SECOND JOURNEY. 
Mr. Van Renan furnifhed us with a team of frefh oxen, 
and accompanied us himfelf, on the hxteenth, to the mouth 
of the Gouds Rivier. I vifited Catharina Bay, which is about 
two hundred and eighty miles from the Cape. The bay is 
v/ide, and opens from the fea, weft by north ; which expofes 
Ihips very much to the fouth-eaft winds. About twelve years 
before, a French ftiip was loft in this bay. The adjacent coun¬ 
try is rather barren, and unfavourable to fliips which put in 
for refrefliment, being very thinly inhabited. Finding but 
few plants in flower, we returned to the houfe of Mr. Van 
Renan, to conftder of the beft route to be taken; at length 
we agreed to pafs the large chain of mountains to the weft- 
ward, by a pafs called Groena Kloaf, which we were in¬ 
formed was the fafeft and moft agreeable road at that feafon^ 
In confequence of this refolution, we direded our courfe to 
the weftward, and on the twenty-feventh reached the houfe 
of one Jacobus Botta, a man of ninety years of age, a period 
feldom attained in this country ; where, though the people are 
in general very healthy while young, and the climate very 
favourable, they do not ufually enjoy a protracted exiftence. 
On the twenty-eighth, we continued our route to the weft, 
along the chain of mountains, which I mentioned as covered 
with fnow, We found the day exceedingly cold, with 
heavy rains, and a ftrong north-weft wind. The thermome¬ 
ter, at eight in the morning, was at forty-three degrees; at 
noon, forty-feven; at four in the afternoon, forty-four ; and 
G 
