26 CURIOUS LEGEND. 



was rapidly encroaching over the valley below ; and as in 

 these regions there is but one step from light to darkness, I 

 was compelled to commence the descent without a moment's 

 delay. I confess that this was not done without some ap- 

 prehension ; for, what with the quick-coming night, and the 

 terrible ravines that lay yawning beneath my feet, the task 

 was any thing but agreeable. I found it necessary for safety 

 to take off my boots, which I fastened to my waist ; and at 

 length, after much exertion, with hands torn, and trowsers 

 almost in rags, I arrived late in the evening at our hotel, 

 where they had begun to entertain some doubt of my safety. 

 As a proof that my fears were not altogether groundless, a 

 short time before this, a young man, who was wandering 

 about the mountain in broad daylight, missed his footing, 

 was precipitated down its sides, and brought in the next day 

 a mutilated corpse. 



When Europeans first arrived in the Cape Colony, it would 

 appear that almost all the larger quadrupeds indigenous to 

 Southern Africa existed in the neighborhood of Table Mount- 

 ain. A curious anecdote is preserved in the archives of 

 Cape-Town relating to the death of a rhineceros, which, for 

 its quaintness and originality, is perhaps worthy of record. 



Once upon a time — so runs the legend — some laborers em- 

 ployed in a field discovered a huge rhinoceros immovably 

 fixed in the quicksands of the salt river which is within a 

 mile of the town. The alarm being given, a number of coun- 

 try people, armed with such weapons as were at hand, rushed 

 to the spot with an intention of dispatching the monster. Its 

 appearance, however, was so formidable, that they deemed it 

 advisable to open their battery at a most respectful distance. 

 But, seeing that all the animal's efforts to extricate itself were 

 fruitless, the men gradually grew more courageous, and ap- 

 proached much nearer. Still, whether from the inefficiency 

 of their weapons, or want of skill, they were unable to make 

 liuj impression on the tough and almost impenetrable hide 



