2IO 
TRAVELS IN 
species of antelopes, we killed a prodigious large tyger-wolf, 
such as I have already described, two quachas, and a couple 
of snakes of the same species, one five, the other near six 
feet long ; their color was wholly of a golden yellow ; they 
were very fierce, and made several attempts to spring at the 
horses. The peasantry considered them as venomous, and 
gave them the Portugueze name of cobra capella. 
Travelling twenty miles farther to the northward we came 
to that part of the river where Governor Van Plettenberg 
ended his journey towards this quarter ; and halted near the 
place where, in commemoration of the event, he caused a 
stone or haaken to be erected, which he also intended should 
serve as a point in the line of demarcation between the colony 
and the country of the Bosjesmans. These people, however, 
had thrown down and broken in pieces the Governor's monu- 
ment ; but the place retained the name of the Edel Heers 
haaken ; and the large hole of the river, upon the bank of 
which it stood, bore the name of Plettenberg s gat. 
The baaken of the governor was an object of less curiosity 
than one that attracted our attention on the opposite bank 
of the river. It consisted of a clump of about half a dozen 
large bushes, the first that had occurred for as many days ; 
yet the rarity of frutescent plants alone might have escaped 
notice, had it not been for the vast number and large dimen- 
sions of birds' nests with which they appeared to be loaded ; 
and which were judged to be at least suflSciently large for the 
vultures that were hovering in the air, or for the large blue 
cranes that sat near them by the rivers side. On approach- 
