26 
JOURNEY FROM BEAUFORT TO 1820. 
little cliffs, or steps widely separated from each 
other. Some of the hill tops were ornamented 
by huge rocks, resembling crowns, which seemed 
to be strongly tinged with iron ore, and were of 
a reddish hue. 
At eight A.M. we halted near the foot of a hill, 
over which the road lay, and succeeded in finding 
water. Therm, at noon 78. • 
At five P.M. we began to ascend the hill, which, 
from its steepness, proved to be a much more 
formidable task than we had anticipated, when 
seen from a distance. 
With great difiiculty we ascended the first 
quarter of a mile, but coming to a sharp turn, at the 
commencement of a still steeper ascent, the twelve 
oxen in the foremost waggon were unable to move 
it a foot further. Ten oxen, from another waggon, 
were added to the twelve, but these were able to 
drag it only about three yards higher. After 
this, twenty-two of the strongest oxen were se- 
lected and yoked to the waggon. These, in an 
hour and a half, succeeded in bringing it to the 
top of the second ascent. The same oxen being 
yoked to the two other waggons, brought up 
them also, by eleven o'clock at night ; but not 
having as yet gained a third part of the hill, and 
both oxen and men being extremely fatigued, 
