[page i]

TRAVELS

IN THE

INTERIOR

OF

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

VOL. II

[page ii]

LONDON:
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square.

[page iii]

TRAVELS

IN THE

INTERIOR

OF

SOUTHERN AFRICA,

BY

WILLIAM J. BURCHELL, ESQ.

VOLUME II.

WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN,

PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1824.

[page iv]

[page v]

CONTENTS.

		Page
CHAPTER I.	Journey from Klaarwater, to Kaabi's Kraal	1
II.	Transactions at Kaabi's Kraal	46
III.	Journey from Kaabi's Kraal, to the Borders of the Colony	80
IV.	Journey from the Borders of the Colony, to the village of Graaffreynét	104
V.	Transactions at Graaffreynét	139
VI.	Return from Graaffreynét, to the Boundary of the Colony	168
VII.	Return from the Colony, through the country of the Bushmen, to Klaarwater	186
VIII.	Transactions at Klaarwater, after the return from Graaffreynét	222
IX.	Journey in the country of the Kō;ras, from Klaarwater to Sensaván	233
X.	Journey from Sensaván, to the Kamhánni Mountains	260
XI.	Journey in the country of the Bachapīns, from the Kamhánni Mountains, to the river Makkwárin	291
XII.	Occurrences and observations at the river Makkwárin	311
XIII.	Journey from the river Makkwárin, to the town of Litākun	340
XIV.	Reception at Litākun	358
XV.	Residence in the town of Litākun; and affair of the gun	381
XVI.	Transactions and occurrences during the first residence at Litākun	434
XVII.	General description of the town of Litākun. Its history; regulations; population; architecture; domestic arrangement; situation; and climate.	511
XVIII.	General description of the Bachapīns. Their origin; population; government; warfare; policy; trade; and laws. Nature of their Chief's authority. Their religion or superstition; moral character; natural disposition; mental capacity; figure; cast of features; women; marriages; clothing; personal ornaments; utensils; disorders; modes of cure; language; food; agriculture; manufactures; arts; and, amusements	529
The Itinerary, and Register of the Weather		601
The Zoological and Botanical Index		611
The General Index		619

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PLATES.

	Faciing Page
1. A natural Obelisk, in the country of the Bushmen	44
2. Descending from the Snow-Mountains	133.
3. Portrait of Jūli, a faithful Hottentot	160
4. View of a Bushman Kraal	198
5. View on entering the Town of Litākun	360
6. A View in the Town of Litākun	464
7. Portrait of Massisān	484
8. Portrait of Mahūtu	494
9. Section and Plan of a Bachapīn House	515
10. Portrait of Cháasi, a Bachapīn	561

VIGNETTES.

		Page	Described at Page
1.	Heads of two Bush girls	1	25.	59.
2.	Bushman utensils	45
	Digging-stick	45	29
	Stone-pot	45	34
	Clay-pot	45	47
	Dancing-rattles	45	65
3.	Dancing-rattles	45	65
3.	The Two-horned Rhinoceros	46	74
4.	Head of the Two-horned Rhinoceros	79	75
5.	Geranium Rocks; a Station	80	98
6.	Inside of a Bushman's Hut	103	53
7.	Great Table-mountain, on the borders of the Colony	104	103.	105.
8.	Ascending a rugged Pass	138	109
9.	View of the Drostdy at Graaffreynét	139	145
10.	The plant called Hottentot's Bread	167	147
11.	Little Table-Mountain, and Verméulen's house	168	117.	183.
12.	Spitskop, the highest peak of the Snow-Mountains	185	125.	184.
13.	Weapons of the Bushmen	186	198
14.	Bushman arrows	221	199.	200.
15.	A group of the Hunting Hyenas, called Wild Dogs	222	229
16.	A Wild Dog, or Hunting Hyena	232	229
17.	Sensaván, the Sibīlo mine	233	255
18.	The Unlucky-wood	259	258
19.	A scene at Knegt's Fountain	260	269
20.	Triaspis hypericoïdes	290	280
21.	Portrait of a Bachapīn Herdsman	291	303
22.	The Péeli, or Antilope villosa	309	302
23.	The Linō;ng, or Vultur occipitalis	310	325.	329.
24.	The Crescent-horned Antelope, or Antilope lunata	335	335

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25.	Tail and Hoofs of the Crescent-horned Antelope	339	336
26.	Travelling over the Great Plains of Litākun	340	260.	340.
27.	Houses at Litākun	357	356.	360.
28.	First Interview with the Chief of the Bachapīns	358	364
29.	Bachapīn Sandals	380	363.	570.
30.	The Chief and his party, sitting in the Móotsi	381	374
31.	Portrait of Boklóokwe	433	392
32.	A Bichuāna Blacksmith, at work	434	482
33.	A Nuákketsi Hat	510	507
34.	The Dwelling-house of Krámori, a Bachapīn Chieftain	511	445.
35.	View and Plan of the Dwelling-house of Mollémmi, the Chief's brother	528	521
36.	Heads of two fashionable young Men of Litākun	529	562.	573.
37.	Bichuāna Ornaments	567
	Necklace	567	567
	Ear-ornaments	567	566
	Copper Bracelets	567	567.	568.
38.	Bachapīin Ornaments	571
	Ivory Armlets	571	362.	571.
	Platted Bracelet	571	572
	Dancing-rattles	571	572
	Amulet	571	550
39.	Bachapīn Knives	575	362.	575.
40.	Needles	576	576
41.	Whistles	578	578
42.	Milk-bag	593	593
43.	Spoons	595	594
44.	Carving-instrument	595	595
45.	ornamental Carving	596	596
46.	The Kō;veh, a kind of Hassagay manufactured by the Nuákketsies.	599	597

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ERRATA.

VOL. I.

Page vii.	line	5.	from the bottom, for are read is.
xi.	…	24.	for page 550. read 350.
85.	…	7.	for is read are.
122.	…	18.	for drank read drunk.
133.	…	12.	for fixed read placed.
153.	…	8.	for they read the rains.
164.	…	37.	for riffle read rifle.
168.	…	29.	for incumbrance read encumbrance.
172.	…	15.	for browze read browse.
182.	…	9.	for are read is.
198.	…	27.	for were read was.
236.	…	26.	for tract read track.
259.	…	11.	of the note, for tortuosa read tortuosum.
263.	…	12.	for coot read coots.
265.	…	7.	of the note, for Namaquana read Namaquanus.
270.	…	15.	dele which.
275.	…	19.	for bring read brings.
276.	…	21.	for irruption read eruption.
288.	…	4.	of the note, for piligenu read piligera.
308.	…	5.	for their read the.
310.	…	3.	of the note, for Peteoli read Petioli.
317.	…	3.	——— for viginti, read quinquaginta.
319.	…	32.	for is read are.
343	…	6.	dele seldom.
361.	…	33.	dele all.
366.	…	21.	for it read them.
387.	…	9.	of the note, after Folia insert opposita.
—	…	—	——— for rigidia read rigida.
389.	…	7.	——— for 14. read 18.
—	…	11.	—— — for petiloantia read petiolantia
414.	…	5.	for was read were.
430.	…	10.	for mover read more.
482.	…	13.	dele totally.
501.	…	17.	of the note, for cristatus read cristatum.
516.	…	1.	for idea read ideas.
Page 516.	line	2.	for they read it.
—	…	3.	for them read it.
536.	…	25.	for these read those.
543.	…	last	but one of the note, for 140°. read 120°.
562	…	9.	in the column of Stations, for 218½ read 216½.
—	…	10.	———— for 701 read 699.
564.	…	3.	———— for 791 read 789.
—	…	4.	———— for 308½ read 306½.
—	…	10.	———— for 180 read 183¼.
576.	…	23.	and 27. for have read has.

In the Map (in some impressions) in the last line of 'the Interpretation of Dutch words,' after contradistinction add to achter.

——— for Schoornsteenberg (in the Roggeveld Karro), read Schoorsteenberg.

——— for Decr. 4. and Decr. 6, (on the Sunday and Kuga rivers) read Novr. 4, and Novr. 6.

——— for Further (in the Bokkeveld and Roggeveld) read Farther.

——— dele Grooce R. (in the Cape Peninsula.)

———, the words 'The new River,' are not intended as its proper name, this being unknown: it has, in the narrative, sometimes been called the Friendly River.

VOL. II.

Page 16.	line	21.	after could, insert have.
21.	…	1.	of the note, for candicans, read albicans.
69.	…	19.& 20.	transpose the words pleasing and unpleasing.
121.	…	10.	after praiseworthy, add in their sight.
222.			in the title of the chapter, for Graffreynet read Graaffreynet.
225.	…	29.	dele who.
549.	…	5.	for emigrations read migrations
592.	…	14.	dele In size.

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CHAPTER I.

JOURNEY FROM KLAARWATER TO KAABI'S KRAAL.

THE sun had scarcely risen above the horizon, when already we had begun to prepare for departure. Some further arrangements, together with packing our baggage upon the oxen, yoking the team to the waggon, and taking leave, each one of his particular friends, detained us still four hours longer at Klaarwater, notwithstanding the eagerness which the whole party evinced to commence the journey. For my own part, taught by past experience how soon disappointments and unforeseen difficulties might overtake me at this unpropitious place, I dreaded every moment's delay; and therefore hurried my Hottentots away, taking the lead myself, and ordering the ox-riders to follow immediately. They were assembled before the hut of the captain, who, with his companions and partisans, continued to express their disapprobation of my plans, and to consider the undertaking as an ill-advised and perilous attempt,

VOL. II. B

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which might lead to our destruction; and which, at best, presented, according to their views, little probability of a successful result. The principal inhabitants of the kraal, when we bade them farewell and rode off, viewed us as persons whom they had no expectation of ever seeing again.

As soon as we had lost sight of the village, and my party had all joined company, I rejoiced at finding myself once more free; and felt relieved from an oppressive and teasing load of daily vexations, which the lightness of my spirits now assured me I had left behind. As the African custom (Vol. i. page 173.) of accompanying a traveller for a short distance out of their kraal, was in this instance either forgotten or intentionally omitted, our communication with the inhabitants of Klaarwater ended when we passed their huts: and we were thus left sooner at liberty to turn all our thoughts forward.

Not to allow time for the disheartening and ill-foreboding remarks which had just been sounded in our ears, to make any impression on the minds of my men, or to shake the courage, or cloud the alacrity, with which they had commenced the undertaking, I seized the first moments to speak of our journey in a manner which should convince them that there was in my own mind not the least doubt of success. I know not whether such an address might have been at that time really necessary, or how far it might have operated in re-inspiring them with confidence; but I felt truly happy at noticing the pleasure with which they talked on the subject, and their congratulations to each other on having at last completed all arrangements, and on being now actually on the road.

We drove with us six sheep, as a resource whenever our hunting should fail to supply us with game; and the appearance of the party was much enlivened by the company of our faithful dogs; to all of which, I confess, I felt a kind of attachment which derived additional strength from the peculiar circumstances of the journey now before me. But Wantrouw had gradually rendered himself the favorite, and seemed conscious of the preference, as he always kept close by my side, excepting when the chase, in which he was eager to excess,

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called him away. Having been for a long time past disused to travelling, the sharpness of the road soon rendered their feet sore; and it was fortunate that at the beginning of the journey we had an opportunity of letting the poor animals ride in the waggon.

In seven hours we reached Gattikamma, where we halted and passed the night.

25th. As the sun, rising in a cloudless sky, announced that the day would be oppressively hot, we resumed our journey early in the morning and while the air still retained some of the coolness of night.

I now looked in vain for that rosy wild flower-garden which decorated these plains on our former visit to the Asbestos Mountains. It had totally disappeared; and so astonishingly, and almost incredibly rapid, is the progress of vegetation in these regions, with respect to bulbous flowers, that in the short space of ten days the beautiful lilies*, then observed just coming into bloom, had completed their flowering, and ripened their seed; the flower-stems were dried up, had parted from the roots, and were nearly all blown away.

Many burrows of the Springhaas† attracted our notice. These animals, making their holes in soft sandy ground, were said to derive great assistance from their hinder feet, in throwing out the sand which they loosen with their fore paws; and which, as the nails of these paws have so little the appearance of being worn, may perhaps be the only reason why they have been supposed to dig only with their hinder feet; a supposition which I have before recorded, although contrary to my own opinion.

The heat of the day compelled us to rest during three hours at Aakaap; but we arrived at the Kloof village an hour and a half before sunset. Here we found Ruiter waiting in readiness for us; although Captain Berends had not been able in the mean time to

* Amaryllis lucida: noticed in the first volume at pages 536. and 541.

† Pedetes Caffer.—Compare the above remarks with what has been said in Vol. I. at page 487.

B 2

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procure any further addition to our number: I was, however, well satisfied at having secured even one more.

Our viaticum of corn consisted only of about half a bushel of wheat, which the people immediately set about grinding; the mill at this place being fortunately in better order than the one at Klaarwater.

26th. We obtained a quantity of dakka, or hemp-leaves, a very acceptable present to the Bushmen, who, as before stated, use it for smoking instead of tobacco. As a precaution, I ordered a large jug of milk to be boiled, that we might take it with us; for I had remarked, that when not boiled, it had, in a few hours' travelling, either turned sour, or by the constant motion become buttermilk, the butter having been completely separated by this kind of churning, and formed into round balls, which floated on the surface. We also cast an additional store of bullets, that we might be prudently prepared against any attack from the inhabitants of the country through which we were about to pass, and whose disposition was equally unknown to all of us; although, while making this provision, we were more inclined to believe it would only be consumed in hunting. I made another drawing of the village and surrounding mountains, from a point of view different from those of my former sketches.*

The business of grinding corn detained us till past three in the afternoon; when I took my leave of the friendly Captain Berends, to whom, indeed, I was indebted, in the affair of hiring men, for all the assistance which I had received, beyond what had been affected by my own Hottentots. The inhabitants of his kraal assembled around us to witness our departure, and bade us farewell in a manner which afforded pleasure to myself, and animated all my party with the highest spirits, and raised their confidence in a safe return; a confidence of no small importance on such occasions, and not of mere imaginary utility in contributing to ultimate success.

We followed the course of the rivulet as it winds along the nar-

* See the Vignette in Vol I. at page 323.

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row valley which conducts it through the Asbestos Mountains towards the Gariep.* This valley is more romantic and picturesque than any which I had seen since leaving the Hex-river kloof. The mountains, which are essentially the same sort of clay-slate which has been already described, rose close on either hand in bold majestic forms, in some places clothed with luxuriant verdure, or more frequently exhibiting their steep rocky sides sprinkled here and there with light bushes growing out of their crevices, and enlivening with tints of verdure the rich and varied browns of their broken crags. Along the dale below we rode in many places over a thick and verdant carpet of the most beautiful grass†, shaded often by the soft foliage of large trees of acacia, whose branches were loaded with festoons of clematis hanging wild with all the grace and charms of Nature, and decorating them with a profusion of white flowers, which diffused their delicate and grateful odor through the airy grove. In one spot, an immense mass of rock, or rather a mountain, reared its lofty precipice high above our heads, and, partially covered with evergreens and various shrubs, presented a subject for both admiration and regret, since time and circumstances allowed me no opportunity for making a drawing of the scene.

Our road became more irregular and hilly, leading us sometimes through the dry bed of the rivulet; sometimes halfway up the sides of the mountain; and often through thickets of acacias, which abounded throughout the whole length of the valley; and, as we passed, lent their friendly aid in sheltering us from the burning rays of the sun.

A clear refreshing spring which we perceived hard by beneath the trees, tempted us to halt a few minutes to quench our thirst: it was the cool fountain of a Kraal of Koras, whose sheep and oxen were in sight grazing upon the sides of the hills around. A few of

* Vol. I. page 334.

† Catal. Geogr. 2570. Exceedingly like the Wire-grass of the island of St. Helena (Agrostis linearis, Willd. S. P.), and near akin to that which is called Cocksfoot-grass by the English farmers. (Panicum Dactylon, Linn. Cynodon Dactylon, Pers.)

[page] 6

its inhabitants advanced to greet us as we rode by, and one or two of the men acknowledged us as old acquaintances, having met us before when we were hunting hippopotami on the banks of the Kygariep.

To avoid a long circuit, which the rivulet now began to take, we quitted the deep valley and ascended to an elevated level country, very thickly covered with large trees of the Hookthorn, between which we were obliged very cautiously to wind our way for about a mile and a half. After this we descended again into the valley, and continued, among acacias, to follow the bed of the rivulet, which at this season was every where dry.

A little farther we came to another spring of water equally pure and delightful, and our party again felt it necessary to quench their thirst. This fountain was occupied by a kraal of Mixed-Hottentots, the friends and relations of those who dwelt at the village of the Kloof. The men and women were at this hour absent, hunting or tending their cattle, or in search of wild roots, or collecting firewood; but several little groups of children ran out from the thickets which concealed their huts, to view us as we passed. They knew old Cobus and Ruiter, and were therefore not afraid to creep out of their hiding-places and run towards us; but they eyed me with some doubt and shyness, and seemed half-inclined to run back again.

At a short distance beyond this kraal we found another, consisting of seven huts and a large proportion of inhabitants, who were also of the race of Mixed-Hottentots; their chief was named Jan Bloem.* With the people of this kraal most of our party were well acquainted, and, as few amongst us were good swimmers, and nearly all of these were expert in that art, from having resided so long on the banks of the Gariep, they were easily persuaded to lend us their assistance in crossing the river; especially as I promised to reward them for their services. It was therefore agreed, it being already past sunset, that we should pass the night at this kraal, that they might put themselves in readiness to accompany us in the morning.

* He was son of a freebooter of the same name, hereafter mentioned under date of the 17th of June.

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The situation of this little village, if such an appellation does not express too much, was exceedingly sheltered and rural: on one side embosomed in a grove of tall acacias, overtopped by the surrounding mountains; on the other, enclosed by a rocky precipice, under which stood their mat-houses and the cattle-kraals. Their oxen and goats appeared to be numerous, and were seen every where around, coming home from pasture. There was a small garden fenced round with a dry hedge, and irrigated by a trench which conducted water from a spring not far off; and in it were cultivated chiefly tobacco, maize, pumpkins, and dakka. The lowing of the oxen, the milking of the cows, and the playfulness of the goats butting against each other, or familiarly browsing close to the huts, or mingling with the dogs and cattle, gave a truly pastoral character to the spot; while the abundance of trees rendered the scene rich and harmonious to the eye, and solicited the attempts of my pencil.

In verdure and beauty, the wire-grass far excelled every other grass of the valley; and I doubt not that its qualities, in an agricultural view of them, would equally prove its superiority in the climate of the Gariep. At least, analogy with the wire-grass of St. Helena and the doop-grass of India, induces me to form this opinion, and to recommend a trial of it to the agriculturists of Africa: and if, indeed, this be not identically the same species, it so closely resembles it, as hardly to be distinguished but by a botanist. In this romantic valley it formed a thicker turf, and appeared of a softer and finer nature, than any other grasses which have fallen under my notice in these regions.

A trifling circumstance which happened here, is worth mentioning, because it confirms what has been asserted on a former occasion*, respecting the faculty possessed by these natives, of distinguishing and recognising their cattle individually. In the team which drew my waggon, were several oxen, all of an uniformly black color, and ap-

* Vol I. page 175.

[page] 8

parently of equal size and form. Immediately on my arrival here, one of them was, without any previous examination, or the least hesitation, pointed out by one of the Hottentots of the kraal, as having several years before, when he lived in Namaqualand, belonged to him; and on my expressing a doubt that it could be the same ox, since I had purchased it in the neighbourhood of Cape Town, he desired my driver to put his finger into its nostrils, when he would feel the hole through the septum, which had been made by him to receive the bridle, as it had been trained, while in his possession, for a riding-ox. And this was directly ascertained to be the fact; although the hole had hitherto escaped the notice of my own people; who, now, were pleased at finding that we possessed a riding-ox among the number. This animal, which perhaps originally had been obtained by barter from some more inland tribe, happened, as its owner recollected, to have been one of a large herd which had been brought into the colony and exchanged to some of the boors, for articles of which they were then more in need. In this manner it had changed masters till it became Frans Van der Merwe's, and had now completed the tour of Southern Africa; but it was yet destined to visit other regions in the interior, until at last it was, I believe, one of the four-and-twenty which were stolen from me one night by the Caffres in the Zuureveld.

My people were supplied by their friends here with pumpkins and milk for their supper. In the evening, Gert, who was exceedingly attentive, and desirous of evincing, by every act of service in his power, his gratitude for my past kindnesses towards him, came to me to beg in the name of the rest that I would play on the flute, as this was to be the last evening they could have an opportunity of hearing this instrument until my return. I willingly granted their request; and thus myself took leave of a valuable friend: for the fear of accidents, on so rough a journey, prevented my taking it with me farther than the river. Perhaps this was the first time since the creation, that these groves and rocks re-echoed the sound of the flute; and the novelty of the entertainment commanded the attention of the whole kraal, who had for this purpose assembled at a little distance round my waggon.

[page] 9

The complete silence which prevailed, indicated their fondness for music; however rude the sounds which the wild uncultivated Hottentot himself may be able to produce. He will sometimes take his goráh, and, unintelligible as his notes may seem to a more polished ear, will sit by his fire, or in his hut, playing them over for hours together, with increasing pleasure and satisfaction: while his friends around him listen without growing weary; and perhaps among their number some one, captivated by so great a display, as they may deem it, of musical power, may catch the spirit of emulation and long to play as well: or even may his notes inspire more tender feelings; and youth and innocence may listen to them with delight. I confess that I warmly participated in the amusement of the evening; and never before felt so satisfied and proud of my own performance: but my pride was surely allowable on such an occasion, and I doubt whether the most accomplished performer in Europe, feels at the rapturous applauses of a refined audience, a gratification greater than that which I received on witnessing the pleasure which my music afforded to a kraal of simple Africans. It was the pride of being able to render my fellow-men happy, even though but for a few hours: it was the heart, and not the head, which claimed the whole enjoyment. How often, when far removed from these wild regions, has memory carried me back to scenes and amusements such as these, again to try the question whether man find not an equal portion of happiness, and feel not equally the care of a kind Providence, in the civilized, and in the uncivilized state. How often have I travelled over my journey again, to dwell a longer time at those places where the goodwill of my fellow creatures, and innocent pleasures, have beguiled my hours, and soothed the pains of the more rugged and unkind parts of my road.

27th Early the following morning we left Jan Bloem's Kraal, accompanied by its chief and six of his people. The distance to the river was not more than four miles; but having quitted the valley, that we might take a more direct road to the ford, we no longer met with the same romantic scenery, nor even with rocks of the same nature; these appearing every where, in this day's journey, to consist

VOL. II. C

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of a stone formed of various fragments conglutinated by a calcareous basis*; and such as might be classed as a species of "pudding-stone.'

