of Southern Africa. 425 



Sie friends, who feasted gloriously upon it. In the course of 

 the afternoon, I saw two large aquatic birds swimming among 

 the wild geese upon the polished surface of the Sibootzaanie, 

 and hastened to my wagon to fetch my gun, but unfortunately 

 they were gone before my return. This circumstance I regret 

 the more, as they appeared to me, by the imperfect view I 

 had of them, to be black swans ; which animals, I believe, 

 have been hitherto only found in New Holland. 



Here we enjoyed the luxury of a comfortable bathe, and a 

 thorough scouring; pleasures seldom falling to the lot of a 

 Bichuana traveller, though in no country more necessary, 

 on account of the numerous colonies of live stock, which no 

 one can avoid picking up that comes in contact with the 

 natives' carosses. Even our Hottentots found the necessity 

 of purifying both their dingy hides, and blacker linen ; by 

 which operation, we may safely aver that thousands met a 

 watery grave in the hitherto unsoiled Sibootzaanie. 



One of these ponds is very deep ; and, like most of the 

 springs in this country, its bed is composed of a solid body of 

 white calcareous rock; around its margin the natives have 

 contrived to excavate a vast number of pit-falls, even within 

 the water-mark, so that wild animals coming to drink fre- 

 quently go down head foremost ; and the pits being so deep 

 and narrow, they have no room to extricate themselves. 

 However, accustomed to all sorts of snares that the hungry 

 bellies of the natives can devise, they are generally exceed- 

 ingly cautious in approaching watering places. 



At night, we sent our people to watch for game at the most 

 northerly of the two lakes, which seemed to be the most re- 

 sorted to; doubtless, on account of the number of pit-falls 

 with which the other is surrounded; and in the early part of 

 the night an immense herd of quaggas were seen approaching 

 with a circumspection almost^ incredible in brute beasts, and 

 they benefitted by their precautions, for they smelled or saw 

 our hunters, when with a most frightful clattering of hoofs 

 over the calcareous stone, they scampered off in an instant, 

 until the distant sound died away on the evening breeze. A 

 little after midnight, it being then clear moon-light, two tall 

 cameleopards appeared, cautiously advancing and reconnoiter- 

 ing as carefully as the most experienced burglar would ap- 

 proach the house he intended to rob. Our people were only 

 screened from their view by a few pieces of lime-stone, piled 

 upon one another, and had their pieces levelled for their de- 

 struction, when the cautious geraffes caught a glimpse of 

 them, and in a moment were out of sight. The next per- 

 formers on this nocturnal stage, were three rhinoceroses, 

 which, as they generally do, come down with less caution 

 than the other animals, when the first shot of our hunti rjs 



3 u 



