49 
and then before us, and, bounding to a short distance, 
turn and gaze at us until we passed; but when we started 
a solitary Steenbock, which happened more than once, it 
sprang along the plain with surprising agility, and never 
stopped until it had got out of sight. It is the character of 
almost all animals to be timid when solitary, and to pluck up 
courage in proportion to their numbers. 
* 'The village of Bavians Kloof, Gnathendhal, as the mis- 
sionaries call it, is situated at the foot of a high rugged 
mountain. À copious stream, bursting through a deep chasm 
in its side, traverses the village, and after watering a long 
suite of small gardens, discharges itself into the Sonderend. 
It was on the banks of this stream I first saw that beautiful 
plant, the Wachendorfia thyrsiflora. The upper part of the 
village, occupied by the missionaries, consists of a line 
of houses, divided into separate apartments, to each of 
which is attached a workshop; of a mess-room, where the 
whole society eat in common; a church, a school-house, and 
an inn or sleeping-place for the accommodation of strangers. 
There are at present five Europzans attached to the establish- 
ment, each of whom is master of a mechanical trade, at 
which he labours daily, assisted by a certain number of Hot- 
tentot youths, who are regularly apprenticed, and instructed 
in their respective trades. Most of them are married, and 
their wives are distinguished by a head-dress of a peculiarly 
primitive form. Among the latter, we were agreeably sur- 
prised in recognizing a countrywoman of our own, a native 
of Cumberland. She appeared as much gratified as ourselves 
at the meeting, and paid us a great deal of attention. The 
men are all past the middle age, sleek, cheerful, and disposed 
to gratify every rational inquiry respecting the institution. 
There is a good orchard and a small vineyard attached to 
it, from the former of which they are supplied with abun- 
dance of excellent fruit, and from the latter, a few leggers of a 
wine that scarcely merits the same encomium. 
“ The Hottentot quarter, extending nearly a mile from the 
church, consists of huts, of all shapes and sizes, scattered 
along the banks of the stream. Many of these cabins display 
VOL. II. emm 
