23^ THK NATIVES OF NATAL IN RELATION TO THE LAND. 



occupation, but so far without success. This sugar district is 

 fairly flat and easily cultivated. The contour, altitude, and con- 

 sequent economic value and occupation of Natal beyond the 

 sugar-cane zone is governed by three factors: (i) The mountain 

 wall of the Drakensberg on the west, of varying height but rising 

 to 11,000 feet in Mont Aux Sources; (2) the rapid but short 

 rivers which, rising in this chain, traverse the country in a general 

 east or south-easterly direction to the sea; and (3) the presence 

 of a ridge of high land of varying but considerable width running 

 across the middle of Natal, terminating northwards about High- 

 lands Station, on the South African Railways, at a height of 

 5,000 feet above sea-level. The rivers in that portion of their 

 courses immediately above the sugar belt and for a distance 

 inland of from 20 to 50 miles, according to their size, have worn 

 deep into the original tableland huge valleys with subsidiary ones 

 formed in the same way l)y their tributaries. Looked at from the 

 lieight i)f the tal)leland di\iding these main valleys, the view is 

 extraordinary — a vast iumble of hills and valleys 'bounded far 

 away by the opposite escarpment. A typical and well-known 

 example of these river valleys may be seen from the railway 

 near Botha's Hill Station, and is locally called the Valley of the 

 I'housand Hills. The rainfall here is uncertain, not nearly so 

 dependable and well-distributed as on the plateaus bounding and 

 dividing these valleys. Torrential rains are, however, not 

 infrequent, and these, washing away the surface soil and deepen- 

 ing the valleys, together with the long spells of dry weather, make 

 agriculture a somewhat precarious undertaking. The soil is 

 often stony, and poor, and too steep for successful cukixation. 

 There are, however, pockets of good alluvial land in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the rivers which in suitable seasons amply repay 

 cultivation. In the larger river valleys, as the distance from the 

 coast increases, the aridity becomes greater and the character of 

 the vegetation alters. These upper valleys are known in Natal as 

 the Thorns, from the abunlance of acacias of various species 

 which, with, aloes and euphorbias, form the principal vegetation. 

 Above the Thorn Valleys, and until the Berg is reached, the river 

 courses are more open and shallow, and the country is high, 

 roUing, open and healthy. From the coast to the river sources 

 the watersheds between the valleys are high, open grasslands, 

 healthy for man and beast, and with a fair amount of arable 

 land. This is the class of country generally seen by visitors and 

 travellers, as the railways and roads usually run along the 

 watersheds. The high land running across the centre of the 

 Province, previously mentioned as one of its chidf characteristics, 

 is of this cliaracter, and is one of the most valued areas for white 

 occupation. Beyond this high area to the north, in the Estcourt, 

 Klip River and Newcastle divisions, the country is from 1,000 to 

 2,OQO feet lower than the high central ridge, and may be said to 

 partake of the character of the higher veld, or the Thorns, 

 according to elevation and aspect. Excepting on the border Oi 



