GLIMPSES OF RIVERS.
The Orange River flows through South Africa. It rises in the _Mont aux
Sources_, at an elevation of about ten thousand feet above sea level. It
flows in a westerly direction for about one thousand miles, and enters
the Atlantic Ocean.
It is a river of no special importance, and is of little value for any
practical purposes of navigation.
It skirts the northern edge of Cape Colony throughout almost its entire
course. It thus serves to separate this colony from the Orange River
Free State and from the adjoining territories, occupied by various
independent native tribes.
Orange River Free State was settled by the Dutch who had previously
occupied Natal. When Great Britain established her rule, the Dutch
boers, or colonists, migrated from their former home, and settled in the
section now known as the Orange River Free State.
The Vaal, a tributary of the Orange River, skirts the northern edge of
the State. The Orange River skirts its southern edge.
The Vaal River flows west, then bends a little to the south. The Orange
River also flows west, but bends a little to the north.
As the two rivers sweep around, they inclose the Orange River Free
State, not only forming its northern and southern boundaries, but
turning their courses so as to unite about midway on the western border.
Under the name of the Orange River, the united streams flow west, along
the northern edge of Cape Colony and the southern edge of Great Namaqua
Land, to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Orange River Free State may be called the connecting link between
Cape Colony, the Transvaal Republic, and Natal. The total area of the
State is estimated above fifty thousand square miles.
[Illustration: A SCENE IN THE DRACHENBERG MOUNTAINS.]
The whole region drained by the Orange River may be considered as a vast
plateau, which rises from three thousand to five thousand feet above the
level of the sea. Very little woodland is to be found except along the
banks of the river and its tributaries.
That portion of the country which comprises the Orange River Free State
is diversified by vast undulating plains. These slope from one of the
mountain systems down to the Vaal River. They are dotted at intervals by
rocky hills.
On the east and southeast the Drachenberg Mountains form a natural
barrier between this section and the coast regions.
The northern part of the State is very level. Hundreds of square miles
of territory are to be found with scarcely a break in the horizon.
In strong contrast to the northern sections are those of the eastern
part of the State.
If we should cross the State from Cape Colony to Natal, we should arrive
at the summit of the passes that lead to the latter colony without
finding a single mountain in sight. Suddenly, an advance of a step or
two would bring us to the edge of an immense mountain chasm. At its
foot, nearly a thousand feet below us, we should perceive the coast
region stretching out towards the Indian Ocean.
When the Dutch took possession of the Orange River Free State, it was
inhabited by different native tribes. Most of these have been driven off
to other sections, just as the Indians of America have been driven out
by the white man to seek new hunting grounds. A few of the more powerful
tribes, however, still dispute the possession of the soil with the
settlers.
All the rivers of the State belong to the Orange River system. Many of
them have distinctly Dutch names. In fact, the whole State bears
abundant evidence of the presence and personality of the colonists. It
is rather curious that they have had to wrest their land from the hands
of native tribes, or have had to struggle with foreign powers, just as
their ancestors had to wrest Holland from the grasp of Old Father Ocean,
or engage in a war with other nations, that looked with longing on the
little country of dykes and ditches.
The history of the struggles of the colonists is an interesting one. We
are led to wonder if the Dutch nation must always struggle for the
possession of any land it may wish to occupy, whether in the Netherlands
or in the Dark Continent.
In the early days of colonization vast herds of the larger varieties of
antelopes roamed over the great plain of the State; most of them have
disappeared as man has invaded their grazing places.
Interest has centered about the Orange River Free State, owing to the
discovery of diamonds here, and in Griqualand, a narrow strip of land
bounding it upon the west. It will be interesting to view these diamond
sections later on in our reading.
The Senegal River rises not very far from the source of the Niger, at
the extreme west of the so-called Kong Mountains. It flows first
northwest and then west, and loses itself in the Atlantic Ocean a little
north of Cape Verd.
The length of the river has been estimated as upwards of eleven hundred
miles. The last seven or eight hundred miles are navigable only for
flat-bottomed boats. In fact, here and there throughout its whole
course, the navigation of the river is frequently interrupted by
cataracts, shoals, and rocks.
The banks of the river are covered with verdure, and in some sections
with timber. In the lower part of its course the river is dotted with
numerous islands. These are usually large, well cultivated, and fertile.
The entrance to the river is somewhat difficult, owing to the breakers
and to the existence of a sandbar. In dry weather this bar has been
known to be covered by only eight or nine feet of water.
The Gambia is a smaller stream than the Senegal, flowing about in the
same direction and through the same section of country. Its length is
estimated at about one thousand miles. The mouth of the river is about
four miles broad. Just before the river reaches the sea its current is
fully double its width at the mouth.
The river is navigable for vessels of one hundred and fifty tons as far
as the town of Barraconda. This town is situated on the right bank of
the stream, about two hundred miles from the sea. The river enters the
sea a little to the south of Cape Verd.
The Senegal and Gambia drain the tract of country named, most
appropriately, Senegambia. It is a large maritime tract, bounded on the
north and west by the Sahara and the Soudan, on the south by Sierra
Leone, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
Between the two rivers, which are two hundred and fifty miles apart,
there are no very important water-courses. Between the Gambia and the
frontier of Sierra Leone there is but one stream of any size, the Rio
Grande.
The coast of Senegambia is deeply indented by various arms of the sea,
which resemble somewhat the estuaries of rivers.
The country forms the western and northern slope of the Kong plateau.
Portions of it are still but partially explored.
The soil of Senegambia differs widely. On the coast we find either low,
flat, alluvial plains, or an undulating country broadening to the north.
In the northern frontier this tract merges into the Sahara. In the
interior the plateau rises from the coast plains in a series of
mountainous terraces, and finally loses itself in the Kong Mountains.
The loftiest elevations of the soil are only a little more than three
thousand feet.
Strictly speaking, the country is divided into three sections, High,
Middle, and Low Senegambia. High Senegambia lies to the north of the
Senegal and is inhabited chiefly by the Moors. Middle Senegambia is the
section along the borders of the Senegal. It is inhabited chiefly by
negroes, who divide themselves into numerous tribes. The climate of this
section is extremely hot and in the marshy districts it is very
unhealthy. The soil is fertile, and yields the usual productions of the
hot regions of Africa. Lower Senegambia includes the sections bordering
on the Gambia.
As a country, Senegambia has a most luxuriant vegetation. The monkey
bread tree is characteristic of the country. It is considered the most
enormous tree upon the globe, and while other trees may surpass it in
height none equal it in the size of its gigantic trunk and limbs.
Specimens have been found measuring sixty, seventy-five, and even a
hundred feet in circumference.
While the native population of Senegambia consists of negroes of various
types, European nations are well represented. The British have a number
of settlements along the banks of the Gambia. Along the banks of the
Senegal are various French settlements. Scattered along the rivers at
various points are numerous small factories managed by the Portuguese.
The chief commercial products of Senegambia consist of gum, beeswax,
ivory, bark, and hide.