The annexation of the young republic by the English defeated the first attempt of the Africanders to secure access to the sea. It seemed to be a turning point in the history of South Africa, for by it Great Britain obtained command of the east coast, and established a new center of British influence in a part of the country which has come to be called the garden of Africa. Moreover, it opened the way for the acquisition of large contiguous territories in Zululand and in Tongaland. It has been said that if the little Dutch republic had been left to itself the natives would have suffered under a more rigorous treatment than they have experienced at the hands of the British government, and that the internal dissensions which became quite serious during its brief history would have necessitated British interference in the general interest of European South Africa. But one cannot feel perfect confidence in uninspired prophecy. And one cannot repress the feeling that the people who had trekked into an unclaimed and unoccupied country for the sake of being isolated from the British, who had subdued the savage Zulu tribes and set up a civilized government of their own, were seized of sacred rights to peaceful possession and independence. CHAPTER VI. SECOND CONTACT OF AFRICANDER AND BRITON—NORTH OF THE ORANGE RIVER. The Africanders who had trekked into the spreading uplands lying between the Orange River and the Limpopo, west of Natal, were not exempt from the tribulations experienced by their brethren who had turned eastward to the coast. Like them they were forced to wage incessant war with the natives; but the enemies they had to encounter were less formidable than the Zulus. One tribe, however, and their historic chief, Moshesh, were foemen worthy of their steel. In the nineteenth century there were three men of the Kaffir race who were vastly superior to any of their own people, and measured up evenly with the ablest white opponents they met in diplomacy and war. These men were Tshaka the Zulu, Khama of the Bechuanos, and Moshesh the Basuto. It was the fortune of the Orange River emigrants to meet this Moshesh and the Basutos in many a hard-fought battle for the possession of the country. Moshesh differed from other Kaffir leaders in that he was merciful to his wounded and captive enemies and ruled his own people with mildness and equity. As early as 1832 he opened the way for, and even invited, missionaries to teach the Basutos a better way of life, and they exerted a powerful formative influence on the Basuto nation. The missionaries were all European—some of them were British—which latter fact was made apparent in the result of their work. When the unavoidable conflict between the Basutos and the whites came, the Basutos, guided by their missionaries, were careful to avoid any fatal breach with the British government. Several times Moshesh engaged in war with the Orange River emigrants, but only once with the English.