The spot where we had intended to cross the river, bore the name of Engelsche Drift (English Ford) among the Klaarwater people, on account of its having been passed eleven years before, by a party from Cape Town, sent into the Transgariepine to purchase cattle for the government. The river, being here divided into two streams by an island, was found to be at this time too rapid and rough to be forded without danger: we therefore again yoked the oxen to the waggon, and proceeded to another place about two miles and a half higher up the stream. It was at this spot where the unfortunate Cowan and his party forded the Gariep, never more to return.

Here we found a kraal of Koras stationed with their cows, oxen, and goats: they appeared, like most of the natives in this part of the country, to possess but few sheep, a fact which is to be accounted for, perhaps, by the greater care, and better pasture, required for these, than for the rearing of goats. Their huts were irregularly placed in the acacia groves, and so completely concealed by intervening thickets, that we might have passed the river without discovering them, if their inhabitants had not, in their usual friendly way, come out to make their salutations, as soon as they knew we were arrived.

The branches of the acacias here were frequently decorated with a handsome kind of Mistleto (or, more correctly, a species of Loranthus,) whose fine scarlet berries appeared very conspicuous and ornamental. The delightful scenery of the Gariep had lost nothing of its power of pleasing, by having been admired so often before; but as I had not till now beheld the willows in their sober autumnal colors, they possessed for me, a new charm. In Africa we look in vain for those mellow beautiful tints with which the sun of autumn dyes the forests of England. Examples of this change of color meet the eye so rarely in these arid deserts, that whenever they do perchance occur, they will forcibly, and by a natural association of ideas, remind

* To this rock may be referred generally the description and remarks given in the first volume, at pages 398 and 399.

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the European traveller of his native land. To call the shrubs and trees of these countries, evergreens, would occasion very erroneous ideas to those whose notions are formed by what are commonly denominated so, in the gardens of our own country: although, in fact, there are few which are at any season quite destitute of leaves. But that broad and green foliage, that fresh and lively complexion, do not belong to the general character of the woods and thickets of the Interior; notwithstanding some exceptions. These last remarks, however, must be considered as applicable only to the regions remote from the sea-coast: there are forests and woods in other parts, which exhibit a very different and superior character.

As it could not be expected at this season of the year, that the waters of the Gariep would be so low as to admit of our fording it, our object had been to find a part of its course where the stream was of the least width, or of greatest depth; as in this latter case the surface would be more still and smooth, and the current less rapid and powerful. We now, therefore, had to construct a raft fit for conveying over our bedding and goods, our guns and ammunition, as well as those of our party who were unable to swim across.

With this view, our first business was to collect a number of logs of dead willow wood; the acacia and other woods being too heavy for the purpose; and even the willow when green, having the same defect. The raft was made of a quadrangular form, of six feet in length and the same breadth, by several regular layers of logs crossing each other, and bound together with long strips of acacia bark. The Hottentots have found by experience that, on such occasions, green bark is preferable to thongs of leather or raw hide; because the leather or hide, when soaked in water, soon grows soft, stretches, and becomes loose.

The raft being launched and loaded, was found not capable of carrying more than the half of our goods; and it then required ten men to manage it. Some swam before and dragged it on by a rope, while others behind pushed it forwards; but the strength of the current continuing to carry them down the stream, they crossed in

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an oblique direction; so that the point where they landed made an angle of about fifty degrees with the point directly opposite to that from which they set out.

Two of my own men who went over with the raft, to the other bank, were left there to guard the goods; and when the others returned, a glass of brandy to each was found very necessary for reviving their courage for another trip. But they had meditated a scheme for obtaining payment for their services on their own terms, and this they deemed the proper moment for putting it in execution, when one half of our goods and two of my best swimmers were on one side of the river, and the rest on the other; for they perceived that the raft required a greater number of hands to conduct it, than I had with me. I had intended to pay them in tobacco and some other useful articles; but, it seems, they had resolved on having gunpowder, which they knew to be a commodity I was not willing to spare, as they found from my own Hottentots that I had brought with me no more than it was judged we should require for our present journey.

They therefore made their demand, and considering the circumstances in which I stood, I at last consented to pay them what they asked, and even more, at my return, when I could better give up my ammunition, without risking the lives of my party by rendering ourselves defenceless. But as they were too cunning not to know how far I was in their power, they resolved to be paid on the spot, and therefore, without saying any thing further, walked away, as if to return to their kraal. My own men, though they felt as much as myself, how little we could spare that which was so essentially necessary, both for our safety and for procuring food, begged me at all events to agree to their terms; especially as the late hour of the day admitted of no delay. They immediately ran to inform them of my consenting to their terms; and soon brought them back. They then resumed the work, and plunged into the stream with another raft-load.

In the meantime I concerted the arrangements for Gert's return with my waggon to Klaarwater, and left with him a goat and some

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goods with which he might purchase provisions during our absence. I gave him instructions to meet me on our return, at the river with the waggon, should he be able in time to get intelligence of our being on the road. He then, with the assistance of Old Daniel's son and Muchunka, began to put the oxen to the yoke, and, as soon as he perceived that I was safely landed on the other side, set out on his journey home.

To save the swimmers the fatigue of bringing over the raft when they returned, we were obliged for each load to construct a new one; and as soon as the third raft was put together, I seated myself upon it, with four of my dogs, and launched into the stream. I was attended by twelve swimmers, including all the remainder of my men, excepting Ruiter and Nieuwveld, who remained behind to bring over the horse, and the oxen and sheep.

We reached the southern bank just at sunset, and as soon as Jan Bloem and his people had received the gunpowder, they returned to the other side on 'wooden horses.'* As they had exerted themselves to their utmost in transporting our baggage over the river, and must have been excessively fatigued before they reached home, I freely forgave them the unfair stratagem by which they had outwitted me; and allowed them to plead their own necessities in excuse. We parted good friends, and they promised to give their assistance in swimming the cattle through in the morning; as it was become too late to attempt it this evening.

At the place where we landed, a high precipitous bank confined us close to the water's edge, where it would have been highly imprudent to have remained till morning, exposed to the risk of being swept away, should the river suddenly swell. It grew dark before we had removed the goods to the higher ground; and in this operation fate seemed to declare that no luxuries were to be allowed me on this journey; for the only article I had provided, which could be considered so, excepting tea and a bag of biscuits, was a stone bottle,

* An explanation of this term, has been given in the first volume, at page 415.

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wine; but which a small fragment of rock accidentally rolling down from the top of the bank, now broke to pieces.

The difficulties which heavy baggage might occasion, and the impediment it might become in crossing a pathless or mountainous country, were considerations sufficient to restrain us from taking any thing which was not absolutely indispensable; and when, in debating this question, I put aside the influence of habit and custom, and of those necessities which belong only to civilized society, I discovered that we might dispense with nearly every thing; even with all our cooking utensils, excepting a small tin pot and a tea-kettle. Without either gridiron or saucepan, we cooked all our meat, either broiled on the embers, or stuck on forked sticks before the fire. Nor could we admit the encumbrance even of plates and forks. We therefore entered upon this journey with no other provision than our watch-coats and covering for the night, our guns and ammunition, a hatchet, a quantity of tobacco intended principally for presents to the Bushmen, and five sheep. To this I added for myself, three blankets, an umbrella, and two tin boxes, one to hold my papers, my journal, and sketches, my compass, and a few other light articles of this kind; and the other, a change of linen, and a small assortment of the more important medicines, particularly the volatile alkali, or liquid ammonia, for the bite of serpents.

28th. We passed the night without having been observed by the natives; and rose at day-break, hoping to see Ruiter and the cattle: but neither were visible, though we repeatedly called over to them so loudly that our words must have been distinctly heard, had any person been there. Hour after hour elapsed, and no answer was given; nor was any human being to be seen along the bank. Our uneasiness continued increasing, and every unpropitious accident was in turn surmised, to account for their absence.

At last towards noon they made their appearance on the shore, and in less than an hour afterwards, I had the satisfaction of viewing the whole of my party safely landed on the southern side of the Gariep.

Ruiter's delay had been occasioned by an untoward circumstance,

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and which now deprived us of the use of one of the cattle. The ox on which Cobus was to ride, was missing; and, having been supposed to have strayed back again to the village at the Kloof, one of the Hottentots was despatched thither in search; yet after wasting much time, it was at last found on the road nor far off, its rein having been accidentally caught by a bush, from which the poor animal had not only been unable to extricate itself, but in the struggle had dislocated its foot. Being therefore unfit for service, it was left under care of the people at the kraal; and we were obliged to give up one of the pack-oxen to supply its place; although we were then left with no more than three for carrying all our goods, together with the game which we might expect to shoot from day to day.

At length all being ready and the baggage properly adjusted, we commenced our journey in the Cisgariepine, my party consisting of six Hottentots, the Bushman Nieúwveld, and Rúiter the Bachapin whose proper name amongst his own countrymen, was Măkhówta.

Having gained intelligence that a friendly Bushman, who, by frequent visits to the Hottentots of the Asbestos Mountains, was personally known to one of my men, had lately pitched his hut on the banks of the river a few miles lower down, we bent our course that way, intending to persuade him to accompany us; not indeed as a guide, but for the purpose of introducing us as friends, at the different kraals of his countrymen, at which he might be known, and of assuring them of our good intentions towards them and of our peaceable disposition; but more especially, of testifying that I was not one of the boors,—men with whom they have been unfortunately too often on hostile terms, and of whose views they are generally too suspicious, to allow them to pass through their country without molestation.

We traversed a very extensive plain, covered with grass so tall that the dogs were completely hidden by it; but the ostriches stalked through exposed to view, and stonebucks* here and there starting up, bounded over it and were soon out of sight.

* Antilope rupestris, mentioned in the first volume, at page 202.

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We reached the Bushman kraal at a little before sunset. It consisted only of three huts, where we found no one at home but the women. They informed us that all the men were out hunting or in search of food, but would return in the evening. They seemed already satisfied of our friendly disposition, and appeared to rejoice at the arrival of men with fire-arms, for they immediately told us that a hippopotamus had just that moment been heard snorting in the river close by, and begged us go and shoot it for them.

At about eight the Bushmen came home, but we found that the man whom we wished to see, and whose name was Riizo (Reezo), had parted from them and gone to a kraal situated at a considerable distance farther down the river. Our communication with these people was attended with no difficulty, as three of our party fortunately could speak their language; Hans Lucas, Ruiter, and Nieuwveld: although the latter understood nothing of Dutch, but was sufficiently acquainted with that dialect of the Hottentotish, which is spoken by the people of Klaarwater.

One of these natives was therefore immediately sent off to inform Riizo of our wishes, and to desire him to come to us. In the mean time I had the satisfaction of learning that he and some others had long meditated an excursion to the southward, and, if it could been done with safety, a friendly visit to the borders of the colony.

Our station, with all its living appendages of men and cattle, presented a scene so romantic, so curious, and so fit for a picture, that I employed the remainder of the daylight in making a drawing of it. It was in a thick grove of acacias on the top of a high bank, at the foot of which flowed the Gariep, extending its stream to a greater breadth as it here changed the direction of its course, glittering with the reflection of the warm harmonious colors of the western sky, and the last rays of the setting sun. Evening was quickly leading forward the darkness of night, when the broad moon in unclouded brightness rose to give us a day of milder and serener light, and as she cast her beams obliquely through the branches of our sylvan hall, made us forget the hour of rest, and pass our time as if the night were not yet come. On one side the Bushmen and my

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own men mingled in a group round the fire, sat with mutual confidence, talking and laughing with each other, or silently engaged in smoking, though frequently taking the pipe from the mouth to join in the laugh. The subject of their conversation I could not discover; but the women were eager to bear their share in it, and it was I believe merely a natural overflowing of pleasure which they felt at receiving a present of tobacco. In another quarter, our patient oxen lay quietly chewing the cud; and nearer at hand the sheep with their heads turned towards the light, stood peacefully looking on. Some of the dogs lay in different places, asleep at the foot of the trees, while others familiarly took their place in the circle round the fire. Various parts of our baggage, the guns and the saddle, the karosses and skins of my Hottentots, were hanging on the branches. Every nearer object within the grove was partially illuminated by the blaze, and their reddened hue contrasted strongly the pale silvery light which the bright moon shed on all without, and which here and there gleamed between the stems, or played upon the thin and feathery foliage. On the edge of the bank, under a wide-spreading acacia of many stems, my own sleeping-place and baggage appeared at the distance of a few paces, in a more retired situation; while close at hand, but lower down the bank, stood my horse made fast to one of the trees. Between the light foliage above our heads, the twinkling stars enlivened our aërial canopy; and at that hour the brilliant Sirius in the zenith, rivalled the brightest of the planets. For a long time after I had lain down for the purpose of taking my night's rest, the novelty and singularly romantic character of the scene kept me from sleep; and admiration at the objects by which I was surrounded, gave rise to the most agreeable sensations and reflections, the pleasure of which was enhanced more especially by the friendly reception which, it now began to appear, we were likely to meet with.

29th. I awoke long before sunrise, and watched the gradual approach of day. As soon as the eastern sky began to assume the rosy tints of morning, the moon faded slowly away, and a

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multitude of birds, which every where inhabit the groves of the Gariep, commenced their early song, and charmed me with their soft enlivening notes. Notes which, though they presume to no comparison with those of our thrush or nightingale, delight and soothe the ear not less, and are equally expressive of the peace of nature, and the happiness of the feathered tribe, the unmolested tenants of these woods.

Having waited at this spot till more than two hours after midday, in fruitless expectation of seeing Riizo, we took our departure; and had scarcely advanced a mile when we met the Bushman who had yesterday been sent to the kraal lower down the river. He brought a message from Riizo, that we should come to that place and wait till he returned from the village at the Asbestos mountains, whither he was going to fetch some tobacco which he was to receive from the Hottentots at that place. Hearing this, I immediately sent off Ruiter, to bring him to us without delay; promising that he should be well supplied with tobacco from our own stock.

We then proceeded in a southward direction, and, leaving the valley of the Gariep, ascended a rocky cliff, at the top of which the surface of the country continued at the same level. Hence we had a commanding view of the river and its winding course for several miles; and of the Asbestos mountains to the north, and some other distant mountains on the west. The most remarkable feature of this plain was a number of scattered trees, distinguished from all I had hitherto seen, by the color of their trunks, which appeared at a little distance as if they had been whitewashed. From this singular character, they have gained the name of Wit-gat boom, which may be represented in English by that of White-stem.*

After quitting this plain and crossing an extensive level covered with abundance of fine grass three feet high, we came to the bed of a considerable periodical river, where, as it was now past sunset, we unpacked our oxen and took up our station for the night. This

* Capparis albitrunca, B. — Vide p. 343. Vol. I.

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proved to be the new river, which hitherto was known to the Klaarwater Hottentots, only at its confluence with the Gariep, and for a few miles higher up its course. The water in the pools along this part of its bed, being of a strongly brackish quality, they had designated it merely as the Brak rivier. This name, at length, was taken into common use by our party, and occasioned us totally to neglect inquiring of the natives its proper name: a neglect which I the more regret as the name of Brak rivier has already been given to too many streams in the colony, to admit of increasing the number by fixing it upon this one; to which indeed it is not applicable, excepting a few miles of the lower part of its course. As a river of this length bears, doubtlessly, some distinctive appellation among the Bushmen, I have not presumed to give it one of my own; but leave this blank in my map to be filled up by some traveller who may hereafter discover the name by which it has been always known to the aboriginal inhabitants of the country.

The spot where we now for the first time fell in with it, is pointed out on the map by the words First Station. At this season its bed was in most places dry; and that which in the time of the rains, must be a deep river, was now merely a line of ponds or pools, separated from each other, in some places by only a few yards of dry ground, and in others by the distance of a quarter of a mile. That pool, by the side of which we had halted, was of an intolerable alkaline taste; but the people were obliged to drink from it, and gladly took advantage of the excuse it afforded, to ask for a glass of brandy to counteract its nauseous effects. It was the more fortunate that the water of this river was nowhere of this unwholesome nature, excepting at the lower part of its course, as our whole stock of brandy was contained in a quart bottle.

The country every where around us, was flat and open; and though lightly covered with low stunted bushes, not a tree was to be seen. At night we tied the horse and oxen to the strongest of the shrubs; and pulling up a quantity of others, formed them into a semicircular hedge, to shelter us from the wind and rain with which the clouds began to threaten us.

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March 1st. We remained at this station till half-past eight in the morning, in the hope that Ruiter would join us; but as we knew that he and the Bushman could easily overtake us, we were glad to depart from this miserable lodging. Our good-fortune conducted us by a solitary Buffalo-thorn (Buffel doorn*) where we found a small pond of fresh water.

Having halted a few minutes to quench our thirst, and allow the oxen to drink, we rode forward by the guidance of the compass in a southerly direction over a sandy plain of fourteen miles; in which the river twice crossed our course. In some places I observed swallows circling in the air, a cheering sight to the thirsty traveller, and a sure indication of water being near.

In our way over the plain, we fell in with an ostrich's nest; if so one may call a bare concavity scratched in the sand, six feet in diameter, surrounded by a trench equally shallow, and without the smallest trace of any materials, such as grass, leaves, or sticks, to give it a resemblance to the nests of other birds. The ostriches to which it belonged, must have been at that time feeding at a great distance, or we should have seen them on so open a plain. The poor birds at their return would find that robbers had visited their home in their absence; for we carried off all their eggs. Within this hollow, and quite exposed, lay twenty-five of these gigantic eggs, and in the trench nine more, intended, as the Hottentots observe, as the first food of the twenty-five young ones. Those in the hollow, being designed for incubation, may often prove useless to the traveller, but the others on the outside will always be found fit for eating. In the present instance the whole number were equally good.

The expedient resorted to by Speelman on a former occasion, was now adopted to a certain extent: after filling all our bags, the sleeves of their watch-coats, and their second pair of trowsers were crammed full of eggs. It was considered as an auspicious omen

* Zizyphus bubalinus.

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that at the commencement of our journey, so valuable a prize had been placed in our way. Our faithful dogs were not forgotten in the division of the spoil; and their share, which we immediately broke into a bowl, was eaten up on the spot.

Meeting again with the river, we halted and unpacked our oxen, that they might graze for an hour or two; though little benefit was to be derived from the situation, as the pool at this place was quite salt, and not less unfit for use, than the alkaline water at the First Station. The quality of the ponds in the lower part of this river, is probably not at all seasons equally objectionable, and while the stream continues to flow along its bed, the water will every where be serviceable, because the saline solution from the soil, is then constantly weakened and carried off by the accession of fresh water from the higher part of its course. At other times, when the stream ceases to run, the pools remain, at first tolerably drinkable; but in proportion as the quantity of water is lessened by evaporation, this solution becomes more concentrated. It should not be supposed that occasional showers in the immediate vicinity of these brackish ponds, would tend to improve them, because those showers must wash down more of the same salts from the surface of the soil, which, at the part where we had now halted, was covered principally with such shrubs and plants as afford alkali: these were the Kannabush, and another whose name of Brak-boschjes* (Brackish Bushes) indicates that their nature has been well observed by the inhabitants.

We made our dinner from the ostrich-eggs; each of the Hottentots eating a whole one, although containing, as already mentioned, as much food as twenty-four eggs of the domestic hen. It is therefore not surprising that I found myself unable to accomplish my share of the meal; even with the aid of all the hunger which a long morning's ride had given me. The mode in which they were cooked, was

* A shrubby species of Atriplex, probably the A. candicans. Yet the name of Brakboschjes does not exclusively belong to this plant.
A sort of Statice was found growing in abundance on spots of the saline nature here described. (Compare with p. 454. of Vol. I.)

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one of great antiquity; for all the Hottentot race, their fathers, and their grandfathers' fathers, as they express themselves, have practised it before them. A small hole the size of a finger was very dextrously made at one end, and having cut a forked stick from the bushes, they introduced it into the egg by pressing the two prongs close together; then by twirling the end of the stick between the palms of their hands for a short time, they completely mixed the white and the yolk together. Setting it upon the fire, they continued frequently to turn the stick, until the inside had acquired the proper consistence of a boiled egg. This method recommends itself to a traveller, by its expedition, cleanliness, and simplicity; and by requiring neither pot, nor water; the shell answering perfectly the purpose of the first, and the liquid nature of its contents, that of the other.

During the time of our halt, the weather which had been fair all the forenoon, began to change; and clouds thickening over the sky, threatened us with instant rain. Seeing this, the Hottentots were preparing a shelter, with the view of remaining at this spot till the morrow; but deeming it better to be riding, than sitting still, in the rain, I ordered them to re-pack the oxen, that, by proceeding farther, we might reach some better water before dark.

We had but just set out, when a party of eight people was perceived hastening towards us; and a nearer approach enabling us to discover that Makhowta (Ruiter) was of the number, we halted till they came up with us. He had not only, without much difficulty, prevailed on Riizo to relinquish his tobacco journey, and come directly to us, but our good fortune had so arranged it, that there happened to be at the same time at that place, the captain, or chief, of a large kraal which lay exactly in the direction of our course. This man, being about to return home, had himself proposed to join our party, and was now, with that intent, accompanied by three of his men, and three women, one of whom was his wife.

I immediately fulfilled the promise of tobacco which Makhowta had in my name made to Riizo and at the same time made a present of an equal quantity to the captain, and to each of his party. This

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act of generosity at once established me in their good opinion, and Kaabi, for that was the chief's name, to express his gratitude, pledged himself for my safety while I remained in his part of the country, and for a friendly reception at his village.

We then rode forward; our Bushman friends following on foot, and evidently as happy at having gained my friendship, as I was at securing theirs. Guided only by my compass, as the day was dark and cloudy, we continued for nearly three hours travelling over a plain having no visible termination, nor any eminence to break its perfect uniformity. Its soil differed totally from that of the plain which we had crossed in the morning: the surface was of a harder nature, and in some places it was strewed with pebbles; but scarcely any grass, and not a bush or shrub higher than half a foot, was any where to be seen.

A herd of antelopes* of the species known among the boors by the misapplied name of Gemsbok† was observed at a distance, but on account of the openness of the country, it was useless for us to pursue them, as we could never have approached within musket shot.

It rained incessantly the whole afternoon; but towards sunset the weather began to clear up; and, as all were most uncomfortably wet, we resolved to unpack at the first spot which offered any shelter for the night, and the means of making a fire to dry our clothes. But no such place presenting itself, we were at last content to take up a station amongst a few stunted Driedoorns‡ (Threethorns) the largest of which was not higher than three feet. Here, exposed upon the bare open plain, we passed the night.

