CLIMATE OF THE KARROO. 87 



nearer and nearer ; till at last a grand volume of soand 

 thunders past, and a broad, tossing river, impetuous as 

 any mountain torrent, is suddenly at your very gates, 

 lb is the sliiit coming down ; filling, and perhaps widely 

 overflowing, its deep channel, which, straight and steep 

 as a railway cutting, has stood dry so long. In all 

 directions these sluits are now careerincf over the 

 country ; and though occasionally their wild rush does 

 some mischief, such as washing away ostriches' nests, 

 drowning stock, or carrying into a dam such an accu- 

 mulation of soil as to fill it up and render it useless- 

 still, on the whole, the sluit is a most beneficent friend 

 to the farmer. And now, at the first welcome sound 

 of that friend's approach, you hear overhead the loud 

 congratulations of the gentlemen, who, attired in ulsters, 

 are hard at work on the roof, whither they have 

 hastily scrambled to lessen as far as possible the deluge 

 within. "This is worth £200 to us!" you hear in 

 triumphant tones. " We're all right now for six 

 months ! " Then — less joyfully — comes a query as to 

 how the great dam in the upper camp, which on a 

 former sad occasion has " gone," will stand this time ; 

 but the general opinion is that, with the considerable 

 stren'^'-thenino: it has since received, it will weather the 

 storm ; and in the meanwhile souls must be possessed 

 in patience till the morning. And still the rain keeps 

 on, steadily and noisily ; and with all the discom- 

 fort, and with all the mischief it has wrought indoors, 

 how thankful one is for it ! And how one's heart is 

 gladdened by that "sound of abiin lance of rain," and 



