CHAPTER II THE TRANSVAAL-ITS PRINCIPAL FEATURES As geography is not, I think, a strong point with the public at large, and even after the occurrence of recent events in the Transvaal, a large number of people seem to have but a dim idea respecting the area and general characteristics of what is often incorrectly designated "a little State," I think it just as well to give what I hope my readers will not consider too dry details regarding the physical and other features of the Transvaal. Briefly, then, the Republic under the sway of President Kruger has an area of about 120,000 square miles. Perhaps its extent will be better understood when I say that it is half the size of the Cape Colony and about three times the size of Natal and the Orange Free State. The area of the South African Republic is rather larger than that of Great Britain and Ireland combined. As regards distances, the nearest point of the Transvaal is about 698 miles from Cape Town, 536 miles from Port Elizabeth, and 220 miles from Port Natal, while the eastern boundary of the Republic is only about 40 miles distant from the Portuguese possession of Delagoa Bay. The Transvaal territory extends for about 400 miles to the banks of the Limpopo, a river about 300 miles south of the Zambesi. The extreme breadth of the Republic is 400 miles. The South African Republic is bounded on the north by Bechuanaland, on the south by the Orange Free State and Natal and on the east by Zululand and Mozambique. The two principal rivers of the Transvaal are the Vaal and the Limpopo; the former takes its rise in the high plateau called Hooge veldt, which extends throughout the whole breadth of the Transvaal and forms the water-shed between the rivers flowing south to the Vaal and north to the Limpopo. After receiving all the Transvaal rivers from the north and the Free State rivers on its southern bank, the Vaal River joins the Orange River in the vicinity of Hope Town, and the two combined in one large river, called the Ki Gariep, flow into Alexander Bay on the western side of South Africa, the twin rivers being more than a thousand miles in length and draining a basin of 325,000 square miles. The Limpopo, after receiving a large number of tributaries, empties itself into the sea on the eastern coast of South Africa; neither of these rivers are navigable to any appreciable length. Three mountain ranges extend through the country from west to east, but the highest altitude is only 6700 feet. The climate of the Transvaal is one of the finest in the world. Properly speaking there are only two seasons, summer and winter, the former warm and rainy, the latter dry and cold. The dry season sets in at the end of May, and it is not unusual for it to continue till the end of September without even a single shower falling Although the barometer during the summer months is very high, the heat is seldom oppressive on account of the altitude of the country. The air is always clear, the mornings and evenings are delightful. In winter the few lakes in the country are occasionally covered in the early morning with a thin sheet of ice, but this melts away before the day is far advanced. Extreme cold is practically unknown, and the climate of the Transvaal may unhesitatingly be pronounced one of the finest in the world. Most of the Transvaal is covered with a rich sward, affording excellent pasture for horses, sheep and cattle. There are considerable extents of forests, from which large quantities of timber are obtained for building and other purposes. Although the Transvaal, from its fertile soil and fine climate, is peculiarly adapted for the growth of cereals, the supply is far below the demand, and large quantities of bread stuffs are accordingly annually imported. The average Boer farmer is certainly not a far-seeing man, and is content to grow just as much wheat as suffices for his own consumption. Considerable attention is paid to mistrust the hotch-potch collection of adventurers who desire the Transvaal because the Transvaal is rich in the precious metal. I do not ask my readers to concur in every opinion set forth in this book, but I do ask them to seriously consider the statements made, to clear their minds of cant and prejudice, and to determine that, so far as in them lies, the sturdy, brave and independent, if rough, Dutch farmers shall have that justice which is the inalienable right of every human being. E CHAPTER II THE TRANSVAAL-ITS PRINCIPAL FEATURES As geography is not, I think, a strong point with the public at large, and even after the occurrence of recent events in the Transvaal, a large number of people seem to have but a dim idea respecting the area and general characteristics of what is often incorrectly designated "a little State," I think it just as well to give what I hope my readers will not consider too dry details regarding the physical and other features of the Transvaal. Briefly, then, the Republic under the sway of President Kruger has an area of about 120,000 square miles. Perhaps its extent will be better understood when I say that it is half the size of the Cape Colony and about three times the size of Natal and the Orange Free State. The area of the South African Republic is rather larger than that of Great Britain and Ireland combined. As regards distances, the nearest point of the Transvaal is about 698 miles from Cape Town, 536 miles from Port Elizabeth, and 220 miles from |