28 
JOURNEY FROM BEAUFORT TO [1820. 
were in the service of Mr. Smit. Not that he re- 
quired so many assistants, but, as he himself 
said, he judged it better to retain them in his 
service, than to be surrounded by such a number 
of thieves, and to be obliged to shoot them, as 
others had done. They appeared all to be in 
good spirits, free from care, and depending en- 
tirely on Mynheer for their support. We left 
seven of our feeblest oxen with Mr. Smit till our 
return. 
At five P.M. we departed from Dass Fountain, 
and for three hours travelled among low but in- 
teresting hills. Two strata of rock were observed 
on the right, resembling crescents. After crossing 
a pass at the head of a long, gentle ascent, we ob- 
served that the little streams began to run to the 
N., instead of E. and S. E., as those had done, 
which we had hitherto met. At eight p. m. we 
entered a plain which had no visible termination to 
the north, and at half-past nine we halted op- 
posite to a boor's place, called Drie Koppen, or 
Three Heads, so named from three hills in the 
vicinity. 
At sunrise the air felt very chilly, the thermo- 
meter being at 62. The farmer at Three Heads 
was the son of Mr. Smit, at Dass Fountain. He 
mentioned a long hill in the neighbourhood, having 
a flat surface, and so completely surrounded with 
