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I.. { ^ -4-^ -^f- -4~fc -4-% H mil inn >ni4 i i #»inn . . jn i i*"1 t; ... :. ....... . ...... ... ,*..•• • ......k.. •• .... «... mti^m g H H H -*# ;^ n ^--T . ^,^..^^.^^^1,^ i: 1* 1+ ■<* ^ VI • . t . " 1 ' Iv'v.' » -1.1/ .1 |N^M V^M^I V»".' .■ *fll** it was made into coffee or tea, it was mil more intolerable. To fearch about elfewhere at this time when it was dark, was not only impoflible but dangerous, on account of the lions. At break of day we difcovered fome traces which led us to the fountain-head of this land-fprinr, which had been clofed up by the trampling of the buffaloes feet; we, therefore, made hatte to dig it open again, when we found fome more tolerable water to quench our thirff, which Was actually infupportable. We frequently made ufe of fugar-candy as a tolerably good palliative for our thirft, during our travels in this hot and fcorching climate; but .this did not relieve us for any long time together. At 9 o'clock in the evening the thermometer was at 64, and the next day, being the 4th, at day-break, a good deal of dew having fallen, I found it 1 o degrees lower. We now purfued our journey, taking the lower road by Fan Staades-rivier* which at that time was brackifh and rather deep. For want of proper precaution in our Hottentots^ our oxen turned back before they got half way over the river, and at the fame time were thrown into corifufion and diforder; fo that it was a difficult matter, to fave both them and the waggon from finking. When we had got to the other fide, and were baiting our cattle, we were viiited by eighteen Gonaquas-Hottmtots> .from a craal which was juft in the neigbourhood This nation confifted of about two hundred people, who were all graziers, and at that time dwelt there in two feparate villages. They are certainly a mixture of .Hottentots and Caffres, as their language had an affinity with with that of both thefe nations; but in their utterance, ^JJJ^ which was like that of human beings, in the natural V^v>^ blacknefs of their complexions, in the great ftrength and robuftnefs of their limbs, and laftly in the height of their ftature, they bore a greater refemblance to the Caffres, feveral of whom they likewife had at that time among them. The cloaks of the Gonaquas are likewife made of dreffed cow-hides, like thofe of the Caffres. Thefe cloaks are very fupple; a quality that proceeds partly from being rubbed a good deal, which I myfelf faw performed with ftones on the infide of them; and partly from the great quantity of greafe, which, being mixed up with bucku-powder, is rubbed into them. Both fexes are adorned with, and fet a great value upon, brafs rings, which they wear on their arms and legs, as well as brafs plates of different fizes and figures, which are fattened in their hair and ears. With refpect to beads, which, fpeaking of in a general way, they call Jintela^ the fmall red ones are much more coveted than the reft; thefe are called lenkitenka* (See the fpecimen of the Caffre's language, which 1 have annexed at the conclufion of this journal.) The genuine Caffres had, in this point, exactly the fame tafte ; but many of them had got ivory rings, of the thicknefs and breadth of about half an inch, and of fuch a fize as to be fining upon the arms above the elbows. Thefe, however, are worn only by the men ; for which reafon a Caffre, who bad fold me his bracelets, feemed extremely diftreffed, faying, that he was now naked about the arms like a woman. Befides that both the Caffres and Gonaquas are very importunate 1775- tunate beggars, they are likewife exceedingly unreafonable [^^jr" in their dealings, as when they make their payments, they are very apt to alk for a handfome prefent into the bargain. Both the Gonaquas and Caffres differ from other Hottentots in this particular, that they make ufe of circum-cilion. This operation is performed on youths of different ages, as they are accuftomed to wait till they can perform it on feveral at a time. The Gonaquas women make ufe of almoft the fame kind of apron or veil as the Hottentot females do. The men are much more naked and lefs covered about this part than the males among the Hottentots, inafmuch as they cover with a little cap, or cafe, made of the fkin of an animal, the extremities only of what modefty mould teach them to conceal entirely. This focket, refembling the extremity of the thumb of a glove, is fometimes fattened with a fmaU thong, or the finew of an animal, to fome firings of beads or leathern belts, which they wear for ornament's fake round their waifls. Some individuals are feen with lions or buffaloes tails hanging on thefe fame belts, as trophies of their courage in having killed thefe beafls. By reafon of the nakednefs of thefe people, of which I have juft been giving a defcription, it may be thought that they have as little modefty as covering : but the fail is, that very few of them could be induced, even by prefents, to take off their little cafes, in confequence of my wifh to be perfectly convinced that they were circumcifed. Indeed, I have been told by a farmer, that in Cafferland one does not unfrequently fee even grown up girls without any covering vering whatfoever; and that in certain dances, it confti- ^J^^ tntes part of the folcmnity for the youths of both fexes to Lor^ make fuch oblations to love in the prefenoe of every one, as by the laws of decency and of civilized nations, are con-fidered as facred to the married If ate alone. The Caffres teemed to me to refcmble very much in appearance the Mofambique flaves, whom 1 had feen at the Cape; and, perhaps, thefe nations border upon each other; the former being probably defcended from the latter, or the latter from the former. The Gonaquas Hottentots, who at this time paid their refpects to me, came chiefly with an intent to beg tobacco. They were all of them armed with one or more of the javelins, which they call bajfagais^ (vide Plate II. Vol. I. Fig. 1,2.) as well as with fhort flicks, to which they gave the name of kirris. With one of thefe I faw a lad very nearly hit a fparrow-hawk in its flight. But they took fo bad an aim, when they threw their javelins, that, though they tried very often, they could not hit a handkerchief which I had fet up between two flicks, at the diflance of twenty paces, by way of mark for them, and at the fame time as a prize for him that fhpuld hit it. This want of dexterity, certainly proceeded from their having neglected to pradlife, as they lived too far from the Bofhies-men Flottentots, and Caffres, and too near to the Chriflians, to be able to ex-ercife any hoflilities againft the former, or to dare to do ft againft the latter. In the mean time they were very bufy in examining narrowly each others javelins, and in feeling for their proper balance. They threw them, however, with a great deal of force; and, as I have been told by feveral Vol. II, C people, December PeoP*e> are a^e to P^rce a man or a gazel through the V-^yO body at the diftance of twenty paces. 1 then ihot at a meet of paper with a fowling-piece, and as they appeared to be very much amazed at the holes that were made, and at the fame time to be very defirous of keeping the paper, they took it without any ceremony, but fhortly after offered to give it me again for a morfel of tobacco. The Gonaquas Hottentots moreover were graziers, and in fome fort tillers of the ground, as the Gaffre nation is likewife faid to be. The kind of corn which they fow, is the bolcus forgbumy which is likewife ufed in the fouth of Europe, and known to yield abundantly. The colonifts call it Caffer-corn. The ftalks fhoot up to the height of a man, and as thick as a rufh. They terminate in a pedicle or branchy ear, a foot and a half long, with feeds of about the fame fize as thofe of rice; two or three of thefe ears generally yield three quarters of a pint of corn. The time of fowing this feed, is faid to be in Auguft or September. But in the beginning of November, while I yet remained in Sitficamma^ I faw it already fit for cutting, at a farmer's who fet little ftore by it, giving it only to his cattle. The Caffres ufe to bruife this corn between ftones, and make it into loaves, which they bake under the embers. They moftly, however, ufe to ferment it with a certain root and water, till it produces a kind of inebriating liquor. They generally confume their whole ftock, which, however, is not confiderable, immediately in the autumn. The Gaffre prince Paloo, whom the colonifts caBed king Pharaoh, haoh, is raid to have killed himfelf with drinking this pJSL liquor. On feveral accounts we haftened our departure from hence. Our courfe was now to the north, over plain level fields, for the greater part covered with a dry arid graft to the height of about two feet. Our guide took us firft to a well of lukewarm water, and afterwards at night to another pool of water, at the bottom of a river that was dried up. Both places were very acceptable to us as well as to our cattle, though the water was none of the befl. Near this latter fpot we took up our night's lodging. It was not without difficulty, that we could collect wood enough round about the neighbourhood to boil our teakettle ; and after all, we ran a great rifk of having an end put to our whole expedition by a fire. A Hottentot, in looking for fomething with a piece of lighted wood, happened to fet the dry grafs on fire, which fpread in it almofl as if it had been oakum; fo that had we not been very quick in flopping the progrefs of the flames, and moreover mutually affifled each other, we fhould foon have feen the whole diftria; in one continued flame, and our waggon would have been entirely demolifhed in the conflagration, and blown up into the air ; for there was not only a good deal of coom about it, but it alfo contained many inflammable matters; fuch as the fail-cloth tilt, dried herbs and paper, a calk full of fpirits, and about twenty pounds weight of gunpowder. The wind blew hard from the fouth-wefl, the thermometer at eleven at night being 66, and the next day about dawn at 64, when we faddled our horfes and put our oxen to the waggon. At nine we C 1 got ^ 177 5• got to little Zwart-kops river, and fet off from thence about December, o ■* * v«^v>J four in the afternoon, and at fix o'clock arrived at great Zwart-kops river. On the road we had feen large herds of the wild affes, called quaggciS) and of hart-beejls ; as likewife, for the firft time, fix female buffaloes, with twoyoungones. Thefe came from the fea-fide, from whence our guide fuppofed they had been forced to make their retreat thus at noon, either on account of the lions or of flies. We had not yet been able to get within reach of any game, fo that our falted wether had hitherto been our only refourcc. This, in its flcin bag, had already acquired a pretty ftrong haut gout, in confequence of the warmth of the weather. Mr. Immelman, who was nice in his eating, and not ufed to put up with falted meat, especially when it was rather tainted, had, from our firft letting out, it being now the fifth day, fuffered much from hunger. For our fmall flock of bread would not at this time afford us above two bifcuits a man per diem, each bifcuit weighing about an ounce and a half. At this Zwart-kops river, where we were now arrived, and intended to pafs the night, we found two farmers had got in before us, who were come thither in order to get fait and hunt. Indeed, they had already fhot feveral heads of game, which they had hung up in large flips and fhreds on the bufhes, waggons, and fences, in order to dry it in the fun, in the fame manner as the Hottentots did the elephant's ftefh nearD/^- rivier* as I mentioned before, Volume I, page 313. From this flefh there was diffufed round about the fpot not only a crude and rank fmclj, but likewife a putrid putrid flench from fuch parts of it as had arrived at the D^S&r, ftate of putrefaction; and the farmers wives and children, v^r^ together with the Hottentots who had accompanied them, with a view to afTift them as well as for their own pleafure, were employed in feafting upon it, and fleeping, and fearing away a number of birds of prey, which hovered round about them and over their heads, in order to fleal away the flefh. This horrid fpectacle of fo many carnivorous human creatures, awakened in me a lively remembrance of the cannibals in Ntzv and had like to have entirely taken away our appetites for a meat flipper, fo that we refolved to bear with our hunger that night as well as we could: but at lail comes our guide, very opportunely, with the fhoulder of a hart-beefl* which we immediately cut, and drefled it in our pot with dripping; a difh which was called by the Hottentots by the name of the inftrumcnt (tnora* which means a knife,) with which it is cut in pieces. Our mouths watered at the fight of it, and we eat it with an excellent appetite, which was no longer fpoiled by any reflections fimilar to thofe I have juft mentioned. On the 6th, at break of day, my guide and I took a ride, in order to cut up the bart-beeji he had fliot, and loaded one horfe with as much as he could carry, in order to lay it up in the waggon, by way of making provilion for the journey. The tulbagia* a fmall hexandrous plant, called by Lin-njfojs after M. Tuleag, governor at the Cape, grew here in great abundance; though I had never before feen more than a fmgle fpecimen of it, and that was on the road to *775- to Zwellendam, Here I likewife faw, for the firft time, a December. ■ _ \ 1 Vav fmall kind or onion, with fpiral leaves; caught an ampbif-bozna% and drew up the defcription of a cleome juncea, which I have inferted in the Acta Societ. Upfal. Vol. Ill, page 192. The farmers here, as well as fome others, who were -going to the Cape before me, were fo obliging, as, at my requeft, to take with them the packet of herbs I had already collected; otherwife, I mould not have had room enough in my waggon for all my collection. The tide was very viiible in this river. The wind blew ftrong from S. S. W. At noon the thermometer was 71 in the fhade, and in the evening, after the moon was up, at 64. On the 7 th, at half paft five in the morning, the thermometer was at 52. We now proceeded on our journey, going northwards, and in our way, a good mile and a half from the river, we met with the capital Zout-pany or Salt-pan. By this name thofe places are diftinguiihed, where there is a quantity of culinary fait produced. This falt-pan was an extenfive plain, covered over with a level and continued cruft of fait, upon which, in feveral places, there ftood a little water; fo that there could not be a more natural refemblance of a frozen lake than this. This by confequence, being contrafted with the warmth of the weather and furrounding trees and flowers, would certainly at firft fight have ftruck me with the greateft amazement, had I not been previoufly informed of the real caufe of the phaenomenon. Towards the fides the cruft of fait was thin; and juft there one might perceive, that it a was Was diffufed over a loamy and clayey foil. But a little jjjjgjj^ farther towards the middle, I found it was above two feet \*s^~*J deep, without being able to difcover the bottom of it, or any water underneath it. The colonifts who worked here with poles, imagine that the cruft of fait extends many fathoms below the fur face. This falt-pan was about three miles in circumference, and of an oblong fhape. After there have been feveral warm days together, there is formed in different places on the cruft, a hoar froft, it were, which is the fineft and ftrongeft fait, and is with great reafon fuppofed by the colonifts to exceed that of Lunenburgh. Indeed, the whole of it feems to be quite fine and pure : and it appears to me, and is allowed by others, to give a better tafte to the butter and meat that is preferved in it, than any that comes from the other falt-pans to be met with in Africa; as Saldanka-bayy between Zoet-melk and Gawrits rivers? and in certain places behind the Sneeuwbergs* or fnowy mountains. My Hottentots were occupied in collecting a ftock of the fineft fait, as much as I thought we mould want for the purpofe of faking our meat, and fuch fkins of animals as I might wifh to preferve. In the mean time, I myfelf made a rich capture of many reptiles and infects hitherto unknown ; fome of which were ftuck faft and dried up in, the cryftals of fait, while others were dying, or had juft expired, in confeqnence of the vifcid faline matter with which they were in contact. Many infects were likewife drown* cd in the xlear water or briny liquid, which, after it had rained, was collected in certain places in the incruftatkin of ■ ,77S' of fait. We were obliged to wade a good way into it; and al-though the ialt dried and cry fi alii zed upon our legs and feet, till at night we found water to wafli it off with, yet no ill effects enfued from it: a circumftance which I thought proper to mention, for the encouragement of fuch as may hereafter collect; infects in this or other places of the fame nature. That peculiar infect, the citnex paradoxus* which I have defcribed and given a drawing of in the Swcdifh Transactions, (Vol. XXXVIII. p. 235,) *I difcovered at this place, as at noon-tide I fought for Inciter among the branches of a fhrub from the intolerable heat of the fun. Though the air was now extremely flill and calm, fo as hardly to have fhaken an afpen leaf, yet I thought I faw a little withered, pale, crumpled leaf, eaten as it were by caterpillars, flittering from the tree. This appeared to me fo very extraordinary, that I thought it worth my while fuddenly to quit my verdant bower in order to contemplate it^ and I could fcarcely believe my eyes, when I faw a live infect, in fhape and colour refcmbling the fragment of a withered leaf, with the edges turned up and eaten away, as it were, by caterpillars, and at the fame time all over befet with prickles. Nature, by this peculiar form, has certainly extremely well defended and concealed, as it were in a mafk, this infect from birds and its other diminutive foes; in all probability with a view to prcferve it, and employ it for fome important office in the fyftem of her ceconomy; a fyflem with which we are too little acquainted, in general too little invefligate, and, in every part of it, can never Sufficiently admire with * See likewife Plate VII. of this Volume. that that refpect. and veneration which we owe to the great Au- DJ^,;er thor of nature and Ruler of the univerfe. ^>rsJ At night we came to Kuga, a little river, the water of which was brackifh ; but fome good and frefh water was found in a well hard by it. Here likewife we had a hafty glimpfe of two hares, which feemed to refemblc the ordinary hares of Europe. My companion, who was fubjedl to a fpitting of blood, happened here to be much troubled with this complaint; a complaint to which tHe animal diet he had been accuftomed to during the whole journey, together with the fatigue he had undergone, and the fcorching heat of the fun, had necef-farily difpofed him. Bleeding, together with a little faltpetre and the water from this fpring, were the only means, (and thofe not ill adapted to the purpofe,) which we fortunately had at hand for his recovery in this defert place. Upon the whole, I took as much care of him as I poflibly could on an open plain, with no other canopy than the fky. The finenefs of the weather, together with the coolnefs of the night, and above all his utter averfion to all fick-nefs, circumftanced as we were, I believe did not a little contribute towards his fpeedy recovery. The next morning, however, when, in order to make a trial of his ftrength, he walked a few hundred paces from our baiting-place, his life was in ftill greater and more imminent danger. This was from a herd of young cattle, which, by way of experiment, had been left in this place, under the care of a flave, and being at that time unufed to the fight of any human creature befides, had like to have gored him to death. Thefe fierce animals then, making a femi-Vol. II. D circle .1775* circle about Mr. Immelman, advanced continually nearer Jcccmbcr. . J ±sysJ and nearer to him, fo that he was obliged to retire back-\ wards. According to the old faying, " a curft cow has fhort horns;" this we found in a manner verified on this occafion, for a heifer without horns was the foremofl and moft vicious of them all. I therefore haftened thither with my loaded piece, with an intention of difcharging it among them, and at the fame time, repeating the firing as often as I was able, to cover our retreat. In the mean time, however, it came into my head firft to try a milder method, which I had heard of, when in Europe, as a certain defence againft the attacks of wild and vicious bulls; and which, in fhort, was no more than to hold your hat before your face, and on a fudden uncover it at intervals, at the fame time, with a quick pace, advancing upon them, and ftanding ftill alternately. With this method we fo far fucceeded, that the heifer without horns, as well as the reft of the herd, was very much feared. Juft after this, one of my Hottentots was attacked by the fame herd, but efcaped them by the lightnefs of his heels. Afterwards, on our returning this way home* we were informed, that the owner of the herd had been obliged to remove it from hence, as a lion had begun to infeft thefe parts. Two hartbeefts came likewife this morning early very near our wraggon in order to furvey us, but unluckily juft at that time we had no gun ready charged. At 12 o'clock I found the thermometer, when placed in the fliade under our waggon, at 83. In the afternoon we fet off again, directing our courfe to the eaft, and came to a place on the lower part of Zon- dags-rivier*. (tegs-riv/er, known by the name of fNuka fKamma, which, DJc7e7msbel, I believe, lignifies grajjy water. We here found the re- v^nrO cent traces of a lion, and took proper precautions againft it, in cafe we ihould go down to the river. In the evening we likewife thought we faw in the thickets an elephant at a good dilfance off. Thefe animals are faid to afTemble in great numbers in the thorny thickets, made by the guaijacum afrum and the mimofa nilotica, which afford them a kind of afylum. We now began to find the Guinea hen (jiumida meleagris) in thefe parts. They kept together in flocks, and confequent-ly were very fhy and cautious. I obferved they flew low and ftraight forwards, like our partridges. They appeared to get the greateft part of their food on the ground, but at night they perched together up in the trees; fo that I once killed fix of them at one (hot, and feveral more were wounded, which, however, efcaped in the dark. Their fleih was dry, and much inferior to that of the common hen. Of Sunday-rivier* which at this part made a great many windings, the banks to us were extremely high and fteep, and indeed quite perpendicular; con lifting, to all appearance, merely of the fame dry and clayey materials as the fur face of the earth exhibited on our fide. In the upper part, the bank appeared to be quite plain and level; but it is difficult to conjecture, whence this diiTimilarity in the banks of the river mould arife, unlefs one of them had been thrown up by an earthquake; or that the river by degrees had made its way to the fide of fome flat hill level at top, and undermined it, till the part that hung over fell down, when it would neceffarily be quite level and per- D 2 pendicular; A VOYAGE to the December PencuCmar 5 as> m fa<^> it is at prefent. At night we had ^r>J rain, with a lbuth-weft wind. On the 9th at five o'clock in the morning, when we departed from hence, the thermometer was at 62 ; and at half pad three in the afternoon we arrived at Zondags-ri-viefs-drift. We had, neverthelefs, gone out of our road on purpofe to chafe two buffaloes, one of which made its efcape though wounded, and the other leaped into a clofe thicket, where it was neither advifeable, nor indeed poili-ble to follow it. In the mean time, to my great aftonifh-ment, wre could fee from the top of the bullies the animal piercing through the thickeft of the wood with the greateft eafe, juft as if he was merely running through a rye-field. We likewife faw a Koedoe (the ant Hope Jlrepfi-ceros of Pallas.) Soon after our arrival at this part of Sunday-rivier* we were waited upon by three old Hottentots, who feemed as if they came to pry into our bufinefs in thofe parts. They were, properly fpeaking, of the race of Bojhies-men* though of the more civilized fort, who, even in their own language, diftinguifhed thcmlelves by the name of goodBoJhies-men\ probably from the circumftance of their grazing a few cattle, and not living by rapine like others of their countrymen. My guide explained their bufinefs to me, which wras to beg tobacco, and to complain of their diftreffed fitua-tion; the farmers having been with them, and having carried off all their young people, fo that they were now left alone in their old age to look after themfelves and their cattle. I ordered my interpreter to tell them in reply, that we, as they they might very well perceive, were no farmers, and frill De'c^5b'er. lefs kidnappers. I muft here inform the reader, that many of the ignorant Hottentots and Indians not having been able to form any idea of the Dutch Eaft-India Company and the board of direction, the Dutch from the very beginning in India, politically gave out the company for one individual powerful prince, by the chriitian name of Jan or John, This likewife procured them more refpedt, than if they had actually been able to make the Indians comprehend, that they were really governed by a company of merchants. On this account I ordered my interpreter to fay farther, that we were the children of Jan Company y who had fent us out to view this country, and collect, plants for medical purpofes. I likewife bid him give them to undcrftand, that we had an amazing quantity of powder and ball, together with five ftand of fire-arms, as they themfelves faw; that we intended to moot a great deal of game, and it would be a great pity if they could not come along with us, and partake of the abundant fpoil of fleih, which would otherwife be fuffered to lie as food for the birds and beaits of prey. This ftory, patched up in hafte, with a mixture of truth and falfhood, feemed to have made a deep impreflion on thefe Hottentots. It wTas, indeed, touching them in a tender part, to talk to them of fo much meat, and to pity their emaciated ftate, without letting them obfervc, however, that it was more for my own advantage than theirs, that I was fo defirous of their company. That fame mght then, there not only came to me three middle-aged men '775- men to offer their ferviccs, but I even faw the three old December. . r t i- tryv fellows above-mentioned, with great eagernels and diligence preparing their fliocs, in order to be ready the next morning to follow us in our expedition. Having given my guide to underftand, how Grange this conduct of the Hottentots appeared to me, when I compared it with the account they had given of themfelves at firft, at the fame time that from this circumftance I apprehended they would prove falfe; beiides, that I doubted, whether we mould be able to find food for fo many as fix of them, we being five in number ourfelves, which in all made eleven perfons ; he replied, " Pthaw! this is always the Hottentot's cuftom to lye the firft word they fpeak; and as for victuals, we fhall get game enough to eat, I'll warrant you." The latter part of his reply gave me fome fatisfaction; for as to the Hottentots cuftom of lying at the firft word, I was pretty even with them in that re-fpect, with my pretended relationfhip to Jan Company. On the ioth in the morning we fet out on our journey, being in all eleven perfons. The fix newly-arrived Hottentots did not underftand a World of Dutch, on which account we were obliged to make ufe of the three others as interpreters; though, in general, we made them underftand us pretty well by figns, and fome few Hottentot words we had learnt the meaning of, and could ourfelves pronounce with the proper clack againft the roof of the mouth. Still, however, Mr. Immelman and I could not be otherwife than anxious about the procuring of food for fuch a number of people, when, in cafe of a fcarcity, we expected to hear them grumbling againft their Mofes and Aaron- Aaron, who had enticed them into the defert; for the D^5ber> buffalo which we had chafed the day before got away from v^vsJ us, though the bufhes in more than one place were ftained with his blood. Upon this, however, we foon obferved, that our volunteer corps, the fix laft Hottentots, made no difficulty of eating, without any preparation whatever, the ill-tafted beans of a wild flirub, (the guaiacum afrum.) I thought I could fhew the Hottentots another fubftance likewife, which might ferve to appeafe their hunger in cafe of neceflity. This was the gum arabic* which they might gather in many fpots thereabouts from the mimofa nilotka; but this was a fpecies of food very well known to them, and which they had often tried. When in want of other provifions, the Bofhies-men are faid to live upon this for many days together. This day I faw, for the firft time, a herd of bofeb-var-kens, or, as they are likewife called, wilde-varkens* (wood-fwine, or wild-fwine) in their wild uncultivated ft ate; for I had hitherto only feen one of this fpecies of animals in the menagerie at the Gape. It was confined there with a ftrong iron chain, as it was very wild and vicious. M. Pallas, who in his SpiciL Z00L Fafc. II. p. 11. and Mifcel. Z00L p. 16. has defcribed this animal by the name of apcr ALtbiopicus* and given a figure of it, farther informs us in his SpiciL Zool. Fafc. XI. Additam. p. 84. that one of them killed the keeper of the menagerie at Amfterdam. One may caiily conceive that this creature is very dangerous, if one only takes notice of its large tufks, (vide Tab. V. k c.) Thefe are four in number. Two of them proceed from the upper jaw, and turn upwards like a horn, confift-3 ing, December *nS> however, of a fine ivory-like fubftance. In a head of this animal falted and dried, which I gave to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden, the tufks or horns {land nine inches out of the jaws, and meafure full live inches in circumference at the bafe. The two other tufks, which come from the lower jaw, project: but three inches from the mouth, being flat on the infide, and correfponding with another plain fur face fimilar to it in the upper tufks. Thefe the hearts make ufe of not fo much for biting, as for goring and butting with. A little pig of this fpecies, which I afterwards caught at Vifch-rivier* and had it tied up, thinking to bring it alive along witri me, had already got this trick, fo that I was foon obliged to let it be killed. It was terribly vicious, and quick in all its motions ; and though at that time not abfolutcly dangerous, yet my Bofhies-men were very much afraid of it. " We had rather, faid they, attack a lion on the plain, than an African wild boar; for this, though much fmaller, comes riifhing on a man as fwift as an arrow, and throwing him down maps his legs in two, and rips up his belly before he can get to ftrike it, and kill it with his javelin." The dwelling-place of this fame fpecies of wild boar, to which the avenues feemed to be very narrow, is under-ground. •I have been told indeed, that the bofeb-varkens go down into them backwards, and place themlelves there in a row one behind the other; but this is not very likely, for probably thefe paflages are widened lower down. Thus much, however, is certain, that people do not dare to attack them in their holes, for fear of their coming out on them on a fudden. The The body of this animal is fmall in companion with its p^gcr< head, a conformation which facilitates its burrowing and ^rsj living under-ground. Neither would it be advifeable for a man on horfeback to approach too near or to hunt this animal, as it will often turn round on a fuddcn, and {hiking with its horns at the horie's legs, alter wards kill both him and his rider. This day I purfued feveral pigs with the old fows, with a view to lhoot one of them, but in vain; neverthelefs, the chafe of them afforded me peculiar pleafure. On a hidden the heads of the old ones, which were before of a tolerable fize,feemed to have grown Hill larger and more lhapelefs than they were before; which momentary and wonderful change aftonifhed me fo much the more, as my hard riding over a country full of bufhes and pits, had hitherto prevented me from giving fufncient attention to the manner in which it was brought about. The fe-cret, however, confifted in this; each of the old ones, while they were making off, took a pig in its mouth; a circumftance that alfo explained to me another fubject of my furprize, which was, that all the pigs which I was juft before chafing along with the old ones, vanifhed all on a fudden. But in this action we find a kind of unanimity among the wood-fwinc, in which they refemble the tame fpecies, and which they have in a greater degree than many other animals. It is likewife very aftonifhing, that the pigs mould be carried about in this manner between fuch large tufks as thole of their mothers, without being hurt, or crying out in the leaft. I faw the fame done, however, on two other occafions, as I was chafing them. The cry of thefe Vol. II. £ young A VOYAGE to the i) ccmber y°lln£ ones waS| **^e tnat °^ our c°mmon pigs, as I found in L^v>*/ fome we afterwards caught. I have it from pretty good authority, that one Joshua de Boer, a farmer in Camdebo, had fucceeded in obtaining a brood of thefe wood-fwine, which had been coupled with the ordinary fort; but as the perfon who told it me had not fufficiently informed himfelf concerning the circumftances, I could not get any farther infight into the matter. This experiment having failed in Holland, as mentioned by M. Pallas, is no reafon why it mould not fucceed better in other places. I obferved a peculiar circumftance on my return home through Lange-kloof, which was, that two tame pigs at a farmer s in that province, not only went down on their knees to graze, but even fuccefhvely changed this poflure to that of ftanding, with the greateft cafe. This faculty the animal feems to have acquired in its fub-terraneous caverns, and it proceeds from the creature's neck being too fhort to be conveniently lowered to the ground. The African wood-fwine are likewife diftinguiihed from any other fpecies of fwine, by four peculiar caruncles or ex-crefcences. Two of thefe are broad and flat, being about two inches over both in length and breadth, and are placed at the diftance of a hand's breadth juft before and underneath the eyes. The other two are fpherical, an inch high, and are fituated on the nofe at three inches diftance, in a ftraight line from behind the jaws. The tail is flatted at the tip ; and this appendage they never fail, either old or young, to hold quite erect in the air during during the whole time that they are purfued. With re- ^JJJJbcr. fpect to tafte, I found the flefli very much refemble that v^yO of the ordinary pig ; but never obferved the animals them-fclves to be of that dark hue afcribed to them by M. Pallas, and which M. Vosmaer has given them in the coloured figures he has publifhed; thofe that I faw being only of a bright yellow-colour, like the greateft part of our domestic fwine. Neither did I hear any body in the colony call them baartloopers, as M. Vosmaer pretends they are termed : though, on the other hand, I have frequently heard the Hottentots call them kaunaba, and have likewife been informed by them, that thefe creatures are fond of wallowing in the mire, and are wont to grub after the root of a flirub of the mefembryanthemum kind, which they call da-fkai. At night we came to the upper part of fKurenoi- or Little Sunday-river. We fixed our refting-place at the diftance of a few gun-lhots from a clan of bqflards* or Hottentot-Caffres. who are the offspring of the mixture of both thefe nations. They chiefly fpoke the Caffre language, but had neither the large lips, robuft, and eafy form, nor the black complexion of the Caffres. They appeared to me not fo fwarthy as my own Hottentots, and I fuppofe, that they originate only from a fet of people, who having acquired fome cattle by fervitude among the Caffres, had formed themfelves into this fociety. The iris of their eyes was of a very dark brown hue, and al-rnoft, if not quite as dark as the pupil. They had a great quantity of cattle, and feemed to live very happily in their E 2 way. » T775- way. As foon as ever they had taken their cattle up from December. J J v ^rsj pafture they milked them ; an occupation they intermixed with finging and dancing. We feldom fee fuch happinefs and contentment as feems to be indicated by this feftive cuftom, in a handful of people totally uncultivated, and fubfifting in their original favage ftate, in the midft of a perfect defert. Mr. Immelman accompanied me, in order to behold with his own eyes the real archetype of that ftate of paftoral felicity, which the poets are continually occupied in painting and defcrib-ing. We announced ourfelves here likewife as being the children of the company, and were received by them with a friendly fimplicity and homely freedom, which, however, by no means leffened them in our thoughts as men. They prefented us with milk, and danced at our requeft: at the fame time giving us to underftand, that our fame, as being a lingular people with plaited hair, as well as fim-plers and viper-catchers, had reached them long before our arrival. We were fpectators of their country dances, in which there was very little either of agility or art. While their feet were employed in a kind of ftamping and moderately flow movement, every one of them between whiles made feveral fmall gentle motions with a little ftick, which they held in their hands. The fimplicity which prevailed in their dances was equally confpicuous in their finging, the following being all the words ufed to the tune of one of their country dances, which I took down in writing at the time, Maijema, Maijema* bub, bub. hub. The former 7 part part of this was chaunted repeatedly piano by an elderly m matron, who was anfwered by the young men and maids in the latter words, fung Jlaccato by way of chorus. It muft be conferled, that this concert was not well adapted to fatisfy a nice ear; but however, it infpired a certain degree of joy and chearfulnefs, and was by no means dif-agreeable. They had another kind of dance, which con lifted in taking each other by the hand, and dancing gently in a circle round about one or more perfons, who were placed in the middle of the ring, and whofe movements were brifker and quicker; yet we could not help laughing, though at the fame time we were not a little hurt, to fee the poor infants pop their heads alternately in and out of the bags hanging at the backs of their mothers, who were likewife dancing; fo that we had great reafon to fear that they would break their necks. But what was ftill more ridiculous was, that thefe little Hottentots were far from ihewing any diilike to this treatment; but, on the contrary, were fo well pleafed with it, that they fufficiently fhewed their difpleafure by crying, when their mothers,^who were foon tired with carrying them on their backs, wanted to fet them down, or go out of the dance. Besides the pleafures which thefe daily dances may be fuppofed to afford them, they have at their greater fefti-vals the more delightful enjoyment of voluptuous love, which, at thofe times, the youth of both fexes, by their laws, have full opportunity given them to purfue. For it is faid, that the unmarried part of the company, in the very l77$- very micklle of the dance, withdraw to a private place in, December. * \*sy*sj couples fuccelfively and at different intervals, without giving the leaft fubjecl: of offence and fcandal, and without having any occalion to blufh when they return again to the company. I have purpofely faid only, that opportunity is given them for this purpofe ; as I could not learn, whether their laws, together with the opportunity, allowed the action itfelf, which, as I have mentioned above, the Caifres permit themfelves to tranfa£t in the prefence of the whole company that is dancing. This remiffhefs of their laws, however, in allowing them opportunities of this kind, feems to be in direct opposition to the rigorous ftridtnefs of thefe fame laws in the following particular. Any young woman whatfoevcr, who, after fuch dance, ihall prove pregnant, ihall be put to death, together with her paramour; unlefs, which indeed is generally the cafe, the oldeft people in the clan mitigate the punifhment, by commuting it into a perpetual union ; ordering them moreover, to forfeit an ox or a cow to feaft the whole community with, by way of atonement for their crime. In this latter article of the mitigation of the decree, it is not difficult to perceive the felfifh motives of the fociety; but it is, perhaps, not fo eafy from this ftrange edi£t itfelf, to trace out the intention of the primitive in-ititutor of it. Befides, who could have fuppofed, that among thefe artlefs herdfmen another cuftom lhould prevail, which fhould facriflce the virtue and innocence of the fair fex to the inter efted views of a parent or guardian ? A Hottentot, who at that time dwelt in thofe parts, affured me, me, that on any Hottentot's paying a Stipulated price to a D^^eti girl's relations, fhe was obliged to Sleep with him ; but that v^y-O neither did the law ordain, nor had there been any inftance known, that a young woman mould be delivered up into the arms of a Chriftian, or white man, on any consideration whatever. The Hottentot added, that for his part, he had not entered into any union here of the kind, as for two, or at moil three nights enjoyment, it would have coft him the price of a cow ; a price, he faid, that would have made him dearly repent his bargain. This Hottentot, who explained to me the circumftances I have juft been mentioning, and at the fame time gave me many other curious anecdotes and relations, I had the greater reafon to believe, as he had the appearance of being a furious and difcreet man, and indeed was known to be fuch by my guide. He had been brought up in a village near the Chriftians, in the fervice of whom he had always . been; and at this time, with the afliftance of the baftard or Gaffre Hottentots belonging to this craal, he had caught, and then had in his cuftody, three old Bofhies-w omen with their children, with an intention to take them home to his mafter for Haves. His mafter had given him a gun, but he was at that time quite out of powder, confequently he was put to his ihifts for food, both for himfelf and his captives. I therefore gave him fome powder, as I con-. fidered, that, fo far from having any effect in riveting the chains of thefe unhappy people, it would rather tend to make them fit lighter. He told me likewife, that his female captives had threatened to bewitch him 5 but that he Member lie nad 110 ^aitn *** witchcraft, and had an equal contempt <*ry^J for their menaces and their favage manners. A baftard Hottentot, who had accompanied him in this expedition, had been wounded in the moulder with a poi-foned arrow. The poifon had been fucked out of the wound immediately. The tumour had not abfolutely a bad appearance; yet the wounded man was by no means well, and was himfelf in doubt wdiether he mould get over it or not. Nothing was laid upon it but the bruifed leaves of the Hottentot fig-tree. • , They keep their milk in leathern facks, of which I have given a defcription above, never eating it till it is curdled ; but the veffels they milked it into were bafkets of a pecu- 1 liar kind, cornpofed of roots plaited together fo curioufly, and in fo clofe a manner, that they would not only hold milk but even water. Thefe veffels would be as neat as they are light, if the Hottentots did not always neglect to wafh them. Indeed, molt of thefe bafkets had acquired fuch an appearance from the milk being encrufted upon them, as at firft induced us to fuppofe that they were be-fmeared with cow-dung, in order to make them hold the liquor the better. But I have fince tried bafkets, that were quite new and clean, particularly one that I had brought home with me, and found, that without any kind of daubing, they did not leak in the leaft. Thefe milk-pails, or bafkets, are moftly of the fhape of that delineated in Plate I. Vol. I. fig. i. holding from a pint and a half to four gallons ; and befides the advantage of being very light, they have likewife that of their rims being fufficiently pliable. No No cows of the African breed, whether they belong to D the colonilts or Hottentots, will fuffer themfelves to be milked, without their hind legs being firft tied together ; as they other wife never fail either to kick the perfons who milk them, or get away from them. The interpreter, I have been juft fpeaking of, defired me, therefore, to ob-ferve here, as being an uncommon circumftance, that feveral of the cows belonging to thefe baftard Caffres, allowed themfelves to be milked without being tied up. I likewife remarked, that the cows here, whether tied up or loofe, were, for the moft part, too fhy and wild to fuller themfelves to be milked, except their calves were with them, and had previoufly fucked them a little. The herdfmen themfelves in this place were alfo defirous that I fhould take notice, as a matter of curiofity, of the manner in which a cow, who had brought forth a dead calf, wras at length induced to be milked. The artifice ufed for this purpofe, coniifted in letting her always put her nofe in the fkin of her dead calf juft before fhe was milked. Circumcifion is practifed by thefe Hottentots as well as by the Gonaquas and Caffres, and is performed upon youths at that period of life, when, to ufe their own expreffion, they become half-men. Yet they generally fuit the time fo, as to have an opportunity of performing the operation upon feveral at once. The next morning, being the nth, we were waked by the Hottentots finging and dancing; and with this rejoicing, or, at leaft, appearance of happinefs and delight, it feems that this limple race of people always begin and con-v°l. II. F elude ■775- dude the day. We likewife paid a vifit to them that December. . r c , \*s*r**j morning, but loon round it more prudent to return to our waggon again ; as a great number of them now came to pay their refpects to us, and at the fame time became more troublefome than ever, by importuning us for tobacco. I do not know whether I Ihould look upon it as a mark of the greateft fimplicity, or as a witty and ingenious compliment in one of them, who delired my interpreter to tell me, that he had never feen a waggon before, and therefore wifhed me to inform him, whether mine had grown up in the fame ftate in which he then faw it. In the mean while, in order to obtain a truce from their tirefome practice of peftering us for tobacco, we excited their aftonifhment by fhewing them our watches. I even attempted to acquire fome refpedt from thefe people, as not being without fome knowledge of magic. This, it may well be fuppofed, did not proceed from any mifplaced ambition, but rather from motives of prudence, and with a view by this means of curbing their growing defires, which might probably terminate in fome bold attempts on the iron-work of our waggon, 8cc. For this purpofe I bid thefe Hottentots, and at the fame time my own, endeavour to take fome quickfilver with their fingers out of a parcel of it which I had brought with me. The various attempts they made ftill proving abortive, excited in them the greateft aftonifhment, and proved an inexhauftible fubject to them of converfation and laughter. Afterwards, to their utter amazement, I took out feveral globules of quick-7 {ilver, filver, having previoufly, unperceived by them, rubbed ^ my fingers over with tallow. Neither did I omit aftonifh- ^>rU ing thefe fimplc fwains, with the wonderful magnetic proper ties of the needle belonging to my compafs. I remember, indeed, having read fomewhere of a certain great commander, who, being in America, in order to intimidate the natives, and make them behave peaceably, fet fire to fome brandy, which they took for water, at the fame time threatening to fet fire to their rivers and burn them up; but I had no occafion to have recourfe to extremities, as the miracles I had before performed, feemed already to have deterred them from attempting any hofti-lities.—It was particularly from thefe baftard Caffres, that I got the Caffre words, which are to be found at the end of this volume. The government of this community, was faid to be chiefly veiled in a man, who at the fame time was pointed out to me as being the richeft among them. He held this office by inheritance, and appeared to be a fober, fedate, middle aged man. His manner difeovered no particular preeminence or authority; on the contrary, he had more trouble with the milking than any of the reft. So that riches, even among the uncultivated Hottentots, are attended with uneahnefs and trouble. There was another perfon here, whofe bufy manner, continual chattering and gefticulation, plainly denoted, that he was a man in office, and of fome confequence. In fact, he was the forcerer (as they term it) of the community ; and. cqnfequenUyj, by virtue of his office, was matter of the F 2 cere- '775- ceremonies, high prieft, phvfician, and cow-leach; and December. f , . C*-v\J ot himielr, independently of any office whatever, an arch Charlatan ; who, by his drolleries and ridiculous antic gef-tures, endeavoured to diftitiguifh himfelf from the reft, and was perpetually exciting the young people to dance. As I was not ignorant, that the Charlatans in the better informed and more enlightened focieties of Europe, frequently, by means of their defpicable talents, thruft themfelves into offices of the higheft importance and the acquisition of riches, I do not in the leaft wonder to hear, that this fellow, belides being univerfally reflected, was in pofleflion of a greater ftock of cattle than any one among them. I was likewife informed, that for delivering a cow, which had a difficult labour, he ufually had an heifer for his fee ; and that at every feaft, the beft and fatteft piece fell to his fliare. In the northern climates I had been ufed to fee fox tails worn to keep out the cold. Here I faw, for the firft time, the tails of the jackall, or African fox, made ufe of in warm weather ; as the Hottentots wiped the fweat off their faces with them, for this purpofe carrying them about with them fixed upon fhort flicks. Having now fufficiently contemplated the manners of thefe people, we proceeded on our journey; and, as in the mean time our guide had given us the flip,' and fhot an old, lean, and loufy buffalo, we made a trip to the place where it lay, and loaded our waggon with the beft part of the meat, leaving the remainder to the baftard Hottentots, the birds of prey, and the hyaenas. The lice that we found upon this buffalo, were of a new fpecies; fpecies; (fee the defcription, together with a drawing of them, in Mem, fur les Infecles, Tom. VII.) ^y>J We afterwards drove higher up, along Kuranoi-rivier* and found the water there almoft motionlefs and brackifh. We had the tops and grafs of the reeds growing in this little ftream cut off, to fodder our horfes with at night. At night, the wolves which probably had got fcent of the meat in our waggon, gave us to underfland by their bowlings, that they were not far from us. CHAP. CHAP. XI. Journey from little Sundays-river to Bojhics-mans- river. v/7s- /^\N the 12th our guide took us firft to the eaft and ^J^J* then to the fouth-eaft, over a champain country, that we might bait and water our cattle at noon. This we did at a land fpring, which had been very much trampled under foot by the buffaloes, and which had no outlet. But at the diftance of an hour's ride from thence, we found better water, and came to a refolution to put up the following night not far from the fpot, in order to be ready in the morning to look out after the buffaloes; as it is in places juft like thefe, that they particularly come out into the meadows to graze ; but, on the contrary, in the day time, on account of the heat, they generally choofe to keep in the woods. It had not been dark two hours, before we heard the roaring of lions, which at times appeared to be pretty near us* This was the firft time that I had heard this kind of mufic, and, as there were feveral performers, it might be properly called a concerto of lions. They continued roaring the whole night, whence my guide concluded, that they GAPE of GOOD PI OPE. 39 they had affembled on the plains in order to copulate, and ^J™^ carry on their amours, by fighting and attacking each other WO after the manner of cats. To defcribe the roaring of the lion as nearly as I can, I mufl inform the reader, that it confiftcd in a hoarfe inarticulate found, which at the fame time feemed to have a hollownefs in it, fomething like that proceeding from a fpcaking trumpet. The found is between that of a German U and an O, being drawn to a great length, and appearing as if it came from out of the earth; at the fame time that, after liftening with the greateft attention, I could not exactly hear from what quarter it came. The found of the lion's voice does not bear the leaft refemblance to thunder, as M. de Buffon, Tom. IX. p. 2,2, from the Voyage of Boullaye le Gouz, affirms it does. In fa£t, it appeared to me to be neither peculiarly piercing nor tremendous ; yet from its flow prolonged note, joined with nocturnal darknefs, and the terrible idea one is apt to form to one's felf of this animal, it made one fhudder, even in inch places, as 1 had an opportunity of hearing it in with more fatisfadfion, and without having the leaft occafion for fear. We could plainly perceive by our animals, when the lions, whether they roared or not, were reconnoitering us at a fmall diftance. For in that cafe the hounds did not dare to bark in the leaft, but crept quite clofe to the Hottentots ; and our oxen and horfes fighed deeply, frequently hanging back, and pulling llowly With all their might at the ftrong ftraps with which they were tied up to the waggon. They likewife laid themfelves down upon the ground and flood up alternately, appearing as if they did not know what to do with themfelves : December ^ves» anc^ HKteedj I may fay, juft as if they were in v^vo the agonies of death. In the mean time, my Hottentots made the neceffary preparations, and laid each of them their javelins by the fide of them. We likewife loaded all our five pieces, three of which we distributed among thole of our Hottentots who fpoke Dutch. Fires and fire-brands are univerfally reckoned, and, indeed, were faid by my Hottentots, to be a great preferva-tive and defence againft lions and other wild beafts ; they could, however, themfelves mention inftances, in which the lion had leaped forward to the fire, and carried off fome one of them, who had been fitting round it and warming themfelves. The animal too has fometimes taken its prey to fo fhort a diftance, that the poor wretch's companions have plainly heard it champing and chewing his flefli. The Hottentots defired us who were placed in the waggon, not to be in too great hafte to fire in cafe a lion fhould take a leap among them, for fear that in the dark we might at the fame time hurt fome of them. They had concerted matters fo, that fome of them fhould rather attempt to pierce him through with their haffagais or fpears, while at the fame inftant the others fhould endeavour to cling about its legs. They looked upon it as a certain fact, and I have fince heard the fame from others, that a lion does not immediately kill the perfon he has got under him, unlefs he is excited to do fo by the refiftance he meets with. At length, however, it is reported, the royal tyrant gives the coup de grace on the victim's breaft with a hideous roar. On this occafion I muft do my Hottentots the juftice to fay, that they they did not lhew the leaft fear; though they conceived D w^er. the old and commonly-received notion to be abfolutely true, that both lions and tigers would attack a flave or a Hottentot, before they will a colonift or a white man. Confequently, Mr. Immelman and I had no fuch great, reafon to be in fear for our own perfons, unlefs more than one lion fhould come to attack us, or that we fhould discharge our pieces too precipitately and mifs him; for in fuch a cafe, the lion always rufhes on the markfman. In another refpedt, however, we that lay in the waggon and at a diftance from the fire, were mod liable to receive a vifit from the lions; or at leaft to fee our horfes and oxen, which were tied up to the waggon, feized by them. Otherwife, for the fingularity of the fpedtacle, I fhould have been glad to have feen an attack of this kind, if it had not coft me more than a couple of my oxen. In fuch a cafe, indeed, my horfes would probably firft have fallen a prey to this rapacious animal, as it is generally fuppofed, that the lion gives them the preference. Among our oxen there was one which at this time, as well as fince upon other fimilar occafions, appeared extremely dif-quieted and reftlefs. It had befides, a lingular and afto-nifhing habit of making an inward noife, which cannot be defcribed; and this was the cafe likewife with the ftone-horfe, in his own peculiar way. This, in fact, was fuffi-cient to make us keep ourfelves in readinefs, though it fiappened not to be abfolutely neceffary: however, wc quickly got accuftomed to it, and feveral times laid ourfelves down to fleep, void of care, leaving our beafts to figh on unheeded. It is, indeed, a wonderful circumftance, that Vo l. II, G the ^ !7«« the brute creation fhould have been taught merely by nature December. 0 ^rvJ to be in dread of the lion; for our horfes and oxen were all from places, where I am certain they could have no knowledge of this dreadful adverfary of theirs : fo that in this we muft admire the bounty of providence, which, while it has fent fuch a tyrant as the lion amongft the animal creation, has likewife taught them to difcem and diftinguifh it with trembling and horror. One would fuppofe, that the roaring of the lion would prove ferviceable to the other animals, as being a warning for them to betake themfelves to flight; but as when he roars, according to all report, he puts his mouth to the ground, fo that the found is diffufed equally all over the place, without, as we have already mentioned, its being poflible to hear from what quarter it comes, the animals are intimidated and feared to fuch a degree, as to fly about backwards and forwards in the dark to every fide; in con-fequence of which, fome of them may eafily chance to run on to the very fpot from whence the tremendous found actually proceeds, and which they meant moft to avoid. A writer, in other refpects extremely rational, who ftyles himfelf Officier du Rot, afferts, in his Voyage a rifle de France, 8cc. p. 63, that in Africa there are found whole armies of lions; a fact of which, he fays, he was informed, by three perfons of confequence in the government, whofe names he mentions. This author, as well as his informers, and thofe, if fuch there be, who have given any credit to him, may be eafily made to conceive the palpable abfurdity of the idea by this fingle consideration, that to fupport armies of lions, it it would require a greater quantity of quadrupeds and dj£j*;eri game, as it is called, than is to be found not only in Afri- WVM ca, but in all the world befides. In order to confirm this affertion, we may appeal to a witty obfervation made by the Indians, and reported by Lafitau. " It is a very fortunate circumftance, faid they, that the Portuguefe are as few in number as they are cruel in their difpofitions; juft as it is with the tigers and lions with refpedt to the reft of the animal creation, or otherwife there would foon be an end of us men." With regard to the teftimonies of the perfons of confe-quence here appealed to, I muft beg leave to obferve,that we may at any time, without the leaft hefitation, call in queftion any pofition which militates againft common fenfe. Befides, in the Eaft-Indies, knowledge and the appearance of truth are not always abfolutely infeparable from authority. I myfelf have heard a man belonging to the council at the Cape, relate to ftrangers the moft ridiculous abfurdities con* cerning the country in which he lived. Stories of this kind often orignate from the farmers and yeomen, who come from a great diftance, and who often find their account in amufing their rulers with plealing talcs; which, the more wonderful they are, with the greater avidity they are fwal-lowed. Another fource of thefe falfe reports is in the depraved difpofition of mankind, who are very prone to im-pofe as much as they can on the credulity of the weak and fimple. Admitting it to be true, that the Bomans introduced into their public fpeclacles a great number of hons, which, indeed, they might eafily collecl: from the extenfive trafts of country they poffeffed in Africa and G 2 Afia, 44 A VOYAGE to th e .Afia, vet it never can be confonant either with truth or pro- >fv ember. *• bability, that armies of lions fhould be found in thefe quarters of the globe, where only, according to the very probable po.fi-tion of M. de Buffon, they exift. So that when a later writer, the Abbe de Manet, in his defcription of the northern part of Africa, affirms, that the fame kind of lion is like-wife found in America, we may fafely eonfider this merely as a hafty affertion, which is not warranted either by the authority of others or by his own experience: indeed, this author's teftimony is much more to be credited when he informs us, that the ** Negroes in the northern parts of Africa, are ufed to catch lions in pits, but do not dare to eat any of the rlcih, for fear left the other lions fhould be revenged on them." In this particular, however, I have not found the Hottentots or inhabitants of the fouthern parts of Africa equally fuperftitious, as they told me, that they ate the fleih of lions, and looked upon it to be both good and wholefome. They likewife informed me, that the lions as well as hyaenas, had been formerly much bolder than they are at prefent, as they ufed to feize them at night, and carry them off from their cottages: at the fame time they affined me, that a lion that had once tafted ' human flefh would never after, if he could help it, prey upon any other. They added, that for the fame reafon they were obliged to fix benches up in trees to lleep on ; fo that they could not fo readily be caught unawares by the lions, and might likewife the eafier defend themfelves when they were attacked by them. So that, in fact, they were obliged to acknowledge, that with the affiftance of the Chriftians and their fire-arms, they they are at prefent much lefs expofed to the ravages of this fierce animal; while, on the other hand, I could not \*s-r*J but agree with them, that the colonifts themfelves were a much greater fcourge to them than all the wild beafts ot their country put together; as the Hottentot nations, fince the arrival of the colonifts in this part of the world, have found themfelves reduced to a much narrower fpace in their poffevlions, and their numbers very much decreafed. In thefe times, at leaft, the lion does not willingly attack any animal openly, unlefs provoked, or extremely hungry ; in which latter cafe he is faid to fear no danger, and to be repelled by no refiftance. The method in which the lion takes his prey, is almoft always to fpring or throw himfelf on it, with one vaft leap from the place of his concealment; yet, if he chances to mifs his leap, he will not, as the Hottentots unanimoully affured me, follow his prey any farther; but, as though he were aihamed, turning round towards the place where he lay in ambufh, ftowly, and ftep by ftep, as it were, meafures the exact length between the two points, in order to find how much too fhort of, or beyond the mark he had taken his leap-. One of thefe animals, however, was once known to purfue an elk-antilope with the greateft eagernefs and ardour, without any one getting to fee the end of the chafe. It is fin* gular, that the foxes in Europe, according to M. Collonn's Hi/l. Nouv. de PUnivers, Tom. IV. p. 20. when they have leaped fhort of their mark, and their prey has got away from them, meafure the length of their leap, in the fame manner as the lion does. It »77>• It is particularly near rivers and fprings, that the lion finds it beft anfwers his purpofe to lie in wait. Any animal whatever that is obliged to go thither in order to quench its thirft, is in danger, tanquam cants ad Nilum, of becoming a victim to the irrefiftible power of this blood-thirfty tyrant. It fhould feem, that in cafe gazels, and other fuch animals had fcent of the lion when he was near them, as ftrong as it appeared to be in my horfes and oxen, they might eafily avoid the danger. I do not know how the fact really ftands; but it is poffible that the lion, like the fportf-men of this country, may know fo well how to chufe the place of its concealment, that the wind may drive its effluvia from the fide whence it might be perceived by its prey. Following the example of other travellers in fuch tracts of this part of Africa as are infefted by lions, we always took the precaution to make loud cracks with our large ox-whip, whenever we wrere going to pafs a river. Thefe cracks of a whip, which, in fact, make a louder noife, and a greater vibration in the air than the difcharge from a piftol, nay, are heard much farther than the report of a gun, is looked upon as a very efficacious method of fearing away wild beafts. Thefe large whips feem, therefore, to have contributed not a little to the greater degree of dread which, fince the arrival of the colonifts, the lions have of mankind. The lion's method of taking its prey, as defcribed above, is not, however, probably, fo univerfal as to be without exception. Soon after my arrival at the Cape, I heard 6 fpeak her. CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 47 1775 fpcak of a married woman, who fomewherc in the Carrow DJ^^ country was killed at her own door by a lion, which like-wife ate up her hand; though others, indeed, thought flie came by her death in a different manner. Several farmers related to me the following lingular freak of a lion in Camdebo. u A few years ago a farmer on horfeback, with a led horfe in hand, met with a lion, which had laid itfelf down in the public road where the farmer was to pafs. Thus circumftanced, he thought it moft advifeable to turn back, but found the lion had taken a circle, and laid itfelf in his way again; he was therefore obliged to turn back again, and fo alternately backwards and forwards. Whether the lion was feared away by feveral more travellers coming up or no, I cannot fay that I recollect; for I find, that I have forgot to make a minute of the ftory, probably, becaufe 1 did not think my authority fufhciently to be depended upon. The following occurrence, however, I think 1 may relate, as being tolerably well authenticated, and ferv-ing to fhew the cowardice and infidious difpofition of the lion. " An elderly Hottentot in the fervke of a Chriftian,. near the upper part of Sunday-river on the Camdebo fide, perceived a lion following him at a great diftance for two hours together. Thence he naturally concluded, that the lion only waited for the approach of darknefs, in order to make him his prey *, and in the mean time, could not expect any other than to ferve for this fierce animal's fuppciy inafmuch as he had no other weapon of defence than a itick, and knew that he coukl not get home before it was dark, 48 AVOYAGEtothe ~ x^\- dark. But as he was well acquainted with the nature of December. A the lion, and the manner of its feizing upon its prey, and at the fame time had leifure between whiles to ruminate on the ways and means in which it was moft likely that his exiftenee would be put an end to, he at length hit on a method of faving his life, for which, in fact, he had to thank his meditations upon death, and the fmall