The physical characteristics of the two Kaffrarias bear a general resemblance to those of the Cape Colony, of which they are the north-east continuation. The country generally rises from the sea-level in a series of terraces to the lofty mountains forming the north-west boundary. British Kaffraria culminates in the Amatola mountains, rising in one part to upwards of 6000 feet. The features of Kaffraria Proper are much more varied, and exhibit some of the most picturesque scenery in South Africa. The rugged range of the Drakenberg forms its north-west boundary, rising at its north-eastern point to a height of 9657 feet. Between that range and the coast-lands are many subsidiary ranges with fertile valleys through which the great rivers make their way to the Indian Ocean. The coast region is more broken than is the case farther south. The prevalent rock along, the coast of Kaffraria is the Old Sandstone, nonfossiliferous rock, quartzite, intersected occasionally-with veins of white quartz rock, and often capped with a dense mass of conglomerate; while the interior mountains are classed by Mr Dunn as the Stormberg coal-bearing fossiliferous beds of the Triassic period. Kaffraria is watered by hundreds of rivers, most of them rising at no great distance from the coast, but several of them of large dimensions. The chief, beginning at the south, are the Keiskamma, the Buffalo, the Kei, the Bashee, the Umtata, the St John’s or Umzimvubu, with several large tributaries, and the Umtamvuna, which separates British Kaffraria from Natal. The rivers are of little use for navigation.

Kaffraria forms one of the most naturally fertile regions in S. Africa. In British Kaffraria most of the cereals grow, and in the cloofs, and scattered over the country, are forests and clumps of valuable timber. The Transkei shows even greater possibilities of culture. The mountain gorges abound in fine trees; thick forest and bush cover the banks of the rivers; grass grows luxuriantly in the lower regions; and the lowlands and valleys are favourable to almost any kind of fruit, field, and garden cultivation. In the occupied district cattle and sheep are numerous; lions are still found in the interior, and a fair amount of the game characteristic of the inland districts belonging to the Cape. The climate generally resembles that of the eastern province of Cape Colony, but with features more approaching to those of the tropics. The coast districts are extremely hot in summer, the temperature on an average varying from 70’ to 90°, while in winter the day temperature is seldom below 50°, though the nights are very cold. But the variation in altitude places climates of all grades within easy reach, from the burning coast to the snow-clad mountain. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer; rain mostly falls in spring and summer, and the winters are generally dry. On the whole the climate may be considered as extremely healthy.

British Kaffraria, on its incorporation with Cape Colony, was divided into King William’s Town and East London, each with a capital of the same name, and forming the two most easterly divisions of the colony. King William’s Town has an area of 1781 square miles, and a total population (1875) of 106,640, of whom 9012 are white; the population of the capital is 5169. The area of East London province is 1225 square miles, and the population 15,514, of whom 3773 are white. Its capital, East London (population, with the contiguous Panmure, 2134), at the mouth of the Buffalo river, is the port for British Kaffraria. The anchorage is exposed, but extensive harbour works are in operation (1881). In 1880, 135 foreign ships arrived of 134,753 tons, and coastwise 152 of 217,174 tons. It is connected by railway with King William’s Town, the line going north-west as far as Queenstown, the capital of the province of that name. The imports of East London amounted in 1880 to £1,152,610, showing an increase of £72,488 over the previous year; and the exports to £303,991, being an increase over 1879 of £38,369. Sheep and goat rearing is extensively carried on; there are also large numbers of cattle. Wheat, maize, and millet are the staple agricultural products. The wool exported from East London in 1880 amounted to 5,253,650 ff>. In both divisions are numerous German settlements.

Kaffraria Proper or the Transkeian Territories consist of the territories of various native tribes, most of which have been annexed (1875-80) to the Cape Colony, and are under the jurisdiction of magistrates. The area of Kaffraria Proper is about 18,000 square miles,—its extreme length being about 230 miles, and its breadth from the sea to the mountains bounding it on the north-west averaging about 120 miles. On the south-east it is washed by the Indian Ocean; the Drakenberg and Stormberg ranges bound it on the north-west; in the west and south-west are the Indwe and Kei rivers, and on the east and north-east the Umzimkulu and Umtamvuna. It is surrounded by Cape Colony, Basutoland, and Natal. The area and population of the various districts can only be given approximately; the following is an official estimate of the present population :— [table]

