1812. 
BULBOUS PLANTS. — SPRINGHAAS. 
3 
called him away. Having been for a long time past disused to 
travelling, the sharpness of the road soon rendered their feet sore ; 
and it was fortunate that at the beginning of the journey we had an 
opportunity of letting the poor animals ride in the waggon. 
In seven hours we reached Gattikamma, where we halted and 
passed the night. 
25th. As the sun, rising in a cloudless sky, announced that the 
day would be oppressively hot, we resumed our journey early in 
the morning and while the air still retained some of the coolness of 
night. 
I now looked in vain for that rosy wild flower-garden which de- 
corated these plains on our former visit to the Asbestos Mountains. 
It had totally disappeared ; and so astonishingly, and almost in- 
credibly rapid, is the progress of vegetation in these regions, with 
respect to bulbous flowers, that in the short space of ten days the 
beautiful lilies *, then observed just coming into bloom, had com- 
pleted their flowering, and ripened their seed ; the flower-stems were 
dried up, had parted from the roots, and were nearly all blown 
away. 
Many burrows of the Springhaas f attracted our notice. These 
animals, making their holes in soft sandy ground, were said to derive 
great assistance from their hinder feet, in throwing out the sand 
which they loosen with their fore paws ; and which, as the nails 
of these paws have so little the appearance of being worn, may 
perhaps be the only reason why they have been supposed to dig only 
with their hinder feet ; a supposition which I have before recorded, 
although contrary to my own opinion. 
The heat of the day compelled us to rest during three hours at 
Aakaap ; but we arrived at the Kloof village an hour and a half be- 
fore sunset. Here we found Ruiter waiting in readiness for us ; 
although Captain Berends had not been able in the mean time to 
* AmarT/llis lucida: noticed in the first volume at pages 536. and 541. 
f Pedetes Coffer. — Compare the above remarks with what has been said in Vol. I. at 
page 487. 
B 2 