* Antilope Oryx.

† The name of Gemsbok belongs properly to the Antilope rupicapra of Europe, the Chamois of the Alps. By the same misuse of names, the Kanna of the Cape Colony is called Eland, which is the proper name of the Cervus Alces or Elk. So also is the name of a common European animal, the Reebok or Roebuck, applied to two animals of another genus, and which are found only in Southern Africa.

‡ Rhigoxum trichotomum; described in the 1st volume, at page 299.

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Only one of the Bushmen had kept up with us; all the rest having parted company during the rain. As soon as we halted, his chief care was to make a call to his companions, to inform them where we were; and for this purpose he continued for some time at intervals to blow his pipe. This was nothing more than the tibia, or shin-bone, of one of the smaller antelopes, into which he blew at one end, in the manner of a 'Pan's reed.' It produced an exceedingly sharp and shrill sound, which might easily, in so open a plain, have been heard at a great distance. To this noise we added a shout from our whole party at once.

But these signals were not answered, nor did any of the Bushmen join us that night; having either missed our track in the rain, or preferred remaining under shelter during the heavy showers. As two of the women were loaded, each with an infant at her back, I could not but feel compassion for them, exposed all night, perhaps without shelter, food, or fire. I was, however, wrong in measuring their sufferings by the standard of European hardships: they are accustomed, from their birth, to such a mode of life, and have been gradually inured to all the inclemencies of the weather. They feel, possibly, much less of these hardships than we may suppose; because they are never made sensible of them by the contrast of luxuries enjoyed at other times. But to a European, the case is widely different; and some powerful feelings of the mind are required for supporting the body through all the inconveniences and privations of savage life.

The rain had ceased; but lightning at a distance in every quarter, made us to look around for materials to form some shelter from the gathering storm; but nothing could be found suitable to this purpose, and the threethorns, being scantily furnished with leaves, were not better than dead sticks. Our cattle supped sufficient water from the puddles, but we ourselves remained without any till the morning.

Philip and Nieuwveld were sent to explore a narrow beaten track which had been made by the wild animals. From the long-trodden appearance of this path, we knew that it would conduct us ultimately to water, but in the dusk of the evening, they were unable

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to discover the right direction, and unfortunately took that which carried them farther from it; for, in the morning, it was found close at hand on the opposite side.

In this wet and cheerless state, and to console them for the disappointment, the Hottentots begged that the remainder of the brandy might now be distributed; and, heedless of the prospect of being more in want of it than at present, seemed glad at any excuse for asking for it.

We spread our skins and bedding upon the wet ground; and, if Wantrouw felt the advantage of being my favorite, I now reaped the benefit of being his; for he slept so close to my feet that I passed the night without the least inconvenience from cold, although my blankets were covered with a heavy dew.

Under my saddle, which at night was always used as a pillow, I found in the morning that two lizards, induced also by the warmth, had taken their lodging. Harmless as I judged them to be, and little as these creatures excited any apprehension, they could not but remind me that I was now exposed to the risk of sometimes having more dangerous bedfellows—snakes and scorpions.

2nd. At sunrise we were joined by Kaabi and his companions. This man seemed to be about the age of forty; sedate, and rather reserved in his manners: but his wife could not have been more than fifteen, and among Bushwomen might certainly pass as pretty. Her height was less than five feet, and her figure proportionally delicate. Her face was plump and oval; and, owing to her youth, had not yet begun to exhibit that peculiar Hottentot feature; the narrow pointed chin. Her eyes were remarkable for being bright and open; a beauty which is never retained beyond the days of youth; as constant exposure to the winds, and the glare of light in a dry open country, soon induce the habit of always keeping their eyelids half-closed. She wore a leathern cap ornamented with beads, in the manner represented by the engraving at the head of this chapter*,

* The figures there, of two young women of the Cisgariepine tribe of Bushmen, are intended for giving a general idea of their dress and appearance.
The figure on the right hand is represented with a leathern kaross wrapped close about her, as it is usually held in cold weather. The cap is also of leather, and ornamented with beads, as here described. In her ear are two small copper ornaments of Bichuana manufacture, better represented in the 37th vignette, and more particularly explained in that place.
The figure on the left is clothed in a sheep-skin kaross; and wears a copper ring in each ear, two cowry shells pendent from a lock of hair on her forehead, and a row of buttons surrounding the head and fixed also to the hair. The crown of the head is shaved bare; this being considered a very becoming fashion for girls and young women.

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and was not without some personal vanity, as may be concluded from her wearing a great number of leathern bracelets, and a pair of cowry shells hanging from her forehead, similar to the ivory ornaments described on a former occasion*; and to which was added a large copper ring in each ear. The beads, which were displayed upon her cap, were arranged not without some taste, and with great attention to regularity. Her child, of which she was very careful and fond, seemed to be at least eight months old, and was never, during the whole day, removed from her back. It was supported there by one of the hinder aprons, turned up and tied over the shoulder; and in this situation the poor little infant was suckled, by bringing its head forward under the mother's arm.

At her back also she carried a roll of skins: these being spread on the ground at night, served both for bedding and for a protection from the dampness of the earth. To this load were added a siftingmat, and three sticks about five feet in length, used either for assisting in walking, or for digging up the wild roots which she might happen to observe on the way.

These sifting-mats are about three feet long and two broad, extended by a stick tied along each side, and by others fastened to them transversely. They are made in the same manner as other mats, excepting that the rushes are not so close together. When a spot of ground is met with, where abundance of little roots are to be found†, the earth is broken up and carefully sifted with these mats; by which

* Vol. I. page 414.

† The roots of Cyperus usitatus, called Boschman's uyentjes, (see Vol. I. p. 417.) are those which are most plentiful in this part of the country.

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contrivance a quantity of such small roots are collected in a much shorter time than could possibly be done by digging them up singly with the stick.

Just as we were beginning to pack up our baggage, we were suddenly surprised by a sound from a distance, which all of us believed, or rather fancied, to be the report of a musket. Thinking it might possibly be a signal from some one sent after us by captain Berends, we fired a gun in answer; but as no reply was made, I sent off Speelman, Daniel, and Hendrik in that direction to reconnoitre, and ascertain if any person with fire-arms was on that side. But in less than an hour they returned without discovering any traces of strangers; and we at last were satisfied that we had mistaken the sound. Yet I continued, for a day or two, a little uneasy at the circumstance, until convinced that it could only be a mistake; since no stranger could come into the country of the Bushmen, without his arrival being immediately known to them.

We had at this time advanced much beyond the farthest point to which the Klaarwater Hottentots had ever extended their huntings; and Hans and Cobus, the most experienced of our party, considered that we were now on unexplored ground. We became therefore the more watchful and observant of every occurrence connected with our safety and success.

We departed from Drie-doorn station at eight in the morning, and continued our course over a plain as level and boundless as the ocean, excepting on the west, where the rocky mountains near Modder-gat interrupted the evenness of the horizon; and before us, where the Nappika mountain, and the very distant summits of the Hyena mountains, presented a faint object on which the sight could rest. These latter are distinguished by the natives, with a name of correspondent import in their language, but which in our hurry I neglected writing down.

I here, for the first time, had an opportunity of observing that singular phenomenon and optical illusion, of the appearance of water, which has often been seen in the deserts of Northern Africa. It exactly resembled a distant and extensive lake, receding from us

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as we advanced; and offered a prospect the most tempting and delightful, but at the same time the most tantalizing, to a thirsty traveller; and, to complete the illusion, its surface seemed to play in a lively rippling motion. The day was warm and cloudless. The cause of this phenomenon is, very probably, the vapor and heat of the sun's rays, reflected from a great extent of level surface. A similar effect, on a small scale, may be observed even in England, on very hot days: not asserting that it ever produces the appearance of water; but meaning only that the operation of the same cause may often be witnessed, by looking obliquely along any heated and extensive surface. In the present example of this phenomenon, and in all others which I have seen in Africa, the optical lake is only visible when backed by very distant mountains, whose angle of altitude is not greater than ten or fifteen minutes of a degree; that is, just appearing above the horizon: for, as the traveller advances, and these mountains appear higher, the lake always vanishes. Consequently, it divides itself into separate lakes or ponds, as soon as the spectator's nearer approach occasions the higher mountains of the range, or the loftier peaks, to rise above that angle; a fact which I have invariably noticed in such circumstances.

As if in compensation for this tantalizing illusion, we soon afterwards came to a large pool of real water, and had cause for rejoicing when we found it perfectly fresh. The newly-discovered river, which we had hitherto wronged by the name of the "Brackish river," seemed as if kindly resolved to keep us company and lend us its friendly assistance during this journey; for it held the same general course, which, according to my calculation, we ought to take towards the Colony; although in its meanderings it often quitted us, and as often crossed our track. From this spot, which is marked on the map with the name of Freshwater Halt, the river in every part upwards affords abundance of wholesome water; and its pools, which occur at very short intervals, are in many places nearly confluent.

Reeds, exactly resembling the common reeds of the English rivers, almost every where mark its course. These are a sure

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indication of fresh water, and, if attended to, will often be of service in pointing out a spring at a distance, which might otherwise be passed unnoticed. In cases where a traveller may be in want of water while traversing the arid regions in the interior of Southern Africa, he may sometimes be relieved from his distress by ascending the nearest eminence, and thence carefully examining the country with his telescope; when he may chance fortunately to discover some clump of reeds, to which he may direct his steps, with the greatest probability of finding sufficient for quenching his thirst. Some species of trees, easily distinguishable from afar, are also peculiar to moist situations*, and are therefore equally useful as guides to a spring or rivulet. These facts are well worth an African traveller's attention; and a little observation will bring to his knowledge many others of the same kind.

We immediately unpacked the oxen, and turned them loose to graze in some meadows of excellent grass. After making our breakfast from the ostrich-eggs, my men found employment enough in drying our clothes and baggage, which were thoroughly soaked with yesterday's rain. Philip entered upon his new office of "washerwoman,' nor was Speelman, or Uncle Hans, or Old Cobus, at all surpassed by him in versatility of talents: and I believe that, had there been amongst them a missionary of a certain class, it would not have hurt his conscience to assert that we carried on "eighteen different trades.'

We were visited by two natives, whose kraal, they said, was at some distance eastward; and who being out in search of wild roots, happened to observe our track, and had discovered us by following it. One of them wore on the side of his head, as an ornament, and tied close to the hair, a circular plate of shining brass three inches indiam eter. The other carried, what my Hottentots called a graafstok (a digging-stick), to which there was affixed a heavy stone to increase its force in pecking up bulbous roots. The stone, which was

* Such as the Karree-wood (Rhus viminale), the Buffalo-thorn (Zizyphus bubalinus), the Willow (Salix Gariepina) and the Karro-thorn (Acacia Capensis).

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five inches in diameter, had been cut or ground, very regularly to a round form, and perforated with a hole large enough to receive the stick and a wedge by which it was fixed in its place. A figure of the "digging-stick' may be seen at the end of the chapter.

These two men, seeing that others of their countrymen were in our company, approached us without fear, and were in all respects friendly. We rejoiced at these symptoms of confidence, and I was mindful to profit by every opportunity of confirming them, that they might be induced to report favorably of us at their return to their homes. I gave them food, of which they seemed to be much in need; and gratified them not less by a present of a small quantity of dakka.

But I found it not so easy to gain the good-will of the children, as of their parents; for, wishing by caresses to please one of them, I offered it a biscuit, but looking for an instant in my face, it turned away in fright and cried most sadly; nor could the mother, who seemed much pleased by my taking notice of her child, overcome the poor little infant's terror at the sight of a white-man; a terror of which we may sometimes behold the counterpart with English children when they are caressed by a black. To me these infants were interesting, from their small and delicate make, and their innocent playfulness. Even their crying was not disgusting, because it had not the tone of petulance or vulgarity: but this may be easily accounted for; their tempers had certainly not been spoilt by overindulgence.

In compassion to our oxen, horse, and sheep, we rested six hours at Freshwater Halt, that they might be sufficiently recruited by the wholesome water and pasture; as we knew not whether they would meet with the same good fortune at our next station.

In the afternoon we resumed our journey, still over a plain without either eminence or hollow, or any visible termination either on our left hand or before us. In this pathless expanse, we advanced as a ship on the ocean; and, to keep my party from wandering from the right course, I steered in a direct line, by selecting two bushes ahead of us, and keeping them both in one, till we

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came up nearly to the first, and then in the same manner selecting another beyond the second: thus continuing, from point to point as we advanced, taking a fresh object farther onwards.

Our average rate of travelling, during the whole of this journey, was proved to be three miles and a half in the hour. Not venturing, from fear of accident, to take my sextant on this expedition to the Colony, I have had only the bearings and estimated distances to guide me in laying down this part of my track on the map. But having travelled twice over the same ground, and taken the bearings and distances, on my return as well as at this time; and having, as fixed and determined points at each end, the Kloof Village in the Asbestos Mountains, and the village of Graaffreynet, I am inclined to think that the positions assigned to my stations are not far from the truth. And although I had not the advantage of ascertaining our rate of travelling, by the revolutions of the wheel of my waggon, as already explained*; yet having assumed a certain proportional scale of hours, making occasional allowance for an accelerated or a retarded rate, I each evening carefully plotted on paper the route of the day; and this proportional survey being finally laid down between the true latitudes of those two extreme points, it is evident that the situations of the intermediate places cannot be very erroneous.

The surface of this plain was composed of good loamy soil, generally covered with shrubs two feet high, but varied with frequent extensive patches of grass, and sometimes with bushes of Lycium which were of a greater height than any of the other shrubs. Plants of that singular genus Stapelia were here and there observed; particularly one with large flowers of a blackish-red color, and another with yellow flowers growing in lateral umbels. Hares were seen during this day's ride; and many quakkas were perceived grazing at a distance.

At sunset we ended the day's journey, and took up our station on the banks of the river, which we here found almost hidden by

* In the first volume, at pages 289 and 290.

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grass of the most luxuriant color and growth, and which meandered through extensive meadows of excellent soil. This spot is marked by the name of Grass Station; and hence upwards, the pools of the river follow each other so closely that a few showers would soon render them confluent.

We did not discover any fish in these waters; but observed a very pretty and new species of frog* of a green color, and marked by a longitudinal yellow stripe on its back, and by transverse stripes of brown on its hind legs. It was further distinguished by its silence, or at least by croaking very seldom. Whether this silence be only occasional, or a constant character throughout the year, I could, as a traveller, have no opportunity of ascertaining.

Immediately on our arrival we made a fire and discharged a musket as a guide and signal for Speelman and the others, who had kept at a distance from the main body in hopes of falling in with game; and who were then out of sight. In half an hour they came home: they laid the blame of their absence upon the Bushman who was with them; who, on the way, happening to observe a lizard, pursued it with great eagerness, and having caught it, begged them to halt while he made a fire. This was soon done, and almost as soon was the lizard roasted: then cutting open the body, which he knew contained a number of eggs, he greedily devoured them in a manner which shewed that they were considered a dainty morsel. Speelman, who, though a Hottentot, had a more delicate stomach than this man, declared that, as he stood looking on with astonishment and disgust, he could hardly restrain himself from vomiting: indeed the bare recital of the circumstance seemed to revive all the nausea which he had then felt.

But before we agree with Speelman, and pronounce this Bushman a monster, let us lay aside all the prejudices of education and

* Rana fasciata, B. Viridis. Parùm vociferans. Dorsum fasciâ longitudinale flavâ pictum. Femora transversè fusco-fasciata. Corpus parvum breve. Pedes vix palmati.—Ranœ (nec Hylœ, nec Bufonis, nec Pipœ) est vera species, formâ pedum non obstante.

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custom, and plead his cause. Or, if we cannot gain for him an acquittal of the crime of eating unclean food, let us at least examine whether his judges be not themselves equally guilty: unless we at once decide the question by admitting to its utmost extent, the maxim that, there should be no disputing about tastes.

To all animals, excepting man, Nature seems to have pointed out some particular class of food as their proper nourishment; and when, from any morbid or depraved inclination they acquire a habit of taking other substances, we may with justice accuse them of having an unnatural taste. But man is left omnivorous: a fact which his history, and daily observation, sufficiently prove; even without the testimony of our own Materia culinaria. Throughout the whole zoölogical system, there is scarcely a class from which, either in one or other country, he does not convert some or many of its species to the purpose of food, and which in all instances afford wholesome nourishment. But it is remarkable how little mankind are agreed in these matters, and how few substances are eaten universally, or how few there are which are not rejected by one nation, or another: and so patriotic in this respect, are the inhabitants of various, and even of polished, countries, that they, or at least, the illiberal part of them, entertain a species of contempt for those whose habits or necessities lead them to the use of aliments different from their own; and pity their want of judgment in not preferring those things which they themselves find most agreeable to their own palate. To enumerate instances in substantiation of these assertions, is unnecessary, because they are too numerous, and too well known: but the application of the mode of reasoning derivable from them, seems on the other hand, to be too little practised. To mitigate poor Speelman's abhorrence at the Bushman, I would have told him that there was a nation in Europe who sometimes ate frogs, and that many of my own countrymen were excessively fond of an animal like an enormous toad, and not only ate its eggs, but its whole body; and that some of the most luxurious and polished nations of the world ate lizards* also: but

* The Iguana of the West Indies and South America; where it is esteemed a great delicacy.

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I feared he would then have thought a European worse than a Bushman.

Having hitherto been unable to procure any game, the diminution of my little flock of sheep became to my men as well as to myself a subject of some anxiety; and the addition of a number of natives to our fire-side, increased our uneasiness. Yet resolved on omitting nothing which could gain and secure their good will, we always gave them a share of our provisions; and when a sheep was killed, they seemed to expect all the entrails as their due. The pretty young Bushwoman was my men's favorite, and to her they often gave a larger portion; but the act of receiving a pot of blood with smiles and evident pleasure, had so little of elegance in it that their master was not likely to be one of her admirers. In slaughtering cattle, both the Hottentots and Bushmen save the blood. This being set on the fire, and kept stirred, soon becomes nearly of the consistence of liver, and is then eaten as a dainty.

The Bushmen received a share of the fat with equal delight, and immediately began to melt it in a little pot of their own manufacture, and one which, apparently, was intended only for that use. It was indeed the rudest piece of workmanship imaginable, being simply a rough bit of stone, in which they had contrived to hollow out a small cavity: it, however, perfectly answered the purpose for which it was used. As we stood at their fire admiring rather the rudeness, than the ingenuity, of it, these poor beings with all their wretchedness even possessed vanity at their own works, and seemed to smile at our ignorance, and to view our surprise with feelings of conscious superiority. The figure of this pot may be seen at the end of the chapter; where, opposite to it, on the right, is the representation of another, made of burnt clay, the workmanship of which, if not Bachapin, does them more credit, being moulded to that form by the hand only.

The great extent of the plain and evenness of its surface, admitted my viewing the constellations until they disappeared below the horizon. At this time the three well-known stars in the belt of Orion were just setting, and induced a train of reflections on the

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important uses to which the heavenly bodies are applied in modern times, and on the essential service which they rendered in former ages to the traveller while crossing the trackless sands of Northern Africa. That a modern traveller, under circumstances similar to those in which I was at this time placed, might derive some advantages from them, it will be admitted; if it be supposed that necessity might require him to travel over a plain by night, without instruments, and at the same time to keep some account of the direction of his route. For by noting that setting star towards which he seems to be advancing, the bearing of his track may readily be calculated, or afterwards ascertained by a celestial globe, to a degree of exactness quite sufficient for such purpose. And this method will be found more accurate in proportion as the country is nearer to the equinoctial line; but perhaps not sufficiently correct, in those beyond the thirtieth or fortieth degree of latitude. Thus the setting of δ Oriontis, or the north-westernmost star of the belt of Orion, might point out to him the west more truly than the polar star does the north. But in aid of these advantages, a habit of judging of angular distances, would be required whenever the atmosphere should be too dense on the horizon, or whenever it became necessary to make use of a star not directly in his track. Even the length of time occupied in travelling, may be known nearly, if be note what star sets when he commences, and what other when he ends, his night's journey. It must be confessed that these methods can hold but a low rank in the science of practical geometry; but it is easy to imagine very probable circumstances in which they would be exceedingly valuable.

3rd. We were half-unwilling to quit these delightful pastures; and suffered our cattle to continue grazing the whole morning In the mean time our fires had been observed from a great distance by a kraal of natives situated on a low hill nearly nine miles farther onwards, and in sight from our station. They came immediately to see who we were; and, after cautiously reconnoitring, and perceiving that we were accompanied by some natives who were personally known to them, they advanced towards us with friendly salutations, and without hesitation joined our party. There were about eight or ten of

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them, the greater part being women. To all I gave a piece of tobacco, which was received with great joy. On this, the men forming one party and the women another, they proceeded instantly to light their pipes; and sat talking and smoking with the highest glee and enjoyment. But in spirits, the women excelled their companions, and chatted with each other in a style of volubility which I had not supposed the Bushman language, with all the impediments of its numerous claps, susceptible of. They invited us to hunt a rhinoceros which had lately been observed browsing in the vicinity of their kraal.

So much confidence and goodwill, shown us by a people whom the Klaarwater missionaries had represented as the most ferocious of savages, warmed my heart with equally kind feelings towards them, and dispelled from my own mind every sensation of fear, however firmly I had resolved that no favorable appearances should ever lull our vigilance to sleep, or tempt us to think that precaution might ever be dispensed with. But most of my own Hottentots betrayed their timidity; and both by their looks and conversation, declared their uneasiness at seeing so many visitors coming around them; although their number, including the women, amounted only to fourteen.

As soon as the heat of noon had passed, we left the verdant meadows of Grass Station, and rode the whole of this day in a south-easterly course over plains, in a right line towards Water-point, the eastern point of the Hyena Mountains, where we had been informed that we should find the kraal of our Bushman friend Kaabi. The natives give it a name importing "Water-point," on account of the river taking its course round it. At the western end of this range, two table-mountains form a remarkable feature.

When we had travelled nearly eight miles, we ascended a low hill on which we were glad at finding a small pool of water, and though it was quite muddy, halted that all the party might drink; for the weather had become so excessively hot, that it felt almost as though the sun were pouring down liquid fire upon us.

I had suffered myself to be guided over this hill by our last

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visitors, because they were desirous of conducting me to their kraal, as a mark of friendship: which it certainly was, if we consider with what jealous care this nation always conceal from the colonists the place of their abode. They brought us to the summit of the ridge, where, situated between heaps or hillocks of large stones, and unsheltered by either tree or bush, we found half a dozen wretched weather-worn huts, having only one-third of the circumference enclosed, and utterly incapable of protecting their inhabitants from the inclemency of wind or rain. But at this kraal not one individual had been left at home; want had driven every one abroad to dig up his daily food in the plain. Within these huts there was no property of any kind, except in one or two, a dirty furless skin, or the shell of an ostrich-egg. Never before had I beheld, or even imagined, so melancholy, so complete, a picture of poverty.

