-I28 A J O U R N E Y IN
companied this armed party for a short distance down the
river, but returned at the end of three days. Two days after
tins the armed party of Hottentots and Bastaards also retained,
with the booty of a few oxen, cows, and sheep; but
the two robbers with their gang had escaped into the woods
Among other things they brought back with them a quantity
of red copper balls, found among the ammunition of the
enemy, which he had been under the necessity of lea vino-
behind. &
Having remained at this spot a whole month, and collected
what few cattle the inhabitants had to spare without distressing
their families, the commissioners began to prepare for their
return to the Cape; and as, from their present position on
the river, the nearest route appeared to 'b e that through the
Namaaqua country,they engaged two Bosjesmans to proceed in
that direction over the Karroo plains, who, having ascertained
whether it was practicable to undertake the journey by that
route with their numerous cattle, were directed to return and
report for their information. After some days these people
returned, bringing back the unpleasant intelligence that all
the springs and rivers were completely, dried u p ; that they
had themselves nearly perished for want of water; and th a t
it was utterly impracticable for man alone, much more so for
cattle, to proceed over the plains that intervened between
their present situation and the western coast. They were,,
therefore, reduced to the necessity of measuring back the
road to the spot where they had first crossed the Orange-
river, in order to get into the old track of the waggons,.
And having satisfied the whole horde, the Koras, the Bastaards,
and the Bosjesmans, who had so willingly and so essentially
assisted them on all occasions, they took their leave
on the 11th March, returning up the. river and crossing it
occasionally at the same places as in their journey downwards.
Nothing particular occurred till the 19th, when they
encountered a swarm of locusts so immensely great that, on
all sides as far as the eye could reach, the whole surface of
the ground, the trees, the bushes, and the smaller plants
were entirely covered with them. Numbers of Bosjesmen
were observed to be busily employed in collecting these
insects, which, after being dried in the sun, serve them fox
food when other resources fail tlienu.
In various parts of the Orange river they had metwith the huge-
hippopotamus, but had not hitherto been fortunate enough to
kill one of these creatures. The two secretaries Daniell and Bor-
cherds, determined on having at least a fair chance, left the
waggons and proceeded along the banks of the river at an
early hour in the morning, taking with them a Hottentot
and a pack or saddle ox. Towards the close of the day they
thought of striking off from the river, in order to fall in with
the Waggons; ¡but the weather suddenly became so bad, the
wind blew so violently, the rain descended in such torrents,
and the thunder and the lightning were so severe, that they*
found it utterly impossible to proceed. The night was excessively
dark, and they were on the midst of a barren plain,
without a bush or even a rock to afford them the smallest
degree of shelter. To those who have never experienced a_
thunder-storm on the deserts; of Africa it is impossible to com