It is not easy to describe the expertness with which these peasants manage their fire-arms, an exercise in which they are constantly employed, even from their infancy; and it is almost incredible how boldly they attack even the fiercest animals. Many among them disdain to shoot a sleeping lion, because, as they say, it shows neither skill nor courage: When, therefore, they discover a lion asleep, they throw stones to waken him, and do not fire till he is on his feet. A little before the arrival of our author at the Cape, two peasants went out together to hunt. One of them, seeing a lion, fired at and missed him, when the lion rushed upon the man, who threw away his gun, to have more liberty to defend himself. The other peasant, on hearing the report, hastened to the place, and found his companion and the lion closely engaged; on which he snatched up the gun, and slew the lion by a few blows on the head, but broke the gun in pieces. The first peasant, whose property the gun was, complained loudly of its demolition, blamed his companion for coming up uncalled for, and even talked of making him pay for the gun, insisting that he could have slain the lion himself without aid. It was formerly considered a wonderful deed for a man to kill a lion; but now it is so common an occurrence, that they make no more of killing a lion, than we do of shooting a hare. The country about Cape Town is full of vineyards and gardens. Two of these belong to the company, which are perhaps the finest in the world. One is at the distance of two hundred paces from the fort, between the town and Table Mountain, being about 1400 paces in length, by 235 paces broad, and having a fine rivulet from the mountain running through the middle of it. It is divided into quarters, in which they cultivate, with the utmost success, the fruits and flowers of the four quarters of the globe. The other garden is about two leagues distant from the town, in what is called the _New Country_, and is likewise kept in excellent order by slaves belonging to the company, of whom there are seldom less than five hundred. The country hereabout is mountainous and stony; but the vallies are very agreeable, and 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.