AN EDEN. 3 



formed the conclusion that when an unfledged 

 missionary was ordered to Kooruman his life was to 

 be in future one of constant hardship, trial and danger. 

 It is scarcely to be expected that when an ex- 

 plorer discovers elysiums, he is bound to publish to 

 all the world the charms and attractions of the retreat 

 he has become cognisant of; but still, for the sake 

 of education, geography and progress three subjects 

 that missionary societies are ever thrusting down our 

 throats it is, in my humble opinion, a disgraceful act, 

 and unworthy of an honourable body, to call a land 

 flowing with milk and honey, and possessed of a popu- 

 lation at once submissive and affectionate, a country 

 of sterility and hardship, peopled by aborigines that 

 lust for bloodshed and plunder. If there is an Eden 

 on the face of this earth, it is Kooruman Kooruman 

 that has been represented by Moffat and McKenzie 

 as a residence unfit for white men, and only one 

 grade better than the Sahara Desert. Every descrip- 

 tion of sub-tropical fruit flourishes here to perfection, 

 the indigenous grains of the country produce the 

 most luxuriant crops, and the springs, which bubble 

 forth from beneath their sandstone formation, give 

 not only an ample supply of water for man and 



B 2 



