Part 12

_Physical Features._--The physical characteristics of Kaffraria bear a general resemblance to those of the Cape province proper. The country rises from sea-level in a series of terraces to the rugged range of the Drakensberg. Between that range and the coast-lands are many subsidiary ranges with fertile valleys through which a large number of rivers make their way to the Indian Ocean. These rivers have very rapid falls in comparison to their length and when less than 40 m. from the coast are still 2000 ft. above sea-level. The chief, beginning at the south, are the Kei, the Bashee, the Umtata, the St John's or Umzimvubu, and the Umtamvuna, which separates Kaffraria from Natal. The St John's River rises in the Drakensberg near the Basuto-Natal frontier. The river valley has a length of 140 m., the river with its many twists being double that length. It receives numerous tributaries, one, the Tsitza, possessing a magnificent waterfall, the river leaping over an almost vertical precipice of 375 ft. The St John's reaches the sea between precipitous cliffs some 1200 ft. high and covered with verdure. The mouth is obstructed by a sand bar over which there is 14 ft. of water. None of the rivers of Kaffraria except the St John's is navigable.

Kaffraria is one of the most fertile regions in South Africa. The mountain gorges abound in fine trees, thick forest and bush cover the river banks, grass grows luxuriantly in the lower regions, and the lowlands and valleys are favourable to almost any kind of fruit, field and garden cultivation. The coast districts are very hot in summer, the temperature from October to April on an average varying from 70 deg. to 90 deg. F., while in winter the day temperature is seldom below 50 deg., though the nights are very cold. But the variation in altitude places climates of all grades within easy reach, from the burning coast to the often snow-clad mountain. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer; the winters are generally dry. On the whole the climate is extremely healthy. At St John's are sulphur springs.

A considerable area is devoted to the raising of wheat and other cereals, especially in the northern district (Griqualand East), where in the higher valleys are many farms owned by Europeans. Large quantities of stock are raised. Most of the land is held by the natives under tribal tenure, and the ease with which their wants are supplied is detrimental to the full cultivation of the land. Kaffraria is, however, one of the chief recruiting grounds for labour throughout South Africa. Most of the white inhabitants are engaged in trade.

_Towns and Communication._--The chief town is Kokstad (q.v.), pop. (1904), 2903, the capital of Griqualand East. Umtata (2100 ft. above the sea, pop. 2342) on the river of the same name, capital of Tembuland, is the residence of an assistant chief magistrate, headquarters of a division of the Cape Mounted Rifles, and seat of the Anglican bishopric of Kaffraria. The principal buildings are the cathedral, a Gothic structure, built 1901-1906, and the town-hall, a fine building in Renaissance style, erected 1907-1908. Port St John is the chief town in Pondoland, and the only harbour of the country. Butterworth is the chief town in Transkei. Cala (pop. about 1000), in the N.W. part of Tembuland, is the educational centre of Kaffraria. A railway, 107 m. long, the first link in the direct Cape-Natal line, runs from Indwe, 65 m. from Sterkstroom Junction on the main line from East London to the Transvaal, to Maclear, an agricultural centre in Griqualand East. Another railway parallel but south of that described also traverses Kaffraria. Starting from Amabele, a station on the main line from East London to the north, it goes via Butterworth (132 m. from East London) to Umtata (234 m.).

_Administration and Justice._--The Cape administrative and judicial system is in force, save as modified by special enactments of the Cape parliament. A "Native Territories Penal Code" which came into operation on the 1st of January 1887 governs the relations of the natives, who are under the jurisdiction of a chief magistrate (resident at Cape Town) with subordinate magistrates in the Territories. In civil affairs the tribal organization and native laws are maintained. No chief, however, exercises criminal jurisdiction. Since 1898 certain provisions of the Glen Grey Act have been applied to Kaffraria (see GLEN GREY). The revenue is included in the ordinary budget of the Cape province. The expenditure on Kaffraria considerably exceeds the revenue derived from it. The franchise laws are the same as in the Cape proper. Though the Kaffirs outnumber the whites by fifty to one, white men form the bulk of the electorate, which in 1904 numbered 4778.

