"Evidently the place was prosperous," said Harry, in his journal, "as we
found an abundance of substantial buildings, a luxurious house for the
owner, and substantial dwellings for the manager and his assistant. We
sat down to an excellent, though somewhat late breakfast. We had a good
appetite for it, as we had breakfasted very lightly before leaving Cape
Town. On the table we had broiled chickens, broiled ham, and lamb chops,
together with eggs, bread, and the usual concomitants of the morning
meal.

"After breakfast we visited the sheds where the sheep are sheared, and
also the surrounding sheds and yards where the animals are driven up at
shearing time. We were sorry that it was not the time of the annual
shearing, so that we could witness the process. Our host told us that
the shearers travel about the country, and take contracts for shearing
the flocks at so much a head. In addition to their wages, they were
supplied with food, and he added that the shearers were a fastidious
lot, and nothing but the best table would suit them.

"After inspecting the buildings, we were supplied with saddle horses and
rode over the farm. The sheep are divided into flocks of about three
hundred each, and every flock is in charge of two herders or shepherds.
Some of them come into the home stations at night, while others have
separate out stations of their own. The herders are either Hottentots or
Kaffirs; at any rate they are negroes. The two of them start out in the
morning with the flock, and go slowly along, allowing the sheep to feed,
and calculating time and distance so that they will reach a watering
place about noon. There the sheep are watered and then they start back
again towards the station, where they arrive an hour or so before
sunset, and are shut up in a yard for the night.

"The shepherds do their own cooking, and once a week one of them comes
to the head station to be supplied with provisions. Our host explained
to us that one shepherd was sufficient for a flock, but the life was so
lonely that a man would not stick to it, if left alone, and they had to
have two men in order to keep each other company. I can well understand
how wearisome it would be to have nobody to speak to for days at a time,
and one of the last occupations I would wish to engage in is that of
shepherd.

"Wool raising is a very large industry in Cape Colony, and it certainly
has been a very profitable one. Our host told us that if a man cou