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TRAVELS

IN

SOUTHERN AFRICA,

In the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806,

BY
HENRY LICHTENSTEIN,
DOCTOR IN MEDICINE ANB PHILOSOPHY, AND PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OT BERLIN; MEMBER Of SEVERAL LEARNED SOCIETIES; AND
FORMERLY IN THE DUTCH SERVICE AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN,

BY

ANNE PLUMPTRE.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN,
ENGLISH AND FOREIGN PUBLIC LIBRARY, CONDUIT-STREET;
GEORGE GOLDIE, EDINBURGH; AND JOHN GUMMING, DUBLIN.
1812.

B. Clarke, Printer, Well-Street, London.

PREFACE.

The first Part of my Travels in Southern Africa is here presented to the
public. It does not appear without considerable apprehensions on my part,
from a conviction that the book is far from being as perfect as I could wish ;
but I also cannot help entertaining a confident hope that it contains much
matter which will be found of real utility ; in any case, I can safely affirm
that it has been compiled with the greatest care, and with a strict regard
to truth.' I consider the latter quality so much as the first requisite in a
book of travels, that I rest my highest claim to public favour upon this
ground, and desire nothing so much as that the reader may take the work
into his hand with the firmest reliance upon my veracity. Deeply impressed
with this idea, it was once my intention that a principal object in ray Preface
should be to speak of myself, in hopes that by making the reader acquainted
with my modes of thinking, and my manner of observing things, as well as
by giving a short sketch of my history, I might obtain the confidence I wish.
It is, however, so difficult for any one to form a just judgment of himself, and
concealed vanity is so apt to appear obliquely through all our efforts to pre
serve an appearance of modesty and humility, that upon mature considera
tion I determined rather to leave my friends and my book to speak for me.
I rest then in the hope that my endeavours to make them partakers in my
own firm and inward conviction} upon the various matters on which.- 1- treat,
will not be mistaken.
I have for the same reason avoided all attempts to embellish my descrip
tions, lest they might endanger the throwing an improper shade over the
whole qf the picture ; though I am ready to acknowledge that some external
ornaments arranged with taste might have -rendered the whole more agreea
ble and attractive. My Travels may therefore possibly be thought barren
«2

IV PREFACE.
of rare adventures and extraordinary occurrences; but if so? this advantage will
be derived from it, that the few which are recorded will appear the more
striking. The charm, however, derived from such descriptions, particularly
if the writer in his manner of giving them derives much assistance from his
own fancy, must, to sensible minds, be of little value, in comparison with
endeavours to detail the simple truth in a clear, natural, and easy style. In
my own case it has cost me the less to sacrifice imagination to truth, since I
am not by nature desirous of coming forward as the hero of strange and
romantic adventures.
I am well aware that this barrenness of ornament is not without its disad
vantages. He who would seek to represent every thing in its most natural
colours, divested as much as possible of whatever approaches to the mar
vellous, and who is desirous that this should be fully understood by his
readers, will find himself sometimes constrained to enter into minute details
nearly allied to prolixity. But too much conciseness has always to a certain
degree the appearance of want of sincerity, as if by the hasty manner in which
the subject is treated, the writer hopes the more effectuallyto escape detection.
Besides, in compiling my Work, it was not to German, or even to European
readers alone that I wished to address myself; I had equally in view the
rendering my labours useful to citizens of Africa, and to future travellers in
the southern parts of that vast peninsula. I was the more desirous of this,
from finding the little attention that had been paid to such objects by my pre
cursors both in the route that I travelled, and in the reports given of their
travels. Their sole object in their publications seems to have been to make
them entertaining to their own countrymen, or, at the utmost, to their cotem-
poraries in general; — they seem never to have thought of rendering them
useful to the travelling part of the community. Thence it happens that each
one in succession has found great fault with his immediate precursor, and
indeed too often not undeservedly. Le Caille and Menzel are severe upon
Kolbe, Sparrman criticises Le Caille and Menzel, and Le Vaillant comes
under the censures of Mr. Barrow. For myself I must confess that the de
scriptions of the two latter, partly given without sufficient impartiality, partly
too much loaded with ornament, have had a considerable influence upon the
form which I have given to my work, earnestly desirous as I was of avoiding
former failures.

PREFACE. V
Perhaps the above sketch of my views in the present publication may
serve in some measure as my justification for not having combated with a
more determined resolution my inclination to give it to the world ; for having
ventured, notwithstanding the many works already written upon Southern
Africa, and very generally read, to hazard the writing another, nay, to offer
it as a better than any preceding one. I can indeed truly say, that this in
clination originated less in considerations that merely concerned myself,
than in a variety of extraneous motives. I may besides call upon Aristotle
and Pliny, as well as upon Sparrmah, who next to them has spoken the
most forcibly upon the subject, as vouchers that something new, and well
worthy our attention, relating to Africa, is constantly rising, and will long
continue to rise.
Almost every traveller takes a different view of things according to the
colouring they receive from his peculiar turn of thinking, or from the parti
cular circumstances under which they were seen by him. One overlook*
what makes a deep impression upon another; to one opportunities are pre
sented of obtaining information, of entering into investigations, which never
occur to another. I was the: earlier, during my travels in Africa, impressed
with a desire of communicating my remarks to the world, from comparing the
notices already given, with the information I had been enabled to obtain, and
finding the one so little in conformity with the other. With this desire was
soon combined the determination to strike into a new path, fro,m that pursued
by. my precursors. It was never, my idea to give the public a mere detail of
the occurrences that happened, during my travels ; I wished to give a regular
description of the country, as to its/topography, political situation, natural
history, and-ethnography ; above all, I was anxious to give what has hitherto
been. entirely neglected, a general history of the colony.
- For this purpose I began early to collect materials for such a work, and the
kindness of.friends in power supported me in it notajittle. A very favourable
opportunity of travelling through, the country was .to. my no ^malHatisfaction
soon presented me; and I had but just returned. from, my first journey, in
which I obtained no inconsiderable stock of important information, when the
mea»s: were unexpectedly afforded of greatly improving and increasing
my.stores. The renewal of the war gave a totally different aspect to our

Iv • PREFACE.
situation at the Cape, and occasioned a great revolution in my destiny.
Soon after my return from my second excursion I was appointed Army Phy*
sician, and in that capacity shared in an expedition,\vhich carried me farther
up the country than I had ever before dreamt of penetrating even in my most
sanguine moments. During this excursion I was inspired with the idea of
greatly enlarging the plan of my work, and two additional short excursions,
united with the campaign against the English in 1806, put me in possession
of as ample and extensive a knowledge of the country as I could desire.
I returned to Holland in the train of General Janssens, and even in the
same ship. The Commissary-general De Mist returned the year before,
and had in the interim been revising and arranging his observations upon his
journey. When my intentions were made known to him, he in the most
obliging manner lent me his manuscript, and permitted me the free use of
any materials which it contained. I availed myself largely of this permission,
not however following his plan, but true to my old ideas, I separated the
narrative part from the descriptive, intending that this latter should be first
made public, that the reader might be entirely at home upon the theatre of
action before the detail of occurrences upon it was to begin. A considerable
progress was made in the work according to this plan, when the advice of
some very able literary judges, combined with several other circumstances,
occasioned a change in my purpose, and determined me to give the prece
dence to the narrative part, preparing the reader by that for the descriptive;
The first volume was soon completed after this idea, and I must confess with
gratitude that the Commissary-general's manuscript assisted me exceedingly
in the compilation . A part only of his remarks are, however, here employed ;
the remainder are reserved till I come to my description of the country,
where they will be more appropriate, and will not interrupt the narrative.
That many things have concurred since the completion of this volume in
the summer of 1809 to retard its publication till the present moment I
cannot very much lament, since it is now published under circumstances
peculiarly gratifying to me.
Notwithstanding all my endeavours at compressing the work, I have found
it impossible to include the whole of my first journey in one volume, with
out making it unreasonably thick, and it is therefore broken off at the end

PREPAOE. Vii
of the third part. It may not perhaps be amiss here to give a sketch, for the
benefit of those wba may purchase this first volume, of what is to be ex
pected in the succeeding ones.
The second volume will contain six parts* commencing with our return
from Graaffl^Reyn^tt to the Cape Town, which forma the fourth part of the
wosk. In the fifth will be given a sketch of a botanical journey to Zwel-
lendam and the neighbouring country. The sixth and seventh parts will in
clude the journey to the newly visited tribes, of the Bee^ttans, in which will
be given an ample description, off that people, as well as of the Bosjesmahs.,
and ,o4)W t«ibes, of Hottentot savages, , The eigMi part will contain a soli
tary excursion to the borders, of th* Roggeyeld ; and the ninth a journey to
Bosjiesveld and Tulbagh, with th*, contests which occurred during the cam
paign agai»st the English, and our return to> Europe.
The remainder of the work will bfij devoted, to giving a systematic descrips-
tion of Southern Africa from Cape Agulhas to the district of the Steinbock,
including all such observations as I have reserved in order to avoid splitting
upon the same rock as my precursors, and interrupting too often the course
of the narrative. Here will moreover be given all that concerns the most
important object of the work, the correcting whatever has been erroneously
represented by other writers. If the task may be invidious, I yet do not
know how to dispense with myself from perforating it, desirous as I am to
give all possible amplitude and accuracy to the descriptive part of the work.
This division will be. preceded by an introduction, in which will be given
a list of all the works that have hitherto appeared upon Southern' Africa-,
with some short strictures upon the merits of each. The materials will then
be divided into nine parts. The first part will comprehend a general view
of the country, and pf the origin of its population ; an examination into the
climate, the aspect of the country, the properties. of the vegetable kingdom,
the general character of the animal world, and lastly, an ample account of
the human race, natives of these parts, with an analysis of the influence
which so many years intercourse with emigrant Europeans has had upon
them. The second part will treat, of, the history of Southern Africa both
before and sinoe its colonization : the earliest information which could illus
trate this subject has been diligently sought, and every thing written upon
it even to the latest times has been carefully examined. In the third part

VU1 PREFACE.
will be given a description of the customs and manners of the present genera
tion; in the fourth a political and geographical description of the Dutch
colony, and in the fifth a sketch of the form of its government. The four
remaining parts will be occupied with the public institutions, the state of
knowledge and of the arts, the objects' of trade, the mode of husbandry,
and lastly with remarks upon the Cape of Good Hope, considered as a mili
tary station.
Whether from the importance of these divers objects, and the rich store
of materials collected for treating of them, it will be possible to compress all
into one volume, it is impossible here to decide. The question will be in
great measure determined by the manner in which the public shall conde
scend to receive this first volume; and if on account of the expense attending
the publication it should be found expedient to abridge my plan, I must,
however reluctantly, give up some parts entirely.
Henry Lichtenstein.
Berlin, March, 1811.

The Publisher has to regret that a Map of the Dutch colony, at the Cape of Good Hope, which ought to hare
accompanied this work, and to which reference is frequently made in the course of it, was omitted to be sent
with the German copy which he received ; and it appears that no other copy of the original besides his own has
yet found its way into this country. It was not possible to procure it from the continent in sufficient time to accom
pany the present volume ; it will therefore be given with the next, which it is e.vpecteiwill appear the ensuing season.

. ERRATA.
Page 6, line 9, dele task.
33 — 14, for the bay, read Saldanha bay.
82 — 28, dele often.
92 — 24, for frequent, read subsequent.
165 — bottom line, for lucophcea, read leucophcen.
166 . — 30, before the cattle, add for.
175 — 23, before other, add the.
188 — 21, for strong, read thick.
218 — 3 from the bottom, for defence, read offence.
251 — 26, for corporal, read corporeal.
274 — 9, for is perpttually pushed it, read, it is perpetually pushed.

CO IfTEITS,

INTRODUCTION.
Occasion of the Journey. — Voyage fo the Cape. — Stag at the Cape-Town.— -Journey
of General Janssens to the Cqffre Tribes. — Resolution of the Commissary-General
De Mist to Travel through the Colony. — Preparations for the Journey. — Names of
the Persons wbo composed the travelling Party. — Enumeration of the Things neces
sary to be taken for the Performance of the Journey. .................. Page 1
PART I.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN PARTS OF THE COLONY.
CHAP. I.
Departure from the Cape-Town. — Rietvalley. — Troublesome Insects. — Brakkefon'
tein. — Bad Water there.— Hartebeestkraal. — Ausspannplatse.  17
CHAP. II.
The Klavervalley. — Groenekloof. — Gansekraal. — The Van Remens1 Farms and Stud.-—
Musical Slaves. — Le VaillanCs Friend, John Slaber.—-Uylekraal. — Dexterity oftha
African Waggoners.— Teefontein. — Collection of Plants and Insects  24
CHAP. III.
Saldanha-bay. — Frugal Meal at Geelbek. — History OndDescription of Saldanha-bay.— '
Upon its Advantages and Disadvantages) and upon the different Plans which have been
proposed for obviating the latter. — Flock of Flamingos. — The Islands of Saldanha-
bay. — Interesting old Soldier  33
CHAP. IV.
Departure from Saldanha-bay. — Lauhscher's Farm. — Hippopotamos Hunt. — Extreme
Age of a Slave.— The Mouth of the Berg-river. — Bay of St. Helena. — Tedious Pas
sage of the Berg-river.— The Piket Mountain. — The widow Lieuwenberg's Farm.—
District of the Four-and-twenty rivers. — Leistes Farm.— Gelukwaard.— Forwardness
of the European Plants here. — Cultivation of Rice and Indigo  46
CHAP. V.
The White Ant heaps.— Pikenierskloof.— Upon Mr. Barrow's Exaggerations respecting
the Barbarity of the Colonists.— The Berg-valley.— Tribes of Apes.— The Hottentot-
kraal. — A Hottentot of the Tribe of the Great Namaariuas. — Encampment in the
Long-valley. — Picturesque Mountain Scenery.— J akhars-valley.— Preparation of
Leather for Thongs  «  62

X CONTENTS. CHAP- VI.
The Elephants'-river.—Salt Lake.— Fatiguing Passage of the Nardouns Mountain.—
The Party lose their Way by Night in an almost uninhabited Country-— Night passed
upon the* Bank of the Doorn-'river.—The Valley of Moedverlooren.— The Lower Bok-
keveld.— Uye-valley ....,  -   76
CHAP. VII.
The Namaaqua Partridge.— The Matjes-fontein.—John Strauss.— On the Diseases of
the Colonists.— The Tyger-point.—The District of. Hantam.— Van ReenerCs Pro
perty there. — Character of the Colonists of these Parts. — Impressions of Fish in the
Slate-stone.— The Spurting-Snake.—The Roggeveld Mountain.— Huntings of the
Colonists beyond the Borders. — Cold Climate of the Roggeveld. — The Legplaats. —
The Lower Roggeveld. — Account of the Murder of a Family of Colonists by Slaves
and Bosjesmans. — The Kuil-river. — Natron Rising out of the Ground  8T
CHAP. VIII.
The Middle Roggeveld.— Description of the Habitation of a Colonist. — Quarrels among
the Inhabitants of the Roggeveld.— Large Flock of Ostriches. — Romberg. — An
Instance of the increasing Population of the Colony. — The Little Roggeveld. — Visit
from some Bosjesmans  -  104
CHAP. IX.
The Great Karroo. — Description of it. — The Cold Bokkeveld. — Its Fertility. — Re
markable form of the Schurfdeberge. — Rocks near the House of the Cyclops-like Over
seer. — Fine Prospect from the Summit of the Witsemberg. — Arduous Descent of this
Mountain. — Arrival at Roodezand.  —  ... 120
PART II.
JOURNEY FROM ROODEZAND TO ZWELLENDAM, AND ALONG THE SOUTHERN
COAST TO ALGOA BAY.
CHAP. X.
Description of the Valley of Roodezand.— Character of its Inhabitants. — Prevailing
Bigotry. — The surrounding Country.— The Water-fall Mountain. — Mostershoek. —
Breede-river. — Goudinie. — Hot Spring in the Brand-valley  141
CHAP. XI.
Bosjesveld. — The River Zonder-end. — Bavianskloof. — Description of the Society of
UnitedBrethren there. — Zoetemelks-valley. — Essaqnaskloof. — Breede-river. — Arrival
in Zwellendam  .'   150
CHAP. XII.
Description of Zwellendam. — The Devil's Bush. — The Klip-river. — Rotterdam. 
Buffeljagd-river.—Dupre's Farm.— The Krombek-river.— Preparation of the Aloe-
gum. — false-river. — Extraordinary Appearance in the Air, like the distant Sea. 
The ( aurits-river. — The Party again lose their Way in the Night.  Arrival at
Mosselbay .  ..,......,...,.„..  163

/

CONTENTS, XI
CHAP. XIII.
The Government Magazines at Mosselbay. — The Dane Abue. — The Muscle Caves de
scribed. — Murray Ihe Englishman's Coasting-trade. — Farther Description of the
Country. — Brakfce-river.—Outeniqualand. — Woody Clefts in the Mountains. . . 177
CHAP. XIV.
Raman's -river, and troublesome Passage of the Kaiman's Cleft*— -Krakadakow. —
Silver-river. — Zwart-rivcr.—Daukamma. — Ruinated Farm. — The Lake of Neisna
and the circumjacent Country. — Arrival at Plettenberg's-bay  189
CHAP. XV.
Description of Plettenberg's-bay, and Stay there. — The Postholder Meding. — Journ
over the Black Mountains to the Long-kloof. — The Pisang-river. — Diana's Bath.—
Augusta's Rest. — Matthias Zondag. — Description of the Long-kloof. — Conrad Buys.
— The deaf and dumb Man, Gildenhuisi— Celebration of the New-Year. — The Field-
Cornet, Rademeier  _  201
CHAP. XVI.

•4' First Rencontre with travelling Caffres, and many particulars concerning the Interview.
—Leeuwtnbosch. — Magic power of Snakes.— Kabeljau-river- — Chamtoo -river, and
difficult passage of it. — Beautiful Country on the other side. — Elephant-hunt. — Riet-
river. — Embarrassment of the Travellers from the Delay of the Waggons. — Lead-
mine at Van Stade's-river  216
CHAP. XVII.
• Algoa-bay. — Fort Frederic. — Baaker-river. — Industry of the German Garrison. —
Description of the Bay. — The Missionary Vander Kemp — His Hottentot School at
Bethelsdorp  232
PART III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CAFFRE TRIBE OF ROOSSAS.— FRAGMENT FROM THE JOURNAL
OF GENERAL JANSSENS.— OUR OWN JOURNEY ALONG THE BORDERS
OF THE CAFFRE COUNTRY TO GRAAFF-REYNETT.
CHAP. XVIII.
The Caffres — Name, Extent of Country, and universal Characteristic of this People.
— Opinions with Regard to their Origin.— Cqffreland. — The Tribe ofKoossas. — Their
Personal Figure, their Diseases, their Religious Opinions, with various other Par-
¦ ticulars. . ... — - — - — -  -  241
CHAP. XIX.
Description of the Koossa Caffres continued. — Their Habitations and Cattle-folds. —
Their manner of keeping their Cattle. — Their Food. — The Chace. — Agriculture. —
Cleathing and Ornaments, — Their Arms. — Manner of fighting. — Works of Art. . 267

Xii COKTES T S.
CHAP. XX.
Description of the Country of ' Ammakosina, or of the Koossas. — Its Political Relations
and Institutions. — Power of the King. — Judiciary Proceedings, and Punishments. . 282
CHAP. XXI.
History of the Koossa Tribe, and of its Wars with the Colony and with the English. —
The' Caffre Tribes of the Interior  ".  290
CHAP. XXII.
Fragment from the Journal of General J anssens.— His stay in Algoa bay, and Con
ference with the Rebel Caffre Chiefs. — Journey into the Caffre Country, and Interview
with their King Geika. — Intercourse with him. — Transactions of the Commandant
Alberti in the Caffre Country   302
CHAP. XXIII.
Continuation of our Journey. — Departure from Algoa bay. — Zwartkop'sr-river. — Re
markable Salt-lake. — The Koega*river. — The Order established in pitching our Camp.
—Zondag' s-river. -^-Visits from a great Number of Caffres. — Large Flocks of Ante
lopes and Quaggas. — The Springbok. — The Bosjesmans'-river. — The Arrival of
the Caffre Chiefs expected in vain.-Hofmansgat. — Deformity of the Mimosas. —
Nieuwejaarsdrift. — The Little Fish-river. -  334
CHAP. XXIV.
Arrival al the Modderfontein in Agtelruintjeshoote. — Journey along the Bank of the
Great Fish-river to meet King Geika. — Camp at Hermannuskraal. — The King does
not arrive. — Conference with his Ambassadors.— Return to the Modderfontein. —
Reconciliation between Geika and some of the Rebel Chiefs.   3&Q
CHAP. XXV.
Bruintjeshoogte.— Uniformity arid Poverty of the Lives led by the Colonists there. —
Camdeboo. — The African Horses, and the Manner of refreshing them upon a Journey.
— The Melk-river. — The Spandau Mountain. — Arrival at Graqff-Reynett  359
chap: xxvi.
Description of Graqff-Reynett. — The Character of the Colonists of these Parts, and the
Circumstances which occasioned the Dissensions that prevailed there, both before and
after it came under the English Government.-^ Regulations made by the Commissary-
general for the Restoration of Order and Tranquillity. — Losses sustained by the Dis
trict in the Caffre War  368

TRAVEILS

IN

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

INTRODUCTION.
Occasion of the Journey. — Voyage to the Cape. — Stay at the Cape-Town. — Situation
of the Colony. — Journey of General Janssens to the Caffre Tribes. — Resolution of
the Commissary General de Mist to Travel through the Colony. — Preparations
for the Journey. — Names of the Persons who composed the travelling Party.—
Enumeration of the Things necessary to be taken for the Performance of the Journey.
BY the stipulations at the peace of Amiens, which was concluded towards the
end ofthe year 1801, thecoktny of the Cape of GoodHope was to be restored to
the Dutch : this colony, after having been in their possession for nearly a century
and a half, bad been taken by the English in the year 1795. The Batavian
Republic immediately began to occupy itself assiduously with considering the
means of regulating this important possession so as to derive from it the
greatest advantages that it was capable of affording. In this undertaking they
found so much the more difficulty, since from the dissolution of the Dutch
East India Company some years before (under whose direction the colony of
the Cape had been till that time), and the influence which the being seven
years under the dominion of a foreign power must have had upon the govern
ment, the customs of the inhabitants, and the revenues ofthe colony, few of
the former institutions and ordinances could continue any longer in force,
none could remain unchanged.
Even so early as in December, 1 80 1 , before the preliminaries were confirmed
by the definitive treaty of peace, the States asked the advice of the council
for the Aaiati6 possessiofis (by which department the business of the former
B

2 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
East India Company was now to be administered) upon the best manner of
regulating the colony ofthe Cape on its restoration to the Batavian Republic -t
and a committee of the council was appointed, by whom an opinion was to be-
given. A member of this committee, Mr. J. A. de Mist, a man whom
neither the misfortunes of his native country during the changes occasioned
by fifteen years of divisions and disturbances, nor the insolence of self-erected.
adversaries, ©n whom the caprice Qf the populace confers a power commonly
dangerous, but always merely ephemeral, could ever dishearten, or turn aside
from pursuing with zeal the straight path of truth and integrity, was the
person to whose lot it fell to draw up the answer. This task he with asto
nishing diligence accomplished in a few weeks, and it wa& to the no small
satisfaction of the committee thaton the 1st of April, 1802, the honourable
post was conferred upon him of receiving the colony of the Cape from the
hands ofthe English in quality of Commissary General for the Republic : by
this appointment it fell also to his lot to superintend the carrying into effect
his ideas for the regulation of the colony, as well as to instal the new gover
nor, J. W. Janssens, into his high office. The latter had been appointeds
governor as early as in the month of February.
, Some months were however requisite before the equipment of the vessels,
the assembling and cloathing the- troops destined for the possession of the
Cape, the embarking the stores for the magazines, and other business neces
sary on the occasion could be' accomplished. It was not till the middle of
July that the ships were ready to sail, although it was in the first days of this
month that the troops had been embarked, and het ween the 6th.and"i\5th that
the Commissary general and the governor themselves, with their train, had
gone on board. I was myself among the train of the latter. An unconquerable
inclination to try my powers amid the vicissitudes and. toils, of wandering
through new climes and under a different heaven ; an ardent desire to be
acquainted with a country upon which, even in my boyish years, my imagi
nation had eagerly dwelt, and which since my arrival at a maturer age I had
always had an unbounded curiosity to explore;, induced me to offer my services
to the governor, who, a short time before his departure, was seeking out* a
tutor from Germany for his son, then thirteen years of age. He accepted my
offers, when, with a cheerful heart and placid confidence in my future fate I
quitted my native country, my parents, my brethren, my friends, and hlessed

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: 3
even at that moment, the determined resolution with which I was enabled to
engage in the career prompted by my genius.
The dispositions of the excellent persons in whose service I was engaged
forbids me to say all that I could gladly say of them. From the mouth of
onevvho owes them so much, the most truly deserved praise, the mere ex
pression of the gratitude due to them, might appear too much like flattery;
and there is a certain class of readers, who can discover in ever so slight *&
tribute of applause sufficient ground for a suspicion of partiality, which
would ill become a German writer. True it is, that in these people I love a
whole nation, but I should consider it as the most unpardonable weakness
were I to degrade my narrative with any thing that might have the remotest
appearance of untruth in order to gratify that love ; and I had rather remain
wholly silent than forbear to s^eak with the frankness and sincerity which
foreigners have always found so praise-worthy in the character of my country
men. What renders the present work, however, one of the most pleasing
undertakings of my life is, that I have never had any temptation, through in
discretion towards my benefactors, to hazard losing the recompense which
posterity will perhaps first bestow upon my undeviating adherence to truth.
Four weeks passed before a favourable east wind permitted our sailing out
of the Texel. It was on the 5th of August that we. left this road in company
with a numerous fleet of transports destined to the East and West Indies.
We were afterwards, by the contrary winds which we encountered in the
British Channel, constrained to run into Plymouth, and when still farther
advanced on our voyage were detained by an unusual calm ; but towards the
end of September we reached the Canary Islands, and lay ten days in the
road of Santa-Cruz, off the Island of Teneriffe. The wind was n°t more fa
vourable to us as we pursued our course, till we passed the line, which we
did on.the 20th of November. From this time our voyage was fortunate and
' quick, so that we came to anchor in Table Bay on the 23rd of December.*
* I pass over in this place the account of our sea voyage, with several perhaps not uninte
resting observations, because more important matter is here amply presented, and reserve them
for a short publication by itself, which I hope to render useful to future voyagers by sea. An
extract from my journal during our stay at Teneriffe is through the goodness of Counfellor
Brun of Helmstadt published in the Universal Geographical Ephemerides for 1806. Many too
evident traces of the original destination of this journal I could have wished suppressed in tbe

fragment.

B 2

4 TRAVELS TN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
I say nothing concerning the early part of my abode at the Cape, and of
the occurrences with which the delays in delivering up the colony were
accompanied. Another part of the work, devoted entirely to the history of
theeolony, will give ample- information and satisfactory elucidations upon
this subject. Let me only be permitted here to make the following remarks.
When the Cape was taken by the English in the year 1795, the colony
was in an unusual state of anarchy and internal distraction, which not a Uttle
contributed towards rendering the conquest so easy to the enemy ; for in the
eyes of impartial observers, the evil of falling under a foreign yoke appeared
incomparably less than the probable ones which were then hanging over
them. Some restless adventurers from Europe had introduced here the
fanaticism of freedom, and awakened among the people, otherwise too much
inclined to discord and disobedience, a revolutionary rage, which their igno
rance and crude conceptions rendered no less laughable than dangerous, and
which, without the intervention of the enemy, would very likely have spread
ruin over the whole colony. The comfortless situation of the mother country,
torn herselfby political divisions, the insecurity of her existing government,
and the exhausted state of her powers, which prevented any portion of her
attention being turned to her colonies; all these circumstances, without
doubt, contributed very much to the overthrow ofthe factious, and to induce
the sober-minded rather to submit to a government, in whose strength they
could place some confidence. It was not, however, possible for the new
English administration to suppress entirely the ill consequences arising from
the rage of freedom which had been excited, particularly since their true
purposes being mistaken, they were considered as supporters of the orange
party, to oppose which the general judgment was perfectly agreed.*
It was chiefly in the district of Graaff Reynett and the eastern part of
Zwellendam, that the greatest opposition was shewn to the English govern
ment during the whole time of their continuing here. The refractory were
indeed quieted by force of arms, but this was done with so little discretion
and foresight, that the evil was thereby rather increased than diminished.
* This opinion became at the attack of the English so much the more universal, as she
herself made it a principal object in the hasty capitulation. Colonel Gordon, who signed it,
was a professed adheTent of the orange party. A few days after, this otherwise upright man,
made a public confession of his error to the world by destroying himself.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 5'
Thence arose discords: with the Caffre tribe who inhabit the eastern borders
Of the colony, and as in the case of Graaff Reynett, by the most imprudent
measures the Hottentots were employed in subduing the rebellious peasants.
The latter thereupon, after a formal engagement, fled with their women and chil
dren to a remote corner of the colony* when a numerous body of these savages
spread themselves along the sea-coast, overthrew the dwellings, destroyed the
gardens and fields, made themselves a path by burning and massacre, and
pressed forward to Outeniqualand, near Mosselbay. A body of English
soldiers, under General Vandeleur, did. indeed drive them back to their ancient
borders, but the contest was not a slight one, nor was the happy termination
purchased without many sacrifices ; and even at the time of our "arrival a
great enmity subsisted between the Caffres and the English government.*
From all these circumstances, and from the deplorable state to which, through
them, the eastern part of the colony was reduced, the attention of the new
Dutch government was more particularly called to it. No sooner then was
the colony at length restored in February, 1803, than General Janssens formed
the resolution of visiting these parts himself; and he hoped by personal
observations, and regulations made upon the spot, to put an end powerfully
and speedily to the evil. Since the organization of the government, with which
the Commissary general even then occupied himself diligently, nevertheless
could not be completed in tbe first months, the governor, as executor of
the standing laws, could at this moment better permit himself to be absent
from the capital than later, when he should have received the reins out of the.
hands of rtie representatives ofthe sovereign power. He therefore com
menced his journey early in April, and the many hardships which, he had to
encounter in his progress were well repaid in the complete success of his
benevolent views, as well as by acquiring an accurate knowledge of the
country which henceforward was to be entrusted to his administration. The
particular occurrences of this journey will more properly find a place when
my own travels, in the train of the Commissary general, through the country
now visited by General Janssens, come to be related.
* An imperfect account of these transactions ljas been given to the public in the second part
of Barrow's Travels. I shall give a more complete account of them in another part of
this work.

6 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
In the mean time, during his absence, that is on the 6th of July,
IS03, the intelligence reached the Cape, by means of a dispatch boat, of
the renewal of the war between France and England. The presence of the
commander was now imperiously demanded for the regulation of the defence
of the place, and he returned with so much haste that he performed his
journey back, of an hundred and seventy hours,* in only ten days. From
the day .of his arrival, the 1st of August, he occupied himself indefatigably
with these regulations, while the Commissary general completed his labours
for the organization of the colony task, and circulated his new code for its
civil government.
He also had the intention of visiting the interior of the colony, that he
might obtain from his own observations an accurate knowledge both,of par
ticular parts and of the whole, so that at his return to his native country he
might be able to render an accurate account of all the advantages to be
derived from the colony, as well as of all its wants and necessities. Itwas a
question, however, for some time, whether, since an attack from the enemy
might be supposed a thing not very remote, his removing to a distance from
the capital could at that time be permitted : yet soon the suggestion of the
utility that might probably be derived both to the mother country and to the
colony from such a journey superseded all other considerations, especially as
for many reasons it did not appear probable that the English ministry would
immediately think of directing an attack upon it from the East Indies ; and since
in the activity and bravery of the governor the colony had a protection upon
which it might very safely rely. Besides, in the case of an attack, the
presence of a magistrate high in office, in the remoter districts, might be of
great advantage towards the defence ofthe colony.
As soon, therefore, as this journey was resolved on, the necessary pre
parations for it were immediately commenced. It is expedient here^to4 state
particularly that the governor had before taken this very same journey, and
his information concerning the things necessary to be attended to, and the
means of performing such a journey, so as to derive the*greatest portion of
— — —, — ,  ^
* The German mode of reckoning distances is commonly by hours, and they consider a
German mile, which is equal to five English ones, as e'quivalent to an hour. The distance that
the governor therefdre travelled in ten days is to be supposed one hundred and seventy German.
miles, or eight hundred and fifty English ones. — Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. '<
advantage from it, without being subjected to greater privations and incon
veniences than were absolutely necessary, were imparted to us, and lightened
our way exceedingly. The captain of artillery, Paravicini diCapelli, aide-
de-camp to the general, and who had accompanied him on his* journey, a
man of 'great penetration ancf foresight, directed these preparations with
much kindness ; and through the pains he took deserved on many occasions
the warmest thanks of the whole travelling party.
From the travels of Le Vaillant, which have been so universally read, we
know very well the necessary provisions to be made -by a single traveller — an
enquirer into nature, so that he may pursue his way with the best effect
through the inhospitable regions of Southern Africa ; — so that he may not be
subjected to a want of the absolute necessaries of life, or be prevented in
attaining the objects of his researches as a man of knowledge and science.
Yet any one will have but a very imperfect idea through this medium of what-
we found requisite for the equipment of a company of forty stout men.
forming a sort of little caravan.
But principally because this journey was unlike any which has perhaps
ever fallen under the reader's observation, since no travels into the interior
of Africa resemble it in any way, I think I may venture to* dwety some
what more at large upon our preparations, as the mode of our travelling
will by that means be better understood, and through the novelty of the
objects to which we were obliged to attend, a more lively interest will ha
awakened. Journeys similar-to that which the Commissary general was now about to
undertake had at all times since the foundation of the colony been occa
sionally performed, and the people were accustomed to see the magistrates,
who were high in rank, travel with a sort of state, and with a train of fol
lowers which would distinguish them from the people around, and point out
their rank artd dignity.* This custom had its- origin in an imitation of the
* Mr. Barrow, in the first chapter of the second part of his Travels, has thought proper to
laugh extremely at these journeys, which his French translator calls Expeditions de parade,.
and remarks that they are of no advantage whatever for obtaining a knowledge of the country.
That was not their object, and the use which most of them had upon the whole will be pointed:
out in the history of the colony. Above all, it is exceedingly unjust to impute to the Dutch of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as a piece of mercantile meanness, the secrecy they/

8 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Batavian customs at Java, which was the model of alrthe ceremonials at the
Cape ; and since it had been once introduced here, it was not even now to
be neglected by any one who would appear with the dignity attached to his
post. This numerous train, and this show of armed men, was more par
ticularly requisite on the present occasion, since the course lay in the neigh
bourhood of several savage tribes, and through solitary uninhabited parts,
in which hordes of the Bosjesmans^ and bands of run-away slaves or English
deserters, might have made the travellers feelingly repent the neglect of so
useful a precaution.
As necessary as was this train itself, equally necessary was it for the whole
society to take with them provisions for their wants of every sort ; and it
will be seen in the sequel that the care displayed throughout for this purpose
was not so much as to the conveniences and accommodations which are
pleasant on a journey, but for things absolutely necessary to the support of
life and health. If the voluntary privations of one of Robinson's pedestrian
wanderers displays an interesting spectacle, I hope not to entertain my
readers less with a representation ofthe numberless hardships sustained every
step by a company of Europeans in their progress through a hot, hilly, un
fruitful^ thinly-inhabited, half-waste country, where scarcely even any water
was to be had ; — of the wants, the privations they endured, and the earnest
longings with which they were sometimes seized to taste again the sweets
and comforts they enjoyed in their own country. Indeed, the equipment of
such a journey by land required scarcely less thought and attention to things
the most minute than a sea voyage would have done ; so inhospitable is the
country, so entirely destitute of all the advantages which in other parts of
the world art and nature combine to present for the accommodation of tra
vellers. Scarcely is it indeed possible to give other than a general idea of
the unavoidable number and variety of things with which one must be
encumbered. Before, however, we enter upon an enquiry into them, let me first be
permitted to say something about the persons who composed our society,
are said to have observed with regard to their geographical discoveries, since the existence of
the discoveries was rested upon these journeys, which they turn into so much ridicule* and
it was in fact the geographical and political situation of the country which rendered them
necessary.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 9
since then the nature and number of our wants will be better understood. It
consisted of the following persons.
Mr. J. A. de Mist, commissary-general.
Mr. A. L. de Mist, his son, and secretary.
C. A. H. Michgorius, clerk in the chamber of accounts of the colony, and
belonging to the office of the commissary-general.
H. Gilmer, lieutenant in a squadron of light dragoons, commander of the
escort. He had already accompanied General Janssens upon his journey,
and took upon himself at once the inspection of the waggons and teams
belonging to them, and the care of providing forage for the riding-horses,
&c. &c.
P. J. Le Sueur, a cadet of the same corps, in the ordonnance of the com
missary-general. Myself, whom the commissary-general had chosen as his attendant in case
of necessity to superintend the medical department. At the same time he
hoped to derive some advantage from the little knowledge I had in natural
history, from the observations it would induce me to make, and the objects
which it was my purpose to collect. General Janssens, in whose particu
lar service I had come to the Cape, gave me permission to undertake the
journey the more readily, since his eldest son, Henry Janssens, my pupil,
was destined to accompany us; besides, my having occasionally rendered
myself useful in various cases of illness had made him much my friend.
F. Winters, surgeon to the Military Hospital at Cape Town.
M. Halewyn, book-keeper and house-steward.
P. Menger and H. Kummel, gentlemen of the chamber.
A corporal with seven dragoons, every one of whom followed some trade,
as sadler, smith, carpenter, &c. &c.
A sergeant of infantry as superintendant of the Hottentots and slaves.
A French-horn player of the corps of Jagers, a very useful, indeed an
almost indispensable person, since according to certain signals- he collected
the cavalcade together when they were to set forwards, summoned the cattle
with their keepers from the pastures where the former were feeding, or if any
one was wandering away from the company called him back to the right path,.
&c. &c. The care of our little camp, to blow the reveille and the retreat,
was also committed to him. G

1° TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Twelve Hottentots, w'ho: acted as servants in all capacities; to them were
' added daily ten or twelve others, who belonged to the atelages ofthe day.
Four slaves for the service of particular members of the society, or to attend
upon their horses.
Lastly, a courier of the government, , who went forwards every day to order
the atelages that would be wanted, and to take care that forage and provisions
were prepared.
Our travelling party was moreover embellished in a very agreeable manner
by the addition of female society. Augusta de Mist, youngest daughter to the
commissary general, could not be restrained at his departure from Holland from
following her father in his migration. This instance of true filial love, so
delightful under every point of view, inspired her with fortitude to despise
the dangers of the sea, and the inconveniences attending a long voyage, to
leave her sisters and her friends, and readily to renounce the joys of a life of
ease and social comfort, perhaps for many years. Many young women
of nineteen, accustomed to live in the first circles in their own country,
would have been staggered in their filial duty at the prospect of an interrup
tion to these joys ; but not so our traveller. Even the consolations which
she found in the lively scenes of the Cape Town, which atoned to her in
some measure for what she had abandoned, were equally given up to remain
by the side of her father amid the sultry deserts of the interior of Africa. It
seemed to her far preferable to share with him the dangers and difficulties
inseparable from such a journey, than, at a distance, at home to tremble
for his life, to think of hina in illness, perhaps, confided to the care of
strange and mercenary hands. Her father had not omitted to represent
to her in the clearest manner every danger and hardship she might be
subjected to encounter, and entreated her to reflect that the objects of
his journey could not in any way be restrained or contracted by her being
his companion, that she must even resolve to forego all personal wishes which
might interfere with his attaining the objects for which the journey was un
dertaken. All this could not awaken any terrors in her mind, or deter her in the
slightest degree from pursuing her purpose; and how eagerly soever she
assured him beforehand that he might rely upon her resignation, her assurances,
were even exceeded by the firmness with which she adhered to all that

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 1 1
was required of her, by the patience with which she endured every hardship,
by the punctuality with which she conformed to all the regulations made by,
even to all the expectations and wishes, of her father. It is not less
incredible than true, that through the whole journey, which was extended to
nearly six months, never was at any time the least delay occasioned either
by her or her female attendants, never was the setting off in the morning
postponed on her account, never was any regulation whatever broken in upon.
It must indeed be remarked that such privations were the less felt by
her since her richly stored mind received a constant recompense and gratifi
cation in the perpetual succession of new and remarkable objects with which
itwas presented. The delight of having so many of the wonders of nature
hitherto known only by description placed before her eyes, and of studying
a race of men, whose frame and colour of body, no less than their habits
and customs, were so different from any. she had yet seen, left no room
to think of petty objects of ease and convenience, and sweetened even the
most wearisome restraints. There was, indeed, in this young lady a singular
union of feminine softness and tenderness of heart, with a manly resolution
and firmness of mind not often to be found among the rougher part of her
sex; — through both she often shamed one or other of the members of
our society. One of her young friends from the Cape Town, Mademoi
selle Versveld, had at her own particular desire been permitted to accompany
her. With equal firmness did she support the toils, the hardships, and the
inconveniences of the journey. Each was attended by a young European
female servant.
It was determined that the whole company, those who belonged to the
waggons excepted, should perform the journey on horseback. We were
twenty-five horsemen, some of whose horses were always led by the slaves,
to render the fatigue less. A large waggon attended, which carried all that
was necessary for the general wants of the day, and the little packages of each
individual ; it was also provided with accommodations to carry any one who
might be ill or worn down with fatigue ; * and, according to the custom of
* It is worthy of remark that the chief of the expedition, probably the oldest of (lie whole
society, a man of fifty-four years of age, was the only one who never availed himsi'If of this
convenience, hut performed the whole journey of nearly nine hundred hours (four thousand
five hundred English miles) on horseback.
C 2

12 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the country, it was furnished with arms and ammunition, the carrying;
which to any extent would very much have incommoded the company on
horseback. Five other waggons were filled with our larger baggage ; they
contained in the first place a large provision of dry food and liquors, such
as rice, sea-biscuit, pease, dried fruits, coffee, tea, sugar, tobacco, wax
candles, &c. &c. besides wine, brandy, and vinegar.
Next, that we might not be reduced in travelling through such very thinly
inhabited countries fo the necessity of sleeping entirely in the open air,.
which, notwithstanding the mildness of the climate, is always dangerous to
the health even of Europeans born in the country, we had ten or twelve
tents with: us of different sizes, which, with the necessary appendage*
belonging to them, of poles, pegs, cords, and fastenings, filled of themselves
one waggon. Equally necessary was it to carry a provision of simple field-
beds, since the number of serpents and venomous insects rendered it very-
dangerous to sleep upon the bare ground. Some new mattresses, bolsters,
and woollen coverlids, were furnished from the magazine for the hospitals,.
on which, indeed, we did not lie very soft, but soft enough to sleep well
after the fatigues ofthe day. Much room was occupied by things necessary for
cooking in the open field, such as kettles, saucepans, &c. To give an idea
of all that it was necessary to provide in this way it is sufficient only ta
refer to the number and variety of persons of which we were composed, and
to the different provisions which were to be made for each ; especially as in
traversing the borders of the Caffre tribes we were several weeks without
coming into an inhabited country. Besides the society who lived with the
commissary general, there was to be provided for, the steward and the
servants, the dragoons, the Jiigers, the Hottentots, and the slaves. Then in
order to eat the meat with any degree of comfort there must be field-tables,
field-stools, plates, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, and table-linen. Indeed,
it required a man with all the attention and activity of our steward to think
of such a variety of things, and have them all in such excellent order.
To be prepared against any accidents that might befall our waggons or
our horses, it was necessary to carry with, us a travelUng forge, with a
provision of carpenters' tools, wheel-bands, nails, and horse-shoes. We
had, besides, a chest filled with all sorts of trinkets and frippery, as presents
for the Caffres and Hottentots, or to exchange with them for the rareties

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 13
of the country ahd their own household implements. Another was filled with
medical drugs, chirurgical instruments and bandages. There were two
barrels of gunpowder with about two hundred pound of shot and bullets, and
a variety of guns and other arms. There were chests with clothes, linen,
books and maps, as well as spare saddles, and other appurtenances for the
horses. To these are to be added the daily provision of corn for our cavalry,
and the quantity of bread, meat, pulse, &c. which we were often obliged to
provide when we were to travel for several days through parts almost unin
habited. It will not then appear surprising that our six waggons were no
more than was absolutely necessary to contain such a number and variety
of objects. Indeed, it was not long before we were convinced that most of
them were too heavy loaded, and it was found expedient to increase their
number. It is sufficient here once for all to remark that the waggons used in a
journey like the present are differently constructed from what would be
employed in Europe for a similar purpose ; and that they differ equally from
those kept in the vicinity of the Cape Town for little parties of pleasure.
The dry and hot weather, and above all, the extreme badness of the
mountain-roads, renders it necessary to make them of much more solid
materials, and to put them much more firmly together than is usual with
our waggons. Many kinds of trees in these parts furnish a wood, which, from
its hardness and toughness, is particularly adapted to such kind of uses, and
we may safely venture to assert, that no where are such strong and durable
waggons made as at the Cape. They are commonly about the size of a
moderate baggage waggon, but are much s neater and better finished, some
thing like the best of the post waggons in the north of Germany, and have a
canvas awning over them, called in the country a tent ; they are thirteen
feet in length within, and sixty-two inches broad, Rhineland measure. The
iron bands of the wheels are almost half an inch thick.
Repeated experiments have taught us that carriages sent hither from
Europe are of no use whatever; at least they do not last long. The English
therefore made all their carriages for this place without exception with iron
axle-trees. The waggons, according to the weight of their lading, and to the length and
difficulty ofthe way they have to go, are drawn by eight, twelve, and even
sometimes by sixteen oxen. These are yoked together two and two by a

14 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
beam over the back of the neck, which is fastened by a thong. of leather
under the neck, and two others running on each side of the hams. In the
middle of the beam is a strong iron ring, and through this is passed a cord,
which is fastened to the leather thong.* In other countries it has been found
more convenient rather to make the oxen draw by their heads, and Euro
peans have endeavoured to introduce the same practice here ; but the
particular form of the African oxen, which are distinguished by being very
high in the haunches, should seem in their case to plead in favour of the
established mode.
As drivers to these waggons, Hottentots or Bastards f are generally pre
ferred since they know best how to keep pace with the oxen, as well as how
to dress and tend upon them. No reins are used; the drivers manage the
animals with merely calling to them ; every ox has his particular name, and
by pronouncing the word hot or haar, they turn to the right or left according
to the signification of the word used.J The well-known whips with bamboo
handles from fourteen to sixteen feet in length, and lashes of at least an
equal length,, with which a dexterous driver can readily strike any of his
cattle from the first to the last, are very seldom used among a well-ordered
team ; never unless any of the poor creatures happen to be extremely weary,
or the difficulties to be encountered in the way render a more than usual
exertion of strength necessary.
This perpetual calling to the animals, which is done in a high rough-toned
voice not easily to be imitated, and which is more intelligible to the oxen
themselves from the tone in which it is done than from the expression used,
is indescribably wearisome to the traveller, who is compelled to ride in the

* I cannot attempt to go any farther in describing this African mode of harnessing the oxen ;
since we' have no words by which a thing wholly unknown to us can be accurately described,
it is better to wave the attempt than to use expressions which may lead only to misundcr.
standing. f These are a mixture of Hottentots and white people, or Hottentots and slaves. More
will be said concerning them in the second part of this work.
J The drivers of carriages in the south of France will in like manner manage their horses or
mules merely by calling to them. As the country is hilly, they commonly dismount in going up
the hills and walk by the side of their cattle, when they have two modes of calling to them,
one if they are to go to the right, the other if to the left, which the animals understand just as
well as their drivers, and turn accordingly. — Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 15
waggon. In very narrow and bad roads, however, the driver does not depend *¦
wholly upon his vocal powers for managing his atelage; a boy is then added,
who leads the foremost oxen by a thong fastened to the horns. It is, indeed,
extraordinary to see how a boy can with so much dexterity lead so long a
team through heights and depths, over hills and crags, without risk either to
himself or to the vehicle he has under his care. This is principally done
when the team consists of more than sixteen oxen, for the driver alone
can hardly manage above that number, partly because the most spirited
being selected for the leading oxen, while the strongest are reserved for the
hinder ones, they are more difficult to be kept in order, and partly because
the little stones slipping about under their feet are apt to throw the middle
yokes out of their ranks, and one pair will perhaps be inclining to one side
while the next draws towards the other. Is a river to be passed, the poor
boy must often wade through the water up to his chin, still holding the.
thong fast, to prevent the fore oxen stumbling or reeling in the middle of
the stream, and oversetting the whole equipage.*
The strength of the draught oxen here is easily exhausted. On a level
road, with only a moderate load, and if the air be tolerably cool, they will
get on as far in an hour as a man who walks pretty quick ; but if the way be
sandy, the load be heavy, or the sun be very hot, ?they cannot at all keep
pace with him. The distance from place to place is reckoned by hours;
but in different parts they compute differently as to the quantity of ground
that may be gone over in an hour. It is calculated that a distance of eight
hours with a team of twelve oxen, and the customary load of twenty hundred
weight, may without difficulty be performed in a day, rising early in the
morning, or in the very hot season of the year rather travelling all night, and
resting in the middle of the day. Such a distance is here called a schoft, and
all greater distances are calculated by so many schofts, or days journeys.
The keeping of the draught oxen costs little or nothing. As soon as they
aremnyoked they go immediately to the water to drink, and then regale
themselves with the thinly scattered forage that the African fields afford. As
pure grass is a thing rarely to be found, they are commonly obliged to be
contented with heath plants, rushes, and even with succulent plants ; to the
* We had sometimes, when our route lay over very steep parts, as many as twenty.four, or
even twenty-six oxen, and yet half a day would elapse before all the waggons arrived happily
at their destination.

16 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
latter indeed they are confined almost entirely in summer in the Karroo
country, unless they prefer the hard stalks of the brushwood.* The oxen of
the European breed are considered as stronger and able to endure more labour
than the natives ; but of this, as of many things now only slightly noticed,
more shall be said hereafter.
The enumeration of my own little apparatus may perhaps > be permitted
here to find a place. Besides the books and maps mentioned below,f I was
furnished with an excellent compass, and some small pocket compasses ; a
very good telescope and microscope, and a thermometer. J A case of ana
tomical instruments, two pound of orpiment for preserving birds and qua
drupeds, and a cask of brandy for keeping reptiles, &c. Some thousands of
needles of various sizes for fastening insects, tin boxes for insects, and but
terfly nets. Twelve wooden boxes for receiving my daily collections, § some
stronger ones with divisions for minerals ; and a large provision of paper for
drying plants. Such were the preparations I made for rendering our journey
useful, as I hoped, in gaining a more extended knowledge ofthe natural history
ofthe country, as well as by the attainment of more important objects.
* In some places this is the only provender which they can find. An extraordinary instance
how long the poor animals can be subsisted upon no other than such wretched food will be
found in the sixth part of this work.
+ My library consisted of such travels of my precursors in the present journey as are the
most generally celebrated, those of Kolbe, Sparmann, Thunberg, Le Vaillant, and Barrow.
Besides some of these in the French language the commissary general had with him Stavorinus's,
Degrandpre's, and Crossigny's travels, with several works in Dutch upon the" same subject.
.In the second place I furnished myself with a variety of books of Natural History, particularly in
botany and entomology, and was very exact in procuring those that had all the latest discoveries;
yet still, thanks to the inexhaustible treasures of Nature in Southern Africa, T seldom found
them of much use to me. And as amusement was no less necessary occasionally than in.
struction, I carried with me as companions for my hours of relaxation Gothe's Works,
Lessing's Nathan, Schiller's Don Carlos, Sterne's Sentimental Journey, and Tasso's Aminta.
During the six months that our journey continued, I read daily in some one or other of these
books, yet found them such a constant source of entertainment that I never wished I had
taken more.
J My travelling barometer was during our voyage broken and spoiled ; and one intended
for the same purpose which I had at the Cape was omitted to be packed up.
§ I found the simple mode of preparing insects recommended by Le Vaillant the most pre.
ferabte. It is necessary fqr that purpose that the chests should be made stroDg, so that every
needle may have a proper hold when stuck into the wood.

TRAVELS TN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 1?

PAftT L
*
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN PARTS OF THE
COLONY.

CHAP. I.
Departure from the Cape Town. — Rietvqlley. — Troublesome Insects. — Brakkefontein
Bad Water there. — Hartebeestkraal. — Ausspannplatze.
As General "Janssens in his travels had bent his course towards the eastern
borders of the Caffre countries, and since from the menacing aspect of public
affairs it seemed wholly uncertain how "long the Commissary-general could
continue at a distance from the Cape Town, he thought it better in the first
place to visit the western and northern parts of the colony, as an assurance
to the inhabitants of these districts, who were not often in like manner
visited, that their welfare was no less an object dear to the hearts of the new
Batavian government than that of the rest of their dependents. Perhaps
also it was a great advantage to travel through these parts at this early season
of the year, when we might be tolerably secure of finding a plentiful supply
of water, and good feed for the cattle ; whereas, parched as the country is in
the height of summer, it was very likely that we might then fail of both.
The necessary preparations, as well as the multiplicity of public business
which itwas necessary for the Commissary -general to conclude before his/
departure, delayed us so long that we could not set out before the ninth of
October. Early in the night the waggons were dispatched, as the com
mencement of the cavalcade ; they were followed at day-break by a great
•majority of the travelling party, and at six o'clock the Commissary general
himself brought up the rear, he being attended out of the town by the go
vernor and all the principal civil and military officers of the garrison. As
representative, of the States, the honours due to bis rank were paid him,
D

18 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
and the castle announced his departure to the town by a salute of one and
twenty cannon. ?
We had halted at the Rietvalley, a spot about two hours-journey from the
town, at the Government Place* upon the Strand, to wait his arrival. Here
were assembled some Hottentots, the commencement of a corps of these
people, which was to be raised under the command of Captain Le Sueur,
and which afterwards was increased to a batallion, the same officer being
continued iri the command as lieutenant colonel. f He inhabited the prin
cipal house, which under the English Government; had been exceedingly
neglected, and suffered to fall into decay ; we received from him a very kind
and hospitable welcome, and he regaled us with an excellent breakfast.
Round the house the swarthy recruits had built themselves little huts of
reeds and rush-mats, in and out of which were running women and children
half naked.
The governor, with the rest of the friends who were not to be of our tra
velling party, here took his leave of us. The warmth of the adieus, and the
concern for us expressed by those who were returning to the town, excited
in our breasts the first presentiments we had experienced of the dangers and
hardships we were about to encounter : hitherto every thing had appeared to
us under the brightest aspect ; every one had formed his ideas according to
his wishes, consequently nothing was foreseen but what the mind could with
pleasure foresee. We moved on silent and thoughtful : a dead calm, a deep
sandy road, and the heat of noon, did not conspire to raise our spirits. It
seemed as if a foreboding of what was one day to happen had seized the whole
company, as if they saw in the order of their future destinies, that ere scarcely
two years and a half were expired, the Dutch arms would be called upon to
fight in that very spot in defence of the colony. For it was indeed on the
plain between the Blue and the Tiger mountains, on the 8th of January, 1806,
* Place, as thus used, signifies every spot cultivated and inhabited, or capable of being so.
Such provincial terms I have left unchanged, because they are more appropriate than, any term
that could be given them in our language, and the reader soon accustoms himself to them.
For this reason also I leave all proper names, without attempting to translate them thinking
it much better to talk of the Rietvalley, and the Zout river, than to render the names laughable
by attempting to Germanise them.
+ In a year after the batallion was raised I was appointed surgeon major to it.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 19
that the unfortunate battle was fought which decided the fate of the colony,
and gave it once more into the hands of England.
The disagreeableness of the way was very much increased by an innu
merable multitude of flies, here improperly called musquitos, that teased us
exceedingly. They were scarcely half as big as the smallest chamber-flies,
and appeared particularly to abound where the ground was somewhat moist.
Their sting, though not accompanied with any smart, occasioned at first a
sort of involuntary shuddering, which was succeeded by a considerable
itching. The gauze veils which we had had the precaution to take with us
protected us very little ^against these troublesome' insects. Their number,
their extreme smallness, and the heat, occasioned Us soon to give up at
tempting by this means to defend ourselves against them. I seldom after
wards, when we were actually assailed by the musquitos, saw them in such
numbers together.
After having for several hours endured these inconveniences, about noon
we reached a place called Brakkefontein, belonging to a butcher in the Cape
Town, of the name of Pfeil. The owner, happening to be there himself,
brought us some refreshments, which were particularly welcome after the
hardships of a course to which we were as yet unaccustomed, in a hot day
over a parched heath, without water, and without shade. The water of
these parts, which is collected in hollow trunks from the springs in the Table
Mountain, is very ill flavoured, ipdeed, in the hot summer months it is almost
intolerable ; and yet in the sequel we found that many springs along the
western coast were so much more so, that we should not unfrequently have
.been very glad of a glass of this water which we were now so ready to spurn
and despise.
When the great heat of the day was over, we again set forwards, and two
hours farther, arrived at a very pretty spring of fine fresh clear water, which
was extremely reviving to us: our horses, who could not at all reconcile
themselves to the Brakkefontein, enjoyed their present regale no less than
ourselves. This place is called the Hartebeestkraal, and was one of the
many stations to which the name of Ausspannplatze was given,* because they
* The same reason which the German author gives ip a former note for retaining the names
of places, as they are called in the country, without attempting to 'translate them, may be
D 2

20 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
were established by the government for the benefit of travellers as resting-
places at every half day's journey, and were open to every body : nobody had
exclusive possession of them.. These establishments were more particularly
intended for the accommodation of the colonists living at a distance from the
. Cape, who used every year, or at least every two years, to come down to the
town either to dispose of their objects of trade, such as butter, soap, elephant's
teeth, aloes, hides, &c. &c. or to collect the money for the cattle purchased
from them by the butchers ofthe Cape Town, who sent their own servants up
the country for this purpose. At their return the traders carried back such
things as were requisite to supply their own little wants. These objects
consisted principally of linen and woollen cloth, implements of husbandry,
tea, coffee, tobacco, groceries, spices, and drugs. Other objects included
in these journeys were to pay the imposts to the government ; to petition for
new grants of lands, or for an extension of the old ones ; to settle disputes
which often arose with regard to the boundaries of their different properties,
and in general every thing relating to law business. But a no less important
object than any above enumerated was to conclude the marriages which had
been agreed upon, and to baptize the children which had been born in the
interim ; for these were ceremonies which could only be performed in the Cape
Town. One of the new regulations made by the Commissary-general in his
progress through the country was, that such ceremonies were thenceforward
to be performed before the Landdrost of each district.
The time when these journeys of the colonists were usually undertaken
was in the early part of the summer, or rather in the spring, that is to say,

urged as a reason for retaining the German term, here used ausspannplatze ; since nothing of
the kind being known in England, no English term could express what is meant. Spann in
German has exactly the same signification as atelage in French, meaning the whole together of
the cattle attached to any carriage, whether horses, mules, or oxen : it may be expressed by
the word team in English as far as it relates tp waggons or carts, but we never apply that term
to carriages, whereas the German spann #nd the French atelage applies equally to the one or the
other ; and ausspannplatze is a compound word, signifying a place to unharness and rest the
spann. These places appear to have had no resemblance to inns, since they had no houses upon
them : they were only enclosures for the cattle tc feed in, and were government establishments.
for the accommodation of the public, not private ones for the profit of those by whom they
¦were kept. — Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

21

in the months which are so in these parts, viz. about September or -October,
since at that time the cattle are fatter and stronger, and find better feed by
the way. The proper5 winter months, from April to August, would have
been still better for the cattle, but the wet and cold of that time would have
been pernicious to the human beings ; besides which, there would have been
danger of their being stopped on the road, even for- weeks together, by the
rivers being swelled so as to be rendered impassable.
It not unfrequently happened on these occasions that a whole month was
spent upon the road, since it was not only by the head but by the whole
family that the journey was to be performed. This was done partly because
it was thought unsafe to leave the wife and children at home unprotected,
liable to attacks from the neighbouring savages, and partly because it was
necessary to take all the draught cattle for the waggons which were to carry
the commodities, as well as most of the slaves and Hottentots, so that the
whe would have been left without servants and assistants ; but the women
were besides very much accustomed to roving, since the colonists of many
parts were from the very nature of the country compelled to follow a
sort of Nomade life,* and take up their abode in winter at the distance of
several day's journey from their summer residence. There were even some
families who had no fixed abode (though this was against the express orders
of the government), but who moved from place to place with their houshold
and cattle,, living in their waggons or under tents, only remaining in the same
spot as long as they could find provender and water for their cattle, and any
thing whereupon to subsist themselves. It was chiefly against these rovers
that a very wise regulation made by the government was directed, viz. that
no company should be permitted to remain more than two days at an auss
pannplatze', if greater latitude had been given, it is very probable that such
parties might not unfrequently have taken up their abode at these places till
all the forage around them was devoured, and they were deprived of the
means of being of general utility.
The utility of such institutions as the ausspannplatzen, which many
people considered pernicious, because they said much cultivable land was
lost by them, could not be more clearly evinced than by seeing the process
of a halt made at them by one of the travelling families above , described.
The best inn could not be equally eligible with one of these places, where

22 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
they might consider themselves at home, and where they found free of
expence every thing requisite to gratify their most pressing wants. An
African colonist, whom circumstances compelled to travel with so large a
retinue, must unavoidably be provided with most things necessary for the
subsistence of himself and his family during the journey, and when he
stopped he wanted little more than a supply of water, and feed for his
cattle. It must here be observed, that the hospitality ascribed in general so
justly to the Africans never extended to the cattle : the colonist would with
the utmost readiness set before a guest who came to his habitation a super
fluity both of provisions and drink for himself, without any idea of remune
ration ; but he would not entertain the draught oxen in the same liberal
way; for every one of them he expected to be paid at the rate of about a
shilling a head per day. Travellers must therefore find great convenience in
stopping at an ausspannplatze where their oxen could feed gratis, and any
wants they might have themselves were readily supplied by the inhabitants
of the neighbourhood.
As the oxen are generally found to be stronger and not so soon fatigued by
travelling in the night as in the day, the common practice was to set off late
in the evening, and calculate the time so as to arrive at an ausspannplatze
about sun-rise, or soon after. The women then built up a sort of hut under
the shade of the waggon, where they made a fire, and getting out their
pots and kettles, began to prepare their cookery. Of the salted meat which
they brought with them, or of the flesh of a sheep killed the day before, a
soup was made, exceedingly strong and savoury ; but besides this very relish-
able dish, among these wanderers, whose table was nothing more than a
mat spread upon the ground, was to be seen the choicest game, which they
had killed in their way with scarcely any trouble ; such as might be contem
plated with envy by those who partake almost daily of what are commonly
esteemed much more luxurious repasts. At noon they lay down to sleep,
and at night the oxen were again put to the waggons, and the journey conti
nued. Another advantage supposed to be obtained by travelling in the night
was, that less danger was to be apprehended either from wild men or wild
beasts. As both the animals and their masters must be more watchful and
active while going on, than when lying by to rest, the approach of an enemy
of either kind was more immediately perceived, and the means of defence

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. «3
more expeditiously resorted to. This manner of travelling would not,
however, suit those who are desirous of gaining a knowledge of the
country, consequently it was never practised by us but in cases of absolute
necessity. It was not uncommon for the colonists to petition the government to grant
them these ausspannplatzen (which were generally enclosures of from ten to
twelve thousand square roods) in fee, and sometimes they were granted on
a solemn engagement made that they should still be continued upon the same
footing as places of public utility and accommodation. But wherever this
was done it led to endless discords and contentions ; for not only did the
holders of these farmed ausspannplatzen endeavour in various ways to evade
the condition of furnishing travellers with water and feed for their cattle
gratis, but in countries much frequented the whole benefit was engrossed by
the farmers. It is a much better regulation that at certain times of the year
the colonists living in the neighbourhood of an ausspannplatze shall be per
mitted the use of it as a common place of forage. In general the spots which
have hitherto been selected to be devoted to these purposes were the least
cultivable of the whole neighbourhood.

24 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. II.
The Klavervalley.— Groenekloof.— Ganzekraal.— The Van Reenens" Farms, and Stud.
— Musical Slaves. — Le Vaillant' 's Friend John Slab er. — Uylekraal. — Dexterity of
the African Waggoners.— Teefontein. — Collection af Plants and Insects.
To return from the digression which concluded my former chapter. To
wards evening we arrived at the Klaver valley, a place made not many years
before by Mr. Sebastian Van Reenen. Here we were received with the
utmost kindness and friendship by the owner and his whole family, and found
the rest, which, after a journey of fourteen hours, we began so much to
want. Our waggons had arrived a short time before us, but they had found
so much, difficulty in getting through the sandy road, that it was deemed
necessary to add another waggon to our former number, thereby to lighten
the weight of them all. The necessary arrangements for this purpose could
he made with great ease since we had determined to spend the following day
in taking a survey ofthe neighbouring country.
The next morning, therefore, I accompanied the Commissary-general, with
some others of our fellow travellers, an hour's journey eastward to the part
called the Groenekloof. This is the principal place of a district which goes
under the same name, comprehending about thirty farms, some larger some
smaller. In a still more extended sense the name of Groenekloof is applied
to a neighbouring chain of hills broken by a number of little vallies ; these hills-.
abound in springs of excellent water, and afford besides good grass for the
cattle. This domain was at the time of its first cultivation devoted to
feeding the oxen destined for furnishing the garrison, the hospitals, and the
slaves, at the Cape Town. It has since been judged better to farm out the
furnishing meat for these purposes to private persons, and as the contractors
send to distant parts for the cattle, which often grow lean upon the journey from
its great length, they are kept here for a time to recover their flesh before
they are killed. Six other domains have in like manner been granted by the

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 25
government to the same contractors for the purposes of husbandry nnd feeding
cattle. In these domains the farmers had also the liberty of carrying on salt
works, for which they paid a yearly rent of about twelve hundred dollars,
they being bound to furnish the Cape Town with fine salt at the price of
three dollars and a half per bushel. The salt-pans were at some distance
upon the shore, but the space was so confined that the works were carried on
to great disadvantage, so that the government were in the end obliged to make
considerable alterations in the compact.
We returned about noon to the Klavervalley, and in the afternoon visited
the brother of our host, Mr. Jacob Van Reenen, a man whose name is well
known from his travels into Caffraria.* This gentleman lives at a place upon
the coast called the Ganzekraal, about an hour's distance from the Klaver
valley : it formerly belonged to the government, but is now his own property.
Both this place and the Klavervalley are among the best and most fertile
spots, not only of these parts, but of the whole colony. No people deserve
more credit for the great pains they have taken in the improvement of agricul
ture and- the treatment of cattle than the numerous family of the Van Reenens :
almost all these brothers, those even who are properly citizens, and inhabi
tants of the Cape Town, have some farming concerns in the interior. As
an instance of Mr. Jacob Van Reenen 's attention to these things, and of his
ardour in the pursuit of them, it may be mentioned, that he this year has
cultivated two hundred and forty acres of land f on which he has bestowed
sixteen hundred loads of manure. He told us, moreover, that he could
insure excellent crops by only manuring his lands every three years. One
of his fields, husbanded in this way, had already produced him crops for
twenty-four years successively.
Equal fertility is not observable every where in these parts, and it is in this
instance rather to be ascribed to the neighbourhood of the sea than to the
goodness of the soil : there are many other spots, particularly the Klavervalley,

* Journal of a journey from the Cape of Good Hope, undertaken in 1790 and 1791, by
Jacob Van Reenen and others of his countrymen, By Captain Edward Riou, London, 1792.
+ Wherever I speak of measures in this work I must be understood to mean the usual Rhine
land measure. E

26 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
much more fertile by nature than the lands of Mn. Jacob Van Reenen. The
property of the latter consists almost entirely of a tract of land more than an
hour in length, but seldom exceeding five hundred feet in breadth, which,
seems formerly to have been the bed of a river, and which towards the south
is bounded by a tolerably high shore, which shelters it from the parching
winds that blow from that quarter, as well as in some measure from the
scorching rays of the sun, both of which have double force when they
come over the water. It requires only some observations upon the draining
of tracts subject to be overflowed, to render them extremely valuable. That
a field of lucerne was mowed eight times in a summer is a striking proof of
the great fertility of this valley. Some sorts of European grass which Mr.
Van Reenen has sown here have succeeded particularly well. It must not be
forgotten that it is these lands which especially require after some years to be
supported by plenty of manure.
That such ample returns from the lands is not generally to be expected
must not, however, be entirely ascribed to ignorance and want of attention in
the owners, but much more to the great distance from the Cape Town, so
that they cannot have the same supply of manure, to the want of a sufficient
capital to expend upon the culture, and to not having a sufficient number of
slaves for tilling the ground. As long as these obstacles continue, and the
proprietors depend only on slaves for the culture of their lands, no sanguine
hopes are to be entertained of agriculture being greatly improved in the inte
rior of the colony.
Our second day of rest at the Klavervalley was devoted by the Commis
sary general to visiting another government station called the Groote-post, by
which means we saw a different part of the Groenekloof. In the afternoon
we were visited by Mr. Jacob Van Reenen and other colonists of the neigh
bourhood. The former gave me many very interesting details respecting his
travels in Caffraria, and evinced a knowledge of the natural history and geo
graphy of the country which is seldom to be found among the inhabitants of
southern Africa. In his youth he had been in Europe, and had travelled
through France and Holland: his wife is sister to our celebrated Mr.
Persoon. Mr. Van Reenen had some of the best horses of his stud brought out to
show us. The finest among them was an English horse, which, under the

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. Sf '
former government, he had procured from England at much trouble and
expence, but he hoped to repay himself by the improvement it had introduced
among his breed ; indeed, the colts we saw were a convincing proof that his
hopes were not likely to be deceived. It is not easy to determine of what
species the original race of horses at the Cape may have been, as many of
these animals were brought from Europe very early in the establishment of the
Colony. This is certain, that in the time of Vander Stell, horses were brought
hither from Persia ; and in ' the middle of the last century some of the race
v from South America, here called Spanish horses, were introduced at the Cape
Town. These are a sort of dapple-grey horse, of a middling size, very strong in
the breast, and are found extremely useful as draught horses. Some of the
pure race ofthe Persians have been preserved in the northern districts of the
colony ; the peculiar characteristics of these are, that they are very tall, have
great strength in their knee bones, and can endure a great deal of fatigue;
they are of a light brown colour. Few among either race are strikingly
handsome. People who have studied these matters, assert that an J^Mc&ri horse is a
third weaker in drawing than an European one, but the former have very
much the advantage of the latter in climbing mountains and steep places.
The Africans, besides, owing to their being accustomed from their youth to
seek their nourishment upon dry mountains, are easily satisfied, and grow so
hardin the hoofs that there is no occasion to shoe them. They do not bear
very severe or long continued exertion, so that oxen are universally employed
to draw heavy waggons destined to go any considerable distance from the
Cape Town.-, To enable them to continue at their work they must often be
suffered to rest, and must be well fed with barley or oats. If attention be
paid to these things they will hold out longer than European horses under
similar circumstances : it is indeed almost incredible what a prodigious quan
tity of ground they will traverse in a very few days. Most of them go a
sort of short gallop, very agreeable to the rider as well as to the horse, and
they will hold it out for a long time, if not unreasonably pressed forwards ; if
pressed, they soon become lame and stiff. This pace appears so natural to
the race of horses in question that it is not without some difficulty the riders
can ever get them into a trot ©r walk.

2B TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
In the evening Mr. Van Reenen entertained the company with .a concert
performed by his slaves. They played first a chorus, and afterwards several
marches and dances upon clarinets, french horns, and bassoons. The in
struments were good, and there was great reason altogether to be pleased
with the performance, though much was wanting to render -the harmony
complete. They afterwards played upon violins, violoncellos, and flutes, on
which they performed equally well. It is not uncommon to find the same
thing among many families at the Cape, and there are many freed-men in the
town who gain their living by instructing the slaves in music : but neither
master or scholars know a single note : they all play entirely by the ear.
This practice receives great encouragement from the natural inclination that
the. slaves,, particularly the Malays, have to music, from the passion for
dancing that prevails among the young people of the colony, and from the
advantage the gentlemen find in having them at hand on all occasions of
festivity. I know many great houses in which there is not one of the slaves
that cannot play upon some instrument, and where an orchestra is imme
diately collected together, if the young people of the house, when they are
visited in the afternoon by their acquaintance, like to amuse themselves with
dancing for an hour or two. At a nod the cook exchanges his saucepan for
a flute, the groom quits his curry-comb and takes his violin, and the gar
dener throwing aside his spade sits down to the violoncello.*
On the morning of the 12th of October we quitted the Klavervalley and
its hospitable owner. At the departure of the Commissary general he was
saluted according to the custom of the country, as the representative of the
government, with the firing of some small guns. The same was repeated at
almost every place we visited, or only passed by, and it seemed to be made
so great a point of by the good people, that they would not have considered
* This account of the readiness with which at the Cape the slaves exchange one employment
foj another forms a striking contrast to the Hindoo servants in India, no one of whom is ever
engaged for more than one purpose, or will ever stir a hand or foot to do any thing which is
not his or her particular province. The cook, the groom, the gardener, will work indefatigably
from morning till night at their respective occupation's, but nothing can induce them, neither
threats nor intreaties, neither the hope of being rewarded nor the fear of offending, to give the
least assistance in any other, though it should be ever so much wanted.— Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. %$
any thing but an absolute want of powder a sufficient excuse for omitting it.
Even guests of an inferior rarlk, if they are in any way entitled to distinction,'
or if people- wish to do them honour, are saluted at their departure with firing
off a couple of common fowling-pieces. It has many times happened to
me in my subsequent travels, when I was alone, that in case of having
performed a. cure, or done any thing else which gave particular pleasure,
such honours were paid tome. The value of this token of respect will be
best understood by those who are well aware how much gunpowder is an
object of indispensable necessity to the colonists, and how ill they can afford
to use it unnecessarily. Without this medium of defence against their savage
neighbours and against wild beasts, without the" power that it gives of up
holding acquisitions already made, and of making new ones in the game that
contributes towards the supply of their table, no African household can be
long supported : — and it must be moreover taken into consideration, that from
the general scarcity of powder which sometimes prevails in the colony, the
government will not allow an individual to have more than one or two pounds
in his possession at a time ;— the value of a single salute is then indeed very
great. Our way lay at first through- the hills and valleys of the Groenekloof, till
at the north-west extremity of this circuit we arrived at a place called the
Oranjefontein : here the country becomes more flat, sandy, and dry. After
travelling four hours and a half, we arrived at a small house which stood in a
solitary and mournful situation on the declivity of a steep hill, called the
Klipberg. This hill had formerly been a signal station, as we recognised
from an old cannon now lying upon the top, and the house had been the
habitation ofthe watchman, who attended to the signals. Here we found
Le Vaillant's well-known hunting companion, John Slaber, now a lean hag
gard looking old man, who had already exceeded the ordinary limits of man's
life. His venerable father, so justly celebrated by Le Vaillant, had been
dead more than seventeen years. He died so poor that it was necessary to
sell the Teefontein, and his children were all settled in small farms. He, as
well as all belonging to him, spoke in very warm terms of Le Arailiant, and
talked over with evident pleasure a thousand little circumstances of his visit.
He- had learned from other travellers that he was mentioned by Le Vaillant
in his writings, and seemed much delighted at being thus brought into notice.

SO TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
When we questioned our host upon the subject of the tiger-hunt represented
by the traveller as so extremely dangerous, he did not seem to make much
of it, and on our reading to him the description given by Le Vaillant, he
declared that the principal circumstances were mere invention. The good
old mother of John Slaber I had seen several times at the Cape Town at the
house of my friend Hesse, the Lutheran minister. From her and her daugh
ters I heard like expressions of regard for Le Araillant, which however were
sometimes accompanied with exceptions against his too minute description
of their household economy and manner' of living together. This worthy
woman died in 1804, at the very advanced age of ninety ; a length of years
rarely attained in these parts:
The continuation of our way was along a stony and sandy plain, which was
strewed over with some low solitary shrubs. Many sorts of heath plants
enlivened in a degree the dreariness of the scene : we saw several pelar-
gonias, gnidcs, and passerines, with here and there a plant something of the
lily kind, and abundance of garteria, asters, elkhrysia, and others of the
syngenesia class,, the rays of which were even now expanded to the mid-day
sun. To our right the great chain of hills which runs from the north to
Cape Agulhas reared their rugged heads in the distance, and we could plainly
distinguish the peak, at the foot of which on the other side is the ravine
which runs to the valleys of Roodezand.
The place which we reached towards evening, and where we determined
to take up our abode for the night, is called Uylekraal. It was the farm of
a certain Conrad Laubscher, who supported himself by growing corn and
breeding horses. In the rude manner in which his house was built, in the
scanty manner in which it was furnished, and in the humble clothing of our
host, we immediately recognised our being already at a considerable distance
from the Cape Town ; yet even here there was ah attention to neatness and
cleanliness, which we could not but acknowledge was extremely commend
able ; and this we never failed to see among the colonists, even in the most
wretched bouses upon the borders. The house was too small to lodge the
whole party, so some of our tents were set up, and here we commenced
sleeping in the field. As there was yet some time remaining before the borne
of retiring to rest, Laubscher brought out a light waggon, to which he har
nessed eight horses, and taking the reins with one hand and his long whip

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 31
with tbe other, drove our ladies and a part of the company (the rest fol
lowing on horseback) in an hour to the Teefontein ; which estate now belongs
to Mr. John Van Reenen, the eldest brother of the gentlemen whom we had
already visited.
All the address of our European waggon drivers vanishes entirely before
the very superior dexterity in this way shewn by the Africans. In a veiy
brisk trot, or even in a gallop, they are perfect masters of eight horses, and
if the road be indifferent they avoid with the utmost skill every hole and
every stone. With horses, as with oxen, the ' long whip serves not only to
regulate the pace of, the animals, but to keep them all in a strait line ; if any
one inclines ever so little from it, a touch from the whip puts him imme
diately into his place again. , Laubscher gave us a singular proof of his dex
terity in using his whip, for while we were in full trot he saw at a little dis
tance from the road on a ploughed land a bird which had alighted upon the
ground, when giving the whip a flourish, he struck the bird instantly, and
killed it upon the spot. His .talents in driving astonished us so much
the more, as he took the whole management upon himself nor had any
assistance from the slave who usually sits by the driver, and holds the reins,
while he only touches them when he wants to guide the horses to the one
side or the other : the sharpest corners are turned in this way at full trot.
This dexterity is so universal that the 'people seemed surprised at our seeing
any thing in it to admire.
The Teefontein is one ofthe best spots in this sandy country, and the grass
it produces is particularly good for the feed of sheep and horses. In the
shade of high trees these parts are wholly deficient, and those which are to
be seen in Le Vaillant's engravings are probably introduced there only with
the idea of embellishing the landscape. The water is good and well-flavoured,
but not in great abundance : its yellowish hue, from which the spring derives
its name, is doubtless owing to particles of iron. We were here regaled with
a genuine African dish, the anis root,* which has a strong spicy taste, and
when .cooked seems extremely nourishing. It is in perfection at this time
of the year, and is sometimes brought to the Cape Town as a delicacv.

* Probably the slum Jilifolium of Thunberg.

32 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
We returned at night to the dwelling of our host, when I made use of the
space afforded by my tent for arranging and putting in order the insects and
-plants which I had thus far collected. I now perceived that the booty I had
acquired far exceeded my expectations, since I had not hoped to find much
in this most unfruitful part of the colony. I remarked, extremely to my satis
faction, that these sandy downs were inhabited by insects and plants wholly
appropriate to the spot, and varying extremely from those more immediately
in the neighbourhood of the Cape Town. Most of them, upon a closer
examination, appeared so entirely new, that I must suspect the naturalists
who have gone before me of having neglected these parts exceedingly ; if not,
they must have travelled through them at a very unfavourable season of
the year.* I should conceive that a man could scarcely explore this
country without almost involuntarily becoming a naturalist. My spirit of
collecting these objects seemed to be caught by many of our party ; and what
we acquired in a day, which we considered as tolerably productive, was
always well worthy our attention. With how much trouble soever the
collecting them was accompanied, how great soever were our losses through
the want of foresight among the slaves, by the overturning ofthe waggons, or
by the injury received from wet in passing through deep rivers; — or how
much soever was suffered from the want of sufficient room for stowing them
properly, from the necessity of sometimes gathering the plants in a high
wind, or catching the insects in a heavy rain ; — still with all these allays to
our collections being so good as we could wish, the pleasure we derived from
them was greater than can be comprehended by any who do not take delight
in similar pursuits.

-(- The riches of Southern Africa, in objects of natural history hitherto unknown, has been
confirmed by the collection of insects which I brought with mc. Among between six and seven
hundred sorts there were three hundred and forty which Professor Illiger found entirely new.
A small collection sent over a short time before by the Lutheran minister, Hesse, to my friend,
Mr. Hausmann (an account of which has been given in Professor Illiger's Entomotogical
Magazine), was no less rich in rare objects. This collection was chiefly made -in the neigh.
bourhood of the Teefontein, and at our visit there we found the daughter of Mr. Van Reenen
occupied in completing it.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: S3

CHAP. III.

Saldanha Bay — Frugal Meal at Geelbek — History and Description~of Saldanha Bay. —
Upon its Advantages and Disadvantages, and upon the different Plans which have
been proposed for obviating the latter. — Flock of Flamingos, — The Islands of
Saldanha Bay. — Interesting Old Soldier.
Early in the morning of the following day preparations for our departure
were made; when the tents being struck, and with the rest of our field
equipage repacked, we set forward at seven in the morning. We came
again to the Teefontein which we had visited the day before ; and notwith
standing our haste to get on, that we might lie by in the great heat of the
day, the friendly owners insisted upon our stopping to take a breakfast with
them. We then proceeded on our way through a country very much re
sembling what we had traversed the day before, passing a stream, called here
the Long Fountain, which proved a great comfort to our horses, as it gave
them an opportunity of quenching for awhile the thirst by which theysuffered
so much. From hence the country grows more and more sandy, and it was
really grievous to see the exertions which it cost our poor oxen to draw
the waggons along. The waggoners had the good sense to propose
their going along the eastern shore of the bay, while we ourselves explored
the peninsula which lies beween the bay and the open sea.
After three hours very fatiguing travelling, both to ourselves and our cattle,
in an almostinsupportable heat, we at length espied the southern end of the
bay: the sight of this smooth expanse of water, surrounded by a circuit of
high hiHs, was quite reviving to us. A house which we saw at a little
distance seemed to offer us all that was wanting to the full enjoyment of the
scene— projection from the heat of the sun; but, alas! when we arrived we
found it entirely shut up, nor was any sign of another human habitation to
be discovered within the reach of our eyes. We had therefore half resolved
to set up a tent for our honoured chief and the ladies, under the shelter, of a
F

34 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
half-ruined shed, when we were addressed by an old man, who appeared of
Mozambique, in a language composed of Portuguese, Dutch, and Malay.
He gave us to understand that he belonged to the house, and took care ofthe
«xen in a neighbouring field — that his master was absent, but he had come to
jffer us his services. In answer to our request to be admitted into the house,
he said that his master had taken the key with him, but we were exceedingly
welcome to the use of his own little apartment. Here we found a clean
table, a couple of stools, and a couch with an ox hide spread over it, but
in our situation even such accommodations were most acceptable. In addition
to what cold provisions we had with us, he brought us his whole little stock
of bread; we enquired for eggs, as we saw poultry about the place; but this
demand was not easily satisfied. As there was no roost for the hens, they
kid their eggs about in the fields, and it was not till after a good deal of
searching that our people could collect a dozen. Refreshed, however, Dy
this frugal meal and two hour's rest, we set forwards again in the afternoon :
we learnt afterwards from the slaves that this place was called Geelbek.
Our course was now-along the western shore of the bay, sometimes upon
the very sand itself; sometimes over the rocks which projected almost into
the water; when we had indeed a delightful view over the bay. The fisher-
mens' huts strewed about the shore — the still water, peopled with here and
there a flamingo, and various other sorts of water-fowl — the hilly tract on the
other side, bounded at last by the lofty and picturesque Piket mountain,
composed altogether a very fine landscape, which from its diversity was more
particularly deserving of admiration. The fault of African scenery in general
is that its principal characteristic is a dry and naked uniformity : the lover of
the picturesque will above all things find the want of a rich foreground, and
must call to his assistance either the habitations of mankind, or their
employments. In the midst of the peninsula a rugged and lofty mountain runs directly
into the bay. Over it lies the road, with deep precipices on the right hand,
and on the left crags, on which were growing many sorts of succulent plants,
and shrubs with leaves of a greenish grey. The noise of our cavalcade
frightened numbers of little antelopes, who, starting up on both sides,
fled through the bushes, so that we could only now and then catch a glimpse
of them as they from time to time raised their heads to look at -us. All on a

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 33
sudden the van of our troop, who were armed with fowling-pieces, stopped
short, alarmed with the writhings of a frightful serpent upon the ledge of a
erag, which raised up its crest, swelling and puffing itself out. One of the
men aimed his piece at it, and shot it dead instantly. It proved to be a
pqf-adder, as we believed, one of the most poisonous species that are found in
this country ;¦ but since no branch of natural history in Southern Africa has
been hitherto more neglected than the reptiles, I am not able to give the
scientific name with any degree of certainty. This animal is distinguishable
by a disproportionate thickness, and by a body handsomely spotted with black
and white spots upon a brownish ground; it has this peculiarity, that when it
is enraged it swells out. its neck to a very great size. It measured in length
about an ell and a half, and' was about six inches round in its greatest
circumference. The sun was already going down when we reached the government-post in
Saldanha Bay. The superintendent of the bay, who bears the title of post-
holder, lives in a very convenient well furnished house upon the shore, to tha
left of which is a prominent hill, bearing the signal-post on its highest point.
By the side of the house is a spring of tolerably good water, but the supply is
so scanty that it is secured by a wall and cover, which can be fastened down.
The name of- the present postholder is Stoffberg: he is by birth a German,
and was formerly, a subordinate officer in the garrison of the Cape. He re
ceived us with great hospitality, and took infinite pains during the two days
that we remained here to make us thoroughly acquainted with every thing
relating to the bay. The reader will perhaps not be displeased at my inserting
an abstract of the information which I obtained relative to this interest
ing spot.
Saldanha Bay has hitherto had the fate, the perverse fate as it may perhaps
justly be called, of being falsely laid down even in the latest maps, and of
being no less erroneously described. Of this the following notice, when
compared with former ones, will be a sufficient proof.
Antonio de Saldanha, commander of the third division of a Portuguese
fleet, which was under the supreme command ofthe celebrated Albuquerque,
and was destined to pursue the discoveries of Vasco de 'Gama, landed, as Barres*

* Joam de Barros dos fectos que os Portugueses fizevam. — Lisboa 1552; A more ample
account may be seen in the History of the Discoveries in Southern Africa.
F2

36 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
relates in the year 1503, in a bay of Southern Africa, which was in the
sequel called after him, Alguada de Saldanha. — 'This was no other than what
is now called Table Bay, as is sufficiently proved by all the circumstances which
Barros minutely details. For a whole century it retained the name ofthe
Portuguese hero, and it was called so equally by the English, till in the year
1601 its present name of Table Bay was given it by the Dutch navigator,
George Spilberg. It was then, though I have not been able to discover by
what means, that the name of Saldanha Bay was transferred to that of which
we are now to treat. On account of its want of good water, this has
never been much used as a road for large ships, and since the commence
ment of the seventeenth century it has been little frequented but by whale
fishers and seal catchers.
In the beginning of the eighteenth century the Dutch began to cultivate
the land in the neighbourhood of the bay, when it soon appeared that parti
cular spots were fertile beyond all expectation. The fields on the coast,
above all, which were moistened by the vapours from the sea, afforded, even
in the poorest years, abundance of wholesome food for the cattle. How
imperfectly this bay was then known is obvious from examining the old maps,
and reading the description given of it by Kolbe. In most of the maps it is
represented as running a great way inland, in an almost easterly direction ;
Mr. Barrow's is the first in which a more accurate delineation is given,
but on comparing even his with what accompanies this work, it will be found
that they differ in many essential points. I leave this comparison to any
reader who chooses to make it, as far as the figure of the bay is concerned,
and shall only observe here that our maps vary no less as to its situation.
According to Mr. Barrow the mouth ofthe bay is in latitude 33° 10' south; —
according to my calculations it is 32° 5i'. *
Saldanha Bay is unquestionably the most secure and convenient harbour
on the whole coast of Southern Africa ; indeed, there are not many to be

* Mr. Barrow, in the second part of his Travels, acknowledges the defectiveness of his map,
though not with the manly frankness and openness which might be wished. Against the
favourable testimony of General Vandeleur, to which he appeals, I must venture to set up my
ewn, and observe that I seldom found it of any use: as, for example, Graaff Reynett and Algoa
Bay are laid down a whole degree too far eastward.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA; 3?
found in other parts equal to it for size, security, and the goodness of the
anchorage. Five little islands, three of which are at the mouth of the
harbour, the other two towards the southern part, appear planted there by the
hand of nature, to break the force ofthe west winds which blow into the
bay: it is besides almost surrounded with hills, so that none but the north
wind, which is here very rare, can disturb the smoothness and glassy surface of
the water. The bay is large enough to contain several fleets ; and the
northern part of the bason, called the Hoetjes Bay, is of such a breadth, and
the water so deep, that the largest ships can not only lie safely at anchor, but
can even manoeuvre there. Towards the south the bay assumes constantly more
and more theappearance of a fresh- water lake; itgrows gradually shallower and
shallower, and abounds exceedingly with fish. Mr. Stoffberg assured me that
as much fish had once been taken in a single afternoon as when salted filled
six hogsheads. As this is a sort of food that the slaves love exceedingly,
many colonists have fisheries in the bay, or fetch in cart loads from the
owners of the above mentioned fishing-huts, the provision for their house
hold. The salted fish is sent from hence over the Tulbagh, even as far as the
Bokkeveld and Goudinie. In the winter months the whale, called by
Linnaeus balcena glacialis, appears in shoals in the bay, and may be taken
with very little trouble.
The land hereabouts, as has been already observed, is extremely fertile,
and by improving the mode of husbandry pursued, the crops of corn might
probably be increased at least a third. The garden -vegetables are thought to
be particularly well flavoured.
Amid so many favourable circumstances, it may perhaps seem a matter of
wonder that at the establishment of the colony this spot was not rather
chosen for building a town than the open and insecure shores of Table Bay ;
at least it may appear strange that ships do not by preference run in here in
winter; but against so many advantages one disadvantage must be acknow
ledged, which perhaps counterbalances them all, and that is the want of good •
water. The quantity of this indispensable article to be obtained here is so
small that it hardly deserves to be mentioned, when the question is to supply
a numerous assemblage of persons, or to administer to the wants of a fleet.
The well belonging to the spring at the government-post will contain thirty
hogsheads, but it is seldom that above a fourth part of that quantity can be

38 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
drawn in one day. The postholder can scarcely satisfy the wants of even a
very small travelling party, without endangering the not leaving a sufficiency
for his own cattle and his household purposes. Another spring upon the
signal-post hill is perfectly salt, and though in flowing down it loses this
quality in a certain degree, which is somewhat extraordinary, stiii even at the
bottom it is undrinkable: the water has been found equally salt and brackish
in several wells that have been dug. A question may here very naturally be
asked, whether no attempts have been made to remedy or at least to alleviate
this evil, and if any, of what description. It is certain that the attention of
many persons who understand these matters perfectly has been exercised
upon it, but hitherto to very little purpose. Mr. Barrow, in his work, has
offered many well sounding hints upon the subject, but they are only such as
had been brought forward long before by different inhabitants of the Cape,
This induces me to dwell somewhat diffusely upon them, and to examine the
question more closely, and under more variety of aspects than it has been
examined by him.
This gentleman, who in some respects is undoubtedly an estimable writer,
has, as well as his imitators, raised a great outcry against the confined views,
the inactivity, and cupidity of the former Dutch government, which they say
threw a damp upon all endeavours at improvement ; and this is now become
so much the general voice of all the reading part of Europe, that I should be
almost fearful of saying any thing in opposition to it, were it not that better
information, and a consciousness ofthe utmost impartiality, urges me to speak,
and would render a timid silence an offence against truth. Audiatur et
altera pars.
It should always be borne in mind that the judgment to be formed of any
measure must depend much upon the relation it bears to the powers of the
person or persons by whom it is to be pursued, and to the degree of benefit
which may eventually be derived from it.. — To apply this rule to the present
case, it may be asked whether while the Dutch were masters of the colony
it was ever desirable that Saldanha Bay should be provided with water and all
other things in which it is deficient for supplying the wants of ships : I do not
hesitate a moment to answer this question in the negative, and these are my
reasons. Granted that Saldanha Bay was on a sudden amply furnished! with water

I TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. $9
¦nd by this means rendered the most eligible harbour upon the whole coast,
what would be the advantages derived from it?— that it would be^nore fre
quented by ships, that the situation of the country round ivould be improved,
that foreigners would perhaps reside there, that houses would be built, that in
short a new colony would be established. But this it must be well understood
would continue only as long as it might please the English to remain at peace,
and permit neutral vessels free ingress and egress to and from the place. .
And how are these advantages to be obtained, excepting at the expense of
deserting the present colony at the Cape Town. Enormous costs must be
incurred for erecting fortifications, magazines, barracks, and other necessary
buildings, above all, a permanent administration in the mother country would
be indispensable, that the sub-government here might not be liable to be
changed. Another important question is, what number of troops would be
requisite to defend works so much more extensive as they must necessarily
be, and to garrison the posts which must then be established all along
the coast from the Cape to the bay. And for whom would all these enormous
expences be incurred ? — only for the English, who, at the breaking out of every
new waT, would probably be seized with their usual longing again to possess
themselves of this settlement. Let the number of troops employed by Hol
land in the defence of the colony be ever so great, the English will send a
greater force against it. The favourable circumstances attending the bay
may be urged ; the lktle islands at -its mouth, the heights by which it is sur
rounded, so formed by nature for the erection of batteries and works of
defence; the superiority of the English naval tactics would laugh at these
thkigs, tbey would sail through, spite ofthe batteries, and effect a landing at
the back of the islands.
No, in the inaccessibility and inhospitality of the African coast, in the ua-
fruitfuiness of the soil, and want of water abowt her bays, has consisted hither
to the principal means of her defence. The force could at any time be concen
trated on one point, aad being assailable only on the side of the sea, no appre
hensions were to be entertained of an attack on the rear by land. The diffi
culties of a landing in Saldanha Bay were sufficiently experienced by
England in its expedition against the colony in 1806. It was superfluous,
because the matter would have been much sooner decided in the neighbour
hood of the Cape; indeed, the plan must inevitably have miscarried, if the

40 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. ,
orders issued by the governor for the inhabitants to retire into the interior of
the country, carrying with them their cattle .and all their moveable property,
or destroying whatever they could not carry away, had been punctually
obeyed ; and this would have been done, if the citizens of the Cape Town,
who had possessions there, had shared in any degree the zeal and enthusiasm
of the distant colonists. It would have been an unpardonable fault in the
Dutch government, if they had attempted to form a settlement of any conse
quence in any ofthe bays near the Cape, since their inability to defend them
either by land or water would have rendered them only a certain prey to the
enemy in case of a new war.
Let us now examine the plans that have been suggested for procuring a
supply of water in Saldanha Bay. Before Mr. Barrow, it had been proposed
by Mr. Frederic Kirsten to make a canal from the Berg river to the bay.
Against this project, which has cost its supporters many quires of paper, and
some drawings, several weighty considerations may be urged : I cannot pretend
here to give a complete analysis of them, but the following are among the
most important.
In the. first place, the little fall that this canal would have. The water for
four miles* up the Berg river continues to be salt, and the canal must com
mence half a mile higher up, where this river joins its waters with those of
the Zout, so that the canal must be carried along a course of six miles and a
half. As it is then agreed that the level of the water in Saldanha Bay is the
same as that in the Berg river, where it ceases to be salt, there would be no
more fall for the waters of the canal through so long a course, than the Berg
river has in half a mile: but it seems never to have entered into the heads of
the projectors that any attention to the levels of the waters was necessary.
Further, in order to conduct the canal by the nearest way, and render it ofthe
greatest possible advantage, high hills must be cut through. Moreover, the
whole work must be carried through a sandy country, which is ill suited to an
open canal ; and if it should be proposed to conduct the water by means of
leaden pipes, it must be considered that the least injury received by them in
any part would occasion an entire stoppage of the whole. Lastly, the Berg
* It must here be recollected that the writer reckons by German miles, every one of which is
equal to five miles English. — Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 41
river itself is not at all times of the year well supplied with water, as
Mr. Barrow himself observes : the supply is sometimes so scanty, that ves
sels in Saldanha Bay, depending on this canal for furnishing them with the
necessary provision of water, might run the hazard of being detained for a
length of time, which would not be found very pleasant. Nay, it is not
impossible that through malice the water might be stopped at a moment
when large fleets are lying in the bay, which would be a very sufficient reason
for deterring them from ever making a second visit of the kind. I say nothing
here of the expense: it is estimated by Mr. Barrow at about ten thousand
pounds sterling, a sum which might indeed be sufficient in Europe, but not
in a country where nothing is done but by the hands of slaves, every one of
whom costs at least half a dollar per day, while after all he does not get
through above a third part of the work performed by an European day-
labour-er- Another plan has been to make the canal from the spring at the White-
Cliff, which is not more than a mile and a half from Saldanha Bay, and from
which there is a much greater fall. But this spring would never yield half
sufficient for any considerable number of vessels ; — and here again the
advantage derived would not answer the expense incurred.
All the abortive attempts that have been made by digging to find good
water still cannot convince Mr. Barrow that none is to be found; the fault
has been in the poor peasants who did not understand how to search for it,
for water there must be, because at the distance of ten or twelve miles lies a
range of high hills, whence it must filter through the ground in subter
ranean channels, and this is proved by the granite to be found at a certain
depth in the earth. This theory of Mr. Barrow's is pretty much of the same
nature with that formed by him upon the saltness of the sea, and is one of
the errors which in another place he has demonstrated more at large. The
difficulty of bringing these lands into high cultivation, according to him, is
not to be ascribed to their nature, it must be sought for in the character of
the possessors and in the faults ©f the government, and he dips his pen in
the bitterest gall, to represent both, as the ne plus ultra of rusticity, of awk
wardness, of short-sightedness, and of cupidity. He cannot forgive the
Dutch government that it has not expended enormous sums upon the colony

42 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
to make it a more brilliant conquest for the minister of his king ; — to render
the acquisition of it a more dazzling exploit in the eyes of the people.
It is proved by the registers of the former East-India Company that the
establishment at the Cape of Good Hope, during one hundred and forty-three
years that it remained under the government of that society, had more than a
hundred millions of guilders expended upon it, without reckoning what little
the colony itself contributed towards its support.' The gains derived from it
were at the same time small, since during peace all other naval powers
shared the advantages of the establishment, without contributing any thing
more to its support than the trifling sum paid for anchorage there. In time
of war, on the contrary, the defence of it was an immense expense to the
possessors, and the little advantages it derived from its trade were almost
entirely annihilated, because not only the ships ofthe enemy absented them
selves, but it was almost equally deserted by neutrals. This colony would
long ago have become the prey of one of the two great naval powers, had it
not been that their reciprocal envy of each other preserved the possession of
it to Holland. They preferred its remaining in the hands of a subordinate
power to its passing into those of an enemy, and nothing was more natural
than that England should become master of it, when France sunk only to a
secondary rank as a naval power.
During the seven years that the colony of the Cape was in the possession
of England, not less than sixteen millions of pounds sterling was expended
upon it by the British government, as has been asserted by several English
men from the most authentic documents, and yet in what a wretched con
dition was.it when restored to Holland in 1803. The inhabitants of the Cape
Town alone, and indeed only some individuals among them, had derived any
advantage from this enormous expenditure. Luxury was introduced, and
from the inundation of merchandise sent thither, articles of clothing and
fashion became cheap, without the real wants of the government being there
fore satisfied on more moderate terms. The interior of the colony was mean
while in the highest state of dilapidation, all public institutions neglected,
all public buildings suffered to fall into decay. I suspect, not without good
ground, that this arose very much from the Enghsh government never con
sidering this as a permanent possession ; that having resolved at a peace rather

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 43
to give up the Cape than Ceylon, they were not solicitous to make improve
ments for the benefit of their successors. This seems proved by the little
that was done notwithstanding such enormous sums were expended : time
will discover whether in their second possession of it the efforts of the British
government will be more happily directed*. The liberal spirit shewn by this
government towards some of her colonies leaves much room for hope : I must
however doubt much, whether they will ever be seized with a fancy to
carry Mr. Barrow's plans for the improvement of Saldanha Bay into
execution. Another thing in which this bay is deficient must not pass unnoticed, since
for that, as well as the former, Mr. Barrow thinks he has found a remedy ; this
is the want of a good supply of firewood, an article of great importance to vessels
which are numerously manned. He conceives that the various sorts of shrubby
plants which grow all about these sand-hills might be used for this purpose,
especially the thick woody roots of one particular sort (he probably means the
cussonia spicataj, which, as he says, grow to such a size as to form almost a
subterraneous forest. But here it must be remembered that the continuance
of this provision cannot be depended upon in the case of large fleets requir
ing to '<be supplied from it. These subterraneous forests are of very long
growth, and would be much sooner destroyed than renewed., Against the
proposal to plant the oak, the poplar, and the silver-tree, no other objection
need be made than that it is impracticable, since from the saltness of the earth
nothing will grow here but the proper natives ofthe soil ; that is to say, when
the question is of large trees which strike very deep roots.
To /eturn to the continuation of our journey. It seemed a little, ex
traordinary to us the next morning as we looked through our glasses to the
opposite shore of the bay not to perceive our waggons at the appointed
place. They arrived there however about eleven o'clock, having toiled
all night to make their way through the deep sands. At some places
they had been obliged to fasten the hinder waggons to the foremost, and
even then, with the united power of four and twenty oxen, great efforts were
necessary to" get them on. Some idea may hence be formed of the difficulties
to be encountered in taking long journeys in this country.
A boat was now prepared, in which I embarked to take a more accurate
survey of the bay. It is in this part about a quarter of a mile over, and for
G 2

44 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
large vessels not navigable much farther in length. In our little boat, the
tide being at the ebb, we were obliged to steer at a considerable distance
from a vast bank of sand, which, running into the middle of the bay, reduces
its breadth by nearly a third. A large troop of flamingos, at least, as we
guessed, two hundred in number, were walking about upon this bank appa
rently to seek for the sand-worms which had buried themselves there. We
came within a hundred and fifty paces of them, and could see very plainly
their singular manner of eating, raising their food from the ground with the
upper part of their bill and then twisting their long necks backwards to make
it pass down. I had afterwards a couple of these animals alive in my pos
session, when I remarked that they never eat in any other way ; and as they
soon died for want of their accustomed food, I applied myself to a closer
examination of their bills, when I perceived that the under part is entirely
immoveable, and locked as it were fast into the jaw-bone. It is remarked
by the colonists that these birds do not breed here. They disappear entirely
in the very hot season of the year, but no young ones are seen among them
at their return. Probably the young remain at their birth-place till they have
strength enough to undertake a long journey ; and that may not be the first
year. These birds not: being considered as of any use, since no Apicius,
Caligula, Vitellius, or Heliogabalus, has yet discovered that their tongues
are a particular dainty for the table, are never molested, though it would not
be difficult with a well-charged piece to kill a dozen at one shot. They are
therefore not shy, so that they will permit people to come very near them
before they attempt to fly away.
Another day a larger party of us made a voyage to the nearest of the small
islands, called Shapen-Island {Sheep Island) from the excellent feed that it
affords for these animals. This islet is about an hour in circumference, and
resembles very much the Robben-Island (Seal Island) at the mouth of Table
Bay. The foundation is granite, and here and there appear veins of loam or
argile. There is a little spring on the northern side, but the water is
brackish, and the supply scanty. The vegetation is confined chiefly to some
sorts of the mesembryanthemum, particularly the mesembryanthemum crys-
tallinum, or ice-plant as it is generally called, and some little shrubby plants.
The inhabitants of this as well as the other islands, are chiefly sea-fowl, ser
pents, and lizards : European rabbits are also to be found, the descendants

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 45
of some which were once brought here, and which have increased ex
ceedingly. Up to this island, or at least within half a mile of it, the bay is deep
enough for small vessels ; larger must lie between this and the Meeuwen
Island, and ships of war will find the depth necessary for them to the north
of the islands in the Hoetjes Bay. The three other islands are called the
Jutten, the Malagassen, and the Marcus, islands ; the last lies the nearest to
Hoetjes Bay. About six or seven miles south of these, in the open sea, lies
Dassen Island, which is little visited, so that seals are still to be found there,
though they are almost extirpated from the other islands. On this island is
a simple inscription engraven on a stone to the memory of a Danish sea cap
tain who was buried there. A favourable south east wind and ebb-tide
had carried us in an hour from the Government-post to Shapen-Island, but
for this very reason our return was tedious, and lasted three hours in a burn
ing sun. In the evening we visited the signal station, from which we had a
very fine view over the whole bay with all its islands.
In the house of our host lived an old soldier, now in his eightieth year,
who had served under the great Frederick in the seven years war ; he had
then entered into the Dutch service, and at the taking of the Cape by the
English had lost a pension which had been given him as an invalid : in con
sequence of the distress to which he was thus reduced, the excellent Stoff-
berg had taken him into his house, where he maintained him entirely. The
old man interested us exceedingly, particularly from his extreme vivacity
and animation. He had still his faculties perfect, and gave us an account with
the utmost energy and accuracy, of the battles in which he had been engaged.
He played us some marches and dances upon his violin, with more than com
mon spirit, and remains of former excellence.
Our supper was made principally upon eggs of penguins and sea-gulls,*
which we had collected at Shapen-Island; the flavour o the yolk we thought
good, but not equal to that of a hen's-egg. The white acquired by cooking
a sort of transparent yellow consistence, which had somewhat the appearance
of opal.
* Tie *ptenodytcs demerse, and diomedea exulans of Linnteus.

