Chapter XVII (3)

“A considerable and a valuable fishery might also be carried on in Mossel Bay. There is a great demand for salted fish in every part of the interior for food for the slaves, and the Mahometans; and a very profitable traffic might be carried on in this article, and be the means of removing another great hindrance to agricultural progress; for the division of labour, which does so much in all other countries, by leaving to those who have been brought up to any particular calling the exercise of the skill and talents they have acquired in it, is almost lost sight of in this colony. The farmer, instead of devoting all his energies, his people, his capital, and his time, to the improvement of his estate, becomes his own carrier to a distant market, his own wood cutter, carpenter, wheelwright, fisherman, &c., and makes but a very indifferent figure in each capacity, when compared to those who confine themselves to one distinct branch. Fishing is another very great source of temptation to the Boor, and suits well with his restless and migratory habits. Those even at a very considerable distance from the coast, will embark their whole family, labourers, slaves and all in their wagons, provided with seines, and other fishing gear, and salt; and proceed to the coast in the larder[25] season, where they will encamp and remain for weeks catching and curing fish, and at the same time enjoying all the pleasures of the chase where game abounds. This recreation and enjoyment is only censurable when the more important concerns of the farm and its produce are neglected, and the public interest consequently suffers from the high price of the necessaries of life, or what amounts to the same thing, from the very high rate of exchange on remittance bills to the mother country for want of the means of carrying on an expert trade. But upon this subject the Dutch farmer has views and ways of thinking peculiarly his own. In conversation with one of them upon the subject of the high price of grain, he said, ‘Why Commissioner, I would rather it even were at one hundred rix dollars a load than at fifty, although the high price might arise from a scanty crop, on my own farm, as well as on those of my neighbours; for in the former case, one wagon would take one hundred dollars worth to market, and in the latter case it would require two.’ This hereditary calculator never had taken it into consideration, that by superior talent and energy his farm might have produced its full amount, and that he would have shared in the high prices caused by the neglect of others.

“A few days before our arrival in Mossel Bay, a schooner belonging to Mr. Van Rienan had come in there, and he had disposed of a considerable quantity of iron, tea, sugar, wine, brandy, coffee, together with a large stock of European manufactures, by auction, for money only, at six months’ credit. A most ruinous system, holding out the strongest incentive to extravagance and intemperance. The profits upon these cargoes, or rather the difference between the original and the last prices paid upon them, were stated by the purchasers to be 100 per cent. and they were probably not above the fact in their estimate. The temptation of long credit alone induced them to buy under such circumstances, and the prices were farther supported by a monopoly in the trade, arising from a want of competition, leaving the whole in the hands of one enterprizing man.

“On the 11th of December we quitted Mossel Bay, at three p.m., on our way to the Gulbecks River, on the banks of which we were to halt for the night. The road winding round the N.W. shore of Mossel Bay, although very rugged and difficult in many places, might with a little exertion be rendered tolerable, if not good. Having ascended a gradual acclivity of about five miles from the Bay, we had a most magnificent view of the windings of the Hartebest River, through a beautifully diversified valley, with the Swartbergs in the back ground, their summits illuminated by and sparkling with the rays of the setting sun, catching upon the broken crags by which many of the heights were terminated. The house of Mr. Mayers, who was to be our host for the night, stood upon a gentle eminence, sloping down from the mountain towards the sea, and commanded a splendid view of the valley, the river, and the sea, with the whole range of coast from Mossel Bay to the Kayman. Mr. Mayers is an example of what may be done by industry and exertion. His family and his house were highly creditable. Hospitality, neatness, and every appearance of domestic felicity, gave a relish to this scene which is not easily forgotten, and would have been a subject for admiration in any part of the world. All that struck the eye conveyed an idea of comfort and respectability, and shewed the effect of habitual attention to arrangement and cleanliness. A group of beautiful and orderly children gave promise that this valley would flourish in future generations.

“Mr. Mayers had long been afflicted with rheumatism, and had almost become a cripple, he still walked with a crutch, but was recovering. He appeared to have lost neither energy or cheerfulness. When one of our party remarked to him how fine a family he had, his answer seemed to come warm from his heart, and his feelings glistened in his eyes, while he said, ‘Yes, and that was the reason why I was so anxious to recover my health, that I might see them respectably brought up.’

