The Cataracts of King George 



temper the wind, and to shade the soil from a 

 pitiless sun. Trees trees trees ; the deep bore 

 and the deep plough ; and verily you will make 

 this part of the karroo to blossom as the rose. 

 Presently we passed Britstown, a pretty, tree- 

 planted village with its thirteen windmills, and 

 half-way a veritable oasis of lucerne lands, 

 ostriches, and orchards at Houw Water, and 

 in the blackness of night reached Prieska, the 

 present terminus of the line. Prieska, which, 

 being interpreted, means the " Place of the Lost 

 Goat," is a pleasant town on the south loop of 

 the Orange River. It is the gateway to the 

 back country, and its future as an important 

 farming centre is fully assured. 



We were now ready to enter the north-west, 

 that strange land of sunshine, deserts, and 

 droughts, so little known to the dweller along 

 the Reef x or the surf -splasher of St James. 2 

 It is a vast, alluring land of infinite silent spaces. 

 Once you go in, you never come out. Unfold 

 your map and let us study this " back " or 

 " up-country." There is Kenhart. It lies one 

 hundred and ten long miles beyond Prieska, 

 and you may reach it by motor in seven hours, 



1 Gold-mining area of the Transvaal. 



2 A pleasure resort near Cape Town. 



169 