_Religion._--Numbers of Protestant missionary societies have churches and educational establishments in Kaffraria, but, except in Fingoland, the bulk of the Kaffirs are heathen. The Griquas profess Christianity and have their own churches and ministers. The Anglican diocese of St John's, Kaffraria, was founded in 1873.

_Annexation to the Cape._--The story of the conflicts between the Kaffir tribes and the Cape colonists is told under CAPE COLONY. As early as 1819 Kaffirland, or Kaffraria, was held not to extend west beyond the Keiskamma River. The region east of that river as far as the Kei River became in 1847 the Crown colony of British Kaffraria, and was annexed to Cape Colony in 1865. The Transkeian territories remained in nominal independence until 1875, when the Tembu sought British protection. An inter-tribal war in 1877 between Fingo and Gcaleka resulted in the territory of the Gcaleka chief Kreli being occupied by the British. It was not, however, till 1879 that Fingoland and the Idutywa Reserve, together with the district then commonly called Noman's-land, were proclaimed an integral part of the Cape. About this time most of the rest of Kaffraria came under British control, but it was 1885 before Gcalekaland, the coast region of Transkei, and the various districts comprising Tembuland--Bomvanaland on the coast, Tembuland Proper and Emigrant Tembuland--were annexed to the colony. By the annexation, the frontier of the colony was carried to the Umtata River, so that by 1885 only Pondoland, fronting on the Indian Ocean, separated the Cape from Natal. In Pondoland, Port St John, proclaimed British territory in 1881, was, along with the lower reaches of the St John's River, incorporated with Cape Colony in 1884; in 1886 the Xesibe country (Mount Ayliff) was annexed to the Cape and added to Griqualand East; and in the following year Rhode Valley was included within the boundary line. The rest of Pondoland, chiefly in virtue of a British protectorate established over all the coast region in 1885, was already more or less under British control, and in 1894 it was annexed to the Cape in its entirety. Thus the whole of Kaffraria was incorporated in Cape Colony, with the exception of some 1550 sq. m., then part of Noman's-land, annexed by Natal in 1866 and named Alfred county. To the wise administration of Major Sir Henry G. Elliot, who served in Kaffraria in various official capacities from 1877 to 1903, the country owes much of its prosperity.

Particulars concerning each of the four divisions of Kaffraria follow.

_Griqualand East_ (area, 7594 sq. m.), so called to distinguish it from Griqualand West, a district north of the Orange River, lies between Basutoland (N.W.), Natal (N.E.), Tembuland (S.W.) and Pondoland (S.E.). It occupies the southern slopes of the Drakensberg or the fertile valleys at their feet. It includes most of the region formerly called Noman's-land, and afterwards named Adam Kok's Land from the Griqua chief who occupied it in 1862 with the consent of the British authorities, and governed the country till his death in 1876, establishing a _volksraad_ on the Dutch model. The Griquas are still ruled by an officially appointed headman. The majority of the inhabitants are Basutos and Kaffirs (Pondomisi, Ama-Baka and other tribes). The Griquas number about 6000. Since its annexation to Cape Colony Griqualand East has made fairly rapid progress. The population rose from 121,000 in 1881 to 222,685 in 1904, of whom 5901 were whites. Stock-breeding on the uplands, tillage on the lower slopes of the Drakensberg, are the chief industries. On these slopes and uplands the climate is delightful and well suited to Europeans. There is considerable trade with Basutoland in grain and stock, and through Kokstad with Port St John and Port Shepstone, Natal. Much of the best agricultural land is owned by Europeans.

