TRAVELLING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 51 



Maritzburg. The town hill I reached, ascended a mile 

 or more, and then the rain commenced to come down 

 in torrents. The higher I advanced, the worse became 

 the storm. The thunder rolled with its deepest and 

 most powerful voice, from the mountains above ; while 

 the lightning cleft its way down, down into the almost 

 unfathomable black valleys beneath. It was a truly 

 fearful night ; and if I had gone over the scarpment, 

 nothing but utter destruction could have been the result. 

 Still my little horse, a bay Basuto pony just over 

 fourteen hands, toiled manfully on, and higher and 

 higher, steeper and steeper, became the road in this 

 Alpine region. 



At length the slope became such that I dis- 

 mounted, placed the reins over my shoulder, and 

 trudged, best foot forward. The little horse behaved 

 admirably, and even thus early I would not have sold 

 him for double what he had cost. A long, long mile 

 more, and I came to a shanty called the Summit House; 

 here I refreshed the inward man, and obtained the satis- 

 factory information that a few hundred yards would 

 bring me to the top of the pass. The mouthful of 

 gruel I gave to the little nag put fresh life in him ; so 

 I threw my leg over the saddle, and rode the remainder 

 of the journey ; the only accident that occurred being 

 his falling over some boulders in a bad, rough rivulet 

 called Keed Spruit. 



Ho wick is a beautiful place ; it stands on the margin 

 of the Umganey river, which, about one hundred yards 

 from the hotel door, goes over a perpendicular fall of 

 nearly three hundred feet. My head would not stand 

 the ordeal of approaching the margin of the abyss, so 

 I crossed to the opposite side of the ravine, and had a 



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