Voyage to the Cape of the New Settlers, 



316 



upon this supposition. Mr. Bletoa was 

 applied to, he discovereil at once tlie 

 new course of tlie waters in question : 

 his discovery w.is ascertained, and the 

 hiw suit was terminated. 



M. Thouvenel assigns principles upon 

 which the impressions made by sub- 

 terraneous waters and mines may be 

 naturally enough accounted for. Hav- 

 ing ascertained a general law by which 

 subterraneous electricity exerts an in- 

 fluence upon the bodies of certain indi- 

 viduals eminently susceptible of that 

 influence, and shown, that this law is 

 the same whether the electrical action 

 arises from cui-rents of warm or cold 

 water, from currents of humid air, from 

 coal or metallic mines, from sulphur, 

 and so on ; he observes that thei-e is a 

 diversity in the physical and orgauicai 

 impressions which are produced by 

 this electrical action according as it 

 proceeds from different fossile bodies, 

 which are more or less conductois of 

 electrical emanations. 



There are also artificial processes 

 which concur in leading us to dis- 

 tinguish the different focTises or con- 

 ductors of mineral electricity, and in 

 th(!se processes the use of electrometri- 

 cal rods deserve the attention of philo- 

 sophers, who might, perhaps, in course 

 of time, substitute in their place a more 

 perfect instrument. A most singular 

 and important phenomenon Mr. Bleton 

 met with, which was that over the iron 

 mines alone the clectromctrical rod 

 assumes a motion of rotation diametri- 

 cally opposite to that which they exhibit 

 over all other mines. This phenome- 

 non takes place with the same dis- 

 tinction when iron and other metals 

 are extracted from their mines and 

 deiwsited under ground. 



But the most remarkable circum- 

 stance in this distinctive action of these 

 metals, is, that it has an uniform and 

 constant direction from east to west in 

 all metals, iron excepted, just as iron 

 rendered magnetic has an action direct- 

 ed from south to north. In the sup- 

 plement to M. ThouvenePs memoir, 

 there is an accurate account of the 

 processes that have furnished these in- 

 variable results. They will naturally 

 suggest the idea of coustnicting au 

 electrical compass which may be of as 

 eminent use in experimental philo- 

 sophy as the magnetic compass in navi- 

 gation. The natural and spontaneous 

 direction of metallic emanations towards 

 (he west being ascertained, it only re- 

 mains to render them palpable by the 



[May 1, 



construction of an instrument wliich 

 may be substituted in the place of the 

 electronietrical twig that goes vulgarly 

 by the name of the divining rod. 



C.Hall. 

 Ansty, March 19, 1821. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 

 NARRATIVE of a Voyage to, and five 

 Monthi Residence at, the mouth of 

 the GREAT FISH RIVER; being an 

 accurate description of the condition 

 of the Emigrants lately settled in 

 that part of Southern Africa. By 

 w. w. 



( Concluded from our last. J 



EVERY necessary arrangement be- 

 ing completed, we commenced our 

 march for the interior on the 14th of 

 April with a train of near 100 waggons, 

 (which are not, however, much lai'ger 

 than our carts.) each being dra\A n by 

 from 12 to 16 oxen, we presented a 

 very curious spectacle, tlie whole pro- 

 cession reaching nei^rly a mile. We 

 were escorted by a party of Dutch Far- 

 mers on horseback, eacli carrying a 

 musket, with tlie Landrost (Col. Cuy- 

 ler) at their head. The first night we 

 halted on the banks of the Zwajt- 

 Kops River after a very pleasant jour- 

 ney of about six hours. The next 

 morning we were awoke at day-bieak 

 by the cracking of whips ; this being 

 the method the boors pursue to call the 

 Hottentot boys with the cattle. M'e 

 proceeded on our journey throiigh a 

 most delightful country, abounding 

 with game of evoiy description, which 

 are, however, extremely diHicult to get 

 near, and many of our party preferred 

 walking with their guns to enjoy the 

 sport. We continued our march for 

 about six hours, when we halted in a 

 large valley surrounded on every side 

 by immense thickets, for a few hours, 

 when we resumed oui journey and en- 

 camped that night at a military post 

 on the banks of the Sunday River, 

 here we received rations for two days, 

 as we had hitlierto done. We were 

 informed that a party of Caffres had 

 veiy lately paid them a visit and helped 

 themselves to some of their cattle. 



TIjc next morning at sim-rise we 

 crossed the Zonday Riviere, and pro- 

 ceeded to a fine plain, abotit three 

 hours journey from thence, where we 

 halted a few hours, as was frequently 

 done. This day we passed innumerable 

 droves of deer as well as a few quaggas 

 or wild horses, but had as yet seen no- 

 thing to create the slightest alarm. 



We 



