46 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



but, before nyc had gone three hundred yards, the wagon 

 again became ingulfed, sinking into the earth to such 

 a depth that I half expected it would disappear alto- 

 gether. The nave of the wheel was actually six or 

 eight inches below the surface. This put us at our 

 wits' ends, and I began to think that, if this was to be 

 our rate of traveling, my hair would be gray ere I 

 reached the land of elephants. 



A few minutes after this had occurred, another wagon 

 meeting us from Somerset hove in sight, but shortly 

 stuck fast within a quarter of a mile of us. Its owner, 

 an T^nglishman, an Albany transport-rider or carrier, 

 of the name of Leonard, now came up and requested 

 me to lend him my oxen to assist him in his difficul- 

 ties, which I did, he promising, in return, to help me 

 out of mine ; but it was not until unloaded of the en- 

 tire cargo that they succeeded in extricating it ; after 

 which, with considerable trouble, they came up to us. 

 We now hookSd on to my wagon both spans, amount- 

 ing to twenty-six strong oxen, the drivers standing one 

 on either side, with their whips ready at the given sig- 

 nal to descend upon the devoted oxen. I myself, with 

 one of the Hottentots, armed with the jamboks, stood 

 by the after-oxen, upon whom, in a dilemma of this 

 sort, much depends. Every man and beast being at 

 their post, the usual cry of " Trek, trek !" resounded 

 on all sides, accompanied by a torrent of unearthly 

 yells and abusive epithets ; at the same time the whips 

 were plied with energetic dexterity, and came down 

 with startling reports on the backs of the oxen through- 

 out all parts of the team. The twenty-six oxen, thus 

 urged, at the same moment concentrated their ener- 

 gies, laying a mighty strain on the gear. Something 

 rmmt yield, and accordingly my powerful buffalo trek- 



