17 76. January. V /W the fun, to which I had been to-day particularly expofed, occalioned me to have a violent head-ache, which, however, was fenfibly relieved, by wetting my head all over with vinegar. The length of time we had let up, had likewife not a little contributed to this indifpolition of mine; notwithilanding which, we refolved ilill to continue blockading this place. The following night, however, it was uncomfortable and even dangerous to keep at our pofts, i» the open air, as there fell a violent thunder- ihower, which not only made fome o f our fire-arms ufe- lefs, but even extinguifhed the fires we had made at the upper fide of the p it ; fo that two fea-cows had the bold- nefs to venture out o f the water at this place, and run along the fhallow in the river. We fired, indeed, a fhot at them in the dark at a venture, but without effedt. On the 29th in the morning, finding that it would not be worth while to flay here any longer, we took our departure, going towards the fouth, and hunting buffaloes and koedoes, one of which latter leaped into the river, as I have before mentioned at page 216 of this volume. In the evening, we had hardly taken our oxen out of the waggons, and unfaddled our horfes, before a large rhinoceros paffecl within fifty paces o f our waggon, probably without feeing any thing of u s ; as otherwife, in the opinion o f the Hottentots, this enormous animal would not have failed at leaft to have turned our waggon topfy-turvy. I have made mention of this rhinoceros at page 1 1 1 of this volume. It was, as we afterwards learned, in the midft of its.flight, having been hunted juft before by two of our party. It had likewife got to a good diftance from us, before we could 5 get get our fire-arms out of the waggon ; fo that two fhot that we font after him, could not poflihly have anyeffedt Our hounds, which at firft were able to keep clofe to the animal’s heels, formed a ftrong contrail to the coloflal fize of this animal; while the beaft on his part did not feem to take the leaft notice of them, but, with a trifling rife and fall o f the neck, kept on an even and Heady courfe, which was a kind of pacing, but notwithilanding rid a great deal of ground ; which pace, however, was, by the report of guns, changed to a very fall gallop, fo that the hounds were in an inftant left behind at a great diftance : and it appears to me, that any fportfman, though mounted on an excellent hunter, would inevitably be loft, who lhould be purfued by this animal, and -lhould not know“ how to get out of the fight and fcent of it, by fluffing and dodging occafionally. The rhinoceros was faid, in this particular, to refemble the elephant, that without delaying or flopping in the leaft, it will run to the diftance of many leagues from the place where it has been dofoly hunted, or in any other way molefted. On the 30th, we fet out for Kleine Vifchs river, in hopes of fucceeding better there in our purfuit after the fea-cows. In the night it rained. On the 31ft, we hunted fome elk-antilopes, and afterwards met in thefe defect tracts o f country with a young farmer, from the Camdebo -quarter, who had taken a journey hither, in order to look out, together with a flave and two Hottentots in his foryice, -for a proper place to fettle in. In the meanwhile they were feafting on-fome of the prime parts of a buffalo, which they had fhot.j In purfuance ' 776- January. w o
27f 72-2
To see the actual publication please follow the link above