236 
THE METSISSANNI. 
8, 9 June, 
it, with the certainty of his feeling as thankful for the hint, as I my- 
self am to the person from whom I first received it. 
Sth. In the morning Van Roye arrived alone, the other horses 
having strayed away ; but he left Cornells and Gert, with several 
people in search of them. As they were expected soon to over- 
take us, I ordered the oxen to be immediately yoked ; and per- 
mitted Van Roye, who complained of being unwell, to ride forward, 
and make the best of his way to our next station. 
The country was open, and in many places abounding in bushes ; 
but might every where be traversed with waggons ; the tracks of 
which leading from Klaarwater to the different outposts, were crossed 
several times this day ; and by following one of them as our guide 
over the plain, we were drawn considerably out of our way. 
Discovering, at length, that it was conducting us to one of the 
kraals under Langberg (Long Mountain) a lofty and very extensive 
mountain in sight to the west, we turned again eastward and, after 
wandering in uncertainty for some time, fell in with the direct road 
from Gattikamma to Ongeluks Fountain : a track, however, very little 
beaten. 
In this part of the country, I found, for the first time, a very 
beautiful species of Acacia, most remarkable for its low growth ; 
being seldom more than a foot and a half in height, and of an her- 
baceous nature, the stems dying down to the ground every year. 
Yet its leaves, bunches of flowers, and pods, were larger than any 
of the arborescent species. It was not at this time in flower, but 
was afterwards met with in abundance in the sandy plains farther 
in the Interior ; where I discovered that its roots constituted a 
favorite food with the elephant. * Its Sichuana name is metsissdnni. 
* Acacia elephantina^ B. Catal. Geogr. 2410. Planta herbacea sub-bipedalis, inermis, 
glabra. Radix longissima lignosa. Caules pauci simplices, erecti, annui. Folia bipin- 
nata, pinnis 12-jugis. Foliola lanceolata et lineari-lanceolata, (ssepe apice rotundato,) 
circiter 20-juga. Spicae-elongatse cylindricae, solitarise, axillai'es. Flores herbacei coloris. 
Antherarum apices glanduliferi ; glandula decidua. Legumen maximum (7-pollicare), 
compressum bivalve. 
