COWIE RIVER. 79 



fabricate into various articles of wearing apparel, 

 vying in appearance with the richest silk ; and it is 

 also said to have been used in England of late years, 

 in the manufacture of a particular article called pinna 

 Merino. The Turbo Archimedis, or a shell much 

 resembling it, with the Bulla aperta, Ostrea fasciata, 

 and various other small shells, lie broken and scat- 

 tered along the beach. With the exception of these 

 and a few others, the Southern coast of Africa is not 

 particularly celebrated for its specimens of con- 

 chology, being in general of a boisterous and rocky 

 description. 



In consequence of the location of English settlers 

 at Albany, it became highly desirable that a seaport 

 should be established, to facilitate the conveyance of 

 merchandize from Cape Town for their use, thus avoid- 

 ing the otherwise necessary expense attendant on 

 the transport of goods overland from Port Elizabeth, 

 a distance of between seventy and eighty miles. The 

 Cowie river, running through the heart of a British 

 settlement, was selected as the most eligible point 

 for this purpose : vessels of from forty to fifty tons 

 having occasionally entered and discharged their 

 cargoes, the government was induced to incur con- 

 siderable expense in erecting a Custom-House, and 

 other public buildings, contingent upon the foundation 

 of an establishment which has subsequently been 

 found useless. A few hours after I had crossed the 

 ford at the entrance of the river, a signal was made 



