mountains o f Sneuwberg. In afcending the Bokkeveld, the
fouth-eaft monfoon threatened a change. The wind having
blown ftrong from that quarter for three days, fuddenly changed
to the northward, and the contention produced incelfant peals
o f thunder the whole day, heavy rain, and the largeft hail itoncs
I ever faw. Some o f them meafured fix-tenths o f an inch in
diameter; and a peafant who lived on the higheft part, aflerted
that they fell near his houfe as large as pullets’ eggs. On the
weather clearing up at night, the temperature o f the air had
decreafed from 78° at noon, to 40° o f Fahrenheit’ s Scale.
In the courfe of a very few days after the rain, the furface
o f the Bokkeveld becam e one verdant carpet o f herbaceous plants,
embroidered by a multitude o f the humble, yet beautiful, Oxalis,
feme red, feme white,, and others yellow. Game o f moft kinds
is very abundant in this diftrift, particularly hares, buftards, and
partridges, which we daily faw in thoufands; and they were fo
very tame, that we had no difficulty in procuring whatever
quantity we wifhed for.
The divifion of Onder, or lower Bokkeveld, being the remoteft
in the colony on this fide, and bordering on the country
inhabited by thofe Maroon Hottentots, called Bosjefmans, it became
neceflary in order to proceed to the northward, to make
an addition to my people, not only as a protection againft the
favages, but as guides over an uninhabited defert of the fame
nature as the great Karroo leading to Graaff Reynet. Louw,
the Veld Commandant, readily offered his fervices, but he was
totally unacquainted with the defert that fkirted his diftrift. A
Hottentot,
Hottentot, however, was foon found, to whom were known all
the places where water was moft likely to be met with, and he
was glad of the occafion to aft as guide.
Having mounted a fecond waggon to carry the neceflary pro-
vifions and grain for our horfes, we fet forward at an early hour
in the morning, in order to arrive at the fteep edge o f the
mountain before dark. From this precipice, which in many parts
is not lefs than two thoufand feet, the Karroo plains beneath appeared
as a vaft fea, and the horizon was interrupted only by
a few diftant hills, rifing out of the dreary watte like fo many
iilands. Wedefcended the precipice where it was leaft fteep,
and having reached in fafety the bottom, juft before dark, we
yoked ffefh oxen into the waggons, and launched forth upon the
defert. About midnight we halted upon the Thorn river, which
unexpectedly ran in a confiderable ftream, but the water was fait
as brine. A fpring near the river called the Stink fonteyn, threw
out water that was faline to the tafte, and had a moft difi.
gufting fetid fmell. The thunder ftorm and heavy rain, that
for a whole day had continued on the Bokkeveld, had not extended
to the Karroo. The furface was dry and dufty, as in
the middle of fummer, and the few fhrubby plants that are
peculiar to this fort of country, generally of the fucculent kind,
were fo parched and fhrivelled, that vegetation feemed for a
length of time to have been fufpended.
We were here vifited by a party of Bosjefmans, headed by a
captain or chief. This man was well known to the commandant,
having been of fignal fervice to him in expeditions againft his
3 c 2 own