SOUTH-WEST
AFRICA
BY
WILLIAM EVELEIGH
AUTHOR OF
“A SHORT HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICAN METHODISM”
T. FISHER UNWIN, LTD.
ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON
TO
GENERAL BOTHA
_First Published in 1915_
[_All Rights Reserved_]
FOREWORD
“Of making many books there is no end,” said the Preacher, but strange
to say, there is not a single book in the English language that deals
with South-West Africa of modern days. Many references to the country
are found in the older books of South African travel and exploration,
and some good works have been written in later times by German authors;
but, unfortunately, the German publications are not available for the
average reader. In the present volume an attempt has been made to set
before the reader a brief but comprehensive account of the country,
its history, its people, its resources, and its possibilities. It is
impossible in a small book to deal more than briefly with the subject,
and very slight treatment has had to suffice for many matters of
interest. I hope, however, that I have succeeded in conveying a clear
impression of what South-West Africa is, and what it may become. Brief
and unpretentious though the book is, it may serve to dispel the notion
that the country is nothing more than a desert and of very little value
to the Empire.
My thanks are due to Dr. Rudolf Marloth, of Cape Town; Prof. E. H.
Schwatz, of the Rhodes University College, Grahamstown; Dr. Wm. Flint,
Librarian of the Houses of Parliament, Cape Town; Mr. F. W. Fitzsimons,
Director of the Museum, Port Elizabeth; and Mr. John Ross, of the
Kimberley Public Library, for valuable suggestions. My debt to various
writers I have endeavoured to acknowledge elsewhere.
W. E.
Kimberley, South Africa.
1915.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER. PAGE
I. THE LAND 13
II. CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 37
III. THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 53
IV. THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 71
V. THE EARLY DAYS 89
VI. THE LATER HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 113
VII. THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 133
VIII. THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 157
IX. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY 173
X. THE DIAMOND FIELDS 197
XI. THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY 225
SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
CHAPTER I
THE LAND
A glance at the map of Africa shows that the territory now known as
British South-West Africa--formerly German South-West Africa--is a
triangular mass with the abrupt apex resting on the Orange River. It
comprises Ovamboland, in the north; Damaraland, the central portion
of the country; Great Namaqualand, in the south, and a tongue of land
running out from the north-east corner called the Caprivizipfel, and
has a total area of 322,450 square miles. This vast territory, into
which half a dozen Englands could be dropped with ease, is bounded on
the north by the Kunene River, Portuguese West Africa, and Rhodesia;
on the east by British Bechuanaland, and the Gordonia portion of the
Cape Province; on the west by the Atlantic Ocean; and on the south by
the Orange River. Some idea of the length of the eastern boundary, for
instance, may be obtained when it is stated that while the southern
extremity touches the Orange, a distance of only 400 miles from Cape
Town, the far corner of the Caprivi enclave is north-west of the
Victoria Falls. No less than 900 miles of coast-line stretch from the
mouth of the Orange to the Kunene estuary.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The physical structure of the country is extremely simple. The dominant
physical facts are: a slowly rising sandy coast belt; a high interior
plateau, broken by isolated mountain ranges; and a gently falling
eastern strip of sandy country that merges in the level expanse of the
Kalahari Desert.
THE COAST STRIP OR THE NAMIB
The coast strip is a desert, varying from 15 to 100 miles in width,
stretching from the Kunene to the Orange, in which at only a few places
is fresh water obtainable. To this desert the designation “Namib” has
been applied--a name originally restricted to the middle portion of the
strip. Dr. Stapff divides it into three parts: the stony desert north
of Walvis Bay, the valley of the Kuisip converging on Walvis Bay, and
the long sand dunes that run south from Walvis Bay to the Orange.
