i
iMibkA^diMuyuii .
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
/y
SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
SOUTH-WEST
AFRICA
BY
WILLIAM EVELEIGH
AUTHOR OF
"A SHORT HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICAN METHODISM'
T. FISHER UNWIN, Ltd.
ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON
TO
GENERAL BOTHA
First Published in 1915
[All Rights Reserved]
vr
FOREWORD
" Of making many books there is no end,"
said the Preacher, but strange to say, there
is not a single book in the EngHsh lan-
guage that deals with South-West . Africa
of modern days. Many references to the
country are found in the older books of
South African travel and exploration, and
some good works have been written in
later times by German authors ; but,
unfortunately, the German publications are
not available for the average reader. In
the present volume an attempt has been
made to set before the reader a brief but
comprehensive account of the country, its
history, its people, its resources, and its
vi FOREWORD
possibilities. It is impossible in a small
book to deal more than briefly with the
subject, and very sHght treatment has had
to suffice for many matters of interest. I
hope, however, that I have succeeded in
conveying a clear impression of what
South-West Africa is, and what it may
become. Brief and unpretentious though
the book is, it may serve to dispel the notion
that the country is nothing more than a
desert and of very little value to the
Empire.
My thanks are due to Dr. Rudolf Marloth,
of Cape Town ; Prof. E. H. Schwatz, of the
Rhodes University College, Grahamstown ;
Dr. Wm. Flint, Librarian of the Houses of
Parliament, Cape Town ; Mr. F. W. Fitz-
simons, Director of the Museum, Port
Elizabeth ; and Mr. John Ross, of the
FOREWORD vii
Kimberley Public Library, for valuable
suggestions. My debt to various writers I
have endeavoured to acknowledge else-
where.
W. E.
Kimberley, South Africa.
1915-
CONTENTS
CHAPTER.
PAGE
I.
THE LAND - - - -
13
II.
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL
37
III.
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY
53
IV.
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY
71
V.
THE EARLY DAYS - - -
89
VI.
THE LATER HISTORICAL DEVELOP-
MENT -----
113
VII.
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION -
133
VIII.
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY -
157
IX.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUN-
TRY
173
X.
THE DIAMOND FIELDS
197
XI. THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE
COUNTRY - - . - 225
uc
THE LAND
SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Chapter I
THE LAND
A GLANCE at the map of Africa shows that
the territory now known as British South-
West Africa — formerly German South- West
Africa — is a triangular mass with the
abrupt apex resting on the Orange River.
It comprises Ovamboland, in the north ;
Damaraland, the central portion of the
country ; Great Namaqualand, in the
south, and a tongue of land running out
from the north-east corner called the
Caprivizipfel, and has a total area of
322,450 square miles. This vast territory,
into which half a dozen Englands could
X3
14 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
be dropped with ease, is bounded on the
north by the Kunene River, Portuguese
West Africa, and Rhodesia ; on the east
by British Bechuanaland, and the Gordonia
portion of the Cape Province ; on the west
by the Atlantic Ocean ; and on the south
by the Orange River. Some idea of the
length of the eastern boundary, for in-
stance, may be obtained when it is stated
that while the southern extremity touches
the Orange, a distance of only 400 miles
from Cape Town, the far corner of the
Caprivi enclave is north-west of the Victoria
Falls. No less than 900 miles of coast-line
stretch from the mouth of the Orange to
the Kunene estuary.
Physical Features
The physical structure of the country is
extremely simple. The dominant physical
THE LAND 15
facts are : a slowly rising sandy coast
belt ; a high interior plateau, broken by
isolated mountain ranges ; and a gently
falling eastern strip of sandy country that
merges in the level expanse of the Kalahari
Desert.
The Coast Strip or the Namib
The coast strip is a desert, varying from
15 to 100 miles in width, stretching from
the Kunene to the Orange, in which at
only a few places is fresh water obtainable.
To this desert the designation " Namib "
has been appUed — a name originally re-
stricted to the middle portion of the strip.
Dr. Stapff divides it into three parts : the
stony desert north of Walvis Bay, the
valley of the Kuisip converging on Walvis
Bay, and the long sand dunes that run
south from Walvis Bay to the Orange.
i6 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
As a picture of dreariness and desolation
this desert in places is not surpassed even
by the Sahara. South of Walvis Bay
there run from north to south mile upon
mile of yellowish grey sand in long lines of
immense dunes some of them 600 feet in
height. Dark, rocky hills, with faces
scarred and scoured into grotesque shapes,
cut across the Hues here and there, and
heap up the sand at their base on the wind-
ward side in numerous hillocks. In some
of the depressions formed by the dunes
the white basins of vleis reflect the burning
rays of the sun. Fierce sandstorms rage
over the dunes at intervals, and the dense
yellow clouds sweep along close to the earth
at a terrific speed, blotting out the hght of the
sun, raining a perfect hurricane of gritty par-
ticles upon the traveller unfortunate enough
to be found in the track of the tornado.
THE LAND 17
Seen from the coast the Namib has the
general appearance of a vast plain with a
boundless horizon, but the country ascends
continually though almost imperceptibly
towards the interior ; at a distance of only
60 miles from Walvis Bay, for instance, the
traveller finds himself some 2,000 feet
above sea-level.
The prevaiUng formations along the coast
are : gneiss, granite, quartzites, mica schists,
recent chalks, crystalline limestones -
'' The whole coast, several miles wide,"
says Dr. Versfeld, " is a portion of a vast
Titanic pudding, whose ingredients have
been well stirred."*
There is a concensus of opinion among
geologists that at some remote period a
* " Notes on the Geological Formation of Portions
of German South- West Africa " — South African
Journal of Science, June, 191 1.
B
i8 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
tremendous upheaval of the marine bed
took place, resulting in the present coast
formation. The disintegration of the gneiss
rocks and the action of the furious trade
winds, have since led to the formation of
the sand dunes.
The natural harbours are surprisingly
few for such a lengthy coast-line. Walvis
Bay, which lies almost exactly midway
between the Orange and Kunene estuaries,
is the principal inlet. A deep channel gives
access to large steamers, which are able to
lie at anchor in a fine, oval basin some 20
square miles in extent, completely sheltered
from the strong prevailing winds. This
Bay, with 450 square miles of adjoining
territory, has been in the possession of
Great Britain since 1878, but very little use
has been made of it.
Luderitz Bay, some 250 miles south of
THE LAND 19
Walvis Bay, is the next considerable inlet.
It ramifies to the right and left for about
five miles south of the entrance, and here,
too, large steamers find safe anchorage.
Swakop Bay, 25 miles north of Walvis Bay,
is merely an open roadstead with a landing
jetty.
The Central Plateau
We will begin in the north with Ovambo-
land and follow southward the line of the
main ridge that forms the inner plateau.
Separated from the highlands of Angola
by the gorges traversed by the Kunene,
the rocky heights of Ovamboland rise but
slowly at first above the general level,
but south of the Otavi Hills in Damara-
land they gradually ascend until a verit-
able highland system is developed with
towering masses of table rocks and huge
20 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
dome-shaped summits. Mount Omatako,
which has an altitude of 8,500 feet, is the
highest peak. Around it, but some distance
from it, grouped like satellites, are numerous
other imposing mountains from 5,000 to
6,000 feet in height. In the clear air of the
uplands the granite pinnacles of these
peaks are visible from a great distance.
Huge valleys or gorges are a characteristic
of this part of Damaraland. The mountain
plateaux are widely extended. In the
region of Windhoek several rivers have
their rise. Further south the ridge falls
again to a level of about 3,000 feet,
and in many places is broken into by
isolated ranges of manifold forms, while
the lower levels are studded with stony
kopjes.
The country along the eastern border
consists of undulating plains and large
THE LAND 21
areas of sandy land which closely resemble
the Kalahari.
In all these uplands the prevaiUng forma-
tions are granite, or mica schist. Surface
limestone occurs everywhere.
Great Namaqualand
Great Namaqualand, the country that
stretches from the south of Damaraland
to the Orange River, is a land of rugged
hills, stony kopjes, and boundless plains.
In the Karas Mountains, the main ridge
rises again to a height of 6,600 feet above
the sea, and the plateaux have a north to
south direction. The boundless plains,
really extended tablelands, are a principal
feature of the country, and they are in-
variably sandy.
" Sir," said a person who knew the
country to Dr. Moffat in 1818, " you will
22 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
find plenty of sand and stones, a thinly
scattered population always suffering from
want of water, on plains and hills roasted
like a burnt loaf under the scorching rays
of a cloudless sun."
" Of the truth of this description," says
Moffat in his laconic fashion, " I soon had
abundant evidence."*
Although this portion of South-West
Africa is regarded as semi-desert, at rare
intervals after rain the plains are covered
with long coarse grass and then they have
to English eyes the appearance of a vast
field of waving oats.
The Orange River Basin
Trekking south through Great Namaqua-
land, toiling over the blistering wastes, the
* Moffat's " Missionary Labours and Scenes in
South Africa," p. 76.
THE LAND 23
traveller experiences a peculiar sensation
of unexpectedness when on rounding a
kopje he sees below him in the near distance
a long, twisted line of vivid green. This
is the line of the Orange River.
As very little is known about the course
of this, the largest river in South Africa, a
brief description may not be without in-
terest.
The river enters South-West Africa along
a deep channel and winds its sinuous way
hke a giant snake between towering preci-
pices and overhanging mountains grey with
age along cafions reminiscent of Colorado.
In some of the deep, rocky gorges the
stream is inaccessible on either side, since
the overhanging escarpments of the sur-
rounding plateau rise sheer from the water
many hundreds of feet, and a thirsty travel-
ler might actually perish of thirst as he
24 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
looked down upon the tantalising waters
from the precipitous banks that offered not
a single practicable way of descent. At
intervals the stream broadens to a con-
siderable distance and takes on the appear-
ance of a quiet lake reflecting the image
of the willow and mimosa trees that fringe
its banks ; islands of vivid green dot
the waters ; flamingos, ibises, and other
wading birds, move leisurely in the shallows,
while ever and anon birds of brilliant
plumage dart across the surface. It then
presents a picture of considerable charm.
Barred in its approach to the sea by rocky
hills and granite chffs, in its eager efforts
to find the line of least resistance, the river
twists and turns, flowing now north, now
south, and in one place actually doubling
back to the east. On emerging from the
mountain ranges it sprawls itself over a
THE LAND 25
wide area as if reluctant to lose its greatness
in the ocean. Its mouth is generally
blocked for a number of years by a con-
tinuous narrow sand barrier formed by the
big breakers of the Atlantic, and while the
waves pound the sand with great fierceness
on the one side, the cool, fresh waters of
the river gently lap it on the other side.
When the river comes down in strong flood
the dam bursts with a crash and a roar
heard many miles distant. Mr. A. D. Lewis,
a Government engineer, visited the mouth
at the end of 1912, having made a survey
journey along the river valley from Pella to
the Atlantic. He is actually the first scien-
tifically trained individual to make the
journey. His report,* together with plans
* Report of Director of Irrigation for period
ist January, 1912, to March, 1913. — Cape Times, Ltd.,
Cape Town.
26 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
and reproductions of photographs, is of
absorbing interest .
The Rivers
The rivers of South-West Africa, hke
many others in South Africa, are found,
mostly, on the maps. Though the country
is trenched by the beds of many rivers, not
a single perennial stream reaches the sea
between the Kunene and the Orange. On
account of the great depth of its channel
below the adjacent land, the Orange is of
no economic value to the country. The
Swakop, which has a total length of 250
miles, rises to the east of the Damara high-
lands in the Waterberg and traverses the
plateau through deep, rocky gorges. Occa-
sionally it flows into the sea north of Walvis
Bay. The Kuisip rises in the mountains
beyond Windhoek and intersects the Namib
THE LAND 27
plain south of the Swakop to a depth of
over 600 feet, but it rarely reaches the
ocean. The last occasion on which it
pushed its way through to the Atlantic
previous to the present year, was in 1904.
South of the Kuisip are other watercourses
which are arrested without even forming
channels to the sea. During the greater
part of the 3^ear the Swakop and the
Kuisip are non-existent as rivers ; a Hne of
stunted willows or acacias, or, perhaps, a
few muddy pools, mark the river courses.
After the storms, however, they are raging
torrents for a brief period, and immense
volumes of water rush along their beds.
The feeble, intermittent streams on the
east of the divide fall for the most part into
the saline marshes of the Kalahari. The
Fish River flows south through Great
Namaqualand, and sometimes reaches the
28 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Orange. Lake Etosha in the north is a
lagoon about sixty miles wide and fifty
miles in length. When full one or two
rivers issue from it.
But water is not the scarce commodity
that one might imagine it to be, except,
perhaps, in the Namib, for the springs or
fonteins are a peculiar feature of the inner
plateau. The most remarkable of these
are situated in a hill to the north of Wind-
hoek. No less than five springs issue from
the limestone. They are all warm, and lie
approximately in a straight hne at intervals
of a few hundred yards apart. It is a
somewhat curious phenomenon that the
temperatures vary considerably ; a differ-
ence of no less than 54°F. has been noted
between one and two. If the streams are all
from the same source, as seems hkely, they
are probably influenced in their passage
THE LAND 29
to the surface by the geological formation.
Cold springs also exist in the limestone
below the hot springs. The waters of the
warm spring at Warmbad, in South Great
Namaqualand, have strong sanative quali-
ties. Centres so far distant from each
other as Bethanien, in the south-west,
Omaruru, north-east of Walvis Bay, and
Gobabis, east of Windhoek, on the Kala-
hari border, also have their springs.
Water may generally be obtained even
in the dry season by digging beneath the
alluvium of a river bed, especially where
a ledge of rocks crosses the watercourse.
In some places, notably on the borders of
the Namib and in the eastern areas, the
water found by boring is brackish, and often
unfit for human consumption. After the
rainstorms water often lies for long periods
in the natural depressions or vieis ; these
30 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
afford a good supply for cattle and
game.
In some of these depressions, when the
water around the edges has dried up, an
incrustation of salt is left, which, as Dr.
Moffat found in Namaqualand nearly a
hundred years ago, " crackles under the
feet like hoar-frost."
Scenery
The lover of natural scenery will find
little to attract him in such parts of the
country as the Namib, Great Namaqualand,
or the eastern steppes, for over large areas
the aspects of nature are so consistently
uniform as to become painfully monotonous,
and this uniformity, combined with the
absence of foliage and verdure and lakes and
running streams, is very depressing to the
traveller. But the country is not the
THE LAND 31
wilderness many have been led to believe.
When once the desert belt is crossed and
the mountain plateaux are reached, some
bold and striking mountain scenery meets
the eye. Stupendous masses of naked rock,
on which the light strikes bright and hard,
rise into the sky, while other frowning
heights tower aloft, menacing and fearful.
In the Waterberg the numerous rocky
summits, with their clear-cut edges and
rifted walls, resemble in places the famous
Giant's Causeway, and in their boldness and
variety of outline they present a scene of
extraordinary rugged grandeur. Here are
Cleopatra's Needles, embattled castles, lofty
pinnacles, and sculptured turrets, all stand-
ing out bold and clear in the amazingly thin,
translucent air, and visible from immense
distances. Between Omaruru and Oka-
hand j a, where hilly country is found
32 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
alternating with level plains, some fine land-
scape views may be obtained. The falls on
some of the rivers after the rains make
picnic spots and pleasure resorts of rare
delight. The voice of running waters, a
sound but rarely heard in South Africa, can
then be enjoyed in some of the deep gorges.
In certain portions of Ovamboland there
are woodlands, glades, and clearings that
present the aspect of a boundless park.
Windhoek, set in a circle of giant moun-
tains on the slope of a hill, has quite a
picturesque situation.
South-West Africa, too, has all the charm
of colour for which southern Africa is
famous the world over. On the uplands
the morning and the evening are times
when the eye is filled and completely de-
lighted with the warmth and richness of
tone about the landscape.
THE LAND 33
" At last morning broke," says one new to
the country, in a description of the sun-
rise, " and delicate rosy stripes of light shot
up toward the zenith. The colours grew
rapidly deeper, brighter, and stronger. The
red was glorious in its fullness, and the blue
beautiful in its purity. The light mounted
and extended itself, ascending as over a new
world a thousand times more beautiful than
the old one. Then came the sun, big and
clear, looking like a great, placid, wide-
opened eye."
At night the moon and stars shine with
a fire and briUiancy that never fail to amaze
the visitor from the northern lands.
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL
Chapter II
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL
From what has been said about the diver-
sity of the physical conditions of the
country it will be readily inferred that
there is a considerable variation of climate.
When it is remembered, too, that the land
lies within the tropic of Capricorn and
corresponds in latitude to the central pro-
vinces of India, between Bombay and
Calcutta, the reader will be prepared to
learn that it is excessively hot in the sum-
mer months and very unhealthy. As a
matter of fact the chmate as a whole is
healthy and the heat much less trying than
the traveller from India expects to find in
V
38 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
such a latitude. Various factors account
for this, as we shall see.
There are two seasons, summer and
winter ; summer lasts from October to
April, and winter from April to September.
The heat is sometimes great on the coast,
some little distance from the sea, where the
sea mists do not reach, rising occasionally to
120° F. in the shade. But at noon the
fresh south-west wind blows strongly from
the sea, and the nights are comparatively
cool and refreshing. The sudden fall of
temperature at sunset is often a source of
danger to those who have not learned to
guard themselves against rapid variations
of temperature. Strangely enough, the
hottest day in the year may be a day in the
middle of winter, for it is in the winter that
a fierce, hot, desert wind from the east comes
sweeping across the country, sending up the
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 39
thermometer with a rush. The winter may
thus have the hottest, as well as the coldest,
days of the year. A comparison of the
temperatures of the principal centres of the
country with Kenhardt and Kimberley,
two of the hottest districts in the Cape
Province, may not be without interest :
November.
February.
July.
Windhoek -
86
82
68
Swakopmund
Walvis Bay
Luderitzbucht
58
60
62
62
64
68
55
57
55
Omaruru
82
82
62
Rehoboth -
86
86
60
Kenhardt -
Kimberley -
74
78
85
82
57
55
The feature of the coast climate is the
heavy fogs occasioned by the proximity of
the cold waters of the Benguella current to
a heated interior, and the contact of the
40 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
cool south-west winds with the north-west
air currents. These fogs veil the seaboard
in a thick haze during the night and often
last to noon ; they supply, however, a con-
siderable amount of moisture to the coast
border of the Namib, since they are some-
times so heavy that in a single night the
sand is moistened to a depth of one or two
inches, and the water flows down the stems
of shrubs into the ground to a depth of
six inches. Heavy rain occurs at very rare
intervals. These conditions suggest that
quite a useful supply of water might be
obtained by the construction of dew-ponds,
or mist-ponds, as they are now known to be,
of which particulars are given by Mr. E. A.
Martin in his recent work, entitled, " Dew-
ponds : History, Observation and Experi-
ment." A whole year may pass without
a single shower. Walvis Bay has an annual
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 41
average rainfall of less than one inch. At
such centres as Luderitzbucht, Swakop-
mund, and Walvis Bay, water for drinking
purposes is condensed from the sea. Be-
fore the condensing plant was erected water
had to be brought all the way up from Cape
Town.
In the north and north-east the chmate is
almost tropical, but on the central plateau
it is temperate, with great fluctuations of
temperature during the day. The great
heat of the sun during the summer months
would make it rather trying for Europeans,
were it not for the altitude and the great
dryness of the air. As we have shown, the
plateau is from 3,000 to 5,000 feet above
sea level, and this is a factor of considerable
importance in determining climatic con-
ditions. The chmate resembles parts of
Rhodesia, and while there are hot days in
42 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the summer, for the most part the air is
fresh, clear, and hke ehxir.
Great Namaqualand has a very warm
summer ; the shade temperature of the
Orange River valley is often iio° F., while
on the plains great fluctuations in the day
temperature prevail. In the winter severe
frosts and snow may be experienced, and
snow may be seen on the Karas Mountains.
There are also occasional frosts in the
Windhoek region in this cold season.
The Rainfall
South-West Africa is really a continua-
tion of the Bechuanaland plateau, a notori-
ously dry territory, and the rainfall is even
less than in Bechuanaland, if we except the
northern territories, since very little of the
vapour from the distant Indian Ocean can
reach the country. The Eastern slope.
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 43
which faces the Indian Ocean, receives a
fair supply of moisture. The Windhoek
region has an average annual rainfall of
15 inches. Whirlwinds often herald the
approach of the rain. In the warmer north
and north-east 24 inches is often registered
in a year. Great Namaqualand is much
drier, 6 or 7 inches being about the average.
The rain comes almost invariably in the
form of violent thunderstorms which sweep
along in a limited area. It is a common
experience to travel over a stretch of dry
and barren land to enter suddenly a tract of
vivid green where the vegetation is in full ac-
tivity, so local is the distribution of the rain.
