394 



CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



Cape of 

 Good 

 Hope. 



Rivers. 



of the Table Mountain ; and the stratification of the 

 whole colony is also much the same as that of the 

 / Cape peninsula. Blue compact schistus, generally 

 placed in parallel ridges, in the direction of north- 

 west and southeast, but frequently interrupted by 

 large masses of a hard flinty rock, of the same colour, 

 belonging to that class of aggregated stones, called, 

 by Mr Kirwan, granitelles, forms the substratum. 

 This is covered with a body of strong clay, which is 

 coloured with iron, and abounds with brown foliated 

 mica ; and in which are imbedded immense blocks of 

 granite, so loosely cemented together that the consti- 

 tuent parts can easily be separated by the hand. 

 The mica, the sand, and indeed the whole bed of 

 clay, is supposed, by Mr Barrow, to have been form- 

 ed by the decomposition of the granite. Large mas- 

 ses of these aggregated stones are found lying entirely 

 exposed between the Lion's head and the sea. They 

 are mostly rent, and are falling asunder from their 

 own weight, and some of them are so completely ex- 

 cavated that nothing but the crust or shell remains. 

 Such hollow blocks are very common on the hills of 

 Africa, and are frequently converted into habitations 

 by runaway slaves. " There is neither a volcano, nor 

 a volcanic product," says Mr Barrow, " in the south- 

 ern extremity of Africa, at least in any of those parts 

 where I have been, nor any substances that seem to 

 have undergone the action of fire, except masses of 

 iron-stone, found generally among the boggy earth, 

 in the neighbourhood of some of the hot springs, and 

 which appear like the scoriae of furnaces. Pieces of 

 pumice-stonehave been picked up on the shore of Rob- 

 ben-island, (or Seal Island, in the mouth of Table 

 Bay,) and on the coast near Algoa bay, which must 

 have been wafted thither by the waves, as the whole 

 basis of this island is a hard and compact blue schis- 

 tus, with veins of quart/ running through it ; and, of 

 the eastern coast, iron-stone and granite." 



The rivers, which intersect this extensive colony, 

 are of very little advantage to it, either for the pur- 

 poses of agriculture or navigation. Many of them 

 are merely periodical torrents, which continue to flow 

 during the rainy season, but which, during the sum- 

 mer, leave their deep sunk beds almost completely 

 dry; and the rivulets, which are supplied by the 

 mountain springs, have scarcely escaped from the 

 lofty sources, before they are either absorbed or eva- 

 porated. The permanent rivers, some of which con- 

 tain sufficient water for the navigation of small craft, 

 for several miles up the country, are all, except the 

 Knysna, rendered inaccessible, by a bed of sand, or a 

 reef of rocks across the mouth : The principal of 

 these, on the west coast, are, Oliphatit, or Elephant's 

 river, which runs in a northerly direction along the 

 foot of the western chain of mountains, and falls into 

 the Atlantic in S. Lat. 31 30' ; and the Berg, or 

 Mountain river, which has its source in the moun- 

 tains which inclose the vale of Drakenstein, and dis- 

 charges itself into St Helena bay. Those on the 

 south coast are, Broad river, which falls into St Se- 

 bastian's bay, and at its mouth is nearly a mile 

 broad. Gaurilz river collects its waters from the 

 Black Mountains and Karroo plains, and during the 

 rains is the most rapid and dangerous in the colony ; 

 Camtoos river, which is supplied from the same part 



of the country, but more easterly, empties itself into 

 a bay of the same name, and, within the bar, is deep 

 enough to float a ship of the line ; Sunday river, 

 which rises in the Snewberg, or Snow mountains, 

 and falls into Zwart Kop's bay ; and Great FisH Ri- 

 ver, called Rio Infante by the Portuguese, which ta- 

 king its rise far towards the north, about 200 jmiles 

 from its mouth, collects in its long course a multitude 

 of tributary streams, and forms the eastern boundary 

 of the colony. Besides these are Zwart Kop's river, 

 Keurloom river, and Knysna; and numerous stream- 

 lets on the southern coast, which continue their fee- 

 ble course throughout the whole year, but whose 

 channels are so deep, that little benefit can be derived 

 from their waters to the lands in the vicinity. All 

 these rivers are well stored with perch, eels, and 

 small turtle ; and the neighbouring shores abound 

 with every kind of fish peculiar to these seas. The 

 principal bays on this coast, besides those which have 

 been already mentioned, are Plettenberg's bay, Mos- 

 sel bay, False bay, Simon's bay, Haute or Wood 

 bay, Table bay, and Saldanha bay. Of these, Sal- 

 danha bay is the most commodious, and affords at 

 all seasons very excellent shelter and anchorage. It 

 is about 15 miles long, in the direction of north and 

 south, and its entrance, which is through a ridge of 

 granite hills, is only between two and three miles 

 broad : the scarcity of wood and water, however, in 

 its neighbourhood, must always prevent it from be- 

 coming a place of general rendezvous for a fleet. 



The soil of this country is in general of a stiff clay, Soil. 

 or light sand, which requires nothing but water to 

 make it most fertile in every vegetable production. 

 Wherever springs are found, their vicinity is always 

 enriched with the most luxuriant verdure ; but these 

 are so very rare, particularly in the northern part of 

 the colony, that they scarcely interrupt the prospect of 

 uniform sterility, and serve only to render more drea- 

 ry the surrounding wilderness. The immense plains, 

 called Karroo, are, for many months, completely de- 

 void of every appearance of vegetation ; and the 

 Great Karroo, which extends nearly 300 miles in 

 length, and 80 in breadth, is uninhabited by a hu- 

 man creature, and scarcely ever moistened with a 

 shower. Its unvaried surface of clay, sprinkled 

 over with sand, is only broken by hills still more 

 barren ; and, should a blade of grass, or a stinted 

 shrub, meet the eye, during the hot season, its parch, 

 ed appearance betrays the poverty of its parent 

 earth, which can scarcely afford it sufficient nourish- 

 ment to preserve its existence. Yet it is astonishing 

 to behold the genial influence of the rains in clothing 

 them with rich verdure, and then they are resorted to 

 by the various sorts of antelopes, which again are 

 followed by lions. In these Karroo plains, the bota- 

 nist will find his choicest harvest of succulent and 

 many other plants. The belt of land, however, 

 which is inclosed by the southern range of moun- 

 tains and the sea, possesses a deep and fertile soil, 

 which, being refreshed by frequent rains, is cloth- 

 ed with grass, and in many places well wooded with 

 fruit and forest trees ; and, from its proximity to 

 the ocean, it enjoys a mere mild and equable tem- 

 perature than the northern plains. The beauty and 

 fertility of the country increase as we advance east- 

 4 



Cape of 

 Good 

 Hope. 



