TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
fo wet, that our oxen and horfes went often up to their bellies 
in the low ground. In the afternoon we came to the houfe 
of our ftiend, who had afforded us fo much aftiftance, where 
we ftayed all night, and were hofpitably entertained. Though 
the foil appears to be very good here, yet it feldom produces 
any confiderable crop of grain. This proceeds not only from 
blights, which are very frequent here ; but fometimes from 
heavy fhowers of hail, which break down the corn about the 
time that it is ready to be cut. The locufts alfo are fatal ene- 
mies to all vegetation, and deftroy every thing in their courfe, 
not fparing even the fruit trees. The foil of this mountain is 
of a reddifli clay ; in many places containing a quantity of fa- 
line matter, fo as to be quite perceptible to the tafte. It is 
neceffary to obferve, that towards the interior parts of this 
country, or rather the centre of the peninfula, the country 
does not decline in a north-weft direction, at leaft not in pro- 
portion to the immenfe mountains which progrelftvely prefent 
themfelves to view : for inftance, though the afcent of the 
mountain called, the Rogge Veld, is not lefs than two thou- 
fand feet from the Karo, the defcent is not more than one 
thoufand, before we come to a fecond, which appears of equal 
height v/ith the former. In the detail of my journey through 
this country, it is my intention to pay a particular regard to 
this circumftance. 
From this place we proceeded nearly north by weft, through 
a very hilly country. In the evening, of the third, we arrived 
at a miferable hut, which we found belonged to an European 
who lived with the Hottentots ; his name was Swertz. He 