“The most serious of all wants experienced by the colonial farmers in general, is the great distance from all means of religious instruction. I have already shewn how much property increases in value by lying in the neighbourhood of a church; and the people are generally willing to make sacrifices, in order to have places of worship amongst them. From Caledon to George, a distance of a hundred miles, there is no church; and all the families in the intermediate space are obliged to go either to the one or to the other town for marriages or christenings; indeed they often, if not generally, availed themselves of their occasional journies to Cape Town with the produce of their farms, for these purposes. Impressed with the deplorable state of ignorance, and in too many cases of vice, in which some of the Boors’ families were living, for want of the care of a pastor, I subsequently wrote to the Bishop of London, and stating the effects produced by the exertions of the Moravians as an encouragement, I ventured to suggest that Ministers of the Church of England should be sent out, and located in different parts of the colony, where they might live comfortably and respectably, on a very moderate income, assisted by a certain portion of land; and I added, that were a clerk to accompany the minister, a man of well known good character, and skilful as a mechanic, particularly as a carpenter, mason, or blacksmith, it was certain that a village would rise up in a very short space of time, and that the religion as well as the language of England would rapidly spread throughout the colony.

“The scene round the country churches on sacrament Sundays, which occur about four times in the year, resembles a large fair, from the wagons coming from every part of the country within a day’s journey of the church, and sometimes even from a much greater distance. They remain the whole day, and not unfrequently for several days together in the rainy season, from the country being flooded. The people upon these occasions also, as well as upon their more distant journeys, inhabit their wagons, with the exception perhaps of a few, who may find accommodation with friends residing near the church; but this general and periodical assemblage too often leads to conviviality and intemperance, which entirely defeat the religious intention of the journey, and render the sacred rite which was intended for their benefit an additional cause of iniquity. That there are many striking exceptions to this line of conduct, I have already endeavoured to shew; but the effect of such a state of things upon the great mass of uneducated people, must be evident to every one who knows the propensities of mankind. It does then become a most imperative duty on the mother country to administer to the spiritual wants of her distant population, and neither labour nor expense should be spared; though in this case, but little of either is required. The bare selection of fit persons as pastors, with a very moderate income, say £300 per annum, with a grant of land and proper encouragement to a pious and skilful mechanic, as a clerk, would be all that is required, for a considerable extent of this fertile wilderness, for such it may be well termed, both in a moral and an agricultural sense. The respectable character of Mr. Meyers, will at the same time account for and justify this digression.

“This is a considerable corn farm, called Hartenbosh Kraal. In tolerable years the return is about twenty bushels for one, which although it falls far below the produce of many other parts of the colony, especially where new lands are brought under cultivation, is nevertheless a fair average, but here again the great want is a market. Mr. Meyers assured me, that could he procure forty rix dollars the load for his corn at Mossel Bay, he would employ every one of his people in cultivating his land, but that he could not afford to send it to the Cape. He had three hundred head of cattle, forty horses, and a large flock of sheep; the latter, however, were very subject to the rot, in consequence of the sour grass. The large cattle were in excellent order.

“On the 12th December we left this interesting family, deeply impressed with their kindness, and with all we had seen there. We were obliged to wait till ten o’clock, before we could proceed on our journey, in order that the tide might be out in the rivers we had to pass, and enable us to ford them; these were the Grilbeck, and the great and little Braake. The Grilbeck is a tributary stream to the little Braake. We crossed them both near the confluence, the first about fifty yards in breadth, but at the time not more than two feet deep; the latter is a considerable stream, and in some parts of our passage nearly five feet in depth. The country between these rivers is irregular, and sometimes precipitous. The valley between the great and little Braake had the appearance of much fertility. The road winds round the southern slope of a range of hills diverging from the great chain of mountains, which runs parallel with the coast, and stretches towards the sea. We crossed the great Braake about a mile from its mouth, where it was lost at this period in a high ridge of sand stretching across it, but which of course gives way to the winter’s torrents. This blockade is of such constant occurrence, as to deprive the great Braake of all prospect of being made navigable. This river was not broader where we crossed it than the little Braake, but its banks were steeper, and the depth much the same. In winter it must be a tremendous torrent, from the great declivity of its bed, and the steep and precipitous ravines running into it. From the summit of a high hill on the eastern side of the great Braake we had one of the finest prospects we had as yet enjoyed. It comprehended a most magnificent combination of mountain, plain, deep wooded dells, the windings of the rivers, and a most extensive line of the sea coast, including the whole of Mossel Bay and Cape St. Blaize, the view extending and losing itself in the far western distance. This spot called forth a rapturous description and admiration from Lichtenstein, and well deserves both.

“We now approached the great forest of Uitenhage land, and already saw fine timber trees skirting the southern slope of the Swartberg, and flourishing in increased luxuriance in the deep ravines, where they derived nourishment from the alluvial soil continually carried down by the rains. The vegetation of these dells is rank and productive beyond expectation, especially when contrasted with the stunted production of the plains we had been so long traversing.

“From the great Braake to the Mudzikammer we crossed an elevated plateau, well cultivated in many parts. The grass however is sour, and unfit for grazing; but this pernicious quality wears off after having been turned up by the plough. Here we had the first view of the rising city of George, the chief town of the district; also the new road into the Lange Kloof, made in the pass of a mountain called Craddock’s hing, after the Governor in whose time it was begun, Lord Howden.