Fingoland, to which (with the Idutwya Reserve and Gcalekaland) the name Tanskeian Territory, or the Transkei, is often confined, is about 40 miles square, and is the most advanced of the districts; it is suited both for pasture and for cultivation. According to the latest return it had 4976 horses, 37,298 calves, 182,869 sheep, and 50,240 goats, the total value of its stock being £321,784. The revenue in 1879 was £5047, the expenditure £3286. There are many trading stations, and wool is largely exported. The annual value of the imports and exports is estimated at £150,000. Tambookieland or Tembuland is divided into Tambookieland Proper, the district of the Emigrant Tambookies, and Bomvaniland. The first is about 75 miles long and from 30 to 40 broad. The population is probably about 30,000. There are many trading stations, and large numbers of sheep and cattle. A bill for the annexation of Tambookieland Proper passed the Cape Parliament in 1880. The revenue of the whole of Tambookieland was estimated at £12,500 for 1880. The magistracy is at Umtata on the river of that name. West of Tambookieland and Fingoland is the district of the Emigrant Tambookies, removed some years ago from Tambookieland over the Indwe. It is 85 miles long and 20 broad; population about 40,000, with (in 1875) 5348 horses, 38,749 cattle, 84,201 sheep, 47,300 goats, and many trading stations. The Idutwya Reserve is about 28 miles square, with (in 1874) 2514 horses, 17,698 cattle, 51,302 sheep, 14,909 goats; revenue about £1380, expenditure £2976. Gcalekaland, the country of the Gcalekas, or Ama-Xosa Kaffres under Kreli, is about 50 miles long and 30 broad. Traders are settling in the country, and a small trade in wool is done. All these territories lie mainly between the Kei and Bashee rivers. Bomvaniland is about 30 miles by 20; it lies between the Bashee and Umtata rivers. On both sides of St John’s river, and extending to the Natal boundary, is Pondoland; only that portion of it on the south side of the St John’s river, known as St John’s Territories (21,905 inhabitants), has been formally annexed, but the magistrate has jurisdiction on both sides. Pondoland is about 60 miles square. This district is noted for its fertility and beauty, and has much excellent pasture land. The district between Pondoland, Natal, Basutoland, Wodehouse division, and Tambookieland, is now known as Griqualand East, inhabited by various tribes (upwards of 100,000 souls), about 125 miles long and 40 to 75 miles wide. A great part of this territory formerly went by the name of Nomansland, in area about 6000 square miles, and lay at the foot of the Drakenberg, between the Umzimkulu and Kinira rivers. In 1862 it was handed over to Adam Kok’s people, but in 1877 an Act of annexation was passed, which was promulgated in 1879. The boundaries of the new district were made to include what was known as the St John’s River territory, including, however, British Pondoland. The Griquas themselves are not numerous, being found chiefly in the neighbourhood of Kokstadt, the station of the chief magistrate, 95 miles from the mouth of the St John’s River. Their farms are rapidly passing into the hands of Europeans. Various other tribes have had land allotted them in the district. The whole district is said to be very fertile, and eminently adapted for the cultivation of various kinds of grain. In 1880 land was granted and sold in Griqualand East to the extent of about 300,000 acres. All these districts may be regarded as virtually annexed to the Cape, with which they will doubtless be gradually incorporated. Kaffraria is governed by ministers responsible to the Cape legislature, in which, however, it has no representatives. Mission stations and trading stations are scattered all over the region.

