SOUTHERN AFRICA. 231 
all authority, and attempted even to dictate to that of the Cape, 
which indeed was weak and timid enough to fuffer their ex- 
cefles to be committed with impunity. 
From Bruyntjes Hoogte we defcended to the Karoo plains of 
Camdeboo. Thefe plains are interfedted by the Bly river, the 
Vogel river, the Platte river, and the Melk river, in their paf- 
fage from the Sneuwberg into the Sundag river. Naked as the 
furface appeared to be, game of every fort was very plentiful, 
particularly fpringboks and the larger kinds of antelopes. Upon 
thofe parched plains are alfo found a great variety of fmall qua- 
drupeds that burrow in the ground, and which are known to 
the colonifts under the general name of meer-cats. They are 
moftly of that genus of animals to which zoologifts have given 
the name of viverra. An eagle, making a ftoop at one of 
thefe, clofe where we were paffing, miffed his prey ; and both 
fell a facrifice, one to the gun, the other to the dogs. They 
both happened to be undeferibed fpecies. Of the eagle, the 
head, neck, back, and abdomen, were of a pale ferruginous 
brown ; wings and tail fteel-blue, the latter faintly barred with 
fmall bands from the root to the middle ; the cera pale yellow ; 
beak and nails black ; the feet entirely covered with downy fea- 
thers ; length two feet two inches^ The viverra was wholly of 
a bright chefnut color ; the tail (haded with black hairs, bufhy, 
ftraight, and white at the extremity ; ears fhort and round ; on 
the fore feet five, and the hind feet four, toes ; the body and- 
tail each one foot long. Others of this genus are the 7}ii/Jki- 
liatte cat^ or %emk^ of the Sy/iana Natura ; the ttgrlna or tiger- 
cat ; the mdlivora or ratel; and the cafra. In general thefe 
animals 
