326 PROCURE HORSES THE CAPE COLONY HORSE. 



only be raised on the summit of hills (which retain moisture 

 longer than the lowlands) rising not unfrequently several 

 thousand feet above the sea. 



Except at the station and one or two other spots, the ex- 

 tensive grounds are scantily watered and ill adapted for graz- 

 ing. During our visit, numbers of cattle were dying from 

 starvation. The region is, moreover, in some seasons infected 

 by diseases fatal to beasts of pasture, and these maladies, of 

 late years, have been of so destructive a character as nearly 

 to exterminate the cattle. Indeed, many of the Bastards and 

 Hottentots, who chiefly inhabit these parts, and who were 

 formerly living in great abundance, are reduced to beggary 

 from this cause. 



I now determined to leave Hans, and proceed in advance 

 to Cape-Town, with a view of making arrangements about 

 the sale of the cattle and the intended expedition to the Nga- 

 mi. As we were now in a locality where horses might be 

 obtained, I procured three or four of these animals "without 

 delay, partly for cash and partly for cattle. The rate of ex- 

 change was from five to ten oxen, according to the qualities 

 of the horse ; or, if money, 100 rix doll. (£7 10). A first- 

 rate hack might be purchased for £lO, though, of course, 

 high-bred horses were more expensive. 



The Cape Colony horse is a wonderful beast. He is sup- 

 posed to be of Spanish descent, but of late years has been 

 much crossed by various breeds. Without any pretension to 

 beauty, he is, perhaps, unrivaled in docility, hardiness, and 

 endurance. In eight days (one of which was devoted to rest) 

 I rode, accompanied by a Hottentot servant, from near Ko- 

 maggas to Cape-Town, a distance of upward of fom- hund- 

 red miles by road, thus averaging fifty miles per day. On 

 an after occasion I remember to have performed upward of 

 ninety miles at a very great pace, only once or twice re- 

 moving the saddle for a few minutes. And be it borne in 

 mind that the animals were young, indifferently broken-in, 

 unshod, and had never been staU-fed. 



