43^ TRAVELS IN 
or reGonGiIIatloa was to be expeded. Of 
courfe I did not think it neceffary to make any 
ftay with him ; and I continued my jom*ney. 
But, when my waggon fet oiF, he perceived 
>vhat wretched objedts were my two thill oxen, 
and he offered me my choice of two others out 
of all he had, if I would giye him in exchange 
one of my horfes. 
My oxen, it is true, were good for nothing, 
and had been on the point a hundred times of 
overturning my waggon and breaking it to 
pieces. Yet the bargain propofed was greatly 
to my difadvantage : for though I no longer 
wanted both my horfes, as I fhpuld foon reach 
the Cape, either of them was of much more 
worth than any two oxen. They were very 
lean, indeed, owing to the great fatigue of the 
journey; but no other fault could be found 
•with them, for they w^ere in perfed health, 
found in their feet, and had their hoofs top in 
good condition. 
This expreflion, of the hoofs being in good 
condition, will furprife the greater part of my 
readers, and requires an explanation. 
It muft be known then, that horfes are n^ver 
picd either at the Cape or in any part of the 
colony. 
