 feet. It owes its alternative Portuguese name to the white streaks sometimes visible in the more elevated crevasses, after the heavy rains brought by the cold southern winds. These highlands, whence flow an abundance of running waters, appear to present the most favourable prospects for the future colonisation of Angola. The climate approaches, nearer than that of any other of the Portuguese possessions in Africa, to the conditions prevailing in the south of Eui-ope, while the mean altitude of the upland valleys is about the same as that of Angola generally, being approximatelv estimated at 4,000 feet. The Angola highlands are composed of gneiss and other crystalline rocks imder- lying schistose formations of great age. These rocks, forming the outer frame- work of the land, make their first appearance at a mean distance of from 12 or 15 miles from the coast. Here the sedimentary rocks, and in many places those of the interior, belong to the Secondary and Tertiary periods, consistiag of sandstones, conglomerates, limestones, clays and sands generally disposed in perfectly regular stratifications. The cretaceous deposits, which run parallel with the coast, cover- ing the outer slopes of the hills in the Benguella district, abound in fossils identi- cal with those which occur in the corresponding formations in Portugal. For long stretches the characteristic geological strata are concealed by laterites^ white, yellow, or red, of relatively modern origin, which have been formed by the decomposed surface of the underlying lavers. The river basins of the interior have moreover been stre-\^-n with alluvial deposits due to the action of running waters. 6 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. The limestone clifis are in many places pierced by deep caverns, where aru found narrow and hitherto unfathomed wells, which have given rise to numerous native legends. Thermal springs occur at various points of the territory ; but no volcanic rocks have been found, except in the northern districts, and even here the eruptive forces appear to have been limited to a few outbursts of basaltic lavas. Ladislas Magyar speaks of a volcano, but without stating whether he visited it himself, and there is every reason to believe that he was deceived by false reports, possibly even by the romantic but untrustworthy descrijjtions of the traveller J. B. Douville.* This active volcano, known as the Mulondo-Zambi, or " Demon Mountain," was reported to lie in the Libollo country some 30 miles to the south of the Cuanza. From the highest crater, overlooking all the surrounding crests, flames and smoke emitting a strong suljjhurous odour were said to be ejected at intervals of three or four hours. The natives never venture to approach this burning mountain, which they suppose to be inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors. But all these reported eruptions will probably sooner or later be explained by some meteorological phenomena, like those of the pretended Otumbi volcano in the Gaboon territorJ^ River Basins. Limited eastwards by the course of the Kwango, the Angola region is traversed by numerous streams, which either flow through deep gorges across one or more of the outer terraces of the plateau, or else, like the Cuanza and the Cunene, force their way seawards through the whole breadth of the intervening uplands. In the northern section of the territory, where the annual rainfall is relatively heavier than in the south, every valley has its perennial stream, although these rivers are prevented by the disposition of the rugged surface from uniting in one large fluvial system. A considerable number of the streams however flow, not directly seawards, but either to the east in the direction of the Kwango, or north- wards through the Kwilu, Lu-fu and Mposo to the Congo. Those which, like the Lelunda, Mbrish, and Loje, reach the Atlantic directly, are disposed in parallel valleys in the direction from east to west. But their mouths are nearly all closed to shipping by impassable bars, so that they are accessible only to small flat- bottomed craft. The Mbrish, which escapes from the Zombo highlands to the east of San- (Salvador, develops a series of cascades, the first of which has a fall of 150 feet, and the whole chain of rapids a total incline of 430 feet. The Dand(^ and Bengo, however, being navigable above their bars, present certain advantages as highways of commerce in the interior, and their shady banks are lined with plantations. But the chief river in Angola, and one of the most copious of the secondary watercourses in the whole of Africa, is the Cuanza, whose valley forms the Atlantic section of the transverse depression which is continued through the Zambese basin south-eastwards to the Indian Ocean. The chief headstreams of the Cuanza have * " Voyage au Cong-o et dans riuterieur de I'Afrique ecxiiinoxiale." AXGOLAN EIYEES. 7 their sources beyond the region directlj' subject to Portuguese rule, intermingling their flood waters with those of the Zambese and of the Ku-Bango on a plateau which has a mean altitude of not less than 5,500 feet. The farthest source of the mainstream is the little Lake Mussombo, some 720 miles from the coast, by the windings of the fluvial valley. From this point the Cuanza describes a vast semicircle, flowing at first towards the north-east and then to the north, after which it sweeps round to the north-west and west, finally trending to the south- west in its last meander seawards. More than half of its course lies to the east of the upland terraces and plateaux which form the backbone of Angola. By the direction of its upper valley it seems inclined to become a tributary of the Congo, but on reaching the Ba-Songa territory, where it has already become a copious stream, it curves round to the west, and forces its way over a long series of wild gorges, falls and rapids, through the intervening mountain barriers seawards. The Cambamb^ cataract, last of the series, 70 feet high, is also known as the "Livingstone falls," although never visited by the illustrious explorer. It is formed by a ledge of schistose rock confined on both sides by nearly vertical walls. During the floods the whole gorge is completely filled with the seething waters, but during the dry season the current is broken by projecting crags into several foaming channels of imequal size. The emerged rocks, damp with the spray of the tumbling waters, are overgrown with the Ancjohea fluitans, a plant with large semi-transparent stem and covered with small white flowers. Immediately below the cataracts the Cuanza is accessible to steamers, no obstacle interfering with the navigation all the way to the sea, although in this section of the river, about 120 miles long, there is a total fall of over 300 feet. The rocky gorge is contimied for 10 miles beyond the rapids, between high red, white, or bluish cliffs, to which an endless variety of shades and forms is added by the climbing plants, tufted brushwood, and drapery of velvet mosses. Below the gorge the main stream is joined by the Mucoso, a considerable affluent from the north, and farther on, also on the right bank, by the stiU more copious Lu-Calla (Lua-Kalla), largest of all its tributaries. Like the Cuanza itself, the Lu-Calla rises to the east of the Angola highlands, and like it forces its way through them in a series of gorges where it plunges in its headlong course from fall to fall. The Lianzundo, one of these falls, is no less than 100 feet in height. The Lu-Calla also describes a vast semicircle, but exactly in the contrary direction to that of the Cuanza, for it takes its rise in the northern part of the Portuguese possessions, not far from the streams which flow on the oppo- site watershed down to the Congo. After its junction with the Lu-Calla, the Cuanza is swollen by no further contributions from any direction, but on the contrary discharges its waters to the right and left, into numerous lagoons or lateral reservoirs, which are succes- sively flooded and almost completely emptied with the alternating wet and drj'- seasons. In the lower reaches the hills continually recede more and more from the fluvial bed, although a few bluflts still rise here and there along the banks of the river. One of these on the left side is the famous Pedro dos Feiticeircs, 8 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. 01' " Fetish Rock," over which the Quissaiuas formerly hurled the unhappy- wretches accused of witchcraft. The mouth of the Cuanza is obstructed by a dangerous bar, which is usually crossed by the local pilots on a raft, or rather a single plank of liermhdera wood about 8 feet long and scarcely 3 feet wide. Kneeling on this spar, they steer their course with the aid of a single paddle, and thus reach the steamers which are at times riding at anchor over a mile from the coast. South of the Cuanza as far as the Cunene, none of the streams rising on the outer slopes of the mountains or in the western valleys can acquire any great development, nor are any of them utilised for navigation. They also flow through a region enjoying a less abundant rainfall than Northern Angola, so that many of them are completely exhausted during the dry season. They thus resemble the wadys of North and the umaramhas or intermittent streams of South Africa. The chief permanent rivers are the Luga, running parallel with the lower Cuanza ; the Cuvo (Keve), which discharges into Old Benguella Bay ; the Bailombo, the Catumbella, and the Coporolo. Of all these little coast streams the Catumbella is the best known, owing to the vicinity of the city of Benguella. About 7 miles from the sea it develops the romantic cataract of Upa, where the whole stream is pent up within a rocky gorge scarcely 9 yards wide. The Cunene, which in Angola yields in length and volume to the Cuanza alone, has recently acquired an exceptional political importance as the line of demarca- tion between the Portuguese possessions and the territory annexed to the German colonial empire. Like the Cuanza, it rises to the east of the central highlands, and flows at first along the inner continental slope jointly with the Ku-Bango, and the eastern aflluents of the Zambese ; but after escaping from this basin it describes a great bend to the west, piercing the intervening rocky barriers on its south-westerly course to the Atlantic. It develops altogether a total length of no less than 720 miles, the. area of its drainage being estimated at about 110,000 square miles. Rising in the Jamba Mountains, over four degrees to the north of the latitude of its estuary, it skirts the southern and south-westeru base of the central uplands, collecting on both banks a large nimiber of affluents during its winding uj^per and middle course. At Quiteve, a riverain village some 240 miles from its sources, Capello and Ivens found that even in June, that is, in the dry season, it had a breadth of nearly 500 feet, with a mean depth of over 8 feet. It flows between wooded banks with great velocity, but unobstructed by cataracts. During the rainy season this beautiful stream assumes the proportions of a mighty watercourse, fully justifying its native name of Cunene, that is, Ku-Nene, or " Great River." At this period it overflows its banks to the right and left, flooding the surround- ing plains for several miles. At one point a depression many square miles in extent is transformed to a vast reservoir which receives the overflow of the upjjer Cunene. After the subsidence of the waters, this depression is strewn with small lakes and stagnant meres ; the muddy bottom-lands are overgrown with ANGOLAN EIVEES. 9 tall reeds {arundo p/irajinlfes), while the brushwood on the higher grounds is covered to a height of 3 or 4 feet with the tufts of herbaceous vegetation borne along by the flood waters. ■ In this extensive plaiu, alternately a lake and a morass, the Cunene is joined by the Caculovar (Kakulo-Bale, or " Old Bald "), a considerable stream which collects all the waters descending from the Snowy Range (CheUa) and from the HuUla cirques. According to the unanimous testimony of travellers and residents, this region of the middle Cunene, notwithstanding its marshy character, is by no means insalubrious, a circumstance perhaps due to the antiseptic action of the mosses covering the surface of the waters, and probably also to the elevation of the land. The height of the plain about the confluence of the Cunene with the Caculovar was estimated by Capello and Ivens at about 3,500 feet, while Dufour, another explorer, found that the village at the confluence itself stood at an altitude of 3,800 feet. This elevated lacustriue district has other emissaries besides the Cunene. At least three watercourses, designated by the generic name of umaramha, branch off from the left bank of the river through broad openings in the en- circling cliffs. They take a southerly or south-easterly course, meandering through the territory of the Ova-Mpos as far as the great saline marsh of Etosha, which is distant 150 miles and situated at a level 330 feet lower than the main stream. Tlie Cunene thus presents the extremely rare example of an incom- pleted delta, for in virtue of these lateral channels it belongs to the system of watercourses which, Hke the Ku-Bango, are lost in the depressions of the desert. Down to the middle of the present century the true course of the Cunene was stm unknown, and on Lopez de Lima's map, which embodies the state of geographical knowledge at that period, it is represented as flowing eastwards in the direction of the Indian Ocean. But it is now known to reach the Atlantic after forcing its way through the intercepting western highlands. Report even speaks of a great cataract, followed lower down by a large number of smaller cascades. It seems ia fact impossible that great falls or rapids do not exist in this section of the fluvial bed, for there is an incline of considerably more than 3,000 feet in the space of 180 miles between the estuary and the point where the mountains are traversed by the river. Systematic exploration has hitherto been made only in the lower part of the valley. So early as the year 1824 the English vessel, the Espiegk, had landed near the mouth of the Cunene, which was then named the Nourse River ; yet the very next year Owen failed to discover the opening, doubtless because the bar had meantime been closed, and the river exhausted for a long way above its mouth. The entrance was not rediscovered tiU the year 1854, when the river was ascended for some 25 miles from the coast. Even now the Cunene reaches the sea only during the rainy season, from Decem- ber to April. At other times the abundant waters rolled down with the inun- dations of the upper basin are nearly completely evaporated in the vast lacustrine reservoirs of the middle course, nothing remaining for the lower reaches except a puny stream which soon runs out in the sands. 10 SOUTH AND E^ST AFRICA. Climate of Angola. Stretching north and south a total distance of over 720 miles between the sixth and seventeenth ixarallels of northern latitude, and presenting a series of terraces rising to a height of over G,000 feet, the Angola territory naturally offers a great diversity of climate. But although the meteorological conditions and all the corresponding phenomena are modified with the latitude and relief of the Fig. 2. — The Cunene a^d Etosha Lagoon. Scale 1 : 6,00 ,000. /.-; ^ w^-V^^^'^^l^ SX/ ^i ^ s.. IKJVjtjr^AMA r'K tasbaf Gr,eo.vcn Depths to 320 820 Feet and Feet. upwai'dfi. land, the actual extremes of temperature are but slight in the several physical zones. Hence travellers suffer quite as much from the fiery solar rays on the elevated plateaux of the interior as on the low-lying coastlands. The thermo- metric differences, however, become more pronoimced with the alternating seasons of heat and cold, according as we advance farther from the equator and from the seaboard. The local variations of climate due to accidental conditions are often very great and extremely dangerous to strangers. In some of the upland districts ANGOLAN CLIiLVTE. 11 it freezes, as in Europe, and even at an altitude of 3,500 feet on the eastern slopes of the mountains, CapeUo and Ivens had to endure great extremes of temperature, from freezing-point at night to 82'' and even 86° F. during the day. The most continuous meteorological observations have been taken at Loanda, capital of the colony, showing that at this place, although lying not more than (JOO miles to the south of the equator, the great summer heats are less intense than at Lisbon. Thus the maximum temperature in February, the hottest month at Loanda, is greater than that of August, the hottest in Portugal. Travellers leaving Lisbon in summer for Angola are surprised at the relative coolness of these tropical regions. In fact the mean temperature of Loanda scarcely exceeds 73° F., while the annual divergence between the thermometric extremes for each month is not usually more than twenty degrees. But between the greatest heat and the greatest cold the discrepancy rose in 1879 to nearly thirty-four degrees, the glass falling from 88^ F. iu November to 55° F. in August. On the inland plateaux under the same latitude and at an elevation of 5,300 feet, the discrepancy is twice as great, ranging from freezing-point to 98° F. At Mos- samedes, which of all the coast towns enjoys the most equable climate, the annual temperature oscillates from thirty-six to thirty-eight degrees, and this place presents the most favourable conditions for the acclimatisation of European residents. The relative coolness of the Angolan climate is due to the direction of the marine breezes, which generally blow from the temperate southern regions. In these latitudes the coast stream setting from the Antarctic zone has sufficient in- fluence to considerably lower the normal temperature of the surrounding waters and atmospheric layers ; hence the name of Cabo Frio, or " Cold Cape," given to the headland lying to the south of the Cunene. A neighbouring creek is also known as the Angra Fria, or " Cold Bay." Even north of the Cunene the coast- lands benefit by this cool marine current, although to a less degree, and its in- fluence is known to be felt as far north as the island of Sam-Thom^. Oif Loanda its mean velocity is about 1 g mile per hour, but it is at times completely arrested or even partly reversed by violent gales from the north-west. Generally speak- ing, the southern breezes prevail greatly over those from the north along this seaboard, where the trade-winds rarely maintain their normal direction from the south-east to the north-west, being deflected by the rarefied air from the hot regions of the interior, and thus transformed to south-westerly and even westerly monsoons. According to Ribeiro, the marine breezes stand to those of the conti- nent in the proportion of rather more than five to two. From the observations regularly taken at Malange, over 180 miles from the sea, it appears that in this inland district, notwithstanding its great distance from the alternating land and seacoast breezes [terral and vivaguo), a certain rhythm is still maintained between the easterly and westerly winds. According to Harm, the former prevail especi- ally in the morning, the latter in the afternoon, the aerial current thus showing a tendency to set from the quarter of the heavens where the sun is found. Under the influence of the vapour-charged monsoons there is always a con- 12 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. siderable quantity of moisture iDi-esont in the atmosphere.* From May to Septem- ber it often almost reaches the point of saturation, and then the horizon is everywhere veiled in the dense fogs of the cacimbo. Yet the rainfall is compara- tively slight in the low-lying districts, the vapours being borne by the winds to the slopes of the hills, where frequent downpours occur regularly during the light rainy season from October to January, and the heavy from the beginning of April to the end of May. At Loanda the annual rainfall varies to a remarkable degree, t the average number of wet days being not more than fifteen in some years and four times as many in others. Over 20 inches have sometimes fallen in favourable years, while at other times the quantity has scarcely exceeded 5 or 6 inches. In the northern districts the first rains are always unhealthy, the air being then charged with the foul exhalations with which the porous soil is saturated, and which are mingled with the decayed vegetation suddenly washed up from below the surface. In the direction from north to south the quantity of the rain- fall diminishes progressively along the low-lying coastlands. Copious at San- Salvador, J slight at Loanda, it ceases nearly altogether at Mossamedes and in the Lower Cunene basin. Hence this southern region lies on the verge of the desert, but is at the same time the most salubrious in Angola, thanks to the great dryness of the atmosphere and the ground, as well as to the relative coolness of the temperature. On the plateaux skirting the south side of the Lower Cunene the Quissama natives are obliged carefully to husband the rainwater in the hollow trunks of the baobabs. Flora, Since the explorations of Welwitsch in the province of Angola, the face of the land is well known in its broad features, and nothing now remains except to study its details. Hence the name of this learned botanist has justly been given to the Welwitschia mirabilis, the most remarkable plant in this part of the conti- nent. This tree, for it really is a tree, although in appearance more like an eccentric fimgus than aught else, grows in the Mossamedes district, ranging north- wards only as far as the mouth of the intermittent river Sam-Nicolau, but reach- ing, south of the Cunene, far into the Damara country. The trunk, which is said to live for a hundred years, and which attains a compass of ten or twelve feet, * Relative humidity during the three years 1879, 1880, and 1881— Mean . . . . 82 -42 Highest mean . . . 87-69 Lowest mean . 7G'69 Mean variation . . . 10'84 (Coelho and Kibeiro). t Rainfall at Loanda : — Eainy Total Eainfall. Days. Inches. 1879. .... 62 24 1880. . . " . E4 10 1881 15 6 Mean 34 13 (Ribeiro) ; Rainfall at San-Salvador in 1884, 63 days, with a total discharge of 36 inches. ANGOLAN FLOEA. 13 3. — Vegetable Zones of Angola. Scale 1 : 15,000,000. terminates abruptly a few inches above the ground in a level surface compared by Welwitsch to a "round table," but fissured and crevassed in all directions. From its outer rim branch off two thick leaves nearly 8 feet long, which resemble two great leather discs, and which are in fact the very first leaves, which have survived since the plant began to sprout, and which have grown with the growth of the tree itself. The edges of these strange leaves are frayed into numerous snake-like thongs, which have all the appearance of so many tentacles of a polype. In the northern districts of Angola the flora differs in no respects from that of the Lower Congo. Here the characteristic plants of the landscape are everj'whcre the arborescent euphorbias, the eriodendrons, the bombax, and •wide-spread baobab. In some of the valleys well sheltered from the sea breezes and abundantly watered, tropical vegetation displays all its variety of great forest trees, parasitic and climbing plants. But the exposed plateaux, where the rainwater flows off rapidly and where the sur- face is covered only, with a thin layer of vegetable soil, are overgrown for vast spaces with tall steppe grasses, giving refuge to nu- merous herds of large game. But these boundless savan- nahs are exposed to period- ical queimaJas, or conflagra- tions, which sweep away all living creatures do^vn to the sooMiiea. very insects. In the direction from north to south the vegetation gi-ows scantier with the con- tinuously decreasing rainfall. At a short distance south of Cape Padrao the primeval forest descends to the water's edge, whereas it gradually recedes in the interior to the south of the Cabe9a de Cobra settlement. Still farther south forests are nowhere seen in the neighbourhood of the coast, and beyond Mossamedes the last lingering isolated clumps disappear altogether, although behind the outer terraces the vast wildernesses of the Sertao are still diversified with fine forest growths. In the same direction Li^ □ Relatively healthy productive lands. 14 SOUTH AXD EAST AFEICA. from nortli to south certain characteristic species become gradually replaced by others. Thus the lujphcfnc giiineensix, so common between the Congo estuary and Ambriz, is not found on the southern coastlands, and in the Mossamedes district a complete transition takes place from the flora of the equatorial regions to that of the closed fluvial basins in South Africa. In this southern province the great euphorbias, for instance, are no longer seen, their place being gradually usurped by the various gum-bearing species. "Welwitsch's botanical record for the whole of the Angola territory comprises three thousand two hundred and twenty-seven species, of ■which one thousand eight hundred and ninety are flowering plants. In this numerous catalogue are included several indigenous forms, such as cactuses, a family formerly supposed to be found only in the New World, but which are here grouped about the crests of the plateau at great distances from the coast, and from all centres of colonisation. A number of the local plants are highly prized by the natives on account of their supposed magical properties, notably the poisonous erythrophlmim guinecnse, the bark of which (nlassa) is used in judicial trials by ordeal, and the ndui (decamera Jovis tonantis), a shrub whose branches are suspended above the houses as a protec- tion against lightning. In the sandy tracts of the south, the roots of the euphor- bias afford nutriment to a remarkable parasitic plant of the genus Jujdnora, which dwells underground for the greater part of its existence, and then suddenly projects above the surface a solitary stalk, whose extremity expands into a large red flower, with a smell Kke that of putrid meat. This plant is endowed with many virtues in the ej'es of the natives, who emjoloy its sap to give greater strength to their fishing-lines and nets, and also utilise it especially as a specific against several maladies. On the other hand, the fruits of very few indigenous plants are gathered for alimentary piirposes. Thus, although the Angolan flora comprises no less than thirty-two species of the vine, in but few localities are the grapes either eaten or pressed for making a little wine. The inariamhame, or coffee shrub, however, which grows wild in the forests of the interior, supplied the early planters with the first stock cultivated by them. Welwitsch has also foimd in the Angolan forests the large Liberian species, -which is already replacing the Arabian variety on so many plantations. All other plants, whose roots, leaves, fruits or seeds serve as food, have been introduced in Angola as in other parts of Africa either from Asia or from the New World. The mango, one of these exotics, which however thrives admirably, is rarely met in some districts, and especially along the banks of the Cuanza, where its shade is supposed to cause ill-luck. Fauna of Angola. Transformations analogous to those of the flora have also taken place in the Angolan fauna. Just as the indigenous plants disappear before foreign intruders, wild animals withdraw farther and farther from the white man, his dogs and other domtstic breeds. Elephants are no longer seen in the neighbourhood of ANGOLAN FAUNA. 15 the coast, although dowu to the middle of this century they wei-e still found along the seaboard. In 1854 the first explorers of the Cunene met them in such large numbers that it was proposed to call this watercourse the "Elephant River." But being now driven from the plains, they have taken refuge in the uplands and in the Chella mountains, where they range over the slopes and highest summits. Lions also frequently prowled at night about the streets of the coast towns. After the rainy season especially they were very numerous, descending from the steppes and forests of the interior on the track of the antelopes which came to browse on the tender herbage of the lowlands. They often attacked man himself, and some thus acquiring a taste for human flesh, fell ujDon the shepherd in preference to his flock. They were regarded as animal fetishes, and no native would venture to speak of them without giving them the title of ngana, or " lord." At present these felines have become rare, while panthers, and especially hyenas of more than one species, are still numerous. The peixe-mulher, that is, " mer- maid," or manatee, appears to have disappeared from all the Angolan rivers, except the upper reaches of the Cuanza, and the hippopotamus has withdrawn into the lateral lagoons of the rivers. But the jacares, or crocodiles, still infest many of the streams, although sharks, so numerous north of the Congo, are never seen on the southern coast. In the provinces lying south of the Cuanza occur some animals unknown north of that river. But zebras, as well as certain antelopes belonging to the zone of the Orange and Zambese basins, are seen only on the verge of the great southern steppes. It was probably one of these antelopes that the traveller Brochado mistook for a dromedary, an animal that has not j-et been introduced into the country. The order of birds is represented in Angola by a great variety of species, and a considerable traSic in songsters is carried on with Lisbon. The natives have great faith in the omens furnished by the flight or the songs of birds, and meeting a quioco (tclejj/ionus erythrojderus) is always regarded as of favourable augury. The eorythrix paulina, a lovely little creature which feeds chiefly on seeds and fruits, is looked on as a potent magician whose cry strikes terror into the stoutest heart. Houses and even whole villages have been deserted because this bird happened to perch on a neighbouring branch and utter its funereal note. The fowlers who go to capture it in the forests on behalf of the Portuguese dealers, are very careful to avoid all villages on their return with their prize, for fear of being accused by the inhabitants of complicity in witchcraft. In another respect this bird is very remarkable, the bright red colour of its wings being soluble in water and yielding a certain proportion of copper (Monteiro). Nearly all the forests of the interior are inhabited by the honey-bird {cuctilus indicator), which, flitting from tree to tree, leads the honey-seekers to the hive, and then waits patiently perched on a neighbouring branch for its share in the plunder. Except in some districts snakes are not common, but some varieties are IG SOUTn AND EAST AFEICA. extremoly dangerous, as, for instance, the ciispedciro, or "spitter," wbich when irritated ejects an acrid and poisonous secretion that threatens those with blind- ness whose ej^es it touches. With the exception of ants and mosquitoes, insects are comparatively rare on the Atlantic slope of Angola. Scarcely any are seen during the rainy season, and butterflies make their appearance only for a few weeks, or even days, when the hot weather sets in. But the neighbouring seas are densely stocked, and the water seems at times one living mass, so choked is it with fish, forming moving banks several square miles in extent. The natives eat a small species of shark, as well as the punffo, a singing fish, whose thrilling note, soft as the sound of a flute, is heard rising above the smooth surface. In the rivers and especially in the shallow lagoons flooded during the inundations, they capture the bagro, a species of siluroid six or eight feet long, which has the property of living for hours on dry land. Inhabitants of Angola. The natives of Angola belong for the most part to the group of Bantu popula- tions. But it seems probable that amongst thom, as amongst those of the Congo and Ogoway basins, there also survive the descendants of races belonging to an epoch anterior to all civilisation, before Africa had yet received the alimentary plants of Asia and the New World, and when the scattered tribes led a wandering- life in the forests, living only on the chase, fishing, roots, and wild berries. These primitive tribes, who are still distinguished from the invaders by their usages and speech, have in Angola been mostly driven southwards to the verge of the desert or uninhabited savannahs. But the conquerors themselves, although connected by common descent and a common language, represent several successive waves of invasion, each of which in its turn changed the political equilibrium of the land. The last of these irruptions was that of the Jagas, which occurred in the middle of the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese navigators had already made their appearance on the coast. The devastating hordes of these Jagas swept like a torrent over the land, destroying kingdoms and displacing whole communities. They are generally supposed to have been closely related to the Zulus and Kafirs of the southern regions. At present these ethnical shiftings take place more gradually, but the idtimate con- sequences are even more far-reaching. The Kabinda Negroes, the immigrants from Brazil, and the Portuguese half-castes, do not certainly present themselves as enemies, but their influence is on that ver}' account all the more readily accepted. All these discordant elements are thus gradually merging in a common nationality, and preparing the way for a new era of social culture. Like those dwelling between the Congo and Shiloango rivers, the various tribes of the northern districts belong to the Ba-Fyot family. They also take the collective name of Congo from the river whose banks they occupy. These Ba- Fj'ots were the founders of the ancient kingdom of the Congo, which became famous through its alliance with the Portuguese, and throiigh the remarkable INHABITANTS OF ANGOLA. 17 success of the Roman Catholic missionaries, who converted, or at least baptised, many hundred thousand natives. The kingdom still exists, although much weakened, most of the Ba-Fyot tribes having ceased to yield it obedience. The Jlu-Sorongos, kinsmen of those dwelling north of the Congo, the Mu-Shicongos, the Ba-Kongos, Bambas, Muyolos, and other Fj'ot peoples occupying the region south of the Lower Congo far into the Mbrish basin, render little more than a nominal vassalage to the sovereign who resides at San Salvador, while even the Portuguese authority is but slightly enforced in those districts. The few explorers Tig. 4. — Anciext KiNfiDOM or C'oxc.o. Scale 1 : 10,000,000. who have ventured to visit these northern populations have done so at the cost of much risk and great hardships. The Sonho Negroes in the peninsula foimcd by the Congo estuary and the coast line, no longer hold any relations with their old master at San-Salvador. The disintegration of the empire in fact began towards the close of the seven- teenth century, by the revolt of their kilamba, or chief, the " Count of Sonho " of the Portuguese chronicles. The complete ruin of the state was In'ought about by insurrections, the rivalries of the missionaries, the seizure of the trade routes VOL. XIII. c 18 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. by tho Cabindas, and especially the slave trade carried on either by the monks themselves or by the Portuguese and foreign dealers. The kingdom is kept together only by the mystic power of tradition, like the " holj^ Roman Empire " during the Middle Ages. Although dwelling on the banks of the Congo, in the immediate vicinity of Fie;. 5. — Mu-SoEONOO "Woman. the factories visited by the whites, the native communities lying west of San- Salvador have onlj' to a very small extent been brought under European influences. The Mu-Sorongos, Mu-Shicongos, Bambas and others, have remained pure fetishists unaffected by any ceremonies borrowed from the Eoraan Catholic IXnABITAXTS OF AXGOLA. 19 practices. They never omit, however, to supply their dead with bcots or shoes in the Exiropean fashion, doubtless to lighten their toilsome journey to the unknown world bej'ond the grave. The Mu-Shicongos, who claim to have sprung from the trees, have scarcely any domestic idols in their huts, but nearly- all natural objects are for them " fetishes," and cverj' unexplained phenomenon seems to them an awe-inspiring prodigy, or the work of some potent magician. The world of spirits rules all mundane affairs. Women who have long remained childless, or who have lost a firstling, make solemn vows to devote their new-born offspring to the service of the fetishes, and from their early childhood these future priests learn from the great fetishists the occiilt arts, such as how to beat the magic drum, to utter the spells and incantations, to make the proper gestures and contor- tions required for conjuring the spirits, or causing and dispelling bodily ailments. Amongst the Bambas, the rite of circumcision is attended hj a long period of trials for initiation into the state of manhood. During this period the young men, formed into temporary repubKcs in the recesses of the forest, dwell entirely apart from the rest of the tribe, absorbed in the study of the magic virtues of the herbs, trees, and animals, and in concocting the various " medicines," which they are required to carcfullj' preserve during their whole life as a protection against all misfortimes. They cannot return to the world until properlj^ furnished with all these powerful charms. The king of the Bambas, whose ancestors were invested with the office of commander-in-chief by the emperor of Congo, is said to be now the keeper of the great fetish who dwells in a sacred grove inaccessible to all strangers. This mysterious being remains invisible, even to his worshippers themselves, and although he is supposed to be mortal, his priests gather up his remains, and from these the god springs ever into new life. All the members of the tribe are said to have in the same way to pass through a " temporary death," and it is reported that when the priest shakes his calabash, full of all sorts of charms, the yoimg men are thrown into a cataleptic sleep, falling like dead bodies on the ground. They remain in this state for three days, then returning to the life which they henceforth consecrate to the worship of the fetish by whom they have been resuscitated. Some, however, wake up in a drowsy state, only gradually recovering the memory of their previous existence. But, whatever be the practices of the Bamba magicians, it seems probable that they really possess this power of throwing the young men into a comatose state outwardly resembling death. Those who have not passed through this ceremony of the new birth are universally despised and forbidden to join in the tribal dances. In the midst of the Mu-Shicongos are scattered some Ma-Yumbu comnui nities, resembling in every respect the other Ma-Yumbus who are met north of the Congo, and who are equally distinguished by their Semitic features. According to the local traditions, the southern Ma-Yumbus, who are all members of influential families, have been settled in this region from lime immemorial. 20 SOTTTIT AXD EAST AFRICA. Tjik Blnuas. Soutli of the tribes eonstitiitlug the Congo groui5, and as far as the pro^'ince of ^Mofsamcdes, stretches the linguistic domain of the Bundas (Bundo, Bonde), (ailed also " Angola " like the whole land itself. According to one rather far- fetched etj'mologj', the term Biinda is explained to mean "Strikers," or "Con- querors," recalling in fact the successive invasions of the race and its victories over the aboriginal populations. But the name seems rather to denote "family," " descent," thus implying a consciousness of their common kinship on the part of those speaking the lingua cjcral or " general language " of Angola. This Bunda si^eech is one of the most widely diffused in Africa, and one of those which have been longest known to students, without however having yet been thoroughly studied. To\^-ards the end of the seventeenth century an Angolan grammar was published in Lisbon, and devotional works had already been com- posed in this language. For over two centuries Eiu'opeans have been familiar with Am-Bimda (Hem-Bunda or Kin-Bunda), whose domain, according to Monteiro, begins immediately below the river Dand^, and stretches thence far beyond the frontiers of Angola proper. If not spoken, it is at least understood by numerous tribes of the interior, who maintain uninterrupted commercial relations with Bunda caravan people. Thus it was not as " Strikers," but as traders, that the inhabitants of Angola propagated the use of their "lingua franca," from the Atlantic seaboard as far as the Congo, Ku-Bango, and Zambese basins. In the Portuguese possessions it is spoken in two dialects, distinct enough to have been classed as separate languages. These are the Angolan, or Bunda, j)roperly so called, which is current north of the Cuanza, and the southern Bunda, which prevails throughout the whole region comprised between Benguella and the Bihe territory. Portuguese terms have penetrated into both varieties, and in fact into all the inland dialects as far as and beyond the Kassai. The Bundas (A-Bundo, Bin-Bundo) are thus divided into two main divisions, a northern and a southern. But the latter, so far from forming compact national groups, are in their turn siibdivided into a large number of tribes, which have reached very different degrees of civilisation. Some, who have been brought within the influence of Europeans either on the seaboard or on. the plantations of the interior, are comparatively cultured, while others dwelling on the plateaux, or in the more remote upland villages, have remained in the savage state. Of all the Bundas, the Ba-Xano or " Highlanders," so named in contradistinction to the Ba-Bwero or " Lowlanders," have best preserved the racial purity and the primitive usages. The term Ba-iPfano (Nanno) is, however, extended by some writers in a collective sense to the whole nation. Eeferring to the traditions of the Bundas who occupy the hilly region lying south of the Cuanza, Magyar states that these tribes came from the north-east about the middle of the sixteenth century. Their ancestors, who were fierce cannibals, were constantly waging war against all the surrounding tribes in order to procure human prey, and when they had no longer any enemies to fall upon THE BUXDAS. 21 lliey began to cxterminato each other. The whole race was thi'eatenel with extinction by these everlasting butcheries when, according to the legend, there was constituted the secret society of cinpacasaciros, or " buffalo hunters," who pledged themselves no longer to eat any flesh except that of wild beasts of the forest. The members of this association ^\■erc distinguished by a buffalo tail tied round their head, and rings formed by the entrails of the same animjil coiled round their arms and legs. In course of time the confederates became powerful enough opeul}- to revolt against the cannibals conservative of the old usages. But, being compelled to quit the countr}^, they crossed the Upper Ouanza in the direction of the west, and settled in the territory of the Ba'ilundos and neighbouring districts, where they gradually learnt the art of husbandry and became steadfast allies of the Portuguese. Even during their first " black wars," the early white settlers were aided by bands of these buffalo hunters at times numbering as many as thirty thousand warriors, armed with bows and arrows. On the other hand, the section of the Eunda nation which had remained in the country east of the Cuanza, after the emigration of the empacasseiros, became too weak to maintain their superiority over the surrounding peoples, by whom thej- appear to have become graduall}^ absorbed. But although still savages, they no doubt lost much of their former ferocitj'. But whatever value is to be attached to these traditions, in which history and legend are largely intermingled, there can be no doubt that human sacrifices and cannibalistic practices survived in their religions ceremonies at least down to the middle of the present century. According to Ladislas Magyar, who was himself the son-in-law of the king of Bihe, and as such a prominent personage in the dominant tribe of the Bundas, the body of the chief had to be sprinkled with the blood of slaves. Nor could his successor be enthroned until a slave-hunting expedition had been organised, in which the candidate for the chieftaincy was required to capture members of every trade practised in the country. This was done in the belief that the various arts and industries could not possibly flourish imder the new administration imless all were represented by special victims at the inaugural ceremonies. Young girls and even pregnant women were thus immolated to secure fecimdity during the ensuing reign, while the imborn babes were used iu the concoction of elixirs destined to prolong human life. At every fresh succession some renowned warrior was also singled out, in order that the king might acquire courage by eating his heart. But in order to have the desired effect this hero had to be stricken down in the fullness of his strength and vigour ; hence he was suddenly cut down while joining in the war-dance. Strangers also accident- ally crossing the path of funeral processions were immediately dragged along and sacrificed on the grave. Established usage even authorised promiscuous slaughter for a period of seven daj's between the death of the king and the accession of his successor, a custom of which the so-called " sous of the elej^haut," that is, the regiilar troops of the standing army, took advantage to plimdcr and massacre with impunity. In ordiuarj' times animals alone were sacrificed, the warrioi" offering to the fetishmen either a black goat or a black heifer, the bridegroom a white ox. 22 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. Tlio Bundas, and especiallj^ the Nanos or Ilighlauders, are generally fine men witli proud bearing and frank expression. Amongst them persons are often found with blue eyes, a trait which is not at all appreciated bj^ the natives. In most of the tribes the women are tattooed with designs representing flowers and arabesques. They go bare-headed, whereas the men fold a sort of turban round their hair, or else part it into a multitude of ringlets decked with little clay balls in imitation of coral. Like those of most other African tribes, the Bunda solas, or chiefs, add to their usual dress the skin of a panther or of some other rapacious beast, this spoil of the chase being regarded as an emblem of the terror by which royalty should ever be su.rrounded. Some of the tribes practise circumcision, a rite unknown in others, or reserved for the chiefs alone, who submit to the operation before assuming the panther's skin. The Bundas are for the most part highly intelligent, under the direction of Europeans rapidly acquiring a knowledge of letters, writing, and music. lu a few months they learn to speak Portuguese correctly, and also make excellent artisans. Each community has its blacksmith and armourer, its carpenter, weaver, potter, all of whom assist at the public gatherings, according to a well established order of precedence. But the Bundas distinguish themselves above all as traders. All the business affairs of the Portuguese with the interior are transacted by them, and they not unfrequently excel their teachers in com- mercial ability. The Bundas of the inland plateaux, whom Livingstone speaks of under the collective name of Mambari, accompany the traders' caravans far into the interior of the continent. Owing to their long journeys through the bush country, they are also commonly known as Pombeiros, from the native word poinbe, answering to our scrub or brushwood. Some of these caravans at one time comprised as many as three thousand persons, and were occasionally transformed to bands of armed marauders. Many of these inland Bundas were in the habit of sending their children to the coast towns for the purpose of receiving a European education. The Bunda territor^^ is divided into a number of chieftaincies, some of which comprise a considerable population ; but each village constitutes an independent community in the enjoyment of self-government in all matters of purely local interest. The citizens, however, do not take part in the deliberations on a footing of equality, for there are numerous privileged classes, some by hereditary right, others through the royal favour, while over one-half of the whole popula- tion are enslaved. The slave element is sujjplied bj^ captives in war, by distress compelling freemen to sell themselves and families, and by debts which are often paid by the loss of liberty. The expenses of funeral banquets have even at times been liquidated by selling the very children of the deceased. On the other hand, nearly all the slaves marry free women, in order thus to lighten the bui'den of servitude and to ensure the emancipation of their children, who always take the social position of their mothers. When a slave becomes in this waj' related to a chief, his life is considered as of equal value to that of a free man. His body, like that of other Bundas, is consulted bv the wizards, in order to ascertain whether THE BU>rDAS. 23 the deatli Las not been caused bv the rnao-ic arts of some malevolent medicine- Fig. G. — IXHABITA^-TS OF AXOOLA. Scale 1 : lO.OOO.non. 1,500 to 2.C00 2,000 Futhoms aud Fathoms. upwalds. man; for the unavenged spirits of the dead fail nut to return to the earth, and torment the living until justice is done them. ^1 SOUTU AND EAST APEICA. Tiiii Gaxgi^ei.las and Lihollos. Bej'oiicl tlic Ui:)pcr Cuauza, tlie peoples dwelliug south-east of the Biindas, Iliiambas, aucl Quiiubaudes — confederate tribes of blacksmiths and wax-liimters, scattered amid the depressions of the plateau — are collectively known as Gau- guellas, a term -which appears to have been suggested by the contempt in which these aborigines are held. The word is said to mean "silly "or "senseless people," and in proof of their stupidity, it was till recently said of them that they looked on brandy as a poison, and consequently massacred the iirst importers of the pernicious liquor. Under the general designation of Ganguellas are now com- prised numerous tribes, whose idioms are connected towards the east with those of the Lobales, and westward with those of the Nanos. Notwithstanding the great difference in their social condition, all these peoples seem to have a common origin ; nor does their rejjutatiou for savagery prevent the Ganguellas from being highly intelligent and enterprising ti-aders. According to Bastian, amongst them are to be sought the descendants of the terrible Jagas, who formerly overran the empire of Congo, and who have been affiliated by other writers to the Fulahs, the Zulu-Kafirs, and even the Hamitic Gallas. The Songo people, who occupy the waterpartiug between the Cuanza and the Kwango to the east of Malange, have been brought more under Portuguese influence than the Ganguellas ; yet there are few African lands where trial by the ordeal of the j)oisoued cup is more common than in their territory. It is employed e\en in the most frivolous cases, the litigants being, however, then replaced by a nimiber of children, or of dogs, who represent the opposite sides. An attenuated decoction^ which causes little danger to life, is administered all round, and the first to reject the potion secures the triiunph of their party. The tribes dwelling along the left bank of the Lower Cuanza diverge more from the ordinary Bimda type, and the Bantu dialects spoken by them differ greatly from the current speech of Angola. To this group belong the LiboUos, whose territory is limited eastwards by the little river Cango, who bear the reputation of being a mild, peace-loving, and industrious agricultural people. The LiboUos are the hereditary foes of their western neighbours, the Quissamas (Kissama), who occupy the peninsular district bounded east and north by the great bend of the Lower Cuanza, west and south-west by the coast. Hitherto the Quissamas have preserved their complete independence, although it woidd have been easy to reduce their territory, almost entirely encircled as it is by the Portuguese possessions. During a famine, by which the land was wasted, some Bunda traders took advantage of the general distress to barter provisions for a large number of half-famished families. But the next year the Quissamas avenged themselves by captiu-ing several of the Bunda merchants, whom they put to the torture, bui-ning them with red-hot irons in punishment of the indignity offered to the nation. Owing to this occurrence the Bundas would now willingly offer their services to the Portuguese Government for the conquest of the Quissama tcrritor\-. THE SOUrn ANGOLAN TEIBES. 25 ITcautime the Qiiissamas, a small black race of uiicleauly habits, hold them- selves aloof from all the other natives, although still compelled at times to cross the Cuanza in order to find a market for their prodiicts amongst the Portuguese settlers. One of the most precious commodities exported by them are blocks of salt about ten inches long, which are forwarded to the interior and used as ciu'rency throughout a great part of the continent. Dealers armed with fetishes, which serve also as safe-conducts, introduce in return into their villages articles of European manufacture, such as glass beads used as ornaments by the women. The hair, encircled by a coronet of vegetable fibre in the form of a nimbus, is decked with false pearls alternating -nith narrow strips of bark. They alsa wear a robe prepared from the bast of the baobab, which ladies of rank cover behind with an antelope skin embellished with pendant shell ornaments jingling at every step. Their approach is thus heralded from a distance by the tinkling noise of the cowries attached to their costume. The Quissamas are altogether a very coiu'teous and ceremonious j^eople. The South Axgolan Tkibes. South of the LiboUos and Quissamas dwell the Ambocllas, a Bantu nation bearing the same name as the numerous tribes of like origin settled more to the south-east on the banks of the Ku-Bango and Upper Zambese. The Sell, or Mu- Seli, a coast tribe near Novo-Eedondo, were till recently stiU cannibals, who at their religious ceremonies slaughtered a fetish victim whose head and heart were pre- sented to the king. Farther south the jMu-Ndomb6 savages, first reduced in the year 1847, are a nomad pastoral people of independent but unaggressive character. They are clothed in skins, and smear their bodies with oil or rancid butter blackened with powdered charcoal. Of all the Angolan peoples they alone wear sandals made of ox-hide. The cuhcdas, or huts, of the villages, scarcely high enough for headroom, resemble haycocks, and are of perfectlj' spherical form. They are furnished with bedsteads, which are mere heaps of clay levelled on top and lubricated with butter. When the young Mu-Ndombe gets married a banana garden is planted, and if there is no prospect of offspring when the fruit ripens, the wife has the right to claim a divorce. As a rule, the Mu-Ndombes eat nothing but game, abstaining from touching their cattle except at the death of a chief, on which "festive occasion " several hundred heads of oxen are sometimes consumed. At these Gargantuan feasts, which last for ten and even fifteen days, the whole animal is devom-ed — the haK-raw flesh, the blood, entrails, skin broiled over the fire, every- thing except the bones and horns. Between Benguella and Mossamedes the whole coast region is occupied by the Ba-Kwandos and the Ba-Kwiss(?s, ethnical groups which are usually regarded as belonging to a primitive race in process of extinction. They are a small race with a yellowish black complexion, prominent cheek-bones, flat nose, pouting lips, projecting jaws, large paiuich, and weak extremities. They are shunned as 26 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA, dangerous savages, although really a timid people, living in the caves and fissures of the mountains, and reti-eatiug step by step before the advance of the Europeans and of the other Negro populations. In their eyes the European is almost a divine being, whom they -n'ould not dare to resist. Hence, they are ever on their guard against strangers, and creep stealthily down to the coast, where they venture amongst the breakers in quest of fish, and of the flotsam and jetsam of all kinds cast ashore by the waves. This is their only food, for they have no arms or missiles with which to pursue the game in their forests. Amongst them the social state has not developed beyond the family circle, each little group of closely related kinsfolk keeping together and wandering about under the guidance of the elder or patriarch. Other fugitive peoples, such as the Ba-Kulabes (Cabae), and the Ba-Koroka, probably of mixed origin, roam the western slopes of the hills, being also utterly powerless to offer the least resistance to the European or native invaders. On the opposite side of the moimtains dwell the Ba-Kankalas, a dwarfish tribe with largo paunch and j'ellowish complexion, who would seem, like the Ba-Kwandos and Ba-Kwisses, also to represent the Bushman stock amongst the surrounding Bantu peoples. The descendants of these aborigines have held their ground most successfully in the southern districts of Angola, where they are still concentrated in the largest numbers. But here also the ever-advancing Bantu populations have acquired possession of the land, and the Bunda language has already become the prevalent form of speech. On the right or Portuguese side of the Cunene, the chief nation are the Ba-Simbas (Ba-Ximba, Ba-Shimba), the Cimbebas of Duparquet and other ethnologists. The upper basin of the Caculovar, chief affluent of the Cunene, belongs to the various tribes of the Ba-Nhaueka family, while the banks of the main stream itself are here occupied by the Ba-Nkombis. According to Nogueira, these two nations jointly comprise a population of over a himdred and forty thousand souls, all of Bunda speech and evidently of the same race as the northern Bundas. The local traditions attest that they formerly dwelt in the region about the head- waters of the Cuanza, whence they were expelled by the Ba-Nanos. Their customs, especially of the Ba-Nkombis, in some respects resemble those of the Arabs. Thus they shave the head, leaving only a tvdt of hair on the crown, and respectfully remove their shoes before entering a friend's house. The houses themselves resemble the dwars of the Mauritanian Beduins, and the commune is governed in the same way. Most of these tribes are independent, and even those paying a small tribute to some suzerain chief enjoy complete local self-govern- ment. Not even the hamba, or chief, literally the " more than man," can assert his will in all things, for he is surrounded by councillors, with whom all weighty matters have to be discussed, and whose views he has frequently to accept. When a hunter strikes down an elephant he presents the hamba with one of the tusks, but no other taxes are levied, except perhaps the fees exacted from suitors who come to plead before the tribunal of the "father." Although servi- tude exists, care is taken not to apply the name of slave to those in bondage, who THE SOUTH ANGOLAN TRIBES. 27 are commonlj' designated as " sons," or " cousins." Nor arc these altogether empty titles, for on the death of the legitimate heir — that is, the sister's son or uterine brother — the oldest slave succeeds to the estate, to the exclusion of the children themselves, or of the wives, who never inherit. When questioned by the European missionaries, both 13a-Xhanekas and Ba- Nkombis speak of a supreme god, and relate of the dejjarted that "God has taken them unto himself." But to this deity they render no worship, whom in fact they confound with the sun. As pastors and husbandmen, their homage is chiefly reserved for animals — the ox that faithfidly accompanies them from pasturage to pasturage, or even the snake that glides about their dwellings. Every Mu- Nhaneka has his favourite ox, and after death his remains, rediiced by a peculiar culinary process to a sort of paste, are placed for burial in the hide of this animal. The great national feast, answering to our harvest home, is symbolised by a spotless white or black bidl, who is led in the procession by the muene-Jiambo, or "chief pastor," and followed hy a cow called the " mistress of the house." After the harvest the whole tribe, in companj' with the sacred oxen, goes in procession to the chief's residence, in order to consult the auguries and make preparations for the work of the new year. During the festival rejoicing must be imiversal, so that the very dead must cease to be mourned. Even the few crimes that may happen to be committed at this period of mutual good-will are overlooked, all inquirj- for the delinquents being forbidden. Amongst these tribes of the Cuuene basin all the j-ouths are circumcised, this being the essential condition on which they are received as taba, that is to say, "equals." The Ba-Suto, or uncircumcised, are held in universal scorn and contempt ; and this, like all other painfid operations, has to be endured without flinching. M. Nogueira, who resided eleven years amongst the natives of the Cunene valley, speaks with admiration of their dignified demeanour and of their civic virtues. Apart from the crimes which, as in all other countries, are inseparable from dynastic conflicts, no attacks are ever made against life or property, although all citizens go armed, and enjoy complete exemption from police control. Such depravity, contentions, outrages, and misery as prevail have been introduced entirely by the Portuguese. As in most other lands where Eui'opeans have entered into direct relations with the natives, their influence is always baneful at first. Instead of improving, they begin by corrupting or even decimating the aborigines, and end at times by exterminating them. Before the conflicting- elements can be reconciled, and all participate in the general progress, a period of strife intervenes, during which the weak too often succumb to the strong. The Pretos and Eukope.ans. The civilised blacks of Angola are \miformly designated by the name of Pretos, while to those still keeping aloof from Portuguese influence is applied the synonymous expression Xer/ros, often uttered in a contemptuous way. The Pretos are concentrated chiefly ia the seaports and sui-rouuding districts, where they are 28 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. brought iuto direct contact with the Europeans and the immigrant Cabindas, who no less than the whites must be regarded as the true civilisers of the inhabitants of Angohi. Amongst the Pretos must also be included the Bunda communities of the Lower Cuanza, the Ambaquistas, or people of the Ambaca district in the Lii-Calla basin, and lastly the Bihenos, that is the natives of the Bihe plateau, Avhich forms the divide between the waters flowing to the Cuanza, the Cunene, the Ku-Baugo, and the Ku-Ndo basins. Amongst these more or less cultured Negroes it is by no means rare to meet' well-informed persons, and from this element are derived most of those emj)loyed in the international traffic, as well as some of the colonial officials. Many even possess, or at least administer, extensive plantations. The Pretos, however, are essentially a mixed people, presenting every shade of complexion from an almost pure black to a hue light enough to class them as whites. Nevertheless, many of the practices prevailing amongst those dwelling in and about the towns still recall their primitive savagery. Mention is made by Ladislas Magyar of the vakunga, one of these barbarous customs still surviving down to the middle of the present century amongst the Mu-Ndombes settled in the neighbourhood of BengueUa, who, at the same time, hold themselves as quite distinct from and superior to the savage Mu-Ndombes of the interior. In accordance with this vakunga, or " sale bj^ auction," yoimg girls whose parents are not rich enough to defray the expenses of the sumptuous " wedding break- fast," are put iip to the highest bidder, and in this way both contracting parties escape the reproach of a marriage performed without the customary festivities. The practice is still universally observed amongst the Quissamas as well as the inland Mu-Ndombes. In the villages of the interior the bride joins in the wedding procession plastered all over with a white clay, emblem of future happiness. In Angola the white element is represented only by a relatively small number of persons. Not more than about fom* thousand of the inhabitants are of European origin, and even of these nearly aU have come with the intention of one day retiu-ning to the mother country. The Portuguese and other whites settled in Angola are either traders and artisans who hope to make rapid fortunes, or else Government officials and soldiers, whose ser\ace in this remote colony entitles them to a dotible rate of promotion. Hence, it is not sui-prising that the territories comprised between " coast and coast," that is between the Congo and Zambese estuaries, are stiU for the most part an unknown region. Although indicated on the Portuguese maps as forming a single Lusitanian domain, they have been traversed from ocean to ocean by a very small number of explorers. Europeans are rarely met who can be regarded as true immigrants, that have come with the intention of forming permanent homes on African soil. The reason is because for the Portuguese themselves all attempts at acclimatisation within the tropical zone are attended by risk. Doubtless, many cases may be mentioned of whites who have passed half of a long existence In the trading places along the coast, or on the plantations of the Interior ; but even these seldom display the same energy and enterprise as their fellow-couutrymen in THE PEETO? AND EUEOPEAXSi, 29 Europe. To preserve their health it is indispensable to abstain from manual labour in the sim, and all are obliged to move about in the tqjoija, a kind of palanquin suspended from elastic palm-stems resting on the shoulders of t^vo native porters. Speaking generally, it may be said that it i.s quite the exception Fig. 7. — Routes of Exploeebs ■wb.o hate cbossed the Contin-ent. Scale 1 : 35,000,000. Water Eoutes. for whites, especially from the north of Europe, to succeed in adapting themselves to the climatic conditions of Portugaiese Africa. North of Mossamedes the race never becomes acclimatised ; all the settlements hitherto effected have iierished miserably, and families can be kept alive only on the condition of returning to their native land. But the emigrants from Portugal or Madeira who have formed 80 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. settlements in the Mossamedes district, whicli already lies 1,000 miles south of the equator, here enjoy a relatively cool atmosphere, which is, at the same time, far less humid than that either of Loanda or of Benguella. Hence, instances of successful acclimatisation are here frequent enough, not only in the case of individuals but of family groups. Many natives of Portugal have reared a healthy offspring, with rosy cheeks and vigorous constitution. The race has here been perpetuated, although hitherto the mortality has normally exceeded the birth-rate ; and if few j'oung girls are seen in Mossamedes, it is because they also emigrate, called away to found new homes in the other coast towns. The climate, which " eliminates " in the north, may thus be said to " assimi- late " in the southern province of Angola ; and if white families can here maintain themselves on the seaboard, they naturally find still less difficulty in doing so on the breezy upland valleys of the interior. An irregular line embracing the whole of the Cunene basin as far as the plateau separating it from the slopes draining to the Cuanza and Kwango rivers, roughly indicates the portion of the Portuguese possessions which has already become to a small extent a region of permanent colonisation. North of this parting line the territorj- can never become a colony in the strict sense of the terra, and must always remain a mere political dependency useful only for its natural resources. The Portuguese are not the onlj^ whites who have begun to seek new homes in the southern parts of Angola. The immigration from the north has in recent times been increased by a corresponding movement from the south of Africa. The Boers, descendants of the early Dutch settlers and of a few French Huguenot refugees, have continued as far as Angola the gradual northward advance begun by them some two centuries ago on the extreme southern shores of the continent. Steadily pushing forward from station to station, their farthest outposts have already reached the plateaux watered by the Upper Cunene. Notwithstanding the difficulties attending a first settlement, and despite the conflicts which have temporarily arrested and even driven back the onward movement, there can be no doubt that the Boers will ultimately secure a permanent footing in the Portu- guese territory, and thus contribute to the settlement and progress of the country. Nor is this all, for in the general spread of European ideas, customs, and industries, account must also be taken of the Brazilian immigrants from the New World, who are partly Portuguese by descent, and altogether by language and social institutions. Most of them are certainly of mixed origin, and while they may claim to be Europeans on the father's side, as well as by name and family traditions, they must also be regarded as Africans in virtue of their maternal descent. These civilised half-castes thus constitute a natural intermediate element between the pure whites and the Negroes, between the colonists and the natives. Some share in the general civilisation of the country is also taken by the hybrid Hindus from Goa, chiefly priests, traders, and teachers, who are commonlj- known as " Canarians," because mainly immigrants from the district of Canara, on the west coast of India. The economic and social conditions of Angola have been completely revolu- THE SLAVE TEADE. 31 tionised during the last few years. For the three centuries following the occupation of the land, the factories along the coast between the Congo and Cunene rivers traded exclusively in slaves. These stations were mere depots for the wretched captives destined for the Brazilian plantations, and mostly purchased in the interior by the traders of Sam Thome, descendants of the Jews banished to that island towards the end of the fifteenth century. The African coastlands having thus been depopulated for the benefit of the Now "World, it is not surprising that Angola has been so greatlj' distanced in material progress by the vast Brazilian empire. The number of blacks transported from Angola since the beginning of the sixteenth centm-y has been estimated at about one million at least ; and to procure this multitude of slaves, the dealers in human flesh probably caused the destruction of three or four times as many in the slave- hunting expeditions and the terrible forced marches to the coast. No doubt the black cargoes received the apostolic benediction when setting sail, and at the time of Bastian's visit the stone seat was still shown at Loanda from which the bishop stretched forth his hands towards the parting hulks in order to bestow his episcopal blessing on their living freights. But it may be doubted whether the horrors of the middle passage were perceptibly abated for all this unctuous mummer_y. When, however, the trafiic was checked, and at last abolished alto- gether, about the middle of the present century, the broad Angolan uplands had ceased to be a hunting-ground for human quarry. But although the land now began to be slowly repeopled, the old trade in slaves was still continued from plantation to plantation, just as it flourishes at the present time throughout the Negro kingdoms of the interior beyond the Kwango river. The whole system of cultivation, as well as the colonial administration in general, depended on the forced labour of the serfs employed on the largo domains ceded by the state to enterprising speculators. At last slavery was completelj- abolished in 1878 throughout the Portuguese possessions, where no native is any longer compelled to till a sqiiare yard of land which he cannot call his own. But the tenure of the land itself has not under- gone a corresj)onding change. Small freeholds, which tend so greatly to foster the self-respect and promote the well-being of the peasant, have not been substi- tuted for the extensive domains on which is based the ascendancy of a powerful landed aristocracy. Nevertheless such a radical change as the emancipation of the Negro cannot fail eventually to bring about a corresponding revolution in the prevalent system of manual labour. So also the ever-increasing importance of Angola, in the social economy of the African world, must necessarily ere long entitle this region to a larger share of local self-government, and to a funda- mental modification of the present system of complete dependence on the crown authorities resident in Lisbon. ToPOGRAPHV. Although recognised by solemn international treaties as sole masters of the left bank of the Lower Congo, from Noki to Cape Padrilo, the Portuguese possess 82 SOrXII AXD EAST AFEICA. no busy trading stations along this extensive section of the river. Nearly all vessels putting in to discharge or ship cargoes in the estuary stop either at Banana, Punta da Lenha, or Boma, all of which ports lie on the right bank, and consequently belong to the Congo Free State. The Portuguese side is thus almost deserted, and the water being shallower, is here less favourable for navigation, while the riverain populations are more hostile to foreigners. The station of Santo-Antonio, although sheltered from the west winds bj' the promontory of Cape Padrao, is merely a military outjDost without any local traffic. Quissama, whose exuberant vegetation is a source of wonder to the traders of Boma, possesses three factories and some plantations, the produce of which is forwarded by a few light craft. The most frequented of all the riverain ports in Portuguese territory is Nohi (Noqui), the Lukango of the natives, which is situated near the frontier, just below the cataracts. This haven, which is accessible to vessels of one thousand five hundred tons, has acquired some importance since the ivory trade has been transferred to the banks of the Congo, from the port of Ambriz on the seacoast. Noki is also the starting-point of travellers proceeding south-eastwards to San-Salvador, capital of the ancient kingdom of Congo, now tributary to the " King of the sea " residing in Lisbon. San-Salvadok. Amhdssi, the native city known to the Portuguese by the name of San- Salvador, occupies a commanding jDosition worthy of an imjoerial capital which at one time ruled over all the land from the Gaboon to the Cuanza. It crowns the summit of a plateau of elliptical form, which stretches north and south for a distance of nearly two miles, with an average breadth of over half a mile. Towards the south, the valley of the Lueji, winding its way through a papyrus and grass-grown marshy tract, describes a semicircle round the escarpments of the plateau. On the east and west sides the narrow gorges, nearly 400 feet below the uiDjier terraces, are traversed by rivulets, over which have been thrown suspen- sion bridges of twisted creepers. Cojyious springs of pure water gush from the sides of the granite rock, which forms the base of this isolated plateau, and which is enclosed on all sides bj'' old limestone formations. The "great fetish" of San-Salvador, formerly renowned throughout all the Angolan lands, has long lost its prestige, and the religious rites introduced bj^ the Roman Catholic missionaries — Portuguese Dominicans and Italian Capuchin friars — had until recently been completely forgotten. Little survived of those times except a few inherited crucifixes, regarded by the chiefs as badges of authority, and the standard of the cross blessed by Pope Innocent VIIL, and still jealously guarded by the king as an a3gis of his faded majesty. In the capital were also still preserved some images of saints, which were carried in procession with great pomp on certain festivals, accomjDanied by genuflexions and prayers, in which nothing but the merest traces could be detected of the ancient liturgy. Negro SAN-SALVADOE. 33 priests ordained at Loanda lind from time to time visited the "congregations " at San-Salvador, in order to keep up a semblance of union between these communi- ties and the rest of the Church. The names of those missionaries were inscribed on the trunk of a sacred tree standing in the centre of the town. But for some years a regular mission has again attached San-Salvador with the Catholic world. Baptist preachers are also endeavouring, although with no great success, to make proselytes, especially among the slave children purchased from the surrounding tribes. Under the influence of all these strangers some of the old superstitious Fig, 8. — Sax-Salvadoh. Scale 1 : 2o0,C00. — A r-^--— ^--,,_^^ 6° 15' , _ Wounja ;: 5' ^- ■"■ '" **^' \ »„-,d \ G la\ n-l ^w .„^.,,.„ 6° as ^^<^ 1 "-' l4°-?o' East of Greenwich I4°5C- practices have disappeared, notably the ordeal of the poisoned cup ; but polygamy still prevails, especially amongst the chiefs and rulers. The order of succes- sion, which the missionaries had formerly endeavoured to make conformable to the Roman law, is not in the direct but the indirect line, from imcle to nephew, as amongst most African tribes. During the interregnum the executive authority is vested in a formidable dignitary bearing the title of Ma-Boma, or " Lord of Terror." The death of a king is accordingly regarded in a twofold sense as a national calamity. It is followed by a period of solemn moiu-ning, during ^\■hich all merrymaking, the dance and the song, are hushed in an all-pcrvadiug stillness. VOL. xiii. p »t SOUTH AND EAJ^T AFETCA. The natives remuiu confined to their liuts, abstain from abhitioiis and almost from food, and even cease to till the land. For several months the body is preserved in a house facing the palace, adorned with a symbolic effigy of the sovereign, to which are religiouslj' offered the usual daily meals. After tlic limbs have been Fig. 9. — The King of Congo. first broken and then dried, the remains are covered with a coating of clay and wrapped in strips of cotton and a silk shroud. Everybody contributes his share, until at last the swathed mummy-pack fills the whole width of the mortuary dwelling. When the remains are ultimately borne to the consecrated place of burial, the funeral procession must be made in a straight line, so that all the MUSSEEA. 85 intervening houses have to be cleared awaj'. Amongst the ilu-Sorongos the king was not officially interred for twelve years after his death, as if his subjects were stiU reluctant to believe that he had passed awaj'. Since its retui-n to the sphere of European culture, San-Salvador has already been visited by a large niunber of travellers. Dom Pedro Y., King of Congo, who resides in the old city, has, like his forefathers, again become a vassal to the crown of Portugal. French, Portuguese, and Dutch factories have sprung up in the vicinity of the royal court, and missionaries, held almost in as great respect as the king himself, have made the capital a centre of religious activity for again gathering the suiToiinding populations into the Catholic fold. According to Chavanne, they were able to boast of two thousand converts in 1885. Never- theless the metropolis is not very populous, containing in that year not more than about seven hundred residents, including nine Europeans. But several hundred ■\-isitors were temporarily attached to the place by the interests of trade, and porters and packmen were continually plodding to and fro on all the surrounding highways. In the San-Salvador district, the Lcmhelo market, at the converging point of several routes, is the chief mart for caoutchouc within the zone of free trade south of the Congo. Here the brokers and middlemen meet once or twice a month to discuss business matters and exchange their commodities. A large open space shaded with trees in the centre of the market was formerly a place of execution, as the traveller is reminded by the blanched skulls still suspended from the overhanging branches. Whenever a wretched culprit was beheaded, the members of his family were said to be compelled to eat a few pieces from his hand. South of Cape Padrao follow several factories surrounded by orchards and plantations. Such are Mangue Grande, Maiigue Pequeno (Great and Little Mangue), and Caheqa de Cobra ("Snake's Head"), where sesame especially is cultivated, and where may be purchased the finest fetishes in West Africa, all carved* by the Musorongo artists. 2fociil/a and Amhrizetle, situated near the mouth of a river flowing from the territory of the ilu-Shicongo people, enjoj'ed tiU lately some importance as out- posts of the ivorj' trade. At present Ambrizette largely exports salt from the neighbouring saline marshes. Bej-ond it the "Pilar," a fine Portuguese pyramid, and hills strewn with granite boulders weathered into fantastic forms, which at a distance look like ramparts, towers, pillars, or obeKsks, announce to the seafarer the approach to Mussera, formerly a prosperous city, whose powerful fetish, the so-called " ilother of Waters," was still powerless to protect the place from the ravages of small-pox and the sleep disease. This latter scourge did not make its appearance in the region south of the Congo tiU the year 1870, when in a few months it carried off two hundred ^-ictims in Mussera alone. The survivors fled in alarm from their homes, and founded a new town in the neighbourhood. During the cacimbo season, that is from June to August, the Mussera fisher- men capture large quantities of the pungo, or singing fish, which is cured and forwarded in all directions to the inland plateaux. To reach the fishing grounds they brave the surf seated astride on two canoes coupled together, one foot iu D 2 36 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. each. From the bitumluous saudstones of the Mussera district there oozes up a kind of asphalt, which the natives say collects in little pools, but which they do not allow the Europeans to visit. Ambriz and Loanda. A)?ibn'z, or rather Mhrish, so-named from a neighbouring river, is the only port of call on the whole seaboard between the Congo estuary and Loanda. Although it has been occupied by the Portuguese since the year 1855, the neighbouring roadstead of Quissemho, as well as the territory stretching thence northwards, was left to the natives, so that foreign traders were able to carry on business without being obliged to pay local dues to the Portuguese authorities. Ambriz, whose various seiiza/as, or quarters, are scattered over the face of a steep cliff, has no harbour, nor any shipping accommodation beyond a pier, which vessels maj' approach in calm weather. The open roadstead is sheltered only by a low headland from the south and south-east winds ; but this part of the coast is fortunately scarcely ever swept by storms. Ambriz was formerly visited hy nvimerous caravans conveying ivory from the San-Salvador region, and althoiigh at present it exports very little of this commodity, its general trade has greatly increased of late years. Although lying beyond the Congo basin, it is situated within the zone of free trade with the whole of the Angolan territory limited southwards by the river Loje. Its staple export is coffee, M'hich comes from the plantations in the south-east, attracted to this i^ort by its exemption from local impost. Ambriz also forwards ground-nuts, caoutchouc, and the baobab bast used in the manufacture of paper, the yearly value of all its exports being estimated at from £160,000 to £200,000. The Brazilian jigger (pulex penetrans), originally introduced with the cargo of the Thomas Mitchell in 1872, has since spread from this jDlace throughout a great part of "West Africa. Ambriz is destitute of good routes towards the region of inland plateaux, and especially towards QtdbaUa, in the southern part of the Mu-Shicongo territory, as well as to'nards Bcmhe. The latter is a fortified town standing 2,550 feet above sea-level on a plateau separated from a peaked moimtain by a deep valley strewn with a number of malachite boulders, which appear to haye been borne thither by the action of water. Formerly the natives sold from two himdred to three hundred tons annually to the Ambriz dealers. More recently an English company was ruined in the attempt to work these deposits, nearly all the miners introduced from Cornwall perishing in a few months. The little fort of Sao Jose, or Das Pcdras de Encocje, is the chief strategical station of the interior, but is much dreaded by the military convicts sent here to die of fever. It crowns a bluff fuU of caves, which overlooks the upper Loje Valley, and guards the frontiers of the kingdom of Congo. The surrounding forests supply a large quantity of coffee, collected from the uncultivated plant. South-east of Ambriz the seaboard as far as the Dande river is occupied by the Mossul territory, which abounds in gum copal. This region is still very little LOAN!) A. 37 Fig. 10. — AiTBKiz. Scale 1 : 40,000. known, altliougli formerly erected by the Portuguese crown into a " Ducliy " in favour of a Negro prince, on whose shoulders were tattooed the arms of Portugal, an indelible badge of which the "bearer was not a little proud. This singular method of investiture was conferred on a Duke of Mossul so recently as the close of the eighteenth century. In the Daude valley, which forms the bouudaiy line between the Ba-Fyot and Bunda populations, reservoirs of petroleum have been disco- vered, which, however, have hitherto been worked at a loss. For several generations the natives of the district have been so unruly that the Euro- pean speculators have not yet ventured to establish factories in their midst. The upper Dande valley is even still held by semi-independent Dembo tribes. Suo-Paitlo da Assunqmio dc Loanda, or briefly Loanda, capital of their Angolan pos- sessions, was the first town founded by the Portuguese on this coast. As it was also the most favourably situated for trading purposes, it naturally acquired a rapid develoi:)ment, and is at present the largest city on the West African seaboard for a distance of 3,000 miles, between Lagos and the Cape. Divided into an upper and a lower quarter, it spreads out in amphithe- atrical form along the terraced slopes, terminating southwards in a rocky headland, on which stands the fortress of Sao Miguel. The somewhat open bay is partly sheltered from the ocean winds and surf by a strip of sand forming a continuation of a tongue of land which begins some 20 miles farther south, at the most advanced westerly point of the Angolan coast. This outer shore-line, which runs parallel with the inner seaboard, has been formed by the marine current which sets steadily in the id'-^ 50" East of .Greenwich Depths. Oto 10 11) to 32 32 Feet and Feet. Feet. upwards. l.tOO V ard.-J. S8 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. direction from south to north close to the iiiainlaud. Towards the middle, how- ever, it is pierced by a chauuel, the so-called bar of Corimba, through which light craft gain access to the bay. The northern extremity of this sandy rampart thus forms a long, low-lyiug island, whose shores are often flooded by the stormy Fig. 11.