INUNDATION OP HANKEV. 337 



was, thougli it had been surrounded, and so I remained. William Land- 

 man persuaded the wives of William Smit and Philip Marais, and their 

 sisters and youngest brothers, to accompany him, but the brothers laughed 

 at his warnings, and even opposed the departure of their wives and sisters. 

 I passed the night between asleep and awake, till I heard the water pouring 

 over the dam sluit, then I began to fear danger. I ran immediately to the 

 road, and I saw it was still possible to escape if I could only get assistance 

 in carrying over my wife and mother. J. Jacobs, whose house stood on the 

 other side, was just then leaving with his family. So I roused the Smits, 

 but they only got up and sat by the fire talking. Returning to my house, 

 I roused Lucas and urged him to come and attempt to cross ; but he 

 answered, — ' Where should we go in the dark t Let us wait till daylight. 

 Even in the great flood, in Mr Kitchingman's time, this knoll was never 

 covered with water.' When I went the second time the road was impass- 

 able, and the water was coming on towards Smit's house. I roused the 

 young men with this information, and we soon found we were surrounded 

 on all sides. We dragged chests and other things to the knoll, and carried 

 some of the fire with us. There we stood (six women and ten men), gazing 

 speechless at it and at one another. Lucas never spoke another word ; but 

 I never allowed my heart to fail me. It soon reached us and rose above 

 our waists. I then bound up a mat for my wife, and told her to keep it 

 across under her chest, and she would be able to keep her head above water 

 till help came. I then took up my mother and held her in my arms till I 

 could hold her no longer. She was the first carried away. Then Lucas 

 drifted away from us and sank at once. 



" About this time the three Smit's swam off, each pushing a chest before 

 him to keep himself up. The boy Karl Baan went from one to another, 

 now holding his mother up as he saw her sinking, then his little sister, 

 until they all sank. I now saw a roof floating towards us and resolved to 

 reach it. My wife had drifted away while I was holding my mother up, and 

 she had got the mat under one arm, instead of across her chest, so that she 

 just turned over and over with it, till she was carried out of my sight among 

 the thorn trees. I now tried to reach the roof, but my strength was quite 

 spent ere I was half way. I turned over then upon my back, resolved to 

 keep myself afloat, paddling with my hands and feet, to let it reach me. 

 When I felt my chest recovered and my arms rested, I turned again upon 

 my face and found that the roof was within two strokes of me. I reached 

 it, but felt my legs so benumbed that I could not bend them to climb on 

 to it, and drawing myself up with my arms I writhed up my lower 

 extremities like a snake on to it. When I was on it I found that Karl and 

 Sarah Baan were following me, and not far off. Sarah was the nearest and 

 she called out, ' Help me, dear uncle ! ' I said, ' I have not power to help 

 you ; but don't strike so wildly ; be calm ; don't tire yourself, and pray God 

 to help you.' When she was only a little way off she sank, but came up 

 again some way lower down ; and Karl came now near the roof, and cried 

 as she had done before him, ' Help me, dear uncle ! ' I said the same thing, 

 but drawing a lath from the roof, just as he rose from sinking once, I 

 pushed the end of it into his hand, and when he had grasped it I drew him 

 up on to the roof beside me. The roof had floated towards Sarah, and she 

 was just sinking the second time when I placed the lath so that she just 

 seized it with her finger and thumb, and I drew her towards me and put 

 her on the roof. 



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