EXTRACTS 
 
 ♦'BOM MY 
 
 SOITTH'AFRICAN JOURNAL. 
 
 DUIUNQ 
 
 FIVE YEARS' SERVICE IN THE 
 
 2w BATT. 10th FOOT. 
 
 fKOM .lANUARV 1860 TO P*C£MBBB 1864. 
 
 BT 
 
 CAPTAIN G. E. BULGER 
 
 fEIXOW OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY j COEUESPONDIKG MEMBER 
 OF THK ZOOLOGICAI SOCIETT OV LOKDOW ; ETC. 
 
 BANGALORE : 
 
 PRINTED AT TUE UEGIMENTAL PRESS 
 2nd Batt. 1()th Foot. 
 
 18<)7. 
 
IU7 
 
TO 
 WILLIAM JOHN BYDE MARTIN, ESQUIRE; 
 
 LATE LIEUTENANT AND ADJUTANT 
 
 2sD Battalion 10th Foot. 
 
 I EEliICATE THESE TAGES, AS A SLIGHT TOKEN 
 OP rBIXJJDSUIP ANI> JESTEEM; 
 
 AND 
 AS A MLMENIO OF HAiTY DAYS CONE BY. 
 
 G. E, Bulger, 
 
 'W' 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The Idea of printing, in the present form, the following abstract of 
 liis journal, during four years' service at the Cape of Good Hope, in 
 the Second Battalion of the Tenth Foot, only recently occurred to the 
 author ; and it is with much doubt and hesitation, that he now 
 t)ffers such a meagre and uninteresting account of the movements of 
 the Regiment during the period referred to. He trusts, however, 
 that it may not be wholly unacceptable to those, who shared with 
 hhn the pleasant days, of which it is a simple and imperfect record. 
 
 G. E. BuLQEli. 
 
 JJajngalore 1st January 1867. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP PAOR. 
 
 I. From the Curragii-Camp to the Torrid Zone .... 1. 
 
 II. From THE Torrid ZoKF TO Cape Town 11. 
 
 III. From Cape Toavn to Port ELizAisETn ■. 21. 
 
 IV. From Port Elizabeth to Graiiamstovvn ...... 31. 
 
 V. From G RAD amstown to Fort Pldi^ie 42. 
 
 VI. Fort Peddie, Line-Drift and Tamacka Post . . . . 49. 
 yiL From Grahamstown to Keiskama IIoek 54. 
 
 VIII. KeISKAMA IIOEK AND its vicinity 61. 
 
 IX. From King William's Town to Windvogelberg . . 05. 
 
 X. From King William's Town to East London .. .. 71. 
 
 XI. From East London to Cape Town 78. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 From the Citrrajh-Camp, to the TmrUl Z'.ne. 
 
 On boanl II. M. S. Urgpnt— off Ilanlbowline Island. Wednesday 
 11th January 18G0, a P. M. 
 
 At last wc are fairly einbarl<cd in the gcntd ship which is to convey 
 us from tlio verdant shores of Erin to that land of happy promise 
 — t\ie Cape of Good IIojh? ; and, ere this time to-morrow, we sliall 
 be dasliing through the waters of the "grc-at deep," in fulfilment of 
 our destiny. 
 
 We left tho Currugh-Camp this morning at a (juarter before seven 
 o'clock ; our fall-in bugles having sounded only twenty minutes before. 
 The regiment turned out splendidly ; no absentees, no prisoners, and 
 ioll cl .in and sober. We were escorted by the Bands of the 30th and 
 55. Regiments, and that of tlie Kerry Militia, to the stand- house, 
 where our special train was waiting for us. Some little time elapsed 
 before all the baggage arrived, but we got away about eight o'clock^ 
 and reached Cork at half-past one, having stopped frocjuently for water 
 during the journey, and once, at Limerick Junction, for refreshments. 
 
Our detention at Cork was ycry sliort, for, inimeJiately on leaving 
 the train, Nos. 1, 3, and 10 Companies, with the Bund and Drums, 
 embarked in the little steamer I'ur conveyance to the ship. An hour 
 an«l a half brought us alongside, and in a few minutes more we were 
 all on board. The remaining two companies — Nos. 2 and 6 — followed, 
 with the light baggage, two hours afterwards, and reached the ship 
 about sun -set. 
 
 H. M. S. Urgent does not afford us a prospect of much comfort ; 
 there is a great want of room for everybody, and the portion of the 
 vessel allotted to us is most miserably ventilated. The men are 
 crowded Uke sheep, and the officers are three and four in a cabin. 
 Bartholomew, Bromley, and I are quartered togttlier in atiuv apart- 
 ment off the saloon, which has a single small .scuttle to admit air and 
 light for three individuals. Moreover the ship is not large enough 
 to stow all our baggage, and a considerable quantity will have to re- 
 main behind for another opjtortunity of transport to the Cape. Thus 
 things do not present a very delightful aspect, and it is scarcely to be 
 wondered at, that some of the passengers are beginning to grumble 
 already. 
 
 Thursday 1 2th January, 7 P. M. 
 
 I awoke this morning scarcely refreshed by my niglit's sleep in the 
 close uncomfortable cabm which has fallen to my lot, and I look for- 
 ward with almost dread to the passage of the tropics in such a badly- 
 aired apartment. We steamed away from Ilaulbowline at a quarter 
 past two, and are now fairly out at sea, having seen t\\i last of old Kin- 
 sale Head more than an hour ago. 
 
 The sea-kits were issued to the men this morning, and we are be- 
 giiming to shake down into our places, though much coiifusion and 
 dissatisfaction still prevail. In addition to other annoyances, some 
 of the light baggage has either miscarried or is lost, and amongst it 
 our Library -Box, containing all the books destined for perusal during 
 the voyage. Our prospects of comfort are even less bright than they 
 were yesterday, and we are already beginning to wish that the voyage 
 was over, and we safely landed at our destination. 
 
 We have had a light southerly breeze all day, but there is u heavy 
 ground-swell, which has already thinned our moss-table. 
 
Friday IStli Jiimmr/, 1 1 P. M. 
 
 Tlie wind is still liglit and soutlicrly, hut the sea is heaving after 
 the late heavy gales, and the ship rolls so much, that almost evorv- 
 body is ill. We liavo been steaming eight and eight-and-a-half knots 
 against the wind pretty nearly all day, and at noon, our run was a 
 liundred and forty seven miles. 
 
 The decks are horribly filtliy and wet, a stale of things that is not 
 unlikely to continue, as, in conse<iuen{'u of there being only stowage be- 
 low for about nine days' sni)ply, they have filled every available corner 
 of the upper-deck with bags ot coal. 
 
 About an hour since the expansion-gear gave way, Imt they seem 
 to have repaired it, for, we are once more on the move. 
 
 Saturday 14th January, 10 P. M. 
 
 Blowing hard from the southward, and a \ery lieavy sea running : 
 the ship has been rolling very much, and the j>assengcrs, for the most 
 part, are looking miserable. There is a rumour that we shall put into 
 Lisbon, until the weather moderates, but it is not probable. The 
 run to-day was u hundred and sixty-four miles — Forto Santo being 
 eight hundred and fifty-two miles away 
 
 Suiiday ir)th January, H P. M. 
 
 It blew half a gale all night, and, what with the rolling, creaking 
 and groaning of the ship — chairs tumbling about the saloon — port- 
 manteaux running races in the cabins — children crying' — and dogs 
 barking, sleep was utterly impossible. 
 
 The screw was stopped and taken up early in the forenoon, as the 
 wind had became more favourable for sailing, Imt they were obliged 
 to resume the steam a short time since, in consc(|uenee of the breeze 
 having almost entirely lulled at sun-set. It has been raining at in- 
 tervals throughout the day, and some of the showers were very heavy. 
 The wind was variable, but for the most part light and southerly 
 the ship leaks a good deal with the straining caused by the heavy 
 soa, and QyiiK^^ place iielow is more or less wot. The run up to noon 
 to-day was a hundred and thirty -five miles. 
 
 Monday IGth Januaiy, 10 P. M. 
 
 There was no wind last night, but the ship rolled tremendously with 
 the swell, which still continues on the ocean. I could not sleep, and 
 
aLout one o'clock I Ji csseJ and vrcnt on deck ; it was a soft ai\d 
 balmy morning, and the vaTnitli of the air told pla'nly that wo. arc 
 noaring the sunny skios and sximmcr breezes of tlie low latitudes. The 
 weather throughout the day has betii dull and unsettled, but tlier« 
 was scarcely any wind, and the sea is gradually going down. 
 
 We Lad our flrst parade this forenoon, and miserable a)id dirty 
 the men looked, alter the coal-dust and the tossing that they have ex- 
 perienced since we left the land. The run up to twelve o'clock wafi 
 one hundred and si-xty-five miles: Porto Santo distant five hundred 
 and sixty-six miles. 
 
 Tuesday 17th January, 10 P. M. 
 
 The ship rolled throughout the past night, there having been nu 
 wind to steady her, but a breeze sprang up in the forenoon, and by 
 three o'clock, we were running twelve knots without the screw, under 
 the influence of a rattling so nth -wester. 
 
 Tlie day lias been warm and showery. The run up to noon — when 
 we were oflf the port of Lisbon — was two hundred and thirty miles. 
 
 Wedne.sday 18th January, 8 P. M. 
 
 This has been a ^ne day on the whole, with a lew showers of raifi ; 
 tlie breeze was tolerably fair, but no , very strong ; and we scarcely 
 exceeded six knots an hour. — Run up to noon, two hundred and 
 twenty~two miles. 
 
 Thursday 19th January. 
 
 Land was visible »oon after daylight this morning, and about half- 
 past seven o'clock, we v ere passing the island of l\)rt(j Santo. It i.s 
 a bold volcanic rock of fanta.stic shape and angular outline, without 
 any appearance (^ vegetation : and is described as a most wretched 
 place, possessing no trees and almost entirely destitute of fresh v^'ater. 
 Its length is about six and one-third mile», by three in width, and 
 it lies tweuty-five miles to the nortli-east of Madeira. We observ- 
 ed no appearance ot inhabitants or dwellings of any description. Ma- 
 deira, at this time, was just j)eeping out of the morning haze ; and the 
 Dozertas were also visible. Tliese latter &re a group of three volcanic 
 islands, uninhabited and almost inaccessible ; they are very striking 
 objects, and are about eleven miles from Madeira They are called 
 Tospectively — Dezerta Grande, Biigio, and Ilheo Chao ; and th« first- 
 
5 
 
 ii.nnod rises to the height of 2000 fuel aljove the level ol'tho sea. 
 There is a curious needle- shape J rock near Cliao, which, tradiiion savs, 
 wai^ ome niistal\(ni for a vessel by a frigate, diiritji,' a fog, and lir(;d at 
 for not replying to her signals. 
 
 In another hour the haze was gone, ami Madeira stood out from the 
 oloiullcss sky in bold relief, its appearance was very striking and 
 inipro.s,sive, from the loftine.ss of the island itself, and the wild :iiid 
 rugged character of its surface, which seemed iMitirely broken into 
 deep ravims and rucky precipices of much variety of form. There 
 were not many trees visilde, and the vegetation geneially appeared 
 very dwarf and by no means universal. The island, nevertlieless, was 
 far from being nnrefre.^hing or even sombre in its appearance, fur, al- 
 though the great mass consists of brown oindery- looking basalt rock, 
 yet patches of it had an .'dmost crimson tinge, and these, contrasting 
 with lht> numerou.s bright spots of verdure, and the scraps of as yet 
 unmeltcd .snow, glittering like sheets of diamonds on the higher aum- 
 mite, helped to make up a pleai^ing picture, gay in bright colours, and 
 very attractive. 
 
 The sight of land after seven days of so much discomfort was very 
 cheering, and had Madeira beeii almost a desert, instead of the lovely 
 island that it is, I think we should have hailed it with delight. 
 
 After some three liours' steaming, within a short distance of the 
 ))ol<l and beautiful coast, we arrived in the Bay of Funchal, and an- 
 chored about a mile from the town. 
 
 Madeira is a higli, rugged mountain, rising from the bosom of the 
 sea, with numerous and ra))idly-succccding lateral spurs, which run 
 ■out into bold and high headlands, its they reach the coast. The.se 
 spurs are separated from one another by deep .and precij»itous ravine* 
 of much wilduess and beauty, and everywhere the surface of the land 
 seems rocky and broken, Pico Ruivo, the highest summit, attains 
 an altitude of six thousand and fifty six feet above the level of the 
 Sea, and the mean elevation of the whole ridge, is about four thou- 
 sand. The length of the island is thirty miles, and the width twelve 
 and a lialf. 
 
 Funchal — on the south side— is a soraewliat straggling town of 
 white houses built on the slopti of the mountain. The streets are 
 
narrow, ami some of them \c\y stopp indeed ; tlic) arc ail curiouslv ami 
 evenly paved with baealt- shingle, evciy separate pebble of whicli i* 
 placed with its edge uppermost. 
 
 Three of the great ravine'* intersoet the town, and are crosstd b) 
 stone bridges ■ small and insignificant streams are dashing thrcnigh 
 them now, but the high and substantial walls built on either bank 
 bbow tl.at during the rains tliey become dangerous torrents. 
 
 .There are a number oF gardens in and uear the town, in wbich are 
 to be seen date-palms, bananas, and oiher tropical fruits and Howcrs » 
 on the whole, however, there is a great scarcity of tree^s, excepting in 
 the " Stranger's Cemetery," where the cypr-'sses are both luxuriant 
 and beautiful. 
 
 The houses are nearly all whit*', and every window above the ground 
 iloor has its little green balcony. 
 
 In coiiseqvienoe of the steepness of tiie streets, wheeled vehicles arc 
 almost unknown, but there are two or three kinds oi' sledges in use, as 
 well ts two sorts of prdanquins. The sledges are either coach-like 
 vehicles drawn by oxen, or light l)askets, called corsus, which are 
 guided down the smoothly- paved and hilly streets with immense ve- 
 locity. One description of palani^uin hears some resemblance to the 
 pnJke>: ol' the East, but the other is more properly a hammock, sus- 
 pended to a pole, and carried by bearers in the sa;ne manner iis the 
 palauquin^ 
 
 Very few of the people seem to be able to speak English, liut tliey 
 w(u-e all remarkably polite to us. They are a dark-eyed dark-skimied 
 race, without much pretension to beauty. 
 
 The Bay of Funchal is very shallow, and tlio distance between its 
 extreme |K)ints abo\it five nules ; it affords by no means a safe an- 
 chorage, and, when the wind blows from the sonthward, it becomes 
 exce^^diugly perilous. Many vessels have been driven on shore and 
 ■wrecked during stornja in winter, at which time, the soa lolls into 
 the bay wich great violence and a furious s\irf. 
 
 Close to the shore, in the bay, is a remarkalile and lofty island, 
 called the Loo Rock, with a fort perched upon its ^^ummit ; idl its 
 cleits and fissures have been artificially filled, and it seems to b(3 al- 
 most inac<'essi)de. Not far froni it, a rot:ky piomontory stretches out 
 
tlic main island : this is called the iViitiiiha, nnd it also is foitif'cil 
 and otiiorwise aitilicially streiigtheDcd. Tliere are a few other forts in 
 and near the town, but none of them apj)ear to he of any size or con- 
 sequent c. Madeira belongs to the Poringuese and is garrisoned by 
 their troops. Odflly enough, the lUth l^eginunt is 4uartfred \i3W 
 at present : a smart clean -looking lot of fellows — dressed in bhie 
 jackets and grey trousers, with very curious little caps. 
 
 Friday January 20th. 
 
 We kept our port open last night, and the cabin was cool and 
 pleasaiit for tiic first time since we left Quoenstown. 
 
 After breakfast Snookc and I went ashore togetlier. We landed 
 near the hotel — about a mile from the ship — and, ha\ing picked up 
 a guide who spoke English, proceeded to explore the town. The day 
 was very tine, tjiough slightly cloudy, and consequently not so hot as 
 yesterday. We wandered about for nearly two hours — \isiting all 
 the principal tircets and shops — and then started for tlic Mount 
 Church, dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Monte, or Our Lady of the 
 Mountain, which is perched up amongst a grove of Chestnut trees, 19G5 
 feet above the level of the sea. It iat a conspicuous building, and from 
 the number of trees about it, a picturescpie and attractive object. The 
 distance from the town is about tlircc miles, but the road is well 
 paved the whole way. It is, of course, very steep, and also rather 
 slippery, owing to the smoothness and evenness of the stones. We 
 found the asctmt warmish work, and were glad enough when wo reach- 
 ed the summit and felt the influence of tlie breeze again. The voada 
 for the Avhole distance are narrov , and mostly enclosed with high walls. 
 Until we a])proacheti the church, trees were exceedingly rare, though 
 we occasionally saw a few Date-palms, and Bananas. Many beauti- 
 ful little wild- flowers were blooming on the road-sides, and amongst 
 them, the fragrant Wood-\iolet of England. 
 
 For a portion of the way our path lay along the crest of one of the 
 deep ravines, wiiich furrow the island so completely and so plentifully. 
 Its sides were steep and rocky, with a fe.Av trees scattered here and 
 there ; and far down below us, at the very bottom of the wild glen, 
 we spieil two or three lonely- looking houses. In spite of the scarcity 
 of trees, however, there was much green about the landscape, which 
 
iKirnioiiiscd wdl witli tlic broken rocks, anU tlic scenery was hcaiififul 
 and aliTiast grand. 
 
 The cliurrh was o)>pn, ^o ^f^• went in to have a look at it. It was, 
 as usual in Roman Catliolic places of worship, highlj ornamented^ 
 l)ut otliervise uninteresting. In the immediate ncighbouruood are 
 s<imo private re.'^idorices, remarkable for nothing except that tret'S are 
 comparatively plentiful around them. 
 
 On leaving the i-hurcli, we jumjied into one of the basket- sledges, 
 and, with thriH- men running behind to guide the vehicle, off we went 
 down the smoothly -paved and hilly road at a tremendous jiace; our 
 tliree drivers — if I may so call them — alternately hanging on behind 
 the sledge, or running at the top of their speed to keep up with it. 
 We stopped about half-way down the hill, to give the fellows a mo- 
 ment's rest atler their violont work, and then resumed our no^vel 
 travelling until wo reached the town below. The whole distance is 
 about three miles, and it was accomplished in seven minutes, exclusive 
 of stoppage. The road was narrow throughout, but with very few turns, 
 and the speed of the vehicle was easily slackened when necessary. It 
 is a most pleasant way of descemJnig the mountain-slope, and par- 
 ticularly grateful on a hot day. 
 
 During the morning wo visited the barracks of the lOih Regiment : 
 they were clean, spacious and airy, and the men smart- looking and 
 veiy polite. 
 
 The climate here is peifectly charming at tliis season of the yea,r *, 
 and the sun, although hot, is by no means oppressive The nights 
 are cc»ol and refreshing. 
 
 Saturday January 21st 9 P. M. 
 
 We left Madeira this morning between one and two o'clock, and 
 lost sight of the island about nine: since then, we have been steaming 
 through a smooth calm sea — scarcely rippled by gentle airs from the 
 northward. The .smuts from the chimney fell about us in showers all 
 day, and were exceedingly annoying, ' 
 
 Run, up to noon, eighty-lour miles. — I'alma Island — one of the 
 Canaries — being a hundred and lifty-fivo miles away. 
 
 Sunday 22nd January. 
 
 The greater portion of the day lias been tjuite calm, and the sun 
 
pleasantly warm, but towards evening, the first symtouis of the nortli- 
 east trade-wind was i'At. Run, up to noon to-day, two hundred and 
 tw.) miles. 
 
 Monday January 23rd 6 P. M. 
 
 The screw was stopped at midniglit, and the trr.de-wind has been 
 spinning us along all day at a merry pace, while it has kept us cool, 
 anrl lessened the effect ol' the almost tropical sun. 
 
 During the past nit,'ht we wore tempted to leave our scuttle open 
 for a short time, with a view to freshen the confined atmosphere of 
 the cabin ; but, towards morning, an unruly sea took advantage of 
 our misplaced confidence, and shot in a torrent of cold water, drench- 
 ing Bartholomew and me most completely. I was fast asleep when 
 tho intruder came, and was not a little startled by the rudeness of the 
 attack, which took away my breath, and very nearly drowned me as 
 well. \Vc struck a light, and, after a hearty laugh at one another's 
 inisfortuncja, obtained tlie aid of a servant and set to work to swab up 
 the water, which covered tiie cabin-floor to tlio depth of about an inch 
 and a half. Bromley, who had escaped with only the spray, and was 
 comparatively dry^ sat bemoaning the fate of a pound of choice to- 
 bacco, which the sea had carried off, and scattered about in most dire 
 confusion — but, in a few minutes, the strong and unmistakoable efflu- 
 vium from the saturated weed, had become too powerful for even his 
 olfactory nerves, and he sprang out of bed — seized a swab, and used 
 it with Euch science and vigour, that, in five minutes, the vile com- 
 pound of sea-water and tobacco was summarily ejex'ted, and our cabin- 
 floor as pure and as dry as wo could make it. 1 constructeil an ex- 
 tempore bed out of a couple cjf portmanteaux, and Bartholomew, adopt- 
 ing a similar expedient, shut the uiducky scuttle, and we went to sleep 
 once more. 
 
 Tlie run, up to noon to-day, was two hundred and three nules ; and 
 we wereibur- hundred and ninety-eight miles distant from St, Vincent — 
 one of the windward group of the Cape di Verde Islands. 
 
 Tuesday Januar)' 25th. 
 
 The breeze has been light to-day, and the sun very hot. Tlie screw 
 went down at half- past five this morning, and the vessel has been 
 since then under steam. We crossed the tropic of Cancer, and entered 
 
10 
 
 the Torrid Zone last night about eight o'cloclc. 
 hundred and ninety-two miles. 
 
 11 im, to-day, one 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 From the Torrid Zone to Cape Town. 
 
 Porto Grande, Wednesday 2r)tli January, 7 30 P. M. 
 
 Tlie trade-wind freshened up this morning and spun us along at a 
 g(X)d paoe for a time, but, as we neared the land, it tUropped again. 
 The m{»rning was hazy, and we were close to the Islands before wc 
 knew it, a strong current having swept us thirty miles further than 
 was expected. 
 
 San Antonio was the first of the group that appeared to our view, 
 and dreary enough it looked — a sandy, barren mountain, with sharp an- 
 gular peaks, and not a bush or plant of any description visible. Soon 
 afterwards, we came in sight of St. Vincent, and, at twenty minutes 
 past two o'clock, anchored in Porto-Grande Harbour. This island 
 also, is mountainous, and neaily destitute of vegetation, with brown 
 and burnt-looking conical peaks in considerable number. The town 
 is a most wretched little place, containing only a tew grey and white 
 houses, apparently entirely built of lath and plaster, with European- 
 shaped, sloping roofs, only without chimneys. The harbour, however, 
 
la 
 
 is a magnificent oiio — seminrcular in shape, and very capacious. St. 
 Vincent is a coaling station for the mail-ste.inicrs, and.lience its only 
 importance : it is the property of the Portuguoso. 
 
