hopes of going to
Natal, but the passengers all left here rather than attempt to land at
the port of that province from so large a ship. I thought that I might
there possibly hear of my brother, but as I had as yet received no
information to lead me to suppose that he was there, I felt that it
would be far better to get as soon as possible to the Mauritius, which
was the place where we had last heard of his being. It must be
understood that of this, the main object of my voyage, I never for a
moment lost sight, though in the account I am giving of my voyages and
travels I may not on all occasions bring it prominently forward.

A great deal might be said about Cape Colony, and I will not leave it
without giving a very short description of it. The country in the
neighbourhood of Cape Town is fertile and picturesque, and the
south-western districts produce wine and corn in abundance; but the
larger portion is sterile and uninviting, with a sad absence of shade,
verdure, and water. At the same time there are numerous, but
unnavigable rivers. It improves, however, in the direction of Natal;
but in the north, towards the Orange River, it is said to be again
barren. To the north and north-east are the districts inhabited by the
Amakosa Caffres, the Tambookies, and the Amaponda; while along the coast
round and beyond Port Natal is the country of the fierce Zooloos.
Bartholomew Diaz discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1493; and it was
doubled four years afterwards by Vasco de Gama. The inhabitants found
there were called Hottentots. They attacked the Portuguese who first
attempted to settle at the Cape, and it was not till 1650 that the Dutch
East India Company formed a thriving establishment there. A large
addition was made to the colonists by many French Protestants, who had
escaped into Holland from the tyranny of Louis XIV after the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes. The Dutch remained in possession of the country
until the year 1795, when Holland having become subject to France, the
English sent out an expedition which conquered it. It was restored to
the Dutch at the Treaty of Amiens; but in 1806, they and the English
having again become enemies, it was taken from them by an army under Sir
David Baird. In 1814 it was confirmed to the British. The Hottentots
were a mild, inoffensive race, but were cruelly treated by the Dutch,
who, however, as they advanced inland found a very different race to
contend with in