— So^JTIIEE^f Spit oi' Loaxda Scale 1 : 225,000. E.sf of Greenwich EE3 m 320 Feet and upwards. waves of the Atlantic. Such is the islet of Loanda, on which the Portuguese founded their first settlement in the year 1576, at a time when they did not yet venture to establish factories on the mainland. The island, on which stood seven libatas, or native villages, was otherwise a place of exceptional importance for its inhabitants, constituting a sort of treasury where they collected the cowries lo-\:n"da. . 39 {cyprwa moticta), used as currency iu the surrouading districts. The Loanda cowries were of greater value as specie than those of Brazil, imported from Bahia, but were stiU far inferior to those of the Maldive Archipelago. The insular tongue of land, shaded with cocoanut groves which supply the materials for the manufacture of cordage and wickerwork, has a population of about five thousand, including six hundred fishermen, descended from the ancient ilu-Shi Loanda tribe. Here also the Government has established an arsenal for refitting its fleets. One year after the foundation of the insular settlement, Paulo Dias de Xovaes, 12.— St. PiUL OF LoA>i)A. Scale 1 : 75,000. 160 Feet and npwards. grandson of the navigator who first doubled the Cape of Good Hope, secured a footing on the neighbouring coast, where by alliances with native chiefs and successfid wars, the Portuguese gradually acquired possession of the surrounding territory. As a chief centre of the slave trade between Africa and Brazil, Loanda became a wealthy and populous city, where fi'om twelve to fifteen vessels might at times be seen awaiting their turn to ship their living cargoes. But after the suppression of this traffic, itself a hindrance to the development of all legitimate trade, Loanda was all but ruined. Its population fell off, its buildings were forsaken, all business came to an abrupt cud; the few remaining inhabitants, cut off 40 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. from supplies, ran tlio risk of perishing from hunger, and whole months passed without a single Portuguese or Brazilian vessel making its appearance in the port. But although the planters predicted that the entire abolition of the slave trade would complete the ruin of Loanda and the whole territory, their forebodings have not been realised. The population, which numbered about twelve thousand in the middle of the present century, has even increased since then ; while the city, which for a time presented the appearance of having undergone a bombardment, has been enlarged and improved. The debris of churches and convents have been cleared away and replaced by promenades ; the narrow streets have been broadened, and the houses, built for the most part of Brazilian timber, proof against the attacks of termites, are well kept, well ventilated, supplied with verandahs, and painted in bright yellow, pink, or light blue colours. Over all the surroimding hills are dotted numerous miisseques, or villas, nestling beneath the shade of the baobab and other forest trees, which here thrive notwithstanding the poverty of the soil. But Loanda still continues to bo an unhealthy place, and even recently the inhabitants were reduced to great straits for want of sufficient water, a well and a few cisterns being wholly inadequate to meet the demand. Quite a flotilla of talaveiras, or barges, had to be daily sent for fresh supplies to the neighbouring river Bengo. At present the pure water of this stream is conveyed to the city by means of a canal, which is also intended to be utilised for irrigation purposes. A beginning has likewise been made with the line of railway which is to run through the Zenza, or Upper Bengo valley, into the interior, and which must sooner or later be continued to the station of Ambaca, an important centre of trade with the surroimding Congoese populations. This railway, a first concession for which was made in 1875, is the initial section of the trans-continental line which is intended one daj^ to traverse Portuguese Africa in its entire length from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Indian Ocean. More than half of the trade of Angola is centred in the port of Loanda, through which nearly all articles of European manufacture reach the interior. In exchange for these wares the inhabitants have little to offer beyond the produce of the local fisheries ; but from the inland districts they receive an abundance of colonial produce, especially coffee and caoutchouc. The trade of Loanda is fostered by the ocean steamers which now regularlj^ visit the roadstead; but the port is unfortunately too shallow to enable them to approach the town. Down to the beginning of the present centmy the largest vessels were still able to ride at anchor within a few cable-lengths of the shore ; but this anchorage has been gradually encroached upon by the silting sands, and the beach has been enlarged at the expense of the bay, so that the naval fleet and Transatlantic packets are now obliged to cast anchor under the shelter of the sandy island nearly a mile and a half to the north of the city. Pending the completion of the railwaj- intended to bring Loanda into direct communication with the inland plantations, the best trade route is that oii'ercd by the course of the Lower Cuanza. After rounding Cape Palmeirinhas and ci'ossing MTJXIMA. 41 the bar at its mouth, the coast steamers are able to ascend this great artery as far as the to-«-n of Doudo. One of the first riverain ports on the right bank is Calitmho, which may be regarded as the fluvial port of Loanda, which lies little more than 20 miles to the north-west, and which is connected by a good carriage road with the Cuanza. It has also been proposed to construct a jimction canal, as originally projected by the Dutch, who held possession of Loanda for a few years. Nearly all the plantations in the rich valley of the Cuanza lie on the right bank, which is the lower and more fertile of the two. Here the vegetation rig-. 13.— DoxBO. Scale 1 : 11,000. /H^ ' <•/,. I, .1 F ofr.reenuKl. characteristic of moist tropical lauds displays itself iu all its splendom- and exuberance ; but here also the fluvial iuimdations are the most disastrous, often sweeping away the hourjucs, or embankments, together with the crops they were constructed to protect. The rich domain of Bom Jesus, where hundi-eds of hands are employed in distilling rmn from the sugar-cane, has in this way frequently been wasted. The only station on the left bank of the Lower Cuanza is Miuima {3Iiishima}, crowning the summit of a limestone hill, whence an extensive -v-iew is commanded of the territorv of the savage Quissama tribes. Above a group of hovels at the 42 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. foot of the hill ritses a Christian church, which is regarded as a great " fetish " by all the iuhabitauts of the district, Catholics and pagans alike. The trading station of Massaiigano, above the confluence of the Cuauza and Lu- Calla, owes its existence to the neighbouring coffee plantations of the Cazengo district. But here the chief centre of traffic is Dando, which lies at the head of the navigation of the Cuanza. It is a modern town, situated on the right bank of the river, in a cirque surrounded bj' ^\ooded hills, which prevent the free circulation of the air. The consequence is that the place is extremely unhealthy and from the local Portuguese traders has received the title of the "furnace," or " hell " of Angola. Here are manufactured porous earthenware vessels, and the native smiths employ European iron, although the neighbouring hills are very rich in ores of that metal. In the same district were formerh- worked some silver H. — Pkojected Railway to Ambaca. Scale 1 : 3,000,000. 3-20 Feet and upwards. 60 Miles. mines, which occur a little farther up near the cataracts of the Cuanza, and not far from the village of Camhanibe. The first attempt was made to secure possession of these mines in the year 1595, when the two hundred men forming the expedition were all massacred except seven, who escaped to report the disaster. The most productive coffee district in Angola is the basin of the river Lu- Calla, which flows parallel with the Cuanza some distance above the confluence of both streams. The coffee-plant grows wild in the forests of this region, and in many places rich natural i)lautations are formed merely by the simple process of clearing the ground round about the trees. But the great plantations of the Cazengo, of Golungo-Alto, and neighbouring districts, have been created by the Portuguese and Brazilian settlers, originally emijloying the labour of slaves who have since become free labourers. The first fazeiideiro who settled in the Cazengo territory came from Brazil in 1837. Eight years after beginning operations he AMBACA. 43 was able to raise eight tous of coffee, aud in 1880 as luueli as two tliousaud tive hundred tons were exported from this district alone. In the Lu-Calla basin the cotton-plant is also grown ; but this industry, which promised to acquire a great development during the American war of secession, at present yields poor returns to the planters. The whole country abounds in mineral deposits, although little is worked except the iron ores, which have been famous from time immemorial for the excellence of the articles produced from them by the native metallurgists. The double blast bellows used bj- them are absolutely identical with those figured ou the ancient monimients of Egypt. In the sands of the Golungo-Alto torrents is also found gold dust, but hitherto in insufficient quantity to yield any profit from the washings. This regiou of the Lu-Calla, one of the most picturesque and productive in the whole of Angola, was till recently entirel}' destitute of regular highwaj's, so that the porters had to make their way to the coast-towns through the thorny paths of the forests. A large part of the native traffic even took the direction of Ambriz, attracted thither by the cheap and abimdant supply of commodities taken in exchange for the local produce. Pending the construction of the railway by which this produce may be forwarded direct to Loanda, all the foreign trade of the Lu-Calla basin is carried on by means of the steamers plying on the Cuanza. But to reach the riverain ports, the coffee has stUl to be conveyed by porters across the trackless forests. It is calculated that of the total annual trade of the Cuanza, estimated at over eleven thousand tons, about one-half is contributed by the Lu-Calla district. Hence, allowing a himdred pounds as an average load, the number of carriers, who yearly make the toilsome joiumey from the inland plantations to the banks of the Cuanza, must be reckoned at about a hundred and twenty-five thousand. Eecentlj' a road 34 miles long has been opened between Dando and Cacullo, capital of the Cazengo district, which lies near the sources of the Lu-Inha, a southern affluent of the Lu-Calla. This highway, which will henceforth dispense with human " beasts of burden," crosses two branches of the Lu-Calla by means of iron A-iaducts, the most remarkable work of man in the whole of the Angolan territory. Pamha, which has been chosen as the terminus in the Anibaca district of the future railway from Loanda towards the interior, is situated, not on the Lu-Calla, but five miles west of that river on a schistose and sandstone bluff, at the foot of which winds the Pdo Pamba, a small affluent of the main stream. This station, which commonly takes the name of Anibaca, from the district itself, consisted of a single street with three houses and a dozen straw huts in the year 1879, when the engineers had alreadj- traced on the maps the definite course of the railwav for 90 miles between Dando and Ambaca. The inhabitants, all clothed in black, presented a wretched funereal appearance, and the few travellers passing through the district asked with astonishment why this hamlet of all others had been chosen as the terminal point of a railway running for 210 miles, from the capital of the Portuguese possessions towards the interior of the continent. But Pamba owes this privilege to its rank as administrative centre of the countrv, to the 44 SOUTH iWD EAST AFRICA. exlensivo ground-uut ;iud tobacco plautalious of the suiTounding district, to its position on the main caravan route penetrating far into the kingdom of the Muato Yanivo, and possibly also to its past prestige. Ambaca was in fact formerly a populous and flourishing city, and the chief depot and headquarters of the dealers who from that central point exi^lored aU the circumjacent lands in search of fresh markets. The Ambaquistas had become renowned throughout the Portuguese dominions for their wealth and enterprising spirit. Hence the needy servants of the crown intrigued and competed eagerly for promotion to a scarcely remunerative post, A\-here they had every opportunity of rapidly making their fortunes. Such was their success that the inhabitants migrated, especially in the direction of Punrjo-Ndourjo, while trade sought ever fresh outlets. The Fig. 15.- ■ Black Stones" or Pungo Neoxgo. Scale 1 : 115,000. Ambaquistas have thus become more numerous in the conterminous provinces than in their original home ; nor can the projected railway fail to repeoiDle the country and open up its great natural resources. In the upper valley of the Lu-Calla there are no large towns. Even Duque da Bracjanqa, or simply Duque, the most advanced Portuguese station towards the north-east of the Angolan territory, is a mere presidio, or military post, much dreaded on account of the neighbouring malarious swamps caused by the over- flow of the river, which flows east of the plateau crowned by the fort. Hence, few troops are sent to this station except military convicts, who avenge them- selves by levying blackmail on the natives, under the disguise of Government taxes. As at Pamba, the result of this system of administration has been the PUNGO-NDONGO. 45 almost complete depopulation of the land. Although naturally very fertile and caijable of growing tobacco, cotton, and ground-nuts, as ■well as European fruits and vegetables, thanks to its altitude of nearly 3,500 feet above the sea, the district yields scarcely any agricultural produce. A short time before the ex- plorers Capello and Ivens passed this way, a Jinga tribe encamped in the vicinitj' of the fort moved oif in the direction of the -west, scared away through fear of being deprived of all their cattle. Although lacking the agricultural importance for -which the Lu-Calla valley is indebted to its extensive cofPee plantations, the basin of the Cuanza mainstream is nevertheless much more frequented as a commercial highway. Dondo, the first riverain Jjort, is followed eastwards by the town of Pungo-Ndoiigo, the "Fetish of J^dongo," chief dejjot of the dealers trading with the interior of the continent, and one of the historical cities of Angola. Here formerly resided the sovereigns from whom the Angolan territory took its name, and here the Portu- guese founded a permanent settlement so early as the year 1671. This town, which lies at an altitude of about 4,000 feet above the sea, occupies a remarkable position in a highh- picturesque district. In the middle of a vast plain stretch- ing southwards in the direction of the Cuanza, abruptly rises to a height of oOO or GOO feet, and even more, a group of conglomerate, schistose, gneiss, and porph3T}' crags, presenting the most varied and eccentric outlines. Some have the appear- ance of obelisks, others of domes, while most of them are disposed in vertical turret-shaped peaks separated by narrow intervening crevasses, which are ren- dered conspicuous from a distance by the shrubs of dark green foliage with which they are overgrown. In some of these gorges — a very paradise of botanists, thanks to the endless variety of their plants — the trees are completely matted with parasitic creepers, which stretch from crag to crag in form of a vast canopy above the lower vegetation. In the flowering season this canopy of entangled lianas, itself now veiled bj^ a dense mass of fiery red blossom, spreads out like a purple lake embedded between sheer rocky walls. These beautiful rocks of Pungo- Ndongo are commonly known by the name of Pedras Negras, or "Black Stones," a designation, however, which is little deserved for at least a great part of the year. At the end of the dry season they assume rather a greyish hue. But in December, when the crevices of the rocks are flooded by lakelets formed by the rains, the vertical sides exhibit blackish streaks which gradually broaden out downwards, at last completely covering the base of the cliffs as with a coating of black varnish. This coating is composed of myriads of tiny weeds of the scytonema family, which sj^ring up during the rains but which disappear with the return of the dry season, sealing off and again revealing the natural greyish tint of the rocky surface. On one of these picturesque eminences stands the fortress, while in an irregular cirque at its foot are grouped the huts of Pungo-Ndongo, environed by orange- groves and gardens, which are watered by rills of limpid water. Here are intermingled the fruit-trees of Europe and the Antilles, above which rise the spreading branches of a mighty baobab, associated with the first traditions of the 46 SOUTH AND EAJ^T AFEICA. place. Beneath the shadow of this tree was held the court of Queen Ginga, one of the great potentates of African traditional history. The rocks have also their local legends, some of them showing the fanciful imprint of human feet, others containing caverns whose galleries are supposed to give access to underground cities. At Pungo-Ngondo daylight is of shorter duration than in the other towns of Angola. This is due to the rocky heights, which delay the rising sun and hasten its setting rays ; while the cliffs are often wrapped in fog and mist during the morning hours. East of the " Black Stones," the commercial outpost of Loanda with the Fig-. 16.— Malanoe. Scale 1 : 1'27,00P. 9» 10- """'.;,■ , -.CatlSa nbc'--' ° :y >=g ^ MALANSE '■" '' '. , -," KaVepa |'''v"- :■ j.'v-v/H .".:. 9° ■;^';V:::l::i1x \'/ /-,;•; •■••-.;^;-.:'^ :->-^'- 9- 15 '••; .■:'.• -.'M'- -i •":•■' ••$•-• "'^^ •• ■■'':, ■ ; •■ ;§ •■ ■ ; 16°=,. E.5t ofGr eerTwIch I6"e6- interior is Malanye, a small town situated on a vast grassy plain which, during the rainy season, resembles a boundless field of wheat. Northwards stretch some morasses, which might be easily drained and which are the source of some rivu- lets flowing to the Cuanza below a series of romantic cascades. Malange is still a Portuguese station, being occupied by a small garrison ; and here also reside some white traders, who have introduced the national currency. But beyond this point all European coins have to be exchanged for bales of cloth and other objects of barter. Here are organised, for their long inland journej's, the quihueas, or caravans of traders, agents, brokers, and porters, which penetrate beyond the Kwaugo, trading with the surrounding nations and wild tribes as far BIHfi. 47 as the region of the gi'eat hikes, and bringing back snch commodities as ivory, wax, and caoutchouc. The southern trade route which starts from BcngucUa, -300 miles south of Loanda, also possesses in the Cuanza basin an outlying station towards the interior. It lies, however, much farther south than IMalange, on the upland plain where are collected the farthest headstreams of the Cuanza. Bclmonte, as this post is called, is not a military station. It was long the residence of the famous Portuguese traveller, Silva Porto, one of the few explorers who have crossed the continent from ocean to ocean, besides also visiting many hitherto little-known regions of the interior. The village of Belmonte, as well as the town of Canc/oDihp, residence of the most powerful local chief, is commonly designated by the name of £i/ie (Bie), a term applied to the whole plateau, some 5,000 feet above the sea-level, which forms the waterparting for the streams flowing north to the Cuanza and south to the Ku- Bango. According to Cappello and Ivens, the Bihenos, who number altogether about twenty thousand, present no very distinct physical type. Descending from peoples of the most varied origin, brought by wars and slavery to this plateau, and haA'ing also introduced all manner of usages acquired during their long wanderings over the continent, they possess few characteristic points beyond their common love of gain and inborn capacity for trade. As many of them have also learned to read and write, a Portuguese dealer must be himself more than usually shrewd to get the better of the Bihe agent in their mutual bargainings. As a rule, the advantage is always on the side of the latter in the international dealings. The land thus enriched by profitable commercial pursuits might also become one of the granaries of the continent ; for the reddish silicious clayey soil is extremely fertile, and during the rainy season vegetation seems, so to say, to spring up with a visible growth. Capello and Ivens, who organised their expedition for the interior near Belmonte, obtained in two months abundant crops from a piece of ground near the camp, on which beans, maize, and other cereals had been carelessly scattered. One of the natives assured them with the utmost seriousness that, during the rainy season, he had one day stuck his freshly-cut staff into the mud in front of his hut, and stood at the door spinning a long yarn to his relations seated round about, and that, before he had finished, he found himself under the shade of a mighty tree, whose existence was totally unknown to him, but which on examination he found to be his staff, that had taken root, shot out branches and leaves, and showed signs of bursting into flower. The vegetation of this region must be marvellously rapid to give rise to such popular "yarns." Travellers coming from the wildernesses of the interior speak in enthusiastic language of this "earthly paradise," where, after long periods of scarcity and hardships, they suddenly find an abundance of exqiiisite fruits and vegetables. The rich plateau of Bihe has accordingly been spoken of as a promising field of futui-e colonisation for the hard-pressed Portuguese peasantry. But during the 48 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. rainy season fevors are lioro unfortunately scarcely less dangerous than on tlie lowlands, and man_y of tlie natives also suffer from goitre. American missionaries have recently established themselves in the district ; biit their principal station lies farther west, in the territorj- of the Bailundos, which Ladislas Magyar calls the " heart of the Eunda country." The chief article of exchange introduced by the Bihenos into the interior is the fazcitda, or bale of cotton, either plain or striped, of English manufacture and generally of rather inferior qualitj'. The baneful Hamburg brandy, more or less mixed with drugs and diluted with water, is also a great article of exchange with nearlj^ all the surrounding tribes. The caravans supply them, moreover, with rifles, jDowder and shot, and other munitions of war, besides tablets of salt, brass wire, white and red china beads, and glass trinkets, mostly imported through England from Bohemia. Umbrellas and nightcaps are also much sought after in the kingdom of the Muata Yamvo and conterminous states. Traders have, lastly, to provide themselves with carpets, rugs, uniforms, embroidered fabrics, and other more costly wares, as presents for the chiefs, whose permission they have thus to purchase in order to transact business with their subjects. In exchange for these European commodities, the dealers bring back ivory, caoutchouc, wax, honey, palm-oil, and skins of wild animals. The porters, hired either for the whole journey or for a certain distance, are loaded with burdens never weighing less than a hundred and seldom more than a hundred and thirty- five pounds, the weight varying according to the season and the difficulties of the route. The porter also frequently procures the assistance of another native, and at times, turning trader himself, he is accompanied by one or more women, who carry his provisions and the purchases he makes on setting out. His services are paid either partly or altogether in advance ; but the tribal chief, in whose presence the contract price is stipidated, becomes responsible for the conduct of the porter in case of his making off with the goods or deserting the caravan. On the other hand, the merchant is held to be answerable for all the crimes or offences committed by his retainers in the districts visited by the convoy. The least infringement of the local usages gives rise to interminable " palavers," which are invariably concluded by the imposition of a fine on the stranger. The traders, journeying from land to land, are for the most part provided with the impeinha, or passport, which, however, is not inscribed on paper or parchment, but made non-transferable by being painted on the body. At the starting-place they present themselves to the chief to explain the projected journey and make the customary offering of a sacrificial animal and a rag dipped in blood. The traveller must carefully preserve this precious talisman, as well as a piece of chalk, with which the chief traces certain cabalistic signs on his forehead, breast, and arms ; and when these signs get effaced he renews them with the chalk, taking great care not in anj^ way to alter their form. South of the Cuanza the coastlands, occupied by the Quissamns and other still independent natives, have no groups of habitations beyond a few little bartering stations scattered over a space of about 120 miles. The fortalice of Beiujuella BEXGUELLA. 49 Velha, or "Old Benguella," wliicli was erected in the fifteenth century on a head- land overlooking the north side of the Cuvo estuary, has been abandoned. The town of Kovo-Redondo, which replaces it some distance farther south, is a mere cluster of hovels perched on a cliff nearly inaccessible from the sea. At the foot of the escarpment, and of a fortress founded in 1769, flows the little river Gimza, fringed with shad_y palms, but obstructed at its mouth by a sand}' bar. According to Ladislas Magyar deposits of sulphur occur at some distance inland, but they lie idle, as do also the copper mines of Suinhe-Ainlchi, near the mouth of the Cuvo. Qiiicomho, south of Xovo-Redondo, is a group of factories and a re-victualling station for passing ships. Egiio or Lticifo, midway between Xovo-Redondo and Eenguella, is merely a military post commanding the entrance of the river of like name. Till recently it was, so to say, permanently blockaded by the surrounding tribes, so that about every two months the little garrison had to close the gates and fire on the assailants. Ben(jueUa, capital of the central province of the same name, although a much smaller place than its northern rival, Loanda, presents none the less a charming prospect, being pleasantly grouped in amphitheatrical form on the slopes of a steep escarpment. Its low but spacious houses, enclosing large courts and sur- rounded by gardens, occupy a considei-able space, which is still further extended by the public promenades and shady avenues. The citadel of San-FUippc, from which the town itself takes its official designation, was erected in 1617 on the headland which projects seawards on the southwest side. The rivulet of Cavaco, which in the dry season is merely a sandy bed, flows to the north of the town some miles beyond the point where the Catunihella reaches the coast. This river, which during the floods gives access to the quays of a small trading station, is commanded by a fort of the same name. The hills encircling Benguella are clothed with brushwood, which till recently was the haimts of wild animals. The inhabitants being too few to protect them- selves from their inroads, artillery had to be employed to scare away the eleiihants, who were laying waste the neighbouring plantations. The white population con- sists partly of convicts or criminals banished to this remote station, while the mixed native element represents all the races in the Portuguese possessions in Africa. Bihenos here jostle natives of Cabinda, Ambaquistas mingle with Kiokos, and when the caravans reach the Catumbella river from the interior, the observer might fancy himself suddenly transported to seme market town in the kingdom of the Muata Yamvo. Several European traders have built their villas along the neighbouring beach, which being exposed to the marine breezes is more healthy than Benguella. This seaport, whose annual exchanges average from £200,000 to £240,000, is connected with the Bihe plateau by a trade route or track, which runs eastwards along the valley of the Catumbella. But two other and longer routes make a detour to the south, one by the valley of the Cavaco and the village of Snpa, the other by the basin of the Capororo river. This watercourse, which separates the VOL. XIIT. E 60 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. Dombe-Pequeno district on the north from that of Domhc-Grande on the south, serves in its lower course to irrigate extensive sugai'-cane plantations used for the manufacture of spirits. The sands of the fluvial bed, when the waters have been evaporated bj^ the summer heats, are also cultivated, yielding abundant crops of maize and manioc. The flour packed in bushels is forwarded in large quantities to Bonguolla and to the landing stage on the bay of Ciiio, a small marine inlet at the mouth of the Capororo. Although this river flows on the surface only during the rainy season, its bed is always dangerous to cross near the sea, where occur nimierous sinks and pools of deep water, and here and there quagmires concealing an \mderground current, in which the careless wayfarer runs the risk of being swallowed iip. The two districts of Dombe have acquired some importance from their mineral resources, the gneiss formations near the Cuio inlet containing pockets of rich copper ores, as well as lodes of argentiferous lead. The neighbouring hills of g}-ps\im, forming the backbone of the country in the direction of Benguella, also contain enormous masses of pure sulphur. Monteiro noticed an eminence which seemed to be composed entirely of this substance, while from the selenite deposits he was able to extract some excellent plaster, fully equal to that obtained in the Paris basin. The upper coiirse of the Capororo, here known as the Calunga, traverses the rich valley of Quillcngues, where resides a powerfid chief. This upper basin, lying at an altitude of from 2,800 to 3,300 feet above the sea, still presents a tropical aspect in its exuberant vegetation, although herds of cattle now graze in the extensive forest clearings. The Ba-Nano wild tribes occupying the northern districts frequently make incursions into the Quillengues Yalley in order to raid on these herds. They are said to have the power of inducing the animals to follow them spontaneously over hill and dale merely by the device of beating to time two pieces of stick, and at intervals repeating certain notes of call. The rugged Serra Yissecua, which has to be crossed in order to descend from Quillengues eastwards down to the Cunene basin, is of verj' difiicult access, but was traversed by the explorers Capello and Ivens at an elevation of 4,800 feet. South of Benguella and Dombe the first centre of population occurring on the coast is the prosperous modern town of Mossamcdes, from which the southernmost province of Angola takes its name. In 1785 the Bay of Angra do Negro, the Little Fish Bay of the English, had already received this appellation in honour of a certain General Mossamedes ; but the first Portuguese settlement in the district dates only from the year 1840. The new colony developed more rapidly than the old factories and establishments on the Angolan coast farther north, and although it does not take, like Benguella, the title of " city," Mossamedes is a larger place, of all the towns in the Portuguese African possessions yielding to Loanda alone in population. In 1884 nearly three himdred and fifty natives of Madeira joined the colony, which has a relativeh^ larger proportion of whites than any other place along this coast. While the European and Brazilian immigrants settle in other places for the most part without their families, they generally come to MOSSAMEDES. 51 Mossamedes with their wives and children, although even here the mortality is always in excess of the births. The relative prosperity enjoyed by this southern town is in part also due to its pri\-ilege of never having been a centre of the slave trade, like Benguella and Loanda. Hitherto it has been chiefly occupied with fishing and agricultural pursuits. The port of Mossamedes is sheltered from all winds ' and sufficiently deep to allow large vessels to ride at anchor close inshore. But on arriving on this desolate-looking coast, with its dunes, sandy plains, and rocky escarpments encircling a few groups of houses and rows of palms, the ^'isitor asks what such an arid region can supply for an export trade, which in any case scarcely exceeds £60,000 annually. But if the soil is ungrateful the sea at least is bountiful, teeming with every variety of animal life. The fishermen on the coast capture and cure thousands of large fish which resemble tlie cod, and from which thej' extract an abundance of " cod-liver oil " for exportation. And although the land roimd about Mossamedes is too barren and waterless to bo profitably cultivated, the beds of the wadys which wind between the hills are highly jiroductive. Here gardens, banana and orange groves, cotton and sugar-cane plantations, develop a continuous zone of magnificent vegetation, while sugar refineries have already been established by the immigrants from Pernambuco. The cultivated tracts along the Eio Bero and the Eio Giraul, a few miles north of Mossamedes, yield excellent returns to the husbandman, and farther inland the stockbreeders raise large herds of cattle for the markets of the Cape and the Gaboon. As in Kafirland and the Dutch South African republics, the so-called boi-carallos, or "riding-oxen," are bred by the farmers, so that the southern province of Angola is alreadv to some extent connected by the customs of its inhabitants with the regions of the Cape. Mossamedes commvmicates with the eastern slope of the coast range by a natural route partly improved by the labour of man, who has had here and there to remove obstructions and reduce the incline in the more difficult sections. Some of the heights hitherto inaccessible to pack-animals have thus been rendered practicable by a series of cuttings and zigzags climbing the slopes of the hills. The waggons and teams of the Dutch immigrants are now enabled to cross the Cbella Mountains and descend into the Mossamedes district. On the western slope of these highlands the most important station is the fortified post of Capangomhe, where are to be had provisions and stores of goods for the barter trade. Along the route water sometimes fails, although reservoirs are usually maintained in the cavities of the granite rocks. The Pedra Grande, one of these natural basins, consists of an isolated block rising in the midst of the plain, and hollowed out with such perfect regularity that it looks like the work of man. A few plantations ai-e scattered amongst the more humid depressions watered by springs or brooks. The pass across the Chella range, standing at an altitude of about 5,400 feet, forms a pleasant grassy tableland, irrigated by limpid streams, and recently brought under cultivation by the Portugiicso coffee and sugar-cane planters. E 2 52 SOUin AST) EAST AFEICA. Ttc Cunenc Inisiu, whit'li is rcacliocl after croBsing tlie Chella Mountains, contains in its nppcr parts a few little outposts of the Portuguese dominion. These stations promise one day to acquire a certain importance as rallying points for immigrants, but have hitherto remained obscure hamlets. Even the military post of Cacoiida, lying on a plain traversed by a western affluent of the Upper Cunene, had till recently been almost abandoned by traders, the caravans of the Ganguella tribes conveying nothing but a little ivory and wax to this station. The Nanos, Huambos, and other local tribes have withdrawn to a distance in order to avoid the oppressive imposts levied by the chefes who represent the Portuguese authority. Some of the sobas, or native chiefs, whose predecessors had regularly taken the oath of fidelity to the King of Portugal, latelj^ refused to do so any longer, and the vast and fertile plain, which might easily supjiort a population of a million, is said to have not more than eight thousand inhabitants. Nevertheless it seems impossible that such a favoured land can fail to become a flourishing agricultural and commercial region. At this mean altitude of about 5,400 feet above the sea the temperature is mild, and the country, if not entirely free from fever, as has been asserted, is at least relatively salubrious. Here all the plants of the temperate zone flourish by the side of a sub-tropical vegetation, and coffee would certainly succeed, to judge at least from the oriango, or will species, found growing in the forests. In its vegetation, its running waters, and genial climate, Caconda (5,650 feet) is a land of promise, which some Transvaal Boers have already visited in order to stiidy its resources and found settlements. Several Portuguese, mostly convicts, own a few gardens planted round about a little fort which dates from the seven- teenth centurJ^ The Portuguese administration is also now engaged in improv- ing the highwajrs leading from Caconda and the Upper Cunene north-westwards in the direction of Benguella. The station of Iluilla, at the eastern foot of the Chella Mountains, has recently outstripped Caconda, thanks to its greater relative proximitj' to the sea-coast, and to the arrival of some Dutch settlers from Transvaal. A Catholic mission under French control has also established itself at Huilla, where the priests have founded a college for educating the children of the traders residing on the coast. The dwellings are surrounded by gardens growing European plants, and avenues of the eucalyptus fringe the banks of the torrent which flows to the Caculovar, chief affluent of the Cunene. On a terrace to the north of Huilla has been founded San-Januario, the princijjal Boer station, which also takes the name of Himipata from the surround- ing district. Here are scattered the neat little cabins with wooden frames, thatched roof, and cowdung floor, built by the Afrikanders on the model of their Transvaal dwellings. During this long irch, or exodus from their southern homes, the Boers had to endure great hardshijjs and privations, as thej' drove their herds before them, plodding wearily from pasturage to pasturage, sojourning for months together in some more favoured localities in order to recruit their strength, but again exposing themselves to the inclemency of the weather, and nUMrATA. 53 facing the perils of forced marclies across the waterless wilderness. Many perished of exhaustion, and the report even spread that all had succumbed. But towards the close of the year 1880 some four or five hundred survivors at last reached the promised land, distant more than 1,'200 miles from the mother country. But even here under this favoured climate of Mossamedes the fates still pursued them ; small-pox broke out amongst the new arrivals and decimated their ranks ; nearly all the horses, which they had brought with them to the great terror of the natives, died of fatigue ; all the flocks of sheep disappeared together with two-thirds of the horned cattle. Despair seized many of the settlers, who em- barked for the Cape ; others retracing their steps endeavoured to return overland to Transvaal, while others resuming the trek penetrated from stage to stage farther into the Cunene basin and the region of the inland plateaux. But some few held out against fate itself. At present the plains of Humpata, being carefully cultivated and irrigated by well-constructed canals, yield an ample supply of provisions for the inhabitants. The Boers are also endeavouring to increase their live-stock from the few animals that survived the trek across the desert. As hunters they pursue the elephant and hippopotamus, utilising the fat in the preparation of soap, and they have also turned to mining in order to smelt the iron ores of the neighbouring rocks and wash the streams for gold dust. Others again have become traders, journeying as far as Walvisch Bay in the Damara country to purchase European wares, and acting as conveyors between Huilla and the port of Mossamedes. Their indus- trious habits have thus enabled them to acquire a certain degree of comfort, while also ensuring the peimanency of their settlement. Since their arrival the trade between both slopes of the coast-range has been more than doubled. Although very suspicious of their Portuguese neighbours, who speak another language and profess a different belief, they have nevertheless reconciled them- selves to the contact of these " aliens," even protecting them against the incur- sions of various marauding tribes, to whom is applied the collective designation of "Hottentots." Some marriages have even already been contracted between the Portuguese and the daughters of the Ugaras, as the immigrants from Transvaal are locally called. Hitherto nothing has been required of them beyond a purely theoretical recognition of the Portuguese suzerainty, which is represented at Humpata by a single official. For all communal matters they have been per- mitted to retain complete self-government. From these first groups various branches have already been detached, which have proceeded to found fresh settlements in various other parts of the countrj-. But the tide of German immigration has not yet penetrated into the Upper Cunene basin, notwithstanding the efforts that had been made to divert it to that region. The peasantry have hitherto rejected the bait held out to them by the traveller Dewitz, who in 1884 acquired possession of a large piece of land for the purpose of founding colonies in the Luceqiie district about the confluence of the Catapi and Cunene rivers. East and south of Iluilla the other militarv and missionarv stations, such as 54 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 17. — TioEE Bay akd the Cunene. Scale 1 : 700,000. G(tmhos and Uuiiihc [luiinbi), have hitherto remained mere groups of cabins inhabited by the natives. Along this marshy tract of the Middle Cuucne the white population has so far been represented only by a few solitary individuals, chiefly fishermen attracted by the multitude of fish in this part of the stream. The sec- tion of the seaboard lying between Mossamedes and the Cimene estuary, political boundary of Angola, has also remained almost unin- habited. Yet this part of the coast presents the rare advantage of the two excel- lent havens of Bahia Pinda [Port Alexander) and Bahia dos Tigres {Great Fish Boy), both formed by sand-banks deposited in a line with the coast, and connected by a narrow strip with the main- land. On the lofty headland of Cabo Negro, which com- mands the northern entrance of Port Alexander, are still visible the remains of apedriio, or a stone block erected in 1485 by Diego Cam to com- memorate his discoveries. A similar memorial pile crowns the summit of Cape Santa- Maria, between Dombe- Grande and Mossamedes. Despite the fertility of its plateaux and river valleys, Angola still remains one of those African lands in which hunting and fishing continue to have almost as much im- portance as husbandry. But this could scarcely be other- wise in a region which was formerly depoijulated by the slave trade, and where the desolate seaboard consequently presents but few plantations and cultivated tracts. At the same time the withdrawal of wild animals towards the interior, and 160 Feet and upwards. EESOUECES OF ANGOLA. 55 tlie reckless destruction of forests along the coast continiiaUy diminisli the natiu-al resources of the land, and give a correspondingly greater relative value to the products of human industry. Ivory, -which next to slaves -svas formerly the most valuable commodity exported from Angola,* tends to disappear, -while the tusks obtained from the more inland regions are forwarded by the Congo route. In the same way the supply of caoutchouc, which -was at one time exported to the yearly value of from £120,000 to £160,000, -n-ill necessarily fall off when the lianas from which it is ex- Fig. 18. — Cheef Zones of Usefui. Plants in Anqola. Scale 1 : 10,000,000. tracted shall have disap- peared from all the districts near the seaboard. The orchillamossusedin dyeing, which hangs in festoons from the branches of the baobab and other large forest trees, has already be- come much scarcer than for- merly ; gum copal, however, which is annually forwarded from the Angolan ports, is still found iu abundance ou the coastlands, and is sup- plemented by large quanti- ties of wax brought down from the interior by the natives. The modern in- dustrial arts have, moreover, imparted a special value to numerous natural products of Angola for which hither- to no use could be found. The palms yield their oils, fibre, and fruits ; the aca- jgg j^jj^^ cias offer their gums and resins ; the euphorbias supjjly their sap, the so-called almcidina, or starch extract ; while from the baobab are obtained the bark and bast, which serve for the manu- facture of cordage, paper, and even cloth. And how many vegetable growths are still met in the forests, whose wood, leaves, gums, or fruits might be utilised for their industrial or medicinal properties ! Amongst these plants there are some the timber of which is proof against the attacks of the destructive termite. Copal. Coffee. Haize and Manioc. Deptts. 320 Feet and upwards. * Revenue of the Province of Angola in 1834 :— Sale of slaves, £-20,000, or four-fiftlis of the -n-hole ; other revenues, £4,000, or one-fifth of the whole. 36 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. Angola is also ricli in mineral resources, chief amongst which are the extensive copper ores. The chief cultivated plants are those which yield alimentary siibstances for the local consmnption. Manioc, which is grown principally in the northern districts of Angola, is replaced in the southern provinces bj^ maize, millet, and sorgho. The European fruits and vegetables, as well as the Chinese tea plant, have also been introduced, and thrive well at least in the upland valleys. Since the year 1840 potatoes have been grown by the Bihenos in the region forming the great divide between the Cuanza, Kwango, and Cunene basins. The coast towns are generally surrounded by gardens, the umbrageous arimos of Loanda being Fig. 19. — COFFEE-QEOWINO ReOION OF AxOOLA. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. rivalled by the more productive hortas of Mossamedes. Even the vine has been planted in some districts, and tobacco, cotton, and ground-nuts are also included amongst the products of the country. Mossamedes cultivates the sugar-cane, which serves chief!}' for the distillation of spirits. But the staj)le agricultural product is certainly the coffee berry. Since the middle of the present centnry this industry has acquired a rapid develojjment not only in the Cazengo district, but also throughout the basin of the Lu-culla and all its affluents. Stockbreeding has but slight economic importance on the coastlands. Between the Congo and Cuanza estuaries there are no herds of horned cattle, and the attempts made in many places to raise oxen, horses, or mules have resulted in BESOUECES OF ANGOLA. 67 failure. Even dogs lose their scent and perish, and at Bembe cats become paralj-sed in a few months after their arrival. The meat-markets along the seaboard are supplied mainly from the inland plateaux, although stockbreeding succeeds verj' well almost everywhere south of the Cuanza. The formidable tse;s3 fly, which infests such extensive tracts in East Africa, is unknown in Angola, where cattle diseases are also generallj' less fatal than in the Zambese and Limj:)opo basins. A baneful inheritance bequeathed by the institution of slavery is the prevailing system of large lauded estates. Nearly all the domains belonging to the planters are of vast extent, comprising many hundreds and even thousands of acres, and what is worse, the proprietor rarely, and in some districts never, resides with his famQy on the plantation. In this respect, however, the province of Mossamedes presents a happy contrast to the other parts of Angola. Here the land is owned in much smaller lots, and many planters dwell in the midst of their labourers. The grunts made in this agricidtural region can never exceed 150 acres, whereas in the central and northern provinces the vast domains are still administered pretty much in the same way as in the days of Negro servitude. In fact on most of these plantations the so-called coiifrafadof', or coolies hired by contract, are temporarily attached like serfs to the glebe, working under the direction of Portuguese gangers or task-masters. Slavery no doubt is abolished, but not so the custom of long contract service, so that the natives are even hired and despatched to the plantations of Sao-Thome for periods of two, four, or even hve years. At the same time, most of the hands employed on the great estates are so indebted to their masters that they can scarcely hope ever to become quite indcijendcnt. Wages run very low, and the money used in paying the Negroes is of less intrinsic value than that current amongst the whites. The rcis /racos, intended for circidation amongst the Negroes, represents only three-fifths in value of the corresponding reis fortes, legal currency. Beyond the plantations slavery still flourishes amongst the native populations in defiance of the law. The slave . Is of course aware that he might claim his freedom In any Portuguese town ; but custom Is here stronger thau I'ight, and he dare not enforce his claim. Doubtless he is honoured with the title of "son," like the real offspring of his owner ; but he Is not the " uterine son," but only the " son of barter," or of the "cotton-bale." Industry in the strict sense of the term is still in its infancy, although there exist in some parts of the country certain factories or workshops where the native hands have learnt to make use of European appliances. Such are the important brickfields near Loanda, besides numerous manufactories of matting in the Cuanza valley, and several distilleries and cigar factories in the coast towns, while Mossamedes even boasts of both a spinning and a weaving mill, founded by an Alsatian. The locomotive also has made its apjDcarance at Loanda on the line of railway now being constructed from the coast to Ambaca. The telegraph system has been developed In the interior as far as the coffee plantations, and small steamers ply on the river Cuanza. Good carriage roads now connect Loanda 58 SOUTH AND EAST AFEIOA. with tlio two iifig-hboiuing rivers, Doiido with the Lu-Calla, Duinbe-Graudc with Cuio, CatunibeUa with BengueUa, aud Mossaniedes with the various settlements founded in the southern province. But in spite of all these public facilities and improvements, the foreign trade of Angola has not increased as rapidly as might have been expected. Of late years it has even diminished, at least in appearance, owing to the displacement of large streams of traffic. The ijublic tariffs are so exorbitant that traders naturally seek an outlet for their produce in the free zone of the northern districts. Even those of the Cunene and Ilumpata prefer to send their waggons across the swamps and hills to Walvisch Bay, a distance of 540 miles in a straight line, rather than make their purchases in the neighbouring port of Mossamedes. Over two-thirds of the foreign trade of Angola is carried on with England, and nearly all the imported textile fabrics are of British manufacture. The Portuguese merchants derive but little benefit from this movement, fully five- sixths of the whole trade of the country being diverted from the ports of Lisbon and Oporto. Hence the current remark that the part played by the metropolis on the Angolan seaboard was merely that of coast-guards in the service of foreign commerce. Public instruction is more developed in Angola than might be supposed, judging only from the number of schools. Thousands of natives, descendants of those formerly taught by the missionaries, learn to read in their families himdreds of miles from any public educational establishments. The postal service and the relative importance of the press also testify to a higher general level of instruc- tion than that of some countries where schools are more numerous. An observa- tory has been foimded at Loanda. The Portuguese province of Angola, to which the designation of " kingdom " is also sometimes apjilied, is in complete dejjeudence on the central government at Lisbon. It is represented neither by elected members nor by special deputies, except to the Lisbon Cortes. Hence the administration is entirely carried on by instructions transmitted from Portugal to the governor-general, who resides at Loanda. This system of political pupilage, which cannot but retard the natural development of the colony, is explained if not justified by the handful of Europeans scattered over a vast territory, nearly all of whom are moreover either government officials, traders, or exiles, whose chief interests and moral ties are stUl rooted in the mother country. The only object of the traders and theu' assistants is to make rapid fortunes, or at least amass sufficient wealth to enable them to sj^end the rest of their days in comfort at home. The officials and military follow their vocation abroad in the hope of more rapid promotion on their retiu'n to Europe, while the degredados, or convicts, have to recover the rights of citizenship by a long residence in the colonies. During the decade from 1872 to 1881 not more than 3,348 immigrants settled in the cotmtr}'. The natives have on their jJart preserved their primitive method of government, except in the vicinity of the towns and plantations, where the traditional bonds of the tribe or clan become loosened or broken. As a rule the I ADMINISTRATION OF ANGOLA. 59 blacks still elect their own sola (chief), or else acknowledge him according to the laws of succession in the several tribes, which sometimes runs in the direct line from father to son, but more commonly from brother to brother or else from uncle to sister's son. But by the side of the soba, whose autonomy increases in direct proportion with his distance from the Portuguese military stations, there reside the c/iefes, or political agents, appointed by the governor of Loanda. These chefes claim the right of interfering under various circumstances in the internal affairs of the tribes, and apply themselves above all to the increase of taxation, more to their own benefit than to that of the Portuguese treasury. In virtue of special decrees they had formerly the power of compelling the natives to work, and thus reducing them to the position of a disguised slavery, by exacting a certain share of unremimerated labour at their hands. They named at pleasure the persons who had to work gratuitously for them in the capacity of carrcgadores, or porters. Put this iniquitous S3'stem of corvee was abolished in the year 1856. The direct administration of Portugal being restricted to a few points on the coast and in the interior, and the local tribes being for the most part of a very docile disposition, not more than a few hundred Portuguese soldiers are required for garrisons in the military posts or for hostile expeditions. Hence the budget is almost entirely devoted to the civil service, the expenditure being partly covered by the customs. Nevertheless the public revenues are far from sufficing to cover the outlay, especially during the last few j'ears. Thus its West African posses- sions have always been a burden to the mother country, as is the case mth most colonial dominions which take no part in the local administration. The territory of Angola is divided into fom* districts, which are again sub- divided into conccUios often of considerable extent. But some of these circles contain so few civilised inhabitants that it has been found impossible to establish any regular administration in them. A table of the districts and concelhos, with their chief towns, will be found in the Appendix. Of these towns two alone, Loanda and Benguella, rank as cidadcs, or "cities," all the rest being "villas " — towns, boroughs, or villages. Cnx\.PTEIl II. DAIMAEA AND NAMAQUA LANDS. From the Cuxene to the Orange Riaer. HE section of tlie African seaboard stretching from Angola with considerable uniformity for 900 miles southwards to the Orange river was declared Gcrm.in territory in the year 1884, when it received the official designation of "South-west Africa." The vast region thus peaceabl}- annexed had previously been known as Liideritzland, from the German trader who acquired it by means of contracts made with the chiefs of the few coast tribes and with those of the inland populations, who had been brought under the influence of the Ehcnish missionaries. Before this epoch, when as by a stroke of the magician's wand the country found itself placed under the protection of the German Empire, Great Britain supposed herself to be the virtual suzerain of the land as far north as Cape Frio, although in actual possession only of a single station on the shores of Walvisch Bay. At the time of the first negotiations opened by the German diplomatists regarding the posts established by subjects of the empire, the British minister declared that any settlements made by a foreign power in the region in question would be an encroachment on the rights of Great Britiin. The Cape Government even passed a vote to take formal jDossession of the territory in litigation, but it was already too late. After an exchange of dispatches, which had begun to assume a threatening tone on the part of Germany, the whole of Liideritzland, with the exception of the Walvisch Bay enclave, was recognised as a Germanic possession. The German diplomatists, moreover, concluded a treaty with Portugal, securing for their Government the protectorate of the territory which stretches from Cape Frio northwards to the mouth of the Cuuene. The region of " South-west Africa," which reaches inland as far as the twentieth degree east longitude, and which is as extensive as the German Empire itself, is the first in chronological order of all the lands which in Africa and Polynesia constitute the vast colonial dominion acquired bj' the Germans in the course of about four years. But Ilerr Liideritz, to whose energy and foresight the mother country was indebted for the acquisition, soon after mysteriously GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. 61 disaj^peared somewhere on the south coast ; and although the annexation has bsen officially proclaimed, it is still far from being carried out. No military force having been placed at the service of the traders, the conversion of the natives into German subjects remains a pure fiction, nor does it prevent marauding bands from lifting the cattle of the German commissioner at the very door of his residence. Hitherto the Berlin authorities have taken no active steps to assert their claims, beyoud forwarding a few rifles to the coast for distribution amongst the warriors of the friendly or allied jjopulations. The rulers who command most 20. — Chief Routes of ExPLOuEEa in Dajxakaiand. Scale 1 : 7,000.000 *- A v., |\ ''^%^ 18! * .IS" * ...X ! ,-■' '■ >i' '-'4' y^ 22 Wr^^. 1 ^' T^i'^ '■•;....•--, ,.te5.--,>^,:» S2° -, 12 Fast of Greenwich IS" __ 1,000 Fathoms and upwolds. ready submission to their mandates are not the civil functionaries, but the Protcslant missionaries of the central and southern districts. Stationed since the year 1842 amongst the Damaras, they at present possess over twenty establish- ments between the Cimene and Orange rivers. Thanks to these missionaries, as well as to the traders, sportsmen, and mining prospectors, who have traversed the whole territory in various directions, the new German colonial possession is already well known, at least in its general features. Even the northern tracts, farthest removed from the centre of South African C2 SOUTH AND EAST APEICA. exploration at Cape Town, had been visited by Galton, Andersson, Baines, Smuts, Green, Ilahn and Rath, Hartley, Coates, Palgrave, and Duparquet; and since the proclamation of the new political regime, a large number of German travellers have been attracted to these regions in order to study their geographical conditions, and especially to examine their economic resources. Special charts have been prepared of the seaports and mineral deposits, the traces have been laid down of future routes and railways, and the work of preliminary exploration has received a decided impulse from the official annexation. In its main outlines the relief of the land forms a southern continuation of the Angolan uplands and lowlands. The ground rises in terraces to the crest of a plateau near the coast, beyond which it again faUs eastwards in the direction of an inland fluvial basin. The whole region from the Cunene to the Orange presents the asj^ect of an elongated protuberance of somewhat regular form, whose axis runs exactly parallel with the coast-line. This long elevated ridge is, how- ever, completely isolated, and whereas the Angolan tablelands are connected eastwards with the waterpartings between the Congo and Zambese basins, those of Damara and Namaqua lands are limited in this direction by profound depres- sions separating them from the Kalahari Desert and from the Ku-Bango and the upper afHucnts of the Orange river. Separated also from the Chella highlands by the gorges traversed by the Cunene, these rocky heights of Damaraland, commonly designated by the name of Kaoko, at first rise but slightly above the general level of the land. But south of the limestone Otavi hills they gradually rise higher and higher, until several eminences attain elevations of 3,000 feet and upwards, while a veritable highland svstem with its dome-shaped summits and table rocks is developed to the north- east and east of Walvisch Bay. Moimt Omatako, culminating point of this system, has an altitude of no less than 7,630 feet, and this majestic peak is encircled by numerous other less elevated but still imposing siuumits. Farther south the main axis again falls to a height of little over 3,000 feet ; In many places the continuous ridge even disappears altogether, or rather becomes broken into groups of isolated hills resting on a common pedestal, which presents the aspect of a shield with its convex side uppermost. Here and there some of the more conspicuous eminences assume the fantastic outlines of towers, pinnacles, and needles. Still farther south the vast region of great Namaqualand is still traversed by a somewhat continuous ridge or unbroken line of elevated hills, and the route which runs from the coast at Angra Pequena eastwards to Bethany crosses the intervening chain at an altitude of 5,300 feet. In all these uplands the prevailing formations are gneiss, micaceous schists, cr3'stalline limestones, with intruding granites, porphyries, and other eruptive rocks. Masses of basalt are also said to occur. The main axis of the Damara and Kamaqua highlands runs parallel with the seaboard at an average distance of about 120 miles inland, but in several places the intervening space between the first escarpments and the coast is much more I PHYSICAL FEATURES OF SOUTH-WEST AFETCA. 63 considerable. East of Walvisch Bay this intervening space constitutes the Namieb district, that is, the rlaldc or ccld of the Dutch, and the jj/ff/« of the English settlers. It ma}' in some respects be compared to the hnmadas of Arabia and North Africa, for although it presents the general appearance of a plain, the traveller crossing the Namieb in the direction from west to east is continually but imperceptibly ascending, until at 60 miles from the Bay he finds himself 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. Seen from the coast the veld masks the profile of the inland mountains, yet as he scales the crests of the dunes the wayfarer fancies he has before him a perfectlj^ level plain with a boundless horizon. The German exj)lorer Stapff thinks that the Namieb is an old marine bed, its aspect being that of an immense shallow basin of a shifting brown and whitish colour. During the dry season, that is, throughout the greater jiart of the year, the surface is as hard as that of a paved street ; but it becomes very difficult to traverse when the rains have softened the upper layer of calcareous or gypseous clay with which the sands are agglutinated in a concrete mass. At this season the cartwheels leave behind them deeji ruts which may be traced years after- wards. The rainwater, which lodges in the few depressions scattered over the surface, slowly evaporates, leaving in its place fine gvpseous or saline efflorescences, the so-called salt-pans of the English settlers. In the vicinity of the hills the detritus is seen hero and there of gneiss, quartz, or schistose rocks, which appear to have been decomposed by weathering, leaving on the ground patches of diverse colours. A few still standing blocks present a smooth surface, that has been polished by the action of the sands driving before the winds. The lower part of the gently inclined Namieb plain, which descends down to the coast, is covered with sandy dunes, and varies in breadth from a few thou.sand j^ards to sixty miles inland. Some of these dunes rise to heights of considerably over 300 feet, and are consequently as elevated as those of the landes skirting the south-eastern shores of the Bay of Biscay. They are disposed in numerous parallel chains separated by intervening depressions, which are themselves dotted over with hillocks of smaller size. South of Walvisch Bay no less than six of these sandy ridges have to be successively traversed to reach the interior. Their slopes facing the marine breezes are nearty solid, while the opposite side, being strewn with arenaceous particles brought by the land wind, is of a much looser texture. A few herbaceous and scrubby plants with trailing roots grow on the surface of the dunes, and help to consolidate them by binding the sand together. These coast dunes have their origin probably in ancient upheaved sandbanks, whereas those of the interior have been formed on the spot by the disintegration of the gneiss rocks under the action of solar heat. The process of upheaval woidd appear to be still going on along this section of the seaboard. To a height of 05 or 70 feet above the present sea-level occur saline tracts strewn with shells which resemble those still surviving in the neighbouring waters. At an elevation of nearly 100 feet and at a distance of over half a mile inland there are even found entire skeletons of cetaceans formerly stranded on the old beach. On the raised G-i SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. shore stretching north of Wulvisch Bay are seen masses of siil25hiir miugled with sand and gypsum, and hero the ground emits an odour of suljjhureted hj'drogen. To these noxious exhahitions may probably be duo the sudden destruction of the fish in the bay, which has been recorded on several occasions, and especially in the year 1883. At ebb tide observers have even noticed a kind of craters resembling protuberances on the surface of the exposed beach. Climate. On the phj'sical structure of the land partly depend its climatic conditions. The south and south-west winds, which are the most prevalent on this seaboard, bring very few moisture-bearing clouds, while the opposing north-easterly gales predominating in Ma}', June, and July are even still less humid. Hence not more than an average of five or six rainy days in the year can be relied upon about the shores of Walvisch Bay, and scarcely one or two on the more southerly coast of Angra Pequeua. To this and the night dews, at times very copious, is reduced the so-called " rainy season," whose normal period coincides with the beginning of the year, when the sun again moves northwards. But if the low-lj'ing seaboard thus lies in an almost rainless zone, the marine currents discharge a more liberal sujDply on the uj^lauds of the interior. As many as seventeen wet days were recorded at Ilope-miuo in 188G, yielding a total rainfall of nearly two inches. The rains are almost invariably heralded by whirl- winds, by which the sand is raised and borne along in moving columns. To these dust storms the Damaras give a name, which in their language means " Rain- bearers." Thanks to this supply of moisture, the inland plateau.x are covered with a vast carpet of verdure, while lower down, at least south of the relatively well- watered district of Kaoko, the whole land remains arid, or dotted over with a few patches of thorny scrub, except in the rare oases fed by some intermittent sj^rings. Here domestic animals perish of hunger and thirst, exotics pine and wither away, and the hardiest shiubs are reared with difficulty, the soil being everywhere saturated with salt to a depth of nearly two feet. Thanks to the moisture precipitated on the higher summits, the upland valleys are traversed h\ rivulets, which, however, nowhere unite in a common watercourse, and ^\hich fail to reach the sea except during exceptionally wet seasons. The torrents are in fact mere wadj's, which serve as paths, and in which the wayfarer sinks a few wells in the hojje that a little water may collect in the depressions. Their steep banks are fiingcd with shrubs, which draw the necessary moisture from the saturated sands. But the gradual decay of vegetation along the course of these torrents leads to the conclusion that the whole country is slowly becoming drier. When any sudden freshet revives the sickly plants along the upland brooks, the fresh sprouts soon wither again, the roots being unable to strike deep enough in search of the vivifying stream. But in several parts of the neigh- bouring plateauxj the Hereros have bored through the limestone rock down to the underground reservoirs. In the Otavi hills north of this district one of these THE SWAKOP AXD KnOSIB EIVEES. G5 reservoii's forms a veritable subterranean lake well stocked whh. fisli and main- taining itself always at the same level. Of all the wadys in this region, the most copious is the Omaruru, where the stream lasts longer and the vegetation is less scattered than along the other watercoiu-ses. The Omburo thermal spring rises in the sands of its upper course at the foot of some basalt rocks, and the rivulet flows for several miles as a surface stream. But of all the local fluvial systems, the most wide-branchin"- and by far the longest is the Swakop, or Tsoakhub, whose course has a total length of over 240 miles, exclusive of the lateral branches. Taking its rise to the east of the central Damara highlands, it traverses the plateau through deep rocky gorges, and reaches the coast just north of Walvisch Bay. Lying about midway between the Cunene and the Orange Eiver, this transverse trough divides the whole terri- tory into two nearly equal parts, Damaraland in the north and Great Namaqualand in the south. The Khosib or Kuisip, which intersects the Xamieb plain to a depth of over 600 feet, also discharges, or rather formerly discharged, into Walvisch Bay, through an abrupt bend, which is bordered eastwards b}' the long sandy penin- sula of PeKcan Point. During the twelve years preceding 1878 this wady is said to have never once reached the coast. South of these two intermittent streams, the other watercourses are arrested east of the dunes without even forming chan- nels as far as the sea. But the umarambas, or streams of the eastern slope, which flow either to the Ku-Bango or the Orange, or else lose themselves in the distant saline marshes of the desert, form real river systems, if not in the abun- dance of their waters or the regularity of their discharge, at least in the length of their fluvial beds. Consisting to a great extent of rocky uplands, hard clays, and moving sands, the southern section of the new German colony can have no agricultural value for its owners. Yet this was the first part to be annexed, and here were founded all their early stations. South of the Swakop, the whole ground cleared and brought under cultivation by the missionaries probably falls short of ten acres. But in the northern districts, and especially in the Cunene valley, there stretch vast plains resembling the Portuguese territories of Huilla and Humpata. Lying in the same river basin and endowed with a similar fertile soil, they also enjoy pretty much the same climate, except that the atmosphere is somewhat drier and the rainfall less abimdant. Nevertheless there is still sufiicient moisture to stimu- late the growth of large trees and even develop considerable forest tracts. Here IS still to be seen the gigantic baobab, while a few palms are met even south of the twentieth degrees of south latitude. The territory of the Ova-ilbos (Ovam- boland), with its woodlands, glades, and clearings presents in many places the aspect of a boundless park, and here the natives support themselves mainly by tilling the land and cultivating fruit trees. Here also European peasantry might imdoubtedly succeed, although their requirements greatly exceed the modest wants of the natives, and some of the Transvaal Boers have already formed settlements in the district. Some hundreds of these immigrants, the same who VOL. XIII. J 66 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. later directed tlieir steps towards the Portuguese territory of Mossamedes, had founded a colony in the hilly Kaoko region. But here also, as in HumiData, they occupied themselves less with tillage than with raising herds of cattle. Their agricultural operations were confined to what was strictly needed for their annual supply of corn. Beyond the Cunene district and some exceptionally favoured valleys, stock- breeding appears to be everywhere the local industry most rich in future promise. Its broad grassy plateaux make the country essentially a grazing land. All wild animals, except several species of antelopes, a few felidaj, jackals, and rodents, have already been exterminated. Even the ostrich, which is farmed in the British colonies farther south, is here eagerly hunted, and is no longer met in the neigh- bourhood of the seaboard. Some crocodiles are stiU met in the watercourses communicating with the Cunene ; snakes, lizards, and locusts, are represented by numerous species, and one of the local serpents is the deadly cuqxdeiro, or "spitter" of the Angolan Portuguese, which attains a length of 25 or 26 feet, and which the wizards had formerly acqiilred the art of charming, and intro- ducing into the houses of the sick. The animals which are now bred on the upland pasture lands — horses, oxen, sheep, and goats — were all originally introduced from Europe. It has often been proposed to introduce the camel into the half desert regions of south-west Africa ; but the valuable breed of pack oxen already largely employed throughout the southern states and colonies amply suffices for all the requirements of the trans- port service, while the difference between the cost of their purchase and keep renders their employment much more economical than would be that of the camel. It is not so much its wealth of live stock that gives importance to this region in the eyes of Its new masters. Apart from the satisfaction of having secured possession of a coimtr}- which the English of the Cape were hankering after, they place great hopes in the rich mineral resources still lying almost untouched in the highlands running at a short distance from the coast. Rich copper ores especially occur in many places on the plateau and even in the advanced spurs of the mountains, and notwithstanding the difficulties of transport, mining operations have already begim at several points. South of Angra Pequena silver ores have also been f oimd ; but from the reports lately made by the surveyors, it Is to be feared that the first hopes of the prospectors may prove to be altogether fallacious. At the same time, as soon as the country is traversed bj' good roads, there can be no doubt that it will acquire a certain importance for Its mineral resources, which cannot fail to attract capital and industrious pojjulatlous. Meantime It may readily be imagined that settlers have not hitherto been very numerous in a region where both water and arable land are deficient, and where travellers run the risk of perishing from hunger and thirst. In many of the Namaqua districts the exjiilorer may travel for weeks together without meeting a single group of cabins. But the population Is naturally somewhat denser in the northern territory, where the mountain ranges are more elevated, the slopes more grassy, the fluvial beds not quite so destitute of running waters. Here every THE OVA-MBOS. 67 vallej- has its hamlet or, at least, a few sheplicrd3' huts. According to the rough calculations of Palgrave and Ilahn, in the year 1877, the total poi^ulatiou was 236,000, and of this number nearly 2'20,0C0 were concentrated in the section of the country lying to the north of "Walvisch Bay. But estimated in relation to the superficial area of the whole region, the actual density of the population woidd appear to be rather less than one to the square mile. In respect of the origin of its inhabitants, the territory annexed by the Germans is essentially a land of transition. All the southern division, no doubt, belongs to the Khoin-Khoin, or Hottentot race ; but in the region lying north of the highlands pierced by the channel of the Swakop river, the dominant Bantu tribes are everj'where so intermingled with these fidl-blood or half-caste Hot- tentots, that it becomes impossible to separate their respective domains bj- any hard-and-fast line. Eoughly speaking, at least three-quarters of the whole land may be assigned to the Hottentot tribes, which, nevertheless, constitute at most one-fifth the entire population. Several groups, however, are of mixed origin, while European blood is also represented by the half-caste Bastaards, as well as by the Boers, the Portuguese Pomheiros, the English and German traders, who regularly or occasionally visit this region. The Bantu tribes, who occupy the left bank of the Cunene above the gorges through which this river escapes seawards, arc generally designated by the coUcctiAe name of Ova-Mbo (Ovambo, Ovampo), originally applied to them by their south-western neighbours, the Hereros. But they do not themselves recog- nise this term, nor have they any generic designation for the nation as a whole. They are ethnically related to the Chibiquas of the Chella Mountains, and to the peoples dwelling beyond the Cunene known as Ba-Simbas (Mu-Xiiuba), that is, to say, "Borderers," or "Riverain People," and mentioned in old documents as Cimbebas. Hence the name Cimbebasia, which is still applied to the region ■watered by the Cunene and even to the whole of Damaraland. Most of these natives are tall, robust, very intelligent, and industrious. Their language differs but little from that of the Hereros, and according to Duparquet even shows a marked affinity to that of the Ba-Fyots. Its triie ijosition in the Bantu linguistic family must soon be more accurately determined by the gram- matical studies of tlie Finnish and other missionaries settled amongst them. The Ovambo territory is shared between about a dozen tribes, who dwell chiefly along the streams branching ofi from the Cunene towards Lake Etosha, and who are all separated from each other by intervening border tracts of uninhabited woodlands. Nearly always at war, these peoples, who within their respective communities recognise the rights of property, are constantly raiding on the cattle of their neighbours. The young men, creeping by night stealthily through the intervening forests, tr}- to seize the enemy's herds by smq^riso. If seen in time they beat a hasty retreat, and a few days afterwards find themselves called upon to repel similar attacks. To such tactics are limited most of the intertribal conflicts ; but real wars of conquest have taken place, and the political equilibrium has been frequently distributed amongst the Ovambo peoples. f2 G3 SOUTK AND EAST AFRICA. Of all the tribes, estimated by Palgrave at nearly one hundred thousand and by Duparquet as hig-h as one hundred and twenty thousand souls, the most powerful is that inhabiting the Kwanhama (Okwanyama, or " Laud of Meat "), a term which ■would appear to point at cannibalistic practices, which have disappeared from the pre- sent inhabitants. But thej' still cat the flesh of dogs, which to some of their neigh- boiirs seems scarcely less revolting. The Kwanhama district especially is rich in horned cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry, and the very name Ova-Mbo, or better, Oba-Amho, is said to mean " comfortable " or " well-to-do people." They constitute, in fact, a true peasant population, carefully cultivating each his own plot and regu- larly manuring the land. Slaves are numerous in the country, but there are no poor. The Kwanhama territory, which is bordered on the west by the Cunene above its confluence ■^^■ith the Caculovar, stretches eastwards as far as the neighbourhood of the Ku-Bango. It is governed by an absolute king, who is required by custom to submit to a regular fattening process in order to become royally corpulent. Ho is mucb dreaded by his subjects, and even in his dealings with the whites this obese monarch betrays a high sense of his personal importance, for he rarely con- descends to give a personal audience to the European traders visiting his domiuions. His troops are already well equipped with firearms. In this state, as well as in the other Ovambo districts, it is customary for the heir to the crown to be always designated during the lifetime of the reigniug sovereign, but the "heir- apparent" is meantime kej)t in seclusion almost like a prisoner. Next to Kwanhama the most powerful Ovambo state is Ondonga, or Ndonga, a term which, by some geographers, has been applied to the whole group of Ovambo peoples. This kingdom, which has been visited by Galton and after him by many other travellers, is the southernmost of all these petty states, being situated along the course of one of the streams near Lake Etosha. After suffering much from an incursion of some Hottentot marauders, Ndonga has recovered its j)rosperity, and thanks to the presence of an English factory and to the Finnish missionary station, this state now exercises the greatest influence in slowly modifying the rude habits of the people. The natives have here already developed a few indus- tries, and amongst tbem are now found skilful potters, coppersmiths, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen. One of the smaller tribal groups, the southern Omblandus, called also " Tree Men," because they take refuge in the trees against the attacks of the enemy, is distinguished for its republican institutions, constituting a free political system of which but few examples are offered by the Negro races. The last king ha^^ng outraged the peoi^le by his despotic and arbitrary government, was crushed by his own subjects beneath the roof of his residence, and the leaders of the revolt declared that they would hencefortb obey no more masters. They have kept their word, and, although poor and few in number, they have hitherto succeeded in safe- guarding their independence against the ambitious kinglets of the surroimding lands. The Okafimas, one of the eastern tribes, have also contrived to defend their liberties against the King of Kwanhama, always at the first signal of attack retreating in a body within the lines of a fortified enclosure. THE HEREEOS. 69 A few scattered groups of Bushmen, the Ma-Cuancallas of the Portuguese settlers, live in a state of bondage amongst the surrounding Bantu populations. They are employed by the Ovambos as carriers of ivorj' and iron ores, and are also frequently enlisted as soldiers. The whole region of the plains inhabited by the Ovambos is intersected by excellent roads, which are accessible to the waggons both of the Europeans and natives, for these also highly appreciate the advantages of wheeled traffic. When carts were first introduced they fell prostrate on the ground, rubbing their foreheads in the dust raised by the passing wheels. At the beginning of the year 188f: some fifteen families of Dutch trelihers settled in the Ondongo district near a copious spring, the "Groot-Fonfain," which has its source to the east of the Etosha lagoon, founded a petty "republic," named TJpingtonia, in honour of a prominent politician in Cape Colony. The new state comprised, at least on the map, a superficial area of no less than 20,000 square miles, divided into allotments of 60,000 acres, and immigrants were invited from all quarters to come and occupy the land. But the violent death of their leader and the troubles with the natives have obliged this group of Boers to place them- selves imder the protectorate of Germany. The Hereros (Oba-Herero, the "cheerful" or "merry people"), who were formerly called the "Lowland" or "Cattle Damaras," are also a Bantu nation, who reach southwards far into the Hottentot domain. According to their own traditions, they exclusively inhabited the highland region of Kaoko down to the middle of the eighteenth century ; but towards the year 1775, at a time when water was more abundant in the country than at present, most of their tribes migrated southwards. Biit a few remained behind in the Xaoko uplands, where they intermingled with the Bushmen, and like them became impoverished. The Herero language, now well known, thanks to the works of the English and German missionaries, who are settled amongst them and have published grammars and religious treatises, is a pure Bantu idiom. At least this is the case in the districts where the Hereros keep aloof from other races, for in the neighbourhood of the Hottentots hybrid dialects have sprung up in many places, in which the words of both tongues are intermingled, and inflected either with Bantu prefixed or Hotten- tot suffixed particles. Since their exodus from the Kaoko country the Hereros have been frequently in conflict with other peoples. They had first of all to fight the " true Damaras," the so-called "Highland Damaras," nearly all of whom they reduced to servitude. Then, after the middle of the present century, they were exposed to the incursions of the Namaqua Hottentots and of the Bastaards, by whom thousands were destroyed or reduced to slavery. Possessing no firearms with which to resist their assailants, who were perfectly equipped and in constant commercial inter- course with the Cape, the Hereros seemed doomed to destruction. Galton, who visited this region in the year 1850, foresaw the day when the Namaquas, with their scornful hatred of the blacks and the characteristic obstinacy of their race, must at last succeed in extirpating their hereditary foes. But the foreboding has not been verified. More numerous and more agile than their adversaries, the 70 ROUTn AND EAST AFEICA. Ilcreros had, moreover, the good fortune to find a friend in the Swedish traveller Andersson, who in consequence of a sanguinary collision found himself involved in the fray. By his aid they at last gained the upper hand, and although a war of reprisals was protracted over many years, and has even broken out again in quite Fig. 21. — IIeheeo Land. Scale 1 : 7,000,000. 