As A Considerable Quantity Of Flour, And The Principal Part Of The Live Stock,
Which Was To Store Our Intended
Settlement, were meant to be procured here,
Governor Phillip lost no time in waiting on Mynheer Van Graaffe,
the Dutch
Governor, to request permission (according to the custom
of the place) to purchase all that we stood in need of. How far the demand
extended, I know not, nor Mynheer Van Graaffe's reasons for complying with it
in part only. To this gentleman's political sentiments I confess myself
a stranger; though I should do his politeness and liberality at his own table
an injustice, were I not to take this public opportunity of acknowledging them;
nor can I resist the opportunity which presents itself, to inform my readers,
in honor of M. Van Graaffe's humanity, that he has made repeated efforts
to recover the unfortunate remains of the crew of the Grosvenor Indiaman,
which was wrecked about five years ago on the coast of Caffraria.
This information was given me by Colonel Gordon, commandant of the Dutch
troops at the Cape, whose knowledge of the interior parts of this country
surpasses that of any other man. And I am sorry to say that the Colonel added,
these unhappy people were irrecoverably lost to the world and their friends,
by being detained among the Caffres, the most savage set of brutes on earth.
His Excellency resides at the Government house, in the East India Company's
garden. This last is of considerable extent, and is planted chiefly
with vegetables for the Dutch Indiamen which may happen to touch at the port.
Some of the walks are extremely pleasant from the shade they afford,
and the whole garden is very neatly kept.
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