STATURE 



\Ma. 



iSS 



the surroundings. In many places too ihe pegs that 

 had fastened the tents to the ground had yielded 

 to the fressure, and sheets of canvas were flapping in 

 the air like flags of distress. Truly it was a dreary 

 scene, and I sighed at my dreary prospect." 



Here Di". Holub spent some months, making but one 

 excursion at Christmas time (1872) just -within the border 

 of the Free State, to enjoy a little fresh air and have a 

 shot at the baboons. In this portion of his work he 

 gives a vei7 interesting account of the diamond workings 

 at Kimberley, and of the motley crew of workers that he 

 met. Some views of the Kimberley Kopje as it appeared 

 in 1871 are given, one of which (Fig. i) will give our readers 

 some idea of the dreary aspect of a "diamond quarry." 

 i lis medical practice increased so rapidly that by the end 

 of January, 1873, ^s was enabled to purchase a waggon 

 and a good many of the requisites for travel, and early in 

 February he actually started out on his first long journey 

 of exploration, which, however, he from the first only 

 regarded as one of reconnaissance, with the object of 

 getting in part acclimatised to live in the open air, and to 

 acquire by actual experience a knowledge of what would 



be necessary for a prolonged journey into the interior. 

 The first villnge passed through was Pniel, a German 

 missionary station among the Koranna. With the ex- 

 ception perhaps of the Matabele, no native tribe appeared 

 to have been so little influenced by missionary labour. 

 Their culture is of the very lowest grade. Of all the 

 South African races the Kcranna bestow the least 

 labour upon tl e ttructi:re and the least care upon the in- 

 ternal arrangements of their dvellirgs. Their huts (Fig. 2) 

 consist of .1 bundle of branches about six feet in length, 

 the upper er.ds tied tc.geiher, the lower arranged in a 

 circle, some rush-mats thrown over this hasty frame- 

 work, in which an aperture is left large enough to admit 

 a human being on all four«. A hollow dug out in the 

 centre is the only fireplace. Scarcely anything worthy of 

 the name of agriculture is carried on, and their chief care 

 is devoted to their ccrn and gocts. Lazy, dirty, un- 

 truthful, I'ving without a thought beyond the present, 

 capable of any crime for the sake of drink, it seems no 

 great pity thai the tribe is dying cut. Crossing the Vaal 

 River, Kli; drift was reached; in the district bttv. een the 

 \''aal and Harts Rivers herds of the striped grey gnu 



{Cateblepas gorgoii) were to be seen. The ■.•--,'3 weio 

 here no better than the channels of boulder "-'.reams. 

 Formerly both shores of the lower part cf 'r-t Harts 

 River were in the possession of Yantje, the r.atlap'n 

 chief, who is a dependant of the British with an ir-comeof 

 200L a year. This chief now resides at Likatlong. The 

 Batlapins are mostly of middle height, not so tall as the 

 Zulus nor so powerfully built as ths Fingos. Their 

 complexions are bright and clear; they hav2 voi-y wide 

 noses. 



The sugar-cane was cultivated here and thero, but the 

 only uco made of it was the che^ving the m-:e juicy 

 portions of the stem. After Klipdrift, Bloer.ihof was 

 visited ; then the IMaquassie River v/as crossed, and a fe\v 

 days were spent at Klipspruit, which would seem to he 

 quite a paradise for the sportsman; the eaily mornirg 

 hours never failed to exhibit many herds of gnus and 

 antelopes. The bushes v.'ere the haunt of the guinea fo^\ 1. 

 This breed of wild fowl is one of great interest ; though 

 hunted perpetually, it would appear to be still on the 

 increase; most frequently it is found in flocks of from ten 

 to forty in number. 



Arriving at Wondcrfontein, the under- 

 ground fissures, sometimes ■several miles 

 long, were examined. One fine cave, 

 known as the " Grotto of Wondcrfontein, " 

 was partially explored ; a little brcok 

 rippled through it, and it was tliickly in- 

 habited by b.ats. After much enjoyment 

 "f the natural objects associated with this 

 I'lace, Dr. Holub determined to end here 

 his first excursion, and frrm tlience to 

 make his way back to Dutoitspan ; slightly 

 altering his track back, he iDroke some- 

 what new ground. Here is a she t account 

 of an encounter with a mass "^f feathered 

 hfe :— 



" The bank on which we crouched was 

 the boundary of a depression overgrown 

 with grass and reed?, but iiow full of 

 rain-water. In this pool were birds con- 

 gregated in numbers almost beyond w hat 

 could be conceived — birds swimming, 

 1' ids diving, birds wading. Perhaps the 

 I'St conspicuous were the -^acred ibises, 

 J. which there would not hr.ve been less 

 than fifty, some of thein st:inding asleep 

 with their heads under their wings, some 

 of thein striding about solemnly, pausing 

 every now and then to m.ai.e a snap at a 

 smaller victim, and some of them hurrying 

 to and fro, dipping their bills below the 

 water in search offish. On thefarsicle, as if utterly oblivious 

 of the world, a pair of grey herons stood pensive and 

 rr.otionless. From amongst the weeds, rose the unabated 

 cackle of wild ducks, grey and speckled. Mingling with 

 this viere the deep notes of the countless moorher.s, 

 while an aspect of perpetual activity w-as given to the 

 pond by the nimble movements of swarms oi little divers. 

 .At a spot where the bank descended somewhat sharply to 

 the edge of the pool several rufts were war.dering back- 

 wards and forwards, uttering their peculiar shrill whistle, 

 and large flocks of sandpipers were to be roticed, either 

 skimming from margin to margin of the water or restin;; 

 passively just where ihty had alighted. Tie explanation 

 of this enormous concourse of the feathered tribe wa , 

 very siinple. A storm of unwonted ^■iolence had washed 

 down from the plain above into the hol'o-.v beneatii 

 myriads of worms, insects, lizards, and e\en mic?, and' so 

 bountiful a banquet had attracted the prov.usc-.tous and 

 immense gathering which had excited my wond'.r." 



The second excursion was begun und ■'.• soir.evhut 

 better auspices, but it was only contemplated to journey 

 over half the distance between the Diamond '^^'■'ds and 



