July.] 
THE WELLS OF CHOPO. 
125 
soil is composed of very red sand and clay. At 
one p. M. we observed cattle feeding among the 
trees, an indication of our approach to Chopo, 
where we arrived at two p.m., having travelled 
S. E. 
The town of Chopo is situated on the north 
side of the bed of the River Nokannan, which 
was dry, as well as the Krooman. Like the 
bed of the latter, however, water is found by 
digging deep wells. "We examined two of these, 
and found them twenty-five feet deep to the 
surface of the water, to which they descend 
by wooden platforms, supported upon posts 
reaching from the bottom, and rudely constructed. 
A man descended one of these wells for a small 
pail of water while we were there; to ascend 
with his vessel full appeared almost as diffi- 
cult as though he had to climb a tree with it, 
yet such is the effect of habit, he hardly spilt a 
drop. We were sorry to hear that five men Avere 
buried in one of these wells last year by the falling 
in of the sides. They had no means for quickly 
digging down to them, possessing only sharp 
pointed sticks and wooden dishes for throwing 
out the earth and sand. What incalculable 
labour the digging of these wells must occasion 
to the poor creatures, and how important to them 
would be the introduction of even the earliest 
efforts of European skill and ingenuity. 
