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' " ■ 4......• . •.....*•...*•••», ^ 4* 4* -4* 4* # * 4*.,* m -4* 4* -<* 4* -f« r-^i 4ft'l4* -4* 4* ■;4* if * .... .:. ■•-»/«• • • •.....i ....... .•................. ......... ••*....::...■.:.*..♦•........ .. . • •.......... 4* -5* -v* -5» {* «♦ -< _4*^^f ^ 4^ ^ 4< 4* gfot If, ***** V . } GP VOYAGE to the cape of good hope, towards the ANTARCTIC POLAR CIRCLE, AND ROUND THE WORLD: BUT CHIEFLY INTO THE COUNTRY of the HOTTENTOTS and CAFFRES, from the year 1772, to 1776. BY ANDREW SPARRMAN, M. D. PROFESSOR OF PHYSIC AT STOCKHOLM, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN SWEDEN, AND inspector OF ITS CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY. ^^^^janslated from the swedish original. li k \ with plates. f lyceaij \ veibliothekJ ! AilW^y IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, PATER-NOSTER-ROW. M DCC LXXXV. PREFACE. RELATIONS of voyages and travels have at all times, and in all ages, fince the invention of letters, been favourably received by the public: but, perhaps, in no age fo well as in the prefent; writings of this kind being bought up with avidity and read with eagernefs, more efpecially in this ifland, not only by the learned and polite, but alfo by the rude and illiterate. The reafon is evident. The age in which we live, has not unfrequent-ly been accufed of frivolity and indolence. With what juftice, it is not our bufinefs at prefent to determine. Its turn for experiment, however, and difpofition to enquire into facts is univerfally acknowledged : and indeed, may, perhaps, be partly deduced from the principle above-mentioned. Now every authentic and well-written book of voyages and travels is, in fact, a treatife of experimen- A 2 tal tal philofophy. From thefe fources natural hiftory derives its moft copious ftreams : and the obfervations which, in compofitions of this kind, every where occur on winds and feafons, foils and climates, in fhort, on the whole of what may be called Jlill nature, are undoubtedly of the greateft advantage to phyncal fcience. With reipect to moral philofophy and metaphyfics, it may be fufficient to mention the works of Pauw, Raynal, Kaimes, and Robertson, to evince the utility of journals and defcriptions of voyages in thefe and fimilar refearches. It is alfo worthy of obfervation, that it is the modern philofophers chiefly, and the living inftructors of our own times, who have moftly had recourfe to thefe treafures, as containing the beft materials for the purpofe of building their fyftems, or at leaft, as being beft adapted to the fupport and confirmation of their doctrines. Few, indeed, are the travellers, whofe writings may be relied on as the pure fources of truth, unadulterated with error, or undifguifed by wilful mifrcprefentation. But is the number of writers anfwering to this defcription greater among thofe who have collected and reported facts, avowedly for the purpofe of rendering them fubfervient to philofophy ? Have not, on the contrary, the major part of thefe collectors greatly diftorted and mifreprefented the facts they have laid before the public, in confequence of a previous attachment to favourite fyftems ? Doubtlefs they have ; have; and it is therefore in the original writers of itineraries and journals, that the philofopher looks for genuine truth and real obfervation; as the authors of them for the moft part have had neither philofophical abilities, nor any other motive fumcient to induce them to report thefe facts, otherwife than they have prefented themfelves to their notice. The author of this journal, though a man of much real knowledge and genuine learning, difcovers in every page of his book too little atbchment to fyftem and hypothcfis, to allow us to fuppofe him likely to be guilty of a iimilar error. Fired with the love of fcience and of truth, he fet out for the defert wilds of Africa, without money, and without friends or fupport of any kind; and was even obliged to labour for fome time, before he could acquire wealth enough to enable him to put his favourite fcheme in execution. In this refpect, indeed, he may deferve to be compared to our illuftrious countryman, the prefent preiklent of the Royal Society, whole zeal for the promotion of ufeful knowledge induced him, at nearly the fame age, though at a fomewhat earlier period, to go on a much more dan^ gerous and extenfive expedition, than that which is the principal fubjcct of the following fheets, and to facrifice fortune, eafe and health, in the cavife of fcience. Indeed, exclusively of the considerations above-mentioned, the work itfelf in every page bears evident marks of that that paftionate regard for truth, which firft infpirecl the undertaking. In the defcriptions of animals he is accurate to a degree; infomuch that it is to be feared, that fome of his readers, who are not fufhciently apprized of their general utility, may think him tedious : but in de-fcribing fcenes and situations, whether partaking of the fublime, the beautiful, or the ridiculous, he is no longer an author, he is a painter: and, quitting his pen for the pencil, fets every object before us in colours equally vivid with thofe of nature herfelf. Physician, naturalist, and philofopher, neither human manners, nor civil institutions, rural ceconomy, nor police, nothing, in fine, efcapes the keennefs of his obfervation. Never relying on the relations of others, except when it is impossible for him to do otherwife, he fees every thing with his own eyes, and trusis only to the report of his own fenfes : and at the fame time knows perfedtly well (which is never the cafe with the ignorant traveller) both how to fee and what to look for. Hence we have fo many accurate defcriptions and drawings of animals never before feen, or elfe ftrange-ly mifreprefented by his predecesTors. In fact, the account given by him of the whole face of the country, may be considered, in a great meafure, as new : though (befides fuch navigators as have occafionally touched at the Cape, from whom, indeed, much information could not poslibly be expected) feveral others, the 6 chief < chief of whom are Kolbe and de la Caille, have either resided in this part of the world for feveral years, or made expeditions into the country previoufly to our author. It might appear invidious in us to expatiate on their demerits, or to enquire into the caufes of their failure in their respective undertakings. We will therefore rather confine ourfelves to that which is the fubject of the following iTieets. Our author, together with a fpirit of obfervation not feen in every traveller, had, as we are informed by his friend Mr. George Forster, admittance into the houfes of the firft families at the Cape. This advantage he feems to have been very folicitous to turn to the beft account; and to it we, perhaps, in a great meafure, owe the annexed map of the country, which is certainly no fmall acquisition to geographical fcience.—Before he had attained the ftate of manhood, he had prepared himfelf for an expedition of this nature, by a voyage which he made under his kinfman, the Chevalier Ekeberg ;, and the Amoe-nitates Academics, publifhed under the infpection of the great Linnaeus, exhibited divers proofs that he had not made the voyage in vain. On his return to Upfa/> he applied to the ftudy of phyfic; but his attention was principally engrosTed by the fcience of botany, which he purfued with the greateft ardour under its celebrated reftorer, and became one of his favourite difciples. With an education of this kind, kind, which, it irmfl be owned, was the moft favourable that could well have been imagined to fuch a purpofe, he fet out for the Cafte, at a time of life the bed adapted to an enterprize of this nature, nominally to inftruct the children of M. Kerste, the refident at that place ; but in reality, to fearch for the works of the Creator in a part of the world hitherto hardly known to naturalifts. How he has fucceeded, the reader muft judge for himfelf.—But it was not this obfcure corner of the globe only that he was deftined to illuftrate. By the arrival of the Resolution and Adventure at the Cape with Merits. Forster, he had an opportunity offered him of extending his refearches to an infinitely greater diftance, and all nature now lay open to his view. It was, perhaps, not more to the advancement of natural knowledge than to that of thefe gentlemen's reputations', that chance threw fo great a zoolo-giffc as Dr. Sparrman in their way at fo critical a juncture ; and it is to be hoped, that we mall one day be informed of the extent of our obligations to him on this fcore. In the mean while, we muft content ourfelves with the few fpecimens he has given us in the Swedifh Tranfactions, where he has inferted, and ftill continues to infert, the various difcoveries he has made on the continent of, Africa. Our author having, in December 1775, during his ab-fence from his native country, been promoted to the degree of P II E F ACE. of doctor of phyfic, was on his return home made a member of the Royal Academy at Stockholm* and of feveral other learned focieties. After the death of the great entomologift Baron de Geer, who had engaged Dr. Sparrman to live with him at his houfe, the Baron having bequeathed his magnificent collection of natural curiosities to the Academy, our author was made infpector of it. He was likewife inverted by the Academy with the nominal dignity of profefTor: and, on rcfigning to his fuccefTor the charge of prefident of this fociety, after having held it for the fpace of three months, pronounced an oration " on the augmentation and advantages which fcience in general, and more particularly that of natural hiftory, have acquired, and are farther likely to acquire, from exploring the Pacific Ocean." Publifhed at Stockholm in 1778. To this fhort account of the author it may be necesTary to add, that we have taken the liberty of reforming the orthography of molt of the places mentioned in the courfe of the work, both with refpect to the map and to the work itfelf: the author, whofe purfuit was things and not words, having been carelefs in his language, and more efpecially in his nomenclature, to a high degree : as likewife that we have adopted the divisions into chap* ters and fections made by the editor of the German tranf-lation, as rendering the following fheets more intelligible, Vo l. l a and and greatly relieving the attention of the reader. Having mentioned this, we will no longer trefpafs on the reader's time and patience, but leave this work, which, to ufe the words of Mr. George Forster, the author's friend and German editor, is adapted to every clafs of readers^ in the hands of its beft judge and protectory the Public. INTRO- INTRODUCTION. IN the month of September I had occafion to think of making a voyage to the fouthernmoft promontory of Africa. What gave rife to this design, was the following circumstance. The ingenious Captain Ekeberg, who never neglects any opportunity of promoting the interefts of fcience, had, during a fhort vifit he had made to the Cape of Good Hope, made it his bufinefs to obtain permission to fend thither a natural historian. But in order that this perfon, in the courfe of his re-fearches after plants, infects, and other objects of his inquiry, might not run the rifque of being conlidered as a fpy on the country and its government, and at the fame time that he might compafs his intentions with as little expence as poflible, it was agreed that he mould instruct a a the the relident's children in Falfe-bay in geography, French* and mathematics. M. Ekeberg was no stranger to the turn I had for natural hiitory, having been acquainted with it in the courfe of a voyage to Canton in China, which I had the happi-nefs to make under his command, in the years 1765 and 1766. He therefore had me in view when he thought on this voyage to the Cape. I accepted his offer with the greateft pleafure, as I had long wifhed for an opportunity of feeing distant parts of the world. Still, however, it depended entirely on the fpecial favour of the directors of the Royal Swedifh Laft-India Company, whether I could be allowed a pafTage in fome vefTel bound for the Cape and Canton. M* Ekeberg, therefore, mentioned my intended voyage to the board, as likely to be of fervice to fcience. From the confideration of fo fpecious an object, I was flattered by thefe gentlemen with the greater!: hopes of fuccefs ir> my application, till fuch time as, agreeably to their statutes, a written petition mould be prefented to them on this subject. The late Archiater Linnaeus, as zealous for the advancement of his favourite fcience as he was deeply ikill-ed in it, heard of this with peculiar pleafure; and, in his own name, drew up a petition for the voyage to be made. The The directors * well knowing, that a well-regulated com* merce as well as navigation in general, has its foundation in fcience, and at the fame time receives light from it* while this, in return, derives fupport from, and owes its extension to the two former, not only confented to what I requested, but likewife, in their great kindnefs, went beyond my desires. Accordingly they ordered, that I fhould have my paC-fage gratis from Gottenburg to the Cape, together with every convenience, in one of their {hips, called the Cajlle of Stockholm^ which, it was expected, would be ready to fail on the Christmas following. The laft-mentioned place was pitched upon, for the first station to be reforted to for the purpofe of taking in refrefhments in our way to China. Before I begin the journal of my travels, I muft allure every gentleman of a hearty wrelcome, who intends doing me the honour to accompany me in them by means of this paper-conveyance, provided he will deign to be pleafed with his entertainment. * Baron Fabian Loeven. Meffieurs Peter Theodore Koenig. Martin Holterman. .....—David of Sandeberg. — i John Abraham Grill. ■ John Malm Ericsson. — Charles Godfrey Kysel. A man A man who travels to a great diftance from home, can never meet with the objects of his researches in the order and arrangement that he himfelf would wifh for: how then fhould he be able to, difpofe and arrange his travels upon paper, agreeably to every one's peculiar taftc and liking? With refpect to my ftyle, which, in confe-quence of my being unufed to compofition, is fometimes fo unequal, as well as unhappy in point of expreflion, that I have frequently been difpleafed with it myfelf, I have need, more than moft authors, to beg for the reader's kind indulgence. In fact, all my writing for thefe many years paft, has confifted chiefly in fhort notes and memorandums, exprefled fometimes in one language and fome-times in another, (juft as my occupations and the part of the world I was in gave occasion to) and fometimes in many languages blended together in one. From this medley I have now tranllated and exprefled in a more diffufe ftyle, and in my native language, what I had formerly fet down, in the manner above-mentioned, by way of memorandum only. And though I do this with pleafure, conceiving it to be a duty I owe to my curious and inquifitive countrymen, yet the performance of this tafk is by no means unattended with anxiety ; inafmuch as on account of the want of practice for many years, proceeding from my attention to affairs of greater importance, I do not find myfelf felf able to come up to the reader's wifhes in this particular. Nevertheless, though I can pledge myfelf for the principal article requisite in all compofitions of this kind, viz. for the truth of the occurrences here related, it will be of no avail, if at the fame time, I cannot avoid being confidered as being rather unfuccefsful in the choice of my materials, in the variety and uncommonnefs of them, and lastly, in the style and manner in which they are prefented to the public. Indeed, it has been given me to understand, that from one, whom a reltlefs inquisitive difpofition has enticed from his native country, to follow the calls of destiny all round the globe, and more particularly through the land of the Hottentots and the wild and defert regions of Africa, from fuch a man accounts are expected of a most entertaining and wonderful import. Nor is this expectation abiblutely ill-founded. Nature has prefented herfclf to me in various fhapes, always worthy of admiration, often enchanting, and fometimes terrible, and clothed with horror. But at the lame time I mult apprife the reader, that a great many prodigies and uncommon appearances, about which I have frequently been aiked by many, who have been brought to entertain thefe conceits by perufmg the defcriptions of others, are not to be found in my journal. Men with one foot, indeed, Cyclops, Syrens, Troglodytes, and fuch like imaginary beings, have almost entirely difap- peared pcared in this enlightened age. At the fame time, however, many have been hitherto induced to give credit to tales almoft as marvellous, with which authors, who have before me vifited and defcribed the Hottentots, have lea-foned their relations, in order to make them go down the better with the public. So that the reader muft not be furprized to find my accounts frequently differ much from thofe of various of my predecefTors; and at the fame time, J fliall now and then be obliged to take up my own and his time With fome very narrow limitations of what they have advanced. Otherwile, in fact, the public would have reafon to doubt of my own veracity. I mult here likewife previoufly inform the reader, that I do not undertake to give a full and complete hiftory of the Cape of Good Hope, but merely fuch relations concerning every thing remarkable, as I have either been able to collect, or have myfelf obferved with refpect to this part of the world. A deficiency of this kind may, perhaps, even in matters of importance, meet with a ready excufe from many of my readers, when it is confidered, that without being either rich myfelf, or in the leaft fupported by others, I undertook an expedition, which, when confidered writh refpect to thefe circumstances, will appear to be of no fmall extent. The whole of the fum that I took out with me to bear my travelling expences was about twenty-five rixdollars, and what, by dint of ceconomy, I had made my-8 felf INTRODUCTION. xvii fell mailer of by the time I got home, was fomewhat more than double that fum. Thus fo far was I from being able to purchafe collections, or to obtain at my eafe, or by dint of money, opportunities of enlarging the fphere of my knowledge, that I even could not poiTibly arrive at them without great trouble and danger. In this cafe, I have been obliged to content myfelf with what fortune has thrown in my way, as I may fay, gratis. The arranging by way of journal the occurrences and events which I have defcribed, though in certain refpe&S it be not the beft method, is yet in general, the moft natural. In order to acquire an adequate idea of a variety of objects out of the great number of thofe that have prefented themfelves, it conduces not a little to know on what days they were feen. In fact, the time, the manner, and the order, in which things occur, are accidental circum-ftances from which much light may be derived. But the greateft advantage accruing from this method is, that hereby it becomes ealier both for the writer and reader to diftinguifh, what is the actual refult of the author's own experience, from what he has, in defect of this, been obliged to advance on the ftrength of the information given him by others. At the fame time, in order to come to a more fpeedy and pleafing conclufion of the travels themfelves, certain defcriptions, critical ftrictures, and reflections are deferred Vol. I. b at at prefent, which will be inferted at the end of the feconcf volume *, partly in the form of notes to this, and partly conflituting diftincl: heads by themfelves. Above two thoufand of the productions of nature hitherto unknown, which, in confequencc of a moderate degree of attention only, I have difcovered in Africa, (a tountry in many refpecls very different from the reft of the globe) but have not been able as yet fully to arrange and put in order, cannot have place here, either defcribed at full length, or in the more compreffed form of fketches and definitions. * This fecond volume, if it fhouldever appear, muft evidently be confidered as & work of a very different nature from the prefent: the tranflator, therefore, did not think himfelf bound to take any notice of it in the title-page, C O N- CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. Occafion and defign of the voyage. Some general reflections and ftricturei on writers of travels and voyages. CHAP. I. VOYACE FROM GoTENBURGH to the CaPE. Departure from Gottenburgh in Sweden. Defcription of a violent ftorrru DiftrefTed fituation of a Dutch veffel. Lights in the fea. A differtation on their nature and their different fpccies. Arrival at the Cape, p. 6. CHAP. II. Residence at the Cape of Good Hope till the Author's Voyage to the South Sea. SECT. I. Refidence at Cape Town. Defcription of the Cape Town and the adjacent country. The author waits on the governor and commandant. Sketch of the character and hiftory of Baron Van Prehm, p. 13. b 2 SECT, \ SECT. II. Reftdence at Bay Fclfo. Goes to Bay Falfo to wait on the refident, whofe children he is to educate. Is entertained on the road at night by a rich boor, with gritty bread, and meat preferved with pepper. Peculiar courtefy of the French nation contrafted with the manners of the Dutch at this colony. Meets with his old chum, Dr. Thunberg, at Cape Town. Defcription of Falfe Bay and the adjacent country. Dutch politenefs at table. Story of an Englifh lady going to be married in the Eaft-Indies. Seal-fhooting. The torpedo. Defcription of various fifties, infects, and plants, p. 29. SECT. III. Refidence at Alphen, near Conftantia, till the authors trip to PaarL Removes to Conftantia with the refident. The plants there. The vineyard. The filver-tree. Uncommon difpofition of Table-mountain, with refpcct to rain. Beautiful profpect from the fouth-fide of it. Adventures in confequence of lofing his way at night. DifTertation on the Conftantia and Cape wines. Hout-bay defcribed. The palmitcs plant. Divers kinds of finall antilopes. Several forts of viverne, or weafels. The method of catching them, and their ufes. A young hippopotamus. The efteem in which botany is held at the Cape, exemplified in the behaviour of a Cape phyfician, p. 50. SECT. IV. Trip to PaarL Letter to a brother failor, defcribing a fix-weeks excurfion made on foot in October. Hires a baftard, a mnn of family, for his guide. Racks, wheels, and gibbets, expofed in the public roads. New fpecies of cicindcla. Is taken up by a waggon drawn by twelve oxen, but foon quits it. Concert of jackalls, frogs and owls. Is lodged and entertained by a flave. Battle between the houfe-flave and the cow-herd. The forts of feed fown in this colony. Curious method of ferving at the fame time God and mammon. Salutation of a boor. The author ver very ungallantly neglects to requite the fervices of a female flave.^ A flave's revenge on his niggardly matter. At a rich widow's houfe is'm danger of being kicked out of doors, on his hat being difcovered with the brim ftuck full of infects. Floats naked over the river to an iflet on a bundle of palmir.es plants, in order to botanize there. Behaviour of a furly but hofpitable miller. Makes a fexton and his wife happy, by prognosticating the death of the latter. Is hofpitably received by a learned boor. The tower of Babel. Drunken foldiers. Obliged, together with his hod, to bolt his chamber-door, for fear of being murdered by the flaves. A curious love-fcale. Prices of flaves and cattle. Bad confequences of the flave-trade. His guide has not the lean: idea of a deity, Conclufion of the letter, p. 77. SECT. Y. Rcfidence at Alphen, after the author's return from PaarL Obfervations on the uniola and pifang, p. 79. CHAP. III. Voyage to the South Sea. S K C T. i. The circumfiances which.gave occafion to this Voyage. Goes round the world with Capt. Cook, as an afiiftant to Meffrs, Forfter. The occafion of his undertaking this voyage, p, 84. SECT. II. Voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to New-Zealand. Continuation of the journal of the voyage, p. 87. S E C T* SECT. III. Firjl Voyage from New Zealand to Qtaheite, and from thence back again to New Zealand. Some events not related by Cook and Forfter, p. 91. ■ 55 E C T. IV. Second Voyage from New Zealand to Otaheite, and from thence back again. Journal continued, p. 97. SECT. V. Voyage from New Zealand to Terra del Fuego, and from thence farther oh towards the South Pole. Journal continued, p. 99. SECT. VI. Return to the Cape of Good Hope. Return to the Cape. Ship's provifions utterly fpoiled, p. 104. CHAP. IV. Journey from Cape Town to the Country of the Caffres. SECT. I. Reftdence at Cape Town, previous to the author's African Expedition. Dangerous fituation of a vefTel in Table-bay. A Ihipwreck. Lives of the crew faved by an old lbldier on horfeback. Cruelty and ingratitude of of the government at the Cape. Humane inftitution of the Chinefe in thefe cafes. Regifter of the weather at the Cape, for May, June, and July, 1775, p. 113. SECT. II. Preparations for the African Expedition* Undertakes an expedition into the interior parts of the country. Equipment for that purpofe. Buys a waggon with twelve oxen. Is accompanied by Mr. Immelman, the fon of an officer at the Cape, p. 119. SECT. III. Journey from the Cape to the Warm Bath, Bad accommodations on the road. Manner of travelling in the African waggons. Defcription of Guftavus's fceptre, a plant. No bridges in Africa. Account of the manner in which they pafs the rivers with waggons in this country. Defcription of the landfcape about Bot-river. Wretched wine at Agter de Berg. Sees various forts of gazels in his way to the warm bath; and likewife whole troops of zebras. Oftrich-hunting. Method of reckoning the length of journies here; and of harneffing the oxen, p.^ 135. SECT. IV. Refidence at the Warm Bath, Hottentot-Holland's warm baths defcribed. The bathing-houfes and wells. Chemical analyfis of the waters. Cures performed by means of them. Differtation on their origin. Remains of a volcano. Onkjes, vernal Mowers of the iris kind j their ufes in food, and in reckoning time. Shoots a wild cat in a tree. The different forts of them in this country enumerated and examined. Defcription of a porcupine-hunt. Cape partridges and pheafants, the korr-hen, and fecretaries-bird, other-wife called the ferpent-eater, defcribed, Ufes of this latter, and its manner of attacking ferpents. The author frequently vifits a patient in thefe parts, and "is paid in milk and provifions. Wild dogs very dangerous animals. Their manners. Hunt in packs, and fometimes 3 turn> turn, when hunted, and hunt their purfucrs. Tiger-wolf, or hyaena, eats up the carcafes and bones of animals which are left untouched by other wild beafts, and would otherwife contaminate the atmofphere. Its cowardly but artful manner of attacking other animals. By imitating the cries of other creatures, it decoys them away from the reft of the herd, with a view to devour them. Is the moft voracious as well as watchful of all animals. Betrays its approach by an involuntary barking, proceeding from an empty and conltantly craving flomach. At night is fuffered to enter the town at the Cape, being of great ufe in clearing the fhambles. Adventure of a drunken trumpeter with a fysena. This fpccies never before accurately defcribed. Eats up one of the traces belonging to the author's waggon. Pretended change of its fex accounted for^ as likewife the ftories of its imitating the human voice, and enchanting the fhepherds, fo that they cannot Itir from the fpot where they are. Seldom caught, and hardly ever fliot. Ufe of this creature's long fhaggy coat, p. 171. CHAP. V. Journey from the Warm Bath to Zwellendam. The driver has not the lean: knowledge of the road. Not being able to get a Hottentot any where to lead their oxen, make a virtue of necefilty, and turn ox-leaders themfelves. Procures a Hottentot to drive his waggon, who gets at the brandy the author had taken with him, for the purpofe of preferving animals in, and treats his companions with it. The author and his friend in danger of being murdered by thefe fellows in their liquor. The author puts a live ferpent into the liquor. Hottentots ufed to fwallow the poifon of ferpents, confidering it as a prefervative againft the bite of thefe animals. Is cheated in the bargain he made for his oxen. One of them runs home. The farm and foreft at Tiger-hoek defcribed. Defcription of the perfons, clothing, ornaments, and arms of the Hottentots. Befmeared with greafe and foot, which alters their natural complexion. This illdefcribed by authors. The males have no defect in the organs of generation, nor have the females any fuperfluity in thofe parts : what appears there being not natural but artificial. Hottentots perfume themfelves with the powder of a plant called bucku. Do not wear the inteftines of animals, but a number of leathern rings about their arms and legs. Their field fhoes. Method of making them particularly defcribed. Their craals or villages and huts. Their manners and difpofition. Bofhies-men, or wild Hottentots. Their Their maxims and weapons. Live in deferts on berries, caterpillars, and other infe&s. Their amazing voracity. Are finall and flender, but, after being caught, are fattened in the fpace of a few weeks. The colonifts hunt them like wild beafts j and frequently make parties for the purpofe of catching and enflaving them. Very much given to run away, but never carry any thing off with them. Almoft always in a ftarving ftate, and numbers of them perifh for want. Neither they nor the Hottentots have any conception, neither can any be infufed into them, of a God. Confider rain at all times as an evil. Bully the thunder. Have great faith in forcery. The forcerers are their physicians, and cure them of their difeafes by thrafhing them. In fiances of various cheats put on them by their forcerers. Though fuperftitious, are not afraid of darknefs: yet feem to have fome notion of fpirits and a future life. Refpect, but do not worlhip infects of the mantis kind. Do not worfhip the moon. Kolbe's miftakes with refpect to this point corrected. Chriftianity taught at Tygerhoek by a Moravian, who was accufed of unifier practices. No remains of religion here at prefent. Two Hottentot girls pay them a vifit. Their odd behaviour. The author endeavours in vain to hire a driver for the expedition. At laft a lad agrees to go as far as Zwellendam with them. Sloth andidlenefs of the Hottentots. Hard fate and fenfible reflections of a flave. Regifter of the weather for Auguft. HefTaqu as kloof. Afingular diforder among the horfes. The Landroft of Zwellendam offers him a better team of oxen. State of the weather at that place. Zebras and quaggas, both fpecies of the wild horfe. The former do not fear the hyaena, but guard the other cattle from its attacks. Both forts eat lefs, and are more hardy than the common horfe, and might be ufed for drawing. Misfortune of a man who harneffed fome quaggas to his carriage, before they were properly tamed. Riet valley. Language of the Hottentots, compared with that of the Snefe Hottentots. Their mufical inftru-ments and tobacco-pipes. Curious method of fmoking. Their card-playing, improperly fo called by the colonifts, p. 231. C H A P. VI. Journey from Zwellendam to Muscle-Bay. Black-monkies. Groot Vaders-bofch. Stop a bit, a.plant growing there. Lofe their way at night. Saddle-oxen. Vifit a Hottentot craal, and are entertained with milk curdled by being kept in the fkins of animals. Vol. 1. c Sweet Sweet milk unwholefome. The Hottentot Captain Rundganger. Captain an empty title. Captains fpies on their countrymen. Hottentots oppreffed-by the Dutch, and obliged to fhift their quarters continually more inland. Thorn- or gum-arabic tree. Large dairy-farms. River of butter-milk. Distinction between the carrow, four, and fweet fields. The firft rendered fertile by aqueducls. Cows that gnaw each other's horns. Hottentots continually fhifting their quarters, from fuperftitious motives : a practice which prevents the degeneration both of their lands and cattle. Coloniils faulty in this refpect. Rhinoceros-bufh. Overflowing of Gauritz-river. Hoar froft of fait. Defcription of Mufcle-bay. Houtniquas-land. Algoa-bay. Hints .for. the. advancement of trade and the improvement of the colony, p: 260. CHAP. VII. Journey through the Houtniquas, Animals to be found in Houtniquas. Defcription of the bofch-bock. Hadelde-bird.. Regifter of the weather. Almoft a whole province intoxicated with a hogfhead of brandy. Defcription of a Hottentot miftrefs, Baflards not chriftened. Stratagem of a burgher at Batavia to get his child baptized. ' Style of building in this province. The author's Hottentots run away on being corrected for drunkennefs. State of the weather in. September, p. 291. C H A P> VIII. Journey through Lance Dal. Departure from Houtniquas. Lofe their way on horieback. Pafs the night out of doors, expofed to a violent rain.. Artaquas-kloof. In<-fefted with a herb called p— grafs, which kills the cattle with the ftrangury. Obliged to live abroad in the air, the walls and every part of the houfe being covered by flies. Curious method of killing them. Canna's land. Miftake of Mr. Mafon with refpect to it in the Philosophical Tranfactions. The Canna fhrub,. a new fpecies of falfbla, defcribed. Method of fertilizing the moft dry barren country. New method C O N T E N T S. method of d re fling partridges. Immoderately fat fheep, with tails weighing above twelve pounds. The author bleeds a Hottentot lad. An inftance of Dutch companion. Hottentot women's lamentation flyer the dead. The boy comes to life again. African otters and fifh. Taken in by a farmer's wife in a bargain about a pair of oxen. Strange cafe, of a prolapfus uteri. Lofe their'way again. Unkind behaviour of fome Hqttentots. His horfe finks with him into the mire. Princely fhepherds. Miferable condition of Hottentot fugitives. Stone-heaps. Pitfalls for the larger kind of game. Mountain Hottentots. Flight of a Hottentot child. Coal-black lizard. The dafs, an animal of the cavia genus. DafTen-pifs taken for petroleum. Seems tP be the menftrual evacuation of this animal, p. 316-.' CHAP. IX. Journey from Lance Dal to Sitsicamma, and from thence to Sea-cow River. Kromme-rivier. Efchen-bofch. The pneumora, an infecl fuppofed to live on the wind. They come to a perfon when called. Bofhies-men caroufing on elephants nefh. Defcription and admeafurement of,the remains of the carcafe. How this animal was (hot by two farmers. The beft methods of fhooting thefe beads difcuflTed. One man will attack a whole herd of elephants. Ceafe to fly when wounded. Elephant's way of fwimming.. Hiftories of fome dangerous rencounters with them. De la Caille's ftrange anecdote a mere impofition. Do not copulate like human creatures. Never* feen in the act of copulation, excepting once, by two of the author's acquaintance. Elephant's diet. Expence of keeping them. Hiftory and ufe. Negroes buy and fell the tails at a vaft price from fuperftitious motives.. Tails defcribed. Foffil elephant's teeth. Mam mouth's bones found in Siberia are nothing but the bones of elephants. The theories of BufFon and others overturned. Lemning-moufe, and other migrating animals, adduced as proofs of the author's aflertions. Divers inftances of the fa^acity of elephants. Wreck of the Doddington Eaft-Indiaman on this coaft. Survivors robbed by the Hottentots, A Dutch captain lent from the Cape to look after the cargo, comes back purpofely without doing any thing. Bilious fever prevails among the Hottentots. •4 Strange Strange method of cure ufed by the author. Hottentot-ball. The bee. Monkey-dance. Polygamy of the Hottentots. Pitiful cafe of an old polygamift. Marriage ceremony performed among the Hottentots by fprinkling the bride and bride-groom with urine. Manner of burying their dead. Bury alive or expofe fuch children as have loft their mothers. Starve their old people to death. Extenuation of their crime. Preparations for the expedition through the defert. White ants eaten by the Hottentots. Mifchief done by them. Hottentots imagine the fvvarms of locufts with which the country is fometimes over-run, to be fentto them for food. Locuft foup. Locufts of ufe in clearing the lands, p. 368. ERRATA. Page i, line 1, fir A Voyage from Gottenburgh, &c. read Voyage from Gotten- burgh to the Cape. —— 18, /. 7, for quaae, read quaade. —— 40, A 6 and 7, for figgar, read liggar. ■■ 64, /. 13, before the'fquire's half brother, read of. ■'1 179, /. 3, for Tigerhoek, read Tygerhoek. 236, /. 15, for wait, nWftop. ——283, /. 16, Ihould be read thus: and was befides as well befmeared with foot and greafe. A VOYAGE V o Y A G to the CAPEof GOOD HOPE. A VOYAGE from GOTTENBURGH, &c. ON the loth day of January, in the year 177a, I 1772-failed from Gottenburgh in the Cq/lle of Stockholm; a fhip belonging to the Swedifh Eaft-India Company. The wind was favourable, fo that we foon dif-miffed our pilots, and even in a fhort time loft fight of the delightful paftures of Sweden. We found the weather, as it ufually is at this cold feafon, fome-thing milder in the open fea, than it was upon the coaft. The Swedifh Eaft-Indiaman, the Louifa, deftined for Cadiz, to take in refrefhments there, with money Vol. I. b for CHAP. jan»ar ^or Dotn mips> kept us company till we pafled the north of L^ynJ Scotland. The ftormy weather however, ufual in thefe parts, and at this time of the year, made us feparate before we intended it. The wind blowing ftill ftronger likewife, carried away our main-top-fail, though it was quite new, and made of a ftrong cloth. The damages were reckoned to amount to feveral hundred rix-dollars. This ravage and definition afforded in itfelf neverthe-lefs a fine fpectacle, which to me was entirely new. Sudden gufls of rain now combined with the night to fhrowd every thing in darknefs. Let the reader reprefent to himfelf for a moment the foaming billows on all fides furrounding the fhip, and fwelling up fometimes even to our yard-arms ; while the long fhivers of the top-fail got loofe, and being white, were diftinclly difcerned waving to and fro in a moft alarming manner, and at length totally vanifhed through the darkened air. At the fame time the violence of the wind caufed thofe parts of the fails which yet remained on the maft, together with the ends of the broken cordage, to beat about, and crafh with fuch force as for a time to drown every other noife. This fpeclacle did not make the lefs imprefflon, when by degrees we could better diftinguifh the roaring of the fea, the fwell of the waves, the bluftering of the wind, and the crackling noife made by the mafts and the joints of the planks; particularly when to this we add, that the captain was continually roaring out, and was anfwered in the fame ftrain by the men at the helm, jlar-board and port) as the Item of the fhip heaved to right or left; not not to mention the ufual noife and buftle from all quar- Fe!b7r7u2a;y< ters of the deck, the failors and tackling being in con- v*-nrv^ ftant agitation and motion. On the 2d day of February in the afternoon, when we had got to 34 deg. 22 min. N. lat. 1 deg. 32, min. cafl of the meridian of Paris, a fhip at a diftance fired feveral guns, thereby giving us to underftand that flie was in diftrefs, and delirous to fpeak with us. We accordingly waited for her coming up, and found her to be a Dutch Eaft-India-man, called the Duivenbrock, bound homewards, and commanded by Capt. Conrad Loue. They had loft their rudder, and in confequence of the great fwell of the fea, had not been able to lalli on another; on which account likewife the fhip had got fo far out of her courfe. The crew were emaciated to a great degree, and in want both of water and pro virions. Our commander made them a prefent of as much of both as their long-boats were able to carry ; but at length, the night coming on, and the wind blowing up frefher, they were deprived of that farther degree of afTiftance, that every one of us very much wifhed to give them. Even our common failors not only the wed great compaflion on their parts, but aflifted them effectually out of their own ftock with tobacco, and other re-frefhments. * * On the 12th day of February, juft under the tropic, or 24. 51. N. Lat.*^we faw a fea animal feven or eight feet long, known to fea-faring men by the name of the fea devil. It is reported by writers of voyages, to be very dangerous to the people engaged in the pearl-fiiTiery. In a voyage to China I formerly made, I happened to fee one B 2 of 4 AVOYAGEtothe February °* tnefe animals, and on examining it, concluded it to be WO a fpecies of Ray. On the 21 ft day of February at fix in the evening, 3 deg. 24. min. N. of the equator, we obferved a beautiful meteor. It was like a red hot cannon-ball, which waved to and fro with a gentle whizzing noife, directly over our veffel, and between the maft-tops; but not with Handing what the failors prognofticated from it, it did not feem to bring with it any change of weather. On the 4th day of March we paffed the line, when a number of idle ceremonies were performed according to cuftom. On the 5 th, at about 37 deg. S. lat. and 21 deg. weft of Paris, befide the ufual lights that frequently appear fparkling, as it were, on the furface of the fea, there was feen in the night a ftrong gleam of light, called by the failors maarjkenr or fea-fhine. It appeared chiefly in a round form of three feet diameter, and was like a glowing light throughout its whole extent. As the fhape of it was fometimes changed to an oblong, it was conjectured, from this circumftance, to be occafioned by the dafhing of the fea. With luminous bodies of this kind the whole extent of the ocean was now adorned, fometimes at the diftance of feveral times fthe length of the fhip from each other, and fometimes only a few feet afunder. We were not fortunate enough to examine them nearer. The wind at times blew frefh, being fometimes accompanied with heavy fhowers of rain. The next day there was nothing uncommon to be obferved on the furface of the the fea, that might be confidered as the caufe of this luminous appearance. A night or two before this, we had \^r*J already begun to perceive fome of thefe lights. The weather at that time was only overcaft. Some of the moft experienced among the failors informed me, that thefe lights were met with particularly in the north feas, as well as in the creeks on the coaft of Mexico; and that from thefe appearances they ufed to prognofticate a fpeedy change in the weather. The lights that are ufually feen in the fea are fuppofed to proceed partly from the confti-tuent parts of the fea itfelf, and partly from the fiih and other kinds of infinitely fmall animals which have their abode there. But with refpect to the maarjken, I have not found any navigators fpeak of them. Are they not occaiioned by fome flimy or gelatinous animals (fuch as the mollufcd)* which only of nights, at certain places, and in confequence of certain changes of the atmofphere, rife to the furface of the fea ? The fame riling and finking motion, which 1 now obferved in thefe animals, I remember to have perceived in the Medufct., particularly in the year 1775, in tne bays about the Cape of Good Hope, after my return from my voyage round the world. At that time it had been ftormy the whole preceding night, with a great part of the following morning; when, to. my great amazement, after fo long a voyage, I now, for the firft time, faw thefe fea-animals in fuch quantities, as to form a thick mafs of fe-veral fathoms depth, as if they had been preffed down together. Where they were collected into a thinner mafs, one might difcern that one part of them was blue, another of a flame-colour, and another again of a lighter hue. March nue# They were mollly of the form of a necklace (monili-formes*) and at that time were probably driven together in fo great numbers by the florm; fo that the great quantities of maarfken* ferve to give a ftill greater degree of credit to my conjecture. A fmall corner only of the fea, viz. 'table-bay* at this time afforded nourifhment to more animals at once, than perhaps are to be found on the whole face of the earth. This opened to me a door, if I may be allowed the expreflion, to nature's copious florehoufe in the deep ; fo that at one hafty view I could get a glimpfe of that amazing fuperfluity, which feeds millions of fifhes, and at the fame time lines the infide of the whale, that great Coloffus of the deep, with that oily fatnefs, with which it abounds. ^j-mmmmm&kWHIIiQ*1**^ It may from hence be readily concluded, that it was thefe infects that the fat fea-lions and feals, diving and amphibious fowls, many kinds of albatroffes, (diomedece) procellaria* together with fea-gulls of all forts, were in queffc of, when I faw thefe latter fo afliduoufly hunting about near the Cape, and in the South Sea. On the 12th of April we got fight of the Cape, and came the fame day to anchor in Table-bay. CHAP. CHAP. II. Residence at the Cape of Good Hope till the Author's Voyage to the South Sea. SECT. I. Refidence at Cape town. THE Cape is ufually mentioned in too hi^h terms *77»« by lea-faring men ; particularly by fuch as have been there only for a fhort time. The reafon probably is, that people, who are weary of a long and tedious voyage of feveral months duration, are ufually enchanted with the firft fpot of earth they fet foot upon, of which they afterwards make their reports according to the impreflion it firft made upon them. This is fo much more likely to happen with refpect: to the Cape, as fea-faring men are feld om ufed to ftay there long enough to be weary of it. °n the contrary, however, it is not unufual for failors to pine and grow unhappy even here, after being fome months on fhore, and to long to go to fea again, \ have been informed by by Captain Cook, that he, as well as Sir Joseph Banks t^yO and Dr. Solander, prejudiced by the relations of others, confidered the Cape, the firft time they faw it, as the moft delightful and fertile place in the world. So that even the barren heaths to the north of the town, were at the fame time very innocently miftaken for fine fields of corn. For my part, not to lead my readers into any error concerning this point, the account I here give of the Cape has not been written without fome confideration. I muft, notwithftanding, previoully remind them, that a view of the map inferted at the end of the book, will give the beft and cleareft idea of the pofition of the harbours and creeks of this part of the world, as well as of the names and fituation of the different mountains. By this means the following defcription will be the more eafily un-derftood. The town itfelf is the only one in the whole colony, and is properly called the Cape* though this name is often injudicioufly given to the whole fettlement. The above-mentioned town is fituated between the lliore and the north fide of the mountain, which, in confideration of its apparent equality of furface, has obtained the name of the Table, According to the meafurement of the Abbe de la Cailles, the fhore of this bay is 550 toifes above the furface of the fea, and 1344 toifes in length, when taken from Eaft to Weft; the middlemoft part of it being fituated South-eaft of the town, and 2000 toifes from it. Duyvef s-Kop* (the DevWs-Head*) called by the Eng-lifh Charles Mountain* is in a great meafure connected with the Table Mountain* but is full 31 toifes lower, 5 and and at the fame time is peaked and bare. Leeuwen-Kop, called by the Englifh the Lion's-Head, and likewife the K^rU Sugar-Loaf, is a hill more feparated, but lefs elevated, than the former : the fame may be faid of its neighbour, the Leeuwen-Staart* called by the Englifh the Lwrts-Rump, and likewife the Lion's-Tatl. From one of thefe fignals are given, by the firing of guns for every veffel that comes that way, and appears bound for the harbour. When they approach ftill nearer, a flag is hoifted on this mountain, which ferves for a fignal to the captains of the Dutch fliips; but nobody but they and the governor of the Cape know, how the colour of the flag is to be varied for each refpedtive month. The intention of this regulation is, that a Dutchman who is coming into the harbour, may immediately know, if the harbour is fallen into the hands of the enemy, and accordingly take care not to run into it. The above-mentioned hills are in a great meafure bare, and that part of Table Mountain that looks towards the town is pretty fteep. The bufhes and trees (if they may be fo called) which here and there grow wild, are ftunted partly by their own nature, and partly by the South-eaft and North-weft winds. Hence they, moft of them, look dried up, with pale blighted leaves, and, upon the whole, have a miferable appearance. Seme of them, fheltered by the cliffs, and at the fame time watered by the rills that run down the fides of the mountain, may perhaps be fome-what more healthy and vigorous; but they are univerfally deficient in that lively verdure which adorns the oaks, vines, myrtles, laurels, lemon-trees, &c. planted at the Y o l. I. q bottom '772- bottom near the town. Still farther on, the dry heathv March. J i^vO lands and fandy plains on the ftrand, contribute to give the country an arid and barren look. It muft be owned, indeed, that a confiderable quantity of the moft beautiful African flowers are fcattered up and down in different parts during the fine feafon; but they cannot lliew their fplendid colours to any great advantage among the various kinds of grafs here, which are moftly perennial and of a pallid hue, among the dry bufhes, and in the fields, which, at leaft near the Cape, are almoft continually grazed off. Thefe plains, therefore, cannot captivate the eye, nearly fo much as the European Flora, with her green meadows replete with annual grafs. I am ready to allow, indeed, that the verdant plantations, together with a few acres of arable land round about the town, make a beautiful appearance, oppofed to the African wilds and deferts with which they are furrounded, and which ferve to fet them off to a greater advantage ; but then clipped and trimmed trees, with regular plantations of groves reared up by art, cannot fo long keep their ground in our tafte, as that lively verdure of nature which a European, at leaft after having refkled for fome time at the Cape, I think cannot help miffing. The town is fmall, about 2000 paces in length and breadth, including the gardens and orchards, by which one fide of it is terminated. The ftreets are broad, but not paved ; a great many of them are planted with oaks. The houfes are handfomc, two ftories high at the moft ; the greateft part of them are ftuccoed and white-waflied on the outfide, but fome of them are painted green: this latter latter colour, which is never feen upon our houfes in W£ Sweden, being the favourite colour with the Dutch for v*^r%J their clothes, boats, and iliips. A great part of their houfes as well as churches are covered with a fort of dark-coloured reed (Rejlio teBorum) which grows in dry and fandy places. It is fomewhat more firm than flraw, but rather finer and more brittle. How this thatching is performed, certainly deferves the confideration of our country gentlemen and men of landed property; and a defcription of it will be given by Captain Ekeberg on fome other occafion. The reft of the houfes in the Cape are covered with what is called Italian tiling, which refembles the flat tiles we ufe for floors. The company's gardens, fo differently fpoken of by Kolbe, Byron, and Bougainville, are the largeft in the town, being 400 paces broad and 1000 long, and confift-ing of various quarters planted with cale, and other kinds of garden fluff, for the governor's own table, as well as for the ufe of the Dutch fliips and of the hofpital. Fruit-trees are planted in fome of the quarters, which, in order to fhelter them from the violence of the South-eaft wind, are furrounded with hedges of myrtle and elm. Befides this, the greater walks are ornamented with oaks thirty feet high, which by their fhadc produce an agreeable cool-nefs, and are much reforted to by the ftrangers that vifit the port, and chufe to walk in the heat of the day. The four quarters that lie neareft to the governors refulencc, which is fituated in the pleafure-garden towards the north, have indeed fome beds of flowers in them; but this pleafure-garden is very far from dcferving the com- C 2 mendations ia AVOYAGEtothe jjtVfc mendations bellowed upon it by Kolbe, who cries it Up as having no equal, and being flored with the moft coftly plants from all parts of the world. At the end of the pleafure-garden and to the eaft of it, is the menagerie, palifaded and railed off, in which are fhewn oJlrichesy cafuaries, xebras* and fometimes different forts of antUopes* and other fmaller quadrupeds, almoft all of them natives of the country. In another partition are kept various foreign and domeftic fowls. The fortifications lie fome hundred paces north of the town, being feparated from it by a verdant mead, which is cut through with canals and roads. On both fides of the town towards the ftrand, batteries are placed; and to the fouth, Where the land is higher, are feen the Imrial grounds of the Chinefe and free Malays that live at the Cape; as well as one belonging to the Dutch, which has a wall round it. But what difgraces the town is a gallows, with racks and other horrid inftruments of torture, which the governor has lately ordered to be erected in the place of honour, if I may fo call it, or oppofite to the fortification in the above-mentioned meadow. Befides this, the well-known hardnefs of heart of the Dutch fettled in the Indies, has fhewn itfelf here by two other gibbets erected within fight of the town, viz. one on each fide of it. On the 30th of April, being the morning after we came to anchor, I for the firft time fet foot upon African ground. The firft thing I did was to wait upon the governor, Baron Joachim von Plettenberg, to whom I paid my reflects, and intimated my wifh to live under his protection. As foon as he was informed of the nature of my my appointment, he granted my requcft without the leaft *7JJ-difficulty; and foon offered me the privilege of pradtifing WO phyfic, as I had given him to underftand, that it had been my principal ftudy. Upon the whole, I received great civilities from many members of the regency, particularly from the commander of the troops, "Raron van PREHM, who was an African born ; but, what is very rare with his countrymen, and to his honour muft be mentioned, he had vifited Europe, and was a lover of fcience. Neither muft it be paffed over in filence, that he had ferved in the capacity of a Pruffian aide de camp in the laft German war; and, as a proof of his having been in the wars, bore about him the fears of feveral wounds. As it may give pleafure to fuch as are fond of hearing that merit meets with its reward, I will add, that he returned invefted with the place he now enjoys, and about the fame time made his fortune, by marrying the fineft woman in the whole colony. SECT' SECT. II. Refidence at Bay Falfo. 1772. A LTHOUGH I had already been fome days at the xX. Cape* I had not yet had an opportunity to fee the refident, (now fab-governor} whofe children I was to in-ftrudt. The reafon was, that he was gone to Bay Falfo* about eighteen miles from the Cape, in order to receive and make provifion for the fhips which had jult before run into the Bay. I therefore fet out to pay him a vifit there; but ftaid over night at a refpectable yeoman's, to whom I wras addreffed, in order that he might be my guide. Here I for the firft time found, what inconveniences a man is expofed to, who does not underfland the language of the people among which he lives. I had made a fhift to pick up a little German in my voyage from Gottenburgh to the Cape; but this was but of very little fervice, either towards my making myfelf underftood in this place, or towards my undcrftanding a Dutchman in his language. The neceffity, however, that I was under of communicating my thoughts, contrary to what I had fuppofed, increafed my power of comprehending others, as well as that of exprefling my own meaning. My hoft, who was very inquifitive with regard to affairs 3 in in Europe, as well as defirous to get fome information on jjtj* medical fubjects, was inceifantly propounding his queftions VxyO to me, as well as he could, in the German tongue. I, on my fide, repeated my anfwers again and again, exprefRng them, in I myfelf did not know what language. It mould feem, that the German, Swedifh, and Dutch languages have a great analogy to, and much in common with each other; but the great difference in the pronunciation of them, as well as in their dialects, feldom allows one to perceive the fimilitude. My phlegmatic hoftefs, who ftood by with open mouth to overhear our converfation, without underftanding one fingle word of it, relying upon my ignorance of the language, afked her hufband, whether any thing elfe than abfolute want of the necefTaries of life in Europe could poflibly induce me, and many other ftran-gers, to come to relide in Africa ? This remark fhewed, that me had conceived very indifferent notions of ftrangers; and was the more difficult for me to digeft, as they had given me a very moderate fupper, confining of ftewcd red cabbage, meat preferved with pepper, and gritty bread, I mention this, however, only as a proof, that the Africans, ignorant of every thing beyond the limits of their own habitation, univerfally entertain molt advantageous and flattering ideas with refpect to their own country. The next morning I arrived at Bay Falfo. The refident there promifed to perform his engagement with Captain Ekeberg, and likewife conferred upon me immediately the poft of interpreter between him and the French, who came to that harbour. The politenefs of this nation in conjecturing what one is going to fay> arid at. •7??!* at the fame time correcting one in the moft infinuating UrO manner when one makes ufe of an improper expreflion in their language, was at this juncture extremely agreeable to me; and the more fo, as I had not the leaft knowledge of the dialect and terms in ufe among them in India. In this kind of civility, which proceeds from a good difpofi-tion as well as a good education, many of the inhabitants of the Cape, the fair lex in particular, were moft lamentably deficient. On this account, the Europeans are apt to conceive rather unfavourable ideas of the politenefs of the African colonifts. However this be, thefe latter learn very little of any foreign language, though they are otherwife indefatigable in their application to trade, and every thing that tends to their emolument ; and although the income of the whole colony, as well as the particular intereft of moft of the inhabitants, depends entirely on their trade with foreigners. The next day I went back again to the Cape, to fetch my baggage from on board of fhip, and take leave of my friends. I could not help being tenderly affected at parting from them, and indeed this was the laft time that I faw many of them. It was not till I had loft fight of the Swedifh colours, that I felt myfelf an abfolute ftranger on the African coaft. During the few days, however, that I yet had to ftay in town, I enjoyed the greateft felicity in the company of an old Upfal chum, Dr. Thunberg, now demonftrator in that univerfity, whofe tafte for botany had induced him to undertake a voyage to this remoteft point of Africa. He travelled at the expence of fome gentlemen in Holland, and had come hither with a Dutch fhip a few days after me. me. Nothing could have happened more unexpected to Kg; him, than to fee in perfon at the Cape, a man whom, agree- V^vV able to the latere advices, he now fuppofed to be at Upfal, engaged in courfes of academical lectures ; and nothing could be more pleafing to him, than to receive the letters which I brought him from his friends and relations. I was foon however obliged to return to Falfe-bay, by ■ which means I loft the company of my countryman, who alone could make the Cape for me a little Sweden; and render our favourite ftudy, which we both applied to in common, ftill more eafy and delightful. In the meanwhile, perhaps none but a lover of natural hiftory can imagine, what pleafure we enjoyed together among the herbs and flowers. At firft almoft every day was a rich harveft of the rareft and moft beautiful plants; and I had almoft faid, that at every ftep we made one or more new difco-veries. And as I had many Swedifh friends, and particularly the great Linnaeus, always prefent in my memory, every duplicate or triplicate of the plants that I gathered, gave me a fenfible pleafure; though my covet-oufnefs for myfelf and my friends, frequently induced me to gather more than I was able to attend to, and dry in a proper manner. This, doubtlefs, happens more or lefs to every botanift who travels into foreign parts : but befides this circumftance, I wras not a little taken off, by my bu-finefs with the refident, from the more agreeable application to my beloved fcience. By this means I was often deprived of opportunities of inveftigating fome Qf thofe plants that I had collected : 1 therefore neglected no opportunity offending to Sir Charles Vol. I. d LiNNiEus x8 AVOYAGEtothe i77*« LiNNiEUS- duplicates of every thing I found, to'gether with **sy*J my remarks upon them. Unfortunately this great man's illnefs, declining years, and intervening death, have prevented us long from feeing them in print, in a Mantijfa tertia. I was now to refide in Falfe-bay till the end of the winter, which is called the bad feafon (in Dutch, quaae mouffbn,) and is reckoned from the 14th of May till the 14th of Auguft. It is not diftinguifhed by any particular degree of cold ; for we had frequently at this time the fineft fummer days. Once or twice there fell fome hail, but I never faw any fnow. We had fometimes the moft violent lhowers of rain, and that moftly for feveral days in continuation, by which means the air was very fenfibly cooled. We Were not ^infrequently troubled with the north-weft wind, and this is principally the reafon why the Dutch fhips, at the time of year before-mentioned, have been ordered to run into Table-bay* ever fince the year 1722; when out of ten fhips belonging to that nation lying there, eight were eaft on fliore and loft. This like-wife has induced the Dutch company to have ready at hand every neceffary for their fhips, under the infpedlion of the Refident at Falfe-bay. They have erected here an extenfive magazine, which at the fame time includes forges and baking-houfes, with houfe-room for the workmen, wTho do the whole duty of the guard, and are commanded by a ferjeant and two corporals. The flaughter-houfe makes a diftinct building by itfelf, as do likewife the Refident's houfe and the hofpital. About the time of my departure from Africa, they were building another large and hand-fome houfe for the accommodation of the Governor, when he he chufes to retire thither for his pleafure. Good frefli water is conveyed from the neighbouring hill to a quay, where it is very convenient for ufe. A tradefman or two have got leave to build an inn here, in which, however, there is not always room and conveniencies fufficient to receive all fuch as, after a long fea-voyage, are defirous of refreihing themfelves on fliore; the fhips that land here being chiefly fuch as contain not much above twenty paffengers. Board and lodging are paid for here as at the Cape, from one rix-dollar to one and a half a day ; a tolerable good table is like-wife ufually kept here, and the attendance is none of the worft. A perfon that wifb.es to go poft from Falfe-bay to the Cape, a diftance of about iixtecn miles, will find it comparatively dear enough. Three or four rix-dollars muft be paid for a faddle-horfe, and from twelve to ftxteen for a waggon; which is, for the moft part, inconvenient, and ufually drawn by three or four pair of horfes, or elfe by the fame number of oxen. Excepting in the winter, Falfe-bay is feldom or ever vifited by any fhips, as the fouth-eaft wind, which prevails at every other time of the year, makes this Bay in many refpedts inconvenient; blowing with fuch violence, as to cover two hills there with a thick layer of drift fand, all along from the ftrand up to their very tops. This ridge of fand is feen from afar from the mouth of the harbour, and ferves as a beacon for fhips; for Simonh-bay* which is the place where they are to anchor, lies directly from the eaft, or fomething more.to the fouth. The breadth of Falfe-bay is not fo great, but that in clear fine weather, one may fee from Simons-bay the lands laying oppofitc in D 2 the the eaft, or the Schaapen-Bergen (Sheep-Mountains) in Hot-<^nU tentots Holland; and with a perfpective glafs, one may even diftinguifh the houfes in the laft mentioned place. From the point of land, called the Gape of Good Hope, ftraight on to the town itfelf, there is extended a chain of hills, which, following the courfe of the ftrand in Simon's-bay* is continued to the northernmoft part or bottom of Falfe-bay; and afterwards, ftriking off to the weftward to Conftantia* goes on to the north of it, to join Table-Mountain. This range of mountains, however, reckoning from Simon's-b ay* is- intercepted in two places, viz. firft, by means of a dale near Conjlantia* through which the road goes to Hout-bay; and next, by a fandy vale a little to the north of Simons-bay. Through this vale there is a fhort way between the weftern and eaftern coafts; and in all probability it was formerly a fmall ftraight or found, which has been gradually filled up by the winds and furge of the fea. The whole of the low lands, confifting of fandy plains and tracks of heathy country to the eaft of the towrn, was in all likelihood formed in the fame manner; and the Cape of Good Hope was in the beginning an ifland, which was not connected with the Tiger-Mountain and fhore of Hottentots Holland, but by degrees, and in the courfe of time. It is, in my opinion, particularly with fand, fea-fhells, trunks of trees, and fuch like rub-biih, that the fea has thus encroached upon the land, and fet itfelf narrower limits. To this the violence of the fouth-eaft wind contributes not a little, as it fometimes tears up hedges, trees, and vegetables of all kinds by the roots* \ roots, at the fame time cafting up high ridges of fand, as JgJJ I mentioned before. ^r^J Even table-bay is by degrees grown ihallower; fo that the houfe that is built by the fea-fhore is now farther from it, and time after time they have been obliged to lengthen the quay that has been made in the harbour. Farther, in refpect to this circumftance, I can refer to the fhells of different fizes that I found in the fandy parts of a meadow a little below Tiger-Mountain. A well-behaved and fen-fible yeoman, Cornelius Vervey by name, who conducted me to this place, fituated at the diftance of about two leagues from the fea-fhore, was of opinion, that the fea-fhells were left in that place, after the fea had retired from it, but were by no means brought thither by the Hottentots, as they could not poflibly live there on account of the want of water. The road between the Cape and Falfe-bay is very heavy, and even fometimes dangerous. At this latter place, at the time that the fouth-eait wind prevails, there is wont to be fo high a tide, that the fea, even at its loweft ebb, at fome places rifes up to the foot of the mountains, which partly encompafs this extenfive harbour; fo that one is obliged to travel for a long way (as it were) below the fliore, though the furf or furge of the fea often rifes above the nave of the wheels, and even into the body of the waggon ; nay, it fometimes feems as it would carry out to fea waggon, horfes, and all. For which reafon they have in general extremely ftrong and fubftantial waggons, and fteady horfes, that are accuftomed to this kind of work, together with fober and fkilful drivers, fo that an accident « 2i AVOYAGEtothe *7??« accident of this kind cannot eafdy happen : relying upon <^y>>J thefe, people fometimes even drive a little below the fea-fhore, as the fands are there preffed down and even ; whereas higher up they are loofe, deep, and heavy. In a large plain, that clofes up the north fide of Falfe-bay there is a considerable field of fand, through which the road is carried. This the violent rains, that fall in the winter feafon, joined to a higher tide than ufual, are wont fometimes to lay entirely under water; fo that travellers are in danger of getting up to the middle in holes and pits. Some accidents of this kind happened the winter I was there. Ships of various nations, Englifh, French, and particularly the Dutch Eaft-Indiamen, anchored this feafon in Simorfs-bay. The principal officers and paflengers of this nation lodged chiefly with the refident; fo that at mealtimes, various European dialects, together with the languages ufed in commerce with the Indians, viz. the Malay, and a very bad kind of Portuguefe, were fpoken all at one time ; fo that the confufion was almoft equal to that of the Tower of Babel. The diflimilitudc likewife in manners and behaviour was fometimes equally great. A circumftance that occurred on this occafion, and that appeared to me rather lingular, deferves to be mentioned. When the ftrangers of other nations began their defert, two Dutch captains put on their hats and lighted their pipes. Upon this I afked fome Dutchmen that fat by me, whether this was not looked upon as unufual and impolite ? I was anfwered, that tobacco was a more delicious defert, and had more charms for an old failor, than cakes and 6 fweet- fweet-meats; and that this cuftom is ftill more prac~tifed jg£ in other places in the Eaft-Indies. Indeed I obferved at the Cape, that the Dutch commonly wore their hats in the houfe, and that even in company, without its being looked upon as the leaft breach of politenefs. At leaft the cuftom, which is conftantly practifed in Europe, of carrying one's hat under one's arm, is ftill more unnatural. This moft undeniably abfurd practice I never obferved in the Eaft-Indies. We often enjoyed the company of Englifh ladies, fome of whom even ftaid out our elegant defert of pipes and tobacco. Some of thefe ladies came from the Eaft-Indies, on their return from Europe, and fome from England. The married ones, to fee their h.ufbands either at Bombay* Madras, or Bengal; the unmarried ones, to get hufbands. Some of the former had not feen their hufbands for feve-ral years, thefe not having being able to fend for them before, for want of having acquired money enough to keep houfe in the ex pen live manner rcquifitc in this part of the world. The latter feldom make the voyage in vain, being extremely welcome to fuch of the fingle men, as have had time to get a tolerable fhare of the treafures of India, but could not perfuade themfelves to wed the dark Indian beauties, (as many however are accuftomed to do) and have not had leifure to go to Europe merely for the purpofe of chufing themfelves wives. It was therefore ^uppofed, that fome of thefe beautiful travellers were actually, in a manner, fent for by commiflion, though not lMerted ^ t^e invoice. Be 24 AVOYAGEtothe ApriV tnat, however, as it may; they all in the mean L-^vO while feemed highly deferving of rich and good hufbands, as well for their courage and refolution in venturing upon the ocean, as for many other fine qualities they were pof-fefTed of. As they were always in the company and under the care of fome refpectable married lady, nobody feemed to harbour the leaft doubt of their good conduct. On this occafion, the following anecdote deferves to be mentioned. One of the ladies, who had fome time before paffed by the Cape, had been fent for to be married to a certain governor. He, as foon as me arrived, was for performing his engagements immediately ; but the lady pofitively refufed, and finally gave as a reafon for her conduit, that file did not chufe to deceive him ; for during her voyage, me had betrothed herfelf to the captain of the fliip, who however was bafe enough to retract his promife, although flie feared that their connection had been productive of certain difagreeable confequences. The governor repaid her franknefs by the molt generous conduct; and was not at all fur prized that fhe mould rather give her hand to a young fellow, who had befides had the advantage of being on the fpot, than wait in uncertainty for an elderly man, who was an abfolute ftranger to her, and was moreover at a diftance from her. He therefore married her himfelf without hefitation, after having in vain endeavoured to perfuade her falfe lover to take this ftep. The little ifland of Malagas in Falfe-bay* is particularly reforted to by penguins and feals; and although Rob ben (or Seal Ifland) otherwife called Penguin Ifland in Table-bay* bears the name of thefe latter animals, yet they are feldom found found there now, finee the ifland has been inhabited. But on Daffen liland they are found in much greater quanti- ^r^J ties, infomuch that fometimes a general (hooting party is made with advantage to deitroy the feals there, for the fake of their blubber. Their {kins, though very good in their kind, are to be had very cheap; and are, as far as I know, in requeft only among the boors for tobacco-pouches, for which they are extremely well calculated, as they keep the tobacco from growing dry. I brought home with me the Huffed fcetus of a phoca from the Cape. It is of the fame fpecies with thole that I inveftigated together with MefTrs. Forstku, and eat at NewZee/and* Terra Del Fuego* and the Southern Tbule* When the train-oil was feparated, the flefh was really good and eatable, efpccially as in thofe places we could get nothing better : we imagined indeed, that it tailed like beef, but it muft be owned that it had a difagreable black hue. I have opened the interlines of divers phoca* and always found them empty, excepting a little fand and fmall fea- fhells, together with a few ftones from the fize of a nut to that of an egg. The reafon of this emptinefs of the bowels may have been, either that thefe creatures have very ftrong digeftive powers, fo as fpeedily to diflblve the fea animals on which they probably live, or elfe, that during their dwelling and copulating on fhore, they abftain for a long time from all food whatever. Various forts of fea-fijh are taken at the Cape and Falfe-bay* At the latter place they had juft caught the electric ray-fifi* (raia torpedo) but unluckily I chanced to be abfent, while it was yet alive, and experiments were made Vol. I. E with *17*< with it. Out of feveral that touched it, every one had felt (as v^y>j it were) a ftong electric fhock, the refident only excepted, who could handle this fifh without the leaft inconvenience. Whether he was in like manner infenfible to ordinary electricity, he had never tried ; but it was very likely that this was the cafe, particularly as we find an inftance in Musschen-broek's IntroduEL to Nat. Phil. §. 