This country occupies the western shore of the South Atlantic, from the
Orange river, which is the northern boundary of the Cape Colony, to
Walfish Bay, a distance of 420 miles. The southern boundary follows up
the Orange river for ninety miles, where the Great Fish river falls into
it from the north. The native name of this river is the Garip. The
breadth at its mouth is nearly four miles; the sand in its bed and the
many shoals and sand-banks prevent its being navigable. Higher up there
are long stretches of smooth water for miles, intersected by rapids and
rocks,--some of them very beautiful, passing down between broad belts of
rich vegetation, with splendid timber of many varieties: the willow,
with its drooping branches kissing the water, adds greatly to the beauty
of the scene.
It was on this river, some miles above, that I spent many delightful
months, with my canoe, sailing on its placid waters,--some of the most
pleasant of my life. Many beautiful stones, not in small quantities,
but in cart-loads, can be shovelled up wherever the water has left them
on the shore. The upper portion of the river I have already described.
Following the coast-line north from this river are several anchorages.
The principal are Angra Juntas, Whale Bay, Possession Island, which is
nearly three miles in length, and over one in breadth--once famous for
guano; and if time be permitted will be again a valuable island for that
manure. Seals frequent this coast at certain seasons of the year, and
penguins are also abundant. Cape Voltas lies on the mainland. North of
Possession Island is Angra Pequena (now German) Island and Bay, where
the mouth of the little Orange river enters it, which rises in the
highlands at the back. At Pedestal Point, Bartholomew Diaz in 1486
erected a marble pedestal, which has long since disappeared. It is a
trading-station for supplying the natives of the interior, who trade in
feathers, skins, karosses, cattle, and other products, and receive goods
from the Cape in exchange. A road from the bay is over a dismal,
barren, and heavy road for fifty miles, when it becomes better, with
some herbage. In the bay there are several islands, viz. Penguin,
Seal, Shark, and others, which give good shelter for ships visiting it.
Copper has been found on the neighbouring coast. North of this bay is
the Island of Ichaboe, which, although very small, is famous for once
being noted for its superior guano, supplying England with thousands of
tons annually. North of this island is Hottentot Bay, and beyond
Spencer's Bay, the cliffs rising 500 feet nearly perpendicular; and in
the bay is Mercury Island, nearly a mile in circumference, rising to a
height of 250 feet, in which is an immense cavern, divided into several
lesser ones, through which the waves rush with fearful force and noise.
This rock is bare of vegetation, many sea-birds find shelter upon it--
gannet, penguin, gulls, and others. Seals and whales frequent it at
certain seasons.
In latitude 24 degrees 30 minutes South is Hollam Bird Island, about
half a mile in circumference. Seals and birds frequent it in large
numbers; many turtles have been caught on the shore. In 24 degrees
South latitude is Conception Bay, and to the northward is Sandwich
Harbour, which is situated thirty miles south of Walfish Bay. Sandwich
Harbour has a coast-line of sand-hills beyond; inland is pasturage for
cattle, and on the beach is a spring of fresh water. A fishery was once
established here by a Cape merchant. The River Kusip used to fall into
this bay, but now flows into Walfish Bay. It rises in the uplands, near
the Tans Mountains, but has no water in it, except when it happens to
rain, which is very seldom. Great Namaqualand terminates about this
point, and Damaraland begins.
From the sea-coast for many miles inland the country is barren and poor;
as the highlands are reached vegetation improves. The Desert of Tans
extends a long distance inland, nearly to Mitchell's Mount, which is a
lofty hill of 6000 feet, commanding most extensive views in every
direction. On the tributaries of the Great Fish river, and the river
itself, most of the natives live in small wherfs, at the mission
stations belonging to the Rhenish Mission Society, Bethany, Bethesda,
Reheboth, and others. The Isabella mines and Nabos copper-mines are on
the Orange river. Some of the principal wherfs are Reheboth, Ames,
Haochannas, Nababis, Kachasa, Amhup, Reems, Hudenass, Brokhout,
Robaclip, and others, on the various branches.
As I have previously stated, the natives are greatly mixed; many of the
women daub their faces and bodies with black stripes, and also dye their
teeth black; they use a red berry that grows in the bush veldt. Jonga
Africander, the head of the Hottentot tribe, living in the northern part
of this region, has been constantly thieving from the Damaras, causing
many petty wars between them. They are a lawless set. They drove out
and threatened to kill the magistrate there lately.
Wood is plentiful in the kloofs and on the river-banks, where the water
is procured. The larger game is found in the north-east corner, but has
become very wild from constant hunting by the various tribes. The lofty
hills are of granite formation and sand. The Bastards cultivate the
land in favourable localities, plough, and have large herds of cattle,
and carry on a good trade with the colony. They are hospitable and
peaceable; each wherf has its head-man, with several cattle and
vieh-posts attached. Copper, lead, and iron are found in several parts,
not yet worked; at some future time it will become a valuable district.
The summers are hot, and in winter it is sometimes very cold; rain
seldom falls, but the dense fogs from the Atlantic, over all the western
portion and on the highlands, cause such a moisture to fall that it has
the effect of rain. The rainy season is from the end of November to
May. In the northern part rain is more frequent. The Namaqua language
is similar to the Hottentot and Koranna, with innumerable clicks, which
make it sound very uncouth and strange to those who have heard it for
the first time. In travelling through the country I met with great
hospitality amongst the Bastards. At Nisbet Barth there is a Wesleyan
Society. The missionary was away in the colony when I passed through.
[Here is Germany's first attempt at colonisation.] Being anxious to go
on to the copper-mines on the river, where I could obtain a few things I
needed, I did not delay.
The country is not a pleasant region to travel through, for several
reasons--the scarcity of water, and that brackish; the want of grass;
the native cattle, where it would be good, keep it short; and the
wandering tribes are constantly annoying and worrying for something. On
the banks of the Great Fish river, near the Brinus Mountains, I shot a
black wolf, the first I had seen, and my people told me they were very
rare. I had great difficulty in getting through the country--bad roads
and dreadful drifts crossing the rivers.
I have little to relate of my explorations of this part of Africa, my
time being taken up in surveying the country, and collecting specimens.
The entire coast is a barren waste, not suitable for emigrants or
anything else for fifty miles at least inland.