fkill he had in zoology, (or, to fpeak plainly, his knowledge of the nature of animals.) For this purpofe, inftead of making the beft of his way home, he looked out iox-xklipkrans* (fo they generally call a rocky place level and plain at top, and having a perpendicular precipice on one fide of it,) and fitting himfelf down on the edge of one of thefe precipices, he found, to his great joy, that the lion likewife made a halt, and kept the fame diftance as before. As foon as it grew -dark, the Hottentot Hiding a little forwards, let himfelf down below the upper edge of the precipice upon fome projecting part or cleft of the rock, where he could juft keep himfelf from falling. But in order to cheat the lion ftill more, he fet his hat and cloak on the flick, making with it at the fame time a gentle motion juft over his head, and a little way from the edge of the mountain. This crafty expedient had the defired fuccefs. He did not ftay long-in that iituation, before the lion came creeping foftly towards him like a cat, and miftaking the fkin-cloak for the Hottentot himfelf, took his leap with fuch exactnefs and precilion, as to fall headlong down the precipice, directly clofe to the fhare which hid been fet up for him; when the Hottentot is faid, in his great joy, exultingly to have called CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 49 called out, fkatfi* an interjection of very extenfive im- D;//m^r. port and fignincation." V^>r%J This is not the only inftance of lions in Africa being enfnared in the midft of their leap. In the out-houfes and wafte grounds about farms, where a lion has been upon the watch for fome animal and miffed it, or where they have other reafons to expect him, they fet up the figure of a man clofe by the fide of feveral loaded guns; fo that thefe difcharge themfelves into the body of the beaft, at the very inftant that he fprings or throws himfelf upon the dreffed figure. As this is done with fo much eafe and fuccefs, and as they hardly ever think it worth while in Africa to take lions alive, they feldom give themfelves the trouble of catching them by means of pit-falls. From all the moft credible accounts I could collect concerning the lions, as well as from what I faw myfelf, I think I may fafely conclude, that this wild beaft is frequently a great coward; that is, very deficient in point of courage comparatively to his ftrength: on the other hand, however, he often Ihews an unufual degree of intrepidity, of which I will juft mention the following inftance, as it Was related to me. " A lion^ had broken into a walled inclofure for cattle through the latticed gate, and done a good deal of damage. The people belonging to the farm, were well affured of his coming again by the fame way; in confequence of which, they ftretched a line directly acrofs the entrance, fo thick fet with loaded guns, that they muft neccffarily difcharge themfelves into the lion's body as foon as ever he fhould come, which they firmly expected he would, to difplace Vol. II. II the 5o A VOYAGE to the 1775- the line with his breaft. But the lion, which came in V^yw the day-time before it was yet dark, and probably had fome fufpicions with refpect to the line, flruck it away with his foot; and without betraying the leaft fear in confequence of the reports made by the loaded pieces, went on fteadily and carelefs of every thing, and devoured the prey it had left untouched before." M. Buffon (Tom. IX. p. 7.) tells us, on the authority of Marmol and Thevenot, that the lions, which in the more cultivated and inhabited parts of Barbary and India, are ufed to experience man's fuperiority, fometimes fuffer themfelves to be intimidated with a few ftrokes of a ftick (and that even by women and children) from carrying off their prey. This accords with feveral accounts that I heard at the Cape, of Haves who had had courage enough, with a knife or fome other weapon ftill more infignificant, to defend their mailer's cattle, which had been attacked in the dark by a lion. It is lingular, that the lion, which, according to many, always kills his prey immediately if it belongs to the brute creation, is reported frequently, although provoked, to content himfelf with merely wounding the human fpecies; or at leaft, to wait fome time before he gives the fatal blow to the unhappy victim he has got under him. A farmer, who the year before had the misfortune to be a fpectator of a lion's feizing two of his oxen, at the very inftant he had taken them out of the waggon, told me, that they immediately fell down dead upon the fpot clofe to each other; though, upon examining the carcafes afterwards, it appeared that their backs only had been broken. In feveral feveral places through which I patted, they mentioned to DJ™kr. me by name a father and his two fons, who were faid to V-*»vs> be ftill living, and who being on foot near a river on their eftate in fearch of a lion, this latter had ruffied out upon them, and thrown one of them under his feet; the two others, however, had had time enough to moot the lion dead upon the fpot, which had lain almoft acrofs the youth fo nearly and dearly related to them, without having done him any particular hurt. I myfelf faw, near the upper part of Duyven-hoek-rivier^ an elderly Hottentot, who at that time (his wounds being ftill open) bore under one eye and underneath his cheekbone the ghaftly marks of the bite of a lion, which did not think it worth his while to give him any other chaftife-ment for having, together with his mafter (whom I alfo knew) and feveral other Chriftians, hunted him with great intrepidity, though without fuccefs. The converfation ran every where in this part of the country upon one Bota, a farmer and captain in the militia, who had lain for fome time under a lion, and had received feveral bruifes from the beaft, having been at the fame time a good deal bitten by him in one arm, as a token to remember him by; but upon the whole, had, in a manner, had his life given him by this noble animal. The man was faid then to be living in the diftrict. of Artaquas-klooj\ 1 do not rightly know how to account for this merciful difpofition towards mankind. Does it proceed from the lion's greater refpect and veneration for man, as being equal to, or even a mightier tyrant than himfelf among the animal creation ? or is it merely from the fame caprice, H 1 which 5£ , A VOYAGE to the ■ '775- which has fometimes induced him not only to fpare the December. . V^y>j life of men or brute creatures who have been given up to him for prey, but even to carefs them, and treat them with the greateft kindnefs ? Whims and freaks of this kind have, perhaps, in a great meafure acquired the lion the reputation it has for generofity; but I cannot allow this* fpecious name, facred only to virtue, to be lavifhed upon a wild beaft. Slaves, indeed, and wretches of fervile minds, are wont with this attribute to flatter their greateft tyrants; but with what ihew of reafon can this attribute be bellowed upon the moft powerful tyrant among quadrupeds, be-caufe it does not exercife an equal degree of cruelty upon all occalions ? That the lion does not, like the wolf, tiger, and fome other beafts of prey, kill a great deal of game or cattle at one time, perhaps, proceeds from this, that while he is employed in attacking one or two of them, the remainder fly farther than it accords with the natural indolence of this beaft to follow them. If this be called generofity, a cat may be ftyled generous with reflect to the rats; as I have feen this creature in the fields among a great number of the latter, where fhe could have made a great havock at once, feize on a fingle one only, and run off with it. The lion and the cat likewife, very much re-femble each other, in partly fleeping out, and partly paffing away in a quiet inactive ftate a great part of their time, in which hunger does not urge them to go in queft of their prey. From what I have already related, and am farther about to mention, we may conclude, that it is not in magnani- mity? mity, as many will have it to be, but in an infidious and December. cowardly difpofition, blended with a certain degree of v^v^ pride, that the general character of the lion confifts: and that hunger muft naturally have the effect of now and then infpiring fo ftrong and nimble an animal with uncommon intrepidity and courage. Moreover, being accuftomed always itfelf to kill its own food, and that with the greateft eafe, as meeting with no reliftance, and even frequently to devour it reeking and weltering in it's blood, it cannot but be eafily provoked, and acquire a greater turn for cruelty than for generofity : but, on the other hand, not being accuftomed to meet with any reliftance, it is no1 wonder that when it does, it ihould fometimes be faint-hearted and creft-fallen; and, as I have already faid,fuffer itfelf to be feared away with a cudgel. Here follows another inftance of this fact, " A yeoman, a man of veracity, (Jacob Kok, of Zee-fioe-rivier,) related to me an adventure he had in thefe words: One day walking over his lands with his loaded gun, he unexpectedly met with a lion. Being an excellent lhot, he thought himfelf pretty certain, in the poli-tion he was in, of killing it, and therefore fired1 his piece; Unfortunately he did not recollect, that the charge had been in it for fome time, and confequently was damp; fo that his piece hung fire, and the ball falling fhort, entered the ground clofe to the lion. In confequence of this he was feized with a panic, and took directly to his feet; but being foon out of breath, and clofcly purfued by the lion* he jumped up on a little heap of ftones, and there made a ftand, prefenting the butt-end of his gun to his adverfary, fully refolved to defend his life as well as he could, to the utmoft. My friend* l775- friend did not take upon him to determine, whether this December. v^w> pofition and manner of his intimidated the lion or not; it had, however, fuch an effect upon the creature, that it likewife made a Hand : and what was ftill more lingular, laid itfelf down at the diftance of a few paces from the heap of ftones feemingly quite unconcerned. The fportf-man, in the mean while, did not dare to ftir a ftep from the fpot; befides, in his flight he had the misfortune to lofe his powder-horn. At length, after waiting a good half hour, the lion rofe up, and at firft went very flowly, and ftep by ftep, as if it had a mind to fteal off; but as foon as it got to a greater diftance, it began to bound away at a great rate. It is very probable, that the lion, like the hyaena, does not eafily venture upon any creature that makes a ftand againft it, and puts itfelf in a pofture of defence. It is well known, that it does not, like the hound, find out its prey by the fcent, neither does it openly hunt other animals. At leaft, the only inftance ever known of this, is that which I have mentioned before, in Vol. I. p. 307. in which it is fpoken of as having hunted an elk-antilope: though it might poflibly be, that this wild beaft was reduced by extreme hunger to fuch an extraordinary expedient. The lion, neverthelefs, is fwift of foot. Two hunters informed me, that an imprudent and foolhardy companion of theirs, was clofely purfued by a lion in their fight, and very nearly overtaken by it, though he was mounted on an excellent hunter. The lion's ftrength is confiderable. This animal was once feen at the Cape to take an heifer in his mouth, and though the legs of this latter dragged on the ground, yet feemed ! feemed to carry her off with the fame eafe as a cat does a D^5b*er rat. It likewife leaped over a broad dike with her, with- ^>pO out the leaft difficulty. A buffalo, perhaps, would be too cumberfome for this beaft of prey, notwithftanding his ftrength, to feize and carry off with him in the manner above-mentioned. Two yeomen, upon whofe veracity I can place fome confidence, gave me the following account relative to this matter. " Being a hunting near Bq/hies-man-rivier with feveral Hottentots, they perceived a lion dragging a buffalo from the plain to a neighbouring woody hill. They, however, foon forced it to quit its prey, in order to make a prize of it themfelves; and found that this wild beaft had had the fagacity to take out the buffalo's large and unwieldy entrails, in order to be able the eafier to make off with the flefhy and more eatable part of the carcafe. The wild beaft, however, as foon as he faw from the fkirts of the wood, that the Hottentots had begun to carry off the flefh to the waggon, frequently peeped out upon them, and probably with no little mortification." The lion's ftrength, however, is faid not to be fufhcient alone to get the better of fo large and ftrong an animal as the buffalo; but, in order to make it his prey, this fierce creature is obliged to have recourfe both to agility and ftratagem; infomuch, that ftealing on the buffalo, it fattens with both its paws upon the noftrils and mouth of the beaft, and keeps fqueezing them clofe together, till at length the creature is ftrangled, wearied out, and dies. A certain colonift, according to report, had had an opportunity of feeing an attack of this kind ; and others had reafon to conclude, that fomething of this nature* Decrmb.r ture liac* paffed, from feeing buffaloes, which had efcaped Ua; from the clutches of lions, and bore the marks of the claws of thefe animals about their mouth and nofe. They affert-cd, however, that the lion itfelf rifqued its life in fuch attempts, efpecially if any other buffalo was at hand to refcue that which was attacked. It was faid, that a traveller once had an opportunity of feeing a female buffalo with her calf, defended by a river at her back, keep for a. long time at bay five lions which had partly furrounded her, but did not (at leaft as long as the traveller looked on) dare to attack her. I have been informed from very good authority, that on a plain to the eaft of Kromme-rivier, a lion had been gored and trampled to death by a herd of cattle; having, urged probably by hunger, ventured to attack them in broad day-light. This the reader will, perhaps, not fo much wonder at, when he is told, that in the day-time, and upon an open plain, twelve or fixtcen dogs will eafily get the better of a large lion. There is no neceflity for the dogs, with which the lion is to be hunted, to be very large and trained up to the fport, as M. Buffon thinks they mould be, the bufinefs being perfectly well accomplifhed with the common farm-houfe dogs. When thefe have got pretty near the lion, the latter, from a greatnefs of foul, does not offer to fly any farther, but fits himfelf down. The hounds then fur-round him, -and, ruffling on him all at once, are thus, with their united ftrength, able to tear in pieces, almoft in an inftant, the ftrongeft of all wild beafts. It is faid, that he has feldom time to give more than two or three ilight ftrokes with his paws, (each of which ftrokes is inftant inftant death) to an equal number of his aftailants. M. de de^^ Buffon afferts alfo, that the lion may be hunted on horfe- ^v^j back, but that the horfes as well as the dogs muft be trained to it: this is probably a mere conjecture of that ingenious author, as he does not mention his informers on this point. In Africa, the colonifts hunt the lion with common hunting horfes; indeed, I do not know how they could eafily be able to get horfes trained up only to the chafe of the lion. It is faid, that horfes in battle, or in other dangerous enterprizes, fuffer themfelves more willingly to be capari-foned by their riders than at other times; a circumftance which I think I have likewife remarked in thefe animals, on expeditions, where the danger, indeed, was not fo great, as in hunting the buffalo and rhinoceros, when they have paffed rivers, and gone up and down fleep places and precipices with the greateft alacrity. Our horfes, the very fame as had feveral times, in the manner above-mentioned, fhewn their difquietude when the lion happened to be in the vicinity of them, and which were not in the leaft train-ed to the chafe, once exhibited a fpirit in the purfuit of two large lions, equal to that which they had fhev> 11 at other times in chafing the timid gazels. Though, in fact, hunting horfes feem to partake much more of their mafter's plealure in the chafe : I remember in particular, at Agter Bruntjes Hoogte, I rode a horfe which, by a tremulous found ilfuing from its cheft, cocking up its ears, and prancing and capering, difcovered, in an unequivocal manner, its ardour for the chafe, whenever it came in fight of the larger kind of game. There have even been inftances of hunting horfes, who, when the hunter has jumped off Vol. II. I their #B A VOYAGE to the )cccmber tueir Dac^s in orcter to difcharge bis piece, but has miffed V-rr^ his mark, have, in their eagernefs for the chafe, not allowed him time fufficient to mount again, but followed the game alone for hours together, clofe at its very heels, in all its turnings and windings. The chafe of the lion on horfeback is, in fact, carried on in the lame manner as that of the elephant, which I have already defcribed in Vol. I. p. 315; but as various particulars, hitherto unknown, concerning the lion's difpofition, may be learned from it, a defcription of it here will, perhaps, not be fuperfluous ; and, in cafe I fhould be too minute and cireumftantial, I fhall hope for the indulgence of the candid reader ; particularly of fuch of them as are fportfmen, and are confeious with what high glee and fatis faction they are wont to defcribe, writh the utmoft minutenefs and prolixity, every turning and winding of a poor timid hare. It is only on the plains, that the hunters venture to go out on horfeback after the lion. If it keeps in fome coppice, or wood, on a rifing ground, they endeavour to teaze it with dogs till it comes out; they likewife prefer going together two or more in number, in order to be able to aflift and refcue each other, in cafe the firft fhot fhould not take place. When the lion fees the hunters at a great diftance, it is univerfally allowed, that he takes to his heels as faft as ever he can, in order to get out of their fight; but if they chance to difcover him at a fmall diftance from them, he is then faid to walk off in a furly manner, but without putting himfelf in the leaft hurry, as though he was above fhew-ing any fear, when he finds himfelf difcovered or hunted. He \ CAPE of GOOD HOPE. <>fj He is therefore reported likewife, when he finds himfelf December, purfued with vigour, to be foon provoked to refiflance, or V^ynJ at leaft he difdains any longer to fly. Confequently be ilackens his pace, and at length only fidles llowly off ftep by ftep, all the while eying his purfuers afkaunt; and finally makes a full ftop, and turning round upon them, and at the fame time giving himfelf a fhake, roars with a fhort and fharp tone, in order to fhew his indignation, being ready to fcize on them and tear them in pieces. This is now precifely the time for the hunters to be upon the fpot, or elfe to get as foon as poflible within a certain diftance of him, yet fo as at the fame time to keep at a proper diftance from each other; and he that is neareft, or is moft advan-tageoully pofted, and has the beft mark of that part of the lion's body which contains his heart and lungs, nuift be the firft to jump off his horfe, and, fecuring the bridle by putting it round his arm, difcharge his piece; then in an inftant recovering his feat, muft ride obliquely athwart his companions; and, in fine, giving his horfe the reins, muft truft entirely to the fpeed and fear of this latter, to convey him out of the reach of the fury of the wild beaft, in cafe he has only wounded him, or has abfolutely miffed him. In either of thefe cafes, a fair opportunity prefents itfelf for fome of the other hunters to jump off their horfes directly, as they may then take their aim and difcharge their pieces with greater coolnefs and certainty. Should this (hot likewife mifs, (which, however, feldom happens,) the third fportfman rides after the lion, which at that inftant is in purfuit of the firft or the feeond, and, fpringing off his horfe, fires his piece, as foon as he has got within a proper diftance, and finds a I % fufnci- 60 AVOYAGEtothe ^ 1775* fufficiently convenient part of the animal prefent itfelf, December. J A L^v^ efpecially obliquely from behind. If now the lion turns upon him too, the other hunters turn again, in order to come to his refcue with the charge, which they loaded with on horfeback, while they were flying from the wild beaft. No inftance has ever been known, of any misfortune happening to the hunters in chafing the lion on horfeback. The African colonifts, who are born in, or have had the courage to remove into the more remote parts of Africa, which are expofed to the ravages of wild beafts, are moftly good markfmen, and are far from wanting courage. The lion, that has the boldnefs to feize on their cattle, which are the moft valuable part of their property, fometimes at their very doors, is as odious to them, as he is dangerous and noxious. They confequently feek out thefe animals, and hunt them with the greateft ardour and glee, with a view to exterminate them. When the lion, therefore, comes upon their grounds, it is much the fame as if they were going to fight pro arts et focis ; and I have heard feveral yeomen at Agter Bruntjes Hoogte, when I was out a hunting with them, merely exprefs a wilh to meet with the lions, in cafe there were any in that neighbourhood, without mentioning a word about mooting them ; a fign, that with regard to that part of the bufinefs they were pretty fure of their hands. The lion is by no means hard to kill. Thofe who have had occafion to moot feveral of thefe animals, have affined me, that while buffaloes and the larger fpecies of antilopes will now and then make their efcape and run fairly off with With a ball in their bowels, or in the cavity of their abdo- De7ember. men, of which I myfelf have feen inftances, the lion, on the ^r^J contrary, on being fliot in this manner, will be thrown into a vomiting, tand be difabled from running. But be that as it may, it is natural to fuppofe, that a well-directed mot that enters the heart or lungs, fhould fuflice to kill the lion, as well as the elephant and every other creature : therefore, as M. de Buffon acknowledges, that the lion's hide cannot withftand either ball or dart, it is inconceiveable how it mould come into this author's head to affert, without having the leaft authority for it, that this furious beaft is hardly ever to be killed with a fingle fhot. The hides of lions are looked upon as being inferior to, and more rotten than thofe of cows, and are feldom made ufe of at the Cape, excepting for the fame purpofe as horfes hides. I met with a farmer, however, who ufed a lion's hide for upper leathers to his fhoes, and fpoke highly of them, as being pliable and lafting. The next morning, being the 13th, we were lucky enough to fhoot a buffalo fatter than the former. (For a figure of this animal, vide Plate II. of this Volume.) This was a great treat for my Hottentots, and, indeed, for myfelf, as the flefh of the other was grown putrid in confequence of the warmth of the weather, and the bad quality of the meat itfelf. Befides, I had now a better opportunity of drawing up a defcription of this beaft, which has been hitherto unknown, and at the fame time of making a rough draught °f it. Immediately after the report of the gun, we faw the buffalo fall upon its knees ; he afterwards, however, raifed himfelf up, and ran feven or eight hundred paces into a 8 thicket, 6i A VOYAGE to the '77v thicket, and directly upon this, with a moft dreadful bellow- Deecmber. V^-rsJ ing, gave us to underftand that it was all over with him. All this together formed a fpectacle, which moft fportfmen would have been highly delighted to have been prefent at. This creature, as well as moft of the larger kind of game, was fhot by the Hottentot whom my friend and hoft at Sea-cow-river had fent along with me, by way of being my guide and markfman. Even fome of the belt huntfmen among the farmers are obliged, for the molt part, to make ufe of Hottentots by way of bufh-hunters ; as in their fkin cloaks they do not excite the attention of the wild beafts, fo mm Ii as the Chriftians do in their drefs. They are likewife ready at any time when there is occafion for it, to go bare-foot, and crawl foftly upon their bellies, till they come within a proper diftance of the animal. Moreover, when the buffalo at length is irritated, the Hottentots can much eafier efcape from the danger which threatens them, than a Chriftian. I myfelf, on another occafion, faw two Hottentots run with amazing fwiftnefs, when a buffalo was in purfuit of them. It was not without the greateft difcontent on the part of my Hottentots, that I made a draught, and took the di-menfions of this buffalo; thus preventing them, in the mean while, from falling aboard of the flefli. Neither did they afterwards delay one moment to cut a few flices off and broil them. They likewife laid two bones on the fire to broil, for the fike of the marrow. After this they began to take out the entrails, which, according to the teitimony of my Hottentots, perfectly refembled thofe of an ox: the buffalo's, however, are much larger, and take up more room, and indeed gave us no little trouble in clearing Clearing them away; for the diameter of this creature's body was full three feet. \m*ysJ Upon the whole, the lize of the buffalo was as follows: -the length eight feet, the height five and a half, and the forelegs two feet and a half long; the larger hoofs were five inches over ; from the tip of the muzzle to the horns was twenty-two inches. This animal in fhapc, as may be fecn in the plate, very much refcmbled the common ox; but the buffalo has much ftouter limbs, in proportion to its height and length. Their fetlocks hang likewife nearer to the ground. The horns are lingular, both in their form and pofition; the bafes of them are thirteen inches broad, and are only an inch diftance from each other; by which means, there is formed between them a narrow channel or furrow, in a great meafure bare of hair. Meafuring them from this furrow, the horns rife up in a fpherical form, with an elevation of three inches at moft. In this way they extend over a great part of the head, viz. from the nape of the neck to the diftance of three and a half inches from the eyes ; fo that the part from which they grow out, does not occupy a fpace of lefs than eighteen or twenty inches in circumference. From hence bending down on each fide of the neck, and becoming more cylindrical by degrees, they each of them form a curve, the convex part of which is turned towards the ground, and the point up in the air; which, however, at the fame time is generally inclined backwards. The diftance between the points of the horns is frequently above five feet; the colour of them is black; and the furface to within about a third part of them meafured from the bafe, is very rough and craggy, „ '77?- craorsry, with cavities lbmetimes an inch deep. Neither December. o&; . . 1 thefe cavities, nor the elevations which are formed between them, appear to be at all accidental, as there is a tolerable fimilarity between thefe excrefences, though they ar§ very different in different buffaloes. The ears are a foot in length, fomewhat pendant, and in a great meafure covered and defended by the lowTer edges of the horns. The edges of the ears are notched and fhri veiled up in divers ways, which probably proceeds from the wounds thefe creatures frequently receive in their battles with each other, and from the rents they get in the briars and almoff impenetrable thickets through which they pafs together, with other cafualtics of that nature. Though feveral Hottentots have been induced from thence to imagine, that the buffaloes belonged to certain fupernatural beings, who marked thefe animals in this manner for their own cattle. By way of naming thefe beings to me, they made ufe of the word duyvel. which means devil. The hairs of the buffalo are of a dark brown colour, about an inch long, harfh, and, on fuch males as are advanced in years, very thin, efpecially on the middle of the fides of the belly; hence they appear at fome diftance as if they were girt with a belt; and what contributes not a little to this appearance is, that the buffaloes in general are very fond of rolling in the mire. The hairs on the knees are in moft buffaloes fomewhat longer than thofe on the reft of the body, and lie, as it were, in whirls. The eyes are fomewhat funk within their prominent orbits. This, together with the near fituation of them to the bafes of the horns, which hang fomewhat over its pendant dangling CAPE of GOOD PI OPE. ^5 ling cars,' and its ufual method of holding its head inclined D^er< to one fide, gives the buffalo a fierce and treacherous af- V-^v^J pect. The difpofition likewife of the animal feems to correspond with its countenance. lie may in fome fort be called treacherous, as he is wont to hide himfelf among the trees, and itand there fkulking till fomcbody happens to come very near him, when he ruihes out at once into the road, and fometimes attacks them. This animal likewife de-ferves the appellation of fierce and cruel, as it has been remarked, that, not content with throwing down and killing the perfon whom he attacks, he Hands over him afterwards, in order to trample upon him with his hoofs and heels, at the fame time cruihing him with his knees, and with his horns and teeth tearing to pieces and mangling the whole body, and {tripping off the fkin by licking it with his tongue. This, however, he does not do all at once, but at intervals, going away between whiles to fome diftance off. Notwith-ftanding all this, the buffalo will bear to be hunted; though fometimes he will turn and hunt his purfuer, whofe only dependence in that cafe is upon the fwiftnefs of his fteed. The fureft way to efcape from him is to ride up fome hill, as the great bulk of the buffalo's body, like that of the elephant, is a weight fufficient to prevent him from being able to vie with the flender and fine-limbed horfe in fwiftnefs; though, on the other hand, the buffalo, in going down-hill, gets on much fafter than the horfe; a fact to which I have more than once been an eye-witnefs. The buffalo is faid to be of a very hot nature, by rea-fon that, according to the moft authentic information I could procure, when thoroughly warmed in hunting, he Vol. II. K throws 66 A V O Y A OlE to the 1775- throws himfelf into the firft water he meets with, whe- December, ^v%J ther it be frefh or fait. One thing is certain, and that is, that he frequently, and feemingly with great pleafure, wallows in the mire; and from this circumftance it is fup-pofed he could not, with any profpect of fuccefs, be tamed for the yoke, as when he was weary and warm, he would throw himfelf into the neareft water, or be guilty of fome other tricks. Mr. Hemming, the fub-governor, had, during my re-fidence at the Cape, endeavoured to tame a buffalo; but it was faid, that this animal was too wild, and at the fame time too ftrong and ungovernable to be confined by any yoke or harnefs whatever; or to be kept in order and fub-jection by the tame oxen, which wrere trained for that pur-pofe, and along with which he was to be yoked. On my return through Krakekamma I faw a buffalo-calf, as tame as any of the ordinary calves with which it was grazing. It had been taken foon after it was brought into the world, having the navel-ftring hanging to it; but notwithftanding its being fo young, it made great reliftance to the people who caught it. A fortnight afterwards it had already acquired fo much ftrength, that the owner of it, a ftout lufty man, found it difficult to lead it along. In fa£t, it was fomewhat taller, and much ftouter than other calves of the fame age. 1 The colour of it was a very light brown, the hairs long and rough, and on the back lying in whirls; in the nape of the neck thefe fame hairs inclined forwards, while thofe on the forehead were turned backwards; on the lip, fome of them were long and ftiff; and indeed, they were of a confiderable length on the whole CAPE op GOOD HOPE. 67 whole of the lower jaw, and under the belly. The fore- December. part of this creature appeared to be low in proportion to V^yn*' the reft of its body ; the head was large, and the ears long and pendent; the legs ihorter than thofe of an ordinary calf; and its afpect fulky and treacherous. The owner intended to prefent it to the governor for his menagerie. For my part, I do not in the leaft doubt of the poflibility of breaking buffaloes for the yoke, provided the calves are taken very young, and are put to it at an early period,-and for a long time together. By a properly adapted fparing diet, and frequently milking the cows, thefe animals might, after feveral generations, lofe as much of their fiercenefs as might be thought neceffary, and yet retain fo much of their native vigour as to be ftronger than the common oxen. It would be a curious experiment, to couple the male or female buffalo with a common bull or cow. Moft of the wild buffalo-calves that I have feen were, like the tame one I have juft defcribed, of a' light brown colour; and the younger they were, the paler was the colour. I have already obferved, under the date of the 9th of this month, with what ftrength the buffalo „ preffed into the midft of the clofeft thickets; in this the beaft is affifted by the broad part of its horns, which, at the fame time that it ferves to pierce through the prickly bullies, is of ufe in guarding and faving its eyes. The flefli of the buffalo is coarfc and not very fat, but full of juice, and of a high and not difagreeable flavour. The hide is thick and tough, and is in great re-queft with the farmers for thongs and harneffes. Of it we made the only halters that can be depended upon for K. 2 fecuring A VOYAGE to the '775/ fecuriner our horfes and oxen: fo that thefe hearts cannot December. r \ r * K^rU get looie by mapping them al under, which they are other-wife apt to do, when the lions and wolves make their appearance in the neighbourhood. Every fuch halter fhould be a finger and a, half in. breadth, and about three yards long, and are fold a good, way up in the country for a quarter of a rixdpilar apiece.: The hide of the buifalo we had now fhor, after it had been drcffed in fome fort by my Hottentots, by being ftretched out and falted a little, and afterwards half dried, ferved to make a pair,of fi£W« four-plaited traces for my waggon. We obierved, that the'ball had hitthedower part of the neck and entered, the lungs, where, though it did not feem to have ftruck againft any bone, and though it was alloyed with the ufual quantity of tin, it was yet found to be pretty much, flattened. In other buffaloes that we fhot fince, I have fometimes found the balls, though alloyed with tin, fhivered into feveral pieces againft the bones, in the internal parts, or at leaft, very much flattened. It is not, therefore, worth while to fet about Ihooting the buffalo with balls made of lead only, for they will feldom bo able to penetrate into thofe parts where they are likely to prove mortal. Befides, being poffelfed of the degree of hardnefs requifite, a ball mould be of a tolerable fize, in order to kill fo large an animal as the buffalo. The leaft that ought to be ufed for this purpofe, lhould weigh two ounces and a quarter. I have fpoken of the buffalo, as being an animal .hitherto unknown. So, in fact, I prefume to call it, as I am the firft that have given a defcription and drawing of it, which which I have done in the Swedith Traniaftions, by the ^7^eu name of the bos Coffer. My readers will, perhaps, excufe me for making ufe, in a great meafure, of the fame words in both places, and for being here more diffufe and cir-cumftantial. In M. de Buffon, Tom. XI. p. 416. Tab. 41. we find the horns only engraved, as they were brought from the Cape by the Abbe de la Caille. The Abbe de Manet, Tom. II. p. 129. gives us a few lines concerning a fort of buffalo, which feems to anfwer this which I call the bos Catfer. Mr. Pennant, in the lafl edition of his Synopfis of Quadrupeds, Vol. II. p. 29. fpeaks likewife of this fpecies of buffalo. My Hottentots fhewed fo much diligence and zeal both in cutting up and eating this beaft, that the encouragement and ftimulation, which is otherwife frequently neceffary to fet their fluggifh and heavy fouls in motion, would on this occafion have been quite fuperfluous. They drove the waggon then up to the place where the beaft lay, and loaded it with the beft and fatteft part of the flefh. The raw hide, which was of conliderable weight and extent, was tied under the waggon till it fhould be wanted, and the two remaining legs or marrow-bones were faftened to each fide of the body of the waggon. Notwithftanding this, our Bofhies-men had each of them loaded themfelves with a quantity of ilips of flefh made up into bundles. Thus covered up to the eyes and ears in meat, we made a lingular appearance, which might have given any traveller that had happened to pals that way, the idea of a walking flcfh-market. As we proceeded on our journey, a fwarm of *Pt of other carnivorous animals in a confiderable number, December. 7 C^vsj viz. eagles, falcons, and common hawks, were feen foon afterwards to occupy our places about the buffalo's remains ; though we faw none of them either in the trees or flying about in the air, till we had got to the diftance of a few gun-fhots from the fpot. We had fcarcely got half an uur on our road, before we faw a great number of quaggds, with a huge fat Cape-elk; and befides this, on the open plains, two male buffaloes Came within feventy paces of us. It was lingular enough, that thefe latter did not feem to perceive either us or our waggon for a long while, till we made an intolerable noife with laughing and talking; when at length they looked up at us, but ftaid, notwithftanding, a good while before they betook themfelves to flight. My Hottentots, who faw I was fond of hunting of different forts, the chafe of flies and butterflies not excepted, thought it very ftrange that I fhould now neither moot thefe animals myfelf, nor fuffer them to do it. They, however, owned at length, that I was perfectly in the right, in confequence of my reminding them, that they were covered up to the eyes in buffalo's fat; and that the flefh with which they had already loaded the waggon, both in fide and out, would be quite putrid before they could eat it all up; that they ought not to put themfelves on a level with fo voracious a beaft as the wolf, of which they often exprefled their hatred and abhorrence, on account of its killing and wounding every thing it met with; and finally, that thefe buffaloes, if they were fparcd at prefent, i and • and not feared away, might prove extremely ufeful to fomebody elfe; perhaps, indeed, to ourfelves on our return v^yxj home. This moderation acquired me afterwards a great deal of refpect from many of the colonifts, as with great reafon, they were very much difcontented with the capricious condudt of feveral fportfmen, who, merely for the pleafure of mooting, are guilty of wafting the trea-fures of nature in the moft unjuftifiable manner; and by unncceftarily deftroying the game, fpoil their own fport in future, as well as that of others. For when they now and then make a little hunting excurfion (as they term it) they feldom or ever return from the purfuit of a herd of game, before they have made a great havock among them, though the carcafes are afterwards left to rot on the ground. It is true, at every fhot they take they leap off their horfes, to difcharge their pieces; but mounting again immediately, load their guns, at the fame time that they are continuing the purfuit of the gazels. In the mean time, I could not help picturing to my imagination, the pleafure which, on the other hand, fuch a fhot as I had had that day, would have given me in the South Sea, when I might have treated myfelf and my familhed mefs-mates with fome excellent high-flavoured roaft beef of buffalo's flefh. Wc took the oxen out of the waggon, and baited a considerable time at the river Keuji kunni aati, which, in the Hottentot language, bears pretty nearly the figniheation of Let not the ugly drink here. This river is by the colonifts otherwife called Little Bqfhies-mans-river. The flefh as well as the marrow of the buffalo, was in itfelf very delicate; but both Mr. IMMELMAN and I could not >77S- not help being difguited with it at times, as we faw the .December. r • •» r- • -r- \mArY^j Hottentots eat fo immoderately and greedily of it. For whole nights together the nefh-kettle was kept boiling on the fire, and frequently they broiled fome more of the flefh between whiles. As foon as any one of the Hottentots was awake, he was immediately prepared to eat both boiled and roait. Sleeping or waking, as one may fay, they had always either meat or a pipe in their mouths ; and befides, as they found leifure and opportunity, viz. the two or three firft days after we had fhot any game, feveral of them were particularly careful and diligent in fkimming off the fat from the pot. Befides, however afliduous they were in befmearing their bodies with it, yet I wras always obliged to exert my authority as their mafter, in order to make them put a little of it on my fhoes and bridles, which would otherwife have been cracked in pieces, or parched up by the drought of the weather. In their difpofitions my Hottentots were, particularly in the evenings, merry and talkative, and that fometimes in a high degree. I have every reafon to believe, that Mr. Immelman and I were not unfrequently the fubjects of their gibes, jokes, and laughter. Perfuadcd as we were of this, it was juft as well for us that we did not underftand the language; efpecially, as now we could not be more hurt than if we imagined they abufed us in thought only; and in that cafe, we were far from being fo fqueamifh as a certain officer, who firft punifhed a fol-dier for a fault he had committed, and afterwards, merely on the fufpicion that he muft infallibly have had the impudence impudence to take it amifs, ordered a certain number of ^JJjjj^ ladies to be given him into the bargain. UyV In the defert in particular, a great deal of management was requifite, in order to keep in with the Hottentots ; fo that thefe people, who are very much inclined, on every little whim that takes them, to run away, might not, in that place, defert us. On the other hand, not to give room by too much lenity, for any great degree of neglect, and impudence, we were twice under the neceflity of trying what effect blows would have upon them, and we found that they anfwered the purpofe extremely well. Prudence, however, required, that the offender's crime, his remifmefs and neglect of duty, for inftance, fhould be reprefented, as being likewife a great offence againft their own comrades, and punifhed accordingly ; who by this means, as well as by that of hemp, tobacco, and commendations properly diftri-buted, were prevented from taking the delinquent's part. Having learnt by experience, that the Bomies-men in our fervice were extremely flothful and entirely independent on me, as long as they had by them any tolerable quantity of hemp or tobacco for fmoking, I grew very fparing in my treats, giving out only enough for two or three pipes at a time, and none at all to fuch as had neglected their duty. In default of tobacco or hemp, they ufed to fmoke the dry bark of fome trees, mofs, leaves, horfe-dung, or that of the rhinoceros ; to which they added, when they could get it, the ftem of fome old wooden pipe, ftrongly impregnated with the oil of the tobacco that had been fmoked in it, cutting it into fhreds, in order to meliorate, by the delicate flavour of the tobacco, that of the ingredient above-mentioned. Vo l. ii. l In "775- in thofe places where we happened to flay feveral days* December. r n ■ . r fome or the Boihies-men in our train laid themfelves up night and day in perfect repofe, without giving themfelves the leaft trouble about any thing. I therefore refined to give them the leaft morfel of tobacco, till they had procured me fome curious and uncommon infect or fnake. By this contrivance 1 obtained a few rare articles; but for the moft part, their indolence was fuch, that they would not give themfelves the leaft trouble to look after any thing of the kind, till they were, as they termed it, very hungry for tobacco. € H A P. CHAP. XIL Journey from BoJIiies-mans-river to Quammedacka. NEXT morning, being the 14th, at five o'clock, \vc proceeded on our journey. Bq/bies-mans-rivier, which we had juft quitted, had no current; and though it is very deep in feveral places, yet it was brackifh and had a fait tafte, and was faid to be always fo in fummer. A little farther to the eaft, we had to go through a vale covered with wood. This vale is called Niez-bout-kloofy from a kind of tree which is faid to excite fneezing, if it be rubbed and then fmelled. We were not fo fortunate as to find this tree, but from the defcription that was given me of it, I fhould imagine it belonged to the order of lomentaca. A dried piece of this wood that was fhewn to me, had almoft entirely loft the property above-mentioned, neither had it any particular tafte. This tree is faid likewife to be found at Bruntjes-hoogte, though very rarely. As it may be a ufeful piece of intelligence for future travellers, I muft juft mention here, that fomewhat more than half a mile to the left of the road, there is good water l 2 t« 76 AVOYAGEto the 1775- to be found in a vale called fKur-fkeija-fkei-fkaJlbina, whi-Cry^j ther by a road that went over two hills we fent our oxen and horfes at noon to water, while we flopped to refrefh ourfelves. In the evening we arrived at Hajfagai-bofcb. The other part of the road, together with the adjacent country, was full of fleep hills; fo that we were frequently obliged to lock the wheels of the waggon, and at the fame to difmount, and lead our horfes over the precipices. As this day in my abfence, an honour was conferred upon me at Upfal far exceeding my moft fanguine expectations, viz. the degree of doctor in phyfic, an honour heightened by the flattering proclamation by which it was accompanied, I muft take this opportunity of making my grateful acknowledgments for it, to Sir Charles Linne", and the then promoter, profeffor J. Sidren, who at that time compofed the whole faculty of medicine, and who by their kind recommendations obtained permilfion of the moft illuftrious chancellor for this purpofe. This inftance of a Swede being, though afar off in a diftant defert, prefent to the remembrance of his countrymen, will, probably, be no fmall encouragement to fuch of our compatriots, as may in future travel for the promotion of fcience; for which reafon, I thought proper to make mention of it here. Early the next morning, being the 15th day, we quitted HaJJagai-bofcby which in itfelf is merely a little infignifi-cant grove, and derives its name from a kind of tree to be found here, as well as in many other parts of the country. In the vale below, the water is tolerably good, though very fcarce and ftagnating. The diftri£t round about, about, was of the kind called Sour. At noon we arrived ^JJJ^ at Nieuzv Jaars-drift, Where the thermometer ftood at 80 \*s*r*J in the ihade. The water here was likewife good, and in fome places very deep. The adjacent country had a delightful appearance, being adorned with great numbers of the mimofa nilotica; a tree we have had occafion frequently to mention before, and upon which we at this time caught a great many curious infects. My fellow-traveller, while he was running with his net after a butterfly, was very near falling into a pit, in which a fharp pole was ftuck upright; and in that cafe, in all probability, would have ihared the fame fate as our infects, by being himfelf fpit-ted through the body. This pit-fall was, probably, made by fome of the Caffres or Hottentots wandering about thefe parts, for the purpofe of catching a very different kind of game. In the evening we came to Kurekoiku, or fKurekoi fKu. In our way thither, we faw a great number of buffaloes. Out of thefe I fet out to hunt on horfeback, a herd con-fifting of feventy or eighty beafts, old and young together. As I took with me only a light piece loaded with a leaden ball, my intention was merely to get a bit of roaft veal, which, for the fake of change, we longed for very much. But I was difappointed in my views; for the old ones made a circle round the calves, fo as quite to flicker them from me when I jumped off my horfe, in order to difcharge my piece. Some of the oldeft of them in.particular, putting themfelves in a pofture of defence,, came forwards to meet me; by which means, they gave the others an opportunity to get farther off: at laft, however, I fired '775- I fired among the herd, when immediately, on hearing: Jeceniber. J~V n V^yxJ the report or the gun, they all made a full Hop, and feared at me. I was not at that time perfectly acquainted with the nature and danger of buffalo-hunting, otherwife I fhould fcarcely have ventured to fet about it in the confident manner I then did; but very luckily for me, the ball did not hurt any of them ; otherwife, probably, the whole buffalo corps would have turned round and hunted me down the craggy hill, up which I had juft before purfued them clofe at their heels; in which cafe, I fhould not fo eafily have got off. The hunters do not fuppofe it poflible to kill the game fitting on their horfes, partly on account of the weight of their pieces, and partly from the motion occafioned by their horfes; but chiefly by reafon, that both the horfe and its rider are fomewhat in a tremor, in confequence of the violent exercife they have juft before undergone in purfuit of the game ; while, on the other hand, by jumping off his fteed, and fupporting his gun with his ram-rod, in the manner before mentioned, the fportfman acquires a great degree of fteadinefs and certainty in his aim. We ftaid at Kurekoiku till the evening of the 16th, in order to wafli our linen ourfelves and dry it in the fun. We were, indeed, at that time very flenderly provided with •this article, as at our firft fetting out we had been too lavifh of this and our other apparel to our Hottentots. Our chief inducement to this act of liberality was, together with our clothes, to get rid of a colony of difguftful animals, with which our driver in particular, in confequence of his fetting in the front feat, had ftocked our waggon. We after- afterwards did not fuffer the Hottentots to wear any other clothes than their own pelliffes, as in thefe the vermin \*s*>r*J kept themfelves more quiet, and were more eafily picked up by the Hottentots, in which cafe, (the broiling part excepted,) they underwent the fame fate as the prifoners of the Cannibals. Whether they did this, however, for the fake of gratifying their tafte or revenge, is a queflion I willingly leave to be determined by the philofopher, who, fhut up in his chamber, explains every phenomenon in nature from certain accidental occurrences. At leaft, the Hottentots themfelves gave us no infight into this matter; as when we propounded this difficulty to them, they gave us no other anfwer than, So maar, Baas! fbis is our way, Majierl In the mean time one may perceive from this, that men who are once funk into a certain ftate of filth, degradation and mifery, will not only be eafily familiarifed with it, but likewife, without the intervention of any other caufe in particular, fuffer themfelves to be more and more debafed. The two Hottentots, however, which I had in my fer-vice, feemed, by their defire to earn and wear our Euror pean clothes, already inclined to rife from the inactive and debafed condition into which they wrere plunged. It even flattered their ambition, that in confequence of the European drefs we had given them, they might, perhaps, be taken for a kind of baftards, and confequently might be fuppoied to have fome European blood in their veins. They had, however, not the leaft notion of taking care of their clothes, but wore them even in the defert as long as they would hang on their backs ; and, indeed, until, in order to prevent the vermin^ 8o A VOYAGE to the 1775- vermin they were covered with from fpreading any far- December, J * . Kyy^j ther, we obliged them to throw them away entirely. On the fame day on which they arrived at Bruntjes Hoogte, where they expected to meet with a number of fmart girls of their own nation, they painted their nofes, their cheeks, and the middle of their foreheads, with foot. A young Bolhies-man, the only young man amongft all thofe whom I engaged in my fervice at Zondags-rivier, fet off his perfon in the fame manner. Excepting this, I could not obferve that they even took any pains to infinuate themfelves into the good graces of the other fex; but am rather inclined to fufpect, that the firft advances in the way of courtihip, moftly came from the woman's fide. This day, while we were bufied in running after infects, botanizing and waffling, feveral of our Hottentots went a hunting; and in the courfe of their fport, had come within fifty or fixty paces of two lions, that were lying on the ground, but they had the prudence not to fire at them. The lions, likewife, as foon as they perceived the Hottentots, had ftolen away as foftly as they. The height of the thermometer, at noon, was 84 degrees. In the evening we took our departure, and in our way met with and hunted a confiderable number of buffaloes ; one of them, which was wounded in the breaft by a ball, efcaped from us though clofely purfued; but a female which was fhot in the cheek, quite through a large vein, fell at laft, after having ran to fome diftance. This day my friend had an opportunity of feeing an amorous combat between two tiger-cats, and one of our 3 Hotten- Hottentots caught four oftrich chicks alive, which we fed 1?7; for feveral days with fucculent plants, till they died in con-fequence of the jolting of the waggon. That fame evening we got to Hevyt and there baited all night. It was merely a rocky vale, in which there were feveral pits of if agnating and brackifh water. From the flat fummit of a mountain there dripped a little frefh water, of which we could hardly collect a quantity fufhcient to quench our own thirif. All the plants round about (except the fucculent ones) were dried up like hay. On the 17th, at five in the morning, the thermometer was at 60, and at two in the afternoon at 80 degrees. Towards evening we departed, and got before night to Quammedacka Well. This place is lituated at the diftance of two hours (uurs) from that which we had juft quitted. A boggy pool of water, which at that time was partly dried up, from twenty to twenty-five feet acrofs, was the only watering-place to be found in a tract of country of conliderable extent; upon which account this was fo much the more reforted to by wild beafts, and fmelt fo ftrong and rank of the buffaloes, rhinocerofes, and other animals that wallowed in it, that, at the diftance of feveral feet, our cattle, and particularly our horfes, perfectly fhuddered at it. Their thirft, neverthelcfs, compelled them at laft to ftp a little of what was collected in the prints made by the feet of the larger kind of game. On a plot of ground a little higher than this bog, we difcovered traces of a water-fpring gently trickling down, and dug round about it. From hence we got, it is true, fome water-not quite fo rank as the former, though it ftill retained a Vol. II. M perfectly perfectly muddy tafte, and a blue caft, leaving on each v^v^ fide of the linen, through which we if rained it, a deep and ■ indelible ifain of mud. On this occafion I could not help being ftruck with the remark, that habit and the charac-teriftic turn of any nation, will generally get the better of the plaineft dictates of common fenfe. My friend Mr. Im-m elm an pertinacioully followed the laudable Dutch cuftom of thoroughly wiping the bafons or veffels with a clean towel, every time that water was fetched in them; though at the fame time they were perfectly clean, or at the moft, perhaps, were ftained with the hundredth part of a grain of fugar, or elfe of coffee or tea-grounds, and he was juft going to drink dirt out of them, I may fay by the ounce. This evening a herd of about two thoufand fpring-boks coming to drink out of the well, by the fide of which we had pitched our tents, made a halt at the diftance of two hundred paces in order to take a view of us ; when I fired among them with a long gun, which was loaded with three fmall balls. And though one of thefe balls, as I afterwards found, hit a doe, and went quite through her, fo as to pierce her liver, diaphragm, and one lobe of her lungs, fhe yet ran fome hundreds of paces, before flie began to totter, juft after which fhe fell. She foon got up again, however, and fkipped to the diftance of one hundred and fifty paces farther, till fhe was caught fait in a thicket, where we overtook her and killed her. With a larger ball, in all probability, the fpring-bok would not be found fo difficult to kill, efpecially if it hit any of the greater blood-veffels. This This animal, which is called by the colonifts fpring-bok, DW£er< a term in the Dutch language ftgnifying the leaping or Kyy^J bounding goat, I have already made mention of in the Swe-difh Tranfadtions for 1780. The defcription, however, of fo remarkable a creature, muft not be omitted in this place. This, if not the handfomeft, is at leaft one of the hand-fomeft, gazels in the whole world; being, like the gazel kind in general, is diftinguifhed by its beautiful fiery eyes; fo that in fome parts of the eaft, it is reckoned, and not unjuftly, as the greateft compliment that can be made to a handfome woman, to tell her that fhe has eyes like a gazel. Fid. Prof p. Alpin. Hifl. Mgypt. (I. 232.) Moses (in Numbers, Chap. XIV.) feems by his Difcbon to have meant this animal, as the feventy interpreters tranilate this word by pygargus; the fignification of which {uropygium album, or white rump) beft agrees with this fpecie-s of gazel. Pliny (VIII. 53.) makes mention likewife of a pygargus; fo docs Juvenal (Sat. XI. ver. 138.) According to my tafte, this was the handfomeft gazel I had feen in Africa, as, in fact, it was the moft common; which latter I conclude from the circumftance of my having feen it in thefe places in much greater numbers, than all the other fpecies put together. Hitherto, indeed, I had feen no more than one of them in their wild ftate, viz. on the j)lain nearBojhies-mans-rivier ; but between the two Vifch-riviers, I have feen them fpread over the plains in herds of different magnitudes, as far as the eye could reach; and putting together what I have obferved in the courfe of a day's journey on horfeback, their numbers amounted to feveral thoufand. Thofe that I fhot among to-day, were collected elofe toge- M 2 ther l77$> tbcr into one herd, and, on hearing the report of my piece, Wsj> directly formed a line, at the fame time making a circular movement, as if they would furround us, but immediately afterwards flew off to a different fide to that which they came from. In the Bokke-Velds, as they arc called, thefe animals are found in great numbers, and fometimes at Roode-Zand. A great many of this fpecies are kept in the governor's menagerie. And yet, though as beautiful as it is common, there has not been hitherto any tolerable drawing given of this animal; and much is frill wanting, to the perfection of its hiftory and defcription. On this occafion I cannot help exprefling my aftonifhment, that the mammalia, or quadrupeds, the chief branch of the principal kingdom of nature, a branch, indeed, which comprehends man himfelf, fhould be fo little known, and neverthelefs fo little ftudied by him. By the neglect of this ftudy have lions, tigers, and other wild beafts, at leaft in Africa, without controul committed their ravages in the animal kingdom. Nay, they have, as we have already remarked, confined man himfelf within certain limits, fo that he even cannot help trembling for fear of them in his own habitation. As to this gazel in particular, it deferves, as indeed do all the works of the Creator, to be confidered with all the precifion and minutenefs of which the fubject is capable, that in it we may the better learn to know and adore the great Mafter of the Univerfe. It appears, indeed, that felf-love, which ufually has fo great a fway with us, mould induce us to take this ftep; for thefe gazels ought, for the general advantage of mankind, to be made tame, and tended in the places where they they now go to graze expofed to the ravages of lions, of ^JJJ^ which animals, in fact, they feem to he the peculiar pro- v^v~ perty; and may be aptly termed, according to the expref-fion of the Hottentots, their nocks of fheep. In the mean while, it is incumbent upon me to give previouily to this, a tolerably accurate defcription of this animal, and communicate to the public what information I have got concerning the nature of it and its manners. The height of it is two feet and a half; from the tip of the nofe to the horns are feven inches; from the horns to the ears two; from the ears to the tail three feet three inches; the tail itfelf being fomewhat lefs than a foot long; the length of the ears is fix inches and a half; that of the horns, meafuring them along their curvatures, is feven inches; the thicknefs of them at the bafe is two inches three quarters ; and the diftance of them from each other at that part one inch. After that they feparate, as is fhewn in the figure (vide Vol. II. Plate V.) more and more, till at about three-fourths of their length they ftand at the diftance of five inches from each other, when they turn inwards ; fo that the tips of them at laft come within three inches and a half of each other. This appears to me to be the moft general way, in which their horns are bent. In the fame animals of this kind in the governor's menagerie I obferved, however, that they varied greatly, info-much that fome of thefe creatures horns were bent forwards, like the naguer of Buffon, Tom. XII. Tab. XXXIV. In others again, they were turned back. This it is the more neceffary to mention, as otherwife, by fuch variations in the horns, zoologifts might be induced to make '775- make feveral fpecies out of one. In like manner, I bee December. , ° l^yv; leave to remark on this occafion, that in both fexes of this fpecies of gazel, the horns are fimilar both in fize and fhapc; as M. Pallas, SpiciL Zoolog. I. p. 10. milled by KyEMPFER, fuppofes the female to have very ffiort horns, or none at all. In fac~t, it is from a female that I made the foregoing defcription. This fame female I got fluffed, and have it at prefent in the cabinet of the Royal Academy. In anfwer to the query put in the SpiciL Zoo/og. FafcicuL XI. p. 15. I will juft mention, that the Comte de Buffon knew nothing at all of this gazel; and that the hobo's horns, as well as thofe of the tzeiran (vide FafcicuL 1. p. 10.) are, befides the pofition of them, too large ever to have belonged to this gazel. To conclude, the horns of this beautiful animal are of a deep black colour; and from the bottom of them to fomewhat above the middle, are adorned with rings raifed above the furface. From hence they are quite fmooth and plain, terminating in a fharp point; which, as it was faid before, are turned inwards. The rings here fpoken of are in number about fourteen, being raifed a line or two above the furface, and inclining, as it were, forwards and downwards. On the fides, where the horns are fomewhat flattened, thefe rings are lefs obfervable; and between each ring there is a number of fmall longitudinal Jiria. There are no peri ceriferi under the eyes of this animal. The predominant colour in this animal is brown of various fliades, or a light ruft-colour. This fame colour occupies a fpace of two inches in the forehead, juft in the front of the horns, and goes between them over the nape of of the neck, and the whole neck itfelf, a narrow flip in DeJ.