and,thoughratheroutofplace,itmaybewellwhilenoticingacleverimitationofoneprocessinnaturebytheCapefarmers
tosuggestanotherfortheirconsiderationThecountrybeyondsouthlat18Degaboundsinthreevarietiesofgrape-bearingvines,andoneoftheseisfurnishedwithoblongtuberseverythreeorfourinchesalongthehorizontalrootTheyresemblecloselythoseoftheasparagus。
ThisincreaseofpowertowithstandtheeffectsofclimatemightproveofvalueinthemorearidpartsoftheCapecolony,grapesbeingwellknowntobeanexcellentrestorativeinthedebilityproducedbyheat:byingrafting,orbysomeofthosecuriousmanipulationswhichwereadofinbooksongardening,avarietymightbesecuredbetteradaptedtothecountrythantheforeignvinesatpresentcultivated。
TheAmericansfindthatsomeoftheirnativevinesyieldwinessuperiortothosemadefromtheverybestimportedvinesfromFranceandPortugal。
WhataboonavineofthesortcontemplatedwouldhavebeentoaRhenishmissionaryImetatapartinthewestofthecolonycalledEbenezer,whosechildrenhadneverseenflowers,thougholdenoughtotalkaboutthem!
TheslowpaceatwhichwewoundourwaythroughthecolonymadealmostanysubjectinterestingTheattentionisattractedtothenamesofdifferentplaces,becausetheyindicatetheformerexistenceofbuffaloes,elands,andelephants,whicharenowtobefoundonlyhundredsofmilesbeyond。
Afewblesbucks`Antilopepygarga’,gnus,bluebucks`Acerulea’,steinbucks,andtheostrich`Struthiocamelus’,continue,liketheBushmen,tomaintainaprecariousexistencewhenalltherestaregone。
Theelephant,themostsagacious,fleesthesoundoffire-armsfirst;
thegnuandostrich,themostwaryandthemoststupid,last。
ThefirstemigrantsfoundtheHottentotsinpossessionofprodigiousherdsoffinecattle,butnohorses,asses,orcamels。
Theoriginalcattle,whichmaystillbeseeninsomepartsofthefrontier,musthavebeenbroughtsouthfromthenorth-northeast,forfromthispointthenativesuniversallyascribetheiroriginalmigration。
Theybroughtcattle,sheep,goats,anddogs;whynotthehorse,thedelightofsavagehordes?HorsesthrivewellintheCapeColonywhenimportedNaturalistspointoutcertainmountainrangesaslimitingthehabitatofcertainclassesofanimals;
butthereisnoCordillerainAfricatoanswerthatpurpose,therebeingnovisiblebarrierbetweenthenortheasternArabsandtheHottentottribestopreventthedifferenthordes,astheyfelttheirwaysouthward,fromindulgingtheirtasteforthepossessionofthisnobleanimal。
Iamhereledtonoticeaninvisiblebarrier,moreinsurmountablethanmountainranges,butwhichisnotopposedtothesouthernprogressofcattle,goats,andsheepThetsetsewouldproveabarrieronlyuntilitswell-definedhabitatwasknown,butthediseasepassingunderthetermofhorse-sicknessperipneumoniaexistsinsuchvirulenceovernearlysevendegreesoflatitudethatnoprecautionwouldbesufficienttosavetheseanimalsThehorseissoliabletothisdisease,thatonlybygreatcareinstablingcanhebekeptanywherebetween20Degand27DegSduringthetimebetweenDecemberandApril。
Thewinter,beginninginthelattermonth,istheonlyperiodinwhichEnglishmencanhuntonhorseback,andtheyareindangeroflosingalltheirstudssomemonthsbeforeDecemberTothisdiseasethehorseisespeciallyexposed,anditisalmostalwaysfatal。
Oneattack,however,seemstosecureimmunityfromasecondCattle,too,aresubjecttoit,butonlyatintervalsofafew,sometimesmanyyears;
butitnevermakesacleansweepofthewholecattleofavillage,asitwoulddoofatroopoffiftyhorsesThisbarrier,then,seemstoexplaintheabsenceofthehorseamongtheHottentots,thoughitisnotopposedtothesouthernmigrationofcattle,sheep,andgoats。
Whenthefleshofanimalsthathavediedofthisdiseaseiseaten,itcausesamalignantcarbuncle,which,whenitappearsoveranyimportantorgan,provesrapidlyfatalItismoreespeciallydangerousoverthepitofthestomachTheeffectsofthepoisonhavebeenexperiencedbymissionarieswhohadeatenproperlycookedfood,thefleshofsheepreallybutnotvisiblyaffectedbythedisease。