 A party of us landed after dinner, and Crowe and I went for a 
 walk. We followed the coast for some distance, and then, striking in- 
 land, returned by another roa<l to the town. Wo saw little but rock 
 and yellow sand, excepting in one place, where there was a patch of 
 Tamarisk bushes, (Tamarix Africana) which was a positive relief 
 to the eye, amidst so much desert. The coast is very bold, and rises 
 rapidly into diti's after leaving the bay. During our walk the clouds 
 gathered round the tops of the neighbouring hills, and everything bo- 
 tokened the approach af a tropical thunder-storm, but no rain fell, 
 and there was not oven any extra wind. I am told it seldom or never 
 rains here. 
 
 In conse(iuenco of the surf, we had to land at one of the coaling- 
 jetties, of which there are two or three : and, on our return to the 
 ship, we experienced some trouble in getting on board, as there was a 
 swell in the bay, and the vessel rolled with it a good deal. 
 
 The harbour is tolerably full of shipping at the present moment, but 
 the vessels are principally colliers, I imagine, with one or two Por- 
 tuguese men-of-war. 
 
 There is a small fort perched upon the summit of a hill near the 
 harbour, but, excepting as regards position, it does not appear to be 
 very strong. 
 
 All the islands of this group arc volcanic, and the rock principally 
 trap and limestone. There is a curious conical detached islet not far 
 from St. Vincent, which is called Ilheo dos Passaros, or Bird Island' 
 from the numbers of wild-fowl that make their homes there : it is said 
 to be inaccessible. 
 
 Run, up to noon, two hundred and forty- four milea. 
 The sun was very hot to-day, but the breeze was fresh and grateful, 
 so that we did not find the heat unpleasant. 
 Thursday 26th January 9 P. M. 
 
 We remained at anchor all night, and finished coaHng about ten 
 or eleven o'clock this forenoon ; but it was some two hours afterwards 
 before we leil Porto Grande. 
 
13 
 
 Martin, Snodko, aiul si»nio others, went obliore early this nioruing, 
 ^ith ihc'ir guns, to Iwik for guinea- fowl, but they returnftl ahuut ten 
 o'clock, without having seen anytliiiig except a hawk. They dcscril^e 
 the interior of tho island as being the sanxi aa the sea-bt»ard — liarron 
 rock, covered witli sand, and, in some plac('i\ witli large patches of 
 salt. The only vegetation tliey saw, was n sprinkling of some sort of 
 dwaif buslies, and son»' few other lesser plants. 
 
 The day h.ts been cool for tlie tropica, and the sky hazy : the breeze 
 rather light. About four o'clock this afiennxm, the screw wa,*? takoi up, 
 and we are now running aloij; (juietly under stu'n-sails and royals. 
 
 No fruit was to be had at St. Vincent, and scarcely any live stock ; 
 tlic only six bullocks which tlie steward could get were the most wrctch- 
 fnl creatures 1 ever saw. 
 
 Friday January 27th. 
 
 Clear, with an almost cloudless sky The breeze is fresher; and wo 
 have been sailing all day — aveniging about seven knots an hour. 
 
 I saw some Flying-fish (Exvccivs l^olitans). and a few gulls, the 
 first of the former that I liave observed during the voyage. The lu- 
 minosity of the sea at night, getieraily, hoi. not been particularly strik- 
 ing, but tliis evon'!ng it is very bright indeed. 
 
 I wont round with the surgeon of the sliip to-day, tu have a look 
 at the ward-room and the <.abine on the quarter-doclM which are oc- 
 cupied by the captain and the ward -room olficers ; they are certainly 
 very nice and airy — quite delightful, wlien compared with the wretch- 
 ed places allotted to ui. Run, to-day, one hundretl and forty-sevea 
 miles 
 
 Saturday 28th January 9 P, M. ' 
 
 A fine briglit day, but the wind very light. Our poop-awning was 
 sot for the first time, as we begin to feel the power of the tropic sun, 
 although it is the cool season. The sea is wonderfully luminous to- 
 night. Run, up to noon to-day, one hundred and fifty-one miles. 
 
 Sunday 2'Jth Janu.ary 9 P, M. 
 
 Hazy and hotter than yestordiiy — wjjid very light. A few Storm- 
 petrels (Thalamdroma Pelngica) have been sidmming about us to- 
 day, and some PorpoiBes {Phoccmo Communis) were also seen Run, 
 up to noon, one hrmdted and sixty miles. 
 
n 
 
 Monday 30tL January. 
 
 Wf aio fairly in the lioldrums, or, to speak more siieutiliuiUy, tlio 
 equatorial l)elt ot calms. Tlio sea is nearly smooth, the wind almost 
 gone, and the weather very hot. Tlie sky is cloudless and hazy. 
 
 This evening a couple of life-buoys were thrown into the sea, and 
 the two afler-r utters nianni'd, and sent to pick them up ; tiiey were 
 hjwored l>y Clifl'ord'R patent apparatus, with most riimarkaldo des- 
 patch. I timed one of them, and found that in three seconds it was 
 in the water ; the ))uoy whs picked up in two minutes and twenty 8(»- 
 cond*; and tho cutter was swingin^^ at her davits again in nine and a half 
 minutes. They hail to row some distance, a* the ship was not stop- 
 ped for tliree or four minutes alter the boat was cast olf. The appara- 
 tus is e.xcoetlin^Iy simple, and one man ran lower away a boat easily 
 
 A shoal of silvery fish — apparently about a Hwrt in length — passed 
 lis to-day : they were jumping out of the water, but I could not loll 
 what they were. Run, up to noon, one hundred .^nd forty -three miles, 
 
 Tuesday 3 1st .fanuary. 
 
 We have fjuite lost the north-east wind, but, tuwards evening, the 
 first faint symtoms of the south-east trades were felt. 
 
 Neptune's tar-barrel was seen floating in a blaze of lire a sliort dis- 
 tance from the shin t<i-night, and the usual ceremony of sending a 
 letter and a shower of water on the deck, was gone through Run, 
 to-day, one hundred and ninety -seven miles. 
 
 Wednesday 1st February. 
 
 The night was very close, and hot, and the day b;ijs been much the 
 same; the wind .south-easterly and very light. 
 
 Wo crossed the Line, and entered the Southern Hemisphere, a- 
 bout nine o'clock tliis morning. The ship was given over to Neptune 
 for several hours, and every one who ventured on deck, got thorough- 
 ly wet. Run, to-day, one hundred and ninety-one miles. 
 
 Thursday 2nd February 8 P. M. 
 
 A delightful change in the weather to-day : it is cool and pleasant . 
 the hot moisture of the doldrums has disappeared, and the atmosphere 
 is much drier again. Tlie screw was stopped about ten o'clock in the 
 forenoon, and we are once moro under canvass. . 
 
 Bun, to-day, one hundred and sixty-eight miles : and wo are Ove 
 
15 
 
 liutidr<;(l and sixty- four miles distaM from tlio Island 'if A-cension. 
 
 I'Vjday 'A «l Folnuary. 
 
 Tliis iias biun a wry lino tlay, the he.it li.wing ba-ii temjirrod by 
 n pleasant brcf/e ; light broken oirrus-clouds kept Hitting about the 
 sky — particularly near the liorizon — towards evening. 
 
 Run, lip to noon to-day, nne hnndrfj<l and sixteen miles — tlio 1»- 
 'antj 111' Trinidad bein^» one thousand ai;d four miles away. 
 
 Saturday 4ih February. 
 
 Bcuutiriilly fine, but tlic breeze very lij^ht. Tli© captain has been 
 talking fur sovoral days past of touching either at Bahia or Rio de 
 .faneiro, and to-night it beejofc decided that wo shall visit the former 
 place. 
 
 I saw a Finfish (Jiulfrna Plijaalus) to-day, and two or three of the 
 beautiful little I'ortugiiose men-of-Mar (Plij/mlia Pi'hgica). 
 
 Run, up to noon, one hundred and twenty -wno miles. 
 
 Sunday 5th February 9 30 P. M. 
 
 Tlio breeze, which has been so light hitherto, suddenly fresnened 
 this evening, and blew away our liopos of visiting South America. 
 The day has been very hot, but the night is pleasant, and perfectly 
 gliirious, from the presence of tlie almost full moon. We have lost 
 siglit of ino.st of the nortliem constellations now, and their plate is sup- 
 plied in the heavens l>y those of the Southern Hemisphere ; the moon, 
 however, is too bright at present to sec them to advantage. Run, 
 to-day, eighty-five nnles. 
 
 Monday (Jth February. 
 
 There lias been very little wind to-day, but some light scpialls vieit- 
 od us, arr.1, two of them wore accompanied by a fow drops of rain. The 
 weather is very hot. Run, up to noon, one hundred and eighteen 
 miles. 
 
 Tuesday 7th February. 
 
 There was a nearly total echpse of the moon last night, but I did 
 not see it. The breeze freshened about midnight, and, during the 
 greater portion of the day, it spun us along close-hauled at the rate 
 of seven knott^ an hour : it dropped almost entirely, liowevcr, at sun- 
 set. The weather continues much tlic same — very hot wlien the wind 
 is light — cooler wlien it l>lows. Run, up to noon, one hundred and 
 
10 
 
 forty- two miles. 
 
 We<lnesilay stli F('l>ru;iry, 
 
 The breeze gets up and goes down with tlio sun and moon, so that 
 it is not very steady ; wf have m-oasiotial stjualls, accompanied, some- 
 times, hy very light showers of rain. The sun was about vertieal this 
 morning ; the latitude at eight o'clock being 14o 55' S. and the longi- 
 tude 27^ 50' W. 
 
 Fine day and cool — the breeze being fresher than umuiI. Hun — 
 one hundred and fifty -six miles. 
 Thursday 9th February. 
 
 Nothing to record to-day. The wind is still light, and tlie weather 
 liot. Run, at noon, one hundred and tif^y-eight miles. 
 Friday 1 0th February. 
 
 A heavy shower of rain fell during the middle watch last night, Ijut 
 the day has been very hot, and the breeze very light. We passed the 
 Martin Vass Rocks this morning at daylight ; there were three is- 
 lands visible, but they were a long way off: the main one is said to 
 be about forty miles from the large island of Trinidad, and the whole 
 group is described as consisting of barren uninhabited rocks ; the high- 
 est about three hundred feet above the level of the sea. Run, at noon, 
 one hundred and fifly-eight miles. 
 kSaturday 1 1th February. 
 
 Oalmer, and consequently hotter than yesterday : — nothmg to re- 
 cord except the run, which was u hundred and twenty-two miles. 
 Sunday 12th February. 
 
 Wo crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and entered the South Tem- 
 perate Zo7ie somewliere about four o'clock P. M. yesterday, and to- 
 day, the wind left ns entirely ; they put down the screw about five 
 o'clock, and since then, we have been under steam : the weather is 
 very hot. 
 
 The Magellan Clouds are very conspicuous at night now ; as well 
 as the celebrated, but insigmficant-looklug constellation of the South- 
 ern Cross. 
 
 Run, to-day. one hundre^l and four miles. 
 
 Monday 13tli February 9 P. M. 
 
 It has been nearly a de<ad calm all day, and we continue under 
 
17 
 
 stoani. About a rjuarier })ast six r. M. wc overhauled and spoke t.<> 
 an Engiisli Brig, the "Laura Jeanette" oi" Exeter — from London to. 
 the Ciipo : she had beeti ninety days out. 
 
 We liavo had no entirely cloudless skies since wo left Ilaulbowline, 
 that I can remendier — tlirougliotit the passage oftlic tropics, there were 
 always light cirri about th<; horizon in the evening. 
 
 Run, to-day, one hundred and four miles. 
 
 Tuesday 1 4 th February. 
 
 A soutli-^vesterly breeze sprang up during the night, ana brought 
 rain with it : the tliennometer fell six degrees, and the air was al- 
 ni(\st chilly, when compared with the late heat. The day has been 
 cloudy and shower)- throughout. The scre^v was stopped and taken 
 up about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and we have been making a- 
 bout six knots an hour since. A couple of Cape-hens (Diomedca 
 Fuliginosa) made their appearance to-day, and have been playing a- 
 bout in the wake of the ship. 
 
 Run, at noon, one hundred and sixty-fivo miles — Cape of Good 
 Hope distant two thousand, one hundred, and thirty-seven miles. 
 
 Wednesday 1 5th February 9 P. M. 
 
 The wind kept chopping about all night between north and cast, 
 and, during the middle watch, there was a heavy squall with rain. 
 The breeze died away soon afterwards, and we have been steaming all 
 day. The sky is cloudy and wild-looking to-night, with frequent flash- 
 es of summer-lightning. Ruu, at noon, one hundred and seventeen 
 niilas. 
 
 Thursday 16th February 9 P. M. 
 
 Tlio morning was very hot and bright, but about nwn, nimbus- 
 clouds blew up from the south-westward, and since then, it haa been 
 rainy and almost chilly. We saw a specimen of the Wandering Al- 
 batross (Diomedea .Exulans) to-day — tlie first of the voyage : he was 
 not a large one, however, and had not attained his adult plumage. 
 Tliere were also a good many Gape Hens. Tht screw was taken up 
 about six o'clock, and we are now making five and a half knots under 
 canvass, very pleasantly and steadily. The run, up to noon, was one 
 hundred and forty-six miles' — the Cape being still «list»nt one thou- 
 sand, eight hundred, aiul ninety-six miles. 
 
18 
 
 Tr'iihy 17tli Fobruary 9 P. M. 
 
 C»K»I and clouily clay. We ha\e h<nm averaging tivt- knot* ivitli & 
 south- south-east breeze, but, althoiigh we arc close- hauled, we m.-ike 
 no southing, l?uii one hundred and forty iiiilea, 
 
 Satnrd.'iy Ibih February P. M. 
 
 A fine day, witlt light cirrus-clouds flitting about , wuui still south- 
 west, and our average speed about the 6am».' so, yesterday evening. 
 Run, one hundred and twenty-se\en mile*. 
 
 Sui-iclay 19th February P. xM. 
 
 We have been making about seven knots an hour all day, but the 
 l)ree/.e <>eexns dying away again ; it continues south-west, however, and 
 the sea is slightly rough. A good many Albatrosses and Cape-hena, 
 with t>vo or three snaJl white* gulls {Sterna Alba) have been skim- 
 ming about us, and they appear to increase in numbers a» we near 
 tlie land. Run, to-day, one hundred and forty-six miles. 
 
 Monday 20th February 9 P. M. 
 
 The screw went down this morning about ten o'clock, as the bree/.e, 
 
 by that time, liad entirely left us, and the awnings, which were not 
 
 required yesterday, had to be spread again. There is a swell from 
 
 the southward, and the birds h.avo all deserted us. Kun, one hun- 
 
 »dred and fourteen miles. 
 
 Tuesday 21.st February 9 P. M, 
 
 Kearly a >iead calm until three o'l-lock, when tlie l>reo7.e "began to 
 'C'<»me gently ; at four the screw was stopped, and we have been sail- 
 ing sin-e then with a light north-west wind, The <lay has been very 
 hot, and all the awnings were set. A good many Albatrosses, Capo- 
 liens, aiul Petrels (Proetllaria Marina) have been following us iincc 
 morning, but no Cape-pigeons {Duption Capensis) as yet. The 
 Cape-hen — otherwise, the Sooty Albatross — is of a dwk, bladiish 
 brown hue, with a white circle round the eye ; it is wondtirfully abundant 
 and displays a surprising power of flight. The dew is very lieavy to- 
 night—everything exposed to it is alreiidy as wet as il a shower of rain 
 had fallen. Run, up to noon, one hundred and sixty miles. 
 
 Wednesday 22nd February !) P. M. 
 
 A lino clear «lay, and we have lieen making our seven knots with, 
 a steady north-west l;iee7,o. Several pieces of timber, resembling in 
 
19 
 
 apjx'arance the Imlwarks of a vessel, (loatcil past us at iliflerent times 
 to-day — porliaps the fragments of a wreck. The dew is heavy to-night. 
 The run, v.t noon, was one hundred and thirty- five miles. 
 
 Thursdi'y 28rd February. 
 
 Overcast to-day, and consequently cooler than usual : the wind 
 pretty steady, and spinning us along gaily. The ship rolls, however, 
 a good <leal, for the wind is dead aft. 
 
 -Run, at noon, one hundred and ninety-five miles. 
 
 Friday 24th February 9 ?. M. 
 
 The ship rolled tremendously last night, and, as all the ports and 
 scuttles were closed in consequence, the atmosphere in our cabins was 
 almost stilling: the dead-lights of the saloon- windows were also up, 
 and we were almost entirely shut in from air. The night was nnsty 
 and rainy ; ])ut we accomplished something like five knots an hour. 
 
 A few minutes before nine o'clock this mornmg we were making 
 nearly six knots, when the wind dropped suddenly, and, in a morttcnt, 
 it was a perfect calm : I never saw such a sudden change betbre. The 
 breeze sprang up again soon afterwards, and has continued to tho 
 present time : but the day has been showery, close and oppressive. 
 Run, one hundred and thirty-six miles. 
 
 Saturday 25th February 9 P. M. 
 
 A fbgpy and showery day, with stray and short intervals of sun- 
 shine : wind as usual nortli-west, but rather light. A splendid white 
 Albatross (Diomedra Extdans) of great size, has ci>ntinued in our 
 wake all day, despite some half-dozen ritie bullets which were fired at 
 him : and we have had the usual traii\ of Cape-hens, and other birds. 
 Jones tohl mo that ho saw two Flying-fish to-day : it is rather un- 
 usual to Hnd them so far to the southward. Run, one hundred and 
 fifty- four miles, 
 
 Sunday 26th February. 
 
 This has been a hot but splendid day, with a clear, bright sky, and 
 not the vestige of a cloud. The sun set most gloriously, and soon 
 afterwards, Venus, which here shines with a brilliancy unknown in 
 the vaporous atmosphere of England, sank behind the horizon, and left 
 \\& in comparative darkness. We have been imder steam since half- 
 past three o'clock, as the wind has almost left us. Run, one bun- 
 
20 
 
 <lrc<l unci twentv-tliree miles. 
 
 Monday 27tli February. 
 
 Another beautiful Jay with a f'resb breeze, once more north-wester- 
 ly. We oontinued under, steam nearly all day, however, as the wind 
 was not particularly steady. Hun, two hundred and eleven miles. 
 
 Tuesday 28tli February P. M. 
 At anclior in Table Bay. 
 
 We were lookiiig out for land early this morning, but it was past 
 ten o'clock before we sighted the tops (»!' the hills ; and nearly four 
 when we anchored off Cape Town. 
 
 The whole of the visible sout' ern and western coast wris bold and 
 mountainous, but, apparently, very desolate and barren, with scarcely 
 any trees or other vegetation. Table Mountain, at the foot of which 
 lies Cape Town, is a veiy striking mass of rock, with a most peculiar 
 level- looking summit; aivd, in the iranuxliate vicinity, are the Lion's 
 Head, and Lion's Rump, two hills of much less altitude, whicJi, taken 
 together with the ridges that join thiem, bear some slight resiembla»ce 
 to a lion couchant : there is a signal-station on the latter. 
 
 The town lias a j)retty appearance from the harbour, l>ut it does 
 not seem very large : there is no green on the hills, and very little else- 
 where. 
 
 The sky, to-night, is wonderfully dear an^ bright, without the 
 vestige of a cloud, and the Table Mountain, throughout the day, was 
 witiiout its " table-cloth" — a heavy white cloud, which very of^en over- 
 spreads its summit — so that we saw its remarkable outline distinctly. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 From Cape Town, iu Port Elizabeth. 
 
 Wediiesaay 29th February 9 P, M. 
 
 1 got up at six o'clock this morning, and hastened upon deck to taste 
 the cool air of the early day, before the sun had heated it. Tlie tran- 
 sition from the close, dark cabin of the ship to the wind-swept deck 
 was refreshing in the extreme, and the pure and balmy air most ex- 
 hilirating. The scene presented by tlie sleeping bay, with the town 
 nestling at the foot of the stupendous and remarkable rock, which 
 towers up behind it ; the lesser hills on either side ; the shipping m 
 the harbour ; and the clear, bright sky, without a speck of cloud to 
 mar its glory, was very beautiful, and it naturally exacted more than 
 its meed of admiration after the long and monotonous sea- voyage, 
 which we had just completful. 
 
 After breakfast, I went ashore with Snooke and Martin, in the 
 ship's cutter, and we were landed at one of the several long jetties, 
 which project into the bay. We first visited Parke's hotel, and then 
 started in search of a lively-stable, as Snooke and I had resolved upon 
 
22 
 
 a visit to VVynberg. After some enquiries we snooecdetl in liiring a 
 \ery nice, light, American bugt>y, with a capital grey pony, and off wo 
 Vent. 
 
 Wynberg is eight miles from Cape Town, and the road is good anil 
 \eTy picturesque ; it winds round the base of Table Mountain, which 
 lies on the right hand, while to the left is tlie bay. with its shores of 
 low rounded hills, bounded in the distance by lofty and rugged moun- 
 tains. The Table Mo\intain is no where distant from the road be- 
 tween Cape Town and Wynberg, and, viewed from any point, it is 
 strikingly picturesque in form, though, apparently, an almost naked 
 rqck, ungarnished by tree or herb. 
 
 The whole drive is replete with varied beauty, and it would be 
 difficult to select a more charming road. Indeed, fr>r a considerable 
 distance, it assumes the character of a magnificent avenue, shaded by 
 tall and luxuriant Pine-trees (Pimis Pinaster et Piriea) which fill the 
 air with their balsnmic fragrance, and cast a pleasant gloom over this 
 quiet and delightful highway. Picturesque houses, embosomed in 
 verdure and gay flowers, are met with on either hand, at short inter- 
 vals of distance; and hedges of English Hoses contrast most curiously 
 with the singular looking Prickly Pear (Opuntio Vulgaris) or the 
 tall, stately American Aloe (Agave Americana J. Tlie deej^red hu« 
 of the earth adds not a little tt» the general richness of colouring, and 
 blends harmoniously with the brilliant gietn of the grass and bushes. 
 
 Wynberg itself is exceedingly pretty, and completely shrouded in 
 trees and gardens. 
 
