not many Ixours before.' Just as they were leaving the lake-
a herd of wild buffaloes were observed at a distance, advancing
towards the place where they were posted, on which preparations
were immediately made to receive them. When these
huge animals had approached sufficiently near, the party
fired a volley among them, and had the satisfaction to see three
of them fall to the ground, of so large a size that the carcase
of one was found to be more than sufficient to feast the whole
company. Continuing the journey till night without finding any
water, they were nevertheless compelled to halt from the
fatigued state of the oxen. In the morning before day-break
they resumed their journey over a wide and desert plain, on
which, however, a few trees were thinly scattered. In the
course of this day our travellers, it seems, were highly gratified
with the sight of a novel and interesting object. It was
a giraffe, or Camelopardalis trotting before them, at no great
distance, in a very singular and awkward manner, apparently
at a slow p ac e; but on being chased, it was found to clear
the ground with such celerity as to leave its pursuers far behind.
Presently after this a herd, consisting of nine full
grown animals and two young foals, made its appearance;
upon which the whole party immediately gave chase, in the
hope of being able to take at least the foals ; but their speed
was so great that they presently outstripped the fleetest horse
and vanished out of sight.
Having now travelled eighteen hours without halting, and
more than thirty hours without the cattle having tasted water,
they at length arrived, to their inexpressible joy, at the most
copious, transparent, and delightful spring of-water that had
occurred in the whole journey ; and two miles beyond this
they discovered another still superior, which indeed is probably
not to be matched in the whole of Southern Africa, as
far as it is hitherto known. It not only gdshed from a cavern
of rocks as from the sluice of a mill-dam, but in innumerable
springs spouted up out of an extensive bed of white
crystallized pebbles and quartzos'e sand, forming, at not mòre
than a hundred paces from its source, a stream of at least,
thirty feet wide and two feet deep, called the Kourmanna or
Booshuana river, whose direction was to the northward.
Being now arrived on the confines of the Briequa country,
the commissioners conceived it would be proper to send forward
the guide Macauta to the first village, to apprize them
of the approach of the expedition, and to desire them to send
forward notice thereof to the chief of the nation. Before it
was dai'k he returned to the waggons, bringing back with him
four of his countrymen who passed the night in the camp
very contentedly. From these our travellers were informed
that though their tribe was by the Koras usually called Brie-
quas, yet that the name which they bore among themselves
was Booshuanas. In the course of the morning four rilóte
advariced, one of which was pointed out' as : a chief and
brother to the King. His ríame was Serakotie. The party
having entertained them with a sheep arid plerity of tobacco,
for which they seemed to have a high relish, they became' só
exhilarated that they sung and shouted and danced the wholfe
niOg ht lonOg . ;