diftrift, and the Kaffers having been inftigated by promifes and
prefents from the boors to enter into hoftilities againft the Bri-
tifh troops, coercive meafures were found to be unavoidable in
order to drive thefe people out of the colony, and break the connection
that fubfifted between them and the peafantry. The
country is here fo clofe and unfavourable for regular troops to
aft, that a fmall party, with an officer at their head, were cut
off by furprife. Once a numerous body of Kaffers made an
attack, in the day-time, upon the camp in Zuure Veldt, where
they knew the ammunition to have been lodged. For the fpace
of an hour and half they flood the fire of mufquetry and two
three-pound field-pieces, and endeavoured feveral times to
ftorm with fingle haffagais in their hands, the wooden ihafts
being broken fliort off by the fockets. Several Dutch boors
were among the party, firing mufquetry from behind the
buihes. Being repulfed at length with great lofs, the boors
thought it beft to throw themfelves on mercy; the Kaffers dif-
appeared ; and the vagabond Buys, the chief o f the outlaws and
promoter of all the difturbances, fled into Kaffer-land, far beyond
the dominions of Gaika.
|n our way to the Drofdy we paffed over the fertile divifion
o f Bruyntjes Hoogte, notorious for the turbulent fpirit of its
inhabitants, a fet of adventurers, chiefly foldiers or failors de-
ferted or difcharged from the Dutch army and the Company’s
ihipping, who, having at this great diftance from the feat of
government found a country that with little or no labor would
fupply moft of their wants, thought themfelves independent of
all
all authority, and attempted even to diftate to that of the Cape,
which indeed was weak and timid enough to fuffer their ex-
ceffes to be committed with impunity.
From Bruyntjes Hoogte we defcended to the Karoo plains of
Camdeboo. Thefe plains are interfefted by the Bly river, the
Vogel river, the Platte river, and the Melk river, in their paf-
fage from the Sneuwberg into the Sundag river. Naked as the
furface appeared to be, game of every fort was very plentiful,
particularly fpringboks and the larger kinds of antelopes. Upon
thofe parched plains are alfo found a great variety o f fmall quadrupeds
that burrow in the ground, and which are known to
the colonifts under the general name of meer-cats. They are
moftly of that genus of animals to which zoologifts have given
the name of viverra. An eagle, making a ftoop at one o f
thefe, clofe where we were paffmg, miffed his prey; and both
fell a facrifice, one to the gun, the other to the dogs. They
both happened to be undefcribed fpecies. O f the eagle, the
head, neck, back, and abdomen, were o f a pale ferruginous
brown; wings and tail fteel-blue, the latter faintly barred with
fmall bands from the root to the middle ; the cera pale yellow ;
beak and nails black; the feet entirely covered with downy feathers
; length two feet two inches. The viverra was wholly of
a bright chefnut color; the tail {haded with black hairs, buihy,
ftraight, and white at the extremity ; ears ihort and round; on
the fore feet five, and.the hind feet four, toes; the body and
tail each one foot long. Others of this genus- are the mujki-
liatte cat, or zenik, o f the Sj/iema Natura5 the tigrina or tiger-
cat • the mellruora or rateI; and the cafra. In general thefe
animals