36 
THE BUSHMAN COUNTRY. 
[1820. 
After assuring Makoon that I would endeavour 
still to obtain an instructor for him and his people, 
and having bid farewel to him and his brother, 
w^e departed at nine a.m. We travelled down 
Malapeetzee valley to the south for an hour, and 
then turned to the westward through a narrow 
pass, with the intention of crossing the Matchap- 
pee Bushman country, lying between the Mala- 
lareen and Lattakoo. What appeared to me 
very remarkable was, to find Makoon, who had 
lived all his days within a few miles of the east 
side of this track of land, and Munameets, Pelan- 
gye, and all the other Matchappees in our train, 
who from their infancy had occupied the west 
side, as ignorant of it as of Japan. They be- 
lieved it was a great plain, but whether it con- 
tained any water, none of them had heard. The 
late rains encouraged us to expect that this most 
necessary element in an African climate would 
not be wanting, and we hoped also to meet with 
grass for our cattle. 
The pass by which we crossed the hills was 
seldom more than a quarter of a mile wide. The 
hills on both sides were covered with dry grass, 
now and then sending out projections in the form, 
of mounds or piers, having a single tree, or a 
clump of trees, ornapienting their extreme points. 
About a mile up the pass the hills seemed almost 
to meet ; an ancient spreading tree nearly filled 
