The Eye of Kuruman 



1823. In his " Travels and Adventures in 

 Southern Africa " (vol. i., p. 200) Mr Thomp- 

 son writes : 



" We therefore ordered the people with the 

 waggon to make the best of their way back, while 

 Mr Moffat and I directed our course towards the 

 Kuruman Fountain, which we reached after a 

 ride of about five hours. This is probably the 

 most abundant spring of water in South Africa. 

 A considerable river bursts at once from the 

 rock by a number of broken passages in the side 

 of a hill, forming a sort of cavern. Into this we 

 penetrated about thirty feet, but without ob- 

 serving anything remarkable. The water as it 

 issued from the rock felt at this time rather 

 warm ; in summer it is said to be cold as ice. 

 ... I could hear nothing of the great serpent, 

 mentioned by Lichtenstein as residing in this 

 cavern, and which, he says, was regarded by the 

 natives with sentiments of veneration. I doubt 

 not,liowever, the truth of the report he mentions, 

 for some species of the boa certainly exist in 

 the country." 



Further on (see pp. 18 to 23, vol. ii.) Thomp- 

 son says : 



147 



