The Troubles oe Trekking. 257 



with ten mules started off to bring in tlie other 

 cow and bull, which lay at some distance away. 

 " The Baboon " brought in his two animals safe 

 and untouched. Lee was only successful in finding 

 the old bull, the natives having probably carried 

 oft' entire the t\Y0 dead cows. In the afternoon 

 numbers of natives came in from a kraal in the 

 vicinity. In the short space of two hours the 

 three big buck had been cut up and bartered away 

 and distributed in return for mealies, Kaffir corn, 

 some milk, and a few eggs. The natives are 

 passionately fond of fresh meat, and will give more 

 in exchange for it than for " limbo," wire, or 

 beads. The two following days we occupied in 

 trekking, as time was getting on and Hartley Hill 

 >was still distant. During the trek, Lee saw, 

 chased, and killed a good sable antelope bull. 

 During these two days we had to cross a series of 

 swampy places, and three times we stuck fast 

 hopelessly. The tedious and fatiguing process of 

 oft-loading, of carrying the goods for a considerable 

 distance, and of aoain unloadino- had to be con- 

 stantly gone through, to our inexj)ressible annoy- 

 ance and disgust. I think on the whole it is better 

 when the wao-o-on first buries its wheels in the mud 

 and sticks to outsi3an your team and to attach it 

 to the rear of the waggon and to draw this back, 

 than to attempt to drag it forward, when spades, 

 pickaxes, and even off-loading are apt to become 

 unavailing, and you have to wait till some chance 

 passing waggon gives you the assistance of it!:^ 

 team, and extricates you from the morass. 



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