244 LOSE OUR OXEN. 



dropped off one by one, until they had all disap- 

 peared. 



On crossing a stream in the midst of a gloomy 

 valley, thickly studded with bush and mimosa trees, 

 we heard the voice of our servant Dempy calling 

 upon us to halt, which we immediately did. On 

 coming up, he informed us that the loose oxen 

 under his charge had suddenly started off with great 

 speed into the thicket, and, notwithstanding all his 

 exertions, he had not been able to stop them. We 

 instantly dispatched one of the Hottentots with him 

 in pursuit of them, concluding that the Caffers who 

 had accompanied us on the road had been the cause 

 of their sudden disappearance. This conjecture was 

 strengthened by the circumstance of our having 

 heard them whistling— it being the habit of the 

 Caffers to train their oxen to follow this description 

 of call. After waiting a considerable time, one of the 

 men returned, stating that he had failed to discover 

 them: — a circumstance the more surprising, as only 

 a few seconds had elapsed before we were apprized 

 of their escape. As it had now become dark, we re- 

 solved to uitspan on this spot, and remain until the 

 following morning. At day-break we sent two men 

 armed with guns to trace the oxen if possible, direct- 

 ing them to follow us afterwards to Fort Wiltshire, 

 whither we proceeded and arrived about the middle 

 of the same day. Here we learned that the Chief 

 Macoma, through whose country we had been tra- 



