62 LOSS OF THE HERCULES. 
the colonists then stood. ' We are friends,' said they, • and 
jt will be their fault if we are not always so.' 
This answer relieved me from a very serious embarrass- 
ment; but the fate of the two unfortunate ladies gave me so 
snuch uneasiness, that 1 most earnestly requested of them to 
tell me all they knew of their situation ; whether they were 
alive or dead ; and if living, in what part of the country they 
were situated. They replied, and with apparent concern, that 
one of the ladies had died a short time after her arrival at the 
kraal ; but they understood the other was living, and had se- 
veral children by the chief. ' Where she now is,' said they, 
• we know not.' 
" After I had received every possible information on this 
melancholy subject, we employed ourselves principally, dur- 
ing the remainder of the day, in assisting the natives to save 
whatever came on shore from the wreck. When they got a 
piece of timber, they placed it immediately, on the fire, as the 
readiest method of procuring the iron, which they sought af- 
ter with the most persevering diligence." 
When night came on, the natives retired, and they left us 
to sleep under the sand-hills, without covering, and without 
food. The weather was boisterous, and a strong wind from 
the westward, and the cold severe ; a consultation was held 
in what manner they should dispose of themselves until the 
morning, and they at length resolved that some of them should 
keep watch during the night, and the rest place themselves 
near the fire, and, if possible, obtain a little rest. 
The night passed without any of the unfortunate sufferers 
enjoying a moment of repose. Their bodies on one side were 
heated by the fire, but the cold chilled the other in such a 
manner as to render the pain hardly supportable. The sand 
driven by the wind in prodigious quantities, filled their eyes, 
ears, and mouths, as they lay under the banks, and kept them 
in perpetual motion. They likewise entertained apprehen- 
sions respecting the natives. 
At length day appeared, and the Caffres returned in great 
numbers. The chief, knowing they were in want of food, 
brought a bullock, which they immediately slaughtered by 
knocking the animal on the head with clubs and penetrating 
its sides with their spears. It was skinned almost in a mo- 
ment, and they cut it up in lumps, which they placed On the 
fire to singe, rather than to roast, and then devoured their re- 
spective shares with the highest satisfaction. The beast, as it 
was given to the famished crew, it might be supposed, would 