Severe hailstorms are sometimes responsible
for much damage, since the hailstones are
often as big as marbles. Within half an
hour of the passing of one of these storms,
the thermometer has been seen to drop from
44 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
1 10° F. to 68° F. Droughts of great severity
continue for years together in these regions,
but as soon as the rain comes, the country
revives as if by magic ; grass and flowers
spring up from the steaming ground with
amazing rapidity, and the once bare and
bUstered plain is transformed into a
vast carpet of vivid green and brilHant
hues.
The Namib has a rainfall of less than an
inch, but in places where the desert borders
the inner plateau, three or four inches may
be registered during the year.
One of the journals of the Royal Meteoro-
logical Society has printed the rainfall
record of South-West Africa. Dr. Emil
Ottweiler is responsible for it, and the
observations extended over periods vary-
ing from one to twenty-three years. This
record is of real value, and we give the
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 45
average fall at some of the stations men-
tioned.
Stations.
Height above
Sea Level.
Rainfall.
feet.
Luderitzbucht
13
0*54
Swakopmund
23
i-i6
Windhoek -
5,350
14-07
Grootfontein
5,020
24-37
Olukonda -
3.510
22-91
Keetmanshoop -
3,373
5-85
Bethanien - - -
3,068
4-52
Berseba ...
3,490
3-II
Haris . . -
6,300
11-24
Otjimbinque
3,084
5-38
Karibib
—
6-01
Zesfontein - - -
_
273
Gibeon - - -
3,700
6-82
Rehoboth -
4,700
10-45
Oas - - - -
4,500
18-69
Gobabis
4,650
18-53
Omaruni - - -
3,800
10-85
Hatsamas - - -
■~~
14-06
The rainfall, scanty as it is, generally
descends in sharp storms and showers, and
as the ground is often baked hard by the
46 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
heats of the sun, it quickly runs away to the
watercourses, but in recent years dams have
been made in order to store the precious
Hquid, and a well-filled dam may hold
sufficient water to supply a large farm for
the space of a year or two.
Health Conditions
The physical conditions already des-
cribed determine the healthfulness of the
country ; the sun, the elevation, the dry-
ness, being responsible for the good climate
of the interior. The direct rays of the sun
are very strong during the day, for clouds
are infrequent ; many weeks may pass
without the smallest cloud being visible ;
but these rays are not dangerous, and sun-
stroke is unusual. In India, as Bryce has
shown, one has always to be mounting guard
against the sun. "He is a formidable
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 47
and ever-present enemy, and he is the more
dangerous the longer you live in the coun-
try. In South Africa it is only because
he dries up the soil so terribly that the
traveller wishes to have less of him."*
The extreme dryness of the air on the
plateaux enables Europeans to endure heat
that would be unbearable in London or New
York. A shade temperature of 108° F. in
either of these cities would be responsible
for many a collapse, but it would pass at
Windhoek without anyone being the
worse for it. Even on the Namib some
compensation would be afforded by the sea
breezes.
There are people who have hved at Luder-
itzbucht, one of the driest parts of the Namib,
continuously for eight or ten years, and they
are exceedingly active and healthy, while
♦ " Impressions of South Africa," p. 13.
48 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
at Windhoek strong and sturdy children
are developing a splendid physique in the
pure, bracing air of the plateau. Malarial
fever, which hangs like a death cloud over
many parts of Africa, is sometimes found in
the north and north-west of the country,
but it prevails in a mild form. Last year,
for instance, there were only six deaths
from this cause among Europeans, right
through the country. The dreaded black-
water fever is occasionally met with in the
tropical north. The diseases common along
the coast are mostly intestinal, due almost
entirely to the lack of a good supply of pure
water. Rheumatic troubles are also fairly
common on the seaboard. The death-rate
for 1913 was only 11*3 per thousand of the
white population, and 2175 per thousand
among the natives. Inflammation of the
lungs, due largely ta unhealthy dwellings
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 49
and lack of care with clothing, accounts for
the higher mortality among the natives.
The dryness and purity of the air away
from the coast account for the absence of
most forms of chest disease. More than one
sufferer from consumption in its earliest
stages, who has come from Europe, has
found a new lease of life on the salubrious
uplands. There can be no doubt that in
spite of the abnormal heat sometimes
experienced, South-West Africa is well
fitted to afford a pleasant home and to main-
tain in vigour people drawn from the cooler
regions of Europe. That healthy children
can be reared here has been already demon-
strated.
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY
' Chapter III
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY
" South-West Africa," a writer on the
flora of the country has recently stated, " is
distinguished neither by a great variety of
its flora nor by the presence of plants or
trees of any singular kind." How far this
is from the truth will be made clear in this
chapter.
For a dry country South-West Africa is
fairly rich in vegetation, and it may be
useful to give some slight impression of the
part which the vegetation plays in the land-
scape and in the economic conditions of
the country, cursory though our examina-
tion must be.
53
54 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
The Coast Regions
To begin with the Namib. The general
aspect of the vegetation here is monotonous,
since there are but few plants that rise to
any appreciable height from the sandy sur-
face to break the dull level. No tree grows
within a dozen miles of the coast, except in
an occasional watercourse where there is
underground moisture.
The Kokerboom, Aloe dichotoma, how-
ever, often occurs as a solitary tree, and
occasionally forms little groves on the lime-
stone hills of the eastern portion of the
Namib. In the winter, when they bear
large clusters of bright yellow flowers, they
give quite a touch of colour to the drab
landscape.
The northern Namib has two plants of
singular interest in the Welwitschia and
the Naras. The Welwitschia, Welwitschia
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 55
Bainesii, is in reality a tree with a fairly
thick trunk that terminates abruptly just
above the ground. Two thick, leathery
leaves are permanent and grow continuously
at their base until they sometimes reach a
length of 10 feet, by which time they are
frayed into numerous snake-like thongs.
The plant flowers in January and the cones
ripen in May. The roots of the largest plants
may be traced to a very great depth in the
sand. " This plant," says Dr. Marloth,*
"is of great scientific interest, being the
most highly developed gymnospermous plant
known to us either in the living or the fossil
state. It is not a connecting link between
the gymnosperms and the angiosperms, but
the final stage of a separate Une of develop-
ment of the vegetable kingdom, that, as far
* " The Flora of South Africa," Vol. I., by Rudolf
Marloth.
56 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
as is known to us, led no further." The
Welwitschia was first discovered by Dr.
Welwitsch in Southern Angola in 1865. It
has not been found south of the Kuisip
district.
The curious Naras, Acanthosicyos horrida,
has been well termed the " Wonder of the
Waste," for this shrubby, leafless member
of the order Cucurbiiacea spreads over the
sand dunes in dense straggling masses,
defying all the sandstorms that threaten
to bury it. Instead of tendrils it bears
sharp thorns, while the main root may be
as thick as a man's arm, with a length of
20 to 40 feet. The fruit is about the size
of a very big orange, and the skin encloses
a yellow pulp of a rich flavour and a number
of seeds similar in taste to almonds. The
fruit is greatly relished by the natives,
and, as it has extraordinary nutritive
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 57
value, they almost live on it. The seeds
are stored for the dry season, when no fruit
can be obtained. The existence of this
plant always indicates underground mois-
ture. Both the Welwitschia and the Naras
flourish in the vicinity of Walvis Bay, but
the Naras has been found in recent years
in several places in the southern Namib.
It is beheved that the species does not
occur naturally so far south, but has been
introduced by natives. Its true southern
limit is not far from the southern extremity
of Walvis Bay.*
In the region described as the Upper
Kuisip Zone, which embraces the valley of
the Kuisip, among the fairly abundant
vegetation, with camelthorns, ebony trees,
and wild figs, the handsome Ana tree,
♦ Pearson, " The Travels of a Botanist in South-
West Africa" — Th& Geographical Journal, May, 1910.
58 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Acacia albida, is found. The fruit of this
remarkable tree is a legume. The beans,
when ripe and dry, are used for fodder for
cattle, ancf they have extraordinary fatten-
ing properties. Cattle also relish the leaves
of the tree.
The flora of the desert south of Luderitz-
bucht is much poorer than that of the
northern portion, and, as Schinz points
out, the difference is probably accounted
for by the presence of a more copious
supply of underground water in the
northern area. But the Namib has a richer
vegetation than is generally supposed.
** As an illustration," writes Dr. Marloth,
who made a careful examination of the
Lower Namib in 1909, " it may be men-
tioned that I have observed over twenty
species of Mesembrianthemum, five species
of Pelargonium (mostly shrubby), two of
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 59
Sarcocaulon, three of Lycium, two of Zygo-
phylhim, two of Salsola, three of Othonna,
five shrubby Leguminosae {Lebeckia and
Crotalaria), five species of Euphorbia, and
many other genera represented by one or
two species." *
He distinguishes four formations accord-
ing to the nature of the ground : the sea-
shore, the sandy plains, the rocky hills,
and the gravel-covered flats of the rising
plains beyond the coast-belt ; and we can-
not do better than adopt his convenient
division.
The seashore. — The sand dunes are de-
void of vegetation on account of the ever-
shifting nature of the sand, and they present
an unforgettable scene of sterihty and
dreariness. A few plants specially adapted
* "The Vegetation of the Southern Namib "—
The South African Journal of Science, January, 1910.
6o SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
to salt water, such as Salicornia natalensis
and Bassia diffusa, are found in the shallows
or around the lagoons.
The sandy plains and dunes. — Further
inland Salsola Zeyheri is common. This
low, tight-looking shrub, grey in colour,
about 2 to 3 feet in height, has consider-
able value, since it forms good food for the
camels used for transport purposes. Coarse
dune-grasses are found in sheltered patches.
The Mesembrianthemum is a characteristic
Namib plant ; it grows on rocks as well as
sand.
The rocky hills. — Here we find a more
varied vegetation. The well-known Koker-
boom (Aloe dichotoma) is a conspicuous
feature. It is interesting to notice that
the name Koker or Quiver (D. koker, a case
sheath ; G. Kocher, a quiver) was given
to this tree because the Bushmen and
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 6i
Hottentots used the pithy branches to
make quivers for their poisoned arrows.
Even more numerous than the Aloe
dichotoma are several species of Euphorbia,
Schinz, it may be noted, has described the
eastern edge of the desert as a Euphorbia-
steppe.* The E. gummifera is, perhaps,
the most noticeable plant, and in the Garub
region this species abounds. It forms com-
pact bushes, 3 to 6 feet in height, and its
grey twigs have rather an unpleasant scent,
while they contain an unusually rich supply
of milk juice. The E. cervicornis, the
olifant melkbosch of Little Namaqualand,
is found occasionally. A little plant that
crouches behind rocks or isolated stones
is the dwarf shrublet Pieronia succulenta,
whose main stem is often bent over at a
right angle by the fierce winds as soon as it
* Schinz, " South-West Africa," Leipzig, 1894.
62 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
pushes its head above the shelter. Other
plants, usually forming upright bushes,
are here compelled to bend before the
strong winds ; notable among these is the
PUuranthus aphylhis, a leafless umbellifer.
A plant of pecuHar interest found among
the many species of Mesembrianthemum is
the M. rhopalophylhim, which is remarkable
for its highly-specialised window-leaves.
" The plant grows embedded in the sand,
nothing but the flat, slightly convex apex
of each leaf being visible, and even that is
covered with more or less sand according
to locahty. While the leaf itself is fresh
green with a rather delicate skin, the ex-
posed part is protected by a thick epidermis
and cuticula, and possesses comparatively
few stomata. It is through this portion,
which has the functions of a window, the
leaf receives its Hght, being thus illuminated
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 63
from within. There are five to ten, or even
more, leaves to each plant, but nothing
appears at the surface except these win-
dows ; they peep out of the sand like the
eyes of the sand-lizard or sand-vipers,
which often hide themselves in a similar
way." *
It is very curious to see the short flowers
of these plants in the spring, for they grow,
apparently, straight out of the sand. Only
on investigation are the leaves and stem
discovered. The leaves are club-shaped.
Nature has evidently chosen this under-
ground mode of existence for the plant in
order to protect it against the herbivorous
animals. These interesting plants are found
only in Africa.
The leaves of the Augea capensis are very
* "The Flora of South Africa," Vol. I. Rudolf
Marloth.
64 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
strong in sap, but the plant is so salty that
even the camels will turn away from it.
This plant is found in many parts of the
Karroo.
An untidy-looking shrublet, the Sarco-
caulo7i rigidum, is fairly abundant. A
peculiarity of its structure is the sharp-
pointed spines, which are specially modified
stalks of former leaves. Leaves of vivid
green cover these plants in the spring, and
at times they are numerous enough to
influence the colour of the landscape. Pink
flowers appear on them in October.
The gravel plains. — ^The rising plains of
the inner Namib, which have an altitude
of i,8oo feet, some fifty miles from the
coast, are swept by furious sand-laden
winds for the greater part of the year. The
sea-fogs rarely reach these areas, and, as
the rainfall is a neghgible quantity, no sign
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 65
of life may be encountered for many miles,
only a vast, monotonous waste of gravel
and sand meets the eye. Occasionally one
lights upon the typical Sarcocaulon Hgidum,
the Candle-bush or Bushman's candle. This
plant has been specially adapted to meet
the conditions of the desert, and it is able
to defy the hottest sun and the fiercest
sandstorms. Layers of corky tissue, im-
pregnated with a mixture of fat, wax, and
resin, form the bark. This horny casing
is the plant's armour against the attacks
of its enemies. It burns steadily like a
wax candle with a yellow, smoky flame,
even when cut fresh from the ground.
The Central Plateau
Beginning with Ovamboland, we find
considerable forest tracts of acacia, with
giant baobabs, and palms and fig-trees in
E
66 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the more open park-like spaces. The palm
zone is found some distance south of the
Kunene. Grasses cover the extensive
plains after rains. On the uplands of
Damaraland the genus Acacia plays an
important part in the composition of the
flora ; in many places it predominates
among the bushes and also among the
trees.* With the acacias are found other
notable species, including Combrdum primi-
genium, and the large Ficus dammar ensis.
The handsome Ana tree, Acacia alhida,
is frequently met with. The mountain
valleys have a much more luxurious vegeta-
tion than the hills, since they are watered
by the many rivulets that abound after
rain.
On the eastern steppes where the country
* Pearson, " The Travels of a Botanist in South-
West Africa " — The Geographical Journal, May, 1910.
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTRY 67
is sandy and poor in vegetation, that
typical product of the Kalahari desert, the
tsama melon, Citmllus vulgaris, is found.
Both man and beast rejoice in this juicy
melon. In its raw state it has remark-
able thirst-quenching properties, and when
cooked it is a satisfying food. The seeds
are oily and very fattening. This fruit
often affords the only supply of water for
travellers in this dry and dreary region.
That queer httle plant, known as Uyntjes,
a kind of sedge, is also found in this
region, and the bulbous roots, not unlike
the chestnut in flavour, are used as food
by the natives. In the springtime a species
of Brunsvigia, or Candelabra flower, some-
times covers large areas of the open country.
Great Namaqualand is not so well
wooded or so well watered as Damaraland.
The kokerboom is a conspicuous feature
68 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
on the hills. North of Warmbad a bush
formation is encountered in the vicinity of
the dry river beds, with Acacia detinens,
Cadaba juncea, shrubby Zygophyllaceae,
Parkinsonia Africana, and trees of Acacia
horrida. Camelthorns {Acacia Giraffce) are
numerous on the higher levels. The Twa-
gras, or Bushman grass of the Karroo,
Aristida brevifolia, is a characteristic feature
of the vast plains. Even when dry this
grass retains its nourishing properties, and
a period of two years may pass before it
dies. The grey hills that border the Orange
River have only a few kokerboom and chips
of the Euphorbia virosa, and some straggling
sickly shrubs of Bauhinia garipensis.
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY
Chapter IV
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY
When first visited by Europeans, South-
West Africa was swarmed with game in un-
usual number and variety, and the land was
a veritable hunter's paradise. Lions were
a constant source of trouble to travellers
even long after the middle of the last
century. Elephants roamed the country
in big herds, and for some years, in the
'seventies and 'eighties, the trade in ivory
from Damaraland was considerable, many
thousands of pounds worth being brought
to the coast for export each year. The
black rhinoceros was common. The rare
animal known as the white rhinoceros,
71
72 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
R. simus, was also found. As stated in a
previous chapter, the first giraffe's skin
ever sent to Europe from South Africa came
from Great Namaqualand in 1763. The
buffalo, the quagga, and the zebra abounded,
and the ungainly hippopotamus could often
be seen plunging and splashing in the lower
reaches of the Orange River. But the
larger game has been steadily driven to
the north and the north-east, where the
elephant, the rhinoceros, and the hippo-
potamus may still be found among the
nobler South African fauna, partly as a
result of protective measures adopted by
the Government authorities. The Capri vi
territory may be regarded as the big game
reserve of the country.
Among the beasts of prey the Hon is still
found, but only on the lonely Kalahari
border, in the Kaokoveld, and in the far
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 73
north. The leopard, felis pardus, com-
monly called the " tiger," exists in many
parts of the country, and is not by any
means a pleasant beast to encounter. The
beautifully-marked cheetah, Cynoelurus pt-
hatus, is sometimes found on the eastern
slopes. The red lynx, fells caracal, the
Dutch " rooikat," with the typical tufted
ears and short tail, is fairly numerous.
Among the enemies of the stock farmer are
several species of jackals ; the powerful
spotted hyena, H. crocuta, the Dutch tiger-
wolf ; and the destructive African wild
dog. The wild dogs hunt in packs, and, as
they will pull down anything from a lamb
to an eland, they do a great deal of damage.
The antelopes are well represented. The
eland, the largest of all antelopes, roams the
eastern border districts, with the noble koo-
doo, sfrepsiceroiis kudu, the sable antelope,
74 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
hippotragus niger ; the roan antelope,
hippotragus equimis ; the fierce blue wilde-
beest or brindled gnu, connochoetes taurinus ;
the handsome orj^x, or gemsbok, oryx
gazella, and occasionally the giraffe. The
giraffe and the oryx have also been
observed on the western plains, and the
zebra exists in the Kaokoveld, north of
the Namib.
Large herds of springbuck, gazella
euchore, roam the inner plains of the Namib
and the open, treeless country to the east.
The Waterbuck, kobus ellipsiprimnus, is
found in the vicinity of the northern rivers,
while the little Damaraland antelope, nano-
tragus damarensis, may be seen at rare
intervals in the mountain fastnesses near
Omaruru. Among the smaller animals
are the fecund steenbuck ; the charming
little klipspringer, oreotragus saltator, the
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 75
" chamois of South Africa " ; and the soU-
tude-loving duiker, cephalolopus grimmi.
In the order Rodentia there are several
hares. The Cape hare, lepus capensis, an
animal a little smaller than the English
hare, is found both in open and forest
country ; the rock hare, lepus saxatalis, is
a little larger, and keeps to the hilly
country ; the spring hare, Pedetes capensis,
is really a rodent, and this pecuhar creature,
which hves in burrows, has a queer kangaroo -
like method of progression, using its long
bushy tail with great skill. The flesh of
all these hares makes good eating.
That strange creature, the ant-bear, or
Dutch aard vark, oryderopus a/er, which
lives entirely on ants and termites, is
responsible for a good deal of damage
caused by its burrowing habits. This
animal is confined entirely to Africa.
76 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Among other typical African animals are
the porcupine ; the dassie, or rock rabbit,
hyrax capensis, which very much resembles
the guinea-pig in shape ; and one or two
species of meercats.
The Birds
Game birds are fairly numerous. The
largest bird is of course the ostrich, which
runs wild in many parts of the country.
A considerable trade was done in ostrich
feathers from Damaraland for many years ;
shooting of the birds has been wisely pro-
hibited under the German administration.
Ostrich-farming has been attempted on a
small scale.
There are several species of bustard,
notable among them being the big kori
bustard, or Dutch pauuw, Otis kori, which
sometimes stands as high as 5 feet and
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 77
weighs 40 pounds ; and one of the lesser
bustards known as knorhaan, Otis ajra,
whose irritating, harsh craak is all too
famihar to the South African sportsman
when stalking his game. The guinea-fowl
represents the pheasant tribe, and these
fine sporting birds are very numerous in
North Damaraland and parts of Ovambo-
land. The so-called Namaqua pheasant
is really a francolin partridge, while the
well-known Namaqua partridge is a sand
grouse, Pterochirus namaquus. Soon after
sunrise the sand grouse are seen high in
the air in immense flocks, coming from all
parts of the compass to gather around the
vlies or pans where they drink. When
hunted in the veld they rise well to the
dog and provide excellent sport. It is a
much more difficult matter, however, to
flush the bustard or the guinea-fowl. Several
78 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
species of snipe and quail are found, but
they are not numerous.
The wild goose, or Egyptian goose, Chena-
lopex agyptiacus, one of the most edible
of the South African game birds, with
several species of wild duck, frequent
the watercourses. Herons, storks, ibises,
flamingos, and spoonbills are among the
wading birds ; the flamingos are often in
large numbers in North Damaraland and
Ovamboland.
