Fourth Journey (MS 107/3/1-2)
3rd August 1779
transcription
[3rd August 1779]
3
term. 60 - 76 - 63 door den dag fris n:w: regen wolken
stil betrokken, met enig vallende mistwolken,
kan merken dat ik niet ver van zee ben. de bosluisen plaagden gepasseerde nagt. arriveerden na veel sukkelens in dese cloof, en ses uren rydens uit deselve, alles swaar ros caro sand, so dat wy onse moede ossen uitspannen moesten, omtrent duisent passen eer wy aan de sandrivier `gouwsi genaamt konden komen het riviertje van de Cloof loopt hier in gouwsi het weinige dat nu er in stond was pekelsout, en vond ook veel alrede gecristalliseert sout, gouwsi liep en had soet brak water. al dit water lesd den dorst weinig. vonden Pinar hier, zy hadden een eland geschoten sagen veel oliphants spoor.
translation
[3rd August 1779]
3
Thermometer: 60-76-63.
Fresh north west wind throughout the day. Rainclouds. Calm.
Overcast with some banks of mist.
I can mark that I am not far from the sea. The ticks were a plague last night. After much trouble arrived at this kloof and then took six hours to ride out of the same. Everywhere heavy reddish-brown Karoo sand so that we had to unyoke our tired oxen about a thousand paces before we could reach the Great Sand River (called the Kouwsie). The rivulet from the kloof runs into the Kouwsie here. What little water there was in it was as salt as pickles, and I also found plenty of salt that had already crystallised. The Kouwsie is flowing and has sweet, brack water. All this water hardly hardly quenches ones thirst. We found Pienaar here. They had shot an eland. Saw many elephant tracks.