The Orange Free State

Mr. Melville Chater continues for us his tour of the Union of South Africa in this next National Geographic Magazine article, "Orange Free State: The Prairie Province," April, 1931.  He begins in a train to Bethlehem, O.F.S. (Orange Free State), aptly named by Dutch settlers using "many a scriptural place name" (p. 431).

Like Bethlehem in the Middle East, Bethlehem, O.F.S., has many sheep herds.  This land in the center of South Africa, includes more than one-third of the country's land area at an elevation of 4,000 feet above sea level.  It is "preeminently a pastoral and agricultural province" (p. 431).

This series of articles is particularly appropriate since our 2013 world is mourning the death of a former South African president and world statesman, Mr. Nelson Mandela.  We'll learn more of the country and customs he had to face in his journey to racial equality.

South Africa's quest for this harmony began after the British defeated the Dutch in the Boer War, and began moving into South Africa.  "That a nation cannot remain half-slave, half-free, was as true of South Africa in 1833 as it was of the United States in 1861; and true, also, was it, in each case, that some one must pay the emancipation bill.  It was the descendants of the Cape's first settlers who paid by economic loss and by exiling themselves" (p. 435).

The Dutch left the south Cape area in wagon trains, just like our American settlers did to people our western lands.  They also had to fight the natives, just like the Americans did.  They settled near the Orange River. "In 1837 the Orange Free State was proclaimed.  The Boers. . . were to govern by their own . . .parliament, for half a century"
(p. 435).

Due to the dwindling wildlife, in 1898 "The Sabi Reserve was set aside as a game sanctuary" (p. 444).

With town names such as Bloemfontein (fountain of Bloem), Parys (Paris), and Kroonstal, Mr. Chater toured the area.  "At the Vaal (River) we ended our encirclement of the Prairie Province.  Its sunny cornfields dropped behind us as Basutoland's blue mountains closed about us on our way to Natal and the sea" (p. 444).  It appeared to be a most pleasant journey!