Water for locomotives and a bid to discover underground water in Namibia
The construction of the OMEG railway line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb had begun in October 1903. It had been completed in less than three years, despite even the major delays and logistical complications caused by the Herero uprising January - August 1904.
The first train ran to Tsumeb during August 1906.
Now that the railway line was completed, the next challenge had been to find ways of constantly supplying huge amounts of water for the operation of the steam locomotives.
The German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II had shown personal interest in the ancient art of "dowsing" - finding subterranean water streams or aquifers by means of walking with a "dowsing rod".
He had happened to befriend a man who had a strong belief in his skills to find water. That is how this man got sent to German South-West Africa to assist the governor Friedrich von Lindequist with developing water projects in the colony.
Count José Rafael Perfecto Antonio von Uslar was born on 18 April 1853 in Mexico City, where his father had been the German Consul General. He hailed from an old Hanoverian noble lineage from the Uslar / Goslar area near Göttingen in Germany.
The mother of the child had been Vincenta Ferrer Evarista Rafaela Louisa de Jimenoy Planer, a Mexican lady of Spanish descent.
When the boy was 5 years old, the family returned to Germany, where he attended school. Later he sold his father's estate and bought a farm of 180 ha in the Sonderborg area, which is now part of Denmark.
By 1906 none other than the German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II had recommended sending this illustrious character to German South-West Africa.
He traveled through the Cape colony first, and then helped find groundwater in the deep south of what now is Namibia. Von Uslar found small amounts of water at Lüderitz. The strong aquifer of Garub along the southern railway line was developed after von Uslar's dowsing rod had indicated an abundance of water. This was during 1906.
Von Uslar was moved to the central and northern areas of the territory, where he was part of a fast moving team "alongside Hauptmann Victor Franke, three corporals, three carts .... six natives, and four horses. They would often travel 50 or 60 km per day, von Uslar would do his sessions "in the mystical and inexplicable world of water dowsing", on the run, so to say. Soon he indicated the position for boreholes along the OMEG railway line, most notably at Usakos and at Karibib. The boreholes had supplied the iconic water tower at Usakos with precious water for the steam locomotives for many decades.
Usakos had previously been a spot with good vegetation and a bit of water. Herero chief Manasse Tjiseseta of Omaruru had sold this tract of 1600 hectare of land to the Boer settler Jacobus Janssen in 1894 already. During 1903 the OMEG engineers had again bought this farm from the Janssen brothers.
Another strong borehole was developed at Karibib. A fairly large cement reservoir was built, with a watering trough for cattle and horses. This still bears the name "Kaiserbrunnen" or "von Uslar Brunnen".
Count von Uslar returned to Germany in 1908. He died at Detmold in 1931.
Kaiser Wilhelm had to face being ridiculed in parliament sessions for believing in "witchcraft at the taxpayers' expense".
Fact remains that von Uslar had indicated over 800 spots for boreholes in Namibia. The government drilling team had drilled for water at over 200 of his sites before the 1st World War had broken out. According to statistics from that era, at least 173 boreholes delivered sufficient water. That means an 80% success rate at least.
The National Archives in Windhoek had kept 8.5 m length of bookshelf: all documentation regarding the "Von Uslar water drilling campaign".
Large scale settlement, or agricultural development of the arid land would not have been possible without the ancient art of "water dowsing". Not many steam locomotives would ever have run without accessing strong water sources.
The historical water tower at Usakos was completed in 1907. An 'automatic water softening plant' was connected to the water storage tank to make the brackish ground water suitable for use in steam combustion engines.
The weather vane on top of the conical roof reads "1907"; the year that the iconic structure was taken into use.
Member of an ancient Prussian family of noble folk, water dowser and personal friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II was instrumental in locating subterranean water arteries in Namibia.
Very few people are aware of the national monument in Karibib: The "Kaiserbrunnen" well and reservoir, also often referred to as "von Uslar Brunnen", it is located about 300m east of the Rhenish Mission Church.
The original borehole is at the front right corner if you face "Kaiserbrunnen". It is not really visible due to the tall grass. The borehole is no longer used since the 1930s. There used to be a wind pump directly above the borehole. For many decades the borehole had now been dry. It would be interesting to see if the ground water table had been replenished during the current good rain season.
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