^5ber. the front of it only excepted; in the fame manner it ex- v^r^ tends over the back, the fides, the out fide of the haunches, and the whole hind leg; but makes only a narrow ltripe in the front of the fore leg. To the breadth of an inch or two, the pofterior moiety of the ridge of the back is white, which colour is continued over and round the anus, the infide of the haunches, and the whole belly, the hind part, infide and outfide of the fore legs, the cheft, and the fore part of the ribs, whence it proceeds in a narrow ffripe all along the neck, extending over the remainder of the head, except a dark-brown lift on each fide, of the breadth of an inch, which paifes from the corner of the mouth over the eyes to the horns. A ft ripe an inch and a half broad of the fame deep umber-colour, extends from the fhoulders to the haunches, forming thus a boundary between the fnowy whitenefs of the belly, and the rufty colour of the fides. The hairs likewife, which encompafs the white part of the back and of the anus, are of a fomewhat darker brown than the reft. The tail, at leaft at the lower part, is not thicker than a goofe-quill, and underneath it is quite bare, being covered on the outfide only with very fhort hairs; excepting, indeed, towards the tip, where there are a few dark-brown hairs from one to two inches and a half long, which are difpofed in the manner exhibited in the figure. The ears are of an afh-colour, in moft places covered with very fhort hairs, and in fome quite bare; feveral fine grey hairs, moreover, occupy the bores of the ears at the fore part and the whole of their edges. On the infide, they are moftly bare. The eye-brows, and a few fhort whifkers D»77^ whiikers with which this creature is furnifhed, are black. K^r^J The hairs in general are very fine and denfe, the length of them being about half an inch. But the dark-brown ones, which border on the white on the hind part of the back, are from two to three, or three and a half inches long. Of about the fame length are the white hairs, which grow nearer! the dark-brown ones juft mentioned ; but the middle part of the white ftripe, confifts of ihort hairs like the reft of the body. The intention of the long brown hairs is for the moft part, and in a great meafure, to cover the dazzling white part of the back juft mentioned, the brightnefs and purity of which feems by this means to be preferved; fo that the animal, by the cxpanfion of this colour to the breadth of fix, eight, or nine inches, may, on certain occafions, be able to make a more fplendid appearance. This expanfion particularly takes place when the animal takes a high leap, which it never fails to do when it is purfued. Without any other view than that of contemplating this peculiar property of the fpring-bok, I have frequently rode full fpeed after whole herds of them; when it was no lefs pleafant than curious, to fee them jumping over each others heads to the height of two yards, and, indeed, fometimes much higher. Some of them would take three or four high leaps together in immediate fucceflion, but did not feem to get on a whit fafter than the others; which, in the mean while, kept on an even running pace, interfperfed now and then with a moderate leap or two. With their loftieft bounds they made ftill lefs progrefs. In this fituation too they feemed to be fufpended, as it were, for fome time in the T air, air, in order, perhaps with a kind of oftentation, to look De^J&er< over their moulders at their purfuers; and at the fame ^yy^J time, by the. expanfion of the white part of their backs to throw out a kind of menace, which, upon any other adverfary than man, may, perhaps, have the intended effect:. The pofition of their bodies, when they made the higheft leaps, was various. Sometimes we faw thefe animals with their backs bent convex, their heads downwards, and all their four feet brought clofe together. Sometimes their backs were hollow, fo that their bellies bulged out beneath ; by which means the nape of their necks and their rumps were brought pretty near to each other, while the fore feet and hind feet were fo much the more feparated for it. When hunted, thefe animals fuffer themfelves foon to be difperfed, fo that in a fhort time I had not more than two or three of them to purfue. Otherwife, as foon as the whole flock had got to fome diftance they would all make a ftand, and turn round to look at their purfuers. It is pretty nearly in this pofture that the animal is repre-fented in the drawing hereto annexed, at the fame time fomewhat expanding the white hairs on its back and -rump. To conclude, fpring-boks are extremely fwift of foot; fo that it requires a good horfe, and one that is by no means deficient in point of wind, in order to overtake them. In other refpetls they are not very ihy, fometimes allowing a fportf-man either on foot or on horfeback to come within reach of them. Their flefh is very palatable, and has a more juicy Vol. II. jsj and go A VOYAGE to the » ,77l' and delicate tafte, though at the fame time leYs flavour 'ecember. ° wrO than that of other gazels. I was informed, that in fuch years as are attended with great drought, the fpring-boks repair in incredible numbers to the fouthwards, making towards the colonies at the Cape, and keeping ftraight forwards on their road till they are flopped by the fea, when they turn back to go home by the lame way as they came, and moft commonly with feveral lions at their heels. Mr. Pennant calls this animal the white ant dope* 3VI. Pallas gives it the name of the antilope pygargus. The Syjlcma Natura mentions an animal by the name of capra cervi-capra; and it might be fuppofed, that the fpring-bok was meant by it, as a drawing by Mr. Houston is referred to, in fome meafure anfwering to it; but other circum-ftances feem to claih with this idea, particularly the figure in Dodart; which, however, is referred to as being a good one, not bearing the leaft refemblance to this creature. The name of cervi-capra, moreover, as denoting an intermediate genus between the deer and the goat, is applicable to the whole race of gazels or antilopes. After we had fhot the fpring-buck, we wrere obliged to flay at fo miferable a watering-place as this Quammedacka five nights longer, as the two-horned rhinoceros {rhinoceros bicornis) was faid to have its principal refidence in thefe parts. The longing defire I had to fhoot this remarkable animal was fo much the greater, and the lefs to be wondered at, as it had hitherto been only known to naturalifts by the double horns, which at various times had been brought into Europe, and preferved in different cabinets. Kolbe, Kolbe, indeed, pretends to have feen the rhinoceros bicor- ^JJ^ nis\ but as, befides giving a fabulous account of it, he has in the drawing he has given of it, reprefented the tail almoft as bufhy as that of a fquirrel, it is certain, that this author, on this as well as many other occafions, is merely the echo of certain ignorant inhabitants of the Cape, whofe relations cannot be depended upon. I was fo much the more defirous to anatomife the two-horned rhinoceros, as the invefligation of the internal parts of the one-horned animal had been entirely neglected, though this creature had been more than once brought to Portugal, France, and England, and had been kept there alive for fome time; and upon the whole, has been tolerably well drawn and defcribed, particularly by Dr. Parsons, in the Philofopbical Tranfaffions* The reader may fee, likewife, on this fubject, an extract of my journal, in the Swedifh Transactions for 1778, p. 307. with a figure of the rhinoceros. With what fuccefs my wifhes were crowned, I mail now proceed to relate. On the j 8th day at feven in the morning, the thermometer flood at 60 degrees ; at three in the afternoon it had rifen to 84. This day I had a good opportunity of mooting feveral rare and uncommon fmall birds, which in this arid diilrict, where water was fo fcarce, were obliged to come hither in the hottefl part of the day, and venture their lives for a few drops of water, which they were in w'ant of, as well for themfelves as for the young brood they had left in their nefls. Though they could not but be frightened away by my gun, and indeed fome of them were wounded by the fhot, and at the fame time they could but too well fee their deiiroyer, yet they came again, hopping n 2 oa A VOYAGE to the 1775- by little and little down to the water-fide, in order to dip their December. L^v-^ bills into it with all hafte, for the fake of quenching their intolerable thirff; feeming all the while with a ceafelefs chirping to lament their dangerous lituation, and at the fame time to upbraid me with my cruelty. This fpectacle, affecting as it was of itfelf, ought at this time to have made a ftill greater impreflion upon me, as, on account of the heat of the weather and the badnefs of the water I had to drink, I felt a thirft almoft equal to theirs. " Yet, thought I to myfelf, on the other hand, what a mere trifle are a few birds compared with the populous fortified towns, which, merely from a defire of dominion, my betters make no confeience of afflicting with hunger and thirft both, in the higheft degree !" and thus went on inventing many fpeci-ous arguments, which coft feveral more birds their lives; and all this, merely with a view of finding among them fome one that was rare and curious. So prone are men to commit acts of cruelty and tyranny, and at the fame time to find excufes for their conduct. About the middle of the following night we were awaked by the roaring of a lion, which brought to our recollection, that we might be as mere a trifle for thefe ravenous beafts, as the birds I have juft mentioned are in the eyes of naturalifts. Our oxen and horfes appeared now much more difquieted than they were on a former occafion, whenthey heardfeveral lions roaring at once; neither did our dogs now dare to bark, but with their tails between their legs crept clofe to the Hottentots; who on this occafion were very active in keeping up a good blaze, as they took it for granted, that a lion at that juncture was reconnoitring us at no great diftance, and and probably would not leave the place without paying us 0eJg^ a vifit. As they likewife believed that the eyes of the lion V^v%^ could be dcfcried at a pretty good diftance in the dark, they looked for them very attentively, in order that they might be able to difcover from which fide they had to expect the wild beaft, and prepare themfelves accordingly to receive it. Mr. Immelman's fttuation and mine, which this gentleman, determined by motives of convenience rather than of prudence, had chofen the evening before, was extremely critical. We had quitted the waggon, as being juft at that time too hot and fultry a place to ileep in; and made our beds on the other fide of the very fame buih, near which the Hottentots had encamped themfelves round about a large fire. We had alfo till this inftant flept there clofe by the fide of each other, and of our fire-arms; but notwithstanding the danger there was to be apprehended from fcorpions and ferpents, and the inconvenience of lying on a plot of ground which was uneven and full of flumps of trees, we now found it more advifeable to creep clofe into the buffi, and keep our guns ready in our laps ; for to go at this time from hence to the waggon would have been extremely dangerous, and to pufh in among the Hottentots near the fire would have had acowardly appearance, and, in fact, would have been, without a metaphor, a dirty piece of bufinefs. During all this the lion, according to all appearance, had that very night drank out of the well, which was hardly a fame's throw from us; though it was either not hungry enough, or elfe had not fufficient courage to attack us. On 1775- On the i Qth the thermometer was at 60 degrees, and December. 0 the fame day at twelve o'clock it rofe to 84, and at three in the afternoon to 95, being hung under the tilt of the waggon. I found about this fpot a kind of pur Pain, fomewhat tougher than the common cultivated fort, and having very fmall leaves one or two inches long, and thofe of a light green colour, (Joins linear ibus, margimb. ad rachid* revolutis, €aule herbaceojuperius fubquadrangl.) As I had brought with me a pint and a half of vinegar, in cafe of our being feized with an inflammation of the brain, proceeding from our heads being ftruck by the perpendicular rays of the fun, I put a fmall quantity of it, together with a little fugar, to the herb above-mentioned, in order to treat myfelf with a little fallad, which, however, was tough enough, and ate almoft like grafs. One of my Bofhies-men, who faw me prepare this difh, gave me to understand by figns, that I began at the wrong end of the plant, and dug up the root of it, which, though I ate it raw, was better tailed than the plant itfelf ; being nearly fliaped like a carrot, and of a white colour, a palm and a half in length, and an inch and a half in diameter, (Jujiformis, albicL Jcfquipahn. diametro fefquiunciali. On another occafion I learned from this Hottentot, who, contrary to the cuftom of his nation, was very communicative, that the root of xhcda-fkai, (p. 27. of this Volume) aflvrub of the mefembyyanthemwn kind pretty common here, eaten raw, was, in fact, very well-tafted, yielding a fwectifh fubftance, which might be fucked or otherwife feparated from the more woody and fibrous parts in which it was contained, I fet the greater value upon by this difcovcry, as fome events events might eafily happen, which might make it ne- DcC7embe] ceflary for us to have recourfe to this plant, in order to ^r>J keep us from starving. The African colonifts, who are not near fo forward to inveftigate the virtues of the plants of this country as by encroachments to increafe their property in the country itfelf, were as yet ignorant of the ufe of this root; neither were the Hottentots, who followed me from Zzvelkndam acquainted with it; and the Bofhies-men t:.LfTifelves were at this time too idle to dig for the root, When they could gorge themfelves, as it were, with flefh. The Hottentot who was our beft fhot, had turned out this morning before dawn to go a hunting, together with two of the others one; of whom was conftantly his armour-bearer, in order that he himfelf, being difengaged from the incumbrance of his arms, might have a fteadier hand, and be more at liberty, when he found it requifitc, to creep on all fours and difcharge his piece, or elfe in cafes of danger to make a precipitate retreat from the vengeance of the enraged animal. At times, likewife, he often fent the man who carried his arms to reconnoitre the beaft, and follow its traces. The three Hottentots I mentioned as having gone out in the morning, came back in the evening, and fet themfelves down quite fpent by the well to cool themfelves. I afked them feveral times, if they had fhot any thing ? to which after fome time they anfwered, " to be fure there was a great fcarcity of game in thefe parts;" and at length gave nie indirectly to understand, that they had fhot two rhino-cerofes. I mention this trifling incident in fo circumftantial a manner, as it affords an inftance of that fpecies of referve 4 peculiar December Pecuuar to tne Hottentot nation, which feveral colonifts \*s*r%j had told me of, and I myfelf have likewife experienced. When, for inftance, any thing remarkable happens, a Hottentot endeavours to avoid, if he can, mentioning it for fome days; and when at length he does fpeak of it, it is with a kind of circumlocution, or, as the colonifts call it, with a draij, a fort of twill or winding. And indeed, for the moft part, the Hottentot comes out with his intelligence fo late, that inftead of being of any ufe, it ferves only to vex one. In the mean time, however, I was extremely well pleafed with the news of the rhinocerofes being ihot; and only wifhed that my Hottentots had been fo kind as to have told me in time, that I might have gone back with them and feen the animals alive. However, I have had an opportunity of this kind feveral times iince. On the 20th betimes in the morning, Mr. Immelman and I rode to the fpot where the rhinocerofes lay, and were attended by four of our Hottentots. In ,our road we faw a great many quaggas and haribeejis, and at the fame time chafed a wood-fwine, but chiefly fpent out time in reconnoitring a herd of elk-antilopes (antilope oryx, Vol. II. Plate I.) fo that we did not arrive at the fpot where the rhinocerofes lay till ten o'clock. It was about the fame time the day before that thefe beafts were killed, each of them with one ftnglc fhot, which penetrated into the very middle of their lungs. They lay at the diftance of about a mile from each other, both of them being proftrate on their belly and knees, with their hind legs brought forwards, and supporting 'heir bodies on each fide. The firft thing I did was to draw CAPE of GOOD PI OPE. 97 few and take the dimenfions of the lefler of thefe animals De^er in this pofition, which I afterwards, from feveral others K^r^J that I had an opportunity of feeing alive, altered to the attitude of walking. In order the more readily to form an idea of the fhape of this animal, and the mutual proportion of its parts, the reader may turn to the figure annexed in Plate III. Vol. II. To this purpofe he mult reprefent to himfelf the lefTer of thefe bqafls, eleven feet and a half long, feven feet high, and twelve feet in the girt. And when befides this he confiders, that, with refpecl: to fize, it ranks among four-footed animals the third from the elephant; and, excepting the horns, has been hitherto abfolutely unknown, with other circumftances which will eafily occur to his reflection, he will, perhaps, in fome meafure, be able to conceive, what a feafl the fight and examination of this creature muff have been to a naturalift. The circumftance which firft and chiefly excited my attention was, that in the hide of this beaft there were none of thofe plaits and folds, which we find in the defcrip-tions and figures publifhed of the rhinoceros bicornis, and which give it the appearance of being covered with a harness. It was only on the hide of the lefTer of thefe animals that we could obferve a fmall fold or plait, and that merely at the nape of the neck; but this feemed to proceed from the pofition that we found it in, viz. with the head leaning againft the ground, by which means it was carried fomewhat backwards. Confidering it in other refpects, the hide was half an inch thick on the back, but fomewhat thicker on the fides, Vol. II. O though December tnoilSn *e**s comPa& there. The furface of it was fcabrous and knotty, and not much differing from that of the elephant, but of a clofer texture; and when it is dry, extremely hard. It was of an afh-colour, excepting about the groin, where the fkin is not near fo thick, but is almoft quite fmooth, and of the colour of a man's flefh. The muzzle or nofe converges to a point, not only above and beneath, but likewife very vifibly on the fides, nearly as it does in the tortoife. The upper lip is fomewhat longer than the lower. The eyes are fmall, and funk in the head. Though the horns have been diffufely defcribed by others, yet, in order that the reader may form a juft and adequate idea of them, it is requisite in this place to make various-additions to the defcriptions already given. They are of the fame fhape, and in fome meafure of the fame fize in both fexes; yet it appeared to me, that the fize of them was not always proportioned to the body. Neither, indeed, is there any conftant proportion obfervable between the fbremoft horn and the hindmoft, though the foremoft is always the larger of the two. The hindmoft, efpecially in the older animals, is moft commonly obferved to be worn away in different parts, which is never the cafe in the foremoft and larger one. This, in fome meafure, confirms the affertion of the Hottentots and the colonifts, that the rhinoceros makes ufe of the fhorter one only for the digging up of the various roots, which are faid to compofe great part of its food; it being endued with the power of turning the larger horn at that time, on one fide out of the way. I was even informed, that CAPE op GOOD HOPE. that in the live rhinoceros the horns were fo mobile and loofe, l77$> December. that when the animal walks carelefsly along, one may fee its horns waggle about, and hear them clafh and clatter againft each other. What feems to add farther confirmation to this account, concerning the truth of which, however, I am not without my doubts in many retpe&s, is an excavation or cavity in the bafe of the horns; particularly that of the foremoft, which, like a glenoid cavity, by means of certain articulations, is adapted to, and inclofes a found protuberance of the fcull. It was with great difficulty that we cut the horns away from it through the sinews and cartilages, by means of which they were attached to the cranium > and of which the remains are ftill to be feen on the horns I have brought home with me* Had I previoufly had the leaft hint of the horns being moveable, I fhould certainly not have omitted to inveftigate the degree of force with which the mufcles and tendons, intended for the strengthening of the joint, and keeping the horn fteady and erect, were capable of acting. Of the elder of the rhinocerofes which we had juft fhot, and Whofe horrts I have preserved in the cabinet of the Royal Academy, the hindmoft horn is very evidently much worn away. I have likewife found the fame appearance on another rhinoceros 4iorn, Which was put up for fale at the Cape. But in the younger animal, which I differed, and which I particularly allude to in the prefent defcription^ no marks of this kind were obfervable. The fhape of the rhinoceros-horns are universally conical, with the tips inclined fomewhat backwards, as is fhewn in the annexed plate; and may be feen ftill more diftinctly in a O 2 figure loo A VOYAGE to the 1775. figure given by Mr. Klein, which reprefents a pair of rhinoceros-horns of the natural fize. With refpecl to their fubftance and texture, thefe horns feem to confift of parallel horny fibres, the extreme points of which on the lower half, efpecially on the pofterior part of the foremoft horn, and on the greater part of the hindmoft, project in many places; fo that the furface in thofe parts is full of inequalities, and in fome places feels as rough as a brufh. The upper part of the horns is fmooth and plain, like thofe of oxen. The anterior horn belonging to the leffer of the rhinocerofes that we had fhot, was a foot in length, and five inches over at the bafe. On the larger of thefe animals this horn was half as long again, and feven inches in diameter meafured at the fame part. This rhinoceros, however, did not exceed the other in bulk, in proportion to the fize of its horns. Indeed, in the cabinet of the Royal Academy of Sciences, there is preferved a pair of horns belonging to the rhinoceros bicornis, the foremoft of which is twenty-two inches in length, and the hindmoft fixteen. The diftance between thefe horns is fcarcely two inches. .They differ likewife from the horns I faw in Africa, and from thofe I brought with me, in being of a lighter colour and ftraight, and at the fame time flat on the fides; fo that the hindmoft horn particularly, has pretty fliarp edges on the upper part, both before and behind. Thefe horns moft probably came from the northern parts of Africa, as they were purchafed at Naples by Baron Emanuel de Geer during his travels, and were by him fent to his father, (TAPE of GOOD HOPE. 101 tter, the late Marihal de Geer, as an additional ornament »m* ' .December,. tb his noble mufeum, together with which they were pre- \^y>j fented by the Marfhal's illuftrious widow to the Royal Academy of Sciences. This animal may be faid to be totally destitute of hair, though there are a few fcattered dark briftly hairs about an inch long on the edges of the ears, with a very few between and round about the horns. This is likewife the cafe at the tip of the tail. This is about an inch thick, diminifhing by degrees from the root to the tip, which is fomewhat enlarged in the fore part, and particularly in the back part, and at the fame time rounded off, but is flattened at the fides. It is directly on the edges produced by this conformation, that there are to be feen fome ftrong ftiff hairs an inch, or an inch and a half in length. Such of them as ftand towards this creature's hard and rough body, are vifibly worn down and ftunted. The feet, as may be feen in the figure, are not much wider than the legs. In the fore parts they are furnifhed each with three hoofs, which do not project very much, and of which the middlemolt is the largeft and moft circu-' lar. The foles of the feet, like thofe of the elephant, are covered with a thicker and more callous fkin than the other parts ; and are, if we except the edges, (which are compofed of the hoofs) together with a fiifure in the heel, fomewhat of a circular form. I chofe the lefTer of the rhinocerofes for the purpofe of making the diffection, as well as a defcription and drawing of this animal. I and my people, making five in all, wene not able to ftir the carcafe, when, with a view to get at it with 1775- with greater convenience, I endeavoured to lay it on its v^Jlljj back' This, however, proceeded in a great meafure from the lazineis of my Hottentots, and their backwardnefs to affift me. In the pofition, therefore, in which this unwieldy creature lay, we cut up its left fide, and took a large flip from off its thick hide. This could not be effected without a great deal of trouble, and repeatedly whetting our knives afrefli. Though the animal had lain above twenty-four hours, and an ecchymofis was formed about the wound, yet the flefh had hitherto been preferved from putrefaction by the thicknefs of the hide* A piece of this flefh we broiled immediately, which tailed a good deal like pork, but in my opinion was much coarfer. In the mean while, we cut through the ribs with an axe, and what with hacking and tearing together, we at laft contrived to empty the cavity of the abdomen. I made drawings and defcriptions of thefe parts, and took the dimenfions of them as fpeedily as pofli-lble; after which we took out the diaphragm, and a naked Hottentot crept into the carcafe, in order to take out the lungs and heart. As the animal had received its death-wound by a fhot in the large blood-veffels of the lungs, thefe parts were already affected with fome degree of putridity. The lungs, liver and milt had not been long expofed to the open air, before they began to fwell and effervefce. The violent , heat of the fun at noon, the great drought, and the flench of the carcale, rendered this operation in a fliort time extremely dangerous as well as difgufling. In the mean while, I made the following obfervations. The The vifcera of the rhinoceros bicornis, in my opinion, De^m5b*er moft refemble thofe of a horfe. So that this animal, not- v«^v>j Withstanding its being furnifhed with horns, by no means belongs to the ruminating tribe, but rather to the clafs of thofe whofe fat is of a foft nature like lard, and not hard like tallow. The ftomach does not bear the leaft refemblance to that of a horfe, but rather to that of a man or a hog. It was four feet in length, (as I have lately found in my notes, fince I gave the defcription of this animal in the Swedifh Tranfacfions) and two feet in diameter ; and to this vifcus was annexed an inteftinal tube of twenty-eight feet long, and fix inches in diameter. This inteftinal canal was terminated three feet and a half from the bottom by a large ccecum, if I may fo call a vifcus, which at its upper end was the fame width as the ftomach, viz. two feet, and above twice the length ; that is eight feet and a half, lying on the fpine of the back, and attached to it at both ends, after Which it is contracted into a rectum fix inches in width, and a foot and a half in length. The kidnies were a foot and a half in diameter, and the milt fcarcely a foot broad, bin full four feet long. The heart was a foot and a half in length, and the breadth not much lefs. The right lobe of the lungs had an incision in it, but was in other refpedts undivided and entire, being two feet in length; The left was subdivided into two lobes, the fmaller of which was next the bafe of the heart. The liver, when meafured from right to left, was found to be three feet and a half in breadth ; but in depth, or measuring from above downwards, aa it hangs in the animal when '775- this latter is in a standing pofition, two feet and a half. It December. confuted or three larger perfectly distinct globes, almoft equal in fize, and of a fmall lobe befides, which projected to about a foot from the concave fide of the liver, at the middle of its upper edge. No gall-bladder, or any traces of it, was to be obferved. In this the rhinoceros refembles the horfe.—Juft before I finifhed the diffeaion of this animal, I opened its ftomach, which was very much dif-tended, in order to examine what it ufually fed upon. The contents of the ftomach were entirely without fmell, and perfectly frefh and fweet, confifting of roots and fmall branches of trees maltreated, fome of which were found as big as the end of a man's finger. This creature, as it appeared, had likewife eaten a great quantity of fucculent plants, among which I thought I recognized two or three that were harfh and prickly. The whole of this mafs dif-fufed around a very ftrong and not disagreeable aromatic odour, which in a great meafure took off the ftench which arofe from the putrid vifcera. Might it not be fome peculiar herb, or, perhaps, the root only of an herb, with which I was entirely unacquainted, which produced the greateft part of the aromatic flavour ? In the excrements of this animal, which were four inches in diameter, and in other refpects refemble thofe of a horfe, though they are of a much drier nature, there is ufually feen a quantity of bark and fibres of trees, a circumftance that the hunters pay attention to; and by that means are able to diftinguifh it from the dung of the hippopotamus, an animal that feeds only on grafs. I thruft my hand into this creature's mouth, which was half open, and found the tongue perfectly foft, which CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 105 Which is in direct contradiction to the common notion, viz. *ff& December, Quod lambendo trucidat, (that he kills by licking with his ^yy^j tongue.) I wras likewife not a little aftoniflied to find no fore-teeth in any of the three carcaffes of the rhinoceros* although one of thefe beafts feemed to be old; and, in fact, this animal has little room for fore-teeth, as the mouth goes off fo fharp at the fore part, that in that place it is only an inch and a half broad. Befides, it has no occafion for any teeth there, as the lips, like the fkin, are of that extreme hardnefs, that it is able to clip off the tops of plants and fhrubs with them ; and that with fo much the greater eafe, as the under jaw goes within the upper; fo that this fpecies of rhinoceros is probably capable of laying hold of its food with its lips, and conveying it into its mouth, with the fame eafe and dexterity as Dr. Parsons obferved in the common rhinoceros on a fimilar occafion. At that time I could not pombly feparate the flefh from the other bones, for the purpofe of examining them. 1 was in hopes, however, that, by the time I returned, the eagles and wolves would fave me that trouble. And this, indeed, was fo far the cafe, that I had it in my power to carry home with me the cranium of the leaft rhinoceros, which I differed, very nearly in a compleat ftate. It is from this fkull that I had the annexed drawing made; and this part of the animal is of too much importance, for the defcription of it to be omitted here* Both jaws being clapped together in their proper joint, give nineteen inches for the height of it in the back part; and, meafured at the fore part from the tip of the nofe, Vol. II. p fifteen; i of) A VOYAGE to the December nitccn 5 tllic lcnStn> meafured from the tip of the nofe to L^vs^ the hindmoft part of the cranium, is in a direct line twenty-three inches, or fomething lefs than two feet. With a view to avoid being prolix in my defcription, I refer my readers to the figure annexed in Plate III. of this volume, whence they will be able readily to conceive the proportion, Sec. of the other parts. It is on the fore part of the os frontis that the lefTer horn is fixed ; it will, therefore, probably, be eafdy perceived from the annexed drawing, that the fagittal future is obliterated, and that the os occipitis is terminated by a flat furface, along which it goes ftrait down in a perpendicular line to the condyloid pro-ceiTes, one of which is feen in the figure. The cavity in which the brain is contained, does not extend much farther forward than the qffa bregmatis. The other bones by which it is encompaffed are tolerably thick, fo that this huge animal has but a fmall brain in proportion to its fize; the cavity for containing this organ being barely fix inches long, and four high, and being of an oval fhape. In order to know the capacity of it with the greater certainty, we filled it with peas, which we afterwards meafured, and found to amount barely to a quart. With a view to difcover the proportion between the brain of the rhinoceros and that of a man, I likewife filled a middle iized human fcull with peas, and found that nearly three pints were requifite for this purpofe. On the other-hand, the cavity of the nofe in the rhinoceros is of a con-fiderable fize, which probably does not a little contribute to the quicknefs of this animal's fcent. At leaft, phvfiolo-gifts ufe to explain the fuperiority of hounds in tins particular. Cular, from the circumftance of the tunica fchneideriana, or Dexc^5b'er the nervous membrane appropriated to this fenfe, (when v.^vw it is expanded and extricated from all the folds which it makes in the cavity of the nofe, with the greateft art contrived for this purpofe,) being fo extenfive as to cover the whole body of the animal; while on the other hand, this membrane, in the human fpecies, is capable of covering only the head. Six dentes molares only, or grinders, were obferved on either fide of each jaw, belonging to the two oldeft of the rhinocerofes fhot by us, and five only in the leaft of youngeft, as the annexed drawing of its cranium fhews; yet quite back in the mouth we difcerned the marks of two more on each fide, the foremoft of which had begun to make its appearance, but the hindmoft was almoft entirely included in its focket. Hence it follows, that an aged and full-grown rhinoceros has fourteen teeth in each jaw, in all twenty-eight. In the anterior part of the os palati, this animal appears to have a tooth-like procefs, which in the fcull that i brought home with me is loft. Confidering the diftance of it from the lower jaw, it fhould feem that it can hardly ferve any purpofes of a tooth. I have to thank M, Pallas for this piece of intelligence ; who, when I had tranfmit-ted to him this engraving, was fo good as to fend me the beautiful figures of the cranium of a rhinoceros, tranfmitted to him by M. Camper for the Atla Petropo/itana. The dotted lines drawn about the cranium, fhow pretty nearly the situation of the horns and lips, P 2 As ms- As I have mentioned above that the rhinoceros may be MrvWf killed by a Tingle fhot, it follows that the hide of this ani-nial is not fo impenetrable as has been fuppofed. Bon-tius has long ago remarked, that this beaft is ufually killed with powder and ball. M. de Buffon probably did not pay attention to this paffage, when he afTerted, on the authority of Gervaise, that its hide cannot be penetrated by any ball, excepting only about the ears. To thefe, however, M. de Buffon feems, of his own free will, to have added the eyes and the belly. It is true, indeed, that leaden balls will fooner be flattened againft the fkin than pierce it ; but that balls or cylinders made of iron {des I ingots de fef) fhould not be able to make the leaft im-preffion on it, feems to be another addition of M. de Buf-fon's, equally abfurd with the former. It frequently becomes neceffary for me to correct in this manner, the voluminous works of this illuftrious author; which, indeed, merit this correction fo much the more, as the errors in them, being in other refpects not unfrequently drefTed up in an elegant ftyle, have, in fact, impofed on many with charms which ought to be the attendants on pure genuine truth only, and unadulterated nature. It is therefore pn> bable, that the fportive genius of M. de Buffon, muft at times have operated in impofmg likewife on its owner; but I am Willing to hope, that this gentleman being by profefjion the interpreter of nature and truth, will on this account fee with the greater pleafure, any ftrictures and remarks which are neceffary to preferve the fcience of nature from falfehood and error. F03? For this reafon I fhall proceed, without any farther cere- D^ber, mony, to inform the reader, that the hide of the rhinoceros, v*/w-< as well as that of the elephant, is capable of being penetrated by javelins and darts. I ordered one of my Hottentots to make a trial of this with his haffagai, on one of tho dead rhinocerofes. Though his weapon was far from being in good order, and had no other fharpnefs than that it had received from the forge, yet, by means of a certain manoeuvre, it received fuch an impullivc force, as at the diftance of five or fix paces, to pierce through the thick hide of the animal half a foot deep into his body. The Hottentot or Caffre hunters are accuftomed to ftcal both upon the elephant and the rhinoceros while they are afleep, and give them feveral wounds at once. After this they follow the traces of the animal for one or more days, till it drops down with weakncfs or dies of its wounds. Generally, however, according to their own account, they poifon one or two of their darts immediately, before they attack an animal of this fize ; in which cafe, they have no occafion to wait fo many days, as they otherwife would, before their prey falls into their hands. A farmer told me, he had feen an elephant in this manner wounded and dead within twenty-four hours. As to what regards the one-horned rhinoceros, M. df. Buffon, in Tom. XI. changes his opinion three times in the fpace of a few pages. In page 177, without quoting his authority for it, M. de Buffon confiders the hide as being fo tough, as not to be penetrable either by the fire-arms or fide-arms of the hunter, (ni du fer ni dufeu du cbqffeur.) In page 181 again in the notes he quotes, approves and much commends the account given by tyh Mours relative to this point, which no A VOYAGE to the - l7i5- which yet is in contradiction with the former. This, hOW-Deceniber. \ \^r^J ever, he feems again to have forgot, when, in page 195, (without producing any authority for it) he affures us, that javelins [les javelots & les lances) are not able to pierce this animal's fide. M. de Buffon, not content with afTerting that the hide of the rhinoceros is impenetrable, in page 176, will not even allow it the leaft portion whatever of fenfibility, (privi de toute fenfibilite) and this merely without quoting any authority, or having any other foundation for the affertion, than what his own imagination has furnifhed him with. And yet, had M. de Buffon but paid a moderate degree of attention to the clear and diftinct account drawn up by Dr. Parsons in the PbiL *franf. which he himfelf has quoted, it would feem that he muft have been of a different opinion. In that paper it is mentioned, that the rhinoceros emitted his penis, when he was tickled under the belly with a wifp of it raw, M. de Buffon too remarks himfelf, that the rhinoceros is fond of wallowing in the mire like the hog : but I will leave it to others to judge, how this accords with the abfolute infenfibility he attributes to the hide. And, indeed, when even the thick hide of the elephant is affected by the itinging of flies, how can we fuppofe that of the rhinoceros to be abfolutely infenfible ? Again, the fkin at the bottom of a man's foot, though thicker than it is in other parts of the body, is neverthelefs by no means void of fenfibility. Moreover, the fkin of the rhinoceros, however tough and clofe in its texture, has, at leaft about the groin, veffels, blood, and juices, adapted for the nourifhment of infects, which, indeed, actually do nourifh them; this beaft being infefted with a kind kind of acari, which I have difcovered on its pubis and groin, De[l7^er and have drawn up an account of them, inferted in the Vllth ^y^j Tome of Memoires fur les Infe&es. Neither does the thick-nefs of this animal's hide prevent it from perfpiring. This creature, which at all other times appears to be of a grey colour, foon becomes black when it is hard hunted. This proceeds from the duft and dried mud flicking to the animal's fkin, and moiftened by fweatr Befides that I have been affined of this fact by others, I think I once Iliyfelf faw a manifeft inftance, of it, in the cafe of a rhi-noceros, which was purfued by fome other fportfmen, and very unexpectedly paffed Within the diftance of forty or fifty paces of my waggon, fortunately for me, without perceiving it, or doing it any damage. This beau* was much darker coloured than any I ever faw, the number of which, however, in all, did not exceed eight. From the figure of the rhinoceros referred to above, and from the defcription I have already given, it follows, that M. de Buffon,- in hi3 notes to page 186, ac-cufes Kolbe, without any foundation, of having defcribed the leffer horn as being placed in a ftrait line behind the other, and upon the animal's forehead. It is impofjible, fays he,- that the two horns fhould he placed fo far from each other; for in the horns which are preferred in Sir Hans Sloane's mufeum, there is only the diftance of three inches between the larger horn and the fma/ler. In fact, this eminent nattiralilt feems rather too haltv in the fore^oine; re-mark, and forgets that every animal's nofe is placed near its forehead; fo that while one horn is fixed on the rhinoceros's nofe, the other may be very well fixed, and ao 6 tu ally ^ Wf« tually is fo, on the forehead. A figure fo plain and fimple December. J . ° V^vv ^ Kolbe's (vide the French edition) might have fufnccd to prevent miftakes on this fubject. In fine, it is neceffary to inform my readers, that what M. de Buffon advances concerning the copulation of the one-horned rhinoceros, viz. that it is performed croupe a croupe, is not in the leaft applicable to the rhinoceros bicornis; but in all probability, this opinion is not true with regard to either fpecies, as in the two-horned rhinoceros which I examined, the penis was placed as forward under the belly as it is in a horfe; though, confidered with relation to the different bulk of the two animals, it is much fhorter. In the animal which I diffected it was no more than feven or eight inches in length, as may be feen in the fpecimen I brought home with me. In a rhinoceros, which had the appearance of being old, it was not much larger. M. de Buffon, after Dr. Parsons, defcribes the penis in the one-horned fpecies as being ftill fhorter. Befides, he does not fay a word concerning the fituation of this member, but founds his conjecture on the fubject of this animal's copulation, merely on the circumftance of its having been ob-ferved to bend its penis backwards when it ftaled, in which direction confequently the urine was emitted. But this, perhaps, was owing to an accidental and vicious conformation; or it might be done out of cleanlinefs, efpecially as we know that the rhinoceros bicornis, at leaft has a very acute fmell, and feems to love cleanlinefs, from the circumftance of its chiifing certain places near the bulhes to ftale upon. It is poffible, indeed, that the animal may have a kind of mufculus ereclor7 for the purpofe of occafionally altering altering the direction of this member. But I am afraid of Def^^Cr tiring my reader's patience, by dwelling fo long on the v^y*v> fubject of this quadruped ; I fhall therefore at prefent only make mention of it, juft as it may happen to occur in the courfe of my journal. Mr. ImMELMAN likewife was at length tired of ftanding by and feeing me differ this beaft, and therefore fet out before us on his road home, with a view to repofe between whiles, and cool himfelf under fome fhady tree. In order to go, as it appeared to him, a nearer way, he rode over a hill overgrown with bufhes. From this fpot a rhinoceros rufhed out upon him, and he would certainly have been trampled to death by this huge creature, or elfe have been taken up by it on its horns, and, together with his horfe, thrown up into the air, had not this latter in his fright made a fudden ftart, and by feveral fide leaps carried his rider through the bufhes, out of the fight and fcent of the animal. Here it muft be obfefved, that the rhinoceros's eyes are funk into its head, and are but fmall when compared to the bulk of its body ; on which account, it is reported to fee but indiftinctly, and that only ftrait forwards. But to make amends for this deficiency in fight, its organs of fmelling and hearing are fo much the more acute; at the leaft noife, therefore, more than ufual, this creature, taking the alarm and" pricking up its ears, ftands clapping with them and liftening. Above all things one muft take care, even when one is at a great diftance, not to get to the windward of it; for in that cafe, it feldom fails directly to follow the fcent, and attack the object of its purfuit, as it was very near doing by Mr. Immelman. This gentleman, Vol. II. Q having 114 A V O Y AGE to the '-^y having with great difficulty made his efcape, ftruck into a December. . . ^✓y^> by-path, in order, after palling through a little dale, to get into the ftra.it and plain road. In this road he overtook me, on a fpot whither I had retired to fcreen myfelf and my horfe from the burning rays of the fun, and was overlooking my drawings and memorandums. He was ftill fomewhat out of breath in confequence of his adventure, at the time he gave me an account of it; and I, for my part, could not help in fome meafure envying his good fortune, in having at fo cheap a rate feen this huge unwieldy animal alive, together with the motions it made in the cumberfome hide in which it was incafed : but, indeed, he himfelf had feen fo little of it, that we foon came to an agreement to ride up together on the other fide of the very hill, in which he had juft been put to flight by the rhinoceros. From hence we thought we fhould be able to defcry this creature on the plain; but that we might not be betrayed by the effluvia of our bodies, in cafe he fhould return again to the thicket, we threw fome duff, into the air, in order to determine more accurately which way the wind was, and thus be able to direct our courfe precifely in oppofition to it. And indeed, we had not been long arrived at the fpot before my horfe began to be a little fhy, and at length was quite reftive, behaving juft as he had done before when I firft rode him up to the carcafes of the two rhinocerofes. This circumftance I took notice of to my companion, confidering it as a fign that, in all probability, there was a rhinoceros near the fpot; but he went on, faying, it was impoflible, as it did not Strike him juft then, that there might be more than one one in that vicinity. We therefore advanced ftill nearer, De^*er. till being but fifteen paces off, I heard a ruftling noife \*s*n*J like that of an animal raifing itfelf up leifurely on its legs. Immediately upon this appeared a rhinoceros, with its horn projecting over one of the bullies. I now thought it high time for us to turn back immediately, and' made figns to my companion, that it might be done as filently as pothole. He too had perceived the fnout of this animal, and we rode away as foftly as poftible; our horfes' feet, neverthelefs, made a crackling noife among the dry branches which had fallen from the trees, and with which the narrow paths between the bullies were every where covered. On this account, we did not neglect during our retreat to look behind us, in order that we might make off as faft as pofiiblc, in cafe the rhinoceros fhould have been alarmed by the noife, and have been induced to purfue us. What I call paths were merely tracks made by the buffaloes and rhinocerofes forcing their wray through the thickets; but among thefe likewife we found many blind paths, i. e. fuch as terminated on a fudden in fome high and impenetrable bufh. Into a place of this fort we might in our flight eafdy have ftrayed, and there have been caught by the rhinoceros, as it were, in a trap. This adventure made us afterwards fiifpect, that every bufh harboured a rhinoceros; and induced ^us for fome time to give up all thoughts of reconnoitring among the bufhes with fo much affurance, an animal that did not appear as if it was to be trifled with. I think we may infer from the preceding relation, that this rhinoceros was different from that which put Mr. Immel- Q 2 man, i??*- man to flight; as likewife, that this latter did not purfue us* December. t_ • r c o-ynJ by reafon that, in confequence of our having rode up to it full in the face of the wind, it could not get fcent of us \ befides, this animal did not hear our talking nor the crackling of the branches, with a fufneient degree of certainty to engage it to make an attack upon us: and in fine, it appears, that it had with great forecait chofen a thick and high bufh, by way of entrenchment, on that fide of the bufh, from whence the wind prevented it from getting fcent of any thing. If I may form any conclufion from my horfe's flopping, it would feem, that he had got fcent of this beaft as far off as the diftance of forty or fifty paces, though the wind was very moderate from that quarter. On our way homewards (for fo we always called our waggon, or encampment in the defert) we came within piftol-fhot of a herd of elk-ant Hopes, probably the fame with thofe we had given chafe to in the morning without fuccefs \ but what was very lingular, they at this time hardly fhewed the leaft fear. The males, which were of the fize of an ordinary galloway, appeared much more bulky and corpulent than their females, and feemed to run rather heavily. In the evening we received an unexpected vifit. This was from eight colonifts, who were come hither from Camdebo with four waggons, and had brought with them two of their wives, and a couple of children. They were going to the falt-pit before-mentioned near Zwartkops river, in order to fetch fait from thence ; but having been told by us of the violent drought they would meet with in then* way thither, part of them only went with two waggons, that being fewer of them, they might be lefs liable to fuf-7 fer fer for want of water. Thefe people informed us, that De^J&«, that very day they had chanced to awake a rhinoceros \^r^J juft by the road fide; but that the beaft, probably feared by the noife and buftle it heard from different quarters at once, ran by them without doing them any hurt. They related to me, however, an inftance, in which a rhinoceros had run up to a waggon, and carried it a good way along with him on his fnout and horns. They likewife informed us, that the diftemper among the horfes had already begun to commit ravages in the diftricl: of Camdebo, where, however, it otherwife feldom ufed to make its appearance till the month of April The reafon of this, probably^ was the univerfal drought that prevailed this year. CHAP. CHAR XIIL Journey from Quammedacka to Agter Brunljes- Hoogte. December t^\^ tllC 2lft at ninc il1 ttie morning we left the pool at \^y\j V->/ Quammedacka, which we had by this time drank dry, and arrived at noon at Little Fifch-rivier, where we again pitched our tents. We here found a herd of fpring-boks, a couple of which we fhot. At five o'clock this morning the thermometer was at 5 2 degrees, at twelve at 8 2, and at half paft three at 95 degrees. The evening was very much overcafl. In this tract of country there was a great drought on both fides of the river, but if ill greater farther on towards the north, where the foil was more gravelly, and produced a greater quantity of fucculent plants. In the fpaces between thefe, befides flirubs and bufhes, there was fometimes to be found a little dry grafs ; every where elfe, the ground was as dry and bare as a high road with a clayey bottom. Between ten and eleven o'clock at night, we heard the roaring of a lion; and though it only roared twice, the animals we had with us were very refUefs the whole night throughout. On On the 2 2(1 early in the morning, we croffed Little Fifth- D rivier, it being fuppofed, that where we then were, it would lyyo not be fo well worth our while to look after the hippota-tmtSy or fea-cow, an animal that is bigger than the rhinoceros, and lives both in the water and on dry ground, (vid. Plate IV. of this volume.) This, in fact, having feen the rhinoceros, was what I now chiefly laid out for. Between nine and ten o'clock, being on our march, we faw two large lions. They were about three hundred paces from us, in a little vale. The inftant they perceived us, they betook themfelves to flight. Being very defirous to have a nearer view of thefe animals, we rode in purfuit of them, all the while fhouting and calling out after them. Upon this they mended their pace till they got down to the fide of the river, which we had juft croffed, and there hid themfelves in the thickets. Urged by their curiofity, two of our Hottentots likewife followed behind us, one armed with a couple of haffagais, and the other with a gun. We ourfelves were without any arms whatever, but I imagine we ran no riik in this chafe, as we could eafily have turned back and fetched our arms, in cafe the lions had thought proper to purfue us. In running they had a kind of fideling pace, like that of a dog, accompanied now and then with a flight bound. Their necks were all the while fomewhat raifed, and they feemed to look afkance at us over their fhoulders. One of them had a mane, and confequently was a male; but both of them were nearly of an equal fize, and feemed to be confiderably higher and longer than our faddle-horfes, which were of the fize of common galloways. Neither our horfes, nor feveral gazels which were '775- were on the fpot, feemed in the leaft afraid of thefe lions, December. *./~rO though they were as near them as we were. As the lion feldom or never attacks his prey openly, it feems that he does not ftrike the other animals with any high degree of terror, except when they take the fcent of him, which nature has rendered highly difguftful to them. This day likewife we feared a male oftrich away from its neft, which was in the middle of the plains. This neft, however, eonfifted of nothing but the ground itfelf, on which the eggs lay fcattered and loofe. Hence it follows, that the oftrich does not leave its eggs to be hatched by the fun, but likewife, at leaft in this part of Africa, fits upon them herfelf: we may alfo infer, that the male and the female fit upon them alternately. The Hottentots too affured me of this fait, which has hitherto been unknown to naturalifts. So that Thevenot is in the right when he afferts, that the oftrich lives in monogamy, or with one female; though he is quite alone in this affertion: and the practice is contrary to the cuftom of the larger kind of birds. I do not pretend by any means to determine the exact number of eggs laid by this bird ; the number of thofe we at this time found was only eleven; they were all frefh, and probably were to have had feveral more added to them. Another time two of mv Hottentots feared another oftrich away from its neft, out of which they took fourteen eggs, and brought them to me, having left fome behind, which did not feem to them to be quite fo frefh; fo that perhaps ftxteen, eighteen, or twenty, is the higheft amount of the number of eggs laid by this bird ; and yet it appears to me, that that it muft be very difficult for the oftrich to cover fo ft "77s- J December maiiy with its body. A brood of young ones, fcarcely two K^y^j feet high, which I faw in the diftrict of Roode+Zand, feemed to me to amount to fome fuch number; but the oftrich-chicks which I had taken on the 16th of this month at Kurekoi-ku, were about a foot in height. May we not likewife conclude from hence, that the oftriches in Africa have no fet times for laying their eggs ? Some of my more obferving readers may, perhaps, wonder how 1 am able to afflire them, that it was a male oftrich which I feared away from the neft. To this I an-fwer, that in all this part of Africa it is looked upon as an in-difputable fact, that fuch of thefe birds which are males, carry white feathers in their tails and wings, while their backs and bellies are covered with black. The females, on the contrary, carry black feathers only in their tails and wings, while thofe on their bodies are of an afh-colour. This likewife accords with the diffec~tions made of this bird in Europe, (Vide Buffon, p. 429.) What ferves farther to convince me, that the cock oftrich afTifts the hen in hatching her eggs, is, that in the neft which I have been juft fpeaking of, there were found feveral white feathers, as well as a number of black ones, both of which would naturally fall into it whilft the birds were fitting. Nature, perhaps, has found it the more neceffary to order both fexes of the oftrich mutually toaflifteach other in hatching their eggs, as the frame of their bodies is large, and they are furniflied with many ftomachs, and at the fame time are craving beyond many others of the feathered race ; fo that they could not bear the ufual courfe of fading during the whole time Vol. II. R of 12 2 A VOYAGE to the '77v of fitting, nearly fo well as the females of other birds, December. *-> \^y*u The authors who have defcribed the young of the oftrich, as being covered with fmall grey feathers, are perfectly in the right. With a plumage of this colour, even their necks and thighs are clothed ; parts, which in the full-grown birds, arc deftined to be naked, while the reft of their bodies are adorned with feathers. The moft beautiful and curled of thefe compofe the tail of the oftrich, and confequently it is chiefly for the purpofe of adorning our heads with them, that we deprive this bird of its life or freedom. In this colony, however, I did not fee oftrich feathers made any other ufe of, than to brufti away the flies; for which purpofe, whiiks were made of them of a conliderable length as well as breadth, with which a Have or two were employed in driving away thefe animals from the table, while the family were at their meals. The Hottentots, who eat all forts of flefli, eat likewife that of the oftrich ; but the eggs I have feen ufed by the colonifts, and that even at the Cape, for pancakes and aumelets. While we were travelling through the defert, we found it an-fwer beft to fupple our throats with them juft before we took our chocolate or tea; and likewife to clarify our coffee with them, or elfe to {lew them, for want of pans, in our porridge-pot, having previoufly thrown into it a little fat; a dim I had learnt to prepare in Sweden by the name of ocufs perdu's. Oftriches eggs are eatable, indeed, in all thefe ways, but not equal to hen's eggs. They are, as it were, of a coarfer nature and thicker confiftence, and at the fame time CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 123 time more filling and lufcious. One of the larger! fhells '775- 0 0 December. of the ofhiches eggs, kept in the cabinet of the Royal Aca- v^vn^ demy, I found, on examination, to weigh eleven ounces, to be fix inches and a half in depth, and to hold five pints and a quarter liquid meafure. It is of the fhape of a common egg. I never found the weight of the frefh eggs exceed this in any extraordinary proportion ; fo that when M, de Buffon (in page 426, 427) computes the weight of one of thefe eggs at fifteen pounds, this bold affertion of his feems to require to be mentioned, only in order to be confuted.— I have already, in Vol. I. page 130, related the method of hunting the oftriches in this country ; but that this bird contents itfelf barely with hiding its head, when it finds it cannot make its efcape, is a matter which I do not remember ever to have heard mentioned at the Cape ; but even were it a fact, ftill Pliny's explication of it is not more abfurd than M. de Buffon's manner of accounting for it, 1. c. page 448. Children, indeed, who play at hide and feek, are apt to imagine that they are concealed, when they cover their heads, fo that they themfelves cannot fee. I have likewife frequently obferved turkey-poults merely hide their heads, fo as not to be able to fee any thing, when they were warned by their mother's cries of the hawk's approach. How then can one expect a greater degree of confederation in a bird, in other refpects very ftupid, and which is in danger of its life ? M. de Buffon, page 448, calls the fkin of this creature very thick; but in this refpect it is but equal at the belt to goafs or calf 's-fkin; fo that how far the Arabians can ufe R 2 724 A VOYAGE to the T775- it for harnefTes and fhields (1. c. page 443) does not feem December. r . . . * ■ v^^y-sj to deferve a tenons inveltigation. The cry of the oftrich, according to the defcription i have had given me of it in Africa, in fome refpects refembles the roaring of the lion, but is fhorter, or, in other words, not drawn out to fo great a length. In this cafe, its cry muft neceffarily be hoarfe and rough, as well as fill the breaft of the hearer with anxiety and terror; and confequently the prophet Micah, chap. i. ver. 8, has not unaptly compared it to the voice of a mourner; if in fact by the word mjn in this and other places of holy writ, the oftrich is meant, and not a kind of owl. The young of this bird have no cry at all; one, at leaft, a foot and a half high, which on my return homewards I brought with me alive to the Cape all the way from Honing-klip, did not, during the whole time, viz. twenty-four days, let us hear any thing of it. This was trampled to death by my horfe, juft before my departure from the Cape, otherwife it might have eafily been brought to Europe. It ate a great deal, and was not nice in its food. There wTere feveral large tame oftriches in the governor's menagerie at the Cape. Without feeming to be impeded by their weight, they would run along with any body whatsoever, and would Tnoveover jump up and perch upon the fhoulders of all fuch as would fuffer it. In confequence of having made this obfervation, as well as of fimilar inftances to be found in authors, I cannot doubt, but that oftriches might be brought to bear burdens and the like, fo as to become ufeful to mankind. The The inftance which is given us by Adanson of a young DeC7ember. oftrich, not properly trained up to this employ, is there-fore not capable of railing in me the fame doubts as are entertained by M. de Buffon on this fubjecl:. And yet we read in this illuftrious author, 1. c. that Firmius, who reigned in Egypt in the third century, was drawn by oftriches; and that in Joar, in Africa, an Englifhman was feen riding on an oftrich, on which he ufed to take jour-nies, &c. I have converfed with yeomen at the Cape, who had brought up oftriches fo tame, that they went loofe to and from the farm, and were obliged to feek their own food ; but at the ftime time were fo voracious as to fwal-low chickens whole, and trample hens to death, in order to tear them to pieces afterwards and eat them up. At a certain farm they were obliged to kill one of thefe oftriches, as he had taken to trampling fheep to death. Quere, Does not the oftrich eat fnakes likewife ? Thefe large birds were, as it appeared to me, chiefly to be found in fuch tracts of country as partook of the properties of the cartozv, and produced fucculent plants. I faw but one of them in the foiw diftricl:, as it is called, of hange Kloof; but this might very probably, like the elephant in the fame diftricl:, of which I have already given an account, Vol. I. page 315, have got out of its latitude. Another kind of large bird, which I have mentioned before, as being in the governor's menagerie, viz. the ca-fuary> was not a native of Africa. This had been a very warm day, and though it might Icem that I ought by this time to have been inured to heat, yet in confequence of it, I was feized with a violent head- ach. December acn* * found great relief, however, by warning my head \yy^J in running water in great Vifcb-rivter* Two of my Hot-tentots likewife complained of being affected in the fame manner, but wrere foon made eafy by giving them a little hemp to fmoke. I had forgot to look at the thermometer this day till ten o'clock in the evening. Even at that late hour it was at 78. At dark there fell a few drops of rain. This night we did not hear the lions roar in the leaft. Very early on the 2 3d we proceeded again on our journey, to look out for the fea-cows near fome other pit belonging, to great Fifcb-rivier. There was now again a great fcarcity of meat in the waggon ; for which reafon my Hottentots began to grumble, and reminded me, that we ought not to wafle fo much of our time in looking after infects and plants, but give a better look out after the game. At the fame time they pointed to a neighbouring dale over-run with wood, at the upper edge of which, at the diftance-of a mile and a quarter from the fpot where we then were, they had feen feveral buffaloes. Accordingly we went thither, but though our fatigue was leffened by our Hottentots carrying our guns for us up a hill, yet we were quite out of breath and overcome by the,heat of the fun, before we got up to it. Yet, what even now appears to me a matter of wonder is, that as foon as we had got a glimpfe of the game, all this languor left us in an inftant. In fact, we each of us ftrove to fire before the other, fo that we feemed entirely to have loft fight of all prudence and caution. When we advanced to within twenty or thirty-paces of the beaft, and confequently were, perhaps, like-wife in fome degree actuated by our fears, we difcharged our our pieces pretty nearly at the fame time; while the buf- D^J^r falo, which was upon rather lower ground than we were, behind a thin fcambling bufh, feemed to turn his head round in order to make towards us. In the mean while, however, the moment we had difcharged our guns, we had the pleafure to fee him fall, and directly afterwards run down into the thickeff part of the wood. This induced us to hope, that our fhot had proved mortal: for which reafon, we had the imprudence to follow him down into the clofe thickets, where, luckily for us, we could get no farther. We had, however, as we found afterwards, only hit the hindmoft part of the chine, where the balls, which lay at the diftance of three inches from each other, had been fhivered to pieces againft the bones. In the mean while our temerity, which chiefly proceeded from hurry and ignorance, was confidered by the Hottentots as a proof of fpirit and intrepidity hardly to be equalled ; on which account, from that inftant, they ever after appeared to entertain an infinitely higher opinion of our courage than they had ever done before. Several of our Hottentots now came to us, and threw ftones down into the dale, though without fuccefs, in order to find out by the bellowings of the beaft, whither he had retired : afterwards, however, he feemed to have plucked up his courage, for he came up at laft out of the dale of his own accord to the ikirts of the wood, and placed himfelf fo as to have a full view of us on the fpot, where we were refting ourfelves fomewhat higher up: his intention was, in all probability, and in the opinion of our old fportfmen, to revenge himfelf on us, if we had not happened to fee him in time, and I28 A VOYAGE to the ^ ,775« and fired at him directly. What, perhaps, in fome mea- JDecember. * x x K^r^j fure put a itop to his boldnefs was, that we Hood on higher ground than he did: for feveral veteran fportfmen have affured me of it as a fact, that they know from experience, that the buffaloes do not willingly venture to afcend any hill or eminence in order to attack any one. The third fhot, which afterwards was obferved to have entered at the belly, was fatal. This occafioned the buffalo to take himfelf down again into the vale, dying the ground and bufhes all the way he went with his blood. Though ftill hot upon the chafe, yet we advanced with the greateft caution, accompanied by two of our Hottentots, through the thin and more pervious part of the wood, where the buffalo had taken refuge. He was advancing again in order to attack fome of us, when Mr. Immelman, from the place where he was polled, fhot him in the lungs. Notwith-ftanding this, he had ftill ftrength enough left to make a circuit of a hundred and fifty paces, before we heard him fall : during his fall, and before he died, he bellowed in a moft ftupendous manner; and this death-fong of his in-fpired every one of us with joy, on account of the victory we had gained : and fo thoroughly fteeled is frequently the human heart againft the fufferings of the brute creation, that we battened forwards, in order to enjoy the pleafure of feeing the buffalo ffruggle with the pangs of death. I happened to be the foremoft amongft them; but think it impoflible for anguifh, accompanied by a favage fiercenefs, to be painted in ftronger colours than they were in the countenance of this buffalo. I was within ten fteps of him when he perceived me, and, bellowing, raifed himfelf fuddenly again on his legs. I had reafonc CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 129 reafon to believe fince, that I was at the time very much lrm- ' December. frightened; for before I could well take my aim, I fired \^r^j off my gun, and the fhot miffed the whole of his huge body, and only hit him in the hind legs, as we afterwards difcovered by the fize of the ball. Immediately upon this I flew away like lightning, in order to look out for fome tree to climb up into. Notwithstanding the tedious prolixity it might occafion me to be guilty of, I thought the beft and readiefl method of giving my reader an idea of the nature of this animal, and of the method of hunting it, as well as of other contingent circumflances, would be to adduce an inftance or two of what occurred during the chafe. My Hottentots cut up the buffalo with their ufual alacrity and ardour; but as they had a great way to carry the flefh to the waggon, they took it thither in a rather unufualway. This was as follows: they cut out large flips of flefh whole and entire, with holes in the middle, wide enough for them to put their heads and arms through, and loaded themfelves with it in this manner before, behind, and on every fide of them; the meat all the while dangling about their bodies in a manner ludicrous enough, though not much adapted to create an appetite in the fpc&ator. In this way, their hands being entirely difengaged, excepting that each man carried a ftick, they clambered up the brow of the hill that overhung the vale, and thus walked on towards the waggon, whither one might trace them all the way by the blood. In the mean while the Hottentot, who was our principal (hot, had, at no great diftance from this place, fhot Vol. II. S an D*77;- an elk-antilope, in confequence of which we repaired tfei-Cry^j' ther, in order to carry off the beft and fatteft part of the flefh. Before we got back to the waggon, darknefs came on, with thunder and lightning ; and, to add to the terror of the fcene, we heard the lions roaring very loud. Indeed wre had good reafon to fear, that thefe wild beafts would throw themfelves in our way, in order to fhare our prey with us. Neither fhould we, in fact, in the total darknefs in which we were involved, have eafily found our way back to the waggon, if the Hottentots whom we had left with it, had not been thoughtful and confide rate enough to fmack the large ox-whip from time to time by way of fignal. At length, when we arrived at the plain where the waggon flood, we faw the fire they had made. We had hardly got home, however, before there came on a heavy fhower of rain, which continued the greater part of the night, and put out our fire ; while the tilt of our waggon was in great danger of being carried away by a violent fouth-eaft wind, with which the rain was accompanied ; at the fame time that the rain not only entered the waggon by the fides of the tilt, but likewife penetrated through the tilt-cloth, fo that we were not a whit better flieltered there, than the Hottentots under their cloaks. During all this, we frequently heard the roaring of the lions, as well as the yelling of the hyaenas ; fome of which latter ftole away a ftrap belonging to the tackling of our waggon, together with a good quantity of the flefh which the Hottentots had hung up at the diftance of a few paces from the fpot where they lay. This CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 131 This day the thermometer at five o'clock in the morning l7U> J 0 December. was at 74 degrees, precifely at noon at 99, and in the af-ternoon it rofe to 100. On the 24th I was induced to flay a little longer on this fpot, by the hopes of mooting a gnu, which had been feen ranging by itfelf about this part of the country. T^Gnu is the Hottentot name for a fingular animal, which, with refpect to its form, is between the horfe and the ox. The fize of it is about that of a common galloway, the length of it being fomewhat above five, and the height of it rather more than four feet. The proportion of the parts to each other may be beft feen by the figure given in Plate II. of this Volume, which reprefents this animal in the attitude into which it puts itfelf when it is going to butt any one; in confequence of which, we have been able to give a proper idea of the pofition of the horns, and the manner in which they lay, as it were, flat upon the head : while, on the contrary, in a drawing which accompanies Profeffor Allamand's fine defcription of this creature, and which has been copied in a compilation, entitled, " Nouvelle Defcription du Cap de B. Efperance, the horns appear almoft as if they grew out of the mane itfelf. This animal is of a dark-brown colour all over, excepting the tail and mane, which are of a light-grey ; the fhag on the chin, under the lower jaw, and on the breaft is black, as likewife are the ftiff hairs which ftand up erect on the forehead and upper part of the face. It is fomewhat fingular, that M. Allamand, who was the firft that defcribed this fpecies of animal from one which was brought from the Cape to Holland, found the colour of its mane and body S 2 extremely ✓ *775^ extremely different from what I have defcribed it to be Ovw/ above, and from what I have obferved in Africa, and which may likewife be feen on the fkin of this animal I brought home with me. This difference probably proceeds from a diverfity of age, climate, or other accidental circumllances. At firft light one would be apt to pronounce, that the gnu moft refembles the ox kind; but with refpecl: to the following particulars, this beaft may likewife be referred to the capra in general, or to the genus which the great zoolo-gift, M. Pallas, has feparated from them under the denomination of antilopes. 