Germany rejoiced in her new possession, but she had hard work to occupy it. For five or six years the Hottentots fought hard for their independence, and until they were put down there was scarcely any attempt at settlement. In October 1904 the brutal methods of the officials led to a great rising of the Hereros, the bravest of the native peoples. During this revolt the Germans did many of those deeds of shame and horror which afterwards covered their name with infamy in Belgium. It took 19,000 Germans to put down the Hereros, and they were not completely subdued until 1908. [Illustration: German Camel Corps in German South-West Africa. _Photo, Underwood & Underwood._] German South-West Africa is not an inviting land. Much of it is waterless desert, but there are large areas of splendid grass land very suitable for grazing, and upon them the Herero raise huge herds of cattle. Sheep thrive well, and so do goats. Many Boers from Cape Colony have settled in the country, and their flocks and herds have prospered greatly. It was these Boers from Cape Colony who "made" German South-West Africa. The Germans have done much to foster agriculture, and have opened up the country by good roads, and by railways which in 1913 had a total length of 1,304 miles. They have also bored largely for water. Despite all their efforts, however, the colony did not pay its way until 1912, when diamonds were discovered in the Lüderitz Bay district. Copper was also found and mined, and before the war some 27,500 tons of this metal were exported annually. When the great struggle began in Europe, the German Empire overseas covered an estimated area of over 1,000,000 square miles, of which nearly 90 per cent. was in Africa, and by far the bulk of the remainder in certain islands of the Pacific Ocean. Of the fourteen islands comprising the Samoan group, which lies 1,600 miles to the north of New Zealand, Germany held eight of the best, and America the remainder. To most people the mention of Samoa recalls Robert Louis Stevenson,[130] the sweet singer and stirring romancer who spent the last years of his life at Vailima, in a deep cleft of the mountains near Apia, in the fertile island of Upolu, the largest island of the Samoan group. Here he wrote several of his books, and worked hard at clearing the rank tropical jungle and at making roads. He died in his island home Dec. 3, 1894, and was buried on the summit of a mountain. Thanks to his descriptions,[131] the Samoans and their beautiful sunny islands are familiar to the readers of English books all the world over.