Kaffre lVars.— During the extension of the Dutch and English powers over South Africa, collisions with the natives were of course inevitable; there are six contests which more especially came under the designation of Kaffre wars. In 1780 the Great Fish river was settled on as the boundary between the Kaffres and the colonists. For some time previous to 1811 the Kaffres in the Zuurveld broke the boundary, took possession of the neutral ground, and committed depredations on the colonists. In order to expel them from the Zuurveld, Colonel Graham took the field with a mixed force in December 1811, and in the end the Kaffres were driven beyond the Fish river. In 1817 Lord Charles Somerset, governor of the colony, entered into a treaty with a chief, Ngqika, in which he acknowledged that chief as head of all the Ama-Xosa Kaffres, and in which it was agreed that any kraal to which stolen cattle could be traced should be held accountable for compensation. This was a serious blunder, Ngqika being merely a subordinate chief, the paramount chief of the Ama-Xosas being Hintza, the chief of the Ama-Gcalekas. Some stolen cattle having been traced to one of the kraals of a chief Ndlambe, Major Fraser, with a small force, was sent to enforce restitution. On this, Ndlambe and his fellow-chiefs attacked Neoika. who claimed and obtained help from the colonial Government. The Kaffres were completely routed in 1818 by a force under Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton. They rallied, however, and a great force suddenly poured into the colony in the early part of 1819, sweeping at first everything before them. On April 22 the prophet-chief, Makanna, attacked Grahamstown, which was garrisoned by a mere handful of troops, under Colonel Wiltshire. Assistance arrived, however, and the Kaffres were defeated with great slaughter. The principal chiefs were outlawed, the country between Koonap Kat and the Great Fish river was added to the colony, and that between the latter river and the Keiskamma declared to be neutral territory; on this some of the Kaffres were allowed to settle. Final peace, however, was far from being secured. One tribe or another was almost constantly on the move, causing disturbances in which the colonists could not but suffer. In 1828 the chief Ngqika or Gaika died, and during the minority of his infant son Sandili, the government of the tribe, now called Gaikas, devolved on Macomo, his elder half-brother, who had been permitted to occupy the valleys of the Kat river. On account of an attack on the Ama-Tembu Kaffres, he was removed from the settlement, as was also his brother Tyali (1833). Permitted to return, they were removed again, and this vacillating treatment had no doubt something to do with the next war. On December 11, 1834, another brother of Macorno, a chief of high rank, was killed while resisting a commando party. This set the whole of the Kaffre tribes in a blaze. Under Macomo, Tyali, and Xexo a force of 10,000 fighting men swept across the frontier, spread over the country, pillaged and burned the homesteads, and murdered the farmers and all who dared to resist. The fighting power of the colony was at the time scanty, but all available forces were mustered, under Colonel (afterwards Sir Harry) Smith, who reached Grahamstown on January 6, 1835, six days after news of the rising reached Cape Town. The enemy’s territory was invaded, and after nine months’ fighting the Kaffres were completely subdued, and a new treaty of peace concluded (September 17). By this treaty all the country as far as the river Kei was acknowledged to be British, and its inhabitants declared British subjects. A site for the seat of government was selected, and named King William’s Town. All this, however, was undone by the home Government, the secretary of state for the colonies at the time being Lord Glenelg. A policy of conciliation and mildness towards the Kaffres was adopted, a policy distasteful to the colonists, although laudable efforts seem to have been made to carry it out. The next war, known as the “War of the Axe,” arose from the murder of a Hottentot, to whom an old Kaffre thief was manacled while being conveyed to Grahamstown for trial for stealing an axe. The escort was attacked by a party of Kaffres and the Hottentot killed. The surrender of the murderer was refused, and war was declared on March 11, 1846. The Gaikas were the chief tribe engaged in the war, assisted during the course of it by the Tambookies. After some reverses the Kaffres were signally defeated on June 7 by General Somerset on the Gwangu, a few miles from Fort Peddie. Still the war went on, till at length Sandili, the chief of the Gaikas, surrendered, as also gradually did the other chiefs; and by the beginning of 1848 the Kaffres were again subdued, after twenty-one months’ fighting. The country was declared under British rule, and was formed into the division of Victoria East and British Kaffraria, between the new colonial boundary and the Kei river,—the latter reserved for occupation by the Kaffres. The peace, however, was not to last long. About October 1850 it was reported that the Kaffres were preparing^ for war. Sir Harry Smith proceeded to the frontier, and summoned Sandili and the other chiefs to an interview. Sandili refused obedience; upon which, at an assembly of other chiefs, the governor declared him deposed from his chiefship, and appointed an Englishman, Mr Brownlee, a magistrate, to be chief of the Gaika tribe. This measure is said to have been the immediate cause of the ensuing outbreak; but there is no doubt that the Kaffres had already determined on war. On the 24th of December Colonel Mackinnon, being sent with a small force to capture Sandili, was attacked in a narrow defile by a large body of Kaffres, and compelled to retreat with some loss. This was the signal for a general rising of the Gaika tribe. The settlers in the military villages, assembled in fancied security to celebrate Christmas day, were surprised by the treacherous foe, many of them murdered, and their houses given to the flames. Other disasters followed in quick succession. A small patrol of military was cut off to a man. The greater part of the Kaffre police deserted, many of them carrying off their arms and accoutrements. Flushed with success, the Kaffres in immense force surrounded and attacked Fort Cox, where the governor was with an inconsiderable force. His situation was truly critical. More than one unsuccessful attempt was made to relieve him; but his dauntless spirit was equal to the occasion. At the head of one hundred and fifty mounted riflemen, accompanied by Colonel Mackinnon, he dashed out of the fort, and, through a heavy fire of the enemy, rode to King William’s Town,—a distance of 12 miles. Meantime, a new enemy appeared. A large number of the Kat river Hottentots, who had in former wars been firm allies of the British, rose in rebellion. This revolt was followed by that of the Hottentots at other missionary stations; and part of the Hottentots of the Cape Mounted Rifles followed their example. We have only space to state the general results of the war. After the confusion caused by the sudden outbreak had subsided, and due preparations were made, Sir Harry Smith and his gallant force soon turned the tide of war against the Kaffres. The Amatola mountains were stormed; and the paramount chief Kreli, who all along covertly assisted the Gaikas, was severely punished. In April 1852 Sir Harry Smith was recalled, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Cathcart. Kreli was again attacked, and reduced to submission. The Amatolas were finally cleared of Kaffres, and small forts erected among them to prevent their reoccupation. It was not till March 23, 1853, that martial law was revoked, and the most sanguinary of Kaffre wars brought to a conclusion, with a loss of many hundred British soldiers. Shortly after, British Kaffraria was erected into a crown colony, which it remained till 1865, when it was incorporated with the Cape Colony. After a peace of twenty-five years, once more, in 1877, the Kaffres (of Kaffraria Proper) interrupted the progress of the country and caused considerable destraction and distress. In September of that year the hereditary enmity between the Fingoes and Gcalekas broke out into open hostility, the Government taking the part of the former, who were under its protection. At first the Gcalekas were driven beyond the Bashee; but collecting in force again they recrossed, and got the Gaikas to join them about the end of December. After several months the governor called in the aid of the imperial troops, and soon effectually broke up and defeated the rebels. The war with the Zulu Kaffres will be described under Zululand.

