Trekking to Cape Colony 39 



At " Oorlogs Poort " a storm caught us, and as 

 soon as it was over a Hottentot galloped up and 

 drove my oxen off. I saddled up and overtook him 

 and " sjambokk^d " him properly ; he then galloped 

 off to tell his master, but I got there first and 

 explained matters, when I was reprimanded for 

 hammering the Hottentot, but allowed to proceed 

 free. This farm is now " The Willows," owned by a 

 Mr. Hall, Mr. C. Southey's brother-in-law. 



After leaving here we were snowed up for a 

 couple of days close to Compassberg, the highest 

 point in the district, and lost a couple of oxen from 

 cold. 



It was a long five month's trek and sometimes 

 rather tiresome, but there was good shooting and 

 plenty of fresh air, and Ted and I enjoyed the 

 novelty of it all. The chief drawback was the 

 drought, and my oxen giving up, as they could not 

 eat the dried up Karroo bushes, being used to grass 

 country. 



Near Philippolis the Griquas were most insolent, 

 they had taken the oxen of one Gert Emmenes, and 

 while he was getting them back, one party of them 

 took the wheels off the wagon. I found his poor 

 wife and children sitting disconsolate, not knowing 

 what would happen. The Griquas came bluffing us, 

 but I had my horse saddled, and plied them with 

 rhinoceros hide, and the drunken scoundrels cleared 

 off to fetch more men, but they did not come back. 

 We helped Emmenes, (who soon returned with the 

 oxen,) to lift his wagon on its wheels, and escorted 

 him on the way a bit. 



Richard Harvey, who had a large store at 

 Paljasfontein, was buying farms from Adam Kok's 

 people, who were to migrate to Griqualand East, 



