From the elevated summit of the Roggeveld chain, which is attained with great difficulty, a country interspersed with hills, and without any very perceptible descent, stretches to the north. Some notion of the height of the surface may be formed from the consideration that the air, throughout the year, is much colder than we might expect in such a latitude; and that, on the top of the mountain, Fahrenheit's thermometer was 3 below the freezing point. It is, therefore, not unrea34 sonable to presume that many of the native plants of this ridge may endure the cold of England; especially as the experience of five years has ascertained that several species of Lycium, the seeds of which were gathered in the Karro, and in low lands, survive our winters without injury.

Mr. B. and his caravan had now taken leave of the inhabited part of the colony, and of all intercourse with white men; being fated to roam over an almost trackless land, and to rely entirely on their own resources. On the 9th of Au

gust, between nine o'clock A. M. and three P.M., the thermometer ranged from 33° to 72°. — On the 16th of the same month, by the junction of missionaries and Hottentots on their way to Klaarwater, the party, including women and children, amounted to 97 persons, having with them eight waggons, and the usual proportion of oxen, besides horses. and sheep; and ten more waggons joined on the first of September. - Advancing from the confines of the colony, the travellers directed their route through the country of the Bushmen to the Gariep river; traversing a hard, bare, and open territory, of which the monotony was occasionally relieved by broad and far-stretching undulations: while quaggas and lions were sometimes observed, and sometimes shot.

8th. Hitherto,' says Mr. Burchell, we had not seen a single native; a circumstance occasioned, most probably, by their universal distrust of all strange visitors from out of the colony. But having, by their spies and observations, satisfied themselves that we were friends, a party of eleven Bushmen, with three women, paid us a visit this morning. They were, in stature, all below five feet; and the women still shorter; their skin was of a sallow brown color, much darkened by dirt and grease. Their clothing appeared, in my eyes, wretched in the extreme; but, doubtless, not so to them, as they all seemed contented enough; although, when we first met, I observed in their looks great mistrust, and symptoms of much fear. These gradually wore off; and, after we had confirmed the assurances of our peaceable intentions, by presents of tobacco and beads, they recovered their natural tone, and chattered and clacked with each other in a very lively manner.

Among them were some young men, whom, with all the remains of ancient prejudices, I could not help viewing as interest

ing.

ing. Though small, and delicately made, they appeared firm and hardy; and my attention was forcibly struck by the proportional smallness, and neatness of their hands and feet. This conformation is common (perhaps in Africa, peculiar,) to all the Hottentot ráce.

The women were young; their countenances had a cast of prettiness, and, I fancied, too, of innocence; their manners were modest, though unreserved. Their hair was ornamented with small Cowry shells, and old copper buttons, which were interwoven with it. One of them wore a high cap of leather, the edge of which protected her eyes from the sun at her back, and entirely hid excepting the head, she carried her infant, whose exceedingly small features presented to me an amusing novelty. The poor little thing bore all the rough jolting motion with a degree of patience and unconcern which plainly showed it to have been used to it from the day of its birth. While her head was turned aside to talk to her companions, I drew a sketch of her unperceived.<

From the concurrent assertions of all the Hottentots, I now learnt the singular fact, that the teeth of the Bushmen do not, in the course of time, decay, as those of most other nations do; but become, in old age, quite ground down by use, in the same manner as those of sheep. I have frequently, in corroboration of this, noticed that the front teeth of old people had the appearance of being worn down to mere stumps; but I confess I never had an opportunity of confirming it by a closer examination, and therefore leave the assertion as I found it.'

**

་*

The next morning unfolded a strikingly desolate scene of rock and aridity, with the singular group of the Karreebergen or Dry Mountains in front, characterized by their flat and table-like summits. The station of Carel Krieger's Grave is so denominated from the tragical fate of an adventurous huntsman, who was dashed in pieces by an enraged elephant which he had wounded. The want of drinkable water now became a serious and painful privation both to the people and the cattle; and some of the latter had disappeared in the darkness of the night, having probably been either devoured by lions or purloined by the Bushmen. A change in the geology of the country was observed on the 13th, when the tops of quartz rocks were distinctly visible; and this mutation in the rocks was attended by one equally marked in the vegetable department: but the most precious discovery was that of a pond of fine clear water. Among the natural productions observed on the following day, were the Acacia detinens, which can scarcely be handled with impunity, and a Mesembryanthemum, and a Gryllus, both much assimilated in external appearance to the pebbles among which they occurred. The Antilope Oreas, or Eland, was frequently hunted, and the meat cut up into flaps and dried on bushes in the sun. This is the only

species

species of the family that affords any considerable quantity of fat, on which account it is much prized by the Hottentots; and the flesh of the young animal has a better flavor than the finest beef. Between the Roggeveld Mountains and the Gariep, a distance of 360 miles, the bushes, though ligneous, are all dwarfish, and more resemble trees in miniature than shrubs. The abruptness and local limitation of a thunderstorm in this quarter of the world are thus strikingly exemplified :

We had scarcely travelled three miles before the lightning began to flash, and the most tremendous peals of thunder burst over our heads. In an instant, without perhaps more than one minute's notice, a black cloud which had formed suddenly, emptied its contents upon us, pouring down like a torrent, and drenching every thing with water. The parched earth became, in the short time of five minutes, covered with ponds. The rain ceased as suddenly as it came on; leaving me both startled and surprised, at this specimen of an African thunder shower. We passed all at once from the deluged, to the arid and dusty ground; the distance of thirty or forty yards being all that intervened between these extremes. Mention had often been made to me while in Cape Town, of the heavy thunder showers of the interior; but their sudden violence far exceeded all that I had imagined.'