 Cape Town, as a town, rather disappointed nie, for I expected to 
 find the capital of the colony a larger and finer place. It is very 
 regularly laid nut, in the Dutch style, the streets being nearly of equal 
 width, and running at right angles to one another. The Botanic 
 Gardens are pretty and well kept; and there is a glorious avenue 
 of magnificent Oak-trees (Qnercns PednncnIataJ leading past the en- 
 trance. 
 
 We saw a few of the long teams of the country to-day ; some of 
 which had horses, and others mules, and others bullocks : — one, con- 
 sisting of twelve bullocks, was the longest that we noticed. 
 
 The head-quarter wing of the 59th Regiment is stationed at Cape 
 
23 
 
 Town, with a few Artillery and .some of the Cape Mountcil Rifles. 
 
 Tliursday 1st March 9 P. M. 
 Simon's Bay. 
 
 We steamed away from Table Bay at one o'cltK-k this morning,, and 
 arrived here a little before breakfast, having doubled the far-famed 
 Cape of Good Hope in the dark. During the process of anchoring! 
 the chain-table snapped, and wo quietly ran against the flying jib- 
 boom of II.M.S.S. Sidon, and carried it away : however, no turthor 
 damage was done, and the lost anchor was found towards evening, by 
 diving. 
 
 Simon's Town is a pretty, clean, little place, at the foot of some bold 
 0119*8, covered with Protea and other bushes. It Is not at all unlike, in 
 general features, an English watering-place, and the coast reminds 
 me of tho southern part of Cornwall. The Bay is roomy, and seems 
 well sheltered on every side. We are to remain here, until provisions 
 and coals are laid in for the voyage hence to China, so that we may 
 count upon a delay of a week or ten days. 
 
 This is the head-quarters of Reai' Admiral the Hon. Sir F. Grey; 
 and his house is a handsome one, half hidden amongst almost the 
 only trees in the place, at the foot of a beautiful little ravine.or kioof, 
 as they call it in this country. 
 
 The ships in harbour now, belonging to the fleet, are the Boscawen, 
 line- of- battle ship, of seventy guns, bearing the admiral's flag; the 
 Sidon, steam-frigate of thirty-six guns ; and the Lynx, gunboat, of 
 six guns. There are also two Russian vessels, a corvette, and a small 
 brig, with a few British merchantuien. 
 
 The weather continues beautifully fine and clear, and the nights 
 are splendid. 
 
 Thursday 2nd March 9 P. M. 
 
 To-day, being the anniversary of sonic great Russian festival, con- 
 nected with their late Emperor, the corvette fired a royal salute at 
 noon, which was answered by the Boscawen and Sidon ; the Russian 
 vessels showing clouds of colours. 
 
 We tave two kinds of fish here, one of which is really very good 
 eating. It is purplish in colour, and is called Roman Fish (Cryso- 
 phrys Cristiceps) from Roman Rock — a large isolated rock project- 
 
24 
 
 Ing above the water of the bay, off which they are caught abundant- 
 ly. The other is a smaller and darker fifcb, called Hottentot Fish, 
 (Sargus CapmsisJ and is not so jfood. 
 
 Saturday 3rd March. 
 
 A cloudy day and quite cool ; the wind has been blowing so strong- 
 ly from the south- caist, as almost to preclude communication with the 
 shore. The Mauritius, steara -transport, arrived from England to-day, 
 vith drafts for China. 
 
 Sunday 4th March. 
 
 Fine, clear day but the wind very fresh still, from the south-east. A 
 Spotted Ray (Raia Maculata) was taken to-night over the ship's side, 
 with a hooli baited by a piece of fish : as well as some Soles (Soka 
 VulgarisJ. 
 
 There are numbers of Cormorants or Shags, (Pelicmms Qraculusj 
 in the bay, as well as a few Cape Penguins (Aptenvdytcs DemersaJ, 
 which resemble dab-chicks in the distance. 
 
 Monday 5th March. 
 
 To the eastward of the town the coast towers up into a mountain 
 'Called the Simonsberg, or the Signal-hill, which is about one thou- 
 sand seven liuiwlred feet above the level of the sea. It is very rocky 
 and destitute of trees, but almost covered with thin bushes and heaths 
 of various kinds. A nearly conical summit, rising above the chain 
 of bold and lofty bluffs, which fringe the entire promontory — the 
 Boutliern point of which is the great Cape of Good Hope itself — it is 
 a striking object from the .anchorage of Simon's Bay. From the mo- 
 ment of our arrival, I had resolved upon an expedition to tlie top, and 
 to-day, the adventure was consumnrated. Martin, Snooke, and I got 
 into the cutter about ten o'clock, -end started for the shore, but, al- 
 though only about three-quarters of a niile from the jetty, the water 
 was so rough, that it was a long time before we reached it, and fully 
 half-past twelve, ere we began the ascent of the mountain. The sun 
 was exceedingly hot, and the sides of the hill, in addition to being vecy 
 steep throughout, were, in several places, composed of upright walls 
 of naked rock, from four to fifteen feet in height, in surmounting which, 
 both hands and feet were fully occupied. After a hot and tedious 
 climb, Snooke and I attained the apex, but Martin contented himself 
 
25 
 
 vith getting half- way, ami then sitting down, to await our rolnrn. 
 Tlie view from tlie top disappointed me soinewLat, for 1 liopcd to have 
 got a glimpse of the great Cape <»f Storms ; but the intervening hilU 
 were more lofty than I had imagined, and completely screened it from 
 bight. The pr(>sj)ect, however, although not realizing my expectations 
 still afforded some recon)])onse for our toil in the ascent, and, while we 
 Bat and cooled our&olvcs in the it'freshing breere, we studied the 
 features of the land for a, goinl many miles around. 
 
 Just below us, lay Simon's Bay — a sort of nook within the im- 
 mense bend of the rugged coast called False Bay, which was open to 
 our ga/e in all its niajcsty. Its op|)osite shores must have been more 
 than twenty miles away, but they rose grandly above the noble ex- 
 panse of water, in broken and pictures^jue mountains, of every variety 
 of form and eccentricity of outline. These gl(¥)my-looking and deso- ' 
 late boundaries, towering to the sky in terraces of broken cones, were 
 really magnificent, and the win tic appeared such an utter wilderness^ 
 that it seemed as if man had never trod those sun-dried mountains, 
 or e.xplored thn rec^^ses of the stupendous sheet of water which was 
 dashing its foam against their feet. 
 
 On our right and left, the coast stretched away in a series oi bold 
 cliffs, or more properly mountains, of considerable, but varying height ; 
 apparently rising abruptly from the sea, and forming a sort of barrier 
 round the coast, within which, the land wjis of very much less eleva- 
 tion ; so that, from the summit of any of these eminences, one might 
 look down upon the landward side, on plateaux some two or three hun- 
 dred feet above the level of the sea, but still far below the altitude of 
 this wall of coast. 
 
 Behind us, and some hundrctls of feet below us, as we stood upon 
 the summit of the Simonsberg, stctched one of these plateaux, away to 
 the southward and westward, until it reached the oppf»site coast of 
 the peninsula, when again, the crest of mountains rose high above it, 
 and shut it in from the stormy sea beyond. This pkin, which ap- 
 peared perfectly level, waa dotted here and there with farms — or per- 
 haps vineyards — but it did not seem to be particularly rich in v^eta- 
 tion, excepting on the cultivated spots, and it looked stony and rather 
 barren, though covered thinly w ith heath, or grass of some description. 
 
2«; 
 
 To our left, .minng^r mmiWrs of other hills, the Tahle Mauiit:iiii stood 
 c-onsj)iciiou,s, with its reniarkaMe sumniit clear am! distinct — and 
 sociniiigly as black and naked, as if It had l)ccn but yesterday scorch- 
 ed by tho sweeping tires of a volcano. 
 
 The scramble down the mountain was, in some places, amorcdiffi- 
 .eult task than the ascent, in consequence of the frequent occurrence 
 of slicer precipices of naked rock, iivhich were slippery, and somewhat 
 dangerous, thou<ili of no great height; and the day was so exceedingly 
 hot, that wo were glad enough \\hen we found ourselves on level ground 
 again, and within shelter from the power of the sun. The Simons- 
 berg is, I thiidv, a mass of limestone, but there were quantities of 
 broken bits of red sandstone scattered about profusely on the surface. 
 The vegetation was quiic new to me, and thickly interspersed with 
 splendid wild- (lowers, nearly all of which were glowing in the brilliant 
 hues of the trojtics : the heaths wore very plentiful, and of many charm- 
 ing varieties. Animal life seemed scarce — probably owing to the 
 lionr of iho day — and 1 only saw a few >mall birds — which were too 
 far oft' for identification — some locusts, and one or two lizards. Martin, 
 however, picked up a small and beautifully marked tortoise. 
 
 The streets of Simon's Town arc nearly all sand — indeed tho place 
 is built entirely upon the sea-beach, and the slope of the chffs behind 
 it — and, when the wind blows, this sand is whirled about in dense 
 clouds. Tho houses are white, and have flat roofs. 
 
 Tuesday (irh March 9 P. M. 
 
 This has been a bright and cloudless day, without a breath of wind, 
 and very hot ; the moon is at the full, and the night is perfectly magr- 
 nificent. 
 
 A conteniplateil trip to Constantia was attempted to-day, but failed 
 for want of conveyance. Sproule, young Vaux, and I, landed togethcsr 
 at half-past nine o'clock, and, after several vain efibrts to get a vehicle 
 of some description, we resolved upon a walk, instead of our ijitended 
 drive. We ascended to the summit of the cliffs at the back of thp 
 town, by a very tolerable road, and then struck into the country for 
 about three miles or thereabouts, after which, we turned our footsteps 
 to the coast again — emerging about a mile and a half from Simon's 
 Jown — and continued oujr walk to Kalk Bay, five and a half miles 
 
27 
 
 I'tirtlicr. The coiiTitry iiihiml wa.s nutstlv a {•atidy plain, with a few 
 scattered groups ui trees, and wns covcr(d witli htaths oCiihk h hoaiity ; 
 a prickly plmt (Mvndin AS)>/wfA«/f J, bearing. some general resemblance 
 to gorse ; abuiulante of GeraiiiiiniS and rehirgDniiinif ; and other 
 Mowers, most of which vore quite now to nie, or familinr only as clioico 
 exotics. In our six miles' ramble from the coast round to the coast 
 again, wo only saw one farm-house, 'wliere we got some grapes ; tluMigh 
 there were a good many native huts of diminutive stature and frail 
 materials, scattertd about amongst the low scrubby bush, wliich hero 
 and there adorned the plain, and relieved the otherwi.so nionotonous 
 appearance of the country. In many places the sand was very deep, 
 and wo not uiilVe(|Ucntly sank up to our ancles, This laborious walk- 
 iiig, in the lieat of tlie sun, made ns fieel somewhat tired by the time 
 •wo arrived at the beach again, and, fc-r some moments, we hesitatcil 
 whether to prt^cccd to Kalk Bay, or return to the ship ; however, after 
 a short consultation, the former alternative was decided on, and we 
 started off, with visions of mutton-chops and golden sherry dancing 
 before us, thro\igli the deep, fine sand of the coast- road. AVe trudged 
 on slowly, but steadily, and at three o'clock, arrived very tired, sar^ 
 tliirsly, and very hot, at Gilhnan's Hotel at Kalk Bay. 
 
 The coast between Simon's Town and Ivalk Bay is deeply not« bed, 
 if T niav v*o use tlio term, and as the road follows the indentations 
 closely, it is rather a zig-zag highway ; however, from the peculiar 
 j'haracter of the sliores — whicli are almost a continual chain of moun- 
 tains, .ilthough of no great altitude — this eccentricity of direction is 
 compulsory, as the road is necessarily along the bcadi, at tlie foot of 
 these headlands. Two or tlirec farm-hou.ses were the sole habitations 
 on the way, and at each, wc stopped to trespass on the oi'cupants for 
 a glass of water. 
 
 Kalk Bay possesses a small, but pretty village, which is used as a 
 watering-place by the good folks of Cape and Simon's Towns ; it was 
 most delightfully still and quiet, and, after the continual din, whicli 
 has been offending our weary cars for so many days and even nights, 
 the silence, broken by cothing save tlie smothered roar of the surf, 
 which dashed gloriou.sly within view on ihe jagged rocks, was soothing 
 end delicious beyond the power of imagijiation. In the evening, we 
 
2tt 
 
 |)rocur»'tl a tnpitui two lictrso b'lggyi ;i'nl retnrnodto Simon's Town— 
 pleased l>evond measure at our excursion, arid regretting nothing, save 
 tliat it was ended. 
 
 As we returned, tlio budli, in many plaees, was burning; :uid4lie 
 ftlieots of linngry fire, ;us tlicy ruslicd over the li ill-sides and darted a- 
 bout in iantiistif fury, lit tip tlie rocks with a lurid light, A^hich discover- 
 ed tlie rugged outlines of the motintiiins standing out .igainst tlio inky 
 sky like weird and gigantic forms, keeping a solemn guard over the 
 slumbering m ilderncss around. Hie ever-changing play of tlie Htful Hre 
 was A»or.derfiiliy l>eantiful, and the rapid altem.itions from light to 
 gloom, and fr.tni gloom again to brilliant glare, wore very striking. 
 
 Wednesday 7th March. 
 
 Sliglitly cloudy day, with a light south-westerly breeze. I went 
 over the Sidon this morning, witli the Colonel, Captain Hire, and 
 Snooke. Iler Commander, Captain Crawford, was very civil to us, 
 and indewl, so were all tlio oflicers whom we saw. She was spotlessly 
 cloan and neat, but, from some jocularity in her build, wlucli, we were 
 told, is according to a plan of Sir Charles Napier's, she is lop->'ided, 
 and known in the navy by the sobrii|uot of "the drunken Siilon." 8he 
 is a paddle-steamer, and carries thirty -six guns. 
 
 After our return, the acting Governor, Lieutenant General Wyn- 
 yard, arrived to inspect ns, and, almost at the samo moment, the Ad- 
 miral came on board to look at the ship : neither of them stayed very 
 long. 
 
 Thursday 8th March 9 P. M. 
 
 The last ofour coals and provisions were shippetl this morning, and, 
 at twelve o'clock, we left Simon's Bay, our Band playing, and the 
 merchant-vessels saluting us as we passed. I spent a very pleasant 
 week in harbour, free from nearly all the inconveniences and annoy- 
 ances of the voyage, and I am very sorry to start again, even though it 
 takes us to our dcstinatii)n. 
 
 The shores of False Bay are throughout rtigged hills, quite des- 
 titute, to all appearance, of even a blade of grass; they are evidently 
 volcanic, and present the most curious and eccentric forms. One of 
 them, to the north-woatward of Simon's Bay, was so singularly like 
 ihe Tabic >rountaiM^ that, at first, I was almost persuaded of the iden- 
 
^0 
 
 ■tlty of tlic two : it is >trair^'e that there sliuulil l»o iiioro tliuii »>iie itf 
 ».iuh peculiarly sliapeil hills, within so sliort a distaiico, and each hear- 
 in<,' su<h a strnTip; rosemltlancc to the other. 
 
 We were cfTCjipe llanj;klij)j) alovit three (('ehuk, ami passed Danger 
 Point — whore the liirkenhead was Avreckcd in Felnuary 1852 — ^^ut 
 Bunset. At ten r. M. Agulhas Light was visible. 
 
 The day was Hnc, and bright, with a south-westerly breeze, wliitli 
 teniperetl the heat of the air, and made it exceedingly pleasant. 
 
 During the afternoon I obscv d the >ea fieciuently discoloured by 
 largo patches of ru^ty rc<l, caused ])robably, by quantities of the Him- 
 itlla Cwi'uSf or some allied ipccies of /vfusorla. 
 
 Friday inh March. 
 
 We are rapidly ncaring J'ort Eli7,ai)eth, where wo are to end our 
 voyage, and bid adieu to the ohi Irgont. Few of us, I think, will re- 
 gret setting foot on land again, as we have been so uncon^fortably 
 crowded since we (juittcd Quecnstown ; but, nevertheless, wo n)»ght 
 have been worse off — for our weather, with the exception of the two 
 first days, was |)erreetly lovely throughout ; and the oflicers ol" our 
 gallant ship made themselves as agreeable, and us as comfortable, as 
 pssible, under the circun)stances. 
 
 The coast, al'>ng wluch we have been steaming to-day, haa not been 
 remarkable; though pretty bold, without being in any degree moun- 
 tainous. Tiie weather was gloriously clear, with gentle airs from the 
 south-west, and we have been going rapidly through tlie smooth sea. 
 The run, up to noon, was one hundred and ninety miltjs. 
 
 Saturday 10th March y r. M. 
 At anchor in Algoa Bay, 
 
 Poi-t Elizabeth was in sight early this morning, and, at nine o'clock, 
 we anchoreii in th<^ roads. The disembarkation of the Regiment has 
 been going on all day, and only m company, with a few stragglers, 
 remain on board. 
 
 In consequence of the tremendous surf on this exposeii coast, peculiar 
 boats are refjuired for landing ; they are large, one- masted lighters, rig- 
 ged with mainsail and jib, and manned by two or three hands. They 
 are sailed or towed, according to the wind, to within al)out a quarter 
 of a mile of tlu; sljore, and then warped througli the surf by means of 
 
m 
 
 a cable lusteneil to a buoy outside tlie breakers. 
 
 AltliougU we anclioretl at nine o'clock, it was nearly noon beibr© 
 any boats arrived, and then only two made their appearance. It oc- 
 cupied considerable tiino to fill tliem, and the wind, which was blowing 
 half a gale off-shovo, from the north-west, delayed their progress im- 
 mensely. One b()at liaii to n)ake three tacks before she fetched tlie 
 buoy, and another had her most carried aM'ay, and was obliged to an- 
 chor, until a third arrived to relieve her of hei" load. 
 
 Coryton came oiF in one of the first boats, as also <iid the Oom- 
 majidant, and several other stafi' people ; tlie accounts of the country 
 are not cheering ; everytln'ng is at famine price, and there is not much 
 ho])e of a change for the better. 
 
 We continued the disembarkation until six o'clock, when the surt'- 
 boats would work no longer; and Martin, Snooke and I, with tho 
 company, and a few others, have settled down (or the night. 
 
 The ship is charmingly quiet now, and, as the wind has gone down, 
 we have not even its whistling to break the silence 
 
 I*ort Elizabeth is a straggling, unprepossessing-looking town, built 
 on the slope of a low hill, with a few oiviuntalns in the distance. The 
 country is apparently sandy, and nearly approaching to a <lcsert ^ 
 there is not a trcv to be seen. 
 
CILiPTEllIV. 
 
 From Port Elizabeth, to Qrahamstown. 
 
 Suuday llthMan]v4P. M. 
 
 Cam]), Port Elizabeth. 
 We were up betimes this morning, and, after the men had got some 
 breakfast, we left the Urgent for the shore. Tlio day was fine and 
 comparatively calm, so that our sail did not move us very rapidly 
 through the water; we tacked once, and then the crew towed the lighter 
 to the buoy, when the breakers almost did the rest for us : tha duty 
 of the hands being scarcely more than to keep the cable in its pro- 
 per place, so that the boat should not swing round. 
 
 We landed, and marched up to the camp, on a hill outside the 
 town, where we soon pitched our tents, and settled down for the pre- 
 sent. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the camp, to the westward, but some hun- 
 dred feet lelow the level of the hill which is covered with our tents, 
 the pretty little Baaken's River wanders through a deep and narrow 
 glen — or kloof, as the colonist« call it — to the sea ; .md really, the 
 
92 
 
 'cragg) sidts of tliih ravine, \»lucl) are isheer precipices in some parts, 
 and, here and there, co\ered with dense shrubby >egetation — deno- 
 minated bush — are very picturesque, and a reliet'iotheeye, amidst so 
 much sameness, as the.country round presents. The kl of i^ not above 
 two miles in length, and the river seems to have no more remote origin 
 than its upper end. At the bottom of the valley, along the banks 
 of the stream, there are some bridle and foot-paths, and the place 
 appears to be a favorite promenade. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon, the Urgent steamed out of the Bay, 
 and was speedily lost to view in the distance ; she only stopped to dis- 
 embark us; and has hurried off to take the 2nd or Queen's Regiment 
 . on board at Buffalo-mouth — ^^whence she will proceed to China. 
 
 Monday 1 2th March 9 P. M. 
 
 Once more preparing for a move. The Colonel rode up to camp 
 about eleven o'clock this niorning, and handed me a route for my 
 march to Gruhamstown, with a detachment of a hundred and fifty 
 ■ men. We have been very busy throughout the day, having had to 
 lay in groceries for the men, for eight days, as there are no places on 
 the road where we can depend upon getting anything. My own com- 
 pany, with Martin and Snooke, sixty-four men of Nos. 5 and 6 
 Companies, under Fitzgibbon and Montfort, and Baker, in metlical 
 charge, make up the deta-Kof the detachment. 
 
 Tuesday 13th March 11 A. M. 
 Camp " Yelling's." 
 
 Here we are, at our first halting- place, •Iter a march of twelve miles 
 and a quarter. The taps went at two A. M. and soon afterwards, hot 
 coffee, with a small quantity of bread, was served out to each man. 
 We moved off about half- past four, the Band playing us to the end 
 of the town — a distance of fully a mile — and rousing the good people of 
 Port Elizabeth from their slumbers most effectually. 
 
 Six miles from the town, we crossed the River Zwartkoppes, by 
 the Rawson Bridge — a large wooden structure — and arrived here at 
 half-past nine, having halted once for about ten minutes. Day was 
 breaking when we left the camp, and the interval between night and 
 broad sunshine was so short, that towards the end of the niarcli, we fek 
 the heat very mvicb. 
 
3n 
 
 Brcakiiist wys ready al:out ten o'clock, and now, tlic caiup is as 
 silent as if it was night; tlic wluile dotaolinient loing literally fast 
 asleep. 
 
 Tlic country tliat we passed through this morning was Hat, un- 
 interesting, and without trees, hut here and there coveretl with the 
 low, dense, thorny bushes of Mimosa (Acacia HorridaJ tliat, witli 
 Aloes, Eiiphorhiiey etc. take the place in South Africa, of the forests 
 that adorn the surface of more favourcil lands. 
 
 The road was very dusty, and not over good, and human habita- 
 tions were very few indeed. 
 
 We passed several creeks, with some swampy land about them, 
 where we disturbed sand-pipers, curlew, and other wild birds; and I 
 noticed icn.c really sph^ndid flowers growing on the rood- side, and 
 amongst the coarse rank grass of the fields. We encountered a few 
 of the immense bullotk-waggons, drawn by six and seven span of oxen, 
 but otherwise, the Queen's highway, throughout our march, was quite 
 deserted, except by a species of Francolin, (Franrolimis NudkoUis) 
 here called the Pheasant, of which we saw some feeding in the middle of 
 the road. A large description of termite-lull was very plentiful ; they 
 were scattered about everywhere, and were much larger than any I 
 ever seen before, being from one to three feet in height, and built of 
 dark mud, baked quite hard by exposure to the sun. 
 
