OCT. 
JOURNEY IN THE COLONY. 
news to us in the meantime, and the first we had heard 
for eight months. Thermometer at noon, 68. 
14th. At eight in the morning one of our company 
went to John Deysel's Valley, twelve miles distant, in 
search of letters said to be there for us. In the mean- 
time we were invited to dinner at ten o'clock by the 
boor, about an hour after we had breakfasted, but it 
seems to be the fashion in that part of the country ta 
cram people like turkies in the morning. The boor 
and his wife sat silent at the head of the table, also a 
grown up daughter who seemed to have the tooth-ache 
sat equally silent. The schoolmaster seemed to be 
Mercurius, or chief speaker in that house. He was, 
what is called, a Rotterdamer, and fought on board 
the Dutch Admiral's ship that was opposed to Lord 
Duncan's in the battle of Camperdown. Thermometer 
at noon, 70. 
After taking leave of the boor and family we com- 
menced our journey at four P.M. over deep sand. 
More than two thirds of the stage was up hill, which 
was extremely fatiguing to the poor oxen. On reach- 
ing the summit of the hill, we observed a fire about two 
miles off, which we concluded was the boor's place, to 
which we were travelling, but on reaching the fire we 
found it was made by two slaves sent by the boor to 
shew our people where to put their loose oxen, lest 
they should go amongst the corn. At eight P.M. such 
of us as were walking arrived at Mynheer Vanzail's 
Place in Jackal Valley, and the waggons arrived about 
