58 
to get him on by putting his load on a pony it was no use, 
and we Lad to stop after going about half a mile. I was 
getting very disgusted at the small distance we had 
accomplished since we left the mountain. In the afternoon 
I hoped to change the luck by trying for game on the 
other side of the river, and succeeded in killing a water- 
buck, one of the large species of antelope, and thereby 
was much relieved in my mind on the score of food for the 
present. One of the Caffres with me went back for 
assistance, and the meat was soon cut up and carried into 
camp. It certainly was not to be called good, but we were 
glad of anything that was eatable. I cut the head off as it 
was a male, and after skinning and cleaning it thoroughly 
we put it up in a tree, hoping to be able to pick it up on 
our road home. The weather was perfect — warm nights, 
and thermometer about 70 Fahrenheit, as near as I could 
guess, in the shade during the day. The sun rose about 
six and set at seven o'clock. We have seen a good deal of 
spoor of game about, but not yet any of the larger kinds. 
I have already experienced the strength of the thorns, 
especially the wait a bit," which is almost sure to bring 
you up with a round turn if you go within its reach, and 
has repeatedly lifted my hat off when passing under them. 
The branches have a straight sharp thorn on one side, and 
on the other a second enemy in the shape of a crescent, 
which holds tight while the other pricks you. The whole 
country is one large grove of thorn trees of different kinds, 
varying in size from a little bush to a good-sized white- 
thorn. A great deal of the ground is very stony and 
broken by an endless roll of ridges, a flat piece of ground 
of any size being very scarce; in fact, it was rather a 
fatiguing country to travel through, as, if we kept close to 
the river, we continually met with steep though narrow 
gullies hollowed out by the water, which the ponies and 
Jack" found some difficulty in struggling in and out of 