1,000 F.athoms and upw;U'Js. recent times, the respective domains of the two hostile races have been .scarcely modified since the middle of the present century. At present the Herero territory stretches west of the Ovambos as far as the coast, and southwards as far as the great central highlands traversed by the Swalcop. But the political frontiers are nowhere strictlj^ defined. The land belongs to all alike ; Damara and Namaqua may encamp wherever they like, and in the Herero language there is no word either for "frontier "or for "native THE HEEEROS, 71 land." The total number of the " Cattle Damaras " is estimated by Palgrave at eighty-five thousand, and this estimate has been confirmed by the missionaries stationed in their midst. The principal chief, who resides at Otijimhivgue, rules over thirty thousand subjects. Thej' are easily counted, not individually but in the mass, by the herds they drive to the pasturage. Each chief knows the number of his cattle, from which he is able to deduce the number of the herdsmen and their families. On an average three hundred persons are reckoned to the tccrff, or encampment of cattle, with its secondary grazing grounds. Phj-sically the Hereros rank amongst the finest races in Africa. They are tall and well-made, although in reality not nearly so strong as might bo supposed from their magnificent muscular development. With regular features of almost classical form, they have an open cheerful expression, but are easily irritated, and then they will often assume a ferocious look. Till recently those who had not been brought under the influence of the missionaries went nearly naked. As becomes a race of pastors, they dress almost exclusively in skins and leather : thin strips, which if placed end to end would make a total length of perhaps 350 feet, hanging in thick fringes round their hips. They are also fond of iron, zinc, or copper rings, armlets, and necklaces, and like most of the northern Bantus they dispose the hair in tresses or ringlets stiffened with a mixture of fat and red ochre. The women on their part bedizen themselves with trinkets of all kinds, leather thongs, long hairpins, bracelets, shells, and glass beads, crowning the edifice with a thick leather headdress, to which are added three high ear-like attachments glistening with a coating of clay. Although salt is usuallj- supposed to be an indispensable condiment, the contrary is proved by the diet of the Hereros, who neither buy nor collect this article from the coast lagoons ; nor do their cattle care to resort, as in other places, to the saline " licking stones." Traces of old matriarchal usages still survive amongst them. The wife is nearly free, and may separate at her pleasure. The most solemn oath of a Ilerero is that " by the tears of his mother," and when the mother died young it was formerly usual to bury her child with her. Except the baptised children, aU the Hereros are circumcised, but beyond this rite they have scarcely any religious ceremonies except those performed for the purpose of securing the prosperity of their herds. In all these ceremonies cow-dung plays a part, and every speck and shade of colour on the animal's coat has in their eyes a hidden meaning. The chief's daughter, guardian of the sacred fire, sprinkles the cattle with lustral water, and when moving to a new camping-ground she leads the way, holding a torch in her hand. Certain large forest-trees are regarded by them as the ancestors of man, and several of these " mother trees " are mentioned by Galton and Andersson, to which the Hereros pay regular homage. The nation was formerly divided into tribes, or rather castes (eatida), which had probably their origin in the family grouji, and which were named from the stars, the trees, and natural phenomena. Thus one caste was known as the " Children of the Sun," another of the " Rain," and so on ; but these distinctions are gradually being effaced. 72 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. The chiefs, who in other respects enjoy very little personal authority, are held to be owners of all the cattle. According as they grow rich, the nvimber of their subjects increases with the increase of their herds, and as they become poor their subjects melt away from around them. Thus the wealth of the chief constitutes the only bond of the tribe, although the Hereros have full consciousness of their common national origin. Hence the political divisions are subject to constant change ; but what never change are the centres of population, the life of the tribe ever gravitating round about the watering-places of the herds. Like those of the petty Ova-Mbo kings, the domains of the several Herero rulers are separated one from the other by intervening tracts of scrub or rocks, neutral ground never encroached upon by the conterminous tribes except in case of invasion. But these dreaded border-lands form the camping- grounds of Hottentot or Bantu marauders, ever on the watch to carry off stray cattle. Amongst the Hereros is also found a cattleless proletariate class, men un- attached to the fortunes of any rich owner of herds, and who live on the chase, or lead a roaming adventuresome existence. Such are the Ova-Tjimbas, kinsmen of the Ba-Simbas (Cimbebas), who camp for the most part in the north-eastern districts near the Ova-Mbos. On all points connected with the tenure of land, the practices are essentially communistic. The soil is absolutely unalienable, and the expulsion of the Catholic missionaries in 1879 must be attributed rather to their imi^rudent propositions regarding the purchase of land, than to the jealousj' of their Protestant rivals. The Hereros are in any case well aware, from the example of Cape Colony, that wherever the whites gain a footing, the natives soon cease to rule the land. Nevertheless, with all their precautions, they cannot escape the fate in store for them. The Germans being henceforth their " protec- tors," they will be unable to refuse acceptance of the new laws of property, which will be so framed as to plunder them to the profit of the stranger. The Hill Damaras and Namaquas. The Ova-Zorotus, or " Highland Damaras," are so-named by the Boers to distinguish them from the " Damaras of the Plains." They comprise all those tribes which preserved their independence and took refuge on the summit of the plateaux, especially the isolated table mountains surrounded on all sides by steep escarpments. According to Galton these Damaras call themselves Hau Damop ("True Damaras"), or else Hau Kho'in, "True Khoi'n," that is to say, Hottentots. But so far from belonging to this race, Galton regards them as akin to the Ova- Mbos, whom they still resemble in their physical appearance and social usages, although much deteriorated by misery and slaver}'. If most of them speak a Hottentot dialect, the fact should perhaps be attributed to their isolation in the midst of rulers of Khoi'n race. They now belong to other masters, thus fully justifying the designation of Dama, whicb according to several writers has the meaning of " Vanquished." Of small size, weak and slender frame, and resembling the Bushmen, with whom THE nn,L DA^L\EAS AXD NAMAQUAS. 73 the land, ■whicli gives 22. — Waxvisch Bat. Scale 1 : 500,003. in some places tiey are confounded, they live by cultivatinc them but poor returns for their labour. Some of their tribes are grouped round the missions ; but the majority are enslaved to the stock- breeders, squatting round about the grazing grounds. They are variously estimated at from thirty thousand to forty thousand souls ; but on this point differences of opinion necessarily prevail, owing to the fact that many tribes of doubtful origin are regarded as belonging to otherraces. The Hill Dama- ras have the musical faculty developed to an extraordi- nary degree. They sing in concert ■svith well attuned voice and in perfect harmony. The Xamaquas (Xama- Kwa), that is, " Nama People," occupy nearly all the southern section of the German Protectorate south of the Tsoakhub and Kuisip rivers. One of their divi- sions, known as the " Little Ifamaquas," is even sta- tioned to the south of the Lower Orange, and the terri- tory inhabited by them has become an integral part of Cape Colony. But all alike are thinly scattered over a vast waterless region, and towards the middle of the present century numbered scarcely more than fifty ^^^__^^^^____^^ 12 Mile?. thousand altogether, a feeble remnant of the' manj- hundred thousand Xamas who are said to have formerly lived in South Africa. According to Palgrave, they are now reduced to about 160 Feet and upwards. 74 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. twentj' thousand, of wliom nearly seventeen thousand arc Great Namaquas, and the rest Little Namaquas. The Namas are certainly Hottentots, and were at one time regarded as the purest representatives of that race. Those known as the " Red Nation," that is, the Geikus of the hilly region lying to the south-east of Walvisch Bay, are Khoin, or Hottentots, in a pre-eminent sense, and claim to have been the first conquerors of this district, where they number about two thousand five hundred. The so- called Tojjnaars, that is, " Highest," or " First," who are centred for the most part in the British enclave round about Walvisch Bay, are at present in a very degraded state, being regarded as the most debased of all the Namaquas. Others again, and notably the Oerlams, whose original name of Orang Lami, or " Old Acquaint- ance," is said to have been given them by the sailors visiting them from the Cape, are of more or less mixed descent, a strain of European blood having even been detected in them. All are herdsmen and warriors, who during the course of the present century have fought many a desperate battle with the Hereros. Dwelling in semicircular huts made of bark and foliage, they practise only such rudimentary industries as are suitable to their primitive manner of life. They cut up and dress the hides of their cattle, sharpen and mount smallanns, and make wooden bowls for holding milk and sjaring-water. Constantly moving about in search of good pasturage, the Great Namaquas are grouped in separate clans, each with its own chief and council of twelve elders. The more illustrious his lineage and the more brilliant his warlike deeds, the greater is the personal authority of the tribal chief. But these kinglets, having become nominal Christians, are gradually losing their influence over their subjects, especially since their territory has been surrounded by the Cape Colonists and the Boers from the east, and since their upland valleys are regularly visited by the wholesale dealers to buy up their live-stock, and by the German miners to " prospect " their country for mineral ores. They are no longer dreaded for the number of their armed warriors, but respected only in proportion to their wealth in cattle. The race itself seems doomed to extinction, being too feeble to resist the elements of disintegration by which it is surrounded. The Little Namaquas uo longer speak Hottentot ; the missionaries established among the Great Namaquas no longer require to learn this language, which since the year 1882 has ceased to be the vehicle of religious instruction. It is no longer necessary to print books of devotion in an idiom which will soon be understood by nobodj', and which has already been replaced by Dutch, one of the channels through which civilisation is being diffused throughout South Africa. Nama, which is one of the purest forms of Hottentot, is thus disappearing like other branches of the same linguistic familj', of which nothing now survives, except the names of mountains and rivers, nearly all in more or less corrupt form. The fragments of the Nama tribes scattered over the eastern plains are becoming gradually merged with the despised Bushmen. WAL\aSCn BAY. 75 Topography. Hitherto the northern section of the coast between the Cunene and Walvisch Bay has not possessed a single seaport visited by shipping. The Angra Fria ("Cold Bay "), lying north of the sandy promontory of Cabo Frio ("Cold Point"), is merely a little creek offering no kind of shelter against the surf and the prevailing south-west winds. Some 120 miles farther on the Oc/deii coral reefs enclose a fine harbour and tranquil sheet of water, where fish disport themselves in myriads. But the neighbouring coast is uninhabited, and this well-sheltered haven attracts no traffic. At present the only outlet of the whole region of Damara and Naraaqualand is the commodious and spacious inlet of WalcMi Ba / 640 Feet and upwards. southern extremity of the New World, which is still distant 3,250 miles. Tas- mania, which forms the third terminal point of the continents tapering southwards, lies about 6,000 miles to the east. Consequently, imtil the South African settlements become consolidated in one vast and populous state, with still more O H a: ^M ih I MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH AUEICA. 81 rapid marine communications than are yet possible, tlicj' must always feel them- selves somewhat severed from the rest of the world. Physical Features of Sorrii Africa. The orography of the Austral regions resembles in its more salient features that of the whole continent, in which the chief mountain ranges are disposed not in the interior but round the seaboard, usually attaining their greatest elevation in the vicinitj- of the cast coast. In the same way in the southern section of the main- land the loftiest chains and eminences are developed parallel with and at no great distance from the seaboard, everywhere skirting the boundless open or undulating plains of the interior. Here also the orographic system culminates on the east side, where the loftiest crests rise to an altitude of considerably over 11,000 feet. The outer scarps of the highlands and plateaux running parallel with the coast in Great Namaqualand are completely interrupted by the rocky valley of the Lower Orange River. South of this point the system is continued throughout the territory of the Little Namaquas, without, however, attaining the same eleva- tion as in the northern region. The land rises from terrace to terrace towards the crest ol: the granitic plateau, over which are scattered irregular mountain masses, which present an imposing aspect when seen from the west, where the pi-ccii)itous slopes come fully into view. I5ut the effect is somewhat insignificant on the opposite or landward side, where their base is merged in the monotonous plateau of gneiss formation known as Great Bushmanland. The mean altitiule of the whole range scarcely falls much below 3,500 feet South of the Namaqua region the main range, deeply furrowed by erosion, breaks into a mrmber of diverging ridges, some of which branch off towards the eastern highlands, while others are continued in parallel chains southwards. Each rand, or crest, forms a sort of rocky barrier between the plains of the seaboard and the upland steppes of the interior. South of the Olifant River these ramparts attain their greatest altitude, the Cedar Mountains culminating in the Sneeuw-Kop (G,100 feet), while the Olifant range rises in the Winter-hoek to a height of 6,900 feet. For a few days during the cold season this peak is visible on the north-east horizon from Capetown, streaked with white and occasionally even completely wrapped in a snowy mantle. The Olifant Range with its southern extension terminates in the Hang-Klip headland, which stands over against the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape itself, which projects more to the west in the form of a sickle, belongs to a coast range, of which only a few fragments survive, and which advances beyond the normal coast line between St. Helena Bay and False or Simon's Bay. At its northern extremity this range consists nierclj' of a few disconnected hills ; but towards the south it rises rapidlj' to a considerable elevation, enclosing Table Bay with a semicircular rampart of bold rocky summits. Here the imposing "Table" Moun- tain lifts its huge and often cloud-capped sandstone crest to a height of 3,500 feet above its nearly vertical or rapidly sloping walls. The granite base of this mighty VOL. XIII. o 82 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 25. — Cape Aoulh.is. Scale 1 : 400,000. isolated mass is clothed with verdure, while its flanks are scored with deep ravines shaded by the sombre pine and wide-branching oak. The semicircular range of hills terminates eastwards in a sharp poiut known as the Devil's Peak, and west- wards in the long sloping ridge of the "Lion," with his back turned towards Capetown and his magni- ficent head facing seawards. Beyond Table Mountain the hills fall gradually south- wards down to the famous headland of the Cape of Good Hope. East of the parallel mountain ranges, which run north and south in the vicinity of the Atlantic sea- board, the folds and wrinkles of the land, resembling the gatherings round the hem of a garment, are disj)osed in the direction from west to east nearly parallel with the shoresof the Southern Ocean. Nevertheless it is evident from the lie of the land that all these border ranges run somewhat obliquely to the coast, for they all termi- nate in the sharp pro- montories, which follow in succession to the east of Cape Agulhas, or the " Needles," terminal point of the African mainland. They formerly extended continuously from west to east, but are now broken into fragments of varjing size by numerous torrents, which rising in the interior have forced their way seawards at the weaker points of the old formations. The deep ravines and transverse gorges thus excavated by the running waters between the parallel coast ranges impart to this region an extremely varied aspect, especially in the neighbourhood of the sea, where the slopes are mostly overgrown with a forest vegetation. Of the mountain barriers thus intersected at various 0to64 Feet. 64 to 160 Feet. IGO Feet ,ind upwaids. 6 Miles. THE KAEEOOS. 83 points by the coast streams the loftiest is the Groote Znartc Bergen (" Great Black Mountains ") which lies farthest inland, and some of whose summits exceed 7,000 feet. Towards its eastern extremity the Cockscomb (Groot "Wintcr-hoek) rises to an altitude of 6,000 feet above the north-west side of Algoa Bay. North of this outer orographic system of parallel chains crowded together along the seaboard, there is developed at a mean distance of over 120 miles from the coast another much loftier range, which also trends in the normal direction from west to east, and whose sinuous windings are distinguished by different designa- tions. At its western extremity near the Atlantic Coast Range it takes tlie name of Koms-berg, which farther on is successively replaced by the Roggeveld and Nieuweveld, where the term cclJ indicates softer outlines and more rounded contours than those of the steeper escarpments denoted by the herg. Still farther east the main range seems almost to merge in the surrounding upland plains ; but it soon rises again to a great height in the Snecuw-bergcn ("Snowy Mountains"), whose loftiest peak, the Compass (9,000 feet), is the culmiuutiiig point in the Cape region properly so called. Beyond this central nucleus the system bifurcates, the south-eastern branch, which is interrupted by an affluent of the Great Fish River, attaining in the Groot "Winter-berg an altitude of 7,800 feet. This branch terminates at the mouth of the Great Kei River, western limit of Kafirland, while the second ramification, forming the divide between the Orange and Great Fish River basins, trends first northwards, then towards the east, where it merges in the lofty range separating Kafirland and Xatal from Basutoland. Its eastern extremity, known by the name of the Storm-bergen (" Storm Mountains "), is distinguished in the economic history of the Cape for its extensive carboniferous deposits. The thin and some- what schistose coalfields of the Storm-bergen occur chieflj- on the northern slopes of the range, and stretch far in the direction of the north ; but owing to the cost of extraction and difiBculty of transport, the mines are little worked except to supply the wants of the surrounding settlements. Old volcanoes with perfectly distinct craters, which seem to have become extinct since the triassic cjioch, are still visible in the Storm-bergen ifountains. The undulating plain dotted over with patches of scrub, which stretches east and west, between the ])arallel coast ranges and the great northern water-parting of the Roggeveld and Xicuwevcld, is known by the name of the Great Karroo, a Hottentot word meaning arid laud. Farther north in the direction of the Orange River extend other elevated plains interrupted here and there by small moimtain masses, which consist for the most part of eruptive rocks, such as trapps and doler- ites, forming natural colonnades often of a monumental aspect. These upland plains are also karroos, throughout their whole extent presenting everywhere the same geological constitution. They were formerly covered by vast stretches of marshy waters frequented by myriads of vertebrato reptiles, dicynodonts and other varieties, which are unlike any others found on the globe, and which probably became extinct before the close of the triassic period. According to Sir Richard Owen, those huge saurians were herbivorous, and appear to have been of amphibious habits. o 2 84 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. In the Great Karroo, as well as in the secondary formations of similar character stretching northwards to the Orange River, are scattered numerous depressions where are lodged the rain waters, which after evaporation leave the ground covered with saline efflorescences. The Dkakenberg. Be3'oud the Storm-Bergen the main range trends round in the direction of the north-east, describing a great bond concentric with that of the oceanic coast- line. Here the Kwathlamba, or Drakenbcrgen ("Dragon Mountains"), run at a mean distance of about I'^O miles from the sea, rising in some of its peaks and summits to an altitude of over 10,000 feet. Although still forming a true water- parting between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, these highlands present the aspect of a mountain range only on their east side, where they fall through a series of steps precipitously seawards. On the west side facing inland the chain is merely the scarp of a plateau, which Is Intersected by other parallel ridges. The intermediate space between the Drakenberg and the Indian Ocean Is occupied by three steps or terraces, which, however, present great inequalities in their general relief, and which in several places are obstructed by transverse ridges following the course of the fluvial valleys. The most elevated of these terraces, which stretches along the base of the Drakenberg, has a mean altitude of considerably over 3,000 feet ; the central terrace, forming the middle zone of Kafirland and Natal, yaries from 2,000 to 2,400 feet, while the outer or coast step, cut by the beds of innumerable torrents Into a multitude of fragments, scarcely rises more than 1,000 feet above the winding seaboard. North of a summit crowned by vertical sandstone formations presenting the aspect of a ruined fortress, whence its name of the Giant's Castle (9,800 feet), the trij)le system of the Drakenberg gradually falls to a lower level. Here the greatest elevation is maintained by a parallel chain of heights which traverses the Basuto territory under the name of the Blaw Bergen ("Blue Mountains"), or MalutI, that is, " Peaks," in the language of the natives. Farther north the system resumes the name of the Drakenbcrgen, and here these highlands, although composed of sandstones like the " tables " of most other ranges in iSouth Africa, nevertheless terminate in jagged crests. The Drakenberg is con- nected with the MalutI Mountains by a lateral ridge, whose chief summit, the Champagne Castle, or Cathkin, attains a height of 10,500 feet. On this con- necting link rises a vast plateau- shaped eminence which is covered with pasturage, and which by the Basutos is called the Buta-Buta or Potong, that is, "Antelope Mountain." But it Is more commonly known by the name of the " Moimtaln of Sources," given to it by the Protestant missionaries Arbousset and Daumas, because here have their source the main headstreams of the Orange, besides several other rivers flowing in the opposite direction down to the Indian Ocean. It rises about 1,300 feet above the surrounding uplands, and according to Stow has an absolute altitude of 10,100 feet. Nevertheless it is overtopped by the THE DEAKEXBERG. 65 chief summits of the Literal chain of the Maluti highhuids, on wliich the snow- remains for the four Austral winter months from May to August. This is the true Alpine region of South Africa. One of its peaks, to which the missionarj' Jacottet has given the name of Mount Hamilton, has an extreme altitude of 11,600 feet, while the gorge through which the Basutos descend from the upper Orange Valley to that of its great atHueut, the Senkunyane, is scarcely 200 feet lower. Farther on in the direction of the north-cast, the range known as the Rand- berg, that is, the " Border Range," but to which is also extended the name of the Drakenberg, as if still forming part of the southern system, assumes the character of an enormous rocky cliff. On the inner side it faces the undulating upland Fig. 26. — Relief of South Apkica. Scale 1 : 8.000,000. ^^'Siy^v^'"'^''^'""''^"""^" ^x^-^'^^'^"^'^^^"^?^^ -V '^^'>"1 ■\V\<> ■' \ ^^re^ »'''' '■■''"', ■" " T J- -yvrt* / ^■i Port U ;iir --^ cabMh ^^ L-js t DT Gr-de Heights, 9,000 Feet and upwards. plain forming part of the continental plateau; on the outer it develops a long Hue of abrupt escarpments skirting the lower plains, which have been greatly denuded and the debris borne seawards by the torrential coast-streams. Although mainly parallel with the shores of the Indian Ocean, this Border Range has been carved by the running waters into a very irregular rocky barrier. Excavated in the shape of a cirque in one place, it projects elsewhere in the form of headlands, one of which is the Kaap (Cape), famous for its rich auriferous deposits. The work of erosion carried on for ages by the livers has caused the barrier itself gradually to recede westwards, being continually eaten away by the affluents of the Indian Ocean. Farther north the slope of the jjlateau falls imperceptibly in the direction of 80 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. tlio Limpopo. Tu tliis northern section of the Border Range (ho last crest which exceeds 7,000 feet is the Mauchberg (7,300), so named from the explorer who discovered the goldfields of this region. Nevertheless the Zoutpansbcrgen, or " Saline Jlountains," at the northern extremity of the whole sj'stem, still jjresent an imposing aspect, thanks to the precipitous slope of their escarpments down to the valley of the Limpopo. Towards the south-west some disconnected ranges of hills and scattered heights serve to break the monotony of the upland plains, which descend with a gentle incline towards the less elevated depression of the Kalahari Desert. But these eminences produce little effect, owing to the great relative altitude of the surrounding plateau. They culminate in the Magalies- bergcn, near Pretoria, capital of the South- African Republic (Transvaal). Gkoi.ogical Fokmatiox.s. Throughout the whole of Austral Africa, comprising Cape Colony, Kafirland, Natal, the Basuto, Zulu, and Dutch territories, the general geological substratum is constituted by granitic rocks, which underlie all the other formations of this region. By their incessant erosive action the running waters have everywhere exposed the lower granitic fovmdation and the sedimentary strata deposited on the primitive crystalline rocks. As remarked by Livingstone, the granite back- bone is concealed, but it here and there breaks through the skin. The granite is itself traversed in all directions by veins of a very pure white quartz, which are almost everywhere associated with auriferous deposits. But except in some rare districts these deposits are not sufficiently abundant to render mining operations remunerative. Throughout the whole of the coastlands the underlying granite is covered by crystallised limestones, while in the interior the granite is overlain chiefly by carboniferous scries and Devonian formations with their crown of sand- stone rocks. Some geologists point to heaps of displaced and striated boulders, as clear indications of a former glacial period on the eastern slopes of the Drakenberg. Most observers also accept the view that the seaboard is at present undergoing a process of slow upheaval. From the Cape of Good Hope all the way to the coast of Natal may be seen old tracings of raised beaches still covered with banks of marine shells, oysters, and polyps. Near the south frontier of Natal these elevated banks stand nearly fourteen feet above the present level of the highest spring tides.* Rivers — The Orange. The great watercourse of Austral Africa, and one of the most considerable in the whole Continent, if not for its volume, at least for the length of its course and the extent of its basin, is the Gariep of the Hottentots, the Groote-riider ("Great River") of the Boers. In the year 1770 it received from Gordon, an officer in the Dutch service, the name of Orange, more in honour of the royal • Griesbach, Quarkrly Journal of the Geological Society, 'iS.vij, 1871. THE ORANGE EIVER. 87 house than from the colour of its waters. The Seuku, or chief eastern head- stream, is regarded as its true upper course, although exceeded in length by the Vaal. It has its source in an upland valley on the southern slope of the Cathkin, and flows at first in a south-westerly direction between the JIaluti and Draken- berg highlands. In this part of its course it roUs down a dark stream, whence its local name of the " Black River." After its junction with the Senkunyaue, or Little Scnku, it is again swollen by the Malitsunyane, which descends from the western uplands, and which at one point plimges from a vertical height of 600 feet into a tremendous mountain gorge. After escaping from these romantic Maluti highlands, the Orange mingles its waters with the imited stream of the Caledon and the Kornet- spruit, which nearly double its volume, and both of which flow from the grassy Potong uplands through broad beds of sparkling mica sands. Below the confluence, the Orange, which from this point flows mainly in a north-westerly and westerly course, is joined by a few streams or rather wadys from the Cape highlands, the chief of Fig. 27. — TiTE Oeaxge Falls. Scale 1 : 270,000. which is the Hartebeest, whose upper course rising in the Sneeuw-bergen, is known as the Zak or Zeku. But aU these contributions scarcely sufiice to repair the loss caused by evaporation. The only important affluent of the Jliddle Orange is the Yaal, or " Gray," one of whose upper branches, the Namagari, has its source, lilce the Caledon, on the Potong plateau. But its farthest headstream takes its rise on the uplands which skirt the seaboard of the Indian Ocean to the south of Louren^o Marques. Were the question to be decided by the length of their several courses, of all these afllucnts the Yaal woidd have to be regarded as the true mainstream. But its valley to a great extent traverses arid plains or dried-up lacustrine beds belonging to a former geological epoch ; hence it sends down very little water, usually reaching the confluence in an almost exhausted state. But like the other rivers of this basin it is subject to sudden freshets, several of which occur between the end of November and the middle of April, and while they last the Yaal is transformed to a formidable watercourse. Both the Orange, Caledon, and Yaal may generally be forded ; but during the floods they can bo crossed 88 SOUTH AXD EAST AFRICA. only on rafts, except at the points wlicre modern bridges and viaducts Lave been constructed. For about tliroe-cjuarters of its wliolo course the Orange traverses the granitic plateau at a normal altitude of about 2, GOO feet above sea-level. But its channel is suddenly lowered by over 400 feet through a series of cascades and rapids known as the Anghrabics Cataracts or the "Hundred Falls," which occur a short distance below the Hartebot'st confluence. For a space of about IG miles the stream is here obstructed by innumerable reefs, ledges, islets, and even islands, some with low and smooth rocky surface, others bristling with sharp crags often affecting the form of towers or pinnacles. During the season of low water the stroaTn ramitles into a labyrinth of torrents, lakes, pools, or silvery threads, all of which winding from circuit to circuit ultimately converge in the narrow and deep gorge below the falls. Some of these branches go to swell the volume of the great cascade with which the series terminates, while others develop independent falls of their own, timibling over some lateral rockj' bed in mimic rivalry with the main body of angry waters. " On every side," remarks G. A. Farini, " fresh cascades sprang out as if by magic from the rocks. In fact, whether at high water or at low water, one of the peculiar charms of the place is the extraordinary number of distinct waterfalls which exist here. At Niagara there are two gigantic cataracts falling side by side at one bound into the head of a gorge seven miles in length. Here there is a succession of cascades and falls — probably a hnndred in number — extending along the whole length of a gorge no less than 10 miles long, into which they plunge one after the other, sometimes at a single bound, sometimes in a scries of leaps. During the dry weather many of these cataracts are of great volume, but at wet seasons, when they are magnified a hundredfold, their mass must be immense. At Niagara the gorge is nowhere deeiDor than 200 feet, here the chasm is half as deep again." * This explorer counted and named nearly a hundred distinct cascades, from which fact he named the whole series the " Ilundred Falls." To the last of the series he gave the name of the " Diamond Falls," having picked np half a dozen diamonds in some sand between the rocks at the foot of the gorge. Eelow the Ilundred Falls the Orange is joined on its right bank, if not by a running stream, at least by a ramifying wady, which in the extent of its basin exceeds the Yaal itself. This is the Ilygaj), which is formed by the Ub and the Nosob, or the " Twins," so called because their parallel beds frequently converge in a single channel, by the Molopo, the Kuramcn, and other fluvial valleys, which occasionally send it a little water. But although the total area of its drainage probably exceeds 180,000 square miles in extent, scarcely anj' of its numerous afllucnfs are ever flooded for any length of time. When one is full another is dry, and ordinarily nothing is met except stagnant iiools or meres, or jvist a little moisture, so that to obtain a supply of water travellers are often obliged to dig holes in the sandy depressions. In any case, owing to the very slight incline of the surface In the Kalahari Desert, this fluvial .sj'stcm has been * Through the Kalahari Desert, p. 117. THE OEAXGE EIYER. 89 unable to complete the ^vork of erosion required to form normal river beds. Hence after the heavy rains a large quantitj' of the precipitated water lodges in little reservoirs without anj' outflow, closed basins which often run dry through evaporation or infiltration before the next downpour. According to the season ■28.— The Falls op the Oranqe. these depressions are consequently cither shallow lagoons in which the hunter dare not venture, or almost equally dangerous muddy quagmires, or lastly dry and arid plains. Some with porous beds are clothed with vegetation after the fresh water has evaporated, and these are the vkys of the Dutch explorers. Others, with impeneti-able argillaceous beds, are more arid in summer than the relativel)'' elevated surrounding plains, and these are known as salt-jians from the white saline efflorescences left on the surface after the rain water has evaporated. 90 SOUTH AXD EAST AFRICA. Throuj^hout its lower course the Orange receives no perennial contributions from any (liroetion, the gorges which open in the quartz cliffs to the right and left of its valley being for the most part merely the winding sand-beds of intermittent or altogether dried-np affluents. Hence as it approaches the sea it decreases in volume, and although the main stream is over 40 feet deep during the great floods, it may bo forded for most of the year at certain points where a transverse passage is presented by the lateral ravines facing each other on both banks. But in the deep rocky gorge by which it pierces the coast range on its seaward course, the Orange is almost inaccessible from either side. At several points the overhanging escarpments of the surrounding plateaux rise several hundred j-ards above its channel, and the traveller might perish of thirst without finding a single fissure or practicable track leading down to the tantalising stream which he sees flowing at his feet. The river, barred at every turning by projecting rocky ledges, rushes in abrupt meanderings between the enclosing granite cliffs, and at one point even trends sharpl}' to the south, flowing for some distance in this direction before it finds an opening in the last barrier obstructing its course to the sea. Above the bar its waters are collected in an extensive lacustrine basin, above which hover countless flocks of aquatic birds. It frequently happens that this basin becomes completely cut off from the sea by an intervening strij) of sand. During the fluvial inunda- tions the swift current opens a broad channel to the Atlantic ; but even then it is inaccessible to shipping owing to the submarine banks resting on elevated rocky plateaux, where the surf beats incessantly. Hence vessels bound for this part of the coast are obliged to land at the small inlet of Cape Voltas, lying to the south of the Orange estuary. Thus this great river, which has a total course of no less than 1,300 miles, draining an area of over 500,000 square miles, is as useless for na-s-igation as it mostlj^ is for irrigation purposes. The Olifant, Breede, Great Fish, and Kei Rivers. None of the rivers reaching the Atlantic between the Orange and the Cape of Good Hope, or for some distance east of that point, have room to develop a long course in the narrow space separating the coast ranges from the sea. Nor do any of them send down a great volume of water, notwithstanding the relatively heavy rain- fall in this region. On the west side the largest is the Olifant, that is "Elephant," River, which flows mainly in a north-westerly direction to the sea above St. Helena Bay. On the southern slope the Brecde-rivior (" Broad River ") collects the- surface waters from the uplands round about Capetown, and reaches the coast east of Cape Agulhas through a channel accessible to vessels of 150 tons. Notwithstanding its comparatively small size the Breede is the only stream in Cape Colony which has a seaport on its banks. Some miles farther east the Southern Ocean is reached by the Grootc-rivier ("Great River"), called also the Gaurits, whose ramifying fluvial sj'stem resembles the widespread branches of an oak. The Gamtoa, or Gamtoos, which like the Gaurits rises on the plain of the Great Karoo, and like it also forces the parallel coast ranges through a series of romantic THE GEEAT FISH HIYER. 91 gorges, is often completely exhausted before reaching the ocean at Saint Francis Bay. Beyond it follow Sunday River, falling into Algoa Bay, and Great Fish River, which after an extremely winding course debouches in the Indian Ocean, near Fig. 29. — Gate of thk St. Jonx River. Scale I : 60,000. Depths. 32 Feet and upwards. the jjoint where the continental coast-line begins to trend north-eastwards. Here the effects of a different climate already begin to make themsolves felt. Although shorter than those on the southern seaboard, these eastern streams roll down a larger volume of water. 92 SOUTH AND KAST AFRICA. The Kei, that is, the "Great," pleonastieally calh'd tlie "Great Ivci," ■which (lesceiuls from the Sturm-bergon and the Kwathhunha highhinds, has acquired considerable political importance first as the old limit of the Hottentot domain, and afterwards as for a long time marking the boundary of the British possessions in this direction. Beyond it begins the territory of the Transkei Kafirs (Galccas and others), who were formerly independent of the colonial government. The Kei is a very rapid stream, rushing over magnificent waterfalls and winding through many romantic gorges. But of all the rivers watering the Kafir domain the most picturesque is the St. John, that is, the Um-Zimvulu of the natives. At its mouth it is a broad stream 2,000 feet wide from bank to bank ; but the channel gradually narrows and becomes hemmed in between steep wooded escarpments dominated by the vertical cliffs of a terrace, which is itself surmounted by other rockj' walls terminating in a flat tabular surface. This section of the stream, where both banks rival each other in si/e and romantic beauty, has received from the English settlers the name of the " Gate " of the St. John. Notwithstanding its great width the entrance is rendered inaccessible to large vessels by a bar, which, however, is easily crossed with the flood tide by smaller craft. For these the river is navigable from its mouth for about twelve miles to the point where the first rapids obstruct all further approach. The Rivers of Natal and Zii.rr.AXD. The colonj- of Natal is intersected by several parallel channels, each flooded by a copious stream with its wild gorges, falls, and rapids. The Um-Zimkidu, IJm- Komanzi, Um-Lazi, Um-Geni, and other Urns, or " watercourses," follow succes- sively as far as the great Tugela river, whose main branch rises, like the Vaal and the Caledon, on the Potong uplands, and which flows thence to the Indian Ocean between Natal and the Zulu territory. Beyond this point the relief of the seaboard and with it the salient features of the running waters become modified. Their banks are no longer rocky, the hills recede more inland, leaving between them and the sea a broad level zone, over which the rivers wind mainly in a northerly or north-easterly course. For a space of about 180 miles in a bee line the coast maintains the character of a sandy beach covered with dunes and enclos- ing extensive lagoons and backwaters. The largest of these lagoons, which were formerl}' marine inlets, biit which are now separated from the sea by narrow strips of sand, is the so-called Lake St. Lucia, a sheet of shallow water nearly 60 miles long with a mean breadth of 12 miles. It occupies the southern jwrt of the low-lying coastlands, which terminate northwards in a nimiber of channels and smaller lagoons communicating with the spacious inlet of Lourenco Marques or Delagoa Bay. This section of the seaboard is clearly limited southwards by the narrow passages giving access to Lake St. Lucia, northwards by the arm of the sea which penetrates into Delagoa Bay. At its issue the southern basin of St. Lucia is obstructed by a bar infested by voracious sharks, which often greedily swallow the sounding lines and snap at the boathooks of passing craft. In 1875, when these waters were surveyed by the L.IKE ST. LUCLi. 98 I^assati, the channel was completely closed by a tongue of sand, and even during the floods the dangerous entrance oifers a very precarious refuge to vessels frejucnting this toast. Xevertheless such as it is this haven would have been a Fig. 30.— Delaooa Bay. Rnle 1 : Cji,i»0. tastofGref".^:^. nj 160 Feet and upwards. \ valuable acqui.sition for the Dutch republics, which have hitherto been cut off from all communication with the sea. Hence the eagerness is easily explained with which the Boers of the Transvaal have so far unsuccessfully endeavoured to secure against the opposition of England an outlet at this point of the seaboard. 94 SOUTH AND KAST AFRICA. lJi;].A(;()A Bav. Fur more impurlaiit in every rcs2:)cct is the iioitliern inlet of Delagoa Bay, which, opoiiiug northwards, preseuts good anchoriigc iu over GO feet of water, easily accessible to the largest vessels through a well-sheltered passage running some distance inland. Hence the British Government for some time disputed the possession of this valuable harbour of refuge with the Portuguese, who relied on their long-established claims to its exclusive ownership. England asserted her right especially to occupy the island of Inyak, Avhich forms a northern extension of the peninsula of like name at the entrance of the bay. Nevertheless the President of the French Republic, to whom the question had been referred for arbitration in the }-ear 1875, decided in favour of Portugal, assigning to her the free disposition of all the lands encircling the bay, ■which cannot fail to become the commercial outlet for the produce of all the inland states. Between the St. Lucia and Delagoa inlets, the form of the sandy coast as well as that of the lagoons disposed iu the same direction, together with the course of all the rivers which here trend northwards, all seems to point at the action of a marine current steadily setting in the direction from south to north along this seaboard. Such a current would be opposed to that flowing south- wards from Mozambique, v,'hile its action on the sandy coast would be much promoted by the heavy seas rolling iu from the Indian Ocean under the influence of the south-east trade-winds. In this way may have been formed the outer coast-line formed by a long succession of sand}' tongues, all skirting the cast side of the shallow coast lagoons and running parallel with the true continental shore- line. North of Delagoa Bay the altered conditions must give rise to the opposite phenomenon. Here the marine current sets southwards, while the llanissa River, instead of flowing in a straight line seawards, is deflected along its lower course in a line parallel with the const itself. It thus flows for a considerable distance towards the south before mingling its waters with those of the bay. Several other rivers converge towards the same basin. From the south comes the Maputa, which is formed by numerous watercourses which have their rise in the interior of the Zulu and Swazi territories. From the west descend the Tembi and Um-Bolozi, reaching the estuary in a united stream at the point where is situated the town of Louren^o Marques. Lastly from the north comes the copious current of the already mentioned Manissa. Thanks to the high tides and the natural depth of their channels, all these affluents of the bay arc accessible to shipping for some distance inland. The Manissa, that is, the King George River of the English settlers, was ascended for 130 miles from its mouth by Hilliard, who nowhere found it less than 83 feet deep. Hence this watercoiirse woidd afford easy access to the auriferous regions of the interior, but for the marshy tracts, which occur at many points along its course, and which render the climate extremely malarious. The Manissa was long supposed to be the lower course of the Limpopo, ■\\hich rises towards the west of the Transvaal republic. But its i 0", THE LIMPOPO. 95 basin, which has now been thoroughly explored, is known to recL'ivo all its waters from the eastern or maritime slope of the coast ranges. The LiMPOJ'o. The Limpopo, or Croco.lile, which is the Oii-a of the old Portuguese maps, and which is known by many other names, such as Inha-Mpura at its mouth, and Moti, Uri, Bembe, Lenape, Lebempe along different parts of its coiuse, is one of the great rivers of Austral Africa, at least for its length and the extent of its basin, if not for the volume of its watei's. Its further hcadstrcams have their source on the plateau where the Boers have founded Pretoria, capital of the South African republic, some 320 miles from the Indian Ocean, but at least three times that distance following all the windings of the fluvial valley. At first it takes a north-westerly direction, as if to fall into the depression, the bed of which is occupied by Lake Ngami and other saline reservoirs. But after piercing the barrier of the Magalies range and forcing its way through several other rocky gorges, it trends round to the north-east and then to the east, dcsccmling the inclined plane of the elevated South African plateau. From this tableland it escapes through a series of deep ravines, overcoming the last granite barrier of the Zout2)ansbergen by the superb Tolo Azime Falls, and at last emerging on the open lowlands through a niunber of narrow rocky gorges. Ilere it sweeps round to the south-east and then to the south as far as its jimction with its chief tributary, the Olifant (" Elephant ") River. Beyond the confluence it is joined by another fluvial valle}', a long but mostly waterless wady, which ramifies north- wards through the Portuguese territory. Notwithstanding the nmuber and length of its afllueuts, the Limpopo is not a copious river. It loses a part of its waters in the swampy tracts skirting both sides of its lower course, and reaches the Indian Ocean through a mouth about 1,000 feet wide, which is obstructed bj' sandbanks for a long way off the coast. Nevertheless Captain Chaddock was able to ascend it in a steamer for 100 miles from the estuary. Penetrating through the southern channel, this explorer succeeded in crossing the bar against a current running at the rate of nearly 5 miles an hour. The channel was found to be very narrow, but correspondingly deep, in some places no less than 21 or 2G feet. The river also continued to be generally narrow and deep, flowing through a lott'-lying level country, to witliiu a few miles of Manjoba's ki-aal, which was the farthest point reached. Ilere it became hilly and well wooded, and was reported to retain the same character far inland. The trip was made in April, 1884, with the Maud, which appears to be the first vessel of any sort that had entered and navigated the Limpopo. Clim.\tk of South Afric.v. Lying almost entirely within the south temperate zone, the basins of the Orange and of the other rivers traversing Cape Colony, Natal, and the Dutch 96 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. ropubllos have ii climate presenting tlic sume contrasts willi the returning seasons as that of West Europe, but in the icvcrsc order, the winter of the Cape answering to the summer of tlie northern hemisphere. Although the Austral African seaboard corresponds in latitude almost exactly with Mauritania, Cyprus, and Syria, it has a much lower average temperature, which is identical with that of European towns lying some hundred miles farther from the equator. In the general distribution of climates the advantage lies with the northern regions, which receive a larger amount of heat, thanks to the unequal distribution of land and water, which causes the warmer aerial and marine currents to set rather in the direction of the northern than of the southern tropical zone. Fig. 31. — AovLii.vs Bank Scale 1 : 7,1 OO.OCO. l,Gt;tO reet and upwards. Another circumstance tends to cool the extremity of Austral Africa compared with the Mediterranean regions under corresponding latitudes. A large section of its seaboard is turned towards the cold Antarctic Ocean, from which numerous icebergs and much drift ice often float with the marine currents in the direction of the Cape.* But these marine currents which skirt the South African coasts are by no means of uniform character, and present on either side ot the Cape a most * Comparative moan temperatures of corresponding latitudes in the northcm and southern hemi- fpheres :- Cape Town [Vf 56' S. lat.), 61' F. ; Beyrut (33° 53' N. lat.), 69° F. : Durban (29° 50' S lat.), 68° F. ; Cairo (30' N. lat.), 71° F. Equal temperatures under different latitudes in botli hemispheres :— Cape Town (35° 56' S. lat.), 61° F. ; Constantinople (41° N. lat.), 6U° 8' F. ; Durban (29' 50' S. lat.), 68° F. ; Tunis (36° 48' N. lat.), 67° 9' F. CLIMATE OP 80UTU AFRICA. 97 remarkable contrast iu their resjiective temperatures. The Antarctic pohir current setting from the south passes west of Capetown, and after entering the Atlantic, continues to skirt the west coast be3'ond the Congo and Ogoway estuaries. On the opposite side the ilozambique current, coming from the Indian Ocean, flows by the shores of Natal and Kafirlaud, penetrates into the southern inlets of Cape Colony, and at last rounds the extreme continental headlands, whence its local name of the Agulhas Current. In summer, when the cold Antarctic stream is directed by the regular south winds more swiftly towards the north, its temperature is found to be from 50'' to 52° F. But in False Bay, immediately east of the Cape, the water brought by the current from the Indian Ocean is often as high as 66°, rising in the neighbourhood of Gape Agulhas even to 78° or 80° F. In consequence of this great contrast in the character of the neighbouring marine waters, Capetown and Simon's Town, although separated only by a narrow intervening promontory, have different climates. The latter lies nearer to the South Pole, but nevertheless enjoys a warmer atmosphere by at least three degrees. The regular winds which prevail on the South African seaboard succeed each other in such a way as to diminish the contrasts between the seasons. Hence the average yearly variations from winter to summer are far less intense in Cape Colony than in the regions j^ossessing a corresponding climate in the northern hemisphere. The cold south-east trade winds prevail chiefl}' in summer, thereby tempering its excessive heats. The returning breezes — that is to say, the north- westerly aerial currents — set in, on the contrary, during the winter months, when the whole system of trade winds has been attracted northwards in the wake of the sun. All these normal currents, however, are frequently deflected towards the tablelands of the interior by the continental centres of heat. Thus on the eastern seaboard the trade wind veers at times quite round to the west, whereas in the north it sets southwards and in the Atlantic takes an easterly direction. In the hot season, when the winds blow from the north after traversing the desert inland plateaux, the atmosphere seems like the blast of a fiery furnace, and at such times the heat is most oppressive, especially in the upland regions farthest removed from the moderating influence of the surrounding oceanic waters. In general as we advance from the coast towards the interior, the climate acquires a more con- tinental or extreme chai'acter, becoming not only colder in winter, which might be explained by the greater altitude of the laud, but also much warmer in summer.* * Temperatui-es of various South Africiin towns : — South Latitude. Altitude. Mean Temperature. Mean Extremes. Simon's Town . 31° 12' 50 feet 63° JF. 32° and 43' Capetown . az" 56' 40 „ 62' 91° „ 39°-8 Port Elizabeth . . 33- 57' 240 ,, 62°-S 95° „ 42°-8 Graham's Town . . 33° 20' 1,800 ,, G2°-4 102° „ 34°, Graaf Reinet . 32° 16' 2,550 ,, 64°-4 102"'-2,, 33° Bloemfontein . 28" 56' 4,550 „ 61°-8 93°-6 „ 41° Du Toit's Pan . . 28° 45' 4,000 „ 62°-6 104° „ 40°-5 Pretoria . 25° 45' 4,300 „ 66°-8 95°-4 „ 32°-5 Port Durban . 29° 50' 250 „ 67° ^j Pieter Maritzbui-g . 29° 30' 2,100 „ 62°-7 95° „ 32°-4 TOL. XIII. H 98 SOUTU .VXD EAST AFRICA. Except at some points of the co.ist, such as Simon's Town and rietcr Maritzburg, the atniospliere is less humid than in AVcst Europe, being extremely dry, especially ou the plateaux. Table llouutain frequently presents in summer a remarkable phenomenon, which is due to the greater dryness of the lower aerial strata. The south-east winds, which strike against the huge sandstone block, rise above its south-eastern slopes, and the moisture becoming condensed in the cold atmosphere of the summit, spread out in a dense whitish cloud over the plateau. This " table- cloth," as it is locally called, does not terminate abruptly at the brink of the preci- pice, but rolls over down towards the city spread out at its foot. Jlaguitifont cascades of sun-lit mist descend some two or three hundi-ed yards, flo.iting like folds of delicate drapery ou the breeze, and gradually dissolving in the lower atmospheric regions. Here all the moisture brought by the trade winds becomes absorbed, and except oa the cloud-capped summit of the mountain, the whole country remains bathed in sunshine under the bright azure sk)'. In winter, when the north-west Fig-. 3J. — IsOTHEElIALS OF SoUTII AlT.IC.\. Scale 1 : 15,000,000. wind.s prevail, the phenomenon is reversed, and then the billow}- mists roll down from the plateau on the opposite side towards Simon's Town. The rainfall is very unequally distributed on the seaboard and in the interior of South Africa ; but on the whole the actual quantity of moi.stm-e precipitated is relatively slight, and certainly far less than that of AVest Europe. Copious rains occur only in a small number of privileged localities, such as the slopes of Table Mountain, where the relief of the land compels the clouds to discharge their con- tents more freclj-. Hence in these southern latitudes the year is not divided, as in the equatorial zone, into two well-marked seasons, one rainy, the other completely dry. On the contrary, showers occur everywhere, even on the inland plateaux, throughout the whole year, although usually distributed with a certain regiilaritj- f rom month to month. On the Atlantic side moisture is brought by the returning winds, and consequently abounds mostly in winter from May to August, and especi- ally in the month of July. On the rest of the seaboard between False Bay and CLIJkLlTE OF SOUTH AFEICA. 99 Ziiluland the humidity is duo maiulj- to the south-east winds, and as these prevail in summer, here the rainfall is heaviest between the months of December and February. Most of the moisture being supplied by the Indian Ocean, the inland plateaux, the Karroo, and the Dutch republics also receive their far too scanty rains in the same season, during the prevalence of the easterly trade winds.* On the Xatal coast the fierce gales are occasionally accompanied by " marine rains," which are almost entirely confined to the neighbourhood of the sea, whereas the ordinary rains are for the most part torrential downpours, occurring on the slopes of the mountains. The regions which receive the least quantity of moisture are the jjlain of the Great Karroo, the basin of the Lower Orange, and the Kalahari Desert. Here the rains are irregular, but when they do fall they burst like a sudden deluge over the plains. In this Dorst-veld, or " Thirsty land," vast stretches are covered with sands, which are disposed in dunes rolling away beyond the horizon like the ocean waves, and often clothed in A-egetation. Springs are rare, in some districts occurring only at long intervals of fifty or sixty miles ; but the Bushmen understand how best to utilize the moist bottom lands in order to procure sufficient water for themselves and their cattle. They bore holes to a depth of about three feet and let down a reed with a sponge attached to its lower end, and in this way are able to suck up enough to fill their calabashes. The wants are thus supplied of the animals, -ohich in the Kalahari are accustomed through necessity to drink little, and which are watered by the Bechuana herds- men only every two or three days. The goats pass months together without quenching their thirst, and certain species of South African antelopes are said never to seek the springs. t The remark has often been made that Austral Africa is passing through a process of desiccation. Most travellers are of accord in stating that the territory of the Bechuanas and neighboui-ing tribes between the Orange and Lake Ngami has already lost its regular streams, and that tillage has consequently had to with- draw more and more towards the mountains.^ Nor can there be any doubt that during the present geological epoch the quantity of moisture has gradually diminished throughout the region of South Africa, as abundantly attested by the ancient lakes transformed to salines, by the river-beds changed to dry barren ravines. " The land is dead ! lie on high has killed the laud I "' frequently exclaim the Bechuanas. At the same time the observations made in these regions by the resident * Dishibution of rainfall in South ^Vfrica : — Simon's Tdsii . . . .27 inches Capetown . . . . 2" ,, PortElizahoth . . . . 21 „ i Graham's T(j\\-n . . . 29 ,, Graaf Reinet . . . . 25 ,, + Mackenzie, Ten Years Xorth of the Orange Hirer J Livingstone, Last Journal; Anderson, Zal,e J\^i Journal of Ihc lioijal Geographical Society, 1865. h2 Eloemfontein . . 24 inches. DuToifsPan . . IG . 24 . 44 " Pretoria Port Durban " Pieter Maritzburg . 31 " Kganii ; Ch.ipman, Ti at eh; Janes Fox Wilson 100 SOUTH AND KAST AFKICA. missionaries aiul by passing (ravi'llers arc nut sufHuicntly aceurato, nor (Id tlicy cover enough ground to decide tlie question whether during the present century there has been really a falling off iu the supply of moisture in South Africa, or whether the distribution of the rainfall has merely become more irregular, so that long periods of drought and of rains alternate with more or less regular recurrence. The latter would seem to be the more probable view of the case. The destruction of the forests which has taken place in all the districts where colonists have settled, as well as the conflagrations which have been kindled by the cattle grazers, must have had the result of rendering the running waters much more irregular in their flow, and even changing many of them into mei'e spruits, or wadys. The tranquil Fig. 33. — Rainfall of South Afmoa. Scale! : 22,600,000. £3 24 Inches anil upwaiJs. streams winding along well-defined channels have been largely replaced by the "wild waters" rushing suddenly in impetuous fi-eshets down to the plains, and as suddenly leaving the fluvial beds again dry or swampy. The ground, swept of its grassy carpet and hardened by the sun, no longer absorbs the rain waters, which pass rapidly away without being of much avail for irrigation purposes. But during the half-eeutury since regular observations have been taken at the Cape and at a few other meteorological stations in Austral Africa, uo facts have been recorded at all pointing to any actual diminution of the rainfall, at least through- out the coastlands. On the contrary, many farmsteads formerly suffered from an insufhcient supply on the upland plateaux, wliere at present, thanks to a careful FLOE A OF SOUTH AFEICA. 101 husbanding of the resources, whole towns find at all times a superabundant (|iiantity of good water. Cape Colony and the conterminous lands are one of the most salubrious regions on the globe, not only for the natives, but also for iuamigrants from Europe. Hence acclimatisation is effected without any difficulty, and often even with bene- ficial results. Even in the inland districts, where the summer heats are at times almost oppressive, Europeans are able to work between sunrise and sunset as in theii' native land. Ejjidemics seldom prevail, nor have they ever been so virulent as in Europe or many parts of the United States. The Cape has never yet been visited either by cholera or yellow fever ; affections of the chest arc also very rare, and the most ordinary complaints apjDcar to be rheumatism and neuralgia. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, most of the functionaries and officers returning from India broke their journey at the Cape, where thej' spent some time to recover their health ; now, however, the eas_y and much shorter overland route enables them to proceed straight to England. The few invalids who at present seek in the climate of Austral Africa a remedy, or at least a temporary relief, from their maladies, come directly from Great Britain, and take up their residence chiefly in Capetown, Graham's Town, and Bloemfontein. But while the pui-e atmosphere of these regions is efficacious for some ailments, its virtue is even more conspicuously felt by the whole race, which here acquires greater vigour and jihysical beauty. Both in the British colonies and the Dutch republics, European families thrive well, so that even without any fresh stream of immigration, the white jjopulation would increase by the natural excess of births over the death-rate. The vital statistics show that in not a few rui-al dis- tricts the birth-rate is three times higher than the mortality, a proportion unknown in the most favoured European lands. Flora oi^ South Africa. The flora which has been developed under the favourable climatic conditions of Austral Africa, is one of the richest in the world. It would almost seem as if all the vegetable forms adapted for the temperate zone, right round the soxitheru hemisphere, had been concentrated and crowded together hj the continuous tapering of the African continent towards its southern extremity. According to Armitage, the region of the Gape comprises at least about twelve thousand .species, that is to say, two or three times more than all the combined vegetable zones of Europe. On a single mountain in the neighbourhood of Paarl, to the north-cast of Capetown, Drege counted in spring no less than seven hundred flowering vascidar plants, so distributed over the slopes that each vertical space of about 1,000 feet constituted a perfectly distinct vegetable area. The typical species present a marked general resemblance to those of Aus- tralia ; but although the latter continent is five times more extensive, penetrating northwards far into the torrid zone, its whole floral world is scarcely more diversified than that of the relatively contracted region of South Africa. Of 102 SOT^TII AND EAST AFRICA. tlio iiiiiucnse variofy of forms hero concentrated, the endemic genera altogether peculiar to the tlnnil dnmaiu of the Cape number very nearly four lumdred and fifty. The botanical region which begins with the plains of Clanwilliam and Olifant on the Atlantic seaboard, and which embraces the extreme south-west continental coast ranges, constitutes an area of a very limited extent, distinguished, like the Mediterranean region, by its thickets of shrubs and lesser growths. Nearly everywhere it presents numerous woody plants from four to eight feet high, with a (lull green or bluish foliage. These are the so-called hoschji's or hoschjesvehh of tlie Dutch settlers, the bush couiitri/ of the English, inhabited chiefly by scattered wild tribes thence known as Ihishmcn. Although during the early period of colonisation these thick-set tracts presented great obstacles to free intercommuni- cation, the immigrants alwa3's found it possible to clear the route for their long teams of oxen, whereas they would have been unable to traverse true forests except on foot or on horseback. Ijarge forest vegetation is rare in the Cape region, where it is contiued chiefly to the southern slopes of highlands which skirt the seaboard between ]\Iossel and St. Francis Bays. Most indigenous trees seek shelter in the gorges, and even here rarely exceed twenty- eight or thirty feet in height. Sub-tropical forms are here still represented on the shores of the Southern Ocean by a dwarf date, some cycadeio and aloes. On the Cedar Mountains, in the south-western part of the country, there formerly flourished some species of so-called " cedars " with a girth of over thirty feet at the base.* One of the most characteristic forms in the Cape zone is the silver tree {Lcucadendronargenteum),vf\i\c)iowea its name to the silvery metallic lustre of its stem, boughs, and foliage. These plants, with their finely chased ramifying branches, when glittering in the bright sunshine, look almost like the work of some skilful silversmith, like those jewelled trees placed by the great Moghuls in their imperial gardens. The heaths, of which over four hundred species are found in the South African bush, predominate amongst the woody plants. With the rheuoster, or rhino- ceros-wood [Eli/tropappus rhuiocerotis), a plant from one to two feet high and in appearance somewhat resembling the heather, they form the most characteristic feature in the local flora. During the flowering season the mountains clothed with heath often present, from base to summit, one imiform mass of pink bloom. Plants of the iris, geranium, and pelargonium groups are also very common in the Cape region ; whereas the rubiacese, an order represented in other parts of the world by such a large number of species, constitute in Austral Africa less than a himdredth part of the indigenous flora. The beds of the rivers and watercourses are often choked with reeds and flags (Acorns palmifes or prionium), plants with deej) roots and close-packed stems, whose tufted terminal foliage spreads out on the surface so as completely to conceal the water, even to travellers fording the stream. Thus sheltered from the solar rays, * .:Uexander, An Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa. FLORA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 103 the current loses little by evaporation, and often holds out till the middle of summer. The water is also frequently dammed up and thus retained in its bed for several weeks and even months together by the thousand little barriers formed by the dense masses of sedge growing at certain points along the banks of the stream. The discharge is thus regulated by the aquatic vegetation so effectually that these river valleys are entirely free from the sudden freshets, which in a few hours often convert the wild mountain torrents of Abyssinia into liquid avalanches. Although flourishing in a temperate climate corresponding to that of West Europe, the flora of the Cape presents a remarkable contrast to the analogous forms of the northern hemisphere. Its period of repose coincides, not with the cold but with the hot season, so that the expression "to hibernate" is here quite inapplicable. The deciduous plants lose their foliage in the dry period extending from ilarch to May, but when rain begins to fall the temperature is stiU suffi- ciently high, even during the cold season, for the vegetation to revive, put forth its leaves and blossom. Even the plants introduced from other countries have acquired the same habits. According to M. Bolus, they comprise altogether about one hundred and sixty species, and are mostly of European origin, but also include some from ^Vmcrica and India. These exotics are seldom met at any great distance from the high- ways and European settlements. In the interior they are scarcety ever seen, and on the whole they cannot be said to have hitherto exercised any marked influence on the South African vegetable world. The indigenous .species have so far success- fully resisted the foreign intruders, and, if left to themselves, would jjrobablv iu course of time recover all their lost ground. Two plants alone of the northern latitudes have found in Austral Africa a perfectly congenial climate and suitable soil. These are the Barbary fig, which is spreading over the less fertile tracts, and the Finns pinca, which is gradually encroaching on many rocky slopes. The species introduced into the Cape from Europe are nearly all ornamental plants ; they are reckoned by the hundred, and they form the pride of the conservatories adapted for the cidtivation of specimens belonging to the temperate zones of the earth. ^lanj' of the towns in the south- western districts are already encircled bj' fine avenues of oak-trees. At the end of the last and beginning of the present century the indigenous species were held most in favour, and fashion had enthroned them the queens of everj- garden. As early as the middle of the seventeenth century, that is, before the country was colonised, passing seafarers had already brought specimens from the Cape of Good Hope to the Dutch florists. In the direction of Algoa liay llic character of the vegetation bccon.es gradu- ally modified along the seaboard districts. Ilcre the varieties peculiar to the Cape disappear and become replaced by those belonging to the East African coastlands. Only a few ferns still straggle on, and the geraniums almost cease to be represented, for here begins the maritime zone of the Indian Ocean, where the climate is at once warmer and more humid than on the shores of the Atlantic. A few tropical 104 SOUTH AND EAST AFIiTCA. groups, siu-li ;is tliat of tlio cvperaccn?, are seen a.s f:ir inland as the slopes of tlio hills in the basins of the Great Kci and Great Fish llivers, and the country becomes more and more verdant as we follow the coastline in the north-oast direction towards Kafirland and Natal. The trees increase in size and the spread of their branches, while most of them assume a greater wealth of foliage and more brilliant blossom. In Natal no season of the year is destitute of plants in flower. The thickets of leafy trees are here and there interspersed with two species of palm, the Phcenix rcclinafa, and another whose roots are as polished as vegetable ivory. Here also the superb Zamia cijcadifolia raises its gracefully curved fronds resembling the plumage of an ostrich. Although still lying far to the south of the tropical line, the flora of this region is no longer that of the temperate zone. Beyond the coast ranges, where begin the arid plateaux rarelj- watered by the life-giving rains, the asjDect of the vegetable world suddenly changes. Here we enter the botanic region of the Karroos, which is sharply limited towards the south and south-east, but less clearly defined on the west and north-west in the direction of the Namaqua plateau, and on the north towards the deserts traversed by the Orange River. The zone of the Karroos is destitute of trees, and even of shrubs, with the exception of the clonihoom or " thorn-tree " of the Dutch settlers, a species of acacia {Acacia Jiorrida) which fringes the banks of the wadys. Neither the heaths nor many other families characteristic of the Cape flora have penetrated into the Karroos, where leguminous jDlants are also extremely rare. But the Bar- bary fig, after overrunning the plains of the Cape, is now encroaching on the northern upland plateaux, notwithstanding the efforts to extirpate it roimd about the farmsteads. This arid region aboimds especially in thorny species, to all of which might well be applied the term "wait-a-bit," given to one variety of acacia {Acacia deieneiis), because the unguarded waj-farer often finds himself suddenly arrested by its sharp spines. About one-third of the whole flora comprises such plants belonging to the Cape region as have succeeded in adapting themselves to the dry climate of the Karroo by means of their succulent roots, stems, and foliage. The plains and the heights dominating them are usually of a uniform grey coloiu', but after the rains Nature suddenly assumes a festive garb. The stunted plants burst into blossom in all directions, and the ground becomes draped in an endlessly diversified mantle of j'ellow, blue, and purj^le bloom. But this bright array is of short duration, and the vegetation soon resumes its sombre ashy aspect. Here are numerous monocotyledonous species, which never blossom for years together, lacking the favourable conditions of light, moisture, and heat needed to stimulate their florescence. North of the highlands which border the Karroo, and which are remarkably rich in compound species, stretches the zone of steppes and deserts, to which is generally applied the term Kalahari, although it really begins south of the Orange Eivor below the region so named. In its more fertile districts, the Kalahari presents the aspect of a savannah of tall grasses growing in isolated tufts and interspersed with a few stunted shrubs. In the northern districts it is occupied by open forests FAUXA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 105 consisting almost exclusively of acacias furnished witli a formidable tlioru}- armour. In the midst of the sands grow a few alimentary plants which enable travellers to risk the dangers of the desert. Such is the "Bushman's i)otato," a tuber of some- what bitter flavour, but leaving a pleasant aftertaste, and whose broad green leaves flecked with brown are all charged with water. A species of onion with white flower, which supplies their chief food to the monkej's of the Kalahari, is also highly appreciated by the natives. But the great resource for men and animals is the nara or sama {Acanthosicyos horrida), called also the " wild melon," a cucurbitaceous plant not unlike our culti- vated melons, which contains both a savoury meat and a refreshing drink. This fruit may be preserved in the sands for months together ; it grows also in the Kamaqua countr)' and on the plateaux inhabited by the Hereros. The Kalahari flora is connected by insensible transitions with those of Angola in the north-west, of the plains of the Upper Zambese in the north, and of the Upper Limpopo basin in the east. The ilagalies Mountains above Pretoria xaa.\ be regarded as the botanical parting-line between the floras of the Kalahari region and of the slopes draining eastwards to the Pacific Ocean. Fauxa of South Africa. By a singular and abnost inexplicable contrast, the Cape region, so rich in indigenous vegetable forms, possesses scarcely any animals peculiar to itself. So far as regards its fauna, Austral Africa is merely a southern continuation of the tropical portion of the continent. No such striking contrast occurs elsewhere, except in Tibet, which has scarcely developed any endemic plants, but which has, nevertheless, given birth to so many distinct animal species. But if South Africa is poor in aboriginal animal tyjies, it was tiU recently, and north of the Orange River still is, surjorisingly rich in individual members of groups coming from the northern regions of the continent. So recently as the beginning of the present century the district-s farthest removed from the Cape settlements still deserved the title of the " hunting-ground of the earth." Nowhere else could be foimd such prodigious multitudes of large mammals, and the herds, esj^eciallj- of antelopes, coidd at that time be compared with clouds of locusts. A large part of the literature bearing on the South African colonies has reference to the subject of hunting. But with the steady progress of colonisation the ancient inhabitants, both men and animals, have been continually driven farther north. The hippopotamus, whose remains have been found in the alluvial deposits of the Caledon Yalley, has been extinct from time immemorial in the Upper Orange basin. The elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, monkey, antelope, and ostrich have, at the same time, retreated in company with the Bushmen from all the coastlauds. For nearly two centuries none of these animals have been seen in the wild state in the Cape Town district, and most of them have already withdrawn beyond the mountains, or even beyond the Orange River. The baboon, however, as well as the 100 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. liya'iia, jackal, and wild dnj;- still liii}j;ci' amid tlio haunts of men, prowliiif^ aLout the farmsteads and shecpt'olds of the less settled districts. The squatters apply the general name of "wolf" to all these predatory beasts. The domestic watch-dogs are said to be fully conscious of their blood relationship with the wild species, avoiding or fearing to attack them even when urged and encouraged to the combat. A few leopards, although continually stalked by the hunters, still have their lairs here and there in the dense thickets of the ravines. They are found even in the neighbourhood of Capetown, and are the most dreaded of all rapacious beasts in Austral Africa, being feared even more than the lion. This feline was formerly so numerous in the vicinity of the Cape, that, according to the statements of the old chroniclers, the early Dutch settlers con- stantly expected them to combine for a night attack on the fort itself. Now they have disappeared altogether from the settled districts, but they are still met by explorers on the upland plains of the Bushman country south of the Orange Eiver. But here the lion is no longer a " king of the wilderness," striking terror into the hearts of men and animals by his voice of thunder. Having become more timid and more wary, he seeks rather to fall unawares on his victims than to alarm them by his mighty roar. Sportsmen are imanimous in asserting that, in the neighbourhood of the highways and human habitations, the lion has become a mute animal. While this beast of prey has withdrawn to the verge of the desert, the elephant and buffalo, who ha'N-e left in the geographical names of the colony so many proofs of their former range, have found a last refuge on the coastlands in the dense Knysna woodlands skirting Plettenburg Baj^, and in a few thickets near the Sneeuw-bergen. In these retreats thej^ are protected by the game laws. In the island of Ceylon, where the elephant finds an abundance of food and water, a very small number only are provided with tusks ; but in Austral Africa all possess those organs, which they employ to clear away the dry sands of the river beds down to the underground reservoirs, and to slice from the stems of acacias and other trees strips of bark which thej' slowly masticate.* South of the Orange Eiver not a single member is now to be found of the rhinoceros familj^, of which there foimerly existed, and possibly still survive, as manj' as four distinct species in Austral Africa. The hippopotamus has succeeded tetter in escaping frcm the attacks of man, and seme of these amphibians are still met in the waters of the Lower Orange, as well as in the rivers of Kafirlaud and Zululand, here in association with the crocodile. Down to the middle of the present century a few still frequented the Great Fish Eiver. The giraffe, the zebra, quagga, buffalo, gnu, and most of the twenty-seven species of antelopes which formerly inhabited the now settled districts of Austral Africa, have retired farther noith to the regions of the Kalahari Desert, to Namiiqualand and Transvaal. Ihe graceful kama (clorcas), most beautiful of all antelopes, the kudu (sfrcpsiceros) , the black antelope, and most of their congener.*, • Alexander, An Bapcditim of Discorery into the Interior of Africa. IXHABITANTS OF SOUTH AFEICA. 107 have all retreated bej-ond the Orange. But the ostrich is still fouud iu the wild state iu a few remote districts of the colouy aud iu the Kalahari. Accordiujj to Anderson, there exist two distinct species of this bird iu South Africa, both differ- iug froui the Mauritaniau variety. Amongst the other characteristic birds of the Cai^e region sjiecially noteworthy are the repuhUcan or philhetwros, whose colonies build enormous nests protected by a sort of roof, and the secretary (Serpentaritis repfilioorus), which seizes snakes and kills them -with blows of the wing, or else bears them aloft and breaks their vertebra) by dropping them from great heights on the hard ground. It is for- bidden to kill or huut this useful bird. The reptile world is represented by numerous species, amongst which are several venomous serpents and snakes, such as the cobra, the garter snake, and the much dreaded puff-adder, which fortunatelj' for the ^^'ayfa^er is of somewhat sluggish motion. The inlets along the seaboard are also infested by several species of electric fishes, and by others rendered dangerous by their venomous darts or poisonous flesh. IxU.VIilTANTS OF SoUTH AfIUCA. More than half of the native inhabitants of Austral Africa, south of the Cuneue and Zambose rivers, belong to the widespread Bautu family. It may bo said in a general waj' that a line drawn from Algoa Bay in the extreme south northwards to the latitude of Lake Ngami will form the western limit of the Bantu peoples, separating them from the Bushmen and Hottentot domain stretching thence to the Atlantic. The eastern slopes of the mountains, the valleys of the Upper Orange, the colony of Natal, and the whole of the Limpopo basin, form part of this vast ethnical region of the Bantus, that is "Men " in a pre-eminent sense, a region whiuh further comprises the whole of the south torrid zone, and even extends beyond the equator as far as the Kameroon highlands. Like the vege- table .sjjecies of the equatorial regions, which have gradually invaded the seaboard, attracted, so to say, by the warm nuirine currents carrj'iug their seeds from shore to shore ; like the northern animals which have spread along the coast of the Indian Ocean to the southern extremity of the continent ; the victorious Bantu tribes, also from the north, have in the same way carried their conquering arms from river basin to river basin, at last reaching the shores of the Southern Ocean, which stretches away to the everlasting snows and ice of the Antarctic waters. The Bantus of the British and Dutch possessions are roughly designated by the general name of Kafirs, extended to them by the Portuguese at the time of the discovery. But the word itself is of Arabic origin, meaning " unbeliever," and is in this sense freely applied by the followers of the Prophet to all heathen or uon-Mohammedan populations, and especially to such as have formally rejected the teachings of the Koran. Hence there are Kafirs iu Asia — the Siah-Posh of Kafiristan — as well as in Africa. But in the latter continent this generic term has 103 SOUTH AXD EAST AFRICA. gradually acquired a more restricted sense, being now iniiiuly limited to the Bautus of Austral Africa, and more particularly to the various native tribes occxipying the region between Cape Colony and Natal. These tribes are themselves closely related to those settled farther north in the Tugela basin and thence to the confines of the Portuguese possessions, who, since the beginning of the present century, have been better known by the collective name of Zulus. West of the Zidu-Kafirs dwell the kindred Easutos (Ba-Suto), on the hilly plateau where rise the Orange and Caledon Rivers. Still further west and beyond the Yaal stretches the territory of the Bechuanas (Be-Chiiana), while the Ba-Kalahari nomads roam over the forests, steppes, and sandy wastes of the wil- derness from which they have taken their name. Other less extensive tribal groups, but which also require to be studied apart, inhabit the various states or provinces of the eastern territory. All these j^eoples differ considerablj' in their customs, political systems, and degrees of culture ; but all are connected by their various idioms belonging to the common Bantu linguistic stock, so harmonious and in structure so strictly logical and consistent, that young and old alike speak it with unerring accuracv- The BrsHjrEN. The western section of Cape Colony, as far east as Algoa Bay, belonged origi- nally to the San race, the few fragmentary surviving remnants of which are known to Europeans by the collective name of Bosjesmannen or Bushmen (in the Boer patois, Boesmans). But the word has acquired i-ather the meaning of inferior beings, half human in form, but of bestial nature ; and it is noteworthy that in the Basuto language the word Bashiman has the sense of " uncircumcised, "\'ile, or abject." * It is api^lied in a general way not only to the Bushmen proper, but also to all vagabond peoples, fugitives or marauders, whether of San, Hottentot, or even Kafir origin. The true Sans, who however have no common ethnical designation, nor even any consciousness of their racial unity, are a people of small and even dwarfish stature, but with a relatively light yellowish brown complexion, at least in the southern parts of their domain. They bear a general resemblance to all the other "pygmies " of Central Africa, such as the Akkas, Ba-Twas, A-Kwas, and A-Bongos, dispersed in scattered or broken tribes amongst the surrounding Negro and Bantu populations as far north as the Nile basin. According to many anthro- pologists, these fragmentary groups are the lineal descendants of the first inhabi- tants of the continent, who have been gradually exterminated, or driven to the forests, deserts, and mountain gorges by later intruders, the ancestors of the present dominant populations. It is, however, to be noted that these primitive dwarfish peoples, often collectively grouped as Negrillos, or Negritos, present far greater physical differences among themselves than is commonly supposed. Thus • Eugene CasaHs, Lea Bassoiitos. TIIK BUSHMEN. 