"Here;' said they, as they pointed to the huts, "this is our home.' — And having paused a few moments, they seated their thin emaciated bodies on the ground, and looked up to me with such speaking expression of humility and want, that I felt a tear, which could not be suppressed, trickling down my cheek. Abstracted from every other thought, my whole mind was absorbed in the contemplation of what was before me. Well! I involuntarily exclaimed to myself, and is this the home of human beings! Have I been sleeping on the bed of ease, and pampered with a thousand useless luxuries, while my fellow-creatures have been wandering the burning plains from day to day, and have returned at last to their wretched huts to pass the painful night in hunger, and unsheltered from the storm! Yes, unfavoured savages, unpitied and despised as ye are by the thoughtless and unfeeling, ye still are men, and feel the pains of want, the misery of care; untutored as ye are, ye still are not too ignorant to know that injustice and oppression confirm no right, and that God has given liberty equally to all; rude and uncivilized as ye are, ye still are not insensible to the dictate of conscience, that kindnesses should be remembered with a grateful heart. Unblest among the nations of the earth, ye seem but to share these plains with beasts of prey, and but to stand the next degree above them: yet do ye breathe the

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breath of eternal life; some rays of reason faintly light your path; ye hold, in common with the head that wears the diadem, a lamp which death can not extinguish, a soul which, though it would, can never die. Your Creator and your Judge will pass unheeded all our arrogant pretensions, and will, without respect to persons or to nations, reward alone the good and virtuous, though His mercy may forgive the guilty.

These reflections moved rapidly through my mind. I lost no time, but desired my people to give these poor creatures some meat. The Hottentots represented to me the uncertainty of our own resources, and that our present stock of provisions was already so much reduced, that prudently nothing could be spared. But feelings of humanity and commiseration rendered it impossible for me to quit this spot without affording some relief to their necessities; and I ordered a large quantity to be cut off, and given to them. Their starving appearance pleaded so powerfully, and spoke the truth so plainly, that I could not but be convinced that these miserable destitute savages had seldom tasted animal food; and had often passed the day without having been able to procure any sustenance whatever.

I still in imagination see the happy air of these poor simple creatures, and the joy and thankfulness which lighted up their meagre countenances, when they received this supply. Their grateful voices, raised with one accord to express their feelings, still sound in my ear; and though their words were unintelligible, their looks bespoke their meaning and conveyed to the heart sensations the most delightful, and repaid a thousand times the trifling sacrifice we made.

I felt unwilling to quit this little community, and wished, by being present, to participate in the happiness which I had occasioned. The inhabitants had by this time all assembled, and I still lingered with them, standing by my horse and closely surrounded by the happy group, who pressed towards me to behold him whom they thought their benefactor. I felt ashamed at receiving so much thankfulness for doing so little; and had we remained much longer, I should not have been able to resist my desire of giving them all we had left. Their feast would not have been complete without the luxury of

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smoking; and I distributed to every one a portion of tobacco and hemp-leaves, that the measure of their day's happiness might be full. To this I added a promise of more, if they would meet me on my return from the Colony, where I expected to get a supply which would then enable me to give more liberally than at this time.

The women, though not more grateful than the men, expressed their feelings in a more animated manner, and seemed to view me, not as a stranger, but as one of their own kraal, as a member of their own family. The children too, seemed rather to believe it was some long-absent relation returned home again; and, encouraged by the universal joy which they beheld in their parents, they wished to approach me and touch my horse. I took one from the arms of a woman who was standing nearest to me, and placed it on my saddle; but the little thing, half-pleased and half-afraid, could only be kept in so strange a situation by the encouragements of its mother, who appeared delighted at my taking so much notice of her child. The longer I stopped amongst them, the more these people treated me like a friend whom they had known for a great length of time.

Amidst the crowd was a young woman of very engaging appearance, who attracted my notice by the solicitude she felt for her child. I perceived the cause of her care; and inquired by signs, what had occasioned so large a wound upon the infant's leg. To this she instantly replied, also by signs, in a manner so intelligible, that the dullest apprehension could not have failed to understand that the child, while playing by the fire in the absence of its mother, had burnt itself. Not trusting to signs as a mode of conveying medical advice, I employed one of my Hottentots to interpret to her the manner in which she should treat the wound. As none but the simplest remedies would suit a people like this, I was careful to recommend only such as were within their reach; and principally insisted on her washing off all the dirt and red ochre, which probably had been the chief cause of its remaining so long unhealed. She received my advice with the warmest gratitude; and when I assured her that, by attending to my instructions, her child would soon be

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enabled to walk again, I saw a tear of joy and thankfulness moistening her anxious eye.

While I was thus engaged, some of my men had been busily trafficking with the natives, and had been taking advantage of their simplicity, by purchasing their clothes from off their backs; and at so low a rate, that in this, my people showed themselves to have neither conscience nor feeling. So thoughtlessly fond of smoking, were these Bushmen, that one old man took off from his shoulders a beautiful leopard-skin, and bartered it to Hendrik for less than two ounces of tobacco; and Ruiter got from another poor creature's back, a fine skin of a lion's whelp for which the Bushman foolishly thought an ounce of Dakka-leaves to be an equivalent.

When I discovered these transactions, I felt highly irritated at the ungenerous advantage which had been taken of the folly of these savages, not because favourable bargains had been made, but because they were so very far below the current rate of bartering on this side of the Gariep, that they bordered closely upon fraudulence. I declared that such conduct displeased me, and that I would not countenance their unfairness; that I objected, not to their acquiring the skins at a cheap rate, but to their getting them for nothing. While I was relieving their poverty, they were stripping them naked and giving nothing substantial in return. I reprimanded Ruiter for his unconscionable dealings, and immediately gave the Bushman as much tobacco as I thought to be a fair payment.

Though all these remarks were made in the Dutch language, the kraal, who attended to every thing which I did, clearly comprehended the tenor of what was said, and well understood, though ignorant of our words, the reason of my giving him more tobacco. They watched this latter proceeding; and then, as if to testify applause, turned their countenances towards me, that I might behold their satisfaction.

As I rode away from their dwellings, which I have distinguished by the too-appropriate name of Poverty Kraal, a general salutation was given by the whole assembly; and in a tone so mild and expressive of so much gratitude, that a man must have no heart at

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all, who could witness a scene like this, unmoved. I confess that to my ear the sound was grateful in the highest degree; and while I turned my head to view them for the last time, the pleasure which beamed in their happy countenances, communicated itself to my own feelings, in a manner the most affecting and indelible.

We continued our journey across the mountain, and descended to an extensive plain covered with threethorn shrubs, and abounding in pitfalls for catching wild animals. Eastward, a pointed and very distant mountain was seen, which probably was only rendered visible by the effect of a temporary and extraordinary refraction in the atmosphere. After travelling about eight miles over the plain, we again fell in with the river, and as the evening was fast approaching, we halted for the night at a spot on its banks, where we were surrounded by the most beautiful fields of grass.

4th. A number of very small finches, (Loxia Astrild) frequented the bushes at this place, and I took advantage of the circumstance, to distinguish it by the name of Astrild Station. This little bird is not peculiar to Southern Africa; it is very common at St Helena, and is said to be equally so at Madeira and the Canary Islands, in the tropical countries of Africa, and in India. It is known to the Dutch colonists by the appellation of Roode-bekje (Red-beak).

From this station the bearing of the most western of the two table mountains forming part of the Hyena mountains, was S. 20 W., by the compass. Here were lying the bones of a rhinoceros, which, as our Bushmen informed me, had been shot by one of their countrymen, who by some means had come into possession of a gun, and had learnt the use of it; but who was himself afterwards shot by the Boors, for sheep-stealing.

At a few miles beyond Astrild Station, we passed through an opening formed by an insulated round hill on one side and by the end of a rocky ridge on the other, and entered upon a plain which had more the appearance of a verdant corn-field, than of a wild uncultivated country. The soil was clayey, and the luxuriant herbage sufficiently proved its fertility; while the river, well supplied with water

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and traversing the plain in a widely meandering course, seemed to offer all that agriculture could require, and to tempt a more laborious race of men than its present inhabitants, to bring it under cultivation.

The river many times crossed our path, and quitted us only when we ascended to an elevated stony level. Here we saw, with much pleasure, several herds of kannas (or elands) and quakkas grazing at a distance and appearing not much to heed the presence of our party. We halted; and Philip, mounting the horse, immediately pursued them; but he could not overtake any till he had ridden above two miles, when he was so fortunate as to bring down a large kanna, which he had singled out and continued to follow, till he had fairly hunted it down.

The chase having led him in a northerly direction, we turned back as soon as the Bushmen brought us information of his success; and, falling in with the river at about half-way to where the animal lay, we again unpacked on its banks, about an hour before sunset, at a spot marked on the map by the name of Hunter's Station.

Philip, Speelman, and Hendrick, with pack-oxen, proceeded on to the eland, and were accompanied by Riizo, and Kaabi, and all the Bushmen of our party. But a heavy shower coming on before they had skinned and cut up the carcase, they were obliged to remain there till the next morning.

5th. At eight o'clock they came home; and the whole of the Hottentots found full employment all the forenoon, in cutting the meat into slices and laying them on the bushes to dry: in which operation we were fortunately favoured by a very hot and drying day.

We gave Kaabi and his companions so large a portion of our game, that finding it more than they were able to carry, he had been obliged to send off one of his people on the evening before to his kraal to fetch a pack ox. His messenger returned with the ox this afternoon, and was accompanied by eight others, some of whom were boys.

These occupations detained us till a late hour of the day; yet we determined on packing up and proceeding farther, as the Bushmen were anxious to reach their kraal, and had assured us that we might arrive there before dark. To prove to them our confidence,

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we entrusted them with the office of driving forward our sheep and loaded oxen. And, indeed, our fellow-travellers, Riizo and Kaabi, evinced a truly honest and friendly inclination towards us; so that, without meaning to neglect that prudent circumspection so necessary to a European travelling in this country, I would as willingly have committed myself to them, as to my own countrymen. The former of these two, was naturally of a more reserved disposition, but was always ready to lend any of the Hottentots his assistance, whenever he thought he could be useful; and seemed as much at his ease with them, as with his own friends.

During this day's ride we passed many small rocky hills of a remarkable kind, presenting a character different from all which I had hitherto observed. They were generally quite bare, especially on the top, and were composed of huge rounded pieces of rock, most frequently about five feet in diameter, piled loosely upon each other, and apparently without any earth between them: as may be seen in the first plate. But their most striking character was the smooth shining blackness of their surface, not unlike that of iron polished with black-lead. * They were composed of 'primitive green-stone,' probably containing iron, from which they derive their lustre and color after long exposure to the atmosphere; but within, on being broken, they were found to possess their proper greenish or blueish hue. Rocks of this species occur very frequently in various parts of Southern Africa, but till now none had been seen with so glossy a surface. The rocks at Dwaal river †, and in that vicinity, were, excepting this particular, not very different from these, and both, when fitly poised, were capable of giving a sound like that of a large bell; and both, I believe, affect the magnetic needle. They must be considered as boulder stones, though found on the tops of the hills; but beyond this, conjecture can afford nothing

* At a sybsequent period of these travels, rocks of the same nature and apperance were observed in abundance along the ciurse of the Nugariep or Black River; I am inclined to euppose that it was this circumstance wich grave to the name which the stream bears among the native.

† Described iin the first volume, at page 277.

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satisfactory, and the How and When will probably remain for ever unanswered. All the smaller hills which we passed, were covered with, or perhaps consisted entirely of, these stones, or gigantic pebbles as they may be called: yet the larger hills, or mountains, consisted of regular stratified rock; as may be perceived in the plate referred to.

We passed over a tract thickly covered with a variety of bushes, the height of which was generally about two feet, and intermingled with mesembryanthema. Such land is called Karro ground by the Cape farmers, who esteem it more wholesome, and better suited to the African sheep, than grass-land.

The Hyena mountains terminate on the east, in a number of low rocky hills; many of which are of the nature just described. Kaabi, who here assumed the office of guide, conducted us through a wide opening, or what the boors would name a poort, where we again found our Friendly River, (as I would in twofold gratitude have named it,) passing the same way, as if desirous of travelling with us. Its channel was narrow and deep, and almost hidden in fields of luxuriant grass. Its winding course along the valley, or rather, plain, was only to be distinguished by the verdant reeds. The hill upon our left was composed of those black shining 'boulder-stones,' above mentioned; and that upon our right was rendered still more remarkable by an object which, at first sight, excited my greatest surprise, as I viewed it, for a few moments, as a work of art; and was lost in wondering what nation, able to erect such a monument, had inhabited these, now wild and deserted, regions. But though an Obelisk, it was not the work of man: it was planted there by the hand of Nature. It stood at the foot of the hill, and appeared to be composed of sand stone. The mountain, of which it formed a part, exhibited regular strata; and the obelisk itself, besides its pedestal, was formed of four blocks, piled, as it seemed, one upon another; but most probably left in that form and position, by the mouldering away of the adjoining rocks. Yet such an explanation would require that this monument should be of harder stone than that which had surrounded it: a fact which would be still more extraordinary. Or,

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could it be possible that the savages had assisted Nature, and had taken the trouble of pulling down the adjoining stones, on finding them already cracked and loosened by the hand of time? As the setting sun warned us not to lose a moment, I could not examine it, excepting at too great a distance; but while the rest continued their route, I stopped my horse, and made a sketch of it This scene is represented in Plate 1. and is marked on the map by the name of Pyramid Pass, (for the sake of euphony, instead of Obelisk Pass).

Soon after leaving this spot, we crossed a low neck between rocky hills, and came into a small plain covered with grass, and enclosed on every side by mountains. Through this pleasant dale our river continued near us; and, following it through an opening at the south-eastern corner of the plain, we there took up our station on its banks, at the foot of a hill on which stood the kraal of our friend Kaabi and of the Bushmen who had accompanied us from the Gariep.

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CHAPTER II.

TRANSACTIONS AT KAABI'S KRAAL.

IT being dark when we arrived at this station, I did not go to the kraal this evening, but Kaabi and our Bushman fellow-travellers passed the night at their own huts, where they entertained their friends with some account of us, and extolled the generosity of the white-man, so highly, that many of the inhabitants came down the hill, and sat round our fire till nearly ten o'clock. These strangers had been much prepossessed in our favor by what they had heard, and behaved with the greatest cordiality and good-will, but I was obliged to let them know that no tobacco was to be given away till the morning; when it was my intention to distribute some to every person in the kraal. With this promise, they were perfectly satisfied, and remained conversing with us, and occasionally obtaining the favor of a whiff out of the pipe of one or other of my Hottentots.

Having brought with us no boiling-pot, we requested them to

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lend us one from the kraal; and immediately they ran up to their hut sand fetched one of their own manufacture, made in a neat manner, of hardened clay, and capable of holding about a gallon and a half. (The figure of this may be seen at the end of the preceding chapter.) This was filled with eland meat; and our visitors, as might be expected, were careful not to be absent at supper time

This spot is distinguished among the natives by the name of Water-point, implying, as before stated, that it is the point of the Hyena Mountains, close to which the river flows.

6th. My bed, if such it may be called, was made under a bush at the distance of a few yards from the spot where my men had their fire. I was awoke soon after sunrise, by the voices of a party of eight or ten of the natives who passed close at my feet and took their seat at the fire, without attempting to disturb me; as they supposed me to be asleep. Others following them immediately, I arose; and as soon as I had dressed myself, I went towards them: on which we exchanged the usual salutations.

For the space of half an hour, men, women, and children, of all ages, continued descending from the hill, and assembling at our station; till at last we were completely surrounded by a numerous crowd. They were all unarmed; a state in which hitherto I had not seen any of this nation; having remarked that they constantly carried with them their hassagay and bows, and never, even when they put them out of their hand, layed them beyond their reach. I had, indeed, never till this moment, had an opportunity of beholding them in their own domestic circle, and at home at their ease.

I began now to appreciate my singular good fortune, that so many favorable circumstances had unexpectedly combined to give me an opportunity of studying and knowing the real character of this nation, such as seldom, if ever, has fallen to the lot of travellers in these regions; and, I believe, never to those whose observations have been laid before the public. As a European, I was alone in the midst of their hordes, and trusting my life in their hands: I associated with them, and by conforming to their ways and customs, yielded apparent respect to their prejudices. It was this confidence, which so completely gained

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their good-will; and which pleased them the more, as they had been unused to witness in the conduct of white-men, so unequivocal a mark of amicable intentions. They had never seen these dangerous strangers within the limits of their country, but in large and strong bodies, which, though they commanded their respect, always excited their fears and mistrust. They were satisfied that from me, they had nothing to fear; and it was the novelty of this circumstance which gave me, in their eyes, a character of peculiar interest; while the evident desire I showed, of obliging them as far as it was in my power, won their good opinion without any aid from the false oratory of mere verbal professions, and dispensed with the necessity of language to convince them of what was rendered much more intelligible by facts. It was by facts and conduct only, that I could hold communication with the tribe; for my ignorance of the language, as for the purpose of conversation without the intervention of an interpreter, rendered the power of pleasing words, unavailable in this case.

Kaabi their chief now made his appearance in a more distinguished manner, wearing a white hat which by some means he had obtained out of the Colony. Whether it was the vanity of giving himself a more important character in my sight, or the desire of paying a compliment by proving that he admired and valued the dress of white-men, which induced him to dress different from all the inhabitants of his village, I could not ascertain; but I am more disposed to regard the former, as his real motive.

For the purpose of giving an idea of the quantity of tobacco distributed on such occasions, and to show What these poor creatures considered as a handsome present, it is necessary here to explain the form into which the tobacco of the Cape colony is generally manufactured.

After the leaves of the plant are properly dried and divested of the stalk and midrib, they undergo the usual process of steeping, and are then twisted into long ropes of the customary thickness of about an inch, sometimes thicker, but oftener thinner. These ropes are coiled up in the form of rolls of various sizes, weighing from five to eight or ten pounds. Among the boors, these are sold by the pound: but

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to the Hottentots, they are more commonly meted out by the span of about eight inches, the weight of which is usually between an ounce and a half and two ounces; and bargains among the latter are most frequently made for a certain number of spans of tobacco. Yet it is not therefore to be supposed that many Hottentots are ignorant of the use of weights and money: it is the inconvenience and scarcity of these, which causes them to prefer, on ordinary occasions, the readier mode of measurement. I am particular in a description which would otherwise be trifling, because, as tobacco is one of the principle articles of barter with the nations of the Interior, it will be referred to as a "money-table" for the remainder of the journey; and may furnish some hints, or useful information, to those who may hereafter be desirous of visiting the same countries.

The crowd, having gratified their curiosity by surveying me attentively for some time, gradually became more talkative and familiar; and understanding that they were all to receive a present, the joy of these poor simple people was manifested in a manner as artless as that of children. Their liveliness increased as they observed me about to commence the promised distribution: but the women were much more noisy and uncontrollable than the men, and it was some time before their chieftain was able to still their joyous vociferation.

To Kaabi I gave three inches of tobacco; to each man about one inch; and to the women a little less. With this trifling quantity they were all completely happy; because they were contented. The delight depicted in their countenances, was not less remarkable here than at Poverty Kraal, but it exhibited not that melancholy species of thankfulness, which was there so irresistibly affecting.

This ceremony occupied more than half an hour, on account of the difficulty of restraining their vivacity and persuading them to remain steadily in one place: for had they been permitted to change their station, I should have found it impossible to have gone through this business with regularity. Having previously estimated, and put into my pocket, the number of pieces which would be required, I took them out one by one, in order that no jealousy might be excited,

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by their observing one piece to be larger or smaller than another. I confess that I used this artifice, with the view of leading the kraal to think that I had given them all I had: for knowing that they would continue to ask for tobacco as long as they thought there was any remaining, I showed them my empty pockets; in consequence of which I was not troubled by any further solicitation. Otherwise, I should have been importuned during the whole day.

Yet, so eager were they to obtain tobacco, and so essential did they think it to their comfort and enjoyment, that for the sake of it they would, without hesitation, have parted with any thing they possessed. My men, though they thought it equally essential to their own comfort, could not, however, resist the temptation of some very good bargains which the Bushmen offered to them; and in this manner they procured by barter, several handsome skins. My whole party were now in good spirits, and full of courage: and our reception by these natives, who had been represented to us as formidable savages, proved so truly friendly and so different from that which, I confess, I had myself expected, that every one was now lamenting that he had not provided himself, on his own private account, with a larger stock of tobacco, with which he might here have set up for a fur-merchant. But it was far better that they were not so provided; for these foolish improvident people would certainly, as soon as we had entered the colony, have bartered all their furs for brandy; and their fine commercial speculations would have ended, as they always do end with Hottentots, just where they began.

The whole village seemed to keep 'holiday' on this occasion, and the crowd remained with us for a long time after they had received the presents; while those of my party who could speak their language, found full employment in answering the various questions which were put respecting myself. In this duty, Ruiter proved himself a valuable addition to our number, as he was not only able to interpret, but at this time, was willing also. As soon as they found that I was not one of the boors, but even of a different nation and language, and that I had no other desire or intention than that of being always on friendly terms with them, they again declared, as it

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were by common consent, that I was free to travel in their country, wherever I chose, and that I might feel assured that nobody would ever harm me.

When they had satisfied their minds, respecting my object in passing through their territory, and had ascertained that I bore an unfeigned good-will towards them, but more especially, that 1 was not one of the Dutch colonists, whom, by the bye, they knew their countrymen had irritated by repeated robberies; when they were satisfied on these important points, and that there was no cause for mistrust, it was as surprising, as it was pleasing, to me, to observe how soon their countenances were freed from a certain anxious look which, notwithstanding their friendly conduct, was very visible as long as they were under any uncertainty whether I was really what I professed to be, alone and unconnected with the colonists, or whether there might not be a larger party following me.

Nothing was now heard but laughter and the liveliest talkativeness, on all sides. The women soon began to lay aside their timidity, and took their turn in the debate; and in rapidity of utterance and animation of gestures, far excelled even the men. They left no time for my interpreter to perform his duty, and were so full of gaiety that they could not restrain themselves from breaking in upon each other's conversation; I was often addressed by three or four at a time, and almost think that they were pleased at seeing me at a loss to know who was to be answered first. Ruiter used his best endeavours in all this hurly-burly of liveliness and clack; but a great deal of their information went for nothing; nor did they on that account allow the want of answers to disappoint them, or in the least degree to check their questioning.

