ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 251 



all the rivers abound in cataracts with alternate depths 

 and shallows, they are not navigable except for a few 

 miles from the mouth; but here again another diffi- 

 culty arises, as a huge sand-bank at the entrance 

 of almost every river prevents all access and renders 

 them useless as harbours. Looking from the ridge 

 just mentioned, which is three or four miles broad, a 

 rugged and hilly country presents itself, valleys, ra- 

 vines, beds of rivers, bush and forest covering the 

 declivities of some of the hills, while others are bare 

 and red from the iron ore which they contain. Caffer 

 villages, and numerous herds of cattle grazing on the 

 plains, the sides of the hills presenting patches of 

 cultivated ground of all shapes, but never even by 

 accident forming a figure to which it is possible to 

 give a geometrical name — all these various objects 

 contribute to relieve the eye of the traveller, wearied 

 by the oppressive grandeur of the wild and gloomy 

 scenery around. To the eastward the view is bounded 

 by the sea, which is visible on a fine day, while to the 

 left, for a distance of from fifty to sixty miles, ex- 

 tends a high ridge of mountains, separating the Tam- 

 bookie land from the desert country, in the direction 

 of the Orange River. From the elevation of the 

 ridge, there is generally a cool and refreshing breeze, 

 and the heat is seldom unpleasant, the general level 

 of the high ridges in this country being from eight 

 hundred to one thousand feet above the sea ; but on 

 descending to the villages in the deep kloofs or 



