Page:South Africa (1878 Volume 2).djvu/323

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

delay while a second beast comes. Then it is alleged that there is manifestly a witch interfering, and the witch-doctoring process takes place. It is bad luck indeed if rain do not come by this time;—but, should it not come soon after the witch-doctor's victim has gone through his torments, then the rain-maker is supposed to be an impostor, and he is at once drowned by order of the Chief. Mr. Warner, from whose notes this account is taken, says that the professional rain-maker was not often a long lived man.

I did not myself visit the Transkeian territory, but in passing from East London to Durban the small steamer which carried me ran so near the land that I was enabled to see the coast scenery as well as though I were in a rowing boat just off the shore. We could see the Kafirs bathing and the cattle of the Kafirs roaming upon the hills. It is by far the prettiest bit of coast belonging to South Africa. The gates of St. John, as the rocks forming the mouth of the river are called, are peculiarly lovely. When I was there the rebellion had not been commenced, but even then I thought it a pity that English vessels should not be able to run in among that lovely paradise of hills and rocks and waters.

I insert here a table of the population of the Transkeian tribes, giving the estimated numbers of the people and the supposed number of fighting men which each tribe contains. They are all now regarded as Kafirs except the inhabitants of Adam Kok's Land and the district called the Gatberg, who are people that have migrated from the west.