“The traveller is greatly deceived in his estimate of the distance from his first sight of George, after having ascended the heights on the left bank of the great Braake; to all appearance he thinks he could ride it with ease to himself and his horse in an hour and a half; but the road is so crossed by deep ravines, no appearance of which present themselves, that we spent more than four hours in reaching that place.

“The banks of the Mudzikammer are most formidably precipitous, and here was the steepest pass we had met with over any river. On reaching it we found a wagon stuck in the bottom of the only narrow road which led across the river, and in such a manner as precluded all possibility of our getting over until it was removed. This is a circumstance that frequently occurs, and the driver of the arrested wagon bears his detention with the utmost degree of philosophy. He proceeds to light his fire, and cook his meals, and then goes quietly to sleep, well knowing that he is the master of the pass, and that none can proceed either east or west until he is extricated; he is sure therefore of the assistance of the first span of oxen or horses which may come. This extrication must have fallen to our lot, had we not preceded our wagon on horseback and found a person waiting for us at this place, with information that a relay of horses had been sent for us to the pass of the Palmiet River, about a mile higher up the ravine. We accordingly turned off in that direction, and passed the Palmiet River, or more properly speaking the Palmiet bog, for no water was visible. This was not effected without great difficulty, even with fresh and vigorous horses, which had been kindly sent by Mr. Van Kemper, the Landroost of George. It is a deep slough, formed by the decayed roots of the Palmieto; and the waters oozing from the surrounding ravines, in dry weather not being in a sufficient quantity to form a stream, stagnate among the roots. The wagon sunk into the floating mass up to the axle-trees; but what increased the difficulty was the very steep height of the opposite bank, which was to be ascended after getting over. The ground is so unequal that it is almost impossible for the horses to draw together; but every effort is made by the whip and the voice to urge them to simultaneous exertion, and is generally successful. It was at length overcome, and we proceeded gaily on the road to George, where we arrived at half-past five o’clock, and were most cordially received and welcomed by our excellent friend the Landroost.

“The town of George is increasing rapidly under the animating and paternal direction of their excellent and amiable Landroost, Mr. Van Kemper. The streets cross each other at right angles, and the houses are built at such a distance from each other, as to place each in the midst of a garden. The principal street is nearly a mile in length, and is terminated on one side by the Landroost’s house, a comfortable and substantial residence. There is a neat little church, also a court house, surgeon’s house, and a gaol.

“The inhabitants of George at the time of our visit did not exceed six hundred. Their chief employment when not engaged in building, was in cutting wood in the forest of Uitenhage land, to send to Cape Town; some of them were engaged in cutting wood near Plattenberg Bay for the naval department.

“The expediency of Mossel Bay being made a port for the shipment of the produce of this district was the universal theme of conversation at George. It was justly considered that inestimable advantages would result from such a measure being adopted, not only to this part of the country, but to the Lange Kloof, and the whole eastern portion of the colony. All concurred in opinion that corn and every other essential of life could be raised to any extent were but the means of export open to them.

“The complaint of wanting manure was heard of for the first time at George, and this may be accounted for by the very few cattle which are kept in the vicinity on account of the sour grass; but the immediate neighbourhood of the forest offers a never failing resource from the abundance of vegetable matter in a state of decomposition and full of fertility. The sour grass also, as has already been observed, will disappear with cultivation.

“The church is a heavy building in the Dutch taste, but sufficiently large to contain the population of the town and immediate neighbourhood. It is kept in the neatest order internally and externally, and notwithstanding its grotesque architecture, forms a fine feature when relieved by the dark foliage of the forest in the back ground, with the Swartberg receding in the distance. The ground on each side the streets is marked out in building lots, ready for sale. A given time is allowed for building a house on an established plan, and after the period is expired, the owner is made to pay fifty rix dollars per annum until it is finished. The place is remarkably well supplied with water from springs rising at the foot of the Swartberg, and which is led in channels through every street and into every garden.

“The town of George was began in 1812, under the government of Sir John Craddock. Considerable progress had been made during the five years which had elapsed. Artificers of all descriptions find abundant employment. Carpenters, masons, blacksmiths gain from one and a half to two rix dollars a day, a much lower price than what is paid at the Cape, nor is the difference in the price of provisions such as to justify the reduction. Consequently none but people of a very common skill in their employments will remain there, as every thing finds its own level in this colony as elsewhere, employment only is wanting.

“No medical man had yet offered for the town of George, notwithstanding a house was provided for him. This was severely felt; a child was dangerously ill without the possibility of medical advice being obtained; we ventured to prescribe such treatment as would have been adopted in our own families under similar circumstances, which was providentially successful.

