1811. 
ACCIDENT AT OLYVENHOUT-BOSCH. 
177 
in the evening, when an accident suddenly put a stop to our further 
progress this night. PhiHp, happening unluckily to drive a few 
yards out of the beaten road, on ground which was sandy and much 
softened by yesterday's rain, the waggon sunk into the earth up 
to the axletrees, and defied all our power to move it from the 
spot. Immediately we set to work with pickaxe and spades to clear 
away the earth from before the wheels ; and four oxen more being 
then added to the team, we succeeded in releasino; the wao-o-on. 
But before it had advanced a yard forward, it sunk again as deep 
as before ; and with the struggling of the cattle to drag it out, the 
fore-rope snapped asunder, and the pole broke ; nor was it possible 
to extricate the waggon without unloading a great part of its contents. 
This dilemma obliged us to wait till the morning. 
The place where we happened to be thus detained, was called 
Olyveyiliout-hosch (Olive-tree wood), so named from the Oli/f boom *, 
a tree so much resembling the European Olive, as to have been 
mistaken for it by botanists ; but few were now growing here. It 
attains a large size, and the wood, which is exceedingly compact and 
heavy, is very handsome, and well suited for cabinet work. 
23rc?. The next morning we bound together the broken pole, 
unloaded several of the boxes in order to lighten the waggon ; and, 
after again digging away the earth, a layer of bushes was placed in 
the track, to render the ground firm. With the strength of sixteen 
oxen it was at last dragged out. 
This affair gave me an opportunity of witnessing the helpless- 
ness of Hottentots, and their want of contrivance, in occurrences a 
little out of the common way. They could not imagine any other 
mode of extricating the vehicle than by main force ; and it was in 
this foolish attempt that the pole was broken. When they dis- 
covered that such means would not answer, they stood looking on 
with a most provoking apathy, silently smoking their pipes ; and 
Olea similis, B ; 0. Etiropcca, Th. et Q. Enropcea, var. verrucosa Pers. 
