Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-03-02
From South Africa.
EscoRr, NATAL, 5. AFRICA, jan 9, 'ss.

/ interest To YOU. take up tile pen, trust |
! ing at some future day to receive an
| answer therefTOm.
We sailed from New York Oct. ~, |
! for Liverpool, Eng, where we landed |
| nine days later and proceeded by rail |
/ To London, stopping there six days, /
when another ride OF a few hours took !
Us 10 southampton, when We embark |
ed Tor South Africa. via. Madeira and |
81. Helena. After rather ali unpleas- !
amt voyage of % days. we steamed into |
! Cape Town. where. changing vessels !
after a delay of less than ten hours, !
: We again persued Olu way up the East
/ coast stopping 1T No,sel Bay. Port
/ Elizabeth and East London, reaching
! Durham, Port OF Natal. NOV %. which
was the eud of ON journey by water.
~ great uedI-.lah pecn written about
/ the attractions OF 4 sca voyage, but
after JOurneylug over 10000 miles by
ship, we would voluntarily fOrego all
/ the pleasure such travelling affords, and
settle down contented, with no longing
| for IA life on the ocean wave. ana We
quite agree with the one who in writ
lug parody on the above, remarked
that the man who wrote 1t WAS green.
still there are some lessons We may
/ learn rom the sea. and to those who
which IL Is subject 10y the action or non.
action of tie wind upon the surface,
must acknowledge that power that
spoke it into existence and gave it
bounds
Natal Is a beautiful hilly country with
a range OF mountains on the west, dl-
vidmg 1t from Beautoldnd and the
Orange Free state. For grazing pur-
| tnSas 1 lst. anuta tINunf .,p.4s j.
an open country Where ilocks and herds
may roam over vast acres--in some
cases restricted only Dy the necessity
OF keeping within reaching distance OF
water, which, IN some locations Is
quite scarce. " ith a half dozen good
"drtcsldn wells Oh every square mile,
Natal could DC made one OF the most
desirable countries IN the world. The
climate is excellent, the soil good, ana
Uy irrigation and proper cultivation
capable Of producing almost everything
necc ssaIy for the suStenmCe OF man OF
beast, with Il variety of luXurles thrown
IN. But in its Wild state II is not a
land flowing with milk and honey, al
though nature has supplied the re-
. quesltleS for AN abundance OF both.
Detween Christmas and New Years
was IN harrisburg, one OF the principal
tOwns OF Natal. where / saw fresh
Strawberries In market which remind
ed me Of old times III Michigan. am
told they can be had here ABOUT three
tOurths of the year where land IS rrl-
geted. Ii some rich man would send
us our Well-borlng machinery and pipe
We would put down a we'll that would
literally surprise the natives, and be
q blessing to all South Africa people
mere Know nothing about any such
thing, but If once seen would De iml-
} Gated. | think flow might be STRUCK
within a reasonable distance almost
anywhere.
We nave good many white people
. in these parts of the country mostly
English. who hardly come up TO the
average American IN ingenuity ana
enterprise. Horses are quite common
here, but il WAS not until the last yeal
OF two that people began 10 find out
that they could use them much, ana
even now some farmers who have
several, use oxen instead for almost
everything. Eight 10 ten yoke of cattle
is the number often seen attached to
? one wagon OH the road. Wife and
: recently travelled ii miles in one OF
these wagons, and discovered When
near our journeys end that the large
burr for holding oil one OF the wheels
was missing, and ascertained from ONE
of our native drivers "a Zulu that he
had taken it Oft before starting TO pre-
vent loosing it us 1t was loose.
The principal food of the natives here
is corn which they call "nealies,' ana
amabele, which is a round seed some
thing like coarse mlllet. Unlike the
natives of the west coast, they are very
particular as to what they eat, refusing
some things considered wholesome by
white people, but on the other hand,
eating some things white person
would not. They nave been for ages a
war-llke race, but under BRITISH rule
and existing laws, which are very
stringent, they have very little oppor-
tunlty for indulgng that propensity,
with any advantage To themselves AT
least. They are not allowed to own OF
carry war implements. and any insur-
rection on their part would be certain
of being thrown down upon their de-
fenceless heads, the anathemas of the
English government. But | think they
are better off under the control OF a
civilized nation, although sometimes
&. deprived of their rights, which ought
not to be-
I Natal has arailway extending to Dur
ban OH the coast in a nOrthweSterly
direction TO Ladysmlth, distance lSy
. miles; also short line running north
] east from Durham TO Nerulam.
: 4 few thousand Americans. backed
by capital, would change the face OF
Things in few years. There is plenty
of room for them, aud we hope they
: will come. Some day this will he "A
[ wonderful country. and 1t is now IN
= many respects. Crops eau be kept
growing all the year round in some
places Water is the only thing lack
= ing to make a success OF 1t everywhere.
n In some localities they have frosts with
. snow on and near the mountains, but
{ il does not stay long. Generally speak
ing, we have very good roads, but aw-
fully crooked, and but few people can
= tell YOU anything about the different
points of compass, or the direction one
direction one place is from another
l. Any object seen in the distance ap-
:. pears to be much nearer than 1t really
. is: in fact you can't tell anything about
u. distance Nyithput travelling over tho