46 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. IV. *
Departure from Saldanha-Bay. — Laubscher' s' Farm.— Hippopotamus Hunt. — Ex
treme Age of a Slave, — The Mouth of the Berg-River. — Bay of St. Helena. —
Tedious Passage of the Berg-River. — The Piket- Mountain. — The Widow Lieu-
wenberg's Farm. — District of the four and twenty Rivers. — Leiste's Farm. — Ge-
lukwaard. — Forwardness of the European Plants here. — Cultivation of Rice and
Indigo. x
On Sunday, the sixteenth of October, we took leave of the excellent
Mr. Stoffberg and his family, and having sent our horses round the day
before to the other side of the bay, we now crossed over ourselves in a boat,
and rejoined them: the cavalry had been entertained for the night at a small
house upon the strand. Our course lay still through a sandy level country,
scattered over with heath plants ; but after awhile we began to ascend by
slow degrees till we came to the summit of a widely extended hill, called
the Mastenberg. After three hours travelling on the other side of this hill,
we arrived at a place called the little Spring-fountain, where dwelt a
colonist of the name of Stadler: our want of rest and his very kind and
hospitable solicitations induced us to stop here for more than an hour.
The number of beautiful insects which I now saw wherever I looked invited
me irresistibly to loiter behind, when our company set forwards again, and lead
ing my horse, I indulged myself awhile in pursuing my favourite occupation.
The shrubs, which were higher than what we had generally seen, united
with several sorts of prolea, rhus, and other small trees, confined the prospect,
and brought in some sort to my remembrance the little woods of my native
country. I followed, perhaps with too much eagerness, a beautiful chafer
which flew before me, till I lost my way, and got into a wrong road. Very
possibly I might not have rejoined the company that day, had not some of them,
missing me, sent a young colonist in search of their stray companion, when,
with the usual sharp-sightedness of his countrymen at tracing any one, he
soon found me. By him I was conducted in safety to the house of one of

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 47
the richest colonists of the country, Mr. Jacob Laubscher, where the rest of
the party had arrived some hours before. We found his house a very indif
ferent looking one as to the exterior, but more comfortable and better fur
nished within than any we had yet seen ; while the number and size of the
out-buildings were sufficient vouchers that our host was a man of no incon
siderable property. Indeed, he maintained a sort of patriarchal household, of
which some idea may be formed by stating that the stock of the farm consisted
of eighty horses, six_ hundred and ninety head of horned cattle, two thousand
four hundred and seventy sheep, and an immense quantity of poultry of all
kinds. The family itself, including masters, servants, hottentots, and slaves,
consisted of a hundred and five persons, for whose subsistence the patriarch
had to provide daily. The quantity of corn sown upon his estate this year,
including every description, amounted to sixty-one bushels.
By what is here stated, it will be seen that an African farm may almost be
• called a State in miniature, in which the wants and means of supplying them
are reciprocal, and where all are dependent one upon another. From the
produce of the lands and flocks must the whole tribe be fed, so that the
surplus is not so great as might be supposed at first sight; it perhaps hardly
more than compensates the outgoings for objects which cannot be raised upon
the spot. These may be classed under three heads : first, articles of manu
facture, as cloth, linen, hats, arms: secondly of luxury, as tea, coffee,
sugar, spices, &c. : — thirdly of raw materials, as iron, pitch, and rosin.
?Tis only through the medium of these wants that a colonist is connected
with the rest of the world ; and I believe I may venture to assert, that ex
cepting articles ofthe above description, there is scarcely any thing necessary
for the supply of his household which is not drawn from his own premises.
All kinds of handicraft works, such I mean as are here wanted, are performed
by the slaves, for there are few indeed among them who are not instructed in
some mechanical occupation, and the dwelling is surrounded with work-shops
of all kinds. It is really interesting to see so many different employments
and pursuits comprehended within so small a space.
Over every branch of these works the master himself has an eye of super
intendence, and amid such a variety of objects this is no light task : how
little soever therefore he may work himself, it would be the grossest injustice
to accuse him of sloth or idleness. The African land-owner is incessantly

48 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
occupied in some way or other, nor thinks of availing himself of his situation,
or his wealth, to shun business, and seek the life of ease, for which, among
us, affluence would afford so just a pretence. And though, from the heat
of the climate, from his sequestered mode of life, from the absence of that
kind of intercourse with his fellow-creatures which is created by living in a
city, from the liberality of nature in furnishing him plentifully with all things
necessary to satisfy the most pressing wants of life, and other circumstances
of a similar nature, the colonists around the Cape acquire a certain phlegm,
a slowness in their movements which may be easily mistaken for indolence,
and which forms a striking contrast to the restless bustling manner prevalent
among the same class in the north of Europe : they are in reality any thing
rather than indolent.
What Gothe remarks in his Fragments upon Italy, with respect to the in
dolence of the lower classes at Naples, of which so much has been said, will
apply extremely well here. The northern nations, he observes, judge the
nations of the south, who live under so very different a heaven, too much
according to their own feelings and their own view of things, without making
a sufficient allowance for the influence of external circumstances ; and he
cites, as a confirmation of this remark, the judgment passed by de Pauw in
his Recherches sur les Grecs.
When Mr. Barrow among the many accusations he brings against the
African colonists (and he certainly has not been sparing of them) charges
them with extreme sloth, he shows either that he has never paid due at
tention to their household economy, or that he has no discrimination with
regard to the difference of circumstances created by difference of climate, but
expects the same exertions from a peasant at the Cape as from an English
day-labourer. I forbear here to enter upon a diffuse discussion of this sub
ject, because a more appropriate occasion for it will occur in another part of
my work ; but I cannot omit observing that even in my first journey I was
led almost daily to ask myself whether these were really the same African
colonists which the celebrated Mr. Barrow represented as such barbarians,
as such more than half savages — so much did I find the reality in contra
diction to his descriptions.
The Rietvalley, for this was again the name given to the place where we
were now resting, lies very near the Berg-river. Mr. Lauhscher's dwelling-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 49
house stands upon a considerable height at not above a quarter of an hour's
distance from its bank. The country between affords excellent grass, and if
ploughed would no doubt produce corn in abundance. The mouth of the
river is about three miles distant from this place, taking a direct line, but
double in following all the twistings and windings of the stream. When the
north-west wind blows strong into the bay of St. Helena, the salt water
not only comes up the river as far as the Rietvalley, but nearly an hour's
distance beyond it, so that the inhabitants being deprived of fresh water for
their cattle are obliged to drive them to other parts. To balance this incon
venience, the valley has the advantage of being a spot where a disease among
cattle' called the lamziek/e (a sort of murrain ofthe most pernicious kind, since
the animal infected with it becomes entirely lame) is wholly unknown. At
the time when this disease prevails in any part, cattle are sent hither even
from a distance to remain till the danger of infection is over, and this brings
sometimes a good deal of money to the purses of the inhabitants.
The, Berg-river is remarkable as being the only one within the boundaries
of the colony where the hippotamos or river-horse, called here the sea-cow,
is to be found. One of the governors, about the middle of the former cen
tury, Mr. Tulbagh, thinking it would be a pity to extirpate these animals,
and that some ought to be preserved, set a fine of a thousand guilders upon
the destruction of a river-horse. According to Lauhscher's account, there
was now in the river ten or twelve of these monsters, who in the day-time
scarcely ever appeared above the water, but who often came on shore at night,
and did great damage in the fields^ not only eating the young corn, but
trampling down a great deal more with their heavy unwieldy feet. On the
very day of our arrival one was perceived in the valley directly opposite the
house. This occasioned permission to be given by the Commissary-general
for a hunt of these animals to be commenced, only one of which however
was to be killed. When this was done, the skin, the skeleton, and the
principal entrails, were to be carefully prepared, and dispatched to the Cape
Town, since we were sufficiently near to it for this to be practicable; from
the distance at which in general these unwieldy monsters are to be found,
like preparations are in danger of being much damaged in the transport. But
alas ! our plan, however excellently arranged, was in the end wholly frus
trated, and the ehace was of necessity abandoned. As it can only be per
il

SO * TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
formed by water, a boat was ordered out for the purpose, but when we came
to examine it we found it was leaky, nor was there one to be procured in
which we could trust ourselves upon the water without manifest danger. We
were therefore obliged to be contented with examining the traces which the
animal had left upon the shore : the impression of the foot was as large as an
ordinary sized trencher, and in the mud close on the shore, where the crea
ture had sunk deeper, between the marks of the feet was plainly to be
discerned a furrow made by the large protuberant belly.
Another object worthy of remark which we saw in this neighbourhood
was a slave who must have nearly attained the great age of a hundred and
twenty. Although he could not tell his age himself, it might from many
circumstances be calculated nearly to a certainty. He perfectly remembered
that when he left his native country of Java, General Van Outhoorn, was
governor of Batavia, and the period of his government was from 1691 to 1704.
Besides, on the first of January, 1801, he came in the morning to offer his
best wishes to his then master upon the commencement of a new century,
when he added that it was the second time he had performed this ceremony.
A hundred years before, he, with all his fellow slaves, had presented them
selves before his then master at the Cape Town, to offer him the like good
wishes ; and it was only by his having done so that he could on the second
occasion instruct his comrades in their duty, since it was a piece of courtesy
which they were not aware ought to be practised. He moreover described
accurately what the Cape Town was at that time, consisting only of a few
small houses, without any church, and a wooden castle. He spoke with
great warmth and gratitude of his master, Mr. Milde, who he said took such
excellent care of him though he was not able to work any longer; praises
which were echoed unanimously by all the slaves. Indeed, whoever had
an opportunity of contemplating, though but for a short time, the deportment
of this excellent man towards his children, his household, and dependents,
the manner in which he issued his commands, administered reproofs, or
inflicted punishments, must almost have fancied that he saw the days of the
patriarchs revived. Nor are such instances rare. The truth is, that instead
of the odious representations which have been made by some persons of the
behaviour of masters in this country towards their dependents, being de
scriptive of their general conduct, these have rather been taken from parti-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 5l
cular instances which ought to have been cited as exceptions : nor have any
circumstances relating to the colony Of the Cape been more misrepresented
than the manner in which the colonists conduct themselves towards their slaves
and Hot*tentots.
On the eighteenth of October we agreed to make an excursion to the mouth
of the Berg-river. Mr. Frederic Kirs ten, whose name I have already men
tioned in speaking of Saldanha Bay, had invited us to a small estate of his
called Fishwater, near the mouth of the river, whence we could take a nearer
view both of that and the bay of St. Helena.
This bay both in its figure and situation resembles Table Bay Very much ;
it is open to the same winds, and equally insecure. I must here observe that
this was the first place in these parts visited by Europeans. Vasco de Gama
landed here, according to Barros, in November, 1497, on the day of St. Helena,
which occasioned the name of this saint to be given to the bay, and it is the
only place upon the coast which ha£ retained its original Portuguese name J
the rest have been all exchanged for Dutch ones.* Some doubt may indeed
be started whether there has not equally been a change here, since Barros
expressly says that Gama did not find any river in the bay where he landed,
and was obliged to procure a supply of,water four Portuguese leagues farther
northward ; this river he calls Rio San JagOi Unless therefore it can be
allowed that the Berg-river had at that time a different course, which is by no
means impossible, we must suppose the bay where Gama landed to be some
other than what is now called the bay of St. Helena.
The Berg-river, which is not in general broad, is about a hundred and
sixty or a hundred and eighty feet over at its mouth. It shares the general
fate of rivers in Southern Africa, the mouths of which are almost all choked
with banks of sand. This, as well as most others, has a considerable fall, and
at some parts of the yeat the stream is rapid indeed, carrying with it large
quantities of soil and sand. Besides, these rivers with few exceptions emptji
themselves into the open sea, so that the winds which blow against the shore
often for many months together, drive the sands up from the sea, when unit
ing with those that are brought down theTstream, they constantly increase
* It is true that the name of Saldanha Bay is Portuguese, but it must be remembered that the
bay now so called is not that to which the name was originally given.

52 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the obstructions. According to the time of year, during one part of which
the power of the waves from the sea, and during the other the force of the
stream preponderates, the bank of sand spreads out in breadth, or runs in
length into the sea. Most of the streams on the southern coast may be
forded at the mouths at ebb-tide, some are even quite dry. As the coast
runs northward, some rivers which flow to the west, running through large
sandy plains, are entirely lost in the sands before they reach the sea. Nor is
this confined to small streams ; it is equally the case even with pretty consi
derable rivers. The Orange-river, which at a distance up the country has
a narrow rocky channel, over which it rushes with great force, and with a
violent noise, nevertheless, in its subsequent progress, when it flows through
a widely extended sandy plain, becomes an easy prey to the absorbing rays
of the sun : an additional instance of the impotence of broken and divided
powers. The bank at the mouth of the Berg-river is so nearly dry at ebb-tide as
not to have above two foot water, so that it is difficult even for small sloops
to pass in and out of the river. It was a project of Monsieur Degrandpre's
to clear the bank quite away so as to make a passage for large ships ; but it
must be obvious at the first glance that this was the idea of a man wholly
ignorant of the subject on which he pretended to treat, and one that could
only be countenanced by those who understand nothing of the nature and
causes of like obstructions ; who are moreover wholly ignorant of the diffi
culties attending the opposing by works of any kind the force of the waters
, ..upon an open sea- coast.
¦;> In examining the coast northwards from the bay of St. Helena,, it will
appear obvious that in all the maps of the country hitherto drawn, this bay
has been placed far too much to the north. Its direction from hence according
to the compass is north north-west. About an hour and half south from the
bay lies the Partridge Mountain, between five and six hundred feet high.
From this hill Table Bay may be seen very distinctly. General Janssens,
indeed, when he was here in the year 1 S04, remarked that he and all the company
with him could plainly distinguish with their naked eyes a Vessel sailing into
the bay. The clearness of the air, and the glittering of the white sail in the
setting sun, favoured exceedingly the distinguishing such an object, yet' it

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 53
seems almost incredible, if the fact had not been vouched by several respectable
witnesses, that at the distance of eighteen geographical miles, upon such a
height, a ship could be discovered without the help of glasses.
I was once upon the Table Mountain with some friends, when we saw
by the help of the setting sun a ship in the west, which the next day came
into Table Bay. The captain on my questioning him about the situa ion of
his vessel, for his I supposed it to be, which I had seen the preceding even
ing, referred to his log-book, when he found every thing answered my
description so well, that it was impossible to doubt its having been the same
that I had seen, though he could not at that time descry any land. This was
owing to his being so low in the offing, and surrounded by the vapours ofthe
sea : he calculated that he must then have been from twenty-eight to thirty
miles distant from the Table Mountain.
The estate of Mr. Kirsten,as well as several other neighbouring possessions,
abounds with excellent pasture for horned cattle : they are for this reason
distinguished by the appellation of cattle places. We were here regaled with
an excellent sort of fish, the season for catching whieh in the river had but
just commenced; and itwas admirably dressed. Here, as in Saldanha Bay,
; such vast quantities of fish are taken, that the trade to the inland parts in
salted and dried fish contributes very essentially to the support of the inhabi
tants of the coast.
We returned in the evening to the Rietvalley, and the next morning pro
ceeded on our journey, after having taken an affecting leave of our hospitable
kind-hearted host Laubscherand his family. We followed the course of the
river for some time, till we arrived' opposite the residence of Mr. Kirsten,
which lay on the other side. A part of our company had got into a
boat which was sent to meet them about half way, and ascending the
stream, arrived here before us. As the river is here very deep, and it is not
worth while to have a ferry-boat, since the road is too little frequented to
answer the expense of it, and as a bridge is still less to be thought of on
account of the frequent overflowings of the river in winter, so it cost us
no small trouble and delay to get our whole cavalcade over.. The men
crossed in boats, and at each turn some of the horses were held by the
bridle and made to swim over. The oxen likewise swam over, but in order
to make them take the water, we were obliged to get a couple of the oxen

54 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
belonging to the house, who were accustomed to it, to lead the way. The
waggons were unloaded, empty casks were fastened to them, and then they
were towed over, after which the goods were brought in boats, and the wag
gons re-loaded. This mode of passing a river had to an European entire novel
ty to recommend it, and presented such a succession of pictures from the
swimming cattle and floating waggons, and from the variety of objects on the
bushy and already picturesque banks of the river, that it might indeed be called
highly interesting.
Often was the wish entertained among us at remarkable scenes"and spots
like this, that we could all draw, so that the perpetual remembrance of them
might be preserved to our eyes as well as to our minds ; and every occasion
that inspired such wishes awakened anew our regrets for the loss of one who
would have been a most valuable companion to us upon our journey. This
was a young man ofthe name of Moreauval, who, from his superior talents in
drawing and engraving, was destined to accompany us from Holland to the
Cape; but he was most unfortunately on board the Dutch transport, the
Vrede, which in November, 1802, was wrecked in the Channel upon the
English coast, where he, with many other persons of worth and talents, found
a watery grave.
The passage of the river, with the unloading and re-loading the waggons
occupied so much time that we soon found it would not be possible to pro
ceed farther on our journey that day. I therefore availed myself of the
opportunity afforded by our detention to sally forth as the evening closed in,
accompanied by some of my fellow-travellers and a couple of stout African
hunters, down the banks of the river in hopes of finding a river-horse, and
if possible shooting him. My pains were however fruitless, and after a long
and ineffectual search, we returned late in the evening disappointed to the
house. Our road from Kirstenfontein, which was the name of Mr. Kirsten's house
where we had passed the night, ran eastward along the right bank of the
Berg-river, through a deep tiresome sand, but scattered over with some pretty
little flowers, particularly several sorts of pelargonia, but nothing like a bush
high enough to afford the least shade to the traveller. The great sand-mole is
here in such abundance that it is necessary to attend very much to horses
who are not accustomed to them and aware of them : the burrows made by

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 55
these animals are so large and deep that the leg of a horse will sink into one
in a moment up to the body, wh&i both horse and rider must inevitably fall.
This happened to several of our company in the course.of the day, but with
out any serious accident.
A bend of the river every now and then somewhat diversified our route,
and at intervals we found the bank grown over with a small leafy sort
of grass, the fresh colour of which contrasted in a pleasing manner with
the. grey green of the other plants. Although the hot season was but
just set in, we found parts of the river already nearly dry, with only a sort of
little gutters in the slaty and loamy bank, through which very diminutive
streamlets were flowing : where the bed of the river is more level, the water
collects itself again, and since these parts are commonly deeper, it remains
there a much longer time. Such places are called here pits, and have com
monly cattle places upon their banks. We remarked on both sides of the
river a number of small houses and huts scattered about, every one of which
denoted a cattle place. The care of these places is commonly entrusted by the
owners to a couple of old slaves or Hottentots, and at certain times of the
year the cattle are sent to them for the sake of the food they afford, or to
avoid the murrain.
Having performed half our day's journey about noon, we rested awhile at
the habitation of a colonist, and then proceeding onwards, found ourselves
approaching the Piketberg, a pretty hill, which has its course almost parallel
with the great chain of mountains that runs from north to south.
These mountains are known at a great distance from their broken summits,
which on both sides give them the appearance of being as it were crenated.
The enormous columns of sand-stone which rise at intervals, and occasion this
appearance, give reason to suppose that there was once no breaks, that the
summit was one continued ridge: their whole appearance is indeed very re
markable, and it is difficult for some time to be convinced that they are
productions of nature, not works by the hand of man, so much do. they
resemble ruined towers, or relicks of other great buildings. These natural
columns extend very far northward, standing like an interminable row of
isolated towers, even where the ridgy summit of the mountain flattens into
a widely-extended sandy plain. My readers may, . perhaps, have already
seen them thus described by Mr. Barrow.

56 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Just as the twilight began to come on we reached the southern point of the
Piketberg, against which the stream of the Berg-rivet dashes, changing. its
northern for a north westerly direction. In a broad ravine, abounding with
water, called the Rietkloof, we found the house where we were to rest for
the night. We were regaled by the owner, who gave us a very hospitable
reception, with a bountiful supply of China oranges, which at this distance
from the sea, in a soil so favourable to them, and under the shelter of the
mountains, are particularly fine. A small stream of clear water rujjs close to
the house, which sometimes swells in winter, from heavy rains, to a destruc
tive breadth. We saw still remains of the devastations which it had made the
winter before in the corn-fields of our host. We heard heavy complaints of
the murrain among the cattle, to which, at certain times ofthe year, they are
here very subject, while the sea-coast is perfectly free from it.
On our walk to the house we first saw a woman of the Bosjesman race, *
and had ocular conviction of the truth of all we had previously heard
respecting the uncommon ugliness of these people, particularly of the females.
She sat more than half naked at the entrance of a miserable straw hut, near a
fire of fresh brushwood, which exhaled a terrible smoke and vapour, and was
occupied in skinning a lean hare, which her husband, a Hottentot, and herds
man to our host, had brought with him from the field. The greasy swarthi-
ness of her skin, her cloathing of animal hides, as well as the savage wildness
of her looks, and the uncouth manner in which she handled the hare, pre
sented altogether a most disgusting spectacle. She took no farther notice of
us than now and then to cast a shy leer towards us.
The following day's journey was much pleasanter, from the greater variety
and novelty of the'objects with which we were presented. Instead of the
wearisome sandy plains by which we had been so much annoyed, we had now
before us hills and mountains, which not only afforded firmer footing to our
horses and oxen, but presented us with many pleasing and picturesque
views. We pursued our way along the heights to the southern part of the
Piketberg, where, amid the gentle slopes and intersecting vallies, the plain
was soon wholly lost. At the feet of these slopes we saw scattered many
* A tribe of savage Hottentots who lurk about among the shrubs and bushes, whence they
sally out to plunder travellers. Bosjes signifies a bush, and bosjesman is a bush.man, or a man
who lurks among the bushes.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 57
pfetty dwellings surrounded with trees and corn-fields, more than one of
which would have afforded a good draughtsman an excellent opportunity of
sketching genuine African scenery to the best advantage. The ravine to our
left was well grown over with bushes, several of which were now in bloom,
and the damp had occasioned numbers of insects to fasten upon them, so that
a rich; harvest was collected. By noon we had left the Piketberg wholly
behind us, and began to descend into the valley on the other side of it. A
:large farm, with a wood of towering oaks, and dark leaved orange-trees, lay
before us. .How delightful was it to Europeans !— what a reviving sight to
travellers who had been toiling all the long day over dry parched African
wastes,, to behold the cool shade of trees richly clothed with the most
luxuriant foliage !
The place which we now reached we all agreed was a most enchanting
.abode. At the door of a very neat well built house we were received by
the owner, a venerable matron already advanced in years. A double row of
oaks spread their shade over the turf beneath, and a little stream of clear
water ran obliquely through, it. In the true spirit of that hospitality which
we almost invariably found, we were soon served with a simple meal under
the. trees, the. enjoyment of which was extremely increased by the kindness
of our hostess, by the charms of the spot, and by resting from the fatigues
we had endured. A mandarine tree, * amid whose dark green leaves shone
a profusion of golden fruit, afforded us an excellent dessert. In order to
leave a memorial of our friendly disposition towards the good old widow
Lieuwenberg, and our gratitude for the reception she had afforded us, the
Commissary-general wrote some lines in her bible, in which, besides his
acknowledgments to herself, he paid some compliments to the place, and to
the nice order in which it was kept, with regrets that so few of the
Zionists embellished their habitations in like mariner by planting trees about
them. In the afternoon we again proceeded on our way, and towards evening
' * The mandarine apple, called at the Cape niarretjes, is a sort of sweet-orange unknown
in Europe ; it is distinguished from others of the species by the fruit, as well as the tree being
smaller than most of them, and by the thickness of the rind. It is a native of Japan, and was
brought from thence hither. Tbe flavour is much finer than that of any other sweet-orange.
I

58 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
came to the foot of the great chain of mountains. The country from the
Piketberg hither was more fertile, and abounding more in water than that
through which we had previously travelled ;-~>of this the much greater
number of farms that we passed in our way, and saw on either side of us,
was a sufficient proof. We were now in the fertile district called that of the
four and twenty rivers. It has this name from the number of little streams
that water the valley ; the principal of these flows from an open ravine in the
mountains, and in its course such multitudes of smaller ones branch out
from it, that they have been fixed at the number of twenty-four. All these
branches in the end re-.unite, and here the stream is fordable, but not without
a proper guide who understands the exact direction that ought to be taken in
fording it : there are otherwise spots where the bottom is so morassy, that a
horse and man might sink in an instant, without the possibility of their .being
saved. In heavy rains this river is very subject to overflowing its banks,
when the numberless little islands formed by the winding branches are entirely
lost. The whole then appears one large wide stream, and all Intercourse
between the neighbours is precluded for weeks together. A few hours hence
its waters unite themselves with those ofthe Berg-river.
We had quitted the direct road, and did not arrive till dark at a place
called Gelukwaard, the property of a worthy honest German, by name Leiste.
Thirty years before, this man had come to the Cape as an under-trader in
the service of the Dutch East-India Company, and on account of his great
mathematical knowledge was, by the then Governor Van Plettenberg, taken
into the service of the government. He was for a long time invested with
the place of sworn land-surveyor, and at the suggestion of the Governor
Van de Graaff undertook several journeys for the purpose of improving the
maps of the country. He afterwards hy marriage obtained this place, and
through his practical knowledge, his industry, and activity, was now become
one of the richest colonists of the country, and the oracle of the whole
neighbourhood.. BesidessGelukwaard, he had an estate in Zwartland, which
facilitated his trade with the Cape Town, and several cattle places, in the
Roggeveld and Bokkeveld. His accurate knowledge of the country which
we proposed to- travel over induced our chief to determine on remaining
-here, while our waggons underwent some repairs which now began to be
much wanted ; and he hoped from this very intelligent man to obtain such

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 59
Information as would enable us to trace out ark improved plan for the
continuance of our journey.
The following day afforded us an opportunity of becoming thoroughly
acquainted with all the charms of the spot. Its situation directly under the
lofty, steep, and craggy mountains, the bright green of the broad avenues of
old oak, the excellently husbanded pastures and corn-fields, the nicely-
dressed vineyards, orchards, and orangeries, the sight of numberless well-fed
cattle, and the widely extended circle of neat buildings for barns, stables,
wine-presses, and work-shops, formed altogether a most delightful assemblage
of objects. Easy affluence, rational 'utility, prudent caution, and careful
attention to every thing being kept in the most exact order, were every where
conspicuous throughout this little domain.
Wine, "lemons, sweet-oranges, and dried fruits, are the principal produce
of this place, as well as of the fertile district of the four and twenty rivers.
The great distance of the Cape Town, whither every thing must be trans
ported in waggons, derogates in some sort from the advantages which might
otherwise be drawn from the fertility of the spot. It is only in years when
the crops of Corn have been indifferent in other parts, and the price is conse
quently unusually high, that the profit will pay the expense ofthe transport.
The. journey backwards and forwards occupies from ten to twelve days, so
that the cost of keeping for so long a time the cattle necessary to draw the
waggons cannot be repaid but by selling the corn at a very high price.
The wine is here particularly good, and Mr. Leiste has for some years
turned his attention exceedingly to the culture of the vine, and the best
modes of improving it; though he is well aware thai', to introduce the
European manner of cultivating vines under the idea of improvement, would
v probably be committing a great mistake. The best manner of cultivating
them must indeed every where be principally dictated by the nature of the
Climate ; the most important object here is to keep them clean from weeds,
and in this the cultivators seldom fail. The three principal objects for ob
taining good wine, plenty of slaves, ample buildings, and store of casks, are
possessed by most of the colonists. Excellent Cape Madeira, and the Cape
fttfttfte, a& if is Called1, are the sorts which succeed best on this side the
country ; the fine swto«t Cape-wine is not so good here as to the east of the
Table Mountain. 1 2

A /

60 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
It may be instanced as a proof of the fertility of this climate, that we saw
an oak eight feet in the girth, which was only twenty^four years old: it was
one of an avenue which Mr. Leiste himself planted at that time. Yet we hlust
not omit to observe, that the -growth of all plants from the north of Europe is
here injuriously rapid, because they have hot the rest in winter which properly
belongs to them. In a month, or a month and half after they have lost their
leaves, the buds and blossoms are again coming out, for the cold never sinks to
the freezing point, and a clear winter's day here is as warm as our finest days
in spring. The consequence is that some trees will not succeed at all, as<the lime,
otherwise the Dutchman's favourite tree, the elm, the beech, the ash; — that
some, as for example, many of our orchard trees, the cherry, and several
sorts of plumbs, apples and pears, bear very indifferent fruit ; — and that other
trees, as the oak, the horse chesnut, and the fir, which yet look thrifty, are
very inferior in the goodness of the wood to the same sorts in their native
sod. An oak of two foot diameter in the trunk will not have a kernel of
above two inches good hard wood like our oak ; all the rest is mere sap ; and
the fir-wood is so weak and porous that it is hardly useable. This pre-matit-
rity is the character of all products about the Cape not natives ofthe
country : it is the same with animals as with plants, and is particularly
striking in horses : it may almost be said to be the same with the human race,
both as to their physical and moral nature; and this may justly be con
sidered as one of the principal obstacles to their ever arriving at their proper
size and strength.
How little any object tending to improve his property, and increase the
products of the country, escapes the enterprising spirit of our host, wa»s
instanced by our seeing here plantations of rice and indigo. From two hat's
full ofthe former sown he had gathered a crop of between sixteen and seven
teen bushels. The rice was very fine and white, much better than the East
India rice, and nearly as good as the Carolina. Yet, notwithstanding this
abundant produce, on calculating the costs of transport he found that he
could not get a price for it at the Cape Town sufficient "to answer the
expense. This plant is besides, as he told us, particularly troublesome in
the cultivation, from the necessity of keeping it constantly well watered,
and of employing a number of slaves the whole summer through to frighten
away the flocks of bulfinches (loxia astrilda) which Otherwise would almost

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA; 61
destroy1 the plantations ; and during this time the slaves are lost for all other
kinds of work. In very dry years moreover, notwithstanding all possible
attention being paid to watering it, the harvest sometimes fails entirely. Nor
could the indigo, he said, be produced without equal difficulties and incon
veniences, and even then what he had gathered was of a very indifferent
quality. But the most important objection to both, he observed, was, that
the cultivation of them was evidently injurious to the health of the slaves
employed in it. These considerations had nearly determined him to abandon
his project, and the rather as the price of both articles at the Cape Town had
fallen considerably since he had first engaged in it. A strict regard to the
bodily health of his slaves we observed indeed to be conspicuous throughout
every part of the worthy farmer's establishment. We saw here another remark
able instance of longevity among this class, in the person of a Malay slave,
now a hundred and seven years old, ,.* *?¦¦
Throughu|he adroitness of our friendly host's smith, and waggon-wright, our
waggons were soon thoroughly repaired, while the hospitable reception given
ta the whole, party, even to the lowest among our slaves and Hottentots, had
entirely recruited our strength, and given us new vigour to encounter the
further fatigues that awaited us. A heavy rain, which had fallen during the
two days that we rested here, having ceased, on the twenty-fourth of Octo
ber we quitted the charming Gelukwaard, impressed with a deep sense of
gratitude for the extreme politeness and hospitality with which we had been
received ; and proceeded onwards in a fine clear day, breathing with delight
the refreshing air which in this country succeeds a heavy fall of rain.

63 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. V.
The White- Ant Heaps. — Pikenierskloof. — Upon Mr. Barrow's Exaggerations re
specting the Barbarity of the Colonists. — The Berg-Valley. — Tribes of ^Apes. — The
Hottentotkraat. — A Hottentot of the Tribe of the Great Namadqua's.— Encampment
in the Long-Valley.— Picturesque Mountain Scenery. ^JakhaVs Valley.— Prepa*
ration of Leather for Thongs.
We proceeded now directly northwards to the foot of the great chain of
mountains, passing many very pretty farms ; but we remarked that in pro
portion as our distance from the valley of the twenty-four rivers increased,
the dry and dull uniformity of the country, of which we had already had so
much reason to complain, increased also. Many little rivulets running from
gulleys in the mountains intersected our wayj and the depth of their beds
evinced the height to which, though now mere streamlets, the waters rise
in heavy rains, or when the snow, which in winter covers the summits of
the mountains, melts and flows down their sides. It was not without con
siderable difficulty that we sometimes got our waggons through these deeply
sunken channels.
For the first time in our journey we now saw an immense number of white-
ant heaps strewn all over the fields on both sides of us.* They were of the
size and form of bee-hives, and so hard that a heavy-loaded waggon in going-
over them did not level them entirely. They abound particularly in what

* The termes fatale, or white-ants, are in some countries, particularly in Guinea, a real
plague, since they eat into and destroy wood. work, houses, ships, furniture, cloaths ; — nay,
they will even work themselves in a short tim6 into the trunk of a very strong tree, so as
entirely to spoil it. The queen of these ants lays eighty thousand^eggs in four and twenty
hours. These insects live together1 in immense numbers, and build themselves curious dwellings
in the earth, where they lead an extraordinary kind of life, as may be seen from an account of
them by H. Smeathman, published in the English Philosophical Transactions, Vol. LXXI. or
from the German translation of the same work, by F. A. A. Meyer} of Gottingcn.

TRAVELMN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 6#

v

are called in this country sourrfields,* but are never to be found on sandy
plains and low moist grounds, any more than on the true Karroo-soiL This
latter soil differs from that of the sour-fields in the greater proportion of iron
that it contains, and the ants that are found in the Karroo-country must be
considered as an entirely different species from these now in question, inas
much as they are considerably smaller, and never build above the earth.
Wherever white-ant heaps abound, traces of the myrmeeophaga, or ant-
eater, are always to be found. The colonists collect these ants to feed their
poultry, and they soon render them fat : the ant-heap is laid open with a
pike, when the animals come out in multitudes, and the people gather them
up by handfuls, and put them in bags to carry them home. The heap- when
broken up is found full of little cells like a coarse sponge, which, from their
colour and solidity, shew that some portion of the juices of the animal must
be combined with the loam to form such a building. It is probably this ad
dition which makes the composition good fuel ; at least a fire already kindled
may be made to burn considerably brighter, by adding to it a piece of an ant-
heap : they are not indeed so combustible as coal, but a piece between two
layers of wood makes an excellent fire. In burning they lose their dark hue
and hardness, and nothing seems to remain but the mixture of sand and loam
ef which the soil is composed. These ants do not here get into houses and
destroy the provisions as in some places ; they differ in this respect from
those of Java, which have sometimes actually done a great deal of mischief
in the warehouses Of the East-India Company ; and have still more frequently

* The name of sour-fields is given to such lands as are a mixture of sand and loam, and only
produce spontaneously a coarse rushy kind of grass, though by cultivation they may be made
to bear some sorts of artificial grasses. They are called sour-fields,^ because this sort of grass
is very apt to turn sour in the stomachs of the cattle that feed upon it. It is nevertheless con
sidered as a wholesome food to horned cattle, and when accustomed to it they grow lean if it
he changed suddenly for milder grass. The most fertile parts where the fine grass is produced
are called in contradistinction sweet -fields. The hillocks at the feet of large mountains, par
ticularly on the southern sides, are commonly sour-fields. They are seldom to be found
higher than a hundred toises above the level of the sea, and ire in about the same regions as
¦where succulent and roeky plants generally grow. As the white-ant heaps are a certain proof
*f a sour-field, so wherever the plant kuhnia rhinocerotis is seen growing it is immediately
known to be a szoeet-field.

64 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
been accused of it when an account was required of the disappearance of
wares which had vanished in a very different manner. A keeper of the ma
gazines once, when some bars of iron and a quantity of 'bells were missed,
had the impudence even to accuse the ants of having destroyed them. .
We rested at noon at the house of ; a widow, again of the "name of-Lieu-
wenberg, but who was by no means in the same happy circumstances as the
former one of that name whom we had visited. She had tlie terrible mis
fortune of having three daughters; idiots: the young women were grown up,
and not ill-formed, but according tq the information of the neighbours, this
imbecility was a family disease : traces, of it were to be found in some other
of the poor woman's nearest relations.
In the evening we arrived at the foot of the PikehierskloOf, ¦¦ a passage over
the mountains leading to the districts of the Roggeveld, and the Elephants'-
river.* The house in which we were to take up our abode for the night
belonged to a widow Coetze, and, was at this moment full of guests, ^some
going to the warm bath at the Elephants'-river, some returning from it.
This bath is considered as particularly salutary in gouty and. rheu matic.com-
plaints, and is much frequented at. this time of the year by people afflicted
with them.
The guests talked to its very much of the passage over the •mountain, re
presenting it as fatiguing to ourselves, and even dangerous; to our heavy-
loaded waggons. Indeed, the next morning when we proceeded on our
journey we found their representations in great measure verified. From the
steepness of the hill it was impossible to carry the road directly over it; but
it forms a zigzag turning repeatedly, though always ascending. The turnings
are of necessity often pretty sharp, and this occasions the great difficulty to
the waggons. At such moments the whole team of oxen cannot 'foe made to
draw at once, and the waggon is in danger either of running back, or, if it
turns too sharp, of being wedged against - the rock. We sent our baggage
forwards very early in the morning, following; ourselves an hour later, when

* The annexed plate shews this passage over the mountain, arid iri the front is our cavalcade
exactly in the order in which we arrived at its foot. The farm to the left is that where we
lodged. To embellish the landscape, the person who sketched the design has been guilty of an
anachronism, and made the waggons already ascending, the mountain. -

5k

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 65
about half way up the kloof* we found one of our waggons stuck fast,
nor was there any other means for its release but to unload it, and set
it right by the exertions of bur own strength, instead of employing that
of the oxen. It must indeed be considered as a matter of no small self-
congratulation when a waggon reaches the top of the hill without any acci
dent; since no help being near, a mischance of this kind may delay the
journey a whole day.
To an European who has not been accustomed to the Alps, or any other
of the mountainous parts of that quarter of the globe, it is really a curious
spectacle to see the progress of an' African caravan through such a pass as the
Pikenierkloof. In contemplating this stupendous mountain one is tempted
to exclaim at the boldness of him who first thought of drawing a carriage of
any sort over such a height ; nay, even to consider the attempt as a sort of
presumption. Nothing, but the necessity of passing with all his effects this
mighty barrier, planted by the hand of nature, if desirous of inhabiting the
fertile vallies beyond it, could have inspired courage to form the project, or
fortitude to surmount all the hardships which opposed its execution, and
finally to carry it through. The rugged wildness of these lofty regions, the
gigantic masses of naked rock, the tremendous height from which one looks
down upon the precipices below, makes it almost incomprehensible how a
heavy loaded waggon should ever reach the summit; and the. immoveable
vastness of nature forms a striking contrast with the perpetual movement of
man, who, when brought into such a comparison, appears little even in his
greatest undertakings.
Here the African traveller is first fully convinced ofthe necessity of making
the waggons so exceedingly strong, and understands why the patient hard-
labouring ox is to be preferred for drawing the load, to the fiery, spirited,
but comparatively, in point of strength, powerless horse. The nearer we
arrive at the top the steeper the hill becomes, the turnings are more frequent,
and it is still more and more fatiguing to the draught-cattle. Here it is,
notwithstanding, that the greatest strength must be exerted, that not a

* The reader is probably aware'from other travels that the term kloof is not appropriated
solely to the passage of which we are here speaking ; it is a general name given to all mountain-
roads of a similar kind.

66 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
moment's respite to exertion can be allowed, lest the waggon should run
back, when that, with its whole lading, the oxen, and the men themselves,
would be in the utmost danger, if not of being totally demolished, at least
of receiving some frightful injury. We ought not therefore to be too severe
upon the African waggoners, if at such a moment they employ powerful
means to make the almost exhausted oxen put forth all their remaining
strength, and this is the more necessary, as under such circumstances they
not unnaturally become obstinate and unwilling to move, nor will mind the
voice of the waggoner, or even his usual whip. It is really grievous to see
the oxen, particularly the hindermost pair, when from a sharp turning in the
road the fore ones cannot draw, lashed with a thick thong of Rhinoceros
leather, or goaded with an iron spur; but there are moments when itis,only
by such means that they can be made to go on.
It is however wronging the Africans much, how rough soever their manners
may be, to assert, as Mr: Barrow does, that they delight in such barbarity ;
but it is scarcely worth while here tp controvert what this writer says,, since
his own assertions contradict themselves. Who can believe, for example,
that a wound of seven inches long and two inches deep, and such he affirms
are made by these barbarous peasants in goading on their cattle, could be
healed in three days : it is impossible for such a wound to be healed in so
short a time. But on this subject I must beg leave to contradict him, for I
can safely affirm that I never saw an ox with scars of goads, which he asserts
to have seen in such abundance. The colonists indeed shudder at the
thoughts of misusing the poor animals in such a way, and I never met with
but one who remembered having been under the necessity of using an iron
goad to get the oxen on. This/accusation is one of those which Mr. Barrow
permits himself to bring against the colonists in general, in consequence of
his personal dislike to particular ones. He does not seem to see how very
wrong it is to take solitary examples, and apply them as the character of a
whole class, though in so doing he transgresses no less against truth, and in
a much more offensive way than. Le Vaillant, when he indulges, himself in
the invention of extraordinary adventures. It may besides be made a ques
tion, supposing all Mr. Barrow says to be true, which shews the greater
barbarity in his disposition, the uncivilised African, who in a moment of,
danger goads his oxen with the lash and the*spur, or the polished European,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 61
who without any use in the world docks his horses, or for mere wanton
pastime, worries them to death by running races.
The height of the mountain which we had now ascended is computed to
be from two thousand to two thousand five hundred feet above the country
lying at its base, and that again is computed to be a thousand feet above the
level of the sea. A widely extended prospect over the Piketberg, and the
country beyond, amply repaid us the fatigues of the ascent, and not far from
the top a little grotto, in the midst of which rose a spring of fine fresh clear
water, afforded us a resting place, and shelter from the parching rays of the
sun.
*- A less steep and rugged way carried us down ,the„ other side of the hill into
the vale below, which was so inclosed with high and naked hills, that it
seemed as if there was no way out of it. After another hour's journey
through, a narrow valley, we reached a fine grassy spot, where we found
excellent water and feed for the cattle, and where we resolved to stop and
rest awhile. It was an ausspannplatze, and called Janskraal. We perceived
a very striking difference between the vegetable kingdom here, and what we
had hitherto gone over, so that this day enriched the herbarium and Col
lection of insects very much. The objects added were so much the more
valuable, as they seemed to belong almost exclusively to this spot: we
scarcely ever found them elsewhere.
Our farther route lay through a narrow pass among the mountains, inclosed
on both^ sides with high hills, at the end of which we arrived at the Berg-
valley : here we were to pass the night, at the house of Field-Cornet Gideon
Rossouw.* The valley spreads out in this part, but towards the north con
tracts again, and is inclosed by high and steep Cliffs. The soil seemed to
us extremely fertile, and the fruits of the earth standing upon it good, but

* 'Tis thus that this family now write their name, though they are descended originally from
French refugees af the name of Rousseau. In like manner many other French families have
accommodated the present spelling of their names to the manner in- which they are pronounced
in the Dutch language.— Field-cornet is the title given to a magistrate who decides in the first
instance little disputes that sometimes arise among the colonists themselves, or between the
Hottentots and the colonists bordering upon them. Their jurisdiction extends to from ten to
twelve farms, over which they have a sort of sub-government. Their salary, consists only in
an exemption from the imposts upon common farming establishments".
K2

68 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the owner complained that a great part of his lands were scarcely cultivable,
from the quantity of salt-petre they contain. He pointed out to us several
places where this salt was to be seen rising from the ground, although it was
early in the year,* and rain had fallen but a short time before. In winter the
rains carry the salt-petre with them deep into the earth, but it re-appears in
summer in a thick rind upon the surface, and soon destroys all vegetation.
This is a very general evil in the districts of the Roggeveld and Bokkeveld,
and seems to prevail most in a fat and fertile soil.
On the hills that encompass this valley, we first saw a company of apes,*
winch, as we approached them, fled hastily to the highest summits ; but the
whole night through we were annoyed with their tiresome yell. They do a
great deal of mischief to the gardens, and even the most watchful dogs can
scarcely prevent the nightly maraudings of these nimble-footed animals.
Although Kolbe somewhat exaggerates the regular and concerted manner in
which their robberies are carried on, yet it is very true that they go in large
companies upon their marauding parties, reciprocally to support each other,
and carry off their plunder in greater security.
The stream which runs through the Berg-valley, and supplies it with
water, is so strong that it turns a small mill which Mr. Rossouw has erected.
We even found depth sufficient in some places to permit of our bathing in
it; a refreshment which we never omitted taking when an opportunity was
presented, and which contributed not a little to preserving the health of the
whole party. Our dragoons and Hottentots, who were not very rich in linen,
availed themselves of it also to wash their shirts; and such is the drying
nature of the air in this part of the world, that, after hanging a few minutes
upon the bushes, they were dry enough to carry away with them. The
water that flows through the valley collects itself some miles farther west
ward towards the coast into a pretty large lake, which has the' name >of the
Lost-valley. In heavy rains this lake empties itself into the sea, but for the
greater part of the year the evaporation of the waters is as great as the flow
from the hills.
The field-cornet informed us that in another small valley, not far from his

* The simia ci/nocephalus of Linnaeus.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 69
habitation, there was a Hottentot-kraal, where some families of pure Hottentots
were established, who lived entirely after the manner of their ancestors.
When they* are 'reduced to great want, they come to him, and other inha
bitants of the neighbourhood, to offer their services ; but when they have
earned a slender provision of sheep, fruits, or bread, they return home to
indulge in their natural laziness, and do not come again till they are once
more pressed by extreme want. But their wants must be very pressing
¦ before they do this, since they had rather suffer a certain degree of hunger,
and have only a skin girt round their body, than work to obtain a better
supply of food and clothing. For awhile they will live upon vegetables only,
particularly upon onions and other roots, but no African sayage. can live
entirely without animal food, and it is this want which drives them at last to
hire themselves as herdsmen to the colonists. They cannot at the same time
be accused of any actual wickedness*— their characteristic vice is extreme
indolence. The Dutch government has recently prohibited all such societies
of free Hottentots within the boundaries of the colony, unless they can prove
that they have some means of gaining their subsistence.
On Wednesday, the twenty-sixth of October, early in the morning, we
pursued our journey through a deep, sandy, but always ascending road.
Our host accompanied us for a short distance, and carried us to his garden,
where we saw a very fine plantation of orange-trees. They were so full of
fruit that the branches seemed ready to break with the weight, although ten
waggon loads of oranges had already been sold to the neighbours. The trees
were so high in the stem that we could ride under them upon our horses,
and gather the overhanging fruit. There are many parts in the interior of the
colony particularly favourable for the culture of sweet-oranges,, lemons, and
mandarine-apples, but the harvest of x them is lost to the colonists, because
they cannot be sold at a price that will pay the expence of transport to any
distance. Some industrious colonists bring the pressed lemon-juice in casks
to the. Cape Town, and some even extract an oil from the rinds, the trade in
which is very profitable. It is remarkable that though the bitter-orange will
not thrive in any part of the colony, the large thick-coated lemon, called the
citrus decumana,* is tolerably abundant. -

* In English, the Shaddock.

70 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
At this garden was a Hottentot of whom Mr. Rossouw desired us to take
particular notice. He was of the tribe called the GrOsse Namaaquas, and
was distinguished from the other Hottentots by his much greater size and
strength. In. early youth, in a War between his nation and the Dammaras,
a tribe living farther northward, he was taken prisoner by the latter, and
lived for some time among them. According to the custom of the country,
his two middle upper front teeth were drawn as a mark that he was a pri
soner, and with this token upon him (which was shown to us), the loss of his
life would have been the inevitable consequence of his being made prisoUelr a
second time. He therefore preferred living among the Christians to running
this chance, and making his escape, engaged in his present service, with
which he was extremely satisfied.
After pursuing our way for a considerable time over a dry sandy c ou try
we were urged by heat and thirst to seek repose in a habitation a little to the
right. Although our visit here was not expected, we found every thing in
readiness for our entertainment, and received such a pressing invitation from
the kind mistress of the house to partake of a little repast, that we sent our
escort on to an appointed place, there to wait for us, and prepare us a
dinner in the open field. I mention this circumstance only as a farther
illustration of the general spirit of hospitality that distinguishes the African
colonists. In a sort of hollow among the mountains, called the Long Valley, we
found some tents already set up, and all our people, from the first to the last,
busied every one at his post, in making the preparations we had ordered.
This repast in the open field was the rather determined on as an earnest of
what we might expect in future, when necessity would compel us to encamp
in solitary places, and to begin practising our people in setting up and striking
the tents expeditiously against they should come into more frequent use.
As novelty always has in it something attractive, so every body was on this first
occasion ready to take their share ofthe necessary business. Our ladies took
the cooking upon themselves, and our young men vied with each other in
their eagerness to get out the tables and chairs, to lay the cloth, to unpack the
knives and forks, and prepare every thing in the most exact order; while
the frugal meal, which every one now considered himself as having duly earned,
was sweetened by the gaiety and good humour that reigned among us.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: 71
We were already busied in re-packing our goods and chattels, when two
colonists came to us who had set out upon a journey to the Cape Town ; but
learning by the way that the Commissary-general was to visit the country
they inhabited, had sent their families on, and come themselves to seek us,
and intreat that they might be favoured with our company at their house.
They were two brothers ofthe name of Louw, inhabitants of the Lower-Bok-
keveld. All our entreaties to them not to think of losing so much time, and
of taking a double journey of more than a hundred hours, were in vain. They
should never forgive themselves, they . said, if they were to be absent from
home at the moment when for the first time, since the existence of the
colony, a regent had visited their country. They accompanied us two days
farther on our road, and then took their leave to go home and prepare every
thing for our reception.*
From our first entrance into the Berg-valley, we had been impressed with
strong admiration of the very singular nature of African mountain scenery ;
but we now passed through a ravine, the bold grandeur of which raised our
astonishment to a much higher pitch. Enormous masses of sand-stone were
towering one above another, till their gigantic forms seemed as if they touched
the arch of heaven itself. They ran nearly in parallel directions from the
north to the south, while here and there their regularity was interrupted by
broken masses, the clefts of which were overgrown with plants, which seemed
with difficulty to raise their dark green leaves out of the solid and massy
stone. These almost perpendicular, walls, rising to the right and left, though
for thousands of years they had braved the ravages of time, yet seemed at
every moment to menace the almost bewildered traveller, with falling and
crushing him to atoms;
The. noise of our cavalcade frightened a. number of the little lively dasses f
* The African colonists when, they travel on horseback have always a led horse with them,
which carries their packages, and which they sometimes change with the riding-horse to relieve
him. The embarrassment they would be in if their horse was tired, or ill in the midst, of a waste,
makes this precaution very necessary. A Hottentot boy, who is half naked, and who rides
behind his master without a saddle, carries the gun, with which the traveller now and then kills
game, and'which is destined equally for his defence in case of meeting with wild beasts or savages.
Iri this waythey will travel twenty hours distance in a day.
t The das or hyrax capensis of Linnaeus, is a small dusky coloured animal, about the size
of a rabbit, with short ears ahd no tail, which inhabits many ofthe mountains in the colony.

72 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
who were reposing in their quiet solitude, and springing up before us, they ran
to seek shelter in their burrows among the rocks ; while at the very edges of
the overhanging crags skipped the nimble^ antelope, called here the klippen-
springer,* and high above in the air soared the hungry vulture .as he was
prying into the chasms below in search of his prey.
The way through this ravine was a constant ascent, and when We arrived
at last at the top, a new scene awaited us, as we looked back upon the nar
row pass we had just quitted. It seemed as if the ruins of a former world lay
in chaotic confusion at our feet. Not the least trace of a human being was to
be discerned: all was one continued wilderness of gigantic masses of rock. A
single isolated -pyramid, which reared its lofty form in the midst ofthe broadest
part of the valley, was the centre point of this vast picture, and the only
object on which the eye could satisfactorily rest. Not one of us had ever
seen, either among the works of nature, or of art, any thing at all resembling
this scene : what a world of new ideas would a painter endowed with taste
and feeling imbibe from visiting it! -
It was late in the evening, when, after a fatiguing course, constantly ascend
ing and descending steep and lofty hills, we arrived at the dwelling of a
Mr. Kendrik Van Zyl, in a place called the Jakhal Valley. In this solitary and
mournful spot, far removed from the rest of the world, we found still the
same good-will, the same readiness to serve and assist us, which is so distin
guishing a feature in the character of these colonists. Notwithstanding that
in this house there were evident, marks of greater poverty than we had hitherto
seen, and the inhabitants made a very different appearance, yet every thing
was neat though humble, and the utmost diligence was exerted to accommo
date us to the best of their power; equal exertions were made to do some
repairs again wanted to our waggons, they having suffered much from the
ruggedness of the ways we had recently passed.
These repairs were, however, not completed till noon the following day,

* The griesbok or grizzled deer (the antilope oreotragus of Linnaeus), known also in these
parts by the name of the duiker or diver, from the manner in which when concealed among
the bushes it will every now and then raise its head up to look at passing objects, and then
immediately plunge down again, like water-fowl diving into the water.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 73
when we again set forwards. ' Again we had to climb a steep sandy hill to
get out of this valley, and when arrived at the top, still- we saw nothing but
rocks and sands, with some heathy shrubs scattered about them ;->-yet we
began to be so accustomed to such scenery, that we found ourselves every
day less wearied with its uniformity. We here found in abundance a plant
which also grows nearer to the Cape Town, in the district of Tulbagh : the
colonists call it rhinosterbosjes, because, they say, that in the time when the
rhinoceros was an inhabitant ofthe country, it used to feed very much upon
this plant. It is the same that I have, mentioned before under the name of
kuhnia rhinocerotis, as the sign, wherever it grows, of sioeet-Jields.
The place where we rested some hours at noon belonged to a widow, by
name Van Wyk, whose eldest daughter, a married woman, .of about eight
and twenty, struck us all very much, from her extraordinary corpulence. It
is, however, scarcely possible to conceive more beauty of features and com
plexion, more natural modesty of behaviour, and more activity in her
motions, than in this woman, notwithstanding her unusual bulk. Former
travellers have remarked that corpulence, particularly among the women, is
by no means rare in Southern Africa. The mildness of the climate, the
quantity of animal food eaten, little hard work in their household concerns,
freedom from cares and sorrows, may well account for this disposition of the.
body. We here learned the manner in which the leather used almost universally
in this country, instead of cordage, is cured. The fresh flayed ox-hide is
first cut with a knife into thongs, the breadth being regulated according to
the strength and thickness wanted, which varies with the purpose for which
it is to be used. The thongs are then soaked in ley for four and twenty
hours, after which as many are joined together as are requisite to make the
length wanted. The whole is then thrown over a sort of gallows, and a
heavy weight, from eighty to a hundred pounds, fastened to it to stretch it
down. Two slaves then,, with a stick between the leather, keep drawing
it backwards and forwards, and turning it constantly round and round, so
thab the weighty may bear alternately alike upon every part of the leather.
From thus constantly changing the place by which the leather hangs, it is
soon dried, and is then used without any other preparation. The harness for
the oxen that draw the "waggons is made of this leather. The little trouble

74 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
necessary to prepare these thongs, and their durability, have acquired them
such a decided preference over cordage, that no one has ever thought of
turning their attention to several sorts of native plants which appear to partake
of the nature of hemp, with a view to rendering them useful. This may,
perhaps, occupy future generations, when the facility of intercourse being
increased, new objects of trade will be sought, and ox-hides may'become of
much greater value than they are at present. At some distance from the
Cape Town, the slaves, and upon the borders, even the children of the
colonists are clothed in leather prepared by themselves, and there is abun
dance of plants which afford excellent materials for tanning. Even the
savages of Southern Africa are very adroit in preparing leather, and have the
art of giving it an extraordinary pliability. In the houses of the colonists,
the seats ofthe chairs, and the frames of the bedsteads, are generally made of
leather. We found here some vines, though these mountainous regions of the
northern part of the colony are not very favourable to them ; and in a garden
near the house was a profusion of apricots and peaches. The fruit, including
the grapes, was dried in the sun, and sold to the neighbours: some was
occasionally^ carried to the Cape Town.
I cannot here forbear, even at the hazard of being charged with dwelling
unreasonably upon the subject, adverting once more to the very unjust
representations made by French and English travellers of the rusticity and
uncouthness of the colonists. But after having seen these things so much
dwelt upon, we were not a little surprised even here, at the distance of eighty
hours from the Cape Town, in a country where the inhabitants are, from
their situation and local circumstances, deprived of every means of receiving
what is commonly called a polished education— we were not a little sur
prised, even here, to find a degree of cultivation and good-breeding not
always discernible where the opportunies of acquiring it have been much
more ^favourable. There reigned an order and neatness in the house, a"
decency and propriety in the deportment and manner of expressing them
selves among the inhabitants, with a friendship and kindness towards each
other, and a mildness towards the slaves and dependents, which excited
in us the highest admiration of the venerable mistress (now nearly
seventy years of age) and her whole family. We had been accustomed,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRIGA. ?&
wherever we went, to see the utmost politeness and respect shewn to
our chief, and every attention that civility required paid to the rest of the
party, but seldom saw these courtesies performed with the appearance of
more unartificial sincerity, yet, at the same time, with a greater degree
of refinement than here. I am ready to allow, that instances of so high a
degree of polish are not common among the distant colonists, but I must
at the same time affirm, that instances of such brutal roughness and coarse
ness of manners as Mr. Barrow describes, and which he gives as the general
character of this class of people, are much more rare.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. VI.

The Elephants' River. — Salt Lake. — Fatiguing Passage ofthe Nardouw Mountain.—
The Party lose their Way by Night in an almost uninhabited Country.— Night passed
t upon the Bank of the Doom-river. — The Valley of Moedverlooven — The Lower
Bokkeveld.— Uye-valley.
On the evening of the twenty-seventh of October we reached the bank
of the Elephants'-river. In a little valley, surrounded with hills which lay
near it, called again the Rietvalley*, we passed the night at the house of a
nephew of the brothers Louw, whom the reader will remember to have been
mentioned in the former chapter. The owner ofthe place was absent himself,
gone up, according to -the mode of expression in the country, to the Cape
Town -J- ; but his children, who were almost grown up, gave us the best enter
tainment in their power.
* The reader must not take offence against the colonists of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, if there appears among them a want of variety in the names they gave to different
spots. If the same name is found repeated in many parts, this arose from the spots to which
it was given being all of them distinguished by like characteristics; since it was from the cir
cumstances appertaining to the spot, or from the animals found in the neighbourhood, that most
of the names, were derived. Hence some confusion certainly arises, and it seems very expedient
that such additions should be made as would point out which, among the various places of the same
name, it is intended to allude to. .Besides the number of Rietvalleys already mentioned, we shall
find another Elephants'-river )a the district of Zwellendam, as well as that of which we are now
speaking; and in like manner there are more than 'one Hippopotamos'-rivers, Buffalo-rivers, Lion-
fivers, &c. &c. A proposal was made to the Dutch government in the year 1805 to remedy
this inconvenience, of which perhaps the English government, since the colony has been in their
hands, have availed themselves.
+ It is with the Cape Town, as formerly with the holy city of Jerusalem, that being the seat
of government, the colonists always talk of going up to it, though the lands thereabouts are the
lowest in the whole country, those about the other bays excepted. Although from the Cape to
the borders of the colony the country is a constant ascent, still these remote parts are all called
the Lower -Fields : thence the Lower Bokkeveld and the Lower Roggeveld, which are thus dis
tinguished, because they are the parts of the districts the furthest removed from the capital, not
because they are the lowest lands. „

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 77
, Not far from this place, about four hours farther to the north-west, lies a
, salt-lake, from which the inhabitants of those parts furnish themselves with
this great necessary of life. But since the same quantity of salt cannot be
collected every year ; since there are even times when the salt-pans,, are
entirely dry, in good seasons they make a very large provision, sufficient to
last for three years or more.
In this valley we again found a water-mill, which is a constant proof o'f a
, fertile spot, since it evinces that there must be a very good supply of water.
The wheels are none, of them more than from six to eight feet in diameter. As in
most parts of the colony the corn is ground by hand-mills, wherever a water-
mill can be erected, it is very profitable to its owner, since their neighbours
bring their corn to it to be ground, for which they pay a certain price. From
five to six bushels of corn is as much as one of these mills can grind in four
and twenty hours. In the garden to this house we found the largest pome
granate-tree we had yet seen in the colony: it was nearly twenty feet high in
the stem, and would afford shade from the rays of the sun to several persons
at once.
The next morning we crossed the Elephants'-river: it was not more than
two feet deep at the ford, and about a hundred feet broad, including a little
island in the middle of the stream. The sands driven so far up upon the
banks, and the loosely-rooted trees near them, shewed, however, that at certain
times of the year the river spread itself out very considerably, and then the
property of the inhabitants must be exceedingly contracted. Directly on the
other side rises a steep hill, which retains its old Hottentot name of the
Nardouw.' We were 'above an hour ascending it on ihorseback, and our
waggons, which we overtook about halfway up, here again got into great
difficulties. We found one very much damaged, and most of the others,
though they had a double number of oxen to draw them, too heavy laden,
so that we were obliged to lighten them by nearly a, half, and let the load be
carried at two different times. In the lower half of the mountain, large
blocks of slate, which lay in the middle ofthe road, so obstructed the way,
that it was scarcely possible for the waggons to go on, and it sometimes
required the united strength of all the people belonging to the waggons to
remove them, while towards the top, both oxen and waggons sunk into so
#, deep a Sand, that it was not without extreme difficulty -they could get on at
all. From these specimens, some idea may be formed of the obstacles opposed

78 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
to carrying on att intercourse of trade from One part Of the colony" to another-
by means of lartd-carriage.
We had travelled about ari hour along the flat knd arid summit of the
mountain, when the ground began to slope very gradually. A small streamlet
of water, running from among the naked rocks, invited us to stop here, at oncd
to rest our horses, and to wait for the waggons which Were coming after uS.
A flat piece of rock, serving as a table, Was spread with our little provision,.
and here we took our frugal repast. As we Were seated at it, a bastard
Hottentot came up to lay before the Commissary-gerieral a complaint against
his master for ill-usage. The commissary invited the lad to join us, and
when some weeks after we came into the district where the master of whom
he complained lived, he cited both him and the field-cornet of the district to
appear before him, and redressed the aggrieved Hottentot. The latter how
ever, entreated permission to remain in our service, and we found him one of
Hie most active and faithful of our Whole swarthy comnlunityi
Scarcely less fatigued with our rest at noon in the burning sun* than with
the ascent of the hill, as the heat somewhat abated, we proceeded onwards
to encounter new and still greater difficulties. The spirit and patience ofthe
Whole party, and above all the firmness of our ladies, was at this moment to
be put to the first great trial they experienced. From a very imperfect direc
tion having been given us respecting the way to a farm-house, situated about
two hours off, where we proposed passing the night, We were led to follow
the fresh track of a waggon, which carried us to the left, and Which promised
us a much better road than what we ought to have taken. Three hours passed
before we became sensible of our error, but still we pursued the same track,
resting in the hope that this must carry us at length to some human habitation ;
but still none appeared, and in this dilemma night began to come on. To
return back seemed in no case adviseable, since having taken a northerly
direction, it appeared as if we could not have come entirely out of our Way,
and that though not exactly in the right road, yet that we must still have been
advancing, consequently that we must lose ground by a retrograde movement.
Fortunately, the moon, being at the first quarter, afforded us some light, so as
to assure us that the way we were going was perfectly safe.
Meanwhile our horses, who had hot had any regular meal since early morn
ing-, began to grow extremely weary ; one of mine, which perhaps had eaten ©f
some plant that disagreed with him, as he was reeding at the time we were

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRipA, 7?
resting, soon after we got out of the riglit track became extrernejy i\). Not,
however, having the least idea, that we had missed our way > J ordered my
slave to remain with the sick horse, and wait for the waggpns, corping up,
when his comrades mjght assist in getting the animal on. The comfqrffoss
situation of this poor lad, who was only sixteen, who I now found woujd
expect assistance in vain, and who might foe attacked by lions and hyaenas,
traces of which we had this day for the first tirne discovered, gave me the
utmost uneasiness : yet we had wandered on so far that it was impossible £9
send him assistance without danger, and the only tiding J epuhi hope was
that he would be so much frightened that he would leave the horse, ,and try
to find the waggons by himself; a hope which I afterwards foupd confirmed.
At every step we took, $he country seemed tq grow flatter, and to be spread
out to a greater extent before us, and we looked around in va,in, in hopes of
descry ing some light in the distance, -which would have announced an habita
tion. Equally in vain did the whole party stop at fhprt intervals to listen
whether we could not he^r the barking of a dog, though some fancied they
could plainly distinguish such a sound. Alas! nothing was to foe discovered
all around by the glimmering of the moon, -but a vast, and, as it appeared to us,
boundless desert. The riders, not fless weary than the horses, now almost all
dismounted, and led the,ir exhausted hungry animals afte,r them, sometimes
stumbling over loose stones, sometimes sinking ancle deep in the sand.
We;now began to perceive plainly that we were upon a gradual descent,
and were inspired with a hope that we might soon come to water, which
would at least be a cordial to the thirsty animals, whom we could With diffi
culty drag after us. Our hopes were soon converted into a certainty, as we
plainly discerned a row of trees down in the bottpm. It was how ten o'clock.
We came at length to the bank of a stream, along which we coasted some
way, and which,, according to the mai^ks given us, we concluded to be the
lesser Doo.rn-river. Tfie want pf jest was so general among us, that no one
would haye thought of crossing ;the stream, even if weJhad not conceived it
unsafe to attempt fording it at night. It was therefore agreed to wait here for
dayrbreak, jand to make ourselves aj comfortable as we could with empty
stomachs, and not a-morsel of any thing to satisfy our hunger. Tlie horseswere
unsaddled, and when they had drank at the stream, we tied them with halters
tothetrees, about the roots pf which were scattered some thin tufts of grass.

80 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
This being done, we all set about searching for wood to make a large fire,
which was rendered doubly necessary from the coldness and darkness of the
night. A second fire was kindled upon the nearest height, as a signal to our
people, in case the steward, who had remained with the waggons, should
have sent any of them in search of us. The want of sleep was now another
of our hardships, yet the cold was extremely adverse to the satisfying it.
As none ofthe party had any warm cloathing with them, the only dependence
for warming them was upon the fire, and even this was but a broken reed to
rest on, for while on the right side we got tolerably roasted, to the left a
cold south wind penetrated through the thin cloathing, quite to the skin-
Fortunately some of the dragoons had with them the coverings for their
horses, and their own riding-cloaks, and by the help of these, with some of
the saddles for pillows, we made a sort of bed for our ladies, on which they
got two hours comfortable sleep. The rest of us stretched ourselves upon
the sand by the fire, outbidding each other in the price that we would at that
moment have given for a piece of bread, a glass of geneva, or a pipe of
tobacco ; and every time we turned, cursing the coldness of the night, which,
as we found afterwards, we ought rather to have blessed.
In fact, the Ausspannplatze, for such it was at which we had stopped, Jay
under a very ill-name, on account of the immense number of black scorpions
by which it was infested, and which are some of the most venomous animals
of the country. In warm nights there is very great danger of being stung by
them, and but a few weeks before our adventure, a melancholy proof had
been given of the dangerous nature of their sting. One of the best female
slaves of a Mr. Van Wyk, when she was busied in collecting dry wood, had
the misfortune to be stung in the hand by one, which was probably concealed
under the bark of one of the oldest and dryest pieces. All the usual reme
dies were immediately applied, but the girl, notwithstanding, died in eighteen
hours. This dangerous insect seldom comes out in the cold, and loses in
some degree the power of darting its sting, so that the wound is less
dangerous. To complete our misfortunes, towards morning the heavens overcast, and
it began to rain; the day, however, soon after appeared, -and a dragoon, who
was sent out to reconnoitre, discovered at a distance a little hut, from
which came an old slave, who was stationed there to take care of a small

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. SI
herd of cattle belonging to his master. From him we learnt that we were
already three hours distant from the*place where we should have passed the
night ; that we were, however, in the right way to the Lower Bokkeveld, and
migjhtvery probably reach the abode of Mr. Jacob Lou win the course of theday.
A couple of dollars to drink, prevailed upon him to accompany two of our
dragoons in search ofthe waggons, that our people might be made acquainted
with our adventures, and follow us as soon as possible. We ourselves set
forwards at sun-rise, and having passed the Doorn-river, not without some
inconvenience, the bed being rather deep, and full of loose stones, pursued
our way over a broad beaten road, at the foot of a chain of rocky hills.
For three hours we still kept going on, amid the constantly increasing-
weariness both of horses and riders ; when a waggon, standing still, presented
itself to our view. The appearance of a vessel in the midst of the wide
spread ocean cahnot impart greater delight than we now felt at the sight of
this vehicle. A family of colonists were upon their journey, and the waggon.
was stopping, while the oxen were feeding at a little distance. A pretty
young woman lay sick in the waggon ; she had been carried by her husband
to the bath at the Elephants'-river, but to no purpose ; and was now returning-
home. It was the track of this waggon which misled us the evening before^
The mother of the sick woman was busied in cooking a hedgehog, which
they had just taken, and with the utmost goodwill, she offered our ladies
some of the broth with a piece of bread, while hungry as they were, it was no
less grateful to them than the most delicious soup. As we entered upon
explanations on both sides, and they understood all the particulars of our
situation, the good man immediately produced his flask of brandy to recruit
the exhausted strength ofthe strangers; on this, and a piece of bread, which
was portioned out to each, we made the best breakfast that we thought Ave
had yet eaten.
I was hapnyin being afforded an opportunity of making some little return
for this hospitality, by giving the sick woman, who was in strong hysterics, a
little glass of naphtha, which I had with me by chance ; and since our future
route lay not far from her dwelling, I promised to visit her, and give her farther
advice, as well as to furnish her with some medicines. Therron, which was
the name of the colonist, now shewed us a little foot-way leading to -a
deep valley, where he said we-«hould find a house,, and some tolerable grass

83 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
for our horses. We then took our leave of the good people, with many
acknowledgments, and turning our horses into the path, soon reached the
valley. We found, withoutdifficulty, the spot to whicjj we weredixected. The es|ate
belonged to a fi|rjner named Wilders, whose present dwelling-house was at
some distance, nor had he for several years lived at this place: it was now
inhabited by a freed slave, and two bastard Hottentots, whom he had placed
there as keepers of his herds. Corn is a commodity not produced in this
rocky valley, so that we asked in vain for bread. The half-savage inhabitants
live upon dried and salted flesh, which there was not sufficient time to have
cooked, even if the looks of it had been more inviting. Some unripe lemons
which hung upon the trees was all that they had to offer us, but our horses
found tolerably good feed, and we stopped two hours to refresh them. This
interval was employed on our side in lying down under the shade of the
lemon-trees, where we enjoyed a sound sleep, and found ourselves on waking
extremely revived by it. The freedman now informed us that we might go
by a much nearer way, if we would quit the valley, and not follow the beaten
road any more, which from the winding course of the valley necessarily
made a circuit of several hours. He was with little difficulty prevailed upon
to shew us the way, when he led us over a steep path, the fatigues of which
exceeded any thing we ever experienced eitheribefore or after. The name of
the valley, given by the person who first discovered it, is Moed-verlooren; and
never was a name more highly deserved, or more appropriate. The path by
which we ascended out of it was so steep and dangerous, that we soon thought
the time, we were to save too dearly purchased, and repented exceedingly
that we had not rather been contented quietly to take the circuitous jroad.
It was impossible to think of remaining upon our horses, for the way was
often so steep, that we were sometimes obliged to use both hands in climbing,
nor could we without, the aid ofthe whip make the horse spring up a perpen
dicular block of between two and three feet. We afterwards proceeded a con
siderable way upon the slope of the hill, on a narrow path, which to the right
had an almost perpendicular wall of rock above it, and to the left below a
deep precipice. We were even glad when we had to ascend again, notwith
standing the fatigue attending it, to quit a path, which, though less difficult,
was much more dangerous. A full hour elapsed before we reached the top,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 83
and were out of danger of man and horse falling, and perhaps meeting with a
fate which the mind shudders to think on. Even the brothers Louw, though
pretty well accustomed to steep and difficult paths, assured us that they had
never Mit once*iH their lives g»ne that way to the Moed-verlooren, and*had"not
the least inclination to attempt it a second time. They though t it a matter ofi
which to congratulate us, that out of a company of twenty persons no worse
accident had happened to any than a bruised knee or ancle, and blamed the
freedman very much for his thoughtlessness in having recommended such a
way to us. ; "u * *
At length, towards evening, we reached Lokenburg, the dwelling of Jacob
Adrian Louw, after having been thirty-two hours out in the open air, almost
without nourishment. labouring through roads the most difficult and fatfguiflg
imaginable. I leave it to the readers to conceive to themselves the situation
of the ladies who were of our party. Let them but revolve in their minds the
Occurrences ofthe preceding days, and then think of two young women,
scarcely twenty 'years of age, accustomed not only to all the conveniences,
but to the superfluities of life, going through a long day's journey on horse
back, sleeping at night upon the sandy bank of a river, with only a dragoon's
riding-cloak for a bed, and then travelling a second day« almost without food
and refreshment, not only half the way on foot, but climbing rusrged rocks, in
danger every moment of wounding their delicate "hands with the stones and
briars, and only assisted occasionally by the servants of the company. To these
things must be added, the inconvenience of a woman's clothing, and the wea
rying manner of ridingupon a woman's saddle; and when they are all duly con
sidered, there will be no difficulty in deciding, that whatever was endured by
the rest of the company, it was not to be compared with what these young
women suffered : yet all was supported by them with the most undaunted pa
tience and constancy: not a complaint escaped their lips: they only confessed
afterwards how much they had suffereafrom hungerand over-exertion. At
the time, they wert1 emulous to display uninterrupted gaiety and good-humour,
and often by some lively sally dispersed the cloud which seemed to be steal
ing insensibly over the mind of the father. Probably, few of my female
readers will now be desirous of taking the same journey.
The valley in which Lokenburg lies is called the Uye, or Bulb-valley,
because many sorts of Iris and Ixiac grow here, the bulbs of which the Hot-
tentote eat, and are very fond of them. The country is fruitful, and affords
M 2

84 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
excellent feed for sheep and horses. The owner of Lokenburg is the richest
man in the district ; the house indeed did not bear any appearance of great
wealth, but that was more owing to the remoteness of the spot, and the frugal
habits ofthe colonists living on the borders, than to a want of the means of
making a greater show, or to penuriousness of disposition. The country is
here thinly inhabited: in the last twenty hours we had scarcely seen a house.
and our host himself said that he had not above four neighbours within reach
of half a day's journey on horseback. Corn was littlecultivated: the grapes,
from the height and coldness of the country, were not yet ripe ; an* the.fruits
in. general were not so well flavoured as in other parts of the colony. The
principal wealth ofthe Lower Bokkeveld consists in sheep. These animals
thrive particularly well here and in the Roggeveld, but the dryness of the last
year had destroyed a great many. The number of sheep fed by about twenty
proprietors amounted to seventeen thousand, and might be increased, to
thirty thousand in favourable years: the loss in the last year was computed
at ten thousand. At a moderate computation, there are besides about a
thousand horses, and two thousand head of horned cattle, fed in this* district
The farmers^ have begun to introduce here, the Spanish breed of sheep for
the sake of the wool ; that ofthe African sheep is good for nothing. The
government considers this experiment as one of the most probable means of
promoting the interests ofthe colony, by the source of profit which it may be
made: but of this more hereafter.
That corn is not more cultivated, is owing principally to the difficulty of
transport.. Every one can, without much labour, grow a sufficient quantity
for the supply of his own household, although there is a general want of
water. The plaee where we now were is an exception to this general rule :
it is the only spot in the district where the fertility of the so«l can be turned to
the best aecount, by the possibility of sufficient irrigation. Louw had even
speculated upon attempting the cultivation of rice, which he thought would
be very practicable; in fact, in a later journey which I made into these parts,
I found that he had carried his project into execution. Tobacco is also grown
here. In large trees, such as would yield wood for building, the country is
wholly deficient. Willows grow on the banks of the Hantam-river, and
mimosa on the banks ofthe Doom: on both are also to be found nut-trees.
Wood for building is brought, though not without great difficulty* in the
transport, from the cedar hills, and the houses in this district are therefore

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 85
mucn more roomy, more convenient, and built in a much better taste than
in the Roggeveld. In the latter district they cannot get hard wood, such, as
could be used in building, on account of the almost impossibility of fringing
it over the steep mountain roads.
As the* Lower Bokkeveld is at the utmost extremity of the colony to the
north, and borders on the solitary tracts haunted by the Bosjesmans, so in
former times its inhabitants suffered much from the inroads of these ungovern
able savages. For some years past, however, they have rather withdrawn
from these parts, and carried their incursions more eastward, to the annoyance
ofthe inhabitants of the Roggeveld : and the little parties who remain in the
neighbourhood of the Bokkeveld live on peaceable terms with the colonists,
the latter purchasing their amity by paying them a yearly tribute of sheep.
The field-cornet, John Gideon Louw, the cousin of our host, contributed
*very much to the establishment of this peace, by collecting in the year 1798,
from the colonists of the Bokkeveld, four hundred and sixty sheep and goats
as a present to the Bosjesmans: upon this a sort of compact was entered into
between them, which, by making them like presents from time to time, has
hitherto been very well observed. But since some of the colonists, parti
cularly those at a distance from the borders, have of late failed in giving in
their contributions, some new means, it is to be apprehended, must be resorted
to for the maintenance of this good understanding.
We were not a little discomposed by expecting, in vain, for the greatest
part of the following day, the arrival of our waggons with their attendants;
at length, about evening, our minds were set, at rest by their appearing, when
we found that this delay was owing to their having done like ourselves, and
lost their way. Our whole company were now re-assembled, excepting two
dragoons, who had loitered too much^behind the waggons. Our French-horn
player was here of particular use : stationed on the nearest height, he blew
his far-sounding horn so successfully, that, notwithstanding the darkness of
the night, the wanderers were led by the sound, till they at length rejoined
us, and we were all once more collected together.
Our waggons had, however, suffered so much by the badness of the roads,
that they were most of them not in a state to proceed without undergoing
once more considerable repairs. This circumstance, united with the want of
repose among the whole party, to recover their fatigues and recruit their
strength, determined our chief to stay two days here. I was particularly

§0

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

pleased with this arrangement, as it gave me an opportunity of putting my
various collections into some order, and of packing them more securely.
The Commissary-general employed these hours of leisure in visiting some
other places in the district, and went on the first of November, accompanied
by "some of his train, and the Field-Cornet Louw, to Qorlogskloof,*, the abode
of -the latter, seven hours farther northward, on the bank of the greater
Dpprn-river. In his way he stopped at the houses of several persons lying.at
a short distance from the road ; and notwithstanding the poverty that reigned
among them, he was received every where by the owners with expressions
of the greatest pleasure, and with all the politeness which their situations
would admit of. ¦
The evenings and nights that we passed here were very cold, and the ther
mometer sunk to 3° by Reaumur. One night there was a strong hoar frost, a
thing never experienced at the Cape, even in the middle of winter :«this is
Owing -to the height of the country in these mountainous regions. In
another part of my work, when my readers are made thoroughly acquainted
with the nature ofthe country in all its parts, I shall take an opportunity of
dwelling more diffusely upon the differences of the climate in different
districts. Our host remembered with much gratitude the excellent Thunberg, who
visited him in the year 1775, and to whose cares and skill he owed the life
of a son then very dangerously ill: the youth recovered entirely, and is still
living. As a particular curiosity, he shewed us a goblet, made of the little
horn of an African rhinoceros, which, as he assured us, had the property, if
a liquid poison was put into it, of changing its nature entirely by a strong
fermentation, which takes off the noxious quality, so that it may be drank
without any danger. It was invain that I endeavoured to pursuade the
worthy man how erroneous, and even dangerous, was such a belief: it seemed
to be the universal popular creed, and was not to be shaken. -j-

*. Oorlogskloof, the War.yalley, so called because of a combat which once took place here
with the Bosjesmans. This place is the most northern ofthe district. Directly beyond it begins
the inhospitable country of the Namaaquas.
+ In the first volume of a collection of travels published at Leipsic in 1748, it is said, that the
Malays consider the rhinoceros as the female of the unicorn ; and it is added that they value
their horns very highly, as an antidote against all sorts of poison. It isvery probable that this
superstition was introduced into the colony of the Cape by the Malay slaves.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. '#7

CHAP. VII.
The Namaaqua Partridge'. — The Matjes-fontein. — John Strauss. — On the Disedses
of the Colonists. — The Tyger-point. — The District of Hantam. — Van Reenen's
Property there. — Character ofthe Colonists of these Parts. — Impression* 0/ Fish in
the Slate-Stone. — The Spwting-Snake. — The Roggeveld Mountain,— Huntings, *if
the Cojpnists beyond the Borders. — Cold Climate of the Roggeveld. — The Legplaate.
— The Lower Roggeveld. — Account of the Murder of a Family of Colonists by Slavics
and Bosjesmans , — The Kuil-river. — Natron rising out of the Ground.
On Wednesday, the second of November, we proceeded on our journey,
and stopped at noon at the house of a certain Peter Van Zyl. We found in
the person of Van Zyl's wife a poor but truly worthy and notable housewife,
who was exceedingly bustling and assiduous in her endeavours to make our
short stay as agreeable as her confined circumstances would permit. We had
here a Namaaqua partridge, which the husband had shot the day before:
these birds are in such abundance in this country that as many as sixty are
sometimes brought down in three shots; they are about the size of a small
pigeon, and very delicate. In later journeys, by myself, when I went beyond
the bounds ofthe colony, they often afforded me a very agreeable repast.
In the afjternoon we went a little out of our way to visit the sick woman,
whose family had a few days before so readily shared with us their slender
provision of food and drink. I found her still very ill, and left her the
medicines I had. promised, with some directions for managing herself, parti
cularly with regard to diet. On the evening of the same day we arrived at
the Matjes-fontein,* where lived a certain John Strauss ; but his house was
so small that there was not even a place where the Commissary-general could
sleep : we were all obliged to have recourse to our tents.
This Strauss was of German origin. His father migrated to the Cape as a

* Matjesgoed is the name given to a sort of rush, of which very pretty mats are made in this
country. It grows In abundance |n this place, and hence it is called Matjes-fontein.

88 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
soldier, but afterwards became a citizen, and was in exceeding good circum
stances, when he had the melancholy fate of being murdered in a most horrid
manner by his slaves. Strauss, though then but a child, was an eye-witness
of this dreadful event, and gave us a very circumstantial account of it.
I found ample employment during the short time of my stay here, for
there was a vast number of sick and infirm people in the neighbourhood, who
came to ask my advice. I was much struck with the manner in which I was
accosted by most of them, for placing the firmest confidence in the infalli
bility of my art, they called me master, seeming to have the feeling, asjf I
were able to perform like miracles with those recorded by the Evangelists,
and of my own power alone heal their diseases.* Most of. them were
afflicted with long-standing deep-rooted maladies, which would have required
a protracted and careful attendance to afford any chance of curing them.
Chronic diseases are much more frequent in this country than acute ones.
Far the greater part of the women labour under hysterical affections, which
by their strange mode of managing them, contrary to all sense and reason,
often come to a formidable height, and end in hectic complaints, which
prove fatal. The stone is here a much too common complaint among the
men : this is perhaps to be ascribed in great measure to the bad water, and
the want of spirituous liquors. f In those districts where vines are culti
vated, and good wine is made, or where wine is to be had cheap, the evil
does not exist. There is another disease which is not very frequent among
the white people, but when they are afflicted with it, from their total igno
rance of the manner in which it ought to be treated, it commonly gets to a
formidable height. It is much more frequent among the Hottentots, but
what is extraordinary, is not so manifestly destructive to them.
Gout and rheumatism are among the diseases to which the colonists are

* The Dutch ship surgeons are called in the sailor's language meester, (master) and this
term, with many Others used by the sailors, has been adopted as the language in common use
among the colonists. Edwards, in his excellent account of the English possessions in the
West-Indies, remarks, that the case is the same in those colonies.
+ Wafer loaded with earthy matter is generally assigned as a cause of the stone; but the-
uant of spirituous liquors , seems to be a novel and an. unreasonable cause for that disease.—
Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 89
more particularly subject. By removing to a milder part of the country, or
by the use of the warm bath, these evils are, however, more easily subdued
than many others. Children suffer much from quinsies, but this is the only
disease prevalent among them : scrofula is seldom to be seen, and the small-.
pox is quite extirpated from the interior of the colony. Fevers are not
frequent, and never arrive at the formidable height among the native colonists
that they do among Europeans, whether in their own countries, or as
emigrants in this.
Notwithstanding that our stock of medicines was very ample, yet it would
soon have been exhausted, if I had administered to the wants of every body
that came to consult me. I therefore found it expedient to make myself
acquainted with the properties of such medicinal plants as grew in the
neighbourhood, and had recourse to them in most instances, since otherwise
we should have been left without resources, in case of any of our own party
being sick. By the advice of a friend in the Cape Town, I carried with me
a stock of Halle medicines, in which he told me the colonists placed great
confidence, and that it was not easy to make them a more acceptable present
than a glass of pulvis antispasmodics, or essentia dulcis., As I did not,
however, place equal confidence in these medicines, I forbore to give them
as specifics in cases of real disease : I only availed myself of them occasionally
when I wanted to make some little return for civilities received, or when I
was for any other reason desirous of obliging. Through the medium of my
medicinal knowledge, I acquired myself many friends among the colonists,
and in my subsequent travels through these countries I found the readiness
I had always shewn upon this occasion to give my assistance wherever it was
wanted amply repaid by a thousand little courtesies, and by the universal
esteem and regard with which I was received. One inconvenience I expe
rienced from it, that many an hour was by this means lost to me, which I
wished to have been able to devote to other pursuits. It occasioned me,
besides, to have much less time for repose than any of my companions,
since, from the number of patients Ihad to attend to, it often happened that
no other opportunities remained for me to make my excursions in quest of
the treasures I was always desirous of obtaining, except the hours which
should have been devoted to rest. N

90 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The next place at which we stopped was at the foot of a little, hill, the
south end of which is called the Tyger-point. We met with a very friendly
reception here in the house of a colonist, by name Vander Merwe : we had
a great deal of conversation with him upon the diseases to which the cattle
of the country are subject, and judged him, from the nature of bis remarks,
to be a sensible man. In the neighbourhood of the house we found a rich
harvest of rare plants and insects.
A pass between two little hills which unites two plains with each otfoej?,
without any difficulties or unevenness of ground; in the passage, is Galled, by
tfoe colonists a poort (a door). Such, a poort is fonmed by- the Tyger-point
and the hill opposite. We passed through this poort in the afternoon,, and
learnt from our conductors that two years before, the pass, was. for some time-
infested by the Bosjesmans. They used to conceali themselves^ among the
blocks of Sand-stone; rock, which are nearly the colour, of their skin, whence
they shot their poisoned arrows at die travellers who were passing through,.
without a possibility of their being, seen by them* We remarked* as we
proceeded farther on, traces of a vast assemblage of ostriches, which; must
recently have passed that way. In summer these birds, are fond of inhabiting
the heights, but4n winter they descend into the plains.
The footof the Hantam mountain was the, boundary of. our this, day's jour
ney ; and>Akerendam, the, house of the FieldrGornet Abraham Van Wyk,
on the south side of the mountain, was our destined quarters for the night.
This hill is in many respects, very remarkable : it is almost isolated, and
resembles the Table mountain very much, from the flatness of its top, and,
the steepness of its sides; but it is not so high, its, summit; being only ahout
fifteen hundred feet above the valley at its. hase. What above. aiL things,,
however, makes it remarkable, andoccasions, it to be celebrated' throughout
the colony, is the excellent quality, of the grass< produced in its neighbour
hood; it is reckoned particularly salutary for the feed of horses. Another.,
advantage enjoyed by the country is, that it is free from the pernicious
droughts which in some parts of the colony, do so much mischief almost,
every year. The cause of this peculiar. wholesomeness. of the grass is not yet
fully understood, but the inhabitants are inclined to ascribe it principally to the
mountain being covered with snow for three, months. in. thj© winter, whiAe>

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 91
even the highest of the neighbouring hills do not remain white for more than
a day at a time.
The land hereabouts would be fruitful enough, if, as in the southern parts
of the colony, rains fell regularly in winter. But this is not the case ; a
want of water prevails every where, particularly to the south aiid east of the
Hantam mountain ; many places even, from the extreme drought, are in
summer wholly uninhabitable. In the short winter days the springs some
times begin to flow again of themselves, without any rain having fallen, in
consequence of the little evaporation from above, and the melting of the
snow on the tops of the hills. Even at this time of the year the salt-springs
and standing waters of the Roggeveld become sweet from these circumstances.
Very little corn is gathered in the district of Hantam, though some lands
are sown every year by the colonists. If heaven is pleased to grant rain, the
harvest is tolerably abundant, but it too often happens that the seed is scarcely
more than returned ; the principal part of the corn used is therefore brought
from the neighbouring districts, particularly from the Lower Bokkeveld.
The consumption of corn is small in these northern parts : meat is the general
food : the slaves in particular scarcely ever taste bread. This is universally
the case where, as here, there is good feed for sheep, and meat is cheaper
than bread.. In a household Of twenty people, three or four sheep, weighing
from thirty-six to forty pounds each, are killed every day, and the common
reckoning, as I collected from questioning a variety of persons, is a sheep a
week for every herdsman* There were at this time about twenty-five thousand
sheep in the district, but the dryness of the year 1804 decreased the number
to about twenty thousand. Nor was this the only mischief it occasioned {
for the fodder was in many places entirely destroyed, and nothing but worth
less plants remained upon the spots. Very few horned cattle are kept, from!
the want of what is called valley-ground; by this is meant a moist soh\
composed of clay and sand, since it is in snch a soil that the plants good for
feeding cattle thrive best.
The most considerable estate in this district is one belonging to Mr. John
Van Reenen, the same whom we had seen at the Teefontein. It lies on the
north-west side of the Hantam Mountain, the part which is well watered;
At the next farm > called the Groote Toorni, Van Reenen has an excellent
stud, consasaiHg. of more than three hundred \ — breeding horses, niares, and
N 2

92 . TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
colts included', — all of the best English and Arabian breed. He had among
others, an Arabian horse, for which he gave three thousand, dollars. These
animals are left day and night to runabout the open field without any guard.
Stables are wholly unknown here, and to steal a horse is a thing unheard of.
About once in a fortnight the horses are all collected together and counted
over. Now and then a colt is missed, which has probably become a prey to
the hyaenas, and in many of the horses are to be seen evident marks of the
claws of wild beasts.
This estate of Mr. Van Reenen is an exception to the general rule respect
ing the unsuitableness of these parts to the growing of corn. As on his side
of the Hantam Mountain several little streamlets flow from it, so that the
lands can be well watered, he can grow sufficient corn for his own consump
tion : in a good year the corn will yield from forty to fifty fold. The garden
produces excellent kitchen vegetables of many sorts; and an orchard of about
six hundred peach trees, furnishes an ample supply of dried fruit for the
winter. Van Reenen's flock consisted at this time of more than sixteen hundred
sheep. As he was one of the first to introduce the Spanish sheep, many of
his flock, even as far as the fifth generation, were of that breed, and bore very
fine" wool; an article which already brought him in great profit. The
government in the year 1804 established a commission to enquire into the
best mode of improving agriculture and the breeding of cattle, of which
Mr. Van Reenen was appointed a member. Of this commission, at the head
of which was Mr. Van Ryneveld, I shall have frequent occasion to speak.
Theirattention has been turned very much to the improvement of the breed
of sheep, in which they have succeeded so well, that for a few years past
the revenues of the colony have been much benefited by the exportation of
wool. Next to Van Reenen's estate, that of the Field-Cornet Van Wyk, at which
we were now taking up our quarters, is esteemed the best in the district : 
it is, however, very deficient in water. To the south-west extends a wide
spread plain, about three or four hours in circumference. This plain is
bounded by several isolated hills of singular forms, among which the most
remarkable is the Prammeberg (the Breast Mountain), so called, because
when seen in profile it very much resembles the bosom of a woman.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 93
The inhabitants of this district are more active, move more briskly, and
are less fat and unwieldy than those of the southern parts; probably owing
to the climate being so much more temperate. They resemble in this respect
the inhabitants ofthe country about the Snow Mountains, on the eastern side
of the colony, whose activity has been celebrated by most travellers. Soon
after our arrival, several families of the neighbourhood made their appear
ance, some in waggons, some on horseback, attracted by curiosity to see a
magistrate high in office, once in their lives. Every one brought with him
some little present of game, or other things for the table, which were no
less thankfully received than they were courteously given. We could not help
being once more surprised to see so much natural good breeding and civility,
so much propriety in their modes of expressing themselves, under such
simple garments, and among people living at the distance of sixty miles from
the capital, in a dry and solitary country, fit only for the feeding of cattle, and
half encircled by some of the wildest among the savages of the neighbouring
districts. A couple of sturdy young lads, whose eyes glistened with health and con
tentment, delighted us very much with the eager manner in which they
related a number of hunting and travelling adventures they had met with ;
and the effect was exceedingly increased by the concise, yet expressive,
African Dutch language, in which the relation was given. We had often the
opportunity of remarking, that we never heard from the mouth of a colonist
an unseemly word, an overstrained expression, a curse, or an imprecation
of any kind. The more I saw of these people the more I was convinced of
the truth of this remark ; I even many times perceived plainly that they
could not without a sort of honourable indignation hear our dragoons, and,
indeed, others of our Europeans, in their impatience, permit oaths or other
unbecoming expressions to escape them. The universally religious turn of
the colonists, amounting almost to bigotry, is, perhaps, a principal cause to
which this command of themselves is to be ascribed ;— -it may also be in
some measure the result of their living so extremely secluded from the
world; a circumstance which preserves them from temptation to many,
vices. , ,
But what pleased us above all things in the good people of the Hantam
district was, the amenity of disposition which appeared in them towards each

94 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Other. This was the first place where our active chief had not been called
upon to decide any differences among the inhabitants. It must he acknow
ledged that the colonists in general are too much disposed ,to quarrelling
among themselves, principally with respect to the boundaries of their several
estates ; and perhaps among ten near neighbours nine will be at variance,
Yet, though they adhere to what they consider as their rights with the
utmost pertinacity, no one thinks of aspersing or calumniating another, pot
even behind his back, much less does he ever proceed to active outrages. In
this district there is, indeed, less cause than in some others for such quarrels,
since the estates lie pretty remote from each other, and there are compara
tively few horned cattle kept : the forage for them, where they are kept in
abundance, is always a fertile source of discord.
The heat of the following day induced us to remain here till, the afternoon ;
the rather as we were only four hours distant from the place where we were
to rest the next night. »I employed the morning in exploring the surrounding
country, and visited two sick Hottentots belonging to our host. I found by
the bed of one of them a musical instrument, a sort of guitar made of half
the rind of a gourd scooped out, with a rough touch-board fastened over it,
along which were drawn four strings. The wife of the sick man would play
upon ity . and produced accords which I afterwards heajrd from the gormh and
other instruments of these savages, and which could not without great diffi
culty have been produced from any of our own stringed instruments.
The place to which we went in the evening belonged to a persou of the
name of Gous, and was one ofthe poorest we had seen in our journey. It
is the last in this district towards the east, and is called De onwetemkfontem
aan den Daunis Kloof. The cabin, for house it could hardly be called, of
the owner, was surrounded by naked craggy rocks, nor, as, far as the eye
could see, was a tree, or even a. shrub to be discovered. Low, thinly scat
tered bushy plants, among whjeh the mesembryanthemum sp'mosum seemed
tbe most abundant, was all that the earth produced ; but, notwithstanding
this, a considerable number of sheep were feeding all about. A little spring*
which rose in the bed of a periodical river, afforded only a small quantity of
brackish water scarcely drinkable, and the complete solitude of the place
left the inhabitants not without apprehensionsi of • visits.from the Bosjesmans.
In this melancholy spot, however, we found a curiosity well worthy the

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 95
utmost attention ofthe naturalist, and of future travellers. In the slate-stone
from which the spring rose were the impressions of an innumerable multitude
of fish. We perceived this extraordinary appearance first upon the surface,
but the impressions were larger, more distinct, and finer, in proportion as
we broke deeper and deeper into the stone. The form of the fish resembled
that of the eel, and the length of the largest was about three feet. The brit-
tleness of the slate made it impossible for us to get out a single specimen
entire, and the fragments, which we preserved for the purpose of examining
them at onr leisure, were afterwards destroyed by the jolting of the waggon.
The more I made myself acquainted with this country, by my subsequent tra
vels, the more remarkable did the phenomenon appear to me, as being the only
remains of a former world, which I found throughout the whole of Southern
Africa. We now quitted the district of Hantam, and turning to the south-east,
bent our course towards the Roggeveld Mountains. Our route lay over
a plain which stretched from the south-west to the north-east, between the
districts of Hantam and the Lower Roggeveld, and, like the former, it was
encompassed by isolated hills, rising- as it were out of the plain, and pre
senting a variety of fantastic forms. A lofty mountain, which seemed almost
as if it had' been broken down perpendicularly, and which was divided in
horizontal layers, towered above all the other hills ; its top appearing in
some points of view as if it had been a regularly shaped cone, in others,
as if it was broad and flat like the Table Mountain, while over it was
thrown a green carpet- of well-grown plants, giving it a very picturesque
appearance* Some young colonists-- accompanied us as guides, who were, besides, in case
of meeting with any game, to give us proofs of their dexterity in the art
of shooting. Butalas ! such opportunities were sought in vain ; the only
thing that came in our way during the whole day was a vulture of the species
here called the bald-head fvultur aura), which one of our jagers shot flying.
The heat of the day brought out a great many snakes; we killed two of
very venomous kinds, one the horned snake, as it is called (coluber cerastes),
the poison of which is very much sought after by the Bosjesmans for poison
ing the» arrows. The other was a very rare sort of serpent, called here the
spugslang (the spurting snake). It is from three to four feet long, of a black

96 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
colour, and has the singular property, according to the assertion of the colo
nists, that when attacked it will spurt out its venom, and that it knows how
to give it such a direction as to hit the eyes ofthe person attacking him. This is
followed by violent pain and so strong an inflammation, that it will occa sin
the entire loss of sight. To wash the eyes immediately with warm milk is
recommended as the best remedy in such a Gase. The bite of this serpent is
extremely dangerous. It is probably the same that is mentioned by the
Capuchin Antonio Zuchelli, in the account of his mission to Congo*, where
it is said that it spurts its venom from its own eyes into the eyes Of the person
who attacks it; and that the milk of a woman is the only thing that can pre
vent total blindness ensuing, f
We arrived in the mountains ofthe Roggeveld about noon, and in a narrow
valley found the dwelling of a widow Steenkampf, called Elandsfontein.
Although, from the abundance of water, vegetation was here more flourishing
than in many parts, and that there were gardens and corn-fields about the
house,. yet the narrowness ofthe valley, pressed in between high, dark, naked
rocks, into which the house seemed as it were wedged, made this but a dismal
abode. The cold, at night, was pretty severe; and as we were obliged to sleep
in tents, we had some difficulty to keep ourselves warm.
Our day's journey, on the sixth of November, was performed by me more
than half on foot, that I might be at liberty to collect plants and inseets. I
was obliged to carry, besides the apparatus necessary for disposing of the
treasures I hoped to amass, a gun to defend myself in case of necessity, or to
kill any game I might meet with ; and thus loaded, a walk in the heat of the
day was somewhat fatiguing. My trouble, however, was repaid by a large ¦
addition to my collection, and by a hare and a couple of very pretty birds
which I shot. I quitted the road, and climbed among the rocks, now up, now
down, over clefts and crags, till at length about noon I rejoined our party,
whom Ifound in a place called the Hartebeestfontein, belonging to the son of

* Published at Venice in 1 71 1 .
+ See Beckmann's Litter atur der alter en Reisebeschreibungen. The Translator has sought in
vain in Linnaeus for an account of this snake : no name corresponding to the German one is tp
found j nor is the animal mentioned in Nemnich's Lexicon der Naturgeschichte.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 97
one of our old friends the Louws. He was not himself at home : he had been
absent a fortnight, having gone with some neighbours to hunt the eland.*
They had nPw exceeded the time that they proposed to be absent by two
days, and the wife Was under no little anxiety lest some accident had befallen
them. It was impossible not to share in her distress, and equally to partici
pate in her ioy, at seeing them return in the evening. The company had
gone five days northwards, beyond the boundaries of the colony, and besides
all the smaller game they had killed, Which served as their daily food, they
brought home seventeen elands. These animals weighed from seven to eight
hundred pounds a-piece, so that the portion of each ofthe hunters was about
four thousand pounds of pure, excellent flesh. This was cut to pieces upon
the spot, salted and packed in the skins, and thus brought home in a waggon
they had taken with therti. Here it was to be smoked, and would then be a
plentiful supply Pf cheap and wholesome food.
The great muscle ofthe thigh, smoked, is more particularly esteemed. These
are cut out at their whole length, and from the resemblance they then bear
to bulldcks' tongues, are called thigh-tongues. They are often sent as presents
or for sale, to the Cape Town, and are there eaten raw, and cut into very thin
slices, With bread and butter. Thus prepared, they are esteemed an excellent
goitrmandise. The taste of the eland's flesh, when eaten fresh, resembles beef,
biit it is less fat, and can for that reason be kept longer when dried. In this
country, where bread is not always to be had, and where fatted mutton is
thought not to be wholesome as a constant food, this smoked flesh comes in
as a very agreeable and salutary change.
Much has been said against these hunting parties beyond the borders ; and
it must be confessed that Mr. Barrow does not without justice represent them
as incroachrhents upon the savage tribe, to whom the territories properly
Belong. They" have, indeed, been strenuously prohibited by the Dutch
government, since the year 1804 ; a regulation which certainly has more to foe
said for than against it, and the best effect of which is, that it must compel

* TKe Antelope Oreas. These are a large sort of Antelopes ; they go together in flocks, and
their flesh is much eslfeemed ; the marrow is considered as a particular delicacy: the skin is ex*
tremely useful, and the Hottentots make tobacco-pipes of the horns,
O

.>(..,

98 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the colonists to be more diligent in seeking resources within themselves; that
they must now be under the necessity of making, improvements ip the rearing
of cattle, to compensate the loss of the supplies .derived from the chase. ^1
cannot, however, abstain from remarking, that the. ground on which Mr. Barrow
condemns this practice, can never, as it appears to me, be maintained', and that
he rests his corollary entirely upon false assumptions. In my later journeys,
when I went beyond the boundaries of the colony, I was fully convinced
that there was a super-abundance of wild game all over the country, whieh
the Bosjesmans, from their natural indolence, and from the imperfect nature
of their arms, are by no means in a situation to make use of as an object of
advantage to themselves. Nay, I have myself heard them complain of the
discontinuance of these hunting parties, since they were, they said, beneficial
to them, as they got the refuse, that is to say, the head, the feet, and the
entrails of the animals, for their portion. It is, however, I again repeat, right
that the possible mischief which might arise from this practice should be
prevented. The district in which the elands had been killed was still, as Louw told usj
inhabited by the rhinoceros, and he had himself, in the course of his life,
dispatched several of these creatures. Their flesh is commonly given entirely
to the savages, who consider it as a particular dainty; and such a present is
the more acceptable, since they cannot, with their weak arrows, pierce the
thick hide by which the monster is defended. The skin is the only things va
luable to the colonists, to cut into strips for making the driving whips known
here by the Malay name of Schamboks. As these whips will always sell for
two, three, or even four shillings, a rhinoceros amply repays the powder
and ball necessary for killing him.
The Hartebeestfontein is a very fertile spot, and affords plenty of good feed
for cattle. Louw keeps two hundred horses, three thousand sheep, four
hundred goats, ahd a great number of horned cattle. A very neat nice young
wife, and five stout, healthy children complete his domestic happiness; While
his cheerful, contented spirit, and frank integrity of mind, render him "worthy
of all they can bestow.
We found the cold again here pretty severe at night, though the thermo
meter rose in the day to twenty degrees by Reaumur. In the winter, months

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 99
deep snows sometimes fall, and it is so cold that the inhabitants of the Rogge"
veldts, in order to preserve their cattle from want and disease, remove to the
neighbouring Karroo, which lies some thousand feet lower. If rain falls at
that period ofthe year, the Karroo, though it is at other times wholly dry and
unfruitful, becomes a glorious meadow. Every colonist of tlie Roggeveld has,
therefore, besides his proper habitation, a place in the Karroo, which is called'
a Legplaats, and for which no duty, as for a regular farm, is paid to the govern
ment. Here a small house is erected, which at the beginning of spring is
forsaken again, and remains empty and open. The drought begins to come
On in September and Octoberj when the family return to the hills', where they
commonly remain till May or June. As the Legplaats is sometimes several
days journey from the dwelling-house, it will be easily comprehended that
these migrations twice in the year, with wife and children, bag and baggage,
must occasion a good deal of trouble and expense.
The country upon these heights is more level, and less wearisome for tra
velling, than in many other parts we had visited. The valleys are broad and
open : only here and there solitary eminences rear their heads: from the
summits of many of these there is a fine view over the Karroo below.
The stone is covered with a very thin coat of earth, but between the crags
gfow a variety of delightful aromatic plants, as for instance, different sorts of
oxalis, diosma, pelargonium, chrysocoma, pteronia, othonna, and others; the
nudicaulis, and cotula globifera abound more particularly. These afford a
wholesome food for the sheep and' horses, and enable them to subsist during
the drought of summer, supposing the usual fall of snow and rain in winter not
to fail; but this it unfortunately did in the years 1803 and 1804. When wewere
here, therefore, the stock of sheep was comparatively small to what it is at
more favourable times. The flocks had not only suffered from want of food,
but in consequence of the usual rains failing, they were infested with the
sheep-louse to such a degree that many thousands died in consequence. The
district contained at one time not less than eighty thousand sheep; but in
1805 they were reduced to half that number. The climate ofthe Roggeveld
mountains has, in a course of years, undergone a considerable change. Old
people remember very well, that half a century back the super-abundance of
water in the district was such that in the middle of summer the nearest heigh-
o 2

100 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA,
hours could not get, tp, each other, op account ofthe, rivers bejng, over
flowed, and of the deep morasses, in the valleys. There, seldprrfc at that
peripd, passed a week, even in the hottest months, that violent- thunderr
storms did, not, bring with them., a profuse supply of rain.: on the contraiy,
whole, summers had of |ate years, passed .without .the. intervention of asingle
storm. In the cirdeof the Lower Roggeveld almost every family h&s more than
one place, some have, even three or four, so that though consisting of forty r
seven places, it contains no more than twenty ,-two householders. Tghis;arise.s,
chiefly from the circum.sta nc,e that most of these. places can only be rendered;
pf use at certain times ofthe year, and thaj;, the want ,pf water, thp scantiness, '
of feed for their animals, or diseases among the ; cattle, make it necessary to;
change their abode from one place to appther. Many parts of the district are
extremely favourable for the breeding of horses, particularly where the situa?
tion is high and cold: in such situations,; they are seldom; attacked^by.the
murrain, a disease from which they suffer, exceedingly, in low damp places,*
The number of cattle fed here is very insignificant, and yet less so than in, the.
Middle Roggeveld., A sufficient quantity of corn is grown for. thp consump
tion of the inhabitants, that is to say, of wheat and barley. Rye (roggen,
or rocken) isnpt cultivated here, though tbe^name of, the _ district might
lead to the supposition that it was a principal object of cultivatipn; but.
the truth is, that the name is taken from a, species of, grass, which, grows
very much among the clefts, resembling rye, and which, thp. colonists, call
wild rye..
After remaining a whole day vdth the friendly and happy owners ofthe,
Hartebeestfontein, we proceeded, forwards on the eighth of November, and;
about noon reached the house of Mr. Dirk Van Wyk, at the Matjesfontein.
Among the children pf this man, who was already advanced in years, and
singularly corpulent, we were particularly interested, foy the eldest daughter,
from the terrible scenes she had gonp through two years before. She had;
married a person of the name of Coetz£, with whom she was living at the
house of his father not far from hence. Their domestic happiness was already
increased by the prospept of her bpcpming a mother, and the time of. her con
finement was approaching, when suddenly, in,a dajk night, the slaves and.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: 101
Hottentots belonging, to the establishment (theretoeingi amongthe latter, many
ofthe Bosjesmans) rose upon, the family, and after inhumanly murdering her
husband, her father and mother-in-law, and a sisterof her husband's, before
her face, plundered the estatoof every thing worth carrying away. She herself
was, wonderful to relate, spared; Itcould only be supposed that even these
haasbarians were moved with something like compassion on seeing her situation.
She was, however, dragged away, gagged, till after several days travelling,
they arrived at a place of concealment, whither also they carried all their
plunder. in cattle, in goods, or in money.
A whole wreek was she. detained in thishorrible situation,' often a witness
to the debates among the plunderers respecting hter ultimate fate. The Bos
jesmans contended for her :being put to death; but the milder slaves, to whom
she had done several acts of kindness, interposed : to save her. Atlength,
however, her death was determined on, as intelligence arrived that a party,
which had been sent in pursuit of them by the commandant of the district,
was at, hand.. They were accordingly leading 'her to a' lonely chasm among
the rocks,, there to complete their purpose, choosing this place, as thinking
that there would then be no danger of the corpse being found by their pursuers,
when a party of colonists, headed by the brave Field-cornet Nel, rushed from
the oppositosidet into the valley, and falling upon them, rescued the poor
woman, and taking most of the -wretches-prisoners, delivered them over to the
hands of justice. ¦
It, is probable that' the s Bosjesmans were principally incited to this horrid
deed by the great wealth of the .old Coetze, as no less than twenty-five thou
sand, dollars in paper-rmoney was 'found in their hands. But it is likewise.
possiblethat ill-timed, or overstrained severity on the part of the master, acce
lerated the crime, as the slaves had been induced to become partakers in it,
and had -been restrained from disclosing the plot. The poor young woman
was restored to her parents, and was not long after brought to bed of a son,
whom we now saw* a fine boy of ayear and a half old, the delight of his grand
father and grandmother.
In the evening L we arrived at the house of the Field-cornet Nel, men-
tioned.aboye. He was a very sensible, well-informed man : indeed, he and his
father, and brother^,! had the reputation of being the most intelligent and active

J0£ TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
cattle and sheep feeders of the country. They had among them six places,
of which only four had a supply of water the whole year through. The Sons
had therefore recently made an agreement for another, which was watered
by two never-failing springs, and thought of disposing of the unprofitable
ones. The price of this new place was twelve thousand dollars, but it is
not their absolute property: they only paid this sum for the house, the
garden, and such improvements as were made by the late proprietor, and
for his rights as lessee of the lands under the government.
The place where we now were is called de Kuil, and the little periodical
river that runs through it the Kuil's-river. In this river was now a pit
so full of water that we could bathe in it; and yet Nel assured us, that a few
weeks before tbere was scarcely sufficient to satisfy the thirst of a couple
of horses. The water was very brackish; and what was used for family
purposes was drawn from a neighbouring spring. The whole plain before
the house was whitened over with the natron rising from the earth :
3t looked perfectly like a thin layer of snow. I availed myself of this
abundance, the like of which we had not seen before, to collect a quantity
of it, and clearing it from the sand, carried it with me, thus crystallised, for
further examination.
One of our waggons having again, the day before, had an axle-tree broke,
the repair of it made a day's rest here necessary. We did not, therefore,
proceed on our journey till the tenth of November, on which day, after
making a halt at noon at the Kruis-river, we arrived in the evening at
a delightful little valley called Koornlandskloof. This was the scene of
the horrid murder above related : it was now in the possession of
Ocker Coetze, son to the old man who was murdered, and brother-in-
law to the unfortunate woman we had seen. He had with him an
unmarried sister, who in that fatal night fortunately escaped the hands
of the robbers. She gave us a minute detail of the ' tragical event,
led to it almost irresistibly by our being in the very room which had
been the principal theatre of it. This young woman besides excited our
interest very much from speaking, with fluency, the languages of the
Caffres, of the Hottentots, and of the Bosjesmans. The purity, more
over, with which she spoke her own language (the Dutch), and a certain
refinement in her manners, shewed a higher degree of polish than we

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 103
had found among the rest of the women in these parts. In this place
the same inconvenience is experienced, as in so many others already men
tioned, that though, in humid seasons, it is very fertile, and will produce
corn abundantly, yet in some years the springs are entirely dried up, during
the hot months, and the inhabitants, from want of water, are obliged to
seek another abode.