 Our camp is on a patch of grass, backed by a mass of bush, with 
 which the neighbourhood seems amply supplied; tho country is al- 
 most level, but there is a handsome wooded hill — of rather diminu- 
 tive size, however — with two summits, not far from us. Water i- plen- 
 tiful and good, but it is more than half a mile di.stant, r.nd is obtained. 
 from a spring near the foot of the hill just mentioned : there is but 
 one house in our vicinity. 
 
 « 
 
 8 P. M. We roused up the men at half-past three, and they dined 
 about four, after which, we pitched the rcnuiinder of our tents, nu)unt- 
 ed a guard, and made everything snug for the night. Our baggage- 
 train consists of seven Commissariat mule- waggons, with eight mules 
 each, and one hired ox- waggon, drawn by twelve bullocks. The former 
 travelled rapidly, and came on in advance of the column, but the latter 
 has only just arrived ; it contains the men's packs and blankets, which 
 
u 
 
 a considerate government expects they will carry themselves, under the 
 almost tropical sun of South Africa. 
 
 Tattoo wont at sunset — about seven o'clock — and the men are all 
 in their tents now. 'The Sergeant of the Guard has orders to allow no 
 noise or talking in the camp, as I want the men to sleep» so as to be 
 ready for an early start to-morrow. I mean to march, in Indian 
 fashion, by night, in order to avoid the great heat of the sun, and I 
 shall send on in advance every morning, tent-pitchers, water-carriers 
 and cooks, in the mule-waggons, so that, on arrival at our halting 
 places, we shall find our camp ready for us. 
 
 Wednesday 14th March 11 A. M. 
 Camp " Sunday's River." 
 
 This place is styled "M'Loughlin's*' in the route, but the proper 
 name seems to be the one I have adopted. 
 
 Our reveille went half an hour after midnight, and the tents were 
 speedily struck, and everything packed a^ay in the wagons, after 
 which, we had hot coifee and bread served out to every man. 
 
 We marched at twenty minutes past two o'clock a. M. having re- 
 tained one waggon to guide us, and sent on the remainder in advance, 
 with the cooks and others. At a quarter past seven o'clock, we crossed 
 the Sunday's River — distant twelve miles — by a pont, or floating- 
 bridge, and arrived at our camp-ground — two miles further — at eight 
 o'clock, where wc found our tents nearly ready for us. 
 
 The men marched infinitely better to-day than they did yesterday ; 
 although tlie roads were much worse, being nearly ankle-deep in aand 
 for ten miles out of the fourteen : but, by avoiding the heat of the sun, 
 we got in comparatively fresh, and quite comfortable, instead of being 
 hot,, and weary. 
 
 The country that we passed through this morning was fully as flat 
 and monotonous as that which we saw yesterday, with the exception 
 of the portion near the river, where the vegetation is more luxuriant, 
 and greener, and loss desert-like than common. The dead level of the 
 surface of the land, too, is broken by knolls and low rolling-hills, many 
 of which are covered with bush, and very pretty. The river, at the 
 ferry, is about fifty yards across, but the water is thick and muddy ; 
 its banks are low, green blutfs in some places, but, near our camp, 
 
3.' 
 
 which is only about threo hiindrod yards troni oDe of iht windings of 
 the stream, they are mucli Hatter, and only picturesque from being 
 covered with vegetation. The water — independently of its being very 
 thick and full of sand — is brackish, as the tide comes up a long dis- 
 tance. 
 
 The Sunday's River is a considerable stream, which rises in the 
 Great Sneeuwbergen, and, after a course of more than two hundred 
 miles, falls into the sea at Algoa Bay. 
 
 Our camp is on the north bank, and facing the north, and, oppo- 
 site to us, there is a range of low, square, table- topped hills, which are 
 striking and beautiful ; they are only three or four miles away — per- 
 haps not so much — and covered with bush. 
 
 A heavy dew fell last night, and the morning was quite cooJ, and 
 exceedingly pleasant ; the heat now, however, is very great. 
 
 8 r. M. We had dinner about three to-day, and parade at five, 
 after which, the same arrangements as yesterday. The men are march- 
 ing in their blue, serge sea-frocks, instead of tunics, and we do not 
 present a very imposing appearance on parade ; however, the gain in 
 comfort by the adoption of this ch)thing is immense. 
 
 There is pretty good water here, but it is not equal to that of Tel- 
 lings ; it is obtained from a spring about half a mile away. There are 
 plenty of doves (Turtur Sf;ifiitorqvatusJ in the neighbourhood, of 
 which, Martin shot half a dozen : and Mr. Hall, our Commissariat con- 
 ductor, gave us a curious animal, which h« killed between this and 
 Yelling's, and which he says is capital eating ; it is half kangaroo, half 
 fox, in appearance, and is known as the Jumping Hare, or Spring 
 Haas (Ifelamys CapensisJ. 
 
 We saw scarcely any houses on our march, excepting those at the 
 ferry, but wo met several of the long bullock-teams, one of which had 
 eight span of oxen. The drivers make a hideous noise, cracking their 
 immense whips, and shrieking horribly at their animals. 
 
 Thursday 15th March 11 A. M. 
 Camp Nanaga. 
 
 The night was very close and hot, and the morning densely foggy ; 
 but, towards sunrise, the fog cleared away, and a light breeze sprang 
 up, which relieved us of the oppressive sultriness of the air. It is now. 
 
3G 
 
 bowyver, extremely hot again, and tlie sky olouiiles*. We marched 
 from Sunday's River at twenty minutes past two, and reached this 
 place, which m the route is called "D' Amount's," at half-paoi six. 
 The distance is estimated at eight miles. I couhl not seo much of 
 the country that vie passed through, owing to the mist, but it appear- 
 ed to be nearly a perfect flat : better land, however, than we have seen 
 as yet ; with more green about it, and some cultivation, including 
 fields of maize. Within about two miles of the ramp, i think we 
 passed a river on our right, but it was too dark to see distinctly. 
 
 We are encamped in a most charming spot, in a valley between some 
 low rolling-hills, and beautiful flowering shrubs, covered with sheets 
 of blossom, growing all about us ; amongst them is a white jessamine, 
 (jifasminnm Capense) which is exceedingly fragrant. Tiie only water, 
 however, is in a sort of pond, at present loaded with raud. They say 
 it is all rain-water, and that they have no other within several miles. 
 There are two farm-houses close to ua. 
 
 We have a glorious night, though rather hot, and the breeze still 
 northerly. 
 
 Friday 16th March 1 P. M. 
 
 Camp Lewen-Bosche. 
 This place, generally called " Wheeldon's," is thirteen miles be- 
 yond Nanaga, and we arrived here this morning about seven o'clock; 
 having started a tew minutes after two. We came along at a crack- 
 ing pace, and kept it up throughout the march ; but, of course, there 
 was a great number of stragglers. At half-past five, we halted oppo- 
 site tlie Reitvley Hotel, to fill our water-bottles, and to allow the rear- 
 gurd to come up. 
 
 The night was hot, but a southerly breeze sprang up about day- 
 break, and cooled the air very much : the change was quite refresh- 
 ing. The sun is now very powerful, and the flies, which have being 
 annoying us more or less each day, are horribly troublesome. 
 
 We passed through a more picturesque cormtry to-day than hither- 
 to : it was deeply undulating, and, in many places, adorned with bush, 
 in clumps and patches, which broke the monotony of the endless grass. 
 There are hardly any settlements to be seen, however, and part of 
 the road was up-hill and very bad, though the latter portion was good 
 
37 
 
 ami hard. 
 
 The situation of our camp is pretty, arxl the patches of bush, whicli 
 I have just spoken of, give the (.'ouiitry round u.s, a park- like appear- 
 ance, and remind us of old Enyland. 
 
 Water is good and plentiful, and only about a quarter of a mile away. 
 
 Saturday 1 7th March ."i P. M. 
 Camp Gomka River. 
 
 We struck our tents about one o'clock this morning, and marched 
 from Lewen-Bosche at a quarter to three o'clock. It had begun to 
 rain early in the night, and the weather continued wot and miserable. 
 At first, we had some ho])eh of a change for the better, but they wore 
 speedily dispelled, for soon after we started, the rain camedc vn worse 
 than before, and it continued without intermission until an hour ago. 
 
 We passed through a wilder and more romantic country than I have 
 seen since we landed. The undulating and gentle hills of yesterday 
 changed, as we approached our present halting-pl.'n:c, into mountains, 
 broken by dfiep and frequent ravines. Everywhere the bush was ex- 
 ceedingly luxuriant, and the whole face of the land was perfectly wild. 
 At one place called Dasse's Klip, or the Coney's Rock, in conse- 
 quence of the abundance of Rock-Rabbits (Uyrax Caprnsis) which 
 inhabit it, al)out four mile . from our camp, the scene vias very striking; 
 a mountain rose upon oui left hand, and a glen, flanked by pieci pices, 
 sunk upon our right ; the road, m fact, ran along the slo[>e of the 
 mountain, some distance abov« its foot, and our elevation gave us a 
 view of the surrounding country, which seemeti to be very much bro- 
 ken, and studdeii with wild and rocky hills. We heard the barking 
 of the Bush- Buck, (Tragelaphtis Sylvatica) as we came along, and 
 fancietl that it was the cry of some species of wild-dog, until unde- 
 ceived by Mr. Hall. 
 
 The road was not good to-day ; for a wnsiderable portion of the 
 way it was up-hi!!, and for nearly the whole distance — estimated at 
 eleven miles — we were ankle-deep in mud. Shortly after we left 
 Lewen-Bosche, we met a heavy ox-waggon, which kept too much to 
 the side of the road in passing us, and upset into the ditch with a tre- 
 mendous crash ; it was literally smashed to pieces, but fortunately 
 without injury either to the driver or the team. 
 
38 
 
 About seven niiJes hatk, and three miles l»eton' conung toDasse'i* 
 Klip, we had to ford the BiK'-liinan's River, wliich is now only a tinv 
 streamlet, whatever it mav Im? during rainy wenther. 
 
 We arrived here at seven o'clock, niosttlioroughl)' wet and uncom- 
 fortable ; but I liad fires lit in all the tents imrociliatcly, which «lried 
 the ground, and enabled the men to keep their blankets from getting 
 damp. The rain has quite chilled the air, and the breeze is from tiie 
 southward. 
 
 8.30 P.M. Tlie weather still continues unfiettled and showery; 
 however, the ram lias k^pt off for several hours, and the men havo 
 dried nearly all their Wet clothes at the large fires, which are burn- 
 ing throughout the camp. The appearance of the latter— lit up from 
 end to end — is very beautiful. We shall halt here to-morrow, 
 
 Sunday 18th Mardi. 
 
 We did not march to-day, and towards evening, I explore<l tlie 
 banks of tlie Gf'.mka hx some (iistance. It is a pretty stream of 
 very tiny dimensions, tributary to the Bushman's River, very wiml- 
 ing in its course, and running at the bottom of a small ravine, with 
 abrupt sides covered with bush. 
 
 Our camp is really in a most picturesipie spot ; lying in a sort o( 
 valley, surrounded by low, rolling hills, beautifully wooded with belts 
 and patches ot bush. Tlie whole scene only requires tlie trees to be 
 of larger size, to be like an English park. We have fine large fires 
 again to-night, as it is chilly, from the continuance of the south-west 
 
 wind. '- ■'■''' • '■"'■■' ■ ■ -Vi.' ;' ... V- :-.r 
 
 Monday Iftth March S P.M. ^ *'■' H ■ 
 Camp Nazaar. 
 
 We had a chilly night, with a shower or two of rain, but the sky, 
 to-day, has been perfectly cloudless, and the sun was once more bright 
 and warm : the .south breeze, however, continues, and the night pro- 
 mises to be cool. We marched frorn the Gomka at three o'clock a.m., 
 and arrived li ere— distance seven niiles — at half-nast six. Thetrrass 
 was very wet in the early morning, but the sun soon dried it up. 
 
 The country that wo passed through was uninteresting, being un • 
 dulating, and principally covered with grass, though here and there 
 Av{ re patches of bush. The road was very rugged in some parts, and, 
 
39 
 
 for s<»nic ili.stan<r it was up-liill : on the wliolc, it was lieavy and 
 ratlicr bad. 
 
 Our camp is iji a valley near the banks of the Nazaar River, whicli 
 T\ms through a wild and precipitou.- kloof, or ravine, covered pretty 
 thickly with bush, but shewing the naked rock cropping out in many 
 places. 
 
 There is a hotel here, but their prices arc absurdly extortionate, 
 and we have not ufTordcd them much custom. 
 
 All the surroundinj:; country is covered with grass, excepting near 
 the kloof, where there is a small quantity of bush. It looked so 
 promising, that, after brcakfa.^t, wc went out shooting. Fitzgibbon, 
 Martin and Montfort, acconi]>anied Mr. Hail; Snooko started up the 
 kloof; and, about half an hour afterwards, 1 sallied out in the same 
 direction. • 
 
 I could not find Snooke, but wandered on by myself for a long dis- 
 tance without seeing anything, except a kind of lark with a yellow 
 breast, which had a cry like a kitten. I shot one out of curiosity, 
 and brought it to camp, where I learned that it was a peculiar species, 
 called the Fire-throated liark (C>rthclau<la Capensis). Before I re- 
 turned, I fell in with a largo flock oi plover fPluvianvn Coronaius), 
 but they would not let me near them, and out of three shots I only 
 bagged one bird. I also saw an antelope, which Mr. Hall, from my 
 description, declared to liave been an Ourebi, {Scojmpliorus Onrebl), 
 I got back about three o'clock, arid the others came in sojnetime af- 
 terwards, wiflt a Steinbok, {Calofragns Cavipiatris) some Red- wing- 
 ed Partridges {FrancoUnus Levaillanlii), and (Quails, {Cofnrnix Dae- 
 ti/lisonans). 
 
 Tuesday 20th March 8 P.M. 
 Camp Kareiga. 
 
 This place, denominated " Smith's " in my route, is about twelve 
 miles from Nazaar, and the same distance from Grahamstown, so 
 that to-morrow will see our wanderings over for the present. I am 
 by no means rejoiced that it is so, for I delight in this wild carap-lifo 
 amazingly, and shall feel quite uncomfortable when I get a roof over 
 my head again. 
 
 We were off, as usual, this morning, at a quarter past two, and 
 
40 
 
 con)|»Iettnl (iiir march at a quarter |>astsix. 
 
 The night was quite cool, ami, towanis daybreak, lieavv cloudi 
 swept up from the south- eastward, and came down upon us in close 
 fine rain, during the last two hours of our journey. The first fi'W miles 
 of the road were very heavy, up-hill, and rugged, but the latter part 
 afforded the best walking that we have yet met with : it was hard and 
 firm, but still smooth and void of dust. 
 
 On leaving our late camping-ground, we crossed the N.azaar, by a 
 bridge of masonr}', and, some distance further on, jumjied o\er tho 
 A.'^sagai -Bush-River, which finds its way across the road. It is a 
 very paltry streamlet at tho present moment, not being above three 
 feet in width. 
 
 j.ii the neigh bourhoml of Kareiga, the scenery was really tine, and 
 approached nearer to grandeur than even the broken hills near Bas- 
 se's Klip. For several miles the road was cut into the slope of a 
 mountain, which rose to a coMsi''':'rablo height on our right hand, while 
 on tho left, it ran down sheer and abrupt to a great depth. In the 
 bottom of this immense kloof, was the river — winding about, and 
 half hidden by the rank vegetation that filled the valley. Rolling 
 hills of varying height rose on the other side, and these were densely 
 clad with bush, amongst which gigantic Eu])horbias (Euphorbia 
 G-randidcns) were exceedingly striking. Two houses were nestling 
 down in the great ravine, and the whole landscape was one of unusual 
 beautv and magnificence. 
 
 Our camp is very prettily placed, and there are some green bush- 
 covered liills in cl(»se vicinity : ever^'thing looks fre.sh and beautiful 
 after the rain, which ceased about nine o'cUx-k ; and all the remainder 
 of the day has been fine. 
 
 21st March 8 P.M. 
 
 Fort England, Grahamstown. 
 
 Here we are at last, at the Head-Quarters of the Aimy in South 
 Africa; which, bo it known, consists of four regiments of infantry and 
 the Cape Mounted Rifles ! 
 
 We struck our tents at midnight, marched about one o'clock, and 
 piled arms in the barrack-square here — without stragglers, without 
 sick, and without priioners — before sun -rise this morning. 
 
41 
 
 Our jonrne)' to-iiay brouj^hl us tlirou^h a pretty country, hilly antl 
 picturesque ; wLich, however, ilet'reased in beauty as wo a}»)>roachetI 
 Gnihanistown. We had to fonl one s)iiall rivir, which crossed the 
 li!/j;hway and tuiuhlcd down amonfjst sonic rucks on our right. The 
 road, on the whole, was very g<iod, though the first live miles wore 
 up-hill. The morning tliougii quite cliilly, was clear and bright ; and 
 the day 1j;is been cool with a high soutli- westerly wind, which has 
 been whirling the dust about in a most unpleasant manner. 
 
 Grahanistown is a small, scattered place, but it is prettily situated 
 on the slope of one of the rolling, but not lolly hills, of which the 
 neighbouring country is composed. There arc some good houses, and 
 many trees are growing about them, which add much to their appear- 
 ance, and malvc them quite attractive. The barracks are inferior, and 
 very small : there is only accomodation for three hundred men, and 
 that ciiusists of narrow stone-houses with thatched roofs. The officers' 
 quarters are detache<.l cottages, prettily enshrouded in trees, but they 
 are in very bad repair, and not water-tight ; the mess-house is tiie 
 only respectable building amongst them, and it, although good and 
 spacious, is not in the best state of preservation. 
 
 22iid March 9 P.M. 
 
 It has been a chilly, windy day, witii occasional slmwers of cold 
 rn"'!t, Martin and I explored the town during the forenoon; at least, 
 to a certain extent : it is a desolate- looking place, with great wide 
 streets, and exceedingly' few people ii^ them ; there are some fairish 
 shops, some good houses, and a large proportion of bad ones, with 
 .several places of worship, one of which — St. Bartholomew's Church 
 — is a i)retty little building. The town is said to be progressing, but 
 it doe* not look so ; it rather gives me the idea of decay ; though why 
 I can scarcely tell, unless it is the silence and deserted appearance 
 of the streets. 
 
 Friday 30th March 9 P.M. 
 
 My company, with Fitzgibbon instead of Martin, starts for Fort 
 Peddie to-morrow, and, on the whole, I am not sorry ; as T am tired 
 of Grahamstown already. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Chrahamstown to Fort P>:ddie, 
 
 Saturday 31st March (i JVM. 
 
 Camp Driver's Bush, 
 
 AVo wore up at tro o'clock this morning, and were ready an hour 
 afterwards, but it was four o'clock before we started, owing to the 
 difficulty of g«-'tting the waggons under way. 
 
 The inorning^was very dark and foggy, with a drizzling rain, which 
 did not promise veil for our comfort, and, to make matters still more 
 agreeable, just at the outskirts ol'the town, we had to wade through 
 the Kowie River, which, not content with depositing a coat of mud 
 upon our trowsers, as we sank in it up to the knees, filled our boots 
 and socks with sand and water, and rendered us exceetlJTigly imcom- 
 fortable for the remainder of the maich. 
 
 Soon alter tiii.i adventure tlie waggon-drivers lost their way, on 
 some extensive grassy plains outside Grahamstown, and, it was some 
 thue before they regained the proper road. At last we arrived at 
 Governor's Kop — eleven miles from Oraham.stown — where! mtend- 
 
ii 
 
 ed to have fncampeil, but wo«k1 pnneil so very scan e, that I resol- 
 vtil to jiiisli tin to Driver's Busli, five miles tiirther. 
 
 Thf country i-ctwcrn (iriiliam.stown ami Governor'H Kop, is mostly 
 a level plain, v»iilu»ut trees and witliout bush, so tUr a>s I could see. 
 The Kop iii a naknl liill, v^iili the remains of a stone-building upon 
 it : a small stream at the fort supplies water, but, at the best, it id a 
 bleak, deiohite-looking place for a camp. 
 
 We left the Kop a little aftoi: nine, and arrived here somewhere a- 
 fcout eleven, at which time, the weather seemed to be clearing ott'; we 
 pitched our tents without delay, and, fortunately (or us, the ground 
 was not very <lamp, as I feared it would have been, after nearly seven 
 hours of almost constant rain. 
 
 We are encamped ou the slopf of a gentle hill, and have a very fair 
 supply of woed, and plenty of good water, in a little stream at the foot 
 of the declivity. There is a hotel a short distance off, where capital 
 egg.^ and butter can be procured ; and about half a mile away is a sort 
 of village, eon&isting of a few cottages, with whitewashed walls and 
 thatched roofs, strongly resembling Irish cabins. 
 
 There are numbers of pretty flowers growing all over the country, 
 and wild Geraniums and Pelargoniums cover our camj>-ground in 
 hundreds. The tluiracter of the neighbourhood, for some miles round, 
 is undulating, with spacious vallevs between the gentle swelling hills. 
 It is entirely destitute of trees, however, and the patches of bush are 
 very few and thin. 
 
 The road between Graham&town and this place, is pretty good, 
 though rather rough m one or two parts, and for the las^t five ndlea 
 it is entirely down hill. 
 
 8. 1*.M. A thunder-storm, with heavy rain, swept over us at five 
 o'clock, and it has regularly set in for a wet niglit : the wind has ri.sen 
 too, and it is blowing half a gale from the .south-westward — a cold, 
 biting wuid, that does not promise us much comlort for the next twelve 
 hours. 
 
 Sumlay 1st April, 11 A.M. 
 
 It rained and blew all night, and, though the down-pour has ceas- 
 ed, and the sun is once more shining, yet the wind is still high and 
 *.'old. The wretched ox-waggon with the men's knapsacks and blan- 
 
kets, has not yet appeared, and they have spent a cold and diragree- 
 able m'ljht. 
 
 7 P.M. No sign of the ox- waggon, and the penplt- at the hotdl 
 say tliat it imisl liave taken the "new road" to King William's Town, 
 and thereby missed us entirely. 
 
 We have little hanks of earth thrown up all round the curtains of 
 the tents, to keep the wind out, and, not\»ithstandingtliat it is really 
 cold outside, I think the nion will be very con/fortable, when their 
 tents are dosed for the night. ... 
 