109 Professor Flower has shown that the Akkas have au anatomical constitution diverging greatly from that of the Bushmen, with whom they are usually grouped as belonging to a common physical type.* Anyhow, the invading races recognise the claims of the Sans to priority in point of time. On the rare occasions that they condescend to join with them in the chase, they always yield to them a larger share of the captured game tban that awarded to their own chiefs, paying this act of homage to the original owners of the land. The Bushmen have even been regarded as the surWvors of some race altogether anterior to the present human inhabitants of the earth. But however this be, most authors who have spoken of the Sans have certainly allowed their judgment to be somewhat warped by racial and social prejudices, describing these persecuted children of the soil as beings far more removed from ordinary humanity than is really the case. Some of their most deudlj'^ enemies, such as the Dutch Boers, have even gone the length of denying them the posses- sion of articulate speech. The measurements taken by some anthropologists are not yet sufficiently numerous to enable us to determine the average stature of the Bushmen. In any case, the indi^-iduals examined have nearlj' all come from the south-western districts, that is to say, the region where the foreign settlers are most numerous, and where these aborigines consequently lead the most wretched existence, often treated as wild beasts and stalked or hounded down like lawful game. The question therefore arises, whether in this region their manner of life^ exposure to the inclemency of the weather, lack of sufficient nutriment, and oppression may not have had the effect of somewhat reducing the normal stature of the Sans. In the Kalahari Desert, on the borders of the Bechuana territory, near Lake Ngami and surroimding saline basins, in the Zambese vaUey ; lastly, on the plateaux of the Xamaquas and Hereros, where many Bushman tribes, here called Ba-Roas, live in the same social conditions as those of other races, observers have not noticed such a great disparity in stature as farther south. In some districts these Ba-Roas are even taller as well as superior in strength and activity to the neighbouring peoples. The finest men seen anywhere in South Africa by the missionary Mackenzie were the Ma-Denassanas, who live east of Lake Ngami. These natives, however, who are described as Bushmen in their features, language, manners, and customs, would seem according to Ilolub really to bo Bechuauas crossed with Negroes from bej-ond the Zambese. But however this bo, the stunted growth of the southern Bushmen may still to some extent be explained by the life of hardshij>s and misery which they have voluntarily accepted in order to remain freemen. Those who were able to com- bine a relative degree of comfort with personal independence, as well as those who were fain to become serfs in the Kafir or Hottentot communities, enjoyed a fair share of nourishment, and their descendants have consequently preserved the normal proportions. The Xamaquas are regarded by Gallon as degraded Bush- * Meeting of the Anthropological Institute, Fcbi-uaiy 14tli, 1888. 110 SOUTH AXI) EAST AFEICA. men ; yet they are the tallest of all the nations classed as Hottentots. At the same time the southern Bushmen, some wretched representatives of whom arc still met south of the Orange Kiver, arc certainly one of the smallest people in the whole world. The greatest mean height, as deduced from six measurements taken by Fritsch, is slightly over 4 feet 'J inches ; while Burchell and Lichstcnstein found the average scarcely more than 4 feet 1 inch. Thu.s, even accepting the more favourable results, these Sans would still be from 2 to o inches shorter than the liapps. Their yelluwi«li coinp!e.\iuu, especially iu the southern regions farthest removed from the equator, has been compared to that of Europeans suffering from jaundice, or of Mongolians in a healthy state.* In many other respects the Eushmen resemble these Asiatics of the Central plafiaux. Like them they are distinguished by the small size of their bright eyes, by the breadth and prominence of their cheekbones, the fonn of mouth and chin, the whiteness and regularity of their teeth, the extreme delicacy of their joints. The depression between the frontal bone and root of the nose is always broad and deep, so that the general profile presents rather a concave than a convex coiilmir. The forehead, instead of retreating as with the Mongolians, bulges out ; while the skull, covered with little tufts like " grains of pepper," is verj^ long or narrow, with index 'No. 73-03. In this respect the Bushman resembles the true Kegro, whoise Bead is also long, and differs from the Mongolian and the Akka, whose heads are normally roimd. The cranial capacity is relatively low, although the general expression is far from indicating auj' lack of iutelligeucc. On the contrarv, the physiognomy implies a remarkable degree of sagacity ; and assiu'cdly the Sans need to be constantly on the alert in order to contend successfully with the hardships, the elements, and the enemies by which they are beset in their inhospitable environment. One of the distinctive characters of the southern Bushmen, conspicuous even in the young, is the multiplicity of wrinkles covering the whole j)erson. The skin of the face and of the body, fitting too loosely, as it were, to their lean figures, becomes marked with a thousand furrows, but also rapidlj' distends under the influence of a more generous diet than falls normally to their lot. Like the Hottentots, the Bushmen, and especially the women, also show a decided tendency, even from their tender years, towards steatopygia. The Biishman speech does not form an independent linguistic group, as has been siippcscd, but is connected with that of the Hottentots. Both evidently belong to a common stock, although differing greatly in their structure and syntax. The nominal roots are identical, and both express all relational ideas by means of agglutinated suffixes. The Bushman dictionary left unfinished by Bleek was to contain no less than eleven thousand words. This great wealth of diction, taken in connection with the common origin of the San and Hottentot languages, seems to confirm the view held by many anthropologists, that the • Leon Mfi'lmikov, Miiiimcri^t XqUs ; Adulpli Bastian, Ethnohi/ischc Forschioigai. THE BUSHMEN. Ill Bushmen represent a debased or degenerate people belonging to the same stock as their neighbours, and are not an independent race, much less a distinct branch of mankind. Like the Hottentots and the .south-eastern Kulirs, the Bushmen have in their phonetic system a group of peculiar consonants, the so-called " clicks," which are all but unpronounceable by Europeans, but which are also found in a somewhat modified form in some other languages. Certain San tribes are said to have as many as eight of these sounds ; but all seem reducible to four fundamental clicks : the dental, resembling the smack of a nurse's kiss ; the palatal, like the tap of a woodpecker on the stem of a tree ; the cerebral, analogous to the pop of a cork drawn from a bottle ; the lateral, which, according to M. Hahn, resembles nothing so much as the quack of a duck. At the same time these clicks would seem to be almost inherent in the soil, for they are found not only in the Bushman and Hottentot languagas, but also in all those of the southern Kafirs, excej)t the Se-Tlapi (language of the Ba-Tlapis) and the Se-Roloug (language of the Ba- Eolongs). They have even invaded the local Dutch dialect, the Boers adding these eccentric sounds to certain words of their patois. In the alphabets introduced by the missionaries, the various clicks are represented by points of exclamation, crosses, and such like orthographic devices. Like the Indo- Chinese, the Bushman and Hottentot are toned languages, the words acquiring different meanings according to the more or less elevated tone with which they are uttered. Owing to their nomad and fugitive existence, the Sans have developed scarcely any local industries. In the districts where they have not yet acquired a know- ledge of firearms, their weapons still are the bow and arrow tipped with poisoned iron points, or even sharpened stones, glass, and chipped flints. They wear little clothing, even the rich restricting themselves to the harass or sheepskin. But all are fond of decorating the head and body with bone necklaces, arrows, and ostrich plumes, to which the Kalahari tribes add little bits of wood inserted in the curtilage of the nostrils. Very few have learnt to build huts, most of the tribes dwelling in caves or the dens of wild beasts, passing the night round the smouldering embers of a fire, and sheltering themselves from the wind by mats suspended on stakes. But their life of liardships and adventures has developed in these aborigines a surprising degree of sagacity, and those who are captured in their youth and brought up in the domestic state readily learn everything they are taught. They become skilful fishers, and as shepherds are most highly valued. But the impulse is at times irresistible to forsake the abodes of civilised men, where they had at least sufficient nutriment, and again resume their savage independence, their nomad ways, and life of endless hardships. But, however wretcluHl their existence, they still possess a greater flow of spirits and vitality than their neighbours, expending it in the dance, songs, and extempore recitals. They are also artists, and on the rocky walls of their caves have in many places been discovered life-like representations in red ochre, and even polychrome pictiu'cs of 11-2 SOUTH AND EAST AFIilf'A. animals, Imiitiug .•■ccius, and combats with the hatod Boers. Thus a certain ichal clement has been devchiped in the lives of these lowh' aborigines, whom the surronnding peoples — Katirs, Hottentots, Dutch, and English — thonght themselves till recently fully justified in hunting down like wild beasts. Their oral treasures of fables, tales, and myths, never fail by their wealth and variety to excite the wonder of all explorers in this interesting field of inquiry. Although distributed in scattered groups, without national cohesion of any sort, the Bushmen manifest much symjjathy for each other, cheerfully co-operating together on all opportune occasions. After hunting in common, the division of the l)rey is unattended by any wrangling, although no tribal chief presides over the distribution. In fact, there is neither tribe nor chief in the strict sense of these terms, the Bushmen possessing no political or social organisation of any kind ; and although the family group is not regularly constituted, the sentiments of natural affection are none the less highly developed. Formerly a man provided himself with a temporary mate by the simple device of capturing the child, whose mother never failed to come and share the lot of her offspring. To judge from the fate of those belonging to the colony south of the Orange River, the Bushmen would seem to be destined soon to disappear ; for in this region the}' have been hunted like wild beasts, and most of those who have escaped extermination have taken refuge in the northern solitudes. Sparrmanu relates how the squatters lay in ambush, attracting them by the bait of an animal's carcass left in the bush, and sparing neither man, woman, nor child, except perhaps such as might serve to increase the nimiber of their slaves. TThenever they caught sight of a Bushman, they fired at once, following up the chase with their hor.ses and dogs, pursuing him like any ordinary quarry. The very courage of the Sans often proved fatal to them, for there is scarcely an instance recorded of their forsaking their wounded and dead, preferring in all cases to remain and be killed by their side. North of the Orange Eiver, on the frontiers of the Dutch republics and of Bechuanaland, the Bushmen were hunted down in the same way ; but in the Kalahari Desert, and farther north in the direction of the Zambese, several San communities have maintained their independence, and these do not appear to be diminishing in number. In the Ilerero and Namaqua territories there are from fom- thousand to five thousand of these aborigines, and in the whole of Austral Africa probably about fiftj- thousand altogether. The Hottentots. The Hottentots, who, on the arrival of the Em-opeans, occupied nearly all the western part of the region now known as Cape Colony, are here still numerous, constituting, without the half-castes, about one-seventh of the whole popvdation. Their popular name appears to be merely a term of contempt, meaning " stammerers," or, as we should saj', " jabberers," imposed on them by the early Dutch and Frisian settlers, no doubt in consequence of theii- strange and unin- THE nOTTEXTOTS. lis telligible jargon. In the current language of the colony, this appellation has been further reduced to the final sj-llable, " Tots." They have themselves no general name for the whole race ; but the term Khoin (" Men "), which occurs in several of the tribal denominations, has been extended to all of them collec- tively, and the Hottentots now commonly call themselves, or are called by scientific writers, Khoi-khoin, that is, " Men of men," or " men " in a pre-eminent sense. Although much taller than the southern Bushmen, and differing from them in their relatively higher degree of social culture, the Hottentots still resemble them in many respects. They have the same dirty yellowish complexion and the same elongated shape of the head, while the women show the same, or rather a Fig. 34.— South-Ateica^ Hottentot Teibes in the Middle or the Eighteenth Centubt. Scale 1 : 15,000,0i». more decided, tendency towards stcatopygia, or the accimiidatlon of fat in the lower parts of the bo'^.y. Till recently they iised the same bows and the snme poisoned arrows in the chase and tribal warfare. They have even the same musical instrimicnts, delight in smearing the body with the same coloin-s and decorating it with the same ornaments. Lastly, the language still current amongst those who have not already laid it aside for English or Dutch is undoubtedly derived from the same stock as that of the Bushmen. It is, however, much richer, more pliant, and less encumbered with harsh sounds and uncouth forms of expression. It possesses three fully inflected mimbers and grammatical genders, and by agglu- tinating its monosj-llabic roots is even able to express abstract conceptions, as well as many delicate shades of sentiment and thought. In the Bantu tongues words are strung together in the sentence chiefly by means of prefixed jjrouominul elements, whereas in Hottentot the same formative particles are invariulily attached to the end of the roots, so that this is essentially a " suffixed-pronominal " language. It is divided into a considerable number of dialects, which arc all VOL. XIII. I 114 POUTir AND EAST AFRICA. closely I'olatod, notwithstanding- tlio wide area over wliicli are Rcattored the various branches of tliis ethnical family. Those spoken hy the Naniaqnas appear lo bo most free from foreign influences. In the districts where the Hottentots have become assimilated in speech and social usages to the European proletariate classes, they dwell in the so-called m, or hamlet, ■which the Dutch colonists call kraal from the Portuguese carral, that is, ft fold, pen, or cattle enclosure. These kraals are mere collections of splierical or semicircular huts, which from a distance present the appearance of huge mush- rooms clustering in circular groups on the grassy plain. They arc constructed compactly enough to keep out the rain, but serve no purpose except as a shelter against the weather. Their occupants cannot even stand upright in them, the ordinary elevation of the roof not exceeding four feet four inches. , The Ilottcntot costume consists mainly of a leathern apron, somewhat larger and more ornamental for the women than for the men, and a sheepskin cloak worn with the wool!}- side in or out according to the season. Amongst the rich this harot^a, ns it is called, is embellished round the neck and shoulders with embroidery and fur trimmings. The ordinary diet consists for the most part of milk and butter, meat being eaten only on special occasions. But when they decide on a feast of this sort they gorge themselves to repletion, and then to aid digestion roll on the ground and go through a process of " massage." On their hunting or foraging expeditions they provide themselves with wallets filled with meat, first dried and then powdered. They are passionately fond of tobacco or hemp {dakha), the smoke of which is swallowed. But it sometimes happens that either to punish themselves for some fault or to render the fates propitious to their supi^licalions, they condemn themselves to abstain from these narcotics for a certain period. The flesh of the hare, pig, and fowl is regarded by them as unclean. Till recently very little time or attention was paid by the Hottentots to the supernatitral world, hence observers free from all prejudice on this subject could frankly assert that these aborigines had no religion at all. Nevertheless, thej' are endowed with an extremely excitable nervous temperament, thanks to which the Wesleyan missionaries have often succeeded in throwing them into a frenzy of religious excitement. According to Bleek, the still unconverted pagan Hottentots recognise at least two supreme or higher beings, one of whom is perhaps a per- sonification of the moon, for he dies and revives periodically. Charms, amulets, and fetishes, although rare, nevertheless do exist, and are associated for the most part with the worship of the dead. The Hottentots attribute to their ancestry great power for good or for evil, invoking them on all serioiis occasions. The term Tsu-Goab, adojoted by the missionaries as the nearest equivalent of the Christian " God," is probably the name of some hero of the olden time handed down by tradition. Burials are per- formed with much solemnity, and cairns, or heaps of stones, are raised above the tomb of the dead, who is usually deposited either in a cave or by preference in a porcupine's lair. Thanks to these lofty cairns and to the prepared stone imple- ments used by the Hottentots, explorers have been able to follow their migrations THE HOTTENTOTS 115 or their sojourn in various parts of the eastern provinces, ■nliieli arc at present occupied by Bantu immigrants from the north. Each Hottentot tribe has its chief, at least beyond the limits of the British possessions and Dutch republics. At the same time these chiefs enjoy very little power, and all weighty matters are debated in a general council of the whole community. In these discussions even the young men take part, and their voice often decides the point at issue. But in the European settlement all political Fig. 35. — Hottentots, Kafirs, a>T) Be-Chtaxas. Scale 1 : IS.OOO .000. ..fiei^^" Ixpths. 2, EAF^T AFRirA. Amid tlio surrounding valleys arc scattered numerous suburban residences and rural liiuulots chiefly occupied by the wealthy traders and officials, who seldom visit the capital except for business purposes. In summer nearly the whole of the white population with their domestic servants betake themselves to the watcrinp;- placcs and tho slopes of the hills, and at this season the traffic on the suburban railways reminds the traveller of the movement in the neighbourhood of the great European cities. North of Capo Town lies the village of Sea-point with its villas fringing the surf-beaten beach. Eastwards the capital is continued by a succession of hamlets encircling the Devil's Peak and stretching away for nearly twenty miles in the direction of the Kalk Bay seaside resort. In tho charming valley which connects tho two bays, and which is flanked on tho west by the sujicrb rocky walls of Table Mountain, lies the picturesque little village of Wijnberg, a delightful group of residences nestling in the shade of oaks and pine groves. In the neighbourhood but more to the south is the estate of Coiisfaiilia, which has given its name to tho most esteemed vintage in South Africa. Towards the south are seen the irregular outlines of False Bay, one of whoso western inlets, Simon's Bay, reflects in its clear waters tho settlement of Simon's Town, a naval station with warehouses and fortified arsenal, which the British Government has maintained on the shores of the Southern Ocean. Simon's Town occupies one of tho finest sites in Austral Africa on the sickle-shaped headland, at the southern extremity of which stands tho lighthouse of the Cajie of Good Hope. A few other groups of habitations belonging to the district of Cape Town arc scattered amid the glens on the Atlantic slope of the hills which bound the eastern horizon of Table Bay. Stellcnhoach, which is connected by rail with the capital, is next to the capital itself the oldest settlement in the cok)ny. In the vicinity, and especially in the amphitheatre of hills still known as the Fransche Hoek, or "French Quarter," most of the Huguenot refugees established themselves towards the close of the seventeenth century, and this "Athens " of South Africa has always been a centre of intellectual progress. Paarl, a village which straggles for a distance of seven miles along the highway at the foot of the Draken-stecn hills, also dates from the early days of colonisation. The gardens, orange-groves, and woodlands encircling this " Pearl," as it is called, from a block of granite surmounting a rocky pedestal like a gem on a diadem, render it a charming retreat during the summer months. The surrounding country forms the most extensive wine-growing district in Cape Colony. Farther north lies the picturesque little town of WcUingfon, beyond which the railway penetrating inland describes a great bend round to the east, passing through a depression in the Atlantic coast range into the vallej'' of the Breede River, which flows to the Soiithern Ocean. Paarl and Wellington lie in the upper basin of the Great Berg, which, after collecting numerous affluents from the fertile districts of Tulbagh and the " Twenty-four Eivers," reaches the Atlantic at St. Helena Bay. South of the promontory which forms the southern limit of this storm-tossed giilf, lies the bay or landlocked inlet of Saldanha, so called from a Portuguese admiral whose name was formerly applied to Table Bay. It was in the neighbourhood of SALPAXHuV BAY. 129 this basin that Vasco de Gama was wounded by the Hottentots in 1497, and Francisco d' Almeida massacred with all his followers in 1508. The bay, which is of easy access, is very deep, and is broken into several secondary basins, sheltered by intervening granite headlands, and presenting excellent anchorage to shipping. Fij. 39.— Saldan-ha Bat. Scale 1 : 360.0:0. EE] ^ Tet this admirable haTcn, which the Dutch had made llieir chief naval .station and the centre of the postal communications between the United Provinces and their East Indian possessions, has now been almost abandoned. Little is seen on its deserted shores beyond a few isolated farmsteads and fishing stations. In the VOL. XIII. K mn pnrxii axp kast afi^ic.v. viciuity there is not ii single village, and Mnlmcshuri/, tlio nearest to-mi, lies over 30 miles to the south-cast, in a fertile wheat-growing inland district. The supe- rior attractions of the capital have withdrawn all traffic from Saldanha Bay. North of the valley of the Great Berg, the mostly barren and arid plains stretch- ing northwards to Little Namaqualand arc very thinly peopled. Even the capitals of districts, Piquothcra, C/(inirii/i(iiii, the " furnace " of the Cape, and Culrinia, arc mere ^-illages, where the stock-breeders of the surrounding pasturages come to renew their supply of provisions. C'alvinia, standing over 8,000 feet above the sea, in an upland valley between the Ilantam and Boggcveld ranges, is still connected by a good highway with the civilised regions of the Cape. But farther north stretch the vast solitudes of Bushmanland, whose only inhabitants are a few groups of Sans scattered round the lagoons. The district of Little Xamaqua- I'.ind, which occupies the north-west corner of Cape Colony, between the Atlantic and the course of the Lower Orange, would also be loft to the aboriginal popula- tions but for the great abundance of copper ores in the hill}- districts. In the neighbourhood of the Vogcl-Klip (" Bird-Clitf "), the culminating point of these highlands (3,400 feet), an English company owning a territory 135,000 acres in extent has been working the " inexhaustible " mines of OoMcp since the year 1863. This source alone has yielded an annual supply of from ten to twenty thousand tons of ores containing about three-tenths of pure copper, more fusible than that of Chili. The great pit, already sunk to a depth of over 500 feet, has reached formations still more productive than those of the surface. The mines are worked by several hun- dred natives, Hottentots and Ilereros, under the direction of English engineers from Cornwall and Germans from Thuiingia. Although lying 3,200 feet above the sea, Ookiep is connected with the coast by a horse or mule railway 90 miles long. The little haven of Fort Nollotli, where the ore is shipped, was formerly much frequented by American whalers. East of the Cape and of False Bay the territory stretching soiith of the coast range towards Cape AgTilhas, southern extremity of the continent, is a region of pasture-lands containing only two unimportant little towns, Caledon and Brcdax- doiy. But the basin of the Breede Eiver is more thickly peopled, thanks to the greater abundance of its rainfall. Worccafcr, capital of the Upper Yalle}', whose headstrcams have their soiirce to the north of the coast range, lies on the main line connecting Cape Town with Kimberley, and here the railway begins to ascend in order to reach the inland plateaux. Penetrating through a lateral valley traversed by the river Hex ("Witch Eiver "), it rises by a series of curves to the crest of the terraces which skirt the plains of "Worcester. Here it attains an elevation of 2,000 feet, and reaches its highest point (3, GOO feet) 74 miles to the north-west of Worcester. A copious thermal spring rises in the vicinity of this place, and lower down the Breede flows successively by the towns of Robertson and Sa-cllcndam, the latter one of the oldest settlements in the colony, having been founded so early as the middle of the eighteenth century. Avenues of oaks radiate in various directions from the town towards the hhofs or wild gorges which penetrate into the heart of the mountains. The village of Port Beaufort. BEAUFOET WEST. 181 situated on the left bank of the Rreede, above tlio bar, is visited by a few small coasting vessels. But of all the havens ofiBcially opened to the foreign trade of the colony, Port Beaufort is the least frequented. The extensive basin of the Gaurifs, which follows to the east of the Breedo Valley, contains several of the secondary towns of Cape Colony. Beaufort West, the chief station on the railway between the Cape and the banks of the Orange River, stands at an altitude of 2,960 feet above sea-level, and its gardens are watered by the farthest headstreams of the Gaurits, flowing from the southern slopes of the Nieuwe-veld. The village of Prince Albert, in the arid region of the Great Karroo, lies also on one of the upper affluents of the Gaurits. Farther Fig. 40. — MOTTTH OF THE EnEEDE — PoET BeAUFOET. Scale 1 : SOn.OOO. :^ ^ otoieo Feet. 160 Feet and upwards. south, and on tributaries of the same river, lie the towns of Ladi/siulih and Omlt- s/woni, both at the southern foot of the Zwartc-bergen, or "Black Mountains." Oudtshoorn is noted for its tobacco, which grows on some of the best soil in the colony, a soil still unexhausted after a hundred years of uninterrupted tillage. North of this place, in an upland lateral valley, are situated the caves of Coiir/o, stalactite grottoes that have not yet been entirely explored, although surveyed for a distance of over 2,000 yards from the entrance. There are neither towns nor even largo villages on the lower Gaurits, which in this part of its course winds between narrow rocky gorges, liircrsdale, lying in the midst of the rich grazing-grounds of the Grasveld, is situated some 30 K 2 182 SOUTH AND EAST AFRTOA. miles to tlie ^vcst of the main stream, in a valley whose waters flow directlj- to the sea. AUiral South, the maritime port of this pastoral region, stands on the west side of Mossel Bay, at the root of the rocky headland of Cape St. Blaise, hy which it is sheltered from the fierce southern winds. Aliwal South does a con- siderable import and export trade, ranking fourth in this respect amongst the colonial seaports. Farther oast along the seaboard follow several little towns, all lying at the foot of the coast range, which Trollope compares to the Western Pyrenees, and which, according to this writer, presents the finest sites in the whole of Austral Africa. Here the pleasant little town of Gcorgo is embowered in verdure ; Melville is mirrored in the auriferous waters of the Knj'sna, which flows from the forest-clad Uteniqua Hills, and reaches the sea through a deep estuary accessible to large vessels ; Ilumdnxdorp occupies a picturesque position in an amphitheatre of thickly wooded heights. Uniondale and Willoirmove, the two chief places in the district, are both situated in romantic vallej's on the northern or inland side of the coast ranges. Farther north, in the arid zone of the Karroo, but still on the slope draining to the Southern Ocean, the two administrative centres are Aberdeen and Miimii/sbiirg. The basin of the Sunday Itivcr, although one of the least extensive, is one of the best cultivated and most productive in the colony. It owes its prosperity to its position in the relatively moist zone facing towards the Indian Ocean, and to the two trade routes traversing it, one in the direction of the Orange River and the Dutch republics, the other towards the territory of the Kafirs. Here Graaf- Reinet, a Dutch settlement, over a hundred 3-ears old, is laid out like a chessboai'd about the headwaters of the river, which here ramifies into several branches flowing through the surrounding fields and gardens. To the contrast presented by this smiling valley with the arid plateaux to the west, Graaf-Reinet is indebted for its title of " Gem of the Desert." As indicated hy their names, JanscnrUle and Z^ifenhage, which follow to the south along the road to Port Elizabeth, were founded by the Dutch. But Uiten- hage has completely acquired the aspect of an English settlement since the year 18'20, when it received a large number of British colonists. Of late years it has become a favourite place of residence for traders and dealers who have retired from business, and on festive occasions it is visited by a large number of pleasure- seekers, who delight in the shady walks by its running waters. But Uitenhage is also an industrial centre. In the numerous little mills scattered amid the surrounding glens, busy hands, nearly all Kafirs, are employed in cleansing by machinery the enormous quantities of wool brought from the extensive sheep farms in the eastern parts of the colony. Port Elizahefh, which lies 20 miles to the south-east of Uitenhage, on the west side of Algoa Bay, although dating only from the year 1820, has already become the most animated seaport in the whole of South Africa. Within a single genera- tion it outstripped Cape Town in commercial importance, notwithstanding the disadvantages of its open roadstead compared with the more favourable position POHT ELIZ.y3ETH. 133 of Table Bay. Few sailing vessels, however, venture to visit its port, and nearly all its trade is carried on by steamers, many of which sail directly for England without even calling at Cape Town. It is still inferior in population to the capit;d, but boasts of possessing tiner buildings, of being better admiuistered and more abundantly provided with the resources of modern civilisation. In the colony it is pre-eminently the English city, and on the least occasion its inhabitants make Fig. 41. — Poet Elizabeth. Scale 1 : 130,000. 60 Feet and upwards. it a point of hououi" to display their loj-alty for the mother country in the most enthusiastic manner. Port Elizabeth covers a considerable space on a gently sloping hill, at the foot of which its main thoroughfare runs for nearly 3 miles parallel witli the beach. Its growing suburbs stretch along the roads leading inland, while beyond tke upper town a bare plateau is covered by the tents of the " location," or native 131 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. quarter, iuliabitod cliiefly hy Kalirs, toiiiporary iinniigrants who seek cini)loymcnt amongst the shipping and on the harhoxir works. Till recently suffering from a dearth of water, Port Elizabeth was unable to maintain any garden plots about its villas. But an aqueduct about 30 miles long now brings a constant supply, thanks to which a rich carpet of verdure already clothes the plateau. The botanic garden has assumed a magnificent aspect, and imibrageous parklands contrast by their bright foliage with the patches of parched herbago visible wherever the irrigating waters are unavailable. The trade of Port Elizabeth, which in recent years has suffered much from reckless speculation, consists for the most part in wool and ostrich plumes, forwarded in exchange for English manufactm-ed goods of all kinds. The road- stead of Algoa Bay is sheltered in the neighbourhood of the town by the extremity of the headland which still bears the Portuguese name of Cape Recife. But during the summer months, fi'om October to April, when the southern and south- eastern winds normally prevail, the surf beats furiously on the beach, endangering the vessels riding at anchor in the roadstead. The brealovater, little over 300 yards long, affords shelter only to the smaller craft of Hght draught. A few islets and reefs are scattered over the bay ; Santa-Cruz, one of these islands, over which hover clouds of aquatic birds, was visited by Bartholomew- Diaz during his memorable voyage of discovery round the southern extremity of the continent. On this spot, the first ever touched by a European foot on the shores of the Southern Ocean, he erected the pillar of Sam Gregorio, to indicate that he had occupied it on behalf of the King of Portugal. Santa-Cruz is also known by the name of Fountain Rocli, from two springs welling up on the surface. Port Elizabeth communicates with the interior by means of two railways, one running to Graaf-Pciuet, the other a far more imiiortant line, which branches off in one direction towards the regions beyond the Orange River, in another towards Graham'^ Town and Kafirland. Although smaller and of less commercial import- ance than Port Elizabeth, Gz'aham's Town takes precedence as the chief i^olitical centre east of Cape Town. It is the capital and residence of the principal administrative, judicial, and religious aiithorities of the eastern districts, and Graham's Town was abeady indicated as the futiiro metropolis of the confederate states in the year 1878, when the question was first seriously mooted of consoli- dating the power of the mother couutrj' by imiting the British colonies and Dutch republics in a single dominion. But this ambitious town has the disadvan- tage of lying at some distance from the coast, and even from any large river. It stands 1740 feet above the sea in a cirque surrounded by bare escarpments; but the general lack of large vegetation has been relieved by planting trees along all the avenues of the city. It is a clean, well-built, cheerful place, and thanks to the moderate summer heats and generally equable climate of the district, is distin- guished for its salubrity even amongst the colonial towns, most of which are so highly favoured in this respect. Hence many invalids settle here in the hope of recovering their health, or at least prolonging their dajs. Founded in 1812, Graham's Town continued to be an obscure provincial town rOET .VLFEED.— FOET BEAUFOET. 186 till the epoch of the great EnIXG. 139 appear altogether incredible to most wine-growers. Thus while the yield varies in other places from about three hundred and ten to nine hundred gallons per hectare,* it reaches two thousand in the coast district of the Cape, and rises to the prodigious average of no less than three thousand eight hundred gallons in the inland districts of Worcester and Oudtshoorn.t Yet, despite this marvellous yield, only a very small part of the western district suitable for wine-growing has hitherto been devoted to viticulture. Although this industry is yearly increasing, the actual extent of land planted with the Aine was still under 2-j,000 acres in the year 188G. At the same time very little intelligence is displayed in saving the harvest and preparing the vintage, so that most of the wines, badly pressed and " fortified " with brandies, have an unpleasant flavour in the opinion of connoisseurs. The reputation of the Cape wines, which stood very high during the first half of the present centurj', has since greatly fallen off, and efforts are now being made by some growers to bring them again into favour. The South African vineyards have also had to suffer from oidium, and in the year 1886 phylloxera made its appearance in some vineyards in the vicinity of the capital. Stock-breeding. — Ostrkh-i arming. The number of inhabitants of the colony occupied with stock-breeding and the associated industries is estimated at about one-third of the whole population. The breed of horses, sprung from ancestors imported from the Argentine States, and afterwards improved by crossings with English and Arab blood, possesses the rare combination of strength, mettle, and endurance. Breeders have already their "genealogical trees " of famous racers, and the colony at present possesses about four hundred thousand more or less valuable horses. The horned cattle are at least thrice as numerous. They descend partly from the long-horned animals owned by the Dutch at the arrival of the first immigrants ; but this slock has long since been modified by crossings with varieties introduced from England and Holland. Hundreds of thousands of oxen are emploj'cd exclusively for the transport of goods and passengers in the colonial districts and conterminous regions which are not yet traversed by lines of railway. Hence farmers devote themselves specially to the breeding of cattle as pack animals and mounts, an industrj' unknown in any other part of the world. But on the other hand, milch cows are far from numerous, and such branches of dairy farming as the collection and distribution of milk, and butter-making, are carried on only in the neighbour- hood of the large towns. Whole herds have frequently been swept away by epidemics. At present the chief resource of the colony is its numerous flocks of sheep. On their fii-st arrival in the country the Dutch here found the fat-tailed breed • Yield in France in the exceptionally good year 1875, 670 gallons i»ir hectare of 2] acres ; in tho average year, 1883, -JOO gallons ; in the bad year, 1886, 310 gallons, t P. D. Hahu. John Koble's Cupc of Good Mope. 140 SOUTU AND KA.^i' iU'lUCA. with rough fleece or hair, which is spread over the greater part of the African coutiueut. The uuimals of this variety owned by the European and native farmers of the colony are still estimated at about a million, and their numbers have even recently increased. Their flesh is so highly esteemed that they continue to be largely bred, chiefly for the shambles. The first European sheep yielding a flnc wool were not introduced till the year 1790, and in 1830 the wool exported from the Cape amounted to no more than some thirty-three thousand pounds. The weaving of wool was still uuknowu in the country, and even now it would be difficult to find amongst the old Boer families a single woman able to handle a distaff or knit a pair of stockings. Wool-growing acc^uired no importance tUl about the middle of the century; but from that time forth it developed rapidly, and this industry reached its high- water level in the year 1872. After that time it again notably declined, owing to the prolonged droughts, and probably also because the wools of the Orange Free State, formerly exj)orted by Capo Colony and reckoned amongst the produce of that region, are now forwarded through Natal. Excluding the fat-tailed species, there are altogether about nine millions of wool -yielding animals in the colony. Thanks to their fleece, the Cape sheep ha^e been the chief agents in distributing the vegetable species. Wherever they penetrate they bring with them the seeds from the regions traversed by them. In many parts of the country lying north of the Orange River the aspect of the vegetation has undergone a complete change since the introduction of sheep- farming. Since the middle of the century the Cape stock-breeders have also here acclimatised the Angora goat, and the mohair which is now exported from South Africa is said to surpass that of Asia Minor itself in fineness and softness of texture, without, however, equalling it in lustre. In the grassy enclosures of the colony there now also graze thousands of tame antelopes of several species, but chiefly the variety known as boute-boks. Previous to the year 1864, the ostrich had been regarded by the Cape Colonists only as game, and this animal was so eagerly hunted that the time was foreseen when it would have completely disapi^eared from South Africa. But two farmers in different parts of the country were ah-eady turning their attention to the domestication of the ostrich, with the view of substituting systematic breeding for the chase. The result was that in 187-5 the agricultural census of the colony included eighty of these tamed birds, which yielded for exportation one hundred and twenty-five pounds of feathers, less beautifxd, however, than those of the Mauritanian bird living in the wild state. Domestication appears to have gradually changed the character of this animal, which is naturally at once so timid and so irascible, and the young broods may now be tended without any great risk. But the industry remained somewhat in abeyance until the introduction of artificial incubators. Since then the number of domestic birds has rapidly increased, numbering in 1882 about one hundred and fifty thousand, which yielded for the export trade two hundred and fiJty-five thousand poimds of plumes, valued altogether at no less than i;i, 100,000. The smallest newly-hatched chick readily O^iTETOn-FATimNn.— lEBTCATTON. ] 11 fetched £10, and before the year 1883 the stock of hc;iltliy, full-<3:rown biid.^ with fine plumage was valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds. But since that time ostrich-farming has become a more precarious occupation. Disease has greatly diminished the prospects of breeders ; the expenditure has gone on increasing in undue proportion to the profits ; and worse still, fashion, ever fickle, has reduced by one-half the market value of ostrich feathers. These beautiful personal ornaments are no longer so highly esteemed since industry has rendered them more common. Nevertheless Cape Colony has hitherto preserved the virtual monopoly of the trade, the repeated attempts made to domesticate the ostrich in Algeria, Tripolitana, Australia, the Argentine States, and California, having had but little success. In order to prevent the exportation of the Cape breed, the administration has imposed a prohibitive export tax of £100 on every adult bird and £6 on every eoro^. Irrigatiox "Works. — Tradk. Both for the purposes of stock-breeding and for agricultural operations generally, the Cape Colonists need an abundant sufiply of water. But perennial streams and copious springs are unfortunately everywhere somewhat rare. Hence a chief care of the farmers must necessarily bo how best to husband the rain water and prevent its running waste. The fertilising fluid is now drawn off from most of the rivers, and distribiited by irrigation canals along the riverain tracts. Elsewhere, the natural reservoirs are directly tapped by hand and chain-pumps, and suchlike modern hydraulic appliances. But in the districts destitute of springs or permanent streams, the underground supplies have to be reached by sinking deep wells in the mountain gorges, along the dried-up wadys, and where- CA'er subterranean streams may still be flowing. The grazers of the arid Karroo country have acquired great skill in detecting, by the character of the vegetation, the spots were such reservoirs have been formed below the surface. Most of the landowners whose estates present a certain incline and other facilities, have taken advantage of the natural lie of the land to capture and store the rain water in large depressions formed by artificial dams and embankments. Some of these lacustrine basins are some miles in circumference, and after the wet season often contain as much as thirty-five million cubic feet, or about two hundred and twenty million gallons of the precious fluid. Thanks to these extensive works, many tracts in the Karroos have already undergone a great change. Large trees, orchards, and tall succulent herbage now flourish in districts where formerly nothing was to be seen but bare arid lands relieved here and there with patches of thorny scrub. But these oases in the wilderness are occasionally exposed to the ravages of the all-devouring locusts, clouds of which at intervals of fifteen or twenty years alight on the verdant slopes and bottom-lands, in a few hours con- suming every blade of grass. Till recently the English and Dutch settlers confined themselves to farm operations and the export of the raw materials to Europe, the few local industries 142 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. being limited to tlie pvodnotion of the most ordinary objects of daily use. But Buch is no longer the case. Tlio colony is learning to dispense with the manu- factured wares of Great Eritain, and has even begun to impose prohibitory charges on these imports for the purpose of fostering the rising industries of South Africa. The Cape now boasts of its distilleries, its breweries, its flour-mills, tanneries, sawing and soap works, and even factories for manufacturing furniture, carriages, and machinery. Its artisans are already trying their hands at wool-spinning and cloth-wonving, and have begun to supply England with tinned meats and all Fig. 42. — Sourn ArEiCiN Lin't:s'"of Steam Xavioatiox a>t) CiBLES. Scale 1 : 75,000,000. Lines of Steamers. Telegraph Cables. . 1,200 Miles. kinds of jams and preserves, the preparation of which had hitherto been the secret of the Dutch housewives. The Cape is also developing a mining industry, and amongst the immigrants who come to seek their fortune in the colony are many Cornish miners, driven from the mother country by the gradual exhau.stion of the English mineral ores. At present the chief colonial mining operations are centred about the rich copper deposits of Little Namaqualand and the coalfields of the Storm-berg highlands. Guano is also methodically worked in the islands along the west coast, and salt in the upheaved inlets of the seaboard and in the depressions of the Karroos and of the Orange basin. The Cape salt, excellent for jjickling and curing, is used in some fishing-grounds which cure for the local consumption and even for the English market. TBAPE OF CAPE roi,OXY. 143 The colonial trade, wliicli normally increases from decade to decade at a more rapid rate than the population itself, has nevertheless temporarily decreased since the exportation of wool and ostrich feathers has been cheeked by long droughts, reckless speculation, changes of fa^;hion, and competition. But notwithstanding this falling off, the movement of the foreign exchanges is still relatively equal to that of France, that is, allowing for the immense difference between the popula- tions of the two countries. Xearlj- the whole of the foreign trade of the Cape is carried on with England, and this is specially true of the exports, while more than one-third of the rest is taken by the other British colonics. Direct com- merce of France with South Africa can scarcely be said to exist. Nearly the whole of the carrying trade of the colony is in the hands of the English, the seaborne tralBc being almost exclusively carried on b}- vessels flj'ing the British flag. Although somewhat thrust aside and removed from the great highway between "Western Europe and the East Indies bj- the opening of the Suez Canal, the Cape is now -visited by a greater number of ships than at the time when the Jleditcrranean was still separated from the Red Sea. The improvement in mechanical appliances now enables the ocean steamers plying between England and Australia to replenish their coal bunkers at Cape Town without putting into the inner harbour. The annual amount of British trade carried on in this way by vessels doubling the Cape without landing at the capital, is estimated at not less than £-jO,000,000. Cape Town is also now connected with the telegraphic sj-stems of Europe and the New "World by means of a cable which touches at nearly all the chief seaports along the west coast of Africa. Another cable, which was the first to be laid down, connects the colony with Zanzibar, Aden, India, China, and Australasia. HlGinVAYS OF CoMMfXICATIOX. In the interior of the country the network of communications is being rapidly developed. A great change has been effected since the days when the Boers moved about from district to district and carried out their great northward migrations under almost incredible difficulties. In the total absence of properly constructed roads they had to drive their cumbrous waggons over rough and irregular tracks, across sandy or stony wastes, muddy depressions, and thorny scrub. These huge vehicles were constructed of a hard clastic wood, grindin"- and groaning at every jolt. They had to bo made disproportionately wide to keep them from toppling over as they suddenly plunged into the wayside ruts, and they were divided like movable houses into various compartments for the provisions, the household utensils, the merchandise, and sleeping arrangements. A stout awning covered the whole, sheltering the inmates of these ambulatory dwellings from rain, wind, and dust. Usually several families migrated in concert, to afford each other mutual aid during rough weather, or in case of attack from the aborigines or from wild beasts. As many as eight or ten thus followed in a long line, winding over the track and each drawn by a team of several pairs of oxen 144 SOUTH AKD EAST AFRTPA. with hoails bent by the heavy yoke, but muzzle free of crub or reins. The driver urged them with his voice, aided by an occasional touch of his formidable whip, generally several yards long. A youth nearly alwaj-s ran in front of the first pair, guiding them to the right or left, and at the passage of rivers even swimming before them, encouraging them in every way and preventing them from stopping in mid-stream and thus exposing the whole span to being swept away by the swift current. To surmount the steep inclines the ordinary teams were often insufhcicnt, although the waggon-load might not exceed one ton. On such occasions the number of draft animals had to bo perhaps doubled under the leading waggon, ten or even twelve pairs being yoked to get it over the difficult pass, and then brought back to pick \\p the rest of the convoy awaiting their turn along the line of march. At times the vehicles had even to be unloaded, taken to pieces, and transported with the whole freight piecemeal over the rocky heights. Frequently the animals broke down altogether through sheer exhaustion, and then the caravan had to out- span in the wilderness while messengers were sent to bring up fresh teams. Yet in spite of all the dangers and hardships of such journeys, they Avere alwa3'S remembered with a feeling akin to delight, and cheerfullj' resumed at the shortest notice. In the evenings the waggons were disposed in a circle round the camp, great fires were kindled to scare away the rapacious beasts, whose ej'es were at times scon glaring in the bush, and music and the dance were kept up till late at night to indemnify the trekkers for the toil and perils of the daj'. At present such tedious journeys are no longer made in Cape Colony, where vehicles of the old waggon type are used chiefly for the transport of goods in the more reniote districts. A network of great carriage roads intersects the territory in all directions, surmounting the loftiest ranges by well-graded inclines. Sections of road-work, such as those of Montague Pass and Southey's Pass, in the south- western division, and of the Catberg, between the Orange River and Graham's Town, are the glory of Cape Colony, and are shown to strangers with a pardonable feeling of pride. The lines of railway starting from the coast at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred, and East London, penetrate far Into the interior, surmounting the successive mountain barriers at altitudes of several hundred, and even some thousand feet, in order to reach the Orange basin. "With the exception of a few secondary lines, the whole colonial railway system belongs to the local Government, as do also the telegraph lines. The receipts derived from the.se works of public utility constitute no inconsiderable part of the public revenue. Administration. — Public iNSTRrcTioN. Throughout the first half of the present century Cape Colonj' was simply a dependency of the Crown. The governors exercised their functions in the name of the sovereign, at first alone, and later with the aid of an executive council and a legislative council, nominated directly by the British Government. The colonial ADMINISTRATION OP C.iPE COLONY. 145 parliament dates 011I3' from tHe year 1853, and the appointment of the Governor and Vice-Governor is still reserved by the Crown, -which also retains the power of veto. In virtue of the constitution, which is modelled for the most part on that of Great Britain, the legislature comprises two chambers, the Lower, or House of Assembly, and the Upper, or Legislative Council. The first consists of seventy-six members, elected for a period of five years, and indemnified for their services by a grant of twenty shillings a day during the session. The Legislative Council comprises only twenty-two members, who take the distinctive title of "Honourable," and who are elected for seven years, the qualification being the possession of £2,000 immovable property, or movable property worth £-1,000. Members of both chambers are elected by the same voters, who must be British subjects, white Fig. 43. — AmnxisTRiTTrE Divisions of Caje Coloxy axd Neiohboueixq Tekkitoeies. Scale 1 : 17,500,000. The divisional Ogures correspond to those inserted in the District Tables of each State. For lack of space the dii^tlict.s of the Division of the Cape are not indicated. or black, owners of house property of the value of at least £50, or in receipt of a salary of £50, or wages of £25 with board and lodging. But by a recent decree of the Colonial Government, blacks who are joint proprietors with other natives have been disfranchised. By all these provisions a very small number of whites, and the imnicn.sc majority of the aborigines, are excluded from the exercise of the electoral right. But as a rule these electors show little eagerness to vote, seldom attending the polling booths except under the pressure of parties anxious to secure the return of their candidates. The Assembly elects its own president and officers, while the Legisla- tive Council is presided over ex-officio by the Chief Justice, himself appointed by the central Government. The general administration is entrusted to the Governor, VOL. XIII. L 146 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. aided by a ministry of five members : the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, ■who is also rrcmicr, the Treasurer-General, the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public "Works, and the Secretary for Native Affairs. These ministers, who are chosen by the Governor, constitute the Cabinet, responsible to the Chambers. The administration of justice still depends on the British Government, by whom are appointed the field-cornets {veld konief), or district magistrates, and justices of the peace. The highest tribunal in the colony is the Supreme Court, which comprises a chief justice and eight puisne judges. The judges of this court hold sessions in Cape Town, and circuit courts in the western districts. The judges appointed to the eastern district courts hold sessions in Graham's Town, and circuit courts in the eastern districts, and the judges assigned to the High Courts hold sessions in Kimberley. Under certain conditions, appeal may be made from the Supreme Court itself to the Queen in Council. The Roman-Dutch law constitutes the chief legal code, modified by colonial statute law. The British Government also to some extent controls the military forces, although maintaining only a very small number of men at Cape Town and Simon's Town. The colouial army, paid out of the local revenues, comprises the Cape Mounted Riflemen, eight hundred ofiicers and men, besides a body of about four thousand volujiteers of all arms. By a law passed in 1878, every able-bodied man in the colony between the ages of eighteen and fifty is subject to military ser\'ice beyond as well as within the colonial frontiers. Thus is constituted a nominal reserve of over one hundi'ed and twenty thousand men. Till recently the Chui'ch was still united to the State, although all denomina- tions did not enjoy a share of the public revenues. Since 187-5 the principle of separation has been adopted, and the several congregations have now to support their own ministers, salaries being allowed only to those members of the clergj' who were appointed before the vote abolishing the State Churches had force of law. The ecclesiastical budget thus decreases from year to year by the process of natural extinction. In 1887 it had already been reduced to £8,G00. The largest white commimities are the Dutch Reformed and the Episcojjalians, which before the late changes were the privileged State churches. But the Weslej'ans are far more active and successful in evangelising the natives, and most of the Hottentots and Kafirs in the colonj' accordingly belong to that denomination. The Malays have remained Mohammedans, and have even made some proselytes. They have mosques both at Cape Town and Port EHzabeth. While the charges on the State revenue for religious worship are gradually diminishing, those for public instruction are on the iacrease, although the com- pulsory system has not yet been introduced. No doubt the scholastic establish- ments depend chiefly on the municipalities, and are, for the most part, supported by voluntary contributions. Nevertheless the Government promotes the spread of education by means of scholarships for poor but promising students, by supplying books, maps and instruments, and by granting salaries or stipends to the profes- sors. The primary schools are divided into three groups, according to the nationality of the pupils. Thus the racial prejudices which prevail in the GEIQUiVL-US^D T\T2ST. 147 religious world, distributing tlie faithful in separate congregations according to their complexions, have been extended also to the educational system, and legisla- tion has taken care to keep the children of the dominant races entirely aloof from those of the Malays and Hottentots. The public schools in the towns and villages attended by European children are administered by local commissioners ; those intended for half-castes in the urban and industrial districts are placed ujider the superintendence of the religious commimities ; lastly, the schools opened for the use of the aborigines have remained in charge of the missionary societies, by whom they were originally founded. These are, for the most part, technical institutions, M'here are taught especially such crafts as carpentry, cartwright's work, joinery, bookbinding, and printing. For these establishments a large number of teachers are drawn from the native population itself. The colony also possesses high schools or colleges which prepare yoimg men for the liberal professions. These are imder the control of the University, which was incorporated in 1873, and which is an examining body empowered to grant degrees, without any machinery for imparting instruction. There are altogether five colleges aided by Government grants under the Higher Education Act, each with f\ill staff of professors and lecturers in classics, mathematics, and the physical sciences. But despite all the facilities offered for public instruction, the proportion of attendance is far below the average amongst the civilised peoples of Europe, the rate being scarcely more than one in thirty of the population. The Colonial Government has already its public debt, which about equals six years of revenue. The latter is derived for the most part from customs, excise, stamps, and legacy dues. The rest is made up from the profits on the railways post-ofiice, telegraph service, tolls, and rent or sale of public lands and mines. The colony is divided for administrative purposes into seven pro^-inces with sixty-six fiscal divisions and sixty-nine judicial districts, which will be found tabu- lated in the Appendix. Griqi'.vl.\ni) West. The province, which was definitely annexed to Cape Colony in 1877, and which became an integral part of the same jJolitical system in 1880, 'would probabl}' have been still left to its aboriginal populations and to the squatters of Boer or mixed descent, had not the discovery of the diamond fields made it a valuable acquisition for the Colonial Government. In 1871, that is one year after the report of the won- derful finds had been spread abroad, the Cape authorities invited the chief of the Griquas, a Bushman named "Watcrboer, to accept the British suzerainty, and then hastened to comply with the wish which he was stated to have expressed on the subject. The conduct of the Colonial Government in connection with this affair was certainly somewhat high-handed, although it could scarcely be expected that much regard could be paid to the fact that the miners attracted to the district had already set up the independent republic of Adamanta. The Orange Free State also put in a claim for the possession of this territory ; but the right of the l2 148 SOUTH .VXD EAST AFRICA. strongest competitor prevailed, and in 1877 the Boers of the Free State consented to surrender their claim to the contested district for a sum of £90,000. A conventional line drawn across the plateau from the right bank of the Orange to the left bank of the Vaal, henceforth detaches from the Free State and assigns to Capo Colony the triangular space comprised between the two rivers above their confluence. "With a view to rounding off its frontiers, to this diaman- tiferous region has also been added a portion of the hilly tableland which stretches north of the Orange in the direction of the Kalahari Desert and of the new IJritish Protectorate of Ecclmanaland. "Within its present limits the province of Gri(]iialaii(l West thus covers a superficial area of nearly eighteen thousand square Fig. 44.— GmauAiAND West. Scale 1 : 3,400,000. miles, with a i^opulatiou of about sixty thousand, or in the proportion of three persons to the square mile. Griqualand West enjoys an excellent climate, notwithstanding the fever pre- valent amongst the mining classes, which must be attributed to the unhealthy nature of the operations in which they are engaged. As in the southern regions, the European population finds here a perfectly congenial home, and increases in the normal way by excess of births over the death-rate. The country stands at a mean altitude of about 3,600 feet above sea-lcvcl, and while the general tilt of the land is from east to west, as shown by the course of the Orange, the highest eleva- THE GEIQUAS. 149 tions occur in the western parts of the province. Ilere several crests exceed 4,600 feet, and the camping-ground of Daniel's Kuil lies at an altitude of 5,370 feet ; even along the banks of the Orange the countrj- falls nowhere below 3,000 feet. The chains of hills or ridges rising above the plateau are disposed for the most part in the direction from north-east to south-west, parallel with the course of the Vaal. Thej- are usually of gently rounded form, the jirevailing gre3'ish tints giving them a somewhat monotonous aspect. In the dcjiressions of the plateau between the two main streams are scattered numerous salt-pans, nearlj- all of cir- cular form, which, during the rainy season, are large and deep enough for the light craft used in wild-duck shooting, but which at other times are either quite dry or even replaced by a saline efflorescence. Another feature of the landscape are the clusters of mimosas scattered over the grazing-grounds. The Griquas (Gri-kwa), from whom the province takes its name, are generally spoken of b)' the Dutch Boers under the designation of "Bastaards." The great majority are, in fact, half-caste descendants of the white settlers and Hottentots of various tribes, who came from the regions south of the Orange about the begin- ning of the present centurj'. In this extremelj- mixed population are met every variety of type, from the stunted Bushman and j'ellow Hottentot to the tall Kafir and fair European. But they are on the whole an active, vigorous race, daring and persevering, superior to the ordinary aborigines in strength and stature, and in all things distinguished " either by their virtues or their vices." * Amongst these African half-castes, as amongst the " Bois-Brules " of North America, are found the most cnterpi-ising traders, the most intelligent pioneers, the most daring hunters, but also the most dangerous and desperate criminals in the colony. In 1839 they valiantly defended their territory against the Mantati (Basutos), who were threatening to cross the Orange and overrun the ^holc country. The Man- tati were driven towards the north, where the}- in their turn became famous conquerors under the name of Makololo. Even the pure white population of Gri(|ualand West, consisting for the most jwrt of miners of everj- nation — Englishmen from Cornwall and Lancashire, Germans from the Ilartz, Piedmontese, Americans from California, Australians — • are distinguished above all the other European inhabitants of South Africa for their energy, independence, and enterprising spirit. More than once they have been iu conflict with the Government, compelling it to withdraw un2)t)pular measures. The Dia:m(im) Fiki.ds. For a long time the squatters along the banks of the Orange were in the habit of picking up certain lustrous stones, the true value of which was, however, unknown till 18G7. In that year two dealers shared between them the price of the first " Cape diamond," which had been taken from a young Bushman. Two years later a Griqua found another magnificent stone of 83 carats, which received the name of the "Star of South Africa," and which was sold for £11,200. t Tliere • Gustav Fritsch, Dni Juhrc in Siid-Afrika. t This bcautifiJ gem, now known as the "Dudlcj-," was afterwards pmvhascil l>y the Earl of Dudley, and reduced, by the process of cutting-, to a little over forty-six caratc. 160 SOUTH AND EAST AFBICA. was nn immediate rush to the district of Hopctown, whore the first finds had been made, but where, strnngo to say, no deposits have yet been discovered. Then the sands of the Orange were carefully examined as far as the confluence of the Vaal, the banks of which river were also explored. At last the groat diamantiferous deposits were reached in a district 06 miles above the confluence, which was at one time probably studded with lacustrine basins. Now began the great rush, adven- turers of all kinds flocking towards the new Eldorado, which was at that time almost uninhabited. Soldiers, sailors, deserters, farm-labourors, blacks, whites, mere striplings, arrived in crowds, every shijJ from Europe bringing a fresh con- Fig. 45. — RlTEB DiOOINOS IN THE VaAL BaSIX. Scale 1 : 55,0Ck). r^^^e^l Webster's Kopje /> Kevy's Kopje /'Lj,- DuToifs Pan Ea^toFGreenw.ch tingcnt of eager fortune-hunters. Miners, traders, and speculators hastened to cross the mountains and desert plains of the Karroo in the direction of the new diamond fields. The more fortunate possessors of waggons and carts of any description were able to get over the rough ground in a few days, while the pedestrians plodded along night and day, guiding their steps by the indications obtained from the local squatters and Hottentot grazers. But many failed to reach the goal. Hundreds of wayfarers, worn out by hunger, thirst, disease, and hardships of all sorts, or perhaps losing their way in the wilderness, perished in the attempt to traverse a route over GOO miles long, and their bodies were devoured by rapacious THE GRIQU.\I.AND DLUIOXD FIELDS. 151 beasts and birds. On the camping grounds the mortalitj- was even greater. Here the bad diet, the lack of comfort, overwork, excessive drink, produced the epidemic of typhus known as the " miner's fever," which rapidly fiUcd the cemeteries of every rising settlement. Pnkl, on the left bank of the Yaal, where the sands were first successfully washed for diamonds, has ceased to be one of the chief centres of attraction for speculators. The deposits have been impoverished, and reckless competition having ceased, the Government has been able to increase the size of the claims offered to purchasers. Here two or three himdred European and native miners still work on their isolated plots, independent, however, of any great monopolising companies. The town of Barhly, formerly Klip-drift, on the opposite side of the Vaal over against Pnicl, is a busy market-place for all the diggers engaged in the mining districts for the space of GO miles along the course of the stream. The annual yield of these river-diggings in the Yaal basin at present exceeds £40,000, and during the period from 1870 to 188G the total product of the diamantiferous sands of this river exceeded £2,000,000. The diamonds of this district are distinguished above all others for their purity and lustre. They are generallj' found in associa- tion with other stones, such as garnets, agates, quartz, and chalcedony. About the end of the year 1870 it was suddenly reported that diamond " placers " had been discovered on the plateau'some 24 miles to the south-east of Pniel, far from the flu\-ial alluvia. A new rush was at once made towards tliis " land of promise ; " the Dutch farmers were fain to sell their lands, and, as if by enchant- ment, there sprang up hundreds of tents and cabins, humble beginnings of the city which in South Africa now ranks in order of importance next to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Geological research has shown that in this region of the plateau the ground, uniformly covered with a layer of red sand overlying a bed of calcareous tufa, conceals in its bosom extensive augite porphyrj- formations, which are pierced to a depth of over 1,000 feet by still unexplored " pipes " or natural shafts. These pipes, which are faced with a wall of basalt, are supposed to be nothing more than ancient craters. The earth now filling them is precisely the diamantiferous formation which has been forced to the surface by the pressure of the subterranean gases, and which towards the surface has become yellow and friable, while remaining blue and compact in the lower depths impenetrable to atmospheric influences. There also occurs a good deal of fire-damp, especially in the neighbourhood of the rocky walls, where the exjilosive gases are dangerous enough to require the construction of undergroimd galleries to protect the miners. The basalts are overlain by carboniferous schists, and the question has been raised by geologists whether these schists may not have supplied the carbon required for the formation of the diamonds. Within a space of about 11 miles in circumference there exist four of these underground crater-like openings, all full of the earth in which the diamond.s are distributed in a certain order known to experienced miners. These four diaman- tiferous pipes are Bultfonttiii, Dc Beer, Dii Toit's Pan, and Kimherhi/, the last of which, lying close to the town of like name, is the richest diamond-bearing 152 POUTH AND EAST AFRICA. ground not only in South Africa but in the whole world. It has been suggested by the geologist !Moullo, that the isans have the same origin as the four diaman- tiferous craters ; but they have not yet been examined to a suiRcient depth to determine the point whether they also contain eruptive matter yielding crystals. Fijr. 40.— Section- of the Great Kimdkrley Mixe from Xortii to South. Sciilo 1 : .'),riOO. ^stratum of ;'';''.K'?>Jfo«?/-'7„-°>oJ°.''o7 'l^ytligUe ' porphy'rv ~' '■''°, old -?^-^-%~-'i-°^ or ^,^-Jufe^g-"- and erupted c// o//te ria tsic -» ^o :i'-.p.^fe£F£3^£:?£^::£E£: -TrJASSi'c for m At /on— fi^^<^°o . o^(j^O°^'Qj:ir-^_-^i.r^.^~" /SV/»/'a' Kui7, one of these saline meres, is described by Chapman as of perfectly regular form and filled with a conglomerate in which sparkle countless agates. Dui-ing the early period of the mining explorations the productive district was laid out lilvo a chessboard in uniform claims, separated from each other by clearing paths. Some five hundred pits swarming with ten thousand busy diggers gave to the mine somewhat the aspect of an ants' nest. But the workers on both sides attacked the intervening spaces to get at their precious contents ; the conse- :-:.^ft^P5c^ m: THE KDIBEELEY MINES. 158 quence ^vas that they gave way at many points, and had to be replaced by bridges. ' Fijj. 47. — KiMBERLEY : AppeaeaXce op the Mine im 188f>. But the ground still continuing to subside and fall in, often without any warning, 154 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. it M-as at last resolved to clear out the whole of the interior, wliich was sinking (lay by (lay, in the form of a crater. In order to clear out the earth the plan was adopted of erecting a framework or wooden scaffolding round about the walls of the chasm, which had already reached a depth of over 2,000 feet. This contri- vance was disposed in several stages or landings, communicating with each claim by means of an endless band made of leather, steel, or iron wire. Capstans, driven at first by hand labour and later by steam, raised the workmen and the buckets of earth from the bottom of the pit to the sorting platform. No other similar field of human industry presented a stranger spectacle than this vast cavity encircled bv an intricate network of bright wires poising trucks of men and refuse in mid- air, and echoing with the constant din of human cries and grinding machinery. But the appearance of the works soon imdcrwent a fresh change. The bottom of the pits has to a large extent been filled in by the continual landslips within the enclosure, sweeping with them the heaps of refuse and disintegrated rock. During the heavy rains the abj-ss has also been frequently flooded, so that the outlay on the works often nearly balanced the profits. It was also found neces- sary to modify the plan of operations by sinking shafts through the crumbling rock In order to reach the blue earth under the heaps of refuse covering It, and bv driving undergroimd galleries into the heart of the diamantlferous mass. Thus, from being an open quarry, KImberley has been gradually converted Into a mine In the strict sense of the term. The year 1881, the most successful of all, yielded to the commerce of the world crystals to the value of £4,160,000. Eut since then the Industry has somewhat decreased in importance, chiefly in conse- quence of the rechiced market price of the gems, due to their greater abundance. The declared value of the diamonds exported In 188G was £3,504,000, and the total value down to the end of the j'ear 1887 has been estimated at nearly £50,000,000, represented by seven tons of diamonds, a far greater quantity than has been yielded by Brazil during the last hundred and fifty j-ears. The propor- tion of diamonds to the actual amount of ground excavated and sorted is not more than one to eight millions. The most rigorous measures have been taken to prevent the theft of the precious stones, and In consequence of these regulations the prisons of KImberley have often been filled to overflowing. Strikes also have occurred, and as in the mining districts of Europe have occaslouallj' had to be sternlj' repressed. But here as elsewhere the system of large estates has at last prevailed. At first no one was allowed to hold more than two claims ; then anonymous societies bought up the allotments, and since 1887 a " syndicate," with Its headquarters in London and Paris, and disposing of a capital of £15,000,000, has become the owner of the two most valuable mines at KImberley and De Beer. The whole mining popula- tion thus consists exclusively of officials and labourers. "\\Tien the mines were first opened the aborigines were excluded from the piu-chase of claims; now these claims are accessible only to millionaires. The capital of the mining district, lying close to the mouth of the deepest diamantlferous pit, has already acqxiircd the dimensions of a large town. It is KDIBEELEY— GEIQUA TOWN. 155 connected with Cape Town by a railway G"20 miles long, and as tlio chief centre of trade between the colony and the Dutch republics of the Orange and Transvaal, it is steadily recovering from the losses caused by the depreciated value of its diamonds. Thanks to the water brought at great cost from the Yaal to the formerly arid plateau, the streets and squares of Kimberley have been planted with shady trees, and vast heaps of refuse have been transformed to pleasant gardens. Its original tin houses, brought piecemeal from England, have already been for the most part replaced by more siibstantial structures ; its thoroughfares are illumined with electric light, and like its neighboiu", Beacomfiehl, which has sprung up near the Du Toit's Pan mine, Kimberley already surpasses many old Fig. 48. — APPAB.\TfS FOE BAlSrxG THE DlAMAXnTEROITS EaKTH. European towns in mechanical appliances, industrial resources, well-stokccd wai-e- houses, and handsome buildings. The population, mostly of a fluctuating character, rose from thirteen thousand in 1875 to nearly double that number in 1886. "West of the Yaal the largest place is Griqua Town, which may be said to give its name to the province. It was itself named from the Griquas, by whom it was founded in the year 1802, at the time of the great exodus of these Dutch and Hottentot half-castes. Formerly capital of the province, it has now sunk to the rank of chief town of Upper Hay, one of the four districts or electoral and administrative divisions of Griqualand "West. 166 Sni'Tn AND EAST AFniCA. BErilUANAI.ANn. The region of broad plains diversified by wooded granite eminences, wbich stretches north and north-west of Griquahind West as far as the Kalahari wilder- ness, now also forms part of the British South African possessions. The Dutch settlers in the Transvaal republic had long been encroaching on the domain of their Bechuana neighbours, and had even here founded the two petty states of StellaUmd and Goshen,* with the ulterior purpose of incorporating them in the Transvaal. The suzerain power was accordingly compelled to interfere in defence Fig. -10. — C'niKF RorTKS of I'Ikploeees Nobth op the South Ateican Colonies. Scnle 1 : is.noo.fidfi. Ej-.! .1 Gre-n-.vicW Colonised Tenitoiy. SCO Miles. 2,000 Fathoms and upwards. of the rights of the natives, who were glad to accei^t the British protectorate in order to obtain permanent relief from the incessant raids of the Boer filibusters on their eastern borders. The region thus dcfinitelj' annexed to the colonial dumiuion comprises that portion only of Eechuanaland which is bounded on the south by the Orange, on the west by the almost permanently dry bed of the Hygap, and northwards \>y * Properly StiUe-land (■' Still " or Tcaceful Land) and Gooscn. BECHTJANALAND. 157 the vallej' of the jMolopo affluent of the same river. A treaty concluded with Germany secures to Great Britain the eventual possession of the whole region limited on the west by the twentieth degree of east longitude, and on the north by the twenty-second degree of south latitude. This territory constitutes a " pro- tectorate," within which is officially included the narrow strip of land stretching eastwards between the course of the Limpopo and the twenty-second degree parallel, as far as the frontier of the Portuguese possessions. But towards the north this conventional line has already been encroached upon, for by a special convention the Bechuana kingdom of Khama, lying still farther north, has also been placed under the protection of the British Government. Certain semi- official documents even already speak of the Zambese as the real or natural northern limit of the British domain in Austral Africa. Meanwhile the uncertainty of the conventional frontiers prevents the geogra- phers from accurately estimating the actual extent of the protectorate. But the region comprised within the official limits traced along the meridian and parallel of latitude has a superficial area of probably about 18-3,000 square miles. The population of this territory, which is already well known from numerous exploring expeditions, can scarcely exceed half a million, and is placed by some writers as low as 475,000 or 480,000. Of this nimiber as many as 160,000 are concentrated in the section of Bcchuanaland lying south of the Molopo tributary of the Hygap. The Beliiuanas. The Bechuana people are a branch of the great Bantu family, who according to the national traditions arrived in Austral Africa later than the other Kafir tribes. Till recently they were even still migrating, though not voluntarily. In order to escape from the Boers of the Orange and Transvaal, manj' tribal groups had been compelled to move westwards, and before the intervention of the English the native tribes were being harassed all along the line b}- the Boers of the conterminous districts. At present the western Bechuanas are separated from the Basutos and other kindred peoples by the territory of the two Dutch republics. Like the Griquas, the Bechuanas have thus been broken into two great di^-isions, henceforth cut off from all direct intercourse with one another. But notwithstanding this dismem- berment, they have the full consciousness of their common origin, and throughout the vast region between the Orange and the Zambese they everywhere recognise their kinship, even grouping their various tribes in the order of national pre- eminence. According to unanimous agreement, the senior branch of the family are the Ba-Harutse (Barotse), who dwell west of the Limpopo headstreams, on the north-west frontier of the South .tif rican republic. M. Arbousset believes that the term Be-Chuana, now um'versally adopted as the collective ethnical name, is due to a misunderstanding on the part of some travellers, whose inquiries about the various peoples of the country were met bj' the remark ba chitana, that is, " they resemble each other," meaning they are all alike, all of one stock. They have themselves no common national or racial designation in any of their dialects. 168 SOUTU AND EAST .U'^EICA. The Bccliuanas are one of the finest members of the southern Bantu family. All are tall, robust, well-built, and distinguished by their graceful carriage, which may be partly due to the fact that in certain tribes the feeble or sickly offspring are got rid of. Albinos and the deaf and dumb are thrown to the panthers ; those born blind arc strangled, and when the mother dies her infant is, in some tribes, buried alive in the same grave, because he has been dcpri\ed of his natural nurse. Circumcision is imiversally practised, although there is no fixed age for performing the rite. Sometimes it is deferred till adolescence ; yet children born before the father has been circxmicised would be ipso facto declared incapable of inheriting any of the paternal estate. Usually the operation is undergone between the eighth and fourteenth j'ear, and is accompanied by scourging, and occasionally even by tortures, in virtue of which the victims are regarded as equals of the men of the tribe, worthy to carry the shield and hurl the assegai. Girls also are initiated into womanhood and taught their duties as future wives by a long probationship passed in seclusion imdcr the direction of elderly matrons. During this period they are subjected to several severe trials of eudui-ance, the last of which is a hot iron bar to be held for a few seconds without uttering a cry. After this proof they are declared women; they are smeared all over with grease, their hair Is saturated with a mixture of butter and ochre ; they are clothed and decked like brides whQe awaiting to be purchased by their future lord. Circumcision Is in no sense a religious ceremony, being merely the symbol of entrance Into the state of manhood, with all Its attendant privileges and responsi- bilities. Those missionaries who first penetrated Into this region assure us that they sought In vain for the least Indication of a belief In the supernatural world amongst the Bechuana peoples. The natives had neither gods nor Idols; they never gathered together for prayer or anj' kind of public worship ; they neither appealed in supplication to good or evil spirits, nor even betrayed any fear of the souls of the dead. At the same time certain practices seem to be altogether inexplicable except on the supposition that they have been inspired by the desire to conjure the forces of the unkuo^^'n world and render the unseen powers pro- pitious to their votaries. Thus when a tree is struck by lightning cattle are slaughtered, and similar sacrifices are made for the purpose of healing the sick or obtaining rain from above. The dead are borne to the grave through a breach made in the wall of the cabin, and care Is taken to lay them in a crouched attitude with the face turned due north, that Is, in the direction whence came their fore- fathers. Then the bystanders cast into the grave an acacia branch, portions of ant-hills, and tufts of herbage, emblems of the himter's life In the woodlands. On the sepulchral mound are also placed the arms of the departed, together with the seeds of alimentary plants. But of late years the fear of unwittingly supplying the compounders of maleficent charms with the needful skulls has Induced many of the tribes to bury their dead in the cabin itself, under the feet of the living. After each ceremony all those present wash their hands and feet in a large water-trough, all the time shouting Pida ! puk ! (Rain! rain!). The wizards also frequently make a show of attracting the clouds and_causlng them to discharge THE BECHUANAS. 