54 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



convey the venison of sundry rhinoceroses which I en- 

 saced to shoot for him. These men led me toward 

 Bakatla by a different route from that which I had for- 

 merly adopted. 



Early on the 13th, while taking coffee, I was met by 

 a party from Bakatla, who had been kindly dispatched 

 by Dr. Livingstone, the resident missionary, on hear- 

 ing of my abandonment by rny colonial servants. The 

 party consisted of a Bechuana, named Mabal, belong- 

 ing to Kuruman (who assisted Dr. Livingstone in teach- 

 ing the children of the Bakatlas), and three of the Bak- 

 atla tribe. These men reached me just at the proper 

 moment ; for, having inspanned, before we had proceed- 

 ed three hundred yards the damaged axle-tree broke 

 short across, and the wheel rolling, away, the wagon 

 came down on its side. This was a catastrophe I had 

 for some time anticipated, and I was only thankful that 

 it had been deferred so long. We outspanned, and, 

 having unloaded the wagon, we put a support under it, 

 and took out the fore-stell, and I then set about making 

 a false axle-tree of tough thorn- wood. The vertical sun 

 was extremely powerful, and both my ankles gave me 

 severe and never-ceasing pain from wounds inflicted by 

 the cruel wait-a-bits, and inflammation induced by the 

 unvarying animal diet on which I had so long subsist- 

 ed. In the afternoon of the following day I got the false 

 axle-tree fixed in its proper position, and having loaded 

 up the wagon we were once more ready for a start. 



On the 15th we inspanned, and, having passed through 

 the bold mountain gorge, of Sesetabie, we encamped on 

 the margin of a periodical river whose precipitous banks 

 and broad channel of deep soft sand caused me consider- 

 able apprehensions of difficulties for the morrow. 



On the 16th I unlashed my spadss and pickax, and 



