The Orange Free State occupies the whole of that part of Africa lying between the Cape Colony, Basutoland, Natal, and the Transvaal. Bloomfontein is the capital and seat of Government. Mr Brand is the President, now Sir John Brand, with a Volksraad to carry on the Government, and contains within its area about 55,000 square miles.
The principal rivers are the Vaal, Orange, and Caledon, that form the boundary. The tributaries of the Vaal are the Likwa spruit, the north-east boundary, Klip, Welge, Rhenoster, Valsch, Vet, Modder, and Keit.
The principal towns are Harrismith, situated on the north-east portion of the State, about twenty-five miles north of the Drakensberg range, the boundary of Natal, and on the main transport roads from Natal to the diamond-fields, Bloomfontein, Potchefstroom, and Pretoria in the Transvaal; also Winburg, Cronstad, Boschof, Keckstad, Fauresmith, and many others of lesser note.
The country is almost one unbroken open grass plain, very scarce of wood; in some parts there are long stretches of thorn, principally mimosa bush, but the demand for wood at the diamond-fields is so great that in a few years there will be scarcely a stick worth cutting, as the price for a waggon-load of wood varies from ten to thirty pounds. A large proportion of the population in the various towns are English and other nationalities.
The climate in winter is cold, but dry. The elevation averages 4500 feet above sea-level, which is the cause. Fortunately the winters are dry. The rainy season is from November to April. In the summer months very severe thunderstorms pass over the country. Generally there is a great want of water previous to the rainy season, and many cattle die from cold and starvation. Game, twenty years ago, was plentiful, and also lions; but only a few blesbok, wildebeest, and springbok are to be met with. Some of the farmers have now begun to preserve them on their farms, otherwise they would have long since disappeared from the country. Lions have all been destroyed, but a few wolves are still left. In parts of the country there are some very pretty localities, where the woods are preserved, and occasionally may be seen several hundred baboons visiting those parts for the gum, of which they are very fond. Many of them are of great size; they may be heard a long distance, as they pass with their half-human grunts, and it would be dangerous for any single individual unarmed to come across their path.
It is impossible for any great improvement to be made in the present state of affairs in the State. The country is too poor, and with very little chance of its ever becoming richer, with such a lack of energy for advancing in civilisation as is in the Boer character.
The British colony of Natal is situated on the coast, and joins on to the Cape Colony at its extreme eastern boundary, called Kaffirland proper, and Griqualand East as also Basutoland. To the north it joins up to the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal, the Drakensberg mountain dividing it from them. On the eastern side, Zululand is separated from it by the Tugela and the Buffalo rivers. It has a coast-line of 150 miles. The extreme northern point is in 27 degrees 25 minutes South latitude, down to 31 degrees 10 minutes. The extreme western point is in 29 degrees 4 minutes, to 31 degrees 30 minutes, being the eastern point at the mouth of the Tugela, where Zululand joins it.
It is governed by a Lieutenant-Governor, and Executive and Legislative Councils. The principal town is Maritzburg, situated about fifty miles inland from the port of Durban. The latter has become an important town, where all the shipping trade is carried on for the colony and the interior. On the main transport road to the Free State and Transvaal are Howick, close to the Umgeni waterfall, Weston, Estcourt, Colenzo, Ladysmith, and Newcastle. East of Maritzburg is Richmond; north of Durban is Pinetown, and many others in various parts of the country.
The mountain range on the western boundary, and on its northern, called the Drakensberg, are the highest of any of the mountains of South Africa, and it possesses some of the finest scenery in this part of the world. The loftiest peaks are 10,000 feet above sea-level. The general elevation of the upper portion of the colony is 4000 feet, sloping gradually until it reaches the coast-line.
The climate is very healthy, both in summer and winter, and very mild. The coast region is more tropical from its being less elevated than the up-country; many extensive sugar plantations are cultivated, and the Natal sugar has become an important article of commerce. Coffee, tobacco, indigo, tea, arrowroot, various kinds of spices, all kinds of garden vegetables, tomato, yams, pineapple, and other tropical fruits. Cotton is cultivated also.