159 beneficial showers. If favoured by luck the)' at once acquire a great reputation, but should their predictions be belied bj- unkindly fate they run the risk of their lives. These " rain-makers " even practise a real religious cult, for they pretend to conjure the spells of ilo-Eimo, a maleficent being who dwells in a cleft of the rock. With the view of keeping themselves in touch with the supposed religious traditions of the people, the missionaries have adopted this very term Mo-Rimo, meaning " the Dweller on High," to designate the God of the Christians. The fear or awe of the unknown is also betrayed amongst the Bechuanas in connection with certain objects which they are forbidden to touch, and certain food which is tabooed by custom. Like most of the North American redskins, each Bechuana tribal group venerates a national token, such as a crocodile, a monkey, some wild beast or fish, and celebrates dances in its honour. The Ba-Kalahari people take good care never to hunt old lions, especially if these have acquired a taste for human flesh. Hence it would be regarded as criminal to offer any resistance to the king of beasts even should he burst into a kraal, in which case he may at the most be scared away with shouts. Cattle also are held in a sort of reverence, as well as the thorny branches of the wuit-a-bit {Acacia deteneini), which is used for making the village enclosures. Each tribe is governed by a king or chief, whose power passes to the eldest son. But the Bechuana tribal chief is far from enjoying absolute authority. Custom is powerful and scrupulously respected, while the secondary chiefs, and occasionally all the free men of the community, may, on weighty occasions, con- stitute themselves a picho, or parliament, for the purpose of discussing public interests, advising the king, approving or censuring his conduct, according as it may be pronounced conformable with or opposed to established precedent. The picho, however, took no cognisance of crimes, and before the partial introduction of the British administrative system, such offences as theft, murder, or adultery were not regarded as occurrences of tribal or general interest. They were rather the personal concern of the injured party, who balanced theft by theft, murder and adultery by murder, unless his wrath was appeased by a compensation in cattle. But since the missionaries have obtained a footing in all the principal Bechuana A-illagcs, the habits and customs of the natives have undergone great changes, at least outwardly. European dress now prevails amongst all the border tribes, and the Ba-Tlapi have even learnt the tailor's art, cutting out coats and trousers from the skins of wild beasts. Almost every village has its school, its chapel, and modem houses in the English style, encircled by the round huts with conic roofs still occupied by the poorer classes. In all the tribes some persons are met who are conversant with Dutch. Sunday has become a day of rest even for those natives who do not pretend to have yet accepted the Christian teachings, whUe in the absence of the missionary the conA^erted chief reads the service and intones the psalms in the public assemblies. Being endowed with a quick intelligence, and especially prone to imitate his betters, the Mo-Chuana strives hard to assimilate himself to the European, and at times succeeds wonderfullj-. During this contact of the black and white elements, which has already lasted over two generations, 160 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. and which began with pillage and murder, the weaker race has gradualh' adapted itself (o the forms of civilisation introduced by the invaders of their domain. The liochuauas arc a very courteous people, and invariably address each other in polite language. Although they are by nature on the whole of a peaceful temperament, wars were formerly very frequent, cau.scd nearly always by cattle- lifting. " Our fathers lost their lives in capturing you, and we also shall perish in guarding you." So sang till lately the young Ba-Maugwato warriors to their herds ; but of late years most of the Bechuana tribes have discontinued their warlike expeditions. Formerly nomad pastors and hunters, the}' are now rapidly becoming peaceful tillers of the land. Every man, every youth, even every girl, has his or her separate plot of gi-ound, and the child thus learns from its tenderest years to cultivate the soil. Down to the beginning of the pi'csent century the Bechuanas were still addicted to certain cannibal practices, apparently of a religious character. The braves who had slain an enemy brought back a portion of the body, and then gathered together to celebrate their victory under the presidency of a magician. Crouching round a blazing fire, they broiled the flesh under the embers and devoiu-ed it in common, in order thus to superadd to their own the courage of the foe. Then, in order to show their contempt of pain, each in turn presented their bare leg to the priest, who with a stroke of the assegai made a long slit from the hip to the knee. Although the wound was deep enough to leave a permanent scar, the warriors had nevertheless to join in the tribal dance, Avhich was kept up till the " small hoiu"s." Southernmost of all the Bechuana tribes are the Ba-Tlaro, settled on the north-west frontier of Griqualand West, where, however, the}' have to a large extent become merged with the better-known Ba-Tlapi,* or " Fish People." These Ba-Tlapi, whose national token is a fish, and who carefully abstain from touching this sacred animal, occupy a hilly district north of Griqualand West, bordering on the Vaal, and were also amongst the rival claimants for the coveted diamantiferous region now annexed to Cape Colony. They are one of the most nimierous branches of the Bechuana race, numbering with the Ba-Tlaro about thirty thousand soids. Thanks to their frequent relations with the English and Dutch settlers, they are also the most civilised of all the tribes, and the light complexion of the children in many of their villages betrays an increasing- inti- macy with their European neighbours. They are generally of a very cheerful disposition, and formerly possessed a large treasui-e of national songs, which has now mostly perished, being replaced by religious hymns. Topography of Bechuanaland. The Ba-Tlapi gardens, wherever sufficient water is available, yield in abun- dance all the Eui'opeau fruits and vegetables, and the plough has already been introduced very generally. Some of the native towns and villages are well • The Ba-Hlapi, Batlaping, Bachapiu, Matcliapoes, Maatjaplug of various writers. KUEXJMAN— YEIJBUEG. 161 known as stations and market-places on the great higliTvay leading from the Orange to the Zambese. Those occupied by the chiefs are usually very populous, all the inhabitants being concentrated at such points with a view to defence. In 1801 Truter and Somerville estimated at fifteen thousand the population of Latahu (Littikii), the town founded by the allied Ba-Tlapi and Bu-Eolong nations on the margin of the Takun spring. After the separation of the two tribes, Ktinnnaii, the new capital of the Ba-TLipi, rapidly became a real town with nearly six himdrcd houses and tive thousand inhabitants. The other royal residences which succeeded Kurumau were, or still are, places of considerable size. Such are Taung, at the issue of a wady on the right bank of the Katong (Hart's River) ; Mmmisa, lying some sixty miles farther up on the left bank of the same river ; and Likatlong, whose cabins are also grouped on the banks of the Katong, not far from its confluence with the Yaal, and in the present province of Griqualand West. But in this region the centres of population are easily displaced, and every new king makes it a point of honour to found and give his name to one of these ephemeral residences. All that is needed for their construction is a good supply of acacia wood stakes, clay, and herbage or foliage for thatching. The diamond fields that were discovered in 1887 in the district near Vrijburg, former capital of Stellaland, cannot fail to attract immigrants and cause new towns to spring up. The principal religious centre of the country is Kuril man, which lies in the midst of gardens and verdure at the east foot of a sandstone hill, whence an extensive view is commanded of the surroimding plateau. Here the missionaries have acquired possession of many broad acres of arable land, ^^■hil•h they lease only to monogamous natives. The river Kuruman, on which stands the town of like name, has its source among the hills a few miles to the south-east. From a cave at the foot of an isolated bluff the water flows in such a copious stream as to be navigable for small boats. Through stalactite galleries close to the chief opening the visitor may penetrate over slipperj- stones far into the interior of the rocky cavity, which is supposed to be inhabited by a sacred serpent, tutelar spirit of the stream. "Were he to be slain, the perennial spring would at once dry uj). At the beginning of the century lions were still so numerous and daring in this region that many of the natives slept in narrow huts erected on piles amid the branches of the trees. Moffat speaks of a large tree in the neighbourhood of Lataku which contained no less than seventeen of such aerial dwellings. The Ba-Piolong nation, formerly allies of the Ba-T!api, but now divided into several independent tribes, occupy the northern section of the specially protected territory, that is to say, the district comprised between the mostly dry beds of the Molopo and the affluents of the Kuruman. But the chief villages, Mofcldtig, resi- dence of the British Commissioner, S/iitha, Pietsani, and Morokicane are grouped about the head waters of the ifolopo, where the gorges yield a sufficient supply for the irrigation of their fields. The Ba-Rolongs number altogether eighteen thousand full-blood Bechuanas, besides many half-castes reckoned apart. The tract lying between their domain and that of the Ba-Tlapi has afforded a refuge VOL. XIII. M 162 SOUTH AXI) KAi^T Al'RTOA. to the remains of a Iribc of Korana Hottentots crossed with Bcchiianas of dif- ferent clans, and numbering altogether about five thousand souls. "Within this Bechuana domain have also been established several petty republican com- munities of Bastaards driven north by Iho pressure of the English immigrants into Griqualand AVest. The Ba-Karutsu (Ba-IIurutse, Barotse), who still occupy the region of the Upper Limpopo basin about the frontiers of Transvaal and the British Pro- tectorate, are also a decrepit people, much rcrluced since the time when they were regarded as the most powerful branch of the Bechuana race. Even recently the sons of the surrounding kinglets appeared as envoys in their midst in order to learn the national history or traditions, to study the ancestral usages, and conform tlicmsclves to the received standard of polite society. All the neighbouring com- munities were even expected to send the first-fruits of their crops in homage to the Ba-IIarutse chief. The branch of the nation which has settled in the Marico district within the Transvaal frontier may also lay claim to pre-eminence for their progress in agriculture ; in 1882 they already possessed over two hundred European ploughs. One of the Harutsc tribes has withdrawn to the region north of the Protec- torate, taking refuge in the marshy plains stretching east of Lake Ngami, where they occupy retreats safe from the encroachments of the most daring invaders of the land. The Ba-Katla, whose totem, or national emblem, is a monkey, and whose capital is the little town of Gamcohopa, situated on a wooded plateau, watered by an affluent of the Limpopo ; the Ba-Wanketsi, who are grouped to the number of six thousand or seven thousand round about the town of Khanye ; lastly, the Ba-Kwena or " Crocodile People," who dwell a little farther north, but still within the Upper Limpopo basin, have all alike been greatly reduced and com- pelled frequenth^ to change their settlements by the incessant raids and encroach- ments of the neighbouring Transvaal Boers. The town of Koloheng, where Livingstone had founded his mission before he turned to geographical exploration, is now in ruins. Litcyani was also abandoned in 1864 ; not, however, because of the attacks of any aggressive neighbours, but owing to the adjacent forest of o-io-antie aloes, whose pulpy leaves falling and rotting on the ground, rendered the whole district malarious during the rainy season. Liteyaui was succeeded first by the town of MorwaMomo, and then by the present capital, Lcpelole {Molopok), which lies in the same region at the foot of a long ridge of rocky and wooded hiUs. This district, about which, so to say, gra^•itate the royal residences of the Ba-Kwcna nation, is the most renowned in the legendary history of the Bechuana race. Near Lepelole stands a grotto into which Livingstone was the first who dared to venture, and not far from the same spot is the Giant's Kettle, hollowed out of the live rock. From this place, says the national myth, came all the animals of the world. The same chasm also gave birth to the Bechuana race, and carved in the rocks is still shown the trace of the first step taken by the first man as he emerged from the bowels of the earth.* * Livingstone, Last JoimiaU. SHOSHONG. 163 The Ba-^raugwato nation, who occupy the uoithcrn division of the British Protectorate to the west of the Limpopo, as well as the marshy plains stretching thence northwards in the direction of the Zambese, have in recent times entered on a period of political expansion, and constitute at present one of the powerful native States in Austral Africa. Formerly the Ba-Mangwatos formed only a single national group with the Ba-Kwena and Ba-"V\'anketsi tribes ; but they separated themselves from that connection at a comparatively recent time, although not clearly fixed by tradition, and adopted an antelope as the tribal totem. Since Fi^. 50. — .''nosnoxc. Scale 1 : ICi.OiW. %%lr^ f.aslol' Greer .s'.rh then they have themselves been split into two political groups, the Ba-JIangwatos proper and the Ba-Toanas, who dwell on the plains to the north of Lake Ngami, the common original home of both branches. A multitude of fugitives belonging to various tribes driven westwards by the terrible Ma-Tebele conquerors, came to seek a refuge amongst the Ba-Mangwatos, with whom they gradually became assimilated, all merging in a common nationality. Shoshoig, the Mangwato capital, is at present the largest town in South Africa beyond the British settlements. According to Holub and Mackenzie, it has had m2 lC>i SOTTTII AXn I'^ART AFRICA. at times as many us thirty tliousand Inliabitanls, oxclusivo of numerous villages usiiilly grouped in a circlo like the cattle onclosiu'es, all really constituting part of the s:ime urhin population. But this gross aggregate has been considerably reduced by wars of succession, and had fallen in 1880 to little over six thousand. Since then, however, the population has again increased, thanks to the cessation of internecine strife. Lying 3,400 feofc above sea-lovol in a vast plain, not, like most other Boohuiua capitals, on a steep escarpment, Shoshoug stretches along both sides of a mostly dry rivulet, which is dominated on tlie north by a granite rido-o some I'i inilos long. Southwards a basalt eminence is disposed parallel with Fiic- -^1. — Trade Routes in BECnuANAtAXD. Scale 1 : 30,000,000. Railways. __ GOO Miles. this granite mass, the intermediate space between the two heights being occupied by well-cultivated gardens and hamlets. The Ba-Mangwatos have long been subject to the influence of the English missionaries, and have now for the most part adopted the Christian faith. Throughout their territory the sale of alcoholic drinks and the brewing of beer are forbidden under severe penalties — a fine of £100 for the foreign dealer, whether English or Boer, and banishment for the natives convicted of this offence. At Shoshong converge the two main commercial highways which traverse Bechuanalaud, one running north in the direction of the Zambese, the other north- west towards Lake Ngami. Southwards both merge in a common route which skirts the west frontier of the Dutch republics, but, except at one point, keeping- well within the British Protectorate. At present the total annual foreign trade of Bechuanalaud is estimated at £100,000. Yet at the beginning of the present THE BA-K.VLAIIAKI. 165 century the inhabitants of this region were still cut off from all intercourse with the outer world, and had never even heard of the surrounding marine waters. When they heard travellers speak of the great ocean they gave it the name of Metsebula, that is, " "Water that goes a-graziug," because the tides penetrate fur inland, and then after a few hours retire from the seaboard. The Ba-Chwapcng, one of the reduced tribes occupying the highland region to the north-east of Shoshong, have become famous for their skill as iron-workers. They mine the ores themselves in the surrounding dei)osits, and fabricate all kinds of implements employed throughout all the sm'roimding districts. Thej' are also acquainted with the trees that yield the best fuel for smelting the ores, and reserve the iron that adheres longest to the charcoal for the manufacture of their hardest and sharpest axes. Hence they had arrived at a knowledge of steel before the arrival of the Europeans in the country. East of )Shoshong, and not far from the banks of the Limpopo, dwell the Ba- SiUka people, who have hitherto resisted all attempts at subjugation. They owe their political independence partly to their central stronghold perched on a bliiff of difficult access, and partly also, if not mainly, to the impassable zone traced round this citadel by the tsetse fly. Their own herds are kept in upland valleys beyond the reach of this destructive pest ; but it is impossible for invaders to cross the intervening district with their cattle ; nor could they successfully carry off the Ba-Silika herds, which would all perish wlulc being driven across the infested zone. The Bechuanas are scattered in very thin groups throughout the western parts of the Protectorate, where springs are rare, and where for the greater part of the year the rivers are indicated only by stretches of dry sand. The few communities residing in this arid region take the collective name of Ba-Kalahari, from the sur- rounding wildernoss, but are also known by the designation of Ba-Lala, or " The Poor." In many districts they have intermingled with the Bushman aborigines ; but some of theu- tribes have kept aloof, preserving the racial purity as well as the pastoral and agricultural usages of their forefathers. Most of them, however, are unable to breed any animals except goats, which they water almost drop by drop at the dribbling springs. They obstinately cultivate their little garden plots, though the thirsty soil may yield them nothing but pumpkins and melons. The lions prowling about their kruals are often welcome guests, thanks to the half- gnawed carcases which they leave to the hunters. The full-blood Ba-Kalahuri tribes, although poor, are looked on as freemen. But, comj^ared with the other Bechuanas, they occui)y a subordinate position of vassalage, while those crossed with the Bushmen, and known as Ma-Sarwa, or " Bad People," are considered as no better than slaves. The products of the chase and their very hars^ests belong by right to the Bechuana tribes adjoining their camping-grounds. They are required to present themselves two or three times a year at the villages of their masters, but are never allowed to enter the kraals during the day. They must remain at some distance from the settlement, patiently awaiting the order of the chief permitting them to approach. Nevertheless, these 100 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. " liucl People" are in general more devoted to their women than most of the Bechiuinas ; they also show great kindness to their dogs, faithful companions in the chase, who in the other cummunilies are for the most part treated with brutality. On the .subjeet of slavery in Bechuanaland some questions were asked in the liritish House of Commons in 1888, in reply to which Baron de Worms remarked on the part of the Government that the Ba-Kulahari people had hitherto stood in an ill-detined relation of dependence and servitude towards the Bechuauas proper. According to native custom, these persons can and do hold property of their own, while their servitude towards the Bechuanas takes the form partly of actual labour rendered, and partly of tribute paid in kind. They themselves stand in a some- what similar iiosition of superiority as regards the still more degraded Bushman aborigines. For the guidance of the local authorities, the Secretary of State has now laid down the following principles: 1. Within the newly formed British Protectorate all these people are in the eye of the law already freemen. 2. The magisterial courts will henceforth, as a matter of course, refuse to recognise or enforce any claims arising out of the supposed relations of master and slave, and will punish as an infringement of personal rights any attempts to exercise forcibly the claims of a master over a supposed slave. 3. The local administrator will inform all chiefs and headmen as to the state of the law, and warn them against exercising or enforcing rights incompatible with it. Bechuanaland is thus assimi- lated in this respect to the rest of the British South African possessions ; and while the tribal rights and privileges of the chiefs are so far curtailed, all the inhabitants of the land are placed ujion a footing of absolute equality before the law. Farini describes at considerable length certain remains of ancient structures, which he speaks of having discovered in the Kalahari desert. Such buildings, if they existed, would seem to attest the former presence in this region of a people at a far higher stage of civilisation than that of its present Bechuana inhabitants. But of such a people there survives neither record nor tradition, while manj- state- ments made by this traveller have since been shown to be far from trustworthy. Basutolaxd — He.\d Waters of the Oeaxge. Before the ii-ruption of the Dutch Boers into the regions lying north of the Orange, the western and eastern Bechuana peoples dwelt side by side, occupying conterminous camping-grounds. But the narrow end of the wedge once inserted, the two main sections of this ethnical group became gradually riven asunder. The European squatters creeping up the banks of the Orange and Calcdon, and then reaching the waterparting between the Orange and Vaal, encroached inch by Inch on the pasture-lands, driving the original occupiers of the soil to the right and left. While the western Bechuanas crossed the Vaal, the eastern tribes of the same race, grouped under the collective name of Basutos (Ba-Suto, or "Paunched"), were compelled slowly to retreat towards the upland Maluti and Drakcnberg valleys. BASUTOLAND. 167 After founding the Orange Free State, which territory belonged originally to the Basutos, the Boers, if left to themselves, would certainly have sooner or later dispossessed the natives of their last highland retreat, for the frontier wars had never been interrupted except for brief intervals of time. But meanwhile the Fi^'. 52. — Basutolasd. Scale 1 : 2.000,000. i fastof GreerT.v'c^ English made their uppcarauce, at lirst to secure the independence of the Basutos, and then to prevent the further encroachments of the Boers by extending the British protectorate to the whole region. But troubles arose between the natives and their new masters, and the edict calling upon the mountaineers to disarm was followed by a general rising, in which the British troops were more than once 1G8 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. repulsed. The pacification of the country was at last effected, at a cost to the Imperial exchequer of over £4,000,000. Basutoland, which is clearly marked off towards the south-east, cast, and north- east by the main crest of the South African orographic system, and on the west by the course of the Caledon River, is now annexed to the colonial territory, but is separately administered by a Resident appointed by the British Government. The whole region has an area of a little over 10,000 square miles, with a somewhat douse population, at least compared with most other South African lands. The census returns of 1881 gave a total population of over 128,000, which in 1887 had already risen to about 190,000, or nearly twenty to the square mile. Amongst the inhabitants are some thousand Baroloug refugees from the Orange Free State, and about five hundred white settlers, missionaries and officials. Of all branches of the Bechuana family the Basutos have been the most carefully studied. Since the year 1833, French and other Protestant missionaries have been labouring in their midst, studying the national usages and contributing to modify them. Completely hemmed in as they are by the territories already occupied by European settlors — Cape Colon}-, Transvaal, Natal — the Basutos have been fain to adapt themselves to a new environment, and this they have done with a remarkable degree of intelligence. In most other lands contact with the whites has been followed by the impoverishment, decay, and even extinction of the inferior races. But here the Basutos have successfully passed through the critical period of assimilation. "While increasing their store of knowledge and acquiring habits of industry, they retain the full vitality of the race, and are rapidlj- increasing in numbers. Half a century ago their domain was almost uninhabited ; now it is one of the most flourishing countries in Africa. The civilisation of the Basutos is not merely an outward veneer, nor does it consist exclusively in the substitution of ■woollen and cotton garments imi^orted from England for the native kaross of undressed skins, or in the building of little brick and stone houses instead of hovels made of mud and foliage. Thanks to the schools, to the support of which the nation devotes most of its income, the average standard of education is already higher than amongst many European populations, and at the public examinations the Basutos often take higher places than the competitors of European descent. Thousands speak English and Dutch ; they read Se-Chuaua books and jperiodicals, and although nearly all Christians (about one-sixth of the whole nation have been educated under missionaries), they are not satisfied with slavishly accepting and repeating what they are told. Some amongst them have learnt to think for themselves, to discuss religious and social problems, and follow their own personal views. The various tribes have moreover discontinued their internecine strife, and war has ceased to be a permanent institution. The nomad pastors, plundered of their herds, arc no longer reduced to cannibalism, which formerly ^jrevailed everywhere, and the natives now regard with as much horror as do the whites the now abandoned " caves of the man-eaters." A sentiment of national coherence has replaced the petty village feuds, and thanks to this spirit of solidarity, com- BASUTOLAND. 169 bined with the valour displayed on many a hard-fought battlefield, the Basutos have succeeded to a large extent in safeguarding their political autonomy under the supreme British authority. Formerly they contracted marriages within close degrees of kindred, a practice which seemed an abomination to the Kafirs of the seaboard, who are not only exogamous, but even abstain from taking wives in foreign families bearing the same name as their own. The Basutos possess at present far more numerous herds than they did fifty years ago, when rapacious beasts still infested the neighbourhood of every camping- ground. They still regard the care of horned cattle and of their new acquisition, the horse, as the occupation most worthy of freemen. For some years of their youth the sons of the chiefs are obliged to lead the lives of simple herdsmen, and the chiefs themselves at times leave their royal residences to tend the herds and lead them to fresh pastures. In the villages the central space near the khotla, or chief's residence, is always reserved for the cattle. But to this national industry, chief source of their prosperity, the Basutos add an intelligent system of agriculture. Already several thousands of ploughs have been introduced into their upland valleys ; nor do they now confine their attention, as formerly, to the cultivation of sorgho, their favourite cereal. They also raise crops of several other varieties, as well as of most European fruits, the superfluous produce of their farms now contributing towards the regular support of the inha- bitants of Cape Colony. Every village is surrounded by orchards, and such is the natural fertilitj- of the well-watered soil that this region has become one of the granaries of South Africa. The land itself is still held in common by the whole commimity, so that its cultivation has not yet divided the nation into a privileged wealthy and indigent proletariate class. The actual tiller alone has any right to the results of his labour-, and should he cease to cultivate his allotment and remove elsewhere, he is compelled to restore it to the tribal chief, by whom it is assigned in the name of the commune to another holder. In favourable years the value of the agricultural produce exported to Capo Colony and the Diamond Fields has exceeded £200,000. Like the natives of Savoy and Auvergne, the Basutos also send every year to the surrounding regions a number of young emigrants who, sooner or later, return with a modest fortune to the paternal home. They have seldom any difficulty in finding emplojnnent, such is their long-standing reputation for honesty and perseverance. But when the wages agreed upon arc withheld, they are apt to indemnify themselves by carrying off the cattle of their employers. Hence arise frequent difiiculties with the Orange Free State, where most of the Basuto emigrants sock work. Some good roads already penetrate far into the upland valleys ; the slopes of the mountains are being yearly brought more and more under cultivation, and thus is being gradually created a public fund for keeping the highways in repair and supporting the local schools. There are numerous deposits of platinum in the surrounding highlands ; but although the comitry abounds in mineral resources, scarcely any of the mines have yet been worked. TItaha Bomijo (Thaha Boisiu), that is, the "Mountain of 2\ight,'' the chief 170 SOUTH AND l^AST AFRICA. town in Basutolaiul, stands at an elevation of over 5,000 feet at the foot of a tiiblo-shuped blull' on the east side of a stream flowing to the Caledou. From the summit of this roek the famous King Moshesh, or the " Shaver," so called because he had succeeded in " shaving off " the heads of all his rivals, long defied the attacks of the Zidiis by rolling down huge boulders on his assailants. Ultimately he managed to conciliate these fugitives from their own land by sending them cuttle and offering them his friendship. Most of the other towns in Basutoland, such as Lcribe, Berca, and Befltcada, have at diflferent times been the residence of tribal chiefs or missionary stations. Jfasci-K, which lies in the Thaba Bossigo district, not far from the left bank of the Caledon, is the residence of the British Commissioner. The Basulo chiefs have ceased to be anything more tluni the subordinates of the European magistrates. Against their sentences appeal may be made to the English tribunal, which decides definitely. Nevertheless a j/ic/io, or general assembly of all the tribes, still meets annually for the discussion of affairs of common interest. The marriage laws have been modified, and jDolygamists are permitted to register the stipulated j)ayment of cattle only for the purchase of their first wife, all subsequent matrimonial contracts being null and void before the law. As amongst the Kafirs on the eastern slope of the mountains, the hut tax is fixed at ten shillings. The use of alcoholic drinks is officially interdicted, but a brisk contraband trade is carried on between Basutoland and the Orange Free State. Even before the present administration the great chiefs were foi'bidden to drink beer. In their position as judges they are expected always to keep a per- fectly clear head, and the rule has now been usefully extended to all their subjects. Kafirlaxd. Since the year 1885 the eastern slope of the main coast range comprised between the rivers Kei and Um-Fumodna has, like Basutoland, been entirely annexed to Cape Colony. But British immigrants and dealers still penetrate very cautiously into the country, and in certain districts are for the present even forbidden to settle at all. The suju'cme colonial authoritj' is represented by magistrates residing with the tribal chiefs, and these magistrates at the same time take care that the lands reserved to the Kafirs are not encroached on by Eui opean squatters. Nevertheless the ceaseless work of onward pressure, which began with the landing of the Dutch at the foot of Table Mountain, still continues in virtue of a sort of natural law, owing to which the two colonies of the Cape and Natal constantly tend to join hands across the intervening Kafir territorj' and thus form a continuous zone of European settlements from the Orange estuary to Delagoa Bay. This racial tendency is all the more active that Kafirland presents special attractions to immigrants, being at once the most salubrious, fertile, and pic- turesque region in the whole of Austral Africa. In 1877, twenty years after the failure of a first attempt at colonisation, the British settlers were invited to KAFIELAND. 171 accept concessions of land in the Transkei district, between the Kei and Kogha rivers. Recently, also, a European society has acquired one of the finest tracts in this region, the territory traversed by the lower St. John River (Um-Zimvubu), which is sooner or later destined to become the chief outlet for the inland districts Fig. 53. — Kasibi^^sd. Scale 1 : 2,7&0,000. 5cd '^-r^y > ^<-r^ ^ ' ,^^'^^?^-: ^~- -^.-, -, -^^ is- ■ :o;^i ra-;! ^f G 1,000 Fathoms and upwards. between the Cape and Xatal. Since 18^7 this territory is directly administered by the British authorities. The future possession of the whole laud is thus being gradually prepared by these little isolated settlements. But although the Kafirs are no longer the political masters of a region wrested by their forefathers from savage tribes who still used stone arms and implements,* they nevertheless still constitute nearly * Juhu Saaderson, " Stone Implcmouts uf Natul," Aiil/irvjHiloifical JuiiriiaU 172 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. llie wliiilc iinpulatiuu. Thanks to tho Pax JJrU 'inn ica now prevailing among all the tribes, tho imiiuul rate of increase is considerable. Accurate statistics arc still wanting, but most resident Eurojjeans are unanimous in asserting that the steady growth of the population caused by the natural excess of births over the mortality is altogether phenomenal, llencc of all South i\irican regions Kafirland is already the most densely peopled in proportion to its extent. In 1877 the various estimates ranged from four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand, and at present the number of inhabitants considerabl)' exceeds half a million in an area of not :norc than sixteen thousand square miles, or about thirty-two to the square mile. Exclusive of Pondoland, the census of 1885 gave a population of 333,000. Should this rate of increase be maintained, it may be asked whether the natives may not again gradually acquire the upi^er hand, as they have already done in Central America and in parts of South America. In the widespread family of Bantu peoples the Kafirs take a foremost position for physical beauty, strength, courage, and intelligence. In many ethnological works representing the various types of mankind, the European whites are figured by the statues of gods and goddesses, borrowed from the classic period of the plastic arts. But while the noble " Caucasian," son of Prometheus, thus presents himself under the ideal form portrayed by the great artists of antiquity, the members of other races, black, yellow, or red, are shown in these collections handsome or ugly, young or old, healthy or infirm, just as they happen to pass before the object- glass of the photographer, and occasionally even as figured bj" the j)encil of the caricaturist. But such a method of procedure is unfair to the so-called "inferior races." At any rate, it is certain that were the artist to reproduce at haphazard a given nimiber of Europeans and of Kafirs, he would find, not amongst the former but amongst the latter, the largest number of individuals apjjroaching the standard of perfect beauty, both as regards regularity of features and symmetrical proportions. The superiority claimed by the white race is true only when the comparison is restricted to picked specimens. In this case the cultured race is undoubtedlj- the finer of the two, and here the same difference is observed between the fair and the dark human types as between the -wild beast and the animal improved by the stock- breeder. The noblest specimens of the Kafir race -would appear to be precisely those dwelling in the neighbourhood of the Europeans and under their influence ; for, as Gustav Fritsch well remarks, " Civilisation alone can complete the human ideal." The Kafir features have never the same delicacy as is foimd in those of the finest Europeans. The}' are decidedly coarse in comparison, and the lips espe- cially are nearly always too thick and tumid. But the Kafirs, as ■well as the Hot- tentots, are usually endowed with far greater keenness of vision, and Daltonism is an affection unknown among the natives of Africa. The valoui' of the Kafirs, and especially their power of dogged resistance, the English have had ample occasion to admire and respect during the long warfare carried on between the two races. A memorable instance was certainly the heroic endurance displayed by the Ama- Kosa people during the terrible year of voluntary famine, to which they fell victims in tens of thousands. r"- j:,..,-.-*' .^i;"/,c&/>^>^Je KAFIR MAX AND WOMAX. THE FINGOS. 173 All Europeans who have taken part in the education of the children amongst the numerous Kafir tribes, beai- witness to the keen vivacity of their intelligence. Their mental vigour would almost seem to be too intense, to judge at least from the great number of idiots found amongst them. The customs of the Kafirs, which appear to have originally resembled those of the allied Bechuana people, have already been profoundly modified by contact with their European neighbours. Formerly those Kafirs who had acquired some religious notions through their intercourse with the surrounding peoples, applied to the supreme being the name of Thiko, from the Hottentot Uti-ko, the " Evil-doer," or better, the " Mischief- maker." The Fixgos. The Fingos (Ama-Fingu, or ""Wanderers," "Vagabonds"), who formerly dwelt much farther to the north in the Tugela River valley, whence they were expelled by the Zulu conqueror, Chaka, have retained little of their Kafir nation- ality beyond the name. After their expulsion they had fallen into the hands of the Ama-Kosas, who had gradually reduced them to the position of slaves, at the same time distorting their name so as to give it the meaning of " Dogs." Hence sprang a deadly hatred between the two nations, calling for the idtimate interven- tion of the English to put a stop to the intolerable oppression of the Araa-Kosas. Accepting the offer of lands made to them by the colonial Government, the Fingos emigrated in abody and settled on the banksof thcGrcat Fish Eiver. Here thej'again became freemen, and on payment of the hut tax of ten shillings, acquired the owner- ship of the land cultivated by themselves. They, moreover, became the steadfast allies of the English against their former masters, and it was largely through their co-operation that the Ama-Kosas were at last compelled to acknoM-ledge themselves vanquished. East of the Kei Eiver they surrendered vast tracts, which, by a sort of Nemesis, were assigned for the most part to the very " Dogs," whom they had long treated with such dire cruelty. At present the Fingo Kafirs have become largely intermingled with the settlers of European origin, and this mixed people nimiber altogether about a hundred thousand souls, settled partly in the colony properly so called, and partly in the Transkei district. They now wear the same clothes as the whites, guide the plough after the fashion of the English and German peasants, send their children to schools supported by their own voluntary contributions, edit newspapers, translate European poetry, and even compose musical tunes for their national songs. Nearly all call themselves Christians, and constitute the proletariate class in the eastern districts of the South African colony. The two chief centres of population in the Fingo territory within Kafirland properly so called, and east of the Kei, are Namaqua and Bidtcncorth, both of which places are situated on eastern affluents of that river. 174 ROUin ANP EAST AFKICA. TiiK Ama-Kosas and Gai-ekas. Tlic Aiiui-Kosas (Khosa, Xosa) were till recently the masters and oppressors of the Fingos, to whom they were at last compelled to surrender the western districts of the Transkoi and the valleys stretching thence to the Great Fish River. Of all the Kafir nations the Ama-Kosas have suffered most from their protracted wars with the Europeans. Lying in the immediate vicinity of the English settlers, they were the first to attack and the first to feel the superiority of the white race. But still mindful of their past glories, they nevertheless continued to regard them- selves as the noblest branch of the Kafir family, and the surrounding tribes readily recognised their claim to the foremost position. In anj' case they differ little from their neighbours, except in their tribal groupings and political traditions. Even their national speech can scarcely be distinguished from the other dialects current in the whole region of the seaboard as far north as Delagoa Bay. Nor has their tribal name any special ethnical value, for the Ama-Kosas, like most other Kafir groups, are named after some chief famous in the national records. Of the Ama-Kosas the chief historical divisions are the Galekas and the Gaikas. who also take their names from illustrious chiefs, reputed founders of these tribes. But the Gaikas have almost disappeared as a distinct group. Removed in the year 1851 to the west of the river Kei, to a territory which has long been settled b}" British colonists, they have been dispersed amongst the farm- steads and outskirts of the towns, as day labourers and domestic servants, and thus gradually become merged with the rest of the population. The Gaika tribe is in fact completely broken, and has lost all sense of its national unity. But the Galekas still dwell in a compact body on their own tribal domain. This district comi^rises nearly half of the whole territory comprised between the rivers Kei and Bashee. Here they constituted in 1875 a united population of nearly seventy tho\isand souls. They are thus by far the most numerous branch of the Ama-Kosa Kafirs, who number altogether not much more than a hundred thousand. Most of the Galekas have preserved their ancient habits and customs. The j^oung man still purchases his bride with so many head of cattle, and the number of his wives stands in direct proportion to his means. But it is not the women, as amongst the Bechuanas, but the men, who in Kafirland milk the cows. No woman would even be tolerated within the sacred enclosure reserved for the cattle, her mere presence being regarded as a profanation. Here the wife is held in contempt and treated as a slave. She is forbidden to pronounce the name of any male member of the household ; nor dare she even utter sounds or syllables occurriug in such names, and is thus compelled to invent a new vocabulary differing from that of the men. lU-favourcd children are killed, while the well-formed are pricked in various parts of the body, a little protecting amulet being inserted under the skin, after which both infant and mother are rubbed over with red ochre. The chiefs are great personages, placed above the laws by which other mortals are governed. They have the right to confiscate their subjects' property, and the privilege is even extended to their sons, who steal and plunder without let or TEMBULAXD. 175 hindi-ancc. lu fact, the common folk are expected to feci honoured and flattered by the whims and fancies of their masters. Till recently chiefs alone were honoured ■with sepulture, the bodies of their subjects being thrown into the bush. Nor was it always thought necessary to await their death before they were dragged from their huts through a breach purposely made in the enclosure. But in the case of great chiefs the funeral rites lasted for weeks together. Friends kept vigils about the grave to protect it from the aerial spirits and the inclemency of the weather. At times these A-igils lasted a whole year, and those keeping watch then became sacred in the eyes of their fellow-countrymen. Cows were driven within the pre- cincts of the tomb, and being thercbj' sanctified, were henceforth regarded as protecting genii, that could neither be eaten nor sold. These precincts were also regarded as places of refuge, like the mediaeval sanctuaries, at the threshold of which the avenging arm of justice was arrested. At first sight it might be supposed that little public spirit coidd exist amongst a people who thus surrounded the person of their chief with such marks of super- stitious homage. Nevertheless, the Ama-Kosas are well able, when called upon, to defend their traditional civil rights against their very chiefs. They have on all occasions given signal proof of a highly developed national sentiment as well as a strong spirit of fellow-feeling in the familj' relations. Those called upon to pay a fine in cattle which they arc unable to discharge may always rely on their kinsmen to come to their aid. Temiuland. Tcmbuland, that is, the territory occupied by the Tcmbu nation, develops a semicircle to the north and east of the districts held b}- the Fingos and Galckas. Beginning at the Kwathlamba Mountains, and comprising several upland valleys draining to the Kei River, it stretches south-eastwards through a portion of the fluvial zone which is bounded by the Bashee and Um-Tata rivers. The Tembus, or Aba-Tenibus, who are more generally known by the name of Tambookies, are a powerful people numbering altogether a hundred thousand. Although frequently compelled by the vicissitudes of war to shift their camping-grounds with their herds and families, thej- have suffered comparatively little from the changes brought about by the gradual encroachments of the whites, and now accept with resignation, if not with gratitude, the jurisdiction of the British magistrates. Tembuland is intersected by accessible roads and even by telegraph lines, and mining operations have already been commenced in the coalfields discovered in these highlands. A town in the strict sense of the word has even been founded in the district. Vmtafa, as it is called, stands on the east bank of the river of like name, above the magnificent falls, which are exceeded in romantic beauty by few others in this region. The neighbouring Bomvana people, who dwell, to the number of twenty thousand, in the maritime district comprised between the Bashee and the Umtata rivers, have hitherto had but little contact with the British colonists, and not much is known about their territory. 171! SOrXII AND EAST AFRICA. rnNDOI.ANl). roiulolanil, or cmiiitry of llio I'oiulo people, comprises over half of the seu- board of Kafirlaiul between the Umtata and the Tnitafuna on the Natal frontier. Thanks to their remoteness from Cape Colony, this branch of the Kafir family has hitherto succeeded in keeping possession of its fertile riverain valleys. The Pondos, numbering altogether about two hundred thousand, are passing gradually Fig. 54.— SoTJin Katieland. Scale 1 : 1,600,000. mmmM^^^^^m^. /1 and without violent political or social disturbances from the position of absolute independence to that of a mild vassalage. They are divided into several tribal groups, such as the Ama-Kongwe, Ama-Kongwela, Ama-Kobala, Ama-Kwera, Ama-Nyati, Ama-Bala, Ama-Yali and others, each with its own chief and separate government, and connected together by no national or federal bond. All, how- ever, recognise the suzerainty of Great Britain, which was lately for some time represented by the widow of a missionary, ^\■hom they commonly consulted on important affairs. GEIQr.\I.AND EAST. 177 The surface of the countiy is already dotted over with several little centres of population, -which are destined graduallj- to become English towns. At the mouth of the St. John River, in Pondoland, has also been foimded the seaport which cannot fail to become the chief emporium of the whole seaboard between East London and Durban. Palmrrion is an important missionary station, which is gradually acquiring the aspect of a town, and promises one day to become o, populous place. Griqi-aland East. The north-west section of Kafirland, which is separated from Basutoland by the Drakenberg Range, and bounded on the north-east by the colony of Xatal, on the south by Pondoland and Tcmbuland, is officially designated by the name of Griqualaud East. It is now, however, inhabited mainly by tribes of different origin from the Griquas ; amongst them are several Kafir groups, including the Pondomisi, the Ama-Bakas, the Ama-Xesibcs, and even a few Eingos. The Griquas, who gave their name to the district, number at present not more than two or three thousand out of a total poiJulation of about seventy thousand. They formerly dwelt with the other Griquas, or Bastaards, on the plateaux watered by the Upper Orange ; but after long migrations in various directions, they separated from the rest of the nation, and under a chief bearing the Dutch name of Adam Kok, settled in the year 18G2 on the eastern slope of the Drakenberg Mountains. Ilere they gradually acquired possession, under the British suzerainty, of tbo territory which was hitherto known as "No Man's Land," but which might with more propriety have been called " Everybody's Land," such was the multitudt' of immigrants from all the surrounding tribes that here found a refuge. Griqualand East is crossed by the main highway between the Cape and Natal, which after skirting the frontier of Pondoland passes by the capital, the Dutch town of Kolstad, which is situated on a hcadstream of the St. John over 5,000 feet above sea-level. Mafatic/, another large village, lies in the mountainous western district at the converging point of several tracks leading to the crest of the watcrparting between the Orange basin and the coast streams. Several Basuto families, crowded out of their own territory, have crossed the divide with their herds and settled in the upland valleys on the eastern slope of the main ranse. CHAPTER V. KATAL AND ZULULAND. TTE "Cape" owes its name to BartliolomeM- Diaz; Natal to the still more illustrious navigator, Yasco de Gama, who first sighted a verdant headland breaking the monotony of this seaboard on Christmas Day ("Natal"), 1497. But more than three centuries elapsed before this station on the ocean highway between Europe and India was permanently occupied. Portuguese skippers visited the coast from time to time to revictual their ships ; then the Dutch, who succeeded the Portuguese as masters in the southern waters, attempted on several occasions to secure a footing at Port Natal. But all such essays proved abortive, nor was it till 1824 — that is, nearly three hundred and thirty years after its discovery — that some twent)^ English settlers from the Cape established the first centre of Euro- pean colonisation on the spot where now stands the city of Durban. At that time the surrounding district had been almost depopulated by the ravages of Chaka, the terrible king of the Zulus. The native tribes had either been exterminated or compelled to migrate southwards, and all the land between the sea and the moun- tains had been transformed to a " howling wilderness." At present the colonial territory, with a superficial area of over 20,000 square miles, has a steadily increasing population, which in 1888 was estimated at nearly half a million. Although the country was first settled by colonists of British descent, there was a time when the Dutch Boers threatened to acquire the numerical superiority in Natal as well as on the opposite slope of the Drakenberg range. They might even have permanently secured the political supremacy in this region but for their military reverses, followed by the active intervention of the British authori- ties. The great exodus of the Boers from Cape Colony towards the imknown lands of the interior was partly deflected in this direction, and in the year 1834 the first pioneers already began to make their appearance on the passes leading over the coast range. By dint of patience and energy they at last succeeded in reaching the opposite slope, and by the end of 1837 nearly a thousand waggons, with their long teams of cattle, had crossed the Drakenberg divide and occupied the river vallevs di-aining to the Indian Ocean. NATAL. 179 But Dingaan, king of the Zulus, who hud at first encouraged the new arrivals to take possession of the territorj' depopulated by his brother Chaka, became alarmed at this continually increasing stream of foreign immigration. Under the pretext of a public feast to celebrate the cession of some lands to the Boers, he inA'ited them to his kraal and caused them all to be treacherously massacred. Thus began a terrible war, which was carried on by both parties with relentless cruelty. In the first serious engagement on the banks of a southern affluent of the Tugela, the Boers were routed with a loss of seven hundred men, women, and children. The name of TVeenen, or "Weeping," still marks the spot where this butcherj' took place. Nevertheless the survivors, entrenched within the enclosure formed by their waggons, and keeping up a deadly fire from this vantage ground, succeeded at last in repulsing the savage hordes surrounding the encampmenf. Firearms here got the better of the assegai, and the whites soon resumed the offensive. They even crossed the Tugela and invaded Zululand itself. In 1840 they had already gained the upper hand, and having dethroned Dingaan, secured a steadfast ally in his brother and successor. Panda. These events were followed by the establishment of the free republic of Natalia, a name by which this region is still known to the Boers of Transvaal. To the capital of the new state they gave the name of Picter Maritzburg, in which are commemorated the two chief pioneers of the great trek : Pieter Retief and Gevrit Mar it z. But the government of Cape Colonj' refused to recognise the new state, and hastened to despatch some troops in order to take possession of the country in the name of Great Britain. This somewhat high-handed measure has given rise to much angry discussion, and the supreme authorit}' has been severely censured by carping tongues for ha\'ing pursued a career of ambitious conquest under the cloak of humanitarian sentiments. The English, it was said, took possession of " Natalia " professedlj' through philanthropic motives, in order to protect the Dutch from the Zulus and the Zulus from the Dutch, whereas the latter neither demanded nor needed protection.* But the prior rights of the English settlers at Durban had to be considered, and it was notorious that wherever thev estab- lished themselves in an independent position, the Dutch trckkers werp introducing the institution of domestic slavery, which had been abolished by the IniiKiial Government throughout the South African colonies. In any case, after having successfully resisted the invaders in a first engage- ment, the Boers were compelled to yield to numbers, and gradually withdrew to the upland valleys. Some remained behind, and in course of time became merged in the British popidation. ' But most of the Dutch immigrants, enraged at sceino- a country wrested from them which they had conquered at the price of so much blood, again set out on their wanderings in quest of a permanent home, and after retracing their steps across the Drakenbcrg Range, joined their fellow-countrv- nien, who had already reached the Transvaal. At present, except in a few central districts and in the extreme north-west corner of the colony, no trace remains of the Dutch in Natal beyond a few geographical names. English is everywhere Anthony Trollope, South Africa. X 2 180 ^OrXII AXl) KAST AI'RHA. the cxclusivo l;inrfu:i<^o of the settlors, of tlio courts of justice and the schools, and servos as the medium of intercourse with the natives. Thk Natives of Natal. These aborigines have never ceased to be attracted to the colony of Xatal, Fig. ;j.j.— Xat.u,. Fcalc 1 : 2,S00,000. J, Ladvsrnt'h. "V. ., ft ,i^/%l ^ \3 V , J-'^ I A A/ D ^ ' ^ PIETER MRRITZHURG ^\^ . CAST East of G which after the wars of extermination offered so many imoccupied tracts with plentiful pasturage for their herds. At the first arrival of the English in 1824 they numbered scarcely more than three thousand ; by the year 1848 they had increased to no less than a hundred thousand, and since then thoy have augmented at least fourfold, not only by the natural excess of births over the mortality, but also by constant immigration down to the present time. The estimates, however, NATIVES OF NATAL. 181 for the Kafir population are made in a somewhat summary way, the European method not having yet been introduced amongst the tribes for obtaining accurate returns of births and deaths. Marriages alone arc registered, while the huts are nimibered for the purposes of local taxation. The aborigines now settled in Xatal belong to a great nimiber of distinct tribes. But the line of migration has on the whole followed that of conquest in the direction from north to south ; hence the great bulk of the immigrants who have thus become British subjects naturally belong to the Zulu, or northern branch of the Kafir family. They are still grouped in separate clans, unconnected, however, by any political ties, and the administration has taken the wise precau- tion of breaking them up into an endless number of distinct communities. In 1886 there were reckoned in the whole of Xatal no less than a hundred and seventy- three tribal chiefs, and of this number nearly one-half had been directly appointed by the Government without any hereditary title whatsoever. Such chiefs thus gradually become mere local ofiicials responsible for the preservation of peace, while they are themselves under the immediate control of English administrators, who tolerate the observance of the tribal customs so long as these are not of a nature calculated to cause any manifest injustice and provided they are not at variance with the established principles of natural equity. Thanks to these judicious administrative measures, no war between the black and white elements has red- dened the soil of Natal since the death of the Zulu chief, Diugaan. Notwith- standing the great personal influence of the famous Anglican Bishop Colouso, the AVcsleyan Methodists seem on the whole to have had most success in this tickl of missionarj' labour. Of the hundred and sixty Christian stations now existing in Natal as manv as fiftv-eight have been founded bv these Nonconformists. Immigration. — Cooi.ie LAiiouR. Direct immigration from Europe acquired but little importance before the middle of the century. About this time a group of British farmers, mostly from Yorkshire, settled in the colony of Natal. Some German peasants also arrived and took possession of concessions of land in the neighbouihood of the port. The white population was afterwards increased by a number of Norwegian settlers as well as by some Creoles from Mauritius and Reunion. But despite the advantages offered by the climate to all except those of a nervous temperament or with a predisposition to apoplexy, the spontaneous annual immigration has never exceeded a few hundred persons ; a counter-movement has even set in from Natal to Australia and New Zealand. This relative neglect of Natal by British colonists has been attributed to a great variety of causes. The system of large landed estates prevails in the colony, the consequence being that the owners do not themselves work or always even reside on their properties. They employed coolies and native hands, so that the whites who give themselves to manual labour become degraded in the eyes of the aborigines. Immigrants are also nalui-ally discouraged by the great and increasing 1B2 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. mimcrical prcponderaucc of the Zulu-KuKrs. But this decided disparity bctwcea the white aad coloured olomouts has aUinned the great ]"]uglish landowners them- selves ; houco sooiofcies have been established for the purpose of introducing into the colony European artisans, workmen, and domestic servants, to whom a free passage is offered on the condition of their entering into engagements of greater or less duration. In the period between 1878 and 1884 the emigrant vessels lauded as many as 4,526 of these invited guests, or a yearly average of 646 persons, who have certainly contributed gradually to develop a healthy middle class between the great landowners and the natives. The men being more nume- rous than the women, the latter have no difficulty in finding partners in life, so that there are no old maids in Natal as in England. The European population thus also regularly increases by the normal excess of births over deaths. Between the years 1880 and 1884 the increase from this source and direct immigration was at the rate of 2,472 a year, but since then assisted emigration has been stopped. The Em-opeau population has increased by nearly 50 per cent, since 1859, and in 1888 nTunbered altogether considerably over forty thousand. To cidtivate their extensive domains the English proprietors in Natal have had recourse chiefly to imported labour, Hindu coolies mainly from the Bengal and Madras presidencies. At first they tried to utilise the Kafir element, and in many places are still obliged to fall back occasionally on the aboi'igines. But there is little love lost on either side, and on the termination of their engagement, usually for one or two years, the Kafirs quit the farms and return to their resjjective tribes. At times they even contrive to get recalled by their chiefs before the stipulated term of service has expired The Kafir works in any case grudgingly for a master. He has, as a rule, his own hut, his own field of maize, and perhaps a few head of cattle ; hence when asked by Europeans to take service for a salary, ho is apt indignantly to decline, and even to turn the tables by asking the white to accept employment under him. Thus the Natal planters are naturally driven to cast about for less independent hirelings. They have tried Hottentots and members of tribes more to the north ; but find the mild Hindu more suitable for their purpose. The colonial Govern- ment advances the funds required to recruit these Asiatics, who are supplied to the various j^lantations according to the demand. The period of contract is iisually for ten years, and in return for his daily labour of from eight to ten hours the coolie receives wages at the rate of about twelve shillings a month, besides his food, lodging, and an outfit. Those who complete the full term of their engage- ment can claim a free passage back to their homes, imless they prefer to offer their services according to the current prices in the laboiu' market. Most of them remain in the colony and marry one of their fellow-countrywomen, for the Importers of coolies are bound to introduce both sexes, in the proportion of fortj' women to a hundred men. Some become gardeners or owners of small holdings in the neighbourhood of the towns ; others turn to trade and open shops, usually n the haberdashery or provision lines, and, thanks to their extreme frugality, have become formidable competitors with the European dealers, who loudly com- EESOUBCES OF XATAL. 183 plaiu of the importation of these troublesome rivals. In 1884 the Hindus settled in Natal already numbered over twenty-seven thousand, and this element is steadily increasinj^. Including with the Europeans and Hindus all other strangers, such as Xalays, Chinese, and half-castes, the foreigners of all kinds now represent about one-sixth of the whole population of Natal. Nearly all have special occujjations according to their several nationalities. Thus immigrants from St. Helena are generally coachmen and drivers, the Gei'maus farmers or clerks, the Dutch stock-breeders, the Norwegians fishers, and so on. Agricultl'R.yl .\xd Mixekal Resoukces. — CoMMUXic.vnoNS. The colonial Government still possesses a vast extent of unsold lands suitable either for tillage or grazing. Of a total extent of over 12,000,000 acres, including, however, rocky ground and waste spaces of all sorts, 2,770,000 acres were still undisposed of in 1885, and most of this land was situated in the southern part of the colony near Pondolaud. The ground actually cultivated by Europeans docs not exceed 90,000 acres, which is scarcely more than the hundredth part of the domains owned by them. The so-called locations, or reserves, secured absolutely to the Kafirs represent a total area of 2,000,000 acres. The extent of the allot- ments offered for sale or on lease has varied according to the oscillations of the colonial policj-. The first Dutch settlers had appropriated to themselves lots of C,000 acres and upwards, so that about two thousand j^rcprietors would^have sufiiced to swallow up the whole territory. Since that epoch the average size of the allot- ments has been considerably less, although man)' have still exceeded 1,000, or even 2,000 and 3,000 acres. But in the neighbourhood of towns there is a general ten- dency towards the creation of small holdings. The staple agricultural product of Natal is the " mcalic," or maize. This cereal yields in superabundance all that is required by the Kafirs, the Hindus, and their domestic animals, leaving sufficient for a considerable export trade. All other European cereals are also cultivated, and every town and hamlet is sur- roimded by a zone of gardens or orchards, which have replaced the old forest vegetation nearly entirely destroyed by the axe or fire. Even the dense mangrove thickets on the coastlands have been almost everywhere consumed, their incor- ruptible wood being highly appreciated for aU kinds of joiners' work. Thanks to its sub-tropical climate. Natal also produces plants unknown in the European temperate zone. But since the year 1872 the extensive coffee planta- tions have suffered so much from the ravages of disease that this industry has been almost abandoned. Attempts have here and there been made to replace it by tea ; but in 1885 the plantations did not exceed 400 acres altogether, yielding for exportation little over 35,000 lbs. of this article. Attention has also been paid to the cultivation of hemp, P/iormiuin tenax, and other fibrous plants. On the plantations of the seaboard the chief cultivated plant is the sugar-cane, which was introduced in 1851. In 1884 these plantations covered a total extent of 29,000 acres, and produced a crop of 18,771 tons, over a third of which was exported 1«1 SOUTH AND EAST iU-"lUCA. " ovcr-bcrg," that Is, to the Boer republics beyond Iho inoiiutiuus. Enough ronviiiiccl to distil 2, "200,000 gallons of rum on tliese pluututious, which ai-c the I'avoui-ito reiort of a harmless species of python that never attacks man, but preys on such noxious vermin as rats and field mice. The breeding of honied cattle, which was the only industry in Natal during the first years of the Boer occupation, has diminished in relative importance since 18'55, when a destructive plague swept away 96 per cent, of all the animals attacked. But the herds have been restored by the practice of iuocidation, by the introduction of fresh stock, and an improved sanitary system. In 1881 the live stock comprised over 575,000 head of cattle, an enormous proportion, inas- much as it far exceeded the number of inhabitants. There were also over 43,000 horses and 522,000 sheep belonging to colonists and natives. But the Natal Ijasturc-lauds are at times visited by millions of sheep belonging to the Boer grazers of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, who move from place to place with the seasons. In summer they drive their flocks to the upland valleys of the western slopes ; in winter they cross the dividing range and descend to the warmer camping-grounds of Natal. The wool yielded by their flocks is also forwarded through the port of the British colony. The stock-breeders have introduced the Angora goat ; but they have paid little attention to ostrich farming, being doubtless deterred by the partial failure of their neighbours in Cape Colony. Natal contains some def)osits of copper, gold, and graphite, but not in sufficient abundance to render mining operations remunerative. The chief mineral resources of the country are iron and coal, which occur in the northern districts, especially on both slopes of the Biggarsberg Range. Here the chief centre of population has received the name of Newcastle, as if it were destined one day to rival the great centre of the coalfields in the north of England. The carboniferous district exceeds 1,400 square miles in extent, and some of the seams are over ten feet thick. Including the horizontal strata alone that lie near the surface and that have hitherto been surveyed on the British slope of the Drakeuberg, the engineer North has estimated the quantity of good coal here stored up for future use at over two billion tons. Till recently this vast accumidation of excellent fuel lay almost imtouched except by the few native blacksmiths of the district. But since the railway has penetrated from Durban into the Upper Tugela Yalley, it is also used for the locomotives. Coal mining cannot fail to become an important local industry w'ith the development of the railway system, and the establishment of sugar refineries, smelting furnaces, and factories in the colony. The Natal railways, all of which belong to the Government, had a total length of over 200 miles in the year 1887. But only one important line had been com- pleted, that running from Port Natal through I'ieter Maritzburg north-westwards to its present terminus at Ladysmith, and which is intended ultimately to cross the Drakenberg and effect a junction with the railway system of the Dutch republics. These works are at the same time carried out with the utmost economy consistent with safely. The steepest gradients exceed one inch in forty ; the sharpest curves have a radius of little over 300 feet, and all the engineering operations have been TUl'UGKAPKY OF XATAL. 185 planned for a single narrow Hue. The main lino successively crosses all the trans- verse ridges of the eastern slope. Xear the village of Westowu it attains an elevation of nearly 5,500 feet, but will have to climb about 300 feet higher in order to reach the crest of the Drakenberg and p.'netrate into the Orange Free State. The carriage roads, which complete the network of coiumunications in the colony, are also planned with great skill and daring. Manj- of them skirt the deep ravines and ascend the precipitous flanks of the main range in order to leach Fig. oO. — TuE Bluif of Xat.u.. Sc .le 1 : iJO.CHlO. Lsstgf Greenwich ^1 ' the level of the inland i)lateaiu\. Most of the main highways converge on Port Natal, where is centred all the foreign trade of the colony. Topography of N.\t.\i.. The southern district between the Um-Tavuna and Um-Zimkulu rivers is one of the most thinly peopled in Natal, and here the white squatters are still scattered in small and isolated groups amid the surrounding Zulu and I'ondo populations. In this district has recently been founded the Norwegian agricultural settlement IHG SOUTH AND lOAST ArRICA. of Marbunj. It lies within .six miles of tlie little port of S/icj;sfoiic; wLich is formed by tlic cstuiiry of the Um-Zimkulu, but which is often almost inaccessible to ship- ping. Other so-called " ports," carefully avoided, howc\er, by skippers, follow- northwards along this exposed seaboard, which runs in nearly u straight line from the Kaflrland frontier to the capital. Such are Port Jlardiiig at the mouth of the Um-Zumbi, and Port Scott in the Um-Pambynioni estuary. But the only part of the whole coast which is sufficiently indented to offer a large basin to shijiping is the inlet of Port Natal, sighted by Yasco dc Gama in the j'ear 1497. At this j)oint a ridge of rocks with an average height of 200 feet, running parallel with the original coastline and afterwards connected by upheaval with the mainland, Fig. 57. — Poet Natal axd Dukbax. Scale 1 : 90,000. 80 1'eet and upwards. 2,200 Yards. terminates at its northern extremity in a bluff or steep headland completely shel- tering from the winds and surf a spacious inlet, which is all that remains of the ancient channel between the ridge and the true shore line. At the entrance of this inlet the action of the waves has gradually developed a spit of sand which has its root on the northern shore, whence it larojects in a south-easterly direction towards the bluff. Thus is left to shipping only a narrow passage, the sill of which changes in position and depth with the tides and storms. Formerly the depth varied at low water from six or seven to sixteen feet, and vessels drawing over ten feet seldom ventui-ed to cross the bar. But a breakwater running from the spit of sand towards the north-east has had the residt of increasing the scoiu" DUEBAN. 187 of tlic ebb tides, thus lowering the sill by about two feet, while at the same time rendering it more capable of resisting the action of the atmosphere and marine currents. The city built on the shores of Port Natal was founded in the year 184G, in a thicket at that time still frequented by elephants. This place, which received the name of Durban {(/' Urban) in honour of a governor of the Cape, consists in reality of two distinct towns connected by a railway. These are Port XafaJ, the marine quarter, with its piers, docks, and stores grouped near the entrance of the inlet, and Durban, the city proper, with its broad streets lined with shady trees, its magnificent sub-tropical gardens, bananas, bamboos, and banians, covering the gentle slope of a hill on the north side of the bay. This wooded hill, which sweeps round to the west, is dotted over with pleasant country seats and \illas, whence a fine panoramic view is commanded of the bay with its islets and encircling shores. Here reside most of the wealthy merchants, who have their ofEces in the city. On the west side of the estuary is the little hamlet of Congelhi, memorable as the sjjot where the first Boer immigrants formed their camjjing-grouud. Durban, although not the cajjital, is the largest town in the colon)', and is remarkable for the cosmopolitan character of its population, including considerable numbers of Zulu Kafirs, Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, English and other Europeans. The island of Salisbury in the bay is inhabited by over two hundred Hindus, who are almost exclusively engaged in the capture and curing of fish for the market of Durban. Other Hindus occupied with gardening supply the city and neighbour- hood with fruits and vegetables. Durban suffered from the lack of fresh water before the recent construction of an aqueduct, which now brings from a distance of ciglit miles a superabundant daily sujjply of no less than 250,000 gallons of good water. Thanks to its port and its railways, which run southwards in the direction of Isipingo and the sugar plantations, northward to the town of Verulam, also lying in a sugar-growing district, and north-westwards to Pieter Maritzburg, Durban has become the great centre of trade for the whole of Natal. It also attracts a large share of the traffic with the Dutch republics, although these states jjossess alternative outlets for their produce at I'ort lOHzabeth and Cape Town, and arc also developing their railway system in the direction of Lourcn90 Marques, with the view of securing that Portuguese harbour as a convenient seaport on the Indian Ocean. "When the Orange Free State and the Transvaal enjoy the advan- tage of this direct route through Portuguese territory there can be no doubt that the trade of Durban will be considerably reduced. At present its exchanges far exceed in value those of all the rest of the colony, although the business of Port Natal has already been somewhat injured since the time of the great speculations caused by the diamond and gold fevers. But notwithstanding these temporary checks its general foreign trade has increased enormously from decade to decade, its average value having risen from a little over £110,000 between 184(J and 18o5 to about £2,520,000 between 1876 and 1886. Both for exports and imports Great Britain is by far the best customer of 188 SULTII AND KA!>T AFltlCA. Natal ; next to the luotlun- country comes Australia, from which it receives con- siderable bU])plif8 of farinaceous substances. But, strange to say, notwithstanding its close proximity, Cape Colony maintains less trading relations with Natal than India, the United States, and even Brazil. The local retail business with the Hindus and natives is almost entirely monopolised by the Arab and other Asiatic dealers resident in Durban. On the road from Durban to Pieter Maritzburg tlic only place laying claim to the title of a town is Pinetown, centre of the German population in Natal. A neighbouring missionary station bears the comprehensive name of Neu-Dcutschhnd ("New Germany "), and an agricultural establishment has been founded in the vicinity by some Trappist monks, mostly Germans by birth. rider Maritzbiirr/, or raoro briefly Maritzburg, capital of Nalal, is pleasantly situated at an altitude of over 2,000 feet above the sea, on a fertile plain which is watered bj' a southern affluent of the Um-Geni, and which is completely encircled by gently sloping hills. Maritzburg is one of the most delightful cities in the whole of Africa, and the rich vegetation of its gardens and surrounding wood- lands resembles that of the European temperate zone rather than that of tropical lands. Although less populous than Durban, it has a far more numerous propor- tion of Government officials and employes. Here also is situated the military cauip occupied by the principal division of troops stationed in the colony. Holding a central position in the country close to the scat of Government, this little army can easily be moved in the direction of any point where danger may threaten. The agricultural colony of Wihjcfojttcin, established in the neighbourhood of Maritzburg, has turned its attention with great success to the cultivation of spring fruits and vegetables, which here yield excellent returns. On the opposite side of the Zwaartkop Range north of this district flows the Um-Geni, a river famous for its magnificent cascades. One of these, near the little town of Souich, tumbles in a single foaming mass over a basalt ledge from a height which has been variously estimated at from 280 to 320 feet. Lower down the stream ramifies into several branches, and here numerous picturesque little falls, separated by intervening reefs and clumps of trees, are disposed in a long line following the rocky bed of the main channel. LidtjcUou-n, north of Maritzburg, is situated, like the capital and Howick, in the same valley of the Um-Geni. "Dutch" Grcyioun, as it is called, lies in the Upper Um-Voti basin ; but all the other centres of population belong to the region -watered by the Tugela, the chief river in Natal. Entcourt and Wcciicn ("Weeping") follow in succession along the left bunk of the Bushman affluent ; Coknso has been founded on the main stream, Ladi/smith on its tributary the Klip; Newcastle (4,100 feet) at the northern extremity of the colony, on a small affluent of the Buffalo, or Upper Tugela. North of Newcastle, at the point where the territory of Natal imijinges on the Orange Free State and Transvaal, rises the steep Majuba (Ama-Juba) Hill, memorable for the victory gained by the Boers in 1881 over the British troops entrenched on the summit. On these uplands the crests, peaks, tables, or domes of the mountain ranges rise but little above rolling ADMINISTRATION OF NATAL. 189 surfaces of the elevated inland plateau. Here the villages lie sheltered from the keen winds in the depressions of the grassy soil. Besides Durban and Maritzburg only three other places in Xatal — Yerulani, Ladysmith, and Xewcastle — were of sufficient importance in 188G to constitute themselves municipal towns. AnMlXISTR.VTIOX. FiXAXCE. Natal has not yet risen to the dignity of an autonomous colony enjoying self- government, naming its own ministers and providing for its own defence. It is still a " crown colony," directly dependent on the British Government, although alreadj' possessing a certain degree of independence. The Governor of Xatal is appointed by the Queen, as is also the Executive Council, which consists of the Chief Justice, the senior officer in command of the troops, the Colonial Secretary, the Treasurer, the Attorney-General, the Secretary for Native Affairs, the Colonial Engineer, and two members nominated by the Governor from among the deputies elected to the Legislative Council. Till recently half the members of the Legisla- tive Council were also nominated by the Crown ; but under the Act which received the royal assent in 188-'5, this body now consists of thirty members, seven only of whom are appointed by the Crown, and all the others elected by the counties and boroughs, the qualification of electors being the possession of immovable property to the value of £50, or renting such property of the annual value of £10, or residence of three years in the colony with an income of £96 per annum, inclusive of allowances. Nobody is officially excluded from the franchise on the ground of his colour, his origin, or his religion. But the bulk of the aborigines and Asiatics are practically disfranchised by a sweeping clause, to the effect that none shall be inscribed on the list of voters who may belong to any class placed by special legislation under the jurisdiction of special courts or subject to special laws and tribunals. By this arrangement the elections are at present almost entirely controlled by the white vote, and Natal is prevented from reverting to the state of anarchy which prevailed in this region before the introduction of the J'-uropean system of government. The central authority appoints the judges of the Supreme Court, the resident magistrates, and the " field-cornets," who maintain order in the various districts. It also names the administrators and employes, and even selects the greater part of the professors and teachers, the public instruction depending to a great extent on the colonial budget. Durban and ilarit/burg have each its higli school, whence students holding scholarships may pass on to the English universities. The large towns are pro-s'ided with primarj' schools supported by the colonial funds. A large number of private schools, especially those belonging to the missions, also receive Government aid, either in money or land. Edcndale, near Maritzburg, is the chief centre of the educational zeal displayed by the Wesleyan missionaries. The examinations in the various schools are conducted by special examiners. But notwithstanding all this machinery the proportion of native children who learn to 190 SOUTH AND EAST AFI^ICA. read is very small. On tln' ntlur IkukI, not more Ihan two luiiulrcd white children, or about one-twentieth of those at an age to receive instruction, arc illiterate. The serious question of colonial defence is the reason why Natal still continues under the direct control of the Homo Government. The colonists do not feel themselves j-et strong enough to defend themselves. Tlicy are surrounded by populations whose smoxddcriiig hostility might easily be rekindled. On the south- west frontier dwell the Pondos, on the west the Easutos, on the north-west the Boers, on the north-east the Zulus ; while within their borders they might have at any moment to face a rising of the natives far outnumbering all the rest of the population together. In the presence of so many dangers they are fain still to look to the mother country for help. The colony is at present protected by a small British army of over a thousand men, which is divided into three corps, stationed at Jlaritzburg, Estcourt, and Greytown. These troops serve at the same time as a model for the formation of an effective body of colonial forces, comprising a squadron of two hundred and eighty mounted police and a regiment of volunteers over a thousand strong. In every towa companies of rifles have also been formed, which the Government encourages by the distribution of prizes, while, on the other hand, strictly forbidding the sale of arms and ammunition to the natives. Since the year 1856 it has also been made penal to sell or give them alcoholic drinks, under a penalty of fine or ImiJrisonment. Unfortunately this humane law is often violated, esijeciall}- bj' the Hindu dealei's. The colonial budget, derived chiefly from customs and the native hut tax, usually shows a relatively heavy deficit, which has to be covered by loans. The consequence is that in 1888 the public debt approached £4,000,000. The European colonists themselves pay no direct taxes, while the postal and telegraph services and State railways cost the Government much more than they contribute to the revenue. The annual grant formerlv set aside for assisted emigrants has under these circumstances had to be discontinued. On the other hand, the bill for the extension of the railway system to the two neighbouring Dutch republics, and the raising of a loan of £1,500,000 for that purpose, were passed through committee in the Natal legislature in March, 1888. For administrative purposes Natal is divided into eight counties and twelve divisions, which with their white population and chief towns will be found tabu- lated in the Appendix, Zn.ULAND. On repeated occasions the British and Dutch authorities have concluded treaties with the native chiefs of Zididand, guaranteeing to them the possession of the territory comprised between the Natal frontier, the border range, and the Portu- guese possessions. But, as in other parts of Austral Africa, official conventions were powerless to prevent a chronic state of hostility between the Europeans and the aborigines, manifested either by occasional incursions of armed bands or by simple plunder of land and live stock, but also at times breaking out into open warfare. The Zulu domain was thus inch by inch encroached upon, especially by ZULLXAXD. 