The Cataracts of King George 



of the Orange River, to the Cataracts of King 

 George, and the flour mill and the elevator will 

 bring prosperity to the poorest farmer. Here, 

 indeed, there is scope enough for a million men, 

 and a noble work — the conquest of the desert 

 for the Union, the Empire, and Humanity. 



The Restoration of the Rightful Name 



" I named this scene King George's Cataract in honour of 

 our gracious Sovereign " ("Travels in Southern Africa," vol. 

 ii. p. 23. By George Thompson). 



It is just eighty-nine years since these simple 

 lines were penned, which appear as the super- 

 scription to this paragraph. I have pointed 

 how the name given to the Great Falls on the 

 Orange River has been mysteriously removed 

 from all recent maps, and replaced by a barbaric 

 bushman word. But the Great Falls of the 

 Great River are well worthy of their true and 

 noble title, and to-day I would ask the kind 

 reader to stand sponsor with me while we 

 journey westward to rechristen these mighty 

 waters after his Imperial Majesty, while we 

 salute the spirit of the brave explorer, and while 

 we read the fortune of a land but newly born. 



• •••••• 



It was one Thursday evening in the month of 

 March that we left Park Station, Johannesburg, 



167 



