FEB.] JOURNEY TO BETHELSDORP. 
51 
liiers and chisels. True, these were the instruments, 
but an architect and his assistants were the agents; 
and they had a particular design to answer by rearing 
such a building. 
28th. We left our night's residence at six, A.M. 
and came to what is improperly named Hell. It is a 
small plain, with a river running past the end and one 
side of it, which appears from the road far below, and 
is so surrounded by hills that it was some time before 
we discovered by what avenue the river entered it. 
The road also has two very bad descents, where many 
waggons have been dashed to pieces. The remains 
of one that had broken down lately were lying at the 
head of the first descent: ours, however, descended 
without harm. 
Now we had to cross the broadest river I had seen 
in Africa, called Hons river. Before we ventured 
across, Cupido waded into it to ascertain its depth, 
and having pronounced it passable, we crossed through 
a strong and deep current; and it was well we did so 
at that time, for in less than an hour it rose so high, 
in consequence of the late rains, that we could not 
have effected our passage. Its bed, in winter, appears 
to be more than a quarter of a mile wide, when it is 
completely impassable by all kinds of travellers. In 
the winter bed of the river we met with an entirely 
new class of trees. That kind most numerous much 
resembled our larch, only it bore a small flower, and 
beautiful red berries of an oval shape. We halted 
H 21 