 Snooke rode out to-day to look for the ox-waggon, and, on the 
 crest of a neighbouring; hill, he espied an object, which at first he fan- 
 cied was a Kaffir, hut, as he approached more closely, he perceived 
 that his sup)jf)sed Kaflir was an enormous bird. The i<lea instantly 
 flaslietl across his mind that tl.is gigantic specimen of the feathered 
 race could be no other than an Ostrich, and, chvj^ping spurs to his 
 pony, he started in pursuit. The huge bird, finding that he was 
 being chased, set off to run at a tremendous pace, and Snooke, ho- 
 ping to head him, galloped up the crest of the hill, as if he were riding 
 a race f >r life. The distance " between pursuer and pursued" gra- 
 dually decreased, and, when the guUant Snooke was sufficiently near 
 to fire, lie drew up and delivered a shot ; but, sad to relate, the pony 
 swerved, and the Ostrich, not relishing the sound, or the chance of a 
 repctiiitm wl' su-h a salute. Happed his broad wings and quietly flew 
 across* the river ; when Snooke lost sight of him at once and for ever. 
 The gallant sportsman returned to camp in great excitement, believing 
 that he hud chased and nearly killed an Ostrich ; and he was some- 
 what disappointed when he learnt that he had been galloping after an 
 uiu)fi'endiiig {Secretary- Bud, ((ri/pogcranus Capensis) whose safety 
 the law protects l>y a con.siderable fine. 
 
 Monday 2nd Aj>ril, 12A'oon. 
 
 CVu'p — *' Fraser's Camp." 
 
 Our Oomniissariat sergeant told me last night, that the road be- 
 tween Driver's Bush and this place was impassable for waggons in 
 the dark, so wo did not march this morning until half-past si.x. The 
 weather was still windy, but clear and bright. Wo found the road 
 dry and firm, but interspersed with rock«. It was, however, better 
 
45 
 
 limn we expected. The distance — es>t'uuated at nine inilcis — was af> 
 complishcd at ten inimitos to nine o'clock, and we encamped iiuine- 
 diatelj on arrival. ^'v: . 
 
 We have occupied the*gcntle slope of a low hill, that shelters us 
 from the ?outh-west breeze; which still continues, and keeps the air 
 almost cold. Wood is rather scarce, but there is abundance of goo<l 
 water in a stream close by, 
 
 W^e did not see a tree to-day, anil very little of the low, scrubby 
 Mimosa forest, cf whu-h "the bush" of the Cape generally consists; 
 the country was one vast expanse of grassy hills and vallies, crowding 
 upon one another like the billows of a turbulent and rolling sea; while, 
 away in the distance, to tlie east and north-(!ast, lay the blue suiu- 
 tnits of the far- famed Aniatolas — the stronjrliohls of the Kathr chiefs. 
 This celebrated range of mountains does not appear, however, of any 
 groat height, and, at this distance, it is by no means striking in form. 
 
 There is a capital hotel close to us, where we get everything we 
 want. The host, an Englishman, named Corbett, has been here 
 twenty years, he says; and ho tells us that there is plenty of game in 
 the neighbourhood, incliuliiig Buffaloes, (Bulidns CaffcrJ of which 
 he showed us four heads — the trophies of late expeditions. t ■ ,j 
 
 Ffrom the camp we can discern the tower of the fort at Trompet-- 
 ter's Drift, and also that at Peddie ; but the roads between these places 
 are very winding, and nearly double the length of the actual distance, 
 as the crow flies. There is a tower here also, on the highest summit 
 in the neighbourhood; at present it is unoccupied, >i^^ .... ',;:,. >,. ii ■ 
 
 8 30 r. M. It is a gloriously clear night, and not <|uite vso cold n% 
 I anticipated : the wind has got round a little, and is lighter. ^ ,;,.., 
 
 Tuesday 3rd April, 12 Noon. 
 Camp " Trompetter's Drift." 
 
 Here we are, on the banks of the Great Fish-River, which, by the 
 way, is a narrow stream of the thickest and muddiest w;;ter I have 
 ever met with : it is about tifty yards across, and the banks are low, 
 but prettily fringed with bush. We left Fraser's Camp this morn- 
 ing, a few minutes after seven o'clock, and arrived here about nine. 
 The road was the worst we have yet seen, and, in one or two places, 
 ^fis almost impafesablc foi waggons, one of which upset about a mile 
 
4() 
 
 nwuy. The country is rnllinp, und ratlier pretty, but very tliickly 
 tovered vitli bush, and tlie road very winding and very rocky. The 
 fort at Trnnipctter's was visible \ loiirr way off, from the top of the 
 hill : it is a compact little barrack, with high walls, pierced with loop- 
 lioles for musketry, and woidd afford accommodation for about fifty 
 men on an emeigeiicy. About a couplo of bunded yards distant, is 
 the tlrift over the Fish-River, which is a kind of raised pathway of 
 largo stones, extending from one bank to the other : it is fordable at 
 low water for horses and waggons, but at prefecnt, the river is so high, 
 that they say we cannot cross without getting every tldng wet. 
 
 There Is a canteen close to tlie fort, but no other buildings witliin 
 several miles : it is the most solitar)' post 1 have vet seen. 
 
 I have to leave Fitzgibbon and a parly of twenty men, at tliis lonely 
 little station, to relieve a like detacliment of the 13th Light Infantry. 
 
 T am told th((re is a little shooting in the neighbourlRXKl, w hich will 
 help the solitary Commandant to pass away his time, but otherwise, 
 there does not seem much prospect of any amnsemenf. 
 
 The fort lies in the valley of the Fish-River, and seems shut in 
 from air on every side : there are rolling hills all round, but only one 
 whicli is at all striking; it is a pwidiar-looking Qreen, bush -covered em- 
 inence, with a round to}) and precipitous sides, called the K(;odoo Kop. 
 
 The ox-waggon, with tlie knapsacks, arrived from Fort Peddie this 
 afternoon, and it cros>:cd the drift with some difficulty, as the river 
 has been rising all day : the water was higher than the bullocks' backs, 
 aud some of the contents of the waggon got wet. It appeared, as we 
 supjiosed that the drivers, who were Fingoes, and could nxtt under- 
 stand English, had taken the new road to King William's Town, which 
 Jiasses some miles away from this place, and it w^as not until he arrived 
 at Fort Peddie, that tlie corporal in charge of the baggage- guard dis- 
 covered the mistake; ho then lost no time, but at once started for 
 Tromi)etter's, and arrived as above-mentioned. The river is still 
 rising, and is some two feet higher than it was four hours ago . trunks 
 and branches of trees have been connng down with the stream, and 
 the people say that these are sure signs of a great flood. 
 
 Fitzgiobon's men went into barracks this <;vening, and the ))arty 
 .of the 13th are encamped near the river-bank. The day has beeti 
 
47 
 
 very fine, witliout being unpleasantly hot, and the soiitli winJ l<ept 
 the air cool. 
 
 Both Kaffirs and Fingocs are fine races of men, being powerftil 
 fellows, with splendid figures : they can scarcely be distinguished from 
 one another, and, indeed, the only difference between them is, that 
 the Fingoes were an enslaved tribe, and were the bondsmen of the 
 Kaffirs ; the latter still look on them — it is said — with scorn and con- 
 tempt. 
 
 Wednesday 4th April, 8 P. M. 
 
 The river is falling, but so gradually, that there is little chance of 
 our being able to cross in less than thirt)-s;x hours. We have liud 
 a fine day, until about sunset, when a thunder- shower passed over us 
 from the south-west. 
 
 Thursday oth April, 1 1 A. M. 
 
 The water on the drift is still too liigh for tlie mules and oxen. We 
 were up at four o'clock, and had everything ready for a start, but the 
 thing was impracticable, and so we must have patience, and wait for 
 another day. 
 
 Fitzgibbon's men have been at work, preparing a raft, by which 
 we sliall be able to cross the river : it will be ready in a few hours. 
 
 Camp— Blue River, 9 P. M. 
 
 At five o'chx'k this afternoon, I was told by the Commissariat 
 Sergeant that the drift was fordable for the mules, so we at once pre- 
 pared to march. The tents were struck and the baggage packed so 
 expeditiou.sly, that by forty minutes past six, we had all crossed the 
 river. This was qui«'k work, considering that the raft — which, by the 
 way, was finished about two o'clock — only carried five men at a time. 
 
 We are encam])ed about eight miles from Troropetter's, as, owing 
 to the roughness of the road, the waggons could not travel after dark, 
 but we shall resume our march with the daylight to-morrow. The 
 tents are pitched upon a patch of grass in the bush, and the little 
 Blue River — now about four or five feet in width — runs close by us. 
 
 Friday 6th April, 10 P. M. 
 Fort Peddie. 
 
 It has been a cool, and rather cloudy day, with a south-west and 
 fresh breeze. 
 
48 
 
 "We mavclic'd irom Blue River this inoraing at twc'iity minutes Le- 
 forc seven, and piled arms at Fort Poddie — distance eleven miles — 
 at twenty minutes before ton, without stragglers, except one man of 
 the 13th, and without a halt. This vas gootl marching — -eleven miles 
 in three hours — and more partifiilarly, as the first rive miles were up 
 hill. 
 
 Tlie road was hard and firm tliroi«j;iio'it, and there was no dust. 
 
 The country between the Blue River and I'eddie, is n.rStly wild, 
 and broken by tremendous wooded-kloofs, which, in some places, run 
 down below the level of the road to a great depth ; the bush in the 
 neighbourhood is very dense, and very plentiful : it appeared to be al- 
 most impenetrable. There were multitudes of those hideous-looking 
 Euphorbia trees, which are so abundant in South Africa. 
 
OIIAPTEK VI. 
 
 Fort Peddle, Line Drift and Taritadui Pcsl. 
 
 Peddle affords accommodation for about a troop of cavalry, and a 
 company of infantry, in separate barracks, botli of wJiicli are good and 
 substantial, possessing high ■walls pierced with loop-holes. There is 
 also a small mud-fort, containing a magazine, as well as Commissariat 
 and other stores : it mounts two old guns, but neither thoy, nor the 
 platforms on which they rest, are in a serviceable condition at present 
 There are a few detached cottages, occupied by staff sergeants and 
 Ro\al Engineers, an excellent stono hospital, and, about six hundred 
 yards distant from the infantry barracks, a square, stone tower, in 
 which, there is a second magazine and room for about a dozen men. 
 The infaHtry officers' quarters are also detached, but tliose of the 
 cavalry are inside the walls of the barracks allotted to that pt»rtion 
 of the garrison. The latter are new and good, but the former, on 
 the contrary, are very old and much dilapidated. A few American 
 Aloes (Agave Americana) and some half dozen specimens of that 
 gorgeous Coral-tree, called the Kaffir Boem (Eryfkmia CnffmJ are 
 
50 
 
 growing near the buildings, but, witli the exception of a ijiiantity of 
 the curious shrub known in ilie colony as the >S])eck-loeni, or Ele- 
 phants' P'ood, (Portnhcaria Afra), the little gardens contain s<'arce- 
 ly anything but grass. 
 
 Peddie, though denominated a town, is a very small place, rather 
 prettily situated in the dip between two of the gentle rolling hills, 
 whidi characterize tlie face of the country for many miles around. 
 The barracks are on the high ground close by, and, near them, runs 
 a little stream called the Olusie, which, after a winding course of only 
 a few miles, falls into the Blue I' iver, within a short distance of the 
 main road to Trompetter's Drift. The entire neighbourhood is al- 
 most wholly destitute of trees ; but the liilLs are covered with grass, 
 and, in some places, a iliick jungle of Mimosa buslies. The Ama- 
 tolas hide the view in one direction, but, otherwise, there is nothing 
 visible that deserves the name of r-cenery ; and even the mountain- 
 range is not, at this distance, in the least grand or striking in appear- 
 ance. There is, nevertheless, within a few miles of the Post, cne of 
 the wildest and most singular places I have met with in the country ; 
 — the more attractive, ];)erhaps, because it is so com[)ietely liidden 
 from sight, that the traveller, unacquainted with its existence, would 
 pass it by unnoticed. I allude to the valhn' of the Blue River, through 
 whicli runs a bridle-path to Trompetter's Drift, commonly known as 
 " the short cut." At about a mile or so from Peddie, it commences, 
 and thence, it Avinds, for almost the whole distance, through a suc- 
 cession of narrow and most picturesque gorges, walled in, h«?re and 
 there, by towering precipices, running sheer up for hundreds of feet, 
 ajid (lothed with forest — in some places so densely as to screen the 
 sunlight from the secluded path below. 
 
 Bush-buck (Traffehq)ht(s /%/m^/oa), Blue-buck {Oephnlopus Pf/g- 
 mm>), and other antelopes, are generally to be found in the thorny 
 and almost impenetrable bush, that extends from this place for miles 
 in the direction of the Great Fish-River, and the krantzes are full of 
 baboons (^Oi/nociphalus Porcarius), wliich can always be seen and 
 heard among.st the rocks, and near the water. Those forest-loving 
 birds, too, the Cape Pheasants {FrancoUnns Nudicollis), as well as 
 several kinds of doves, and many other representatives of the feathered 
 
51 
 
 race, share in the occupation of this rarely -trodden wilderness- 
 
 In the vicinity of Peddle, there are sevrral settlements founded bj 
 the quondam soldiers of the Anglo-German legion, but the while po- 
 pulation oi' the uhole district bears a very small projwrtion to that of 
 the Finfioes, wliose kraals are numerous in almost every direction. 
 
 A good deal of maize {Zm Mays), here crdlcd ''mealies," isculti- 
 \ated in the neiyiiLourliood, as well as a species of grain (Sorghum 
 CcfrorvniJ u^ually denominated Kaffir Corn ; and, after these crops 
 l;ave Icen reaixxl, the j^tuliblcs are commonly full of quails {Cotur- 
 vix Dac/i/lisavons), wiiith afibrd really pretty and pleasant shooting. 
 Now and then, a duck or two may le picked up alon^r the river, and 
 several species of the Bustnrd tribe frequent the grassy hills close by; 
 but the latter are very wary, and it iu ahijost iuipossible to approach 
 theni on foot. 
 
 'Jhe quail-shooting has, in my opjnion, only one drawback — the 
 danger from snakes ; — a danger, wliich, however, is more imaginary 
 than real, fur, though the most deadly kinds of these reptiles abound-, 
 they are ^ cry rarely the aggressors, and, usually, make off on the ap- 
 proach of a human being. A minor evil is the prevalence, in quan- 
 tities, of a troubiesonic weed (Bichns Pilosa), whose long aculeate 
 seeds stick with the utmost pertiiiacity in one's clothes. 
 
 The country between Peddie and Line Drift is deeply rolling, but 
 it is scarcely picturesque or attracti\e-l<>oking until we approach the 
 latter place, where the valley of the Keiskauia River opens to the view, 
 and the Amatola TtTountains afford a fine background to a singularly 
 wild and peculiar scene. Buck Kiual, four miles and a half from i^ed" 
 <lie. Was a military station during the late Kathr wars, but it is now 
 only a miserable collection of hovels, occupied by a detachnient of a 
 m(St u.seful and effective force — the Frontier Armed and Mounted 
 Police. About a mile or so nearer Line Drift, the road crosses the 
 CJwanga lliver, the scene of »>ne of the chief engagements during the 
 canqjaign of 1846. It is now dry in many places, but there is one 
 little reach, at the foot of a precipituous krantz, tliat is very pretty, 
 and looks like a tiny crystal lake fringed with bushes : — it is really a 
 pleasant relief to the incessant roll of hill and valley between it and 
 Peddie. The greater portion of the country ii> thickly covered with 
 
52 
 
 "Mimosa buslics, Riid a kind of coarse jjrrass, novr very brown and 
 vithtTod looking;. Line-drift Fort stands on a level plain, in the 
 bottom of tlie valley of tlie Kciskama, which is thereabouts exceed- 
 ingly picturesque, and amply diversified by strange-looking hills, and 
 vrild-looking kloofs. The stream is narrow — averaging perhaps five 
 and twenty or thirty yards across — but the water is clear and beauti- 
 ful ; and the banks are entirely and richly clothed with vegetation. 
 In some places they are quite level, and only a few inches above the 
 surface of the water, but elsewhere, tliey are often upright walls of 
 rock, thickly covered with bush, amongst which the striking and pe- 
 culiar-looking Gianl Euphorbia (Ei'phorhm Grauilidensj oeems to 
 preponderate. There are also some few trees of the Phoenix Recli- 
 nafa, or Little Date, which give a somewhat tropical appearance to the 
 vegetation ; and thousands of Pelargoniums and Geraniums almost 
 dispute posses^ion oi' the earth with the ab\indant grass. Some of 
 the krantzes are of enormous height, and curiously and regularly 
 shaped, as if they were cut out by rule. In many cases they are quite 
 precipitous — their almost inaccessil)le faces affording secure habita- 
 tions to the rock- loving baboons, which are very numerous in this 
 neighbourhood. The Fort is larger than that at Peddie, with a low, 
 stone wall round it, and, in the centre, a building of the same ma- 
 terial, which contains the magazine, and a tank of considerable size. 
 But the whole place is ruinous and most dilapidated — quite \m worthy 
 of the name of fort or barrack. The buildings, with the exception of 
 lliat already mentioned, are made of a wicker-work of branches, sn)ear- 
 ed over with mud — ^which is known, in the country, by the euphonious 
 appellation of " wattle and daub" — and the roofs arc thacthed with 
 coarse grass. The officers' quarters possess wooden floors, aud are 
 thus far superior to those of the men, which are entirely destitute otf" 
 any approach to such a luxury. 
 
 The only houses in the neighbourhood are the canteen, and the 
 contractor's store, both of which are above a hundred yards away. 
 
 The Dritl over the river is within a «juarter of a mile, but it i:i very 
 rough — being composed of large stones — and must be difficult to cross 
 when the water is high : there is, however, a ferry-boat, in charge of 
 the garrison, which is available in cases of emergency. The Keiskama 
 
5.3 
 
 is tlio Li.iiiiti.'iry, l)elwc«.'U tie Colony ami K.'iffraria ; arross which no 
 Kailirs are allttwcd to coint- without passes; and detathirents of'|jolice 
 are staticmcd all along the lino to fnl([)r(0 tins regulation. 
 
 Tamarlia Post — about eight miles distant t'roni Line- Drift — is si 
 tiMteil on the old road from Albany to King William's Town, ft ,i.s, 
 without exception, the most wretehed place I have seen in South Al'rica, 
 so far a.*- barraels art; etmcerned , — the (juarters of the oflicers and 
 men being alike aluiust uninbabitable. Tlie country, in general out- 
 line, resembles that in the vicinity of Line-Drift, but the bush has 
 been, for the most part, cut aw.ay ; and the eye roves over acres and 
 acres of grassy lields, without a tree or shrub of any description. To 
 the northward of the liarracks, is a range ofsquare-topped hills, called 
 Tamaclia Heights : they are of no great altitude, but, as they rise 
 very much above tlie >urroundiiig level, they are rither striking ob- 
 jects. 
 
 Tan)aeha is in British Kalfraria ; and many Kaflirs, under tlie petty 
 diief Siwani, reside in the neighbourhood ; they belong to the Ama- 
 gaika division of tlie Great Amaxosa tribe, of whom Kreli is the 
 T^kumkani or paramount .sovereign. It appears that all the Kafiirg 
 in British Kaftraria and the Cape Colony belong to this tribe ; which 
 is divided into the Amagelika, tlie Amagaika and the Araa T'Slara- 
 bie. Tliese sub-tribes axe respectively under the chieftainship of 
 Sandilli, Kreli and Umhalla, and are again sub-divided into Kraals, 
 governed by leaser cliiefs, such as Siwani. Kreli, although immedi- 
 ately ruling one of the sub-tribes, is still at tlio head of the whnle, and 
 paramount chief of this brancli of the KaOiv Race. 
 
CHAPTER y 11. 
 
 From Grahamatutvn to Knid-ama Moefc. 
 
 ' Thursday 24 til April 1802. •* 
 
 Fort England. 
 
 Somewhat Ic^s tljan tliree weel<s ago, the- SECOND-TENiii were 
 -startled out of the monotony of their every~day life, by an order, 
 which threatened, in no small degree, to realize the old adage of "out 
 of the frjing-pan into the tire," for, although the edict to which I 
 allude, did offer some prospect of variety to those who were weary of 
 the dusty streets and treeless tiats of Grahamstown and its vicinity; yet 
 the ruthless rending from the last relic of civilized life, which it en- 
 tailed, was something quite unprepared for, by even the most volatile 
 of the lovers of change ; while the others— especially those afflicted 
 with melancholy temperaments, and susceptible hearts— were hurled 
 to the very lowest depths of despair, where they will doubtless coa- 
 tmuo to linger, until "a change comes o'er the spirit of their dream/or 
 Fate shall transport them once again to the seaw.ud side of the Great 
 Fish-River. The firebrand, which »o effectually and completely dis-^ 
 
65 
 
 tuibed tlie t.'»|\iaiiiiuity of onr existence, was simply an uidir lor tlic 
 removal nf the ]ica<l-qiiarters of the Regiment from the capital <tf 
 tlu; Eastern Frontier tu Keiskama Iloek — a remote citpost amongst 
 the Amatola Monntams ; — an«l al&o, lor the lupply of strong detach - 
 jnents to two other singularly pleasant stations, wliicli respectively re- 
 joice in t])e apju'llalions of Fort IJcaufort anti Middle Drift. 
 
 Time alone can tell \.'.i tlier our destiny he for good or evil, hut, 
 meanwhile, we are all absorbed in the mysteries of packinj», and other 
 preparatory operations for our intended move; which Fate has ordain- 
 ed shall comnienee to-inorrow, ..> ,..,.,, ; :j .. • 
 
 . ■■'■ ' , '-■ ' -'' 
 
 Camp IJotiia's Hill. ;■ ;; :;;^ ,;;,'' 
 
 Friday 2oth April. if/ ,. 
 
 A gloomy and unsettled morning held out little promise of fine 
 weather for our departure from Graliam^town, hut, as yet, Damo 
 JSaturc has given us nothing worse than dark looks ; and we are now 
 ccimfortably enoan^pcd about nine miles from the town, on a ploasant 
 bit of level ground, where there is plenty of wood, and a small supply 
 of gooij water. 
 
 We manlied from Fort Englaud about one oCIock, and were es- 
 corted for some distance by the Band of the Cape Mounted RiMes; 
 but, otherwise, our exit from tJvahamstown was accouipli^hed with 
 something very nearly resembling solemn silence : tlie rm,'e-meetiug 
 on the neighbouring flats having, no doubt, a go<xldeal todo with the 
 deserted appearance of the streets. Those of our brother-officers re- 
 maining on detachment at Grahamstown, rode out with u> for several 
 miles, and two of them accompanied us even into camp. The scenery 
 of our route was not Interesting ; it consisted of a succession of the 
 low, r(»lling, grassy-hills, sprinkled with mimosa -bush, {Ac.ocia Hor- 
 rit/f'J which are characteristic of the vicinity of Grahamstown, and 
 indeed, of the colony in general — .so far as my Umited experience lias 
 gone. — 
 
 Camp " Cometjie's Drifl." 
 Saturday 26th April. 
 
