854 



SOUTHERN AFRICA. 



the other products for exportation. The inland trade carried on with the natives has not only 

 much increased in value of late years, but has essentially altered its character. The medium 

 of traffic was formerly trinkets and useless articles, but the natives now demand clothes, blan- 

 kets, tools, and utensils, and the trade has become regular, and is rapidly growing in amount. 



Cape-Town, the capital, is situated in a valley, at the foot of Table mountain, and at the 

 southeast angle of Table bay. It was founded in 1G52, and is built with great regularity, and 

 with a considerable degree of elegance. The streets, which are wide, intersect each other 

 at right angles. The houses, about 1,500 in number, for the most part are of stone, cemented 

 with a glutinous kind of earth, and are generally whitewashed on the outside. Their height is 

 seldom more than two floors, frequent storms rendering a greater elevation dangerous. Many 

 of the houses have trees planted before them, which give a rural appearance to the town. 

 The castle is a large pentagonal fortress, on the southeastern or inland side of the town, close 

 to the water's edge. The colonial office possesses a fine collection of books. To the south- 

 ward of the town a great number of elegant villas are scattered about, and the scenery resem- 

 bles that of the rich and cultivated districts of England. Labor, house-rent, and fire-wood, 

 constitute a large proportion of the expenses of living at Cape-Town ; fruit, vegetables, and 

 sea-fish are abundant and cheap. Horse-races, balls, masquerades, and Sunday promenades 

 in the government gardens, form the leading amusements. Population, 20,000. 



The colony is divided into LO disli-icts. The population amounts to 160,000 souls, of whom 

 3G,000 are negro apprentices, formerly slaves, but emancipated in 1S34. The annual value 

 of the iniports is 5,000,000 dollars ; of exports 1,600,000. The Cape of Good Hope was 

 discovered by Diaz, a Portuguese navigator, in 1493, who called it Cabo Tormentoso, or 

 Cape of Storms, from his having experienced stormy weather there. Emanuel, king of Por- 

 tugal, inspired with the hope of now reaching India by sea, gave it the more cheering name 

 of Cape of Good Hope, which it has ever since borne, and which it has communicated to the 

 surrounding region. The Dutch first formed a settlement on the coast in the middle of the 

 next century, but in 1S06, the colony was conquered by Great Britain, and has since remained 

 in her possession. In 1834 and 1835, the colonists became involved in a severe conflict with 

 the neighboring Caffres, and the result of the war was the extension of the limits of the col- 

 ony from the Keiskamma, the former boundary, to the Great Key River, by which a large 

 tract of fine country has been added to the coloiiial possessions. 



7. Caffraria. This country lies along the coast of the Indian Ocean, and comprehends 

 various tribes on the Koussas, Tambookies, Hnmbounas, Betchuanas, Mashovvs, &c. 



" The Caftre nations," says Malte Brun, " inhabit a region less known than any on the 

 globe. We there see, behind a marshy, unhealthy, but fertile coast, chains of mountains arise 

 that have been very imperfectly examined, which appear to be in a parallel direction with the 

 coast, that is, from southwest to northeast. Our missionaries inform us, that those parts of 

 Caffraria which they have visited, are mountainous and rich in water. The sod is argilla- 

 ceous, tempered with fine sand, and very fertile. The whole surface, and even the tops 

 of the niOLintains, are covered with woods, shrubs, and grass ; never naked and parched, ex- 

 'jept in uncommonly dry seasons." 



The winter, which is the rainy season at the Cape, is in CafTreland the driest ; and most 

 of the rain comes down by thunder-storms in the summer. The country, in general, is con- 

 siderably elevated above the level of the sea, and much colder than, from its nearness to the 

 tropic, might be expected. Perhaps the plentiful rains, the high mountains, and the strong 

 electricity prevailing in the atmosphere, may be mentioned among the causes of its fertility. 

 The thunder-storms, which are more frequent and tremendous than in Europe, exhibit also 

 uncommon phenomena. The flashes of lightning, which in Europe diffuse a light through the 

 air, which dazzle the eye, and disappear in a moment, here consist of a stream of distinct 

 sf^arks drawn by the earth from the clouds, or from one cloud by another. 



The most common animals in Caffiaria are the ox and the wolf. Of the former (including 

 bulls and cows), the natives often possess several hundreds ; and some keep above a thousand. 

 Of the latter, there are two kinds ; the first spotted ; and, on that account, called by the colo- 

 nists, Tiffer-xDolf ; the other is the Slrnnd-wolf. The first is most common, and very trouble- 

 some. The lion and the buffalo are less frequent. These animals seem to be fond of each 

 other, and commonly keep company ; though the lion uses the buffalo for food. Elks grow 

 very large ; one of them affords more meat than two oxen ; they are easily taken. The ele- 

 phant of this country is very tall, much more so than that of India ; his teeth are sometimes 



