ir MEET WITH AN ACCIDENT 13 



ever since, and I am heartily sorry that I ever had 

 anything to do with them. 



The journey between Kuruman and Secheh's took 

 us some twenty days. The distance was about 260 

 miles, but a great part of the road lay through a very 

 sandy country, with but little water, and was terribly 

 trying for the oxen. After leaving Kuruman the 

 appearance of the country presented a marked and 

 very agreeable change from anything I had as yet 

 seen ; for whereas, with the exception of the coast- 

 line, there is scarcely a tree to be seen throughout 

 the western portion of the Cape Colony, Griqualand, 

 or the Free State, the country now became thickly 

 wooded with trees of a good size, and in many parts 

 greatly resembled an English park ; the more so as 

 the camel-thorn trees, which were most numerous, 

 looked at a distance something like the oak. The 

 great drawback to this portion of the country is the 

 scarcity of water and the heavy, sandy roads. We 

 passed but few kraals, but at most of the waters 

 there were some Bakalahari tendinn^ the cattle of 

 their Bechuana masters. A day's journey before 

 reaching Secheli's we came to a large kraal under the 

 old chief Montsua, a good-looking, portly old man, 

 dressed, like every Bechuana of any standing, from 

 top to toe in European costume, with colhu- and 

 necktie complete. 



Just after leaving Montsua's, Dorehill and I met 

 with an accident. I was taking some cartridges from 

 amongst about a pound of loose powder contained in 

 a small box in the side case of the waggon, when 

 Dorehill came up, and looking over my shoulder 

 with a pipe in his mouth, some lighted tobacco fell 

 into the powder, which immediately exploded. We 

 were rather badly burnt all over our necks and faces, 