104 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. Vill.
The Middle Roggeveld.— Description ofthe Habitation of a 'Colonist. — Quatrils among
the Inhabitants of the Roggeveld. — Large Flock of Ostrkkes. — Komverg.—Ain
Instance ofthe increasing Population of the Cofony. — The Little Roggeveld. — Visit
from some Bosjesmans.
After having seen nothing for several weeks but a very dull and
uniform country, we were this day agreeably surprised with the pleasant
road we travelled, turning and winding now on this side, now on that
of the little Fish-river. The road was smooth and level. The frequent
fording the river, as it was no where deep, was rather pleasant than trouble
some, and the banks on both sides were fringed with willows and mimosa,
which, if the foliage could not be called luxuriant, at least reminded us of
coolness and shade. He who smiles at the pleasure we received from only
being reminded of shade, or thinks this observation trivial, must feel the force
of an African sun to have anidea of the value of shade and water. This stream
must not be confused with the great Fish-river which lies to the east of the
colony, on the borders ofthe Caffre country: the stream, though small, yet
even in the places where the water was lowest, had greater depth than any
we had passed since the Berg-river.
With our spirits very much cheered, we arrived at the house of a widow
named Korf, where, in compliance with the pressing invitation ofthe mistress,
we stopped, and partook of a repast which she instantly prepared for us: we
could not, in civility, decline doing so, though we should all have preferred
sitting down to take our usual rest at noon by the side of the river.
Early in the evening we reached the place of the Three Fountains (Dreifon-
teinenj, belonging to a Mr. Gerrit A^ischer.
We were now in the district of the Middle Roggeveld, where there are
sixty-two places belonging to thirty-six housholders. Each of these has
from two to four thousand sheep, and upon a moderate computation, the
whole number kept by them may be estimated at a hundred thousand. The
soil is an irony loam mixed with sand, resembling the Karroo soil very

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 105
much, but from its greater elevation; and the quantity of loose stones, it is
much cooler and more fertile.
The Roggeveld lies from two thousand to two thousand five hundred feet
above the Karroo below it. Northwards it slopes gradually towards the Riet-
river, and theNieuweveld. The course of all the little streams which have
their sources among the mountains of the Roggeveld is not towards the
Karroo, but towards the Agterveld, as it is called, that is the thinly inha
bited northern part of the district. What has been said of the climate, and
productions of the Lower Roggeveld, as well as of the objects of profit to the
inhabitants, will apply equally well to the middle. It lies upon the whole
higher, and therefore suits the breeding of horses better ; but the people have
so strong a prejudice in favour of their own race of horses, that they will not
introduce English or Arabians to cross the breed. Their's are certainly
the best among the different races of African horses : they are large and strong,
but they are thick at the joints, and any thing rather than handsomely formed.
Formerly as much corn was grown as would serve for the consumption of the
district, and the seed returned about forty fold; but for some years it
has been diminished, and: the consumption of flesh has increased. Fewer
cattle are kept here than in the Lower Roggeveld, on account of the want of
Valley-ground, which is every where hereabouts the principal object in
breeding cattle.
In large trees, the country is wholly deficient,- for which reason the dwelling-
places of the inhabitants have a naked forlorn appearance. The want of
trees is so striking, that some insignificant hedges of European elder attracted
our attention exceedingly. We also saw some single peach-trees, and several
hedges of quince. Snow falls earlier here than in the Lower Roggeveld;
and as the cold and thick fogs are very injurious to the cattle, the inhabitants
are driven down in winter into the Karroo. In October they return home,
but they are nbt long at rest, for in summer they are often compelled by the
drought to go northwards to the banks ofthe Riet-river. A long experience
has taught that these removals, however inconvenient, they may be to the
masters, are very salutary to the animals, particularly the sheep : the ofteper
their place pf feeding is changed, the better they thrive.
On account of the circumstance above stated, the buildings are in no part
of the colony smaller, poorer, and less convenient than here. The dwelling-

106 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
houses are seldom more than from thirty to forty feet broad, and about
twenty high. From the entrance by a little low door, the roof, which is
composed of rough unhewn spars of the mimosa-tree, or sometimes pf
bamboo cane, may be seen. The room by which we enter is that where the
family sits; it serves also in many places for the kitchen, and is equally the
room for the servants as for the masters ; but in the best houses there is a
small place backwards for the kitchen. By the side of the large room is
another, to which there is a little narrow door: this is the sleeping-room of
the whole family, and is often used besides as a place for keeping provisions
and other stores. The household furniture consists of some simple tables
and stools, with leather thongs for seats : instead of Shelves, drawers, or closets,
open niches are made^ in the wall where things are stowed: in one corner of
the room commonly stands a tub filled with water, into which any body who
wants to drink dips a tin pot, or perhaps the shell of a gourd. A pot with tea
stands upon one of the tables almost all day long, of which the women drink
perpetually, and thereby lay the foundation of those hysterical disorders to
which, as I have already mentioned, they become so subject. The only
thing that can excuse this excessive drinking of tea is, that the flavour of the
water is in many places so bad, as to be very disagreeable without something
tp correct it. Beer is no where to be found in the colony, excepting at the
Cape Town; wine must be fetched from a great distance to the Roggeveld,
and even brandy is very scarce. Milk is only to be had where there is good
feed for the cattle, and then it is generally made into butter: the colonists,
besides, who live so much upon animal food, do not like milk to drink ; they
seldom even u*e it with their tea, and mixed with the brackish water, it has. a
very vapid disagreeable taste.
The materials of which the walls of the house are built are not to be
brought from any great distance.' A coarse kind of slate, abounding all over
the Roggeveld, serves extremely well in the place of stone for building: this
laid in rows Hke bricks, and cemented together with clay, makes a very
thick, solid, and cool wall. From the want of wood, it is impossible to adopt
a better style of building here. I have heard those among the inhabitants ofthe
country, who are in good circumstances, assert that if they had but better tim
bers, they would build as handsome houses as could be Seen. But they are not
able to afford the enormous sums that must be expended to bring timber over

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: 107
the steep arid rugged mountain roads by which it must be transported from
the parts where it can be procured.
The exterior ofthe house is, however, sufficiently neat: the thatch is well
laid, and the walls are plaistered both inside and out, so as" to make a very
good appearance: it is only where there is a want of lime to make the plaister,
or of money to buy it, that a surface of clay is substituted. The floors are
every where of clay, and are washed every day with a mixture of water and
cow-dung, which keeps them cool, and free from vermin. The utmost neat
ness reigns throughout the house, and the good mistress with her daughters
are. indefatigable in sweeping and cleaning it.
About the dwelling-house stand a number of smaller buildings, simply
constructed, which are partly for the Slaves and Hottentots, partly for work
shops and store-houses. Near these are the folds for the different sorts of
cattle called here kraals.* The kraals for the horses and oxen are enclosed
by a wall five or six feet high, those for the sheep are only enclosed by thorn-
hedges. As the draught cattle, the cattle destined to be slaughtered, and the
cows and calves, have each separate kraals ; as the sheep that bear the fine
wool are separated from those with the fat tails ; and as the ewes and wethers
are also kept separate from each other ; so there are often as many as seven or
eight kraals about a house. An equal number of shepherds and herdsmen
are also necessary to watch each separate flock or herd : they go out early in
the morning to the place where they are to feed for the day, and all 'return
back to the kraal at sun-set. The dried dung often lies three feet high, or
even more, in these kraals, wholly neglected and unused. From the number of
cattle kept, and from their being always thus separated, it will appear obvious
why such extensive domains are requisite to the colonists. Few estates are
less than an hour long, and pf equal breadth, containing thirty-six thousand
acres; yet even these, on account of the scarcity of water, and the infertility
of the soil, are often insufficient for mairttaining-so large a number of cattle,
and the farmer is! therefore constrained either to have more than oue, or to

* Kraal signifies in the first place a glass or coral head, in the second place a necklace, in the
third place the circle in which the Hottentots formerly constructed their assemblage of hilts, so
that their- cattle were 'enclosed in the centre, and protected from the wild beasts, and in the
fourth place any fold for sheep or cattle,
P 2

108 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
drive his cattle into the common fields near his estate; arid since all the
neighbours consider themselves as having an equal right to do this, thence
arise the frequent quarrels among themselves as to their respective boun
daries. These disputes are no where more frequent than among the inhabitants of
the Roggeveld. There are few of the colonists here who have not had a
law-suit with their next neighbours; and this country being at so -great a
distance from the Cape' Town, where only all law business can be decided, the
difficulty of coming at the grounds of dispute, and of having the proper data
on which to make a decision, occasion them often to be of very long duration.
Thence comes it that the field-cornets,whogivethedecision in thefirst instance,
are held in very little respect ; they have no means of enforcing their authority,
and their competence is often denied by both parties : they are accused,
perhaps not always unjustly, of partiality, since they are themselves settled
in the district, and are most likely either related to, or at variance with, most
of those over whom their jurisdiction extends. The government have there
fore had an idea of establishiug a commission from the College of Justice at
the Cape Town, which shall make an annual progress through-some of the
distant parts of the colony to hear and decide these disputes upon the spot.
This seems a very desirable regulation, as they will then be able to enquire
more circumstantially into the subject of disagreement, and having no con
nections themselves in the country, their decisions will not be liable to the
imputation of partiality, while at the same time they may enforce submission
to the inferior jurisdictions.
At the place where we now were we found numbers of these kind of dissen-
tions, the parties concerned in which were very eager to lay their grievances
before the Commissary-general. Notwithstanding that he wanted rest very
much, he heard them all with the utmost mildness, patience, and attention,
and took infinite pains to reconcile their differences. With many he suc
ceeded, but others were deaf to his truly kind and paternal advice and exhor
tations, and were only to be subdued by his juridical decisions. Yet here we
had occasion to observe, not without some degree of astonishment, that
among so many rough unpolished men the outward forms of decency were
never violated. Even in their utmost warmth not one unbecoming word
escaped them, not one injurious expression : to such things these people seem

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 109
wholly strangers : they are things which never meet their ears. It is indeed
sometimes amusing to hear the manner in which they express themselves
towards each other ; how, even when they mean to make use of reproaches,
they employ terms which in the ears of an European would have, the most
inoffensive meaning. Such, is the poverty of their language, and so imperfect
are their ideas with regard to those defamatory terms which generally charac
terise the lower classes of the people in civilised countries.
As the wives?of the colonists in general interest strangers very much, both
from something agreeable in their persons, and from the gentleness and kind
ness of their manners, with .which, however, is often united an evident firm
ness and resolution, to be ascribed perhaps to the solitary pastoral kind of
life they lead, and to the necessity of watchfully maintaining their authority
over such a number of servants and dependants; — much as we had often been
interested by the happy union of these qualities, never did we meet with a
woman by whom this kind ofinterest was more warmly excited than by our
present hostess. She was now about forty years of age, and though the
mother of fifteen children, still in the bloom of health, and with, evident
remains of former beauty. She had lost three of. her children, and the
youngest was nowat the breast. When 1 visited her a year and a half after in
my third journey, I found that she had made another addition to her family.
Among the colonists assembled here were both the field-cornets of, the
district, as well as the field-commandant,* by name Kriiger : — these, with
several others, accompanied us part of our this day's journey. Our way lay
once more by the valley of the little Fish-river, and we had again to complain of
the same dull uniformity which had so often annoyed us. If there be no
river in the neighbourhood where there is water, at least in winter, a person
may travel for weeks together without seeing any thing but miserable low
bushes. Wherever a tall bush or a tree is to be discerned, there he may be
sure of finding the bed of a river; yet, unless in the cool season between May
and August, he must not, therefore, flatter himself that he is sure of finding
,*&i' ''¦¦¦'.,/
* In every district there is. a field-commandant, who has the supreme command of the parties
which are occasionally sent out against the Bosjesmans, or against plundering-parties of fugitive
slaves and Hottentots. He is generally chosen from among the field-cornets, but has no higher
judicial authority than his colleagues,

110 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
water. More than three-fourths of the rivers in Southern Africa are in summer
entirely dry. -:>
The uniformity of our route was, however, agreeably interrupted by several
flocks of ostriches which appeared on both sides of us, and which we came
tolerably near before they perceived us. They then fled in haste, crowding
close together, and running against the wind: an eye unaccustomed to
such a sight might easily mistake them at a little distance for a squadron
of horsemen. To the right we remarked some single ones which had strayed
too far from the main body, and were now easily cut off from joining them
by our horsemen. As we had no fire-arms with us, and as it was about their
breeding time, when the feathers being good for nothing, the Africans do not
think of shooting them, so that it would have availed us little if we had had our
guns, we resolved on taking another method of getting as near a sight as
possible of one of these cavalier-like figures, and encircled him, with our
horses, drawing so close to him on all sides, that no way remained for him
to escape, but by running directly through the midst of us. Two of our
dragoons endeavoured to stop his way, presenting themselves directly
before him, and even ventured to strike at him with their drawn sabres. By
this manoeuvre we got a complete sight of his gigantic figure, for raising his
head as high as he could stretch it above the rider, he pushed forward; and
evading the stroke of the sabre, ran away. This rashness was much con
demned by the Africans, as they assured us, that if the bird in its flight had
given them a flap with its powerful wing, and this might easily ha^re
happened, an arm or thigh would probably have been broken. The numbpr
of ostriches we saw in this place could scarcely be less than three hundred.
I never on any other occasion saw so many together.
On the highest point of this wide-spread desolate mountain-plain, whence
every now and then a prospect into the Karroo below opened upon us,, we
found under the shelter of a sort of broken ruinated natural wall of rock a
small hut, the herdsman's abode while tending his master's cattle at the dry
season of the year, when they are sent into these cooler regions. It was
open and standing empty, yet offered a welcome shelter from the wind that
blew over the mountains, and from the rays of the sun. The door, which
was made of reeds bound together, was soon taken off, and by the assistance
of four fragments of rock converted into a table : this was immediately set

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. Ill
v
out with cold provisions, wine, and bread : blocks of stone served us as seats,
and good humour United with hunger to give a high relish to our simple
meal. Throughout the whole journey similar resting places presented to
the party, who could not be expected in so long a course always to have an
equal flow of conversation, an opportunity of joking and amusing themselves
exceedingly with the contrivances to which it was necessary to have recourse?
in making out the apparatus for our meal ; and I really think they were, even.
from the very inconveniences we had to combat, some cf the most mirthful
and enjoyable moments we passed.
This spot was riot ©ftly the highest of the surrounding country, but Was,
according to Colonel Gordon's calculation, the highest we visited in the
course of our journey. He considered it as two thousand feet higher than
the summit of the Table-mountain, consequently it must be five thousand
three hundred feet above the level of the sea. The air was indeed so dry and
thin, and we found ourselves so singularly heated and irritated by it, that out
lips and skin broke out in blisters. In the night, which we passed at the
habitation of a certain Mr. Olivier, we felt the cold very severely, and the
tents in which we slept were by the morning quite frozen. This place had
the singular name of Tondeldoosfontein (the tinder-box fountain), a striking
proof again how much the first inhabitants ofthe colony must have been at a
loss for names to give the places.
The road we took from hence was to descend at last to the Karroo, which
we must cross to arrive, as according to our plan we intended to do, at the
Cold Bokkeveld. This might have been performed by a shorter way, if we
had descended immediately from the Roggeveld when we quitted the little
Fish-river. We should then, however, have had five days journey through
the uninhabited Karroo, whereas having taken the road of the Little Rogge^
veld, though the* journtey would upon the whole be longer, we should have
only three nights to spend encamped in this dreary waste.
The hill we were now to descend is called the Komberg ; it takes this
name from the valley below, which is called the i&ojB-valley (the Tub-valley);
as being enclosed with hills, so that it has the appearance of a vast tub. It
is impossible to give an idea by any description of the prospect which at this
spot opened npon us. 'It is one of the most extensive that I saw in all my
travels over Southern Africa. Never having appeared during the last forN

X

112 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
night to ascend very much, we were exceedingly astonished to find ourselves
at such a height, to sec nt what a depth below was the country that lay
spread before us. From this point the greatest part of the Karroo is soon,
with the hills that bound it to the west and south. To the right and left
the margin was formed by the gently inclining circuit of the Roggeveld
mountains: deep chasms broke at intervals the continuity of this ridge,
forming repeated steep and lengthened declivities, which were covered wilh
loose fragments of stones, or slate of a whitish grey. Over these was thrown
a thin light clothing of plants, which, mixing their verdure with the fallow
ground, threw a hue of iitint. green over the whole face of the monstrous
landscape. Far to the south the view was bounded by the lofty hills which
inclose the Hex-river, in the vallies of which live; tlie inhabitants of the
Cold Bokkeveld. The space between is the great Karroo, u.s it is culled, a
parched and arid plain, stretching out to such an extent that the vast; hills
by which it is terminated are almost lost in the distance. The bedu of num
berless little rivers cross, like veins, in a thousand directions, this enormous
space ; the course of them might in some places be clearly distinguished by
the dark green of the mimosas which spread along their banks. Excepting
these, no where, as far as the eye could reach, was a tree to be seen, no nor
even a shrub — no where any signs of life, not a point upon whieh the oye
could dwell with pleasure. The compass of human sight is too small to take
in the circumference of the whole— -the soul must still rest upon the horrors
ofthe wide spread desert.
We began to descend, leading our horses in our hands, slipping over the
loose rolling stones which crossed our way at every step. The first quarter
ofthe way is steep as a staircase ; all the wheels ofthe waggons were locked,
so that they slid down over the loose slates with which the whole way whs
strewed. The road then begins to take a different direction, und after ninny
turnings and windings, comes to the front of the declivity, when, looking
down, a house is seen so directly below that we seem almost upon it, yet
there is a full hour still to wind and turn before it can ho reached. The
African hills have this resemblance to Mount Sinai that they are much less
difficult to ascend than to descend. ,,,
We now found ourselves in the Kom-valley. A thousand greetings of
welcome resounded on all sides of us from the farm, and at the door ol' a

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 113
house, not wind and water tight, we were received by two hosts, who lived
bere with their families in a joint domicile. We were conducted into the
grand apartments, where the perforations in the thatch were covered over
with mats as well as they could be managed to keep out the weather. A
large chest served as a table, and some smaller ones as seats: our dinner was
a good soup made of mutton, and a wild goat roasted ; while, for a great treat,
by way of dessert, our hosts set before us some white bread and milk, which
had been just sent as a present to them : we fonnd here, besides, some fresh
butter, the first we had seen, which also was a present from a neighbour ; —
arid yet amid all this manifest poverty, every thing was perfectly clean. The
women took upon themselves to do the honours of the house, and were
exceedingly active in their posts : they had cheerful contented countenances,
and the house swarmed with children, some of whom were even handsome.
The number there seemed to be, occasioned us to count them, when we found
that five couple, inhabitants of the last three houses we had visited, had
fifty-one living children : four out of the five mothers had each a child at the
breast, and a wager might very well be laid that none of these would be the
last. It is moderate in this country to reckon upon ten children to each
family,' allowing for what may have been carried off by death, as it is scarcely
ever to be supposed that the whole number of children born will be reared.
In these five families, we were informed, that if all had lived there would have
been sixty-two. From this example, as well of the number born, as of the
mortality among them, a general estimate of the population may be made,
which will agree pretty well with what I found afterwards upon a more
accurate enquiry to be the fact.
We were shewn here as a curiosity, a youth ofthe nation of the Briquas,
who both from his slender form, and more noble physiognomy, was strikingly
different from the rest of the Hottentots. The extraordinary accounts here
given me of this nation was in part the occasion of the resolution which
I made, and executed a year and a half after, to visit the Briquas myself.
I defer what I have to say with regard to them to the time when
I shall give an account of this journey.
Wp proceeded onwards, still descending, till we came to a \>ry iv.markiible
hill, which brought us in the evening to a place called the Hoop (the Hope"),
inhabited by the brother of the same Vischer who has been already mentioned.
We were now at the centre point ofthe Little Roggeveld.
o.

114 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The district which goes under this ¦name is directly at the foot of thegreat
.Roggeveld mountains, apd forms a sort of, terrace directly above the Karroo,
It differsfrpm other parts of the» Roggeveld, since, notwithstanding that it is
rather high landjthere is a constant supply of water from the springs the-whble
year, through, so that it is always habitable. The breeding of cattle is therefore
a principal branch of industry here, arid the soil is, besides, very good for the
cultivation of fruit-trees. Corn is., sown every year!, but it does not yield
abundantly. In some cases, however, if any quantity of rain falls at the time
ofthe corn coining jnto ear, which.indeed does not often happen, the harvest
is very plentiful. Six years before such an instance occurred, and Visch'er
told me that in that year he gathered a hundred and forty bushels of
wheat from only two- bushels of seed. Yet since the feed of sheep and horses
is, but indifferent, the inhabitants, on the whole, are poorer than in the
higher parts ofthe Roggeveld ; and this district contains only fourteen families
of colonists.
Our waggons did not arrive till late at night, and had suffered so much
from- the bad roads, that they came in at last with broken shafts and axle-trees,
sp that they were with difficulty got on at all. Some of the neighbouring
colonists, who were good workmen in this way, were called in to assist in
repairing them, and in conjunction with our smith the work was completed
the next day. The object in which their lading consisted had not suffered
less: the furniture of our table was almost all broken to pieces, as were many
ofthe bottles of wine and oil; and we considered ourselves as very fortunate
that we were now approaching a more inhabited country, where we could
repair our misfortunes, and make some fresh provision for our future travels.
The difference ofthe climate was here strikingly evinced by the change in the
thermometer: in the higher parts ofthe Roggeveld it had been at 64°, accord
ing to Fahrenheit, in the middle ofthe day; it was now at 86°.
As we were sitting at our dinner this day, we were surprised by the entrance
of two Bosjesmans. They belonged to the troop with whom some years before
the colonists had made the sort of treaty mentioned above, by which they
engaged themselves to abstain from their usual maraudings, on condition of a
certain tribute of cattle being paid them yearly. They had heard of one ofthe
principal magistrates of the colony being in the neighbourhood, and were come
in hopes of receiving some presents. They approached the company assem
bled at table not without manifest symptoms of apprehension and embar-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 115
rassment, but a glass of wine, which was presented to them, and the looks of
kindness with which they were received, soon inspired them with confidence.
One of them produced a paper wrapped up in a piece of cloth: it was a sort
of passport given by the, Field-cpmmafidant, as a sanction to the troop for
begging, from time to time, of the inhabitants of the district a few sheep j or
other things of which they might stand very much in need: in return for
which, they had promised, on their part, to remain quiet," and not murderor
steal. Four years before, a collection had been made among the inhabitants
ofthe northern districts of sixteen hundred sheep and thirty head of cattle, as
a present to them for beginning a regular establishment^ that they might be
enabled to breed their own flocks and herds, and live a quiet and orderly life.
The experiment did not, however, succeed. As they had no government, no
secure dwelling-place, no social compact, nay, were even without individual
property, the people from the remote parts had come down upon them, arid
spungingon their little stock, itwas soon completely annihilated. Since that
time the neighbourhood had been compelled to give them, from time to time,
sheep, tobacco, brandy, beads, buttons, andother trifles, happy if by this means
they couldsofarpurchase their good-will as that they would abstain from stealing
their cattle, and murdering the Hottentots who were guarding them.
But since the number of the whole nation is little known, and while people
are at peace with one horde, another may suddenly come down upon and
plunder them, a peace of this kind can avail but little. Indeed, these friends
themselves are very burthensome, since they will come, by twenty or thirty
in a body, to visit the estate of a colonist; that is to say, they will remain there
days, and even Weeks, expecting to.be fed and attended upon; nor will go
away at last without handsome presents of cattle. Nay, it has sometimes
happened that the guests, in return for having been thus entertained, since
opportunities had been afforded them of knowing thoroughly the state of
things in and about the house, have, afterdeprirtinginthe morning as friends,
returned by night as enemies, and breaking in among the herds, carried off
numbers of the cattle, with which they have escaped to the neighbouring
mountains, trusting to their poisoned arrows as a security against their being
reclaimed by their owners. Should it, however, happen, that a sufficient
number of the inhabitants could be collected together to venture upon pursu
ing them, and they are obliged to fly, they, do not quit their plunder till all tbe
Q2

116 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA;
cattle are killed, or hamstrung, so as to render it impossible for them to be
carried away alive. It cannot, therefore, be matter of surprise if the antipathy
of the colonists to like plunderers is carried pretty far, and that it is scarcely
considered as a crime if in the pursuit of these flying hordes some of them
are, from time to time, killed. That regular parties, however, are'made by
the colonists to hunt them down, as some late writers have asserted, 1 mult
say is untrue.
Equally untrue is the assertion that the nation of the Bosjesmans is com
posed of fugitive slaves and Hottentots. They are, and ever have been, a
distinct people, having their own peculiar language, and their own peculiar
customs, if the terms language and customs can be applied to people upon the
very lowest step in the order of civilization, as the Bosjesmans may certainly
be esteemed: one might almost call this extraordinary race without customs
and without language. No Hottentot understands a word of the Bosjesman
language; and the nation was hated by all others on account of its habits of
plunder, and disregard of the rights of property, long before the Europeans
settled in Southern Africa. The Bosjesmans always lived in enmity with their
nearest neighbours, over whom they had this advantage, that they had themselves
nothing but their lives to lose in the strife, whereas they could gain from the
Caffres and Koranas their herds and their flocks. At this moment the enmity
between the Bosjesmans and the Caffres is greater than between the former
and the colonists ; nay, they are even more gratified by depriving a Hottentot
of life than a white man. This is not, however, the place to discuss the
subject more fully; these sketches are sufficient to shew how erroneous have
been the descriptions hitherto given of this extraordinary race, and how little
the truth with regard to them is really known.
The hordes who now live upon the borders of the colony, or within its
boundaries, are become more peaceable than their distant brethren: those, in
particular from whom the present embassy was sent, have, for' several years
together, abstained from plunder. But. since the Bosjesmans have no na'tiorial
interest, and any compact made with them, even if it wer,e ever so well ob
served, could have merely a partial effect, binding individuals only, not the
whole nation, it is easy to comprehend how little such agreements can afford
security to the colony at large. - The experience of the following years only
shewed, alas! the inefficiency of the compact made with them at this time.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA; H7
More distant hordes came down, and not only made terrible devastations upon
the property of the colonists, but vented their rage equally upon their own peace
able countrymen, when they found that the latter would not make a common
cause with them: but more of this hereafter. The colonists ought not,
therefore, to be arraigned very severely if, finding the compact burthen-
some, they were unwilling to continue paying* tribute to an enemy too^weak
to have the power of enforcing, the agreement it had made. There seems;
however, nothing better to be dpne at present, if the utter extirpation ofthe
whole race is not desired (an idea which must be deprecated by every person
of common humanity) , than to endeavour, by conciliatory measures, to purchase
the good-will of the numberless scattered hordes,. though this may not be a
thing very easy to accomplish.
I shall not enter further in this place into the mpdes of life of thpse untamed
people, since at a proper place the subject will be amply, treated, but shall
return now to the two individuals whose arrival among us gave occasion tp
the present digression. They were scarcely four feet high : the colour of their
skin was only discernible in particular places: a thick coat of grease and dirt
covered their faces and meagre limbs like a rind. Under the eyes, where the
smoke of the fires by which they delight to sit, had somewhat melted the
grease, .was a little spot quite clean, by which the proper yellow hue of the
skin could be seen. A wild, shy, suspicious eye, and crafty expression of
countenance, forms, above all things, a striking contrast in the Bosjesman
with the frank, open physiognomy ofthe Hottentot. The universally distin
guishing features ofthe Hottentot, the broad, flat nose, and the large, promi
nent cheek-bones, are, from the leanness ofthe Bosjesman, doubly remarkable.
Their figure, though small, is not ill-proportioned, and they would not be
ugly if they had more flesh; but the withered thigh, the large knee-bone, and
thin leg, are very far from handsome. Yet the men may be called handsome
in comparison with the women. The loose, long hanging foreasts, and the
disproportionate thickness of the hinder parts, where, as in the tails ofthe
African sheep, the whole fat of the body seems collected, united with the
ugliness of their features, makes a Bosjesman woman in the eyes of an
European a real object of horror. The Hottentot Women, though they in
some, respect resemble those of the Bosjesman race, yet from their greater
height, and more justly proportioned limbs, may in comparison with them
be called handsome.

118 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The cloathing of onrvis-itors consisted only of : asheep-skin worn over their
•sltorilders as a sortof maantle, with the woolly side inwards) and tied round
the neck with a leather thong. • On their heads they had greasy leather caps,
Ornamented -with glass beads-of a great variety of colours : they had stririgs of
the same beads-round their necks, and round their wrists were broad bracelets
of iron" and' copper. The- middle part of their bodies were covered with the
skin of -a jackall, fastened round-them with a thong of leather, and they had
sandals of ox-leather- bound round their feet. They had each a small leather
bag hanging on their arms, in which they carried their provisions, with some
tobacco,' and a reed which served as a pipe. Such, with very little variation,
Was the costume- which I found worn by these people when I visited them
in their own wild state. They were then sometimes without their beads and
braceletsjand wore the skin of an antelope instead of a sheep. Their woolly
hair smeared over with grease and dust, and tied in -a number of knots,
hung down foelow their leather caps.
We found it at first very difficult to enter into conversation with our
guests, since they could not make themselves understood either by the colo
nists who were present, or by our Hottentots, and' their fright made them
unable to express their wishes by signs. Some-little presents, however, and
the Wine, at length encouraged one of them so far as that he began to be talka
tive. He sppke with much animation, and in a chattering, clacking kind of
tone, by which he seemed to express his thanks and respect, mixing now and
then with his»own language some words of Dutch which he had occasionally
collected, and which assisted exceedingly in explaining his meaning: in
particular, he often introduced the words Groot Baas, (Great Master), by
which he meant to signify our chief. The Hottentots commonly call the
masters they serve Baas, and the governor of the colony had ever since its
establishment been always called both by them and their wildfellow-country-
men Grodt Baas* At every object which excited their astonishment Or

* Many mistakes have been made, I know not by what means, respecting the situation of the
Hottentots in the service of the colonists. They have been supposed their property, and that
they take them in their early youth to make slaves of them. This is not the case: the Hot.
tentot is a hired servant, and there is this great distinction between them and the- slaves, that
the former only address. their master by the title of Baas (Master), while tbe slaves address him
as Sieur (Lord), pronounced here Ssohr. A Hottentot in consequence takes it extremely amiss

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 119
-gave them pleasure, they exclaimed mooi! mooi! (fine! fine!) which words
were pronounced with a slow and lengthened tone that was not unpleasing.
As they were by degrees inspired with more confidence, their still increasing
curiosity and astonishment was expressed by gestures ; if the admiration was
moderate, they made a sort of whistling noise, clapping their fore-finger hastily
upon their lips; but if they wanted to express it in a high degree? they
threw their right arm over their head, throwing the head back'sp that the hand
touched the neck. The objects which more particularly pleased and astonished
them were the presents we made them, of tobacco, and tobacco-pipes, of look
ing-glasses, beads, buttons, &c. &c— -a watch which we shewed them-— the
white skins and long hair of ' our women—- the whiskers of out dragoons —
the sound of the bugle-horn and violin — and -our tents with their furniture.
The Commissary-general carried them into his tent, offering them a seat,
which they rejected, and sat dowri immediately upon the grounds He then
Wrote a sort of passport, which he gave them, requesting the good-will of
the Dutch christians towards the Bosjesmans; arid signified that as long as
they should keep that paper, and abstain from robbery and plunder, there
would be peace and friendship between ; them and the Dutch. As a con
firmation ofthe treaty, a present was made them of twenty sheep, which they
were to carry away, and eat with their companions.
Before they quitted us, two others of their party came, one of whom was
presented by the colonists as the chief of the horde, though there was nothing
by which he seemed to be distinguished as such. He could, however, speak
a sort of broken Dutch, and was therefore the speaker when the peace was
finally concluded. As an emblem of his dignity, and as a memorial ofthe
compact, he hung round his neck a piece of brass, which seemed to have
been formerly the lid of a tobacco-box, upon which was inscribed on one
side the word. Vrede, and on the*other, Jas; if had been given him by one of
the colonists. It is a remarkable instance of the total absence of civilization
among these people that they have no names, and seem not to feel the want
of such a means of distinguishing one individual from another.
if he is addressed by the words Pay or Songe, as the slaves are; he expects to be called by his
name if addressed by any one who knows it; and by those to whom it is not known he expects
to be caUedrHMtettioi.CtyhU-h iJfce pronounces fXotnot) or boy.

120 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. IX.

TheGreat Karroo. — Descriptionofit.—The Cold Bokkeveld.— Its Fertility.— Remarka
ble form of the Schurfdeberg. — Rocks near the House of the Cyclops-like Oversea'. —
Fine Prospect from the Summit of the Witsemberg. — Arduous descent of this Moun
tain.— Arrival in Roodesand.

On the fifteenth of November we again set forwards towards the Karroo,
and at noon reached the last place on the terrace of the Little Roggeveld,
called Standvastigheid, the house of Mr. Abraham Botman. An incredible
number of flies* made the short rest that we proposed to take here extremely
disagreeable, and we found ourselves in danger, every morsel we put into
our mouths, of eating some of these insects. They have an odd contrivance
iiere for destroying them. Alargewispof straw is dipped in milk, and hung by
a string to the beams of the roof, and when this is covered with flies, they
come with a large bag slowly under the straw, and getting it in to a certain
depth, shake it well, so that the flies are shaken to the bottom of the bag; in
this way they assured us that they had sometimes taken as many as a bushel of
flies in a day. In the Tulbagh the colonists employ the slaves, whose office
it is to go out for wood, to bring home with them bundles of the sticky bush,
Roridula dentata, which they lay about the room, and it is incredible how
soon they are covered with flies, provided the precaution has been taken riot
to leave the window or door open.
As we proceeded onwards, we met a family of colonists with their waggons
arid herds of cattle, who had been for some time in the Karroo, but were
now driven back to their own habitation in the Roggeveld, from the springs
below being entirely dried up. In the evening we reached an uninhabited
place in the Karroo, called the Brand- valley, where we already found our oxen
unyoked from the waggons, and our people busily employed in pitching the
tents. The remains of buildings which were here conspicuous on the naked
* Our common chamber -flies ; the Musca domestic^ and Stomoxys irritans.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 121
sand, proved* that formerly, at certain times of the year at least, this place
was inhabited. For some generations the spring has constantly grown worse
and worse, and the spot is not now even fit for an Ausspaririplatze. In the
middle of summer it is entirely dry, and at this moment there was nothing but
a little puddle of muddy brackish water.
This was the first night that we passed entirely in our camp far from any
human habitation. It happened to be the birth-day of one of our young
ladies, so we celebrated the double solemnity with assembling the whole
party in the evenirig in the large tent, where we had a cheering bowl of
punch, the enjoyment of which was not a little heightened by the contrast it
presented to the cold south-west wind that blew over the desert, and to the
wretchedness of the water afforded by the place.
It had been determined that we should remain here the following day, and
wait forthe cool ofthe evening to proceed on our journey, as we might travel
with the utmost safety by night over the smooth and level roads of the
Karroo. As, However, contrary to our expectations, the weather had turned
very cool, and as our cattle did not find here either food or water that was
very relishable, the resolution of the former day was by unanimous consent
rescinded, and we agreed to proceed onwards as soon as every thing could be
made ready. We had now an admirable proof of the readiness our people had
acquired, by five weeks practice, in striking and repacking the tents and their
furniture, for the whole business was accomplished in so short a time that it
was scarcely half an hour after the resolution was passed before we were
ready to march.
One of our horses had slipped his halter in the night and run away. A
Hottentot who was sent after him, traced him so well, that in the course of
the day he caught him again and rejoined us : this readiness of the Hotten
tots in tracing animals is really wPnderful. Let the ground be ever so hard,
so that scarcely any impression of the hoof or foot remains, still their pursuit
is never made in vain. A stone fresh rolled, a fresh broken or bent bush or
blade of grass, is sometimes the only mark left of any thing having been there,
yet it seldom happens that by pursuing these imperfect impressions a little
while, they cannot tell by what animal they have been made.
We proceeded now farther and farther into the Karroo, and could not help,
at every step, expressing our astonishment to each other, at finding it so very

lgg TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
different from the idea we had formed of it. Indeed, the descriptions hitherto
4>ivou of this tract appear to mo so little correct, and so imperfect, that it
cannot be superfluous to describe it somewhat moro amply. Under this*
name is comprehended a large extent of uuiuhafoitod country, towards which
nature seems to have acted like a stop-mother, lying botweeu the two first
great chains of mountains which stretch across the African continent from east
to west, parallel to each other, and parallel to the southern coast. Tho length
of this waste, according to the general computation, is sixty geographical
miles, its breadth from fifteen to twenty; its surface is computed at ono
thousand square miles. It is bounded to the east by the Schnecberge (Snow-
mountains), Koub and Kamdoboo; to the west by the Cedcrhcrgo (Codor
mountains), and a part of the mountains of the Bokkeveld: it declines from
the northern chain of mountains, and from the Nieuweveld towards tho south ;
its medium height above the level ofthe sea being estimated at three thou
sand feet. Almost all tho rivers that flow from the northern chain of moun
tains take the same direction, und at many points break through the southern
chain, which separates the Karroo from the fertile lands on tho const; only
in the western part of this tract, where a considerable passage is opened
between the Cedar mountains and tho mountains* of tho Roggeveld, some
Streams bend their course to the northward.
From what has been said of the Karroo by the writers who have hitherto
described it, the readers have been led to expect an immense level plain
like the deserts of Asia or of South America ; but this is not the caBe. In
the midst of this waste rise some pretty lofty slate hills, which are only con
sidered as eminences scarcely worthy of remark, because they come into
comparison with the lofty mountains by which it is surrounded; and I'or this
reason alone have never been thought worthy of being noticed in maps.
There are largo spaces which are perfect plains, particularly towards tho
west, and at the very eastern extremity of the Karroo, some of which com
prise from thirty (o forty square miles of entirely level surface, but these
are intermixed with eminences which in other parts would appear not incon
siderable. The soil throughout is a sand mixed with clay or argilaceous
earth, and conlains every where more or less of particles of iron, from which
all yellow tinted soil throughout the colony has obtained the nurne of Karroo
ground.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 133
Such a kind of soil is the product only ofthe ruins of nature, if I may be
allowed the expression, so that there is no where any thick coat of it : in dig
ging to a foot below the surface, we come to a hard and impenetrable stone.
From these and 'other concomitant causes, the vegetation must, of necessity,
at all times be extremely poor, and in summer, when the sun has dried the
soil to the hardness of brick, it ceases almost entirely. The mesembryan
themum and some other succulent plants: some sorts of gorteria, of bergia,
and of asters, whose roots, like the bulbs of liliaceous plants, nature has for
tified with a ten-fold net of fibres under the upper rind to protect them
against the hardened clay: — such plants alone resist the destructive nature of
this inhospitable soil.
As soon as in the cooler season the rains begin to fall and penetrate the
hard coat of earth, these fibres imbibe the moisture, and pushing aside the clay,
the germ of the plant, under their protection, begins to shoot. As by suc
cessive rains the soil gets more and more loosened, the plants at length appear
above it, and fn a few days. the arid waste is covered with a delicate green
clothing. Not long after, thousands and thousands of flowers enamel the
whole surface: the mild mid-day sun expands the radiated crowns of the
mesembryanthemums and gorteria, and the young green of the plants is
almost hidden by the glowing colours of their full-blown flowers, while the
whole air is filled with the most fragrant odour. This odour is more particu
larly delightful, when after a calm day the sun declines, and the warm breath
of the flowers rests quietly on the plain.
At this time the whole dreary desert is transformed into one continued
garden of flowers ; the colonist with his herds and his flocks leaves the
snowy mountains, and descending into the plain, there finds a plentiful and
wholesome supply of food for the animals, while troops of the tall ostrich
and the wandering antelope, driven also from the heights, share the repast,
and enliven the Scene. On the western side of the Karroo stand the winter
habitations ofthe Bokkeveld colonists who come from the south, near those
ofthe inhabitants ofthe Roggeveld. Long separated friends and relations see
each other again, are neighbours for a time, and enjoy in each others' society
a life of quiet and content. The attendance upon the flocks and herds is here
light and easy: for in this plain, though the sheep may sometimes stray, they
are never finally lost: no ox or cow falls down the precipice and is seen no
R9

124 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
more; the cattle feed secure from the lion, the tyg«r, or the hyaena, since
there is no hole or cave where these plunderers can conceal themselves: the
murrain is unknown among them, and the plants upon which they feed are
a remedy, if they are diseased, which speedily restores them to health. All
occasions of strife between the different inhabitants are averted by the lands
being common property, and spreading out to such an extent, that there is
feed in plenty for the cattle of every one.
Before the inhabitants of the mountains descend into the Karroo their
fields and gardens are put into winter order, but while the field-work ceases,
and the seed above rests quietly under the moist covering of snow, another
kind of work commences. The children and slaves are sent to collect the
young shoots of the Channa bushes.* The ashes of these saline plants
produce a strong ley, and of this, mixed with the fat of the sheep, col
lected during the year, the women make an excellent soap, from the sale
of which a considerable profit is derived : large quantities are sent to the
Cape ToWn, where it is sold at a high price, In the mean time, the
men prepare, from several kinds of plants, and the bark of certain trees,
a sort of tan for curing the skins of the wild animals taken at their hunting
parties in the summer. The quantity of leather thus prepared is more than
sufficient for clothing their children and slaves, and much of it is also sent to
the Cape Town, or sold to the colonists who live in the parts principally
devoted to agriculture. Thus the trouble and inconvenience occasioned by
these two-fold removals in the course of the year is amply repaid, and the
people by whom they are performed talk with a delight, which seems extra
ordinary to the more indolent part of their colonist brethren, of the time-
spent in the Karroo.
But how soon is the country again deprived of all its glory: it scarcely
continues more than a month, unless late rains, which must not often be
expected, call forth the plants again into new life. As the days begin to
lengthen, the revived power of the mid-day sun checks once more the
lately-awakened powers of vegetation. The flowers soon fade and fall, the
stems and leaves dry away, and the hard coat of earth locks up the germs till
the time arrives for the return of the rains: the succulent plants alone still

* Salsola aphylta, and Sulicorniofrutkosu.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 125
furnish food for the herds and flocks. Soon the streams begin to dry, the
springs scarcely flow, till at length the complete drought compels the colonists
to seek again their more elevated homes; yet even then, they quit the^plain
with reluctance, and the flocks, accustomed to endure thirst,still linger behind,
feeding on the succulent plants which afford at once food and drink, and are
particularly salutary to those that bear the wool. Every day, however, the
Karroo grows more and more solidary, and by the end of September it is wholly
desertpd. The hardened clay bursts into a thousand cracks, which evince to
the traveller the vast power of the African sun. Every trace of verdpre is
vanished, and the hard red soil is covered over with a brown dust, formed
from the ashes of the dried and withered plants. Yet amongst these ashes is
the seed nourished that is to produce future generations, and the relics of one
year's vegetation furnishes the manure that is to cherish the germs till the
next year's rain again brings them forth.
In some places, particularly in the beds of the rivers, water remains a
longer time by the supplies afforded from concealed reservoirs, but the power
of the sun soon corrupts these standing pools, so that they are wholly unavail
ing to the traveller. It is better for him when the bed is quite dry, since then
by digging he can sometimes find good water, deep below the surface, beyond
the influence of those parching rays by which that above has been rendered
useless. It was in this desolate state that we found the Karroo, when we travelled
through it. The road was level and easy, even over the heights that we had
sometimes to ascend. The beds ofthe rivers, a considerable number of which
we crossed, were all entirely dry: we saw not a footstep of either man or
animal : the shrubs were withered and dried : scarcely did we find even a
solitary beetle flitting like a shadow among the thinly scattered remnants of
the shrubs : nothing could be more ennuyant than travelling over such a
country. Towards evening we came to a rock where was 'a spring, and
before it a rough bason formed in the stone, containing still two or three
pails full of stagnant brackish water: here we resolved to pass the night.
This place is called Smitswinkel. A few miserable clay huts pointed it out
as the winter habitation of some family of colonists. The ground was so hard
that we were obliged to peck holes in it with our iron tools, to drive in the
poles which were to support our tents, and even then they had such indif-

126 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
ferent hold, that if a brisk wind had sprung up in the night, our houses
would probably have fallen over our heads.
At noon on the following day, the sun being particularly hot, we stopped
by the side of tbe Great-river. From the name, something distinguished
might be expected, but this stream is only great in comparison with the othet
rivers ofthe Karroo, which are scarcely more than gutters : in itself it is
small, and miserably destitute of water. A few places only afforded a little
standing in holes in the. rocky bed ; and though it was cool and looked clear,
it was so ill-flavoured and brackish, that our cattle, notwithstanding their
thirst, could not drink it. Probably it came from some springs deep in the
ground, and not discoverable, for there were mimosas growing about of a
tolerable size, and beginning already to be in bloom, while in other places
that we had seen them, both before and after, they were still very backward.
A number of beautiful insects, especially of the mylahris and buprestis. were
hovering about these trees, and I caught several sorts which I never saw
either before or after. The smell of the mimosa flower is particularly agreea
ble : the bees are exceedingly fond of these flowers, and the flavour of them
may be distinguished in the wild honey collected near them: Their foliage
is always the finest at the time when they begin to blow ; they then even afford
a tolerable shelter from the sun. Under their shade, and by the side of the
river, we found a little grass, which afforded no small delight to our horses and
oxen. The Gra^-river divides the Karroo of the Roggeveld from that of
the Bokkeveld.
Through the same level, but dully uniform road, we arrived about sun-set
at the place where we intended to jest for the night; it was called the Plat-
fontein, from a little spring of very bad water. We found here, inconse
quence of having sent a courier forwards, relays of oxen from the cold Bok
keveld, with the Field-cornet and some inhabitants of the district. They
proposed to us to continue our journey through the night, since there was
here neither grass for our cattle, nor water enough for them to drink; the
horses they said would besides be less tired withgoingonnow in the cool ofthe
night than if they were to wait till morning, when they must travel in the
heat and with empty stomachs. As we all thought there was much reason
in what they urged, the proposal was assented to unanimously, so we took
a little repast in haste, and then, under the guidance of some of the party,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 19t
proceeded on our way. The Field-cornet rode oh before to prepare every thing
at his house for our reception.
At break of day we came to a narrow pass, called the Bokkeveldspoort, at
the first entrance of the mountains which separate the Karroo from the
Bokkeveld. We arrived there just at the moment when the rising sun began
to gild the lofty summits of the mountains, while the twilight was still glim
mering in the depth of the ravine. The return of the morning light threw
magip shadows upon the naked rugged rocks, and on the green bushes that
bordered a deep torrent. Our minds were particularly attuned to feeling the
whole effect of the scene : the night had been spent in watching and travel
ling over a dreary desert, and now, as if by enchantment, we found ourselves
in the mild twilight of this contracted valley, the living vegetation of which
formed so fine a contrast with the dry, barren, and almost, as it appeared,
boundless plain which we had quitted; while the contrast was no less strik
ing foetween the sharp points presented by the profiles of the mountains
before us, and the curvated heads of the slate hills, over which we had so
recently passed.
Narrow as was the pass at its entrance, we soon found a wider valley spread
out before us, from which the road gradually ascended. The ridges of lofty
towering hills rose to the right and left, while looking upwards the eye
was carried into dark and broken chasms. High above, enjoying the first
warm rays of the morning sun, was a little red antelope feeding at the very
edge of a prominent piece of rock, but frightened at the sound ofthe African
whip, re-echoed from every part, it quickly fled into the valley on the other
side.. We soon arrived at the Field-cornet's house.— -He was of French descent,
and his name properly Bruyere, though he was now called Martin Bruel.
His farm was kept in excellent order, and Was surrounded With very fine
orchards and corn-fields : but what charmed us more than any thing, unac
customed as we had now been for some time to the sight of forest trees, was
a little wood of old oaks and lofty poplars, near which ran a fine clear stream
of excellent water: when to these things is added the situation of the~ house,
between high and steep mountains, the reader will easily conceive how truly
romantic must have been the scene. Not above a thousand paces from the
house was ainother, belonging to a neighbour, resembling it in every respect,

128 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
both as to the natural charms by which it was more distantly surrounded, and
in the cultivation that appeared in its immediate, vicinity ; but, sad to say,
these neighbours had long been at enmity on the subject of feed for the cattle
and the boundaries of their corn-fields. A father had some time since unad
visedly divided this fine inheritance between his two sons, when one selling
his share of the property, estranged himself from the family, and thereby
sowed the seeds of an irreconcilable enmity between his brother and the new
neighbour whom he had given him. It is much to be lamented that the
peace of this lovely little valley should be interrupted by strife and discord.
I have seldom seen a spot more silent and sequestered, without being confined
and gloomy — it was the very place of all others for one who was altogether
weary of the world, and of living among mankind, to retire to. The soil is
fruitful, and it is richly watered with plentiful springs, while it bears excel
lent corn and fruit of every sort, even some fruits that will not usually thrive
in an Afriban climate. Sheep, cattle, and horses, are abundantly supplied
with wholesome food ; and the murrain, so destructive in many parts, never
has intruded itself into this delightful retreat.
As to this valley, so to the whole circuit to which it belongs, has nature
been superlatively kind. Two and thirty estates are comprehended within
it: the name of the Cold Bokkeveld has been given to it from its high
mountainous situation, in opposition to the Warm Bokkeveld, which lies
towards the south in a much lower plain. The northern part of the district
is particularly cold, whence it has the name of Friesland. The snow
sometimes lies there in winter ankle deep, which compels the inhabitants
to descend into the Karroo, In the southern part, where the houses are
in lower valleys, the flocks and herds only are sent into the Karroo, the families
remain at their own houses.
Every one grows as much corn as will serve for his own consumption,
where the springs are abundant, and will permit of channels to be made from
therri, so that the lands may be supplied with water all the year. Much more
land might be cultivated if the transport were easier, and the mountaina
between the district and the Cape Town were not so steep and difficult of
ascent. A little traffic in tobacco, wine, and brandy, is carried on between
the Cold Bokkeveld, and some of the northern parts through which we had
travelled; but the wine here is not very good, „The fruits and pulse, con-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. "^129
*siderable quantities of which are sent to the Cape ToWn, are much more
advantageous objects of tr&de. Yet here a great drawback is experienced,
for the merchandize must all be carried over the mountains either by men or
horses; the waggons can only pass empty. Oranges, lemons, peaches-, apri
cots, figs, melons, and grapes, are the fruits principally cultivated, and they
are finer flavoured here than in any part of the colony : both fresh and dried
are sent to the Cape. Apples and pears, from the coolness of some parts of
the district, are likewise to be had very good ; and it is almost the only spot
in the whole colony where cherries are produced : but as these cannot be
transported in any considerable quantity, they are seldom sent to the town
except as presents to some of the principal people. The greatest part of the
pulse for ship stores is furnished by the Cold-Bokkeveld.
All sorts of European woods are here tougher and harder than in other
parts, since they have more rest in winter, and do not come into leaf again
so immediately. Whether any experiment has ever been made to plant limes
and beeches, which have so often failed near the Cape Town, I do not know;
but they are as little to be found here as in other parts of the colony. Poplars
grow particularly well, and are planted generally in preference to oaks, because
the wood is more useful for many little purposes, and wood for building is not
so much wanted. Firs are not planted at all.
Another proof of the great advantage derived from the coolness of this
climate is the superiority of the poultry bred here, both as to the numbers
and quality. This forms a principal object of food to ' the colonists of the
Cold-Bokkeveld. In most parts of the colony it is extremely difficult to rear
turkeys, but here they are reared without any trouble, and without any parti
cular attention being paid to the chicks.
The district has generally been considered as very much resembling that of
the 'Roggeveld, both as to the coolness of the climate, its high situation, and
>as to the time requisite in each for fattening the different sorts of cattle: but on
a nearer examination, many striking differences may be observed. The Rogge
veld is a flat hill, or it might with greater propriety be called a very elevated
plain, consisting almost entirely of masses of slate ; whereas the Cold Bokke
veld is composed of granite-hills, mixed with layers of sand-stone, intersected
by deep vallies ; some amply furnished with springs ; some very deficient in
•water. The soil of the latter is found extremely favourable for the cultivation

130 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
of fet grass and fruit-trees, neither pf which grow weU" in the Roggeveld ;
while this latter district abounds with the aromatic herbs, so excellent for
feeding sheep, in which the Bokkeveld fails entirely.
In our day's journey yesterday overthe Karroo we had seen the melancholy
sight of more than seventy sheep lying dead in the road. They belonged to
a drove which was going to a butcher at the Cape Town, and probably had been
permitted, inadvertently, while they were heated -with travelling, to drink pf
the bad water in the Great-river. On our mentioning this, the people of the
neighbourhood immediately dispatched some waggons to collect the skins and
tails, the fat of the tails being extremely useful both for making soap and
candles, and for waggon -grease. They employed the utmost dispatch in doing
this, and not without reason, since the large vultures, who assemble v$ry soon
about carrion, had they been some hours later, would probably have left them
nothing but bones. These birds followed us through our whole journey,
particularly in uninhabited places ; and scarcely had we quitted a spot where
we had made a meal or encamped for the night, before they were upon it to
gather up whatever we had left. It is owing to them, and to the number of
carrivorous quadrupeds haunting these regions, that even in the wildest parts
we never met with a dead animal, nor even a complete skeleton of one.
The place where we now were is called de Ukkomst, as being the entrance
to, or rather exit from the Karroo. The day which we rested here was
passed in business of various sorts, and in receiving visits from many of
the neighbours. We found in them a higher degree of polish than in the
inhabitants of the Roggeveld, accompanied with a great deal of kipdness and
frankness of manner. I must here be permited to mention more particularly
the Field-cornet, Pienaar, as one of the most worthy, honest, active men in
the whole colony.
Lieutenant Gilmer set off immediately from hence for Roodezand, that he
might attend himself to all the requisite preparations for our reception being
duly made. We followed him the next morning under the guidance of the
Field-cornet, having sent our waggons forwards in the night. As the valley
is enclosed on all sides with high hills, we commenced our journey by labour*-.
ing up a very steep ascent, which obliged us to stop several times for our
horses to take breath. When we had reached the top, we could not help
pausing awhile to contemplate the delightful valley we , had left behind us,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 131
and to look over the wide spread plain ofthe Karroo, beyond the door of the
Bokkeveld. In the sand-stone of which these mountains are composed, we
found abundance of crystals of calcareous spar ; a considerable space was
covered with them, by,t they were very small.
The other side of the hill descended gradually to a long valley, in whieh
we saw before us many farms at a moderate distance from each other.
We made our way up to the nearest, where we found a man far advanced in
years, by name Erasmus Rasmus, who, with his wife, not less aged than him
self, lived here childless. We stopped for a few minutes, and were regaled
in the true patriarchal style with new milk. We took our dinner about noon
at the next farm, which belonged to a widow of the name of Janssens ; and,
according to our usual custom, stopped till the heat of the day was over. We
had here the satisfaction of meeting Mr. Michgorius, the first clerk in the
Commissary-general's office, who at our departure from the Cape Town had
been detained by illness, but was now come to join the party. Our hostess
had the misfortune to have a son and a daughter deaf and dumb, both near
thirty years of age ; the son was very active in husbandry, and the daughter
equally so in every thing within the female department in the house: both
were exceedingly ready in the use Of signs, and by the assistance of thenv
made themselves perfectly understood by their relations, and all who were
accustomed to them.
The way out of the Long-valley was again over a considerable ascent; on
the other side of it Was a farm, at which the Commissary-general, true to his
principle of shewing his good-will towards all. the subjects ofthe States,
stopped, intending to have a few minutes conversation with the owner. He
was not at home, but one of his relations stepped forwards in his place, and
gave us the firt specimen we had found all over the colony. of true boorish
coarseness and roughness of manners : — he .scolded the slaves who were to
hold our horses, using themost gross and abusive language; at the same time
as an intimation how little agreeable our visit was, he did not attempt to
enter into- conversation with us, or shew the smallest particle of that
attention, whicti even a traveller of the lowest rank makes himself sure of
receiving in this country, wherever he goes. He looked at the same time so
exceedingly ill-humqwed, that Pienaar jocosely observed, with the naivete
s2

132 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
common to an African colonist, that he made up such a face it was enough
to frighten the flies from settling upon his nose.
Farther on, we came to a gentle declivity, over which were scattered great
numbers of large rough blocks of sandstone, some as rpuch as forty feet high,
and which must have been of many hundred weight : they seemed to
have rolled from the heights above, and in several instances held to the ground
by a single point, threatening at eve/y moment to fall and crush to atoms what
ever might be near. Directly after followed a valley of a very different charac
ter. It was at the foot of the Schurfdeberge, one of the great chain of moun
tains which runs from the north parallel with the western coast, and which
we had traversed in part in our way from the Pikeriierskloof to the Elephants'-
river. This mountain has a very remarkable form ; it presents the appearance
of a high sunken overshelving wall, and continues to run thus, unbroken, from
the north towards the south for three miles and a half, forming the western
boundary of three districts, those of Friesland, and the warm and cold Bok
keveld. The inclination of this wall is every where the same, and may. make
an angle with the eastern horizon of a hundred and ten, or a hundred and
twenty degrees. In figuring to the imagination an immense long table-moun
tain, which by some tremendous revolution has been overthrown, and its flat
surface turned so as to be wedged into the earth, not perpendicularly, but
inclining over, a tolerable idea will be formed of this enormous shelving wall.
Over the whole length of its flat surface there is not the least appearance of
vegetation : it lookslike the roof of a house Washed clean by the rain ; it is
equally broken every where, without any considerable rent, and is of a dismal
dark grey hue. It is in no place perfectly flat, but has every where a kind of
appearance as if full of blotches, though they are stronger and more abundant
towards the top ; and from these the name of Schurfdeberge (Scabby Mountain)
has been given to it.* The top of the wall is about three hundred feet above
* The first Europeans who settled in Southern Africa, when they were obliged to teach their
language tolhe savages, might probably by way of facilitating the task to their scholars as much
as possible, convey their instruction through the medium of sensible objects. Thus they called
every hill a back, every point of a mountain a head, a Hottentot village, from its resemblance to a
necklace, a kraal,* all sorts of fire-arms reeds, horned cattle beasts, the whole family of the ante-
• See the explanation of this word in a note to page 107.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 133
the valley at its foot, but from the Warm Bokkeveld, which lies so much lower,
it must rise at least between seven and eight hundred feet.
From this extraordinary production of nature, the valley at its foot has a
gloomy and melancholy appearance. A small stream, the Leeuwen-river, runs
through it, parallel with the mountain, down to the Warm Bokkeveld, and
there uniting itself with the waters of the Breede-river, rushes with them
through the pass of the Mostershoek into the sea. The valley is rich in grass
and liliaceous plants, and resembles an European meadow more than any thing
we had yet seen. About the middle of the valley, at the foot of the mountain,
stands the house of the field-cornet Hugo, where we stopped for the night.
The buildings here are more roomy, and executed in a better style than
in the Roggeveld : the beams, as well as the walls and thatch, are of much
neater workmanship. The sitting-room is decorated with neat shelves, on
whieh the household utensils in glass and earthenware are arranged with a sort
of taste, which evinces affluence of circumstances; and the manners of the
inhabitants have more of the citizen-like polish to be seen among the burghers
of the Cape Town, than the blunt but kind-hearted simplicity of their country
men in the more northern parts of the colony. They talked much of the severe
cold felt here in winter, and said that they commonly removed at that season
to the Warm Bokkeveld, where also they had an estate. At present it was so
warm that the whole family made up beds for themselves in the outer room,
in order to leave the inner one entirely for our party. They assured us that
they often did this in summer, to be more out of the way of the heat, and of
the flies.
The fatiguing road which we were to travel the next morning was one of thp
principal subjects of our conversation, when for our consolation they assured
us, that there were few passages over mountains throughout the colony more
troublesome and fatiguing than this. As a proof, however, of the facility with
lopes boks, kc. &c. It is to this cause probably that we must ascribe tbe poverty and corrup
tion^ the expression of abstract ideas which is now universal among the colonists, and that con.
ciseness and naivete which borders on the figurative language of oriental poetry. All bodies with
a rough uneven surface are from the same cause called schurfde (scabby or blotchy). When we
visited the Caffres, it was curious to observe that if among the presents we made them any of the
metal buttons had an impression, they always returned them as being schuffde, and desired to
have such as were quite smooth and shining.

134 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
which it was possible for both human beings and animals to surmount these
hardships, the good woman of the house assured us, that after every lying-in,
and this had been hitherto an annual ceremony with her, she went on the
second or third Sunday herself with her child, to have it baptized at the church
at Roodezand. She had a very safe horse, she said, which carried her so well
Over both the mountains between her house and Roodezand, that she could
go and return in the same day; he would go the whole way in a trot without
ever stumbling, and she was never afraid of suckling her Ghild even in the
most dafsgerOus parts.*
One of our waggons having again "been damaged by being overturned in a
morass at the entrance ofthe valley, was repaired in the night, and we set out
early in the morning, desirous if possible of reaching the top of the Witsemberg
before the great heat of the day. We travelled along the foot of the Schurfde
berge a full half hour, before we reached the passage by which it was to be
ascended. A power far beyond all mortal comprehension has here made a
vast rent in this enormous mass of stone, and opened a way from five to
Six hundred feet wide, through which the road is made. It was, however, a
very arduous undertaking, and attended with great difficulties-rparticularly in
the lower and narrow part of the cleft. Vast immoveable blocks of stone
which lay in the way at every step, must be pulverised before it could be pos
sible for a waggon to pass. It was among these awe-inspiring ruins that we
were to ascend, but to our great surprise, considering the details of hardships
which had been given us the evening before, and which brought naturally to
our imaginations the idea ofthe Nardouw, and the valley of Moed-verlooren,
we found the road perfectly level, and the ascent easy ; after what we had
previously passed, the present adventure seemed quite a joke. In half an

* A Very remarkable effect of the climate of Africa, and of the modes of living among" the
women there, is the faciliFy with which they bear their children^. A woman dying in child-bed is a
thing almost unheard of; an the contrary, by the fourthdaytirey. generally begin to return to their
household affiiirs, and by the seventh; or eighth leave the house, and are p&riectly recovered « and
this not only among the hard. working women in the country, but among ,the ladies in the town,
though' in many respects they are delicate enough. Perhaps, however, this facility may be a
principal cattse of their propensity to gf&wing so extremely corpulent, and of that disposition to
hysterical affections which has been mentioned, aadmay therefore be balanced by its concomitant
evils.

'i

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA; 135
hour we reached the top ofthe mountain, liereaaandy plain presented itself,
the apposite side of which we reached in another half hour, when descending
again, amidst these massy blacks, we reached apleasanter little plain, richly
carpeted with green. •
And now, looking feai&, we were presented with the western side of the
Sphurfdeberge. From the top to the bottom it was one continued succession
of broken masses of rocks, heaped one upon another. Their deep shadows,
the dull grey of the stones, and the dark leaves of the hushes, which raise their
heads as if coming forth not without the most painful exertion, impress the
traveller involuntarily with a sort of feeling of pensiveness. Except along
the beaten road, the mountain is almost as inaccessible on this side,
from its extreme raggedness, as on the other from its steep, flat, and un
broken surface. Laisge troops of apes wece climbing about these masses, and
their horrid yell was rendered a. thousand times more horrid from being echoed
every way by the surrounding clefts ; while little wanton goats, resembling
the Klippenspringer, were bounding about on the very top, seeming to mock
their persecutors, from whose weapons they were now perfectly secure.
More abundant traces of the crafty panther were to be found here than in
any other part ofthe colony, while his harmless fellow-inhabitants ofthe rocks
above-mentioned, often become his prey. Often, too, do the flocks of the
industrious farmer suffer severely from his ravages. But the enemy most to
foe feared here isman. A thousand places of concealment offer the wished-for
asylums to slaves deserting their service, and bands of these robbers, not un'r
frequently take advantage of the favourable nature of the spot to harbour in it
for a long time together, living upon the plunder of the neighbouring flocks
and herds, gardens and fields. From time immemorial this mountain has never
been free from such marauders, notwithstanding that parties have frequently
been .sent out against them, and numbers have been brought to justice. Some
half instructed travellers have confounded these people with the Bosjesmans ;
but they have no relation whatever with them. They are much less addicted
to'murder; but are not so easily taken, on account of the fire-arms which they
haye for defending themselves.
A plain of more than an hour in breadth now carried us to the foot of the
other high mountain, which we were this day to cross. This plain has fojr
its eastern boundary the Schurfdeberge, and runs from north to south between

136 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
that and the Witsemberg. Directly on coming outof the cleft through which we
had crossed the Schurfdeberge we found a solitary house standing under a pro
jecting piece of rock : it was inhabited by a person of the name of Scholz, who
was overseer of the road, and stationed there to collect a dollar and a half from
every waggon passing the mountain, to be applied to keeping up the road in
a proper state. The money thus collected, and the free use of the circumja
cent lands, was farmed by him at a stipulated sum, to be paid into the chest of
the district; and he was besides to attend to the proper repairs ofthe road.
Some repairs are perpetually wanted, on account of the damage done by the
heavy rains of winter upon a pretty rapid ascent.
A few oaks by which the house was shaded seemed to offer us a desirable
place of rest, and bringing out our tables and benches, we sat down upon the
turf beneath to take our refreshment. The overseer, called in the country the
padmaker, was one of the largest and most corpulent men I ever saw, and
throughout the whole colony a man with less intelligence of any useful kind,
or one less fit for his post, could hardly have been found. He assured us that it
was only within a few years he had become so corpulent: he was before rather
lean than fat. He had a little waggon in which he was drawn about to in
spect the roads; but the overlooking of the workmen employed upon them
was deputed to one of his slaves. The neighbours complained much of his
duty being very ill performed, and asserted that the road had been mended in
a hurry against our arrival, but that for two years before it had been scarcely
passable. An object which here particularly attracted our attention was a gigantic
assemblage of blocks of stone, piled together in such a manner, that spaces
were left sufficient to walk in and out between them, and thus a sort of laby
rinth was formed ; here the owner of the place kept his flocks and herds,
each different species having their distinct apartments. In exploring this
singular place, I was struck with the resemblance it bore to the cave
of the Cyclops, according to the description given of it by the sublime
author of the Odyssey, while the gigantic figure of the host, who had been
long afflicted with a disorder in his eyes', and had one bound down with a
handkerchief, seemed a not unappropriate representative of the monstrous
master of this cave.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 137
When to the nearest verge of land we drew,
Fast by the sea a lonely cave we view,
High, and with dark'ning laurels cover'd o'er,
Where sheep and goats lay slumb'ring round the shore.
Near this, a fence of marble from the rock,
Brown with o'er-arching pine and spreading oak.
A giant shepherd here his flock maintains
Far from the rest, and solitary reigns,
In shelter thick of horrid shade reclin'd,
And gloomy mischiefs labour in his mind.
A form enormous, far unlike the race
Of human birth, in stature, or in face;
As some lone mountain's monstrous growth he stood,
Crown'd with rough thickets, and a nodding wood.
ODYSSEY, BOOK IX. LINE 211.
Pope's Translation.
A rumour was abroad in the neighbourhood, that Scholz had many more of
these sort of caves than were known to any person, his slaves excepted,
where he concealed the sheep which by the help of the same slaves he stole
from the butchers as they passed with their droves that way. In fact, about
a year after, upon the complaint of some butchers, Scholz and all his crew
were apprehended, and more than half convicted of the robberies alleged
against them. The slaves confessed that the master was guilty of asserting
most abominable falsehoods; but before the process was concluded he died in
prison. I myself visited him there several times in my medical capacity. In
his gigantic form, his one-eyed face, his craft arid deceit, his disposition to
solitude, and in having abjured vegetable food, it would perhaps have been
difficult to find a stronger resemblance to the monster Polypheme, than in the
owner of these caverns at the foot of the Schurfdeberg.
In the afternoon arrived some deputies from Roodezand, to welcome the
Commissary-general, and they accompanied us across the plain between the
mountains. This plain is morassy, and abounds with rushes and liliaceous
plants: it, is even so morassy as to be dangerous passing over in very wef*
weather. Here and there a little stream flows through it. We now ascended ¦
in about half an hour, the inner side ofthe Witsemberg, and the whole party
T

138 Travels in southern Africa.
agreed that a more striking view than was presented from its summit could
hardly be seen. There is here no level ground : the descent begins almost as
soon as the ascent is finished, and a valley is spread out three times as deep
below the summit as that on the other side, the little space that there is at the
top placing them both, as it were at the same moment, before the eyes of the
almost awe-stricken traveller. Forty rich farms lay spread before us as upon
a map, each with neat-looking houses, shaded by oaks, and surrounded by
green meadows and corn-fields. Smooth roads crossing each other in various
directions, going from one farm to another, seemed like a sort of net-work
thrown over the green carpet,while numbers of bluish streams that wound pret
tily from the sides of the valley, and met at last in the centre, formed there a
wide stream, which sought a Way out of this confined spot through a vast
chasm in the opposite row of hills. Over this row, which in the parts about
the chasm is lower than the place where we now were, we could see the well-
known hills that rise above Saldanha bay, and farther still, in the south-west,
Was to be discerned the Table Mountain, with its summit now lost in a white
cloud. Those who had friends on the shores of Table Bay could not help
greeting with delight, though at the distance of three days journey, the flat
eminence towering above the, place of their abode.
As the traveller begins to descend, he can scarcely contemplate without a
Sort of shuddering the danger which appears manifestly to be attached tO
the task he is undertaking; and he feels disposed to rail in secret at
the person who planned the road, that he could require of any one to descend
this steep wall, by so madly bold a path. Nothing is to be seen here of the
bottom of the hill. The road has to the eye, as it looks down, the appearance
of terminating, after a short descent, at the edge of a precipice; and when
arrived at this edge, it is not much less frightful to see a perpetual zigzag all
down the side of the steep descent; while at the same time it is curious to
observe how carefully the most convenient places for making the turns have
been selected. Farther down, the road comes to the edge of a wide-spread
chasm, along which it descends more rapidly, but more safely, to the bottom.
By the side of the road, in several places upon the declivity, little springs
trickle from the slate-stone, which, to travellers exposed as they are on this
almost perpendicular hill, in the midst of a burning sun, afford a most wel-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 130
come cordial. One half of the hill is well clothed with bushes: the naked
Stone changes gradually into fertile Soil, and there are even spoils that furnish
grass sufficient for cattle to feed on them. These reminded me strongly Ofthe
meadows upon the Swiss mountains.
Wearied with descending for an hour and a half, we arrived at last at
the first farm in the valley, directly at the foot of the mountain, where
we were received with the most friendly welcome by a large family
of worthy inhabitants, and all sorts of refreshments were immediately
set before us.
Twenty-five years before, there was no passage over this mountain, and the
only way of coming from the Cold Bokkeveld hither was by a wide circuit of
almost double the distance, through the Mostershoek, and by the bed of the
Breede-river. At that time a man of an enterprising spirit, Mr. Pienaar, the
father of the Field-cornet, formed the bold plan of constructing a road over
the Schurfdeberg and Witsernberg, and under the favour of the government,
happily accomplished it, so that now the passage of the Witsernberg, when
kept in good order, is preferred by all the neighbourhood to the road of the
Mostershoek. This Pienaar was a friend of Colonel Gordon's, and accom
panied him in all his travels.. He was a man whom no danger could deter from
any undertaking: the more arduous the task, the more was he determined upon
accomplishing it. To this undaunted courage he fell a sacrifice. As a band
of the slave-robbers once attacked his domains, he went out among them
alone and unarmed, in hopes by his presence, his remonstrances, and exhor
tations, to induce them to quit the course they were pursuing, and return to a
life of honest industry; but the men misapprehending his purpose, fell upon
him and murdered him.
Lieutenant Gilmer had occupied himself exceedingly in providing good
accommodations for the whole party at Roodezand, since it was resolved that
we should make some little stay there, partly to wait for intelligence from the
Cape Town respecting the political affairs of Europe, on which the determi
nation whether or not we should proceed on our journey principally depended ;
partly to put our whole equipage in good repair, in case we were to proceed.
The Commissary-general, with the ladies, were lodged in the house of the
clergyman, which was near the church, almost in the centre ofthe valley; the
T 2

140 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
rest were dispersed in the farms that lay nearest, none of which were
more than a little half hour distant. I myself, with my pupil, and my
friend Winters, took up my quarters at the house of a widow by name
Du Plessis, where I employed the time of our stay in putting in order
and packing my different collections, and sent them off to the care of
my friends at the Cape Town, to make room for the accommodation of new
treasures.

END OF PART THE FIRST.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

PART IL,

141

JOURNEY FROM ROODEZAND TO ZWELLENDAM, AND ALONG THE
SOUTHERN COAST TO ALGOA BAY.

CHAP. X.
Description ofthe Valley of Roodezand.— Character of its Inhabitants. — Prevailing
Bigotry.— The surrounding Country. — The Water-fall Mountain. — Mostershoek. —
Breede-river. — Goudinie.-^Hot Spring in, the Brand Valley. i
The highest part of the great chain of mountains, which runs from north to
south through the colony, is in latitude 32° 50' south: here is formed an
assemblage of heads or knobs, the most lofty of which is covered with snow
in Winter, and thence has the name of the Winterhoek (Winter point).
On the northern side of this mountain is the source of the Elephapts' -river :
towards the west its foot borders the district of the twenty-four rivers, and on
the east it is met by the mountains of the Cold Bokkeveld. To the south the
chain divides into two branches, one of which, turning to the south-east, ter
minates in the Witsernberg, Mostershoek, the Hex-river mountain, and at
length at the ridge which forms the boundary of Zwellendam. The other
branch runs directly south, and joining the chain which has its course frorri
east to west, spreads into the Franschehoek, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch, Hot-
tentotsholland, to the False-Cape, where it is lost in the sea.
In the circle formed by these two chains as they branch off, lies the valley
of Roodezand, formerly called Van-Wayeren's Land, though, at the first
planting of the colony, when it was the principal place in its northern parts,
and the seat of a Landdrost, it was distinguished as the Tulbagh. The breadth
of this valley is about a geographical mile; its' length, as far as the district of
Roodezand extends, is from two miles to three and a half. On three sides

U2 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
it is enclosed by high hills, but it is open to the south', and bounded by the
Breede-river and Goudinie. This circuit is inhabited by forty families, so
that each domain is small, but fertile in corn and fruit. The wheat here is
considered as the best in the whole colony, and is in great request at the
Cape Town. Very few cattle are kept, as there is a great want of pasture,
yet every one breeds as many as will furnish him with the oxen necessary for
his own use: he only keeps sheep sufficient for his household consumption.
The church was built in the year 1743: it is a very humble, simple edifice.
Service is performed there every Sunday: the congregation being collected
from many miles round: most people attend who are at the distance of no
more than half a day's journey on horseback. The inhabitants of the Rog-
geveldts, of the Bokkeveldts, and of the district of Hantam, may be consi
dered as parishioners here, since they bring their children to this church to be
baptized. They do not, however, make a point of coming for this purpose
immediately after the child's birth ; they wait till some opportunity presents
itself, perhaps till they take a journey to the Cape Town. Both Sundays
that we were here, there were as many as four and twenty children baptized?
a proof of the flourishing state of population in the colony. Marriages are
also solemnised here,* children are confirmed, and once in the year at least,
even the most distant ofthe colonists come to partake of the sacrament ofthe
Lord's Supper. How assiduous the African farmer is in praying and singing
in his own house shall be hereafter shewn.
Near the church is a row often or twelve small houses, inhabited -chiefly
by handicraft workers and little traders, who, from the neighbourhood being
so much more inhabited than many other parts, and from the road being
much more frequented, gain a very good livelihood. Every house has a little
garden, on the other side of the road, opposite hisdoor, and many of the inhabi
tants iiave a small quantity of land in the open field, from which they gather
their provision of bread-corn for their families. At the end of this row stands
the house of the clergyman, the neatest and best house in the valley.

* Formerly marriages could only be solemnised in the Cape Town, and for this purpose the
parties to be united were sometimes obliged to take a journey of more than a hundred miles.
The government has now altered this regulation, and marriages may be solemnised before the
landdrost of each district.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: 143
Before it is a court, enclosed with a palisade, and near it is the garden and the
corn-fields. The clergyman is by birth a German, and his name is Ballot.
He was educated at the German Universities, and afterwards went as Dutch
preacher to Malacca and Batavia, whence he came hither. His wife, a very
mild, amiable woman, is of one of the best families at the Cape Town : from
the kindness and hospitality of both these people their house is one of the
most agreeable at which a traveller can be entertained.
The inhabitants of Roodezand, owing to their frequent intercourse with the
Cape Town, have more of civilization than the distant colonists, are more
active and industrious, and more attentive to their own interests. There is
more taste about their houses, more luxury at their tables, the wives and
daughters are better clothed, and they make some pretensions, not wholly
without reason, to polish and education. Unfortunately, through the mis
taken zeal of a swarm of missionaries, who within a few years have established
themselves here, a degree of bigotry has been introduced, which has very
much changed the frankness of character and good- will towards each other,
which was once so prevalent here, and made them devotees and scandal
mongers. Music and dancing are entirely banished; and they can scarcely
forgive their regular clergyman, that he is more tolerant and would encou
rage cheerfulness among the young people. The youths do indeed still
occupy themselves with agriculture, hunting, and travelling, but the women
sit at home in pious inactivity ; or if they do move, it is with an affected
solemnity, stiffness, and starchedness of manner, that even the young
est seem as if they had taken their grandmothers as the model for their
air and carriage. Every lively feeling of youth is suppressed in prayers and
psalm-singing, and they often go to the arms of the husbands whom their
fathers have chosen for them with pale countenances and half-ruined
health. The first disposition to this vexatious bigotry, for so it is to a true chris
tian, was created by the predecessor of the present clergyman, an ignorant,
illiterate man, without any ofthe true dignity of the clerical character, who,
with a canting affected humility, preached the doctrine of every one devoting
himself entirely to the salvation of his own soul; a doctrine not only utterly
destructive of all social affection, but even of all attention to the necessary
occupations of life. Such a doctrine, the offspring of sloth and ignorance,

144 TRAYEbS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
could only find complete admission into the minds of silly, ignorant people :
but unfortunately it gained a partial admission with many, otherwise sensible
mten, while it was highly commended by the elderly women, and soon
became that in which the young women were to be educated. This influence
over the minds of the female part of his flock was employed by the pious
preacher for~ the base purpose of seducing a young woman, who soon, by
giving birth to a child, brought both him and herself to public shame. Not
withstanding this event,' there were but too many who still wanted their favou
rite to remain among them ; but he went, if I am not mistaken, with the
English to Ceylon. There are still, however, many persons who very much
lament the loss of him, and wish ardently for his return :Jn fact, the doctrine
he taught was a very convenient one; it was, that if a man is only with a true,
humble, broken, and contrite heart, convinced of his sinfulness, it is no matter
how great may have been the sins he has committed, he is certain of being
saved. Among the mountains that encompass the valley of Roodezand,* the Wit_
semberg and the Winterhoeksberg are particularly distinguished: the summit
of the former is two thousand nine hundred feet above the spot on which the
church stands, the latter, which is at the northern corner of the valley, is one
hundred and fifty feet higher. The mountains become lower as they advance
towards the west, till the Roodezandkloof, a long narrow pass leading to the
Cape Town, and continue decreasing to the Water-fall mountain, the last in
the chain towards the south. In one of the clefts of this mountain, a large
stream of water falls from a high rock above, which in winter, when swollen
by the rains, presents a glorious spectacle. We spent one ofthe days of our
stay at Roodezand in a visit to this spot. A ride of an hour and half brought
us to the foot of the hill, having in our way crossed the Little Berg-river.
Here we left our horses, and climbed to a considerable height over the steep
and broken rocks which form one side of the mountain, and when we arrived
at the top, we saw the fall on the other side. Its height may be between
eighty and ninety feet, its breadth between thirty and forty. The sublimity
of this scene was however lost to us, since there not having been any rain

* The valley has the name of Roodezand (Red-sand) from the colour given to the soil by the
particles of iron with which it is every where impregnated.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 145
for a long time, a very scanty portion of Water trickled down the deepest part
of the chasm. It was in a very different state when I saw it a year and a
half after, in the winter of 1805 ; there had been abundant rains, and it was
in full beauty.
I cannot omit recommending this water-fall to travellers as one of the
objects which they will find the most worthy their attention of any in the
country. To a painter it would afford excellent matter for a picture, the
principal object of which, with the surrounding ones, would give a very good
idea of the scenery of Southern Africa. It is not often that really picturesque
views are to be found here. The country makes a strong impression upon
the mind from the extensive horizons which it so often presents, and from the
vastness of the objects comprehended within the space over which the eye
is wandering ; but it is seldom that near objects, that single points are interest
ing when separated from the grand whole of which they form a part. African
landscapes therefore fail entirely of the suavity, the mildness, the animation
which are to be found in so many spots under the European heavens : they
may be given as descriptions by which the nature ofthe country will be more
clearly understood, but they will scarcely be studied for their innate and
abstract beauty.
In the valley beneath, the water is collected in a vast bason excavated in
the stone, granite if Iam not mistaken, the bottom of which I could not
reach with a pole ten feet long: by the side of the stream is a grotto, which
runs within the rock to the depth of between thirty and forty feet : the arched
entrance to this grotto is close to the falling water when the stream is full.
The rocks round about are thickly grown over with shrubs, which are then
sprinkled by the spray. As often as I visited Roodezand in my subsequent
traVels, I never omitted a pilgrimage to this enchanting spot.
Our excellent and respected chief was confined almost entirely to the house
during the whole of our stay here, by the variety of business which claimed
his attention. Dispatches from Europe and India occupied him not less than
the affairs of the Cape Town, or the many regulations he made for improving
the situation of the countries through which we had travelled, and of the
place we now inhabited. Happily nothing had occurred to interrupt the
prosecution of our journey, or to render the Commissary-general's presence
in the Cape Town necessary. The damages, therefore, which our waggons
u

146 TRAVELS IN: SOUTHERN AFRICA,
had at various: times received, being now very completely- repaired
we ourselves and our whole suite being: thoroughly recruited* and' a new
supply having been laid; in, partly by purchase^ and: partly through the
kindness of the inhabitants, we quitted Roodezand on Thursday, the first of r
December* after a stay of eleven days.
We had experienced:very considerable heatssduring our stay Here; and : at'
three different times the thermometer; had risen above the heat' of blood. We
did not set out therefore till the afternoon, when commonly a cool ^breeze rises*
from the south-east; sometimes indeed- it brings a- storm with it* but never
attains the degree of . heat here that it idoes- at- the Gape. Some of the most
considerable people of the place accompanied ; us a part of the way as 'an escort'
of honour, and at-every farm we passed: we received the customary salutes ef
honour from the old German muskets. We orossed several arms'Of the Little
Berg-river, and went up and down several pretty little hills*- from the tops <of
which we had interesting views of the richly cultivated country- around: To1
the right we had. the Water-fall; mountain, to the left Mostertshoek,*' which'
pjojecting some way. into the plain, contracts the breadth of the vailey half
a geographical mile. Wecrossed the Breede-river several times-: this stream'
issues from the steep ravine that leads from the Warm BokkevehiL; and;
spreads into many branches; which wind about the valleyyand form a number
of pretty little islands.
About sun-set we reached the house of the: Field^eornet' Hugo; wbich'has*
the name of '• Liebe (Love). In this house we found every appearance of the'
owners being jn affluence;. The farms hereabouts are altogether as-fertile as"
those in Roodezand,' and have the advantage of a more extensive circulation
for their commodities. The wine is. much better; the Cape Madeira in parti
cular which grows here, is very much like that in the- district' of the Four and'
Twenty.Riversi But in this place also we found a great degree- of bigotry, the
offspring of a. swarm of idle missionaries, who find it more agreeable to be fed'
by the devout colonists* than to pursue- the proper object for which they were-
sent out — the endeavouring to instruct and civilize the neighbouring-savages.
When we. were seated at table, six- children -of the Field-cornet placed them-
* Mostert was the name of the man* long since dead, who first inhabited this place : thence the '
name of Mostertshock, (Moster's Point.)

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 147
selves in arow, according. to their ages, behind-the seats of their parents, and
there gabbled over a long grace, all from the eldest to the youngest speaking-
together. It was not, however, one learned from the prayer-book, which they
mighthave understood, but it was composed of a parcel of high-sounding
words devoid- of meaning, to which it was plain neither they or their teachers
could annex any distinct ideas ; and from the tone in which it was spoken, and
the jangle of so many discordant voices speaking together, one might have
thought oneself in iBedlam.
On thefollowing day we arrived in the district of Goudinie, having passed
in our .way« pretty-deep ford ofthe Breede-river. Our nearest road to Zwel
lendam would have been by following the left bank of the river directly out
ofthe valley: we should then have reached it in four or five days. But the
dulness and uniformity of the country, and the want of places where we could
stop to rest, ^besides the wish to visit many interesting objects Which 'lay out
of this course, determined the Commissary-general upon taking a more circuit
ous route.
Goudinie is a low flat district, in a recess formed by the western chain of
-mountains, where it runs ^parallel with the mountains" of the Hex-river, and
encloses the valley of the Breede-River. A number of little streams flow from
the clefts of the mountains through this plain into the latter river, by which
the district is not utffrequently overflowed in winter. From this low situation
grass is produced in profusion, and oxen and horses may soon become fat here,
but there is no place in which they are more liable to the murrain. Little
com is grown, and that of a very moderate quality; but the fruits are fine,
:sirave aH, the grapes : the raisins of this district are considered as the finest
.•flavoured in the whole colony.
We tested for the night at the house of a certain Daniel du Toit, whose
family was of French origin: they are now spread so numerously over the
icountry, that there is scarcely a family in the neighbourhood who is not
•related in some degree to the Du Toits. In our journey to day we had passed
several houses inhabited by persons of this name. Our host was seventy-one
"yeans of age, but still healthy and active. He was married for the third time
to a woman not now more than thirty, who had borne him several chil
dren, the youDgest being only three years old. His eldest son was already a
•grand-father, and the whole number of his descendants, children, grand-
u 2

148 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
children, and great-grand-children included, amounted to eighty-three. The
house was neat; the family were kind arrd hospitable, having the appearance
of being in very comfortable circumstances, and they seemed anxious to make
every thing agreeable to us. Some tall oaks shaded the house, and the
meadows around with cattle feeding in them brought strongly to my imagina
tion the idea ofthe Netherlands.
This place was formerly called the island, from being surrounded by several
little mountain streams : these are sometimes so swollen in winter that there
is no stirring out. We here, for the first time, saw a cow afflicted with the
lamziekte. She had for a whole month lain entirely on the ground, excepting
when sometimes by the assistance of the men she was raised up for a short
time, but she could neither rise or stand without assistance. It appears to
be a disease of the nerves, particularly of those of the buttocks and hinder
legs ; but neither the cause of, or remedies for it, are yet well understood.
When, as in the present case, the disease continues a long time, and the
animal is always able to eat, great hopes may be entertained of an entire
recovery. The next day we proceeded to the hot-spring in the Brand-valley, travel
ling for two hours through a low, flat,' morassy country, intersected with
many little streams. This spring has been hitherto little visited by travellers,
yet it is an object well worthy their curiosity. It rises at the foot of a high
hill, from a bason which contains forty square feet. The bubbing up of
the water, the vapour rising from it, and the spray blown about with any
considerable breeze, gives this bason a strong resemblance to an immense
boiling kettle. By the side it flows into a canal, which it furnishes with
more than four hogsheads of water in a minute : the supply of water, even at
the very source, is sufficient to turn a mill: the heat is 180° by Fahrenheit.
The water is clear, tasteless, and has no colour : it flows in an equal quantity
the whole year. The bottom of the bason is covered with sand : it is enclosed
round with granite-stone, and directly above the water, begins a strong layer
of argile. The vegetation is here particularly luxuriant: the margin of the
bason is fringed round with thick bushes of the freshest green, and but a few
paces from it, some poplars that were planted became in a very short time
large trees. Faded plants and leaves, held in the water for a few moments
are perfectly revived: eggs will not harden in it, though from the degree of

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 149
heat in the water this might be expected. None of the mineral acids that I
had with me occasioned the least trouble or fermentation in it, and the vapour
that rose from the bason seemed like the gas of pure coal. _A flask of the
water well closed up, which I carried away with me for farther examination,
had purified itself entirely in four days.
This bath is said to be extremely salutary in cutaneous diseases, or for
healing long-standing sores. It is not, however, of equal efficacy with the
warm springs at the Elephants'-river, and at the Zwarteberg, and is of no use
in arthritic complaints. It is sometimes imprudently used for hysterical affec
tions, but from its great degree of heat, it has generally proved pernicious in
these cases. Little provision is made for the accommodation of guests who come
to bathe. A small house, about four hundred paces from the spring, contains
six very small and poor apartments; four of these were now inhabited, but
none of the patients could boast of much amendment. The first necessaries
of life are scarcely to be procured from the inhabitants of the adjacent farm at
the foot ofthe mountain, notwithstanding that the owners of it draw a revenue
from the bath, and are paid for the hire of the rooms. The invalids must bring
every thing with them, or have things brought to them, for the little that they
can get in "the neighbourhood is Charged immoderately dear. Opposite the
house, on the other side of the canal, is the bath-house, a wretched little
building, with two of the walls tumbling down. Notwithstanding the distance
mentioned above of the bath from the spring, four hundred paces, the water
when it arrives there is as hot as at the spring, and must remain some time
to cool, before it be possible to bathe in it. Near the principal spring are
several smaller ones, one of which is perfectly cold. At an hour's distance the
stream from this spring joins the Breede-river.

150 TRAVELS IN. SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XI.
Bosjesveld.— The River Zonder-end.—B-avianskloof. — Description of the ^Society of
•tUnitedBrethrenthere. — Zoetemelks-valley.*r-Essaquaskloof*—iBveede*river. — Arrival
in Zwellendam.
We now quitted the valley of the, Breede-river, taking a southerly direc
tion. The country through .which we travelled is a: part of the. district called
ithe Bosjesveld, extending to the right bank of the Breede-river. .Our toad
lay through a broad ravine of easy ascent, inclosed between two rows of hills
running almost parallel ; here are several very pretty. looking places. After
^having passed a considerable-eminence, from which we could see to a great
distance southwards, we arrived at our quarters for thenight.
Here we were received by a venerable aged couple with four unmarried
daughters ; none of the latter were now young, and both parents, and children
were of almost, colossal size and stature. The name of this veteran was Van
der Merwe: he had twelve children now living, all ofthe same gigantic
^figure as the four young ladies whom we first saw. Indeed, as far /as rl could
learn, the whole family of the Van der Merwes, in all its branches, are
equally colossal. The good man prides himself .not a little uponhis family
being one of the -oldest in the colony. Schalk Willem Van der Mer.we, thp
founder of it, was sent hither from Holland .soon after the establishment -pf
the colony as an able agriculturist, and in 1675 married Anne Prevot, one
of a number of orphan girls also sent by the then government to promote the
population of the colony. They had ten sons and six daughters, who were
all married, and all had large families. Our host was grandson to Schalk.
The father of our host, one of Schalk's ten sons, had been dead only twelve
years ; he died at the Cape Town, being then a hundred and eight years old.
Not very long before we were here, one of the Van der Merwe family, had
celebrated his golden wedding-day (the fiftieth), to which the nearest of kin,
with their children and grand-children, were invited, and the number of guests
amounted to a hundred and seventy. ,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 151
. Af noon on the following day we reached theend of tbeValley, arid'stopped
till the- heat was over at' the house of oue of the Du Toit family, where we
were very kindly received; We did' not find the houses here either so good
or so well furnished as those at Roodezand; the lands arte' less fertile, and
could not be made much more profitable, even if th'e difficulty of transport
offered no impediment to the industry of the inhabitants: A person on
Horseback can go in two days from hence to the Cape Town, passing through
Hottentots-holland, bur with a loaded waggon the road by Roodezand is
preferred; as being much better, though more circuitous. Du Toit gave us*
an excellent sort of wine, called here Pontac, a sweet deep-red wine, which
is sold at the Cape at thirty dollars- the hogshead.
The road from hence to Bavianskioof runs along the declivity of a hill, and
is- not passable for loaded waggons. Ours' were therefore sent round by
another road through theZoetemelks-vaHey, while Du Toit put his horses'
to a small waggon of hisoww, in-whicfa he himself drove our ladies the hilly
road. From the heights we saw the stream which goes~by the name of- the
River-Zbnder-iend (the River without end) ; a name given by the- persons
who first discovered it, because they found it a very great labour to traceit
to its source: We likewise saw to the south the country through which 'lies
the most : frequented road from the Cape Town to Zwellendam. Towards
evening' we descended ¦ the- hill, and coasted for some way thefoarrk of the
River-Zonderiend.' Here we met two cf the respectable members of' the
Society of United-Brethren at Bavianskioof, dressed according to the custom
of the " place in short Jackets. Having heard of the Commissary-general's
arrival ia the country, they- had-come hither- to receive-aad welcome him;
Those who have read Mr. Barrow's Travels know already something of the
institution formed in this district by the Herrenhuters, or Society of United-
Brethren :* it has now been established for a considerable number of years,
and deserves every thing that can be said in its commendation. Spann an n
mentions a pious German of the name of George Schmidt, as the first of the

* The Herrenhoters, or United Brethren, better known in this country bj the appellation
of MoraTtam, are a religions society, who; e principles approach nearly to those of the Quakers.
The sect -was founded early ia the eighteenth century by a Count Zinzendorf, of Herrenhut, or
Herrahur. a town in Upper Lusatia, whence they had the name of Herrenhuters. — Translatob.

