Page:The Past, Present and Future Trade of the Cape Colonies with Central Africa.pdf/21

since they got guns, but who are obliged now again to take to their old more peaceful habits and become in reality peaceful people, and as thus our way into the interior leads through peaceful people, this is one of the good reasons for opening up Central Africa from the south. If we consider the east coast, our way leads through tribes of whom we do not know how they will behave; if they see large quantities of European goods pass through their territories into the interior they become jealous, and the consequence of it will be that they kill our traders, and, shortly, we have no guarantee that the native tribes therein will behave friendly for the future, as we have it among the Bechuanas more than among any other tribes in South Africa. Besides this, there is another obstruction. My experience tells me that on the East and West coast malaria fever is so bad that it kills 50 per cent. of all white men that come there; but my experience between the Waal River and the Zambesi is that malaria kills 8 to 5 per cent. of those who go there. That is a great difference. This part is more healthy. Undisputably the access from the south is yet the healthiest way into the heart of Africa. Mashona country, the most fertile part of South Africa, is unhealthy, but the neighbouring Matabele land is very healthy. We can trade and cultivate in the former there for months, and we can live in the latter during the unhealthy season. There are more reasons which make me believe that really the south is the proper way to come into the interior, and not by the other routes. We go also into the interior through our Colonies; the money spent for the great enterprise to open Central Africa benefits your brethren; gentlemen, not so in your trial from the East. Only the chiefs living on the East coast get the benefit (and also along the West coast), and natives who never have been and never will be so friendly to you like the Bechuanas in Central South Africa. These chiefs on the East coast are at first willing when ivory is plentiful in their lands, and as long as they can buy lots of our goods; but when they have killed their last elephant and have nothing more to build with and deal with, and they see our traders going into the interior with waggons and waggons of goods, they become jealous, and we have no guarantee that these chiefs will be reliable. I went up the Zambesi River, and I believe it will facilitate our trade towards the north-west. Then remember that our waggons can now already penetrate up to fifteen miles to the Zambesi and Tshobe junction; we are thus already at the heart of Africa, and are on the demarcation line of Central Africa from the Zambesi valley (right and left of the Victoria Falls); we can then open several trading stations. But how to keep open communications between