Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-23
NORTHERN RHODESIA.
Vast and Beautiful Region Beyond
the Zambesf

anu region beyond
the Zambesi.
From the London Globe
Mr. Walker. a hunter of the first rank in
Rhodesia, has been telling a representative
OF the BuluWayo Chronicle about the WON
derful stretch of territory north Of the
Zambesi. This hunter, writes the press
man, is quiet spoken and undemonstrative,
absolutely without braggadocio. He re-
lates now In the darkness he killed a lion
at close quarters pretty much as other men
would describe how they knocked over a
hare. Goodness and determination. with
capacity for quick decision and action. un-
derHe MS unassuming demeanor. It is In
MS sitting room, adorned with many tro-
phles OF the chase, that Mr.. Walker tells
OF the vast region north of the big water
way.
"On the other SIDE" he says 'Is beau
tifui country, and the plateau is much
healthier than here. Its average height is
o,ooo feet or SO. The soil is most fertile,
and it is well watered everywhere. The
Nome plateau between the Zambesi and
the Kafuf. Is not SO healthy, being, for one
thing, lower The soil, water and grass
are OF the best, and altogether it is the
nnest ranching and agricultural land
nave ever seen in any part of South Africa.
In appearance it is not at all like Mata-
beleland. 1t is what one would call semi
opSh SoohtiS AS 10 the natives, YOU could
not wish for better class. They are will
ing to do anything you ask them to do and
l never had the slightest trouble with
them. l went up there for the first time
three years ago, and have been there twice
again. l went in for trading and hunting
but my chief idea was to have a look at the
country with view to settling there The
kafui Valley is splendid piece Of coun-
try. long and wide, and soil of the best
something like what 1 suppose the Nile
Valley is. 1t is inundated every wet sea-
son. but believe that in spite of this If ia
not an unhealthy place. There are English
missionaries, with their wives and children
| living right on the banks of the river, and
they are not troubled with fever. The
months during which it is least healthy
are March and April
Across the Kafui there is a verv high
country again. The only people who have
| been in that country are traders and the
| police. There is any amount of game all
| over the place-all the game you get in this
| koo, lechwe, situtanga, lichtenstein See
| here are the skins of some of them. Strange
enough, you don't get either the giraffe or
| ostrich there You don't get them further
north till somewhere about Lake Tangan-
| ylka. and, of course, you get them further
| south. The northern giraffe, by the way,
is differently marked. and generally has
| three horns. l should certainly saw that
the climate there is healthier than this. In
| the hottest month-October-it's not SO hot
/ as 1t is here. There's always delightfully."-
| cool breeze blowing, which keeps down the
| heat. 1t works against the heat auto
| matically, as 1t WERE The breeze, which is
| from east to west, springs up about sun
| rise and blows continually till sunset The
| nights themselves are so cool that even in
| the hottest part of the year you want two
| blankets. The mere fact that the nights
| are invariably cool must make a great diff
| ference in the health Of the place. You see
the corn and the grass on the plateau.
| have seen Kaffir corn there 10 to 20 feet
| high. Down in the valleys again a short
| sweet grass grows only six inches high
| Take the best parts of the Transvaal and
| Free State-I know them well-a farmer
| has to bring his stock down from the high
| to the low veldt, and go back again to the
| high veldt in the summer time. But on the
| plateau a man can stay there all the year
| round. None of the traders are settled
| there. There are only the police and a few
| missionaries. We generally leave here in
| April and May and get back in October or
| November. There's road starting from
| the banks of the Zambesi below the Juno
| ton Of the Gwaai. You get your wagons
| over in this way. Two hogsheads are tied
! underneath the wagon, the wheels fastened
to the body Of the wagon. the disselboom
| taken out and then dugout goes on each
| side of the wagon. Some Of the niggers
hold to ropes and the others paddle. It
takes only about ten minutes If you do the
| thing smartly, as the river is only about
200 yards wide there Two hoeshea5s were
left there for the benefit of people crossing.
These. however, have become ant-eaten.
| and any one going up now should take
| hogsheads with him. It's not very far from
| here-about 26O miles to the Zambesi and
another fifty to the plateau. The Batoko
natives, who -inhabit this plateau, are NOT
| warlike. They have been damned in he
tween the Barotse and the Matabele, hav-
ing been made slaves of by both. The only
| people up there who have not been con-
| quered are the Observation-Disclosures"
|
Branch ONCE at Kann's.
/ Advertisements are received at The Stars
| branch office at Kann's, corner 9Th street
| and Market space, at regular rates, and
| sent Immediately to The Star Office without