152 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Society who undertook to come out in quality of missionary to Southern
Africa. He settled there about the year 1737, and soon collected some
Hottentots together for the purpose pf converting sthem to Christianity.
After his departure* a small number of his disciples remained together in a
society, and the. reports concerning them, which reached Europe, induced
three of the United Brethren in Holland and Germany, ofthe names of
Marsveld, Kuhnel, and Schwin, to remove hither in the year 1791 ; the
first was from Zeist, in the province of Utrecht, the other two were Germans.
By order of the East-India Company in Holland this spot was granted them
for the establishment of a little colony, and the boundaries between the lands
awarded to them, and those of the neighbouring colonists, were accurately
defined. In a short time they collected together a tolerable number of
Bastards and Hottentots, whom they instructed in their religion, at the same
time endeavouring to inspire them with habits of industry.
In the mean time, that is in the year 1794, those unfortunate dissentions
broke out among the colonists, the destructive consequences of which were
fortunately superseded by the English invasion ; but the sad effects of their
discords spread even to this peaceful vale. The whole institution was a
subject of offence to the surrounding colonists, partly because they did not
see their own strong calvinistie doctrines taught in it, but still more, because
they found themselves restrained in extending their lands, arid were in some
measure deprived of the services of the Hottentots, for the latter preferred
leading a quiet life among the Herrenhuters, to attending the sheep and
oxen of the farmers. It was to these causes that the enmity of the colonists

* It does not appear how long this missionary remained among the Hottentots; Sparmann
says he was informed " that he was banished the country for having illegally made himself a
chief among the Hottentots, that he might enrich himself by their labour, and the presents of
cattle which they made him; and the acquisition, by any means, of the cattle belonging to the
Hottentots was strictly prohibited." It is to be supposed that this prohibition, as well as the
banishment of the missionary, were acts of the Dutch government, though this is not particu
larly specified : he certainly remained five years in the country, but whether only that time it
not clear. In the original of the present work, Schmidt is stated to have settled in Africa in
1750; but on referring to Sparrman a mistake seems to have been made in this date, since a
letter of Schmidt's, cited by Sparmann, wherein he mentions having been there five years, is dated
in 1742. — Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHHtX AFRICA. 1&3
towards the Brethren mentioned by Mr. Barrow is to be ascribed ; but this
gendeman suffers his zeal against the colonists to get too great an ascendancy
over him, when he represents their enmity as having been earned to su :h
lengths that a conspiracy was formed among them to murder the missionaries.
I have myself been assured by the missionaries themselves that they never heard
of such a thing ; they only, by way of precaution, petitioned Sir James Craig, in
the year 1796, to grant them a confirmation of their rights, and security against
the encroachments with which they were menaced. Since that time, exceptis 2
some biding disputes about the boundaries of their lands, they have lived
upon very good terms with the colonists. They are universally esteemed,
and I have myself more than once seen a considerable number of colonists
attending at the rehgious assemblies ofthe Brethren.
In the year 1799- at the request of the three original missionaries, two
others, of the names of Rose and Korhammer. were sent from Germany to
join them : the former has now in MarsvekTs place the direction of the whole
institution. Both brought their wives with them, and brought over also
wives for the Brethren already established, women of their own persuasion,
who made no hesitation in crossing the seas to unite themselves in wedlock
with persons wholly unknown to them. Since that time, the society
has increased exceedingly both in numbers and importance. The same
rear the Brethren built a very neat church, from remittances sent them
by the society in Europe, and the number of their disciples now amounts to
nearly eleven hundred/ Two hundred houses and huts, with gardens annexed
to diem, and bndt in regular rows, give this place the appearance of an
European village; a sight which surprised me exceedingly, and for the first
time brought in a lively manner to my mind the idea of my native country.
Excepting this place, I never saw any thing in the whole colony beariaj the
least resemblance to a German village.
The five Brethren, with their wi-res. received us at rhe door of a house
where they hve all together. One of them made a short speech to welcome
us, after which, a chorus of perhaps a hundred Hottentots, men aad women,
ranged in two rows before the door, the v, omen on the right hand, the men
00 the left, sung a hymn, which was truly affeciii-c and elevating to the
heart. At first the whole number of voices sang the simple xneiody in slow
time, then the verses were sung three voices together, by the men and the
x

154 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Women alternately, and the melody was sung by, two voices only till the last
verse, when again they all joined in chorus. I could not help remarking,
that among all the mens' voices there was not a counter-bass, much less a
bass. The natural tone of voice of the Hottentots has a roughness, which
makes it little adapted to singing, yet it was by the low tones of their not
overstrained tenor, that the principal effect of the chorus was produced. In
the full chorus the voices ofthe women were not to be. distinguished above
those of the men so much by their fullness as by their clearness and
shrillness, but the strongest effect was produced when the mens' voices
predominated. The Hottentots have a strong feeling of music, and are soon impressed
with the harmony of our Intervals'; * yet hitherto I had never supposed that
with these thin, and often sharp female voices, and these hoarse mens' voices,
so much effect could be produced.
After we had rested a short time in the house, we were carried to a table
extremely well set out, and all prepared by the good wives themselves, every
one in her different department. Instead of a prayer before the meal, the five
couple sang a verse of a hymn, and then with the utmost cheerfulness,
and in a style equally removed from studied seriousness and from frivolity,
entered into conversation with us. This was carried on in a manner which
shewed so much correctness of thinking, and soundness of understanding,
that our good opinion of them was increased at every moment: we were so
well entertained that we did not break up the party till near midnight.
The next morning every different part ofthe institution was shewn to us;
the church in the-first place. It is a simple, neat quadrangular edifice, but
the roof is too steep, and carried up to too sharp a ridge : this was done to
give height to the building, and render it more conspicuous. Within are two
rows of benches, and a simple pulpit; the utmost simplicity is,1 indeed,
observable in every part of the building, but at the same time the due pro
portions are exceedingly well observed, and the workmanship is extremely
neat. The timbers are all of sumach wood, the yellow tint and polish of
which gives a sort of simple elegance to the appearance of the whole.
* I« what respects the Intervals proper to the Hottentots differ from our's will be shown in
another place.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 159
The English government gave the Brethren permission to cut down as
much timber as they wanted from the woods belonging to the company, free
of expense.
By the side of the church is the garden of the pastors, in the midst of
which stands the large old pear-tree, planted by Schmidt himself, the original
founder of the institution: benches are standing under its shade, and this
is a favourite place of resort among the Brethren. The garden is two hundred
paces long, and about a hundred and fifty broad ; it is well stored with all
kinds of kitchen vegetables and pulse, and intersected all over with little
channels, by which it is constantly well watered. Brother Schwin, who is an
excellent gardener, has the management of it. The church-yard is directly
behind it, and is laid out exactly in the manner of the Herrenhuters in
Germany : a walk divides it in two, on the right hand of which lie the men,
on the left the women. The graves follow each other in regular rows, and
the utmost Care is taken of them : each has over it a little wooden cross, on
which is inscribed the name of the deceased, his age, and the day of his
death. The graves of two children of the Brethren have tomb-stones, and
those of the Hottentots that had been baptized are distinguished from the
rest. The house inhabited by the Brethren has, besides the hall in which they
assemble, and where they take their meals, two chambers for two ofthe
couples, and various household conveniences ; the other three" couple lodge
in small houses close by. Another house is appropriated to the manufacture
of knives, of which Kuhnel is the director, and which begins already to be
very profitable. Four Hottentots were employed in it, who, when first they
began learning had no pay; they are now paid wages by the day, and when
they are perfect in their work are to be paid by the piece. The knives are
strong and well made, and are much sought after at the Cape Town though
they are dear : pocket knives sell from a dollar to a dollar and a half. Kuhnel
complained much of the want of tools, and the difficulty of getting them
from Europe, so that he is obliged to make them almost all himself. Mars-
veld is the miller, and has built a water-mill after the European manner, in
which he grinds not only all the corn for the household and the Hottentots,
But a great deal for the neighbouring colonists. x2

156 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The church, with the nearest houses, lie in the deepest recess of the
valley, at the foot of the Bavianskioof, from which, in winter, the water
sometimes rushes with great force, so that it has more than once overflowed
the whole valley. The channel has, therefore, been lately enclosed between
two strong walls, and several bridges have been made over it ; a work of no
small labour, and affording an additional proof of the industry and activity
of these people. The Brethren proposed carrying this canal on as a benefit
to the lands lying without the valley, and when two years after I visited
this spot, for the last time, it was already extended six hundred paces
farther. But in order to form a just estimate of the worth of these excellent men,
their manner of conducting themselves towards the Hottentots must be seen;
the mildness, yet dignity with which they instruct them, and the effect
Which bas already been produced in improving the condition of their unci
vilized brethren is truly admirable. It is the more astonishing, since all has,
been accomplished by persuasion and exhortation, no violence, or even
harshness, has ever been employed. No other punishment is known but
being prohibited from attending divine service, or being banished the society ;
but it is very rarely that they are obliged to have recourse to these things,
only when repeated exhortations and remonstrances have failed, and a
determined perverseness of disposition appears, which cannot otherwise be
subdued. The highest reward of industry, and good behaviour, is to be
baptised and received into the society. Of this, however, they are so sparing,
that the whole number of the baptised scarcely yet amounts to fifty. To the
most distinguished among these, the still higher honours are granted of being
appointed to little offices in the church, such as elders and deacons. The
latter are also, very naturally, from their diligence and industry, in the best
circumstances of any of the community, and have houses built by them
selves, not at all inferior to those of the colonists on the borders. The
men are clothed like the peasants, in linen jackets, and leather small
clothes, and wear hats ; the women have woollen petticoats, cotton jackets,
with long sleeves, and caps : the lower class are still clothed in skins, but
they are made to keep themselves and their clothing clean, and no nakedness
is permitted.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

15?

Every family of Hottentots has a garden behind the house, planted with
vegetables, pulse, and fruit-trees, with a portion of land, according to the
number of persons to be fed from it; this they cultivate themselves, under
the direction of the father, as he is called, and they have the implements of
agriculture and -the seed-corn given them. Industry is rewarded by an occa
sional addition to the portion of land, negligence by being deprived of a
part: but the Brethren still find a disposition to indolence, the greatest sub
ject of complaint they have against their disciples : many of them will only
gain their slender sustenance by the same occasional labours to which they
have been accustomed in the service of the colonists, by assisting in the har
vest for example, by attending upon their cattle, or by working at their
buildings. The women and children are left behind when they go out to
work in this way, a burden upon the community, and are not without diffi
culty incited to gain a trifle, by working in the gardens of the Brethren, or of
their more substantial fellow-countrymen. Those who are baptised are all
Bastards, since among the pure Hottentots exhortation alone cannot produce
a sufficient effect to induce them to throw aside their careless and indolent
ways. How much superior is such anunstitution to those that have been esta-?
blished in other parts of Southern Africa, by English and Dutch missionaries.
While the Herrenhuters, wherever they have gone, have excited universal
respect, and have endeavoured to inspire a spirit of industry, with a sense of
true religion, while they have sought to make the savages men before they
thought of making them christians, the missionaries above-mentioned, with
few exceptions, have shewn themselves idle vagabonds, or senseless fanatics,
beginning their task of conversion by teaching the doctrine of the
Trinity, and baptising their disciples, and have concerned themselves little
with seeking to give them habits of industry, to inspire them with the feel
ings of men : they have commenced with the superstructure, without think
ing of laying the proper foundation by which it was to be supported. As
all the communities of Brethren over the whole earth, at the same hour,
morning and evening, are united in singing the hymn appointed for that day,
so are they all inspired with an equal ardour in seeking to arrive at the same
goal, it is not among them single men that labour; it isjthe united strength

158 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Of many thousands working together, and the fruits of their diligence and
savings goes all into the common stock ; the remotest branch -is supported
and nourished from the trunk. According to the testimony ofthe Brethren
here, the little branch of which they have the care, notwithstanding the
favours shewn it on the -part of the government, has received in the eleven
years that have elapsed since its establishment no less than twenty-five
thousand dollars from Europe, and the yearly expences seem rather to increase
than diminish.
Assurances of countenance and support on the part of the government
were -reiterated by the Commissary-general; he gave them besides much
friendly advice, and presented the establishment with a handsome sum of
money from the government treasury. We stayed to take our dinner here,
and then' departed amid the blessings of these worthy people, and their
prayers for our happiness : two of the Brethren even accompanied- us a part
of the way. ^
Our road now lay through the wide-spread valley of the River-Zonder-end ;
to the left was the high hill which stretches from henpe in an easterly direc
tion, to the bay of the Kromme-river. The country is fertile and pleasant:
there were many neat farms, and the lands were well cultivated. In the
evening we reached the Government-post in the valley of Zoetemelk (S,weet4
milk), where we reeognised the grand style of buildings erected here at the
cost of the company, during the time when they could boast a full purse.
The postholder was not at home, but we were politely received by his wife,
and learnt from her that several couriers had- passed not far from the place,
charged with dispatches from the Cape Town to the Commissary-general.
As these lettersmight render his return to the Cape necessary, it was resolved
not to proceed any farther, but to wait here the arrival of the messengers.
The dispatches arrived the next morning, but it appeared that they were not
of very great importance, and the preparations for a hasty return, which had
already been in some sort begun, were laid aside. The necessary answers tp
these papers, however, detained the Commissary-general a day and a half.
The valley of Zoetemelk is a place, which in the earliest times, on accounj
of its excellent grass, had been used by the government for resting and recruit
ing the cattle bought of the distant Hottentot tribes, and destined for slaughT

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 159
ter at the town.* As the colony was at first very scantily peopled, it could
not furnish a sufficient supply of provisions for the ships and the garrison, so
that from the year 1658, a commission was sent annually to the Essaquas and
Outeniquas to purchase oxen from them. These travellers, whose station is
distinctly pointed out by Ten-Rhyne,f passed through this place, the vaUey
being then called Ragensboom, and one of the farms, which has a small
grotto in a rock close by it, to this day retains the name of the Ziekenhuis
(the Infirmary), because the travellers used to leave their sick in the grotto to
be nursed there till their return. Asthe population of the country in a course of
years increased very much, the company took the Zoetemelk's valley into their
own hands, built several handsome houses, and kept there a quantity of cattle
for the supply of the public wants, particularly for the garrison and ships'
stores. While the English were in possession of the settlement, a detach
ment of dragoons was cantoned in this valley, on account of the excellent
grass it furnished for the horses.
The spot is plentifully watered by a number of rivulets that flow from
the gulleys in the rocks, nor is there any reason ever to apprehend the
failure of this supply, since large trees which strike deep roots grow in these
gulleys; a plain proof that the moisture cannot have failed for a long course of
years. Some miles farther towards the east, the gulleys are much larger, and
grown Up with woods, which have furnished, and may furnish again, very
good timber for building: at present all the best trees have been cut down, a
few excepted, which grow in situations where it is not easy to get at them;
but African trees grow so slowly, that it must be some time before timber
can be cut down here again. The postholder at Zoetemelk's-valley is also
overseer of these woods, and without express permission of the government,
no more can in future be cut down. Among the many healthy and aromatic
plants which renders this place so excellent for feeding cattle, I found the
Euphorbia genistoides in great abundance.
The nearest heights were ornamented with a variety of beautiful heath-

* Since it appears here that cattle were purchased of the Hottentots by the Dutch government
the prohibition alluded to by Sparmann, see note to page 152, it is to be presumed extended only
to the" purchase of them by individuals. Translator.
+ Wilhelm Ten.Rhyne's Sehediasma de Promontorio BonK-spei. Scafusii 168&. C«ip. xyuA.

160 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
plants, but most of them were already out of bloom. This circumstance, as
well as the rich vegetation of the spot, induced me to wish very much for an
opportunity of visiting it again at a more propitious season, and in the fol
lowing year, such an opportunity was afforded me. One of our people, in a
visit to a farm-house, killed a serpent, which he brought to me. It had, in
their sight, climbed up the wall of the house, to take the swallows that had
their nests under the roof, and it was in this enterprise that they killed it.
The colonists called it the tree-snake (Boa canina), a species which is very
adroit at climbing, and is therefore a terrible enemy to small birds. It was
six feet long, with a black back, and greyish belly ; the bite is extremely
venomous, and is considered as mortal. We found in the belly six half-
digested young swallows.
On the seventh of December, in the afternoon, we quitted Zoetemelk's-
valley, and crossing the River-Zonder-end about half an hour after, continued
our course along its right bank. We were now in the great cattle road from
Zwellendam, which, notwithstanding its being exceedingly frequented,
was so smooth and even, that it might be compared with the finest chaussee;
and yet we were assured, that no pains were ever taken to keep it in order.
But from the drought that prevails here, and from the natural hardness and
evenness of the soil, the roads are not easily injured. We stopped at the
house of a Mr. Holzhausen, a man of good address, and pleasing manners ;
he was by birth of Lower Saxony. The house was very neatly built, but
lay, as most of those which we passed this afternoon, too open and exposed,
upon the high bank of the river, so that one was even in a perspiration with
only thinking ofthe hot sun glaring upon it. Such is the dryness of the soil
on this side ofthe river, that there are no trees, but on the other, where the
ground is watered by a number of little streams, they grow extremely well.
It will, therefore, be perhaps thought strange, that the good people of the
district have not rather placed their houses on the other side of the river, but
the truth is, that the neighbourhood of the great cattle road is of so much
advantage to them, notwithstanding guests being entertained in this country
free of cost, that it supersedes the lesser consideration with regard to coolness
and shade.
Besides, from the overflowing of the river, the inhabitants of the other side
are frequently cut off from all intercourse with Zwellendam and the country

"TRAVELS IN SOUf HERN AFRICA. 161
on this. side ; nay", from the number of little mountain streams by which it'
is intersected, they are sometimes unable to get even to their nearest neigh
bours. Another forcible reason for having placed'* their houses in such a
situation is, that corn grows best on this side pf the river ; and on that account
the buildings for their stores must be here. There are no springs: all the
Water used is from the river, but the district is not liable to the sarrie
droughts in summer as some of the more northern ones, or even as the
Cape. Fertilising rains seldom fail of falling here at intervals. ^ The' country
may, perhaps* be in some measure indebted for this to the high ' hills' which
border it to the north, as by the prevailing south winds the clouds are
blown this way, and break over the mountains. The country from hence
southwards, towards Cape Agulhas, is^ again very deficient in water, and
scantily inhabited, but affords at the moist times of the year the means of
feeding a few cattle. This is called a plain, because there are no high hills,
but there are perpetual risings and unevenness of ground.
On the following day we suffered much from heat and thirst. In the early
part of it we came to a farm where the people were busied in the corn
harvest, but from thence the country became gradually more and more
parched and solitary. The River-Zonder-end turns here somewhat in a
northerly direction, and winds round the foot of a pretty high hill, over
which, from the earliest times of the colony, there has been a passage much
frequented in carrying on the trade for cattle with the Hottentot tribes : it
has the name of Essaquaskloof, from the tribe which then inhabited the
neighbourhood. These were the first heights on which we found the aloe
perfoliata : the tall upright stems of these plants, growing to the height of a
man, gave them when seen in the distance the appearance of men. We
perceived, as we proceeded, very striking proofs of the dry season being
already considerably advanced ; vegetation seemed every where entirely at a
stand, and large spaces were wholly covered with natron. Some little
puddles of water which we passed were become so perfectly salt, that our
horses, thirsty as they were, would not drink of them.
After a fatiguing ride of five hours we came to the Breede-river, which
here first begins to deserve its name ; the water was, however, so low, that
we forded it without the least difficulty. In winter it is very deep, and

162 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the current is so strong that it is impassable. A good hour's distance below,
where the river has less fall, and the current is consequently less rapid, a
ford has been made, by which the whole intercourse between the Cape Town
and the eastern districts of the colony is carried on. An hour above where
we crossed, the RiverrZonder-end unites its waters with this river. After
travelling another hour, over a somewhat better country, we reached a farm
where we dined, and rested some hours. In the afternoon we again set
forwards, and in the evening arrived at Zwellendam, where we were
received by the inhabitants with the usual salutes of honour, and with the
flags of the place displayed.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 163

CHAP. XII.

Description of Zwellendam, — The Devil's-bush. — The Klip-river. — Rotterdam. —
Buffeljagd-river. — Dupr6's Farm. — The Krombek-river.— Preparation ofthe Aloe-
gum. — False-river. — Extraordinary appearance in the air, like the distant sea. —
The Gaurits-river-—The party again lose their way in the night.— Arrival at
Mosselbay.
.Zwellendam is the principal place of the district which bears the same
name, and the seat of a landdrost. The first establishment here was com
menced in the year 1740, and five years after, the then governor of the
colony, Swellengrebel, raised it to its present distinction, calling it at the
same time from his own name, and that of his wife, who was of the family
of Damme, Swellendam; for so it ought to be written, though it has long
been called, and spelt, Zwellendam. The little church built at that time
fell down towards thp end of the last century, and in its place a larger and
handsomer was erected in the years eighteen hundred and eighteen hundred
and one, at the expense of the congregation, the government making them
a present ofthe timber. It stands at the end of the street, almost opposite
the bridge, and in its form resembles the reformed churches at the Cape
Town, which are built in a regular cross. The expense of the building
having very much exceeded the previous estimate, a considerable debt
remained upon it, for the discharge "of which the Commissary-general now
made a particular provision.
The landdrost, -by name Faure, a most worthy and respectable man, has a
very pretty house, with a good" garden annexed to it, and excellent outbuild
ings. The houses which belong to this place lie in part like those at
Roodezand, scattered over an extensive circuit of some hours ; the rest are
in a row at one end of the valley, at measured distances from each other.
The inhabitants of the distant parts are farmers, gaining their livelihood by
growing corn, and feeding cattle; those of the row of houses may be called
citizens, being handicraft-workers, and traders. The street runs between
y 9

164 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
two tolerably high ridges, that project from the mountains into the valley,
and is enclosed by them as if between walls. A stream which flows from
the mountain runs down the length of this street, separating it from the
Drosty on the opposite side. A wooden foot-bridge crosses the stream,
forming a means of communication between the inhabitants of the two banks,
but waggons and horses must ford the stream; and it is sometimes so swollen
that they are obliged to wait a whole day before they can cross it. From the
bridge there is a very pretty avenue of oaks, three hundred paces long, to the
Drosty. As the only cattle road from the Cape Town to the eastern parts of the
colony lies through Zwellendam, and the colonists in their journeys generally
stop and rest here for a day, a sort of opulence reigns in the place. The
waggon -wrights and smiths in particular, get an exceedingly good livelihood.
We were very politely and handsomely received by the landdrost and his
family : they all took particular pains 40 make our five days stay with them
as agreeable as possible.
I availed myself of this long residence to explore the neighbouring moun
tains very diligently, my researches being particularly directed to a woody
ravine, called the Duivelsbosch (Devil's-bush). But, alas I I found few
plants in flower : the favourable time of year for collecting them was past. - I
was therefore the more assiduous in collecting seeds for the benefit of the
government botanical-garden at the Cape Town, and of my friends in Europe.
The stream which flows from the Devil's-bush, called the Klip-river, and
which runs through the valley of Zwellendam, has a dark brown colour,
probably from the roots ofthe trees amidst which the spring rises, but neither
the taste or wholesomeness of the water is affected by it. From this circum
stance it should seem clear that the country called by the first settlers
Paradise, was no other than the valley of Zwellendam, since Ten-Rhyne
makes use of this remarkable expression in speaking of Paradise, that it was so
named on account ofthe beauty ofthe spot, although the water was not good,
it being exceedingly discoloured by the argilaceous soil over which it flows.*
That it is an error, however, to impute this effect to the soil seems clear, since
the water is discoloured as it flows from the rock itself, before it has come at

* Locus propter amoenitatem ita appellatus, ubi ex argillaceiB terrae aquas inquinautis copia
magna, boni laticis inopia est. Wilhun Ten.Rhyne. Sckediama- de Promontorio Bona.
spei. Cap. xviii.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 165
all in contact with the argile. I have rather ascribed it to the roots of the
trees, because I have generally remarked that all water flowing from these
wooded clefts has the same tint.
On the morning of the thirteenth of December we left Zwellendam, accom
panied by the landdrost, who carried Us to an estate of his own at about an
hour's distance, called Rotterdam. He breeds a number of horses here, the
country being particularly favourable for the purpose. Many persons ofpro
perty at the Cape Town have considerable estates in the same spot, princi
pally for the sake of the great advantage which this circumstance offers. Mr.
Daniel Van Reenen, a brother ofthe three others already mentioned, has the
best estate in the whole district. It lies between the left bank of the Breede-
river and the sea-coast, and the horses bred there are so fine, that they are
very much sought for at the Cape Town as riding horses. The vicinity of
the sea may perhaps have considerable influence upon the vegetation, the soil
being not so sandy as on the western coast. The climate of Zwellendam is,
besides, very different from that ofthe Cape Town. The parching south-east
winds are scarcely known here; and if they do blow, they are almost always
succeeded by rain. This must be understood to apply principally to the hilly
part of the country, for along the south coast this wind is very strong in
summer, and the bays of that part, therefore, which are almost all open to the
south-east, are scarcely of any use,
Soon after we had taken leave of the landdrost, we came to thp Buffels-
jagd-river, -(the Buffalo's hunt), which was almost dry. A dull, parched
country succeeded, and after going up and down a number of small hills,-
about noon we arrived at a very poor farm. Here we found two colonists,
who had come to meet us, and shew us the way to the best place for passing
the ensuing night. They were two of the most considerable people of the
district, the Field-commandant Lombard, and a certain Mr. Peter Dupre.
We had seen a great deal of game this morning, amongst others a red-deer
(Cervus elaphus), and ten harnessed antelopes * (Antilope scriptaj. These
parts seem to abound with different kinds of antelopes, hares, and wild birds.
We even sometimes saw zebras; but the beautiful blue antelope (Antilope
bucopheeaj is, as Mr. Barrow justly observes, almost entirely destroyed. «=
* These animals generally go in large bodies: in Senegal they may be seen sometimes in floclts
of two thousand. They derive their name from being of a chesnut-brown colour, with white
lines about the body, crossed in such directions as to Jiaye the appearance of harness.

166 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Some were shot so lately as the year 1800, and their skins were brought to
Leyden ; but since that time they have not been seen. In the afternoon we
passed through a country where we found the Mimosa nilotica, standing in the
open field, spreading wide around the delightful fragrance of its full-blown
flowers. Hitherto we had only seen this tree ori the banks ofthe Karroorrivers.
These were besides much finer trees than any we had seen before: they were
tall in the stem, and threw out large branches: the foliage was more luxuriant,
and the thorns were neither so large nor so thick about the tree; yet it did not
appear a different species from the other. Every where on the heights here
abouts we met also with the Aloeperfoliata. After passing many little streams,
flowing from the mountains,we came, just before dark, to the widest and deepest"
of them, theDuivenhok-river, which having crossed, we found ourselves at the
house of our companion, Mr. Dupre, where we were to rest for the night.
From the heat of the day and the length of our journey, seven long miles, the
whole party were so fatigued, that most of them preferred their host's good
beds to the excellent supper he had prepared for them.
In this part of the colony there is a much greater difference between the
higher and the lower class of the inhabitants, between the masters and the
servants, both in their dress and in their habits, than in many other parts, par
ticularly in the Roggeveld. Thegreat trade in cattle, which places the farmers
in affluence, and the much more frequent intercourse with the Cape Town,
which gives them more idea of polished life, has introduced a sort of luxury
and refinement among the higher classes, to which the lower classes, who
gain their livelihood chiefly by cutting wood, cannot aspire. . Most of them
,are dressed in fine linen or cotton, and their houses are neat and spacious.
No part ofthe colony, indeed, is better supplied with building materials than
this. Timber in plenty grows in the neighbourhood; the shells which
abound on the coast make excellent lime, and there is scarcely any district of
Southern Africa where stone and clay are not to be found. Even neat stalls
the cattle are made here, a thing no where else to be seen; but by being shut
up at night, they are preserved exceedingly from the murrain, since this
disease is often produced by the noxious effects of the early morning
dews. Indeed, the wrhole of the place furnishes a very pleasing spectacle. The
spacious house, the excellent out-buildings, the workshops for the slaves,
the stalls for the cattle, a large garden, in the midst of which is a fish-pond,

I
TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. IG't
supplied with water from the neighbouring Krombek -river, the neat lawn
before the house, the sleek, fat cattle, all evinced an affluence and spirit of
order which make a pleasing impression upon the mind wherever they are to >
be seen. The people here are far less bigotted than in some other places
where we had recently been. They repeat their morning and evening
orisons without suffering their devotion to interfere with the innocent amuse
ments and occupations of life. In their conversation they are lively, even
sometimes witty, especially at tabltf, and that without being in the least
elevated with wine. Indeed, the African colonists are a remarkably sober
race. Out of ten colonists we may be pretty well assured that three at least
will not drink either wine or spirits, and the rest will drink very moderately.
One of them intoxicated is a very rare sight. Whatever Mr. Barrow may
say of the Soopje as the favourite drink of the colonists, I can very safely
affirm, that I never, during the whole time of my residence in the colony,
saw three Africans born, in liquor. The Europeans who live among them as
schoolmasters or servants, and who were probably formerly matrosses or
soldiers, may be very probably often guilty of excess in this way; for it is an
incontrovertible fact, that the lower class of people in our quarter ofthe globe
are far below the African peasants, in a true sense of decorum as to their moral
conduct. I challenge every impartial observer who may travel through this
country after me, to pronounce a different judgt'nent. It must be remembered
that I speak here as to the general habits ofthe people. I will not deny that
there may be single exceptions; for these must be expected in all cases.
We stopped here a part of the following day, and found in the inspection of
the premises, and in the conversation ofthe very intelligent people who were
collected together, a high entertainment. The Field-commandant, Lombard,
was one of those who in the year 1790, in conjunction with Mr. Jacob Van
Reenen and others^ undertook a journey to the very farthest extremity of the
Caffre countryjin search ofthe persons who were saved from the wreck ofthe
Grosvenor East Indiaman. He related to us many anecdotes of this journey;
and among other things, the conversation turned upon the unicorn, and the va
rious opinions entertained as to the existence or non-existence of such an animal.
Lombard declared he was not disinclined to believe in its existence, though
he had never, seen one himself, or knew of any body by whom it was reported
to have been seen. What. Mr. Barrow has said upon this subject seemed the

168 TnAVKLS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
principal ground on which he rested his opinion ; wo ahaU in tho sequel
examine into the portion of weight which may bo allowed to his reasoning.
The Commissary-general repented hero the engagement made by the governor
both at this and many other places in his journey, to give a strong now waggon
with a team of oxen and all its appurtenances* as u reward to any one who
should bring a complete skin of this animal, with tho horn and skull-bone, to
the Cape Town.
Our host, Dupre, notwithstanding his distance from Zwellendam, is over
seer of the church there, und is obliged to attend service every Sunday.
The journey takes from six to seven hours, so that he is obliged to set out in
the middle of the night; yet, although now sixty years of age, he returns
the same day. Among his slaves was a Malay more than u hundred years
old, and perfectly blind: for the last thirty years ho had been unable to
work, but was not the less entirely maintained by his worthy master.
On the fourteenth of December we crossed the Krpmbek-and-Vet rivers,
and stopped for the night at the house of Cpbus Dupre, the son of our former
host. We found here also a great number of the neighbours assembled,
among others Dupre's father-in-laWi llilgard Mulier, a very worthy old man,
and another of the party who went with Van Reenen to the Caffre country
in search of the Crosvenor's crew. This place had formerly belonged to
him, and was no way inferior in the excellence of the buildings, and in the
-good order and regularity of every thing about it, to what we had seen at the
senior Dupre's. The cows were here, as there, brought into covered stalls
to be milked, a very unusual sight, since they are generally milked in the
fields, and left loose in the kraal at night, lie- had near two hundred, all
very handsome animals.
There was an apartment in the house appropriated solely to the performance
of divine service; in itwas an organ, on which one of Muller's daughters
played very well. It was built in the place itself by a, person of the name
of Hoddersum, who, was still living at the Cape Town when 1 quitted the
country, continuing his trade, and gaining a very good livelihood by making
harpsichords.

* Worth all together about five hundred dollars.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 169
The country is here so fertile, that in a year when there is a tolerable supply
6f rain, wheat will yield seventy or eighty fold, and barley ninety or a
hundred: in very dry years however the seed is scarcely more thahJ returned.
By more than one of ; these people it was remarked that the Lamziekte is not
so frequent whPh there have been several rainy years in succession as after
long continued droughts.
1 On the following day we rested some hours at the Zoetemelks-river, having
previously crossed the Caffreku ils -river. At the hbus'e of a certain Fori, or
Fauri, we first saw the manner of preparing the aloe-gum, which is very
simple: The thick fresh leaves are gathered in August, September, and
October; the sap is left to «ftin out Slowly, after which it is somewhat
thickened over the fire, and then put into an ox-hide made into a sort of
trough in a wooden frame, and put out in the sun, where the gum hardens
by degrees. As this is an article however not much called for, and the low-
price at Whith it must be sold scarcely pays the trouble and expense of
procuring it, the quantity prepared is now very inconsiderable. The soil is
here throughout very dry, and destitute of trees ; but to compensate 'these
disadvantages, the road is excellent, almost as smooth and even as over the
Karroo. The night was passed at the house of a certain Hannes Rerisburg,
Upon the False-river.
'" The next day we were presented with a very interesting spectacle, which
I cannot refrain from describing somewhat minutely. As we reached the*
summit of one of the numerous hills that lay in our route, we saw at a great
distance southwards in the horizon the sea as we all thought, exactly as it
appears seen under such circumstances. Delighted at a sight of which for
two months that we had been travelling inland we had been wholly deprived,1
we exclaimed unanimously in a tone at once of pleasure and surprise— the
sta! the sea! — A moment's reflection was however sufficient to convince usr
that since we'were' now only some hundred feet above the level of the sea^
and at least at six' miles distance from the coast, it was impossible that the
sea could in fact be visible to us. Yet the more we looked, the more our'
eyes seemed assured that they were not mistaken; the impression was indeed
so strong, that, almost in Spite of myself, I remained for a while halting
between belief and doubt; nay, Iwas at last only convinced that it could
riot he the'sea from'the uneveriness of the horizon. The ideathenstruek me'
z

170 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
that this appearance originated in a reflection of the sea and coast in the air
above: many circumstances strengthened this opinion, and our guide, who
was not unacquainted with it, asserted that I was perfectly right ; but he
said he never recollected seeing it so distinctly. I can scarcely express how
much I was delighted at being presented with a phenomenon of which I had
heard so much, yet never could form any distinct idea of it.
I now turned my attention to examining it more particularly, when I
made the following observations. It was between nine and ten o'clock in
the morning : the sun was to our left, about fifty degrees above the horizon ;
it was not itself visible, but its situation was plainly to be distinguished
glistening through the thin vapour with which the air was entirely filled.
The heat was 66" by Fahrenheit, and the peasants foretold rain, which, in
fact, fell abundantly in the evening. Not a morsel of sky was to be seen, or
any thing which in the least broke the mass of vapour: it was nearly a dead
calm, a very trifling breeze only came occasionally from the quarter on which
the coast lay. The appearance in the air still continued the same, and was
exactly like the sea as seen from the Table-mountain at an immense distance.
From a longer observation I was convinced that the unevenness we had
observed in the horizon, that jagged margin which divided the dark blue of
the supposed sea from the light grey of the heavens, was, in fact, the reflection
of the coast, with its projections and creeks ; and when I imparted this idea
to my companions, they unanimously concurred in it, with applauses of my
ingenuity. It seemed then as if the effect we saw was produced by our
point of vision falling exactly on the spot, where the sea, which was mildly
illumined by the rays of the sun, was reflected back, as in a concave mirror,
upon the heavens above, and it was only visible to us from the circumstance
of our being enveloped in a thick vapour, which concealed the sun entirely
from us. The phenomenon will not then be difficult to explain : it must
arise solely from the relative height of the object with that of the reflecting
medium, and upon there being such a degree of density in the latter, that it is
capable of refracting the rays, so as to leave only the degree of light necessary
for the object to be distinctly represented in the picture ; something too
must depend upon the relative situation of the sun and that of the spectator.
A more difficult question to answer is, how it happens that this pheno*
menon is so seldom to be seen on land ; that it almost always appears over

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. "'*
the sen.* It seems to me that a sufficient reason for this may be assigned in
the equal degree of denseness that the vapour retains over the level surface
of the sen, whereas upon land, from the unevenness of the surface, there
must be different degrees of heat and dryness ; and these, though not percep
tible, yet create an inequality whieh annihilates the reflecting powere :
perhaps also the reflection is affected by the mixture of different sorts of
gas proceeding from the same cause. Another cause may certainly be found
in the chemical nature of the sea vapour. May not the luminous nature of
the sea itself, the luminous properties of so many of its inhabitants, and
the wonderful play of light at the risiug and setting of the sun under the
line, be by some unknown means couuected with this very extraordinary
phenomenon ?
The mirage, as this appearance is called, has been described by various
writers, as for instance by Gruber, Biisch, Woltmaun, Wollaston, aud others,
but more particularly by Zollner: he relates that in \797, he saw from the
mouth ofthe Elbe the Island of Heligoland, then at ten miles distance, reflected
in the air. It seems probable that the stories which have been told of men
seeing things at a very extraordinary distance (such a distance that it was
impossible they should be included within the horizon), maybe traced to this
cause. Mbm mentions a Sicilian who had such wonderful acuteness of
sight as to be able occasionally, when he stood upon the promontory of Lily-
banim, to see every vessel that went into Carthage; he could even distinguish
them plain enough to count the number of sail. Now the promontory of Lily-
beeum is thirty-two sea-miles from Carthage, and does not stand so high
as that more than a third of this distance could be included in the horizon.
The most recent instance of this sort is related by a certain Botineau in a
periodical publication called £< Spidatcur du Nord, the number for the month
of October 1S02. He says that a man in the Isle of France had seen ships at
the distance of fifty sea-miles off, and could even tell the size of them, and the

* What made this instance difier from any other occasion on which I had an opportunity of
observing the mirage, is. that the place in which the reflection of the sea appeared was over the
land, and even at some distance from the coast. This may however be accounted for, from the
level nature of the country upon the coast, and from tae faint sea-breeie by which the Taponr
was driven very much upon the land, without its level with the horitou being lost.

1 72 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
course tbey were going. This account is accompanied with testimonies
which almost remove the very natural doubts that must arise upon the
fact, vet a satisfactory explanation of it is wanted, and perhaps none so satis
factory can be found, as resolving it into a phenomenon of the kind above
described. We soon after arrived at a house, the owner of which, one Rensburg, was
very recently dead at the age of seventy : he had indeed been buried only two
days before. The widow, a woman of fifty-six, had produced* seventeen
children, of whom fourteen Were living, and all married: her descendants now
exceeded a hundred souls: a new proof of the almost unexampled increase of
population in the colony. The dead are here interred at the very spot itself.
To most houses there is a small cemetery adjoining to the garden : the felav
tions and neighbours attend the funeral, and .the corpse is laid in the ground
with great solemnity ; the whole company singing a psalm over the graved
Somewhat farther we came to the Tigerfontein, a place belonging to a
colonist by name Snyman. He was occupied in building himself a new
house, the old one being very much out of repair, and admitting the rain:
As the houses here are commonly built with clay only, a trifling neglect in
keeping up the rbof will occasion the fall of the whole edifice. For the rest,
if proper care is taken in constructing them, they are exceedingly durable-:
the Drosty at Zwellendam was built of like materials, though stone in plenty
is to be had there. The walls Were constructed exactly after the Planner called
building in Pisee, to which the dry climate here is particularly favourable. I
have seen houses of this kind which have stood a century, and which were so
burnt by the sun that they looked like tile. In this state no rain Cart injure
them, even the ruins might almost defy the influence of weather. We were
received in a small room in the old house, which was still left standing: an
old man was seated there, the elder brother ofthe Rensburg whose widow we
had visited in the morning. This unfortunate veteran had formerly lived near
Algoa*bay, and in the last dreadful war with the Caffres was- plundered by
them, and his house burnt down : he saved himself by flight, but two of his
nearest relations fell into the hands of the enemy. Although through the
endeavours of General Janssens peace was now fully re-established* yet the
devastated country recovered but slowly, and was as yet thinly repeopled : most
of the places were so destroyed that they could not easily be rendered habitable.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 173
The good old man doubted much whether he should ever live to return to his
former dwelling. He related to us many instances of the horrors committed
by these savages, and the farther we now went, the more were similar com-
plaints'' a principal subject of Pur conversations with the colonists.
On the banks of the Gaurits-river, where we arrived a short time after our
departure from hence, we were presented with the view of a very picturesque
country.'" We had ascended a road sloping almost imperceptibly, and found
ourselves ori a sudden updri the declivity of a steep hill, below which, at a
great depth, ran the broad bed of the stream. To the left very near us were
lofty heights, between which through a narrow opening the river rushed with
a great noise. Very near the entrarice ofthe ravine, midway up the heights, was
a small hPuse delightfully shaded by oaks and fruit trees ; above all, the dark-
leaved orange: while to the fight, upon the high sandy bank of the river?
Stood a large farm. We turned our horses sidewards, and descending the steep
road, crossed the rivef, which was now very low, though it is at some times a
powerful stream : it is here a hundred and twenty foot broad, which is wider
than any river we had yet seen. Its deep bed, the high sandy banks, arid the
trunks of trees floating down, shewed plainly the height and force which It
sometimes attains. It rises so rapidly that travellers who venture to encamp
foi* the night upon its banks, may pay their improvidence with the loss of all
their property ; happy if they can escape with their life ; if not wakened out
of iheir sleep in terror too great to have the pbwer to fly.
A glance over the map will show my readers very plainly the reason of its
risi rig thus hastily. All the rivers of the middle Karroo, the Chamka, the
Dwyka, even many streams from the Roggeveld and Bokkeveld, break through
at sbme point or other the vast chain of mountains which from Zwellendam to
Sitzikamma bear the name of the Blacfc-mountains:, and uniting beyond them
With the Kamriasie, and Elephants'-river, compose the formidable stream
ealled the Gaurits-riverl* The house where we stopped was at a considera
ble height above the stream, the former, which was built lower down, having
some time before become its pre^.

«,
-r —

. * This is a Hottentot name. The manner in which it is pronounced by these savages has
aisled many ; travellers, 50 that they hav.e written it the Gouds-river (Gold-river); ^'

174 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
, According to what we were told by. the colonists, it was now impossible,
even without a guide, to miss the road; but whether it was owing to the
cloudy weather, so that the darkness came on unexpectedly, or that we had
not paid sufficient attention to their directions, we once more lost our way.
We had been told that we were to reach our night quarters in two hours ;
three and a half had elapsed, and we yet saw no signs of a human habitation.
A very heavy rain that fell, the first during our journey, which had surprised
us in such a way upon the road, brought on the darkness suddenly, and
wetted us completely through. Our ladies had set out in the waggon, and
we had, as we conceived, reason to congratulate ourselves exceedingly that it
had so happened. A stop was made, and I went with Lieutenant Gilmer to
explore the country, while our corporal of dragoons was dispatched to see
whether the waggons were following, or whether he could discover any traces
of the way we had lost. After the lieutenant and myself had rode up and
down nearly half an hour, without seeing any appearance of a light upon the
heights, or discovering any thing like a dwelling-house, we returned back
dispirited to rejoin our party. It was then determined that we should
return to the farm on the Gaurits-river, and there stop for the night : though
from the darkness, and from having to descend a steep hill, this enterprise
was not without its perils.
We had not gone far before me met our dragoon on his return to tell us
that he had not been able to discover any traces either of the waggons or the
road. He, however, rode on again, as he was now sure that we were follow
ing him, but soon once more returned with the extraordinary intelligence
that he had met the ladies, and young De Mist, who had gone in the waggon
with them, on foot, and they were now,.he said, waiting for us a very little
way off. It was not long before we came up with them, when we learnt
that they had been overturned in the waggon, but happily without receiving
any injury. • In hopes of reaching the place where it was designed we should
stop for the night, they had got out and walked on while the people were
busied in getting the waggon up, so as to proceed on their way. The night
and the rain hatpin the mean time overtaken them, as it had us, and they had
missed their way, which, perhaps, but that we had fortunately done the same,
they might not very easily have found again. They now mounted some of
our led horses, and we rode on together, making many observations upon our

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. J?5
adventure, half joking, half serious, and commenting upon the extraordinary
circumstance, that we should meet with each other so fortunately in a night
almost pitchy dark, in the midst of a desolate inhospitable region, unknown to
either of us, and both having lost our way.
At the same time we agreed to fire pistols at certain intervals, as signals to
direct any people who might be in search of us, and soon some young m;n
who had been working at the waggon came up, anxious, on account of the
heavy rain that had fallen, about the fate of those who had gone forwards on
foot, and bringing with them a little car which they had made ready in
haste. The ladies very thankfully accepted the offered kindness of these
good people, and getting into it, soon reached their proper quarters. We
ourselves arrived in safety not long after, notwithstanding the frequent
sliding and stumbling of our horses, it being now eleven o'clock, and we
ought to have arrived at eight. Lanterns were sent out to meet the
waggons, with the female servants who had remained with them, by the assist
ance of which they too rejoined us in the course of the night.
We were now in the house of a widow by name Botha, which, although
tolerably spacious, had not sufficient room to accommodate such a number
of guests. Besides ourselves, the good woman had for some time lodged
several near relations of her own, whose habitations had been destroyed "by
the Caffres. It would be difficult to give any idea of the confusion made in
the house by our late arrival. It swarmed with grown people, children, Hot
tentots, and slaves; all ran one against other, and against the. guests, whom
the bad weather drove all at once into the house to dry their wet clothes.
The children being waked out of their sleep by the bustle, began crying most
piteously, and the nurses to silence them made ten times more noise: the
women scolded our slaves for being helpless, and not getting things ready
for their masters half as fast as they ought ; a number of gay young people sat
at the corner of a table laughing at our party, and at the colonists with us,
not concerning themselves with stirring a step to make way for the table being
set outfor us : our young women servants were scarcely less in the way than
the slaves and Hottentots, for' they must needs busy themselves with
unpacking the things which had got wetted by the waggon being overturned^
At length, however, not without some trouble, order was established, our
supper was set out, and places were allotted where every one ofthe travellers
could set up his field-bed for the night. On this, as on several occasions, we

176 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICAi =1"f
had-tovegretthe want of straw, which prevails over the whc-le colony ,- but
the corn being trodden out by horses so spoils the straw that it was impossible
for our people to, sleep upon it, otherwise they would often gladly have done
go, when the field-beds we're wet with the rain^ *or the waggons did not arrive
in time for the beds to be of any use. < ? t,,
From this place it was necessary that most of our waggons should take a
different road from ourselves, as they could not all follow us over the hills
¦w4iieh we were to pass, if we wished to visit the coast, and examine the bays
Upon it. We therefore each put up as much linen as wouW last a fortnight,
and with this, and some other things which could not be dispensed with>
loaded our strongest waggon, while the rest were sent round by the Longkloof^,
>' The nearer we approached to the coast the more level the country became,
and the greater abundance of grass did we find, notwithstanding that the soil
grew evidently much more sandy. It failed in proportion in springs, and
the farms lay at a greater distance from each other. We stopped about noon
at the house of "a. family, by name Marx* where we found a great number
of youths and damsels : the youngest daughter particularly struck us all,
from her really dazzling beauty. If the African young women had as much
politeness and education as they have native charms, they would be per
fectly irresistible. At the same time, their cheerful good-humour, their
innocence and simplicity, has not unfrequently snbdued the high polish of
the proud European, nor have the instances been few, of the colonists'
daughters being brought home by such, as wives,; at their return from
their travels. • - ¦ ¦ ,,_ . ;• :
We now saw almost daily a great deal of game, but the creatures were so
shy that it would have required well trained dogs, andspirited untired horses,
to be able to come up with them. In the remainder of the way to Mossel
bay (Muscle-bay), which was over a wide plain, we saw a great many ante
lopes, ostriches, and smaller wild birds. At length the glorious prospect of
the sea opened upon us. The whole extent of Mossel¬bay lay spread before
our view. We hailed with transport the long desired object, and descended
by a narrow sandy path to the shore of the bay.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 177

*"" s CHAP. XIII. *
Tlfe Government Magazines at Mosselbay. — The Dane Abue. — The Muscle Caves
described. — Murray, the Englishman's, Coasting Trade. — Farther Description of the
Country. — Brakke-river. — Outeniqualand. — Woody Clefts in the Mountains.
The house ofthe postholder at Mosselbay, who is at the same timej>ver-
seer of the bay and keeper of the magazines, lies directly at the upper end,
where the bay runs to its deepest recess from the sea. The government
twenty years before had formed a project to make this bay a repository for
corn and timber, that the colonists might be provided with a more ready
market for both these articles, while at the same time the supplying the Cape
Town with them might be facilitated by the establishment of a coasting trade.
In 1786, a large magazine was therefore built, a hundred and fifty foot long,
and thirty broad, which will contain from three to four thousand bushels of
corn ; this was suffered to fall into a very dilapidated state under the English
government, but since the governor's visit it has been repaired, and is now
inljxceedingly good condition. But unfortunately from the difficulties ofthe
coasting passage, occasioned principally by the dangerous reefs ofthe Agulhas
bank, and the storms that blow from the south-east, these patriotic views
are much disappointed.
General Janssens, in the last year of his government, again endeavoured to
resume the project, but the loss of the colony put an end toxhis numerous
plans for improving' its situation. It is to be hoped, however, that the plan
may* be promoted by the English, since they have no want of coasting vessels,
and their superiority at sea obviates in great measure the objections which
lie against collecting magazines in open defenceless bays, and which have
been adverted to in speaking of Saldanha-bay. The magazine was now
1 entirely empty, and served a great part of our company as a habitation. Thp
postholder's house is small, having, been built originally only for a watch-
house, so that there were but two chambers for guests, which were occupied
-by the Commissary-general and the . ladies. ¦ The postholder is a sensible
a a

1?8 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
active man, but lives here secluded from the world, and unwedded ; he is a
Dane by birth, and his name, Abue. In his youth he was recommended to
the government at Copenhagen, and under the protection of the celebrated
and unfortunate Count Struensee, who made him his private secretary, a
brilliant path to fortune seemed to open itself before him. The fall of his
patron ruined all his prospects, and occasioned him to take refuge in this
remote corner of the globe.
We stopped a day here to examine whatever was worthy of observation.
With eager curiosity I hastened to explore the cavern known by the name of
the Schulpegat (Muscle-cave), which, from Mr. Barrow's description, seemed
already familiar to me. It lies about half an hour's ride from the postholder's
house. The way to it is by the shore of the bay, winding along, the
path still growing more and more contracted, till it terminates at last directly
beneath the high rock at the entrance of the bay, which the sailors call Cape
St. Blaise. Ascending then a steep and narrow path, with the high towering-
cliff on one side, and a deep precipice on the other, we arrive on a sudden
at the arched entrance of a cavern, the bottom of which is entirely over
spread with a very thick layer of muscle-shells. The breadth of the cavern
is about twenty paces, its depth about half as much, and its height at the
centre ofthe arch may be fifty feet. The sea is four hundred feet below, but
comes so directly up to the foot of the perpendicular or almost overshelving
rock, that the foam cannot be seen in looking down from the cave. At the
ebb' long parallel rows of sunken rocks appear, with the foam dashing over
them: it is this reef which breaks the force of the sea, and renders the an
chorage within secure. The mouth of the cavern is to the south-south-east ;
to the right stretches the boundless ocean directly at the foot spreads the
whole Mosselbay ; and in the dark offing the hills above Plettenberg's-bay may
just be discerned.
Fifty feet higher, directly above this cavern, is another, resembling it in
every way, only that it is scarcely more than half as large : the ascent to it is
not unattended with danger. It disappointed me very much, since not a shell
was to be seen in it. This circumstance proves incontrovertibly that the
quantity of shells found in the grotto beneath cannot be brought thither by
birds as Mr. Barrow conjectures, for why should they not as well make a
storehouse ofthe upper as of the lower cave. Besides, we did not find here

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 179
the least traces of any sea-fowl ; a few swallows, which had made their quiet
nests in the crevices ofthe grot, were the only animals that seemed to inhabit.
it. As far as I have had opportunities of examining the habits of the sea-
fowl on this coast, particularly the albatross (diomedea exulans), they do not
frequent high places, but rather devour their prey in the low recesses of the
cliffs upon the beach. Not one of the shells besides appeared the least fresh ;
all were in a state of decay, and half buried in sand and dirt. I acknowledge,
with Mr. Barrow, that it were contrary to common sense to suppose there
ever had been a time when the sea came up to this cave, and the muscles
are certainly the only trace remaining which could afford any ground for such
a supposition. But I cannot assent to another ground on which he supports
his opinion. I must, on the contrary, from my own researches contradict
what he affirms, that in the Lowenberg, near the Cape Town, and wherever
like caves have been discovered, abundance of live shell-fish are always tq,'
be found. I never found any such, though in consequence of having read'
his work, I examined all places of the kind very particularly. He has, besides,
been rather guilty of exaggeration, when he says, the quantity of empty
shells in the Muscle-cave is so great, that several- thousand waggons, would
be necessary to carry them all away.* Ten or twelve would be quite suffi
cient for the purpose. The common opinion among the sensible inhabitants
of the neighbourhood, and of the postholder himself, is, that this cave was
formerly a common resort of the Hottentots, and that they lived very much
upon the shell-fish, which are taken here in abundance. As the bottom of
the cave is wet from the water that trickles down the sides, they, very pror
bably left the shells as a sort of pavement, which abated in some degree its
humidity. This opinion, though not given as incontrovertible, has at least
more probability in it than Mr. Barrow's.
On the'walls of these caves, particularly of the upper one, I found a vast
* The German author in citing Mr. Barrow's work always refers to a German translation of
it. It most here be remarked, that either the translator of Mr. Barrow's work, or Mr. Lich.
tehstein, has fallen into an error with regard to what Mr. Barrow says of the quantity of shells
in this cave. He does not say that in this alone there are many thousand waggon loads of sheils;
he says : "Many thousand waggon-loads of shells may be met with in various places along the
eastern coast, in situations that are several hundred feet above the "level of the sea." — Tran«
ILATOR.
A a 2

180 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
number of lichens, hitherto unknown to me: some people assert, that from
these, as well as from many other sorts of this species, excellent materials may
be drawn for dying. They appear to me, from some trifling resemblances, to
be between the lichen parellus, and the lichen roccelta. The postholder, at
my request, promised to send me a quantity to the Cape Town, my friend
Polemann, an able chemist there, having long wished to make experiments
upon them ; but as he has probably forgotten his promise, for none have ever
been received, I can say nothing more of their properties. ,
The influence of the sea air, united with the low situation of the country,
upon vegetation, is here very striking. It is particularly luxuriant in the
parts that lie from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet above the level ofthe
sea : these parts are thickly grown over with bushes and shrubs. The arduina
bispinosa, several beautiful sorts of zygophyllum, pelargonium, royena, rhus,
and others, grow wild promiscuously among each other: jsome of a consi
derable size, and the leaves quite a fresh bright green. Not less rich was the
collection of insects I amassed here; I had, besides, the good fortune to
shoot a number of pretty small birds which make their nests among the
bushes, and which furnished me abundance of work in preserving arid stuffing
them. '
Our host regaled us among other things with many sorts of fish, above all
with oysters, which abound in the bay, and which, not having tasted any
for so long a time, were now most welcome to us. Few of the fish were
different from what are caught about the Cape Town, but the oysters were
much finer flavoured ; some were, however, we agreed, too large and too fat :
we were even obliged to divide them, they were so large that they could not
be swallowed at once. They cannot be had so fresh at the Cape, as they are
not to be gathered on the neighbouring parts of the coast; they are chiefly
brought thither from Hottentots-holland. Even here they are not always to
be procured ; only when at very low ebbs, the fisher slaves can go a great
way into the sea to the oyster beds. In the afternoon, at low water, when
we were bathing in the sea among the rocks, we found a little parcel of oys
ters in a cleft, but they adhered so firmly to the stone, that we could not
break them off. The bay has its name from the superabundance of muscles
found in it; though extremely good, they areseldom eaten but by the slaves,
the oysters and other fish being very much preferred to them.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 181
Mosselbay was formerly called the bay of St. Blaise, so named by Vasco
de Gama, who landed here in December, 1497. He is commonly considered
as the first discoverer of it; but it may, perhaps, be doubted, whether this
was not the Angra dos Vaqueiros (Cow-herd Bay), which Bartolomeo J)iaz
discovered in December, 1486, or January, 1487. The true situation of that
bay is very problematic, and it might not improbably be Mosselbay. In the
first years of the Portuguese voyages to the East Indies, this bay was used
as the general resort of the ships, and the place of re-assemblage for fleets that
were separated. Afterwards, however, when in 1503, Antonio de Saldanha
discovered the'present Table-bay (which, as has been already mentioned, was
for a century called after him Saldanha-bay), he gave the preference to that,
and the bay of St. Blaise was wholly neglected. The first English navigators
to the East Indies, Raymond and Lancaster, following the accounts given by
their early precursors in the undertaking, entered this bay in 1591, but accident
afterwards carrying the English to Table-bay, they have ever since gone thither
from preference. Ten years later, Jovis Spilberg, a Dutch admiral, gave
Table-bay its present name, and not long after Paul Van Caerden, who first
took an accurate survey of the southern coast of Africa, with its numerous
bays, changed at the same time the names by which they had been distin
guished for Dutch ones: this was then named Mosselbay, instead of the Bay
of St. Blaise. The angle which forms one entrance into the bay has, however,
retained among sailors the name of Cape St. Blaise.
The figure of the bay, its geographical situation, the goodness of the
anchorage, and other things interesting to pilots, are known in great measure
from former writers ; I shall therefore not enter upon the subject at this place,
but reserve such observations as appear to me of importance to a future
opportunity. Before our departure, the Commissary. general received a visit from the
secretary of the Drosty at Zwellendam, Mr. Stockestrom, a Swede by birth.
On account of his well-known probity, and accurate knowledge ofthe coun
try, he had been appointed landdrost of the district of Graaf Reynett. For
some years no one had been found "who would undertake this arduous post,
and it was therefore the more necessary that it should now be filled by a
person of so much, firmness, united with so much mildness of character. In
his company was a young physician, who was established at Zwellendam,

182 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
but who occasionally travelled about the country to sell medicines to the
farmers, carrying them in a little chest. They consisted chiefly of doses
of emetics and cathartics, and above all, ofthe Halle medicines so much in
repute here, and which are made up in abundance by the apothecaries at the
Cape Town. He confessed that his principal trade consisted in the sale of
these, and asserted that nobody could subsist in this country by the ordi
nary course of practice, since there was not a colonist who had not rather
be his own physician, and would only in cases of extreme necessity send
for assistance.
When we left the postholder's house, we pursued our way eastwards along
the beach. A steep and rocky coast rises above the beach, and it is only
at low water that the way we now went is practicable. In several places water
trickles down the cliffs, which forms a sort of morass upon the beach,
dangerous to those who attempt to pass it without a proper guide. In one
of the clefts an Englishman of the name of Murray has established a little
magazine, where he sells a great variety of objects of manufacture. He has
a small brig, in which he brings things from the Cape Town, and carries
back a loading of wood. His trade is chiefly in cloth, hats, silks,- glass,
and iron-wares ; and although from the renewal of the war, so that he was
likely to find difficulty in procuring his wares, he had been obliged to raise
the price of them very much, and they were certainly extremely dear, yet
we were glad to supply ourselves with many little things which we wanted,
and which we found of great use in the remainder of our journey. The mer
chant had afterwards the misfortune of losing two vessels, within a very short
time, upon the Agulhas reef, so dangerous is this place even to the most
experienced pilots. The difficulties attending the coasting trade will always
operate powerfully against the farther cultivation of the country.
Our guide having at length conducted us safely over the last and most
dangerous of the morasses, formed by a little stream called the Geelbek's-
valley river, we quitted the shore, and came to a number of neat smiling
farms. As in many other places we had found one particular family predo
minating in a district, its branches being spread all around, so here the family
of Meierwasthe prevailing one. Whereverthis is the case, more placability and
good humour commonly reigns among them ; they are more isociable, and less
js heard of quarrels and contentions about the boundaries of their respective

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 183
properties. By one of the Meier family, whose christian name was Klaas,
we were regaled with an excellent breakfast of cold provisions, admirable
fruit, and wines which might justly be called costly. Even though I should
excite a smile in my readers, I must once more observe how much we were
struck with the attractions observable among the female part of this family.
We all agreed that we scarcely ever recollected to have seen more personal
beauty than in the eldest daughter, a young woman about eighteen. Her
whole manner and air had in it much more appearance of refinement than is
usually to be found among the African damsels, and we really separated our
selves with reluctance from so lovely a creature.
Crossing the little Brakke-river, we came now to the house of a widow,
called in the country Ter-Blans, but who we found was of French descent,
and her name properly Terre-blanche. Here we dined, and the number of
dishes set before* us was greater than is almost ever to be seen at the tables
even ofthe most distinguished bon-vivans at the Cape Town. We found that
our hostess was celebrated in the country for her excellent table, and that
she prided herself particularly upon it. She gave us almost every thing that
the chase or the fisheries could^furnish, with several sorts of vegetables, dressed
in an immense variety of ways, nor would suffer such a thing to be mentioned
as paying her. As a great rarity, we had in the dessert cream cheese, made
upon the spot, and which the Dutch guests, who are extremely good judges
of the matter> pronounced to be excellent. The attempts hitherto to make
good cheese in the neighbourhood of the Cape Town have all proved unsuc
cessful, but this may perhaps be owing to the poorness of the feed, so that the
milk is not sufficiently rich. Another curiosity which we remarked here,
was a guitar, made in the country, of African ash-wood. This is a favourite
instrument among the colonists, and is almost always to be seen in the houses
of substantial people. It must be obvious from hence, that it is a great error
to deny to these people any taste or relish for the polished enjoyments of
life. Behind this place, which is called the Reebok 's-fontein, we ascended a
considerable height, from which we had a very fine view behind us of Mossel
bay. Cape St. Blaise has a very picturesque appearance from hence, while
the large magazine looks like a stripe, and the fishing huts like spots in the
dark rocky ground. The course of the coast, with its hills, clefts, and tufts of

184 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
wood, unite very beautifully with the back ground. We were too early to
cross-the great Brakke-fiver, which lies at the foot of the hill where we now
were, as it can only be crossed quite at low water, and the tide was not more
than half down; we were therefore obliged to wait a considerable time upon
the bank, and even then the ford had in some places more than four feet water
in others it had not above three. The mouth of the river is about a mile from
this place, and, like all other streams of Southern Africa, is closed by a sand
bank, which in a strong south-east wind chokes it so entirely, that at the ebb
the water does not run out. If heavy rains fall, then the current of the river
gains such additional force, that it carries the sand out into the sea. An
eternal strife is thus maintained between the two bodies of water, which
differs in this respect from the strifes among mankind, that the gain of land is
here on the side of the vanquished.
The great Brakke-river divides the district of Mosselbay from Outeniqua-
land.* On the eastern bank there is again a considerable height to ascend,
at the summit of which is a wide-spread plain, intersected with a number of
small streams ; this is one of the most fertile spots in the colony. The river
is now seen winding for a considerable length of way, till it is lost among rocks
overgrown with bushes and heath-plants.
The whole tract of land between the southern chain of hills and the coast
may be considered as a foreland, which from its low situation, from the neigh
bourhood of the sea, and the peculiar character of the hills by which it is
bounded, may be rendered particularly fertile and profitable. Many circum
stances concur to give the southern chain of mountains advantages not enjoyed
by the others, and which distinguish them entirely from the rest of the moun
tains in Southern Africa. First, its course from east to west, so that present- *
ing an entire front to the south, the heat of the sun has less effect in drying
the springs above, consequently more water flows down from them, which
nourishes the vegetation exceedingly. Secondly, the great height of these
mountains, which are upon an average from four to five thousand feet above
* The Outeniquas were a numerous tribe of Hottentots, who at the first planting of the colony-
had their kraal at this place. The ou is here to be pronounced open ow after the Dutch manner.
It is written by some Autcniqua, which in the month of a German would be pronounced exactly
the same.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 185
the sea, and therefore attract the clouds, which help to supply the country
below with moisture. Thirdly, their vicinity to the sea, and the prevalence
of the south winds, which gives a more humid atmosphere to the hills.
Fourthly, as a consequence from these things, more profuse vegetation,
and the nourishing abundance of wood in the clefts, which again produces a
vapour that prevents the moisture ever being totally exhaled from the ground,
or the flow of water from ever ceasing entirely. The places where this fore
land is the most contracted, where there is the smallest space between the
mountains and the sea, are always those whence there is the greatest supply
of water, and which abound most in the wooded clefts. And again, where
the creeks pf the sea, projecting inland, come within a mile of the foot of the
mountains, even the plain abounds with wood ; in Sitzikamma particularly,
the underwood stands so thick from the hills to the coast, as to preclude the
road being continued along the latter.
In this way the particular nature of the country in Outeniqualand is suffi
ciently explained, since in no part of this district are the mountains more
than three miles and a half from the coast. Numberless rivulets cross it in
all directions ; even in summer there is always abundance of rain, and the
whole year through, the ground is covered with fresh plants ; but the soil is
poor, and is of that description that belongs to sour-Jields: the different sorts
of rushes and liliaceous plants exhaust all the nourishment, and prevent
the growth of wholesome grass: the corn-fields require a great quantity of
manure, and an evil, equal to any other, is the murrain, which all these causes
combine to produce: this renders the feeding of cattle, which would other
wise be very profitable, extremely difficult: yet there must be some pecu
liarity of. climate in the spot, which promotes the last evil, and to which it
ought perhaps rather to be ascribed than to the nature of the feed, since there
are jn other parts sour-fields where the cattle thrive and prosper exceedingly.
In this, as well as in some other districts that partake of the same soil, it is
common to burn the lands every year, by which means they are manured,
and the foundation laid for a wholesome vegetation. But this must be done
with great caution, lest the fire should spread too far and catch the bushes,
by Which means it might be communicated to the forests, when incalculable -
mischief would ensue.
Bb

186 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. , .
The principal object by which the inhabitants of this country gain a liveli
hood is felling timber in the forests for building, and transporting it to other
parts. Permissions for this purpose are given by the government at the recom
mendation of the landdrosts and postholders, and on paying a trifling conside
ration. The woods here are much more extensive than in the district of Zwel
lendam, and the Grootvadersbosch ; the latter, on account of their much shorter
distance from the Cape Town, have been so much cut down, that if is now dif
ficult to find any trees which will furnish sound and strong beams for building.
Even here, the timber begins so far to fail, that Whereas formerly they did not
cut any for beams less than thirty feet high in the stem, none of this size are
now to be found, except by going so deep into the clefts that they cannot be
felled without extreme difficulty and some hazard.
Among many small streams which we crossed this day, the Quayang was
the most distinguished, which, though it runs almost unnoticed over the
plain, when it wanders among the rifted rocks, presents many interesting and
romantic pictures. It is the same case with another, which in the midst of its
quiet course, suddenly comes to the brow of a rock, whence it rushes down,
through a self-formed channel, with a considerable noise and foam. The rocks
below these falls, from the force of the waters, are hollowed into basons, which
seem almost as if formed by the hand of art. Another stream is called here
the Black-river, the water being strongly tinted with vegetable particles which
it collects in running through the woods. It is yet a matter of doubt, whether
this effect is produced by the roots of certain trees, or whether, as some sup
pose, the tint is received from fallen leaves.
The government possesses a very considerable domain in Outeniqu aland,
which includes almost half the district ; it is under the superintendence of a
postholder. The same person has also the superintendence of several families
of colonists, who, since the last war with the Caffres, have settled upon the
territories of the government, and under certain restrictions have permission
to make use of the forage around them, till the complete restoration ;of peace
and quietude shall permit of their returning to their former dwellings. This
mode of living upon the territory of the government, cultivating the land, and
enjoying its produce without any property in it, or even being regularly
tenanted to it, is called here an Erbe, in contradistinction to the tenure by

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 187
lease, when the domain is called a Lehnplatze. In these cases a small house
is commonly built, with a little garden, for which a trifling groundTrent is paid.
Most of the handicraft workers and little traders in Stellenbpsch, Roodezand,
Zwellendam, and Graaff Reyhett, have habitations of this kind. They are
often to be found between the Lehnplatzes ; their number of course depends
principally upon the population of the district, and it is much to be wished
that they should in all parts become numerous. It cannot be denied that in
many places the want of water must be an insuperable obstacle to a great
increase of population,but on the other hand, there'are tracts in which certainly
too much land is granted to a single farmer ; and in many-plaCes, where a single
family only dwells-at present, it is to be hoped that a century hence a whole
village may have been raised. The government, from a more accurate know
ledge of the borders, has turned its attention much to the approximation pf
the colonists, as a means of promoting the pultivation of the country ; and
certainly no country is more capable of cultivation. The abolition of the
slave-trade will be a means of promoting industry, since the employment of
slaves being necessarily circumscribed, the free colonists will in the end be
constrained to learn the handicraft works now generally performed by them.
We passed the night at the governrnent-post : the house is a very poor one
in comparison with most of those belonging to the officers of the government,
and, since the colony was in the hands of the English, has been very much
neglected. The postholder was a German, Sebastian Fent by name, and
formerly a sergeant in the Dutch garrison : the company very commonly con-
ferrpd the office of postholder on meritorious subaltern officers. He had put his
garden into exceedingly good order, and its flourishing state shewed plainly
how much may be done with this indifferent soil by the aid of a sufficient
quantity of manure: yet the neighbouring colonists all assert that the African
soil does not want much manure, and will not even bear it.
As we were about to set out the next morning, a courier arrived with dis
patches from the Cape Town, which required an immediate answer. I there
fore employed tho morning of this day, which was very rainy, in writing to
some of my friends at the Cape, and iri the afternoon, as the rain had ceased,
went to explore the neighbouring forest. I took an old and sensible Hottentot
with me as a guide, and arrived at it in about an hour. The number of bushes,
brambles, and other climbing plants, which opposed our way, did not deter me
Bb 2

188 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
from proceeding. Among these the Cynanchum obtusifolium (a species of
scamouny) was particularly abundant. This plant is here called Pavia-
nentau (monkey's cord), and was -running about in every direction all over
the forest. Many sorts of asparagus were also among the plants which
we had to break through ; these are called by the colonists Wagt een beetje,
(wait a little). I followed the path made by the wood-cutters, and as 1 con
templated the number there appeared of large oaks, sumachs, and a tree that
is called here Stinkholz* I could not help expressing to my companion my
surprise at the complaints made in the country of the want of wood. He
told me, however, that among the trees I saw, the greatest part were either
not of the proper length in the stem for making beams, or else decayed by the
water, and perhaps hollow. Besides, when the expense of carriage was set
against the price at which the wood could be sold, it did not answer to transport
any but the best, since the price of the middling sorts could not pay their
costs. The young trees are too much overshadowed by the old ones to thrive well, yet
at the same time it would be a work of such immense labour and expense to cut
the old ones down and carry them away that it cannot be thpught of. Thence
comes it that the large trees are of exceeding slow growth. My guide's manner
of expressinghimself upon this subjectwas, that there was not a man old enough
to remember them less tall and strong than they are at present: but to make
amends, they are exceedingly hard and strong. A terrible enemy to the forests
here is a moss, a sort of lichen or usnea, which covers whole boughs, particu
larly the lower ones, and in a course of years injures them so much that they
no longer bear leaves, but decay and die. A forest in this state, on which the
grey moss hung from the trees almost like withered boughs, was a sight which,
alas! in the sequel of our journey we but too often saw.
* Called by Thunberg Ilex crocea, but it seems not yet systematically classed. Thunberg did
not find it in flower, and I was myself equally unfortunate.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 189

CHAP. XIV.
Kaiman's-river, and troublesome Passage of the Kaiman' s Cleft.— Krakadakow.— The
Silver-river.— Zwart-river.—Daukamma.— Ruinated Farm. — The Lake of Neisna
and the circumjacent Country. — Arrival at Pleltenberg's-bay.
We left Outeniqualand on the twenty-second of December, and soon
reached its eastern boundary, the Kaiman's-river,* having previously passed
through the Pampoenkraal,j- where Le Vaillant encamped for some time till
away was made through the Kaiman's-cleft, by which he could proceed on
his journey. I must by the way remark that the French traveller could not
have much occasion to give himself that trouble, since some years before the
colonists had made a road through this dangerous cleft. In Sparmann's time
there were indeed no means of passing it, and the river then bore the name of
Keerom's-river, as appears from this writer : it is probable that Kaiman may
be a corruption of the original name. In another respect Pampoenkraal is
now become celebrated, since the Caffres in the late war penetrated even to
this spot; they had also over-run and ravaged half the country along the
coast, before the united power of the colonists and the English military
could drive them back again. As a memorial of this invasion, as trophies, in

* This river is so called, because a large species of the Leguan is found in it, called here,
though erroneously, the Kaiman. The latter name belongs properly to the American crocodile,
a much smaller species than the crocodile of the Nile ; but the Leguan is not a crocodile at all.
It is, indeed, an animal of the Lacerta class, and amphibious, but perfectly harmless, living
upon vegetables, earth-worms, and other insects. It is from three to six feet long, and has a
jagged back, which gives it a very hideous appearance. It lives partly in rivers, partly upon
trees, is mild in its nature, but so stupid, that it is said to be easily caught, ! yet it is very swift
in running. Its flesh and eggs are reckoned delicate food.
+ Pampoen is the name given by the colonists to a species of gourdj which is very commonly
to be found here, and which appears to be only the common European pumpkin, Cucurbita
Pepo.

190 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. «-
an inverted sense of the word, the ruins of several buildings burnt by them
are still- standing.
On account of the really tiresome and difficult passage of the Kaiman's
cleft, in later times a way has been cut through the wood, directly at the
foot ofthe mountain, where the cleft is naturally less "deep and broader.
Yet on account of the number of loose blocks of stone, this new way has
not yet been made passable for a waggon ~; and while most of our party followed
it on horseback, we were obliged to send the Waggons by the old road, which
prolonged their journey an hour and a half. As I had, however, heard this
passage described as extremely interesting, the cadet Le Sueur, the steward,
and myself, agreed to accompany the baggage.
This cleft or ravine is one of the narrowest and deepest in the whole
colony. It stretches southward from the foot of the hill towards the coast,
collecting in its progress many mountain streams. It seems like a gulph
formed by the hand of nature itself to preclude for ever all intercourse between
two countries. On each side is a plain rising to a vast height above the sea;
and looking on either hill over to the other, from any opening in the woods
by which they are overgrown, it would be impossible at the distance only of
a few paces to conceive them separated by such a tremendous chasm. Yet
the industry of man has even subdued this vast barrier of nature, and notwith
standing all the obstacles presented, opened a path through the very barrier
itself, and that not only such as may serve for the foot of the wanderer, but
will even admit of its being passed by objects of the bulk of a loaded waggon.
At first the road goes very much up and down ; and when arrived at a
certain point, the guide recommends as a measure of prudence to dismount,
and continue the way on foot. . A steep height is then ascended, rising in the
midst of the cleft, which had hitherto closed the view, and when arrived at
the top, the way turns suddenly to the right, at a pointwhere a prospect is
presented of so extraordinary a nature, that perhaps the traveller will meet
with nothing similar to it in any part of the world. The-monstrous gulph is
now directly beneath, and at the depth of a thousand feet below him the
mountain torrent roars over its stony bed ; — the walls by which it is enclosed
are' thickly overgrown with dark-leaved trees, which cast around singular and
confused shadows, their branches almost closing over the stream, and scarcely
leaving any spaces, through which the dark waters with their white foam

•> TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 191
can be seen. The road now descends, and after having crossed the stream,
ascends again a height, which, as we saw it from this point, I will not say
appeared exceedingly steep, it actually appeared perpendicular ; and it was not
easy to comprehend by what force an empty waggon, which we saw coming
¦down, was held back, so that it was not precipitated at once into the deep.
In looking onwards to the right the eye was at last carried to the vast door
through which the river rushes into the sea. Two overhanging rocks, the
tops of which seemed to join far above the point on which we were standing,
form this door, and through it was seen the wide-spread ocean, the farthest
boundary Pf which that the eye could reach was on this fine serene day
beautifully blended with the clear blue ofthe heavens. Below, at the bottom
of the door, rushes in the foaming sea, mingling its green waves with the
dark brown waters of the torrent.
The descent from the point where we now were could only be carried along
the front of the height. The broken pieces of rock rising above the road,
with the boughs of the trees entwined among them, have been formed into a
sort of rough parapet, which guards the road on the side of the torrent. But
the frequent use of the road, combined with the heavy rains, bas in many
places made large breaks in the parapet, so that the head almost turns giddy
at seeing the depth below, without any guard tp prevent the traveller falling
down. The hind wheels of the waggons Were locked all the way, at other
times all the wheels were locked, and the waggons were partially unloaded, the
men dragging after them the packages which had been taken out, Stout
thongs of leather were fastened to the waggons on the sides towards the
torrent, which were held behind by the men with all their strength, at once
to keep them back as much as possible, and to prevent them from swerving to
that side.
When the height is descended in this way, the torrent may be passed at
ebb-tide without inconvenience. It just began to flow as we crossed, and it
was a wonderfully grand sight to see the billows rushing in, and driving back
.the waters that flowed from the torrent. The road here goes for a very short
distance along a narrow piece of foreland, just broad enough for two waggons
to £ass when the water is down. Here the oxen are allowed to rest a short
time, and then begins the most difficult part of the whole passage to ascend
the opposite height. This does not rise so high above the deep as that we had

1 92 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. g.
just descended, but is much more steep: its inclination above the level of
the river does not make an angle of more than forty or forty-five degrees.
The task is the most difficult at the very beginning of the ascent, for here the
road goes almost as it were in .steps: that is to say, , first comes an immode
rately steep place of three or four feet, and then for a short interval it becomes
nearly a flat. The greatest difficulty is when the waggon is to be drawn up
one of these steps, for in /proportion as the leading yokes of oxen get up the
steep part upon the level, they no longer share in the draught, so, that at
length almost the whole of the draught rests upon the hindermost pair. Here
then the strength of a number of men must be united to support the waggon
behind from rolling back, while the oxen must be compelled to exert their
utmost powers to draw it forwards.
Indeed, as I sat upon the stump of a tree above, contemplating thjs scene,
I could not help being deeply affected by it. The narrowness of the gulph,
the deep shadows resting in it, the tossing of the stream, the rushing in ofthe
waves from the sea, the screaming of the waggoners, the lashes of the long
whips with which they were urging on the poor labouring animals, and which
were re-echoed on all sides from the surrounding rocks, combined with the
anxiety lest any accident should happen either to the men or the oxen,
created in me altogether sensations which I cannot describe, and which
were heightened not a little by the entire novelty of the scene. I experi
enced nearly the same kind of feeling that I remembered to have done as a
boy when reading of the punishments of Tartarus; and indeed many analogies
were to be found between the labours to which the guilty souls there were
condemned, and those which I now saw passing before my eyes.
The three waggons, for among that number the lading of oursingle one had
been divided upon this occasion, at length got over the most difficult part
of their task, but the strength of the oxen was so much exhausted by the
exertions they had been obliged to make in the midst of a hot sun, that they
could not get on the rest of the way without a double Spann. The only
resource, therefore, was for one waggon at a time to proceed up the remainder
of the ascent, so that it was drawn by eight and twenty oxen, and thus singly
the task was at length completed, three hours being however employed in it.
I devoted this time to wandering among the bushes with which the rocks
were overgrown. In one part I found a very good path, nearly at the top of

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 193
the rock, which led directly to the sea: I followed it, and at the end was pre
sented with a truly glorious prospect. I stood upon a steep rock, at the bot
tom of which the waves were foaming, and around me were heights over
grown with trees and bushes, in a variety of forms, and making a most pic
turesque appearance. The height of this path, the beauty ofthe surrounding
objects, and the shadowy coolness of the trees above, made it one of the most
enchanting walks I ever took, and I earnestly recommend it to the notice
of all future travellers in these parts. He who, besides, is anxious to collect
plants and insects, by visiting the spofc-at a more favourable time of the year
than I did, would doubtless find his Wishes abundantly gratified.
Proceeding on our journey, we had two other ravines to pass, not unat
tended with fatigues and difficulties, though trifling in comparison with those
of the Kaiman's cleft. One of these is called Krakadakouw.* We passed
this with the same good fortune as the former, and were delighted with the
view at the end of it, over a broad and deep bason formed here by the Silver-
river, and beautifully shaded by high trees. The bed of this river is a shining
stone composed of particles of quartz and mica, and the water being remark
ably smooth and clear, when the sun is full upon it the surface glitters like
silver, and thence the river has its name. A very considerable layer of this
beautiful stone stretches with an evident declension towards the east, along
the coast in this part; it is higher about the Kaiman's cleft, but at Krakada»
kouw, and some of the other clefts, it is nearly lfevel with the surface of the
sea. Directly beneath this layer are to be found large lumps of shining slate,
sprinkled in a half transparent quartz, in crystallised laminae placed upon
each other.
A short time before- sun-set we arrived at the house of a certain Herz
{Jriinstadt, a German baptized Jew, who entertained us in a wooden hut,
his house having been plundered and burnt by the Caffres. The rest of our
party, who went the nearestway, had arrived there, about noon, and proceeded
on their journey in the afternoon. They had not been without their fatigues
and difficulties, and had crossed three branches ofthe Kaiman's-river, before
they quitted the woods? and got into an open country. The place at which
* A Hottentot name, signifying Maiden's.ford.
c c

194- TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
they then arrived was called Barbier's-kraal, because the colonist who under
took to cut this footpath through the woods, made a vow not to be shaved
till the wprk was accomplished ; and although he had many slaves to assist
him in his task, his beard enjoyed a four weeks' respite. In climbing some of
these heights, the horse of a colonist distinguished himself exceedingly by
the dexterity he displayed. He was, therefore, not tp be purchased of the
owner, but the latter very willingly lent him to the Commissary-general for
the remainder of his journey. The Commissary found the loan a very valuable
one, from the steadiness and safety of his going, and from the long time he
could hold out without being fatigued: he was after the conclusion of the
journey duly returned to his proper master. -
From our oxen being so uncommonly fatigued, it was late at night before
we reached the Zwart-river (Black-river), on the other side of which stood,
the house of Janssen Weyers, where the first division of our party had
arrived in the evening. We crossed in a little boat, and our waggons-
were unloaded, and floated over in the manner which has been already de
scribed. We stopped here a part of the following day, and saw among other
things the three large lakes which lie southwards from hence towards the
coast, and which are laid down with tolerable accuracy in Mr. Barrow's
map. The fields hereabouts afford abundance of grass, but not wholesome for
the cattle. Weyers had, when he purchased this place fifteen years be
fore, five hundred head of horned cattle, eight hundred sheep, and a hun
dred and forty horses, but the murrain, and the inroads of the Caffres, had so
wasted his stock, that he had now no more horned cattle than were absolutely
necessary for the use of his household; all the sheep were destroyed, and he had
only one horse remaining. The inhabitants of this district live principally by fell
ing wood, and sawing it out into planks, which are sent by the Long-kloof
to Boventanden, or even to Plettenberg's-bay, whence they are forwarded
by sea to the Cape Town. The fruit here is very indifferent, and the wine
scarcely drinkable. A principal object of food is derived from the fisheries.
Large animals, such as buffalos, wood-deer (antilope sylvatica), and spot
ted-deer (antilope corinna), which formerly abounded, are now rarely to
be caught, and elephants are never seen at all. We found, however, many
little household utensils made by these people from the horns of buffalos.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 195
Soon after our departure from this place we had to cross a stream running
through the Ruigte- valley,* as it is called. This stream is very much
dreaded on account of the sharp stones with which the bottom is covered,
over which the horses often stumble, or else their feet stick between them.
Instances of mischance in this way occur particularly in the rainy season of
the year, when the stream is swollen ; and even now our guide congratulated
us very much upon such a number of horses having passed without injury.
The farther route varied very much, and very agreeably, being sometimes
through pleasant woods, sometimes over open heights, whence we had often
fine views towards the sea. From one of these we saw a part of the
Green-lake, thus called, from the tint of its waters. The colonists believe
the tint proceeds from its having a subterraneous communication with the
sea, though it is separated from it by a pretty considerable tract of land, and
the water is perfectly sweet and free from salt. The principal ground on
which the opinion is defended is, that it has a periodical rising and falling,
resembling in some sort the ebb and flow of the sea. But the lake lies consi
derably higher than the sea, and this appearance, if it be not deception,
proceeds probably from some secret cause which may be discovered by-
future naturalists who have leisure to remain longer in the country than I
could do.
Towards evening we reached the beautiful river Daukamma, which issues
from a deep and wide-spread forest. At the place where we first saw it,
and where, upon the heights directly over against us, stood the house at which
we were to pass the night, raising its head above the trees that shaded the
declivity ofthe hill ; — at this place the river is so broad and deep that it can
not be forded. We were obliged to travel half an hour farther upwards to
come at a ford. The road lay along the morassy bank of the river, among
high trees : an immense quantity of the cynanchum obtusifolium (Mon
key's cord) was twining about in all directions. The beautiful touraco f
* Ruigte, is the name given among the African colonists, to a low wild shrub, but the proper
meaning of the word is roughness, unevenness.
+ The cuculis persa, a beautiful bird, called by the colonists loeri, or luri. It has brilliant
green feathers, with scarlet wings, a green crown tipped with red, and a red bill. Numbers
are to he found in the woody parts of the colony; and in rainy weather, as the wet impedes
C C 2

196 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
sported among the highest tops of the trees, unfolding its scarlet wings to
the last rays of the sun. After we had crossed the river, we again went
through a similar wood, and afterwards ascended the hill to the house of
Peter Terre-blanche, called Buffelsmark. As we were obliged to set off again
very early on account of crossing the Neisna-river at the ebb, we only laid
down upon the ground in our clothes, with a saddle for a pillow, and
there took a short rest. The waggon had the misfortune to be overturned
in the morassy road by the river side, and notwithstanding assistance being
sent, it was very late before it arrived ; — the waiting-maids only were in the
waggon. The daughter of our host, a girl of thirteen, was once more an
extraordinary instance of corpulence : she was so fat and so overgrown, that
she might well have been supposed double the age, and she weighed already
a hundred and forty pounds. *
We set out again by moonlight. It was now three hours to low wafer, and
we arrived just in the right time, as the morning twilight came on at the
bank of this formidable river. It flows into a large lake called the Neisna,
which is separated from the sea by a chain of rocks along the strand, the
rocks having an opening in one place about two hundred feet wide, and deep
enough to admit of the entrance of vessels, which here find a safe harbour.
At the flow ofthe tide the water is five or six feet deep, and ascends quite
to the river. As there is never more than from two to three feet water in
this river at the ebb, its depth is less to be feared than the nature of its bed;
this being a mixture of mud arid quicksand, there is considerable danger of
a horse sinking into it. We passed through without any accident, and pur
sued our way along the high sandy shore ofthe lake.
We now soon reached the ruins of a large farm on the eastern shore ofthe
lake, known by the name of Melkhout-kraal.* This place was first made in
the middle ofthe last century by a very active, clever, and industrious man,
and, from its fertility, soon became one of the most celebrated in the colony.
It belongs now to an Englishman, by name Holiday, who suffered terribly in

their flying very much, they are sometimes, taken by the hand. They are often kept by rich
people iu the Cape Town, and become extrc*mely tame. The river is also called' from these
birds the Loeri-river.
*• Milk-wood, a species of euphorbia.

TRAVELS IN' SOUTHERN AFRICA. 197
his property at the invasion ofthe Caffres. These savages had a particular
spite against the English, and let loose their wrath, without any bounds, upon
this farm. They not only destroyed and burned all the household goods of
the inhabitants, who had early saved themselves by flight, but razed the
buildings to the ground, a trouble which they did not often take. We
scarcely found a.place among the ruined walls where we could make a fire,
but .the vast heaps of rubbish, and the extent of ground over which the
ruins were spread, shewed at the first glance the dimensions of the buildings.
Four years had now passed since the place fell into the hands of these plun
derers, and from that time no human hand had touched the orchards or the
vineyards, or gathered in the fruit. The vegetables grew wild in the beds,
and the paths were overgrown with grass and weeds. In the vineyard I
found a red-deer feasting upon the ripe grapes : I followed his example, and
found the flavour of them even in this degenerate state such as shewed the
excellent stock from which they were descended. The hedges of roses and
jessamine were now in full blow ; the orange trees bent under the weight of
their fruit; and an endless number of peaches, apricots, almonds, and bananas,
hung there, either to fall of themselves, or to regale the few travellers whom
chance might lead to the spot.
Not the hand of art alone, and the industry of man, but nature seems,
imitating them, to have formed this singular abode in one of her most fan
tastic humours. I could not help indulging myself in the vision that it
was inhabited by some benevolent super-human being, such as is created by
the fancies of poets or romance-writers. The free unconstrained forms and
luxuriant growth ofthe plants and trees destined for the nourishment of man,
the wild overgrown walks between the rose-hedges, which seemed to be trod
den by no human foot, filled me with a sort of secret awe, as I stretched out
my hand to gather some of the neglected. fruit. I conceived that I had just
the feeling which any one might be supposed to have, wandering in the
pleasure-gardens of , some enchanted prince.
While my companions were enjoying the sweets of repose, I employed my
time in hastening along the margin of the lake to the door which nature has
formed, as mentioned above, to admit of its communication with the sea. In
somewhat more than half an hour 1 reached the point ofthe eastern pillar, which
may rise about a hundred and fifty feet above the sea ; the wall on the other side

198 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
being nearly of the same height. The breadth of the opening may be about
two hundred feet, but from the sunken rocks on each side, a great part of this
space is lost to vessels going in or out. The water, as it rushes into the lake,
comes with prodigious force, and for this reason the mouth of the Neisna,
unlike those of most African rivers near the Cape, is not choaked with sand,
but is always navigable. Another cause that contributes to this is, that the"
bed at the mouth of the river is keel-formed, so that the water is not pressed
together, and its force is by that means increased. These circumstances prove
clearly how much Mr. Barrow must be mistaken, when he ascribes this open
ing to a different origin ; the Neisna Lake, he says, by the repeated swelling
of the waters, has forced a way out into the sea, and it is therefore probable
that in time the Green lake will do the same, and be in like manner united
with the sea. This he calls probable, but it seems far more probable that the
aperture made in the ridge of rocks which separates the lake and the sea, was
effected by a much earlier and universal revolution of the whole globe. In
the first place, the rocks rising above the water at this opening, do not bear
the least appearance of being worn away by the washing of the sea, which
must necessarily be, supposing the effects to have been produced by the
gradual friction of the inland waters. Besides, by only paying a little attention
to the walls of this vast portal, and observing their equal height, and equal
declension, the observer must be convinced that they were formerly united,
and that the mighty rent which has brought them to their present state could
only be effected by the same general convulsion which broke through so
many mountains, and opened so many vallies and chasms in this country. In
the third place, how can we explain on Mr. Barrow's system, the depth to
which this opening runs below the level of the sea at its very lowest ebb, for
the power of the waters must have ceased at the mark beyond which they
never descended. I am convinced that Mr. Barrow never could have given
the opinion he has done if he had examined the spot accurately. As little
can I concur in hisadea, that the lake may in the end become an excellent
harbour, how much soever I may be disposed to assent to his wishes on this
point. But the narrowness of the entrance, the insufficient draught of water
to admit of large vessels coming in, and above all things, the short duration
of the point when the depth of water is sufficient for any vessels, are cir
cumstances which must always render the ingress to this harbour very preca->

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 199
rious, and a ship may be obliged to taGk about, or lie to for some hours,
before it be possible to enter. The egress from it, particularly to loaded
vessels, must be still more difficult, on account of the very prevailing south
east wind which blows directly against the entrance, and increases the danger
of the vessels not being able to keep the exact channel by which alone it can
be safely passed.
If the colony of the Cape should ever arrive at such a point of riches, of
industry, and. of population, as that the cost of the work would answer the
object to.be attained, — or should a more than liberal government be willing
to take upon itself the enormous expense of such a work, the entrance
might be widened by machines, which would raise from below the probably
loose blocks of stone by which it is obstructed, and this would be the only
means of making the lake of Neisna an eligible harbour. The anchorage in
the eastern creek of this lake is tolerably good, particularly for small vessels.
What it wants now in depth, there not being at the ebb more than from two
to three fathoms water, would perhaps be in great measure corrected by
clearing the entrance, which, would improve the current, and perhaps in time
increase the depths The project of JMr. Calendar, the present possessor of
Melkhout-kraal, for erecting dock-yards here, has many things to be said in its
favour, and it is very much to be wished that it could be carried into execu
tion. The first attempts must not however be expected to be successful,
and their failure must not too much discourage the undertakers, since the
experience hitherto of the efficiency of the wood about the Cape for ship
building has not been greatly in its favour.
What has been said by other travellers of the fertility of this neighbourhood,
and of the many sources of industry offered here by nature, is very just ; no
part of the country is more calculated to nourish and support an extensive
population. At present there is scarcely any land cultivated hereabouts but
what belongs to the proprietor of Melkhout-kraal, but every branch of African
husbandry may be carried on with the fairest prospect of success. From the
height on which the former buildings stood, the view over the whole lake,
with its half woody, half rocky shores, is very picturesque. The lake is
from an hour and a half to two hours in circumference.
About a mile eastward from hence we came to another little wood, which,
clothing two hills divided by a valley, has thence the appellation of de Poort.

