CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 







ses, the wall* of which are conducted of clay, dried 

 by the intensity of the heat into a solid mass, suffi- 

 !y strong to hear ;i thatc h roof". Tlii, --.niall vil- 

 , which is tin- residence of the Droost, or chief 

 magistrate of the district, is, exactly as we mijjht 

 ct the rudiments of a town to be, inhabited by a 

 blacksmith, a carpenter, and some other mechanics, 

 who are employed by the boors, (or peasants,) on 

 tla-ir visits to the seat of government. It also con- 

 tains tin- only place of public worship in the district. 

 In the southern part of this district, a little west 

 of the Sunday river, is one of those salt water lakes 

 which abound in Southern Africa, and which are 

 called zoitf pans, or salt pans. It is about three milei 

 in circumference, and is the most extensive in the 

 country, and resorted to by the inhabitants of very 

 remote parts, in the summer, for their yearly supply 

 of salt. It is situated in the midst of a wood of fru- 

 tescent plants, at a considerable elevation above the le- 

 vel of the sea. The salt which is taken out for use 



is broke up with \,. .1 bctwei . ! five 



inches thick ; and during the dry south-easterly w 

 of summer, the agitation of the water produces on 

 the margin of the lake a line powdering salt, like 

 flakes of snow, which is equally beautiful with the 

 !t of England. 



On the banks of the Fish river in Voor Sneuwberg, 

 or the fore part of the Snow Mountain, are two 

 patic wells, of the temperature of 8H of Fahrenheit, 

 which are visited by the tick, and held in as high re- 

 pute as the mineral springs of any country, however 

 civili'/.ed, for their virtues in curing rheumatic disor- 

 ders of every kind and degree, cutaneous eruptions, 

 sprains, bruises, and all other bodily ills that flesh is 

 heir to. 



This short sketch of the different districts may Produce, 

 not be improperly succeeded by the following table, PP U '*- 

 which contains en exact statement of the extent 

 stock, produce, and population of the whole colony, 

 as taken from the Opgaaf* lists of 1798. 



This extensive colony is in no circumstance more 

 wor'hy of notice than in the wonderful variety of 

 animals which inhabit its varied surface of mountain 

 and valley, wood and Karroo plains. Amongst these 

 are to be mentioned, the lion, the elephant, the rhi- 

 noceros, the buffalo, the hippopotamus, the leopard, 

 panther, hyaena, wolf, jackal, tiger cat, the zebra, 



the quachas, the gnoo, and the numerous family of 

 antelopes, from the stately eland or elke, to the 

 pigmy antelope. From the increase of population, 

 however, the antelope, together with every other 

 sort of game, has gradually become mere scarce ; 

 and some species are extirpated from parts of the 

 country in which they abounded. The spring-bucks 



The Opgaaf is an annual statement of the number of his family, the amaunt of his live stock, and the produce of his 

 farm, whii-h .-very householder is obliged by law to make to government. It was formerly given without any regard to ac- 



racy ; but since the capture of the settlement by the British in 1793, it has been required upon oath. In the 30Oe re- 

 turns, however, the British army and navy, and British settlers, are not included. 



t A kggrr is nearly the same as our pipe, and contains 160 gallons. 

 The mvid, or sack, is equal to 3-^th Winchester bushels, and usually weighs 180 Dutch pounds. 



