Poort.—Funnel-shaped gap between mountains.
Port Elizabeth, 839 miles by rail from Cape Town, is the second city of importance in Cape Colony. Population 25,325, of which 13,000 are of European origin. The town was named after the wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, who there erected a pyramid to her memory. There are many hotels, churches, and libraries, and the general appearance of prosperity and modernity that pervades the place has caused it to be called the Liverpool of South Africa.
Potchefstroom.—The most ancient town of the Transvaal, situated eighty-eight miles from Johannesburg. Population 5000. It was the original seat of the Boer Government, and later in 1881 became the scene of Colonel Winslow’s resistance to the Boers. After stoutly holding out, starving and fighting, and losing one-third of his men, he surrendered to Cronje, only to find that ten days previously an armistice had been proclaimed.
Pretoria.—The capital of the Transvaal, lies thirty-two miles north of Johannesburg. Population 12,000. It has many fine public buildings, the chiefest being the splendid Government Buildings, which were erected at a cost of £200,000. The newly completed Courts of Justice are also immensely imposing. There is an English Cathedral, and many churches of all denominations, a public library, a public hospital, a museum, some large hotels, and several clubs, notably the Pretoria Club. The President’s house is at the western extremity of Church Street, the main business thoroughfare. The new market buildings on Market Square were erected at a cost of £35,000.
Rand.—Short of Witwatersrand.
Reconnaissance.—The art of reconnoitring—examining a portion of the country with a view to ascertaining its resources for movements and subsistence of the army.
Regiment.—Consists of two or more battalions of infantry. A cavalry regiment is composed of three or four squadrons.
Rooinek.—Boer name for the British, signifying red neck.
Rustenberg.—Population 500. Situated east of Pretoria, near the Magaliesberg range.
Shell.—A hollow projectile filled with explosive so arranged as to act by means of a fuse, and, at a certain point and time, spread destruction by the forcible dispersion of its fragments. The common shell, which is used for destroying earth-works, fortifications, and solid matters, is filled with powder which forms the bursting charge, and is fitted with either a time or a percussion fuse according to the nature of ordnance from which it is fired. The Shrapnel shell is similar in external form, but is filled with bullets (sand shot), cemented together with rosin. It was invented by Colonel Shrapnel, R.A., in 1808. The object in using Shrapnel shell is to give the projectile at long distances the power and efficacy of case shot, and to cover a large space of ground with its effects. Against artillery it has the effect of placing men and horses hors de combat, which is the most efficacious way of silencing the fire of a battery.