One woman, among the rest, was however, resolved upon being heard; and seemed to think that the importance of her communication entitled her to my first attention. She said that she had, only the day before, arrived from some part of the colony; and on this she exhibited a small dirty rag of a checkered shirt, which I found on explanation, was intended as her credentials to authenticate her declaration that she had really come from the country of the white

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people, where alone such an important proof could have been procured. She complained that the boors on the borders, were very harsh and unkind in not giving them tabak, when they had travelled so far on purpose to beg a little; and if they at last were so fortunate as to obtain any, it was but a crumb; shewing me at the same time the tip of her little-finger, to impress an idea of the smallness of the quantity. But oftener was it their lot, she said, to be driven from the house with a whip. Here she imitated the act of whipping, in a manner so natural, and mimicked so well the tone of pain and crying, that the bystanders were highly amused by her imitative talents. She smiled however; and went on to inform me, that the Caffres* and the colonists were at war against each other, and in one of their rencontres a boor was pierced through the thigh with hassagays.

At length their attention was directed to the eland-meat, which my men were then placing on the bushes to dry. Our exposing before them so great a temptation, was a sufficient excuse for their 'coveting and desiring'; and I distributed among them a portion sufficient to fill their largest pot

The natives now made another request, and appeared very solicitous that we should stop a day or two with them, and hunt the rhinoceros; four of which animals had been seen at a short distance from their kraal. To this, my own people, who were now quite at ease as to the sincerity and friendly disposition of the Bushmen, were much inclined; and all parties therefore were gratified when I consented to remain here a day for that purpose. The natives had in this, an additional proof of my goodwill towards them; though it was, I confess, a favor which repaid itself, as our own stock of provisions would be replenished by the same means by which the Bushmen would be supplied. It was therefore agreed that the hunters should set out early on the morrow, and that a party from the kraal

* The Caffres to which she alluded, were that same wandering kraal, often mentioned in the first volume, as having emigrated to the banks of the Gariep; this part of the Colony lying in the direct route between their present station and their own country.

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should attend them as guides, to conduct them to the haunts of these animals.

The great heat of the sun gradually thinning the number of the crowd, and compelling them to take shelter in their huts, I was left to enjoy some rest after the boisterous ceremonies and fatigues of the morning; while some of my Hottentots stretched themselves in the shade to sleep, and others who were able to converse with the natives, betook themselves to the huts.

The fear, on so rough a journey, of breaking the only thermometer which I had remaining, induced me to leave it at Klaarwater till my return: consequently, all observations of this nature were suspended during the present expedition. In the meantime, the thermometrical value of such expressions as 'very hot,' &c. may be collected, by comparison, from the preceding and subsequent parts of the 'Itinerary.'

My curiosity to view this Bushman village, would not suffer me to rest long; and at noon, protected by my umbrella, from the scorching heat of the sun, I ascended alone to the kraal; a distance not greater than four hundred yards. It consisted of twenty huts*, placed irregularly in a circular line, and contained about a hundred and twenty inhabitants, two-thirds of whom appeared to be females. This, therefore, among the Bushmen of this portion of the Cisgariepine, is rated as one of their largest kraals.

I was received every where with smiling faces, as I quickly passed their huts, searching and inquiring for Ruiter. I now discovered that he had another name, and that among Bushmen, to which nation his mother belonged, he bore that of Arrée, signifying, as I was told, one who has lost a tooth; for in fact, his right eye-tooth was deficient. At length I found him and Nieuwveld, lying asleep in one of the houses.

Seeing a small party of men sitting by the side of a hut, I went and seated myself down amongst them, and passed half an hour in

* Similar to that which is represented by the vignette at the end of Capter III.; and to those which may be seen in the fourth plate.

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talking and in questioning them on various subjects; but, although exceedingly amused by the novelty and strangeness of the scene, I cannot say that this mode of employing my time was very instructive, or that I gained many new ideas from their conversation. Still, it was extremely interesting, because it gave an opportunity of observing man in an uncivilized state, and enabled me to distinguish some of those characters which may be regarded as common to all the human race. And, if among Bushmen, are to be met with, many of those failings, of which we find examples too frequently among ourselves; there are, to counterbalance these, several good qualities, which usually, we are not disposed to allow that savages can naturally possess. It is a negative, or rather an equivocal, species of praise, to say of them, that ambition never disturbs the peace of the Bushman race. And I believe that in this people no existence can be traced of the sordid passion of avarice or the insatiable desire of accumulating property, for the mere gratification of possessing it Between each other they exercise the virtues of hospitality and generosity; often in an extraordinary degree. It must, however, be admitted that in general, they are more inclined to supply their wants by robbing the colonists and neighbouring tribes, than by honest industry and patient labor: while too often, yet not always, that essential virtue, veracity, is disregarded, and the neglect of it considered a mere venial offence. The mental powers of Bushmen are never to be extolled; for whatever concessions may be made in favor of their heart, nothing can be said in praise of their mind, at least in their present rude state. The feelings of the heart and all its various passions, whether good or bad, are the common property of all mankind, the educated and the uneducated, the civilized and the uncivilized; but in the higher faculties of the mind, and in the cultivated powers of reason, the savage claims but little share. It is in the improvement of these faculties and powers, that civilized nations may place their high superiority, and their just boast of pre-eminence.

These people expressed no curiosity to be informed respecting any article of European manufacture; nor, when told that I was one

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of a nation differing in language from the white-men of the Colony, did they ask me a single question respecting my country, or seem at all desirous of gaining any new idea, or any additional knowledge. Their character possessed nothing of dullness or stupidity; but, on the contrary, they were lively enough; and on those topics which their peculiar mode of life brings within their observation and comprehension, they often showed themselves to be shrewd and quick. They talked with much pleasure and animation on the subject of the proposed rhinoceros-hunt; and, very naturally, admired the great utility of my umbrella in protecting me from the burning sun, for at that time they felt, on their own uncovered heads and naked bodies, all the inconvenience of its scorching rays.

I quitted this party in order to take a further survey of the kraal and its domestic œconomy: while they still remained sitting in their place, without attempting to follow me. Its situation was on every quarter exposed and without a tree to interrupt the view. Bushmen, in pitching their kraal, always chuse a spot, so bare and open that no enemy can approach them without being seen. The top of a hill which stands separately on a plain, is therefore an approved site; because, with eyes little inferior in optical power to small telescopes, they can, while they themselves remain unobserved, watch every movement around to a great distance.

I noticed that the opening, or entrance, of each hut was always directed towards the inside of the circle*, so that the area surrounded by their dwellings, and where they keep their cattle at night, was within sight of all the inhabitants; and no attempt by their enemies to carry off their cattle in the night, could be made without being immediately perceived. With a view, as I imagine, of having their arms always in readiness, their hassagays were stuck upright into the ground close by the side of the hut, being, in fact, too long to be placed conveniently within it: while their quivers, arrows and bows, as being their principal weapon, lay by their side, ready at hand for the first moment of alarm.

* The fourth plate of this volume is referred to, for the representation of a kraal similar to that which is here described.

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These huts were constructed exactly in the manner already described*; and differed only in the greater size of their door-way or opening. Not one of these was high enough to admit even a Bushman to stand upright within it; nor was that of their captain, or chief, in any respect different from the others. The inside formed but one apartment, where all the family slept; their bed being nothing more than a skin spread upon the ground, and on which they lay themselves down, generally coiled up in their karosses like a bundle of clothes; so that neither head nor legs can be distinguished. But it is not every man who has the good-fortune to own a cloak long enough for this purpose. The area comprised within the kraal, or ring of houses, is more or less extensive in proportion to the number of cattle belonging to the community, or to the number of dwellings.

I saw no more than five or six oxen, and as many sheep; but of goats they possessed at least a hundred. Before one of the huts I saw eight kids, but did not observe that they were tied by one foot to a peg fixed in the ground, till the sight of my umbrella alarmed them, and caused the animals to break loose. Their owners, who were within the hut, looked up at me with a goodnatured smile, as they rose to drive the kids back, and make them fast again.

The dogs most common among the Bushmen, are a small species entirely white, with erect pointed ears: and as this sort was not noticed in the Colony, it is probably a breed which may have been long in the possession of the native tribes. (See the fourth plate).

On the head of one man I remarked an unusually large fur cap. It was made of spring-buck skin, of a shape extending far behind the head, and intended to have as much as possible the appearance of that animal's back. This was for the purpose of deceiving the game, and of enabling the wearer, as he creeps along between the bushes, to approach the animal within reach of his arrow. It is called a be-creeping cap (Bekruip-muts); and is only worn when in pursuit of game.

* In the first volume, at page 325; and represented in the seventh plate.

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Many carried constantly in their hand a jackal's tail, which they frequently drew across their eyes, for the purpose, as I was told, of improving their sight, agreeably to their belief that it possesses a virtue of that kind: but I think the benefit which it does them, by wiping away the dust, is a sufficient reason for the practice.

The reticule is with the Bushmen, as with us, a fashionable and useful appendage in their morning walks, and differs from ours only by its want of cleanliness and elegance, and in being called a bulb-bag (uyentje-zak). No Bushman goes abroad to collect roots, without a bag of this kind. But it is, in most instances, worn constantly, and is with them what pockets are with us. It is generally suspended at their side by a leathern strap passing over the opposite shoulder, and is more commonly ornamented with a great number of strings similar, though shorter, to those which form the fore-kaross, or front apron of the women.*

I noticed many persons, both men and women, who had every appearance of great age. Their skin, which resembled old leather, hung about them in loose wrinkles; and the dirt with which they were covered, together with their clotted hair, proved how disgusting human beings may render themselves by neglect of personal cleanliness. Whether they were really so old as I thought them to be, was a question which they themselves could not have determined, since a nation who only live from day to day, and look no farther forward than from one meal to the next, can have no inducement for burthening their memory with accounts of years that have passed, or of days that are behind them. I have had occasion before † to remark how early in life they begin to assume the looks of age; and this consideration renders it still more difficult to guess how old a Bushman may be. Yet it should not therefore be concluded that their lives are, on the average, shorter than the natural term, or that many examples of longevity may not exist among them.

* A more particular description of the Hottentot dress, between which and that of the Bushmen there is scarcely any difference, has been given at page 395 to 398. of the first volume; and may now be referred to.

† At page 415. of the first volume.

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I next introduced myself to a female party, and without further ceremony sat down in the midst of the group. It was a mixture of young and old, of mothers and daughters. They were engaged in no occupation, excepting that of talk; and in this, my presence was very far from being an interruption; it doubled their loquacious industry. But I have great pleasure in making the remark, that the natural bashful reserve of youth and innocence is to be seen as much among these savages, as in more polished nations: and the young girls, though wanting but little of being perfectly naked, evinced as just a sense of modesty, as the most rigid and careful education could have given them.

Their mothers allowed themselves more privileges, and felt no hesitation in answering my questions relative to their marriage customs. Such characters as men and women passing their lives in a state of celibacy, do not exist among the wild nations of Southern Africa; and in this particular, savages hold a superiority over the most polished nations of Europe. The women informed me that girls are most commonly betrothed when not older than a child whom they pointed out to me, and whose age appeared to be about seven years; that is, the husband early bespeaks her, in order to preclude every other man, in the meanwhile, from all pretensions, and from all hope of gaining her: and, as these men generally take a second wife, as soon as the first becomes somewhat advanced in years, this custom of securing another beforehand, is perhaps necessary, in order to avoid those contentions which might otherwise arise in cases of this nature, and where the girl herself is seldom allowed a voice in choosing her husband. In two or three years, or less, according to circumstances, after being thus betrothed, the girl changes her abode, from her mother's hut to that of the bridegroom. These bargains are made with her parents only, and without ever consulting the wishes (even if she had any) of the daughter. They are made by offering them a leathern bag, or some similar article, which, if accepted, ratifies and confirms the match. I saw at this kraal several mothers, who could not have been more than ten or twelve years old.

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When it happens, which is not often the case, that a girl has grown up to womanhood without having previously been betrothed, her lover must gain her own approbation, as well as that of the parents; and on this occasion his attentions are received with an affectation of great alarm and disinclination on her part, and with some squabbling on the part of her friends.

Several of these girls might be said to be pretty, more on account of their youth and the pleasing expression of their countenances, than of any beauty of features: but it is doubtful whether, throughout the whole nation, one could be found whom a European could deem handsome. When, in the morning, they came to the general distribution of tobacco, they had not yet performed the duties of their toilet; but I now had the pleasure of beholding them as fine and as captivating as buku and red-ochre could make them. The former, as a green powder, was sprinkled over their head and neck, and the latter, mixed with grease, was applied in daubs or streaks over or along the nose, and across the cheek-bones: and what was thought by these simple Africans to be the most graceful and fascinating style of adorning themselves, was precisely the same as that which the clowns and buffoons at our fairs, have adopted in order to render their appearance absurd and ridiculous.

Many of the women were distinguished by having the hair of the forehead, by the constant accumulation of grease and red-ochre, clotted into large red lumps, like stone: this was not through neglect of cleaning it away, but from a fancy that it was highly becoming, and that it added greatly to their charms. Some had the crown of their heads shaved, or, rather, scraped bald, (as represented by the vignette at page 1.) and a row of buttons fastened round the remaining hair which had been left in its natural state. All of them wore bracelets, either of leather, or of twisted sinew, or copper; and most of them were decorated with some kind of ornament hanging from the ear. Their stature was extremely small, and their figure in general delicate; their height being universally less than five feet

I noticed a singularity of figure, which I had not hitherto observed among Hottentots; nor was it since found to be, in any tribe,

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so remarkable as in Bushwomen. The thigh bones of those who were above the middle age, appeared bowed outwards in an unusual degree, or rather, the outer part of them was exceedingly protuberant. As to the cause of this deformity, I can only venture a supposition, that it may be an enlargement of that process of the bone, called trochanter major. But in this I do not pretend to any positive opinion; and leave it to be determined by those who may hereafter have an opportunity of examining the skeleton of a Bushwoman of this conformation.

One of the mothers told me, with evident distress, that she was soon to be parted from her only daughter, of whom she was affectionately fond, and who was now considered old enough to live in her husband's hut. The girl herself was sitting by, and, on hearing this mentioned, she turned her face downwards, with an unaffected bashfulness, and with a natural and interesting expression of genuine innocence, which would well have become the most civilized of her sex.

With regard to polygamy, I was told that a second wife is never taken, until the first, as before stated, has become old, not in years, but in constitution: and sometimes, though rarely, a third supplies, in like manner, the place of the second. This was generally the greatest extent of their polygamy; nor, were the old wives, on that account, neglected or left unprovided for by their husbands; but constantly remained with him on the same terms as before. I could not learn that any nice feelings of jealousy between these wives, ever disturbed the harmony of the family.

Some men passing by, seemed much amused at my questions, and joined us: on which, I inquired of the women if their husbands ever beat them; well knowing that this subject was one of great importance in their domestic arrangements. The men laughed, and quickly replied, "No No." The women as loudly cried, "Yes Yes, they beat us on the head—so." And sufficiently proved the truth of their assertion, by the ready and natural manner in which they imitated this act of conjugal discipline.

I then quitted this party, who appeared happy and pleased at my stopping with them so long, and continued my visit to the

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different houses. In one, a little family group were drinking their goats-milk from a leathern bowl, and in a manner perfectly novel. Of all the instruments for conveying liquid to the mouth, a brush must appear the least adapted to such a purpose: but with no other means than this, they emptied their bowl; and perhaps have discovered that the greater length of time which this mode requires, prolongs also the pleasure of their meal. The brush was made of strong hair, and of a thickness sufficient to fill the mouth. The manner of using it, was by dipping it into the bowl, and sucking the milk out of it.

A short distance farther, I met an old woman, who, having heard that I was desirous of knowing every thing relative to their customs, very good-naturedly stopped me to show her hands, and bade me observe that the little finger of the right hand had lost two joints, and that of the left, one. She explained to me, that they had been cut off at different times, to express grief or mounting for the death of three daughters. After this, I looked more attentively at those whom I met, and saw many other women, and some of the men, with their hands mutilated in the same manner; but it was only their little fingers which were thus shortened; and probably the loss of those joints was found to occasion no inconvenience.

Coming up to another party of men who were repairing, and putting in order, their bows and arrows, I requested one of them, an old man who seemed to be their head, to shoot at a mark, that I might have an opportunity of witnessing their expertness in hitting an object. He readily granted my request, by appointing another, who, he said, was a much better marksmen than himself, to exhibit his skill. The skin of an antelope, measuring in surface about seven square feet, was fixed to a pole, at the distance of forty yards. The Bushman then advanced towards it, stooping down, or creeping slowly along the ground, as if in pursuit of game and endeavouring to approach it without being seen. He let fly his arrow when within twenty yards, and, to my surprise, missed the skin even at this short distance; but, on a second trial, he was more successful.

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The great skill of the Bushmen in using the bow, had been so often extolled to me, that I now could not avoid the conclusion, either, that those accounts had been exaggerated for the purpose of relating something wonderful; or, that these men had cunningly dissembled their power with a view of misleading me, should circumstances ever place me under the necessity of guarding against it. I incline to the latter opinion, although the former is not altogether unfounded.

The heads of all their arrows were covered with a deadly poison; but they explained, that some were more especially intended to be used against their enemies, and that others were made only for killing game.

Many of the men were observed to have lost an eye, but the cause which they assigned for this, has not been recorded in my journal, and I will therefore not incur the risk of misleading by any surmise of my own. The fact is remarkable.

I continued for some time longer strolling about the village from hut to hut, and from group to group, and was everywhere received with a friendly and happy countenance. It was to them, as I have already observed, gratifying to behold a white-man in the midst of their dwellings, unarmed and unprotected, trusting with unbounded confidence to their good faith, showing respect to their prejudices and customs, and, pleased with his new friends, entering, as one of their own tribe, familiarly into their society.

This was the situation in which I had so long been desirous of placing myself; and an opportunity of viewing these tribes as they really are, had been one of the principal objects of my wishes. Till now, imagination only had amused my mind; but here the interesting reality itself was before my eyes.

After passing four hours in the kraal, and having collected a head-full of information, I returned home to deposit the observations in my journal. There I continued the rest of the day, employed in this manner; except when visitors came down from the hill to fetch water: on which occasions, many of them good-naturedly took their seat by my side; and, in the absence of an interpreter, we

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found no small degree of amusement in holding a conversation by signs. As, in these dialogues, we must frequently have-mistaken each other's meaning, information thus obtained was very rarely committed to paper: but they had their use, and a very important one,—they often supplied a source of mirth and good humour, and always contributed to our mutual confidence.

In the evening, about eight o'clock, I again went up to the kraal, having heard from the Hottentots, that these hordes are so fond of dancing, that scarcely a night passes without some party of that kind at one or other of the huts. Nor was I disappointed, for in. the circle of houses, most of which were enlivened by a fire, and all quite filled with people, I soon discovered one of a more busy appearance than the rest. It was nearly the largest, and contained as many persons, both men and women, as could find room to seat themselves in a ring, leaving but space enough in the centre for the dancer to stand in. A fire, just without the entrance, threw its cheerful light upon this singular assembly, and was, from time to time, supplied with fuel for the purpose of keeping up a blaze.

My arrival, though unexpected, did not interrupt their amusement, or occasion the shortest pause in the dancer's performance. He was then wrought up to that high degree of animation and internal satisfaction, at which he heeded nothing around, and thought only of himself. The spectators, when I approached, turned their faces towards me with looks which plainly spoke how pleased they were to see me come amongst them; and I, therefore, in imitation of their own familiar manner, seated myself down in the circle.

As the size of these huts, does not admit of a person's standing upright, even in the largest, the dancer was obliged to support himself by two long sticks, which he held in his hands, and which rested on the ground at as great a distance from each other, as could be done with convenience. His body was consequently bent forwards in a position which seemed as constrained, and as unsuited for dancing, as imagination could devise: but it was not possible for the motion of the limbs, to be less impeded by clothing, as he wore

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nothing more than his 'jackal.'* In this attitude he continued his dancing without cessation.

Sometimes, however, this is performed without the support of sticks; and although the same person kept on dancing during the whole time I was present in the hut, yet each one of the company is allowed to take his turn, till, having danced as long as he chooses, he retires to the circle, and another rises, who, after tying on the rattles, takes his place; for, one pair of these rattles serves the whole party. The man who, being, perhaps, proud of the interest which I appeared to take in his performance, had continued so long to exhibit before me his indefatigable powers, gave up his place soon after I quitted the hut; and was succeeded by others, who prolonged the pleasing harmless amusement without interval.

This dancing is indeed of a singular kind; and I know not if among all the tribes of savages on the globe, any thing similar is to be found; it certainly is not to be met with in any civilized nation. One foot remains motionless, while the other dances in a quick wild irregular manner, changing its place but little, though the knee and leg is turned from side to side as much as the attitude will allow. The arms have little motion, their duty being to support the body. The dancer continues singing all the while, and keeps time with every movement; sometimes twisting the body in sudden starts, till at last, as if fatigued by the violence of his exertions, he drops upon the ground to recover breath; still maintaining the spirit of the dance, and continuing to sing, and keep time by the motion of his body, to the voices and accompaniments of the spectators. In a few seconds he starts up again, and proceeds with renewed vigor. When one foot is tired out, or has done its share of the dance, the other comes forward and performs the same part; and thus, changing legs from time to time, it seemed as though he meant to convince his friends that he could dance for ever.

* That part of a Hottentot's dress, which is called the jackal, has been described at p. 397. of Vol. I.

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Round each ankle he wore a sort of rattle, made (in this instance) of four ears of the springbuck, sewed up and containing a quantity of small pieces of ostrich-egg shell, which at every motion of the foot produced a sound that was not unpleasant or harsh, but greatly aided the general effect of the performances. The figure of these dancing-rattles may be seen at page 45, and supersedes the necessity of a more minute description.*

Although only one person could dance at a time, the surrounding company were not therefore the less employed or amused: all joined in the accompaniments, and were equally essential with the dancer himself, to the evening's entertainment, and contributed not less to the pleasure it afforded. These accompaniments consisted in singing and beating the drum. Every one of the party sang, and all kept time by gently clapping hands. The words made use of, and which had no meaning in themselves, were simply Aye O Aye O, repeated during the whole time; and at the sound O, the hands were brought together: the dancer only, using the syllables Wawakoo. Both men and women assisted in this singing, and though not in unison, were still correctly in harmony with each other: but the voices of the girls, pitched a fifth or sixth higher, were maintained with more animation.

