The Iola register., 1890-10-24

| terS OF mile In depth. AT the back OF
the indentation the sheer cliff rose 20
the height of several hundred feet, and
behind it and above 1t the great Babyan
Peak lowered up towards the heavens.
The space of ground, embraced thus in
the arms of the mountain, as it were,
was laid out, as though by the cunning
hand Of man, in three terraces that rose
one above the other. To the right and
Left Of the topmost terrace were chasms
in the cliff, and from each chasm fell
waterfall, from no great height, in
\ deed, but of considerable volume. These
two streams flowed away on either side
OF the inclosed space, one towards the
north, and the other, the course of
which we had been following, round the
base OF the mountain. At each terrace
they made a cascade, so that the travel
er approaching had view of eight
waterfalls at once. Along the
edge of the stream to our left were
placed Kafir kraals, built in orderly
groups with verandas, after the Basutu
fashion, and very large part of the en-
tire space of land was under cultivation.
All of this noted at once, as well, as
tho extraordinary richness and depth of
the soil, which for many ages past had
been washed down from the mountain
heights. Then following the line of
an excellent wagon road, on
which we now found ourselves,
that wound up from terrace
to terrace, my eye lit upon the crowning
wonder of the scene. For in the center
of the topmost platform or terrace,
which may have inclosed eight or ten
acres of ground, and almost surrounded
by groves of orange trees, CLEANED
buildings of which had never seen the
like. There were three groups of them,
one in the middle and one on either
side, and little to the rear, but, as
afterwards discovered, the plan of all
was the same. In the center was an edi-
fee constructed like an ordinary Zulu
hut-that is to say, in the shape of a
beehive, only it was five times the size
of any hut ever saw, and built of blocks
ofs hewn white marble, fitted together
with extraordinary knowledge of the
principles and properties Of arch build
ing, and with so much accuracy and fin
ish that it was often difficult to find the
fronts of the massive blocks. From this
center hut ran three covered passages
leading to other buildings of an exactly
similar character, only smaller, and each
whole block was inclosed by marble
wall about four feet in height.
OF course we were as yet too far off to
see all these details, but the general
outline saw at once, and it astonished
me considerably. Even old Indaba-zim-
bi, whom the baboon- woman had been
unable to move, deigned to show won
der.
''OhI" he said; "this is place of mar
vels. Who ever saw kraals built Of
white stone?"
Stella watched our faces with an ex-
preston of intense amusement, but
said nothing.
"Did your father build those kraals?"
I gasped at length.
"My father! no, of course not" she
answered. "How would it have been
possible for one white man to do so, or
to have made this road? He found them
as you see."
"Who built them, then?" said again.
81 do not know. My father thinks
that they are very ancient, for the
people who live here now do not know
how to lay one stone upon another, and
these huts are so wonderfully con-
structed that, though they must have |
stood for ages, not stone Of them has |
fallen. But can show you the quarry |
where the marble was cut; it is close |
by, and behind it is the entrance to an |
ancient mine, which my father thinks |
was silver mine. Perhaps the people |
who worked the mine built the marble |
huts. The world is old, and no doubt |
plenty of people have lived in it and |
been forgotten" /
Then we rode on in silence. I have
seen many beautiful sights in Africa,
and in such matters, as in others, COM
parsons are odious and worthless, but |
1 do not think that l ever saw love-
lier scene. 1t was no one thing-it was |
the combination of the mighty peak
looking forth on the everlasting plains,
the great cliffs, the waterfalls that |
sparkled in rainbow hues, the rivers
girdling the rich, cultivated lands, the |
gold-specked green of the orange trees,
the flashing domes of the marble huts
and a thousand other things. Then
over all brooded the peace OF evening,
and the infinite glory of the sunset that