The story of Africa and its explorers . matenka Captain Serpa Pintosjourney was made in a comfortable waggon, andlay, for the most part, through the Trans-vaal or the British colony of Natal. Thoughfull of interest to him, this journeycan have little moment so faras geography is concerned. Allof the country was, even at thatdate, tolerably well known, and inthe course of following years not. a little of the region mappedfor the first time by SerpaPinto has been the scene ofbusy gold-prospecting, and evenof pioneer farming. Through the entire courseof his journey Serpa Pintoemploys native names
The story of Africa and its explorers . matenka Captain Serpa Pintosjourney was made in a comfortable waggon, andlay, for the most part, through the Trans-vaal or the British colony of Natal. Thoughfull of interest to him, this journeycan have little moment so faras geography is concerned. Allof the country was, even at thatdate, tolerably well known, and inthe course of following years not. a little of the region mappedfor the first time by SerpaPinto has been the scene ofbusy gold-prospecting, and evenof pioneer farming. Through the entire courseof his journey Serpa Pintoemploys native namesin speaking of placeswhich he visited. Al-most the only excep-,? tion to this rulef is that, when hecrossed the aridcountry betweenthe Botletli (whichis really the Ku-bango) and theZambesi, he ven-tured to give the name of Baines Desertto an arid track traversed by him, inhonour of Thomas Baines (Vol. II., p. 238),who had for years worked laboriously inthe interior of Southern Africa with scantpleasure, little fame, much toil, and no. MAP OF SERPA PINTOS ROUTE THE STORY OF AFRICA. pecuniary reward. This bare, arid, andcheerless plain had been crossed for the firsttime by Livingstone but two degrees to thewest of Pintos track, one degree farther westby Baines, and a degree more to theeast by Baldwin, Chapman, Mohr, and is the most sandy and inhosj)itable regionof South Africa, the Sahara of the South, the colour. The thickness of the layer of finewhite sand which formed the surface variedfrom four to twenty inches. Of water therewas scarcely a trace, and often even in the rainyseasons very little accumulated in the de-pressions in the ground. After quitting it,the country was covered with forest, whichwent on increasing in density and luxurious-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1892
