two
o'clock in the morning
At last the wagons were all loaded , the Hottentots collected together from the liquor-shops , their agreements read to them by the landroost , and any departure from their agreements , or any misconduct , threatened with severe punishment . The horses and oxen were brought in , and the next morning was fixed for their departure . Having taken leave of the landroost and other gentlemen of the town , who had loaded them with civilities , they retired to the fort , and passed the major part of the night with Captain Maxwell ; but to avoid the crowd which would have accompanied them , and have impeded their progress , they had resolved to set off before daylight . At two o'clock in the morning the Hottentots were roused up , the oxen yoked , and an hour before day-break the whole train had quitted the town , and were traveling at a slow pace , lighted only by the brilliant stars of the southern sky . The plans of our travelers had been well digested . They had decided that they would first prosecute the object of their journey by proceeding straight through the Caffre country to the borders of the Undata River , near or whereabout it was reported that the descendants of the whites would be found located ; and as soon as Alexander had accomplished his mission , that they would cross the chain of mountains , and return through the Bushmen and the Koranna country . Their reason for making this arrangement was , that throughout the whole of the Caffre country , with the exception of lions and elephants in the forest , and hippopotami in the rivers , there was little or no game to be found , the Caffres having almost wholly destroyed it .