17 76 . January. colonifts by the name of the Bambus-berg, or Bamboo- mountain, from the cireumftance of a fort of reeds, or bamboos growing upon it, which were very much prized by them for the purpofe o f making handles for their long whips. „ _ ' Groote-rivier, or Great river, is faid to be; the larger! river in Africa, and t& be no otherwife known than from the accounts o f the Hottentots, ft is reported- to contain a great number o f fea-cows or river-horfes, which were very1 bold and daring ; fo- that it cannot,- without danger, be navigated for the purpofe of farther exploring the country.- It is fuppofed to lie dire&ly to the northward, at the distance of eight or ten days journey from the Sneewvo-bergen. It was faid to rife’in the eaft, and run lirait on towards the north. It is probable that this river foon after turns off to -the weft1 and the foutli, and is thé fernt Groote-rivier which I have inferted in.my map, on the authority of M. H e n r y H o p ’ s journal of an Expedition made to the DiJlriSl of Ana- maquas, publilhed in a compilation called Nouvelle Defcrip- tion du Cap de bonne Efperance, which I quoted above. This river, however, muft not be confounded with another of the fame name, which empties itfelf at the eaftern fhore of Africa, and the Caffire coaft. The country o f the Caffres lies to the eaft o f Great Vifch-rivier, next the coaft. Its inhabitants, the Caffres, have no notion of the breeding of Iheep, employing them- felves only in rearing horned cattle, and, like the Gonaquas Hottentots, wearing cow-hides, which are well rubbed and dreffed with greafe, till they become foft ahd pliable. Their houfes. or huts, are faid to be fmall and fquare, compofed 3 of of rods, and covered with clay and cow-dung, which gives them the appearance of fmall ftone houfes. The weapons of the Caffres are merely ihields made o f fole-leather, and haffagais, or that kind o f javelin confift- ing o f a ilender and light wooden ihaft, headed with a broad and rather heavy iron plate, which I have delineated in Plate II. Vol. I. fig. 1 and 2, and have mentioned at page 9 of this volume, as being made ufe of by the Gonaquas Hottentots. The nation is governed by many different chiefs, who probably have all the property of their fubje&s veiled in themfelves, and at the fame time have an abfolute unlimited authority over them. As far as I could underftand, their ftate and power are hereditary. It is faid that they are frequently at war with each other, and that they always kill the prifoners they have taken. But i f a chief ihould chance to fall into the enemy’s hands, he is'not put to death, but is Lent back again with admonitions to behave himfelf more peaceably for the future. The occa- fion of their wars is generally the lame as in other parts of the-globe, viz. either a want o f the common fentiments of humanity in one o f the contending powers, or their arrogant and rapacious difpofition, orelfe fome bone of contention which they cannot on either fide perfuade themfelves to give up, without-ftieddirig their own blood and that of their fellow-creatures. It is oven faid, that-a ftolen or ftray calf, or one grazing upon territories of a neighbouring country; and other matters equally trifling, will fometimes be fufficient to fet two or more nations together by the ears. Neither o f the parties, however, carries their V o l . II. X revenge 17 76. January, W O
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