Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/260

 202 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. upper course of the Buffalo River. But in the sections of the periphery not defined by rivers or mountains, the territory of the republic has been considerably enlarged at the expense of the conterminous regions. Between Natal and the Portuguese territory it has encroached on some of the valleys inhabited by the Zulus and Swazis, while similar encroachments have been made in Bechiianaland on the west side. In 1870 a British arbitrator had traced west of the Makwasi Hills in the Potchcfstroom district, u litnit beyond which the Boers were not to trespass. But they j)aid little heed to this injunction, and during the temporary annexation of the republic by the English, they neglected to restore to the natives the very district which they had themselves forbidden the Boers to occupy. Since then further encroachments have taken place, and in virtue of a convention with Great Jiritain, executed in 1884, the territory of the South African Republic now stretches westward to the margin of the great commercial highway which con- nects the lower Vaal with the Zambese through Shoshong and Matebcleland. Except at one point traders and travellers may follow this route without touching the Transvaal frontier. Transvaal is utfualiy divided into three more or less distinct physical regions, which are determined mainly by the elevation of the land, taken in connection with the corresponding natural and economic conditions. These divisions are (1) the Hoofje Veld, or upland region, which comprises all the southern districts drained by the Vaal River, together with the Drakenberg highlands, as far north as the Lipa- lule, or Olifant River. The llooge Veld stands at an altitude ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 feet, and has a total suj)erficial area of about 85,000 square miles. It includes most of the richest uincral distiicts, and enjoys a healthy, climate, absolutely free from malaria, and well suited to the European constitution. (2) The Ihmhen Veld, or terrace lands, embracing the relatively low-lying eastern zone between the Drakenberg and Lubombo ranges. This division, which includes the whole of Swaziland and the ui)per ^Maputa Valley, falls in many places to a level of 2,000 feet above the sea, and covers a space of from 15,000 to 20,000 square miles. (}) The Bunch VchI, or bush country, that is the inner plateaux, ranging in height from 3,000 to 4,000 feet, and comprismg an area of some 00,000 square miles. Much of this division is strictly steppe land, and may be described as on the whole far more suited for grazing than for tillage. IIistokk; Rf.tkospect. The foundations of this Dutch state were laid under great difficulties. In 1837, when the first trekkers crossed the Vaal and .settled in the part of the terri- tory where now stands the town of Potchefstroom, they came into collision with the terrible chief of the Matebeles, one of the most formidable Zulu warriors, who were at that time " eating up " the peoples of Austral Africa. Most of the Dutch pioneers were exterminated, but the survivors succeeded in holding their ground and eventually driving the fierce Matebcle warriors northwards beyond the Lim- l)opo. Their numbers were increased by fresh yearly arrivals from the south,