A PERILOUS DESCENT. 53 



ing in the firm expectation every moment of beholding 

 its destruction. Jolting furiously along, it crashed and 

 jumped from rock to rock ; at one moment the star- 

 board hind wheel resting on a projecting ledge of rock 

 several feet in height, and the front wheel on the same 

 side buried in a deep hollow, and next moment the 

 larboard wheels suddenly elevated by a corresponding 

 mass of rock on the opposite side, placing the wagon in 

 such a position that it seemed as though another inch 

 must inevitably decide its fate. I held my breath, 

 doubting the possibility of its regaining the horizontal 

 position. Righting again, however, with fearful vio 

 lence, it was launched, tottering from side to side, down 

 the steep stony descent, and eventually, much to my 

 astonishment, the pass was won, and we entered upon 

 the more practicable road beneath. 



I could not help fancying how an English-built ve- 

 hicle would have fared in a similar situation, and how 

 a Brighton coachman would have opened his eyes could 

 he have seen my Cape wagon in the act of descending 

 this fine specimen of a colonial wagon-road, which I 

 might aptly compare to the rugged mountain-bed of 

 some Highland river. Having continued our journey 

 till within an hour of sundown, we encamped for the 

 night. The country through which we had passed was 

 densely covered with one vast jungle of dwarfish ever- 

 green shrubs and bushes, among which the speck-boom 

 was predominant. This species of tree, which is one 

 of the most abundant throughout the forests and jun- 

 gles of Albany and Caff"raria, is utterly unserviceable 

 to man, as its pithy branches, even when dead, are un- 

 available for fuel. It is, however, interesting, as con- 

 stituting a favorite food of the elephants which, about 

 twenty-hve years ago, frequented the whole of this 



