40 
JOURNEY TO BETHELSDORP. [1813. 
find that exactly the reverse was truth, for we wanted a 
second chain to our wheels, a spade, and a little butter, 
but none of these articles could be procured at Zwel- 
lendam. We likewise wanted a block for the waggon 
wheel to rest upon when dragged, but they had no 
timber large enough for such a purpose. 
At one, Mr. H — and I left Zwellendam in a hired 
waggon to visit Mr. Seidenfader's missionary station at 
Zurebrak. The waggon was packed so full of various 
articles that we could not sit erect, and we had an 
unpleasant journey of six hours. Often I was afraid 
lest the waggon should have been dashed to pieces 
from the ruggedness of the road, and the steep places 
it had to descend ; however, a slave girl about seventeen 
years of age led the oxen cheerfully forward through 
every difficulty. I was surprized at her boldness, for 
sometimes I expected oxen and waggon to fall upon 
her. At length an extensive valley opened to our view, 
where Mr. Seidenfader labours among a Kraal of 
Hottentots, and where he has built a house and cul- 
tivated a considerable portion of land. 
At seven, the bell was rung, when about fifty 
Hottentot men and women assembled — the meeting 
began by singing a hymn, when after reading part of a 
chapter, he addressed them from it, to which, sitting 
upon the floor, they listened with seeming interest. 
The service was concluded by singing a hymn, the 
subject of which was an evening prayer. 