Eagles and vultures are among the birds
of prey, with owls and several species of
the hawk family. The Secretary bird,
Serpentarius secvetarius, with its curious
quill-hke crest of feathers, may sometimes
be seen stalking in characteristic solemn
fashion among the low bush in search of
a little animal or a young snake. Those
queer birds, the penguins, with their black
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 79
coats and white waistcoats, thickly inhabit
the islands off the coast. The gannet, the
smaller cormorant, with the penguin, have
been protected by the Cape Government
on account of their importance as yielders
of guano, and immense flocks exist to-
day.
Among the smaller birds are the wattled
starling, Dilophus canmailatus, two pratin-
coles, Glareola melanoptera and G. pratin-
cola, all locust birds, which pursue their
prey high in the air, wheeling and dart-
ing and turning in wonderfully attrac-
tive fashion ; hoopoes, honey-guides, swifts,
woodpeckers, hornbills, and weavers. The
honey-guide (Indicatoridoe) is a most
interesting bird. Its intelUgence is as re-
markable as its pertinacity, and it will
give the sportsman no rest until he has
followed the twittering creature to the bees'
8o SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
nest. The remarkable-looking hornbills,
with their huge bills, very soon attract
the attention of the traveller. The social
weaver, Philetaerus socius, is famous for its
pecuhar nest-building habits. The birds
are sociable little creatures and live to-
gether in colonies of several hundreds. The
nest, really a bird city, is generally a huge
mass of grass and sticks, cunningly arranged
in a camelthorn tree, and is often as big as
a small haystack. A colony of 500 birds
may sometimes be found in the nest. The
entrance is from beneath as a protection
against tree snakes, and there are generally
several " doors." Inside there are a
number of " streets " and " compart-
ments," with individual nests in rows like
little homes on each side of a street. The
nests are added to year by year, and some-
times they become too heavy for the
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 8i
branches, with the result that the branches
give way and the " city " falls to pieces.
The Snakes
The reptile world is represented by a
number of exceedingly venomous snakes,
but fortunately they are not numerous, and
deaths from snake-bite are of rare occur-
rence. There is the ferocious cobra, one of
the most deadly snakes in South Africa, of
which there are several species. Anchietas
cobra, Nala AnchietcB, attains to an average
length of 5 feet, and the well-known Cape
cobra, Naia Flava, is about the same
length. These reptiles are as active as
they are venomous.
With the characteristic hood raised and
eyes glittering with fierce anger, an enraged
cobra is a fearsome sight. A couple of
drops of its venom are quite sufficient to
F
82 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
kill a giant. The Ringhals cobra or Spit-
ting snake, Sepedon haemachates, is not
quite so long as its cousin, but is highly
venomous and very ferocious when roused.
The name " ringhals " means " ring-neck,"
and has reference to the whitish band or
bands across the throat.
Not only has this reptile the power to
inflict a deadly bite with its poison fangs —
it is able to spit a stream of venom into the
eyes of a person standing some feet away.
Dogs and calves are often blinded in this
way.
The puff-adder, Bitis arietans, is an im-
portant member of the viper family. This
flat-headed, repulsive-looking creature, with
its thick, dark-brown body, is highly
venomous and exceedingly dangerous, as it
coils up and lies quite still in the open until
touched or roused. Although extremely
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 83
sluggish ill nature, it lunges with amazing
rapidit}^ When its warning hiss is heard
a hasty retirement is expedient. Among
the oth^r dangerous adders are the Night
adder, Causus rhombeatus, which lays eggs ;
the small Peringuey's adder, Bitis Perin-
gueyi : the queer Hornsman or Horned
adder, Bitis cornuta, which has two or more
erect horn-like scales over each eye, like
little horns ; the West African adder, Bitis
gahonica, which will bury itself in the sand
for hours, with only the head visible ; the
Berg adder, Bitis atropos, which keeps to the
mountain regions ; and the Oviparous
adder, Atractaspis bibronii, which is rarely
found, since it burrows in the sand after the
manner of the blind burrowing reptiles.
All the snakes mentioned above belong
to the front-fanged variety, which are all
poisonous. The back-fanged snakes are
84 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
more or less poisonous. These include in
South-West Africa the Herald or Red-
lipped snake, Leptodira hotambaeia, with a
speckled body, glossy head, and red upper
lip ; the Whip snake, Psammophis furcatus,
a thin brown reptile with a brittle tail ;
the Spotted Schaapsteker, Trimerorhinus
rhombeatus, well-known, too, on the Karroo ;
the small Damaraland many-spotted snake,
Rhamphiophis mtdtimaculatus ; the Dapple-
backed sand-snake, Psammophis notostictus;
and the Namaqualand sand-snake, Psammo-
phis trigrammus.
None of these back-fanged reptiles are
to be greatly dreaded ; they will rarely
attack a person ; but it is not wise to take
Hberties with them. Even a snake will
turn.
All the soHd-toothed snakes are as harm-
less as worms, and may be freely handled.
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY 85
Quite a number of these are found in the
country. The remarkable egg-eating snake,
Dasypeltis scabra, has a highly-speciaUsed
egg-breaking mechanism. A sawing ap-
paratus in the backbone serves the purpose
of teeth. The egg-shell is cast up after the
contents have been sucked down. There
are several species of the small Coppery
snake ; one or two of the House snake, of
the genus Boodon, often found near dwell-
ing-houses. House snakes can easily be
tamed, and they may become more useful
than cats, and much less harmful.
The non-venomous python is found
occasionally in the rocky valleys. Anchieta's
python, P. anchietcB, is the only species.
This reptile has an average length of about
16 feet, and kills all its victims by con-
striction. The female python lays her eggs
and then hatches them hke a broody hen.
86 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
The dreaded scorpion is also a habitat
of the country. Tortoises are found.
Swarms of the migratory locust cause much
damage when they descend upon the vege-
tation. Among the smaller but not less
troublesome creatures are the many beetles,
spiders, ticks, and mites.
In the coast waters the ungainly seals
have their home, and off Cape Cross they
are found in very large numbers. Whales
are not so numerous as in former years,
but several whahng stations are in existence
along the shore. Altogether, South- West
Africa has an uncommon variety of indi-
viduals in the animal world.
THE EARLY DAYS
Chapter V
THE EARLY DAYS
The only use of war, says a cynical writer,
is to teach geography. Certainly there are
many people in South Africa who a few
months ago would have been sorely puzzled
to locate Luderitz Bay on the map of
Africa. And how many are aware that
this islet-studded inlet is a place of con-
siderable historic importance ? It was here,
says Theal, that " for the first time Chris-
tian men trod the soil of Africa south of
the tropic."*
In i486 Bartholomew Diaz, the famous
♦ Theal's " History of South Africa" (1486-1691),
p. 2.
89
90 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Portuguese navigator, who was in search
of the way to India, stepped ashore from
the Uttle fifty-ton ship that had brought
him from the Tagus, and gave the bay the
name Angra Pequeiia, the Little Bay. On
Serra Parda, or the Grey Mountain, now
Pedestal Point, he set up the first of the
three stone crosses erected on the South
African coast. It stood there above the
dreary waste, a striking landmark, well
into the nineteenth century, when vandals
from the whaling ships broke it in pieces.
Fortunately, considerable fragments of the
monument were recovered and conveyed to
the South African Museum at Cape Town
in 1856.
For some 300 years after the landing of
Diaz, South-West Africa remained an Un-
known Land, and no one seemed eager to
venture into what appeared to be a most
THE EARLY DAYS 91
inhospitable region. Early in the nine-
teenth century a few whaUng ships might
have been seen ofi the coast taking heavy
toll of the many whales that abounded.
Walvis Bay, with its sheltered harbour,
became a base for the seamen, and from
the few Hottentots who lived in the vicin-
ity the men purchased their supplies of
fresh meat.
The first European to cross the Orange
River was one Jacobus Coetsee, who pro-
ceeded northward from his farm at Picket-
berg in 1760, with a number of Hottentots,
to shoot elephants. He hunted in Great
Namaqualand, and while there heard from
the Namaquas of a tribe of strange, black
people living ten days further north, called
the Damrocquas, who had long hair, and
wore clothes made of linen cloth. This was
the day when queer tales lost nothing in
92 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the telling. On his return Coetsee related
what he had heard to Hendrik Hop, a
Captain of the Burgher Militia ; Hop re-
ported to Governor Ryh Tulbagh, and
offered to conduct an exploring expedition
in order to seek out these strange people.
Tulbagh had a zeal for knowledge surpassed
among the early Governors of the Cape
only by the Van der Stels ; he readily
acquiesced in the proposal, and in 1761 Hop
set out on his adventurous journey with a
caravan of no less than fifteen wagons.
The expedition was well-equipped, since it
included a botanist, a surveyor, a surgeon,
who also acted as a mineralogist, and a
number of European volunteers, with quite
a little army of Hottentots. The journey
extended from July i6th, 1761, to April
27th, 1762. It deserves to be remembered
as one of the most notable journeys con-
THE EARLY DAYS 93
nected with early African exploration. The
result is the " New Accounts of the Cape
of Good Hope, etc." — one of our earliest
books of travel in South-West Africa, an
exceedingly rare octavo, pubHshed in Am-
sterdam, both in Dutch and French, in
1778. A German edition was published at
Leipzig in 1779.* The book is the work
of several hands : it contains, among other
things, the journal of C. F. Brink, the
surveyor, the reports of T. Roos and P.
Marais, two volunteers, on the native tribes
encountered, and some excellent plates
depicting such rare animals, as they were
then, as the zebra, the gemsbuck, the
koodoo, and the gnu.
The party crossed the Orange, passed
the hot springs now known as Warmbad,
* Mendellssau"s " South African Bibliography,"
Vol. I., p. 185.
94 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
pushed along the western base of the Karas
Mountains; and penetrated to the borders
of Damaraland. Some valuable prizes were
secured in the shape of several giraffes,
animals that were among the rarities at
the time. Governor Tulbagh sent the skin
of one of these animals to Leiden, the first
of its kind to be sent to Europe from South
Africa. Hop did not succeed in reaching
the country of the Damrocquas, as he was
compelled to turn back owing to the loss
of cattle and the failure of water. The
Orange River, placed on the map from
hearsay by the elder Van der Stel, was
now definitely located, and a fair knowledge
obtained of the sterile wastes of Great
Namaqualand, and the mountainous region
that lay to the north.
Lieutenant William Paterson, a gifted
botanist and explorer, next reached the
THE EARLY DAYS 95
Orange River; in company with Colonel
Gordon, the Scotch Commanding Officer
of the troops of the Dutch East India
Company, and Jacobus van Reenen. " On
the 17th of August, 1779," says Paterson,
" we launched Colonel Gordon's boat, and
hoisted Dutch colours. Colonel Gordon
proposed first to drink the States' health
and then that of the Prince of Orange and
the Company, after which he gave the
river the name of the Orange River, in
honour of that Prince."*
Up to this time the river had been known
as the Braragul, the name given to it by
the elder Van der St el. We owe a debt
to the gallant Gordon, who could hardly
have found a more appropriate name for
these yellow muddy waters ; and as Pettman
* Paterson's " Narrative of Four Journeys," 1789,
p. 113.
96 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
points out in his " South African Place
Names," this is the only royal name in the
place names of the period.
Le Vaillant next appears upon the scene.
This romantic and picturesque traveller
assures us that he journeyed " into the
interior parts of Africa in the years 1783,
1784, and 1785," leaving the house of his
friend Mr. Slabert, near Saldanha Bay, in
the middle of 1783 ; but, unfortunately,
Le Vaillant was much given to romancing,
and doubts have been thrown on the
authenticity of his journeys. That he
travelled somewhere in the regions north
of the Orange River, " in search of rare
birds and new hordes," " suffering much
from the reverberations of the sun," seems
clear from his descriptions of the country
and people. His many adventures make
delightful reading, and he was a wonder-
THE EARLY DAYS 97
fully keen observer of objects of natural
history.
The quest for gold next led a party into
the northern wilds. In 1791 Willem van
Reenen set out from his farm on the
Elephant River, accompanied by a number
of burghers, in the expectation of dis-
covering gold, about the existence of which
rumours had reached him. The party
passed the farthest point reached by Hop
thirty years before, and pushed northward
until they probably penetrated into what
is now Damaraland. One Peter Brand
travelled fifteen days further than the
main party, and was the first European
to come into contact with the mysterious
Damrocquas, the Berg Damaras. These
natives had the appearance of Kaffirs,
they spoke the Hottentot language, and
they hved hke Bushmen.
G
98 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
For some months the party remained
among the Damaras gleaning information
about the various clans. Game was abun-
dant ; they accounted for no less than sixty-
five rhinoceroses, six giraffes, and small
game without number. What was more
important to them, they dug up large
quantities of " gold ore," and transported
it with much joy to Cape Town. Their
chagrin can be imagined when they were
assured that the " gold " ore was really
copper ore.
But belief in the existence of gold north
of the Orange seemed to persist, as in 1793
another party left Cape Town, with Che-
valier Duminy as a guide, in the packet
Meermin, for a bay somewhere up the coast,
where a train of wagons, sent overland,
was to meet them on landing. The wagons,
however, were not at the rendezvous,
THE EARLY DAYS 99
so the Meermin sailed north until Walvis
Bay was reached. Here, in February
of 1793, the prospectors set up a stone
beacon, engraved on one side with the
arms of the States, and on the other with
the monogram of the Dutch East India
Company. Hottentots were found Hving
along the shore, and Peter Brand sought
their guidance for a trek into the interior.
He was away about a month; during which
time he traversed a portion of the Damara
country, and was somewhat surprised to
find an abundance of trees and many rich
grazing tracts. Elephants, buffaloes, rhinoc-
eroses, lions, and giraffes were numerous,
but there were no traces of the desired gold.
Pienaar was probably the first European
to penetrate into the country from the west
coast.
The early years of the nineteenth century
100 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
bring us to the beginning of the missionary
era in South-West Africa, and we now turn
to the missionaries who came to evangeUse
the heathen inhabitants. These men have
played no small part in the political life
of South Africa, and the dust of the many
controversies in which they were concerned
ought not to be allowed to obscure the high
value and romance of the early missionary
enterprise. As pioneers, explorers, geo-
graphers, no less than as philanthropists,
they have done a great deal for knowledge.
As early as 1802 the London Missionary
Society — that stormy petrel of African
Missionary Societies — had its agents north
of the Orange River. The brothers Chris-
tian and Abraham Albrecht were probably
the first Europeans to reside in Great
Namaqualand ; they founded a mission
station at Warm Bath (now Warmbad) in
THE EARLY DAYS loi
1807. Warm Bath was so named because
of the hot springs found there. Another
station was estabhshed at Bethany in 1814
by J. Henry Schmelen. Robert Moffat,
who was destined to leave his name in-
dehbly impressed on African history, took
charge of the Warm Bath station in 1818.
At this time Titus Africaner, the outlaw
Hottentot Chief, was at the height of his
career as a marauder and desperado ; a
cloud of dust in the distance was sufficient
to drive the peaceful tribes that lived along
the course of the Orange River frantic with
terror, since it might herald the approach
of the ferocious raider. Africaner came
under the benign influence of the mission-
ary, and a complete change of character
was effected in him. Acting on a sudden
impulse, Moffat took him to Cape Town
when on a visit, An immense sensation
102 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
was created. The people at the Cape
could scarcely credit the fact that this man,
once the terror of farmers and natives, was
a reformed character. Lord Charles Somer-
set " expressed his pleasure at seeing thus
before him one who had formerly been the
scourge of the country," and made him the
present of a wagon, Moffat's stay in Great
Namaqualand, though brief, was certainly
notable.
The agents of the London Missionary
Society were withdrawn from the country
by 1821, and the Wesleyans appeared on
the scene. With their early efforts is
bound up one of the most tragic stories of
missionary enterprise. WilHam Threlfall,
a young minister from Yorkshire, was
seeking an opening for philanthropic labours
among the Hottentots in the region of
Warm Bath in the year 1825. He lay
THE EARLY DAYS 103
down to rest upon the ground one night
after a long trek ; while he slept his Bush-
man guide drew near with two accomplices,
fell upon the defenceless man, and dealt
him blow after blow until he lay dead at
their feet.* William Threlfall is thus the
missionary martyr of Namaqualand. In
1834 the only European resident in Great
Namaqualand was Edward Cook, who had
charge of the Warm Bath station, renamed
by Cook Nisbett Bath, in honour of Mr.
James Nisbett, a generous supporter of
the Mission. He laboured among the
Bondelswaarts. Cook was the first white
man to take his wife into the wilds of
Damaraland. The two people had a most
adventurous journey northward to the
Windhoek Valley, to Gobabis, and then
* Cheeseman's " William Threlfall, the Missionary
Martyr of Namaqualand," 191 1.
104 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
across to Walvis Bay, and they actually
had their young children with them. Lions
proved a great source of anxiety to Mrs.
Cook. The following extract from Cook's
journal affords an interesting glimpse of
the amenities of travel in those days.
" During the night we came across a
rhinoceros grazing, the snorting of which
frightened our servant girl, who was riding
an ox. She threw herself off and ran to
take shelter in the wagon. The oxen,
being accustomed to be chased by wild
beasts, took fright at her screaming, and
furiously galloped off. Those who had
not heard the rhinoceros thought a lion
had attacked us, and the greatest terror
prevailed until an ox, getting his leg
entangled in the harness, fell, and the
wagon was stopped."*
* Cook's " Modern Missionary," 1849, p. 136.
THE EARLY DAYS 105
Sir James Alexander was the first trav-
eller to explore the country who possessed
the scientific attainments essential to ex-
tensive and accurate observation. The
Scottish knight journeyed slowly through
Great Namaqualand and Damaraland in
1836-7, covering, from the time he left
Cape Town till his return, a distance of
4,000 miles. It is rather surprising, in
view of what we have recorded, to read
in more than one " reliable resume of the
history of the country," that Sir James
Alexander " was the first European to
explore the unknown land." Even Francis
Galton assumes that Alexander was the
pioneer. Doubtless Sir James was proud
to emphasise the fact " that up to this day
the whole of the western region of southern
Africa to the north of the Orange River
has hitherto remained a blank on our
io6 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
maps," but it was hardly the unknown
land he imagmed it to be. Sir James did
a good deal of hunting in the country ;
he spent some time in the vicinity of Wal-
vis Bay; where the " climate was healthy
and good " ; he gathered a large number
of zoological and other specimens, many
of which were unknown to the world of
science, and he gleaned much useful in-
formation about the social condition of the
Bushmen, Namaquas, and Damaras. He
was the first white man to secure an ex-
clusive interview with the headman of the
Berg Damaras, who told the knight that
he had never before looked upon a white
man ; all his people had run away on
hearing that such a fearsome creature was
approaching. At Warm Bath Sir James
" set up his staff to wait for the thunder
rains," and while there " took the waters,"
THE EARLY DAYS 107
and thereby " set the natives the example
of ablution."*
For a few years after Alexander's visit,
Wesleyan missionaries occupied stations in
Damaraland, and the Rev. J. Tindall was
the first white man to reside at Gobabis,
although the Rev. Edward Cook and his
wife had spent three months there in
1840 ; but these stations were at length
handed over to the German missionaries
who belonged to the Rhenish Missionary
Society. With the entry of these men into
the country in the 'forties we note the
forging of the first link in the chain of events
which had its end in the establishment of
a German Protectorate.
Francis Gait on made a notable journey
through the country in 1850-2, in com-
pany with the Swedish naturalist and
* Alexander's " Expedition of Discovery," 1838.
io8 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
trader, Charles J. Andersson. Gallon pro-
ceeded from Walvis Bay through regions
hitherto almost unknown into Ovamboland
and arrived at a point within seven days
of Lake Ngami. He was much pleased
with the fertihty of Ovamboland and the
quiet, sociable disposition of the Ovambo
people. His " Narrative of an Explorer in
Tropical Central Africa" affords the fullest
description of the land and the people.
For many years the career of Charles J.
Andersson was identified with Damaraland
and the adjacent countries. He was the
first European to travel across South-West
Africa to Lake Ngami. This feat he
accomplished in 1853. He discovered the
Okavango River, and as a result of his
many hunting and trading expeditions
added much to our knowledge of the
country. His books of travel are richly
THE EARLY DAYS 109
instructive and alive with stirring inci-
dents.
The names of travellers and explorers
like James Chapman, Thomas Baines,
Frederick J. Green, bring us to the 'fifties
and 'sixties of the nineteenth century, to
what may be termed the closing days of
the No Man's Land era. The consideration
of the events which led up to the German
occupation we leave to another chapter.
THE LATER
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Chapter VI
THE LATER HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
The red tide of war surged backward and
forward over the land in the 'sixties, and
deeds of appalling cruelty were perpetrated.