832, No. 3, of three perfons, who were found to be exempt from the operation of electricity, though the experiment was made on them more than once. I am befides acquainted with a certain man, who feems to poffefs a great antielectric power. From the refult of many experiments made with the torpedo, and related in the Philofophical Tranfactions for the years 1773, 74* 7 5» and 76, there appears to exift an incontrovertible analogy between electricity and the above-mentioned fifh. The cancer norvegicus, a kind of lobfter, is often eaten in the Bay. A fort of fnail or cockle, klipkaus (Haltotis, Linn.) from half a foot to a foot and a half diameter, is ufually ftewed, but makes in my opinion a very unfavoury diili. The fame may be faid of the fepia loligoy and the Jepia oBopodia, which are made into foup, and are known to our failors by the name of black-jijh, and fea-cats, and to the Englifh by the name of cuttle-jijh. A fmall kind of oyfter is likewife found in a particular fpot in the Bay, and is kept by the governor for his own table. As to mufcles I faw but few of them; but in table-bay, below the Lion-Mountain, they are found in great abundance, and have a delicious tafte. The myxine glutinofa, was not eafy to be difcovered among the vermes \ it is like an eel or a x fnake make with a flat tail. Its mouth was formed by an ob- *77* long opening under its nofe, not tranfverfe, but longitu- \mrr^ dinal in the direction of its body, with double and moveable jaws well furniihed with teeth. The bite of it is reported to occafion a difagreeable tumour, but not to be mortal. Among the vegetables that I found in Bay-Falfo, the cunonia capenfis was almoft the largeft tree there, though barely twice or three times the height of a man. It grows near the water, and contains in its peculiar JlipaL bivalv. fagittat. a cream-like matter to appearance, but in fa£t a vilcid or gummy fubftance. Various fophora bloomed here towards the fpring, and required a good foil: but on the fopbora capenfis* there was found in particular a new fort of vifcum in great abundance. The ant holy za atbiopica grew from three to fix feet in height, with beautiful red flowers, being always found at no great diftance from the fliore, and chiefly in the fhade of other plants. I met with it afterwards in the woods near the Cape, particularly in the Houtniquas. The antholyza maura % remarkable for its flowers, half white and half black, I found on one fpot only of the mountain near one of the rivulets, that trickle down juft before the flaughter-houfe. A very fmall triandrous plant (Jlaminibus monadelphis) with comparatively large but beautiful yellow flowers, in the fine part of the day adorned a large plat of ground with its °pen blofToms, which however at other times were fo entirely clofed, as almoft to difappear. The calla athiopica * This compos now a new genus, and is called by Dx, Thunberg the wittenia E 2 delighted A VOYAGE to T H E ^77** delighted chiefly in moid places near the fea-fhore, and \^r%J was in flower the whole winter. Protects} ericas, cornufes, gnaphaHums, gnidias, echias, phyllicas, brunias* and peri-plocas, two varieties of the myrica cerifera, together with cliffortias, theftas, polygalas, hermannias and afters, were ftrewed promifcuoufly over the dry places on the declivity of the mountain. Among thefe fome rejlios feemed quartered on the bare fand, together with divers mefembryantbemums. The byobanche fanguinea, a par aft tic plant, towards fpring, began to throw out its blood-red tufts of flowers in the naked fand; an ojleofpermum or two, as well of the arboreous as herbaceous kind, were now and then likewife found in the bare fand. Ar£iotides, calendulas, and OthonnaS, throve chiefly in fandy places. On the mountain be fides pro teas, brunias, diofmas, ericas, and the Jlilbe, we found indigoforas, erinufes, felagos, manulias* chironias of different kinds, together with many gynan-drous plants. We likewife found greens and kitchen-garden plants in great plenty at this inaufpicious time of the year. Towards fpring, divers forts of ixias, gladiolufes, ??ioreas, oxalijes, mefembryantbemums, antirrhinums, and even various beautiful fmall irifes* feveral inches high, with the corolla partly white and partly blue, began to pufh out of the ground. Of the partly known and partly quite new plants which we met with at this fpot, fome were rather uncommon, others again was not to be found again in the other places I vifited in Africa. Every diflriA has always fomething peculiar to itfelf: no wonder then, if Dr. Thunberg and I mould have paffed over various fpecimens of the vegetable table tribe unnoticed, and the common faying, Semper m*-aliquid novi ex Africa, mould ftill hold good for many v^y-o years to come. Botanifts, therefore, muft not expect in this place a more accurate catalogue of plants, which would be too tedious a bufinefs; but content themfelves with acquiring, en paffant, as it were, and at a diftance, by means of the preceding lift, fome idea of the country, juft as it is, covered with the herbs and trees moft commonly found in it on different fpots, and at different times of the year. SECT. SECT. III. Refidence at Alphen near Confantia, till the Author's Trip to PaarL i77s. ^\X7HE^ wmtcr was Pau~>anc*tne ^ps now pre* ▼ V ferred anchoring in Table-bay* I went with the refident to an eftate of his called Alpben* fituate in the neighbourhood of Conjlantia* about three miles* from it, and nearly half way between Table and Simotfs-bay. Before we could get over the mountainous part of this road, we obferved a troop of baboons very nimbly clambering up the fteep rocks, and fcouring away as fall as they could to fave themfelves from our hounds, which fet after them in full cry. On the plain before us we faw a large flock of Jlammingos (pboenicopt. ruber) a fpecies of bird of the crane kind (grallae) feeking their food in pools and puddles that were beginning to dry up. As they were larger than our cranes, and of a fnow-white colour, with their wings of a flaming rofy hue, it is eafy to imagine, what an agreeable appearance they made on the green field, clad in fo beautiful a livery. After this our road was over a fandy plain, a place that, during part of the winter, one is obliged to wade over, as it then lies under water. We then then came to a field overgrown with a great many difFe-rent forts of heath and other ihrubs and bufhes, with fome v^-v-O fmall trees of the protect kind. Part of the flowers and herbs that were fcattered among thefe ftirubs, I found later than in Falfe-bay; probably by reafon, that in this latter place they were brought forward partly by the vapours arifing from the fea, and partly by the fun-beams reflected upon the mountains. On the other hand, divers ixias, gladiolufes, moreas, hyacinths* cyphias, melanthias, al-bucas, oxalifes, afperugos, geraniums, monfonias, arclotifes* calendulas, wachendorjias, and the arclopus—fome of them never, fome of them rarely feen in the Bay, were now found every where by the road-fide in their greateft beauty. The pleafure enjoyed by a botanift, who finds all at once fo rich a collection of unknown, rare, and beautiful vernal flowers, in fo unfrequented a part of the world, is cafier to be conceived than defcribed. I was now quite impatient to get to the end of my journey, however agreeable it was otherwife. At length we arrived at the refident's country-feat, and I did not delay a moment to procure myfelf a ftill more delightful recreation, viz. that of walking out to reconnoitre fuch plants as were yet unknown to me. The premifes are very well built, and contiguous to them is a pretty extenfive garden, and a confiderable vineyard, which increafes yearly in lize. But there is hardly an acre of arable land to be found in the whole neighbourhood ; nor did the owners of the vineyards here think it worth their while to trouble themfelves about the culture of it, but were then, viz. towards the end of the month of Auguft, bufied in digging about their vine- ftocks, >772- flocks, and planting new. They never deflroy their vine- April. . L/vO plants; that is, they do not let them run up to any height, but cut them down low, and generally furround their vineyards and fruit-trees with hedges, in order to flielter them the better from the wind. A fmall fpecies of cur-culio in particular, did infinite damage to the vine-buds, and the tender leaves. They were therefore very bufy in plucking this, infect from the plant as foon as ever it appeared, and as foon as they could poflibly get at it; the only means yet known of preventing the ravages of this creature. As fummer was now approaching, the ex a cum and the * gentiana exacoides began to cover the ground with yellow patches; and many forts of lhrubs of the extenfive genus of afpaiathus, came out by degrees with their yellow blof-foms. But the protea argent ea, or the filver-tree, as it is called, exhibited the whole year throughout its glofly wrhite, or filver gray leaves. This tree has at firft a very uncommon, and indeed beautiful appearance. I am of opinion, however, that we mould not chufe to change for it our delightful afpen-groves. The filver-tree fcarcely ever grows higher than twenty feet; and if I remember right, I have been informed, that they arrive at this height in twelve to fifteen years. But in a rich foil this tree grows twice as quick, and is the largeft of all the protea kind. One or two of them are found planted near fome of the farms; but we feldom meet with any that have grown wild of themfelves in thefe parts, though a little grove of them is feen * Now the feboea exacoides, near near Conftantia. For this rcafon it has been fuppofed, that the filver-tree was tranfplanted hither from the beginning; V^vxJ yet no one has been able to inform me from what place it firft came : probably it was brought from the borders of Anamaqua; fori now travelled over the whole north-eaft fide of Hottentots Holland, without finding it either in its wild ftate or planted. In the mean while, as it is the larger! of all the proteas, and indeed almoft of all the trees indiginous at the Cape, it is remarkable, that together with fome others it has not attracted the attention of government to the planting of it, efpecially as they cannot be ignorant that the confumption of wood ftores, as well for the ufe of the fhips as that of the town, daily increafes fafter than they can be fupplied by their refourccs. It is chiefly from the level ground near the ihore, that the company at prefent fetches its wood, which confifts chiefly of two fmall and crooked forts of protea. That wood is dear at the Cape, may be concluded, from the circumftance of private perfons rather finding their account in getting it from the mountains by means of Haves; though it takes up one of thefe a whole day to get a moderate load of lhrubs and dry branches of trees, the value of which is generally the fourth part of a rixdollar. And indeed it is fo far fortunate for the Dutch in a place fo bare of wood, that a fire is not wanted in this country, excepting for drefting of victuals, lighting their pipes, and the women's ftoves. Alphen, or the farm where I palled this fummer, was °n the fouthern fide of Table-Mountain, about a mile and a half from the foot of it. This mountain feems here, as well as at Table-Bay, level at the top, though there i; Vol. I. F has W: has considerable inequalities. In the rainy feafon large ^r>J pools of water are found upon it, but by no means any lake, as fome pretend. When a cloud covers this range of mountains, and the north-weft wind blows, it fhould feem that this fame wind muft inevitably drive the cloud over the neighbouring plains on the other or fouth lide of thefe mountains, at the fame time caufing it to rain there ; but on the contrary, the fact is, that it never does rain there; a circumftance that, without doubt, like all other natural phenomena, has its real and certain foundations in nature. The moft probable folution that occurs to me is this, that the vapours, which are driven up from the fea by the north-weft wind, gather round the mountain in confequence of their being attracted by it, and there remain as long as they preferve any degree of rarefaction ; but when at length they become more and more denfe and preffed together, fo as neceffarily rather to yield to the greater force of the wind than to the attractive power of the mountain, they are carried away too quick to fall in rain directly at the foot of the mountain; a circumftance that does not happen before they reach the other lide of Zout Rhier. Having feveral times in my walks been, without any reafon, apprehenfive of being wetted through by the above-mentioned cloud, at length I refolved to afcend the mountain, in order to fee how things were fituated. The weather was at that time fine at the bottom of the mountain, and the wind pretty ftill; but at the upper edge of the mountain I met with feveral gufts of wind, which precipitated, as it were, down upon me, moift and cold, and with with a fenfible violence. The temperature of the air, with which I was fuiTounckcl for about three quarters of an hour, varied according as the weather changed from fine to hazy, and from that to drizzling or downright rain. The barennefs of the mountain and the coldnefs of its air, together with the fmall number of plants upon it, and thofe Hunted by the climate ; nay, the rainy weather it-felf, all combined to form around me a backward autumn. From this fpot, however, I had an agreeable fummer pro-fpect towards the bottom of the mountain, viz. the verdant plains lying round about it, enlightened and warmed by the genial rays of the fun. At the bottom of this range of hills there feemed to fhoot out many roundifh oblong ridges, pretty nearly of the fame form, and parallel to each other, and feparated by a like number of dales, at the bottom of feveral of which ran the water previoufly collected by the mountain, and deftined, as it were, to water the plains. A number of green trees and flirubs, which had planted themfelves along the lides of thefe rills, formed a beautiful girdle on the declivity of the mountain, and on the hillocks projecting at the foot of it. Several neat compact farms fcattered up and down, the houfes belonging to which were white with black roofs, at the fame time that the grounds were laid out in a regular and judicious manner with verdant orchards and vineyards, lay diflinctly open to the eye in all their respective ground-plots, forming a moll natural as well as beautiful picture. Next to thefe, a little further on, were feen pale and bleak tracts of heath, among which were flrewed, as it were, various plots of fand, together with p 2 fandy fandy roads winding about in a ferpentine form, and wag-^^^j gons and timber-tugs creeping along them with a fluggifli motion. Thefe extenfive plains were bounded by Tyger-niowitain and the mores of Hottentots Holland. Next to thefe, but farther on, were feen other mountains, which, according to the diftance at which they were placed, grew more and more indiftinc~t, till they entirely difappeared in the clouds. From hence too, belides feveral pools of rainwater, a great part of the creek which forms Falfe-bay, was feen. This, from its calmnefs and diftance, appeared at that juncture as fmooth as a looking-glafs; at the fame time that it was terminated by the ocean, or rather, according to the appearance it made in my eyes, by the ho- From the mift, or fog, which furrounded me on the mountain, I perceived at times fpecks of clouds fnatched off by the north-weft wind, and driving along with violence through the air both above and below the fpot I then flood upon, and directly followed by their fhadows formed upon the fame plains. In a word, this extenfive and delightful fpectacle was as enchanting as it was fmgular. Being not ufed to run any great rifks, I did not venture fo far out as I would have wifhed, in order to examine the top of Table-mountain on this fide ; for, as it grew towards dark, I might have eafily loft my way, and fall a prey to leopards and hyaenas, which frequent thefe parts in great numbers, and at night are very bold and daring. A little while before they had committed ravages in a farm yard juft below the mountain; I likewife heard their bowlings the fame evening about dufk, dufk, from the very place where, two hours before, I had j^Jjj; been botanizing. That very day, at broad day-light, I ^tnJ narrowly efcaped being plundered by a troop of Haves, that had fome time before run away from their matters, and who were fufpected at that time to have their haunts about Table-mountain. A fire that I found there newly extin-guiihed, was probably fome of their reliques. Still, however, the beautiful profpect that I have juft been defcribing, would perhaps have kept me longer on the mountain, if I had not begun to feel a kind of fliffnefs and rheumatic pains in my limbs, owing to my having got into a cold/air at the top of the mountain all in a fweat and too lightly clad. This probably would have had ferious confequences, if I had not accidentally wrought myfelf into a moft violent fweat; the fact was, that in my defcent, wifhing to examine fome of the clofeft thickets on the fides of the rills, that trickle down the mountain, I went out of the right path, and got into a very thick over-grown coppice,- fo that I could not without the greater! difficulty extricate myfelf from it. Some time before this, or in the beginning of September, 1 rode to town to take leave of Dr. Thunberg, who was going to take a long journey up the country, at the expence,of the Dutch Eaft-India company. I ftaid at his houfe rather late in the evening, which occafioned me in nry way home to be caught in the dark and to mils my way. I therefore rode up to a farm-houfe to eifr quire for the road, and from the information I got, thought to find my way home; but, it beginning to rain, and the darknefs increafing, I took a bye-road, which led me *77*' nie to an elegant houfe, the property of a private gentle-V^ynJ man. After I had flood out the attacks of a number of dogs, there came out a heap of flaves, from fixteen to twenty. Thefe fellows were fo malicious as not to anfwer me, though certainly fome of them underitood me ex-trcmely well, and though, after having promifed them fomcthing to drink, I afkec] them the way in tolerable good Dutch ; on the contrary, they conferred with each other in broken Portuguefe or Malay, in fuch a manner, as to make me fufpect, that they had no better will towards me, than they have to others of a different nation from themfelves, who are accuflomed to fell them here, after having partly by robbery and open violence, and partly in the way of bargain or purchuie, got them from their native country, and thus eventually brought them to the grievous evils they then fuflained. Had the mafler of the houfe been at this time at home, of which however I much doubt, it would have made very little difference to me, as even in that cafel could not have fpoken with him; for every body in this country is obliged to bolt the door of his chamber at night, and keep loaded fire-arms by him, for fear of the revengeful difpofition of his flaves. This being the cafe, it was ftill eafier for them to murder me, and afterwards conceal the deed by burying my body, or drag it into a thicket to be devoured by wild hearts; I therefore took again to the road, in fearch of a better fate. To this end I gave my horfe the bridle, in hopes that he would hit upon the right road better than myfelf. In confe-quence of this he made fuch ufe of his liberty, as to quit all the beaten tracks, perhaps with a view to find the morteft way home: home: fo that I foon found myfelf in a heavy marfhy »77*» ground, overgrown with bullies, and full of brooks and rivulets, till at length he made a fudden leap, on which we both tumbled head over heels into a pit, and parted. My horfe's fudden flight gave me reafon to fear, that fome wild beaft being near us was the occafion of it; for which reafon, not thinking myfelf over and above fecure, I immediately prepared to defend myfelf with a large knife, which I generally carried about me for the purpofe of digging up the roots of plants. The beft ftep I could now take, was, like many more foot-paffengers, to make up to fome farm-yard, and run the rifk of being torn to pieces by great dogs, which are let loofe at night for the purpofe of keeping off thieves. To pafs the night in the open air, at a time when the weather feemed fet in for rain, was as difagreeable as dangerous. In the mean time I took to walking about, to keep myfelf warm. In the fpace of a few minutes, after I had gone over a little hill, i found myfelf near a farm-houfe. It being dark, I was obliged to confider fome time before 1 could know it again to be my own houfe. I found my horfe already at the ftable-door, Handing quite ftill and quiet, and was lucky enough into the bargain, to be able to conceal the whole adventure from the family, as the particular footing on which I was at that time required. Conftantia is a diftri<5t confining of two farms, which Produce the well-known wine fo much prized in Europe, and known by the name of Cape* or Conjlantia-vime. This place is fituated at the diftance of a mile and a half from Alpben* in a bending formed by, and nearly under the 2 ridge 1772- ridee of hills, which comes from Meuifen-mountain* and April. O . juft where it {hikes oft towards Hout-bay. One of thefe farms is called Little Conftantia. Here the white Conftantia wine is made. The other produces the red. According to M. DE La Cail's account, not more than fixty figgars of red, and ninety of the white Conftantia wine are made, each ftggar being- reckoned at fix hundred French pints, or about one hundred and fifty Swedifh cans; fo that the whole produce amounts to twenty-two thoufand five hundred cans. As the company are ufed to keep one third of this for themfelves, the remainder is always be-fpoke by the Europeans long before it is made. At the Cape this wine is feldom feen at table, partly becaufe it is dear, and partly becaufe it is the produce of the country. The red Conftantia wine fells for about fixty rixdollars the half awin; but the white is ufually to be purchafed at a more reafonable rate : otherwife the price of the common white wine at the Cape is from ten to feventy rixdollars the figgar, according to the year's growth and the demand that is for it. They make befides, in the environs of the Cape, Burgundy* Madeira* Mofelie* Mufcadel wines, fo called from fome analogy they bear to the European wines of the fame name, as well as from the refpective places in Europe whence the vine-flocks were firft brought. Thefe wines are at a proportion ably higher price than the ordinary white. As the Cape wines, in confequence of the great demand from the fhips, have all a quick fale, they are feldom to be found of any age; otherwife by longer keeping, together with better care, and a lefs liberal ufe of fulphur, they would doubtlefs be equally good with the beft European wines. wines. The genuine Conftantia wine is undeniably a very *7gjj; racy and delicate defert wine, and has fomething pecu- V-^vO liarly agreeable in the flavour of it. That its fupcriority is not owing to any thing peculiar in the manner of preparing it, I am fully convinced; for then, without doubt, a great deal more of it would be made. But the fact: is, that the genuine wine can only be produced by certain particular foils. The diftridts that lie next to thefe yield merely the common Cape wine, notwithstanding that they have been planted with vine-ftocks taken from this, as well as with fome brought from the banks of the Rhine, whence it is fuppofed that the true Conftantia fort originally comes; nay, even though all the vineyards about Conftantia feem to have the fame foil. We have inftances at the Cape, as well as in Europe, that good grapes fometimes produce a bad wine; while, on the other hand, bad grapes will yield a good fort of wine: therefore, towards making wine of a certain quality, befides finer materials, there muft be certain conditions and circumftances, which, by a diligent and rational inveftigation, might probably be explored to the great benefit of mankind. Such as are apprized in what quantities Conftantia wine is confumed in Europe, have perhaps already remarked, that my calculation of the produce of the above-mentioned wine is too limited. This, however, is by no means the cafe; the overplus being the produce of avarice, which, goaded on by the defire of gain, will always hit llPon fome method of fatisfying the demands of luxury and fenfuality. The votaries of thefe, accuftomed to be put off with empty founds, do not feldom drink with the Vol. I. G higheft Apni' higheft relifh, an imaginary Conftantia, with which, how-V^ynJ ever, this liquor has nothing in common befldes the mere name. It is therefore advifeable, even at the Cape itfelf, to take care, that whilft one has a genuine fample given otie to tafte, one is not made to pay for a made-up red Conftantia, which otherwife is in general fold for half the price. When a wine of this kind has been (as it ufually is) meliorated by a voyage, and at the fame time chriften-ed with the pompous name of genuine Conftantia, of which it has indeed in fome meafure the flavour, it eafily fells for fuch in Europe. This fummer likewife I vifited Hout-bay. The direct road to it goes through a narrow vale, from which the harbour is fllpplied with frefh water, by means of a little river or ftream covered with palmites, a kind of acorns with a thick item and broad leaves, which grow out from the top, as they do in the palm-tree, a circumftance from which the plant takes its name. Thefe palmites are found in great abundance in moft rivers and ftreams, which they block up more or lefs by means of their Items and roots intertwining with each other. On the other hand, this fame Hout-bay has very little title to the name it bears; as, in direct contradiction to the signification of it, there is and feems ever to have been, a great deficiency of timber and brufhwood in that place. Confidered as a harbour, this bay feemed to me to be extremely narrow, and at the fame time too open to the fouth wind. The anchorage, however, was good; at leaft, I was fo informed by two fifhermen I met with there. A heap of fand is driven up by the fea to the fartheft part of the bay, and 3 there there appeared to form a fhoal of a considerable extent, by which means the river above-mentioned is not a little 's^vx^ blocked up. This fand was at that time very loofe at many places, fo that one could not walk upon it without danger of being drowned in the water that lay under it. In time, perhaps, the apertures will be entirely filled up, fo as to become folid. A nook in a mountain on the weft fide of the bottom of the bay is entirely covered with fand, which probably has been carried up from the ftrand by the violence of the wind from the fea. The eaft fide is com-pofed of a fteep mountain, which reaches to the brink of the water, while the weftern ftiore is very much covered with large loofe granites. There are, neverthelefs, very good landing-places here for boats. In other refpects the harbour is inconvenient, as well in refpedt to the gufts of wind that come from the mountains, as from the want of a convenient watering-place, and a wind to carry the ihips out to fea. A farm with plantations of vines lay a few ftones throw higher up in the vale. The owner, a European, was the only one in Africa who had fenfe enough to make ufe of affes; being of opinion, that as they were more fervice-able in hilly countries as bcafts of burden, and at the fame time their food, confifting of lhrubs and the coarfer kinds of grafs, was eafier to be procured, they were better adapted to that part of the world than horfes. I had here a hafty glimpfe of a little black quadruped, in fhape approaching neareft to the otter, which ran and hid itfelf in a heap of ftones. jgTJ The game here, and in the country about Conftantia, L^yxJ coniifts chiefly of fmall ant Hopes* as in Falfe-bay, viz. of Jleenbocks, the aniilope grimmia of Pallas, and of Klip-fpringers* which, however, I have not had an opportunity of examining near; likewife of diving goats, fo called from a peculiar manner they have of leaping and diving, as it were, under the bullies. The method of hunting thefe fmall antilopes is to drive them from their cover among the buflies, which is beft done by hounds; at which time the fportfman muft take care to be ready with his gun. They are likewife caught with fnares placed at the entrance into vineyards and kitchen-gardens. Thefe fnares are faftcned to the top of an elaftic branch or bough of a tree, one end of which is made quite faft in the earth, and the other being bent downwards, is attached very flightly to a board, which is laid on the ground, and covered a little with earth. It is farther fo contrived, that when the animal treads on the board, this gives a little fwing, upon which the elaftic bough flies loofe,, and draws the Share over one or two of the animal's legs, at the fame time lifting the creature up along with it into the air, fo that it remains hanging there. Among other animals I faw here ichnewnons {viverra ichneumon) and civet cats (viverra genetta) caught in traps near farm-houfes. They were fomething bigger than a common cat, and have a bad name with houfewifes for making great havock among the poultry and eggs; though, on the other hand, they do a great deal of fervice by destroying the larger kind of rats. In the more general ceconomy of nature, thefe animals are ftill more ferviceable; more fo indeed than the people at the the Cape are capable of diitinguifhing, or know how to JgJ* turn to their advantage. The river Nile and Egypt itfelf for instance, would be full of crocodiles, if their eggs were not in a great meafurc destroyed by the viverra ichneumon. In the East-Indies this animal is famous for leffening the number of lizards and venomous ferpents, which too much abound there ; and the fame fervice is undoubtedly done by the viverra fpecies in Africa. Thefe certainly contribute alfo to keep the number of moles within certain limits. The ichneumon is likewife ufed to be made tame in the East-Indies, fo as to follow its master as tractably as a dog; and by its means it has been difcovered, that the opbiorbiza is an excellent antidote against the bite of ferpents. Probably a difcovery of equal utility might be made at the Cape, if the ichneumon was made tame there, and thefe animals were purpofely suffered to be bitten by feveral forts of ferpents, and at the fame time it was obfesved what antidote they had recourfe to ; for nature, which has given, and indeed imposed on the ichneumon the fame office in Africa as in Afia, viz. to limit the incrcafe of the race of ferpents, has in both places furnifhed them with equally good weapons, and an equally good preservative. Experiments of this kind certainly deferve to be made with the viverra genetta, and fome others of that genus. The foUiculus of this latter creature contains a kind of mufk, in all probability not without fome particular intention in its all-wife Creator, nor without fome ufe to the animal itfelf; perhaps, indeed, for that of men, when they fhall be at the pains to make the difcovery. It 1775- It would not be amifs to make mention in this place of April. . 1 v^^vnJ a third fpecies of viverra* which is found in thefe parts, though I did not get a fight of it till after my return from the South-Sea; this was the viverra putorius, which an acquaintance of mine caught on Mr. Dreijer's farm at Ron-debofch, fituated nearer to the Cape than to Alphen. This animal is not known to be found any where but here and in North America; in one word, in the northern parts of the new world, and the fouthernmoft promontory of the old, which is directly contrary to what M. Buff on fays he is morally certain of. The fureft ftep this great and maf-terly natural hiitorian could have taken, would have been to have contented himfelf with the contemplation of nature, which is never without its ufe, without endeavouring to lay down univerfal laws for her; as if no other animal could be common to the old and new world, than thofe which could eafily pafs by land from Ajia to America. In one of my excursions between Alphen and Rondebofch, near a mariliy place in a dale, I came unawares upon an animal with which I was totally unacquainted; but notwithstanding it was within 70 or 80 paces of me, I could not get a perfect view of it, on account of the intervention of the bullies, and the creature's running away immediately. It did not feem however above three feet and a half high, but from its aili-grey colour, and remarkably heavy gait in running, I was induced to think it could be nothing elfe than a young hippopotamus, or, as it was here called, a sea-cow. Creatures of this kind are, indeed, never feen in this part of the country; but they are ufed to wander far, fo that perhaps this had the night before chanced to stray {tray from Zeekoe-v alley* near Falfe-bay* a place to which JJl*-they frequently refort. Were it fo, I am not at all forry \Jy>J that I did not get a nearer view of a creature otherwife fo very dangerous, as, according to my ufual cuftom, I had no other weapon about me than my knife and infecT>fcifTars. The reader will fcarcely imagine, that the fauna and flora Capenfts would this fummer leave me any time for the hyp or vapours; I muft, however, confefs, that fome solitary and idle hours, combined with other circumstances, now and then gave room and occafion for envy and dif-guft. The days at the Cape, by reafon of the greater vicinity of that place to the equator, are fhorter in fummer than with us. Urged by an ardent zeal and inclination for natural history, I could not help "repining, that in a place where I had the beft opportunities for this purpofe, I found my hands tied, in fome meafure, by other bufinefs in the day-time, and in the long evenings was in want of books and many other neceflary helps; but I more particularly felt the want of friends, and of fociety with fome one, who fet a proper value upon study, particularly on the study and investigation of nature, of which here follows an instance. A Cape phyfician, who had studied fome time in Holland, paid me a vifit at the villa where I resided, and afked, I do not know upon what occafion, to fee my herbal. I, for my part, was in the highest degree desirous to give myfelf, as well as him, this pleafure, as I could not but hope to learn the virtues of divers plants in medicine. But in thefe hopes I foon found myfelf deceived; the African ^fculapius knowing fcarcely the names, much lefs the ufe, of any one plant. On this fubjea the country April try PeoPlc naa< aheady given me fome, though upon the V^ynJ whole, but little information. Of fome hundred plants that I laid before him pafted in a book, we had fcarcely turned over the third part, before he began every now and then to gape. I therefore thought it high time to give another turn to the conversation, and ceafed to trouble him any longer with my enquiries. Instead of that, I endeavoured to roufe him out of his dream, by communicating to him my thoughts of the virtues of fuch and fuch an herb; for what diforders fuch a particular plant might be tried with fafety and hopes of fuccefs; and this in confe-quence of its affinity and similitude to other plants already known, and whofe virtues had undergone the test of experience, or (as far as one might conclude from hence) from the place it held among the natural orders, 8tc. My vifitor all this while was neither polite nor intelligent enough to give his affent to what I faid, but continued yawning and gaping. I therefore left above half the plants untouched, and turned the'difcourfe to the fubjeel: of commerce and fhipping, upon which the converfation immediately became more lively; an event, which did not at all fur-prize me; for this worthy physician's income depended more upon merchandize, than upon Apollo and the Mufes; and it is much the fame cafe with the reft of the faculty at the Cape, to the great prejudice of the lick in particular, as well as to that of natural knowledge and the art of medicine in general. Should this journal ever chance to fall into the hands of the physician, who was pleafed to yawn over the collection of uiefui fimples that I had the honour of laying before him3 him, it is to be hoped, he will kindly excufe my having jn*-borrowed fo pleafing an original as himfelf, in order to K^r>J give a more lively idea of the great efteem and credit in which botany ftands with the collective body of ^fculapius's fons in Africa. I muft, however, do him the juftice to con-fefs, that he was really, in my opinion, the moft able of the faculty in that part of the world. I acknowledge with gratitude all the civilities he afterwards fhewed me; but he muft not take amifs my not being able to conceal a truth, which difcovers the reafon of the fmall progrefs made by the fciences in Africa* and, perhaps, in fome other parts of the globe: he will likewife pardon the freedom I have taken, in fetting the whole affair forth in its natural colours, juft as it appeared to me; as in fuch cafe, the reader is enabled to pafs fentence of judgment himfelf, frequently better, perhaps, than could be done by the relator. Vol. I. H SECT. SECT. IV. Trip to PaarL SINCE my defign, as I have already faid, is to give my readers the defcription of this country and people in the fame order and manner, in which I myfelf became acquainted with them, I have thought proper to infert in this place an account of an excursion I took to Paarl and its environs, juft as 1 drew it up immediately on my return home, in a letter to a worthy friend and quondam fhip-mate. It is written in the true fea-ftyle, the defcriptions and narrative being plentifully interlarded with divers phrafes in common ufe among the gallant fons of Neptune. S i r, With a carcafe quite wearied out, I am juft returned home from a journey on foot over the parched and torrid plains of Africa, after having had occafion to vifit feveral African boors. So they here call a fet of hearty honeft fellows, who, though they do not, indeed, differ in rank from our Swedifh peafants, and make no better figure than the yeomen in our country, are yet for the moft part extremely tremely wealthy. On the oth of October in this prefent WJ» year, I fet out for the Cape* to fee the burghers perform \*sy~sj their exercife, and likewife, according to a previous agreement with Mr. O-g, a countryman of our's, to take a view of the vegetable and animal productions of this country. By this you will find, Sir, that I intended to kill two birds with one ftone. With regard to the military operations, the brave warriors kept within doors on the 10th on account of the high wind, which indeed was fo violent at the bottom of Lion-mountain* whither I went out a botanizing, that I was feveral times obliged to lay myfelf down upon the ground. On the nth the whole burgeify turned out into the field ; the coats, as well of the horfe as of the foot, were, to be fure, all blue, but of fuch different fhades, that they might as well have been red, purple and yellow. Their waiftcoats, particularly thofe of the infantry, were brown, blue and white, in fliort all the colours of the rainbow. A French prieft, clothed in black, with red heels to his fhoes, flood near me, and could not help exprefling to me his amazement at feeing fuch a party-coloured equipment. However, this did not hinder them from going through their exercife extremely well, as a great number of them were Europeans, who had ferved in the laft war in Germany, and fince that time had been in gar-rifon at the Cape, when, in confequence of having ferved five years, they had become denizens of the country. Ambitious, therefore, of keeping up their military reputation, and puffed up with pride in confequence of their superiority in point of fortune, they took it into their heads feveral years ago to confider it as a very difgraceful circumftance, that H 2 . tneY j77?- they mould be obliged to make front against the garrifon, v^vo which, on their fide, felt themfelves fo much hurt by the comparifon, that the attack became very ferious; fo that among other things they loaded on each fide with coat-buttons, pieces of money, and the like. Since this accident, both thefe corps are never exercifed at one and the fame time. Being disappointed at not having the company of our countryman, I fet off on my expedition with a Mulatto for my guide, whom I hired for a quarter of a rix-dollar per diem. Over his moulder he carried a staff, at one end of which hung my apparatus for keeping my herbs, at the other a counterpoife compofed of a wallet filled with provifions and a few clothes. This guide of mine, proud of the name of bajlard* foon gave me to understand, that he was no Have, as most of the blacks are, but was free-born by his mother's lide, as her mother was a Hottentot, and her father an European (as he fuppofed) of a tolerable good family. To make ihort of my story, I quitted the town, implicitly following my blind deftiny and my tawny pilot. We steered our courfe north-west, and after a number of traverfes over the plains, by twelve o'clock we had got to the gallows. Heus Viator I Here we flopped a little to< contemplate the uncertainty of human life. Above half a fcore wheels placed round it, prefented us with the moft horrid fubjects for this purpofe; the inevitable confequences, and at the fame time the moft flagrant proofs of flavery and tyranny; monsters, that never fail to generate each other, together with crimes and mif-demeanors of every kind, as foon as either of them is once introduced into any country. The gallows itfelf, the largest: I ever I ever faw, was indeed of itfelf a fufhciently wide door to J77»' eternity ; but was by no means too large for the purpofe V^vO of a tyrannical government, that in fo fmall a town as the Cape* could find feven vidtims to be hanged in chains. Farther on, where the fand had been formed into a hard mafs by the rain-water lying upon it, I found a number of cicindelce flopping about, of an unknown fpecies. At this my companion,, who had never before feen an infect-hunter, fell a laughing as if he was out of his wits, and feemed all wonder and aftonifhment. There is not a bridge to be found in all Africa. We were therefore obliged to wade over fome pretty deep brooks and rivers ; fo that herhorizingy it muft be owned, is a very troublefome bufmefs here: but then, on the other hand, the harveft is rich. As foon as I had fat myfelf down, I made a curious difcovery of a remarkably prickly rumex (or dock), and likewife of the tribttlus terrejlris. Now and then we rambled up and down recruiting for my regiment of infcdts, and my collection of plants ; an employment which, in proportion as it enlivened my mind, in> fufed freih fpirits into my body, and ftrength into my limbs. Thefe latter I had likewife an opportunity of refting on the following occafion. Among the waggon3 that overtook us, there was one drawn by fix pair of oxen, after the fafhion of the country. In this a flave lay aileep, as drunk as David's fow, likewife in a great meafure after the country fafhion. Another however more fober than he, fat at the helm, with a whip, the handle of which was three times the length of a man, and the thong in proportion. In this country they never ufe reins to their oxen, for which reafon. Jggj reafon, though he flouriihed his whip about from right j to left with great dexterity, the hearts not being under much difcipline heaved continually from larboard to starboard, fometimes acrofs the road, and fometimes along-fde of it; fo that the driver was not imfrequently obliged to jump off from the waggon, in order to imprefs his fenti-ments with the greater energy on the foremost, oxen of the team. The waggons are fo large and wide in the carriage that they cannot easily overturn, and where the road is worfe than ordinary, the foremost oxen are ufually led. Up in the waggon fat a Dutchman, who being much hurt at feeing me on foot, very courteoufly obliged me, together with my fervant, to get into the waggon and ride, In about the fame latitude we were overtaken by a farmer. We hailed one another, that is, we called to, and faluted each other, as fhips do at fea ; and were informed by him, that he was a Mother-country lad (fo the Europeans are called here), and had a wife and family near the tzventy-four rivers, at the diftance of forty uurs from thence, in one of the prettiest fpots, to his mind, in the whole country. But I now began to reflect, that neither Tournefort in the Levant* nor Linn/eus in the Lap-land mountains, nor any other botanist, had ever gone out a herborizing in a fix-yoked waggon, and at the fame time that my studies and collections could be in no wife forwarded by a carriage of this kind; moreover, that although by this means my legs might get fome eafe, the other parts of me would fritter for it in confequence of the jolting of the carriage; therefore taking to my feet again, I went on till I arrived at the company's farm. The steward \ steward (or as they call him there, the baas) prefented me4 *7pj with a glafs of a ftrong-bodied wine, which was by no V^vsj means adapted to quench my thirft; but the water here was brackifh, and had a fait tafte, and they had no milk nor cows, although there was upon the farm a considerable number of horfes and other cattle. The reafon of this was, that in fuch places there is ufually Rationed a guard of foldiers, who care more for wine than milk ; the pafture was likewife greatly in fault, being unfavourable for milch-cows, and drying up their milk. I therefore took leave of the baas* an appellation given to all the christians here, particularly to bailiffs and farmers. The next farm belonged to a peafant, who was a native of Africa. I now took it into my head for the firft time, to make a trial of this people's fo much boafted hofpitality; but unluckily the man himfelf was gone to the review at the Cape, and had left only a few flaves at home, under the command of an old Crone, who faid that the bed-clothes were locked up. I could eafily perceive, that ihe had as little defire to harbour me, as I had to ftay with her. It was now already dark, but notwithstanding this and my stiff and wearied legs, I refolved to go on to another farm-houfe, that appeared in fight. We miffed our way in a dale, and wandered among the thickets and bufhes. The jackalls* or African foxes* now began their nightly fere-nadc, pretty much in the fame notes as our foxes in Europe ; frogs and owls filled up the concert with their horridly plaintive accompaniment. At length we came to a little riling ground, whence we could again difcern the farm, and discover the right road. A guard of dogs, which in Africa 56 A VOYAGE to t h k 1772- Africa are allowed the unlimited privilege of falling foul \Jyy*j on fuch foot pafTengers of a night, (the later the more liable to fuipicion,) fet upon us, and frightened us not a little. It was now half an hour pafl eight; however, as the people were not yet in bed, they came out to our aflift-ance, fo that we received no other wounds than thofe inflicted on the ikirts of our coats. We wrere turned into the kitchen, where we heard a piece of news, that founded like a thunder-clap to us; this was, that the baas or fteward was gone to the review, and that every accommodation was locked up. But I felt the prefTure of this difficulty ftill more at break of day. In the mean time the Have, with the greateft good-nature and refpect, begged me to be fo kind as to make fhift with a little tea and "bread which he had of his own. My fervant, together with this houfe-flave, and another that looked after the cattle, fell on board a loaf of coarfe bread and lard; to them a moft delicate and favoury difh. After they had deliberated fome time upon the matter in the Portuguefe language, I was put into the abfent baas's own bed-chamber. The bed was tolerable, but the floor was made of loam, the walls bare, and the whole furniture confifted of a cracked tea-canifter, with a few empty bottles, and a couple of chairs. As the door would not lock I fet the chairs againft it, fo that in cafe any attempt fhould be made againft my life I might be awakened by the noife. After this I laid myfelf down to fleep, with a drawn knife under my pillow. The many murders that, to my knowledge, were committed in this country, rendered this caution extremely neceffary, The \ GAPE of GOOD HOPE. £7 The next morning I began to afk for my breakfaft, which wj-confifted of fome ft ale fmalt, a kind of lard prepared and \^rsj kept in a wooden trough, to be ufed by way of butter; I likewife got hold of a chop of venifon, which they broiled for me, but feafoned it too high with pepper. My hunger made me fo civil, as not to fhow any flight to my black host's entertainment, but I did not fit long at table. An unexpected but very violent quarrel, carried on in the Por-tuguefe language, which I did not underftand, now arofe between the domeftic flave and the cow-keeper. Both their black faces looked like coals on lire. At laft the latter taking out his knife, the other was forced to buy him off with a large flice of meat; upon which lighting his breakfaft pipe, he went his way, after they had on both fides renewed their friendfhip with looks of the utmoft cordiality* However, for all this feeming reconciliation, the houfe-flave took a cruel revenge on his antagonist's dog, which happened to flay behind in the kitchen. Yet, notwithstanding his having been guilty of «fo mean an action, this Have had caught fo much of the generous flame of the African hofpitality, that I could not eafily perfuade him to accept of a trifling acknowledgment for his fervices. Soon after break of day I fet out again on my journey, when, for the firft time since my arrival in thefe parts, my eyes were gratified with the fight of extenfive corn-fields, which were now in full verdure, with their blades rifing a foot out of the ground; for in Tyger-mountain district;, where I was at this time, the tillage of corn is the hufbandmaiVs chief employ. Wheat and barley, however, are the only forts of corn that are Vol. I. I found 58 A VOYAG.E to the J7?J: found in the whole colony. The former is ufed only to he V^yO bread, the latter merely for the purpofe of foddering horfes; partly in this way, that the green corn is cut down in the blade once or oftener according as the growth of it will admit, and partly by grinding it into groats, and then mixing it with the cut ftraw for their horfes as foon as it comes to its full growth, as is practifed with us. About ten o'clock I took fhelter from the rain in a farm-houfe, where I found the female flaves finging pfalms, while they were at their needle-work. Their matter, being poffefled with a zeal for religion quite unufual in this country, had prevailed with them to adopt this godly cuftom ; but with that fpirit of ceconomy which univerfally prevails among thefe colonifts, he had not permitted them to be initiated into the community of chriftians by haptifm; fince by that means, according to the laws of the land, they would have obtained their freedom, and he would have loft them from his fervice. This very godly boor was born at Berlin, and had been mate of a fhip in the Eaft-Indies. This occafioned us to enter into a converfation on the victories of his much-loved monarch, and in the fpace of an hour after that, upon every fubject that could be imagined. My throat ftill felt as if it was burnt up with pepper, and my ftomach was tormented with hunger. The former was affuaged by a couple of glaffes of wine, but being afhamed to complain of the latter, I left it to its fate to Wait till noon (when perhaps I might chance to get an invitation from fome good foul,) and returned to my botanical calling and occupation among the lhrubs and bullies, with which this country is almoft entirely covered, excepting fuch fpots as are cultivated. a Hardly GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 59 Hardly a flick of wood, indeed fcarcely any wild tree, is to J77J- m /» m . April. be teen here. The foil hereabouts, viz. round about v^y\^ Tyger-berg and Koe-berg, is, to all appearance, mostly a dry barren fand or gravel; yet, in this diftri£t, fo full of hillocks, there are certain dales covered with mould, and yielding a plentiful harveft to a few peafants, who apply to the culture of lemon, orange, and pomegranate-trees. At three in the afternoon I arrived at the houfe of farmer Van der Spoei* who was a widower, and an African born, and likewife brother to the perfon, who, you know, is proprietor of the red or old Conftantia. Without feeming to take the lead notice, he flood flock-flill in the houfe-paflage waiting for my coming up, and then did not ftir a fingle ftep to meet me, but taking me by the hand, greeted me with Good day! welcome! how are you f who are you ? a glafs of wine f a pipe of tobacco 9 will you eat any thing f I anfwered his questions in the fame order as he put them, and at the fame time accepted of the offer he made at the clofe of them. His daughter, a clever well-behaved girl about twelve or fourteen years of age, fet on the table a fine breafl of lamb, with flewed carrots for fauce; and after dinner offered me tea with fo good a grace, that I hardly knew which to prefer, my entertainment or my fair attendant. Difcretion and goodnefs of heart might be plainly read in the countenance and demeanour of both father and child. I feveral times ad-dreffed myfelf to my hofl, in order to break in upon his filence. His anfwers were fhort and difcreet; but upon the whole, he never began the conversation himfelf, any farther than to afk me to flay with them that night: how- I s ever, 1 J772. ever, I took leave of him, not without being much af- April. 7 , ° fected with a benevolence as uncommon to be met with, as undeferved on my part. In my great zeal for botany, I did not pay the leaft attention to my ftiff and wearied legs, but hobbled as well as I could over the dry and torrid hills, moving all the day long as if I was upon Itilts. Towards evening I felt myfelf lefs weary, as, by a continuation of the motion of walking and jumping, my limbs were grown more pliable. Not far from the farm we had a brook to crofs, where we met with a female Have, who very offkioufly and obligingly fhewed us the malloweft places. She feemed to lay her account in receiving fome amorous kind of acknowledgment, in which llie could not be Otherwife than difappomted, as the had the misfortune to meet with a delicate as well as a weary philofopher. In the evening I arrived in good time at a farm, where the father and mother were from home; but Mafler John and Mtfs Sufey gave me houfe-room not with Handing. It was a handfome building, and, like all the reft on the road, com-pofed partly of brick, and partly of well-wrought clay, but without any other floor than the bare earth. I had intended to go on farther, but when I faw a large churn on the floor, and heard from Sufey's own mouth, that they had thirty milch-cows, you may imagine that I did not think of going, efpecially as I had feldom found milk very plentiful fince my arrival in Africa. The farm was faid to yield about three thoufand two hundred bufhels of corn yearly, which was from ten to fifteen times the quantity that was fown. A good wheaten loaf, light and well-baked, and about two feet in diameter, was fet upon the the table, and of this, with fome milk and frefh butter, jjg* I made an excellent meal. They feemed to take a great pleafure in entertaining me, and (though they ftrove to conceal their laughter) appeared highly entertained in their turn with my broken Dutch, and my apparatus for catching and preferring infects. My collection of herbs they liked very wrell, as they themfelves prepared a kind of plaifter with herbs and wax. The next morning they brought me coffee, which I left untouched, it being full of grouts, and, according to the cuftom of the country, as weak as fmall beer. However, I fet out again on my journey, quite lively and brifk after the high treat I had had of milk. As my box of infects was already quite full, I was obliged to put a whole regiment of flies and other infects round the brim of my hat. On the road we paffed a cow-keeper, who was roafting a fmall tortoife, the flefh of which tailed like that of a chicken. Two or three miles farther on we met with a fhepherd, that was regaling himfelf with roaft lamb at his mailer's expence. My companion, who knew the full value of his liberty, exprefled great satisfaction at finding, that poor flaves had fometimes an opportunity of revenging themfelves on their tyrants by a breach of truft. He informed me, that it was common for fhepherds, who had rigid and niggardly mafters, when a ewe had twins, to keep always one of them for themfelves, and very often the other too, whenever they had an opportunity of concealing the theft. At three o'clock we came to another farm. Here I had fome converfation with the old lady of the houfe about her gout, which fhe had in her hands and feet, and at the fame time con* April' concerning her good man's rheumatifm, which in order to get \^y>J rid of by fweating, he was gone on a journey to the warm baths. A houfe plaiftered up in a flovenly manner with clay, a heap of dirty fcabby children, a female Have dragging after her a heavy iron chain fattened to one of her legs, the features of the old woman herfelf, her peaked nofe, her perpetually fcolding her fervants, and laftly, her entertaining me with nothing but cold water, plainly indicated that poverty dwelt in her houfe, and at the fame time that the gout had in her choleric temperament a very fertile foil to grow in. She advifed me to fet myfelf down in the Paarl (a tract of ground a little way from thence planted with vines, and inhabited by vine-dreffers,) in order to make my fortune by turning quack. She informed me, that there had been a phylician there before, who had had no practice, as his price was too high. She faid, that lhe never could, nor ever fhould be perfuaded to be bled, or to take any kind of phyiic; neverthelefs, lhe thought it very comfortable for a perfon to have accefs to a phyfician in cafe of ilcknefs. You fee, Sir, that an African cottage will afford you a view of mankind, fimi-lar to what you may have had in the palaces of Europe, where (it muft be owned) they call in phyficians to their affiftance, but feldom fail to manage themfelves in a great meafure according to their own caprice. In pursuance of the information I got I took the road to the right, whicb, I was told, would carry me to the houfe of a rich and infirm widow of fifty-two years of age. My fervant, who was acquainted there, warned me not to frighten the good woman into fits with my infects ftuck on the brim of my hat; hat; for which reafon, having arrived there about five V?2: 1 o April. o'clock, and been well received by her, I .took care to turn ✓pj the crown of my hat away from her, and afterwards hid my hat in a corner of the room. Immediately my mouth was crammed with bread, butter, and cheefe, wine and tea, and at the fame time was employed in giving differ-tations on the gout, apoplexy, violent bleedings at the nofe, coughs, and her poor deceafed hufband's dropfy. The good lady was attentive to hear, and I to eat, as much as ever my lectures would permit me. During thefe, a tell-tale huffey of a female Have, who was a favourite with her miflrefs, had been pumping my fervant in the kitchen, on which lhe whifpered her miftrefs in the ear, that my hat was full of little beafts (kletne be/ljes.) The old lady immediately quitted the fine inftructions that I was about giving her with refpeJ per. The wine went round in bumpers to each others healths, and to the continuance of our friendfhip and acquaintance. The converfation turned upon various fub-jects, and among others, thofe of corpulency, and the cuftom of ileeping after dinner; and the efficient caufe of thefe, viz. the Livonian gentlemen's ufe of the warm bath in this climate, was difcufTed with great precision. We wifh-ed one another a good night; but I myfelf refted very ill; for the unusually purfy batchelor, who fell to my fliare, fnored continually, and proved very troublefome. He looked indeed very good-humoured, as well as his lively and plaifirige broeder* but was not able to fay much ; and when he did fpeak, he wheezed fo much, as to be for the moft part unintelligible to me. He puffed and blowed more in putting on his fhoes and stockings, than I did when I laft went up Table-mountain. The next morning I bid thefe good people adieu, and took the road leading to Mountain-river in PaarL The ferry lay a good deal out of my way, who had no particular bufinefs to transact on the other fide ; fo that having obferved an uncultivated iflet, three or four fathoms distant from the bank, where the fheep and goats could not get to forestall me in the blooming produce of the foil, I ventured over on fome bundles of the palmites, I fpoke of above, (acorus palmita) which were fo fmooth and brittle, that, if I had chanced to make the least flip, I muft have been inevitably drowned by getting between them, or elfe under them. My hat and queue excepted, I went a botanizing on this ifland in the fame drefs Vo L. I. K as Ap/ii as Adam wore in his Hate of innocence. My fkin quite C^vO parched up by the fun, ferved, however, to convince me, that I had loft in my little paradife the dominion over the gnats and horfe-flies. Thefe diminutive animals foon obliged me to turn back and put on my clothes, when I afterwards botanized along the courfe of the river, and fo palling through feveral farms, 1 arrived at Paarl at a miller's, who was fitting and taking his afternoon's nap. A more ferious and even feemingly furly chap, I never faw in my life. He fet before me an old crazy chair, and without afking who I was, faid directly, What will you chufe to have f (Wat zalye hruiken ?) I fee, replied I, you have got fome tea, be fo kind as to give me fome bread to it, for I am both hungry and thirfty ; I have fpent the whole day in culling of fimples. What, have you eat nothing to-day f Gir!> bring fome meat, bread, and a bottle of zvine ! fays the crofs-grained old fellow. Accordingly I ate my belly full, and afterwards drank to his health; during the whole of which time he was fmoking his pipe in filence, and poring over an astrological almanack of the laft century. During all which time, he did not once addrcfs himfelf to me; and to a question or two I afked him, he anfwered me fo fhort, that I imagined he was extremely difpleafed with my vilit, and therefore could not help preffing him to accept of a pecuniary recompence for my entertainment. He anfwered me po-iitively with a moft inflexible air, No ; that I certainly will not* it is our duty to affijt travellers. For my fervant, without my knowledge, had ordered a good luncheon of bread and meat, but did not follow me half way over his flippery loam-floor when I took my leave of him. Affected 6 with with an internal fenfe of gratitude, I wifhed within myfelf, that heaven might pardon fo worthy a miller, in cafe he V^rw mould at any time chance to trefpafs on his neighbour's corn. A little farther on lived a Kojler* that is, a Sexton, a fet of people that are more refpected by the Calvinifts than with us. He was of black extraction by the mother's fide. I went in, fat myfelf down, and drank a diih of miferable tea without fugar. The Kofler's wife, who was rather in years, was then fick in bed. I enquired into the nature of the diforder : but when I was told that the patient, notwithstanding the ufe of the warm bath for three weeks, remained as it were contracted in all her limbs, and her joints quite filled up with chalk-ftones, I did not chufe to fay any thing more, than that the gout was a terrible affliction, fhrugged up my moulders, and inquired for the right road. Juft before the door grew the Cataputia. I afked the man if he made any ufe of the feeds, or whether I might gather any of it ? He anfwered, he did not ufe them himfelf, but in general gave them to his friends: Gather what you will, continued he, / never heard any body ajk after them before, what do you want them for f For medicalpurpofes, replied I. I now had brought an old houfe over my head, and was dbliged to go in again, and hear the account of the old woman's illnefs, as well as explain the caufe of it. However, I thought it neceffary to inform her, with very little circumlocution, that her flay in this calamitous world was likely to be of very fliort duration. She was glad to be freed from her misery, and her hufband to get rid of a fickly wife; on which account they both of K 2 them "77* them feemed to hear my fatal prognostic with pleafure, and \^y>J made me drink a couple of glaffes of wine for my pains; and at the fame time offered to fhew me the church, which flood juft by. By this edifice I could plainly perceive, that thefe boors bcflowed no more pains upon God's houfe, than they did upon their own. This church was, indeed, as big as one of our largefl fizcd hay-barns, and neatly covered, as the other houfes are, with dark-coloured reeds ; but without any arching or ceiling, fo that the tranfoms and beams withinfide made a miferable appearance. Altars and altar-tables are, I believe, never ufed in the reformed church, There were benches on the fides for the men, but the women have each of them their chair or flool in the aiile. The pulpit was too plain and flovenly. From hence I fet off for home by a bye-way, as little known to my guide as to myfelf. Eighteen China oranges, which I had bought in Paarl for one fkelling Dutch, proved extremely ferviceable to me at this time ; and a large roll of tobacco which my fervant had taken with him, was a ftill more defirable vade mecum for him. He carried really a heavy load, which however appeared to be very little burden to him. On the other hand however, it muff be confidered, that he went on always in a ftrait line, while I continually ran from one fide to the other, peeping among the bufhes. It was already dark when we arrived at a farm-houfe, where the boor himfelf was not at home. During his abfence, I drew his wife into a converfation concerning houfhold affairs, and found (what I much wondered at in fo fubftantial a houfe) that they had feldom any great plenty of milk; and this on account of the dry barren hills near near them, and other caufes not worth mentioning here ; but that on the other hand, they had a good ftock of ftxeep, fome arable land, and vineyards, which, by means Of water-conduits, might be rendered fertile. She was a generous and good kind of woman as one would wilh to fee, but unluckily happened to offer me juft every thing that I did not wifh for, wine, brandy, and tobacco. Her hufband, a very brink lively old fellow, being at laft come home, immediately'drank to me, faying, Perhaps you fap-pofe that nobody knows any thing but yourfelf, with your herbs and you, but you Jhall fee that we African peafants are not all fo fiupid as you think for. Upon this, by way of Jurprifing me, he dilplayed a few good books, and a heap of trafli, on almoft every fcience; all of which I could do no other than commend, as he did nothing but tun between me and his book-cafe, and read over the whole title-page of every book, the printer's and bookfeller's name not excepted. Tou fee, fays he, that I do not fpend my whole time in following the plough. We almoft called one another Coufin-Germans, he being a Livonian and I a Swede. At night there was no danger of ftarving for want of victuals. Tou mufl eat hearty with us farmers, faid the kind-hearted dame. Eat and fpare not: we do not grudge it you. They had their butter and cheefe, together with hung-beef, or rather buf-falo-flefh, from their grazing farms, almoft fix hundred miles up the country. By the appearance of the foup and green-peas I could plainly perceive, that my learned hoft had not ftudied any books of cookery, which in Africa would have been of much more ufe to him than poetry and the dead languages. The good woman of the houfe was obliged to April' S° t0 alone, while her hufband employed himfelf with Lriv the hiftory of Josephus, in order to convince me of his great attachment to ttudy. Accordingly many people in this coun* try call their flaves, fome after the months, and others after the days of the week in which they were born. Early in the morning I was waked here by the horrid fhrieks and cries of January and February* who were undergoing the dif-cipline of their matter's lafh, becaufe the horfes had not been found the preceding evening. Soon after the family got ready for going to church, but were prevented by a fliower of rain. In the mean time we ate our break-fatts, and drank to each others health; upon which I returned them thanks and took leave of them, with a luncheon of bread and butter doubled together, and ituffed into my coat-pocket by my hofl and hoftefs, by way of (weegkojl) or provifion for my journey. I was fecretly much affected at receiving fuch tokens of good-will, quite undeferved on my part, from the hands of people to whom I was an entire ftranger. The woman was goodnefs itfelf, but this goodnefs was enfhrined in a mighty phlegmatic body. The old fellow's phrafeology, as well as his library, difcovered, that he wsa, as well as myfelf, a run-away ftudent. I likewife afterwards came to know, that he had been a furgeon, and had been fent thither as a foldier by kidnappers; and at the fame time I learned, that he had got the greater part of his books by marriage with a parfon's daughter, his prefent wife. This good woman could not have chofen, to counteract her phlegm* a more choleric piece of goods for a hufband, who, in fpite of a naturally good difpofition, was CAPE of GOOD HOPE* 71 was faid, for trifling faults, to have beat feveral of his flaves to death. I could give you, Sir, many instances, that O-rO the exercife of any crime whatfoever, particularly fuch as the Have trade, or the trafficking with the liberties of mankind, never fails to plunge men into diforders and mif-demeanours of various kinds. On the lands belonging to this farm stands the Tower of Babel, fo they call a hill, which is mentioned by this name by Kolbe, as being of a remarkable fize, and which will ever remain a standing monument of this author's inaccuracy. I pafs over my little adventures with ferpents, fcorpions, cameleons, and other animals of the lizard kind, well knowing, that you are not endued with taste enough to take pleafure in, and be fenfible of, the beauties of thefe reptiles, a race of animals with which this Canaan of Africa abounds. But I muft not omit to tell you, how puzzled and undetermined we frequently were on our return homewards, particularly once on a large plain. Almost at the end of it we met with feven of the company's fervants or foldiers, but by no means to our advantage ; for thefe my fellow-chriftians, intoxicated with the wine which they carried about them in leathern bottles or calabaffes, were at variance among themfelves, and feemingly did not wifli to give us any information, as every one of them pointed out to us an almost entirely different way. Jabbering to me all at once in High Dutch, Low Dutch, Hanoverian, &x. they all endeavoured to make me believe, tbat I fhould meet with rivers, mountains, de-ferts, and the like, if, according to their fea dialect, I did nor: steer my courfe right. Another afked me whither I was bound ? April' ^>0ull(i • and men to^ me now * ftiould lay my tacks to L^J {larboard and larboard. I thanked them, and got away from them as well as I could; on which they formed a ring round my fervant, and chattered to him about the road till his head was quite turned. At length they got into a difpute themfelves about the fame fubject, by which means we both got loofe from them. What was now to be done ? Being without chart or compafs, I endeavoured to direct my courfe by the fun, till I overtook a black heathen, who was tending iheep; and in confequence of whofe fober and fenfible directions, I arrived in the evening at a farm-houfe, the bailiff of which, a Hanoverian, welcomed me in the moft friendly manner, with a hearty flap of the hand, in the African flyle. He entertained me with milk, and an account of the love affairs and intrigues he had when he was a foldier in England. He alfo gave me a lift (which, by his defire, I took down in my pocket-book, as the refult of his own experience) of the conltant order of precedence in love, which ought to be obferved among the fair fex in Africa : this was as follows. Firft the Madagajcar women, who are the blacker! and handfomeft; next to thefe the Malabars* then the Bugunefe or Malays* after thefe the Hottentots, and laft and worft of all, the white Dutch women. The exceflively nice fie wed cabbage we had for fupper, he fuppofed to be the beft in the world; and at the fame time, that its crifpnefs proceeded from the foil being highly impregnated with falt-petre. In fact, the land here was fandy and low, and probably contained much fea-falt. Being but two chriftians among twelve or fourteen men flaves, we bolted the door fait, and had five loaded loaded pieces hung over our bed. During the whole even- ^7g; ing I had feen the flaves in fuch good humour, and fo v^y^J kindly and familiarly treated, that (with regard to their temporal matters at leaft) they really feemed to he better off than many fervants in Europe; I therefore obferved to my hoft, that his mildnefs and kindncfs was the beft pledge for their good behaviour, and the fureft preferva-tive againft their attacks. It may be fo, replied he, but befides that, feveral runaway and rebel flaves are continually wandering about, in order to plunder houfes of victuals and fire-arms, or elfe to draw others over to their party; we have likewife inftances of the blacks becoming furious at night, and committing murder, more particularly on the perfons of their mafters; but fometimes, if they cannot get at them, on fome of their comrades, or elfe upon themfelves. I am here in the place of a mafter to them, and am obliged to punifh them whenever they behave ill to me or to each other. The Bugunefe in particular are revengeful, and nice about the adminiftration of juftice. In order to avoid jealoufy, quarrels, and murder, my mafter does not permit any female Haves to be kept here; but I could wifli it were otherwife, as well as in other places, where I formerly was a fervant. Now they are lonefome and folitary, and confequently flow and fluggifli enough. The chief of my matter's income from this farm arifes from the breeding of horfes. Could he keep female flaves here, he would get ftill more by the propagation of the human fpecies; and indeed, a female flave who is prolific, is always fold for three times as much as one that is barren. Yo L. J. L From j^j* From the information that I have juft given you, you will perhaps, my good friend, be apt to think with me, that even the moft fupportable kind of tyranny always brings with it its own punilTiment, in troubled ileep and an uneafy confidence. Slaves, even under the mildeft tyrant, are bereaved of the rights of nature. The melancholy remembrance of fo painful a lofs, is moft apt to arife during the filence of the night, when it ceafes to be diflipated by the buftle of the day. What wonder then, if thofe who commit outrages on their liberties, lhould fometimes be forced to fign and feal with their blood the violated rights of mankind ? Ought not my hoft, gentle as he was, to fear the effects of defpair on twelve flout fellows forcibly taken from their native country, their kindred, and their freedom ? Is it not likewife to be dreaded, that thus fhut out from the commerce of the fair fex, which fweetens life, and renders its cares fupportable, their inclinations, which are extremely warm, fhould trefpafs againft manhood ?