«775- coniideration, whether by extirpating the game, they are September. ^ reakty |gpjjg wafte their country, and rendering it a defert. It is faid, that a farmer once attempted to deftroy and extirpate all the rhinoceros-buihes on his lands by fire, but that they afterwards grew up again more vigorous than ever; fo that, as well with refpeCt to the effeCts of the in- duftry o f man as to the more immediate operations of nature, it is not at all unlikely, that future ages may fee this part o f Africa entirely changed and different from what it is at prefent. Gaurits-rivier is likewife called GoucTs-rivier, probably, from the refemblance in found between thefe two words or elfe from the latter word being more eafy to pronounce, and not with any reference to gold, to which it might otherwife feem to allude. This river, which, farther to the northward, is likewife called Olifanfs-rivier, is one of the moft coniiderable in this part of Africa: and though it was at that time in a great meafure dried up, there was yet a ftrong current, and it was dangerous to ford over, as it was not only very broad and pretty deep at the fording-place* but made a particular bend there; fo that we ihould have been badly off, i f we had not fortunately happened to have been told o f it in good time. The banks of the'river were extremely high and quite perpendicular, excepting juft at the place where the paf- fage was. The water fometimes iwells fo fuddenly and unexpectedly as to come unawares upon travellers, even while they are palling over it, and either drown them or carry them out to fea. A peafant, who fome time before fore made a halt at night near the ford o f this river, had, *775- by an unexpected flooding, been waihed away and loft, SS vnT with his wife and children, and the waggon in which they were fleeping. The reafon o f thefe fudden floods is partly the hafty melting of the fnow on the various high mountains which lie to the northwards, and partly the falling o f heavy rains in the exteniive Carrow-field, lying to the north o f this fpot; in which plain OUphants or Gaurits-rivier, by means of divers flmall branches, has its fource, as is partly ihewn in the map. Going from Gaurits-rivier, and afterwards from Honing- klip, which is a narrow vale, we kept to the right, in order to get to MoJJel- bay, and fo over the Brak rivers to the Hout- niquas forefts; we having been particularly advifed not to go as yet to Lange-kloof, as, on account o f a great drought and deficiency of rain then fubiifting in thofe parts, our cattle would run the riik of being famiihed. The Brak rivers have got this appellation from the quality o f their waters, which are bFackiih or faltiih, in confequence o f the fea coming up into them, and occa- fioning in the cattle which are not ufed to them a troublefome diarrhoea. Of this circumftance I was ignorant, and con- fequently my oxen were attacked with this complaint; by which they were fo much debilitated, that I was obliged to leave my waggon on a hill, till a peafant in Houtniquas drove thither with a team o f his oxen to bring it off. Juft below the farm that lies to the weft ward o f little Brak-rivier, and is called Geelbeks-valley, there is a traCt o f a- bout two-thirds o f an acre o f land, which is always- bare o f 8 plants,
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