ThevirusinthefleshoftheanimalisdestroyedneitherbyboilingnorroastingThisfact,ofwhichwehavehadinnumerableexamples,showsthesuperiorityofexperimentsonalargescaletothoseofacuteandablephysiologistsandchemistsinthelaboratory,forawellknownphysicianofParis,aftercarefulinvestigation,consideredthatthevirusinsuchcaseswascompletelyneutralizedbyboiling。
ThisdiseaseattackswildanimalstooDuringourresidenceatChonuangreatnumbersoftolos,orkoodoos,wereattractedtothegardensoftheBakwains,abandonedattheusualperiodofharvestbecausetherewasnoprospectofthecorn`Holcussorghum’bearingthatyear。
Thekoodooisremarkablyfondofthegreenstalksofthiskindofmillet。
Freefeedingproducedthatstateoffatnessfavorableforthedevelopmentofthisdisease,andnofewerthantwenty-fivediedonthehilloppositeourhouseGreatnumbersofgnusandzebrasperishedfromthesamecause,butthemortalityproducednosensiblediminutioninthenumbersofthegame,anymorethanthedeathsofmanyoftheBakwainswhopersisted,inspiteofeveryremonstrance,ineatingthedeadmeat,causedanysensibledecreaseinthestrengthofthetribe。
ThefarmsoftheBoersconsistgenerallyofasmallpatchofcultivatedlandinthemidstofsomemilesofpasturageTheyarethuslessanagriculturalthanapastoralpeopleEachfarmmusthaveitsfountain;
andwherenosuchsupplyofwaterexists,thegovernmentlandsareunsalableAnacreinEnglandisthusgenerallymorevaluablethanasquaremileinAfricaButthecountryisprosperous,andcapableofgreatimprovementTheindustryoftheBoersaugurswellforthefutureformationofdamsandtanks,andforthegreaterfruitfulnessthatwouldcertainlyfollow。
Ascattleandsheepfarmersthecolonistsareverysuccessful。
Largerandlargerquantitiesofwoolareproducedannually,andthevalueofcolonialfarmsincreasesyearbyyear。
ButthesystemrequiresthatwiththeincreaseofthepopulationthereshouldbeanextensionofterritoryWideasthecountryis,andthinlyinhabited,thefarmersfeelittobetoolimited,andtheyaregraduallyspreadingtothenorthThismovementprovesprejudicialtothecountrybehind,forlabor,whichwouldbedirectedtotheimprovementofthecolony,iswithdrawnandexpendedinamodeoflifelittleadaptedtotheexerciseofindustrialhabitsThat,however,doesnotmuchconcerntherestofmankindNordoesitseemmuchofanevilformenwhocultivatethesoiltoclaimarighttoappropriatelandsfortillagewhichothermenonlyhuntover,providedsomecompensationforthelossofsustenancebeawardedTheoriginalideaofatitleseemstohavebeenthat“subduing“orcultivatinggavethatright。
ButthisratherChartistprinciplemustbereceivedwithlimitations,foritsrecognitioninEnglandwouldleadtotheseizureofallourbroadancestralacresbythosewhoarewillingtocultivatethem。
And,inthecaseunderconsideration,theencroachmentsleadatoncetolesslandbeingputundertheplowthanissubjectedtothenativehoe,foritisafactthattheBasutosandZulus,orCaffresofNatal,cultivatelargely,andundersellourfarmerswherevertheyhaveafairfieldandnofavor。
BeforewecametotheOrangeRiverwesawthelastportionofamigrationofspringbucks`Gazellaeuchore’,ortsepe。
TheycomefromthegreatKalahariDesert,and,whenfirstseenaftercrossingthecolonialboundary,aresaidoftentoexceedfortythousandinnumber。
Icannotgiveanestimateoftheirnumbers,fortheyappearspreadoveravastexpanseofcountry,andmakeaquiveringmotionastheyfeed,andmove,andtosstheirgracefulhornsTheyfeedchieflyongrass;
andastheycomefromthenorthaboutthetimewhenthegrassmostabounds,itcannotbewantoffoodthatpromptsthemovement。
