NATAL. 123 



even by the ferries (ponts), and always more or 

 less dangerous. Now bridges cross all these rapid 

 streams, and the traveller rejoices on his way 

 oblivious of the labours and perils of his pioneer 

 predecessors. 



Ladysmith is a nice neat village on the Klip 

 River, but without much alluvial soil for gardens 

 or much room for expansion. Many flourishing 

 homesteads beautify the neighbourhood, but as a 

 rule rocks and stone-covered hills prevail, and the 

 towering Drakensberg range is always in sight on 

 the way to the Orange Free State, and, at about 

 seventy miles from Ladysmith, has to be crossed 

 just beyond the village of Newcastle to reach the 

 boundary of the Transvaal. On the road to the 

 Orange Free State the range is also crossed, and 

 the descent on the other side reveals the Boer 

 village of Harrysmith, which is about the coldest 

 inhabited spot in South Africa, as it is so over- 

 shadowed by mountains that it enjoys only a few 

 hours of sunshine every day, when the sun is 

 visible only through the thick mountain mists. 



Upon the whole, the modern fortune-hunter 

 should avoid Natal, where he would find himself 

 out of place ; but it is a nice little colony for small 



