168 Recollections of Adventure* 



in haste for Paardekop, where there was an hotel of 

 sorts. A terrific storm of wind, hail, and sleet 

 caught me a few miles from the starting point and 

 and I had to put down the hood to save the " spider " 

 from blowing over, while I could hardly keep the 

 horses on the road. When I reached Paardekop my 

 little groom Kleinboy, was frozen and of no use. I 

 drove the spider to the side of the house, and went 

 to get assistance ; but the Jew who kept the hotel 

 refused to come out, saying it would kill him to do 

 so. There was no one to help, so I unharnessed the 

 horses in the hurricane and had just put them in the 

 stable when the roof blew off and the wind took it 

 down the hill. The hotel was an iron building, the 

 snow drove through the joints and made strips 

 across the floor. The Jew said he had no food, but 

 could let me have some gin, I told him he lied 

 because I had seen him eating dinner in the next 

 room. After some strong language he gave me a 

 meal of sorts, and a glass of gin, and I had to attend 

 to the frozen Kleinboy. 



A poor delicate little clergyman with his wife 

 and child told me that the Jew would not let them 

 have any food, and that they were almost starving. 

 I made the miserable hotel -keeper give them some 

 food at once, and I paid for it. During a lull in the 

 storm, Robert Preller (whose farm-house was close 

 by over the Spruit) came for a flask of gin, I per- 

 suaded him to give me room for my horses and self, 

 and he helped me to inspan and to get over to his 

 farm. This saved the lives of my horses, if not my 

 own as the storm broke out again, and we were snowed 

 up for three days, in the most bitterly cold blizzard 

 I have ever experienced. The snow was driven over 

 the high range, and was six feet deep at the home- 

 stead. I got compressed forage from the Commis- 