1

Trees again made their appearance on the banks of the Gariep, which is by far the largest stream in Southern Africa, without the tropics. Here, accordingly, the party, many of whom reckoned themselves at home, breathed from their fatigues and privations; while the author enjoyed the contemplation of the most delightful landscape, and made considerable additions to his collections: including a willow nearly allied to the weeping variety, and a poppy, four feet in height, resembling the common corn-species of our northern fields. The breadth of the river, as measured at one of the narrowest places, was 930 feet: but its average breadth, during its lowest state, was conjectured to be about 350 yards, and, when inundated, from a quarter of a mile to a mile. A portion of the water conveyed by this fine stream into the sea can scarcely have travelled less than 1000 miles. A river of such extent naturally forms a boundary to the dissemination of certain animals and plants, making the southernmost range of some and the northernmost of others. The latitude of the first halting station was 29° 40′ 52" S.: but, in order to get at a fordable pass, the caravan was obliged to move about nine miles higher up; and the crossing was safely effected in less than three hours.

The Asbestos Mountains are formed of rocks, or a series of thin strata, or rather horizontal laminæ, of clay-slate, between

which

which are found veins of asbestos, of various thickness, but seldom exceeding half an inch; also a substance intermediate between asbestos and cat's eye, a brown jasper, with black stripes, and a green opal, or pitch-stone. In the neighbourhood of these mountains, many of the Hottentots rejoined their friends and relatives in the settlement of the Kloof, which had been for some time under the spiritual superintendance of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Kramer, two of the author's fellow-travellers. After a pause of some days, the reduced company cleared the Asbestos Mountains, and entered on an extensive plain of clay or sand, or a mixture of both. At Wittewater, they encountered the whole population of a Kraal, or village of Koras, or Koranas, a tribe of Hottentot race, but of larger stature and more civilized than the Bushmen, and who mostly lead a pastoral and insulated life. With the impatience of curiosity, yet with complaisance and good humour, they paid their respects to the white stranger, and were much amused with the exhibition of a looking-glass. They are spread as far northwards as Litákun, but can hardly be said to have any fixed or permanent territory; for, when they have exhausted the water and pasturage of one spot, they repair to another.

At Klaarwater, Mr. Burchell took up his abode for four months, in order to recruit the cattle, reconnoitre the country, and make the suitable arrangements for his future progress. His account of the missionary transactions at this settlement is calculated to leave on our minds a doubtful impression of the absolute wisdom from which they have emanated. It likewise appears that Stephanus, a native of Courland, who fled from Cape Town to escape the punishment due to forgery, and who practised the most flagitious impositions, had acquired over the Hottentots a higher degree of influence than their present pastors had been able to attain. The greater part of the natives are still unwilling to submit to the marriage of one wife, or to refrain from beating their spouses. They are keen hunters of all sorts of game, but ardent in no other pursuit ; and they consume with great improvidence such temporary resources as happen to be within their reach, at the same time participating, without ceremony, in the repasts of their neighbours. They cultivate a little wheat, which is sown in June, reaped in December, thrashed, or trodden out by horses, and ground by a hand-mill. The land is tolerably well ploughed by oxen, and either with the beam or wheel plough but the number of importunate idlers, who hang on the industrious few, tends greatly to discourage the steady exertions of the latter, In January, the hottest month in the

year,

year, the average mid-day heat was found to be 89° Fahr. and, in May, 60°. In October, an observation was noted so low as 24°, when there was ice half an inch thick. The greatest heat at noon in January was 96°. Among the most frequent complaints to which the natives are subject, are ophthalmia, small-pox, and a cancerous ulcer, called the Hottentot sore. On the whole, however, the catalogue of diseases is not numerous, and the climate is generally healthy.

Leaving his spare baggage and still jaded oxen at Klaarwater, the author prepared for a digressive excursion to the upper part of the Gariep, and to two or three of its great branches; several Hottentot families volunteering their services, and joining the muster, insomuch that not fewer than ten waggons were put in motion on the 24th of October. Near to Spuigslang Fontein, the first night's halting place, were found numerous and ingenious pitfalls, constructed by the Bushmen, for ensnaring antelopes and quaggas. - On approaching the confluence of the New Gariep, or Black River, with the Gariep, the most striking spectacle was the enormous height to which the latter had risen, in consequence of the rapid stream discharged by the former. We should not omit to mention that Mr. Burchell had the heartfelt gratification of saving the life of a child, who was on the point of dying in consequence of the bite of a venomous snake:

'I immediately,' says he, forced the child to swallow ten drops of the solution of ammonia in two ounces of water; and, having with a penknife scarified the parts around the wound, which operation, however, drew very little blood, I bathed the place with a mixture of the same medicine prepared of four times the strength. In five minutes after this, another draught was administered; and in about ten minutes afterwards, a slight vomiting ensued: but whether occasioned by the medicine, or by the poison, it is uncertain. As I attentively watched the progress of the remedy, I saw within the next quarter of an hour, with no little surprise and pleasure, that the force of the venom was evidently subdued; that the blood began to circulate more freely, and that there was a fair prospect of saving the child's life. The cure was actually completed before the following morning; at which time I found him playing as well as usual; nor did I afterwards hear that this bite left, ultimately, any unpleasant result behind.'

In an enviable shady station, on the banks of the KyGariep, or Yellow River, Mr. Burchell and his people were visited by a party of Bushmen, who swam across the river; and who, on experiencing a friendly reception, quickly banished mistrust, and seemed to consider themselves as quite at home. By a bribe of tobacco, and a little finesse, one of

them