NATAL: THE GARDEN COLONY 



By Russell Hastings Millward 

 Formerly American Vice-Consul at Durban, Natal 



A VAIN attempt to discover a sea 

 route to the East Indies, the 

 same purpose which carried 

 Columbus westward across the Atlantic 

 Ocean, sent Vasco da Gama southward 

 along the coast of Africa, and, after 

 rounding the Cape of Good Hope, his 

 small fleet, consisting of three caravels, 

 was brought to anchor in latitude 29 ° 52' 

 south, longitude 31 0 2' east. This was 

 on Christmas day, 1497, and as the in- 

 trepid Portuguese navigator was carried 

 ashore he christened the newly-found 

 territory Natal, "Christmas Land," or 

 "Land of the Nativity." No more be- 



A ZULU NURSS BOY IN DURBAN, N.vTAL 

 Zulu women are seldom employed as domestics 



fitting name could have been applied, 

 and today Natal is known as "The Gar- 

 den Colony" of Great Britain. 



As the harbor is entered, the bay with 

 its wide expanse of water and the im- 

 posing bluff with its thickly-wooded 

 background of green hills, present a 

 magnificent view. Just across the bay 

 can be seen the town of Durban, de- 

 scribed by Max O'Rell as "the prettiest 

 and most coquettish town in the South 

 African colonies" — the blue Indian 

 Ocean at its feet and a series of terraces, 

 banked with flowers and foliage, rising 

 from the sealevel to a height of 500 feet. 

 Durban enjoys the distinction of being 

 a seaport and watering-place as well as 

 one of the finest coaling stations in the 

 world. Here, from a waste of sand and 

 bush, trampled by wild beasts and ser- 

 pents, has sprung one of the leading 

 business centers of South Africa. From 

 a quaint little two-mile railroad, the first 

 in Africa, built in i860, from the point 

 to Durban, has developed over 1,200 

 miles of modern railways connecting 

 with the interior and placing this pic- 

 turesque port in a position second to 

 none as a shipping point. The chief ex- 

 ports from here consist of wool, sugar, 

 tea, hides, skins, angora hair, coal, 

 maize, and wattle bark. 



Upon arrival at the docks in Durban a 

 long line of rickshas will be found wait- 

 ing to carry passengers swiftly and 

 silently to their destination. For six- 

 pence an interesting ride can be had 

 through the town, including a trip along 

 the esplanade by the bay and the Vic- 

 toria embankment. Of all the sights in 

 South Africa none is so impressive as 

 the ricksha boy, with his head-dress of 

 great horns and colored feathers and his 

 highly-decorated, whitewashed legs. Per- 

 haps he will tell you that he is "Cham- 

 pagne Charley" or "Jim Fish," names of 

 two clever runners who won fame by 



