^7o TRAVELS IN 
only form very imperfed ideas refpe£tmg 
them. 
They no longer compofe, as formerly, one 
nation, uniform in then* manners ,cuftoms, 
and purfiiils. The eftablifhment of the Dutch 
colony was a fatal epoch, which difunited 
them all, and occafioned thofe differences by 
which they are at prefent diftinguillied. 
In 1652, when Riebeck the furgeon, oil 
his return from India, opened the eyes of the 
Dire£tors of the Company refpeding the im- 
portance of an eftablifhment at the Cape, they 
wifely thought that fucli an enterprife could 
not be better executed than by the genius 
which had planned it. Furnifhed therefore 
with ample pov^ers, and being provided with 
provifions, and every thing that could con- 
tribute to the fuccefs of his proje6t, Riebeck 
foon arrived at Table Bay. Like an able 
politician, and a fkilful negociator, he em- 
ployed every method in his power to fecure 
the friendiliip of the Hottentots ; and he co- 
vered with honey the edge of the poifoned 
bowl. Gained over by powerful allurements, 
thefc favages, the unlimited mafters of all this 
part of Africa, did not perceive how many of 
their 
A 
