extremely fertile.  The climate is perhaps the best in the world, neither cold nor heat being ever felt here to any intolerable degree.  The people accordingly live to great ages, and have hardly any diseases except such as proceed from intemperance of some kind.  The mountains, which contribute to the wholesomeness of the country, are supposed to be rich in gold and other valuable metals.  Some trials have been made; but as yet no mines have been discovered, or at least none in such situations as would permit their being worked to advantage.

Mynheer van Steel, who was lately governor of this colony, travelled over the country, and examined it with much attention.  He caused gardens to be laid out, and pleasure-houses to be built, in several places; but the peasants who were employed in building these houses and cultivating these gardens, sent over a representation and complaint to the company, alleging that these works were prejudicial to their private affairs, and prevented them from being able to maintain their families; upon which that governor was immediately recalled.  His discoveries, however, were of great consequence, having made the interior country known to the Dutch, together with the nations or tribes by whom it is inhabited.  These, so far as yet discovered, consist of seven different tribes, all comprehended under the general denomination of Hottentots.  The first of these, and least considerable, who live in the neighbourhood of the Cape, have no chief, and are mostly either in the service of the company, or are employed as servants by the townsmen, or by the peasants and farmers in cultivating the lands, or tending their flocks and herds.  The second tribe inhabit the mountains, or, more properly speaking, dwell in the caverns of the mountains, being thieves and robbers by profession, and subsist entirely by plundering the other Hottentots, with whom they are perpetually at war; yet never rob or molest the Christians.  The other tribes are called the Great and Little Maqua, and the Great and Little Kriqua[2], and the Caffres.  The words Maqua and Kriqua signify king or chief, and these four tribes are continually engaged in war against each other; but when any one nation is in danger of being totally ruined, other tribes immediately take up its cause; and these rude tribes seem to have a notion of maintaining a kind of balance of power.

[Footnote 2:  These tribes are known in geography by the names of Namaquas and Briquas, the latter being also called Booshuanas.  The second tribe in this account are named Bosjemans by the Dutch.—­E.]