»77?- circle about Mr. Immelman, advanced continually nearer and nearer to him, fo that he was obliged to retire backwards. According to the old faying, “ a curft cow has fhort h o r n s t h i s we found in a manner verified on this occafion, for a heifer without horns was the foremoft and moft vicious of them all. I therefore haftened thitherwith my loaded piece, with an intention of difcharging it among them, and at the fame time, repeating the firing as often as I was able, to cover our retreat. In the mean time, however, it came into my head fir ft to try a milder method, which I had heard of, when in Europe, as a certain defence againft the attacks o f wild and vicious bulls; and which, in fhort, was no more than to hold your hat before your face, and on a fudden uncover it at intervals, at the fame time, with a quick pace, advancing upon them, and ftanding ftill alternately. With this method we fo far fucceeded, that the heifer without horns, as well as the reft o f the herd, was very much feared. Juft after this, one o f my Hottentots was attacked by the fame herd, but efcaped them by the lightnefs o f his heels. Afterwards, on our returning this way home, we were informed, that the owner of the herd had been obliged to remove it from hence, as a lion had begun toin f eft thefe parts. Two hartbeefts came likewife this morning early very near our waggon in order to furvey us, but unluckily juft at that time we had no gun ready charged. At 1 2 o’clock I found the thermometer, when placed in the ihade under our waggon, at 83. In the afternoon we fet off again, directing our ceurfe to the eaft, and came to a place on the lower part of Zondags rhier% dags-rivier, known by the name o f t'Nukd flCatnma, which, De'c^ er. I believe, fignifies grajy water. We here found the re- t-o-w» cent traces o f a lion, and took, proper precautions againft it, in cafe we fliould go down to the river. In thè evening we likewife thought we faw in the thickets an elephant at a good diftance off, Thefe animals are faid fo affemble in great numbers in the thorny thickets, made by the guaijacum dfrum and the tnitnofu nilotica, which afford them a kind of afylum. IVe now began to find the Guinea hen (numida nteleag ris) in thefe parts. They kept together in flocks, and confequent- ly were very fhy and cautious. I obferved they flew low and ftraight forwards, like our partridges. They appeared to get the greateft part o f their food on the ground, but at night they perched together up in the trees; fo that I once killed fix of them af one fhot, and feveral more were wounded, which, however, efcaped in the dark. Their fleili was dry, and much inferior to that of the common hen. Of Sunday-rivier, which at this part made a great many windings, the banks to us were extremely high and fteep, and indeed quite perpendicular; confifting, to all appearance, merely o f the fame dry and clayey materials as the furface of the earth exhibited on our fide. In the upper part, the bank appeared to be quite plain and level ; but it is difficult to conjedure, whence this diffimilarity in the banks of the river fhould arife, unlefs one of them had been thrown up by an earthquake ; or that the river by degrees had made its way to the fide of fome flat hill level at top, and undermined it, till the part that hung over fell down, when it would neceffarily be quite level and per- D 2 pendicular;
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