The mountain range on the western boundary, and on its northern, called the Drakensberg, are the highest of any of the mountains of South Africa, and it possesses some of the finest scenery in this part of the world. The loftiest peaks are 10,000 feet above sea-level. The general elevation of the upper portion of the colony is 4000 feet, sloping gradually until it reaches the coast-line. The climate is very healthy, both in summer and winter, and very mild. The coast region is more tropical from its being less elevated than the up-country; many extensive sugar plantations are cultivated, and the Natal sugar has become an important article of commerce. Coffee, tobacco, indigo, tea, arrowroot, various kinds of spices, all kinds of garden vegetables, tomato, yams, pineapple, and other tropical fruits. Cotton is cultivated also. Maritzburg is the seat of Government, and the principal military station. Railways are now pushing their way up towards Newcastle. When I knew the colony in 1860 the principal mode of conveyance was by bullock-waggons and passenger-carts. The colonists are now going in for preserving fruits, which are highly prized for their delicious flavour. There is some very fine building stone, particularly the marble found near Alfreda. Coal is found at Newcastle and Biggarsberg. Iron is distributed largely all over the country, and copper has also been discovered. Limestone has been found on the Bushman river and Upper Tugela. Slate is also found in several parts, and on the Bushman river, in which are beautiful specimens of fossil ferns. Altogether, Natal is a pleasant and healthy colony, but the native population being so large, now reaching to near 400,000, against a white population of something under 30,000, is a drawback to the whole of the country being profitably utilised, as it would otherwise be, if the colour was reversed. And one does not see what the end is to be, as Natal cannot carry a dense white population whilst the Kaffirs live and increase nearly as rapidly as the whites. Gold will probably settle the question, as the bulk of the Kaffirs remaining will be crowded out, and a small population of white men will remain and feed the gold-diggers in the Transvaal and beyond. The End. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Twenty-Five Years in a Waggon in South Africa, by Andrew A. Anderson