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.
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.