380 
FIRST NIGHT AT LITAKUN, 
31, 14 July, 
suffer. Keyser (Kyser) was also absent ; and no one knew whither 
he was gone, nor for what reason he was thus away from us. The 
loss of the horses was, in some respects, a more serious misfortune 
than that of the men ; who, by this conduct, proved that they would 
be of little value in time of danger. I felt the more persuaded that 
these things had not been occasioned by any treachery on the part 
of the natives, as they had so honorably brought home my oxen,, 
which, to them, would have been a far more valuable prize than the 
horses and sheep. As nothing could be done this night, the rest of 
my Hottentots as well as myself, awaited in much uneasiness of mind, 
the result of the next morning's search. 
I then retired to my waggon, not to sleep, as nature and past 
fatigues demanded, but to record as concisely as possible the nume- 
rous observations and transactions of the day, before an accession 
of fresh matter for my journal, should confuse my recollection of 
occurrences so numerous and so various. In this employment I suf- 
fered much inconvenience from the coldness of the night ; as the 
mercury of the thermometer, at an hour and a half after midnight, 
was found to have sunk within three degrees of the freezing point. 