The Hereros fought to secure their inde-
pendence from the Hottentots, and they
were at length victorious, but a guerilla
war again broke out in the 'seventies, and
the country was in a state of chronic
unsettlement. In 1868 the harassed mis-
sionaries connected with the Rhenish
Missionary Society, whose stations were
either plundered or destroyed during these
wars, sent an urgent appeal to the British
in H
114 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Government for intervention and requested
that the whole of Hereroland should be
" declared British territory, under British
protection." The appeal was backed up by
Bismarck, but the Secretary of State for
the Colonies was " unable to adopt the
German views on the subject." Efforts
were made, however, to restore peace among
the tribes by a special commissioner sent
up from the Cape. The matter of annexa-
tion was not allowed to rest, and in 1875
the Cape Parliament passed a resolution
in favour of the extension of the limits
of the Colony so as to include Walvis Bay
and as much country inland as it was
considered expedient to acquire. With a
view to ascertaining the feelings of the
native chiefs in Namaqualand and Damara-
land, Mr. W. C. Palgrave was sent on a
commission of inquiry. He was cordially
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 115
received by the chiefs, with whom he made
treaties which placed the country under
British jurisdiction, and he also arranged
that a European magistrate or diplomatic
adviser should reside among the people
at Okahandja. The missionaries were in
hearty agreement, as were the German and
Swedish traders. Sir Bartle Frere, the
Governor at the Cape, strongly favoured
annexation, and urged it upon the Home
Government, but all that they would agree
to was the acquisition of Walvis Bay with
some 400 miles of land around it. Formal
possession of this area was taken in 1878.
The Guano Islands off the coast, which
had enjoyed an odorous celebrity for some
time, had been annexed in 1867. Sir
Bartle Frere renewed his representations at
a latter time, but the British Government
still adhered to the opinion that it was
ii6 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
inexpedient to encourage any scheme of
extension of territory in South- West Africa.
When war broke out again in 1880
between the Namaquas and the Damaras,
Palgrave was recalled from the country
where he had resided for a time, and Major
Musgrave, who had been acting as diplo-
matic adviser at Okahandja, was removed
to Walvis Bay. This outbreak of hostilities
led to correspondence between the British
Government and Germany. In a memoran-
dum presented to Earl Granville by the
German Ambassador it was stated (and
the admission is significant in view of
subsequent events) that " since there could
be no question as to an independent
proceeding on the part of Germany for the
protection of life and property of its
subjects in those regions," it was the wish
of the German Government that " the
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 117^
British Government would direct that any
measures ordered or intended for the
protection of Hfe and property of EngUsh
subjects might be extended Ukewise to
the German missionaries and traders Hving
there." This drew from the British Govern-
ment the admission that " Her Majesty's
Government could not be responsible for
what might take place outside British
territory, which only included Walvis Bay,
and a very small portion of country im-
mediately surrounding it." That careful
note was taken of this reply is evident from
later events. ^--.
Meanwhile the Berlin Geographische
Nachrichten, of November 1879, ^^^^ printed
an article by Ernst von Weber in which
the writer had made a cogent and powerful
plea in favour of a plan for a German
Colony in South Africa, and it is not
ii8 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
without significance that, early in 1883, the
German Embassy pohtely inquired of the
British Foreign Office whether British
protection would be extended to a factory
about to be established by a Bremen
merchant north of the Orange River at
' Angra Pequena, intimating that if this
could not be done they would do their best
to extend to it the same measure of pro-
tection which they gave to their subjects
in remote places, but without any design
to establish a footing in South Africa.
This was rather a disturbing inquiry to
Earl Derby ; probably he called to mind
the reply given to a previous question, in
which a definite statement as to the extent
of British territory had been made, so he
immediately communicated with the Cape
Government asking if they had any prospect
of undertaking control of Angra Pequena
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 119
in the event of the place being declared
British. Unfortunately no reply was forth-
coming from the Cape for some months,
and the matter dragged on. But it is
evident that Germany was not idle : one
Vogelsang, acting as agent for Herr F. A. E.
Luderitz, the Bremen merchant, landed
at Angra Pequena, got into touch with the
German missionary at Bethany and Chief
Joseph Frederick, produced treaty forms,
and soon had the satisfaction of annexing
some 200 miles of land around the Bay.
In a report of an official visit paid to Angra
Pequena in October 1883, on behalf of
the British Government, by Captain Church,
of Her Majesty's Navy, it is definitely
asserted that " it was through the influence
of the Rhenish missionary at Bethany
that Herr Luderitz obtained this extra-
ordinary purchase of coast land." The
I
120 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
cession is dated 25th August, 1883. So
Germany obtained a place in the African
sun.
This action on the part of Luderitz was
keenly resented by British traders, for
Captain Sinclair had obtained on behalf
of De Pass, Spence & Co. a cession of the
coast territory from Angra Pequena to
Baker's Cove from the chief of the Bondel-
swaarts in 1863, and for twenty years the
company had enjoyed undisturbed and
undisputed possession of the area. Lude-
ritz, however, assumed proprietary rights.
Germany now made another move in the
game. In November 1883 the British
Foreign Office was asked by the German
Ambassador whether Her Majesty's Govern-
ment claimed any rights of sovereignty
over Angra Pequena and adjacent territory.
The reply was made that while Great
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 121
Britain only laid claim to certain specified
areas, any claim to sovereignty or juris-
diction by a foreign Power would " infringe
their legitimate rights," since the country
north of the Orange River had been viewed
as a kind of commercial dependency of
Cape Colony. But this did not deter
Bismarck, who had evidently resolved on
a definite course of action. Accordingly
he instructed the German Consul at Cape
Town to announce that Herr Luderitz and
his establishments were under the pro-
tection of the German Empire, and the
announcement was made on April 25th,
1884. Then the Cape Government woke
up. In the following month the Governor,
Sir Hercules Robinson, telegraphed to the
Home Government that " Ministers have
decided to recommend Parhament to under-
take control of the coast-line from the
122 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Orange River to Walvis Bay." Earl Derby
also seems to have been aroused about
this time, for in June he announced that
arrangements would be made for giving
protection under the British flag to any
persons, German and English, who had
duly acquired concessions or established
commercial enterprises on the coast-line.
In the following month the Cape Parliament
passed a resolution in favour of the annexa-
tion of the whole coast-line from the Orange
River to the Portuguese frontier; but the
matter had been too long delayed — the
prize had been grasped by other hands ; for
before the Cape resolutions could reach
England a German gunboat had appeared
at Angra Pequena, the German flag had
been hoisted, and a German Protectorate
formally proclaimed.
This was an act of state on the part
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 123
of Germany, for the territory was vacant
in the eye of International Law. Britain
had done nothing to enforce her claims
over the territory, though she had ample
justification. So early as 1796 Captain
Alexander of the Star sloop landed at
Angra Pequena and " took possession in
His Majesty's name by hoisting the King's
colours, firing three volleys and turning
over the soil." Unfortunately, Great
Britain had persistently neglected all
opportunities to place the matter beyond
reasonable doubt, so there was nothing
left for her but to acquiesce in the German
expansion with the best grace possible, and
a reluctant recognition was given to the
German claims, although European Colonial
opinion in South Africa recognised the
action of Germany as nothing less than an
unnecessary and unwelcome intrusion. An
124 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Anglo-German Commission, consisting of
Sir Sidney Shippard and a German repre-
sentative, was appointed to investigate the
claims of British subjects who had secured
concessions on the coast in the vicinity of
Angra Pequena before the German occupa-
tion and to discuss the interests of the
various parties involved in the annexation.
Matters were at length adjusted in a fairly
satisfactory manner. The Report of the
Commissioners was never published, twenty-
five copies only being printed, of which
twelve were sent to Berlin, twelve to London,
and one was retained by the High Com-
missioner for South Africa.
In a statement made to the Reichstag
on June 23rd, 1884, Bismarck said it
was the intention of the Government to
issue for Angra Pequena (renamed Luderitz
Bay by Herr Luderitz) an Imperial Letter
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 125
of protection similar to the Royal Charter
granted by England to the East India
Company. When defining his colonial
policy at a later time he affirmed that it
was not to found provinces but " mercantile
settlements which would be placed under
the protection of the Empire." The sub-
sequent history of South-West Africa
affords a striking commentary on what
proved to be a characteristic Bismarckian
utterance. Unfortunately, Great Britain
took the declaration at its face value.
Angra Pequena was but a starting point
for large extensions of territory, and Ger-
man eyes were soon turned in the direction
of Damaraland. When rumours of designs
on the country reached Cape Town, Mr.
W. C. Palgrave was sent to Walvis Bay
to make inquiries and to learn what
measures, if any, should be taken in order
126 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
to protect colonial interests and the rights
of Her Majesty's subjects north of the
Orange River. On arriving at Walvis Bay
Mr. Palgrave was requested by Kamaherero
to visit him at Okahandja, and there,
without inducement of any kind, the Herero
Chief handed the Commissioner a Deed of
Cession of Damaraland dated December
29th, 1884, giving *' our whole country "
over to Great Britain. Mr. Palgrave ac-
cepted the cession for transmission to
England, but the British Government sub-
sequently declined the offer and stated
that it would have no objection to the
extension of the German Protectorate " in-
land as far as the 20th degree of East
longitude." Was not Germany a " friendly
Power " ? Kamaherero then appealed to
the Aborigines Protection Society, and
stated that he had given his country to
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 127
the British in 1876 and in 1884, yet the
Germans threatened to seize it and bring
war and destruction upon his people. But
no help was forthcoming from Great Britain,
and accordingly in the following year
Germany seized the country.
These developments were viewed with
considerable pride in Germany, for the
early period of colonisation was charac-
terised by immense national enthusiasm.
The perfervid Pan-Germanists and the
sword-rattling Chauvinists fanned the flame,
and for a time the whole nation was
" Colony mad." No consideration what-
ever was paid to the fact that the
newly acquired possessions in South- West
Africa had long been widely recognised
as British commercial dependencies.
Small wonder that the startled colonists
in South Africa rubbed their eyes in
128 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
amazement at the displays of German
high poHtics.
Among the events which call for brief
notice during this period mention must be
made of a characteristic Boer trek which
took place from the Transvaal into Damara-
land in 1873. A party of farmers journeyed
with their famihes and stock across the
waterless wastes of the Kalahari Desert to
seek out a new home. They endured the
most horrible sufferings and their line of
march was a line of the graves of their
dead. A relief expedition went up from
Cape Town to their assistance in 1879, ^^^
some 300 of them were found in great
straits in North Damaraland. They sub-
sequently trekked into Portuguese territory.
In 1885 W. W. Jordan, a trader, at-
tempted to estabhsh a RepubHc in South
Ovamboland. He purchased land from a
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 129
Chief, cut it up into farms, secured the
co-operation of a few other Europeans,
estabhshed a Council and named the area
Upingtonia in honour of Sir Thomas Uping-
ton, the Cape pohtician ; but in the following
year Jordan was murdered by natives, and
the " Republic " came to an end.
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION
Chapter VII
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION
During the early years of the German
occupation the seat of Government was at
Otjimbingue, where Dr. Goering, the Im-
perial Commissioner, had a handful of
soldiers to assist him in the work of ad-
ministration. In 1890 K. von Francois
was appointed Commissioner and Military
Commander, and as the few troops in the
country had been reinforced, he proceeded
to seize the territory around Windhoek,
and two years later the first settlers from
Germany arrived to make their homes at
Windhoek, destined to be the new capital.
Francois set about the task of subjugating
lJ3
134 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the natives in typical Prussian fashion, and
apparently adopted a policy of colonisation
by the Mauser. In 1893 he stormed the
stronghold of Hendrik Witbooi, the Hot-
tentot leader, and the country was forth-
with plunged into prolonged and costly
wars. Even after Witbooi's defeat other
tribes carried on a most harassing guerilla
campaign. In 1902 the Bondelswaarts rose,
and in the following year the Hereros
revolted. The farms of white settlers were
devastated, and men and women were
cruelly murdered, but, significantly enough,
British and Boer farmers were not molested.
In 1904, General von Trotha, who had done
his utmost to suppress the rising, greatly
exasperated at the failure of many of his
" drives," entered on a campaign of ex-
termination. He issued a proclamation
in which it was stated that " within the
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 135
German border every Herero, with or with-
out a rifle, with or without cattle, will be
shot." The record of the period which
followed is a most sanguinary one. Thou-
sands of Hereros were destroyed, and
thousands more were driven out into the
parched desert wastes, where they died of
thirst, and where for several years after
long lines of white bones lay bleaching in
the sun, marking the track the stricken
people had tried to follow across the
wilderness. In " Peter Moor," a narrative
of the campaign written by a German
soldier, some significant sidelights are
thrown on the methods adopted in this
campaign. Dealing with one incident the
writer describes the foodless, waterless con-
dition of the country, and how the soldiers
stealthily surrounded a party of the
enemy, men, women and children ; and he
136 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
proceeds: " We then led the men away to
one side and shot them. The women and'
children, who looked pitiably starved, we
hunted into the bush." It is said that no
less than 40,000 Hereros were destroyed
in these wars.
Probably very few natives would have
been left alive in the country had von
Trotha been permitted to continue his
work of destruction, but the repeal of his
famous proclamation was ordered by Bis-
marck, and he was superseded by Herr von
Lindequist in 1905. Von Lindequist issued
a general amnesty to the Hereros, and
wisely set aside reserves for those who
surrendered. This conciliatory policy had
an instant effect on the Hereros ; but the
Hottentots continued the struggle until 1907.
The land of the Hereros was appropriated
by the Government and made fiscal domain.
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 137
The campaign was a costly one for
Germany, since it involved the loss of
many hundreds of lives and an expendi-
ture of some £30,000,000. At the height
of the campaign there were 19,000 Ger-
mans in the field, with a large number of
Dutch auxiliaries responsible for the trans-
port arrangements. , ^
There is no doubt that the main causes
of the native risings were the bureaucratic
methods of the colonial administration ■
and the behaviour of the white traders. ^
" Germany has nothing to learn from
England," said the colonial party's official
organ in Africa at the beginning of the
enterprise, '* or any other colonising nation,
having a method of handling social prob-
lems peculiar to the German spirit." Be-
ginning in this temper, it is hardly a
matter for surprise that their policy in
138 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
South- West Africa has been marked by
all the defects of the " German spirit."
They failed utterly to appreciate the
significance of the fact that England had
achieved her success as a great colonising
^ Power by adopting the twin principles of
\ liberty^ and diversity in her dealings with
subject or conquered races. With charac-
teristic arrogance the Germans proceeded
to apply the typical Prussian principles
of compulsion and uniformity to all their
methods of administration, and the " mailed
fist " became the most appropriate symbol
of German colonial rule. A ready-made
system of Prussian bureaucracy was es-
tablished ; Berlin and Potsdam had their
replicas on a small but exact scale in the
little settlements where officialism flourished,
and the cast-iron rules " made in Ger-
many " were applied to the peculiarly
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 139
flexible problems of colonial administra-
tion. The " system " was infallible ! It
had wrought miracles with home adminis-
tration. It had only to be applied in
Africa, and it would inevitably work the
miracle of colonisation. Little regard was
paid to native customs and traditions of
life. Officialism rode roughshod over the
ancient ways of Ufe, tribal laws, and native
susceptibilities in a manner that aroused
the keenest resentment among the people.
In a word the attempt was not to colonise
but to Germanise.
" We started with a wrong conception
of colonial possibilities," said Professor
Bonn, of Munich University, in a striking
address before the Royal Colonial Institute
on " German Colonial PoHcy," early in
1914. " We wanted to concentrate on
Africa the emigrants we were losing at
140 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the beginning of the colonial enterprise.
We wanted to build up on African soil a
new Germany and create daughter states
as you have done in Australia and in
Canada. We carried this idea to its bitter
end. We tried it in South-West Africa
and produced a huge native rising, causing
the loss of much treasure and many lives.
We tried to assume to ourselves the functions
of Providence, and we tried to exterminate
a native race whom our lack of wisdom
had goaded into rebellion. We succeeded
in breaking up the native tribes, but we
have not yet succeeded in creating a new
Germany."
Worse still, some of the officials sent out
were guilty of excesses and crimes which
left a most evil odour. There were not
wanting, of course, men who brought to
their posts a sense of public duty and a
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 141
high standard of personal honour, but
" stories of slavery, violence, cruelty, ille-
gality, and lust, committed both by officials
and planters, were sent home too frequently
by missionaries and clean-handed men in
the colonial service, who could not see these
things and be silent, and disciplinary pro-
ceedings at home generally confirmed the
imputations of report, and frequently proved
that the half had not been told." *
Among the traders there was little or
no sense of obUgation towards the native
races ; their policy was entirely one of
exploitation. No stronger words of con-
demnation of the ill-treatment of the people
have been written than those which have
come from German writers. At the time
of the Herero insurrection the Cross Gazette
* Dawson's " The Evolution of Modern Germany,"
P- 370-
142 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
stated : " Unscrupulous traders have been
allowed to exploit the inexperience and
the recklessness of the Hereros. The debts
contracted with the white traders had
enormously increased during recent years,
while villages had mortgaged their cattle
and their entire land with their creditors."
A white resident who wrote home from
Out jo did not hesitate to affirm that " most
of the white traders are said to have been
murdered, and in their fate one can only
see a not unjustifiable act of vengeance on
the part of the natives, who have avenged
the unscrupulous outrages and plundering
of the traders. The traders plundered the
natives systematically. Every one took
what he wanted."
Pastor Meyer, a missionary, stated that
" the traders took from the Hereros their
land, though they had paid their debts four
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 143
or five times over, since no receipts were
given, and 400 per cent, was charged."
In 1904, Herr Schlettwein, a Government
expert who has had the honour of being
called in to instruct the members of the
Budget Committee of the Reichstag on the
principles of colonisation, wrote in a pam-
phlet a characteristic German exposition of
the policy of " f rightfulness " as applied to
the colonies. " In colonial politics," states
this disciple of Nietzsche and Bernhardi, " we
stand at the parting of the ways — on the one
side the aim must be healthy egoism and
practical colonisation, and on the other ex-
aggerated humanitarianism, vague idealism,
irrational sentimentahty. The Hereros must
be compelled to work and, to work without
compensation and in return for their food
only. Forced labour for years is only a just
punishment, and at the same time it is the
144 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
best method of training them. The feelings
of Christianity and philanthropy with which
the missionary works must for the present
be repudiated with all energy."
These words are a sufficient commentary
on an emphatic statement made in the
Speech from the Throne with which the
Reichstag was opened sixteen years before,
when colonial enthusiasm was at fever heat,
when it was affirmed that it must be a
solemn duty of the Empire to " win the
Dark Continent for Christian civihsation."
The use of force as the method of civilisa-
tion has had its inevitable result on the
natives. In some districts it is not safe
for a German to venture to-day, and no
German settler who valued his life would
presume to make a home anywhere near
these areas without the protection afforded
by the presence of armed soldiers. There
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 145
has also been a steady exodus of Hereros
into British territory for many years, for,
as one of the Hereros wrote to his kinsmen,
" the land of the EngHsh is a good land.'*
The Ovambos were never conquered. As
recently as July of 1914, the Luderitzbucht
newspaper, the Luderitzhuchter Zeitung,
stated : "If you were to tell an Ovambo
despot in the far north that he was under
German protection, he would laugh himself
to death." The mailed fist is a poor
coloniser.
Herr Dernburg, the versatile ex-general
manager of the Dresden Bank, who was
appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies
in 1907, made a determined attempt to
cleanse the Augean stables of administra-
tive irregularity, and initiated many useful
measures of reform. In 1908 he paid a visit
of inspection to South-West Africa, and the
146 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
years which followed his tour saw consider-
able progress. There is something more
than irony in the fact that when war broke
out Germany was beginning to profit by the
lessons learned in the hard school of ex-
perience, and had peace continued, slow but
certain progress would have been witnessed.
On South-West Africa, in annual subsidies,
administrative expenses, and warlike opera-
tions, it is estimated that Germany has
spent nearly £50,000,000.
Ofhcialism has been the bane of the
country ; the whole system of government
has been altogether too elaborate and costly.
At one time every third male adult was an
official, and, apparently, the main occupa-
tion of these men was the compilation of
voluminous records of all that pertained to
the life of the civilians. Even the German
settlers have been moved to protest at times
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 147
against the petty restrictions imposed upon
them by the dominant mihtary caste.
Taxes have been heavy ; Uttle encourage-
ment has been given to the prospector ;
favouritism has been manifest in the appor-
tioning of land ; persistent attempts have
been made to Germanise the non-Germans,
notably the Dutch settlers, and the whole
population has been weighed down with a
burden of ordinances and regulations alto-
gether out of proportion to the needs of a
young colony.
The local government was vested in a
Council of forty members, which had
advisory functions only. The Governor,
appointed by the Kaiser, had the supreme
authority. Twenty members were elected
by the Districts, and twenty were nominated
by the Governor. All bills were first sub-
mitted to the Governor, and only such
148 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
measures as had been laid before him, or
suggested by him, could be passed into law.