200 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
This was the spot on which was acted in November, 1799> the first unfor
tunate scene of blood in the terrible war with the Caffres. It was the general
signal of enmity on both sides, and may be properly considered as the .begin
ning of the war. Three colonist families, of the names of Wolfard, Heins,
and Botha, who, having learnt what had passed upon the borders, determined
on quitting the country and taking refuge in the Cape Town, were here
overtaken in their flight by a troop of Caffres, when some were killed, others
severely wounded, and some taken prisoners and carried away. The conse
quences of this murder, and the revenge to which, without any great crime,
it might here and there have given occasion, (although we have no authentic
proof that such was the case, and the whole transaction remains very much
in obscurity), occasioned the inroad of a numerous body of these savages, and
ended in the destruction of one of the finest parts of the colony. It will be
seen from these circumstances how incorrect Mr. Barrow is, when he asserts
that the savages were excited against the English government by the colonists.
Itwas unfortunate that their invasion happened at the same time with the
tumultuary movements among the inhabitants of Graaff Reynett, and the
history of these occurrences becomes extremely involved, from the circum
stance of there being three different powers in contention at the same time.
All that I have been able to accomplish in elucidating the matter shall be
given hereafter.
In the afternoon of this day, after a fatiguing ride in extreme heat, over a
flat dry country, we arrived at Plettenberg's bay.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 201

CHAP. XV,
Description of Plettenberg's Bay, and stay there^—The Postholder Meding.— Journey
over the Black-mountains to the Long-kloof. — The Pisang-river .—Diana 's Bath.-—
Augusta's Rest. — Matthias Zondag. — Description ofthe Long-kloof. — Conrad Buys.
— The deaf and dumb Man% Gildenhuis. — Celebration of the New Year. — The Field-
cornet Rademeier.
The form of Plettenberg's bay has a striking resemblance with that of
Mosselbay : indeed, almost all the inlets on the southern coast have in figure
the same resemblance to each other. They have generally on the western
side of the entrance a projecting rock, a branch from the mountains, which
is a great shelter from the force of the sea, but which ends commonly in
reefs underneath the water. All these capes are the termination of rows of
hills running in parallel directions, and cutting the southern coast into many
pointed angles. A glance upon the map will explain my meaning more
clearly. Cape St. Blaise is the outer point ofthe row of hills which stretches
from the Krombek-river east-south-east, and the Robbenberg (Seal Cape) is
the terminating point of another chain, a part of which forms the separation
between the lake of Neisna and the sea. The great chain which lies behind
this, and through which runs the Long-kloof, is lost irt the Bay of Content,
or Kromme-river's bay, and with its two principal arms forms this inlet, the
northern one of which spreads farther along the coast, and at length, as the
Cape des Recifs, separates Algoa bay from the ocean.
In this way the whole southern coast of Africa has a regular declension
from west to east towards the horizon, so that the eastern part sinks into the
sea. In surveying the coast from the Table-mountain, at the height of about
fifteen hundred feet above the sea, the place where the granite ceases, which is
about the Kaiman's-river, will be found not more than fifty feet above the sea at
its lowest ebb, and between Plettenberg's bay and Algoa bay, the sand-stone
layer, which at the Cape rises to the height of two thousand five hundred
Dd

202 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN- AFRICA.
feet above the sea, is upon a level with it. It is, perhaps, from this very
cause that the eastern part of the coast is so much better watered and
more fertile than the other side of the colony. Hence too is clearly explained
the reason why the Caffre coast is so dangerous to ships coming from Asia,
since aH the parallel chains of mountains in Southern Africa end in reefs
below the surface of the sea, running in an oblique direction against the
current of the water (for the current comes in a north-easterly direction
-towards the coast) ;. thus the unwary sailor is driven directly upon the reefs,
•from which he supposes himself yet many miles distant. The very incorrect
manner in which the Caffre country is laid down in most of the charts of
this coast, being placed far too much westwards and northwards, is indeed a
principal cause ofthe many shipwrecks which have happened upon it.
A similar, yet less high chain of rocks than that which separates the lake
of Neisna from the sea, runs along the northern shore of Plettenberg's bay,
and encloses a lake, through which the Keureboom-river flows, and, as at
Neisna, empties itself by a narrow channel into the bay. But this lake, oh
account of its shallowness at the entrance, is unnavigable even for the smallest
vessels, and is only valuable from its abundance of fish. At the western end
of it stands the house of the postholder. The person who at present enjoys
this office is by birth of Swedish Pomerania, and his name is Meding. He
lives here with a very amiable family in a very good house, built by himself
in the European taste.' Besides being postholder, he is overseer of the
adjacent woods, and in this office has madehimself extremely useful to the
government ; indeed, from his strict integrity and extensive knowledge, he is
universally esteemed. Like the Dane Abue, in his early years he received a
scientific education ; he studied at Griesswald, and after many remarkable
turns of fortune, at length in this remote spot found a scene on which his
genius and activity could be displayed. A German traveller, who under
favourable circumstances should travel over the European colonies- in the
-other quarters of the globe, and who does not fear a certain degree of indis-
retion, might compose a very thick and very interesting volume, in detailing
the history of his fellow-countrymen dispersed over the colonies of the naval
powers. The number of Germans in the colony of the Cape alone is pretty
considerable, and my intercourse with several of them in the course of my
travels afforded me many very pleasant and interesting hours, '• '. l

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 203
( The woods begin at not more than a quarter of an hour's distance from the
postholder's house. They run- northwards towards the mountains, and are
so rich in natural rarities, that I earnestly recommend future naturalists
visiting the southern coast of Africa to devote a longer time to this country
than it was in my power to do. Although during the three days that we
remained here I was indefatigable in collecting the treasures it afforded, and
brought home many beautiful specimens, yet was the number that escaped
me much greater. I wished earnestly that it had been possible for me to
remain here several months, or even a whole year, thoroughly to study a
country which travellers hitherto have visited so hastily, or even totally
neglected. In particular, I saw and pursued some butterflies that equalled
those of the West Indies in size and beauty, and which I can safely affirm
are not included in the system. What an endless treasure of observations
mi«ht be made upon the vegetable kingdom, particularly upon the now
almost unknown sorts of large trees with which this country is richly stored,
as well as upon the natural history of sea-aipmals, whether fish, insects, or
reptiles, assisted by the experience of a man of Meding's knowledge and
activity. On the bay, not far from the sandy landing-place, is the government
mao-azine of wood, a not very old, but an almost fallen and useless building.
The builder, who was then employed by the East-India Company, very
absurdly placed this building directly against a rock, down, which the water
is constantly-running, without any provision being made for its going off;
all the beams are therefore decayed, and the greatest part of the thatch fallen
in. People were at this time employed in building a new magazine in a
better style, orders for which had been given by General Janssens in his
journey. The landing-place is a poor one, and only to be distinguished by
two very small rocks which rise on each side of it. The sea runs very high
almost all the year, directly into the bay, so that the surf, even in calm
weather, is sufficient to render the landing difficult. The anchorage is very
good, but on account of the force of the waves the vessels must be anchored
with exceedingly strong cables, else they are in danger of slipping the cable,
and being driven on shore. Water is not here very abundant ; the stream at
the landing-place will not supply more than from seventy to eighty barrels of
'water daily. The timber and planks with which ships are to be freighted are
• d d 2

£04 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
floated into the water, and then towed by boats to the side ofthe vessel to
be taken on board. It has often been proposed to erect saw-mills at Plet
tenberg's bay, but no convenient spot for the purpose has yet been found
in the rivers about; most of them are too dry in summer, and they are often
too much swollen in winter: it is the same case with the wind ; there is
commonly either too much or too little of it.
In returning from an excursion we had made to some distance from the
postholder's house, we crossed a stream called the Pisang-river: it has this
name from the profusion of wild Pisang, as it is here called, strelitzia alba, that
grows upon its banks. It should appear, therefore, as if this was the native
country of the beautiful plant so much admired in Europe, under the name
of strelitzia regina. I was not so fortunate as to find any of the latter wild;
I only saw it in blow in some gardens at the Cape Town.
The soil is not less fertile about Plettenberg's bay than in Outeniqua-
land, though the fields are almost all sour. The difficulty of finding a sale
for the fruits of their industry is a great damp upon that of the colonists,
both in this district and in Outeniqualand : they almost all gain their
livelihood by felling and sawing out timber, and cultivate no more corn and
fruit than they can consume themselves. On the high hills, sweet grass
grows in tolerable plenty, and some ofthe farmers there feed a considerable
number of cattle. From Mosselbay hither we saw no more aloes; they
cease where the woods and sour-fields begin ; they are again, however, to be
found on the high naked hills to the north of Plettenberg's bay, but of a sort
scarcely good for any thing as to the sap they yield. The aloe perfoliata is
exclusively an inhabitant of Zwellendam, and some spots in other remote
districts. The impenetrable forests which occupy the space here eastward, between
the mountains and the coast, precluded our following the cours - of the latter
any longer. We turned therefore northwards, as we proceeded upon our
journey on the twenty-eighth of December, to pass over the high hills which
lay between us and the Long-kloof, where we were to meet our waggons :
we had been separated from them ever since the seventeenth. Although
the distance was not more than between seven and eight miles, the road was
of such a nature, that we could not hope to perform the journey in one day,
but thought it prudent to provide for its continuing two days. Before we

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 205
reached the foot of the mountains, we crossed many little nameless rivers,
and went through several outskirts of the forests ; we also passed two farms,
where we first saw a specimen of the precautions which had been taken
against the inroads ofthe Caffres. They consisted in high earth walls, run
up all round the house at the distance of five or six feet from it: at the four
corners were a sort of towers, with port-holes for guns, resembling bastions*
which gave the whole the appearance of a fortification: the opening opposite
the house door could in time of danger be barricadoed. Many farmers by
this kind of fortification saved their houses. In the way from hence to
Algoa bay we found almost all the houses put into a like state of defence ; but
we learnt that when the Kaffers did get possession of one of these defended
houses, their rage was vented upon it much more furiously than upon the
free-standing ones.
Under the conduct of Meding we began the ascent ofthe mountains. At
first they consist of a number of ridges, running parallel with each other
from west to east, with considerable vallies between ; but each ridge is higher
than the former, and the vallies between are constantly more and more con
tracted. The roads wind carefully just below the brows of the hills on
narrowr projections, in many places looking down a steep precipice, with a
foaming mountain torrent at the bottom, almost turning the head giddy.
For nearly half the way we were obliged to dismount, as the least false step
in the wearied horse might plunge both him and his rider into the depth
below. The horses themselves, unaccustomed to the scene, and seeing the
danger, go with a timid insecure step, leaning always to the side of the ridge:
if the weather be wet, this way is impassable from the great danger of
slipping. In descending into the vallies, sometimes a leap is to be made down
a ledge of the rock like a step, and it is then necessary to leave the horse
entirely to himself, and in ascending, it is scarcely possible to get on more
than twenty steps without stopping to take breath. We lightened the ascent
to ourselves somewhat, by letting our horses go loOse, and driving them
before us, when taking fast hold of the tails, we made them drag us forwards.
Thestreamswhich flowthrough these vallies have theircourseeastward, joining
at last the Keureboom-river. The principal arm of the latter, which we crossed
in the third valley, is tolerably deep and broad, and when it is much swollen

S06 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
by rains, overflows the whole country between Plettenberg's bay arid the
Long-kloof. On the heights we found again different sorts of protea, particularly the
grandiflora , which is here deformed in a very extraordinary manner by the
sting of an insect, to as bad a degree as where gall-nuts are formed: the
branches break out into knots, from which twigs and leaves come out with
out number, but exceedingly small. At a distance these trees appear as if
they were covered with the mistletoe, or some other parasitical plant; but
when examined nearer, it proves to be a ball of little plants, exactly ofthe
same nature as the large bough. Several sorts of brwhia and phylica were
now in flower, and their delicious odour had attracted many beautiful insects
about them. A sort of bee peculiar to these parts makes the most excellent
honey from these flowers, which it stores in the hollows pf trees, or in rents
in the rocks. It is entirely white, and the wax cells are so thin, that in taking
the honey, they melt with it, and rpay be poured easily into a flask. It is
so mild and delicious, that I thought the honey of Hymettus could scarcely be
more so. It is eagerly collected by the colonists in the Long-kloof, and used
by them very much instead of sugar.
When we had ascended the fifth height, and cast a look back to the coast, from
that, as we had from every former one, bidding farewell to the sea for that day,
we stopped in a romantic wooded valley, in which we were to pass the night.
Our waggon had been sent on the day before by a very circuitous road, but
we had met it in the last valley through which we passed; however, on
account ofthe ruggedness of the way, it was now very far behind, and we were
overtaken by a heavy rain, so that we were all completely wet through. We
sought shelter under the thickest of the trees, and soon came to a plear moun
tain stream, which falling over blocks of slate from one to another, in the
manner of a cascade, and sunk beneath the dark shade of trees richly clothed
with leaves, presented a most beautiful picture. The place is called
Cloetes-kraal, from a Hottentot family of that name who once resided here,
but it pleased the party to give it a poetical name, since we all agreed that
the spot itself was highly poetical, and we called it Diana's bath. The few
tents we bad were very insufficient to shelter us entirely from the heavy rain,
and we ate our supper not without some anxiety about our next day's

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. "§07
journey. The rain, however, ceased soon after sun-set, and before we laid
ourselves down to rest, our clothes were well dried by the slaves at a large
fire which they made.
Our horses and oxen being extremely refreshed by the excellent grass
which the spot afforded, they and we set off the next morning with renewed
powers, to encounter a route of even greater fatigue than the preceding day-
The nearer we approached to the highest elevation of the mountains, so much
the more gigantic did the whole mass appear, so much the more rugged were
the sides, so much deeper and wilder were the valleys. The paths along
which we rode, and which are seldom trodden by any human being,, except
now and then a solitary herdsman, driving his cattle to graze, were like those
of yesterday, narrow and winding, as from the brows of the hills they descended
to the vast depths below. Both far and near we saw woods which had pro
bably stood for centuries, defying the axe, from the difficulty attending their
removal. After many almost indescribable difficulties, and much fatigue,
yet sweetened by the sight of nature in her most gigantic and most ancient
forms, we saw the last valley at length before us, and began descending into
it by a steep path enclosed on both sides with shelving rocks, sliding at every
moment over loose stones. On the side, projecting from another mountain
far into the valley, rose a high and remarkable rock, which, on account of its
resemblance to a pulpit, is called by the herdsmen the Predikstoel.
By a less steep path, we arrived about noon at the lowest depth of the
valley, where a shady grove and a crystal stream invited us to take the
repose we all very much wanted. The inhabitants of the Long-kloof fetch
their timber for building from this valley, and from their vexation at the
labour with which it is attended, they have given it the name of Moorde-
narskuil (the murderers' hole). Our chief, in gratitude for the refreshment
it afforded us, and particularly our almost-exhausted ladies, named it in
honour of his daughter, Augusta's rest. The remainder of the provisions
with which we had been supplied by our kind host at Plettenberg's bay
afforded us an excellent meal, which we took lying at the foot of an African
oak, at least a century old, surrounded by some of the most wonderful among
the wonders of nature, and enjoying much cheerful and instructive con-
versation. Almost close to this spot we found the fresh traces of an African
buffalo, and farther on, the bushes trodden down, pointed out the way by

208 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
which he had penetrated into the thicket. Elephants are known also to
inhabit these vallies, and are sometimes seen five or six together.
Steeper, and from its length much more fatiguing, was the last hill which
we had now to ascend. We were two hours reaching the top, but from
thence we had a fine view over the mountains we had passed, with Pletten
berg's bay stretching beyond them. We descended now almost imperceptibly,
and soon arrived at the house of Matthias Zondag, where our waggons had
been already arrived some days. This place is called Avontuur (Adventure)
and lies about the middle of the Long-kloof, at its highest point. The Long-
kloof is a valley formed by two parallel rows of hills : it is in few places more
than half a mile broad, but is nearly thirty miles in length; and if the valley
of the Kromme-river be included, which is indeed a continuation of it, the
entire length will be forty geographical miles. The whole chain of moun
tains, of which the Long-kloof forms a part, runs without interruption from
Roodezand to Algoa bay, a length of more than eighty miles, and bears the
general name of the Black Mountains. Particular parts have names by
which they are otherwise distinguished, but many parts of these mountains
deserving of distinction remain still unoccupied and nameless, and will still
be so, till the period shall arrive when the colony will be universally cultivated*
The Long-kloof, notwithstanding its elevated situation, is well supplied
with water, and in many places the way is rendered fatiguing by the morassy
nature ofthe ground. Through the whole length of it, houses are to be met
with in regular distances of about an hour from each other, which is a certain
proof of fertility, although the people complain that they are situated too
near to each other. Corn and fruit will grow exceedingly well here, but from
pircumstances already often mentioned, they are little cultivated. The wine
is very indifferent, but the dried fruits are excellent: the raisins are particu
larly celebrated. Horned cattle, butter, soap, and hides, are the products
principally brought to market from hence. The colonists of the place are a
good-natured, friendly race, without any overstrained piety, and wjth a tole
rable degree of education. From the houses, the clothes, the tables, it is
evident that they are in affluence, and procure with facility the wants, and
even some of the luxuries of life.
As the waggon, which we again quitted at Diana's bath, on account ofthe
great circuit it was obliged to take, did not rejoin us till the second evening,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 209
when much was to be done to put it in order for setting forwards again, and
as many other provisions were to be made for our future journey, we were
obliged to remain here two days. During this time, the neighbouring colo
nists came in great numbers to visit the Commissary-general, when, accord
ing to custom, they had many petitions, representations, and complaints to
make to him. What inclined him principally to lend a very attentive ear to
these things, which often belonged more properly to the inferior jurisdictions,
was the opportunity it gave him of explaining more clearly to many persons
the principles ofthe new Dutch government; to recommend patience,
mildness, and forbearance towards the people under them; and above all, to
excite them to a higher degree of industry than had been hitherto in general
exerted among the colonists, particularly among those of the more remote
districts. The sequel has shewn that these endeavours, in which he had been
preceded by Governor Janssens in his journey, were not without the desired
effect: indeed, the influence which they had in the principal points upon
these, somewhat rough it is true, yet, according to my opinion, not wholly
uncivilised men, was among the happiest consequences of this journey.
The English government failed indisputably in nothing so much as, that
despising the gentler means of persuasion and mildness, they had recourse at
once to harsh measures; — to the inconsiderate rigour of those who were
employed by them is perhaps principally to be ascribed the refractoriness
sheW'ri by the colonists. They were in a sort of state of insurrection when
the colony was" taken by the English, arid being still more irritated and
incensed by the harsh behaviour of those who were sent among them by the
conquerors, it is not surprising that they appeared to Mr. Barrow in the
unamiable colours under which he has represented them in his writings. That
he should involve all in one general censure was however not quite consistent
with candour, and he has thereby laid himself open to the censure of having
sought an almost unmanly retribution, for the slights shewn to him personally
by individuals.
If the peasants, who might perhaps be injudicious, and ill-informed as to their
true interests, and who'were besides over-heated by worthless people, had
been treated with mildness, and had not seen foreigners and persons whom
they hated put over them, but had seen their magistrates chosen from among
EC

210 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the impartial and well-instructed inhabifantsof the colony, 'and enough of this
description were to be found, it is probable .that, much mischief might have
been spared. All the disturbances in GraaffTReyne,tt, < the war with the
Caffres, and the arming pf the Hottentots .against the. colonists, might have
been averted; or, if lenient means at length proved, fruitless, the proceed
ings of the English government, at least in thp punishment of the leaders,
would have been defensible, not only on the grounds of necessity, but on
those of justice.
Among the discontented, was then a man, whom his fate, ¦ hitherto, and, the.
part he took in the Caffre war, has rendered celebrated. Conrad Buys, an
African born, who had a small farm'in the district of Zwellendam, -was in the
year 1795 one ofthe warmest patriots, as they called themselves, and opppsers
of the Orange principles. When the colony was taken by the English, he fled
to the Caffres ; whether it was, as his defenders assert, entirely from dislikpof the
new government, or, as others will contend, from fear of punishment, I will not
pretend to determine. The same powers which had raised him to so much
distinction in the assemblies of the insurgents, his great strength of body, a
countenance full of courage and ardour,.adaringand active mind, with superior
eloquence of speech, soon acquired him equal distinction among the savages.
He above all things so entirely gained the confidence of the mother of their
King Geika, then a minor, that a sort of marriage was concluded between
them, after the manner of the Caffres, and in a short time he shared with
this woman the almost unbounded influence which from her rank as well as
her prudence she had obtained over the whole nation. The brother of her
deceased husband was then endeavouring to deprive his nephew of the sove
reignty, or at least to separate himself, with a numerous body of adherents,
from the principal tribe; but with the assistance of Buys the prudent mother
contrived to satisfy her brother-in-law, and make him preserve at least an
external friendship.
A year after the flight of Buys the Caffre war began, but what part he had
either in its origin or continuance it is( not easy to decide. That he stirred
up the Caffres against the English is very probable, but it is not at all likely
that the desolation ofthe country, and the destruction ofthe dwellings of the
colonists, was promoted by him, or jthat he encouraged the horrors of which
the Caffres were guilty towards his former friends and companions. It is veiy

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 21 1
certain', that during the whole war he! remained quietly at home with his queen ;
and it is1 certain also, that 'her's arid theyouhg king's partytook no share what
ever in the disturbances. It! was the tribes of which Sambeh, Conga, and Ja-
luhsa,' adherents ofthe Pretender, were the chiefs, who fell with so much fury'
upOri the colony, marking their footsteps with blood and murder. It is even
much to be presumed, that 'if Buys had any' share in. the i instigation' of the
war, his purpose was to occupy the uncle of his ward, to remove him and
hisadhererifs to a distance, thereby to weaken his influence, and in his absence
to strengthen and confirm the power ofthe young' king.
Many other circumstances concurred to bring on the evil, and without his
interference there is rio'dbubt'tnat it would have taken place.1 Among these
may be reckoned first, the desire of plunder comrriori' to all the' Caffres,
created perhaps principally hy an increasing population, with too little means
of supporting it: secondly, individual acts of power, arid arbitrary instances
of vengeance' from the colonists: and thirdly, the unstable measures of the
new, half-formed, ill-instructed, English "goverririient.
As long as the English retained possession of the Cape, Buys remained
arnorig the Caffres, and continued to be held in great respect and esteem by
them. General Janssens found him still there in the year 1803, when he
concluded a peace with Geika. His whole behaviour hitherto appeared
however too ambiguous, arid the influence of a person of his talents and
pbwers'over a nurii'erous and warlike nation appeared too dangerous to see
with indifference' the continuation' "of1' his' connection "with these savages.
General Janssens' therefore stipulated for his return to the colony, in which
he acquiesced willingly. A residence was awarded him near the place where
we now were, arid bur chief availed 'himself of his being iri the neighbourhood
to acquire frbrri' him much interesting arid useful information respecting the
Caffres, arid the history of the late disturbances.
He was' invited to "'meet us,r and came1 ori the thirty-first of December.
The' representations' which rumour, too much addicted to exaggeration, had
given us beforehand of this extraordinary .man,' were corrected 'from" the
mbriient of his 'entrance. His' uncommon height, for he measured nearly
seven feet; the strength, yet 'admirable'proportion of his limbs, his excellent'
carriage, his firm countenance,' his high forehead', his whole mien, arid a
certain dignity in his movements,' made altogether a most pleasing impression.
E e 2

%\% TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Such, one might conceive, to have been the herpes of ancient times; he
seemed the living figure of a Hercules, the terror of his enemies, the Jiope
and support of his friends. We found in him, and it was what according to
the descriptions given we had little reason to expect, a certain modesty, a cer
tain retiredness in his manner and conversation, a mildnessand kindness in his
looks and mien, which left no room to suspect that he had lived several years
among savages, and which still more even contributed to remove than his con
versation the prejudice we had conceived against him. He willingly gave in
formation concerning the objects upon which he was questioned, but carefully
avoided speaking of himself and his connection with the Caffres. This restraint,
which was often accompanied with a sort of significant smile, that spoke the
inward consciousness of his own powers, and in which was plainly to be read
that his forbearance was not the result of fear, but that he scorned to satisfy the
curiosity of any one at the expense of truth, or of his own personal reputa
tion, made him much more interesting to us, and excited our sympathy
much more than it would perhaps have been excited by the relation of his
story. Another very interesting acquaintance which we made here, though of a
totally different kind, was a deaf and dumb man, by name Gildenhuis. He
was uncommonly clever in handicraft employments, and was exceedingly
useful to the inhabitants of the country, in making gun-locks, tools for all
kinds of work, and in general in all the finer kinds of smith's work. He
had learned all this of himself, and many things he shewed us of his own
carving and engraving in wood and metal, evinced no less patience and per
severance, than taste and genius. As very few patterns had fallen in his way,
most of the forms and ornaments were entirely his own fancy, which rendered
the taste they displayed much more extraordinary. This man is mentioned
by Mr. BarrPw as a remarkable instance of genius. His manners were.no
less striking than his works. All his actions, all his movements, his very
countenance displayed a kind of humour peculiar to himself, an innate dispo
sition to comic representations. In nothing was this shewn more conspicu
ously than in the signs which he had himself invented to express hjs meanings,
and through the medium of which he could even relate long histories to those
who were acquainted with the signs. He took a particular pleasure in giving
us, by the aid of his sister, an idea of this sort of speech, which entertained

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 213
us exceedingly. He described a Hottentot by pressing the ends of his two
thumb-nails hard together, as these people do when they want to kill the
vermin, by which they are commonly so much plagued ; a horse was described
by making a movement with his two fore fingers like galloping. These speci
mens are sufficient to give an idea of their nature, and they were all equally
appropriate and humorous. His external appearance shewed a happy and
contented mind, with an uncommon vivacity of disposition ; and his relations
assured us that he seemed a perfect stranger to hstlessness and ennui.
The entrance of the new year was solemnised here according to the custom
of the country, with the firing of guns from the farms all round, so that the
whole neighbourhood, resounded with them. Our dragoons were not behind
hand, but emulated the colonists in the salutes they fired from their carabines.
The next morning we proceeded onwards in the Long-kloof, visited several
excellent farms, and in the evening arrived at the house of a rich colonist,
hy name Stephen Ferrara, with whpse cousin of the same name we had taken
our rest at noon. This place is well supplied with water; the whole valley
indeed is so, and appears fertile enough to nourish in future generations a
considerable population. The farms which we visited the next day by
degrees assumed a poorer appearance, and most of them were fortified, in the
manner before described, with earth walls and bastions. The valley here
widens gradually, the mountains on each side have a less wild and rugged
aspect, their summits are more rounded, but the vegetation is weaker, and
the number of springs is diminished, as well as the quantity of water supplied
by each. At the house of the Field-cornet Rademeier we again met with an
old Prussian soldier, whom a singular fate had driven to this spot. He had
served in the seven years war, was afterwards in garrison at Wesel, and there
had the misfortune to kill the son of a general in a duel. He fled into Holland,
where he engaged in the service, of the East-India Company, and was
sent hither as a, common soldier. Already an invalid when the Cape was
taken by the English, he would have died helpless and forsaken, had not the
compassionate Rademeier, without any previous knowledge of him, taken
him to ,his peaceable and hospitable habitation, there to maintain him for the
remainder of his life. His name was Winnekes, which I mention in case
the remembrance of him should still live in the hearts of any of his fellow-
countrymen. How many unfortunate persons may equally here, south ofthe

%W TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN 'AFRICA.
li'ne, have closed a career of sorrow and repentance, far frorh their hbrnes and
their native land, without any knowledge of thotr* fate ever having -reached*
those to whorh'theyoriee were dear, without evcri the'eausc of their flight
being known !
At noon we stopped af the house of a certain StVyclom, -where: the shade-
of some old oaks,' and an avenue of loaded1 fruit-trees, the roots of which
were Watered by a pretty little rivulet flowing' over' a -pebbly bed, made' us'
forget the poverty -which appeared in the house aiid its inhabitants. Our
host and his brothers maintained their families chiefly by* the chase'. They
roved about the mountains to the'south of 'their habitations1, in pursuit of'the
elephants, buffalos, and wild boars, which still inhabit in considerable
numbers the vast forests of Sitzikamma. A few months before,1 they < had''
taken a male elephant fourteen feet high, the tusks of which weighed
nearly a hundred and a half. They were sold at the CarJe Town for two
hundred dollars. He asserted, that some years before,1 elephants had been
taken here that were eighteen feet high; and experienced hunters,'* w'hd'had
travelled through the solitary countries on the other side''of Caffraria,; assured*
me afterwards1 that this was no exaggeration. Strydoiri11 celebrated highly'
the' affection of this animal to its young, and' insisted 'that ho had -himself'
seen a 'female elephant take her wounded calf up in her teeth, and' run away
with it.
Rademeier, who undertook himself to be our guide for a part of 'the way,
shewed us at sortie distance from his house, near the road, the grave of 'a1
Hottehtot, who, according to the universal testimony of the neighbourhood,
came into these parts long ago, being a Christian; and lived here asa'Phy-"
siciah arid Sage. His memory is now honoured by the Hottentots, according
to their custom, by any one as he passes throwing a fresh flower upon it.
We found indeed several which seemed to be almost fresh strewn there.''
The grave consisted of a number of rough massy stones heaped' together,
which might be between twenty and thirty paces in circumference. This
circumstance is interesting, as a proof ofthe truth of what is asserted by early '
travellers respecting the superior degree of civilization at which the Goriaaquas'
had arrived above the other tribes of Hottentots.1 We often found in subse
quent pahs of our journey similar graves towards the borders of the Caffre'
country, but never inany other part of Southern Africa did I see' any thing '

TRAVELS IN. SOUTHER.^ AFRICA. 212
resembling it. It is common among all the tribes of Hottentots to bury theii
dead very deep, and with great care ; most of them indeed are not contenl
merely with the precaution of burying the body deep to preserve it from wild
beasts, but as a farther defence,.;dig tp a considerable extent round the imme
diate spot where the corpse is to be laid, and fill up the space with bushes
and brambles, putting over the whole a thick layer of stones : but this done.
the memory of the deceased is soon lost, and he is thought of no more. It is
therefore but just to distinguish the grateful Gonaaquas, who, after the
lapse of half a century, still honour the remains of merit.
Towards evening we passed the Wageboom-river,* a small rapid stream,
near which we found the family of a colonist, by name Kretzinger, busied in
rebuilding their house, which had been burnt by the Caffres. The same fate
had attended the farm where we stopped for the night. The owner, a certain
Olivier, had returned a few months before, but so impoverished, that he had
scarcely even bread and mutton to sell us. Very little more of the house
was left standing than the walls, and our whole party slept at night under
tents.

* Wageboom is, the namegiren by the colonists to several sorts of Pro tea, which, on account
of the hardness and toughness of the wood, afford excellent materials for making waggons.

226 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA,

CHAP. XVI.

First Rencontre with travelling Caffres, and many Particulars concerning the Interview.—
Leeuwenbosch.— Magic Power of Snakes.— Kabeljau-river.—Chamtoo-river, and
difficult Passage of it.— Beautiful country on the other Side.— Elephant Hunt.—
Riet-river. — Embarrassment ofthe Travellers from the Delay of the Waggons'.—
Lead-mine at Van Stade's-rker, "-¦'
Not far from the place where we now were the Long-kloof loses its
name. The road ascends a considerable height, whence is seen the valley
of the Kromme-river (Crooked-river): this stream is enclosed by the same
parallel rows of hills which had hitherto formed the Long-kloof. On the sides
of these heights are many chasms ; from these flow the sources Pf the Krom
me-river.* This name is very appropriate, for the stream winds so much
in the narrow valley to which it is confined, that the road crosses it seven or
eight times. The fords are deep and dangerous, sometimes from the loose
broken stones, sometimes from the morassy nature of the ground. In places
of the latter description, are here and there what are called by the colonists
Palm-bridges, which however soon decay, and are then more dangerous
than the fords themselves. Rademeier carried us for some way along a path
upon the declivity of the northern heights, by which we avoided some of
these windings, with their fords. We were so much the more anxious about
our waggons, which could not take this road, as two of them had already,
early in the day, sunk deep in the mud, whence they were not drawn out
without difficulty. At noon, we rested near the river under the shade of
some small trees of Kruppelholz (Protea ConocarpaJ, and made a very
pleasant meal of our cold provisions, while our horses found excellent feed

* All the rivers and streams of the Long-kloof which run westward of Matthias Zondag's
house flow into the Kamnasie, whieh afterwards joins the Gaurits.river. Those eastward of
Zondag's collect themselves together into the Kuga.river, which runs for a while parallel with the
Kromme-river, both at length joining the Chamtoo.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 217
in the meadow ground that bordered the river. In the afternoon we again
crossed the river three times, and arrived in the evening at the hpuse of
P. Ferreira, called Jagersbosch (Hunter's-bush), which had been taken by
the Caffres, but not totally destroyed. The thatch was not so much
damaged but that it sheltered us entirely from a heavy rain. Our waggons,
however, as we had very much feared, did not arrive till the morning, so
that we passed a not very agreeable night, with empty stomachs, and upon the
cold damp ground, without our beds.
Here we first saw some Caffres : they were five men and three women,
belonging to the herds of the Caffre Prince Conga, and came on a party of
pleasure ; or, as they termed it, had taken a walk to be entertained by the
colonists, and receive presents from them. What makes the neighbourhood
of these savages extremely irksome is, that in peace they expect as a sort of
tribute what in war they seize by force. They often come in large bodies,
and will stay several days' or even weeks, scarcely thinking themselves
obliged, even though they are entertained all the time without cost; and
this the inhabitants do, to obviate, if possible, any cause of quarrel with
them. Many times, in making peace, endeavours have been made to
establish a fixed boundary which neither side shall pass without express
permission from the chiefs ofthe country, but to this they never would con-
senVurging that there was no use in being at peace, if people' could not make
visits to their friends to enquire after their welfare. Under this pretence,
they rove in little troops all over the colony, coming sometimes even to the
Cape Town, to the no little injury of the colonists, over whose properties
they travel. Their importunity, their number, and the fear of quarrelling
with them, since they are very ready to catch at any pretence for a quarrel,
commonly secure them good entertainment; or if in hopes of getting rid of
them, their host does not feed them sufficiently, they take one of his sheep,
without any ceremony, and kill it. As they have no idea themselves but-
of living from, day to day, without any regard to the future, they consider the
breeding cattle kept by the colonists as wholly superfluous, which ought to
be, and shall be shared with them. The insolence of these roving groups
was a principal occasion of the late disturbances, ahd the not having been -
able to put a stop to their visits at the establishment of peace, occasions
much anxiety with regard to the future. Ff .

£18 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The Caffres who were now upon a visit here were some ofthe poorest
part ofthe nation, very dirty, and very ill-clothed: three of them were not of
genuine Caffre origin, but were bastards ofthe Gonaaquas and Caffres. Two
of these latter spoke broken Dutch, and in the name of the rest begged some
brandy of us! A glass was given to each of thenu the men were besides
presented each with a knife, and the women with some beads and buttons.
As we wished much for some specimens of their dexterity in throwing the
Hassagai, a board was set up as the mark at which they were to throw : they
were to stand at the distance of sixty paces from it, and whoever first hit the
mark was to receive a red cotton handkerchief as a prize. It was a long time
before the prize was gained, and as they continued the sport voluntarily, we
observed that not above one out of thirty throws hit the mark. Yet, when
it did hit, the force of the weapon was so great, that the iron point pierced
through a board an inch thick.
They now gave us, unasked for, a pantomimic representation of their
mode of fighting, ranging themselves in two rows, and showing how, by the
most rapid and powerful movements of the body, they throw the weapon at
the enemy. They also imitated their manner of avoiding the weapons of the
opponent, which consisted in changing their place at every moment, springing
hither and thither with loud cries, throwing themselves at one instant on the
ground, and then rising with astonishing velocity to take their aim anew.
The activity and readiness of their motions, the variety and rapid changes of
attitude in these fine, athletic, naked warriors, made this sight as pleasing as it
was interesting, on account of its novelty. Another change was now produced
by the use of their weapons of defence. These weapons consisted first of a
large shield, rounded out of a hardened ox-hide and stretched by a wood
cross within, which served also for a handle, and secondly of a short stick
of Hassagai wood,* so cut, that a knob is made at the end by a part ofthe
thick root of this stem. With the latter weapon, which the Hottentots call a
Kirri, they turn aside the Hassagai by a strong side blow. They use the Kirri
equally as a weapon of defence, in the Wray of a bludgeon, when they come
to close fighting.
As it began to rain hard, we invited our visitors into the house, where they

* Curtisia faginea, a wood something of the nature of mahogany;

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 219
entertained themselves till late in the evening with a dance after their fashion ;
this was as stiff and disagreeable as their activity and dexterity in the use of
their arms had been otherwise. The men first come forwards in a row, with
folded arms, stamping with a number of strange disagreeable motions of the
head, shoulders, and body, while the women with the most hideous grimaces
move slowly round the men, one after the other. Then they sing, or rathet
howl a strange melody, which cannot be pleasing throughout to an European
ear, and which could not be performed upon any of our instruments, because
»their Intervals stand in a very different relation one to another from our's.
Yet they imitate these Intervals and the melody of their songs upon their
imperfect instruments very true. One of the women employed herself in
making baskets of rushes, such as are mentioned by Sparmann, thick enough
to hold milk. The work is uncommonly neat, and does great honour to the
inventor ; but the mode in which it is done could not be described without
great prolixity.
When our waggons were at length all collected together, we left this place,
and proceeded farther on along the right bank of the Kromme-river. About
noon we reached a very agreeable resting place in the Hassagai-bosch, as it
is called, by the side of a clear rivulet running through the wood. We soon
after passed the Kromme-river for the last time, and then ascended on the
other side a very striking height, which brought us to a wide plain ; here we
saw the bound of our this day's journey, in a solitary farm that lay directly
before us. We had seen a great many wild animals the whole day, particu
larly antelopes of almost every sort, among others some of the rare pigmy-
antelope (antilope pygmtea), called here the Oribi. These animals live entirely
in woody countries, and are therefore only to be taken in this part of the
colony. Duivers, red-deer, and wood-deer, were in troops of five or six
together, but neither was the land favourable for the chase, or could we
venture with our horses, tired by a long day's journey, to follow the game
with any eagerness.
At the place where we were to take up our quarters for the night we
found again several families who had fled, and their property had been plun
dered by the Caffres ; by the consent of the owners, who lived at the Cape
Town, they had here found an asylum till their own dwelling-houses could
be restored, and rendered habitable. Among them was a woman scarcely
Ff 2

220 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
now thirty years old, who was of such an extraordinary size, that her weight
was estimatedat not less than three hundred and fifty pounds. She had suffered
for a long time with such a terrible oppression upon her breath, and beating at
the heart, that she had all the appearance of an incurable dropsy in the chest.
The Commissary-general found here again many differences to decide.
Among others, a Hottentot woman brought a complaint against a colonist,
whose servant she had formerly been, that he withheld from her a cow and
calf which she had earned. The Commissary took occasion upon this
earnestly to exhort the colonists to be particularly careful in their con
duct towards such of the former inhabitants of the country as behaved
well in their service. He, as General Janssens had done, made it a rule in
all cases between a Hottentot and his Christian master, which appeared in
any way doubtful, to presume in favour of the former, and decide accord
ingly. This had a good effect upon the behaviour of the colonists towards
the Hottentots, and was of this use, among others, that it compelled them to
fulfil exactly the agreements made with their servants when they hired them.
On the other side, as it remedied one evil, it in some sort created another,
for upon subsequent occasions I had opportunities of observing that the favour
here shewn the Hottentots encouraged them to make idle and futile com
plaints against their masters, so that the inferior magistrates were at last
constrained to punish here and there one of these people, who had, without
any ground, brought these complaints, and occasioned their masters a great
deal of trouble.
On the fifth of January, about noon, we came to the dwelling of a certain
Michael Ferreira* called Leeuwenbosch (Lion's bush). The house had
suffered exceedingly from the Caffres, but the household was the best
ordered that we had seen for a long time. The man and wife were
quiet pious people, and seemed to lead a most happy life in their solitude,
surrounded by a number of fine children, and by a company of faithful slaves
and Hottentots : both the latter appeared really and warmly attached to them.
They received us with a pleasure and friendship of manner, which evinced
indisputably the utmost purity and simplicity of heart, and which made
the frugal meal they set before us doubly agreeable.
As, according to my custom, I took a ramble into the fields in the
afternoon, I saw at the brink of a ditch a large snake in pursuit of a field-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 221
mouse. The poor animal was just at its hole, when it seemed in a moment
to stop, as if unable to proceed, and without being touched by the snake, to. be
palsied with terror. The snake had raised its head over him, opened its
mouth, and seemed to fix its eylfs stedfastly upon him. Both remained still
awhile, but as soon as the mouse made a motion, as if he would fly, the
head of the snake followed the movement immediately, as if he would stop
his way. This sport lasted four or five minutes, till my approach put an end
to it: the snake then snapped up his prey hastily, and glided away with it
into a neighbouring bush, where I endeavoured in vain to get at him and
kill him. As I had heard a great deal of this magic power in the snake over
smaller animals, it was very interesting to me to see a specimen of it. I
think it may be made a question, however, whether the poisonous breath of
the reptile might not really have had the effect of paralysing the limbs ofthe
mouse, rather than that its inability to move proceeded either from the fixed
eye of the snake, or the apprehension of inevitable death. It is remarkable,
and very certain, that serpents will sport with their prey, as cats do, before
they kill it.
Ferreira gave us two muskets, which some deserters from the ninth battalion
of Jagers had sold to one of the neighbours, or had left behind them in their
flight. It was in February, 1803, as the Dutch army was encamped upon
the Weinberg, that a whole piquet from this battalion, almost all Poles,
forsook the camp by night. They were part of a number of Poles, who,
having been in the French service, were in 1801 taken into the pay of the
Batavian republic, and sent hither among the colonial troops. These unfor
tunate men conceived that in flying northwards they could reach their own
country in a few weeks. They were, however, for the most part, retaken
by the colonists, and carried back to the camp, where they suffered the
utmost rigour ofthe law, and paid with their lives their want of geographical
knowledge. Five of them, however, escaped out of the colony by the road
we were now travelling, and perhaps met their fate from the hands of the
Caffres or Bosjesmans. In my principal journey, two years after, 1 found
traces of them in a very distant part, as will be related in the proper place.
The excessive heat of this day prevented our setting off again till towards
Evening. I proceeded on foot with the waggons, and rejoined the company

222 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
late at the farm of the widow Kretzinger, on the Kabeljau-river. On the
way we were overtaken by the most violent storm that I think I ever wit
nessed. The whole heavens were covered over with the thickest black, and
night seemed to come on before the sun was gone down. The dark moun
tains seen in this mournful twilight appeared doubly gigantic, and their frightful
masses, illumined suddenly by the blaze of the lightning, seemed awfully near.
From four or five different parts the lightning flashed through the heavens,
while tremendous claps of thunder followed quick on each other, every
clap becoming still louder and louder, and being prolonged by the echoes
from the mountains, there scarcely seemed any interval, no pause which
could distinguish between the cessation of one clap and the commencement
of another: the noise grew fainter for a moment, only to be renewed with
a more tremendous roll than before.
Amid a pouring and continued rain we pursued our way till we arrived
at the above-mentioned farm, where we met the Field-comet Ignatius
Mulier, with a new vorspann. Here again were several families sufferers
from the Caffres, many of whose houses, almost entirely destroyed, we had
passed in our day's journey. We also met here with another group of tra
velling Caffres, who begged of us some little presents of tobacco, beads, and
brandy. They were chiefly women, and among them was a sister ofthe chief
Conga, who was distinguished as well by the greater splendour of her dress, as
by her handsome countenance.
The country was now again much more level, and somewhat farther to the
south the great chain of the Black Mountains, which runs from Roode
zand and Zwellendam, forming the boundary of the Long-kloof, and the
valley ofthe Kromme-river, down to the coast, loses itself in the sea. Some
miles northwards from hence, runs a branch of this chain, which stretches
farther to the east, and after having formed the bank of Van Stade's-river,
runs down to the sea in the neighbourhood of Algoa bay. From these hills
flows the Zeekoe-river, which we had crossed this day, and which unites
itself with the sea a mile eastward of the Kromme-river. All these rivers are
choked at the mouths with sand-banks, and the Kromme-river's bay is from
the surf almost entirely useless for shipping: there is scarcely a place along
its whole margin where even a boat can land without danger of being wrecked.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 223
After resting a few hours at night, we were obliged to set out again before
day-break, to reach the Chamtoo-river, three hours from hence, while the tide
was sufficiently down to permit of our crossing it. This was one ofthe most
dangerous of all the rivers we passed, from the depth and breadth of the
stream, and from the necessity of attending to the exact point of time when
only it is fordable. Many a one who has not paid due attention to this point
has here found a watery grave : directly at the entrance of the ford on this
side, the tomb-stone of an English dragoon, who had not very long before
shared this fate, stands as a warning to others to be more cautious in encoun
tering the danger. We found it, as our guide assured us would be the case,,
at this time unusually low ; for though a heavy rain had fallen the day
before, the west wind which accompanied the storm occasioned the ebb to
descend to its very lowest level, so that in the deepest places the water
scarcely reached our horses' bellies. After going a little way through the
water we come to a sand-bank, which runs down the length of the stream ra
ther in an oblique direction towards the opposite shore : along this bank,
which has in no part more than a foot and half depth of water, we pursued
our course till arrived at the point where the stream is the shallowest between
that and the bank: here the remainder is to be crossed, but this is the most
dangerous part of the passage. We had but just passed before the water
began to rise again.
Our waggons, which only then arrived on the other side, had more diffi
culty in crossing than ourselves, and the last of them, which, to increase the
evil, had stuck fast at the beginning of the ford, was not without great exer
tions brought safely to the other side. It was really a curious sight to see the
train of waggons going along the sand-bank in the middle of the stream.
The Field-cornet Mulier, and some other of the colonists who had accom
panied us, were exceedingly assiduous in giving directions for bringing the
waggons through, going sometimes up to their breasts in the water to point
out the right track, and even to give their assistance when any thing went
wrong. A delay of only a quarter of an hour might have occasioned the
loss:of a whole lading, and nothing was more likely than that the oxen in the
water might entangle themselves with the harness, or make some false step,
when only those who are accustomed to the passage, and have sufficient

224 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
resolution and presence of mind, can set them right again. This readiness
to assist, and extreme activity in assisting, deserves to be mentioned as a new
proof that the African colonists are not inattentive and slothful to^he degree
that they have often been represented.
While we were resting, after having surmounted the toils and dangers of
the passage, we were again visited by a company of Caffres, with whom we
entertained ourselves agreeably for some time. At the same moment, some
of the women whom we had seen at the Kabeljau-river, appeared on the other
bank of the Chamtoo, and held a conversation with their fellow-countrymen
who were on this side. Our guides made us remark how easily these people
heard each other at a considerable distance, without either party speaking
particularly loud. The slow and singing manner of their pronunciation,
whence a prolonged tone dwells on the last syllable, may very well account
for such an effect.
About nine o'clock we proceeded onwards, sending our waggons by a
circuitous route along the sea-shore to meet us in the evening at the house of
the Field-cornet Mulier, while we took the nearest way through the forest
and over the hills. The Chamtoo-river was formerly the boundary between
the colony and the Caffre-country, and indeed it seems to separate two very
different countries. That through which we were now travelling is among
some of the most beautiful parts of Southern Africa, and shewed in the
clearest manner the difference between the climate of this district and that
which prevails about the Cape Town, with the influence produced by the
abundant storms, and the heavy rains that accompany them, upon the vegeta
tion and the whole appearance of the country. Large tracts are here covered
with thp most wholesome nourishing grass; the hills are surrounded with
woods, and in the valleys are large lakes: the water of them is, however, not
wholly free from saline particles. We continued our course for some time
through woods and level green valleys, with ponds in them, in which were
large flocks of moor-birds; in short, among such beautiful changes and
varieties, that we could almost have conceived ourselves in a lovely English
garden. At the feet of the high trees grew a number of succulent plants, in
particular of aloes, which were still in high bloom, many of them with large
branches, which seemed scarcely able to sustain the weight of the heavy

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 22$
fleshy leaves. On the ground crept a number of smaller plants, among which,
the Schotia speciosa was particularly distinguished by its clusters of reddish
purple flowers.
Numbers of elephants inhabit the thickest parts of this forest. Not above
a week before, our guide, whose name was Nieuwkerk, had shot a large male
elephant, but could not follow him quick enough to secure him. He thought
it very probable that his body might still be found, since he was sure that he
could not have run very far, and he knew the direction he had taken. I had
no great difficulty to persuade him to accompany me, and endeavour to find
the animal ; we therefore left the party, and penetrated into the forest, but by
no beaten path. My hopes that I should have to occupy myself during our
stay at Algoa bay with preparing the skeleton of an elephant were disap
pointed. We found many footsteps of elephants, some of which seemed
almost fresh made, but could not find the dead body we sought. The
excursion proved exceedingly fatiguing, as we were obliged to go the greatest
part of the way on foot, leading our horses ; for this, however, I would have
compounded, if it had answered my purpose, but what made it particularly
mortifying to me was, that in a spot where an opening in the wood
afforded us a prospect to the heights westward of us, we saw a little troop of
elephants, seeming not to be at more than a quarter of an hour's distance from
us. Between them and us was, however, a deep valley, which encloses a branch
of Van Stade's-river, and it was too late in the day to think of undertaking a
serious chase of them ; the weather was besides cloudy, threatening a heavy
rain, and our horses were tired. We returned therefore by a different and
more commodious way to the party, whom we found at a very pretty spot in
the midst of the forest, called Galgenbosch (Gallows-bush). They had been
resting here some hours, and had thought of going on, as the weather grew
every minute more and more threatening.
The account of our unsuccessful search was the occasion of bringing the
histories of many hunting parties upon the tapis, one of which was so
remarkable, that I cannot resist giving it a place here. The Field-cornet
Ignatius Mulier was among the colonists who accompanied Mr. Jacob Van
Reenen in his journey into the Caffre country, which has so often been
alluded to, and for the knowledge of which the public is indebted to the
English Captain Riou. The travellers found that the farther they went the
GS

226 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. ,, *
more elephants they found, so that they killed them almost daily; indeed,
the hope of gain from the elephants' teeth that they should Collect had
allured most of the party who joined in the undertaking. It is known
from Mr. Barrow's travels, that one of the company, William Prince by^
name, lost his life in an elephant hunt. -Mulier was an eye-witness of this
accident, and gave us the following circumstantial account of it.
He and Prince only were out together, when they discovered the footsteps
of a very large elephant, and soon espied the animal itself upon the declivity
of a naked and widely outstretched hill. ItSs a rule when an elephant is
found thus, to pndeavour to get above him upon the hill, that in case of
necessity, the hunter may fly to the summit, whither the animal, on account
of the unwieldiness of its body, cannot follow him fast. This precaution
was neglected by Prince; he shot too soon, while they were yet at too great
a distance, and the elephant was upon higher ground than himself arid his
companion. The wounded monster rushed down "towards them, while they
endeavoured to push their horses on, and gain the brow of the hill. But the
elephant, who upon favourable ground will run as fast as a horse, soon came
up with them, and struck with his tusk at Midler's thigh, he being the
nearest of the two fugitives. Mulier ,now considered his fate as inevitable,
as he endeavoured in vain to set his almost exhausted horse into a gallop,
and saw the monster, after givinga violent snort, raise his powerful trunk above
his head; but it was not on himself, it was upon his companion that the
stroke fell, and in an instant he saw him snatched from his horse and thrown'"
up into the air. Scarcely in his senses, he continued his flight, and only in
some degree recovered himself by finding Prince's horse running by his side
without a rider ; then looking back, he saw his unfortunate friend on the
ground, and the elephant stamping upon him with the utmost fury. He was
now convinced, not without the utmost astonishment, that the sagacious
animal had distinguished which ofthe two it was wounded him, and wreaked
his whole vengeance upon him alone. Mulier on this went in search ofthe
rest of the party, that they might collect the mangled remains of their com
panion and bury them ; but they were soon put to flight by the elephant
rushing again from a neighbouring thicket, to vent his wrath once more upon
the corpse, already so dreadfully mangled. While he was busied in doing
this, however, he was attacked by the dispersed hunters, and sacrificed to the
manes of his unfortunate victim.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. • 227
v • Amid the entertainment we received from this and other relations of a
similar kind, we arrived in the narrow valley of Van Stade's-river. After
. crossing the river, we continued our way for some time along its bank ; the
Voad then turned eastward, and in less thari an hour we arrived, having been
first well soaked with the rairi, under the hospitable roof of our guide the
Field-cornet Mulier. The pjace is called the Rietfontein ; it is situated in a
pleasant valley, bounded to the south by naked rocks, but every way else by
'finely wooded heights, which form a sort of amphitheatral semicircle round
the fine meadow land of which the valley is composed. At the foot of these
dieights, and taking the same sweep with them, runs the Riet-river. Among
the trees which contribute so much to the beauty of the spot, the Euphorbia
Officindfum is particularly to be distinguished ; the angular boughs which
issue from the stem with a striking regularity, and symmetry of form, while
the smaller branches, and even the twigs, follow the same measured equality
Pf distance, gives the whole tree, with each particular member, the appear
ance of regular chandeliers. This wonderfully beautiful tree, some of which
were here as much as thirty feet high, has a sharp thorn at the extremities of
the twig's, from which it is called by the colonists the Noortsche Doornboom.
Mulier and his wife received us with the utmost hospitality, but their
house was so exceedingly confined, the weather was so indifferent, and our
waggons were so long before they arrived, that our stay here was rendered
not very agreeable, and the party found themselves in a situation which might
truly be called meeting with an adventure. The greatest part of the house
had been destroyed by the Caffres ; a very small part was left standing, which
Mulier had with some difficulty put into such a state as to be habitable. It
was composed of the room at which we entered, and a side chamber ; the
first was kitchen as well as parlour, but it was no more than twenty feet long,
and fourteen broad, and in the chamber was a young woman, a relation of
our hostess, then in the pains of child-birth. Our whole party, therefore,
were to be stowed in the first room, for the rain grew every instant more and
more violent, nor ceased till noon on the following day. Our presence was
somewhat embarrassing to the busy hostess, who undertook the cooking
herself, in which shP was assisted by some half-naked female slaves. Two
fresh-slain sheep hung near the fire-place, while other parts of the room were
filled up with several vessels, a large chopping-block, and a quantity of dry
Gg2

228 jjj^r TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
~fire-wood. The whole* household furniture consisted of two small tables',
four or five chests, and half a dozen field-stools. In one corner was a sitting-
hen ; in another a duck with her young ones, which had been brought in to
be sheltered from the chilling rain ; then there were some half dozen of dogs,^
who every now and then began barking terribly, and ran out, returning all
wet and dirty, and sprinkling the dirt all about. The family of our hostess
consisted of six children, the youngest of whom cried almost incessantly,
and the eldest crept about, eagerly examining the strangers. Thp good
mother, who seemed almost ready to lie-in herself, exerted all her powers
to entertain us, but as she had only been returned hither a few weeks,.
she had scarcely even common necessaries about her, and it was not without,
some trouble that she could even procure bread sufficient for us of a distant
neighbour. We expected the arrival of our waggons with the utmost anxiety, but
expected in vain, and indeed it appeared obvious that they must be so much
delayed by the heavy rain, that scarcely any hope could be entertained of
their arriving before morning. As it grew dark, and all were crowded
together in the house, our Chief remarked that even Ostade would have been
much embarrassed, if he had wished tp represent in a picture the interior of
the house at this moment, with the group of guests at supper. Behind the
house was a small stable for five or six horses, and here the dragoons and
servants were forced to take shelter ; over it was a little loft, scarcely larger
than a pigeon-hole, up to which the young people climbed, and there eight
pf us passed the night. A bed was made in the front room for the Commis- '
sary-general and the ladies, but they had not much more rest than we had,
for they were kept awake the greatest part of- the night, first by the groans of
the poor woman in the inner apartment, and then by the crying of the new
born infant. *
At break of day the field-cornet sent the relay of oxen, which had already
arrived, to meet the tardy waggons. We soon received the intelligence that
they had been detained by the rapid flow of the sea, which prevented their
continuing their route along the shore, and constrained them to. pass the
night on the sand-hills. The dreadful weather, and the want of a supply of
provisions, even of good water, had. made this.a not very pleasant situation:
for the people who were with the waggons. As we learned moreover that.it

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. , 229
i*was impossible they should arrive till towards the afternoon, arid as the weather
was now fair, the Commissary-general determined, notwithstanding the fatigues
we had suffered, to set forwards for Algoa bay, without waiting for them : about
rioon the greatest part of the company set out, and arrived happily in the
evening at Fort Frederic. ,
Young de Mist, however, my friend Winters, and myself, determined to
stay behind, and make an excursion to the celebrated lead mine, two hour's
distance from this place on Van Stade's-river. We followed the course ofthe
river upwards, and came to the farm of a certain Christian Vogel, which had
been destroyed by the Caffres, and was now uninhabited : near this place
lay the, object which had occasioned our journey. An old slave who lived in
thp ruins, taking care of the owner's cattle, said, that we had only to go towards .
the hill, and we should soon see the shining earth. We had some trouble,
however, to discover it, since the fain had brought down such a quantity of
sand, that the spaces were all filled up. After having searched some time in
vain, we succeeded at last, and in turning up a stone, found some fine pieces
of lead-ore, which we "charged the old man to keep for us carefully, as we
intended to carry them away with us. The whole side of this hill, up to a
considerable height, consists entirely of the same shining stone that forms
the bed of the Silver-river, and in this the lead-ore is enclosed. The vein
seems almost perpendicular, stretching from the north-west to the south-east.
According to the researches of Major Von Dehn, in the year 1792, a hundred
• weight pfvearth contains between fifty and sixty pounds of pure lead, and
about fifteen pounds of base-silver. Some which I brought home with me
was examined by the chief physician Klaproth, at Berlin, when he found in
a hundred parts fifty three of lead, thirteen of sulphur, and a small quantity
of silver, scarcely worth mentioning. My friend, Baron Dankelmann, who
visited the country a few months after me, by command (^General Janssens, * ;
and examined the earth very accurately, found nearly the same result as
Major Von Dehn. Farther information from him upon the subject may be
expected by mineralogists. In his official report to the government, he-
submitted to their consideration proposals for working this mine, as it pro
mises* particularly- in the first years, to yield abundantly ; but, after an
accurate calculation of tbe cost, it was found, that notwithstanding every

230 t(i| TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
thing was placecTin the most favourable point of view, yet from the highjf
price of "labour, from the difficulty of land-carriage, and from the dangers of
the coasting trade, the lead could scarcely be sold at so low a price' in the *
s* Cape Town as that brought from Europe. The mine then must rest till a
new day dawns upon the cultivation of this quarter of the globe—- till the
time arrives when an increasing population shall, with their necessities,
increase their industry.
We returned in the evening to the Riet-river, to the house of our friend
Miiller, where we found a numerous group of Caffre visitors.. This group
had, to the great annoyance ofthe neighbourhood, been living for some weeks
past at a few hours distance from hence, and daily troubling some one or
i other of the neighbours with requests for brandy and tobacco. What made
their abode in the country still more troublesome was their hunting parties,
in which they destroy large quantities of game. Their mode of hunting is,
that some hundreds of them surround a wood, and drive all the game up to one
point. A more convenient spot is then chosen, to which they chase the ani
mals singly, and one of the party who is among the most skilful in the use of,
their weapons is stationed here, who attacks them with the hassagai, or the
kirri, so, that scarcely one escapes alive. In this way they will sometimes,
as Mulier assured us, kill in one afternoon some hundreds of animals — anti-
lopes, hares, wild-cats, monkeys, &c. &c. but as they can never make use of
them all, so they are left to decay without being even skinned ; yet they want
the animals, as they say themselves, less as food, than for the sakjeof the
skins, which are necessary to them as clothing. How injurious these hunt
ing parties are to the colonists may be judged, when it is stated that they
support their families chiefly upon the flesh of wild animals, in order to
reserve their cattle for sale to the travelling butchers from the Cape Town.
So much the morej^as it a subject of joy to see an officer arrive this very
day from the Caffre chief, Conga, with orders to the troop who were now
here, to return immediately over the Great Fish-river. , A reconciliation had
taken place between Geika and the party who had opposed him, and Conga
had consented, according to the promise he made the governor, to submit tP/.
Geika as Jaluhsa had done already. This ambassador was distinguished in
his dress from the rest of the people. His mantle was the skin of a panther ;

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 231
he had bracelets of ivory upon the upper part of his arms, a jackal's tail at
the knee, and a large bush of ; the quagga's hair* in his cap. He was ex
ceedingly pitted with the small-pox, as were many others, and uglier than
any we had yet seen ; but as ,to understanding, judgment, and knowledge, 4
very much upon an equality with the rest. His name was Umluhngo.

* The Quagga (Equus quagga of Linnaeus) has a resemblance to the Zebra, and is therefore
mistaken by Edwards for the female of that animal: but it is a species of itself, going in herds
wholly apart from the true Zebra. The Quagga is larger and stronger than the Zebra, and much
more easily tamed, so that it may be made to draw a waggon.

232 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XVII.
Algoa Bay.— Fort Frederic. — Baaker-river. — Industry of the German Garrison. —
Description of the Bay.— The Missionary Van der Kemp.— His Hottentot School at
Bethelsdorp. »
Early in the following morning we set off to join our party at Algoa bay.
The nearer we got to the coast, the more the country resumed its former
waste and dreary appearance : the road lay over a flat plain, as destitute of
woods as it was of hills. In the latter part of the way are some sand-hills, and
the deep road down them is extremely fatiguing. On the last hill, which goes
down to the shore, stands Fort Frederic, built by the English in 1799. It
consists of a quadrangular wooden block-house, surrounded by a wall ofthe
same figure : beneath the wall is a strong row of palisades, and a tolerably
broad dry ditch.* Eight guns, twelve pounders', command the shore, as far
as it serves for landing, and protect the buildings lying near, viz. the barracks,
magazines, guard-houses, &c. Westward of the hill on which the fort
stands, comes from a deep gulley a little stream called the Baaker-river. f
At the ford of the river, which is concealed between the hills that rise on each
side of it, is another wooden block-house, which under the English govern-
. , ,.  . <  _j 
¦* The annexed plate is a view of the settlement at Algoa bay, seen from.the other side of (he
Baaker-river, which flows into the bay. On the height to the left lies Fort Frederic, and below,
near the river, the Block-house. The houses of the commandant and the officers are seen in a row
in the distance. The peison by whom the sketch was taken J Lieutenant Colonel Von Ho wen of
Amsterdam, has introduced our travelling party in the fore-ground, though their \vay did not He
over this river, but eastward, in a contrary direction. This seems necessary to be noticed, that
the reader may not be perplexed ori comparing the plate with the text. I have another view of
the country taken from the bay, but it has not been inserted, because Albcrti has given the same
view in his account of the Caffres.
+ Baaker signifies a mark, a stone set up as a boundary, a sea-mark, a buoy, &c. &c. The
river serves the sailors as a mark to point out the landing-place, and from thence has its
name. It is a mistake to suppose it, as some persons have done, the Bakker.river (Baker-river).

r

^ .

N N

^

K

¦'¦•'! » •'%',

*j^S;'fr

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 233
ment was prepared at the Cape Town, and sent in parts by sea to the bay.
It serves at once as a prison and guard-house. Between the block-houses
lie, strewed on the heights, extensive barracks for soldiers, a magazine for
provisions, and another for military stores and field equipages, a smith's s*hop,
a bakehouse, a carpenter's work-shop, and other small buildings : a strong-
powder magazine, which will contain about two thousand pounds of powder,
is within the fort itself.
Some small houses have been run up in the neighbourhood for the officers,
among which the house of the commandant is the most distinguished. It
contains four convenient rooms, and stands in the midst of a pretty garderi,
which the garrison had put into exceedingly good order, though they had
been there only eight months. The garrison consists at present of eighty men
from the Jager company of the fifth battalion of Waldeck, most of them expe
rienced Jagers. These people have, under the auspices of their excellent
-commandant,the worthy Lieutenant-Colonel Alberti, availed themselves of
the favourable nature of the country, and cultivatedthe land about the esta
blishment; even this year they have raised their own bread-corn, their pota
toes, and some sorts of pulse. At the hours of leisure from their service,
they each take a spade, and by the active manner in which it is employed,
procure themselves a considerable degree of abundance, and many enjoyments
which could not be otherwise obtained. Besides, the employing themselves
in this way prevents the dulness and languor to which they must otherwise
be subject from the uniformity necessarily attendant on their situation in so
remote and solitary a post. These industrious people had already got a
tolerable number of sheep and cattle, by which they hoped in time to enrich
themselves exceedingly, as well as to get draught oxen for tilling their lands.
The bay in size, form, and situation, exceedingly resembles both Plet-
tenberg's-bay and Mosselbay. As it is open to the south-east wind, which'
blows here a great part of the year, it offers no secure anchorage to
shipping; indeed, the entrance is difficult even when the wind blows from
other quarters, . particularly the south-west. The landing-place is a little
sandy spot near the mouth ofthe Baaker-river; excepting this, the whole
-strand is dangerous on account ofthe reefs. The surf ,is from the nature of
the coast every where so strong, that it costs immense labour to bring the
gOods on shore from the vessels. Notwithstanding these impediments, this
h h

234 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
place is now completely erected into a military establishment ; it has even
been selected for the purpose, because, on account ofthe impediments, it can
be so easily defended against the landing of an enemy. Going along the
strand, a short mile eastward of the Baaker-river, we come directly opposite
the little island of Santa Cruz, which lies about a quarter of a mile from the
shore, but is only inhabited by seals and penguins. Bartolomeu Diaz
erected the Holy Cross here in January, 1487, and gave the island the name
which it retains to this day.
The country about Algoa bay is by nature so fertile, that even if uninhabited
it would produce wood, game, salt, and grass for feeding cattle in abundance.
Now, since it has been cultivated by Europeans in quiet times, it produces
corn and fruits of all kinds, and even wine. The breeding of cattle prospers
so much, that meat, milk, butter, soap, and other articles dependent upon
this part of husbandry, are to be had at very low prices. The bay itself, from
the plenty of fish that it produces, offers an abundant supply of food to the
inhabitants of its shores.
What renders this establishment, however, of particular importance, is,
its situation so near the borders of the Caffre country, and the facility with
which, in consequence, any disagreements between these savages and the
colonists may be stifled in their birth. It has therefore been made a parti
cular subject of attention by the Dutch government, and a great deal of money
has been spent both upon the buildings and every other part of it. A mile
from hence, at the place of the Widow Schepers, ground has been laid out for
a Drosty, and a village adjoining to it, which is to be the centre point of
a new district : it is to be called after the family name of the Commissary-
general, Uitenhage.* The commandant Alberti administered the office of
landdrost of this new district as long as the colony remained in the hands of
the Dutch. The esteem in which he was held by the colonists, his influence
over the chiefs ofthe Caffre tribes, his extensive knowledge, and the many
excellent features in his character, united to render his administration of so
much advantage to the country, that in two years it became one of the most
quiet and peaceable parts of the colony. On this subject I shall dwell more
largely in another place.
* It must be observed that De Mist is the Commissary .general's title, not his name.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 235
We remained five days at Algoa bay. Messengers were sent from hence
to the chiefs ofthe Caft'res, inviting them to an interview with the Commissary-
general. The views with which this was solicited were to confirm and
strengthen the peace concluded by General Janssens, and, if possible, to recon
cile the chiefs with each other, that, united under one head, their own inter
nal quiet, as well as the peace ofthe colonists, might be farther secured. By
this means too would be removed the great inconvenience which had been so
often experienced, from the weaker party, in their own internal quarrels,
often seeking a refuge in the Dutch territories, whither they knew their
adversaries would not venture to pursue them. But before I enter upon an
account of the situation of this extraordinary nation, and give my readers a
sketch of some former occurrences necessary to be known, in order fully to
understand the sequel of our journey, I must close this second part of my
work with an account of another mission establishment, situated in this part
ofthe colony.
About a mile and half eastwards from the bay, a man, now near seventy
years of age, by name Yander Kemp, has collected together between two
and three hundred Hottentots, to whom lie preaches the gospel. If ardour
in religion, amounting almost to bigotry, if self-denial, and a renunciation of
social comforts, even of all earthly enjoyments, supported by a high degree
pf enthusiasm, and by very extensive learning; if these properties can render
a missionary worthy of respect and esteem, then is Vander Kemp most
truly so. Even the history of his early life, before he was known here, must
create a high degree of interest for him.
In his youth he was an officer in the army, but contracting a marriage
beneath him, he was obliged to quit the service, and, as a married man, applied
himself to the study of physic with so much diligence, that notwithstanding
his total want of all previous knowledge in this science, he attained the degree
of Doctor in three years, and was appointed an army physician. Some years
after, in crossing the river Maese with his wife and children, the boat unfor
tunately overset, and all his family was lost; he alone escaped, almost by a
miracle. From this moment his whole soul was absorbed in religious ideas,
and he soon exchanged tlie science of medicine for that of theology. He
studied particularly the ancient and the oriental languages, and soon com
menced a writer in his new profession: but his works, on account of their
Hh 9

1336 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
mystical tone and terrifying prolixity, did not obtain him many votaries in
Holland, so that in the year 1780 he went over to England, where he suc
ceeded better. When the Cape was taken by the English, he resolved*
though then sixty years of age, to go out as a missionary to the Caffres,
and being ordained at Oxford, he came hither in 1797- After two years spent
mong these people, in which he says himself he had not accomplished
much towards the spreading of Christianity, the war broke out. He went
for a. while to the Cape Town, but at his return to the Caffres was not
favourably received, and was obliged again to quit their territories.
At this very time there were hovering about the borders a number of
vagrant Hottentots, who, during the war, had gained their living as partisans
of either side; one while among the Caffres, plundering the dwellings of
the colonists, then assisting the colonists in seizing the cattle ofthe Caffres :
in this way they had, in more than one instance, been secretly the occasion
of the struggle being carried on with still increasing animosity. These
people were collected together by Vander Kemp for the purpose of
instructing them in the christian religion, in which he was assisted by an
Englishman, of the name of Read. But, however plausible and meritorious
appeared the plan of the undertaking, the utility which might have been,
and ought to have been, derived from it, was lost by the over-pious spirit and
proud humility of its head. It is true that these Hottentots were now nomi
nally quiet, and kept in some order; yet, often under pretence of the
chace, they wandered about armed, the government (then English) having
allowed them, not merely a small quantity of powder and shot to kill game
for the purposes of food, but having supplied them with it very abundantly;
a favour, if favour it is to be called, which was too often misused. They
were certainly daily instructed for some hours in the christian religion, but
these instructions made much more impression upon their memory than upon
their understanding. They could sing and pray, and be heartily penitent for
their sins, and talk of the Lamb of atonement, but none were really the
better for all this specious appearance. No attention was paid to giving them
proper occupations? and, excepting in the hours of prayer, they might be as
indolent as they chose. This convenient mode of getting themselves fed
attracted many of the most worthless and idle among these people, and all
who applied u ere indiscriminately received into the establishment: the con-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 237
sequence was that the colonists soon made heavy complaints of the want
of servants, since the Hottentots were much better pleased with leading
an indolent life in Vander Kemp's school, than with gaining their bread
by labour.
When General Janssens in his journey visited this institution, he con
firmed the principal part of the favours shewn to its head by the English,
and permitted him to call the institution by the name of Bethelsdorp. At
the same time he signified his wish that the Hottentots should be more excited
to industry,. particularly that they should be made to contribute towards their
own maintenance by cultivating the lands around. This recommendation was
accompanied with a large present of implements of husbandry, and seed corn,
that there might be no pretence for evading it.
On the day of our arrival at Algoa bay the Commissary-general received a
visit from Vander Kemp. In the very hottest'part of the morning we saw a
waggon, such as is used in husbandry, drawn by four meagre oxen, coming
slowly along the sandy downs. Vander Kemp sat upon a plank laid across it,
without a hat, his venerable bald head exposed to the burning rays ofthe sun.
He was dressed in a threadbare black coat, waistcoat, and breeches, without
shirt, neckcloth, or stockings, and leather sandals bound upon his feet, the same
as are worn by the Hottentots. The Commissary-general hastened to meet
and receive him with the utmost kindness ; he descended from his car, and
approached with slow and measured steps, presenting to our view a tall meagre,
yet venerable, figure. In his serene countenance might be traced remains of
former beauty, and in his eye, still full of fire, was plainly to be discerned the
powers of mind which had distinguished his early years. Instead of the usual
salutations, he uttered a short prayer, in which he begged a blessing upon our
Chief and his company, and the protection of heaven during the remainder of
our journey. He then accompanied us into the house, when he entered into
conversation freely upon many subjects, without any superciliousness or
affected solemnity.
The Commissary-general reminded him that they had known each other
thirty-six years before at Leyden ; he was then himself studying the law, and
Vander Kemp was in garrison as a lieutenant of dragoons. He named to him
the coffee-house where they had often met, and talked over many occurrences

23S TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
that had happened jointly to them. The missionary remembered theft© things
very distinctly, observing that he led then a very dissolute life, but he hoped
it was expiated by his subsequent conversion, and present course. He related
many things worthy of remark during the time that he lived among the Caffres,
and elucidated several circumstances that happened in the late unfortunate
war with them. Before we sat down to table he again ejaculated a long
prayer : he ate very little, drank no wine, had after dinner a private conference
with the Commissary-general, and returned in the evening to Bethelsdorp.
His colleague Read, who accompanied him, seemed a good-hearted man, but,
like most of the missionaries, extremely ignorant. This man, in order to give a
striking proof of his lowliness and humility, had married a young Hottentot
woman belonging to the establishment. The girl was baptised a few days
before her marriage ; but neglected as she was by him, both personally, and with
regard to the formation of her mind, nobody could be made to believe that he
married her at all from inclination.*
Two days after we returned Vander Kemp's visit. It is scarcely possible to
describe the wretched situation in which this establishment appeared to us,
especially after having seen that at Bavianskioof. On a wide plain, without a
tree, almost without water fit to drink, are scattered forty or fifty little huts
in the form of hemispheres, but so low that a man cannot stand upright in
them. In the midst is a small clay-hut thatched with straw, which goes by
the name of a church, and close by, some smaller huts ofthe same materials
for the missionaries. All are so wretchedly built, and are kept with so little
care and attention, that they have a perfectly ruinous appearance. For a great
way round, not a bush is to be seen, for what there might have been originally,
have long ago been used for firewood : the ground all about is perfectly naked,
and hard trodden down, nowhere the least trace of human industry: wherever
the eye is cast, nothing is presented but lean, ragged, or naked figures, with
indolent sleepy countenances. The support of the missionary institutions in

* Since I began printing this book I have been informed1 that in the year 1807, the old
Vander Kemp, following his colleague's example, had married a young Hottentot girl about
thirteen, whose freedom, with that of her mother, he had purchased; not, however, living with
her formally as his wife.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 239
England and Holland, the favour ofthe government, the chace, and the keep
ing a few cattle, the produce of which is scarcely worth mentioning — these
are the means to which two hundred and fifty men have to look for their
support. It cannot be matter of astonishment to anybody that they are found wholly
insufficient, and Vander Kemp complained bitterly that he had already been
forced to sacrifice the greatest part of his own property. So much the more
extraordinary does it appear, that he had never turned his thoughts seriously to
instilling habits of industry into his disciples ; but all idea of their temporary
welfare appears with him to be wholly lost in his anxiety for their eternal
salvation. His own hut is totally destitute of all comfort, even of any ap
proach to neatness, and is perfectly consistent with the negligence of earthly
cares which he preaches. He remarked, not without great self-satisfaction,
how little was necessary to the support of life; but he would surely have done
much better when he drew these Hottentots around him, to have inspired them
with some sort of taste for the refinements of civilization, rather than to have
levelled himself with them, and adopted their habits of negligence and filth.
It appears to me that Vander Kemp is of little value as a missionary, partly
because he is a mere enthusiast, and too much absorbed in the idea of con
version, partly because he is too learned, that is to say, too little acquainted
with the common concerns of life, to turn the attention even of a raw Hot
tentot to them. Thence comes his total neglect of husbandry and all me
chanical employments, though these are the arts in which his disciples
must l>e instructed if he would make them really happy ; thence also the
perverted view he takes of the conduct which the colonists ought to observe
with regard to his institution, since he considers them as bound to assist in its
support.* Even in this seclusion from the world, Vander Kemp has written two large
works, which have been printed in Europe. Towards the end of the year
1805, he was summoned to the Cape Town on account of some disturb-

* On account of the poverty and wretched situation of the institution, it was called in the
neighbourhood, by way of ridicule, Bedelaarsdorp, (Beggar's village) instead of Bethelsdorp.
The Commissary-general gave five hundred Dutch guilders from the government chest towards
its support.

240 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
ances which had arisen in his institution, and it is probable that the con
sequences would not have been very pleasant to him, if the arrival of the
English had not put an end to the process, It was, however, the occasion
ofthe institution being removed from the neighbourhood of the Caffre borders
into the interior of the colony. During his stay at the Cape upon this busi
ness I saw him frequently, and am obliged to him for much of the information
which I now proceed tP lay before my readers,

EN© OF PART THE SECOND;

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 241

PART IIL
DESCRIPTION OF THE CAFFRE TRIBE OF KOOSSAS.— FRAGMENT FROM THE
JOURNAL OF GENERAL JANSSENS.— OUR OWN JOURNEY ALONG
THE BORDERS OF THE CAFFRE-COUNTRY, TO
GRAAFF REYNETT.

CHAP. XVIII.

The Caffres.' — Name, Extent of Country, and Universal Characteristic of this People.
— Opinions with Regard to their Origin. — Caffreland. — The Tribe of Koossas. — Their
Personal Figure, their Diseases, their Religious Opinions, with various other Par
ticulars. When the Portuguese, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, first visited
the eastern coast of Africa, the farther they went northwards among the nations
who had maintained some kind of commercial intercourse with Europe, the
more appearance of something inclining towards civilization was to be found
among the people. At the time when they first appeared in these seas, vessels
.were in the habit of passing and repassing between the Malabar coast and the
Red-sea. The trade to India was in the hands of the Arabs and Moors of the
north-eastern parts of Africa. It was people of these nations who were em
ployed as pilots and negotiators, and all knowledge ofthe countries was derived
from them. Being Mohammedans themselves, they gave the general name of
Cafer* (Liar, Infidel) to all the inhabitants of the coasts of Southern Africa,
* From the Arabic word Cafara, to lie. Persons skilled in languages, assert, not without
reason, that the word should be written Cafer not Kqffer, for the letters Kaf and Kef in the
Arabic are very different. It is the more important to attend to this difference, since the word
Kafr or Kjafr signifies a level waste. This resemblance of the two words afforded the Arabs an
z i

242 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
signifying, by such appellations, the light in which they regarded all persons
who were not Mohammedans. They could not, however, have any accurate
knowledge of the people whom they thus stigmatised, since Melinda and Quiloa
were the farthest points to which they ever traded; and, as the doctrines of
Mohammed had found their way to the people on that part of the coast, they
could not be included in the stigma, consequently it must be south of them that
we are to look /or the people who were so.
Ramusio and Barros the Portuguese, as well as Castaneda and Faria y Sousa,
who first published accounts ofthe discoveries of their countrymen, gave very
imperfect information respecting thenorthern part of these countries of infidels.
They only imparted to the public what the Portuguese who established them
selves between Sofala and Mozambique learnt of their nearest neighbours, and
thus people began early to separate the kingdoms of Monomotapa, Toroa, and
Butua, from the country ofthe Caffres; yet they undoubtedly ought to be in
cluded among them, not only according to the original meaningpf the Moorish
name, but from the very decided resemblance to be found in the principal.cha-
racteristics of these people with the Caffres of .the present day. Scarcely any
thing more wasever heard of a nation bearing this name, till theDutch colony at
the Cape of Good Hope began to extend itself towards the borders ofthe Caffre
country, when the almost-forgotten appellation was again brought forwards.
That these people had been entirely lost sight of for three entire centuries, was
owing to the Caffre coast being so extremely inaccessible to ships, and to the
consequently little political or commercial interest the nation had to offer to
Europe. It was owing to these circumstances that the acquaintance of the
Europeans with a country which Vascode Gama, and his immediate successors,
represented as one affording so many circumstances of interest and promise, was
not renewed till towards the end of the seventeenth century.
What has been related by later travellers in Southern Africa, with respect to
these tribes, has increased the former interest to so high a degree, that it ap-

opportunity for a play upon them, that by Cafer, or Kafer,' they intended it to be understood
that an infidel was no better than a waste.
The Translator has adhered to the orthography generally adopted by English writers, and called
these people, throughout the work, Caffres, not choosing to introduce, arbitrarily, a new mode
of spelling the word.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 343
pears very desirable to give a more ample description of them. My precursors
confine the name of Caffres to a small tribe eastward of the colony, that being
the only part they visited, without knowing any thing of the remaining inha-
ittants of Southern Africa, not included among the Hottentots. They consider
the Caffres as distinct from the Tambuckis, the Imbos, the Briquas, &c. and
place the people of Mozambique directly in Opposition to them. I on the con
trary, partly from my own travels (and I visited the Caffre country at two
different times in parts very remote from each other), partly from studying the
above-mentioned Portuguese works, and no less from information derived from
some works of a more modern date*, am of a very different opinion. I consider
all the tribes ofsavages southward from Quiloa,and eastward from the colony of
the Cape, very decidedly as a greatnation equally distinct from the Negroes
and Mohammedans on one side, and from the Hottentots on the other; and
would include them all under the general name of Caffres. I venture to
place the western boundary of their territory at the meridian of Cape Agulhas ;
for in the interior of the country Caffre tribes extend to this longitude. From
thence the line which divides them from the Korana Hottentots, the Bosjes
mans, and the colony ofthe Cape, must take an oblique direction to the south
east, till it comes to the sources of the Orange-river, whence it descends di
rectly south.
The universal characteristics of all the tribes of this great nation consist in an
external form and figure, varying exceedingly from the other nations of Africa.
They are much taller, stronger, and their limbs much better proportioned.
Their colour is brown — their hair black and woolly. Their countenances have a
character peculiar to themselves, and which do not permit their being included
in any of the races of mankind above enumerated. They have the high forehead
and prominent nose of the Europeans, the thick lips of the Negroes, and the
high cheek-bones ofthe Hottentots. Their beards are black, and much fuller
than those of the Hottentots.
* Particularly from the Life and Travels of Maurice Thomas, Augsburg^ 1788, a Jesuit, who
¦lived many years in Mozambique and the neighbouring countries; and the Journal of a Voyage
performed in the Lion extra Indiaman, from Madras to Columbo and da Lagoa Bay, in 1798,
with some Account ofthe Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of da Lagoa Bay, by Captain
William White, London. 1800, , I i 2

244 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Their language is full-toned, soft, and harmonious, and spoken without clat
tering; their root-words are of oneand two syllables, their sound simple, without
diphthongs. Their pronunciation is slow and distinct, resting upon the last
syllable. The dialects differ in the different tribes; but the most distant ones
understand each other.
They live chiefly upon flesh, and grow very little corn: a sort of millet, the
Holcus Caffrorum, is their only sort. Milk is a principal article of food with
them. They are a sort of semi-nomades : they do not change their dwelling-places
frequently, and when they are changed it is unwillingly ; but they settle them
selves easily in a new place. They differ among each other in the degree of
cultivation at which they are arrived: those most advanced in civilization are
distinguished by their huts being stronger built, and by their less frequent
change of place.
There are fewer men than women, on account of the numbers, of the former
that fall in their frequent wars. Thence comes polygamy, and the women
being principally employed in all menial occupations.
Their clothing is skins tanned with some skill. Their arms are the hassagai,
the kirri, and a shield. Poisoning their weapons is abhorred by them all.
As to their religion, they believe in an invisible God; but he is not wor
shipped, neither is he represented by any kind ofimage, or sought in anything
terrestrial. They believe in magic, and in prognostics: they consecrate cattle;
and the youths are circumcised when they are from twelve to fourteen years
old. They have no kinds of alphabetical characters ; but appear to have some ideas
of drawing. Metals are worked and engraved by them.
The Caffre is warlike and barbarous towards Jiis enemies; disposed to be
true to his friends, butdistrustful even towards his own countrymen. In peace
addicted to indolence; frugal and temperate, loving cleanliness and ornament,
and respecting wedded faith. They have, in general, good natural under
standings; but the most sensible are, notwithstanding, addicted to the grossest
superstition. A great number of tribes are included among these people, every one of
which is governed by its own particular chief, which dignity is hereditaiy.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 245
Examples of usurpers are, however, not rare. Their internal wars, not only
of one tribe against another, but of rebellious captains against their princes,
disturb their quiet continually, and prevent their making much progress in
civilization. The population would otherwise, from the excellence of the
climate, from the bodily strength of the people, and from the custom of poly
gamy, increase incalculably : indeed, this propensity to an increasing population
is very often a cause of their wars : it creates a want of increase of territory,
and that leads to encroachments upon their neighbours, which the latter must
resist. These may be called the characteristic features of the nation at large. While
in them will be recognised a more than half-uncivilized race, the Caffres must
be acknowledged a very distinct people from their next neighbours the Hotten
tots, inhabiting the inhospitablesouth-west corner of the great peninsula of Africa;
thelatter are much lower in stature, poorin understanding and in speech, without
government or laws— without any distinction ofproperty : such a race are as
distinct from the Caffres, as a Mussulman from a Briton. This difference
would be wholly inexplicable, upon the supposition that these nations had,
from' the remotest times, lived in the neighbourhood of each other; and it is more
than probable that both came originally from a very great distance. Perhaps
Mr. Barrow, the person who first suggested this idea, goes too far when he
supposes the Caffres to have Pandered hither directly from Arabia, and to be
descendants ofthe Bedouin tribes. They appear to me of much more ancient
descent. A people do not, in a few centuries, go so far back in civilization.
We should still find traces of alphabetical signs — more decided remains of their
former language and customs would be discernible.
It is true that the practice of circumcision, some slight knowledge of astrono
my, their superstition, and the faint traces to be found in their words and names,
of being derived from Arabic roots, may seem nearly to remove all doubt; ; but
these monuments only prove that the Caffres are descended from a regularly
formed people, as they are now themselves, and as the ancestors of the Hot
tentots may. have been. It is very probable that some great emigration first
peopled the whole ofthe easfern coast of Africa; for it is not probable that the
Caffres alone Came hither from Arabia and Egypt. Many generations might
have passed before this emigration took place, and nothing is adverse to the

246 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
supposition that the people ofthe northern coasts of Africa, who were of Asiatic
oriein, may have been the immediate ancestors of the Caffres* This idea re
ceives considerable weight, from their physiognomy having so much less rela
tion with that of the Negroes than with the Hottentots.
Mr. Barrow remarks very rightly that the Caffres have, in many respects, a
great resemblance to Europeans ; and indeed they have more resemblance to
them than either to Negroes or Hottentots : this resemblance is to be remarked
particularly in the form of the bones of the face, and in the form of the skull.
Their countenance has, however, something in it wholly appropriate to them
selves, which, no less than their colour, and the woolly nature of their hair,
distinguishes them at the first glance from Europeans. From both the latter
characteristics the Translators of Mr. Barrow's travels "f derive the principal
foundation of their doubts concerning the accuracy of his opinion with respect
to their origin, giving particular weight to the circumstance, that he calls the
colour of some of the tribes black. This is, however, not the case with any :
here is to be found one of the strongest distinctions between the Caffre and the
Negro ; the skin of a pure Caffre, when free from all foreign connexion, is'rather
a clear than a dark brown. The curly hair, indeed, suits but ill with a people
of Asiatic origin; but it should not be forgotten, that if of Asiatic descent, we
must go back to very remote antiquity forthe time when they first wandered from
those parts. In a lapse of many centuries, even perhaps of thousands of years,
the transforming power f the African climate may have produc ed an effect
upon the hair and the skin ; but the firmer parts ofthe body, the bones, would
remain the same under the new climate as under the old, provided the new in
habitants avoided all mixture of breed with the old ones.
Would jt be altogether contrary to sense, to seek for the ancestors of the
Caffres among the Ethiopian nations, whose caravans travelled northwards
even to Meroe* and Arabia Felix? Might they not, also, spread themselves to

* Heeren, in his ideas relative to the political state and commerce of the most celebrated
nations of antiquity, considers it as highly probable, that in extremely remote times there
were considerable emigrations from Arabia, across the Red.sea, to the opposite coast of Africa.
Circumcision prevailed among the Troglodytes, one of the most northern of the ./Ethiopian
nations. + First part of the Leipsicfc translation ; second part of Ehrmann's translation.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 247
the "remotest parts of Southern Africa?* The enquirers into antiquity must
decide how far such a supposition is admissible. I recollect, however, among
the great ruins of Butua, mentioned by Barros, that the people described there
answered very much to what the Caffres are now, as well as to the Agasymbse of
Ptolemaeus. The similarity of some few Caffre words with the Arabic affords
another presumption that they have a common origin ; or perhaps it were to
express myself more properly to say, that it is probable in the former intercourse
of commerce these words were adopted by both nations.
But not to weary my readers with a more diffuse examination into this sub
ject, I will venture to submit the following conjectures, as the results probable
to be established by a more extensive and accurate knowledge of the African
nations. First: .That the southern parts of Africa were originally peopled from the
northern. Secondly: That the uninhabitable nature of. large tracts of country in the
interior prevented the equal progress of this population.
Thirdly: That they followed first the direction of the coast, the' Caffres re
maining in the eastern parts of it; but the Hottentots spreading towards the
west, and even to the southern point.
Fourthly : The hilly country on the eastern coast afforded these pastoral
tribes an easy and happy means of subsistence, this side of Africa being
habitable much farther inland than the western parts : here we find a
much stronger race of men than among those who spread themselves along
the southern and western coasts.
Fifthly : On the flat, sandy plains along the western coast, south of the
equator, the soil offers but poor resources for the support of life, which natu
rally leads the inhabitants of those parts rather to the hunter's than to the
shepherd's life. The people then who wandered hither would consequently lose
that degree of cultivation which was preserved among the inhabitants of the
eastern ce-ast, and from the instability of their lives, destitute of property,
would spread themselves continually, till reaching the southern extremity,
they could go no farther.
* I must again cite Heeren, who reconciles the pastoral liyes of these people with their jouwieys
in caravans, in a very satisfactory manner.

248 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Sixthly : It was in this way that the Hottentots reached the southern coast
some centuries earlier than the Caffres. They were then in a situation to
return somewhat to their pastoral life, and while the Gonaaquas, situated on
the fertile banks of the Chamtoo river, became a peaceable and somewhat
more civilised people, the Saabs,* who remained on the dry and desert plains
of the northern parts, sunk gradually to the very lowest step of physical and
moral degradation.
Seventhly: At every step they made towards the east, the Hottentots
found the country more fertile ; they inhabited it therefore far beyond the
present boundary between the colony and the Caffre country. For to this
day many ofthe rivers and hills have Hottentot names.
Eighthly : But they were driven back by the Caffres, who in the mean
time had come down from the north, and now met with them here. This
rencounter had taken place long before these parts were visited by the Portu^
guese, since Vasco de Gama found Caffres at that time settled at Terra do
Natal, and Terra da boa paz.
Ninthly : Nothing that we know respecting the inhabitants of the eastern
coast of Africa contradicts their being directly descended from the Troglo
dytes and Macrobians. The people of the higher parts of this coast vary
indeed very much in their colour and features from those of the more
southern districts, but a relationship to the Caffres is very discernible in
them, and at the same time they are perfectly distinguished from the Negroes
of Western Africa.
Tenthly: A striking agreement is to be observed between the Caffres and
the people of Mozambique, of Madagascar, of Zanguebar, and of Abyssinia,
both in their figure, customs, and modes of life.
As to what more immediately concerns the extent of the Caffre country,
according to the comprehensive sense above taken, all the heathen nations,
even to Quiloa, perhaps to Mombaze, must be included within it. But our
knowledge of the northern part of this tract is at present too imperfect to say
decidedly whether it ought or ought not to be considered in this light, nor
must we, in speaking of the Caffres, be regarded as meaning our observations
to extend to the inhabitants of it. As much of this tract then as descends
* Saabs is the name given by the Korana Hottentots to the Bosjesmans.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, 249
to the twenty-fifth degree of southern latitude must be passed over as the
unknown part ofthe Caffre country, and we must wait for more accurate
information before any thing farther can be said with regard to it: till that is
obtained we must rest contented with the scanty particulars, afforded by
Father Thomans. .The Caffres in the neighbourhood of da Lagoa bay are
somewhat better known since the publication of Captain White's valuable
observations upon the inhabitants of those parts, and in the sequel it will be
seen that some interesting features of resemblance may be traced in support
of our hypothesis. A third region of the Caffre country, in which it begins
to be more known, is Beetjuan, in the interior of Southern Africa, between
the sixteenth and twenty-fifth degrees of southern latitude : of this part
more will be said in the sequel, since it was one which I myself ' visited.
But the tribes of which we have the most perfect knowledge are those lying
on the southernmost part of the eastern coast, between the twenty-ninth and
thirty-third degree of southern latitude. It is of them that I propose to give
a more accurate and ample description than has been given hitherto.* This
will occasion for awhile an interruption to the narrative of our journey, but
will render the remainder, I hope, more intelligible.
The country in which Sparmann, Le Vaillant, and Mr. Barrow became
acquainted with the Caffres, was one never inhabited by them. It is probable,
as above hinted, that it was once inhabited by the Hottentots, and it is also
probable, from many circumstances, that these Caffres themselves in earlier
times inhabited a happier country; though, since they had been neighbours
to the Hottentots, they had gone backwards in civilization. They are a step
lower in cultivation than tbe Caffres of Beetjuan, in the interior of the
country. Before I proceed to the description of their customs and modes of life, I

» These sheets were printed thus far, when I received from Holland the work lately published
by my friend Alberti, npon the Caffres, entitled: Be Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Africa,
natuur-en geschiedkundig beschreven. This description is much more ample than mine, and I
propose therefore to incorporate some of the most important parts with the remainder of my
own description. I must also mention that Vander Kemp's observations upon the Caffres^
imparted nine years before to the Mission Institute at London, was by them printed in the
Evangelical Magazine for February, 1802. A German translation of them was published iu
the July and September following, in tbe Universal Geographical Ephemerides,

250 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
must acknowledge the obligations we are under to Mr. Barrow, for the manner
in which he has introduced these people to our acquaintance. His remarks
upon them are in the principal points perfectly accurate ; they are put together
with a particular spirit of observation, and seem to have been collected with
particular industry. I consider myself as the rather bound to make this
acknowledgment, since I have in so many other instances combated the views
he took of things ; I might therefore be suspected of having wished to decry
his work, in order to exalt my own. I must, however, intreat those who
are disposed to make such a remark to consider that praise is comprehended
in a few words, but on the contrary, faults must necessarily be dwelt upon ;
they require proof before they can be demonstrated to be faults, and every
opinion in which one writer differs from another must be supported by argu
ment, in order to make it appear that his opinion is the right. He would,
however, be highly deserving of censure who should suppress what appears
to him the truth, from a desire of avoiding difference of opinion ; who should
abstain from noticing what appear to him faults and errors, because they are
to be found in an author held in very general esteem ; it is even the more
necessary for that very reason to notice them, because the error spreads the
more widely, in proportion to the repxitation of the writer by whom it has
been circulated. I do not claim any particular merit to myself that I. saw
many things much more fully and clearly than he did, since his information
and researches had in a great degree smoothed the way for me. He who is
desirous of obtaining an accurate knowledge of the Caffre tribes, of which I
mean particularly to treat, will not find Mr. Barrow's observations superfluous
by the side of mine, since I have diligently avoided a repetition of whatever
he has fully and accurately described. Where my testimony is in contra
diction to his, I only desire that credit may be given me for differing, upon
the fullest conviction that I am in the right, and from a consciousness that I
had more opportunity of knowing the real fact than he had.
The tribe of which I mean more particularly to speak call themselves
Koossas, or Kaussas, but to their country they give the name of Ammakosina.
These people are exceedingly offended at being called Caffres,* and have
* How much the name of Caffre is held in contempt over the whole colony may be understood
from the circumstance that the executioner's servant in the Cape Town, who is taken from among
the blacks condemned to work at the fortifications, is called the Caffre.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 251
the more reason to object to it, since in their language/ is a Bound that
occurs but seidotm, ff and r never. As to the outward form pf thp JKoossas,
the same may be said of them as has been $aid of the nation in general;
the men are handsome, strong made, and their limbs exquisitely propor
tioned. They are in general from five feet six to five feet nine inches
high ; some are even considerably taller, as for instance, their King Geika ;
but few indeed are less. Alberti once saw a man not more than five feet
high, but he was an universal object of ridicule among them. The skull of
the Caffre is highly arched and well formed, his eye is lively, his nose not
flat, but sufficiently prominent, and his teeth of the most brilliant whiteness.
They hold themselves exceedingly upright; their step is quick and dignified ;
their whole exterior denotes strength and spirit.
The women are not less handsome, but much smaller, seldom exceeding
five feet in height. A very sleek soft skin, beautiful teeth, pleasing features,
expressive of great cheerfulness and content, and a slender form, make them
even in the eyes of an European exceedingly attractive. The dark colour of
the skin, and the short black hair drawn together in little locks, somewhat
detract from this agreeable impression, before the eye is accustomed to them.
Both men and women have the custom of colouring their bodies red with
a sort of earth, or with iron rust. They mix this with water, and then rub
themselves well till it is dried on, after which they smear it over with fat.
This is not renewed every day, only once in three or four days. Very few
of the Koossas are to be found tattooed, but among the more distant Caffre
tribes this custom is not at all unfrequent.
Diseases are but little known among them ; and their temperate modes of
life, interrupted by few cares, or by violent corporal exertions, will suffi
ciently account for this. The most dangerous complaint to which they are
subject is a violent fever, attended with eruption. For this they make use
of both external and internal remedies, the utility of which they have learned
from experience, but the effect of them is considered as magic, or rather the
recovery ofthe patient is considered as his being disenchanted: their materia
medica is rich in those nonsensical kind of remedies which we should call
sympathetic At times these fevers are epidemic, when they have recourse
to local bleeding : rheumatic pains in the limbs are among the symptoms of
this disease, and they are generally relieved by the loss of blood. The
k k 2

259 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
diseased limb is' pierced in several places with a sharp pointed iron, when
the end of a cow's horn is applied to the wounded part, in the manner of a
Cupping-glass, by which the blood is drawn out. This manner of bleeding
was observed by Kolbe among the Hottentots* and is described by him in his
work. Intermittent fevers are unknown to the Caffres: their soil is dry,
they have no lakes or morasses, and their huts are commonly built about
three or four hundred paces from the river, at which their cattle are to drink.
The small-pox has at various times raged exceedingly in the country, and
from the effects it is plain that it has done so in no very remote tTmes:
numbers of men not more than thirty years of age are now tp be seen
exceedingly marked with it. It was particularly prevalent in the years 17.53
and 1754 : some believe thatthe infection was brought by some beads which
they had purchased of a distant tribe, others are of opinion that it was taken
from the crew of a vessel stranded upon their coast. I could not find, upon
the most accurate enquiries, the least traces of any prevailing chronic diseases
among them, and the answers they made, when I questioned them upon the
subject of infectious ones, lead me to suppose that they are not liable to any
except the small-pox. Another disease is here wholly unknown. A man
who had resided for some time in the colony, in the district of Graaff Reynett,
returning with it, was banished as soon as the dangerous nature of his
complaint was discovered, nor was he suffered to re-enter the country till he
was entirely cured.
A very extraordinary circumstance which I had to remark among these
people is, that I never knew one of them sneeze, yawn, cough, or hawk. I
do not rest this entirely upon my own observation ; the very same thing was
remarked by our whole party. They never have colds or catarrhs, and it may
be presumed, according to appearances, that they are equally free from the
spleen and ennui.
It is very remarkable how nicely attentive they are in many respects to the
little decorums of life: no one ever rubs or scratches himself in the presence
of another, though they are in general very- much troubled with vermin:
indecorums of a grosser kind are still less admissible. They are particular
in training their children to a nice observance of these things •* and a little
boy, who once in Vander Kemp's presence transgressed in some way, was
immediately sent out of the door.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 253
Among the Koossas there is no appearance of any religious worship
whatever. They believe in the existence of a great Being who created
the world, but in their own language, as Vander Kemp assured me, they
have no name by which he is called: they have therefore adopted one from
the Gonaaquas, who call him Thiko. The Caffres, however, pronounce
the word Theuke, which word Vander Kemp says signifies exciter qf smart.
I have heard some Caffres pronounce the word Thauqua.
Their superstition, their belief in magic or enchantment, and in omens
and prognostics, is in proportion to their want of religious feelings: they even
draw omens from their own hands. There are among them persons who
occupy themselves solely with divinations and magic, and who hold iri a
certain degree the rank of priests.* The missionaries who have hitherto
come into the country have been universally considered as magicians or
diviners, and it was this which drove Vander Kemp finally out of the
country. Once when a great drought prevailed, the queen-mother sent to
him to say, that if he did not bring them rain in three days, he should be
considered as an enemy and betrayer, and treated accordingly; for they have
great faith in the power of magicians over the weather. He had besides
talked much to them about imploring God, and his inclining his ear to them,
so that they could not be persuaded but that he could procure rain if he would.
It happened, however, fortunately for him, that rain fell within the three days,
so that for that time he was safe ; but they were the more urgent with him
afterwards, as it seemed clear that the thing was entirely in his power; and
since, upon future occasions, several times in succession, his prayers had not
the desired effect, he was obliged at last to secure his personal safety by
flight. The king, whose ideas were somewhat more rational, protected him
awhile, but at length advised his departure. In many other instances Geika
also shewed more understanding than his subjects, but his confidence in the
prayers ofthe christians was not less than their's, and Buys assured usjthat

* One of my learned friends reminded me, on reading this part, of the gypsies, between whom
and the Caffres there are certainly many points of resemblance. It would, however, be very
difficult to account in any probable way for this fact, without giving what might, perhaps, be
thought too much weight to the presumption, that the origin of both is to be sought among the
people' of Northern Africa.

254 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
he was often obliged to pray for him, particuterly-once in a dangerous illness ;
and as he recovered from it, he was only obliged on that account to be more
assiduous in his prayers. The Koossas, when they want to affirm any thuag
very solemnly, or to utter any malediction, make use of the name of their
king, or of some of his ancestors, as iyei» Geika! Non Chachdfo! Non Khsm-
buhsfei There are places whieh nobody passes over without throwing a stone, a
twig, or a bunch of grass upon them, though I could not find that they had any
reason to give for it : probably they are the graves of some persons of parti
cular merit, whose bodies, from pious superstition, they would guard against
being scratched up hy wild beasts : they always intreat all passers-by to
enerease the mounds upon the graves, by throwing a stone or bush upon
them. At the mouth of the river Keissi, or Keisskamma, as it is called by the
Hottentots, lies the anchor of a stranded ship. Chachabe, the grandfather of
the present king, had a piece of it hroken off, and it so happened that the
person by whom this was done died soon after. The anchor was immediately
considered as an enchanter, who had power over the sea, and was angry at the
offence which had been given him ; a name was in consequence conferred
upon him, and he is saluted by it whenever any one passes the spot.
If an elephant is killed after a very long and wearisome chase, as is com
monly the case, they seek to exculpate themselves towards the dead animal,
by declaring to him solemnly, that the thing happened entirely by accident,
not by design. To atone for the offence more completely, or to make his
power of no avail, the trunk is cut off and solemnly interred, they pronouncing
repeatedly : " The elephant is a great lord, and the trunk is his hand."*
Their songs are chiefly learned from the tri&e of Mathimba,t who say that
they received them from a number of birds, with the heads of men, who came
into their country, and used to sing them by night. The sense of the songs is
not to be unravelled, and the greater part does not consist of words, but of
single syllables, which are not comprehensible tothemselves.
It is a current belief among them, that far to the north of their country,
there is a vast subterraneous cavern, from which their horned cattle originally

* Thi6 circumstance is taken from Alberti's work. + ThnTainbuckis of Mr. Barrow.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 25S
came, and that cows and oxen might still be procured from it in great abun
dance, if the entrance of the cavern could again be found, and a proper bait
silently laid there. The cattle would then come forth, when they might be
taken, and they would bring a blessing upon the possessor.
Sometimes, as Buys informed me, they will burn a whole ox alive. The
smoke which ascends from it is an object of their very particular, even almost
devotional observation, but no one has yet been so fortunate as to learn what
is understood by it.
Their diseases are all ascribed to three causes, either to being enchanted by
an enemy, to the anger of certain beings, whose abode / appears to be in the
rivers, or to the power of evil spirits. The cures consist in the first place
of medicines, which have probably a good effect, but recourse is also had to
some means of appeasing the wrath ofthe being in the river, by throwing him
in a four-footed beast — a dog, a hare, or something of the kind. If the ques
tion be of an evil spirit, and of these they have a great variety, called by the
general appellation of Thokilphse and Umsjuluhgu, he must be driven away.
This task must be performed by a magician, and the people, who are easily
deceived, are taught to see the evil spirit under the form of some animal, a
serpent perhaps, or a wasp, or a spider, and all that remains is to catch him,
and put him to death.
The following particulars are related by Alberti : The Koossas have no
priests or religious ceremonies ; thence, according to his opinion, their want
of traditions.' They know of nothing but enchanters, and these are of two
sorts, well-disposed and evil-disposed. It is only by the assistance of the
former that the evil influence of the latter can be combated. For the most
part it is old women who occupy themselves with magic, in the good sense,
and gain their livelihood by it. If a disease be considered as owing to
enchantment, one of these enchantresses is sent for. She forms a number of
little pellets of cow-dung, which she lays upon the belly, this being considered
as the seat of all inward complaints, making many mysterious gestures and
grimaces, and pronouncing certain mysterious words, bringing forth at last
a snake, a tortoise, a lizard, by which she affirms the patient to be enehanted,
and that this is the cause of his illness. If the sick man dies, the excuse is
that the appointed' term of his life was expired, and he would have died
without the effect! of the enchantment ; or else the wizard honestly confesses
that the power of the evil spirit was greater, than her own. Before the

256 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
beginning of" the cure she stipulates for her reward, which is commonly a cow
or an ox, but this must be returned if the remedies prove unsuccessful.
r Not content, however, with the restoration pf the patient, it is necessary
that he by whom he was enchanted shajl be exposed. For this purpose the
whole horde must be collected together : the enchantress then shuts, herself
up alone in a hut, where she says she must sleep, in order to see the male
factor in a dream. The people without, in the mean time, dance and sing for
awhile, till at length the men go into the hut, and beg the enchantress to come
forward. At first she hesitates, then they carry her a number of hassagais as
a presentj when she comes forth with the weapons in her hand; her eyelid,
her arm, and thigh, on the left side whitened, but on the right died black: she
is half naked, being only covered about the middle, but is soon clothed with
mantles from all sides. She is then required to namethe enchanter; she still
hesitates, but soon throws the mantles aside, and rushes amidst the people with
her hassagais, striking with one of them the person, whom she means to point
out as the aggressor. He is then seized, but before any punishment is
inflicted, the enchantress must declare where he has concealed the instrument
by which the enchantment was performed. She names a place; it is searched,
and a skull, or some other part of the human body, is found, when the accused
is fully convicted of the crime. The punishment to which, according to her
. counsel, he is commonly sentenced, is either to be buried under an ant heap
there to be stung by these animals, or else to be laid on the ground and covered
with hot stones. Should he survive these tortures, instances of which have
happened, he is banished the horde, his hut reduced to ashes, and all his pro
perty confiscated to the chief, the enchantress being still the person who
dictates all these things. It therefore not uncommonly happens, that a man
who possesses a more than usual number of cattle, is accused by the old lady
and brought to punishment. Sometimes the weight of offence falls upon her
own head, and she is seized by the people, when her fate is sealed by repeated
blows from the kirri. Sometimes the accused person exculpates himself by
affirming that the true enchanter has laid the fault upon him to keep himself
concealed : if the enchantress admits the legality of this excuse, he is then
declared innocent.
In long continued droughts they have recourse to magic to procure rain,
A Hottentot commonly, very seldom one of their own people, is made use of
for tins purpose. A certain number of cattle are brought to him, of which hp

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 257
chooses one, When it is slain, and he dips a rod in the blood, with which he
sprinkles the ground all about: he afterwards walks round in a circle for some
time with a thoughtfulair, and then goes into a hut by himself. They wait
patiently for a month, but if rio rain falls by the end of that time, and the poor
exorciser has not removed himself out of the way, he is seized without any
farther accusation, and put to death.
They have iriany opinions with regard to uncleanness strongly resembling
those of the Jews. A husband who has lost his wife is considered unclean
for a fPrtriight, a widow is so for a month, and a mother who has lost a child
for two days : all persons attending at the death of another are so, as well as
all men returning from a battle; and during the time it continues, no one must
have any intercourse with them ; they must then be purified by their bodies
being washed and new dyed, and their mouths being rinced with milk. This
must not be done till the full time is expired, and during the interval they
must forego all washing and dying their bodies, or the use of milk. An
enchanter is considered as unclean', but may be purified by renouncing his
art, and undergoing a solemn washing in the river.
If any one kills a man he is considered as unclean. He must then roast
his meat upon a fire made of a particular sort of wood, which gives it a bitter
taste, and havingeateri it, must rub his face over with the cooled embers till it
is quite black. A'fter a certain time he may wash himself, rince his mouth with
milk, and dye himself brown anew. From that time he is clean.
Does a lion come into' the neighbourhood of a kraal, the people go out iri a
considerable number, armed with hassagais, kirris, and shields. The lion is
surrounded, and enclosed iri a narroAv circle. They then tease him with their
lances till he springs out from the bush, and attacks one of the hunters ; the
latter falls upon the ground, coveringhimself with his shield, when the rest
attack the animal with their spears, and dispatch him: sometimes, however,
some of them are wounded, or even lose their lives in the conflict. The first
who receives a wound is considered as a hero, though he is made unclean by
it for a time. When the hunting-party return to the kraal, the hero is raised
by his companions upon their shields, and held up to the view ofthe people.
One of them steps forward with strange gestures, and makes a speech in praise
of the warrior; the rest continue somewhat behind, singing a sort of hymn,
andstriking with their kirris upon their shields. Some others, in the mean time,
l1

258 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
hastily build up, a small mean hut at a little distance from the general dwelling-
place, and here the hero is shut up apart from, all the rest for four complete
days; he is then purified, and brought in solemn form by a life-guard of the
< Chief, back to the kraal. In conclusion, a calf is slain, which all his com
panions partake with him, as a proof that he is again clean.
When the Koossas wish to do honour to anybody, they give him a new name,
the meaning of which nobody knows but the person who gives.it, This is par
ticularly done by any white people, who come among them, and remain with
them for any time. Vander Kemp had in this way three names given him,
Jinkhanna, Gobuhsso, and Tabeha-Kelehre. It is, incomprehensible how soon
a stranger is known throughout the country by his new appellation.
If a storm falls upon a kraal, it must be immediately forsaken by its inha
bitants, or at least the hut or huts that have been struck must be pulled
down, and the place purified by the slaughter of a certain number of oxen.
Till this is done nobody can come into the kraal, or have any intercourse with
its inhabitants. Should this misfortune happen to the king's kraal, or to one
which had been his habitation, a hundred oxen must be slain, and all left there.
Any one who pleases may come and carry away the flesh ; the rest becomes
the portion of the hyaenas.
As soon as they perceive a sick man near his end, he is carried from his hut
to some solitary spot under the shade of a tree: a fire is then made, and a
vessel with water set near him. Only the husband or wife, and the nearest
relations, remain with him. If he appear dying, the water is thrown over his
head in hopes of its reviving him ; but should this fail, and it is evident that
he must die, he is left by every body, except the husband, if it be.a woman,
or the wife if it be a man : the relations stand at a distance, and the person
staying- calls to them from time to time to let thern know how the sick
person goes on, and at length to announce his death. When that is over, the
relations purify themselves, and then return to their habitations.* The wife.

