Southward we headed for Capetown, passing through Modder River and then Naauwpoort. Later we entered a stretch of country known as the Karoo. Rain does not fall in this district for a period of nine or ten months. For hundreds of miles there is not a blade of grass to be seen, yet goats, sheep, and ostriches abound, and grain is a product of that strange stretch of land. Cradock, the metropolis of the Karoo, is an oasis, because good shade trees are numerous. A small bush grows, called karoo, on which goats and sheep feed, and do well, if they do not die from thirst. The climate of the Karoo is very favorable to persons suffering from lung trouble. One of the best churches of Dutch design in South Africa is found in Cradock.
We had now reached the Cape of Good Hope Province. Southeast of Cradock is Kaffraria, at one time a separate colony. Natives are numerous through that section. One of the tribes of Kaffraria is the Fingo, a good native for the mines. Hence, mine labor agents are to be found at every turn seeking help. It is in that district where the traders do so well in furnishing "boys" to the mines. Natives owning land, and wishing to sell it, are not allowed to sell to a white person, but may sell the land to a native.
Unlike Zulus, the natives throughout Kaffraria live in colonies. The huts are principally made of mud and roofed with straw. Different tribes are known to strangers by the blankets they wear. One tribe wears a brown blanket and goes bare-headed, while another wears a dark-colored cotton blanket, with black cloth over their heads. This mode of dress pertains to the native women.
Order is maintained in these settlements by a native appointed by the government. When violations of law occur, the police authorities go direct to this native, as head of the settlement, who is held strictly accountable for any infraction. Cornmeal, or mealy meal, the staff of life to natives of South Africa, costs $7 a bag, and 200 pounds provide "scoff" for four natives for a month.
Africa, as generally known, is the home of the ostrich. In South Africa alone they exceed 700,000, and this southwest corner comprises merely one-twenty-fourth of the area of the "Dark Continent." The territory lying between Kaffraria and Capetown, however, is the section in which the ostrich industry has reached its highest state of development. The feathers are picked at periods of 18 months, the average yield being three pounds, although some ostriches grow six pounds of feathers in a season. These are mostly disposed of by auction at Oudtshoorn, the clearing house for this product of the sub-continent. Buyers representing leading feather merchants of the world attend these sales. The price of feathers varies a great deal, a common quality bringing only $25, while a good grade sells for $100 a pound. The annual exports from this industry amount to $15,000,000. A pair of ostriches sell for $500 to $800. Fifteen eggs is the average composing a sitting, and six weeks' hatching is required to bring forth the young. Hatching devolves mainly on the male bird, he sitting at least four weeks out of the six. The two weeks the female devotes to sitting are objectionable ones to her, being whipped to her task by the male bird from time to time to take even this unequal part in bringing their brood into existence. The law prohibits both shipping from, or taking out of South Africa, eggs of this, the premier bird.
"Will you have some shiverin' jimmy?" asked a compartment companion as he began unwinding a cloth from a bundle. "I'm from Grahamstown," he continued, "where there is nothing but 'pubs' (saloons) and churches. Have some shiverin' jimmy," he concluded. By that time the cloth was off the "parcel." What he called "shiverin' jimmy" proved to be animated headcheese.
The train crept slowly down a steep grade, as we had left the high veld behind. Mount Matroosburg, a thin sheet of snow on its summit, was on our right, and on reaching Hex River Valley we were in the sea zone, and not far from Capetown.
The interest associated with Table Bay, by reason of its early explorers, massacre of early settlers, and the fighting with the Hottentots of those who finally got a footing, comes to mind when in this section. It was about 1653 that Johan van Riebeek, a Hollander, started a settlement. Several attempts to establish a white colony had been made earlier, but attacks by the natives drove those daring men back to their ships. Van Riebeek, however, succeeded. Cape Colony remained Dutch for some years, afterward coming under British control, reverted to the Hollanders again, then to England once more, and has remained an English possession ever since.
To find a city to compare with Capetown, from a point of unusual attractiveness, would be difficult. In front, Table Bay, a charming sheet of blue water, spreads out to a good width, and beyond rises the Drakenstein and Hottentots Holland ranges of mountains, their castle-like peaks lending solemn charm when viewed from a distance; above the city rises Table Mountain, the feature of Capetown, with its two flanking towers—Devil's Peak (3,300 feet) and Lion's Head (2,100 feet)—forming the semi-circular valley in which the city rests so picturesquely. The commanding, frowning and scarred front of this unique mountain proves an object of admiration. Table Mountain is three miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. The top is as level as a table, and, like other mountains in South Africa, is barren of timber. Rising to a height of nearly 4,000 feet, a view from its broad, flat top is of unusual interest. Antonio de Saldanha, in 1503, is said to have been the first white man to scale its sides.
The Town Hall, Parliament buildings, a splendid public garden, good museum, art gallery, colleges and other commendable public institutions are fully in keeping with the natural attractiveness of the Cape Peninsular. Creditable business buildings and good docks are also prominent.