The drum was nothing more than a bambus or wooden jug † having a piece of wet parchment strained over the top, and containing a little water. This instrument was occasionally inverted for the purpose of wetting the parchment, as often as it became dry. It was beaten with the right forefinger, by one of the women; while she regulated the pitch or quality of the sound, by placing the forefinger and thumb of her left hand, upon the parchment. It seemed to be accurately in tune with the voices of the assembly; a concordance, which could hardly be accidental.

The following notes, which I wrote down on the same night,

* The figure on the right shows the manner in which they are tied to the leg; and that in the lower corner on the left, will give an idea of their construction. Above this latter figure, one of the rattles of which it is composed, is represented in profile.

† Similar to that which is represented at page 406 of the first volume; excepting only that it was much larger and had a wider mouth.

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are here given precisely as they were sung in the hut, and repeated during the whole time, with scarcely the least variation. The measure of time was exactly half a second to each crotchet, or two seconds to a bar. The upper notes were sung by the company; those of the middle line, by the dancer; while those in the bass clef express the beating of the water-drum.

I find it impossible to give by means of mere description, a correct idea, either of the pleasing impressions received while viewing this scene, or of the kind of effect which the evening's amusement produced upon my mind and feelings. It must be seen; it must be participated in: without which, it would not be easy to imagine its force, or justly to conceive its nature. There was, in this amusement, nothing which can make me ashamed to confess that I derived as much enjoyment from it, as the natives themselves: there was nothing in it which approached to vulgarity; and in this point of view, it would be an injustice to these poor creatures not to place them in a more respectable rank, than that to which the notions of Europeans have generally admitted them. It was not rude laughter and boisterous mirth, nor drunken jokes, nor noisy talk, which passed their hours away; but the peaceful, calm emotions of harmless pleasure. Had I never seen and known more of these savages than the occurrences of this day, and the pastimes of this evening, I should not have hesitated to declare them the happiest of mortals. Free from care, and pleased with a little, their life seemed flowing on, like a smooth stream gliding through flowery meads. Thoughtless and unreflecting, they laughed and smiled the hours away, heedless of futurity, and forgetful of the past Their music softened all their passions; and thus they lulled

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themselves into that mild and tranquil state, in which no evil thoughts approach the mind. The soft and delicate voices of the girls, instinctively accordant to those of the women and the men; the gentle clapping of the hands; the rattles of the dancer; and the mellow sound of the water-drum; all harmoniously attuned, and keeping time together; the peaceful happy countenances of the party; and the cheerful light of the fire, — were circumstances so combined, and fitted to produce the most soothing effects on the senses, that I sat as if the hut had been my home, and felt in the midst of this horde as though I had been one of them; for some few moments, ceasing to think of sciences or of Europe, and forgetting that I was a lonely stranger in a land of wild untutored men.

Thus the evening passed; and thus the pleasing recreation beguiled the hours of night, and stole their sleep away; till morning light announced that other duties claimed their time. But the past fatigues of the day, sensibly reminded me of rest, and forced me reluctantly to quit the party at midnight; leaving them still intent on dancing.

7th. When I rose the next morning, I found that my Hottentots had changed their mind with respect to hunting the rhinoceros, and wished to defer it till the following day. A fit of laziness had suddenly come upon them; for which, as they had rested the entire day before, there was no excuse, unless the expectation of a hotter day than usual might have been urged. But as we had publicly promised to the whole kraal, that we would hunt on this day, and as the Bushmen were already preparing to show them the way, I insisted on making good our word, lest we should be considered as unwilling to oblige them, and, thus forfeit some portion of their present favorable opinion of us. They therefore prepared immediately; and at seven o'clock they started, having with them about a dozen natives to assist in looking out for the animals. In this instance, one feature in the Hottentot character was strongly exhibited; the uncertainty and fickleness of their plans: for, on being roused from their laziness, they seemed now to be as eager and ready for the chase, as before, they had been disinclined and dilatory. Instead of the hunters only, or such as were good marksmen, all now of my own people

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who were able to sustain the fatigue, were desirous of going. To this I consented; and retained by the baggage, only old Cobus, who complained of being unwell, and Hans Lucas, whose services, in the meantime, as interpreter, could not be dispensed with. It was previously agreed on that the horse, which I allowed them to make use of on this occasion, should be sent back for me, in the case of their being successful.

Soon after their departure, I received, as a present from Kaabi, a whole goat skinned and cleaned ready for cooking. So unexpected a thing as a present from the indigent Bushmen, was an incident which afforded me, situated as we were, peculiar pleasure, and was rendered affecting by the truly benevolent air with which he gave it, and the undisguised simplicity with which he acknowledged that 'I had been very good to him during our journey from the Gariep, and therefore he had wished to do some good to me.' There can be no man possessing any sensibility, who would not have been moved at witnessing his artless manner, and the kind expression of his countenance; both so indicative of gratitude and sincerity.

I was prevented from accompanying the hunters, by the necessity of recording in my journal the observations of the past day, before the impressions which they had made became weakened, or mingled with those of succeeding objects and occurrences.

I was, however, not suffered to remain long alone; for, in the course of the morning, many visitors, chiefly old people, came to me at the bush under which I had slept and taken up my station. Sometimes in parties they seated themselves around me, while I amused, and possibly instructed, them by exhibiting various articles of my baggage, and explaining their uses, the nature of their manufacture and their construction. Yet, whatever was totally different in principle and use, from any thing to which they had been accustomed among themselves; such things, very contrary to what we should expect from the influence of curiosity, excited little surprise or attention: but my blankets, which approached, in the nature and use of them, to their own sheep-skin karosses, were greatly admired; and many of my visitors rose from their places to examine them. The leather of my pistol-belt was highly approved of, because it was

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within the reach of their capacity to comprehend its nature, and to perceive that it was prepared in a manner much superior to their own leather; but its make and form, as adapted to the use of carrying pistols, was neither understood nor in any manner attended to.

While these explanations were being made to them, my attention was attracted by a little affair which had upon my stomach, an effect similar to that which Speelman felt at seeing the Bushman eat lizards' eggs. One of the women, who had a child at her back, seemed to be eagerly in search of something which she saw between the folds of her kaross and the twists of her bracelets, and leathern necklace. I noticed that her hand was frequently lifted to her mouth, or held out to her babe. My curiosity induced me to look more narrowly into these operations, and I discovered, not without some strong sensations, that the objects of her active and earnest pursuit, were certain little crawling things which, though in England viewed with disgust, were here sought for with complacence, and presented by an affectionate mother, to her tender infant, who held out its little innocent hand to receive them as bonbons.

The fidelity of my narration has required me to relate the pleasing, as well as the unpleasing, parts of this people's character; but justice to them obliges me, at the same time, to say, that I do not believe this filthy practice to be general among them, however such examples as this, of depraved taste, may often be met with: yet I never witnessed a similar circumstance, on any other occasion, during the whole of my travels.

Fortunately, the arrival of Ruiter with the horse and intelligence that Speelman had shot a rhinoceros, put a stop to this barbarous employment, and turned my thoughts another way. The news instantly spread to every hut in the kraal; the joy was universal: the men, never travelling without them, quickly snatched up their arms, and hastened away to the westward, to the spot where the animal was reported to lie. Those who remained at home, came dancing and singing down the hill, as if suddenly seized with a fit of goodhumoured insanity, unable to suppress their thankfulness to me for having allowed my men to hunt for them. Our five pack-oxen were quickly fetched in from pasture and saddled; and the Bushmen immediately

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got ready their own five, the whole number which they at this time possessed.

It was late in the afternoon when we set out; the sun being not more than two hours high. Our road leading us through the kraal, we were stopped by the crowd who gathered round us, and who seemed half-crazy with joy; and the overflow of spirits. The scene was truly laughable; it was happiness burlesqued. Old women skipping and dancing about with clots of red ochre hanging from their hair, and a protuberant bundle of petticoats behind; laughing, and clapping their hands; all talking to me at the same time, without any possibility of my understanding a word of what they said; they themselves seeming not to care for an answer, could they but have the pleasure of telling me their own joy; these, and some girls with their faces daubed with streaks of red ochre, and a few old men, continued thronging round me, till my horse stood still, unable to get through the crowd. But when Ruiter announced that the rhinoceros was at a great distance, and remarked to them, that it was already late in the day, they immediately made way for us, and we trotted off at full speed.

On our road we met Philip, who very prudently had decided on returning home for the purpose of reïnforcing those who were left in care of the baggage: although I cannot allow myself to think that the people of the kraal would have taken the most trifling article belonging to us; even if every thing had been left under the bush, without a single person to guard it. And I feel persuaded that no one of Kaabi's Kraal would have been base enough to rob me; whatever might be the inclination of the inhabitants of other kraals with whom we had formed no acquaintance, and whose good-will we had not yet secured by similar acts of friendship.

We proceeded nearly the whole way at a brisk step, sometimes trotting and at other times galloping; while the three Bushmen who drove the pack-oxen on before us, hurried them over the rocky ground at so extraordinary a rate, that even on horseback, I found it not easy to keep up with them; and often, when the surface was so thickly covered with stones and large fragments of rock that my horse could scarcely find where to place his foot, I was obliged to call out to them

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to slacken their pace. These men displayed all that beautiful ease of motion and flexibility of joint, which struck me as so remarkable when I first became acquainted with this nation; and which have been noticed on a former occasion.*

This circumstance afforded a most favorable opportunity of ascertaining, by my own experience, how rapidly these wild people could drive a herd of cattle, and how much more rapidly they themselves can travel; for, the necessity of passing these rocky mountains before dark, forced them to a display of those powers which, on no other occasion, probably, would they have exhibited so fully. I now clearly saw, and subsequent observations confirmed this remark, that whenever the Bushmen steal cattle out of the Colony, the Boors can have little hope of recovering them, unless they instantly, and with fleet horses, commence the pursuit, so as to overtake them before they can have reached the mountains. In stealing cattle, Mercury himself could not have been more expert, or more cunning, than the Bushmen.

During two hours, we travelled on the elevated and mountainous tract which, extending from the southward of Kaabi's Kraal, to the northward and westward of the Obelisk, constitutes what is called the Hyena Mountains. In our ride this afternoon, the prospect, which we had from their summits, of the plains extending to the northward, was, like that of the wide ocean, terminated only by the horizon.

The sun was just setting when we reached the western edge of the mountain, whence we could distinguish the smoke of the hunters' fire down in the plain below; but still at a considerable distance. Great care was required in descending the rugged pathless side of the mountain; which we fortunately accomplished before the twilight was withdrawn. In half an hour after this, having ridden at least fourteen miles since leaving the kraal, we arrived at the spot where the rhinoceros was lying.

The first salutation from my Hottentots, was the agreeable information that Speelman had shot another rhinoceros. This he had left in the middle of a plain situated farther westward, and separated

* At page 422, of the first volume.

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from the plain in which we now were, only by a low range of hills. Speelman himself came forward immediately to give me an account of all his feats; and was, in his manners, so animated and lively, that he might have been ascribed to any tribe rather than to that of the Colonial Hottentots. As the hunting of a rhinoceros is attended with danger, he certainly had some reason to be proud, when he had in one day killed two of these formidable animals.

His account of the affair was, that when they came to the place where the Bushmen expected to find them, the animals had changed their ground; but, that it was not long before they discovered no fewer than four, feeding quietly on the bushes in another part of the plain. They advanced towards the creatures, at various distances, according to each man's courage, but Speelman came the first within shot, and wounded one mortally. The other people coming up, fired till it had received seven balls; when it fell dead. He then went in pursuit of the other animals, which had fled over the hills; and having discovered one in the middle of the open plain, approached fortunately unperceived, and brought it down with a single ball: nor did he fail with exultation to remark, that he had on that day fired off his gun but twice, and at each time had killed a rhinoceros.

This was not the first rhinoceros which Speelman had shot in the course of his life, and to prove his knowledge of these animals, and to save me the trouble of asking him questions, he voluntarily communicated all that he had learnt by his own experience. Their smell, said he, is so keen and nice, that they know, even at a great distance, whether any man be coming towards them; and on the first suspicion of this, take to flight. Therefore it is only by approaching them against the wind, or from the leeward, that the hunter can ever expect to get within musket shot. Yet in doing this, he must move silently and cautiously, so as not to make the least noise in the bushes, as he passes through them; otherwise their hearing is so exceedingly quick, that they would instantly take alarm and move far away to some more undisturbed spot. But the dangerous part of the business is, that when they are thus disturbed, they sometimes become furious and take it into their head to pursue their

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enemy; and then, if they once get sight of the hunter, it is impossible for him to escape, unless he possess a degree of coolness and presence of mind, which, in such a case, is not always to be found. Yet if he will quietly wait till the enraged animal make a run at him, and will then spring suddenly on one side to let it pass, he may gain time enough for re-loading his gun, before the rhinoceros get sight of him again; which, fortunately, it does slowly and with difficulty. The knowledge of this imperfection of sight, which is occasioned perhaps by the excessive smallness of the aperture of the eye (its greatest length being only one inch) in proportion to the bulk of the animal, encourages the hunter to advance without taking much pains to conceal himself; and, by attending to the usual precautions just mentioned, he may safely approach within musket-shot. This creature seems to take as much pleasure in wallowing in the mud, as the hog. As far as my own experience enables me to speak, I can attest the correctness of Speelman's remarks.

The present animal was a male of large size, but being nearly cut up when I arrived, I was unable to ascertain its particular dimensions. No hair whatever was to be seen upon it, excepting at the edge of the ears, and on the extremity of the tail. Our bullets, though cast with an admixture of tin to render them harder, were flattened, or beat out of shape, by striking against the bones; but those which were found lodged in the fleshy part, had preserved their proper form; a fact which shows how little the hardness of this creature's hide corresponds with the vulgar opinion, of its being impenetrable to a musket-ball. It is however, to be admitted that bullets of pure lead, fired from too great a distance, or with too weak a charge of powder, will sometimes fail to penetrate the skin, and fall flattened from the animal's side, should they happen to strike one of the thicker parts of the hide, or where a coating of mud has dried fast upon it. This skin when dry and formed into shields, may possibly turn a ball; as it is then become so much harder than when alive. In cutting up this Rhinoceros, my people found one bullet more than they had fired: it appeared to have lain in the flesh a considerable

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time. This animal therefore had probably lived formerly within the Colony, but having been hunted and wounded by the boors, it had, though in vain, sought refuge beyond the boundary.

On each side of the carcase the Hottentots had made a fire to warm themselves; and round a third fire, not fewer than twenty-four Bushmen were assembled, most of whom were actively employed the whole night long, in broiling, eating and talking. I watched them with astonishment: it seemed that their appetite was insatiable; for no sooner had they broiled and eaten one slice of meat, than they turned to the carcase and cut another. I scarcely think that they allowed themselves any time for sleep. Some of the natives whom I had seen at the dance, were among the number of those who assisted at this nocturnal feast.

The meat of the rhinoceros was excellent, and had much of the taste of beef; and although the flesh of this, which was an old animal, was somewhat tough, perhaps on account of being but just killed; yet that of the female, being fatter, proved exceedingly well-tasted and wholesome. The tongue would have been pronounced a dainty treat, even by an epicure.

I laid myself down to sleep by one of the fires, but in the night awoke with a violent headache and nausea occasioned by the wind shifting round to the opposite quarter, and blowing towards me the smoke of the green fuel, and the stench of the entrails and filth. Towards sunrise the air became very cold; and having no other covering than my watch-coat, I arose at daybreak, little refreshed by broken rest, and feeling my whole frame exceedingly chilled.

8th. Taking with me one of the Hottentots, and some Bushmen as guides, I crossed the rocky hills on the west, and descended into a dry and extensive plain thinly covered with low bushes. In the middle of this, we found the second rhinoceros; at which Speelman, with a party of natives, had arrived an hour earlier, to prevent its being cut up before I had seen and examined it. I immediately proceeded to make drawings both in front and in profile, and a separate sketch of its head on a larger scale, principally from measurement. Two of these are given in this volume; the one in front at page 46,

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and the head in profile at the end of the chapter. The animal lay in a position very favorable for this purpose; having fallen on its knees, and remaining nearly in the same attitude as when alive.

The first view of this beast, suggested the idea of an enormous hog, to which, besides in its general form, it bears some outward resemblance in the shape of its skull, the smallness of its eyes, and the proportionate size of its ears: but in its shapeless clumsy legs and feet, it more resembles the hippopotamus and elephant. It is, in fact in many less obvious particulars, closely allied to all these; and by later naturalists, has been well arranged in the same class with them.*

Its length over the forehead and along the back, from the extremity of the nose to the insertion of the tail, was eleven feet and two inches, of English measure; but in a direct line, not more than nine feet three inches. The tail, which at its extremity was complanated, or flattened vertically, measured twenty inches; and the circumference of the largest part of the body, eight feet and four inches. On examining its mouth I found, agreeably to common opinion, no incisive, or fore, teeth in either jaw: in the upper jaw on each side, were five large grinders, and a smaller one at the back; but in the lower, there were six grinders besides the small back tooth. The ink which I had brought with me, being nearly dried up, I was obliged to write this description in my memorandum-book, with the animal's own blood,†

* Of this species of rhinoceros, we shot nine in the course of these travels; besides a smaller one. This has been presented to the British Museum.

† This Rhinoceros is of the species already described by Sparrman, under the name of Rh. bicornis. But other species with two horns, having been since discovered, the name of Rh. Africanus has been substituted by Cuvier. And as I have subsequently discovered another species in Africa, also with two horns, this name would now, according to that principle of nomenclature, require again to be changed.
The new species here alluded to, I have named Rhinoceros simus, ("Bulletin des Science;" livr. de Juin 1817, p. 96.) from the flattened form of its nose and mouth, by which, and by its greater size, and the proportions of its head, it is remarkably distinguished from the other African species. A more complete account of this, is reserved for a future opportunity, as it belongs to a part of my journal not included in the present volume. In the mean time the work above named, may be referred to for a figure of it, and for some further particulars.

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The horn of the rhinoceros, differing in structure from that of every other animal, and placed in a situation, of which it is the only example, had long appeared to me to be an anomaly very deserving of examination; and therefore on the present occasion, it was the first object of my curiosity and attention. The view which I now began to take, of its structure and nature, was afterwards, in the course of my journey, further confirmed by the following mode of reasoning, which, to render it less complicated, I shall confine to the class of Mammalia, or, as it is more commonly called, quadrupeds. Dispersed over the skin of all animals, are pores which I have supposed to secrete a peculiar fluid, which may be designated by the name of corneous matter. This secretion, or fluid, is designed by nature for the forming of various most useful and important additamenta, all of which, continue growing during the whole life; have an insertion not deeper than the thickness of the skin; and are further distinguished by the absence of all sensibility and vascular organization, being purely exuvial parts like the perfected feathers of birds. In all these parts, the growth takes place by the addition of new matter at their base. When these pores are separate, they produce hairs. When they are confluent and in a line, they produce the nails the claws and the hoofs, the fibrous appearance of which, naturally leads to the supposition of their being confluent hairs: and the same may be said of the scales of the Manis. The quills of the porcupine, hedgehog, and other animals, may be regarded as hairs of extraordinary size. When the pores are confluent and in a ring, they furnish the corneous case of the horns of animals of the ruminating class; and when confluent on a circular area, they supply matter for the formation of a solid horn, such as we see on the rhinoceros. An examination of the structure and appearance of this latter, will be found to support my explanation of its nature; as about its base, it is in most instances, evidently rough and fibrous like a worn-out brush.* It grows from the skin only, in the same manner as the

* This appearance, has not escaped the notice of an eminent zoolögist; who says, that these animals "portent une corne solide adhérente à la peau et de substance fibreuse et cornée, comme si elle était composée de poils agglutinés." Cuvier, Règne Animal, tome 1. p.239.

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hair, a circumstance which entirely divests of improbability the assertion of its being sometimes seen loose, although by no means so loose as some writers have supposed. Nor is it at all extraordinary that the rhinoceros should possess the power of moving it, to a certain degree, since the hog, to which, in a natural arrangement, it so closely a pproaches, has a much greater power of moving its bristles, which if concreted would form a horn of the same nature. With respect to the idea, which I had entertained, of a single horn being an anomaly, it arose from the consideration, that all the osseous parts of animals, excepting the spine, were in pairs; those which appear single, being in fact divided longitudinally by a suture. So that any bony process, such as that which supports the corneous case of horned animals, must, to be single or in the central line of the face or head, stand over a suture; a case which no anatomist has hitherto discovered in Nature.† The single horn of the rhinoceros, is therefore no anomaly; because, having no connection with, or not deriving its origin from, the bones, and being, as I have endeavoured to show, only concreted hair, Nature might, if its mode of life required, have given it other horns of the same kind on any part of the body, without at all disturbing that system and those laws, which she has followed in the structure of every quadruped.

It is this rule of nature, and consequent reasoning, which will not allow me to believe that the unicorn, such as we see it represented, exists any where but in those representations, or in imagination: and many circumstances concur to render it highly probable, that the name was at first intended for nothing more than a species of rhinoceros.

As we professed to shoot these animals for the advantage prin-

† It is scarcely necessary to remark that the horn (as it is called) of the Sea-Unicorn, (Monodon Monoceros) is in reality one of two teeth or tusks, and is inserted on the side of the central line, or suture, of the skull; the other tusk remaining always buried within the jaw-bone. So that this unicorn is, in structure, a two-horned animal, and has in fact sometimes been found with both tusks grown out to an equal length.

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cipally of the natives, we had not intended taking for ourselves, more of the meat than enough for a day or two: but, as another proof of the improvident disposition of Hottentots, I discovered that my people, satisfied with what they had eaten on the spot, were not preparing to bring any away with them, till I ordered a quantity to be loaded up for at least my own use, as the meat of the second, seemed, as a change of food, more wholesome, and of a better taste, than our mutton. These foolish men thought only of the brandy and tobacco which they were to get by selling their shamboks at Graaffreynet, and therefore had cut up the hide of both the animals, into strips for this purpose.

Although so chilling at sunrise, the weather had, by noon, changed to the opposite extreme. Exposed in the middle of a dry plain, where not a tree to afford shade was to be seen, I scarcely could endure the rays of the sun, which poured down, as it were, a shower of fire upon us. At this time I began to feel symptoms of fever from the cold which I had taken in the night, and this, probably, might render me less capable of supporting the heat of the weather; yet I viewed with astonishment the bare-headed and naked Bushmen, who seemed to be not in the least incommoded by it.

When I had finished my drawings, and the Hottentots had loaded up as many shamboks as the oxen could carry, we left the natives busily employed in cutting up their meat; and returned to the place of the first rhinoceros. Here I assembled all my own people, and, as soon as they had taken another meal as a farewell to their game, and had packed up another quantity of the hide, we set out on our return home to the kraal.

