124 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
o^Jber exceedingly lliy. They live on the gum of the Mimofa 
— ^ Nihtico. There are feveral paths made by Elephants and Hip- 
popotami. The country is every where equally barren ; the 
foil is a loofe fandy clay. Along the banks of the river was 
good grafs. Here the river divides itfelf into three branches, 
which are each about a mile broad. 
We faw feveral fires to the eaftward ; and on the fourteenth 
we went over the river. The ftream was lo rapid that we 
had much difficulty in croiTmg it. We had all our necelTaries 
packed upon oxen, which I hired from the Hottentots for that 
purpofe ; and this night encamped under a large Ebony tree, 
about eight miles to the northward of the river. 
We next direQ:ed our courfe eaft north-eaft, through a hilly 
country ; and at noon pafTed the Lions River, the banks of 
which are in general inhabited by thofe animals. The country 
is extremely barren, and covered with fmall fharp ftones, which 
proved very injurious to our horfes hoofs. In the evening we 
arrived at a fmall brackifh fountain, where we ftayed all night, 
and the next day our way lay through a narrow path between 
two high mountains. At noon we faw feveral of the natives, 
who were in fearch of wild honey. I found here the moft 
beautiful plant I ever faw of the Pentandria Monogynia clafs. 
It grows to fix feet high, and is full of long fpines from the 
ground to the tops, and forms a large crown of crifped leaves, 
and reddifh tubelar flowers, tinged with yellow and green. In 
the afternoon we came to a fountain of brackifli water, where 
we flayed all night, being informed by the nati^ es that there 
