Baines writes he was happy to learn from a copy of a letter Hooker sent to Mr. Logier[?] that the plant specimen he sent was of interest to him. He describes the plant which he says ‘the Hottentots’ call ‘ghories’, and the ‘Damaras’ call ‘nyanka’; and he writes it was found in a sandy ravine running between the Nariep desert and the Swakop River in an area known as Hykamkop which he describes in detail. He goes on to describe an aloe he also sent and says he will try to send another. He continues to describe his journey through the region and says he and his friend Chapman have forwarded the collections and sketches they made as they moved towards Koobie and the Lake country. He describes other specimens he has sent in his collection and discusses a tree which yields a poison known to Dr. Livingston as ‘ngwa’ and its antidote ‘kala’. He describes to Hooker the Baobab he and Chapman saw at Koobie and writes about the attributes of different types of wood found all the way up to the Zambezi. He writes they travelled the river Bollette[?] along which they saw a number of Baobab and other large trees before they came to the Zambezi and then the Victoria Falls which he describes in detail. Baines writres there are many Date Palms and types of fern in the swamp, and goes on to mentioning he will send wood samples and some sketches. He discusses the different trees he saw along the river including one similar to the baobab which the indigenous people call kokomboyou. He writes about the different woods he tried to use to make his boat, and about the flats where he has his house supporting the growth of many vegetables including the yellow flower of a Banhama[?] shrub which is eaten. He then writes about the difficulties he experienced trying to hunt buffalo and hippopotamuses, and that Chapman sent him five oxen. He moves on to describe his journey to meet up with Chapman accompanied by a group of the aborigines. He comments on the tribal and class systems of the area mentioning in particular the Matabili and Makololo, Makobas, Makalakas, Bushmen and Batoka. He also comments about the slave trade between the indigenous people and white farmers. He continues the diary of his travels and describes a bloody conflict between the Namaqua ‘Hottentots’ and the Damaras. He also writes about an incident where Mr. Andersson shot a ‘Hottentot’ who tried to rob him. He says he is now staying with Mr. and Mrs. Andersson, packing specimens, painting and drawing whilst he raises funds for his next journey to the East coast via the Zambezi. Before ending his letter he says he has sent some specimens found along the Zambezi to Mr. Logier[?] via Mr. Chapman. Page 6 of 12.