The Conquest of the Desert 



named, and have been for a period of close on 

 half-a-century. The name under which these 

 mighty falls should be known is the name given 

 to them by their discoverer, George Thompson, 

 on 15th August 1824. 



He called them " King George's Cataract." 

 And Scotsmen the world over may perhaps be 

 pardoned if they feel a thrill of pride when they 

 remember that, as it was one of their race who 

 first broke through the desert of the Kalahari, 

 gazed on the Smoke- Sounding Falls of the 

 Zambesi, and called them the " Falls of 

 Victoria " : so it was likewise, just thirty-one 

 years before, another traveller as they believe 

 of the same race, less eminent, but none the 

 less brave, that pierced the desolate wastes of 

 Namaqualand, stood by the rushing waters of 

 the Orange River, and named them the 

 " Cataracts of King George." At any rate 

 there is here a fascinating field of historic and 

 geographic research, besides the economic study 

 of the dry and desert lands of South Africa. 



In the previous chapter the reader will have 

 noted that Thompson states that the Kuruman 

 River joins the Gariep (Orange River) not far 

 below King George's Cataract. My attention 



152 



