214 
TRAVELS IN 
month of July lafl: they had received no reinforcements from the 
French, and expeded none from Holland. 
But the moft effedual way, perhaps, of diftreffing the gar- 
rifon, would be to land detachments at various points not very 
diftant from the Cape peninfula ; as, for inftance, at Gordon's 
Bay, which may be done at all feafons of the year, but moft 
conveniently from September to May. Here, as I before ob- 
ferved, immediate polTeffion might be taken of Hottentot Hoi. 
land's Kloof, which is but a few miles diftant, and from which 
a fmall party, with field-pieces or howitzers, would not eafily 
be driven out ; at the fame time a fecond detachment, landed at 
Saldanha Bay, might take poffeflion of Roode Sand Kloof ; 
thus totally cutting off the poffibility of any fupply of cattle 
from the interior parts of the country. A third detachment, 
landed near Blauwberg, at a fhort diftance from the anchorage 
off" Roben Ifland, might form a chain of pofts between this hill 
and the party in Roode Sand Kloof^ and thus cut oft" the fup- 
plies of grain from Zwartland Berg River, Picquetberg, Reibecks 
Caftle, and the four-and-twenty rivers, which are the principal 
corn diftrids. The time fhould be the months of January and 
February, when the corn of the new harveft begins to be fent 
up to town, whither two-thirds of the quantity reaped are 
ufually brought in the courfe of the two fucceeding months. 
In January 1803, the magazines of grain were completely ex- 
haufted, which will alfo be the cafe in January 1804, the re- 
turns of the harveft being barely fufficient for the exigencies of 
the year. 
The 
