268 
SPORT AND WAR. 
CHAP. XXVII. 
centre of commerce in South Africa. The water be¬ 
comes perfectly pure before reaching the town, and is 
said to be very wholesome, possessing mineral qualities 
of a high order. 
When I first visited the spot, in 1837, Mrs. de Wet, 
the widow of a Dutch farmer, and her family were the 
nearest residents to the Vley and had a certain owner¬ 
ship of the property. There was even then a small 
settlement of traders on the left bank of the Orange 
Diver; among whom I well remember the ‘Jansens,’ 
Thomas Dry, and Griasher. 
Before crossing the Orange Diver, I joined two 
friends (Percy Crause and Mr. Saunders), and we or¬ 
ganised an expedition far into the interior of Africa, 
where we had great sport, shooting nearly every des¬ 
cription of African antelope and wild animal. 
LONDON* : PRINTED BY 
SPOTTISWOODS AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 
AND PARLIAMENT STREET 