1, The legs of the gnu are as fmall as thofe of the an-tilope, or the gazel kind; and, like them, have fmall fetlock-bones and hoofs. 2. The gnu refembles the antilopes and caprce in its hair, inafmuch as this is fhort, juft as it is in the hart kind. In its fhag, the gnu refembles the caprce more than oxen. With refpecl: to its mane, it is manifeftly diftincl: from thefe latter animals; but fomewhat refembles another large caprce, or antilope (the antilope oryx) by the colonifts called the Cape-elk, (vide Plate I. of this Volume.) With regard to the tail, it does not in the leaft refemble an ox's tail, but rather that of a horfe ; and in this point fomewhat coincides with another large antilope, viz. the hartbeeft, (vide Plate I. of this Volume.) This laft-mentioned antilope, according to the accounts given me by feveral perfons at the Cape, falls upon its knees when it is going to butt any one; and probably the gnu refembles it in this point likewife, as M. Allamand remarked of the gnu which was brought to I Holland, CAPE of GOOD HOPE, i33 Holland, that it fometimes fell on its knees, and butted "775; 7 * December. againft the ground. \*rr*J 3. The gnu, like many of the hart and antilope kind, ' has a vifible finus, or porus febaceus, or ceriferus, below and juft before each eye. This finus, which has not been re~ marked by M. Allamand, is (juft as in the hartbeeft,) about one line in diameter, and encompaffed with a little tuft of black hair. Pores of this kind, or apertures in the fkin, which excrete a fubftance of the nature of ear-wax, are not to be found, as far as I have been able to learn, in any fpecies of the ox kind. 4. The noife made by the tame calf of a gnu, which I have frequently heard cry, did not in the leaft refemble the bleating of the common fawn. 5. I did not find that the flefh of this animal had any thing of the flavour of beef or of buffalo's flefh, but was rather like that of the other antilopes or gazels about the Cape ; it had, however, a finer grain, and was more juicy than the flefh of the hartbeeft, and confequently was much more delicate than beef. 6. I find from the diffedtion I made of a fawn of a gnu, that its vifcera refemble thofe of the other antilopes which 1 had examined, more than the vifcera of the ox, but that they bear no refemblance whatever to thofe of a horfe : fo that this circumftance is fufGcient entirely to overthrow the conjecture, of thofe who imagine, that the gnu is produced by the copulation of a horfe with a cow. What makes it ftill lefs credible, that the gnu fhould be the offspring of fuch an intermixture as 1 have mentioned, is, that thefe animals are almoft always feen in large herds, and, !77v and, as far as I can learn, are in Africa to be found only *^-v^ in Camdebo and Bruntjcs-hoogte; from whence it is only a few years ago, that one of them was carried to the Cape, and from thence to Holland : confequently, the gnu then wandering in thefe parts was, probably, an old buck, which did not care to keep company any longer with the herd it belonged to, or had been accidentally feparated from it. As this that was feen here kept upon the open plains, and we could not ileal upon it by creeping towards it from among the bullies, I endeavoured to overtake it on horfeback. And indeed, at firft I got almoft within gun-fhot of the animal, when it fhe wed its vicious difpofition in making various curvets and plunges, flinging out behind with one or both legs, and butting againft the mole-hills with its horns; but immediately upon this, it fled with confider-able velocity in a direct line over the plain as far as the eye could difcern it: and I cannot help thinking, but that this was one that was become furious, as the other gnus I have chafed fmce would frequently flop to look back at their purfuers, as foon as they had gained ground of them in any confiderable degree. What contributed not a little to ■this gnu's having efcaped from me was, that the ground was rocky, and that an ardent defire for differing this animal induced me to pufli my horfe on too fall at firft; fo that in a very little time it was quite out of breath, and all over in a tremor. A confiderable number of eagles and birds of prey that feed upon carcafes, were feafting on and fighting for the elk-antilope we had fhot the day before, and had already confumed confumed almoft all the flefh we had left behind us. I n I77s- JDecember likewife feared a jackal away from the carcafe. I could \^r*J not at this time pretend to chafe it, as my horfe was not recovered from the fatigue of purfuing the gnu. This day we likewife faw a numerous herd of quaggas, which not unfrequently made their appearance in thefe deferts. Scarcely a day pafTed without our feeing a great number of hart-bee/Is between the two F/fch-rivers, and fpring-boks by the hundreds and thoufands at a time. It was now the 24th of December, a period which the Chriftians all over the world ufually fpend in mirth and feftivity. My friend and I, though in the midft of a defert, and feparated from the reft of mankind, were defirous of partaking of this religious jubilee ; we therefore overhauled our ftock of bifcuit, and found that on occafion of this great holiday, we could afford to give out two to each man. As to the reft of our fare, we treated ourfelves with an oftrich-egg, part of which was ftewed in our porridge-pot, the remainder being boiled up with fome coffee, a fmall bafon full of which was diftributed to every one of our company. The third difli confifted of a piece of elk's flefh. This day at noon the thermometer had been at 84, but towards the evening fell to 76.—At night our Hottentots faftened a piece of meat to a long flout ftrap in fuch a manner, that if the wolf fhould come and attempt to fwallow the meat, he would be caught fait by the ftrap till they could lay hold of him and kill him; but the beaft was not at that time in this part of the country, and confequently we could not difcover how far this new invention of theirs was practicable. On x$6 A VOYAGE to the December °n 2^e thermometer rofe to i oo degrees. We L^vx-/ now repaired to a feu-cow hole, (Zeeko-gat) near Vifch~ri-vier, to look for the hippopotamus. On the 26th the wind blew agreeably cool, and the thermometer at noon was not above 79. This day we overtook feveral farmers from Agter Brunt] es-hoogte, who were come into this neighbourhood for the purpofe of hunting. I could not help fmiling, though at the fame time I was covered with confufion, at thefe good nifties viewing us fo narrowly as they did from head to foot; while, on the other hand, I could not but allow their as well as our fur-prize, at this unexpected vifit to be extremely natural. In fact, they found me with a beard which had not been touched fince the end of the preceding month, without a flock, and with my waiftcoat open at the breafl, my hat flapped, my hair braided into a twift, my fide-curls hanging down ftrait and fluttering in the air ; a fine thin linen coat, with a white ground variegated with blood, dabs of gunpowder, and fpots of dirt and greafe of all kinds; but at the fame time decorated with fine gilt buttons, a third part of which were fallen off, and a great many of them dangled about loofe and were ready to follow the others. As to the other part of my drefs, my breeches, for the fake of coolnefs, were turned up at the knees, in the manner in which they are frequently worn by the boors of this country; and after the fame guile, and for a fimilar reafon, my ftockings, which were woollen, were gartered below my knees, at the fame time that they hung down loofe about my ankles; while my feet were fet off with Hottentot fboes, made to draw up CAPE of aiOD HOPE. 137 tip with firings, of the fame kind with thofe reprefetited J*T*% , ill Plate I. Vol. I. Fig. 4. \^r*J~' Mr. Immelman, who, in fact, was a handfome young fellow, with large dark eye-brows and a fine head of hair,-at this time wore a heard five weeks old, which was now beginning to curl in a very confpicuous manner. As to' the reft of his appearance, he figured on horfeback in a; long night-gown, with a white night-cap, large wide boots, and, if I remember right, Was juft at that time without ftockings, in order to keep his legs the cooler. It may be neceffary here, perhaps, to make fome excufe both for our beards and our -chefs. As to our beards, .we had both of us in a merry mood, formed a refolution not to touch a hair of them either with razors or fciffors, till we mould either get into company again with the Chriftian laffes, or fhould have an opportunity of directing a hippopotamus. Added to this, we wifhed to try how a long beard would become our juvenile years. " It is a prefent made to us by nature, faid we to each other, let us keep it by way of experiment. Our beards, perhaps, prevent our catching cold, and getting defluxions and the tooth-ache in cold nights; at leaft it is probable, that in this climate they defend the face from the lcorching rays of the fun; and who can tell, what refpecl: and confideration it may acquire us from the beardlefs tribes we are likely to meet with in the courfe of our expedition.I This refolution of ours, which we pertinacioufly adhered to, gave rife in the mean while to many ludicrous conver-fations ; but I muft confefs, that we felt ourfelves delivered from a very heavy burden, when we got rid of our beards^ Again, as to our clothing, it was entirely adapted to the Vol. II. T warmth ^ I7?y warmth of the climate and our own convenience; neither December, k^yn-/ was there any danger of its leffening us in the eyes of our own Hottentots, or of thofe we might expect to meet with in the defert. As for my woollen ftockings, I wore them principally with a view to keep off the flies, as well as to pre-ferve my legs from the bites of ferpents, and from being torn by the branches of trees. Mr. Immelman thought that boots were more convenient, and would anfwer this purpofe better. Being an African by birth, he was not afraid of being fun-burned; on which account likewife, in order to keep his hair out of his eyes, he generally rode in his night-cap. On the 27 th at feven in the morning the thermometer flood at 60 degrees, the preceding night having appeared to us extremely cool. At noon the thermometer was at 95. At five in the afternoon it had fallen to 83, when there came a fhower of rain writh thunder and lightning. At nine in the evening the thermometer was at 79 degrees. On the 29th I forded over Great Vifch-rhier, and examined feveral fea-cows fculls that lay on the other fide of it, and found them perfectly accord with the defcription and delineation given of thefe parts by M. de Buffon. I now began to be incommoded by a flight pain and fwel-ling in the fore part of the breafl, juft at the edge of the flernum, which gave me great uneafinefs; but it went off in the fpace of a few days, and in all probability was only a fore-runner of the gout, the fymptoms of which had already begun to appear in a flight pain and fenfation of burning in the foles of my feet. This diforder, which fell particularly heavy on a botanift, and one who was travelling Hng through extenfive deferts, I had probably brought up- De^msb'en on myfelf, by having undergone too great fatigue. At ^yy^J leaft one of our horfes was afflicted from this very caufe with a kind of gout or tenderriefs in the feet, together with a fwelling in the paftern-joints, as foon as it got home to the Cape. The day before we had eaten our laft bifcuit, our patience, in confequence of waiting fo long to fee the hippopotamus, was almoft as near being exhaufted as our bread ; we, therefore, the next day came to a refolution to go again into a land inhabited by Chriftians. On the 29th we were conducted by our Bofhies-men from Great to Little Fifch-rivier. This tract of country-was thinly covered with thorn-trees (jnimofa nilotica,) which fhaded the ground and kept it cool; fo that being in fome meafure covered with grafs, it exhibited an agreeable verdure, and at the fame time harboured a confiderable number of fpringers, quaggas, and hartbeejls, of which latter we fhot a young female. The mufcles and fibres of this creature retained a convulfive motion and twitching, even for feveral minutes after the animal had been cut in pieces. I muft confers, that I never, either before or fince, have obferved any thing of the kind in the hartbeeft, or any other animal. T 2 C H A P. C H A P. XIV. Refidencc at Agter Bruntjes-Hoogte. '775' ' h sHE firft place where we took up our lOdgini was at December I * r , l^ryxj x an old elephant hunters, of the name of Printslo, who was the firft that had migrated here, and at the bottom a high mountain had pitched upon the fineft fituation for a farm in the whole diftricl:, and, I had almoft faid, in all Africa. The thermometer in the morning as well as in the evening was about 60 degrees. On the 30th the thermometer within doors was at '60 degrees at feven in the morning, and in the evening at 67. The 31 ft, which was New Year's Eve, and fell upon a Sunday, was celebrated with a pfalm or two, and after that with a game at cards. They affured me, that the winter-months of July and Auguft were colder at that place than at the Cape; fo that the fnow lay on the ground for a couple of days together, about two inches deep ; but that their fheep and cattle, then as well as at other times, were kept out of doors in the open air, and in the day-time were driven abroad to go in queft of their own food. January, January, 1776. Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, where we were JJU£r now arrived, is rather a flat tract of country, which takes ^v>*> in the upper part of Kleine Vifch-rivier, and is feparated from Camdebo by Bruntjes-hoogtens, or the Bruntjes-hills, and with refpecl: to the latter place (Camdebo) are fituated agter, or behind them. The Sneeuwbergen, which lie to the north of Camdebo, are fo called from the mow with which in the winter-time the higheft of them are faid to be covered, and even to remain fo during part of the fum-mcr; fo that they are, probably;, of the fame nature as the Rogge-veld and Bokke-veld mountains, and perhaps com-pofe a part of the chain formed by them. The lower Sneeuwbergen, or Snow-mountains, are inhabited the year throughout; but on the higher range of hills the winters are fevere enough: this circumftance, is faid to make the colonifts remove into the plains below in Camdebo. The inhabitants, indeed, of the more diffant Sneeuw-mountains are fometimes obliged, according to report, entirely to relinquifh their dwellings and habitations, on account of the favage plundering race of Bofhies-men, of which I have made fome mention above, in Vol. I. page 198; who from their hiding-places, mooting forth their poifoned arrows at the fhepherd, kill him, and afterwards drive away the whole of his flock, which perhaps confdls of feveral hundred fheep, and forms the chief, if not the whole, of the farmer's property. What they cannot drive away with them they kill and wound, as much as the time will allow them, while they are making their retreat. It is in vain to purfue them, they being very fwift of foot, and taking refuge up in the fleep mountains, which they are able to run up almoft as nimbly '?76- nimbly as baboons or monkies. From thence thev roll January. rf V-^v-sJ down large ftones, on any one that is imprudent enough to follow them. The approach of night gives them time to withdraw themfelves entirely from thofe parts, by ways and places with which none but themfelves are acquainted. Thefe banditti collect together again in bodies to the amount of fome hundreds, from their hiding-places and the clefts in the mountains, in order to commit frefh depredations and robberies. One of the colonifts, who had been obliged to fly from thefe mountains, was at this time pafling to Agter Bruntjes-boogte with his family, fervants, and cattle, in order to look out for a new habitation. He informed us, that the Bodies-men grew bolder every day, and feemed to increafe in numbers, fince people had with greater ear-neftnefs fet about extirpating them. It was this, doubt-lefs, which has occafioned them to collect together into large bodies, in order to withftand the encroachments of the colonifts, who had already taken from them their beft dwelling and hunting-places. An inftance was related of the Bofhies-men having befieged a peafant with his wife and children in their cottage, till at length he drove them off by repeatedly firing among them. They had lately carried off from a farmer the greater part of his cattle. Not long before this, however, they had fuffered a confiderable defeat in the following manner. Several farmers, who perceived that they were not able to get at the Bofhies-men by the ufnal methods, fhot a fea-cow, and took only the prime part of it for themfelves, leaving the reft by way of bait; they themfelves, in the mean while, lying in ambufh. The Bofhies-men with their wives and children now came t down down from their hidine-places, with an intention to feaft '776. fumptuouily on the fea-cow that had been fhot; but the ^yy^J farmers, who came back again very unexpectedly, turned the feaft into a fcene of blood and flaughter.—Pregnant women, and children in their tendereft years, were not at this time, neither indeed are they ever, exempt from the effects of the hatred and fpirit of vengeance conftantly harboured by the colonifts with refpect to the Bolhies-man nation; excepting fuch, indeed, as are marked out to be carried away into bondage. Does a colonift at any time get light of a Bofliies-man, he takes fire immediately, and fpi-rits up his horfe and dogs, in order to hunt him with more ardour and fury than he would a wolf or any other wild beaft. On an open plain, a few colonifts on horfeback are always fure to get the better of the greateft number of Bofhies-men that can be brought together, as the former always keep at the diftance of about a hundred or a hundred and fifty paces, (juft as they find it convenient) and charging their heavy fire-arms with a very large kind of fhot, jump off their horfes, and reft their pieces in their ufuai manner on their ram-rods, in order that they may fhoot with the greater certainty; fo that the balls difcharged by them will fometimes, as I have been allured, go through the bodies of fix, feven, or eight of the enemy at a time, efpecially as thefe latter know no better than to keep clofe together in a body. It is true, that, on the other hand, the Bofhies-men can fhoot their arrows to the diftance of two hundred paces, but with a very uncertain aim, as the arrow muft ncceffarily firft make a curve in the air; and 'fhould it even at that diftance chance to hit any of the farmers, l?76- mers, it is not able to go through his hat, or his ordinary linen or coarfe woollen coat. In the diftricl: of Sneeuwberg the land-droft has appointed one of the farmers, with the title of veld-corporal, to command in thefe wars, and as occaiion may require, to order out the country people alternately in feparate parties, for the purpofe of defending the country againft its original inhabitants. Government, indeed, has no other part in the cruelties exercifed by its fubjecfs, than that of taking no cognizance of them; but in this point it has been certainly too remifs, in leaving a whole nation to the mercy of every individual peafant, or in fact, of every one that chufes to invade their land ; as of fuch people one might naturally expect, that intereftcd view's, and an unbridled fpirit of revenge, fhould prevail over the dictates of prudence and humanity. I am far from accufing all the colonifts of having a hand in thefe and other cruelties, which are too frequently committed in this quarter of the globe. While fome of them plumed themfelves upon them, there Were many who, on the contrary, held them in aboirVination, and feared left the vengeance of heaven fhould, for all thefe crimes, fall upon their land and their pofterity. It is true, that no endeavours have as yet been made to polifti the Bojhles-man natives, and make them better men, and more ufeful to the colonifts; but if we may form any judgment from the difpofition of thofe who have been hired into the colonifts fervice, or have been made flaves of, and have not run away, this feems not impoffible to be effected. Yet, perhaps, the fentiments that are commonly entertained to their difadvantage, as well as the cruelties which which have been hitherto praclifed upon them, cannot but lay many impediments in the way of an attempt of this nature. - ^✓v^ make flaves or them at their own leifure. Another and more confiderable part of this yellow-fkinned nation, is difperfed over a tract of country eleven days journey in breadth, and fituated more to the north than to the north-eaft of the Vifch-riviers, near a river called Zomo, where fome of them are faid to be occupied in the grazing and rearing of cattle. Small parties of Chriftians have, indeed, travelled through this country, and fhot elephants there unmolefted ; yet they have thought it neceffary for their greater fecurity, to fhut themfelves up at night in their waggons, as in a cattle. The more confiderable rivers which run through the country of the Snefe-Hottentots, are faid to be only the following. fKamfi-fkay, fNu-fkay, Little Zomo, Great Zomo, at which latter another country belonging to a different nation commences. Thefe rivers are reported to flow from north to fouth and fouth-eaft, down towards the fea, whither they probably run all together through the country called Coffer-land* From fKau-fkay, or the great fifh river, to fKamfi-fkay, or the white river, they reckon feven days journey ; every day's journey being reckoned at above forty-five miles, or eight hours brifk driving of oxen without flopping. From thence to fNu-fkay, or the black river, it is reckoned one day's journey. From hence to Little Zomoy or the little Watery-eyed river, it is two days journey ; and from this to Great Zomo, or the great Watery-eye, it is half a day. In this river, which is one of the largeft, there is faid to be a great number of green ftones, fome of which the perfon who gave me this information, carried with CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 147 with him to the Gape, and fold them to a dealer there, lhf* * 7 January. who fold them again, and made prefents of them to travel- LrrJ lers. They were, in all probability, of very little value. On the other fide of Zomo dwells another nation, who, by the Snefe-Hottentots, are called tfambukis, and are faid by them to refemble themfelves in complexion and drefs, but to be a powerful and warlike people. Adjoining to this nation, towards the north, there is, according to them, a ftill more warlike and intrepid people, whom they call Mambukis. Such colonifts as have vifited Zomo-river, have obferved, about two days journey to the northward of it, a mountain that threw out a great quantity of fmoke. The Snefe-Hottentots informed me, that the Tambukis had furnaces there for the purpofe of fmelting a fpecies of metal, which they forge and make into ornaments of various kinds, hiring the Snefe-Hottentots to carry in the wood which they ufe in thefe fmeltings. i have frequently feen the Snefe-Hottentots at Bruntjes-hoogte with ear-rings of this metal, and of the form exhibited in Plate I. Vol. i. fig. 8 and 9. In external appearance they refemble piftole gold ; but from the affay made on one of thefe rings by M. Von Engstroem, counfellor of the mines, they appear to be merely a mixture of copper and filver. That lingular animal, the unicorn, which is ufually re-prefented like a horfe with a horn in its forehead, has been found delineated by the Shefe-Hottentots on the plain furface of a rock fomewhere in that country, though in as an uncouth and artlefs a ftyle, as might naturally be expected from fo rude and unpolifhed a people. Jacob Kok, that great traveller and attentive obferverof nature, whom U a I have ^776. I have had occafion to mention before at page 351, Vol. I. v^^j is my only informer on this fubjec"r. The Snefe-Hottentots told him, that by this fketch they meant to reprefent an animal, which, in point of refemblance, came nearer! to the horfes on which he and his train rode, but which at the fame time had a horn in its forehead. To this they added, that thefe creatures were rare, extremely fwift of foot, furious and dangerous; fo that, when they went out after them they did not dare to attack them at clofe quarters, nor appear before them on the open plains, but were obliged to clamber up fome high clift or rock, and there make a clattering noife; by which means they knew that the beaft, being of a curious difpofition, would be enticed towards the fpot, when they might, without danger, deftroy it by means of their poifoned arrows. It fhould feem, that a rude and barbarous people like the Chinefe-Hottentots, could not eafily invent, and, by the mere force of imagination, reprefent to themfelves fuch beings, and at the fame time fo circumflantially relate the manner in which they hunted them. Still lefs credible is it, that thefe favages mould have been able to preferve any remembrance of the records and traditions of former times concerning this animal. Neither is it any wonder, that a fketch of the unicorn mould be feen here only at one place. For, generally fpeaking, a man fees little or nothing in palling through this country, which is only reforted to for the purpofe of hunting elephants. Now I have happened to touch upon the fubject; of the elephant, it is worth while to remark, that even this, the largeft of all animals on the face of the globe, which is fo common and fo much fought after CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 149 after in Africa, and fo frequently tamed, and at the fame . 1?76- 7 1 J 7 January. time fo much ufed, and confequently fo well known in \^t^j Alia, has been hitherto, as it were, unknown, and the fubject of much difpute with refpecl; to an effential point, I mean the manner of its copulation, as I have related above at page 326, Vol. I. It is therefore not fo much to be wondered at, that we fhould know nothing of an animal lefs in bulk, and much lefs common. And though I fhould object to the teffimony given me by my informer, as well as to that of the Chinefe-Hottentots, in regard to the unicorn, yet the exiftence of it mould not on that account be looked upon as a fable, notwithftanding it is not known to theft more modern times. It is but a few years lince the camelopardalis, the tallefl of all quadrupeds, when meafured at the fore part, has been made frefh mention of by naturalifts; this too has been the cafe with the gnu. A reprefentation of this remarkable animal, the camelopardalis, feems likewife to have been given us by the antients; but who, till thefe our times, ever conlidered it in any other light than that of a fiction, a monfter, or, at leaft, a monftrous medley, exifting only in the imagination ? When we confider, moreover, that the hippopotamus, which in all probability is a larger animal, though fomewhat lower than the elephant, has been hitherto very little known ; as likewife that, till the prefent moment, we have been almoft -utter ftrangers even to the rhinoceros bicornis, may we not expect that there will be a time, when the unicorn and all other beafts and infects, animated by the Creator of all things, but unknown to us at prefent, will be brought out of their holes and hiding-places into the light ? The following extract of a let- /?76. a letter from M. Pallas, dated the 14th of December, January. . ' 7 v^vsJ 17787 which, on account of the good fenfe and inftruc-tion with which it is replete, I Ihall take the liberty of inferring in this place, will ferve to confirm us in the idea, that the unicorn is a real, and not an imaginary animal. " Quod monocerotem in interioribus Africa? partibus eti-amnum latere fufpicionem moves, id qtudem mihi haud in-expeclatum ; certoque jamdudum perfuafufus fum, non ex nihilo apud veteres illam fuifTe famam; fed vel cafu unicornes antilopas, de quibus in XII. Fafciculo Spicilegi-orum dixi, anfam dediffe, vel peculiarem forte fpeciem unicornem, nobis hucufque ignotam, antiquitus innotuifTe, quando interiora Africa? itineratoribus Europseis erant fee-quentiora. Si non incidifti forfan in locum relationis Lu-dovici Barthema, ubi Monocerotes duos Mecca? ad templum, in theriotrophaeo vifos, defcribit; vide illam, quaefo, in Vol. I. collection. Ramufii, p. 151. Nefcio quid hominem excitare potuiffet ad fingenda, quae ibi retulit, quaeque non ita male cohxrent. I have not as yet been able to procure a fight of the Collecliones Ramufii referred to by M. Pallas *.—With re- fpect * The pafTage in Varthema here referred to is as follows : yO lying between them and Zomo, or the Tambu&is, confided in a great meafure of very extenfive and barren plains; that the farther they went to the north, the lefs they knew of the vegetables produced by it; that there grew in thefe parts a kind of blood-tree, &c. that if one travelled from the upper part of Fifch-rivier more to the fouth-eaft, or the Caffre fide of the country, one would come to a river called Konap, which was fuppofed to run into Fifch-rivier \ but two days journey farther on, going from Konafi-viver towards the north-caff, there was a river, called Kaif-kamma, which derived its fource from a mountain known to the Ethiopia: zoe da un Re Moro, el quale li fece quefto prefcnte per fare parenta,to con el dicto Soldano de la Mecha," ?* On the other fide of the temple there is a court-yard encompafccd with high walls, where we faw two unicorns, which were fliewn as great rarities, and indeed arc fit fubjecls for admiration. The form of them is as follows. The larger one refembles a foal of two years and a half old, and has a horn in its forehead about three cubits in length. The other unicorn was lefs, being nearly as big as a foal of a ye<;r old, and had a horn about four palms Jong. The colour of this animal is that of a dark dim horfe ; its head is like that of a ftag, its neck of a moderate length, furnifhed with fome thinly fcattered (hort hairs that hang down on one fide : its legs are long and fien* der like thofe of a roe; the feet are fomewhat cloven in the fore part, and the hoofs are like thofe of a goat. It has on the back part of its legs a great quantity of hair, a cir-cumflance which gives this animal a fierce appearance; though, in fad, the beaft is tame and gentle in Its nature. Both the animals were prefenred to the Sultan of Mecca as very great rarities, and which are to be found in very few parts of the globe, by an Ethiopian King, who fought for the Sultan's friendship. The preceding paflage is extracted from the original, in the library of the Prefident of the Royal Society. The book itfelf, the title of which is as follows, Itinerario de Ludovicode Farthema, Bolognefe, ne lo Egypto, ne lo Suria> ne la Arabia, effr. (Fentzia, r5i7> 8vo.) is extremely fcarce, and does not appear to have been feen either by M. Pallas, Dr. Sparrman, or his German commentator Mr. Eorster. The tranflation of this paflage is made from Ramusio, who has modernized this author, or rather re-tranflated him from a Latin verfion, which is itfelf a tranflation only from the Spanifti; fo that the Italian original muft have been loft for fome time. colonifts 15 2 A VOYAGE to the *776' colonifts by the name of the Bambus berg, or Bamboo--vl^o mountain, from the circumfiance of a fort of reeds or bamboos growing upon it, which were very much prized by them for the purpofe of making handles for their long whips. Groote-rivier, or Great river, is faid to be the larpeft ri-ver in Africa, and to be no otherwife known than from the accounts of the Hottentots. It is reported to contain a great number of fea-cows or river-horfes, which were very bold and daring ; fo that it cannot, without danger, be navigated for the purpofe of farther exploring the: country. It is fuppofed to lie directly to the northward, at the diftance of eight or ten days journey from the Sneeuw-bergen. It was faid to rife in the eaft, and run If rait on towards the north. It is probable that this river foon after turns off to the weft and the fouth, and is the fame Groote-rivier which I have inferted in my map, on the authority of M. Henry Hop's Journal of an Expedition 7nade to the DiflricJ of Ana-maquas, publifhed in a compilation called Nouvelle Defcription du Cap de bonne Efperance, which I quoted above. This river, however, muft not be confounded with another of the fame name, which empties itfelf at the eaftern ihore of Africa and the Caffre coaft. The country of the Caffres lies to the eaft of Great Fifch-rivier, next the coaft. Its inhabitants, the Caffres, have no notion of the breeding of iheep, employing themfelves only in rearing horned cattle, and, like the Gonaquas Hottentots, wearing cow-hides, which are well rubbed and dreffed with greafe, till they become foft and pliable. Their houfes, or huts, are faid to be fmall and fquare, compofed 3 of of rods, and covered with clay and cow-dung, which gives jarn77a6r" them the appearance of fmall ftone houfes. \*sy\J The weapons of the Caffres are merely fhields made of fole-leather, and haffagais, or that kind of javelin con lifting of a ilender and light wooden fhaft, headed with a broad and rather heavy iron plate, which I have delineated in Plate II. Vol. I. fig. 1 and 2, and have mentioned at page 9 of this volume, as being made ufe of by the Gonaquas Hottentots. The nation is governed by many different chiefs, who probably have all the property of their fubjeefs veffed in themfelves, and at the fame time have an abfolute unlimited authority over them. As far as I could underfland, their ftate and power are hereditary. It is faid that they are frequently at war with each other, and that they always kill the prifoners they have taken. But if a chief lhould chance to fall into the enemy's hands, he is not put to death, but is fent back again with admonitions to behave himfelf more peaceably for the future. The occafion of their wars is generally the fame as in other parts of the globe, viz. either a want of the common fentiments of humanity in one of the contending powers, or their arrogant and rapacious difpofition, or elfe fome bone of contention which they cannot on either fide perfuade themfelves to give up, without fhedding their owrn blood and that of their fellow-creatures. It is even faid, that a ftolen or ftray calf, or one grazing upon territories of a neighbouring country, and other matters equally trifling, will fometimes be fufheient to fet two or more nations together by the ears. Neither of the parties, however, carries their Vol. II. X revenge I J77£ revenge fo far as to extirpate the other, but is fatisfied when v~/vn^ the adverfary yields the day and fues for peace. The Dutch colonifts have, by means of the following incident, of which I do not remember exactly the year, infpired the Gaffre nation with no fmall degree of terror. A man of the name of Heuppenaer, made an expedition, at the head of a fmall party of farmers, into the Caffre country, in order to moot elephants. The Caffres, who took a fancy to the iron-work of their waggons, and fome other articles they had with them, came in a body, confift-ing of feveral hundred men, and threw on a fudden fuch a number of darts among the colonifts, that the major part of them were killed; a dart likewife pierced through the tilt of a waggon and killed Heuppenaer, who was fitting in it. The blame of this was in a great meafure thrown upon Heuppenaer, who was too high-fpirited to fhew any fear, and, agreeably to the advice of his companions, take to his weapons in time. One of them, who was faid Hill to be living in the colony, had efcaped, though half drowned, by hiding himfelf for the fpace of twenty-four hours under a large water-fall. Two others found an opportunity of riding away, and afterwards harrafling the Caffres a long time on the plain, by jumping, whenever they came near a party of thefe favages, off their horfes at intervals, in order to take a better aim, by which means they killed feveral at one fhot. This fracas, and the manner in which it was revenged, have taught the Caffres ever fince, to lay a greater reftraint on their defires for the iron-work of the colonifts waggons. In In Lanve-kloof I met with a farmer who was juft come w& ° ^ •* January. back alone from this country, and had brought with him ^yy^j feveral elephants teeth. In return for fome tobacco with which he had prefented a Caffre prince, this latter had ordered his fubject s to fhew him the places where the elephants were to be found. In my map I have called a tract of country fituated towards the mouth of Groote Fifcb-rivier, by the name of King Ruyter's Craal, in commemoration of a Hottentot king, or, as he was ftyled by the colonifts, a Hottentot captain, called Ruyter. I have met with feveral Chriftians who had paid a vifit to this remarkable man, and related to me his life and adventures, which in brief are as follows. While he was in fervice at a farmer's at Rogge-veld, he happened to have a quarrel with another Hottentot his companion, and murdered him; and as he was apprehen-five of being, agreeably to the laws of the colony, hanged for this action, he ran away. After a variety of adventures, he arrived at length in that part of the country which lies near Bofbies-marCs-riviery where by his intrepidity, he railed himfelf to be the chief of a party of Bofhies-men, or Hottentot rangers. At the head of thefe he fubdued feveral other tribes, and afterwards had the art to make them take arms againft the Caffres, by exciting in them a miftruft of each other; and at the fame time infpking them with a high opinion of himfelf, as being of fo great importance to them in the capacity of their chief or leader, that they could not poflibly do without him; efpecially as he fupplied them with plunder, and taught them a method X 2 , Of A V O Y AGE to the '776. 0f rearing their cattle, better in both cafes than ever they January. * O-vo had been accuftomed to. While by fuch conduct he rendered himfelf highly formidable to the Caffres, he took care, by inflicting the punifhment of death on his fubjects for the leaft fault, or even on the leaft fufpicion of a fault, to exact (and for a long time to enjoy) the molt fervile fubmiflion and implicit obedience from the fimple uncultivated mortals he had collected together in order to tyrannize over, lie ufed frequently with his own hand to put to death one or more of thefe llavifh vaffals, and would immediately throw his javelin through the body of any of his attendants, that hefi-tated at his nod to difpatch the man whom he had marked out as the victim of his revengeful and cruel difpofition. Exclulively of the dictates of a falfe and ill-judged policy, perhaps the natural turn of the tyrant's mind induced him to be guilty of thefe cruelties ; but when the Chriftians reproached him with the barbarity and blood-thirftinefs of his difpofition, he replied, " It was in a lucky hour that i conveyed myfelf out of the reach of your authority. You would have hanged me for having killed my antagonist as if i had committed a crime, when at the fame time, to kill an enemy is reckoned a laudable and manly action." To the colonifts he always behaved as a true and faithful ally; and in return for the tobacco and other articles they pre-fented him with, ufed to help them to make flaves of fuch draggling Bofhies-men as did not live under his jurifdic-tion. By keeping the Caffres at a proper diftance, he not only ferved his own turn, but was likewife extremely ufe- ful ful to the colonifts. But however cautious he was to main- j^Zjl tain peace with his more powerful neighbours the Chrif-tians, yet it is faid, that when he was in the meridian of life, and at the zenith of his power, he received them with an uncommon degree of pride and arrogance; which, as my informer exprefTed himfelf, they could not eafily digeft from a vagabond Jheep~Jkin prince. He fucceeded, however, in keeping up his importance with them as well as with his own people. At prefent, old and infirm, and barely director of a more inconfiderable and freer fociety, confifting of about two hundred people, he is wont to receive his old Chriftian acquaintance in the moft friendly manner, and, with tears in his eyes, to alk for tobacco, no longer by way of tribute, but as a prefent, which he is willing to receive from their bounty. The defpotic and tyrannical conduct: by which this chief made himfelf fo famous, and for fome time fo powerful and fo much feared, is probably the occafion of his being reduced to the low ftate in which he is at prefent; and it is imagined, will bring him to a ftill more abject and lower condition. This great man may, perhaps, at laft come to the miferable fituation of the lion in the fable. Another caufe of his prefent degradation is as follows. His fub-jects, weary of the ambition and fevere difcipline of their chief, took the opportunity of deferting him, at the time when he was gallantly marching at the head of them againft the Caffres. Being no longer fo fwift of foot as he was iri his youth, he was not able to make his efcape, and was confequently taken prifoner; but being recognized as a chief, his life, according to the cuftom I have before mentioned, i58 A VOYAGE to the t776. tioncd, as being eftablifhed among the Caffres, was fpared, vI^ynJ aQd he was fent back to his people; yet not without menaces of having his eyes put out, if ever he fhould rife againft them in arms in future. This misfortune, and the falutary leffon given him by his enemies, were not efficacious, however, as foon as he had again collected together a number of his people, to divert his hoftile intentions againft the Caffres. It was faid, that he had lately endeavoured to fpirit up another petty Bofhies-man chief againft them, and had received from him promifes of afliftance, as foon as he could get iron to head his arrows with, and make the other neceffary preparations. They were apprehenfive, and not without reafon, that the old tyrant in this intended expedition of his would meet with that death, which, tired of himfelf and his adverfe fortune, he feemed to be in fearch of. He had, according to a cuftom prevalent among the Hottentots, appointed the youngeft of his three fons to be heir to his poffeffions and throne. Neither of the three, however, was fuppofed to inherit the father's talents and abilities in a fuflicient degree, to be able to eftablifh himfelf on the throne. The respective methods of fighting of the Caffres and Hottentots are very different. The Caffres, as we have mentioned above, make ufe of darts, which they cannot employ with any effect: at a greater diftance than twenty or thirty paces. Of thefe darts they do not carry with them into the field more than three or four; fo that they are foon difarmed, in cafe their antagonifts are bold and nimble enough to pick up thefe weapons as foon as the Caffres have thrown them out of their hands. The Caffres, moreover, moreover, ufe a fhield made of fhoe-fole leather, and large 1776. enough to cover the whole of their bodies completely, on v^yO their llirinking themfelves up into a rather fmaller compafs. 1 have feen a baftard Caffre go through his exercife with thefe weapons; from whence 1 conclude, that when they are in actual engagement, they fhift their bodies continually from one fide to the other, fo that they cannot eafily be hit, taking care all this time to keep their bajfagais or darts in readinefs, to throw at the unguarded part of their antago-niff s. The Bofhies-men, on the other hand, who are without any fhields, are more than a match for the Caffres, as long as they can keep them at a good diftance from them by means of their bows and poifoned arrows, which, though they do not immediately make fo painful a wound, as the bqffagais of the Caffres, are yet more dangerous in the end. It was in confequence of this circumstance, that Ruyter's Bofhies-men beat the Caffres for fo long a time. It has therefore been a matter of wonder, that the Caffres have not learned the ufe of the bow and arrow, in like manner as their enemies the Bofhies-men. This manner of fighting does not feem to require great courage, nor indeed does it appear calculated to give either nation a difpofition to it. If I may be allowed to judge from two instances, the flaves of the Christians are of a much more warlike turn. Thefe, confequently, when they elope from their mailers' fervice, are fure to be well received and protected by the Caffres. At leaft, a Caffre prince, notwithstanding that he had a handfome confideration offered him, had juft before our arrival in thefe parts, refufed, to deliver up two flaves 5 belonging / l776- belonging to the Christians; alledging, by way of giving a January. r i • r - -in . ^y^J reaion tor his rcfuial, that they were his belt warriors. Before I proceed, agreeably to the order of my journal, to fpeak of Agter Bruntjes-boogte, where I lived for fome time, 1 mult juft mention the following particulars relative to a province immediately bordering upon it. Camdebo is an arid, flat, Carrow-like tract of country, inhabited by Christians, who are chiefly employed in rearing cattle. This district is faid to extend as far as the fouth fide of the Sneeuzv mountains. From the information and accounts that were given me, i have laid down in my map two different roads, by which people may go to the Cape through Camdebo, both from Agter Bruntjes-boogte and from the Sneeuwbergen. The north road is faid to go to An-tbon- veld, Kau-veld, and Bokke-veld. The fouthern way-goes downwards to Olipbanfs-rivier, and fo along that to the high road, by which i went myfelf, and which i have laid down in my map. You may likewife turn out of this fouthern road before, and go by Platte-kloof, Hex-rivier* and fo on to the Cape. The inhabitants of Camdebo and Sneeuwberg have likewife, it is faid, found out a by-road, though rough and intricate, down by the fide of Zondags-rivier to Zwartkops-rivier, in order to provide themfelves with fait at the falt-pits defcribed above. Thefe two roads through Camdebo, 2zc. are, it is true, the nearest from Brunt]es~boogte to the Cape; and in fact, the only road that people take. But the tracts of country through which they are carried, are faid to be but little inhabited, very arid, and deficient in refpect to pasturage, and itill more fo in the article of water; particularly that year, year, which was fuppofed to be the drieft in the memory of j^j* man, fo that fome particular watering-places were entire- ^vx^ ly dried up. I was told of a traveller, the greater part of whofe oxen had, on occafion of this circumftance, fainted and died upon the road. Confequently, our beafts, which were too few in number to be able to relieve each other much, by this time wearied out, and not ufed to put up with the dry bullies of the Carrow country, were the more likely to perifh, had we not, on the fcore of thefe confiderations, fuffered ourfelves to be entirely dif-fuaded from travelling by thefe roads. I was likewife obliged to give up all thoughts of viliting Sneeuwberg and Camdebo, on account of the diforder among the horfes, which was faid at this time to be very rife, and had already reached almoft as far as to Agter Bruntjes-boogte. In this place, moreover, there were many birds, infects, and animals which I had not feen in other parts, and which gave me fufficient employment. Befides, my prefent hoft, who wiihed to keep me with him for the fake of two people who were lick in his houfe, was extremely civil to me, and afTifted me greatly in my refearches; and, together with one of his fons and his fon-in-law, accompanied me afterwards on a hunting-party down Fifcb-rivier, which lafted for a fortnight, and of which I fhall give an account hereafter. Having fo many fubjects to employ myfelf upon, I was almoft tempted to remain here during the winter, in order to make a trip the following fpring to the Tambuki mines, and at the fame to go in queft of the unicorn. In fact, both Mr. Immelman and myfelf endeavoured to perfuade Vol. Ih Y feveral i6i A VOYAGE to the January ^evera* farmers to equip themfelves for this undertaking. ^•y^j This fcheme they had no great objection to, but could not give me a pofitive anfwer on the fubject; and indeed, after a more mature confideration of the matter I found, that i had neither money nor gunpowder fufficient for the purpofe, not to mention many other good reafons which prevented me from putting it into execution. I was therefore obliged, though fore againft my will, to give up all thoughts of this excurfion; though afterwards I was not very forry at having met with the disappointment, being pretty well convinced, that another year's fatigue would not have contributed much more to my future happiness. In the mean while, after an abfence of five years fpent in travels and voyages to various parts of the globe, I imagine it will fear eel y be neceffary to make any excufe for turning my thoughts likewife towards home. Happy if my humble endeavours fhould excite other naturalifts to purfue the fame path with greater fuccefs, and make us acquainted with the remaining curious and remarkable objects, which are doubtlefs ftill to be found in the fouthern parts of Africa. Confequently, Agter Brunt]es-hoogte is the northernmost part that I visited of the whole colony ; and, in my opinion, it is likewife the moft pleafant. There was ftill remaining on the ground, a more meadow-like verdure than is ufually feen in this country; a verdure that owed its exift-ence to the fhelter that was afforded to the foil by the thorny branches of the mimofa nilotica, and was ftill further enlivened by the numerous yellow bloffoms of that plant. The great quantity of beautiful vernal lilies, together with a peculiar peculiar parafitk plant of a blood-red hue, (defcribed by j^7^ me in the Swedifli Transact, for 1776, page 307) which <*sy*sJ were now fpringing out of their beds covered with a more verdant and luxuriant herbage than the other parts of this country, muft doubtlefs in the feafon for their blooming, add ftill more to the fplendour of this delightful fcene. This, however, was not a little augmented by a purling ftream, viz. Little Vifch-rivier, which winds through this fpot in fportive meanders. On its banks, befides cornfields, were feen fcattered up and down orchards and kitchen-gardens recently laid out, and fome of them cut through with drains. Plantations, which though as yet inconfiderable, feemed, however, to promife every thing to time and induftry. The houfes, far from intimidating the traveller by their fplendid appearance, with the constrained pomp of antichambers and drawing-rooms, were rather in the ftyle of plain and fimple cottages; but, on the other hand, were environed with the animated embel-lifhments of fheep and cattle, and inhabited by people in eafy circumstances; who, not with interested views, but with open arms received me and my companion, juft arrived from the dreary and inhospitable defert, and charmed us with their kind and friendly behaviour. The superior degree of fertility, and the more delightful verdure which I found here, ought, perhaps, to be af-cribed to a ridge of mountains on the eaft fide of Little Vifch-rivier, which was interfered by beautiful green vales interfperfed with woods. Thefe mountains, by collecting the clouds together, caufed them to fall in refreshing fhowers of rain on the banks of the river that ran at their feet: and Y 2 the 1776. the superior degree of fertility occasioned by thefe circum-{^I^J fiances, invited not only the antilopes and other animals of the chafe to this fide of the country, but likewife induced various kinds of beautiful birds to refort to it, and build their nefts in the trees that grew on the banks of the river. What contributes not a little to this fertility is, that the land is frefh, that is to fay, not yet worn out by being too frequently and too clofely grazed off by the numerous flocks and herds of the Christians, vide Vol. p. 251, 252. All the colonists who follow the grazing bufinefs, and particularly thofe at Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, lead an eafy and pleafant life. One of thefe boors ufually puts to his plough eight or ten of his fat, or rather pampered oxen; and it is hardly to be conceived, with what little trouble he gets into order a field of a moderate fize; and in confequence of his feeding fo great a number of cattle, how eafily he can render it in the highest degree fertile. So that, always fure of a rich harveft from a foil not yet worn out, and ever grateful to the culture bestowed upon it, he may be almost faid merely to amufe himfelf with the cultivation of it, for the bread he wants for himfelf and his family; while many other hufbandmen muft fweat and toil themfelves almoft to death, both for what they ufe themfelves, and for that which is confumed by others, who frequently live in eafe and indolence. By his extenfive paftures, and by throwing a fufficient quantity of land into tillage, he rears a confiderable number of horfes, which frequently are ufed only a few days in a year, for the purpofe of treading out and threfh-ing his corn. With pleafure, but without the least trouble to himfelf, he fees the herds and flocks,, which conftitute his riches, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. ^5 riches, daily and considerably increafing. Thefe are driven *77&* j j J who likewife make the butter; fo that it is almoft only with the milking, that the farmer, together with his wife and children, concern themfelves at all. To do this bufinefs, however, he has no occafion to rife before feven or eight o'clock in the morning; and notwithstanding his having enjoyed his bed fo long in the morning, he can afford, without neglecting any thing of confequence, to allow himfelf an afternoon's nap, which the heat of the climate renders more agreeable than it is in our northern regions. That they might not put their arms and bodies out of the eafy and commodious pofture in which they had laid them on the couch, they have been known to receive travellers lying quite ftill and motionlefs, excepting that they have very civilly pointed out the road, by moving their foot to the right or left. Profeffor Thunberg, who has had greater opportunities than I had of exploring the warmer Carrozv districts, (vide Vol. I. page 246) where the inhabitants were ftill more indolent, has given me an account much to the fame purpofe.. The leaning of their arms on the table at meal times, is a cuftom very common with the colonifts, and considered by them as a very laudable one, and in this particularly I followed my holt's example ; but I. could not fufhciently-admire the inventive fpirit of idleness, exhibited in the voluptuous pofture in which they universally indulge themfelves when they fmoke their pipes. Sitting on a bench or a chair without elbows, with their backs moderately bent, they lay their left leg over their right knee, and upon the »776. the left knee again thus raifed, they reft their left elbow, January. s^ryy^j while with the hand on the fame fide they fupport their chin, or one of their cheeks, at the fame time holding their pipes in their mouths. Their right hand is then at liberty to grafp the fmall of their left leg with, or elfe to convey now and then to their mouth a cooling draught of tea. Let the reader reprefent to himfelf feveral people fitting together in this pofture, and he will readily conceive what an elegant figure they would make in a group. I never faw any of the fair fex, however, in a pofture of this kind. Among a fet of beings fo entirely devoted to their eafe, one might naturally expect to meet with a variety of the moft commodious eafy chairs and fofas; but the truth is, that they find it much more commodious to avoid the trouble of inventing and making them. I remarked as a very lingular circumftance, that a wealthy farmer at Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, who had plenty of timber to fell, had neverthelefs only a ricketty elbow-chair in his houfe, and a few fcanty ftools of the moft fimple construction, made of a fingle board, with four rough-hewn ill-fhapen legs. What, however, was ftill more lingular was, that notwithftanding that one of thefe ftools had loft a leg, yet it was frequently made ufe of to the endangering of the perfon's limbs who fat upon it, without either the mafter of the houfe or any of his three fons, who were otherwife all alert enough at the chafe, having ever once thought of mending it. Nor did the inhabitants of this place exhibit much lefs fimplicity and moderation, or to fpeak more properly, flovenlinefs and penury in their drefs than in their furniture; neither of which, therefore, were in CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 167 in any wife correfpondent to the larse flocks and herds T!776* January, poffeffed by thefe graziers, and the plentiful tables they \msy>j could afford to keep in confequence of thefe poffefhons. The distance at which they are from the Cape, may, indeed, be fome excufe for their having no other earthenware or china in their houfes, but what was cracked or broken; but this, methinks, fhould not prevent them from being in poffeflion of more than one or two old pewter pots, and fome few plates of the fame metal; fo that two people are frequently obliged to eat out of one difh, uflng it befides for every different article of food that comes upon table. Each gueft muft bring his knife with him, and they frequently make ufe of their fingers instead of forks. The moft wealthy farmer here is considered as being well dreffed in a jacket of home-made cloth, or fomething of the kind made of any other coarfe cloth, breeches of undreffed leather, woollen ftockings, a striped waistcoat, a cotton handkerchief about his neck, a coarfe callico fhirt, Hottentot field-fhoes, or elfe leathern fhoes, with brafs buckles, and a coarfe hat. Indeed it is not in drefs, but in the number and thriving condition of their cattle, and chiefly in the ftoutnefs of their draught-oxen, that thefe peasants vie with each other. It is likewife by activity and manly actions, and by other qualities, that render a man fit for the married ftate, and the rearing of a family, that the youth chiefly obtain the esteem of the fair fex; none of whom likewife were ever known, for the fake of vying with each other in point of drefs, to have endangered either their huf-band's property or their own virtue. A plain clofe cap, and a coarfe cotton gown, virtue and good houfewifery, are look- 4 ed. r68 A VOYAGE to the 1776- ed upon by the fair fex as fufficient ornaments for their S^ru perfons; a flirting difpofition, coquetry and paint, would have very little effect in making conquests of young men, brought up in fo hardy a manner, and who have had fo homely and artlefs an education, as the youth in this place. In fhort, one may here, if any where in the world, lead an innocent, virtuous, and happy life. When in company with thefe plain artlefs hufbandmen, I ufed frequently to ftart fuch queftions and fubjects of conversation, as tended to give them a proper fenfe of the happinefs of their situation, and make them fet a higher value upon it, than they perhaps had done before. Indeed, I thought I could not more properly or more agrea-bly employ the little Dutch I had learned, than in persuading the good people among whom I fojourned, to be content with their lot, and confequently to be happy. One day, when I was urging this point, I received the following pertinent, but kind reply, from a difcreet fenflble woman, who was daughter to an inferior magistrate at Zzve/-lendam, and wasm arried to a yeoman in this place. " My good friend, faid fhe, you talk like a prudent fen-fible man ; I am quite of your opinion, and wifh you every happinefs that can attend you : why need you wander any longer up and down the world in quest of happinefs ? You find it here, and are welcome to enjoy it among us. You have already a waggon, oxen, and faddle horfes ; thefe are the chief things requifite in order to fet up a farmer; there are yet uncultivated places enough in this neighbourhood, proper either for pasturage or tillage, fo that you jcnay choofe out of an extensive traft of land the fpot that pi cafes pleafes you beft. Here are people enough, who will fend w$-you that part of their cattle to keep which they cannot v^^v^ conveniently look after themfelves, on conditions that you Ihall have the young ones produced by them for your trouble. In this way, many young beginners have acquired a competency in a few years. With your knowledge of disorders and plants, you may render yourfelf ferviceable to your neighbours, and now and then get a heifer or a calf. In ihort, I will venture to prophefy, that you will foon have cows and iheep in abundance. Yet there is ftill fomewhat wanting, which is moft efTeiitial to your happinefs ; this is, a prudent and difcreet wife : take my advice and look about you, and I will take upon me to affure you, that you will not long be without one in this country." This advice, fo confonant to the voice of nature, and coming with fuch kind intention from the fair fex, could not but greatly affect, me : it is remarkable, however, that the poor woman who gave it me, had herfelf a bad huf-band. As a farther proof, that it is not fo much to the different degrees in which nature has fried her bounty over the place a man lives in, as to himfelf and his fellow-creatures, that he ought to impute his felicity, I had the chagrin to fee the peace of this happy fpot interrupted by the jarring of two neighbours. Having now for fome time departed in my narration from the order of my journal, I will here refume it.