Page:George McCall Theal, Ethnography and condition of South Africa before A.D. 1505 (2nd ed, 1919).djvu/111

Rh winds being offshore, is trifling compared with that of the thunderstorms in the interior, and the sandy soil does not long retain moisture. It is an arid, sterile belt of land, destitute of running streams and fountains, where in places the sand hills blown about by the wind are constantly changing their form. It is traversed with difficulty even by those who are acquainted with the localities where scanty pasture and a little water are to be found. Here therefore the migrating horde, which must have been broken up into small parties, moving on slowly at long intervals, turned inland for a short distance and then kept on towards the south, but as soon as possible it moved westward again and pursued its course along the terrace nearest the ocean. Did the wanderers expect that the shore would somewhere turn and lead them to a fairer land, where they could rest at last? No one can tell. Perhaps they themselves did not know of an object in view, but were merely impelled onward by a ruling desire for change. They were not now driven forward by enemies stronger than themselves, but still they advanced. Leaving a section behind in the territory now termed Great Namaqualand, they crossed the Orange river and entered the present Cape province.

During their march they must have had constant conflicts with the Bushmen, the only earlier inhabitants of the land, who could not look on unmoved while the country was thus invaded. These puny savages were capable of causing much mischief, though they could not prevent the strangers from either advancing or taking possession of the choicest pastures along the shore. The Hottentots did not regard them as human beings having rights, but simply as noxious animals to be got rid of as quickly as possible. In one respect, however, this was not the case. Young girls of Bushman blood, when captured, were detained and incorporated as inferior members of the families of those who slew their kindred without the slightest feeling of remorse. In this manner, probably from the first contact of the two peoples, a mixture of blood took place, which, though slight in the beginning of the journey from the centre of the continent, was considerable by the time the intruding horde reached the Cape promontory. On the other hand, there was no intercourse between Bushmen