—In the courfe of our converfation on rural ceconomy I took notice, that a Have born in the country (efpecially a bqftard) who can drive a waggon fafe and well, and who can be trufted to infpect the other flaves, or is looked upon as a clever and faithful fervant, bears the price of five hundred rixdollars. One that is newly brought from Madagafcar, or is in other refpects not fo fkilful nor fo much to be depended upon, cofts from an hundred to an hundred and fifty rixdollars. A horfe that in Sweden would fetch ten rixdollars, cofts at the Cape from thirty to forty ; a draught ox from eight to ten; but a tolerable good milch-cow from twelve to fourteen; one i ditto CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 75 ditto brought from the mother country or any part of Eu- jjg*; rope, and of a fort that produces a great quantity of milk, W>J fells for forty or fifty rixdollars, and the purchafer thinks himfelf favoured into the bargain; all which has fince been confirmed to me by feveral others. On Monday morning I took leave, and aiked the road towards home, when I was anfwered, " There is no road this way. You muft leave the road that goes to the Cape to the right, and then go ftrait forward through the bufhes, when you will come within fight of the mountain that ftretches itfelf between Conftantia and the Cape; then go ftrait forward over the dry barren plains, to the nook in the mountain; you may remember it lies very near Conftantia and your houfe. You will find no more farms in your way home.', Well! thought I to myfelf, this looks as if I ihould dine upon grafs to-day; I was vexed at having had no breaftfaft, and was too bafhful to give a hint of it to my hoft, who the day before had received me with fuch hofpitality. We had not long been in fight of the mountain, before we faw a cloud arife from it, which did not turn to rain till it arrived at the plain we were in. This ftiower, which was pretty heavy, fubjected me to the greateft inconveniencies, having expofed myfelf to be wet through, in order to lliel-ter my herbal. But of fuch a nature is this climate, that in a few minutes, as foon as the fun flione out again, I was quite dry. In the evening, when I came to Alphen, I learned, that it had not rained there in the leaft, but the cloud covered the mountain in its ufual way. I muft not omit to tell you, that on the road I feveral times entered into a religious difcourfe with my heathen L 2 com- companion; he afferted, that I was the firft that had fpoken ^✓w/ to him on that fubject, at the fame time that he was fo ftupid (for fo he called himfelf) as not to know or comprehend any thing concerning it, nor did he think it was for him to trouble himfelf with thefe matters ; however, he did not feem unwilling to believe every thing that any body fliould think proper to tell him. His thoughts had never afcended to a fuperior being, nor led him to the firft origin of any thing, to the creature or to the Creator. He very well knew, that the white men affembled together in the churches, but had never thought of afking to what purpofe. Very likely it may be fo, was the anfwer he ufually gave me, when I talked to him on this fubject. Notwith- ftanding this, he feemed to have in fome meafure an abhorrence of vice, and a veneration for what was good. The perfon, who at that time recommended him to my fervice, gave him the character of being extremely faithful. In other refpects his mind was capable enough of being illumined; but as the making of profelytes brings the Dutch in neither capital nor intereft, this poor foul, with many others of his countrymen, was neglected. But more of this and other matters by the next opportunity that offers. I am, &c. With the botanical excurfion, the detail of which is given in this letter, I was extremely well pleafed on feveral accounts. The fix laft days of it might almoft be called a forced march, intermixed with a good deal of leaping, and (what tires one full as much) clambering. With the the fame inclination, however, I think I could have lafted y7«« out feveral days longer in the fame manner. The next \^-0 day after my departure from the Cape, was, as I have already related, the moft tirefome to me ; afterwards both my limbs and joints feemed to get more ufed to the exercife. The two or three firft days after I had got home, I felt myfelf fore and tender, or, as people ufually exprefs it, beat and bruifed all over, but this went off by degrees i in like manner as, thanks to the violent exercife I had taken, fome difagreeable, though flight touches, of a rheumatic gout entirely vanifhed, with which I had been troubled fome time before, and that chiefly in rainy weather ; and which did not return upon me, before I was ex-pofed to the cold in the Antarctic polar circle. After my return home, however, I was wife enough to make a little excurfion every day* SECT. SECT. V. Refidence at Alphen, after the Author's return from PaarL 1772. T N one of my excursions I had the good fortune to meet t^^j A with Mr. Hemming, the fub-governor, on his farm, in the diftricvt of Conftantia; who, though he thought highly of the fcience of botany, was yet aftonifhed that my enthu-fiafm for it fhould have carried me fo far about in the fpace of fix days, viz. from the Cape over Tiger-herg through Paarl, Botlary, and fo in a circle home again, and this by no means by the neareft way. Mr. Hemming's garden was one of the beft in the dif-trict; he had taken pains to procure grafts of orange and lemon-trees, and layers of the pomegranate from Spain, * from which he promifed himfelf fruit equal to the Spanifh, ■as what grows at the Cape at prefent is not quite fo good. Divers forts of cherry-trees, that grow here, fcarcely produced a single cherry, though various trials had been made with them in different fpots. The beft method he had found of rooting out a uniola* which was overrunning his kitchen-garden, was to fow it with cabbage for a year, as he had obferved, that this weed never throve on land where cabbages had been fown. The pifang was to be met with in his garden garden of a luxuriant growth, but was faid not to produce i77*« fruit of fo high a flavour as it does in its native country. k^^J A fpecies of this grows wild in the Houtniquas country, a diftri£t fomewhat to the eaft of Mufcle-bay; though I could never find it there myfelf. I continued at the farm at Alphen till about the middle of November. Entirely taken up with the Cape plants, I did not feldom revolve in my mind, how I lhould go on with them for months and years enfuing ; but fate had ordered it otherwife. In fact, it was ordained, that I lhould fuddenly change the continent of Africa, its delightful fum-mer~climate, and its beautiful flowers, for a bleak cold ocean, blocked up with mountains of ice. C H A P. CHAP. Voyage to the South-Sea, SECT. i. The Circumjlances which gave occajton to this Voyage. THE circumstances which gave occafion to this voyage were as follows : The fhips Refolution and Adventure* deftined to make a voyage towards the South Pole and round the globe, were at that time at anchor in Table-bay. The Meffrs. Forster accompanied them in the capacity of naturalists ; and had an appointment from the Britifh crown of 4000I. fterling, or 8000 ducats, for the whole expedition. They were brought to Alpben by Major Van Prehm, in order to be introduced to me. By this means I had the pleafure of enjoying their company for a couple of days. As the fouthern continent, which was ftill pretty generally fup-pofed to exist, had taken no fmall hold on my imagination, this was fuflicient reafon for me to congratulate 2 thefe III. thefe gentlemen on the trull: repofed in them, and the "77* r -n April. good fortune they had in visiting as naturalists, fo diftant v^-v-O and unknown a part of our globe. I found them not only eager each for his own part to fulfil what the world expected and required of them, but they even went fo far in their zeal for the more accurate investigation of nature, as to think of procuring an assistant, at no fmall cost to themfelves, and therefore offered me my voyage gratis, with part of fuch natural curiosities as they might chance to collect, on condition of my afliiting them with my poor abilities. Such an unexpected return to my compliment, had almost deprived me of the power of anfwering them, had not my heart dictated to me the most lively expressions of gratitude to them for the confidence they placed in me. But before I could give a determinate anfwer to fo lucrative and agreeable a propofal, which at the fame time did me fo much honour, but likewife fet before me a tedious, difficult, and dangerous voyage, the affair feemed to require ibme confideration. Should I accept this offer, thought I, and the event prove fortunate, I lhould foon forget my fatigues, nay, frequently remember with pleafure the difficulties I had undergone. On the other hand, llsould I once neglect this opportunity, I llsould long have to upbraid myfelf with the omission. I recollected, that the great Linnaeus had frequently faid, nothing had vexed him more in his whole life, than that, when he resided in Holland, he had not accepted of the offer which had been made him of taking a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. As two Swedes, Dr. Sol and er and Mr. Spoering, with remarkable honour to themfelves and advantage to fcience, Vol. I. M had w*- had before undertaken a voyage to New Holland, Sec. and fo round the world, I could not help wifhing that a Swede likewife might have the opportunity of making a vifit to the fouth pole, and the continent fuppofed to be in the vicinity of it. I had reafon as. well as the Meflfs. Forster to hope, that the afftftance of a third naturalift (meaning myfelf) might add to the difcoveries of the curious productions of nature, which the two others were fo intent upon making ; efpecially in thofe places, which were now about to be vifited for the firft, and probably for the laft time. In other refpects, in cafe that any of the plants which arc fo ufeful in the colder parts of the north lhould be found in the fouth, who could be fuppofed capable to collect them with fuch afiiduity, or of preferving the feeds of them with fo much care as a Swede ? Again, on the other hand, if my voyage lhould prove unfuccefsful, I was in hopes that my miferies, together with life itfelf, and all its train of attendant evils, would have a fpeedy end. Occupied by reflections of this kind, I pafled the night, perhaps more reftlefs than will eafily be imagined. The next morning by day-break, the diffraction of my thoughts carried me to my chamber window ; here I fixed my eyes on the adjacent meadows, as though I meant to afk the plants and flowers that grew on them, whether I ought to part with them fo haftily. They had for a long time been almoft my only joy, my fole friends and companions; and now it was thefe only, which in a great meafure prevented me from making the voyage. At length I came to the refolution of undertaking it; yet with a fixed determination, that if I had the good fortune to come back to the Cape, CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 83 Cape, I would again occupy myfelf on this fame fpot with J77^ the moll delightful of all employments, the invcftiga- \sy^j tion of nature. I therefore began to get ready for my journey ; and fent fpecimens of the infeas and plants I had collected to Sir Charles Linnaeus and other lovers of the fcience. The reft of my collections, Sic. I left at the Cape, at the president's houfe, defiring him to difpatch them to Sweden, in cafe he lhould receive any certain information of our fhip's being loft; or in cafe my abfence for any length of time, lhould give him reafon to doubt of my return. The danger of the journey was, however, the leaft of my cares ; the fuppofed length of it, together with my ignorance of the Englifh language, as well as of the disposition of the people, with whom I was to be converfant during the whole time, perplexed me much more. The farewel letters I wrote to fome of my relations were fo much the more painful to me, as I could easily imagine to myfelf their anxiety and uneafinefs on the account of my impending fate. I therefore thought it moft advifeable, to reprefent my journey to be as eafy and commodious as was confident with any degree of probability. In the feven months that had paffed fince my departure from my native country, I had had no news from thence. I now gave up all thoughts of getting a fingie word of intelligence from any part of Europe for four times that period. Thus circumstanced, how much it coft me to go on board, I leave thofe to imagine who are not entirely devoid of feeling. What happened during this remarkable voyage, I fear would be liable to tedious repetitions, wxre I to relate it in M 2 tlic *77?- the form of a journal, partly on account of the frequent V^lj occurrence of events pretty nearly refembling each other, and partly by reafon that various iflands were vifited feveral times; a more particular account of the voyage therefore, I muft defer to fome other opportunity. In the mean while, for the fake of preserving the order and connexion of time, it feems requisite, that I mould here, in its proper place, give fome account, thosigh as concifely as poflible, of the different regions we explored during the fucceeding twenty-eight months, till the time of my landing again fafe at the Cape* SECT. SECT. II. Voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to New Zealand. , ON the 2 2d of November, 1772, at four o'clock in the 1772. afternoon, we failed from the Cape. The very fame day ftormy weather, and the difagreeable kind of licknefs which ufually attends people at fea on their fetting out, appeared to a degree fuflicient to make many wiih themfelves on fliore. Within eighteen days from our leaving the flowery meads of the Cape, we found ourfelves very near a considerable large floating iiland of ice. The thermometer flood at a few degrees above the freezing point, while our latitude was only 50 deg. fouth. How difagreeably we paffed the remainder of the fummer in this hemifphere, may be gathered from this, that we made our way through floating iflands of ice, fometimes as big as mountains, till we came to lat. 67'. 10"; fo that we are, and probably fliall continue to be, the only mortals that can boafl of the frozen honour (as I may call it) of having paffed the antarctic polar circle. A hundred and twenty-two days, or fomething more than feventeen weeks, were elapfed, without our having been able to fee land; but not without our having gone through divers perils, not to mention the hardfhips ^yr]j hardflrips which we underwent of various kinds; cfpeci-V^v\J ally that of having, for the greater part of the above-mentioned period, remained in excefRvely cold latitudes, continually furrounded with ice. The aurora auJlraUs, which in the fouth is the fame as the northern lights in our hemifphere, a fpectacle never before feen by a European, now appeared feveral times in the month of March, on the 26th day of which month we anchored in Duflcv-bay, fituated near the fouthernmoft promontory of New Zealand. From hence we went to Coolis-Jlrait, where we had a light of that moft lingular junction of the water with the clouds, which by failors is called the water-fpout; and the next day, being the 18th of April, we anchored in Queen Char lot te's-found. The other fhip, the Adventure; had been feparated from us ever fince the 8th of January in the preceding year, by a fog. After this fire had investigated the weftern coaft of Van Diemetfs Land in New Holland, and a part of the coaft by which it is fuppofed to be joined with South Wales, which latter was discovered in Captain Cook's former voyage. It was great pleafure to us to find, that this fhip had, fortunately for us, landed at the place previoufly agreed upon for the rendezvous. The plants and trees in this country are, excepting fome of its ferns and moffes, almost entirely unknown, and different from thofe that grow in other parts of the globe. Thefe, therefore, together with the new fpecies of birds and fifhes which are to be found here, afforded me an agreeable occupation. The inhabitants, on the other hand, a race of cannibals, live in fuch a miferable condition, and have fuch manners and ctiftoms, as may excite our pity and and compaffion in behalf of our own fpecies; yet, as j^j among civilized nations there are not wanting fuch as are a difgrace to human nature, fo among thefe very de-vourers of their own fpecies, one might difcover fome traces of a good difpofition, as well as the feeds of ingenuity, which, under the fostering care of the foul-informing fciences, might render thefe our fellow-creatures, now plunged in darknefs, a much more virtuous and happy people. This nation chiefly depends on fifhing for its fupport; and by purfuing fuch an uncertain livelihood, they want both time and inclination for agriculture and the mechanical arts, as well as for that order and regularity which is requifite for the prevention of the barbarifm in which thefe poor people are actually plunged. For while they are feeking after their food in the water, they fuffer their lands to be infested with an uncommonly large kind of Hinging nettles, with other weeds and thorny plants, lb that they are very frequently obliged to tranfport their huts to defert fliores, unliable and floating, as are the animals, which they have to purfue in a boundlefs element. Notwithstanding this, the foil poffeffes fuch a degree of fecundity, that it is capable of being converted into the moft fertile arable land or vine-yards, fuflicient to give food and other conveniencies of life to a great number of inhabitants, who, united among themfelves, would compofe a very powerful republic, and be in a condition to extend their commerce and conquefts over the whole Pacific Ocean. (Collate with this my oration on laying down the office ot president of the royal academy of fciences.) 2 SECT. SECT. III. Firft Voyage from New Zealand to Otaheite^ and from thence back again to New Zealand. ON the 7th of June we failed from New Zealand* and had thoughts of taking in refrefhments in fome of the warmer iflands, as the cold feafon was now fet in in this part of the world. After we had been at fea a few days, we refolved upon killing a fat, though ugly Dutch dog, before the fcurvy, together with the fhort commons of the fhip, fliould render his flelh unfit for eating. Already ufed in our run between the Cape and New Zealand to put up with fheep that had died of the fcurvy or other diforders, difeafed hens and geefe, we certainly were not now in a condition to turn up our nofes at a roafted dog, which was really nice and well-tafied. After we had paffed the tropic, we came in fight of divers iflands, fome of which had been difcovered before, and others had been hitherto entirely unknown; and on the 16th of Au-guft we arrived at the far-famed, though, perhaps, too highly celebrated, ifland of Otaheite. We were in the greateft danger of fuffering ihipwreck on this ifland, facred to CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 89 to love; for our keel ftruck feveral times very hard againft *77^ the coral rocks, before we came to anchor. After re- \^y^j maining here fourteen days we vifited the iflands of Hud-bane, Uliatea, and Otaba, and afterwards difcovered a new, but probably an uninhabited ifland; looked out for the iflands of New Amjlerdam and New Middleburg, difcovered about a hundred years ago by Tasman ; and having found them, and taken in refrefhments there, returned again to Queen Charlotte*s-found, in New Zealand, after having been abfent from it about half a year. During this run, according to the time of the year it was winter; but, with refpect to our feelings and the warmth of the weather, it was fummer. We likewife met with a greater variety of remarkable fubjects for defcription (fuch as the different countries, their produce, the nations that inhabited them, and their peculiar cuftoms and manners) than I am able to comprize here in a fmall compafs. I cannot, however, help relating fome few events that happened at different times: as for inftance, one evening when both fhips, driving before a brifk gale of wind, wanted to fpeak with each other, they came fo near together in confequence of the great fwell of the fea, and the dilatory manceuvering of the men at the helm of one of the Ihips, that notwithstanding the officer of the watch repeatedly called out with the greateft anxiety, Jlarboard and port, they were within a hair's breadth of striking againft each other; in which cafe they would doubtless have dallied one another to pieces in an inftant, or elfe have both gone to the bottom. As besides myfelf very few people, not even the officers Vol. I. N belonging. 1773- belonging to the watch, were on deck, this accident is neither V^vO mentioned in the log-book of the fhip, nor in any of the journals yet publifhed. It feemed in the beginning as if both fhips would ftrike with their broad-fides againft each other, but directly upon that the Adventure dropped aftern, and with the point of her bowfprit came within two or three yards at leaft of our mizen-fhrouds, and fo made a flourifh over our taffarel and enfign-ftaff. Upon this, an officer who belonged to another watch immediately obferved, that it was in the higheft degree imprudent, and without the leaft fliow of reafon, to fail up to each other in fuch a brifk gale and high furge; to which the officer of the watch made no farther reply, than juft to repeat feveral times with great feeming fatisfaction, " It is all over now." Indeed, they both allowed, that we were very near fuffering fhipwreck in the middle of the ocean. The other accident I fliall relate, concerned myfelf alone. Once when I was on a botanical excursion in Huaheinc, fome Indians fell upon me and plundered me; leaving the upper part of my body quite naked, with feveral marks of violence on my head and breaft. This incident proceeded partly from a fancy the Indians had taken to my clothes, and partly from a defire of revenge; Captain Cook having juft before been obliged to drive away an impudent Indian by force, and take his weapons from him. We were feparated from the Adventure on the coaft of New Zealand by a ftorm, and never faw her afterwards. She came to anchor in Queen Charlotte*s-found* before before we went from thence, where fhe had the misfor- A! w tune to lofe her whole boat's crew, conflfting of ten men, v*>vO who were killed, roafted, and eaten by the cannibals. Upon which fhe fet out on her way home, and arrived in Europe a year before the lhip commanded by Captain Cook. N a SECT. 9Z ,g A V O Y A G E to the S E C T. IV, Second Voyage from New Zealand to Otaheite, and from thence back again. 1773- (~\^ tne 25th of November in the year i773> w^ fail-^^J' y^J ed from New Zealand, in order once more, and during another fummer, to explore the cold fonthern latitudes. From the 13th to the 21ft of December we paffed for the firft, and in all probability for the laft time, that part of the globe, which is the direct antipodes to Sweden; fo that I was now on the fpot the moft diftant from my native country of any on the whole globe, as the neareft way home, fuppoilng one could go through the center of the earth, or the length of the whole earth's diameter, was about fix thoufand eight hundred and twenty-one miles. 'This aftonifhing diftance, however, did not prevent my rapid thoughts from frequently vifiting my beloved countrymen and relations during this period, while my feet were in direct oppoiition to their's. After this we advanced ftill farther, infomuch that on the 20th of December we paffed the antartlic circle a fecond time, and did not repafs it till the 25th, fo that we kept our Chrift-mas-eve (though, it muft be owned, a very meagre one) in the frigid zone. On the 26th of the following month we ! we paffed the fouthern polar circle, for the third time. ^4-We now penetrated into the fouthern regions as far as we WO could go; as before we had got to 7 r deg. 14 min. we were prevented by the ice from putting in execution the fchcme we had fondly formed of hoifting the Britifh flag-in a fixth part of the world, or even in the fouthern pole itfelf. We now therefore turned about to the north, in order to take in refrefhments in a warmer climate, as winter or the cold feafon was expected foon to return. On the 14th of March we anchored off Eafter-ijland, which is fituated in 27 deg. S. lat. and 199 deg. 46 min. W. long. Here we found no good water, and few refrefhments of any fort. The lava and other volcanic productions that we faw here, together with fome huge images of ftone raifed to fome height from the ground, plainly evinced, that fome violent revolution of the earth had defaced a country which had been formerly in a more flourifhing condition, and thereby reduced a once powerful nation to the wretched Hate in which we now found it. On the 16th of March we failed from hence, and on the 7th of April anchored off one of the Marquefas iflands. Thefe are fituated in about 10 deg. of lat. The greater part of them were difcovered by the Spaniards a hundred years ago. The inhabitants gave us feveral proofs of their difpofition to hoftilities as well as thieving, fo that we were obliged to leave them fome bloody marks of the efficacy of our fire-arms. Having ftaid here a few days we fet fail, and after a quick paffage, landed at Teokea* in lat. 14'. We met with fome hoftilities from the people here, but contented ourfelves with infpiring them with terror, by firing our cannons over their j774- their heads. We afterwards difcovered feveral fmall iflands, April. _ ' \**y**j and at length, on the 2 2d of April, came to anchor for the fecond and laft time off Otaheite* where we remained till the fourteenth of May. Various circumftances contributed to render our abode here more delightful than before. We now procured many more interefting informations touching this country and people, than were known before. On the 2d of June we were informed by fome of the inhabitants, that two fhips had landed at Huaheine or Ovaheine, one of which was larger than ours. By fub-fequent accounts from Spain we know, that this fhip was from the Spanifh fettlements in America; and that the year before, during our flay at Otaheite, fome of the crew belonging to a Spanifh fhip had been left there, one of whom had actually hid himfelf in a crowd of people, on being, though drafted in the Indian fafhion, taken by an Englifh failor for a European, and accordingly accofted by him in the French language. This, with feveral other circumftances, makes it highly probable, that the Spanifti fhips were fent both years to be fpies upon us, and to make reprifals upon us in return for our vilits in a part of the world of which they are fo extremely jealous, and of which they look upon themfelves as the fole proprietors; efpecially considering that previoufly to this they have, merely on account of their carrying on an illicit commerce, punifhed many Englifhmen, by condemning them to hard labour in their mines. (See the Gottingen Magazine for 1780, No. I. p. 75.) After we quitted Otaheite we paid a vifit to Huaheine and Ulitea* likewife for the fecond and laft time; leaving on the latter ifland a fenfible youth, who about eight months months before bad had the courage to come on board of us. Jg£ His name was Oedide, though otherwife called Maheine. WO On the 4th of June we failed from Ulitea* and on the 6th paffed by Hove's ifland. On the 16th we difcovered Palmer/tone's ifland, and on the 20th Savage ifland, fo called from our being received by the lavages there in a very hoftile manner. They hit me on the arm with a large ftone, and threw a javelin among us. For which reafon we did not flay to anchor here, but went on to Namocka* or New Rotterdam* one of the friendly ifles above-mentioned. In the fame vicinity we faw feveral iflands, bc-fides thofe difcovered by Tasman, and upon one of them there appeared a volcano. On the 2d of July we defcried a fmall inhabited ifland, which we called Turtle I/land* and the next day made a hafty landing there. On the 16th we came to the iflands difcovered by Quiros, which M. Bougainville inveftigated more narrowly, calling them theCyclades; but Captain Cook, who now difcovered a greater number of them, gave to the whole of this Archipelago the name of the New Hebrides. Off one of thefe, to which we gave the name of'Mallicola* we eaft anchor on the 22d of July. Here we found a diminutive race of'people, with a language peculiar to themfelves, and poifoned weapons. They received us in a friendly manner, notwithftandiilg which there happened a fkirmifh between us ; however, after flaying there a couple of days, we parted friends. On the 3d of Auguft we anchored for a few hours before Irromanga* a newly difcovered ifland, the inhabitants of which offered to detain our captain and boat, an attempt which many of them paid for with their lives, although but 1774. but two of our people were wounded. On the 4th we C^^j anchored before the ifland of Tanna* in 19 deg. 30 min. S. lat. Clofe by the harbour there was a volcano, which lhowered allies upon us every day. The fmoke, flame, and loud thunder proceeding from this mountain, afforded a beautiful and fublime fpc&acle. The inhabitants fpoke a peculiar language, of which we had not the leafl knowledge; and fhewed us much friendfhip, though not without committing fome hoftilities, which drove us to the dif-agreeable neceflrty of ftaining this otherwife hofpitable fliore, with the blood of fome of the inhabitants. On the 20th we fleered again for the northern iiles of this Archipelago, but at length quitted them entirely, after having fpent in the inveftigation of them forty-fix days; a period of time, in which we alternately experienced pleafure, difguft, and danger. More than once we were expofed to the poifbned weapons of the natives, from the flighteft wound arifmg from which, we had every reafon to dread as painful and terrible a death, accompanied with madnefs, as happened to fome of Captain Carterefs, crew, when they were wounded on the coaft of New Guinea. At one time our fhip had run aground ;. at another lhe was in danger of dafhfng againft the rocks ; and at another time, viz. on the ift of Auguft, of being confumed by fire in the open fea; when it would have been our wretched fate, either to be blown up in the air, or to have fought for death in the briny ocean. On the 4th of September, after three days fail, we difcovered the largeft ifland, next to New Zealand, in the whole Pacific Ocean, which by Captain Cook was called New Caledonia* and feemed with refpect to its foil and ve-3 getables getables to refemble New Holland. The inhabitants were c 1774- . ., September. civil and hofpitable, but poor, and fpoke a language pecu- ss*r+J liar to themfelves. At this place, by great good fortune, I avoided eating the liver of a poifonous fifh, in company with the captain and Meffrs. Forjler* who were extremely ill for fome days afterwards. On the 15th, for want of wind, we were near being driven on the rocks; and on the 2.8th at night were in the moft dangerous lituation, being furrounded by a coral reef. That evening, when I went to bed, there was the greateft probability that I fhould never wake again, but at my very laft gafp: I however had the good fortune to go to fleep directly, and flept very found, and the next morning to find that I had efcaped the moft imminent danger that could well be imagined. On the 10th of October we faw Norfolk ifland, in 29 deg. 2 min. S. lat. the firft difcovery the Englifh made beyond the tropics. We landed upon it, and found it uninhabited. On the 18th we came for the third time to anchor in Queen Charlotte's Sound in New Zealand. Vol, I. O SECT. SECT. V. 1774; December. Voyage from Nezo Zealand to Terra del Fuego* and from thence farther on towards the South Pole. o N the i oth of November we failed from New Zealand. Our fhip was now found to have fprung a leak, but not of any confequence. In the fpace of fix weeks, we had failed over the whole ocean between Nezu Zealand and the fouthernmoft part of America; and on the 2 oth of December anchored to the fouth of Terra del Fuego* where we faw the moft wretched race of men in the world. On the 29th we paffed Cape Horn* and on the 31ft, or New-year's eve, we anchored off a little ifland near Staaten-land* in the ftraits of Le Moire; here we had an agreeable amufement in hunting an innumerable quantity of fea-lions, feals, and fea-fowls. On the 23d of January, 1775, we failed to the fouth-eaft, and on the 14th difcovered the ifland of South Georgia* in lat. 54 deg. 38 min. Here we landed in all fpeed, and though it was now the fummer feafon, we found the whole country covered with an eternal fnow, excepting fome of its coafts, on which there grew only one fingle fpecies of grafs, and a fort of fanguiforbo. This horrid country, however, 4 afforded afforded us fome frefh provifions, viz. the flefh of the jjjgj^ fea-lion and feal; a kind of food that we had fome time ^y^J before learnt to put up with. We afterwards found one after another, feveral fmall iflands and rocks; on one of which, in confequence of a fog arifing, we very narrowly efcaped being fhip wrecked; an accident which, in the circumftances we were in, would inevitably have put an end to our voyage and difcoveries, together with our lives. On the 28th of January, in lat. 60, the fhip could make no way on account of the ice. On the 31ft we found ourfelves in a fog, and very near a high land, covered every where with an eternal fnow ; but the approach of winter and other circumftances, occafioned us to give over all farther inveftigation of this place. This furtheft point of land that we could fee, we called the fouthern Thule* as being the moft diftant land feen in this hemifphere. SECT. VL Return to the Cape of Good Hope, u-lih A ^ length we quite turned our backs upon thefe cold \^yKj x\. latitudes, when the daily increafing warmth, and our approach to the north, to the civilized world, to our friends and our home, contributed to enliven us with the hopes of a quick and fortunate conclufion' to the whole voyage, and the many difagreeable circumftances attending it. But that we now had many more hardfhips to undergo, than Byron, Wallis, and Cook had fuffered in their former voyages round the earth, many of our officers, as well as of the crew, who had been on one or more of thofe voyages, attefted. The purpofes intended to be anfwered by our voyage,, particularly that of approaching as near as we could to the fouth pole, required other attempts to be made, other dangers to be undergone : the remainder of the voyage confequently, was almoft a concatenation of dangers and hardfhips. On the 17 th of March we faw land, viz. the coaft of Africa. The reader may eafily imagine, how delightful a light this was to us. In the mean while, entirely ignorant of the ftatc of affairs in Europe, we could not, when once in fight of of the harbour itfelf, allure ourfelves that we lhould not ^75-be picked up hy fome unknown enemy, who might carry us out as prifoners, perhaps to the moft diftant part of the Eaft-Indies. The next day, however, we overtook a Dutch veffel, and received from her the joyful news of a general peace. Before night we raw feveral fails more, which feemed to be fleering by the Cape, and making as faft as poftible for Europe; and with no fmall pleafure, particularly on my part, we faw the Swedifh flag flying upon two of them. The ocean had hitherto, during our voyage, been really too lonefome and defolate a theatre to us; and it would be neceffary to be as weary of the uniformity of it, as we were, in order to enjoy a fight upon it, which at any other time would have been of no confequence. Neither is it any wonder, that in fo long a fpace of time, we came to be in fome meafure weary of each others company ; when, for inftance, thofe who were ufed to entertain the company with tales and anecdotes, were obliged to have recourfe two or three times to the fame ftories, in order to furnifh their quota in converfation. The following morning we overtook an Englifh fhip called the True Briton* commanded by Captain Broadly, who fent us fome old news-papers. Full of love for my native country, I firft and foremoft, with the greateft eager-nefs, ran over all the articles in them that concerned Sweden; but found only a couple of lines, which gave me to under-ftand that a great revolution had taken place there, but did not fay when or how. This gave rife to divers conjectures amongft us, and was to me in particular an affecting fubject u> ruminate upon ; but from what the Englifh' told March ine> as we^ as ^rom wnat my own ideas fuggefted to me, U^vvj I was convinced, that the commotions in the Swedifh government were then almoft at fuch a height, as fcarcely to be capable of growing worfe, and that thus this news in all probability argued fomething better. This confideration was not without its effect in comforting me, till time (hewed how extremely right we had been in our conjectures. At length on the Wednefday following, being the 2 2d of March, 1775, after a voyage of fixty thoufand miles, and an abfence of two years and a quarter from the Chrif-tian and civilized part of the world, we came again to anchor in Table-bay. Thofe who before us had failed round the globe always went to the weftward, and thus loft a day in their reckoning. But, as we made the fame voyage towards the eaft, and thus continually anticipated the riling of the fun, we were consequently the firft, and, indeed, only navigators, who had gained a day, or found a fuper-numerary day on their journals. Confequently, according ' to the Dutch almanacks at the Cape, in wras on Tuefday, or the 21 ft of March, that we landed there ; fo that, directly contrary to every known and ufual mode of ex-preflion, we actually had two Tuefdays in one week. It was now a thing which we earneftly wifhed for, as wejl as of the greateft confequence to us, to enter the harbour, as feveral of our crew were attacked with the fcurvy. Our unparalleled prefervatives of four-crout and wort, had, it muft be owned, pretty well kept us from the ravages of this otherwife deftructive diforder, fo that we loft only one of our crew by ficknefs (an old complaint of the lungs) fince we left the Cape; but our blood and humours humours were, as well as our malt, and the greatefl part AW of our provifions, in confequence of the length of the V^yO voyage, fpoiled and corrupted. Our bread was, and had been for a long time, both mufly and mouldy ; and at the fame time fwarming with two different forts of little brown grubs (the curculio granarius* or weevil, and the dermeftes paniceus) which either in that ftate or in that of their larvas, or maggots, had neflled themfelves into every bit of bread that we had, fo that we could not pofhbly avoid eating them; and they frequently difcovered themfelves to us, the former by a bitter, the latter by a difagreeable cold tatle in the mouth. Nay, their larvas, or maggots, were found in fuch quantities in the peas-foup, as if they had been lire wed over our plates on purpofe, fo that we could not avoid fwallowing fome of them in every fpoonful we took. The peas ufed for this purpofe, had been ground a little in England, that they might boil the eafier, but had by this very means afforded an eafier paffage to thefe difguflful infects. What was of ftill more confequence, was, that we had only a quantity of bread, bad as it was, fufficient for a few days on board; and as for the brandy, an article of great importance to the crew, it was, if I remember right, quite gone the day before we arrived in the harbour. Pepper, vinegar, coffee and fugar, by the help of which, taking them in their turns, the fait proviiion would have been lefs hurtful to us, we had for a long time been entirely without. Our fait meat, now almoft three years old, having been kept on board during the whole of this period, was the more dried and fhrunkup, as the fait had had fo much the io4 AVOYAGEtothe x775- the longer time to abforb to itfelf and dry up all the moi- March. & • ' . " , ^✓vx^ fture and juices. Thele, with feveral other difficulties, occafioned the joy we felt at having got into the harbour, where we mould be able in many refpedls to lead, as it were, a new life, to be as unbounded as it was univerfal. With pleafure, likewife, and longing defire, we received our letters from Europe, but not without a very natural anxiety and fear, left we fhould find in them accounts of the lofs of our deareft friends and acquaintance. After about five weeks ftay at the Cape, the Refolution failed for England, attended with my moft hearty good willies. The civilities I had received from almoft every body on board this fhip, the dangers I had undergone in it, and the friendfhips, which during that long fpace of time I had had an opportunity of making, gave me, it muft be owned, fufficient caufe. I, for my part, in purfuance of the refolution I had previoufly made, ftaid behind in Africa, in order to continue my refearches in this country, of which I therefore now refume the relation. C II A P. C H A P. IV. Journey from Gape Town to the Country of the Caffres. SECT. i. Refidence at Cape Town previous to the Author's African Expedition* My defires and thoughts continually ran upon making jm-a journey into the internal parts of this country, and \^r%J vifiting the different nations of it. For the prefent, however, i was obliged to flay in the town, and wait for the appearance of fpring or the fine feafon. i have obferved before, that the quaade mouffon* or win*-ter, is reckoned to kit from the 14th of May to the fame clay in Augufl; and that during that time, fhips feldom venture to run into Table-bay. A Dutch veffel, which neverthelefs ftill ftaid here on fome particular bufmefs, and on the night fucceeding the j 4th day had thrown out all. Vo l. i. p her \VS' her anchors on account of the violence of the north-weft May. C^y%j wind, was very near being driven on the rocky ground that lies by the fide of the fort. The day after this, or the 15th, the bay was fo much agitated by the ftorm, that no boat or Hoop could go to or from the above-mentioned fhip. The next evening the wind increaied as the night came on, and the poor feamen had reafon to fear that every minute would be their laft. The extreme darknefs of the night, contributed not a little to make the danger, and even death itfelf more terrible. I lived in the upper ftory of a ftone houfe towards the higher part of the town, where the hurricane ihook the windows, roof, and, I had almoft faid, the whole houfe. This my fituation, as well as the more dangerous one of the Dutch fhip, awakened in me a livelv remembrance of the Antarctic cold, and the various ftorms I had experienced; and made me more thoroughly ienftble of the comforts of a good warm bed-chamber upon terra firm a, but at the fame time excited in me fo much the greater compaflion for the veffel in diftrefs. Contrary to ah expectation however, its anchor and tackling were proof that night againft the ftorm ; and the next day's calm, at the fame time that it put the fhip out of danger, diffufed fatisfaction over the countenances of every one. Another event of this kind, though it happened during my ab-fence, while I was gone on my voyage to the South Sea, deferves however to be recorded in this place, more efpe-cially as it is a farther proof of the unfafenefs of this road in winter. Here follows the account of it, as I had it confirmed to me by feveral eye-witneffes. The The fhip Jong Thomas* which happened to flay in Table- j^s* bay till the boiflerous feafon had commenced, was driven \J*rsJ on fhore by a florm near the land on the fide of Zout Rivier* not far to the northward of the fort. Early in the morning, as foon as this happened, orders were iffued by government, that no one mould, on pain of death, pre-fume to approach, even from afar, this unlucky fhore; where, to give weight and authority to this refolution of theirs, they had with equal readinefs erected gibbets, and at the fame time polled troops all over the neighbourhood; but neither thefe, nor any other meafures taken by them, were in any way conducive to the faving of the crew, being merely calculated to prevent fuch goods and merchandize being ftolen as might chance to be thrown up in the wreck. The lhip, however, was wrecked very near the fliore; fo that the crew's diftrefs and calls for afliflance, were heard very diftinctly; but the fwell of the fea, which with the greatefl violence waflied over the fhip and broke againft the ftrand, made it impoflible for them to fave themfelves in boats, and highly dangerous to attempt it by fwimming. Some of thofe who ventured to fwim to fliore, were thrown againft the rocks and dafhed to pieces; others, as foon as they had arrived at the fhore were carried back again by another wave and drowned. One of the keepers of the company's menagerie, who before break of day, ere the prohibition was made public, had rode out to carry his fon (a corporal in the army) his breakfaft, came by that means to be a fpedtator of thefe poor people's diftrefs; at the fight of which he was touched with companion of fo noble a kind, and at the fame time fo opera- p 2 tive, Jg* tive, that feating himfelf firm on his fpirited horfe, he fwam him over to the fhip; encouraged fome of them feverally to lay hold of the end of a rope, which he threw out to them for that purpofe, and others to fallen themfelves to the horfe's tail; then turned about, and carried them fafe on fhore. This animal's natural aptnefs for fwimming, the great fize of his body, the firmnefs and flrength of his limbs, prevented him from being eafily overpowered by the fwell of the fea. But unfortunately this generous and active veteran himfelf became a victim to death. Fourteen young perfons he had actually faved; and while endeavouring to preferve more than it was poflible for him to do in fo fhort a time, he and his horfe were both drowned. The occafion of this was as follows; after the feventh turn, having flaid a little longer than ufual to reft himfelf, the poor wretches on board were afraid that he did not intend to return; for this reafon being impatient, they redoubled their prayers and cries for afliftance; upon which, his tendereft feeling being wrought upon, he again haftened to their relief ere his horfe was fufficiently refted. The poor animal, almoft fpcnt, now funk the fooncr under his burden, inafmuch as too many fought to be faved at one time; and one of them, as it was thought, happened unluckily to. catch hold of the horfe's bridle, and by that means drew ks head under water. This bold and enterprizing philanthropift commands our efteem and admiration the more, as he had put himfelf into this danger for the relief of others, without himfelf being able to fwim. I have therefore confidered it as my peculiar duty, as well as a pleafure, to preferve preferve his name, which was Voltemad, together with ^775-this gallant exploit of his in thefe pages. Infpired with L^yO fimilar fentiments, the Eaif-India directors in Holland, on receiving intelligence of this affair, raifed a monument to his memory, in a manner worthy of themfelves and him, by calling one of their new-built fhips after his name, and ordering the whole ltory to be painted on the Hern. Thefe orders were accompanied with letters to the regency at the Cape, the contents of which were as follows : That in cafe Voltemad had left any ifjue in the military or civil department* they Jhould take care to provide for them, and make their fortune as fpeedily and effectually as poffible. But unfortunately, in the fouthern hemifphere they had not all the fame grateful fentiments. The young corporal Voltemad, who had been an eye-witnefs to his father's having offered himfelf up in the fen ice of the company and of mankind, was refufed his father's place, though the appointment to it could fcarcely be confidered as any promotion. From mere chagrin, therefore, he had already quitted that ungrateful country, and was gone to Batavia* where he died before the news of fo great and unexpected a recommendation could reach him. There were feveral inhabitants of the Cape, who, while they, with a laudable emotion, lamented the unhappy fate of Voltemad and his ion, affirmed, that a fmall line might, by fome good fwimmer, or by Voltemad himfelf, have been handed from the ftrand to the fhip; by means of which one or more flout ropes might have been ftretched out between thefe latter, for the purpofe of faving the crew. It was likewife thought, that the ifibing of that fevere J775- fevere prohibition, and the appointment of the guard of V-^vO foldiers, were not of fuch ufe to the company as they were imagined to be; as, not to mention other things, even fo heavy a commodity as iron was ftolen away from the wreck; which, after the ftorm had abated, and the fea, that had rifen confiderably, had retired again, as good as lay upon dry land. Under the pretence of preventing the people belonging to the fhip from being plundered, they were directly put under a guard upon the fpot from that time till the evening ; and that without their having taken any refrefhment, although they were wret and hungry, and wearied out with the labour of the preceding night. For feveral days after this they were feen wandering up and down the ftreets, begging clothes and victuals. One of thefe, indeed, is reported to have met with peculiarly rough treatment. This was a failor, who, in order the better to fwim for his life, went off from the wreck almoft naked, and having got fafe on fliore with his cheft, opened it, in order to take out a waiftcoat to cover his nakednefs; he was, however, not only hindered in fo doing by a young chit of an officer, but was obliged to put up with a few ftrokes of a cane into the bargain; being told at the fame time, that he was liable to be hanged without delay on one of the newly-erected gibbets; as, directly contrary to the exprefs prohibition of government, he had prefumed to meddle with goods faved from the wreck. The failor excufed himfelf with faying, that it was impoflible for him not to be ignorant of the prohibition, and that he could clearly prove himfelf to be the right owner of the cheft by the key of it (which, in the the failor's fafhion, was faflened to his belt,) as well as by Jjp a pfalm-book, wherein his name was written, and which V^vO lay in that fame cheft. Notwithftanding all this, it was with great difficulty that he faved his neck from the gallows. He was forced, however, naked and wet as he was, to wait in the fields till the evening, with no other covering than the fky. Shivering with cold, he at length, through repeated entreaties, got permiflion to look after his cheft, and take what he wanted out of it, but now found it broke open and plundered. To conclude, when they had taken him to the town, and there left him near the gates naked and bare, as above defcribed, he had, however, the good fortune to meet with a tender-hearted citizen, who immediately, without the leaft hefitation, gave him the coat off his own back, and took him to his own houfe. This anecdote of the failor I had from one fingle per-fon only; but though that perfon's character for veracity Was unimpeached, yet, for the honour of our fpecies, I could heartily wifh, that my informer might be found to have over-charged his colours in the black painting he has made of this tranfaction ! On the contrary, rather may the fame companionate law in favour of thofe who have the misfortune to fuffer fhipwreck,' take place in Europe and its colonies as it does in China ! on the coaft of which kingdom, all fuch as are unfortunate enough to he ftranded, whether natives or ftrangers from the moft diftant country, find not only perfect fecurity for their perfons and effects, but are likewife maintained and found in every thing till they get to their own home, whither they »77v thev are fent at free coft. Some of the crew of the Fre-K^ysj deric Adolphus* a Swedifh veffel, lliipwreckcd on the Plata bank, September the 3d, 1761, who landed in their boats before the Chinefe town Katjie* experienced in its fulleft extent the efficacy of an eftablifhment that does fo much honour to mankind. Mr. Maule, the fupercargo, who likewife was one of the number, has affured me, that they were all received with the greater! humanity, maintained at the emperor's expence, and conveyed in one of the larger kind of Chinefe veffels to the other Europeans at Canton. As in the preceding pages I have made mention of the ftormy winters at the Cape, it may not be improper to give here a fummary abftracl: of my meteorological obfervations for the months of May, June, and July. With regard to the temperature of the air I muft previoufly remind the reader, that I made ufe of a Fahrenheit's thermometer, which was given me by Dr. Forster at our parting; and that the obfervations taken with it were made in the fhade, in the open air, between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, when the temperature of the air was moft like that of the night. I muft farther remark, that the winters at the Cape are in general by no means fevere, and that this winter was reckoned one of the mildeft. During the firft half of May the thermometer kept fluctuating between 53 and 63 degrees; and during the latter half, between 50 and 58, excepting on the 27th of this month, when it was at the loweft, or 49 f, although the day was clear and the fun fhone. The rainy days in this month were the nth, 12th, 15th, 16th, 30th; and among CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 113 among thefe the three firft named were the worft, and ac- "77* ° 7 March. companied with tempeituous north-weft winds; fo that when \^v>J i paffed Zout Rivier on the 1 ith, the water was no higher than my horfe's knees ; but when I repaffed it on the 15th, the water had rifen fo high, in confequence of the rain and tide, as to reach up to my faddle. In the month of June the thermometer was between 54 and 60. There was a fall either of rain or fnow on the lit, 2d, 3d, 4th, 14th, 27th, and fo on to the 31ft inclufively. Befides thefe, there were a few other cloudy days, attended with a high wind; but the remainder re-fembled our fine fummer days in Sweden. On the 3d, it rained very violently, when it happened that a quantity of water which, in the preceding days, had been collected on the mountain, burft its wray down to the town, and filled the canals there, at the fame time overflowing fome of the ltreets; fo that for feveral minutes, it rofe to the height of two or three feet againft the houfes. It likewife wafh-ed away a fmall wall belonging to a ftone houfe, and carried it under the building, at the fame time milling into divers cellars. In July, by reafon of fome intervening affairs that hindered me, I obferved the ftate of the weather only till the 19th; during that time, the thermometer kept between 54 and 59 degrees. The rainy days were the 6th, 7th, 8th, nth, 12th; clouds without rain on the 3d, 9th, 10th, 13th, and 14th. Vol. I. Q SECT. March. SECT, II. Preparations for the African Expedition. 1775. T^VURING the major part of the winter months I lived JL/ in the town itfelf, and at times made preparations for my journey in feveral ways, among which, might be reckoned my praftifing phyfic and furgery; as what I acquired by thefe means, was a great help towards equipping me out in the expenfive manner my undertaking required. My travelling purfe was farther fortified by a lucky fpeculation in commerce, and likewife with fixty ducats (for which fum I had a right to draw a bill for acceptance) for my Englifh tranflation of our able Swedifh phyfician Van Rosentein's Treatife on the Bif-eafes of Children. This work I undertook and finifhed in the laft year of our cruifing in the South Sea, moftly in the rougher climates, as I at that time was the leaft taken up with bufinefs of any other kind, except that of writing; though even in this cafe I was not un~ frequently obliged, on account of the ftormy weather, to cling with my legs roxmd the foot of the table, and hold myfelf faft with one hand, in order to be able to 6 write write with the other. I take this opportunity of at> *m knowledging my obligations to Meffrs. Forster for va- w^v^ rious alterations they were fo kind as to beifow on the translation here alluded to, which my flender knowledge of the Engiiih tongue made extremely necefTary; as like-wife for their taking care of the imprelflon of it at London in the year 1776. With a view of rendering my intended journey more agreeable and convenient, I made every poffible enquiry where I could hear any thing concerning it; but inftead of gaining any ufeful intelligence, I was left more in the dark than I was before, as moft of the information I could collect was confufed and perplexed; the various accounts I heard, being often contradictory to each other, but ftill more frequently clafhing with probability itfelf. I was chiefly diffuaded from the journey, as being a very abfurd and dangerous undertaking, efpe- . cially as, being a ftranger, as yet unacquainted with Africa, and far from rich, I muft neceffarily fubject myfelf to every kind of inconvenience; but fince 1 faw nothing impoflible in the affair, at leaft not in making the experiment, 1 purfued my defign. With this view I formed an acquaintance and even friendfhip with Mr. Daniel Ferdinand Immelman, a young African, who before this had, merely for the fake of pleafure, made a little trip into the country, to which he was induced by the following fpirited reflection: that it was very little either to his honour or to that of the other African colonifts, that they had neglected inveftigating their own country, fo that they would foon be obliged to apply to Q 2 me MfP me and other ftrangers, for intelligence concerning them-\S*r>J felves and the very place of their refidence. For his own part, he was eafily perfuaded to enter into all my defigna and favour me with his company; but we were obliged to lay our heads together and Hand firm by each other, in order to get the permiffion of his relations. His mother, a fenfible European lady, together with her lovely daughter, at length gave their confent, and principally on this account, that young Immelman had very weak lungs, and the beft remedy for him would be to take a long journey on horfeback, efpecially as he had the advantage of being-accompanied by a phyfician: and on the other hand, he had reafon to fear a more certain and horrid death in confequence of the complaint he laboured under, than any thing that might be apprehended from the attacks of the roving Hottentots or of the wild beafts up the country. His father, an old experienced foldier, who had ferved both in Europe and the Eaft-Indies, and was then lieutenant in the garrifon at the Cape, at length gave his confent on the principle, that a lad lhould never be Ihy or backward, where there was any danger. For this purpofe Mr. Immelman provided himfelf with a good eafy nag, for which he gave fifty rixdollars ; I had already bought an ordinary galloway for thirty-four, and a new baggage-waggon, about the fize of the ammunition-waggons in Sweden, but covered over with a tilt made of fail-cloth, and finifhed in the fame manner as thofe in which the peafants ufually travel in this colony. The price of it was likewife what was ufually given for thefe carriages, that is, about two CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 117 two. hundred rixdollars, reckoning feventy-four for the '775; 7 *-> ; March. wood-work, and eighty for the iron-work; the yoke, the l^j hind chains, and thofe for the traces, the fail-cloth covering, and a box for the coom, made up the reft of the fum. To draw a waggon of this kind there are ufually required five pair of oxen, which I therefore bargained for at eight rixdollars a head. I further took with me medicines of feveral forts, as well for out own ufe, as for that of the peafants, to whom they might be of great fervice, and procure us a better reception. I likewife provided myfelf with a fmall itock of glafs beads, brafs tinder-boxes, Heels for ftriking fire with, and knives, together with fome tobacco ; all thefe were commodities peculiarly acceptable to the Hottentots. We likewife took with us an oaken calk, made for the purpofe of keeping ferpents and other animals in brandy ; alfo feveral reams of paper for drying plants, with leads and needles for infects, and at the fame time fome necefPary changes of apparel. Neither did we forget to take with us plenty of tea, coffee, chocolate, and fugar, partly for our own ufe, and partly to infinuate ourfelves into the good graces of the yeomen, who, by reafon of the great diftance they are at from the Cape, are often without thefe neceffaries. I was told indeed, that liquors would infallibly anfwer this purpofe much better; but the room they took up, their weight, and the expence of them, prevented me from taking any With me. We were well provided with needles of feveral forts, as by means of thefe, and a few good words, we fhould be enabled to gain the good graces of the farmer's daughters, as well as their affiftance in collecting infects. I bought ^v I bought too thirty odd pounds of gunpowder, with a V^vO fmall quantity of which we filled feveral horns, which we kept near at hand; the remainder we emptied into a leathern bag, and locked it up in my cheft, by way of keeping it out of the way of the lighted pipes of the Hottentots. We took with us fhot of different fizes, about feventy pound in weight, with a tolerable ftock of balls, lead, and moulds for carting. It is certain, that the ex-pence and quantity of this ammunition, was much more than we were advifed to take with us, or than I myfelf thought neceffary. On our return to the Cape, however, after an eight month's journey, it was almoft all ufed. I would therefore advife every body, who may hereafter undertake an expedition of this kind, to ftock themfelves well with powder and fhot. Every fhot does not take place, and not a little is expended in the ihooting of fmall birds; fome too mult be fpent in fliooting at marks. Be-fides, it may happen, as it did to me and my party, that for feveral weeks together, one may have 'little elfe to live upon than what falls before one's gun; not to mention, that prudence requires one to be prepared with ammunition againft the hoftile attacks of the Bofhies-men and Caff res. As the colonifts here are enjoined by the laws to feize and bring to the Cape all fuch as travel about the country without being able to fliew a permiflion in writing for that purpofe, I therefore folicited and obtained the governor's pals, requiring that I lhould pafs every where free and unmolefted; and at the fame time that the inhabitants fhould afhit me as far as lay in their power, on receiving a re a- a reafonable compenfation. In another letter, the people ^aiS. belonging to the warm baths in Hottentots Holland were ^w/ enjoined to find me in lodging; for this remedy I was re-folved to try againft the rheumatic pains I experienced in confequence of the cold, to which I had been expofed in the Antarctic circle. SECT. July S E C T. III. Journey from, the Cape to the Warm Bath. ,7?5, /""\ N the morning of the 25th of July I rode from the Cape. My waggon was driven by the boor, who fold me the five pair of oxen before-mentioned. But this T was not to have tilt I got to this fame man's farm near Bott-Rivier, which is in the way to the warm bath, whither I was going. There are no houfes of entertainment eftablifbed in the inland part of this country ; fo that every one is obliged to travel with their own horfes and carriages, as well as their own provifion. Our road lay through the low country over dry fand and heaths. In the middle, or the warm part of the day, like other travellers in this country, we let our oxen go to water and look out for paflurage. Thefe animals are eafil) fatisfied with the poor nourifhment of the dry lhrubs and grafs, which are molt common about the Cape, but the horfes are under a greater difficulty to find provifion fufficiently fine and nourifhing. It is chiefly for this reafon, that in Africa moft of the beafts of burden they ufe are oxen; and it is, perhaps, from the fame caufe, that the horfes here are feem-ingly lefs ftrong and hardy than they are in Europe. As As foon as the cool of the evening came on, we con- *?fi> tinned our journey over Eerfle Rivier to the foot of a high \^rsJ mountain, called Hottentot Holland's Kloof. The environs here were higher and lefs parched up than in the former part of our journey, and were befides adorned with feveral pleafant farms. It was already night, and as dark as pitch, when we alighted; we made a little fire, by which, after we had finifli-ed a moderate fupper, we went to fleep. All the convenien-cies I had for deeping were at prefent, as well as during the major part of my journey, reduced to the bare ground for a bed, a faddle for my pillow, and a great coat to cover me from the cold of the night; for a place to lie in we looked out for the fide of fome bufh, which feemed moft likely to fhclter us from the fouth-eaft, or any other wind that might chance to blow at that time. When it rained, we lay in the tilt-waggon itfelf. Here, on account of our baggage, we were ftill worfe off. The beft place I could find for myfelf was my cheft, though even that had a round top ; Mr. Immelman, being {lender and lefs than me, was able, though not without great difficulty, to fqueeze himfelf in between my cheft and the body of the waggon, where he lay on feveral bundles of paper: he had, however, no reafon to boaft of a much eafier bed. Sometimes we made our bed under the waggon, where, being under cover, we were fomewhat lheltered indeed from the rain and the dew; but on the other hand, had rather too near, and not quite fo agreeable neighbours in our oxen, which were tied up to the wheels and poles, and alfo to the rails of the waggon, and were fo obftreperous, that we could only venture to creep among the gentleft of Yol. I. R them. ,775- them. Thefe companions of ours were moreover very reft-v^vO lefs, when any wild beafts were near the fpot. Again, when we had an opportunity of taking a night's lodging at a peafant's houfe, we were for the moft part rather worfe lodged. In moft places the houfe confifted of two rooms only, with the floor of earth or loam. The interior one of thefe was ufed for a bed-chamber for the boor himfelf, with his wife and children. The outer one compofed the kitchen, in a corner of which they fpread a mat for us on the floor; and in this generally confifted all the conveniencies the good folks could afford us. As for the reft We were obliged to make our beds of our faddles and great coats, together with a coverlet we brought with us The Hottentots of either fex, young and old, who were in the boor's fervice, always chofe to flecp in the chimney. This moftly took up a whole gabel of the houfe, and at the fame time had no other hearth than the floor, on which confequently we all lay pigging together. An