Protests against such autocratic rule for
a young country were numerous, and many
appeals were made for a more representative
form of government, but all were in vain.
The " system" could not be weakened, and
the last of the German Governors kept it
inviolate to the end.
German Intrigue in Africa
The recent rebellion within the Union of
South Africa may be viewed as the culmin-
ating point of forty years of intrigue in
South Africa, for German emissaries have
been at work in the country seeking to under-
mine British authority since the 'seventies
of the last century.
"Would to God," exclaimed Karl Mauch,
the traveller and explorer, on his return to
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 149
Germany from the Transvaal in 1873, "that
this fine country might soon become a Ger-
man colony." A year or two later Bismarck
was urged by Germans in the country to send
a " steady stream of Germans through Dela-
goa Bay to secure future domination over the
Transvaal, and so pave the way for a great
German Empire in Africa." When in 1884
the German flag was hoisted over Angra
Pequena the perfervid Treitschke went into
ecstasies of delight. This was but a be-
ginning to the advocate of a greater Ger-
many. He postulated a " natural ten-
dency for a Teutonic population to take over
South Africa," and painted in rosy colours
a picture of a great confederation of
German possessions in Africa. South-West
Africa was regarded as a point d'appiii;
its real value lay in its proximity to the
coveted lands in the possession of the
150 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
" dis-affected " Boers. With his usual pre-
science Sir Bartle Frere saw the danger,
and warned the Boers that " the httle
finger of Germany might be heavier than
the loins of the British Government."
When the Anglo-Boer war broke out a Press
campaign was inaugurated in Germany in
favour of the " downtrodden Boers," and it
is highly probable that the Kaiser's famous
telegram sent to President Kruger after the
Jameson raid was not the impulsive mes-
sage it was thought to be at the time, but
part of a carefully planned scheme of con-
spiracy against England.
As far back as July of 1895, Die Grenz-
hotcn, an important political weekly pub-
lished in Berlin, wrote as follows : " For
us the Boer States, with the coasts that are
their due, signify a great possibihty. Their
absorption in the British Empire would
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 151
mean a blocking-up of our last road towards
an independent agricultural colony in a
temperate climate." The same newspaper
wrote two years later : " The possession of
South Africa offers greater advantages in
every respect than the possession of
Southern Brazil. If we look at the map,
our German colonies appear very good
starting points for attack." In the same
year the following appeared in the Kolo-
niales Jahrbuch : " The importance of South
Africa as a land which can receive an un-
limited number of white immigrants must
rouse us to the greatest exertions in order
to secure there the supremacy of the
Teuton race. The greater part of the
population of South Africa is of Low
German descent. We must constantly
lay stress upon the Low German origin
of the Boers, and we must, before all.
152 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
stimulate their hatred against Anglo-Saxon-
dom."
More remarkable still is the speech made
in the Reichstag by the unsentimental
Herr Lattman, when discussing the railway
line from Luderitzbucht to Keetmanshoop.
" The line," he boldly stated, " is not of
very great importance for the transport of
war material or for commercial purposes,
but it gives us the solution of a much more
important problem, namely, the position of
the colony if war should break out between
us and Great Britain. In this case the line
would faciUtate considerably our attack on
Cape Colony."
That a Pan-German propaganda has been
carried on in South Africa for some time
is now evident, and, as recent events have
made abundantly clear, the seduction of
men of " Low German descent " from their
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION 153
allegiance to the Union Government, was a
main part of the propaganda. Happily,
the majority of the Dutch Africanders were
too wise to attach any importance to the
specious promises of a Republic, and with
their fellow citizens of British extraction
they have played an honourable part in the
breaking up of the German rule in South-
West Africa.
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY
Chapter VIII
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY
The Native Races
The native races represented in South-
West Africa are the Bushmen, Hottentots,
and Bantu people, and they vary not only
in physical appearance and language, but
also in character and habits.
The Bushmen, so-called because of their
preference for places abounding in bushes,
were probably the earliest inhabitants of
the land, since members of this race roamed
the entire country south of the Zambesi
at a time of remote antiquity. These
people were nomads of a most primitive
type, and lived on wild animals, wild plants
157
158 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
and fruits, the roots of plants, locusts,
and even the larvae of ants. Small in
stature, yellowish brown in colour, with
queer, fox-Hke face, slender limbs, and a
language abounding in strange clicks and
deep guttural sounds, the Bushman did
not seem far removed from the animals
upon whom he preyed. The people lived
in small societies after a most primitive
fashion, with no religion, and no fixed
abode. Though incapable of protracted
labour, they possessed marvellous keenness
of vision and fieetness of foot, and could
travel immense distances in pursuit of
game without taking rest. Savages though
they were, they had artistic gifts of no
mean order : on the walls of caves and
the sheltered sides of great rocks in various
parts of the country there are found to-day
rude but spirited and clever pictures in
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 159
profile of wild animals, in red, and yellow
and black. But they have been so ruth-
lessly hunted down and destroyed by
successive intruding races, that these keen-
eyed children of the wilds have almost
entirely disappeared from the vast territory
which at one time was their exclusive
hunting-ground. Some of them Hnger yet
on the Kalahari border, and some thousands
of half-breeds are found in the districts
of Grootfontein, Outjo, and Gobabis.
How and whence the Hottentots came
no one can say with certainty. Some affirm
that their origin is to be sought in the
intermarriage of men of light brown or
yellow colour with women of Bushmen
blood, while others inchne to the view
that they came from. North Africa some-
where about the end of the fourteenth
century. Compared to the Bushmen they
i6o SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
are but recent dwellers in the land. They
called themselves the Khoi-Khoin, or men
of men, and they probably travelled slowly
southward and westward, dispossessing the
Bushmen of their lands here and there,
until they covered considerable areas of
the country. They were small men, but
greatly superior to the Bushmen both in
physique and intellect. They lived in
tribes under hereditary chiefs, but the
chief's authority was very limited. On the
whole they were a good-natured sort of
people, merry, thoughtless, and indolent.
Various tribes of Namaqua Hottentots
roamed over the southern portion of South-
West Africa for many years prior to the
German occupation. They had an abund-
ance of horned cattle, sheep, and goats,
and most of their rather frequent tribal
conflicts were about flocks and herds.
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY i6i
Their descendants have shown themselves
capable of adopting civiUsed habits of hfe,
and they have learned to cultivate the soil,
and even to act as rough handicraftsmen.
More pure Hottentots are found in Great
Namaqualand to-day than in any other
part of South Africa. When the last
census was taken a year or two ago they
numbered some 15,000. Until brought
under German rule, after the various unsuc-
cessful conflicts which they waged against
the Germans, they enjoyed a life of
independence.
To the great Bantu family, or Kaffir
races, belong the Ovahereros, or Damaras —
better known as Hereros — and the Ovambo
people, but there are well marked dis-
tinctions between these two neighbours.
The name Herero, it is said, is an attempt
to reproduce the whirring sound of the
i62 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
broad-bladed assagai used by these people
in its flight through the air. " The meaning
of the name Ovaherero," says G. W. Stow,
" is the men of the whirring assagais."
The Hereros migrated from the north or
north-east, and for some time they occupied
the territory north of the Namaquas,
Hving in communities under the govern-
ment of chiefs. Their riches consisted of
cattle, and they have always shown a
great reluctance to part with any of their
animals. Among early travellers they won
an unenviable notoriety on account of
their cruelty, filthy habits, and degenerate
tastes. In their conflicts with the German
forces they revealed remarkable and un-
expected powers of resistance. About
15,000 to 20,000 of these people are found
in the country at present.
The Ovambo people in the far north were
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 163
practically unknown until the 'fifties of
the last century, when travellers discovered
them to be a rich, industrious, and hospit-
able tribe, skilled in the working of metals,
and possessed of a real love for agriculture.
They live under a fairly strict tribal govern-
ment in large communities, and for some
time have carried on trade with the Portu-
guese ; they have even supplied such
articles as knives and iron pearls to their
southern neighbours, the Hereros. It is
estimated that there are at least 80,000
of these people in the northern territory,
while the total population of Ovamboland
and the Caprivizipfel may be anything
between 150,000 and 200,000.
The Bergdamaras, who for many years
inhabited the mountainous district of Wes-
tern Damaraland, constitute a fascinating
ethnological problem. They are Bantu
i64 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
by blood, Hottentot by language, and
Bushmen by habit. Whence these strange
affinities ?
It is probable that the Bergdamaras
were at one time connected with the main
stfeam of Bantu people that spread south-
ward over the country, but who by an
eddy in the tide were left stranded in what
is now Damaraland. Enslaved there by
the more powerful Hottentots, they adopted
the enemy's language, and at length
escaped from bondage to make their home
in the fastnesses of the mountains, where
no other means of subsistence remained
for them but that of the Bushmen. They
number about 18,000 to-day.
South-West Africa presents then a deeply
interesting microcosm of native Hfe, and
affords glimpses of the migratory move-
ments of the native people in far-off days.
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 165
There are the Bushmen, the descendants
of the aboriginal hunters who dwelt in
the land unknown ages ago ; the Hotten-
tots, who are the sons of the yellow-skinned
people that intruded into the hunting-
grounds of the pigmy Bushmen ; the
Bergdamaras, who probably represent the
pioneer tribes of the virile black-skinned
races that early followed upon the trail
of the yellow-skins ; while in the Ovambos
are exhibited some of the best traits of the
most advanced native tribes in the whole
country.
The number of natives actually counted
when the census was taken in 19 13 was
69,003, but the total estimated native
population, excluding Ovamboland and the
Caprivizipfel, was 78,810. A few thousands
of the Ovambos have been attracted to the
mines, but the Hottentots, Bergdamaras,
i66 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
and Hereros find employment on the farms
and as domestic servants. About 2,500
natives from the Cape work as labourers at
the diamond fields.
The White People
In the year 1880 the white population of
South- West Africa consisted of 300 trek-
Boers and 150 Europeans in Damaraland,
and a dozen whites at Walvis Bay : in 1900,
that is, six years after the German annexa-
tion, there was a total white population of
3,388, made up of 2,146 men, 452 women,
and 790 children. The last census, taken
on January ist, 1913, showed a total
population of 14,830. Including the 1,819
members of the mihtary forces, the males
numbered 10,147, the females 4,683, and
the children 1,625. There was an increase
of 250 women against the preceding year,
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 167
and this is a healthy sign, since it goes to
show that existence is becoming more
stable in the colony, and that social con-
ditions are improving.
The Windhoek district has the largest
population, as it claims 2,871 people ;
Luderitzbucht is second with 1,616 ; Swakop-
mund third with 1,463 ; Karibib has the
fourth place with 1,170 ; while Keetmans-
hoop is not far behind with 1,155.
The nationality of the population was,
of course, largely German ; there were
only 272 Englishmen, but there were 1,630
" other British subjects." The percentage
of other nationalities to the population was
very small.
There has been a slow but steady increase
in population since the close of the native
wars in 1906 ; but the increase is small
in proportion to the size of the country ;
i68 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
it should be noted, however, that the
many native wars have had a most unsett-
hng effect for years, and only a com-
paratively brief period has elapsed since
they were brought to a close. There is no
doubt that colonists will find their way
to the country in increasing numbers in
the near future, for the large areas in the
central region constitute a fine " white
man's country."
Up to the present the land has only
claimed the labours of 24 per cent, of the
adult males, while the commercial com-
munity has been responsible for 18 per cent.,
and " other professions " no less than
45 per cent.
It is evident that mining activities
have absorbed the energies of the great
number of whites, and that the farming
profession has not yet been brought into
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 169
the position of prominence that it must
have before permanent success can be
assured to the country.
It is somewhat surprising to learn that
of 2,368 adult females, only 1,761 were
married. Boj^s and girls exist in about
equal numbers.
The majority of the people are Protestants
in rehgion ; Roman Catholics number 17
per cent., while " other rehgions " claims'
2 per cent. ^ — -^
THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY
Chapter IX
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
COUNTRY
It must not be concluded from what has
been written about the blunders of the
colonial administration in dealing with
the native people that little or nothing
has been done in the way of developing the
country's resources, for many solid achieve-
ments stand to the credit of Germany.
While many and grievous mistakes have
been made, it must be remembered that
success in the difficult sphere of colonial
enterprise rarely, if ever, comes save with
experience. To provide in South-West
Africa a home for German emigrants and a
173
174 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
market for German trade, considerable
effort and large sums of money have been
expended, and that success is not more
marked is partly due to the fact that so
much energy has been devoted to warlike
operations rather than to the task of
colonisation.
For purposes of administration the
country was divided into fifteen districts
(excluding Ovamboland and the Capri-
vizipfel), Grootfontein, Omaruru, Out jo,
Okahandja, Karibib, Windhoek, Gobabis,
Rehoboth, Gibeon, Maltahoehe, Bethanien,
Keetmanshoop, Warmbad, Luderitzbucht,
and Swakopmund. There are no very large
towns in existence, but the few small
towns and villages compare very favourably
with those of similar size in the Union of
South African, while several of them are
considerably in advance as regards pubhc
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 175
buildings and modern improvements. The
principal towns are Windhoek, Swakop-
mund, Luderitzbucht, and Keetmanshoop.
Windhoek has a picturesque situation in
the best part of the territory, 180 miles
from Swakopmund in a direct line. As the
seat of Government and the military head-
quarters, it has long been the most im-
portant town in the country. About a
thousand Europeans resided here, and 800
natives. The principal thoroughfare is a
wide street nearly two miles in length.
There are substantial churches, a park,
a public library, a museum, Government
buildings, clubs, fort, barracks, a fine marble
monument to the soldiers who perished
in the native wars, and the inevitable
brewery. Houses nestle among the trees
in pleasing fashion, and there are many well-
cultivated gardens.
176 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Swakopmund, at the mouth of the
Swakop River, is the principal port, and for
some years it has been the busiest town in
the country, but it has a poor harbour,
lying as it does on the open Atlantic sea-
board. Immense sums of money have been
spent in order to provide good landing
accommodation, but Swakopmund has too
many natural disadvantages to make it a
safe and satisfactory harbour. Thousands
of tons of sand are deposited yearly in the
bight by the Benguella current, and the
pounding of the big Atlantic waves would
destroy any but the strongest and most
massive jetty. A new jetty was nearing
completion when the war broke out. Some
very fine Government buildings have been
erected, as well as hospitals and churches
and business establishments ; the streets
are wide, with wood-paved footpaths, and
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 177
the town has an air of solidity and neatness
quite unusual to a young colonial township.
But the natural entry into the country
is the spacious and sheltered harbour at
Walvis Bay, twenty-five miles to the south
of Swakopmund, which though undevel-
oped has enormous possibihties as a naval
base, and a port for the hinterland. A
good railway from Walvis Bay to Swakop-
mund will go far to solve the problem of
the future of a town which is a good monu-
ment to German industry and enterprise.
Luderitzbucht was formerly nothing more
than a dilapidated trading station for the
interior, but with the discovery of diamonds
in the vicinity the settlement grew into a
town with almost magical swiftness. It
had a white population of 800 in 1914.
Many substantial and even handsome build-
ings have been erected. The town has a
M
178 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
fine harbour, an electric power station,
a powerful plant for condensing sea-water,
and a good telephone system, but the roads
are merely tracks in the sand, and when
the wind blows; as it often does, the sand
is everywhere, indoors and out. Goggles
are a necessity for every one.
Keetmanshoop was the capital of the
southern territory, and was important on
account of its position as a military head-
quarters. The town is small, but well laid
out, and has a church, a Government school,
a number of hotels, stores, and some neat
residences.
Other centres of population, of more or
less importance, are Karibib, some 125 miles
from Swakopmund, a busy railway centre,
which has grown very rapidly since 1901 ;
Omaruru, about 150 miles from Swakop-
mund, with rich grazing lands ; Okahandja,
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 179
north of Windhoek, noted for its good
water supply ; Gobabis, the chief town on
the eastern border ; Grootfontein, in North
Damaraland, founded by Boer settlers in
the 'eighties of the last century ; Tsumeb,
the centre of the valuable copper mining
industry ; Out jo, a military station in the
Kaokoveld ; Bethanien and Warmbad, old
mission stations in Great Namaqualand ;
and Gibeon, the centre of some good farm
lands.
Recent years have seen marked progress
throughout the country, mainly owing to
the extension of the railways. It is true
that the railways have been built with a
view to their strategic importance, and
altogether in advance of the population,
but they have been a most important
factor in increasing the economical value
of the territory. A line from Swakopmund,
i8o SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
managed by the Otavi Mining and Railway
Company, connects the port with the copper
mining districts at Otavi and Tsumeb, and
is some 419 miles in length. It is of
approximately two-foot gauge. A branch
extends from Otavi to Grootfontein. A
second railway, managed by the State,
extends from Swakopmund almost parallel
with the narrow-gauge line to Karibib,
then curves south to Windhoek, from
which place it proceeds due south to Keet-
manshoop and Kalkfontein.
From Luderitzbucht a line of the stand-
ard South African gauge, 3 feet 6 inches,
worked by the Lenz Company, has been
laid to Keetmanshoop via Seeheim, so all
the important districts have been linked
up. A branch line, 66 miles in length, runs
parallel with the coast, from Kolmanskuppe
to Bogenfels, and intersects diamondiferous
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY i8i
country practically all the way. The loco-
motives on this line are driven by elec-
tricity generated on the engines. In all
there are some 1,400 miles of railways,
780 of which are narrow gauge, while the
rest are of Cape gauge.
Kalkfontein is 172I miles from Uping-
ton, in the Cape Province, and since the
war broke out the two places have been
linked up by rail as a result of magnificent
record construction work by the engineers
and men of the Union Railways. From
De Aar to Windhoek it is now 876 miles
by rail, and 1191 from Luderitzbucht to
Johannesburg.
Roads have been improved between some
of the larger centres of population, but in
many places they are nothing more than
mere tracks across the country. In regard
to the telegraph and telephone service, the
i82 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
colony is well in advance of many parts of
the Union of South Africa, since many of
the farm settlements are linked up with the
villages and towns, and many of the miH-
tary stations and poHce posts are similarly
joined. At Windhoek, a high-power wire-
less station, consisting of five towers, 360
feet high, was erected in 1914, to form a
link in the chain of stations between Ger-
many and her overseas possessions, stretch-
ing from Nauen to East Africa. Wireless
stations were also erected at Swakopmund
and Luderitzbucht. There are seventy post
offices in the country, and fifty of these
are also telegraph offices. The schools for
European children have increased of late,
but the medium has been compulsory
German, even for the children of the Dutch
settlers. Numerous wells have been sunk,
dams made, irrigation work undertaken ;
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 183
and it is estimated that in addition to the
natural springs, there are now 1,613 wells,
130 dams, and 59 water-boring holes.
The Windhoek district is favoured with no
less than 12 springs, 231 wells, 35 dams,
and 20 water-boring holes.
Trade has shown some advance, and
the traffic of the two ports has steadily
increased. In 1913 the imports were valued
at £2,171,200, and they consisted mainly of
foodstuffs, liquors, coal, building materials,
textiles, galvanised iron, and rails. No less
than 81 per cent, of the imports came from
Germany, while less than i per cent, came
from England, and about 12 per cent, from
British South Africa. Far more coal came
from Germany than from the coalfields of
South Africa. The exports for 1913 were
valued at £3,515,100, but the diamond
production was responsible for no less than
i84 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
£2,945,975. Other exports were copper,
£396,436 ; tin, £31,568 ; wool, £5,500 ; cattle,
small stock, meat, hides, skins, and ostrich
feathers. Germany received 83 per cent,
of the articles.
The finances of the colony show improve-
ment. The revenue, accruing mostly from
railways, harbours, and taxes on minerals,
showed a surplus for 1913 ; and in budgeting
for the year 1915, revenue and expenditure
were estimated to balance at £2,081,157.
Public works of some importance were
contemplated for 1914-15.
Minerals
One of the immediate results of the
German occupation was an influx into the
country of mining prospectors who were
eager to secure concessions. Mineral rights
over large areas were bought from native
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 185
chiefs, and prospecting was actively carried
on. The concessions were in many in-
stances transferred to third and sometimes
fourth parties, until at length the mining
rights of the whole country were held by
the following : The Deutsche Kolonial
Gesellschaft, the Kaoko Land und Minen
Gesellschaft, the South-West Africa Com-
pany, the Otavi Minen und Eisenbahn
Gesellschaft, the Hanseatische Land und
Minen Gesellschaft, the Gibeon Schuerf
und Handels Gesellschaft, the South African
Territories Company, and the Government.
For some years each of these parties kept to
its own laws, which regulated or prohibited
prospecting operations. The Government
recognised the need for greater uniformity,
and in 1913 the various companies, with
the exception of the South-West Africa
Company, entered into agreements with
i86 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
the Government. The royalties payable
to the different companies were fixed by
these agreements.
