“On the 17th December we left George on our road to the Knysna. The scenery on the left was extremely beautiful and picturesque, from the truly Alpine appearance of the Swartberg, the base of which is richly clothed with a superb forest stretching in the plain, and exhausting itself in scattered clumps, which gave the front ground a very park like appearance. The yellow-wood tree rising to a great height without a branch, and covered to its summit with a light green moss was particularly conspicuous; and from its branches the Bavian’s tew hung in the wildest profusion, giving to the tree a most fantastic form.
“On the right, the plain stretched away to the southward as far as the eye could reach, sometimes varied with a gentle acclivity, or intersected with a deep ravine; though but little wood is to be seen in this direction. The grass is sour and hurtful to the cattle which graze upon it. The Swart River skirts the lower extremity of the forest, a small but beautifully transparent stream; a variety of trees grow so close to its banks as nearly to cross each other, and form by their reclining position the appearance of a rustic bridge. The foliage was broken into large masses of deep green, relieved by the brightest tints, and these with the catching lights as the sun emerged from flying clouds, presented one of the most captivating prospects I had ever beheld.
“Immediately after crossing this stream we ascended a steep hill, and found ourselves on a small level plain, on which was formerly a Hottentot station, called Pampoo’s Kraal. It is now occupied by wood cutters, who are employed in preparing loads of timber, plank, fellies and naves for wheels, and all kinds of materials for wagon work, to be in readiness to load the wagons for the Cape Town market. Many, and these chiefly Hottentots, were busied in preparing thongs cut from hides for the purpose of making harness. This is done by cutting the whole hide into one circular strip about an inch in breadth. A frame is then raised on two very strong posts, with a cross piece communicating one to the other in the form of a gallows; the thong is then passed over and over, in bites, until it nearly reaches the ground; when a heavy weight is attached to it, and by means of a lever the whole turned round and twisted, until the weight nearly reaches the cross piece, when the lever being withdrawn, the hide untwists itself with great velocity; this process frequently repeated stretches the hide to its proper length for use, and gives it the proper degree of flexibility. The harness made in this manner is very durable; and smaller strips treated in the same manner, are used for every purpose where small ropes would be employed in England.
“On our approach to Kayman River the country assumes features entirely new to us, and most strikingly picturesque and bold. The pencil and not the pen should be used to describe it. The river runs through deep and tortuous ravines, the sides of which sometimes awfully precipitous, are composed of strata of sand stone, on which the aloe and other plants are seen growing from the fissures, in which a sufficiency of rich soil has been carried by the rains to afford them ample nourishment. Other parts of the banks sloped down to the river with a very steep descent, and the road by which the wagons descended to the ford, was seen winding in every direction, in order to render the descent as practicable as possible. I could with pleasure have devoted many days to sketching this bewitching scenery. Every step we made seemed to bring forth fresh beauties, and solicited a fresh application to the portfolio. The difficulties and even the dangers of the road were forgotten or unheeded. I had been left a little way behind in taking a sketch, when turning an angle in the road on my pursuit after the wagon, I saw it some yards beneath me with the wheels uppermost, having overset and fallen over a descent of some feet, where it was arrested by some shrubs and rocks. The oxen had been liberated, and formed a picturesque group round the wreck of the wagon, while the drivers and attendant Hottentots, as well as the servants who had been employed in leading our saddle horses, completed the picture, as they were endeavouring to collect the scattered cargo; a more animated, and at the same time, a more romantic scene never presented itself to an artist.
“Our vehicle had received but little damage, being constructed of a very hard and durable wood; but our baggage suffered greatly, especially the more fragile parts, such as bottles and glasses. Providentially we were in the land of hospitality, and were well assured that we should want but little, at whatever place we might arrive for our night’s lodging. This event therefore was considered of very little moment, being of very frequent occurrence, and it in no ways interrupted our pursuits, or our enjoyment of the sublime scenery around us, where every feature was of the grandest description. The contrast of form and colour in the several objects was striking to a degree; and the whole seemed at the same time to be so delightfully harmonized, shade softening into shade, that our admiration was unbounded. The view from the western summit included the ford and the Kayman’s Gut, as the dark precipitous and very narrow mouth of the river is called, into which a heavy surf was rolling and expending its fury upon the cliffs on each side in clouds of foam; while only a few hundred yards higher up, the water was of a glassy smoothness, reflecting the deep green tint of the foliage on its banks. The coast here is of very considerable elevation, perhaps more than six hundred feet, and the chasm through which this little stream finds its way to the sea is but a few yards in breadth, whilst the sides rising abruptly to this great height form an object of indescribable interest. The distant blue horizon of the sea viewed from the elevation on which we were placed, cut the cliffs nearly two-thirds of the way up, and rendered our altitude more apparent.