As a picture of dreariness and desolation this desert in places is not
surpassed even by the Sahara. South of Walvis Bay there run from north
to south mile upon mile of yellowish grey sand in long lines of immense
dunes some of them 600 feet in height. Dark, rocky hills, with faces
scarred and scoured into grotesque shapes, cut across the lines here
and there, and heap up the sand at their base on the windward side in
numerous hillocks. In some of the depressions formed by the dunes the
white basins of _vleís_ reflect the burning rays of the sun. Fierce
sandstorms rage over the dunes at intervals, and the dense yellow
clouds sweep along close to the earth at a terrific speed, blotting out
the light of the sun, raining a perfect hurricane of gritty particles
upon the traveller unfortunate enough to be found in the track of the
tornado.
Seen from the coast the Namib has the general appearance of a vast
plain with a boundless horizon, but the country ascends continually
though almost imperceptibly towards the interior; at a distance of only
60 miles from Walvis Bay, for instance, the traveller finds himself
some 2,000 feet above sea-level.
The prevailing formations along the coast are: gneiss, granite,
quartzites, mica schists, recent chalks, crystalline limestones.
“The whole coast, several miles wide,” says Dr. Versfeld, “is a portion
of a vast Titanic pudding, whose ingredients have been well stirred.”[1]
There is a concensus of opinion among geologists that at some remote
period a tremendous upheaval of the marine bed took place, resulting
in the present coast formation. The disintegration of the gneiss rocks
and the action of the furious trade winds, have since led to the
formation of the sand dunes.
The natural harbours are surprisingly few for such a lengthy
coast-line. Walvis Bay, which lies almost exactly midway between the
Orange and Kunene estuaries, is the principal inlet. A deep channel
gives access to large steamers, which are able to lie at anchor in a
fine, oval basin some 20 square miles in extent, completely sheltered
from the strong prevailing winds. This Bay, with 450 square miles of
adjoining territory, has been in the possession of Great Britain since
1878, but very little use has been made of it.
Luderitz Bay, some 250 miles south of Walvis Bay, is the next
considerable inlet. It ramifies to the right and left for about five
miles south of the entrance, and here, too, large steamers find safe
anchorage. Swakop Bay, 25 miles north of Walvis Bay, is merely an open
roadstead with a landing jetty.
THE CENTRAL PLATEAU
We will begin in the north with Ovamboland and follow southward the
line of the main ridge that forms the inner plateau.
Separated from the highlands of Angola by the gorges traversed by
the Kunene, the rocky heights of Ovamboland rise but slowly at first
above the general level, but south of the Otavi Hills in Damaraland
they gradually ascend until a veritable highland system is developed
with towering masses of table rocks and huge dome-shaped summits.
Mount Omatako, which has an altitude of 8,500 feet, is the highest
peak. Around it, but some distance from it, grouped like satellites,
are numerous other imposing mountains from 5,000 to 6,000 feet in
height. In the clear air of the uplands the granite pinnacles of these
peaks are visible from a great distance. Huge valleys or gorges are a
characteristic of this part of Damaraland. The mountain plateaux are
widely extended. In the region of Windhoek several rivers have their
rise. Further south the ridge falls again to a level of about 3,000
feet, and in many places is broken into by isolated ranges of manifold
forms, while the lower levels are studded with stony kopjes.
The country along the eastern border consists of undulating plains and
large areas of sandy land which closely resemble the Kalahari.
In all these uplands the prevailing formations are granite, or mica
schist. Surface limestone occurs everywhere.
GREAT NAMAQUALAND
Great Namaqualand, the country that stretches from the south of
Damaraland to the Orange River, is a land of rugged hills, stony
kopjes, and boundless plains. In the Karas Mountains, the main ridge
rises again to a height of 6,600 feet above the sea, and the plateaux
have a north to south direction. The boundless plains, really extended
tablelands, are a principal feature of the country, and they are
invariably sandy.
“Sir,” said a person who knew the country to Dr. Moffat in 1818, “you
will find plenty of sand and stones, a thinly scattered population
always suffering from want of water, on plains and hills roasted like a
burnt loaf under the scorching rays of a cloudless sun.”
