SEPT.] 
CONTINENT OF AFRICA. 
407 
Nine o'clock at night arrived again, without our 
gaining any intelhgence of our men or oxen, only we 
thought we heard the report of two muskets fired at 
a distance. About half past nine, immediately after 
our worship, we heard a musket shot at no great 
distance, then a second, and a third, which led us 
to conclude something was wrong; of course we 
dispatched five or six of our people with muskets 
to the place from whence the firing proceeded. It 
was but a little while before part of them returned, 
with one of the three men who had been with the 
cattle. He said they had been attacked by wild 
Bushmen who had wounded Peekure in the back, 
immediately under his neck, with a poisoned arrow, 
and had carried off all the cattle. While relating 
the doleful tidings, poor Peekure and the third young 
man who had been with the cattle came up. His 
wound was large, owing to the difficulty they had 
of getting out the pieces of the arrow which had 
remained in the wound, which they picked out with 
an awl. Our men ran to their arms, to endeavour 
to retake our catde. By ten o'clock ten of them 
were ready to set off. Mr. Read begged them, if 
possible, to spare the lives of the Bushmen, to 
endeavour to get between them and the Great River, 
and to come upon them by surprise. Without this 
precaution we were afraid they would shoot the 
cattle and run off. A tame Bushman from Griqua 
town went off with them, with his bow and arrows, 
without being desired. 