191 the Boers descending from the inland plateaux and seizing one camping-ground after another. A " Xew Republic " was thus constituted, with the obvious intention of soon forming it into a maritime province of Transvaal. But this open violation of their conventions with the suzerain power compelled the interference of Great Britain, which by extending its protectorate over the southern part of Zululand arrested the aggressive advance of the Transvaal Boers, who were instinctively seeking an independent outlet for their trade on the nearest seaboard to their domain. Owing to this action of the stronger power all the coastlands from the mouth of the Tugela to the river Maputa, which flows to Dclagoa Bay, belong henceforth to England. But the upland valleys of the border ranges draining to the Indian Ocean have become an integral part of the South African Republic. The super- ficial area of the now partitioned land, where predominate the three nations of the Zulus, Swazis, and Tongas, is estimated at 20,000 square miles, with a total popu- lation of about two hundx-ed thousand souls. The fragment attached to the Transvaal under the name of the '• Xew Rejjublic " comprises a space of nearly 3,000 square miles, while British Zululand, henceforth placed under the administration of the Governor of Xatal, has an area of 8,500 square miles. The Zulus (Ama-Zulus) are far less numerous in the land where thov wore till recently masters than in the colony of Natal, where they are kept under strict control, but where they have every opportunity of gaining a livelihood by manual labour. In the territory limited southwards by the Tugela thej' are at present estimated at scarcely more than a hundred thousand. But the land has been for generations wasted by sanguinary wars of succession, followed by foreign invasions by which whole provinces were depopulated. In 1879 occurred the final struggle in which the Zulus ventured to make a stand against the English. Despite their inferior discipline and defective armaments they were victorious in some engagements, notably at Isandhlwana, a spot lying near the left bank of the Buffalo (Upper Tugela), to the east of its confluence with the Blood River. Here is situated the ford of Rorke's Drift, the possession of which was frequently dis- puted as one of the most important strategic points in the whole territorv. The English after seizing it had occupied the eastern terraces of the Buffalo valley, were surprised by an overwhelming force of Zulus, and one wing of the invadin<» army annihilated. This event was soon after followed by the death of Prince Napoleon, only son of the dethroned and latelj' deceased Emperor Napoleon III., who had volunteered to serve with the British forces, but who was cut off ^nth a small party in the bush. But the first reverses were soon rejiaired and the Zidu army was comijlctely routed on the banks of the Um-Yolosi river, close to the very spot where, according to immemorial tradition, was born the family of Zulu, founder of the nation. After reducing the country, the English divided it amongst thirteen protected chiefs, a foolish arrangement which brought about a series of intertribal wars, followed by hopeless anarchy. Then came the encroach- ments of the Transvaal Boers, leading to the establishment of the British Protec- torate, which has at length brought a period of repose to this distracted land, the iti2 porrn .\xd east Africa. scene of almost iinintcrrup(cd wars and massacres since the rise of the Zulu military power early iu the present century. The Zui.rs. The Ama-Zulus, or " People of Zulu," that is of the " Ileavenlj'," do not pre- sent a physical type distinct from that of the other Kafir nations in the south-east corner of the continent. They are in fact not a separate race, but an amalgam of all the surrounding tribes that were successively " eaten up " when the original Zulu group began its career of conquest under Chaka, about the beginning of the century. The communities thus devoured by the "Great Lion" were never com- pletely exterminated, the women and children being usually reserved for the conquering nation, while the young men were enrolled in the victorious army. The primitive tribes were doomed to disappear all the more rapidly in the multitude of the conquered that Chaka had forbidden his warriors to marry. The veterans alone were permitted to take wives, the number being proportioned to that of the enemy slain by them in battle. To stifle the growth of the human affections that might have enervated or incapacitated them for their work of ruthless destruction, Chaka ordered all new-born babes to be slaughtered. In oi'der to set an example, he himself celebi'ated no marriages according to the ancient usages, and caused all his children to be put to death at their birth. As a jealous monarch he looked upon every son born to him as a possible fxiturc rival, and preferred to cut him off betimes. This atrocious ruler, drilling the whole nation like a perfect engine of war, had sacrificed all other interests of the State to the insatiable thirst of conquest. The capital was nothing but a military camp, while .similar camps were distributed throughout the whole land. In the villages grouped round the kraals of the warriors, the women and slaves stored provisions for the arm}', which was fed exclusively on a meat diet, milk, the food of the peaceful, being interdicted. The Zulus, formidable especially for their manner of attack, had abandoned the dart, which is hurled at a distance, retaining only the assegai or hand-spear, with whicli to strike at close quarters. Kor were their irregular hordes any longer flung in disorder against the enemy, but the well-trained troops were so disposed as gradu- ally to envelope the opposing forces, attacking first on one flank then on another, and thus step by step driving them in on the central body, by which they were then overwhelmed. After the victory all attention was turned to the capture of the cattle, which had been driven to a distance from the battlefield, and it was characteristic of the thoroughness of the system that the very- herds were trained to sudden retreat in disciplined order. But such a purely military organisation necessarily tended to involve the whole nation in ruin. Founded by the sword, the Zulu empire perished by the sword. After breaking like angry waves against the outspanned waggons encircling the Boer encampments, the Zulu bands could no longer hope to exterminate the white intruders, and so turned in fierce internecine warfare one against the other. And AMATONG ALAND. 193 now these warlike tribes live only on the proud memory of their past heroic deeds and conquests, perhaps dimly conscious that these very glories, after bringing about the destruction of their military power, render the people themselves less capable than others of turning to peaceful ways, and thus successfully continuing the struggle for existence. Constituted of so many discordant elements, the Zulu nation was distinguished from the other branches of the Kafir race mainly by its warlike institutions and the military ardour engendered by hereditary training. But being the descendants of picked men, they are generally a handsome people, tall, ^-igorous, active, of dignified carriage, and skilful at all bodilj^ exercises. They possess such natural grace that all costumes alike become them. At the same time they arc fidly conscious, if not a little proud, of their physical advantages, which thej' endeavour to heighten by the elegant fold of their flowing toga, by adorning arms, legs, and breast with rings and pearls, and decking the head with plumes and flowers. The married men arc fond of disposing the hair in the form of a coronet, stiffening it with gum and a mixture of clay and ochre. Of a kindly cheerful disposition, they seem to harbour no rancorous feeling against their white conquerors ; but on the other hand, they never forget or forgive a personal wrong. Formerly the characteristic fetishes were the assegai and warrior's shield. Travellers of the past generation describe with a sort of awe the military dances and processions, when the fierce Zulu men of war, adorned with the horns and tails of oxen, defiled before their king, the while singing the tidings from the battle- field, the " news of the assegai." But the obligation to dwell in peace under the threat of still more potent fetishes, the gun and rifle of the white man, will doubt- less tend to modif}'^ their superstitions and soften their tribal usages. Although still for the most part refractory to the glad tidings of the gospel, they will gradually cease to recognise the soiJs of their forefathers in the familiar snakes gliding about amid their dwellings. Like their kinsmen in Xatal, the Zulus of the region beyond the Tugcla arc alreadj^ exchanging the sword for the plough, while the hitherto neglected industrial arts have begun to make some progress in their village communities. The blacksmith's trade, however, was always held in honour, and the native metallurgists were long acquainted with the process of making a more durable iron than that imported by the English, while their jewellers had learnt to work the copper obtained by thorn from the Portuguese of Lourenco Marques. A.MATOXGALAND AND SWAZILAND. North of Zululand proper stretches the narrow domain of the peaceful Amatonga (Ama-Tonga) nation, whose name recalls their former subjection to the Zulu con- querors. Being farther removed from the Natal frontier, and dwelling in seclu- sion along the shores of Lake St. Lucia and the coast lagoons, these agricultural tribes had hitherto kept more aloof from European influences. They were also protected from intrusion by the malarious climate of the low-lying coastlands inhabited by them. Nevertheless the ubiquitous German trader, Liideritz, after vol.. Xlll. o 191 SOUTH AND EAST AFIUCA. oH. — St. Luoia Laooon and Packwatkks. Scale 1 : 2,500,000. acquiiiiig the Angra requena distiict for his couutrymen, also attempted to occupy the maritime territory encircling the St. Lucia lagoon. But Portugal had long asserted hor rights over the whole of tliis region between the lagoon and Delagoa Bay, and especially over the Fig. o«.— St. Luoia Laooon and Packwatkhs. tasin of the ilaputu River from its mouth in the bay as far as the Lubombo Hills. It was ac- cordingly announced in March, 1888, that the Queen of Ama- tougaland had formally recog- nised the sovereignty of Por- tugal over the part of her territory comprised within the southern boundaries assigned to Portugal by the MacMahon award. The Amaswazi (Ama- Swazi) territory lying more inland beyond the Lubombo range is even more seriously menaced than the Amatonga domain, for it forms an inter- vening zone between the Transvaal plateau and Delagoa Bay, and is also known to abound in mineral wealth. The Boer grazers often pene- trate into this district, where they claim certain rights of pasturage, and usually come armed in order to vindicate those pretensions against all comers. On the other hand, the English of Cape Colony and Natal demanded in lb87 the appointment of a British agent to reside with the King of the Swazi people, and to afford military aid against the Boer intruders from the inland plateaux. English mission- aries were already stationed in the country so early as 182'2 ; and although they were massacred they were followed by other preachers of the gospel, who founded more permanent stations in Swaziland. to 100 Fathoms. 100 to 2.00 250 Fnthoms Fathoms. aud upwards. 30 Miles. SWAZU..VND. 105 The Amaswazi people, who are estimated at about eighty thousand souls, take their name from a local chief, who acquired the political ascendancy in the year 1843. They had previously been known as the Ba-Rapuza people, from another chief renowned for his warlike exploits at an earlier period. The distinguishing mark of all the Swazi tribes is an incision in the cartilage of the car. Their present ruler has become one of the wealthiest persons in South Africa since the formation of numerous companies to work the gold-mines in his territory. His share in each .speculation has been fixed at an annual sum of not less than £300. At present there is scarcely any resident European population in any part of Zululand. The whites are even provisionally forbidden to acquire land or establish plantations in this region, where the oul}' settlers are the missionaries, a few grazers and gold-hunters, besides two or three dealers in the neighbourhood of the coast. Nor are there any European buildings, beyond some military posts at the strategical points, and a small number of schools and chapels, centres of civiliza- tion round which will doubtless one day spring up regular towns and villages. The natural centre of the country is the district about the confluence of the two TJm-Volosi rivers. Here was formerly situated Uiiodweiiffo, the royal kraal, or capital of the Zulu kingdom. This place was succeeded by Ulundi, a town of over a thousand huts disposed in the form of a fortified circular enclosure some miles in circumference, within which the herds were safely penned. Ulundi was destroyed in its turn, and nothing now marks the site of this historic place except an obscure hamlet. AU the other centres of population in Zulidand, as weU as in Swaziland, are also constructed on the model of a large cattle pen. Although these regions cannot be said to be yet eomjiletely pacified, there can be no doubt that both Natal and Zululand are henceforth safe from the danger of any sudden organised rising on the part of the natives. The Zulu military system founded by Chaka was utterly destroyed by the overthrow and removal of Cety- wayo from the scene, while the Zulu nation itself was, so to say, resolved into its original tribal fragments. The chief obstacle to a systematic colonisation of the country having thus disappeared, one may well feel astonished that, from the immense stream of British migration, such a small current is annually deflected towards the still sparsely peopled lands of Austral Africa, which are, nevertheless, spacious and fertile enough to afford support to many millions of human beings. Doubtless this phenomenon must to a great extent be attributed to the national instinct of the emigrants themselves. When they quit their English homes they naturally desire to settle in another England, resembling their native land as closely as possible in its language, social usages, and ethnical if not political cohesion. Hence the preference they show for the United States, Australia, New Zealand over Austral Africa, where they would be thrown into contact with Dutch Boers, Hottentots, Kafirs, black and yellow peoples of every race. Although political rulers of the land, they feel dissatisfied at forming such a small minority of the entire population. o 2 CIIArXEH VI. THK DITTCH RRPUHLICS AND rORTUGITESE POSSESSIONS SOUTH OF THE LIMPOPO: OK^VNGE FREE STATE AND TRiVNSVA^VL, DELAGOA BAY. I. — The Orange Free State. F the two South African Boer States, that which takes its name from the Orange River is the smaller in extent and population. It is conterminous along two-thirds of its frontier on British territory, being bounded on the west by Griqualand West, on the south by Capo Colony proper, and on the east by Basutoland and Natal. The northern boundary line is traced by the River Vaal separating it from the sister republic of Transvaal. Before the discovery of the Diamond Fields the large oval-shaped enclave assigned to the Orange Free State was clearly defined on all sides by natural frontiers, the lofty Drakenberg range separating it from Natal between the sources of the Vaal and Caledon ; the course of the latter stream, with some oifshoots from the main range, form the limits towards Basutoland ; the southern boundary follows the meandering course of the Orange, while that of the Vaal was chosen to indicate the north-west and west frontiers. But the peninsular space comprised between these two rivers above the confluence has now been detached from the Free State, and, with its diamantiferous deposits, restored to Cape Colony. Viewed as a whole this region presents the aspect of a somewhat uniform grassy plateau at a mean altitude of from 4,300 to 4,600 feet above the sea, with a slight incline from north-east to south-west, and presenting little arable or fertUe land, except in the eastern parts near the foot of the hills. The superficial area is estimated at about 42,000 square miles, or one-fifth of France. But the covmtry is very thinly peopled, having a joint European and native population of not more than one hundred and fifty thousand, mostly distributed in small village groups or isolated farmsteads. The beginning of the Dutch occupation dates only from the year 1837, when the first trekkers, leaving Cape Colony with their families, herds, and effects, crossed the Orange River, and ventured to seek new homes among the nomad populations of the unknown region stretching northwards to the Vaal. The convoy of pioneers was followed by others, until a new State was graduallj' con- TIIE ORAXGE FEEE :>TATE. 197 stituted between the tn'O rivers. But the fugitives from British jurisdiction were still followed by the English authorities, and in 1848 the British sovereignty was officially proclaimed in the country hing north of the Orange. The Boers resisted, and, as in Xatal, had at first the advantage of their assailants. But being incapable of prolonging the struggle with the English forces and their Griqua allies, they were compelled either to submit or seek fresh settlements elsewhere. Some, refusing to accept the British supremacy with the condition of abolishing slavery and treating the natives as freemen, continued the exodus in the direction of the north, crossed the Vaal, and founded the new republic of Transvaal. Others remained in the country, where they became the dominant white element. But by extending their authority over this new colonial domain, the English at the same time accepted the unfortunate inheritance of the wars that had already broken out with the Basutos and other natives. The consequence was a heavy and increasing annual charge on the Imperial Government, which caused dissatis- faction at home and a strong feeling of opposition to the policy of annexation. Thus it happened that the supreme power offered to restore their political autonomy to the Dutch Boers of the sovereignty, on the simple condition of a formal promise not to reintroduce slavery. The Boers gladly accepted this condi- tion, and in 1854 the Orange Free State was reconstituted. Since that time the republic has prospered to a remarkable degree, the population alone having increased fivefold during the last thirty years. The Boers of the Free State. The Boers, who enjoy political dominion in the Orange Free State, are the descendants of zealous Calvinists, and most of them still profess the religion of their fathers. But other Christian denominations, such as the Anglican, Wcsleyan, and Roman Catholic, are all represented, chiefly by the British settlers in the country, and a few native converts. Possessing for two centuries no book except the Bible, the South African Dutch communities, Afrikanders as they call them- selves, are fond of comparing their lot with that of the " chosen people." Going forth, like the Jews, in search of a "promised land," they never for a moment doubted that the native populations were specially created for their benefit. They looked on them as mere " Canaanites, Amorites, and Jebusitcs," doomed before- hand to slavery or death. "With the exception of the single Ba-Rolong tribe, which, through their hatred of the Basutos, had become the allies of the Dutch, all the Bantu and Hottentot peoples dwelling within the territory of the rejmblic have been either exterminated or expelled by these South African " Puritans." They turned the land into a solitude, breaking all political organisation of the natives, destroying all ties of a common national feeling, and tolerating them only in the capacity of " apprentices," another name for slaves. Doubtless the blacks are at present even more numerous than the whites within the limits of the State, but they are for the most part Kafirs, Beehuanas, Hottentots, St. Helena half- castes, and other recent immigrants, badly paid and b;i(lly treated. They are for- 193 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. hidden by l;iw oitlit'i- to vote, to bciir arms, or to acquire tlie ownersliip of a square yard of laiul ; imr w ill custom even allow tlieni to dwell in the vicinity of the whites. Accustomed if not always to till the land, at least to superintend field opera- tions, the liocrs — that is, "peasants" — as a rule fully justify this designation by their solid, square-set figures and heavy, awkward gait. They lack neither strength nor courage, but can make no claim to phyBical beauty or grace. They display no sense of taste or elegance in their dress or their household surroundings. On the other hand, they are richly endowed with the solid qualities of most rural populations — thrift, method, and perseverance, besides a vigorous vitalitv, shown in their largo families and the groat excess of births over deaths. Hence their numerical preponderance over the other whites would aj^pcar to be secured for some time to come, at least unless the equilibrium of the poijulation be com- pletely changed by unforeseen events. But if the English are still in a great minority, they are none the less the representatives of a decidedly superior culture, and their speech already rivals the oificial language as the current medium of intercourse, and still more of general instruction. Most of the teachers being English or Scotch, their language naturally prevails in the schoolroom. It is also acquiring the supremacy in all the towns, where the immigrants — traders and mechanics — come chiefly from Port Elizabeth and other parts of the Britisli colonies. Thus the transition from the rude Dutch dialect to the world-wide English tongue is being slowly but surely effected through the thousand subtle changes daily taking place in the very heart of the social system. The wealth of the Orange Free State is derived mainly from its pastures, the extent of land under tillage being estimated at little more than 125,000 acres. The whole territory is parcelled out in great domains, treated chiefly as grazing- grounds, and at present supporting as many as five million sheep. Over nine- tenths of the wool exported by the English dealers through Durban comes from the Free State, where stock-breeders have also turned their attention to ostrich- farming. Agriculture, also, has acquired a real importance in recent times, especially in the eastern districts watered by the ramifying streams of the Caledon and its numerous afiluents. In the central and western parts, where water is scarce, the landowners are at great pains to capture and husband it in every pos- sible way. Not a drop is wasted, and the farmsteads dotted over the monotonous sheepwalks are now usually encircled by a rich zone of pleasant gardens and orchards, interspersed with clumps of trees. At the time when the diamond fever was attracting thousands of fortune-hunters to the arid plains of Griqualand West, the supplies of provisions were drawn chiefly from the agricultural districts of the Orange Free State and Basutoland. The Free State itself possesses some diamantiferous clays, which, like those of Kiniberley, are found in pits or crater-like formations, apparently of igneous origin. But these industrial resources can scarcely be turned to much account until this territory, as is now proposed, is brought within the network of the South African railway systems. The junction that is to be effected between the numerous THE ORAXGE FREE STATE. 199 lilies in Cajio Colony and (hose being piisliod forward in Transvaal and the upland Aallcys of Natal can be realised only by carrying out the projected intermediate links in the Free State. The gap to be bridged over in order to connect Kimbcrlej' in Griqualand West with Ladysmith in Nutal is about 300 miles long, while a line double that length will be required to eilect the junction between Kimberley and the Louren(,'o Marques line. Toi'OORAl'HY OF THE OraNGK FrKE StaTE. The only town worthy of the name in the Orange Free State is the capital, Bloemfoiitein, which is situated in the middle of a treeless plain at an altitude of 4,500 feet above sea-level. It stands nearlj' midway between Kimberley and the Uasuto frontier, on a mostlj' waterless stream, whose valley inclines to the Modder and Vaal. From a little eminence on the east side, which was formerly fortified, Woemfontein presents a pleasant prospect, with its regular streets lined by black and white houses. Near the European quarter are grouped the humble dwellings of Wray-Hook, a suburban village, where all the natives are bound to pass the night. Bloemfontein, seat of a high school and centre of the political and com- mercial life of the republic, presents other advantages to strangers. It is an extremely healthy place, highly recommended by South iVfrican physicians as a sanatorium, especially to consumptive patients. A number of invalids from the Cape, and even from Europe, form a part of the population, which still fulls con- siderably under three thousand. East of Bloemfontein lies the Ba-Rolong district, till recently an independent little native State, forming an enclave in the Orange Republic, just as the latter is itself completely encircled by the other South African States. About fifteen thousand of the Ba-Rolong nation dwelt peacefully in this little territory, over six thousand being grouped within the enclosures of the cajiital, Thaha N-shii, so called from the hill whose crest and slopes it covered. But in 1884 a decree of the Bloem- fontein Volksraad (Assembly) put an end to the autonomy of the petty Ba-Rolong Republic. Since then hundreds of the natives, indignant at the breach of faith committed by the Boers, have quitted their homes and sought refuges amongst their eastern neighbours and former enemies, the people of Basutoland. Before this event Thaba Nshu was the largest centre of population in all the non-British lands comprised between the Vaal and the Orange. The provincial chief towns in the Free State, although for the most part little more than rural villages, possess some importance as market-places, well stocked with provisions of all kinds to supply the needs of the flourishing farmsteads round about. Ldilijhraml, Ipng to the north-east of Thaba Nshu, has the distinction of being the central point of the most fertile province in the republic, a pro\dnce violently wrested from the Basutos. Smith field, on the Lower Caledon, and Rouxiille, near the Orange, almost opposite the British town of Aliwal North, are also busy agricultural centres. Brthulie, founded by the French missionaries, close to the Orange and Caledon confluence, has become one of the chief stations on the route 200 SOUTH AND HAST AFRICA. between Cape Colony and the Free State, thanks to the bridge that has been constructed on the main stream at this point. Philippoliii is another convenient station for travellers proceeding northwards by the Port Elizabeth railwaj', whose present inland terminus is Colesberg, on the opposite side of the river. Faitrcsmif/i, lying due north of I'hilippolis, in the middle of an unjjroductive plain, derives some importance from the diamond mines, which at Jarjcrs/oiifein already produce an annual yield of about £50,000. At Jagersfontcin was found the largest African diamond, a stone weighing uncut no less than 500 carats, but of very imperfect character. The Free State also possesses some carboniferous deposits, which occur chiefly in the western district of Kroonstad. In the northern part of the republic the largest centre of population is Riini- Kmilh, situated on one of the headstrcams of the Vaal, near the Van-Reenen Pass, which leads over the Drakcuberg down to the colony of Natal. Ilarrismith thus constitutes the natural eastern gate of the Free State, to which it gives convenient access from Durban by the railway, at present terminating at Ladysmith. On the long route leading thence to Bloemfontein the principal station is Winhury ( Wljn- biirg), which lies in the most hilly part of the whole territory. Admixistratiox. — Revenue. The Orange Free State is governed by a single Chamber, the Volksraad, or " National Assembl}-," composed of fifty-sis members, that is one for each t^to- vincial capital and one for each rural district {Veld-kornctij or "field cornetcy "). It is elected for four years, but every two years one half of the members vacate their seats and fresh elections take place. During the session they receive remu- neration for their services at the rate of £1 per day. They choose their own president, while the president of the repubKc is elected by universal suffrage for five years. The executive is vested in the President, assisted by an executive council of five members, that is, the Government secretary, the Landrost (Governor) of the capital, and three unofficial members appointed by the Yolksraad, one every year, for three years. The electorate consists of all whites born within the limits of the State, or who have resided three years, or who, after a -residence of one year, comply with certain conditions as proprietors or leaseholders. Burghers (citizens) eighteen j'ears old may vote for the veld-kornets (district judges), but not for members of the Volksraad or for the President of the Republic before they have completed their twenty-first year. A landrost (governor or magistrate) appointed to each of the districts of the republic bj' the president, but requiring the confirmation of the Volksraad, takes cognisance of minor offences. Crimes of a graver character are remitted to a higher tribunal of three judges, who hold assizes in various districts of the State. There is no standing arm}' beyond a small artillery corps stationed at the capital, but all able-bodied whites are bound to serve when called upon, and have also to meet twice a year for the military exercises. The chief sources of revenue are the poll-tax, the tax on jjroperty transfers, TRANSVAAL. 201 quit-rents, stamps, and trade licences, whicli generally suffice to cover the expen- diture. There are no customs dues, and those le\-ied on imports at the seaports of Cape Colony are not refunded to the consignees in the Free State. A large portion of the revenue is applied to public instruction, and State aid is also granted to the Calvinist Church. Till recently there was no public debt, and even now the national burden amounts to loss than £130,000, including an item of over £00,000 due to the national bank, but covered by State shares. In the Appendix will be found a table of the eighteen administrative districts, with their white and native populations. II. — Tkansvaal or Soutu African Republic. This state is officially designated the South African Republic, presumably in anticipation of a future confederation of the other republican states in the southern part of the continent. In superficial extent it is nearly three times larger than the Orange Free State, but having been colonised at a later period it possessed till quite recently a far smaller number of white settlers. The disparity, however, is rapidly disappearing since immigrants have begun to flock in crowds to the old and newly discovered gold-fields. Thanks also to the admirable climate of the plateau and to the fecundity of the women, the white pojjulation, formerly almost lost amid the surrounding aborigines, already constitutes a respectable minority. According to the highest estimates not more than ten thousand Boers crossed the Orange at the time of the great exodus ; yet their descendants in the twin repubKcs already far exceed a hundred thousand souls, notwithstanding the heavy losses caused by the protracted wars with the natives and English. As regards the number of the natives themselves, no accurate returns have j-et been made, except in the southern districts of Transvaal, near the capital. Eut in the northern pro\-inees the aboriginal element is known to be relativelj' dense and steadily increasing. The whole population of tlie State is probablj' at present scarcely less than half a million, although in 1887 Jeppe estimated the number of natives at not more than three hundred thousand. Including the recently annexed territory known as the " New Republic," a fragment of the old kingdom of Zululand, Transvaal had in 1888 a total superficial area of about 110,000 square miles, with a population variously estimated at fi'om three hundi'cd and sixty thousand to four hundred and eighty thousand. BoUXDARlES AND NaTIKAI, DIVISIONS. Along more than half of its peripherj' the South African Republic enjoys the advantage of natural geographical frontiers. Towards the south she is separated from the Orange Free State by an afiiuent of the Vaal, and then by this river itself. On the north-west and north the boundary line follows the course of the Limpopo, separating it from Matebeleland ; lastly, a part of the eastern frontier is clearly marked by the Lobombo range, the seaward slope of which belongs to the Portuguese, while the boundary towards the colony of Natal is traced by the 202 SOUTH AXD EAST AFRICA. upper course of llie lUiffalo Eivcr. ]5ut in the sections of the pcriplicry not detiued by rivers or mouutains, the territory of the republic has been considerably enlarged at the expense of the conterminous regions. Between Natal and the Portuguese territory it has encroached on some of the valleys inhabited by the Zulus and Swazis, while similar encroachments have been made in Bcchuanaland on the west side. In 1870 a British arbitrator had traced west of the Makwasi Hills in the Potchefstroom district, a limit beyond which the Boers were not to trespass. But they paid little heed to this injunction, and during the temporary annexation of the republic by the English, they neglected to restore to the natives the very district which they had themselves forbidden the Boers to occupy. Since then further encroachments have taken jilace, and in virtue of a convention with Great Britain, executed in 188-1, the territory of the South African Republic now stretches westward to the margin of the great commercial highway which con- nects the lower Yaal with the Zambesc through Shoshong and Matebeleland. Except at one point traders and travellers may follow this route without touching the Transvaal frontier. Transvaal is usually divided into three more or less distinct physical regions, which are determined mainly by the elevation of the land, taken in connection with the corresponding natural and economic conditions. These divisions are (1) the Uooge Veld, or upland region, which comprises all the southern districts drained by the Vaal Eivcr, together with the Drakcnberg highlands, as far north as the Lipa- lule, or Olifant River. The Hooge Yeld stands at an altitude ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 feet, and has a total superficial area of about 35,000 square miles. It includes most of the richest mineral districts, and enjoys a healthy cHmate, absolutely free from malaria, and well suited to the European constitution. (2) The Bankcn Veld, or terrace lands, embracing the relatively low-lying eastern zone between the Drakenberg and Lubombo ranges. This division, which includes the whole of Swaziland and the upper Maputa TaUey, falls in many places to a level of 2,000 feet above the sea, and covers a space of from 15,000 to 20,000 square miles. (3) The Bosch Vekl, or bush country, that is the inner plateaux, ranging in height from 3,000 to 4,000 feet, and comprising an area of some 60,000 square miles. Much of this division is strictly steppe land, and may be described as on the whole far more suited for grazing than for tillage. Historic Retrospect. The foundations of this Dutch state were laid \inder great difficulties. In 1837, when the first trekkers crossed the Vaal and settled in the part of the terri- tory where now stands the town of Potchefstroom, they came into collision with the terrible chief of the Matebeles, one of the most formidable Zulu warriors, who were at that time " eating up " the peoples of Austral Africa. Most of the Dutch pioneers were exterminated, but the survivors succeeded in holding their ground and eventually driving the fierce Matebcle warriors northwards beyond the Lim- popo. Their numbers were increased by fresh yearly arrivals from the south. \ TEANSVAAL. 203 and thus was grailuaily constituted a little comiuonwealth of wauderiiig adveu- turers, dwelling in tents or in frail huts of foliage, and like the Bedouins at the other end of the continent, following their herds arms in hand. In 1848, after the battle of Boomplaats, which for a time extinguished the political independence of the Orange Free State, numerous fugitives from that region sought refuge with their kinsmen beyond the Yaal. Then in reply to the English, who had set a price of £2,000 on the head of the leader, Pretorius, that sturdy Boer was elected president of the new republic. Four years later, in 1852, Fig-. 59. — Treks of thk Boehs. Scale 1 : 30,000,000. the independence of the Transvaal was recognised by the British Government itself. But the everlasting wars between the Dutch and the natives still continued, and were at times accompanied by atrocious massacres and wholesale extermination. Every advance made by the white intruders towards the north was marked by a trail of blood. Thus the dominant British power never lacked pretexts, and occa- sionally urgent reasons of state policy and humanity, to intervene and arbitrate between the hostile parties. After the discovery of the goldficlds in the eastern districts of the republic, followed by a large immigration of British subjects, other interests were created. Hence interference became imperative when the victorious tribes in the north-east threatened to overrun the whole country, exhausted by a series of reverses in the field, and already on the verge of national bankrujitcy. 201 SOLITII AMI i:\ST AFRICA. Accord iiif;ly a British Commissioner, attended liy :i liaiidful ol' jiriiicd men, made bis appearance in 1877 at Pretoria, capital of the state, and issued a proclamation suppressing the rojiublic, and formally annexing Transvaal to the colonial posses- sions of Great Britain. To such a desijerato condition had the Boers been reduced at this critical juncture, that no opposition was ofEercd to this summarj' proceeding, which was in fact aijproved of not only by the English residents, but even by many of the Dutch rcjiublicans themselves. At this time it seemed the only means of saving the country from total ruin, although when the danger of a native rising was over protests began to be uttered against the foreign domination. The discontent continued to increase, and came to a head when some inju- dicious measures were taken by the administrator tending to make English the official language in the courts and schools. A deputation was sent to London with instructions to demand the maintenance of the local usages, administrative auto- nomy, the right of continuing the official iiseof the Dutch language, and some other provisions which seemed scarcely compatible with the established order. Anyhow, the deputation was coldly received, and the whole Boer nation felt aggrieved and insulted at the supercilious conduct of the British authorities. They began to prepare to assert their rights by force of arras, probably not with much hope of success against the inexhaustible resources of Great Britain, but in the expecta- tion that the struggle might at least secure for them the respect and consideration of the conquerors. But to the surprise of everybody, and even of themselves, they triumphed over the British troops in three successive slight encounters, in the last of which, at Blajuba Hill, they certainly showed, themselves worthy descendants of the brave trekkers who had faced so many dangers and fought against such overwhelming odds in their endeavours to secure political freedom in their new homes beyond the Vaal. The war now threatened to assume formidable propor- tions, and possibly to change the whole of South Africa into a battlefield, when the Governor of Cape Colony received from the Gladstonian Ministry a memorable despatch, such as has seldom been recorded in the annals of international strife, to the effect that the Boers had been wronged, and that peace was to be concluded without further bloodshed. Despite the superiority of their forces, which were preparing to crush all resistance, the English generals were fain to withdraw \\'ithout being afforded an opportunity of removing the sting of defeat, and the Transvaal Republic resumed its political autonomy, now cemented bj^ the terrible ordeal through which it had passed. Elated by the satisfaction given to their national sentiment, the Boers, although accepting the nominal suzerainty of Great Britain, have become far stronger than they were before the war, and any renewed attempt on the part of England to deprive them of their freedom would undoubt- edly be attended by dangerous consequences. The Transvaal Boehs. The Boers of the Transvaal, being farther removed from the centres of culture than their kindred of the Orange Free State, are also less polished. They are even TR.\N.SVAAL. 205 described as " baibariaus " by their English visitors as well as by their country- men settled in Cape Colony. It is certain that so recently as the middle of the present century many of them were still clothed, like their Kafir neighbours, in the skins of animals ; nor did they feel the need of the comforts of civilised life, of which they had no experience. For weeks together they encamped beneath the stars of heaven, without furniture in their wretched hovels, living on the simplest fare, and possessing no literature beyond the family Bible, which many of them were even unable to read. One cause that most contributed to keep the Boers in their savage isolation was the vast extent of the domains which they had appro- priated to themselves during the early days of the occupation. These allotments, or phtats, as they were called, which were assigned to each family of squatters, had a superficial area of 3,000 morgcn, or about 6,000 acres, and as no strict boundaries could be traced between the several estates, many of them were found to cover a far more extensive space than that ofiicially specified. The Boer who was not piit in possession of one of these enormous properties felt himself aggrieved bj- the fates, and, like his fathers, went into voluntary exile in order elsewhere to found a little territorial state more in accordance with his ideas of the fitness of things. From encamj)ment to encampment was thus continued towards the Zambese the great migratory movement which had begun on the shores of the Southern Ocean. It was from the Transvaal that went forth the trekkers who plodded wearily for five years across the wilderness from the Limpopo to Lake Ngami and thence to the Cunene, decimated along the route by hunger and thirst and all manner of hardships, until at last the few survivors reached their present home in the Huilla district on the Atlantic seaboard. The greater part of these emigrants belonged to the sect of the Doppers, zealous Calvinists, who scrupulously preserve the usages and oven the dress of their fore- fathers, and in whose eyes the modern ideas introduced into their communities by books and newspapers are an abomination. In general the Boers despise every- thing that docs not contribute directly to the material prosperity of the family group. They ignore music, the arts, literature, all refining influences, and find little pleasure in anything except stock-breeding, bullying the natives, and jisalm- singing. Despite their numerous treks, they have contributed next to nothing to the scientific exploration of the land. The education of their children and journalism are mainly in the hands of the English, which fact affords some hope for the improvement of the next generation. A solitarj' life in the midst of his family, his slaves or " apprentices," on a domain stretching beyond the horizon of the surrounding hills — such has hithei'to been the normal existence of the Dutch patriarch. For months together the only strangers he set eyes on were a few casual wayfarers, some Kafir marauders, or occasionally the neighbouring proprietor contiguous to his plaats. But four times a j'car he felt the need of mingling with his fellow-creatures. Then tbe Boers saddled their horses, inspannod their waggon teams, and men, women, and children gatlicring from all quarters, set out for the chapel, the centre of life in the midst of their vast parish from -jU to lim miles in diaiiielor. Oii ihi' day 206 SOUTH AM) KAST Al'ltlCA. appointed for the nachtinaal, or "sacrameut," they assemble in crowds on tlie market- place adjoining the church, lleligious administrations of all kinds are performed in the narrow building ; the married folk take the communion, the betrothed receive a blessing on their nuptials, the young people are enrolled members of the congregation, the children are baptised. A brisk business is plied in the sur- rounding booths : outstanding accounts are settled between debtor and creditor ; owners of live stock and horse-dealers drive sharp bargains. Then the place is gradually deserted, the turmoil subsides, the throng melts away, each family group takes its departure, returning to the solitude and the silence of the wilderness. Nevertheless a social transformation is slowly taking place under the inevit- able change in the outward conditions. The great domains tend naturally to be broken up, and the Eoers thus becoming more numerous are drawn closer toge- ther. All the young people get married, all the women have several children, and the land has to be further divided. Many great owners already grumble at their estates, reduced to one-half or a fourth of their former extent, although a thousandth part of what remains were still sufficient to support a family if pro- perly tilled. On the other hand come the foreign immigrants, and although they may not always immediately find available lands on which to settle, in the long run a certain number of estates either change hands in the lump or are parcelled out in smaller allotments. It also frequently hapjjens that the new purchasers are either Europeans by birth, or else British or English-speaking colonials. Scarcely an instance occurs of any genuine Boers settling in the towns or villages as artisans or traders. These pursuits are entirely monopolised by the English and Germans, many of whom thus growing richer than the Dutch landowners of the surrounding districts are able to buy up large portions of their domains. In this way the territorial aristocracy gradually absorbs elements distinct from the original Boer class. Of all the white intruders, the Dutch Afrikanders show themselves, as a rule, most hostile to their own kinsmen, the Netherlanders of the mother country. At a distance the two races have a certain fellow-feeling for each other, as fully attested b}' contemporary literature ; but when brought close together the memory of their common origin gives place to a strange sentiment of aversion. The Boer is extremely sensitive, hence is irritated at the civilised Hollanders, who smile at his rude African customs, and who reply, with apparent ostentation, in a pure language to the corrupt jargon spoken by the peasantry on the banks of the Vaal or Limpopo. The Aborigines of Tkaxsv.\al. In the southern districts the aborigines have no longer preserved their tribal organisation, and, as in the Orange Free State, are tolerated only in the capacity of servants or day labourers. But in the western, northern, and north-eastern provinces they are still constituted in distinct political and social groups. Such are the Ba-Rolongs, the Ba-Tlapis, the Ba-Katlas, the Ba-Mapelas, the Ba-Hlokoas, Ba-Vendas, and Ba-Soetlas, all of whom belong to the gi-cat Basuto (Ba-Suto) * .^ " .' ^^ _v r Z =^ ' h '-4' t ^ '1 ^ '^^ ^ ^ ."^ 'f s^.> "^ -f^ *^' TR.VXSVAAL. 207 family, and are occasionallv designated by the offensive name of Vaalpens. These natives are separated by the Drakenberg border range from the Ba-Eokas of the advanced hills and plains, who appear to be a people of the same origin as the Zulus and Matcbeles. In general the tribes of the Transvaal consist of clans or heterogeneous groups unconnected by the tics of kindred. They form'conmiunities whose members are of diverse origin brought under the same rule by some conquering chief. Accord- ing to the vicissitudes of war they increase or diminish, get scattered and again grouped together, endlessly modifying the original ethnical elements. Nor have anj' of these peoples been settled for more than a few years in any particular territory. The waves of Boer migration produced corresponding movements in the opposite direction among the aborigines, and these movements themselves have occasionally brought about hostile reactions. Thus the populations become incessantly displaced, like running waters drawn into a whirlpool. Not all the tribes occujjying the river valleys draining to the Limpopo have yet been reduced, some even exacting tribute from the Boers settled in the vicinity. The tribe longest established in this region appears to be the Ma-Gwamba, or " People of the Devil," so named by their neighbours because they are somewhat given to hard swearing, and all their imprecations contain an appeal to the devil. To judge from their language they would seem to be more closely related to the Zulus than to the Bccliuanas. The early Dutch colonists designated these natives by the name of Knob-nuizen, or " Knob-noses," because they artificially raised a line of fleshy excrescences (knobs) from the forehead to the tip of the nose ; but this eccentric fashion has almost disappeared, and few now are met, except some aged persons, who have any claim to the title of Knob-noses. North of the Limpopo the Gwamba people are known by the name of Ba-Hlengwe or Ba-Hlukwa, and persons si)eakiiig their language are met as far north as Lake Nyassa. Natural Resources of Transvaal. Of all South African lands the Transvaal Republic appears to be the most abundantly supplied with all kinds of natural wealth, and it cannot fail sooner or later to become a highly productive region. The fertile soil is suitable for the cultivation of cereals wherever the plough can drive a furrow, and the crops are always of excellent quality. Although only a very small portion of the territory is under tillage, the harvests already yield sufficient for the local consumption, with a surplus exported to Natal. The tobacco grown here is of superior quality, and is highly esteemed throughout South Africa. All the European cultivated plants thrive well beyond the Yaal, and although the semi-tropical climate is more suitable for oranges and lemons than for the northern fruits, nevertheless the apples and pears of the Pretoria district have a very fine flavour. But as a grazing countrj' Transvaal is less favourably situated than the neigh- bouring Orange Free State ; in the northern parts of the territory there are even many tracts where the farmers are unable to raise any live stock, for this re^^iou is 208 SOUTH AND EAST AFIUCA. liir};;ely infested by the tsetse fly, whose bite is fatal, especially to such domestic animals as the horse and ox. The Limpopo Valley throughout the whole of its lower and middle course, as far as the district to the north-west of Pretoria, roughly indicates the range of this terrible scourge. On the south side of the river the infested zone varies in width from six to about eighty miles, and on entering this fatal region travellers are obliged to outspan their teams of oxen and dismount from their horses and send all these animals back to the plateau.- In the districts adjacent to this zone elephants are perfectly aware that in order to Fig. 60. — Range op the Tsetse Flt. Scale 1 : 14,000,000. -. S hasb of Greenwicn mm Range of the Tsetse Fly. ^^^^^^^^^— 300 Miles. escape pursuit by mounted hunters they have only to place themselves under the protection of the tsetse fly. Hence thej' often take refuge in the riverain tracts along the course of the Limpopo, where the sportsman can follow them only on foot, or else mounted on horses with a shaggy coat thick enough to prevent the sting from penetrating to the hide. It is commonly supposed that the pestiferous insect will disappear from the country together with the large game, especially the buffalo and certain species of antelopes, with which it is always found associated. Travellers mention certain districts from which the formidable tsetse has already TIL:i2CSVAAL. 209 been driven, and the belief seems justified that this winged pest retreats with the advance of the plough. Hence it is probable that the increase of population and the development of agriculture will one day enable civilised man to introduce his domestic animals into the Limpopo valley. But on the eastern slopes the permanent difference of climate between the valleys draining to the Indian Ocean and the elevated Transvaal plateau is so great that horses and horned cattle cannot be transported without great danger from one region to the other. This circum- stance accounts for the large sums forwarders of convoys are always rcadj' to give for " salted " animals, that is, those that have become accustomed to both climates. Pleuro-pneumonia, which is unfortunately very prevalent throughout the inland plateaux, is treated by the process of inoculation and amputation of the tail. Another terrible but, fortunately, intermittent plague, are the all-devouring locusts by which the Bonch-veld, or central tableland, is more especially infested. The traveller Mohr gives a graphic account of the arrival of a swarm of these winged insects, which on one occasion he -witnessed when camping on the banks of the Yaal. They appeared like dense volumes of j'ellowish smoke, rolling up from the south-western horizon, and began to aKght, first a few at a time, then by dozens, and presently by countless thousands. They came on in such vast clouds that the heavens were darkened, and the mid-day sun seemed muddy and beamless, as at sunset. No perceptible impression was made on this great surging sea of insect life by the flocks of locust-eaters which assailed it on all sides. It continued to flood all the land, changing the waters of the Yaal to a dirtj' yellowish grey colour. Nothing can check their onward march ; when their path is intercepted by a stream they rush headlong in, graduallj' choking its bed with their bodies, and thus forming a dry bridge for the myriads pressing on from behind. ^Vhere- ever they alight the country is speedily converted to an absolute desert, every green thing disapj^earing as by enchantment. But on the other hand the locusts are greedily devoured by domestic animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as by elephants and other large graminivorous wild beasts. The natives also regard them as a great delicacy, collecting them in large heaps and eating them dried and roasted. Mineral "Wealth. As a mining region the South African Republic is no less highly favoured than as an agricultural country. Doubtless the rich diamond fields discovered in the adjacent lands on its northern frontier appear to be continued into the Transvaal territory only in the form of sporadic deposits without economic value. But on the other hand coal and other minerals occur in great abundance. The coal mines already opened in the northern part of Natal extend far into the Boer State, where the farmers now make extensive use of this fuel, which burns with a clear flame, leaving little or no ash. In various parts of the country iron, cobalt, copper, and argentiferous lead mines are already being worked. But far more widely diffused is the auriferous white quartz, which yields a large percentage of gold. In 1S67 the geologist Mauch discovered the precious metal on the banks of the Tati, a river VOL. xiii. p 210 SOUTU AXD EAST AFRICA. which flows through the Makalaka territory to the north of Transvaal, and which through the Shasha reaches the Limpopo above its great bend towards the south- east. Four years afterwards Button reported the existence of another auriferous district within the limits of the republic itself, near Eersteling, among the Devonian liills of Makapana, situated about 120 miles to the north-east of Pretoria. In 1S73 further discoveries were made in the Lydenburg upland?-, which form the northern termination of the Drakenberg border range. Again in 1880 rich deposits were brought to light in the eastern terraces intersected by the atHuents of the Manissa, and within the Swazi territory. Lastly, these discoveries rig. Cl. — The Tkaxsvaal Gold Fields. Scale 1 : 7,000,000. I.imits of the Tsetse Fly. Auriferous DepositE. _ I'V, Mils- ■were soon followed bj' other even more extensive finds in the Johannesberg district, on the Witwaters-rand uplands between Pretoria and Potchefstroom. The mines at present most actively worked are situated in this district and about Barberton, north of Swaziland, where the De Kaap deposits have recently attracted a large mining population. Altogether it may be confidently asserted that gold exists in enormous quantities in the whole of this region, where " fresh fields are being almost daily opened up, not only in the Boer republic, but in the native districts lying east, west, and north of it." * At a meeting of the Society of xVrts in March, 1888, • Charles Man-in, English Africa, p. 7. TR.VN'SViV.VL. 211 Jlr. W. n. Penning read a paper on " The South African Gold Fields," in which he stated that it might now be safely concluded that the whole of the Transvaal was gold-bearing except the " High Veldt " in the centre, although it was by no means improbable that even this district might yet prove rich in the precious metal, which in Africa often occurred in unexpected places and under entirely novel conditions. This experienced geologist is of opinion that htre the gold actually lies in beds, a feature of immense importance to South Africa, and indeed to the whole world. lie is satisfied that deposits hitherto regarded as mere " country rock " and localities believed to be barren would, on the coutrarj', prove to be highly auriferous. But there appears to be no doubt that the richest deposits are those most recently discovered, that is, those in the east known as the De Kaap mines, from the neighbouring mountain and river, and those lying farther west in the "Witwaters- rand Hills. The whites alone are privileged to acquire possession of the mines, from which the natives are rigorously excluded except in the capacity of daj'- labourers. By a measure passed in June, 1885, they cannot even receive payment in gold under the penalty of the lash and imprisonment. Even the Indians and Chinese are admitted to the fields only on paying a heavy residence tax of £2.'). In the De Kaap mines the rocky formation consists mainly of slaty schists, sand- stones, and conglomerates, with granites, quartz, and eruptive rocks cropping out here and there. Those of Witwaters-rand, or simply Rand, occur in a sort of conglomerate locally known by the name of nugat, and the reefs, or auriferous veins, are everj-where disposed in the direction from east to west. Auriferous or nugget-bearing sands are rare, hence the metal has to be extracted from its bed by powerful rock-crushing machinery. The consequence is that in the Transvaal independent private miners are not numerous. The operations have necessarilj' to be carried on in a large way by speculating companies commanding sufficient capital, whose headquarters are in Natal, Pretoria, Kimberley, and London. Round about the works populous towns rapidly spring up; new centres of European culture are established in the midst of the African world ; a stimulus is given to the industries, allhough one of the most flourishing is unfortuiuitely the distillation of alcoholic drinks. The most productive mines enjoy a great economic advantage from their position on, or not far from, the direct route connecting Potchcfstroom and the capital of the republic with Dolagoa Bay. The railway, which is absolutely indispensable to the rapid commercial development of the State, has been so projected as to penetrate from the coast into the plateaux in the direction of the auriferous districts. Between Pretoria and Barberton, centre of the eastern gold fields, the line will attain an altitude of no less than G,500 feet at its highest point. Even before the temporary annexation of the couutry by the iMiglish the most prominent subject of discussion in the National Assembly was that of the projected iron road, affording direct communication between the central regions of the republic and the Indian Ocean. Considerable loans had already been made with a view to carry out this undertaking, and rails had even been lauded I'nr the futuic line. But this first outlay was wasted, and the works p 2 212 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. entirclj' suspended by the wars with the natives, ruinous speculations, and the political troubles brought about by the British occupation. Nor were the English themselves very zealous for the construction of this line, fearing that it might have the effect of diverting from Natal and Capo Colony the whole of the foreign trade of the South African Republic. Hence fresh funds must now be raised in order to comjdotc this great work, which is essential for the material prosperity of the land. Toi'OfiRAl'HY OF THE TrANSVAAL. The southern strip of territory skirting the frontier of the Orange Free State still lies within the Vaal basin. The little town of Standerton, near the coal mines about the sources of the river, and Heidelberg, situated more to the west at the foot of Jeannctte Peak (6,300 feet), both lie in the highland district where the orange will not bloom, as in most other parts of the Transvaal, where a sub- tropical climate prevails. Potchefatroom, some 90 miles still further west, on the Mooi, or "Fair River," a small affluent of the Vaal, already enjoys a much warmer temperature, although still standing at an elevation of 4,300 feet. In the surroiinding district maize and tobacco thrive well. Potchefstroom, which during the early period was the capital of the Transvaal, and which continued to be the most populous town in the republic long after the seat of government was removed to Pretoria, is a very agreeable place of residence. The streets are lined with weeping willows, said to have been originally introduced from St. Helena, and all the surrounding gardens are enclosed by quickset hedges where blooms the rose. Owing to the profusion of blooming plants, most of the Transvaal towns present a charming aspect during the flowering season. The Mooi River, which springs from a cavernous limestone rock, disappears at several points along its course, again emerging in the recesses of underground grottoes, one of which, the Wonder-fontein, recalls the marvellous spectacle presented by the analogous formations in Carniola. The present capital of the republic, named Pretoria in honour of its President, Pretorius, lies at an elevation of 4,500 feet, on a gently sloping plain, everywhere encircled by hills except towards the north, where the Magalies, or " Black Rhinoceros Range," is pierced by a gorge giving egress to one of the headstreams of the Limpopo. The Apies, as this headstream is called, collects in a single channel several rivulets which after traversing the town serve to irrigate the neighbouring gardens. Originally laid out on an ambitious scale, with boulevards and streets crossing each other at right angles, Pretoria long remained in a state of transition between town and country, presenting somewhat the aspect of a large garden relieved here and there with a few groups of low buildings. But since it has become a place of resort for the miners proceeding to the northern gold fields it has put on the appearance of a busy mart. Houses are already crowded together in the central quarter, and large numbers are attracted to the markets, while the sedentary population exceeded six thousand in 1887. A few patches of the primeval forest still survive on the surrounding slopes, and at one TEANSVAAL. 218 spot is shown the " "Wonder-boom," with its enormous wide-spreading branches. Thus Potchefstroom's " Wonder Spring " is thrown into the shade by Pretoria's " Wonder Tree." West of the capital, the little town of Rmtenburg, and that of Zcerust in the province of Marico, the " Garden of the Transvaal," are also situated on upper affluents of the Limpopo. A similar position is occupied by Nyhtroom, so called because its Boer founder supposed he had here discovered the sources of the Nile. The rivulet which joins the Limpopo above the great falls still retains the name of " Nile," which recalls the lofty ambition of the Boer voortrehhers, or pioneers, who in their crass ignorance fancied themselves on the high road to the Promised Land. Between this river and the Olifant lies the mining town of Ersteliiiy Fig. 62. — Peetoeia. Scale 1 : 1,240,000. 2 -^-j*-'-'-^;?^^-^-? PRETORIA ^jgK' *"^- ,,v^*''"."'i^eineyer ::i..^lS^:^^i^ti.i'» -:;, ,:^^^^h. Cask of Gr {Eersteling), near which are extensive gold reefs and the famous Ijzerberg, or " Iron Mountain." Then follows Marabas Town, beyond which, towards the north, the white population diminishes rapidly. Beyond the ruined station of Zoufpans- herg, founded in the year 1834 near some productive salt-pans, there are no inhabitants of European origin except the missionaries and a few traders. The district where the river penetrates into the region infested by the tsetse fly is scarcely even explored. Here the only human habitations are a few native camping-grounds occurring at long intervals on the routes crossing the stream. The Limpopo flows through almost unknown solitudes throughout the whole section of its course, which forms the northern frontier of the republic and which sweeps round to the east of the border range. The white population does not descend from the elevated plateaux, which are here carved into elongated proinon- 214 SOUTH A>rD EAST Al'IilfA. lories by tlic streams flowiiif.' to tlic lower Limpopo. The Europoiin settlers are here concentrufed mainly about the towns of MidtMhura and Ltjdcnhurg, in the upper basin of the Olifant, which joins the Limpopo 120 miles above its mouth, and in the upland valleys of the Manissa (Nkotami) and its affluents. Here are situated the recently founded towns of Barherfon (already with a population of six thousand) and Eureka, centres of the De Kaap gold fields as Johanneshcrg is of those in the Witwator-rand district. In the middle of the year 1887, the latter place was stated to have already as many as ten thousand inhabitants, although its very name was not yet entered on a single map. As soon as the railway from Delagoa Bay j^onetrates into the heart of the plateau, the population and trade of this region cannot fail to be increased tenfold. This railway had already been pushed forward in 1888 to within 60 miles of Bai-berton, with which place it was connected by a steam tramway pending the construction of a regular line. Barberton itself, which three years jjreviously consisted only of a few huts, now possesses several hotels, three banks, two share exchanges, a good club, aud a theatre. The capital of the numerous companies engaged in developing the De Kaap gold fields exceeds several millions, and more undertakings arc being floated every week.* The vast majority of the miners throughout the whole of this auriferous regions are of British descent, and English is everywhere the current language of trade and general intercourse. Thus with the rapid material development of the country, the Anglo-Saxon race threatens to swamp the Boer element, just as it absorbed the Spanish in California, Texas, and other parts of the United States in a single generation. South of the auriferous region the escarpment of the elevated plateau com- prises the territory of Ifew Scotland, which appears to abound in carboniferous deposits. Here is situated Lake Chrissie, an extensive sheet of water which is now all that remains of the vast inland sea which formerly flooded a large part of the plateau. The coal-fields are continued southwards across the provinces of Wakkerstroom and L^trecht till they merge in the rich coal mines now being worked in the Newcastle district of North Natal. East of the plateau the enclave in Ziduland, lying near the waterparting and traversed by the Black and White Umvolosi rivers, was occupied in 1885 by some six hundred or seven hundred Boer settlers grouped chiefly in and about the little town of Vrijheid ("Freedom "), on a small affluent of the "White Umvolosi. Admixistratiox of the Transvaai., In the South African Bcpublic, as in the Orange Free State, the white element has reserved to itself all political rights. From their present masters the old rulers of the land can now expect nothing but tolerance, and such a measure of liberty as the administration may voluntarily confer on them. The whites, whether citizens by birth or naturalised after a five years' residence and on payment of £'io, are alone entitled to take part in the elections of the members of the Yolks- • Marvin, np. cil., p. 17. , TRAXSYAAL. 215 raad and of the President of the republic. For these offices those only are eligible who are natives of Transvaal or residents of fifteen years' standing, pro- fessing the Protestant religion, and owners of a domain within the limits of the State. The legislative power is vested in the Yolksraad, which consists of forty- four members elected for four years, one-half retiring every two years. Each district returns three delegates, besides which each mining district is represented in the Assembly by a member appointed by a syndicate of the miners. All signa- tories to a petition for the annexation of Transvaal are ipso facto excluded from the right of suffrage and from all public offices. Dutch is the official language of the Yolksraad, which holds its sessions in Pretoria. The President is elected for five years by all enfranchised burghers, and is assisted in his executive functions by a council of five members : the State Secretary, the Commander of the military forces, the Minister of Mines, and two non-official delegates named by the ^'olksraad. The suzerainty of Great Britain, restricted to the control of the foreign rela- tions of the republic, is little more than nominal. But even the present constitu- tion, which has been frequently amended since the proclamation of the " Thirty- three Articles " in May, 1849, is itself only provisionar3\ The patriotic Boers of South Africa still dream of the daj' when the two republics of the Orange and the Transvaal, at first connected by a common customs union, will be consolidated in a single " African Holland," possibly even in a broader confederacy comprising all the Afrikanders from the Cape of Good Hope to the Zambese. The Boer families grouped in every town throughout South Africa form collectively a single nationality, despite the accident of jjolitical frontiers. The question of the future union has alreadj^ been frequently discussed by the delegates of the two conter- minous republics. But unless these visions can be realised during the present generation, they are foredoomed to failure. Owing to the unprogrcssivc character of the purely Boer communities, and to the rapid expansion of the English- speaking peoples by natural increase, by direct immigration, and by the assimila- tion of the Boers themselves, the future " South African Dominion " can in any case never be an "African Holland." Whenever the present political divisions are merged in one state, that state must sooner or later constitute rather an "African England," whether consolidated under the suzerainty of Great Britain or on the basis of absolute political autonomy. But the internal elements of dis- order and danger are too multifarious to allow the European inhabitants of Austral Africa for many generations to dispense with the protection of the English sceptre. The Transvaal Republic has no standing army beyond a small force of horse artillery, but in case of war all able-bodied citizens arc obliged to serve. The revenue — derived chiefly from the sale of lands, the customs, the hut tax payable by the natives, and the dues levied on mines — has increased more than threefold since 1880. Hitherto the annual surplus over the normal expenditure has been chiefly applied to developing the telegrajih system. The public debt, which in 188"J exceeded £GGO,000, was reduced in 1884 to less than 1:400,000. It is partly a 21G SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. charge on the public revenue and partly secured on the fixed property of the State. The territory of the South African Republic is divided for administrative pur- poses into sixteen provinces or districts, which are, for the most part, named from their respective chief towns. They are administered by a landrost, a sort of governor and magistrate combined, who is invested with very extensive powers over the native populations. The districts, which before the great development of the gold-miuing industry numbered twelve, will be found tubulated in the Appendix. III.— Dki.ac^oa Bay. This inlet on the south-east coast of the continent takes its name, not, as has been said, from the fact that it was the last African port of call for Portuguese vessels bound for Goa and the East Indies, but because it presents the appearance of a lake or lagoon (lagoa). But in any case Delagoa Bay promises one day to acquire great importance as the natural outlet of the whole Limpojjo basin and of the States on the South j\irican plateau. The form of the coast-line, and the depth of this land-locked basin, which receives several streams navigable by light craft, give to this Portuguese possession quite an exceptional value, all the more highly appreciated by the shippers of Natal and Cape Colony that south of this splendid estuary there is not a single well-sheltered and commodious haven. Hence, the English colonists, as heirs of the old Dutch navigators who effected a landing here in the year 1720, and as representatives of Captain Owen, who acquired a strip of territorj- on the coast in 1825, did not fail to claim possession of the bay, which woidd have been in every way so convenient, and which must have secured for them the unchallenged political and commercial supremacy over the inland States. The priority of possession, however, was contested by Portiigal, and in 1875 became a subject of arbitration, and was decided against England by Marshal MacMahon, President of the French Republic, to whom the question had been referred by the Grovernments of London and Lisbon. Delagoa Bay was con- sequently restored to the Portuguese province of Mozambique, although from the commercial point of view the judgment might be said to have been given in favour of the Transvaal Republic, because the bay is the natural outlet of that State on the Indian Ocean, while it is the interest of Portugal to attract all the traffic of the plateaux to the port of which she has acquired the possession. But not being yet provided with docks, piers, or other shipping conveniences, and with only a short unfinished line of railway and undeveloped communications, with a thinly peopled, unhealthy, and uncultivated territory, this port has, so to say, nothing at present to depend upon except the prospects of its futiu-e prosperitj\ In fact, the whole district of which it is the capital, from the ilaputa to the Limpopo, is an unreclaimed region largely covered with primeval forests, savannahs, and marshy tracts. It has a total area of about 16,000 square miles, with an esti- mated population of eighty thousand, or five to the square mile. DEL AGO A BAY. 217 LouKEX(^o Marques. The tovra of Louren(;o Marques, founded in 1867 on the site of a vilhige that bore the same name and which had been seized by the Ya-Twa Zulus in 1823, is 80 designated in memory of the navigator who established the first Portuguese factory on the shores of Delagoa Bay, in the year 1-544. But these waters had already been explored by Pedro Quaresma, who made no attempt to secure a footing in the district. The low houses of the present town, built of stone and disposed along the streets running at right angles to each other, present a jjleasant Fig. 63. — LonBN(;o Maeques. Scale 1 : 26,000. EI3 Depths. 32 to 80 Feet __ 1,100 Yards. SO Feet and upwards. seaward prospect, although standing at a low level and surrounded by sluggish waters which fonnerly served the purpose of moats against the attacks of natives. This position of Louren90 Marques in the midst of low-lying alluvial lands, renders it insalubrious during the hot season ; and it is now proposed to carry out a system of drainage and extensive plantations of the eucalyptus, in order to dry up the swamps, which at first may have seemed to constitute an advantage for the rising settlement. But in any case there are some more elevated lands in the vicinity, and a comparatively healthy ujjper town, inhabited chiefly by the mer- 218 SOUTU AND EAST AFRICA. chiiiits, is gradiiully rising above the lower quarters devoted to the shipping interests. The Zulus of the Lourcnno Marques district are described by Mrs. Pringle, who visited the place in 1880, as an exceptionally fine-looking race of quite gigantic stature. "Many of the women are over six feet high, and have such beautifully developed figures, that they would form perfect studies for a sculptor. Nearly all the hoeing and most of the manual labour is done by them. As this must be very hard work, sooner or later it must kill any who are not naturally strong, whereas those who can stand it have all their muscles fully expanded by constant action. Not two of the men or women we met were dressed alike. Some had their hair most elaborately frizzled, and all kinds of feathers stuck into it. Instead of a loin-cloth, they wore wild beasts' skins tied round their waists, with a row of tails dangling from them. Others again had their hair di'awn out in fine Fig. G4. — The LoriiEXfO Maeques-Peetoeia RjUlwat. Scale 1 : 5,000,000. E asL of breenwich Alternative Routes. strings and plastered with red mud, so that in the distance it looked like a head- dress of red coral."* This traveller speaks in depressing terms of the extremely unhealthy climate of Louren^o Marques, described as a perfect hotbed of fever, and so deadl)' that even horses cannot live there. A station of the Eastern Telegraph Company has been established at Louren90 Marques. But one after another the unfortunate officials in charge of it sooner or later fall victims to the climate. " Now they are trying the experiment of sleeping on board a vessel anchored in the harbour, until they can build a station up on the hiU."t Lourenco Marques does not lie on the shore of Delagoa Buy, but occupies the northern bank of an estuary which is developed on the north-west side of this exten- sive sheet of smooth water. Three rivers have their mouths in this common estuary, which is nevertheless still inaccessible to vessels of the largest size. The mean depth is not more than 16 or 18 feet, rising to 24 or 25 during the spring tides. But for average shipping the harbour leaves nothing to be desired, pre- senting from east to west an uninterrupted stretch of about 8 miles of good anchor- * Towards the Mountains of the Moon, p. 75. t lb. p. 77. DELAGOA BAY. 219 age. The neighbouring bay is capacious enough for hundreds of the very largest vessels, which may here ride at anchor with perfect safety in depths ranging from 40 to 120 feet. The entrance, some 12 miles wide and over 50 feet deep, is large enough to give access to a whole fleet. The railway has its terminus to the south of the town, on the very beach, which is soon to be protected by a sea-wall lined with landing-stages. The line runs from this point mainly in a north-westerly direction to the Manissa, crossing this river at the spot where it escapes through a rocky gorge from the Lobombo llills, the most advanced border range of the plateau and western limit of the Portuguese territory. In 1887 the railway had already reached this place, 55 miles from the coast, but to reach the plateau it will have to ascend the escarpment by a gradient of considerably over an inch in the yard. The land routes followed by the emigrants with their cattle between the Transvaal and the rivers flowing to the port of Louren(;o Marques have the serious disadvantage of having to traverse a low-lying tract, usually infested by the deadly tsetse fly. Occasionally this dangerous zone has been crossed without disaster ; but travellers and traders have not unfrequently had to abandon their chattels in the marshy bottom lands, after losing all their draught animals in the attempt to get over this tsetse and fever-stricken district. The reclaimed lands on the outskirts of Lourenco Marques produce the sugar-cane and tropical fruits, and here are also some coffee plantations. Large numbers of turtles are cajitured in the neighbouring waters. Each successive decade witnesses a considerable increase in the trade of Delagoa Bay, in which some Marseilles merchants, and Banyans from Diu, on the west coast of India, have a larger share than the Portuguese dealers. The exports consist mainly of hides and mineral ores, the imports of brandy and war material. But the total value of the exchanges still falls much below £100,000, although the transit dues levied on goods destined for the Transvaal is only three per cent, at the Portuguese custom house. The trade in ivorj- has ceased ; while, since the vear 1845, no more slaves have been forwarded through this outlet. On the other hand, the voluntary emigration of the natives towards Natal has assumed con- siderable importance. The agent stationed at Ijouren^o Marques sends presents to the tribal chiefs, who in return give a certain number of young men permission to go abroad on the condition of coming back in a few years with their earnings. The territory stretching south of Delagoa Bay is inhabited by the Amatonga people, who belong to the same group as those occupying the shores of the St. Lucia lagoons and backwaters, and who even recognise the same tribal chiefs, notwithstanding the arbitrary frontiers traced by diplomatists. In this southern district of Delagoa Bay no European settlements have yet been made. Here the shore, fringed with dunes, is dangerous to shipping, while the mouths both of the Manissa (Nkomati) and Limpopo are of difficult access. Nevertheless here reside a few Banyan dealers, who chiefly import brandies, and whose factories on both rivers are accessible to light craft. The Limpopo factory is situated at Manjoba, a kraal standing at the head of the navigation of the river, 80 miles from the coast. The influence of the tides is felt as far up as this point. In exchange for 220 SOUTU AND EAST AFlUfA. spirits the dealers take chiefly hides, caoutchouc, and beeswax. Xo establishment has been founded by Europeans, either on the river or in the neighbouring maritime region, and here the only human habitations are a few kraals of the Magwumba (Malolo) natives scattered here and there amid the forests and on the open savannahs. The Magwambas, who belong to the widespread Amatouga (liatonga) family, and the communities that have escaped the ravages of the Zulus, give evidence of a relatively high degree of native culture. All these tribes are greatly addicted to the smoking of hemp. CHAPTER YII. rORTUGTJESE POSSESSIONS NORTH OF THE LniPOPO. InHAMBANE SOFAI.A — Gazaland. TIE basins of the coast streams following northward between the Limpopo and Zambese estuaries are all of comparatively small extent. Nevertheless that of the Sabi, which is the largest, pene- trates over 300 miles into the interior of the continent. But farther inland the whole of the plateau drains either to the Lim- popo or to the Zambese, whose numerous affluents here intermingle their waters. The divide between these two great hydrographic systems, and those of the smaller rivers flowing in independent channels seaward, is partly indicated by an irregular mountain range forming the escarpment of the plateau. The zone of coastlands thus roughly limited westwards by the Matebele and Mashona high- lands may be approximately estimated at about 112,000 square miles. On no very solid grounds, most travellers agree in giving a population of about half a million to this region, which comprises the south-eastern section of the long-dismembered empire of Monomotapa. Apart from the Portuguese officials and traders who visited the inland districts before the present centurj-, this territory of Gaza, with the surrounding lands, has been explored and described chiefly by the travellers Slauch, Erskine, TTood, Kuss, Cardozo, Paiva d'.:Vndrada, d'Almeida, Browne, O'Donnel, and Kerr. But these daring pioneers have been followed by numerous other visitors, and expedi- tions organised in the mining towns of the Transvaal are at present traversing Gazaland and studying its mountains and rivers, in order to discover traces of gold in its quartzose rocks and alluvial deposits, with the view of determining once for all the value of the Portuguese traditions regarding the mineral treasures of this region. Physical Featvres. The mountains which in Natal, Zululand, and the Portuguese enclave of Delagoa Bay form the escarpment of the plateau west of the coastlands, do not continue to form north of the Limpopo a regular, well-defined orographic system. Here the ascent from the seaboard towards the elevated uplands of the interior is 2-22 SOUTU AXD EAST AFRICA. not al)nii)tly interrupted, as it is farther south, by an uiihrokcn rocky barrier. The track lies rather across grassy or wooded district.s, which rise either almo.st imperceptibly or ^^■ith a very gentle slope towards the inland plateaux. Amid these plain.s, however, stand out a few isolated eminences or even mountain masses, such as the lofty hills round which the Sabi describes a great bond to the west and south, and which the Kafir ruler of Gazaland has chosen as the best site for his royal residence and citadel. Above this group of hills, the Ubiri of recent explorers,* rise three conspicuous summits, the Ubiri, Sipumgambili, and Silindi 2>eaks, porphyrj', trap, and basalt crags, with an estimated altitude of about 4,000 feet. The running waters, cutting their beds deep into the living rock, have carved these heights into several distinct sections, which are in many places of difficult access, owing to their steep slopes and the tall dense herbage, not easily penetrated by the explorer. Nevertheless the throe highest crests are clothed with forests, where progress can be made with- out much trouble between the trunks of the trees. According to Erskine, the upper valleys of the Biizi, which has its source in these highlands, are destined one day to become a centre of European colonisation and culture. Here the climate is perfectly salubrious, and here both the sugar-cane and the coffee shrub find a congenial soil. Northwards this mountain group abuts on a red and white sandstone tableland over 3,000 feet high, connected by a few eminences with the Sita Tonga range, whose crests rise probably to a height of 5,000 feet. One of these crests, terminating in a sharp jjoiut, has received from the natives the expressive name of Gundi-Tnyanga, that is, "Moon-shaver." "West of the Sabi the granite hills, resting on a more elevated plateau with a mean altitude exceeding 4,000 feet, present a far less imposing appearance. They are, in fact, for the most part mere undulations of the ground with broad intervening depressions, where the waters lodge in shallow lacustrine or marshy basins. Nevertheless even here the Matoppo ridge presents granite domes rising to a height of 5,600 feet, whUe some of the crests are carved into obelisks and p3-ramids of the most eccentric outlines. Farther on the elevated ridges, whose axis continues the line of waterparting between the Limpopo and Zambese affluents, are disposed beyond the sources of the Sabi in an oblique direction with the coastline of the Sofala district. Here the highest chain, dominated by Mount Doe, which, according to Kuss, attains an altitude of 8,000 feet, presents the aspect less of a group of mountains than of an irregular plateau. Here is situated the Manica district, which has become famous for its gold-fields. The granite mass stands at a mean elevation of not less than 6,500 feet, while the surmounting crests are little more than low hills or gently sloping eminences. East of the Manica uj)lands the divide between the Zambese and the small coast streams is nothing more than an open plain interrupted at intervals by granite domes rising abruptly above the surface. South of this parting line of the waters the aspect of a frowning citadel is presented by the Gorongoza group * Browne and 0"Donnel, ScotlisU Geographical Magazine for November, 1SS7. GAZALAND. 