92 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



for d£12 in cash, fifteen pounds of cofFee, and twenty 

 pounds of gunpowder. I christened this horse " Sun- 

 day,"*'in honor of the day on which I obtained him. 

 This bargain being conchided, I inspanned, and trek- 

 ked to the wandering Boer, whom I reached about an 

 hour after sundown. 



This man's nam'e was Gous ; he lived in a small 

 canvas tent pitched between his two wagons, round 

 which his vast flocks of sheep assembled every evening, 

 his cattle and horses running day and night in a neigh- 

 boring range of grassy hills. His w4fe was one of the 

 best-looking women I met among the Boers : she in- 

 formed me that she was of French extraction. On the 

 following morning I breakfasted with Gous in his tent : 

 he had lots of flesh, milk, and wild honey, which last 

 article was reported abundant that season. He offered 

 to sell to me a brown horse of good appearance; his 

 price was too high, but at a subsequent period we came 

 to terms, and I bought him. After breakfast I inspan- 

 ned, and, having proceeded a few miles across a glow- 

 ing plain, on which I counted fourteen tall ostriches 

 stalking amid large herds of other game, I reached a 

 periodical stream, where I outspanned, the sun being 

 intensely powerful. Here I found another Boer, named 

 Sweirs, encamped with his flocks and herds, having 

 been obliged to leave, his farm, situated far in the depths 

 of the Karroo, from want of water. Sweirs was an 

 elderly man, but had been a keen sportsman, and en- 

 tertained me with many interesting anecdotes relative 

 to the habits of the game and of his hunting adventures 

 in his early days. He informed me that he remember- 

 ed lions extremely abundant in those districts, and that 

 a few were still to be met with; He related to me in- 

 stances where he had seen the gemsbok beat off" the 



