312 A MOUNTAIN IN FLAMES. 



this great luminary in such situations can duly ap- 

 preciate the sublimity of such a scene. 



Passing through a kloof, we entered upon an open 

 tract of some extent, bounded by naked mountains in 

 the distance. The surface of the plain consisted of 

 a sandy and gravelly soil, perfectly hard, with 

 scarcely a tree or shrub to enliven the dreariness of 

 the route. There was no sign of any living creature 

 to be* seen; not an antelope, or even a bird was 

 visible in any direction. As the sun rose towards 

 the meridian the heat gradually increased, until at 

 length it became almost intolerable. The inconve- 

 nience arising from an exposure to the sun's rays 

 through a highly rarefied atmosphere, was greatly 

 augmented by suffocating and withering blasts of 

 the desert wind, which produced a feeling of extreme 

 lassitude and painful prostration both of bodily and 

 mental energy. This became at length so oppressive 

 that we found it impracticable to proceed, and as 

 early as nine in the morning we were obliged to 

 suspend our journey. 



We set out again late in the afternoon, and 

 travelled onwards until it became quite dark, when 

 we missed our road. Seeing a light at some distance, 

 we made towards it, and met a party of farmers with 

 their dogs hunting " the fretful porcupine." Here 

 we pitched our tent for the night. Immediately 

 before us a mountain appeared in flames. In clear- 

 ing the land the farmers had set fire to the bushes, 