“The wagon having been put to rights, and all damages repaired by the never failing thongs of hide, we proceeded on our way down to the ford; but to prevent a recurrence of disaster, it was carefully supported on each side by the whole party, and reached the stream in safety. The stream was just fordable by raising the baggage from the floor of the wagon; it was rapid, but smooth. If the view from the summit of the hills which overhang the banks of the Kayman was magnificent, that from the river was hardly less striking; we stood there surrounded on all sides by precipices and steep acclivities, with deep woods of every hue, and no apparent outlet, except the chasm in which the waters of the river met the roaring surf; the whole combined in forming a scene, beyond description grand and interesting.
“In ascending the opposite hills, the view, on looking back, was equally magnificent with that which we had previously enjoyed, although of a different kind. The Swartberg now formed the back ground, and was seen towering in great sublimity over those ravines, and the extensive plains by which they were separated; and the road by which we had travelled, winding in a most remarkable manner round the apparently precipitous sides of the hills, excited our wonder that wheels could ever have passed through such a country. The occasional view of a wagon crawling along, with its enormous length of train, and its white canvass top, gave great life to the picture. In the course of three hours after leaving the Kayman’s Gut, we came to another pass equally celebrated by travellers in this country, called the Fraka de Vrow, or the Maiden’s Ford. It was not quite so steep as the Kayman’s Gut, but, if possible, more striking, from the circumstance of the road descending into the depth of a forest of almost midnight darkness, in which the road wound for a considerable distance, shut out from the light of the sun. On approaching the bottom, gleams of light were seen lighting up here and there a broken rock, or the moss-grown trunk of a tree, and sparkling in the ripple and foam of the brawling torrent of deep green water, which formed the little river running through it. Near the ford the river expanded into a small lake, in the centre of which appeared a little verdant island, with cattle apparently grazing upon it; but this, on our approach, was found to be only a shoal left dry by the diminution of the waters; and the cattle belonged to a wagon, probably waiting for assistance to mount the hill. The effect, however, of these objects, with the chequered light playing upon them through the broken mass of rock and foliage, was extremely beautiful.
“The weather now suddenly changed from excessive heat to extreme cold, so that I could hardly stop to make a sketch of this romantic spot. Having ascended the eastern bank we came upon an excellent road, but intersected with many deep ravines. We reached Neepoth’s farm at half-past three, where we dined; and proceeded through a country almost as picturesque as that which we had passed, but not possessing the same grandeur of scenery. The weather too was unfavourable to it. On approaching the widow Wren’s, whose farm is situated in a valley near the Swartz River, we had a fine view of a magnificent forest, with a lake in front. The forest seemed to stretch to the sea coast on our right. We found the Swartz River too deep to ford, and had again to unload our wagon and float it over, crossing ourselves in a boat.
“We slept here, and found it a most miserable abode. The night was very cold with rain, and there was no glass to the windows; still every effort was made for our comfort by the kind hearted inhabitants of this wretched dwelling. They soon procured us a meal of salt mutton and salad, with tea; and we managed to get through the night very tolerably. There was a very fine group of children, and we much regretted to see the family in such abject poverty. I sincerely hope the younger part have grown up to better fortune than that which seemed likely to await them.
“In the course of our journey, when employing oxen for getting over the steep passes which our horses were unequal to effect, I had often been struck by the manner in which the oxen were stimulated by being spoken to by name; and I had at this place an opportunity of witnessing the manner in which they are taught to know it. There were two enclosures, surrounded by fences adjoining to each other, with a small wicket gate communicating between them. In one the cows are all arranged, tied to the fence at a few feet distance from each other, and into the other the calves are driven. A Hottentot stands at the wicket gate, and calls for a calf by a name which has frequently been repeated to him while sucking; and if he comes at the call, he is immediately rewarded by being taken to his mother. Should a wrong calf approach the wicket, he is beaten away. They soon learn to know when the voice is addressed to them, as becomes evident when the voice of the driver is heard; and Boschman, or Dunker, or Engeland, &c., no sooner hear themselves addressed, than their efforts are very visible, as they know that inattention to the sound is always followed by the whip or goad.