* According to Vander Kemp's information, a dying person is sometimes forsaken by every
body, and if it should happen that he comes to himself, he is set out again for the second time.
Themotiveof so horrible a proceeding seems to be a superstition, that an illness, or a misfortune
of any kind, may fall four-fold upon others if tbe sufferer be not driven away. From the
same motive, if they see a person drowning^ or in danger of. his life in any way, particularly

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 259
however, who must pay the last duties to her husband, cannot do this. She
leaves the body, about which no one is any longer solicitous, to become a prey
to some hyaena, "and goes with a firebrand taken from the fire that had been
kindled near the dying man, to some other solitary place, where she again
makes a fire, and though it should rain ever so hard, she must n6t suffer it to
be extinguished. In the night, she cornes secretly to the hut where she had
lived with her husband, and bums it, then returns back to her solitude, where
she. must remain a month, entirely secluded from the world, and living the
whole time upon roots and berries. When this time is expired, she throws
away her clothes, washes her whole body, scratches her breast, arms, and
thighs, with sharp stones, girds her body round with rushes twisted together,
and at sun-set returns to the kraal. At herdesire a firebrand is brought her by
a youth to the place where her hut stoPd, and there she make's a fire. At the
same time she is served with fresh milk to rince her mouth, and from that moment
she becomes clean. The cow from which the milk was drawn, on the contrary,
is rendered impure, and though not killed, is no more milked, but neglected
entirely^ and left to die a natural death. The next day an ox is killed by the
relations ; they eat its flesh with her, and give her the skiri to make a new
mantle., By the help of her sisters ajid sisters-in-law she then builds herself
a new hut, and re-enters into social life.
A widower has nearly the same rhourning cereirionies to observe^ only with
the difference that his seclusion lasts but half a morith. He then throws his
garments away, and prepares himself a new cloak from the skin of an ox. He
takes besides the hair from the tail of'the ox, with which he makes a necklace,
and wears it as long as it will last. The ox becomes impure, but is not killed.
If a grown perspn dies suddenly in his hut, the whole kraal becomes impure,
and must be abandoned by its inhabitants. The corpse remains 'undisturbed in
the hut. If a child dies in the same manner, the hut alone becomes impure,
and must be closed up and forsaken.
if he should utter a scream of terror, they always run away from him, nay, will even turn and
throw stones at him. Even women in child-birth dare not cry out, lest every body should forsake
them, and they should be left helpless and alone. It is probably these customs which have giyen rise
to what has been related by former travellers, that the Caffres throw their superannuated old men
alive tp the hyaenas. 1,12

26© TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
It is only the Chiefs and their wives who are buried. They are left. to die in
their huts ; the corpse is then wrapped in the mantle, and the grave is made in
the fold for the cattle. After the earth is thrown in, some ofthe oxen are
driven into the fold, and remain there till the earth is entirely trodden down
so as not to be distinguishable from the rest. The oxen are then driven out,
but they must not be killed. The widows of the deceased burn all the house
hold utensils which they and their husband had used together, and after
remaining three days in solitude, purify themselves according to the usual
manner ; they then each kill an ox, and each makes herself a new mantle of
the skin : the place is after this forsaken by all its inhabitants, and never built
upon any more, not even by another horde. Sometimes in the spots where
Chiefs have been buried bones are seen, but it is regarded as a very ill
omen when their bones are disturbed from any cause whatever. A Chief
whose wife dies has the same ceremonies to observe as another man, excepting
that with him the time of mourning is only three days. The place in which
the wife of a Chief is buried is forsaken jn the same manner as in the case of
the Chief himself.
The physical treatment of children among the Koossas is the most simple
possible. If the mother has not sufficient milk to nourish her child it is fed
with cow's milk, but no woman ever suckles the child of another : this their
superstitions will not permit: healthy mothers commonly suckle their children
till they are two years old. Diseases among infants are rare ; some few die in
cutting their teeth, from cramps and bowel complaints ; for these they give them
the slimy sap pressed from the Reaves of a particular species of mesembryan
themum. It is very rare indeed to hear a child cry ; all my companions agreed
with me in this point; we never knew an infant scream, or an older child
weep- Till the children are about seven or eight years old, they remain entirely
under the mother's care, who keeps them obedient by restraint, without the
father's concerning himself with them. As soon as the hoys are old enough
to be employed in any kind of service, perhaps to look after the calves, they
are taken entirely under the father's tuition ; the girls remain with the mother,
and are trained up to little household occupations, fetching wood and water,
or the like. All children above ten or eleven years old are publicly instructed
under the inspection of the Chief; the boys in the use of arms, and other things

, TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 261
wherein strength of body is required; the girls in works by the hand, and
household services. -
The boys are early taken to join the' occupation of their fathers in tending
the cattle, and, as pay, have some of the young ones awarded to them. When
grow.n up, . the little herd is increased by a present from the father, and then
the youth begins to think of employing a part of it in the purchase of a wife-
He enters into a commercial negociation with the father of the maiden whom
he has chosen, and the price is in proportion to the situation of the respective
parties, or the wealth of the bridegroom. Some other circumstances, however,
enter into the contract; for example, if a girl be particularly handsome, it will
procure her admission sometimes into a more wealthy family than her own,
and her father will get a higher price for her. _
Most ofthe Koossas have but one wife; the kings and chiefs of the kraals
only have four or five, The nuptials are celebrated with the slaughter of
oxen, and with banquetings, which last until the flesh of the animals is
entirely eaten : the father has then no more concern with the bride ; she belongs
entirely to her husband.
Orphan children are educated by the brothers of their father, and the marriage
price to be given for the maiden then becomes the uncle's. If, however, she
has brothers come to manhood, the eldest of them has the advantage ofthe purr-
chase, but he must give something out of .it to the younger ones.
Alberti gives us the following information relative to the marriage ceremo
nies among these people. To the feeling of a chaste tender passion, founded
on reciprocal esteem, and an union of heart and sentiment, they seem entire
strangers. The necessity of mutual assistance in household concerns, and the
propensities of nature, are the motives which unite the youth and maiden to
each other. That this union, according to the ordinances of these people, or
at least according to their uninterrupted custom, is for their whole lives, and
perfectly indissoluble,, is a proof that they have attained, or retained, a not
contemptible station in the scale of moral and social civilization.
The young man commonly endeavours, in the first place, to gain the good
will and consent of the maiden ; yet that is not always the case. Sometimes,
nor is this very nnfrequent, he waves the consideration of her consent, and
occupies himself in the first instance with seeking to obtain her from her father
on the best possible terms. The price is generally a certain number of cows ;
a portion of these is brought by the suitor, and if the parents are not satisfied,

262 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
he brings another and another cow till they are so. The number seldorn exceeds
ten, except in the case of the bridegroom being extraordinarily rich, or the
bride being extraordinarily handsome. The bartering for the price often con
tinues several days, both parties examining carefully into the advantages they
anay derive from the transaction, before the bargain is brought to a close. As
-soon as it is arranged, the bride, with her parents, relations, and companions,
goes to the habitation of the bridegroom, where the chief of the kraal and
almost all the inhabitants are assembled.. A number of oxen are then slain,
with the flesh of which the whole assembly are feasted for four days. On the
fourth, the bride, after having been ornamented by her companions, in parti
cular having been new dyed, is led by two of them before the Chief,
who, with his train, has taken his place in the general cattle-fold belonging
to the kraal. He now declares his formal consent to the marriage, the bride
giving at the same time her solemn assurance that she will be a faithful and
industrious wife, and that her husband shall never have any cause of complaint
against her. When she retires, the bridegroom in like manner appears before
the chief, and gives equal assurances, that he will be hospitable and careful in
the entertainment of his guests, and will duly pay the tributes he owes to the
king, and to his representative, the Chief of the kraal. The bridegroom then
returns to the company, and his relations hand a basket of milk to the bride,
reminding her that it is from the cows which belonged to the bridegroom or
some of his family. Of this milk she must not drink as long as the bridegroom
is only her suitor, but now she is to drink it, and from this moment the union
is indissolubly concluded. All the people present shout Unanimously, and
begin dancing, crying, " She drinks the milk! She hath drank the milk !"*
* It is curious to observe, how much among these pastoral people, milk, which is one of their
principal articles of food, has, when taken under particular circumstances, a highly symbolical
signification affixed to it. The drinking of milk is the last act by which a maiden is consecrated a»
a wife: no person while in a state of impurity must drink of it, and the being permitted to
drink it again is the conclusion of the purification. The cow, of whosemilk the widow drinks
after her days of mourning arc completed, becomes impure, while she is purified. What a coin
cidence with the ideas of many celebrated nations, both of antiquity and Of the middle ages ! Yet
this coincidence is less to be regarded as conclusive of the customs being transmitted from ancient
times, than as proving how closely the idea of moral impurity is connected among people arrived
at a certain degree of moral anil political civilization, with the sacred signification and purifying
medium of a principal article of food, taken under particular circumstances, as milk, blood,
bread, kc.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 263
If a youth have made an agreement with the parents of a maiden for an
union with her, the bargain once closed the latter cannot refuse to surrender
herself; if she makes any attempts at resisting the union, corporal punish
ment is even resorted to, in order to compel her submission: if still she
wishes to show her dislike to the marriage, she drives the cattle, which the
bridegroom brought as a present to her parents, out of the fold.
Sometimes it happens that parents are desirous of offering their daughter as
wife to a man of particular distinction, and then the following ceremonies
are observed. The maiden goes by night, attended by a number of her young
companions, to the habitation of the bridegroom, who is already apprised of
her intentions. When there, the party by coughing, hemming, or some
other kinds of noises, contrive to make. their arrival known: somebody then
comes from the hut, and asks, Who is there ? One of the women mentions
the name of the bride, and some distant place whence. she comes. Although
it be not always true that she does come from a distance, yet immemorial
custom prescribes that she should be represented as an entire strapger. The
travellers are then introduced into an empty hut, and presented with wood
and fire ; food they bring with them, that they may not be considered as
needy. The next day the. bridegroom assembles the bride's relations to,
enquire, of them into the state of her health. The young man is. then asked .
by her parents whether he is disposed. to take the young woman as his wife.
He commonly replies that he wishes first to be better acquainted with her, in .
which case she is left alone with him the following night.. If, after that, he
declares himself in her favour, the negociation for the price commences, and:
she returns home till it is concluded ; then the ceremonies above described -
are all observed. If a widow is about to. marry again, the parents areagajn
to^receive.a certain number of cowg from the bridegroom, but not so many as
in the-instance ofthe first marriage.
Till, the. birth of the first child the parents must not make use of the milk
from the cows they have received as the price of the wife. After her delivery
they present the son-in-law with. a cow. The husband must also make the,
sisters* qf his wifesome little present ; they take it exceedingly ill if he does -
not. If. a wife dies. without children, the cows that her parents received, for
hex mpst- be returned.

§6i TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Marriages between an uncle and niece, and between the children of brothers
and sisters, are not permitted. The father-in-law must not see his daughter-
in-law but in the presence of other persons : if by chance he should find her
alone, she must not stay with him : neither must she ever appear before him
with her head uncovered. The same rules must be observed between a
mother-in-law and her son-in-law.
Where there is more than one wife, the domestic peace is seldom disturbed
by it, since for the most part each wife has her separate habitation. There
are many instances, however, where a man has not more than two wives,
that they live all together, and in the utmost harmony. The children are
brought up in common ; the wives share equally the household work, and in
case of sickness attend upon each other like sisters. If any misunderstanding
should happen, the youngest must leave the house, and build a separate hut
for herself. The husband does not concern himself with the quarrel, but
lives in peace with both, sometimes taking his meals and lodging with one,
sometimes with the other, according to his pleasure. The Caffre women are
very prolific, having upon an average from eight to ten children.
Separations between a man and wife rarely occur: a woman who runs
away from her husband is by command ofthe Chief of the horde brought back
to her duty by force. A violation of the marriage vow is only a crime with
the wife ; a husband may live without disgrace upon the most intimate footing
either with an unmarried woman or a widow. If a man detects his wife in
the act of violating her vow, he has a right to put the seducer to death upon
the spot; this however he seldom does, finding it more advantageous to
complain to the Chief, and share with him the fine to which the culprit is
sentenced. If a man detects the infidelity of his wife by her unexpected
pregnancy, the seducer must be named to the Chief; she is even constrained
to it by blows : the offender is then fined a number of cattle, which are
shared between the Chief and the husband. This done, the wife has no
farther reproach' to fear, the child then belongs to her husband, and is brought
up by him. A young woman who violates her chastity has not much more
shame to -apprehend. If she cannot be married to her seducer, he pays a
fine of cattle to her parents, and it is no obstacle to her future marriage. A
traveller remaining some time with a horde, easily finds an unmarried young

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFttlCA. 26%
wPmari, with wnotn hp contracts the closest intimacy ; nay, it is fiPt Uncom
mon, as a mark of hospitality, to offer him one as a companion.
Notwithstanding this, the Kbossa women have a great deal of decency
and modesty iri their behaviour. Their clothing covers their Whole body ;
only their face, atrns, and feet are uncovered. They avoid carefully evefy
unnecessary expbsurP of their persons in suckling their children, Pr in wading
thrdugh a river, and never appear before strangers with their heads unco
vered. No woman thinks of mixing in public business ; the women are entirely
excluded from the deliberations which the Chief sometimes holds vvith the
principal people of the horde. In extraordinary instances only are exceptions
made, as where a woman has from her age obtained a particular degree of
experience, and from her situation commands respect ; this is the case with
the present king's mother. But the woman's influence in household affairs
is proportionably great ; they are directed almost entirely by her. Even in
the manner of disposing of the common property, the wife has the principal
direction, and the husband submits to her opinion so unconditionally, that
even after closing a bargain in the way of trade, he not unfrequently recedes,
because his wife refuses "her consent to it. A man never mingles in his wife's
quarrels as long as they are confined to words, but if blows ensue, he then
steps forward immediately as her protector and defender.
The Koossas have a very laudable respect for their parents, and their rela
tions, who are advanced in years. A father, when unable, on account of his
age, to attend any longer to his affairs himself, gives up his whole property
indiscriminately to his sons, and is sure of receiving the utmost care and
kindness from them for the remainder of his life. Any one who should fail
in respect for his father, or shew any neglect of him, would draw on himself
the contempt of the whole horde ; there have been even instances in which
want of filial duty has been punished with infamy and banishment. During
his whole life a father must be consulted in all his son's undertakings, and
after his death the uncle or elder brother, as his representative, must be the
counsellor. All persons advanced in years have particular respect shewn
them, their advice is always listened to, and if they become sick and help
less, every one is eager to afford them assistance. Poor relations are not less
kindly treated, and if any one is sick, and has not cattle sufficient to pay for
m m

266 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
being disenchanted, his nearest relations do not hesitate a moment to furnish
whatever is necessary for his restoration. , ,
The business of the wife consists not only in the whole care of the domestic
management, and the education ofthe' children, but many works are done
by women which in other countries are chiefly performed by men. Not only
all the household utensils, pottery, baskets, and cloaths are made by them,
but they also build the houses, cultivate the land, gather in the fruits, and
collect the fire-wood. The men in time of peace employ themselves only in
the chace, and in tending the cattle.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 267

CHAP. XIX.
Description of the Koossa Caffres continued. — Their Habitations and Cattle-folds. —
Their Manner of keeping their Cattle.— Their Food. — The Chace.— Agriculture. —
Cloathing and Ornaments. — Their Arms. — Manner of fighting. — Works of Art.
The huts of the Koossas are in the form of a hemisphere, from eight to
nine feet in diameter, and are seldom sufficiently lofty for a man to stand
upright in them. The entrance is about four feet high, and is closed by a
door of latfice-work. The skeleton of the hut is composed of slender poles
stuck into the ground in a circle, at the distance of about a foot from each
other, and united together in the centre. The spaces between the poles are
filled up with twigs, or rather faggots, and then the whole is covered over to
a certain height with a mixture of clay and cow-dung, the remainder being
thatched with rushes. The hordes inhabiting the interior of the country,
who live more quietly, and do not change their habitations so often, build
their huts stronger, and for the most part double, that is to say, two together,'
which are united by a low anti-chamber, if that name may be given to it.
The floor of the hut is a kind of plaster made of the white-ant heaps, beat
very smooth and hard: it is kept exceedingly clean, and is often renewed.
They sleep upon rush mats, six feet long, and from three to four .broad,
covering themselves with the mantle which they wear'in the day. To express
a married man,' they often say that he lies under two mantles. The Caffres
always sleep with their bodies stretched out at full length ; the Hottentots,
on the contrary, draw themselves up almost round.
Near the huts are places hedged round, in which the cattle are enclosed at
night to guard' them from the wild beasts. To some kraals there is a common
fold for all the cattle, which, in the day when the animals are out grazing,
serves the inhabitants for holding their public assemblies. As the Koossas live
almost entirely upon the produce of their cattle, the attending upon them
is the principal business of every householder, and from the extreme care
taken of them j1 the cows of this tribe1 give more milk upon an average than
m m 2

€68 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
those of any other part of the country, supposing always that the year be
tolerably favourable, and affords a sufficient quantity of grass to feed them
properly. The cattle are so well trained, that they are perfectly obedient,
and stop or go on at the call of their masters, or at the sound of a little pipe,
which he sometimes blows. The Koossas love their cattle exceedingly, and
know every single animal perfectly, its disposition, qualities, &c ; it is not
without reluctance; that they part from them, either, to kill them or give them
away. They are only killed for the purpose of some festivity, or upon other solemn
occasions, or against going to war. The manner of killing them is horrible.
The animal is thrown upon the earth, and bound. A long cut is then made.
in the skin, of the throat with the hassagai, the hand is thrust into the wound,
and the. aprt^ is, torn away, so that the animal, bleeds to death. This is
performed within, the cattle-fold, and the dung from thp entrails of the animal
is carefully strewn about, in the superstitipus hope that the loss of the animal
will then be much, sooner repaired. When the supply of grass fails, either
from, drought or from long continuance in the, place, the whole kraal is. broken
up, and the inhabitants remove to another spot, perhaps less pleasant, but
this they do not concern themselves, abput, provided it affords good feed, for
the cattle. The, oxen are trained both for,, drawing apd for being rode, andj
even while, calves they know. how to distinguish which will be best for either
purpose. The riding oxen are guided by a pin of wood run through the
nose to which a bridle is fastened, and they are for the most part. excellently
trainpd. The chiefs ofthe kraals have several riding oxen, but they are kept
only for pomp? and as a proof of their wealth. Thpy are sometimes used to
afford a favourite recreation. At a certain cry made, to them, they are taught,
to run loose at the people, and the delight is, as they seem ready to run,
against and trample upon any one, for. the person, by a dexterous, strpke, to(
turn them aside.
Theses people are likewise veryt assiduous in ornamenting their, cattle, as
they consider it. This is done in two ways; either by giving the horns.
strange, and fantastic directions, or by cutting, soon after their. birth, piepes
of skin frpm thp neck to the knee, and; letting them hang c-pwn. In, order to,,
change the manner of % horns growing, they, are, frpm thp mgment when.they,,
begin to appear, DushedJnto tlip direction. mjqnied tqbegivpn, th^ifi, Bythe,s&

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 269
means they sometimes drive them back like the horns of the antelope, or
turn them ip a variety of strange and absurd ways. Mr. Barrow is ill-
informed, when he says that they bend the horns by softening them with
hot irons : he seems to have conceived this idea from the method used by
turners to prepare the horn for being worked. The attachment of the
Koossas to their cattle leads them to admire particular ones for particular
qualities, about which we should never concern ourselves. They know the
voice of each separate animal perfectly well, and are sometimes in such
raptures at the tones of a cow which they consider as having an unusually
fine voice, that they will try all means of getting her into their possession.
They eat their milk sometimes fresh, soirietimes sour, and are very fond of
whey and cheese. They make butter by shaking the milk about in leather
pouches, in the manner that Kolbe describes its, being made by the Hotten
tots ; but they only use it for smearing themselves ; they never eat it.
Before a party goes out hunting, a very odd ceremony or sport takes
place, which they consider as absolutely necessary to ensure success to
the undertaking. One of them takes a handful of grass into his mouth,
and crawls about upon all-fours to represent some sort of game. The rest
advance as if they would, run him through with their spears, raising the hunt-
t ing cry, till at length he falls upon the ground as if dead. If this man
afterwards kills a head of game, he hangs a claw upon his arm as a trophy,
but the aniriial must be shared with the rest. They generally, after a hunt
is over, burn up the field where it has taken place, that they may find the
blades of the hassagais again. They take game also very much in slings.
In bushy countries they make a low hedge, sometimes, of a mile long. At
intervals openings are formed in it, through which the animals seek their
way, and here the slings are concealed with so much ingenuity, that they
entangle their legs in them in such a manner as to render their escape
impossible. The larger game, such as buffalos, elands, and others,, are taken in deep
pits, at the bpttom of which are pointed stakes ; they are made in, the route
that the animals usually take to go to the water; Like pits, but with
stronger stakes, are made near the banks ofthe rivers between the bushes,
where the. hippopotamos comes . by night. The animals; are watehed, and
ailoudrcry, is made, by which they are frightened, when attempting to hasten

270 TRAVELS IN' SOUTHERN AFRICA.
back to the river, they fall with all their weight upon the sharp stakes, and
never can rise again. Panthers are taken by hanging a piece of raw flesh at
a certain height upon a bush, in the midst of which a hassagai is ¦ingeniously-
fastened, the- sharp point being upwards : when the panther springs at the
meat, he falls upon the iron, and is stuck by it in the breast.
The. elephant hunt occasions them much more trouble, and seldom answers.
They only take single elephants which have strayed from the herd. When
they find one in a favourable situation, they set on fire the grass and low
bushes round, knowing that he will not quit such a circle at least by day.
They then get as near him as possible, and throw at him an innumerable quan
tity of hassagais, which, however, on account ofthe thickness and hardness
of his skin, do him very little injury. In the night he commonly escapes,-
or perhaps does not run away till the fire is burnt out, but by moving he
generally drives the hassagais'deeper into his body. The hunters follow him
now with more circumspection, and endeavour to drive him into chasms
among the rocks, where they can, with greater security, throw more hassa
gais at him. If the country is still flat, they continue to encircle him with
fire, till at length he is wearied, or falls sick from the number of little wounds
he has received, and thus sometimes they continue to torment him for days or
even weeks, till he is fairly persecuted to death. Their perseverance in this
pursuit is the more extraordinary, since they do not eat the flesh of the
elephant, but only take away his tusks; even these they must not keep, but
must give them to the king. All this toil is incurred without any view of
profit, merely from their general activity and the pleasure they have in the
pursuit, Their love of action is indeed such, that they will occasionally take
long journeys, in which they have all sorts of hardships and difficulties to
encounter, merely to visit some distant acquaintance, and not to be idle at home.
Besides their cattle, they have no other tame animals on which they set
any value, except theirdogs. The latter, notwithstanding that they seem to
have a Idve for them, are Very ill-fed, and are as miserably lean and mangy as
Mr. Barrow describes. They are rather kept as guards against wild-beasts at
night, than that they know how to use them in the chase. Although they '
like the flesh of sheep very much, yet these animals are not to be seen among
the Koossas. This is principally owing to the nature of their country. In
the first place it does not afford the aromatic plants on which the sheep* feed

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 271
so much in the colony, and in the next place it is so woody, that there would
be great difficulty in keeping the flocks together. Here we saw no poultry,
but among the more northern Caffre tribes, there are hens of a small size, and
without combs, though in other respects much resembling ours. Vasco de
Gama found hens among the Caffres on the coast of Terra do Natal.
Besides the millet, already mentioned ( Holcus Sorghum J, Alberti says that
the Koossas cultivate in some parts buck-wheat: they also cultivate water
melons. No one possesses landed property: he sows his corn wherever he
finds a convenient spot, without any other preparation of the land than
digging it with a little spade made of very hard wood: the weeds soon shoot >
up again, but they help to preserve the ground from getting too dry. When
the young corn begins to appear, it is weeded very carefully, and kept per
fectly clean; when ripe, it is cut with the hassagai, then threshed with a
stick, and thrown up to the wind to separate it from the chaff. The millet
is stored up in pits in the cattle-fold: these pits are dried by fire, and after the
corn is deppsited in them, they are covered over with straw, stones, and dried
ox dung. When one of these storehouses is opened, the owner must give his
neighbours and friends a little basket ofthe corn, and a larger portion to the
chief of the kraal. The wild plant which they use for smoaking instead of
tobacco is kept dried in bunches hanging upon the walls ofthe hut. Neither
the sort of millet or of water-melon which they cultivate will grow in the
colony. / The latter differs from what is cultivated by the colonists, in having
a somewhat bitter taste : it is both eaten fresh, and cut into slices and dried.
As the Koossas are so. exceedingly sparing of killing their cattle, it. is very
desirable that they should pay more attention to procuring themselves a sup
ply of vegetable food. Their millet is an excellent resource ; they eat it cooked.
with milk, and make a sort of bread of it, which they bake upon the hot
embers. They also make from it a fermented liquor, which tastes almost like
beer, but of a much more intoxicating quality, and much sooner spoiled :.
they call it tjaloa. A better sort is even made called inguhja, which is npt
unlike wine, and they make, vinegar of it, which they call tjala. Mr. Barrow
has been therefore, as it appears from hence, misinformed in saying that the
Koossas do not make use of any intoxicating liquor. These different liquors
are obtained according .to the different degrees of fermentation which the
millet undergoes by being put for a certain time, mixed with water,. into milk

272 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
baskets, which have had Pld fermented matter in them. In the plape of sieves
for straining it they use the nests which many sorts of tlfe African &*«* build
with the woolly parts of particular plarits.
It has been rrientioned already by Other writers, that the Caffres do not Pat
any kind Pf fish or sea-animal. Some kraals, however, whieh are near thP
coast, and have a scarcity of other food, eat muscles and several kinds of
fish, but they are held in contempt for it by the rest of the nation^
The Caffres are hospitable. Vander Kemp, who has travelled|he country
over and over, assured me that whenever he passed the night at a str&rig%
kraal they always gave him a hut to 'himself, which was furnished with
a bed of mats and skins, and with a fire in trrScmiddle; he had besides
an ample provision of milk and cooxed millet. Before his principles were
thoroughly understood, an old woman generally used to come to him and
inquire whether he would riot like one of the young- women of the kraal to
keep him company for the night. Thi'sj as has beetf mentioned before, is
considered as a duty of hospitality, but it would be taken extrel&ly ill if the
stranger were to think of chusing for himself, or if he should, ask for a mar
ried woman.
Whenever any one kills an ox hp must invite all his neighbours to partake
of it, and fhey remain his guests till the whole is eaten : ievCn the king is not
exempt from this custom, and must be contented to shafe his meals with his*
neighbouring subjects.* In return, it is the custom that the breast of every
ox killed is sent to the king; even ther most distant kraal must not fail in-
doing so, although it be obvious from the distance that it p^nnot reach
him before it becomes putrid. The breast, the head, the heart, and the feetf
of the oxen, are eaten only by the men, the women never partake in therrry':
not even thejwives pf the king.
The skin cloak, or mantle, which they wear, ifmade of an ox-hide, is called-
gubo, or ingubo, but if made Of the skin of a wild animal, it is called unebe.

* It is also a custom that if any European travelling- among them receives a present of food,
he must share it with all around him, even though the piece he gives to each should be ever so
small. Alberti says he has heard people when they have not been invited to participate in the
food upon huch an occasion, at going away, imitate, the yell of the hyena, as a reproach upon
the unsociability of the visitor.

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TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 213
Even the Chief seldom wears any thing but the hide of an ox ot an eland.
All panther skins must be brought to him, but he does not so much wear
them himself, as keep them for presents occasionally, when he wants to shew
particular favour to any one. The skins are prepared with considerable
ingenuity: the process of preparing them is extremely well described by
Mr. Barrow. The mantles are seldom made out of many pieces ; they are
commonly only one skin. Those of the women are ornamented with parallel
rows of copper buttons, the greater .or lesser number of which distinguishes
the rank and wealth of the wearer. The Caffres are exceedingly fond of these
buttons, and whoever has them on his clothes when he visits their country
is very likely to be importuned for them in a manner that it is scarcely possi
ble to resist; but they must be quite flat and smooth, for if they have any
kind of embossed figure upon them they are stigmatized as blotchy. The
women besides ornament their mantles with the tails of wild-cats, which are
put on near the shoulder, and hang down on each side. Much more pains
are bestowed upon preparing the skins for the womens' clothes than upon
those for the mens'. They sew the skins with thread made of the sinews of
the oxen, piercing the holes to put it through with an iron punch, something
like a bodkin, in the place of a needle. A girl to earn her first mantle must
go out once with a hunting party, when she receives from her brothers an an
telope's skin as her share ofthe booty.
Here and there women as well as men are to be seen tattooed, but not in
the face, only upon the breast, the back, and the arms. The smearing them
selves with grease mixed with some mineral substance, as iron-ochre, iron- -
rust, mica, or something of the kind, gives their bodies a not unpleasant tint,
but nobody can touch them without bringing away very visible marks of it
upon his hands and his clothes. The men wear their heads naked, or with
a sort of diadem round them made of a strip of leather about an inch broad:
sometimes this is ornamented with thin plates of copper, sometimes with
beads of a variety of colours. The men also ornament their heads with a large
knot of zebra's or jackall's hair, about five inches long, and which must
stand upright.*

* For the dresses of the Caffres see the annexed plate.
N n

374 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The head-dress of the women consists in a sort of turban. A long piece
of fine thin leather, commonly the skin ofthe red deer, is wound round the
head in many folds ; the two ends, which run to points, are concealed under
the folds, and so fastened. This leather is at least two ells long, and in the
middle half an ell wide; the middle is sometimes sewed to a cap, from which
the points hang down on each side. Directly in the centre is always a tuft
or tassel of beads, or of strips of leather, with little bits of copper. The true
coquette wears her turban a little on one side ; indeed, the utmost care is
shewn in putting it on, and is perpetually pushed it this way or that, to
give it if possible a better effect.
Necklaces of different kinds are worn both by men and women. They
consist of small metal chains, little red stones, muscle-shells, glass-beads, or
even pieces of wood, and are so long that they hang quite down to the breast.
Glass-beads are prized particularly for necklaces ; but the Koossas have their
fashions in these things as well as other nations, and the same sorts, or the
same colours, are not always in equal favour. The great rage at present is for
a small sort of beads which are procured from the tribe of Imbo, and which
are considered of such value that a cow and calf is given for two small
strings. They have an idea that these beads creep out of the earth like
worms, and are caught by the Imbos ; but, according to Vander Kemp's
account, they seem to be common glass beads, or perhaps chaplets, which
have been brought by the Portuguese into the northern parts of the country,
and thence found their way among the Koossas. They wear in their
ears strings of beads of five or six inches long, as also buttons or rings
of copper.
Bracelets of ivory are worn by the men on the upper part of the left arm,,
sometimes even to the number of ten ; the broadest maybe an inch, or between
that and an inch and half in breadth. The number of these bracelets depends
upon the rank of the wearer. As all the elephant's teeth are the king's
property, the bracelets, made from them are given by him as tokens of friend
ship or favour, and -no one can wear them without his permission. On the
right arm, just above the elbow, a leather strap is often worn, set with five or
six tyger's teeth, all with the points standing put. Copper and iron brace
lets are also worn between tbe elbow and the wrist. Round the waist is
fastened a leather girdle stuck so thick with plates of iron or copper that the

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 275
leather cannot be seen. The females, from their birth, wear a leather apron,
which is called inkyo. Several of these aprons of different sizes are some
times worn, one over the other, the outermost of which is richly orna
mented with buttons and beads. The fingers, particularly the thumb, and
even the great toe, are often decorated with rings of iron and copper wire ;
and the men generally wear fastened to one knee a large bunch of hair
from a lion's mane, or tail, or of quagga's hair, which hangs down nearly to
the ankle. ' l
Their weapons of war are, as we have already mentioned, the hassagai, the
kirri, and a shield. The first is a spear from five to six feet in length, with
an iron spike at the end from half a foot to a foot and half long, and from one
to two inches broad. This is two-edged, and is sometimes the whole length
like a blade, sometimes it is half way rounded, and only towards the end flat,
and sharpened at the edges. The shaft is made of the slender stem of the
liassagai-tree (CurtisiafagineaJ, and near the spike is about as thick as a
finger, but at the other end is not thicker than a quill. The spike is fixed
very ingeniously into the shaft,and the shaft itself is in this part bound very fast
round with the sinews of beasts that it may not split. The manner of using
it, as well as the shield and the kirri, has been explained in a former chapter,
when describing their mock fight. It requires particular strength as well as
great dexterity to throw the hassagai upwards into the air ; the principal art
in lancing it, is to give the shaft a sort of tremulous motion, which accele
rates its flight exceedingly. They are obliged to give it the direction of a
bow, and this is the principal reason why it is so difficult to hit a particular
'mark. The farthest distance at which a hassagai can be expected to hit is
a hundred paces, but the aim is commonly taken at about seventy or eighty.
These weapons stand very much in the place of money among the Koossas ;
they are the most common medium by which all articles of barter are
valued, and by which the worth of every thing is estimated. They throw
the kirri as well as strike with it, and can hit at a tolerable distance ; it is used
in the chase as well as the hassagai : both are used besides as implements of
husbandry in breaking the ground. *
The Koossas are brave and resolute, like all the other tribes of the Caffres,
and often involved in wars with their neighbours; yet they cannot be called
quarrelsome in their dispositions: they seem much more disposed to lead a
n n 2

276 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
quiet and pastoral life. When engaged in war, no man capable of bearing
arms shrinks from the fight; and to fly in battle is considered as a disgrace
never to be expiated. The neighbours with whom they are the most frequently
at war are the Bosjesmans, on account of the depredations which the latter
are perpetually committing on their cattle. As the Bosjesmans, however,
never meet an enemy in the open field, but endeavour to shoot their poisoned
arrows from some secure place of concealment, so the Caffres cannot come to
fair and equal fighting with them: the warfare on both sides rather consists of
petty conflicts between hordes. The enmity of the Koossas, and all the
other Caffre tribes, against the Bosjesmans, knows no bounds. The latter are
considered by the former in the light of beasts of prey, who ought to be extir
pated from the earth; and on this system they pursue them in the same way
as they would wild beasts, putting to death every one that falls into their hands,
of either sex, or of any age. If the robberies have been very frequent, they
will seek out their hiding-places, nor cease the pursuit till they have found
the horde, and destroyed every one of them.
I myself once saw a striking instance of this hatred of the Caffres towards
the Bosjesmans. In the year 1804, a Caffre, who came to the Cape Town as
ambassador from a little horde which was then roving about the northern parts
ofthe colony, was received with great hospitality at the house of Governor
Janssens. The governor had at this time among the servants in his house a
Bosjesman lad about eleven years old. The Caffre, notwithstanding that the
boy was in no way distinguished from the rest of the Hottentots, immediately
recognised one of the race of his mortal enemies, and made a push at him
with his hassagai, intending to run him through. The boy escaped, and fled
to the kitchen, where he found shelter; and as the people pressed about the
Caffre, and enquired of him what their young comrade had done that he should
endeavour to take away his life, he replied in broken Dutch, glowing with
rage, " that what he was doing was out of gratitude to the governor for the kind
reception he had given him. He would have freed him from that little rascal,
who was indeed then too weak to do him any mischief, but who, he might be
sure, if he was permitted to live, would at length deprive him both of his pro
perty and life. It was impossible that a Bosjesman could ever abandon his
villainous ways, and it was necessary to destroy such vermin wherever they
were found/'

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 277
The wars ofthe Caffres among each other are of much more consequence.
They are commonly occasioned either by the rebellion of the Chieis against
their common king, or by the desire of the latter to bring some separate
tribe under his subjection, and make it tributary to him, or in contentions
with regard to tho extent of their territories, and about feed for the cattle.
But no one ever rails upon the enemy while he is unprepared for the fight, or
without making a public declaration of war. For this purpose ambassadors
are sent, who require submission, or, in failure of it, threaten an immediate
attack: as a token of their inimical embassy, they carry in their hands the tail
either of u lion or a panther.
This declaration made, all the vassal chiefs, with their dependents, are sum
moned to assemble. Every one must implicitly obey this mandate, and follow
hisleador: whoever does not, is in danger of having his whole property confis
cated. As soon as the army is collected at the habitation of the king, a
number of oxen are killed, that the warriors may be strengtliened for the fight
by eating- abundantly of their flesh : at the same time they dance, and deliver
themselves up entirely to rejoicing. The king presents the most distinguished
and the most valiant among the Chiefs with plumes of feathers, from the wings
of a sort of crane : these they wear upon their heads as marks of honour. They
are then obeyed as commanders; but it is their duty, during the tight, to be
seen at tho head of their respective divisions: any one who tails forfeits his life
irredeemably : among the followers, too, whoever forsakes his leader, is pu
nished with death.
Tho army is now put into motion, taking with it as many oxen for slaughter
as are deemed necessary for its support. M'hen it approaches the habitation
of the enemy, ambassadors are again sent to give notice ofthe intended attack,
and repeat the declaration of the motives which have given occasion to the
war. If tho enemy declares that he has not yet collected all his people toge
ther, and is not prepared to tight, the attacking army waits with patience till
ho notifies that he is ready. A wide, open place, without bushes aud without
rocks, is chosen as tho field of battle, to avoid ali possibility of an ambush,
which is considered as wholly degrading. The two armies then raising a
loud war-cry, approach in two liues till they are within about seventy or
eighty paces of each other. They now begin throwing their hassagais, en
deavouring, at tlie same time, to turn aside those of the enemy. The king,

21S TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
or commander-in-chief, whoever hemay be, remains always in the centre of his
line, and takes an active part in the fight. Some ofthe inferior commanders
remain near him, the rest remain some at the heads of their divisions, some
behind, to prevent the troops giving way. By degrees the two bands approach
nearer and nearer to each other, till at length they come hand to hand, when
the hassagais are no more used, but the kirri alone decides the combat. Some
times, however, they do not come to these close quarters, but remain at a dis
tance, till they are obliged to give over, either by the coming on of night, or
by the flight of one of the parties.
In the former case both sides retire to a certain distance, where a line of
demarcation is agreed upon, and during the night negociations for peace
are carried on: if these are fruitless, the combat must then be renewed till
finally decided. If one ofthe armies has taken to flight, the commander alone
isto olame: every thing depends upon his personal bravery, and his falling
back is the signal for the whole body to do the same. A flying enemy is
immediately pursued, and, above all things, the conquerors seek to possess
themselves of their women and children, and cattle: of the latter a great part
are immediately killed and eaten. If the vanquished party agrees to submit,
his submission is accepted, on condition that he acknowledges his conqueror
from that time forward as his sovereign, and 'solemnly promises obedience to
him. When this is done, the women and children are sent back : the victors
also return some of the cattle taken, though perhaps, but a very small part,
dividing the -rest among themselves. This claim of the conquered to the
return of some part of the booty rests upon a principle which is a common
saying among the Koossas, " that we must not let even oar enemies die with
hunger." When both parties are returned to their respective habitations, the
vanquishpd, as a token of submission, send a present to their new king out of
the little that remains to them. The conqueror treats his followers again before
they separate, in the same manner as when they first assembled.
In these fights among the Caffres the number of lives lost is not so great as
might be supposed; for the hassagais do~not very often hit, or if they do, the
wound is seldom mortal. Any one who falls unarmed into the hands ofthe
enemy is never put to death : the women and children, equally, have never
any thing to fear for their lives ; they are universally, and without exception,
spared. For this reason women are sometimes employed as ambassadors ;

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRTCA. 279
that is if there is danger of the enemy considering matters as having gone so
far that he is at liberty to put the ambassador to death, supposing a man to be
sent: and this may be the case under certain circumstances, though in general
it is wholly unallowable by the customs of war to touch the person of an
ambassador. Allies, who are sometimes sought from very remote tribes, if
the parties feel themselves weak, are entitled, in case of victory, to half the
booty. It remains to say a few words concerning the works of art among the
Koossas, and passing over those which have already been occasionally men-
tioned^ I shall first notice their working of metals. They have no copper or
iron in their own country, but receive it, in the way of barter, from someof the
tribes in the interior, as will be more fully shewn hereafter. Most of it comes
to them ready worked ; but they have sufficient acquaintance with the smith's
art to improve their hassagais, or to make of them other implements which
they want, as for example, the punches they use in making their baskets :
they employ stones as hammers to bring the hot iron or copper into the form
desired. In order to quicken the fire, and give it the necessary degree of heat
they make use of a sort of bellows consisting of two leather bags, which commu-
nicatewith the same pipe, and by being pressed against each other, they are alter
nately filled with air and emptied" again. This discovery was imparted to the
Koossas from a distant tribe. The fuel used for their smith's work is dried
ox-dung, which makes a very glowing fire : the tribes in the interior burn
charcoal. To strike fire they take two pieces of wood of different hardness, one of
which is a thin round stick, the other is flat, with little volutes at certain
distances. Into one of these the round stick is passed, and then drawn
backwards and forwards exceedingly quick, till by this friction the stick
at length catches fire, and being applied to a wisp of dried grass, a flame is
kindled. For keeping liquors, and even for cooking, they make pots of fine clay, which
are hardened in the sun, without being glazed. Some of these pots will hold
six buckets, or perhaps more : they keep the liquor very cool. In their form
they resemble large bottles with wide necks.
Their works with rushes are exceedingly ingenious: the baskets, which
a*e so exceedingly solid as to hold milk, are very well described by Kolbe,

280 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Le Vaillant, and Barrow. Le Vaillant, however, is misinformed with regard
to the manner in which he says they are quenched before they are capable of
holding liquid.
The Koossas are much behind hand with some of their neighbours with
regard to music. Instruments proper to themselves they do not appear to
have, for only those ofthe Hottentots are to be seen among them, and not so
well constructed. Their melodies are insufferable to a musical ear, and their
song is little better than a deadened howl. Their dances have been already
described. They amuse themselves with them very much in moonlight nights,
and are never weary with the exercise.
Although they have numerals, they have but little idea of counting : very
few can reckon beyond ten ; many, even, cannot name the numerals. Not
withstanding this, they know perfectly well of how many head a herd of cattle
consists, nor could a single one be missing without its being discovered imme
diately. If a herd of four or five hundred be driven home, the owner knows,
almost at a glance, whether they are all right or not. Possibly these people
have a manner of counting within themselves, without using words, yet by
which they can calculate accurately ; or perhaps the more probable thing is, that
they know every individual cow or ox, and from this recollection can tell im
mediately whether they are all there.
Their memories are, indeed, particularly strong, as far as the recollection
of objects of sense is concerned. For example, they instantly remember a
man whom they have once seen, though they should see him again at ever
so remote a period, and will immediately cite, with the utmost accuracy,
a number of occurrences which happened at their previous meeting.
In the same manner the countenances of animals, or some other distin
guishing mark about them, is impressed upon their minds so firmly, that they
can instantly recollect them. Some of them recognised immediately among
our draught oxen particular ones which had been once in their possession ;
taken by them during their war with the colony, and restored, by agreement,
when peace was made.
They are very little capable of calculating time : a period more remote
than a few months they know not how to describe, though all the events
that have passed in it are distinctly and circumstantially present to their
memories : still less can they at all tell their own ages. The age of an

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

281

absent child is given ,by shewing its height; and if a woman would
describe how many children she has borne, she does it by pointing out
their different heights. According to their external appearance, it seems
as if their oldest men were not more than between fifty and sixty years
pf age. Such is Alberti's opinion, and it agrees extremely well with
the estimation of the Christians who have lived for any time among
them, or who have been in the habit of visiting them from time to time, for
a considerable period.

oo

282, TRAVELS, IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XX.

Description ofthe Country of Ammakosina, or ofthe Koossas. — Its Political Relation?
and Institutions. — Power of the King.— Judiciary Proceedings, and Punishments.
In considering the Great Fish-river as the western boundary ofthe territory
inhabited by the Koossas, and taking the extent of coast eastward from this
river, along which people of this tribe are still to be found, a parallellogram will
be given of between forty and fifty geographical miles in length, and about
half that breadth. From a calculation made upon conjecture only, this vast
surface does not seem to be inhabited by more than thirty thousand souls. It
even appears to me, that in making this calculation, Vander Kemp has included
the Mathimbas or Tambuckis, who were not at first distinguished from the
Koossas. It is to be regretted that of this latter tribe, which in many respects
is the most accurately known to us, we know so little in other respects, and
can therefore give but an imperfect account of its political relations. Future
travellers will here find a wide field for their researches, and may throw much
light upon the subject. To me it appears probable that the number of the
Koossas, properly so called, that is, the subjects of King Geika, does not
exceed twenty thousand. This -presumption is grounded upon Geika's not
having been able, of his own power, to reduce his rebel chiefs, with their
followers, to obedience, and the whole body of these did not consist of above
two thousand five hundred persons. He expected troops from the TambUekis,
but either they never arrived, or, even with their assistance, he thought him
self not sufficiently strong, since in 1806 the matter remained entirely upon
its old footing.
As to what concerns the topographical description of the Caffre country, our
noticesmustnecessarily be exceedingly scanty. No particular parts of the coun
try have names, since there are no permanent places of residence among the in
habitants; nothing but wandering villages, andthese commonly bear the name

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 283
ofthe chief then presiding over them as the king's vicegerent. The rivers
only have fixed names. Of these the principal are, the Great Fish-river, from
which, on the side of the Caffres, branch out three considerable streams, the
Konab, the Kacha, and the Gwenge : from the former of these again' branch
two smaller ones, the Tkaussi, and the Tkui. The Keissi, which flows into
the sea at 33° 12' southern, latitude, and 44p56' eastern longitude, receiving in
its course the rivers Sjommi arid Debe. Northwards are the Guakubi and
Sileni, which join the Kouga, and flow with that into the sea. Farther in the
interior, towards the north-west, are the rivers Gobuhssi and Karoonga, which
both flow into the Black-Tey ; and this river uniting itself afterwards with the
White-Tey, they form the Amera, the most considerable stream in the country
of the Koossas. About thirty smaller streams flow into these rivers, but none
of sufficient consequence to be particularized here. The river Basseh is the
boundary between the Koossas country and Mathimba: this is a considerable
stream, and flows into the sea.
High mountains, some of which are covered with snow even till late in the
spring, bound Ammakosina towards the north-west, and most of the rivers
above-mentioned flow from them. At the foot of the mountains are large
forests; but towards the coast the country is level, and affords plenty of
wholesome grass. Karroo plains are not to be found here, and the mountains
consist of granite and sand-stone, not of schistus. The tract between the
Great Fish-river and the Keissi abounds in large trees, particularly the mi
mosa. On the other side of the Keissi but few tall stemmed trees are to
be found, but there are more large succulent plants ; a sort of euphorbia, pro-
bahly the euphorbia officinarum, grows here to the height of from thirty-six to
forty feet.
The different sides ofthe Keissi are equally distinct with regard to the ani
mals by which they are inhabited. Westward of this river the country
abounds with numerous, flocks of small antelopes and quaggas, as well as with
beasts of prey. On the eastern side they have only the larger kinds of ante
lopes, particularly the antilope oreas, with abundance of elephants, and in the
rivers vast numbers of hippopotami. Alberti says that he saw here a flock of
elephants, which his companions thought could not consist of less than five
hundred; he himself estimated it at least at. three hundred. Of the hippo-
o o 2

284 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
potami, in one of his journeys he saw two and twenty killed in a single river.
This difference in the animal world between thetwo sides of the Keissi, Al
berti explains from the difference of the vegetable products, as on one side
sweet fine grass is every where to be found, on the other nothing but sour
grass, which only affords good food to animals of a grosser organization.
These lands, however, when cultivated, yield very plentifully. The Koossas,
to amend the quality of the grass, sometimes burn them, when a new and
better vegetation springs up.
For this fertility the country has to thank its happy climate, strikingly dif
ferent from that at the Cape Town, as will be seen by the following observa
tions, for which I am indebted to Vander Kemp. The time which may here
be called winter, and which in many other hot countries, even in the colony
of the Cape, is distinguished by torrents of rain, is here the dryest part ofthe
year. From May to August, when the length of the nights and the northern
inclination of the sun considerably diminishes the heat, it rains very seldom.
These winter days are throughout serene and cool ; but the nights areoften foggy
and hazy. On the contrary, in summer the air no sooner becomes sultry,
than thunder-clouds come on, which commonly break about three hours after
mid-day, and by the abundant rains they bring, the air is cooled and re
freshed. • Seldom a week passes in summer without at least two thunder
storms: it even rains sometimes in this season without thunder. In the year
1 800, when Vander Kemp lived near the Guakubi-river, he made the following
observations :
In January it rained 13 days, 8 accompanied with storms.
February  5  4.
March  9  8.
April  8  8.
May  I  *\
June  3  f ...
, , > without storms.
July  .....1  I
Augnst  1  J
September..  6  1.
October  3  1.
November  16... . .10.
December  14. ..... 8

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 285
All these storms camp from the same quarter, the north-west, that wherP
lie the principal mountains, and in sixteen months that Vander Kemp lived
in the country, he but once knew a storm come before riPPn. The light
ning is extremely sharp, is little extended, as in our climate; but the rays
may be plainly distinguished descending from the Plouds, and springing from
one cloud to another. Vander Kemp, indeed, calls therri streams of fife, con
tinuing from two seconds to three and a half. The claps of thunder are* tre
mendous, and the rain falls sometimes in such torrents, that the houses at a
distance from the river are almost beaten down.
In thp coldest days in winter, upon the plains, the thermometer Seldom
sinks lower than 50° by Fahrenheit, nor at this season ever exceeds 70°. In
summer it is seldom lower than between 70° and 80°; and just before a thun
der-storm the heat is almost insupportable. The air is particularly hot with
a north wind, so that when under the wind one seems as if by a large fire : the
thermometer is then little above 100°. At this hot time of the year, thick
fogs often arise at night, which sometimes continue even till noon the next
day, and contribute much to keeping the soil moist. These fogs are very rare
indeed in the colony, and even in the Ko'pssas country they are confined pretty
much to the eastern side ofthe Keissi. *
The fertility of this country, and the abundance of grass it produces, will
sufficiently account for the pastoral, or semi-nomade life led by the inha
bitants. There is no question but that if it were cultivated according to the
European manner, it would be productive beyond any that has yet been
known. At the same time very weighty objections lie against the projects
that have been formed for colonizing it by several persons, particularly by
Captain Benjamin Stout, of the American ship Hercules : but it would
be carrying us too much out of our way to enter into an investigation of
them *. *
The trees here continue their leaves nearly the whole year, retaining almost

* The Hercules was stranded, in the year 1796, upon the Caffre coast, near the mouth ofthe
river Amera. Those of the crew who escaped met with a very kind reception from the Caffres,
and most of them got at last happily to the Cape Town. Captain Stout afterwards gave an ac
count ofthe whole affair td Congress, and endeavoured to impress them strongly with the expe.
diency of planting an American colony upon this coast.

286 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
always the same vivid green, and the birds never forbear their songs i parrots
and turtle-doves alone are heard in greater force in summer than in winter,
and the swallows disappear in autumn; in Mathimba they are, however,
seen the whole winter.
There are years in which the thunder showers in summer are less
frequent, and this was the case in 1804 and 1805. The drought of these
years in the colony, which, if it did not produce an absolute dearth, at least
occasioned a great defalcation in the usual quantity, of corn, extended even
to this favoured country, and the, Koossas lost a great number of cattle from
want of feed for them. Whole societies strolled into the colony, in hopes of
finding places which had been exempted fromthe general calamity, and the
country was much indebted to the zeal and prudence of Alberti that this
inroad was not attended with renewed dissensions between them and the
colonists. The number of families who live in one place are generally from about
forty to fifty ; these form a little state like a village. One of the householders
is chief of the kraal. At the death of a chief his subjects choose a successor,
commonly from the family of the deceased, but the king has the power
of confirming or of setting aside the choice. Sometimes the people of
one kraal will choose the chief of another to be their chief, and thence it
happens that there are chiefs who have the command of two, three, four, or
more kraals. They are all vassals of the king, chiefs, as well as those under
them ; but the subjects are generally so blindly attached to their chiefs, that
they will follow them against the king, as has been particularly the case in
these latter times. The power of the chiefs did extend even over life and
death, but King Geika has set this aside, and declared it to be his will that
henceforward no sentence of death shall be carried into execution without
his consent. Every chief chooses from among his most wealthy subjects five
or six, who act as counsellors to him, without whose advice he seldom under
takes any thing of importance. Commonly it is old and experienced persons
who are selected for this purpose. The great council of the king is composed
ofthe chiefs of particular kraals.
The government is entirely monarchic ; the king is absolute sovereign. He
makes laws, and executes them entirely according to his sole will. Yet

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 287
there is a power to balance his in the people ; he governs only as long as they
choose to obey. If he pursues any measure which displeases universally, he
is warned by one of the oldest and most esteemed chiefs of the displeasure of
his subjects. If this warning be not attended to, every kraal, from the first
to the last, breaks up, and retires to the borders ; a hint which seldom fails
to produce an alteration in his conduct. But should he still resist their will,
' at the first symptom of resistance one kraal really passes the borders, and the
rest immediately follow. Vander Kemp twice saw this method pursued,
one time when Geika had -made a law against private revenge, forbidding a
man, who had detected his wife in infidelity to the marriage bed, taking away
the life of the seducer; and the second, when he would have made the king
heir to all his subjects who died without heirs in a direct line. He was
required to retract both ; that however relating to private revenge was esta
blished, the other was set aside.
Yet, unless - in instances when this spirit of resistance is particularly
awakened, his will is implicitly obeyed, and when he pronounces a sentence
of death, it is executed without a murmur. Though the Koossas have no
mode of saluting each other when they meet, yet there is a courtesy practised
towards the king wherever he is seen, by pronouncing his name with the
syllable Ann before it, thus, Ann-Geika. His title is Inkoossi, which
signifies ruler. On journeys the king is accompanied by his counsellors,
and a train selected from his poorer subjects : wherever he comes, an ox is
immediately killed for his entertainment. His wives, especially those who
are of a distinguished family themselves, are also treated with particular
distinction, and are followed by a train of women from the lower ranks. But
neither the king or his wives drink any milk upon their journeys, excepting
from their own cows, which always follow in their train.
The revenue of the king consists in a certain annual contribution of cattle,
each subject contributing in proportion to his own riches. A certain propor
tion of the fruits of the earth also belongs to the king, and he has besides,
the breast of every ox killed, and of every eland taken in hunting, with all
elephants' teeth,* panthers' skins, and cranes' feathers. A father who esta-
* Alberti mentions, in 'speaking of the ivory bracelets presented by the king as tokens of
favour, that they are considered as marks of so much honour, that they must never be laid

I

$$. TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
^lis.hes his daughter by marriage must give ope of the cows he. has received
for her to the king, for this express reason, that the. girl was educated under
the eye ofthe king and his wives. >
The. habitation of the kipg is no otherwise distinguished than hy the tail of
% lipn or a panther hanging from the top of the roof. His messengers, or
those who are sent to summon before him any one against.whom a complaint
has been, made, carry a lion's, or panther's tail in their hands, tp.ahew that they
come on the part of the king.
All sons of the king are bom captains ; one of them always succeeds, to the
government at the death of their father, but not always the eldest; it is
commonly him whose mother, was of the richest and oldest family of any of
the king's wives. The rest, are only chiefs of small kraals, which they
generally form themselves, with the young men and their wives who have
been their attendants, in some spot selected according to their own fancy.
The king may, however, pass over all his sons if he chooses it, and appoint a
successor from any other family. If the king dies while his successor is a
minor, his preceptor is regent till he attains his eighteenth or, twentieth
year, and his mother, with, the assistance of her relations, watches over the
preservation of his rights.
When a criminal has been brought before the king, and has upon clear
evidence been found guilty, the king pronounces, " Let this man be no
more ;" . some ofthe attendants immediately lead him away, and he is executed.
Sometimes he is purposely permitted to escape, and by. flying out of the
territories, he is no longer liable to punishment. Geika, who from the mild
ness of his disposition appears extremely amiable and interesting, seldom
makes use of this right. Instead of this, for most offences which were
punished with death, he has substituted a fine of . a certain number of oxen»
proportioned to the nature of the offence, which oxen are killed immediately.
This mode of punishment has been, established some time ; death is now only-

aside. He himself saw a Koossa, whose bracelet, from his growing extremely fat, had become
much too small for him, and occasioned a violent swelling of his arm ; but notwithstanding
this it was not to be taken off; even the king himself had not power to give permission for it;
It is a custom of war that the ivory bracelets found upon the bodies of enemies killed in battle
are kept with great care by the conquerors, and restored to the vanquished party on peace
being made.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 289
iriflicted for the most heinous offences. Robbery is punished by paying an
equivalent, and by a fine of cattle to the king, the number of which he
himself determines. Any one who has partaken in eating an ox that was
stolen must also pay a fine to the king.
A short time since, a rich man sent a boy into the field to take care of his
cattle, without thft knowledge and consent of the lad's parents. A lion tore
him to pieces, and Geika sentenced the person by whom he was sent,
to pay a fine of seven cows and two oxen to the unfortunate parents. It
is considered as a capital crime to ease nature in a cattle-fold, or in a river,
as it pollutes the water : in both cases the offender is subject to the punish
ment of death. The apparent hardship of this is diminished, when it is
considered in the orie instance how sacred the Koossas hold their cattle, and
that the fold is, besides, the place where the public assemblies are held ; and
in the other, that water is an article of indispensable necessity, and that no
one would think of using any again from a stream which had been thus
polluted.* There are certain persons appointed for the purpose by the king, who', oa
occasions of peculiar difficulty in the government, must at his requisition
assist him With their Counsels: they are called pagati, and may be deno
minated his privy-co'unseuors. Varider Kemp was once secretly accused of
having attempted the life of the king, by giving him poisoned wine. Two
pagati came to him, and questioned him very minutely, but with so much
circumspection, jthat he had no suspicion himself of the accusation which
had been preferred, till after judgment was passed upon him. Geika came
himself to him, and asked him very unconcernedly for a glass of wine. It
appeared, however, that Vander Kemp had not a drop of wine in his pos
session : this was conclusive, and the king then told him iri the most friendly
manner of what he had been accused, adding that the pagati would fain have
had him condemned to death.

* Alberti does not mention this custom ; but according to the testimony of Mr. Barrow ani
Vander Kemp, as well as from my own inquiries, the fact is fully established.

Pp

S90 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XXI.

History of the Koossa Tribe, and of its Wars with the Colony and* with the English. —
The Caffre Tribes ofthe Interior.
The Koossas have some traditions among them, but they cannot go farther
back than a few generations, and indeed in these the information tobe obtained
from them is very obscure: they are not even agreed among themselves in the
manner of relating occurrences ; the same circumstance will be very differ
ently related by one and by another. There are people among them who are
considered as more knowing than the rest, and they form together a sort of
college, whose verdict on all doubtful points is decisive beyond contradiction:
what they believe with regard to the history of the country is considered by
all the rest as indisputably true. How imperfect the knowledge of these
historians is, will, however, be manifest from the following notices, which con
tain all the information upon the subject that we were able to collect.
T6guh is the oldest among their kings, respecting whom they have any
tradition. The descendants from him are in the fojlowing order:
Toguh. Gonde.
Tsijo.

Tgareka. Pal*.=
I 1

Khauta. Kbambuhsje, called Chachabe. Langa;

Umlao. Sambeh. Jaluhsa. TJmlao Tholy.
I
Geika.

Hientza.

Palo was brother to Tgareka, but never was king himself, although Le
Vaillant follows the general error in describing him as having been so, under
the name of Farao. He was only regent under Tgareka, as Chachabe and

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 291
Umlao were under Khauta. Palo was a powerful chief, very much be
loved by the people, and revolted against his brother the king. The latter
had made an unjust demand of an extraordinary number of cattle from his
subjects, and the whole nation murmured against it. It was on this occasion
that Palo first opposed his brother, but it did not come immediately to a
regular contest, because Tgareka, by compliance, won over a part of the
nation to his side. Palo?s adherents in the mean time increased very much,
and upon the next provocation, matters came to a decision by force, when
Tgareka was conquered, and made prisoner ; yet Palo, though a heathen, had
so strong a sense of right, that he did not place himself upon the throne, but
restored his brother.
The latter, however, no sooner felt himself again in power, than he thought
only of revenge, and in the end, Palo, with his adherents, were attacked,
beaten, and himself taken prisoner ; yet Tgareka, now on his side, shewed
himself not destitute of generosity, and his haughty brother's power was only
circumscribed and rendered harmless for the future; but this done, he was
restored to liberty and to his former dignity.
In the next generation, the descendants of Palo were stronger than he had
been himself. His son Chachabe stands recorded in the history of the country
as a real hero. He did not undertake any thing against his cousin Khauta,
although the whole nation would have been on his side ; on the contrary, he
'was the king's most faithful subject and counsellor: but his merits are univer
sally acknowledged, and this period, which seems to have been between 1780
and 1790, is rather called the period when Chachabe lived, than when Khauta
reigned. The latter was, however, in this respect deserving of esteem, that
convinced of the superiority of Palo's line above his own, and desirous to
obviate to the country a cause of destructive wars, he named Chachabe's son
Umlao as his successor, to the exclusion of his own children. Umlao died
young of a wound given him in anger by his own father, and left an only child,
Geika, the present king, he being upon the death of his father named by
Khauta as his successor. He was a boy when Khauta died, and was left under
the guardianship of his uncle Sambeh, who, as his guardian, administered the:
.government in his name. Geika's mother, who was daughter to the King p£
Mathimba, was sent back to her own country during the minority of her son ;
but when he attained the age of eighteen, and succeeded to the throne, she
>p2

292 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
returned. Sambeh, however, was not disposed to give up the reins of govern
ment which he had held so long, and he drew over the children of King Khauta
and his brother Jaluhsa to his party, while Geika, supported by his mother,
prepared to defend his rights by force of arms. Besides the ancient and steady
adherents of Palo and his^descendants, he was supported by his brother-in-law
Tlibi, and another chief, by name Umguhji. It was about this time that Buys
sought an asylum in the country, and proved a great support to the young
king's party.
The plan of the rebels was to attack the king at the same time from two
different quarters, but by a misunderstanding, Jaluhsa's party commenced the
attack a day too soon, and was vanquished. The next day Geika fell upon
his uncle Sambeh, whom he also conquered, and took him prisoner. This was
in the year 1796, and for two years the usurper was: detained in a sort of cus
tody, in which Mr. Barrow saw him in 1797. This writer celebrates with
justice the noble behaviour ofthe young king towards his prisoner. He left
him all his cattle, his wives, and his servants, and often asked his advice, only
he was compelled to remain constantly in the place where Geika himself was.
As the latter thought at length that he had entirely won him back to his inte
rest, he restored him to full liberty, saying, in Vander Kemp's presence, at the
time of granting it, " Uncle,T thank you for the education you have given me,
which has taught me to acquit myself with honour as a sovereign. For this
I will forget that you ever acted unkindly towards me, and deal with you as
you yourself have taught me~ to do. In like manner do you learn of me to
behave as becomes a true and faithful subject."
He now redoubled his proofs of esteem and regard, yet never could wholly
divest himself of suspicion, and endeavoured in many ways to prevent
Sambeh's acquiring any increase of property. The latter, in consequence,
came at length to the resolution of leaving Geika's territories, taking, with him
all his family and treasures. His brother Jaluhsa, the Chiefs Conga and
Tsjatsjb, together with Umlao and Tholy,* the sons of Langa, who was Palo's
* The readers of Mr. Barrow's Travels are already acquainted with these two young men,
whom he calls by the names of Malloo and Tooley. Umlao afterwards- returned to Geika.
Langa had also another son, Luhsjabba, but being born after his father's' death, he was consi.
dered as a bastard. — Author.
It seems proper here to observe, that any difference to be found in the. orthography of Caffre
names, and indeed of Caffre words in general, between Mr. Barrow and our German author,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 293
youngest son, fled to him with all their kraals, and settled in the country upon
the coast on the ©ther side the Great Fish-river.*
Geika was so much weakened by this desertion, that it was impossible to
reduce the rebels to obedience by force. They remained therefore unmolested
by him, but they were too much in the neighbourhood ofthe colonists for a
good understanding to be long maintained with them. Their numerous herds
grazed upon the territories of the colonists : the solitary farmers, too weak to
withstand them, fled inwards with their own cattle, sometimes, however,
returning to revenge and remunerate themselves, by secretly driving away
may most probably be resolved into the different ideas with regard to the orthography of the
word which the same sound would convey to an English and to a German ear. A German, for
example, though spelling this name Tholy, would, in pronouncing it, drop the h and call it Toly,
which will not vary essentially from the pronunciation Tooley, given by Mr. Barrow. It is
not so easy to account for the very great difference in the case of the other name, called by the
one writer Umlao, by the other Malloo. This subject will be treated more amply in occasional
notes upon the Vocabulary of the Koossa la»guage given in the Appendix.— Translator.
* In this relation I have followed Vander Kemp, because his account is more ample than
Alberti's, and because he understood the Koossas' language much better: he had lived longer
among them, and had therefore more opportunity of making himself acquainted with their
traditions. In all other respects their testimonies concur exceedingly, but in this they differ
*o much, that I think it better to give Alberti's also, and then leave the reader to judge
between them for himself.
According to him, Palo was lawful regent, and the contest first began between Tgareka* and
Chachabe, his two sons. After along war carried on with various success, Chachabe was over
come, and fled with all his adherents to the western side of the Keissi river, into the territory of the
Gonaaquas, which is on the borders of the colony, A great contest arose in consequence,
between the colonists and these emigrant hordes, in which the Caffres, after having destroyed a
number of farms, were driven back, and compelled to make peace. In this peace, which was
concluded in 1793, the Great Fish-river was fixed as the boundary of the Caffre country, and all
contentions might from that time have been easily averted, if the existing government had
been sufficiently powerful to prevent the agreement being infringed. But the too justly appre
hended attack of the English, united with the revolutionary movements of the colonists in Graaff-
Reynett, rendered this impossible. In 1795, the attack by the English was really made, and at
the same time Sambeh revolted against <jre\ka, and encamped with Jiis people upon the territory
of the colonists, already embarrassed with their own contentions : thence, according to Alberti,
arose aU the mischief of which we proceed to treat.
» Alberti always writes this name KaleVa, but Vander Kemp, who understands the language extremely well,
expressly mentioned the name to me as the only Caffre one in which the r occurs, and froBUhis, as well as the clang
In the first syllable, he considers the name as entirely of Hottentot origin.

294 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
some of the stray cattle of the Caffres. The latter had then naturally re
course to reprisals, so that the parties even came to little skirmishes, in
which the colonists, from the superiority their fire-arms gave them, easily had
the advantage. The Caffres, however, soon gained a most welcome reinforce
ment. A large body of Hottentots were induced to fly from their masters, on
account, as they complained, of their too great severity with them, and join
ing with the Caffres, they hoped to find an opportunity at once of revenging
their alleged ill-treatment, and of enriching themselves by plunder. These
people knew accurately the ways about the colony; they could almost point
out the situation of every individual farm ; they besides brought fire-arms
with them, and some powder and shot, which they secured at their flight.
They were therefore formidable, and it is much to be presumed, that had it
not been for their assistance, the Caffres would never have ventured to make
the attack.
Thus reinforced, the united body soon spread terror over the whole district
of Graaff-Reynett, and in a few weeks almost all the country between the
Bosjesmans'-river and the Fish-river was in their hands. A great number
of cattle became their prey : all the houses of the colonists were burnt, and
many fell in the unequal struggle to preserve their property. In this exigence
the Commandant Vander Walt, after having in vain sought to bring about an
amicable accommodation, assembled a number of colonists, in order if possi
ble to drive the invaders back to their own borders by force of arms: but
even in the first conflict this brave man fell by the ball of a Hottentot, who
concealed himself in an ambush forthe purpose.
Vander Walt enjoyed the universal esteem of all his fellow-countrymen ; he
was beloved by the Hottentots on account of the mildness of his disposition,
and had formerly maintained a good deal of intercourse in the most amicable
manner with the Caffres. Even the English respected his memory, and I have
been witness myself to the praises bestowed upon him by General Dundas, in
a conversation between him and General Janssens. With him the colonists
lost all their hope, as well as their courage, and instead of resistance, thought
no ionger of any' thing, but flight. His successor, Henry Janssens Van
Rensburg, equally endeavoured to re-establish tranquillity in Graaff-Reynett;
but in vain, for it was at this very time that the peasants rose against £he
English government When Rensburg, therefore, with his troop, would have

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 295
inarched against the Caffres, General Vandeleur, with his detachment of
soldiers, appeared to quell the insurrection : this was in March, 1799- Rens
burg, and sixty families with him, fled to the district of Tarka, and to the
Bamboo mountains ; those that remained submitted, as we learn from the
second part of Mr. Barrow's Travels, and the ringleaders were for the most
part carried prisoners to the Cape Town.
In the mean time the Caffres continually pressed forwards, nor was General
Vandeleur, even in his march to Algoa bay, free from their attacks. He
succeeded, however, in driving them back to the Bosjesmans'-river, and there
took a strong_position ; but as 'they were very superior in numbers they con
trived to enclose him round and cut off his supplies, so that his situation
became exceedingly precarious. Rensburg then, informed of these events,
and convinced that the oppressions ofthe Caffres would be much more into
lerable than the sovereignty of the English, advanced with his corps, and
having delivered the general, the latter continued his march to Algoa bay,
where he embarked his troops, and left the colony to its fate. The arrogance
of the Caffres now knew no bounds ; they pressed rashly forwards, along the
coast, through the Long-kloof, and by Plettenberg's bay, as we have seen,
halfway to the Cape Town, marking their progress with fire and massacre.
It was not till they arrived at the farther bank of the Kaiman's-river that the
united power of the English troops and the peasants succeeded in stopping
them ; and at length, in the beginning of the year 1 800, they were forced back
to the Zwartkops-river. Lieutenant General Dundas, governor ofthe colony,
had in the mean time established the settlement at Algoa bay, and taken all
possible precautions to prevent like misfortunes in future. It was not at
first in his power to prevail upon the rebel chiefs ofthe Caffres to return over
the Great Fish-river, and it did not appear adviseable to attempt driving
• them over. This part of the colony therefore remained for some time in
their hands ; the lands consequently were uncultivated, and the reciprocal
distrust was unabated.
Geika in the mean time continued quiet, nor would suffer his subjects to
take any part in these disturbances and quarrels, yet perfect peace could not
be preserved between him and the colonists. The latter never lost the idea
of taking advantage of the first opportunity presented them for regaining from
the Caffres a part of the booty they had taken, but went from time to time

296 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
in little parties over the borders, and once fell upon a troop of Geika's"
adherents, whom they either could not, or would not, distinguish from the
other party, and drove away their cattle. Reprisals were naturally resorted
to, and thus, after the revolted chiefs had been chased from the colony, and
compelled to remain quiet, a petty warfare was carried on between the party
among the Caffres who had not taken any share in the great contest, and the
inhabitants of Bruintjeshoqgte, Zwagershoek, and a part of the Snow Moun
tains. That the evil was not productive of more important consequences was
owing, as many affirm, entirely to Conrad Buys, against whom so much has
been said, and of whom, Mr. Barrow relates that he was the. author of all the
mischief. He was indeed living with King Geika before the troubles broke
out; but haying supported him in his defence against Sambeh,. he was in
the sequel either constantly with him, or else travelling in the northern parts.
of the, Caffre country, far from the theatre of war. Besides, it is scarcely
credible that he would promote the devastation of his native country, and
the misery of his friends : it was not from any quarrel with them' that he fled
and sought an asylum elsewhere ; it was because he saw the colony passing,
under a foreign yoke. That an irreconcilable aversion to the English
induced him rather to take up his abode among, heathens than in a country
of which they were the masters, he himself avowed. Even had he been*
disposed to excite his friend and protector Geika against the English,, yet he
never had any concern whatever with the rebel chiefs, the enemies of Geika»
nor could be in. any way involved in an attack made by them.
Vander Kemp himself, who was no friend to. the colonists, and a zealous
adherent of the English, exculpates; Buys from such; accusations. Both lived
for a considerable time with Geika, but Buys possessed his confidence in a
much higher degree than the missionary : the latter indeed assures, us that
the confidence placed, by the king in his mother, and in his fugitive friend, i
was so great, that no measure of importance was taken by him without con
sulting them. A sort of marriage, as has been already mentioned, had taken
place between the mother of Geika, and Buys. She was a, princess of
Mathimba, and had procured for her son the sovereignty of that kingdom
in addition to his former dominions. A vicegerent had been appointed by
Geika, to administer the government, and the senior among his wives was
taken from that nation.

Travels in southern africa. 29?
Geika always treated his mother with the most profound respect, and even
now she exercised a sort of guardianship over him. This was exemplified on
a particular occasion, when he was sitting in judgment, earnestly endeavour
ing to discover among a number of persons who had been cited into his pre
sence which among them was the perpetrator of a crime that had been com
mitted. The question was that some injury had been done to a woman of
distinction without her being able to say who was the offender. As soon as
the queen-mother heard the nature of the complaint, she commanded her son
to stand forth in the midst of the circle, as he was with the rest on the spot
where the affair happened, and seating herself in his place, made him take an
oath that he himself was innocent: afterwards resigning his place to him
again, she permitted him to proceed in the investigation. Geika commended
exceedingly the wisdom shewn by her.
When Sambeh was conquered, the children of the former King Khauta fell
into the hands of Geika. Some of them were put to death, and one, who was
somewhat deformed, he killed with his own hands. The life of the youngest,
however, by name Hientza, was not only spared, but the king took him
under his especial protection, and educated him with the utmost care and
kindness. Now that he was twelve years old he had at the youth's earnest
request restored him to his mother. Geika has many times to persons in his
confidence expressed his wish that Hientza might prove a man of worth and
talents, for he had resolved in that case to name him his successor, and restore
the succession to its former line, hoping by that means to put an end to the
unhappy discords which had so long reigned in consequence of the original
contest between Palo and Tgareka. Besides Hientza, there are two other
sons of Khauta living} the name of one of whom is Khaudi..
It remains now to say something of the more distant tribes of Caffres, as
far at least as they are concerned with these notices respecting the Koossas,
or became known to us from the travels subsequently undertaken into the
northern parts of the country; What I have learnt upon this subject is con
fined principally to the names of the several tribes, and to having established
the important fact, that their language, though diverging into different dialects,
i,s essentially the same throughout this vast tract, and that the most distant
tribes understand each other, though not always without difficulty. Buys,
who has travelled over the country, even to the Maduanas, is my principal
Qq

298 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
authority for the fact, though in the sequel a confirmation of his assertions was
not wanting from the mouths of the Caffres themselves.
The first tribe after crossing the river Basseh is the Tambuckis, or
Mathimbas ; they are somewhat lower in stature than the Koossas, but their
language is exactly the same ; a strict alliance has been preserved between
these two tribes from time immemorial. Proceeding along the coast, the next
tribe to the Koossas is one which is called by many different names ; that by
which it is most generally known is the Gonaaquas, but by the colonists they
are usually called Mambuckis; the Koossas call them the Imbos, and in
Van Reenen's Journey they are called the people of Hainbona. I will not
pretend to decide whether all these names belong to the same tribe, or
whether they are only different divisions of it. They were brought into
notice from the shipwreck of the Grosvenor, which happened upon their
coast, and from the journey, which, at the instigation of the Dutch govern
ment, was undertaken in 17915 to seek out such of the unfortunate crew as
had been saved.
In pursuing the course of the Basseh into the interior of the country,
south of this stream lies the tribe of the Abbatcanas, and still farther up the
river are the Maduanas. The latter are a numerous and peaceable race: Buys
lived for a considerable time among them, and assured me that there was
scarcely any difference between their language and that of the Koossas.
Far to the north-west,* in the interior ofthe country, the Koossas speak of
a tribe which they call the Macquinas, and say that it is from them all the
other tribes receive their copper and iron. This information appears to me
the less to be doubted, inasmuch as I found the same name afterwards among

* There seems some confusion here, since the country of the Macquinas is represented by the
author as to the north-west, and in the interior; yet if it were so, it could not lie between the
eastern coast and Beetjuan, as it appears to do from what follows; The Beetjuans spoke of
them as the most easterly tribe they knew, and the author supposes them to have had intercourse
with the Portuguese on the eastern-coa&t. Perhaps a very unfortunate instance of misprinting
has here occurred, and we ought to read ilfar to the tiorth-east." Still there is a difficulty, as
to its being called in the interior of the country, since from all that is said, it appears rather to
be towards the eastern-coast. I have, however, given the passage exactly as it stands in the
Original, but have thought proper to notice it in this way in order to exonerate myself frOm
having created the confusion. Translator.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 299,
the people of Beetjuan. They spoke of them as the most} easterly tribe they
knew, as the Koossas had called them the most northerly, and said that then-
very extensive territory : was crossed by a great mountain, from one side of
which copper was dug,:r&om the other iron. The number of these people is
,not to be calculated, and no traveller has ever yet reached the extent of their
territories. Through them, many generations before, the Beetjuans were
assured of the existence of such beings as white men. Probably therefore
this tribe had already had some intercourse of trade with the Portuguese on
the eastern coast of Africay at least they had heard of them. The Macquinas
belong to the great nation of the Beetjuans, but they are superior in numbers
and knowledge to all the other tribes.*
The Koossas besides talk of an extraordinary people, far to the north, that
have no resemblance to the Caffres, who do not speak their language, or
follow their customs. They call the country Mathola. Hitherto no one has
visited or seen these people, but according to report, the colour of their skin
is yellow, and they have long strait hair, which they, do up in locks, and wind
round the head. Such an account does not seem deserving of much attention,
and appears at first wholly fabulous. But probably Europeans may here be
meant, who have from time to time landed upon various parts of the coast;
for it is to be observed that similar things have been repeatedly said from the
first researches made by the discoverers of Africa. Even from the time of
Prester John, long hair has been among the Africans a principal characteristic
of every unknown and remarkable people. The company whom Governor
Tulbagh sent out upon discovery in 1761 returned with like information, which
they had obtained from the Briquas; and it is well known for what a length of
time rumours had been spread of a people dwelling on the eastern coast dis
tinguished by their long hair, till Van Reenen in his journey found among the
Hambonas some old Europeans, who in early youth had been cast by ship>-
wreck upon the coast, and, had given occasion to such reports.
The trade which the Koossas keep up with the other Caffre tribes is very

* I cannot refrain from remarking on the affinity between the name Macquina, and the Arabic
word Makini, which signifies a worker of iron. This similarity to the Arabic with others which
I have particularized in the notices annexed to this work respecting the language of the Caffre
tribes, ar& exceedingly striking, and sufficiently enigmatical.
«q2

300 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
insignificant; the tribes of Beetjuan are in this respect much before them,
since they carry on a far brisker trade, and draw from it many objects contri
buting to the comforts of life. This may perhaps be principally ascribed to
the remoteness of the Koossas, who live entirely at one corner of the Caffre
country. There is not therefore much reason to hope that our knowledge of*
this singular nation, and of its inhabitants, will be, increased through them.
Among people who live a kind of nomade life, and are often engaged in civil
contentions with each other, the habitations being so often changed, the
customs are changed also, nay even the names, so that it is difficult to dis
tinguish one tribe very decidedly from another. Each separate tribe is in a
certain degree only a passing phantom, which is afterwards overpowered by a
mightier neighbour, or is spread out into many little hordes, one of which
wanders hither, another thither, so that in the course of a few generations
they become wholly unknown to each other. Such divisions have often taken
place among the Koossas. In the time of the struggles with Palo, a consi
derable number, headed by a person of the name of Madjoagga, went north
westwards; and later, in Chachabe's time, another party, under the conduct of
a Chief named Bakka, wandered from the country ; nor was it known where
either of these had settled. I afterwards found some traces of them when I
travelled from the Cape north-eastwards' over the Orange-river.
A like emigration recently took place, when a Caffre Chief, by name Baai,
who lived on the southern bank of the river Basseh, was compelled from a
long and fierce war with the Abbatoanas to quit the country of the Koossas,
and make his way with his horde to the sources of the river. Here his suc
cessors, if circumstances are favourable, may perhaps found a new kingdom.
As to what concerns the language of the Koossas, I refer the reader to. the
Appendix. I have there endeavoured, both from the best information I could
myself obtain, and also from the additional information procured by subse
quent travellers, to give as accurate an idea as lies in my power of the
language of this nation, considering this as affording very important grounds
on which to found a judgment of the degree of cultivation that subsists among
them, I must now flatter myself that I have put the reader in possession of data
which will enable him to form a tolerably accurate idea ofthe situation ofthe.
Caffre tribes ; and I cannot help entertaining a hope that this will give a

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 301
double interest to my account of the continuation of our journey, when we
not only passed the borders, but even penetrated into the midst of the Caffre
country. I have been permitted to make use of the journal kept by General Janssens
in his travels among the Caffres; and as it affords many interesting circum
stances, which will contribute towards a better knowledge of these people,
and of the relations between them and the colony, and will equally elucidate
the situation of the eastern districts at that time, I have thought that I could
scarcely make a more acceptable present to my readers than by giving at full
length the following extract from it.

.noli

tjns

¦#fe>;'"

302 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XXII.
FfAgmentfram the Journal of General Janssens.— His Stay in Algoa Bay, and Confer
ence with the Rebel Caffrs. Chiefs.— -Journey into the Caffre Country, and Interview
with the King. Geika.' — Intercourse with him. — Transactions of the Commandant Al
berti in the Caffre Country.
The situation ofthe eastern part of the colony, at the return of the Dutch,
was in the highest degree disturbed and lamentable, and no part of the terri
tory required the particular attention of the new government more urgently.
The war with the Caffres had continued four years, without the English go
vernment having been able, to re-establish a good understanding between
them and the colonists. The great obstacle to this was not so much want of
good-will in them, as the general distrust and suspicion that reigned on all
sides, first between the government and its subjects in these parts, and se
condly, between the rebel chiefs of the Caffres and their lawful sovereign.
As long as this fourfold distrust existed, so long no union among the parties
could be restored, so long was it hopeless to think of peace being maintained.
This was necessarily more doubtful from one party being a savage nation, whose
ideas upon the sacred nature of a contract, and upon the rights of nations, were
but very imperfect; who were more likely to act upon a conviction ofthe su
periority of their antagonists, and ofthe unity that reigned among them, than
from any adherence to their word given not to pass the borders.
It is true that for the last three years the Caffres had discontinued to rob
and plunder ; but it was only because there was scarcely any thing left for
them to seize, and because the new'settlement in Algoa bay was formidable
to them. But as little had the colonists ventured to return to their habita
tions, and to think of raising them again out of their ashes. Hundreds of
families wandered about without a home, living scantily upon the small re
mains of cattle which they had been able to save from the hands of their in
vaders, sometimes seeking a shelter among the friends who had been spared
sometimes living under tents in a distant, solitary, but fertile country. The

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 303
cessation of acts of enmity, however, the Caffres having not for some time
ventured to drive away the cattle which the colonists had imprudently suffered
to stray into their neighbourhood, and the latter having abstained from seeking
to remunerate themselves upon the treasures of the Caffres, had greatly dimi
nished the spirit of revenge which once subsisted between them. The mur
derous warfare which had been carried on was by degrees thought of with less
bitterness, the sense of suffering was partially abated, many deeds of horror
were forgotten, and the longing for a firm peace Was become universal. The
time seemed now particularly favourable for its restoration, the return of the
colony under its former rulers having removed the principal obstacle to it.
Immediately after the arrival of the Dutch commission, a deputation ofthe
colonists appeared in the Cape Town, who made the new government ac
quainted with the state of things, and earnestly pressed the Governor to visit
this part of the country in his own persori. As. soon, therefore, as the Eng
lish had actually quitted the colony, the Governor hastened to Comply with
their request, and after a journey of thirty-six days, arrived on the eighth of
May, 1 803, at Algoa bay. A detachment of one hundred and fifty men ofthe
Waldeck Jagers, under the command of Majc-r Von Gilten, were in the mean
time sent thither by sea, a part of whom had arrived before the Governor.
From the time that the English garrison quitted the post, a coloriist, by
name Thomas Ferreira, had taken possession of it as steward, a man of so
harsh a disposition, and of such arbitrary principles, that it seemed as if Mr.
Barrow had taken his picture of the colonists from him. This Ferreira was
looked upon by his countrymen as one of the principal instigators of the Caffre
war ; at least it is certain that during its continuance some prisoners takeri' by
him were scandalously ill-treated, and that he- was mortally hated by the
incensed savages. Major Von Gilten, upon his arrival, put Ferreira and some
other turbulent spirits under arrest, that they might be punished by the Go
vernor, and prevented from doing mischief in future.
Messengers were now sent to the Caffre Chiefs to propose peace, and to
invite them to an interview with General Janssens. A like embassy was sent
by the General to two hordes of Hottentots who were hovering about the
country, under the conduct of Klaas Sfuurmann, and Boewezak, the first of
whom is known to the readers of Mr. Barrow's Travels. He had at the time
of that gentleman's mission collected together a number of Hottentots, who

£04 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
were discontented, and greedy of plunder, and was with difficulty persuaded
by Mr. Barrow to follow him to Algoa bay ; nor, when this was accomplished,
would he remain there long, but soon with his followers joined the Caffres,
and assisted them very much in the inroad they made upon the colony soon
after. He seemed at first afraid to venture to the bay himself, notwith
standing the Governor's invitation, and wanted the latter to meet him at an
appointed place. Hearing however that the Governor had summoned all
Hottentots who had any complaints to make to appear before him, that their
grievances, where any really existed, might be redressed, he assumed con
fidence, and went himself to Fort Frederic.
The General immediately ordered him into his presence, and put many
questions to him, which he answered freely, though warily. When he was
asked what the number of his followers might be, he did not appear willing to
give a decisive answer ; he also carefully evaded the inquiry into the complaints
he had to make against the colonists, which occasioned his first secession
from their service. Perhaps he thought that by what had since happened
his grievances had been more than atoned, and that it was not prudent to
come to a reckoning. Some of his followers, however, and other Hottentots
from Vander Kemp's Institution, brought forwards their grievances, which
were afterwards inquired into by jurisdictions appointed for the purpose.
Stuurmann farther declared that his most earnest wish was to return to the
colony, and enjoy, as formerly, peace and good-fellowship with the Christians.
He proposed to the Governor to award him a little domain in the fertile
country on the left bank of the Chamtoo river; but when the Governor
endeavoured to persuade him that it would be more for the interest of both
sides that he should have his habitation nearer the Cape Town, where he
could be better protected by the government, he would not hear of it. All
his followers, he said, earnestly wished to return, and live under the
Christians, since among > their present connections they had often scarcely
sufficient to live upon, and had much to suffer from the Caffres. They
would be very willing, upon good conditions, and under the Governor's
pledge that the colonists should behave well to them, to hire themselves
again as their herdsmen and house servants.
The General upon this informed him that a new code of laws was to be
made for the Hottentots, by which the enjoyment of perfect freedom would

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 305
be secured to them, together with good treatment in the service of the
C hristians : all that had passed should be forgiven and forgotten, and himself and
his party should be included under the protection of these laws, if they would
return back into the colony. On the other side, it could never be permitted
that they should continue to live as a company of vagabonds, and they must
impose it as a duty upon themselves, if they wished for security, to gain their
livelihood by diligence and industry. Robberies would be severely resented,
and he should know how, especially since there was now a prospect of peace
with the Caffres, to punish them with the utmost rigour. The General sent
him away at last with some presents, and this interview had the good conse
quence that after some time most of his people returned quietly into the
service of the colonists, or enlisted in the Hottentot corps, raised 'by the
Dutch ; and this corps, as long as they continued in possession of the colony,
behaved in the most regular and orderly manner, nor ever gave any cause of
complaint against them. Stuurmann himself remained with some of his
associates in the neighbourhood of the Caffres, and supported himself, like
them, in keeping cattle, and in the chase. In November, 1S03, in hunting
the buffalo, his gun unfortunately burst, and shattered his right arm, of
which he died in a few days.
Two days after this conference with Stuurmann, two Caffres appeared
before the Governor, one of whom was an envoy, from Jaluhsa, the other
from Sambeh. They had another Hottentot family with them, who had
lived for a long time in the Caffre country: they now however wished,
4inder the protection of the new government, to return into the service ofthe
Christians. They were cloathed after the Caffre fashion, and assigned as the
reason of their wishing for this new emigration, the want of sufficient means
of support.
The ambassador from Jaluhsa had a timid appearance, but spoke quick,
and with much facility ; a Hottentot served him as interpreter. He said that
he had come a week before to Algoa bay to seek the General, and in the
name of his Chief to give him an assurance of his friendship. He came then
in vain, and was returning, but before he arrived at Jaluhsa's habitation
learnt that the Governor was actually arrived, and had therefore immediately
turned baek once more, in order to see him, without having spoken to his
Chief again ; he the rather considered it as ^unnecessary to continue his
»r

306 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
journey home, before he thought of seeking the Governor, as he fourid that
ambassadors from the latter were on their way to his master* On his solemn
assurance that it was now the earnest wish of the Chiefs to live in peace and
friendship with the Dutch, the Governor asked whether they themselves
would come to confer with him upon the subject. To this the envoy
answered that it could hardly be supposed they would venture upon such a
thing, although he did not doubt but that they would be perfectly safe,
that no harm would be done to them. He was then asked how he had
ventured by himself. He replied that he had been commanded by his Chief,
and fear could not then come into consideration ; but no man could command
his master, therefore the case was quite otherwise with him. The envoy
was now handsomely entertained, and requested to remain till the return of
the messengers sent to the Chiefs.
General Janssens in the mean time appointed a commission from among his
followers, who were in his name to draw up articles of peace between the
Dutch and the Caffres. He sketched also a plan of regulations for his own
conduct, which he submitted to the most respectable among the colonists,
they being better acquainted with the Caffres than himself; and it was upon
some hints furnished by them that the. plan was completed.
On the eighteenth of May, the envoys sent by the Governor to the Caffre
Chiefs returned.. They met with a very amicable reception from Conga,
Sambeh, Jaluhsa, and Tholy : each of these princes had a fat ox killed for
their entertainment. They promised to be all at the Zondag's river in five
days, and requested the Governor to meet them there, as they were afraid to
come on to Algoa bay. They were still at enmity with King Geika, who
not only sometimes attacked them, and took away their cattle, but had lately
commissioned the Commandant Rensburg, who was returning into the country,
to make a treaty for him with the Christians, and to endeavour to procure
him their assistance, in reducing his rebel subjects to obedience. Since they
had learnt this they were become distrustful, and wished first to speak to the
/Governor alone, that be might endeavour to reconcile them with the king.
Very soon after arrived an envoy from Conga, who confirmed all that the
Dutch ambassadors had reported. This envoy called himself first minister
to Conga; he had been before employed upon a similar errand,. and wore
spon his breast a copper-plate engraved with the arms of General Dundas,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 307
which before the breaking out of the war he had received from the then
Landdrost of Graaff Reynett. His name was Nacabaneh ; he appeared about
middle aged, was tall in stature, had a martial air, and a very keen eye. He
said that he had four wives, but the purchase of them had cost him so much
that he had scarcely any cattle remaining. He wore a mantle of tiger's skin,
the point of which was fastened to the right shoulder, so that the arm
remained at liberty. As he stood in presence of the Governor, he took care
to throw back his mantle over the left shoulder, when on the left arm, above
the elbow, eight beautiful bracelets Here displayed, each cut out of a single
piece of ivory. On both wrists he had copper bracelets, and round his waist
he had a girdle ornamented with a double row of plates of copper. His head
was decorated with a sort of diadem, consisting of a strip of leather about
an inch wide, on which were sewed beads of all colours in symmetrical
figures, and on the top of his head was a large bunch of quagga's hair,
standing upright, intermixed also with beads and pieces of copper.
He contemplated with curiosity and admiration the number of new objects
which now met his observation — the little fortress, the barracks, and the
travelling apparatus ofthe Governor. As he went over the barracks the
soldiers were at dinner, and he expressed his admiration very strongly at the
order that reigned among them. He said that the Caffres had indeed a great
many warriors who were not suffered to want ; but that he must be a great
man indeed who had so many rich people under him : if every one of the
soldiers did but give him a button, what a rich man he should be, and yet
they would still have enough left for themselves. It was incomprehensible
to him how, amidst such a variety of business, every one should know his
own. The large vessel which lay in the bay, De Verwachting, and which
had^hrought the last part of the troops, above all things excited his astonish
ment : it was very much tossed by the swelling ofthe waves in the impetuous
bay, and he stood for a long time upon the shore watching with eager curiosity
the unloading of its cargo into boats. When he was invited to go on board.
he repelled the idea with manifest terror at the thoughts of it, and declared
that nothing could ever induce him to go upon the water. A dread of the
water is common to all the Caffre tribes, even more particularly to the inha
bitants of the coast. They have no sort of vessel for the purpose, and not
withstanding their want of resources for food, despise the easy one offered
Kl2

308 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
them by the means of fisheries. The Caffres in the interior of the country-
equally reject the fish which their numerous streams might afford, and will
Only drink water from great thirst, and a total want of milk and whey. It is
solely on account of their cattle that they fix their dwellings in the neigh
bourhood of springs and rivers.
But to return to our envoy. On his inquiring with great curiosity into
the use of a cannon, the General, after explaining the effect, ordered one to
be loaded and fired. At the going off of the piece, he gave tokens of great
terror, but it was even exceeded by his astonishment. He sprang forwards
with his eyes staring, and holding both his ears, and after drawing his breath
very deep, whistled out a long protracted tone. He then inquired very
eagerly how far such a shot would hit, and how many men it would kill at
once. When it was proposed to him that the experiment should be repeated,
he declined it anxiously, with a number of singular motions and gestures.
The gold epaulets of the officers, the naked swords, the muskets, and many
other objects, attracted his attention exceedingly, and when he was permitted
to feel them, or to take them into his hands, his astonishment was expressed
by repeated whistling. A watch interested him at first very much, but when
he was informed that this instrument kept pace with the sun, he gave it.back
again without saying a word, almost as if offended that he should be told any
thing so utterly incredible. '
On the twentieth of May the Governor set out with his train for the
Zondag's river, the appointed place of his interview with the Caffre Chiefs.
As the train halted at the Kuga-river, the General was surprised by the
arrival of five colonists, who came to inform him that at a short distance
more than a hundred inhabitants of the neighbouring districts were assembled
to testify their joy at the return of the old government, and to renew their
oaths of allegiance to it. It was with no small pleasure the General heard
that Rensburg was at the head of this assembly ; he had for a long time
expected his arrival, and the delay of -it rather perplexed him. A little
farther on, the train met eight more elderly colonists on horseback, who were
sent by Rensburg to welcome the Governor, and ask his permission to receive
him, according to the custom of the country, with a salute of fire-anns. As
the road lay along the plain of the Zondag's river, the assembled colonists
were soon discovered drawn up in a long row on their horses, with a great

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 309
number of waggons and tents behind them. After the Governor had been
complimented with the proposed salute, Rensburg stepped forwards, and
testified in a plain and concise speech how exceedingly overjoyed they all
were at seeing the return of the Dutch government. They were come, he
said, to assure him of their faith and obedience, of their desire to participate
in the restoration of peace with the Caffres, and to receive the commands of
the General from his own mouth.
The General availed himself of this opportunity, while he gave them many
assurances of his paternal care, to remark upon the causes of the, misfortunes
they had experienced. The greater part of them he said were to be ascribed
to their own misconduct, — to disunion among themselves, and to the intrigues
of some evil spirits by whom they had been led astray. He however now
hoped and expected to see an end of these things, to see them remain inr
peace and amity among themselves, and that he should receive their assistance
in the restoration of tranquillity without doors as well as within : such were
the objects he assured them most dear to his heart. His emotions in deli
vering' these expressions of good-will towards them on the one side, and on
the other the many assurances repeated by the colonists of their repentance,
gratitude, and fidelity, rendered this scene extremely affecting and interesting
to the by-standers. A quiet composure appeared among them all, and many
of the party remarked upon the countenances of these rough unpolished men
evident traces of inward emotion. The General, happy to observe this
disposition, endeavoured, by conferring with several in a confidential manner,
to procure his exhortations a more favourable reception, and to insure their
making a more lasting impression.
In the mean time a common camp was formed on the bank of the river,
which, from its extent, and the great number of men, horses, waggons, and
tents, in this otherwise pleasing spot, made altogether a truly interesting
scene. The train of the Governor consisted of a detachment of fifty-six
jagers, nine dragoons, and thirty other persons, so that with the hundred
and eight colonists and their Hottentots, there were altogether not less than
two hundred and fifty men. Klaas Stuurmann was encamped on the other
side of the river, and here and there appeared Caffres attracted by a particular
share of curiosity. Stuurmann sent a basket of fresh milk over to the Governor
as a present, and several of the Caffres joined the messenger, to beg meat,

310 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
tobacco, and a little drop of what they prized above all things, brandy; Nothing
that they asked for was refused them, and they returned over the river at
night extremely delighted.
Nacabaneh remained all this time with the Governor, not however without
evident signs of fear and distrust, on account of his numerous train. It waa
very difficult to quiet his apprehensions, and although he frequently assured
the people about, even with loud laughter, that he was not afraid of any thing,.
he could not so far conceal his suspicions but that they were visible in his
eyes. The whole of the following day the arrival of the Caffre Chiefs was
expected in vain. In the interval, the General had many conferences with
the colonists, particularly with Rensburg and Jaarsveld. From the first he
learned that Geika had sent a messenger to him, to request that he would
support him against his enemies, and constrain them finally to submit to him.
To this Rensburg replied, that no step could be taken by the colonists without
the consent of the government. Jaarsveld, whom the General had already
sent from Zwellendam, informed him that he executed his commission to
Geika, and that this king wished anxiously to see the Governor, and conclude
a peace with him : he was ready for this purpose to meet him at any place he
would appoint. Jaarsveld had also, he said, talked with Conrad Buys, and
found him ready to submit in every way to the commands of the government.
Two days more elapsed before the eagerly expected chiefs made their
appearance. In the mean time, messengers came from Conga to announce
that he was approaching, and only waited for the arrival ofthe rest to make his
appearance personally. People on the part of the Governor were again sent
to him, whom he received in a very friendly manner, and repeated to them
his assurances that he desired peace most ardently. He begged of them, as
a token of friendship, a little flask of brandy, which, with some other presents,
was immediately sent to him. The camp was never free from Caffres, whom
curiosity brought thither: they were sometimes very importunate, and rather
troublesome: they would amuse themselves with dancing and singing, in their
way, for hours together. At length, on the twenty-third of May, the Chief
Tholy, accompanied by another Chief named Tsjatsjo, and about twenty
Caffres, came to the camp. They told the General that when all the others
were collected, they would confer with him upon matters of business ; that
their present visit was meant only as a token of friendship and confidence.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 311
They were conducted into a tent, and a cow was killed to do them honour:
some ofthe flesh was given to them, which they roasted themselves, and they
were besides, to their infinite delight, treated with plenty of tobacco and
brandy. Tholy hinted a wish for presents, and on being informed that there were
some destined for all the Caffre Chiefs, which would be given them after the
conferences, he begged to be permitted to see at least those intended for him.
Tholy is tall in stature, somewhat plump, and has a more flat negro-like
countenance than the Caffres in general. He had no other distinction in his
dress than that his mantle was of a tiger's skin. In the afternoon the party
returned over the river to Conga.
In the interval during which he was waiting for the arrival of the Chiefs,
the General visited the Hottentot leader Klaas Stuurmann in his kraal, and
endeavoured to obtain from him some farther insight into the occasion of the
unfortunate disturbances. Stuurmann talked of the gross ill-treatment which
he and his people had suffered. He named several colonists in particular, of
whom he complained bitterly : they were all among those who had been for
ten years considered as turbulent spirits. In the times ofthe English they had
been the most eager in resisting the ordinances ofthe government; they had
ardently wished for the contest with the Caffres, and by their harsh unruly
behaviour had essentially promoted it. Indeed, it clearly appeared that the
colonists of these parts were much more rough and rugged in their manners
than any others ; while the events ofthe last ten years, in which they had
been engaged in rebellion, and in a war with savages, and subsequently lived a
roving life, wandering hither and thither without ariy settled habitation, were
well calculated to increase such unarniable propensities in their dispositions.
Early on the twenty-fourth, the Chiefs sent to announce their approach, and
the General dispatched the Field-Commandant Botha, with some others, to
receive them with due solemnity. When they arrived on the other side of the
river, the Chiefs gave them to understand that they should not trust themselves
to go over to the Governor's camp. A second embassy, consisting of the
Adjutant-General and Captain Alberti, was equally fruitless: how much
soever they endeavoured to inspire them with confidence, and prove to them
that they had nothing to fear, they adhered, to their point, and insisted that
the Governor ^should come over to them. Even when he had yielded in this
respect, still they found new difficulties, and were not without much per-

312 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA,
suasion induced to come out from among the bushes upon the plain. The
General went with a very small train of his officers, and the Commandant of
the colonists : still they kept him waiting a considerable time, till at length
the interpreter and Stuurmann persuaded them to come forwards.
They approached with slow and trembling steps, one after the other, often
stopping and looking back; at length Jaluhsa came forwards, and held out his
hand to the Governor, after which Sambeh, Conga, Tholy, Amaassi, and
Tsjatsjo, did the same. They then seated themselves upon the ground in a
semicircle : the Governor spoke to them in the kindest and most friendly
manner, and before he entered upon the negociation, asked them, through the
interpreter, what made them so extremely fearful. They would not say posi
tively, but intimated that they understood the Governor to have come to an
understanding with Geika, and that he had promised to seize them and compel
them to obedierice. When satisfied that they were in an error upon this
point, they assumed more confidence, but had no patience to wait the process
of a regular negociation : they said that the Governor had only to send them the
presents he had mentidned, and peace would be concluded. It was impossible
to make them comprehend that there were many points upon which the parties
must come to a right understanding before peace could be concluded; they
insisted that itwas easily made, and began to return. Nothing then remained
but for the officers appointed to draw up the conditions of peace to follow
them to their own camp among the bushes, and here some farther conversa
tion took place, in which the following points were discussed:
Q. What was the motive of the war ?
A. The past should be forgotten, and indeed the true motives which first
occasioned it were unknown to them.
Q. Whether they had been offended by any individuals among the colonists,
.and whether they had any particular ill-usage from them to complain of?
A. Yes. Very lately one of their people had been grossly ill-treated by
Thomas Ferreira, without any provocation having been given. Former griev
ances had been already avenged by themselves.
Q. What was their present situation with regard to King Geika ?
A. They were at open war with him. He had plundered them of a great
many cattle, and they had it in contemplation to attack him with all their
might. Q. What was the origin of their differences ?