“Amongst the new inhabitants of George, the saddler appears to be the most industrious, and deservedly the most flourishing. He not only carried on an extensive business in his own line throughout the Lang Kloof and the eastern parts of the colony, but was also a principal builder at George, and an improver of land. He had formed a large reservoir of nearly one hundred feet square, in the neighbourhood of his house, by which he is enabled to keep all his grounds under cultivation in the dry season.

“On the 14th December we went to visit a missionary establishment at Hoet Kraal, where we found a solitary missionary of the Presbyterian persuasion, who had been settled there several years before. His progress among the poorer classes and the Hottentots had not been rapid, nor with his limited means and unassisted efforts could it have been expected. He has by his own labour erected a building, which answers at once for a chapel and school house, and may contain from two to three hundred people. He has built a small cottage for his own dwelling, and has also a large and very productive garden, with abundance of vegetables. Nearly three hundred Hottentots with their families have settled near him, and many of them manifest much intelligence and industry; are increasing in comforts; and are following the example of their brethren in Genadendahl in their advance towards civilization; although they are in want of many useful articles which these obtain from the Moravians.

“Mr. Pachault, the missionary here, has the character of being a most worthy, pious, and consistent man; he devotes himself entirely to the performance of the duty he has undertaken, and appears to derive great happiness from the employment. His flock seem to reverence him with filial affection, and what is a still more striking proof of the mildness and the usefulness of his conduct, the inhabitants of the district are all loud in his praise. We attended divine service, which consisted of a hymn sung by the Hottentots, whose wild and untaught notes were still more delightful, or at least affecting, than those at the Moravian establishment. This was followed by a sermon in Dutch, which was received with very marked attention; and he then expounded the seventh chapter of St. Matthew, verse by verse, in a manner which appeared to my companions who were acquainted with the language, calculated to leave the most salutary impression upon the minds of his hearers.

“A Hottentot boy of twelve years old is Mr. Pachault’s assistant, and acts as schoolmaster. His scholars are said to make a great proficiency. This boy has an additional finger on each hand.

“From Hoot Kraal we visited Wyt Fonteyne, a beautiful spot upon the skirts of the forest, near the town of George, belonging to Mr. Van Kervel. He is building a house of some magnitude there, delightfully situated, and in the neighbourhood of the finest forest scenery in the world. A great variety of stately trees abound there, and a most extraordinary creeper, the wild vine, called by the natives the Bavian’s tew (or the baboon’s rope, as these animals climb the trees by them,) which having crept up the trunk, and over-run all the branches, hang down in all directions in a most extraordinary and picturesque manner, having sometimes the appearance of a large ship coming out of a severe action.

“We were delighted with our Sunday at George; the day was remarkably fine, and the inhabitants of the district had assembled from great distances to attend the service of the church. They arrived in numerous wagons, which were collected round the church. The clergyman, Mr. Harold, is a very respectable man, his congregation is always numerous, but particularly on sacrament days, which are once in a month; when all who can attend, make a point of doing so; a convincing proof of their favourable disposition towards religion. That there are many lamentable instances of this being confined to the mere external ceremony must be acknowledged and deplored, but the charge is not to be confined to the Boor. It is but too common under infinitely superior advantages of light, and knowledge, and education. The evil which appears most generally prevalent amongst this class of people arises from the want of education, and were this removed, they would stand high in their claim to the respect of their brethren. The fault I allude to is cruelty to their slaves; but this is the unavoidable consequence of slavery itself, which debases the mind of the master, whilst it lies like a deadly incubus upon that of the wretched bondman; too often extinguishing every spark of good feeling in each towards the other, less frequently however in the latter than in the former. The children of the Boor have in general been taught to consider the slaves as brute beasts, without souls, and to treat them accordingly; and hence comes the opposition so often made to every effort for instructing them, or for civilizing the Hottentot. Still we may hope that these feelings and these prejudices are fast wearing away, and that the intelligence of the rising generation both of blacks and people of colour, will shew the blessings of liberty upon the human mind, a liberty which will lead him to that state in which all shall be free indeed, to pure and life-growing Christianity, a state in which the labourer will work for love, and the master rule in kindness, and with a sincere desire that all around him shall be happy. This digression arises more from a desire to vindicate than to condemn the Boor, for it is too much the fashion to deny him any good quality.

“The benevolent and exemplary conduct of the Landroost, Mr. Van Kervel, is producing the happiest results as regards the situation of the slaves and Hottentots. It was delightful when driving through the town in his wagon, to see the slave children running after it, and climbing into it, some of them even accompanying him in his airing, uninvited, and unrebuked. The good man quite enjoyed their happiness.

“The country produces all the necessaries of life in abundance, but they must import their luxuries. The grapes will not ripen sufficiently to make wine, and this is brought in general from Cape Town, at the rate of forty rix dollars the pipe; thus adding greatly to the price; whilst the value of the wine must be greatly lessened by being shaken in a wagon for two hundred miles over the roughest roads than any wine ever travelled upon.

