, 1885-08-22
sneLAND's AFRICAN COLONY.


cor. London. Timesl
Pig things are done nowadays. and
done unnoticed and unknown. There
are probably not many of the ordinary
puddle in England. who know that early
III this good year of 1885 the Liberal
ministry added to the English empire
"A new colony or domain equaliug spain
IN area. And yet this was done by n
simple. UNDECIDED proclamation in hat
never read publication. The London
Gazette. This newest colony of " c.
huana. or whatever its ultimate tit q,
lie, in the heart OF temperate Africa.
Its official limits arc THE parts of South
Africa situate west of the boundary OF
the soIth African republic: north Of
the colony Of Cape of GOOD Hope; east
Of the twentieth meridian OF east longi-
tnde. and south OF the twenty second
parallel oil south latitude.
1t is situated on the great central
backbone Of Africa, and is, for the most
part. a plateau of from 1910 10 5000
feet above the sea level, and healthy to
a degree for Europeans. Entering the
district from the south, the general
character OF the country is that OF open
and undulating plains, for the most part
bare Of forest trees. but dotted with
patches OF camel-thorn shrub. This lasts
for about 100 miles, after which the
country becomes pleasantly and at times
densely wooded. except where it Is
mountainous, as in the neighborhood Of
the stony towns of the chiefs Gas.
seitsi and .Sichele. The main cause of
this absence of trees lower down is the
enormous demand for wood created
when the diamond diggings made Kim
berly a p%opulous center, using endless
steam engines 1t is commonly reported
that for ten years every day there en-
tered kimberly about 100 wagons, each
carrying on the average of twenty trees,
chiefly cut up in those districts.
There is much good, rich soil, and in
all the bottoms Indian corn, millet and
wheat yield good crops, even under the
rough and-ready agriculture OF the ma
tives. over all these plains and hills
there is a capital grass-so much SO
that the Beers tell one another it is the
best pasture land in South Africa, a
fact further evidenced by the great num-
bers OF cattle and sheep owned by the
natives of the parts from time immemo-
rial, until, in recent years, there has
ieen wholesale robbery at the hands of
i%reebooting white men. But although
~ LR'Ao hAIPhh AhtAAioNANto aA0 op lOA-
WINGED of the excellence of the country
rs actually to name part of it after
Goshen, that land of nesh-pots
and fertility. and TO regard the
whole of the once prosperous native
territories as u aboth's vine
yard of great price, they none
the less sedulously propagate the idoa
that the whole country is valueless 70
any except the hardest Of Boer farmers.
there are even leading statesmen of the
Cape Colony misled by these interested
Boer allegations so far us to report oil
cially that the 'ountry is one of dry
farms only, where none but Boer farm
ers can make a living
Water SUI ply is naturally the chief
difficulty, and no doubt along the trade
roads at certain seasons but little wafer
is to be found on the surface. liver
courses abound, and in most parts good
water is found at a reasonable distance
rom the surface. There is n natural
water supply running through the coun.
try at certain seasons Of the year from
the eastward, but of this the Boer farm
ers are well aware, and it is one great
complaint Of the natives that the Beers
on the T%ransvaal side have con
t~inuRlly ~encroachet on tho headwaters
Of the rivers on which are stu
ated the ehief Of the native pillow
lands. There are miles upon miles of
.real and black soil here. with but few
stones or rocks. ut present covered with
rich grasses. and, wherever turned up
by the natives, yielding excellent crops
Of Indian corn, millet, wheat and pump
kins- In short, it seems undoubted
that for agricultural purposes these
great treoless plains arc excellent.
hese plains have long been the home
of pastoral farmers. When Europeans
first penetrated here they found the
natives r,ch in o en- and the plains af-
fording, in addition. ample s%ustenance
to countless droyes of hartebeest, giraffe.
wildebeest. Gland and buck of all kind.
Sheep, goats and cattle all flourished in
this country. Horses also do well until
they fall victims to the dreaded horse