_Tembuland_ (area, 4122 sq. m.), which lies S.W. of Griqualand East and comprises the districts of Tembuland Proper, Emigrant Tembuland and Bomvanaland, takes its name from, the Tembu nation, called sometimes Tambookies, one of the most powerful of the Kaffir groups. In the national genealogies the Tembu hold an honourable position, being traditionally descended from Tembu, elder brother of Xosa, from whom most of the other Kaffirs claim descent. The inhabitants increased from about 160,000 in 1881 to 231,472 in 1904, of whom 8056 were whites. The chief town is Umtata.

_Transkei_ (area, 2552 sq. m.) comprises the districts of Fingoland, the Idutywa Reserve and Gcalekaland, this last being named from the Gcaleka nation, who claim to be the senior branch of the Xosa family, the principal royal line of the Kaffir tribes. They still form the chief element of the population, which rose from 136,000 in 1881 to 177,730 in 1904 (1707 whites). Here are some prosperous missionary stations, where the natives are taught agriculture, mechanical industries and a knowledge of letters. The heroic deeds of Hinza, Kreli and other chiefs famous in the wars are still remembered; but witchcraft, rain-making and other pagan practices seem to have died out. Even more advanced in all social respects are the Fingo, who give their name to the district of Fingoland, and also form the bulk of the population in the Idutywa Reserve. They wear European clothes, support their schools by voluntary contributions, edit newspapers, translate English poetry, set their national songs to correct music, and the majority profess Christianity. The industrial institution of Blythswood, about 20 m. N.W. of Butterworth, is a branch of Lovedale (q.v.), and is largely supported by the Fingo.

_Pondoland_ (area, 4040 sq. m.; pop. (1904), 202,757 (including 1113 whites), an estimated increase of 36,000 since 1891) is bounded E. by the sea, N. by Natal, W. by Griqualand East, by S. and Tembuland. In Pondoland the primitive organization of the natives has been little altered and the influence of the chiefs is very great. Land is held almost wholly in tribal tenure, though a number of whites possess farms acquired before the annexation of the country. The Pondo have shown some appreciation of the benefits of education.

See G. McCall Theal's _History of South Africa_ and other works cited under CAPE COLONY; also _The Native or Transkeian Territories_, by C. C. Henkel (Hamburg, 1903), a useful handbook by an ex-official in the Transkeian Territories.

KAFIRISTAN, a province of Afghanistan. Very little of this country was known with accuracy and nothing at first hand until General Sir W. (then Colonel) Lockhart headed a mission to examine the passes of the Hindu Kush range in 1885-1886. He penetrated into the upper part of the Bashgal valley, but after a few days he found himself compelled to return to Chitral. Previously Major Tanner, R.A., had sought to enter Kafiristan from Jalalabad, but sudden severe illness cut short his enterprise. M'Nair, the famous explorer of the Indian Survey department, believed that he had actually visited this little-known land during an adventurous journey which he made from India and through Chitral in disguise; but the internal evidence of his reports shows that he mistook the Kalash district of Chitral, with its debased and idolatrous population, for the true Kafiristan of his hopes. In 1889 Mr G. S. Robertson (afterwards Sir George Robertson, K.C.S.I.) was sent on a mission to Kafiristan. He only remained a few days, but a year later he revisited the country, staying amongst the Kafirs for nearly a year. Although his movements were hampered, his presence in the country being regarded with suspicion, he was able to study the people, and, in spite of intertribal jealousy, to meet members of many of the tribes. The facts observed and the information collected by him during his sojourn in eastern Kafiristan, and during short expeditions to the inner valleys, are the most trustworthy foundations of our knowledge of this interesting country.