“Of the truth of this description,” says Moffat in his laconic fashion,
“I soon had abundant evidence.”[2]
Although this portion of South-West Africa is regarded as semi-desert,
at rare intervals after rain the plains are covered with long coarse
grass and then they have to English eyes the appearance of a vast field
of waving oats.
THE ORANGE RIVER BASIN
Trekking south through Great Namaqualand, toiling over the blistering
wastes, the traveller experiences a peculiar sensation of
unexpectedness when on rounding a kopje he sees below him in the near
distance a long, twisted line of vivid green. This is the line of the
Orange River.
As very little is known about the course of this, the largest river in
South Africa, a brief description may not be without interest.
The river enters South-West Africa along a deep channel and winds
its sinuous way like a giant snake between towering precipices and
overhanging mountains grey with age along cañons reminiscent of
Colorado. In some of the deep, rocky gorges the stream is inaccessible
on either side, since the overhanging escarpments of the surrounding
plateau rise sheer from the water many hundreds of feet, and a thirsty
traveller might actually perish of thirst as he looked down upon
the tantalising waters from the precipitous banks that offered not a
single practicable way of descent. At intervals the stream broadens to
a considerable distance and takes on the appearance of a quiet lake
reflecting the image of the willow and mimosa trees that fringe its
banks; islands of vivid green dot the waters; flamingos, ibises, and
other wading birds, move leisurely in the shallows, while ever and anon
birds of brilliant plumage dart across the surface. It then presents
a picture of considerable charm. Barred in its approach to the sea by
rocky hills and granite cliffs, in its eager efforts to find the line
of least resistance, the river twists and turns, flowing now north, now
south, and in one place actually doubling back to the east. On emerging
from the mountain ranges it sprawls itself over a wide area as if
reluctant to lose its greatness in the ocean. Its mouth is generally
blocked for a number of years by a continuous narrow sand barrier
formed by the big breakers of the Atlantic, and while the waves pound
the sand with great fierceness on the one side, the cool, fresh waters
of the river gently lap it on the other side. When the river comes down
in strong flood the dam bursts with a crash and a roar heard many miles
distant. Mr. A. D. Lewis, a Government engineer, visited the mouth at
the end of 1912, having made a survey journey along the river valley
from Pella to the Atlantic. He is actually the first scientifically
trained individual to make the journey. His report,[3] together with
plans and reproductions of photographs, is of absorbing interest.
THE RIVERS
The rivers of South-West Africa, like many others in South Africa, are
found, mostly, on the maps. Though the country is trenched by the beds
of many rivers, not a single perennial stream reaches the sea between
the Kunene and the Orange. On account of the great depth of its channel
below the adjacent land, the Orange is of no economic value to the
country. The Swakop, which has a total length of 250 miles, rises to
the east of the Damara highlands in the Waterberg and traverses the
plateau through deep, rocky gorges. Occasionally it flows into the sea
north of Walvis Bay. The Kuisip rises in the mountains beyond Windhoek
and intersects the Namib plain south of the Swakop to a depth of over
600 feet, but it rarely reaches the ocean. The last occasion on which
it pushed its way through to the Atlantic previous to the present year,
was in 1904. South of the Kuisip are other watercourses which are
arrested without even forming channels to the sea. During the greater
part of the year the Swakop and the Kuisip are non-existent as rivers;
a line of stunted willows or acacias, or, perhaps, a few muddy pools,
mark the river courses. After the storms, however, they are raging
torrents for a brief period, and immense volumes of water rush along
their beds.
The feeble, intermittent streams on the east of the divide fall for the
most part into the saline marshes of the Kalahari. The Fish River flows
south through Great Namaqualand, and sometimes reaches the Orange.
Lake Etosha in the north is a lagoon about sixty miles wide and fifty
miles in length. When full one or two rivers issue from it.