—I ftaid at Agter Bruntjes-boogte till the 21ft day of January, During this time my oxen, which before were very lean, had got Vol. II. Z into I7o A V O Y A G E to the f776- into good condition ; and we ourfelves took ckre, by drink-K^vZs ing plentifully of butter-milk, and by doing honour to the good fare fet before us in great abundance by thefe worthy rustics, to make ourfelves amends for the hunger, thirst, and other hardfliips we had suffered for a whole month in the defert. Among other delicacies, we were entertained on the 3d of January with a difli, as delicious as it was lingular, taken from a couple of fcore of calves which had been castrated that day. The women too ate of this difh without blufhing. I have already mentioned, that I had had on my way hither fome little tendency to the gout; and at this place it increafed fo much, that on the 8th and 9th of this month I could fcarcely ft and on either foot. A ftiffnefs with which the finews and articulations of my feet were affected, and which was attended with an acute pain and dry heat diffufed over the fkin itfelf, occasioned me to think of the vapour bath, as being a powerfully emollient remedy. The quick relief I had feen afforded by artificial warm baths to two gouty patients in Africa, as well as the benefits arifing in similar diforders from the ufe of natural warm baths in this country, added to my not being able to bear either the pain or lofs of time occasioned by this disorder, induced me likewife foon to make the experiment on myfelf, and thereby entirely overcome both the complaint in my foot, and the common prejudice, that the gout will not bear water. The apparatus was to the full as fimple and eafy as the remedy. My feet were placed twice a day for three or four hours at a time, on a flick laid acrofs a tub of warm water, in which the fleam and heat were confined by means of cloths, cloths, and kept up by the addition of heated Hones. At ja17u7a6;y intervals I likewife put my foot down into the water, but this did not feem to produce fuch fpeedy and evident relief as the vapour did, but rather produced a fwelling in the feet, with fome degree of fpafm. Within a few days I was entirely recovered, and about the fame time had the pleafure of reftoring, by means of this bath, a farmer's wife, who had befides a bad habit of body, in fome degree to the ufe of her feet; though for feveral weeks before, by reafon of the pain and fwelling in them, fhe had not been able to fet them on the ground. Since my return to my native country, I have not been able to perfuade any gouty perfon in limilar circumftances to make ufe of this remedy ; though I can now likewife appeal to the univerfally as well as juftly celebrated Dr. Tissot, who, in a cafe he has given to the public, endeavours to oppofe the prejudices entertained againft lukewarm pediluviums in the gout. (Vid. Effai fur les Ma* ladies des Gens du monde, p. 142. Laufanne, 1772.) The farmer's wife above-mentioned, was one of the two patients on whofe account i was obliged to make a longer ftay in this place, as i have already intimated. The other was a boy of ten years of age, who kept his bed upwards of fix months with a fiftulous ulcer in the thigh, accompanied with a hect ic fever and great pain, all which were fuppofed to have proceeded merely from his having jumped from off a waggon three feet high. The part afflicted with pain, which afterwards began to ulcerate, had been dreffed ever fince, purfuant to a method as commonly prac-tifed in this country as it is prejudicial, with hot and irritat- Z 2 ing 17 * A VOYAGE to the 1776. miy cataplafms made of aromatic herbs. But after I had !annary. <~> A Wv\J enlarged the wound, and had dreffed it for a confiderable time with a falve compofcd of honey mixed with a little oil and melted wax, the patient's diet all the while con lifting only of wort* milk, and greens, with now and then a little bread, I was able to extract a fplinter of a bone three inches long, and three fingers broad, after which the whole feemed difpofed to heal very fait. Notwithstanding that by fimple and very eafy remedies of this kind, the lives of the African nifties might be for the moft part faved, and the calamities attendant on life be mitigated; yet in this fimple and truly paf-toral way of life, fo univerfally celebrated for its felicity, and in the midft of their delightful parks and meadows, lull they are fo far unfortunate, that, when they are attacked by any diforder, they are either entirely ignorant of the remedies beft adapted to the cure of it, or for the moft part apply them very improperly; and at the fame time are at the distance of many hundred, and, indeed, one may fay, fome thoufands of miles from thofe, from whole advice alone and affiitance they have reafon to expect relief: and in fo far at least is this much-vaunted pastoral way of life, with all its fimplicity and concomitant ignorance, lefs to be prized than our more populous and better regulated focieties in towns and cities, where, befides the advantages redounding to mankind from all the other fciences, that of medicine in particular remarkably contributes to the happinefs enjoyed by mortals in this life. It appeared to me very singular, that the colonifts had very little, and, indeed, I may fay, no knowledge at all of one one of the commoneft and moft troublefome diforders of »776- January. any they were fubject: to, which was worms. Adults, and v^v-v-j even elderly perfons, feemed to be more univerfally troubled with this complaint than children; particularly with the tape worm, the fymptoms of which were likewife often plainly to be difcovered in men of the healthieft appearance, Befides a great number of the more ufual fymptoms, which afcertain the prefence of thefe animals, moft of the patients complained of an oppreffion at the breaft, and an anxiety about the heart (borjl quaal en benaauwde bor/I,} for which reafon the greater part of them, fome of their own heads, and others in pursuance of the advice of quacks at the Cape, kept themfelves weak and low by a fpare diet and remedies againft the confumption of the lungs, and often kept on pertinaciously in this treatment of themfelves; though the longer they continued it, the worfe they grew. Nay, under an apprehension of their lungs being difeafed, they had even given up their beloved brandy; though at the fame time they owned they never had obferved that it was in any ways prejudicial to them, in refpecl: to the principal complaint. Having, therefore, during the oppreffion on the cheft, the fwoonings, or the difficulty of refpiration with which they were feized, been persuaded by me to take a fup or two of it, efpecially when the virtues of it were heightened by wilde alftes (a kind of wormwood) being infilled in it, and they having always found inftant relief for the time, their joy can hardly be conceived, which was not lefs (as they fometimes jocofely confeffed) on account of their being able to enjoy the fweets of this delicious remedy, than of the effect:- it had in 1776. ia relieving their complaints; they likewife rejoiced in v^-V finding themfelves able to ft and this proof of their lungs not being affected, as in confequence of their fear on that account, they would hardly have ventured to follow my advice, had I not, on the firft fufpicion 1 had of their dif-order, informed them of moft of their complaints before hand, by reckoning up the fymptoms ufually attendant on worms. Garlick, the buds of the milde aljles above-mentioned, fait, oil, ox-gall, and aloes, were, of all vermifuges, the eafieft to be procured here ; and were given them, together with fome refin of jalap which I had brought with me; but two of Vereira's relations- raffily attacked their worms with garlick, both taken alone and mixed with every thing they ate, and by this means foon voided a number of worms, and got rid of all their complaints. One of them faid he had difcharged part of a worm with legs and feet, which was grey at top, but yellow under the belly like rups, or caterpillars, which are changed into chryfalifes, and afterwards become butterflies. He had likewife ob-ferved the exuvite, or fkins, of this kind of worm in his ordinary evacuations. Befides the fatisfaction i found in being ufeful, and fhewing my gratitude to thefe hofpitable ruftics, by giving them my advice on this, as well as on other occasions, as well as by. the distribution of fome medicines which I had brought with me, and always gave away gratis in the. courfe of my journey, 1 by this means likewife got more into their good graces, and procured affiftance more readily, and more authentic information, than I perhaps could have *k>ne with money : fo that the flender stock of medical know- CAPE of GOOD H O'P E. i75 knowledge I was poflcffed of, proved of greater fervice to ^Hf'y rne than I could have imagined ; not to mention the afto- WO nifliment and veneration which it excited in thefe good people, and which often reminded me of the proverb, -dans fe pais des aveugles les borgnes font rois. The caufe, why worms are fo common a diforder in this colony, I dare not undertake to explain. It may be fuf-pected that in many people they are hereditary, and arc increafed by a copious milk diet. Others, perhaps, were infefted by thefe animals, by means of the foul and putrid water which they were for the moft part obliged to put up with in their hunting expeditions, and in their journey to the Cape ; the men in particular, appearing to be troubled with this complaint. With refpect to thefe country people, there does not feem to be much room for attributing the diforder to fifh, as in the freih water and rivers of thefe regions there is hardly any to be found. When, however, thefe ruftics get to the Cape, they generally take care not to want for frefh fifh. The towns-people, on the contrary, who live a good deal upon freih fifh, are not in proportion fo much troubled with worms; but then they have pure water to drink; milk is rather fcarce with them; while, on the other hand, they do not ufe to flint themfelves in the articles of wine and fpirituous liquors. On the 5th I rode out a hunting along with two farmers, being chiefly in queft of the gnu, the animal I have defcribed at page 131 of this Volume. In thefe parts we found large herds of them, and fhot a female gnu quite through the body; notwithstanding' which, fhe ran, though tottering, to the diftance of eighty or an hundred paces from us before fhe 7 fell. 1776- fell. Being mounted on fleet horfes, we were able to ride bv January. j t* r- v^vvJ them all, and feparate one of the herds from the reft, from whence we drove away a calf, which we took home with us alive. It was of this that I afterwards made the diffection, to which I have referred in page 133, for the proof of what I there advanced. The height of this animal was two feet, and the length from the ears to the tail meafured nearly the fame; the tail itfelf was fix inches long, and very hairy, with white and briftly hairs at the tip. To conclude, the predominant colour in this animal is a very pale or light brown; the belly is white, the nofe black; there is a black circle round the eyes; it is likewife black about the ears, and its forehead is of a dark brown colour; the mane is black, two inches long, and rather of a briftly nature, being fet off on each fide by hairs equal to its length, which cover the neck, and which are twice as long as they are in other parts of the body; the beard too inclines more to grey, or is of a lighter colour than the reft of the animal's body. I had likewife pre-vioufly feen and examined another tame one of the fame fize, which was intended for a prefent for the governor: it was feared, however, that this, as well as the young hartbeefts which they were endeavouring to bring up tame, would be fubject to a kind of furor or madnefs. The cry of the young gnu was fometimes onje, and at other times na-vond, a good deal refembling the nonje of the colonifts (meaning mifs,) and their ufual contraction of the words goeden avond, or good evening; fo that in the dark, the found might eafily be miftaken for the voice or falutation of a child. The roafted flefh of this gnu-fawn, the animal being extremely young, was foft and flabby. On CAPE of GOOD HOPE. i77 Oa the day I have mentioned we likewife fhot a quagsa, . I7"6- ; i ' January. which was almoft entirely devoured within a few hours ^>^v by birds of prey, after having, according to their ufual cuftom, begun with the eyes. An animal of the height of eighteen inches was known to the farmers here by the name of the grey jackal, as it approaches pretty near the common jackal in fize, as well as in the fhape of its head and body; but to judge from the teeth alone, as far as I can recollect them at prefent, the grey jackal feems rather to bear the char act eriftic marks by which the viverra, or weafel kind is diftinguifhed in the Syjlem of Nature, Edit. XII. The hair with which the grey jackal was covered, was a mixture of light grey and black; fo that this creature was of a dark afh colour all over, excepting towards the tip of * the tail, which, for the length of three inches, was quite black; it was befides pretty bufhy, and reached down to the animal's heels. The hairs, indeed, over the whole body were pretty long and foft, but on the back they were about twice as long as in other parts, fo that they appeared to form a brufh or comb : for which reafon, this animal may for the prefent be called the viverra crijlata. I fay for the prefent, as well on the account that the fluffed fkin of this creature was ftolen out of my waggon by fome hounds with which we had been out a hunting, before I had time to draw up a more accurate defcription of it, as likewife be-caufe it is very difficult as yet to define the genera belonging to the order of fera. I made a drawing of the grey jackal's liver, and on going to examine it with this view, I found it divided in a lingular manner. The right lung Vol. II. A a likewife , »77*« likewife had four lobes, and the left three. The ffomach January. \^~r*~> had nothing but ants in it, or, to fpeak more properly, the white termites before-mentioned; yet, that it may not be fuppofed from this circumffancc, that the animal here fpoken of belongs to the genus of the myrmecopbaga of Linnaus, it may be {proper to mention here, that the character of this genus is the total want of teeth; and that, exclusively of our Swedifh bears, the Hottentots themfelves are likewife very fond of this food. This day we hunted another animal, which was called the onkjes jackal, and feemed with refpecl: to fhape and fize, in fome meafure to refemble the grey jackal, but was of a deep brown colour. It now made its efcape from us by a fubterraneous palfage. It has obtained the name of onkjes, in confequence of its digging up, and feeding upon, the bulbs and roots of flowers. The onkjes jackal, moreover, is fuppofed to be more common than the grey, and is, perhaps, a kind of badger. Neither this creature nor the former were, as far as I could find, known to any body but the farmers in this neighbourhood. The common jackal, or the jackal properly fo called, nearly refembles our European fox in its form, manners, and difpofition; and here, at leaft, is not known to affemble in packs, for the purpofe of hunting. Neither is what authors have advanced concerning the hideous cry and voracity of the jackal applicable to this quadruped, thefe qualities being probably peculiar to the hycena and wild dog, with which animals it has been by fome means confounded. A couple of fkins which I brought home with mev three feet in length, with a tail fomewhat above a foot long, entirely correfpond, CAPE of GOOD HOPE, r79 correfpond, with refpecl; to hair and colour, with M. Dau- . !?76- 1 A 7 January. berton's defcription of the chacal, (Buffon, Tom. XIII. v^vO p. 268) excepting the fpots on the fore legs; and likewife refemble M. Schreber's coloured plate of the cants mefo-mel, or capifche fchakalt, Tab. XCV. p. 370. This is like-wife Mr. Pennant's jackal, Vol. I. p. 242. The predominant colour in this animal is a reddifh yellow, the legs in particular are of a pale gold colour; under the belly, and on the infide of the legs, the colour inclines to white; the nofe and ears are of a reddifh call; the head grey; the back part of the neck, together with the whole back, are covered with a large dark grey fpot of the fhape of a lancet, with the point towards the tail; which fpot, as M. Daubenton has well remarked, is compofed of black and white circular ffreaks of hair intermixed; the tail is partly grey, and partly of an umber colour, but at the tip black. I remember that once I faw the fur of a foetus of a jackal, which was of a very fine yellow colour, and inffead of a blackifh grey had a dark brown fpot upon its back. The ratel, fo called in Africa both by the colonifts and Hottentots, I have given a drawing of in the Swedifh Tranf-actions for the year 1777, p. 147. Tab. IV. and at the fame time defcribed it by the name of the viverra ratel. (I have likewife annexed a figure of it at Plate V. of this Volume.) By the colour, it fhould feem to be the very fame fpecies of animal which M. de la Caille law about Picquet-berg, and has mentioned at page 182, by the name of the blereau puant% though this author did not himfelf obfcrve any difagreeable odour in the animal, and I, for my part, have never heard A a 2 the l?76- the leaft mention made of it; at the fame time that M. de la v!*vSj Caille docs not fay a single fyllable concerning the singular oeconomy of the animal, and moreover defcribes the claws as being fomewhat {mailer than they really are, particularly on the hind feet. Les deux trous oblongs a l'ou-verture de la gueule, dans lefquels la peau rentre, according to the obfcrvation made by M. de la Caille, appear to dcferve a more accurate inveftigation and defcription. In SchREBEK on the mammalia, p. 450, Tab. CXXV. there is a defcription and drawing of it under the denomination of the Jlinkbinks, or the viverra Capenfis \ though, in my opinion, the claws and tail in this figure are too ihort, and the head too thick and clumfy, and too black underneath. M, Schreber mentions his having heard, that this animal is fond of honey; a circumftanee confirmed by the following account, which I have before in-ferted in the Swedilh Tranfacfions. In this part of Africa there is to be feen a confiderable number of holes and fubterraneous paffages, fome of which are actually inhabited, while others have been previously formed, but iince deferted by the hyjlrix crijlata, a fort of mus jaculus, or the jerbua Capenfs, the jackal, the mole, the Jus JEthiopicus, with feveral fpecies of viverra. Juft within the apertures of thefe cavities, and of the fubterraneous palfages which are blocked up in part by the ground having given way, the bees moft commonly ufe to make their nefts, efpecially as trees fit for their purpofe are fel-dom to be found. The ratel, a fort of weafel or badger, by nature deftined to be the adversary of the bees, and the unwelcome visitor of their habitations, is likewife endued with with a particular faculty for difcovering and attacking them j^6, within their entrenchments. I lis long claws, befides af- c>v^ lilting him in digging the dark fubterraneous paffages which ferve him for an afylum, are likewife of ufe to him in the occupation he is frequently employed in of undermining whole colonies of bees. As a man placed at the malt-head can eafieft defcry a fail or land at a great diftance about fun-fet, fo probably this time of the day is the moft convenient for the rate! to look out for his fupper; for he is faid likewife to be particularly attentive to his bufinefs about fun-fet, and will lit and hold one of his paws before his eyes, in order to modify the rays of the fun, fo as to render them inoffenfive to his organs of fight, and at the lame time to have a diftinct view of the object of his purfuit : and when, in confequence of peering in this manner on each fide of his paw oppofite to the fun,, he fees any bees fly, he knows that they are at this time going ftrait forward to their own habitation, and confequently takes care to keep in the fame direction as that in which they fly, in order to find them. He has befides, the fagacity as well as the Hottentots, the Caffres, and the peafants of the Cape, to follow a little bird, which flies on by degrees with the alluring note of cberr, cberr, cberrr and guides its followers to the bees1 neft. This felf-interefted betrayer of the bees, to which I have many times been obliged for the honey I have eaten in the courfe of my travels through the defert, is the little cuculus indicator, which I have defcribed and given a drawing of in the Phil. Tranf. and propofe to make mention of a little farther on. As rT77^ As the raters hairs are Hi ft* and harfli, fo-its hide is I an nary. tough, and the animal itfelf is difficult to kill. The colonifts and the Hottentots both affert, that it is almoft importable to kill this creature, without giving it a great number of violent blows on the nofe ; on which account they deftroy it by fhooting it, or plunging a knife into its body. The fhortneis of the ratefs legs will not permit him to make his efcape by flight, when purfued by the hounds; he is able, however, to extricate himfelf from their clutches by biting and fcratching them in a violent degree; while, on the other hand, he is perfectly well defended from the aflaults of their teeth by the toughnefs of his hide : for when a hound endeavours to bite him, it can lay hold only on the ratefs tough hide; which in this cafe inftantly fepa-rates from the creature's body or flefh, as it is reported to lie loofe from the fkin, as though it were within a lack; fo that when any body catches hold of him by the hind part of his neck, and that even pretty near his head, he is able to turn round, as it were, in his fkin, and bite the arm of the perfon that feizes him. It is a remarkable cir-cumftance, that a number of hounds, which collectively are able to tear a lion of a moderate fize in pieces, are faid fometimes to be forced to leave the ratel only dead to appearance. This report feems to be confirmed by the cir-cumftance of M. de la Caille's bierean puanfs ftill being alive, after the hounds had dragged it away to the waggon. Thus far, however, is certain, that on the fur of the ratel I have brought home with me, there is fcarcely the mark of a bite to be feen, though it had been attacked and worried by a number of hounds. Is it not probable, that CAPE of GOOD HOPE, 183 that nature, which has dcftined the ratel for* the dettruc- , I?76- 1 January. tion of bees, may have bellowed on it a hide fo much ^r^J tougher than thofe flic has given to other animals of the viverra kind, merely for the purpofe of defending it from the flings of thefe infects ? Or may not this creature's food, which confifts of wax and honey, make it fo tough and difficult to kill? Thofe bees nefts which are built up in trees, are in no danger whatever from the ratel. In the firft tranfports of his rage at having fought after thefe bees in vain, he ufes to gnaw or bite the trunk of thefe trees; and thefe bites are fine marks for the Hottentots, that a bees neft is to be found up in that tree. I fhould myfelf have harboured many doubts concerning all thefe circumfiances attributed to the ratel, had I not obtained various accounts of this curious animal, entirely correfponding with each other, from many experienced farmers and Hottentots living in different parts of the country. As I was not fortunate enough to catch a ratel myfelf, 1 mult be contented with giving fuch a defcription of it here, as I have been able to make from this creature's fkin. The fore teeth, fix in each jaw, mottly of the fame lize, flat at top, probably in confequence of being worn away; canine teeth, two in each jaw, very ftrong and large when compared with the fize of the animal, but obtufe, (probably likewife in confequence of their being worn away ;) the grinders, about fix in number, had, as well as the others, a yellow eaft, perhaps from the animal feeding upon honey, 'fhe tongue was fharp, and the papillae fharp and turned back, as in cats, 7 The 1776. qqie legs are fhort; toes five on each of the fore feet, armed January, a <^rsJ with projecting claws an inch and a half long, but thofe of the hind feet no more than half that length. Thefe claws have a fharp edge, which half way up the fore part of it is double, or rather excavated with a deep furrow; a cir-cumftance that apparently greatly afliffs the animal in digging. There is nothing like ear-laps to be feen on this creature, excepting a trifling rim round about a rather large aperture, in which is placed the organ of hearing. Colour; the forehead, crown of the head, nape of the neck, moulders, back, and tail are of an afh colour; the nofe, and the part round the eyes, and on the cheek-bone, the ears, the lower part of the neck, the breafl, belly, thighs, and legs, are of a black hue inclining to brown; as are -likewife the extreme limits of the afh-coloured part juft mentioned, which are moreover feparated from the black • colour by means of a light grey lift an inch broad, running from the ear quite back to the tail. Si& of the fkin : From the tip of the nofe to the tail forty inches; length of the tail twelve inches; that of the claws, taken together with the whole phalanx, or all the toes of the fore feet, one inch and three quarters ; of thofe of the hind feet one inch. Two other fmall animals, which probably likewife belong to the viverra genus, I had only a hafty glimpfe of in this colony. The one we faw and gave chafe to between the two Fifh rivers, made its efcape from us, however, by running into a hole under ground, and feemed to be fomewhat lefs than a cat, though longer in proportion. The colour of it was a bright red. Of the other fort fort I faw two at once in the vicinity of Niez-bout-kloof, j*^r*y when they inftantly ran out of my fight, and hid themfelves V^v>j in a bufh. They appeared to be of a coal-black colour, and above a foot high ; yet I am not certain, whether they were not onkjes jackals, the animal I have already made mention of at page 17 6 of this Volume. The former of thefe likewife, I mean the light or rofe-coloured animal, might be, for aught I know, the zerda, or vulpes minimus farenfis ofM. Skiol-debrand, the Swedifh conful at Algiers, (vide the Swedijh *Tranfactions for 1777, page 265) not being able during the chafe, to attend to its ears fo accurately as I could have wifhed; and at the fame time having been informed, that there was a very fmall animal, with long ears, which lived underground, and was not unfrequently feen on the plains in Camdebo, but was difficult to catch, efpecially as it never went far from its hole. In this point likewife, it anfwers to the defcription of the zerda quoted above; but this again feems in-confiftent with the account given of it by Mr. Bruce, who fays it lives in palm-trees, (on the fruit of which it fubfifls,) in Libya, to the fouth of the Palus Tritonidis. (Vide Buffo n's Ani7nal Anonyme, Supplement, Tom. III. page 148, Tab. XIX.) It is poffible, indeed, that this creature is to be found in Libya ; but I have been informed by M. Skiolde-brand, that Mr. Bruce had previoully feen this animal in Algiers, (where both thefe gentlemen were confuls together) and had employed the fame painter as M. Skiol-debrand did, to make a drawing of it; and hence it is, that on comparing the two figures, viz. of the animal from Libya, and of that from Algiers, it plainly appears, Vol. II. B b that 1776. that they are taken from each other, or elfe from one and January. _■-"'*- . . s^-ynJ the lame original. Many of M. Skioldebrand's friends, and among them M. Ni gander, one of the fecretaries of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden, have feen a figure of the zerda re-prefented in its natural fize and colour, many years ago, in M. Skioldebrand's fuperb collection; but could not per-fuade this gentleman to ornament the Swedifh Tranfactions with it before, as, the animal having unfortunately ef-caped from him, before he could examine its teeth, and other particulars, he had waited a long time, though in vain, in hopes of procuring fome better information from Algiers with refpecl: to thefe points. M. Skioldebrand could not find at the bottom of this creature's large and beautiful ears, which were of a rofy hue, any traces of a perforation; indeed thefe perforations would eafily be filled up, and would confequently become very inconvenient to an animal like this, which is obliged to burrow and live under the fand. He fuppofes that providence has made good this defect, by fome membrane lying not very deep in the ear. Mr. Pennant follows M. Skioldebrand in the account he gives of this animal in Vol. I, p. 248, at the fame time . referring it to the dog genus. The bee-cuckow, (cncnlus indicator) which I made mention of juft above, in defcribing the ratel at p. 18 r, deferves to have more particular notice taken of it in this place. It has, however, nothing remarkable in it with regard to its fize and colour, as, on a curfory view, it appears in thefe points not to differ from the common fparrow ; excepting indeed, 8 that that it is fomewhat larger, and rather of a lighter colour, with a little yellow fpot on each moulder, and the feathers V«*vO of its tail dallied with white. It is, indeed, merely with a view to its own intereft, that this cuckow difcovers the bees-nefts to man and the ratel race, as it is extremely fond both of honey and bees-eggs; and it knows that when a bees-neff is plundered, fome of it is fired, which confequently falls to its fhare, or elfe fome part is left by the plunderers as a reward for its fervices. Neverthelefs, the way in which this bird communicates to others the difcovery it has made, is as fur-prihng as it is well adapted to the purpofe. The morning and evening are probably its principal meal times ; at leaft it is then that it fhews the greateft inclination to come forth, and with the grating cry of cherr, cherr, cherr, to excite, as it were, the attention of the ratel, as well as of the Hottentots and colonifts. Somebody then generally repairs to the place whence the found proceeds, wThen the bird, all the while continually repeating its cry of cherr, cherr, flies on flowly and by degrees towards the quarter where the fwarm of bees have taken up their abode. The perfons thus invited accordingly follow, taking great care at the fame time not to frighten their guide with any unufual noife, or by means of a large company, but rather, as I have feen done by one of the fhrewdeft of my Bo/b/es-men, to anfwer it now and then with a foft and very gentle whiffle, by way of letting the bird know that its call is attended to. I have obferved, that when the bces-neft was at a good diftance, the bird, for the moft part, made long ftages, or B b 2 flights, 1776. flights, waiting for its fporting companion between each flight, and farther exciting him; but flew to fhorter dif-tances, and repeated its cry more frequently, and with greater earneftnefs, in proportion as they approached nearer to the bees-nefl. I likewife faw, with aftonifhment, what 1 had been previoufly affured of by others, viz. that when this bird has, in confequence of its great impatience, got too far a-head of its followers, efpecially when, by reafon of the roughnefs or unevennefs of the ground, they have not been able to keep pace with it, it has flown back to meet them, and with redoubled cries, denoting ftill greater impatience, has upbraided them for being fo tardy. Finally, when it has come to the bees-neft, whether this be built in the cleft of a rock, in a hollow tree, or in fome cavity in the earth, it hovers over the fpot for the fpace of a few feconds, a circumftance which I myfelf have been eye-witnefs to twice; after which it fits in filence, and for the moft part concealed in fome neighbouring tree or bufh, in expectation of what may happen, and with a view of coming in for its fhare of the booty. It is probable, that this bird always hovers, more or lefs, in the manner juft mentioned, over the bees-neft, before it hides itfelf, though people do not always pay attention to this circumftance: at all events, however, one may be affured that the bees-neft is very near, when, after the bird has taken one to fome diftance, it is on a fudden filent. In a place where we halted a couple of days, my Hottentots were conducted by a bee-cuckow, that was ratherIhy and obfeure in its expreffions, backwards and forwards feveral times to one and the fame fpot, till one of them, who was more attentive to the bird than CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 189 than the reft, thought of looking out there for the neft TT776- * o o January. itfelf. v^vW Having, in confequence of the bird's directions, dug up the bees-neft, or otherwife come at it, and plundered it, they ufually, by way of acknowledgment, leave it a confiderable portion of the worft part, or that part of the comb in which the young bees are hatching; and which, however, is probably for the bird the moft delicate morfel, and indeed, is by no means looked upon as the worft, even by the Hottentots. I was informed by my Bofhies-men, as well as by the colonifts, that a man who makes it his con-ftant bufinefs to go after the bees, fhould not at firft be too grateful and generous to this officious bird, but leave for it only juft as much as will ferve to ftimulate its appetite; by which means it will be induced, in hopes of obtaining a more liberal reward, to difcover another fwarm of bees, if there be any fuch in the neighbourhood. Though there are plenty of wild bees round about Cape Town, yet both the bird itfelf and the peculiar property it has of difcover-ing honey to others, were entirely unknown there ; neither could I, when I firft heard it fpoken of at Groot-Va-ders-bofcb, confider it in any other light than that of a fable ; efpecially as at the fame time I faw a lad who was out after one of thefe birds, fail in the object of his purfuit. In this cafe, however, there was great reafon to lay the blame on the clofenefs and compa&nefs of the wood, and the greater than ufual fhynefs of the bird. My Hot- • tentots from Buffel-jaagts-rroier and Zzvellendam affured me fince, that they had likewife been acquainted with this bird at the places juft mentioned, where they were born, but t 1776' but owned at the fame time, that it was there uncommon as C^rsJ well as ihy; nor did it direct: them to the honey fo readily and diftinctly, as in the tract of country where we then were in the defert, and near the river fKau-fkai, or Great Vifcb-riv€r. By collating this laft remark with my account of the cuculns indicator, or honey-guide, inferted in the Pbilofo-pbicalfranja&ionsy Vol. LXVII. page 38 and 43, it will appear, that a geographical error has been fuffered to take place there; probably in confequence of their being obliged, as my account was written in Englifh, to alter this paffage, fo as to make it approach nearer to the idiom of the Eng-lifh language. Though I had frequently in the defert, and once at Agter Bruntjes-boogte, feen this bird, which, on account of the lingular property it is endued with, is called by the colonifts boning-wyzer, or the honey-guide, and, indeed, had not unfrequently reaped the fruits of its fervices, yet i had not an opportunity of fhooting it till i was on the road to return home, when I one day purfued it, the little creature all the while flying before me with its cheering note of cherr, cherr. This, however, offended my Bofhies-men not a little : and though I had previoufly promifed an ample reward, confining of glafs beads and tobacco, to my Zwellendatn Hottentots, on condition that they would aflift me in catching and fhooting a boning-wyzer, yet I found them too much the bird's friends to betray it; a circumftance that gave me great pleafure, as it fhewed that thefe people were in general poffefred of good and grateful hearts; though though ingratitude, i am very forry to fay it, is a crime, j^7^ by no means rarely to be met with among men. ^>rU While I refided in the interior part of Africa, i was fhewn a bird's-neft, which feveral farmers affured me was that of the bee-cuckow. It refembled the nefts of certain finches, which are found in thofe parts, and was formed of fine fhreds of bark, interwoven and plaited together in the fhape of a bottle. The neck or aperture of it hung downwards, and a plaited cord, made of the fame kind of bark as the neft, hung, as it were, in a fwing, crofs-wife, over and below the opening, being fattened by both ends to the brim of this fame aperture, and was certainly intended for the bird to reft itfelf and rooft upon. The following defcription of this bird was drawn up from the two which i fhot, and which were fuppofed to be hens; for the cock is faid to have its neck (capiflrum) encircled with a black ring. Roftrum craffiufculum, verfus bafin fufcum, apice lutcum. Angulus oris ufque infra oculos extenfus. Nares pojlrema ad bafin Roftri, fuprema vicina, ut carinula dorfali faltem fepararentur, oblonga, margine prominulo. Pili aliquot ad bajih Roftri, pracipue in mandibula inferiore; Lingua plana fubfagittata. Oculorum Irides/^;T^w^-grifea3 ; Palpebral nuda, nigra. Pedes nigri fcan/or H; Tibiae brevis, Ungues tenues, nigri. Pileus late grifeus e pennis brevibus latiufcu-lis. Gula, Jugulum, Pectus, fordide alba, cum aliquo vi-vere vix noiabili in petlore. Dorfum 8c Uropygium ferru-gineo-grifea. Abdomen Criffumque alba. Femora tecta pennis albis, macula longitudinali nigra notatis. Alarum Tectrices Superiores, omnes grijeo-fufca exceptis Jummis aliquot. •776- aliquot, qua flavis apicibus formant, maculum flavam in January. 1 . O ^ \ r bumeris cxiguam © a plumis fcapularibus jape tetram. Tcctriccs infra alam albida, harum Suprema ex albido nigro-que maculata. Rcmiges Primarii 8, R. Secundarii 6, R. Qmnesfupra fufci, fubtus cinereo fufci. Aluldegri/eo-fufca; Cauda cuneiformis, reclricibus i 2 : harum dua intermedia longiores angujliorcs, fupra 62? infra aruginofo-fufca ; proxi-ma dua fuliginofa, margine interiore a/bicantes; Dua utrinque his proxima alba apice fufca, & exterius ad bafin macula nigra not at a : extima utrinque reliquis brevior, Alba apice fufca, macula nigra vix ulla ad bafin. Ake complicata cauda partem quartern attingunt. Longitudo ab apice Roflrij ad extremam Cauda circiter feptem uncias pedis Anglican} explet. Roitrum a bafi fuperiore ad apicem femi-unciale. Since my defcription of the cuculus indicator was printed in the Phil. Tranf I have feen in Lobo's Travels to Abymnia, publifhed by le Grand in 1728, (a book to which I was referred by M. B. Bergius, one of the directors of the bank,) and a gentleman of extenfive reading, the following account, which deferves to be quoted here verbatim. " The moroc, or honey-bird, is furniilied with a peculiar inftinct, or faculty of difcovering honey. They have here multitudes of various kinds, fome are tame like ours, and form their combs in hives : of the wild ones fome place their honey in hollow trees, others hide it in holes in the ground, which they keep extremely clean, and at the fame time cover fo carefully, that though they are commonly in the highway, they are feldom found, unlefs by by the moroc1 s afliftance. The honey thus prepared un- ja^7a5r*y der ground, is to the full as good as that which is made <*rv^ in hives: I have only found it a little blacker; and cannot help imagining it to be the fame, with that which St. John lived on in the wildernefs. When the moroc has difcovered any honey, he repairs immediately to the road-fide, and when he fees a traveller, fings and claps his wings, making many motions to invite him to follow him; and when he perceives him coming, flies before him from tree to tree, till he comes to the place where the bees have ftored their treafure, and then begins to fing melodioufly. The Abyflin takes the honey, without failing to leave part of it for the bird, to reward him for his information." There is good reafon to fuppofe from this paffage, that the moroc of Abyflinia and the bee-cuckoo, which I have defcribed above, are one and the fame bird; but if this be the cafe, it fhould feem, that Father Lobo himfelf had not been an eye-witnefs of this fingular kind of chafe, or elfe that he has not given an accurate defcription of it. Neither, indeed, have I ever found the honey which has been made under-ground, blacker than that which comes out of the hives; but on the contrary, full as good as any other honey whatever, that in the defert particularly having a finer flavour than any I ever taffed. Though as delicacies did not greatly abound here, and I was obliged to live chiefly on animal food, I cannot place any great dependence upon the nicenefs of my tafte at that time. My Hottentots, and even two of the colonifts, ate likewife the young bees and the honey-comb itfelf, or the neft, looking upon it as the moft delicate part of the whole. The honey Vol. II. C c here »7i$i here was fine and mellow, and appeared, without having January. . i* ". • ° \^r^j undergone any purification whatever, to be tolerably free from wax.—i neither faw nor heard of any one in all Africa that kept tame bees, excepting in the country about Con-ftantia, where a young lad, the fon of a colonift, ufed fometimes to fet out empty chefts and boxes, into which a wild fwarm would enter without fail in the fpace of a few days and fettle; but the hive was generally taken almoft immediately by this greedy amateur, and was like-wife partly ftolen by liquorilh flaves, among whom thofe who were natives of Madagafcar had a particular knack at finding wild bees and honey. As in the tracts of country laft-mentioned, befides other flowers, there grow in particular many different forts of heaths, the culture of bees might in thefe places be carried to a very great height. Near the Cape i found the wild honey of an inferior quality. Whether this proceeded from the great abundance of heath in the above-mentioned diftricfs, or from my being more faftidious and nice when i was at the latter place, i am not able to determine. The jerbua Capenfis, which i enumerated a little above at page 180 among the animals in the ruins of whofe fubterra-neous dwellings the bees, in default of trees fit for their purpofe, build their nefts, is defcribed by Dr. J. R. Forster in the Swedifh Tranfactions for 1778, page 108, with fome remarks of mine annexed, L c. page 119. On this head likewife, the reader may confult the compilation referred to above, called Nouv. Defcript. &?c. together with M. Pai.-las's de Murium Genere, page 87, in which book it was afterwards referred to under the denomination of the mus CaJ'er. Coffer. By the colonifts it is called berg-baas, or fpring- ja!n7u7.^ baas, (the mountain or bounding hare) and lives upon ^yy^j roots and other vegetables, his principal haunts being in the vicinity of Stellen-bofcb and Camdebo. It is nearly of the fize and colour of a common hare, but its hind legs, by means of which it is laid to be able to take a leap twenty feet in length, are much longer and ilenderer; its fore legs, on the other hand, are extremely fhort, the animal feldom fupporting itfelf upon them, being generally in a fitting pofture, and uiing them as hands to convey the food to its mouth. It is likewife able, with great expedition, by means of its fore paws, and with the afliftance of its long projecting teeth, to dig holes for itfelf and palfages under ground; though it does not by any means experience the greateft degree of fecurity in this afylum, on account of the dykes and cuts made by the colonifts to their cornfields and plantations, which likewife find their way into thefe fubterraneous paffages; fo that the jerbuas, which are thus in danger of being drowned in their own habitations, are obliged to evacuate them with the greateft precipitation, in confequence of which they are frequently purfued and taken. Where the inhabitants of this country have an opportunity (that of a neighbouring mountain, for inftance) of making the dykes and lluices here alluded to, they do not omit by means of them to drown the moles likewife, as they are called, which infeft this colony, and which arc, in fact, a kind of rat with fhort tails. The one fort is lefs than the other, but is moft common round about the Cape\ and from the white fpots on its head is called bleejmol, and C c 2 is TJ776- is the mus Capenfis of MefTrs.Pennant, Schreber, andPAL- January. \^rsj las, and the long-toothed marmot of Mr. Brown, page 112, Plate XLVI. which plate exhibits a coloured repre-fentation of this animal; but the figure, which is the fame with that in the compilation we have frequently referred to, as well as with that in Buffon's Supplement, Tom. III. is not remarkably good. The other fpecies, which is called the zand-mol, is the mus Africanus of Mr. Pennant. This is in every part Ihaped like the former, but is without any fpots; and though of a moufe colour, is of a lighter hue, its tail being in proportion equally fhort with that of the other, but flat-tended both at top and underneath, though furnifhed with hairs Handing out in the fame manner. It bears a great refemblance to the figure of the mus talpinus in Pallas and Schreber, but differs from that animal in having a compreffed tail, as I have juft before mentioned; as likewife with refpect to its body, which I have found to meafure a foot at the higheft, though even then it was twice or thrice as big as the mus Capenfis, or the mus talpinus. Thefe two different fpecies, the mus Caffer and the mus Capenfis, are very troublefome vermin, particularly in orchards and vineyards; and are caught with fnares, which fall upon them at the apertures of their holes, and are likewife frequently killed with piftols, which fhoot them through the body, on their touching in the flighteft manner a thread tied to the trigger. The mus Caffer is particularly unwieldy and chimfy in its make, and is confequently flow in running, making its ef-cape with difficulty when it is found near its neft; though, on the other hand, when it is laid hold on, it throws the anterior CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 197 anterior part of its body about to the rieht and left with . l776- 1 J o ■ January. great activity and alertnefs, in order to fatten upon its ene-my with its teeth. In this particular I have, as well as many of the colonilts, difcovered a great refemblance between the rhinoceros and the fand-mole, which, indeed, proceeds merely from the fmallnefs of the eyes and obfeurity of vifion in both thefe animals. The talpa Afiatica, Linn, the talpa Siberica of Pennant, Seba, and Klein; the talpa aurea of Brisson, Pallas, and Schreber; and the variable mole of Brown, are one and the fame animal, which comes from the Cape; and which not only has been erroneoufly attributed to Siberia, but likewife, on account of the number and fhape of its teeth being unknown, has been hitherto improperly referred to the mole genus; though, in fact, it belongs to that of the Jlorew or forex, as plainly appears from the following defcription of the teeth, which 1 made after a fpecimen I brought home from the Cape preferved in fpi-rits. Denies fuperiores anteriores 2 cuneati, approximate /). inferiores anteriores 4 fubulati, horum intermedins bre-vioribus. D. later ales in utraque maxilla utrinque 7, horum duobus feu 3; bus prioribus nmpliciufculis, acutis, interioribus feu pofter. 2 feu 3; bus furcatis, cufpide ex-timo majore. This animal may therefore for the future be called Sorex aureus, cauda nulla, roftro nudo brevi, palmis fub 4 daclylis, plantis 5 daclylis. I fay fub-tetra-daclylis, as this creature has, on the outlitlc of its three crooked claws which ftand behind each other, a very fmall fpur, or fhorter kind of claw projecting, which the naturalifts above-mentioned did not obferve, and which might eafily induce them j!776- them very improperly to augment the catalogue of the k^n>J animal creation with one animal more than really exifts in it. This creature is five or fix inches in length, its fnout is fhort and without any hair upon it, notwithftanding which the upper lip is hairy. The colour, which in other refpcdts is exceedingly beautiful, is continually varying, as Schreber has remarked, page 563, between green, brown, and gold. In Peter Brown's Illuifrations of Zoology, page no. Plate XLV. there is a tolerable coloured drawing of this animal; the eaft, however, of this colour bordering upon gold, is not expreffed with a fufficient degree of accuracy and beauty ; neither is the leafl notice taken of the fourth fmall or external claw. To the query which M. Pallas (de Murium Gettere) propofes at page 154, in the notes, I anfwer, that this creature, in fact, has eyes, but they are fo fmall that they were not eafily to be difcerned in the animal juft after it was fhot; and in the fpecimen I have preferved in fpirits, could not be feen at all till I had ft ripped the fkin from off the head. They are placed in the center of a ftrait line, conceived to be drawn from the noftrils to the ears. Again, thefe latter are in the fame horizontal line with the fauces, the apertures of them being pretty wide externally, but internally almoft imperceptible. This creature has no laps to its ears. It will be moft fuitable in this place to enumerate and give a farther defcription of the African gazcls all together, partly as I have juft been describing feveral other animals, and partly as by following the order of my jour-7 nal rial in this particular, I fhould be liable to make frequent repetitions. The hartbeeft) of which I have already made frequent mention in the courfe of this work, (viz. page 129, 131, 270, 345, Vol. I. and page 4,12,13, 18,Vol. II.) is the moft common of all the larger gazels which are to be met with at Agter Bruntjcs-hoogte, or indeed in the whole colony, and in all probability in any part of Africa. Thefe animals moftly keep together in herds of different magnitudes, though one does not unfrequently fee them wandering about in a folitary ftate. I have often had occafion to hunt and fhoot them, and made the drawing annexed (vide Plate I. of this Vol.) from one that I had juft fhot. Without wilhing in the leaft to depreciate the labours of others, I find myfelf neceffitated to refer my readers to this, as being the only figure hitherto publifhed, which exhibits the leaft refemblance of this animal. The greateft height of this animal, which is from the fore feet to the withers, fomewhat exceeds four feet. The horns, (which are common to both fexes,) meafured along the exterior curvature, are from fix to nine inches long, and of a black colour all over, being of the fame nature in general as thofe of the gazel kind. The colonifts make handfome fpoons of them, though the gnu's horns are reckoned to have the fineft grain, as well as the blacked hue, and likewife to take the beft polifh. With refpecl; to other particulars, the horns of this animal ltand upon a fmall protuberance of the cranium, with their bafes almoft quite clofe together, diverging as they go upwards continually more and more from each other, as far as to one third of their January tneir whole length; when proceeding farther on to two V^rv^ thirds of their whole length, they lean a little inwards or towards each other, at the fame time making a bend backwards ; fo that the uppermoft or laft diviiion, which is fmooth and even, goes backwards very nearly in a horizontal direction, yet fo that the tips turn a little downwards. Thefe horns from their bafes upwards, as far as to two thirds of their length, are embofted in the form of rings, which are about eighteen in number, and near the bafes of the horns are not elevated more than half a line or a line above the furface beneath; but higher up, or near and upon the curvatures of the horns, thefe rings are not only much larger, viz. from a quarter to half an inch, but likewife feem to be more irregular, fome of them forming knobs, while others take a fpiral turn. All thefe rings or elevations are fmooth in other refpects, but between them there is a number of longitudinal furrows. The predominant colour in the hartbeeft is cinnamon colour, but the forehead is covered with black hairs, which, with a fmall admixture of brown, lie in a whirl. Two inches below this begins an oblong black fpot, which extends quite down to the noftrils; the lower lip alfo, and the fore part of the ihoulders are covered with black hairs, as are likewife the anterior part of the fore legs quite dowr* to the hoofs, thefe black hairs being at the fame time carried round them, and rifing behind up to the fetlock-joints. This black colour is difperfed nearly in the fame manner on the fore parts of the hind legs, and between the fetlock-joints and the hoofs behind. A good deal of the hindmoft part of the haunch is covered with a wide black ftreak, itreak, which reaches down to the knee, as may be feen i*n^* in the figure annexed. There are two narrow ftripes, v^ro which take their rife one behind each ear, and afterwards run together all along the ridge of the neck. From hence a dark brown oval fpot extends over the whole ridge of the back, terminating with its broader and obtufer end juft above the tail, which is flender, and, at the firft glance, has the appearance of an afs's tail. The hairs of this begin high up, being black, and nearly of the nature of briftlcs, and rather pointing outwards than hanging down; the outcrmoft, which are the longeft, being fcarcely fix inches long. The upper and hind parts of the haunches are of a pale yellow colour, as well as the anterior and upper edge of them, the infide of them, and the belly. The pofterior parts of the fore legs are likewife of a fomewhat lighter hue than the cinnamon colour above-mentioned, which covers every other part of the animal. There is a pore one line in diameter, an inch or an inch and a half below and before the internal angle of the eye. From this pore, which is the aperture of a caruncle that lies below, there is fecreted a matter almoft like ear-wax, which I obferved my Hottentots kept in a piece of fkin, as a rare and excellent medicine; on the dried fkin of the animal, this pore is fcarcely to be difcerned. This, perhaps, is the reafon, that fo great and accurate a zoologift as M. Pallas makes no mention of this pore, as he made his de-fcriptions chiefly from the dried fkins of this animal; and as to the live hartbeeft which he faw, he could not fo eafily come at it, fo as to take notice of its pore. The rudiments of a beard or whifkers, mentioned by M. Pallas as being Vol. II. D d on 1776- on each fide of the black fpot on the under lip, may Hke-i^ij wife be feen on the fkin of the hartbeeft which I brought home with me. This animal is defcribed by M. Pallas, in Fafc. I. p. 12, No. XVI. and Fafc. XII. No. XIII. p. 16 of his Spicilegia Zoologica, under the denomination of the antilope bubalis; but in the Syjlema■ Natura, it has been previoully taken notice of by the name of capra dorcas : wherefore I choofe to keep this fpecific name, for the fake of avoiding confufion; at the fame time in conformity to the well-founded opinion of M. Pallas, referring the dorcas to the antilope or gazel genus. The bubalis of the ancients was probably the fame animal with our hartbeefts, and fo is the vacbe de Barbarie, defcribed in the Mem. pour fervir a PHiJl. des Animaux, Part II. p. 24. The figure given there, Tab. XXXIX. is, it is true, not a perfect likenefs of the antilope dorcas; but being very indifferent likewife in other refpects, may, with fome degree of probability, be fuppofed to reprefent this animal. The defcription, however, contained in the following paffage, 1. c. does not cor-refpond quite fo well with the hartbeeft's hair, viz. Foil roux, plus pale vers la poitrine, que vers la racine, prefque de mime groffeur vers le point que vers la racine. It feems to be merely this paffage that has occafioned M. Buffon, Tom. XII. p. 296, under the article bubal, to confound the hartbeeft with the animal which Kolbe called the elk; though at the fame time he evidently gives a different defcription of the latter, viz. that it is of an afh colour, 8cc. See. The hair of the hartbeeft is particularly fine, and about an inch in length, and in other refpects refembling that of harts and gazels. The ears are covered with white hair on the infide. infide. This animal has no teeth* excepting in the lower «?7$-. JanuaT"y' jaw. Thefe are eight in number; thofe in the middle are the broadeit, and they are likewife broader at the top than they are near the bale; thus in number, as well as other properties, entirely refembling the teeth of the gnu. The legs are rather {lender, with fmall fetlocks and hoofs. M. Pennant, in his Synopfis of Quadrupeds, p. 37, and in his Hi/lory of Quadrupeds, p. 90, calls this bead the cervine antilopes and fuppofes that M. Forskal, by the baker uafch of the Arabians, which he places among the animals of a genus hitherto undetermined, means this creature. Mr. Houttuyn likewife, by the defcription and miferable drawing he has given us in Vol. III. p. 213, Plate XXIV. pro-: bably means the hartbeeft. One may eafily fee that this figure has fome affinity with the temamagama of Seba, Vol. I. Tab. XLIII. which is likewife very properly referred to by M. Pallas for the hartbeeft; but I now find that Mr. Pennant looks upon this to be his Senegal antilope: the defcription, however, does not feem to agree fo well with the figure of Seba there referred to, as withM. de Buffon's of the thoba, Tab. XXXII. fig. 2, to which he refers like-wife. The fkelcton and cranium given by M. de Buffon in Vol. XII. Tab. XXXVII and XXXVIII. under the denomination of thofe of the bubal, belong to the hartbeeft; and from hence it appears, that the horns are apt to vary in this animal. May not, therefore, the Senegal and cervine antilopes of Mr. Pennant be, in fact, one and the fame animal ? Indeed, though I have found the horns of the hartbeeft differ from each other pretty much in their external furface, yet it appeared to me that the pofition of D d 2 them 17-/6. them was very conftant in the very confiderable number of January. * La\^ them that I have feen in Africa. The head of the figure here annexed, is rather too fmall in proportion to the body ; a miftake which happened, in the reduction of the drawing from a larger to a lefTer fcale The large head and high fore-hand, together with the afinine ears and tail of the hartbeeft, render it one of the leaft handfome of the whole tribe of antilopes. Its pace, when at full fpeed, appears like a heavy gallop; notwithstanding which, it runs as faft as any of the other large antilopes. When it has in the leaft got a-head of its purfuers, it is more apt than almoft any other gazel to turn round frequently while it is flying, and, making a ftand, ftare them full in the face. I have already made mention, at page 13 2 of this Volume, of its falling on its knees, like the gnu, when it goes to butt any one. The flefh of it is of a fine grain, and rather dry, but yet of a rather agreeable high flavour. It is at leaft not fo coarfe and dry as that of the bunte-bok. M. de Buffon, who, at page 298, feems defirous of feparating the hartbeeft from the gazel, goat, and all other genera, will, perhaps, now be induced, by what has been juft mentioned, to allow that it ought rather to be referred to the gazel or antilope kind. Eland, or Kaapfe Eland, (the Cape elk) vide Plate I. Vol. II. is a name given by the colonifts to a fpecies of gazel which is fomewhat larger and clumficr, though, upon the whole, handfomer than the hartbeeft. I have already had occafion in Vol. i. page 131, and Vol. II. page 70,96,116, j 30, to make * This defeft is remedied in the prefent edition. mention CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 205 mention of this animal, and have given a defcription and m^- 0 January. drawing of it in the Swedifh Tranfactions for 1779. nl ^ * January. ing fired at the beaft and wounded it, though not mortal- UrO ly, it had efcaped into a clofe thicket, while he was occupied in adjufting his faddle, which had got loofe ; together with other excufes of that nature. He likewife added, that while he was chafing the animal, he could plainly perceive a bloody froth exfuding from its neck, along with the white foam which appears on moft animals on their being hard run. This exfudation, or fweating of blood, does not appear to me in the leaft improbable ; however, I will not. by any means pledge myfelf for the truth of it; as, being fo very unufual a circumftance, it muft have been feen at a fmaller diftance, and confirmed by the teftimony of feveral, before it could be thought credible. Every body, however, in this country was firmly of opinion, (and, as it-appears to me, not without reafon) that although game of this kind, and hunted almoft as hard as this, might efcape for the prefent, they would however foon after grow ftiff in their joints and die; or at leaft be fo difabled, that the next time they were chafed either by fportfmen or wild beafts, they would the eafier become a prey to them. The cafe is quite otherwife with horfes, which are prevented by their malt ers from drinking, or from being othcrw ife cooled too foon, when they are warm. Neverthelefs, almoft all horfes which have been much ufed in hunting, are pretty much fpavin-ed, and fometimes are very ftiff \j\ their joints, and ilow in their paces, till, previoufly to their being taken out a hunting again, they have been rode out a little, and their limbs, by this means, rendered pliable. One of our company bad a large horfe, but as thin as a grey-hound, which E e 2 was 1776. -was very much foundered. This horfe, however, when January. - n r ^y^j it had got warm, was one ot the iwifteft I ever let eyes on. Neither are thefe hunting-parties without their difficulties, and even danger for the hunters themfelves; as befides that they cannot help fometimes being carried by their horfes through coppices and thickets, (in which cafe their legs are fcratched, and the ikirts of their coats torn by the bullies) and are obliged to leap over pits and rivulets, neither can they entirely avoid finking now and then into the holes and fubtcrraneous paffages, which are dug in the earth by the various kinds of animals 1 have defcribed above. In chafing the elk-antilope near little Fifh river in our way home on the firft of February, I had the misfortune to have my horfe, which was galloping full fpeed, fink into the ground with his fore feet; in confequence of which he, as it appeared to me and my companions in the chafe, tumbled over head and heel, {gat over de kop.) I myfelf was thrown, with my gun in my hand, to a great diftance from him, and was particularly hurt in both my wrifts, of which I had not the perfect ufe for a long time. The gun, though it was cocked, did not go off in the fall. As foon as my horfe came up, he galloped home again to our waggons, which were in fight, fo that I had the additional mortification of being obliged to return on foot; a circumftance, which, in the cafe of hunting the buffalo or the lion, might have been attended with ftill worfe confequences. My companions were fo eager and intent on the chafe, that they all rode on without giving themfelves the trouble to fee whether I wanted any help or no. The CAT p E of GOOD HOPE. The elk-antilopes, however, are none of them fo fleet as the hartbeejis; the hide likewife of the neck, particularly of that of the male, is thicker and tougher than either the hide of this latter or that of the common ox; and is looked upon, next to the buffalo's hide, to be the fitteft for halters for oxen, traces for waggons, field-moes, and fuch like ufes. The female has horns, like the male, but fmallcr; though they, as well as thofe of the male, are ufed by the Hottentots, both men and women, for tobacco-pipes, in the manner I have before mentioned at page 230, Vol. I. (lee likewife Plate I. fig. 3. of the fame volume.) There is no porus febaceus, or ceriferus, at the corner of the eye of this animal, as there is in the eye of the gnu and of the hart-becfi. I obferved a very lingular circumftance in the la it elk we fhot, which was, that on each fide of its eight front teeth, there was a cartilaginous procefs exactly refembling a tufk. Thefe proceffes were fomewhat flexible and elaftic; in fact, they did not feem at all adapted to maltication, fo that it was difficult to conjecture for what purpofe they were intended by nature. In the live young elk that I made a drawing of, it did not once enter into my thoughts to examine how things -were fituated with refpect to this procefs. Koedoe is the name given by the colonifts to a beautiful tall gazel with long and ilender fhanks, which is larger, though much lefs clumfy and heavy, than the elk-antilope* The horns too of the koedoe, befides that the fpiral twift on them is more deeply emboffed, and is embellifhed with a Angularly prominent edge, or rib, are twice as long as the. horns of the elk. M. de Buffon, who has feen the horns only '77^. 0nly of both thefe animals, has, as I have already men- January. * , , ' ^✓y^j tioned, miicalled the Cape-elk by the name of cvuaou; which however properly belongs to the animal I am now defcribing, whofe name he has, inftead of this, distorted to condoma; a circumftance which probably proceeded from the letter to which M. Buffon refers, having been ill written, or elfe from his having made a miftake in reading it; fo that either in one cafe or the other, they turned the letter u in coudou topfy turvy, and made an n of it. He was obliged to alter the termination alfo, otherwife we mould have had two very different animals with the fame name. By this means, likewife, the elk-antilope ran the riik of wearing the long ftately horns of the koedoe. Neither has M. Houttuyn been more fortunate in his Natuurlyke Hijiorie, Vol. III. p. 267, in which he dalles them with the iheep. Excepting the horns, the whole of the figure he has given in Tab. XXVI. 1. c. is good for nothing. Our great countryman Linnaeus has been fo far milled, as to refer to it in his Syjiem of Nature for the figure of the ovis Jirepficeros; though the body they have put to the horns (which, however, never belonged to it) is certainly not like that of a fheep. A better figure is given in the Nouv. Defcrip. du Cap de B. Efperance, page 41, 42, the author of which affures us, that it was taken from the life. In the mean time I muft confefs, that i had no cognizance whatever of the beard : I will not venture, however, todifputethe point very tenacioufly, as I faw thefe animals alive but twice in the courfe of my hunting expeditions, though, indeed, that was at no great diftance. M. Pallas, who had examined the head of a koedoe, remarks CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 215 marks in Spic. i. p, 1 —17, that the koedoe has no beard, xl77^ A January. and therefore cannot be the capra anonyma of Kolbe. v^z-rvJ Mr. Pennant, who in his Hijlory of Quadrupeds, Vol. i. p. 77, has accurately defcribed the koedoe under the name of the Jlriped antilope from feveral fkins of this animal, and who refers to the above-mentioned figure in the Nouv. Defcript. du Cap, as being a good one, is quite filent with refpect to the beard. i have fome time before afTerted in the Swedifh Tranfactions for 1779, p. 157, that the male of the koedoe had no horns; a circumftance which had not been remarked before by any zoologift, and which i would wiih to confirm in this place ; with the additional remark, that the porus ceriferus, which in a number of ga-zels is placed below the eye, is wanting in the koedoe. Concerning this point i allured myfelf, by infpecting the body of a fawn of one of the animals immediately after it was fhot. The predominant colour in this fawn's fkin, which i brought home with me, is a rufty brown; the ridge of the back is likewife partly inclined to brown and partly to white ; but the ftripes which go from it downwards, to the number of eight or nine, are white ; the hind part of the belly is of a white colour, which extends ftrait downwards on the fore part of the hind legs in the form of a white lift, terminating a hand's breadth above the hoots; but directly above them on all the four feet there is a white fpot, compofed, as it were, of two; the fetlock-joints are extremely fmall, and the part below each of them is of a brown colour. On the breaft again, there are likewife fome dark brown marks. The forehead and the fore part of the nofe are brown, the !77f>- the lower lip is white, and there is fome white on the up- January. . r per hp, on the knees, and on each fide of the fore legs; a white Itripc half an inch long runs forward from the internal angle of each eye, and thefe ftripes almoft meet together juft above the nofe; upon each of the cheek-bones there are. two fmall white fpots; the inner edges of the ears are covered with white hairs, and the upper part or the neck is adorned with a brown mane an inch long. From the tall and llender form of the koedoe, i had conceived it to be a very fwift-footed animal; but i have been affured by two colonifts, that in this refpecl; it is not only very moderate, but likewife foon tires; fo that it is more eafily overtaken by the hounds than any other gazel: on the other hand, the males with their long horns defend themfelves with great fpirit againft their foe, when he comes to clofe quarters with them. i cannot by any means fup-pofe, that the large horns of the male are the caufe of its running fo llowly; for the female, which is free from this burthen, is not looked upon to be fwifter of foot than the male: fo that i cannot conceive the reafon, why nature has denied her the power of extricating herfelf from danger, both by means of her head and of her feet. On the 29th of January, being on our way homewards, we came very clofe upon feven or eight koecloes, one of which, not placing any dependence on its legs, fled for refuge into the river, where it got entangled in the weeds and grafs that floated on the furface, and was feized and worried to death by our hounds. Afterwards two of our Hottentots fwam to it, and cut off feveral flices from it. i found the flefh much of the fame nature with that of the hartbeeft, hartbeejl, but the marrow was, at leaft in my opinion, ex-tremely delicious. The koedoe is faid to live more on ^/yO fhrubs and bullies, than any of the other gazels I have before mentioned. A fportfman, in whole prefence I was making mention of the cartilages of the elk-antilope which refemble tufks, informed me, that the koedoe had pro-ceffes exactly of the fame kind. Another of the larger kind of gazel at the Cape, is known by the name of gemfe-bok, or chamois. How improper an appellation this is in many refpects Dr. Forster has already taken notice, in his Voyage round the World, Vol. I. page 84. The horns are very well delineated in Buffon, Tom. XII. Tab. XXXIII. Fig. 3. and there is a beautiful figure of the whole animal in the Nouv. Defcript. page 56, where the name of pa/an, which had been given it by M. de Buffon, is retained. M. Pallas, who, in his Spic. Zool. Fafc. I. pag. 14. hath called it the antilope bezoartica, has thought proper to alter the name in his Fafc. XII. page 16 and 17, to that of antilope oryx. Mr. Pennant has defcribed this gazel under the denomination of Egyptian, vide his Synopfis of Quadrupeds, page 2 5; and his Hiftl. of Quadrupeds^ p. 67. M. Houttuyn likewife by his Fig. 1. Tab. XXIV. which Linnaeus refers to for his capra gazella, probably meant the Cape chamois. In all probability, this animal is peculiar to the north-weftern part of the colony; for in the tracts of country I travelled through, I neither faw nor heard any thing of it. At Cape Town, however, the horns are not very fcarce. I have one under my care in the cabinet of the R\oyal Academy, which is of a blackifh colour, about three feet long, and almoft Vol. II. F f perfectly '776. perfectly flrait, the lower half .of it at the fame time bein? January. 