 Reveille went at daylight, and, after breakl'ast, we marched from 
 Botha's Hill, and reached this place about eleven ocloch. The water 
 in the Fish-River was very low at the time of our arrival, and we arc 
 
50) 
 
 iKiw oncannictl on tlio east side nl' tlio struani — wliiih hero runs nortli 
 and south — liavin^r crossed the drift, .ind put thr rivor between us ind 
 our eanip orye.stenl.i). The morning wiw dark and mist}', hut, for- 
 tunately, the rain Uvyt off until we were fairly under eanvauH, when 
 fconie very heavy thundor-pliowers came down, aiul almost swamped 
 us in our tents. 
 
 The distance lietween Botha's Hill and Coinetjie'.i Drift it* said to 
 be fifteen miles, but it appeared to n)e to a|)proa<'h much more near- 
 ly to twenty. We pas.s(!d through a most wild and desolate country, 
 made up of tremendous l<l(X)fs, thickly covere<I with the perpetual 
 mimosa, and rcnky krant/.es, c|(/(hcd m antily with scrubby vegetation 
 of the same monotonous character. Many of the krantzes were very 
 liigh, fully deserving the name of mountains, and, in some places, 
 their sides were as sheer and ibiupt as it is possible to conceive. One 
 |Mirtion of t)ie rugged r{»atl wound through a most gliHuii) pass, called 
 Pluto's V^ale, which certainly deserves its ISatanic appellatioi. most 
 thoroughly ; boing destitute of water, and made up solely of treeless 
 mountains and vallies, robed in mimosa-jungles. 
 
 The Fish-River at the Diift is about forty or fifty yards across, and 
 the water, tlu)iigli muddy — as it always is — is well tasted and whole- 
 fcome. The caujp ground, liowover, is a bad one, bemg destitute uf 
 grass : and, owing to the heavy showers of to-day, it is now a mass of 
 mud. The old post of Cotuotjie's lies on the west side of the river, to 
 the left ; it seems to have been built of stone, and to have been strong- 
 er than most of the frontier fortresses that I ha\e .seen. The country, 
 that we have just passed through, appears, on looking at it from tlie 
 camp, to bo a vast expanse af rolling treeless-hills of nearly equal 
 height ; one round-topped eminence, near the river, alone rising to 
 any extent above the others. The road was deep in dust of a reddish- 
 brown to-(Lay, and I have never experienced a more unpleasant mardi 
 The heat also — although the sky was clouded — was considerable. 
 
 Camp " Breakfast Vlei." 
 Sunday 27 th April. 
 
 We were ott' this morning al)ont half-past eight o'clock, and com- 
 pleted oui n)arch to this place — said to be eleven miles — iji fair aver- 
 age time. The road was up-hill nearly all the way — the ascent from 
 
37 
 
 fho valloy of'tlu* Fi.sli-Ilivcr to tla* liijili laml, wliorc vo urv now cn- 
 cuiiijit'd, liirp very considerAhle. The country, lor the greater portion 
 of tlie distance, was even wilder tlian that which we passed through 
 yobterday, though not so <leso)ate-l(wking; and many of the krant/.es 
 weroiovcrcd with tall Euphorbias ( fjOjihnrlnd </ ruiii/ii/tins) giving the 
 l/Uhh thtrecm more the appearance of a tree-forest than any we have 
 hitherto met with. Onr UutL are now pitched on a heautiful plateau, 
 covered with hhort grass, and, here and there, a thin sprinkling of nu- 
 niosa. There is an hotel close by, as well as a police-Iuunick, but water 
 appears to bo very scarce. Fortunately, the rain yesterday filled all 
 the vleis, otherwise, we should have fared very badly indeed. A plea- 
 Hunter morning for marching could scarcely have been wislied for, as 
 the air was cool and the sky cloudy. ; '• 
 
 Some Kaffir races have been going on tliis evening in the vicinity o( 
 the can)p, alfording considerable amusement to the spcctatt>rs. 
 
 Camp "Kama's Kraal." 7 v , ; . V * i 
 
 Monchiy 2Hth April. ' , '■ = :■; ' ' ,. 
 
 The early morning was threatening, arid a light rain fell at inter- 
 vals for the first two or three hours of our march; but afterwards, the 
 clouds cleared away, and the sun shone out vigorously. We acconi- 
 plislied a considerable distance to-day — said to be eigliteen miles — 
 though I think there is little (h)ubt of its being a good deal more — 
 and are now ensconced amongst gently -rolling slopes, which are cover- 
 ed with luxuriant grass, and almost destitute of bush. There is 
 plenty of water in a streuni below the camp, but it is rather brackish, 
 and, consequently, not particularly pleasant. After our departure from 
 Breakfast Viei, tliis morning, we continued ascending for some distance, 
 and then, crossing a ridge of high land by a very rough roud, began 
 to move downwards again to the valley of the Keiskama. 
 
 On reaching the river, we found tliat the water on the drift was 
 rather high, so we crossed by a ford a little lower down ; and managed 
 to make tlio opposite bank without getting very wet. The river was 
 rolling its bright, clear waters between picturescpiely wooded-banks of 
 luufh beauty, affording a most pleasing contrast to the monotonous- 
 looking mimosa-country, with which the last three days have render- 
 ed us so familiar. After the passage of the river, wt liad t<> ascend 
 
5^ 
 
 a fiiglilfuHy rctf-lt liill, on wli'uli'our ni die -waggons stuck fa.sL lor a 
 time. This hill vas clutlied with uiimosa as ii&ual; but, nlVcr ha- 
 ving left it beliiixl us some short distance, we began to enter a decided- 
 ly boftet and more fertile t'ountr}' — pretty free from bush, and cover- 
 ed vith wl)at appeared to be luxuriant grass, inteispersed with Kallir- 
 corn fields. We passed through two or three Inaals, Iron) which the 
 natives ruKhed out in swarms, with milk and water-melons, luxuries 
 tliat were readily di.sposed of to the thirsty men. • 
 
 The Amatola Mountains, which wo are rapidly apji coaching, furmed 
 a con,spicu()us ft-rUure in the landscape to-dav, and v.-ere clearly de-' 
 lined against the morning sky. , , 
 
 eiskania lioek. . * 
 
 ' ; Tuofsdfvy 20th April. 
 
 The morning was misty and cool, and'the grass very wet, after tlie 
 tremendous dew of the previous ni|.>ht. We were up at daAvn, and the 
 column marched at a quarter before .seven o'clock. As the mist clear- 
 ed a,way, a magnificent ]>lcture burst upon us. The bold and beauti- 
 ful niountains stood ont from the pale blue .sky in .striking relief, and 
 fornu'd a splendid background to the green and pleasant fields, through 
 which'our journey lay, The change in the appearance of the country, 
 •since we cros!^»;d the; Keiskama, is almost marvellous; and it is ditti-.; 
 ( ult to believe that we are still in Southern Africa, witli which we 
 have hitherto been accustomed to asswiate mimosa-jungle and naked 
 rocks >K) completely, as to e:sclude all idea of such green and lusuriant 
 tields as we have bclield during our march to-day. About seven miles 
 from Kama's Kraal, we ascended a steep moniitain, called the Ta- 
 bandoda or T'Slambie's Kop — the waggons going round by another 
 route across the Debe ISiek — and thenceiorth, until we reached Keis- 
 kama Iloek, the country was picturescpie and beautiful in the extreme. 
 Looking backwards from the Tabamloda, the view was extensive and 
 exceedingly rclreshing: the splendid and luxuriant plain below us, Avas 
 dotted with sc|uare patches of green corn, reminding m somewhat t»f 
 old England ; and Jookmg fonvard, we beheld a rolling country, cover- 
 ed with verdant grass, and watered by .^^everal bcautilul streams, flow- 
 ing through grouj)8 of bond fidv forest-trees, such as some of us had 
 a<-tually despaired of ever seeing again. About five nvllcs from the 
 
50 
 
 Tabandoda, we arrived at Ijailie's Crave, vrhcrc tlicre was at one time 
 a small milltarv post. This pla<:o has earned its peculiar and mourn- 
 ful name, from the fact of Lieutenant Bailio — a volunteer officer — 
 having been killed there, by the Kaffirs in the war of 1835. The 
 scenery in the neighbourhood is exceedingly pretty, and a good dear 
 stream of water called Umxesha, tldws close to the remains of the old 
 post. There is a hotel within a short distance, and we halted in its 
 vicinity for dinner. 
 
 From Bailie's Grave to the Iloelv, the road is most picturesque. 
 It is somewhat winding, and tho deep undulations of tlw country, which 
 it follows, only serve to add to its attractions. Perhaps the most 
 charming spot of the whole route is a little brook, at tho southern foot 
 of the Red Hill, which is completely enshrouded in trees, exccptmg 
 where the road crosses it by means of a small bridge, constructed by 
 a party of the bath Light Infantry, under Lieutenant William Gal- 
 braith, who left a record of hit work on a stone, now standing close to 
 the spot. It bears an inscription m Latin and English, which runs 
 as follows : — 
 
 Le(:;ionis lxxxv manit pons steuctus est. 
 • ' A.D. MDCCCLX. 
 
 Mons stal)it : cTCscet arbor : » • 
 
 Labotur amnis : pons sodebit ' 
 . (l!idilicat<'re-i pcriunt. 
 
 '^ ^ : The tree shall grow : the brook shall gbdo' 
 
 The hill shall stand : the bridge shall bide: . . 
 ■ ' : ' vj, Tho builders, like the tading ray ' ^ ; )' . • > 
 
 '* Of summer's^ sunset, pas* away. ' ^ ■ 
 
 The Red Hill is tho lowest part of the Quilli-Quilli, one of the 
 mountain- ranges of the Amatolas : and the brook is one of the sources 
 of the Kabula River. 
 
 We are told that, when the httle bridge was built, the branches of 
 the trees bent over and almost screened the road from tlie suti, so that 
 the place was wrapped m a pleasant gloom, even through the mid- 
 day heat of s\iranier ; and Bishop Armstrong, when describing his 
 journey from Keiskama Hook to King William's Town, has alluded 
 to ihe Ijtlle .stream in the following words;— "One English- looking 
 
()0 
 
 brook dt'IighU'U us. overhung vrith dark massive trees tliat shieWctl 
 us for a iiAoinent from tlio licrcciiess of the sun." 
 
 It is, in truth, somewhat suggestivo of Old Englaiul, and rnayhnj^, 
 its fancied resfmblanco to some familiai home-scene, earnt;d for it the 
 poetical inscription, which has invested its o;nrg!ing waters with a ro- 
 mantic interest scarcely merited by t)ie intrinsic beauty of the plnce. 
 
 From tlie lied Hill we got our first glimpso of Kciskama Iloek — 
 a beautifid level valley, apparently entirely surrounde<l by mountains; 
 but it was late in the afternoon l»efore our journey was ended. 
 
 The far-famed hos])itality of the 8r)th Light Infantry awaited us, 
 and, though they were to start en route for East Loudon on tiie 
 loliowing morning, a sumptuous dinutir was the welcome we receised 
 .at their hamls. 
 
 
CHAPTEPt VIIL 
 
 Keiskmna Iloek and its vmnifi/. 
 
 The beautiful vallcj, which contains the military post and village 
 of Keiskama Hoek, is corii])lctely encircled by the loftiest mountains 
 of the Iseli and Amatola ranges, >»hosfc towering forms are amply 
 diversified with beetling crags and smiling patches of rich forest, af- 
 fording most picturesque combinations of rugged grandeur, and soft, 
 luxurious loveliness. 
 
 The valley is of small extent; and many of the lesser hills and spurs 
 approach to witliin a iriile of Castle Eyre — a stone tower foruiing the 
 ccnlro of the so-called barrack-square. Two small rivers — the Gulu 
 and the Keiskama — water it abundantly ; and the latter is certainly 
 tlie most beautiful stream I have seen in South Africa. Clear and 
 bright as crystal, it winds between picturesque and charmingly wood- 
 ed banks almost throughout its course of nearly a hundred miles. It 
 rises in the Doorn-bergen range of the Amatolas, and is speedily join- 
 ed by the Quilli-Quilli, the Umtwuku and the (luhi — all of which are 
 mountain rivulets Howing from the diflerent hills, which enclose its 
 
B2 
 
 infant waters. Tlie Wolf, Auiatola, It-wasi, and Kabula, feed it be- 
 tween Keiskania Ilotk and Middle Drift; and the Chumie falls into 
 it about six niiles below the last mentioned place : thence, it pursues 
 a southerly course until it reaches the sea. During its journey be- 
 Iween Keiskau)a Iloek and Middle Drift, it winds through the cele- 
 brated Booina Pass, and runs close to Burn's Hill Mission -Station 
 and Fort Cox. 
 
 Keiskania Hook is so nanied,in consequence of a great bend or el- 
 bow of the river, which almost encloses the village ; such being the 
 signification of the Dutch word Hoek : but the derivation oi^Keiskama 
 is not equally apparent. An idea that it means " sweet water," seems 
 very strongly impressed upon the inhabitants, though to what lan- 
 guage the word should be referred, I cannot clearly make out. Atna- 
 tola is said to be a combination of two Kaffir expressions, viz : ama, 
 many, and (ola, a calf: in allusion probably, to the quantities of cattle 
 for which these hills afford pasturage. 
 
 Keiskama iloek was once occupied by the Great Kraal of San- 
 dilli and his Gnikas ; but, in .1853, they were dispossessed by the 
 British, and theii lands portioned out to Fingoes — formerly their slaves 
 and hereditary enensies — who were introduced as a means of offering 
 the most effective barrier at that time feasible, to the resumption of 
 the country by them or their allies. Tho post was commenced in the 
 same year by detachments of the Gth Royals and the Rifle Brigade, 
 under Brigadier General Mackmnon; and subsequently, completed by 
 the Reserve Battalion of the 12th and the 73rd Regiments: since 
 then, it has never been without a British garrison. It has, at pre- 
 sent, little to recommend it : the barracks are in a tottering state, 
 and many of them are propped up to prevent their falling :— even the 
 officers' quarters have nothing but mud floors. High and disagree- 
 able winds prevail, and whirl dense clouds of sand about us so per- 
 tinaciously, that we seem to live, for the time, in an atmosphere of 
 dust, whidi is, moreover, so insidious that even the most habitable 
 house we possess cannot keep it out. From the 11th June to the 
 11th August 1862, there were twenty-five days with strong winds 
 blowing throughout, and nine days with partial winds. Theclimate, 
 however, is, on the whole, good and pleasant; and, at times, the wea- 
 
r.3 
 
 tlier approaches so nearly to perfection, as almost to realize that won- 
 drous halcyon season, winch was believed by the ancients to wait up- 
 on the kingfisher during its period of incubation. 
 
 The village is a ftinall place, consisting of some three or four dozen 
 sun-dried brick cottages, with thatched roofs and mud floors, amongst 
 which there are two or three shops, where the requirements of exis- 
 tence can generally be obtaine<l at large prices — a natural and una- 
 voidable consecjuencc of the expense attendant upon land transport from 
 the sea-coast. Fingo Kraals are scattered liere and mere in the 
 neighbouriiood, but tliey are neither picturesque nor interesting, 
 though perhaps their proximity is beneficial on account of the cattle 
 which their occupants V)reed. 
 
 Independently of the cost of the common riCcessRrles of life, which 
 renders the Cape of Good Hope an exceedingly expensive station, wo 
 are cut off from many of the advantages which the most remote can- 
 tonment in India enjoys. We have only one mad to and from Eng- 
 land in the month, whereas India has four ; and, even at these long 
 intervals of time, we are denied the boon of receiving the magazine 
 literature of the day by book-post, but are compelled to wait patient- 
 ly, or impatiently, until some snail-like ox- waggon from one of the 
 sea-ports, drags its groaning and {breaking carcase within our reach ; 
 when — if we are fortunate — we may receive our supplies of periodi- 
 cals : — three months aflor puVjlication in England ! The same ordeal 
 awaits all other packages from " Home," and treble tlie amount of 
 time is absorbed in landing parcels and carrying them over two hun- 
 dred miles of South African soil, as is occupied in their transport 
 from London to Cape Town. It is only just towards Koiskama Hoek, 
 howe\er, to obs«»rve, that the foregoing remarks are applical)le to every 
 inland station of the countrv : as much so to Orahamstown as Kaf- 
 frarid. 
 
 The nearest posts in our vicinity are Middle- Drifl, situated upoii 
 the Keiskama, about seventeen or eighteen miles away in a south- 
 westerly direction ; the Dohne. to the eastward, at a distance of twenty- 
 two miles : and King William's Town, about five and twen ty to the 
 southward. Fort Cox is no longer occupied. A hotel at Bailie's Grave, 
 nine mdes distant, on the road to King Williani's Town, and a farm- 
 
G4 
 
 house at the Kabousie, wliere there -was once a inihtaiy poat, with 
 the addition of two mijsionary stations, compriso all the whito settlo- 
 roents of tlit immediate neigiibo'urhood. 
 
 Tliere is no shooting wortli speaking of ; a few franoolins arc to be 
 picked up on the hills ; in lome seasons quail are said to be plentil'ul ; 
 and an antelope or two, may now and then be obtained amongst the 
 kloofs; but even the most enthusiastic and persevering sportsman must 
 often return after a long day's work with an empty bag. On the 
 Bontebok Flats, however, about fifteen miles or so from the Post, 
 there axe quantities of springbok and other antelopes, as well a« a 
 few quagga and ostriches. 
 
 Eels and mullet may be captured with the rod and line, either in 
 the Keiskama or tl^e Gulu, but no higher description of piscatory 
 ,sport has ever been obtained that I know of 
 
CHArTER IX. 
 
 From King Willvm's Toivn tn Wiruhogdherg. 
 
 King William's Town. 
 June 19th 1803. 
 
 After a sojourn of little more than two months in this " capital of 
 British Kaffraria," I am about to start tomorrow for Windvogelberg, 
 the remotest outpost now in occupation by our troops : it is on the 
 high-road to Queenstown, and about twenty miles to the northward 
 of the main range of the Amatola Mountains. 
 
 About King William's Town I have little to record. It is a young 
 place, and said to be progressing ; though the evidences of advancing 
 prosperity are not very apparent to ordinary observers. Situated 
 on the left bank of the Buffalo River, in the bottom of a valley, its 
 site cannot be particularly healthy, and it i» certainly not picturesque 
 or even attractive in appearance ; though some of the views in the 
 neighbourhood, are, without doubt, really fine, embracing beautiful and 
 lofty mountains, clothed in som.e instances with splendid forest. 
 
 King William's Town is said to have been originally founded iu 
 
6() 
 
 1836 by Sir Benjamin D'Urlan, Lut it was afterwards abandoned 
 until 1846, when it was re-establi.slicd by Sir Harry Smith. 
 
 Tlie Regiment arrived liere from Keiskama Hoekon the 7th April, 
 having moved f'roiri that station on the previous day. . 
 
 Camp, near Frankfort. 
 Juno 20th-~9 P. M. 
 
 I left King William's Town with my detachment of three Sergeants, 
 one Drummer, and seventy-eight Rank and File, at nine this morn- 
 ing, and arrived here early in the afternoon, after a pleasant and easy 
 march of about twelve miles. Our tents are pitcheil u]ion a level bit 
 of grass, near the little Kamka or Yellow-Woods River, and within 
 a short distance <'f the village, Avhich is one of those founded ly the 
 German settlers. 
 
 The scenery of our route to-day, was not remarkable for anything 
 except sameness, which characterized it forcibly. The country was 
 rolling and gra: ly, dotted, here and there, with occasional Mimosa 
 bushes (Acuciii Horrida) and very rarely ornamentiul with woodland 
 of a more dignified description. Frankfort, however, is prettily si- 
 tuated at the foot of a bold and somewhat picturesque mountain, called 
 the Frankfort Hill, on the slopes, and in the kloofs of which, are 
 some patches of magnificent forest, with grand old trees of much beauty. 
 
 The day, though fine and l)right, has been rather cool, with a sou- 
 tlievly breeze, and .since sunset it has been positively cold- 
 , The Dohne. -- ^ •• - ' ■'•- -'. --- --■- ■ 
 
 ■^ June 21st— n P.M. 
 
 A waggon, which had been hired for the transjiort of t."Le men's 
 knapsacks, got as far as the river about an hour before dark yester- 
 day, but stuck fast in the drift all night;' so, while the breakfasts 
 were l)eing prepared, this morning, I turned out the detachment to 
 assi.st the bullocks, and the waggon waf soon released from its awk- 
 ward situation. After breakfast, by j'luicious packing, we managed 
 to stow away all the necessaries for f'ac camp to-night, including the 
 men's great-coats and the rations, in the three mule- waggons; alter 
 which, we moved on, leaving the other vehicle to follow at its leisure. 
 
 The morning was exceedingly fine, but, by the time we reached 
 the Dohne, fourteen miles distant, the weather became cold and windy- 
 
67 
 
 The ascent of FrtmUort Hill aopdiiiplislial, we tbund ourselves very 
 Jiiuch above the level of last night's cjuiip, and marching over a roll- 
 ing country, varied by flats of some extent, now brown and witherc«l- 
 looiiing, but adorned pleiitilully with briiiht-«^)loured wild-flowers and 
 a diminutive growth of some species of Prolta. With tli« exception 
 of the splendid bits of tbrcst in the KNjufs of the Frankfurt Ilill, al- 
 ready alluded to, and one or two other stray patches of woodland, the 
 cciiutiy IclvTcn Frankfort and the Doline displayed the same mono- 
 tonous features throughout. The Dohnc, Stutterhcini, and Ohlsen — 
 the first mentioned being the military post, and the two others Ger- 
 man settlements — were visible a long way off, nestling at the foot of 
 the Knkla/eli mountain — a beautiful and lofty peak of the Anuxtolas. 
 We got in abouc half- past ten o'clock, and found tents already pitche»l 
 for us, outside the fort, which, by tlu' way, has more pretension to 
 the title, tlum any of the other frontier posts that I have seen — ina.s- 
 niuch, as there are some palisades upon one side. 
 
 The German villages are long straggling places, of (juaint little sod- 
 houses, adorned by a .sprinkling ofBlue-(nun trees (EttcahiplusPcr- 
 slclfuUa) ; and a sparkling tributary of the clear and beautii'ul Kabousie 
 River runs through them. The quarters, inside the fort, for both ofli- 
 i.<^rs and men, are very bad, and in a ruinous condition. They are 
 (Constructed, as usual, of "wattle and daub;" the only buddings of 
 n>ason-vork being the guarti-louse and tln^ magazine. 
 