Norisitwantofwater,forthisantelopeisoneofthemostabstemiousinthatrespectTheirnaturepromptsthemtoseekastheirfavoritehauntslevelplainswithshortgrass,wheretheymaybeabletowatchtheapproachofanenemyTheBakalaharitakeadvantageofthisfeeling,andburnofflargepatchesofgrass,notonlytoattractthegamebythenewcropwhenitcomesup,butalsotoformbarespotsforthespringbucktorangeover。
ItisnotthespringbuckalonethatmanifeststhisfeelingWhenoxenaretakenintoacountryofhighgrass,theyaremuchmorereadytobestartled;
theirsenseofdangerisincreasedbytheincreasedpowerofconcealmentaffordedtoanenemybysuchcover,andtheywilloftenstartoffinterrorattheill-definedoutlinesofeachotherThespringbuck,possessingthisfeelinginanintensedegree,andbeingeminentlygregarious,becomesuneasyasthegrassoftheKalaharibecomestall。
Thevegetationbeingmoresparseinthemorearidsouth,naturallyinducesthedifferentherdstoturninthatdirection。
Astheyadvanceandincreaseinnumbers,thepasturagebecomesmorescarce;
itisstillmoresothefurthertheygo,untiltheyareatlastobliged,inordertoobtainthemeansofsubsistence,tocrosstheOrangeRiver,andbecomethepestofthesheep-farmerinacountrywhichcontainsscarcelyanyoftheirfavoritegrassyfoodIftheylightonafieldofwheatintheirway,anarmyoflocustscouldnotmakeacleanersweepofthewholethantheywilldoItisquestionablewhethertheyeverreturn,astheyhaveneverbeenseenasareturningbodyManyperishfromwantoffood,thecountrytowhichtheyhavemigratedbeingunabletosupportthem;therestbecomescatteredoverthecolony;
andinsuchawidecountrythereisnolackofroomforall。
Itisprobablethat,notwithstandingthecontinueddestructionbyfire-arms,theywillcontinuelongtoholdtheirplace。
OncrossingtheOrangeRiverwecomeintoindependentterritoryinhabitedbyGriquasandBechuanasByGriquasismeantanymixedracesprungfromnativesandEuropeansThoseinquestionwereofDutchextraction,throughassociationwithHottentotandBushwomen。
Half-castesofthefirstgenerationconsiderthemselvessuperiortothoseofthesecond,andallpossessinsomedegreethecharacteristicsofbothparentsTheyweregovernedformanyyearsbyanelectedchief,namedWaterboer,who,bytreaty,receivedasmallsumperannumfromthecolonialgovernmentforthesupportofschoolsinhiscountry,andprovedamostefficientguardofournorthwestboundary。
Cattle-stealingwastotallyunknownduringthewholeperiodofthisablechief’sreign;andheactuallydroveback,single-handed,aformidableforceofmaraudingMantateesthatthreatenedtoinvadethecolony。*ButforthatbraveChristianman,Waterboer,thereiseveryhumanprobabilitythatthenorthwestwouldhavegiventhecolonistsasmuchtroubleastheeasternfrontier;
forlargenumbersamongtheoriginalGriquashadaslittlescrupleaboutrobbingfarmersofcattleastheCaffresarereputedtohave。
OntheelectionofWaterboertothechieftainship,hedistinctlydeclaredTHATNOMARAUDINGSHOULDBEALLOWEDAsthegovernmentofnoneofthesetribesisdespotic,someofhisprincipalmen,inspiteofthisdeclaration,plunderedsomevillagesofCorannaslivingtothesouthoftheOrangeRiverHeimmediatelyseizedsixoftheringleaders,and,thoughthestepputhisownpositioninjeopardy,hesummonedhiscouncil,tried,condemned,andpubliclyexecutedthewholesixThisproducedaninsurrection,andtheinsurgentstwiceattackedhiscapital,GriquaTown,withtheintentionofdeposinghim;
buthebravelydefeatedbothattempts,andfromthatdayforth,duringhislongreignofthirtyyears,notasingleplunderingexpeditioneverlefthisterritoryHavingwitnessedthedeleteriouseffectsoftheintroductionofardentspiritsamonghispeople,he,withcharacteristicenergy,decreedthatanyBoerorGriquabringingbrandyintothecountryshouldhavehispropertyinardentspiritsconfiscatedandpouredoutonthegroundTheGriquachiefslivingfarthereastwereunabletocarrythislawintoeffectashedid,hencethegreaterfacilitywithwhichBoersinthatdirectiongottheGriquastopartwiththeirfarms。
*Foranaccountofthis,seeMoffat’s“ScenesandLaborsinSouthAfrica“。