We therefore returned to these ponds, and unpacked our oxen by the
side of some remarkable masses o f’rock, which had much the appearance
of works of art, as if huge square blocks of stone had been
regularly piled one upon another. This station is pointed out on the
map by the name of Geranium Rocks ; and a. representation of some
of these rocks, is given in the vignette at page 80. After passing
the Karro Poort *, plants of the Geranium tribe had rarely been met
with ; and of these few, none had been found of so shrubby a growth,
or perhaps of so pleasant a scent, as the species f which decorates
this place. Around the ponds, I observed small quantities of
fuller’s-earth, a substance which had not hitherto been any where
noticed.
I immediately sent Hendrik out to reconnoitre, and to observe
if any colonists were in the neighbourhood. But soon after he was
gone, Philip and his party appeared in sight, and, when they camé
up to us, explained that the five shots which had been heard, were
fired by them, at a troop of quakkas ; none of which, however, they
had been so fortunate as to obtain.
Yet as no one had eaten since the preceding night, it was resolved
to make a second attempt ; and another troop of quakkas at
that moment making their appearance on the plain, my whole party
instantly went in pursuit. By dividing, and taking a wide circuit,
they were enabled slowly and cautiously to advance upon them from
every side ; so that it became impossible for the animals to escape
without coming within shot of one or other of the men. This
chanced to be Speelman ; and he was too good a marksman not to
* The botanical remarks in the first volume, at pages 208 and 209, may in part be
referred to this place.
f As there was no opportunity of preserving a specimen of this plant, I cannot
mention the species with certainty; although I believe it to have been the same which
I found twelve months afterwards on the Table-mountain in the vicinity of a place
denominated Horse’s Grave ; and of which plant, the following is the description.
Pelargonium tragacanthoideSj B. Catal. Geogr. 2693. Frutex erectus ramosus
bipedalis, odore gratè terebinthaceo. Rami erecti subdichotomi, supemè dense tecti
petiolis emortuis persistentibus. Folia bipinnata, pubescentia, erecta, confertissima, basibus
petiolorum imbricantibus. Paniculæ terminales, compositæ ex umbellis altérais sub-
quadrifloris. Pedunculi umbellarum patentes.
profit by the opportunity: he fired, and a quakka fell. With the
assistance of his companions, the carcass was skinned and got home
in the evening, in time for us to make from it a meal, which was
both breakfast and supper.
17/A. Before the sun had risen to its greatest height, we mounted
our oxen and departed from Geranium Rocks, directing our course
towards the south. We travelled, with pleasant weather, over two
large plains, which derived a beautifully verdant hue from an extraordinary
abundance of Cyperus usitatus, which from its growth and
appearance might easily be mistaken for grass : but it was remarkable
that no true grass was observed in any part of these plains; the surface
being almost every where clothed with this plant, intermingled in
various places with low bushes, such as are generally met with in
lands partaking of the nature of Karro. This is the cyperus already
described as producing the numerous little bulbs which constitute
one of the principal articles of food used by the Bushmen.
These plains were about five or six miles across, and divided
from each other by a ridge of hills of moderate elevation. Here our
dogs caught a common jacked, and a young gemsbok (ghemsbok):
the latter was not bigger than a domestic goat One of the stragglers
of our party fell in with the fresh remains of a kaama, or liartebeest,
which we supposed to have been hunted down by the ‘ wild dogs,’ as
they are called, or the animal which I have in the former volume
described under the name of Hyaena venatica. As they had devoured
nothing more than the haunches and entrails, it was a prize worth
halting for; and besides a large quantity of meat which we thus
gained, the skin is considered as one of the best and strongest for
leather and small thongs. The business of flaying and loading up
the meat, detained us more than an hour.
At the termination of the plain we climbed a rocky ascent,
which brought us up to an elevated mountainous country of a mile or
two in extent, abounding in bushes and grass, and where the air felt
cooler than in the plains. Here the geological nature of the mountains
assumed a new feature: their strata were still horizontal, and,
although the table form might in general be discovered, their outo
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