 It blew half a gale of wind all day, and was very cold; nevertheless 
 Sandwith and I strolled through the village of Stutterheini, and visited 
 all the the lions of the place. 
 
 The Dchne Po.st was originally built as a chock upon San<lilli's 
 tribe of (raikas, when they were expelled from their old hauuts in the 
 Aniatolas : the principal Kraal being within twelve miles. 
 
 I saw very few living creatures during our march this morning : 
 two or '^u'ee Plover [Pluvianus Coroiiafiis), half a dozen Fii"ethroate<l 
 Lurks [(Jerthilauda CajyensisJ, and some Black-and-white Crows 
 (Corvus Scaimlatus) making up the sum total. 
 Camp — Thomas Kiver. 
 June 22nd— P. M. 
 We marched this morning about nine o'clock, Sandwith accompany- 
 
68 
 
 ing me as far as Grevt()\Mi, spven miles from tlie Dulinc. Greytown 
 is a ruined village of miitl-lit uf^cs, sitiintrd ;i^ the fjot of tlio stu|»en- 
 dous (ircvtown llill, over \vinch the rond runs : it was originally bct- 
 tled by the German Lcj^ion. 
 
 The Ovsccnt hetwecn the Dolme and Thomas River, where wo are 
 encamped, is ahnofst continuous, and, in some parta, sudden ami ab- 
 rupt ; the diflerence of elevation in the two places must be very con- 
 siderable. At a sliort distance from the Dohne — near the road on the 
 left- liand side — Sandwith and I discovered a pewiliar-hjoldrg palm- 
 shaped tree, which wo at first thought was a Tree-fern, and then 
 mistook for a Date-palm. It proved, on eloper examination, to be a 
 Cycad — the Enciphahtrtos Cajjtr oi" Lchmaiiu, I think, and a largish 
 specimen, for it was fully si.xtecn feet in height. After Sandwith left 
 me, I saw hundreds of magnificent scarlet Gladi(»le.s, on the summit 
 and upper slopes of Greytown Ilili, displaying their gorgeous blossoms 
 in great crowds amongst the broken rocks. Animal life during the 
 route was scarce : some crows of the same kind as yeterday ; a few 
 hawks {Thmmmihoi Uupicohis) ; a good many Fire-throated Larks ; 
 some Sylvias with black anrl white breasts (Silvia PikafaJ and a few 
 Dikkop {(Ildii'ncmus Copensis) were the only specimens visible. 
 
 This was a long and dreary march — extending to fully twenty miles, 
 I should think ; over a rolling, treeless country, covered with brown 
 and withered-looking short grass, and interrupted occasionally by some 
 little clear streaudets of good water. There is only one house between 
 Greytown and the river, and that, probably, is the habitation oisome 
 German settler. We met, yesterday and to-day, a number of ox- 
 waggons, loaded with wool, on their way from Queenstown District to 
 the sea-coast. 
 
 Tlie Thomas llivcr is clear and bright, full of water, and about 
 twenty yards across We are encamped near its margin, about a 
 quarter of a mile away from tlie solitary hotel. 
 
 The undulations of the country we passed tlirough to-day, were 
 much deeper than those of yesterday. 
 
 Windvogelberg. 
 
 June 23rd~0 P.M. 
 
 It wa» very cold in camp last night at the Thomas River, and I 
 
GO 
 
 vas glarl cnouy}i ^hon tin- biijilo for rpveille announcffl tlie flaylijjlit. 
 Vilf woro uj) ^.}|.^^J), had breakfast, and ir,ar(ln'(l as soon af> possible 
 (or this plate, airinng in very gtx)dtinie. llandley rwlc out fnixn th« 
 Fort, and met nu> at the Tliorn Ki\« r, »vliit)i i^ ratlier loss fluin twu) 
 miles from the barraik*.' . ,; 
 
 The routo of tliim inonii/ig \vas miuh the same, in general character, 
 as thote of tlio pr«r\iou(» days : rather fewev bushes and more yrass, 
 bhort, brown, and withered. A continual ascent to the Wmdvogel- 
 berg — on the side of which stands the I'ost — visible at about eight 
 miles' di&tarce — enabled ti'j tow.irds the end of the march to heo the 
 f^t.ange and ecceiitrio ontliiics of the <-^ucenst<>wn mountains — uppa- 
 rentlv sonjc thirty miles bcyoml tho Windvogelberg — -as also a nearer 
 range extending away to t)ie right. I observed a pair of Secretary 
 Birds (GjU'Oijeranus Seipeninrlnty) this morning, a sn>all herd of 
 Springbok fixoX'Ila EvchorvJ , and si^me more crows and larks. 
 
 "^rhe Fort is a little redoubt with mii<l walls and mud barracks. 
 Tlie otlici;rs' quarters, however, are built of stone, as also the hcspi- 
 tal, maga/.ine ajid cook-houses. There is a dry ditch round the place, 
 and a stream of beautiful water — artificially conducted from the moun- 
 tain — runs through the Poht. There are extensive gardens attached, 
 for xhe officers and men, and some mud-<ottagcs for stafl- sergeants 
 and other people of the kind who cannot be accomodate*! within tlie 
 walls. Timber is vei-y scarce — even in the kloofs of the mountain be- 
 hind. -''■ -':■■■■■ ^-,: -Vs ;•''■-- ';,.<:..,: ,v. ^-\:.li^,'. 
 
 For miles and miles round this lonely po5t, tiees are rarely met 
 with, the whole country being one vast extent of deeply rolling and 
 hilly g!'ass-land — mis- named flats — firom amidst wliich tho lofty 
 peak of the Windvogelberg rise.s to the height of 53 i4 feet above the 
 sea, though its elevation over tlie Thorn River, is, of course, very much 
 less, belr.g somevhat ui.der fifteen hundred feet. Queenstown is dis- 
 tant about forty miles ; and the Kei River about thrt^o leagues. 
 
 Windvogelberg Fort was built, only a few years ago, by a detach- 
 ment of the 8oth Light Infantry, a wing of which regiment was then 
 stationed at Queenstown , and, with Tylden and .Tinvani, formed the 
 throe outposts of the immediate Kaffir border. The two last men- 
 tioned have recently 1-^een abandoned. Windvogelberg is only eight 
 
miles ihstani fr. -m the largo kraal of the redoul>te<l chief Anta— 
 brother of Sanailli— who was veil known as the "Giiika ^varrior" du- 
 ring the late wars. Tho name is coinpoiindcrl of thioo Dutch wowls, 
 Mvi'. ivinil Viuji'l mA henj, and imuns liti-rally " wmd-bird moun- 
 tain "'—the expu-ssion" wiiid-l.ird" havinjr rofcrcnco, it is snpjiosed, 
 to the Swiil, one speejew of Avhich (CyjJiflus Laicoihui) ;,tijms to be 
 abunil;\ut in the neighbourhood. 
 
«■ :- 
 
 ■ ' OUAl^TERX. • " 
 
 King William's Town io East London, ;' ' 
 
 King William's Town. , -; , , , * , 
 
 . Friday Jmio 3Td I «G4. 
 
 We received orders some time since to hold ourselves in readiness 
 to movft to Cape Town, there to embark for India, on being relieved 
 by a regiment fiom England ; but it would fetvm that our departure 
 from South Afrua is not so ininiediately certain as we imagined, owing 
 to the unsettled state of the Kaffirs on the iWioe frontier. An ex- 
 press arrived, within the past tew days, from one of the Police Stations 
 beyond the Kei, which appears to have contained warlikj intelligence : 
 inasmuch as re-inlbrcements of Poliro were instantly sent to streug- 
 tlien the frontier detachments, and the troops havi- rdl received notice 
 to be prepared to march at a moment's warning. 
 Sunday June 5th. 
 
 The akrm of the Kaffir outbreak seems to have pretty well sub- 
 .sided, for twu companies, under command of Sandwith. leave to- 
 morrow for East London, and the Il^jad Quarters are to follow on 
 
I tf 
 
 Wcdnf'6(Juv 
 
 Monday Jane 6th. 
 
 Sandwitli's detachment left King Willi: m's Town about three 
 o'olool; tills iiiori.ing, iu the iniilNt of a dense |.;g, on their vay to tht 
 port of eiDliarkution : but tlie Head- Quarters are not to go, it is now 
 said. iMitd Thursday. 
 '■ Wednesday June Sth. 
 
 At la>t there seems a prospect of our being really off, for the heavy 
 
 , bagjrage of the Head Quarters has already gone, and parade isj order- 
 
 . -ed Ibr half-jKist tuo touiorrow morning. H.M.S.S. Valorous is ex- 
 
 ' ,pected to arrive at East London on Sunday next, and, if all goes well, 
 
 we shall eudjark on the day following for Cape Town. 
 
 Fort Jaclison. ;.,,'*;,•;'' ■"'-'*'.":,_ ';^;j. 
 
 Thursday June 9th. ,.■'•'!" 
 
 Last night was very cold, and, before we turned in. Little and I 
 piled up a huge firo upon the hearth of our barn-like little residence. 
 All tiie choice pieces of SneezewoDd (J'lanrji/hm Vtik) and deal-- 
 hitherto reserved for kindling purposes — \\ere appropriated, and a 
 merry, cheerful blaxe they heii)ed to make. W^e siuinht our blankets 
 early, and had several hours of go«'d, sound sleep before the *' taps " 
 aroused us. Aliout three o'clock we marched out of the barrack- 
 , , square, in almost utter darkness, for the moon and stars wt-re hidden 
 by a thick fog : however, we felt our way — as it were — and pushed oa 
 steadily. The morning was q'.iite cold, but calm, and the day sub- 
 sequently proved very fine and pleasant. • , 
 , We arrived here — distant twenty-one miles — in rather les.»; than 
 seven hours : having halted at Berlin — about half- way- -f«)r coffee. The 
 road between King William's Town and Fort Jackson is, for the most 
 ptvt, good and imut>aally level for South Africa ; but there i.s nothing 
 remarkable in the appearance of the country, which is undulating, 
 aiid grassy, and occasionally ornamented with clumps of trees. AVo 
 crossed the Yelloww(.ods River at Breidbach — four miles from King 
 William':; Town — and another stream — whoso name 1 know not — 
 at Berlin. Both these places are small villages founded by the Ger- 
 man military settlers ; also Potschxm, which liea to the right of the 
 road between Berlin and Fore Jackson 
 
73 
 
 There is a standing can)p here at present, .".o ihm we had not the 
 trouble of pitcliing our tents. The Post is one of the ordinar) iviud- 
 Tedoubls of the country— a furtre.ss but in name — and almost In ruins: 
 it is garrisoned by a company of tlie 2nd Battalion 5th Fusihers- The 
 country in the iminediate neiiihbourliood is rolling and grassy, with, 
 here and there, a thia sprinkling of Mimosa trees. A river runs close 
 to the Pobt, which supplies the occupants with inferioi water : it re- 
 joices — I believe — in the name of Digado. 
 
 East London. , 
 
 ^Friday Juno. 10th. 
 
 At three o'clock this m^vrning we resumed our progress towards the 
 aea. We halted at Cambridge — distant eleven miles — for Cofffee,' and 
 arrived at Panmure early iu the forenoon. Panmure is on the north- 
 east bank of thtj Ri\ er Buffalo, and East London opposite. A pont 
 plies between the two places, where the stream is about three hun- 
 'dred yards across. The Buffalo, hereabouts, has bold shores — aseriea 
 of round -topped hills, densely wooded, in a great measure, by Eu- 
 phorbia forest, which is of a dark green hue like that of pine- woods. 
 The view lip the riv6r is exceedmgly beautiful and picturesque : the 
 stream narrows rapidly, and the converging banks, >ith the clear, dark 
 water between them, present a vista of great loveliness. 
 
 Panmure is a pretty village, and nmch more attractive in appear- 
 ance than Ea.st London, which has nothing striking about it, although 
 it boasts a light-house and a stone pier. On the Panmure side of 
 the river a breakwater is in couvse of construction, but it seems to be 
 progressing slowly. 
 
 The surf on this coast is very dangerous, and the bar at the tiioutli 
 of tlie Buffalo frequently impassaMe for d;;y8 together . the roadstead, 
 too, is open and much exposed, s<-> that, on the whole, the port of East 
 London is not a safe one. Communication between the siiipping and 
 the shore is carried on bv' means af large decked-boats, wliitili are 
 warped to and fro u}X)n strong cables, and, even with these, it is fre- 
 quently impossible to land ; the movements of tli<^se surf-boats are 
 regulated by the harbour-master, who has a code of signals to inti- 
 mate to vessels in the roads the state of the bar. 
 
 After a short delay at Panmure, we crossed the river on th<? pont, 
 

 and marched up to cartip, whi-re the tents which had been occupied ' 
 by tie left wiiij; of the 2tul Battalion 5tli Fusiliers were siiil standing, 
 rc;idy for iis Wo liavc ouly live companies here, three being at King 
 Wiiliaiii't. Town, one at VViiulvooelbcrg, and anotlior at the Dohne. 
 There are tluec cuDipanies of the 2nd Battalion lltli Reoiment en~ 
 ■canu'cd on the other side oi' tiie tuwn, am! a few of the Capo Mounteil 
 Rifles are <iiiartercd in the liitlo Fort, which is dose to onr position : 
 in It are also our niess-r<x)ni, qnarter-nsaster's store, hos|);ial, etc. 
 The camp is extren.ely sandy and very dirty-lookinp;. A st one- floor- ' 
 injT has licen laid ilown in nearly all tlie tents oempied by the men, 
 but it lias not an invuin<r appearance, and I think 1 should prefer the 
 sand in its ori<rinal state, for it coulil not fail to bo much softer and 
 much warmer. The officers are quartered in hospital marquees. 
 
 Saturday June 1 1th, 
 
 Shortly after our arrival yesterday, a letter came by exprcsis from 
 Colonel Bissett to the effect tliat, as the i'rontier was still in a very 
 distuibed state, our embarkation for tlio Western Province votild bo 
 postponetl for the present : so we are making ourselves as couilbrtablo 
 as possible under the circumi^tanccs. 
 
 ■■ Tne Valorous anchored in the roads tliis morning from !Natal, with 
 the Comniander of the Forces on board, and the HefKl-Quarters of 
 the oth Fu.sii;ers. They landed in the course of the day, the wea- 
 ther being very fine and calm. •; ; i^-v^'y .•V-'-f ■ ir.i . 
 •> Sunday June 12th. •.-''••-':' ;... ' , '..^:., -v ■'■.': v-z-viVe'V ri..';v:.y^. \; 
 •« Another exceedingly cahn and pleasant day. We were paraded for 
 the inspection of the General this morning, but he did not conne, so 
 we were marched off to church iaslead. In the afternoon I strolled 
 up the river-bank with Little and Kennedy, after watching the Val- 
 orous steam away out of the roadstead. There were some fmo speci- 
 mens of that noble plant, the Sieliizia Reginai growing in the little 
 shallow klooff'. I have heard it called the "• Adder's Tongue " from 
 the shape and colour of its blossoms. 
 
 Monday June 13th. 
 
 We had brigade route- marching to-dny — in the dirertion of Cove 
 Rock, to which a party of us, rtxlo from the halting-place. It is a 
 bold Tock, almost destitute of vegetation, at the end of a little pro- 
 
•^5 
 
 rr.<,rtory, fl<pirg rn tlif liiDthvaid sitlc, ami piedjutcus r.ext the eea. 
 lij ftiiiii \ wciitl (J- il.c great waves of the South Atlnntic ilatli rpairst 
 it with trcnienddus fiiry. The day was very hot, with a hot breeie 
 from tlie north-vest. 
 
 Suihlay Jsii.e 19th. 
 
 Younji Martin and I walked tliis afternoon to Medn.sa Point, 'i'lie 
 6e:i was tolerably t-aln), but nevertheless, gi-eat breakers were con- 
 stantly t'r.i«>hin<j;fin the boa«'h, which appears never to enjoy tranquillity, 
 but all year lonv, niflit and day, is subject to the wearing action of a 
 ^e^t,les^ ocean. Tliis tieighbonihood seems to be a lavourite residence 
 of the Gijuit Kiii^t>her ( Akrda Giyunteaj as well as of the smaller 
 and handoouicr Halcyon Vnpmsisi. Of both species we saw several 
 individuals during nur walk, and the harsh, rattling cry of the former 
 constantly attracted our attention, as we followed the bend ol the water- 
 line. Tlie Point is a short distance beyond the bar at the mouth of 
 tb.e Eufra'o, and is noted as the place where a nolily barcjue, having 
 just <'on!plete«l her first voyage, went ashore, and was broken to pieces 
 auiorgfi-t the jagged rocks a few mouths ago. Much of the hidl of 
 the iil-starrfd Medusa still remains upon the beach, where the winds 
 and waves have hurled it. We gathered a few shells; but they were 
 ail more or less damaged l;y the grinding action of the lireukcrs. 
 
 On our return — whilst cro.'<8ing the river — we were witness to a hor- 
 rible Sight. A horse uas gtazingon the top of the cliffs near the ferry 
 on the East Lcndon side, which are thereabouts high and peroen- 
 dicular, and, having approachcfl too near the e<lge, he lo.st his ba- 
 lance -and toppled over. For one single instant he appeared to strutr- 
 gle violently to regain his footing, but it was all in vain : down— - 
 down — he went, into the road below, where he fell with a trememluus 
 crash. The poor brute struck his back aguin&t a projecting ledge of 
 jfock duviug tlie descent, and he must have been horribly iujured : \i(s 
 died in about live minutes. 
 
 Monday June 20th. 
 
 Young Martin and I started to-day iniiviediatejy after bieakfa.st fdr 
 the Cove- Rock beachj striking across the country in rear of tlie town. 
 We fount' the tide out when we arnvet.1, and the water-worn and 
 lioitcy-combed rock* exposed fur a considerable di.stance. It was ft 
 
r>o 
 
 pleasant day, an<l tho fresh, ixivigorating orean-brceve wns richly hdt'.b 
 with that po«'uli;\r sai.ne odour that is born only on the "great deep." 
 The hiam-trestetl billows were rolling in steadily aiid f,lowly, hut w,th 
 a continuous roar, that obliged us almost to shout to one atiother 
 vehen separated even by a short distance. The l)latk, wet rocks were 
 by no means so rich in spooiniens as I expected : there was little or no 
 seaweed ; the shells were almost all crushed to traginonts, and the tew 
 zoophytes which I 6:iw were confined to the httle pools on the sen- 
 wanl edge of the coast. We Boun quitted the rocks, and follnwcd the 
 line of sand .it high-water mark, nearly to Cove Rock. 'There^ were 
 many shells, but scarcely any perfect ones: nearly all ol'iheiu were 
 more or less bleached, and none l»ut tlie stn^nj^er kinds had stood the 
 dashing of the waves around tiieni. \Ve were particularly in search 
 of Cowriiis ' ( Ci/pricadre) but of these tliere was but a small propor- 
 tion : we found two kinds, but no thoroughly good specimens of either. 
 Tuesday Jane 21st. 
 
 I borrowed a gun to-day — my own not being accessible — and 
 starte<l with Little, for Medusa Point, to see if we could i;ot pick up 
 some JIudada (ihis Sylvatica? ) During previous rambles to this 
 locality, we had ne\er failed to disturb some eight or ten of tlicse birds 
 at least, and nearly always within gunshot. A little creek runs inland 
 for a short distance, not far trom the nuxith of thf river, and, having 
 followed the edge of the main bank so far, we dianged our direct ioir 
 when we reached the smaller stream, and struck up its course for a 
 short way, until we came to a large tree, with curious, hard, green, 
 baccate- ovate fruit, resembling a potitoo soniewhat in consistence, 
 thoxigh not in shape. This is the Wild Katjepiering of the Dutch 
 tettlrrs, and the Oanlenia Thunherr/ii vi lAuuiViis. It is u liand?- 
 some tree of rather dwari" habit, and, m Javiuary and February, it has 
 white, scented flowers. *■* "«';/:v:'''«fe; ; 
 
 Having crossed the little inlet, we got iirto some deejily undulating 
 ground covered with grass, and partially so with forest, stretching out»- ' 
 wards to the sea- shore. This was the place whete we had alwuys 
 HushiBd the Hadada, and, a« ustial. we came upon a fiotk of tliem 
 again to-day. In spite of all our care, however, they got oflf with- 
 out a shot, and disappeared over the next rise. We (hen «oparatod 
 
■.\f ■' 
 
 . 77 
 
 Little talcii);;' the inner side, atul I t\w outer, vi liit* lolt of thinly 
 wooded hind, which crowns tlie suniinit of the lo\v chffs; and vie soon 
 lost sip))t of orif aii'itiser. 
 
 A recent accident had damaged the loeks of the gun, with which I 
 vas armed, si» seriously, that it was only under the most favourable 
 circumstances its hammers would ex|)lodc the percussion-caps, and, al- 
 though, soon after 1 left Little, I put up more than half a dozen 
 single birds, yet they all succeeded in getting safely a>v ay nnshotat — 
 most of them in t.'onsec|(u*nce of their <listance from irie, and the reniain" 
 der because the pun missed fire. At last, however, 1 came suddenly 
 upon a place where the ioot of the clifl' was hidden by a mass of thick, 
 thorny jungle, from the veiy K'{\^e of ^^liich np rose a single bird. 
 The gun this time went off correctly, and the Hadada I'ell among the 
 hushes, whither I attempted to follow it, but it was no easy task to lopce 
 my way amongst those prickly shrubs, dense and impenetrable as a 
 hawthoin -hedge ia h'ngland; so, after a tolerable amount of tod and 
 trouble, I gave up the affair altogether, and returned to the green 
 slopes above to cool uivsolf. By this time Little was not only out 
 of sight, but out of hearing, so I left the l>irds to tluir own devices, 
 and strolled down to tlie rocks on the sea-shore ; where Martin pre- 
 sently made his appearance equipped for shell-collecting. Whilst 
 hero I saw a hideous creature in one of the ti.lal pools — a epecies of 
 Poulpe (Odopm) which was resting beneath a ledge of rock. I 
 thrust at it with a stick, which it immediately seized in its horrid- 
 looking armji, and I iully vpected an effort on its part to drag the 
 stick away from me, but nothing of the kind took place, and I liad 
 no difficulty of resuming entire possession of my weapon a few mi- 
 nutes afterwards. 
 
 When we got back to camp, we found that Littiehad brought homo 
 a Hadada, having shot, as he believed, another as well. It is a dark- 
 ly -plumaged species of Ibis (Ibis Syhatii.a, ? ) generally found near 
 the banks of rivers, when there is forest- shelter for it, and its curious 
 cry is supposed by some to bear a resemblance to tiie bleating of a 
 lauib, Martin got some specimens of a large kind of Earshell {^llali-^ 
 otis) which make exctilenl camp soap-disho». 
 
