Read Ebook: The Tangled Threads by Porter Eleanor H Eleanor Hodgman

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Ebook has 1519 lines and 56719 words, and 31 pages

CHAPTER. PAGE

SOUTH-WEST AFRICA

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 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 instance, 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 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 applied--a name originally restricted 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.

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 prevailing 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 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 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 Ovamboland 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 Damaraland they gradually ascend until a veritable highland system is developed with towering masses of table rocks and huge 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 areas of sandy land which closely resemble the Kalahari.

In all these uplands the prevailing formations 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 invariably sandy.

"Sir," said a person who knew the country to Dr. Moffat in 1818, "you will 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 Namaqualand, toiling over the blistering wastes, the 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 interest.

The river enters South-West Africa along a deep channel and winds its sinuous way like a giant snake between towering precipices and overhanging mountains grey with age along ca?ons reminiscent of Colorado. In some of the deep, rocky gorges the stream is inaccessible on either side, since the overhanging escarpments of the surrounding plateau rise sheer from the water many hundreds of feet, and a thirsty traveller might actually perish of thirst as he 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 considerable distance and takes on the appearance 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 cliffs, 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 wide area as if reluctant to lose its greatness in the ocean. Its mouth is generally blocked for a number of years by a continuous 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 scientifically trained individual to make the journey. His report, together with plans and reproductions of photographs, is of absorbing interest.

THE RIVERS

The rivers of South-West Africa, like 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 highlands in the Waterberg and traverses the plateau through deep, rocky gorges. Occasionally it flows into the sea north of Walvis Bay. The Kuisip rises in the mountains beyond Windhoek and intersects the Namib 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 to silence, Penelope dropped her books and burst into tears.

"Why, darling, what is it?" cried Hester. "What can be the matter?"

"I--I don't know," faltered Penelope, looking at her mother with startled eyes. "Why--why did n't you tell me?"

"Tell you?"

"That--that you could--p-play that way! I--I did n't know," she wailed with another storm of sobs, rushing into her mother's arms.

Hester's clasp tightened about the quivering little form and her eyes grew luminous.

"Was it--me?" whispered Penelope, with tremulous lips.

Hester drew a long breath.

"Yes, dear. I was the little girl long ago, and you are the little girl of to-day. And when the piano came, Penelope, I found in it all those songs that the winds and the trees used to sing to me. Now the sun shines brighter and the birds sing sweeter--and all this beautiful world is yours--all yours. Oh, Penelope, are n't you glad?"

Penelope raised a tear-wet face and looked into her mother's shining eyes.

The Folly of Wisdom

Until his fiftieth year Jason Hartsorn knew nothing whatever about the position of his liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, spleen, and stomach except that they must be somewhere inside of him; then he attended the auction of old Doctor Hemenway's household effects and bid off for twenty-five cents a dilapidated clothes basket, filled with books and pamphlets. Jason's education as to his anatomy began almost at once then, for on the way home he fished out a coverless volume from the basket and became lost in awed wonder over a pictured human form covered from scalp to the toes with scarlet, vine-like tracings.

"For the land's sake, Jason!" ejaculated Mrs. Hartsorn, as her husband came puffing into the kitchen with his burden an hour later. "Now, what trash have you been buyin'?"

"'Trash'!" panted Jason, carefully setting the basket down. "I guess you won't call it no 'trash' when you see what 't is! It's books--learnin', Hitty. I been readin' one of 'em, too. Look a-here," and he pulled up his shirt sleeve and bared a brawny arm; "that's all full of teeny little pipes an' cords. Why, if I could only skin it--"

"Jason!" screamed his wife, backing away.

"Pooh! 'T ain't nothin' to fret over," retorted Jason airily. "Besides, you've got 'em too--ev'ry one has; see!" He finished by snatching up the book and spreading before her horrified eyes the pictured figure with its scarlet, vine-like tracings.

"Oh-h!" shivered the woman, and fled from the room.

For a month Jason was happy. Then it was suddenly borne in upon him that not always were these fascinating new acquaintances of his in a healthy condition. At once he began to pinch and pummel himself, and to watch for pains, being careful, meanwhile, to study the books unceasingly, so that he might know just where to look for the pains when they should come. He counted his pulse daily--hourly, if he apprehended trouble; and his tongue he examined critically every morning, being particular to notice whether or not it were pale, moist, coated, red, raw, cracked, or tremulous.

Jason was not at all well that spring. He was threatened successively with typhoid fever, appendicitis, consumption, and cholera, and only escaped a serious illness in each case by the prompt application of remedies prescribed in his books. His wife ran the whole gamut of emotions from terror, worry, and sympathy down to indifference and good-natured tolerance, reaching the last only after the repeated failure of Jason's diseases to materialize.

It was about a week after Jason had mercifully escaped an attack of the cholera that he came into the kitchen one morning and dropped heavily into the nearest chair.

"I tell ye, my heart ain't right," he announced to his wife. "It's goin' jest like Jehu--'palpitation,' they call it; an' I've got 'shortness of breath,' too," he finished triumphantly.

"Hm-m; did ye catch her at last?" asked Mehitable with mild interest.

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