ty turned and driven back toward the
encampment. In the mean time the disappointed Bushmen had turned upon
those near, and were letting fly their arrows from the bushes where they
were concealed and continued thus to assail them until the party arrived
at the open plain. One of the Hottentots was wounded by an arrow in the
neck; but that was the only accident which occurred to any of the party,
and this was not known to our travelers until after their arrival at
the encampment, when it was almost daybreak; and then, tired with the
fatigues of the night, all were glad to obtain a few hours' rest.

When they rose the next morning, Swanevelt informed them that nine of
the oxen were so wounded with the poisoned arrows of the Bushmen, that
they could not live; and also, that Piets the Hottentot had been badly
wounded in the neck with one of the arrows. Swinton immediately ordered
the man to be brought to him, as he was well aware of the fatal effects
of a wound from a Bushman's arrow.

It appeared that Piets had pulled the arrow out of his neck, but that
some pieces of the barb had remained in the wound, and that these his
companions had been extracting with their knives, and the wound was very
much inflamed in consequence. Swinton immediately cut out as much of the
affected part as he could, applied ammonia to the wound, and gave him
laudanum to mitigate the pain, which was very acute; but the poor fellow
lay groaning during the whole of the day.

They now examined the wounded oxen, which were already so swollen with
the poison that there were no hopes of saving them, and they were
immediately put out of their pain. Several others were found slightly
hurt, but not so as to lose all hopes of their recovery; but this
unfortunate circumstance prevented them from continuing their journey
for two days; as the whole of the oxen had been much harassed and cut by
the Bushmen, although not wounded by poisoned arrows. During this delay,
the poor Hottentot became hourly worse; his head and throat were much
swollen, and he said that he felt the poison working within him.

After many hours of suffering, during which swellings appeared in
various parts of his body, the poor fellow breathed his last; and the
next day being Sunday, they remained as usual, and the body of the
unfortunate man was consigned to a grave. This event threw a cloud over
the whole caravan, and whenever any of the Bushwomen made their
appearance at a distance, an