1811. 
FREEZING STATION. 
257 
ance could, in future, be obtained : all now depended upon ourselves, 
a solitary party roaming over an almost trackless land. 
The wind blew cold and boisterous, and clouds obscured the 
moon, when we discovered the ruins of a hut, of which nothing but 
the walls remained.* Here we took shelter for the night. Never was 
there more occasion for a fire than at this time, and seldom have we 
had more difficulty in finding fuel : the thermometer was six degrees 
below the freezing point, and the bleak wind scattered the very ashes 
of our fire as fast as they were burnt. My fingers being too much 
benumbed to hold the pen, I was compelled to neglect my journal 
till the next dav. t 
1th. The common croW) or that which is most extensively dispersed 
over the colony, is one of a shining purple-black color, with a white 
neck.:}: Great numbers frequent the Roggeveld : they approached us 
without fear, to pick up the scraps of meat; and would hardly 
move out of the way of the dogs, till they approached within a 
few paces. • 
The road thisday was remarkably smooth, andbetter for travelling, 
even than those of the Karro. The country was very level, having, here 
and there, a few eminences ; in many places, however, it is rocky. 
Scarcely a blade of grass is here to be found ; but in its place, the 
surface is clothed with low bushes, all bearing marks of havino; 
been closely browsed upon by the innumerable flocks of sheep 
which cover the Roggeveld in the summer season. All the strata 
of the hills were horizontal ; and the geological features appeared 
quite different from those of the neighbourhood of the Cape of 
* This spot is pointed out on my map by the words Freezing Station. 
\ The plants noted in my catalogue this day, were — 
Ancistrum latebrosum Arctotis 
Alyssum glomeratum. C. G. 1 304 Hemimeris 
Oxalis lupinifolia Selago 
Gnidia? cyanca, C. G. 1316. 1. Pelargonium 
Calendula Polygala 
Septas Cineraria, and Parmelia. 
X La Corneille a scapulaire blanc. Le Vaill. Ois. d'Atr. pi. 53. 