See TheaΓs Compendium of the History and Geography of South Africa, 1878; Silver's Handbook to South Africa, 1880; the General Directory and Guide-Book to the Cape of Good Hope and its Dependencies, and other year books and blue-books; Keith Johnston’s Africa, 1878; Stanford's large map of the Cape of Good Hope and neighbouring territories, 1876; The Colonies, and The Colonies and India (passim)·, Blacks, Boers, and British, by F. R. Statham, 1881; Hall's South African Geography, 1866; The Story of Missions in South-East Africa, by Rev. W. Shaw, 1866; Chase and wilmot's History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, 1871; Anthony Trollope’s South Africa, Î878. (J. S. K.)

The Kaffres.

The Kaffres, or Kafirs, a large South African race, form ethnically a well-marked variety of the Negro type, and linguistically a distinct branch of the Bantu family. There are no general or collective national names, and the various tribal divisions are mostly designated by those of distinguished historical or legendary chiefs, founders of dynasties or hereditary chieftaincies. The name Kafir (a form which in popular usage designates the African race less frequently than the inhabitants of Kafiristan in Persia) is that applied by Mahometans to all who reject the faith of Islam. It was thus current along the east coast of Africa at the arrival of the Portuguese, and passed from them to the Dutch and English, and recently even to the natives themselves under the form Kafula, as in the expression ba-ngama Kafula-vje, they are only Kafirs. Of this race there are two main divisions, jointly occupying the southeast corner of the continent from the Lower Limpopo to the Great Fish river north and south, and from the escarpments of the central plateau to the Indian Ocean west and east. They thus impinge southwards on the Hottentot domain, westwards on the kindred Basuto and Bechuana nations, northwards on the Tekezas, Makuas, and others also of kindred stock occupying the region stretching from the Limpopo to the Zambesi and even beyond it to Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika. Politically the Kaffre domain comprises the Portuguese possessions skirting Delagoa Bay, the semi-independent Zulu territory, the colony of Natal, and the ancient territory of Zanguana, which included that part of Cape Colony till recently known as British and Independent Kaffraria. Of the two branches, each split up into a...