422 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



They were of a species peculiar to this part of 

 Africa, being of a bright chesnut colour, having 

 long tassels of hair at the extremity of their 

 ears, and curious nodes or lumps jutting out on 

 each side of the nose, down which is a blaze of 

 dirty white. They proved to be very good eating, 

 and the people were in high glee at this abundance 

 of animal food. One of the Fans also brought me 

 a wild -bee's nest, but the honey had such a strangely 

 acidulated taste, that I was afraid it might be poi- 

 sonous, and would not partake of it. The Kroo- 

 men, however, eat it without experiencing any bad 

 results. 



From this spot I had a capital view of the Sierra 

 del Crystal Eange; and selecting the mountain that 

 appeared to be the highest, I climbed up it, and 

 found myself on a table-land of considerable extent, 

 beyond which rose other ranges, although I could 

 distinguish no conspicuous peaks — the average 

 height appearing to be about two thousand feet. 



Here I found fine undulating prairies, that at a 

 little distance had the appearance of rich meadows, 

 alternating with belts of forest, which in some 