Kafiristan, which literally means "the land of the infidel," is the name given to a tract of country enclosed between Chitral and Afghan territory. It was formerly peopled by pagan mountaineers, who maintained a wild independence until 1895, when they were finally subdued by Abdur Rahman, the amir of Kabul, who also compelled them to accept the religion of Islam. The territory thus ill named is included between 34 deg. 30' and 36 deg. N., and from about 70 deg. to 71 deg. 30' E. As the western and northern boundaries are imperfectly known, its size cannot be estimated with any certainty. Its greatest extent is from east to west at 35 deg. 10' N.; its greatest breadth is probably about 71 deg. E. The total area approximates to 5000 sq. m. Along the N. the boundary is the province of Badakshan, on the N.E. the Lutkho valley of Chitral. Chitral and lower Chitral enclose it to the E., and the Kunar valley on the S.E. Afghanistan proper supplies the S. limit. The ranges above the Nijrao and Pansher valleys of Afghanistan wall it in upon the W. The northern frontier is split by the narrow Minjan valley of Badakshan, which seems to rise in the very heart of Kafiristan.

Speaking generally, the country consists of an irregular series of main valleys, for the most part deep, narrow and tortuous, into which a varying number of still deeper, narrower and more twisted valleys, ravines and glens pour their torrent water. The mountain ranges of Metamorphic rock, which separate the main drainage valleys, are all of considerable altitude, rugged and difficult, with the outline of a choppy sea petrified. During the winter months, when the snow lies deep, Kafiristan becomes a number of isolated communities, with few if any means of intercommunication. In the whole land there is probably nothing in the shape of a plain. Much of the silent, gigantic country warms the heart as well as captivates the eye with its grandeur and varied beauty; much of it is the bare skeleton of the world wasted by countless centuries of storms and frost, and profoundly melancholy in its sempiternal ruin. Every variety of mountain scenery can be found: silent peaks and hard, naked ridges, snowfields and glaciers; mighty pine forests, wooded slopes and grazing grounds; or wild vine and pomegranate thickets bordering sparkling streams. At low elevations the hill-sides are covered with the wild olive and evergreen oaks. Many kinds of fruit trees--walnuts, mulberries, apricots and apples--grow near the villages or by the wayside, as well as splendid horse-chestnuts and other shade trees. Higher in elevation, and from 4000 to 8000 ft., are the dense pine and cedar forests. Above this altitude the slopes become dreary, the juniper, cedar and wild rhubarb gradually giving place to scanty willow patches, tamarisk and stunted birches. Over 13,000 ft. there are merely mosses and rough grass. Familiar wildflowers blossom at different heights. The rivers teem with fish. Immense numbers of red-legged partridges live in the lower valleys, as well as pigeons and doves. Gorgeously plumaged pheasants are plentiful. Of wild animals the chief are the _markhor_ (a goat) and the _oorial_ (a sheep). In the winter the former are recklessly slaughtered by hunters, being either brought to bay by trained hounds, or trapped in pits, or caught floundering in the snow-drifts; but in the summer immense herds move on the higher slopes. The _ibex_ is very rare. Bears and leopards are fairly common, as well as the smaller hill creatures.

Passes and Roads.

All the northern passes leading into Badakshan or into the Minjan valley of Badakshan seem to be over 15,000 ft. in altitude. Of these the chief are the Mandal, the Kamah (these two alone have been explored by a European traveller), the Kti, the Kulam and the Ramgal passes. Those to the east, the Chitral passes, are somewhat lower, ranging from 12,000 to 14,000 ft., e.g. the Zidig, the Shui, the Shawal and the Parpit, while the Patkun, which crosses one of the dwindled spurs near the Kunar river, is only 8400 ft. high. Between neighbouring valleys the very numerous communicating footways must rarely be lower than 10,000, while they sometimes exceed 14,000 ft. The western passes are unknown. All these toilsome paths are so faintly indicated, even when free from snow, that to adventure them without a local guide is usually unsafe. Yet the light-framed cattle of these jagged mountains can be forced over many of the worst passes. Ordinarily the herding tracks, near the crest of the ridges and high above the white torrents, are scarcely discoverable to untutored eyes. They wind and waver, rise, drop and twist about the irregular semi-precipitous slopes with baffling eccentricity and abruptness. Nevertheless the cattle nose their way along blunderingly, but without hurt. Of no less importance in the open months, and the sole trade routes during winter, are the lower paths by the river. An unguided traveller is continually at fault upon these main lines of intercourse and traffic.

