reeboks, elands, baboons, and oftriches, all o f which, except
the gemibok, are found upon the very fpot. Several croifes,
circles, points, and lines, were placed in a long rank as if intended
to exprefs 1 fome meaning; but no other attempt appeared
at the reprefentation of inanimate obje£ts. In the
courfe of travelling, I had frequently heard the peafantry
mention the drawings in the mountains behind the Sneuwberg
made by the Bosjefmans ; but I took it for granted they were
caricatures only, fimilar to thofe on the doors and walls of
uninhabited buildings, the works of idle boys; and it was no
difagreeable difappointment to find them very much the reverfe.
Some o f the drawings were known to be new ; but many of
them had been rememhered from the firft fettlement o f this
part of the colony..
A part of the upper furface o f the cavern was covered with
a thick coating o f a black fubftance, that externally had the appearance
of pitch. In confiftence, tenacity, and color o f a
browniih black, it refetnbied Spanifh liquorice. The fmell was
flightly bituminous, but faint, and rather offenfive. It flamed
weakly in the candle, and gave out a thin browniih fluid, but
no fmell while burning; the refiduum was a black coaly fubftance,
two-thirds of the original bulk. The patch adhering to
the rock was covered with myriads o f very minute flies. In
reaching up to it in order to cut oif a fpecimen with my knife,
the people called out to me to' defift, alluring me that i f the
fmalleft particle got into the eye the fight of it would be loft
for ever ; that it was deadly poifon, and ufed by the Hottentots
to fmear the points of their arrows. They all agreed in
' the
the baneful qualities of this black matter, from having experienced
the fatal e fie els of it. on feveral of their companions,
who had fuffered lingering deaths from wounds received with
arrows poifoned by the klip gift, or rock poifon. Not having
as yet the opportunity of trying the deleterious quality of the
fubftance, I cannot pretend to fay whether this account of the
peafantry be ftri&ly true.
In the courfe of the day we arrived at the houfe of Kruger,
the commandant of Sneuwberg, who kindly offered his fervices
to be of our party, though he had but juft returned from an
expedition againft the Bosjefmans. He had at this time with
him in the houfe one of thefe wild men, with his two wives
and a little child, which had come to him by lot, out of forty
that'had been taken prifoners. The man was only four feet
five inches high, and his wives were ftill of a ihorter ftature,
one being four feet two, and the other four feet three inches.
He reprefented to us the condition of his countrymen as truly
deplorable; That for feveral months in the year, when the
froft and fnow prevented them from making their excurfions
againft the farmers, their fufferings from cold and want of food
were indefcribable : that they frequently beheld their wives
and children perilhing with hunger, without being able to give
them any relief. The good feafon even, brought little alleviation
to their mifery. They knew themfelves to be hated by
all mankind,:and that every nation around them was an enemy
planning their deftrudtion. Not a breath of wind ruftled
through the leaves, not a bird fcreamed, that were not fup-
pofed to announce danger. Hunted thus like beafts of prey,