192 
JOURNEY ACROSS THE 
[1813. 
the last half N. and generally over rising ground : 
the earth was red, and for the most part covered 
with tall heath. In the evening, Mr. Read and I, 
with three armed Hottentots and the Bushman, walked 
considerably a head of the waggons, in search of 
water ; he told us there was no fountain in that part ; 
but in consequence of the late rain, holes near the 
foot of the hills were likely to be full of water. When 
it was dark, we heard a Hottentot call out, water ! 
from a distance, but could not ascertain from what 
direction the voice came. Oh ! said one of the Hot- 
tentots, it is this way, for that carane (a fowl) we 
heard, has just risen from water ; and so we found it, 
but there was not a blade of grass for the poor cattle, 
only heath bushes. We observed a Bushman's fire 
lighted up about twelve miles off, upon the hills. A 
short time after our fire was lighted, our three horse- 
men arrived with a young elk they had caught, 
which was about the size of a large calf. It was 
immediately killed for the next day s provision. They 
saw five lions in company, when they were chasing 
a flock of elks, and the lions followed the example 
of the elks, in running away ; I did not hear of the 
men pursuing them, but suppose they took to their 
heels also, so that they were all fleeing from each 
other. 
23d. At seven A.M. at the prayer meeting, three 
Hottentots engaged in prayer ; and at eight we were 
obliged to move forward in quest of grass for the 
cattle. At starting, we roused from sleep a wild cat^ 
