176 Men, Mines, and Animals in South Africa. 



made to avoid impassable, though dry, water- 

 courses ; much tree and bush had to be felled. 

 Proo-ress was slow, and thouo-h the distance from 

 our camp to the road did not exceed twelve miles, 

 to compass it occupied an entire day. Escaping, 

 by much good fortune, all accident, either to 

 vehicles or animals, we reached the main road, in 

 the evening, where it crosses the Bubjane, at the 

 spot where I had last parted from ]\Iajor Giles 

 and the main body of the waggons. Short of 

 j)rovisions, having consumed all our bread, biscuit. 

 Hour, tea, coffee, and sugar, we had little to eat 

 save the remnants of the game we had shot. 

 Captain Williams and Lee passed the day hunting 

 unsuccessfullv, chasing two bull koodoo, but 

 securino" neither. Xow we had before us a three 

 days' speedy trek, some twenty-five to thirty miles 

 a day, to catch up the remainder of the expedi- 

 tion, which by this time, we reckoned, had reached 

 the Lundi River. ]\Iealies for the horses and 

 mules, beans, milk, and wild honey for ourselves, 

 were obtained by barter from the natives, some 

 bread and coftee were begged from the waggons of 

 Messrs. Rylands, also on a shooting expedition, 

 and all seemed to promise a fortunate termination 

 to our hunting adventures. But I was to 

 commence my experience of one of iue pests of 

 African travel, the fatal horse sickne^. On the 

 morning of the 30th one of the mules drawing the 

 " spider " was observed to he unable/to pull, and 

 to be breathing lieaA'ily. Xothing cqf.dd be done 

 for the animal, no remedies were ai^ailable, nor. 



