ciiAr. VIII. MORTALITY AMONG HORSES. 221 



reached, near Daggerboers hoek, a neat-looking stone house, 

 with Hotel written over the door. 



The house was kept by Mr. Maskell, an Englishman who 

 had formerly resided as a trader at one of the missionary 

 stations. He received us courteously, and expressed surpris® 

 that we had kept the same horses all the way from Cape 

 Town. We found that a kind of epidemic had been raging 

 amongst the horses in the districts through which we had 

 passed, and had caused such destruction that travelling was 

 exceedingly difficult. Most of the public conveyances had 

 been discontinued, and many farms were almost entirely de- 

 stitute of horses. This disease had been very severe in many 

 parts of the colony, especially along the road which we had 

 travelled in this day, where a dead horse or a dead ox was 

 frequently to be seen. One day, in particular, we passed 

 many ; and observed several places in the bush where nothing 

 but the bones were left, the bodies having been burned to 

 prevent contagion. On the farm adjoining Mr. Maskell's, 

 only thirteen horses remained out of fifty. Another farmer 

 near had lost all. Mr. Maskell had only one left. So far ours 

 had escaped ; but we became every day more apprehensive of 

 losing them. Mr. Maskell led us into a nice clean parlour, 

 well furnished with bookcases ; and amongst the pictures on 

 the walls I noticed a good portrait of the late Mr. Wilber- 

 force, and another of the venerable Eowland Hill. 



In our journey the next day, which lay for the most part 

 over an exceedingly bad road covered almost continually with 

 loose stones, we halted near a bend in the Fish river, when a 

 number of Fingoes came to our waggon, bringing for sale 

 honey and some milk, which we readily purchased, and found 

 very good tasted. I had frequently observed the curious 

 resorts of the bees, and had more than once been attracted 

 towards them by the call of the honey-bird, which Pringle 

 has so graphically and amusingly described in a note to one 



