20 
TRAVELS IN 
*' preventing a Jingle JJolpwreck^ I fliould have applauded myfelf 
*' during my whole life for undertaking it I" The fad is, he 
has done little more, in the eaftern part of his map, than copy 
from Sparrmann ; and the whole to the northward of Saint 
Helena Bay is a work of fancy. Two inftances will be fufEcient 
to fhew how very little he is to be trufted. He places Cam- 
deboo, and the beginning of the Snowy Mountains, in the 
latitude of about 28° fouth, inftead of 32° 15' fouth, an error 
of more than 290 Englifh miles ! And he makes the Orange 
River defcend from the northward, nearly parallel to the coaft, 
which, in fa£t, takes its rife near the eaftern coaft, and afcends 
towards the north-weft. Meffrs. Truter and Somerville, who, 
two years ago, penetrated farther into the interior of Southern 
Africa than any Europeans had ever done before, calculated 
that they crofted this river in about 29° d fouth, and between 
23° and 24* eaft of Greenwich. I fkirted its banks from 29*40' 
to 30° 15' fouth, and between the longitudes of 25° 45'' and 
26^^ 30' eaft, which fhews, as I faid before, that its courfe 
is north-wefterly. Monjieur Le Vaillant cannot be offended 
at my pointing out his miftakes, as he himfelf has obferved, 
that " a traveller ought to conceal nothing that may lead to 
*' error in the .fciences." Befides, I feel myfelf called upon to 
anfwcr a charge, preferred againft me by Monjieur Grandpre, 
the tranflator of my former volume, that I have attempted to 
invalidate the truth of Monjieur Le Vaillant\ work, becauje it 
■was Jrom the pen oj a Frenchman, I can very ferioufly 
affure Monjieur Grandpre^ that he is miftaken; that I 
confider the work of Monjieur Le Vaillant as replete with va- 
luable matter, and ingenious obfervations ; but they are fo 
1 jumbled 