hoft of fleas and other inconveniencies, to which we were by this means fubjec~ted, made us frequently rather chufe to fleep in the open air; in cafe the coldnefs of the air, high winds and rainy weather, did not make it more difagreable to us, I thought the beft way of furnifhing my readers with a general idea of the manner in which we were obliged to pafs moft of our nights during our expedition, would be to to give them an account of my firft night's lodging. The next day being the 26th, we got up by day-break; in order to take our journey over Hottentots Holland's Mountain* in the cool of the morning. The way up it was very fteep, ftony, winding, and, in other refpec~ts, very 8 incon- CAPE of GOOD HOP^, 123 inconvenient. Directly to the right of the road there was j^s-a perpendicular precipice, down which, it is faid, that wag- S^yx/ gons and cattle together have fometimes the misfortune to fall headlong, and are dallied to pieces. It is faid too, that in order to drive up this and other mountains of the kind, even with the ftrongeft team of oxen, a man muft not only have the knack, as it is called, and a perfect government of the beafts, but muft alio at the fame time make ufe of a whip like that of the African wraggoners. Thefe whips are fifteen feet long, with a thong fome what longer, and a lafh three feet in length, made of ftout white leather. This (in a certain fenfe) moft powerful inftrument in getting the waggon forward, the driver holds with both hands, and, fitting on the feat of the carnage, can reach the fifth pair with it, and at the fame time fmack his whip, when nc-ceffary, and diftribute his cuts and laflies among the oxen without intermiffion, never failing to touch them on the very fpot he willies, fo that the very hairs come away with the whip. By this means he poffeffes fuch an afcendency over them, as to oblige them to join their ftrength all at once, and pull the waggon out of deep pits, or lift it over large ftones and precipices that lie in the road. But it requires a great nicety of attention, not to drive them too far at once, nor to reft them too long at a time; as in the former cafe they grow faint, weary, and, in confequence of this, reftive; and in the latter cafe, they lofe the fpirit to which they have been previoufly wrought up, tmd which is neceftary for the getting them on; and for want of which it often happens, that the waggon cannot be got from the fpot. On going up the fteeper hills, R 2 there- >775- therefore, the drivers are wont to let them breathe a lit- July. y^yyj tie every half minute, minute, or two minutes, as occafion requires: on the other hand, in defcending, even when the road is not very fteep, particularly with a load, it is to be feared, left the waggon mould get down before the oxen, or tumble upon them, as only the hindmoit pair is put into the fhafts, and are not able to hold back as much as is neceflary : the waggon muft therefore be locked, as they term it; this conhfts in winding a chain that is faftened to the fore part of the waggon, one or more times round fome of the fellies of the hind wheel, and then, with a hook that hangs to the other end of the chain, hooking it into one of the links. Down ftill fteeper bills, as for inftance, fuch as that we were now afcending, both the hind wheels are locked, and fometimes one of the fore wheels into the bargain, efpecially in rainy weather, when it is flippery. In default of a drag-chain, the wheel is lafhed faff to the feat of the waggon, and in this manner the waggon is dragged down the hill; but in order that the loweft fellies of the wheel that is to be locked may not be worn, together with the iron-work round it, a kind of fledge carriage, hollowed out in the in fide, and called a, lock/hoe, is fitted to it. This is a foot and a half in length, and made with hard wood % underneath it is generally fhod with iron, and neareft refembles a trough, which is open behind for the wheel to run into* It is two or three inches deep in order to fupport the wheel with its edges, and hinder it from flipping out; in the fore part of it there is a ftout ftrap, with which it is faftened or ftrung upon the back chain. I am not ignorant, that in the north we ufe ice- ice-hooks, or fafety-hooks, to our fledge carriages; but, at J77S-leaft, as far I know of, we have no drag-chains to our wag- \-*-v-m/ gons. This would be highly neceffary in certain places, and particularly in the fpring, and might be eafily made. Befides obviating the danger of the cattle running away with the team, this machine likewife prevents their being bruifed in any other ways, or hurt by holding back, when they are going down hill. Under the general denomination of mountain* particularly about this fpot, I mean, not only high rocky hills, but likewife comprehend under this name all the more considerable eminences (more or lefs rock) as well as the ridges compofed of them. But to return to the Hottentots Holland's Mountain* as it is called. It was as yet very bare of plants. However, i had the pleafure of finding a fuperb protea in full bloom1. It was this that I have defcribed and given a drawing of in the Swedifh Philofophical Tranfactions for 1777, Pa£e 53* under the name of Guftavus's Scepter. Flora, by confe-crating this beautiful fpecies to fo glorious and auguft a name, perpetuates the memory of her improvement and augmentation (fo honourable for our northern climate) by means of the protection, which the fcience of botany ha3 enjoyed under the great kings of the Gustavi an race; and at the fame time implies a wifh, that under our molt gracious king Gustavus III. the Scepter may ftill continue to flourilh. This protea is a fhrub from two to four feet in height, which fometimes grows up undivided as ftrait as a rod, and at other times throws out two or three fpiral branches, terminating in tufts of flowers of a filver colour. What is molt 1775- molt remarkable in this plant is, its producing two forts of ij^j leaves totally different from each other, viz. while the upper ones on the ftalk are from one to two inches long only, vyedge-fhaped and undivided, the lower ones are feveral inches long, and divided into many parts in the form of branches. The road on the north fide of Hottentots Holland's Mountain was not near fo fteep, yet we were obliged at intervals to lock one of the wheels. All this part of the country, that lies on this or the north fide of the above-mentioned mountain, is by the inhabitants commonly called Agter de Berg* or Over de Berg. By noon we came to Palmite Rivier* Where it runs through a beautiful little t)lain. Here, according to our ufual cuftom, we baited during the heat of the day. As not a tingle bridge is to be found over any flream or river in all Africa, and ferryboats are eftablifhed only at two places, wre were obliged to crofs over at this part in water four feet in depth, which reached quite up to my faddle. Though the rivers in thofe places, where they crofs the public roads, are generally not deep, yet this method of paffrng them is fometimes dangerous as well as tedious; for after one or more days rain, efpecially in winter, it often happens, that one is obliged to flay a week or a fortnight, and fometimes longer, before the water is fallen enough for one to venture to pafs it; and that in places where, at other times, (particularly in fummer) one may almoft go over dry-fhod ; and though the water lhould afterwards fall in fome meafure, one cannot neverthelefs venture with any fafety to go over as ufual, for fear that the flood lhould have formed fome inequa- inequalities there, or elfe have made the bed deeper by waih- ■Jgj ing away the earth. Some more defperate and fool-hardy V^vs/ peafants,. who are impatient at waiting fo long for the falling of the water, or who have fo fmall a flock of provifion as not to be able to make any long flay, are venturefome enough to fwim their waggons over, fo that the water wilf rife above the middle of the body of the carriage: and though their wives, children, and the baggage they have with them, lhould undergo a good fouling, it makes no1 great difference to them. The Have, or the Hottentot, whom, as they do not make ufe of reins, they are unavoidably obliged to employ for the purpofe of leading the fore-moft pair of oxen through the moft dangerous places, muft in fuch cafes fwim with them in his hand; and a lucky thing it is for the matter, if the whim does not take them to follow the ttream, or turn about, or play any other tricks. Thefe animals, however, when they are well broke in, will at any time all ftand ftill together on their driver's gently calling to them Ho> Ha ; and fo in like manner each ox in particular will.pay attention, and goto the right or to the left, merely upon hearing its own name pronounced' with a Hole or nHaar added to it; and with this amufmg ox-language,, and the names of the beafts brought in oc-cafionally, not to mention the noify cracks of the whip, the traveller muft lay his account in being continually entertained, particularly in fuch parts of the road, in which this practice is more peculiarly neceffary in order to get them on. Add to this, the nice attention requifite in order to make ufe of the whip not only frequently, but at proper times and.feafons; and it follows, that the bufinefs of waggon-driving j7up' driving in Africa, is as difficult and tirefome an occupation, l^v' as this mode of travelling is noify, inconvenient, and dangerous. Very late in the evening we arrived at our driver's farm, which was very pleafantly fituated on the other lide of Bott Rivier. This river was befet at fmall intervals with pretty high mountains, the peaks and ridges of which delightfully varied the fcene. In the declivities of fome of them caverns and grottos were feen, which certainly did not exift from the beginning, but were produced by the viciffitudes and changes to which all natural objects are fubjeel:. Even the hard and fteep rocky precipices, which one would imagine to be doomed to everlaiting nakednefs, were, on their black walls, teeming with iron-ore, adorned with feveral climbing plants, the branches and tendrils of which they gratefully in return with their marply-projecting angles, ftretched out and fupported. In the clefts of thefe declivities I obferved the plants, which nature had produced on thefe elevated hot-beds, already in bloom, and which, in their pride, might bid defiance to all human approach. A few ftones throw from this farm there was a mineral water of confiderable ftrength, which nobody in this quarter had had the fenfe to make ufe of. The ftones and rocks in feveral fpots hereabouts contained a great deal of iron. Along this river lay many peafants houfes and farms, the produce of which confifted chiefly of fheep and corn. The wine that was made here was a four wafh, which would not fell in the town without being firft converted into vinegar and brandy. The peafants themfelves, how,- ever, ever, drank it greedily juft as- it was. The caufe of the inferior quality of this wine, as well as of molt of that made v^rO at Agter de Berg, proceeds from the greater coldnefs of the foil; which again depends on the diftance of this country from the fea, and confequently from the fertilizing vapours of that element; but chiefly upon the elevation of this dif-trict above the fea's furface. After ftaying a day at this place, we made a trip to the warm baths. I left my waggon here till i lhould have occafion for it, and went on horfeback, in company with another waggon that was going to the fame place. In order to go by a nearer way, we did not take any beaten road, but made the beft of our way forward over plains, hills, and dales. The whole of this extenfive tract was, by reafon of the defect of water, left uncultivated and uninhabited. A great number of deer and other game had taken refuge here. I now, for the firft time, had the pleafure of feeing herds, confifting of the two largcft forts of aniilopes or gazells, which are called by the Dutch hartbeefls and bunteboks; the former name, which fignifies hart-beajl, was probably given to the former of thefe creatures on account of fome refemblance they fhewed in colour to the European harts; and the latter, which fignifies painted, or rather pied goats, fuits better with thefe latter animals, their orange-yellow or pale-brown pofteriors being rnarked with a number of white fpots and ftreaks. The bartbeejl I have defcribed in the Memoirs of the Swedifh Academy of Sciences for 17 7 9, page 151, by the name of ant Hope dorcas: it is likewife given here in Vol. ii. plate I. fig. 1. being frequently mentioned in the courfe of the following pages. The buntebock, fomething lefs, but more corpulent in pro-Vo l. I. S portion ■ )l7iy' portion than the hartbeefl* is the antilope fcrlpia of Pal-Wo las, and the guib of Buffon, page 305—327. plate XL, According to Adanson, it is very common at Senegal. I will add, that the females of this fpecies have no horns. The fame day I likewife law, for the firft time, whole troops of wild zebras, called by the colonifts wilde paarden, or wild horfes. They were feen in large herds, and appeared very beautiful in their ftriped black and white livery-It is the Ikins of thefe that are generally fold at our furriers fhops by the abfurd name of fea-horfe hides. OJlriches* or the birds whofe feathers our luxury brings from the remoteft plains of Africa, I likewife faw to-day in their wild ftate, at thefouthernmoft promontory of this quarter of the globe. I fometimes came within a couple of gun-fhots of fome of them, infomuch that I took it into my head to purfue them, but always without fuccefs. With their long legs and huge ftrides, they fcoured away as faft again as the untutored horfe and hunter could follow. They ran always with their wings extended, probably by way of preferving their balance; for they are not able in the leaft to raife their heavy bodies from the ground. I have fince been told, that it is impoffible for any man, even when mounted on the beft hunter, to catch them at firft fetting off, but that in a few minutes they will bound out of fight. The hunter muft, notwithstanding, keep on his courfe, but at times fpare his horfe, by keeping him from galloping too faft, till fuch time as he can fee the oftrich again from the top of fome hill; the bird in the mean time having run itfelf down, and afterwards growing fomewhat cool, and confequently ftiff in its joints, has much ado to efcape; and never CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 131 never fails, at lead after the third courfe, either to be taken "77 j- July. alive, or elfe to receive his death from the fportfman's gun. V^rsJ In the like manner I chafed and mot at the antilopes before fpoken of in vain; thefe animals having a peculiar cuftom of ftanding ftill at intervals during their flight, to flare at their purfuers a little, and wait for their coming up. This property, however, is not, as fome imagine, either peculiar to the genus of antilopes, or common to all the fpecies of it; for I have feen buffaloes and wild affes {quaggas) fometimes make a ftand in the fame manner: on the other hand, fome of the fmaller kinds of antilopes, as Jieenboks* klip-fpringers, riet-reebocks, and bqfehboks, run without flopping, till they are out of the hunter's fight. The Cape elks {antilope oryx) of which I have likewife given a defcription in the Swedifh Transactions, are faid, on account of the great demand there is for their flefh and hides, to be already extirpated from this part of the country; and as foon as any others come from the inner diftricts, they are fhot directly, being in much greater re-queft, as well as eafier to hunt, than the hartbeefts. Towards evening we came out upon a road, which carried us by two farms, and at laft, about dufk, to the warm batb. Juft before we got thither, we had left a road on the left hand, which, we were told, led to Roodezand, Roggeveldy Bokveld, and Sneeberg. The ground we had gone over that day, was reckoned four hours on horfeback; and, as it appeared to me, was about four Swedifh, or twenty-three En2;lifh miles. We had now been above feven hours driving at an even pace over this piece of road. The way of meafuring ground at the Cape, which is computed S 2 by *775' by time, cannot be otherwife than uncertain and variable; V^v>J too much fo, indeed, to be collated with our method of reckoning by miles. An hour upon a hilly road, muft. ne-ceffarily be fhorter than an hour upon a level one. The reader, therefore, muft not expect a perfect geometrical accuracy in my map, it being laid down only from my own obfervations with a compafs, and the accounts I got from others. In the mean time, however, it is the only one that exifts, and may probably be of no fmall afliftance in the framing of others that may be made hereafter. In general, the uur* or an hour on the road, is reckoned as much as a man can ride on a round trot, or a common hand-gallop in that fpace of time, and is confidered as being equal to the diftance which a man is able to drive a waggon with oxen in two hours; though even thefe on a plain level road, and with a lighter load than they generally draw, will go almoft as faft a trot, and in the fame proportion for other paces, as one ufually rides on horfeback. Four fuch hours with a horfe, or with eight oxen, are reckoned to make one Jkoft. This is as much as they ufually drive with a load in a day, or in the fpace of twelve hours, as fometimes they bait once on the road. The peafants that live farther up in the country, and have a long way to travel, are provided with a fpare fet of oxen or two, which they make ufe of by turns, and in this manner are able to drive day and night, or two Jkofts (i. e. eight horfe-hours) in the twenty-four natural hours. Now as thofe who live a good way up in the country take fourteen, and fometimes twenty and odd days, befides a day or two for refting, to carry their goods in this manner to the Cape, and fomewhat lefs time to return C A P E of G O O D H O P E. 133 return in, it mayeafily be conceived, that they do not fparethe \m* poor creatures in the leaft: one may fee them often enough C^yxj driven puffing and blowing with their tongues hanging a good way out of their mouths; and one plainly perceives, that but little time is allowed them for refting, and ftill lefs for feeking their food : now and then, indeed, they are able to fill their bellies with grafs, lhrubs, and water, but have fcarcely time to chew the cud. It is from this caufe likewife, that from having been, as it were, almoft choked with fat, they grow quite lean on fuch a journey as this ; though, by the time that they take another journey next year to the Gape, they may poffibly, efpecially fuch as during that period are not much worked, get into as good plight as before, on their ufual pafture, which they have in great abundance. As I have juft been treating of the manner of travelling at the Gape, I muft here farther add, that throughout all this colony oxen are never put into a team, fo as to draw with their horns, but with their fhoulders only, one yoke being ufed for each pair of oxen, which in the mortifes with which it is faftened round their necks, has notches for putting on and taking off the head-harnefs. The yoke belonging to the hindmoft pair is faftened by its middle part to the pole of the waggon; and thole belonging to the reft have a rope, ftrap or chain, running through them, which by this means is ftretched out equally between all the cattle. Perhaps this manner of harneffing their oxen, which feems to leave them fo much at liberty to move about, without giving them an opportunity of making ufe of the ftrength they have in their horns, will account j 34 AVOYAGEtothe 177?- account for fuch long journies being made with oxen fo July. , WO expeditiouily in Africa ; and likewife on the other hand, for their being obliged to make ufe of ten or twelve beaits to one waggon or plough. Mr. Arthur Young, in his " Tour through Ireland;' in the years 1776, 77, 78, has made mention of an experiment to this purpofe, which has given rife to this conjecture of mine, for which reafon I thought it neceffary to quote the paffage here. " Lord Shannon, upon going into tillage, found that the expence of horfes was fo great, that it eat up all the profit of the farm, which made him determine to ufe bullocks; he did it in the common method of yokes and bows, but they performed fo indifferently, and with fuch manifeft unealinefs, that he imported the French method of drawing by the horns ; and in order to do this effectually, he wrote to a perfon at Bourdeaux to hire him a man who was practifed in that method. Upon the cor-refpondent being applied to, he reprefented difficulties attending it, the man who was fpoken to having been in Germany for the fame purpofe. Upon which Lord Shannon gave directions, that every thing lhould be bought and fent over which the labourer wifhed to bring with him. Accordingly a bullock of the befl fort, that had been worked three years, was purchafed; alfo a hay-cart, a plough, and all the tackling for hamefhng them by the horns.—In my prefence, his Lordfhip ordered the French harvefl-cart to be loaded half a mile from the ricks; it was done, one thoufand and twenty fheafs were laid on it, and two oxen drew it without difficulty. We CAPE of GOOD HOPE. We then weighed forty fheafs, the weight two hundred JaTy." and fifty-one pounds, at which rate the one thoufand and twenty came to fix thoufand three hundred and feventy-five pounds, or above three tons, which is a vaft weight for two oxen to draw. I am very much in doubt, whether in yokes they would have ftirred the cart fo loaded " (Page 409, Vol. I.-—See likewife page 380.) SECT. SECT. IV. Refidence at the Warm Bath. 1775- rT^iie warm bath, which we now arrived at, is called jJ^yO JL Hottentots Holland's Bath* from the name of the dif-tricl in which it is fituated; for the fame reafon it was likewife frequently called the Bath over or behind the mountain, and fometimes too Yzer-Baad, as this is fuppofed to contain more iron than any other bath in the colony. It is likewife looked upon to be better furnifhed with conveniences than any of the others. a Hone houfe has been built here by order of government for the accommodation of the company at the bath. This confifis of a hall, two large chambers, a kitchen, and a little chamber, all with earthen floors. The fmall chamber is inhabited by the poji-majler* as he is called, or the overfeer of the bath, fo that there are, properly fpeaking, only the two large chambers for the guefts, who fometimes arrive in a greater number than can be lodged in that narrow fpace. In this cafe they are obliged to difpofe of themfelves as well as they can in the hall, in the loft, or elfe in tents and tilt-waggons, which they bring with them for that purpofe. The The ftone building above-mentioned, is run up againft the yjj>" declivity of a hill, without any kind of fewer or dyke; hence it comes to pafs, that the water making its way into one of the chambers, renders it very damp and unhealthy ; and it is ftill more fo, when they are obliged to put feveral beds and fick people together. By the lift that the overfeer of the bath has kept there for feveral years paft, I found, that from one hundred and fifty to two hundred perfons ufe the bath yearly. But at the cold and inconvenient feafon when I was there, there were only eight people bathing, and even thefe were but fcurvily entertained. The few miferable benches, and the table that we found here, were the property of the old man at the bath, and accordingly we were obliged to hire them of him. At the diftance of about a hundred paces from the dwel-ling-houfe, is the bathing-houfe. This is a cottage, two fides of which are for the greater part under ground, and into which the light enters only by a few fmall peepholes. The length of this cottage is from three and a half to four fathoms, and its breadth a fathom and a half. At one end of it there is a ciftern or pit, a fathom and a half fquare, and two feet deep. The warm water is brought a little way under ground from its fource, till it comes out from above into one of the gables of the houfe, where it afterwards runs through an open channel one fathom in length, from which it comes pouring down into the ciftern in a ftream an inch thick. By this contrivance, indeed, the expence of ftone and brick-wprk is faved, but then probably an opportunity is given to the moft fubtile and efficacious particles to fly off. Vol. I. T The • 1775- The method of bathing is, for the patient to lit or lay C'-rO himfelf down in the ciftern, till the water is up to his chin. The water then feels quite warm without fcalding, and a kind of fugillation from the internal to the external parts of the body is obferved. The velocity of the pulfe is increafed, as well as that of the pulfation of the heart. In fo fhort a fpace of time as eight or ten minutes, and fometimes even before that period, a deliquium appears to be coming on. It is therefore by no means advifeable to be alone, for fear of fwooning in the bath, and being drowned. Such unfortunate accidents are faid fometimes to have really happened. At length, when the patient gets out of the water, he lays himfelf at the other end of the room to fweat in the clothes he has brought with him for this purpofe. If he then drinks fome of the warm water, he gets fo much the eafier into a fweat. As foon as this is over, or at leaft diminiftiecV, the patient wafhes himfelf as quickly as poflible in the bath, in order to be dry fo much the fooner, before he puts on his clothes. Some people bathe and fweat in the manner here mentioned at two different times, one immediately after the other, and find no bad effects from it. The ciftern may be emptied, by turning a cock between each perfon's bathing, if required. Hardly a mile and a half from hence there is a farm, where the company at the bath fometimes lodge ; but find this rather inconvenient, on account of the diftance. The patients bathe, as defcribed above, moftly once or twice a day, very feldom three times; at leaft, fuch as intend to purfue this method of cure for any length of time. A few A few paces from this bath there are two others, which '775. are nothing more than pits into which the warm water v^vO flows, covered in by hovels made of hurdles. Of thefe, the one is cooler and the other warmer than that which I firft defcribed; both of them are made ufe of only by ilaves and Hottentots. In this part of the country there are two other wells without any flielter, but they are not ufed, though one of them has the ftrongeft fpring of any, and is nearefl to the main building. At the diftance of about fifty paces from and below the warm wells or bathing-places, there lies in the dale I have defcribed a well of cold water, very pure to the tafte. The contents and temperature of the warm bath I cannot very accurately determine, partly on account of my thermometer being not graduated high enough for this purpofe, and partly by reafon that I was in want of many neceffary helps, as well with regard to drugs as veffels; for the mafler of the bath's, brandy-glafs excepted, I had nothing here fit for the purpofe, but the two drinking-glaffes I brought with me, the people here ufually drinking the water of the well out of ladles. So that the only experiments that I had an opportunity of making are the following: A Jolution of fugar of lead feemed to precipitate a foul flimy matter. A Jolution of filver tinged the water of an opal colour, and at length precipitated a little white powder to the bottom. Oil of tartar per deliquium, precipitated fcarcely any thing. T 2 Litharge, lp5- Litharge, fal ammoniac, lacmus* and Jyrup of violets* vJ^Xj each of them feparately digefted with the water, exhibited no change in their colour. Powder of gall-apples digefted with the water, while it preferved its natural warmth, produced a brown colour, as our mineral waters do in Sweden, and this colour was durable; _--digefted with the water, after it had flood to cool in the glafs, fcarcely gave any tinge to it; --digefted with water boiled, fcarcely tinged it in the leaft. Ochre had fettled in great quantities in the ciftern and conduits. The water Jhaken in bottles with narrow necks, generated a great number of air-bubbles. Lime-water did not produce any hepatic air, but formed feveral fmall clouds in the warm water, which foon collected into one without railing to the bottom. It muft be obferved, however, that the lime-water I made ufe of for this purpofe, was not fufftciently to be depended upon. I was obliged to prepare fome myfelf from lime that was fomewhat Hacked, and a quantity of water, which, for want of a better apparatus, I diftilled by means of feveral teakettles joined together. Silver that had lain long in the water, difcovered no tokens of the prefence of fulphur. It is generally reported of this water, that it taftes of brimftone; but in fact, no fuch mineral is to be difcovered in it, either by the tafte or fmell; the tafte predominant nant in this water being very fenfibly vitriolic, and not *j7S' iulphureous. Notwithstanding this, the water is pretty O-rO eafy of digeftion, and docs not lit heavy on a tolerably good ftomach. As here is hardly ever any opportunity of confulting a phyfician, this bath is ufed without any other method or indication than what correfponds with the caprice, or fuits the convenience of the patient; confequent-ly, without any regular order, without the leaft attention to diet, or any diftinction of diforders, of which I lliall give the following inftance. A Have had fo far got the better of an epidemical diftemper, with which he had been afflicted, that nature was perfecting the cure by throwing out biles on the furface of his body; notwithstanding which he was fent from Zwellendam, by the lord lieutenant of that diftrict, to the bath here, as being a never-failing remedy. In vain did I order him to refrain entirely from bathing, when the greateft man in the place had commanded him to do it. A few hours from the time of the poor fellow's firft bathing, delivered him from his biles and bondage at once. The company at the wells were in general not at all nice with regard to the time of day for bathing, and did not hefitate to go into the bath directly after meals; and though this was fometimes really done without any remarkable bad confequences enfuing, yet it was much to be feared, that the food which the patient had juft before taken, lhould be too fuddenly thrown into the mafs of blood. From all the accounts I could collect, it was not unufual for rheumatifms and contractions of the limbs to be entirely removed in three or four days, by the ufe of the warm j7Jy' wami bath 5 ^ut m gmlt lt 1S DY no means a peculiarly ^sy*\J powerful remedy. It is fometimes of ufe in eruptions and malignant ulcers, but at other times has not the lead effect in thefe diforders. A girl who was now ufmg the bath for the fecond year for her leg that was violently fwelled and affected with profound ulcers, alid in the mean time had poulticed it with the bruifed leaves of mallows and other plants, had obtained no relief; I therefore dif-fuaded her from ufing either the bath or the leaves, as being of too irritating a nature, and ordered her to ufe a valve made of wax and honey, partly on account of its being eafy to be procured, and partly becaufe I knew by experience, that it could-do no harm, and might do good. By this remedy the ulcer was healed very fuddenly beyond all expectation, and the fwelling went down by degrees. A man bathed here for an old inveterate ulcer in his leg, without any effect; but it fliould be obferved by the bye, that he got drunk almoft every day. A woman had a hard lump in one of her breafts, bigger than a man's fift. As bathing alone feemed to be of no fervice in this cafe, I made her rub the indurated tumour with a little mercurial ointment; by which means, in fact, one half of it dif-appeared in the fpace of two days; but the remainder was not in the leaft acted upon, either by the ointment or the bath. This good woman was at that very time, without knowing it, in that fituation, that a few months after bathing fhe was brought to bed. The child, which was quite lively and hearty, had received no damage from the mother's bathing. A butcher was now ufing the bath for the third month, for an inveterate ulcer in his leg, but without without any peculiar advantage ; though I was acquainted *77s-with a magi Urate, who at this place in a ihort time got rid <^y\j of a bad ulcer in his leg, for which he had long tried in vain every remedy that could be thought of. A young Madagafcar Have, who had an inveterate ulcer in his leg of three years Handing and two inches broad, was fent to the warm bath under my care, on condition that I lhould make ufe of him as my fervant. He had before this been attended, and given over as incurable by a furgeon at the Cape. Being curious to examine a negro's flefh, I had for fome weeks before wre fet off undertaken to look after his fores myfelf. Thefe in general difcharged very little. The raw flefh appeared exactly of the fame colour with that of an European. After the proud-flefh was got under, the ulcer began to heal, by throwing out frefli fibres in the fame manner as ours do, with fome-thing whitifli on the fide of the fkin, which otherwife Was dark-coloured. The procefs, however, went on very Howly and tedioufly ; but with the warm bath, the fore in-creafed both in width and depth. I let him go on bathing neverthelefs, in hopes that the wound would heal of itfelf, after his body had been well cleanfed by a courfe of bathing; but in this, as I afterwards found, I was very much miftaken. The Have himfelf informed me, that once before, when he was in a Hate of freedom, and in his native country, he had had this fame complaint come upon him; that the fore had then, as well as at prefent, broke out of itfelf, but at that time was healed in a few days, by means of a certain bark bruifed between two ftones, and laid upon the part. He faid he knew the tree very >775- very well, and had feen the bark of it ufed by many of his countrymen with equal fuccefs ; but that fmce his arrival in Africa, he had looked for it in vain. The chriftians who arm the natives of Madagafcar againft each other, in order, by bartering afterwards with the conquerors, to recruit their colonies with droves of wretched flaves, muft here give me leave to remind them, if not fwayed by the confideration of the advantages which may accrue to mankind, yet at leaft for the fake of their own interefts, a motive in other rcipects fo powerful with them, in fome meafure to turn their thoughts, and allot a fmall part of their gains, to the purpofe of making ufeful refearches. The Peruvian bark* fenega* ophiorbiza* farfaparilla* quqjjia, with many other ufeful remedies, calculated for preferving millions of our fpecies, have not we learned them all from thofe we call favages ? and perhaps might learn ftill more, if our tyranny had not already, I had almoft faid, entirely extirpated them, and together with them the fruits of their ufeful experience. The operation of the bath, and the cures that are here performed by its means, depend, in my opinion, very little on the mineral that is contained in a ftate of folution in the water; for to do any good in this way, it is forced out too fpeedily, and by too near paffages. The warmth itfelf, in the degree in which it exifts here, hinders the iron from acting as a tonic; and likewife prevents any of the water, by which the body is furrounded, from being abforbed into the veffels, and diluting the humours, 8cc. as thefe latter evidently flow towards the furface of the body; fo that the cures performed here, proceed from nothing elfe I than CAPE of GOOD HOPE. than repeated mutations of the humours by fweating, and jjj* therefore a more fuitable diet and courfe of medicine than are here obferved are of the utmoft importance, to the end that the newly-generated fluids may be more healthy than thofe that have been previouily carried off by the pores of the fkin. But if it be true, that the cures made by this bath chiefly depend on the operation of fweating, in this cafe it has no peculiar advantage over domeftic baths, befides that of faving fuel. In Africa and Europe, as well as among the ravages in America, it is by no means unknown, that the methods of cure by exciting perforation in different ways, have in certain cafes been of the greater! fervice ; but perhaps, in many inftances, more benefit would be found by making ufe of the natural baths at the Cape with a more moderate degree of warmth, which would allow of the water being abforbed into the body; and likewife by ufing them with the addition of herbs: as, for example, of bucku (diqfmd) and wild dacha {phlomis leonurus) which are known both by the colonifts and the Hottentots to be as efficacious as they are common, and of the powerful effects of which in pains and contractions of the limbs, when ufed in the form of baths, I myfelf have feen inftances. But finally, fuppofing the folutions of minerals in the warm fprings to be poffeffed of the greateft powers, either univerfally, or only in particular circumftances, even then in default of natural baths, one may prepare fomething fimilar to them one's felf. Vide Johi Caroli Schroteri Difputatio fub prafidio Frid. Hoffmani de Balneorum artificialiutny cx Scoriis Metallicis ufu Medico. Ha1j time taken with him feveral hounds, which i heard very bufy a hunting, I hastened up thither with a fmall gun, in hopes of meeting with *fteenbock\ but to my great aftonifh-ment found, that the hounds had driven the game up into a tree, and were laying clofe liege to it round about the bottom. The Have, who likewife came hither with his burden, faid it was a tiger or a leopard; and added, that I muft take care to be fure of my mark, or otherwife it might leap on to my moulders from the branches of the tree, by which it was pretty well fheltered, and be revenged on me. As I recollected having heard that in Bengal* in order to provide in fome meafure againft a cafe of this kind, they held a fmall fpear over their heads, I now got ready a large knife, at the fame time that 1 gave fire with fome large fwan-fhot, upon which I let a ball run down in hafte. As for the reft, I thought I might very well depend on the hounds relieving me by taking him off. The ball miffed, and the fhot alone took place; however, the beaft at length came tumbling down, and proved to be nothing more than a large wild cat. It was of a grey colour, and, for aught I could fee, was exactly of the fame fpecies as our tame houfe cats; though, indeed, it weighed three times as much. i measured it with an Englifh rule ; it muft therefore be obferved, that the Englifh inch is larger than the Swedifh, and that the size- of the animal is consequently given here according to the former, namely, From V^>*/ From the tip of the nofe to the head behind the ears 5 From the ear to the fhoulder - - - 2 t From the moulder to the anus - - 14 So that the whole length of the cat was - % 1 £ The tail - - - - - - 13 The feet from the belly meafured, The fore feet - - - - - 12 The hind feet - - - -13 So that the height of the cat was about a foot and a half. The inteftines were half as long again as the animal, tail and all, or about fifty inches. They were full of moles and rats. A Hottentot bajlard, who had built a little cottage here near the bath, for himfelf, his wife, and his little daughter, looked upon the flefh of wild cats, lions, tigers, and fuch like beafts of prey, as a medicine, and much wholefomer than that of other animals. The greater part of the company at the wells were defirous of preferv-ing the fat, which was thought to poffefs not only the virtue of healing fores, but likewife to be ferviceable in the gout; and the fame notion wras harboured concerning the fat of other wild beafts. It is certain, that the fat of this wild cat had a very rank and penetrating fmell, and on that account probably was preferable to other fat. Another kind of cat, as it is called, or the roode-kat, is in Africa univerfally fuppofed to poffefs a great medicinal power in its fkin to cure lumbagos, pains in the joints, gout in the hands and feet, &;c, if the hairy fide be worn on 011 the part affected. I have likewife heard the fame at- j77S« tefled by thofe who thought they had received benefit by v^yO it; but as this fuppofed specific was fold at a very high price, I was contented for my part, with examining the fkin, by which I was convinced, that it is the fame animal as Mr. Pennant, in his Synopfis and Hiflory of Quadrupeds* has defcribed, and given a drawing of, by the name of the Perjian Cat; and M. Buffon, Vol. IX. T. 24. by the name of the Caracal. The hair of this fkin, it muft be owned, is very fine and foft; but probably there are many other fkins that, applied with an equal degree of faith, would have the fame effects. The colour of the upper part of it is of a very light red, fprinkled with grey; under the belly it is light-coloured; the upper part of the ears, which have tufts of hair on the tips of them, is dark brown, fprinkled with grey. This animal is rather long in the body, and about two feet in height, with a peaked nofe. They have a third kind of cat in Africa, which, in its motions and attitudes, is like our common cat, and is called at the Cape the tiger-kat* and the tiger bofcb-kat. From the two fkins which I brought with me, and which I fhall perhaps have occafion to defcribc more accurately, I cannot find but that the tiger-cat is the fame animal as M. Buffon calls the ferval-czX. As to the animal to which M. Vosmaer gives the name of the African civet-cat* I much doubt if it be to be found at the Cape of Good Hope. The hyflrix criflata of Linnaeus, called by the colonifts here yzter-varken (or iron-hog*) is the fame animal as the Germans carry about for a fhow in our country by the name of porcupine, and does much damage to the cabbages and 3 garden- juiy' garden-fluff in the inclofures here. In the clay-time it WV keeps in its holes under-ground, and at night it feeks for its food, which conlifts of roots and leaves. The calld JEthiopica is the plant fuppofed to be molt coveted by this animal, on Which account likewife it is called the yzter-varkens worteL This vegetable is notwithstanding of fo acrid a nature, that either the root or the leaf applied to the furface of the body occafions blisters. The hyftrix is caught in the following manner. They steal by night foftly towards the place where the creature ufes to fecrete itfelf, taking with them a dark lantern. The dogs now begin to give the alarm, and help to drive the animal from its fubterraneous retreat, till at length the fportfmen are able to get at it and knock it on the head. It often happens indeed, that the more eager and inexperienced dogs get fore nofes and mouths, &c. in confequence of being pricked by this creature's fharp quills; but there is no foundation for the report, that it has the power of mooting forth thefe weapons from its body at pleafure, and directing them againft its enemies. It is perfectly well defended from dogs as well as other animals, while, like the hedgehog* it rolls its body into a heap, and fets up its prickles or quills, many of which are a foot and a half long. I did not hear talk at the Cape of any bezoar being produced by this animal. The flefh nearest refembles pork, a circumftance which has undoubtedly procured it the name it bears. It is chiefly ufed as bacon, being fmoked and dried up the chimney for that purpofe, and is by no means ill-tafted; though prejudice hinders a great many of the inhabitants from eating it. I found I found**nere two new fpecies of the genus of tetrao, 'ygs* One of which is called partridge and the other pbeafant; either fort being nearly of the lize of our partridges. They live in flocks, and are not hard to come at, efpecially in the mornings and evenings; at which times chiefly they difcover their abode by a fhrill kurring noife by no means pleafant in itfelf, yet not difagreeable to hear; partly as it takes off a little from the wildnefs and defolatenefs, with which the fight of fo many extenfive and untilled fields cannot fail to flrike the imagination; and partly, as particularly at break of day as well as at the ruddy opening of the morn, it prognosticates the approach of the fun to vivify all nature. Flocks of keuvitts, on the other hand, towards the dufk of the evening, fcreamed out a difagreeable found refembling that of the name they bear. Thefe are a fort of fnipes, and are diftinguifhed in the Syftema Naturae by the name of the fcolopax capenfis. T Knorrhane is the name of a kind of otis, which has the art of concealing itfelf perfectly till one comes pretty near to it, when on a fudden it foars aloft, and almoft perpendicularly into the air, with a fharp, hafty, and quavering fcream, or the repetition of korrh, korrb, which is an alarm to the animals throughout the whole neighbourhood, discovering the approach of a fportfman, or enemy of fome fort or other. The fecretaries bird, though it has been already brought alive to Europe, and a drawing of it, painted in its natural colours has been given by M. Vosmaer under the denomination of fagittarius, is too remarkable among the feathered kind to be left unnoticed here. It was in thefe Vol. I. X Parts »775- parts I firft faw it in its wild ftate. It is not a very fhy J^vsj bird, but when feared, begins at firft to endeavour to five itfelf by hopping and fcudding along very fwiftly, and afterwards does it more effectually by flight. In external appearance it partly refembles the eagle, and partly the crane, two birds certainly very unlike each other, and in my opinion ought to be referred to neither of thefe genera* The Hottentots give it a name moft fuitable to its nature, viz. as tranflated into Dutch, Jlangen-vraater (or fer-pent-eater;) and, in fact, it is for the purpofe of keeping within due bounds the very extenfive race of ferpents in Africa, that nature has principally deftined this bird. It is much larger than our crane, with legs two feet and a half long, and the body in proportion lefs than the crane's. Its beak, claws, ftout thighs covered with long feathers, and fhort neck, are like thofe of the eagle and hawk kind. The head, neck, beak, the leffer coverts of the wings, and the greater part of the tail, are of a grey leaden colour; the longer quills of which latter, a little way from the tips, are moreover marked with a black fpot; but the two middle quills are longeft of all, and are white at the tips; its breaft is of a yellowifh white {fordide albidum^) the vent-feathers, wing-quills, thighs, claws, pupil, and the retro-verted feathers under the eyes are black; its thighs are of a ftefh-colour, its eyes large and prominent, the iris of an orange-yellow, the cere* and the region of the eyes naked and yellow. A tuft or comb compofed of about twelve feathers, with which, placed in two rows, this bird is adorned, lies down moftly on the hind part of the neck. 4 This This bird has a peculiar method of feizing upon ferpents. J77S-When it approaches them, it always takes care to hold V-^O the point of one of its wings before it, in order to parry off their venomous bites; fometimes it finds an opportunity of fpurning and treading upon its antagonift, or elfe of taking it up on its pinions and throwing it into the air; when by this method of proceeding it has at length wearied out its adversary, and rendered it almoft fenfelefs, it then kills it and fwallows it at leifure, without danger. Though I have very frequently feen the fecreta-ries bird both in its wild and tame ftate, I have yet never had an opportunity of feeing this method it has of catching ferpents ; however, I can by no means harbour any doubt concerning it, after having had it confirmed to me by fo many Hottentots as well as Ghriftians; and fince this bird has been obferved at the menagerie at the Hague* to amufe and exercife itfelf in the fame manner with a ftraw. If, finally, this ferpent-eater is to be referred to the accipitres* or the hawk-kind, the name of falco ferpentarius appear to be the moft proper to diftinguifh it by in the Syjlema Na-atura. It has even been remarked, that thefe birds, when tame, will not difdain now and then to put up with a nice chicken. I will not venture at prefent to try my reader's patience longer, with accounts of any more of the feathered inhabitants of Africa, at leaft not of the fmaller fort; yet it may not be improper to mention by the bye, that they are of many different forts, and moft of them unlike thofe which are to be found in other parts of the world, and at the fame time that many of them are yet unknown to natura- X 2 lifts. I77S- lifts. In general, they excel our European birds in the vJ^Xj brilliancy of their plumage; but, on the other hand, with regard to what adds greater life to nature, and which is capable of charming us more, and operating more powerfully on our fenfes, viz. the delightful warbling and fong peculiar to the feathered race, there are very few of them that deferve our notice in this point. The manner in which I employed the remainder of my time, while I ftaid at the warm bath, was in viiiting a rich farmer who was fick, and lived about two miles and a half off. I had now better reafon than ever to be pleafed with the knowledge I had attained in the iEfculapian art, though my reward confifted in nothing more than a fhoul-der of mutton now and then, and a piece of venifon, which fometimes was pretty plentiful there; and that at every vifit they gave me a pitcher full of milk, which I took home with me on the pummel of my faddle. As this latter was never fuffered to go out of the houfe for money, and the company at the wells were very irregularly ferved with provifions, and even thefe were fcarce, it occasioned me frequently to repeat my vifits to my patient, efpecially as the copious evacuations by fweat required plenty of nourifh-ment to fupply the place of what was thus diflipated; an apophthegm, of which many of thofe, who ufed the bath, were reminded by an excellent appetite. As from the fame motive I was once obliged to go as far as Bott-rivier, in order to get in a ftock of butcher's meat and garden-ftuff, which I brought home with me on a led horfe, I had the fatisfa&ion, in the extenfive tracts above-mentioned, which are are between the bath and this river, of feeing fome of the nj* dog kind in their wild ftate. ^v-O Thefe wild dogs are fome of the moft pernicious beafts of prey, particularly with refpecl to fheep and goats, that either the African colonifts or the Hottentot hoards are ex-pofed to. They are reported not to be content merely with Satisfying their hunger, but even to deftroy and wound every thing they meet with. They always herd together in companies, and wander about day and night after their prey. The noife they make in hunting is faid much to refembie the yelping of our common hounds, only to be fomething fofter. It is afferted, that they even have the courage to try their ftrength with larger dogs, as well tame as wild; and that they were once bold enough in their turns, to purfue a fportfman, who was out after them on horfe-back, but was unlucky enough to mifs fire. It has been obferved, that they hunt with much fagacity, acting perfectly in concert with each other; while at the fame time each of them in particular does his beft to overtake or meet the game, till at length it falls a prey to the pack. They are faid to be always as lean as fkeletons, and confequently ugly, and at the fame time that they have feveral fpots bare of hair. One fort is faid to be larger, and at the fame time of a reddifh colour, and fpotted black ; the other lefs and browner. Thofe that I then faw at the diftance of two hundred paces, were probably of the larger kind, for they were two feet high, fhort haired, and reddifh. No one yet has tried to tame them; fome of the country people, however, may have had opportunities of experiencing, how near thefe grim and fierce animals of prey may jjjtf* may be allied to the more civilized little dogs which fo fre-V^vO quently engrofs the favour and attention of the fair fex. It is possible, that there is yet another fpecies of wilds dogs in Africa, as a peafant of the name of Pottgieter informed me, that in Mojfel-bay he had feen an animal of the fize and fhape of a common dog, but that it had larger ears, and was marked white under the belly, but was of a dark colour every where elfe. His companion had ihot at it, but miffed fire. The tiger-wolf is a much more common beaft of prey, and one that from the very beginning, as well as throughout the whole of my journey, occasioned me fo much anxiety and fear for the fafety of my cattle, and confequently for the happy conclusion of my expedition, that I cannot defer any longer the defcription of fo formidable an animal. By the colonifts they are called tiger-wolf. This is that hitherto unknown animal, which Mr. Pennant, in his Synopiis of Quadrupeds, page 162, N° 119, and Hiftory of Quadrupeds, page 250, N° 149, has briefly defcribed and given a drawing of, by the name of the fpotted hyama, a different fpecies from the canis hyana of Linnaeus. The night, or the dufk of the evening only, is the time in which thefe animals feck their prey, after which they are ufed to roam about both separately and in flocks. But one of the moft unfortunate properties of this creature is, that it cannot keep its own counfel. The language of it cannot eafily be taken down upon paper; however, with a view to make this fpecies of wolf better known than it has been hitherto, I lhall obferve, that it is by means of a found fomething like the following, aauae* and fometimes ooao* ooao* yelled out with a tone of defpair, (at the interval of \77s-fome minutes between each howl,) that nature obliges ^rsJ this, the moft voracious animal in all Africa, to discover itfelf, juft as it does the moft venomous of all the American ferpents, by the rattle in its tail, itfelf to warn every one to avoid its mortal bite. This fame rattle-fnake would feem, in confequence of thus betraying its own designs, and of its great inactivity, (to be as it were nature's stepchild,) if, according to many credible accounts, it had not the wonderous property of charming its prey by fixing its eye upon it. The like is affirmed alfo of the tiger-zvolf. This creature, it is true, is obliged to give information-againft itfelf; but on the other hand, is actually poffeffed of the peculiar gift of being enabled, in fome measure, , to imitate the cries of other animals; by which means this arch-deceiver is fometimes lucky enough to beguile and attract calves, foals, lambs and other animals. As to the howlings of this creature, they "are, in fact, as much the natural confequences of hunger, as gaping is of a disposition to fleep; and as the flowing of the faliva, or the water coming into the mouth, is of the fight of fome delicacy, which excites the appetite. There muft, indeed, be fome phyfical caufe for this. The very hollownefs of the found, or fome other quality of it which I cannot well defcribe, induces me to conjecture, that it proceeds from the empti-nefs of the ftomach. In the mean while, that a difpo-fition to this yelling is abfolutely implanted in the animal by nature, I am apt to conclude from the inftance of a young tiger-wolf that I faw at the Cape, which, though it had been brought up tame from a whelp by a Chinefe refident yj^ refident there, and was then chained up, was faid never-Uvv thelefs to be filent in the day time, but very frequently in Xhe night (being then probably hungry) was heard to emit the yelling noife peculiar to its kind. Near fome of the larger farms, where there is a great deal of cattle, this ravenous heart is to be found almoft every night; and at .the fame time frequently from one hour to another betraying itfelf by its howlings, gives the dogs the alarm. The peafants affured me, that the cunning of the wolves was fo great, (adding, that the trick had now and then even fucceed-ed with fome of them) that a party of them, half flying and half defending themfelves, w^ould decoy the whole pack of dogs to follow then*} to the diftance of a gun-lhot or two from the farm, with a view to give an opportunity to the reft of the wolves to come out from their ambufcade, and, without meeting with the leaft refiftance, carry off booty ■fufficient for themfelves and their fugitive brethren. As the tiger-wolf, though a much larger and ftronger animal, does not venture without being driven to the utmoft ne-ceflity, to meafure its ftrength with the common dog, this is certainly an evident proof of its cowardice. Neither does this fame voracious beaft dare openly to attack oxen, £ows, horfes, or any of the larger animals, while they make the leaft appearance as if they would defend themfelves, or even as long as they do not betray any figns of fear. On the other hand, it has art enough to rufh in upon them fuddenly and unexpectedly, at the fame time fetting up a horrid and ftrange cry, fo as to fet them a running in confequence of the fright, that it may afterwards keep clofe to their, heels with fafety, till it has an oppor- CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 161 opportunity with one bite or ftroke to rip up the belly of y^-its prey, (even though it fliould be fo large an animal as a draught-ox) or elfe give it fome dangerous bite, and fo at one fingle bout make itfelf mafter of its antagonift. On this account the peafants are obliged to drive their cattle home every evening before it is dark, excepting the more considerable droves of draught-oxen, which they let roam about day and night to feek their food unattended, by reafon that they are ufed both to the country and the artifices of the wolves, and can therefore the eafier depend upon and defend each other. Travellers, on the other hand, who are obliged to keep on in their journey, frequently fuffer great loffes by turning their cattle out at night; efpecially of the young ones, which are eafieft feared. I, who had only one team of oxen, and thofe, to my forrow, of that degenerate fort as to be apt to ftray and wander afar off, feldom ventured to let them graze in the night, however neceffary it might otherwife be; for my botanizing feldom allowed me to travel on nights, as the peafants do, and bait my cattle in the day-time : fo that, as I could only travel in the mornings and evenings, the heat of the day was neither a proper nor a fufficient time for baiting them. I had befides not unfrequently the difagreeable accident happen to me, that the leader of my team, whofe duty it was to go to pafture with the'cattle, often neglected his duty. By this means we wafted not only many hours, but even fometimes a couple of days together, in anxious endeavours to recover our loft cattle; and at the fame time were obliged to go over hills and dales, on horfeback as well as on foot, Vol. I. Y to ,775- to look after them. While I ftaid at the warm bath, my vj^>j faddk>horfe together with fome others, was frightened one night by the wolves, fo as to pull up by the roots the fmall bullies to which they were tied, and took to their heels; but by good luck, they were found again unhurt the following evening. They had perhaps difengaged themfelves entirely from their failenings, or elfe taken heart, on having been obliged to flop at the fteep declivity of a mountain, that enclofed a narrow dale, where they were found. It may be likewife, that the hyaena has courage only upon the open plains, in the fame manner as our ordinary wolves ; which, for fear of being taken by fur-prize, are faid not to venture to follow any one that takes refuge in the ikirts of a wood. The imminent danger I had been in of loling my faddle-horfe, induced me afterwards to be as cautious as poflible againft fo difagreeable and vigilant an enemy as the wolf. I had alfo the good fortune, throughout the whole of my journey, toefcape paying any tax to this animal's voracity and cunning, excepting a trace belonging to the waggon, two yards long and two fingers thick, made of ftrong thongs of undreffed ox's hide plaited together; for one night a wolf came within-fide of the door of my lodgings (at Tiger-hoek) where it hung up, and gnawing it in pieces, ate it up. The Hottentots themfelves have confeffed to me, that it was ftill within the-memory of man, that the tiger-wolf was bold enough to Ileal upon them and moleft them in their huts, particularly by carrying off their children. This, however, is now no longer the cafe ; a circumftance, perhaps, proceeding from the introduction of fire-arms into the county* try, a circumftance which, in thefe latter times, has caufed yj^ this, as well as other wild beafts, to ftand in greater awe of K^ysJ man than it did formerly. I have heard the following ftory of the tiger-wolf mentioned, as being related in a certain treatife on the Cape, of which I now cannot exactly remember the title. The tale is laughable enough, though perhaps not quite fo probable. " At a feaft near the Cape one night, a trumpeter who had got his fill was carried out of doors, in order that he might cool himfelf, and get fober again. The fcent of him foon drew thither a tiger-wolf, which threw him on his back, and dragged him along with him as a corpfe, and confequently a fair prize, up towards Table-mountain\ During this, however, our drunken mufician waked, enough in his fenfes to know the danger of his fituation, and to found the alarm with his trumpet, which he carried faftened to his lide. The wild beaft, as may eafily be fuppofed, was not lefs frightened in his turn." Any other be fides a trumpeter would, in fuch circumftances, have undoubtedly been no better than wolf's meat. In the mean while it is a certain truth, and well known to every body, that thefe wolves are to be found almoft every dark night about the fliambles at the Cape, where they devour the offals of bones, fkin, &x. which are thrown out there in great quantities, and drag away with them what they cannot eat. The inhabitants repay thefe good offices of the hyaena with a free and unlimited privilege of accefs and egrefs. The dogs too hereabouts, perfectly accuftomed to their company, are faid never to throw any impediment in their way; fo that the beaft, y 2 entertained entertained and fed in the very heart of the town, has V^vnJ been feldom known to do any mifchief there. . It is like-r wife a well-known fact, that thefe wolves, in different parts of Africa, exhibit different degrees of courage; this, however, may perhaps proceed from their being of different fpecies in different parts. Yet in this very greedinefs of the hyana* and its difpo-fition to confume. every thing it can get at, the provident ceconomy of nature is abundantly evinced. The flowery fields at the Cape, would certainly foon become hideous and disfigured with carcafes and fkcletons, the relicks of the great quantity of game of all forts which graze and die there in fucceflion, were not the tiger-wolf manifestly fubfervient to nature in the regulation of her police, by clearing her theatre from them; nay, I had almoft faid, the wolf alone : for lions and tigers, for example, never eat bones, and are not very fond of carcafes. Thefe are ferviceable in another way. They make the other animals vigilant and attentive to the functions for which nature has defigned them; and befides anfwering feveral other intentions of providence, they ferve, in conjunction with mankind, to keep in a juft equilibrium the increafe of the animal kingdom; fo that it may not exceed the fup-plies afforded it by the vegetable part of the creation, and by this means prevent the neceffary renewal of the latter by feeds, &c. and thus, by defolating it and laying it wafte, in the end impoverifh and deftroy themfelves, and die moft wretched victims to want and hunger; fo that, notwithftanding the immenfe quantities of game existing in this country, there are very feldom found any bones in the the haunts they have left, and never after the tiger, lion, j7js-jackal, wild cat, and wild dog. Thefe latter animals, that vJv\>/ they may not encumber and litter the ground which nature has ordained them to clear, never go out of their dens and caverns when they find themfelves fick and dif-abled; but there, oppreffed with hunger and difeafe, await the tranfitory moment, when they muft pay obedience to nature's laft law. On this fubjecl; it is worth while to obferve, that the tiger-wolf is faid, befides being a very great gormandizer, like-wife to be capable of bearing hunger a confiderable time; and if we alfo recollect, its cowardly manner of attacking living animals, it will be evident, that this creature's voracity muft neceffarily ferve to confume fuch as are worn out with age, or are fickly or maimed, as well as the other remains and refufe of the animal kingdom, and in like manner what may be redundant in it; but does not threaten any great deftrucfion of the fupplies neceffary for the recruiting of this part of the creation. Two other voracious animals of this kind are found in Africa, which are diftinguifhed by the names of mountain*-wolf and Jlrand-wolf; but the people of the country were not able to give me any other marks to diftinguifh them by, than that the mountain-wolf is of a greyifh eaft, but the Jlrand-wolf blackifh with a grey head. In the meanwhile, what I have faid above concerning the tiger-wolf, , as being the moft common of the kind, may perhaps be in a great meafure applicable to the two other fpecies. The one of thefe probably is the cams hyana, Syjl. Nat. Linn, as I brought with me from the Cape a fkin, which "77v which feems to correfpond tolerably well with the defcrip-Ovv^ tions we have of that animal. The teeth and feet were •either loft from off the fkin, or elfe mutilated ; however, to defcribe it as accurately as I can, it was five feet in length and two in breadth, and the legs, to conclude from what was left, were above a foot long. The tail was fifteen inches long, and tolerably creel:; from the tip of the nofe to the eyes it measured fix inches, and from the eyes to the ears five ; the ears were fix inches long, a little rounded at the tip, but the exterior parts of them were moftly bare. The nofe was peaked; the head covered with fhort hair, and of an afh-colour all over; while, on the other hand, the hair on the reft of the body was thick, harfh, and rough; on the upper part of the back the hairs were above a foot long, ef-pecially near the tail; on the tail itfelf they were fix inches in length, while on the fides and belly they were not above four or five. The whifkers were very ftiff and harfh, fome of them being thrice the thicknefs of thofe on the breaft, and five inches in length. A number of ftiff and ftrait hairs, three or four inches long, compofed the eye-brows. The eyes were at the diftance of two inches afunder; the colour of the fpace between them, as well as on the upper part of the back and tail, was dark brown, as likewife on the legs and thighs; but on the fides and under the belly it was moufe-black. It was with difficulty that fome dark ftripes could be traced, running from the back-bone down to the fides. So that Mr. Pennant's defcription of the by ana carina* or the canis hytena of LiNNiEUS, correfponds tolerably well, well, as to the iize of the animal and the nature of wr* the hair, with the Ikin I brought with me, and have juft ly^j now defcribed, the fmall differences there may be in the colour being of no great importance : befides, I have another very good reafon for believing, that one fpecies of the animal called wolves at the Cape, is the by ana canina> fo well defcribed by Mr. Pennant; and this is, that a farmer living near Bott Rivier, offered to lay me a considerable wager, that he could ihew me wolves that were hermaphrodites. For this purpofe he intended to lay a poi-foned bait for them, compofed of an extract of an herb, which he bought of fomebody that lived a great wTay up the country ; however, I did not accept the wager, partly as I had not time to wait for the determination of it, and partly becaufe I was afraid of getting into fome dif-agreeable difpute about the decision of it; as perhaps this animal, in like manner as I had feen before in the cafe of the viverra genetta and other creatures, might have a mufk-bag, or follicle, in that part, which might be mif-taken for the female organs of generation. I did not then recollect, that Mr. Pennant had remarked an aperture above the anus in the female of the canis hvana; but that the tiger-wolf had nothing of the kind, I could ob-ferve in the female one that was kept alive at the Cape. It is this aperture, as I imagine, that in former times gave room for the affertion, that the hyaena was ufed to change its fex. Perhaps, in like manner, it will be found, that our forefathers were not entirely without foundation in the accounts they gave (though they were certainly carried too far) \77S' of the hysena's power to imitate the human voice, and to July, J one or two of them come hither farther from the northwards. One of thefe animals was faid to have done much mifchief at about eleven miles diftance from the bath, at the time that I was there. C H A P. CHAR V. Journey from the Warm Bath to Zwellendam. +775' 'np^HE time was now come for me to quit the bath, in \J^Jyj A order to fet out upon the long journey I had in view. Mr. Immelman likewife now came to me from the Cape, to bear me company according to his promife. But, contrary to my expectation, there was fomething ftill wanting of the great eft importance. The peafant, who had undertaken to equip me with what was neceffary for my journey, had taken me in, not only by felling me a team of wretched oxen, but likewife in the driver he procured me. Though he had hired him for me at feven rixdollars per month, exclusive of his victuals and tobacco, the fellow knew ftill lefs >of the road than we did ourfelves. This fame driver had likewife neglected his duty, in omitting to procure us a Hottentot to lead our oxen. I had every reafon to think, that this omiflion was made on purpofe, in order that we might not penetrate far into the country; in which cafe he himfelf would have the fewer dangers and difficulties to undergo, and the wear and tear of my waggon would be the lefs; for I plainly perceived, :that his principal, or the farmer whom I had commiffioned to to agree with him for me, had buoyed himfelf up with the ms< hopes, that he lhould get my waggon dog cheap at my ^r^j return. I therefore agreed with another, who was reckoned a Heady and experienced man; but he, as foon as we imparted to him in confidence our intentions of viiiting the more diftant parts of the country, not only begged to be off the bargain, but likewife fincerely and from the bottom of his heart, advifed us to flay at home. By this means we were quite put to our fhifts, not knowing how to get an inch farther. Though we now would have gladly put up with the Lego-Hottentots only, we met with a refufal like-wife from them, on our fending to a couple of craa/s, or communities, at the diftance of eleven miles from us, in order to make a bargain with them. They excufed themfelves on the account that a great many of their young men were juft dead, and fome of them were ftill lick. It feemed they were afflicted with a bilious fever, a diforder which in general is rather uncommon at the Car^c, and is always moft fatal to flaves. But as it was now very rife, and ran very high among the colonifts themfelves, they were uni-verfally alarmed, and my fellow traveller as much as any of them. I, for my part, being an European phyfician, anil ufed to much more dangerous epidemics, was in no concern whatever, except on account of the mortification and fhame I experienced at finding myfelf in danger of putting an end to my journey for want of a driver. Indeed, I now wiifred within myfelf, and not without reafon, to have it in my power to exchange one or two of the feven fciences for the art of driving oxen. At length,, however,, the baftard Hottentot, who lived near the bath in a hut made of hurdles, a77*' c^es> aru* wil° ^ tlie WaS ^3Ut a ^aci ^euow> finding his Cv\j wife and child begin to recover from their putrid fever, undertook, in confideration of fome medicines he had had of me, but chiefly in confideration of the hard money I paid him down upon the nail, to drive my waggon; but no farther than to Zwellendam* where Mr. Immelman was in hopes of getting Hottentots eafier. In the mean while, in default of ox-leaders, we were obliged, though on horfe-back, to condefcend, by means of a long rope, ourfelves to perform this office, which in Africa is looked upon in the loweft light imaginable. To give this difagreeable