212 APPENDIX.
small part of Africa, as one of the most interesting to explore, and he had no doubt that many facts of still greater interest than those that had already come to light remained to be discovered towards the source of the Cunene. There the land was still higher, large rivers flowed from it in all directions, and there the natives might be expected to possess the superior vigour commonly found among the inhabitants of mountainous districts. He wished to pay a tribute to the well-deserved success of Lord Mayo. His journey was not undertaken rashly. Before he went he obtained from the best authorities all the materials he possibly could, and the information so obtained was printed for private circulation in a small book which formed most agreeable reading. Having laid out his plans thoroughly well, he had in the short space of ten months from the time of leaving England to his return, thrown very important light on a most interesting geographical subject.
" Sir Bartle Frere said that Lord Mayo's paper had thrown an interesting light upon some of the important migrations of late years. The Trek Boers were seven years in passing from the Transvaal to the place they now occupied in Portuguese territory, but their travels might be traced still further back. Probably there were very few of the men among them whose fathers or grandfathers were not within living memory inhabitants of the lower part of Cape Colony. Consequent upon the emancipation of the slaves the Boers first of all travelled in a north-easterly direction towards what is now the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, and some of them reached as far as Lake'Ngami. No doubt there were other gentlemen present besides Mr. Galton who recollected how Dr. Smith and General Frederick Cotton met the principal settlement of the Trek Boers not very far from the present Diamond Fields in Griqualand West. They were then moving northward. Owing partly to their desire to get as far as possible into the free wilderness, and partly to political causes, they turned north and settled in the Transvaal, where they remained for some years, till, being dissatisfied with the Government which they had themselves set up, they determined to seek the fertile country of which they had heard from elephant hunters, beyond Lake 'Ngami. It was some time before they ventured to cross what had been properly called the Great Thirst Land, and Mr. Vanzyl, when he was afterwards at Cape Town, attributed his success to the knowledge he had obtained of the beat
