THE TRANSVAAL. 159 



my son, we decided to try and save, by decamp- 

 ing, the rest of our property, consisting of two 

 waggons with their contents and twenty-four good 

 draught oxen. 



Having decided on this step, we spanned-in the 

 waggons at once, and began our journey of fifty 

 miles through a hostile country. Fearing to travel 

 by the road, we bumped laboriously over rocks 

 and other impediments till the first midnight 

 arrived, when it became necessary to give the 

 oxen a rest, and for that purpose drove into a 

 thicket which completely concealed the bivouac. 

 A good watch on a cross road one hundred yards 

 in our front was kept in the bright moonlight, and 

 soon, to our dismay, a patrol of three men was 

 descried riding along slowly towards us. We 

 hurriedly decided to shoot these fellows if we 

 suspected they had discovered us, but seeing that 

 they passed on towards the village, quite uncon- 

 scious of our presence, we let them go in peace. 

 As soon as possible we then spanned-in, and, 

 after much fatigue and anxiety, approached the 

 frontier line just at nightfall on the next day. 



Here we met a patrol of two men, but as our 

 force, inclusive of " boys," was superior, they were 



