Twenty-Five Years in a Waggon in South Africa: Sport and Travel in South AfricaAnderson, Andrew A.
History
Twenty-Five Years in a Waggon in South Africa: Sport and Travel in South Africa
Anderson, Andrew A.
Africa, Southern -- Description and travel; Anderson, Andrew A. -- Travel -- Africa, Southern
The next and third Bechuana chief from the Cape Colony is the chief
Gaseitsive, whose territory is more extensive than Montsioa's; his
southern boundary joins on to the latter, along the entire length from
east to west. His chief town is at Kanya, sixty-five miles north of
Sehuba, Montsioa's town, situated on the summit of a lofty hill, the
highest of any in this part of the country. The chief lives in a
well-built house, furnished similar to any European residence. The hill
where the main part of the town is built, slopes gradually down towards
the north, on the east and west, more suddenly on the south by a cliff,
180 feet in height, composed of rounded and well water-worn stones, from
the size of a marble to an ostrich egg, forming a hard conglomerate,
with dark brown gritty sand, and it has every appearance of having once
been a shore-line, and the back of an ancient harbour. At the bottom of
this cliff the lower town is built, and is the mission station and
church of the London Missionary Society, under the Rev. Mr. Good. This
lower town stands at the upper end of an extensive level opening,
surrounded on three sides by hills, open to the south, where a small
sluit drains the land upon which the lower town stands. The principal
road from the colony after passing through Montsioa's territory at
Maceby's station, runs due north to Kanya; the distance from the former
is sixty miles, from Molapo river; half-way, at Vaalpan Fits, is the
division between Montsioa and Gaseitsive. The country is thickly wooded
and very pretty; all to the west of this road is part of the Kalahara
desert belonging to these two chiefs. A road from Melemo's station on
the Molapo joins this, and at Vaalpan Pits a road branches off to the
left, through the desert, to Lake N'gami, a distance of 420 miles to the
chief Molemo at Leshubatabe's station, east of that lake.
The principal watering-places along this road are Moshanen Kraal, thirty
miles; Seletse, forty miles; Tans, twenty miles; Kaikai, 110, with small
pits between; Makapolo Pans, 108, also small pans along the road; Goose
Vlei, sixty-four miles beyond, and to Molemo's station, near the lake,
forty-eight. The country through which this road passes varies in
character and scenery; the lower portion passes between isolated and
picturesque hills, well-wooded to their summits with a variety of
subtropical vegetation. Mokotontuane Hills are particularly noticeable
for their beautiful flora. The plains and valleys have many Kaffir
stations with their petty chiefs, under paramount chief Gaseitsive, who
belongs to the Bangwaketse tribe of the Bechuana family. They are
Moshanen, Montsioa's old station; Seletse, Gabatane, Ses, Khokhochu,
Lutlue, Tans, and several others, as also Bushman kraals where large
herds of cattle are kept.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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