“Several large ponds are made in the neighbourhood of the town, in the centre of which are placed little islands for breeding rabbits and poultry, and for securing them from the devastation made among them when not so protected, by jackals and mooshunts, (the latter is a species of weazle.) The enclosures to the gardens are made of large blocks of blue clay, which becoming indurated by exposure to the sun, are very substantial and durable.

“We here saw the slave who had been discovered by Colonel Collins in a residence which he had made for himself in the heart of the Zitzakamma forest; and I give the story of this extraordinary man in the words of Colonel Collins, an officer who had been employed in ascertaining the resources of the Colony, and from whose most valuable reports, (copies of which I found in the Commissioner’s office in the dock yard,) much useful information had been gained respecting the forests. Colonel Collins says—‘Soon after we passed the Doll River, we found the former residence of a Maroon slave, a native of Malabar, who had been brought from it (the hut) a few weeks before in the hope of reward by the Kaffers, whom we had been in search of. The poor fellow had been six years in this unfrequented spot. A companion, whose grave we perceived at the distance of several miles beyond his habitation, for the first four months cheered his retreat, but he passed the remainder of his time without the company of a human being.

“‘The first hut he had constructed was concealed in the woods; the second shewed that he had built it with more confidence, for it was placed outside the forest, and an undisturbed residence of several years having given him reason to suppose that he might end his days in that peaceful abode, he had begun to build on a larger scale, but had only completed half his new mansion, when he was deprived of his possession. Whether he supposed the land under the large wood, better than that naturally without any, I cannot say, but he had cleared at least two acres, which he had converted into an excellent garden, containing vegetables, tobacco, and fruit trees, which his labour had appropriated to his own particular use. The dung of the Elephants and Buffaloes, which are both exceedingly numerous in that quarter, had served him for manure, a heap of their bones, and those of Elands, Boshbocks, and other antelopes, of whose skins he had manufactured good clothing, cut according to the European fashion, manifested his success in the chase, or rather his ingenuity in contriving pits and snares to catch these animals. His industry had even extended to the baking of earthenware; and this new Robinson Crusoe had contrived by his own exertion, to unite in his solitude all the comforts that are enjoyed in civilized life. Indolence had certainly no share in prompting his flight, nor had the fear of punishment been the cause of it, for he had never committed any crime.

“‘Desirous to obtain some information respecting the country I was about to enter, I sent for this extraordinary man. The fear of his escape, and the weight of his fetters, had made it necessary to bring him in a wagon thus chained. It was his master’s intention to avail himself of his future services, but observing to him that it was possible he might frustrate his vigilance, and draw other Maroons to the distant country he had lately inhabited, I directed that he should be immediately taken to the Cape, and there charged or otherwise disposed of.’

“In conversing with this energetic and interesting being, he confirmed all that Colonel Collins had stated, and gave us many additional particulars; amongst others, that he was frequently pursued by the Buffaloes, which often broke down his enclosure; and that his house was only saved by being built against a tree, and under the shelter of its low and protecting branches. He had carried with him a quantity of garden seeds, which produced all he required. After having been brought to Colonel Collins by the Kaffers as before stated, and sent by that officer to Cape Town, he received his freedom from the liberality of the Colonial Government, who directed that it should be purchased for him, and he became a resident at George. He appeared to be about forty years of age, stout and muscular, full of animation, and every way answering to the idea which would be formed of one capable of putting such a plan in execution as he carried through.

“On the 17th December we left George on our road to the Knysna. The scenery on the left was extremely beautiful and picturesque, from the truly Alpine appearance of the Swartberg, the base of which is richly clothed with a superb forest stretching in the plain, and exhausting itself in scattered clumps, which gave the front ground a very park like appearance. The yellow-wood tree rising to a great height without a branch, and covered to its summit with a light green moss was particularly conspicuous; and from its branches the Bavian’s tew hung in the wildest profusion, giving to the tree a most fantastic form.

“On the right, the plain stretched away to the southward as far as the eye could reach, sometimes varied with a gentle acclivity, or intersected with a deep ravine; though but little wood is to be seen in this direction. The grass is sour and hurtful to the cattle which graze upon it. The Swart River skirts the lower extremity of the forest, a small but beautifully transparent stream; a variety of trees grow so close to its banks as nearly to cross each other, and form by their reclining position the appearance of a rustic bridge. The foliage was broken into large masses of deep green, relieved by the brightest tints, and these with the catching lights as the sun emerged from flying clouds, presented one of the most captivating prospects I had ever beheld.

