Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1182 Orange River ([-])

November 1658, 11, sunny, by the Orange River.

The hot sun is scorching the earth fiercely. It is located in the Orange River Basin at about 28 degrees south latitude. Due to the dry season and strong evaporation, there is only some water flowing in the center of the once wide river channel. The shallow water area has long been turned into pieces of cracked land due to drying up-drought, which has been tormenting this land since the ancient Gondwana era, and the residents living on this dry grassland (whether they are Khoisan or animals) have long since accepted this fact.

"We don't know the extent of the distribution of diamond mines, but judging from the locations where they were discovered, it is not difficult to speculate that they mainly exist in this dry grassland area in the lower reaches of the Orange River. Therefore, to be on the safe side , I decided to set the area from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the northern section of the Dongshan Mountains in the east (that is, the western half of the Cape Fold Mountains), 250 kilometers from the north to the south, and officially declare my sovereignty. Xiao Wang, your task is to lead the Walk up the Orange River, inspect the terrain along the river and draw a map. If possible, it is best to circle the places suitable for building settlements." Wang Zhijie, who was riding on the back of a donkey, was still echoing in his mind before he set off. Commissioner Jiao Tang Jiao told him that Commissioner Jiao really had a big appetite this time, and planted tens of thousands of square kilometers with the national flag of the east coast at once—this was not for others to see, but for South Africa Other people from all walks of life are looking at it, which means that our Dadong'an has taken a fancy to this place. Don't come here to make trouble. There is nothing but sand here, and it is of no benefit to you. Friends from England and the United Provinces, please help me. Otherwise, see you on the battlefield.

"This ghostly place..." Looking at the endless sandy plain under his feet, Wang Zhijie couldn't help crying out.The donkey on its crotch sneezed when it heard the words, and it seemed that it was not interested in the sparse succulent bush-type vegetation all over the ground.

"If it weren't for the discovery of diamonds, would this arid grassland be of any value to us?" Wang Zhijie got off the donkey's back, grabbed a handful of sand, looked at it carefully for a long time, sighed, and said, You can try to develop irrigated agriculture in the Orange River area. In other places, there is no other way except grazing. And even grazing must be careful, lest the vegetation be destroyed. After all, it is not easy for these shrubs to grow so large (relying on the scarce precipitation and the dense morning fog), if you are not careful, you will turn this semi-arid grassland into a desert."

"Damn it!" Throwing the idiot in his hand on the ground in resentment, Wang Zhijie looked up at the big fireball hanging in the air, and said in a hoarse voice: "Take a break! Pay attention to send out the guard post!"

The cadres accompanying the team and the army cavalry all relaxed when they heard the words, and then quickly assigned their duties under the command of the officials. Those who went out to guard went out to guard, those who fetched water, and those who set up temporary tents. Very happy.

"I heard people say that South Africa is called the 'Sun Country', with 7.5-9.5 hours of sunshine a day. I transferred to South Africa for a month, and found that there is no lie." They chatted softly, but the person who said this was obviously not a local cadre in South Africa.

"Whoever likes the sun will take it!" A local South African cadre said angrily, "You see, it is late spring and early summer, and the wind is blowing from the west. It is so dry and cloudless. A little water on the ground has been sunburned, what a fart! Look at this desert, you can still see some rain in summer and autumn, and the greenness on the grass is not bad, but in winter and spring, it is all dry brown The lifeless ground makes people drowsy."

In the archives in the middle of the river, there is a complete preservation of the precipitation and temperature data of the lower reaches of the Orange River for the past ten years.Wang Sen was lucky enough to see it before, but he only had one impression, it was too dry!In the area around Bailang Township, the estuary of the lower reaches of the Orange River, the annual precipitation is only 50 millimeters; and in a place slightly to the south (that is, the area along the river valley of the later Goodhouse), the precipitation is not much more, reaching 250- 300 mm - Precipitation is often very occasional and may all fall in one day, sometimes in short heavy showers, accompanied by severe thunderstorms, sometimes with large hail.This kind of thunderstorm can happen at any time of the year, any month and any day (but it is more common in autumn). Gonia is at the same level, but the evaporation of the grasslands in western South Africa is many times that of Patagonia. Therefore, this winding valley along the Orange River was installed as a "dry corridor" by the people on the east coast. The name is worthy of the name.

