RETROSPECTIVE VIEWS.
It will be remembered that the country east of Cape Colony, extending
along the slope of the Drachenberg Mountains to the Indian Ocean, as far
as the southern border of the province of Natal, bears the name of
British Kaffraria, or Kaffirland.
Doubtless, the European colonists, as they gradually extended their
settlements eastward, gave this name to the home of the people whom they
found inhabiting this maritime slope and the country beyond it. The term
"Kaffir," or infidel, was first given to this people by the Moors or by
the Arabs.
We must make a broad distinction between the coast Kaffirs and the
Kaffirs of the plateau. Those of the coast are high-spirited and
warlike, while those of the plateau are of a milder and more quiet
temperament.
Early in the present century, the Zulus, a clan of the coast Kaffirs,
began to imitate the military discipline and system of the Europeans.
Forming themselves into well-organized and severely disciplined bands,
they soon had all Kaffirland south of the Limpopo to the borders of Cape
Colony under their sway.
These fierce warriors gave the Boers serious trouble when they first
migrated to Natal.
Some of these bands of warriors marched to the north and conquered all
that lay in their pathway. Their leaders not unfrequently founded
extensive kingdoms in the range of country lying north of the Zambesi.
Most of these kingdoms have remained strong military despotisms until
the present time.
Zululand may be called the home of the Zulu Kaffirs. It comprises that
portion of Southeast Africa which extends from the northern boundary
stream of Natal towards Delagoa Bay. Until 1879 it was under the rule of
a strong, warlike chief, and was well peopled. All men of adult age were
placed under military discipline, so that the armies of the tribe were
estimated at from thirty-five to forty thousand men.
[Illustration: ZULUS (NATIVES OF SOUTH AFRICA).]
So strong a military power as this on the frontier made it imperative to
place the Transvaal, or South African Republic, under more effective
rule than that of the Boers. The British have succeeded in breaking up
this military power and have divided the country into districts. Each
district is governed by its own chief, subject to the supervision of
British magistrates.
The Gasa country stretches north from Delagoa Bay to the Lower Zambesi,
and is under the rule of a powerful Zulu chief. He has power over all
this vast territory, with the exception of a few places on the coast
under the protection of the Portuguese.
Inland from the Gasa country extends the kingdom of the Matabele
Kaffirs. It is a complete military despotism.
The land of this kingdom rises higher than that of the Gasa country. The
picturesque granite hills of the Matoppo and Mashona ranges often attain
an elevation of forty-five hundred feet.
The king of this country has his residence at the kraal, or village, on
the southern slope of the Matoppo hills.
A plateau Kaffir tribe, named the Makololo, having adopted the military
system of government, marched northward, early in the present century,
through the Transvaal to the central valley of the Zambesi, in search of
conquest.
Having enslaved the natives of the river valleys, they established a
powerful kingdom, which extended south and north across the Zambesi.
Disputes arose in the kingdom as to the right of succession. Those who
had been conquered took up arms against their conquerors, and having
revenged themselves for the years of servitude they had had to endure,
completely destroyed the Makololo tribe.
The Kalahari Desert represents that portion of the interior of South
Africa which has the greatest deficiency in moisture. It may be termed
the heart of Bechuanaland.
It reaches away in a northerly direction from the Orange River as far as
Lake N'gami.
The change from the fertile, verdant plains of the Transvaal and the
Orange Free State to the arid desert is a very gradual one,
corresponding to the change from the Soudan to the Sahara in the north.
The Kalahari, as we know, has no running water. It is, for the most
part, a dry, sandy region. It is not wholly lacking in vegetation, for
it has tufty grass and creeping plants, together with deeply buried
bulbous roots, except in the most central section.
The Bushmen are the nomads, or wandering tribes of the desert. They are
of low figure, very thin and wiry. They make no attempt to cultivate the
land and have no regular homes. Their chief occupation is to chase the
herds of antelopes from place to place, and to lie in wait for them with
their bows and poisoned arrows, in readiness to shoot them.
