198 
JOURNEY ACROSS THE 
[1815. 
that creature's flesh, though a species of horse, on 
observing it to be lame, leaped from the waggon, 
threw off his sheep s skin, ran towards it, and with 
great exertion threw a stone which sunk into its fore- 
head; on which he drew out his knife and stabbed it. 
When dead he cut out a large slice from its loins with 
the skin upon it, and deposited it in the waggon, where 
we permitted him to sleep during the day. He like- 
wise carried off the tail with him. 
We travelled forward among low bushes till seven 
o'clock in the evening, in search of grass and water, 
without finding either, and were obliged to halt in 
consequence of the darkness ; of course our tired oxen 
were obliged to go to sleep without food or drink. At 
supper we found there was not a drop of water re- 
maining in our casks, all having been consumed by 
our men, who came in weary from hunting. Mr. Read 
and myself were of opinion not to advise any other 
traveller to cross the Bushman country by the route 
we had chosen, but to enter more to the eastward ; 
for had it not been for a providential fall of rain, ten 
days before, we should only have had water twice 
during seven days, viz. at Hardcastle's Fountain and 
at Burder's Lake; and the first of these we should 
not have discovered but for the young Bushman who 
accompanied us, without whose assistance we might not 
have been able to discover the holes which catch the rain. 
26th. Departed before sun-rise, in search of grass 
and water, when the thermometer was at 45. We had 