Next to the valuable diamond fields, the
copper mines rank in importance. The
rich deposits in the Otavi district were
known to South Africans some years before
the German occupation. They were worked
by the Bushmen, who quarried and smelted
the metal, using as a flux the ash of a tree,
and by the Ovambos, who adorned them-
selves with heavy copper ornaments. The
fine outcrop at Tsumeb was discovered in
1892. The Otavi Company is a German
concern with issued capital which has been
fully paid up in cash, of £1,000,000 in
200,000 £5 shares. The Company took
over from the South-West Africa Company
1,000 square miles of mining rights and
500 square miles of freehold rights contained
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 187
therein, in order to work the group of copper
mines in the Otavi area, but by virtue of
its shareholding the South-West Africa
Company holds an interest in the Otavi
Company of about 55 per cent. This
holding is the chief asset of the South-West
Africa Company. The ore mined is divided
into a high-grade copper product, principally
copper glance, which has been exported to
America, and lead ores, largely galena, and
low-grade carbonate copper ores, which
have been smelted at the mine. Since the
completion of the Company's railway from
Swakopmund in igo8, the yearly output
has averaged 36,000 tons. Other deposits
are found at Grootfontein, Grossotavi, and
Gochab, while recent discoveries include
finds in the Bobos Mountains in the Tsumeb
district, and at Okatumba, north-east of
Windhoek. The Khan mine has been
i88 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
opened up to a considerable depth, and
development work was proceeding in other
promising mines when war was declared.
Tin
Large deposits of tin ores have been
found, mostly in alluvial deposits, situated
in the neighbourhood of outcrops of peg-
matite and quartz, which occur in the
hinterland of Swakopmund.
Marble
There are immense layers of good quality
marble in the Karibib district. The quarry-
ing rights are held by the Afrika-Marmor-
Kolonial Gesellschaft.
Gold has been found at several places
in the South-West Africa Company's terri-
tory, and occasional nuggets have been
unearthed in the Neineis tinfields, but as
yet there are no discoveries of the precious
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 189
ore in payable quantities. Coal has not
been found.
Agriculture and Live Stock
There is a surprisingly small proportion
of the land of the country under cultiva-
tion, since only 13,000 acres have been
treated. Four-tenths of this total is in
the well-watered Grootfontein district, while
the Windhoek region has another three-
tenths. Meahes, potatoes, lucerne, veget-
ables and melons are the principal articles
grown, but a good beginning has been made
with fruit and tobacco.
There are 1,330 farms, and they cover
an area of over 32,000,000 acres ; they
vary in size from 6,000 to 50,000 acres.
In 1913 they carried 205,643 cattle,
53,691 wooUed sheep, 17,171 Persian sheep,
472,585 Afrikander sheep, 485,401 goats,
igo SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
13,340 Angora goats, 18,163 half-bred An-
goras, 15,916 horses, 13,618 mules and
donkeys, 7,772 pigs, 709 camels, and 1,507
ostriches. All these figures, with the ex-
ception of those relating to the camels,
show a considerable increase on the pre-
ceding year, and while they may be of no
value in estimating the quantity of stock
in the country at the close of the war, on
account of the inevitable slaughter follow-
ing on a siege, they serve to show how much
advance has been made in pastoral develop-
ment, in spite of the rinderpest of 1896-7,
the droughts of more recent years, and
diseases such as anthrax and lamziekte.
Great improvements have been made in
the stock since the German occupation.
The cattle owned by the natives, while hardy
and useful, were of little value as sources
of milk, and the meat was of an inferior
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 191
quality. Goats and fat -tailed sheep were the
other animals possessed by the natives. But
the Germans have imported stock of the
best quality and of every description.
Cattle and horses have come from Ger-
many and the Argentine, Karakul sheep
from Russia, merino sheep from Austraha,
and Angora goats from Cape Colony.
Animals purchased abroad by farmers have
been imported at the expense of the Govern-
ment, and considerable encouragement
given to stock-rearing. Much good work
was expected from an Agricultural Advisory
Board organised at the end of 1913, and
a staff of Government experts had been
collecting information on such matters as
water laws, fencing rights, and animal
diseases ; these experts were to have
assisted the members of the Board in
drafting useful measures. A Land Bank
192 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
with a capital of £500,000 was established
in 1913, and some advances were made to
farmers in the following year. The object
of the Bank was to supply the farmer with
capital at a reasonable rate of interest
under a bond which could not be called up
as long as the interest and other charges
were duly paid, and to provide easy terms
for repayment of the principal. The Bank
was also expected to assist in providing
fresh capital for effecting farm improve-
ments, making the increased value of the
farm security for the advances made, to
foster the establishment of co-operative so-
cieties for the sale of produce and the pur-
chase of certain articles in bulk. It would
appear that the first grants were made to
the farmers in one particular area, and the
farmers in other parts were highly incensed
at what they affirmed to be favouritism.
DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY 193
Shortly before the war broke out the Bank
was notified from BerHn that the proposed
remittance of one and a half million marks
for advances had been cancelled.
Among other industries are those con-
nected with seahng, guano export, whaling,
and brewing. The export value of seal
skins has averaged about £2,000 per year
for several years, but in 191 3 little profit
was made by the sealers on account of
the low price received for the skins. \Vlial-
ing has not yet been a great success. The
breweries at Windhoek and Swakopmund
have proved highly lucrative ; and they
have been successful in driving imported
beer out of the market.
Then it should be remembered that
much valuable research work has been done
in the country, and that the characteristic
German virtue of thoroughness has been
N
194 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
manifest in the systematic labours of such
men as H. Hahn, Rath, Schenck, G. Hart-
mann, Lotz, Range, Schinz, Schultze and
Rohrbach, who have done much for know-
ledge in the realms of history, ethnology,
geology, philology, and economics. The pe-
culiar problems of the country have been
most dihgently studied, and maps deaUng
with geological features, rainfall, vegeta-
tion, distribution of wild animals, etc.,
have been compiled with great skill and
most careful attention to detail.
On the whole Germany is able to give a
fairly good account of her stewardship so far
as the development of the colony is concerned.
Thirty years is a short period in which to
look for broad and beneficial results in a land
that has many natural disadvantages ; that
so much has been achieved is a tribute to
the patience and persistence of the settlers.
THE DIAMOND FIELDS
Chapter X
THE DIAMOND FIELDS
The discovery of diamonds near Luderitz-
bucht in 1908 was an event of great im-
portance to the country, and in view of
the value of the diamond fields, and the
powerful influence they have had on the
economical development of the country, we
shall give some account of their discovery,
probable origin, and the nature of the
mining operations connected with them.
There can hardly be a more dreary place
on earth than the strip of desert land that
borders the coast of South-West Africa,
and it is hardly a matter for surprise
that geologists tramped leisurely over the
197
igS SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
wind-blown sand dunes, making careful note
of the geological features of the country,
without for a moment suspecting that
the gravel beneath their feet was thickly
studded with the hard and brilliant little
"stones of fire" known as diamonds.
Somehow or other it is not the lot of the
geologist to discover gems and gold in
South Africa. A child playing with the
pebbles on a river bank ; a poor Dutch
farmer lazily sifting gravel through a
coarse wire sieve ; a prospector sinking a
well in search of water ; a kaffir shovelling
sand — in such unromantic ways have
Nature's chiefest treasures come to light in
this land.
One day in April of 1908, a kaffir working
on the Kolmanskuppe railway line, not
far from Luderitzbucht, picked out of a
shovelful of coarse sand a small, rough,
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 199
whitish stone that sparkled in the sunhght.
Little did the " boss " to whom he showed
it dream that in the tiny stone lay the
promise of an increase in the revenue of the
country of nearly seven milHon sterhng in
half a dozen years, and the conversion of
the tin-shanty settlement at Luderitzbucht
into a substantial and progressive Httle
town in the same period. But so it proved.
As luck would have it, the native had
worked in the De Beers diamond mines at
Kimberley ; he knew the difference between
a rough diamond and a white pebble. Had
he not received a substantial bonus from
the compound manager as a reward for
his honesty whenever he discovered a
" fire stone " in the blue ground and handed
it over to the official ? But his " boss '*
laughed at him when he said it was a
diamond, and told him to " get out ! "
200 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
The railway contractor, however, a gentle-
man named Stanch, laughed after another
fashion when the gem came into his hands.
He hurried off to Swakopmund, and there
sought an interview with the owners of
the land, the Deutsches Kolonial Gesell-
schaft. He came back with half a dozen
licences in his pocket which gave him the
right to peg certain extensive areas. It
was not long before little parcels of the
gleaming gems were in his possession. The
wise Herr Stauch is now a diamond magnate.
The news of the wonderful discovery
quickly spread, and before many months
had passed companies were exploiting the
gravel occurrences. It is amusing to recall
to-day the ridicule heaped on these " dis-
coveries " by financial and other journals.
The gems were " dolls' diamonds," " dia-
mondettes " ; it was " financial folly " to
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 201
pick up these little glittering, weather-
beaten specks. With a characteristic dis-
play of journalistic wit, one well-known
weekly affirmed that " he would be an ass
indeed to allow himself to be imposed upon
by such ' carats ' as these." But the carats
recovered last year, for instance, were
valued at the nice little sum of ;f 2, 945, 975.
The diamondiferous area is an extensive
one. It is a strip of sandy country near
the coast, from 2 to 12 miles wide, extend-
ing intermittently from Conception Bay
(100 miles south of Swakopmund) to Angra
Juntas, some 60 miles north of the Orange
River, a total distance of about 250 miles.
The strip is broken by a chain of hills and
rocky ridges running mainly from north to
south. In the wide valleys and depressions
thus formed, ranging from 2 to 3 feet
above sea-level to over 500 feet, the
202 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
diamondiferous gravel is found. The de-
posits are by no means uniform. Large
stretches of ground may not contain a
single stone, while a rich '* pocket " may
hold scores of the glittering gems. The
patch, too, that is so rich in diamonds
may have a surface view precisely similar
to that of the barren areas around. Such
freaks of deposit seemed to some of the
early prospectors to be the work of whim-
sical genii.
The precious stones lie among tiny frag-
ments of banded agate, red garnet, red
jasper, chalcedony, milky quartz, and sand.
The deposit varies in depth from 6 inches
to 15 feet. Over the mixture the furious
trade winds from the south rage for eight
or nine months in the year. A process of
natural concentration proceeds apace. The
light particles are caught up and whirled
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 203
away to the sand dunes, until in many
places nothing is left but the heavy dia-
monds and a thin layer of coarse particles.
Naturally, the little depressions here and
there, especially those on the windward
side of obstacles, have a good concentra-
tion of rich detritus. The gems are never
found in any quantity in the valleys that
run from east to west, but in those that lie
in the line of the prevaiHng wind.
The diamonds found in this sand are
peculiar to the country. They are wholly
unlike any other known African stones.
When in 1901 some natives professed to
have found certain small stones in the
alluvial diggings on the Vaal River, the
experts knew at once they were not river
stones. The boys had stolen them from
German South-West Africa. All shades of
colour are found among them, but the
204 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
stones of a clear white appearance, with a
barely perceptible yellowish tinge, pre-
dominate. Pale pinks and lemon yellows
are fairly common. Impure shades are
remarkably few, and fully 85 per cent, of
the gems are fit for cutting. They are said
to resemble the stones derived from Brazil.
In size they are small ; it takes six or
eight to make a carat as a rule, but a few
large stones have been found. One weighed
34 carats and another 17 carats. These
large stones, however, are very exceptional.
How did the diamonds get there ? That
these lustrous gems should sprinkle the
sand so thickly in this dreary region may
well give cause for wonder. Geologists
differ as to their probable source of origin.
Dr. Wagner, in his exhaustive work on
" The Diamond Mines of Southern Africa,"
summarises the main theories as follows :
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 205
(i) The diamonds were released by
weathering from the crystalHne rocks
of the basement system.
(2) The diamonds were derived from
the denudation of the primary deposits
of British South Africa, carried down
to sea by the Orange River and distri-
buted along the coast by the agency
of the Benguella current.
(3) A modification of the second
hypothesis, according to which the
diamonds were carried down to the
sea from sources believed to exist
within the interior of German South-
West Africa.
(4) The parent rock of the diamonds
lies submerged off the present coast.
Dr. Wagner dismisses the first three,
and advances arguments in favour of the
fourth. He concludes that they have been
2o6 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
derived " from a primary deposit, or from
primary deposits, which now he buried
beneath the sea somewhere off Pomona,"
as there is a steady — if not quite persistent
— increase in the average size of the stones
as one proceeds from north to south, until
the Pomona area is reached, where the
average weight is greater than anywhere
else. On this supposition the hghter
stones have been swept northward by a
strong ocean current when the coast was
still submerged. To this we may add the
statement of Dr. Marloth that among " the
prospectors who know the country south
of Prince of Wales Bay, the belief is quite
common that Pomona diamonds came from
some volcanic fissures that occurred there."
Kimberlite " pipes " and dykes occur in
the Keetmanshoop, Gibeon and Bethany
districts, but they contain no diamonds.
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 207
Dr. Versfeld, however, is of the opinion
that the diamond-bearing gravel is not of
marine origin, but debris from diamond
" pipes " which has been concentrated by
the strong winds. It is quite possible, he
argues, that the stones may have been
transported hundreds of miles, but he
recognises the futility of laying down hard-
and-fast theories. He ventures to affirm,
however, that the discovery of diamond-
bearing pipes " much nearer to the Luder-
itzbucht deposits than those at present
known seems well within the bounds of
probability." And with that pleasant
probability we leave the matter of the
origin of the stones.
All the mineral rights of the diamond
fields have been held by the German
Colonial Company, and their " sphere of
influence " extends for over 300 miles
2o8 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
along the coast and about 60 miles inland.
Six companies — each with a fifty years'
concession from the Colonial Company
— -practically monopolised the industry.
These are the Pomona Diamantminen
Gesellschaft, the Koloniale Bergbaugesell-
schaft, the Diamanten Pachtgesellschaft,
the Deutsche Diamantengesellschaft, the
Vereinigte Diamantminen, Luderitzbucht,
and the Kolmanskop Diamond Mines, Ltd.
The Kolmanskop Company is registered
in the Cape Province, and they have a
valuable holding of about 10,000 acres,
6 miles from Luderitzbucht.
The first stage in exploitation is rather
picturesque, from the spectator's point of
view. You plod up the side of a sand
dune and, on gaining the top, look down
into the depression below and see, perhaps,
a dozen natives crawling about the sand
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 209
on all fours as if in search of coins or gems
which some one has dropped. You watch
them. One man is using the fiat of his
hand as a scoop, running it slowly through
the sand ; another is " harrowing " with
his fingers ; a third squats on his haunches
native fashion and gazes intently at a little
heap of particles in his hand, while another,
by a hoarse exclamation, draws attention
to something in the palm of his hand.
These boys are " sampHng " the ground.
It is a laborious and most trying task
in the fierce summer sun. The top layer
of diamondiferous gravel is invariably
richer than any underlying deposit, so it
is possible to get a fairly accurate idea of
the value of the detritus by this primitive
picking, " Washing " tests are sometimes
made instead of hand samphng. Should
the boys succeed in finding a fair number
o
210 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
of gems, the second stage is entered upon,
This is very prosaic. The deposit is
shovelled into swinging sieves (the " babies"
of the Vaal River diggings, slightly im-
proved), set in a rectangular frame. The
sieve is swung backwards and forwards in
order to eliminate the fine sand, which falls
to the ground. The screened gravel is then
conveyed to the concentration plant for
further treatment. On some of the claims
the deposit is excavated by dredgers which
use large electric shovels.
The jigging plant — ^liighly speciaHsed
machinery — receives the gravel in capacious
hopper mouths, a process of digestion goes
on to the sound of much crunching and
groaning, the useless taihngs are thrust out,
while the diamonds are ingeniously hustled
into a place of security from which they
can be easily removed at intervals. Fully
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 211
90 per cent, of the gems in the gravel are
recovered in this way. Immense sums of
money have been spent on machinery.
Huge structures have sprung up on the
sandy waste ; and it is claimed that on
some properties the equipment is even
superior to that of the highly elaborated
plant at Kimberley. Certainly this lavish
expenditure on central concentration plant
shows a great faith in the future possi-
bilities of the industry.
Several of the mining properties are
linked up to Luderitzbucht by Hght rail-
ways, and the companies in the vicinity of
the town draw their electric power for the
machinery from the well-equipped power-
station at Luderitz Bay. Oil engines are
in use on the distant claims. The entire
coastal belt is practically a desert, and
the little water found here and there in the
212 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
wells that have been sunk is too brackish
for human consumption ; so water, both
for drinking and diamond-washing pur-
poses, is derived from the sea. Large
condensers have been erected on the coast ;
the water is conveyed along pump lines,
and also transported to the distant claims
by water-carts and in tanks carried by
camels. The pump line from EHsabeth
Bay to Kolmanskuppe is no less than
17 miles in length. Some 5,000 natives
and coloured men were in the employ of
the various companies before the war ;
the majority of the natives were Ovambos,
but Cape boys were found in large numbers.
The pay for the Ovambos was at the rate
of £1 5s. per month, with rations, while
the more satisfactory Cape boys received
£3 per month, with rations.
Working costs vary considerably. The
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 213
factors which determine them are : the
situation of the claims, the richness of the
deposit, and the scale of operations. In
the case of five companies, we give the
figures for 1913 :
Average
Value.
Pomona Diamantminen Gesell-
schaft - - - - -
Koloniale Bergbaugesellschaft -
Deutsche Diamantengesellschaft
Diamanten Paschtgesellschaft -
Kolmanskop Diamond Mines,
Ltd.
These figures compare most favourably
with those of the South African diamond
mines. The average cost per carat from
the Premier Mine, for instance, is lis., while
the average value is only 22s. But it must
be remembered that operations begin on
these fields at what may be called the
214 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
middle stage of the Kimberley activities.
Underground mining, flooring, and wash-
ing, in connection with the Kimberley
mines, involve enormous expenditure, so it
can readily be understood that the work-
ing costs of exploiting a gravelly surface
deposit will be, other things being equal,
considerably less than the mining of
underground diamondiferous rock.
The German Government derived a good
revenue from the fields, as they imposed a
tax of 66 per cent, of the output value,
less 70 per cent, of the working costs. Prior
to 1912, the heavy taxation and royalties
absorbed from 45 to 50 per cent, of the
gross value of the output, but the scheme
of taxation was amended as above. In
addition to the tax the Government en-
joyed a monopoly in the sale of the stones.
Producers were compelled to sell them
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 215
through a Government organisation in Ber-
lin, called the Diamant Regie, and a com-
mission of 2 per cent, was charged on all
sales made. On presenting his diamonds to
the representative of the Regie at Luderitz-
bucht, the producer received 12 marks
(a little less than 12s.) per carat on
account. He had to wait until the Regie
had disposed of the gems ; then the Govern-
ment tax and the Regie's commission were
deducted from the amount paid for them,
and the balance came at length into his
hands. Early in 1914 the Regie was re-
organised and came under the management
of the parties directly interested in the
revenue derived from the sale of the
diamonds. Half the shares were held by
the Government and half by the mining
companies. The Government also had
large interests m the Fiskus block of
2i6 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
claims, which during 1913 produced an
average of about 12,000 carats per month,
so even if the Government should make no
change in the present law in South-West
Africa, they stand to reap a rich harvest
from the fields. The areas owned by
private companies cannot, of course, be
confiscated.
In view of the fact that South-West
Africa may now be regarded as a part of
the British Empire, the probable Hfe of the
fields is a matter of very real interest and
importance. The experts differ, but there
is reason to believe that they will yield
diamonds in good number for many years.
There are some who fix the limit at fifteen
years. Writing in 1913, Dr. Wagner states
that " a long and prosperous career may
confidently be predicted " for the industry.
Probably they will last another twenty
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 217
years. It is true that certain rich claims have
already been worked out, but vast areas
of low-grade gravel yet remain to be ex-
ploited. It is estimated that no less than
£20,000,000 sterling worth of gems are in
sight on the 10,000 acres held by the
Kolmanskop Company. During 1913 areas
considered unworkable were dealt with at a
good profit owing to the introduction of
modern plant ; the northern fields in the
neighbourhood of Conception Bay and
Spencer Bay, which had been neglected for
some time, were added to the list of profit-
able propositions. It is not at all unhkely
that new deposits will be discovered. It
is believed that diamonds were found off
Pomona as a result of dredging operations,
but these activities were abruptly ter-
minated by an Imperial Decree. Diamonds
have been found on Possession Island and
2i8 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Halifax Island (British possessions for
many years), but the cost of the prospect-
ing operations, which was considerably in
excess of the value of the stones found, did
not encourage the Union Government to
follow up the discoveries. As the gems are
found along the coast and on the islands
off the coast, it is not unreasonable to infer
that they lie in the sand of the sea-bed,
unless they have been dropped from the
clouds. Here is an opportunity for an
enterprising syndicate. Then it must be
remembered that the war has seriously
affected the diamond trade. The market
will take years to recover. Even when
conditions swing back to normal it will be
some time before the market will be able
to absorb the existing stock of stones. To
continue working these fields at the rate
of output shown by the figures for 1914,
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 219
for instance, would be worse than folly.