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 313
A. They are accustomed to make war whenever they have a mind to it; but
they were once followers of Geika.
Q. Were they not disposed to make peace with him ?
To this most of them answered in the affirmative, but upon certain condi
tions; particularly that the Governor should protect them from Geika's arro
gance and revenge. They could besides never make peace with him, unless
he would consent to send away Conrad Buys, who had always incensed the
king against them. S&mbeh alone declared that he never would be recon
ciled to Geika: he knew him well, as he had educated him from his youth,
and no man could be so well aware as himself how little Geika was to be
trusted. It was now further signified to them, that if they would live at peace with
the Christians, they must agree to the following conditions, and bind them
selves fo the punctual observance of them.
First. They should not prevent any of the Hottentots who were with them
returning into the colony, if they were themselves inclined to it, and would
enter into the service of the farmers, or join the mission-institute. The
Governor promising the Hottentots sacredly on his part, that not only all
former offences should be forgiven, but that they should be protected in the
most powerful manner against any ill-treatment from the colonists.
A. There are scarcely any Hottentots among us, excepting those that were
with Stuurmann, Boewesak, or Trompetter. The few that there are shall not
be prevented returning.
Secondly. Whatever slaves of either sex, or of any age, shall have gone over
to the Caffres during the war, or shall have fallen into their hands in any other
way, shall be returned to their masters. None of them shall be punished for
what has past, providedthey behave well in future : this the Governor solemnly
promises. A. They are very ready to do this, but hope in return, that all Caffre chil
dren which have fallen into the hands of the colonists shall be given up.— i.
Unconditionally agreed to.
Thirdly. All' Dutch or other deserters who have taken refuge among them
shall be given up, without promise of pardon.
A. Agreed unconditionally.
Fourthly. All fire-arms which they have plundered shall be restored.
s s

314 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
A. As they did not know how to use fire-arms, all that they took were given
to the Hottentots, who could use them", they had not therefore any in their
possession. Fifthly. The Great Fish-river shall be considered, as formerly, the boun
dary of the colony, and the Caffres shall return over it into their own country.
A. They acknowledge^the Fish-river as their boundary, but they cannot
return over it as long as they continue at war with Geika. They are at pre
sent about to offer him battle, and they petition the Governor that their cattle
may remain under his protection till the battle is over. If they are conquerors*
they will quit the colony entirely: but they must repeat the request, that the
Governor will compel Buys to quit the Caffre country.
Sixthly. No Caffre shall come into the colony without the permission of
his Chief, nor shall any colonist, without permission of the Governor, or ofthe
landdrost of his district, pass over to the other side of the Fish-river.
Against this latter article they objected very much, and said that there
could be no true peace, if people might not have intercourse with each other :
besides, the colonists were such rich people, that they should be glad to come
among them and gain a day's wages now and then.
Neither of the two last articles were of much avail, notwithstanding that
the Governor in the sequel prohibited the colonists from taking any Caffre into
their service. He recommended to the Caffres besides, to abstain from all
commerce with the colonists, and promised them if they would do so, to send
them from the Cape Town whatever they should want of European manufac
tures, at very moderate prices. They adhered to the proposition that it was
better to trade with the colonists, although it was proved, and is easily to be
conceived, that they were almost always overreached by them.
Seventhly. If a colonist offend a Caffre, the latter shall not revenge himself,
but he shall give information either to the nearest magistrate, or to the com
mandant at Algoa bay, who shall take care that the offended party has entire
satisfaction. A. This request shall be punctually complied with.
Eighthly. On the other hand, a colonist shall be as little at liberty, to revenge
himself, but if he be plundered.or injured by a Caffre, he shall complain to the
Chief, and it is expected that in such a case the plunder shall be restored, and
the offender punished. ^

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 315
A. Such offences shall be punished with death, nay, even the whole family
ofthe offender shall be extirpated.
This compact was not brought to a conclusion without a great deal of trou
ble. The commissioners charged with the negociation were for three days
together backwards and forwards with the chiefs, who soon grew weary of the
conversation : whenever one side attempted therefore to renew the subject,
the other shewed evident signs of hstlessness and impatience. Several times
the Chiefs seemed disposed to break off the negociation entirely, partly on the
ground that they had no more. provisions, partly pretending that they were
afraid of an attack from Geika in their absence, when he might get possession
of their cattle. At length, however, it was brought to a close, the Governor,
in order to retain them, having sent them provisions for the last day. They
were now invited to come to the Governor's camp to receive their presents, but
only two of them, Tholy and Amaassi, ventured to accept the invitation:
to them were consigned the presents both for themselves and the others.
These peace-offerings consisted of knives, looking-glasses, buttons, beads, and
tobacco ; as presents in return, the Chiefs brought two oxen, and said they were
their letters of compact. Klaas Stuurmann, who had been very assiduous in
forwarding the peace, had also presents made him ; and a number of the lower
Caffres, who swam over to the camp on the last day, after having been well
feasted, had some trifles given them at taking leave.
The General renewed several times to the Chiefs the offer of his mediation
to bring about, if possible, a peace between them and Geika; he even invited
them to send ambassadors to the king under his protection. , They did not
appear very desirous of peace, and were not without some difficulty persuaded
to send a man with the Governor, who, after the interview of the latter with
Geika, should return to. inform them of the result, as far as they were conT
cerned in it.
On the twenty-seventh of May, the Governor returned baek to Algoa
bay. There he instituted inquiries among the Hottentot disciples of Vander
Kemp and others, respecting the complaints they had to make against the
colonists. In this examination it appeared that some ofthe latter had indeed
been guilty. of the most atrocious conduct towards their dependents; there
was but too much reason even to believe that they had deeds of murder to
answer for. However, as positive proof of these things was not to be obtained,
ss 2

310 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
and itwas to be feared that without them the College of Justice at the Cape
Town would suffer the offenders to go unpunished, the Governor thought it
better to take the whole matter upon himself.
Thomas Ignatius Ferreira was banished for ever from the country, and,
admonished to transport himself and all his moveable property to Zwellendam,
there, to live under the immediate inspection of the landdrost of that district.
A like fate was decreed to his two sons Stephen and Henry, with his last wjfe
Martha, and another colonist, by name John Arend Rens. By the rest of the
colonists, who were most of them well-disposed, well-judging men, this sen
tence of the Governor was highly commended, while upon many who were
a little too conscious that they might have been justly involved, in. some
censure, though perhaps not quite so severe, the example made a deep im
pression, convincing them clearly of the injustice of their proceedings, and
determining them to alter their conduct in future.
The General, now published an ordinance, that from the first of June no
colonist should take a Caffre into his service, and whoever had any then as
servants should discharge them immediately, and see that they were safely
restored to their native country. Such only were to. be permitted to remain
who had been a full year in their service, and desired themselves to continue
in it. At the same time he ordered that all children of Caffres who had been
taken in the late wars, and were now in the hands of the colonists, should be
restored by the safest means to their parents : no exception to be made here,
not even in the case of their expressing a wish to stay.
On the second of June the Governor sent two colonists as messengers to
Geika, to invite him to .an interview at the Great Fish-river, and he immedi
ately set out himself upon his journey thither. On their way through the
fertile regions bordering the Zondag's and the Bosjesmans' -rivers, and the
country formerly called Quammedakka, the company had daily visits; from a
great number of Caffres who now inhabited the district. On the dry plain
between the two rivers they found vast numbers of antelopes, both great
and small, and several quaggas. In one day, the Jagers in the Governor's
train killed fifty-four head of mountain antelopes, with, a great deal of other,
game. The red deer were in such abundance, that large spaces were covered.
with them; they seemed to be in flocks of several thousands, and it was
really a beautiful sight to see them flying before the hunters, bounding

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 317
along with such springs, that they went almost as much through the air as
along the ground. On another day, among a troop of mountain deer, which
seemed - not to consist of less than three thousand, one was seen perfectly
white. The General no sooner expressed a wish to have this rarity, than
some of the young people pursued the animal in such a way, that they sooh-
separated it from the rest, and surrounded it, so that it was taken after some
hours chase without being shot, by fairly wearying it out. The General, in
the sequel, gave the skin of this rare animal to Monsieur Perron, who stopped
at the Cape in his return from the South-sea, and it is now in the Museum of
the National Institute at Paris, where it is considered as a particular curiosity.*
The camp at night was commonly visited by a great many jackalls and
hyaenas, which were so daring, that they even came between the tents and
among the waggons, so as to terrify the oxen exceedingly. The cries of
anguish uttered by these creatures, and their struggles to break loose from
the waggons, to which they were tied, commonly frightened the marauders
away again. During the first encampment, on the Zondag's river, one ofthe
colonists killed a spotted hyaena in a very extraordi nary manner. The man was
lying sleeping at night upon a waggon, at the end of which hung a fresh killed
sheep. The scent of it had probably, attracted the hyaena, and while he was
beginning to regale himself with the feast, the colonist, taking his gun, crept,
slowly forwards, and pushing it almost to the creature's mouth, shot him through
the head. Among the bushes, through which the road lay at intervals, the
party' found an immense number of monkeys, chiefly the long-tailed green
sort, which is. peculiar to this part of Southern Africa. -j- Some of the colo
nists were singularly dexterous in climbing up the trees after these animals andi
taking them.
On the tenth of June, General Janssens with his train reached the Great
Fish-river, but the messengers who had been sent to Geika did not return till
the fourteenth. They had been received in a very friendly manner, but the
King declared,, that menacedas he was by his enemies, he was afraid, to go so
fer from his residence, and must intreat the General to come some days

* Humboldt mentions some sorts of the Cervus mexicanus, which are to be met with in the
Caraccas, enttvely white.
+ Cercopithecus glaucus, mentioned by Le Vaillant;

318 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
journey nearer to him. Directly after them came Coniad Buys to the
camp. He brought with him three deserters from the ninth battalion of
Jagers, who had taken refuge with the Caffres,* but Geika, in delivering
them up, earnestly solicited that they might be pardoned. There was also -
an Englishman in his party, who had given himself out as a traveller from
London, but who was afterwards found to be a deserter. In the course of
his journey the . General met in different places with six other English
deserters. Some were concealed among the savages, some among the colo
nists : many such had wandered as vagabonds about the colony, and their
influence upon the character of the colonists had been extremely pernicious.
Even the most uneducated European surpasses the African colonist, bred up
in perfect solitude, in a certain readiness of wit ; and these men, not being
troubled with very strict principles, seldom made use of their superiority
for any other purpose than to preach their convenient doctrines to the rough
borderers, which was often the occasion of seducing them into crimes, and
into disobedience to the government. The General therefore awarded the
English deserters an abode near the Cape Town, where, being in an inhabited
country, they might be under the constant eye of the magistrate, and gain
their living in a more creditable manner. The Dutch deserters were carried
prisoners to the Cape, and there punished according to the military law.
Buys repeated Geika's invitation, and expressed great doubts whether the
compact with the rebel Caffre Chiefs would ever be executed. Geika had
many complaints to make of their robberies and petty attacks, and he was
every moment in expectation of their falling upon him with their united
power. The General exhorted Buys to use all his endeavours to dispose
Geika to peace, as the colony suffered exceedingly from these dissensions
among the Caffre Chiefs. He further required of him, that he should him
self return into the colony, as his abode with the king was a great cause of
discontent to the rebels. Buys declared his willingness to comply with the
Governor's wishes in both instances. He had twelve Caffres with him, four
of whom were amongst Geika's most distinguished officer^; these were

* These belonged to the piquet of Poles which were mentioned some way back as having
deserted from the Weinberg in February, 1803,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 319
Enno, Cassa, Spondo, and Umlao : the last is the brother of Tholy. When
they were introduced to the Governor, they said pretty much the same as
Buys had done : some presents were made to Enno, who was brother-in-law
to the king, and he was dispatched to inform the latter and the Queen-mother
that the General was on his way, and would meet them in five days at the
Kat-river. On the following day therefore the journey was recommenced. The route
lay through a wild country, every where entirely uncultivated, and abound
ing in game to an almost inconceivable degree. There were many sorts of
antelopes, quaggas, and wild-boars, and in one day the hunters killed so
large a number of animals of different kinds that their united weight amounted
to some thousands of pounds. This was an excellent supply, as in making
provision for the journey, it was not calculated that the company were to go
so far from any habitations of Christians. The country was not mountainous,
but there was no tracked road, and a number of little streams to cross without
a beaten way through, so that they were very inconvenient for the loaded
waggons: sometimes it was even necessary to cut a way through the bushes, or
the waggons could not have got on. On the twenty-first of June the General
and the party at length reached the appointed place, having travelled six days
constantly in a south-easterly direction. In the interval the perplexed state
of public affairs was increased by some colonists of Bruintjeshoogte, whose
cattle had been stolen by the wandering Caffres, having followed the robbers;
and as the latter would not give back their prey, two of them had been shot.
This affair had, however, no farther consequences, and in the end Geika said
that the colonists had done right.
On the twenty-second, some couriers who had been sent forwards announced
the approach of King Geika. They were commissioned to request that the Go
vernor would on the morrow dispatch some of his officers and dragoons to meet
him, and that a waggon or car might be sent for his mother, as, on account of
her corpulence, travelling was fatiguing to her. These requests were complied
with, and the waggon with the guard of honour set off in the morning. They
met the Caffre king seated on a horse without a saddle, and as the detach
ment drew near he stopped. After contemplating them for a few moments
with a pleased and curious eye, he seemed to consult the principal people

320 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
with him, then rode a few steps forward, then halted again, and seemed for
some minutes doubtful whether in his confidence he was not running himself
into danger. At last he appeared to come to a hasty resolution : he made a
long whistle with his mouth, and at this signal his whole train, which con
sisted of about a hundred and fifty persons, women included, put themselves
in motion. His mother got into the car, the king remained on horseback,
and all the rest were on foot: thus they proceeded in a brisk trot to the Dutch
Camp. When arrived there the king dismounted, and being conducted to
the General's tent, he with the most perfect ease, and not without dignity,
held out his hand to him.
Geika is one of the handsomest men that can be seen, even among the
Caffres uncommonly tall, with strong limbs and very fine features. His
countenance is expressive of the utmost benevolence and self-confidence,
united with great animation ; there is in his whole appearance something
that at once speaks the king, although there was nothing in his dress to
distinguish him, except some rows of white beads which he wore round his
neck. It is not hazarding too much to say that among the savages all over
the globe a handsomer man could scarcely be found. Nay, one might go
farther, and say that among the sovereigns of the cultivated nations it would
perhaps be difficult to find so many qualities united, worthy of their dignity.
His fine tall well-proportioned form, at the perfect age of six and twenty, his
open, benevolent, confiding countenance, the simplicity yet dignity of his
deportment, the striking readiness of his judgment and of his answers, his
frankness, and the rational views he took of things; — all these properties
combined are not often to be found among those, who, according to our com
monly received opinions, have had infinitely greater advantages in the form
ing their persons and minds.
Besides his mother, two of his wives accompanied him, whose names were
Nonihbe, and SoJohgbu. These three came with him into the General's tent,
where, after the first courtesies had passed, and while they were partaking of a
little entertainment, a conversation was begun, which from the unembarrassed
manner, and liberal assurances ofthe King, so far beyond all expectation, was
interesting in the highest degree. On account ofthe warmth ofthe day, the
side coverings of the tent were thrown half open, and the military officers and

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 321
colonists stood round. Near Geika, at the entrance, were his principal
people, and behind them, in a semicircle, the whole train ofthe Caffres, with
their hassagais at their feet.
At dinner, the king, with his family, were invited to the Governor's table,
and although he was a perfect stranger to most of the dishes, as well as to
the manner of eating, he immediately caught the use of the knife and fork,
and instructed his wives in it, who were not so ready as himself. He several
times declared that he liked the European manner of dressing meat, exceed
ingly ; and when any thing particularly pleased his palate, he immediately
handed a piece over his shoulder to his attendants, who were standing
without. He seemed to drink wine with pleasure, but drank little ; his
wives liked it still better; indeed, as it appeared in the end, they rather
liked it too well. The European dress pleased him particularly ; and as there
was. a suit of clothes among the presents destined for him, it was presented
upon the spot. He was exceedingly anxious to put it on immediately, and
some of our officers, who in the interim had entirely won his confidence,
assisted him. He then shewed himself with evident delight to his subjects^*
who on their side uttered many exclamations of astonishment and admiration.
The clothes were much too short and too small for him ; but he, notwith
standing, looked extremely well in them, and they made him indeed appear
of gigantic stature. Nothing seemed to please him more highly than the
military hat with the feather and cockade. Yet feeling himself rather con
fined, he afterwards expressed a wish to have, instead of them, the General's
large cloth cloak ; this, however, was so indispensable to the latter on the
journey, that it could not be spared, and instead of it the king was promised
that one should be sent to him.*

* This promise was punctually fulfilled, and with the cloak several other things were sent,
among which was a complete Hussar uniform, richly trimmed with gold lace, and a horse with
a handsome saddle and bridle, and embroidered housings. Alberti gives the following account
,of the_ satisfaction which the whole present seemed to afford the king. " When I had conversed
trith him for some time," says he, il upon various subjects, I retired from my tent, all his
train following me, that he might dress himself in the .uniform which had been sent him from the
Cape Town. It fitted him extremely well, and was very becoming to him. He then came out
from the tent, where a richly caparisoned horse, sent also by the Governor, was waiting for him.
He mounted it with his usual address, and his pleasure seemed to reach its highest possible point,
I t

Z2% .. TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
On the following morning a solemn interview was again held, in which
many proposals made to the king as the foundation of a lasting peace under
went a long discussion between him and the Governor. He appeared in his
usual Caffre dress, and was accompanied by his mother and his most con
fidential followers. The trains on both sides were, as the day before, without
the tent. Buys served as interpreter on the side of Geika; on our's we had
a Gonaaqua from Bethelsdorp. The conference lasted a long time, as Geika
upon any difficult point consulted his mother and his friends. The following
is the substance ofthe most important matters that came under discussion.
After the Governor had explained the object of his journey, Geika assured
him that it gave him very great pleasure to see the regent of the colony, and
that this interview was more gratifying to him than all the presents that had
been made him. He always was a friend to the Christians, and that was

when a looking-glass about six feet high was produced and set before him. He was so astonished,
that it was even some minutes before he could recover himself. His vanity was now fully
displayed, by galloping to a certain distance backwards and forwards before the people for a
considerable time, while they contemplated him with the utmost admiration, uttering all the
time loud shouts of applause. I observed that he was more .particularly delighted with the
applauses he received from the women.''
.According to Alberti's account, the Caffres infinitely prefer the European fashion of clothing
to their own, and acknowledge it to be more convenient, and a better protection against the
weather. They find besides something in the dress which distinguishes them, and gives them
consequence. The Queen-mother was very happy in wearing a man's night-gown, which she
had received as a present from an European, and seemed to be very much admired in it.
This love of European clothing is common to almost all savages. The blacks on the coast of
Guinea are so particularly desirous of it, that the traders thither formerly used to buy large
bundles of frippery at the market at Amsterdam upon speculation to carry to this coast. An
acquaintance of mine among the Dutch navy officers, who in his early years had been at the
Gold-coast, gave us a very humourous description of the purchases which he once saw made
by the blacks from one of these speculators. The choice of a negro captain, among a variety
of clothing laid before him, fell upon a small three-cornered hat with gold lace, a scarlet frock
of the old French make, and a pair of velvet shoes with pinchbeck buckles. He immediately
put them all on, and took into his hand a long melal-headed stick, which he had also purchased,'
and exhibited himself this grotesque figure With his black body beneath his red coat (for a shirt,
waistcoat, small clothes, and stockings, which had been proposed to him, he rejected as useless
and troublesome) before his fellow-countrymen with the utmost self-satisfaction, and was
contemplated by them with no slight degree of envy.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 323
imputed to him as a crime by those rebel subjects, who were now making
war upon him on all sides. '
The Governor. The disunion among the Caffres has been the cause of
great misfortunes to the colony, since numerous bodies of . them have pene
trated into the heart of it, and are even now established very far beyond
the bounds which had been agreed upon as the limits of the. two countries.
Geika. That was not his fault. He could not restrain the intruders, and
had never taken the remotest share in the plunders and devastations that had
been committed.
The Governor. From the concord now established between the present
Dutch government and its subjects, the power of the Christians is, beyond
all comparison, greater than it was in the time of the English, and they
should now be able to repel immediately any attack that might be made.
Geika. This is a thing at which he sincerely rejoices. The dissensions
among the Christians had been as unfortunate to him as to themselves, since,
had it not been for them, his rebel Chiefs would not have succeeded in finding
an asylum in the colony. — He took this opportunity of inquiring what was
become of the rebellious colonists whom the English had at that time carried
prisoners to the Cape Town, and seemed very much to rejoice that they had
been leniently dealt with. He seemed not less rejoiced to learn that by the
colony being given up again to the Dutch a general amnesty was established.
The Governor. In what relation does the King stand with the Caffres who
are now in the colony ?
Geika. He is totally at variance with them ; in a state of the most
destructive war.
The Governor. It appears of the utmost importance to the King himself,
that the rebels should submit, and that a reconciliation should take place
upon equal terms. What then stands in the way of such a reconciliation ?
and why should not the King send messengers with proposals of peace ?
Here Geika broke out into bitter complaints against the rebels, and with
manifest grief of heart assured the Governor that since his accession there
Was nothing he had endeavoured with more zeal than to preserve peace among
his subjects ; but his uncle was a man ambitious of rule, and who could
never support the idea of being a subject to his pupil. It was he who had
estranged the hearts of some of the people from him, and taught them te
X t 2

324 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
despise the principle that they owed to him their faith and allegiance, He
would say nothing of his personal flight out of the country, but his having
seduced away so many kraals, and having subsequently waged such a de
structive war against his king, and those of his subjects who adhered to their
allegiance, was wholly unpardonable. Nor had they only made war against
their king; they had even attempted xhis life— a crime till then without
example. His mother here took up the subject, and related with appearances of the
highest indignation that they had even gone so far as to throw a hassagai at
the King, by which he was wounded; The recollection of this circumstance
excited equal indignation in all the Chiefs who were present; they began to
speak eagerly, and all together, and their whole demeanour clearly evinced
what an exalted idea these savages entertain of the inviolability of majesty.*
The king interrupted them, and proceeded, observing that it was scarcely
possible to live in peace with such men. The Governor himself, he added,
must recollect the horrors of which they had been guilty, in their attack upon
his countrymen : the malignity of their dispositions was throughout that affair
sufficiently manifested. He had hoped that the Christians would not have
forgotten such atrocities, but would have been ready to unite themselves
with him against them : their whole behaviour, since their first entering the
colony, he was sure had merited the severest chastisement. But, he remarked,
since the Governor thought otherwise, and had condescended to make peace
with them, he was ready to do the same, upon their unconditional submis
sion ; he would even promise to forget all past offences, and take them again
under his protection. He would not, however, send messengers to them ;
it was their part to send and solicit peace from him. He had several times
sent them proposals of accommodation, but the messengers had been exceed
ingly ill received, and sent back with contumely, and no more overtures
should be made on his part. In promising if the Governor could persuade

* This feature in the character of the nation throws, as it appears to me, a particular light
npon the degree of their political cultivation. It will be recollected jn the conflicts between
Palo and his brother, above related, that when the former had the king in his power, he not
only did not put him to death, but restored him to his dignity, as he should otherwise have
drawn upon himself the indignation of the whole country.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 325
them to submission, to receive them with kindness, and forget all that had
passed, he considered himself as making no slight concessions.
The Governor then proposed if peace should be made, and the revolted
tribes should be reduced to obedience, that in order to bind the union closer,
implements of husbandry, and tools for mechanical works, should from time
to time be sent from the colony to the Caffres, that the latter might have the
means afforded them of acquiring greater wealth, and a more abundant portion
of the comforts and enjoyments of life. A Commissary should also be sent
annually into the country to see that the articles of peace were punctually
observed by the colonists and the Caffres, and to settle any differences that
might have arisen with regard to their respective rights.
These proposals were received by Geika with particular delight ; and when
he expressed his earnest wish to live in the closest friendship with the
colonists, he remarked that the distance of the Cape Town was a great
obstacle to the maintenance of such a friendship. He inquired therefore
whether it would not be possible to appoint some person, not too far from the
Caffre borders, to whom he might apply in any case when he wished to be
informed respecting the Governor's pleasure. The latter answered that his
wishes for a close union between the two nations were no less eager and
sincere, and that the Commandant at Algoa bay might always be applied to,
whenever the King wished for any communication with the government.
The Governor. The boundaries of the colony shall then remain the same
as they, were settled by Governor Plettenberg.
Geika. Agreed.
The Governor. No Christian shall travel in the Caffre country without
permission from the government, nor shall any Caffre come into the colony
but under the sanction of his king. In order to ascertain whether travellers
have such a permission, some token shall be agreed upon to serve them as a
passport. Geika. This the King entirely approves, and will immediately send infor
mation to the Commandant at Algoa bay, when any Christian is found
travelling in the Caffre country without such a token ; and he intreats that
like information may immediately be dispatched to him, if a Caffre should
appear in the colony without being duly authorised.

826 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The Governor. The Caffres shall deliver up to the Christians whatever
has been taken from them during the war, whether Hottentots, slaves, fire
arms, horses, or cattle.
Geika. These are thirig*-not in his power. If the Christians shall succeed
in reducing the rebel Caffres to obedience, this must be made a condition
before their return home shall be permitted. But if they should be driven
out of the colony, and thus placed again in his power, he promises "that
every thing shall be duly restored.
The Governor. All white people who are now in the Caffre country shall
be compelled to return to the colony, or they shall be considered as enemies
to their country, and Geika as their protector.
Geika. He is perfectly satisfied that all the white people shall quit the
country ; he only desires to retain Buys, for he knows him well, and cannot
dispense with his counsels.
The Governor, however, adhered to the condition, of Buys, as well as all
other while people, being compelled to return as indispensable, and assured
the King that the colonist would not the less remain his firm friend. If he
should want counsel, he might apply to the' Commandant at Algda bay, who
would be equally his friend.
The Governor. In case ships of any nation shall be stranded upon the Caffre
coast, the crew shall be kindly treated, the property, if any can be saved,
shall be carefully guarded, and information of the matter shall be immedi
ately conveyed to the nearest landdrost, or to the Commandant of Algoa bay.
Geika. This is faithfully promised ; and moreover, the crew shall be fur
nished with food, till assistance can be sent them. But he hopes that the
General will assure to every Caffre who is active in assisting the sufferers a
suitable reward, exceeding any presents that he might previously have
received. The Governor. Lastly, the King is requested to afford all the elucidation in
his power with regard to an accusation brought against certain persons, that
they had endeavoured to excite him against some colonists, and persuade him
to seize them and put them to death.
To this Geika answered clearly and distinctly, that four or five years before,,
Meinier, then landdrost of Graaff-Reynett, had sent presents to him, and

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 327
promised him others, if hcwould consent to put Buys and Rensburg out of
the way. With regard to their property, all their cattle should be his
(Geika's) ; the sheep should be given up to the landdrost, and the horses
divided between them. This proposal he had indignantly rejected, as he was
incapable of betraying his friends.
After the several articles of this agreement, according to what is stated
above, were drawn out upon paper, and signed by the proper persons, the
King's presents were laid before him, which consisted, besides the suit of
clothes already mentioned, of provisions of various kinds, tobacco, many dif
ferent ornaments, and other trifles. The latter he immediately divided
among his followers, * and of the other things he also gave parts among his
Chiefs and principal officers, although they, as well as the women, had
separate presents made to them.
Soon after the Governor received from the King four fine beautiful oxen,
as a counter-present, and as a ratification of the peace concluded. In the
afternoon he made his farewell visit to the General, without his train, and in
his Caffre dress, but wore on his head the three-cornered hat, with the white
feather. He now requested to know expressly how long the rebel Caffres would
be allowed to remain in the colony if they did not accept the offered peace ;
and as he received no decisive answer to this question, he broke out anew
into complaints against Sambeh, and said he must relate the following cir
cumstance to the Governor,
A colonist ofthe name of John' Botha had been living with him (Geika)
for a considerable time, having fled when the colony fell into the hands of the
English ; hut when he heard that it was restored to the Dutch, he resolved
upon returning. Botha, at his departure, in gratitude for the protection
he had received, made him a present of four oxen, four cows, and a gun. In
* The same was done by him with regard to the presents made him by Mr. Barrow, which
consisted only in tobacco, beads, pieces of copper, and knives. On this occasion he observed to
Vander Kemp, that they must consider the King of the Caffres in a very pitiful light, if they
could suppose his friendship was to be obtained by such trifles. The presents which he received
in the sequel from the government, and which were delivered to him by Alberti, consisted of
European cloth, mantles, a horse, with a handsome saddle and bridle, a two-wheeled carriage,
and other things of a similar nature.

323 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.'
his way home he was attacked and murdered by Sarnbeh's people, and all
his property was seized by them, which Sambeh afterwards declared to be
lawful' plunder. Geika, however, required the restoration of the property
forthe support of the widow, but only received from him two sick horses,
which soon after died, two female slaves, and a gun ; these he had honourably
sent to the poor widow.
In this last conversation it appeared very clearly that Geika did not by
any means accurately understand the relationship subsisting between the
English and Dutch. When first the colony was taken by the former, and
they sent ambassadors to him, he could not comprehend what they wanted
with him: he knew of no other white people but his neighbours, and the
Company they represented. Afterwards, when Buys and other colonists fled
to him, who were not very well disposed towards the English, Buys endea
voured to explain the situation of things by a simile. The old Company
he said were inhabitants Of a large country, and what they possessed in that
neighbourhood was only of the size in comparison to it that a cattle-fold is
compared with a whole farm. But the English were the Bosjesmans ofthe
sea, and had taken this cattle-fold from its rightful owners. Nothing could
more completely disparage the name of Englishman in the conceptions of the
Caffres: the idea of traitors and robbers was indissolubly associated with it,
and the whole nation became the objects of their hatred.* It was therefore
extremely difficult to make Geika comprehend how the colony could be
peaceably restored to its former possessors.
When the king at length departed, he held out his right hand again to the
Governor, and separated himself with repeated assurances of the utmost
personal friendship for him. The next morning Buys had permission to follow
the King, in order to settle, as soon as possible, all things necessary, prior to
his return into the colony. On the same day, General Janssens with his train
set out from the Kat-river, on their return to Graaff-Reynett.
A few weeks after, Captain Alberti, in the name ofthe Governor, resumed
the negociations with the Caffres. Sambeh, Jaluhsa, and Conga, had
separated from each other, each taking his kraal to a particular circle of his
own, but all between the Bosjesmans' and the Zondag's rivers. The captain

* Vander Kemp is again my authority for this circumstance.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 329
visited each singly in his campj and found them disposed to be much more
Triendly, and to shew greater confidencein the Dutch, than at the former inter
view with the Governor. They all complained that no abatement appeared in
Geika's hostile dispositions towards them; that he continued to plunder their
cattle, and would not abstain from it. But the greatest subject of complaint
was, that Buys was still with him, and that he did not send messengers to
propose peace: never, they said, could friendship be restored between them
till his conduct was altered on these points.
On the other side, in a letter recently received by Alberti from -Buys, he
said that Geika complained exceedingly of the still continued enmity of these
Chiefs ;that they had not only recently murdered some of his people, but had
again attempted his life. A rumour was indeed abroad among the Hottentots
that the separation among the Chiefs was occasioned by two of them having
urged the attacking Geika's kraal while he was negotiating with General
Janssens at the Kat-river, to which the rest would not consent, on account of
their promise given to the General. Nor was such an intention positively
denied by the Chiefs ; they only when questioned upon the subject broke
out into fresh complaints and accusations against Geika. Sambeh even
declared that the murder of John Botha had been perpetrated in compliance
with Geika's commands, and whatever had been taken from the murdered man
had been immediately conveyed to hiiril
From all this It aippeared evident that the hatred and distrust which had so
long reigned between the parties would not be very easily removed, and during
its continuance there seemed no hopes that the rebel Caffres would either
by exhortations or menaces be prevailed with to quit the Dutch territory, or
even to move nearer the borders : this was a great injury to the farmers, who
were desirous to return to their habitations. The Caffres declared that they
could only consider themselves as safe on this side the Fish-river, since Geika
would not dare to attack them directly in the neighbourhood of the Christians;
they were ready to fulfil all the conditions of peace if they might only be
permitted awhile to continue in the place which had so long afforded them
an asylum. It was indeed true that all their engagements had been punctu
ally fulfilled : they had given up the slaves, the Hottentots, and some muskets,
and their deportment in every respect indicated that they had no thoughts of
disturbing the colonists; that an attack from them was not in the least to be
u u

330 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
apprehended. On the contrary, their confidence, in Captain Alberti seemed ,
to increase with every visit made by him, and they repeatedly assured him
that they were convinced peace was earnestly wished on our side. Yet notwith
standing these things, our intercourse with them was exceedingly embarrassing
and disagreeable, since there was no reliance to be placed upon them ; scarcely
any thing that they said was wholly true, and in order to keep on good terms
with them, it was necessary to put the most advantageous construction upon
their representations that they would admit of. They besides closed their
ears with a painful pertinacity against every proposal which was made
tending to persuade them to pursue conciliatory measures, answering either
that it did not please them, or that it was not a thing to be heard of.
It was moreover clearer and clearer every day that Geika's conduct towards
them neither accorded so well as could be wished with the promises and
assurances he had made to the Governor, or with what was required by
justice and humanity. It was proved incontrovertibly that his people in
dulged themselves in acts of power and malignity towards their revolted
countrymen which were wholly unjustifiable. From whatever cause these
things might really originate, it became more and more urgent, that Buys,.
who, by the opposers of the King, was universally considered as the exciter
of them, should quit his situation. He excused himself to Alberti, who
sent requisitions to him upon the subject, on the ground that he had not
the waggons necessary for the transport of his effects, and that he should
run a great x hazard in travelling through the country occupied by the King's
enemies. In order to obviate this pretence for further delay, an escort was
sent to him from Graaff-Reynett; and under its protection he returned into
the colony about the beginning of November. He brought back also two
Europeans, who had lived in the closest intimacy with him in the Caffre
country, one a German, by name Faber, the other John Madder, an English
deserter. The latter informed Captain Alberti, that seven Christians, who, besides
themselves, had been living in the Caffre country, intended to travel north
wards, and if possible reach Da Lagoa bay. This party consisted of four colo-r
nists, who had for a long time not enjoyed a very high reputation, that is two
brothers by name Bezuidenhout, and two other brothers named Lochenhout.
The remainder of the party were Thomas Bentley, Coves Bork, and Harry

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 331
Obry, three English deserters. Their plan, which they had itnparted to
Madder, wanting to persuade him to join the party, was first to procure
powder and shot, and some other necessaries, from tne Cape Town, and then
set off on their journey. The project was never entirely completed, since
Alberti, in consequence of this information, Watched them too narrowly.
They set out therefore without being properly equipped, and instead of going
directly northwards, followed the boundaries of the colony : they were in the
sequel heard of about the Orange-river, where, in the Sixth Part of this work,
there will be occasion again to mention therm
Although Buys assured us that Geika was very much disposed to peace,
and thought earnestly of reconciling himself, if possible, with his revolted
subjects, excepting only Sambeh, no advances had hitherto been made towards
it. Two women from Geika's kraal had visited some of their relations who
were with Jaluhsa ; they were on that account considered as a sort of pre
cursors of messengers to propose peace, yet no symptoms of the visit leading
to such consequences appeared. The good understanding between the
colonists and the Caffre Chiefs however continued, although among the
dependents of the latter there were still instances of individual robbery;
whenever such occurred, whether from fear, or from a spirit of revenge, a
great outcry was raised, and every means possible employed to discover the
plunderer. Among other instances of this kind, fourteen young oxen were stolen from
a colonist by name Prinsloo. One of his Hottentots, a most excellent hunter
and herdsman, followed their traces, and tracked them straight to Sambeh's
kraal, where he found. them. The man had the good sense immediately to
apply to the Chief himself to reclaim his master's property. A search for
the oxen was instituted ; the perpetrator of the theft was detected, and was
instantly put to death by Sambeh himself with his own hand. The animals
were restored, all but two, which had been already killed, and instead of
these the Chief gave two young.oxen of his own, sending a third as a present
to the field-cornet of the district. The latter sent all the three back, which
Sambeh took very much amiss, and declared that if they were not accepted
he should doubt very much the sincerity of the wishes for peace which had
been so often professed. Notwithstanding this, he denied the whole trans
action, when some time after Alberti had a conference with him : he was
u u 2

332 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, .';
afraid that the Governor might reproach him with, his. people^committingsuch
crimes, and conceive a contemptible opinion of his authority that he could
not keep them better under control, , .!"'¦',
Nor were the rest. of the Caffre Chiefs less eager to prove how sincerely
they wished to live on terms of friendship and good understanding with the
Christians. Many cows and oxen that were stolen by the people were by
them sent back to the rightful owners, after the robbers had been severely
punished; their return was, besides, commonly accompanied with some
presents, and an earnest request that no complaints upon the subject should
be made to the Governor. Once, when Alberti encamped; for the night near
Jaluhsa's kraal, the Chief recommended to him tp have his oxen tied up for
the night, and well guarded, for there was no security that some of the
vagrant Caffres might not be roving about in ihenight,. and steal the cattle,
if they found them straying ; and then, the Chief observed, the robbery
would be imputed to his people. Another time Sambeh punished a herdsman
in Alberti's presence, giving him .many severe blows, because he had left the
herd ; and he said, if in consequence any of. the animals had strayed away,
ill-intentioned people might have said that they had been taken by the
Christians, and it would grieve him, exceedingly that they should get an ill
name, since he was well convinced that they had no desire to break the peace.
Towards the end of November, Alberti, already informed of the Commis
sary-general's intended journey, had again interviews with each of the
Caffre Chiefs. He found them in much the same disposition, pertinaciously
refusing to return and submit to Geika, because he had neither sent ambas
sadors to them, nor discarded Buys from his counsels; for they had not yet
learned the arrival of the latter in the colony. The captain, however, found
it adviseable now to insist more urgently upon their endeavouring to reconcile
themselves with the king, since they prevented the return pf the rightful
owners of the country to their respective properties, and even threatened
them with being at last driven away, if they would not go peaceably. He
warned them that a person no less high in authority than the Governor was
on his journey into the country, who would see that the conditions of peace
were in every respect properly fulfilled.
For the rest, all the Caffre children who had been found in the colony were
delivered up, and this greatly strengthened their confidence in the sincerity I

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 333
of the peace. It seemed indeed now so firmly assured, that the people ven
tured to rove about in small parties, visiting the colonists at their habitations,
to their great annoyance. Parties of this kind, as has been mentioned, were
met by us in our journey from the Kromme-river to Algoa bay, almost at
every farm where we stopped ; and my readers will recollect how very far
these guests were from being welcome. Captain Alberti was not wanting in
admonitions to them to remain quiet at their proper dwellings ; he even
warned them that tie could not be answerable for the consequences, if they
would persist in roving about; but nothing could restrain them : they said
that they were so happy among the Christians, and that there was no better
country for hunting after their manner than that about the Chamtoo-river.
When they were asked whether it was their intention to renew the war, they
answered that peace had been made, that the Governor himself had signed
the agreement, and that they knew very well they had nothing to fear.

334 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XXIII.
Continuation of ouf Journey.— Departure from Algoa bay, — Zwartkop' s-river. — Re
markable Salt-lake. — The Koega-river. — The Order established in pitching our Camp.
— Zondagfs-riVer. — Visits from a great Number of Caffres. — Large Flocks of Ante
lopes dnd Quaggas. — The Springbok. — The Bosjesmans' -river. —The Arrival of
the Caffre Chiefs expected in vain. — Hof mansgat.— Deformity of the Mimosas.—
NieUwejaarsdrift. — The Little Fish-river.
Such was the situation of affairs between the Dutch government and the
Caffres, when the Commissary-geriefal arrived at Algoa bay. After he had been
thoroughly instructed by Captain Alberti Upon the subject, he judged that
it would be highly expedient for him to obtain personal interviews with the
rebel Chiefs who were within the colony, as well as with King Geika, that
the quarrels among these savages, by which the colonists were such severe
sufferers, might be accommodated as soon as possible.
Messengers then having been sent to the Chiefs, as was related in the latter
end of the second part of this work, we ourselves departed from Algoa bay
on the thirteenth of January: we were accompanied the whole way by
Captain Alberti, at the head of a detachment of fifteen Waldeck Jagers. We
pursued our way first along the shore of the bay, and soon passed the Little
Zwartkop's-river, which was entirely dry. Farther on we came to the house
of the widow Van Royen, whose husband was killed in the Caffre war, in an
attack which they made upon him by night, while he was resting quietly in
his house. The ruins of the buildings which had been burned spoke it to
have been in its prosperity a very large farm ; the mill only was left standing,
and served now as a dwelling-house. Though the family had been returned
but a few months, the great orchard was already in perfectly good order.
We were entertained with delicious grapes and melons. This spot is parti
cularly favourable for breeding cattle, and, before the disturbances, "furnished
food for a thousand head of cattle and three thousand sheep ; and yet from so
large a stock but small profit was derived. The dealers in cattle would seldom
ome so far as to this remote spot to make their purchases, or would give no

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 335
more than from six to eight dollars for a fat ox, and half a dollar for a sheep.
The inhabitants could not consume any thing hke what they could produce,
and the rather because the stock is never diminished here by the murrain.
On account of this superfluity ofthe means of supporting life, and want of a
market for the products, the country about the Zwartkop's-river truly deserved
the attention of the government, and it was wisely allotted as the seat of the
Drosty and village which are to form the centre point of the new district of
Uitenhage. The proposal, that instead of extensive farms, it should be
divided into small parcels of land, or erbes, appears in every respect a desirable
one to be adopted, and will contribute very much to increasing both the
population and civilization of the country.
At this house we found a number of people assembled, hoping, under the
protection of the Commissary-general, to return to their old habitations upon
the Caffre borders. Some of them joined our party, which gave us quite the
appearance of a caravan : we occupied a length of several thousand paces.
Among these new companions was the Field-commandant Rensburg, who
had provided with the utmost care and attention for supplying the wants of
such a number of men, and for our being furnished with the necessary relays
of cattle.
The Great Zwartkop's-river runs very near the widow Royen's farm : in
heavy rains this stream is very dangerous, but the water was now scarcely a
foot deep. Soon after having passed it, we quitted the great cattle road, and
took a sort of track to the left through a little wood of mimosas in full
blow. In a Uttle hour we were surprised with the sight of tbe celebrated
salt-pan, the largest which has hitherto been found in Southern Africa. It is
a long oval lake, which may be travelled round in about an hour. The water
is perfectly clear, but so strongly impregnated with the common salt used for
cookery, that a drop falling upon the clothes, as it dries away, leaves behind
a very distinct crystallization. In heavy rains the salt is amalgamated entirely
with the water ; but in the summer, when the water evaporates, the surface,
particularly at the sides, is covered with a thick rind of snow-white crystals,
which gives the whole bason the appearance' of being frozen, and the ice
scattered over with a thin layer of snow.
As the water evaporates still farther, the little crystal needles are
loosened, and carried about in flakes by the wind, forming monticules of salt

336 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
upon the bank. The colonists for a great way rourid supply themselves withj
their salt from this lake; it.is.Jhe. purest in the whole colony, and is sent
occasionally, by sea to; the Cape Town ; The name ¦ of. salt-pan is very appro
priate,, since the sun and the wind: do here what, in salt-works is done by art
in flat copper pans over the. fire. The find was in some places so thick, that
it would bear a man without breaking, and some little rocks by the side of it
were crusted over several inches thick with large crystals. The vegetation
about was luxuriant, and the succulent plants were beautifully in bloom,
which, contrasted with the wintry appearance of the lake, produced a very
singular and enchanting effect. The portidacaria ofr,a was distinguished
above all the rest, and seemed to be in its true home : it reaches here from
twelve to fifteen feet in height, and was full of beautiful lilac-coloured flowers.
We found also an incredible number ofthe beautiful large buprestis, and other
insects humming about the lovely blossoms. The whole surface of the lake
was strewed over with dead insects, and we, loosened many;rare species of
them from the salt, in which they were fast encrusted. I must wholly reject
Mr. Barrow's first idea upon the origin of. these salt-lakes, but am disposed
to assent to the opinion which he seems at last inclined to adopt. How little
the evaporations of the sea can contribute to the engendering of the salts in
these places scarcely deserves to be dwelt upon. Similar salt-lakes are to be
found in the south-western parts of Asia; and, according to Pallas, even
near Asoph; . .-,
After having eaten a very slender dinner under a tent upon the banks of
this lake, we proceeded on our journey, and towards evening reached the
Koega-riyer, where our people had already prepared. us, a camp upon a small
plain on the river side. It was here, and in the sequel the same rule was
always followed, composed of six tents arranged in a line, the largest of
which served as a general, place of assembly for the whole, party, the others
were sleeping apartments. At a little distance were the tents for the jagers,
placed in front as guard houses, and on the sides were stationed the colonists,
who usually slept in the waggons, though some of them had also tents.
Behind the front was the kitchen, with the tents for the steward and servants,
and behind them those for the dragoons. All the waggons, the number of which
now amounted to fourteen, though they were afterwards, from new supplies
of forage, or from the colonist families who joined us, increased to twenty, were

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 337
v
* drawn together in a row, and between each were fastened the cribs for the
horses. The oxen were always tied at night by the horns to the shafts or ;
wheels of the waggons. Even if there had been no danger of ' wild beasts, *
or of wild Caffres, this precaution would have been necessary, since these
animals have a great propensity, if they are left loose at night, to straying
away towards their homes. A portion of the Hottentots and slaves alter
nately were always stationed as guards to the cattle, while the rest slept in
the waggons. The dragoons and jagers in rotation also mounted a general
guard at night.
In this way our camp resembled a little wandering village, in which every
one soon knew his place with the utmost exactness, and easily learned the
business, which, as a citizen of the little state, was allotted him for the good
of the whole. As the country in which from this time we generally encamped
was very much the same, a small plain near the bed of a river, and under
the shade of mimosas, being selected for the purpose wherever it was possible ;
and as we always sent our waggons forwards that every thing might be in
order against our arrival, so it often appeared as if we had only been out for
the day, and returned to our home again at night. Our people were so
accustomed to pitching and striking the tents, that we found them in the
evening just as we had quitted them in the morning.
We were indeed become perfect nomades, sharing the lot of most of the
inhabitants of Southern Africa, whom nature disposes, or compels, to stated
changes of habitation. The colonists are driven by the snow from the moun
tains down to the Karroo ; the Caffre hordes forsake their vallies when food
for their cattle begins to fail, and seek others where grass is more abundant;
the Bosjesman is fixed to no single spot of his barren soil, but every night
reposes his weary head in a different place from the former ; the numerous
flocks of light-footed deer, the clouds of locusts, the immeasurable trains of
wandering caterpillars, these, all instructed by nature, press forward from
spot to spot, searching the necessary means by which that nature is to be
supported, A great number of Caffres from a neighbouring kraal thronged about our
camp this day, and wearied us not a little with their importunities tor tobacco,
brandy, and beads* Among the colonists who followed us were some sick,
who came in the full expectation that the physician to the Commissary -
x x

338 ' '"'" TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
gerieral could not fail to cure them. As I was busied in preparing medicines
Jtor them, I was surrounded by a whole troop of Caffres, who had almost
plundered my medicine chest before I was aware of them : the little phials^
the scales, and the various weights, appeared to them invaluable treasures.
It was not without much difficulty, and with a good deal of scolding and
threatening, that I could at last get rid of the women. They inquired about
every thing, they wanted to taste every thing, and when they liked the taste,
were importunate to have the whole as a present. They were got rid of at
last by having recourse to our chest of frippery ; and in exchange for the
treasures it contained, we procured several curiosities from them, as baskets,
bracelets, hassagais, and kirris. Late in the evening a Woman brought a
basket of fresh milk as a present, and many of them, both men and women,
stayed all night in the camp.
~ The Koega, on which we were now encamped, is a very insignificant little
river, in which there was scarcely sufficient water for our cattle to drink.
To procure water for ourselves, we were obliged to dig, and did not then
obtain very good. Here we took leave of the excellent Field-cornet Mulier,
who in the last week had been unwearied in making preparations, and fitting
us out in such a way as to render our journey in the Caffre country as little
inconvenient as possible. As this country is very thinly peopled, and many
things absolutely necessary to travellers in it must be procured from a great
distance, a vast deal of attention and foresight was necessary to think of every
thing that would be wanted. It would be difficult to say too much" of the
Field-cornet's attention, or to express our thanks to him too warmly.
From the Koega we travelled eastwards, over a high plain, here and there
overgrown with bushes, and which produced grass and hedge plants in abun
dance: owing to the rains which had lately fallen, it looked now extremely
pleasant. To the left were, two high mountains, one of which was called the
Winterberg, the other the Elandsberg. About noon we arrived at the Zondag's-
river, which, on account of the rains, was swollen to an unusual height for
the time of year. Although the water was three feet deep, and the ford was
filled with loose stones, we all passed happily through, and rested on the
other side under the shade of the blooming mimosas. While we here took a
little repast, and saw our waggons pass the river, not without some appre
hensions upon their account, a nurhber of Caffres again assembled round us.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 339
On the Qther side of the river also appeared a whole society, and all the men
.witb/very little hesitation waded through the water to us; but the women
were. too modest to come over in sight of our people. They went some way
up the river to a place which was indeed deeper, but where they could cross
without being seen. Among these latter were several young girls, ap
parently from fourteen to eighteen years of age ; some of them were really
handsome. Their pleasing appearance, and the cheerful demeanour of the
whole party, made the intercourse, on this occasion, more lively and animated
than any we had yet had with the Caffres. Our interpreter had great difficulty "
in following the conversation with the same spirit and animation that it was
carried on. The girls seemed to assume confidence at every moment, and
amused us exceedingly with their vivacity and naiveti, in which nothing was
more striking than that, notwithstanding their almost unrestrained mirth,
they never transgressed the bounds of the strictest decorum. They
particularly admired our ladies, and were never weary with examining,
and expressing their astonishment at, their fair complexions and fine
long hair.
In the evening we found our camp ready prepared at about an hour's
distance, still upon the bank of the river, which, having taken a remarkable
bend, was here running almost due east. We had again a number of Caffre
visitors at the camp, followers of Jaluhsa, and not more scrupulous of
,begging than our guests of the day before. They were more than a hundred,
who all wanted to barter their ornaments and other trifles for tobacco, pieces
.of copper, and buttons. We could get any thing of theirs in exchange for
these articles, but the buttons in particular, served as a sort of money by
which the price, of every thing was regulated. A cow was valued at thirty
coat buttons.
Our farther route was very pleasant, over a broad gently sloping hill, over
spread from top to bottom with a number of shrubs and trees beautifully in
blow, particularly mimosas. The road had been cut through these shrubs, but
was again half overgrown. Our guide assured us that before the invasion of
the Caffres this place swarmed with elephants, rhinoceroses, and buffalos :
'traces of these animals were indeed still every where to be discovered. We
-stopped about half way in our day's journey to take some refreshment, and
soon after, as wcproeeeded onwards, found the Hottentot who had been sent
'¦¦'-¦¦ . xx 2

340 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. ^
as envoy to the Caffre Chiefs sleeping in the field. He had fastened his
necklace to a stick, and stuck up this ensign in a bush near him,: as a*token
that he was there, lest, otherwise, we might pass him unobserved. He
informed us that the Caffre Chiefs were out upon a hunting party, but that
messengers had been sent after them, to desire them to come the next day to
the Bosjesmans'-river.
On a plain which we now crossed, called the Quaggas'-plain, we saw a great
number of these animals, in divisions of from eighty to a hundred head each.
rThey were very shy, and fled in the utmost haste at our approach. There
were also an immense number of Springboks, or mountain Antelopes (antilope
pygargaj, who in like manner would not suffer us to come very near them.
The sight of a number of Springboks flying from any object is, even to a man
who is not a hunter, highly interesting ; they run for some time extremely
quick, and then, if a bush or piece of rock comes in their way, spring to the
height of four or five feet above the earth, clearing at one leap ten or twelve
feet of ground ; they then stand still a few minutes till the rest are passed,
after which they all set off again, running with astonishing fleetness. The
beautiful form of this animal, its pretty marks, and the incredible lightness
and grace of its motions, render this sight extremely pleasing.
The Springbok is of a snowy whiteness, only from the shoulders to the
haunch on each side of the back runs a chesnut coloured stripe, and from
these towards the belly are others more of the Isabella colour ; on the shank,
the ears, and the cheeks, are similar chesnut-brown stripes; The back is
covered with long white hair, which generally lies flat, but stands up when
the animal raises its back to take a leap. The horns are somewhat ringed,
and at the points bend towards each other, in the manner of a lyre. A full
grown Springbok weighs from sixty to eighty pounds. The flesh is extremely
delicious, tenderer and whiter, than that of any other antelope. Our Jagers
had shot six of these animals, three of which were given to the Caffres ; the
rest were a very acceptable supply to our own table, as in making provision
for our journey we had calculated upon the game to be killed in our route for
a part of our kitchen stores. In the evening our camp was pitched about
two hundred paces, from the Bosjesmans'-river : a short time before we arrived
at it, we descended the hill upon which, four years before, General Vande
leur had been enclosed by the Caffres, when Rensburg came to his assistance

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. - 341
and released him. The country is here tolerably level ; high mountains are
only*seen quite in the distance.
As it had been agreed that we should wait in this spot for the arrival ofthe
Caffre Chiefs, another messenger was dispatched to inform them that the
Commissary-general would remain here two days, in hopes of seeing them,
but must then positively proceed on his journey. Our camp was constantly
visited, during our stay, by the Caffres who were roving about : they were
always begging for something, or brought their cloaths, weapons, and baskets,
to barter. We also saw here a whole kraal pass, who were removing to ano-~
ther dwelling-place. A vast number of cattle led the van, then followed the
pack-oxen loaded with the household goods, and the mats which serve them
for beds. On the top of these were here and there little children tied fast,
who sat very qUiet, and suffered themselves patiently tobe shook about among
the mats and baskets. The larger children, and the grown people, carried
upon their heads either some of their household furniture, or baskets full of
milk. All the men, even those whose business it was to take care of the
cattle, stopped half the day with us,, but the women, how much soever they
wished to stay, were ordered by them authoritatively to go on with the cattle,
and did not dare to disobey.
The heat was on this day almost insupportable ; and such an incredible
number of flies swarmed about our tents, that towards evening, when they
began to settle, the linen was quite black with them. A number of other
sorts of insects, some very beautiful indeed, which we found in this country,
was a much more agreeable circumstance tous. We particularly found a
very large sort of scarabaeus, the Copris Hamadryas, the chirping of which
at night was a noise at first wholly enigmatical to us; nor could we imagine
whence it proceeded, till in the morning we found a vast number of these
animals under the ox-dung, where they had dug to two or three feet deep
into the sand, and in these holes stored up magazines apparently for the first
nourishment ofthe young larvae.
Our hunters, and lovers of hunting, were very active in scouring the neigh
bouring country, and seldom returned without a rich booty: one portion was
devoted to the use of our kitchen, another was reserved to add to our collec
tion of skulls, skins, and other distinguishing parts of the animals here
abouts.

34$ TRAVELS 1J\ SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The sixteenth of January was the hundredth day of our journey, and on
a calculation it appeared that we had travelled five hundred hours. Of these
hundred days, however we had rested forty, so that upon an average, on
the days when we were in motion, we had travelled eight hours and a half,
and might be supposed to have gone over five miles and a half of ground.
In the night of the seventeerith of January, the messenger who had been
sent to the Caffre Chiefs returned with as evasive an answer sis the former.
They were still absent on their hunting party, but they had been sent for ;
they might not, however, return for some days. The messenger declared that
he had good reason to believe this a mere pretence to evade the interview ;
that the Chiefs were really at home, but were afraid to come, apprehending
that they should be again required to quit the country, and should be me
naced with being compelled to it by force, if they would not go peace
ably. Perhaps the positive declaration to this effect, recently made by
Captain Alberti, and the arrival of a person so high in office as the Commis
sary-general, with a numerous train, almost immediately after, contributed
very much to increase this fear; there appeared, therefore, not much reason
to hope that they would be induced to hazard a personal interview. It seemed
also probable that it was only by late events they had been fully convinced
that the government did not contemplate their stay in the colony with indiffer
ence, and had seriously determined to insist upon the former relations being
re-established ; and though far from wishing that this should be done at
the expense of dissolving the good-understanding so lately restored, were
yet determined not to be trifled with, but that their purposes should rby some
means or other be effected.
As it was evident, however, that no good was to be expected by continuing
here any longer, orders were given for breaking up the camp, and at eight in
the morning of the eighteenth of January the whole caravan crossed the
Bosjesmans'-river. Somewhat farther we came to the ruins of a very large
farm, where almost at the same instant arrived eight waggons with fresh relays
of oxen from Graaff-Reynett. On this, four waggons with the teams of oxen
which had accompanied us from Algoa bay, were sent back. Many of
the colonists who had been summoned for the purpose, had a journey of more
than twenty miles to take with their waggons and oxen, and it proved alike
the precision of the orders given by the Field-commandant Rensburg, and the

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 343
good-will and punctuality with which they had been observed, that notwith
standing the distance they had to come, there was not one who failed in being
to the spot exactly at the appointed time.
Farther on, we came to the Hassagai-wood, an insignificant thicket, on the
declivity of a small hill, scarcely deserving to have been marked on the map,
if Mr. Barrow had not passed a night there. We hoped to have found a
pretty considerable wood, that would have afforded us shade and water, but
it failed in both. We were obliged, therefore, notwithstanding the burning
noon-tide heat, to proceed to the next spring, where we proposed stopping
for the night. This lay in a small narrow valley called Hofmansgat, where
the water rose at the foot of a perpendicular rock, uuder the shade of a pleas
ing wood. I could not forbear remarking that the mimosas here grow in a
very different kind of way from those in the interior of the colony, particu
larly in the Karroo ; this arises apparently from the great difference in the soil.
In the Karroo these trees have the form only of large shrubs, branches coming
up from the very roots, which are fast enclosed in the earth : here they have
stems eight or ten feet high before any branches are thrown out. Another
thing remarkable in the mimosas we saw here was a diseased swelling very
frequently to be found upon them. The thorns and young twigs were in
many places six or eight times as large as their natural size, and entirely
black. Instead of the pods, which commonly consist of two thin membranes,
here and there were long cylindrical excrescences equally black, three times
as long as the pods usually are, of a woody appearance, and entirely hollow.
These anomalies on the mimosas are occasioned apparently by some kind of
insects, and in that respect are similar to the gall-nuts. The gum which flows
from these trees is in like manner often diseased, dark-coloured, opake, and
smelling very disagreeable.
Our tents, fourteen in number, scattered about the little wood, and as the
darkness came on, lighted within, with the fires burning between them, made
at a little distance a most enchanting appearance ; it was one, however, not
easy to be described by words, and scarcely less difficult to be represented by
the pencil. Hyaenas and jackalls interrupted us the whole night with an al
most unceasing howl; our dogs barked at them, and the oxen and horses
were so much frightened that it was not without very great difficulty the
Hottentots could keep them from breaking loose.

344 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The next morning, as we were about to depart, a Caffre came to us to search
for two boys who had stolen to the camp, attracted by eager curiosity. ,,* After
he had received from us some meat and bread, he took them away with him.
The lads, however, escaped again, and in the evening came once more to
our camp, because, as they said, they liked better being with the Christians
than at home. As there was no means of sending them back, we kept them
with us, expecting that the father would come for them a second time ; it
was not, however, till the third day that he did so : he had been seeking for
his children all that time without having any thing to eat.
We passed to-day the Nieuwejaarsdrift and theBlackwaterrriver, and stopped
for the night at a place called Dirkskraal. Some of our hunters brought home
with them most excellent wild honey. This night the hyaenas came
absolutely into our camp, and scattered our sheep all about: most of
them were retrieved in the morning : three only had become a prey to the
marauders : a fourth we were obliged to drive on withJhis tail bitten and still
bleeding. We saw here fresh traces of rhinoceroses in abundance, and found on the
road a tolerably perfect skull of one of these creatures. The country was
here again arid and uniform ; it is the same to which Sparrmann gives the
now forgotten name of Quammedakka. We found through the whole day
only one little wood of porticularias, cactuses, and guiacums ; it afforded us but
a trifling shade from the heat of the mid-day sun, yet it was the best spot we
could find to stop and take our usual rest.
In the evening we arrived upon the bank of the little Fish-river, where our
camp was pitched. This river is commonly dry in the summer, but was now
tolerably full of water, in consequence of the heavy thunder-showers which
had lately fallen in Agterbruintjeshoogte. Rensburg had here the melancholy
intelligence, that at his farm there, the harvest, which was standing in sheaves
in the field, and which he expected to yield him, at least, three hundred and
fifty bushels of corn, had been entirely scattered by the bursting of one of
these clouds. One of his neighbours, by name Van Aart, had three thou
sand three hundred sheep drowned at the same time ; and in another house a
child in a cradle was floated away by the torrent, while the elder children with
difficulty saved themselves by climbing up to the rafters of the house. All
these catastrophes happened on the same day that we had the terrihle storm

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 345
which I have mentioned above, when we were in the neighbourhood of the
Kabeljau-river. The chase to-day produced us a great many springboks, also a steinbok,
or wild goat (capra ibex) and some Pintado hens (numida meleagris) ; the
latter abound near the rivers in these parts. Their flesh is very tough,
dry, and tasteless, unless when they are extremely young. A tolera
bly brisk wind which rose towards evening abated in some degree the exces
sive heat, but it had this disagreeable effect, that the soil here being all
schistus, the poles of the tents could not he driven in very fast, and we were
somewhat apprehensive of their tumbling about our heads.
To our left we had now the mountains of Agtebruintjeshoogte, and before
us the Caffre country. A wide plain, which we were to cross, separated us
from both. The springboks swarmed here, and the hunting of these lovely
creatures shortened the otherwise very wearisome way. We surrounded
large flocks of them, and were delighted with seeing them very near, running
and leaping away from us. Only two were killed, since we had not at the
time occasion for more. A good hunter who understands how to lay in am
bush for the flock, at a convenient place, seldom kills less than six or eight
at a shot, so closely do they keep together, and so powerful is the calibre of
the guns used here. As a huntsman in these parts must be equally armed
against an elephant or a rhinoceros as against- smaller game, he seldom
shoots with balls of less than two ounces. A true elephant gun (an olifanlsroer
as it is here called) carries balls of only five or six to the pound, and which
are made a third part of tin.
The springbok generally keeps on large open plains, and from an instinc
tive fear, never runs into a wood to seek shelter from his quadruped pur
suers. This circumstance is occasionally made use of in hunting, for the
hunters drive the flock towards a wood, where they seldom find it difficult
to take some of the young ones alive. All attempts, however, to tame them
have been hitherto unsuccessful, and they commonly die in confinement. I
have seen some half-tamed young springboks here and there among the flocks of
the colonists, but there is no security that they will remain ; that they may
not as they increase in age and strength seek the more perfect freedom which
their species seems so much to prize.

'.,

346 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XXiv\
Arrival at the Modderfontein in Agtebruinljeshoogte. — Journey along the Bank offhe
Great Fish-river to meet King Geika.— Camp at Hermannuskradl.—The King does
not arrive. — Conference with Ms Ambassadors. — Return to the Modderfontein.- —
Reconciliation befzaeen Ge"ikd and some of the Rebel Chiefs.
Early in the morning we arrived at the Modderfbtitein, which is the most
southern place in the circle of Agtebrtiihtjeshoogte. The proprietor of the
place had not yet ventured to return; and it was now inhabited by a certain.
Widow BaUer, who had been driven from her own habitation by the Caffres :
she entertained us as well as her state of poverty Would permit. We found
fresh milk and butter, and some sorts of pulse, Which to travellers who had
been a whole week with nothing to live upon but meat and biscuit afforded
a deliciotis regale.
In the evening the ambassadors sent to King Geika returned ; they had seen
him on the seventeenth at his then habitation at the Buffalos'-river. Geika
immediately recollected one of them who had aceohrpanied the Governor, and
held Out his hand to him in the most friendly manner, inquiring at the same
time into the occasion of their visit. When they informed him of their errand,
and that they came on the part of the Commissary-general to invite him to
an interview at the Great Fish-river, he answered that it would afford him
the sincerest pleasure to meet him ; but he rriust intreat that the Christians
would come some days' journey farther into the country, since he was afraid
to remove to any distance from his own habitation. He was besides busied in
preparing for an attack npon his rebel subjects, which he was resolved to
make with his whole power, in hopes of reducing them to obedience by force.
This disloyal body, he said, continued to plunder, and endeavour to seduce his
subjects away from him ; they were still roving about the Christians' country,
although the Governor had only allowed them three months, in which they
were engaged to return. Instead of fulfilling this engagement, six months
were now elapsed without any hope being afforded of the calamities attend
ant upon such a state of things being likely to come to an end, and if it should

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 347
continue much longer, there was some danger of his being at length forsaken
by all his people, and completely impoverished. He, therefore, only waited
the arrival of a body of men from the Tambuckis, to make the attack, and,
as he hoped, put an end to troubles which had been but too long endured.
He would pursue the rebelis to the utmost extremity, nor ever relax till they
either submitted or were wholly extirpated.
His route, he said, would lead him to a place three days journey from his
own habitation towards the Great Fish-river, called by the Christians Herman-
nuskraal ; he would fee there in three days, and would wait three more for
the arrival of the Commissary-general. Messengers should be sent to an
nounce his arrival, and he would leave people there who could come after
him and recall him, if we should happen not to arrive till after he was gone.
He begged that we would, in like manner, wait for him, in case we should
arrive first at the appointed place. He acknowledged the Commissary-general
as regent of the colony, for his friend and father, and said he would be at all
times ready to assist him with his whole power; even to come to the Cape
Town, if it was required of him. He would put himself at the head of all his
warriors to assist him against his enemies the English, and he, therefore,
wished and hoped that the Dutch would, in like manner, assist him against
his rebel subjects.
He entertained the ambassadors very hospitably, accompanied them
himself a part of the way on their return, recommending to them again
earnestly, at parting, to deliver his answer faithfully to the Commissary-
general. On their way back they had overtaken a part ofthe army, consisting
of about two hundred men, and learnt from them that three other similar
parties were already on their way towards the Fish-river, where they were all
to be united ; and farther, that Geika had even imparted to them the place
where he intended that the battle should be fought, which was to be at some
hours, distance from Hermann uskraal, southwards towards the sea.
Whatever objections might appear against undertaking the proposed journey,
and that there were many could not be denied, yet they were overbalanced
by the arguments in its favour. The Commissary-general wished very much
to gain the friendship of Geika, and to fix his confidence in the Dutch go
vernment, nor could he abandon the hope of being able to effect an amicable
accommodation between the contending parties. The removal of Buys, whose
vy 2

348 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
abode with the King was one ofthe great alleged objects of discontent on
the part of the rebels, he hoped, might" render them more inclined to sub
mission ; and he thought that the Christians, appearing as mediators, might
have a powerful influence upon the minds of all the Caffres. In any case, it
was necessary to employ his whole authority to make the boundaries of the
colony respected, and not to permit the contests of savages to be carried on
within its territory. The presence of the Commissary-general in the neigh
bourhood of the theatre of war, with a considerable number of armed men,
might, if things must come to extremities, influence the event, and procure
to the conquered party a peaceable subjection. It was, besides, his duty, as
regent, to animate the courage and confidence of the colonists, by not with
drawing, at so critical a moment, from farther negociations, and so run
the hazard of their being reduced anew to fly their habitations and their
Country. The necessary orders for the journey were, therefore, immediately given.
Between thirty and forty armed colonists were added to the escort, and fresh
horses were procured for some of the party, with some oxen for slaughter.
A quantity of bread for ourselves, and forage for our cattle, was provided ;
and four waggons were packed with these, with our tents, and with other
things indispensably necessary to us. The remainder of our packages were
left behind, as well as our ladies ; the former, because the Commissary-
general wished that we should be as little encumbered as possible upon the
journey, and the latter, because he could by no means think of their run
ning the possible risk of being upon the spot in a contest such as we might
be compelled to witness. They, therefore, remained under Rensburg's
protection, and removed to one of the best farms in the circle of Agtebruint-
jeshoogte. We pursued our course, at first, over the plain which we had crossed two
days before, then turned to the left towards the bank of the Little Fish-river,
and encamped at night opposite a place where it may be forded. The" bed of
this little stream is richly grown over with trees of various sorts, among which
were to be particularly distinguished the African willow, and a rare species
of mimosa, with perfectly white flowers. The leaves of the latter seemed to
have a higher degree of sensibility than is shewn even by the rest of its
species ; we found them in the morning entirely folded together, and it was

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 349
only as the warmth of the day increased that they gradually unfolded them
selves again.
With this river constantly on our left, we continued travelling the next
day in a southerly direction. The heat was excessive, and a scorching south-
wind, a true sirocco, blew directly in our faces. Some of the party felt the
effect of it so sensibly, that they were obliged to tie handkerchiefs over their
mouths.* Notwithstanding this inconvenience, we continued our route for
ten hours, and encamped at night upon the bank of the Great Fish-river,
about half a mile below the spot where the Little Fish-river branches off.
We had the heights of the fertile Zuure-Velden the whole day to our right,
but the plain over which we travelled was very dry and barren, so that we were
obliged to send our draught-oxen over the river, into the Caffre territories,
that night, that they might get tolerable feed.
Close by the place where we were encamped, were the ruins of a very
large farm, which had formerly belonged to a colonist by name Dupre. Among
the rubbish we found a great many scorpions and a species of large poisonous
spider, and made a rich booty of both for our collection. In the evening of
this day, I had the misfortune to break down my field-bedstead, so that I
was obliged at night to have my bed upon the ground. I perceived, after
wards, that this accident had put me into no small danger, for, in the morning,
I found under my coverlid a number of these dangerous insects, probably
some which we had chased the evening before from their hiding places, and
who here sought a refuge, attracted by the warmth. An accidental involuntary
movement had nearly occasioned my being stung by one of the scorpions.
According to the universal testimony, the consequence is sometimes loss of
life; and even, if in the end the accident is recovered, the progress of the
recovery is very slow, and the suffering great. The spiders, when their legs
were stretched out, were most of them four inches, or more, in length.
Early in the morning a messenger was sent forwards to King Geika to inform
him of our approach. We had not seen a Caffre since we quitted the Bos
jesmans'-river, nor, indeed, any other human being., Here and there walls

* My thermometer had been unfortunately broke some days before, by an overturn of the
waggon, but I afterwards experienced in the Cape-Town a degree of heat much-more Into
lerable, when the thermometer was at 113°.

350 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
blacked with smoke, or houses lying entirely in ruins, announced the former
habitations of men, and near the river were still standing some skeletons of
Caffre huts. But in proportion as the country was depopulated of human
beings, was it superabundantly inhabited by wild animals. We saw the
following day, at a little distance, the largest flock of springboks that we
had yet seen, and which at a moderate computation could not, I think, be
estimated at less than two thousand head. There were besides no small
number of red deer, Wild goats, hartebeests, hares, quaggas, and ostriches.
We met in one place a large troop of quaggas, which were chased by us,
all together. I was mounted on a very spirited horse which I had bought
at Zwellendam, and rode into the midst of the troop, nor did my horse cease
to keep pace with them for a long time. No one has ever yet succeeded in -
taming these anirrials, so as to make them useful as draught cattle, notwith
standing all the endeavours that have been made. They are besides very
malicious in their nature, and so given to bite, whenever they find an oppor
tunity, that there would be some danger in using them. Little besides
would be gained by taming them, since the trouble and expense would be
equal to the purchase of a good horse. A great number of these animals,
as well as of eatable game, were killed by the party; more than we could
put to any use.
The heat was little less this day than the day before ; the road was un-
tracked and fatiguing by the side of the Great Fish-river, but the bank was
so steep, and so thick set with trees, that it was impossible to get at the
water to quench our thirst. At length, after eight hours riding in a burning
/ sun, we came to a place where the bank was so low that the water became
accessible : such was the eagerness of our party to get at it, that we abso
lutely laid ourselves down at the edge, and drank like the cattle. We then
most of us undressed, and threw ourselves into the water, without any one
suffering by an act, which on reflection did not appear very prudent; but
the water had attained no inconsiderable degree of warmth. While the
oxen and horses were refreshing themselves, we sought in vain a shady place
where we could enjoy a few hours rest. But the foliage of the mimosas is
too delicate to permit of their affording much shade, and the willows stood
entirely upon the bank -on such a steep, declivity that there was no sitting
down among them. Nothing then remained but to fasten our saddle-cloths

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 351
and cloaks to the branches of the mimosas, so as to form an awning, which
shaded us tolerably well from the 'burning rays of the sun. The prospect of
the broad and tolerably well-filled river, shaded by willows, which we could
see to a considerable distance each way, from the high bank where we had
placed ourselves, was the only sight which could make us forget for a
moment the aridity and inhospitality of the Country through which we were
travelling. In order to reach Hermannuskraal that day, we could only allow ourselves
a short rest at this place, and still had eight hours more to travel, the latter
part of the way by moonlight, before our task was accomplished. It was
half past ten when we arrived there. Before it was dark we had come
through a little mountain pass, which is here called the Israelitish-kloof.
In this pass there are several graves of Hottentots heaped over with large
stones. These the first colonists who inhabited this part of the country, in
pious simplicity, determined to be monuments made by the children of
Israel, who had journeyed through the country during their wanderings in
the desert ; and thence they gave the place the name which it bears.
It was evident here, from the more luxurious vegetation, that we were
drawing nearer to the sea-coast. The country was grown over with bushes
and succulent plants, between which were many footpaths winding about,
and crossing in every direction, made by the wild animals in going to and
from the river. The rhinoceros is very frequently to be seen in these parts,
and is often hunted by the colonists of Camdeboo and Agtebruintjeshoogte.
This animal is one of the most dangerous to travellers by night, since he
rushes forwards impetuously with blind rage at every noise of which he is
informed by his acute hearing, or at every object betrayed to him by his
more acute smell. Examples have been known of these monsters running
by night against a waggon, and overturning it, trampling down and destroying
both that and all the oxen attached to it. As there were in many places fresh
traces of them to be seen in our route this day, it was judged prudent in
the evenirig to put the strongest of our young Africans in front, since, from
being more experienced, they would be better able, if necessary, to encounter
such a danger.
Our waggons did not arrive at their destination till some hours later thari
ourselves. But notwithstanding its being so late, we were all glad to get a

352 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
hot supper, having lived for two days upon nothing but ship biscuit and dried
beef. We therefore took our dinner and supper together at two. o'clock in
the morning.
We now learnt that neither Geika nor any of the people belonging to him
had been seen by our messengers, although they had gone on to a consider
able distance towards his habitation, in hopes of meeting him. They were
therefore immediately sent to his usual residence, which was a leng day's
journey on horseback from our then station, with a commission to inform him .
that the Commissary-general was exceedingly mortified by not finding him at
the appointed place ; that relying entirely upon his word, he had undertaken
a journey of thirty hours, which at this time ofthe year, and at his age, Was
very fatiguing, and delayed him very much in fulfilling the other purposes of
his expeditiori. He could not therefore wait longer than two days, and if the
King was not arrived by that time, he must have the mortification of return
ing into the colony without having seen him.
On the very evening of our arrival we had the consoling prospect of a
storm coming on, by which the air was very much cooled and refreshed. In
the following days a reviving rain fell from time to time, which soon made a
surprising alteration in the appearance of the country. As it is naturally,
fertile, our wearied oxen soon recovered their strength against the renewal of
their labours. Our young people amused themselves with hunting very
eagerly, and brought many a nice piece of flesh and many a beautiful skin
home with them. The large game had been recently very much frightened
away, since one of our companions, by name Philip Botha, had but a few
weeks before held a great hunt here. He, with two friends* and some Hot
tentots, had coasted the Great Fish-river almost to its mouth, and had in
twenty days that their journey lasted, between going and returning, killed
five hippopotami, eight rhinoceroses, nine hartebeests, two wild boars, and
five wild goats ; smaller game and birds, and indeed springboks, they thought
hardly worth shooting. The whole booty, in the fat of the hippopotami, in
rhinoceros' leather, in skins, and flesh, was sufficient to fill three large
waggons, and when carried home and divided, supplied the three families
with food and clothing for several months; it Avas even expected that a
pretty sum of money would be made of some objects which they proposed
gelling at their next journey to the Cape Town.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 353
, The insects and plants we collected here were most of them entirely new
to us, nor did I find them again in any part of our travels. Among other
things, we killed a very large snake, with a perfect lemon-coloured skin,
regularly spotted with black ; it measured about five feet in length. We
were never more molested by birds of prey, particularly on the second day,
when we had killed a young ox, some portion of which having been given to
our Hottentots, they, according to their custom, had cut the flesh into small
pieces, and hung it about upon the bushes to dry. A vast number of eagles
and vultures collected about our camp, and took away piece after piece, if
the people were not constantly there to watch them, and drive them away.
These birds even accompanied us in our return quite to Agtebruintjeshoogte.
On Saturday morning our messengers arrived for the last time from Geika,
bringing with them an ambassador from him who spoke broken Dutch. The
King through him eagerly excused himself for not having come to meet the
Commissary-general, but his. auxiliaries from the Tambuekis were not arrived,
nor were even his own followers all assembled. He earnestly wished that it
might please the Grootbaas* of the Christians to proceed a little day's journey
farther into the country, of which, if notice was sent him, he would not fail
immediately to come and meet him.
Our ambassador confirmed what was said by Geika's, and added that the
King was apparently exceedingly mortified and ashamed. He had, however,
discovered that the aspect of things had changed within a few days, and that
Jaluhsa was on his march to submit to his sovereign, and unite with him
against Sambeh. Conga was not at first disposed to side with either party,
but had rather gone upon a hunting match to keep clear of both ; a messenger,
was however sent after him by Jaluhsa, earnestly to press his return, to
which at length he yielded. Both of them had accordingly sent orders to all
their adherents who were dispersed about the colony to follow them over the,
Great Fish-river. We had before had intelligence of a misunderstanding
among the rebels, and probably this was;the reason why the interview which
had been desired by the Commissaryrgeneral with them had been evaded.
We recollected besides the messenger from Conga, whom we had seen at the^
Rietfontein's-river, and who brought orders to the Caffre hordes there to

* Great Master, for iphich see page 118.
z z

^ travels in southern Africa.
return.' It seemed therefore probable that intrigues for Wp&S&tg themselves
frofn Sarnbeh were then going forwards, arid that the' riiaking their intentions
known was only deferred fill the arrival of our Chief.
Geika's ambassador assured us that his master, notwithstanding these
things, had no intention of relaxirig in his -preparations. He did not yet
know how to have perfect confidence iri the Chiefs, and. he Wa<s firmly resolved
that all who did riot submit to him freely should be compelled to submission
by force. He hoped in this to be supported by the commander Of the
Christians, who was visiting his country, and did riot doubt that he would
eiifier Cbfhe Still farther to meet hhri, or Wait three or four days, beyond
which the King felt assured that his corning would not be delayed. At the
question how strong Geika's party might be, the Hottentot interpreter held
up the two fore-firigers of his right harid, then bent the first down at the
secrind joint, arid said that the whole finger was Geika's force, and that the
proportion of that of his enemies to it was only as the half finger.
Hbw much soever the Commissary-general and the whole company wished
t6 be personally acquainted with the interesting King of the Caffres, yet
there were many reasoris which influenced our Chief to declirie either waitirig
longer, or going farther into the country. It was due to the views of the
Dutch government not to suffer himself to be longer enticed forwards ; indeed
it seemed very clear that the courtesy hitherto shewn to the Kirig had excited
in him a confident hope that the Christiaris would take a part in the contest
in his favour. A refusal of this support would probably not be very well
relished by the King, and might make the interview disagreeable.- By
returning, all solicitations from him on the subject would cc avoided, and
With respect to the other party, who, on account of their situation, Were
always to be feared, every thing would be obviated which might give them
cause of suspicion that there was any idea on the part of the Christians of
' breaking the peace. Besides, as the rebels seemed now willing to submit
peaceably, it was better to leave things to be settled among themselves,
especially as by our journey into the country both WOuld be pretty well
convinced that we cbuld turn the balance in favour of either, whenever we
had a mirid. Another thing to be considered was, that we really were not
provisioned for so long a stay. Our bread began to fail, and we had not more
than two days forage for our horses remaining. Even if we could have resolved

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 355
ourselves <to live for sofne days entirely upon animal food, and to suffer our
cattle to ryn the hazard of being reduced to want, still it seemed by no me^ns
certain that the irresolution and hesitation pf the Caffres might not require a
farther and farther delay, which would place us in a very awkward pre
dicament. The Commissary-general, therefore, sent back the King's messenger,
charged to say to him that to the Dutch nation, and to the government
of the colony, nothing was so sacred as their promise ; that he had himself
punctually complied with all that had been desired of him, and it was not
without concern that he found the King not adhering to his word. He
had expected him to have shewn more respect for the Dutch nation, and
for the Regent of the colony, a man double his own age. He should
certainly at present return into his own domains, but he should not the
less be always the sincere -friend of all peaceable well-disposed Caffres.
He was extremely concerned not to have seen and talked with Geika,
and have given him the presents which he had intended for him. He
expected the King would act mildly towards his conquered enemies; and
would take all possible precautions to prevent the peace of the colony
being disturbed.
The messenger seemed altogether astonished and embarrassed at being tlie
bearer of such a message, and summoned all his little eloquence to his aid to
exculpate his master to the Commissary-general, and to prevail upon him
to delay his departure yet a few days : but as he saw that a beginning was
already made in breaking up the camp, and that the resolution to depart was
therefore irrevocable, he forbore to say any thing more than that this
answer would afflict the King beyond measure, and he should not know how
to deliver it to him.
He was then hospitably regaled, and some provisions were given him for
his journey back, after which he departed, having first seen the vanguard
rof our caravan set off. We, ourselves, commenced our journey imme
diately after him, and arrived at night at the spot on the side ofthe Great
Fish-river, where, some days before, we had taken a short rest at noon.
In our route we met a large rhinoceros, but frightened at the sight of our
cavalcade, and at the cracking of our waggoners' long whips, he hastened
away, and was in vain followed by some of our jagers. His back rose
zz 2

356 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
above the bushes, and we could see him for a considerable time running
with almost inconceivable swiftness. It is scarcely possible to overtake
one of these animals when' he flies, or even to pursue him, for he treads
down all the shrubs and bushes that oppose him with the utmost facility,1
while they are sufficient entirely to stop a man and horse. -He is,
therefore, seldom pursued in the open field, but the hunter steals into a
thicket, where he lurks against the wind, and seeks out the animal, who
sees as ill, as he hears and smells well, and 'gets so near that a shot may be
reasonably expected to hit him. The distance at which the aim is taken is
about thirty paces, and the part aimed at is the eye, the only one where the
skin and the bones are thin enough for the ball to force its way through to
the brain.
If the aim is missed, the animal commonly rushes raging forwards, searching
for the offender, and if he sees or smells him, he bends his head to the ground,
closes his eyes, and pushes on with his horn upon the ground. It is then
easy to escape from him, by stepping nimbly aside, and sliding by the animal,
who still pushes with rage onwards ; but attention must always be had to
keep on the side against the wind, so that the animal may not catch the scent.
1 have seen rhinoceros hunters who have assured me that they have contended
in this way with one of the monsters for four hours together, till his rage
was at last quite spent, and he was easily killed. The most common manner
of hunting these creatures, and all large animals from whom resistance is to
be apprehended, is to watch them on a moonlight night to the places where
they go down to the rivers to drink, and there lurk among rocks or bushes,
where they must come so near that the shot cannot miss.
We followed entirely the same route in our return as that by which we
had gone, and on the thirtieth of January arrived late in the evening at the
Modderfontein, after having gone through a very fatiguing journey of sixty-
eight hours. In theJatter part of our Way, however, we had the pleasure of
witnessing some" farther good effects arising from the train of negociation
which had been so long carrying on, and this, combined with what we pre
viously knew, gave good reason to hope that the end proposed would at
length be completely obtained. As we encamped, for the last night, not far
from the Zuure Velden, we remarked, on the heights around, abundance of
fires, such as are customary to be made by night among the Caffres when

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 357
they are on their wandering parties, and the next morning we saw numerous
herds of cattle, with some hundreds of men descending into the plain below.
As we met with them, and questioned them, they told us that they had been
followers of Sambeh, but had now separated themselves from him, and were
on their way towards Geika's dominions. They were tired of the unceasing
warfare in which they had been so long involved, and sincerely desired to
submit to their lawful King, especially as they knew that the Grootbaas of
the Christians was with him at that moment, and had promised him his sup
port. They would willingly have crossed the Fish-river immediately, and
not remained any longer in the colony, but that they had here and there cattle
dispersed, which they must first collect together, and then all they wished
was to stay till they knew that Geika and Sambeh were entirely reconciled.
They were, however, informed that this could not be permitted, and if they
did not leave the colony immediately, their cattle would be all taken from
them, and not restored till they had crossed the river. They did not seem
discomposed with these menaces, but said, that as peace was made they
were sure they should not be driven away. That the colonists should
think their remaining in the country was a reason for renewing the
war with them was a thing which they^ could not by any means Com-
- prehend ; the Christians were their friends, they repeated continually, and
they wished to remain quietly among them, till their own land was restored
entirely to peace.
It seemed, however, in any case, that much had been gained by the
minds of the revolted people being far more disposed to peace and sub
mission ; and the presence of the ' Commissary-general had undeniably,
as it appeared, had a considerable influence in producing this good effect.
In fact, very soon after, an entire reconciliation took place between
Geika, Conga, and Jaluhsa ; the preparations against Sambeh were, how
ever, continued, and he remained, as before, within the boundaries of the
colony. Some single hordes belonging to the other Chiefs still, atso, con
tinued to annoy the colonists of theN borders. All the endeavours of
Captain Alberti, by repeated menaces and exhortations, to induce them
to quit the colony were in vain, and to drive them away by force seemed
not adviseable, even if there had been a disposable force sufficient for the
.purpose. The Dutch government was, therefore, obliged to content itself

358 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
with being upon a half friendly footing with them ; to rest satisfied with
seeing that they had sufficient respect for it not to make farther encroach
ments, and to consider their heing suffered to remain in the colony, on
any terms, as a particular favour. In this situation did our relation with
the Caffres remain, till the time when the colony was again taken by
the English. As to any thing farther relating to the subject we are yet
to be informed,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 359

CHAP. XXV.
Brtibttjeshdbgte.— Uniformity and Poverty of the Lilies led by the Colonists there. —
CaMdeboo. — The African Horses, and the Marnier of refreshing them upon a Journey.
— The Melk-river. — The Spandau Mountain. — Arrival at Graaff-Reynett.
¦ On the thirty-first of January we rejoined our ladies at the farm of Berend
Greiling, and here we ourselves rested for a day, previous to our departure
for Graaff-Reynett. We were now in the midst of the district of Agte-
bruin tjeshoogte. To the east this district is bounded by a considerable
mountain overgrown with wood, which on that account is called the Bosch-
berg. In the midst of this mountain a high ridge rises towards the west,
which is properly the Bruintjes-hoogte, so named, because, at the time when
this country was first colonized, a Hottentot Chief was established here, who
called the new settlers in mockery Bruintjes, the proper meaning of which is
Brownkins or little Browns. That part of the district which lies south of this
hill is called the Agtebruintjeshoogte, while the farms lying on the other
side, towards Graaff-Reynett, are called Voorbruin tjeshoogte.
This whole country is exceedingly propitious to the feeding of cattle, al
though it has as arid an appearance as mosf other parts of the colony. Pro*
bably a number of wholesome and nourishing plants grow here, which are
scarcely visible as the eye is transiently cast over the surface of the ground,
yet which are easily found by the cattle. This part of African husbandry, I
mean a knowledge of the native plants proper for the feed of animals, is exceed
ingly neglected ; it may even be presumed that by more accurate researches
into their properties, the origin of many diseases to which the cattle are sub
ject, and which are now considered as wholly enigmatical, might be traced.
It appears to me extremely probable that they may arise from the animals
being suffered to feed on plants pernicious to them. At present the proprie
tors of the lands are satisfied with knowing that such a tract of land is un
healthy, and such another healthy, without investigating the cause of either
quality. The inhabitants of Bruin tjeshoogte qualify the neighbourhood of

36(r TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
the Boschberg as good, because a number of plentiful springs rise about the
foot ofthe mountain, considering this as the only requisite to render any
spot in Southern Africa fertile.
Before the invasion of the Caffres., this district, notwithstanding its dis
tance from the Cape-Town, was one of the richest in the colony ; and the
abundance of cattle, sheep, and horses, bred in it was almost incredible.
But in no part have the colonists suffered more severely ; and four or five
families are now to be seen living close to each other in miserable huts,
because they have not yet the means of rebuilding their houses. At some
single farms alone has any attempt been made to resume the culture of
their lands, and of their gardens ; and it was not without the utmost diffi
culty that we could procure a scanty supply of bread-corn, and of forage
for our horses. Corn was, indeed, never a great object of cultivation
among the farmers here, although the country is very propitious for the
purpose, but a great obstacle has beeri presented in the difficulty of finding
a market for it.
Mr. Barrow asserts that the inhabitants of this district first gave occasion
to the war with the Caffres, and if the colonists were really the aggressors,
the fault may very naturally be imputed to them, as they were the. imme
diate neighbours of the savages. It is, indeed, very probable that if this
district had been inhabited by men of cultivated minds and sound judg
ment, who had understood, according to Mr. Barrow's sense of the words,
how to manage the Caffres, the war might never have taken place. But
he says, that these people were only descendants of uncouth adventurers,
who, when any differences arose with the savages, had no other idea than
of doing themselves justice by the law of force. The colonists here are,
however, of no other descent than their fellow-countrymen spread all over
the territory, nay, of most colonists in all parts of the world, for it is sel
dom the most polished part of the population of any country that seek
their fortunes by establishing themselves in newly-founded colonies, and it
may very well be made a question whether any persons under similar cir
cumstances (among such at least as were likely to be found in them) would
have acted otherwise.
But the English author misleads his readers very much when he repre
sents the inhabitants of Bruintjeshoogte as a band of European adventurers,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 361
of soldiers who had deserted, of discarded sailors, and the like. They are
African colonists like the rest, many of them descendants from old esta
blished families at the Cape Town. Here and there it is very probable that
some may be found who were servants or schoolmasters from Europe, and
came hither as adventurers to seek their fortunes. Among the colonists of
Africa, as all the world over, are some individuals of extremely light princi
ples and character, but there also are many thoroughly upright, honest,
worthy men, and those even among the most zealous opponents ofthe Eng
lish government. But in the present stormy times, it has become the fashion
to decide upon a person's moral worth almost entirely according to his politi
cal principles ; a traveller ought, however, to be so much of a cosmopolite as
to divest himself of all national prejudices, before he thinks of giving his
travels to the world, and not to condemn every one whose modes of thinking
and acting do not entirely correspond with his own.
The place where we were now resting is one of the most considerable in
the country, and, in comparison with many others, suffered very little from the
Caffres. Eleven families were now collected here, five of whom were living
entirely with the owner till their own places could be re-established ; a part
ofthe rest had come with us from Algoa bay; the others had only come upon
a visit to the Commissary-general. The number of the latter kept continually
increasing, sirice all the neighbouring colonists who had any complaints to
urge against each other, and against thetr Hottentots, or any reclamations to
make of cattle, which had been stolen by the Caffres, now thronged hither.
I found my patient here again, she having in my absence consulted an old
woman who practised in the country with much reputation. The latter, in
hopes of receiving some presents of medicines to recruit her almost exhausted
stock, now came and did me the honour of putting forth to me all her doc-
torial science. She seemed to value herself not a little upon her knowledge,
and had a confidence in the infallibility of her art which is seldom to be
found in those regularly bred to it. She had some very curious and amusing
notions with respect to the causes of certain diseases, and no less extraordi
nary cures for them. For the rest, she had a very competent degree of skill
in midwifery, and seemed well acquainted with the properties of many ofthe
native plants. jtaa

562 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Here we were again assailed with complaints of the Bosjesmans, of whom
we had not now heard for a long time. They inhabit very much the solitary
and mountainous country north-east of these parts, and annoy the district
very much by killing and stealing their cattle, and often murdering their
herdsmen. These crimes are the more grievous since they are frequently
perpetrated through mere wantonness, not for the purpose of plunder. A
short time before, one of the farmers who were now assembled here, when
he went out in the morning, found near his house his whole herd, consisting
pf forty oxen, together with two hundred sheep, several dogs, and horses,
arid some Hottentots who were employed to guard them, all murdered, not
a single one having escaped.
On the second of February we proceeded on our journey, going northwards.
We passed the Bruintjeshoogte about noon, and rested till the heat of the
day was over, at a poor little spring on the other side. We crossed two small
beds of rivers in the afternoon, the Vetkuil and Blyde, but there was not a
drop of water in either. They flow sidewards from the Boschberg, not the
Sneeuweberg as Mr. Barrow says, and empty themselves into the Zondag's-
river. In the evening we arrived at the farm of Charles Rasmus, upon the
Vogel-river, near which our camp was pitched. Here again the Bosjesmans
had been recently marauding, and taken away a considerable number of
cattle from the colonists. They lurk by day about the clefts of the Bosch
berg, and in the evening their residence there was announced to us by fires
on the declivity of the hill. It was a good mile from us, and the light ofthe
fires appearing among the trees with which the hill is covered had an un
commonly beautiful appearance. We were assured that in the dry time of
the year this spectacle was by no means uncommon, and occasioned
sometimes a great deal of damage among the trees; yet this appeared rather
the effect of carelessness and thoughtlessness among them than done from
premeditated purposes of destruction.
When the perpetual dangers in which the solitary inhabitants of this dis
trict live are duly considered; when we reflect that they are continually
in apprehension of the inroads of these most uncouth of all savages, of the
Caffres, who swarm in the neighbourhood, and of bands of christian de
serters and fugitive Hottentots who are roving about, it is scarcely to be

Travels in southern africa. 363
comprehended how they can have any pleasure in existence. In making an
estimate besides of the portion of happiness dispensed to them, many other
things are tq be taken into the account. The frightful drought of the country,
in which often not a drop of rain falls for three months together, where only
here and there a little muddy spring, or a stagnated pool in the otherwise
dried up bed of a river .offers drink either for mankind or for the cattle ; where,
except the thinly scattered mimosas, whose delicate leaves scarcely afford any
shade, not a bush is to be seen ; where a continued contest is to be main
tained with wild beasts as well as wild men;- — these must all be taken into
the estimate, and in order to have their due weight allowed them must have
been seen. An. eye witness alone can properly judge of the joyless state of
existence to which these people seem doomed. He cannot, without a great
degree of astonishment, contemplate the force of habit, and witness, what
privations men , are. capable of, to whom, from their earliest youth, every
thing beyond what will satisfy the mere wants of life has been totally
unknown. Yet it is much easier to comprehend how the present generation can be
satisfied here, than how the first settlers could ever think of establishing
themselves in so inhospitable a waste. That character must have been pe
culiarly framed, which could abandon all those enjoyments the mind receives
from social intercourse, all the delight^ and advantages of friendship for a
situation where really nothing was to.be found but what is requisite to satisfy
our first physical necessities. One should be almost tempted to consider
complete indolence as the prevailing feature of such a character, and to pro
nounce that all other considerations must have been sacrificed to the indulgence
of it; for this country would be wholly uninhabitable, were it not for the
nourishment it affords in such abundance to the sheep ; but these yield such
extraordinary produce, that with a tolerable flock a whole family may be
entirely supported without the owner being obliged to contribute the least
exertion of his own. From two thousand sheep a thousand lambs may be
calculated, upon annually, after allowing all deductions for what may die or
be stolen. Six hundred wethers are requisite for feeding a family the year
through, including the slaves and Hottentots, and in many a colonist's family
no other food but mutton is ever tasted: four hundred will then remain for
sale to the travelling butchers, which are worth about six hundred dollars,
A a a 2

364 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
and that money supplies the remaining wants of the family. All the trouble
that the colonist has is to see that his Hottentots go out with the flocks in
the morning, and that the sheep are brought home safe at night. Some,
indeed most of them, visit their flocks in the course of the dav, and in the time
of lambing they sometimes stay with them the whole day. The remainder
of the time passes in trivial household employments, or in frequently
repeated devotional exercises, only a little variety is sometimes sought in
the chase.
In parts favourable to the feeding of cattle the lot ofthe inhabitant is some
what happier, for such countries are also favourable to agriculture, and sufficient
corn may be raised to supply the family abundantly with bread. Milk besides
affords a very pleasant and wholesome article of food, and from the butter
which is annually carried to the Cape Town a handsome capital is in time
amassed. In most places the litter is left useless to dry away in the kraal,
but an active farmer will collect it, and by the liberal use of it procure ex
cellent garden products, and perhaps so large a quantity of corn, that besides
what is necessary for his own use he will have some left for sale. Yet again
it must be observed that these fair appearances may be at any moment de
stroyed by the robberies of the Bosjesmans, the inroads of the Caffres, a
sudden storm, or the murrain among the cattle ; and the latter seems produced
equally from want of water during the great heats in some places, and from
the cold and damp of winter in others. It is only the extreme facility of
produce that can in any degree counterbalance these contrarieties.
Is it surprising that men, who not only have no excitement' to activity, but
who would, if disposed to exertion, often find that it had been exercised
wholly in vain with regard to themselves, by degrees learn to think of nothing
but indulging the natural propensity of their nature to indolence ; that they
grow constantly more and more indifferent to the higher enjoyments of the
mind and heart, and sink gradually into a sort of demi-savages, seeming to
live only to satisfy the wants which they have in common with the whole
animal creation, of sleep and food ? One medium for supplying the latter want
is here offered so bountifully by nature, that her other gifts are so much the
more inexorably withheld. Man holds out his hand to receive her bounty
without admiring it ; he suffers the other privations to which he is doomed
without feeling them as privations; therein consists his principal source of

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 365
happiness, that he does not know the value of those things of which he is
deprived. In an almost unconscious inactivity of mind, without any attrac
tions towards the great circle of mankind, knowing nothing beyond the little
circle which his own family forms around him, the colonist of these parts
passes his solitary days, and by this mode of life is made such as we see him.
We may compassionate, but we ought not to be angry with him, for the
character of a man is not formed by himself; it arises from the circumstances
under which he is placed ; it is derived in great measure from the nature of
the country, which he inhabits. It is with these things always in mind,
that 1 wish my readers to form their judgments of the character of the
African colonists, and if they will comply with this stipulation, I trust
that in the sequel I shall render it more justly appreciated than it has
been hitherto.
We now crossed the arid and widely-stretched plain of Camdeboo, which
towards the west is lost in the Great Karroo, and has all the characteristics
of that country, such as they were described in the ninth chapter of this
work. It is only in the neighbourhood of the mountains, particularly the
Snow Mountains to the north, from which flow some considerable rivers, that
the climate is milder ; the heats are never so violent, and the district is con
sequently much more habitable. Our road led us soon again over the Vogel-
river, and here we were obliged to supply ourselves with water for the whole
day, since not a drop was to be met with again till the Melk-river, a distance
of ten hours. When we had filled our vessels, and our cattle had drank
plentifully, we proceeded on our way.
It is difficult for an European to form an idea of the hardships that are to
be encountered in a journey over such a dry plain at the hottest season of
the year. All vegetation seems utterly destroyed ; not a blade of grass, not
a green leaf is any where to be seen ; and the soil, a stiff loam, reflects back the
heat of the sun with redoubled force : a man may congratulate himself that
being on horseback he is raised some feet above it. Nor is any rest from these
fatigues to be thought of, since to stop where there is neither shade, water,
or grass, would be only to increase the evil rather than to diminish it.
Yet the African horses are so well accustomed to hardships, although they
have in fact much less innate strength than the European, that it is incredible
what a length of way they will go, in the most intense heat, without either

366 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA,
food or drink. It is, however, customary, for the riders to dismount at inter
vals, when the saddles are taken off and the animals are suffered to roll upon
the ground and stretch out their limbs for a, short time ; this they do with
evident delight, and after they have well rolled, stretched, and shaken them
selves, they rise up and go on as much refreshed as if they had, had food and
drink given them. On arriving at a farm, the invitation of the host, who
comes immediately to the door, is, " Get off, Sir, and let him roll." A slave
then appears, takes the horse and leads him backwards and forwards for a
few minutes to recover his breath, and he is then unsaddled and left to roll.
These rollings were then the, only refreshment we could offer our horses*
and both they and their riders were, when towards evening they arrived at
the Melk-river, exceedingly exhausted. In the midst of the parchedbed of
the river is a pool of water, which never dries even in the greatest heat, pro
bably from being supplied by subterraneous springs. Near it is a farm now
inhabited by an old man, Curt Grobbelaar by name, with his equally aged
wife. The fatigue we had experienced this day from the excessive heat deter
mined the Commissary-general to travel the remaining ten hours to Graaff-
Reynett by night. We stopped, therefore, the whole day at the Melk-river,
and when the moon rose proceeded on our journey. We set out soon
after midnight, and next morning it was so exceedingly cold that we were
very glad to put on our cloaks, thinking it fortunate that we had them with
us. The country through which we travelled appeared, as far as could be
judged by the light in which we saw it, less dry and barren than the former
part. Both to the right and left were farms scattered at intervals, and about
half way we passed through a considerable thicket of mimosas. Our guide,
who did not seem particularly courageous, although he filled the office of a
Field-commandant, told us that this wood was full of lions : in the preceding
week seven had been seen together, only one of which was killed. People
avoid as much as possible, he said, travelling the road by night, since if the
draught oxen smell the lions they are terrified, and run away with the wag
gons. We, however, escaped their attacks, and at break of day saw the
Spandau mountain in Graaff-Reynett before us.
This mountain, like many others in the country, till within a few years
had no name. An old Prussian soldier, by name Werner, who lived at Graaff-

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 367
Reynett, gave it that which it now bears, as a remembrance of his native
country: its summit is very remarkable from being surrounded by two circles
of rugged broken pieces of rock, forming almost inaccessible natural barriers
like those of a fortification.* At its foot, an hour from Graaff-Reynett, we
were received by the Field-commandant Gerotz, who besides exercised the
temporary office of Landdrost, with his suite : they were according to the
usual custom of the country all dressed in short jackets with pantaloons, but
had each a sword or sabre by his side. On entering the village we saw the
Batavian flag flying, and the Commissary-general, as representative of the
States, was complimented with a salute of one and twenty guns, fired from
three small pieces.

* The annexed plate gives a view of this mountain, and presents a very accurate idea of the
peculiar character of the African landscape scenery. These parallel layers, these naked moun
tain ridges, these dry beds of rivers with the thinly leaved mimosas on their banks, are scenes
which are, alas ! but too often repeated in this country. In the distance is seen the village of
Graaff-Reynett, which indeed does not here assume the cheerful appearance that really belongs
to it, and farther in the back ground is the inhospitable plain of Camdcboo. The river through
whose dry bed a colonist with his Hottentot servant is Tiding, is one of the numerous and
nameless branches of tiie Zondag's-river, which never has water in it but after the impetuous
rains that accompany the thunder storms, and then but for a very short time.

