Drought in the Northern Cape

Attempts to overcome the effects of drought in the Northern Cape

Can history about local inventions ever be forgotten and lost? In our daily lives where parts of our country are suffering from major droughts, there were already early attempts to overcome the effects of drought in the Northern Cape.

Revd. Peter Wright and his colleague and friend Revd. Isaac Hughes were both practical and enterprising men who had been sent to this country from Lancashire as artisan missionaries in the early 1820’s and had subsequently been ordained.

In the surviving letters and reports of these good men illustrate that in order to teach their people Christianity, they considered that an essential duty was to aid them in the path of civilization by improving living conditions, ensuring so far as was possible that their fields produced good crops and that cattle, sheep, and goats could find good grazing.

Lacking proper tools, equipment, and material, the missionaries undertook an experiment as far back as 1832. When they constructed a pump of 6 inches bore, the barrel cast of lead, and, as they had no boring tools, their pipes were made from logs of wood sawn down the middle, hollowed out and bound together again with iron hoops.  Although not entirely successful as the pipes were not thoroughly watered tight, sufficient water was lifted from the Orange River to irrigate a small area of arable land.

Between 1833 and 1835 Mr. Wright had to travel twice to Cape Town and back, a wagon journey of more than three months each way.  He made purchases of iron pipes, tools, and pumps for transportation by wagon to Griquatown.

Andries Waterboer whose full co-operation the missionaries enjoyed, was keenly interested in a scheme devised by Wright and Hughes.  In February 1836 he and Hughes undertook a survey of the Vaal and Orange rivers in their vicinity to locate a suitable site.

Read’s Drift some 30 miles south of Griquatown on the Orange River was selected and on March 15th work on the project “to lead water out for agricultural purposes” was commenced.  Read’s Drift is across the Orange River on the “Old Mission Road to the North” almost due south of Griquatown.  Named after the Revd. James Read (Snr.) of the London Missionary Society, one of the first missionaries at Kuruman.  Afterward at Kat River.

Mr. Wright transferred himself to Philippolis where his presence was badly needed owing to the inefficiency of the resident missionary, Gottlieb Schreiner. After two years of most admirable work, Revd. Peter Wright died in the 1843 typhus epidemic.

The flourishing town of Douglas has to-day grown up around what was the mission.  Revd. Isaac Hughes, after laboring for 45 years among the Griquas, died in June 1870 and appropriately, lies buried on the farm ‘Backhouse’ at Douglas.

Notes:

The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers.

Inch: A unit of linear measure equal to one-twelfth of a foot (2.54 cm). 1 inch = 2,54 cm

A mile is an English unit length of linear measure equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards

Semi-desert

What is a semi-desert climate?

An extremely dry area characterized by sparse vegetation.

Semi-desert scrubs A transitional formation type situated between true desert and more thickly vegetated areas (e.g. between thorn forest and desert or between Savannah and desert). The vegetation is sparser than that of the thorn forest and succulents are more common, as a consequence of the drier climate. Most of the plants are shallow-rooted, and so able to exploit before it evaporates any precipitation that percolates into the surface layer of the soil.

Plants That Live in the Semi-Desert Scrub

The semi-desert scrub is a region short on moisture with plenty of sunlight. This area is open shrubland with clumps of grass. The soil is fine-textured, alkaline and salty. The plants must endure hot summers and cold winters and annual rainfall is usually 7 to 16 inches–commonly falling as snow. Rainfall also can flood the area with up to 3 feet of water. The growing season in semi-desert scrub is marked by drought. Most plants that grow in this area must be tolerant to fire and large mammal grazing.

Four-Wing Saltbush

Four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) is an evergreen shrub reaching 15 feet high. The narrow, oblong leaves are 1/2 to 2 inches long. The gray-green foliage sparsely covers the multitude of branches. Four-wing saltbush produces dull yellow-brown flowers in the summer. Light green fruit follows the blossoms and turns light brown in the fall when ripe. Papery bracts create four wings around the fruit and stay on the bush for two years.

Indian Ricegrass

Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) is an erect perennial that grows 1 to 2 1/2 feet tall. This grass begins growing in the early spring while temperatures are still cool. Loose seed spikes are produced in the late spring. Green narrow blades attach to Indian ricegrass at the base. This grass thrives at 3,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation. Indian ricegrass is adapted to arid conditions and does not grow well in poor-draining soil. This plant is an important spring and summer food source for large mammals.

Winterfat

Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) is a cool season perennial that lives up to 130 years. This low-growing, woody shrub reaches 1 to 3 feet in height. The hairs covering the branches give the bush a silvery-white look. Small blossoms appear in April to September. The white flowers do not have any petals and form blossom clusters. Winterfat is found in dry valley bottoms, flat mesas, and hillsides. It does not grow well in wet conditions. Winterfat provides winter grazing for sheep, pronghorn, elk and mule deer.

Yellow Rabbitbrush

Yellow rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) is a 1- to 4-foot evergreen shrub. Brittle branches sprout from the base of the plant. Small, grass-like leaves are light green in color. Small, yellow blossoms appear in the late summer. These sticky flowers form round clusters. Yellow rabbitbrush prefers dry, good-draining soil and tolerates salty soil. This bush quickly invades areas disturbed by construction and agriculture.

Big Sagebrush

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) is an upright perennial shrub. This evergreen branches off a short trunk to create a round shape. Big sagebrush can reach 16 feet tall. Tiny flowers form dense clusters in the fall. Three-lobed, gray-green leaves are covered with silver hairs. This bush typically grows at 2,500 to 10,000 feet elevation in dry, good-draining, gravelly or rocky soil. Wildlife grazes on big sagebrush throughout the year.

Driedoring (Rhigozum trichotomum Burch.)

These thorny African bushes can be classified as shrubs or as multi-stemmed trees that can grow up to three meters in height. The branches are rigid and twist in angular directions. The branches’ arms are short. This genus can produce flowers between the months of September and December. They grow out in dry, open woodland ion sandy soils or out of limestone rocky outcrops.