CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 433 



are described as very ugly, being short, stout in the body, and having 

 strong muscular limbs. 



Those who have visited the country of the Caffres, describe them as 

 extremely hospitable, and very cheerful in their dispositions. They 

 mostly go naked, particularly during the heat of summer, though they 

 wear the caross of skin in the winter. Their arms consist of the spear 

 and club, with a shield of bull's-hide to protect the person. Their 

 principal food is the milk of their herds, which they value beyond any 

 thing else : they are a pastoral people, and the cattle-fold is considered 

 the great place of honour, so much so that their chiefs are always 

 found to occupy it. They have of late years obtained many horses ; 

 formerly they used the ox for riding, and this animal is said to have 

 been even trained by them for the race. 



The part of South Africa occupied by the Caffres enjoys a delightful 

 climate, and they, consequently, need but little protection from the 

 weather ; and their huts are rudely constructed. 



Of late years the settlers at Port Natal, on the eastern coast, who 

 are surrounded by the Caffre tribes, set themselves up as a sort of 

 independent community, believing they were beyond the limits of the 

 colony ; they enacted laws and regulations, issued their declaration of 

 independence, invited settlers, and for a time committed many atroci- 

 ties on the Caffres. The Cape government, deeming it was advisable 

 to check this disorderly spirit, sent an expedition to assert their proper 

 supremacy. Troops were proceeding to Port Natal at the time of our 

 visit. 



During our stay we visited, as all strangers do, the estate of Con- 

 stantia ; it is situated about thirteen miles from Cape Town. There 

 are three small estates that bear this name, viz. : High, Great, and 

 Little Constantia. The country we passed through, although barren 

 and sandy, was apparently well settled : the village of Wynberg is 

 the residence of many persons who come here to enjoy the delightful 

 air that generally blows from the eastward ; most of the residences 

 are pretty cottages, and some have the appearance of handsome villas ; 

 they all have an air of neatness and comfort about them. Oaks and 

 the pine are almost the only trees met with, and one is somewhat 

 surprised that even these should be found ; for the country is, to 

 appearance, a barren waste, and many miles of it are quite unproduc- 

 tive for agriculture. The scarlet heath, blue oxalis, and the yellow 

 compositse, not only enliven this waste, but give it somewhat the 

 character of the flowery prairies of Oregon. The sandy soil looked 

 like the sea-shore, and bears indubitable marks of having been once 

 covered by the ocean. 



vol. v. " 2 M 55 



