Rev. S. S. Donian — Geology of Basutoland. 61 



strew the hillsides everywhere, so that one can always tell when one 

 is in the neighbourhood of this rock by the character of the fallen 

 blocks on a slope. A good example of the pillar formation is to be 

 seen at the station of Thaba Bosin. A small hill named Qiloane, 

 evidently at one time connected with Thaba Bosin mountain, but now 

 separated by a valley a mile wide and over 600 feet deep, is crowned 

 by a pillar of Cave Sandstone some 100 feet high. It is about 15 feet 

 broad on top, and is composed of three immense stej)s gradually 

 tapering to a point. The precipices of the Cave Sandstone are usually 

 covered with a blackish glaze, the effects of sun and rain, which 

 renders them very slippery. The rock is perforated with openings, 

 especially near the crests of the hills, but though these openings have 

 given the rock its present name they are not true caves, being usually 

 due to the more rapid erosion of the bands of blue clay with which the 

 rock is interstratified, especially in its lower members. They are 

 merely shelters with overhanging ledges. Instances of true caves do 

 occur, but they are uncommon. The Bushmen inhabited these caves 

 in former times, and also cannibals — the remnants of tribes broken up 

 by Chaka and Umsilikazi in their sanguinary raids and driven to 

 cannibalism by fear and starvation.^ One very large cave near the 

 station of Cana is still called the Cannibals' Cave, and the people 

 point out the ledge upon which the cannibals slaughtered their victims, 

 appealing to the blood-stains on it in proof of their assertion. K'eedless 

 to say, the ledge is nothing more than green mudstone, which has 

 weathered red. The Bushmen have left traces of their occupation of 

 the country^ in the paintings on the walls of these rock shelters. 

 Many of these paintings are remarkable for their finish and accuracy 

 of delineation. One of the largest series of paintings is to be found 

 two hours from the station of Thaba Bosin. On the rock face are 

 hundreds of paintings of elands, some of them 24 inches long and 

 9 inches high, hartebeest, 'gnu, storks, and jackals, all in the natural 

 colours of the animals. The bodies of the elands are painted brown, 

 while the neck, head, and belly are white. Mixed with these are 

 scores of men in rows with bows and arrows, evidently fighting. At 

 one place a Bushman is stealing up to a hartebeest grazing in rather 

 long grass, with his arrow on the string. At another place we can see 

 the hunter charged and knocked over by the infuriated animal he has 

 just shot. On another part of the rock lions are depicted in their 

 tawny colour, some leaping upon game, others on the qui vive. Then 

 there are jackals and curious drawings representing snakes or perhaps 

 mythological signs. Unfortunately most of the paintings have been 

 spoiled by the fires made by the Basuto herd boys. The Basuto see 

 no beauty in and put no value upon these paintings, and their wanton 

 destruction is very often encouraged by the chiefs themselves, in order 

 to prevent Europeans from visiting the country. Other beautiful sets 

 of paintings occur at Sehonghong on the Upper Orange River, the 

 finest set in the country, at Hermon, Thabana, Morena, Masitisi, 

 Kolo, Qeme, Teyateyaneng, Qalo, and many other places. Those at 

 Masitisi are remarkably good, but the figures are small. They are 



^ Voyage d' exploration, par M. Arbousset, 1836. 