affair a better colour, we gave ourfelves credit wherever we went for undertaking this piece of drudgery, as being the beft method to get rid of the greateft impediment in our journey, and as freeing us from the neceflity of making low fubmiflions to our inferiors, and of being too troublcfome to others for their afliftance. By this means, indeed, we made the good people cry us up for what bare neceftity forced us to ; but, for all that, we were neither better nor worfe than ox-leaders. On the 26th of Auguft we left the bath, and arrived in good time at Steenhock-rivier* where my patient lived who had paid me for my vifits with milk and meat, during my refidence at the bath. He had for many years paft ufed the bath himfelf for a violent fwelling and eryfipelas in one of his legs, but was now already relieved by the ufe of iffues, the leaves of elder, &c. on which account he fold me the fpirits I wanted to preferve my animals in, at a very reafonable rate, and at the fame time perfuaded mc to ftay there that night; but to the great terror and dif- quietude CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 175 quietude of my fellow-traveller, he lodged us in the fame '77>- , . Auguft. room m which his fon had lately lain ill of a putrid fever. K^y^j He afterwards gave us a few provisions for our journey, and would oblige us to borrow a porridge-pot of him, which I then confidered as a troublefome superfluity, but afterwards found that by preffing it upon us he had done us a peculiarly kind office. On the 27th we fet out again on our journey, and as the road was good and even all the way, and my Hottentot allured me that he could do very well without any leader, we let him go forward while we rode up to the farm near the road, where we were treated by the owner of it with a rare and delicate dilli; a fort of fparrow or finch (Joxia capenjis) broiled: a bird that does much mif-chief in the corn-fields, but with its black and yellow plumage makes a beautiful appearance. I have obferved, that this little animal, at the approach of fummer, always changed its yellow for a blood-red hue. Our driver, indeed, had not much the flart of us; but though we puflied very faft after him, we were not able to overtake him before the evening came on; we began to fear we had gone out of our road, when at length we met with a drunken European, who was not afhamed to offer himfelf to be my fervant, after having acknowledged that, in company with my Hottentot, he had been getting drunk with the contents of my brandy-cafk. At length we overtook our Hottentot, who, not fo drunk as his companion, denied the fact, though the mail of the lock belonging to the cafk above-mentioned, was actually broke off. Having taken off the oxen, and unfaddled our horfes at the farm called A1775- called Gantze Craal, I found that he had likewife filled \^rU feveral bottles, in order to treat himfelf and a couple of rafcals of his own kidney, a baftard and a Have, who had come thither with a waggon. As the mifchievous difpofrtion of the favages is carried even to madnefs, and becomes extremely dangerous when they are overloaded with liquor, I took the brandy from them; but they had already drank themfelves to fuch a pitch of frenzy and boldnefs, as to give me to underftand, that, in cafe they parted with their beloved brandy, they thought of nothing but revenge and murder. As we had feen a Chriftian equally guilty with them, we thought we might and ought to bear with them till the next morning, with all the coolnefs and prudence, which the profecution of our journey and the prefent pofture of our affairs required. In the mean time I was obliged to lleep all night long in my waggon to take care of my brandy, by which means I got frefh cold; for this fame farm of Gantze Craal* lay on the other fide of the river Zonder End. The next morning we forced our valiant pot-companions, wrho were now fober, to afk pardon ; and at noon, having found a ferpent, we , put it alive into the cafk, in the prefence of every one. My comrade now told them, they might drink as much as they pleafed without lett or hinderance, and added, with a carelefs air, that in that cafe he mould hope foon to have the pleafure of feeing them burft with poifon, with other things to that purpofe. Thefe conditions they did not venture to accept; but gave us plainly to perceive, that they envied the venomous creature the pleafure of being drowned in in fo delicious an element. I now, however, fecured my «775* Augult. lock in the belt manner I was able, that I might not lofe wvo any more of my fpirits, in which I wanted to preferve animals of all forts. Since this, I have heard it reported of the Hottentots living a good way up in the country, that they are not afraid of the leaft ill effects enfuing from fwallowing the poifon of ferpents, even in an undiluted ftate: but on the contrary, look upon it as a medicine, and a pre-fervative againft the dangerous confequences enfuing from the bite of thefe animals. How the uncultivated Hottentots lhould arrive to the knowledge, that the poifon of ferpents may be fwallowed without danger, it is not eafy to conjecf ure, at leaft not with a fufficient degree of probability ; but it appears to me moft likely, that the Europeans and Afktics were firft apprized of this fad, by fuch as had in vain attempted to, take away their own or others lives by means of the poifon of ferpents *; So that I had ftill reafon to fear, that the Hottentots would not be able to keep themfelves from this delicious liquor, though they knew that there was a venomous animal preferved in it. I had long before this experienced fomething of the kind at Bott-rivier* where a Have had intoxicated himfelf by drinking fome fpirits out of a little veffel in which I kept a toad and the * Noxia ferpentum eft admifio fanguine peftis ; Morfu virus habent, & fatum dente mirantur : , Pocula tnorte carent. LuCAN. l. IX. v. 614—616- So long ago at leaft, as the times in which this poet wrote, has it been obferved, that the poifon of ferpents has no efFe£r., except it be mixed with the blood; and indeed, the Pfylli are irrefragable proofs, that this property of ferpents has been known in Africa from time immemorial. They fucked the poifon out of the wounds of perfons bitten by thefe animals, and handled and carelled them, as the modern Egyptians do at this prefent time, without being hurt by them in the leaft: ......Superincumbens pallentia vulnera lambit, Ore venena trahens. Ibid. 933. Vol. I. A a foetus t77\; t'cetus of a hv/irix. Neither could I preferve my brandy Auguit. - A * T \^r^j from the depredations of my troublefome visitors, till having put feveral animals into it, and thefe being ihaken to pieces by the jolting of the waggon, the moft inebriating vapours of the brandy, by the afriftance of the fun mining upon them, were changed into effluvia that were highly difguft-ing, in confequence of the animal particles they contained. Our patience feemed deflined to be tried ftill farther, in the beginning of our journey, by feveral trifling misfortunes ; I was obliged to ffay here two days to feek every where, though in vain, after one of the beft cattle in my team. It was a bull, though in Africa thefe are very feldom broke in for drawing burdens. It is true they are very hardy, and not fo apt to be feared by wild beafts,, but then they are likewife more unruly. Notwithstanding this, they had fold me two oxen fo reftive, that my Hottentots,, any more than myfelf, could not take them out or put them into the waggon without the greateft fear and caution. They wrere all too old and lean for a journey of the extent of that which we had undertaken, and every one of them had fome peculiar fault belides: in fine, I had got the refufe of the peafant's worft oxen. Befides, I was fo far cheated in the bull, that having excited the jealoufy of fome other bulls, he was butted out of the field by them; and as he had been hunted away over a river, was fuppofed .to have taken his flight home; fo that we could not help fufpect-ing, that the farmer had this in view when he fold him to me. So liable are we to think ill of thofe who have already deceived us. As I had no opportunity of purchasing a tolerable beaft in the room of that which I had loft, I was obliged to drive from this place with qnly eight oxen; a circumftance that fell heavy heavy enough upon them; befides this, the odd one ran loofe by the fide of the others, and gave us a great deal of trouble. tJyU On the 30th we arrived at Tiger-hock, where we put up. This is a farm which government holds in its own hands. On account of its great diftance from the Cape, no advantage can accrue to the company from the vending of corn; but their moft confiderable income is timber, which is fetched from a wood on the other lide of rivier Zonder-end, where the company keeps a party of wood-cutters, which is under the inflection of a corporal, who is at the fame time bailiff of this farm, and has better pay than any corporal in the garrifon. He is likewife to superintend the grafs-land and dairy for the advantage of government, and to give an account of the profits. The river Zonder-end was now fwelled up to its banks, and difficult to pafs, for which reafon I omitted paying a viiit to the wood that lies here; chiefly as the proper time for felling the trees was not yet come, and as I had befides refolved upon going to much larger forefts, viz. Groot Faders Bojch, and Houtniquas. On the banks of the river a craal* or community of Hottentots, to the amount of about thirty perfons, is faid to refide, together with their herds. The christians, in fact, would, it is fuppofed, have elbowed thefe likewife out of this situation, had not government found an intereft in permitting them to be near its territories here. The men belonging to this craal, for instance, were at this time ordered to the Cape with feveral of the company's waggons; for which fervice, however, they received payment: fo that I could not hope to have any of them for my own ufe. A Hottentot or two worked at the A *i 2 farm, » *775- farm, and their yearly wages, befides their victuals and tobacco, were faid to conhit of a ewe or two with lamb, or a heifer with calf, or elfe the value of them in money. They are accuftomed, however, chiefly to take cattle for their wages; but when they have got a little before-hand in the world, they go to houfe-keeping, and are too much at their eafe to undertake any kind of fervice whatfoever. This, perhaps, is the belt opportunity 1 can take to give a fomewhat more accurate defcription of this race of men; namely, the original inhabitants of the fouthernmoft part of Africa, who are known by the name of Hottentots, With regard to their perfons, they are as tall as moft Europeans; and as for their being in general more ilender, this proceeds from their being more ftinted and curtailed in their food, and likewife from their not ufing themfelves to hard labour. But that they have fmall hands and feet compared with the other parts of their bodies, has been remarked by no one before, and may, perhaps, be looked upon as a chara&eriftic mark of this nation. The root of the nofe is moftly very low, by which means the diftance of the eyes from each other is greater than in Europeans. In like manner, the tip of the nofe is pretty flat. The iris is fcarcely ever of a light colour, but has generally a dark brown cart, fometimes approaching to black. Their fkin is of a yellowifh brown hue, which fome-thing refembles that of an European who has the jaundice in a high degree ; at the fame time, however, this colour is not in the leaft obfervable in the whites of the eyes. One does not find fuch thick Hps among the Hottentots as among their neighbours the Negroes, the 7 Caffres, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. Cqffres, and the Mozambiques. In fine, their mouths are l77Sj of a middling fize, and almolt always furnilhed with a fet \^r**j of the fineft teeth that can be feen ; and taken together with the reft of their features, as well as their ihape, carriage, and every motion; in fhort, their tout enfemble indicates health and delight, or at leaft an air of fans foucL This carelefs mien, however, difcovers marks at the fame time both of alacrity and refolution; qualities which the Hottentots, in fact, can fhow upon occafion. The head would appear to be covered with a black, though not very clofe, frizzled kind of wool, if the natural harlhnefs of it did not ftiow, that it was hair, if poflible, more woolly than that of the negroes. If in other refpeets there lhould, by great chance, be obferved any traces of a beard, or of hair in any other parts of the body, fuch as are feen on the Europeans, they are, however, very trifling, and generally of the fame kind as that on the head. Notwithftanding the refpect I bear to the more delicate part of my readers, the notoriety of the fact prevents me from pafling over in this place thofe parts of the body, which our more fcrupulous, but lefs natural manners forbid me to defcribe any other ways than by the means of circumlocution, Latin terms, or other uncouth, and to moft readers, unintelligible denominations and expedients. But thofe who affect this kind of referve muft pardon me, if I cannot wrap up matters with the nicety their modefty requires; as my duty obliges me to fhow how much the world has been milled, and the Hottentot nation been mifre-prefented ; inafmuch as the Hottentot women have been defcribed, and believed to be, in refpect to their fcxual parts, monfters by nature; and that the men were made fuch by a bar- '775- a barbarous cuftom. It .has been thought, for ex- Auguft. ° ample, that thefe latter were, at the age of ten years, by a kind of caftration, deprived of one of thofe organs, which nature gives to every male, as being abfolutely ne-ceftary for the propagation of his fpecies; and that the former, or the women, have before their privy parts a natural veil or covering, a circumftance unheard of in the females of any other part of the globe. Deferring to a farther opportunity the arguments which are deducible from the abfurdity of the thing itfelf, and the little dependence to be had on the teftimony of the relater, I lhall only in this place prefent the reader with what I am in a condition to relate with abfolute certainty, being the refult of the enquiries, which out of a due regard to truth, and in refpect to the importance of the fubject, I thought myfelf obliged to make. The men are at prefent by no means monorchides, though, perhaps, the time has been when they were fo; fome other time, however, I fhall make a ftricter enquiry into the matter, and thus give my readers an opportunity of judging for themfelves. The women have no parts uncommon to the reft of their fex; but the clitoris and nympha* particularly of thofe who are paft their youth, are in general pretty much elongated ; a peculiarity which undoubtedly has got footing in this nation, in confequence of the relaxation neceffarily produced by the method they have of befmearing their bodies, their flothfulnefs, and the warmth of the climate. In order to finifh the picture I have here given of the Hottentots, the next thing I have to defcribe is their drefs, and and method of painting themfelves. This latter (if paint- ^775-ing it may be called) confifts in befmearing their bodies all ^ over moft copioufly with fat, in which there is mixed up a little foot. This is never wiped off; on the contrary, I never faw them ufe any thing to clean their fkins, excepting that when, in greafing the wheels of their waggons, their hands were befmeared with tar and pitch, they ufed to get it off very eafdy with cow-dung, at the fame time rubbing their arms into the bargain up to the fhoulders with this cofmetic : fo that as the duft and other filth, together with their footy ointment and the fweat of their bodies, muft neceffarily, notwithftanding it is continually wearing off, in fome meafure adhere to the fkin, it contributes not a little to conceal the natural hue of the latter, and at the fame time to change it from a bright umber-brown to a brownifh-yellow colour obfcured with filth and naftinefs. What has enabled me to determine the natural complexion of the Hottentots to be of an umber-yellow colour, was merely the fcrupulous nicety of fome few farmers wives, who made one or two of their Hottentot girls fcower their fkins, that they might not be too filthy to look after their children, or to do any other bufinefe that required cleanlinefs. It is alferted by many of the colonifts, that by this fcowering and wafhing the Hottentots looks are not at all improved. They feem to think, that their natural yellow-brown hue was to the full as difagreeable as that which is produced by their befmearing themfelves; and that a befmeared Hottentot looks lefs naked, as it were, and more complete* a171'{{ complete, than one in his natural ftate ; and that the fkin LxvnJ of a Hottentot ungreafed feems to exhibit fome defect in drefs, like ihoes that want blacking, &x. Whether this fancy is molt founded in cuftom or in the nature of things, I fhall leave to others to determine. Befides the pleafure the Hottentots enjoy in befmearing their bodies from head to foot, they likewife perfume them with a powder of herbs, with which they powder both their heads and bodies, rubbing it in all over them when they befmear themfelves. The odour of it is at the fame time rank and aromatic (narcotico feu papaveri-no fpirans) and feems to come neareft to that of the poppy mixed with fpices. The plants ufed for this purpofe are various fpecies of the diofma, called by the Hottentots bucku, and confidered by them as poffeffmg great virtues in curing diforders. Some of thefe fpecies are very common round about the Cape; but one particular fort, which I am told grows about Goud's-rivier* is faid to be fo valuable, that no more than a thimble full of it is given in exchange for a lamb. The Hottentots, with their fkins dreffed up with greafe and foot, and £z^#-powder, are by this means in a great meafure defended from the influence of the air, and may in a manner reckon themfelves full dreffed. In other reflects, both men and women are wont to appear quite undreffed; indeed, I may fay naked, except a trifling covering, with which they always conceal certain parts of their bodies. With the men this covering confifts of a bag or flap made of fkin, hanging quite open, the hollow part of which GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 185 whicli feems defigned to receive that which with us mo- ws< 0 Auguft. defty requires to be concealed; but as this piece of fur- v^vs; niture is only faffened by a fmall part of its upper end to a narrow belt (See Plate VII. fig. 6.) in other refpect s hanging quite loofe, it is but a very imperfect concealment ; and when the wearer is walking or otherwife in motion, it is none at all. They call this purfe by the Dutch name of jackall* the name of an animal of the fox kind common in that country, as it is almoft always prepared of the fkin of this creature, with the hairy fide turned outwards. As another covering, which decency requires of the men, wre ought perhaps to confider the two leather ftraps, which generally hang from the bottom of the chine of the back down upon the thighs; each of them being of the form of an ifofceles triangle, with their points or upper ends faftened on the belt juft mentioned, and with their bafes, at fartheft three fingers broad, hanging carelefsly down. Thefe ftraps have very little drefiing bellowed upon them, fo that they make fomewhat of a rattling as the Hottentot runs along; and probably by fanning him, ferve to produce an agreeable coolnefs. The only and real intention, however, of this part of their drefs, is fiiid to be to clofe a certain orifice when they fit down. They are at that time, in like manner, brought forwards, each on its particular fide, fo as to cover and clofe over the little flap above defcribed; for, faid they to me, thefe parts "lhould by no means be uncovered when one fits, efpecially at meals. Nevertheless, I obferved them fometimes neglect this decent cuftom. Vol. I. Bb Among Among the Hottentots, as well as in all probability among the reft of mankind difperfed over the whole globe, we muft acknowledge the fair fex to be the moft modeft; for the females of this nation, cover themfelves much more fcrupulouily than the men. They feldom content themfelves with one covering, but almoft always have two, and very often three. Thefe are made of a prepared and well-gfeafed fkin, and are faftened about their bodies with a thong, almoft like the aprons of our ladies. The outermost is always the largest, measuring from about fix inches to a foot over. This is likewife generally the finest and moft ihowy, and frequently adorned with glafs beads strung in different figures, in a manner that fhows, even among the unpolifhed Hottentots, the superior talents and tafte of the fair fex relative to drefs and ornament, as well as their powers of invention and difpofition to fet off their perfons to the beft advantage. The outermost apron, which is chiefly intended for fhow and parade, reaches about half way down the thighs. The . middle one is about a third, or one half lefs, and is faid by them to be neceffary by way of referve, and as an additional entrenchment of modesty, wheat their gala-garment is laid afide. The third, or innermost, which is fcarcely larger than one's hand, is faid to be* ufeful at certain periods, which are much lefs troublefome to the fair fex here than in Europe. All thefe aprons, however, even to that which is decorated with beads, are not lefs befmeared and grcafy than their bodies. So that it was probably fome of thefe aprons, particularly the innermost, which milled the reverend jefuit Tackard, Tackard, who, on his return to Europe, firft propa- ^ttstj gated thofe ftories concerning the natural veils or ex-crefcences of the Hottentot women. Thefe females, moreover, are careful, as a matter of decency, to pull their aprons tight about them, fo as to reach under their feat when they fit down. In other refpecls, the garment worn by the Hottentots for covering their bodies is a flieep-fkin, with the woolly fide turned inwards; this pellifte, or a cloak made of fome fmaller fur, is tied forwards over the breaft. When the weather is not cold, they let it hang loofe over their fhoulders in a carelcfs manner, when it reaches down to the calves of the legs, leaving the lower part of the breaft, ftomach, and fore part of the legs and thighs bare; but in rainy and cold weather they wrap it round them; fo that the fore part of the body likewife, is in fome mea-fure covered with it as far as below the knees. As one fheep-fkin alone is not fufficient for this purpofe, there is a piece fewed on at the top on each fide, (or to fpeak more properly) faftened on with a thong, finew or catgut. In warmer weather they wear this cloak fometimes with the hairy fide outwards, but in that cafe they oftener take it off entirely and carry it on their arms. In general, the Hottentots do not burden themfelves with a great many changes of thefe cloaks or krqffes> (as they call them in broken Dutch) but are content with one, which ferves them at the fame time for clothing and bedding; and in this they lie on the bare ground, drawing themfelves up in a heap fo clofe, efpecially when the wea- Bb 2 ther 1775- ther is cold, that this krofs (as they call it) or karofs, is £rysj quite fufficient to cover them. The cloak, or karofs, which is ufed by the women for the fame purpofe, does not differ from thofe ufed by the men in any other refpect, than that the women have a long peak on their karqffes* which they turn up, forming with it a hood or little pouch, with the hairy fide inwards. In this they carry their little children, to which their mothers breafts are now and then thrown over the fhoulders, a practice that likewife prevails with fome other nations. The men in general wear no peculiar covering on their heads. I fcarce remember to have feen above two, that had a cap made of a greafed fkin, the fur of which had been taken off in the yjreparation. Thofe who live neareft to the colonifts, fancy the European hats, wearing them flouched all round, or elfe with one fide turned up. The women in like manner frequently go bare-headed. When they cover their heads, it is with a cap in the form of a fhort truncated cone. It is made without any fcam, of the fegment of fome animal's ftomach, and is as black as foot mixed up with fat can make it. Thefe are frequently fo prepared, as to look as if they were fhaggy, and others again like velvet, and upon the whole make a tolerably handfbme appearance. (See Plate IX.) Over this cap they fometimes wear another ornament, confifting of an oval wreath, or, if the reader pleafes, a crown made of a buffaloe's hide, with the brown hair outwards. (See Plate VII. fig. 5.) This is about the breadth of CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 189 of four fingers in height, and furrounds the head fo as to /77S; _ Augufh go a little way down upon the forehead, and the fame \^y^j depth into the neck l>ehind, without covering the upper part of the cap above defcribed. Both edges of this wreath, as well the lower one on which it refts, as the upper one, are always fmooth and even, and each of them fet with a row of fmall lliells, of the cyprea kind, to the number of more than thirty, in a manner, that being placed quite clofe to each other, their beautiful white enamel, together with their mouths, is turned outwards. Between thefe two rows of fhells run one or two more in a parallel line,, or elfe are waved or indented in various taftes. It may eafily be imagined, what a pretty effect thefe lliells have, flicking out of the brown fur of the buffaloe's fkin, and at the fame time, with what additional charms a greafy Hottentot dame appears in a cap and wreath to the full as greafy as herfelf. The ears of the Hottentots are never adorned with any pendant or other ornament hanging from them, any more than the nofe, as they both are among other ravages; this, latter, however, is fometimes by way of greater ftate, marked with a brack {freak of foot, or, more rarely indeed, with a large fpot of red-lead ; of which latter, on high days and holidays, they likewife put a little on their cheeks. The necks of the men are bare, but thofe of the women are decorated with what is, in their opinion, a great ornament. It confifts of a thong of undrelfed leather, upon which are ftrung eight or ten lliells. Thefe, which are about the ftze of beans, have a white ground, with large black fpots of different lizes; but as they are always made, ufe *77*i ufe of in a burnifhed ftate, I cannot fay with any degree Augult. j jo v^^rsj of certainty, whether they are of that fort which is received in the Syjlem of Nature under the denomination of nerita afbicilla, or cxuvz'a. Appearing collectively in the form of a necklace, they certainly adorn the greafy part they are hung upon, though perhaps not in proportion to the price at which they arc obtained ; for thefe lliells are commonly fold for not lefs than a fheep a piece, as it is faid they are to be had no where elfe than on the moft diftant coaft of Caffria. (See Plate VII. fig. 2.) The lower part of the body is the principal place on which both fexes, by more fhowy ornaments, feemingly wifli to fix each others attention. For though they very much fancy, and confequently purchafe the glafs beads of Europe, efpecially the blue and white ones of the lize of a pea, yet the women rarely, and the men never, wear them about their neck; though both fexes tie one or more rows of thefe beads round their middle, next the girdle to which the coverings or aprons above-mentioned are fattened. To conclude, another ornament in ufe with both fexes, is rings on their arms and legs. Moft of thefe rings are made of thick leather ftraps, generally cut in a circular fhape, which by being beat and held over the fire, are rendered tough enough to retain the curvature that is given them. It is thefe rings that have given rife to the almoft univerfally received notion, that the Hottentots wrap guts about their legs, in order to eat them occasionally. The men wear from one to five or fix of thefe rings on their arms, juft above the wrift, but feldom any on their legs. 8 The The matrons of a higher rank frequently have a conlider- >775* 0 Augult. able number of them both on their arms and legs, efpe- -ynJ the knee joint of the hind leg of fome animal. Now in order to make this piece of fkin or leather rife up to the height of an inch on both fides of the foot, and clofe it in neatly, it is pierced with holes at fmall distances all round the edge, as far as the hind quarters, and through thefe holes is paffed a thong, by which the rim is drawn up into gathers; farther, in order to make strong hind-quarters, the back part of the piece of leather is doubled inwards, and then raifed up and preffed along the heel. The ends of the thong, or gathering-firing, are then threaded on both fides through the upper edge of the hind-quarters to the height of about two inches ; they are then carried forwards, in order to be drawn through two of the above-mentioned holes on the infide of each rim. They are then tied over the inflep, or, if it be thought neceffary to tie the flioe flill fafler, they are carried croffways over the inflep, and fo downwards under the thong, which comes out from the hind-quarters, then upwards again over the ankle, and even round the leg itfelf, if the wearer chufes. Shoes of this kind are certainly not without their advantages. They fit as neat upon the foot as a flocking, and at the fame time preferve their form. They are eafily kept foft and pliable, by conflantly wearing them. Should they at any time grow rather hard above the edge, this is eafily remedied by beating them and greafing them a little. They are extremely light and cool, by reafon that they do not cover fo much of the foot as a common flioe does. They wear very well, as they are without any feam, and Vo l. I. C c the io4 A VOYAGE to t h £ „1775A the folcs, or rather bottoms of the fhoes, are both toueh and ^n*J yielding. As fhoes of the common tanned leather are burnt up, as it were, and are apt to flip and flide about in the fcorching African f ands, and at the fame time are eafily torn in a ftony and rocky foil, thefe field fhoes, as they are called, made of almoft raw leather, are much more durable. Thefe may be likewife had at a much inferior price, as the leather ufed in the making of them is almoft entirely un-dreffed ; and a man can make himfelf a pair of them in the fpace of an hour or two. Some advantage, efpecially with regard to ceconomy, would, in my opinion, accrue, if the ufe of thefe fhoes was, in fome meafure, introduced amongft us, particularly in fummer time. To failors they would fecm, as being very light, to be particularly ufeful. i have brought home.with me a pair of them, that I wore in my expedition into the country, that they may ferve for a model, in cafe any body lhould be inclined to have a pair made by way of making a trial of them. Whatever is ufeful, whether it come from Paris or the country of the Hottentots* alike deferves our attention and imitation. The Hottentots who live in thefe parts, or within the boundaries of the Dutch colonies, feldom make ufe of any weapons. Here and there, indeed, a man will furnifh himfelf with a javelin, by way of defence againft the wolves : this is called a hajjagai, and is delineated in Plate VIII. fig. i and 2, and will be defcribed farther on, when we come to fpeak of the more diftant nations of the Hottentots, Their habitations are as fimple as their drefs, and equally adapted to the wandering paftoral life they lead in thofe parts. In fad, they fcarcely merit any other name than i that that of huts ; though, perhaps, as fpacious and eligible as -gwk the tents and dwelling-places of the patriarchs, at lead they ^v^> are fufficient for the Hottentot's wants and defires; who may therefore be confidered as a happy man, in being able in this point likewife fo eafily to fatisfy them. The great fimplicity of them is, perhaps, the reafon, why in a Hottentot's craal, or village, the huts are all built exactly alike; and that one meets there with a fpecies of architecture, that does not a little contribute to keep envy from infinu-ating itfelf under their roofs. The equality of fortune and happinefs in fome meafure enjoyed by thefe people, cannot but have a lingular effect in preventing their breafts from being diffcurbed by this baneful paffion. Every hut is difpofed in the following manner. Some of them are of a circular, and others of an oblong fhape, refembling a round bee-hive or a vault. The ground-plot is from eighteen to twenty-four feet in diameter. The higheft of them are fo low, that even in the center of the arch, it is fcarcely ever poflible for a middle-fized man to ftand upright. But neither the lownefs thereof, nor that of the door, which is but juft three feet high, can perhaps be confidered as any inconvenience to a Hottentot, who finds no difficulty in Hooping and crawling on all fours, and who is at any time more inclined to lie down than ftand. The fire-place is in the middle of each hut, by which means the walls are not fo much expofed to danger from fire. From this fituation of their fire-place, the Hottentots like-wife have this additional advantage, that when they fit C c 2 or au 7uiu or ue m a cnx^e roun{*trie fire» tne whole company equally l>tvv enjoys the benefit of its warmth. The door, low as it is, is the only place that lets in the day-light; and at the fame time, the only outlet that is left for the fmoke. The Hottentot, inured to it from his infancy, fees it hover round him, without feeling the leaft inconvenience arifing from it to his eyes; while lying at the bottom of his hut in the midft of the cloud rolled up like a hedgehog, and wrapped up mug in his fheep-fkin, he is now and then obliged to peep out from beneath ft in order to ftir the fire, or perhaps light his pipe, or elfe fometimes to turn the fteak he is broiling over the coals. The materials for thefe huts are by no means difficult to be procured; and the manner of putting them together being both neat and inartificial, merits commendation in a Hottentot, and is very fuitable to his character The frame of this arched roof, as I have defcribed it above, is compofed of flender rods or fprays of trees. Thefe rods, being previoufly bent into a proper form, are laid, either whole or pieced, fome parallel with each other, others croffwife; they are then strengthened, by binding others 9 round them in a circular form with withies. Thefe withies, as well as the rods themfelves, are taken, as well as I can recollect, chiefly from the cliffortia conoides* which grows plentifully in this country near the rivers. Large mats are then placed very neatly over this lattice-work, fo as perfectly to cover the whole. The aperture which is left for the door is clofed, whenever there is occafion for it, with a fkin fitted to it, or a piece of matting. Thefe mats are made of a kind of cane or reed. Thefe reeds,, being being laid parallel to each other, are faftened together with *77$j fmews or catgut, or elfe fome kind of packthread, fuch lyvJ as they have had an opportunity of getting from the Europeans. They have it, therefore, in their power, to make their mats as long as they chufe, and at the fame time as broad as the length of the rufh will admit of, viz. from fix to ten feet. This fame kind of matting is now made ufe of likewife by the colonifts, next to the tilts of their waggons, by way of preventing the fail-cloth from being rubbed and worn by them, as well as of helping to keep out the rain. When a Hottentot has a mind to take his houfe down and remove his dwelling, he lays all his mats, fkins, and fprays on the backs of his cattle, which to a ftranger makes a monftrous, unwieldy, and, indeed, ridiculous appearance. The order or distribution of thefe huts in a craal or clan, is moft frequently in the form of a circle with the doors inwards ; by this means a kind of yard or court is formed, wdiere the cattle is kept on nights. The milk, as foon as taken from the cow, is put to other milk which is curdled, and is kept in a leather fack ; of this the hairy fide, being confidered as the cleanlier, is turned inwards: fo that the milk is never drank while it is fvveet. In certain northern districts, fuch as Roggeve/d, or Bokveld, where the land is, as it is called, carrow, or dry and parched, the Hottentots, as well as the colonifts, are fhepherds. There is another fpecies of Hottentots, who have got the name of bqftAes-men* from dwelling in woody or mountainous places. Thefe, particularly fuch as live round *775; round about Camdebo and Sneeberg* are fworn enemies to the paftoral life. Some of their maxims are, to live on hunting and plunder, and never to keep any animal alive for the fpace of one night. By this means they render themfelves odious to the reft of mankind, and are purfued and exterminated like the wild beafts, whofe manners they have affirmed. Others of them again are kept alive, and made flaves of. Their weapons are poifoned arrows, which, fliot out of a fmall bow, will fly to the diftance of two hundred paces; and will hit a mark with a tolerable degree of certainty, at the diftance of fifty, or even a hundred paces. From this diftance they can by Health, as it were, convey death to the game they hunt for food, as well as to their foes, and even to fo large and tremendous a beaft as the lion : this noble animal thus falling by a weapon which, rjerhaps, it defpifed, or even did not take notice of. The Hottentot, in the mean time, concealed and fafe in his ambufh, is abfolutely certain of the operation of his poifon, which he always culls of the moft virulent kind; and it is faid, he has only to wait a few minutes, in order to fee the wild beaft languifh and die. I mentioned that their bows were fmall; they are, in fact, hardly a yard long, being at the fame time fcarcely of the thicknefs of an inch in the middle, and very much pointed at both ends. What kind of wood they are made of I cannot fay, but it does not feem to be of a remarkably elaftic nature. The firings of the bows that I faw were made fome of them of finews, others of a kind of hemp, or the inner bark of fome vegetable, and moft of them are made in a very floven-ly manner; which fliows, that thefe archers depend more on on the poifon of their weapons, than on any exactnefs in '7>^ the formation of them, or any other perfection in them. V^-vvJ One of thefe bows is delineated in Plate VIII. fig. 3. Their arrows are a foot and a half long, and of the fame thicknefs, as they appear in the drawings in Plate VIII. fig. 6, 7. They are made of a reed one foot in length, which, at the bafe, or the end that receives the bow-firing, has a notch of a proper lize to fit it. Juft above this notch there is a joint in the reed, about which firings made of finews are wound, in order to strengthen iti The other end of the reed is armed with a highly polifhed bone, five or fix inches long. At the diftance of an inch or two from the tip of this bone, a piece of a quill is bound on very faft with finews, in the fame manner as may be feen in fig. 4 and 7. This is done, in order that the arrow fhall not be eafily drawn out of the flefh; and thus there may be fo much the longer time for the poifon, which is fpread on of a thick confiftence like-that of an extract, to be diffolved, and infect the wound. It is not common, * however, for an arrow to be headed in the manner above-mentioned, with a pointed bone only; this latter being ufually cut fquare at the top, and a thin triangular bit of iron fixed into it, as may be feen in Plate VIII. fig. 4. where the upper part of the arrow is re* prefented without any poifon on it; for with this the binding is covered and befmeared, the fame being afterwards rubbed down level and fmooth all. round the fhafr, that the arrow may pierce fo much the deeper into the flefh. As the bone before fpoken of has no cavity whatever, I do not profefs to know what animal it is taken from. 5- from. In the flate in which it is feen, as it makes part C/vsJ of the arrow, it is of a dark brown colour, full of fmall grooves and ribs, and does not appear ever to have been as white as ivory; though, for one of the arrows which I brought with me, it would feem as if ivory had been really made ufe of. Hence we may conclude, that on fuch arrows as are headed with iron, the bone is employed chiefly for giving this weapon a kind of weight and poife; and likewife, that thefe arrows cofl the Hottentots a great , deal of labour. Their quivers (vide Plate VIII. fig. 5.) are two feet long and four inches in diameter. If one may draw any con-clufion from thofe I have feen, and from two that I have brought home with me, they are made of a branch of a tree hollowed out; or, Hill more probably, of the bark of one thefe branches taken off whole and entire, the bottom and cover to which are compofed of leather. On the out fide it is bedaubed with an unctuous matter, that grows hard when dry. Both the quivers I brought with me, are lined about the aperture with a ferpent's fkin; and, as I was told, with the fkin of the yellow ferpent, which is confidered as the moft venomous of any in that country. Befides a dozen of arrows, every quiver contains a flender hone of fand-ftone for whetting the iron head, and a brufh for putting on the poifon, together with a few wooden flicks, differing in thicknefs, but all of the fame length with the arrows. For what ufe thefe are defigned, I am entirely ignorant. The poifon is taken from feveral different kinds of ferpents, the more venomous the better; whether their arrows are to be employed againft their foes, or or are only deiigned for fliooting game ; for, as I have obferved before, the Hottentots know very well, that taken \Jy%j internally it is quite harmlefs. The dwellings of thefe foes to a pafloral life are generally not more agreeable, than their maxims and manners. Like the wild bealts, bullies and clifts in rocks by turns ferve them inflead of houfes ; and fome of them are faid to be fo far worfe than beafts, that their foil has been found clofe by their habitations. A great many of them are entirely naked, but fuch as have been able to procure the fkin of any fort of animal, great or fmall, cover their bodies with it from the fhoulders downwards as far as it will reach, wearing it till it falls off their backs in rags. As ignorant of agriculture as apes and monkies, like them they are obliged to wander about over hills and dales after certain wild roots, berries, and plants (which they eat raw) in order to fuftain a life that this miferable food would foon extinguifh and deflroy, were they ufed to better fare. Their table, however, is fometimes compofed of feveral other diflies, among which may be reckoned the larvae of infects, or thofe kind of caterpillars from which butterflies are generated; and in like manner a fort of white ants, (the tcrmes) grafhoppers, fnakes, and fome forts of fpiders. With all thefe changes of diet, the Bq/bies-man is nevertheless frequently in want, and famiflied to fuch a degree, as to wafte almoft to a fhadow. It was with no fmall aftoniflimcnt, that I for the firft time faw in Lange Kloof a lad belonging to this race of men, with his face, arms, legs and body lb monftroufly fmall and withered, that I could not have been induced to fuppofe but that he had Vol. I. D d been '775- been brought to that ftate by the fever that was epidemic Auguft. ° r . r v^ro in thofe parts, had I not feen him at the fame time run like a lapwing. It required but a few weeks to bring one of thefe ftarvelings to a thriving Hate, and even to make him fat; their ftomachs being ffrong enough to digeft the great quantity of food with which they are crammed, as they may rather be faid to bolt than eat; it fometimes happens, indeed, that they cannot long retain what they have taken in; but this circumftance, it is faid, does not hinder them from beginning again upon a new fcore. The capture of Haves from among this race of men is by no means difficult, and is effected in the following manner. Several farmers, that are in want of fervants, join together, and take a journey to that part of the country where the Bqflnes-men live. They themfelves, as well as their Lego-Hottentots* or elfe fuch Bofhies-men as have been caught fome time before, and have been trained up to fidelity in their fervice, endeavour to fpy out where the wild Bofhies-men have their haunts. This is beft difcovered by the fmoke of their fires. They are found in focieties from ten to fifty and a hundred, reckoning great and fmall together. Notwithstanding this, the farmers will venture on a dark night to fet upon them with fix or eight people, which they contrive to do, by previoufly ftationing themfelves at fome diftance round about the craaL They then give the alarm by firing a gun or two. By this means there is fuch a confternation fpread over the whole body of thefe lavages, that it is only the moft bold and intelligent among them, that have the courage to break through the circle and fteal off. Thefe the captors are glad glad enough to get rid of at fo eafy a rate, being better JJ.Vj\ pleafed with thofe that are If upid, timorous, and ftruck with amazement, and who confequently allow themfelves to be taken and carried into bondage. They are, however, at firft, treated by gentle methods; that is, the victors intermix the faireft promifes with their threats, and endeavour, if poflible, to fhoot fome of the larger kinds of game for their prifoners, fuch as buffaloes, fea-cows, and the like. Such agreeable baits, together with a little tobacco, foon induce them, continually cockered and feafted as they are, to go writh a tolerable degree of chearfulnefs to the colo-nift's place of abode. There this luxurious junketting upon meat and fat is exchanged for more moderate portions, confifting for the moft part of butter-milk, frumenty, and hafty-pudding. This diet, neverthelefs, makes the Bojljies-rnan* as I faid before, fat in a few weeks. However, he foon finds his good living embittered by the maundering and grumbling of his mafter and miftrefs. The words fguzeri and fgaunatji, which, perhaps, are beft tranflated by thofe of young forcerer and imp, are expreffions which . he muft frequently put up with, and fometimes a few curfes and blows into the bargain; and this for neglect:, remiffnefs or idlenefs: which laft failure, if it cannot be faid to be born with him, is however in a manner naturalised in him. So that, both by nature and cuftom, de-tciting all manner of labour, and now, from his greater corpulency, becoming ftill more flothful, and having befides been ufed to a wandering life, fubject to no control, he moft fenfibly feels the want of his liberty. No wonder then, that he generally endeavours to regain it by making D d a his >77Sv his efcape : but what is really a fubject for wonder is, that, vJlvO when one of thefe poor devils runs away from his fervice, or more properly bondage, he never takes with him any thing that does not belong to him. This is an inftance of moderation in the favages towards their tyrants, which is univerfally attested, and at the fame time praifed and admired by the colonifts themfelves; which, however, I cannot eafily reconcile with what I have learned of the human heart. Is it in confequence of their fearing to meet with harder ufage in cafe they lhould be retaken ? Thus far, however, is certain, that none of this fpecies of Hottentots are much given to violence or revenge. Free from many wants and deflres, that torment the reft of mankind, they are little, if at all, addicted to thieving, if we except brandy, victuals, and tobacco. It is not improbable likewife, that the advantages accruing from a theft may be overlooked by them, when their thoughts are taken up with regaining their liberty, the greateft of all treasures. It is neceffary to obferve here, that fome of the Hottentots or B.of!dies-men* who are thus forced into the fervice of the colonifts, live in fmall focicties peaceably and quietly, in defert tracts, where the colonifts cannot eafily come at them, and are fometimes in the poffeflion of a few cows. Thefe people probably originate from Bofhies-men who have run away from the colonifts fervice. I muft confcfs, that the Hottentots, who are in fome hufbandmen's fervice, are treated in the gentleft manner, and, perhaps,, even without ever having a harfh word given them, live very well with regard to provisions, are well clad relatively to their condition in life, and are very comfortably fortably lodged, in companion of what others are, in their own ftraw cottages. The chief of their bufinefs, perhaps, OvJ confifts in tending a herd of cattle or flock of fheep during the heat of the day, when they have an opportunity of getting into a gentle ftate of intoxication by fmoking tobacco ; a ftate which excites in them fenfations of as agreeable a nature, as the frenzy produced by fpirituous liquors and opium feems to afford to many others, wrho are never at eafe but when they can procure themfelves this delicious pleafure. And yet, though they may thus agreeably pafs awray the otherwife tedious hours of their lives in fmoking and fleep, they neverthelefs generally run away. The colonifts wonder at this, as a procedure entirely devoid of reafon; without perceiving that in fo doing, they fuppofe the Hottentots not endued with a defire, which has its immediate foundation in nature, and which is common to the human race, and even to moft brute animals, viz. an earneft longing after their birth-place, and families, and efpecially after their liberty. The Have bufinefs, that violent outrage to the natural rights of mankind, always in itfelf a crime, and which leads to all manner of mifdemeanours and wickednefs, is ex-ercifed by the colonifts with a cruelty towards the nation of Bofhies-men* which merits the abhorrence of every one; though I have been told, that they pique themfelves upon it: and not only is the capture of the Hottentots confidered by them merely as a party of pleafure, but in cold blood they deftroy the bands which nature has knit between hufbands and their wives and children. Not content, for inftance, with having torn an .unhappy woman from the embraces of her '775- her hufband's, her only protection and comfort, they endea-* ^✓vnJ vour all they can, and that chiefly at night, to deprive her likewife of her infants; for it has been obferved, that the mothers can feldom perfuade themfelves to flee from their tender offspring. The amiable tendernefs of the mother, which, perhaps, glows with a more lively flame in the breaft of this poor heathen, than in thofe of her Chriftian tyrants, is the very circumftance laid hold on by their perfecutors, in order to rivet the chains of this wretched female fo much the fafter. There are fome mothers, however, that fet themfelves free, when they have loft all hopes of faving their children. After having made their efcape, they fometimes keep fecretly about the neighbourhood, in hopes of finding fome oppor- , tunity of recovering their infants again: for oh ! what grief to a mother, bred and born to tafte the fweets of liberty, and now lately oppreffed by the heavy chains of bondage, to reflect, that her offspring's life is only pre-ferved, in order that it may be rendered miferable by an intolerable flavery. But, unhappy mothers! whilft involved in thefe painful reflections, they wander up and clown, lefs in fear of the wild beafts than of the colonifts, they, perhaps, in the end, fall a prey to fome of thefe fierce animals, or not unfrequently perifh with hunger : for as foon as they have eloped, men are fet to lie in ambufh for them at fuch places by the rivers fides, as it is fuppofed they muft take in their way, and by this means they are often retaken. And, though they lhould reach their own homes in fafety, they may even then very poflibly happen to be whipped up by fome peafant and carried into flavery. 3 With- Without doubt, the Bofhies-men have been a long while 177s* m a lavage state, and many of them are now brought w^vnJ into a ftill more miferable situation, since the Chrif-tians have invaded their country, and purfue them with chains and fetters into their deferts. In fo favage a ftate, they probably neither have, nor ever had, many manners or cuftoms different from thofe few I have already mentioned, or may defcribe in the courfe of this work. * With refpect to religion and language, the Bojljies-men agree in a great measure with the more civilized part of their nation, or the Hottentots properly fo called. Thefe are not fenfible of the existence of any being, who is the origin and ruler of all things ; for, on being questioned, they fay they know nothing of the matter. Some Hottentots, who fpoke the Dutch language readily, and with whom, both in company and feparately, I con* verfed on this fubject, always anfwered me to this effect; We are poor Jiupid creatures* and have never heard, neither are we able to under/land, any thing of the matter. And, in fact, they foon let me perceive, that they are weary with puzzling their brains with topics of this kind. Several Dutch families, that had fpoken the Hottentot language from their infancy, as well as their own, have given me to understand, that they had found the fame degree of ignorance in the Bofhies-men; yet that, as both Boihies-men and Hottentots have the firmest belief in the powers of magic, they feem confequently by this to acknowledge fome evil being of great might and power : but that they by no means on this account worfhip him, or indeed any other, although they feem to attribute to him all the evil that; A VOYAGE to t h £ A^u'ii that happens; among which they reckon, without excep-\~^rsJ tion, all rain, cold and thunder. Many of the colonifts have likewife affined me, that their Bojlries-men of either fex, ufed in ftormy weather to abufe the thunder with, the words, fguzeri and fgaanazi* and other reproachful ex-prefFions; and at the fame time, in a furious manner, with their fhoes or any thing elfe that was at hand, threaten and bid defiance to the flalhes of lightning and peals of thunder that flafhed and rolled over their heads. It would be in vain to try to make them fenfible, that the vegetable creation, whence they, as well as the brute animals, were nourifhed, would without rain wither and be entirely dried up : even the Hottentot I afterwards took into my fervice at Zwellendam, perfifted, in fpite of all my objections, obftinately in the opinion, that notwithstanding this confideration, rain was always an evil, and that it would be a happy circumftance were it never to rain. A maxim of this kind from a race of men, in other reflects really endued with fome degree of fenfe, and frequently with no fmall fhare of penetration and cunning, ought, me-thinks, to be confidered as an indelible religious or fuper-ftitious notion entertained by them from their infancy, rather than as an idea taken up on due deliberation and confe-quent conviction. At the fame time, though they did not appear to be of a very chilly nature, they never fhewed the leaft figns of being difpleafed with the hotteft days of fummer. The more fimple of every race of Hottentots, or the common run of them, from which number very few de-ferve to be excepted, have fo firm a confidence in fuch cheats CAPE of GOOD HOP E. 209 cheats of either fex, as fet up for magicians and conjurers, 1775- 1 r , Augutl. that they even fometimes folicit thefe people to put a Hop \^ru to the thunder and rain. With a view of obtaining confideration, befides being well paid, thefe pretended wizards are ready to undertake every thing : but if, for instance, it mould happen to continue to thunder or rain longer than they expected, and confequently have promifed, they plead in their excufe, that another conjurer, who either has more fkill, or is better paid than themfelves, throws obstacles in their way by a kind of counter-magic. Many of thefe simple creatures believe, that almoft all diforders are brought on by means of magic, and are only to be cured by the fame means. The wizards, on their parts, are not backward in cherifhing this idea; but take care, notwithstanding, in fuch cafes to apply both external and internal remedies. Among the external may be reckoned, their fometimes ordering their patient to lay on his face, when they fet themfelves on his back, and pinch and cuff him about, and beat him all over, till at length they fliew him a bone, larger or fmallcr juft as it happens, which they affert had been conjured into him; but which they, by their great fkill and dexterity, have extracted, either from his nofe, ears, or fome other part of his body. It frequently happens, that the patient is relieved by an operation of this kind ; and if he is not, he undergoes feveral of them. And then if he dies, his friends only lament, that he was bewitched beyond the power of any one to aflift him. In all likelihood, the conjurer on thefe occafions, by a dexterous Height of hand, deceives both the credulous patient and thofe about him. A boor informed me, that when he was Vol. I. E e a child, \ *775^ a child, and among other play-things had the leg-bone of an ox, which he ufed as a cart, it appeared to him to his great aftonifhment, that it was fucked out of a fick per-fon's back by one of thefe wizards ; and, as far as he could truft to his memory, he recollected that the patient got quite well after this operation. A wizard that was taken by a party of Hottentots to a lion-hunt, in order to exercife his magic power upon the lion, was foon torn in pieces by the animal. Several boors took occafion from this incident to reproach the Hottentots with their credulous partiality towards thefe fellows; but they ftill perlifted in their fentiments, being rather inclined to think, that fome more powerful magician, a foe to the deceafed, had brought this misfortune upon him. So that a conjurer among thefe people lays the more fimple of them under a kind of contribution by his fuperior cunning, juft as ours do our country folk ; but, on the other hand, more frequently runs the rifque of being fufpecled of occalioning the mifchief that happens. A Caffre prince chanced in his old age to have fore eyes, and could get no cure for them. He therefore ordered all thofe that were ikilled in magic to be put to death, where-cver they were found; no doubt, on the fame principle as Herod did the children in Bethlehem, thinking that in the number he might happen to hit on the man who had bewitched him. This prince is faid to have been living but a few years ago; his name was Paloo, which by molt of the colonifts was converted into Pharaoh. Of the princes who reigned over the different nations of Caffres, while I was in Africa, the molt powerful was faid to be Amahote or Tamu s. CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 211 Tamus. A chief among the Hottentots, called Captain ma-Ruyter, of whom I mall have occafion to fpeak by and by, is alfo reported to have perfecuted and put to death fome forcerers, whom he fufpected of having brought a difeafe on him by witchcraft. Though the Hottentots are fo fuperftitious, yet they are not, as far as I know, in the leaft afraid of being in the dark. They feem, however, to have fome idea of fpirits, and a belief in a future ftate, as they accoft their friends as foon as they are dead with reproaches for leaving them fo foon; at the fame time, admonifhing them henceforth to demean themfelves properly; by which they mean, that their deceafed friends mould not come back again and haunt them, nor allow themfelves to be made ufe of by wizards, to bring any mifchief on thofe that furvive them. There is a genus of infects (the mantis,) called by the colonifts the Hottentofs god; but fo far are they from worshipping thefe infects, that they have more than once catched fome of them, and given them to me to flick needles through them, by way of preferving them, as i did with other infects. There is, however, a diminutive fpecies of this genus of infects, which fome think it would be a crime, as well as very dangerous, to do any harm to; but this we have no more reafon to look upon as a kind of religious worfhip, than we have to confider in the fame light, a certain fuperftitious notion prevalent among many of the more fimple people in our own country, who imagine, that three fins will be forgiven them, if they fet a cock-chafer on its feet that has happened to have fallen upon its back. E e 2 The 212 A VOYAGE to the ,77?- The moon, according to Kolbe, receives a kind of ado-j ration from the Hottentots. But the fact is, that they merely take the opportunity of her beams, and at the fame time of the coolnefs of the night, to amufe themfelves with dancing; and confequently, have no more thoughts of worfhipping her than the chriftian colonifts, who are feen at the fame time ftrolling in great numbers about the Itreets, and parading on the ftone fteps with which their houfes are ufually encircled. That the artful conjurers themfelves are moft of them without either fuperftition or religion of any kind, is highly probable. There are feemingiy here likewife many other free-thinkers, among whom I cannot help reckoning a Hottentot from Buffeljagts-rivier* whom I fome time after this period took into my fervice as my ox-leader. He informed me, that a wizard came to his craal feveral different evenings, and retting himfelf down in one of their huts, told them, by way of divination, that the wolf was doing them a great deal of mifchief in their fheep-folds (at the fame time mentioning the particulars,) and would do them ftill more, if they did not haften to the relief of their flocks. The people of the craal accordingly fallied forth, and found it was as the foothfayer had told them; in confequence of which, they conceived the higheft degree of refpect: for him, and rewarded him handfomely into the bargain. Some time after, however, they difcovered, that their lofs was not occafioned by the wolves, but by fome neighbouring Hottentots, whom they, not without reafon, fuppofed to have been in the plot with the foothfayer. What other general remarks 1 have to make on on the fubjecl: of the Hottentots and Bq/bies-men, I fhall ^775-defer at prefent, and return to the regular courfe of my ^vO journal. On the 30th of Auguft at Tiger-hoek, where I before obferved we were juft arrived, I was informed, that the doctrines of chriftianty had been formerly preached there to the Hottentots, and received by them with great avidity and zeal. It was ftill, as I was told, within the memory of feveral of the inhabitants, that one of the converts, an old female Hottentot, was living, and ufed to perform her devotions every morning on her bare knees, by the fide of a fpring fituated near this fpot. It was faid, fire had a German Bible, which ihe often read and treated with the greateft veneration; and that her behaviour throughout life was decent and quiet. My informers added, that the miflionary who had converted her, had been banifhed out of the country, for having illegally made himfelf a chief among the Hottentots in thefe parts, in order to enrich himfelf by their labour, and the prefents they made him of cattle. It was fuppofed, that he was fo far guilty of what was alledged againft him, inafmuch as it both was then and is now prohibited, under divers penalties, for any one to buy, or otherwife acquire the poflefhon of any cattle belonging to the Hottentots. That this mif-fionary's name was George Smid, and that he was a Moravian or Herrnbuter* I found on nay return home in the Budingifche Samlung einiger in die Kircben-Hi/Iorie, &c. (printed at Leipfic, 1742) wherein, art. 7. from page 78 to 126, there is fome account of this affair, under the title l?7S- title of yunp-ftes Dlarium des B ruder s Geor? Smid* zur probe Auguft. v ^v^sJ tffcr JVandels dkfes knechts des Herrn unicr den Hotteniotten This extract of the journal or letter above-mentioned, is carried from November 15th, 17395 to November 18th, 1740 ; and at that time dated from Serjeant-rivier* a fmall branch of the rivier Zander-end* or the river near which lived the converted Hottentot woman. In this letter we are informed, that the number of converts was thirty-two, and that the new christians did not unfrequently neglect; both their work and their hours of devotion in or-» der to amufe themfelves in a garden, which, in all probability was common. At page 683 of this collection, there is inferred another letter from this fame Smid, dated the 15th of May, 1742 ; from which we learn, that he had by baptism augmented the congregation with five more sifters in Christ; as like-wife, that he had lived there as miflionary five years, and intended to flay there four years longer: fo that there is no doubt, but that the Hottentots might be eafily converted to the christian faith: but it is much to be doubted, whether any body will ever trouble themfelves with the conversion of thefe plain honest people, unless it fhould appear to have more connexion than it feems to have at prefent with political advantages. Soon after we arrived at this farm, two Hottentot girls, from fourteen to feventeen years of age, made their appearance, well befmeared, and, in their fafhion, very fmart- '* The laft Diary of brother GeoRge Smid, being a teftimony of the carriage and conduct of this fervant of the Lord among the Hottentots, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. ly dreffed. Without any great degree of vanity we could plainly perceive, that the vifit was made on our account; out of gratitude, therefore, as well as from a natural regard for the fair fex, we addreffed thefe (I am in doubt whether to call them beautiful or frightful) young ladies with all the handfome fpeeches we thought would be molt acceptable in fuch circumltances. At their request we likewife prefented them with a fine piece of roll-tobacco, of which they cut off a little, filled their pipes with it, and fmoked in a very elegant ftyle. Our hoft took that opportunity to let us know, that we fliould pleafe them much better with a little brandy than with all our compliments ; wre therefore brought a couple of glaffes of it for each of them, and they ltuck pretty clofe to it, applying to it with great affiduity while they were fmoking their pipes. We likewife had the pleafure foon of feeing them grow a little lively, without venturing to drink a drop more, or allowing the leaft freedom. At length they took their leave of us in a very difcreet manner, and I was very much pleafed to fee fo much modefty and decency in girls belonging to fo uncivilized a nation. But when they got out of doors, thefe mad-caps had the bold-nefs to defy us to run after them and catch them. We foon gave over the chafe, but as often as we turned back they came after us, and defied us again. At length the cider of them while fire was running, not only fell down, but even feemed to wait for us in that pofition. So unexpected a circumftance gave us no fmall concern, as it made sis begin to fufpect the girl's virtue, till fhe dre\v a large knife, and threatened to plunge it into our hearts, if we dared ?*7S; dared to approach any nearer. As the difference of cir-^xy%j cumitances and opportumtes has a great influence on the nature of things, and particularly with refpect to the fair fex, i thought it would be proper in this place to relate the whole affair juft as it happened, without drawing any general conelufion from it. I am nevertheiefs convinced, that the Hottentots are more cold and moderate in their tlefires of a certain nature than many other nations; qualities which arc the natural confequence of the dull, inactive, and i had almoft faid, entirely liftlefs difpofition, which is the leading characteristic of their minds; qualities which likewife are neceffarily produced by the debilitating diet they ufe, and their extreme inactivity and ftoth; which carried to a certain point, increafe, but in extremes deaden and benumb both the phyfical and moral fenfa-tions. On the 31ft, we here met with a middle-aged man, a colonift, who offered to drive my waggon for fix rixdollars per month; but altered his mind as foon as we had told him, that he muft be content to undergo the fame inconveniencies and hazards as Mr. Immelman and I were, at all events, prepared to fubject ourfelves to. The next day, therefore, we took our leave of this place, as much to feek as when we firft arrived there. In our road we found a little Hottentofs craal, which, if I remember right, confifted of five huts, run up in the manner I have defcribed above; but covered with fuch miferable old mats, that the owners feemed to be much more afraid of the trouble, trifling as that would have been, of making new, .than of the inconveniencies attending the droppings of the 2 eaves CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 217 caves in wet weather. The inhabitants of this craal con- '775; Auguft, lift ed of about twenty people. They had run up a very V^vnJ wretched inciofure for their fliecp and cattle, which were then at grafs, and feemed to be very numerous. As I wifhed to try if I could not hire a Hottentot or two into our fervice, the oldeft man in the craal prefented his fon to me, a youth of nineteen or twenty years of age, faying, that he could be very wrell fpared in the craal, in cafe I could perfuade him to follow me. Upon this I crept into the young man's hut, and found him lying under his cloak, in the way I have defcribed above when fpeaking of his countrymen in general, with his knees drawn up to his nofe, almoft like a foetus in utero. I fpent a great deal of time to no purpofe, in reprefenting to him the great advantages he would gain by going with us; fuch as a cow with calf, knives, brafs tinder-boxes, glafs beads, and other tempting articles; in fhort, prcfents to an uncommon value, all which I offered him as a premium for half a year's fervice; but as I confidered it equally bafe to deceive a poor Hottentot as any other perfon, I did not diffemble to him, that our expedition would be of fome duration: though, on the other hand, as the Hottentot nation is not abfolutely infenfible to the pleafures of the chace any more than to the calls of ambition, I at the fame time reprefented to him, that an expedition of this fort would of itfelf afford him no fmall degree of pleafure, and on his return would give him fome confequence in the eyes of his companions; but all was in vain. With as little fuccefs did I endeavour to fet before him the pleafure he would have in fmoking a better fort of tobacco, a Vol. I. - F f quantity ,775- quantity of which I had taken with me, and intended to Auguft. 1 J v\J likewife in their dialect very distinct from them. There is, however, fo great a refemblance between them all, that they can in fome measure understand each, other.. With a view to their mutual comparifon, I have likewife added a fample of fome of the words of this language, and likewife of that of the Caffres, which is not clogged with that clacking of the palate, as the Hottentot language is.