Sunday and Camdeboo, fo much fwelled with the rains as barely
to be fordable. At the port alfo o f Camdeboo, which opens
upon the defert, the fmall river there was running with a
copious and rapid ftream ; a circumftance that nearly removed
every doubt, and fcarcely fuffered an idea to exift of the probability
even o f experiencing any want of water on this iide of
De Beer valley. We foon however found, by fatal experience,
that the extent of the rains had been very limited. In fa£t they
had reached only a few miles beyond the Poort. Still we had
hopes that the Hottentot’s river, a day’s journey farther, would
contain fome water, or ihould this even fail, that the Karuka,
whofe fpurce was in the mountains of Camdeboo, muft undoubtedly
be full from the late rains that were perceived to fall in
thoie mountains.
On the eleventh, therefore, we left the. Poort, and the farther
we proceeded upon the defert, the fainter became'the traces of
the rain that had fallen, till at length they totally difappeared.
The face of the country very foon prefented only ope continued
plain of uniform aridity and barrenneis. The few fa line plants,
thinly fcattered over a furface o f white clay fprinkled with red-
diih fand, were ihrivelled up, crackling under the feet like fo
many bundles of rotten fticks. The rays o f the fun playing
upon the naked furface were painful to behold, and their dazzling
light highly injurious to the eye.
About the middle of the day a melancholy object prefented
itfelf before us, near the fide of the road. It was a horfe at his
laft gafp, for want of water. He was known by our Hottentots
to
tô have left Gfaaff Reynet eight days before, with a party of
farmers, who had gOnëfrom thetìce, in order to proceed acrofs
thè Kaffoò to ZWartèberg. ' He had probably ftrâyed from
them in the night, the time they generally travel, and by that
méahs was left behind. The poor animal, on perceiving us,
rnade a faint attempt to advance towards: thè road-, as i f to entreat
a drop of water, but thè exertion Was too great. He' fell
exhaufted on the ground1,- and the only relief that Could be given
to his painful fofferings, Was that of bringing them to a fpeedy
end. A few miles fârthet, another of tlieie poor creatures, that
had belonged to thè fame party, was found by the rOad fide
already dead. Such objedts wefébut ill-calculated to keep alive
our hopes in our prefent fituation. We ventured, however, to
pîocèed, making the bell of our Way tò Hottentot’s river ; and,
after a long and very fatiguing day’s journey, about nine o’clock
at night we reached this river, which, to our great grief and
mortification, we found completely dry-; and its clayey bed
broken and divided, by the heat of the weather, into polygonal
figures, like the fummits o f bafaltic columns. The difappoint-
mefit may moré readily be conceived than dèfcribed ; and we
now began to be ferioully afraid for our cattle. To quench
thè thirft of man a fmall quantity o f water is foffiéiëht for a
length of time; but Cattle, after the fatigué o f a long day’s jour*
hey, require more than could poflìbly bè carried for their ufe.
The little that we had brought upon the waggons was fhared
atnOng our people, who happened to be numerous enough to
require our whole ftock.
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