378 TRAVELS IN 
mountains of Sneuwberg. In afcending the Bokkeveld, the 
fouth-eaft monfoon threatened a change. The wind having 
blown ftrong from that quarter for three days, fuddenly changed 
to the northward, and the contention produced inceffant peals 
of thunder the whole day, heavy rain, and the largeft hailftones 
I ever faw. Some of them meafured fix-tenths of an inch in 
diameter ; and a peafant who lived on the higheft part, afferted 
that they fell near his houfe as large as pullets' eggs. On the 
weather clearing up at night, the temperature of the air had 
decreafed from 78° at noon, to 40° of Fahrenheit's Scale, 
In the courfe of a very few days after the rain, the furface 
of the Bokkeveld became one verdant carpet of herbaceous plants, 
embroidered by a multitude of the humble, yet beautiful, Oxalis, 
fome red, fome vv'hite, and others yellow. Game of mofi: kinds 
is very abundant in this diftrift, particularly hares, buftards, and 
partridges, which we daily faw in thoufands j and th'ey were fo 
very tame, that we had no difficulty in procuring whatever 
quantity we wifhed for. 
The divifion of Onder^ or lower Bokkeveld, being the remoteft: 
in the colony on this fide, and bordering on the country 
inhabited by thofe Maroon Hottentots, called Bosjefmans, it be- 
came neceflary in order to proceed to the northward, to make 
an addition to my people, not only as a protecfhion againft the 
favages, but as guides over an uninhabited defert of the fame 
nature as the great Karroo leading to Graaff Reynet. Louiv^ 
the Veld Commandant^ readily offered his fervices, but he was 
totally unacquainted with the defert that fkirted his diftrid. A 
Hottentot, 
