300 NARROW PASS IN THE CRADOCK. [1820. 
crossed a chain of low hills, when a group of 
others, beautifully formed, and surrounding a 
barren plain of yellow soil, covered with sickly 
bushes, arose to our view ; the hills, retaining 
more moisture than the plain, abounded with 
flowers. Elegant aloes, in full blossom, were 
very plentiful. The rocks, thickly scattered over 
the surface, were jet black, and shone as though 
they had been glazed. Springboks, in flocks, 
were now and then seen scampering over the 
plain, and a few dark-coloured quachas, very dif- 
ferent from .those beyond the Great River. The 
latter were beautifully striped with black and 
white, like zebras. The shape of the body and 
the arrangement of the stripes sufliciently distin- 
guish the zebra from the quacha, which is, with- 
out doubt, the wild ass. 
At two P.M. we halted for half an hour at a 
turn of the Cradock River, to give the oxen time 
to rest. A little below this spot the river was 
contracted withm narrow bounds by huge rocks 
on either side. These approached so near to 
each other as to leave but a comparatively narrow 
passage for the water to pass through. It ap- 
peared to me, at the time, strikingly to resemble 
that part of the Niger where Mungo Park is said 
to have lost his life. 
At half past four p.m. we reached Ramah, where 
