IIG EARLY DE\KLOPMEVr OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



seeni to have been sent out towards the north-western part of 

 the Colony. The route between the present places Piquetberg, 

 Clanwilhani, Van lihynsdorp and Garies, right up into the Soutli- 

 West Territory, were well known after the middle of the 18th 

 century. Attention was also given to the south-eastern parts. 

 These routes prepared the way for the farmers, who in the early 

 years of their migrations went first towards the north-wsst and, 

 as remarked before, went over the Hottentots Holland Mountains 

 towards the south-east during the early part of the 18th century. 

 But the development of the railway route appears to have been 

 the reverse, i'rom Capetown it went in its early years across the 

 Karoo to Beaufort West and, at the same time, was extending up 

 from Port Elizabeth through the Eastern Province, with a branch 

 line here and there. Within more recent times it has crossed the 

 Hottentots Holland range over Sir Lowry Pass and extends beyond 

 Caledon, while another line from W'orcester goes down towards 

 Mossel Bay and continues along the south-east coast through 

 what is now known as the Garden Eoute. The north-west 

 towards Van lihynsdorp, which rout<3 was the earliest attempted 

 b}' the 17th century pioneers, has only within very recent years 

 had attention given it and the railway extended in that direction. 

 While the country ^^•as progressing another factor made its 

 appearance, which was greatly to help in its developing process. 

 This was the discovery of diamonds and gold. That the country 

 was possessed of minerals was a fact which seemed evident to the 

 early settlers. As far back as the days of van Kiebeeck efforts 

 were made to see what fruits the earth would yield. Mining 

 operations on a small scale, the mere scratching of the surface, 

 were carried on in the mountains and hills of the Cape Peninsula. 

 Two places named the Zilvcr Myn — Silver Mine, one at Noordhoek 

 and the other in the Simonsberg, along the Drakenstein V.alley — 

 are reminders of early attempts at mining. At both places the 

 shaft sunk is still to be seen. The latter, however, was a " salted 

 mine," for which the perpetrator of the deed was banished from 

 the country. About the middle of the 18th century a number 

 of msn obtained from the Dutch East India Company the right 

 to carry on prospecting for minerals along the mountain ranges 

 within fifty miles of Capetown. At the beginning of the same 

 century there were reports of coal having been found near French 

 Hoek. It was not until 1867, when the diamonds were discovered, 

 and 1886, when the Witwatersrand gold mines were opened, that 

 past hopes ware realised. The discovery of diamonds opened the 

 third period of immigration in South Africa. Reference to the 

 first period has already been made. The second was in 1820, 

 when the British settlers came out. With this last period men 

 poured in from all parts of the world. Soon a mining city arose 

 on the waste veld of Griqualand West. The opening up of the 

 Rand gold fields added greatly to this new era. From this time 

 the development of the country became more pronounced than 

 before. The federation of the Colonies of the Cape and Natal 

 and the Eepubhcs of the Transvaal and Orange Free State had 

 been mooted. Events were moving onward to the culmination of 

 Union in 1910. 