223 with its extremely precipitous outer slopes, aud culiiiinafiug' iu Mount Miranga, which exceeds 6,500 feet in height. This isolated mass, which, like the Maiiica uplands, is of granitic formation, is clothed on its upper parts by magnificent forests, presenting a pleasant contrast to the surrounding tracts, which are mostly covered with a stunted growth of brushwood. Rni:R Systems. — Mauine Cukuents. The Sabi (Sabia), the largest watercourse in the Gaza country, forms a ver\- extensive fluvial basin, which, stretches from the Jlatebele highlands north- Fig. 65. — Chief Routes of ExPLonERS between the Limpopo axt) Zambese. Scale 1 : 24,000,000. '^^W~W7i^^. ^^, V i— ««»' afe2'-«i-- 1/ g^----*^...3 •■•5 ^<} -^^ §f^;.''^^ " TRANSVAAL U0. r-'^ ■^ .::'*i:sj.. 'WeJi''*'-^*''"' &cs*J? ^S^SO'SO' EastoF GreftnwicK vegetation of great variety of colour and form. At the period of our visit several trees were spangled over with blossoms. There, towering over all, stands the great burly baobab, each of whose enormous arms would form the trunk of a large tree, beside a group of graceful palms, which, with their feathery-shaped leaves depicted on the sky, lend their beauty to the scene. The silvery motonono, which in the tropics is in form like the cedar of Lebanon, stands in pleasing contrast with the dark colour of the motsouri, whose cypress form is dotted over at present with its pleasant scarlet fruit. Some trees resemble the great spreading oak. THE MIDDLE ZAMBESE. 245 others assume the character of our elms and chestnuts ; but no one can imagine the beaut}' of the view from anything witnessed in Knghmd. " The falls are bounded on three sides by ridges 300 or 400 feet in height, which are covered with forest, with the red soil appearing among the trees. When about half a mile from the falls I left the canoe by which wo had come down thus far, and embarked in a lighter one, with men well acquainted with the rapids, who, by passing down tho centre of the stream, in the eddies and still places caused by the many jutting rocks, brought me to an island situated in the middle of the river, and on the edge of the lip over which tho waters roll. Though wo had reached the island, and were within a few yards of the spot a view from which would solve the Avhole problem, I believe that no one could perceive where the vast bodv of water went ; it seemed to lose itself in the earth, the opposite lip of the fissure into which it disappeared being only 80 feet distant. Creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambose, and saw that a stream of 1,000 yards broad leaped down 100 feet, and then became suddenly compressed into a space of 15 or 20 yards. The entire falls are simply a crack made in a hard basalt rock from the right to the left bank of the Zambese, and then prolonged from the left bank away through thirty or forty miles of hills. In looking into the fissure on the right side of the island, one sees nothing but a dense white cloud, Avhich at the time we visited the spot had two bright rainbows on it. From this cloud rushed up a great jet of vapour exactly like steam, and it mounted 200 or 300 feet high ; there condensing, it changed its hue to that of dark smoke, and came back in a constant shower which wetted us to the skin." The narrow gullet through which the whole bodj- of water escapes is only 100 feet broad at the entrance, that is about .thirty-six times narrower than the river above the falls. Widening at times, and again contracting to the first dimensions, it winds abrujjtly tlu-ough its rocky bed, hemmed in between black porj^hyry cliffs, trending first to the west, then to the east, and repeating tho same meanderings before finally emerging from the gorges and gradually expanding to its nonnal size. The rocky walls arc broken by deep lateral ravines, and every fissure is clad with a forest vegetation. The higher terraces resemble hanging gardens, whence the designation of Semiramis ClifP, given by Ilolub to the eastern promontory commanding the entrance of the gorge. At a comparatively recent geological epoch, before the Zambese had opened this gorge by eating away the barriers damming up the lacustrine waters, it flowed at a higher level in a lateral valley. This valley is now traversed bj' the Lekone, a northern tributary of the main stream, which flows in a contrary direction to the old current. TiiK Middle Zamdese. Eelow the Victoria Falls the Zambese at first continues its easterly course, then trends to the north-east, and again sweeps round to the east. Even here the current is still obstructed, rushing at one point over the Kansalo rapids, at another 246 SOUTH ANT) EAST AFRICA. traversing the narrow Tlariba gorge. Then it is joined by its great Kafukwe (Kafwe) affluent, which conies directly from the west, and which is reported to bo interrupted only bj' a solitary cataract about a day's journey above the confluence. Still farther up this river would appear to bo free from all obstructions as far as the neighbourhood of the waterparting between tbc Zambese and Congo basins. The valley of this river has consequently already been indicated as probably offering the best route to be followed by the future trans-continental railway from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Farther down the copious Loa-Ngwe sends to the Zambese the whole drainage of the southern slope of the waterparting between Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika. With this contribution the mainstream has acquired nearly the full measure of its Tig. 71. — The Laputa Goeoe. Scale 1 : 120,000. liquid volume, when it strikes against the roots of the mountain-range running north and soutb atbwart its seaward course. The Chikarongo Falls, followed by the Kebrabassa rapids, mark the point where the Zambese is deflected by this barrier towards the south-east, a direction which, with the exception of a few short mcauderings, it henceforth pursues to the delta. At this point, marking the commencement of its lower course, its waters begin to lose their limpid clearness, clouded by the muddy deposits and organic remains here lining its banks. Above the rapids it preserved a relative transparence even during the season of the periodical inimdations, but it has now become a turbid stream of a brownish or dirty red colour. Along the upper reaches the banks and riverain tracts are covered ^\4th a dense herbage, where the current is filtered by depositing most of the scdimcntarv matter held in solution. Here also the banks are consolidated bv LAKE NYASSA. 247 the binding effects of the roots, and thus prevented from fulling in and disturbing the stream, as is the case lower down. The gorge where the Zambese pierces the transverse range which forms a northern continuation of the Manica uplands, has become famous in the history of African geographical research. By tradition it had been transformed to a tremendous defile, flanked bj- marble walls of prodigious height, and covered on top with a snowy mantle. The very name of Laputa, which simply means glen or gorge, has been interpreted as signifying the Spina Miindl, or "Backbone of the "World," and the place came accordingly to be regarded as constituting the main continental axis. Yet the cliffs .skirting these narrows are exceeded in height by many similar formations in European river gorges, not to mention the stupendous canons of North America. The highest cliffs, standing on the west side, rise vertically to an altitude of over 650 feet, everywhere presenting all kinds of folds and faults in the strata of its sLlicious schistose rocks. But the eastern or opposite side is greatly inclined and completely forest-clad, rising in steps towards the mountains stretching awaj' to the east. The Zambese, from 200 to 300 yards broad in the defile, and contracting to little over 40 yards at the nan-owest point, flows everywhere at a depth of GO oi- 70 feet, and being entii'ely free from reefs might easily be ascended by steamers. The Laputa gorge has a total length of over ten miles, terminating at its issue in a sort of gateway formed by two cone-shaped porphyry hills. Beyond this point the river broadens out between its receding banks, leaving ample space for a chain of alluvial islands in mid-stream. Farther down it branches off into two arms, one of which, the Ziu-Ziu, on the north side, traverses a low-lying swampy district to its junction with the Shire from Lake x^yassa. The river craft usually take this channel, not only when boimd for the upper Shire, but also when they want to reach the lower reaches and the delta. The two branches are se^jarated by the large triangular island of Inha-K^goma, which is itself cut ujo into numerous secondary islets by passages and backwaters, where boats frequently get lost amid the reeds. All these intricate streams are known as the Eios dc Senna, from the name of the nearest town, and in this region the river itself usually takes the designation of Cuama (Kwama). Lake Nyassa. While the lakes of the I'pper Ziimbe.se have ceased to exist, or have been replaced bj- swamps and salines, the Shire still receives the overflow of the vast lacustrine basin of the Nyassa, which belongs to the system of the East African inland seas. The term Nyassa (Nyanja) simply means "Lake," nor has this great body of water received any more definite name from the natives, while its European discoverers or explorers have conferred no special designation on it, as they have on other equatorial lakes, such as the " Victoria " and the " Albert " Nyanzas. Formerly, when it was still known only through the reports brought from Africa by the missionaries and the Portuguese ofiicials, it was commonly known by the 248 SOTTTII AST) EAST AFRICA. name of Jlaravi, like the populations dwelling on its banks. At the same time this Maravi, witli an alternative Nlianja Mucuro, figured on the maps of Africa under the most diverse forms and outlines, being in some cases made to occupy nearly the whole of the unknown regions of the interior. But all these vague guesses were for ever swept away in the year 1859, when its true formation was first revealed to the outer world by Livingstone. Since that time it has been traversed in every direction by explorers, and Eurojiean settlements have even been founded on its shores. Nyassa presents a striking resemblance to its Tanganyika neighbour. Both basins are disposed very much in the same direction, except that the axis of Nyassa approaches nearer to the line of the meridian ; both appear to fill the beds of cracks in the crust of the earth, produced by the same pressure, but that of Xyassa stands at a lower altitude on the surface of the continent, being scarcely five hundred feet above sea-level. It also presents, like Tanganyika, the aspect of a broad vallc)-, the sinuosities of whose sides mutually correspond, with, however, some deviations here and there. At its two narrowest parts it is only 14 or 15 miles wide, while in other places it expands to 55 or 60 miles. Excluding the windings of the shore-line, it has a total length of over five degrees of latitude, or about 360 miles, with a superficial area, according to the most recent surveys, of about 12,000 square miles,* and depths ranging from fifty to a hundred fathoms, and iipwards. Young found sixty-four and even ninety fathoms close to the east side, while at any distance from the shore the sounding-line of a hundred fathoms almost everywhere failed to touch the bottom. Towards its north-east extreniity the lake is dominated by a lofty range, with steep rocky cliffs sinking sheer down to the water's edge. In some places the cascades, sparkling on the slopes like silvery streaks, mingle their spray with the foam of the waves breaking on the rock-boimd coast. Shallows are rare, and except at a few points on the west side the explorer may sail for days together close in shore without meeting any shelving beach or reed-grown shoals. But some of the bays and inlets are studded with islets which are visited by the hippo- potamus, swimming over from the adjacent mainland. So pure are the waters of Nyassa that the sheathing of the vessels launched on its bosom by the English missionaries remains perfectly clean for years together ; the boilers of the steamers are also almost entirely free from any trace of sediment. The fierce gales which sweep over the lake lash its surface waters into formidable waves, compared by seafarers to the billows of the South Atlantic itself. Hence, although its shores present numerous creeks and inlets with good anchorage, especially under the shelter of the islands, the European navigators have often run imminent peril of foundering. But since the discovery of the easily accessible estuary of the Bombash River, at its northern extremity, they are able to venture on its waters with a greater feeling of security. About forty-eight houi's now * Comparative areas of the great African lakes and of the largest lacustrine basins in other conti- nents: Victoria Nyanza, 26,000 square miles; Tanganyika, 15,000; Nyassa, 12,000; Lake Superior (America), 33,000 ; Baikal (Asia), 14,000 • Ladoga (Europe), 7,000. LAKE NYASSA. 249 suffice to traverse the lake from end to end in steamers, whereas the first explorers took from ten to fifteen days to make the trip. The natives, who scarcely ever venture far from the coast, make use of canoes or dug-outs, hollowed chiefly by the action of fire, with the gimwales curved outwards to the right and left, so as to strike against the water, and thus secure greater steadiness. At times the whole surface of the lake becomes enveloped in a thin silvery mist or haze, shrouding all the mountains and veiling the bright solar ravs. This l-iingu, as it is called, is entirely due, not to any aqueous or aerial vapours, but to countless myriads of tiny white-winged guat.s, which, when alighting on vessels or houses, cover the whole surface as with flakes of snow. The natives gather these midges by the basketful and knead them into cakes. Lying, like Tanganj-ika, in a fissure of the ground, Nyassa is almost entirely encircled by mountains, which are not merely the escarpments or outer slopes of Fig. 72. — Eegiok betweex Xyassa ksd Taxoanyika. Scale 1 : 3,500,000. W^ EastoP Gi the plateaux, but constitute in some places real elevated ranges. On the north- east side especially they even assume the aspect of an Alpine region, towering with some of its peaks to an altitude of nearly 7,000 feet, and, according to some explorers, even exceeding 10,000 feet. Seen from the lake, this north- eastern range, which has received the name of the Livingstone Mountains, in honour of the illustrious traveller and discoverer of Nj-assa, appears to terminate towards its northern extremity in a superb pyramidal peak. Southwards it is continued parallel with the axis of the lake, gradually breaking into less elevated heights and low hills, connected by numerous saddles, which give access from the lacustrine basin to the vallej's watered by the hcadstreams of the Rovuma. On the eastern slope the range rises here and there l)ut slightly above the surrounding plateau, in which it rapidly merges altogether. Towards the sources of the Eo\'uma the culminating point is Mount Mtonia, which rises over 5,000 feet above the lake. 260 SOUTH AND EA8T AFinCA. < )ii tlic west side of Nyassa there occur no ranges coinparublc to the Livlng- stuno chain, and hero the ground rises iu some jjlaces but little above the mean level of the plateau itself. Nevertheless, certain isolated masses present a very imposing effect. Such is iloiint r'hninho, to which the English missionaries have given the name of Waller, and w liicli ((iininands one of the narrowest parts of the lake, near Florence Bay. Clioinbe forms a pyramidal sandstone mass with alter- nating grey and blackish layers, and rising to a height of 5,;"i00 feet. Other less elevated peaks follow in a so\itherly direction along the coast between the lake and the plateau, as far as the Jfolomo Mountains, M'hich project between the Zambese and the lower Shire. Carboniferous deposits of easy access have been discovered in the valleys of the Mount "Waller district. Being thiis pent iip round about most of its periphery by elevated land, Nyassa is fed by no large affluents. At its northern extremity, along the axis of the lacustrine depression, where the explorer Young reported the probable exis- tence of a large emissary, nothing occurs except a few rivulets flo-s\iug from the mountains forming the watcrparting between Nyassa and Tanganyika. The most copious streams come from the western slope, that is, from the side where the general relief of the land is lowest. On the east or opposite side the parting- line between the waters flowing to Nyassa and the Indian Ocean, runs at but a few miles from the margin of the lake, which consequently from this direction receives only some small affluents, often falling through a series of cascades down to the shore. Altogether Nyassa possesses an extremely limited area of drainage compared with its great superficial area. Hence the water is maintained through- out the yciir nearly at the sanae level, the rise and fall scarcely exceeding three feet. According to the report of the missionaries there was a continuoiis slight subsi- dence during the period from 1875 to 1880. At its southern extremity Nyassa terminates, like Tanganyika, iu a " horseshoe," but even more sharply outlined, and this horseshoe is disposed iu two secondary bays or inlets, tapering gradually southwards. The Shtre and Lowek Zambese. From the eastern and longer of these bays, the lacustrine overflow escapes through the outlet of the Shire River. The current is at first broad and sluggish, and soon expands into the little Lake Pamalombe, whose flat banks are every- where overgrown with tall reeds. Beyond this point the Shire continues its southerly course down to the edge of the terrace formation, whence it tumbles over a series of cataracts iu the direction of the Zambese. At these cataracts, which have received the name of the Murchison Falls, all navigation, whether for boats or steamers, is completely arrested, but is resimied lower down and continued with little further obstruction as far as the sandbars blocking the mouths of the Zambese. Throughout the whole of this stretch the only impediment to the traffic are the accumulated masses of tangled aquatic vegetation — ni/mj^hcacciB and other plants, such as the 2)istia stratiotcs and alj'm'nilia, or "lettuce" of the Portu- THE LO^T.I! ZAMBESE. 251 giiese, through which the boatmen find it difficult to penetrate, especially during the months of May and June, when the vegetable growth is most vigorous. South of the confluence of the Ruo or Luo, which flows from the Blantyre uplands, and which is navigable by boats for 50 miles, a huge nearly isolated and Fig. 73.— Zaicbese is-B Suide Cosflitexce. Boale 1 : 900,000. forest-clad mountain springs from amid the surroimding swamps to an altitude of no less than 4,000 feet. Such is the superb Morambala, or " Sentinel Mountain," a conspicuous landmark for the boatmen and riverain popidations of the Lower Zambese for a circuit of 60 miles. Thermal springs, very ctticacious for some disorders, are said to well up at its foot. 252 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. TiiK Zamhese Dki.ta. The united lurrtnt of the Zambcse aud the Shire, which at ccitaiu points is stated to be no less than eight miles wide from bank to bank, flows below the confluence in n south-easterly direction ; it then trend? to the south and again to Fig. "1.- /^AMBKSK DkI.TA. Scale 1 : 1,300,OCO. E«taf G^«n^:ch 32 Feet and upwai'ds. the south-east before ramifying into several distinct branches to form its " goose- foot " delta. All the waters ultimately find their way seawards through numerous mouths, such as the Melambe on the south, the Inhamissengo or Kongoni towards the north, the eastern Lu-Ebo, the Muzelo or Catherine, the Inhamiara, and others. The western Lu-Ebo, or Luasse, a channel winding to the coast on the extreme south, is connected with the delta proper only during the periodical THE ZAMBESE DELTA. 253 inundations. Of all the branclics the most copious is the eastern Lu-Ebo, the Iruc Zambcsc, although shii)ping most usually prefers the luhamissengo, where the depth ranges from 10 to 23 or 24 feet, according to the season and the tides. But all the channels are frequently modified by storms and floods, and both on the north and the south side of the delta are seen old watercourses which were formerly mouths of the erratic river, but are now merely winding streams or backwaters, either completely separated from the Zambese or only temporarily connected with it during the floods. Sea-going vessels can easily ascend the Lower Zambese as far as the foot of Mount Mirambala, sailing before the east wind which mostly prevails in this region. Geologically the delta is far more extensive than it appears at present. It may be said to begin almost immediately below the Shire confluence, where the channels of backwaters and false rivei's, survivals of an ancient current, and still flooded during the iuimdations, are seen to diverge gradually from the mainstream in the direction of the east. Here they effect a junction with the sluggish current of the Rio iluto, which formerly conmiunicated with the Quelimane estuary, but which is now completely obstructed by alluvial de^josits and aquatic plants. Hence the necessity of seeking another channel or outlet for the riverain craft, which was found .somewhat lower down the Zambese at a portage leading to the Barabuanda, better known as the Kwa-Kwa (Qua-Qua), or " Eiver of Forced Labour," because the natives are compelled to deepen or keep it open by dredging. This watercourse winds in the direction of Quelimane, which seaport it reaches after a course of over 70 miles. For more than half of this distance above the port it is navigable for steamers drawing G or 7 feet of water, and the whole distance for light craft. During the annual immdatious of the Zambese, its banks ai-e completely flooded, and the mainstream thus becomes united with the Quelimane River through an intricate network of marshy depressions. The river has moreover recentl}- shifted its bed, and now reaches the coast some 6 mUes farther north, that is, so much nearer to its periodical Quelimane branch. The abandoned channel is still visible, now transformed to a circular lagoon. The same erosive action is still progressing northwards, and the " African Lakes Company " has already had to forsake a building which till recently stood about half a mile from the bank, and erect another some considerable distance farther to the north. Should this northward tendency be continued much longer, the Zambese will effect a i^ennanent junction with the Kwa-Kwa, and the original delta will be restored to its fidl dimensions. In any case a navigable communication might easily be established between the Zambese and Quelimane by cutting a canal through the intervening low-lying portage. Southwards also the Zambese communicates during the inundations with .several streams traversing the Gaza territory. Here the junction is effected by a lagoon belonging to the Zangwe tributarj- to its lower course, and by a succession of channels and backwaters extending us far as the River I'ungwe, on the Sofala coast. 251 SOUTU AND EAST AFIUCA. Climate oi- tiif. Zamisf.se ]5asix. In such a vast urea of dniinagc as tliat of the Ku-Bango and Zainhusc river systems, the climate naturally jn'csouts many contrasts according to the aspect of the land, its general relief and distance from the sea. About the region of the farthest sources, comprising a portion of the plateau •where the Cuanza and the Kassai also take their rise, the climatic conditions are the same as those of the Angolan uplands. Here the rainfall is abundant, thanks to the moist west winds from the Atlantis ; but the transitions are at times very sudden from heat to cold. So also on the extensive level plains traversed by the Lower Ku-Bango, cool weather alternates with intense heat, although here little moisture is precipitated bj' the normallj' dry atmosphere. These regions form, in fact, a northern continuation of the Great Karroo and of the Kalahari Desert, and almost everywhere present nearly the same meteorological phenomena. Farther cast, the Middle Zambese region in the same way reproduces the conditions prevalent in the Transvaal, while the zone of coastlands, being abun- dantly watered and exposed to the reg\ilar action of the trade-winds and marine breezes, belongs rather to tropical Africa. The fierce hurricanes so destructive on the high seas, are unknown on this seaboard of the Zambese delta. The most carefully studied part of the whole basin is that of Lake Nyassa, where European missionaries have been stationed for some jears. Here the rains, which begin in December and last till April or May, arc sufficiently copious, even in a comjjara- tively dry year, amounting to 90 inches at Bandawe. Towards the south the rainfall gradually diminishes, being scarcely more than 33 inches at Tete, on the Zambese.* Flora. A striking contrast is presented between the wealth of the vegetation on the seaboard and its poverty farther inland. To the rich flora of the coastlands the aspect of equatorial forests is imparted by the great variety of palms, including even a species of the banyan, or as it is here called, the " many-legged tree." But in the interior an exuberant vegetation occurs only in the districts more favoured by a copious rainfall or an abundant supply of running waters. Such are, for instance, the summits of the cliffs exposed to the heavy vapours constantly rolling up from the bottomless chasm of the great Victoria Falls. Sjieaking generally the Zambese basin, which is entirely comprised within the toi'rid zone, yields in richness of vegetation to that of the better watered region of the Congo. Its flora is mainly composed of forms common to that botanical zone, but also includes a few species which have penetrated from the Cape northwards beyond the tropic of Cajiricorn. One of these immigrants is the * Temperatiire at Bandawe, on tlie west side of Nyaasa, 11° 4' S. latitude: mean for November, hottest month, SoT. ; May, coldest month, 60°; extreme heat, 99°; extreme cold, 54". Mean tempe- rature at Teto, IG' 10' S. latitude, 62' F. : mean for November, hottest month, 83°; July, coldest month, 72° F. FAUNA OF TIIK Z.\J»03ESE BASIN. 255 silver-tree {Icucademlron argentcum) which is met as far inland as the Upper Zambese. A number of plants belonging to the Cape flora also occur on the high- lands skii-tiug the shores of Lake Nyassaat elevations ranging from 5,000 to G,-jOO feet above the sea. The southern limits of the fluvial basin coincide \"cry nearly with the zone over which the baobab has spread. Favxa. In certain parts of the Zambcsc region the fauna is still surprisingly rich both in numbers and diversity of forms. At the time of Livingstone's explorations, before the white man with his firearms had yet invaded the land, the multitudes of animals roaming o\cr the riverain savannahs is described as " prodigious," and these countless herds still grazed fcarlesslj' near the haunts of man. The elephant, buffalo, and wild boar had not yet learnt to avoid his presence, and the guinea-fowl in flocks of many hundreds perched confidently on the neighbouring trees. According to Ilolub, the natui'alist, who has most carefully explored the Zambese basin, this region, so abounding in animal forms, has no less than seven species of rhinoceros, four of lions, and three of elephants. Even quite recently Capello and Ivens still speak of the plains watered by the Liba as a vast " zoo- logical garden," where the sportsman has his pick and choice of the game needed to supply the wants of the expedition. In some districts lions are so numerous that at night they lay siege to the villages, and keep up an incessant roar till the " small hours." But in other parts of the fluvial basin the hunter has already done his work of extermination. Prudence has taught the lion to be dumb ; the hippopotamus, which snorted loud enough to be heard half a mile off, has learnt the wisdom of silence, and now swims about with bated breath, or at sight of the canoe takes refuge amid the tall reeds. Since the introduction of firearms some wild mammals have already dis- appeared altogether in the hunting-grounds visited by Eui-opeans. The white rhinoceros, a gentle and trusting beast, has been rapidly extirpated ; but the black species, which has a savage temjjer, still survives in districts remote from the beaten tracks. On the northern slope of the Zambese neither the ostrich nor the giraffe is now seen. Both of these animals appear to have been arrested in their migrations northwards by the com-se of the river, for they are still numerous farther south in Mashonaland and the Kalahari Desert. According to Oswell and Livingstone, the wild animals of Austral Africa diminish in size in the direc- tion from south to north. Thus the antelopes become smaller and smaller as they approach the equator, and even the elephant loses in bulk, while by a singular contrast his tusks acquire a larger growth. A marked difference has also been observed in the proportions of domestic animals of both regions. The horned cattle bred by the Bechuanas are much larger and stronger than those belonging to the Batokas of the Zambese. The rule, however, has its exceptions. In some of the river valleys of the Upper Zambese, and probably also in the 258 SOUTH AND KAsT AFIUCA. K;ifuk\\(.' l);isiu, there exists an cxti-cmcly curious species of antelope, whose broad feet are better adapted for swinuning tlian for bounding over the phiins. These qitishohoH, as they arc called by the people of Bihe, pass nearly all their life in the water, in which tho}- arc often seen to dive, leaving nothing above the surface except tlieir two twisted horns. At night they leave the river to browse on the surrounding grassy plains. Their absence from the lower reaches of the river may perhaps ba attributed to the crocodiles, which are here very numerous and cxceiJtionallj- voracious. The nakong, another almost amphibious species of ante- lope, inhabits the muddy swamps which receive tlie discharge of the Chobe Eiver. The enormous size of his foot, which is no less than twelve inches to the extremity of the hoof, enables the nakong to jiass easily over the trembling quagmires with- out sinking. Like the quishobo, he also grazes at night, conccaUug himself during the day amid the tall reeds. When pursued he plunges into the stream, leaving nothing exposed except his back-curved horns and the tip of his nozzle. The natives set fire to the reeds in order to compel the nakong to leave his marshy lair ; they rejoort that he will allow his horns to be consumed before quitting the water and resuming his flight. Except in the Upper Zambese, where animal life is comparatively rare, the main stream as well as the riverain lagoons teem with several kinds of fishes. One of these, the Mosheba, which inhabits the waters of the Middle Zambese, has the power of flight, like the oceanic flying-fish. After the passage of boats it darts into the track, and rising above the surface by the strength of its pectoral fins, follows in the wake for a distance of several yards. The fish-eagle (cttncutna focifer) destroys an enormous quantity of fish, far more than he can possibl}' con- sume. Usually, he selects onlj' the dainty morsels on the back of the animal, and often does not even take the trouble of capturing the prey himself. When he spies a pelican with its pouch dilated with store for future consumi^tiou, he drops like a plummet, all the time beating his wings. This so scares the pelican that it raises its head and opens wide its great mandibles, from which the eagle, passing like a flash, snatches the captured prey. All the marshy tracts are frequented by flocks of aquatic birds as numerous as the penguins and seagulls on certain oceanic islands. The parra africana, one of these fish-eaters, is provided with such broad feet that he is able to advance into mid-stream on the outsjjread lotus leaves without bending them, walking, as it were, on the surface of the water as on solid ground. The Zambese waters are also infested by crocodiles, which are here extremely dangerous, thus differing from their congeners in so many other rivers, where they never willingly attack man. Every j-car reports are constantly heard in the riverain villages of women and children snapjied off on the banks of the streams, of travellers and boatmen killed or mutilated by these voracious reptiles, which in the lower reaches of the Zambese are said annually to devour about two hundred and fifty natives. Amongst all the riverain populations any person wounded by the crocodile is regarded as impure, and expelled from the tribe to avert the calamity his presence would be sure to cause. BAROTSE TYPES. THE AMliuKl.L.V^ 257 Imiauixams or the Kl-15anc.u, ^suami, A^u Urriiu Zamuese Regions. The region of the great divide where the headstreams of the Ku-Bango aud Zambese take their rise is nd more a ixirtLug-liue for its human inhabitants than it is for the animal species. On both slopes dwell tribes of the same race and of the same speech, who migrate from one side to the other according to the vicissi- tudes of social life common to all. At present this migratory movement is setting in the direction from north to south. The Kiokos, who on the opposite sloj^e are invading the Lunda territory, are also encroaching southwards on the Ganguclla, Lushaze, aud Amboella domains, and some of them have alrcadj' been met as far south as the plains of the Lower Ku-Bango. In the Kassai basin they are gradu- ally attracted beyond their ancient frontiers, chiefly by the inducements of trade ; but the nioti\e which, on the other side, impels them towards the south, is rather Fig. 'o. — IXHABITAKIS OF TUE WaTEEPAEIIXO BEr^VEEN TUE CoXOO AND Z.UU3ESE. Scale 1 : 4,4jO,ooo. y^-< ;l^;\>^[|2- o cr]^-olJ^ Ea5t;fGr the gradual disappearance of game from the formerly well-stocked hunting- grounds. The Upper Ku-Bango and the Ku-Ito valleys arc occupied mainly by the Ganguellas, who are aldn to those of the same name in Angola, and who, here as there, are divided into numerous communities, destitute of all political cohesion. A dialect of the Ganguclla language is also spoken by the Lushazcs of the Ui^pcr Kwa-Ndo, who arc noted as skilled agriculturists and artisans, manufacturing highly i^rizcd iron implements, wicker-work objects, and woven fabrics. Far less vain of their personal appearance, and devoting less attention to elaborate head- dressing than most of their neighbours, the Lushazes still clothe themselves in wild beasts' skins and robes of macerated bast. The Amboellas, also kinsmen of the Ganguellas, are spread in small groups over a space of at least 300 miles from west to east, throughout the gently sloping regions watered by the Ku-Bango, the Ku-Ito, and the Kwa-Xdo, VOL. xni. s 258 SOUTH AND EAST AFKICA. before these rivers cmorgo on the plains. The tiniid Ainb jelLi tribjs sliun tlic open plain, most of tliera seeking the seelusion of the fluvial islands or the marshy riverain tracts. Their reed huts, containing few objects beyond calabashes used for diverse purposes, are all erected on piles and defended by the stream or the sur- rounding quagmires. Although mugniticent grazing-grounds cover the greater part of their territory, which is also entirely free from the tsetse pest, llie Amboellas breed no cattle, their only domestic auimils being some poultry. But they are excellent husbandmen, raising fine crops, usually of maize, haricots, manioc, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, gourds, and cotton ; and, thanks to the great fertility of the soil, their industry generally enables them to keep well-stocked granaries. Being of an extremely gentle and hospitable disposition, they cheerfully welcome strangers visiting them, entertaining them with songs and music, and treating them as inti- mate members of the family circle. To the migratory movement dniwiui^' numerous northern j^eoples down to the Zarabese basin corresponds an ojiposito tendency, by which the Bushmen and Hottentot tribes are attracted to the Ganguella and Amboella domains in the region of the Upper Ku-Bango. Of these the most important are the Mukassekeres (Mu-Kassekcrc), a timid folk, who dwell in the woodlands and are ever ready to take flight at the approach of danger. Building no abodes of any kind, they encamp at the foot of the trees, living on wild berries, roots, and such animals as come within reach of their arrows. Occasionally they do a little bartering trade with the Amboellas, exchanging ivory and wax for manioc and other provisions. In some districts they have been enslaved ; in others they are still hunted like wild beasts, and are accused of all the crimes and outrages committed on them by their neighbours. Farther south, on the plains which gradually merge in the Kalahari Desert, wander other Bushman tribes, who also live on roots and game. But their favourite diet consists of bull-frogs and large lizards. They have even a trick for compelling the boa to disgorge his half-digested antelope, finishing the meal in his stead.* The Ba-Yeve and Ba-Linda Natioxs. On the Lower Ku-Bango and the plain of the " Thousand Lakes " mention occurs of numerous groups, such as the Daricos, Ba-Yikos, Mukossos, and Ra- Najoas. The last named, instead of cabins construct platforms supported by tall piles, amid which fires are kindled to drive away the mosquitos. The Ea-Najoas are of Bechuana stock, like their western neighbours the Ba-Toanas, who about the beginning of the present centur}^ parted company with their Bamangwato kinsmen and sought fresh camping-grounds on the banks of Lake Ngami. Although far from numerous, the Ba-Toanas have become the masters of the land. But after first settling on the eastern margin of the lake they have been compelled to remove their chief residence to the Lower Ku-Bango, settling in the midst of the surrounding swamps in order to escape from the inroads of the Jlatebele people. • CIiMpnian, T,(urh i/itu the Iiilirior of tSuiith Afrlai. TIIK l!A-T,UXIiA^;. 259 The piiiiiilive pojjulation of the country, who are also of Bantu speech, are kuown by the name of 13a-Ivuba, that is, " Serfs; " but their own tribal designa- tion is the more dignified Ba-Yeye, or "men." These Ba-Yeye, who according to Chapman number as many as two hundred thousand altogether, are a peaceful, honest, and industrious people, who are chiefly occupied with fishing, hunting, and collecting salt from the surrounding salines. Their pursuits requiring them to be constantly wading about in the shallow waters, they have become attached to their swampy fens and lagoons, even founding their settlements in the midst of the reeds. The Ba-Yeye are very superstitious, and like the Damaras worship or invoke certain " mother trees." Amongst them, as amongst most of the neighbouring tribes, the stranger has to choose a friend, who becomes answerable for his conduct to the community, and who provides him witli food, an ox, and a wife in exchange for his commodities. East of the Amboellas the whole of the alternately dry and swampy Lobule plains, as well as the Upper Zambese basin, are inhabited by the Ba-Lundas, wlio are akin to the Ka-Lundas of the Congo basin, and who officialh' recognise the suzerainty of the Muata Yaravo, although their chiefs are practically independent. The national usages are much the same on both sides of the waterparting between the Zambese and the Congo basins. The southern Ba-Luudas file their teeth and tattoo their bodies like the northern Ka-Lundas ; like them, also, they go nearly naked, smearing themselves with the oils extracted from vai-ious oleaginous vegetable substances as substitutes for the more highly valued fat of oxen, which, when por- curable, is reserved for the chiefs. As on the banks of the Kassai, the prevailing ornament amongst the Upper Zambese populations is brass wire. Great personages ajjpear in public with their legs laden with this metallic encumbrance, the fashion requiring them to walk swaying heavily from side to side, as if a great effort were needed to raise the foot. Etiquette is strictly enforced amongst the excessively ceremonious Ba-Lunda people. On meeting a superior in social rank everj-one hastens to fall on his knees and rub his breast and arms with dust. Endless prostrations, all regulated by established custom, are exacted of those approaching the king, who is seated on a throne holding in his hand a fly-whisk made of gnu-tails. Both the Christian and Mohammedan styles of salutation have penetrated into the country, following in the track of the traders. Thus some of the Ba-Lundas salute strangers with a low bow accompanied by the expression '■' Ave-ria," a corruption of "Ave JIaria," while others utter the word " Allah I " as an exclamation of surprise. Thanks to the fertility of tlieir always abundantly watered territory, the ]$a-Lundas enjoy a sujierfluity of provisions, which they willingly share with their visitors. Profusely hospitable, they are at the same time of a peaceful, genial dis- position. Xo trace of cannibalism has been discovered amongst them ; neither do they slaughter women or children to accompany the departed chief to the other world. The Ba-Lunda women enjoy a relatively largo share of liberty, the wives of the elders always taking part in the tribal deliberations, while many commu- nities are even governed by (nieeiis. At the death of these queens, the royal 2G0 SOUTU AND EAST AFKlt'A. residence, v.itL the whole village, is abandoned, the natives rebuilding their huts and reclaiming frosh laud in another district. Although unknown to European explorers, the Ba-Lundas long maintained indirect commercial relations with the Portuguese of the western seaboard through the agency of the Biheno people. The beeswax exported from Loanda and Benguella comes for the most part from their forests, where it is collected in bark hives suspended from the trees and protected by terrible fetishes from the rapacity of marauders. Tin; Bakotse Kmpike. The various tribes inhabiting the Zambese valley properly so called, below the confluence of the Liba with the Kabombo, have been united in a single state among the South African peoples variously known by the name of Barotse (Ba-Eots6), Ungcnge, Lui, or Luina. Sebituani, founder of this empire, was a Basuto con- queror, who led a host of warriors victoriously across the whole region comprised between the Orange and the Zambese, enrolling under his banner all the young men of the conquered tribes along the line of march. On reaching the Zambese and Chobe confluence, Sebituani and his Makololo followers took possession of this peninsular region, which being protected by vast swampy tracts served as the centre of the new kingdom, and was soon peopled by at least three hundred thousand souls. It was here that Livingstone visited them, and their capital, Linyati, a town of over fifteen thousand inhabitants, situated on the north bank of the Chobe, became the centre of his explorations in aU the surrounding Zambese lands. But the missionaries who succeeded him met with less favour, and several of them having succumbed either to the effects of the climate or to poison, the report was spread abroad that some calamity was pending over the Makololos. The storm was in truth already gathering. The Luinas, or Barotses properly so called, who had reluctantly submitted to their foreign rulers, now broke into revolt, and falling suddenly on the unsuspecting Makololos, massacred them almost to the last man. Two onl}-, with their wives and children, were said to have been spared in the whole peninsula. Terror-stricken by the news of the overwhelming disaster, the Mako- lolos dwelling south of the Chobe fled westwards and sought a refuge amongst the Ba-Toanas settled on the banks of Lake Ngami. By them they were received with apparent friendship, but as soon as the unarmed suppliants ventured within the royal enclosure, they were suddenly attacked and slaughtered by the Ba-Toana warriors. Thus perished the Makololo nation. Their women were distributed amongst the conquerors, and their children brought up under other names in the villages and encampments of the Barotses. But despite this change of masters, the kingdom founded by Sebituani was maintained at least south of the Chobe. The Barotses themselves did not venture to cross the line of natural defence formed by the surrounding marshes. But north of this limit they took the place of the Makololos as i-ulers of the land, and soon after annexed the whole of the Mabunda (Ma-Mbunda) territory, which had been inherited by a queen too weak to maintain herself on the throne. "When THE BAROTSK K^[^]^.K. 261 liolub visited the Barotse kingdom in 187-j, as manj- as ciglitccn large nations, subdivided into over a Lundred * secondary tribes, were represented by their dele- gates at the court of tlie sovereign and the regent his sister. Moreover, a largo number of fugitives from other tribes — Matebelcs, Bamangwatos, Makalakas — dwelt within the borders of the state, to which they paid tribute. From the Zambese and Chobe confluence to the northern frontiers there was reckoned a distance equal to a journey of from fifteen to twenty days, and the superficial area of the whole kingdom exceeded 100,000 square miles, with a population of pro- bably about a million. Each of the tribes in the vast empire speaks its own dialect, but Sesuto, that is — the language of their exterminated !Makololo masters — serves as the common medium of general intercourse, and as the official language of the state. The Makololos have disai^peared, but their inheritance has remained, and thanks to them the range of the Sesuto tongue has been enlarged tenfold. The administrati\ e system of the Barotse state is also, at least to some extent, a legacy from the Makololos ; but the penal code and many practices arc of an extremely sanguinary character, so much so that " no one grows old in the Barotse coimtry." According to Serpa Pinto, the king is assisted by a council of three ministers, one for war and the two others for the foreign affairs of the south and the west, the latter having the management of all negotiations with the Portuguese on the west coast, the former treating with the English and Dutch powers in South Africa. The regent, sister or mother of the sovereign, and like the king saluted with the title of "Lion," marries whom she jileases, her husband taking the title of "Son-in-law of the Nation." Europeans are barely tolerated in the country, and allowed to cross the Zambese only at a single point. Is^'evertheless their influ- ence is considerable. European clothes are now worn by most of the natives, having almost everywhere supplanted the national dress of tanned skins and capacious robes or skirts. The Barotses, properly so called, inhabit the banks of the main stream between the Kabompo and Chobe confluences. They are skilled boatmen, with chest and shoulders highly developed compared with the lower members ; but leprosj- is a prevalent disease amongst them. The Zambese supjilics them with abundance of food, including besides fish, the hippojjotamus, the flesh of which animal is highly esteemed. Sjiecial himtcrs are also stationed at intervals along the banks of the river and lateral channels, whose duly it is fo keep the royal household well supplied with this game. The alluvial soil in this section of the river exceeds in fertility all other parts of the valley, and yields magnificent crops of grain and vegetables. Cattle also thrive well on the pasturages of the bottom lands, which skirt the escarpments of the plateau to the cast and west. The part of the fluvial valley peopled by the Barotses is in some places at least 30 miles broad, and throughout the whole of this territorj- "famine is unknown" (Livingstone). In order to protect themselves from the annual inundations, which enrich their land and make it another Egypt, • In one place Holub speaks of " eighty-three," but in another he enumerates oue hundred and four distinct tribes subject to the Barotse. 2r.'2 fjorni axd f.ast ArriTOA. the natives avc oblin-cd to builil ihuir villagos on artificial dkhukIs, spattered like islands amid the inland sea caused by the periodical floods. The Mahiindas, who share the government of the country with tlie iiarotscs, inhabit the more elevated terraces whicli skirt the north side of the Zarabese plains. All are very religious or superstitious peoples, invoking the sun, worship- 2)ing or paying a certain homage to the new moon, and celebrating feasts at the graves of their forefathers. Belief in the resurrection is universal, but it takes rather tlie character of a metcmpisychosis, the wicked being born again in the lower animals, the good in more noble forms, but nobody caring to resume the human state. In this life provision may also be made for the future transforma- tion by eating the flesh of the animal intended to be our " brother," by imitating its gait and its voice. Ilencc a Ma-Rotse * will occasionally be heard roaring like a lion, in preparation for his leonine existence in the next world. Of the other nations subject to the Barotsc empire some are reduced to a state of servitude differing little from downright slavery ; others have preserved their tribal independence, or at least a largo measure of self-government for all internal affairs, but paying tribute either in cereals, or fruits, matting, canoes, or other manufactured wares, or else such products of the forests and the chase as ivory, beeswax, honey, and caoutchouc. The Masupias (Ma-Supia) are serfs employed in fishing and hunting for the Barotses in the region about the Chobe and Zambese confluence. Farther south dwell the Madenassanas (Ma-Denassana), a people of mixed descent, resembling the Bechuanas in stature and physical appearance, the Central African Negroes in their features. Like the Masupias, they are enslaved hunters and peasants, as are also the Manansas (Ma-Nansa), whose services form a bone of contention between the two neighbouring Matebele and Barotse nations. A still more important reduced tribe are the Batokas (Ba-Toka), who occupy the left or north bank of the main stream above the Victoria Falls. All the Batokas of both sexes extract the incisors of the upper jaw on arriving at the age of puberty, and this practice, which, like circumcision among the neighbouring peoples, is performed in secret, has assumed a purely religious character. But when questioned as to the origin of the custom, they reply that its object is to make them look like oxen. It is noteworthy that the not yet evangelised eastern Damaras observe the same practice and attribute it to the same motive. The incisors of the under jaw, being no longer hindered in their growth by those of the upper, project forward and cause the lip to protrude, thus giving the natives a repulsive appearance characteristic of decrei^it old age. In the Kafukwe basin, stretching north of the Batokas, dwell the Bashuku- lompos (Ukulombwc), a people who go naked, and are said to till the land with hoes of hardened wood. They distinguish themselves by their style of headdress from all other African tribes, amongst whom there nevertheless prevails such a surprising diversity of taste and fancy in this respect. Saturating or greasing their fleecy curls with butter, and mixing them with the hair of sundry animals, * ^^a is the singxilar, Ba the plural pcrsouul prefix ; hence JSa-Jtu/se equals one member of the tribe ; JSti-Sotse equals the whole nation. BABOTi^KLAND. 203 they arrange tlic wLolo in the form of cones of various sizes, some disposed verti- cally, others made to project forwards. Li^-ingstone met a chief whose superh tiara, terminating with a little rod, towered to a heigl^t of three feet above his head. The only European travellers who have yet penetrated into the Bashuku- lompo country arc Silva Porto and Holub. The latter was fortunately accompanied by his wife, whom the astonished natives took for a supernatural being. Sho was proclaimed queen by one tribe, and on many occasions her presence saved the expedition from complete disaster. East of the Bashukulompo territory stretches the North Manica coimtrv, a state which is quite distinct from the Manica district on the south side of tlio Lower Zambese. This region, which is contiguous to the ^Isiri territory, in the Ficr. 76. — Babotse Uplands. .Scale 1 : 3.200.000. \ Ease of Greenwich S9 Upper Congo basin, is governed by a king who, like so many other soverei"-ns in Nigritia, " never eats ; " that is to say, no subject is permitted to enter his resi- dence when he is at table. At his burial several of his wives arc slaughtered and interred ^-ith him. ToPOfiHAPHY OF B.VROTSEI.AXn. In the Barotse emjjirc are met the first centres of population which may be said to possess any commercial or political importance. But most of these towns are displaced with each fresh accession to the throne. All public misfortunes are attributed to the baneful influence of the ground, and a more favourable site is consequently sought in order to escape from the evil spirits who are supposed to have caused the death of the last ruler. The inundations of the Zambese have 201 porTir Axn east afrtca. also destroyed many places by sapping tlio artificial n)')Uiid.s on wliicli tliey were built. In tliis way Nabiclc, tlie ancient Barotse capital, lias ceased to exist, or is rejiresentjd only by a cluster of wretched hovels. Lihonia, residence of the queens, visited by Livingstone, has also been dethroned, and Scrpa ]'into, who passed dose to its site, does not even mention it by name. In 1(S78, when this traveller traversed the Barotse valley, the royal residence had been shifted to Lutliti, some 12 miles to the east of the river, and beyond the low-lying zone covered by the floods during the rainy season. Below the Xambwe cascades and rapids the new village of Scshchc (Kisseke, Shisheke), which succeeded to another Sesheke consumed by a conflagration in 187-5, has in its turn become an imperial capital, or rather a trysting-place for the chiefs and their retainers. On the other hand, Liiiyanti, formerly metropolis of the Makololo kingdom, has lost all its importance. It is now nothing more than a group of huts standing on the north bank of the Chobe in the midst of a maze of marshy streams and backwaters. At the time of Livingstone's visit in 1853 Linyanti was the largest market town in the interior of South Africa north of Shoshong. At present the chief place in the Chobe Valley Kes in the upper course of the river, and is known as MafaDibi/aiie'.t, from the name of its chief. A part of the trade of Linyanti has passed to the village oiJTpakrct {Iinpalcra, Mparira, Emharim), which stands on a sandy island at the Zambese and Chobe confluence, above the Victoria Falls. In a neighbouring quagmire a copious thermal spring wells up, although covered by the periodical flood waters for three months in the j^ear. Panda ma Tenha, a market lying in a thinly peopled district two days' journey south of the falls, serves as a sort of wayside station on the route from the Lim- popo to the Zambese, and is usually visited by the English traders from the south, by the ilambari, a half-caste Portuguese people, and bj- the European mission- aries. Here the Jesuits had founded a mission, which they have had recently to abandon. Matebelelaxh axi) Ixhabitaxts of the Middle Zambese. The territories of three empires converge at the gorge into which the Zambese plunges over the Victoria Falls. To the north and north-west stretches the terri- toiy of Barotseland; southwards lies the Baraangwato domain, comprising the plains which are continued westwards in the direction of the Slakarikari swampy saline wastes ; lastly, the kingdom of the Matebele (Ama-Ndebeli) nation occupies in the south-east the basins of the Gwai, Sanyati, Panyame, and Mozoe Eivers, the crystalline Matoppo Moxmtains whence these streams flow to the Zambese, and the whole of the opposite area of drainage southwards to the Limpopo. The Matebeles themselves, that is, the " Vanishing " or " Hidden " People, so named because concealed in battle behind their enormous oval bucklers, roam as masters over the whole land as far west as the shores of Lake Ngami, whence they procure their supplies of salt. Despite their present collective national name, the Matebeles were till recently ^rATEBELELAXD. 265 not so much a nation as a military host. At first a mere detachment of Zulus, themselves a heterogeneous horde brought together from every tribe, the ^latebele band recruited itself under the terrible i[usselekatsi from the young men of all the enslaved or exterminated races attacked during their marauding expeditions. In 18G4, when the missionary Mackenzie visited the Jlatebelc king, nearly all the veterans whom he saw in the army were Aba-Zanzi, that is, Kafirs originally from Natal and Zululand. The warriors in the prime of life were members of the various Bechuana tribes reduced by ilusselekatsi during his ten years' residence in the region which is now known as the Transvaal. Lastly, the younger soldiers were JIakalakas and Jlashonas, originally from the Limpopo and Zambeso water- parting which now constitutes the Matebele kingdom. All these warriors had begun their career as captives. At first their only duties were to tend the royal herds ; then they followed the troops to the wars some- what in the capacity of sutlers or conveyers of arms and provisions, on some expedition calculated to test their courage and endurance. But once accustomed in this way to the sight of blood they became warriors in their turn, slaying men and women, as their own kindred had been slain, f ntil their assegais had " drimk blood " they were held as aKens and slaves, and the meat thrown to them was first rubbed in sand; they were not reckoned as men till their first victims had fallen. Like Chaka's Zulus, they were forbidden to marry or to bring up a family, for the ranks of the all-conquering host had to be recruited exclusively from prisoners of war. A violent death alone was held in honour ; the sick and ailing were put away and placed in charge of a medicine man, by whom thej- were either restored to the camp after recovery, or else when dead thrown into the bush ; those enfeebled by age were stoned. Thus trained to pursue their human quarry, the Matebelcs had become extremelj- skilful at their trade of butchers. According to the king's "great law," they could never retreat before any odds, and cases occurred of whole regiments allowing themselves to be massacred rather than yield even to overwhelming numbers. At the bidding of their master, warriors armed only with the assegai fearlessly attacked a lion or a buffalo, and often captured it alive. Proud of their wounds, proud of their martial deeds, the Matebeles were abject slaves in the presence of their sovereign, whom the}- hailed with shouts of " Great King I Ruler of Men I " Yet, by a strange contrast, this very chief, whose most glorious title was that of " Cannibal," was personally of an extremely sensitive nature. lie disliked the sight of suffering, and in his presence the herdsmen had to lay aside the lash, guiding their droves with large branches or encouraging them with kindness. Such a system could be kept together only by constantly renewed campaigns. The army itself could procure supplies only by pillage, recruits only from the captured in battle, although their country was one of the most fertile in the world. AVar being their exclusive pursuit, the Matebeles did not even await their ruler's orders to fly to arms ; they often set out spontaneously to plunder the surrounding lands, killing the men, carrying off the women, children, and cattle. All traditions 26C POrTIT AXn EAST AVnirA. having been brcikiu b)- expati-iatioii and the military liiV, tbe ilatcboles no longer remembered either the songs, the sayings, or the beliefs of the various races whence thev sprang. Having no religious rites of their own, they left the sacrifices, charms, and incantations to the ijrofcssional wizards of the various districts over which they roamed. Nevertheless a certain sentiment of nationality has at last been developed amongst these heterogeneous communities, while the state of chronic war has at the same time had to give i^lacc to a social sj-stem more in harmony with that of the surrounding agricultural tribes. Even before the close of Mussolekatsi's reign the laws forbidding the fighting men to marry had already fallen into abeyance. Family groups have now been formed, and the warriors have become field labourers. But they still retain their peculiar headdress, now become the emblem of their manhood. Through the influence of the missionaries and traders commercial routes have been opened across Matebeleland, while the neighbourhood of disciplined British and Dutch troops inspires counsels of prudence in the heir of the great conqueror. lie may even have reason to fear that the coveted auriferous deposits abounding in his territory may be the means of at last reducing him to a state of vassalage. When envoys from the Transvaal Republic came to ask Musse- Ickatsi's authorisation for European minei-s to survey the land they were met with a flat refusal. " Take these stones," he said, " and load your waggons with them. But I will have no Dutch women, cattle, sheep, or goats brought here, nor anv bouses built in my country I " The Ba-Xvat, Makai.aka, and ^Iashoxa Nations. A certain number of tribes tributar}- to the Matebeles are still so far removed from the royal residence, or else so well protected by their natural defences, that they have been able to preserve some measure of political independence. Such are the Ba-Nyai people, who occupy the southern slope of the Zambese valley above the Kafukwe confluence, and who usually select rocky strongholds as the sites of their settled abodes. The Ba-Nyai are generally a fine race of men, tall, strong, and somewhat proud of their relatively light complexion. They are also dis- tinguished from most of the neighbouring populations by their love of cleanliness, and, like so many others, pay great attention to their headdress, dividing the hair into little tresses, which they twine round with the bark of a tree dyed red. The hair thus disposed in stiif little tufts gives them an aspect somewhat recalling that of the Egyptians of three or four thousand years ago. When travelling thev gather all the locks in a single knot on the crown of the head. Unlike their more servile neighbours, the Ba-Xyai choose their chief bv general suffrage. The elected king is no doubt as a rule the son of the last king's sister; but the electors, dissatisfied with this candidate, have not unfrequentlv sought a ruler amongst some other communities. When the popular choice is announced the new chief at first declines the honour, as if the burden were too great to be borne. But this is merely a foimality or a legal fiction ; the authority Tirn ■NrA>:nnxA?;. 267 remains in his hands, and with it the wives, children, and effects of his predecessor. In no other African tribe do the women enjoj- so much influence as amongst the Ba-Nyai. In all domestic affairs the decision rests with them. "When a young man seeks a girl in marriage he addresses himself to the mother, and if accepted by her, quits his own roof and comes to reside with his mother-in-law, whose faith- ful servant he becomes, and towards whom he is expected always to pay the o-rcatest deference. In her presence he dare not be seated, but falling on his knees squats on his heels, to show his feet being regarded as a great offence. The children are the mother's propertj-, and the husband, whenever tired of his domestic life, may return to his own home. But in that case he has to renounce all paternal claims and privileges, unless they have been purchased by the gift of a certain number of cows and goats. The JIakalakas and IMashonas, former masters of the land now ruled by the Matcbeles, have been for the most part exterminated, while the few warriors are reduced to a state of servitude. The Makalakas were the greatest sufferers. Dis- persed by the Matebele irrujition, some towards the Zambese, some to the Limpopo or the Kalahari Desert, they have forgotten their very language, and now speak onlv a debased Zulu dialect. Although formerly excellent husbandmen and skilled blacksmiths, they have in many places lapsed to the primitive condition of hunters, living on the .spoils of the chase, or even on pillage. They have thug, in two or three generations, reverted to such a state of savagery that they are no longer able to build themselves huts. Nevertheless the Makalakas still continue, as of old, to be honourably distinguished above all their neighbours for their domestic virtues and consideration for their women. The wife is highly respected, and oaths are taken in the name of the mother. Soon after birth, however, the women are sub- jected to an extremely cruel process of tattooing. On the breast and lower parts alone the operators make over four thousand incisions disposed in thirty parallel lines, and if the skin is not then sufficiently ridged and blistered the scarification has to be repeated. The Makalakas bury their dead in caves, but never allow strangers to be interred in their territory. Hence the followers of the two explorers Gates and Grandv, who had died in the country, were obliged to carry their bodies beyond the frontier. The Mashonas, who constitute the substratum of the population on the Zambese or northern slope of the uplands, have been better able to resist oppression, because their industry renders them indispensable to their new masters. Although, like the Makalakas, much degenerated, and by the Matebeles regarded and spoken of as Mfis/ioks — that is, " slaves," they alone practise the industrial arts, till the rice- fields, make the household implements, weave the cotton fabrics, cut and embroider the leather shields, and forge and sharpen the assegais and other weapons. Small- pox has made fearful ravages amongst them, and this disease is so dreaded that its victims are often thrown alive into the bush. Some of the Mashona communities, protected by the mountainous nature of the land, have been able to set up independent republics. But they live in constant 268 SOfTTl AM> KASiT Al'RHA. torriir (jf tlic Mak'bi'lcs, mikI lalco rcfiij^e, w itli tluir :icti\r little cattle, on isolated crags, tlie only approach to whicli is blocked by strong palisades. Their huts;, raised considerably above the ground, can bo entered only by means of notched poles. They have good reason to fear the attacks of the Matebelc warriors, who "approach as stealthily and as invisibly as snakes, crawling as closely on the ground, and concealed by the undergrowth, watch the movements of their intended victims, the timid ^Fashonas. Then, when a favourable opportunity occurs, up they rise like a wild black cloud of destruction. Hissing and shrieking their fiercest battle-cry they bound and lcai> from rock to rock, dealing with fearful precision the death-giving blow of the assegai, and ever and anon shouting with F!"-. 77.— Chief Tbides of the Zajibese B.vsix. KJ3 UAJSTA Eacb oF Greenv thrilling ecstasy their terrible cry of triumi^h as they tear out the yet beating hearts of their victims." * Amongst the wandering outcasts whom the traveller meets in Matebcleland, some are commonly known as Bushmen and Hottentots, whatever be their real origin. The Ama-Zizi, conjurers and medicine men, appear to be really of Hotten- tot stock. Some of the natives, known to the Portuguese by the name of Paiidoros, have acquired great influence over the other blacks by their magic arts. They fre- quently withdraw to the woods in order to assume their true form of wild beasts, but never condescend to show themselves abroad except in the appearance of men. Toi'OGRAPUY OF ^MaTF.ISEI.KLAN'I). The centre of the Matebelc empire, whose population is variously estimated at from 200,000 to 1,200,000, is situated within the basin of the mainstream, near * W. M. Kerr, T/icFar Interior, i. p. 104. TOPOGEAl'UV OF -XLVTEliELELAND. 269 the sources of the Uni-Kosi, which, under another name, discharges into the Zambese over 60 miles above the Victoria Falls. Quhttlucayo, the royal residence, formerly stood in the neighbourhood of the granitic water-parting between the Zambese and the Limpopo. But like most of the native towns in the interior of Austral Africa, its site has been changed, and Btihiicaijo, which is the more correct form of the word, now lies somewhat farther to the north. The royal residence, a house of European construction, crowns a hiU in the centre of the village, and is encircled by a number of hive-shaped huts, all comprised within a stout palisade. The dwellings of the traders are scattered over the sm-rounding plain. Besides these traders, who have settled in the neighbourhood of the capital, several others have attached themselves to the king's suite, in order to supply the wants of his officials and warriors. Hence thej- generally accompany the court on its frequent journeys to Inyati and tlie other towns which follow towards the north-east and the south-west in the hilly ilatoppo district. Both Protestant and Catholic missionaries have also penetrated into the Matebele territory, and to these have now been added the miners, who had hitherto long been refused admittance to the country. On the other hand a large number of temporary emigrants proceed every year in search of employment to the British and Boer states beyond the Limpopo. The Tafi mines, the first that were dis- covered in the Limpopo basin, are now worked by a company with its head management at Cape Town. Here have been found the traces of ancient mining operations carried on by some now forgotten people. Numerous villages belonging to the ilakorikori tribe lie to the north of the Matebele and Mashona territories in a rugged mountainous region, whence impe- tuous torrents flow towards the Zambese. The Makorikori, no less industrious than the Mashonas, are specially noted for their skill in the treatment of leather, which they draw out in narrow sti-ips and then twist and jilait into all kinds of ornaments. The women pierce the upper lip for the insertion of a ring made of tin wire, which is sometimes embeUished with pearls. Farther north, in the valley of the main stream, dwell the Mtande jjeople, whose women also pierce the upper lip, into which they introduce the jdja, an i\ory or wooden ring. This district lies within the zone of the tsetse-fly, which the women collect and dry, reducing it to a powder with the bark of a certain root, and mixing the preparation with the food supplied to their domestic animals, goats, sheep, and dogs. On the opposite, or left side of the Zambese, certain ruins still mark the limits of the territory formerly occupied by the Portuguese in the interior of Africa. These are the remains of the ancient town of Zuinbo, which, however, was far less a town than a rural market-place. During the season thousands of native dealers assembled here to purchase European wares from seven or eight so-called " Canarians," that is merchants from Goa, in the Kanara country on the west coast of India. During the period from 183G to ISUS Zumbo remained completely abandoned by the Portuguese ; but since 1881 it has again been occupied, and is now the residence of a Capitiio Mor, or head governor. Hence it is again resorted to by traders of various races, who find customers among the members of the sur- •210 ^urXll AXU KAST Al"l!liA. rounding Busenga (Bu-Senga) (libc This market-place has been well chosen at llie confluence of the Lua-I'gwc and Zambcse, below that of the Kafukwe, in a i\itilc and wcll-tinibcred country, encircled bj- incturesquc hills, /umbo can scarcely fail to recover its former importance wlioncver the Portuguese carry out the project of establishing new factories along the course of the Upper Zambcse, and working the coal, iron, and gold mines of the surrounding district. Tcfc {Tctte), covering the slope of a hill on the right bank of the Zambese, is at present the most inland town occupied by the whites, or Mctzuntjofi, as they are called by the natives. The European houses are all grouped within the ramparts under the gims of the fort, wlale the huts of the blacks, made of mud and foliage, are scattered over the outskirts round about the walls. This Portuguese town was formerly a prosperous place, doing a large trade in gold, ivory, cereals, and indigo. But it was ruined by the slave-hunting expeditions, which left no hands to till the laud and gather the crops. At present it is little more than a group of wretched hovels, where " solitude reigns supreme. On every side you see the wasting work of Time's relentless hand. You see it in the crumbling ruins of the houses at one time inhabited by prosperous merchants. Indigo and other -weeds now rise rank amid the falling walls, and upon spots where houses once stood. You see it in the church which has now crumbled to the ground. Departed glorj- is knelled to you by the bells which toll from the slight structure where the Jesuit fathers and their small flock now perform the rites of their creed." * The little importance still enjoyed by Tete is derived from its position as a garrison town and fortified outpost in the midst of a more or less hostile native popidation. It has occasionally been cut off from all communication with the coast by the incursions of the predatory Landins, or Zulu marauders. But the sur- rounding district has the great advantage of being entirely free from the tsetse, or pepse, as this scourge is called in Zambeseland ; but stock-breeders have hitherto turned this great advantage to little account. The riverain tracts on the opposite side are extremely fertile, and here most of the rich traders had their residences. The Tete district, both north and south of the Zambesc, promises one day to become one of the most important mining regions in the whole of Africa. Here are extensive coalfields, as well as auriferous deposits and rich iron ores, long utilised by the Basenga and Makalaka blacksmiths. The Serra Maxinga (Mashinga Range), which rises northwards above the surrounding solitudes, was formerly worked by Portuguese miners. Here the rock containing the precious metal is said to be so soft that the women are able to crush it between two blocks of wood, and then wash it for gold. Auriferous deposits also occur to the south of Tete, in the Makorikori territory, and especially in the valleys of the Mozoe and its affluents. Paiva de Andi'ada describes as a sort of future Eldorado the Shangamira district, which Mauch had previously designated by the name of the " Emperor William Mines." A few ruins of old monuments are scattered over these gold- fields, where, according to Kuss, the natives are in the habit of sowing nuggets in the confident hope of gathering a rich golden harvest. • KeiT, Ojf), cil, ii. p. 42 TOrOGRAl'UY OF MAri'.l'.KI.KLAND. 271 Further auriferous deposits wore brought to light by Mr. F. C. Selous duriug an ex2)loriug expedition to the Mashoua country, from which he returned in January, 1888. A considerable tract of alluvial gold-fields was discovered, besides a very remarkable excavation in solid rock, which Mr. Selous believes to be a mine of very ancient date. On this subject he writes : " At Sinoia, near the river Angwa (a tributary of the Mauyame), there is an immense circular hole about a liundred feet or more in depth and sixty feet or more in diameter, at the bottom of which is a pool of water which extends some hundred and eight}- feet into a vast cavern in the rock. The water is of the most wonderful colour — a deep cobalt blue — and very clear, as pebbles are visible al a great depth on the bottom. There is a slanting shaft or tunnel running at an angle of about forty-five degrees from a point about a hundred yards distant from the top of tlie hole, a\ Inch strikes the bottom of the latter just at the edge of the water. "\Ve are inclined to think that all these excavation.s are the result of old gold-workings, and that a vein of quartz lias been worked out down the tunnel, and that eventually a spring was tapped, tlie water of which, welling up from below, has formed the subterranean lake. If the whole thing is the work of man, a truly extraordinary amount of labour must have been expended in this place. The natives have built a stockaded town round the old gold mine, or whatever it is, and go down the tunnel to draw water. We bathed in it and swam up the cavern to the other end of the pool ; the water was quite warm. The rock on each side is covered with innumerable scorings, which look as if they had been done with some kind of iron instrument." * Senna, or Sffo-J/r/rr^^/, the " moribimd," which lies on the right bank of the Zambese, at the foot of a high bluff, and over against the navigable Ziu-Ziu branch communicating with the Shire, is even a more decayed place than Tetc. It has often had to pay tribute to its Umgoni (Angoui Zulu) neighbours, and even to barricade itself at night against the lions. The climate also is imhealthy, the atmosphere being charged with malarious vapours rising from the stagnant waters left by the river, which is here gradually shitting its bed in the direction of the north. Hence it has been pro2JOsed to remove the town to the left or north side of the Zambese, which is swept by the current, without leaving any lagoons or sluggish backwaters. iMr.vmxAMS OF the Nv.\.ss.v and Siiikk Basi.n~. South of the Zambese the military empires of Gazaland and Matebelelaud \wrc founded by warlike Zidu conquerors, advancing from the south. North of the river vast territories have also been occupied by invaders of the same martial race. But being here di^-ided into independent bands, without any national cohesion, they have been unable to found any powerful states. These Kafirs, variously known as Mavitis (^la-Viti) and Ma/itus (Ma-Zitu), are the Munhacs of Gamitto, and are also called ilangoncs (Ma-Xgone'l, a name almost identical with that of the Umgoni invaders and conquerors of the region comprised between the • r,ocee,i,iigs of the Roijal Gfog,-apl„cal .W.'./y, ir;iivli, ISSS, p. 101. '11-1 SOL' I'll Axi> i:ast Al'iaCA. Zunibcsc and llio Liiiiijopo. In appcaiaucc also tlicy closely rcseniblo the southeru Zulus, uud probably at no very remote date dwelt in tlieir neighbourhood. They speak the same language, ■which even has a "click " sound, resembling that of the southern Zulu-Kafir idiom. Their wariiors arrange their hair by means of gum and an argillaceous ochre in such a way as to I'urni the curious circular nimbus by which the Zulu fighting men are also distinguished. The well discijjlincd Maviti hordes alwaj's rush upon the enemy without wait- ing to rejjly to vollej's of musketry or arrows, and fight at close quarters with sword and assegai. But although they have crossed the Zambese they have not penetrated so far north as other branches of the conquering race, for the formidable Yua-Tutas of the Unyamezi country, on the east slope of Lake Tanganyika, also came from the region of Natal or Zululand, and most African historians agree in regarding as belonging to the same race the terrible Jaga hordes, who overran the kingdom of Congo towards the close of the seventeenth century. The Maviti of the Nj'^assa region carried out their work of destruction with terrible thoroughness. Passing to the north side of the Zambese towards the middle of the present century, ihey overran the Hovuma and Rufiji territories in rapid succession, burning the villages, slaughtering all adult men, enrolling the young warriors in their own ranks, and selling the women to the slave-dealers. When driven farther inland the devastating Maviti hordes at last settled down in the hilly regions west of Xyassa, which extend towards the sources of the Lua- Xgwa, while those left behind on the oust side of the lake gradually merged in the surrounding indigenous pojmlations. Although much reduced in sti'ength, the fighting bands, which still held together, continued till recently to spread havoc amongst the Wa-Chuugu and Marimba (Manganya) peoples dwelling on the shores of Kyassa. The villages exposed to their attacks are now protected by double and treble enclosiu'es of stout palisades, while others have been built on piles in the lake, or else on strongly fortified narrow headlands. The English have also made a special treaty with the Maviti, binding them to respect the European stations. Some Mohammedan practices have already been adopted by these pagan Kafirs. Funerals are con- ducted according to the Moslem rite, and the grave is always turned towards the holy city of Mecca. The bodies of slaves and criminals, however, are still thrown into the bush, where they are supposed to be devoured by the wizards in the form of hya!uas. The Eastern Makololos. In this region there is a great complexity of tribes, often differing greatly in their usages and language. Ko less than seven different foims of speech are current along the ^^est side of the lake. The Makololos of the Shire, between Nyassa and Zambese, present a remarkable instance of the way distinct tribal groups are often developed in the interior of the continent. "Were their history not well known, these Makololos would certainly THE EA>;TEEX MAKOLOLOS. 273 be regarded as of the same race as the Makololos of the Chobe Valley, who, after entering that district as conquerors, were almost entirely extirpated or driven west by the Barotscs. But, although not belonging to this group, the Makololos of the Shire have at least preserved the same name. In 18-39 Sekelctu, chief of the western (Chobe) Makololos, placed under the guidance of Livingstone some twenty youths, with orders to make their way to the coast, and fetch thence a powerful medicine against leprosy, from which the king was suffering. Of this little baud two members alone were of ilakololo stock, all the others belonging to various conquered tribes, such as the Barotse, Batoka, Baselea, like most of the warriors enrolled under the Makololo invaders. Finding it inconvenient to return to their sovereign, Livingstone's party settled on the right bank of the Shire, below the falls, choosing one of their nimiber as chief. Lender his leadership they became conquerors in their turn, and at the same time retained the name of Makololo, of which they were natui-ally proud, while fugitives from numerous other tribes hastened to place themselves imder their protection. Thanks to the moral influence of Livingstone, they abandoned the practice of slave-hunting, prevalent amongst so many of the surrounding peoples, and the security enjoyed under their government in a few years attracted to the district considerable numbers of runaways and others from all quarters. Thus was constituted, in less than a single generation, the powerful tribe of the eastern or Shire Makololos. At the time of Yoimg's visit in 1876 all the riverain valleys lying between the last cataract and the Ruo confluence were subject to their rule. In aU these communities the national salutation was the English " good morning," perpetuated since the time of the famous missionary and explorer, under whose guidance the founders of the new state had originally left their homes in the west. Young pays a tribute of admiration to these industrious Makololos for their strict honesty and love of work. When he had to transport above the cataracts, piece by piece, the steamer Ilala, the first ever launched on Lake Xyassa, he had to employ a whole army of some eight himdred porters, who plied their work free as air, far from aU supervision, along a rough road, where anything might have caused a mishap. Yet at the end of this long portage of GO miles every piece, to the last rivet, had been faithfully conveyed to the upper reaches without a single accident. The men were perfectly satisfied; all had worked with a will, not one attempting to shirk his share of the labour, for which the only reward was a few yards of calico. The bulk of the Makololo nation consists of members of the Maganya (Ma- Ganya, Ma-Xyanja) tribe. These natives, whose name means "Lake people," are stiU found dwelling in distinct communities among the uplands filling the tri- angular space comprised between the Zambesc and the Shii-e. Generally confused with the people at one time famous \inder the name of Maravi, the Maganyas are noted less for their prowess than for their Intelligence. They display great skiU at wickerwork, forging, and weaving, and al-so till the land with extreme care. Men, women, and the young folks all work together in the fields, while the children disport themselves in the shade of the neighbouring trees. The Maganyas vol.. xui. T iJ74 SOUTH AND KAST AFRICA. clear tlio land much in the same way as tlie backwoodsmen in America. Felling the trees with the axe, thej- make a great bonfire of the heapcd-up branches, and when the ashes have been blown about by the wind they sow the corn between the still standing charred stumps. Wlien tracts covered with tall grasses have to be reclaimed they remove the top soil, burning it together with the herbage in order to enrich the ground. Mapira, or sorgho, is their chief crop, but they are also acquainted with nearly all the other alimentary plants of Central Africa, as well Fig. 78. — NoKTH KxD 01" Lakb Nyassa. • Soak' 1 ; l'Jl)l),lil}ll. u..i, '^^^i^^ ■^iL ^■. -4, East of Greenwich 35-jo as with tobacco, hemp, and two species of cotton, the /iaja and mange, that is to say, the native and foreign. Except in time of mourning, all the Maganya women wear the pclelc, as they call theyryff, that is to %'a\, the disc or ring inserted as au ornament iu the upper lip. The material is cither of wood for the poor or of tin and ivory for the upper classes, while in size this frightful incumbrance ranges from two or three to as many as five inches in circumference. The action of laughter causes the lip to rise, concealing both eyes, but revealing the nose through the oj^ening, as well as the whole row of teeth all filed to a point. But it is even worse iu the case of widows, whom fashion compels to remove the lip-ring, when the lip falls, and the great round hole, called hipcklc, shows the teeth and jaw quite plainly, especially M ben tlicy speak. " How any jiooplo in all the world,'' exclaims Mrs. Priugle, KAEON'GA— BANDAAVE. 