In our way we met a large party of the natives, men and women, who, joyously greeting us as they passed, told us they were going to their friends at the rhinoceros, to lend their assistance: that is; to eat and feast, day and night, till they had consumed the whole of it.

We did not reach home till twilight had ended. I now found my fever much increased: I therefore adopted the remedy which had on similar occasions been found successful, and which consisted merely in drinking a quantity of hot tea immediately on going

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to bed. Some additional bushes were cut, and placed so as better to keep off the wind; and this precaution, in addition to the remedy, induced a degree of perspiration which, in the course of the night, considerably abated the disorder.

9th. I still considered it prudent to remain thus wrapped up all the morning; but as the weather presented every appearance of continuing fine all day, I resolved to proceed on our journey.

At five in the afternoon we departed, bearing with us the goodwill of a whole kraal; to whom we had given perhaps greater happiness than it had been their lot to experience, for a long time. They were much pleased when I assured them it was my intention to return by the same route in a few weeks; and Riizo, who now informed me that this was the kraal to which he properly belonged, although residing at so great a distance as at the Gariep where we first met with him, was particularly instructed by Kaabi to remain with us until we reached the country of the white-men. One of his companions, who had hitherto been our chief attendant, and who was to remain at the kraal, now took his leave of us.

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CHAPTER III.

JOURNEY FROM KAABI'S KRAAL, TO THE BORDERS OF THE COLONY.

WE followed the general direction of the river, and in the course of this day's ride, crossed it four times. Thus far, its course had not been marked by tree or bush larger than those of the plains; but here it began to assume a better character: besides a more constant supply of water, it was distinguished by abundance of reeds and bushes of greater size.

We travelled till daylight began to fail; when we took our night's station on the banks of the river, at Reed Station. Here my people prepared for me, as I was still weak from the fever, a sheltered sleeping-place, in the centre of a thick clump of reeds which stood on dry ground at a little distance from the water.

10th. On the following day's journey, the surface became gradually more hilly as we advanced, but was every where thinly covered with small bushes, although in other respects it was a wide open

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country. As we made our way through bushes and over rough ground, where no path could be found to guide us or render our travelling easier, the Hottentots sometimes, by chusing a smoother road, were scattered at a considerable distance from each other.

To this circumstance, we were indebted for some delightful wild honey, as one of them chanced thus to observe a number of bees entering a hole in the ground, which had formerly belonged to some animal of the weasel kind. As he made signs for us to come to him, we turned that way, fearing he had met with some accident; and, indeed, when the people began to unearth the bees, I did not expect that we should escape without being severely stung. But they knew so well how to manage an affair of this kind, and had gained so much experience, that they robbed the poor insects with the greatest ease and safety. Before they, commenced digging, a fire was made near the hole, and constantly supplied with damp fuel to produce a cloud of smoke. In this the workman was completely enveloped, so that the bees returning from the fields, were prevented from approaching, while those which flew out of the nest, were driven by it to a distance. Yet the rest of our party, to avoid their resentment, found it prudent, either to ride off, or to stand also in the smoke. About three pounds of honey were obtained; which, excepting a small share which I reserved till tea-time, they instantly devoured in the comb; and some of the Hottentots professed to be equally fond of the larvœ, or young imperfect bees. This was the first honey which had been found since we left Cape Town, or, at least, which I had partaken of: it appeared unusually liquid, and nearly as thin as water; yet it seemed as sweet, and of as delicate a taste, as the best honey of England, unless the hard fare to which I had been forced to accustom myself, might, by contrast, lead me to think it much better than it really was.

As we advanced we saw at a distance around us, in every quarter, innumerable herds of wild animals, quietly grazing like tame cattle. Quakkas, springbucks, kannas, and hartebeests* on all sides,

* The Hartebeest of the Cape Colony, called Caama (or Kaama) by the Hottentots, was considered by Linnæus and many naturalists, to be same as the Bubalis of the ancients, which is an animal of Northern Africa; but some later writers distinguish it as a separate species, by the name of Antilope Caama: a distinction which I am more inclined to doubt, than to adopt; until an actual collation of the two animals, shall decide the question.

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was a sight we had never before seen during our whole journey; and Philip immediately mounting the horse, took a circuit for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of the nearest herd.

In the mean time we halted: this gave us an opportunity of noticing the footmarks of lions. Our Bushmen added their advice to keep close watch over our cattle, as we were now entering a part of the country where those formidable beasts were known to abound. This fact might, without having seen the footmarks, or without incurring much risk of being mistaken, have been inferred from the great numbers of wild animals just observed: for, where no game is to be seen, there no lions are to be feared; since these, it is evident, can live only in those parts of the country where they can procure daily food. Travellers, therefore, who are obliged to depend upon the chase for their support, will consider the dangers and inconvenience of lions, to be more than counterbalanced by the advantage of abundance of game.

Philip had pursued the antelopes far out of sight; we had waited more than an hour, without seeing him return; and the sun fast sinking to the horizon, warned us to look out for a place where we could safely pass the night We therefore proceeded a short distance farther, in expectation of falling in with the river; and having met with it and crossed to the right bank, we soon found a convenient station and unpacked the oxen. But we were not forgetful of Riizo's advice, and carefully made all our cattle fast to the bushes.

As soon as twilight began to advance, we heard the lions roaring at a distance, and commencing their nightly prowl. Philip had not yet returned, and our fears for his safety, as well as for that of the horse, caused us much uneasiness. To direct him to the spot where we had stationed ourselves, a large fire was made, and several muskets were discharged. Guided, first by the sound of these, and afterwards by the light, he at length found his way home; but

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although he had ridden into the midst of the herd and turned their course, he had killed nothing; for it had happened that several times, on attempting to shoot, his gun unluckily missed fire; which was occasioned by the lock having been accidentally put out of order during the chase.

In the early part of the night, the jackals at a little distance were yelping around us; and, although they might not have filled the office of 'lion's provider,' vulgarly assigned to them, yet I had no doubt of their having attentively performed the duties of clearing their royal master's table. To prevent him making his supper-room in the midst of our oxen, we kept several fires burning all night.

11th. In the morning we were visited by four Bushmen; to whom, according to my custom, I made a present of some tobacco. In their way to us, they happened to pass by the spot where a lion had last night been preying upon a quakka: they found every part of the carcase devoured, excepting the feet, which they brought away with them; these being all that the jackals had left.

Although not absolutely in want of food, yet as the number of my sheep was already much lessened, I resolved on giving up a day for hunting. The men had not been out long before Philip shot a quakka. When this was brought home, it was so warmly praised by my Hottentots, as being excellent meat, that I ordered a steak to be broiled for my dinner. The novelty, and my own curiosity, must have had some influence on this occasion, since I was induced to consider it good and palatable. It was tender, and possessed a taste which seemed to be between that of beef and mutton. I made from it several meals: but this was the only time when I ate of quakkas or zebras from pure choice; for, I confess, I could not, with respect to these animals, resist altogether the misleading influence of prejudice and habit; and allowed myself, merely because I viewed this meat as horseflesh, to reject food which was really good and wholesome. In this respect, the Hottentots are much wiser than the Boors, who reject it for the same reason with myself, but who, nevertheless hunt these animals for the use of their Hottentots and slaves. On all subsequent occasions, when necessity compelled me

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to eat of it, the fat, which was yellow and oily, always smelt rather strong and disagreable; but I cannot assert that such food was ever found to be unwholesome.

12th. During the night and this forenoon, there was much rain; and being thus prevented drying our meat, we departed from Quakka Station at an early hour. Soon after setting out, we crossed the river twice; after which we turned to the south-east in order to visit a kraal which lay in that direction; having on our right some high mountains in the distance, and before us an exceedingly large table mountain, which had been seen for the first time, on our last day's journey. This latter is pointed out on my map, by the name of the Bushman Table-Mountain, and is very remarkable by the perfect regularity of its form, and by having at each end a small, but equally high, mountain standing in advance, and apparently separated from it down to the base. Farther behind this mountain, were several others of the same formation, and which extended beyond the visible horizon. From the distance and spot at which it was viewed, it appeared inaccessible, being surrounded on all sides by a precipice; but experience teaches that however steep and lofty a mountain may appear, its summit should not be pronounced inaccessible until its ascent have been attempted on every side. I was induced, how justly I know not, to consider it of greater height than all the other mountains in this part of the country, by the circumstance of a cloud resting upon it, an appearance which had not been seen since we quitted the Roggeveld.

At a little after three in the afternoon we arrived at the kraal, and unpacked our oxen by the side of a rocky hillock at the distance of two hundred yards.

I was received by the inhabitants with repeated acclamations of Tway! Tway!* and with every demonstration of their being glad at seeing me: although I do not flatter myself that their joy was entirely personal, as the words Gooen dakka; Tabakka! Gooen dakka;

* Their word of salutation. It is pronounced as the Dutch word twee, and would be written toué by a Frenchman.

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Tabakka!* plainly betrayed their expectations and the source of their gladness. By this they intended to say "Good day; give us some tobacco:" wishing thus to render themselves more intelligible by addressing me in Dutch. They were in such high glee, that a merry spirit of rhyming seemed to have inspired them upon this occasion: having first converted the word dag into their more favorite one of dakka, they considered it a happy thought, and quite a new idea, to transform tabak into tabakka: the only instance I ever noticed, in these travels, in which that word was spoken as in English. I do not mean to infer from this, that the Bushmen speak English; nor, that I have discovered in them a brilliant poetic genius; but I have no hesitation in declaring, with such a proof as this, that they can rhyme as well as many poets of my own country, and possibly may have as much genius.

Their chief, or captain, was distinguished in a manner so singular, that my Hottentots were highly diverted at the ridiculous insignia of his rank; and, as they could not clearly understand his proper name, gave him that of Oud Kraai-kop (Old Crow-head), as he wore the head of a crow fixed upon the top of his hair.

It will be immediately perceived that this mode of ornamenting the head, corresponds with the ancient custom of distinguishing men in armour, by some figure placed as the crest of their helmet. Should therefore the science of heraldry ever be introduced among the Bushmen, the family of the Kraaikops would hereafter be distinguished by the crow-head as their crest; but what should be emblazoned on their shield, or whether the field should be gules, or vert, or sable, can only be determined by the learned men of their own tribe.

In a country where we found few places marked by particular names, this was a fortunate circumstance to my men, who always afterwards spoke of this as the Kraai-kop Kraal, and of the mountain as the Kraai-kop Tafelberg (Crow-head Table-mountain.)

* By which words, they meant to say Goeden dag; Tabak.

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As soon as I could prepare my presents, I desired the captain to assemble the whole of his people; and in the midst of a crowd not less happy than those of Kaabi's Kraal, I distributed to every individual a piece of tobacco. It is unnecessary to describe the effect which was produced on these poor creatures, as it would only be a repetition of what has been said on a preceding occasion. They now declared aloud, that I was the best man they had ever seen, for the boors, they said, never gave them either tobacco or meat, though they came into their country and killed their game. Some of these people had been living a short time in the Colony, in the service of the farmers, as shepherds or herdsmen, for the purpose of earning a few sheep-skins for karosses; which by them are more valued, on account of their greater warmth, than the skins of any of the wild animals, and nearly every person here wore cloaks of that kind.

This village did not appear in such good circumstances as Kaabi's: I counted no more than ninety-eight goats and kids, as the whole of its riches, and fifty souls as the greatest amount of its population. It was situated in the middle of an open plain covered with low bushes, and was at least, two miles from any water. The table-mountain, of which I took this opportunity of making a drawing, was at the distance of a two or three hours' walk to the eastward; although the unvaried surface of the intervening ground would have induced me to suppose that it was much nearer.

Notwithstanding the poverty of this kraal, the captain thought himself bound to testify his gratitude; and sent me a goat ready skinned: but I was much vexed at discovering that Ruiter, not waiting for a voluntary gift, had been mean enough to ask for it, founding his claim upon the great quantity of tobacco which I had given to the captain and his people. Not doubting that he had acted the part of a treacherous interpreter, and had demanded it in my name, I immediately presented to the chief and some of his friends, a much larger quantity of quakka-meat in return.

My obligations, however, would not have remained unpaid, even had I not made them this return; for nearly all the men, and several of the women, came to sup with us; so that, when the meal was over,

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we found no part of the goat left. Soon after this, they returned to their huts, well satisfied with the treatment they had met with; and, certainly, not sorry that a white-man had visited their kraal.

My own people, having now dismissed all those apprehensions which their first uncertainty respecting a friendly reception by the natives, had excited, enjoyed the evening apparently as much as they; and even followed them to the huts, and remained sitting by their fires till a late hour.

I also, passed some part of the night at the kraal, to witness again the pleasures of the dance. Here I found the 'ball-room' so crowded that there was but just space enough left for the dancer's feet: but this seemed not at all to incommode the party. Riizo was the chief performer; and I heard the next morning, that he continued incessantly dancing during the greatest part of the night. The style of the dance, and the accompaniments, were exactly the same as at Kaabi's Kraal, excepting that instead of the words Wa wa koo and their corresponding notes, Riizo made use of Lok a tee (Lok a táy), thus:

The syllables Lok a tay have no more signification than those of Wa wa koo, and were intended only as an assistance to the notes. These the dancer kept on singing, as if heedless of every thing but himself: without appearing to take any notice of the company about him, he continued his dancing, first with one leg, and then with the other, much to the gratification of his friends, though they had allowed him barely room for the sole of his foot; while the lowness of the hut

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exceedingly cramped his movements, and obliged him to bend forward in a posture the most inconvenient.

Having satisfied my curiosity, I left the party and retired to rest, it being my intention to proceed on the journey at an early hour in the morning. There was much lightning and thunder during the night; and, to render it more unpleasant, I had not long fallen asleep, when I was awakened by a cold piercing wind blowing so keenly through my blankets, that it felt as if there had been no covering whatever upon me. Our fires being out, I was obliged to content myself with wrapping my blankets, and watch-coat closer about me; but scarcely had I again laid my head on the saddle, when a heavy shower of rain and hail poured down, and soon ran through my bedding and completely flooded the ground. As it was not possible at such a time to make a fire, and as the night was extremely dark, I remained patiently in that situation till morning, still hoping for sleep.

13th. As soon as daylight appeared, I rose from my miserable bed, which I found literally lying in water; and, shaking off the hailstones from the blanket, dragged it over a bush that it might dry a little before it was packed up. Few of these hailstones were much less than half an inch in diameter; and I found them, under the bushes, where they had been drifted in large quantities by the wind, frozen together into solid masses. The thermometer therefore, if I had had one with me, would have been found at least as low as the freezing point.

As soon as fuel could be collected on the plain, the men made a fire and cooked breakfast; but though Hottentots are always bad cooks, these men had lately become worse; and my meat was brought to me, more in the state of something picked up after a conflagration, than of any thing intended to be eaten. Though never boasting myself Epicuri de grege porcum, my patience in these matters, was now exhausted: I scolded my cook, and for the first time on the journey, I made some attempt myself at cooking; and, although I could not help smiling at my own inexpertness and at this laughable

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specimen of culinary talents, I broiled my own steak, in order to show him how, I conceived, it might be managed so as to be rendered a little more eatable.

Ruiter, of whom I had been much inclined to think well, betrayed at length some slight symptoms of roguishness, in a trifling affair which was to him, too tempting an opportunity for cheating. I had commissioned him to purchase a pair of dancing-rattles, and had given him tobacco more than sufficient for that purpose: but he soon returned to tell me that this quantity was not thought enough. I therefore doubled it, and in a short time he brought me the rattles. On the following day I observed him wearing a beautiful leopard-skin kaross, and, on inquiry of the other Hottentots, discovered that he had obtained the rattles for a very small portion of the tobacco I had given, and that with the remainder he had purchased the skin.

The captain of this kraal, having heard of our killing the two rhinoceroses for Kaabi, requested me to stop a day longer, and hunt for him also. But fearing to establish a custom which would hereafter prove extremely inconvenient to us, as it might lead every kraal to expect that we should do the same for them, I thought it most prudent at once to refuse Old Crowhead; though at the same time I promised him a share of whatever we might chance to kill on the road, if he would allow some of his people to accompany us for the purpose of carrying it back. On which he ordered an old man and his son to attend us.

Both these people being excessively thin, and apparently reduced to that state by want of food, they immediately received from my Hottentots the names of Oud, and Klein, Magerman (Old, and Young, Lean-man). It seemed to be an act of charity to take these poor creatures with us, that we might feed them plentifully for a few days.

The Hottentots, and, perhaps, all the tribes of Southern Africa, have a custom of thus giving names to strangers when they are of a different nation from themselves. This arises chiefly from the difficulty which they find, either in pronouncing, or in remembering, a name to which their ear has never been accustomed, or the meaning of which they do not understand. This is often done through inatten-

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tion or idleness in neglecting to inquire the proper name. In the present case, however, the boy, whenever we asked him his name, always declared that he had none; a circumstance which much amused my people who considered themselves in a high state of civilization, because they wore clothes of European make, carried a gun, spoke Dutch, and had two names.

We took leave amidst the grateful salutations of the kraal; our party now consisting of three Bushmen in addition to my own men.

Soon after we set out, the clouds began to collect, and for more than three hours it rained without ceasing. As we rode along I observed, in many places, considerable quantities of hail lying under the bushes, and which the air was not warm enough to thaw. The weather was very unsettled, and the wind blew extremely cold during the whole of the day.

When we had travelled twelve miles, we again fell in with the river, and crossed to its left bank. Here we were met by a shower of rain and hail so violent that my horse refused to face it, and we were therefore obliged to halt and turn our backs to the storm. The loudest claps of thunder burst over our heads, and followed the flashes of lightning without any perceptible interval of time. I could not discover in our Bushmen any symptoms of fear, though nothing could be more awful than the thunder, which seemed close above us and exploded with a violence almost sufficient to destroy the hearing.

About four miles farther, we crossed to the right bank of the river, which appeared to have taken a winding course from a considerable distance westward, where some high mountains were in sight. Here many herds of quakkas were observed; but as they grazed only in the middle of these extensive plains, it was found impossible to approach within musket-shot.*

At a mile beyond the river, our Bushmen brought us to a spring of excellent water, situated in a kloof, or opening through a range of

* In these plains a small species of Loranthus was observed, growing on the branches of the larger shrubs, and, being of a hoary appearance, was named
Loranthus canescens, B. Catal. Geogr. 2119. 5. Planta parva tota canescens, ut etiam flores. Folia ovalia obtusa parva canescentia. Crescens in campis aridis, in ramis Lyciorum.

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rocky mountains. Concluding that we had now accomplished the half of our journey to Graaffreynet, I announced this circumstance to my Hottentots; and distinguished the spot on my map, by the name of Half-way Spring. It was concealed in a thicket of tall reeds inhabited by numbers of little birds*, whose chirping and singing greatly enlivened the spot. The water was remarkably pure, and free from all calcareous or ochraceous deposition. As the thicket of reeds was large and might possibly be the concealment of some lion, we took the precaution of sending in the dogs first, to ascertain whether we might safely venture to approach the spring.

A great quantity of these reeds was cut down for the purpose of making a shelter for the people, as the appearance of the sky bade us prepare for a rainy night. In the mean time I climbed up the rocks which form the eastern side of the pass, to take the bearings of our last station and of the Bushman Table-mountain; but the compass was much affected by the ferruginous quality of the stone. Here on a large crag I scratched, with a piece of rock, the initials of my name.

14th. After leaving this station, we travelled over a plain nearly nine miles across, and surrounded by mountains. At the southern extremity, we passed through an opening between them, where our 'friendly river' once more presented itself, and took its course through the same opening. This, as I afterwards learned, was known to the boors by the name of Rhenóster Poort (Rhinoceros Pass), and here we had a sight, in the highest degree pleasing to us all; that of the track of a waggon. On examining the bushes stones and grass, over which it had passed, we ascertained that it must have been two years since that time, and that its direction was to the south-east.

In every circumstance connected with the track of animals, and consequently of waggons, the Hottentots and Bushmen, as well as all

* The Roode-bekje (Redbeak) or Loxia astrild, of Linnæus.—The Koorn-vreeter (Corn-eater) Fringilla arcuata of Gmelin.—And a small species of Reed-sparrow, (Motacillæ (Currucæ) sp.

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the tribes of the Interior, are admirably quick and discerning. Their experience enables them to distinguish almost with certainty, the foot-mark of every animal in their country; although many of them so closely resemble each other that few European eyes would see the difference, even if it were pointed out to them. But these natives, whose food and clothing so greatly depend on knowledge of this kind, are most acutely observant of every thing relating to it; and the results of their judgment by combining these observations, are often surprising and would lead to a belief that in the powers of reasoning and reflection they are not so low as, in most other matters, they appear to be. And if it can be admitted that this is really the case, it affords in the same individual a striking, and an instructive, example how much the human intellect may be raised by being duly exerted, and how low it will insensibly sink, if not carefully cultivated and brought into use. These Africans pay an extraordinary degree of attention to every little circumstance connected with the habits and mode of life of the wild animals. The footsteps of some are too remarkable to be mistaken; but with respect to others, they are obliged to examine not only their form, but even their distance apart, and their greater or less depth of impression; by which latter observation they are enabled to distinguish a heavy-bodied animal from a lighter. If it be an animal of the cat or dog genus, they discover the kind by attending, not only to the size of the foot, but to the different protuberances of it and to their relative position. These marks conjointly with a knowledge of the different situations and nature of the country and ground preferred by each species, lead them to conclusions in which they rarely err. In estimating the time elapsed since the animal had passed that way, they consider the effects of the weather, the sun, the wind, or the rain: if these have not altered the freshness of the impression, they naturally conclude it to have been made since the last of these occurred; if the impression appear to have been made upon wet ground but partly filled with dust or sand or leaves, they then know that the animal must have passed over the ground since the last shower, but before the storm of wind. Of this nature there are a multitude of other

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circumstances, from which they deduce information: but what has been mentioned will be sufficient for showing what reliance may be placed upon their opinions. Cases occurred frequently during these travels, when this knowledge proved of the utmost importance: it is therefore a subject deserving of attention.

In the instance which gave rise to these remarks, the track of the waggon was, at the spot where we first saw it, not very discernible. But one of the Hottentots having noticed the middle stems of a low shrub to be broken down close to the ground, in a manner different from that in which they would have been broken by the foot of any animal, immediately examined all around at the distance where the other wheel should have passed; and soon discovered other similar appearances, by which we were all convinced that a wheeled carriage must have been there. All these stems or branches being observed to incline forwards in the direction in which we were travelling, it was thus ascertained that the waggon had advanced in that direction also; as every one, as well as a Bushman, knows that a wheel pushes forward any small bodies or obstructions in its way. The same conclusion was drawn from those stems which had not been broken down, but the bark of which had been torn. Those which had been beaten to the ground, still remained in that position; but we observed other shoots rising upright from them; and, from these being of two years' growth, we drew the conclusion that it must have been about two years since the waggon had passed that way.

