animals are now rarely met, and then only in small
numbers. Within quite recent years great herds were
passed as one travelled through the country, and these
plains actually swarmed with Ruminants. The Rehbok
(Pelea capreolus), Steinbok (Tragulus rupestris), Springbok
(Gazella euchore), Hartebeest (AlcelapJws caama),
and Koodoo (Strepsiceros kudu) were generally seen
and could always be found, but now only a few of the
smaller “ Buck ” reward the hunter’s toil. It is the
scattered Boers who have thus altered this aspect of
nature; they slaughtered the animals for their skins
when they found a small price could be obtained for
them, and in former days their dress, including boots,
were made of buckskin. A buckskin kaross kept them
warm or provided the substitute for a carpet, whilst the
same animals provided them with a good covering for
furniture. No animals could long withstand such persistent
slaughter, and to-day the lifeless veld bears witness
to one of the Boer influences on nature *. I have
often heard old residents and sportsmen describe the
panorama of Antelopes once to be seen moving across
these scenes, which now are only vast solitudes. It is
difficult to estimate the amount of nature’s modification
through man’s influence. Even on these grassy plains,
where superficially plant-life looks so poor and uniform,
the extirpation of these vast herds of browsing animals
must have produced botanical changes and modifications
which only a local Darwin could have estimated. But
here the growth of trees or shrubs that might have previously
been kept down by the ruminants is again frustrated
by the periodical grass-fires of the Boers (to be
alluded to further on), and thus man again modifies the
appearance of nature.
Time passes much more quickly during these long
coach journeys than would be expected; there is a
freshness in the air and an absence of restraint that
* Methuen, in 1848, describes Springboks migrating in tens of thousands,
literally concealing the plains and devouring every green herb, their ravages
exceeding those of the locust swarm (‘ Life in the Wilderness,’ p. £9).
Methuen is speaking of the upper regions of the Colony, hut the Transvaal
must have been equally undisturbed at that time.
contrasts with long railway-trips at home. Thus,
though we started at B a .m . and did not reach our
sleeping-quarters till 7 p .m ., fatigue was in an inverse
ratio to impatience. Little was seen during this day: a
number of widely-scattered Guinea-fowl (Numida coro-
nata), which generally frequent more wooded country
“ Bushveld ”—were passed on the open veld ; and
occasional Vultures, soaring beneath a cloudless sky,
emphasized what has been well called the ii Trade-mark
of Africa,” in the shape of skeletons or carcasses of oxen
and horses which had perished by the way and now
ornamented at intervals the margins of the road by
which we travelled.
We did not start till 6 a .m . on the last day of our
route; but the charm of the journey is broken, for we
are leaving South-African solitude and approaching the
domain of the merchant, the miner, _ the company
promoter, and the speculator; and this combination
reaches its apotheosis in Johannesburg, the Chicago
of the Transvaal. Long before we reach it clouds of
thick brown dust meet and cover us, for a high wind
has arisen, and soon the town itself is in view. There
is no reason why Johannesburg should not he one of
the healthiest spots in the world, its natural position
and climate should render it such; defective sanitation
a short time back made it a veritable plague-
spot, and typhoid fever, often attended with pneumonia
that usually attacked both lungs, carried off
too many victims, and those who sought gold too
often found death. It is the most English town of the
Transvaal, and will eventually prove the real capital.
In enterprise and business it hears the same relation to
Pretoria as the City of London does to Westminster,
though both the last and Pretoria are the seats of Parliament.
Johannesburg is now * in sackcloth and
ashes, the occupation of the company promoter is gone,
mining companies close almost daily, mining scrip is
nearly valueless, and a settled apathy denotes the
shareholder. Numbers leave the town, rents fall, the
* This applies to the year 1890.