* Notwithstanding this noife against the roof of the mouth, this last mentioned language does not found ill, when the ear is fomewhat accustomed to it; as the Hottentots pronounce it with as much cafe and facility, as other nations do their respective languages. Farther up the country, where they have no other fervants than Hottentots, the children of the Christians frequently learn the Hottentot language more eafily, and befoie they do the Dutch. The fame thing happens with regard to the Malay tongue in thofe places, where they make ufe of Haves, and efpecially of nurfes, of that nation. So that, probably, all languages are almost equally eafy for children : and, if we may form a conclusion from what we have just advanced, the tenderer! age of childhood might be advantageoully employed in learning feveral languages. At the Cape I have heard very young children fpeak two or three different languages with equal readinefs and facility. At this place, befides learning the Hottentot's language, i had an opportunity of informing myfelf, for the first time, concerning the progrefs of this people in music. One of their instruments is a bow, like a fpringe-bow, a foot in length, with a fine firing of thread, to the end of which there GAPE of GOOD HOPE. aacj there is fixed in the fame line a cloven quill half an inch e i77S- x oeptember. long. The inftrument is played on in the following man- K^rsj ner: the mufician, applying his mouth to the quill, draws in his breath very hard, fo as to put it into a quivering motion, which produces a grating found. This inftru-ment is called a fGoerra* a name which feems to be applicable enough to it, as tolerably well correfponding with the found of the inftrument. T^Gutbe is the name of another inftrument, which, probably, was firft made in imitation of our violin. It confifts merely of a piece of board with three or four firings fcrewed on to it, on which they fcrape with a bow. T'Koi fkoi is a fort of drum, compofed of a fkin ftretch-ed over a calibafh, or hollow block. The mufic is juft what might be expect ed from fuch an inftrument. As I was fortunate enough not to be often in the way of hearing their ftrains, and am befides no cognofcente, I have not been able to note them down, if, indeed, they can be ex-preffed in notes-. Their vocal mufic confifts in ringing a few notes, without annexing any words to them, or, at leaft, words that have' any meaning. Thefe remarks chiefly affect the Hottentots in this part of the country; for I much doubt, whether the Bofhies-men have either fgutbes or fgoerras among them. It is fo ufual to find in poems and romances the fhepherds and fhepherdeffes playing on their pipes, that my readers, no doubt, will expect to find the Hottentots who lead a paftoral life, employed in the fame delightful occupation ; and, indeed, fo far it is true, that both the men and women have their pipes, but then they only ufe them for 23o A VOYAGE to rut i77$- for fmoking. This inftrument, which has far greater jepjei^r. fov triem than all the mmic in the world, certain- ly merits a defcription, which we fhall therefore attempt in this place. * The tobacco-pipes which are made ufe of in thefe parts, and, indeed, every where among the Hottentots (properly fo called) are fhaped pretty nearly like ours, being compofed of a miferable wooden bowl, and a ftem of equally coarfe workmanfhip. Of the Bofhies-men's pipes, as being fuf-ficiently remarkable, I have given a drawing in Plate VII. where in fig. 3. is reprefented an elk's horn from a foot and a half to two feet in length, in the aperture of which, about two inches in diameter, (fee fig. 3. a.) the Bofhies-man contrives to fqueeze the whole of his mouth in fuch a manner, that none of the fmoke can efcape or be loft, but paffes entire, in a column proportioned to the fize of the horn, into his throat, fome part of it coming out again through his noftrils. To make amends for this, however, five or fix gulps content him; a fit of coughing, hawking, and rattling in his throat enfues, which he, probably, confiders as a very delirable confequence. He then hands this delicious horn to his next neighbour, that he may, in like manner, have the pleafure of fumigating his lungs; and in this way the horn circulates among them, women as well as men, juft as the pipe does in Sweden, among a company of old women fitting under the chimney in alms-houfes. One of the Bofhies-men, whom I afterwards took into my fervice, when I paffed through the defert iri my way to Bruntjes Hoogte, once fwallowed the fmoke of his tobacco-horn with fuch avidity, CAPE of GOOD'HOPE, 231 avidity, that I faw him fall down in a fwoon in confe- _ >775- c . September quence or it. At fig. 3, the reader may fee the Item of l>ynj the pipe fixed at right angles on the fide of the horn; and the bowl, which is fometimes made of wood, and fometimes of fome loofe pebble dug out of the ground, faftened on to the top of the Item. I have likewife feen goat's horns employed for this purpofe; but the preference is given to the elk's horns on account of their fharp points; they being fo handy for the Hottentot to ftick into the ground clofe by his fide, fo that not a particle of the tobacco can be loft. One of thefe tobacco-horns I have brought home with me, and keep it in the collection of the Academy of Sciences; though, having been for the ufe of a little Hottentot woman, it is fmaller and neater than ufual, being but thirteen inches in length; and the aperture at its bafe, to which the mouth is applied, an inch and a half acrofs. Their tobacco-pouches are made of the fkin of a lamb, or of one of the fmaller fort of antilopes entire, with the hairy fide turned outwards; fo that in this pouch the Hottentot has at the fame time room enough for his pipe, tinder-box, and the reft of his implements for kindling a fire. Befide the accurate information I received at this place on the fubject of the Hottentot's mufic, language, and method of fmoking, I had, the evening after my arrival there, an opportunity of feeing their card-playing. By this abfurd name, the colonifts have diftinguifhed the following peculiar game among thefe people, which was played in this manner. Both my Hottentots, together with two others, ie wmjer otners> macle a partie quarree, fitting on their hams, as is ufual with other urtpoMfhed nations. The chimney, the part of the rooixi conftantly preferred by a Hottentot to any other, was likewife in this cafe the place they chofe to occupy for playing this game ; and the afh-hole might not unaptly be confidered as their card-table, as it did not unfrequently happen, that in the midff of their ardour for the fport, they ftruck their hands into the middle of it, and railed the allies into clouds of duff that floated all over the room, and almoft blinded one. Now, as this fport feemed to confift in an inceflant motion of the arms upwards, downwards, and acrofs each other's arms, without ever feeming (at leaft on purpofe) to touch one another, it appears to me, that the intention of this fport is to open the cheft, as it were, whilft fitting, by way of fuccedaneum for dancing. It is probable, however, that with all this they obferve certain rules, and in certain circumftances, mutually get the advantage over each other; as each of them at times would hold a little peg between his fore-finger and thumb, at which they would bur ft out into laughter, and, on being afked the reafon, faid, that they loft and won by turns, yet without playing for any thing. One of the party, however, grew weary in two hours time, and laid himfelf down to fleep; while the others kept on with.the fport from evening till break of day, during the whole time continually and inceffantly pronouncing, or rather finging, the following words, hei pruah prhanka, hei ptruah fbeiy hei pruah ha. Of thefe words they did not themfelves know the meaning; and all the information they could give me on the fubject; was, that they had learned learned them, together with the game, of fome of their %JW$. companions, who had been to pay a vifit to the Indians a Cryx> great way to the northward. Probably their hei ptrua prhanka* has no more meaning in it than the fal lal deral of the Europeans. I had before feen this game played a little at the Cape Town, by fome Bofhies-man boys that a butcher had brought home with him from Schneeuwberg* and I at this time gave orders for it to be played, on purpofe to fatisfy my curiofity. Vol. L CHAP. t775-September. C H A P. VL Journey from Zwellendam to Mufcle Bay. ON the morning of the 5th we took leave of our hofpitable friends, and arrived at a farm on the other branch of Buffeljagts rivier. A little way from the farm there was a grove, from whence we heard the cries of a herd of monkies. Our holt told us, that they fet up this alarm, in order to give notice to each other of the approach of tigers, which are wont to purfue them up into the trees; when the only means thefe nimble little animals have of efcaping, is to jump on to the llender twigs and branches of the tree that are moft distant from the trunk, where the tigers dare not follow them. Mr. Immelman, therefore, and myfelf, repaired to the place with our guns, with a view to partake, in fome meafure, of the fport. We were, however, out of luck, having only got a transient glimpfc of the monkies; we could very plainly difcern, however, that they were of a coal-black colour, and about the fize of an ordinary cat; fo that, in all likelihood, they form a peculiar fpecies not yet known. It is faid, that there are fome of thefe animals in Groot Vaders-bofch and Houtniquas; though I did not fee any there. What with our CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 235 our fport, and what with botanizing;, we ft aid fo long here, , _ . 0 0 beptember. that we could go no farther that day. c>t\; On the 6th in the morning we ordered matters fo a-propos, that we arrived at dinner-time at the houfe of a wealthy farmer, who was a captain in the militia, com-pofcd of his fellow peafants, or (as they are called) burghers. All fuch peafants as live in Roodezand, and the whole of that tract of country that lies to the eaftward, are under the jurifdiclion of Zwellendam, and are obliged, at a certain time of the year, to appear before the landroft, and perform their exercife. This falls very heavy on fuch as live at a great diftance, fome of them dwelling, perhaps, five hundred miles off; on which account likewife, they frequently pretend impediments, or elfe fubmit to pay the fine at once. A ftill larger corps, compofed of the inhabitants of Camdebo, Scbneeuwberg* Bockeveld, Roggeve/d, Ana-maqua, and the other places in that part of the country, are drawn up every year at Stellenbofch, where the landroft, or lord lieutenant of thefe diftricts has his refidence. The burgeffy at the Cape, and the peafants from Tigerberg are drawn up in the town itfelf. In the vicinity of this farm the Tradaus-mountains ftretch away to the eaft, and upon one part of them is fituated Groot Faders-bofch* In the evening we lay at the farm called Krofs-rivier juft by the fide of the wood, in order to be near at hand for the purpofe of botanizing. This wood contained a great number of beautiful tall trees, the major part of which, however, being out of bloom, it could not be afcertained what fpecies they were of. Moft of thofe which I examined were entirely un- H h 2 known m "775; known to the botanifts, and, probably, great part of the September. . remainder are under the lame predicament. It is, therefore, to be wifhed, that a botanift had an opportunity of remaining in this place the whole year throughout. Beams, planks for flooring, and timber for the conn-ruction of waggons are fetched from hence both by the farmers and by government. Many forts of lhrubs and bullies in fome places, particularly by the lide of the wood, fill up the interfticcs between the larger trees, and render the foreft impervious. Among thefe, feveral forts of prickly afparagufes deferve to be remarked, as well as a new fpecies of callophyllum; which, from its catching, like the thorn-bufh, fall, hold of the traveller with its hooked prickles, and keeping him from purfuing his journey, is commonly called here wakt een betje, or wait a bit. On the i oth, in our way from hence, we had the misfortune to wander affray on horfeback till a good while after midnight. Being but lightly clad, we were almoft frozen to death, when we arrived at a farm near Slangen-rivier; where, however, we had like to have waited in the open air till the morning, as the miftrefs of the houfe, who was left at home with her female Have only, did not much care (without taking a long time to confider of the matter) to give houfe-room to travellers fo totally unknown to her as we were. Indeed, it was only by the barking of the dogs, that we had been enabled to difcover this farm in the dark. The next morning we had the pleafure to fee, that our Hottentots were arrived with the waggon at the diftance of a couple of gun-fhots from the farm, and were taking the oxen out of the team on,a plain plain near a crofs road. They gave us to understand, that Se^J^er they had got thither fome time after us, by a different by- V^ryxJ road. The country round about was extremely dry and arid, and fcarcely a vernal bloifom was to be feen. The reafon of this was, the universal want of rain, which was every where complained of that fpring. At this place there had been no rain for feveral days before; and yet the trees in Groot Faders-bofch had, as forests ufually do, attracted vapour from the clouds, and rain fufficient to water them. This day I had no fmall pleafure in feeing, for the firft time, fome Hottentots riding their oxen. They rode pretty hard over hills and dales ; and my hoftefs told me, that if I was there when they came back, I fhould fee them galloping neck or nothing ; as they were then going to drink out feveral wagers at a neighbour's of her's, a farmer, who, flie faid, had fo little confeience, as for the fake of a very trifling gain, to lead the poor pagans, by means of his brandy, into riot, intemperance, and excefles of all kinds. She moreover gave the Hottentots the character of ufing the brute creation, and particularly the oxen they rode, very cruelly. Befide this in fiance, I have feen feveral others, which confirmed this remark of her's ; but am apt to believe it applies beft to fuch of them as have, in a great meafure, departed from their original simplicity, in confequence of their intercourfe with the Christians. Thefe faddlc-oxen muft be tamed and broke in while they are calves. For this purpofe, a hole is bored through the-gristle of the nofe, large enough to hold a wooden pin, to both ends of which the rope is faftened, that ferves bv "775' by way of bit and bridle to guide the animal with. The September. J _ !r . ^rsj faddle confifts of a lheep-ikm folded up together, and faftened by a rope round the fore part of the ox's body. Thefe oxen are by the colonifts called pack-oxen* they being alfo ufed for carrying packs and burthens : the name is likewife very fuitable to them on another account, which is, that the Hottentots very frequently ride, feveral of them together, upon one ox. There is an order of government, which ordains that no Hottentot fliall be in polfeffion of a horfe; in confequence of which, it is faid, that a Hottentot, who was very fond of hunting, trained one of his pack-oxen to run with fuch fpeed, as to be able to hunt elks with it, and abfolutely run them down. In general, the way that the Hottentots have of eluding this prohibition, is to pais their horfes off for borrowed, which in fact they have bought at a high price, or got in the way of barter, or elfe to pretend to have them for fale on fome Christian's account. Another law of government prohibits all Christians, under pain of being whipped and branded, to buy, or otherwife to acquire the poffeflion of, any animal belonging to a Hottentot. The reafon of this is, that government having ufe for thefe animals itfelf, chufes to have the benefit of this kind of traffic : the Hottentots, for a bottle of brandy and a roll of tobacco a foot or two long, with about a quarter of a rixdollar's worth of fmall copper beads, generally felling a fpare ox, worth at leaft five or fix rixdollars. What makes them content with fo low a price is, that the factor for government (who is generally the corporal in Riet Valley) is their only chapman ; and befides gives them to under- ftand, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 239 ftand, that this traffic is a kind of tax, which is laid every *JL#ig third year on the Hottentot nation. The in efiftible attrac- ^y^j tions of brandy, likewife, do not a little contribute on this occafion, to induce the obftinate and headftrong Hottentot to part with his property. About noon we went to pay a vifit to a community of Hottentots affembled on this fpot, who received us very friendly, and invited us to drink fome of their Jack-milk; which, I believe, nobody could have tailed, that had not been as thirfty, and at the fame time as curious, as wre. We faw then our greafy, though, perhaps, not for that the lefs happy, hoftefs, open a leathern bag, that would hold about fix gallons, and which was made of an undreffed calf's-fkin taken off entire, with the hairy lide turned inwards, in the manner I mentioned above on another occafion, and at the fame time lade fome milk out of it with a wooden ladle, the only one they had, and which, though it was what we drank out of, the dirtieft kitchen-wench in Sweden would have been perfectly afhamed of. But we were told, that fweet milk was unwholefome, and that therefore they always mixed it with the clouted milk in the leathern bag. They likewife affurcd us, that all this milk, thus mixed every day with frefh, to fupply the place of what had been ufed, might be kept for many weeks as good as ever, without their having the leaft occafion to give themfelves the trouble of looking after it, or cleaning the bag in which it was kept. The tafte of it refembled that of a fyllabub. By way of acknowledgment, we gave our hofts a roll of tobacco about lix inches long* Vtemb ^onS> which they feemed to confider as a very magnificent '.^vv prefent; A few gun fhots from hence was feen an uncommonly large hut of a conic form. We were told, that in it there lived the Hottentot-Captain Rundganger. I then alked my hoft, whether he belonged to the Captain's company, or was under bis command ? To which he anfwered, with a fly farcaftic fmile, that the command of a Hottentot Captain extended no farther than to his wife and children; and that, in fact, he might with equal propriety be called Major, or what elfe you pleafe. Captain, fays he, is merely an empty title, formerly bellowed by the regency at the Cape on fome princes and patriarchs of the Hottentots, and particularly on fuch, as had diftinguifhed themfelves by their fidelity to their allies, by betraying their countrymen, or by fome remarkable fervice. They have likewife had a Dutch furname, together with a commander's flaff, bellowed upon them ; and both thefe, like letters patent of nobility, have afterwards defcended in the way of inheritance to their fons. On the other hand, it is required of the Captain, that he lhall be a fpy on the other Hottentots ; and when fearch is made after a deferter, he is inverted by the regency at the Cape with the chief authority, and confequently trouble, throughout the whole of the bufinefs. On the receipt of this information, which fince has been confirmed to me by feveral others, we haflened hence, in order to pay our refpects to a man of fo ancient and princely "; 0 7 September. degenerate again into their priftine inactivity and floth, and v^ryv produce all the evils naturally confequent on fuch an alteration of manners. Henceforward it would be too tedious and prolix, and indeed unneceffary, to give an account of every day fepa-rately, juft as I wrote it down in my journal : as by that means, remarks not diftimilar to the preceding might chance to occur very frequently. From what has been already defcribed, it will perhaps eafily be imagined, that our expedition confifted for the greater part of daily vexations, anxiety, and difficulties, very moderate pleasures, and trifling difcoveries, the relation of whicli would by no means intereft the generality of readers. I fhall therefore make feparate mention of certain days only, throwing all together in a promifcuous manner, fuch occurrences as happened on the reft. We continued our route, pafling over Duyvenhoeks-rivier, and taking the upper road through Kafferkuyls-rivier, and fo on through Gaurit-rivier. From thence through a green vale, called Hon'mg-klip (Honey-rock;) from this place to and from Mojfel-bay, then over Klein and Groot Brak-riviers into Houtniquas land, as far as is indicated by the dots on the map. Perhaps it may not be abfolutely without ufe to remark in this place, that at Duyvenhoeks-rivier we firft faw the clorn boom, or tree called mimofa nilotica, which produces the gum arabic. The river juft mentioned is deep, and has rather a ftrong current. Profeffor Thunberg (it is faid) I i 2 to 244 A - VOYAGE' to t h E '77v in riding; over it, miffed the fhalloweft part, and was in leptember, ° * ^ykj danger of being drowned. Droogc and Natte (dry and wet) riviers were now both dried up. Kafferkuyh- or Palmit-rivier, was ftill tolerably broad at the upper ford, and overgrown with palmites. The water, indeed, was dried up in moft places; but, on the other hand, our oxen were obliged to drag the waggon through a mafs of mud, that reached up to their bellies ; and we fhould certainly, with our ordinary equipment, have ftuck fail in it, if a farmer had not lent us his baflard Have to drive the waggon over. This fellow had fuch an incomparable knack of whipping the oxen up without in-termiflion, that they had not the leaft opportunity to flinch from the bufinefs. Falfe-rivier is an infignificant ftream; but the great quantity of butter-milk, which the farmer dwelling on its banks threw out here by pail-fulls, made a ftream of fome importance, notwithstanding that five or fix large dogs had previouily drank their fwill of it, not to mention what had been confirmed in the family. The farmer at this place was one of the greater farmers called graziers, whofe whole income depended on grazing cattle. The milk was collected together from the milkings of two, three, or more days, and kept in a tub till they had an opportunity of churning it; which they ufually did every other or every third day, at leaft part of it, in a veffel that would contain between one and two hogfheads. The churn-ftaff was raifed and wrought by no lefs than two, and fometimes four people, in the fame way as the handle of a common pump. 7 in CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 245 In this colony the people are neither notable enough, nor _ 1775- , September. indeed is it much worth their while, to prefs out all the but- v^y^j ter, which might be Separated from their milk, as they do with us ; on which account, likewife, I always found their butter-milk greafy and rank in comparifon with ours. Hardly any body here troubles himfelf with fatting hogs, and this is the reafon that they are fo lavifh of their butter-milk. Thofe farmers who have a tolerable fhare of pafture ground and cattle, make from one thoufand eight hundred to three thoufand five hundred pounds of butter in a year. This quantity is carried to the Cape in one or two journies, and is fold at the rate of from three to fix reivers a pound. The towns-people, that buy up this butter, fell the greater part of it again to the fhips, at a profit of from twenty to one hundred per cent. The more wealthy farmers derive this farther advantage from their grazing farms, that evely other, or every third year, they can difpofe of eight or ten oxen, fome to the butchers, others to the people that carry wood between the town and fhore, and others again to other farmers that live nearer to the Cape; and having lefs room for grazing cattle, and a readier vent for their wine and meal, get their livelihoods entirely by cultivating the earth. Thefe graziers, likewife, derive an income more or lefs considerable from the fale of weathers. A number of thefe, from twenty to one hundred, they difpofe of yearly, at the rate of from Six fchellings to a dollar the head, Dutch money. With all this, the vender needs not to Stir out of his own houfe; as the butcher's men go about, buying them up, and afterwards drive them in flocks confirming M *7?£ fiitine of feveral hundreds, and fometimes even thoufands, September. 0 V-*-v\J to the flaughter-houfes at the Cape, about the times when the fleets are chiefly expected. A great number of the peafants in this country are termed grazing farmers or graziers, the chief, and fometimes the whole of their income, depending on their breeding of fheep. One of thefe graziers will, perhaps, be matter of one, two, or even three thoufand fheep at a time. This is no unufual circumftance, particularly in the very dry parched plains in this country; fuch as Camdebo, Rogge- and Bokke-velden, (fields or plains) the great Carrows, 8cc. all which, taken together, and including feveral fmaller tracts of land, are, from their qualities, diitinguifhed by the colonifts by the name of Carrow-veld. It may be proper here to give a more accurate defcription of thefe tracts of land, as well as of thofe called by the colonifts Zuur and Zoet. The Carrow-ve/d, taken in its moft extenfive fignification, is horridly parched up and arid. In thefe parts, during the whole fummer, or the warmer part of the year, there hardly falls a drop of rain. The ground is as dry and bare of grafs as a high road; and the lhrubs on it are, to all appearance at leaft, dried up, and in a languifhing ftate. The earth, which at moft times bears an arid meagre appearance, and at this time particularly, is, in the manner juft mentioned, diverted of all its lively verdure, looks naked, and being withal full of clefts and chinks in different places, feems quite languifliing with drought and thirft. High and cold mountains of granite, frequently to all appearance rich in iron ore, furround thefe lands on all fides. Here the fun fcorches fcorches the traveller up with its reflected rays, and the 0 *77V 4 J September- ground almolt burns him through the foles of his fhoes. ^rsJ In a fhort time totally relaxed, enervated and weak, he finds himfelf bathed in fweat, and at the fame time as thirfty as the objects by which he is furrounded; whilft he is fatiated even to difguft with viewing the defolatenefs of the vegetable kingdom, and the reflections which fuch a fight tends to infpire. In winter, or the colder feafon, on the other hand, there falls on the Carrow-vela'a great quantity of rain, while the thunder daily and even hourly rolls with loud tremendous peals in the furrounding mountains.. The clouds, which during this are collected almolt initan-taneoufly, fall down again in heavy mowers, that deluge both the hill's and the plains. The earth, by this means refrefhed, quickly receives the feeds and roots committed: to its care, and particularly the fucculent plants, which in a peculiar manner delight in this kind of foil. Upon this they foon become verdant, and throw out their tender bloffoms, clothing the ground in the very depth of winter with a fummer garb, in all the fplendor of magnificence and beauty. The fucculent plants with which Flora at this time thus decks herfelf, while fhe feems to deviate from the regular order of the feafons, are chiefly the following: feveral forts of mefembryanthemums* which grow in clutters,, with white, red, blue, but moltly yellow flowers; crajpulas with red flowers; befides various fpecies of cotyledons* ftapeliasy and euphorbias.- All thefe, nay, the very tops of the euphorbias are eaten by the fheep, which even grow extremely fat upon them; bur^ l 1775- but, as in fummer they have nothin £ elfe to fuftain themfelves September. _ ^rsj with, they content themfelves with browzing on the Shrubs and bullies; and notwithstanding this, do not by any means fare ill. The larger kinds of cattle cannot make fo good a fliift with mere Shrubs, but are obliged to feek for reeds and other green vegetables in the rivers; for which reafon, where the inhabitants of the Carrozv live in fuch low Situations, they remove in the fummer up to the ridges of mountains and hills, where they find the ufual fummer climate, with rain at intervals, plenty of grafs, and cool refreshing breezes. In the winter, it is faid both to hail and fnow on divers of the mountains; on which account the colonifts leave them at that time, in order to enjoy in the Carrow* or lower Situations, the benefit of a mild winter, accompanied with rain and a delightful verdure, as I have defcribed it above. Allured by the fame advantages, the wild harts or gazelh likewife come down into the plains, and are followed by the beafts of prey. To the different forts of corn the Carrow climate is fo far unfavourable, that in cafe they are fowed in the winter or the rainy feafon, they are (as I have been informed by the inhabitants, who have made many attempts of the kind) apt to be rotted by the too great abundance of water; and if put into the ground in fummer, they cannot fpring up on account of the great drought. Notwithftanding all thefe natural difadvantages, however, to the honour of the forecaft and diligence of man in a ftate of civilization be it fpoken, one very frequently fees, even in the parched and dry Carrow plains, fields of corn, kitchen-gardens, and vineyards, verdant and flourishing in the higheft degree ; tnree; while the wild plants around them die, or languifh „ lTJS< 1 i " September. with drought. This remarkable appearance proceeds v^vO from the water being brought down at pleafure from the neareft mountains, and carried all over their fields and plantations. What are termed by the colonifts the Zuur-velden* or Sour-fields* are fuch as lie fomewhat higher and cooler than the fhore, and thus are better fupplied with rain than the other plains; which, however, abound more in grafs. The different forts of grafs here are likewife perennial, and coarfer than thofe of the former; at the fame time that their blades have a hairy roughnefs in them, and are broader. The cattle in thefe tracts of country are fomewhat given to chew unwholefome fubftances, fuch as thongs of leather, chalk, and bones; and are even accuftomed, in failure of every thing elfe of the kind, to gnaw each others horns. This circumftance, which feems to denote an acid in the ftomach of the cattle, may, probably, have given occafion to the appellation bellowed on thefe plains. Some of the Caffrc plains are faid likewife to poffefs this acid quality in fo high a degree, as to occafion the cattle at night, when flint up in their flails, to gnaw each other's horns, by which means their horns have the appearance of carved work; a circumftance which ought, therefore, by no means to be afcribed, as it has been, to the manual operations of the CafYre herdfmen, or to the effects of imagination only. To conclude, with refpect to the Zuur-velden* it is remarked by the colonifts, that there is lefs milk in proportion, but more as well as better butter than in the Zoet- Vol. I. K. k ueldm* 25o A V O Y A G E to the Y7Sb* v'thkik though in thefe latter places the cattle get fatter. By the Sweet-fields (Zoet-velden) are meant fuch places as do not correfpond to the defcriptions given above of the Zuur and Carrow-veld. Such fpots as are low, rather fandy, and lie near the fhore, are given as inflances of the Zoet plains; as the Zuur again are Honing-klip, Houtni-quas-land, and the greater part of Lange-kloof and Caffre-land. For the purpofe of feeding fheep, the Carrow is confidered as the heft land, and the Zuur-velden the leaft, if at all, fit. For cattle it has been found to anfwer better, when they could be removed off and on from one of thefe kinds of land to the other. The conftant and unequivocal experience of the colonifts, with regard to this point, agrees with the remit of the practice of the Hottentots ; though this, in fact, has its origin almoft entirely in prejudice ; for as foon as any of them, or of their cattle, fall fick and die, or any other misfortune happens to, or even only threatens them, they immediately remove their ftation. This, perhaps, is one of the principal cauics that the cattle of the Hottentots, in fome meafure, keep up to their original ftandard; whilft, on the contrary, thofe of the chriftians degenerate to a fmaller race; and that chiefly in thofe parts which lie nearer to the Cape, and therefore have been longer inhabited and cultivated. It has likewife been remarked, beyond a fhadow of doubt, that fuch places as before abounded in grafs, and were very fertile in corn and the produce of the kitchen-garden, are now fallen off confiderably; fo that it is feared, that they muft in a fhort time be given up. The rhinoceros- ceros-bufti (a fpecies of Jloebe) a dry flvrub, which is other- gjgj^ wife ufed to thrive on barren tracts of land, now begins to encroach more and more on fuch places as have been thoroughly cleared and cultivated. When I afked the country people the reafon of this, they would lay the blame on their fins. Their confciences, probably, informed them, that there was great reafon for fo doing. One of their fins which moft merited this puniihment, as having contributed moft to the evil, might, in this cafe, be reckoned their want of knowing how to drefs properly the foil they occupied, and to manage it to the beft advantage. As the grounds that are newly broken up are, in every country, and in all parts of the world, more fertile than they can be expected to be after fome time, it is no wonder, that the lands in Africa at prefent require more drefling and manuring than the colonifts think proper to beftow on them; but which is abfolutely neceffary, in order to keep them up in that degree of heart and ftrength which they have before, during a period of many ages, had time to acquire. In direct contradiction to the cuftom and example of the original inhabitants the Hottentots, the colonifts turn their cattle out conftantly into the fame fields, and that too in a much greater quantity than ufed to graze there in the time of the Hottentots; as they keep not only a number fufficient for their own ufe, but likewife enough to fupply the more plentiful tables of the numerous inhabitants of Cape Town, as well as for the victualling of the fhips in their paffage to and from the Eaft-Indies with frefh, and even with falted provifions. In confequence of the fields be- K k z ing 177?- nig thus continually grazed off, and the Great incrcafe of the September. ° . ^. cattle feeding on them, the gralfes and herbs which theie animals molt covet arc prevented continually more and more from thriving and taking root; while, on the con-trarv, the rhinoceros-buRi, which the cattle always pafs by and leave untouched, is fuffered to take root free and unmolefted, and encroach on the place of others: fo that this ought to appear the lefs ftrange to the colonifts, as this punifhment for their fins (as they call the rhinoceros-buffi,) together with feveral other dry barren lhrubs and bullies, is found in greater abundance than any where elfe near their farms, the place where the cattle are chiefly ufed to feed. Notwithstanding thefe inconveniencies, the colonifts remain immoveable in their ftone houfes; while, on the contrary, the Hottentots (and this was the cafe in former times) on the leaft panic remove their huts and cattle to another place, fo that the grafs is no where eaten off too clofe. Together with this diminution of pafturage, there is another circumftance which contributes not a little to the degeneracy of the breed; this is, that the calves, on account of the great quantity of butter made, (which never was the cafe with the Hottentots) are reared up with lefs milk than formerly. In the mean time, if they go on in this manner, the prefage of the country people may chance to prove true, viz. that many fpots that are now inhabited and cultivated, muft be re-linquifhed and fuffered to lie wafte. But it may like-wife happen, that time and reft may at length reftore to the foil the heart and ftrength, which the colonifts have deprived it' of; and that the grafs and herbage may, in their CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 253 their turn, have an opportunity of extrudine the lhrubs and e l7ifo A 1 0 oeptember. bullies, after having received the protection of the llielter ^^rsj, and fhadc of thefe latter; and after having, by undergoing a kind of putrefaction, made themfelves a foil more fertile and better adapted to their nature. It is alfo not improbable, that the game, finding more fecurity from the fportfmen here than formerly, may refect hither in great numbers: and it is well known, that in feeding they make a more equal divifion between the grafs and bufhes than the ordinary cattle do; nay, it may happen, that the gazell's dung and other accidental circumftances, which people here have neglected to make trial of, may come to extirpate the rbinoceros-huui in its turn. The animals which occur only in Africa are, in my opinion, as much defigned for the plants peculiar to this climate, as the plants are for the animals. The rein-deer* for inftance, an animal deftin-ed by nature for the climate of Lapland, and for the mofs with which it Js covered, by botanifts called lichen rangi-ferus* is in that place domefticated with the greatelt advantage; where, however, cattle would thrive very ill. The elk* another of nature's kind prefents to our climate, was formerly confidered as a fit fubject for the chace only, (which, in fact, was the chief employment of moft nations, and even of the molt favage) till our more conn-derate countrymen and truly zealous patriots, the Barons Alstroemmer, by propoiing premiums and by other methods, endeavoured to make this itately, ftrong, and fwift-footed animal likewife domeftic, and thereby more fervice-able to the country it inhabits. Induced by thefe examples, the African colonifts ought to take it into ferious confideration, 1775- confideration, whether by extirpating the game, they are 'v^j* not in reality laying wafte their country, and rendering it a defert. It is laid, that a farmer once attempted to deftroy and extirpate all the rhinoceros-bufhes on his lands by fire, but that they afterwards grew up again more vigorous than ever; fo that, as well with refpect to the effects of the in-duftry of man as to the more immediate operations of nature, it is not at all unlikely, that future ages may fee this part of Africa entirely changed and different from what it is at prefent. Gaurits-rivier is likewife called GoucPs-rtvier* probably, from the refemblance in found between thefe two words; or elfe from the latter word being more eafy to pronounce, and not with any reference to gold* to which it might otherwife feem to allude. This river, which, farther to the northward, is likewife called Olifanfs-rivier* is one of the moft confiderable in this part of Africa: and though it was at that time in a great meafure dried up, there was yet a ftrong current, and it was dangerous to ford over, as it was not only very broad and pretty deep at the fording-place, but made a particular bend there; fo that we lhould have been badly off, if we had not fortunately happened to have been told of it in good time. The banks of the river were extremely high and quite perpendicular, excepting juft at the place where the pal-fage was. The water fometimes fwells fo fuddenly and unexpectedly as to come unawares upon travellers, even while they are palling over it, and either drown them or carry them out to fea* A peafmt^ who fome time before fore made a halt at night near the ford of this river, had, 1775-by an unexpected flooding, been wafhed away and loft, S^v^r with his wife and children, «md the waggon in which they were ileeping. The reafon of thefe fudden floods is partly the hafty melting of the fnow on the various high mountains which lie to the northwards, and partly the falling of heavy rains in the extenfive Carroiv-field, lying to the north of this fpot; in which plain Oliphants or Gaurits-rivier* by means of divers fmall branches, has its fource, as is partly fhewn in the map. Going from Gaurits-rivier, and afterwards from Honing-klip, whicli is a narrow vale, we kept to the right, in order to get to Mojfel- bay, and fo over the Brak rivers to the Houtniquas forefts; we having been particularly advifed not to go as yet to Lange-kloof, as, on account of a great drought and deficiency of rain then fubiifting in thofe parts, our cattle would run the rifle of being famifhed. The Brak rivers have got this appellation from the quality of their waters, which are brackifh or faltifli, in confequence of the fea coining up into them, and occa-fioning in the cattle which are not ufed to them a troublefome diarrhoea. Of this circumftance \ was ignorant, and con-fequently my oxen were attacked with this complaint; by which they were fo much debilitated, that I was obliged to leave my waggon on a hill, till a peafant in Houtniquas drove thither with a team of his oxen to bring it off. Juft below the farm that lies to the wreftward of little Brak-rivier, and is called Geelbeks-valley, there is a tract of a-bout two-thirds of an acre of land, which is always bare of 8 plants, ,775' plants, and in part covered with a hoar froft. This was September. 1 7 . r _ Cryv miftakcn by the colonifts lor laltpetre, but was, in fact, nothing more than fine fea^alt. When this kind of hoar froft appeared in greater abundance than common, the neighbouring inhabitants looked on it as a certain fign of an impending fall of weather. I vifited Mqffel-bay on horfeback. This harbour, though it lies rather open to the eaflerly winds, and is not re-lbrted to by fhips, except in cafes of extreme neceffity, might, however, in many refpects prove very ufeful, were it better known. On a ftone hereabouts is engraved an infcription as follows : Captain Swenfinger, of the Danifli fhip the Kron-PrinfefS) 1752. The inhabitants informed us, that the fhip here alluded to had been driven in there by a ftorm and run aground; and that fome of the failors having fwam afhore and got a couple of lines, by means of them a flout rope had been ftretched from the fhip's malt to the fliore; upon this, which thus had a Hoping direction given to it, a large metal ring was hung, to which every one of the crew feparately was tied fall, and flid on fliore one after the other, when the ring was immediately brought back again to the fhip by means of a line. When the ftorm was over, part of the lading was faved, and taken to the Cape in waggons. The country people who lived ncareft the fpot affured me, that fhips would frequently manoeuvre at the mouth of the harbour, as though they were in fearch of the port, but could not rightly tell where to look for it; one in particular, was faid to have fired feveral guns as fignals of diltrefs, before fhe ventured in. The, reafon CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 257 reafon of this was fuppofed to be, that the place is eafily Se^J^er miftaken, as from the charts people are induced to look V-^rv-/ for an ifland here; which, however, is, in fact, nothing more than a low inconfiderable rock, which at flood lies for the greater part under water, and muft neceffarily appear to the fhips that are running into it as if it was joined to the land; and indeed, it was partly this circumftance that was the occafion of Captain Swenfinger's misfortune: and it is faid, that on the whole coaft between Falfe-bay and Mqiftl-bay there is no anchorage to be found. In fact, it feems as if government wifhed to keep navigators in fome degree in the dark with refpect to Moffel-bay, as a ftore-houfe with a flag-ftaff, which the captain of a Danifh veffel had erected there, was deftroyed immediately after his departure from the place; and at the fame time, all buildings prohibited within fight of the harbour. This conduct is certainly not founded on the foundeft policy; for a more accurate knowledge of Afoffel-bay, may be the future means of riving fome veffel, which may by ftrefs of weather be forced to run into it. Being convinced of this from divers confiderations, and no one having given any defcription (at leaft in print) of this harbour, I think it my duty, till farther information is given on this fubject, to communicate the refult of my obfervations, however imperfect, upon it. There was not a boat to be found in the bay, therefore I cannot give the foundings. By means of the compafs I had brought with me I marked out the fliore here, having inveftigated it, partly on foot and partly on horfeback, as far as is indicated by the dots in the map. The Danes who ran aground here affured the in-VoL. h I- 1 habitants, . l?7v habitants, that there was a good fandy bottom for an- tepietnber. ^' 4 chorage; and that the fmall bend or inlet to the fouth-wcft, had depth of water fufficient to contain a fhip. For the purpofe of getting acquainted with the harbour, fuppofing the reader to have acquired a previous knowledge of the latitude, and to have compared it with the fmall portion that I have pricked out on my map, it may likewife be of ufe to him to be informed, that the north, or north-weft fliore, is without any rocks or ftones, being compofed of verdant hills covered with flirubs and bullies, excepting juft at each of the fpots, where Heerte and Kkine Brak rivers empty themfelves; the fand thereabouts having been raifed up to fome height by the fea-wind, fo as to have encroached on the verdure of the pro-fpecf. The fouth-weft fliore, on the contrary, is very ftony and mountainous; though juft at the water-fide it is low, one place excepted, which, at a very fmall diftance from the water, appears with a rock-head, as it is called, or a rocky hill, flat on the top, which at the fea-fide is perpendicular. It is, probably, not difficult to land here with boats in fair weather; but at this time, the bay was greatly agitated by a wind from the fea; and the height of the water, which continued even in the afternoon, prevented us from catching oyfters, which, we were informed, might otherwife have been met with at this place. Watering muft be very a tedious and laborious bufinefs, as things are fituated , here at prefent; for there is only one very inconfiderable rill of frefh water here, which runs down into the above-mentioned inlet, where the anchoring-place is; but at the diftance CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 259 diftance of a few ftones throw from the ftrand, is the well- j775- ' September. fpring itfelf, of fuch a width and depth, as to give one K^^u reafon to fuppofe, that one might fill with eafe a couple of hogiheads at a time with frefh, clear, and well-tafted water. By properly purifying this water, and making a conduit for it, there might pofTibly be ftill an alteration made for the better. Indeed, I know many inftances, where by digging a tolerably deep pit near a fliore, particularly if it were fandy, frefh water has been abforbed into the pit and filled it. This likewife renders credible an account that I heard from fome peafants in Houtniquas, that being on a hunting party near the mouth of Brak-rivier, and finding themfelves extremely thirfty, it came into their heads to make an experiment, and ftick a reed to the depth of a foot and a half into the fand near the level of the fea, when, contrary to their expectation, in a fliort time they were enabled to fuck up through their reed a quantity of freili and well-tafted water. LI 2 C II A P- CHAP. VII. Journey through the Houtniquas. tm' r £JTOUfNISJIAS Land, which is a woody tract of 'l^j' 4 country, is fuppofed to commence to the eaftward of Groote Brak-rivier* and to extend to Keurebooms-rivier* which empties itfelf into Algoa-bay. To the northward this diftrict is entirely feparated from Lange Kloof, by a long and very high range of mountains, extending from eaft to weft. Along the fide of thefe mountains runs a wood, to the trees, herbs, and general properties of which, the defcription I gave of Groot Faders Bofcb is equally applicable. On the weftern fide of Keerom-rivier, or the hither fide of Houtniquas, between the wood juft fpoken of and the fea-fhore, there are extenfive plains of indifferent grafs. There are likewife in the vales near the fliore, fome woody tracts of land and ftreams of frefh water; fo that two farmers have lately made a new fettlement here, who will find no difficulty in getting their livelihood, in the fame manner as the other farmers do, who have fet themfelves down in the upper and more extenfive fide of the foreft, by felling of timber, and at the fame time they may fow corn CAPE of GOOD HOPE. corn and rear cattle fufficient to anfwer the demands of their e W September. families. The tract of country lying between Keerom and V>*yo Keurebooms-riviers, makes the internal part of Houtniquas, and is faid to be almoft entirely covered with woods. This part I had no opportunity to vifit, and therefore was obliged to be contented with putting down on the map the farms and rivers as well as I could conceive them from an account, which, however, was not very accurate or diftincf, given me by a farmer, who had travelled a good deal in that diftrict. Keerom-rivier (or Turnabout-river) in which the fmailer branches Zwart-rivier and Trakudiku meet, has obtained its name from the circumftance of the perfon who firft travelled this way, having been obliged to turn back at this river, on account of the denfe and almoft impenetrable forefts that grew every where by the fide of it. Keurebooms-rivier is perhaps fo called, after a tree of the fame name (the fopbora capenfis. Linn.) On this kind of tree there is found a great quantity of gum, refembling that of the cherry-tree, but not fo adhefive. I have hard*, ly ever feen a tree of this kind any where elfe, excepting a few at Bay Falfo and in Conjlantia diftrict. Algoa-bay is faid not to have been once vifited by the fhips, fince Houtniquas has been inhabited and cultivated. It was thought, however, that the harbour was very fit for ufe, and convenient both for wooding and watering, of both which articles there is a great abundance. It is pretty much expofed to the fea-winds; though, on the other hand, the winds do not blow with fuch violence here as at the Cape. I could get no farther oral information with refpect «775- refpect to this harbour; but a defcription of the coaft that September. 1 ' K^rxJ I have met with, fays, that the weftern creek lies in lat. 3 3 deg. 5 5 mm* an(l tnat from the outermoft point a reef extends about a mile out; and that in the place, where the bay bends in two leagues to the weft, fhips may lie at anchor in good ground, well fheltered from the north-eaft, north-weft, and fouth winds. There is, however, in this fame defcription an erroneous obfervation, viz. that no other than brackifti or falt-water is to be got at Moffel-bay. Algoa-bay* which I have briefly mentioned above, I have been obliged to be content with laying down in my map, merely in confequence of fome hints given by M. Adolphus Bup,tz, captain of a Swedifh Eaft-Indiaman, on the authority of fome old chart. The defcription of the coaft before referred to, moreover mentions, that Algoa-bay is a deep inlet, where there is abundance of wood and frefh water; and alfo that in failing into it, one finds from twenty-four to ten fathom of water, with a reef extending a league into the fea; which, however, if there be occafion for it, may be avoided, by running round to the north of it. Inafmuch as the bays above-mentioned (fetting afide another in Krakckammd) feem very well adapted for ufe, at leaft for that of fmall craft, the fhipping and navigation between them and the Cape ought to be very con-ficlerable. However extenfive the colony is, yet it cannot be confidered at prefent in any other light than that of a proportionally large, but weakly confumptive body, in which the circulation of trade is very How and fluggifli; as between the more diftant members and the heart, or the internal I provinces CAPE Of GOOD HOPE. 263 provinces and the Cape* there 13 only once a year a circu- ^^g^er lation of commodities, by means of the ordinary waggons ; ««^rO but if this body, thus half If ifled as it were, had air given to it, by opening all the harbours, trade, manufactures, and agriculture would doubtlefs have new life infufed into them. A farmer, for inftance, has a hundred hours * hard driving to get his timber from Mojfel-bay to the Cape* and a ftill longer and more laborious journey from Houtniquas. The feventy or eighty rixdollars he can get for a load of it, drawn by ten oxen, (including the felling of it and bringing it in) hardly pay him for his time and trouble; but at the fame time his commodity comes to the townsmen at the Cape dear enough at that price; as a fpar about twenty feet in length and one in diameter, comes to five rixdollars, and fo in proportion for boards and planks. From hence it may eafily be imagined, that building is extremely expenfive at the Cape; and that confequently many people muft fet themfelves down content without thofe conveniencies of life, for which, however, the country has fufficient materials. The farmer muff, therefore, neceffarily buy again, at fo much a dearer rate, his own timber, wrought up into calks, waggons, and other neceffary articles of joinery work; as he is obliged to carry them all the way by land to and from the Cape, merely to have the iron work put on them, fuppofing that in other refpects he is able, or has proper tools for making them at home. The company itfelf, therefore, is likewife forced to allot feveral public buildings at the Cape for ftore-houfes, * For an explanation of this word fee page 132. and September anc* to nave tne greater Part or" their timber brought from Uvo Batavia, and fome of it directly from Europe; in which latter place, as is well known, it muft be paid for in fpecie; by which means the nation fufFers a great lofs, inafmuch as the colony actually has within itfelf at Sitficamma a thick impervious foreft, from whence the beft kinds of trees, many of them indeed very rare in Europe, ought to be, and in fact might with eafe, and to the great advantage of the company, be fetched for fale. By a navigation efta-blilhed between the above-mentioned ports, not only would the tranfportation of timber be facilitated, but likewife all other articles produced in the country. The farmers, who, for inftance, might put their corn and butter on board of barges in Krakekamma-bay, would by that means avoid a journey of four hundred uurs over land (including both going and returning) which generally takes them up feveral weeks. Every peafant for fuch a journey as this has two or three Hottentots, one to lead the oxen, and either one or two to drive the fpare team; befides which, his wife often goes with him, either for the purpofe of having her children baptized at the Cape, or elfe for fear of being attacked by the Hottentots in her hufband's abfence. Thus, taking it at the loweft, and reckoning only three perfons and twenty oxen for thirty days, it ftands a great many farmers in ninety days work of themfelves and men, and fix hundred of their cattle, in order to make one turn with their butter to market, and fo in proportion for fuch as are lefs diftant. Hence it is evident, that many thoufand days work are unneceffarily loft and thrown away every year in leading to the Cape, which, by means of the navigation CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 265 t vigation I fpeak of, might be much more profitably be- ^.^JJ^. flowed on the orchards and the vineyards, the corn fields <^r^j and the pafturcs. Induftry, trade, and wealth, would in that cafe flow of themfelves, as it were, into their now defert harbours, and convert them into marts, and, perhaps, ftaple towns. Flax is faid not to thrive well in this climate; but hemp, which is cultivated both by the Hottentots and the colon ills merely for the purpofe of replenifliing the pipes of the former with it inftead of tobacco, I have feen fucceed very well, and in a vigorous ftate; confequcntly, were there any induftry in this part of the wrorld, the people in the country, as well as thofe in the town, might work it up into (heeting, facking, fail-cloth, cordage, and other articles, to their own evident advantage and that of the company ; or, in one word, with a great faving to the whole nation. Manufactories of every kind might likewife be eftabliih-ed at thefe harbours and other fuitablc places : for inftance, for the purpofe of working up the wool of the country, (which is now quite thrown away,) at leaft into coarfe cloth and ftockings; thefe being at prefent bought at a very dear rate by the company, for the ufe of its flaves and the gar-rifon. The towns-people, indeed, and farmers of the colony, get the woollen goods they want at a rather cheaper rate from the fhips belonging to foreigners; but likewife by that means, pay in a manner a heavier tax to the foreigner than to the company; which, however, might get a fum equal and even fuperior to this, if it bought up the wool Vol. I. Mm of n n$$£ of the country's produce on its own account, and, after nia- September, * x . \*s*r>J nufacturing it, fold the goods fo manufactured at a reafbn-able price. I did not find more than one farmer who knew how to turn his wool to any account. This was a German, who taught his wife and female Haves to fpin it, and make tolerable good ftockings of it. On the other hand, I have feen many of the farmers, that lived at a great diftance from the town, go without ftockings and out at the elbows, though at the fame time they were in pof-feftion of feveral hundred fheep. This proceeded as much from the dearnefs of wool, as from their diftance from the town ; and it is for the fame reafon, that the yeomen ia fome places here and there in Roggeveld* let their children run about juft like the Hottentots, with nothing but a fheep-fkin hanging over their fhoulders, and without a rag of linen on their backs. For want of artizans and mechanics, many of the more diftant farmers are obliged to make and mend their own fhoes and clothes, as well as they can, themfelves; and make fhift with a few cracked veffels of earthen-ware, which they have been fo lucky as to bring all the way home from the Gape, without farther damage, for the ufe of their houftiold. There is not a fhadow of doubt, but that the colony is able to maintain all the artizans and manufacturers it has occafion for. The tracts of country neareft to the Cape have, on account of the greater vent they have for their commodities, not only been able to cultivate wine and corn fufficient for their own ufe and that of the town, but like-wife in fuch quantities, as to fend a great deal to Europe and CAPE of GOOD HOPE. and the Me de France. In the fame proportion might the culture of the lands be increafed round about the harbours above-mentioned, or other marts properly fituated for the purpofe. Thoufands of plots of land, which, on account ■of the long way it is from them to the Cape, are now left in their original ftate, would by this means produce as much corn and wine, as would be fufficient to exchange with the wares of the artificers and trades-people in the town. Befides this, the advantages arifing from the grazing of cattle would rather increafe than diminifli, if the ftraw and pafturage were managed better for the advantage of the cattle, than they are at prefent. As, agreeable to the fcheme propofed above, many of the journies now made to the Cape might be avoided, a great many oxen might be difpenfed with, which are now kept merely for this purpofe; and in their ftead milch cows might be kept to increafe the quantity of milk, butter and cheefe, in order to anfwer the confumption of an increafed number of people. With regard to the threfhing of corn and manuring the land, operations which at prefent are either ill-performed, or elfe entirely neglected, there is much to be noticed, with a view to prevent that deterioration of the arable land and pafturage, which is obferved to take place in fuch fpots as have been cultivated for any length of time. The planting of olive and mulberry-trees, together with the importation and proper management of filk-worms, would probably, likewife, be ufeful acquifitions to the colonies, ferving to augment its population, as it would indubitably be a peculiar advantage to the company to find the people, M m 2 who T?7?; who benr the burden of all the taxes paid by the colonies, leptembfr. x J by means of thefe and other inftitutions, more flourifhing and wealthy, and at the fame time exceedingly multiplied for the defence of the country. By thefe methods the company would in time be able, in fome meafure, to collect from the Cape that force, both military and naval, which is fo highly neceffary for the defence of its more opulent fettle -ments in the Eaft-Indies; and which at prefent, in a manner utterly difgraceful to the Dutch Eaft-India company and to human nature, is recruited by the mean low wiles and artifices of crimps and kidnappers in Holland, which I fliall expatiate upon hereafter. Divers private perfons, againft whofe interefts it will feem at firft to militate, that the navigation from the bays which 1 have juft been recommending, lhould take place, will, probably, find many fpecious reafons to urge againft it; but thefe will be eafily overthrown by fuch as know the nature of affairs in this country, and are patriotically inclined towards the company. It is to be feared, indeed, that many who have had the direction and government of the colony, have either not underftood, or elfe have not troubled their heads with any thing that did not refpect their own emolument; or elfe have thought that prudence required, that the colonifts lhould be oppreffed and kept in poverty, in order to prevent them from revolting. But it is neceffary only to know the colony a little better than they do, in order to difcover, in the moft clear and evident manner, that their great forefight and caution would, in this cafe, be carried too far. Moreover, the beft and foundeft principles of policy teach us, that r that it is not their wealth and ftrength, but an invidious Se^JJ^r and oppreffive government, that can induce the colonifts to think of revolting, in hopes of a change for the better. Let the members compofing a ftate be wealthy, and they will make ufe of all their ftrength and power to maintain the authority and confecpience of a government on which their own entirely depends. By confequence, the ftrength and power of colonifts is dangerous only for tyrants and external enemies; while, on the other hand, their weak-nefs peculiarly tends to the advantage of the latter. But enough has been faid upon this fubject, and it is fit that I fliould return to my account of Houtniquas land. The animals to be found there are elephants, lions, tigers, tiger-cats, wolves or hyaenas, black monkies, a kind of badger, buffaloes, hart-beefts, bofch-boks, gnometi.es>. grys-boks, and hares. The elephants- are now, by being fhot at continually, in a great meafure expelled from Houtniquas, and have taken refuge on the other fide of Keurebooms-rivier, in the woody, and almoft entirely unexplored country of Sitjl^ kamma\ The lions are extirpated from Houtniquas, at leaft, they now make no conftant abode there; and thofe that now and then go thither from Sitfikamma, or from the other fide of Lange Kloofs mountains, are foon difcovered and fhot. The tigers, or more properly leopards, (for they feem rather to belong to that fpecies) are not fo eafdy extirpated, as their lurking-places in the forefts are hardly to be found. In thefe parts, indeed, one feldom hears of their having the „ '77?- the courage to attack mankind ; thoueh one cannot reckon September. ^ o o ^tkJ one's felf abfolutely fafe from their depredations. Neither wolves nor black monkies are very common here. 1 have already told the reader what I know concerning thefe animals. The fort of badger to which I allude, is called by the inhabitants berg-varken* or mountain-pig. Thefe animals are faid to be found likewife nearer the Cape., and have a long, extremely harfh, and fomewhat blackifh coat. I was told, that they are about a foot and a half high, and have their holes and hiding-places underneath ftones, and particularly on the tops of mountains, from whence they never peep out but of nights. I had not the good fortune to fee any of them. This animal muft not be confounded with the aard-varken* or earth-pig, which, probably, is a fpecies of manis (the lezard ecailleux of Buffon,) and which is faid to be found in confiderable numbers in the diftrict of Zwartland. There have been, in all likelihood here, formerly hart-ieejis, as Haribeejl-drift* a fmall ftream in this part of the country, has its name from thofe animals. The bofeb-bock (or wood-goat) Plate VI. Vol. II. is a fpecies of antilope or gazel, which has been hitherto unknown *to all the cultivators of natural hiftory, whether ancient or modern, till I defcribed it in the Memoirs of the Swedifh Academy for the year 1780, quarter 3d, by the name of antilope fylvatica. This animal has obtained the name it goes by, in confequence of its being the only one among the gazels in Africa, which may be properly faid to live in the woods and groves; excepting, however, Mr. Pennant's nant's antilope royal: unlefs, indeed, this little animal be a l77S- * - September, the lame with the gnometie of the colonifts, or belong to t>vvJ the gazel genus. Groot Vader-bofch and Houtniquas-bofch, were the only forefts in which I faw and gave chace to the bofch-bok. In other places, whether nearer to or farther from the Cape, it is hardly to be found, if not fome where in Sitfikamma. It would, perhaps, be not difagreeable to zoologifts, to find in this place a defcription of this rare fpecies of gazel \ and though I had no opportunity to make a drawing of it, otherwife than from a couple of thefe creatures fkins, and from the obfervations I could make on it while it was running by me; yet I am apt to believe, that it may be pretty well depended on, and that, at leaft, it will be fufficient to affift the zoologifts in their fyftematic refearches. With refpect to its fize, the bofch-bok is fomewhat above two feet and a half high. From feeing it run, and from what I can conclude from the ikins, it appears to me, that the body of this animal, when compared with the whole height of it, or with the length of its legs, is fomewhat more bulky than that of the other kinds of gazel. The meafure of the dreffed fkin, from which both the defcription and drawing are chiefly taken, was as follows : The horns ten inches and a half long; their diftance from each other at the bafe one inch; the diftance between the tips as well as the middlemoft parts of them three inches and a half; the ears were half the length of the horns, or five inches; the breadth of the forehead from eye to eye three inches ; from the eyes to the horns one inch; from . ,775r from the horns to the nofe fix inches and a half; from the >cptcmbcr. W>J horns to the rump four feet; from the top of the hack to the hoofs thirty-three inches; from the bending of the knees to the hoofs one foot; the hoofs themfelves about an inch. The dreffed ikin of a fcetus, of which I took the meafure, was about two feet in length. A pair of bofch-bok's horns, which I brought home with me, are ten inches long, and the bale of each five inches wide. But on the fkull of an animal of this fpecies, brought home by Profeffor Thunberg, the horns were thirteen inches long. From the dimenlions of thefe parts, a con-clufion may be drawn with refpect to thofe of the remainder, as well as with refpect to the fize of the animal in general. This fpecies of gazel is monogamous, or keeps in pairs. The female is, according to all accounts, diftinguifhed from the other fex in having no horns, in the loins being of a lighter colour, and in not having in thefe parts the long hairs, and efpecially the white ones, which we are about to mention in the defcription of the male. The horns of this are black, in fome meafure triangular, and at the fame time wrreathed, fo that both the fides and angles have fomewhat of a fpiral turn. At bottom they are rather rough, in confequence of a fet of almolt innumerable wavy rings; which, however, are not elevated much above the furface. At top they are conical and fharp-pointed, and in that part as fmooth as though they had been polifhed. In a pair I brought with me, the extreme points or tips are light-coloured and tranfparent. As to the pofition of the horns, they are almoft in the fame fame line or horizontal plane with the forehead, inclining „ ,77>-a little forwards, and at the fame time, by means of the L^y-o twift they make, receding from each other towards the middle, and making with this part a little bend backwards, fo that the tips point fomewhat forwards. The three angles or ridges, that feparate the three fides juft mentioned, form a fpiral in the following manner : The foremoft is very much rounded and cylindrical, beginning inwards, and proceeding more and more forwards, till, coming fide ways and a little outwards, it difappears in, and is confounded with the fmooth conical tip. The fecond is a little raifed, and moflly rounded off in the external part; but internally forms, as it were, a furrow, in conjunction with the foremoft. This latter angle or ridge, moreover, goes off at firft ftrait forwards from the forehead; and afterwards running fideways, outwards and backwards, at length joins the above-mentioned conical tip directly at the back part. The third angle has a fharper edge, which, beginning externally and at the back part, towards the middle of the horn, runs backwards and inwards, and afterwards terminates inwards and fomewhat forwards, in the fmooth tip like the others. The teeth of this animal are like thofe of other gazels. It has no fore teeth or incifores except in the lower jaw, where it has eight. Thefe are broader than the other teeth, being fmall at the roots, and broad and fquared off at the top. of the middle ones, which look towards each other, the interior fides are perpendicular; but the exterior ones oblique, and all the reft have a proportional inclination, at the fame time decreafing in fize; fo that the outer-moft, both to the right and the left, are the fmalleft. Vo l. I. N n There September There is no porus cariferus in this, as there is in other ^✓vxj gazels. The hairs on the head are very fhort and fine; afterwards they become more rough and rugged, refem-bling goats hair more than that of gazels or harts. Forwards on the neck, breaft, fides, and belly, they are an inch and a half or two inches long. On the ridge of the neck, and fo on all along that of the back, they are three or four inches in length, fo as to form a kind of mane there, terminating in a tail about a finger's breadth long. On the hind part of the thighs and buttocks likewife, the hairs are eight inches long; the legs and feet are flender, and covered with fhort hairs; the fetlock-joints are fmall; the nofe and under-lip are decorated with black whifkers about an inch long. The predominant colour in this animal is dark-brown, which occupies the principal part of the fides, the back, the upper part of the tail, the upper part of the cheft and fore ribs, and the fore part of the belly. A ftill darker brown, bordering upon black, is difcoverable on the outfide of the fhoulders, and fome part of the fore ribs. The fore part of the nofe, from the eyes to the muzzle, is of a foot-colour. The ears are likewife as black as foot on the outfide, but on the infide grey; and both outwards and inwards, covered with hairs ftill fhorter than thofe on the head; excepting half the fore part of the lower edge, where the hairs are white and half an inch long. The edges of the upper lip are white, as well as the whole of the lower lip and mandible, behind which the white colour terminates in a point towards the top of the wind-pipe. On each cheek-bone there are two large round CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 275 round white foots, one an inch beneath and behind the eye, _ «77S- , . September. the other an inch below and fomewhat forwarder than the K^y^j former. A ftill larger round white fpot, two inches broad, is difcoverable on the fore part of the neck, fomewhat below the top of the wind-pipe. Nine inches below this, juft above the fore ribs, there is another white fpot, meafur-ing fix inches acrofs, and an inch and a half in height. This, in the fkin of the foetus I fpoke of, was fomewhat hollowed out, and thus refembled a new moon; but in this fkin, the upper round fpot, juft defcribed as being on the fore part of the neck, was not to be feen. The fur of this creature is, moreover, white between its fore legs, and fomewhat on the fides of the fhoulders. The fore legs, from the knees to the patterns, are like-wife white on the infide; and where it borders upon the brown part, inclines to a dirty yellow. On the outfide of the fore legs, near the knees, there is a long oval white fpot; and on the fame fide, juft above the paftern-joint, there is a little cinnamon-coloured fpot. The hind legs, on the infide, from the pafterns to a little way above the bending of the knees, are marked with a white ftreak narrower than thofe on the fore legs. The pafterns of the hind legs are fpotted with white on the fore parts, exactly like thofe of the fore legs. The back part of the belly or the groin is white. Divers fmall white fpots, from nine to twelve in all, are feen on each of the haunches and on the fides near them. A narrow line of long white hairs extends from the neck all along the back and tail, in the midft of the long brown hairs which I have defcribed above. From the chine of the back to the N n a fides *775* fides run five white parallel ftreaks, which, though they C*v%j are not difcoverable but by a clofe inflection, it was certainly proper to mention, in cafe fome individual lhould be met with, on which thefe marks might be more dif-tinc*t, and in confequence of which fome people might be induced to take it for a diftindt. fpecies. It is generally faid, that goats are bad gardeners; and this in a certain degree is true of this wood-goat* or, as it is called, bofch-bok. At Groot Vaders-bofch* the people complained much of the mifchief done by this creature in the vineyards and kitchen-gardens there. It likewife ihewed a great deal of craft and artifice in avoiding the fnares and traps fet for it, as well as the ambufcades of the fportfmen. I myfelf fat up a whole night in a vineyard on the watch for this animal, without getting the leaft glimpfe of it; though it had, according to all appearance, paid us a vifit incog, and made off undifcovered. As the bofch-bok runs but ilowly, it fometimes happens, that he is caught with dogs. When he fees there is no other refource, he puts himfelf in a pofture of defence; and when he is going to butt, kneels down. The colonifts are not very fond of hunting him in this manner, as the beaft, on this occafion, generally fells his life at a very dear rate, by goring and killing fome of their beft and moft fpirited hounds. This creature's horns, which are its chief defence, fometimes alfo prove its bane, by being entangled in the bullies and fmall branches of trees, which thus ftop the beaft in its flight. In fome meafure to avoid this, it carries its nofe horizontally and ftrait forward while it runs; fo that its CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 277 its horns lie, as it were, directly on its neck : notwith- . ms- . J September. {landing which, their horns are generally worn away a v^y^ little on the fore part, and thus acquire fome degree of polifh. In fine, this fpecies of goat is fwifter in woodlands than the dogs, which likewife fooner lofe fcent of him there. The female, which is without horns, and on that account runs about in the forefls more free and unimpeded, does not fuffer herfelf fo eafily to be hunted out of the woods, having there, as well as on the plains, a more certain defence againft the dogs in her legs, than the male has in his horns, efpecially as fhe is not fo bulky and heavy as the male. Her breaft is faid to be very plump and flefhy, but the flefh in general is not very tender; in that point refembling that of the bunte-bok* or guib of Buffon, Tom. XII. tab. 40. By the wreathing of their horns, the form of their bodies and white fpots, it lhould feem moreover, that there was fome diftant affinity between thefe two forts of gazels; but by no means great enotigh, for them to be merely varieties of the fame fpecies. Befides the difference in their colour and fpots, which is too remarkable for them to be confidered as one and the fame animal, (not to mention the length of the bofch-bol?s horns in proportion to its body,) I have never feen the bunte-boks live otherwife than in large herds on the plains, and thefe were at leaft half as high again as the bofch-bok* or of the fame fize with the hartbeejl. The cry of this animal, as I have feveral times, efpecially in the evenings, heard it in Houtniquas* fomewhat refembled the interrupted, fhort, low, and rather hoarfe growling 278 AVOYAGEtothe »775- ffrowlinc: of a doe. Yet, as I was informed bv feveral eptcmucr. 