thoughtless schemes which the unreflecting Hottentot often takes
into his head, and of which the execution is generally prevented by
some other whim equally ill-advised or unpromising, I did not think
it necessary, to check the pleasure he seemed to derive from the
fancied advantages and riches which he calculated on gaining by that
step. I even allowed myself to be amused by listening to his
proposed measures: he had already fixed on a spot for his garden;
it was in the valley near the clump of acacias beyond the water.
23rd. On the following morning I went with him to inspect it ;
and it was certainly an excellent and pleasant situation, and very
judiciously chosen. As I had brought with me the seeds of various
sorts of useful plants, for the purpose of dissemination in the
countries of the Interior, this appeared a proper opportunity for
commencing it. I gave him therefore, some of peach, quince, almond,
and several kinds of esculent vegetables, which he sowed in a suitable
soil; and as the moist ground about the spring appeared a natural
place for the celery-plant (Apium graveolens) I scattered a considerable
quantity of it there. On our return to this fountain six months
afterwards*, a few of Juli’s seeds were found to have vegetated, and
the celery seemed already to have naturalized itself, as it was then in
flower and seed; but of so diminutive a size, that it might have
been mistaken for another species, had I not recollected that it had
been sown there by myself.
# At that time I collected at Kosi Fountain, a variety of new plants, among which the
following is remarkable as being the first of that Natural Order which has been found in
Southern Africa.
Triaspis hypericoides, B. Catal. Geogr. 2531. Frutex 3—4*-pedalis pulcher erectus
ramosus. Rami fusci glabri oppositi patentes. Folia ovato-linearia glabra pedunculata
glauca integerrima opposita (raro subalterna). Pedicelli axillares solitarii 3—6-flori.
Flores pedunculati inodori rosei. Calyx 5-phyllus, sepalis lanceolatis erectis. Petala
5 unguiculata, patentia ovata concava, ad margines laciniato-fimbriata. Styli tres. Stigmata
obsoleta. Stamina 10 basi discreta. Pollinis particula globosa. Fructus immaturus
conspersus pilis medio affixis. Samarse tres ala maxima peltata rotundatà auctse. Genus
ex ordine Malpighiacearum, et maximè affine Hircece ; cum qua conjungendum, nisi hasc et
Tetrapteris separatae fuissent a Triopteridibus. Nomen a rgeis tres et àtrirls clypeus .* ob
samaras tres scutiformes.— Vide iconem magnitudine naturali, huic capitulo subjunctam.
Here his scheme ended; as I never from that time, during our
whole journey, heard him mention it again. He probably soon afterwards
became convinced of the danger he would incur by residing
alone and unprotected in the midst of a tribe of Bushmen of suspicious
character, who, there is little doubt, would not long have withstood
the temptation of his cattle, ; seeing that their owner might be
so easily overpowered, and that lie was beyond the reach of all
assistance.
Those who view a fine country in which, at the same time, an
honest and well-disposed man cannot live in safety, will have learnt
by experience how to set a proper value on the blessings of laws and
a good government : and an Englishman who is dissatisfied with his
own country, needs only to witness a lawless state of society and the
mis-rule of many other nations, to make him turn with affection to
his own, and forgive those errors to which all humanity and the
wisest of men, are liable ; and to deplore corruption, as an evil for
which there is no permanent or radical cure, but universal honesty.
The groves about this place were much frequented by the birds
called Ouinea-fowls or pintadoes. Two of these were shot ; and were
boiled into soup, which, with the addition of some parsley and celery
seed, formed an excellent mess. For this purpose, these birds are
much superior to any four-footed game.
Our buffalo-meat was become so dry, and even the flesh of the
hartebeest, though antelopes in general are dignified by the inhabitants
of the Cape, with thè name of venison, was so lean, that my
Hottentots asked permission to kill a sheep. This they did, not
through want of provisions, but merely for the sake of fat, to render
the other more palatable.
In the evening, from a very favourable observation, I computed
the latitude of Kosi Fountain to be 27°. 52'. 16". *
24th. On rising this morning, I found all the men absent,
* On the 23rd of June 1812, at Kosi Fountain, the observed meridional altitude of
Arcturus was 41°. 59'. 00".