816 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA 



have died ; I, however, felt satisfied with the one I had 

 secured. The natives made me more cautious than I 

 should otherwise have been, and, had we found them 

 at an earlier hour, I should probably have killed one 

 half the troop. Weary and hungry, we formed our 

 kraals and kindled fires; after which, having partaken 

 of the elephant, I lay down to sleep beside my fire. 



On the 29th I sent Carollus to the wagons with in- 

 structions to bring all the horses and the Bushman, 

 with bread, coffee, and ammunition. In the forenoon 

 I ascended the neighboring mountain range to obtain a 

 view of the surrounding country. On clearing the first 

 ridge I looked down upon a bold and romantic gorge, 

 which here intersected the mountain chain, connecting 

 the forests on either side. Far below me, through the 

 bottom of the ravine, twined the gravelly bed of a peri- 

 odical river, which in the rainy season flows in an east- 

 erly direction. Though in all other parts this gravelly 

 channel was now dry, yet just at this spot, deep in the 

 bosom of the mountains, its bed was covered with de- 

 licious spring water to a depth of several inches ; and 

 here the elephants had excavated sundry holes, about 

 two feet deep, for the purpose of drinking. I descend- 

 ed to the water by an elephant path, and stood long 

 contemplating the interesting spot. The bed of the 

 river was deeply imprinted with the spoor of elephants, 

 buffaloes, and rhinoceros, of various dates. The gorge 

 was wide and open by the water, and its abrupt and 

 rocky sides were adorned with a profusion of trees and 

 shrubs. A little further down the gorge was more con- 

 fined, the river winding through huge perpendicular 

 walls of rock, that raised their giant forms on both sides 

 to a height of several hundred feet. 



From the basis of these stupendous ramparts to the 