“Immediately after crossing this stream we ascended a steep hill, and found ourselves on a small level plain, on which was formerly a Hottentot station, called Pampoo’s Kraal. It is now occupied by wood cutters, who are employed in preparing loads of timber, plank, fellies and naves for wheels, and all kinds of materials for wagon work, to be in readiness to load the wagons for the Cape Town market. Many, and these chiefly Hottentots, were busied in preparing thongs cut from hides for the purpose of making harness. This is done by cutting the whole hide into one circular strip about an inch in breadth. A frame is then raised on two very strong posts, with a cross piece communicating one to the other in the form of a gallows; the thong is then passed over and over, in bites, until it nearly reaches the ground; when a heavy weight is attached to it, and by means of a lever the whole turned round and twisted, until the weight nearly reaches the cross piece, when the lever being withdrawn, the hide untwists itself with great velocity; this process frequently repeated stretches the hide to its proper length for use, and gives it the proper degree of flexibility. The harness made in this manner is very durable; and smaller strips treated in the same manner, are used for every purpose where small ropes would be employed in England.

“On our approach to Kayman River the country assumes features entirely new to us, and most strikingly picturesque and bold. The pencil and not the pen should be used to describe it. The river runs through deep and tortuous ravines, the sides of which sometimes awfully precipitous, are composed of strata of sand stone, on which the aloe and other plants are seen growing from the fissures, in which a sufficiency of rich soil has been carried by the rains to afford them ample nourishment. Other parts of the banks sloped down to the river with a very steep descent, and the road by which the wagons descended to the ford, was seen winding in every direction, in order to render the descent as practicable as possible. I could with pleasure have devoted many days to sketching this bewitching scenery. Every step we made seemed to bring forth fresh beauties, and solicited a fresh application to the portfolio. The difficulties and even the dangers of the road were forgotten or unheeded. I had been left a little way behind in taking a sketch, when turning an angle in the road on my pursuit after the wagon, I saw it some yards beneath me with the wheels uppermost, having overset and fallen over a descent of some feet, where it was arrested by some shrubs and rocks. The oxen had been liberated, and formed a picturesque group round the wreck of the wagon, while the drivers and attendant Hottentots, as well as the servants who had been employed in leading our saddle horses, completed the picture, as they were endeavouring to collect the scattered cargo; a more animated, and at the same time, a more romantic scene never presented itself to an artist.

“Our vehicle had received but little damage, being constructed of a very hard and durable wood; but our baggage suffered greatly, especially the more fragile parts, such as bottles and glasses. Providentially we were in the land of hospitality, and were well assured that we should want but little, at whatever place we might arrive for our night’s lodging. This event therefore was considered of very little moment, being of very frequent occurrence, and it in no ways interrupted our pursuits, or our enjoyment of the sublime scenery around us, where every feature was of the grandest description. The contrast of form and colour in the several objects was striking to a degree; and the whole seemed at the same time to be so delightfully harmonized, shade softening into shade, that our admiration was unbounded. The view from the western summit included the ford and the Kayman’s Gut, as the dark precipitous and very narrow mouth of the river is called, into which a heavy surf was rolling and expending its fury upon the cliffs on each side in clouds of foam; while only a few hundred yards higher up, the water was of a glassy smoothness, reflecting the deep green tint of the foliage on its banks. The coast here is of very considerable elevation, perhaps more than six hundred feet, and the chasm through which this little stream finds its way to the sea is but a few yards in breadth, whilst the sides rising abruptly to this great height form an object of indescribable interest. The distant blue horizon of the sea viewed from the elevation on which we were placed, cut the cliffs nearly two-thirds of the way up, and rendered our altitude more apparent.

“The wagon having been put to rights, and all damages repaired by the never failing thongs of hide, we proceeded on our way down to the ford; but to prevent a recurrence of disaster, it was carefully supported on each side by the whole party, and reached the stream in safety. The stream was just fordable by raising the baggage from the floor of the wagon; it was rapid, but smooth. If the view from the summit of the hills which overhang the banks of the Kayman was magnificent, that from the river was hardly less striking; we stood there surrounded on all sides by precipices and steep acclivities, with deep woods of every hue, and no apparent outlet, except the chasm in which the waters of the river met the roaring surf; the whole combined in forming a scene, beyond description grand and interesting.

“In ascending the opposite hills, the view, on looking back, was equally magnificent with that which we had previously enjoyed, although of a different kind. The Swartberg now formed the back ground, and was seen towering in great sublimity over those ravines, and the extensive plains by which they were separated; and the road by which we had travelled, winding in a most remarkable manner round the apparently precipitous sides of the hills, excited our wonder that wheels could ever have passed through such a country. The occasional view of a wagon crawling along, with its enormous length of train, and its white canvass top, gave great life to the picture. In the course of three hours after leaving the Kayman’s Gut, we came to another pass equally celebrated by travellers in this country, called the Fraka de Vrow, or the Maiden’s Ford. It was not quite so steep as the Kayman’s Gut, but, if possible, more striking, from the circumstance of the road descending into the depth of a forest of almost midnight darkness, in which the road wound for a considerable distance, shut out from the light of the sun. On approaching the bottom, gleams of light were seen lighting up here and there a broken rock, or the moss-grown trunk of a tree, and sparkling in the ripple and foam of the brawling torrent of deep green water, which formed the little river running through it. Near the ford the river expanded into a small lake, in the centre of which appeared a little verdant island, with cattle apparently grazing upon it; but this, on our approach, was found to be only a shoal left dry by the diminution of the waters; and the cattle belonged to a wagon, probably waiting for assistance to mount the hill. The effect, however, of these objects, with the chequered light playing upon them through the broken mass of rock and foliage, was extremely beautiful.