1 ■ , ■* C^y-o diitinguifned by twenty or more craggy wravy rings projecting above the furface. The upper half is fmooth, and goes off tapering by degrees to a fharp point, the diameter of the bafe being about an inch and a half. In other refpects, this, creature is defcribed both by Mr. Pennant, and in the above-mentioned compilation, as being of an afli colour fomewhat inclining to red; the belly, legs, and face are white; but the fpaces jure before and round about the horn, together with the fore part of the upper extremity of the nofe, and the lower part of the forehead, are black, or black bordering upon brown; there alfo goes from the eyes to the chin a brownifh black ftripe, which is connected by another of the fame kind with the above-mentioned fpot on the nofe and foreheacj. This animal is likewife faid to be of a dark colour on the fhoulders,/a little on the fore part of the legs, on thofe parts where the belly terminates in the fides, on the tail itfelf, and all along the back and the neck. The tail feems to reach to the hocks,, and the hoofs appear to be of an uncommon length; fo, at leaft, they are reprefented in the figures alluded to above. Kolbe's defcription of his elfc (called the elend-thier in the German edition, p. 145,) anfwers better in fome fort to this gazel than to that which is actually known at the Cape by this name,, and of which I have given a defcription; but whichever of thefe two it is that Kolbe means, his defcription is faulty at all events, and the weight he mentions, viz* 400 lb. is under the real weight of the animal. But be that as it will, there is the moft manifeft CAPE of GOOD HOPE. manifeft abfurdify in Kolbe's affertion, that an animal ol* i>7& . January, fuch a weight as this fhould he caught in a fpringe with a \^v^ fmall cord, and"drawn up into the air. The blaauw-bok is alfo one of the large fpecies of gazel, which, probably, are only to be found in the fame diftricl: with the gazel juft defcribed ; excepting, perhaps, a fingle one, which may happen now and'then by great chance to ftray from thefe parts: for at KrakeeUrivier, I found they had preferved a fkin of this animal. The colour of this creature when alive is faid to refemble tlrat of blue velvet, but when it is dead it is of a lead colour. There is a beautiful figure of it by the name of the Tzeifan, to be feen at p. 58 of the compilation i hUve frequently referred to. On this fubjecl: the reader may likewife turn to Mr. Pennant's blue antilope, and M. PallAs's antilope leuco* ph&a; being thus called by the latter gentleman, from the circumftance of its being marked with a' large white fpot juft before and beneath each eye. The hairs on the belly are long and white; the tail is fhort; the horns go backwards with a curve, being decorated with about twenty-four rings to three-fourths of their height; but the upper mo ft quarter is fmooth, and goes off tapering by degrees fo a point. The bunte-bok, (the painted or pied goat) called by Mr. Pennant the hamejfed anttlGpe, and by M. Pallas antilope fcriptd, i have already mentioned in Vol, i. page 129, as being fomewhat lefs than the harlbeejl; and again at page 277, as being larger than the bofcb-bok. The bunte- r bok is not to be found any farther to the eaftward of the Cape than Zwellendam% but a farmer who had been in the country of Tambuki informed me, that he had there again F f 2, feen \ 1776. feen bunte-boks, though fomewhat different from the above- Tanuarv. . . V^^vO mentioned. ThegnUy which I have defcribed above at pages 132,152, and 175, and have given the figure of in Plate II. of this volume, I reckon, with ftill greater confidence than I did before, among the large gazels of Africa; fince induced by the arguments I have made ufe of to this purpofe in the Swedifh Tranfactions, the great Englifh Pliny, whofe admirable Hiftory of Quadrupeds I have fo often quoted in thefe fheets, has likewife thought proper to refer the gnu to the gazel kind. To the fmaller African gazels, (which, indeed, has been already treated of) having no porus ceriferus underneath the eye, belong the following: The bofcb-bok, or antilope fylvatica, cornibus eretlis fubtri-quetris fpiralibus, corpore fufco, albo maculato, cauda brevijfi-ma. This animal I have already fpoken of at page 27 o,Vol. I. and have given the figure of it in Plate VI. of this volume. As the fpecific difference of the other gazels which are better known than this in the refpective defcriptions of each of them, or may be found in fome of the authors there quoted, I choofe to omit the infertion of them here, in order to avoid prolixity ; particulary as it would be of no fervice, excepting with refpecl; to the making put of the nomenclature of the whole genus. The [pring-bok, or the bounding goat, (vide page 8 3 to page 90, and PI te V. of this volume) is called by M. Pallas, in his Fafc. XII. page 15, the antilope pygargus. Befides the gazels above-mentioned, there are feveral others of which I am not able to give the zoologifts fo good 6 an an account as they may require of me. I conceive, never- *776- ' ■ x January, thelefs, that the enumerating of them here will not be wholly ufelefs, as by this means the attention: of naturalifts and travellers may be turned to them in a particular manner, fo that fome light may at length be thrown on this principal branch of zoology, which has been hitherto fo much involved in darknefs. Thefe animals are the following i The ree-bok is a gregarious animal, two feet in height; The predominant colour of it is an afh-colour, fomewhat refembling that of a hare, but a little inclining to red ; the belly and anus are white, as well as the under part of the tail, which is very fhort; the horns are black, quite ftraigmy and in pofition,, form and fubftance, very like thofe of the gentfe bok, but are barely a foot long, and proportionally very fmall, confequently very taper at the end and fharp-pointed; for which reafon the Hottentots frequently keep them by them,, and ufe them as awls or bodkins for the purpofe of boring holes, when they make or rejxiir their fhoes or cloaks. The hair likewife of this creature feems to be fofter and finer than common. The flefli of it is dry, and is accounted worfe than that of any other gazel. This- animal was not uncommon in Hottentots Holland, Artaquas-klooj\ and Lang'e-klooj\ I muft own, however, that i have drawn up the account I have juftgiven of this animal, from memory only, as 1 had the misfortune to lofe the original defcription, together with the drawing; In a journey like mine, loffes of this kind are not to be wondered at. At times, when 1 was wet through with heavy fhowers of rain, or in confequence: of having forded a fU vef, 222 A VOYAGE to the 1776. vcr, a paper or1 two-that I had about me, muft neceffarilv 'v^rO have been in-the lame predicament. The overturning of our- waggon likewife,: efpecially at night, which happened at two different times, was of no great fervice to my collections, particularly'to my infects. The net, or reed ree-bok, I faw but once, and then I had but a haffy glimpfe of it, as it ran by me. This was during my refidence at Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, and it was there only that I heard any mention of this creature. It . generally keeps concealed among the reeds and marfhy places, and is thought to refemble a little the animal laft defcribed, from which two circumftances it has obtained the name it bears. It is, however, twice as big as the ree-bok; they are monogamous, or keep only in pairs, and, if I remember right, the females are faid to be without horns. Notwithftanding all the prefents and offers I have made to my correfpondents at the Cape, they have not yet fulfilled their promifes of fending me the fkins of thefe two animals, which are probably a fpecies of the capra or gazel genus, hitherto entirely unknown. The moufe-colour, (colore murino) on which account it was like-wife faid to be called by fome the bleek-bok, or vaal ree-bok. It is more clumfy and unwieldy than the ree-bokr and in its form more refembles the animal commonly called ihejieen-bok at the Cape. The animals called by the colonifts Jieen-bok, grys-bo£r duyker-bok, and Uipfpringer, are about two feet high, being probably of the gazel kind, and are not uncommon, near the Cape. But for this very reafon, and in confequence of my having been frequently impeded by my botanical refearches, I deferred the inveltigation of thefe animals till it was too late, as my departure for Europe took place much fooner than I expected. It is fome confolation to me, however, to reflect, that this lofs may eafily be repaired ; and, indeed, more than repaired, by fomebody elfe : perhaps we may expect that favour from Meffrs. Forsters,, who, when at the Cape, were engaged in making drawings, together with accurate defcriptions of thefe quadrupeds ; for which reafon likewife, I even then considered my refearches into this matter as being the more fuper-fluous. In the mean time, however, I mult obferve, that I am perfectly convinced that thefe animals are of fpecies diitinct: from each other, the females of which have no horns ; and,, if I remember right, they have all a porus ceriferus below the eye, except, according to what I was told, the duykcr-bok. The flefh too of this Iaft animal was alio faid to be very dry and tough,, when compared with that of the others,, which I tafted of,, and which appeared to me* with refpect. Urn «r>& to the high flavour and drynefs of the meat, to bear fome January. i^ryv refemblance to the fleih of the hare. The Jleen-bok is of a reddifh colour, with a white fpot over its eyes, and is probably a variety of Mr. Pennant's red antilope. Hift. of Quadrupeds, page 76. The grys-bok is of a greyifh colour, with black ears, and a large black fpot round the eyes, being probably the A. Grimmia* SpiciL Z00L I. p. 8. Tab. III. The klipfpringer is of a light red colour, inclining to yellow, and intermixed with black ftreaks; the tips and edges of its ears are black. The tails of thefe animals were very fhort; the horns of all the males, if I remember right, are rather fhorter than their ears, being in fome meafure ftraight, and at the fame time round, fmooth, fharp-pointed, black, and Handing at a great diftance from each other, though probably they vary in their pofition. The klipfpringer has obtained the name it bears, from the circumftance of its running with the greateft volocity, and making large bounds even on the lteepeft precipices and in the moft rocky places; fo that, like the other two, it cannot be eafdy caught with hounds. In this refpecl: it refembles Mr. Pennant's fwift antilope, 1. c. As for the duyker-bok, or diving goat, I have only had a fingle glimpfe of it. The colour of it feemed to be dark brown, and its manner of running in the higheft degree lingular; as the animal would make a bound at intervals, rifing in its leap with its neck erect, and in its defcent bringing it down between its legs, and then continuing its courfe on the ground. This, perhaps, among the bufhes, had the appearance of diving, and gave rife to its name, Jpes, CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 225 Apes, or baboons, refute in confiderable numbers in the . *7?6- -* 7 7 January. woody part of the mountain, at the foot of which runs ^yy^J little Fifch-rivier. They are faid to have long canine teeth or tufks, and to be very fwift of foot, nimble, ftrong, and difficult to kill, fo that they will fometimes even force the tigers to quit their hold, and part with their lives to the hounds at a dear rate. On this account the colonifts are not very fond of hunting them. One day, however, when feveral baboons made their appearance very near the farm where we were lodged, I perfuaded my hoft to fet his dogs upon them. One of thefe baboons, which feemed rather in years and inactive, and perhaps was not able to reach the mountains fo foon as the reft, took refuge in a low tree down in the plain. My piece was at this time loaded with what they call Jleen-bok fhot, or fhot about the fize of a common pea; and with thefe, at the diftance of fifteen paces only, I hit the animal in the left breaft ; notwithstanding which, the creature, though mortally wounded, was able to ftay in the tree feveral minutes, and during that time did not utter the leaft cry or groan. At laff, when it was obliged to quit its hold on the tree, the dogs fell upon it before it came to the ground. I now found that there was very good foundation for what I had been formerly told, viz. that there was no fpecies of hunting in which the dogs fhew fo much fury and malice as in the chafe of monkies or baboons ; ours having wounded the animal in a moft terrible manner, before they could be made to quit it. The head of this creature very much re-fembled that of a dog, and its tufks were about half an inch long ; the colour of the hair was a yellowifh brown ; Vol. II. G g the 226 A VOY A G E to the 1576- the tail was nearly as long as the body, and was terminated l^^j by a tuft of hair, lb that in this refpecl: it refembled the tail of the lion. The whole length of the animal from head to foot was five feet; its colour was the common baboon colour, or a mixture of yellow and brown. It is probable, that this baboon is the fmiici cynocephalus of the Svftema Natura; though the cauda Jioccofa of this animal is not taken notice of in the differentia fpecifica, as the tails of fuch monkies as arc kept in a ftate of confinement are ufually cut fhort by their keepers. In the courfe of my journey I accidentally faw a young baboon or two with cropped tails, which were kept chained up, and were faid to be natives of the Gape colonies; but they had not a dog's nofe and large tufks like this, fo that they probably formed a distinct fpecies ; neither had they fuch a dark colour as Mr. Pennant defcribes in his urjine baboon, which he fuppofes came from the Gape. The fkin of the monkey I had fhot, had been too ill ufed by the dogs to be worth preferving; but curious to know, what this anima], in fo many refpects refembling the human race, fed upon in his wild ftate, I opened his ftomach, and found it fdled with a fubftance like fpinach, cut fmall and ftewed : this animal, in all probability, eats likewife certain bulbs and roots, like theBojhies-?nen\ though at that time at leaft, its diet did not appear to confift of a mixture of different fubftanees, neither fruit nor berries of any fort being to be found in thefe parts, at leaft not in that quantity as to deferve to be ranked among the articles on which thefe animals fubfifted. They were not in the leaft fufpected of living upon animal food \ befides, it is well known, that many forts of mon- kies, when in a ftate of confinement, are fed only with !776. vegetables, and upon fuch food are brifk and lively; for which reafon, as one can fcarcely entertain fo ill an opinion of M. de Buffon, confidering him as a naturalift and author of a confiderable number of large volumes on the fubject: of zoology, as to fuppofe him ignorant of the circumftance of moft of the monkey tribe obferving in general a vegetable diet, or of the great refemblance between the vifcera of thefe creatures and thofe of man; for this reafon I fay, it is difficult to conceive, what could induce this celebrated author to affert, that animals which have only one ftomach and fhort inteftines, are obliged, like man, to feed upon ftefh ? Les anhnaux qui n'ont quihin eflomac, et les in-tejlins courts, font forces, comme rhomme, a fe nourrir de chair. (Buffon, Tom. VII. p. 36.) In fact, muft it not likewife inevitably follow from this pofition, that the rhinoceros and horfe, which, in like manner, have one ftomach, with inteftines very fhort in proportion, fhould be obliged, like man, to live upon flefh ? M. de Buffon, indeed, in order farther to enforce his opinion, advifes us, 1. c, to compare the bowels of animals with each other: but to fay the truth, it is, very unfortunately for him, precifely this companion, which when made between man, the ape, the rhinoceros, and the horfe; or again, between the diminutive fructivorous ape, faimiri, Tom. XV. and thofe carnivorous animals the couguas and lynx, Tom. IX. or the wolf, Tom. VII. militates againft him. We likewife find this learned author, who is himfelf, perhaps, fonder of animal than of vegetable food, at page 32 and the following pages of Tom. VII. urging in G g 2 the \ 228 A VOYAGE to the ,TT7t>- the ftrongeft manner the indifpenfible neceflity that man- January. J A ' o^v-v kind is under of taking animal food; and in one place he breaks out in this manner, " Were man reduced to the ne-ccjjity of living on bread and vegetables alone, he would fcarcely be able to fupport life in a weak and langui/hing condition:' From affertions like thefe one is almoft induced to fufpect, that this ample and voluminous hiftorian of the animal kingdom, has acquired but a flight and Superficial knowledge of the human race ; and that, preferring eloquence and paradox to folid argument, he is at any time more likely to adopt falfhood and error, than to arrive at truth : for, allowing that the Bramins, who live without animal food, are rather, as M. de Buffon will have it, a particular feet than a peculiar race of people, ft ill, however, they are men, who live and propagate their fpecies, and are certainly by no means in a weakly and debilitated ftate. i have been told, that a great part of the poor in China fubfift, and that tolerably well, upon rice alone. The lower clafs of inhabitants in the South-Sea, (the Tataus) and even thofe of the higher claffes, ufed to beg meat of us, as it was a great rarity with them ; and though many of thefe could very feldom get at any fhTi, and even that but in fmall quantities, they neverthelefs throve very well on this chiefly vegetable diet, and were fo ftout and robufVas, not to mention other proofs of their ftrength, for the fake of a glafs bead or a nail, frequently to difpute with each other which of them fhould carry fome of us carnivorous Europeans on their backs, over places, which we could not have other-wife paffed without being wet-fhod. This office they performed fo well, as never once to ftumble in pretty rapid ftreams ftreams with rough gravelly bottoms, though at the fame jjjjjj, time the water reached up to their middles, and we fate a- K*y\J ftride upon their moulders with our guns in our hands. The wretched illand, called Eajler ijland, is a very convincing proof, that human nature can accuffom itfelf to be content with very little nouriihment; for though we walked quite acrofs the illand, and explored a confiderable part of it, we could fee no more than one little boat, which, by the by too, was very much patched up and cobled ; neither could we find timber enough to make another like it; fo that I do not know what could induce Capt. Cook to affirm that they had three or four boats. Neither did we obferve any kind of fiflung-tacklc in the leaft, nor any figns, that the inhabitants were ufed to get their food from the fea or its fhore. They had, indeed, fome cocks and hens, but as thefe were but fmall and very tame, and at the fame time fo far from being numerous, that we fcarcely faw fifty of them in a place containing feven or eight hundred people, we may with great propriety affert, that there were many perfons in this illand who fubfifted almoft, if not quite, without animal food of any kind whatfoever. There were fome roots there, it is true ; but as thefe were not extremely plentiful, and are held in abhorrence in the other illands, I do not know, whether the reafons given by Capt. Cook are fufficient to induce one to fuppofe, that the inhabitants of this ifland ufed them as food; and in cafe they did, they would feldom be able to make a good meal of them. It is true, that thefe people were almoft all of them lank and lean ; but then it muft be confidered fikewife, that there was alfo a. very great fcarcity of vegetables 5; , '77^- tables; as the vegetable produce of the whole countrv v^rO hardly conhfted of twenty plants, among which the prfang, yams, fweet potatoes, and the fugar cane, wrcre the chief articles which it appeared to me they could make ufe of. On the other hand, thefe people were agile, and as fwift as goats, and feemed to be very healthy. Their ftrength was not put to the trial; but that their vegetable food did not make them tardy in the performance of the Cyprian rites, an effect which M. de Buffon, at page 33, feems willing to attribute to it, the reader may be eafily convinced by pcrufing Dr. Forster's defcription of the Meffalina-like temperament of the women. One of thefe, who had fwam to our fliip, when it was at a great diftance from the fhorc, was faid, within the fpace of a few hours, to have fuffered the embraces of feventeen of our failors and marines, before fhe fwam again to land. By way of farther refuting M. de Buffon's affertion with refpecl: to the indifpenfable nccefhty of an animal diet, that in the Society Illands the inhabitants had no great fu-perfluity of meat for themfelves, much lefs had they any fifli or flefh to beftow on their dogs; fo that thefe creatures, which, according toM. de Buffon, particularly came under the denomination of carnivorous animals, might very properly be faid to be fed almoft, if not entirely, on vegetable food alone. I had no reafon, however, to look upon them as being feeble and weak ; though, on the other hand, the roafted ones which now and then appeared at our table, as well as at thofe of the principal inhabitants, were convincing proofs of their being fat and in good condition. Moreover, fince our hounds in Europe, which certainly \ certainly belong more properly than man to the clafs of *77& carnivorous animals, are often nourished for a long time v^v^ together extremely well with nothing elfe but flour and water, why mould not feveral forts of vegetables fufEce for mankind ? The flaves and the Bofhies-men at the Cape, who are engaged in the fervice of fuch farmers as do nothing but graze fheep, and confequently have little or no butter-milk, and at the fame time live in parts where the game has been previoufly deffroyed, are yet kept by their mailers in good condition, almoft entirely with bread and other preparations of meal and flour; for they are very careful not to lavifh their fheep on their flaves, thefe fheep being very frequently the only articles by which they can get a little ready cafh and pay their taxes. In Thomas Gage's voyage to New Spain we find, that the poor lived on fflaiz and a fort of pbafeolus, or kidney-bean ; though thofe which live nearer the town, now and then, at leaft on Sundays, got a little meat. In Ulloa's Voyage, Tom. I. p. 248, 249, we read as follows : ** The poor people here have nothing to live upon but papas; thefe roots ftand them in the itead of all other nourilhment. The Creoles prefer them to fowls and the fineft flefh meats." Who is there that does not know, how great a part cacao beans make of the food of the inhabitants in the country where they grow ;, and how foon people of wafted and reduced constitutions, by means of them, recover their flefh and ftrength ? Nay, we have an inftance of a Ship's crew, which for two months had nothing but chocolate for their food, and were very hearty and well with it. Now, A VOYAGE to the t<776- Now, notwithstanding that there are many families in January. 0 Uyw Upper Eg"ypt which live entirely upon dates, (vide Hassel-quist, p. 501) not to mention feveral other fimilar instances, yet I will not look upon them as abfolutely con-cluiive with refpecl: to M. de Buffon himfelf; as this author, at page 33, he. advances, that abff inence from animal food would deftroy the human race ; or, at leaft in our •climate, would render it unfit for the propagation of its fpecies, farther fays, " It is poflible, indeed, that a vegetable diet may be practicable in the fouthern countries, where the fruits are riper, the herbs have more fubftance in them, the roots are more fucculent, and the feeds contain more nourifhment." Setting afide this gentleman's may be, I rather choofe, by inftances brought from Europe and our own climate, fully to refute his delufive doctrines with refpect to the abfolute neceffity of an animal diet. i cannot, however, help remarking, en pajfant, in contradiction to this author, that he has the lefs reafon to con-fider a vegetable diet as making a man unfit for propagation, as the vegetable kingdom produces the greateft quantity of fubftances which promote venery. Befides a great many plants belonging to the clafs gynandria, together with feveral others which might be enumerated, we have chocolate and falep, which are known even by the more ignorant part of mankind to be poffeffed of apbrodijiac qualities : peas likewife, turnips, cabbage, and other flatulent vegetables, are looked upon as poffeffing thefe virtues in fome degree, and that not without foundation nor unwarranted by experience. This pbilofopber, indeed, who is fo much prejudiced againft vegetable diet, might have learned even even from the moft illiterate, that certain vegetables exalt- ,T776- , r , . ° . ^ January. ed by fermentation, as in the cafe of good wine and ale, in v^v^ proper dofes, augment, in this particular, the inclination as well as the faculty. As to the greater degree of perfection afcribed by M. de Buffon to the plants of the fouthern countries, in comparifon with thofe which grow in Europe, it is repugnant to all probability, as well as to what we know for certain of the ceconomy of nature, which brings to as great perfection the root, ftem, leaves, and feed of a plant fhe had intended for the Alps, as of one which lire has planted under the line itfelf. One cannot in particular help wondering the more, that M. de Buffon fhould take it into his head, that the plants which grow in the fouthern climates, have more fubftance in them than thofe of France; as, according to the teftimonyof Olafson and feveral others, a bufhel of the lichen TJlandicus, or Iceland mofs, a plant produced in the moft northern part of Europe, is adequate to two bufhels of wheat; and, as M. de Buffon likewife fuppofes, that the roots in the fouthern countries are more fucculent than they are in the north, are we to take it for granted that he did not find the turnips in Burgundy fufficiently juicy ? But the fact is, that as far as a knowledge of phyfiology and botany, and above all mature reflection, joined with a habit of method and arrangement, are requifite in order to enable a man to form a right judgment concerning the food of animals, this great naturalift has in this place, as well as in many others, happened to enter upon a fubject, of which he is entirely ignorant: of this we have fullicient proofs, in the detracting afperfions he has thrown Vol. II. H h out jamiaty out aSainn: Linnaeus, and his fyftem of botany, although V^v^ this fyftem has been received by all good naturalifts. M. de Buffon, therefore, would have done better, had he kept to his ufual admeafurements and prolix defcriptions of animals, their fkins, ikeletons, and horns; taking care, however, for the future, to make his obfervations in a more accurate manner than he has done with refpecl: to the horns of oxen; on the fubjecl: of which he has happened very unfortunately to make a capital blunder, as I ihall be obliged to fhew more at large a little farther on, when I come to treat of the camelopardalis. In the mean while, let us finiih the difcuffion of the queffion, in how far a man, at leaft in France or Europe, (au moins dans ces pays, vide Buffon, 1. c.) may be fuppofed to linger on through life in a weak and debilitated ftate, or to be incapacitated for the propagation of his fpecies, by living on vegetable food, fuch as is likely to be found in thefe countries, e. g. potatoes, turnips, turnip-rooted, cabbage, carrots, onions, afparagus, fcorzonera, Ikirrets, the lathyrus tuberofus, fallads, and cabbages of all kinds, artichokes, peas, beans, bread, puddings, and all the other various preparations of meal or corn, chefnuts, almonds, apples, pears, and plums of all forts, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, olives, oil, figs, grapes, berries of all forts, wine, beer, &c. The very mention of thefe feems to be a fufficient proof of the abfurdity of M. de Buffon's opinion; but as he. poflibly will not give up the point without good authority being produced to the contrary, I will firft of all refer him to his juftly celebrated countryman Tournefort's excel-* lent CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 235 lent obfervations in the Levant, viz. that the food of the , l77&- r • t n • o January. inhabitants of certain diftricts in that part of the world con- Sw"V\J lifted almoft entirely of bread, figs, and grapes, with fometimes raw cucumbers. Farther, M. de Buffon might have learned from Linn^eus's Amcenitates Academical, Tom. I. p. 137, that the atbletce of former times, whofe principal occupation was wreftling and fighting, for which purpofe a ftrengthening diet was doubtlefs requifite, lived chiefly upon figs before it was the practice to eat flefh. We are likewife told, 1. c. that the poor, who were fet to watch the fig-trees and vineyards, grew plump and fat in the fpace of two months by feeding on thefe fruits, joined to a very fmall quantity of bread ; and that the foxes, which had an opportunity of creeping into places of this kind, ufually got fo fat upon this diet, as to be ufed by fome people as food. I have feen a great number of Dalecarlians, who wrought for a long time together at a hard and laborious bufinefs, fubfift almoft entirely upon hairy-pudding and beer, without even a morfel of bread ; neither was this in the leaft conlidered by them as hard fare.' I have aifo met with many poor cottagers in Up-landia, who for a long time together even wanted bread, particularly for their children, fo-that they were obliged to bring them up upon pancakes and frumenty made without milk. Thofe who in the above-mentioned province or elfe-■ where have an opportunity of adding a little milk to their vegetable food, may neverthelefs be confidered as living -nearly on a vegetable diet; as, according to M. Geoffro', the constituent parts of milk are almoft entirely the fame H h 2 with 1776. with thofe of vegetables. ; According to the accounts given l^i^j me by the Engliih, many of the. poor people in Ireland live on potatoes only, With now and then a little milk ; and a perfon who feveral years ago refided for a long tim in Ruf-fia aflured me, that the common people in fom< places there lived entirely upon four-crout and groats; and like-wife upon lour bread, raw cucumbers, onions, fait ;uafs, and tradakna, a dim. confifting of oatmeal dried in the oven, and mixed up with water: fo that out of thirty thoufand peafants belonging to a certain nobleman who lived on the borders of Mufcovy, there were very few who had the opportunity of tafting either fleih or filh four times a year. M. de Buffon may fee, moreover, in Haller, Tom. VI. Lib. XIX. a long lift of fuch authors as have produced proofs and inftances that mankind in Europe muft necef-farily be able, and actually are able to go without animal food : and indeed, why fhould it not be fo, as the fame glutinous matter which is fo peculiarly nourishing in the animal creation, is likewife found in vegetables I efpecially as, to omit mentioning many other inftances, it is well known, that the people who are condemned to work in the gallies, as well as many others, can make fhift with a certain portion of bread and water only ; and likewife, that the inhabitants of the Apennine Mountains live almoft entirely upon chefnuts. The utility of a diet confifting entirely of vegetables in the hypochondriafis, obftinate gouts, and other Stubborn and pertinacious diforders, has, moreover, of late been placed in a very clear light by Dr. W. Grant, in his Ef-fay on the Atrabilious Conjlitution, p. 399, and feq. in which inftances inftances arc given of its having not only greatly improved 1776. the patients' health, and given them freih ftrength and vi-gour, but likewife made them younger than before. In the fame book too we are informed, that this diet may be fafely had recourfe to by perfons far advanced in years; and that it needs to be continued for the fpace of fix weeks only, or two years at the fartheft. The camelopardalis is, as I have faid above at p. 149 of this volume, the tallettof all quadrupeds when meafured in front; and though it is only found in thofe parts of the Cape colonies that lie fartheft towards the north-weft, merits, however, an accurate defcription, efpecially in this place, along with the other animals of Africa. The latcft and belt accounts concerning the real form and other properties of this beaft have been given to the public by the prefent Commandant at the Cape, Major Gordon, who fhot one of thefe creatures in the diftricl: of Anamaquas\ in confequence of which, the public has been gratified with a very good drawing and defcription of it by M. Allamand, in his edition of M. de Buffon's Hiftory of Animals, Suppl. di la Giraffe, p. 46. Of this defcription I ihall here prefent my reader with an abstract. The height of this animal, when it holds its neck Strait and erect, is, from the crown of the head to the ground, fifteen feet two inches; the length of it, from the cheft to the anus, five feet feven inches; from the top of the Shoulders to the ground about ten feet; but from the loins only eight feet two inches; a difference which proceeds partly from the length of the Shoulder-blades, which are two feet long, and partly from a Sharp procefs of the firft 4 vertebra i776- vertebra of the back, which projects above a foot beyond s^sy^j the reft. From the breaft to the ground it meafures five feet and a half; the neck, which is decorated with a mane like that of the zebra, is fix feet long, and confequently twice the length of the camel's; the head is above two feet in length, and fomewhat refembles the head of a fheep; the upper lip is rather larger and thicker than the under, but both of them are covered with ftiff hairs; the eyes of this creature are large and beautiful; its fore teeth fmall, and eight in number, and are only to be found in the lower jaw, though the animal has fix grinders on both fides of each jaw. Directly before the horns there is a knob, which proceeds from an elevation of part of the cranium, and projects two inches above the furface; and behind them, or in the crag of the neck, there are two fmallcr ones, which are formed by the fubjacent glands; the horns are feven inches long, i. e. a little fhorter than the ears; they rather incline backwards, and are a little broader arid Tounded off at the ends, where they are encircled with long hairs, which reach beyond the horny part, forming a tuft. In fine, the horns are covered, like thofe of other animals, with a cutaneous and hairy fubftancebut the interior fubftance of them is faid to refemble the heart or honey part of the horns of gazels and oxen, and to be proceffes of the fcull itfelf. On the horns of this beaft, when aged, there have been obferved fmall irregular elevations, which M. Allama-nd fuppofes to be the fhoots of future branches. The colour of this beaft is a white ground, with large jreddifh fpots Handing pretty clofe to each other; which fpots, fpots, in the more aged animals, incline to a dark-brown *frjf» January. or black, but in the others border upon the yellow. The C^yO tail is fmall and ilender, and is terminated by a large tuft of very coarfe and moftly black fetaceous hairs; the fore parts of the hoofs are much higher than the back parts. This creature has no fetlocks, as all other hoofed animals have. This animal when it goes faff does not limp, as fome have imagined, but fometimes paces, and fometimes gallops. Every time it lifts up its fore feet it throws its neck back, which on other occaiions it holds ereit; notwithstanding this, it is by no means flow when purfued, as M-de Buffon fuppofes it to be, but, on the contrary, it requires a fleet horfe to hunt it. In eating the grafs from off the ground, it fometimes bends one of its knees, as horfes do; and in plucking leaves-and fmall branches from high trees, it brings its fore feet about a foot and a half nearer than common to the hind feet. A camelopardalis which Major Gordon wounded in the leg, fo that it could not raife itfelf from the ground, neverthelefs did not fhew the leaft figns of anger or re-fentment; but when its throat was cut, fpurned againft the ground with a force far beyond that of any other animal. The vifcera refembled thofe of gazels, but this animal had no porus ceriferus. The fteih of the young ones is very good eating, but fometimes has a ftrong flavour of a certain flirub, which is fuppofed to be a fpecies of mi-mofa. The Hottentots are particularly fond of the marrow, and chiefly for the fake of this hunt the beaft, and. kill: 1776. kill it with their poifoned arrows. Of the fkin they make January. -1- J \**CsJ veffels, in which they keep water and other liquors. M. de Buffon, who has very unadvifedly taken it into his head to declare war not only againft Linnaeus, hut like-wife againft his difciples, has, in a prolix introduction to his Differtation upon the camelopardalis, {Giraffe, Tom. XIII.) in a peculiar manner infulted the memory of Dr. Hasselqjjist, a man whofe merit has fhone confpicuous in feveral different fciences. School-boy, pedant, blunderer, 8cc. are the terms, as reproachful as unmerited, in which M. de Buffon fpeaks of a man, who at too early a period, alas! for the intcreits of fciencc, yet crowned with the applaufes of the literati of Europe, fell a victim to his zeal for natural hiftory. I could fincerely have wifhed to have avoided this difplay of M. de Buffon's ungenerous conduct, that it might not reach to the knowledge of any others (befides thofe who are already acquainted with the fact) in how far, on occafion of the defcription of the above-mentioned animal, he has forgot the language of a gentleman; but my refpect for truth in general, and a wifh to throw a light on my prefent fubject, the hiftory of animals, forbid me to be filent on this head. The refpect likewife which I juifly bear to M. Has-selquist, on account of his merit, and a full conviction of his innocence, call upon me to defend him; and that more particularly from the reproaches he has fuftain-^ed for not having mentioned in his defcription of his camelopardalis, whether the horns of this animal fall off or not. If it be a fault in Dr. Hasselquist not to have mentioned what he could not poffibiy ice, and not to have defcribed, defcribed, like M. de Buffon, in the compleateft manner, . x776- . v * January. what he could not poflihly know, I muft then confefs my- v^^rO felf faulty on the fame grounds; as, though in fact I was allowed to draw up a defcription of the dried head of a camelopardalis at the Cape, yet I could not obtain per-miflion to faw in pieces or dilfect the horns, as they were promifed by the governor to a particular friend of his in Europe. It is much to be wiihed, indeed, that M. de Buffon had followed Dr. Hasselojjist's example in this refpect, in which cafe his Natural Hijlory would have been much fhorter, much more ufeful and authentic; and, what would have been ftill better, our oxen and cows would have kept their horns on their heads in the way in which nature has ordained they mould, viz. without their falling off every third year, in conformity to the ignorant affertion of M. de Buffon, Tom. IV. p. 459, and of the edition revifed by Mr. Allamand, p. 176. He there fays, " Ainll la eaft ration ni le fexe ne changent rien a la crue $z a la chute des dentes : cela ne change rien non plus a la chute des cornes, car clles tombent egalement a trois ans au taureau, au boeuf 8c a la vache, & elles font Tempi acces par d'autres cornes qui, comme les fecondes dents, ne tombent plus; celles du bceuf & de la vache devieu-nent feulement plus groffes Sc plus longues que celles du taureau. I/accroiffement de ccs fecondes cornes ne fe fait pas d'unc maniere uniforme, 8c par un developpement egal; la premiere annee, e'eft a dire, la quatrieme annee de Page de bceuf, il lni pouffe deux petites cornes pointues, nettes, unies, 8c tcrminees vers la rite par une efpece de bourrelet, rannee fuivante ce bourrelet s'eloigne de la te-tc, pouffe par Vol. II. I i un '776- un cvlindre de corne qui fe forme, St qui fe termine auffi ];muary. ' * \^ysj par un autre bourrelet 8c ainli de fuite, car tant que l'ani-mal vit les cornes croirfent." For the fake of fuch perfons as have not had an opportunity of being better acquainted with M. de Buffon and his works, I will juft take occafion to obferve, that this is the celebrated man, who, after a minute investigation of every concomitant circumftance (in confequence of which he has likewife favoured us with a particular defcription of the whole procefs) thought himfelf authorifed to advance, that a comet, having ft ruck againft the fun in its courfe, beat feveral pieces out of it, of which the planets were formed, and has befides calculated the precife time which each of thefe celeftial bodies refpedtively took to cool. But quite enough has been faid of a blunder, which the moft illiterate cottager is able to rectify, in cafe it fhould happen to miilead any raw fchool-boy, totally unacquainted with natural hiftory. But as we are upon the fubject: of horns at prefent, I cannot help requeuing M. de Buffon to inform me, how the fmalleft elk's horns, Tom. XII. Tab. XLVI. could grow from the fize which, at page 326, under the article ma-zames, they are faid to be of, (viz. not quite fix inches long;) how thefe, I fay, could grow fo quickly, at page 357, 358, in the article coudou, to the length of two feet? if, indeed, the nice admeasurements of M. Daubenton, page 377> 378, MCXCIX. M. C. C. are in every refpecl to be depended upon. Neither can I better comprehend, why Meffrs. de Buffon and Daubenton make ufe of the fame horns for two quite different animals; by doing which, they have induced two other zoologists, certainly in other re fpecls fpects the gfeateft and moft accurate in Europe, in like ja!n7u7a^ manner to refer to horns of one and the fame fpecies, for v^-y-sj two different animals; though this, indeed, is not fo much to be wondered at, thefe gentlemen being too complaifant to • harbour fuch a degree of miftruft with refpecl to the Hijloire Naturelle, as, in fact, was in this cafe neceffary ; neither could they eafily fufpect fo palpable a miftake in this great work of Meffrs. de Buffon and Daubenton, concerning which, however, 1 fear, that many people will pafs the fame judgment, as M. de Buffon has done on Seba's thefaurus. But I muft write a treatife confifting of many volumes, were I to continue to diffect M. de Buffon's work; I ihall therefore content myfelf at prefent with making, as briefly as poflible, a few remarks on the camelopardalis and the viverra ichneumon, (the giraffe and mangoujl of Buffon,) on account of the defcriptions of which M. Hasselquist has been fo ill ufed. M. de Buffon has not been able to point out, much lefs to demonftrate, any blunder committed by Hasselquist; but why does he then blame this learned and highly deferving academician f It is, indeed, aftonifliing, that he fhould confidcr Hasselquist's defcriptions as prolix, when, in fact, the fame animals are treated of in one and the fame Tome of M. de Buffon's own writings ; one of them in at leaft twice, and the other twelve times as diffufe a manner; notwithftanding which, this fame volume is ftill farther fwelled out with admeafurements of the vagina and urethra of the rat. Is it poflible here to refrain from enquiring, what is the ufe of all this ? fince the animal alluded to has nothing extraordinary in the proportion of this part, I i 2 and •776- and Stands in no need of any affittance with refpecl: to its January. v^^y^j copulation, and never has any occafion either for the catheter to be applied, or to be cut for the Stone. The very cat itfelf, an animal which every old woman has it in her power to meafure and examine in her chimney corner, has likewife been obliged to undergo the molt minute and tedious admeasurements in the Hijloire Naturelle, though at the fame time, on account of the beautiful engravings, which, more than any thing elfe, threw a light on this work, the learned world, according to M. de Buffon's own confeffion, 1. c. page 9, might have been very well fpared thefe trifles. M. Hasselojjist's Latin, which M. de Buffon fays is no Latin at all, is neverthelefs perfectly good, and exactly fuch as is required for the purpofes of fcience, concife, ex-preflive, and eafily comprehended by any one who has Studied the language, and may even be understood by any fchool-boythat has made the lead progrefs in this department of learning. It is not Hasselojjist's fault, that his defcription as it is quoted by M. de Buffon, 1. c. page 7 and 8, from negligence, ignorance, or malice, has been fo badly copied from the original edition, fo that e. g. from it may be concluded, that the animal's teeth and tongue are round, and are placed on its head together with its horns, &c. How was it poflible for this circumftance to efcape the critical eyes of the great Buffon, fuppofing indeed that he underffands Latin, and, as he expreffcs it at page 15, 1. c. is capable of feizing the genuine knowledge of nature by means of la vue immediate de Fefprit & coup d'oeil du genie ? In In fhort, I am forry that Dr. Hasselquist's defcription |*gj(L ihonld appear dry to M. de Buffon ; but I cannot help ^rrO thinking, that if it had been fluffed and feafoned with un-jufl and ill-natured criticilms, with conjectures and mistakes, even though it had been compofed in the French language, and in the moft tumid and high-flown style, most lovers of truth and natural knowledge would have found it in the highest degree difguftful. The reader needs only compare Major Gordon's defcription with that of Meflfs. de Buffon and Daubenton, in order to be convinced of the in-fignificancy and futility of all their tedious deductions and calculations. Had M. de Buffon taken the pains to understand, and made ufe of IIasselquist's Latin defcription, instead of quoting it, merely for the purpofe of criticising it right or wrong, he would have known, that the head belonging to the fkin defcribed by M. Hasselquist, was four fpans, or at least two feet long ; and confequently, that the defcriptions of Op p ian, II el 10 dor us, and Strabo, are by no means adapted, as M. de Buffon affirms they are, to give a tolerably juft idea of the camelopardalis, or giraffe; for, according to thefe, a giraffe, of the fize of a camel, has a head not above twice as large as that of an oftrich : a creature which would certainly make a figure in Prince P***'s collection of monsters. (Vide Brydone's Tour, Vol. I. page 93.) We are, however, too well acquainted with, and have too great an esteem for, the ex-tenfwe genius and learning of the Count de Buffon, in the leaft to fufpedt him to be of the fame tafte ; although, befides the circumftance above alluded to concerning the head* 246 A VOYAGE to the T head, he terms the camelopardalis at one and the fame time v^rO the handfomeft, and, with refpecl: to its legs, the moft enormoufly difproportionate animal in the whole creation; though other people are apt to confider that only as beautiful which is proportionable. M. de Buffon might like-wife have learnt from Dr. Hasselquist's accurate defcription of this quadruped, that neither the head nor legs are fo difproportionate, as he imagines them to be. In fine, Major Gordon did not find this animal fo tottering, lloth-ful, and unwieldy, as it has pleafed M. de Buffon, without any authority, but that of his own prolific imagination, to reprefent it in the defcription he has given of it. With regard to the viverra ichneumon, or the mangouft, I fhall only fay, that at the Gape I had an opportunity of comparing M. Hasselquist's defcription of it with the creature itfelf, and found it remarkably accurate. This fame gentleman having obferved in a note, that the French, when in Egypt, are accuftomed to beftow French names on the natural objects of which they have no knowledge, and confequently have in all probability given the name of rat de pharaon to this animal; M. de Buffon confiders this remark as an attack upon the French nation. But if M. de Buffon means by this, to excite his countrymen againft Dr. Hasselquist, he muft pardon me when I tell him, that I am too well acquainted with the generofity and difcern-ment of the French nation in general, to fuppofe that his de fires would be gratified. For my part, I can have no inducement on the fcore of any national predilection to take Dr. Hasselquist's part againft M. de Buffon, as all thofe who are occupied in enlightening themfdves and mankind 8 by by the promotion of fcience, are, as being fellow-labourers, ja'77a6r' to be confidered likewifeas brethren and fellows of a com- v^v>J munity, in which it is neceifary for each to aflift the other in promoting the object of their common purfuit; in a word, they are countrymen and fellow-citizens of the commonwealth of literature. After all, whether there is any foundation for this observation of Dr. Hasselquist o,r no, in neither cafe can it in the leaff affect the reputation of the French merchants who are ufed to visit Egypt, whether they are faid to give French or Latin names to the fubjects they fee, or whether they take the pains to learn the Arabic, Turkiih, or Coptic names of them; ftill lefs could it have been M. Hasselquist's intention by any remarks of his, to eaft a reflection upon a whole nation. To conclude, if M. de Buffon had read and taken the pains to understand M. Hasselquist's book, with any other view than that of criticising Linn^lus and his difciples, he might have easily found by it, that Hasselquist's manu-fcripts were feized in Egypt after his death, being afterwards redeemed by the munificence of a great queen, and through the confpicuous love and zeal for fcience of the fame exalted perfonage, were ordered to be printed in the manner mentioned in the preface ; and that confequently, the author himfelf could not put the last hand to his work; in which cafe, indeed, he poffibly, either from memory or from his notes, which were loft by his untimely death, might have added the defcription of the interior part of the giraffe's horn, which M. de Buffon feems to have fo very much at heart. Perhaps, likewife, M. Hasselquist, in order to pleafe M. de Buffon, would have fomewhat curtailed 248 A V O Y A G'E to -the •776- tailed his defcription of tlie mangoufl; though, as I have January. f" "m n \^r^j faid before, it is much lhorter than it is in the Hijtoire Naturctle. 1 have doubtlcfs faid fufficient at prefent, to convince a. man of M. de Buffon's great genius, that even he, with his fuperior talents, is capable of committing blunders, and at the fame time has in particular done great wrong to academicians of the higheft merit : and that if, on the contrary, he fhould rather fhew that he is touched with companion for their furlerings, and is at the fame time happy on every occafion to vindicate their reputation when attacked, he would give manifeft proofs of that magnanimity and candor which, in a great man, ought always to go hand in hand with his talents, and which would molt affuredly add to the efteem which every lover of literature entertains for them. Of the tiger-bofch-kat I have made mention above, and had an intention of defcribing it in this place, (together with the reft of the African animals) from the fkin of this creature which I brought home with me; but find that it has fince been fo accurately defcribed and delineated from the live fubject: by Dr. Forster in the Philofoph. Tranfact. Vol. LXXI. for the year 1781, that I can refer the reader to it with the greateft pleafure. On the 2 Tit of January, as I have mentioned above at page 169, we took our departure from Agter Bruntjes-hoogte. In the afternoon we arrived at Great Vifch-rivier, where we again refolved to try our luck in the purfuit of fea-cows; for I was determined not to depart out of the country, before I had made as accurate an inveltigation of this GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 249 this lame, though, not unknown animal, as I had of the . I?76- o 7 o ' January. two-horned rhinoceros. On our arrival at a certain fpot upon Fifch-rivier, we found feveral farmers from the province we had juft left, who had arrived there before us. In their company, likewife, came to this place a hufbandman, or, as they are ufually called here, a corn-boor, from the country near Cape Town. When we firft faw him he was fleeping under a fhady tree, by the fide of a perfect beauty, who was clad in a light fummer drefs: no wonder then, that fo uncommon and romantic a fcene appearing on a fudden in a defert, fhould immediately chafe away all thofe images of defolation and wild horror, which the favage and dreary afpect of thefe plains had begun once more to excite in mine and my friend's imagination: and I would not anfwer for him, that he would not foon have forgot all his botany, had he fuffered himfelf any longer to be carried away, by the firft delightful and charming impreflions made on him by the contemplation of fo perfect, a production in the chief of the three kingdoms of nature. On our entering into converfation with them, our voluptuous corn-boor and his beautiful fpoufe informed us, that they had juft been to pay a vilit to their relations at Agter Rruntjes-hoogte, where having experienced for the fpace of fix months the fweets of the eafe and convenience attending a paftoral life, when compared with the drudgery of that of the hufbandman and wine-dreffer, they had given up all thoughts of their former bufinefs, fo that they intended to fell their vineyard and corn-farm near the Cape, and to look out for fome fpot in thefe parts, proper to carry on the grazing bufinefs. Our converfation on this fubject was now in-Vo L. II. K k terrupted 2$Q A VOYAGE to the 1776. terruptcd by the arrival of another farmer and a little boy of their party, who informed us, that fome wild beaft, probably a tiger, had juft before come upon one of the hounds by ftealth, and torn it to pieces, while it was drinking out of the river, on the wry fpot where our informer told us he had juft been laying clown for an afternoon's nap, having rifen from it only half a minute before. They, as well as wre, had only heard the dog give one fingle fqueak ; after which it was found quite dead. So that in all probability the wild beaft had, previoully to this, lain in wait for the little boy, in order (as they faid) pursuant to its ufual cuftom, to kill him in a fly infidious manner, and then, after a fhort interval, to return and carry him off. In the mean while, this incident put us all inftantly into an alarm, and occasioned us to take to our arms in order to revenge ourfelves. Accordingly, feveral couple of hounds were put upon the fcent in a thicket clofe by the river fide, where the wild beaft ftill lay concealed, while we pofted ourfelves round about. The hounds, which followed the fcent with great eagernefs, foon drove the tiger out, and that only forty or fifty paces from our beft fhot, a little old farmer, who fhot him flying, as it were, while he was fpringing from the ground, The ball was found afterwards to have entered at the upper edge of the anus, and to have made its way through the whole length of the body, till at laft it came out at the animal's mouth; as a great x^art of the palate was miffing, and the remainder of it, clofe by the fore teeth, was bloody, without thefe latter, however, being damaged in the leaft. I do not know whether this can be explained from CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 251 from any particular pofition of the animal, or rather from /77s. . January. the circumftance of the ball, in confequence of the refift-ance it met with, having gone out of the right line. On the body of this wild beaft we found a little h'rppobofca, totally unknown to naturalifts, which they told me was ufually met with 01a the carcaffes of tigers. They like-wife informed me, that a peculiar fort of fly, much larger than this, in all probability likewife of the bippobqfca kind, fubfifted on the body of the lion. The animals which I and the colonifts in this part of Africa call tigers, are of that kind which are reprefented in Tab. XI. XII. and XIV. Tom. IX. of M. de Buffon's work, under the denomination of panthers and leopards. At the Cape I have likewife feen feveral fkins of the oun&e of M. de Buffon, which, by fome of the colonifts, was diftinguifhed from the former by the name of leopard, and was faid to live chiefly in the mountains, and to be lefs common, bold and daring, though more treacherous and deceitful, than the animal ufually called tiger at the Cape, or the panther of M. de Buffon: to which, however, it is equal in point of fize, though the fkin is not fo beautiful, nor fo much coveted, as it is more fbaggy, and covered with longer hairs, neither is it fo much fpotted nor fo gloffy. Both thefe forts, when they happen to come in the way of fix or eight hounds of the common fort, which, in fact, are ufed by the colonifts for this purpofe, are eafily caught, or elfe torn in pieces by them. I faw at one farmer's only at Gantze-craal, about fourteen or fifteen furs of tigers, as they are called, which were faid to have been taken and K k 2 killed «776- killed within the fpace of three years, by the common dogs \^rr>!j belonging to the farm ; now and then, however, a dog or two had loft their lives in the conflict, or elfe had been very much wounded. I was told, that a flave who looked after his matter's cattle, had been attacked unawares and by ftealth on the plains between Tiger-mountain and the Cape, by a tiger, with which he had long ftruggled and rolled about upon the ground : at length, however, the tiger was overpowered by the flave, who, notwithftanding the dangerous wounds he had received, recovered. This, though bordering on the marvellous, is not abfolutely incredible ; for when revenge, or the dread of inftant death, is added to a man's natural ftrength and vigour, he is almoft capable of performing fupernatural things. I recollect, moreover, to have read, in Jonston's ctbaumatograpbia Naturalis, that a man of the name of Poly dam as, was able, unarmed, to kill a lion. The tiger, however, that we fhot at this place, feemed to me to be rather dangerous to grapple with. It was thought to be old and about the uftial fize. I cannot find in my note-book, whether I had taken any notes of the meafure; but I think I remember that the beaft was two feet high, but much longer in proportion than a dog of the fame height. Very early in the afternoon, the hunting party above-mentioned went away, and about an hour before dark there arrived a hord of Caffres. They had got within three hundred paces of us, before we difcovered them, being to the number of about one hundred, all men, and each of them armed with a few baffagais, or a couple of kirries. They marched, marched, moreover, directly on towards our waggon, not ^J^y with the carelefs gait of ordinary travellers, but with mea- ^y^j fured fteps, as it were ; and, in fhort, with an almoft affected pride and ftatelincfs in their deportment, as they approached nearer to us. Upon the whole, we could not well have received a vifit on this fpot more unexpected, nor of a more alarming nature;' indeed, it occasioned a vifiblc confternation in feveral of my Hottentots, at the fame time that it puzzled my friend and me, to think in what manner we fhould receive this nation fo on afudden, fo as to avoid fharing the unhappy fate which, as I have already mentioned before, at page 154 of this volume, attended Heuppenaer and hisfuit. In cafe of an attack, my Hottentots were too few in number, and too cowardly to be depended upon ; fuch of them as were of the Bofhies-man's race, and had come with us from Zondags-rwlcr, would probably have affifted in plundering our waggon, had they found a convenient opportunity; and who knows, whether they were not in fecret intelligence with the Bomies-men, who were at this time in the fervice of the Caffres, and belonged to their party. They had long preffed me to leave Agter Brunijes-boogte. At leaft I had hints given me afterwards, that this viiit of the Caffres was not accidental, but was paid me in confequence of fome intelligence given them by certain Hottentots at Agter Bruntjes-boogte. However, I had not then time to go into fuch deep fpeculations on the fubject, being entirely occupied by the apprehenfion, left the party under my command, by the fmalleft appearance of cowardice or a difpofition to mutiny, fhould call forth the ufual enter-prifing fpirit of the Caffres. i was very fenfible that my friend '776- friend and I, mounted on our horfes, would have been a i^^j match for them, in like manner as the two men were who revenged Heuppenaer's death; but in this cafe, we had not a moment to lofe, much lefs had we any fpare time to fetch our horfes from palhire. I therefore refolved in-ftantly to carry matters with as high a hand as it was poflible for me to affume in the situation we were in, efpecially as I knew from experience, that by this means the Indians might fometimes be kept in awe juft like children. Accordingly, I began with my own Hottentots, threatening with the moft terrible Dutch oaths my memory furnifhed me with, to fhoot the firft man through the head, who fhould ftir a foot without leave, or once open his mouth to the Caffres; or, in line, fhould not, at the fmalleft nod, perform what I might think fit to command. My companion, on his part, taking a handful of bullets, put them into a loaded gun of an uncommon length which he had brought with him; in the mean time frequently addreff-ing himfelf to me, and making it out to be a very eafy matter (and of the feafibility of which there could be no doubt) to kill with it the whole body of Caffres at a fingle fhot, in cafe they fhould offer to behave in a hoftile manner ; and at the fame time, in order to give fome probability to this gafconade, did not omit to practife a few manoeuvres in the true legerdemain ftyle. While Mr. Immelman was thus with his long gun, beyond all doubt, making a tremendous figure in the eyes of the Caffres, and 1 was likewife armed with my gun, and the fiercer! mien I could poffibly mufter up, they came towards us wedged up, as it were, into a clofe body, with three leaders in their CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 255 their front. A Hottentot interpreter in one of the wings, l77$- . , 0 January. feemed juft going to open with a long harangue ; when I \wrv-0 put a fudden ftop to his fublime oratory, by accofting him with a few rough compliments in the Swedifh language, and turning my back upon him. This haughty and uncivil reception, which would only have ferved to irritate any other than Hottentots and Caffres, on the contrary, from the very beginning, abafed their pride, fo that they flood like a parcel of orderly, or rather intimidated, fchool-boys, and waited for my queftioning them ; upon which we, in quality of the principal fons of the company, ordered our interpreter to afk them what nation they were of ? Whence they came ? and whither they were going ? For the purpofe of making this examination, I called out Jan Skeper, the moft alert and intelligent of all my Hottentots, and had the fatisfaction to fee him fly to me like a flafli of lightning ; a proof of his obedience, which, indeed, was at this time very agreeable to me ; as it was requilite in order to excite in the Caffres a high opinion of our authority and power : but the ftill higher ideas, and even dread which he had conceived of this nation, put his whole body into a tremor, fo that even his teeth chattered in fuch a manner, that he could not utter a word. This unlooked for cowardly behaviour, threatened to fpoil my whole plan ; for which reafon, both from indignation, and in order to difguife the reafon of his trembling, I threatened him very hard, and accofted him in the rougheft manner. I am not certain, however, whether the Caffres were not more marp-fighted than I wiihed them to be ; 1 how- »776- however that be, lbme of them fixed their eyes upon hi in January. ■ , i^yy^J and laughed. Whenever the interpreter of the Caffres offered, which he did feveral times, to enter into a private converfation with my Hottentot, I constantly took care to prevent it. In fine, the account they gave of themfelves was, " that they were Caffres from Konaps-rivier, and were come hither merely with a view of meeting with us, and to fee whether we had brought with us a great deal of iron and copper to exchange for their cattle ; for they knew from report, that we were come from a great diftance, and had long resided in thefe plains." In the mean while, this proposition of theirs with refpecl: to the traffic and cattle, appeared to me extremely fufpicious, inafmuch as I could not at that time perceive that they had brought any live stock along with them; and thofe which their herdfmen and boys brought to this place afterwards, con fisted merely in a few milch cows and young fteers, upon which they fet an amazing high price, and in all probability, intended them for their own fupport during their march. In order to prevent their fitting down without being previoun1 y aiked, I told them without delay by means of the interpreters, that they had my leave to fit down, whilft I gave my anfwer on the fubject. of their propofed commerce. Accordingly they fat themfelves down in the fame order as they came, viz. the three Chiefs in front of the reft. I afked, neverthelefs, how many of them were captains een obliged to leave one of her children behind her, which had been pierced through the body with feven haffagais. The lofs of the Chriftians in the article of cattle, is faid to amount to twenty-one thoufand; while, on the other hand, they could not meet with the third part of that number of cattle belonging to the Caffres, who, Mr. Immelman tells me, were led on by the Captains Mosan and Koba. I cannot fay whether it was either of thefe that paid us a vifit, as I forgot to take down their names, and therefore cannot remember them fo as to be certain of them. Juft after midnight it rained, with thunder and lightning. The next morning (being the 2 2d) at ten o'clock, the whole party of Caffres went away without taking leave, after having, under pretence of felling a milch cow, tried to get a fight of all the iron and copper Which they fuppofed I had brought with me: however, that I might not lead lead them into temptation, I fhewed them nothing but plants and infects, which I told them were the only com- V^vO modities I had of any moderate value ; thefe, however, I fuppofed they would hardly take in exchange for their cow, which we otherwife, on account of the store we fet by the milk, would have been glad to have bargained with them for. After this they bent their courfe towards Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, and were met on the road by three farmers, viz. Jacob Potgieter, with his fon Flip, and his fbn-in-law Frans Labeskanje, who were coming with three Hottentots, according to agreement, to strengthen our party, and to enable us the better to block up and moot the lea-cows. As the colonifts are strictly prohibited from carrying on any kind of commerce with the Hottentots and Caffres, and as befides thefe peafants, not without reafon, fufpected the Caffre's deligns, apprehending at the fame time, that they would at leait strike a terror by their arrival, in thofe whom they left at home behind them, they at first endeavoured to dissuade them in a friendly manner from going to the town; and afterwards had recourfe to threats, which fuc-ceeded