CHAPTER III.
JOUENEY FROM KAABl’s KRAAL, TO THE BORDERS OF THE COLON!.
W e followed the general direction of the river, and in the course
of this day’s ride, crossed it four times. Thus far, its course had not
been marked by tree or bush larger than those of the plains; but
here it began to assume a better character : besides a more constant
supply of water, it was distinguished hy abundance of reeds and
bushes of greater size.
We travelled till daylight began to fail; when we took our
night’s station on the banks of the river, at Reed Station. Here my
people prepared for me, as I was still weak from the fever, a sheltered
sleeping-place, in the centre of a thick clump of reeds which stood
on dry ground at a little distance from the water.
10th. On the following day’s journey, the surface became gradually
more hilly as we advanced, but was every where thinly covered
with small bushes, although in other respects it was a wide open
country. As we made our way through bushes and over rough
ground, where no path could be found to guide us or render our
travelling easier, the Hottentots sometimes, by chusing a smoother
road, were scattered at a considerable distance from each other.
To this circumstance, we were indebted for some delightful
wild honey, as one of them chanced thus to observe a number of
bees entering a hole in the ground, which had formerly belonged to
some animal of the weasel kind. As he made signs for us to come
to him, we turned that way, fearing he had met with some accident;
and, indeed, when the people began to unearth the bees, I did not
expect that we should escape without being severely stung. But
they knew so well how to manage an affair of this kind, and had
gained so much experience, that they robbed the poor insects with
the greatest ease and safety. Before they commenced digging, a
fire was made near the hole, and constantly supplied with damp
fuel to produce a cloud of smoke. In this the workman was completely
enveloped, so that the bees returning from the fields, were
prevented from approaching, while those which flew out of the nest,
were driven by it to a distance. Yet the rest of our party, to avoid
their resentment, found it prudent, either to ride off, or to stand also
in the smoke. About three pounds of honey were obtained; which,
excepting a small share which I reserved till teartime, they instantly
devoured in the comb; and some of the Hottentots professed to
be equally fond of the larvae, or young imperfect bees. This was
the first honey which had been found since we left Cape Town, or,
at least, which I had partaken o f: it appeared unusually liquid, and
nearly as thin as water; yet it s'eemed as sweet, and of as delicate a
taste, as the best honey of England, unless the hard fare to which
I had been forced to accustom myself, might, by contrast, lead me to
think it much better than it really was.
As we advanced we saw at a distance around us, in every
quarter, innumerable herds of wild animals, quietly grazing like tame
cattle. Quakkas, springbucks, kannas, and hartebeests * on all sides,
The Hartebeest of the Cape Colony, called Caama (or Kaama) by the Hottentots,
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