“The weather now suddenly changed from excessive heat to extreme cold, so that I could hardly stop to make a sketch of this romantic spot. Having ascended the eastern bank we came upon an excellent road, but intersected with many deep ravines. We reached Neepoth’s farm at half-past three, where we dined; and proceeded through a country almost as picturesque as that which we had passed, but not possessing the same grandeur of scenery. The weather too was unfavourable to it. On approaching the widow Wren’s, whose farm is situated in a valley near the Swartz River, we had a fine view of a magnificent forest, with a lake in front. The forest seemed to stretch to the sea coast on our right. We found the Swartz River too deep to ford, and had again to unload our wagon and float it over, crossing ourselves in a boat.

“We slept here, and found it a most miserable abode. The night was very cold with rain, and there was no glass to the windows; still every effort was made for our comfort by the kind hearted inhabitants of this wretched dwelling. They soon procured us a meal of salt mutton and salad, with tea; and we managed to get through the night very tolerably. There was a very fine group of children, and we much regretted to see the family in such abject poverty. I sincerely hope the younger part have grown up to better fortune than that which seemed likely to await them.

“In the course of our journey, when employing oxen for getting over the steep passes which our horses were unequal to effect, I had often been struck by the manner in which the oxen were stimulated by being spoken to by name; and I had at this place an opportunity of witnessing the manner in which they are taught to know it. There were two enclosures, surrounded by fences adjoining to each other, with a small wicket gate communicating between them. In one the cows are all arranged, tied to the fence at a few feet distance from each other, and into the other the calves are driven. A Hottentot stands at the wicket gate, and calls for a calf by a name which has frequently been repeated to him while sucking; and if he comes at the call, he is immediately rewarded by being taken to his mother. Should a wrong calf approach the wicket, he is beaten away. They soon learn to know when the voice is addressed to them, as becomes evident when the voice of the driver is heard; and Boschman, or Dunker, or Engeland, &c., no sooner hear themselves addressed, than their efforts are very visible, as they know that inattention to the sound is always followed by the whip or goad.

“At seven a.m. we proceeded on our journey, and soon crossed the Ruchti River, a few miles beyond which we came to the farm of Mr. Meeding, a most respectable, industrious man, whose wife, children, and house were all neat and cleanly. He was at this time building a new house, the frame of which only was up, and being prepared like those intended in England for what is called ‘brick nogging’ very much resembled a huge bird-cage.

“In the preceding night they had caught a wild dog in a wolf trap. This is one of the most fearfully destructive animals in the country. They generally hunt in packs, spreading over a great breadth of ground, and having both scent and speed, it is very difficult for the object of their pursuit to escape them. In some districts they have almost exterminated the antelope tribe. The trap is a very simple contrivance, being a strong frame of about eight feet long, and four broad, and four or five in height, fixed firmly on the ground, and boarded over; a hole for entering is left at one end, and a live sheep is tied at the further end. The wolf in trying to reach it unavoidably passes over a board, with which is connected a rope suspending a sliding door; the least touch is sufficient to cast it loose, and the door falling, the wolf is enclosed, without the possibility of escape, and is shot.

“The farmers have also traps with spring guns, by which they kill many of these dangerous enemies of different descriptions. Colonel Graham had been sometime before at the house of a Boor, farther to the eastward, in a place much infested by lions, when he received the following detail of a circumstance which had recently taken place. The farmer, assisted by his Hottentot, had in the evening set one of these traps, and early the following morning he went to see if any animal had been taken in it. He used the precaution most providentially of taking his gun with him, and coming to the place, observed that the trap had been sprung, and as a quantity of blood was on the ground near it, and traces of the same were seen leading to an adjoining thicket, he followed the track, looking cautiously before him, with his gun cocked, expecting to find the wounded animal. Instead of that, to his great horror, he saw his unhappy servant actually lying under the paw of a huge lion, who was playing with him in the same manner that a cat acts with a mouse it has taken, previously to putting it to death. The farmer took a deliberate aim, and shot the lion through the head; his death was instantaneous, and the Hottentot was rescued from his apparently inevitable fate, very little injured by the teeth of the lion, in being dragged from the trap to the wood. The poor fellow it seems had been beforehand with his master in visiting the trap, but had not thought it necessary to arm himself. The blood on the ground was from the lion, which had been caught in the trap, and was supposed to have extricated himself by a sudden exertion on the approach of the Hottentot.