better; assuring them, that id cafe they would not go their way peaceably, they would make a great havock among them with their fire-arms; which, in fact, as they "were on horfeback, they might do without danger, by fuc-ceflively difpatching them in fmall parties, in the fame manner as I mentioned at page 143 and 154 of this volume, and of which the Caffres were not ignorant. As *776- As to the external appearance of thefe Caffres, I found January. t x x k^y^j them not io tall m general as the Gonaquas Hottentots, and the Caffres I faw with that people ; neither were they nearly fo much adorned with copper and beads : they were, however, full as robuft and manly. While I was waiting for the arrival of the three farmers, and there was no particular natural fubject. about this fpot that required peculiar attention, I fet about digging in the earth after antiquities. I had before this, during my firft refidence near Groote Fifch-rivier, obferved heaps of ftones larger than thofe few I had feen near Krakeel-rivier, and compofed of flones equal to them in bulk. They were from three to four and four feet and a half high, and the bafes of them meafured fix, eight, and ten feet in diameter. They likewife lay ten, twenty, fifty, two hundred paces, and even farther afunder, but constantly between two particular points of the compafs, and confequently in right lines, and thofe always running parallel to each Other. I likewife found thefe heaps of ftones in a confiderable number, and knew from the account I had on this fubject: from the colonifts, that they extended in this manner feveral days journey from this fpot, in a northern direction, through uncultivated plains, into the Sneefe Vlaktens, as they are called, where they are faid to be met with in a ftill greater number of parallel lines. Thefe monuments are therefore conlidered as irrefragable proofs, that this tract, of country was formerly inhabited by a race of people, who were more powerful and numerous than either the Hottentots or Caffres, whofe fepulchral rites, as well CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 265 well as other customs, and above all their inconceivable _W6* January. lloth and idlenefs, are too well known for them to be fuf- ^r>J peeled of fuch large, and, to all appearance, ufelefs undertakings. In the mean while, in order to difcover the intention of thefe heaps of ftones being collected together, many conjectures were formed with various degrees of probability : thus much, however, is certain, that they could not have been collected together by any other than llaves. But whether this was done by a people bending beneath the yoke of fuperftition, or elfe under that of monarchy or of an oligarchy, I mall not pretend to determine. In the firft cafe it is probable, that they conceived themfelves bound to make offerings like thefe, of ufelefs toil and trouble, to their tyrannical gods ; or in the latter cafe, were compelled to pay this tribute to the pride and vanity of fome tyrant, who even after death, for the fake of immortalizing and procuring vain and imaginary honours for his cluft, contrived in this manner to wafte the ftrength, and exhaust the forces of his surviving fubjects. Under the influence of which foever of thefe caufes the ftones have been accumulated, they are certainly the relicks of fome early period, in which, whether fmarting under the fcourge of fuperftition or that of a tyrant, fome populous nation has dwindled away to a few fcattered hcrdfmen, or elfe has been degraded to the prefent race of Caffres, Hottentots, Bofhies-men, and ravages. In fome few heaps of ftones, I obferved that the foundations only had been laid, or perhaps the ftones had been carried off, till the remainder was level with the furface of Vol. II. M m the . !776- the earth. As thefe feemed moft convenient for the pur- January. * pofe of exploring the ground, Mr. Immelman and I rode nearly three miles to one of them, which was in the vicinity of Koks-craat, in order, as I faid before, to fearch after antiquities, or any relicks whatever of antient times, concerning which I was in hopes of getting information. A bar of iron, two feet long, which we had taken with us in order to dig up bulbs and roots with it in the courfe of our journey, was the only inftrument we had fit for our purpofe ; and we had not an opportunity of taking any more hands with us by way of aflifting us, than the youngeft of our Bofhies-men, a ftout, willing, and alert young fellow. We met, however, with impediments not to be overcome, in large ftones piled up clofe together, fo that with our united ftrength we could not get more than two feet deep into the centre of the heap, and that not without great labour and trouble ; and at laft found nothing more than fome rotten bits of trees, and fomething that appeared to be a piece of a bone quite mouldered away. The Hottentot who before this, induced by the tobacco which we promifed him, had aflifted us, though not without fneering us a good deal, and ridiculing us in his own language, which we did not underftand, at laft fairly burft out a laughing, and began likewife, with an air of great indignation, and moralizing on the matter, to turn his back upon the work. To this may be added, that this diftricl: was very much noted for harbouring lions ; and that our horfes, which we had turned out upon the paftures, with their heads and legs tied together, had ftrayed away, and were miffing a long time before GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 267 before we could find them again aniong the bullies on this '776. a January, dangerous fpot. V^v>J In the dufk we got home to our waggon, and were not a little pleafed with the punctuality of the three farmers before fpoken of, who were now come, agreeably to their promife, to affift us in hunting the fea-cow : though at the fame time I was, and am ftill exceedingly vexed at having miffed the opportunity of exploring, in a proper manner, and with a fufficient degree of accuracy, the heaps of ftones occurring in thefe parts; an inveftigation which would probably throw much light on the nature of mankind in general, and more particularly on its priftine condition in this part of the world. There was a vague report propagated here, that a farmer had found on a fpot near the diftrict of Camdebo, fome antient Hone ruins. This itory I fliall make no comment upon; yet, together with the heaps of ftones fo often mentioned, it forms a fubject worthy of a particular and clofe inveftigation : and this could not be done by any one better than Major Gordon, who, being a member of the regency at the Cape, and a man of great genius and an inquifitive turn of mind, would certainly have as great a claim to the gratitude of the public by his fuccefsful labours on this fubject, as he has already by clearing up the remarkable hiftory of the camelopardalis. Jacob Koks-craal, which I have mentioned before, and put down in my map, is a place which is in general paff-able with waggons; and from the fituation of the mountains near it, and other circumftances, is faid to be the key, as it were, to the northern part of Africa. It is reported M m 2 to »77*' to have obtained the name it now bears from the circum-fiance of Jacob Kok, my friend tiLZeekoe-rivier, who, with feveral others, had intended to make a long journey a great way up the country, having been detained for feveral months by an unufual flooding of the water ; which indeed was fo great, that the force of the ftream even prevented them in their attempts to crofs it on a float of wood. On this, as well as on the preceding night, we had thunder and rain. On the next morning, being the 23d, we fet off from hence, in order to go to another part of the river. This day I for the firft. time perceived that my lazy Bofhies-men run fafter and hold it out longer, than I fhould other-wife ever have fuppofed. The farmers, who had lately joined our party, and who were better apprifed of this circumftance than we, as well as of what was to be expected from thefe gentry, obliged fome of them to carry our arms, and at the fame time follow as faft as we rode; our pace in general being an ordinary trot, which wre now and then changed to a gallop, for feveral hours together, over different kinds of ground. Once or twice, indeed, we made a little flop; but twice at other times, having taken our arms from them and carried them ourfelves, we went the fafter, by which means we foon got fomewhat a-hcad of them, but did not wait long before they came up to us. In fhort, I found then, as well as afterwards, that even the oldeft of thefe fellows would run about twenty miles in the fpace of three or four hours, without appearing to be extremely fatigued by it. The farmers moreover affured me, that they knew of Bofhies-men, who could hold out in in this manner all day long ; and had, by this means, ran «37j» down, and with their own hands deftroyed, many elks or ^yy^J hart-beefts, efpecially when thefe creatures had been pre-viouily wounded. Indeed, moft of the people belonging to this nation arc obliged, for their fupport,to acquire this fwiftnefs of foot; to which, befides their manner of life, and their education from their infancy, cannot but difpofe them. Towards evening, after having loft our way feveral times, we came by a number of by-roads to a pit in the river, which our new guides, the farmers, knew ufed to be frequented by fea-cows. For this reafon, all the different ways, by which thefe animals might come up from the river, were befet by us feparately, our hunting-party confifting in the whole of feven perfons; viz. five of us Chriftians, together with my Hottentot and another belonging to the farmers. Befides this, the reft of the Hottentots were ordered to go to the windward and to the more open places, and by fmacking their whips and making other noifes, to frighten and drive the animal towards us, as foon as it fhould make its appearance : in confequence of which mea-fures it appeared to us, that, when at length obliged to go on fhore in queft of its food, it muft neceffarily come to the hiding-place of fome one of the hunters. Every one of thefe places were juft at the edge of the river, between the reeds which grew on the dry parts of the river, or on thofe fpots which the water had left, and at the fame time clofe to the very narrow paths which the animal had made for itfelf at each place: in confequence of which difpofition, it would inevitably pafs not above fix inches, or a foot at moft, from the mouth of the fportfmaifs piece, Confequently our whole dependence was 1776. was upon two circumstances, viz. that our guns fhould not jamjar^ ^e mould not fail to prove mortal. In the former cafe, the fportfman muft have inevitably paid for his temerity with his life; though in the latter he had reafon to hope, from inftances of what had happened to others, that the fire, together with the report from the piece, as well as the ball itfelf, would confufe the animal, fo as to prevent it from immediately making towards its enemy. The banks of the pit, which we then befet, were in moft places fteep and perpendicular, and the pit itfelf was almoft three quarters of a mile long : but my poft, and that of my fellow-traveller, happened to be at the diftance of not above thirty or forty paces from each other. To thefe very places too, after we had waited at them an hour and a half, in the moft profound filence, the enormous animals did not fail to refort. They had already, while on the other fide of the river, got fcent of the Hottentots, and now fhewed by their fwimming up and down and blowing themfelves, as well as by a fhort but acute and piercing-grunt, or neighing noife, that they had a great fufpicion of thefe paffes. i believe Mr. Immelman was not lefs eager and anxious than myfelf, each of us expecting every moment to have a bout with a huge enormous beaft, which we knew had given certain proofs of its being able to bite a man asunder. Yet were we each of us at times no lefs fearful, left the other fliould have the honour of killing game of fuch confequence. The hippopotamus, however, left us, and had made its appearance in the fame manner, where the farmers were ftationed ; notwithstanding which, 3 at CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 271 at that very inftant we heard it fhot at by one of the . ,776- * J January. Hottentots. J The fable darknefs of the night, and the glittering of the Hottentot's piece, together with the loudnefs of the report from it, occafioned by the weight of the charge, and the vibrations of the echo prolonging the found along the neighbouring chain of mountains, all confpired to compofe a moft awful and fuperb fpectacle, which was ftill heightened by the expectation of feeing an animal fall fuperior in bulk to the elephant. This fublime fpectacle was immediately followed by a ridiculous kind of farce performed by a troop of baboons, which, from their calling and anfwer-ing each other along a ftrait line, we could difcover to be encamped on a fteep rocky mountain in the neighbourhood, with regular out-ports in the trees on each fide of it. After an interval of a couple of minutes, filence again took place till two o'clock, when the other Hottentot fired his piece, and another alarm, though of fhorter duration, went through the baboons out-pofts and head-quarters. The next morning, for the arrival of which we ardently longed, in order to fatisfy our curioftty, our Hottentot fportfmen related to us the following particulars concerning the adventures of the night. Involved in darknefs, covered up to the eyes in reeds, and overfhadowed with branches of trees, they could only get a glimpfe of the animal, and confequently could not anfwer for their fhots having taken place : and one of them acknowledged, that he was a little confufed, as he could not well fee what he was about; and for the fame reafon fired his piece too foon, before the animal had well rifen out of the water; A VOYAGE to . the jinJaty water* otner> indeed, had had an opportunity, both UvV with the ball and fhot that made up the charge, of wounding the animal, which went on its road and paffed directly by him ; but he could not fee which part of the animal prcfented itfelf before the muzzle of his piece. As foon as he had fired, he flank away, and directly afterwards heard the beaft take to the water. The reit of the Hottentots had obferved one of thefe animals, probably a different one from this, run up on a mallow along the river fide, and thus make its efcape, without their having been able to prevent it. After this we ftaid here till the afternoon, in hopes that the wounded animals would die and rife to the top of the water, but we ftaid in vain ; and to as little purpofe would it probably have been, had we waited ftill longer, as there grew by the fide of the river a great number of trees, to the roots of which thefe creatures, it is faid, in the agonies of death, make themfelves faft, by means of their long and crooked tufks. On the other hand, fuppofing thefe two fea-cows to be but nightly wounded, they would be cautious how they made their appearance ; and, indeed, in all probability, it would have been a dangerous fervice to the fportfmen who fliould have ventured to have followed them any farther. Befides, the water had now, in the fpace of a few hours, rifen considerably, and had overflowed many fpots fit for lying in ambufh; for which reafon we departed to another hippopotamus-pit, lefs than this. Here too we laid, by way of fnare, a large blunderbufs, which the farmers had brought with them for that purpofe ; the Hottentots occupied one poft, Mr. Immelman and Labescanje guarded another; another; the older!: of the formers, Potgieter, with his fon *~76-Flip, stationed themfelves at the third, and placed me in C-vvJ the middle of them. Juft in this part, the banks of the river were of a confiderable height, and the river itfelf was dried up, near an extenhve mallow, where it was fpread out into a little plain covered with pebble-ftones and gravel. We three then fet ourfelves down clofe by the fide of each other, in a path made by the fea-cows, making ourfelves pretty certain, as the place was fiat, and confequently it was light here, of being able, if any hippopotamus fliould chance to come upon the fhallow and look about it, to fee it plain enough to kill it, with a volley of three fhot. But, to the great endangering of our lives, we, on a fudden, found the animal much quicker in its motions, as well as bolder than we had thought it: for while I was fitting half aflecp and moralizing on the fubject, ftruck with the consideration, that we, with our guns, had at that prefent moment the dominion over Job's Leviathan or Behemoth, while on the other hand, the flies, or fmall mufquitos, had the dominion over us, (fo much, indeed, that I was obliged to wrap my face up in a handkerchief,) a fea-cow came rufhing upon us out of the river, with a hideous cry, as fwift as an arrow out of a bow ; at the fame time, I heard the farmer call out, " Heer Jefus /" but fortunately at the very inftant he difcharged his piece, which flafhing full in the animal's face, contributed, perhaps, more than the ball, to make it start back ; when fetting up another cry, it threw itfelf into the water again with as great precipitation as it -came out. Vol. IT. N n At nll$* At ^s 1 was not a ntt^e alarmed; yet, what is very lingular, Orv> not at the clanger, which was real, of being trampled under foot, or being bitten afunder by the beaft, but in confequence of my apprehensions, which were merely imaginary, of being drowned : for the rattling noife, arifing from the creature's running out of the water and along the ftoney beech, immediately fuggefted to me the idea, that the river had on a fudden overflowed its banks: a fuppolition to which 1 was the more inclined, as I knew that this accident happens more frequently here than at Gauritz-rivier, (for an account of which I muft refer the reader to Vol. I. page 254 :) and as the hippopotamus, when it is newly come up out of the water, and is wet and flimy, is faid to glisten in the moon-fhine like a nfli, it is no wonder, that as foon as I took my handkerchief from before my eyes, it fliould appear to me, at fo near a view as I had of it, like a high column of water, which feemed to threaten to carry us off and drown us in a moment: for which reafon, I ran, or rather flew towards the higher ground, leaving both my guns and my brother fentinels behind me; but, as juft at this fpot, I was prevented by the fteepnefs of the river's banks from afcending the heights, and neverthelefs perceived that neither my companions nor myfelf were drowned, it ran in my head, for the fpace of feveral feconds, that we were all of us either dreaming or delirious. The farmer's fon had fallen afleep, and ftill continued to fleep very foundly : as to the farmer himfelf, who, panting and breathlefs, every now and then looked up to heaven, and at the fame time, with much aukwan'nefs and buftle, was endeavouring to make make his efcape, I made all the hafte I could to difengagc him from a large wrapper, which, as well on account of Cw/ his gout as by way of keeping off the flies, he had wrapped round his legs. I then alked him what courfe the water had taken when it overflowed; and he, after a long paufe, anfvvered only by afking me in his turn, if I was not mad; upon which I was almoft ready to put the fame queftion to myfelf: and even at laft, when all this was unriddled to me, could not help doubting of the truth of it, till I found the farmer's gun was really difcharged; for the rattling among the ftones and the fquafhing in the water, occasioned by the fea-cow, was what I firft heard, and what made me take to my legs; fo that I did not attend in the leaft either to the report of the gun or the cry of the animal, though thefe latter appeared to the reft of our party the moft terrible ; fo much, indeed, that they occasioned Mr. Immelman, together with the farmer's fon-in-law, to fly from their poft, though they had feen nothing of all that had happened, and could not eafily have come to any harm. We concluded the chafe, and fpent the remainder of the night in laughing at each other; in chattering and forming various conjectures on the fubject. of the precipitation and impetuous fury of the fea-cow, which, however, was probably as much alarmed and frightened as we ourfelves could poffibly be : we even fmoked a couple of pipes, while we liftened to the roaring of the lion, and waited for the approach of the morning. Several Hottentots then told us, that foon after the noife and tumult we have been defcribing had ceafed, they had feen a fea-cow, making its N n 2 way 1776- way out of the river towards that fide of it which was un- January. - \^sv**f guarded. On the 25th, from fome traces of the fea-cows which we found in the duft near another fpot, we concluded that many of thefe huge amphibious animals had lately taken up their quarters in a certain pit thereabouts, which we accordingly prepared to lay fiege to in every poflible way. In the mean time, we faw a yonng lion make its efcape into a clofe thicket, on the fide of this fame pit, where it might be perfectly fafe from us and our hounds. Not much approving of this animal's being fo near a neighbour to us, we thought it beft for feveral of us markfmen to be together at each hiding-place; at the fame time ordering our Hottentots, partly by making a noife and uproar, and partly by the means of making large fires, to frighten the fea-cows from attempting any of the other paffes. Thefe animals had probably been befet in the fame manner feveral times before, as this night we fcarcely heard any thing of them. In the mean while, however, we flattered ourfelves, that by continuing to block them up, we fhould at leaft by ftarving them, force them to quit their afylum, and expofe themfelves on the land to the fire of our guns. On the 26th likewife, we were on the look-out after thefe animals, between the hours of ten and eleven in the forenoon, and alfo juft before dufk, though upon a quite different plan from what we had before, as we meant now to hit them on their fnouts the inftant they fliould flick them up within the reach of our guns out of the water, in order to take breath, or more properly, (as 4 it GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 277 it is not unaptly called by the colonifts) to blow themfelves. 177^- • 1 January. In order that the mot might prove mortal, we were obliged, \^y%u however, on this occafion, to direct it in fuch a manner, that the ball fliould pafs through the cavity of the nofe into the brain. It was merely upon this plan, that we went out after the fea-cows, before we arrived at Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, and were ftrengthened by the farmer's party. But we con-ftantly found thefe animals too fliy, to allow us to put our designs in execution: for although in thofe places where they had not been frightened or wounded, they will often in the middle of the day raife their heads and part of their bodies above the furface of the water, they at this time fcarcely ventured juft to put one of their noftrils only out of it, in order to breathe almoft imperceptibly ; and this only for the moft part, in thofe fpots in which they were flieltercd from us by the hanging branches of trees. Notwithstanding this clifadvantageous fituatioH, in confequence of the acutenefs of their fmell, they feemed ftill to difcern us, efpecially when we were to the windward of them ; as in that cafe they instantly withdrew to another part. The fame night, we betook ourfelves again to our polls; and in the dufk of the evening, I law a little animal, which probably was an otter, stick its head up out of the water and blow itfelf a little, fuffering itfelf for a few moments to be borne away by the current. At half an hour after eight, it being already very dark, a fea-cow began at intervals to put its head up above the water, and utter a fharp, piercing, and, as it were, a very angry cry, which feemed to be between grunting and neighing. Perhaps this cry may be beft expreffed by the words, t heurkb '7/6. h'eurkb hurkh, huh-huh : the two firft being uttered flowly, J ^° tnat no great dependence is to be placed upon VrO them. The mouth of the hippopotamus is fo large, that though a full third of the enormous tufks above-mentioned in the lower jaw, as well as feveral of the fore teeth which pro* jecl: forwards, Hands above the gums, yet they are not feen except when the animal opens his mouth. The hide of the adult hippopotamus bears a great re*-femblance to that of the rhinoceros, but is rather thicker. Whips likewife made of this hide are ftronger, and, after being ufed fome time, are more pliable than thofe made of the hide of the rhinoceros ufually are, though they are not fo tranfparent as thefe latter are when new. The food of the hippopotamus confifts entirely in herbs and grafs, a circumftance of which we are informed by Father Lobo; and which may partly be inferred from what I have already faid on the fubject, as well as from the figure of the ftomach belonging to the foetus of a hippopotamus given in Meffrs. de Buffon and Daubenton's elegant work. I therefore do not look upon it as very probable, that thefe animals, agreeably to the affertions of M. de Buffon, page 93, or of Dampier in his voyage, fliould hunt after fifli by way of preying upon them ; efpecially as in fome of the rivers of the fouthern part of Africa, where the fea-cows are feen daily and in great abundance, there is not a fiih to be feen ; and in others only a few hajlard fpringers, as they arc called, (cyprinus gonorynchus) which are fcarcely as big as a common herring. It is faid, that a fmall fpecies of carp is ftill more rarely to be met with here. It is GAPE of GOOD HOPE. 285 is true, that the fea-cows fometimes frequent the mouths of l77^ x January. the rivers here, which are full of fea-fiih, and even fome-times the fea itfelf: we know, however, that thefe huge quadrupeds are notwithstanding this, obliged to go from thence upon dry land in quell of food. Neither is it probable that they can drink the fea-water ; as an inftance was related to me of the contrary in a hippopotamus, which, having been disturbed in the rivers, had taken refuge in the fea, and yet was obliged to go aftiore every night and drink freih water from a well in the neighbourhood, till at laft it was fhot by fome people that lay in wait for it there. That the hippopotamufes actually lived in falt-water, I have feen evident proofs at the mouths both of Kromme and Cam-tour rivers, particularly in the latter, on my journey homewards ; where many of thefe animals blowed themfelves in broad day-light, and thruft their heads up above the water; and one of them in particular, which had been wounded by an ill-directed fhot on the nofe, neighed from anger and refentment. In Krakekamma I faw on the beach manifeft traces of a hippopotamus which had come out of the fea, but had retired thither again directly. That very attentive navigator Captain Burtz informed me, that he had frequently feen on the eaftern coaft of Africa fea-horfes (meaning probably the hippopotamus) raife their heads above the furface of the water, in order to blow themfelves and neigh. I have been induced to be rather circumstantial on this fubject, as M. A dan son has taken it into his head, in his Voyage au Senegal, to limit the abode of the hippopotamus to the freih water rivers only in Africa; and M. DE Buffon has taken upon him to fupport this opinion* i77s- opinion, and to render Kolbe's teftimony to the contrary January. _. . , r r . . V^rO liable to iufpicion. An old experienced huntfman told me, that he had once feen two hippopotamufes copulate, which they did in the fame manner as common cattle. On this occafion the beafts ftood in a (hallow part of the river, where the water reached up to their knees. The fize of the largeft of the two fea-cows meafured by Zerenghi, was, according to Buffon, Tom. XII. page 31, as follows : The length fixteen feet nine inches, the girt fifteen feet, the height fix feet and a half, the aperture of the mouth two feet four inches wide, and the tufks were above a foot long, clear of the fockets. The method of catching the hippopotamus confifts (befides fhooting it) in making pits for it in thofe parts which the animal paffes in his way to and from the river ; but this method is peculiar to the Hottentots, and is only practifed by them in the rainy feafon, as the ground in rummer is too hard for that purpofe. It is faid that they have never fucceeded in killing this huge aquatic animal with poifoned darts, though this way of killing game is practifed with advantage by the Hottentots for the deftruction both of the elephant and rhinoceros. The colonifts, likewife, were not entirely unacquainted with the method mentioned by M. Hasselqjjist, as being common in Egypt, viz, to ftrew on the ground as many peafe or beans as the animal can poffibly eat, by which means it burfts its belly and dies. But as this method is very expenfive, and they can generally have this animal for a fingle charge of powder and a tin ball, fhot in a proper direction, they chiefly 8 and and almoft" foldy have recourfe to this cheaper expe- 1776. January* dient. \*rr\*J The hippopotamus is probably not fo quick in its pace on land as the generality of the larger quadrupeds, though perhaps it is not fo flow and heavy as M. de Buffon, 1. c. page 39, defcribes it to be ; as both the Hottentots and colonifts look upon it as dangerous to meet a hippopotamus out of the water, efpecially, as according to report, they had had a recent inftance of one of thefe animals, which, from certain circumftances, was fuppofed to be in rut, having, for feveral hours, purfued a Hottentot, who found it very difficult to make his efcape. M. Klockner confirms this opinion, by the infertion of a ftory to this purpofe related by one Marais. The people of this country did not entertain that opinion of the medicinal virtues of the hippopotamus, as they did of certain parts of the elephant and rhinoceros; excepting one colonift, who imagined he had found the os petrofum of this animal, reduced to powder, and taken in the quantity that would lie on the point of a knife, excellent in convulfions, and particularly in the convulfions (Jluypeii) of children. That the flefh is reckoned very wholefome food, I have already mentioned. Having already exceeded the limits I had prefcribcd to myfelf, I do not intend to dwell here on the anatomy of the hippopotamus we caught, particularly as the internal conformation of the calves is fomewhat different from that of the adult animal. I fhall, therefore, only briefly mention the following particulars : the ftomachs were four in number, and confequently one more than in the foetus examined 288 A VO V AGE to the 1776. examined by M. Daubenton, which was kept in fpirits. l^^j Compare Buffon, Tom. XII. Tab. IV. Fig. 2. The two firft ftomachs, which correfpond with, and were fomewhat Ilmilar to the ftomachs H. and L. (1. c.) were each of them about feven inches long, and three inches in diameter; the third was nine inches in length, and a little wider than the two former ; the fourth was feven inches long, and at the upper part five inches broad, but decreafed by degrees on one fide till it terminated in the pylorus, which had an aperture an inch in'width, being about half as wide again as the cardia. I did not obferve any fuch valves as M. Daubenton has delineated. The firft ftomach we found moftly empty, it containing only a few lumps of cheefe or curd ; it likewife differed from the reft by the fuperior fine-nefs of its internal coat. The internal membrane of the fecond ftomach was rather coarfer, and had many fmall holes in it; it likewife contained feveral clods of cafeous matter, together with a great quantity of fand and mud. The third ftomach had very vifible folds, both longitudinal and tranfverfal, on the infide of it, and contained cafeous lumps of a yellow colour and harder conilftence than the others, together with feveral leaves quite whole and freih, and at the fame time fome dirt. The interior membrane of the fourth ftomach was very fmooth, though it was not without folds ; in the ftomach itfelf there was a good deal of dirt, with a fmall quantity of curds, which were whiter than they were in any of the other ftomachs. This fourth ftomach in a great meafured covered the reft, being fituated on the right fide of the animal, and was found to have the upper part of the melt adhearing to its fuperior and interior interior edge. This latter vifcus, which was one foot long 1776. and three inches broad, diverged from it downwards on \^y**j the left fide. The inteftinal canal was 109 feet long; the liver meafured fourteen inches from right to left, and feven or eight from the hind part to the fore part. On its anterior edges it had a large notch, being in other refpects undivided and entire; it was of an oblique form, being broadeft towards the left fide, where I difcovered a gallbladder five inches in length. In the uterus there was nothing particularly worthy of obfervation; I found two teats and the heart, furrounded with more fat in proportion than the elk-antilope's heart, defcribed at page 208 of this volume ; the length of this mufcle was five inches, and the breadth about four inches and a half. The communication between the auricles called the foramen ovale, was above an inch in diameter; each lung was eleven inches long and undivided ; but at the fuperior and exterior part of the right lung, there were two globules or proceffes elevated half an inch above the furface ; and on the fide correfponding to it, in the left lung, and in the upper part of it, there was a little excrefcence, terminating in a point; fomewhat below this, yet more forwards, there wras found likewife a procefs, half an inch in height. Directly over the lower pait of the communication formed between the right and left lung, there was a kind of creft or comb, measuring an inch from the top to the bafes. One of my brother fportfmen faid, he had once obferved a peculiar kind of vermin on the body of one of thefe amphibious animals; but on the calf we had caught we found nothing but a fpecies of leech, which kept only Vol. II. P p about '77^ about the anus, and likewife a good way up in the ftraft January. ° is>y^J gut, where, by a timely abftraction of the blood, they may be of ufe to thefe large amphibious animals;, and particularly may act as prefervatives againft the piles, repaying themfelves for their trouble in kind. Moft of them were very fmall, but on the other hand there was a confiderable number of them. The only large one I faw of this fpecies, being fomewhat more than an inch in length, I defcribed and made a drawing of ; this is inferted by the name of the flirudo Capenfis, corpore Jupra nigricante, medio longitu-dinaliterfub-brimneo, fubtus pallide fufco, in the elegant trea-tife on worms, which M. Adolphus Nodeer, iirft fecretary of the Patriotic Society, is preparing for the prefs. Inftead of the lighter coloured ftreak upon the back, there was diicoverable in fome of thefe leeches, one, and fometimes two longitudinal browniih lines, which grew fainter and fainter towards the extremities. The huge animal, of which we have been fpeaking, has doubtlefs obtained its prefent name of hippopotamus, which ftgnifies river-horfe, merely in confequence of the neighing found it makes; as otherwife in its form it bears not the leaft refemblance to a horfe, but rather to a hog. Neither does it in the leaft refemble the ox; fo it could be only the different ftomachs of this animal, which could occafion it to be called fea-cow, at the Gape; and, perhaps, it is for the fame reafon, that the Hottentots call it the gao, which nearly approaches to f kau, the name by which the buffalo is known among thefe people. From the account given by Bellonius of a tame hippopotamus, which he defcribes as a beaft of a very mild and CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 291 and gentle nature, as well as from the difpofition of the . *776- o ' 1 January. calf we had juft caught, it follows, that this animal might V^rv^ be eafily brought over to Europe, where it has been formerly exhibited at two different times in the public fpectacles at Rome. (Vid. Plin. lib. 8. and Dion. Cass. lib. 11.) For this purpofe, the capture might eafieft be made at Konaps-river, where thefe animals, according to the accounts given me by the Caffres, refide in great abundance; and milch-cows might be kept ready at hand, in order to rear the calf, in cafe it was a fuckling. Indeed, I am apt to fuppofe, that one a little older than this, would not be very nice in its food; as that which we caught, was induced by hunger, as foon as it was let loofe near the waggon, to put up with fomething not extremely delicate, which had been juft dropped from one of our oxen. This, perhaps, may appear very extraordinary in an animal with four ftomachs ; but there have been inftances of this kind known in common cattle, which in Herjedal are partly fed with horfe -dung *. (Vid. A. A. Hulphers's Be/kfifmng 0711 Norrland, ^:je Saml. o?n Herjedalen, page 27—87.) I have been likewife affured,. that this method of feeding cattle has been practifed with great advantage in Uplandia, when there has been a fcarcity of fodder; and that afterwards thefe fame cattle, even when they have not been in want of proper fodder, have taken to this food of their own accord, and eaten it without any thing elfe being mixed with it. At noon the temperature of the air was, according to Falu*enheit's thermometer, 104 degrees; and the heat of * Hulpher's Defcription of Norway. P p 2 the • tlie inn, to which I had been to-day particularly expofed, occafioned mc to have a violent head-ache, which, however, was fcnfibly relieved, by wetting my head all over with vinegar. The length of time we had fet up, had likewife not a little contributed to this indifpofition of mine ; notwithftanding which, we refolved Hill to continue blockading this place. The following night, however, it was uncomfortable and even dangerous to keep at our poff s, in the open air, as there fell a violent thunder-fhower, which not only made fome of our fire-arms ufelefs, but even extinguifhed the fires we had made at the upper fide of the pit; fo that two fea-cows had the bold-nefs to venture out of the water at this place, and run along the mallow in the river. We fired, indeed, a fhot at them in the dark at a venture, but without effect. On the 29th in the morning, finding that it would not be worth while to flay here any longer, we took our departure, going towards the fouth, and hunting buffaloes and foedoes, one of which latter leaped into the river, as 1 have before mentioned at page 216 of this volume. In the evening, we had hardly taken our oxen out of the waggons, and unfaddled our horfes, before a large rhinoceros palfed within fifty paces of our waggon, probably without feeing any thing of us ; as otherwife, in the opinion of the Hottentots, this enormous animal would not have failed at leaft to have turned our waggon topfy-turvy. I have made mention of this rhinoceros at page in of this volume. It was, as we afterwards learned, in the midft of its flight, having been hunted juft before by two of our party. It had likewife got to a good diftance from us, before we could 5 s* get our fire-arms out of the waggon ; fo that two fliot that we *77&-lent after him, could not poflibly have any effect. Our hounds, which at firft were able to keep clofe to the animal's heels, formed a ftrong contrail to the coloffal fize of this animal; while the beafl on his part did not feem to take the leaft notice of them, but, with a trifling rife and fall of the neck, kept on an even and fteady courfe, which was a kind of pacing, but notwithftanding rid a great deal of ground ; which pace, however, was, by the report of guns, changed to a very fait gallop, fo that the hounds were in an inftant left behind at a great diftance ; and it appears to me, that any fportfman, though mounted on an excellent hunter, would inevitably be loft, who fhould be purfued by this animal, and fliould not know how to get out of the fight and fcent of it, by fhifting and dodging occasionally. The rhinoceros was faid, in this particular, to refemble the elephant, that without delaying or flopping in the leaft, it will run to the diftance of many leagues from the place where it has been clofely hunted, or in any other way molefted. On the 30th, we fet out for Klelne Vifchs river, in hopes of fucceeding better there in our purfuit after the fea-cows. In the night it rained. On the 31ft, we hunted fome elk-antilopes, and afterwards met in thefe defert tracts of country with a young-farmer, from the Camdebo quarter, who had taken a journey hither, in order to look out, together with a flave and two Hottentots in his fervice, for a proper place to fettle in. In the meanwhile they were feafting on fome of the prime parts of a buffalo, which they had fhot. In purfuance of *7f6- of the directions we received from this man, we found January. f k^tU three rhinocerofes, viz. a female, with her calf of no incon-iiderable fize, and a male, which was much larger than the female; and, indeed, was the largeft of all the rhinocerofes I had ever feen. This laft was hit in the moulder by a ball from one of the Hottentots, who lay concealed behind a bufh, acircuftance which occaiioned the animal to rufh forth into the plain, where all the fportfmen that Were provided with horfes were ftationed; and now, being greatly alarmed, betook themfelves to flight. The greateft braggadochio in the whole company, was the firft on this occafion to fet an example of prudence, and a fpirit of felf-prefervation in the extreme, by clapping fpurs to his horfe and galloping off immediately; and was the laft to turn back and purfue the maimed and limping beaft, whither it foon turned off towards a different quarter, and by this means at laft made its efcape 'through a clofe thicket. One of my Hottentots, who in fact was our driver, but whom I had ufed in fome meafure to fhooting, and had at this time entrufted with a gun, that he might affift the other fportfmen, was accufed by them of having fhewn, on this occafion, a greater inclination to fkulk and hide himfelf, than to join in the fport. On which account, I having, by way of punifhing him, given his gun to one of the Bofhies-mcn, he-did not, indeed, difcover any concern at the time; yet, perhaps, was even in this refpect, capable of !being actuated by ambition and emulation, as, indeed, are many of his countrymen; as a proof of his punifhment having had an effect upon him, mewing that very day afterwards upon -other occafions, though entirely without arms, great boldnefs and CAPE of GOOD H OPE. 295 and courage ; in confequence of which he, that evening, ran , Jn7u7a^ the rifk of being trampled under foot by another rhinoceros, c^rv To conclude, we now quitted our horfes, in order to go with a party of our Hottentots and trace the wounded rhinoceros on foot. We were able to follow the traces of the animal in this manner during the fpace of half an hour, notwithftanding the ground's being very dry and hard ; for a Bofhies-man, who was our principal leader, and went before us with the deepeft filence and utmoft attention, pointing occafionally to the earth, was very fkilful in obferving (and regulating our courfe accordingly) where the dried grafs or dull had been difturbed or difplaced in the leaft ; which, with all the attention I was mailer of, I was not able to difcern ; though in more than one fpot, we found, neverthelefs, fome plain and diftinct prints of the rhinoceros's feet, a proof that our leader had taken us right. In fact, neceffity and cuftom render the fight, faculty of obfervation, and judgment of the Hottentots, very acute in this refpect; juft as, on the other hand, by the fame means they have acquired the talent, which is univerfallv acknowledged, of finding water in fpots they are unacquainted with, much better than the Chriftians ; a talent, which alone ferves them inftead of a compafs, in particular exigencies, and; precludes the neceffity of fuppofing them to be endued with a particular acutcnefs in the organ of fmell, as they are erroneoufly represented to be by fome, who, living at a diftance from the Hottentots, have no great opportunities of knowing this peculiar race of men; This, however, is no argument, that the inftances we have of other men who have been endued with a very fine and acute I'cbraary acutc fmcH> not much different from that of the hound, V-^rvj may not be perfectly true. In the evening, we rode home to our waggons; but the greater part of our Hottentots did not come home till the next morning, after having fhot a young buffalo. On the iff of February, my horfe fell down with me, in hunting the elk-antilope, as I have already mentioned at page 212- of this volume. The fame evening, two of our Hottentot markfmen found a rhinoceros lying ,on its right fide; and fo faft afleep withal, that it did not wake, though they chanced to make a confiderable clattering, by their gun-barrels ftriking againft each other, when they firft happened to fee it through the bufhes, being then at the diftance of three or four paces only from its hinder parts, and immediately in their fright took aim ; but when they found that the animal did not wake, they gave themfelves time to reflect a little, and, after holding a confutation upon the matter, took a circuit round a couple of bufhes, and having placed themfelves fo that they could point the muzzles of their guns right againft the animal's head, difcharged their pieces both at the fame inftant into its brain: but afterwards again, the animal making a few trifling ftruggles, they were afraid it might come to itfelf again; for which reafon, as well as for their amufement, they charged again, and fired feveral balls into its cheft. This incident, together with the account given me by an old hunter, of a rhinoceros which he found fo faft afleep, that he had it in his power to go very near to it and fhoot it, induced me to believe, that this animal fleeps very found ; though the cafe feems to have been quite otherwife with the one-horned rhinoceros which which Dr. Parsons made his obfervations upon, and gave -V?6* a defcription of in London. V^vO On the 2d, when I went to diffect the rhinoceros which had been fhot the day before, I found that my Hottentot markfmen, with a view the better to preferve the flefh from putrefying, had taken out the entrails as foon as the beait was dead ; I faw, however, very evidently, from the liver, that thefe animals have no gall-bladder; a circumftance about which one of the farmers belonging to our hunting-party entered into a difpute with me, and for which reafon we were at that time very eager to chafe them. One of my Bofhies-men, who had been ordered to come to us, and help to cut up the rhinoceros, and at the fame time bring with him a few things which we wanted, put us very much to our fhifts by flaying away. It feems that he had rather chofen to repair to the elk which had been fhot the night before, partly becaufe he preferred the tafte of elk's flefh, and partly as, like the reft of his countrymen, he fet great ftore by the finews and aponeurofes of the elk; particularly thofe on the back of the animal, as forming the beft firings that could be got for their clokes. Now this Hottentot, though according to our articles of war, as well as from his own experience, he might expect to receive a good drubbing for an act of difobedience of this kind, yet he made his appearance quite free and eafy, with feveral flices of a honey-comb in his hand, and making an excufe in his language, which was interpreted to me as follows : « That the boning-zvyzer {cuculus indicator, vide page 186 of this volume) had enticed him quite away from that part of the country, where the rhinoceros was, Vol. II. q q to Fe'bruty to ™" where the elk lay ; but that he had now brought ^^r>j with him a confiderable quantity of honey to fmear my mouth with." I, on my part, accepted both of the ex-cufe and the bribe ; as my brother fportfmen, wtioffe mouths began to water at the latter, unanimoufly voted, that the Hottentot had done better in following the honey-guide, than he woidd have done had he obeyed our orders. But where could a Bomies-man Hottentot, bred and born in the wild and defert plains near Zondags-rlvier, where could fuch a one as this learn the art of bribing ? Was it of his fimple companions, or rather from the readinefs of the more enlightened colonifts to give thefe heathens in this manner a proof of their forgiving difpofitions ? It is a great pity that I could not determine this queftion with any degree of certainty, a determination which would have thrown much light on the nature of man in his favage ftate ! It deferves, however, to be remarked, that the Hottentots in Houtniquas, who are in a much more civilized ftate, are faid now* and then to endeavour to foften their judges with prefents of honey ; and even fometimes to fuc-ceed in their attempts, and thereby to obtain befides certain privileges. This day we took an oftrich's neft, and gave chafe to the elk, which I mentioned at page 211 of this volume, as having fweatcd blood. At night we laid fiege to a fea-cow-pit, out of which too a fea-cow came running up, but made its efcape, after two of our company had fired at her in the dark, and miffed her. On the 3d our Hottentots again faw a couple of rhinocerofes, a circumftance which, for the information of others, 1 and and particularly of the pofterity of the colonifts of this ^7^ country, with refpecl: to the numbers, and, as it were, pe- vjj^j culiar abode of this huge animal in thefe parts, feems to me to be worth noticing here. It may not be amifs like-^ wife, for the fake of giving the reader fome notion of the difpofition of the Hottentots in general, to mention, that our driver fpent twelve hours in running to a place and back again, where he had recollected that he had left his wooden tobacco-pipe two days before, though he could have made another as good in a little more than half the time. Here it may be remarked by the by, that he wTalked all the way alone and without weapons, and confequently ran fome rifk of becoming a prey to the lions. Neither this, nor the following night, did we fucceed in our attempts on the fea-cows in the pits of Little Vifcb-rivier. On the 5th, the three farmers who had come to our affiftance on the 2 2d of January, took leave of us in order to go home. We had kept company with each other much longer than we had at firft expected; the reafon of which was, our having had fuch bad fucceefs in hunting the fea-cow. Once, viz. on the 28th of January, it was, as I have already obferved, the fault of Flip. The extraordinary drowfinefs of this youth, of which I have given an inftance at page 279 of this volume, proceeded in all probability from a paflion, which yet, for the moft part, makes others fleep-lefs. For Flip, though a brifk lad in other refpects, and bold and daring to a degree in the chafe, one who had been the death of many a buffalo, and who, at fo early a period as two years before, being out with a hunting party after the lion, had fired the firft ball into the body of that Q q 2 fierce Febnfary nerce anrmal> Was yet fo timid with refpecl: to the fair fex, \^tkJ that he had long been deeply in love with a fine girl in his neighbourhood, without daring to let either her or any one elfe know it; till one day when we were riding cheek by jowl over the defert plains, he divulged his paflion to me, (no doubt becaufe I was a phyfician) and at the fame time afked my advice. I, on my part, prefcribed to him to difclofe his fentiments to the object of his affections in writing. Though this way of wooing was, in all probability, entirely unknown to Flip, as well as, perhaps, to the greater part of the colony, yet he placed an implicit faith in the remedy, and the phyfician was inverted with the office of didtating the terms of f the billet-doux. The epiftle was accordingly written on the round lid of my box; and, as may naturally be fuppofed, in a pretty amorous flyle, though in a curious kind of broken Dutch, which favoured very ltrongly of the foreign dialect of the inditer 5 but as the girl, in all probability, would lay •a greater ftrefs on the looks of her lover, who was a fmart wrell-made young fellow, than upon his letter, I was in hopes that, notwithftanding thefe difadvantages, my epiftle would prepare the way to his good fortune, than which nothing could give me greater pleafure. On the 6th of February, with Mr. Immelman and my nine Hottentots, I fet out again on our road home to the Cape, and in the afternoon arrived at the well of Quammedacka, defcribed at page 81 of this volume. Here 1 firft began to have an earneft longing to revifit the Cape, having, almoft as well as could be expected, accomplifhed the purpofes for which I undertook the expedition into thefe parts; and having hitherto, partly by means of the remarkable objects & which CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 3crr. which actually prefented themfelves to my notice, and „ \7?6- r r- t_ • February. partly in confequence ot being in continual expectation of v^vn^ meeting with them, been able to pafs the time with lbme* degree of pleafure, under more fatigues and difficulties than can eafily be imagined. Befides, I was now obliged to haften back to the Cape, that I might not be overtaken by the winter feafon, and mifs the opportunity of returning, or at lead writing to Europe, by one of the Eaff-India homeward bound fhips. In the evening I rode along with a Hottentot to the fpot where we had fhot the two rhinocerofes on the 19th of December, and found the greater part of thefe animals already eaten up or deftroyed; but the fkulls were ftill iti good preservation. Having taken the leaft of thefe with us, and being about to return to our waggon, in our way we found a female rhinoceros with her calf. Thefe animals had probably been drawn out from the place of their retirement by the cool of the evening, and were juft then coming out to graze for the night. The calf had already attained the fize of a fmall ox, though its horns were of a very trifling fize, in comparifon with thofe of the mother; and upon the whole, it followed and was guided entirely by every motion of her's. I would gladly have waited with the greateft patience, in order to explore this animal's manner of eating and digging up roots, Sec. but the night was approaching, and it would have been too dangerous an undertaking for us two, to pafs the night on thefe plains, which abound with lions and rhinocerofes, without the apparatus neceffary for making a fire. Befides, the clattering noife made by the caparifons of our fteeds, had already betrayed }?76- betrayed us to the two rhinocerofes, while they flood J'cbruary. J V*/V liftening and moving their ears about juft at the entrance • of a narrow vale, through which we muft neceflarily pafs, if we wiflied to reach our waggon before night. In this critical fituation, therefore, we had no other refource than to fhoot them immediately, or at leaft to frighten them from the fpot. Of thefe two different methods we were moft inclined to attempt the former, though neither our pieces, nor the charge they were loaded with, were any ways adapted to game of fuch an enormous fize ; my Hottentot having taken with him a fmall fowling-piece only, into which we put a leaden ball in addition to the fhot with which it was already charged. My piece, indeed, was loaded with a tin ball, which however, was not near large enough for a rhinoceros. Notwithftanding this, we crept on till we got behind a large fpreading bufh, which, with refpecl: to its height and the extent of its branches, was like a tree, and which flood forwards on the plain at the diftance of fifteen paces only from the two rhinocerofes. My piece, which had, unknown to me, got damp the night before, went off, to my great furprize and mortification, with a hiffing noife, and hung fire a long while; and, inftead of hitting the old rhinoceros in the heart, only wounded her, as we afterwards found, in the pofterior angle of the lower jaw. It made her, however, fomewhat fwag about with the fore part of her body, and fnuff up her noftrils, as if endeavouring to difcover her enemy by the fcent; but as we were to the windward of her, fo that fhe could not get fcent of us, fhe advanced forwards to the quarter where Ihe heard the noife, clofe followed by her calf, calf, with a flow meafured pace, and feemingly full of at- '776- . 1 1 ... . to 1 February. tention, in all probability with an intent to fearch the bufh \*sy\J all over which flood between her and us. The blood now began to mount in our faces, chiefly from the appre-henfion, left while we were endeavouring to avoid one of the beafts, we fliould run into the jaws of the other; for with one rhinoceros alone, a fportfman, who is tolerable agile, may very well venture upon occafion to play at blind man's buff. My attendant and companion, the fame Hottentot who had made fo miferable a figure in the prefence of the Caffres, now flood to his ground boldly, as he had promifed to do, and did not fire, before the animals were juft upon us; by this means being alarmed, they ruflied forward with great violence, as we fuppofed they would, and confequently paffed us, when the Hottentot inftantly leaped up among the boughs of the bufh, and I ftole off to the other fide of it. Having found our horfes again at the place where we had tied them up out of the way, my curiofity led me to fee which way the two rhinocerofes had taken. In fact, I happened to find them much fooner than I expected ; and at the fame time difcovered, that they were nearer-fighted than I could have ever imagined, they Handing about eighty or ninety paces from me on the open plain, without feeming to perceive either me or my horfe, though they flood liftening with their heads turned towards the quarter whence I was coming towards them. After this, getting off my horfe, and walking on till I got within fifty or fixty paces of them, without any thing to cover my approach, I fired at the old one, which even now did not fee me, only fwinging the fore part of her body from one fide to the other with great violence, ]77s- lcrtce, and at the fame time blowing fo hard and loud, that our v^y^J horfes, Which I had left in the care of my Hottentot at the diftance of feveral hundred paces, were not a little feared by it. Upon this, the two wild beafts ran off through the bullies, where it was both dangerous and difficult to purfue them. The Hottentots, who were better fivilled in this kind of chafe, afterwards told us, that we fliould have done much better if we had fired at the calf, on which the fmall ball would have taken more effect; in which cafe they imagined, that fhe mother would have ftaid by the dead body till the next day, when they might have gone there and fhot her like-wife. In like manner they fuppofed, that the calf would have ftaid by the body of the mother in cafe fhe had been fhot firft. It was as dark as pitch before we got to our waggons; and as here was no beaten path, I was under great appre-henfions left we fliould mifs the road ; though my Hottentot was under no concern on that feore, being quite fure of what he was about. There was, however, great reafon to fear, left in the dark we fliould ride full butt againft a rhinoceros, or elfe into the jaws of a lion. Once our horfes ftartled, a circumftance which did not a little alarm us; till we obferved, that what excited our fears was nothing more than a porcupine, (vide Vol. I. page 151.) The holes and fubterraneous paffages made by this, as well as the various other animals enumerated above, and by which the ground was every where undermined, occafioned our horfes to have feveral falls, which put us under the dif-agreable neceffity of riding very flowly; at laft we began to perceive now and then a little glimmer from the fire of our our brother fportfmen who were left with the waggon at if?*-Quammedacka, and I muft own, that I was not a little re-joiced at the appearance of this leading ftar. When at length we had got to our waggons, we were told, that our Hottentot huntfman had likewife that day feen and wounded a rhinoceros. 