Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/146

136 nite, and a very hard ort of free-tone. The mould produced by the decay of the vegetables grow upon them, is the caue of the fertility of the vallies where the colonits reide. Hence they are obliged to travel over andy dearts in order to carry the produce of their labour to the town. This kind of ituation is common to all the etablihments at any coniderable ditance from the Cape. The cultivators are neceitated to go more than 500,000 toies into the interior of Africa, in order to eek out ome pots of arable land, cattered like ilands in an ocean of and; and after they have found them, every one applies to the ground he has cleared whatever mode of cultivation he thinks mot adapted to the oil. The black laves, though obliged to labour very hard, are in general treated with humanity. It is remarkable that, contrary to the practice of the Spaniards, who always endeavour to make proelytes of their laves, the Dutch planters leave theirs in the mot profound ignorance of their religion.

We frequently aw the nakes, which are much dreaded by the inhabitants of the country, lying in wait under the trees for the birds which often become their prey.

The zebras are very common in thee moun- tains: