218 EXPEDITION INTO [Chap. XXV. 



been worth his weight in gold ; but ragged as the 

 Cape horses undoubtedly are^ it is but justice to 

 their manifold merits to declare that they only require 

 feeding to render them most useful allies during an 

 African campaign. Hardy, docile, and enduring, 

 any number may be driven on the line of march 

 by a single Hottentot ; and they are soon habituated 

 to graze unattended within sight of the waggons, 

 wherever grass is abundant. In the chase, the most 

 formidable animal does not inspire them with the 

 slightest alarm ; and the bridle being thrown over 

 their heads^ they may generally be left standing in 

 the wilderness for hours together, without attempt- 

 ing to stir from the spot. 



Our next movement brought us to the source of 

 the Oori or Limpopo — the Gareep of Moselekatse's 

 dominions. Fed by many fine streams from the 

 Cashan range, this enchanting river springs into 

 existence as if by magic; and rolling its deep and 

 tranquil waters between tiers of weeping willows, 

 through a passage in the mountain barrier, takes 

 its course to the northward. Here we enjoyed the 

 novel diversion of hippopotamus* shooting — that 

 animal abounding in the Limpopo, and dividing the 

 empire with its amphibious neighbour the crocodile. 

 Throughout the night, the unwieldy monsters might 

 be heard snorting and blowing during their aquatic 

 gambols, and we not unfrequently detected them in 

 the act of sallying from their reed- grown coverts to 

 graze by the serene light of the moon ; never, how- 

 * Htppopoiainus Amphbius. Delineated in the African Views. 



