only the pitiless canopy of heaven as a substitute. The
wolves howled on every side, one approaching very near the
waggon, although I could not get a shot at him, as he was
wholly obscured by the shade of the trees.
The missing cattle having been luckily found, we, on the
following day, about noon, made a forward move towards
the ford which had been prepared. Starting down the steep
bank the oxen plunged into the water.
The ford was chiefly composed of small branches, among
which the legs of the animals sunk very deeply. At one
time both of the hind oxen fell, and looked as though they
would inevitably be crushed by the waggon, the fore wheels
of which were just on the brink of the river, giving the
.whole affair the appearance of standing on end.
Awful thoughts weighed heavily upon my mind, regarding
the probability of a total wreck of the waggon in the middle
of the river. All hands had to be piped to keep the cattle
in a straight course. No one could help feeling for the
poor beasts as they strained their strength and contorted
their struggling bodies ; sometimes splashing in the pools,
■but often sinking up to their bellies in the soft and shifting
sand. We had, however, to get out of the river, no matter
in what fashion.
While ascending the north bank, for there was no track
except that which we had scraped out with sharpened sticks,
the oxen in spite of the efforts of Karemba and myself, who
were pulling the leading yoke, suddenly swerved to the
right, breaking through the thorn bushes on the steep
bank, and amidst the thicket we were sent sprawling and
scrambling, to be cut and torn by the sharp and prickly
thorns.
At length, after very hard work, and a great many
demoniacal shouts and yells, with the old waggon cracking