242 
A FLOCK OF SHEEP RETURNING HOME. 
30 July, 
were residing, seeing the necessity of replenishing my stock before I 
quitted, the inhabited part of the colony. They proposed resuming 
their journey on the fifth of the next month ; and, as nothing more 
had been heard respecting the Caffres, they had come to the de- 
termination of proceeding to the Zak river, there to await the result 
of further enquiry, before they decided on the course they were 
to take. 
I was glad to perceive that my moii became tired of waiting so 
long in this arid spot, and that they were anxious to proceed. The 
oxen did not seem to be gaining either flesh or strength ; being obliged 
to wander every day to a great distance, from the house, before they 
could find pasture, as the sheep of the place consumed, 'like locusts, 
every blade of grass and leafy twig within a moderate compass. 
It was an amusing and interesting sight to'be^iold, every even- 
ing, at sunset, the numerous flocks streaming, like an inundation, over 
the ridges and low hills, or moving in a compact , body, like an 
army invading the country, and driven forwards only by two or 
three Hottentots, with a few dogs. At a great distance, the con- 
fused sound of their bleating began to be heard ; but, as they ap- 
proached nearer and nearer, the noise gradually increased, till the 
various cries of the multitude mingled with the whole air, and 
deadened every other sound. The shepherds seldom returned 
home without bringing under their arms a lamb or two which 
had been dropped in the course of the day, and as yet too weak to 
follow their dam. 
modo namque gemellos, 
Spem gregis, ah ! silice in nuda connixa reliquit. 
The faculty which the Hottentots possess, of distinguishing the 
features, as it were, and characteristic appearance of each sheep, is 
almost incredible, when the immense number of the flock is con- 
sidered. They seldom mistake the ewe to which each lambkin 
belongs ; and if they did, such a mistake would immediately be 
shown by the ewe taking no notice of the lamb offered to her. 
From the neighbouring hills, Speelman brought home a short 
