their head, wandered away to the north, crossed the Vaal River, the main branch of the Orange, took pos session of the mountainous region, dividing its waters from those of the Limpopo, and founded that independent State which is now known as the Transvaal Republic.

In 1854 the English Government wisely decided to give up the Orange River sovereignty, as it was termed, and restore its independence to the little republic. Thus the heroic Boers, after their long wanderings and their desperate struggle for liberty to regulate their own affairs, were at last successful; but their subsequent history has been less favorable to their char

After the death of President Prætorius, the Transvaal Republic, in 1858, broke out into open hostility against that of Orange River; party hatred and jealousy seem to be as great in these little communities as in large nations, and at this day, although both have increased in population and prosperity, there has been little improvement in the character of their inhabitants, who are charged by the English with continual violence and cruelty towards the native tribes. It should be remembered, however, that the Dutch in South Africa, after an intercourse of a hundred and fifty years with the latter, cannot avoid retaining some of their characteristics. Their own development has been retarded, and they have been rendered less accessible to the influences of modern civilization. The recent discovery of the diamond fields, which lie chiefly within the territories of the two republics, and of the rich gold region beyond the Limpopo, will no doubt greatly hasten their growth, and gradually wear

away the bitter mutual prejudice between them and their English neighbors.

The last fifty years, it will be seen, have contributed more to the opening of South Africa, as a home for civilized man, than the three centuries of Portuguese and Dutch rule, after the voyage of Vasco de Gama. The English colony of the Cape increases much more slowly than those in Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world, especially since communication with the latter colonies has been more speedily made by way of Suez and Panama; but its growth appears to be steady and healthy. It claims possession of the coast from Whale Bay around to Delagoa Bay on the east, and of the interior territory, with the exception of a few small Kaffer or Bushmen sovereignties. Capetown has become a stately, well-built place of 30,000 inhabitants, while Georgetown, Grahamstown, and Port Natal are all flourishing towns. The entire population of the colony is about 225,000.

The two Dutch republics open a communication far into the interior, and greatly facilitate its exploration. That of Orange River embraces the broad region between the upper valley of that river and its main tributary, the Vaal,-great plains of grass, broken with ridges of naked rock. It is a lofty, irregular table-land, with a healthy and equable climate. The Boers devote themselves principally to the raising of sheep and cattle on the plains; in the valleys nearer the mountains there are large plantations of grain and orchards of fruit. The capital of the republic, Bloemfontain, is a well-built town of about 200 houses, and 2,500 inhabitants; but the whole population of the republic

is not much more than 20,000 at present, including 5,000 natives.

The territory of the Transvaal Republic is much more extensive. Towards the north it reaches the Limpopo River, but there is no fixed frontier, and it will probably be pushed onward towards the Zambesi, with the growth of the country. Commencing near the Vaal, with the same grassy plains as in the southern republic, the land rises into ranges of hills, between which lie broad valleys, with thickets, woods, and abundant streams. The soil is equally adapted for pasturage and tillage. On account of the greater mildness of the climate, all kinds of fruit, especially grapes and oranges, attain an unusual perfection. Beyond the mountains to the northward the climate becomes tropical and unhealthy, and the tsetse-that fly whose bite is fatal to cattle-is found. Of late years the cultivation of sugar and coffee has been successfully introduced, and the population somewhat increased by an immigration of farmers and herdsmen from Scotland; but it is still scanty, Potschefstrom, the capital, containing only about a thousand souls. Trade is carried on chiefly with the settlement on Delagoa Bay, which is a little nearer than Port Natal.

The discovery of diamond-fields and coal-mines in the Transvaal Republic, and of a gold region to the north of the Limpopo, promises to change the character of the country in a very short time. Indeed, these new sources of wealth have already given a fresh importance to South Africa, and will hasten the complete exploration of the regions first penetrated by Moffat, Anderson, and Livingstone.

A

CHAPTER II.

THE NATIVE TRIBES OF SOUTH AFRICA.

LTHOUGH the various native tribes of Africa, from the Atlas to the Cape of Good Hope, possess so many common peculiarities of language and of physical structure, that they may be all classed as belonging to the same original stock, yet those which inhabit the southern end of the Continent exhibit many curious and interesting features. The influences of climate and habits of life have greatly modified their character and appearance, while they have remained in the same state of barbarism as the tropical tribes.

The primitive inhabitants of the Cape country were the Hottentots, who are still scattered over the whole colony, gradually diminishing like the Indians and Polynesians, through their intercourse with civilized races. The name "Hottentot," which was given to them by the early settlers, does not seem to belong to any particular tribe; the general designation which they use among themselves, is "Anaqua." They have long been held by the civilized world, and hardly with injustice, to be the very ideals of human ugliness, and some ethnologists place them lowest in the scale of

races.

The pure-blooded Hottentot is a weak, dwarfish creature, rarely five feet high, with a spine so curved

towards the base that it gives him a half-stooping attitude. His skull is flattened and retreating, and the head is sprinkled with little twists of short, thin wool, -a feature so comical, that it suggested to the Dutch settlers the nickname of "pepper-heads." The nose is so short and flat that it hardly can be called one, although the nostrils are very large, and the thick, projecting lips frequently cover one-third of the face. Nevertheless, their hands and feet are remarkably delicate and beautiful; full-grown Hottentots easily wear the gloves and shoes of European children of eight or nine years old.

The race is characterized by a peculiar and exceedingly disagreeable odor, so powerful that it may often be noticed in a room hours after a Hottentot has left it. For this reason they cannot be employed as houseservants, and all familiar intercourse with Europeans is prevented, except with the missionaries to whom such intercourse is a duty. As a natural consequence, the Hottentots are painted in very different colors by the latter and by English or Dutch colonists, the former affirming that the work of conversion and civilization is succeeding among them, while the settlers say that they are still lazy, dishonest, and attached to the lowest features of their former life.

The truth probably lies midway between these two representations. The Hottentot is good-natured, social, and fond of music; therefore capable of a certain degree of civilization. On the other hand, he is indolent, capricious, servile under force, and impudent under kindness. He is a child who requires a steady, strict, and humane discipline from the stronger race; but