36 JOURNEY TO BETHELSDORP. [^813. 
able difficulty. At nine o'clock, A.M. we halted at a 
brook till the heat of the day was over. At noon it 
was almost insupportable. 
At six, P.M. we went forward. We killed a 
grey serpent, which shone in the dark, and emitted a 
rattling sound, evidently intended by providence to 
warn people of its approach. Having had no sleep 
the preceding night, I attempted now to get a little 
rest, even while the waggon was in motion, and I 
completely succeeded. 
17th. At four in the morning I awoke, fully satisfied 
with the sound sleep I had enjoyed, and we proceeded 
on our journey about six o'clock. The road being 
hilly, rocky, and sandy, we had to walk the whole of 
the stage, and the waggons were several times nearly 
overturned. About ten, A.M. we pitched our tent 
among the great bushes which skirted the Bot-river. 
In a short time after halting, our Hottentots presented 
us with coffee, which led me to feel grateful for the 
facility with which the element of fire can be obtained, 
and to think with pleasure that I was now experiencing 
the same kind of life which Abraham and the other 
ancient patriarchs lived in their day ; and though new 
to me, I began to feel quite at home in it. The river 
being brackish, I asked for a draught of water, but I 
found that the cork having come out of our keg, the 
good water was all gone, and we could expect no more 
till we should have travelled about ten miles further — 
within about eight railes^ however^ Elizabeth dis- 