The Bushmen are sallow rather than black in color, and in their features
and coloring are said to resemble the Chinese more than any other
people. They may in reality be termed the children of the desert; for,
owing to the march of civilization and colonization, they have sought
refuge from the haunts of white men in the wastes and barren mountain
ravines.
The locusts, which may well be looked upon as a scourge to any land, are
hailed with joy by the Bushmen, for they form an important article of
food with them.
The wild Bushman, happy in his nomadic life, sings a song, the words of
which may thus be interpreted:--
"I plant no herb, nor pleasant fruits,
I toil not for my cheer,
The desert yields me juicy roots,
And herds of bounding deer.
"Yea, even the wasting locusts' swarm,
Which mighty nations dread,
To me nor terror brings nor harm,
I make of them my bread."
The Bushmen are not fastidious in their tastes; for they eat many plants
and bulbs which other people would despise as food. Grasshoppers and
other insects, and even serpents, are eaten by them with much relish.
Their huts are very inferior to those of other tribes. They are usually
mere holes in the ground. They sometimes serve the purpose of a bed.
They are only a few inches deep, of rather an oval form, and no more
than five or six feet wide.
In extremely cold weather these people gather twigs and earth, till they
have a mound heaped up as a protection on the windward side of the hole.
In summer they seek the beds of rivers and, lying under the shade of the
mimosas, they draw down the branches to shield themselves from the glare
of the sun.
The condition of the Bushmen has been very much changed by the
circumstances which have governed their lives. Every one's hand has
seemed against them, and theirs raised against every one. Like
partridges in the mountains, they have been hunted for generations.
Deprived of all that the bountiful hand of Nature had given them, they
became at first desperate, then rebellious, wild, and fierce in their
characters.
Truly, their condition is a most degraded one, yet it is not hopeless.
The civilization of this people seems not only practicable, but there
are reasons for feeling that it might be easily accomplished.
The Bushmen are not lacking in intellect, are moved by kindness, and
manifest gratitude for favors. They are trustworthy if any service is
expected of them, and ready and willing to receive instruction. Under
proper management and through the right spirit there is little doubt
that they could be easily persuaded to exchange their barbarous way of
living for a life offering civilization and comfort.
Just west of the Kalahari we find the extensive countries of the Nama
Hottentots and of the Damara tribes. These reach over the hilly border
lands of the continent down to the arid shores of this part of the
Atlantic.
Namaqualand may, generally speaking, be considered a dreary region,
affording but a scanty vegetation of grasses and prickly shrubs. The
land is furrowed by water channels. These flow for only a short time
after the scanty showers have fallen. The coast land is of a sandy
character and destitute of water. It is rendered still more disagreeable
by an almost constant haze which overhangs it.
Damaraland is a little farther to the north. It has an aspect a little
more favorable, on account of its hill slopes. Still, it, too, lacks
any permanently flowing rivers.
Copper has been found in considerable deposits, and doubtless gold lies
yet undiscovered.
Of the animal kingdom we find the ostrich in large numbers, and many
specimens of cattle are seen.
The people of Damaraland are principally of two tribes, the Cattle
Damaras, who probably migrated from the valley of the Zambesi, and a
black, negro-like people, or aboriginal tribe. The latter were once
slaves of the Namaquas, and adopted the Hottentot language. A few
Bushmen and Griquas, together with German missionaries, are the
remaining population.
There is but one highway, or regular track into Namaqualand from the
Atlantic. This leads from Angra Pequena Bay to the mission station of
Bethany on the plateau. It was formerly visited by guano ships. Recently
it has been occupied by a German trading company. From Walfish Bay there
are tracks which lead inland to a mission station in Damaraland.
Just north of Damaraland there are a number of tribes that bear a strong
resemblance to the Damaras. These are classed together as Ovampos. They
occupy the fertile tract of country south of the Cunene River, or the
province of Mossamedes, belonging to the Portuguese.
We must not forget that most of these lands occupied by native tribes
are, in a measure, governed by the nation to which they have been ceded;
and hence these tribes, in many instances, come under the protection of
Great Britain, Germany, or Portugal, as the case may be.
PART TWO.
_BROADER VIEWS OF THE CONTINENT._