In the morning of the 10th, the Discovery arrived in the bay. Captain Clerke informed me that he had sailed from Plymouth on the 1st of August, and should have been with us here a week sooner, if the gale of wind had not blown him off the coast. Upon the whole, he was seven days longer in his passage from England than we had been. He had the misfortune to lose one of his marines, by falling overboard; but there had been no other mortality amongst his people, and they now arrived well and healthy.
Captain Clerke having represented to me that his ship was in want of caulking; that no time might be lost in repairing this defect, next day I sent all my workmen on board her, having already completed this service on board the Resolution. I lent every other assistance to the captain to expedite his supply of provisions and water, having given him an order to receive on board as much of both articles as he could conveniently stow. I now found that the bakers had failed in baking the bread I had ordered for the Discovery. They pretended a want of flour; but the truth was, they were doubtful of her coming, and did not care to begin till they saw her at anchor in the bay.
I have before made mention of our getting our cattle on shore. The bull and two cows, with their calves, were sent to graze along with some other cattle; but I was advised to keep our sheep, sixteen in number, close to our tents, where they were penned up every night. During the night preceding the 14th, some dogs having got in amongst them, forced them out of the pen, killing four, and dispersing the rest. Six of them were recovered the next day; but the two rams, and two of the finest ewes in the whole flock, were amongst those missing. Baron Plettenberg being now in the country, I applied to the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr Hemmy, and to the Fiscal. Both these gentlemen promised to use their endeavours for the recovery of the lost sheep. The Dutch, we know, boasted that the police at the Cape was so carefully executed, that it was hardly possible for a slave, with all his cunning and knowledge of the country, to effectuate his escape. Yet my sheep evaded all the vigilance of the Fiscal's officers and people. However, after much trouble and expence, by employing some of the meanest and lowest scoundrels in the place (who, to use the phrase of the person who recommended this method to me, would, for a ducatoon, cut their master's throat, burn the house over his head, and bury him and the whole family in the ashes), I recovered them all but the two ewes. Of these I never could bear the least tidings; and I gave over all enquiry after them, when I was told that, since I had got the two rams, I might think myself very well off. One of these, however, was so much hurt by the dogs, that there was reason to believe he would never recover.
Mr Hemmy very obligingly offered to make up this loss, by giving me a Spanish ram, out of some that he had sent for from Lisbon. But I declined the offer, under a persuasion that it would answer my purpose full as well, to take with me some of the Cape rams: the event proved that I was under a mistake. This gentleman had taken some pains to introduce European sheep at the Cape; but his endeavours, as he told me, had been frustrated by the obstinacy of the country people, who held their own breed in greater estimation, on account of their large tails, of the fat of which, they sometimes made more money than of the whole carcase besides; and who thought that the wool of European sheep would, by no means, make up for their deficiency in this respect.[86] Indeed, I have heard some sensible men here make the same observation. And there seems to be foundation for it. For, admitting that European sheep were to produce wool of the same quality here as in Europe, which experience has shewn not to be the case, the Dutch had not hands, at the Cape of Good Hope, to spare for the manufacturing even their own clothing. It is certain that, were it not for the continual importation of slaves, this settlement would have been thinner of people than any other inhabited part of the world.
[Footnote 86: "The most remarkable thing in the Cape sheep, is the length and thickness of their tails, which weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds. The fat is not so tallowish as that of European mutton, and the poorer sort use it for butter."--Kolben's Cape of Good Hope (English translation), vol. ii. p. 65. De la Caille, who finds every thing wrong in Kolben, says, the weight of the tails of the Cape sheep is not above five or six pounds.--Voyage de la Caille, p. 343. If the information given to Captain Cook may be depended upon, it will prove, that, in this instance at least, Kolben is unjustly accused of exaggeration.--D.
According to Mr Bingley and others, the tail of this sheep sometimes weighs nearly one-third of the whole carcase, and consists of a substance intermediate betwixt fat and marrow, which is often used instead of butter. The fleeces are very fine, long and beautiful; and, in Thibet, where the breed is also found, are worked into shawls. A similar breed is said to be found in other countries, as Barbary, Ethiopia, the vicinity of Aleppo, Persia, and Asiatic Russia. Kolben's account is conceived to be perfectly credible.--E.]
While the ships were getting ready for the prosecution of our voyage, some of our officers made an excursion to take a view of the neighbouring country. Mr Anderson, my surgeon, who was one of the party, gave me the following relation of their proceedings.[87]
[Footnote 87: In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. lxvi. p. 268 to 319, is an Account of Three Journies from the Cape Town into the Southern Parts of Africa, in 1772, 1773, and 1774; by Mr Francis Masson, who had been sent from England for the discovery of new plants, towards the improvement of the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. Much curious information is contained in Mr Masson's account of these journies. M. de Pagés, who was at the Cape in 1773, gives some remarks on the state of that settlement, and also the particulars of his journey from False Bay to the Cape Town.--Voyage vers le Pole du Sud, p. 17 to 32.--D.
It is unnecessary to apprise the reader, that our acquaintance with the Cape has been most materially increased since the date of this publication, and that several travellers have devoted their labours to the illustration of its natural history.--E.]
"On the 16th, in the forenoon, I set out in a waggon, with five more, to take a view of some part of the country. We crossed the large plain that lies to the eastward of the town, which is entirely a white sand, like that commonly found on beaches, and produces only heath, and other small plants of various sorts. At five in the afternoon we passed a large farm-house, with some corn-fields, and pretty considerable vineyards, situated beyond the plain, near the foot of some low hills, where the soil becomes worth cultivating. Between six and seven we arrived at Stellenbosh, the colony next to that of the Cape for its importance.
"The village does not consist of more than thirty houses, and stands at the foot of the range of lofty mountains, above twenty miles to the eastward of the Cape Town. The houses are neat; and, with the advantage of a rivulet which runs near, and the shelter of some large oaks, planted at its first settling, forms what may be called a rural prospect in this desert country. There are some vineyards and orchards about the place, which, from their thriving appearance, seem to indicate an excellent soil; though, perhaps, they owe much to climate, as the air here has an uncommon serenity.
"I employed the next day in searching for plants and insects about Stellenbosh, but had little success. Few plants are in flower here at this season, and insects but scarce. I examined the soil in several places, and found it to consist of yellowish clay, mixed with a good deal of sand. The sides of the low hills, which appear brown, seem to be constituted of a sort of stone marl.