HOTTENTOT PLACE NAMES. 375 



Jan Hartogh " in the " Dagverliaal " of his journey among " de 

 hier om heen legende Hottentots " in 1707, a,s " een droge rivier 

 • Oulxamma ' in het Hottentots." Beutler also mentions " een 

 droog riviei-tje Danka, soo veel beteijkende als Quaade rivier " 

 (Hot. Whani, hate; lab. a river). This is a small branch of the 

 Traka river, Prince Albert district, C.P. ; and a small river which 

 I have been unable to identify: " Een klijn riviertje Korouw 

 ofte Iviaauwen genaamt." This Hottentot name is derived from 

 the word WKoras, a claw, hoof; the reference of the name is 

 lost. 



There are six or seven other names of rivers given by Beutler 

 of which he furnishes either the translation or supplies the 

 current European name — it is not always quite clear which he 

 intends us to understand. The names referred to do not appear, 

 in the form given, to be of Hottentot origin. The presumption 

 is that they are of Bushman origin. For example, he mentions 

 a small branch of the Buffalo river which I have not been able 

 to identify. He says : " Passeerden wij . . . de Meehouw of 

 Matjes rivier die in de riviere Kauka uijtloopt." Others are: 

 De rivier Gosacha anders Tijger rivier " ; " een grooter dito 

 KohaJxoeha ofte Ezels rivier genaamt"; "een rivier door de 

 Bosjesmans Aga ofte Eietvelt genaamt "; " een groot rivier 

 Gomee ofte Baviaansrevier genaamt"; the three last-mentioned 

 rivers are mentioned also by Col. Collins: " The Record," Part 

 V, pp. 48-49. The Gomee he describes as "a branch of the 

 Kyskamma " : Kookooha as "the dry bed of a periodical stream"; 

 and speaks of " the Aha rivulet," and " een kleijn loopend 

 riviertje Kavahe of het Vrolijke rivier gent." 



Plettenberg, 1778. 

 In the " Dagverhaal " of Governor Joachim van Pletten- 

 berg 's journey the Hottentot place naixies are not so many, but 

 they are of equal interest. The journey was undertaken a quarter 

 of a century later than Beutler 's, and here and there we get a 

 hint that, even in that comparatively short space of time, changes 

 had taken place in the local nomenclature, for we get together 

 with the Hottentot name a Dutch one also, which is in a less 

 number of cases a translation but a new name running sometimes 

 concurrently with the older appellation which in some cases has 

 quite disappeared from the map to-day. 



The word Karoo has established itself as the descriptive name 

 of a large area of South Africa — the word appears here with its 

 meaning : ' ' Wij vonden ons nu in het begin van 't Caro of 

 Droogveld." The word appears to be derived from the Hottentot 

 word I Kuril, to be dry, sparsely covered, arid; the Namaqua 

 name for the Karoo is Toro. " De Deepka of Brakke rivier diebij 

 natte jaar saisoenen breet en hoog scheen te moeten swellen 

 appears to be the present Dwyka, which is otherwise unmen- 

 tioned, though it mvist have been crossed. Then we have " de 

 Gamka of Leeuiven Rivier"; " de Traka of Vrouwen Rivier,"' 

 a branch of the Olifants rivier, itself a branch of the Gamka 



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