360 DISCOVERY OF THE CAPE. 



Spot which meets the description of Perestrello's Points of the 

 Pillar. This is Kwaaihoek, or False Islet, some three or four 

 miles west of the mouth of the Bushman River. There alone 

 did I discover pillars of sandstone rising steeply from the sea 

 and crowned with bushes — they are the most conspicuous natural 

 objects on that coast. As for the rock like a caravel, it lies 

 ofif the western pillar, and the resemblance in size and shape 

 to a dismasted ship is mcst noteworthy. There is, moreover, 

 a boat-landing in the little bay between the two points, and, as 

 far as my observation goes, I should say that it was the only 

 boat-landing that is in use at the present day in all the thirty 

 miles of coast between Cape Padrone and the Kowie. 



The fact that Perestrello, possibly with less informaticn 

 than we have on the subject, fixed the site of the padrao 

 at Kwaaihoek, does not prove very much, but it is in accordance 

 with what other evidence we possess — the " Roteiro " and the 

 ancient maps. It was at this point, according to de Barros, 

 that Dias and his crews made their great discovery that the 

 coast trended to the north-east, and it was doubtless this discovery 

 that induced them to seek a landing-place and erect a permanent 

 memorial of their achievement. In the miles of sandhills 

 which form the coast there are just these two striking pinnacles 

 to form a sure base for the padrao, and. amid all the tangle 

 of reefs, just the one safe little opening where the caravels 

 could ride at anchor while the boat carried the pillar through 

 the gap to the safe landing-place. 



3. The identification of the Rio do Infante, the pcint at 

 which Dias turned back. 



The last pillar was the scene of an important council. 

 Dias was convinced that he had found the way to India, and 

 was anxious to press on ; but his sailing orders forbade him 

 to take any important step without consulting with his officers. 

 At the council they showed themselves less stout-hearted, or, 

 perhaps, more prudent, than their commander. They urged 

 that the state of their equipment and provisions did not justify 

 them in extending their voyage. Dias was compelled to give 

 way, but his companions met his views to the extent of agreeing 

 to sail for three more days to the east, while he himself 

 consented to return if no startling discovery were made in 

 that time. During these three days no great change in the 

 character of the country was to be observed, and Dias gave 

 the order to turn back, just as they were off the mouth of 

 a little river. Joao Infante, the second in command, landed 

 here, and the river was named in his honour Rio do Infante, 

 Later Portuguese writers identified this with the Great Fish 

 River, an identification which, to my mind, has little to commend 

 it. d'Alemquer gives the distance from the padrao to the 

 turning point as 15 leagues, 51 geographical miles, and there 



