88 COURSE OF THE KROOMAN. [1820, 
had found companions. He came at a favourable 
time, for the Matchappees of our party had a 
potful of flesh nearly ready, and he so highly en- 
tertained them with his stories, that they invited 
him to partake of it. 
The subject of my address was taken from 
Isaiah xxxv. 1. "The wilderness and the solitary 
place shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall 
rejoice, &c." 
We departed at ten a.m. and travelled in the 
bed of the Krooman, which consisted of hard clay, 
while the ground beyond the sides was covered 
with sand. The course of the river resembled a 
narrow serpentine valley formed by low hills on 
each side. At eleven a.m. we passed on our 
right a small deserted Coranna village, containing 
only six houses. Farther on we observed a Co- 
ranna woman standing among the bushes and 
gazing with astonishment at the waggons as they 
passed, but she did not venture nearer than a 
hundred yards. At noon two Bootshuanas passed 
us armed with spears, and driving a cow and her 
calf, the milk of which was their support on the 
journey; but as African cows, like the Asiatic, 
give no milk without the calf, they are always 
obliged to bring it along with them. As we went 
forward, every hole was examined in search of 
water, but all were empty, until at half past two 
