130 
SOUTHERN" AFEICA. 
the main roads preserve, with slight deviations, 
the level country, keeping along the base of, or 
winding amongst, the hills and ridges, and but 
seldom passing over them. 
The Orange-Eiver is here the most remark- 
able geographical object of notice. It takes its 
rise amidst the great chain of mountains which 
stretches across this part of Africa to the East ; 
and, along its course, it is fed by countless tribu- 
taries, all flowing from the same locality. When 
swollen by the rain in the interior, the aspect 
presented by this river is certainly magnificent ; 
it being, in some places, more than 3000 feet 
broad, with considerable depth, and a full and 
rapid current. At other seasons it is easily 
forded, the water at the usual drift being shallow, 
and the banks of the river declining, by an easy 
gradation, to the water's edge. 
The village of Colesberg (named after Sir 
Lowry Cole, a late governor) is situated near 
the base of a hill, called the Zooverberg, at a 
distance of about ten miles South of this river. 
It may be described, in general terms, as "a 
narrow valley, enclosed by rocky hills," with 
little to commend it to notice, save its utility 
for trading purposes. 
Yiewed as an entirety, this division of the 
Colony may also be said to possess a want of 
interest ; the scarcity of water obliging even the 
