Mafeking.

Manawatu Herald, 9 November 1899, Page 2

Mafeking.

Mr A. J. Henry, of North Sydney, who, in 1897, was a member of the, Rhodesian Mounted Police, sp^aking^ of the present position at Maf eking, s*id : — 11 lft 1897 I was omped at Mafeking. I' is a compact litl«' towo, about a quarter of a mile rquare, In the centre is the market square, and all round the pquare are the street*, running at right angles. The town ia on the railway line from the O*pe to Bulnwayo, and ia a kind of half way house between Kimberley and- Bulu* wnyo. It in a place for receiving goods from the Cape, and then forwarding them to Buluwayo, or distributing them throughout Becbuanaland and Rhodesia. To the north and south, and especially to the weat, the soil ia of a red, sandy^ kind, the country is arid, and frequently very dusty. To the we«t it goes stretching away into the Kalahari desert. Mafeking is in the oentre of a great dry plain, almost without a tree, and of a dead level. It is possible to view the country from Mafeking for about 20 miles around. It was made the terminus of a section because the Mafekinar river is there, and this is the only flowing water for a considerable distance on that great dry plain. Tt is & sort of big creek, running eapt and west, and the bin kg are low. The stream is sbal;«»w, nnd flows slowly. The water was required for team* and trans* ports that had to go by road, prjociDally to Bulnwayo. The river flows about 400 yards on the southern aide of the town. On the bank of the stream is a pumping station, -where the water is raised and forced into the town. Here it is preserved in tanks. The people in Mnfeking get heir water for domestic purposes from tanks, into which they gather rain water, as in Australia, and usually they have enough rain watee stored to last them for two months. \h this is the rainy season, they are not; likely to run short of rain water in their house tank*, but if the supDly from the river is out off, their horseo, mules and cattle are likely to go short.