of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 267 



birds. He was, however, obliged thus early, on account of the 

 many thefts and other crimes committed by his own people, to 

 appoiut one Michiel Gleeve, public executioner,* who was soon 

 required to exercise his functions upon Jan Pieter Soen water. 



His people were at this time 92, to which, adding himself 

 and some inferior servants, there were 100 men; and wilh the 

 women and children on board the yacht, the whole European 

 population amounted to 125 souls; and he possessed 89 head 

 of cattle and 284 sheep. But the wild animals sometimes at- 

 tacked the cattle during the dark nights, and the want of 

 hands, was a great drawback. 



During this month he attentively observed the course of a 

 comet, and seems, by some remnant of superstition, to have 

 feared, that the appearance of this wandering body portended 

 some ill; without reflecting that his bible says, " Be notidis-. 

 maved at the signs of heaven. "f 



The Saldanhians, who had fought with the fishnjea and 

 killed four of them, endeavoured to instigate him to make com- 

 mon cause against that horde, which they represented to be 

 nothing but robbers. But the Commander rejected their pro- 

 posal, as he had before done the suggestions of Harry, and 

 declared his desire to live with all the natives in peace and 

 amity. 



He obtained more cattle by barter; and towards the end of 

 the month, after go much care and anxiety, he had the pleasure 

 of writing in his diary, " We are, thank God, so far advanced, 

 that the sick can be supplied with milk, butter milk, and eirgs ; — 

 the fowls are breeding well; but the pigs and pigeons do not 

 appear to thrive, inasmuch that the pigs have not yet brought 

 any young, and from 8 pigeons no more than 7 have been pro- 

 duced, so that we have but 15 in all." Nevertheless, before 

 the month was over, he discovered, on counting his sheep that 

 18 were missing ; a circumstance at that time, so important to 

 him, that he instituted a serious inquiry ; and having *.8ce rtain- 

 ed that the loss was occasioned by the carelessness and neglect 

 of his herdsmen, he made them suffer the consequences, by 

 charging their accounts with two rix-dollars for every sheep so 

 lost. However, the gathering of seed f.om several sorts of 

 vegetables, succeeded according to his wishes, and we find the 

 first Governor of this Colony congratulating himself, " that the 

 cabbag.s begin to close, and the carrots to increase in size • 

 that he and all his people ate mutton daily; that the churn was 

 going on tolerably well, so that he made six pounds of butter 

 and could sometimes give his people buckets of butter milk* 

 which would prove no small r. freshmen, to the persons on board 

 the sh! P s touching her. ; ,„d tl.-t h. only wa nted utensils to 



* Records of Council, 5th Dec. 165- 1 * 



t Jeremiah x. 2. 