Wisdom will dictate a considerable lessen-
ing of the output, and this, of course, will
have the effect of prolonging the life of
the fields, an altogether desirable state of
affairs, since the revenue may then be used
to develop the agricultural resources of the
hinterland. Whether the many German
shareholders will consider this wise or
pleasant is another matter. Up to the
present the main portion of the profits has
gone into Government revenue to pay for
the civil administration of the country, but
the bulk of the dividends paid to share-
holders has gone into the pockets of men
who reside out of the country. The in-
vestors, except in a few instances, have
had the satisfaction of drawing some fat
dividends. The Koloniale Bergbaugesell-
schaft paid out in 1912 the nice little
220
SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
dividend of 3,800 per cent. ; the year before it
was 2,500. The Pomona Company paid out
at the rate of 175 per cent, in 1913, while
the Kolmanskop Company paid 30 per
cent, in 1912.
Diamonds Produced in South-West Africa since
1908.
Year.
Carats.
Value.
Value
per Carat.
£
s. d.
1908
39.762
53.842
27 I
1909 -
519,190
704.123
29 0-5
1910
792,642
1.015,779
25 7
1911
766,465
968,418
25 3-1
1912
992,380
1,408,73^
28 4-7
1913* -
1,470,000
2,953.500
40 1-9
Total
4.580,439
^^7,104.400
—
The figures given in the last Consular
Report (1913) differ slightly from the
above, which are from Dr. Wagner's volume,
" The Diamond Mines of Southern Africa."
The Consul's figures are as follows :
* Of the 1913 production only 1,284,727 carats
were sold.
THE DIAMOND FIELDS 221
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
Carats.
39.375
483.268
867,296
747,152
985,882
1,570,000
The Consul also appends a statement
showing the output of diamonds during the
last three years from mines in the Union
of South Africa, and the sales of German
South-West African stones during the same
period. These figures are deeply signifi-
cant, and serve to show how important a
factor in the diamond market these stones
have become.
Year.
Country.
Carats.
Value.
1911
1,
Union of S. Africa -
German S.W. Africa
4,891,998
816,296
i
8,746,724
1,019,444
1912
>>
Union of S. Africa -
German S.W. Africa
5,071,882
902,157
10,061,489
1,303,092
1913
1)
Union of S. Africa -
German S.W. Africa
5,163,546
1,284,727
11,389,807
2,153,230
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE
Chapter XI
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE
COUNTRY
After a visit paid to South Africa in 1895,
Mr. (now Viscount) Bryce published a
volume of " Impressions/' in which he
made the following reference to South-West
Africa : *' Great Namaqualand and Damara-
land constitute an enormous wilderness,
very thinly peopled, because the means of
life are very scanty . . . the country taken
all in all, and excepting the little explored
districts to the north-east, towards the
Upper Zambesi — districts whose resources
are still very imperfectly known — is a
22s p
226 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
dreary and desolate region, which seems
hkely to prove of Httle value."*
That this was the prevailing opinion of
the country for many years there can be
no doubt to the student of South African
history, but with the development of the
territory by the Germans opinion has under-
gone a radical change, and it is now recog-
nised that South-West Africa is a valuable
mineral and agricultural country.
What is the future of the country to be
under British rule ? Herr Dernburg had
no doubt what it would be under German
rule. He regarded it as the most promising
of the German overseas possessions, and
saw in it a " potential Argentina or Canada,"
and anticipated the day when the " tide
of immigration will turn thither from the
* Bryce, " Impressions of South Africa," p. 2)7 •
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 227
channels which in the past depleted the
home country, without helping towards
the consolidation of a new Germany
abroad," and he points to the day when
" 3,000,000 cattle and 10,000,000 sheep
will pasture upon its vast inland prairies."
But according to his critics Herr Dernburg
was a colonial enthusiast who " juggled
with milHons and balanced himself with
percentages." One has more than a suspi-
cion that he was in the habit of holding out
to his countrymen brilliant pictures of a
prosperous colonial empire in the effort to
keep warm the colonial breast. His favourite
story is "of a box of dates that was lost
several years ago on the way, and now
offers to the sight of the wandering traveller
date palms 10 feet high bearing fruit."
Dr. Karl Peters, on the other hand,
roundly affirms that South-West Africa
228 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
" does not equal the poorest part of South
Africa." But while Herr Dernburg is prob-
ably guilty of over-adulation, Dr. Karl
Peters is certainly at the opposite extreme
of undue depreciation. South-West Africa
is not a land of milk and honey ; and there
is no immediate prospect that it will be-
come a Canada or a second edition of the
Rand. The many German Commissioners
who have carefully investigated the natural
conditions of the colony have held out no
briUiant hopes of a colonial Atlanta ; they
have simply described a possible land of
settlement in which some thousands of white
settlers may live in health and comparative
prosperity, and this is an eminently reason-
able view of the country.
The three great natural sources of wealth
in the country are : minerals, pasture land,
and agricultural land.
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 229
The mineral wealth is the most con-
siderable source of prosperity, and is
Hkely to exercise a most important influence
on the immediate future of the colony.
The diamond fields will not be exhausted,
perhaps, for another twenty years ; and
should there be a considerable restriction
of the output on resuming operations, as
is likely, the fields may be a source of
wealth for a much longer period. Develop-
ment work in the existing copper mines
has greatly improved the prospects of the
mining companies, since the continuity of
the ore to greater depths has been definitely
proved. It has also been ascertained that
the copper ores in the Otavi Valley belong
to the same formation as the rich Tsumeb
occurrence, and there is reason to hope
that the Otavi Valley mines will prove
payable to greater depths and that fresh
230 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
mines may be opened up between the Otavi
Valley and Tsumeb. The Khan mine,
which is now connected to the Otavi rail-
way by a branch line, has lately been
equipped with up-to-date machinery, includ-
ing a powerful concentration plant, and
this mine is certain to be a factor of im-
portance in the industry. Other discoveries
go to show that for many years to come
South-West Africa will export copper in
large quantities.
"The copper - bearing 'quartz mica
diorite ' of O'okiep (Little Namaqualand)
has not yet been discovered," says Dr.
Versfeld, who has made a close study of
the geology of Southern Namaqualand,
" but the possibilities are very much in
favour of this rock being found."
Increase in the tin and marble production
may be anticipated, while the galena and
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 231
wolfram deposits in the area of the South
African Territories Company, and the iron
ore deposits in Kaokoland, still await
development. Mica will probably be a
payable proposition in Southern Namaqua-
land before long. Hopes are entertained
by prospectors that gold will be found in
payable quantities, but a dearth of capital
and official restrictions have prevented the
thorough investigation of many promising
deposits. Dr. Versfeld is of the opinion
that it is not Ukely that gold will be found
in the primary formation in Great Nama-
qualand, as he had examined numerous
quartz reefs and conglomerates and found
them particularly poor in that metal, but,
he writes, " there is every possibility of
valuable deposits of minerals being dis-
covered, particularly in the Great and
Little Karas Mountains, which are the
232 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
contact zones between intrusive plutonic
and volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks."*
The possibility of finding coal, however,
seems to grow more remote, though the
formation of the country is analogous to
that of the Cape Province.
The concessions system does not seem
to have been the success it was anticipated
to be, since of the eight companies with an
original total capital of about £4,300,000,
six companies appear to have spent about
£400,000, half of which represented a loss
from which no benefit accrued to the colony.
With an efficient and sympathetic adminis-
tration capital should be attracted to the
country ; a rich mineral treasure house
may then be unlocked. There are vast
areas in Ovamboland which have not even
* South African Journal of Science, March, 1915.
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 233
been prospected in the most cursory
fashion.
Dr. Paul Rohrbach, the Imperial Emi-
gration Commissioner, in " Die Deutschen
Kolonien " (1914), expects much from the
mineral wealth of the country. With only
the diamond fields and the copper mines
of Otavi and Tsumeb in operation, he
finds the prospect distinctly encouraging,
and in the likely event of other large
deposits of valuable minerals being dis-
covered, he anticipates that a strong
development would set in. Even if no
extraordinary discoveries are made he is
convinced that the total value of the
imports will be easily doubled in the course
of the next decade.
Herr Grotefeld, in " Under Kolonial-
wesen," describes the trackless wildernesses
of sand in the coastal regions, and the
234 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
desolate nature of some parts of the country,
but he states that the colony will be able
to support a large mining population, and
he admits that the mountains are " rich
mineral treasure houses."
As a stock-raising country South-West
Airica has great possibihties. Dr. Rohr-
bach writes : *' In spite of the varied nature
of the land, from the Orange River in the
south to the Kunene in the north, and from
the Namib in the west to the Kalahari
in the east, its vegetation and conformation
are those of a sub-tropical steppe and
grazing country, which is marked out by
Nature herself for cattle raising. Herr
Hermann, in '' Viehacht und Bodenkultur
in Deutsch Sud-West Africa " (1914),
confirms this estimate, and states that
" the whole country is open to cattle
breeders. Every blade of grass, every leaf,
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 235
every shoot possesses unusual nourishing
properties. This is proved by the fat,
good condition and strength of cattle,
mules, horses, etc., fed on this dry but
extraordinarily nourishing fodder, even after
a ten months' drought. One district is
best for cattle breeding, another for small
stock, and yet another for horse raising, but
cattle can be bred everywhere, and even
the most desolate, desert-Hke districts can
be turned to account by grazing the cattle
over a large area."
After thorough examination of the terri-
tory Dr. Rohrbach estimated that the
grazing land was equal in area to that of
the German Empire in Europe, and capable
of carrying 3,000,000 head of cattle and
2,000,000 sheep and goats.
But although large areas may be suitable
for hve stock it must be remembered that
236 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
this does not by any means imply a large
population. The pasturage is thin, droughts
are frequent, and small farms are practic-
ally useless. A farm capable of giving
any adequate return should be at least
20,000 acres in extent. Two or three white
men on such a farm would be quite able
to attend to the stock with the help of a
few natives. South-West Africa is not
a country for close settlement, and the
efforts made to start settlers near the
towns with small farms have not been
attended with much success. An inquiring
would-be colonist was told by the emigra-
tion department of the German Colonial
Society that " in South- West Africa, which
is chiefly suited for cattle breeding, at
least £i,ooo or £1,250 has hitherto been
regarded as necessary." It may be urged
that Boer settlers with considerably less
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 237
than £1,000 have found it profitable to
take up farming in the country, but none
the less the small farmer is not likely to
find much success in the colony. When
" carefully developed," Dr. Rohrbach
estimates that the country will be able to
maintain a population of several hundred
thousand European settlers, but in making
this estimate Dr. Rohrbach would appear
to be slightly infected with the rosy optim-
ism of Herr Dernburg.
The Karakul fur industry is likely to
prove an asset of increasing value. Karakul
sheep, which supply the ** Persian " lamb
fur, or the curly black Karakul, were first
imported into the country from Bokhara
in 1907, and they have been bred on a
Government farm near Windhoek with
most satisfactory results.
The Karakul has been crossed with the
238 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
Afrikander, and many thousands of the half-
bred animals are now in existence. On
the heights of Damaraland and Namaqua-
land the Karakuls find most congenial
cUmatic conditions, and they seem to
thrive on the pasturage of the country.
Sample skins sent to Europe have sold
for as much as £2 ; but it is stated that
the industry can be carried on at a profit
if the skins reahse from los. to 15s. each.
The mutton of these animals is of a superior
kind.
It may be predicted with safety that
frozen meat will be one of the chief exports
in the coming years. Walvis Bay is com-
paratively near to Europe, and with a direct
steamship service to British ports, it will
be possible to establish a lucrative industry
in slaughtered cattle and sheep. Germany
was hoping to profit considerably by the
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 239
development of the pastoral lands of the
territory, but the stream will now be
diverted to Great Britain and the Union
of South Africa.
The third source of wealth is the agricul-
tural lands. As already stated, there are
only 13,000 acres under cultivation, and
this fact is explained by the dryness of the
chmate. The rainfall is too scanty, and
the soil of too sandy a nature, to permit
of extensive cultivation without artificial
aids. Much might be done by the intro-
duction of improved methods of farming
and by means of irrigation, since the soil
is amazingly fertile. Dr. Rohrbach main-
tains that the land is much better and more
fertile than most parts of Cape Colony.
The rich silt lands of the Kuisip River,
and the alluvial loams of the Kuisip Valley,
for instance, wait for exploitation by the
240 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
man who will tap the underground stores
of water and send them out over the fertile
tracts. A good start has been made in
this connection by some of the farmers
in the northern districts, and further devel-
opments may be anticipated.
It is significant that owing to drought the
crops of 1913 were a total failure, with the
exception — and the exception is important —
of those under irrigation. There should
be no great difficulty in the way of develop-
ing the water supply, since the country
seems to have a good supply of under-
ground water. Even in the Kalahari nine
artesian wells were struck last year by
boring in the valley of the Auob River.
Fresh boreholes have developed an ample
supply for the town of Windhoek, with more
than sufficient to meet the need for an
underground drainage system. The two
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 241
perennial streams of the country — the
Kunene and the Orange — are of Httle
economic value, since the channels are
too deep to serve the purposes of extensive
irrigation. According to the report made in
1913 of the irrigation possibilities along
the banks of the Orange, by Mr. A. D. Lewis,
the Government engineer, the irrigable
patches found here and there on the northern
bank are less than 3,000 morgen ; there
are about 4,000 morgen on the south
bank. Until wells are dug, dams made,
large irrigation works executed, and markets
for produce opened up, agriculture will play
only a subordinate part in South-West
African industry, and the energies of the
whites will be devoted to the exploitation
of the mineral wealth and the raising of
cattle and sheep.
The progress of the country has been
242 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
retarded by a shortage of native labour.
Some farmers affirm that they can make
no progress whatever owing to the scarcity
and unreliability of native workmen, but,
as the ex-Consul shrewdly observes in his
last Report on the Trade of German South-
West Africa (1913), " As a rule a farmer
who knows how to manage his servants and
understands their limitations has no diffi-
culty in getting his work done. On some
farms there are sufficient labourers for every
emergency, while on others there are a few
dissatisfied servants, who take the first
opportunity they can of changing their
master."
The difficulty of obtaining labour has
hampered the exploitation of the mineral
resources of the colony, and during recent
years Cape boys have been imported
in considerable numbers. The Germans,
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 243
however, have only themselves to blame for
this shortage, as in decimating the Hereros
they destroyed the best material for
developing the resources of the country.
Forced labour was tried with the Herero
and Hottentot captives after the wars,
and even in 1913 the poHce were kept busy
collecting stray natives and apportioning
them to masters in need of servants.
Efforts have been made by the mining
authorities lately to attract more labourers
from Ovamboland by effecting improve-
ments in respect to the feeding, clothing,
housing, and transport of men, and in the
hospital arrangements, and the standard
wage has been raised 25 per cent. With
a more sympathetic administration and
an influx of settlers who understand the
native, the problem of the native labour
supply might find a partial solution, but
244 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
it will probably continue to be a source of
anxiety for some time to come. In many parts
of the Union of South Africa the farmers
are confronted with a similar difficulty.
Will South- West Africa ever become a
manufacturing country ? Certainly there
is no prospect of it at present. The requis-
ites for producing manufactured articles,
such as a big market, cheap sources of
mechanical power, and cheap and efficient
labour, are all wanting, and they are not
likely to be available, at any rate in the
present generation. Such demand for
manufactured goods as there is can easily
be met by importation from Europe.
The lack of a good port has been a draw-
back to German enterprise, but Walvis
Bay will now take its proper place as the
natural harbour of the country, and its
importance is certain to grow.
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 245
In regard to the immediate future of the
country, Mr. A. Wyatt Tilby has suggested
recently in the Nineteenth Century that the
land required by the Union Government of
South Africa for the bijwoners or " poor
whites " lies now at the very door of the
Union in Namaqualand and Damaraland.
But as we have shown, this is not the
country for the small farmer. Very sub-
stantial help would have to be forthcoming
from the Government before the unenter-
prising bijwoners could make a living out
of the soil. Many parts of South Africa
are far more suitable for close settlement
schemes than Namaqualand and Damara-
land. Germany made many efforts to get
the right kind of settler into the country.
To the 22,000 soldiers who took part in the
native wars the Government made an offer
of £300 to each man who wished to estabUsh
R
246 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
himself as a farmer in the colony. Only
5 per cent, remained.
Experience has shown that no sckeme
of colonisation has much chance of suc-
cess by which men are bribed to become
settlers : it is only by making it worth
their while to settle, by affording encourage-
ment to energy, initiative and resource,
that the right stamp of men are attracted.
To sum up the facts then and state our
conclusions ; South-West Africa is a country
rich in mineral wealth, that needs exploita-
tion ; it is a fine grazing country that
will carry hundreds of thousands of cattle ;
it is a comparatively poor agricultural
land, whose principal need is irrigation ;
and it shows no sign of becoming a manu-
facturing country even on a small scale.
The white population will remain scanty
in proportion to the area of the country.
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 247
That in the course of the next twenty-
five years it will become the home of
25,000 white families is as much as a
reasoned optimism can expect. The in-
trusion of the unexpected in the shape of
a discovery of valuable minerals in payable
quantities would, of course, upset our
calculations, but all that we can do is to
point out the probable result of present
conditions.
A word may be added about the disposal
of the country. Sir Harry H. Johnston
has raised the question in a recent article
contributed to the Edinburgh Review. He
expresses the opinion that " at the present
time it would not be advisable unduly to
increase the area under the Union Govern-
ment of South Africa where it embraces
a large native population," since " the
British and Dutch colonists of temperate
248 SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
South Africa are unwilling to concede to
their black and brown fellow-countrymen
that equality before the law which England
with her larger imperial experience regards
as the necessary basis of peaceful govern-
ment " ; so he suggests that the "more
negro portions of which are Ovamboland
and northern Damaraland," should, " at
any rate for the present, either be governed
by the Administrator of Rhodesia or by
some other British official appointed from
London."
Without going into the matter of the
fitness of the people to govern the natives,
it can hardly be expected that South
Africans would view such a proposal with
equanimity should it be made with any
seriousness. To South Africa was given the
task of conquering the territory, and in
addition to the fact that the country will
THE ECONOMIC FUTURE 249
appropriately " round off the Union,"
powerful sentimental considerations will
have to be taken into account. A country
in which Afrikanders have fallen in war
and have been buried will have more than
a material value in the eyes of Africa's
sons. For the first time in history British
and Dutch have fought side by side on
African soil to overthrow the common
enemy, and the land won amid such con-
ditions will always have peculiar value to
those who have made sacrifices to secure
it. No : South-West Africa must drop
into its natural place as an integral part
of the Union of South Africa.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
History and General Description
History of South Africa.
Theal, Dr.
1796.
Second Voyage.
Le Vaillanf, Francois.
1838.
Expedition of Discovery.
Alexander, Sir James.
1840.
Memorials of South Africa.
Shaw, Barnabas.
1849.
The Modern Missionary.
Missionary Labours and Scenes
in South Africa.
Cook, Edward.
Moffat, Robt.
1852.
Interior of South Africa.
Gallon, Francis.
1853-
Tropical South Africa.
Gallon, Francis.
1855-
Explorations in South Africa.
Andersson, C. J.
1856.
Great Namaqualand.
Tindall, Htnry.
1858.
Travel and Adventure in
Ovarapoland.
Andersson, C. J.
i860.
Travels in the Interior of South
Africa.
Chapman, James.
i860.
Journey to Ovampoland.
Green, Fred. J.
1883.
Great Namaqualand.
Ridsdale, Benj.
1891,
Deutsch-Siidwest Afrika.
Schinx, Hans.
1896.
Nama and Daniara.
Francois, Hugo von.
1903.
Deutsch-Siidwest Afrika.
Dove, Karl.
1905.
Between Cape Town and
Loanda.
Gibson, Alan.
1907.
Siidwestafrika.
Rohrbach, P.
1908.
Deutsch-Siidwestafrika.
350
Leutwin, T.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
251
>«, /. c. I
. H.
1914. Sijd-West Afrika. SchuUxe, L.
British Foreign Office Yearly
Consular Reports, and pub-
lications of the German
Colonial Society.
Imperial Blue Books.
Blue Books of the Cape of Good
Hope.
Philology
1854. Namaqua Sprache.
1856. Great Namaqualand.
1857. Grammatik des Herero.
1857. Namaquasprache.
1870. Sprache des Nama.
1883. Herero and Bantu Dictionary.
Botany, &c.
1 89 1. Geography of South-West
Africa. Schlichter, Henry.
1896. Nama and Damara. Francois, Hugo von.
1900. Pflanzenwelt.Deutsch-Siidwest
Afrika. Schint, Hans.
1910. Travels of a Botanist in South-
west Africa. Pearson, H. W.
1910. Vegetation of the Southern
Wallman
Tindall
Hahn, C. Hugo.