“Soon after leaving Mr. Meeding’s, we reached the Gowkamma, another stream, having its source in the Swartberg, and finding its way through broken crags and ravines, to the shores of the Knysna. Here we had a view of a little hamlet, delightfully situated in a valley at the foot of a gentle slope, covered with wood, with an extensive range of corn fields on each side, and in front. On a nearer approach the forest lost much of its imposing appearance, being composed chiefly of the milk-wood, and other stunted and insignificant trees. There was also an extensive marsh, which at first sight we took for pasturage; but although the hamlet lost much of its importance on our reaching it, the scene was full of beauty. The banks of the Gowkamma were less steep than those of the Kayman, but at the same time highly picturesque. We were now approaching the country of the elephants and buffaloes; both of these are dangerous at times, but the buffalo is always so. Some time before, the horse of a Boor had been killed by one of these ferocious animals, whilst he providentially escaped, I believe, by taking to a tree. The event took place close to the house we were approaching,—Turnbull’s.

“From a hill which we ascended on the left bank of the Gowkamma, we got our first view of the Knysna, and splendid indeed was the prospect; this beautiful harbour, for such it has proved to be, appearing like a large lake, with a very narrow entrance from the sea, enclosed on each side by high and rocky cliffs; the eastern side of the lake clothed with magnificent forests to the water’s edge, green and level islands dispersed in various parts of the harbour, offering secure pasturage to herds of cattle. The western side of the Knysna is as bare and apparently barren as the opposite is fertile. Those who have only seen the Knysna from this spot would be justified in supposing that all entrance to it from the sea was impracticable. A range of breakers is seen apparently stretching quite across the mouth; but this arises from rocky points running out from each shore, intersecting each other in the direction in which they are viewed.

“On the left of the entrance, and on a gentle declivity sloping down to the water, stands the house of the principal proprietor of this part of the country, Mr. Rex. It is called Milkwood Kraal. The grounds round this delightful spot had all the appearance of a park, from the clumps of large trees dispersed over a wide extent of grass land. The house is beautifully situated, the high hills in the back ground are clothed with timber to the very summit; it commands in front a view of the whole estuary of the Knysna, from the nearest part of which it is not half a mile distant. The water in the harbour is in general smooth as a small lake.

“We reached the banks of this beautiful river at a place called the west ford, the only spot were it can be crossed in safety, and this only after half ebb. On the right bank is a small plain abounding in good pasturage for cattle, and it is accordingly reserved for an out-span place. It is enclosed between an abrupt turn of the river and a range of hills to the northward, finely wooded. There is a farm on the rising ground overhanging a part of the stream, in a most romantic situation, surrounded by the most delightful scenery imaginable, in which every feature of the picturesque is combined; mountain and stream, cascade and still water, precipices, over-hanging rocks, and gentle declivities, all are included in the view, but so mingled as to excite universal admiration.

“The water at the time of our reaching the ford being too high to enable us to pass on horseback, we availed ourselves of some wood wagons laden with planks, which were crossing, on which we got over dry, unloading our wagon and taking our baggage with us. From the left bank our road lay over a high hill, from which we had a prospect of the same character with those which had kept our admiration on the stretch for the last two days. On descending from this hill we had to cross a small stream running into the Knysna, from the eastward, called the east ford. From this place the river becomes navigable for small vessels, and a road runs along the banks of the Knysna for wagons up to Milkwood Kraal. It was at this time very bad, but capable of being made tolerable by carrying it further back, out of the reach of the high tides. A quantity of underwood skirting the forest must first be cleared away, after which the road might be made good with little labour.

“We arrived at Mr. Rex’s at three o’clock, and were received with the utmost hospitality. The arrival of the Cornelia Arnoldina, a small schooner belonging to Mr. Van Rienan, the following morning, was a remarkable coincidence. The moment we heard that she was in the offing, we mounted our horses and galloped to the eastern head, nearly two miles, where we had a fine view of her, entering with a light breeze, and the disadvantage of a heavy swell, occasioning a tremendous surf on the shore. She was loudly cheered by all our party, now tolerably numerous, as every one from Milkwood Kraal had collected to see her. The master had never been in before, nor had any one on board. He followed the direction of Mr. Walker, the master of the Dispatch, and found no difficulty. The appearance of this narrow inlet is certainly alarming. It is not nearly as wide as the entrance to St. John’s Harbour, Newfoundland, which it much resembles; and the projecting rocks on each side throwing back the breakers, spread the foam a great way over, and render the passage still more awful. But the vessel had no sooner entered the narrows than the tide sent her through with great velocity. The wreck of the Emu was lying under the eastern head, on the bank to which she had drifted after striking on the rock.