Rivers.

All the rivers find their tumultuous way into the Kabul, either directly, as the Alingar at Laghman, or after commingling with the Kunar at Arundu and at Chigar-Serai. The Bashgal, draining the eastern portion of the country, empties itself into the Kunar at Arundu. It draws its highest waters from three main sources at the head of the Bashgal valley. It glides gently through a lake close to this origin, and then through a smaller tarn. The first affluent of importance is the Skorigal, which joins it above the village of Pshui. Next comes the noisier Manangal water, from the Shawal pass, which enters the main stream at Lutdeh or Bragamatal, the chief settlement of the Bashgal branch of the Katir tribe. By-and-by the main stream becomes, at the hamlet of Sunra, a raging, shrieking torrent in a dark narrow valley, its run obstructed by giant boulders and great tree-trunks. Racing past Bagalgrom, the chief village of the Madugal Kafirs, the river clamours round the great spur which, 1800 ft. higher up, gives space for the terraces and houses of Kamdesh, the headquarters of the Kam people. The next important affluent is the river which drains the Pittigal valley, its passes and branches. Also on the left bank, and still lower down, is the joining-place of the Gourdesh valley waters. Finally it ends in the Kunar just above Arundu and Birkot. The middle part of Kafiristan, including the valleys occupied by the Presun, Kti, Ashkun and Wai tribes, is drained by a river variously called the Pech, the Kamah, and the Presun or Viron River. It has been only partially explored. Fed by the fountains and snows of the upper Presun valley, it is joined at the village of Shtevgrom by the torrent from the Kamah pass. Thence it moves quietly past meadowland, formerly set apart as holy ground, watering on its way all the Presun villages. Below the last of them, with an abrupt bend, it hurries into the unexplored and rockbound Tsaru country, where it absorbs on the right hand the Kti and the Ashkun and on the left the Wai rivers, finally losing itself in the Kunar, close to Chigar-Serai. Concerning the Alingar or Kao, which carries the drainage of western Kafiristan into the Kabul at Laghman, there are no trustworthy details. It is formed from the waters of all the valleys inhabited by the Ramgal Kafirs, and by that small branch of the Katirs known as the Kalam tribe.

Climate.

The climate varies with the altitude, but in the summer-time it is hot at all elevations. In the higher valleys the winter is rigorous. Snow falls heavily everywhere over 4000 ft. above the sea-level. During the winter of 1890-1891 at Kamdesh (elevation 6100 ft.) the thermometer never fell below 17 deg. F. In many of the valleys the absence of wind is remarkable. Consequently a great deal of cold can be borne without discomfort. The Kunar valley, which is wet and windy in winter, but where snow, if it falls, melts quickly, gives a much greater sensation of cold than the still Kafiristan valleys of much lower actual temperature. A deficiency of rain necessitates the employment of a somewhat elaborate system of irrigation, which in its turn is dependent upon the snowfall.

The Kafirs.

The present inhabitants are probably mainly descended from the broken tribes of eastern Afghanistan, who, refusing to accept Islam (in the 10th century), were driven away by the fervid swordsmen of Mahomet. Descending upon the feeble inhabitants of the trackless slopes and perilous valleys of modern Kafiristan, themselves, most likely, refugees of an earlier date, they subjugated and enslaved them and partially amalgamated with them. These ancient peoples seem to be represented by the Presun tribe, by the slaves and by fragments of lost peoples, now known as the Jazhis and the Aroms. The old division of the tribes into the Siah-Posh, or the black-robed Kafirs, and the Safed-Posh, or the white-robed, was neither scientific nor convenient, for while the Siah-Posh have much in common in dress, language, customs and appearance, the Safed-Posh divisions were not more dissimilar from the Siah-Posh than they were from one another. Perhaps the best division at present possible is into (1) Siah-Posh, (2) Waigulis, and (3) Presungalis or Viron folk.

The Siah-Posh.