'Juft before dawn two buffaloes came to drink out of the well near which we were encamped; but though we fired at them, we miffed them in the dark. On the 7 th we went by Hevy to Kurekoiku, and fhot a buffalo in our way. In the night we were awakened by feveral horrid diflbnant noifes, which, though quite diffl-milar to each other, were uttered at one and the fame time, fo as to form a moft difmal chorus. Among thefe, however, there was one which almoft drowned the reft, and which in fome meafure refembled the difgufting kind of laugh, which the fimple populace in Sweden afcribes to a fpirit they call the Gajl, or the fhrieking man, but which is nothing more than one of the feveral different cries ufually uttered by theJirix ny&ea, or fcriech-owl. By the light of the moon we could fee on a hill near us, the glimjife of above half a fcore hyaenas; and the horrid din we heard was, in all probability, nothing more than a tumultuous yell, fet up by them in order to fcare our oxen, and put them to flight, not daring otherwife to attack them ; but thefe, with x>ur ufual forecaft, we had made faft to the waggon. As I thought one of thefe ravenous creatures prefented a good mark to my piece, I could not help, in direct, oppofition to the advice of the Hottentots, firing a ball at it. The fhot, fo far from fearing them away, rather occafioned them to repeat their attempts to frighten us; as the whole pack now Vol. II. it r rufhed '3"o6 A VOYAGE to the „ \776- ruihed down from the hill, and ran clofe by us at full Tebruary. V^rsJ fpeed, which bore the appearance of their having at firft intended a general attack. On the 8th, we continued our way homewards, when, befides a few fcattered hartbeefts, we faw a large herd of elk-antilopes ; we likewife that clay mot a buffalo, by which our Hottentot markfman was in the utmoft danger of being trampled under foot. On the 9th we again faw feveral elk-antilopes, hartbeefts, and quaggas, pa fling by HaJJagai-bofch. We fhot a female elk, from whofe body we cut out a foetus, which we carried away with us, and the next morning diflecf ed. The vifcera we found to refemble thofe of gazels in general. On the 1 oth we met with a farmer, who informed us, that two days journey from hence, two Gaffre princes were at war with each other on account of a few ftray calves. At this place, crofting Bofhies-man-rivier, we went up to a craal of Gonaquas Hottentots, who, in our prefence, performed their military exercife, of which i have made fome mention at page 158 of this volume. On the nth, one of our Bofhies-men having been informed, that his neareft relations had removed along with their craal into this neighbourhood, wifhed to take leave qf us; and as he had given us his company and afliftance throughout the whole courfe of our journey, he afked for fomething by way of gratuity or recompence; which i readily complied with, to his entire fatisfaclion, by pre-fenting him with a fteel for ftriking fire, a brafs tinder-box, fome tobacco, a knife, and a few glafs beads. He was the only only maried man in our parry, and feemed to have more ja7u7a6ry ceconomy than any of the relf, having either for his own ^r^J ufe, or that of his wife, loaded himfelf with the flefh of the buffalo we had fhot laft; fome of which he carried extended over his moulders, and the reft hanging on a flick, for the fake of drying it in the fun. When the time came in which he muft part from us and his countrymen, he went away without taking any leave. In fact, it is the mode with the Hottentots, (as now, indeed, it is fometimes practifed with us) to eclipfe, as it is called, in this manner. However, on my calling out to him when he was at a confiderable diftance from us, farewel, in the Dutch language, accompanied with the Hottentot falutation fkabe, he anfwered me in the fame language ; at the fame time making feveral aukward bows in the Dutch fafhion. The other Hottentots laughed immediately at this incident, and (probably on this account) took a formal leave of us, as well as of each other, when they parted from us at Zondags-rivier, where we arrived in the evening. Here I met with an old Hottentot, who was born with four nipples, the two fpurious ones being rather lefs than the others, and placed three inches lower. On the 12th, we met with feveral peafants, who, with the permiflion of the prefent governor, Baron Plettenberg, had removed hither in order to inhabit this part of the country ; which, for this reafon, in my map, I have called Plet-tenberg's colony. In the evening about dufk, the thermometer was at 68 degrees, when the rain began, which continued all night long, with a fouth-weft wind. R r 2 On Fb776; ^n tlie J3tn> at feven o'clock, the thermometer was at kJ^-^J 64, and the whole day was overcaft and rainy. We law a koedoe, and our Hottentot markfman, who had been courting along Zondags-rhicr, informed us, that he had obferved one of the fea-cows there, had her calf riding on her back, when fhe came up to the furface of the water, in order to breathe; but that as foon as fhe had got .fcent of him, fire breathed with the edge of her noffrils only out of the water; and each time after fhe had breathed, dived, or ducked her head forward, with fuch nice exactnefs, that her calf likewife appeared with the extremity of her noffrils only above the furface of the water, and was able to blow herfelf too. On the 14th we came to Kuga; the thermometer, at five in the afternoon, was at 72 degrees. On the 15th, the thermometer, about dawn, was at 62. We faw fome buffaloes, and three Hottentot fugitives, and paid another vifit to the falt-pans, with the view of catching infects. At noon, in the fhade, the thermometer was at 90 degrees. We paid a vifit to a little craal of Caffres, which had lately removed to Zzvartkops^rivier; and went to the upper part of this river, to vifit a colonift of the name of Gert Skepper, who had long refided there, partly in conformity to fome orders of government, and partly in direct oppolition to them: for government, which, though it had long employed land-furveyors, was yet left totally in the dark with refpect to the geography of the country, had not permitted the colonifts to cultivate or dwell farther to the eaftward than Kabeliaauiv-rivier, but had had left them at liberty to inhabit what part they pleafed pjjjj*' to the fouth of Camdebo; in confequence of which, this ^rsJ fhrcwd peafant had gone round about by the way of Camdebo from the Cape to this place, to take poffeffion of it; and upon this pretence, had got a charter for the tenure of it; when, on the contrary, he would have been feverely punifhed, had he gone by the nearer and better road. We were totally difpappointed in our hopes of furnifhing ourfelves with bread at this place, as the farmer himfelf had chofen to be without it for fome days, fooner than grind the flour in his hand-mill. Confequently, we lived fome time entirely upon flefh. From the 5th of February hitherto, we had been provided with fome very coarfe meal, or gurgio is, which our Hottentots, with the addition of a moderate quantity of water, had every day kneaded into dough, and made up into loaves or fmall cakes of feven or.eight inches diameter, and about half an inch thick: thefe were baked on the ground, which had been previoufly heated by our fires, with great eafe and readi-nefs, by covering them up well with warm alhes and a few live coals. A fmall fociety of Gunjemans Hottentots, whofe an-ceftors, at the time that the Dutch invaded this part of the continent, inhabited the tract of country about Table-mountain and Conftantta, now lived on friendly terms with the farmer above-mentioned. By what I could underffand, this little fociety had long been without the exercife of any perfonal authority among them, without beggars, and without any penal laws and features, as well as without crimes and mifdemeanors ; having been united and governed only 2 by ^1776. by their own natural love of juftice and mildnefs of difpo-C^rsj fition, together with feveral common Hottentot ufages and cuftom s. My Hottentots from Zwellendam feemed to hold in high effimation the virtue, freedom, and happy ltate of thefe people ; fo much, indeed, that they were refolved to partake of the bleffmgs enjoyed by this happy race, for the remainder of their lives, as foon as they fliould have finifhed the journey with us at the Cape. For this purpofe, they folicited me to buy at this place for each of them a heifer with calf, which, according to our agreement, they had a right to demand for their reward. As Hottentots, this way of thinking and turn of mind, did not by any means difcredit them. I, therefore, advanced for them glafs beads, brafs tinder-boxes, knives, and fteels for flints, to the value of nine or ten rix-dollars; in conilderation of which, two of the belt heifers in their judgment among the whole herd of cattle belonging to the craal, were looked out for them. The moft confiderable part of this herd belonged to a widow, who was reckoned to be worth fixty milch-cows, and was (at leaft in this point) the moft refpect able female Hottentot I was ever acquainted with. She was childlefs, and was to be fucceeded in her eftate by her coulin ; fhe feemed to be paft the middle age, and, in her younger days, to have been a beauty in her kind. Befides a coftly necklace of fliells, and a fpare cap, (vide Plate I, Vol. I.) (which by the bye I got from her, in the way of barter,) flie was not better clad than the reft; having neither more leathern rings on her arms and legs, a better fheep-fkin over her fhoulders, and particularly no more greafe upon her body than any of the others. It is true, befides a few common glafs- glafs-beads, i obferved, that two firings of the fmall Fe'b7r^^ copper beads, mentioned at page 238 of the fame volume, ^*v-^> were kept by her in a pouch apart, being the whole of her trinkets and jewels, and the only things for which fhe could poflibly be envied by the reft of her fex. However, I am willing to hope, that this vice had taken little or no root among thefe gentle and benevolent people; as the female juft mentioned, who was fo much richer than any of them, was not obferved to take more upon her, and, indeed, fcarcely to be dreffed better than the reft. In fact, the other women fmoked their pipes, without any ceremony, by her fide; and thefe too were filled by my Hottentots, without the leaft refpecl to perfons, with a clofe-fpun and better kind of tobacco, which they had brought with them ; while, for their entertainment, on the other hand, a ball was fet on foot, which was to open late at night, and by moon-fliine. Here I muft confefs, that my companion and I, by indulging ourfelves in fleep, loft a fine opportunity of feeing and defcribing a brilliant Gunjemans-Hottentot ball, which was faid to be very different from the dances I have mentioned before. In fine, it appeared to me, that the Hottentot widow I have juft been fpeaking of, was the lefs liable to be the object of the envy of her compatriots, as, notwithftanding all her riches, fhe could not get at more favory and higher feafoned difhes, and confequently could not have more fafhionable pains and indigeftions, nor any diforders that would entitle her to higher refpect than the reft ; for in the hairy leathern facks for milk is this falutary beverage, neither by nature nor art, prepared for the rich in any other *776* other manner than it is for the poor. They all road February. *■ J C/ynJ their onkjes in the afhes, in the fame fimple way; and almoft every one of them dreffes his meat by boiling it over the coals, as it is a very uncommon thing for a Hottentot to have earthen veffels of his own manufacturing, for the purpofe of boiling or ftewing his victuals ; and as the Hottentots abfolutely deteft fait, they muft eat their meat frefh, or elfe dried in the fun ; though upon recollection, it occurs to me, that the fame purpofe may be ferved by the addition of a little more or lefs fat. Confequently fat or greafe was here, and is univerfally among the Hottentots, who live at a diftance from the Dutch, one of the principal comforts of life; and is, indeed, the only gratification afforded to this nation by its herds of cattle; and which is likely to prove a motive fufficiently powerful, to induce them to be eager after the acquifition of this kind of wealth : at the fame time, I do not mean to exclude other motives, which in all likelihood co-operate with this; fuch as, for inftance, fome refpect: to the honour and advantage of being able to maintain feveral fervants, or cow-herds, as well as the divine pleafure of doing good to their fellow-creatures. To the ftimulus of this latter inducement, I look upon the Hottentots to be by no means infenfible ; as I have feen them difplay the greateft hofpitality to each other, when in the courfe of their bufinefs, or merely for pleafure, they have vifited one another from a great diftance. Befides, it is probable, that in the other well-governed Hottentot craals, any more than in this, no member of fociety is abandoned to any confiderable degree of indigence and mifery. But in in confequence of the farther migrations of the colonifts *??6- February. hither, and of the quantity of glafs-beads and other com-modifies which I at this time brought to market here, and for which I found a good fale among the fair fex, I think I can plainly forefee a fpeedy and not inconfiderable revolution in the turn of mind and manners of this fociety. On the 16th there arofe fo violent a ftorm from the north-weft, that we did not dare to fet out on our journey, for fear left our waggon mould be overfet on the plains. Towards night, however, the wind chopped about to the fbuth-eaft, and was lefs violent, being accompanied with rain. On the 17 th drizzling rain. At firft fetting out we pafled two Caffre families juft removed hither, and afterwards went to the fouthward into Krakekamma, palling by feveral hollows or bogs of different fizes, which contained very few faline particles, but on the other hand, a great deal of rain-water: thefe I have diftinguifhed in the map, by the fame marks which I have ufed for pointing out the falt-pans. I made this round, merely for the fake of taking a curfory view of two harbours or inlets, which I was told a fmall Dutch veffel had lately vifited, and taken pof-feffion of, as it were, in the name of the government at the Cape, by erecting a fmall ftone of marble, on which they put the company's mark. The Captain of this veffel is faid to have informed his employers, that there was good anchorage in both thefe harbours, and particularly in that which lay to the fouth ; which yet I did not give myfelf time to look at, but have notwithftanding laid it down on my map from the relation of others, and diftin- Vol. II. S s guifhed February. gmme^ it by an anchor. Yet, as there is faid to be no ^■v^ river nor fprings in this harbour, it would not be of much ufe to iliips which are in want of water; but, on the other hand, being nearer to the foreft, it is more convenient for fetching wood and timber. The ftrand and the tract of country between Zwart-kops-rhier, and the rivulet or brook which I have lain down on the northcrnmoft inlet of Kra-kekamma, befides being flat and without wood, were like-wife found to be low and fandy, but from that part began to be full of rocks and breakers ; and as it was feen from the land, between fouth and eaft, terminated in a fharp point, with a rock quite detached from it; which probably was fome part of what, in the Portuguefe chart, is called Point Padron. The weather now cleared up for a while, lb that I got a good view of Sunday river, and the two illands fituated near it : all this, however, requires a more accurate inveftigation, and likewife to be delineated on a feparatc chart and on a larger fcale, than can reafonably be expected in fo general a map as mine; which, therefore, can only ferve, in this refpect, as a foundation for the farther and more minute refearches of navigators. Government having lately allowed the colonifts to inhabit Krakekamma, a farmer had twelve days before left a number of cattle here in the care of one Hottentot only. On his removal hither, as the farmer was walking out with his hounds after him, a lionefs had killed one of his oxen in the duflc of the evening, but was feared away from its prey by the noife made by people belonging to the farmer with their whips, and by the yelling of the hounds. The following day they looked after the lionefs in vain, but but inftead of her found her three whelps, which did not ^~6-offer to fly in the leaff, but proudly put themfelves into a pofture of defence againft the dogs, which were nearly four times their number, and which immediately tore them in pieces : for in fact, thefe hounds were not much fmaller than the wild beafts themfelves, which moreover were obferved to be very rough and rugged, lean, and feemingly half ftarved; fo that the lionefs herfelf was fuppofed to have periflied with hunger, or elfe to be fick, efpecially, as fhe never afterwards made her appearance in thofe parts to take her revenge. On the 18th, in the morning, the thermometer was at 67 degrees, fo that probably the temperature of the air near the fea, was here, as it is in general elfewhere, milder than it was farther up the country. On the 19th we fhot a hartbeeft. On the 20th we came to a farm newly laid out, and fituated on an eminence, from which, early the next morning, we faw thoufands of buffaloes in a line one after another, croffing the plains by the fea fide, that were inclofed by a thick wood, out of which thefe animals were then marching, probably with a view to fpread themfelves out in the paftures, and graze at a diftance from each other; after having, perhaps, been obliged to herd together in the night, in order to defend themfelves againft fome lions. In the afternoon we fhot an old buffalo, and at the fame time arrived at a farm newly laid out, near a little lake, fen, or hollow, filled with frefh water to fome depth, where we fhot a few ducks, and I made a drawing of the live buffalo-calf I mentioned at page 66 of this volume. s s 1 On „ lj?6- On the i id we met with fome farmers of our acquaint- Pebruary. * v^ro ance, who, with their wives, children, and cattle, had removed into Krakekamma. Thefe honeft nifties gave us much pleafure, by news of different kinds they brought from the Cape, and from our friends on the road; being on their parts very happy to find us fafe and in a whole fkin, as people had been all along apprehenfive that the Caffres would cut us in pieces; and this was fuppofed to have been actually the cafe, on account of the long flay we had made before we returned. We then took a trip to Van Staades-rivier, to fee the fame Gonaquas Hottentots, which we had met with before in our journey to Agter Bruntjes-boogte. But as the current of this river was dammed up in a confiderable degree by ftorms and the furge of the fea, we were obliged next morning to go back by a road two hours round about, before, on account of mountains and other fuch impediments, we could find a fhallower place; by which at length, however, we paffed this river. We there met with feveral Hottentot families, who called themfelves Damaquas, and feemed to have a greater affinity to the Caffres than the Gonaquas had. Then we came to a pretty fleep hill, which, though only a few hundred yards long, took fix oxen a good hour's work and hard tugging to go up it with the waggon, which might, had there been occafion for it, have been drawn by one pair only on level ground.—On the 2 2d we flopped at Galge-bofcb.—On the 23d at Lorris-rivier, and on the 24th we ftaid at Camtours-rivier, with Captain Kies, whom I mentioned at page 1 of this volume; and who, in confideration of a trifle that I gave gave him to boot, fwopped with me for two of my oxen, pyjjj* which were become quite ufelefs to me. A pair of young v-^v^ lively oxen, full of fire and fpirit, and as fwift-footed as deer, which I received inftead of thefe, were each of them immediately yoked with a fleady old ox, and in the fpace of a few hours were pretty well broke in, with the afliit-ance of the large whip. In fact, the reader muft not ima^ gine that thefe animals are as flow and heavy in Africa as they are in our country, where they are obliged to be kept within doors during our long winters: but fliould recollect, on the contrary, what 1 have related at page 238 of this volume, concerning a Hottentot who had trained up his pack-ox to hunting. On the 26th we arrived at Cabeljaauw-rivier; and the fame day, the bailiff of the farm of this name, Mr. Immelman and I rode towards the lower part of Camtours-rivier, in order to look out for the fea-cows; of the way of life and manners of thefe animals, I have already fpoken at page 284 of this volume. To what has been there advanced I will add, that we now faw thefe animals going out to fea with the tide, as, indeed, it is faid, they are in general ufed to do. At this time they appeared to enjoy themfelves, by blowing, rolling, and tofling about in the water, which was here already fait, but were faid to return in greater filence with the flood tide. On account of the ruffles and weeds which grew at the fide of the river, our fhot did not take place; by which means likewife the fea-cows were made fo fhy, that for a long While after they could not be attacked with any hopes of fuccefs. There 1776. There was a finale track more beaten than the others February. rr V^yv^ by the buffaloes, which led to the lower part of the river through a very clofe thicket full of thorns and briars, but otherwife cut through in every direction with a labyrinth of buffalo-paths. An old buffalo, with hardly any hair upon its hide, which ruffled out of a buffi clofe to us, and was very near knocking us down, confounded our guide, fo that he loft his ufual marks on the road; in confequence of which, we were obliged to ride backwards and forwards above two hours, being all the while in no fmall danger from the buffaloes ; and abfolutely uncertain whether we fhould be able to get out of the labyrinth in the fpace of as many days, efpecially if the fun did not fhine out, whereby we might difcover whereabouts we were. After this, we gave chafe to and wounded a hartbeejl on the open plains. On the 28th we rode to our old and opulent friend Jacob Kok, near Sea-cow river ; where, after an abfence of about three months, during which we had been continually fhifting our lodging, we now, by the care of our kind hoftefs, had an opportunity of refting our weary limbs and bodies broke down, as it were, with fatigue, on the fofteft beds in the beft bed-chamber. But fcarcely two nights had paffed, after fo agreeable a change, before we found ourfelves, (while finking in the yielding down,) involved in heavy though reftlefs numbers, attended with the moft un-eafy dreams ; flumbers with which we had to ftruggle at a late hour every morning, almoft as if we had been in the agonies of death: inftead of this, before our return 3 hither, hither, though on the ground, and in the open air, we had ever enjoyed an eafy, cool, and refrefhing fleep; out Urv^ of which we were accuff omed to awake of our own accord, as early and brifk as the reft of the animal creation, which awoke with the firft dawn of day. On the 29th, the day after our arrival, it rained all day long, with the wind at fouth-eaft. March the ift and 2d rainy, with the wind at fouth-eaft. The thermometer at 7 2. We ftaid with our worthy and agreeable hofts till the 7th of this month. Now and then, during this period, I rode with my ho ft to the fea-fhore, and treated myfelf with oyfters, at the fame time taking fome home with me. Some time before this, he had found in the ftrand there a bottle of red wine, which he had fet by to regale us with on our return from the defert. This, though not very nicely corked, proved not only not damaged, but even excellent; and had probably, in confequence of a fhipwreck, or of its having been offered up, either in a merry or a fuperftitious mood, by fome brave tar to Neptune, been long toffed about by the waves, before it came to its original deftination, to which we applied it by drinking each others healths. In one part of the ftrand, we perceived a ftrong fmell of amber, without being able, however, to find any of this drug thereabouts. Several fpecimens of the Gorgonia ceratophyta (a black horn-like coral with a red bark) which had been thrown up here by the fea, I have brought home with me ; one of thefe, which was three feet and a half long, and is branched out to an almoft equal breadth, is confidered by divers connoiffeurs, who have feen the firft cabinets in Europe, jjgjj Europe, as being one of the largeft of this fpecies that L^rsj ever was found. On the 9th we again vifited Sitficamma, where we now found a number of makes, which, on account of the farmers having fet fire to the dry grafs, for the purpofe of manuring their lands, fled to the fands, and there at this time lay dead; partly- fcorched by the fire, partly dried by the fun, and in part rotted to pieces. There were fome traces left of their having had four legs, fo that probably this ferpent was the anguis quadrupes of Linnaeus. Numbers of the bulla acbatina of Linn^us, though only the variatas livida of it, were found alive on the fandy plains, and up in the trees. When I was here before,- I found in the very fhell of one of thefe fnails, feveral yolks of eggs (as it were) of the fhape of common eggs, which, however, only contained a thin watery liquid. On the nth, having taken up our quarters near Wagen-booms-rivier, the moft eafterly part of Lange-iloof> we difcovered at night on a fudden, that a trad, near three miles in length, confifting of fields of dry grafs, was in flames. This conflagration, which a neighbouring farmer had caufed, for the purpofes of deftroying the arid plants, grafs, and bufhes that grew on his lands, (but it muft be owned, had fet about it very mal-a-propos, both as to time and weather,) fpread with the wind that blew very hard, with incredible fpeed, proceeding in a dired line to the farm where we were; fo that our hofts were obliged to throw water on the roof of their corn-loft, in order to preferve it from the flames. We were likewife not a little anxious for the fafety of our waggon, and were obliged to keep ourfelves ourfelves in readinefs to drive it into the water, as well as *p6- 3 March. to put oil our journey till the next day, as the fire burnt ^yw rapidly on each fide of the road. By this way of drefling the land, a number of ferpents, lizards, fcorpions, and feveral other kinds of infects, together with young birds, are generally deftroyed in their habitations. When we failed along the African coafl, in the Refolution, on our return from the South Pole, we faw of nights feveral large fires up the country, which probably were occafioned by the lands being fet fire to in this manner. A piece of lapis lazuli in a matrix of quartz, which I found in the vicinity of the river above-mentioned, is tolerably rich; but, fuppofing it fliould abound here, even then it would hardly pay for the fmelting, on account of the length of the way and the badnefs of the roads, by which the coal and fuel muft be brought hither for this purpofe from Sitfikamma. On the 13th we left this place, and arrived at Krakeel-rivier, which I now found to be a continuation of JVagen-booms-rivier, but have forgot to rectify the error in my map #; In the evening, riding alone to Aapies-rivier on a mettlefome horfe which I had lately purchafed, and which was unacquainted with this part of the country, I unavoid* ably loft my way when the night was far advanced; efpecially as the road over certain fields was unbeaten and not to be diftinguifhed. In the mean while, there came on the moft violent ftorm of thunder that I ever experiencedin any climate : the lightning frequently darting and crackling tetween my horfe's feet, while I was naturally enough pufhing him cn as * This error is rectified in the prefent edition. ' Vol. II. T t faft Marfh ^ as * cou^> m °rder to get out of the rain. Though my wrO freed, notwithftanding this, did not lofe any of his mettle, but, on the contrary, made feveral fudden ftarts and leaps, yet the poor animal was fo much affected at two different times by the violence of the thunder, that he funk quite down to the ground. As I found that I run rifks in divers ways, and met with feveral obftacles in the courfe 1 was fleering, I thcught it moftadvifeableto endeavour, by the affiftance of the frequent flaflies of lightning, to regain the beaten road which I had quitted. In this attempt I at laft fucceeded, and lighted upon a farm that was newly laid out, without any other premifes upon it, than a folitary hut thatched with ftravv; in which, though I found no better company there than a parcel of Hottentots, 1 was very glad to have at leaft the comfort of a roof over my head ; the fire being already quite burnt out, fo that I was obliged to fit there freezing and dripping wet till the next morning. In the mean while, I was extremely anxious concerning Mr. Immelman, who had fet out the fame evening, though later than I did; while he, having by means of a horfe which he led in hand, and which was perfectly acquainted with the road, arrived fafe at the place of our deftination ; and likewife miffing mc, was not lefs uneafy on my account than I was-on his ; and, after having made, to no purpofe, feveral. fignals by firing a mufket, among other furmifes which prefented itfelf to his imagination, he could not help being apprehenftve that I was ftruck dead by lightning; efpecially as he had appeared himfelf to have been in great danger, from it?, by a flafh having darted into the ground clofe by the fide of his horfes, in the fame inftant throwing them both CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 323 both on their knees. It rained likewife the following '776. " March. night, but without much thunder; and on the 15 th, while K^rryJ we were on the road to Kukoi-rivter, it rained all day long. On the 16th we came again to the farm of Zand-plaat> near Klein-dor n-rivier, mentioned in Vol. I. page 299. Here they were at this time very bufy in preferving and drying raifins; which was done by macerating the grapes a longer or fhorter time, according to what fort they were of, in boiling water, and then fpreading them out on mats to dry. The uncommon drought which, this fummer in a greater or lefs degree, infefted the whole country, had, among many other inconveniencies produced here, as well as in many other places, a fcarcity of meal, fo that they had no bread at this farm. The cattle in many places died for want of fodder; fo that at Falfe, or more properly Falfcbe-rivier, where, as I mentioned at page 244 of Vol. I, I faw, the preceding September, feveral buckets of buttermilk thrown away, they complained that they had then hardly enough to wean a child with. In confequence of this horrid drought, which, according to the account I read in the papers, was probably pretty general in other parts of the world, my draught-oxen fell away in their flefh, being quite fpent and worn out with fatigue, fo that feveral of them died one after the other; which obliged me to fupply their places with frefh ones. On the 20th we came X.oZaffraan-craaL On the 21 ft, early in the morning, we entered the tedious and tirefome vale, called Artaquas-kloof; and about the dufk of* the evening, at a precipice by the fide of the road, my waggon met with a worfe accident than it had done during the whole journey, T t a as 17715. as it was turned quite topfy-turvy. Befides the danger \^^IS which one of our Hottentots and two of the hind oxen were in of breaking their necks, i had the mortification of feeing my collection of natural curiofities trundle down the hill, in confequence of which they received confiderable damage. I look upon it, however, as peculiarly fortunate, that I was at this time near at hand, by which means i, in fome degree, preferved them. On the-2 2d we had, with great care and trouble, got the waggon, together with our wearied oxen, through the remainder of Art aquas-kloof, having been obliged to unload it in two difficult places, and carry the contents of it ourfelves. Our hoft at Hagel-craal, who had himfelf travelled a good deal in this country, was peculiarly happy at our having got off fo well. This night there fell frequent fhowers; but on the 23d, being arrived at Honing-klip, there fell the whole night throughout the moff dreadful heavy rain known in the memory of man; which continued, though with fomewhat lefs violence, all the next day, being the 24th, by which means, on the 25th, the road leading from hence was intirely impaffable. On the 26th we paffed Valfche-rivier* They began now, In this part of the country, to take advantage of the wet that had fallen, for fowing ; but though every grazier in this country has a greater quantity of land, draught-oxen, and bread than he wants, yet the farmers here had hardly every one a plough-ihare to themfelves, and this as well for want of fmiths as of iron; which, even in the town itfelf, are difficult to be procured. It hurt me extremely, that thefe good people fhould not be more plentifully fup- plied plied with a metal with which our country abounds almoft ^776. to excefs, and of the implements made of which probably v^vO all South-America is not lefs in want than the fouthern part of Africa : where i at this time faw a wealthy farmer wringing his hands and complaining, that he could not take advantage of the wet weather, on account of his plough being broken, and was obliged to wait till he could borrow one of his neighbours. i muft juft mention here, that a plough-fhare, 19 inches broad and 27 long, fuch as is commonly ufed in this country, cofts from three to five rix-dollars; and a fmall round-fhouldered fpade, with a peaked point, wmich might be bought in Sweden for ten-pence, is fold at the Gape for fix times that price. Copper veffels alfo bear a high price in this country, but the demand for them is by no means confiderable; and they muft be wrought after the peculiar fafbion of the country. March 27th. Not having had occafion to remark, during the whole journey, the leaft difagreement among the Hottentots, excepting that a young Hottentot girl pretty feverely rallied one of the fame nation, older than herfelf, for wearing too fmall, and confequently indecent a fneite, or apron, we were the more furprized to fee this day, at Zoete-melPs-rivier, a terrible fierce battle between two Hottentots. I muft not, however, forget to mention, that the combatants were man and wife, both equally fmall and ftunted in their growth, as well as equal in point of ftrength ; both born and bred in the fervice of the Chriftians, and. both dreffed in the Hottentot fafhiom There was at that time nobody at home but a few flaves,. who every now and then parted them; but on. the leaft. 5 wry 1776. wrv face or hafty expreffion, thefe loving turtles flew like V^^rO lightning again at each other's throats. On my tefhfying my furprize at the peculiar readinefs and expertnefs they fliewed in boxing each other, one of the Haves anfwered me very ferioufly, " Ha, baas ! there is no great wonder in that, for in the two years that I have been here, fcarcely a day has pafTed without their having practifed together once, if not oftener, before any body could get to them to part them." The lingularity of this account was increafed by the following remark, " that they had never been obferved to be at variance of nights, nor had they ever had occalion to upbraid each other with the leaft infidelity." Matters being thus fituated, as the beft way of reconciling them, we dented the Haves to let them alone, and leave them at full liberty, .in the phrafe of theEnglifh failors, to Jigbt it out, and give each other their bellies full. This was ac-vcordingly done, and i have reafon to believe, that they not ronly had enough of the fport, but that they were heartily tired into the bargain, and confequently that the enfuing .peace lafted fo much the longer.—On the 2Si.f1, 29th, and 30th, it rained more or lefs, but always with the wind at weft. At Krommbeek-rivier a yeoman, who was a great obferver of the weather, had remarked, that the moft violent winds were the north-weft and fouth-eaft; but that the former was generally the moft violent, and that the weft wind was the warmeft ; but what was very extraordinary was, that the north wind was the coldeft. fie informed me likewife, that the fouth-eaft wind was not near fo cold as it was at the Cape, and that the weft wind ufed to fet in every evening. Foul weather moftly came into this this country with an ca fieri y or wetter!y wind. Though *776-violent rains fell at that time at the Cape, or on the other \^y^Jt fide of Hex-rivier, it feldom extended as far as this place, the wind becoming only colder. Likewife when it rains here, the rain feldom extends to the other fide of the laft-mentioned river. On the 31ft I rode alone to a farm on the other fide of the upper part of Duyven-hoeks-rivier, having reafon to be-* lieve, from report, that there was gold ore at this place. On the 1 ft of April I examined this pretended gold orer and found it was nothing more than a pyrites, which they had given themfelves the trouble of breaking off from the mountains. In certain fpots here I met with a blue clay, impregnated with iron, which at firft, in fome degree, imparted a colour to any thing it was rubbed upon ; but in the fpace of a few days grew hard, and acquired a fchirrous nature. I likewife found there a red ferruginous earth, or bole, but higher up in the mountain there was a great quantity of flint-fand. Towards the end of the preceding month a noife had been heard at a diftance, and we werej afterwards informed, that certain changes had taken place in a mountain, and in a little ft ream fituated a great many miles on the other fide of the high chain of mountains upon which I then was. On the 5th we arrived at Zwellendam, from whence, for the fake of variety, we determined to purine the remainder of our journey by Hex-rivier, Cocke hnans-kloof, Roode-zand, Sec. This tract of country was partly of the carrow kind, and was fo well inhabited, (chiefly by zvine-boors) that' I could not find room for diftinguilhing all the farms with ■ the. 1776. the ufual circular mark in my map. The rivers, or rath; April. J 1 \msy^j brooks, that lay between Zwellendam and Hcx-rivur, were Pufpas-valley, Klip-rivier, Meulemaars-rivier, Leeuwen-rl-* vier, Saaras-riviej'y Fink-rivier, Goree-rivier* Seitj-rivier, and Nana-rivier. The aloe plant, (vide Linn. SuppL Plant.) commonly called at the Cape Gore-bofcb, has its name from the river Gore juft mentioned: though befides that fpot, this well-known vegetable, of which there are many varieties, being of a fucculent nature, throve extremely well in all the dry carrow and half carrow plains; yet it grew in the greateft abundance in the tract of country lying round about Mufcle-bay, Gaurits and Duyvenhoeks-riviers; fo that in certain fpots thereabouts, and that chiefly on the declivity of mountains, thefe plants formed groves, (as it were) of fmall palm-trees : as the Hems which arofe from, and were com-pofed of the thick fucculent leaves, in confequence of almoft the whole of each leaf, after being dried up and withered towards the bottom, having fallen off, or at leaft having been ftripped off purpofely, (by which means they had moreover acquired a rough, brown, and parched appearance) were, however, for the moft part, ftrait and erect, from eight to thirty feet in height, and about one thick, and were terminated by pale green tufts of frefh and healthy leaves. Not only the ufe, but even the real name of this plant, (viz. aloe) was, as I have been told by many people, long unknown to the colonifts, and for this reafon had been neglected and held cheap by them. It is true, there had been always in the fervice of the government a number of Negro flaves, who, at the place of their nativity, (another part of of the African coaft) had learned the method of preparing, ^77jj« as well as the value of the gum aloe; but bowing as they OyO did, beneath the yoke of ftavery, they would rather at any time have feen a dart pierce the hearts of their tyrants, than be inftrumental in procuring them any additional knowledge or wealth of what kind focver ; by which, on the one fide, the pride, avarice, and power of their matters, and on the other fide, their work, as well as the number of Haves employed would be increafed. For this reafon, the ufe of the aloe was for a long time kept a fecret among the flaves ; who, indeed, made a point of conference of not revealing it, till one of them, called Gop.ee, difcovered it to a colonift of the de Witt family. Whether this proceeded from gratitude to his matter for his humane treatment of him, or whether it was done in hopes of being rewarded for it, they could not inform me with any certainty : they only knew, that de Witt had, through this difcovcry, obtained an excluiive privilege for the delivery of a certain quantity of aloes to the Eaft-India company, and had given up to Goree the inflection of the whole work. It is likewife after the name of this flave, that the aloe plant is ftill to this day in Africa moft commonly, if not folely, called the Goree-bofch. The method in which gum aloes is prepared in Africa, has, it is true, been defcribed before by profeffor Thun-rerg, (vide Transactions of the Swedifh Phyfiographical Society, Parti. Art. II. page 112.) But as my readers may, nevertheless, probably expect fome information on this fubject, I have thought proper to communicate the following particulars concerning this fubject. Vol. II. U u The Jltfi The leaves being cut off at fome diftance from the ftem, April. r a Vm^tO as many of them as there is room for are placed in a flaming pofition over the concavity of another aloe leaf laid under them for this purpofe, fo that the juice, trickling down from the leaves which are cut, may be collected in it. After this, the whole quantity of juice contained in thefe refervoirs, is boiled down to about a third part, and being poured out into boxes, is left to coagulate and grow hard. Others again content themfelves with wiping off the juice, which comes out of the frefh cut leaves, feveral times againft the edges of a marble veffel, wherein it is by this means collected, and is afterwards boiled down. In the methods defcribed above, which, however, in all probability, are by no means the beft that might be imagined, only a few drops, or at moft a thimbleful or two, are procured from each leaf. By handling it, the hands of the operator are fubject to be made fore; and the boiling of it down, an operation which is likewife performed in the open air, the operator being at the fame time frequently expofed to the fcorching rays of the fun, is alfo attended with its inconveniencies. Add to this, that thofe who at prefent make it their bufinefs to buy up this drug at the Cape, do not give above two or three ftivers a pound for it; and it will not appear ftrange, that the Cape farmers do not think it worth their while to prepare this gum, unlefs they have young children or other people, that can do nothing elfe, to employ upon it. " In the winter (quaade moujfari) the aloe leaves are fuppofed to contain moil juice ; on which account, this feafon is principally choien for preparing the gum aloe, and particularly fine and calm days; 4 as CAPE of GOOD PI OPE. 331 as in windy weather the juice coagulates too foon, and >77jk cannot run out of the leaves." Vide 1. c. The gum pre- Lyv\j pared in this manner is, when powdered, yellow, like any other aloes in powder; but the thin pieces that are broken off from it, and the edges of even larger pieces, are tranf-parent, appearing as though they were made of a yellow-ifh brown glafs. Confequently it has nothing of that dark green cloudy and opaque appearance, like the other aloes which are to be found in the apothecaries fhops under the denominations of fuccotrine and hepatic aloes. This dark colour, which is feen in a great quantity of aloes, in all probability proceeds from its having been prepared in a method very different from that ufed at the Cape; perhaps from the leaves being prefled, by which means a greater quantity indeed of juice is obtained, but then it is full of dregs. It is true, I have often ufed the gum aloe of the Cape for medical purpofes, but cannot take upon me as yet to give it the preference to the more opaque fort; in the mean while, defirous of exploring this drug in divers ways, I got M. John E. Julin, apothecary at New Carleby, to fe-parate from each other the gummy and refinous parts of the gum aloe from the Cape, who found it to contain nearly equal quantities of both thefe principles. Near the above-mentioned river Goree, farmer Aloven Smidt, who refided on the banks of that river, had caught a dreadfully venomous lizard, called fgeitje, which he had kept in fpirits of wine; and on the 19th of this month, on my departure from this place, made me a prefent of it. U u 2 I had J7j^ I had long before this been told by many people, that the \^ry%j bite of this creature would produce a terrible fort of leprofy, which terminated in death, but not till the expiration of fix months or a year, the body in the mean while rotting and falling away piece-meal. This man, however, gave me an inlfance of a Bugunefe flave having, a few years before, been fortunate enough to cure a female Have in the neighbourhood, who had already experienced, in a pretty high degree, the effects of the geitje's bite. The patient, who had afterward removed to about fixty miles from this place, was fuppofed to be mil alive and in good health; but the flave, they knew, had died with the fecret, having never difcovered either this or any other of the remedies of which he was in poffeflion of, to any body. It has been obferved, however, that among other means which he ufed, he had fometimes dreffed the wound with oranges and lemons cut into halves. In the mean while, the matter deferves to be investigated in different ways. Among other things, animals ought to be expofed to the bite of this ferpent, and the effects of oranges and other remedies on the ulcers that would in all probability arife from it, fhould be tried. It is a fortunate circumftance, that the geitje is flow in its motions, and not of a very irritable difpofition ; confequently the diforder occasioned by its bite is not common, though the animal itfelf is common enough in fpring, or at leaft at certain times in the year. We fought for it, however, to no purpofe, under the rocks and ftones near Krakeel river, and in the empty fhells of the bulla achatima in Sitf cam-ma, (where the inhabitants affured me it was very common) mon) when I paired through thefe places. As the tail is J^jJ apt to fall off with a flight touch, and is found filled up Cy^J with a yellow matter, like that which is feen in boils and ulcers, and as no nails are difcoverablc in the fpecimen that I brought home with me, is it not probable that the geitje is a larva, which in time is transformed into a lizard of a quite different form and nature ? I do not know for certain, whether I have feen this lizard alive or not; yet I think I remember, that I caught one of them at the warm bath, and, wrapping it up in paper, kept it in my pocket; but pulled it out again, through haffe and care-leffhefs, along with the wadding of my gun ; not being-aware at that time, what a venomous prize I had got and parted with. I afterwards heard the company at the bath fpeak of this lizard, though (if I remember right) by another name, being to be found at Franfe-boek; but I considered the account they gave concerning the poifonous quality of this animal, as one of the tales by which I obferved they endeavoured to alarm me, and render me cautious in the courfe of my journey. The geitje which I brought home with me, is fcarcely three inches in length, of which length the tail makes the fmalleft half, and is very peaked; but in the middle is nearly as thick as the animal's body, which is without any fcales, and at top fpeckled with dark fpots, and white underneath, with from twelve to fourteen papilla? on the edge of the under jaw. There arc five toes to each foot. I have given a figure of the geitje, together with a full defcription of it, in the Tranf-adf ions of the Gottenburgh Society of Sciences and Belles Lettres, Parti, page 75. Tab, V. 1776. I have already, at page 308 of this volume, made men- v^v>j ri°n or a lizard as black as jet, which the Hottentots dread very much, as being highly venomous. Not having room for them within the limits which I have prefcribed to myfelf in this volume, I am obliged to postpone the defcription of the African lizards, as well as feveral other matters, for the prefent, with an intention to give them to the public at fome future period, in a feparate treatife, or by fome other opportunity. The following lizard, however, which is much the largeft in the whole colony, and to which I ihall give the name of lacerta Capenfis, deferves to be briefly mentioned, were it only on account of the hardinefs of its nature, and the difficulty with which I found it to be deprived of life. It is true, it bears fome diftant refemblance to that of Seba, from Ceylon, Tom. I. Tab. 94. Fig. I. in the rings or girdles with which it is encircled ; but it has a much greater number of them, not to fpeak of the remarkable diflimilarity there is between them in point of colour, which may be collected from the following character of that from the Cape. " Lacerta Capenfis, cauda compreffa fupra carinata, Zonis 16, feu 18, albis totidemque nigris alternantibus annulata, apice nigra. Corpore fubfquamofo, fuperne ex nigro viridique fufco, fubtus albido, fafciis 16—18, nigris anomalis notato. Harum 8 circiter juguli, 9 autem Pectoris Abdominis pie regiones occupant." One of this fpecies, of the middle fize, which, together with its two young ones, I brought home with me from Agter Bruntjes-hoogte, was about two feet long in the body, and / and three in the tail; having caught her by the neck, fo 1776-that fhe could not bite me, and finding that it required v3v^ fome ftrength to hold her faft, I got a large worfted needle, and gave her feveral punctures with it, not only in the heart, but in every part of the cranium which was in contact with the brain. This, however, wTas fo far from anfwering my purpofe, which was to kill her in the moft fpeedy and leaft painful manner, without mangling or mutilating her, that fhe feemed ftill to have life enough left to be able to run away. After this my hoft undertook to put an end to her, and after having given her feveral hard fqueezes about the cheft, and tied her feet together,, hung her up by the neck in a noofe, which he drew as-clofe as he poftibly could. From this fituation fhe was found in the fpace of 48 hours to have extricated herfelf, though flie ftill remained near the farm, appearing at the fame time to be almoft entirely exhaufted. Upon this, we tied her feet clofe behind her, fo that with her long and fharp claws, of which fhe had five upon each foot, flie could not damage the ferpents and other animals which I kept in a calk of brandy, and among which I put her with my own hands, holding her a long time under the furface of the liquor; yet flie was fo far from being fuffocated immediately by the ftrength of the liquor, that flie flounced about a good deal in it; and even a quarter of an hour afterwards, convinced us by her motions that flie had ftill fome life remaining in her. This fpecies of lizard I found to be amphibious, living in water as well as on land, and likewife that it grew to a ftill greater fize ; confequently it appears to be an extremely long-lived animal,, and, as well on 336 A VOY'AGE to the 1776' on account of this property, as of that of not being killed V^yO without great difficulty, to have an important office afligned it in the general fyftem of the ceconomy of nature. It was fuppofed, (and not without foundation) by tire people with whom I refided, that this creature might eafily be made tame, and that it was not in the leaft of a malignant or venomous nature. I have this moment received the foetus of a very lingular quadruped from the Cape, which has been kept in fpirits, I can therefore do no more than give a fhort defcription of it in this place, which may ferve as a foundation for farther refearches in future. It feems to be of a dark grey colour, and feven inches and a half long, meafnring from the nofe to the anus; in its body, tail, and feet, fomewhat refembling a young whelp, but with a quite different head. The nofe is round and fmall, two-thirds of an inch in length, and projecting ftrait forwards, fo as to form a right angle with the forehead, which is upright, and rounded almoft like that of a man; and thus in thefe particulars, likewife very different from the long-fnouted genus of viverra, or weafeh The mouth, moreover, projects in fuch a manner, that the upper lip forms an acute angle with the nofe. Notwithftanding this, the under-lip and jaw project beyond the upper. The tongue is broad, and is round at the tip. Captain Adolphus Burtz, who has enriched the cabinet of Natural Hiftory belonging to the Royal Academy of Sciences with divers rarities from the Eaft-Indies, has made me a prefent likewife of this animal, which he had bought of CAPE of GOOD HOPE. 337 of a countryman at the Cape. This man told him, that it 3 April. was to he found in the country round about Saldanha-bay, v^w*> and gave him the name of it, which Captain Burtz took down in writing, but loft the paper; fo that this animal feems to be one of the regular and ordinary productions of nature, and no monfter. In the evening we came to Nctna-rivier. At this time there lived here a widow, whofe hufband had feveral years before met with the dreadful catastrophe of being beheaded by his own Haves. His fan, then about 13 or 14 years of age, was obliged to be eye-witnefs to his father's fate, and was even threatened with being made to partake of it, but luckily found an opportunity of giving them the flip; and after eluding their moft vigilant fearch, hid himfelf up clofe from the forenoon till it was dark at night; when at laft he ventured forth, with a view to feek a fafer afylum at a neighbouring farm, and to accufe his father's murderers. Thefe villains had refolved likewife to murder the mother, who was expected that day home from the Cape ; but fortunately for her, though very much to her diffatisfaction, flie was delayed by fome accident on the road till the next day. By means of her fon, who had made his efcape, flie received advice of what had happened. As the whole premifes on the farm confifted merely of two houfes, fituated on a plain quite open on all fides, excepting that it was covered with a few ftraggling bufhes, which grew along the little river or brook that ran clofe by the fpot, the lad's contrivance to hide himfelf, though in fact extremely painful as well as fingular, was the only one that could at this time poffibly fave him. It confifted in this, Vol. II. X x viz. m Wf>- viz. that he fat, or rather fank himfelf up to his nofe in April. . 11- • • i i • r v_^yo the nver; taking care at the lame time to hide his race behind the boughs that hung over the water. The murderers not being able to find him any where, he having as it were entirely vanilhed out of their light, immediately began to conclude, that, in order to avoid the ftroke of the bloody axe, he had rather chofe to put an end to his life himfelf, by jumping into the river: notwithftanding this, however, they attempted to make themfelves certain whether he was drowned or not. The means they took in order to effect: this, was to found the brook all over with the branches of a tree ; but they luckily forgot juft the particular j^lace where the boy was fitting, probably as the river was in that part lhallower, and had a brifker current. : 1 Ji Ifi 1 id etiot atfi ntoii Atifo I fliould doubtlefs have brought the tears into the eyes of our holts, and at the fame time made them a bad return for their civilities, had 1, by queltioning them clofely concerning the particulars of this ftory, endeavoured fo un-fcafonably to fatisfy my curiolity. For this reafon, I have contented myfelf with taking it down, juft as I have related it above, from the accounts given me by Mr. Immelman aftd others ; and confequently was not able to learn with any certainty, whether the deceafed had by any unufuafac't of fevcrity provoked his ilaves to commit this crime,, by way of revenging themfelves; or elfe whether thefe latter had acted thus, from a perfuafion that the fame crimes and predatory practices by which violence had been offered to their perfons, and they had been deprived of their liberties, might likewife lawfully be had recourfe to, for the recovery of this precious right right bellowed on them by nature, and might confequently be very pardonable when exercifed on their tyrants. UrO Yet, whatever might be the real reafon of the committing this dreadful crime, I am convinced, that it has its origin in the very effence and nature of the commerce in flaves, in whatever manner and in whatever country it may be practifed; a motive which I found had as much influence among the Chriftians in many places, as among the Turks on the coaft of Barbary, to induce the unhappy flaves, and ftill more their tyrannical mafters, to behave very ftrangely; nay, fometimes to be guilty of the moft horrid cruelties. I have known fome colonifts, not only in the heat of their paflion, but even deliberately and in cool blood, undertake themfelves the low office (fit only for the executioner) of not only flaying, for a trifling neglect, both the backs and limbs of their flaves by a peculiar flow lingering method, but likewife, exceeding the very tigers in point of cruelty, throw pepper and fait over the wounds. But what iippeared to me more ftrange and horrible, was to hear a colonift, not only defcribe with great feeming fatisfaction the whole procefs of this diabolical invention, but even pride himfelf on the practice of it; and rack his brains, in order to find fophifms in defence of it, as well as of the flave trade; in which occupation the im-portant poft he enjoyed in the colony, and his own intereft, had engaged him. He was, however, an European by birth; of a free and civilized nation; and, indeed, gave evident proofs of pofTeffing a kind and tender heart; fo that, perhaps, it would be difficult to fliew any where a X x 2 greater greater contradiction in the difpofition of man, though in v^vnJ a world compofed almoft entirely of contradictions. Many a time, efpecially in the mornings and evenings, have I feen in various places unhappy flaves, who with the moft difmal cries and lamentations, were frittering the immoderately fevere punifhments inflicted on them by their matters ; during which, they are ufed, as i was informed, to beg not fo much for mercy, as for a draught of water;., but as long as their blood was ftill inflamed with the pain and torture,, it was faid that great care muft be taken to avoid allowing them the refrefhment of. any kind of drink ; as experience had (hewn, that in that cafe, they would die in the fpace of a few hours, and fometimes the very inftant after they had drank it. The fame thing is faid to happen to thofe who are impaled alive, after having been broken upon the wheel; or even without having previoufly fuffer-ed this punifhment. The fpike in this cafe is thru ft up along the back-bone and the vertebrae of the neck, between the fkin and the cuticle, in fuch a manner, that the delinquent is brought into a fitting pofture. In this horrid fituation, however, they are faid to be capable of fupport-ing life for feveral days, as long as there comes no rain ; as in that cafe,, the humidity will occafion their fores to mortify,, and confequently put an end to theirbufferings in a few hours, I am glad that, during my refidence in the town, no opportunity prefented itfelf to me of feeing any one undergo this punifhment; which, though it is only deftined for incendiaries, or for fuch as are guilty of fedition or murder, aggravated with peculiar circumftances of cruelty and barbarity, yet it appears not lefs mocking and revolting to human CAPE of GOO D HOPE; 34* human nature, than the very crimes themfelves,, and! \71ii * April. actually irritates more than it is generally thought to da^ \*rv~*j> the other flaves: in the townwhom i have feen compelled to be prefent even at fuch public punifhments as do not affect the life of the culprit, in order that they might take warning from it. But the Have who is punifhed for fedi-tion, is always, in -the eyes of his fellow-flaves a martyr, that fuffers for the common caufe, and for having maintained the deareft rights bellowed upon them by nature, which is their liberty. Spikes, wheels, red-hot pincers, and all the reft of the horrid apparatus employed by their executioners, will never have with the fufferers the effect of convincing them of the contrary doctrine; on the contrary,, they become ftill more obftinate in fuppofing themfelves tyrannized over, and in thinking that fuch of their fellow-flaves as have had the courtage to take away the lives of their own tyrants* and prefer death and tortures to the bafely groveling, and crawling any longer upon the earth in an opprobrious ftate of bondage, are examples worthy of imitation, and that at leaft they deferve to be venerated, pitied, and even revenged. The Chinefe maffacre at Batavia in 1748, affords a ftill more dreadful inftance of the rage andlcruel-ties into which men in general, may be precipitated by the tyranny of their rulers. Had the Chinefe fucceeded in this iiifurrection, the governor-general Imhoff,, and M.-The-dens, would have been cut to pieces and devoured. (Vide Adr. Valkenier, T, XVII.) May not we conclude from hence, that oppreflion and injuftice, rather than hunger, have given rife to the practice of eating humari flefh, which prevails in many parts of the world ?—I have before obferved, 6 thafc 342 A VOYAGE to th'E^ ^77_6' that fae.Bugukkfe Haves are particularly ftrict and -fcrit-■Wv^ pulou» with refpect to the adminiitration of juftice. Thofe Haves are a fort of Mahomedans, and nearly of the fame complexion as the people of Java, though they are taken upon other iflands in the Eaft-Indies. They are not moreover of a humour to put up with harfli expreflions or alnifive language, ftill lefs when they are not deferving of it, and not at all from a woman ; looking upon it as the greatest fliame, to fuffer themfelves to be difciplined by'the'weaker fex. Many a matter and miftrefs of a family, who have happened to forget themfelves with refpecl: to this point, have, when a proper opportunity has offered, been made to pay for this miftake of theirs with their lives. Thefe fame Haves, on the other hand, when they know, that they are in the wrong, are faid to thank their matter for each ftroke he beftows upon them; at the fame time commending his rigour and juftice, nay even killing his feet; a circumftance of which I myfelf have been an eye-witnefs. In fine, they are reported to be capable of bearing the moft cruel torments with wonderful fortitude, as though they were entirely devoid of feeling. There have been inftances of their not having uttered the leaft cry or complaint when impaled alive, or broken upon the wheel. But fliould a Bugunefe Have at any time happen to betray the leaft. want of refolution in this point, his countrymen are faid to feel themfelves hurt by it, confidering it as a reproach to the whole nation. The female flaves belonging to thefe people, are reported to be extremely conftant in love, as likewife to exact: the ftricteft fidelity from their lovers. In fhort, the bold and intrepid character of this nation, is the caufe C A P EOF GOOD H OP E. 34; j caufe that people 'at trie Gape? are not fond of buying them; r77.6-and that the importation of them is prohibited,, though in v^v^/ fact it is fometimes practifed. The flaves from other parts, fuch as from Mofambique, Madagafcar, Malabar^ &x. are in general not ib-dangerous to their unreafonable and 1 tyrannical matters. On account of this great tamenefs fhevv n by them, they are more generally made to bow beneath the yoke'; and the miftrefs of a family may venture to give as free a fcope to all her whims and5 fancier as her hufband himfelf, wrth refpect to thefe flaves. There ' is a law, indeed, emitting in the colonies, which prohibits matters from killing their flaves, or from flogging or otherwife chaftizing them with too great feverity.;. but 'hdw is a Have ko" go t&law with his matter, whd i$$i?asHt were,' his fovereign, and who, by the fame laws, hast a right (or at leaft may by dint of bribes purchaferfthat riglit) to have him1 Hogged at the public whipping-poft, not abfol-utety to death, indeed, yet not far from it; and 1 this-merely on the ftrength of the m-after's own teltdtinony, and Without any farther irujtufition into the merits of the cafe?" The matter has, betides-, fo far his Have's- life in his hands, that by rating and abiding him day after day, ! as likewife%y fi rft part actuated by llronger paAiohs 'thaii their aiij 'f a rherdfalvesi up totally nr/orn tnm 344- -3 'iA) iy GL'SjAi G E i ,jro 7 7f» to defpowlency,amf^W7?it vari^e afts of defperatioii O-v-^ and violence, .'layers .(c^rcum#auces and con federations may, perhaps, Concur to induce a wretch in this iltuation to qxempt his tyrant from the kdaggera which he plunges in his o\vu bofom.Si content with being thus able to put ai* endjifpWfris j^if^,rja^ic\y{at the fame time to difappoint his greedy mafter of the profits anting from tl>e fweat of his brow. A fernale^ave> who bad been juft bought at a high price, and ra^ljer prematurely treated with feverity by her miftrefs, who lived in the Roode-zand diftrict, hanged herfelf the fame night, out of revenge and delpair, juft at the entrance of her new miftrefs's bedchamber. A young ma/i and woman, wl>o were Haves at tlie Cape* and wej:# paftionately fond of each, other, folicited their matter j. in conformity to the eftabliihed cuftom, for his confent to their being united in wedlock, though all in vain, as from fome whim or caprice he was induced abfolutely to forbid it. The confequence Was, that the lover was feized with a lingular fit of defpair; and having firft plunged a dagger into the heart of the object of his deareft wifhes, immediately afterwards put an end to his own life. But how many hundred inftances, not lefs dreadful than thefe, might be produced to this purpofe! Thefe, however, may fufHce to create all that abhorrence for the flave trade, which fo unnatural a fpecies of commerce deferves ; we will, therefore, at prefent difmifs this difagreeable fubject. f. On the 1 oth we fet off from Hex-rivier, and went by the way of Roode-zand, a tract of land of the carrow kind, laid out in vineyards, and almoft encircled with very high mountains. mountains. The only road by which it was poflible to go j776. from hence to the Cape, went through a narrow, long, O-wJ and tedious vale, along which runs part of Klein-berg river. On the 12th, having got out of the diftrict. of Roode-zand, we met with fome farmers from Sneeuw-berg, who had juft been at the Cape. Thefe good people informed us, that a large lake had lately been difcovered a little to the north of the latter diftrict. Otherwife, there is not another lake to be found in the whole colony.—As far as i could underftand them, it was of a fpecies of caBus of a confiderable fize, that they made at Camdebo and other places in the colony, a kind of brandy, equally good with that which is prepared from grapes or malt. They like-wife informed us, that there was a Swedifh fhip in each of the harbours, Table-bay and Falfe-bay, both which were fuppofed to be ready to fail. This piece of intelligence, neceffarily caufed me to make all the hafte i could to get to the end of my journey. On the 15th we got back again to the Cape. Vol. ii. A P P E N- C 347 ] appendix. Some Account of the Mus Pumilio, a new Species of Rat, from the Southern Part of Africa, lately difcovered and defcribed by the Author. X known to naturalifts, I found in the foreff of Sit-ficamma, hard by Slangen-rWiQV, two hundred uurs to the eaft of the Cape. It is eafily diftinguifhed from all the other numerous fpecies of the genus to which it belongs, by means of the four black lines which run along its back. The figure annexed in Plate VII. of this volume, reprefents this rat of its natural fize, being drawn from a fpecimen which I have prefented to the Mufeum of the Swedifh Academy : and, as it feems to have attained to its full fize, the mus pumilio, ox dwarf moufe, may certainly contend for the palm with the mus minutus and mus betulinus of M. Pallas, as being the moft diminutive quadruped in the whole world. The fpecimen I have in my poffeflion at this time, though impregnated with the fpirits in which it is preferved, weighs no more than four fcruples: confequently, when compared with the gigantic quadrupeds exifting in the fame quarter of the globe, and of which I have given defcriptions as well in the Swedifh Tranfadtions which has been hitherto totally un Y y 2 as in the preceding journal, it forms with them a finking contraff. Compared with the hippopotamus, for inftance, an animal, which is feventeen or eighteen French feet long, and at leaft fix in diameter, the mus pumilio is but TTo *oth of the fize of the former, confidering the bulk of this latter as being equal to a cubical mafs an inch and a quarter in length, and half an inch in diameter. DESCRIPTIO. Corpus tenue, compreffiufculum. Color Velleris in ge-nere fufco-cinereus ; Frontis 8c nucha niger. Linece qua-tuor dorfales, longitudinales nigrae: Harum duo intermedia, 8c in nucha 8c ad balin caudae in unum coalefcunt;. duo exteriores a. nucha, paulloque pone aures ortse, fibi in-vicem parallelize, ad bafin ufque caudae fere extenduntur. Regiones utriufque oculi 8c narium pallidae. Pedes antici Sc pojlici quinque-dacfyli, anticorum pollicibus minutis, con-fpicue tamen unguiculatis. Cauda longitudine y corporis, nudiufcula, pallida. spe- SPECIMEN of the LANGUAGE of the HOTTENTOTS. Numerals* One, XTu Two, t'Kamm/. Three, t'Kuona. Four, fHacka. Five, fGif. Six, fGolo. Parts of the Body and Clothing. Hair, t'Kum. Nofe, t'Kou Eye, Mo. Ear, fNunqua. Tooth, tO. Teeth, fKong. Lip, t'Gamma. Hand, fUnka. Leg, t'Nu. Stocking, t'Nus Tanka. Nails, fKoloqua. Finger, t'Naniqua. Stomach, fAmfa. Tail, Softe. Penis, t'Ka. Caput penis, fQra. Vulva, fGau. Apron, t'Netie; Hat, f Aba. Shoes, fNoaka. Mens Ages and Conditions in Life. Father, Bo. --, t'O. Elder brother, t'Ai. Younger brother, t'Kana. Mother, Mama. ■, Saitf. Parents, Sanna. Elder filler, fKacs* Younger filter, t'Kangs. Young girl, Tra&qfi, Girl, fGos. Lad, ?Go. Slave, Kobbo. Mailer, Mailer of the houfe, fKukoi. The The Names of Animals and their Properties, Tiger, Kcejfau. Wolf, Guka. -, Nuka. Elephant, Coa. Dog, Tu. Dogs, Tuna. Penis of a dog, Tuna-ka. Bitch, Tus. Lion, f Gamma. Tortoife, fGammi. Elk, t'Kan. Roebuck, Za. Steenbock, Gunima* Jackal, d'Intai. Zebra, d'Au. Horfe, Hangua. Stallion, Karangaha. Mare, Abas. Fifh, fGau. Buffalo, fKau. Sea-Cow, t'Gao. Hog, Plango. Horned Cattle, t'Guku. Sheep, t'Gus. Cow, /'Gob's. Bull, Hara. -, Ho. Baboon, t'Gorloka. Bee, Oi. Honey, Denni. Milk, Bi. Fat, tNui. Flcfli, t'Go. Subjlantives not reducible to the former heads, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns and Phrajcs. Thunder, t'Gulu. Fire, t'Ei. Wood, V. Bread, Bra. Pipe, t'Nov. Terra firma, Houtniqua. Wafhing-river, t'Kam fnafi. Water, fKamma. Houfe, fKooqua. Road, Dau. Bad road, Tradau. -, Tudau. Good road, Skundaha. Callibafh, Karabu. Waggon, Krobe. Good, Huka* Better, < A P P E Better, Oin. Bad, ugly, Kaif. Sick, Ka'ifin. What belongs to you is good for nothing, Zgu kaifi. Angry, Solo. Why, or with whom are you angry ? Solo naha. Cold> Oro. Yes, lo. No, Aa. Thine, Ta. Thy Horfe, Ta Hanqua. Whofe, which, Danne. Who is come? t' Damie koba. N D I X. Who lives here ? t'Danne koha he. Our father, Zika Bo. --, Ty fka. I, Tin. — Tin: — Faemininum, Titti. Thou, Tats* She, Tatiji? He, Hekoe. Ye, Zita. They, Hekoina. Will you have any bread? Tats Bra?. ---— Sas Bra?. 35* Verbs ABive and Neuter, with fome Examples of them in Phrafes. I am, Titte. Thou art, Kia. He is, Oi. We are, Zikatif. We are there, Zikatifi inaha. He is there, Dan inaha. To come, Ha. Come hither, Heva ha. ■ -—, yata ha. Come quickly, Sufa ha. Do not come, Ha gutti* To do, Hi. To give, Male. --, Mare. Give me, Male gu. 8 Give fire, ?Ei mare. Give milk, Bi mare. Order me fome drink, Ereka. Give victuals, fKoko mare. To eat, t'Knu, I wifli to eat, t'Knu kau tiri.. I am hungry, Tiri kalu naha. Having one's fill, or one's belly full, Ele tekae: To lie down, or lie along, fKoe. - ■— , t'Kuwe.. To fleep, fKom. I am fleepy, Tilika-kule.. To boil, Zain. The water boils, Daukai t'kamma Truth,, Truth, it is true, Kammafa. To He, it is falfe, Eige. It is fine weather, t'Oroo. It rains; t'Ukai, Remember me to your family! I Kabcbarc. Good day ! Farcwel! | t'Abe. Good day, Matter! ts Abe fkukoi. To Ileal, t'Sa. To kill, t'Nautkam. A draught, To drink, Here, take it! 7 f See there ! hold fail! 5 | t'Ka. N. B. t' Prefixed to a word, indicates that the fyllablc immediately following is to be pronounced with a clack, or application of the tongue to the roof of the mouth : this appears to me to be effected, according to the different dialects ufed, the different emotions of the fpeaker, or the different fubjects fpoken of, with various degrees of force in one and the fame word j and, indeed, fometimes to be altogether omitted. Specimen of the Language of the Snefe, or Cbinefe-Hot ten tots* One, t'Koa. Two, Tinnano. Three, Tinnankaita. Four, Tinnanonaka. He, fNatko. Fire, /'£/. Water, fKac. Flefh, tGod. Abufive language, t'Kcago. Lion, t'Ka/o. Tiger, fAbe. Good day! fAve. N. B. I did not meet with any of this nation that could reckon farther than four. Notwithftanding which, fuch of them as are ihepherds in the fervice of the Chriftians, are faid to difcover much fooner than their mafters, when any one of the fiicep in the numerous flocks committed to their care, is loft or miffing. It It mould farther be obferved, that it is only the words denoting fire andf/fj, and the term ufed in mutual falutations, that bear any refemblance to each other in the two preceding languages. Specimen of the Language of the Caffres. To reckon, Sium. Water, Maaf. One, Enje. Milk, Ammaf. Two, Babini. Fire, Lilo. Three, A-tatu. The Sun, Lelanga. Four, Sanu. The Moon, Janga. Five, Sumenini. Rain, Evula. Six, Sinje. Ox, Gomo. Ten, Sumi, Plorfe, Hanffi. A Hundred, Enkuku. Lion, Eiepho. Father, Bao. Buffalo, Eujata. Mother, Man. Jackal, Pangalio* A Man, Doda. Elk, Poffo. A Woman, Ufafi. Dog, Sefiuja. Two prothers, hjinkuto. Coufins, Umsa/a. To give, -A Road, I fata. Kindred, Sinlobo Tetu. Friend, Ek/obo. A fick Perfon, Jaffa. Hand, Fanfa. One that is dead, Ufi/e. Finger, Aerie. The Ear, Si/a. Thumb, Umino. Handfome, Opepile, Arm, Enkomo. Angry, Si a/a. Thigh, Mulemfe. Great, Entue mine. Foot, E?ijau. Little, Nonane. Toes, Emauffani. Javelin, Haflagai, Emkangota. Head, Loko. Knife, Sifbatfe, Vol. II. Z z Waggon Waggon, No to. Copper, Brafs, Emjibcmfopi. Glafs Beads, Sintela. Small redGIafsBeads,I/c^/^^. More ! Give more ! Ungeefa. It is too little, Ninneni* Good Day, Echiote. To dance, Ujino. Come hither, Ifat. Run ! Hafte ! Harden* To fleep, Gualala. To awaken, Vuka* To wake,-- No ! Haij. Yes! Aoe\ Far away, Kude. N. B. The Caffres do not make a noife with their tongue againft the roof of their mouths in fpeaking, as the Hottentots do, but pronounce their words in a manly and diftincl manner, moftly with a ftrong accent on the penultimate. AIR, Sung by the Hottentot-Caffres, near Little Sunday-river* (Vide page 28 of this volume.) Plane. forte. Maye-ma, Mayc-ma, huh huh huh. 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