FIVE YEARS' HUNTING 

 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



CHAPTER I. 



Preparations for a Hunting Expedition — Cape Traders — Traveling' — 

 Trader at a Farm — Dangers of a Trader's Life — Articles for Barter— 

 Dissnasions from the Enterprise — Mj OatGt— Hunting Bheebok— 

 Wild Flowers. 



Having resolved to make a hunting expedition into 

 the interior of Southern Africa, my first objeet was to 

 seek out some experienced person, able to give me the 

 necessary information as to what purchases I should 

 require to make in the way of wagons and oxen, and 

 as to my outfit in general, and I accordingly pitched 

 upon an individual of the name of Murphy, a trader in 

 the interior, who, I had reason to believe, v^as better 

 acquainted than any other person in Grahamstown 

 with the frontiers of the colony, and the adjoining ter- 

 ritories of the Griqua and Bechuana tribes, situated 

 beyond the Great Orange River. With this person I 

 had already had the pleasure of becoming acquainted 

 during the short time I was quartered in Grahamstown 

 in the month of July, having been introduced to him 

 by another trader, a man from my own land of Moray, 

 famous among the Dutch Boers about and beyond the 

 frontiers. This man's name was Andrew Thompson,^ 

 of Forres, one of three brothers, all of whom followed 

 the same adventurous line of life, and were as steady, 



