14i 
JOURNEY IN ALBANY. 
[1813. 
themselves greatly fatigued by the effort of mind 
which the answers required, begged that what remained 
might be put off to another time, upon which our 
company broke up. The rain coming fast through 
the tent, induced us to try a fire in the inside to keep 
it dry ; but the smoke soon obliged us to remove it. 
15th. The people were dispatched at an early hour 
to collect and bring in our cattle, in order to proceed 
on our journey. While at breakfast, we observed 
Boozak on horseback, galloping down a hill opposite, 
when I predicted he was a messenger of bad tidings, 
that the Caffres had carried off our catde. On 
arriving, he ran to his gun, saying, the Caffres had 
carried off the oxen! In a few minutes six of our 
people were dispatched in search of them, and a 
messenger on horseback sent to Lieutenant Gave, who 
commanded the nearest military post, with the infor- 
mation, requesting his assistance to recover them. 
We retained two or three armed men for our own 
protection. This was a new situation in which we 
were placed, having waggons, but not a single animal 
to draw them, and the heavens pouring down rain 
in torrents. At nine A.M. we heard distinctly the 
report of three guns, which our people conjectured 
was a signal that the oxen were recovered. At ten 
A.M. Mr. Read called to me that the catde were in 
sight, soon after which they arrived. It did not appear 
that the cattle had been carried off by the Caffres, 
but rather that a lion or wolfe had driven them into a 
wood, which they often do to keep them for future 