' ' ■■'■.■■ ...' '''*^ /■■' "'', 
 
 CilAPTEBXI. . 
 
 From 'JSdst'Z6'n(lo\ fo^^^n^e 2'oivn. 
 
 On Friday the 31st June wp embarked at East liOndon, in H.M. 
 S.S. Valorous, for Cape Town, and then connvieuced a voyajje — most 
 fortunatelv a short one — wliic-h, for extreme discoralort and vrrct^'hed- 
 riess, has no paralJel in my experience. The vessel — a fine padtUe- 
 steamer of 1257 tons — could doubtless have aecomniodated a mode- 
 rate number of troop.s satisfiiotorily ; but, for .somereagon best known 
 to the authorities, she wa.s trowdt-d to the utmost, and there was little 
 more than standing room for the six hundred aicn, excluisiiveof officers, 
 who found themselves on board of her on the evening of the 31st J une. 
 A large projiortion of the luggage had, in consecjuenoe, to be left Itehind 
 on the beacli at East London ; Avhence vte received it many weeks 
 aft(rvards, greatly damaged, and, in some instances, the boxes ami 
 otlier eases robbed of their contents. Eut, to re-turn Ui the Valorous; 
 there was .scarcely space enough for the officers to mo^o about in-, 
 yet we were prohibited frojn sitting down on the quarter-^deck, as being 
 tf'OHtiary to naval etiquette, and, as tlie passage was a rough. one— /5i> 
 
.79 
 
 rough tiiut tlu^ vossal liud to take slieltor for twclvo hours in t\.Ig<>a 
 Bay, — it may easily bo ima^naeil what an iutlictioa tliis icguUtiuti 
 bLVOiiie to laadstiicn, who were, fi»r the most part, suffi-ring moit' or 
 less from tlie efltcts of the coTifiritd atii)os))lu*ro of the crovulcd muin- 
 deoh, :ind the heaving and tossing sea. Surely, liowevoi r.e<'e.ssary or 
 proper ptich a rule may be in a ve«sei cnij)loyed solely as a nuin-of- 
 vrar, the good of H«r Majesty's Service cannot require it in a troop- 
 ship, which, to all inteiits and purposes, the Talorons was during the 
 time we travelled in her. Those, whose state of health, at tliis period, 
 did not permit then) to walk about, '■vere, in consequence of the regula- 
 tion referred to, dej)rivcd uf the advantages of fresh air; and several of 
 the ofliccrs lived lileialiy amongst the baggage — much lik4a caUle in a 
 pen. Water for washing purposes was obtained only with the utmost 
 difficulty; and, indeed, it is strictly true, that tvko, and soiuetimes tlirec, 
 individuals were compelled to use tlie same supply of water, and the 
 conimon ship's bucket, which diil duty fo a wasli-hand-ba?in. It is 
 pleasiiiil, liowevej', while considering how much uf our gratitude is 
 due to Caj)tain F<trsythe for this discomfort, to coniiagt the treat- 
 ment we received from tlie remainder of the officers of the ship with 
 his : they did everything in their j>ower to lessen the wretchedness of 
 our ])Osition ; while he seemed only to exercise the authority, whicli cir- 
 cumstances had j)laced in his hands. We lande<l on the eveningof the 
 4th July, thanking our s^tars that we were once more on terra fir ma, 
 where no quarter-deck regulationji exist. :;,-.; . 
 
 r Cape Town might be a delightful place, if elTective measures were 
 only taken to injure good drainage, and lo banibh the combination of 
 foul odours, which, at present, poisons the air of most of the fctroets. 
 It is pleaiiantiy situated, at the foot of the celebrated Table fountain 
 .—stretching tlieiue to the sca-boach, as it were, and thus .'ombining 
 commercial and sanitary advantages. The town is built in the Dutch 
 style, and tiie streets almost all nm at right angles to one another. 
 None of the public buildings are very striking in appearance, except- 
 ing, perha{is the barrack.s, which occupy a large .^pace, and aflbrd ac- 
 commodation for a strong regiment. They are, however, badly si- 
 tuated amongst a rrgwd of house* and narrow streets, whose normal 
 ,i>tate i.s that of dirt and offensive smells. Tlio old castle — bui'.!; about 
 
so 
 
 tho nrulJIo ol' llie soventoontli coiitury — and tlic Aiiistcnlain Buttoi), 
 near Green Point, are tho onlj f<)rtificati(.ns : neither of them, I fear, 
 would avail much against an attaol:. 
 
 The Botanic Garden, thuugh small, is nieely laid out, and beauti*- 
 fully situatwl ; but it does not appear to be so well kept now-a-day». 
 as when I was licre laat ; the reason is, I understand, a j)au(:ity of 
 funds. Its chief attraction in my eyes is a noble Wliite Camellia— 
 tlio finest, I think, T have ever seen. The glorious oak-avenue — to 
 vliicb I have before alluded — passes fhe entrance of tho garden, and 
 also thai of the building containing the n)ii.seun), and the splendid 
 public library. 
 
 The Table Mountain, called by the Dutch, the Tafclbcrg, is one of 
 the most singular masses of rock in the world. It is 3.**82 feet above 
 the sea-levol, and, on the side next the town, presents an almost 
 perpendicular iace, flanked by two lofty hills, which arc respective- 
 ly known as the Devil's Peak and the Lion's Head. Tho former is 
 8315 feet above the sea, and the latter 'J'^GO feet. The f-umrnit of 
 the " table," which a])[)ears to be perfectly flat, is said to contain an 
 area uf about ten tu^res. This mountain is the head-quarters of that 
 finest of terrestrial orchid,'-, the Thsu Grmidif.ura. At the toot of the 
 rock, there. are extensive pine- woods of greot value, and so thick that 
 there is only just room to 'pass between the trees. 
 
 The celebrated " table cloth " is a white cloud, which always over- 
 spreads the summit when the south-east wind blows, and, at times, 
 when the breeze is stroiig, this cloud literally pours down a gap in the 
 mountain, like an enormous stream — so to speak — of driftinj? snow. 
 The south-east wind generally blows pretty constantly during the 
 summer, and somotimes with sucli tremendous violence, as to do much 
 damii^re. The north-west Jiales, which, on the other hand, character- 
 ize the Winter, are occasionally mout disastrous in their eli'ects upon 
 the shipping in Table Bay. 
 
 The environs of Cape Town are truly charming ; and the sub- urban 
 villages of Mowbray, Ilondebot-che an<l Wynberg, etc, afford the most 
 tlelightful coiintry residences, vying in picturosqueness and rural beau- 
 tv with some of the ^Vfcetest nooks in Englaiul. 
 
 Atli'i ;> luo&t, agreeable sojourn of about six njonths at Cape Town, 
 
81 
 
 the first division of the relieving regiment — our own First Battalion 
 — arriyed from England ; and, on the 23rd December 1864, the 
 Head-Quarters of the Second-Tenth marched out of the city, m route 
 to Simon's Bay, where the good ship Copenhagen awaited us. We 
 sailed for Lidia on the 28th of December. 
 
GEO(,UAnficA.L, Zoological a.s'd Botanicai Index, 
 
 Acar.ia Horrlda 03.56.60. 
 
 Adder's Tongue 74. ' -. 
 
 Arjave Anu:rica/na 22. '-^ '{ 
 
 Agulhas Light 20. 'y\'''i^-Q'}'y''^^''- 
 
 Albany 53. ■^-^'v-Vw■';^l•^v:^'''- ':- 
 
 Albatross, Sooty 18, 
 
 AlbatroK!?, Wanderiug 17. 18. li>. 
 
 Al-'edv Glgantca 7o. 
 
 Algoa Bay 29. 35. 79. 
 
 Aloes 33. 
 
 x\matola Mountains 45. 50. 51. 55, 58. 59. 61. Go. 07. 
 
 Anatola Tliver 62. 
 
 American Aloe 22. 49. 
 
 Amsterdam Battery 80. 
 
 Antelope 39. 64. 
 
 Apttnodytf.a Demersa 24, 
 
 AsconBion, Island of 15. 
 
 A,sRegai-biish River 4<.*. 
 
 Baakon's River 31. 
 
 Baboon.K ■'•<) 52. 
 
 Bnhia 15. 
 
 Bailie's Gravo 59, (1.1. 
 
 Jliilana I']iii.al"s 15, 
 
84 
 
 Bananas »). 7. 
 
 Basalt Rock 5. 6. 
 
 Bashec 71, 
 
 Beaufort, Fort u6. 
 
 Berlin 72. 
 
 Bidenn Pilosa 51. 
 
 Bird Island 12. 
 
 Blue-buck 50, 
 
 Blue-gum 67. 
 
 Blue River 47, 48. 50. 
 
 Bontebok Flats 64. 
 
 Booma Pass 62. 
 
 Botha's Hill 65. 56. 
 
 Breakfast Ylei 56. 57. 
 
 Breidbach 72. 
 
 Bubalua Caffer 45. 
 
 Buck Kraal 51. 
 
 Buffalo 46. 
 
 Buffalo-mouth 32. 
 
 Buffalo River 65. 73. 7S. 
 
 Bugio 4. 
 
 Bullocks 13. 5; 
 
 Burn's Hill 62. ; 
 
 Bush-buck 37. 50. 
 
 Bushman's River 38. ? 
 
 Bustard 51, 
 
 Calotroffue Ca/ntpestria 39. ^ 
 
 Cambridge 73. | 
 
 Camellia, White 80. 
 
 Canary Islands 8. | 
 
 Cancer, Tropic of 9. 
 
 Cape Colony 63. | 
 
 Cape di Verde Islands 9. 11. , | 
 
 Capricorn, Tropic of 16. " | 
 
 Cape-hen 17. 18. 19. | 
 
 Cape of Good Hope 1, 2. 17. 23. 24. 65. | 
 
 Cnpe of Storms 26. 
 
 Cape-pigeon 18. 
 
 Cape Town 20. 21. 22. 27. 63. 71. 72. 78. 79. 80. 
 
 OephalopuH Pygmcea 50. 
 
 Certhilavda Capensis 39, 67. 
 
 Chestnut-trees 7. 
 
&5 
 
 China 2;!. 24 ^2. 
 Cliiimie River 62, 
 Clusie Pviver 50. 
 C'ometjic's Drift 55. ^>ii. 
 Coney'H Bock 37. 
 CoiiBtantJa 2C. 
 Coral Tree 49. 
 Cork 1..2. 
 Cormorants 2'4. 
 Cormvall 23. 
 
 Cidvrni.i: Darfi^lisunani 39. M. 
 Corvus Sruintlatiiii (!7. 
 Cove Ilcck 74. 75. 70. 
 Cowries 76. 
 Cox, Port (32. 63. 
 Crows G9. 
 
 Crow, Black-and-white 67. 68. 
 Cryscqjhrys Cri^ticej^is 23, 
 ■ Curlew 33. 
 
 Curragh-Camp 1, 
 Cjcad 6H. 
 
 Cyyiuccphalus Forenrins 50. 
 Cypresses 6. 
 Cvjirceada 7t>. 
 Cypi^eliis Leui-ofJica 70. 
 Dul.-fhicks 24. 
 I> 'Amonut's 3»t. 
 Danger Point 29, 
 Dajdiou Capensis 18. 
 Dasee's Klip ^7. 38. 40. 
 Date, Common G. 7. 
 Date, Little 52. 
 Debe Xek 58. 
 Devil's Peak 8(->. 
 Dozerta -GraucJe -1. 
 Digado River 73. • 
 
 Dikkop m. 
 
 Diomedea ExitlaTis 17. 19. 
 Diomedea Fuliginosa 17. 
 Disa Orahdlflnra 80. 
 Dohne 63. *hQ, 67. 68. 74. 
 Doorn-l)crgon 61. 
 
16 
 
 Doves 85. TjO 
 
 Driver's Busli 42. \?.. -ii. 
 
 p]arshell 77. 
 
 East London m. 71. 72. 73. 75. 78. 
 
 Eels 64. 
 
 Elephants' Food 50. 
 
 Enc(i2)halartos Caffcr 68. 
 
 England 14). 24. 87. 58. iK). 08. 71. 77. 80. 6J. 
 
 England, Fort 40. 54. 55. 
 
 Eqnator, The 14. 
 
 Erin 1. 
 
 Erythrina CajO'i'i 49. 
 
 Eucalyptus I'crsiclfoUa 6/. 
 
 Euphorhia 83. 
 
 Euphorbias 40. 48. 57. 73. 
 
 Euphorbia, Giant 52. 
 
 EuphnrbUi Gratidichns 40. 52, 57. 
 
 Exocetus Voliiavs 13. 
 
 Eyre, Castle 61. 
 
 False Bay 25. 28. 
 
 Fish-Rirer. Great 45. 46. 50. 54. 55. 56. 57. 
 
 Finfish 15. 
 
 Flies 36. 
 
 Flying- fish 13. 19. 
 
 Francolins ;53. 64. 
 
 JPranci>linuH LevaillaniU 39. 
 
 Francolinvs KudicoHis 33. 50. 
 
 Frankfort 66. 67. 
 
 Frankfort Hill (i6. 67. 
 
 Fraser's Camp 44. 45. 
 
 Funchal 5. 
 
 Ftinchal, Bay of 5. 6. 
 
 Gardenia TloiDhrrgii 76 
 Gazella Eiifhure 69. 
 
 Geraniums 27. 48. 52. 
 
 GladioleB 68. 
 
 Gomka IlivM»r 87. :«. 
 
 Gorse 27. 
 
 Governor's Kop 42. 43, 
 
 GrahamBlfiWn 31. 32. 39. 40. 41. 42. 
 
 Grapes 27. 
 
 Greon Point 80. 
 
87 
 
 GrcytoMrn G8. 
 GreytownHill 68. 
 Gainoa-fuwl IP,. 
 Gulls, White 18, 
 Gulu River Gl. 64. 
 Gwaiiga Biver 51. 
 Gypoijeranus Cajiensis 44. 
 Gypogeranvs Sfriicntariue 69. 
 Hadada 70. 77. 
 JSatcyon Coptnaia 75. 
 HaIi.oti-8 77. 
 Haiiglipp, Cape 29. 
 Hare, Jumping r$o. 
 Haulbowliue Island 1. "2 17. 
 Hawk l;l 68. 
 Heath.- 24. 2.5. 20. 27. 
 Helaniys Cajpenais 35. 
 Himatta Cocue 29. 
 Hottentot-fish 24. 
 Hyrax Capensis 76. 
 i7»^■« Syhatica 70. 77. 
 Icwasi River 62, 
 Ilhoe Cbao 4. 5. 
 Ilheo dos Pas8aio« 12. 
 Imvani 69. 
 India 63. 71. 81. 
 Infusoria 29. 
 Iseli Jlouutahis 01. 
 Jackson. Fort 72. 
 Jaaminmn Capeyise 36. 
 JeBsamine, White 36. 
 Kabousie 64. 
 Kabousie River 67. 
 Kabula River 59. 62. 
 KaflBr Boem 49. 
 Kaffir Corn 51 58. 
 Kaffraria, British 5^. 63. 65, 
 Kaklazeli Mountain 67. 
 Kalk Bay 26. 27. 
 Kama's Kraal 57, 58. 
 Katnka River 66. 
 Kareiga 39. 40, 
 
89 
 
 Katjepiering, Wild 76. ^ 
 
 Kei River 69. 71. 
 
 Keiskama Hoek 54. 65. 58. 59. 60. 61. 02. 6;i 66. 
 
 Keiskama Eivor 61. 52. 57. 58. 61. 63. 64. 
 
 Kingfisher, Giant 76. 
 
 King William's Town 44. 46. 53. 59. 63. 65. 66. 71. 72. 71. 
 
 Kineale Head 2. • 
 
 Koodoo Kop 46. 
 
 Kowie River 42. 
 
 Larks 69. 
 
 Lark, Firethroated 39. 67. 68. 
 
 Lewen-Vjosche 36. 37. 
 
 Limerick- Junction 1, 
 
 Limestone 12. 26. 
 
 Line-Drift 49. 51. 52. 53. 
 
 Lion's Head 20. 80. 
 
 Lion's Rump 20. 
 
 Lisbon 3. 4. 
 
 Lizards 26. • 
 
 Locusts 26. 
 
 London 17. 63. ^ 
 
 Loo Rock 6. 
 
 M'Lougblin's 34. 
 
 Madeira 4. 5. 7. 8. 
 
 Magellan Clouds 16. 
 
 Maize 36. 51. 
 
 Martin Vass Rocks 16. 
 
 Mealies 61. 
 
 Medusa Point 75. 76. 
 
 Middle-Drift 55. 62. 63. 
 
 Mimosa 32. 45. 50. 52. 55. 56. 58. 66. 73. 
 
 Mowbray 80. 
 
 Mullet 64. 
 
 Mundia Splnosa 27. 
 
 Kauaga 36. 36. 
 
 Natal 74. 
 
 Nazaor 38. 39. 
 
 Nazaar River 39. 40. 
 
 Oak-trees 22. 80. 
 
 Octo2>u8 77. 
 
 (Edicnetnut Citpeniis 68. 
 
 Oblsen 67. 
 
89 
 
 Opiintia Vulgaris 22. 
 
 Ostrich 44. 04. 
 
 Ourebi 39. 
 
 Palma lisland 8. 
 
 Paninure 73. 
 
 Partrid^'CM, Red-winged 39. 
 
 Peddle, Fort 41. 42. 46. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 61. 52. 
 
 Pelargoniums 27. 43. 52. 
 
 reluanus Gruculus 24. 
 
 Penguin, Cape 24. 
 
 Petrels 18, 
 
 Pheasam 33. o(K 
 
 Phocoyna Communis 13. 
 
 Phipnix Jleclinata 52. 
 
 Physalia I'elaglca 15. 
 
 Pico Rnivo 5. 
 
 Pine-trees 22. 80. 
 
 Pinus Pinaater 22. 
 
 Pinus Pinea 22. 
 
 Plover 39. (>7. 
 
 Pluto's Vale 56. 
 
 Pluvianas CororMtvf 39. 67. 
 
 Pontinha 7. 
 
 PorpoieeB 13. 
 
 Port Elizabeth 21. 29. 30. 31. 32. 
 
 Porto Grande 11. 12. 
 
 Porto Santo 3. 4. 
 
 Portuguese Man-of-war 15. 
 
 Portulacaria Afra 50. 
 
 Potsdam 72. 
 
 Poulpe 77. 
 
 Prickly Pe&r 22. 
 
 Procellarm Marina 18. 
 
 Protca 33. 67. 
 
 Pt^nyxylon VtiJe 72. 
 
 Qnagga 64. 
 
 Quail 39. 51. 64. 
 
 Queenstown ( Ireland ) < . "^^ 
 
 Qapenftown f South Africa j i 5. 68. 69. 
 
 Q leenstowii Mountains 69. 
 
 Qtisrcus Pednnculata 22. 
 
 Quilli-Quilli Mountain 59, 
 
90 
 
 JB»jj.i Maculata 24. 
 Ray, Spotted 2'L 
 
 Red Flil! 59. 6«>. • ( 
 
 ReHvlev Hotel 3<J, : 
 
 Rio de Jfinoiro 15. ' \ 
 
 Rock-rabbit 37. • 
 
 Roinan-FiHh 23. ' . t 
 
 Roman-Rock 2'-\. >■ 
 
 Rondeboache 80. ? 
 
 Roses 22. ' | 
 
 Saint Vincent island 9. 11. U. 13- (; 
 
 Salt 13. \ 
 
 San Antonio 11. ^' 
 
 Sandpipers 33. 
 
 SandMtono, Rod 26. '» 
 
 Sargiui Capi'imie 2t-. 
 
 Sr.rjiophoraii Oumlii ;?0, 
 
 Secretary Bird 4(4. 69. ji 
 
 Shags 21. i 
 
 Shells 7.5. 7t). 
 
 aignal-hill 24. , 
 
 SilvM Fileata 68. '" 
 
 Simon's Bay 23. 24. 25. 28. 81. 
 
 Simon's Berg 24. 25. 
 
 Simon'H Town 26. 27. 28. 
 
 Smith's -39. 
 
 Snakes 51. 
 
 Sneeiiborgen 35. 
 
 Sneeze wood 72. 
 
 Solea Vulgaris 24. 
 
 Soles 24. 
 
 ,'^orr.ihnm Cfiffrormn 51. » - 
 
 South Africa 33. 34. 40. 4S. 53. 58, 61. 71. 72. ' 
 
 South America 15. 
 
 South Atlantic Ocean 75. 
 
 Southern Cross 16. 
 
 Southern Heraipphere 14. 15. 
 
 South Temperate Zone 16. \ 
 
 Speckboem 50. ] 
 
 Spring-bok 64. 69. j 
 
 Spring Haas 35. 
 
 ,S7. /■/<«. AIha 18. 
 
91 
 
 Steinliok :10. 
 Btorm-pt'trf»l 13. 
 Strelit.ia Reginn' 74. 
 Stiitterhcim 67. 
 Snndav's Hiver 34, 3.'). 50. 
 •Swift 70. 
 
 Tabandoda Mouiitttin oH. 5i). 
 Tnl.le Bay 20. 23. 80. 
 Table Mountain 20. Ui'. "iC. 28. 79. 80, 
 Tafelborg 80. 
 Tamacba HciglitH 53. 
 Tatnachii Po3t 49. 53. 
 Tamarisk 12. 
 'Vamavijr Afri'.ovc 12. 
 Termites 33. 
 
 ThalaS'^iilruma Vchvjica 13. 
 Thomas River 67. 08. 
 Tboin River 6i>. 
 Tinriuncnlus Itirpi-^olim 68. 
 Torrid Zone 1 0. 
 Tortoise 26. 
 
 T)'ii(jelu}ihv8 SyJratira 37. f)0. 
 Trap Hock 12. 
 Trinidad, Island of 15. 10. 
 Trompetter'8 Drift 45. 46. 47. 50. 
 T' Slambie'8 Kop 68. 
 Turtar Sernitoi-quatua 35. 
 Tyden 69. 
 Umtwaku River 61. 
 X^mxeslia River 59. 
 VemiB 19. 
 Wator-iuclons 58. 
 Western Province 74. 
 Wheeldon's 36. 
 ■Wild.fowl 12. 
 
 Wtndvogelberg 65. 68, 69. 74. 
 Wolf River 62. 
 Wood-violet 7. 
 Wynberg 22, HO. 
 Veiling's 32, 35. 
 \ cHQTv-woods River 66. 72. 
 Zcu Mtn/s 5J 
 
92 
 
 Zoophytes 76. 
 ZwartkQppM Biver 32. 
 
 TBI IVD, 
 
 ^««^'"*M%«(;;