The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-03 00:00:00

THE SUN,

RACING FIXTURES FOR 1852

FEBRUARY.
I:ce..);n Spring

MARCH.
Liverp00l Spring
C,)ventry 9 Northampton
Doncaster Spring
Warwick Spring

APRIL.
Epsom Spring
Newmarket Craven ... 12 1 Mahon . 22
Abergavenny l3 i Newmarket F. S 26

BIA.Y.
Cheater Spring
Newmarket S. S.
Shrewsbury l3 Epsom 25
-----

Manchester
Ascot . .
Beverley
Hampton
Newcastle

ry
Stockbridge
Winchester
Carlisle
Ludlow

JULY.

Newmarket 6 1 Stamford 2O
Worcester
Lancaster
Liverpool

AUGUST.

North Staffordshire 3
Brighton
Reading

SEPT:

Warwick
Doncaster
Eglinton Club 2l
Bedford
OCT,
5

'hester
Yorkshire Union Hunt 6
Wrexham

York
Egham

NOVE?
Worcester Autu

;MBER.

Leicester 92
Manchester Autumn
Newmarket F. 0.

PBER.

Newmarket S. 0. n
Holywell Hunt
Newmarket Houghton 25
:EEL

.ran 2

SOUTHERN AFRICA.
The following is an extract from a letter, dated
Eikhams, Namagua Land, Aug. 16, 1851 :
" I have returned after a journey not quite so long
as I had hoped to have made. Of perfectly new
country I have explored about 500 miles out, return-
ing by much the same route. I did not quite reach
the Portuguese, or the magnificent intervening river,
of which the Cavene is only a branch. Those
abominable waggons have been like a dragchain upon
me, but everything has ended well and we have bad no
sickness. I have had plenty of occupation in mapping
the country. My guns have been quite idle, as there is
little or no game of any sort. After leaving the
furthest missionary station I found myself between
the two principal black chiefs, who were on the eve
of fighting ; however, I contrived to get my party
clear of the massacre and passed on without
guides, being also fortunate enough to find suffi-
cient water from place to place, for the oxen as
well as for ourselves—so that in that way we bad
no hardships. The country was a dense mass of
thorns—not simple straight thorns like a quickset
hedge, but curved like fishhooks. The oxen would
not face them—it was terrible work to drive them on.
I often tried the strength of these thorns by fasten-
ing a piece of rag to a spring balance, and pulling
until the thorn broke—one thorn stood a pull of 271 b.
Our clothes were in rags, and at first our skins were
very painful from being so much torn, especially as
the scratches generally festered—but we grew har-
dened in time. I found my way to the reported Lake
Omabondi, which was dry as dust—not a drop of
water in the reeds. From the natives' description
we had reckoned upon seeing a large sheet of water,
about thirty miles by eight. It was, however, no-
thing but a watercourse 300 yards broad, and in the
rainy..season might be two miles long. Lake N'gami
I have not tried for. I travelled on northward ; we
moved very slowly—the waggons had to crush through
everything, and the oxen would not pull through the
thorns. After 300 miles I reached the end of the
country of the 0 vakerers, where was a large village.
Thence I endeavoured to get guides on to the Ovam-
po, but the chief would not give theta ; so we set off
alone, as we were resolved not to be beaten. As we
were just starting the oxen were frightened, and set
off at a trot. There was in front of them a great
stump, apparently rotten, but in reality a hard strong
tree. The near fore wheel of my best waggon
came against this, and crash went the whole
concern. We set to work, brought the oxen
alongside, made a hedge of thorns, cleared
the ground, and at once dispatched a party to
cut down trees to mend it. The road had been
so stony and execrable in every way that it would
have been folly to have ventured on with an axletree
of green wood ; therefore the waggons necessarily had
to remain there while the trees seasoned. I upon this
halved my party, and Anderson and myself saddled
our oxen and moved on to the north. We found
a man who said he could take us in a fifteen days'
journey on to the Ovampo; but he led us all
wrong, and we were hardly put to it for water.
All kinds of little disasters occurred. We made three
attempts to proceed, and the third time most fortu-
nately met a trading party from Ovampo, who had
come down to buy cattle ; so we returned with them,
waited three long weeks until they were ready to go
back to their own country, and then accompanied them
thither. After 200 miles' travel the bushes and
thorns suddenly ceased, and the charming corn
country of Mondongo, with its palms and fruit trees,
lay before us. I rode off to the King, and crowned
him straightway with that great theatrical crown
which I picked up one day in London before starting,
thinking that it might come in opportunely among
the savages. He was a brute, fat as a tub, but his
people were most hospitable. The journey had
lasted longer than I expected. My oxen were in a sad
state—footsore, and with galled backs. I had to
buy and carry back provisions, as we had but little
cattle left. The Cavene River was four or five days
ahead, but Naugoro (the King) would not allow us to
go on to it. Had I been able to remain with him for
three or four weeks I might have over persuaded him, as
he had a strong dislike to gunpowder ; but it was impos-
sible to stay, as my waggons and men were left in such a
precarious situation. I therefore packed 50011). of corn,
flour, beans, and so forth on my oxen, and returned.
I found my waggon well mended, the axletree better
than before, and about sixty sheep and a few oxen bad
been bought by my men, and added to our store
during my absence. We returned without accident
of any sort, by a slightly different road, and I am
now with the Namaqua chief. I told you in my
last letter that I made peace all over his country, and
it has been admirably kept during my absence. I
have therefore given Jouker (the chief) a cocked hat
and an old ambassador's coat of Mr. --, with which
he is highly delighted. I now intend going to the
east for a little elephant shooting, and I shall ex-
change everything I have for ivory (of which the Na-
rnasseuas there have an abundance), take it down to
Walwich Bay, and start by the missionary ship for the
Cape or for St. Helena, either in December or January,
unless another opportunity offer for going :further
into the country. A trading party of blacks, from
the Portuguese country, were at Mondongo while I
was there, but I was unable to send letters by them,
for the people are very superstitious there, and would
have nothing to do with written things. I have, of
course, found out much about the country of great
interest. A posse of missionaries are about to follow
rnfy‘rroute. TUE, Ovampos are really a charming tribe
cLr."hegroes, but every other nation I have either seen
odegt:reTeaehr.de ~ofvaratelobnrau,
atal and barbarous to an incredible
village the
women, very
extended nation, attacked a
other d v for fun, and after killing all the
legs together day for fun, and after killing all the
men arid Women, they took the children, tied their
downwards en a i
of reeds underneath them tally between two ° long
and strung them
.head
pole, which they fixed horizon-
While the children, and set alight
.to them.
atvoltheemy then collected a quan-
tityburnt and half suffocated,
they amused themselves by
dancing and singing round
—the
eP
the
er
corn
i wretchest(hei
on them.
mnt. r , ,were dying, half
latitude 17 deg. 57 min., longitude
This was my furthest point.country of Ovampo Land
down in latitude 19 deg. 30 min ,
TheN au gl6O r
do
e, . lives,4s ism min.
longitude is deg.
20 min. The furthest point seen by waggons broke
is latitude 22 deg., longitude Europeansl.sd
be-
foreeg. so „in.
W
Fa VS Cl 5 GA,LI oz 4 :1