Having now brought my narrative to a period when I am about to leave Great Namaqua-land, it may be well to say a few words of this country, its inhabitants, their manners and customs, &c.
The portion of Africa known as Namaqua-land is divided into two distinct parts, viz., Little and Great Namaqua-land. By the former is understood the territory (now British) between the Orange River and about the 31st degree of latitude on the south; by the latter, the country between the last-named river and Damara-land, its eastern boundary being the Kalahari desert, while on the west it is washed by the billows of the Atlantic Ocean.
Great Namaqua-land covers a surface of no less than one hundred and twelve thousand geographical square miles,[63] with probably a population of scarcely thirty thousand souls, or less than four persons to the square mile. Excepting the great Sahara itself, there is, perhaps, not a country in the world, of equal extent, so scantily peopled, so destitute of water, so dismal, and so generally barren and useless. It is truly a “region of curses.”
The coast-line of Great Namaqua-land, like that of Damara-land, consists of a dreary sandy waste, extending in places from thirty to forty miles into the interior—in others to a hundred or more—and is, with very few exceptions, uninhabitable.
Some of the rivers, such as the Kuisip, and others of little importance, empty themselves into the Atlantic; but the larger portion run in an easterly direction, and are chiefly tributaries to the Fish River. This remarkable water-course, which takes its rise in the most northerly limit of Great Namaqua-land, finally joins the Orange River about three or four days’ journey from where the latter finds an outlet into the sea, thus intersecting the country throughout its entire length.
Great Namaqua-land is characterized by immense sandy plains, traversed by hill and rock, and thickly strewn with quartz, which reflects a dazzling and perplexing light. Two to three days’ journey south of Rehoboth, the dense thorny bush, so peculiar to Damara-land, ceases, and with the exception of a few mimosas along the water-courses, and occasional ebony-trees, the arboreous vegetation is scanty and stunted. For more than six months of the year it is scorched by an almost vertical sun. The rains, which are always accompanied by heavy thunder, are periodical and very partial. In its northern portion, the wet season sets in at the same time as in Damara-land; but in a southerly direction, the rains are later and more uncertain; and, as has been said in the last chapter, little or none falls about the lower course of the Orange River and the neighborhood. The springs (which are often either hot or salt) are indifferent and scantily distributed. The periodical water-courses, therefore, afford the chief supply.
The Namaquas, as well as the Damaras, are loud in their complaints that less rain falls now than half a century back. Indeed, the numerous ancient beds of rivers in the vast sandy plains, and the deeply-scored slopes and sides of the now “sunburnt” and crumbling hills, clearly indicate that almost the whole country north of the Orange River, as far as Europeans have penetrated from the Cape side, has at some former period been much more abundantly watered. In some parts, the destruction of forests, which are well known to retain and condense vapory particles, may partly account for such atmospheric changes; but in this region we must look for other causes.
In a geological point of view, Great Namaqua-land presents many interesting features. Between the Orange River and Walfisch Bay, beginning at the sea-side, three distinct terrace-like risings of the country are recognized. Besides the granite, which is the prevailing rock, great masses of quartz are met with either, as aforesaid, scattered over its surface, or filling up the large gaps and fissures occasioned by ancient eruptions. Iron and sandstone, and slate formations, are also not uncommon.
At some remote period this land must have been subjected to volcanic agencies; and though not one of these has taken place in the memory of the present generation, rumbling noises underground and tremors of the earth are of frequent occurrence. The existence of hot water springs; the confusion of the fantastically and curiously-shaped hills—“the strata bending and dipping from the perpendicular to the horizontal, and in others extending in a straight line from one hill to another”—bear ample testimony to its volcanic nature. The presence, moreover, of vast quantities of minerals is a further evidence of its igneous character. Tin, lead, iron, and copper ore is often met with. I have had specimens of the latter mineral in my possession containing from forty to ninety per cent. of pure metal. At eight to ten days’ journey with “ox wagon,” east of the missionary station, Bethany, meteoric iron is found in apparently inexhaustible quantities. I have seen lumps, of several hundred weights, brought from thence, so pure and malleable that the natives converted it into balls for their guns, &c., without any previous application of fire. As Great Namaqua-land becomes better known, it is more than probable that it will be found equally prolific in minerals—if not more so—as Little Namaqua-land, where, of late, extensive and valuable mines have been brought to light.
The term Hottentot and Namaqua have probably originated with Europeans, since neither is found in the native language. The Hottentots of these regions may be divided into two great branches, viz., the “Topnaars” and the “Oerlams.” With the latter is generally understood the newcomers and the semi-civilized; but the real signification of the term is doubtful. Some conjecture the “Oerlam” to be a corruption of the Dutch word “o’erland,” or overland—that is, people who have come over land. Be this as it may, the Namaqua-Hottentots consider it as a compliment to be addressed as “Oerlam.” “Topnaar,” on the other hand, signifies the First, the Highest, the Great, or those who originally inhabited Great Namaqua-land, and they view with considerable jealousy the progress and superiority of the “Oerlams,” whom they justly consider as intruders.