When most of the surviving men were away, however, a grass fire set light to this outbuilding and all the powder blew up.
After this, for a while they supplied the camp with food by the help of such ammunition as remained to them.

When that failed they dug pits in which to catch game.

In time the buck came to know of these pits, so that they snared no more.
Then, as the "biltong" or sun-dried meat they had made was all consumed, they were driven to every desperate expedient that is known to the starving, such as the digging up of bulbs, the boiling of grass, twigs and leaves, the catching of lizards, and so forth.

I believe that they actually ate caterpillars and earthworms.

But after their last fire went out through the neglect of the wretched Kaffir who was left to watch it, and having no tinder, they failed to relight it by friction, of course even this food failed them.