But water is not the scarce commodity that one might imagine it to be,
except, perhaps, in the Namib, for the springs or _fonteins_ are a
peculiar feature of the inner plateau. The most remarkable of these are
situated in a hill to the north of Windhoek. No less than five springs
issue from the limestone. They are all warm, and lie approximately in
a straight line at intervals of a few hundred yards apart. It is a
somewhat curious phenomenon that the temperatures vary considerably; a
difference of no less than 54°F. has been noted between one and two.
If the streams are all from the same source, as seems likely, they are
probably influenced in their passage to the surface by the geological
formation. Cold springs also exist in the limestone below the hot
springs. The waters of the warm spring at Warmbad, in South Great
Namaqualand, have strong sanative qualities. Centres so far distant
from each other as Bethanien, in the south-west, Omaruru, north-east of
Walvis Bay, and Gobabis, east of Windhoek, on the Kalahari border, also
have their springs.
Water may generally be obtained even in the dry season by digging
beneath the alluvium of a river bed, especially where a ledge of rocks
crosses the watercourse. In some places, notably on the borders of the
Namib and in the eastern areas, the water found by boring is brackish,
and often unfit for human consumption. After the rainstorms water often
lies for long periods in the natural depressions or _vleís_; these
afford a good supply for cattle and game.
In some of these depressions, when the water around the edges has dried
up, an incrustation of salt is left, which, as Dr. Moffat found in
Namaqualand nearly a hundred years ago, “crackles under the feet like
hoar-frost.”
SCENERY
The lover of natural scenery will find little to attract him in such
parts of the country as the Namib, Great Namaqualand, or the eastern
steppes, for over large areas the aspects of nature are so consistently
uniform as to become painfully monotonous, and this uniformity,
combined with the absence of foliage and verdure and lakes and running
streams, is very depressing to the traveller. But the country is not
the wilderness many have been led to believe. When once the desert
belt is crossed and the mountain plateaux are reached, some bold and
striking mountain scenery meets the eye. Stupendous masses of naked
rock, on which the light strikes bright and hard, rise into the sky,
while other frowning heights tower aloft, menacing and fearful. In
the Waterberg the numerous rocky summits, with their clear-cut edges
and rifted walls, resemble in places the famous Giant’s Causeway,
and in their boldness and variety of outline they present a scene of
extraordinary rugged grandeur. Here are Cleopatra’s Needles, embattled
castles, lofty pinnacles, and sculptured turrets, all standing out bold
and clear in the amazingly thin, translucent air, and visible from
immense distances. Between Omaruru and Okahandja, where hilly country
is found alternating with level plains, some fine landscape views
may be obtained. The falls on some of the rivers after the rains make
picnic spots and pleasure resorts of rare delight. The voice of running
waters, a sound but rarely heard in South Africa, can then be enjoyed
in some of the deep gorges.
In certain portions of Ovamboland there are woodlands, glades, and
clearings that present the aspect of a boundless park. Windhoek, set
in a circle of giant mountains on the slope of a hill, has quite a
picturesque situation.
South-West Africa, too, has all the charm of colour for which southern
Africa is famous the world over. On the uplands the morning and the
evening are times when the eye is filled and completely delighted with
the warmth and richness of tone about the landscape.
“At last morning broke,” says one new to the country, in a description
of the sunrise, “and delicate rosy stripes of light shot up toward the
zenith. The colours grew rapidly deeper, brighter, and stronger. The
red was glorious in its fullness, and the blue beautiful in its purity.
The light mounted and extended itself, ascending as over a new world a
thousand times more beautiful than the old one. Then came the sun, big
and clear, looking like a great, placid, wide-opened eye.”
At night the moon and stars shine with a fire and brilliancy that never
fail to amaze the visitor from the northern lands.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] “Notes on the Geological Formation of Portions of German South-West
Africa”--_South African Journal of Science_, June, 1911.
[2] Moffat’s “Missionary Labours and Scenes in South Africa,” p. 76.
[3] Report of Director of Irrigation for period 1st January, 1912, to
March, 1913.--_Cape Times, Ltd._, Cape Town.