The Glamour of Prospecting: Wanderings of a South African Prospector in Search of Copper, Gold, Emeralds, and Diamonds |
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Aar Pan abundance amongst appeared bank Boer border boys bush Bushmen camels camp Cape cart Cape Town climbed copper deep desert diamonds distance dunes extremely farther feet fire gemsbok German South-West German territory Gordonia granite gravel heard horses Hottentots huge Kalahari Kimberlite Klaas Kloof knew kopjes Kuboos Kuruman land leopard looked Luderitzbucht miles Molopo morning mountains Nakob Namaqualand natives never night Old Gert Orange River oxen peaks plenty police Port Nolloth Poulley Prieska prospecting prospector rain Ransson ravine reach Reenen Richtersfeldt rifle river-bed rock Salt Pan sand scarcely seen showed slopes soon spoor spot steenbok stones stood stretch Swakopmund t'samma thick thirst tiny Toit told trees trek trekking trip trooper turned Upington Vaal River van Reenen vegetation veldt vicinity waggon Walfish Bay whilst whole wild yards Zendling's Drift
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Page ii - ... hardly ever paralleled in the huge areas traversed. The author is a distinguished field naturalist — one of those who accompanied Colonel Roosevelt on his famous South American expedition — and his first object in his wanderings over 150,000 miles of territory was the observation of wild life ; but hardly second was that of exploration. The result is a wonderfully informative, impressive and often thrilling narrative in which savage peoples and all but unknown animals largely figure, which...
Page ii - This volume represents a series of almost continuous explorations hardly ever paralleled in the huge areas traversed. The author is a distinguished field naturalist — one of those who accompanied Colonel Roosevelt on his famous South American expedition — and his first object in his wanderings over 150,000 miles of territory was the observation of wild life ; but hardly second was that of exploration. The result is a wonderfully informative, impressive and often thrilling narrative in which savage...
Page ii - ... South America: Six Years of Exploration in Colombia, Venezuela, British Guiana, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. By LEO E. MILLER, of the American Museum of Natural History. First Lieutenant In the United States Aviation Corps. With 48 Full-page Illustrations and with maps. Demy 8vo, cloth. This volume represents a series of almost continuous explorations hardly ever paralleled in the huge areas traverse*'.
Page 189 - ... territory. From Krantz Kop the roads become every mile more atrocious, and after a few hours give place to the merest track. This leads away from the river, crossing granite and dolerite kopjes, and ridges where every step tempts a smash-up, and leading directly towards a formidable barrier of abrupt peaks. The surroundings become wilder at every step, and the strange shapes of the peculiar-looking vegetation, " Koker-boomen " (Aloe dichotoma), thorny candelabra euphorbia, and a variety of "...
Page 68 - ... suddenly we were surrounded by several men, approaching from different directions, and all well armed with assegais. The guide, alarmed at their appearance, ran off and concealed himself behind one of the bushes ; while, conscious of the danger, I immediately reined up, in order to answer their inquiries as to who we were — where we came from — where we were going — where Tpai was — what Faku was about — and many other similar questions.
Page 192 - ... sides there is nothing but riven, shattered rock, sheer precipice, and giant buttress : the vegetation of the side streams is hidden by the chaos of rocks near the brink of the canyon, and the scene is one of sheer desolation. This absence of vegetation and of life makes it additionally hard to realize the stupendous height of the main fall ; the enormous smooth cliff opposite, the giant boulders, all confusing one's sense of proportion. Discovered by the traveller George Thompson in 1824, they...
Page 94 - ... JAMES EDWARD ALEXANDER. 2 Vols. 12mo. The best and most interesting book of travels we have seen for a long time is Alexander's account of his Expedition of Discovery into the interior of Africa, through the hitherto undescribed countries of the Great Namaquas, Buschmaus and Hill Damaras, performed under the auspices of the British Government and the Royal Geographical Society. The adventures of the traveller and his party ure of the most interesting and exciting character.
Page 152 - And after a few hundred yards of these we were faced by a low connecting granite nek, barring our progress, and abruptly ending the ravine. Over this we were confident of finding the Tatas River, from which we could easily reach our destination. I was riding ahead, and found the nek quite easy of ascent and scarce a hundred feet high. Up this I rode, crossed a few yards of ridge and looked down — and nearly fell from the pony in sheer...
Page 209 - There seemed to me to be a lack of anxiety about all of the home party. Paul was asleep and snoring within a few inches of the fire, and Borcherds and De Wet were smoking and swapping lies on the other side of it. " Hallo,
Page 296 - Mountains, which form the boundary between Portuguese territory and the North-Eastern Transvaal, came upon some ancient workings which they failed to penetrate, owing to noxious gas ; but that at the mouth of one they found skeletons, and with the bones a small skin bag full of rough emeralds. They got away with the stones, which fetched a large sum in Europe, but for some unexplained reason were never able to reach the spot again.