114 
FUEL. — ITINERANT TUTOR. 
18 March, 
and its inhabitants, therefore, fetch the principal part of their timber 
from the forests beyond Bruyntjes Hoogte, from those growing on the 
Bosch-bergen (Forest Mountains), and from the borders of Kafferland, 
about the Baviaans rivier (Baboon's river). Doors and tables, and 
the larger beams, were here observed to be all of Geelhout (Yellow- 
wood) ; but the rafters were of willow, which is found to answer 
sufficiently well for this purpose, and is more easily attainable by the 
colonists living northward of the Snow-mountains, and, who find the 
banks of the Groote rivier^ as they here call the Nugariep where it 
abounds, a much shorter and easier journey. 
From the immense number of cattle kept on these farms, their 
manure accumulates in the fold, to a great thickness ; and this, from 
time to time, is cut into square pieces in the manner of peat, and 
appeared to answer the purpose of fuel equally well. The walls of 
these cattle-pounds, are at many farms here, built entirely of such 
pieces of manure piled up to dry ; and which go by the name of 
mest-Jwek (manure-cake). Tliis fuel produces a strong heat ; but gives 
out a disagreeable smell, until it is well ignited. 
At this house, there resided one of those itinerant tutors 
of whom some account has been given on a former occasion. * He 
was a man of ingenuity, and of some experience of the world, having 
been in the Dutch service at Malacca, and Batavia, and having 
passed some time at Moccha in Arabia. He was related, he said, 
to an opulent family of the same name in Cape Town. At this 
farm he had been nearly a twelvemonth, employed in giving instruc- 
tion to three sons of Vermeulen, who, besides these, had five other 
children. 
This meester, as he was called, (that is ; schoolmeester, or school- 
master) considered it part of his profession, like the meester at 
Pieter Jacobs's, to let every person know the extent of his acquire- 
ments. But this was done without any inordinate share of vanity ; 
and, I confess, I was not sorry at his making this display; for, 
although there was nothing which any person but a Ca[)e meester 
Vol. I. p. 199. 