After a group of people rested for an hour by the Orange River, they loaded their bags on the backs of donkeys and camels again and started heading east. On December 12, everyone arrived near the small town of Sanddrift in later generations. Wang Zhijie looked around, and then drew a small circle on the map. He planned to go back and suggest that the district administration set up a settlement here, because it is along the river valley. It is the last possible supply point before entering the mountain. It is necessary to arrange some farmers to come to cultivate it——Wang Zhijie marked the name of this place as "North Mountain Pass", and he has the right to do so.

Wang Zhijie, the most outstanding geography and botanist among the young generation on the east coast, stayed in Beishankou for two days.During these two full days, he inspected the soil and vegetation along the valley in detail, and had a rough impression of the agricultural conditions here, which he randomly recorded in the book.

The soil in the Beishan Pass area is typical desert light brown calcareous soil, which is very common and widely distributed in the western coastal plain.The fertility of this soil varies greatly from region to region, depending on the amount of precipitation and the structure of the bedrock.The humus in the light brown calcareous soil in the Beishankou area is not thick, but it often contains a lot of calcium, alkali and phosphorus. It is still suitable for agricultural planting under the condition of artificial irrigation and intensive cultivation—but drainage must also be provided. Facilities, because over-irrigation may lead to soil salinization, although this does not seem to be a big problem in the mid-river areas of South Africa where water-saving sprinkler and drip irrigation are promoted.

At present, in Bailang Township near the mouth of the Orange River, people on the east bank have successfully used this desert light brown calcium soil to cultivate a large number of crops—mainly melons, fruits and vegetables, and a certain amount of wheat fields and alfalfa fields— — Not only did it successfully feed the seven or eight hundred local settlers, but it was also quite difficult to provide a certain amount of savings to supply the hundreds of cavalry stationed temporarily.

On December 12, everyone continued eastward.This afternoon, they hit a big luck, because they encountered perhaps the only rainfall in a year in the nearby area while walking among the Dongshan Mountains.Intense thunderstorms brought life to the barren sand, and over the next few days, as if by magic, the otherwise lifeless ground was suddenly transformed into a carpet of yellow, red and white - a kind of The flowers of the succulent shrubs——and besides these flowers, the already tenacious growth of three Miscanthus, Teff, Tree Euphorbia, Aloe Vera, Trichosanthes, and Alpine Dwarf Trees grow stronger And the greenery is full, which makes everyone's morale also unknowingly raised.

On December 12, Wang Zhijie and others arrived at the place opposite the later Namibian town of Aussenkehr.At this time, not only Wang Zhijie himself, but even any of the accompanying guards can easily find that the water in this section of the river is very clear-in later generations, this is the place with the smallest sediment concentration in the middle and lower reaches of the Orange River, no more than 6mg/l, so there is very little wear on the flow-passing parts of hydraulic machinery, and it is not easy to block drip irrigation pipes, which is very suitable for irrigation-type agriculture.

In fact, it is also very suitable for agriculture, especially near the small town of Osenke in Namibia on the north coast, where dry grassland chestnut soil is widely distributed.These soils are developed on shale, so they are rich in nutrients and suitable for agricultural planting. Therefore, after Wang Zhijie and others waded across the river to the north bank for inspection, they immediately designated this place as a settlement, named "Litu Township" ", which means that chestnut soil is widely distributed here, and the agricultural prospects are good.

After inspecting Litu Township, on December 12, the team set off again eastward.This time they simply walked along the north bank of the Orange River. After avoiding a small migrating Khoisan tribe, they reached the border near the later city of Noordoewer in Namibia on December 8.There are a large number of shrubs, reeds, wormwood, wildflowers, and small patches of willow and acacia bushes along the river here. The soil is also relatively fertile dry grassland chestnut soil, and the water in this section of the river is still relatively clear, so Wang Zhijie immediately felt nothing. Without hesitation, he drew a small circle on the map he drew himself, and named the upcoming settlement "Acacia Township" to commemorate the acacia forest found here.

On December 12, after arriving near the small town of Goodhouse, which is less than 15 kilometers east of Acacia Township, Wang Zhijie and others, who had penetrated far into the inland arid area, had to stop their operation because they The food they carried may not be enough to support their expedition to the east, so this operation can only stop here.But even so, their nearly [-]-kilometer desert expedition is still an extremely remarkable feat. It has an extremely important reference value for the future eastward expansion of the Hezhong District Administration, and its achievements must not be denied.

On December 12, after resting at the same place for more than a day, Wang Zhijie and others left the place he named "Shoal Township", and then took a slightly tired pace to face the scorching summer sun in the northwest of South Africa , embarked on the return journey - their destination is Bailang Township near the mouth of the Orange River.

(End of this chapter)