27i " can admire such a fashion baffles oiir comprehension. Howe\cr, it is evident that this custom of lacerating the lips is dying out, for one rarely sees it among the young." * The Maganya women are very swift-footed, generally carrying oil the prizes at the races. TOPOOKAI'IIY OF THE Nyas^A AND .SlUKE Ba>1NS. In the basin of Lake Nyassa there are no Portuguese stations. The northern- most outi^ost met on the Shire is S/iironji, below the Ruo confluence. North of this place the only European settlements are those foxiuded by the English, or rather Scotch, missionaries, followed by the traders of the same nationality. By them both the river and the lake have been converted into a regular highway of commerce, and at the northern extremity of Nyassa this highway is continued by a well-planned route running in the direction of the village of Cliiunda and Lake Tanganyika. A missionary station has also been founded at Jfuiiiimuaiifa, 60 miles from Xyassa. KaroiKja, lying on the north-west shore of the lake, a short distance south of the main highway, is the centre of the densest population in the whole of the lacustrine basin. But the district is rendered very unhealthy by the extensive swamps and plains which are laid under water during the rainy season. The villages of the Rikuru valley enjoy a much more salubrious climate, and in the upper part of this valley lies the settlement of Mombeia, chosen by the Scotch missionaries as a health-resort. Facing it, on the east side of Nyassa, follow numerous villages built on piles, like those of the old lacustrine peoples in Europe. In this part of the lake the best- sheltered port is Banqxi {Mbampa), which is well protected from the southern gales by a peninsula and some neighbouring islets. About the iniddle of the west side of Nyassa lies the large village of Bandaice, near M-hich place the missionaries have founded their chief station. But it has no natural haven, although a port might easily be constructed at a small outlay. Bandawe has the advantage of being situated near the point where the regular passage is made from one side of the lake to the other. The native craft, starting from this place are able to seek shelter imdcr the lee of the two islands of Shisi- molo and Dikomo. The corresponding station on the opposite or cast side is the ^'illage of Chitesi, although it lies on a beach exposed to the full fury of the surf. Lissctca is also one of the landing-places on this side. But on the whole i^eriphcry of the lake the most frequented port and chief centre of trade, and till recently the great market for slaves, is Kota-Kota, which lies on the west coast, over 120 miles from the southern extremity of Js'yassa. It stands on an almost landlocked bay, which, thanks to their light draught, is acces- sible to the Arab boats. The Zanzibar traders have here settled in such numbers that Ivi-Swahili has become the dominant language in Kota-Ivota. This Moham- medan colony has the advantage of possessing some thermal springs in its vicinity ; • TuKttidt the 2roiiiitai>ia of the Movii, ^. 173. T 2 276 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. but the surrounding district is barren, and for a space of over GO miles going southwards the coastlauds arc entirely uninhabited. Great expectations were originally formed respecting Liringdonia, the tirst station founded on the shores of Nyassa, where were supposed to be united all the elements of future greatness — geographical position, well-sheltered harbour, fertile soil. But there was one fatal drawback, a relaxing and unhealthy climate, which compelled the missionaries to abandon all their establishments so pleasantly situated on the peninsula here projecting into the lake and separating its southern extre- mity into two spacious bays. AVhen Livingstonia was visited by Kerr in 1885 nothing was to be seen except the cheerless sight of abandoned houses which lined Fig. 79. — Upl.vnds deiweeu the Suiee and Nya,s3A. ' Scale 1 : 350,000. EastofG the streets. The missionaries, as the natives assured him, were "all dead, all gone to Bandawee." * In the interior of the Zambese basin the chief focus of European activity is at present the town of Blantijrc, which is situated about 90 miles to the south of Nyassa in a valley of the Shire uplands, whose geographical position has been fixed ■with astronomic accuracy by the explorer O'Neill, and connected with the whole network of routes between the Zambese and Tanganyika. Blantyre was so named in 187G from the little Lanarkshire village where Livingstone was born. Thanks to its clcvaliou of nearly 3,400 feet above the sea, it is a relatively healthy place for Europeans, who are here able to perform manual labour- \^"ithout risk. The surrounding district has also the great advantage of being free from the tsetse fly. The communit}' of missionaries, its original founders, has since been reinforced by some traders and by a few planters, who cidtivatc coffee and the sugar-cane. The • op. cit. ii. p. IS.j. r.LAXTVPK. 277 native chiefs have also beeu replaced by Euvopeans in the administration of tribal affairs. XotN^thstanding its distance from Xyassa, Blantyre, or rather the neighbouring village of Maudala, has become the central station of the " African Luke Society," a commercial association which was founded in 1878 for the purpose of aiding the missionaries, while at the same time trading on its own account. This societj' carries on a considerable traffic in produce of all kinds as far as the Upper Congo basin, and alreadj- possesses twelve factories between Quilemane and Lake Tangan- yika. It is satisfactorj- to know that bj- the terms of its charter it is forbidden to supply the natives with alcoholic drinks. Through Blantyre passes the missions route, a portage 70 miles long, which skirts the east side of the ilurchi-son Falls, on the Shire, between the Matopo bend and that of Katongo, where the steamers stop. Other carriage-roads, lined with plantations of eucalyptus, connect Blantyre with the chief ^-illages of the surrounding district, as well as with some of the stations grouped round about the central mission. ^Uthough situated on the debatable frontier of the two hostile Anyassa and Ajawa (Yao) tribes, and although the whole region was formerly often laid waste by the ilaviti marauders, Blantyre has never yet been attacked by any of the neighbouring tribes. This circumstance is all the more remarkable that the pro- tected territory for several miles round about is to a great extent peopled by run- away slaves escaping from the Arab traders. Thus, like the free cities of mediaeval Europe, Blantyre owes its prosperity to the hospitable protection it has given to the refugees and outlaws from every quarter. One of the most salubrious stations in the district is the village of Zomba, which stands 400 feet higher than Blantj-re, and some 30 miles farther north, on the slojDe of a hill commanding an extensive view in one direction of the river Shire, in the other of the sparkling waters of Lake Shirwa. Here some Scotch planters have founded a considerable settlement, devoted to the cultivation of sugar, coffee, and oleaginous seeds. The hundred thousand coffee shrubs possessed by this establishment have all sprung from a single plant reared in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden. Some cinchonas have also been planted on the surrounding slopes. East of Blantyre rises the lofty Mount Choro, the abode of a powerful spirit venerated far and wide. On all occasions of public danger or disaster he is con- sulted in the name of the people by his bride, chosen from amongst the most beautiful young women of the district. Admimmratiox of riii; Lowkk Zamdkse. In the region of the Zambcse delta the populations are of a verj- mixed character. Here also the primitive usages of the natives have been considerably modified by continuous contact with Europeans during the last three centuries. Along the banks of the river the Portuguese hold military and trading stations, round which is centred the political and sccial life of the i ivcrain population. Till recently Lusita- 27ft sm-i'ii Axn ivVST avrtcv. iiian influences were doubtless ou the wane. Inliind stations IkuI to bo abandoned ; important establishments were falling to ruins ; the very communications between the whites of the intei'ior and the seaboard were frequently interrupted by the devastating Umgani (Maviti) hordes, known to the Portuguese by the name of Jjundins, that is, Ama-Landi, or " Couriers." Nevertheless the commercial rela- tions and intercourse between the foreign and native races liad ntver at any time been entirely suspended. Xor did the ilambari, or half-caste Portuguese adven- turers, ever cease to visit all parts of the interior, while at present the mother country has again revived her intei-est in her remote colonies on the banks of the Zambese. Her attention has even been directed towards the distant region of the waterpartings, and surveying expeditions have been organised for the purpose of preparing the ground for the construction of the trans-continental route which must sooner or later connect Mossamedes on the Atlantic with Quelimane ou the Indian Ocean. But the Portuguese liave no longer the field all to themselves. The restless spirit of enterprise which is impelling the growing popidations of Austral Africa still northwards, irresistibly attracts traders, sqiiatters, miners, and missionaries towards Zambeseland, and the most inviting points along the middle course of the mainstream have already been selected as centres of future enter- prise. One of these points is Sesheke, capital of the Barotse empire, standing in the middle of the basin formed bj' the junction of the Zambese with the Chobe above the Victoria Falls. Another Zambese region towards which have already been dii'ected the efforts of Europeans, represented mainly by British missionaries, is the Nyassa basin, destined to become the future highway leading to Lake Tangan- yika and the Congo. Even in the region of the Lower Zambese the Portuguese Government exercises little or no direct action. The territory is divided into great domains, the so- called prazos da coroa, or crown lands, some of which are almost little kingdoms iu themselves, covering an extent of 20,000 square miles, and administered by practi- cally independent farmers-general. By them are levied the mussoro, or imposts, generally in the nature of a hut tax, payable in kind, at the valuation of about three shillings and sixpence for every native cabin. These great manorial lords also undertake to dcA^elop to the utmost of their power the natui-al resources of their vast domains. When this system was originally introduced the crown lands were conceded for three generations, and the order of succession was to be through the female line, ou the condition that the women married Europeans. It was hoped by this arrangement to attract settlers to the country; but the verj' opposite result was produced, and the great landowners, becoming powerful satraps, sold into slavery their own subjects, whereby the whole land became depleted. Officially this system has been abolished since 1854, but it has been virtually maintained under a slightly modified form, and immense grants continue still to be made to a few potent lords, who pay little more than a nominal revenue to the State. MOPEA-M.VZAEO. 279 Toi'i)(.l{AIMIV OF THE LmM.U ZaMBKSE. Ik'low tlie Shire confluence the Lower Ziinibese can scarcely be said to be inhabited. One of the principal vilhiges on the right bank is Shupanya, near the spot where the spreading Fig. SO. — QirELQIAN-E. [Scale 1 : 200,000. branches of a mighty baobab overshadow the lonely grave of Livingstone's wife, one of the victims of that fatal " Zanibcse Expedition " which in 1862 cost the lives of so manj' intrepid followers of the illustrious mis- sionary. The tomb is still care- fully looked after by the natives, who clear away the rank growth of weeds springing uj) with the return of every rainy season. Not far from the same place repose the remains of other explorers, who had accompanied Owen on his survey of the Lower Zambese. Below Shupanga, but on the opposite bank, stand the stations of Moprii and Mazaro,\vi\i embow- ered in the dense foliage of over- hanging mango-trees. These villages enjoy some importance as landing-places for the riverain traffic, and as guardians of the portage between the Zambese and the Kwa-Kwa, or river of Qucli- mane. Recently, a domain of 125,000 acres, stretching along the left bank of the Lower Zam- bese as far as the neighbourhood of the Shire, was granted by the Portuguese Government to an " Opium Company," in the hope that it might compete successfully »_^^— — i^— — ^-^— — •' Mi'«- with the British growers of the baneful drug in India. The company also enjoyed several other privileges, besides the right of levying the mussoro tax on the natives. Nevertheless it proved a failure, having been partly ruined by a revolt of the black populations in the vear 1884. 36'55- rasfcoFGrecn^Mch WB KeplliS. VI I'ctt una upwards. 28n SOl'TII AX1> EAST AVRTOA. Litiilxi, an old Portuguese town built near one of the mouths of the river, has been griiduuUy destroyed by the erosive action of the stream. Since its disap- pearance the principal factories have been established about the Inhaniissengo mouth. Although lying to the north of the Zambese delta, on on estuarj- which communicates with the mainstream only through uncertain or periodical channels, Qiielimanc is practically the only seaport of the whole basin. Its position as such will be permanently secured whenever the proposed route from the estuary to Lake Nyassa is constructed. Although founded throe hundred and fifty years ago, it has alwaj's remained a small town, not only in consequence of its unhealthy climate, but also because of the vexatious customs regulations. Before 1858 the port had not been open to foreign trade, and its chief traffic was in slaves exported to the plantations of Brazil. Its white popidation consisted for the most part of Portuguese convicts banished from the mother country. It was from Quelimane that liacerda started on his memorable expedition to the interior of the continent. Quelimane, or Sao Maiiinho, as it is officially called, is known to the natives by the name of Chuamho. Its port is of difficidt access, owing to a bar at the mouth of the estuary which vessels drawing over ten or twelve feet can hardly attcmjit to cross in safety. But this obstruction once passed, the inner waters offer excellent anchor- age all the way to the town, which lies some 12 miles to the north of the coast, on the left bank of the Kwa-Kwa, familiarly known as the Quelimane River. The Kafirs constitute the bulk of the urban population, and also occupj- numerous villages in the surrounding district, where thej' enjoy the protection secured to them by the little Portuguese garrison. Although generally unhealthy, the climate of Quelimane is said to be favourable to invalids affected bj' chest complaints. Unfortunately the residents have no health-resort, where the}' might escape from the malarious atmosjihere of the neighbouring marshes and rice-grounds. The foreign trade of Quelimane, which is chiefly directed towards Bombay, and which increased threefold between the years 1876 and 188-3, is partly in the hands of Banyans and Arabs. But the great development of the exchanges during the last few years is mainlj^ due to the enterprise of the British settlers about the shores of Lake Nj^assa. Quelimane has sujjplaated the port of Mozambique for the export trade in ivory, -which is now brought do^-n by the steamers ph'iug on the Zambese, whereas it was formerly conveyed overland to a large extent by the gangs of slaves bound for the coast. As a rule, about twice the quantity of ivory is forwarded from the east as from the west coast of the continent. Between the years 1879 and 1883 about 6-10,000 pounds were shipped on the western and 1,270,000 on the eastern seaboard, jointly representing a monej^ value of £800,000 and the spoils of some 65,000 elephants. CHAPTER IX. MOZ.UIBIQUE. FnOM TIIK Z.VMBEsK TO RinUMA. IIE tcn-itory assigucd to Portugal bj- the late international treaties still continues north of the Zambese as far as the valley of the Rovuma, and extends from the seaboard inland in the direction of Lake Xyassa. But Portuguese jurisdiction is verj' far from making itself felt throughout the whole of this vast domain. Even the influence of the officials ai^pointed from Lisbon extends in many places little beyond the immediate vicinity of the coast. They possess nothing except mere hearsay knowledge of the lands represented on the maps as belonging to the crown of Portugal. Even down to recent times the slave-trade was the only traffic carried on in this region ; hence the beaten tracks were jealously guarded by the dealers in human merchandise, and these alone dared to venture into the interior, which they described as inhabited by hordes of ferocious anthropophagists. The station of Mozambique itself, mainstay of the Portuguese authority along the seaboard, is situated not on the mainland but on a neighbouring island, while the surrounding country might, till quite recently, be described as a ierra incognita to within a .short distance of the opposite coast. Like all other stations on the East African seaboard, except Sofala, Mozambique was regarded as little more than a port of call for vessels plying between Europe and India. It had never been utilised as a starting-point for exploring expeditions in the interior, and the Portuguese continued to occupy it for three hundred years without collecting any information regarding the neighbouring lauds and peoples that might, neverthe- less, have easily been visited. The journeys of Lacerda and his successor Gamitto were the first serious geographical expeditions, and even these were directed towards the regions beyond Nj-assa. Then came Roscher, Johnson, Last, Cardozo, and esjx-cially O'Xeill, by whom the Jlozambique lands have been traversed in every direction during the latter half of the present centurj'. Strictly speaking, this territory has become a part of the known world mainly through the labours of O'Xeill, by whom the banks of the Shire and of Lake Xvassa have been connected with the maritime 282 SOrTII A\]J EAST AFRICA. ports by carefully survcj-cd routes comprising a total length of about 4,000 miles. It would scarcely be unfair, says an English writer, to give to this region the name of O'Neill's Land, in honour of the exploi-er who first laid down on our maps the true features of its mountains, lacustrine basins, and running waters. The terri- tory thus newly acquired by science comprised a superficial area of about 140,000 square miles, with a population approximately estimated at a million souls. Rr.i.iKi- OK ini'. Land. The mountain system of the interior is connected westward witli the Shiro uplands and the ranges skirting the cast side of Lake Nyassa. West of Mozara- Fig. 81.— Chief Routes of Exploeees East of Nyassa. Scale 1 : 8,000,000. .•■■ ^.■^■S/./fwmy-.,/' '-S^r^Jy-y It-A "S G, biquc the chief eminences are the Namuli Mountains, an almost isolated mass which till recently' was supposed to penetrate into the region of snows, but which in any case forms a superb grou}!, dominating far and wide above the surrounding plains and diverging fluvial valleys. The mean level of the land above which it towers is itself about 2,000 feet high. But the hills are iriuch more elevated and precipitous on the southern slope, where the outer escai'pments attain an altitude of from 2,300 to 2,600 feet above the neighbouring plains. Here rise the loftiest summits, among oi^hers the twin-peaked Namuli, whence the whole group of highlands take their name. According to the explorer, I^ast, the Namuli, THE ^:A^[ULI mountains 283 supposed by the natives to be the cradle of the human race, has an absolute eleva- tion of about cS,000 feet above seu-level. After storms the slopes are at times covered with a la3-er of hailstones, producing the effect of a snow-clad mountain. Towards the west, Namuli is separated from a rival jjcak bj- a deep cleft with almost vertical sides, several hundred j'ards high. In other directions it presents less formidable approaches, although its polished rocks, on which O'Xcill detects traces of a glacial period, were everywhere found to be so precipitous that the English explorer was nnable to reach the summit. Some rivulets, which in the rainj- season become copious torrents, descend from the higher plateaux, tumbling from cascade to cascade, and lower down developing numerous streams, which almost everywhere disappear under the overhanging foliage. Native hamlets straggle up to a height of 6,000 feet, mostly surrounded by verdant thickets. Both for their wealth of vegetation and charming landscapes the Xamuli niouu- Fig. 82.— Najtoli MouNTiixs. Bcale 1 : 350,000, tains are one of the most remarkable regions in tlio whole of Africa. The secondary spurs rooted in the central nucleus, and gradually falling in the direction from east to west down to a mere terrace skirting the low-lying strip of coastlunds, are also clothed with a rich forest growth, j^rcsenting a striking contrast with the treeless plains at their base. West of the Namuli Mountains, the uplands have been partly denuded by the erosive action of running waters. Xevertholess here also occur some groups of lofty hills, such as the ^lilanji Mountains, which i-ise to the south-east of Bhintyre and to the south of the Lake Shirwa depression. In the southern part of this region the extensive plains extending in the direction of the Zanibese are dotted over with isolated eminences, such as Mounts Shipcroni and Kanga, which are visible for a great distance round about. In the northern districts the heights rise but little above the level uf the plateau, or from 'i-A) to about l/JOi) ur l.-'SOO feet, 2R1 SOfTII AM' KAST Al'RTf'A. yit tliey picsciit .sudi stoop escuii)iiieiits that tlioy arc ikjI lasily scaled. Tho pcuiusulur tract enclosed between the liovuma and its laijenda affluent in the extreme north is lelieved only by the lateral ridges of the Nyassa coast range from the genevally monotonous and dreary aspect of the open plateau country. lvivi;i! Systems, The chief rivers traversing tliis plateau between the Zambesc and the Iiovuma Fig. 8.3.— Lakes Ivilwa, Chiita and Amaeamea. Scale 1 : 1,200,000. [astcFGr.envv.^ have their source cither in the Xamuli highlands or in the neighbouring heights. Such is the Walaga, which, under various names, flo-ws first in the direction of the south-east, then southwards, falling into the Indian Ocean some distance north LAKE XYASSA. 285 of the Zambese delta. The Ligonya, whicb reaches the coast midway between Quelimane and Mozambique, as well as the Lurio (Lu-Eio), which waters the Lomwe territory, discharging into a bay about 120 miles north of the capital, have also their farthest hcadstrcams in the Namuli uplands. Numerous other less copious watercourses rising in the advanced spurs of the same hiUy districts have their estuaries on the seaboard between the liurio and Rovuma mouths. The Rovuma (Ro-Vuina, Ru-Vuma), which forms the northern frontier lino of Mozambique, is a considerable stream whose basin comjiriscs nearl}' the whole eastern drainage of the mountains skirling the cast side of Nyassa. Its farthest affluents even rise to the south of the lake, their united waters forming the Lienda or Lujenda (Lu-Jenda), which for the length of its course must be regarded as the main upper branch of the Rovuma. Till recently it was even supposed to have its origin some 60 miles farther south in the Milangi hills, and that it consequently traversed Lake Kilwa, the Shirwa of English writers, discovered by Livingstone in 1859. But this lake is now known to be an independent reservoir without any present outflow, although it apparently belongs geologically to the same depres- sion as the Lujenda Valley, with which at some former period it was probably connected. Lake Kii.wa. The sill confining the lacustrine basin on the north varies in height from about 14 to 30 feet at the utmost. This low ridge also lies considerably more than a mile from the northern extremity of the lake, and is clothed from one end to the other with large timber, showing that this tract has ceased to be flooded for a period of at least a hundred years. Nevertheless it is quite possible that in exceptionally wet seasons the level of Lake KUwa may rise sufficiently to fiU the sluggish marshy channels at its north-west extremity, and thus effect a communication northwards with the sources of the Lujenda, bj- skirting the western extremity of the old margin of the lake, where the ground is almost perfectly level. According to the statements of the oldest inhabitants, such communication in point of fact frequently took place before the present century ; but the level of Lake Kilwa has never ceased to fall lower and lower ever since thai time. Hence this basin has now no outflow, the inflow being balanced by evaporation, while its waters, formerly fresh and potable, have now become quite saline. In its present condition the lake has an almost perfectly rectangular form, being about 86 miles long, with a mean breadth of 18 miles and a superficial area approximately estimated at 720 square miles. Rut it is \ery shallow, especially on the east side, which is fordable for a loug distance from the shore. The deepest part of the basin lies on the west side, under the escarpments of Mount Chikala, which rises precipitously to a height of from 2,000 to 2,600 feet above the lacus- trine level, which itself stands nearly 2,000 feet above the sea. The two rocky islands of Kisi and Ivitongwe .serve to indicate the direction of a sub-lacustrine ridge which traverses the basin from north-east to south-west. This ridge will 28G SOrill AMI i;AsT AFinCA. perhaps, iu course of time, rise completely iibo\e the .siirhice, just us tlie iiortheru ridge has emerged with the coutiiuial subsidence of the waters. Shirwa is fed by a few swainjis and rivulets, and the overflow of the recently discovered little Lake Linibi. Kih\a Inning ceased to communicate with the J^ujenda, this great hcadstream of the Itovuma now receives its first contributions from the Mtorandanga morass, followed by another farther north. From this point the stream, which changes its name at every station, traverses in succession the two elongated Lakes Chiuta and Amaramba. It first takes the name of Lujenda at the outlet of the Amaraniba basin, which is lined by pile-built cabins serving as granaries and refuges for the riverain populations. Here the river, flowing with a uniform and rapid current between steep banks, enters one of the most charming and fertile valleys in the interior of the continent. The broadening stream is divided by a chain of elevated islands, which arc never submerged during the highest floods, and arc everywhere clothed with an exuberant vegetation 'of forest-trees, interlaced from branch to branch with festoons of creeping plants. Along the banks follow in pleasant variety grassy tracts, cultivated lands, and clumps of tall trees, while the distant horizon is bounded by the crests of blue mountain ranges. The LrjEXDA and Loavek Ro\tma. Swollen by all the torrents timibling down from the Nj'assa highlands, the Lujenda flows without any abrupt mcanderings in the dii'ection of the north-east, then trends northwards, plimging over a series of falls and rapids down to its confluence wdth the Rovuma. This river, which rises not far from the east side of Nyassa, descends from the uplands in a far more precipitous channel than the Lujenda. Above the confluence it pierces a deep gorge flanked by granite walls, while the current is strewn with huge boulders as destitute of vegetation as are the cliffs themselves that here confine the stream in its stony bed. The wild rocky landscape is here relieved only by a little brushwood clothing the fissures of the escarpments, and although lying within the equatorial zone the riverain scenery presents rather the aspect of a gorge in some northern region scored by glacial striae and strewn with moraines. At the issue of these defiles begins the region of plains and lowlands. The confluence itself of both branches stands at an altitude of not more than 730 feet, at the foot of a hill with polished rocky slopes. Lower down, the united stream discharges during the floods a portion of its overflow into two reservoirs near its right bank, Lakes Lidedi and Nagandi, which after the subsidence of the waters flow back to the Eovuma. The level of the stream is little more than 300 feet above the sea at the point where its winding ramifications over the lowlands again converge iu a single channel, which is pent iip between the escarjj- meuts of the two lateral plateaux skirting its lower course. Livingstone ascended to a distance of nearly 180 miles from its mouth, but the trip was made in the month of October, that is, during the season of low water, so that the boat often THE MOZAMBIUUE CURHEXT. 287 grounded in mid-stream. During the periodical inundations there can be no doubt that steamers would everywhere find sulHcient depth as far as the first cataracts. The Rovuma, which falls into a spacious bay just north of Cape Delgado, has no bar at its mouth ; nevertheless, small craft run some risk in penetrating from the sea into the river, owing to the eddies caused by the conflict of the opposing fluvial and marine currents. TnK Mozambique Se.\ho.\ud. The section of the seaboard, extending for a distance of about 300 miles nearly in a line with the meridian, from Mokambo Bay to the EoAiuna estuary, presents l"iy. SI. — Mouth of the Koviili. Scale 1 : 650,000. Depths. a remarkable contrast to the section disposed in the direction from south-west to north-east, extending from Sofala Bay to the Zambese delta and the Mozambique coast. Southwards the beach is everywhere low and destitute of harbours, whereas farther north the coast is deeply indented with creeks and inlets, while ramifpng headlands, continued by islets, stretch far seawards. This striking contrast is explained by the action of the ^Mozambique current, combined with that of the coral-building i^olyps. The oceanic stream flows close in shore south of the Itovuma, eating away the foot of the cliffs, striking against the rocky promontories, and sweeping in rapid eddies round every inlet on the seaboai'd. The baj's are thus scoured of all their sedimentary matter, and while the current is accom- plishing this work the coralline animalcules are building up their structures in 288 ?;OrTII AXIi EAST AFRICA. 8'). — rOETS A.\D RkEFJ Nohtii MozAMniari;. deep water off the cousf, altliough even here a ceaseless struggle is inairitaincd between tliese new formations and tlie waves of tlie sea. In one place the reefs are carved into islands, in another the current sweeps away the less compact coral masses, or else hollow out clianncls and narrow passages through tliom, mIu'iv,' ebb and fl(jw alter- nate with the velocity of a mill-race. 13ut south of Mozambique the marine current, ceasing to follow the shore-line, sets far seawards, the consequence being that all the inlets along the coast are gradually choked with sand or nmd. According to the observations of sailors navigating these waters, the stream follows its normal direction from north to south for nineteen days iu twenty, but its cour.se is at times checked and cA^en arrested, while it has been observed on some rare occasions actually to set in the opposite direction, towards the /^ggigi-_i ^^ Jiorth. ^=^^^ -^ Between Quelimanc and Mozambique the coral- builders have erected a continuous chain of reefs and islets, skirting the coast at a distance ranging from 12 to 18 or 20 miles, and enclosing a broad channel, which in many places affords good anchor- age. Natural harbours of refuge follow in quick succession along this marine highway within the reefy Primcira and Angosha (Angoxa*) islets. But at the point where the shore-line takes the direction from south to north, these outer roadsteads are replaced by harbours formed by erosive action on the coast itself. Here the port of Molamho develops an extensive basin where whole fleets might ride at anchor in depths ranging from 60 to 90 feet. Mozambique commands from its low islet a labyrinth of inner havens, followed northwards by Conducia Bay and the magnificent group of sheltei'cd inlets presented by the Fernao Yellozo or ^lasasima basin. Mcmba Bay, with those of Mwambi, Montepes, Ibo, Ma.simbwa, and Mayapa, not to speak of the many excellent anchorages formed by the islets off the coast, render this seaboard one of the most favour- able for navigation iu the whole world. At the same time the barrier reefs and the swift currents striking against them require great caution on the part of skippers frequenting these waters. Even GO miles ^('fi 40° 20' E cf Greenwich Sands acd reefs exposed at low water. 30 Miles. * The Portuguese x answers exactly to tlie English except in strictly Portuguese words. — Eil. sji, which should be substituted for it everywhere CLIMATE OF MOZAMBIQUE. 289 off the coast, under the latitude of Ibo, there occurs the daiificrous marine bank of St. Lazarus, where vessels have occasionally been wrecked, althougli it is covered mostly by depths of from G to 18 fathoms. Climate. On the Mozambique coast the south-east tradc-wiuds have so little force that they are frequently deflected from their normal course by the centres of intense radiation, developed at one time on the. mainland to the west, at another on the great island of Madagascar to the east, iloreover the broad Mozambique Channel, which is disposed in the direction from north-cast to south-west, offers to the atmosj)heric currents an easy passage, which they usually follow, setting either northwards to the equator or southwards to the Antarctic seas. The trade winds prevail most frequently during the cooler months, that is, from April to Sep- tember, when the vertical solar rays strike the globe north of the equator. Nevertheless, even during this season the aerial currents arc generally deflected towards the north. They sweep round the south coast of Madagascar, and on reaching the Mozambique Channel set steadily northwards in the direction of Zanzibar. But from October to March, when the sun has moved to the southern hemi- sphere, followed by the whole system of atmospheric currents, the pi'cvailiug winds un tlie Mozambique coast are those blowing from the north-cast. They sot liarallel with the seaboard in the same direction as the marine current itfclf, which now acquires a mean velocity of from about 2 to 4 miles au hour. In these maritime regions hurricanes are extremely rare. Fully forty years have chqised since one of these atmospheric disturbances has been witnessed, when in January l.^'ll, a terriiic cyclone churned up the Mozambique waters, tearing the ,-liiiJping fiom its anchorage and strewing the coast with the wreckage. During the two following years ilozambiquc was again visited by similar stuims, and on each occasion at the same period. FlOKA AM) Falna. The moisture precipitated in the basins of the Rovuma and the other coast streams north of the Zambese is not sufficientlv copious to nourish a luxuriant vegetation. Great forest-trees matted into an impenetrable tangled mass by trailing or twining plants are met only on the banks of the running waters. 15ut although the coastlauds have no large growths except on the irrigated tracts, the thickets on the elevated terraces are none the less very difficult to traAerso. Here the brushwood and small shrubs arc often so inextricably interwoven that it might be possible to walk for hours without once touching the ground. Caravans that have to force their way through this underwood move very slowly. The porters have to cut themtelves a passage beneath the overhanging blanches, avoiding the sharp points of many a projecting root, and in some places even creeping on all VOL. XIII. u 290 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. lours over the iutoiwovcii uctwoik of Ibliugc uiid lianas. AW'st of these thiekets clothing the tenaecs near the eoust, the inland plains, enjoying u far less abuu- daut rainfall, supj^ort few •\egetuble growths beyond grasses and thorny mimosas. Forests properly so-called occur only on the slopes of the mountains, which inter- cept the moisture-bearing clouds rolling up from the Indian Ocean. The plants yielding copal and caoutchouc do not thrive beyond the zone of brushwood. Ou the other hand, the Mozambique fauna is surprisingly rich. The region of the Upper Lujenda and the plains traversed by the Rovuma below the confliiencc of its great tributary from the south, are hunting-grounds such as are now seldom elsewhere seen in Austral Africa. The various species of antelopes, as well as the gnu, buffalo, quagga, and zebra, herd together in thousands, and are preyed upon by large numbers of lions and leopards; hyccnas arc also very numerous. But tliis multitude of wild animals is entirely due to the rareness or absence of man. IxiiAisiTANTs. — The Magw.vxgwakas. Within a comparatively recent period the Rovuma basin was still thickly peopled ; but at present scarcely a village is met for tracts 60 miles in extent below the Lujenda. They have almost everywhere been replaced by numerous ruins surrounded by now abandoned banana groves. The land has been laid waste, and now that there remains nothing more to destroy, the wild beasts have resumed possession of their domain. The only aborigines, whose rare camping- grounds arc still met at long intervals on the plains, are the Matambwes (Ma- Tambwe), protected by the branches of the river, which they place between them- selves and their enemies. During the dry season they occupy the islands in the Rovuma ; but with the return of the periodical floods, which inundate their huts and fields, the}' retire to the elevated cliffs ou the right bank. A few Mataoibwc are also met cither as guests or as slaves amongst the powerful tribes which have given them a home or a refuge. Some groups of Manyanjas (Ma-Nyanja), timid savages akin to the Matambwes, have a few obscure settlements in the recesses of the region about the confluence. The predatory tribes by whom the Mozambique lands have been wasted are the Magwaugwaras (Ma-Gwangwara, Ma-Couguara), who dwell to the north of the Rovuma, along the north-eastern shores of Lake Nyassa, and in the region where the Rufiji has its soiu-ce. With these Magwangwaras have been associated some other marauders, who are known, like the Zidu-Katirs beyond Nyassa, by the general designation of Maviti. But they are not entitled to the name, and these pretended Maviti are really Wanlndis (Wa-Nindi), who seem proud of continuing the work of the conquerors by whom their o^^'u territory was formerly wasted with fire and sword. They have adopted the warlike garb, the arms, usages, tactics, and the very name of these terrible Zulus. But in their country the traveller Porter heard of two persons onl\- who were really of Zulu blood. Setting out from their villages to the north of the Rovuma, thev turned the THE M.UvUAS. 291 whole of the Matambwe country into a howling wilderness, and for man}- years all the markets along the coast were fui-nished with hundreds and thousands of slaves from this source. So abundant was the supply, that at that time a man fetched a less price than a sheep or a goat. But things have greatly changed since then. The Wanindis have withdrawn to their campiug-groimds, where they have again begun to till the land. There was nothing left to plunder when the late Sultan of Zanzibar interfered to stop their depredations. The Makvas. The Makuas (Ma-Kua, Ma-Kwa) occupy a vast domain, which stretches from Mozambique Bay westwards to the JS'amuli highlands and the lakes where the Lujendu has its som-ces. They are divided into numerous groups, such as the Medos and Mihavanis, nearly all hostile to each other, although closely related in language and usages. Each tribe, however, is specially distinguished by its jieculiar style of headdress, and methods of tattooing the face and filing the teeth. During the last few decades the race has been much reduced by their constant intertribal feuds. Ruined villages, abandoned fields and gardens, are met in many places, and considerable tracts have become solitudes. The naturally fertile Kamuli uplands are almost iminhabited. Amongst these tribes spirit-worship is universal, and in certain villages, notably at Mpassu, on the route between Quelimane and Blautyro, every cabin has its trophj- of offerings to the local genii. Before all the villages are piled up heaps of presents, such as food and merchandise, which are expected to secure the favour of tutelar deities. On the southern slope of the Namuli mountains and the banks of the Lukugu River there is a Makua tribe, recently visited by Last, whose warriors still eat human flesh. These are the Mawas (Ma-Wa), who occasionally devour their own dead, as well as captives in war, and stiU more frequently slaves and people secretly condemned either for their magic arts or because they hajDpen to be corpulent, that is, in " prime condition." The victim must be kept ignorant of his fate ; at some public feast he is made drunk with beer, and then his executioners suddenly fall upon him and club him. Like their Maganya and Maviha sisters, the Makua women wear the pelele, or lip-ornament. They consider themselves fully equal to the men, and in some respects even take the first rank. Their right to hold property is perfectly recog- nised ; they keep "establishments," huts, and fields, and can dispose of themselves accordiug to their own fancy. In case of divorce they also keep possession both of the children and the land. Nevertheless the wives of the chief kneel before him, and when ordered salute him by clapping of hands. One of them is also selected to accompany him as his swordbearer. The wives have often been buried alive in the same grave with distinguished members of the community. The customs, however, vary greatly from tribe to tribe, and certain practices, such as circumcision, held to be a point of vital importance amongst most of the natives, are left by the Makuas to the option of the iudividuul. Each petty slate 2'J2 .■<(_il'nL AND KASl' Al'KU'A. is governed by ;i cliii f anil a couiuil i>l' rlilcis, wlio are seated for the greater part of the day in a iniblie hall huug with leepurd skius. The !Mukuiis are very Hueiit orators, and at all tlie feasts, celebrated by the neighbouring peoples with inusie and the dance, they hold rhetorical tournaments. Each orator is accompanied by a second, who, like the llutc-player in classic times, stands behind to regulate the movement of the voice by his modulated utterance of harmonious syllables, filling by his music the gaps in the flowing periods, lending more insinuating softness to the patlietie phrases, heighteuiug the eflejt of the peroration by a low cadeueei Fig. 81). — CuiEF Nations of Moz.vhuiuue. Scale 1 : 8,000.000. I* ^ / ^ \ >V ^ - ^\ TV S\ ' Egsh Cf Greenw.cK muttering, and terminating the discourse by a muttted sound which seems to die away like a distant echo. The Lom\\es, Y.\os, and Mamuas. The Lomwes, who according to O'Neill belong to the same stock as the Makuas, dwell chiefly in the Lurio basin to the north of the Namuli highlands, and of the mountains continuing this system eastwards. The}' arc usually looked on merely as an ordinary Makua tribe, although they are clearly distinguished by their peculiar idiom, and also regard themselves as a separate people. Before their territory was explored, the Lomwes had the reputation of being a most formidable nation. All strangers were supposed to requii-e a special invitation TIIK t.om'\vt:>: .\xi> vaos. 2on from llio council of chiefs before daring to enter tin ir toiiitory, ;is to do so with- out this precaution was considered certain death. The depopuhitcd borderlands on their frontiers were also stated to be carefully guarded by elephant-hunters, instructed to kill all intruders of other races or tribes. But all this was idle popular report. The Lomwcs are, on the contrary, now knowii to be a peace, loving and even timid people, who are harassed by their ^lakua neighbours. Kg. 87. — Landscape in- Li They are even threatened with extinction at no distant date, unless peace bo restored to this distracted land under the infliicnce of the European traders or missionaries. For intelligence and industry the Yaos ("Wa-IIiyao), called also Ajawas, cer- tainly take the foremost rank among all the Slozambique populations. The upper and Ljcu Valley forms the chief domain of these aborigines, who were fonnerly a powerful nation, but who, like their neighbours, have suffered greatly from the 201 SOTTTrT ANT) KAST AFRICA. incursions of llio >[aviti and other pliincleriug hordes l)oaring this name. The Yaos aro also mot more or less intermingled with other IribDS along the banks of Nyassa and the Roviimi, and wherever they have penetrated tliey have almost invariablj' acquired the political preponderance. Tliey neither disfigure their features bj- tattooing, noi' do their women wear the repulsive polele. Of cleanly habits both in their dress and dwellings, they readily adapt themselves to foreign waj-s, and are Rpecially distinguished by (heir enterprising spirit, so much so that thej' might be called the Vuangampzi of Mozambique. The Yaos are also excellent husbandmen, and those of the Lujcnda Valley have converted the whole land into a va^t garden, where groundnuts, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, haricots, and here and tliere a little rice are cultivated, jointlj- with maize and sorgho, the cereals serving as the staple of food. In the upland valleys draining to the Roviuna, they have founded settlements on the crests of the steep hills, where thev defy the attacks of the Magwangwara raiders. The upper slojies of these natural strongholds are for the most part covered with huts. Johnson estimates the nmnbor of cabins grouped in the large settlement of Uiii/anyo at certainly not less than nine thousand. The summits of the mountains swarm •^'ith children, who climb the terraces and spring from crag to crag with the agility of monkeys, ChiiragulK, another rocky citadel, is almost as populous as Unyango. The Yaos are frequently visited by the Arab traders, but they have not accepted the Moslem faith, and still remain j)agans. Sanguinary funeral rites and banquets of human flesh are even still kept up by the chiefs, although for the most part secretly. Young women and slaves are buried alive in the graves of the great chiefs, but it is said that should an intended victim have the good luck to sneeze during the funeral procession he is at once liberated, the spirit of the departed having in this way expressed his unwillingness to be attended in the other world by such persons. Till recently the Yaos displaj'cd great enterprise and activity, especially as slave-dealers. The}' acted as a sort of middlemen in forwarding nearly all the convoj's of captives to Kiloa and the other ports along the coast. Nor has this traffic been yet completely suppressed. Thomson estimated at about two thousand the number of slaves annually sold by the Y^aos in the coast towns. Probably in no other part of ^Vfrica are the effects of the slave-trade seen under a more hideous aspect than in the Eo\Tima basin, where cultivated tracts have been abandoned, villages burnt, and whole communities di.spersed or carried into bondage. At the beginning of the present centurj- slaves were annually exported from this district to the number of from four to five thousand, and when the traffic was abolished by Portugal, the Mozambique slave-hunters and dealers were powerful enough to incite an insurrection against the Government. Thanks to the inaccessible nature of their territory, the Mavihas or Mahibas (Ma-Viha, Ma-Hiba), were able to escape from the attacks of the raiders. But although their villages, situated in the clearings of the coastlands, were strongly palisade;!, and moreover protected by tlieir almost impenetrable thickets, their >rr>ZAMBT("irK T>:T.ANT». 293 immunity was purchased at the cost of keeping far from the highwaj's of com- merce, and excluding the Arab traders from all their settlements. Xow, however, the buyers of copal and caoutchouc have gained access to their hitherto secluded retreats, and they have thus been gradualh* drawn within the sphere of commercial activity centred in the Portuguese seaports. The Mavihas arc remarkable for their s^Tiimetrical figures and graceful car- riage, but they disfigure themselves by incisions, while not only the women but even the men wear the pelele in the upper lip, giving to the mouth somewhat the appearance of a nozzle. This lip-ring is prepared bj- the husband himself for his wife, and the ornament thus becomes a symbol of love and fidelity, like the wedding-ring worn by married people in civilised countries. When the wife dies the husband religiously presei-ves her pelele, never forgetting to bring it with him when he visits her grave and pours libations to her memory. O'Xeill is of opinion that the Mavihas belong to the same race as the Makondes, who dwell to the north of the Rovuma. They have the same customs, and the people of the coast apply the same collective name to both groups. As amongst the Makondes, the Maviha women enjoy (he privilege of choosing their husbands, ToronRAPiiv. The seaports where European and Asiatic dealers have settled for the purpose of ti-ading with the natives of the interior are not numerous on the Mozambique coast ; nor have any of them acquired the proportions of a large city. They arc, however, supplemented by the missionary stations founded in the regions remote from the seaboard, for these stations have become so many little Euroi^ean colonies, where the indigenous populations are brought into contact with a new and superior civilisation. , Xorth-west of Quelimane, the first frequented port is that of AngonJia, formerly a busy centre of the slave-trade. But the point selected for connecting the submarine cable and for the regular mail service is the famous island of Mozam- bique, which was occupied by the Portuguese at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and a hundred years later made the capital of all their East African possessions. This island was already a great Arab market, trading with the East Indies, when Yasco de Gama discovered it in 1498. The Portugutse had merelj' to fortify the place in order to secure a station of ^ital importance on the highway between Lisbon and Goa. Mozambique Island, a coralline rock aboiit two miles long and a few Imndrcd yards broad, jjartly doses the entrance of the spacious Mossoril Baj', a perfectly sheltered haven from 25 to 50 feet deep, where vessels frequenting these waters find a safe anchorage during the prevalence of the south-east monsoons. But on the cast side of the island there is also developed another haven well protected from the surf by some coral reefs, low islands, and Cape Cabcceira, a prominent headland Ipng to the north-east of Mozambique, and connected with the mainland by a wooded peninsula. The town, where no traces ore any longer seen of the 200 sol 'Til AM' i;ast Al'inOA. Aviib oui'ujKition, has some regular buildings iu the Portuguese slylo, protected by the guns of Fort Saint Sclinatian, at tlic northern extremity of the island. The huts of the " black town " are grouped in the soulhern p;irt of ^lozambique, near Fort Sniiit Lainriirc. On lliis arid islet the i-aln\vatcr is carefully lnisl)ande;-^\|f^=^^;^V \te^ "■^. X !..<€'■ ^S^'-^.W-^- Eastc-.f r-reenv their interests would henceforth be safeguarded against those both of Great Britain and the Sultan of Zanzibar. A German fleet then made its ai^i^earance before the ro}-al residence, and under the muzzles of the guns the Sultan was fain to recognise that his suzerainty had ceased for ever. He even surrendered the two chief ports that still remained to him on this coast, thus handing over to the agents of the German customs the keys of his treasury. In 1886 a special convention signed with England recog- nised not only the annexations already made by the Germans, but also those which they intended making at some future time. The respective " zones of influence " which England and Germany propose to incorporate in their colonial empires as soon as their first acquisitions are consolidated, are henceforth limited /AN'ZlBVTv. 303 by a conventional line running south-eastwards from Kaviroudoland on the east side of Victoria Xyanza to the Indian Ocean. This line passes to the north of the snowy Kilima-^Njaro, monarch of African mountains, while on the south the future German domain is bounded by the courst; of the Rovuma, separating it from the Portuguese Mozambiiiuc lands. Beyond a narrow strip of coastlands recognised by a sort of "diplomatic fiction" as still belonging to the Sultan of Zanzibar, the region figuring on the maps as forming the future German East African domain covers a superficial area of 1:^' ■ ^ %. > -i^ O utapomlie J?a« Kiiimkaxi '39' 30 /As /eOu,320f'} 3Z0tot600f^ J600f*inpwccrAs. THE EUFIJI EIVEE. 805 as they were from fever, they found so difficult to surmount. But however savage in appearance, these uplands are at least favoured with a salubrious climate, and the Europeans enervated by a residence on the marshy plains of the seaboard might here establish health-resorts to recover their strength in an atmosphere resembling that of the temperate zone. Most of the Usagara villages are bmlt above the river valleys on the advanced spurs of the main ranges. River Systems. A few inconsiderable watercourses reach the coast north of the Rovuma estuary ; but the first large fluvial delta is that of the Rufiji or Lufiji, which lies 180 miles beyond that point. This river does not flow from Lake Nyassa, as was reported to Livingstone by the natives ; nevertheless its farthest headstreams have their sources to the west of this lacustrine basin, and its ramifying affluents drain a vast extent of land on both sides of the ranges skirting the plateau. The whole area of drainage comprises an area roughly estimated at 6,000 square miles. The Luwego, or Luvu (Lu-AVego, Lu-Vu), the chief southern tributary, has not yet been surveyed to its source. It is not na^^gable, and probably has its source in the liiviugstone Mountains, flowing thence in a north-westerly direction to its junction with the Uranga (TJ-Ranga). This branch comes from the west, plunging from fall to fall in a rockj' bed flanked b}' granite walls. But hundreds of canoes foi-med of single trunks of trees are met in the navigable reaches, which during the rainy season sometimes expand to a breadth of over 2,000 yards. The united Luwego and Uranga take the name of Rufiji, which a few hundred yards below the confluence tumbles over the Shuguli Cascades, a series of falls and rapids skirted bj- granite cliffs. Above these cataracts some rocky islets in both converging branches serve as refuges for the natives exposed to the sudden attacks of marauders. Lower down the Rufiji continues the north-easterly course of the southern or Luwego branch, and offei-s at intervals a few navigable reaches, although in many places the canoes of the natives are arrested by rapids, reefs, and sandbanks. These obstructions grow more numerous as the mainstream approaches the confluence of the Ruaha (Rua-Ha), a large stream from the west, whose basin comprises a large tract of country between Urori and Ugogo. Like the Luwego, the Luaha is unnavigable, notwithstanding the large volume of water it rolls down during the rainy season, when it becomes the largest branch of the whole sj^stem. But during the period of drought it is a less copious stream than the Rufiji. After its confluence with the Ruaha, the Rufiji receives no further contri- butions fi'om any quartir ; but before reaching the sea it has still to surmount the barrier presented by the most advanced ridge of the coast ranges. This ridge runs north and south athwart the course of the river, \\liii'li pierces it at the gorge where it rushes over the Pangani Falls. No accurate measurement has yet been taken of the total incline at this point, but it must be very considerable, vol.. XIII. X SOG SOUTH AND EAST .APEIOA. as is evident from the relief of the liills, wlileli is imuli greater on flie eastern or outer than on the inner side. In the Mriinii, or coast region below the Pangani Falls, the Rufiji is navigable for the rest of its course seawards, a distance altogether of about I '20 miles. But J''ij^. 91. —The Rui'lii Di5lt.\. Sciilc I : C!)0,000. •:■.*■ ■' .■■ r - 4'-'-' kz—- •' ^s . • • SamanJ^.v '■ "M" -'■■ \ ..■ . ■ > A--^^~ t- ast oF Breenwich Depths. rm Sands and reefs exposed at low water. great care and skill are required to avoid the sand or mudbauks, -which are formed or shifted witli every reciirring inundation. In this part of its course the river has even excavated a new channel, which winds to the south of a now abandoned branch. Lower down, in the delta proper, these branches arc constantly' being LAKE EIKWA. 807 rlisplaced. The alluA-ial deposits, incessantly disturbed by the current, presents every year a fresh system of ramifying channels, while seawards the outlines of the coast are continually modified by the ceaseless action of the coral-building pol\-ps. In proportion to the size of its basin, the Eufiji delta is very extensive, developing a coastline about 54 miles long and covering a total superficial area of no less than 600 square miles. It is intersected by about a dozen so-called mtos, or estuaries, some of which are not in constant communication with the fluvial system, although connected witli it for the greater part of the year, when the sweet and saline waters are intermingled in their channels. The largest volumes of the fluvial current are discharged through the northern branches, the Bumba or Msala, the Kiomboni, Simba-Uranga, and Kibunya, and these are consequently the most accessible to shipping, which is able to ascend them at high water. The Simba-Uranga mouth especially is much frequented by coasters, which come to load timber on the banks of the river. All the channels in the neighbourhood of the sea are fringed by dense mangrove thickets, and liere the few habitations of the natives are raised on piles sunk in the mud. Higher up, wbere the soil is less saturated witb moisture, no more trees are seen, and the ground is covered with tall grasses, yielding where cultivated rich crops of rice. Compared with the Ruiiji, the other streams discharging into the Zanzibar waters are of inconsiderable size. The Kingani, which Holmwood ascended for a distance of 120 miles from its mouth, is also known as the Mto, Mbazi, or Rufu (Ru-Fu), names which have all the same meaning of " river." It has its source in the valleys of the eastern slope east of the Fsagara uplands. The Wami, which also reaches the coast opposite the island of Zanzibar, but a little farther north, collects its first waters much farther west in the hiUs skirting the plateau. Lakk Rikwa. But the space comprised between the basins of these rivers and those flowing to Tanganyika is dotted over with shallow flooded depressions without any out- flow. The largest of these reservoirs, lying west of the heights where the main branches of the Rufigi have their origin, is Lake Rikwa (Likwa, Hikwa), which was discovered by Thomson in 1880, and has since been visited by Cotterill and Kaiser. Seen from the summit of the Liamba Mountains enclosing it on the north- west, and separating it from Tanganyika, Rikwa appears to fill a regular valley disposed north-east and south-west parallel with the axis of Tanganyika and Nyassa, and forming part of the same lacustrine system in the continental relief. It stands at an estimated altitude of nearly -2,600 feet, that is to say, about 100 feet above the level of Tanganyika, and has a probable length of about 60 miles, with a breadth varj-ing from lo to 20 miles. Rikwa receives several affluents at both extremities, including even a considerable stream, the Katimia or Mkafu, which takes its rise north of Karema, in the mountains skirting the great lake. But all these contributions of fresh water, being carried off by the evaporation of the X 2 308 SOUTH AND EAST APRICA. iKisin, cannot prevent the formation of a residuum of saline substances in this hicuslrinc reservoir, whoso waters, according to native report, have a flavour of sulphur. Cl.IMATi;. To the Usagara Mountains, rising between the phiteau and the seaboard, are mainly duo the contrasts of climate, and consequently of all tlio phenomena depending on it, including those of the running or stagnant waters. In this region of East Africa the moan direction of the winds is normal with the coast. AVhcther the south-east trades are in the ascendant, as is the case during the greater part of the year, or whether they are succeeded by those of the north-east, as in the month of January, when the whole atmospheric system is shifted south- wards with the course of the sun, or whether the aerial currents are attracted to the interior of the continent, these currents always set in the direction of the coast. The rain-bearing clouds are thus arrested by the mountain ranges of the interior. For the same reason the alternating daily breezes are felt only on the maritime slope. Hence the opposite side facing landwards, as well as the inland plateaux sheltered from the prevailing easterly winds, arc much farther removed from marine influences than might be supposed from their proximity to the Indian Ocean. The massika, that is to say, the rainy season, during which the people remain " confined to their houses," generally begins on the coastlands in January, when the east winds are displaced by the north-east monsoon. But the heavy down- pours scarcely set in before March or April. After the month of May they fall off, returning again in the ruU season, which lasts from the middle of October to the end of the year. September is the driest month, although even then occasional showers occur. In certain inland valleys opening in the direction of the moisture- charged winds, it rains throughout the whole year, except perhaps for a fortnight or so in September. Here the massika makes its appearance much sooner than on the coast, and the mountains are frequently wrapped in dense fog. The total rainfall certainly exceeds 120 inches on the seaward slope of the Usagara uplands. The same contrast that is observed towards the southern extremity of the con- tinent between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean seaboards, is also maintained in these tropical regions lying between the tenth and sixth degrees of south latitude. At equal distances from the equator both the rainfall and the temperature are higher on the east than on the w'est coast. According to Ilann, the difference of temperature under the tenth degree of south latitude, that is about the Rovuma and Cuanza estuaries respectively, is as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit, a contrast which must be attributed to the direction of the marine and aerial currents on the two coasts. The monsoons on the Atlantic side blow almost constantly from the south, and are consequently tempered by the cold Antarctic waters. But on the opposite side of the continent the prevailing winds come from the east, that is by an oceanic basin heated by the vertical solar rays.* The contrast is even greater • Temiieruture of the west coast of Africa, 72^ F. ; temperature of the east coast of Africa, 80° F. FLORA OF USAGAEA. 809 between the respective inariue currents. A stream of cold water sets steadily in the direction from south to north along the Atlantic seaboard, while a flood of tepid water, escaping from the great central basin of the Indian Ocean, bathes the eastern shores of the continent, flowing southwards through the Mozambique Channel. The hilly plateaux lying to the leeward of the Usagara highlands arc mainly an arid region like the Karroos of Cape Colony. In many districts there is almost a total absence of water, so that the natives are obliged to sink deep wells in the gravel in order to collect the little moisture that oozes through the subsoil. In these districts the vuli season passes without bringing any regular heavy rains, while the massika is occasionally interrupted by a period of dry winds, sure forerunner of famine. The same atmospheric currents that bring the rain- charged clouds to the maritime slopes often deprive the plateau of the necessary moisture. To the dryness of the air are added the sultry heat of the daj' and cool nights. Whirlwinds of dust are often developed on the elevated j^lains, sweei:)ing furiously over the land, and in their eddies bearing along coarse sand and at times even the shingle itself. What the Spaniards say of the Philippines, Burton applies to the Ugogo countrj' : Scis mczcs de polro, sets mezes de lodo. " Six months of dust, sis of bog." The vapour-charged fogs of the coastlands, which at night precipitate a co^jious dew, do not penetrate far into the elevated lauds of the interior.* Flora and Faina. The wealth of vegetation is regulated by the quantity of the rainfall. The zone of coastlands, being sufficiently watered, is everywhere clothed with her- baceous or forest growths. Xorth of the Rovuma the terraced lands inhabited bv the ilakondes present the same general aspect as the region south of that river, where the Mavihas have their camping-grounds. Here scrub and brushwood are matted into such dense masses, that no progress can be made except axe in hand. In various parts of the northern section of the coastlands the vegetation, \\hile equally dense and more leafy, has a more forest-like character. On leaving the villages, convoys at once plunge into arboreal avenues where the porters have great difficulty in forcing a passage through the tangled branches. Elsewhere the trees are rarer and often grouped in picturesque clusters. In the vicinity of the marshy tracts the reeds and tall grasses grow to a height of I'i or 14 feet, forming a dense jungle, where marauders at times lie in ambush to fall on the unwary wayfarer, or where runaway slaves find a temporary shelter. The msnndanisi, or copal-tree, which j-ields the best gum known to commerce, flourishes along the banks of the Lower Rufiji for '3o or 40 miles from the coast. The highlands are clothed especially with mimosas and other plants of low • Mean temperature of Zanzibar as recorded for four years, 82° F. ; for March (hottest montli), 84''; for July (coldest month), 11" ; number of rainy days, 120 ; total rainfall, 60 ini'hes ; rainfall in 1859, 170 inches. 310 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. frrowtli ; intcrspeisod, liowcver, with gigantic tainariiids and sycamores, whose huge spreading brunches niiglit shelter a whole rogiineut; or the calal)ash-trec, in whoso hollow trunk a family might be accommodated. The Usagara Mountains abound e.speeially in arborescent species with sweet-smelling flowers and delicious fruits, although never improved by cultivation. Wooded tracts are often met where the traveller might fancy himself everywhere surrounded by dense forests, yet as he :id\-ances the trees are seen to grow rarer and. soon give place to the open savannah. In the Ugogo district, on the opposite side of the mountains, woods arc still mot in the well-watered bottom-lands, while elsewhere fuel is so scarce that the natives are obliged to burn cow-dung, as in the prairies of the Far AVest. Nevertheless, in these regions some large trees are still met, here a few calabashes or a soHtary baobab indicating the site of human abodes, there a gigantic euphorbia serving as a landmark or station for caravans. But if forest growths are rare, large animals still abound, especially in the districts remote from the trade routes. Certain parts of the plateau are still frequented by the elephant, the rhinoceros, giraffe, buffalo, and ostrich. Till recently even lions were so numerous that villages had to be displaced to avoid their danijcrous nci"'hbourhood. Inhabitants. Several of the tribes dwelling in the northern part of the Rovuma basin scarcely differ in speech and usages from the populations inhabiting the southern slope. Some lead an unsettled existence, frequently changing their settlements and making incursions on both sides of the river. Thus the "Wanindis and the Magwangwaras, or Makondes, who assume the formidable name of Maviti in order to strike terror into their more timid neighbours, and who have wasted so many districts and enslaved so many peoples on the south side of the Rovuma, have now established their chief encampments on the opposite slope. The two groujjs of tribes which confront each other from their elevated terraces on both sides of the Lower Rovuma, speak a common language, and in other respects present such a strong family likeness, that they are evidently branches of the same race, notwith- standing their distinctive tribal names. On the south reside the Mavihas (Ma-Viha), on the north the Makondes, (Ma-Konde), the latter rendered extremely repulsive by the scarifications covering face and body, which are renewed from time to time in such a way as to raise prominent ridges on the surface of the skin. The pelele is also universally worn by the women, giving the upper lijj from a distance somewhat the appearance of a boar's snout. Nevertheless the Makonde women enjoy a considerable share of independence. They are not purchased, nor do their parents claim the right to dispose of them in marriage. On the contrary, they choose their own husbands, and when the matter has been settled by mutual consent, the bride enters her new home, sweeping the floor and setting everv'thing in order. She is then joined by the bridegroom, who leaves his gun or other arms at the door. But although this Ti£E m^\:eondes. 311 com])lotes tlie simple wedding rites, unions are, as a rule, nmcb respected. Cases of infidelity are extremely rare, and when they do occur, the offence is always punished by the banishment of the delinquent. After a confinement the wife lives apart from her husband till the child begins to speak. Then on the day of reunion the mother brings her offspring to the crossing of two paths, symbolising the different ways of life, and after rubbing it over with oil resigns it to the father, and the family life is resumed. At the death of a Makonde all the gr;iin he possessed is immediately converted into beer for the benefit of the community, and the mourning or feasting lasts until all the liquor is consiuned. Enriched by the sale of the gum copal and Fig. 92.— Maviha Type. caoutchouc, large quantities of which arc produced in their territory, the Makuas have become very proud and overbearing, and show much mistrust at the visits of strangers. Some English mis.sionarics settled in the Masasi country, on the western border of the Makonde territory, have hitherto failed to establish uninter- rupted relations with these natives. In the 3''ear 1877, when Chauncy Maples penetrated into one of their villages, the inhabitants, who had never before seen a European, took him for a ghost, but consented to supply him with food. The Masasi country belongs to a powerful branch of the Makua nation, which farther south occupies such an extensive domain in the Jfozanibique region. The Yaos of the Nyassa highlands are also numerously represented in this part of the Rovuma basin. Here are also met some Wamueras (Wa-Muera), a feeble remnant 812 SOl'TII AXn KAST AFRICA. of a formerly powerful tribe almost entirely exterminated by the Maviti. Thfso Wamueras were at one time ver}- numerous, especially in the neighbourhood of tlie coast near Kiloa. The Wangiudos or Wagindus (Wa-Xgiudo, A\^a-Giudo), who have replaced the Wamueras in the districts to the north and north-west of the terrace occupied by the Makondes, are one of the many warlike tribes that have assumed the name of the Maviti. To keep up the fiction they have also ado2)ted the dress, Wiir-cry, weapons, and customs of these formidable kinsmen of the Zulus. By some of their neighbours they are called Walihuhu (Wali-Huhu), a name formed in imitation of their battle-cry. The Mahenges (Ma-ITenge), who dwell farther north in the Rufiji basin between Uranga and Ruaha, also try to strike terror by the sajue device, after having had themselves to tremble before these fierce warriors. The Wanvakauyakos (Wa-Nyakany;ika) have been reduced by them to the condition of serfs. The Wazaramos. The territory east of the Mahenges, in the Rufiji basin, belongs to the AVa- ndondes, or Wadondis (Wa-Ndonde, Wa-Dondi), who are conterminous with the "Wazaramos (Wa-Zaramo) of the region comprised between the Rufiji, the lower Kingani, and the territory of the SwaheK, or " Coast People." The Wazaramos are for the most part men of medium stature, but of rare physical strength. They are evidently of mixed origin, and present a corresponding varietj- of types. Some travellers have been struck bj' the great number of albinos met in their country. Since the middle of the present century they have been frequently visited by Arab traders and European explorers ; hence the accounts now received of their social usages differ greatlj' from those of the early observers. Through contact with the outer world their customs have been considerably modified, and they now wear the Arab dress, purchase arms, implements, and ornaments from the traders, and have discontinued many of their ferocious ances- tral practices. But in the more remote districts Wazaramos may still be seen whose features are slashed with deep gashes from ear to mouth, who wear no clothes except short skirts of foliage or grassy fibre, who by mixing clay with the hair build up head- dresses in the shape of a roof, and make use of poisoned arrows, which they keep in a carefully ornamented quiver. Cruel punishments for real or imaginary offences were by no means rare amongst the Wazaramos : they burnt the wizard with his wife and children, threw to the bush all infants whose teeth presented any departure from the normal disposition ; at times twins shared the same fate, as well as all children born on unpropitious days. Even those who had survived the dangers besetting their infancy were murdered if they ground their teeth in sleep, or had any other physical defect considered likely to bring misfortune on the family. On the other hand, the mother who lost her child through an accident or any illness, was held responsible for its death ; she was driven from THE WAZARAMOS. 818 Ihe village, had to dauL her face with clay, and silently to endure the insults heaped upon her. The Wazaramos do not practise circumcision, although they have in many other respects been subjected to the influence of the Mohammedans on the coast. Most of them speak Swaheli as well as their native language, and on gala days the chiefs wear the flowing robe, vest, and turban of the Arabs. The women also have adopted the Mussulman style of dress, but do not go veiled. The dwellings of the wealthy classes are palaces compared to the ordinarj' native huts, being small houses presenting almost a European aspect. The Wakweres (Wa-Kwere), Wakarai (Wa-Kami), and Wakhutus (Wa- Fi^. 93. — East Afhic.vx Tribes between the Eovuma axd Paoaxi. Scale 1 : 9,000.000. . 120 Miles. Khutu), who dwell farther west in the hilly region about the headstreams of the Kingani, are closely related to, although far less civilised than, the Wazaramos. They wear nothing but scanty bark clothes, and their habitations are rather dens of wild beasts than human abodes. In their country trials for witchcraft, followed by the inevitable punishment of the stake, are still terribly frequent. Much more civilized are their Wazcguha (Wa-Zeguha, TVa-Zegura) neighbours, who with the kindred Wangurus (Wa-Nguru), inhabit the unproductive plains on the north side of the mountains traversed by the Lower "Wami River. Nearly all these tribes have been converted to the Jlohamniedan religion through the influence of the contiguous Swaheli and Arab communities ; the possession of tirearni.s has also made them formidable slave-hunters. 314 SOUTH AND 1L\BT AFRICA. The Wu/cguhas are almost the only people in this region of East Africa will) do not recognise the principle of inheritance in the transmission of the supreme authority. The succession depends rather on personal (pialities, strength, courage, or wealth, and the consequence is that incessant warfare is carried on by the rival candidates for the position of tribal chief. Occasionally their neighbours become involved in these intertribal feuds, -which at times lead to the extermination of whole communities. Thus the "Wadoes (Wa-Doe), one of the local clans, has almost entirely disappeared during the ceaseless broils by which the land has been wasted, and fugitive members of this group have been scattered northwards as far as the neighbourhood of the equator. Their territory was generally avoided by travellers, because the "Wadoes were known to be cannibals. Both sexes disfigured themselves by two broad red scars, traced from near the temples down to the point of the chin. The two upper incisors were also extracted, and the national costume consisted of skins dyed yellow. At the death of a free man two slaves were buried alive in the same grave, a woman in order to prop his head during his last sleep, a man furnished with an axe in order to supply him with fuel in the cold, dark earth. The village chiefs try to make themselves look more terrible by cutting their nails in the form of lions' claws, and avoid meeting each other on the highway, pretending that their glance must prove fatal to a rival in authority. Hence when they have to deliberate on matters of common interest, the meeting takes place in a hut divided into two or more compartments, one for each chief, and the discussion is then carried on over the partitions. The Wasagaras and "Wagogos. The highland district lying between the seaboard and the inland plateau is inhabited by the various "Wasagara ("Wa-Sagara) clans, some still as barbarous as the ^Vakhutu peoples, others already more or less civilized through their continuous intercourse with the Swaheli, the Arabs, and the European explorers. Their language, divided into several dialects, is one of the most widely diffused in the interior, being current in some communities as far as the neighbourhood of Mombaz. The Wasagaras are generally distinguished by a fuller growth of beard from all the surrounding populations. Some of their chief branches are the "Wahehes ("Wa-ITehe), in the southern basin of the Euaha, and farther north, towards the frontiers of Masailand, the Wamcgis (Wa-Megi), the Wakagurus (AVa-Kaguru), and the Wagejas (Wa-Geja). The distinctive sign of all these groups is the lower lobe of the ear, which, by the insertion of ornaments such as wooden, metal, or horn discs, continuallj- increasing in size, is gradually distended until at last it touches the shoulder. The cavity thus produced is often utilized for holding little boxes, tobacco pouches, instruments, and other nicknacks. While most of the tribes are bearded, the Wahehes, whose language closely resembles the Ki-Swaheli, have absolutely hairless faces. They have enslaved the Wabenas (Wa-Bena), a peaceful nation who have become famous for their THE WAi^WAITELI. 815 remarkable skill in carviug and sharpening swords made of ebony. Their territory, a hilly plateau considerably over 6,000 feet above sea-level, is a rugged bleak region swept by biting winds. The Wagogos (Wa-Gogo), who occupy the section of the plateau stretching as far as the watershed towards Unyamezi, were formerly much dreaded as fierce marauders. When the -first Arab caravan made its appearance in their territory, Burton tells us that they were so surprised at the corpulence of the leader, that they took him for a god, and called upon him to bring down rain from heaven ; but their prayers not being immediately answered, they were about to murder the strange deity when an opportune shower intervened to save his life. Yet the Wagogos are now said to be the least superstitious of all the East African popula- tions. Thoy have very few magicians amongst them, and even these have fallen into great discredit. Most explorers who have visited these communities have been struck by the small size of the skull compared with the broad features and the prominent ears, which are likened by Burton to the handles attached to two sides of a jug or pitcher. The lobe is pierced and distended as amongst their Wasagara neighbours. In this part of .iVfrica ears enlarged in this way are a mark of freedom, slaves being forbidden either to pierce the lobe or attach anj' ornament to this organ. Xearly all the Wagogos are amply clothed, even the children wearing a large robe. Their language is much harsher than that of the neigh- bouring tribes. It is generally spoken in a loud, aggressive voice, sometimes even with a certain brutalitv, the Wagogos being very proud of their numbers, and long accustomed to bully the timid traders visiting their country. The Waswahkli. But however powerful they may be, all the nations of the interior have alike yielded to the influence of the language spoken bj' these despised dealers. The Ki-Swaheli,that is tlie language of the Waswaheli (Wa-Swaheli) or "Coast People," is daily becoming more widely diffused amongst all the native peoples in this part of the continent. Yet the tribes by whom this idiom is being propagated far and wide are neither stronger nor more numerous than the others. On the contrary, they cannot be said even to constitute a distinct ethnical group at all, for the Waswa- heli are of most diverse origin, and have become intermingled with immigrants from all the neighbouring regions. What gives them a certain national unity apart from most other Bantu populations is the Jlohammedan religion, which they have adopted and profess with more or less zeal. The Arab element also has greatly contributed to modify their usages, and transform the agricidtural communities into groups of active traders. Ki-Swaheli is spoken in its greatest purity in the districts north of Mombaz and JIalindi, where the dialect known by the name of Ki-Ngozi has preserved its archaic forms, and is consequently used by poets in preference to all others. As it gradually spread southwards along the coastlands and adjacent islands as far as Mozambique, the current speech became more and more affected by Indian, 81(5 SOUTH A\I» KAST AFlilCA. Persian, Portugiiese, and especially Arabic elements. Notably in Zanzibar it lias been extensively Arabised, and here all abstract terms are of Semitic origin. Nevertheless the Bantu substratum has been preserved, and the grammatical structure has remained purely African. From the seaports, centres of commercial life for the whole of East Africa, Ki-Swahcli has been disseminated throughout the regions of the interior, and like the Uunda language of Angola and neighbour- ing lands, like the 8e-Suto of the Basuto people between the Drakenberg and the Zambese, it has become a general medium of intercourse which in some places is already supplanting the local dialects altogether. Although s{3okcn as their mother-tongue by probably not more than a million persons, Ki-Swaheli seems entitled to rank as " one of the twelve most important languages of the world with reference to the vast area over which it is a Un gun franca, its position as a leading language amidst a host of imcultivatcd congeners, and its power to assimilate alien elements, especially the Arabic, which has done for it what it has already done for the Turkish, Persian, Urdu, llausa, and Malay" (Cust). Cameron tells us that during his journey from east to -west across the continent, he met in everj' tribe of the interior one or more persons conversant with this language of the east coast. It was by comparing a number of Ki-Swaheli words with the corresponding terms in the West African and Kafrarian dialects that so early as 1808 Lichtenstein was able to advance the hypothesis of the fundamental unity of the Bantu peoples from Algoa Bay to Mombaz on the east and the Gaboon on the west coast. This hypothesis has since been amph' confirmed, so far at least as regards the unity of the linguistic family spread over this vast area of many millions of square miles. Ki-Swaheli possesses a relatively copious literature. It comprises, like so many other Negro dialects, translations of the Bible and of various religious treatises, as well as collections of proverbs, legends, poems, in the publication of which the natives themselves, as well as the missionaries, take an active part. The Arabic alphabet, tUl recently almost exclusively employed, has now been generally replaced by the Roman characters, which are much more suitable for expressing the sounds of all Bantu languages. But authors have not yet come to an under- standing as to the best dialect to be definitively adopted as the common literary standard. The preference, however, will most probably be ultimately given to the Unguya, that is, the form current in the island of Zanzibar. TOPOGRAPUY. The gradual assimilation of the inland populations to those of the seaboard in all social respects is being steadily effected, not by militaiy expeditions, but by the development of trade and peacefid intercourse. Various centres of population, most of which, however, contain scarcely more than two or three hundred huts, follow successively along the commercial highways leading from the maritime ports to those that have already sprung up on the shores of the great lakes. But many favourably situated harbours are still almost entirely cut off from all communi- cation with the interior by iucos,- the KiLrsu-XjAEO Region. Scale 1 : 6,000,0(X>. r ■W'* 5^ ;. r\ 4 ff^--y East cF Greenwich either of its superficial area or of its populaiiuu. It may, however, be stated in a general way that the rectangular region comprised between the Indian Ocean, the eastern edge of the plateaux sloping westwards towards Lake Xyanza, and two parallel lines, one passing to the north of Mount Kilima-Njaro and Usambara, the other drawn from Mount Kenia to the Tana estuary, presents an area of about 55,000 square miles. According to the reports of Krapf, Fischer, Thomson, and VOL. xiu. z 888 SOUTH AND EAST AFl!lf'A. 101. — LlN-E OF A^OLCANIC FaULT, Masai La.vr. ( Mcfj^. //,■■- "^ ■•pal ^ K ^^ M^*"'"ip'' J^ 'V ' '>'• \ 'A N *J East oF G'-ee"----'c^' proximity to the coast begin the heights which rise continually higher and higher until in the mighty Kilima-Njaro they at last penetrate beyond the line of per- petual snows. Th^ first hills visible from the sea are the Usambara uplands, an almost isolated granitic mass ^v^th mostly rounded crests, some of which attam an altitude of 5,000 feet. From the town of Bulua, which crowns one of these crests a view is still commanded of the seaboard 60 miles distant, with its fringe oi verdant vegetation and broken line of gulfs and headlands. These uplands are followed towards the north-west by the Pare range, beyond which the horizon is broken by the Ugono ridge, dominating on the west the charmin- Lake Jipe, and north of which towers the imposing mass of the giant ot African mountains.