00 * \+sy>j people tnat tne cr*es °* tne Cape tigers* or rather leopards* pretty much refembled this, I am uncertain whether the noife I heard always proceeded from the bofch-bok. Without doubt, it appears fomething extraordinary, that the cries of the tiger and a gazel lhould be like each other; but, perhaps, the tiger may have the gift of being able to imitate bofch-boks, in order to lead them affray ; juft as the hyaena has the power to imitate, for a fimilar purpofe, all kinds of animals. Nay, there is likewife fome refem-blance between the cries of a lion and that of an qflrich; though between thefe animals there is much lefs affinity : and, indeed, there is no foundation for any conjectures concerning the caufe of this fimilitude. The gnometie, called alfo the erwetie* is a little animal of the hart or gazel kind, of the lize of a hare, and is, perhaps, the cervus Guineenfis of LiNNifcus, the antilope royal of Pennant, and the chevrotain cle Guinee of Buffon. I have frequently perceived the traces and other marks of this diminutive creature, but had not the good fortune actually to fee more than one of them; and that only in a hafty manner, as it was bounding about in a grove at Sitficamma. Of hares there are at leaft two different forts in Houtniquas, and in the other parts of Africa. The one is almoft the fame with our common hare; but of the other I find it difficult to pronounce, whether it be absolutely the fame with the lepus Capenfts* Syjl. Nat. cauda longitudine capitis* pedibus rubris* or not. The feet excepted, the characle-riftic marks are the fame; for the feet and body of this 3 were were of the fame colour as our common hares are in fum- 1775* mer*, and the tail was almoft of an equal length with S^^!/r' the hare, as mentioned in the Syjlema Natura. I found it moreover broad at the bafe, and diminifhing by degrees, fo as to terminate in a point. Underneath and on the fides, the tail was as white as chalk, but above there was extended along it a ftripe as black as a coal. This defcription I drew up from a young leveret of this fpecies, which was brought to the Cape alive, and was the only one that I have ever feen. The buffalos (vide Plate II. Vol. II.) were of a fort entirely different from all hitherto known by this name, which is fufnciently manifeft from the defcription I have already inferted in the Memoirs of the Swedifh Academy for the year 1779. It is true, I had no opportunity in Houtniquas, either to fee or fhoot any of them ; but I frequently met with the freih traces of them. Such dangerous neighbours made it rather unfafe to botanize here ; for though the buffalos do not abfolutely go in fearch of mankind or the brute creation on purpofe to do them mif-chief, except they are previoufly irritated, neverthelefs, their perverfe difpofition and great ftrength of body render them extremely dangerous, when one meets them in the narrow paths, called buffalo-roads, where the wood on each fide is frequently fo thick fet, as not to allow one to make way either to right or left. In a journey that Dr. Thunberg, fome years before, took into Houtniquas* one of his company had very imprudently tied two of his horfes together, one behind the other, and drove them before * In the colder climates of Europe, the common hare is white in winter. him 28o A V O Y A G E to the 1775- him on a narrow path. The owner of them had juft time September. ^ ^at ^ras all) to fave himfelf, while a buffalo meeting them gored the horfes to death, and trampled them into the duff. But it will be more appolite to our purpofe, to give the hiftory and defcription of this beaft farther on in the order of the time, when I became better acquainted writh it. I likewife once faw a tiger-wood-cat and z. grys-l>o&, and mall, perhaps, find a better opportunity to make farther mention of thefe alfo. Of the feathered tribe I found in Houtniquas a new fpecies of tantalus* called by the colonifts hagedajh* and alfo badelde. This latter name has, in fome meafure, the fame found as the bird's note; the bird itfelf, which was faid to be confined to this province, I have found likewife in great numbers about Zwart-kops-rivier. This fame bird is called by the Hottentots Ha '6ai ykene* a name which, if rightly pronounced with three fmacks of the tongue againft the roof of the mouth, a ftranger will find more difficulty in uttering than the bird's own language. It lives chiefly on bulbs and roots, which with its crooked bill, it is faid to dig up out of the plains with great eafe and readinefs. There it is fhy and difficult to come at. In the evenings I always faw them upon fome tree in the woods at rooft, and in this fituation, one morning at fun-rife, I had the good fortune to flioot one of them. The bill of this bird was five inches long, black at the tip and lower nib, at the upper nib red. The neck was of an afh-colour: the back the fame, and at the fame time had a eaft of green with a little yellow. The wings were dark beneath, and above of a blue colour inclining to black; the leffer letter coverts of a violet-colour. The tail, which was c !77s- September. wedge-lhaped, was about twice the length of the bill, and V^y^ the body was fomewhat larger than that of a hen. The thighs were of an afh-colour. The feet and legs, as well as the membrane between the claws, was blackiih; in other reipects, this bird had all the charadteriftic marks which belong to the tantalus. The colonifts allured me, that it was a fign of rain, when thefe birds affembled in great flocjcs, and flew againft the wind. The ftate of the weather in Houtniquas was faid to be as follows. In March and April it rains here moft; and, on the contrary, in the months of May, June, and July, (which about the Gape and elfewhere are the winter months, and are attended with copious rains) it is here quite dry, though frequently rather cool and bleak. The north-weft wind at this time prevails here, as well as at the Gape ; fometimes the wind veers about to the north, and brings with it the warmth of fummer ; a change which frequently occafions the milch-cows in Houtniquas to grow ftiff in the joints. I was affured, that it never rained when this north wind prevailed, probably on account of the chain of mountains, which extends from eaft to weft, proving a barrier to keep the clouds on the other fide; or elfe by virtue of their attraction, detaining thefe condenfed vapours on their fummits. I went through the wood directly a-crofs it, with the intention of afcending the mountain., whence I might have a view ofLange Kloof; but found the foot of the mountain every where fo thick over-run with high and ftiff perennial graffes and bufhes, as to be abfo-^ lutely impenetrable. Vol. I. Go Hout- s 7e75be Houtniquas and Lange Kloof, however, communicate with l^v each other in one place, by means of a very bad road over a mountain lower than the reft, near Trakudiku. I did not go quite on to this place, but faw from Zwarte-rivier the fmoke of a chimney near Trakudiku, and from the information I thus acquired, gave this river in fome meafure its true fituation in my map. The badnefs of the road, and the want of a proper guide, together with the enfeebled ftate of my oxen, more particularly prevented me from going from this place to vifit Algoa-bay, which, however, I wifhed much to do. Befides, wre could not venture to quit our waggons and make the trip to that bay alone on horfeback; as almoft the whole province was involved in riot and drunkennefs, by means of a hogfhead of brandy that had been carried thither ; and my Hottentots, likewife, by the fame means, had been thrown into a ftate of licentioufnefs and con-fufion. There being no ftills in thofe parts, a peafant there had wrote to the Cape for a quantity of the above-mentioned liquor, in order to turn a penny by retailing it out; but had in the mean while unfortunately drunk it himfelf by the wholefale, fo as to be night and day in the higheft degree intoxicated with it: and, indeed, in his fury, would have fhot my companion dead on the fpot, had I not been luckily near at hand to prevent him. In another place, where our landlord, in other refpects a worthy man, and of a very gentle difpofition, had made a purchafe of fome of this fame brandy, he turned his wife, with a child in arms, and feveral other children fomewhat older, out of doors in the middle of the night. The laws of hofpitality, and perhaps an apprehen- fion Hon of meeting with fome rcfiftance, had, however, fo much a 1775- _ , 1 *• . September. weight with him, that my companion and I were left m \^y^j peace and quietnefs. In another place hereabouts, a peafant had been balking in the fun and drinking, in company with a parcel of Hottentots, who, when he had got his fill, was not only well flogged by this Pagan crew, but was upbraided by them for having been ufed to fleep with his houfekeeper, a Hottentot's widow, who was fuppofed befides to be in another way nearly related to him. I myfelf faw this man with a terrible wound on his head, of which, however, he was afhamed to tell the caufe. I like-wife had the pleafure of feeing his miftrefs, dizened out with brafs and leathern rings on her arms and legs, and with beads about her waifl and neck. She was clad in the ufual manner with a fheep-fkin pellifle* and a well-greafed raw leathern apron, was well befmeared with foot befides greafe, and could boaft of as broad and flat a nofe as any Hottentot lady whatever. With all thefe perfections, however, fhe feemed to me to be rather a cure for love, than an incentive to that paflion: notwithftanding this, it is not uncommon for the white people here (particularly men who are more licentious in their manners than the other fex) to be criminal in this point. That the Hottentot women are complying in this particular, does not only contradict: their general character of indifference in matters of love, but alfo that zeal, which I have attributed to them, in the performance of their duties towards their own nation. Their diet, which, when they are in the fervice of the Chriftians, is more plentiful and of a more lengthening O o a quality, ,177?- quality, and, perhaps, the incitement of the example of thefe SJvLJ latter, may have its effect in making fome alteration in the nature of thefe females. Add to this, that out of the fo-ciety of their nation, they do not feel themfelves bound to obferve that rigid virtue and fimplicity of manners, which they otherwife would, any more than the religion of the Ghriftians ; neither can it indeed be required, that fuch a one flioukl always be proof againft flattery, promifes, prefents, and, perhaps, the threats, which a mafter, of whom fhe ftands in awe, may think fit to employ, in order to fatisfy his unruly defires. The pledges of love, proceeding from fuch a union, have hair almoft, if not quite, as woolly and frizzled as the genuine Hottentots ; but their complexion and features, partake more or lefs of both the father and mother. They arc likewife, as it appears to me, more bulky and lufty than the Hottentots are in general ; they are better refpected too, and at the fame time more confided in, and more to be depended upon, but at the fame time prouder and more conceited than the others. Neither thefe, nor any other illegitimate children, are ever baptized, or, indeed, enquired after by the Ghriftian mi-nifters at the Cape, except in cafe that any one fliould prefent himfelf as the father, and make a point of the child's being baptized, and thus give the infant the right of inheritance. I faw two brothers in the vicinity of Hottentots Hollands 'Bath, the iffue of a Chriftian man and of a baftard negrefs of the fecond or third generation. One of the fons, at this tune about thirty years of age, feemed not to be flighted in the the company of the Chriftian farmers, though, at that s time, he had not been baptized. The other, who was the ^v^o elder brother, in order to get married and fettled in life, as he then was, had been obliged to ufe all his influence, and probably even bribes, to get admitted into the pale of the church by baptifm. For my part, I cannot comprehend the reafon why the divines of the reformed church at the Cape are fo fparing of a facrament, which others, particularly the Papifts, have endeavoured to force, as it were, upon the heathens with fire and fword, and all manner of cruelties. The cloth does not, as far as I know, receive any benefit from the chriftening of children at the Cape, at leaf! no particular benefit from the baptizing of illegitimate children; fuch conduct, therefore, cannot fairly be afcribed to any retrofpect to felf-intereft, nor indeed to abfolute remiffnefs and neglect; a difpofition which would but ill fait with that fpirit of charity and univerfal benevolence, fo peculiarly enforced by the doctrines of Chrifti-anity. Farther, if the clergy at the Cape think by this means to diminifh the number of unlawful connections with the heathen women, they will find that this ffroke of policy will not anfwer their purpofe : indeed, the letting fuch numbers of infants born of Chriftian parents fuffer in their fpiritual interefts, is a flrangely cruel method of preventing fin. It is true, a great many of the whites have fo much pride, as to hinder, as far as lies in their power, the blacks or their offspring from mixing with their blood : but it appears to me, that Chriftian humility ought to operate fo far with the clergy, as to prevent them from being afhamed *775- aihamed to fee their black fellow-creature walking; cheek September. . . . , . ° by jowl with them on the road to heaven. This puts me in mind of an event, which I had before feen mentioned fome where (and, if I remember right, in the Hijloire Pbilofopbique Politique) as having happened not a long while ago in Batavia* I enquired, therefore, concerning the truth of it, of thofe that had lived at that place, and found feveral agreeing in the following account. " There was a citizen in Batavia* who had often importuned the miniflers of his church to baptize his illegitimate child, but had always found them inflexible. " Well and good ! fays the man to them at laft, it feems as if you alone wifhed to fhut the door of heaven, the keys of which you imagine you have in your poffeflion : but the Mahometan priefts of the Malays, are not fo churlifh and niggardly of falvation as you are; they having already pro-mifed me to incorporate my fon this very day into their church, and make him a true Muffulman : for fome kind of religion I am determined my child fhall be of, as I hold that, in a well-regulated fociety, no man ought to be without a religion." The Chriftian priefts, however,no fooner faw that preparations were made for circumcilion, than they haften-ed, by adminiftering the faa anient of baptifm, to deprive the Mahometan church of a foul, which they had juft before rejected as illegitimate. And fince that time, they are faid to be lefs backward in opening the doors of heaven to baftards." Here follows another inftance of the depravity of tafte in the white people in this colony, with regard to love matters. I paid paid a vifit to a European, who had fettled in Houtniquas. He was a good lively handfome fellow, about the middle Sv!^3" age, and, I believe, of good extra&ion. He had ferved under feveral different potentates in Europe, and had fliewed them all a fair pair of heels. He gave me the hiftory of a great many fingular adventures of his, but the moft fingular of them all, in my opinion, I was eye-wit-nefs to myfelf. This was, that he had married two years before an ugly footy Mulatto, the daughter of a Negrefs. She had been the milfrefs of another farmer who was dead, and by whom lhe had a couple of baftards. Thefe i faw at that time likewife in the houfe, grown up and un-baptized. But what feemed to me the molt fingular circumftance in the whole affair was, that this muft have been abfolutely a love-match; for though he had got a few cattle with his dingy fpoufe, yet the houfe, which he likewife had with her, was certainly not a palace. It was, in fact, a miferable cottage, though pleafantly enough fituated in the fkirts of a forefl. The walls were made of reeds tied together, and fupported by a few upright chumps of wood, interfperfed with fome rough boards, fuch as are generally ufed for fences. This ftructure was plaiftered over with a thin and ragged covering of clay. There were but two rooms in it,i and poverty feemed to have taken full poffefhon of them both. In the inner room, the man's wife lay ill of a putrid fever. The outer apartment, which was the common bed-chamber for all the reft of the family that were in health, I can belt defcribe. It was fomewhat more than two yards in breadth, 4 and „ ,775- and about fix long, with a peep-hole at one end of it, and September. ° v^^vn^ a fmall broken window at the other; not to fpeak of feveral other apertures, which occafioned a draught of air that delivered my friend and me from all apprehenfions of danger from the contagion of the putrid fever, but at the fame time prevented us from keeping a candle alight for any length of time. The rain, which had wetted us to the fkin when out of doors, now followed us into the houfe, dropping from the eaves; a fign that the roof could not boaft of any great fuperiority over the walls. Our bed was on the damp loam-floor; a piece of fail-cloth, the relicks of an old waggon-tilt, ferved us and our landlord himfelf both for bed and bed-clothes; as for pillows, there were none but what we brought with us, which confifted merely of our dripping-wet faddles. We fhall now drop the fubjecl: of the amorous intercourfe of the white people with the blacks, in order to give, in a few words, a general idea of the houfes in Houtniquas* that pofterity may from hence be able to judge of the future increafe of the colony. There was only one wooden houfe on the borders of this foreft, and this was long and fpacious, with but one room in it, and built with logs cleft down the middle. Another was like that juft defcribed, compofed of ftraw and clay, but not quite fo tranfparent; this belonged to a yo\\ng beginner. A third that we faw was likewife of clay, but well-built, roomy, and neatly furrufhed; being the property of a clever, induftrious, well-behaved man, Dirk Yves by name, who had likewife built himfelf a mill? mill? and feveral other conveniences. The reft were all s Jg£;ert of clay or mud, and were partitioned out into two rooms, c>y^ in the fame manner as I have in general defcribed the colonifts houfes at the beginning of this journal. It was faid to be at that time, not above twenty years fince Houtniquas was firft known, and twelve years fince it began to be inhabited by the colonifts, who did not repair thither in any confiderable numbers till of late years. I mentioned, that the confulion and difturbance occa-fioned by the introduction of the hogfhead of brandy, had reached even to my Hottentots; and that on this account I was obliged, much againft my will in other refpects, to make hafte with them from thefe parts. My companion had been imprudent enough, at their earned: requeft, to indulge them with a fup or two of this precious liquor; the confequence of which was, that they became furious, and broke out into the moft abuflve language, becaufe they could not have any more of it. At length, we were forced to try what blows would operate upon them; which had this effect, that the next night, by way of revenge, they took to their heels and ran away. We, on our parts, rode to one of the two Hottentot craals that were at the hither end of Houtniquas* in order to fearch for them. In the firft they were not to be found, neither did the people chufe to give us any explicit information concerning them; but when we came to the other, and began to climb over the fence, or the place where they kept their cattle, they let all their dogs out at once upon us. We directly put ourfelves in a pofture of defence, as if we were going Vol. I. p p to , '7W; to flioot both the dogs and their mailers. This occafioncd >ept2mber. P _ r V^-yvJ the Hottentots to call their dogs off, which obeyed immediately. We then went into their houfes without delay or moleflation, fome of which were built of ftraw in a fquare form, with (helving roofs, like the cottages of" the flaves. In one of thefe cottages, on a little bench, we found our Hottentots fail alleep. We contented ourfelves with gently reproaching them on the fcore of their mifconduct; but at the fame time, with an air of authority, commanded them to return to their duty. They, on their fide, without anfwering us or offering to gainfay us in the leafl, followed us as quietly as if they had been our prifoners. They took leave of their countrymen and countrywomen by fhaking hands with each other, in the Dutch fafhion, though without bowing; at the fame time with great cordiality, ' and a deal of talk on both fides. The women feemed as if they wanted to keep them, and I do not doubt but that the fellows would have been eafily prevailed on, if our guns had been out of the way. Indeed, with refpect to my Hottentots, I was as much afraid of the temptations of the women as of the intoxicating quality of the brandy; and therefore made fo much the more hafle to get away from this place, which otherwife might for many years have afforded employment to the attentive refearches and obfervations of a botanifl. Our departure took place in the beginning of October; but before I go on any farther with my journal, I will fet down the Hate of the weather for the month of September juft elapfed. The The rainy clays were the 8th, 9th, 16th, 20th, a*ft, gJJgJk 24th, 25th, 29th; and the laft of thefe days was remarkable ^vO for fouth-eaft winds and rain. The thermometer was for the moft part early in the morning between 49 and 50, in the middle of the day between 76 and 80, and in the evening at fun-fet between 50 and 60. Pp % C II A P. CHAP. VIII. Journey through Lange Dal. ot\h ^ c^ay °f October we departed from Houtniquas, <^vO returning over the great and little Brak rivers to Geelbek-rivier* from whence to Hagel-craal and Artaquas-kloof* whither we went the next day : there were two roads. The one, which was better cleared and more beaten, though farther to the weft of the laft-mentioned river, we fent our waggon by; and took the other road, though it was hilly, ourfelves, being advifed fo to do, as it was a nearer way on horfeback. By a trifling neglect, one often lofes a great deal; and we, by loitering a little on the road, were difappointed of our night's lodging, being overtaken by the darknefs and rain; fo that, although we were near the farm whither we were going, and heard the barking of their dogs, and the crowing of their cocks, we were not able to hit upon the fpot. After many fruit-lefs attempts, and getting into the roads that led to the paftures, and other by-ways that took us into thickets, and directly againft the fteep parts of mountains, we at laft thought we had hit upon the right road, when we found in our way a river deeper than any we had hitherto, in our our bewildered fituation, ventured to crofs. It is true, we were not afraid of being foufed a little by going through the water, as the rain had made us almoft as wet as we well could be; but neither of us chofe to be the firft to venture over, for fear of there being fome hole or oozy part in our way. I therefore drove before us over the river, on the forlorn hope, as it were, an old horfe that I led in hand along with me. No fooner had he got over than he fet off full gallop, and freed himfelf in an in-ftant from the confinement in which we had kept him the whole day; while we, wet, cold, and hungry (having eaten nothing all day long but a flight breakfaft) wTere obliged, after feveral more unfuccefsful attempts, to pafs the night in the open air, expofed to the wind and rain. That we might not fo eafily be attacked unawares by tigers, we got away from the river and vale, which was full of bufhes, on to the mountain, and there took the faddles off our horfes near a bufh that flood quite feparate and alone. Hard-by was a precipice, which we fortunately perceived time enough to be able to be upon our guard againft it. Having tied our horfes halters round their fore legs, a method very common in Africa, we then let them feed on the other fide, with a view, that if any lion fhould come upon us, he might firft find employment with them; and at the fame time, that if a wolf fhould make its appearance, the horfes fhould not run off. The reafon of this precaution will appear by referring to page 160. In the night, when we felt ourfelves almoft ftiff with cold, we wandered up and down, and frequently fell down on the top of the mountain, which was greafy and flip- pery, ollL Per7' m confequence of the rain. With regard to our V^yn-' fituation in other refpecSts, it was difficult to fay, whether it gave us more comfort or vexation to hear, as we frequently did, the farmer's cocks crow. As foon as ever the day began to dawn, at about five o'clock, we faddled our horfes without delay, and eafily found our way to the farm called Hagel-craal* which was only at the diftance of a few gun-mots from us. Dirk Marcus, the mafter of it, a hearty old fellow, as foon as we accofted him, began to praife us highly for induftrious young men who were up before him ; but afterwards, when he was made acquainted with the difficulties we had undergone, he heartily pitied us, though he could not help at the fame time ferioufly chiding us for not being accuflomed to fmoke ; as in that cafe we might, at a juncture when it was moft wanted, have had about us the means of making a fire, as well as of appearing our hunger, and pafling away the tedious hours with a pipe. After this, he gave us an account of a great many adventures he had met with in his excurfions into the interior part of the country, where he had acquired a tolerable competency by fhooting elephants. The information and advice he gave us wrere both ufeful and agreeable. This worthy man fent his people after the led horfe, which I mentioned as having run away from me; and when we took our departure, which was on the 13th, at ten o'clock in the morning, he lent us feveral ftout oxen to help to draw our waggon over the very hilly dak called Art aquas-kloof* At fix we arrived at Paarde-craal* a fmall river fo called, where we refted till the next mornings morning, or the 14th. By noon we reached Zaffraan- Gg7£ craal* at which place the long and tirefome vale of Artaquas \^r^j 'ends. Here, according to previous agreement, we turned the oxen we had borrowed loofe, which went home of themfelves the fame way we had brought them. The vale juft mentioned, is reckoned among the diftricts which are cold and four in the higheft degree, and at the fame time is confidered as unfit to be inhabited. Here there is laid to grow a herb, called by the colonifts p— grafs, and which, as far as one may truft to their defcription of it, is, probably, a fpecies of euphorbia. This is faid to be frequently eaten by young cattle brought from other countries, which thereby get a dyfury, or ftoppage of urine, that often proves mortal. In the urine as well as the urethra of thefe animals, a fubftance refembling little lumps of cheefe has been obferved. The only means by which they have fometimes been fo fortunate as to fave the life of an animal attacked with this difeafe, has been by hunting and driving it about for fome time without intermiflion, in order to attenuate, concoct, and expel the coagulated matter. In time of war or inteftine commotion, a pafs fo narrow as Art aquas-kloof* muft necelfarily be of great importance, as a key to the whole tract of country lying to the eaftward. In Lange-kloof* likewife, and Kromme-rivier* many impediments might be laid in the way of an army that was marching that way. The tract of land round about Zaffraan-craal ftrait on to Lange-kloof is of the kind I have defcribed above under the denomination of Carrow. In the houfe at Zaffraan-craal we fuffered an inconvenience, which is faid to be very common in the Carrows. 5 This 177v This was the common houfe-fly in fuch prodigious cjuan- Octoher. . i tities, as almolt entirely to cover the walls and ceiling. In fact, they did not ceafe for a moment to molert us, by fwarming and buzzing about in our eyes, ears, nofes, and mouths, fo that it was not poilible for us to keep in the houfe for any time together: notwithstanding which, an old Have, who at that time lived there quite alone, was obliged to ileep in the midft of this neft of flies every night. In other tracts of this country moleftcd by flies, I faw thefe troublefome infects taken very dexterouily in the following manner. All over the ceiling are hung up bunches of herbs, on which the flies are fond of fettling;, a per-fon then takes a linen net or bag of fome depth fixed to a long handle, and putting it round every bunch, fhakes it about, fo that the flies fall down to the bottom of the bag; where, after feveral applications of it in this manner, they are killed by the pint or quart at a time, by dipping the bag into fcalding-hot water. In certain parts of the Carrozv, where the flies abound moft, it is faid, that there is a bufli which exfudes a humour fomewhat of the nature and confiftence of tar. This, by its adhefive quality, detains the flies, which are very fond of fettling on the plant, and by this means deftroys them. There is another flirub frequently found in the Carrow, which grows here likewife, and is called Canna-bofch; whence the whole tract of country hereabouts bears the name of Can-no's, and not Canaan's Land, as Mr. Mason has called it in the Pbilofoptical TranJactions. In fact, from the extreme drought that prevails here, inftead of the Land of Promifey Mr. Mason would have done better to have called it it the Land of Affliclion. A road between Art aquas and Lange-kloof, inclining more to the fouthward than that by which we went, paries over a high and fteep mountain, which, from the circumftance above-mentioned, is called Cannds-hoogte* or Canna's-hcights. Having examined this fame Canna-fhrub I found, that in ftrict propriety, it formed a new fpecies of falfola\ for which reafon, in my manufcript defcriptions of plants, 1 have called it Salfola caj'ra, foliis minutis fubrotundis* car-noJis* concavtSy imbricatis. The leaves have a bitter fait tafte, and burned together with the whole fhrub, produce very ftrong allies, excellently well adapted for the purpofe of making foap; for which reafon, particular attention is paid by the Carrow farmers to the culture of this plant. In the parts of the flower, the Canna-uwwb fo far differs from the generical character of the Jalfola in the fixth edition of the Genera Plantarum, inafmuch as this fpecies has a little obfolete Jlyle* with two or three brown Jligmas* The remaining parts of its character were, Stam. JiL bre-vijf. Anther a cordata, Calyx perianth, perfijlens* Capfula 5 va/vis, 1 locularisj and Semen 1 coch/eatum, as in the fal-fola* or rather refembling a watch-fpring coiled up. It was curious to fee how the only Have that was then at Zaffraan-craal, and who had the abfolute management of the farm, how fkilfully, I fay, with the affiftance of two Hottentots who dwelt not far from the place, he had brought the water in rills and channels down to the fields of wheat (of which the ears at that time were peeping forth,) as well as to the garden; and had made dams at thefe places, fo that they might be overflowed and water- Vol. L Q q ed, ^75' ed whenever it was requihte, by which means they ap-peared clad with a delightful verdure. In every other part the earth was as much parched up,, and as dry as the high road; on which account, having fet out upon our journey at night, for the fake of taking the benefit of the coolnefs of the air, we were foon obliged to turn back and flay till morning, as we were not able to dif-tinguifh the road from the other parts of the fields and commons. The next morning we continued our route,: and after parting over Morafs-rivier, came to Canna-viver, by others called Kkindorn-rivicr* where we baited. All the verdure our oxen and horfes could find here confifted only in a fmall quantity of a reed (arundo pbragmites) ftill left in the above-mentioned river, the greater part of it having been previoufly confumed by the cattle belonging to former travellers. It happened, however, that we ftaid longer than we ought to have done in a place that was eaten fo^ bare, in order to regale ourfelves with a meal of our own cooking, compofed of a kind of a partridge that I had juft fhot, as for the laft three days we had had nothing to fatisfy the cravings of our appetites but our Hottentot's coarfe ammunition-bread and a little tea. It fell to my lot to pluck the bird, and Mr. Immelman undertook to drefs it;, and, indeed, he fliewed himfelf a perfect mafter in the art, ftewing it in a quantum fujicit of water, and a little fieep's-tall fat, which our Hottentots had got at Zaffraan-. craal for their own eating; fo that it would be no eafy matter to defcribe the highly agreeable fenfations conveyed by this delicate difli to the organs both of tafte and fmell. But, But, as ill-luck would have it, we had neither of us re-membered to draw the fowl, till in order to divide it equal- ^y^j ly between us, we cut it in two; when the fauce, which we juft before had found delicious in the higheft degree, became quite naufeous. The Hottentots laughed heartily at our omiftion, and ftill more at our delicacy, and at the fame time licked it up every drop. The delay occalioned by this meal caufed us to be overtaken by darknefs, before we could reach the next farm; da confequence of which, we got into a labyrinth of bullies and briars for want of being able to fee the road. We were therefore obliged to ftop, and prepare to fuffer hunger and thirft, together with our beafts, till the next morning, and be almoft frozen to death into the bargain; for though it had been reeking hot the preceding day, the night was neverthelefs extremely cold. About midnight*, however, the moon fhone* and enabled us once more to find the road, when we foon came to a farm near Kleine Dom-rivier* called Zandplaat. It was not without th** greateft aftonifhrnent, that we beheld the next morning the coniiderable number and unparalleled fatnefs of the fheep here, when we compared thenl with the horrid drought and aridity of the land. In this part of the country, when they are going to kill a iheep, they always look out for the leaneft in the whole flock, as the reft are intolerably fat. The tail alone of one of thefe fheep (which is thick and of a triangular fhapc, being from a foot to a foot and a half in length, and fometimes above fix inches thick near the rump) will weigh from eight to twelve pounds; and moftly confifts of a delicate Q q 3, kind kind of fat, which by fome people is eaten with bread in-^^sj ilead of butter, and is ufed for drefling victuals with, and fometimes even for making candles. Here, as being produced in the Carrow and in a warm diftrict, the wine is faid to be good; but I can form no judgment of it myfelf, as the farmer had already fold or confirmed all he had made. On the other hand, in hange Kloof* as being a four diftrict, not a drop of wine can be made. Some Hottentot wives had got their huts built near this farm ; and a Hottentot lad, who was, in fact, in the fervice of the farmer, had at that time lain for feveral days in their quarters, afflicted with a bad diforder, which teemed to have a great affinity with the putrid fever epidemic here, and confequently would not bear bleeding. I was forced, however, to undertake this operation, in order to refcue the lad from the clutches of his matter, who had an unlimited confidence in venefection, and had already whetted his knife on purpofe to perform it. The patient, who either could not or elfe would not give any account of the Hate in which he found himfelf, had, previous to the operation, a fmall pulfe; and during it was taken with a univerfal tremor, upon which, after his arm was bound up again, fupervened convulfive twitchings. So that, in fact, we left our patient in a much weaker condition than we found him in, though I had been very fparing in taking-blood from him. My hoft, neverthelefs, was very well fatisfied, and would not be perfuaded but that the tremor was going off; at the fame time he bade his wile give me for my trouble the beft of every thing they had in the houfe, houfe. In the fpace of about half an hour, however, they 1775- - ' Ottober. came and told us, that the poor lad was at the point of \^y^j death. I cannot deny, but that I reproached myfelf internally, with having been in a manner the inftrument of his death ; I did not however omit, in order as it were to difburthen my confcience, to reproach my hoft bitterly, as having been the principal caufe of fending the foul of a Hottentot into eternity. Bat the good man feemed fo much troubled, and took it fo to heart, that I was actually going to comfort him, when he at laft broke filence with a deep figh, and anfwered me with fome warmth, faying, The devil a bit did he care for the Hottentot or his foul either, fo that he could but get another ox-leader in his ftead, as he muft foon drive to the Cape to difpofe of his- butter. In the mean time we went to fee the ceremonies prac-tifed with the corpfe. In fact, they confrft in this; the Hottentots fhake, jolt, pummel and cuff their dying countrymen, as well as fuch as are juft dead ; at the fame rime fhrieking and hollowing in their ears, and calling a world of reproaches on them for dying. Neither do they forget befides to endeavour, by fair words and promifes, to perfuade them not to leave this world; as if it depended on a man in the agonies of death, to die or not, juft as he pleafed. I now faw this ceremony performed to a hair on the youth I had let blood, by two Hottentot old women. Indeed, I was afraid, that by their perfeverance in this pious work, they would quite fuffocate the fmall fpark of life which, at leaft juft alter our arrival, was perceived in him; bur, on the contrary, the patient came a little to himfelf, fo that it appeared* as if by then fhaking and jolting, they had W.5- had put the languid circulation, and confequently the vital V^yV powers into proper motion again. My holt and I, however, on our fides, did not neglect to get fome brandy as foon as pollible, in order to moiften his lips and nofe with it. I afterwards heard here, on my return from my toui> that this fwoon came on the youth in confequence of their having let him run out of the houfe during the frenzy produced by the fever; as likewife, that low and fatigued as he was at that time, yet in the fpace of ten or twelve days he had grown quite ftout and hearty, infomuch, that Ire had run away from his matter during the journey to the Cape, in which I mentioned that my hoft intended to make ufe of him as ox-leader. There was an otter extremely well Huffed, which I now keep in the cabinet of curiofities belonging to the Academy of Sciences, but which being a rarity in thofe parts, my landlord intended as a prefent for the governor, and had kept it? hid up in a private place for that purpofe ; he now, however, gave it to me by way of recompence for bleeding the lad, fo thankful was the limple boor, and fo much charmed with this operation. This otter feemed to be of the fame fpecies with our European otter, and to differ from it only in iize, and in being of a lighter colour. The length of the body, meafuring from the nofe to the root of the tail, is two feet and a half, and the whole length of the tail rather more than eighteen inches* This animal, in all probability, lives chiefly on a kind of round crabfifli and frogs; as in the frefh water of all the African rivers, that i have laid down in my map, two forts of fifh only, .that I know of, are to be found, (and thefe too in a very 6 trifling trifling quantity) viz, a very fmall kind of gilt-bead, the Q^?s^ fpecies of which i have forgot to defcribe, and the cyprinus ^rsu gonoryncbus, about the fize of an ordinary herring. On the 17th we went from the arid Carrow diftricl: into Lange Kloof, (or the long dale) which commences at Brak-rivier. By way of reinforcing my team, I was obliged to buy another pair of oxen here, at eight rixdollars a head. The farmer's wife, who feemed to be the chief manager here, warranted them to be without fault or blemifh. As one of them, however, when we drove from hence, was foon found to be rather lame in one of the hind legs, we began to harbour fome fufpicions of the fair vender's hanefty. Her neighbours at leaft affured us, that with refpect to the dependence that was to be placed on her word, the ox might have been lame of all four legs, without our having any reafon to blame any thing but our own credulity. We were like wile over-reached with regard to a horfe that wel left here, by this fame hoftefs of ours and her hufband. Shortly after this they removed to the Cape, with a view to go into the commercial line there. They were neverthelefs at this time, hofpitahle to the fulleft extent of the word ; at the fame time, eating themfelves with an appetite that aftonifhed us. As hofpitality is commonly prac-tifed, and, indeed, is a leading feature in the character of the country people here, fo it appears to me from feveral circumftances, that deceit in their dealings is likewife very prevalent in the colony; and by no means confidered in fo jow and defpicable a light, as it is with us, or as it really deferves to be. In In the neighbourhood of Brak-rivier* as well as in other places in Lange Kloof* they made great complaints concerning the p— grafs mentioned above, as growing in Arta-quas Kloof; though nobody could, with any degree of certainty, point out any particular herb as coming under that denomination. In this part of the country I was confulted by a married woman, who, through ignorance, as well as impatience, had pulled away piece-meal her uterus, which was in a prolapfed Hate, without any bad confequences enfuing. Near the fource of Keurebooms-rivier there was a farm, from which, by a troublefome foot-path, one might go in a day to Algoa-bay in Houtniquas. Pott-rivier is likewife called Chamika, a name, which, as there was no room for it in the map, I thought it was proper to mention here for the fake of future travellers. As Mr. Immelman and I being on horfeback, had rode to a good diftance before the waggon, we loft our way, it being then very dark; we had the good luck, however, at length, to come up to a farm, not far from the laft-mentioned river. We found the farm inhabited only by fome Hottentots, who were left there by a colonift in order to look after it. They were fo crofs-grained, as not to anfwer either in Dutch or Por-tugueie Mr. Immelman's enquiries about the road, although he promifed to give them fomething to drink, and though, as we were afterwards allured, they perfectly un-derftood both thefe languages; but, to make amends, they jabbered a great deal to us in their own, of which, however, we could not comprehend a fyllable. I do not know whether whether this behaviour proceeded from a wicked difpofl- wi. , r , . - O&ober. tion, the foundation of which is to be fought for in the ge- K^yj neral depravity, as it is called, of human nature; or whether it might not rather be confidered, as a well-founded grudge harboured in the breafls of thefe people againft the Chriftian colonifts. We fince heard of many inftances, in which the fame thing had happened elfewhere to other Chriftians, who, by way of putting a trick on thefe poor fellows, pretended to be ignorant of the Hottentot language; and by this means heard unfufpecl:ed the anfwers of the Hottentots, confifting in mere impertinence and fcoffing jells, which they threw out againft the Chriftans with the higheft glee, and, as they thought, with impunity, till the latter pulled off the mafk in order to avenge themfelves. As we could get no information from thefe Hottentots, we endeavoured to find the way again ourfelves, as well as we could : but juft as I imagined I had hit upon it, and as 1 was riding acrofs the river juft mentioned, my horfe tank all at once in the ooze quite up to the faddle. I immediately threw myfelf off on the bank; but we found it a difficult matter to drag my horfe out of this quagmire ; and afterwards were obliged, together with our waggon, that came up afterwards, to wait for the dawn of the following day (the 2 2d) before we could find the right fording-place, when we proceeded to the river Kukoi* or, as it is pronounced, fKu-fkou This name, which fignifies head or mafter, has probably been bellowed upon this river, as being the firft branch, or rather the fource of the great river of fCam-fNafi* which again runs into that of tCamtour. The farm at Vol. I. R r Kukoi JtSi. Kukoi river is called Avanture. From the mountains there- October. \*v*J abovtts we faw the fea, without being able to get the leaf! glimpfe of the forefts of Houtniquas* on account of other mountains fituated between. Neither had any one tried to go down from hence into Houtniquas. We (laid in Lange Kloof till the 31ft, or laft day of this month inclufively. At Apies-rivier I faw an old Rofhies-man with his wife,, who, I was informed by farmer P. Verejra* had, a few months before, reigned over above a hundred Bofhies-men; but they were now tranilated by the farmer from that princely, or rather patriarchal dignity, to that of being ihepherds to a few hundreds of fheep. With regard to other matters, he gave them the higheft commendations, as being quite different from the Hottentots in general, alert and exact in their bufinefs, and likewife as being well contented with their lot, and fuiting their inclinations to their fortunes. It is poflible, indeed,, that this ancient couple, in confequence of their good fenfe and experience, might actually find a greater and more fubftantial blifs in being placed at the head of a flock of fheep, than when they were on their throne furrounded by their fubjects. I will even admit the farmer's affertion, that his fheep throve better under the care of thefe illuftrious and confequently more enlightened perfonages; yet ftill it is a deed that cries to heaven for vengeance, to bereave a whole community of its head and governor, for the fake of fome advantage and utility accruing thereby to a flock of fheep, the property of a vile peafant!—We faw, moreover, as we rode along, (efpecially in Lunge Kloof) numbers of fugitive Hottentots CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 307 tentots of both fexes, who were now no longer purfued, ws. October. partly on account of their age and infirmities, and partly \^y^j becaufe it was not worth any colonift's while to lay hold on them, as they would be liable to be demanded back by their former mailers. One of thefe that I paffed on the road, a very old man, died (as I was told) the day after of weaknefs and fatigue. Moft of thefe fugitives carried a thick flout ftaff, generally headed with a heavy gritftone of two pounds weight or more, rounded off, and with a hole bored through the middle of it, in order to increafe the force of the flick for the purpofe of digging up roots and bulbs out of the ground; and at the fame time for piercing the hard clay hillocks, which are formed to the height of three or four feet, by a kind of ants, (termes) a fpecies of infect of which the Bofhies-men's food in a great meafure confifts. It gave me no fmall pain, to fee the poor old fugitives frequently wafting the remains of their ftrength on thefe hardened hillocks in vain, fome other animal, that feeds on ants, having worked its way into them, and confumed all their provifion before hand. I was at a place in Lange Kloof * where feveral Hottentot fugitives came to beg tobacco of our hofts. They acknowledged, that they had come over the mountains from Houtniquas* where they had, indeed, had a very good mailer ; but faid, that they chofe to go home to their own country : and, indeed, fince the death of one of their companions, were more particularly obliged to remove from thence. At Krakkeel-rivier the ground was very ftony, and there were a great many heaps of pebble-ftones, three or four feet in height, that had lain there time out of mind; fo that no conjectures II r a could o£3L C0lu^ De f°rmeii> to what end or on what occafion they had ^✓vO been laid up together. In a vale near this fpot I faw feveral large pits, with a fharp (lake placed in the middle, intended as fnares to catch the larger fort of game. I and my horfe were very near being caught in one of them ourfelves. In the mountains near Klippen-drift lives, it is faid, a race of Hottentots, which, from the place of their abode, are called Mountain-Hottentots. Thefe are, without doubt, the fame kind of Bofhies-men, that fteal and make their prey of cattle, and, in other refpects, live on game and the natural produce of the fields, as I have defcribed above. The farmers hereabouts, on that account, did not dare to let their cattle feed at any diftance from their farms. At Zwarte Kloof, a farm between Krakkeel and Wagen-booms-rivler, they fhewed me a Hottentot girl, about ten years old, who, though born and brought up in their fervice, had got, as they faid, even at that tender age, the Hottentot way of eloping. She had run away for a fortnight together, and in all this time had lived on nothing but the wild produce of the fields and woods; and yet had kept up her flefh, and returned home plump and in good condition. On her return, file gave an account of her-felf to the following purport. That fhe had wandered to a great diftance, and once at the fight of a huge beaft, (which, on her giving a farther defcription of it, was fuppofed to have been a lion) fhe was fo terribly frightened, that fhe immediately made the beft of her way home. About Wagenbooms-rivier there is found, according to all accounts, a lizard as black as a coal, about a foot in length* length, which we fuppofed to be very venomous, as the 0^;r> Hottentots terrified the greateft dread of them. This crea- ^rsj ture is faid, however, to be very rare. The heaps of ftones lying near this fame river, are the peculiar abode of great numbers of thofe little animals which are defcribed by M. Pallas, by the name of cavia Capenjis** and by the colonifts are called dqffes, or badgers. Thefe creatures, which have fome affinity with the ordinary marmots, and are about the fame fize, are eaten by many people, who look on them as a delicacy. They are likewife eafily made extremely tame, and are found in many other places in the African mountains. The little Daffen iflands on the weft-ern coaft of Africa, take their name from them. On thofe places in the mountains, where thefe creatures dwell, there is found a fubftance called here DaJJen-pifs. It refembles petrolaeum, or rock-oil, and by many, that have feen it, is actually confidered as fuch. It is likewife ufed by fome people for medical purpofes, and by them is fuppofed to have greater powers than is confiftent with any degree of probability. Finding that this fubftance did not ftand the fame proofs as petrolseum, and at the fame time that it was found only in places frequented by the dqffes, I had fufficient reafon to conclude that it proceeded from this animal, and that it is moft probably the men-ftrual excretion of the creature %. as obfervations made on a tame female of this fpecies, have given room for fuch a fufpicion; and as l>efides the dafVs excrements are often found in this fubftance, and feldom any where elfe. * This animal is of the fame genus with the Guinea-pig, or. cavia eclaya. TL «77v xhe river of Three Fountains, (Drie Fonteins) the laft O&ober. , * ' Lrr^ in Lange Kloof, is the origin of fome great river in Sitficamma. The temperature of the air for this month of October, approached as nearly as poflible to that of the preceding month, or September. The rainy days were the 9th, 10th, 19th, 20th, 2 2d, 23d, 26th, 27th, and 28th. C II A P. C . H A P. IX. Journey from Lange Dal to Sitficamma^ and from thence to Sea-cow River. ON the ift of November we fet out for Kromme- 1775. rivier* or the Crooked-river, fo called from the cir-cumftance of its running with many turnings and windings through a very narrow dale. This river was very full of ooze, and in other refpects was inconvenient to us, as we had to crofs it eight times before we got to EJJen-bofch, which was the following day, or the 2d of November. The name of EJfen-bofcb is given to a kind of woody tract along Effen-rivier, which, as well as the wood, has taken its name from the elfe or aih-tree. This tree makes an entirely new genus, and is defcribed by me in the Tranf-actions of the Royal Academy of Sciences, by the name of Ekebergia Capenfis, in compliment to Sir Charles Gus-tavus Ekeberg, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and Knight of the Order of Vafa, who was the occafion of my making this voyage; and who, by his zeal for natural hiftory, and the great pains he has been at in promoting it, is highly deferving of this diftinction. The 1775. T;]ie trac^ 0f country round about this place is confidered November. , A yO elephant's flefh, which was cut out zig-zag fafhion in firings or flips of the thicknefs of two, three, and four fingers breadth, and hung together to the length of feveral fathoms. Some of thefe were wound round the huts, while others were ftretched from one hut to the other for the fake of drying them. At this time the men, women, and children here had no other employment than that of fleeping, fmoking, and eating elephant's flefh. And though I had eaten dog's flefh in the South-Sea, yet the looks and flavour of the prefent entertainment, were fufficient to take from me all curiofity and defire of taft-ing that of the elephant. Befides, at this time it was not frefh, but had been dried for fome days in the fun; fo that had I tailed of it, my opinion could not by any means have been depended on; and I fhould have drawn upon myfelf the contempt of the colonifts into the bargain, who look upon it almoft as horrible an action to eat the flefh of an elephant as that of a man; as the elephant, according to them, is a very intelligent animal, which, when it is wounded and finds that it cannot efcape from its enemies, in a manner weeps ; fo that the tears run down its cheeks, juft as with the human fpecies when in forrow and affliction. I was delirous of riding out upon the plains where the elephants had been fhot, in order to fee the fkeletons of them; but I was affured, that all their bones had been already dragged off the premifes by the wrolves. Vol, I. S s This 314 A VOYAGE "to the l?7S- This which they were now feafting upon they fup- Ntovember. , _ in v^ynj pofed to be a young male, as the tufks were rather of the fmalleft, being no more than three feet long, and its largeft grinders not above four inches in breadth; while the grinder of an elephant which I got from fome other elephant-hunters at the Gape, and now preferve in the cabinet of the Royal Academy of Sciences, is nine inches broad, and weighs four pounds and a half; though it bears evident marks of having been the farthefl tooth in the jaw, and of not being grown to its full lize, having been enclofed in the gum to about two-thirds of its breadth. The diftance from the root to the top of the tooth, or its elevation above the focket, feems to have been three inches. The ears of the elephant fhot at this place, were reported to have reached from the fhoulders of a middle-fized Hottentot down to the ground. One of the fore legs, which had been brought to the farm, lay there as yet un-diffected. The hide was not near fo compact and clofe as thofe of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, but the texture of it feemed to be compofed of larger tubes and blood-veffels; at the fame time that the external furface of it was more uneven, wrinkled, and knotty, and therefore cannot be ufed for making whips, as are the hides of the animals juft mentioned. The foot was almoft round, meafuring very little more acrofs than the leg, which was hardly one foot in diameter. The toes fhould be always five in number, but the hoofs vary in that rcfpecl:, according to the obfervation of M. Buffon, Tom. XI. p. 68. In this fpecimen I found only four, the largeft of which • feemed to have been on the outfide of the foot, and the fmalleft fmalleft were but one inch each in diameter. The fkin Ws INovcmber. under the foot, did not feem to be thicker or of a firmer i>y^ texture than that of the other parts of the body. It was fuppofed, that the elephant which was fhot here, had been driven away from its herd by fome other males ftronger than itfelf out of Sltficamma* in the thick forefts of which the elephants may find an afylum; or, to fpeak more properly, be fortified againft the attacks of their enemies : for as to Lange Kloof* and other places which the Chriftians had begun to inhabit, thefe animals were obliged immediately to retire from them. The chace of the elephant here mentioned was, according to the account given by the hunters themfelves, (a couple of farmers) carried on in the following manner. On the very evening on which they faw this huge animal, they immediately refolved to purfue it on horfeback ; though they were fo far from being fkilful and j)raclifed elephant-hunters, that they never before fet eyes upon one of thefe animals. This probably, however, according to their defcription, was not lefs than eleven or twelve feet high; while, on the other hand, the largeft of this fpecies are faid to reach to the height of fifteen or fixteen feet f. Their horfes, though as much unufed as their riders to the fight of this coloffal animal, yet did not flinch in the leaft. The animal, likewife, did not feem to trouble him- * If this be the cafe, the Afiatic elephants are much inferior to the African in point of fize : as Mr. Wolf, who was nineteen years in Ceylon, where thefe animals are largeft, and who had opportunities of getting the beft information concerning them, fpeaks of twelve feet, or fix German ells, as being a great height, and mentions an elephant of ^twelve ieet and an inch in height, as a great cuiiofity. Vide Wolf's Vopgc to Ceylon, juft publifkd. S s 2 felf felf about them, till they came within fixtv or feventy November, . c ^r^j paces of him ; when one or them at that intrant, after the ufual manner of the Cape huntfmen, jumped off his horfe, and, fecuring the bridle, fell upon one knee, and with his left hand fixing his ramrod, upon which he refted his piece, into the ground, took his aim and fired on the elephant, which then had got about forty or fifty paces farther off: for in this country, when they hunt the larger kind of animals, they generally choofe to take the opportunity of mooting at the diftance of one hundred and fifty paces ; partly becaufe they load their pieces in fuch a manner, that the ball, in their opinion, has the greatefl effect at that diftance; and partly at this diftance, they can get time to mount their horfes again, and make off, before the wounded animal can come up to them to take his revenge. Our fportfman had fcarcely got into the faddle, and turned his horfe's head round, before he found that the elephant was at his heels. Juft at that inftant the creature had fet up a fharp fhrill cry, which he thought he felt pierce to the very marrow of his bones; and which caufed his horfe likewife to make feveral hafty leaps, and afterwards fet off galloping with an incredible fwiftnefs. In the mean while the huntfman had the prefence of mind to ride his horfe up an afcent, knowing that elephants and other large animals are flow and unwieldly going up hill, in proportion to their w eight, but the contrary in going down hill. On this account he galloped off with the greateft fecurity, and at the fame time his companion had the more leifure to advance to one fide of the elephant, where he thought he could eaheft direct his fhot at the heart and larger larger arteries belonging to the lungs of the animal. This, ^T77** however, did not hit any dangerous part, as the horfe was v^-^ unruly and pulled at the bridle, which the man had hung over his right arm, at the time that, in the fame manner as the former, he had jumped off his horfe and fired his piece. The elephant, which now turned upon this latter, was foon tired of purfuing him, as he had an opportunity of riding from it up a ftill fteeper hill than his companion. Afterwards the two hunters found it anfwer better to hold each other's horfes, fo that they fhould not get awray, while each of the fportfmen fired their pieces by turns. The elephant, even after the third ball, ftill threatened vengeance ; but the fourth entirely cooled his courage : however, he did not abfolutcly drop till he had received the eighth. Several experienced hunters of elephants have neverthelefs affured me, that one fingle ball is fufficient to bring an elephant to the ground, but for this purpofe it is neceffary, ift> That the bore of the piece be large enough to admit of a ball weighing about three, or leaft above two ounces. 2dly, That the piece be wrell flocked, which will enable it to bear a higher charge; for it muft be obferved, that the farmers, for the purpofe of hunting the elephant, . fea-cow, rhinoceros, and even the buffalo, generally■ chufe and pay a good price for the old-fafhioned Swedifh and Danifh mulkets, which at prefent, on account of their great weight and clumfinefs, are no longer in ufe ; but they generally put a ftronger ftock to them than they had before, in order that they may bear a charge fo much the higher* '7ry« higher without recoiling. It is in confequence of the Wyn/ weight of the piece, that the fportfman hardly ever offers to fire off his gun, without refting on his ramrod in the manner before mentioned. Still lefs does any one venture to difcharge his piece, while fitting on his horfe, as both the horfe and its matter have ufually a tremor upon them in confequence of hard riding. 3dly, It is requifite for the fhooting of elephants, that the ball be compofed of about one part of tin, and two parts of lead; for a ball made of lead alone is always quite, or, at leaft, in fome meafure flattened, againft the thick and very tough hides of the larger kind of animals, and by this means miffes its intended effect, as I have myfelf feen in the cafe of the rhinoceros. Again, if there be too great a, mixture of tin in the ball, this will be too light and brittle into the bargain; fo that, as I have likewife found by experience, it will fly afunder in the feam, when it hits againft the honey parts of the body of any large beaft. Several people have affured me, that with mufkets of this kind highly charged, and tin balls, they could make a hole through a plough-fhare of a tolerable thicknefs. Indeed I never faw this done, but do not look upon it as incredible; as when I feemed to doubt of the fact, feveral people offered to lay me a wager of it. On the other hand, I was the more inclined to believe it, as I knew that with a mere leaden piitol bullet, a perfon has fometimes fhot through a breaft-plate. I have heard many fportfmen mention it, as a fact well known among their fraternity, that when they have got an opportunity of firing with the larger kind of fire-arms among a herd of zebras and quaggas that CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 319 that have flood clofe together, the hall, when it did not M ws4 ° ' 7 November, hit upon any of the boney parts of them, has paffed through v^yxj four or five of thefe animals at a time. 4thly, It is neceffary above all things to hit the elephant on the heart, or fomewhere near it, where it is a great chance but that the ball meets with fome large blood-veflel, by which means the animal foon bleeds to death. It is therefore the more requifite to have a large piece, as the wound made by a fmall ball, may eafily happen to be clofed up with fat or clots of hloodj not to mention the elaflicity of the hide and mufcular fibres, which in the elephant, rhinoceros, and many other large animals, is proportionally greater than in the fmaller kind of game; and in confequence of which, the wound made by the fhot is the eafier-contracted and diminifhed. A man famous for fliooting of elephants, told me, indeed, that the beft way to come at the heart of this animal, was to level the piece at that part of its fide, which is generally in contact with the tips of its ears; but to judge from the beautiful drawing of this creature in M. Buffon's work, the ears feem too lhort for the directions given me by my informer to be of any ufe; except, indeed, that the African elephants lhould have fomewhat longer ears than that of M. Buffon; or that the ears in the large and very old animals, are proportionably much more lengthened, than in the young one represented in the work above-mentioned. It muft have been from experience, that the huntfmen at the Cape have learned not to take aim at the elephant's head, as the brain is too fmall to be eafily hit, and is 1 more- 320 AVOYAGEtothe i#f' moreover well defended by a thick and hard cranium* November. . . . . . i^Y>^ This likewife correlponds with what is previouily known with regard to this animal; but from what has been faid above, it is evident, that two or three hundred people could not poflibly have any trouble in mooting one elephant, (a fact which however is related by M. Buffon, page 11, from Bosman's Voyage to Guinea* page 254,) unlefs the fire-arms, as well as the fportfmen, are miier-able indeed : much lefs does it require a whole army* »s the former author fuppofes it does, to attack a herd of elephants. In fact, this, in Africa, is often attempted by a fingle huntfman, when provided with a fleet horfe ufed to hunting, and who at the fame time finds the -elephants on the plains before him. In fo doing, he hardly runs any greater rilk than when he has only one of thefe animals to attack. In this cafe, the youngeft elephants arc wont to fly firfl ; but one or two of the old ones, who have the ltrongeit teeth, and are the very identical animals the fportfmen wifb to have to do with, fometimes, perhaps, will run after him; but as they are foon weary and turn back again, the fportfman turns upon them again, and always finds an opportunity of mooting fome of them. When one of thefe beafts is hit only upon the hip, it is generally faid, that he has received earneft of the huntfman, as he is rendered lame by it, and in confequence of this may expect from them a more dangerous wound before he can be able to get off. The larger the elephant's teeth are, and the older the animals are themfelves, the heavier and flower likewife they are faid to be, and find it more difficult to .