Mr. Patterson's Travels in Africa. 



(C I made an excursion along the side of the Mountain, 

 and found several new plants, the Mimosa, Salix, and several 

 shrubby ones; amongst these may be reckoned the Euphor- 

 bia, the juice of which is supposed to be the strongest vege- 

 table poison known in Africa: it resembles the creeping 

 Cereus in its stalk, being prickly all over, having a small 

 blossom adhering at the top of the stalks, which grow up- 

 right for fifteen feet. The Hottentots are supplied by this 

 plant with poison for their arrows, by mixing it with the 

 expressed juices of a Caterpillar, taken from another plant 

 of the Rhus kind; sometimes for the purpose of destroying 

 the wild Beasts, they throw the plant into certain fountains 

 of water, frequented by them, which after drinking of the 

 water, thus poisoned, they seldom get a thousand yards 

 before they fall down and expire. This practice of poison- 

 ing the water, proves an additional danger to Travellers 

 who are unacquainted with the circumstance; though the 

 Natives generally use the precaution of leading the water 

 which is to be poisoned into a small channel or drain, 

 and covering up the principal fountain with boughs of the 

 largest trees. 



We next directed our Course easterly along the 

 Banks of a river, where I added much to my collection 

 of plants, which blossomed all around in the greatest 

 profusion. We also beheld the most beautiful birds of 

 gorgeous and opposite colours and numbers of Apes and 

 Elephants. 



On the fifteenth, whilst we were in this situation, 

 Mr. Van Kenan, one of my companions, had a very 

 narrow escape of his life, in crossing at the Fording 

 Place, he was attacked and pursued in the water by 

 two Hippopotami or river horses, he had four Hottentots 

 with him, and they had the good fortune to get upon 



