SOUTHERN AFRICA. 249 
to draw out the poison, and sweet oil to wash the wounds, 
and vinegar to take inwardly ; bat the greater part rely en- 
tirely on the application of the snake-stone, which has been 
noticed before to be only a piece of burned bone. The Hot- 
tentots generally wash the poisoned wounds they may receive 
with a mixture of urine and gunpowder ; and it is observed 
that these people seldom die except when wounded very 
severely. 
On the evening of the thirtieth we rejoined our waggons, 
which had proceeded along the bank of the Sea-Cow river 
to that part where it passed through an opening in a cluster 
of hills, which opening was called the Jii^st poort. Here the 
late Colonel Gordon, who had proceeded beyond his com- 
panion the Governor, met with an accident which also put 
an end to his journey : his horse fell with him into one of 
the deep holes made by the Bosjesmans for taking sea-cows, 
and was staked. From the northern side of the Snowy moun- 
tains to the commencement of these hills, there was scarcely 
an inequality in the surface of the country. Here it began 
to be considerably broken ; and blue mountains appeared in 
the horizon to the northward. The following day we reached 
the second poort or pass, through which also the Sea-Cow 
river bent its course. The hills now began to increase very 
considerably in height, and their summits were capped with 
a stratum of sand-stone. They were also lengthened out into 
a continued chain, so as to oppose to our researches an in- 
superable barrier, at least to the passage of our waggons. 
The only chance of proceeding v/as that of following the 
course of the river, and though none of the party had ever 
VOL. I. K K 