-efcape. When the fun has fhone extremely hot, they have have been generally found very weak and weary, fo that '775-fome people have ventured forth on foot to fhoot them. V*nr^ Some Hottentots, who are trained up to fliooting, and often carried out by the farmers for this purpofe, are particularly daring in this point; as they are fwifter in running, and at the fame time, not without reafon, fuppofe that they have a lefs fufpicious appearance than the white people in the eyes of the elephants and other animals; and, on account of the rank odour they have, (fomewhat like that of game) which i:>roceeds from their Ikin-cloaks, their greafe, and their bucku powder, are lefs liable to be difcovered by the fcent. When the elephant finds himfelf wounded, he is faid not to offer to defend himfelf from his enemies, and fometimes not even to fly from them, but to ftand ftill to cool himfelf, and fprinkle himfelf with the water, which he now and then keeps in referve in his probofcis. Whenever he comes to a piece of water, and finds himfelf warm, he fucks up fome of it, in order to fprinkle himfelf with it. It is already well known to naturalifts, that the elephant's haunts are generally near the rivers; neither are they ignorant of the care and regularity with which, in Afia, thofe that are rendered tame, are taken to water in order to be wafli-ed: fo that it did not feem at all incredible to me, that the elephants fhould fometimes be found, as I am informed they often are, in the dry torrid fields of Africa, quite faint and dying with thirft. One perfon affured me, that in a marfhy place, or, more properly fpcaking, a place full of land-fprings, (fonietn grund) he had obferved pretty diftinct traces of elephants having lain there. All the accounts I could collect, Vo l. I. T t agreed *77>- acrcecl in this, that thefe animals, -when hunted, endea- November. " . voured, with the greater!: care, to avoid muddy rivers, probably that they might not flick fail in the ooze ; while, on the other hand, they induftrioufly fought out the larger rivers, over which they fwam with great eafe. For notwithstanding that the elephant, from his feet, and the pofition of his limbs, docs not feem to be adapted for fvvimming when he is out of his depth in the water, his body and head being entirely funk under the furface, yet he is in lefs danger of being drowned than other land animals, as he carries his long trunk raifed above the furface of the water in order to breathe, and can fleer his courfe in it by means of this appendage; which at the fame time forms his nofe or organ of fmell, and is endued with a great olfactory power. It has confequently been obferved, that when feveral elephants have fwam over a river at the fame time, they have all found the way very well; and have been able at the fame time to avoid running foul of each other, though their heads and eyes have been all the while under water. It is merely for the fake of the teeth that the elephants are hunted by the colonifts, though at the fame time they contrive to preferve the flefh for their fervants, viz. their flaves and Hottentots. And as the larger elephants teeth weigh from one hundred to one hundred and fifty Dutch pounds, which may be difpofed of to government for as many gilders, fo that a man may fometimes earn three hundred gilders at one fhot, it is no wonder that the hunters of elephants are often fo extremely venturefome. A peafant (now dead) who had hunted a large elephant over the mouth of Zondags-riviery where it is very deep and and broad, was bold enough to purfue it with his horfe, NI77*j_ and got over very fafe, though he carried with him his V^v^ heavy gun on his fhoulder, and could not fwim himfelf. It was faid, however, that he got nothing by this bold and daring action, as the elephant took refuge in a clofe thorny thicket, where the hunter neither could nor dared to creep after it. It is only on the plains that they can fucceed in attacking the elephants; in the woods, where the attack cannot be made otherwife than on foot, the chace is always more dangerous. The hunter mull take great care to get on the lee lide of the animal, or againft the wind; for if by means of the wind he once gets fcent of the hunter, he ruflies directly on him, endeavouring to kill him, efpe-cially if (as frequently is the cafe) he has ever been hunted before; and thus has had an opportunity of knowing, from experience, how dangerous and bold thefe markf-men are. More than one of thefe daring men have, by this means, been brought into the greateft danger. Dirk Marcus, the man I mentioned before as living at Hagel-craal* gave me an account of one of his adventures of the chafe as follows: " Once on a time in my youth, faid he, when from a hill covered with bullies near a wood, I was endeavouring to Ileal upon an elephant to the leeward of me, on a fudden I heard from the lee fide, a frightful cry or noife; and though at that time I was one of the boldeft of elephant-hunters in the whole country, I cannot deny, but that I was in a terrible taking, infomuch that I believe the hair flood quite an end on my head. At the fame time it T t 2 appeared Nov/ir appeared to me, as though' I had had feveral pails of cold Wt* November. death. This, however, is the only inftance in the me- ^~s^ mory of man, of any of thefe hunters having met with a misfortune in the exercife of their profeflion; excepting another peafant of the name of Ruloph Champher, in whofe fide an elephant made a deep hole with its toe, as (without feeing the man) it was lifting up its foot in order to ftep over him. I examined the fear left after this wound, and found a deep depreflion of four of the ribs, which were ftill fractured, and of which the man complained a good deal upon any change of weather. This misfortune had happened to him many years before, near Zzvarf-kops-rivier, wrhere, with two of his companions, he lay fleeping in the open air, by a fire that was almolt burnt out. Thefe, very luckily for them, awoke a little before the arrival of the elephant, and crept away among the bufh.es; but the faddle-horfes belonging to all the three, which, indeed, were tied to a tree, had their backs broke in feveral places. The elephants, which were four or five in number, were palling on their way very leifurely, at the time when they did this mifchief. From what has been already related, it follows evidently, that the elephant-hunt, fo circumftantially defcribed by M. de la Caille, in his Journal Hiflorique du Voyage fait au Cap de B. Efperance* p. 158, 159, 160, j6i, 162, as being undertaken by the colonifts with lances, can be nothing elfe but a ftory, with which fomebody impofed upon the good abbe's credulity; and which, when I was at the Cape, feveral people that knew a little more of the matter, were gracelefs enough to make a jeft of. Neither is there much 326 AVOYAGEtothe x77?- much more probability in the account given by this author, November. . V. , , -, , , , v^y>j of a misfortune that happened to an elephant-hunter in this country. The ffory runs thus: Once on a time three brothers, natives of Europe, who had already made a handfome fortune by following this profeflion, had, each of them being on horfeback and armed with a lance, attacked an elephant by turns; which, however, at length, laid hold on one of the horfes that had {tumbled, and threw him, together with his rider, up into the air, a hundred paces from him ; then taking up the latter, ran him through the body with one of his large tufks; upon which the animal held him up with exultation, as it were, thus impaled ' and fbrieking in a horrid manner, to the two other horfe- men, his unhappy brothers. It is not extremely probable, that an elephant could throw a horfe a hundred paces from him, any more than that a man fhould be able to cry out and fhriek, when he was pierced through, and fpittcd on the thick tooth of an elephant. But in the abbe's defence it mult be remembered, that this ingenious aftronomer did not intend to print any hiftorical account of the Cape ; the fhort remarks he made upon this fubject, being not pub-lifhed till after his death. The elephant's manner of copulating is a point hitherto much contelted ; for, notwithftanding the great number there are of them in India, many of which are apt to be in rutt in fo high a degree as to run mad in confequence of it, ftill nobody has ever been able to make them copulate. Several authors have explained the matter in this way ; that the elephants were too modeft to fuffer any human creature to be witnefs of their union, (a circum- ftanee fiance which thefe animals have always reafon to be an- ms: - * November, prehenfive of,) though the male and female are both fhut \^-v-u up together in the fame dark liable. Others again have gone fo far as to affert, that the elephants are fo fhy, as not to fuffer any of their own kind to be prefent at their copulation. And many have endeavoured to explain the continence of thefe animals in their domeflicated ftate, from the confideration of their magnanimity and pride, fup-pofing them to have too much fenfe, as well as greatnefs of foul, to wifh to multiply their race, and thus debafe it by bringing it into the world in a Hate of bondage to mankind. But fince we know, that elephants, previous to this, fuffer themfelves to be brought to obey by compul-iion, and, indeed, to a greater degree of fubjecfion- than almoft any other animal, it fhould feem that we cannot, with any reafon, beftow our approbation on this latter opinion. In all probability, therefore, this repugnance in a point to which nature, on the other fide, vifibly encourages all her creatures, proceeds from the peculiar make of the elephant, rendering it partly unfit for the performance of thefe rites; an impediment which nature, perhaps, found it neceffary to fet up againft the too great increafe of thefe gigantic animals; as, were it otherwife, by defolating and laying wafte the whole extent of the warmer climates, they . would bring on the deftrudtion of their own fpecies. Moreover, as nature does not operate without means, may not the continence of the elephant, whether implanted in it by nature, or whether it be the mere confequence of its form, or other accidental circumftances, may not, I fay, - this '77;- this continence he the means employed by nature for the November. * - , J promotion of the growth and ftrength of this animal, which are fo confiderably beyond thofe of any other? Elephants (excepting fome males, which, being either too old or too young to contend with their flronger rivals, are hunted away by them) always keep in herds; fo that while fome few are, perhaps, prevented from copulating in the early part of life, and confequently from being enervated, it is, probably, as I faid before, the peculiar formation of their bodies which, after all, proves the greateft obftacle in this point; for the parts of generation in both fexes are placed about the middle, juft under the belly, and thofe of the male are very fhort in proportion to its body. From this peculiarity in their formation moft authors have, without fufficient foundation concluded, that the females are capable of admitting the embraces of the male in no other manner than lying on their backs. Nay, although no one has ever been able to fay, that he had been an eye-witnefs to this, yet that great naturalift, M. Buffon, Tom. XI. p. 63, looks upon it as fo incontrovertible a point, that he affures us, he fhould not once have doubted of it, even if the travellers De Feynes, Taverniers, and Bus-sys did not accord with him, which, however, they do in this particular. He therefore objects likewife againft Ariftotle, and that with fo much the greater reafon, as this author defcribes their copulation as differing in no other way from that of other quadrupeds, than merely in the female's lowering her loins on this occafion. Neverthelefs, in order to determine this fingular queflion with more certainty, I let flip no opportunity of interrogating 2 on CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 329 on the fubject every elephant-hunter I faw. To this XTI77$- J A November query they all agreed in replying, that with refpect to the v«^v-w above-mentioned argument, they were moft inclined to approve of the common opinion, if they had not been differently informed by two of their companions, Jacob Kok and Marcus Potgieter, who had actually feen elephants copulate. I met, however, only with the former of thefe hunters, who told me, he had likewife himfelf been of opinion, that the female was obliged to lie on her back on this occafion; till at length, being out along with Potgieter hunting of elephants, he had occafion to think otherwife. On a certain fpot they came to, they could reckon about eight elephants, which, on account of the fmall fize of their tufks, they took for females, excepting two large ones; which, making feveral circles round one of thefe that they took for females, (the only one, perhaps, in rut) frequently, in all probability, by way of carefling her, ftruck her with their trunks, till at length fhe threw herfelf down upon her knees, and keeping the fpine of her back in a ftiff and extended po-fition, brought her hind feet quite clofe to her fore feet, or fomewhat beyond them; fo that fhe almoft, as it were, flood upon her head. In this forced pofture they faw her wait a long while together for the careffes of the males, who, in fact, likewife endeavoured to perform the matrimonial rites, but from jealoufy hindered each other, whenever either of them began to mount. After two hours had thus elapfed, the patience of our hunters began to tire; and the rather, becaufe, on account of the uneven and ftoney nature of the ground, which, however, had Vol. I. U u no sroVember no wo°d uPon it, and of a river being between them, ^tkJ they could not dare to advance and fire at thefe animals. I will not difTemble, that though I have not the leaft occafion to doubt the veracity of my informer, and though what he told me is by no means impoftible, I yet find great difficulty in this matter. But on the other hand, the fame may be faid of M. de Buffon's, or the common opinion; firft, as they have not been able to confirm it by the teftimony of any eye-witnefs, nor even by any in-ftance of this kind in other quadrupeds properly fo called; that is, in fuch animals as have fome degree of affinity with elephants; fecondly, as the female's lying on her back can hardly be more convenient for the male, efpecially as the vagina, according to what I am told, goes from the fore part backwards; thirdly, it is befides well known, that the older elephants, on account of the unwieldinefs of their bodies, chiefly ftand when they fleep, in order to avoid the trouble and difficulty of lying down and getting up again. Tavernier, indeed, in his third volume, informs us, that the tame females when in rut make themfelves a kind of bed, and lay themfelves in it on their backs, at the fame time inviting the male elephant by a peculiar cry, Sec. but as the author did not fee this himfelf, and that befides it is entirely contrary to the mo-defty and diflike to copulation for which the female elephants have always been remarked, I cannot do otherwife than leave M. Tavernier's relation and different opinions touching the fubject, to the teft of future experience % With * Compare with the foregoing account that given by Wolf with refpecl to this (ubjecl, in a book juft published, called " The Life and Adventures of John Chrifto- pher CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 331 With regard to the time that the female elephants go *?75; " November. With young, I could get no information; but that their v^y%j cubs fuck With their trunks, is confirmed by the obfervations of many. The female elephants have, moreover, been feen followed by two or three cubs at a time, though of very different fizes, viz. from three to eight or nine feet high; but the largeft of them, which confequently was almoft full grown, was, neverthelefs, to the great afto-nifhment of the huntfman, fuckled by the mother. And when it fo happens, as is not unfrequently the cafe, that by a female being fhot, an infant-cub has been deprived of its mother, and at the fame time been feparated from the other elephants, it has endeavoured to affociate with the hunters and their horfes, in the place of its deceafed mother, and followed them wherever they went. With regard to this, feveral farmers affured me, that they could get fome milch-cows from the Hottentots in the way of barter, or take fome from home along with them, to rear the elephant's cubs with, in cafe they had any tolerable encouragement given them by the governor : but, perhaps, in defect of milch-cows, which, in fact, are rather difficult to be had there, they may bring up the young elephants with gruel or porridge, or elfe with decoctions, or other phcr Wolf, with his Voyage to Ceylon." This author pretends to have had as much experience in regard to elephants, as the generality of jocktes in England with refpecl to horfes ; and pofitively aflerts, that the female lies on her back on this occafion, at the fame time giving a circumftantial defcription of the whole procefs. In the Additions to the Hiftory of the Elephants which M. de Buffon has given in his Supplement, Tom. III. (ed. in 4to) and T'om. VI. p. 165, (ed. in i2mo) a M. Blks defcribes the copulation of the elephants in Ceylon, in the fame manner as farmer Kok does here, U ft 2 preparations November preparati°ns °f thofe herbs which it has been remarked, ^✓ynJ that the elephants principally chufe to feed on. According to the accounts of authors, and to what I could learn both from the Hottentots and colonifts, elephants have no fcrotum; but their young fucklings might probably, neverthelefs, undergo a certain operation, and thus might be domefticated to greater advantage than thofe that are now ufed in India; for by means of this operation, as well as by habit, they would infallibly be lefs nice in their food, lefs riotous and unruly, more hardy, and not in the leaft fubject. to the fury that fometimes feizes them in the rutting feafon. But though food feems more difficult to be got for elephants in India, than it poflibly could be at the Cape, yet I doubt whether it would be worth while for many private people in that colony to keep them; but it certainly would be very proper for government to endeavour to tame fome of thefe animals, and ufe them in its fervice. In India an elephant has an hundred pounds of rice-groats it daily, raw and boiled, and mixed up with butter and fugar; befides, this they give it arrack and pifang, (vid. Buffon, p. 43 ;) but as this animal in its favage ftate gets neither butter nor arrack, this, perhaps, is to the full as unneceffary as to have it ferved out of golden veffels, and be waited on by noblemen, as is done in Pegu. M. de Buffon, p. 143, fuppofes the con-fumption of provifion by a wild elephant to amount to 150 pounds of grafs and roots daily; and in the Memoires pour fervir a PHift. des' Animaux we find,, that in the laft century, an elephant in the menagerie at Verfailles, was reckoned to be very fufficiently fed with 80 pounds of bread* bread, two buckets of foup, and twelve bottles of wine every day. This elephant died in its 17th year, but would, v^v' perhaps, have lived longer, if it had not not been fed quite fo plentifully; as otherwife the age of an elephant is reckoned 150, 200, and even 300 years, or more. Perhaps a young one brought up at the Cape, would be contented with diftiller's warn, grains, cabbage, and other vegetables, together with parboiled barley, malt, or wheat. Wine being not very wholefome for them, might be very well difpenfed with; but as by promifing it liquors, this animal may be made to exert itfelf to a greater degree than ufual, it might not be amifs to give it a few bottles of wine now and then. However, as wine in this colony is at a very low price, the expence with regard to this article is likewife tolerable: neverthelefs, it cannot be denied, but that even at the Cape it mult be difficult to find fo large an animal as this in provifion; but, on the other hand, it muft be remembered, what great advantages may be gained by keeping them; for befides that the elephant is extremely docile, fenlible, and obedient, its ftrength is very confiderable. It is faid to be able with its trunk, to lift two hundred weight on to its fhoulders from the ground without the leaft difficulty, and to carry goods to the amount of three thoufand two hundred weight with eafe and pleafure. It is likewife able to pull up trees by the roots with its tufks, and break the branches off with its fnout (vid. Buffon, 1. c. p. 41, 42;) nay, with this fingular inftrument it can untie knots with great readinefs, open locks, and take up the fmalleft piece of money from the ground. " But '775* « But to give an idea (fays M. de Buffon) of the fer-■^✓v-w vice this animal is capable of doing, it is fufficient to mention, that all the calks, facks, and packs which are fent from one place to another in the Indies, are conveyed by elephants; that they are capable of carrying burthens on their backs, necks, tulks, and even in their mouths, by means of a rope, one end of which is given to them, and which they hold between their teeth; that being endued with as much intelligence as ftrength, they take care not to break nor do any damage to the parcels entrufted to their care; that they take them from off the beach into the boats without fuffering them to be wet, laying them down gently, and adjufting them in their proper places; that when they have put them into the place where they were ordered, they try with their trunks, whether they ftand fafe or not; and if a calk is in danger of rolling, they will go and get ftones of their own accord to fet .againft it." So that it is no wonder, that an animal of fuch great utility fells in India for nine, or ten, nay, even as high as thirty-fix thoufand livres (vid. 1, c. p. 43.) Thefe animals would be found particularly ferviceable in bringing timber from Houtniquas and Groot Vaders-bofcb* and in transporting goods between the Cape and Bay-Falso; efpecially as, according .to Buffon, p. 42. they can with great eafe perform a journey of fifteen or twenty leagues a day, and twice as much if you pufh them on. They make as much way in their walk as a horfe does in his ufual trot, and in running as a horfe does in a gallop, (1. c.) When in fome places they are difturbed by the hunters at the 3 Cape, Cape, and find no woods there to fhelter them, they do "77S- rL i r r November. not flop belore they get feveral days journey from the fpot K^y^j where they were. As the elephants in this colony are now become more wary, withdrawing into Sitficamma and other woody tracts of country where they are difficult to get at, or far up the country on the north fide of Vifch-rivter and into Cafferland, people have lately been lefs inclined to hunting them than they were for feveral years back; efpecially as they are obliged to fell all the ivory to the company, which pays by the pound lefs by one half for the fmall tufks than what it does for the large ones: for which reafon, the peafants frequently fmuggle the fmall tufks to the Cape in their butter-tubs, with a view to get fomewhat "better payment for them from the private merchants. Many years back, when the elephants were to be found near the Cape, nine or ten people (feveral of whom were living when I was there) particularly diitinguifhed themfelves by their fuccefs in fliooting thefe animals, though not without undergoing lome danger and hunger, and the greater! difficulties for many months together ; after which, on the other hand, they would in an equal, or perhaps much fhorter period of time, as freely and prodigally fpend what they had earned in thefe expeditions, which might be from an hundred to three hundred rixdollars a man; The confequence of this was, that a confiderable number of elephants have been extirpated : neverthelefs, it is agreed on all hands, that this is a mere nothing in com-parifon of the number of thofe that efcape;. as fometimes one fees them in flocks to the amount of feveral hundreds or even thoufands, though, perhaps, one is not able to flioot l77S- moot above one of them: fo that they, probably, herd November. A ' together in infinitely greater numbers about the more remote and unfrequented rivers in the other parts of Africa, where, perhaps, they do not only find an afylum, but even exercife dominion over mankind; while the people that inhabit thofe parts are without the knowledge of gunpowder, an article of fuch various utility, the invention of which people are fo univerfally of accord to find fault with, the great ufe of which, however, in the confervation and civilization of our fpecies (though I have never heard acknowledged by any one) it does not appear to me difficult to perceive; a great many Negroes, for want of powder and fire-arms, being obliged to make their dwellings under-ground, merely on account of the elephants; by which, however, they have often the mortification of feeing their plantations deftroyed. The Hottentots that I took into my fervice near Zondags-rivier* told me, that in a hunting party, fome of their acquaintance had got an elephant's cub for their fhare, which followed them to their craal* where they had killed it, and feafted on its flelh. The mother,who probably had at length traced it out by the fcent, went at night, when it was dark, to the craal, and, by way of revenge, deftroyed and turned every thing fhe found topfy turvy. Both Negroes and Hottentots lay fnares for thefe animals by means of pits which they make, covering them over neatly afterwards, in places where the elephants are ufed to pafs, but the quantity caught by this method is very inconfi-derable. I have alfo been told, that the Hottentots are fometimes adventurous enough to throw poifoned darts at \ ' " an an elephant, after which they muff have the patience to n*77S^e follow the animal feveral days by the fcent, before the \J^J' poifon is capable of fpreading over its huge body, and of caufing it to fall. The Negroes, who, according to certain private information I have received, mutually buy and fell the tail of the elephant at the price of its weight in gold (or, according to M. de Buffon, p. 63,) exchange it in the way of barter for two or three flaves, induced by fome fuperftitious notion, have the boldnefs to cut it off from the body of the living animal. The Hottentots, however, fet no more value upon it than they do upon the tails of the buffalo or other animals, which they carry in their girdles, as tokens of their dexterity and fuccefs in hunting. I brought the tail of an elephant home with me. The fkin of it being ftripped from the tail itfelf a foot, is two inches broad, and about the thicknefs of a thin ox's hide. Probably on the body of the animal, when alive, this tail was fcarcely thicker than a man's thumb. From the tip of it, and near it to about a foot higher up, on the outfide, grow fome ftiff fmooth hairs, of a gloffy black colour, and fourteen or fifteen inches long, in all to the number of about one hundred and eighty, of the thicknefs of middling packthread or iron wire. Thefe hairs are not hollow, but of a horny nature throughout their whole fubftance ; a great many of them, however, are tough, and will bear to be doubled or tied in knots without breaking, and can fcarcely be fnapped afunder by the ftrength of a man, and would therefore be ufeful for making beards to fifhing-hooks; though fome of them, Vol. I. X x on '775/ on the other hand, are very brittle. The greater part are November. J e t V^v^ rather flat than round, and many ol them very uneven and a little twirled, while fome arc thicker towards the point. Perhaps thefe hairs are not to be found upon every elephant, but only upon the large and old ones; as feveral of my acquaintance, who have feen thefe animals in the menageries of Peterfburgh and Paris, could not recollect having obferved thefe hairs, juft as I have been defcribing them, and fhewed to them at the time. Foflil elephants teeth, perhaps, are feldom to be had at the Cape; probably from their not having dug deep any where thereabouts, and from the Hottentots having long fince catched up and carried away fuch as, after the death of any elephant, may have been to be found near the furface, and likewife from the Caffres being accuftomed to make bracelets of fuch as they can procure. Seafaring men, however, who have vifited the eaftern coaft of Africa, have informed me, that they have ivory there either for barter or for fale, in a much greater quantity than it is probable the barbarous inhabitants could themfelves procure by hunting. This likewife accords with what I think I remember to have read in fome old writers of voyages. A farmer told me, that when he lived in the diftrict of Cango in this colony, he had found fome elephants teeth, not in the leaft damaged, three feet under ground, which he imagined had been buried there in former times by the Hottentots as a treafure. It is likewife poflible, that they might have been buried by degrees, and in procefs of time by the winds raifing the fand and duft near them, and afterwards were farther covered over by the mould produced by by decayed trees and vegetables. As likewife people at „ tys- ' >, , * , November. the Cape are very little ufed to pry into the bowels ot the ^y^j earth, there perhaps ftill lie buried, from the like caufes, in feveral fpots thereabouts, a hundred times this quantity of elephants teeth. It has, however, much more puzzled the philofophers with their fyftems and conjectures to explain, how elephants teeth and bones, as well as the remains of the rhinoceros-, lhould get to the cold latitude of Siberia, where, by the name of relicks of the Mam- mouth, (an imaginary fubterraneous animal,) they arc dug up in greater quantities than any where elfe. In the mean while, till this matter is cleared up, as after the whole is mere conjecture; M. de Buffon, for inftance, (fee his Supplement* of late refuted with great folidity by M. Marivetz, Ptxfiquedu Monde9Tom. I.) modifying the earth according to his own fancy, and, after having previoufly brought it to a fwelling heat, fuppoiing it firft began to cool at Siberia and near the pole, at which time the creation of elephants, &c. took place; others again drowning it in a deluge, in order to have an opportunity of carrying thither by the torrent the rhinoceros and elephant from the warmer climates of Alia : I, for my part, could wifli, that thefe great men with their fyftems, would allow them quietly to take their own courfe, and to get to Siberia on their feet. No eafier method at leaft, none more natural, nor more confiftent with the conftant practice of other migrating animals can poflibly be thought of. Who is not, for inftance, acquainted with the pertinacious migrations from time to time of the lemings {mus lemmus,) where they muft in the end be frozen and famifhed to death, in X x a cafe November ca^"e cnance to e*"caPe m tne "lean time, being made a Lyyv prey to ravenous animals, or being drowned in crofling rivers. The mus migratortus feu accedula of M. Pallas, is another inftance of this difpofition in animals to migrate. Of the migration of antilopes, efpecially of the fpring-boks* downwards to the Cape of Good Hope* 1 fhall have occalion to make mention farther on. The more conliderable peregrinations of locufts, indeed, will, perhaps, be of no avail, as examples in the cafes of quadrupeds; but thofe produced above are fufficient to make it probable, that elephants likewife are fubject to migrations, either from fome motive equally unknown with that of the lemings, or for certain reafons which offer, as it were, of themfelves to our conjectures : for inftance, a confiderable increafe in the number of thefe animals, their want of food, the inconveniencies attending an unufually dry and hot feafon, their being molefted by mankind, or affrighted by the eruptions of volcanos and earthquakes in their native foil. I put the too great increafe of the elephants in the firft place, on account of the almoft incredible number one fees at the Cape of Good Hope* as well as the many centuries this animal is faid to live. If moreover we affume the hypothefis, that the fouth-eaft part of Afia, which is at prefent inhabited by a numerous and prolific race of men, viz. the Chinefe, had been as favourable to the increafe of elephants, more efpecially in the firft ages of the world, which are fuppofed to have been the moft fertile in all the productions of nature ; it will naturally follow, that the numbers of thefe animals would, fome time or other, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 34/r other, have received fo great an augmentation, that the __ l77s- 0 November, fcarcity ot food, and the mutual conflicts between different ^rsJ herds of elephants, muft have obliged fome of them to feek their fubliftence elfewhere. Dry and hot fummers would naturally have increafed this deficiency of food for elephants, and accelerated their removal; and at the fame time, for the fake of coolnefs, determined their courfe towards the north, and finally to Siberia. I am very ready to believe with natural philofo- pbers, that this latter country was formerly not fo Cold as it is at prefent; but cannot fuppofe it to have been by any means warm enough to harbour elephants,, excepting indeed in fummer time, as it is well known, that our Lapland fummers, though fhort, are yet extremely warm. Swarms of elephants having thus, for one or more caufes, left their native habitations, and by degrees, or, perhaps, by a hafty and fudden removal, having arrived at a great diftance from it, in more fevere climates, and been there overtaken by a cold autumn or winter, it would be no wonder, if they had got out of their latitude, and fpread themfelves ftill farther into Siberia and the neighbouring countries ; and there having perifhed, have been buried at greater or lefs depths by earthquakes, by the falling in of fteep mountains, and by rivers changing their courfe, and at length have left to inquifitive pofterity evident monument3 of their migrations. A journey of about twenty-five or thirty degrees, or about one thoufand one hundred and forty miles, between China and Siberia, cannot be looked upon as long for ele^ phants^ T?75- phants, as I have already obferved at p. 334, that thefe animals can with eale travel to the extent of a degree, 01 twenty leagues in a day, or fometimes twice as much : and, indeed, according to VAfrtque de Marmol, Tom. I. p. 58, when they are put to it, they will make, in the fpace of one day, fix days journey. By the account I have given of the elephants at the Cape, I find that I have been induced to dwell with fome prolixity on the hiftory of this animal. I would therefore wifh, in order to make it the more complete, to quote from different naturalifts and writers of travels fome remarkable paffages, which tend greatly to illuftrate the underftanding and dif-pofition of the elephant. " In India they were once employed in launching of fhips. One was directed to force a very large veffel into the water; the work proved fuperior to his ftrength; his maftcr, with a farcaftic tone, bid the keeper take away this lazy beaft, and bring another in his ftead; the poor animal inftantly repeated his efforts, fractured his fcull, and died on the fpot." (Pennant's Hi/I. of Quad. p. 155, from Ludolph. Com. in Hi/I. JEtbiop.) " In Belli an elephant, paffing along the ftreets, put his trunk into a taylor's fliop, where feveral people were at work; one of them pricked the end of it with his needle. The beaft paffed on, but in the next dirty puddle filled his trunk with water, returned to the fhop, and fpurting every drop among the people who had offended him, fpoilt their work." (Penn. /. c. from Hamilton's Hiftory of the East-Indies.) " An « An elephant in Adfmeer* which often paffed through 'fffr the bazar or market, as he went by a certain herb-woman, vJv>j always received from her a mouthful of greens. At length he was feized with one of his periodical fits of rage, broke from his fetters, and running through the market, put the crowd to flight; and among others this woman, who in hafte forgot a little child fhe had brought with her. The animal, recollecting the fpot where his benefaclrefs was wont to fit, took up the infant gently in his trunk, and placed it in fafety on a ftall before a neighbouring houfe." (Penn. from Terry's Voyage.) " Another in Dekan not having received the arrack it had been promifed by its cornac or governor, by way of revenge killed him. The comae's wife, who was an eye-witnefs to this, took her two children and flung them before the elephant, faying, Now you have deffroyed their father, you may as well put an end to their lives and mine. It initantly flopped, relented, took the greaterl of the children, placed him on its neck, adopted him for its cornac, and never afterwards would permit any body elfe to mount it." (Buffon, Tom. XI. p. 77, from the Marquis De Montmirail. If the elephant is of a revengeful difpofition, it is like-wife equally remarkable for gratitude. A foldier at Pon-dicherry, who was accuftomed, whenever he received the portion that came to his fhare, to carry a certain quantity of it to one of thefe animals, having one day drank rather too freely, and finding himfelf purfued by the guards, who were going to take him to prifon, took refuge under the elephant's body and fell aileep. In vain did the 4 guard 1775- guard try to force him from this afylum, as the elephant *C-rC protected him with his trunk. The next morning the foldier, recovering from his drunken fit, Ihuddered with horror to find himfelf ftretched under the belly of this huge animal. The elephant, which, without doubt, perceived the man's embarraffment, careffed him with his trunk, in order to infpire him with courage, and make him underftand, that he might now depart in fafety. (Buffon, p. 78.) A painter was defirous of drawing the elephant which was kept in the menagerie at Verfailles in an uncommon attitude, which was that of holding his trunk raifed up in the air with his mouth open. The painter's boy, in order to keep the animal in this pofture, threw fruit into liis mouth; but as the lad frequently deceived him, and made an offer only of throwing him the fruit, he grew angry; and, as if he had known, that the painter's intention of drawing him was the caufe of the affront that was offered him, inftead of revenging himfelf on the lad, he turned his refentment on the mafher, and taking up a .quantity of water in his trunk, threw it on the paper on which the painter was drawing, and fpoiled it. {Mem. pour fervir a PHiJl. des Animaux* par Mejjieurs de PAcad. des Sciences* Part III.) On the 4th we came to Lceuwen-bofcb* a little wood fo called, on a river of the fame name, from the circumftance of its having been formerly in a peculiar manner inhabited by lions. At this time there lived here a Have of each fex, for the purpofe of tending a few cattle belonging to 2 farmer, and of preferving the corn-fields from the inroads GAPE of GOOD HO P E. 345 roads of the gazels. The Have's hut compofed the whole K, I77v . 0 1 November of the buddings on the premifes, befides an open fhed, k^y^j under which we took our night's lodging. On the 5 th we entered into Sitficamma, where we vifit-ed the three firft farmers that lay in our road. As in this province there were various unknown plants, and. no natu-ralift had been there before us, we ftaid there till the 12th, when we took our departure, and fet off for Zee-koe, ox Sea-cow-river \ and finally, from the 15th to the concluiion of the month, took up our lodging in a farm fituated at the lower or fouthern ferry-place of this river. On the eaftern fide of Leeuwen-bofcb the country may be faid to be a champain or open country, the long range of hills, by the fide of which we had travelled all the way from the Gape, terminated here, or elfe running on to the north. This tract of land feems to come under the character I have given of the Sweet grafs-ficlds and plains towards the fhore. The fame may be faid of the hither part of Sitficamma* which, efpecially near the fhore, was extremely low and fandy. The myrica cerifera is likewife to be found here, as well as at the Duyven, or Doves, as they arc called at the Cape. The greenifh wax-like and tallowy fubftance, with which at a certain time of the year the berries are covered, and which is probably formed by infects, being ufed by the inhabitants for making candles, which burn rather better than thofe prepared from tallow. On the plains I faw numerous herds of the antilope eforcas, (or bartbeejl* videPlatehVol.il.) and likewiie faw the gnometie* or little gazel, I fpoke of at p. 279. Vol. L Yy The l775,- The interior part of Sitftcamma is faid to coniift of an im- November. Vm^yx^ penetrable foreft. Two Hottentots, who wilhed to penetrate through it from the Houtniquas fide, are laid to have been obliged, after having made a fruitlefs attempt during ten or twelve days, to turn back again, happy to have reached home in fafety. They perceived a great number of elephants, with feveral broad beaten tracks made by thefe animals, but which extended only from north to fouth, fo as to terminate and lofe themfelves in thick woods either near the fhore, or at the range of mountains which feparates Sit-ficamma from Houtniquas. Buffaloes are likewife found there in great numbers. Kromme-rivier itfelf at its mouth, or where it empties itfelf into the fea, is very broad and deep; fo that fhips might lie at anchor in it very commodioufly, if the fea-breezes and the furge, which, probably, are every day varying the fhape of this coaft, had not blocked up the mouth of it. Zeekoe-rivier, which in feveral places had been deep enough to harbour a great number of thofe large animals called fea-cowsy (hippopotamus amphibiuSy Plate IV. Vol. II.) from which it derives its name, we now found fo much choaked up with fand near the fea-fide, that we could go over it dry-fhod. In Kromme-rivier* the farmer that lived on the fpot had brought thofe animals to be fo familiar, that I faw them fwimming up and down the river in broad day-light, and often ftick their noftrils up out of the water, in order to blow themfelves or take breath. On the heights near the upper farm on Zeekoe-rivier grew the bread-tree (brood-boom) of the Hottentots, difcovered CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 347 vered by Profeftor Thunberg, and of which he has given >7K- j /- • • i , - , . November a deicnption and drawing by the name of Cycas Cajfra, in \^y^j the Nova Acla Reg. Soc. Scienf. Up/ Vol. II. p. 283. Tab. V. The pith or marrow (medulla) which abounds in the trunk of this little palm, is collected and tied up,in dreffed calf or fheep-fkins, and then buried in the earth for the fpace of feveral weeks, till it becomes fufficiently mellow and tender to be kneaded up with water into a pafle, of which they afterwards make fmall loaves or cakes, and bake them under the affres. (For a fuller defcription of this vide 1. c.) Other Hottentots, not quite fo nice, nor endued with patience enough to wait this tedious method of preparing it, are faid to dry and roaft the marrow, and afterwards make a kind of brown frumenty of it. This cycas grows likewife near the Drie Fonteins in Lange-kloof. In all Sit/tcamma there wrere but eight farms. Among other rare and curious vegetables, it is faid there is a kind of fig-tree in the woods here, which is of a lofty gigantic growth, with undivided leaves; and the fruit of it is as good, if not better, than that produced from thofe which are cultivated in our gardens. At Slangen-rivier, two years before my arrival in thefe parts, a fhip is faid to have fent a boat afhore, the crew of which filled feveral calks with water; and afterwards, going directly on board the fhips, fet fail before any of the colonifts could come up to fpeak with them. Having had an opportunity of taking obfervations on, and of laying-down on my map a long tract of the coaft between Sit/tcamma and Zondags-rivier, and being obliged to bellow names on two remarkable points projecting from it, jl Y y 2 thought '775- thought proper to name them after two experienced Swedifh November, «-> x A A c^-y^ navigators, who at the fame time have deferved the approbation of the public by the charts they have given of the African coaft, I mean the Captains Ekeberg and Burtz. The former has given the world a good chart and 'defcription of Table and Falfe-bays. The other in his later voyages has added to the obfervations made by the former gentleman upon thefe places, and has extremely well laid down the coaft between Mqffel-bay and the Cape; during the period that, being on his return from China in the Swedifh Eaft-Indiaman, xh& .Stockholm Slott* he had the misfortune to be detained for a coniiderable length of time by contrary winds, in confequence of his fhip's having loft her rudder. Captain Burtz likewife kindly communicated to me the views of the country as they are feen from the fea, which are placed at the top of my map. The little illand which I have placed near Point Ekeberg I have, in fact, never feen myfelf, but thought it right, at all events, to lay down on that fpot, as Captain Burtz was induced by an old Portuguefe chart, that gives a tolerable idea of the coaft, to conclude, that the bay called in it Bay-conJIant* where there is a little ifland near the point, is the fame inlet that I have laid down near Kromme-rivier; fo that, being on fhore, I pofftbly might not be fituated fo as to fee the ifland diftinct from the continent. Here it is likewife neceffary to remark, that all the maps and charts of the eaftern coaft of Africa hitherto known, are faulty in making the extent of it to the caft-ward much lefs than it really is, and than I found it to be in my journey over land. I am likewife fenfible, that many many navigators have, in the courfe of their voyages, taken N I77j£er notice of the fame error ; and among them Captain Cook, L^v-n^ at the time when, being on his return from his firft voyage round the globe in the Endeavour* he fell in with this coaft unawares. Moreover, during our ftay near Sea-cow-river* a {hip was feen one evening under full fail making direcfly for the fhore, and did not tack about till lire was almoft too near. I afterwards learnt at the Cape, that this was a Dutch veffel; and that from the chart fhe carried with her, lhe had not expetfted to come Upon the coaft nearly fo foon, nor had fhe perceived it till juft be* fore flie had tacked about. My hoft, who,, while the veffel was hovering about the coaft, had rode along with me to a part of the fliore higher than the reft, could diftin-guifh the fhip's crew from thence; but it feems that none of them faw us, probably on account of fome mift or exhalation proceeding from the land. I remember to have read fome where in an Englifh Ma* gazine an account of the Doddington, an Englifh Eaft-India-man, having fuffered fhipwreck on an ifland or rock fituated in 33 I deg. or, more probably, 32 \ S. lat. near the eaftern coaft of Africa. This account mentions, that two perfons rowed in a fkiff from the wreck to the continent, where, as foon as they arrived, which was towards the evening, wearied out with hard labour, they turned the boat topfy turvy, and crept under it in order to go to reft ; notwithftanding which they were in great danger from the wild beafts, (probably the byanas or tiger-wolves) which endeavoured to fqueeze themfelves in under the boat in order to get at them. The next morning they met with the »775- the wild inhabitants of the country, (in all likelihood the Bq/hies-tnen) who took from them a brace of piftols and their clothes; though after a little confideration, and on the failors tarneftly entreating them on their knees, they fuffered them to keep their boat and oars, and return to their difaftrous hland, as to an afylum; whence they at length, together with fome more of the crew, proceeded in a bark made out of the wreck to the northward, and came to a nation that abounded in cattle and elephants teeth, (probably the Caffres) where they were very kindly received, 8tc. On recollecting myfelf, and comparing this account with one I had from the colonifts, it appears to me that this fhip was wrecked right before the mouth of Zondags-rivier; as about twenty or thirty years ago, a fmoke was feen proceeding from the ifland fituated there. A farmer of the name of Vereira, who at that time was a hunting of elephants in this diftrict, had bought of the Hottentots a piftol and a piece of red cloth, which they faid they had got of fome people who had come to them from fea. The colonifts likewife informed me, that a year after this event, a dogger was fent from the Cape, at the requeft of the Englifh Eaft-India company, in order to fearch for the above-mentioned iflands, and the goods that were left there; but that the captain came back, as they thought on purpofe, without executing his commiflion. It perhaps would ftill pay for the labour to build a boat at Zon-dags-rivier, with a view to fearch for thefe fmall illands; but in order for people coming from the fea to find them, it would be neceffary that fomebody fhould have previoufly obferved the true latitude on the continent directly oppo- fite fite to them; after which, by making fignals by fires, the '77^ fame place might eafily be difcovered. I often faw the ^J^j above-mentioned iflands from Point Padron in the harbour of Krakekamma. The farm near Sea-cow-river* where we took up our head quarters from the 15th to the 30th, belonged to an honeft old colonift, by nation, if I remember right, a Heflian. He was a fenfible, active, ingenious man, and confequently had got his farm into the beft order; upon which he had built many more tenements, than we had feen on any farm we had hitherto vifited in the whole courfe of our journey. The main body of the houfe alone confifted of fix rooms. He had a great number of Hottentot fervants, as well as cattle; but had laid the foundation of his fortune by hunting elephants. Having been a great traveller himfelf in his youth, he wilhed to render us every fervice that lay in his power; offering to affift us with a good Hottentot guide, who was at the fame time an excellent fhot, as foon as he heard that we intended to expofe ourfelves to all the dangers and hardfhips that might arife in the courfe of an expedition of one hundred leagues, between that place and Bruntjes Hoogte* for the fake of botanizing and hunting. But, unluckily for us, the corn-har-veft was now approaching, it beginning on the 23d of this month; befides which, many of his Hottentot labourers were laid up with a bilious fever. I was therefore obliged to wait till the harveft was over, and to forward it with all the afhftance my Hottentots could give. In the mean time he delegated to me the province of attending and curing the fick, and that with the greater confi- _ f77confidence, as I had juft before made two female Malabar November. ' ^ c>ry>j ilaves belonging to a neighbour of his, find their legs again, who, out of mere idlenefs, had kept their beds for feveral days under pretence of illnefs. Three flaves of the fame nation, likewife belonging to this neighbour of his, alfo recovered by my affiftance from a bilious fever; one of them, who had but juft before fallen ill, was cured by a ftrong decoction of tobacco, the only emetic I juft then had at hand. She bore, however, feveral tea-cups full of this difgufting liquor before it operated. The other two, Who had lain above twelve days, at laft got over the diforder by an alteration in their diet; but two other flaves, who were likewife Malabars, had juft before died here of the fame fever. A violent bleeding at the nofe was faid to have fnpervened a fhort time before death, and immediately after it the gall guflied out in great quantities through their nof-trils; a circumftance, to which the afliftants, very injudici-oufly keeping the frefh air from them with the greateft care, by covering them up with the bed-clothes and fhut-ting the doors quite clofe, did not a little contribute. With the Chriftians the diforder was at the height on the third day, but with the flaves and Hottentots on the fifth or feventh. I obferved that the Hottentots complained much of a pain in their heads and necks, and fometimes in their fhoulders. This pain vanifhed and moved downwards into their arms and legs, (fo that they were not able to ftand) as foon as the diforder changed for the better, which moftly happened after the adminiftration of emetics. In a Chriftian girl the crifis came on with violent pains in the feet. The The pulfe was, it muft be owned, tolerably high ; thofe ^J^her that tried venefection, however, obtained no relief from it, ^yy^J and were, not with Handing, troubled with a bleeding at the nofe in the courfe of the diforder. ' The whites of the eyes remained yellow a long while, excepting in fuch as had vomited fufficiently, and by that means a metaftalis of the pains was made from the neck to the legs and feet. The lick Hottentots belonging to my laft hoft Jacob Kok, who had been juft captured, and, by paffing into his fervice, had made too fudden a transition from their favage manner of living, bore very dangerous dofes before they could be made to vomit. For this purpofe, befides the tobacco, I made ufe of vinum etneticum, feu aqua benedicla rulandu which I prepared according to the Difpenfary of the London college for 1762, viz. two ounces of croc, antim. lot* in a bottle of common Cape wine. Though fixty drops of this was fufficient to caufe a pretty violent vomiting in a Hottentot girl of fifteen years of age, brought up from her infancy among the Ghriftians, and likewife in feveral adults, that made ufe of it at the Cape, yet four ounces had not the leaft effect on three Hottentot girls of about the fame age, whom I had under my care all at one time; I was obliged, therefore, to force them to fwallow pieces of fliag tobacco in fubftance, and to drink feveral bafons of the tobacco decoction, before I could bring them to vomit. To two flender and diminutive youths, who were newly captured, I gave, by degrees, feveral fpoonfuls of the aqua benedifta above-mentioned, till each of them had taken about two ounces of it, after which it began to operate* A youth of about twenty years of age, who had been very Vol. I. Z z lately 1775- lately caueht, took eleven grains of gummigutta, but did not \^r^j feem to feel the leaft effect: from it; upon which I gave him, as well as to an old Hottentot newly captured, forty and above years of age, (both of them lean and flender) feveral teacups full of the aqua benedicla, which was now very thick and full of fediment, taking care at the fame time to fhake up all the crocus of antimony from the bottom of the bottle. At firft I trembled myfelf for the confequences which might enfue from fuch large dofes, but found that they had very little effect, till I let the patient fwallow, all at once, a foot at leaft in fubftance of tobacco cut in pieces, and drink feveral large batons full of a ftrong infufion of tobacco, and at the fame time fwallow down the tobacco of which the infufion was made. Nay, I was obliged into the bargain, to empty Mr. Immelman's fnuff-box into the throat of the younger of them, in order to encourage the vomiting : the operation was for all that very moderate in this cafe ; otherwife, the more bile the patients vomited, the fooner they got well, viz. in the fpace of about two or three days. A fat bouncing Hottentot woman, who had been feveral years with the Chriftians, either feigned or fancied herfelf fick. I have great reafon to believe, that fhe pretended to be fo, in order to have the pleafure of fwallowing the pieces of tobacco, and the tobacco decoction, which I fo liberally diftributed on this occafion. Here it muft be obferved, that I placed the fick in the fhade near the front door, and ad-miniftered the medicines myfelf, in order to be able to judge the better of their operation ; but muft confefs, that 1 was amazed to find thefe people's ftomachs require fuch large doles of fo bitter and ftrong a poifon, as is tobacco. Though, CAPE -of GOOD HOPE. 355 Though, in fact, it is to the full as aftonifhing, to fee the N I77S£ colonifts, particularly fuch of them as have been bred in v^v^/ India, eat greedily of fo pungent and fiery a fubftance as raw capficum, juft as if it was a piece of bread or a fweet-meat. As a prefervative for the health, I made every body in the family take a fpoonful of vinegar, with frefh rue, faffing; after which, nobody was attacked with the diforder. On the 29th, the Hottentots in the neighbourhood afk-ed the permiffion of their mafters to have a ball and dance, in compliment to my Hottentots, who had rendered them the effential fervice of afhfting them in getting in their corn, and were now fhortly going away. Their requeft was granted, and as foon as the moon began to fliine, the ball was opened al frefco. About twenty perfons of both fexes joined in this dance, which was kept up till paft midnight with the greateft fpirit; and, indeed, I may fay, without the leaft intermiflion. The ball, however, did not finifh with this ; but they went afterwards under cover, and, fitting all round in a ring, kept fwinging the upper part of their bodies backwards and forwards with a flow and even motion, ringing all the while in a dull monotonous manner. A dreffed fkin was ftretched over a kettle, on which they drummed with their fingers, in unifon with the voice. The Hottentot woman, who had made or fancied herfelf fick, in order to get fome of the tobacco decoction, feemed to be the principal perfon that had the direction of the dancing, as well as the mufic, vocal and inftrumental. Should the reader wifh for a more particular defcription of this dance, I can fay little elfe concerning it, than that Z z 2 it *rr$: it is not to be defcribed, at leaft not in all its different November. ~ . v^^s-/ figures and movements. Neither, indeed, do I conceive, that it was confined to any particular rules ; the chief intention feeming to be, to put the body into motion : for which purpofe, every body hopped and jumped about both by themfelves, and occalionally with each other; and doubt-lefs with the fame intentions they wreathed, twined, and twifted their bodies into every droll and uncommon attitude their fancy led them to. Though, perhaps, a Hottentot might be induced to form the fame opinion of our moft fafhionable dances. In the mean time it is pofli-ble, that the Hottentot dance I have been endeavouring to give fome idea of, was not totally without art in its kind, as my Hottentots from Buffeljagts-rivier faid they had never feen fuch a one before, and that they were not capable of joining in it. Our hoft and hoftefs, who likewife looked on for a time, pointed out to me, however, two of their country dances ; one was called the baboon-dance, in which they imitated baboons or apes : this, as well as the others, was diftinguifhed by a thoufand grimaces, the performers now and then, moreover, going upon all fours. The other was called the bee-dance, in imitation of a fwarm of bees. In this every performer now appeared to make a buzzing noife. In this manner the ball continued till day-break, when the greater part of the dancers were obliged to return to their daily labours. I likewife at this time faw an inftance of the polygamy practifed by the Hottentots, a practice, however, which is laid to be very rare among them. An old Hottentot had married two wives, and feemed in a manner very proud of the CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 35 the poffeftlon of them, as doing credit to his manhood. I >7*S; * 0 November was informed, however, that the ladies very often quar- v^vnJ relied, and not unfrequently came to blows; and that when their fpoufe went to part them, they ufed both with one accord to fall upon him, and wreak their vengeance upon his hair.—In thefe times, when the Hottentots for the greater part are flaves, it is not to be wondered at, that their manners are fubject to changes. In the mean while I could not get any intelligence to be depended upon, how far polygamy had been formerly more or lefs practifed. The marriage ceremonies among the Bofhies-men, are faid. to be no other than fuch as are inevitably neceffary and agreeable to nature, viz. the agreement of the parties and confummation. My holt and hoftefs, who twenty years before had lived nearer to the Cape, viz. at Groot Vaders Bofcb* told me they believed the report, that a matter of the ceremonies performed the matrimonial rites, by the immediate con-fperfion of the bride and bridegroom with his own water, was not without foundation; but that this was pradtifed only within their craals, and never in the prefence of any of the colonifts. My Hottentots, whom I frequently queftioned upon this fubject:, chofe neither to confefs the fact,> nor ab-folutely to deny it, fo that probably this ufage is ftill retained in fome craals. That the funeral ceremonies are alike with every different tribe of Hottentots, we are well affured, as likewife that they are conducted in. the following manner. The deceafed is thruft either naked or with his cloak on, into fome hole in the earth, or fubterraneous paffage, where they generally ^oV/inber become a prey to fome wild beam However, they v>^J ufually ftuff a large bundle of brum-wood, or bufhes, into the aperture of this hole or paftage. I was very affiduous in my enquiries, in how far it was true, that the Hottentots fecluded from fociety fuch as were old and helplefs. The only perfon that could give me any inftance of this cuftom being practifed, was my hoft. In his younger days, being out a hunting in Krakekamma, in company with one Vander Wat, with whom I was likewife acquainted, they obferved in the extenfive defert plains of that diftridt, a little narrow flip enclofed with bufhes and brambles. Their curiofity being excited, they rode up to it, and found within it an old blind female Hottentot, who, at firft, as foon as fhe heard the Chriftians coming, endeavoured to crawl away and hide herfelf; but afterwards made her appearance, though with a very four afpecf: fhe confeffed, however, that fhe had been left to her fate by the inhabitants of her clan. But neither did flie defire nor receive any afliftance from thefe Chriftians, nor, indeed, had they made any enquiries whether this was done with or againft her confent. Calling afterwards at the craal fhe belonged to, all the information they got there was, that the old woman had actually been left there in that manner by them. With refpecl: to any conveniencies fhe might have about her, they could perceive nothing, but a trough which contained a little water. Another cuftom, no lefs horrid, which has hitherto been remarked by no one, but which I had fully confirmed to me, is, that the Hottentots are accuftomed to inter, in cafe of 6 the the mother's death, children at the breaft alive. That N^mber very year, and on the very fpot, where I then dwelt, juft ^y^J before my arrival, there had been the following inftance of it : A Hottentot woman at this farm had died of the epidemic fever. The other Hottentots, who did not imagine that they fhould be able, neither did they chufe to rear the fe^ male infant fhe had left behind her, had already wrapt it in a fheep-fkin alive, in order to bury it, together with its deceafed mother; when they were prevented from accom-plifhing their purpofe, by fome of the farmers in the neighbourhood. The child, however, died foon after of con-vulfions. My hoftefs, who at this time ' was rather in years, informed me, that about fixteen or feventeen years before, fhe had lighted upon a Hottentot infant in the diftricl: of Zwellendam* which was bundled up in flans in the manner above-mentioned, and tied faft to a bufh, near where the child's mother had been newly buried. The infant had. fo much life left, as to be in a condition to be recovered. It was afterwards brought up by Mrs. Kok's parents, but died at the age of eight or nine years, from feveral inftances of this kind related to me by others it follows, that, children are never interred alive, or ex-pofed, but when their neareft relatives, who are their natural guardians, arc dead : fo that I think we may conclude from this, that even fuperannuated people are never expofed, but in cafe of their having no children, nor near relations to take care of them : and as thefe cafes may occur but feldom, it is not to be wondered at if this practice fhould come to be lefs in vogue, and if confequently we t '77 ?« we fhould not fo often hear of it. In the mean time, what- \ovembcr. ^ " focvcr it be that has given rife to this cuftom, yet we that have the happinefs of being in a more civilized ftate, have certainly not without reafon accufed the Hottentots of inhumanity on this occafion. Still, however, they de-ferve rather to be pitied, than to be reviled and loaded with reproaches on this account; for on reflecting a little, we lhould1, perhaps, find, that too many perfons, even in our boafted civilized focieties, are left almoft deftitute and un-alfifted; or, perhaps, are entirely abandoned to their dreadful fate. Indeed I fear, that if we were fairly and ftrictly to compare the failings and crimes of the Hottentots with thofe of civilized nations, the iffue would turn out very little to the honour of either, and ftill lefs to that of the latter. And in fact, if we impartially confider the conduct of mankind in a general view, we fhall not, perhaps, find great feafon to flatter it: neither, indeed, would this be the way effentially to ferve our fellow-creatures, •as felf-love and flattery, it is allowed on all hands, renders us dangerous enemies to ourfelves; and the cafe is juft the lame with regard to mankind in general. On the 30th, or the day after the ball, we prepared for our departure. Our hoft, who had hitherto entertained us in a remarkably hofpitable manner, was even more than commonly careful to provide us with every thing that he thought we fhould want on our journey. With this view, he lent me a couple of good ferviceable draught-oxen, in the place of two of mine; one of which could not be made ufe of, on account of its having been bit by a ferpent, nor the other by reafon of its being in a very bad CAPE ok GOOD 11 O P E. 361 bad condition. He likewife, as 1 mentioned before, com- N l?^er plimented us with his belt Hottentot, whofe name was v^w> Plattje, and whom he had always taken with him himfelf, in feveral hunting parties he had made up the country, to carry his arms for him, and aiiift in killing the game. Our hoilefs, who was very Well apprized that we fhould not often find a table ready fpread for us in a defert of an hundred uurs in length, and that game did not always abound there, made up an excellent viaticum for us, confining of a box full of bifcuiis, ten pounds of butter, and a-large wether cut in pieces and falted in its own ikin; which, after being taken off, was tied up again at each end with the meat in it, fb as to ferve for a lack. The reft of our provifion confifted of two loaves of coarfe bread, together with a bag of Hour for my Hottentots, who at this time were three in number. During our abode here we found a vaft number of infects, and many fpecies which we had not feen before. Among all thefe, what moft excited my admiration was a iermes. On a warm day, about the conclufion of the month, (1 forgot to fet down precifely the day) there came out of the earth in feveral places thoufands of white infects, in fhape fomewhat refembling ants. Some of thefe were about half an inch long, and had each of them four wings, with which they foon began to fly about, and fwarm round each other in the air like ephemerae, though they were not obferved to copulate. When caught, their wings came off remarkably eafdy, efpecially if they were not taken the greateft care of. Their bodies were milk-white, and extremely foft, fo that one could eafdy fqueeze a white liquor out of them. During this, Vol. I. A a a I like- XT I likewife faw thoufands of fmaller infects or ants, but with- November. * out wings, making their way out of the holes the former had juft made in the earth. Thefe feemed very eafily enraged, and were apt to bite; the heads were likewife larger in proportion, and their jaws were more pointed and fharper than thofe of the former. I collected a fufficient quantity of both forts, in order to prefent them to my entomological friends, and particularly the largeft of them to Baron de Geer, who has adopted them, in Tom. VII. of his Memoirs, p. 47. Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 1—4. by the name termes Capenfe. This illuftrious author has the greater reafon to call them by the name of termes, as he himfelf, as wTell as Mr. Frish, has difcovered a termes with the rudiments of wings. It was at the diftance of a mile and a half from the farm, on rather a woody fpot, that I difcovered the termes Capenfer and obferved them piercing the ground in feveral places, and with great impatience making their way through the furface. As I was at that time taken up in attending my Hottentot patients, the greater part of thefe animals difappeared by the next morning, when I got back to the place of their transformation; fo that I could make no farther obferva* tion on the ceconomy of thefe infects, which, in all probability, is highly wonderful. Neither can I fay with any certainty, whether this termes Capenfis be the fame fpecies with the white ants, (as they are called) which build and inhabit thofe dark-grey hillocks of earth from three to four feet high, which I mentioned before, that the fugitive Bofhies-men in Lange-kloof frequently explored to no manner of purpofe: for feveral times, when I had an 8 opportunity, opportunity, or gave myfelf time to break into them, (and that not without fome trouble) in order to examine them, I had the mortification to find the birds fled. But in the ant-hills or clumps of earth of about a foot high, which I explored on the mountains in Falfe-bay* I found a grey-coloured kind of termes, or, as it is there called, pifmire, fomewhat different from the white unwinged ones defcribed above: but this was loft in my collection while 1 was abfent on my voyage round the world, fo that I cannot with any precifion determine to what fpecies it belonged. The fame difagreeable accident happened to me with refpect to another very diminutive fpecies of termes, or white ant, which I got a fight of twice in the road between Bojhies-mans-rivier and Fifch-rivier. This termes was not greater than our termes pulfatorium* or death-watch; and, as well as I can remember, was very like the white ant of the Eaft-Indies, or the termes fatale. Contrary to all expectation, thefe made their way out of the hard ground, coming to be our guefts in confiderable numbers, wdienever we happened to fet our butter-tub, or any thing fat or greafy belonging to our provender-cheft on the ground. The winged ants firft-mentioned {termes Capenfe) my hoft had feen in a much greater quantity ; he likewife informed me, that the Bofhies-men and other Hottentots, who were obliged to feek their own food themfelves, foon grew fat and in good condition by eating thefe infects. For this purpofe, they were faid fometimes to boil them in their earthen veffels, in the manner they ufually did grafhoppers; and at other times to eat them raw, as I at that moment £aw my hoft's Hottentots do with refpect to fome few which A a a 2 flew, ■m tf£r flew, or rather were driven by the wind into their mailer's November. ' * W^rsJ grounds; where the people being then bufy in getting in their corn, neither could, nor, indeed, as they had plenty of other food, did they need to fpend their time in catching thefe infects. As my hoffs only fon likewife tailed one of thefe winged ants, I was induced to follow his example. It feemed to me merely to feel cold in the mouth, without any particular tafle; though with greens it would, probably, make as good a difh as feago, or crabs, thofe fcorpion-like infects, whicli we have accuftomed our-felves to eat in Europe. In one part of Carnhlia near the Danube, where they are ufed to collect ephemera by the cart-load for the purpofe of manuring their land, an infect -eating race like the Hottentots would, doubtlefs, make as good a feaft upon them, as they do in Africa ,upon ants and locufts. Whether the moft mifchicvous fpecies of termes* the termes fat ale* Syft. Nat. or, as they are called, the white ants of the Eaft and Weft-Indies, whether thefe naturally inhabit the Cape, I cannot determine with any degree of certainty; though it has been often afferted, that the white ants fometimes come thither with the Eaft-India ihips, and neftle themfelves in there for fome time. Mr, ImmelMAN's parents told me, that a brick floor, laid upon the bare earth in the lower part of the houfe, funk all at once to the extent of about four feet fquare and two feet deep: and it was found, that this unexpected mine proceeded from fome white ants, which had made their nefts beneath the flooring, and from thence likewife had begun to form avenues to the pantry. However, they deftroyed at once the whole colony of thefe unwelcome guefts, by pouring pouring boiling water upon them. Otherwife people are N 177*j; wont, according to the accounts I have received from thofe who have been in the Eaft-Indies, to drive away thefe ill-lefts with petrokeum, and other ftrong-fcented oils. Rotten fifh, which are faid to be as bad as poifon to piffnires, would likewife, probably, clear the houfes of the termes. Though, perhaps, the ftrofigeft poifon for thefe infects is arfenic; as a fmall pinch of it only ftrewed in any place in the vicinity of them will, according to M. Chanve-LON, in his Voyage to Martinico, kill many millions of them in a few hours. The damages caufed by the white ants, as they are called, (which, however, perhaps, coniift of many different fpecies) may be pretty well gueffed at from what has been faid already. It, however, deferves likewife to be mentioned, that merchandize to an infinite amount are destroyed yearly both in the Eaft and Weft-Indies by thefe vermin. In the fpace of a few hours they are able to eat into a cheft, and, as it were, cut to pieces all the linen, filk, clothes, and books in it; on which account, people in thefe countries are obliged to have their trunks and merchandize flung upon ropes. It is likewife, perhaps, capable of multiplying its fpecies more than any other infeft; for Profeffor Linnaeus very kindly mewed me a female, which he had juft before received from the Eaft-Indies, and which was an inch and a half long, and of an extreme bulk, and confequently capable of laying millions of eggs. Though 1 could not learn whether the more noxious fpecies of white ants are natives of the Cape or not, yet it is very well known, that Africa, at leaft that part of it near 366 , A VOYAGE to the Wmbcr. near Senegal, is peftered with them. In fo fhort a fpace //('///<>/ tfrnammfa A-<\ mi Hi 19 iS',im/,rjii fir/if tuts <•/' Jiilituus- J)atnrii(jtia,s> J? ot'ihnKuftiti 6 (!,j;i:}r erf (bnebvardrfb f P Wtrrmt- lituut False Tiible -Mewititin Distant. ij /., Xau/laiut (iyfi'i'/ (r'n-tt /frpe JS i S JTtijh Jtfuuntimis of. f/i/uY . JV.W.lyW:The Wedpg jf.WbW '<'/"■ AJ»"J< ■ Xawfamk ui OstruJi Bay covered with white Sand Jt'cdseJTariyltf' 'Arh' Ff.l'Ae Wedqepl&B-k* of Cape Aquil/a* at so JJeaotie-r drift. Cape dputl&u jlamlfutrtu '/i'r/f!/-//' '/'/.)• iff) /''/•/ Ihttaw ; ^3** J^"ppet' {terpen fitter tbnhuit Aloes Civ of Ooprnl'OVTti IIT . Klfpp Wlff \Greene It! 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