368 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAP. XXVL
Description of Graaff-Reynett. — The Character ofthe Colonists of these Parts, and the
Circumstances which occasioned the Dissensions that prevailed there, both before and
after it came under the English Government.— Regulations made by the Commissary-
general for the Restoration of Order and Tranquillity. — Losses sustained by the dis
trict in the Caffre War.
The village of Graaff-Reynett was founded in the year 17S6, by Governor
Van de Graaff, and was called from the examples of Stellenbosch and Zwel
lendam, after the names of himself and his wife, the latter being of the family
of Reynett. About twenty houses, with the gardens between, built in a
straight line, form a tolerably broad street. The inhabitants of these houses
are a smith, a waggon-wright, a sadler, a carpenter, and other handicraft
workers, who gain a very good livelihood ; there are also some little traders,
but their stock of wares appeared very scanty. The drosty, or habitation of
the Landdrost, was the oldest and worst house in the village ; and the church,
although rebuilt only eight years before, at the expense of the congregation,
was in very indifferent repair. At the end of the street were the remains of
the English barracks, which formerly served as a sort of fortress. At the. un
fortunate period of the last contest between the villagers and jthe Hottentots
in the English service, they were seton flre, and twO of the. houses reduced
to ashes. Melancholy traces of the calamities by which these parts were so
long distracted were no where more evidently discernible than here. They
not only appeared in the destruction of the public buildings, but Were still
more manifest in the unexampled disorder that had been introduced into every
part of the administration of the district, and the change wrought in the
manners and modes of thinking ofthe inhabitants. It appears,! therefore, not
irrelevant to my purpose to investigate somewhat more amply than has yet
been done the occasion, of these dissensions.
Even before the drosty of Graaff-Reynett was established, the inhabitants
of the country were some of the most factious and turbulent of the whole

! io
In

. TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 369
colony. They lived in so remote a part that it was almost impossible
for the government to provide effectually for the laws being properly enforced,
and they were besides almost all foreigners of perturbed minds, who here
sought a home. If a soldier who had served out his time, or an European
who had not talents sufficient to get his bread in the Cape Town, wished to
establish himself as a colonist, this was the part to which all such were sent.
During the rapidly increasing population which took place between the years
1760 and 1780, several colonists' sons sought in this country, so propitious
to the feeding of cattle, to establish themselves with herds of their own ; and
the success they met with attracted others to do the same. The then go
vernment was certainly guilty of an error in being too careless and easy in
granting lands to almost any one who applied for them, without regard to the
views or principles of the applicant.
The assembling together of so many uncultivated men in so remote a coun
try, where every one, without any attention to the laws, acted only according
to his own pleasure, could not fail of producing bad effects upon the general
character. To the many failings which, no doubt, might previously be im
puted to them, the emigrant Europeans, who were commonly from among
the lowest ranks in the mother country, brought a new list of vices till then
unknown among the Africans, or from which they had been withheld by
their bigotry, often overstrained, though useful in this point of view. The
contentious spirit, always too prevalent among the colonists, and which com
monly has for its object some difference regarding the boundaries of their
respective properties, broke out here into lamentable family divisions, which
were attended with the most degrading consequences. Without the restora
tion of some severe civil regulations, and the introduction of some in
termediate authority, which could constantly watch over the people, it
seemed inevitable that every generation would go backwards in civilization,
and that they would, at last, sink nearly as low in the scale of human nature
as the former savage inhabitants of the country. The foundation of the
drosty at Graaff-Reynett became, therefore, a measure of indispensable neces
sity; indeed, in order to have had all the effect that was to be wished, it
ought to have been established ten or twenty years sooner. Perhaps, how
ever, that was scarcely possible, as this part of the colony was not then
nbb

370 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
sufficiently populous to support the keeping up a magistrate of its own with
all the appendages necessary to it.
For want of one, the evil had now taken an unfortunately deep root, and
circumstances occurred which encreased it still farther. In the first place the
mechanics who were sent as inhabitants of the newly-established village were
almost all Europeans, since no free Africans ever apply themselves to me
chanical arts ; and among these strangers were not many, who were likely
to improve their new associates by their example. The government were
besides particularly unfortunate in the first persons they fixed upon to fill the
new magistracy. They were either weak men, who from indolence suffered
things to go on in their usual course, or men who acted with an ill-judging
zeal, not. knowing how properly to regulate the firmness and uprightness
necessary to be united in the judge and regent of such a district. They were
in fact people to whom the government, for some reason or other, thought it
necessary to give appointments, and as none could be found for them in the
Cape Town they were sent hither; or they were persons whom they wished
to send to a distance in hopes of keeping them quiet. They ought rather to
have been rising persons of merit, who should have been taught to consider
the station as a step to a better appointment, if they conducted themselves
properly in this. Every fresh person was terrified with the toils to be gone
through in the new and as yet but imperfectly organized government, and
seeing how much ought to be done, shrunk from all attention to business ;
besides, the melancholy life led in this solitary region, the nature of the cli
mate which disposes to inactivity, and the distance from the superintending
power, all contributed more arid more to confirm the propensity to negligence
and inattention.
The dissatisfaction ofthe colonists was soon by these means strongly excited,
and every new instance of neglect of their interests incensed them more and
more against the government, and its servants, the landdrosts. From the very
imperfect instructions given to the latter, a certain degree of arbitrary proceed
ings was on their side almost unavoidable, while restless spirits did not fail oh
every such occasion to represent them as acts of tyranny and despotism. In
minds so prepared, a spirit of tumult was without difficulty excited. The
separation of the American colonies from the Mother Country had already

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 371
awakened many wild projects among certain ill-organised heads in the colony,
which, to those acquainted with the helpless situation ofthe country in itself,
could hot appear otherwise than wholly laughable ; and the subsequent revolu
tions in France and Holland occasioned an universal ferment all over the
colony. Parties of Loyalists and Patriots were formed, which were rendered
formidable from the then weakness of the government. The speeches made
by the demagogues in Holland, in their popular assemblies, coincided entirely
with the sentiments of most of the citizens ofthe Cape Town, where the old
system was not very popular; but as long as they saw those in authority con
tinue to cherish opposite sentiments, they had not courage to shew them
selves openly.
Nothing then remained but to blow the spirit of discontent and resistance
which they saw rising among the rough colonists into an open flame; while the
latter, from their ignorance and credulity, were easily won over to opinions so
perfectly accordant with their principles. Many European adventurers in the
district of Graaff-Reynett, among whom the names of Pisani and Delport stand
recorded in the history of the colony of the Cape, with particular horror, suf
fered themselves to be made in some measure the tools of those who wished
to disturb the public peace; but they were, besides, themselves ambitious of
being popular leaders, and were ready to do any thing which by exciting gene
ral confusion might afford a hope of their own private ends being more effec
tually attained. In the year 1794 the commotions in Graaff-Reynett fairly
broke out. The then4 Landdrost Meinier, who had not been a very mild
regent towards his subjects, was constrained to depart, and a popular govern
ment was immediately organised, which, though the seat of it was at Graaff-
Reynett, extended over other parts of the colony. A commission of some
members of the government, who went into the country endeavouring to
restore peace in a mild and reasonable way, returned to the Cape Town, after
the first interview with the ringleaders, wholly discouraged ; at the same time,
if they had been disposed to do that by force which they had sought in vain
to obtain by gentleness and persuasion, the means were wanting, since an
attack from the English was to be apprehended at any moment.
The peasants therefore were, of necessity, left to pursue their mad career
unmolested ; they held primary assemblies ; they wore the national cockade ;
they chose from among themselves a president and secretary who could
B b b 2

372 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
scarcely read or write, and deliberated with a like important air upon affairs
of state as upon the affairs of their own private families. The protocol of
these assemblies, which still exists in the archives of the drosty, exhibits a
very curious picture of their proceedings, to which, how much soever they
endeavoured to ape those_of the French popular assemblies, nothing similar
can any where be found. Yet it must be mentioned, to their credit, that during
the whole time this state of anarchy continued, no real horrors were perpe
trated, no cruel sentences were inflicted either of death or of corporal punish
ment. The phrenzy, however, continually spread wider and wider. In the
districts of Bruintjeshoogte, ofthe Zwartkops-river, the Zwarteberge, and the
Sneeuweberge, societies were formed, nay, even some individuals from Koub,
and the Roggeveldts, associated themselves together under the Shiboleth of
liberty and equality. Some of the peasants, in their journeys to the Cape
Town, went so far as publicly to insult certain members of the government,
and others, who were considered as of the Orange party, while the weakness
of the higher powers was such that it was necessary even to permit like
instances of audacity to pass unnoticed.
Matters were in this situation when the colony was taken by the English,
as many of the best intentioned' people at first believed, to preserve it as a
possession for the Prince of Orange. This-only created in the distant parts
a more determined spirit of resistance against the new government, nor was
that spirit diminished when the real views ofthe new possessors more clearly
appeared. Lord Macartney required an oath of the collected inhabitants of
the colony to remain true and faithful subjects to his Britannic Majesty ; a
requisition, which in a military possession, a country still not united to the
dominions of its conquerors, was esteemed hard, and must even appear im
politic. For, even supposing it to have been taken, those inhabitants of the
colony who really preserved an attachment to their Mother Country could
scarcely have considered it as binding, if the expedition of the Schout-by-
Nagt had succeeded, and some thousands of Dutch had been landed upon
the coast ; from those of the inhabitants who were retained in places of
public trust, such an oath must naturally be required, but that it should be
exacted from private persons not only in the Cape Town, but all over the
country, and that in case of refusal they should be commanded to quit it,
was a thing wholly unprecedented. It besides proved at once to the new

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 373
subjects that no confidence was placed; in them, and this embittered
beyond measure those who were previously too well disposed to tumult and
disorder. Emboldened by the little opposition they had hitherto found from the
weakness of the Dutch government, the people of Graaff-Reynett had the
courage formally to refuse taking this oath. The tone however of the leaders
was wholly changed. Instead of the revolutionary propositions they had
hitherto held, they now only talked of attachment to their Mother Country.
What drove them to opposition was no longer the Orange principles ; it. was
to the English that they declared themselves decided opponents ; — instead
of enemies to the old order of things, they were now determined foes to the
new". A detachment of English soldiers sufficed however to overthrow all
their plans: scarcely did they shew themselves, before their determined op-.
position was no longer thought of; they submitted quietly, and promised obe
dience. This was the propitious moment when the peace and happiness of
the district might have been assured. The race of human kind there might
even have been improved if a person of understanding and judgment had been
placed at the head of them ; one who knew how to gain the respect and
affection of men unaccustomed to restraint, and to rule them with paternal
decision. Instead of that, the unfortunate idea was adopted that they must
be governed with energy, and the same Meinier was sent there anew as Land
drost, who from his ill-timed severity had occasioned the breaking out of the
discontents. Mr. Barrow, Lord Macartney's secretary and counsellor, accom
panied him, to instal him into his resumed office, and this journey gave
occasion to those valuable remarks with which the literary world of Europe is
so well acquainted.
The newly reinstated Landdrost had a terrible score of offences received
from the peasants to forget, if he would rule them mildly, while they must
equally lose the recollection of his former proceedings, if they were to obey
him willingly. It was not difficult toforesee that this was a degree of modera
tion at which neither side was very likely to arrive ; while to increase the evil,
it was before the Landdrost that the detested oath was to be taken. It would
have been much less insupportable if this ceremony had been to take place
before an Englishman born. It became then very soon evident that the au
thority of the Landdrost could not be maintained without a military force.

374 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
Sir James Craig had organized a body of Hottentots, and these were the
troops selected to humble the colonists— to watch over and control them.
It is impossible not to censure the imprudence of such a measure. How
great soever might be the faults ofthe colonists towards their Hottentots, this
was not the way to promote better behaviour in future. At the same time
that an opportunity was given to the Hottentots to gratify a spirit of revenge,
which ought rather to have been discouraged than promoted, the colonists
were inflamed to a positive hatred of their former servants, and had too much
pretence given for greater severity in their future conduct towards them.
Besides, there were many among the Hottentots who had received much
kindness from their former masters, and they were now placed in such
a situation as to subject them to the reproach of repaying their kindness
with ingratitude. The colonists were, moreover, from this measure con
strained to forego the hired services of the Hottentots, and to purchase
slaves at a very high price, or let their establishments fall entirely to the
ground. Spacious barracks were built at Graaff-Reynett for the Hottentots, the
erection of which plainly shewed that the possibility of a revolt was a thing
speculated upon, and in case of a powerful attack, they wduld be secure in
these buildings. The Hottentots were well fed and well paid ; they were even
treated abundantly with their favourite brandy, and revelled in a sort of
affluence, while the situation of the colonists sunk every day lower and
lower. The government of the Landdrost was carried on in conformity with
the principles he laid down when he had been in office before ; it was with
a firmness bordering on ferocity, at least so it must appear to the subjects,
and it failed not to alienate their minds from the new government more and
more every day. Several of the colonists* rather than take the oath, fled,
part of them to the Caffres, part to some distant solitary region : these were
out-lawed, a traffic with the Caffres for their lives was even attempted, and
others were banished from the colony. It might be considered as one of the
fortunate consequences of these events that Pisani and Delport were among
the number, of the latter. They were transported to Holland, and represented
themselves there as martyrs to their patriotic principles. The first however
became in a short time discontented, and fled to France, where he attempted-
to come forwards as a writer upon the Cape.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 375
For two years the people of Graaff-Reynett were kept down by means of
the garrison, but about the end of the year 1798 an occurrence happened
which gave the signal for an open revolt. A certain Zacharias Van Jaarsveld
was put into prison by the Landdrost on account of some money which as a
trustee he had misapplied, and was to be transported to the Cape Town, and
delivered over to the College of Justice there. Though he had himself always
avoided taking any part in the disturbances, some of his friends, were among
the most discontented, and fourteen of them entered into a solemn agreement
to free him from the hands of justice. The project succeeded so far, that
they overpowered the escort which was to carry him to the Cape, and
brought him back to Graaff-Reynett. There a number of the other colonists
joined them, and the question was no longer confined to freeing the prisoner —
the Landdrost was required to redress other grievances, over some of which
he had not of himself any power. As their force was too considerable for
the Landdrost to act in open opposition to them, he retreated into the
barracks as his only asylum. The number of the discontented in the
mean time kept constantly increasing ; they went round the whole country
exciting it to tumult, and in Graaff-Reynett itself, made use of a house
directly opposite to the barracks as a place of assembly for the ring
leaders. Whether it was apprehension of these tumultuary movements ending in a
real attack, or hope to impress the insurgents with terror, the Landdrost was
pleased to fire upon the house : many of those assembled there were wounded,
and soon after the house broke out into flames. The colonists indeed fired
again upon the barracks, but no important consequences occurred, and they
soon returned into the village without undertaking any thing farther. Their
natural phlegm, the fear of inevitable punishment, if they engaged in any
decisive act of force against the Landdrost, want of necessaries to provide for
so large a number of men, perhaps also want of union among themselves*
compelled them to peaceable behaviour; while a stronger detachment of
English which soon arrived dispersed them entirely. Nine of the most tur
bulent were seized and carried prisoners to Algoa bay, whence they were sent
by sea to the Cape Town. The College of Justice there, in the sequel, con
demned them to death, but the sentence was not yet executed when infor
mation of the peace of Amiens arrived. The English commander then judged,

3/6 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
honourably enough, that in consideration of the good understanding restored
between the two powers, the pretence of adherence to. the Mother Country,
which had been assigned as the principal motive of their delinquency, ought
to be suffered to have its weight, and left the final decision of the process to
the Dutch themselves. By them a four years imprisonment was determined
to be sufficient punishment, and the delinquents were in the end set at
liberty, at the same time that a general amnesty was proclaimed. But -in
. order that the Dutch government might not be supposed to consider them as
entirely innocent, their restoration to 'freedom was accompanied with solem
nities which demonstrated that it was regarded as an act of favour shewn
them, not as an acquittal to whieh they had an indisputable claim.
Soon after the above occurrences in Graaff-Reynett, that is in the year
1799, the English government judged it proper to name a new Landdrost in
the place of Meinier. But the distrust. and discontent of the colonists had
risen to so great a height that it was become impossible to restore tranquillity.
More than sixty families under the conduct of Rensburg had emigrated; the
Caffres had established themselves in the whole southern part of the district ;
more than half the farms were forsaken and destroyed ; dearth and murrain
succeeded, and carried the misery to its acme. Those among the colonists
who had remained did not cease upon every possible occasion to show a
spirit of disobedience to the government ; and notwithstanding their unfortu
nate circumstances, to thwart and do little acts of enmity towards it in various
ways. The Landdrost in the end was wearied out, and returned back to the
Cape, and in his place the Field-commandant. Gerotz, a worthy old
Swabian, from mere good-will, but without any great capacity, took upon
himself the administration of the public business. The government
seemed scarcely any longer to think it. worth while to concern itself
about these people, especially after intelligence was received that the
colony was to be restored to the Dutch, and quietly abandoned them to
their fate.
Under circumstances so unfavourable, the restoration of order in this district
was one of the first and most anxious cares of the new Dutch commander.
After having concluded peace with the Caffres, General Janssens next repaired
to Graaff-Reynett. He found the country in the most melancholy condition,
half the inhabitants reduced to extremities by the Caffres, others in perpetual

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 377
strife with the Bosjesmans, few in a situation to pay the most trifling impost.
The chest of the district was empty, the btioks of accounts were in the most
lamentable disorder, the public buildings were destroyed, and presented nothing
but a sad monument of crimes ; the most important posts were filled by people
wholly ignorant and devoid of capacity. Nothing but the unbounded confi
dence of the colonists in the benevolent views of the government towards
them could afford a prospect of rescuing them from so forlorn a condition,
and reinstating them in any thing like comfort and prosperity. Yet their rude
and perverted ways of thinking abated in some measure the hope that it would
be possible, at least immediately, to inspire them with a love of order, and a
sense of submission and subservience to the laws. It seemed as if they had
been too much accustomed to live without respect for any earthly power to be
easily brought back to a due respect for that under which they were now to
live. Their reciprocal irreconcilable spirit of discord and enmity towards
each other, their wholly perverted ideas of right and wrong, their extravagant
notions with regard to liberty, their total want of true religious principles,
though making much external profession of piety, their perfect ignorance in
short of all social duties, of all social virtues, had placed them in a most unfor
tunate situation both for themselves and for the government. ,
The total seclusion of the colonists from general intercourse with the world,
and with civilised life, their confinement to the little circle of their own families,.
the easy manner in which the first necessities of our nature are satisfied,
are very disadvantageous to them under many points of view ; and not
withstanding their simplicity of manners, their general purity of morals, and
their ignorance of many of the greater crimes to which the European nations
are subject, they appear, taken in the aggregate, even to impartial observers,
much rather under an unfavourable than under a favourable point of view.
Selfishness, lawlessness, hardiness, intolerance, and a thirst of revenge, are tie
reigning vices in their character, which will perhaps hardly be thought atoned
by a disposition to be easily satisfied, by a spirit of economy yet united with un
bounded hospitality, a firm adherence to truth, and a' great respect for religion.
But what is most to be deprecated in the character of some among them, is
the harshness with which they treat their slaves and Hottentots, and in others,
the bitterness and irreconcilable animosity with which they carry on their
differences among each other. c c c

378 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
An unfortunate practice among them is that every personal calumny, every
derogatory assertion, every reputed incrOachments is taken down in writing,
and established by witnesses, that the offender may perhaps, years after, be
judicially pursued for it. Every colonist has by him a large packet of such
kind of papers ready* at any moment to be produced and brought forwards
against an enemy. Such private differences become the concern of the whole
society, since every one who can write subscribes these papers, Verklaarings,
as they are called, on one side or the other. The whole matter sometimes of
one of them is that such a one, at SUch a time, called such another a graceless
fellow, or spoke evil of him behind his back. Many of these testimonies were
laid before both the Governor and the Commissary-general upon their journeys',
but no where in greater abundance than in Graaff-Reynett. Every one had
here his enemy, and brought against him the bitterest complaints, whether he
Was a member of the government or a private person ; no one would acknow
ledge himself in the wrong, and it was always those who stood the most in
need of forgiveness themselves that cried the loudest, for prosecution and
punishment. Although a general amnesty was proclaimed by the government*
and the remembrance of all offences Which arose only from political opinions
was exploded, daily complaints were made that such or such had been guilty
of factious measures, or had sought to place the conduct of former landdrosts
in the most odious lights.
Such complicated and deep-rooted evils could not be remedied in a moment.
The Governor, however, rejoiced that by his journey he had acquired a more
accurate knowledge of the district of Graaff-Reynett, and of its actual situa«-
tion. He exhorted the inhabitants in the most energetic manner to live in
peace and concord among each other ; he endeavoured to introduce some
order in the government, and at his return to the Cape Town, consulted
earnestly with the Commissary-general upon the means of repairing the
present, and obviating future evils. The carrying into execution the resolu
tions taken for this purpose was one of the primary objects of the Commis
sary-general 's journey. The hitherto secretary of the district- of Zwellendam,
Stockestrom, avman who had all the qualities and all the knowledge requisite
for occupying so arduous a post, had been prevailed upon to accept the office
of landdrost, and his arrival was expected at the same time with ourselves.

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 379
The Commissary-general was particularly anxious to provide during his stay
efficient assistance to the new landdrost in all the other offices of the admi
nistration. He paid great attention to the state of the finances, and allotted
a portion ofthe imposts which had been usually paid into the general treasury
of the colony to be now paid into the chest of the district. He himself
arranged the account hooks, and made many excellent regulations for the
future administration of the finances. Instead of the miserable habitation
which now served as the drosty, a handsome dwelling was ordered to be built,
as weld for the habitation ofthe landdrost, as for holding the courts of justice.
The plan for the building was laid out, and the funds necessary for its com
pletion were to be furnished by the government partly as a loan, partly as a
present. The whole was completed the same year.
The church had during the troubles been used as a magazine, and as
barracks and stables for the cavalry, and was therefore in a very dilapidated
state ; it was now repaired, and a sum of three hundred dollars was given to
the congregation to put it into proper order for the performance of divine
service. It was also determined that till a regular preacher should he ap
pointed solely for Graaff-Reynett, the minister from Zwellendam should
come twice in the yeai1 to stay there for a certain time. It was the intention
to send for some liberal-minded well-informed pastor from Europe, in hopes of
leading future generations from their errors, and teaching them more salutary
ways. In order farther to promote tranquillity and good Order, a decree was
issued on the twelfth of February, that since the district of Graaff-Reynett
was too extensive for -one jurisdiction only, it was in future to be divided
into two, and a new drosty was to be founded in the nighbourhood of
Algoa hay.
The ruins of the barracks and other disastrous monuments of discord
were cleared away, and in their place the ground for a street was laid out,
intended to accommodate the new settlers. The most important differences
among the inhabitants were adjusted, and the parties solemnly reconciled
wsith each other, while no warnings and exhortations were spared to induce
them to change their conduct in future, to make them understand that they
owed their misfortunes to their own perverted views of things, and must act
in a very different manner towards the government arid towards each other if
4hey would wish 'to avoid arenewal of .them. The sequel has shewed that
c c c 9

380 TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
all these pains were not taken wholly in vain, and if as yet no striking
change appears in the principles and manners of the inhabitants, at leastthe
outward manifestations of the inward sentiments are restrained, and they
have been taught to respect the civil authorities.
The village of Graaff-Reynett lies in a desert, naked, and arid country,
almost entirely enclosed by mountains, for which reason in the summer months
the heat is almost insupportable. The Zondag's-river flows directly behind the
village with a considerable fall from a declivity, so that the water might
easily be conducted, by means of small channels,; into the fields and gardens,
which would give the whole spot a much more cheering and lively aspect,
besides increasing to an invaluable degree the produce ofthe soil. It would,
indeed, have been extremely ill-judged to place a village here, had it not
been for this facility of supplying it with water. Farther upwards, upon the
Zondag's-river, are many much more fertile plains, but the trifling- fall of the
river, and the depth of its bed, would have rendered it impossible in the dry
season to supply the neighbouring fields with water. As the sources of the
river are in the Great Snow Mountains, it never entirely dries, yet there are
many examples of the supply of water being too small to permit of all the
fields being benefited by it.
The cultivable part ofthe valley is, however, but of inconsiderable extent,
and on this ground it may well be made a question whether the village can
ever be made to support an extensive population. The climate is, on ac
count of the heat and the drying north-wind, which blows here for a great
part of the year, neither agreeable, nor particularly healthy; at least in no
place did I find so many sick. Dysenteries, agues, inflammations in the
eyes, and eruptive disorders, were in almost every house, and I never
found hysterical complaints more prevalent. A c,i-devant ship surgeon had
established himself in the village, but he complained to me that although he
was the only professional man in the district, and there were a great many
people ill, he had scarcely any practice. Six little boxes covered with dust
and three little phials, contained his whole stock of drugs, and by a present
of jalap, I had the happiness of supplying all his wants for some time to come.
The only place of any consequence is the garden of Werner, the old Silesian
mentioned above, in which are a great variety of fruits, particularly, most
delicious grapes: they were now just ripe, and we found them, as weU

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 381
as the other fruits, exceedingly grateful after having been so long without
v\^ tasting any. The wine made here is of a middling quality, but may, if the
gopes are carefully picked before they are pressed, as Werner does, be very
mucrT^kupreved. This cheerful old man has lived here ever since the drosty
was founded>ian.d has gairied a very good livelihood by his profession of a
tanner. His style W living, measuring it according to the general fashion
of the country, may be called brilliant ; indeed I have observed that the spirit
t>f hospitality so general among the colonists is no where more conspicuous
than among those who are Germans born. I have often remarked that my
fellow-countrymen in Africa do not reconcile themselves very easily to the
solitude in which they must necessarily live. The love of society seems to
cling more closely to them than to the colonists of any other nation, and
in'none is it so evident how dear to them is the sight of an European traveller.
I must however condemn them in this respect, that none seem more easily
to forget their native country arid . its manners and customs. Even, in the,
Cape Town, except' one -little circle in particular, .of very amiable German
families, the Germans associate little together : they speak Dutch among each
other, and do not receive a fellow-countryman with more delight and cordiality
than any other stranger. .aid' j WJ , > uij.
It is indeed trUe that fnost of thetn owe their being here to unpropitious
circumstances attendant upon their yOuth, which do not leave upon their
minds pleasing associations connected with their latest recollections of, their
native country. With, every succeeding year any recollections grow fainter
and fainter ; the intelligence from home is less and less frequent, and the ties
which connected him with his native soil are proportionately Weakened,, as
he forms others' under the new sun to which he is transported. Indeed, those
are far happier who become wholly Africans, than others.who retain a too
fond remembrance of the climes they have quitted : to the former the priva
tions of early joys are felt the less :.deeply in :propqrtion as the manifold ad
vantages to be found imtheir new abode are preferred. It speaks very much
in favour : Of this country, that examples of being horne-sick rarely occur.
We may generally observe.that Europearis ofthe lower ranks and with, little
pretensions are soon satisfied here, and easily forget their native country, while
persons"6 of polished educations and refined feelings experience a painful void,

3M TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.
and a longing after their home, which prevents their ever Hading themselves
wholly satisfied elsewhere.
During our stay at Graaff-Reynett we had inteHijgettefe from Algoa bay, atj/4
from the Caffre borders. The latter confirmed the news we heap&on ©up
journey, that a reconciliation had taken place between KrrjgjGfcaka and .the
rebel chiefs, Jaluhsa and Conga, the latter having voluhtjMfl§r submitted, to the
former. It was added that Sambeh*s adherents constantly diminished, and it
was hoped that he also would submit, or at least that he would be obliged to
quit the colony.
The Field-cornet Rasmus of Agtebruintjeshoogte came hither himself to
inform us that the Caffre hordewhich we had met on the thirtieth of January,
On the repeated threats that their cattle would be taken away fifom them, and
not restored till they had crossed the Fish-river, had now actually quitted
the domains of the colony ; another horde following thek example had also
returned. The importance of this intelligmce, and of .keeping upon a
friendly footing With the Caffres, was never more evident than in the spot
where we now were. For if the sight of so many houses :in ruins, of so
many fields desolated, of so many families wholly (impoverished, had shewn
us in very striking colours the lamentable consequences attending a Caffre
war, the conviction was inconceivably increased by seeing the catalogue of
the losses sustained hy the inhabitants of this district, which was hung up in
the drosty, taken according to the oaths of the sufferers. Not more than
twb-thirds of them had given in their account, and yet the list amounted to
ei°-ht hundred and fifty-eight horses, four thousand four hundred and seventy-
five oxen, thirty-five thousand .four hundred and seventy-four cows and calves,
thirty-four thousand and twenty-three .sheep, and two thousand four hundred
and eighty g ats. i
When it is considered that the great wealth ofthe colonists in this country
consists in their cattle, and that the subsistence of the whole colony,
even of the Cape Tbwn itself, depends very much upon the supplies derived
from hence, it will be apparent of what importance such a loss must have
been. In fact, in the year 1800 there was So^great a scarcity of cattle, that
the English government was obliged to send commissioners to the Briquas
to purchase a supply. This end was however in great measure unattained,

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 383
and the principal advantage derived from the experiment was the gaining
a considerable knowledge of the Beetjuaris, a remarkable tribe, till then
very little known. Even now the price of horned cattle is beyond all
comparison higher than before the war, and from the rapidly increasing
population, it will be essentially necessary for the general welfare that
the districts where cattle are reared should remain for many years in un
disturbed peace.

END OP PART THE THIRE*.

APPENDIX.

Remarks upon the Language of the Koossas, accompanied by a
Vocabulary of their Words.
J. HERE is no doubt but that the situation of a savage nation, the degree of civilization which
exists in it, and above all, the relationship which it bears with other nations, can never be accu
rately understood, and properly estimated, without a competent knowledge of its language • 
¦without understanding equally the mode of pronouncing it, its structure, and its compass. The
number of wants and ideas existing among a people, whether that number be great or small, as
well as their relative situation with the countries by which they are surrounded, can never be so
efficiently determined as by procuring a collection of their words, the mediums whereby those
•wants and ideas are expressed, and those relations are denned. But in order to render such a
collection truly valuable, it must always be examined with a reference to the innate purposes
for which language was given us, considering well the combinations and inflexions of words
through which people arrive at a reciprocal exchange of ideas. The more arbitrary a language
is, in the use and combination of words, the less it is reduced to fixed rules, so much the more
Tain appears the attempt to give a just idea of the manner of being, or of the minds of those by
whom it is employed.
Among a people where no such things exist as the palpable signs of language, who lead beside
a nomade life, and are divided into numerous tribes, at whose rise and fall new dialects arise and
old ones are lost — among such a people the language has in it nothing permanent, it shares the
fate of those by whom it is spoken, it changes without being improved. He, therefore, who
•would catch and describe the spirit of it has no easy task, especially if that man be a traveller
who has only had an opportunity of knowing one or two of the tribes. The language of savages
is never any thing more than a medium of communication among them ; it cannot have any higher
aim; it can hardly be said to have attained what is properly called spirit, and is therefore
incapable of proving all that may be proved by the polished languages of Europe.
Nay, farther : let any one be ever so well acquainted with the language of a single Caffre tribe,
he still cannot form an accurate judgment of the manners and modes of thinking among the people
in general. This is not to be effected unless he has attained a competent knowledge of the neigh.
bouring dialects, and found a medium whereby to compare what is permanent in each, with what
a

APPENDIX.
is fluctuating. By these means only can .the, universal characteristic of the Caffre language be
determined, and the end proposed in the investigation be accomplished. As if is, however',
scarcely to be expected that this comprehensive knowledge will speedily be obtained by-^&ny
one who has at the same time the powers and opportunity to impart it clearly and scientifically,
I will venture to hope that this Essay may not be wholly useless. I must flatter myself that it
may smooth the way for the future happier Inquirer, who has the same desire to investigate the
Caffre language upon the spot ; that what I am able to bring forward may, to a certain extent,
lighten his task.
I must premise that it is now three years since I published, in the first volume of the Archives
for Ethnography and Languages, a comparison of the most important languages of Southern
Africa. In it I expressed myself fully upon the difficulties there appeared to me in investigating
them, and explained the manner in which I thought those difficulties were the most effectually to
be overcome; endeavouring, at the same time, to point out in the clearest manner possible the
greater or less affinity which they bear to each other. In that work the remarks upon the lan
guage of each separate people followed the description of their customs and manners; and, as I
hope, I thus made them subservient to ascertaining perfectly the degree of cultivation at which
tach is arrived. I shall, notwithstanding, here bring forward my whole collection of words, since
I only there produced some of the leading ones.
I have described, above, the language of the Caffres as "full- toned, smooth, and pleasing ta the
ear, formed ehiefly of simple sounds, the words for the most part not exceeding two syllables.
It is from the slow, distinct manner of speaking, from the frequent recurrence of open vowels,
and from the clear intonation of the last syllable, that the pleasing sound of the language seems
to arise. It has almost the sound of Italian, and is not difficult to be pronounced by Europeans
of any nation, at the very first hearing it : a German finds no difficulty in writing it down with
the characters of his own language, so as to preserve exactly in his memory the right pronunci
ation. These general properties of all the Caffre dialects will apply equally to that of the
Koossas, although in one respect they differ from the other tribes, that they have a certain degree
of clatter in their manner of speaking to which the other tribes are entire strangers : this they
nave probably acquired from their frequent intercourse with the tribes of Hottentots in their
neighbourhood, particularly with the Gonaaquas, for such a mode of speaking has already
"been mentioned as universal among the Hottentots.
This clatter arises, as in the Hottentots, in the lowest degree, from moving the tongue very
quick behind the upper fore teeth, in a greater degree by the same movement behind the upper
back teeth, in the greatest degree by turning the tongue so that the back of it touches the gums.
The principal difficulty in imitating this sound is, that a letter mnst be pronounced at the same
moment with the movement of the tongue. The still stronger stroke of the tongue which occurs
in the Hottentots' language, does not prevail among-the Koossas; at least it is very rarely heard,
and only in words which have been transferred from the Gonaaqua language into theirs. I dis
tinguish these sounds by the numbers 1, 2, 3, over the syllable which is so pronounced, 1 denoting
the lowest degree of it, 3 the highest.
The generality of the Caffre dialects differ again from that of the Koossas in the total absence
ofthe rattling r, which makes them particularly soft and smooth. In some few words decidedly

APPENDIX.
Hottentotish the r is found, but in pronouncing them they generally substitute an /. Ths
Koossas also use the/ with its sister sounds e-and w, which are never to be found in the dialect
of Beetjuan. There is a certain lisp in all the Caffre dialects which I have endeavoured to dis
tinguish by the Greek circumflex " over the syllable where it occurs. Itis produced by thrusting
tlie point of the tongue against the gums, sometimes more slightly, sometimes harder, and takes
place principally in speaking an s, or sj, or tj. With an I, si, M, or ll, there is a positive stam
mering, as is the case sometimes in a failure of the organs of speech : this sound, therefore, par
ticularly at first hearing it, exceedingly displeases an European ear.
The full, proper, hissing sound of the German sch, as well as the softer tone of the French ge,
do not- occur at all in the Caffre dialect; nor isthere any thing like an x. After k, p, and t, ia
many words a sharp aspiration follows, a distinct h, which therefore, where it is found in the
words particularly distinguished, must not be dropped. The dipthongs au, ou, eu, and ai, which
abound so much in the Hottentot dialects, and occur under so many different modes of extension,
are wholly foreign to the Caffre language. On the contrary, in every syllable is a simple vowel,
clearly pronounced, and not encumbered with many consonants. In the Koossa dialect u is the
vowel that occurs the most frequently ; o the least so.
The Koossas speak slowly and distinctly, in short sentences, between every one of which they
make a longer or a shorter pause. - Their enunciation is singing and rhythmical, the accent
vesting on the last syllable of every word, and particularly upon the last word of the sentence.
In expressions of sorrow their body remains quite still, their arms and hands without motion;
but the head, in pronouncing the last word of lamentation, is stretched significantly forwards,
either towards the spot or the object in question, and then the mantle is closed together with their
.bands over their breast. Their gesticulation is, therefore not exceedingly expressive, but their
eye is extremely so. Their whole meaning may often be read in their eyes, at the same time that
the muscles of the face are no more moved than is necessary for pronouncing the words.
As they speak in short sentences, so is the construction of their language simple, and easier to
lbe comprehended by literal translation than that of the Hottentots; the latter being overloaded
with arbitrary interlocutory syllables. They have no proper article,' no auxiliary verbs; no
inflexions either of their verbs or substantives : this the annexed collection of examples wilt
clearly prove.
The simple, abstract proposition / am cannot be expressed in their languages Is a circum
stance to be related, it is sufficient to put the personal pronoun to the word descriptive of the
circumstance, without any intermediate verb. The verb without the pronoun always signifies
the third) person. Their personal pronouns vary according to the time intended to be marked.
From these changes in the pronouns is determined whether the question is of the past, present,
or future, so that their verbs are conjugated without auxiliaries, or without any changes in their
terminations. A word to which particular expression is intended to be given is repeated several
times over in rapid succession. These repetitions are often truly frequentative, signifying that
an action was performed repeatedly, very quick, or with great force. Among the Koossas the
repetition falls principally upon the verbs; amongthe Beetjuans upon the adverbs.
The dialect of the Koossas has this peculiarity, that before speaking many words, particularly"
substantives which begin with consonants, they close the lips so that a sort of sound like an
a2

APPENDIX.
m or n is produced : it is in general not more than the sound of n. Before many words begin.,
ning with a vowel, a whole syllable will be introduced, as am, om, um, or in. The arbitrary
manner of bringing in this syllable by hearing it often is clearly understood; but it has the
effect of perplexing a person who is not thoroughly acquainted with it, when he hears the other
Caffre dialects, where the same words are used without the previous syllable. It seems as if the
deliberately-speaking Koossa would assist by this the solemnity and distinctness of his enunci
ation : it is as if in order-to gain time he shuts his mouth, for the sole purpose of opening it
afterwards. As elisions ought to be earefully avoided throughout, I have uniformly, wherever
twp different vowels casually fall together, introduced an n, — the true n i(ps\xvstx.6)i. Somo-
other particular remarks will be better made in the way of notes to the Vocabulary.
A considerable number of the words in this Vocabulary were collected by myself in the course
of my travels; but it has been much improved by the additions I have received from friends.
For the best part I am indebted to the information of Vander Kemp, who, during his long stay
at the Cape Town in November, 1805, was unwearied in answering all the questions I put to
him,' and giving me every possible satisfaction upon the subject. The Commissary-General had
previously favoured me with a list of Caffre words which he had collected, whence I have in
some sort enriched my Vocabulary. Alberti's work, so full of information in many respects,
contains so little with regard to the Caffre language, that it is not worth mentioning. It
scarcely need be observed how little earlier travellers, Sparrmann, La Vaillant, and Mr. Barrow,
have noticed it. I have endeavoured to exculpate my work from being liable to the sara*
observation.

VOCABULARY
OF WORDS FROM THE LANGUAGE OF THE KOOSSAS.
A Man  U h m t o. *
Men  Umuhn t8.

* Where I have used the short o at the end of a word, it implies that the sound is half sunk, so that it seems
almost doubtful whether it ought to be an o or a u. — Author.
An observation made in a note to page 292 must here again be repeated, that these words being given according
to the ideas that the sounds conveyed to a German ear, it is probable the orthography would have been in many
instances given differently by an English writer. As for example : the u in German has a very different sound from
the ti in English, it is nearer to the sound of our oo, though not exactly resembling it. A person accustomed to
the mode of pronouncing among the loner classes, and indeed of some among the higher ones, in Yorkshire and
the other northern counties, will, from their pronunciation of the u in the words but, butter, &c. have a very
accurate idea of the manner in which it is pronounced in German. It hence appears probable, that where the u
occurs in the following Vocabulary, an English writer would rather have spelt tbe words with the oo. 
Translator.

APPENDIX.
A People, a Tribe  Gabaanto.
The Nation, all the Tribes collectively  Gababaantb\*
A Husband  Indoda.
A Wife  Umfasi.t
A Father  B a o.
.M ao.
,Uh m a.
A Mother  < U n i n a.
K u n i n a.
¦Njoko. %
Paternal Grandfather  Injanja. §
3
Maternal Grandfather  1 1 h i k a. ||
Grandmother  Uhma-k u 1 u.
A new-born Child  .—.  B e s s a n a.
A Child, in general  Uhmtoana. 1
A young Man  ,  I n d o d a n a.
A young Girl  , . . . K a k a s a n a.
A Virgin  Toombi.
A pregnant Woman  U m i t h i.
A barren Woman  Us'oolo.
An elder Brother  U m k f u e h. **
Younger Brother ....,  Omninawe. + +
Sister  Ude da, or D a d e d a.
Nephew, Brother's Son  Umnako.
Niece  Urns" lawe.

* The plurals and the collectives are formed by doubling a syllable, commonly the first, probably from analogy
with the repetitions of the verbs mentioned above.
+ Asite universally a feminine termination. Among those Caffre tribes who have the r, instead of asi it is art.
t These five words for mother were given us at different times, and by different persons ; but the two first seem
most in use.
4 Here again it must be observed, that the j in German is pronounced like the English y, so that an Englith
writer would probably havewritten this word Inyanya. — Translator.
II The reader is requested here to recollect the meaning of the numeral over the syllable as given above. It is
also to be observed, that as the Germans drop the h wherever the th come together, this word should probably be
pronounced Itika — Translator.
I Ana is the diminutive termination. Uhmtoana signifies really a little man.
** By ee and eh I mean to express two different sounds ofthe e, the first of which comes nearly to the sound of
the « : they cannot be more properly exemplified than by the German words leeren and lehren. There is the same-
difference as in French between e and e, asm pere, etc, bectute ; the final letter in each of the latter words having
exactly the sound which I have represented by ch.
+ ¦+ The w in German is pronounced like the English v, so that we must, according to this role, probably substitute
the v in pronouncing all words where we find the io.— Translator.

APPENDIX.
Cousin  •   TJ-ehtu. " * " '-
Uncle  Baolumi. ":<•":;
Aunt  Maolumi. *
Limbs and Parts ofthe Human Body.
The Head  Umklogo.
The Hair  Inueele.
The Forehead  -  I w uhn si.
The Temples  1 1 s"l a w u n u.
The Cheeks  Isibeele.
The Jaw  Kandu-ihdu.
The Eye  ...Ameesljo.
The Eye-lashes  Ammassi.
The Ear  Eelehbe, or Sinzehbe.
The Nose  Poomlu, or Umpoomlu. +
The Mouth  M 1 o o m u, or Umlooma.i;
The Tongue  Mlume.
A Tooth.......  Ssihnjo.
The Teeth  A mmassi hn j u. §
The Lips  Leebe.
The Chin  I s i 1 e b.
The Beard  I n d e o. ||
The Neck  Intamo. s
The Windpipe  Umkala.
The Breast  Isifuba.
The Breasts of a Woman  Ibeele.
The Shoulder-blade  I g"a 1 a b a.
The Back  UmtHatna.

* These two words are derived from Bao and Mao, Father and Mother.
+ Where the oo occurs, it is intended to represent a sound similar to the French au ; the o may be sounded like
the oo in the English word throat. ,
± These words are given as a specimen of the effect of the m, which is often pronounced um, introduced before
a word beginning with a consonant, as noticed above. It is to be observed that the augmentative m commonly
precedes words beginning with a labial letter, whereas n precedes the dental ones. Before g, ft, and s, both sounds
ere equally used.
^ The word Amma, as here used, always represents a collective idea: thus Ammakoosina is the whole nation of
the Koossas; Thumbe is a gut, Ammathumbe the whole intestines.
|| The i at the end of this word is half sunk or suppressed, and in the Caffre pronunciation is neither long or
accented, but appears little more than a sort of modulation of the e.

APPENDIX.
The Belly  6 S s i e s s o.
The Arm  U n k o n o.
The Elbow   Kunehba;
The Hand  I s a n g a.
A Finger  Omnu.
The Fingers  Iminu.*
The Thumb  I s i t h u b a.
ANail  :  •  Insipu.
The Hip-bone  I n g a 1 a.
The Thigh  .,  Umlensi.
The K^nee  I d o o 1 o.
The Ankle-bone*  Uk ong;
A Knuckle...  6 k we ele.
The Foot  J e n j a o.
The Heel  Istheende.
A Toe  ,  Osowane.
The Toes  ,  ., . Ammasowane.
The Great-toe  Ubonsi, or Ithubjenjaos
The Thumb of the Foot.
Names of Beasts, f
Game, or wild Animals in general  '......Sammakasi.
A Baboon. (Cynocephalus Ursinus)  Imfeene.
Green Ape. (Cercopithecus Olaucus)  I m k a o.
Lion  Guinjama.
Panther. (Felis Pardus)  Ingwa.
Leopard: (Felis Jubata) J  1 1 6 s i.
WildCat. (Felis)  ..Boo Id la.
Hyaena. (Hyeena Crocuta)  . . U n n g j ti k a.
Jackall. (Canis mesomeliis)  Panguhtj •

» Notwithstanding all the trouble I haye taken, I have not been able to discover a determined rule for the-
formation of the plural. As I have observed in a former note, many plurals are formee? by repeating the first
ayllablc of the singular twice over ; and Amma expresses a collective, buV in the instance before us of ih'e'Jingersr
we do not find the plural formed in either way.
+ 1 hope to render a trifling service to naturalists who may hereafter travel over Southern Africa, in giving here
a list of names of the animals that inhabit the Caffre country, according to what they are called by the natives, with
ffrose' assigned them in the scientific classification.
$ N ot the leopard of the system which is comp rehended under Felis pardus, but what the colonists eaU Lvipaard*

APPENDIX.
Dog. (Canis familiaris)  '  I n z j a.
Bitch  I u z j a k a s i.
Red Weasel. (Viverra Caffra)  I g a 1 a? j
Honey Badger. (Gulo mellivorus)  1 1 i e h t s e.
Pole-cat. (Mustela Zorilla)  I k h a k a.
Civet-cat. (Viverra Civetta) *  U m p u k u.
Elephant  U n g 1 b v o.
Rhinoceros  Unkhomo.
River-horse. (Hippopotamos)  Imfuhbu.
Horned Cattle in general  '.   I n k 6 m o.
A Bull  K u h n s i.
A Cow..^  Kom o kasi, or Maas.
An Ox  K a. b i.
Cattle without Horns  :  U n k u v a.
A Calf  Metdle, or Ma tho la.
A young Calf  K o j a, n a. 9
Lean Cattle  Inkomo-inile.
Fat Cattle  Inkomootj e-leleejood.
I n k o m o.a mmafuta. f
Buffalo. (Bos Cafer)  -.  Ureati.
Eland. (Antilope oreas)  Umpoof. +
Blue.deer. (Antilope lencophwa)  Iputhi. §
Wood-deer. (Antilope sylvatica)  Babehla.
Roebuck. (Antilope cinerea)  1 1 i s a.
Reed-deer. (Antilope syrinx)  P' h u h n s i.
Red Roebuck, probably new  N a I a.
Mountain Antelope. (Antilope pygarga)  P a d e.
The Gazelle, the Duiker. (Antilope gritnmia) .... P u h n s i. y
The small Antelope, the Oribi, (Antilope pygmcea) .. J u 1 a.
A Ram  Inguhnsi.
An Ewe  Immfu-ingani.
A Wether  I m m f u.

* With regard to the different species of Viverra in Southern Africa great errors seem to exist, which, however,
cannot here be set right.
+ Futa signifies fat : also butter,
J Thence, probably, the name of Empophos, given to this animal by some writers.
$ According to the assertions of Vander Kemp, and of some other colonists, the blue-deer, which is now scarcely
to be seen within the boundaries of the colony, still abounds in the Caffre country.
|| The name of this deer differs only from that of the reed-deer by the aspiration of the first syllable. In
pronouncing the latter p' huhnsi care must be taken to give the aspirate to the h, not to pronounce the word as if it
began with /.

APPENDIX.
A Lamb  Itholeel-imrafu.
A Goat  I m b u h r i;
A Quagga  Quagga.
The Zebra  Dau.*
A Horse  Haas si.
A Hog  I h a a g w u.
A Wild-boar. (Sus AEthiopicus)  Gnluhwe, Inguluhbe.
The Ant-bear. (Oructpperus capensis)  Innagu. 2
A Hedge-hog. (Hystrix cristata)  Innaenda.
A Mole. ' (Georychus capensis)  Inthuko,
A Mouse  Imp u k u.
A Seal. (Phoca vitulina)  Inguhsa.
A Whale. (Physeter macrocephalus)  ,  U m n e e n g a.

Names of Birds.

i

A Bird  Intaka.
A Cock  K u k u d u n a.
A Hen  Kukukasi. + ,
A Pheasant. (Phasianus gallus)  Kukukwinjane.
The Vulture. (Vultur percnopterus)  K a 1 a n g a.
The Falcon. (Falco parasitus)  U m s" w a s a:
2
The Ostrich  Inngiba.
Black Crow. (Corvus Afer)  K w a w a.
Jackdaw. (Corvus albicollis)  '.  I t'h b o g u. h 1 u.
Parrot   Koneene.
Luri. (Corythaix Persa)  Guluhwi.
The Honey-cuckoo. (Cuculus indicator) J  Intaka-buhs.
A Crane  Jend 6 w e.
The yellow crested Heren  H e e m.
-The wild Peacock  Z e e m e.
A Partridge  I s 1 a n g u.
A Duck  D a d a.

* The zebra is called by this name in almost all the Hottentot dialects.
t At tbe time of the first Portuguese discoveries in Southern Africa, the Caffres had tame fowls.
J This bird lives chiefly upon wild honey. He seeks ont the bees' nests, and gives notice when he has found
one, by a. cry of tscherr tscherr, which indicates to the inhabitants that a nest is near; thence his name of
Indicator. >

APPENDIX.

Names of Reptiles, Fish, Insects, t\c. *'
3
A Tortoise  .""... .... I n g u h I o.
A Frog  Izeele.
A Toad  G o n g 6 d e.
2
The Leguan  T a a m.
The Salamander  U k h u c h u.
Ylnkuhmi. "
Three different sorts of Lizards  -? I k i 1 i e t j e.
*Ich6kootj eene.
A Serpent in general  N j 6 k a.
The grey Wood Snake  Naamba.
The yellow striped Snake  Nuhssu. f
2
The green Water Snake  .•  Khaandi.
The large Pof-adder  I c h a m b a.
i
The Mountain-adder  I n t h a n g 6.
The Cobra-capella  P ' h i m p i.
The four-footed Snake J  Kabeh.
Fish in general  Tlaansi.
A Lobster  I n k a I a.
A Fly    Upukane.
An Ant  B o v a n i.
A Worm that bites or stings  I si bon gu.
£ large green Fly into which this Worm changes . . . S b a b.
¦ A .Worm which is probably the Larve of a Ph'ryganea,,
or something of that kind  Tuhntsjana.
A Bee  I n j u h s s i.
A Louse  ~.  J e n t b w a 1 a.
A Flea  Je n t o w a k u h m b a.
A Butterfly  I n s 1 a g u h s.
i
A Scorpion  Daudoani.

* I follow here entirely the names given me by Vander Kemp ; it would be very difficult to ascertain the proper
scientific names.
t This is the snake mentioned in Chap. 24th, which we found while we were, encamped in the Caffre country
waiting for Geika.
t Perhaps the coluber saurita mentioned by Nemnich in his Lexicon der Naturgeschichte, as a snake having
•uicb resemblance to a lizard. — Translator.

APPENDIX.

Parts of Animals.
A Horn  P'hondo.
An Elephant's Tusk  P'hdndonunglovo.
Hair^  ;  Poja.
The Skin of a Beast  lsikhumba.
Feathers  I n s i b a.
Tail-feathers  1 1 s j o b a.
The Tail of a Bird or Quadruped  U m s i 1 a.
The Wing Feathers  U s i b a.
Flesh  Jamma, or I n j a m m a,
A Joint  Thaambo.
A Marrow.bone  Ummongo.
The Lungs  Ip'hunga.
The Breath  Upefuhmla.
The Heart  Ip'hapu.
The Stomach  1  Luhssu.
The Kidneys  S i n s o.
The Liver . .-»-  I s b i h n d i.
The Intestines  ...Ammathumba.
Ox.dung  P u 1 o n g o. ,
The Bladder  I s i h n j a.
3
An Egg  Kanda.
Milk  A m m a a s s i.
Fresh Milk  L u b i h s s i.
Sour Milk  K h a k a.
Butter, or Fat  F u ta.
Honey  «  •••• Qbuhssi.

Names of Trees and Plants.

A Tree  I m m i h t i.
The Cripple Tree. (Profed conocarpa)  Intsaassa.
A tall Tree, with Fruit resembling Plums, perhaps
the Zizyphus mucronatus  I n g o n j a.
The large Thorn  '.  ,  .....Ummuhnga.
Another sort of Thorn, both species of Acacia  Immieenga. 2 2
The Cab.Thorn  U m k a k o b a.
2
A sort of Cassia. (Schotia speciosa)  <  Ingaam.

APPENDIX.
Hassagai-Tree. (Curtisia faginea)  Inslakusjane.
Monkey's-Cord. (Cynanchum obtusifolium) ..... L u h s i.
A Gourd  Puh si.
The Calebash, or Bottle-Gourd, ,.(Cucurbita lage-
naria)  '.'.' ...'.'...'.. .' L i s eel o"a.
The Caffre Water-melon  .....'...."...".'!.'.'.".' T t h a n g a."
The Caffre Millet. (Holcus Sorghum) ........... E e m a s o m b a.
The Straw of the Millet  ....'..'.'......'. Sehle.
An Aloe  '  I k'h a 1 a.
The Plant they use for Tobacco  .......".".'.'. i . 1 1' h vi b a. -', ,
A large Reed  ....;........'.'.' .\" ...... 1 n g 6 n g 6 1 o.
A sort of Sugar-cane  .'.. ...° .".'.'.'!.'„.'.... J e e n f e.
A Plant which the Caffres use as a sort of Spoon *.. Umphdmbo.
A certain Root eaten by the Caffres .............. N o n g o.
Grass  ....'...'.  '.'.'.'..ta gh a, Tjani, Uhtjaan.
Rushes  ...'.'.'.. '. '. . '. '. ... t m m i h s i.
A Mushroom  ..'i.\...],!i,.i Koane.
Wood ..."  '. . '. . ' ', '. '. '.'. . '. . . ','.' K ii h n i.
 2  v- >'•: :c
Small Wood for Firing  '.'. ............ T s a a s s a.
Ashes  • U t h u t u.
.... . ... ^ .... .
A Leaf  I n g a b i. . . . .
The Bark  K 0 s a  . , 
The Seed   B e e u. 
Gum  •  Insfaka. 
Rosin  ..'.:: :.:....  Tina.

Things relating to the Earth and the .Heavens* . .
Clayey Earth.  Um d dh'nge'
2
Sand  Tlabati.
Copper  Bangala.
Brass  :  Z u m bi- tslope.
Iron  Zumbi-linjame.
Stone  .'.'.........'... 1 1 i e t j e h.

* Alberti gives the following description of this plant, and the use made of it : It has a flat stem, about an
inch broad and two lines thick, with fibres wove very hard togetber. -The siem is cut off in the broadest part, and
beat with a stone, till the fibres separate, and make a sort of brush ; this is dipped in the milk, and conveys a good
deal at a time to the mouth. They also use muscle-shells as spoons. The Beetjuans., .who are farther advanced in
civilization than the Koossas, cut spoons in the form of ours very tolerably out of acacia wood.

APPENDIX.
Hewn Stone  Bongotoa.
A rounded Top of a Mountain  I n t a b a.
A Mountain terminating in a Ridge at the Top .... Mango.
Jagged Pieces of Rock  1 1 i w a.
A steep, or nearly perpendicular Rock  U d o n g a.
White Ant Heaps  Siduhla.
A Cleft, or Gulley in a Rock  U m f ah 1 a.
A Valley  K" h e e b i .
Earth, Terra Firma  U m s fa b a.
Sea  Loaanse.
The Foam of the Sea  A m a s a.
A River  U m I a a m b c
A Ford for passing a River  S w u k u.
Water  A m m a a n s i.
Fire  U m 1 i 1 o.
Flame  Fut'ha.
Smoke  Uhmsi.
Shade  Umthunsi.
The Sun  Lelanga, or Hang a.
The Moon  Jujanga.
The Stars  Kwinkweies. 3
The Evening Star  Ngaandi.
The Morning Star  Ikwees;
The Seven Stars  ...Islimeela.
Night  U p s u h c h.
Day  Imine.
Morning  G o m s o.
Evening  Kwakuhlsu,
The Heavens  •  ^  Isuhlu.
A Cloud  ..Ammafu.
Thunder  Laduduhma.
Lightning  Abaneeka.
Rain  Infuhla.
A Rainbow  ¦!.,... Umjama.
Snow  Seele.
Rime, Hoar-Frost  . . . . . I n k 6 1 o s a n e.
Fog  Inkuhugo.
Wind  .'  M o j a;
Drought  , ... v  K'h o m e h 1 e.

c

APPENDIX.

> The Dwelling-Place, Household Furniture, fyc.
The Village, the Kraal  I k h a j a, or Umslaante,,
A House, or Hut  Insluh.
The Cattle Fold  .'.'.'  U t'h a n go.
A Door  U mk.an.go, .
A Window  Isikh.6 b a. ,.,..f
The centre Post of the Hut  I n t s e h k a. ; . &¦%
The Side Poles  ,  .....'  To.nga. :ilJ.y,f .Mff>.
The Mats for sleeping upon . .—  U k h u k o, 
A Mat for eating upon . .". :  I s.t h e e b e. I) •¦¦-¦ '-, ¦¦ ,'f A
The earthen Pot for keeping their Liquor  Tsjala..
Any other Kind of earthen Pot  I m b i s a.
The Cover of the Pot  I s.i.k i k w e.
A Bottle Gourd  .Kokombi. .
The Shell of other sort of Gourds  Indehbe 
A Milk Basket  Si h t j~a, or T ' h u h n g a.
An Axe  Zi* b i.
A Knife  Tsj"ehmi.
A Case for a Knife  I s I i t s j e e t s j a.
A Wooden Spade  .... S 1 a k'h u 1 o.
 2 '
A Spoon  I g.a b b e h k a. .
A Brush Spoon  U m s 1 o n s a.
A Tortoise-shell Box  Umkeeke.
A Needle, or Bodkin  Si la a da.
2
A Bag  I n n 6 h u.
The Sticks for striking Fire  V e e t h e.
2
A Looking-GIass  '. N adi. '*
Money   .'.......  Mali. +
The Hottentot Gorrah, a Musical Instrument  I h a d i.
A small Reed Pipe  .' . .>  U m b a a n d i.
A Hassagai  • . U m k'h onto.
A Hassagai with a quadrangular Shaft  Isagga.

* A word learnt from the Hottentots. When they first saw the Europeans read, they called the book by the
same word Nadi, adding ot' heeta ; that is to say, a speaking looking-glass. They have since distinguished a look
ing-glass by the addition of ok'hangeela, which signifies for looking into.
t This is the same as the Persic word for money. The Koossas, however, had the word from the Hottentots,
by whom it is called Mari.

APPENDIX.
A Handful of Hassagais  S i g g a 1 e.
A Kirri  I n d ii k u.
The Bosjesmau's Bow  Sipeeta.
The Bowstring, made of Sinews  Ummuh t j"a.
An Arrow  UmtAlo.
The Shaft of the Arrow  «.».. Udihsa.
The Point of the Arrow  Ingahla.
A Gun  ,  M p u h. *

Articles of Cloathing, and Food.
I
A Mantle of Ox Hide  ,  Inguhbo.
A Mantle of a Wild Animal's Skin  Uneebe,
A Woman's under Garment  4  Inkjo. s
A Woman's Head-Dress  N g o n s e.
A Shoe, a Sandal  Jetangwo.
Metal Bracelets  Uhskolo. 3
Ivory Bracelets  K h a g a.
Finger or Toe Rings  Pseesana.
Joints of Animals worn as Ornaments  Lubeengo.
Beads  Igalaka.
Victuals  Kuhlsla.
Bread  Isonka.
Cooked Millet  ,  Kobi.
Salt  Tj~ua.
Millet Wine  Inguhja.
The weaker Liquor from the Millet  T j a 1 o a.
Millet Vinegar  T j'ai a.

\

Proper Names, Titles, fyc.
A Man of their own Country  K o o s s a, or K a u s s a. -f
A Woman of their own Country  Ko'ossakasi, or Kaussa.
kas i.

* Pronounced so, as in some sort to imitate the report of a gun.
t It must be observed, that the au in German is sounded much like the English 01c, so that an Englishman
would probably have written Kowssa rather than Kaussa. — Translator.

APPENDIX.
A Hottentot  Umlao.
A Bosjesman  U m t o a, or B a t o a.
A Namaaqua  D a m in a. *
Namaaqualand  Dammeene.
A White Man, a Colonist  ....Umluhngo.
The King, the Lord  Inkoossi.
The Queen  Inkosakasi.
A Servant  I g o s s o.
s
An Enchanter,- a Magician  Geicha. 3
An Enchantress, a female Magician  Geicha tasi.
A Friend  .... Umsilobo.
A Comrade  V a n d i n i.
An Enemy  '•  I m m p i.
A Thief  In def aj o,
A Raseal  G w i g a.
Diseases.
Sickness, Pain  S i I 6 n d a.
A Fever  ,,  ...Geisakwe.
An Eruption  Ukweekwe. 3
The Small-Pox  Ingagaka.
Pimples  I nt'huba.
A Cough  ...»  Kofeela.
Flatulence  S u h s a.
Hunger  «  L a m b a.
Adjectives.
Handsome  Jenkle.
Strong  .-. Am maassfa.
Weak  Thathaka.
Sick  Fah.
Alive, Living  ,  L i c h i h s e.
Dead   Puhla.
Pleased  T s a 1 a.

* It remains to be proved hereafter, whether by this name is to be understood the Dammaras, of whom very
little is at present known ; or whether it is not intended by this name to describe all the tribes of Hottentots on the
western coast, that being the part where the Namaaquas inhabit.

APPENDIX.-
Afflicted  Dammilc.
Obedient  K o v a, 8.
Disobedient  A k o s a.
Sensible. Spirited  W i m b a.
Slothful  K e e n a.
Drunken  Jangeela.
Hungry  Lam bile.
Aged  I n d a 1 a.
Young  I k h o b 5 k a.
Rich  F i h.
Crooked, in action, unjust  G u e 1 n a.
Upright, in action, just  L o n g a.
Upright, sincere  Longlle.
True  J a n 7 s a.
False  Kh6kandlle.
Good  Kajeeke.
Bad  K u h m b a.
Angry  Kuhmblle;
Sweet  M'maandi.
S°ur  •  Immnhnje, or Muhng .
Sharp  Ameer a.
Corrupt. Putrid  Anuka.
Warm  Sj"uh, or Suhsu.
Hot  ;  Tsj"ibu.
Co,d  Trabba, or Ingihle.
ColdWeather  Godoole.
Lih-ee  K u h 1 u.
Sma11  Intoanna.
Ful1  I s e e 1 e.
Much  Sinienzi.
Little  ,1  T u a n i.
Dark, with relation to Colour  K u h s s a m a.
Light, with relation to Colour  • • • • K h o a n-ia.
White  Tsfope.
B,ack  •••  Linjame.
Red  Pongwu.
YeUow  Libiklu.
"reen  •  Luhssa-ossa.
*"ue  •  ¦•  •  I n g w 7 w u.
Grey  I c h o a n a.

APPENDIX.

Verbs. *

T°Sive  "S  Pah, Nika, or Eetha. r
To take  T' ha bat a.
To buy, to exchange  T'heenga.
To pay  S a~u 1 a.
To ke«P  B e e k a.
To conceal  F a k k a.
To seek to obtain any thing, to beg  F u h n a.
To find  F u m a n a.
To wi"  W u h m a.
To think  B u h 1 a.
To believe  S a n g a, or K ' h o o 1 a.
To trust, to have confidence in  D s e h 1 a.
To ,0Te  T ' h a n d a;
Tohate  Sondoa.
To h°Pe  Ingana.
To P^ise  K o o t a.
To lie. To speak untruth  K'hfikiessa. +.
To swear  F u h n g a.
To deal justly  Longiessa.
To learn  F u n d a.
To be taught  F u n d i e s s a.
To see  P 6 n a.
To P°int t0  K ' h a n g e e 1 a.
To hear  K o v a.

+ •

* All verbs end in a ; most of them, particularly the purely active, are radical, and commonly of only two
syllables. The derivatives have more syllables, ending in ana, ela, or essa. The neuters are for the most part
the same as the adjectives from which they are derived, as Lamba, hunger, Lamba, to be hungry, — Kuhmba, bad
Kuhmba, to be wicked, — Tsata, pleasing, Tsala, to be pleased. It is the being preceded by a pronoun which
distinguishes the verb ; the intermediate auxiliary verb is, however, not spoken ; it is only understood.
t Among these, Nika has a very particular signification. It is partly nsed in the same sense as tbe other two,
but sometimes, according to what accompanies it, signifies to permit a thing to be given to you. As, for example,
with the first person, Di Nika is sometimes to be understood not I give, but give me ; and with the second person
future, 0 Nika is not to be understood thou shall give, but thou shalt be given, that is, something shaU be given
to thee. J These examples, as well as some others, shew the manner of forming the derivatives. Khoka is at the
same lime a. lie, an untruth; and to tic, to tell untruths. Khokandile signifies false. Khokiessa is properly,
according to Vander Kemp, to be habituated to framing lies. Longa is upright ; relating to action, just.
I.engiU is sincere ; Longiessa, to deal justly, to be just in our dealings.

APPENDIX.
To understand  ;„  . .... Deewa.
To speak  T ' h e e t a.
To'call  P'hisa.
To count, to reckon  Bala.
To sigh  ;  P'huhmla.
To blow  W u th e> 1 a.
To be hot  I g a 1 a.
To sweat  P i 1 a.
To dream  T ' hong a.
To weep  L i 1 a.
To sleep  L a 1 a.
To cut  S i g a.
To shiver, to break to shivers  Tjanda.
To bind  E e b a.
To hack with an axe  G a u 1 a.
To dig  L i m m a.
To plant  B i n a.
To sow Seeds in the Ground  T ' j a 1 a.
To cook  Peek a.
To sew with a Needle  '  Thuhnga.
To milk  S i n g a.
To make, applied to Substances  E e n s a.
To loosen any thing that is tight bound  G e i m a.
To cover, applied to sensible Objects  W i n g a.
To close up  F a 1 a.
To unclose, to loosen, to set at Liberty  F-u 1 a.
To open, to unfold  K i 1 a.
To fold together  -,   S o n g a.
To break any thing to pieces  P ' h u 1 a.
To smear over any thiug  T'hambiessa.
To work Iron  K'handa*
To go hunting  Singeela.
To snare  A m b a.
To hold fast  _.,.«-  P'hamba.
To strike  P e e t a.
To thrust  K ' h a b a.
To kill  P u 1 a b a.
To die  Fila.
To fight  1 1 sa.
To throw the Hassagai  Bieensa.
To run  D s j"i d i m a.
To swim  Slamba, or Dad a.

APPENDIX.
To dance  • " ."  D u d a.
To go  . . H a m b a.
To sit  Tsfala.
To rise up  r  V u k a.
To come  >  Isa.
To stay, to remain with  I m a.
To go on a Journey  K u d u k a. -.
To carry any thing away  M u k i e s s a.
To bring in  G i n n i e s s a.
To empty  Suhssa.
To hear  •  •••••  Pees a.
To eat   ..... Jesla.
To drink, or to be drunk   T s e e 1 a.
To suck up  0 1 a a n j a.
To entertain any one askis Host  P'huka.
To smoak with a Pipe  S j a i 1 a.
To smoak, as the Fire does  .M'muhss.
To marry  M s e e k a.
It rains  Fula,
It thunders  Duduhma.

Pronouns.
I  M i n a, or M u n a.
Thou  O e n n a.
He  - L u h m t 5.
¦We  T ' h i n a.
Ye, or You  ¦  Nina, or Nini.
Xhey  •¦ ..... Luhm to. *

These personal pronouns are only used when it is intended to point out the person with
particular emphasis. In the common mode of speaking, the personal pronouns used with the
verbs are different, and are changed according to the time intended to be expressed, instead of
the verbs changing by inflexions, as the following table will shew:

* This word, for the third person, comes apparently from Uhmto , a man ; and the h stands, as it were, ia
the place of the demonstrative article, as if to say, this man, these men.

APPENDIX.
PRESENT. PAST, HUTMJItE.
 D i a  D i, or I n d i . . . . Do.
Thou  Uja  Ube  :  O.
He  Ea  Ebe ...;  Wo.
We  Sija  .Si be  So.
Ye  Nija  Nibe  No.
ThGy  P»ju  Ebe  :Boua,
The regularity and consequence in the formation.of these pronouns of time is well worthy
of remark. The characteristic for the distinction of the person lies in the consonant ; as, for
example, the first person singular in all. begins with D; the first person plural in S. N dis
tinguishes the second person, B, or P the third. On the contrary, the time seems pointed out
by the vowel: A for the present, E for the past, and O for the future. Certainly a very
simple and happy combination. This form of personal pronouns supersedes, in the' language
of the Koossas, the use of auxiliary yerbs, of. which they have none. In the language of the
Beetjuans, which differs in some respects from that of the Koossas, there are auxiliary verbs,
and the only inflexions in verbs arc formed by them. Here and there also, in the Koossa lan
guage, Di ku, I go, occurs as an auxiliary in the. formation of the future. For the rest, the
pronouns are sometimes placed before, sometimes after the verb : I could not, however, make
out whether there was any fixed rule for doing this, or whether the application is wholly arbi
trary. Mine  :  : .  E a a m.
Thine  Saam, Ako, or Lako.
His .  K h a 1 u h m t o. *
Ours  A-ethu.
Yours and theirs, the same as  Thine and his.
These possessive pronouns are joined to substantives ; as, for example, Umfas'' eaam my
wife; Inkomo lako, thy ox; Insl uh-aethu, his house; Le, Lo, or Lento, is a sort of article
¦which is sometimes placed before substantives, but is also used as a demonstrative pronoun : as
for example :
What is that ?  N i - le ? or I n t o n i-1 o ?
This, that  L e h s\
Who, which  ,  Bani, Kobani.
What  ,  N i, or I n i n a. '
These, which  -  ,  I . i.

» That is to say, fo this man, or for this man.
e

APPENDIX.
This way which goes directly out.  Isdeela, i longilejo, i e n kfe.
None  A k ' h u.
No one, nobody  Ak'hu-n-uhmto.
Prepositions.
For  K ' h a.
To  Au.
Speak to him  T h e t a au 1 e.
Of, or from  Vel, vela.
By  Khan.
Above  Peesnhlo.
Underneath  Paaentsi.
Within  Ginna, i£ u h s s e.
Deep in  L o m b o.
Deep in the water  Lombo-n.amaassi.
Without  Ak-haku.
With,  ,  Ne, na, n'.
Ne', or n', are, properly speaking, only used to join together two substantives; as,
Indoda-n-Umfasi, husband and wife; Induda-n.Inzj a.kdsi, a dog and bitch ; 1'huhnga.mn.am.
maas, a basket with milk. Adverbs.
To-day  Nams la.
To-morrow  * . . . ,  Gomso.
The day after to.morro «v  Gomso-omnje.
Yesterday evening  I s 6 1 i.
This evening ,  P e s 6 1 i.
Daily  U m s"l a - j o n k e.
Now  Kaloko.
Never  ,  Pagati.
Where  E p i, or o p u.
There  Appa.
Wherein  P ' h i n a.
Whither  V e 1 - A' p h i n a.
Therein  A p p a. j a.
Thither  <¦  Vel-appaja.
Here  L i n d a j o.
Hither  Najo.
How  Sin.

APPENDIX.
HowlarSe?  Sin. k> haka.
How much?  Singa.
Somuch  Sinjens-je.
Soas  Gansj~e\
As hot as fire  t „ f; k ..-„.. •"' . • .
. ,..„  1 s j 1 b u g a n s j e . n . u m 1 i 1 o.
A little  T ' • •-,,,.
 tnnant, or tnkhani.
Slow, low, (in speaking) still, quiet  G d s f i.
Quick, loud, harsh  K o n e e n e.
Wherefore?  Kkeh, or Unani.
Yes  He, ewe, or ewah.
No  Haai.
Not  Aiko, or an.
That is far off  E o n a a n t o.
Why  Ma.
Bu*  Uh.

Interjections.
Mere exclamations, as O, ah  W a.
To express astonishment  U h, an.
To express disapprobation  O o i h.
The oath commonly used  Non.
By Chachabe  Non Chachabe. *

Numerals,
One  I h n j e.
Two  Mabini, or Sombini.
Three  Mat'hatu.
Four  M a n i.
Five  M a s 1 a n u.
2
Six  ,  S i k a n a.
Seven  Sit'handatu.
Eight 
Nine  T ' h u o m m e.
Ten  ."".....  \  S j u m e.

* See page 254.

APPENDIX.
When a Koossa would express a number, he commonly, as he. speaks the numeral, at the
same time raises the like number of fingers. Sometimes, however, the numeral is not men
tioned ; the action of raising the fingers only is used. Many, as has been already, mentioned,
cannot even name the numerals. Vander Kemp^ notwithstanding the length of time he remained
among them, never could learn any term for eight;, and among the Beetjuans I could not learn
any words for the numbers,/?^ and nine : much less hav.e they the means of expressing higher
numbers, as twenty, forty, a hundred. Mr. Barrow, indeed, gives them, but he appears to
have been deceived by his interpreter, for none, among the Caffres, of whom we enquired how
they called eleven, twelve, twenty, &c. seemed at all.able. to comprehend what was meant.
Specimens of their Modes of speaking.
Whence comest thou ?  Vel a p ' h i. n.a.
From where.
I come from Guakubi  Di vela Guakubi.
J from Guakubi.
) What is your name ?....  Ni gamma lako.
What name thine.
I am a Colonist  Mina Uml uhngo.
1 Colonist.
Where is thy wife?  '  E p i - n*- U m f a s i lake.
Where Wife. thine.
I have no wife  Aiko-n-Umfasi. No Wife.
Let us sit down ..  Ma-si-tslale. Why we sit.
I came on horseback  Disene haassi.
Di I, isa come, ne with haassi,
horse.
I come from the wood  D i vel e s 1 a t ' h i n a.
Give me milk to drink  Di nike di t s"e 1 ammaas.
/ give I drink milk.
Give me bread  Di pe sonka.
v • J give bread.
Milk is in the basket   .-. v  Ammaas ase t'huhngene.
Corn is in the bag  Eemasomba as innowene.
The milk is thick  Ammaas avuthile.
I am going to milk  'Dia ku si nga.
Are you going to milk ?  ,  U j a k u s i n g a n a.
Cut me a piece of meat  Di segeel' in j amma.

» APPENDIX.
Boast it for me  Do us eh la.
Do (future) me, usehla, roast.
Cook it for me  ,  Do p ' h e k e h 1 e;
The fire does not burn  A . u h t s. j" e u m 1 i I o.
The hut is on fire  Insfuh i a-ehtsj**.
The fire smoaks  Umlilo nomsi.
The fire goes out  ....Umlilo ignile.
Stirupthefire  Kwase la umlilo.
The food is hot  Ukuhlsfa usj"usu.
The food is cold  U k u h 1 s f a k u p'h d I e.
The food is salt  Ukuhlsfa suna tjua;
I must speak to thee  Di sa u kutjeela.
Do you not hear ?  A i k ' h o v a.
I do not understand  An diwa.
Do you take it? «•  Uje so ana.
1 do not comprehend it  Au di kaas.
Speak loud, that I may understand  T'heeta k'h akulu di eaiieh
I understand it  D i s i h 1 e.
What tidings do you bring?  U s a k o t ' h i n i n a.
The enemy comes  g. J e s a I m p i.
Let us go  H a m b a si hambe.
Go we go.
Run quick  Dsjidima koneene.
Go home  K u d u k a.
I am weary  D i d i n i w e.
I will strike thee  Dia ku peeta 6 e n n a>
/ go strike thee.
Wait upon me  K ' h a u d i 1 i e n d e.
Give me tobacco to smoak  Na di tsel it 'hub a.
Give I drink tobacco.
Where do you live ?  Nini p'hina.
Fou where.
We live at S"jammi  Thin a p p a j a Sjommi,
We there Sjommi.
Have you any wife ?  Un Umfasina.
I have ten children  Di sj"umeabanto an aba am
J ten people children.
The woman is very rich  L'umfaas'ufi hie hakuhU
Woman rich great.
The day breaks  K wiaassa.
It is very early  Kuhssa essa.
The sun rises  *  II a nga lies a.
It breaks through  L i a p ' h u m a.
f

APPENDIX.

It is windy to-day  ..*  Uko moja namsfa. -
The sun goes down  Lelanga zona.
The brother comes back;  B u ja Umkl ueh.
He ran quick  Ebe kitsimihle.
That is good  Tj api ' 1 e.
You say right  ¦•-. .-.-... • U j a tj a pa.
Bind the calf fast  Necb' inkonjanc.
The cow has calved  I s e e I e inkomo.
The sheep is come home  I s i m m f u h s a k. u d u k a.
Tie little calf is gone  • ••  Inkonjane slariklle.
Shall yoa_kill an ox?  Kheela o e n n a Kheelani?
I will not  An di vuhme, or an di
k* h a a n d i.
The dog has bit me  • In di lumihle i n z j a.
I (past) bitten dog.
I will kill the dog that bites  Iwzja le i lumajo do
kupulab a.
Dog that bites I (future) kill.
Let us now rise  Ma si vuka kaloko. +
I am ready  d i k e wile.
I have not enough  ,  ,  An d i k a s fu t i.
It will rain  Ea ku ful a.
Let us go over the ford  -Ma su eele i swuka.
The river is full  Umlaambo useele.
The river runs  Umlaambo i h am b a.
No, the river is empty  Ha ai. umlaambo u h t s ih 1 e.
The river is still;  Umlaambo i ahtsihle.
A storm is coming on  -Lea kuse bekeele.
It thunders  ..... ...... u s u h 1 u la diiduhma.
Heaven there thunder.
Let us go home  Ham bane kuduka.

*'

These little specimens will suffice to prove by accurate comparison, that in this language
many affinities may be traced with, the ancient ones ; I must, however, confess, that here and
there the combining of words is obscure to me, and particularly that I cannot wholly under
stand the meaning of many of the intermediate syllables. In these, the language of Southern
Africa abound sb much, and their sense is so little defined, being often very different in one case
from what it is in another, that it cannot be attained by learning single words only, it must be
sought by learning whole phrases.
But however incomplete maybe this Vocabulary, and the remarks annexed to it, I yet hope
that by it I may have given some insight into the degree of cultivation that exists among the
Koossas, and smoothed the way to future researches; that I may, with respect to enquiries
into the Caffre languages, as well as on many other points, have rendered myself useful to
future travellers. No nation is so savage as not to see, with more favourable eyes, a foreigner
who endeavours to express himself in their language; and this feeling, therefore, might be
expected from the Caffres, even supposing them the most wild and untamed people upon the,
earth.

INDEX.

Abue, the Dane, his remarkable fate, 178.
Adder Pof, an extraordinary species of ser
pent, 35.
African Farms, a sort of little states within
themselves, 47.
Alberti, captain, his work upon the Caffres,
249, note — His account of the dissensions
among the Caffres different from Vander
Kemp's, 293, note — His account of an em.
bassy to the Caffre king, and presents made
to the latter, 321 , note — His negociations with
the Caffres, 328 — Great confidence placed in
him by the Caffres, 330— He accompanies
the Commissary-general into the Caffre coun.
try^ 334.
Algoa-bay, description of the settlement
there, 232.
Aloe. gum, manner' of preparing it, 169.
Aloe-perfoliata, numbers growing together, 161.
Ammakosina, a tribe of Caffres, 250.
Augusta's Rest, name given by the travellers to
a romantic spot, 207.
Ausspannplatzen, the meaning of the word ex
plained, 19, note — Utility of these places to
the colonists, 21.
Author, the, his desire to visit Southern Africa,
2 — He engages as tutor to the son of Governor
Janssens, 3 — His preparations for his journey,
16 — His arrangement of plants and insects at
the Teefontein, 32 — He loses his way in pur
suit of insects, 46 — Disappointed of shoot
ing a hippopotamos, 54 — The reliance of the
colonists on his power of curing diseases, 88,
and 337 — His visit to the muscle cave, 178->-
His interesting progress through the Kaiman's
cleft, 190 — His disappointment at searching
in vain for the body of an elephant, 225 — His
visit to the Lead mine at Van Stade's-river, 229.
B.
Barbler's kraal, why so called, 194.
Barrow, Mr. defectiveness of his map, 36, and
note— His want of liberality in the description
he gives of the African colonists, 48 — He
.accuses the colonists wrongfully of cruelty to
their oxen, 66 — His mistaken ideas concern
ing the Neisna lake, 198— In an error when he
considers the colonists as the aggressors in the
"Caffre war, 200— His account of the Caffres,
an.excecdingly good one, 250— Mistaken in his
representations with regard to the colonists of
Bruintjeshoogte, 360.
Baths, warm ones in the Brand-valley, 148.
Bavian's kloof, society of the united-brcthrcn
there, 151. .

Bays, along the Southern Coast of Africa, simi
larity of them, 201.
Beauty, extraordinary instance of it in an
African girl, 176.
Berg-river, plan for making a canal from it to
Saldanha-bay, 40; — Hippopotami found there,
49— Mouth of the river, 51 — Mode in which
it was passed by the travelling party, 53.
Berg-valley, a remarkable ravine there, 71.
Bethelsdorp, missionary institution there, 237.
Blaise St. Bay of, the name by which Mossel
bay was formerly known, 181.
Bokkeveld, the lower, number of sheep fed in
it, 84 — The country much infested by the
Bosjesmans, 85.
Bosjesman woman, her hideous and dusgusting
appearance, 56 — Meaning of the word Bos
jesman, ib. note — Compromise made with them
by the people of the Lower Bokkeveld, 85 —
A visit made by two of them to the travelling
party, 114— They are a distinct race from the
Hottentots, 116 — Description of them, 117 —
A remarkable instance of the hatred borne
them by the Caffres, 276 — Enormities commit.
ted by them in the Bruintjeshoogte, 362.
Brakkefontein, a place near the Cape Town, 19.
Brand-valley, a hot spring there, 148.
Breast mountain, why so called, 92.
Briquas, a youth of that nation, 113.
Bruintjeshoogte, a remote district of the colony,
why so called, 359— Fit only for feeding
sheep, 360— The colonists here were not the
aggressors in the Caffre war, ib.
Brush, a sort of one used as a spoon by the
Caffres. Appendix, 12, note.
Buys, Conrad, a colonist, extraordinary account
of him, 210 — Defended against being a stimu.
lator of the Caffre war, 296— Married to
Geika's mother, \ib. — The rebel Caffre Chiefs
refuse to make peace with their king unless
-Buys is dismissed from his service, 313 — He
comes to meet General Janssens, 318 — The
General insists on Geika's dismissing him, 326
—His aversion to the English, 328— His re
turn into the colony, 330.

¦«*

Caffres, the desolate state of a farm destroyed
by them, 197 — First rencontre ofthe travellers
with them, 217— Their agility in throwing
the hassagai, 218— A mock fight represented
by them, ib. — Their weapons,«6.— Their dance,
219 — Their rush baskets, ib. — Instance of the
distance at which they can hold a conversation
so as to be distinctly heard, 224— Their trou-
2.

INDEX.

blesome hunting parties in the colony, 230—
Origin of the name, 241, and note — Charac.
teristics of these people, 243 — Their^ probable
origin, 245 — Extent of the country, 248 —
Dissension among the Caffre Chiefs, 293 —
Their quarrels with the colonistsjjfi. — Ravages
committed by them, 294 — They surround
General Vandeleur, 295 — Driven back by a
colonist party, ib. — Their dread of the water,
307— Their dislike of the English, 32*— Ne.
g oeiations of Captain Alberti with them, ib. —
Their eagerness to plunder the author's medi.
cine chest, 338 — An instance of modesty
among the girls, 339 — Manner of travelling
-when a horde removes, 341 — A rebel horde
returning, 357.
Caffre Chiefs, dissensions among them, 290 —
Several of them revolt against King Geika,
292 — The rebellious ones invited to a con
ference with General Janssens, 303 — Their
interview with him, 311 — Articles of agree.
ment made, with them, 313 — Not very willing
to accept his meditation for reconciling them
with Geika, 315 — Their fear of returning into
their own country, 329 — Very desirous of
living on good terms with the Christians, 331
— Messengers sent by the Commissary-general
to desire a meeting with them, 334 — 'Their
arrival expected in vain by him, 342— Recon
ciliation of some of them .with Geika, 382.
Camdeboo, a desert plain, fatigue of crossing
it, 365.
Cannon, astonishment excited in a Caffre by the
firing of one, 308.
Cattle-places, why so called, 55.
Chamtoo -river, arduous passage of' it, 223—
beautiful country on the other side, 224.
Channa, a plant used by the colonists in making
soap, 124. \
Chronic diseases, more prevalent in the colony
than acute, 88.
Colonists, their journeys to the Cape Town, 20 —
Wrongfully accused by Mr. Barrow of cruelty
to their oxen, 66— In general unjustly tra
duced by English and French travellers, 74 —
Kindness shewn by one to the travellers when
they had lost their way, 81 — The diseases to
which they arc principally subject, 88 —
Amenity of those in the Hantam district, 93
— Remarkable for never swearing or using
abusive language, ib. — Disputes about, the
boundaries of their property, 108 — Extraor
dinary instance of boorishness in one, 131 —
The colonists remarkably temperate, 167 —
Solitary and inactive life led by those of
Bruiptjeshoogte, 364 — Character of those in
Graaff-Reynett, and causes why so uriamia.
ble; 377.
Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, its distracted
'state when taken by the English in 1785, 4—

Lamentable state of some parts. at the arrival
of Governor Janssens, 302.
Colossal, a whole family remarkably so, 150.
Columns, extraordinary natural colossal ones on
the mountains, 55.
Commissary-general De Mist determines to
visit the distant parts of the colony, 6 —
Persons accompanying him on his journey
enumerated, 9 — Preparations for his journey,
11— His departure, 17 — His anxiety to render
justice to the Hottentots, 220 — He sets out
to meet the rebel Caffre Chiefs, 334 — But
expects them in vain, 342 — His efforts to
establish order and prosperity in Graaff-
Reynett, 378.
Commission for improving agriculture, 92.
Conga, a Caffre Chief, his rebellion against King
Geika, 292 — Sends to inform General Jans.
sens that he is coming to meet him, 310 —
Reconciled with Geika, 382.
Corpulence, a remarkable instance of it in ' a
young woman, 73 — Another extraordinary
instance of it.
Crooked, or Kromme-river, account of it, 216.
Cuculus Indicator, or Honey Cuckoo, why so
called, Appendix, 9, note
Cyclops, comparison of the premises of one of the
colonists to their den, 136.
D.
Das, a little animal described, 71, and note.
Deaf and Dumb, a young man and woman bprn
so, 131 — Another remarkably deaf and dumb
man, 212.
Delport and Pisani, two turbulent colonists,371 .
DeMist, Mr. J. A. appointed Commissary -general
at the Cape of Good Hope, 2 — His daughter
resolves to accompany him on his voyage and
subsequent journey, 10.
Deserters, several English ones, met by General
Janssens in his journey, 318 — Account of
some others, 330.
Diana's bath, a romantic spot so named by the
travellers, 206.
Diseases most prevalent among the colonists, 88.
Dissensions, origin of those that prevailed in
Graaff-Reynett, 368.
Doom-river, a night passed in the open air upon
its banks by the travellers, 79.
E.
Elands, or large antelopes, hunted by the colo
nists, 97.
Elephants, their great affection for their young,
214 — Ineffectual search for the body of one,
225 — Manner in which a colonist was killed
by one, 226.
English, impolicy of their conduct to the dis.
contented colonists, 209 — Much disliked by
tbe Caffres, 328 — How described by Buys, ib.

INDEX.

Englishman, trade carried on by one, 1,82.
Envoys, sent by the Governor to propose peace
to the rebel Caffres, 303— Hospitably receiv.
ed by them, 306.
Extraordinary instance of dexterity in killing a
bird with a whip, 31. F.
Farms, manner of fortifying them against the
Caffres, 205.
Fascinatingpo wer of snakes, an instance of it,220.
Fat iguing route of the travellers after losing
their way by night, 82.
Field Commandants, their office, 109, note.
Field Cornets, their office, 87, note.
Firing guns, a compliment paid by the colonists
to persons of consequence, 28 — New-years
day celebrated by firing them, 213.
Fish, remarkable impressions of them in the
slate stone, 95.
Flamingos, a very large troop of them in
Saldanha-bay, 44.
Flies, troublesome ones in the RietvaJIey, 19—
Curious method practised in some parts of the
colony of catching flies, 120.
G.
Gaurits-river, fine scenery about it, 173.
Geika, named as king of the Koossa Caffres,
291 — Takes his uncle Sambeh prisoner, 292 —
And releases him, ib. — Several chiefs rebel
against him, ib. — His people take no part in
the quarrels with the colonists, 295 — His
request to the colonist Rensburg to assist him
against his rebel subjects, 310 — His eager
desire to meet the Governor, ib. — He sends
to request of the Governor a guard to meet
him, 319 — His arrival at the Governor's camp,
320— rHis person described, ib. — Delighted
with the European dress, 321 — Conference
between him and the Governor, 323 — Articles
agreed upon between them, 325 — His answer
on being solicited to put Buys and Rensburg
to death, 327 — He appoints a meeting with
the Commissary- general, 347 — But does not
g- keep the appointment, 352 — Afraid to come,
and wishes the Commissary-general to come
farther into the country, 353 — Reconciled
with Jaluhsa and Conga, 382.
German mode of reckoning distances, 6, note —
Number of Germans in different parts of the
colony, 202 — Easily reconciled to living in
the colony, 381— Exceedingly rejoiced to see a
stranger countryman, ib. — Those settled in the
colony do not associate much together, ib.
Gilddnhuis, a deaf and dumb man, 212.
Good-Hope, Cape of, restored to the Dutch by-
the peace of Amiens, 1 — Its distracted state
when taken by the English, 4— And when
restored to the Dutch, 302.

Gourd, a musical instrument made of one, 84.
Graaff-Reynett, why so called, 368— Des crip.
tion of the village, ib. — Origin of thedissen,
sions that prevailed there, ib. — New buildings
directed in the village by the Commissary-
general, 379 — Diseases more prevalent there
than elsewhere, 380— Garden of Werner
there, ib. — Losses of the inhabitants in the
Caftre-war, 382.
Griesbok, or grizzfcl-deer, 72, note.
Groenekloof, description of, 24.
Guns, large calibre of the African ones, 345.
H.
Halle medicines, very much in favour with ths
colonists, 89.
Hantam mountain, description of it and its par.
ticular fertility, 90 — Amenity of the colonists
there, 93.
Hardness of hoof acquired by the African
horses, 27.
Harnessed Antelope, or Antilope scripta, de
scribed, 165 and note.
Harpsichords, made by a man at the Cane-
Town, 168.
Hartebeestfontein, a very fertile spot for feeding
sheep and cattle, 98.
Hassagai, a Paffre weapon, 218-
Helena St. Bay of, 51.
Herrenhuters, or united brethren, an excellent
society of them, 151
Hippopotami, found in the Berg-river, 49— -
Decree against their being killed, ib.
Hoetjes. bay, a part of Saldanha-bay, 37.
Holiday, an Englishman, desolate 6tate of his
farm from the inroads of the Caffres, 196.
Honey Cuckoo, ox Indicator, account of, appen.
dix, 9, note.
Horned-snake, the poison used by the Bosjes
mans for their arrows, 95.
Horses of the Cape, various kinds of them, 27
— Hardness of hoof acquired by them, ib. 
Mode of refreshing them in arid parts by-
letting them roll, 366.
Hottentots, extremely dexterous in driving the
-waggons, 14 — A battalion of them raised by
Captain Le Sueur, 18 — Ahordeof them living
in the colony as in their own country, 69 — .
Not slaves, or purchased by the colonists,
118, note — Their extreme address in tracing
animals, 121 — A philosopher Hottentot, 214
— Anxiety of General Janssens, and of the
Commissary-general, to render them justice,
220 — Impolicy of employing them against
the colonists, 374.
' Hot-spring, one in the Brand-valley, 148.
Hunting parties of the colonists beyond the
borders, objections to them, 97 — Trouble
some ones of the Caffres, 230.

INDEX.

I.
Idiots, three in one family, 64. •
Indicator, a bird so called, and why,* appendix,
9, note.
Indigo, a plantation of, in Southern Africa, 60.
Institution of the Herrenhuters, or united
brethren at Bavianskioof, 151 — That of the
missionary VanderKemp, near Algoa bay,205.
Islands in Saldanha-bay, 44.
Ixia and Iris, the bulbs eaten by the Hotten
tots, 83. J.
Jaarsveld, Van, of Graaff-Reynett, imprisoned,
and why, 375 — Rescued by the disaffected
colonists, ib.
Jaluhsa, a Caffre chief, his rebellion against
King Geika, 292 — An ambassador comes from
him to General Janssens at Algoa bay, 305
— Reconciled with Geika, 382.
Janssens, General J. W. appointed governor of
the Cape of Good-Hope, 3 — Resolves to visit
the distant parts of the colony, 5 — His recep
tion by a number of colonists on his way to
meet the Caffre chiefs, 3C8 — Endeavours to
restore order in Graaff-Reynett, 376.
K.
Kaiman's Cleft, a very remarkable mountain
pass, 190.
Kaiman' s-river, erroneously so called,189, note.
Karroo, the great desert so called, striking pros.
pect from the mountain directly above it, 112
— Description of it, 121.
Klaas Stuurmann, leader of a band of Hotten.
tots, comes to meet General Janssens at Algoa
bay, 303 — The general visits him in his kraal,
311 — His assiduity in endeavouring to esta.
blish peace with the Caffres, 315 — Killed by
the bursting of his gun, 305.
Klavervalley, the place of Van-Reenen, 24.
Kirri, a Caffre weapon, 218.
Knives, manufactory of them among the united
brethren, 155.
Komberg, a mountain, why so called, ill —
Remarkable view from it, ib.
Koossas or Kaussas, a particular tribe of the
Caffres described, 251 — Their diseases, ib —
Their proneness to superstition, 253 — Educa.'
tion of their children, 260 — Courtship and
marriages, 261 — Infidelity in marriage, 264 —
Their respect for their parents and for old
people, 265 — Their huts, 267 — Training their
cattle, 268— Modes of hunting, 269— Culti
vation of millet, 271 — Their hospitality, 272
—Their dresses, ib. — Their weapons, 275 —
Their hatred to the Bosjesmans, 276 — Their
wars, 277 — Their works of art, 279 — Indif.

ferent calculators, 280 — Their memories very
strong, ib. — Not long lived, 281 — Extent of
the Koossas tribe, 282 — Rivers of the coun
try, 283 — Climate, 284 — Their government,
286 — Administration of justice, 288.
Kraal, numbers of them belonging tp a farm,
107 — Meaning of the word, ib. note..
Kromme, or Crooked-river, account of it, 216.
Kuhnia rhinocerotis, aplant that denotes sweet-
fields, 63, note. L.
Lamziekte, a species of murrain among the cat-
tie, 49 — A cow afflicted with it, 148.
Laubscher Conrad, his place at Uylekraal, 30—
His extraordinary dexterity in killing a bird
with his whip, 31 — Jacob Lauhscher's farm
and patriarchal household, 47.
Lead-veins near Van Stade's-river, 229.
Leather, mode of preparing it for cordage, 73 —
great quantities tanned by the colonists, 124.
Legplaats, why so called, 99,
Leguan, a'very large species of Lizard, 189, note.
Lichens, many found in the muscle caves, 180 —
Tre^s extremely overgrown with them, 188.
Loeri, or Touraco, a beautiful bird, 193 and
note.
Long-kloof, a remarkable pass among the moun.
tains, 208.
Louw, the brothers, return from their journey
to receive the Commissary-general, 71.
M.
Macartney, Lord, impolitic oath enforced by
him upon the colonists, 372.
Malay Slave, *¦ remarkable instance of one living
to a very great age, 50 — Another remarkable
instance of the kind, 168.
Mandarine Apple, a very fine species of sweet
orange, 57 and note.
Matjesgoed, a sort of rush of which mats are
made, 87, note
Meinier, the landdrost of Graaff-Reynett, depos
ed, 371— Restored by Lord Macartney, 373 
Again superseded, 376— Solicits Geika to put
Buys and Rensberg to death, 327.
Mimosas, deformed by insects, 313.
Mirage, the, seen by the travelling party, 169
— and described, ib.
Missionaries, mischief done by them in Roode.
zand, 143— More on the same subject, 146.
moed-verlooren, a desolate valley, 82.
itfbunfatn^southern chain of,theiradvantagesl84
Mountain Pass, a very fine one at the entrance
of the Bokkeveld, 127— Another very K .
markable one called the Kaiman's Cleft, 19c' '
Moravians, or united brethren, a society c
them, 151. '

INDEX.

Mosselbay, description of it, 177.
Muscle cave, the, at Mosselbay, account of it, 178.
Museum at Paris, a curious antelope sent to it
by General Janssens, 317.
Music performed by slaves among the colonists,
28— -A performance of it among the Hotten.
tot Christians, 153.
Musical instrument, a remarkable one at tho
habitation of a Hottentot, 94.
Murder, a horrible one of a colonist's family,
by his slaves and Hottentots, 100.
Murderer's hole, a place so called by the colo
nists, and why, 207.
Murray, an Englishman, trade carried on by
him, 182. • N.
Nacabaneh, an envoy from the rebel Caffre chief,
Conga, comes to meet General Janssens at
Algoa bay, 306 — Hfe astonishment at hearing a
cannon fired, 308.
Namaaquas, a man of that tribe, 70 — A Namaa
qua partridge, 87.
Names, the same given to many different places
in the colony, and why,' 76', note— Names of
places in Southern Africa, changed by the
Dutch in planting the colony, 181.
Nardouw, a high mountain, 77.
Necessaries, for travelling in Southern Africa
enumerated, 11.
Neisna-Lake, erroneous idea of Mr. Barrow-
concerning it, 198.

Organ, one built in the colony, 168.
Qribi. or pygmy antelope, 219.
Ostriches, large number of them together, 110.
Outeniqualand, one ol the mum £<>»<:ij cpots in
the colony, 184.
Oxen, numbers requisite for drawing the wag.
gonsin Southern Africa, 13 — Their dreadful
exertions in ascending mountains, 64 and 191.
P.
Paratlise, probably the original name of the
. valley of Zwellendam, 164.
Physician, account of one settled at Zwellen
dam, 181 — Another at Graaff-Reynett, 379.
Pikenienskloof, a mountain very difficult of as
cent, 64.
Piketberg, remarkable natural columns on its
summit, 55.
Pisaniaad Delport, two turbulent colonists, 371
Pisie, houses built in that way, 172.
Place, the meaning of the word as used in
Southern Africa, 18, note.
Plans for the improvement of Saldanha-bay
analysed, 40.

Plettenberg's. bay, description of it, 201.
Pof. Adder, a remarkable kind of serpent, 35.
Poison of the horned-snake used by the Bosjes
mans for their arrows, 95.
Poles, desertion of several from the Dutch army,
and their strange mistake about the situation
of their country, 221.
Polypheme, a colonist likened to him, 137.
Population, an instance of its great increase,
113— Another, 147— Another, 172.
Poverty of the houses in the Lower.Roggeveld,
105.
Prammeberg, or Breast-mountain, why so
called. 92.
Precocity of European products in Southern
Africa, 60.
Prince, a colonist, the manner in which he was
killed by an elephant, 226.
Prinsloo, a Hottentot, his activity in recovering
property stolen from his master by the Caffres,
331.
Prussian Soldier, an old one narr.ed Winnekes,
his hard fate, 213 — Another Prussian soldier,
by name Werner, 366. Q.
Queen Mother of the Koossas' tribe, her great
influence in the country, ^96 — Proof of
judgment shown by her, 297.
R.
Ravine, a remarkable one in the country about
the Berg-valley, 71 — Another very extraor.
dinary one, called the Kaiman's Cleft, 191.
Reefs, very dangerous ones below the sea on the
Southern coast of Africa, 202.
Rhinoceros, the horn of, believed an antidote to
poison. 86 — Mischief, done by these animals
to travellers, 351 — Manner of hunting them,
355. ,
Rice, a plantation of, in Southern Africa, 60.
Rietvalley, near the Cape-Town, Hottentot
battalion there, 18 — Another place so called,
belonging to Mr. Jacob Laubscher, 48.
Roggeveld,^ middle, great want of trees there,
105 — Poverty of the houses, ib. — Little
Roggeveld, a terrace above the Karroo, 1' 4.
Roodezand, remarkable descent of the mountain
into the valley, 138 — District and village
described, lii. S.
Saldanha-bay, arrival of the author and his
party there, 33 — Description of the bay, 35 —
Plans for its improvement analysed, 40.
Salt-lake, one near the western coast of the
colony, 77 — a more remarkable one on the
southern coast, 335.

INDEX.

Salt-pans in the Groenekloof, 25.
Salt-petre, quantity of itin the ground, 67.
Sambeh, a Caffre chief, rebels against his
nephew and king, 292.
Scholz, a colonist compared to Polypheme, 137.
Schurfedeberge, a remarkable mountain, so
¦ called, 132 — Meaning of the word, ib. note
Scorpions, black ones particularly venemous,
80— Great number of scorpions among some
ruins, 349.
Shaddocks to be found in Southern Africa, 69.
Shapen Island in Saldanha-bay, 44
Shield, a Caffre one described, 218.
Silver-river, why so called, 193.
Slaber, John, Le Vaillant's friend, 29 — His
aged mother, 30.
Slate, houses in the Roggeveld built of it, 106.
Slave, a remarkably old Malay, 50 — Another,
168.
Snake, Its pursuit of a mouse and fascination of
it, 220 — A curious lemon coloured one
caught, 353.
Soldier, an old Prussian one at Saldanha-bay, 45
Sour-Jields, why so called, 63, and note.
South-wind, its deleterious effects, 349.
Spandau.mountain, description of it, and why so
named, 366.
Spanish sheep introduced into the colony, 84.
Spoon-brush, used by the Caffres, Appendix,
12, note.
Springbok, or mountain deer, described, 340 —
A perfectly white one taken by General Jans
sens, and sent to the Museum at Paris, 317.
Spurting snake, or spugslang, curious account
of, 95.
Sweet-Jields, why so called, 63, and note.
T.  __
Table-bay, seen at a great distance, 52.
Tea, very much drank by the colonists, 106.
Teefontein, the estate of Mr. John Van Reenen,
31.
Termes fatale, or white-ants, curious account
of them, 62, and note
Therron, a colonist, his kindness to the travellers
when they had lost their way, 81.
Thigh-tongues, a-dainty in the colony, described,
97.
Tholy, a Caffre chief, comes to visit General
Janssens, 310 — Makes a second visit, 315.
Thunberg, the traveller, grateful recollection of
him by a colonist, 86.
Thunder-storm, a very remarkable one, 222.
Torrents of rain, instance of destruction occa.
sioned by them, 344-

Traveller?, the, lose their -way by night, 78 —
Kindness shewn by a colonist on the occasion,
81 — Fatiguing route the next day, 82 — They
lose their wav by night a second time, 174 —
Uncomfortable night spent by them in a half-
ruined farm, 227.
Travelling, different in Africa from Qther
countries, 7.
Tree-snake, one caught by the party, 160.
Tribes, different Caffre ones enumerated, 297.
Twenty-four-rivers, fertile district of, 58.
V.
Vander Kemp, the missionary, his institution
near Algoa bay, 235— Extraordinary account
of \i\Tf\fib. — Wretched state of the institution,
238.
Vander Merwe, a remarkably tall family of
that name, 150.
Van Reenen, his place at the Klavervalley, 24 —
Mr. Jacob Van Reenen's Travel into Caffra.
ria, 25 — Attention of the brothers Van
Reenen to agriculture, ib. — A fine stud of
horses at his place, 26 — Mr. John Van
Reenen's estate at the Teefontein, 31— •
Another remarkable stud belonging to. the
same person, 91 — Daniel Van Reenen's fine
breed of horses, 165.
Van Stade's river, and lead mines near it, 229.
Verklaarings, papers of impeachment against
each other kept by the colonists, 378.
Vultures, the travellers often followeu by them,
130. U.
Uitenhage, the family name of the Commissary.
general, a new district to be called by itr234.
Unicorn, improbabilijy_otits existence^ 167.
--tFrrttmt-ttmMfen^aciety of them, 1 5 1 .
Uylekraal, the house of Conrad Laubscher, 30
W.
Waggons used for travelling in Southern Africa
described, 13 — Manner of floating them over
the deep rivers, 54— Curious mode of getting
them through the Kaiman's Cleft, 191.
¦ Water-fall, one described and recommended to,
the attention of travellers, 144.
Werner, an old Silesian, his garden at Graaff-
Reynett, 380.
White Ants, extraordinary account of them, 62.
Witsernberg, a remarkable mountain, 138.

Zoetemejk, fertile valley of, 158.
Zwellendam, description of, 163.

THE END.

B. CtABKE, Printer, Well-Street, London.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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