Wallman, J. C.
Hahn, Theo.
Kolbe, F. IV.
Namib.
Marloth, R.
1914.
The Flora of South Africa,
Vol. I. Marloth, R.
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Chief Articles of Export during the Years
1911-13-
Articles.
1911.
1912.
1913*
Marks.
Marks.
Marks.
Cattle
21,600
16,519
6,300
Small Stock
1,890
18.345
28.883
Meat ...
14.544
28,974
73.850
Horns
24.536
24,003
20,695
Hides, goat and sheep-
skins ...
246,417
297.7^7
195.318
Skins of wild animals
34.051
29.575
12,550
Sealskins ...
43.543
41.569
3.330
Ostrich feathers
79,804
97,012
40,769
Wool
74.172
149,658
46,944
Marble ...
1,232
19,968
10,214
Other earths and
stones ...
9,184
5.485
5,821
Rough diamonds
23,034,146
30,414,078
24,620,968
Copper . - -
325,000
229,850
200,040
Copper ores
1,428,703
6,293,408
2,975,022
Other ores
28,946
15,064
33.545
Lead ...
345,868
328,127
Leather and leather-
ware ...
14.863
18,535
S,020
Photographs
27,158
8,671
3.913
Curios and mis-
cellaneous articles -
115,378
154,397
33,249
Packing cases and
materials and such-
like articles re-
exported
667,111
807,060
352,280
Mohair ...
—
17,617
8.78S
Wood and forestry
products
77<i
14,154
330
Tin ore . - -
—
9.400
332.350
January i to June 30.
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Imports and Exports.
Year.
Imports.
Exports.
1908
1909
1910
1911
1913
1913
i
1.619,800
1.735.650
2,217,200
2,265,100
1,624,900
2,171,200
i
80.800
1.103,550
I.734.5SO
1,428.650
1,951.750
3. 515. 100
Minerals Exported in 191 3.
Diamonds - - - .
Copper
Tin
Marble
Other Ores ....
Base Minerals . . -
i
- 2.945.97S
396,436
31.568
1.452
2,956
360
Total
- 3.378.747
Cultivated Land in
1913-
Windhoek District
Grootfontein District
Omaruru District - - -
Okahandja District
acres.
- 4.535
- 3.702
- 1.567
• 1,367
Small areas in other districts.
The Water Supplies.
Districts.
Land
in acres.
Springs.
Wells.
Water
Holes.
Dams.
Windhoek
11.445
12
231
20
35
Luderitzbucht -
34.750
I
13
4
Swakopmund -
25,000
—
I
2
—
Gibeon
16,945
19
128
—
17
Rehoboth
13.473
30
119
I
18
Maltahohe
12,832
13
139
8
6
Outjo
11,930
16
53
—
I
Okahandja
11,855
2
125
4
8
Gobabis ;,-
",445
I
155
3
Omaruru -
6,757
6
2X6
9
13
Bethanien
•28,035
—
31
5
Warmbad
32.130
I
63
4
4
INDEX
Aard vark, 75,
Aborigines Protcctioa Society, 126.
Acacia, forests of, 65, 66, 68.
Adder, varieties of, 82-84.
Administrative divisions, 174.
Agricultural Advisory Board, 191.
Agriculture, 189-192 ; future of, 239.
Ana tree {Acacia cUbida), 57, 58 ;
beans of, 58, 66.
Andersson, C. J., explorer and author,
108.
Anglo-German Commission, 124.
Angola, 19.
Angra Pequena, correspondence con-
cerning, 118, 119 ; secured by
Luderitz, 119; German Pro-
tectorate formally proclaimed,
122, 123 ; known as Luderitz
Bay, 124, 149.
Ant-bear, see Aard vark.
Antelopes, 73-75.
Albrecht Bros., missionaries, 100.
Alexander, Captain, takes formal
possession of Angra Pequena in
1796, 123.
Alexander, Sir James, explorer, 105-
107,
Artesian wells, 240.
Bantu races, 161, 164.
Baobab trees, 65.
Benguella current, 39.
Berg Damaras, 106, 163-165.
Bcthanien, springs at, 39.
Bibliography, 250, 251.
Bijwoners, 245.
Birds, 76-81.
Bismarck, appeals to Great Britain to
annex Hereroland, 114 ; declares
Luderitz under Imperial protec-
tion, 121 ; his policy, 124, 125,
136 ; is urged to swamp South
Africa with German settlers, 149.
Boer War, the, 150.
Boer trek to Damaraland, 128.
Boers as " Low Germans," 131, 152.
Bondelswaarts, cede territory to Sin-
clair, 120 ; rise against the Ger-
mans, 134.
Bonn^ Professor, on Germany's
Colonial poUcy, 139, 140.
Brand, Peter, explorer, 97.
Braragul, old name of Orange River, 95 .
Brewing, 193.
British South-West Africa, position
of, 13 ; boundaries, 14 ; a
" white man's country," 49 ;
a " potential Canada," 226 ;
future of, 246-249.
British Government, see Great Britain.
Budget for 1915, the, 189.
Buffalo, 72.
Bushman grass, 68.
Bushmen, the, 157-159. 165.
Bustard, great and lesser, 76, 77.
Br>'ce, Lord, his "Impressions,"
225, 226.
Camelthorn tree, 57, 68.
Candelabra flower, 67.
Candle-bush, 65.
Cape Government acquires Walvis
Bay, 115 ; negotiations with a
view to further annexations,
118-121 ; in favour of annexa-
tion, 122.
Capital required by settler, 236.
Caprivizipfel, the, 13, 14 ; a great
game reserve, 72, 163, 165.
Cattle, 189, 234-237.
Census of 1913, 166.
Central Plateau, the, 19-21 ; vegeta-
tion of, 65-68.
Cheetahs, 73.
Chest diseases, climate favourable to,
49.
Christian feelings, to be energetically
repudiated by German officials,
164.
Climate, 37-49 ; healthy nature of,
37 ; seasonal, 38 ; in the north,
41 ; on the plateau, 41.
INDEX
257
Coal, improbability of finding, 183,
232.
Coast, the, 15-19 ; temperature of, 39.
Cobras, 81, 82.
Coetsee, Jacobus, crosses the Orange
River, 91.
Colonial methods of England and of
Germany, 138-140.
Colonial methods " peculiar to the
German spirit," 134-137.
Concessions system, 232.
Cook, Mr. and Mrs., missionaries,
103, 104 ; Cook's " Modem Mis-
sionary'," 104, 107.
Copper mines, 186, 229.
Coppery snake, 853
Cormorants, protected, 79.
Cross Gazette, quoted, 142.
Crosses erected by Diaz, 90.
Cultivated land, 255.
Dam, at mouth of the Orange River,
the, 25.
Damara antelope, 74.
Damara many-spotted snake, 84.
Damaraland, 13, 19, 20, 71, 76, 78 ;
ceded to Great Britain and
refused, 126 ; seized by Germany,
127 ; Boers trek to, 128.
Damaras, first seen, 98, 116.
Damrocquas, 91, 99 ; men, 97.
Dams, use of, 46, 183.
Dassie, the (rock-rabbit), 76.
Dawson's " Evolution of Modern
Germany," 141.
Death-rate, the, 48.
Derby, Lord, 118-122.
Dcmberg, Herr, 145, 220-227.
Desert, the coastal, see Namib.
Deutsches Kolonial Gesellschaft, 200,
207, 208.
Development of the country', 173-194.
Dew-ponds, 40.
Diaz, lands and erects crosses, 89, 90.
Diamond fields, 197-221 ; great
e.xtent of, 201 ; methods of
working, 208-211 ; cost of work-
ing, 213 ; life of, 216, 217 ;
value of, 217.
Diamonds, exports of, 183, 186 ;
discovery by a native, 198, 199 ;
character of, 203 ; theories of
origin, 205 ; tax on, 214; Gov-
ernment monopoly of sale, 214,
215 ; production of, 220, 221, 229.
Diamant Regie, 215.
Diseases, prevailing, 48.
Dogs, wild, 73.
Drinking water, condensed, 41, 212,
Droughts, 44, 240.
Dryness of climate, 47.
Duiker, 75.
Duminy, Chevalier, early explorer, 98 .
Dunes, 15, 16 ; formation of, 18 ;
vegetation, Co.
Eagles, 78.
Ebony trees, 97.
Economic future of the countrj',
225-249.
Egg-eating snake, 85.
Eland, 73.
Electric power at Luderitz Bay, 178.
Elephants, 71, 72.
Etosha, Lake, 28.
Euphorbiae in desert, 61, 68.
Exports, 184, 184 ; tables of, 252, 253.
Farmixg, see Agriculture.
Farms, size of, 189.
Faima, 71-86.
Female population, white, 169.
Figs, wild, 57, 65.
Finances, 184.
Fish River, 27.
Flamingos, 78.
Flora, 53-68 ; of the coast, 54-63 ;
of tlie plateau, 63-68.
Fogs, on coast, 40.
Fonteins or springs, 28, 29.
Force as a civilising metliod, results
of, 144, 145.
Forced labour, 243.
Foreign Office, see Great Britain.
Francois, K. von, 133.
Frederick Joseph, chief, 119.
Frere, Sir Bartle, favours annexation,
115 ; warns Boers against Ger-
many, 150,
Frosts, 42.
Fruit, 184.
Galena, 230.
Gallon, Francis, 105-108.
Game, early abimdance of, 58, 99 ;
see Mammals, Birds.
Gannet, protected, 79.
Gemsbok, 74, 93.
Geographische Nachrichlen, proposes
Gennan annexation, 117.
German South-West Africa, position
of, 13 ; Government of, 147, 148.
German occupation, the, 133-153 ;
native risings under and their
suppression, 13.), 135 ; atrocities
committed during, 140, 141 ;
cost of, 146; effort to attract
settlers during, 245, 246.
258
INDEX
Germans, first missionary efforts, of
107.
Germany begs Great Britain to
annex the country-, 114, 116, 117 ;
further negotiations, 120, 121 ;
takes formal possession, 122, 133 ;
casts eyes on Damaraland, 125.
Giraffe, 74, 74, 94.
Gnu, the, 74, 93.
Goats, 189, 190.
Gobabis, springs at, 29, 179.
Goering, Dr., 133.
Gold, early search for, 97, 98 ; scant}',
188, 231.
Goose, Egyptian, the, 74, 93.
Gordon, Colonel, early explorer, 95.
Gravel plains, vegetation of, 64.
Great Britain, refuses to annex the
country, 114-117; but objects
to the German annexation, 121 ;
refuses Damaraland, 126.
Grenzboien, Die, advises German
penetration of all South Africa,
150-152.
Grootfontein, farming in, 1S9.
Grotefeld, Herr, on mineral wealth,
234-
Grouse, sand, 77.
Guano, 79.
Guano Islands, 115, 193.
Hailstones, 43.
HaUfax Island, 218.
Harbours, natural, 18.
Hares, various species, 75.
Hawks, 78.
Hereros, their wars against the
Hottentots, 113 ; revolt against
Germany, 134 ; destruction of,
134-136; their land taken, 136;
exploited by traders, 142, 143 ;
Schlettwein's policy, 143, 144 ;
exodus into British teiritory,
145 ; origin of the name, i6r.
Hermann, Hcrr, on stock-raising,
234, 235.
Herons, 78.
Hills, vegetation of the, 60-64.
Hippopotamus, 72.
History, early, 89-109 ; later, 113-
129 ; of the German occupation,
i37-i.'i3-
Honey-guide, the, 79, 80.
Hoopoe, the, 79.
Hop, Hcndrik, early explorer, 93, 93.
Hombill, 79.
Horses, 190.
Hottentots, 113 ; rebel against Ger-
man rule, 134-136, 159-161, 165.
House-snakes, 85.
Hyena, the, 73.
Hyrax, the (rock-rabbit), 76.
Ibis, the, 78.
Imports, 183, 255.
Insect pests, 86.
Intrigue, German, in South Africa,
150-153.
Iron, 231.
Irrigation, 182, 183, 240, 241.
Ivor>', 71.
Jackals, 73.
Johnston, Sir Harry, opposed to
annexation by the Union, 247,
248.
Jordan, W. W., attempts to found
a Republic, 128, 129.
Kaiser's Telegram to Kruger, 150.
Kalahari Desert, the, 15, 21 ; marshes
of the, 27 ; lions in, 72, 128 ;
artesian wells, 240.
Kalkfontein, 181.
Kamaherero, cedes Damaraland to
Mr. Palgrave, 126.
Kaokoland, iron in, 231.
Kaokoveld, 72, 74.
Karibib, 167, i58.
Karakul fur industry, 237, 238.
Karas Mountains, 21, 94 ; possibly
gold in, 231, 232.
Keetmanshoop, 167, 168.
Khan copper mine, 230,
Kimberley, 39.
Klipspringer, the, 74,
Kokorbooin tree (Aloe dichotoma), 54,
60.
Koodoo, the, 73, 93.
Koloniale BergbaugeseHschaft, 2ig, 220.
Krugor, President, telegram to, 150.
Kuisip River, 26, 27 ; flora of, 57, 58 ;
silts of, 239.
Kuisip Valley, 239, 240.
Kunene River, 15, 19.
Labour, shortage of, due to massacres
of natives, 242, 243.
Land Bank, igi-193.
Lattman, Herr, on strategic value of
railway, 152.
Le Vaillant, explorer, 96, 97.
Lead, 187.
Leopards, 73.
Lewis, A. D., on the Orange River,
25, 241.
Lindequist, von, Governor, 136,
INDEX
259
Lions, 71, 72. 104.
Live stock, 189-191, 234, 235.
Locusts, 86.
Locust-birds, 79.
London Missionary Society, 100, 102.
Lucerne, 189.
Luderitz, Herr, 119, 121, 124.
Luderitz Bay, 18, 19, 59, 124.
Luderitzbucht, temperature of, 47,
__, 48 ; description of, 177, 178 ;
~" railway from, 180, i8i ; wireless
station at, 182 ; diamonds dis-
covered near, 197.
LjTix, the red, 73.
Malaria, rarity of, 48.
Mammals, 71-76, 86.
Manufactures, no future for, 244.
Marble, :88.
Marloth, Dr., on the " Flora of South
Africa," 55, 58, 59-
Martin, E. A., on " Dewponds," 40.
Mauch, Karl, 148.
Mealies, 189.
Mecrcats, 76.
Melons, 189.
Minerals, 184-189, 229 ; exports of 255.
Mining royalties, 186.
Mist-ponds, 40.
Missionaries, 100.
Moffat, Dr., 21, 22, 30, loi ; con-
verts Titus, loi, 102.
^^ountains, 20, 31, 66,
Musgrave, Major, 116,
Namib, the, 15-19, 29; rainfall, 44;
flora, 54-57.
Namaqua pheasant, the, 77.
Namaquas, the, 116.
Namaqualand, Great, 13, 21-23 ;
chmate of, 42 ; rainfall, 43 ;
vegetation, 67, 68.
Naras, the {Acaiithosicyos horrida),
5O ; fruit and seeds of, 56, 57.
Native races, 157-166.
'■ New Accounts of the Cape of Good
Hope," 93.
Officialism, rampant, 146, 147.
Okahandja, 31, 178.
Omataho, Mount, 20.
Omaruru, springs at, 29, 31 ; tem-
perature of, 39, 178.
Orange River, 13-15 ; basin of, 22-
26 ; course of, 23 ; fauna, 24 ;
bar at mouth, 25 ; no economic
value, 26 ; temperature of valley,
42 ; hippo in, 72 ; first crossed, 91,
94 ; irrigation possibilities, of, 2^r.
Oryx, the, 74.
Ostrich, the, 76.
Otavi, copper mines, 186, 229.
Otavi Hills, 19.
Otavi Railway, 180.
Otjiinbinguo, 133.
Ottweiler, Dr., 44.
Ovaiiibos, the, 161-163, 165.
Ovamboland, 13, 19, 32, 65, 78,
108 ; never conquered, 145.
Owls, 78.
Palgrave, W. C, 114-116, 125.
Palms, 65, 66.
Partridges, 77.
Paterson, William, explorer, 94, 95.
Pedestal Point, go.
Penguins, 78, 79.
' Peter Moor " 135.
Peters, Dr. Karl, 227, 228.
Pettman's " South African Place
Names," 95, 96.
Physical features, 14-33.
Pienaar, early explorer, 99.
Plateau, the, 19-21 ; formation of,
21 ; chmate, 41.
Pomona, diamonds in, 206, 217 ;
Diamond Co., 220.
Population, see Native Races, White
People ; possible European, 237 ;
246, 247 ; distribution of, 254.
Porcupines, 76.
Possession Island, 217.
Post Offices, 182.
Potatoes, 189.
Pratincoles, 79.
Prussian civihsing methods, 134,
138, 130.
Puff-adder, the, 82, 83.
Pump-line on coast, 212.
Pythons, 85.
QuAGGA, 72,
Quail, 78.
Railways, 179-1S1.
Rainfall, 42-49 ; table of, 45.
Red-lipped snake, 84.
Reenen, Jacobus van, 95.
Rocncn, William van, 97.
Rehoboth, temperature of, 39.
Religious creeds, 169.
Revenue, 184.
Rhenish Missionary Society, 107,
113, 129.
Rhinoceros, 71, 72.
Rinderjicst, 190.
Rivers, 26-30.
Roan antelope, 73,
26o
INDEX
Robinson, Sir Hercules, 121.
Rock-rabbit (dassie), the, 76.
Rolirbach, Dr., 237 ; on stock-raising
prospects, 234, 235, 237.
Sable Antelope, the, 73.
Salt, 30.
Sand-snakes, 64.
Sandstorms, 16.
Scenery, 30-33.
Schaapsteker, the, 84.
Schlettwein, on civilising natives, 143,
144.
Schmelen, missionary, loi.
Schools, 182.
Scientific research, 194.
Scorpions, 86.
Sealing, 193.
Seals, 86.
Seashore, %'egetation of, 59, 60.
Secretary birds, 78,
Sheep, 189.
Sinclair, Captain, 120.
Snakes, 81-83.
Snipe, 78.
Snow, 42
South African Territories Co., 231.
South-West African Co., 187.
Somerset, Lord Charles, 102,
Spoonbill, 78.
Springbuck, 74.
Stapff, Dr., 15.
Starhng, wattled, 79.
Stauch, Hen-, 200.
Steenbuck, 74.
Stel, Van der, 94, 95.
Storks. 78.
Sun, not dangerous, 46.
Swakop Boy, 19.
Swakop River, 26, 27.
Swakopmund, temperature of, 39 ;
popuLition, 167 ; description,
176, 177 ; railways from, 179-
180; wireless station at, 182.
Swifts, 179.
Telegraph service, 181, 182.
Telegraph, wireless, 182.
Telephone service, 181, 182.
Temperature, see Climate.
Theal's " History," 89.
Threlfall, miu-dcrcd, 102, 103.
Thunderstorms, 43.
Ticks, 86.
Tilby, A. Wyatt, in the Nineteenth
Century, 245.
Tin, 188.
Titus Africaner, conversion of, loi,
102.
Tobacco, 159.
Tortoises, 86,
Towns, 175.
Traders, German, 141, 142.
Treitschke, prophesies a German
South Africa, 149.
Trotha, von. General, issues infamous
proclamation, 134-136.
Tsama melon, 67.
Tsumeb, copper at, 186.
Tulbagh, Governor, 92.
Union op South Africa, rebellion
IN, work of Germany, 148,
149.
Upmgtonia, rise and fall of, 129,
Uyntjes, edible root, 67.
Valleys, 20.
Vermin, 86.
Versfeld, Dr., 17, 207, 230.
Vleis, 16, 29.
Vogelsang, procures treaties, 119.
Vultures, 78.
Wagner, Dr., on diamond-fields,
205, 206, 220.
Walvis Bay, 15, 17, 18 ; temperature
of, 39 ; rainfall, 41.
Warmbad, 29, 65, 93, 179.
Warm springs, 28, 29.
Water, where found, 29, 31, 32, 183,
255-
Waterberg, 31.
Waterbuck, 74.
Weaver-birds, 79, 80 ; nest of social
weaver, 80, 81.
Weber, Ernst von, suggests annexa-
tion, 117, 118.
Welwitsch, Dr., 56.
Wehvitschia Bainesii, 54-56,
Wesleyans, 102, 103, 107.
\Vhales, 86.
Whaling-trade, 86, 91, 193.
Whip-snake, 84.
Whirlwinds, 43.
White inhabitants, 166-169.
Wild dogs, 73.
Wildebeest, 74.
Windhoek, 20, 26, 28, 32 ; tempera-
ture, 39 ; rainfall, 43 ; health
of, 47, 48 ; first settlers at, 133 ;
population, 167 ; description,
175 ; wireless station at, 182.
Witbooi, Hottentot leader, 134.
Wolfram, 231.
Woodpeckers, 79.
Zebras, 72, 74. 93-
Printed in Great Britain by Wyman 6- Som Ltd., London a>td Reading,
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