A few miles to the north of Gestop are the famous salt-pans, and Barber's pan, of which a description has been given, and a few miles to the south-east is Reid vlei, a pretty piece of water, a great resort of wild-fowl in those days long past. It is a wonder now to see a single duck; it is pretty nearly the same with the game. At that time they could be counted by the thousand, now it takes a long ride to meet with a few. I have had troop after troop pass in front of my oxen as I have been treking along the road, by the thousand, and not ten miles from this farm; and, as I camped out in the afternoon on the plains to remain the night, have been much interested in watching the old gnu-bull standing alone doing sentry duty, keeping guard over the cows and young ones when feeding a few hundred yards from him. He would always select an elevated piece of ground to have a good view round, and every few minutes he would change his position to all quarters of the compass, and the first sign of danger give several barks as warning to the others, and then, with a quick switch of his tail, head down, gallop off to his friends and remove them further away from any enemy that may be approaching. In all these open flats there are always to be found large dried-up pans, all of them brack, which is very suggestive of sea-water. It is not only the pans but the entire soil that is brack, from one end of South Africa to the other, some parts more than others. It is only in small pools, or at fountains, where fresh water can be obtained. To one large dry pan, half a mile in diameter, and fifty feet deep, with very nice sloping sides, I gave the name of Chalcedony pan, from the immense quantity that covered the ground, not only round the pan but for miles in every direction; and on all these high flats, every variety of agate, flint, cornelian, and other kinds of every colour and form, as also splendid specimens of petrified woods, and in the stone hills, large shells, but empty of the snails, many of them beautifully marked, also small fresh-water shells of various sizes, and I have spent many pleasant days prospecting for some of these specimens. Near Christiana, on the Vaal river, are two extensive dry brack-pans, the largest is two miles round. On the south side the ground forms a small hill with bush and trees upon it; this is between Christiana and Bloomhof, where there are several salt-pans a few miles to the north of that town, where a large quantity of salt is procured annually of good quality. The salt can only be obtained on certain occasions, which is very peculiar, showing there must be a vast quantity of salt below the pans' beds.