able to walk for the laft twelve years of her life; nor, what
was ftill more extraordinary, to raife herfelf to a fitting pof-
ture upon the bed without the help of a flick, tied by the
middle with a ftting, and fufpended from the roof. Her arm,
above the elbow, meafured 23 Dutch inches, or 23-* Engliib,
in circumference. Yet, in this helplefs and deplorable fituation,
Mademoifelle, for fhe was an unmarried lady, contrived ta
fulfil the end of her creation, by bringing into the world a
fine healthy child. The fate, however, of this extraordinary
perfon, as I have fince been informed, was attended with very
melancholy cireumflances. In the fiabfequent -wars between
the boors and the Hottentots, the houfe in which ihe lived was
attacked and fet on fire. All the reft of the family effected their
efcape, except this unfortunate creature, whom they found it
impoflible, on account of her fize, to get through the door,
and were therefore under the neceffity of leaving to. perifh in
the flames.
From Bruyntjes Hoogte we proceeded to the Kaffer frontier.
The Great Fifh River was now fo low, that except in thofe
places where it flood in deep holes, we could crofs it without
wetting our feet. Not a fingle hippopotamus was now to be-
feen in any of thofe holes, where, on my former vifit, they were
fb abundant. I fufpeCt they occafionally migrate to other rivers^
and if fo it muft be over land, as the fea affords no fabfi'ftence
for them, nor does it appear that they can long remain in fait
water near the mouths of rivers. It is. certain, at leaft, that
they always quit fuch fituations at night, and travel over land,
fometimes many miles, in fearch of ffefh water. So that the
Dutch
Dutch name of fca-cois) is equally improper as their ancient appellation
of hippopotamus or river-horfe. The river rhinofceros
would be a more appropriate name than any other, although It
has no horns upon its nofe, which obtained for the land animal
the appellation of the noje-born, (iiv®* xegatr. With the natural
hiftory and habits of this, extraordinary amphibious animal (if
I may be allowed to call it fo), we are very imperfeCtly acquainted
; nor have I feen any figure that conveys an accurate
reprefentation of its character, ihape,and magnitude, except in
a drawing made from nature by Mr. Daniell, from which a
print will appear in his intended publication. Nor do I know
of any good figure of the African rhinofceros, which is altogether
different from that of India covered with its hide of mail.
The ikin of the two-horned rhinofceros is comparatively fmooth,
and has none of the folds fo remarkable in that of the onehorned
fpecies; but it is fo thick that the Dutch boors cut out
of it their famines or horfe-rods, which, if well prepared,
are better than thofe of the hippopotamus, and traniparent as.
amber. The head of this animal is very remarkable. Not only
the horns fit upon the nofe, but the eyes alfo are placed in it,
being direCtly under the root of the larger horn ; and they are fo
minute, that one would fuppofe them of little ufe to fo huge a
creature. But nature, always provident,has reme died this Teeming
inconvenience by placing them in projecting' fockets, in
which they turn in all directions like thofe of the little came-
leon. Had the eye been placed in the ufual part of the face,
juft below the projecting forehead, whieh is very large, the-
vifual rays would have embraced only about 180 degrees, or
half of the horizon; whereas, in their prefent pofition, they
3 have