40 
so intellectual as it might be. While travelling to-day a 
great lump of dough which E. had carefully prepared 
after breakfast, and placed in a large iron dish upon the 
bed in our wagon to rise, ready for baking when we 
stopped, was jolted clean into the middle of the road to 
her great disgust, but we could not help laughing at the 
catastrophe. Left an ox behind too much exhausted to 
come on, but we had no time to wait, and there was no 
sign of human being to leave him with. The cold nights 
and scanty food are telling painfully on both spans. We 
are now reduced to ten in one and twelve in the other 
wagon, instead of sixteen and eighteen as they ought to be. 
June Qth. Our early trek took us to the Vaal river, 
where we breakfasted. One of the wagons stuck fast in 
a sand drift just beyond the river, and delayed us a 
considerable time, as the oxen were cold and would not 
pull. Managed to get two blesbok after a long stalk, 
literally crawling over the ground, as the grass having 
been burnt off there was not a particle of cover. The 
herds of this antelope are very large about here, and are 
racing about all round us, looking very quaint in their 
gallop, from the peculiar way they hold their heads. 
Passed the bed of a lake about a mile square quite dried 
up. Have been much surprised not to see more water in 
a hilly country like this, and with plenty of streams and 
springs. Were unable to do our night trek, as the next 
day was Sunday, and we did not know whether we should 
be able to find grass and water at night, especially as we 
have found the latter rather scarce near the road the last 
two or three days. Saw some gnu, or, as the Dutch call 
them, the vildebeest, for the first time to-day. Sent Kemp 
round on horseback to try and drive them for me and 
Woodroffe to get a shot, but they would not come near us, 
and our nags were not good enough to catch them — queer 
looking brutes and not handsome. 
