278 
THE CARAVAN IN COMMOTION. 
29, 30 Aug. 
which, resting on others, happened to be duly poised, gave, on being 
struck, a sound as musical as that of a large bell. The whole hill 
was composed of the same stone ; it appeared to be a very hard and 
compact kind of Primitive Greenstone. The prospect around was 
very extensive, yet not a tree was to be seen ; low scattered bushes 
were all that covered the naked parched-up soil. * 
The old report respecting the evil intentions of the Caffres, had 
been repeated by every body we met, and here it seemed to be con- 
firmed. A baptized Hottentot, who had his abode not far off, paid 
us a visit for the purpose of letting us know that a countryman of 
his, who had just come from the Caffre Kraal on the Zak (Sack) 
river, assured him that they were, most certainly, strong in numbers, 
and resolved upon attacking us. 
The whole caravan was now in commotion ; and various were 
the feelings that agitated the party. A great majority of the Hot- 
tentots, recollecting the uneasiness and trouble Xhese CafFres had 
several times before occasioned them, were determined on making 
a vigorous attack on their Kraal ; and either destroy them altogether, 
or drive them out of the country. The missionaries again hesitated 
whether to go on, or to return ; and a consultation was held, in 
which their wives assisted. At last, unable to decide in any other 
way, they solved the doubt by drawing lots ; and, fortunately, the 
result was that they should continue their journey onwards. 
The wife of our Hottentot chief, Berends, being unwell, and in 
* At Dimal river, I first met with Hibiscus cucurbitinus, Cat. Geog. 1481, a very 
remarkable species. In growth it had, at a short distance, so great a resemblance to 
plants of the gourd kind, that I was exceedingly surprised, on a nearer approach, to find 
upon it the flowers of an Hibiscus. It was called JVilde Kalebds (Wild Calabash) by 
our Hottentots. [Planta valde tomentosa procumbens. Folia rotundata repanda, supra 
minus tomentosa. Flores conferti in racemis axillaribics. Corolla nifa campamdata, vix 
calyce major.) 
Mahernia vernicata. Cat. Geog. 1461. grows in abundance between the rocks. [Fni- 
ticulus glaber eredus pedalis, glutinosus. Folia pinnatifida. Flores Jlavi, petalis conniven- 
tibus.) 
On the plain, I picked up a Pappophorum, a genus of grass not before recorded as 
existing in Africa. 
