SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
3^7 
24 Hottentots and Bastard Hottentots 
4 Slaves 
120 Draught oxen 
18 Saddle Horses, and 
20 Large muskets.. 
" With the blessing of God/' observes Mr. Truter, " we 
" considered these our numbers and our means of defence 
" to be fully sufficient for our protection and preservation ; 
" and, confiding in his goodness, we launched upon the 
" Karroo or desert plains on the 20th October." Little oc- 
curred in their journey over these dreary solitudes to engage 
the attention, except their uncommon sterility, and now and 
then a few qnacJias or wild horses, a solitar}^ gemsbok, an eland, a 
harteheest, or a pair of ostriches, which might perhaps be ob- 
served grazing at a distance, or scouring away to avoid the 
party, when they happened to approach them unperceived. In 
the course of the third day they passed the ruins of an earthen 
building of considerable dimensions, surrounded by a number 
of demolished huts, which they were informed were the re- 
mains of an establishment attempted to be formed by the two 
gospel missionaries Kicherer and Edwards, under the direction 
of the society for sending missions into Africa and the East. 
Proceeding slowb/ till midnight, they halted on the bank of the 
Sack river, near which the next morning they observed an- 
other kraal or hamlet in ruins, where these missionaries had 
held a temporary residence. At this place two miserable 
looking Yvietches, of the tribe of men usually called Bosjes- 
men by the colonists, perfectly naked, and apparently perish- 
ing with hunger, advanced towards the encampment, and 
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