At Rhenoster Poort* we found the space between the river and the rocks but just wide enough to admit a passage. We crossed to the left bank, and continued for nearly an hour to follow the waggon-track, which, as we advanced, became more visible, but at length it re-crossed the river, while we pursued a course inclining westward, and having close on our right, lofty mountains covered with grass.

* On the rocks of this pass I found a new and very neat shrubby species of Salvia. A variety of plants grow on these mountains, but the circumstances of our travelling did not admit of collecting and preserving any; and unfortunately the mode which I have recommended in such cases (Vol. I. p. 133 and 134.) did not at this time occur to me.

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Observing here a large herd of quakkas, between thirty and forty, Philip pursued them, and before he had approached within shot, they were suddenly driven away by the report of a gun on the other side, the smoke of which we perceived even from the spot where we stood waiting. Knowing that we were now upon ground to which the hunting excursions of the bordering colonists had sometimes extended, we concluded that the shot had been fired by a party of boors. We soon, however, discovered that this report was from Speelman's gun: he had started before us early in the morning, for the purpose of getting a first shot at the game; as it had been found that they were often alarmed and driven away by the sight of the whole party. Soon after this a heavy rain set in, and continued to pour without intermission till the next morning.

After travelling six hours, and finding ourselves close on the left bank of our river, we resolved to proceed no farther this day, as the weather was so unpropitious, and as all of us were exceedingly wet and cold.

15th. The night passed most unpleasantly, as a strong wind much increased the chilliness of the air, and, in the morning, our clothes and bedding were found soaked with the rain. I have marked this spot by the name of Southern Station, as it was the most southern of all our sleeping-places along the banks of this river.

We were now fast advancing towards the borders of the colony, according to the account of our Bushmen, who pointed out a distant table-mountain, on the other side of which, they said, we should find the residence of a boor whom they called Baas Jacob. Although exceedingly anxious to know what part of the colony it was, to which we were approaching, they could give me no clue by which I could discover this; nor did they know any thing respecting the bearing of Graaffreynet, nor even the boor's surname.

As we could not expect to find much game within the colonial boundary, I determined on remaining a day at this station, for the purpose of hunting; that we might obtain a stock of dried meat to serve us till we reached the drostdy. But, although four of the best marksmen were out the greater part of the day, nothing was shot.

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A copious spring of good water had been discovered by the hunters, not far from us, in the direction of south-south-east: and from several indications, this part of the country appeared to be well watered.

In the afternoon we were visited by a small party of natives consisting of two men, and six women, two of whom carried each an infant at her back. They informed me that they had yesterday travelled from Oud Baasje Jacob's (old Master Jacob's); where the men had been employed as shepherd and herdsman, and the women as assistants about the farm-house. These people, viewing me, as all their countrymen had hitherto viewed me, as a friend, were eager to relate to me their grievances. They had quitted this boor's service because he had beaten one of the women. The poor creature herself came forward to tell the story; she was a young girl of harmless engaging appearance, and I could not suppress the irritation of mind which I felt at hearing that any man had been brute enoughto lift his hand against so weak and defenceless a fellowcreature; for she was, as all girls of her nation are, of very small and delicate frame. She told me that Oud Baas had tied her up to one of the wheels of the waggon and flogged her for a long time. The other women all joined in the tale, and two or three at once were showing me the position in which she was tied, first imitating the act of flogging, and then that of crying and supplicating for mercy: but she implored in vain, for no mercy was in his heart, till he had vented his rage.

Unfortunately it was not in my power to afford them any redress, or to investigate whether she had, or had not, been punished undeservingly. I could only compassionate the poor girl; and this, if it could be any alleviation to her feelings, I did from my heart I gave them some tobacco, to cheer them; nor did it even in so unfavourable a state of mind, fail to gladden their countenances. This gave them an occasion to complain that they had very seldom received any from the baas, and whenever they did, it was but an extremely small piece, which, they said, he threw down on the ground to them as if they had been dogs. This last remark should not pass without notice, as it gives us admonition which cannot be too strongly

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inculcated and remembered; it shows that savages, however low or debased may be their rank among the nations of the globe, are not insensible to an indignity.

I could not learn for what crime this flogging had been inflicted; nor do I pretend to interfere with the question, whether, from mere ignorance, or misled by the habits of a lawless life to which she had been born, she might not, though unwittingly, have committed some offence which, in a civilized or better instructed society, might justly be visited with punishment; but I shall not hesitate to pronounce that man to be a cowardly unfeeling brute, who could treat with such merciless severity, one of that sex which it is a natural duty to protect from wrong, and shield from unkindness.

Another of the Bushwomen complained that this baas had compelled her son to remain in his service against his wish; nor could they by any means obtain leave for him to return with them to their kraal. Whatever might have been the stipulated wages for these people's services, they certainly carried away with them none of the rewards of their labor, unless a cap of scarlet cloth, and a pair of old cloth trowsers, are to be considered as such, or the sheep skins which the women wore over their shoulders and which were probably given to them by their kind-hearted baas.

As the events of these travels are, without partiality or prejudice, related as they occurred, and the observations recorded faithfully in that light in which they appeared, I cannot allow the unfavorable qualities of an individual, to be adopted as the general character of the Dutch colonists, any more than I would admit selected examples of individual worthiness, to be taken as specimens of the whole colony. Of the latter, I know many: of the former, I wish that I knew none.

From these natives I learned that the boors were apprized of my coming, and that the intelligence had reached them by means of some men of Kaabi's kraal, who had been to communicate with some of their friends residing on the borders. I was not surprised at these Bushmen having outstripped us in travelling, because I had witnessed sufficient proofs of their powers, to believe that they can

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whenever they please, traverse the country in at least half and sometimes a third of the time required by a colonist.

The party remained with us this night, and partook of our supper. While they were happily engaged in smoking, I took the opportunity of a fine evening, and abundance of fuel to give me light, to lay down on the map of my route, the last days of our course; which I had till now been prevented doing, by the unfavorable state of the weather. I carried with me a small Dutch pocket-map of the Colony; but in this part it was so deficient and so incorrect, that not the least advantage could be derived from it, to guide my course, or to enable me to guess what particular part of the boundary I was now approaching.

16th, Our stock of meat being now consumed, I sent off Philip and two others to hunt in advance, giving them instructions respecting the direction in which I intended to travel. Our two last visitors, finding that it was not in our power to supply them with provisions to take home, went out early in the morning to hunt in a distant part of the plain. They returned unsuccessful, though they had found an aardvark* or ant-eater; but it took refuge in its hole, and after considerable labor in endeavouring to unearth it the animal escaped by burrowing still deeper. These Bushmen and the women who came with them remained with us till the moment of our departure; when bidding me farewell in the colonial manner, by repeating the word dag, they hasted away to their kraal.

We had not travelled more than eight miles, and had just passed through an opening between some low rocky hills, where there were two large ponds of fresh water, when five distant reports of a musket, which we supposed to proceed from a party of boors, induced us to halt, and watch if they came in sight.

Both Riizo and the old Bushman advised me to stop here for the night, as they were not acquainted with any other water which it would be possible for us to reach before daylight failed us.

* A more particular account of this animal has been given in the first volume, at page 342.

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We therefore returned to these ponds, and unpacked our oxen by the side of some remarkable masses of rock, which had much the appearance of works of art, as if huge square blocks of stone had been regularly piled one upon another. This station is pointed out on the map by the name of Geranium Rocks; and a representation of some of these rocks, is given in the vignette at page 80. After passing the Karro Poort*, plants of the Geranium tribe had rarely been met with; and of these few, none had been found of so shrubby a growth, or perhaps of so pleasant a scent, as the species† which decorates this place. Around the ponds, I observed small quantities of fuller's-earth, a substance which had not hitherto been any where noticed.

I immediately sent Hendrik out to reconnoitre, and to observe if any colonists were in the neighbourhood. But soon after he was gone, Philip and his party appeared in sight, and, when they came up to us, explained that the five shots which had been heard, were fired by them, at a troop of quakkas; none of which, however, they had been so fortunate as to obtain.

Yet as no one had eaten since the preceding night, it was resolved to make a second attempt; and another troop of quakkas at that moment making their appearance on the plain, my whole party instantly went in pursuit. By dividing, and taking a wide circuit, they were enabled slowly and cautiously to advance upon them from every side; so that it became impossible for the animals to escape without coming within shot of one or other of the men. This chanced to be Speelman; and he was too good a marksman not to

* The botanical remarks in the first volume, at pages 208 and 209, may in part be referred to this place.

† As there was no opportunity of preserving a specimen of this plant, I cannot mention the species with certainty; although I believe it to have been the same which I found twelve months afterwards on the Table-mountain in the vicinity of a place denominated Horse's Grave; and of which plant, the following is the description.
Pelargonium tragacanthoides, B. Catal. Geogr. 2693. Frutex erectus ramosus bipedalis, odore gratè terebinthaceo. Rami erecti subdichotomi, supernè densè tecti petiolis emortuis persistentibus. Folia bipinnata, pubescentia, erecta, confertissima, basibus petiolorum imbricantibus. Paniculæ terminales, compositæ ex umbellis altemis subquadrifloris. Pedunculi umbellarum patentes.

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profit by the opportunity: he fired, and a quakka fell. With the assistance of his companions, the carcass was skinned and got home in the evening, in time for us to make from it a meal, which was both breakfast and supper.

17th. Before the sun had risen to its greatest height, we mounted our oxen and departed from Geranium Rocks, directing our course towards the south. We travelled, with pleasant weather, over two large plains, which derived a beautifully verdant hue from an extraordinary abundance of Cyperus usitatus, which from its growth and appearance might easily be mistaken for grass: but it was remarkable that no true grass was observed in any part of these plains; the surface being almost every where clothed with this plant, intermingled in various places with low bushes, such as are generally met with in lands partaking of the nature of Karro. This is the cyperus already described as producing the numerous little bulbs which constitute One of the principal articles of food used by the Bushmen.

These plains were about five or six miles across, and divided from each other by a ridge of hills of moderate elevation. Here our dogs caught a common jackal, and a young gemsbok (ghemsbok): the latter was not bigger than a domestic goat. One of the stragglers of our party fell in with the fresh remains of a kaama, or hartebeest, which we supposed to have been hunted down by the 'wild dogs,' as they are called, or the animal which I have in the former volume described under the name of Hyæna venatica. As they had devoured nothing more than the haunches and entrails, it was a prize worth halting for; and besides a large quantity of meat which we thus gained, the skin is considered as one of the best and strongest for leather and small thongs. The business of flaying and loading up the meat, detained us more than an hour.

At the termination of the plain we climbed a rocky ascent, which brought us up to an elevated mountainous country of a mile or two in extent, abounding in bushes and grass, and where the air felt cooler than in the plains. Here the geological nature of the mountains assumed a new feature: their strata were still horizontal, and, although the table form might in general be discovered, their out-

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line was more varied and pleasing. But a feature which had into been observed in the other mountains of the Cisgariepine, at least since we had left the Asbestos Mountains, was a deep stratum, sometimes forty or fifty feet thick, of sandstone, running through them at a little distance below their summits, and of a paler color than the other strata. Huge fragments, or blocks, of this stone, lay every where scattered about the valleys; and the scenery as we rode along them, became more picturesque as we advanced, and very different from all which we had now seen in the country on this side of the Gariep.

This change in the geology of the mountains, was accompanied by a change in botany: their sides were clothed with a richer foliage, and with many plants hitherto new; particularly a species of Rhus* which grew from between the rocks, and decorated the foot of the hills with pleasing light soft masses, in rounded, yet beautiful, forms, and generally of the height of six or eight feet. This elegant shrub was found no where but in these regions.

Being eager to discover some proof of our immediate vicinity to the Colony, I rode on before, with two of my men. We ascended a very rocky ridge connecting loftier mountains, whence I had an opportunity of taking the bearing of the 'Bushman Table Mountain.' With some difficulty we descended to the flat on the other side, where we found a small pond of water, and discovered, to our great pleasure, that it had been frequented by flocks of sheep: and our suspicions of having actually entered the Colony, were confirmed soon afterwards by Philip, who, having been obliged to take the loaded oxen round by a lower opening between the mountains, had seen the remains of an old leg-plaats or cattle-station.

As the sun was nearly setting, we halted here for the night. All my people were highly pleased at finding that we had thus safely accomplished the passage through the country of the Bushmen, and evinced a considerable share of satisfaction, by talking and laughing

* Rhus serræfolium, B. Catal. Geogr. 2697. Frutex sexpedalis ramosissimus. Foliola linearia grossè serrata glabra; (juniora præsertim) lucida et quasi vemice oblita.

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more than usual. Plenty of fuel close at hand, enabled them again to indulge in one of their great enjoyments, a blazing fire: in this, I followed their example; but instead of taking the tobacco-pipe, I amused myself in the evening with the pen.

18th. As Riizo was soon to take leave, having now fulfilled his promise of accompanying us until we had arrived at the habitation of a colonist, I drew his portrait, that I might ever preserve, for my own gratification, the features of a man who, though one of a lawless and despised race, one who, though doomed to live and die in ignorance of all that improves and civilizes the mind, had yet a heart which taught him to be grateful to a friend, and a just sense of fidelity to his engagements. These features would not indeed, according to the judgment of a European, be thought of a prepossessing cast; but the judgment of a European is often as much perverted by customs and prejudices, as that of a Bushman. I constantly struggled against this influence of national habit, that I might, wherever my travels led me, view the expression of men's countenances as they were viewed by their own countrymen; and the length of time during which the wild natives of Africa were daily before my eyes, has enabled me, I hope, to overcome, at least those prejudices which are commonly occasioned by color and feature.

Riizo, though a great dancer, as it has been shown, was nevertheless a man of much sedateness; seldom allowing his joy at any occurrence, to break forth in the unrestrained manner of many of his countrymen: but he was exceedingly active, and at all times ready to do any thing which I desired. He was always foremost to lend his assistance in loading and unloading our pack-oxen, and was perfectly content with whatever reward I thought proper to give him for his trouble.

I also drew the portrait of the boy whom my Hottentots had named Klein Magerman (Young Lean-man). Both he, and his father, were much improved in appearance, during the few days they had lived upon our provisions; yet still they were far from having outgrown their new name. I had drawn Riizo in the attitude in which he happened to be sitting; and when this boy was told that I wished

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also to take his likeness, he instantly came and seated himself down in the same place, and in the same attitude. I mention this little circumstance, because it shows marks of a tractable disposition, and of a goodnatured readiness to do what he supposed to be proper; imagining that sitting in that position, was the only mode in which a portrait could be taken. His features, assisted by the roundness of youth, had a very pleasing expression; and when the drawings were shown to him, he smiled as if conscious of their being resemblances of himself and his countryman. My own men were much amused at the representation I had given of the boy's leanness and Riizo's flat nose; Speelman exclaiming, net zo mager; net zo lelyk (just as lean; just as ugly).

I now discovered in part, what were the contents of my Hottentots' bags. Being on the point of making our appearance before Kriste-mensch (Christians) as they thought, each one had dragged into light some new piece of dress, which had been reserved for this grand occasion. Old Cobus displayed a new pair of leathern trowsers, and Uncle Hans did the same; Hendrik produced a new leathern jacket quite red with the dye given in tanning; and Philip, being the washerwoman, did not forget to put on a clean shirt, and dress himself out in his blue cloth trowsers and jas (watch-coat).

But Speelman, whom I had long marked as the dandy of our party, with this exception to the character, that he was a man and had brains, outshone them all. He dressed in a fashion, I believe, of his own; or at least, I never saw its like in any part of Africa. Besides the cocked hat which I have already commemorated, he wore a blue cloth jacket, and new leathern trowsers. Over these were drawn blue cotton stockings, which came up above the knees; over the lower half of the stockings, he had buttoned on a pair of leathern gaiters; and to complete the neatness of his leg and foot, he added to the gaiters a new pair of hide-shoes.

Thus equipped, we set out early in the forenoon, anticipating the comfort of taking up our next quarters under shelter of a Dutch farm-house. The day was fair, and the weather now appeared to be more settled. The scenery was exceedingly picturesque; the sand-

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stone stratum continued a principal feature, and the saw-leaved rhus every where decorated our road. We directed our course towards the Table Mountain, near which, the Bushmen had told us that we should find a boor's habitation.

When we had travelled through the mountains about fourteen miles, we came all at once upon the edge of this elevated tract; whence we had a very extensive view of a large plain below, stretching out to the southward, and bounded by distant hills. The Bushmen pointed down to the plain, and we there beheld the dwelling of a colonist.

Like sailors who after a long voyage at last make land, but having lost their reckoning, know not what coast it is which they behold before them, and are anxious to meet a pilot, or some fishing-boat, who may inform them of the place at which they have arrived; so we, who knew not what part of the Colony we had entered, were hoping to meet some shepherd, or stray Hottentot, of whom we might ask the name of the district before us.

The mountain which had hitherto been the object to which we had directed our course, was now close at our right and immediately connected with that on which we were standing. While we halted to collect the party together, I made a sketch of this, and of our first view of the Colony. We then, in a body, descended the steep and rocky declivity into the plain; and in less than a mile farther, arrived at the farm-house.

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CHAPTER IV.

JOURNEY FROM THE BORDERS OF THE COLONY, TO THE VILLAGE OF GRAAFFREYNET.

I RODE immediately to the house, but did not dismount, as I expected that the master of the place, who was standing at the sheepfold a few yards off, would, according to colonial hospitality, as soon as the first salutations were over, welcome me to his abode and invite me to enter. Neither the master, however, nor his wife, ever came near us; but remained the whole time at the fold, evidently with the intention of keeping away in order to avoid all communication. But two men of the family, and several women and children, came and stood round me: their complexion struck me as unpleasantly fair and colorless, their features as disagreeably sharp, and the expression of their countenances, as wild and senseless. How much of this singular impression, was to be attributed to my having been for several months accustomed to Hottentot and Bushman features and complexion, and to my having seen none but two or three sun-burnt white people; or,

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how far it was occasioned by any peculiarity in the appearance of this family, I cannot determine exactly; but it was certainly the effect of both: for, on comparison with those whom we afterwards saw at other houses on our road, these women were insipidly fair, and rendered therefore the more remarkable by the contrast of strong black eyebrows. To this, both in them and in the men, was added a very illshaped and projecting nose.

I accosted them with the usual salutations, which they slightly and coldly returned. I inquired of them, what part of the colony I was in, and at what farm I was arrived: to which they replied, that the mountain (pointing to that which had been our beacon) was Groote Tafelberg*, and the farm that of Jacob Van Wyk.† On this, instead of an invitation to come into the house or to dismount, they proceeded, in a tone of intolerable insolence, to put a long string of impertinent questions. These I patiently answered; because, as I soon began to perceive that they were perversely inclined, I conceived it to be advisable, as a traveller desirous of beholding them in their true colors, not to check them from giving me an undisguised display of their natural disposition. And, with the view of leaving the first colonists, whom we should meet, at liberty to do on this occasion, just as their own sense of hospitality might dictate, I had, before we came in sight of the house, strictly ordered that no one of my men should ask for any refreshment or assistance. In answering their numerous questions, I gave them the information, that I bad left my waggons on the other side of the 'Groote river'; that I had been three weeks travelling through the country of the Bushmen; and was going to Graaffreynet to hire Hottentots. They seemed to doubt this last

* A representation of Groote Tafelberg (Great Table-mountain), as viewed from the south-east, may be seen in the preceding page. In this name, the word 'great' is not to be taken absolutely, but merely comparatively with reference to another table-mountain of smaller size, hereafter mentioned on the 20th.

† In the map of this place, a trifling mistake in engraving has escaped correction: the shading of the mountains should have been carried a little farther northward, so as to have included the dwelling of Van Wyk, which now, improperly, appears to stand upon the mountains, instead of being at the foot of them.

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remark; and asked how I could expect to hire Hottentots, when the boors found them so scarce. I replied, that Landdrost Stockenstrom would assist me. The landdrost, said they, was murdered by the Caffres a few weeks ago. The apathy with which they mentioned this, must have appeared strongly contrasted by my own expression of the shock which I felt at the melancholy intelligence. I asked, if it was quite certain; they briefly assured me that it was: yet still I hoped to hear, as I advanced, that this sad news was not correct.

Thinking it possible they might suppose that by remaining on horseback I had no wish to halt, I dismounted and gave the horse to the care of one of my men. On this they removed into the house; and as I was uncertain whether I was not expected to follow, I entered; but instead of offering a seat, they began to put further questions merely to satisfy their curiosity respecting the nature of the country and the quantity of game beyond the borders.

Finding that no civility was intended to be shown me at this house, and the family having given me sufficient proofs of their true character, I ended the conversation by inquiring the bearing and distance of Graaffreynet; resolving to depart from a place, the inhabitants of which, were so much inferior in benevolence, to the savages, — men in whose kraals we had been received with artless joy and genuine good-will.

My own Hottentots, not supposing it possible that their master, could meet with any other than a hospitable reception, or at least with a civil one, had proceeded to some bushes at the distance of a few yards from the fold, where they had unpacked the oxen and were preparing to rest till the next morning. Though so close to the old baas himself, and his wife, no one came near them, lest their speaking to the men might be taken as a welcome to stop there. As I passed by the fold in my way to this spot, I made the customary salutation to him, with the view of ascertaining to what degree this hoggish disposition could be carried, and of leaving him no excuse for omitting the common civilities of the colony: neither he, nor his vrouw, made any return, nor took any notice of the respect which I paid them;

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but continued looking at their sheep, and scarcely deigned to turn their heads.

If I did not attribute it to a brutal insensibility, I should be totally at a loss in imagining what could have induced this boor and his family to conduct themselves so differently from other colonists to whom I was equally a stranger and equally unknown. My own Hottentots had given them to understand that I was not their inferior, and that, notwithstanding the weather-beaten appearance of my dress, I was an 'Engelsche Heer.' It is, however, not improbable, that their having previously discovered that the person who was approaching their habitation was an Englishman, might have been the cause of the ungracious reception which they gave me; and which it is very likely, would have been much worse, had they not observed that we were all armed.

In various parts of the colony may be found men who, without any love for a Dutch government, hate that of the English, because it has enforced their own colonial laws, and put a check upon those persons who would rather live without any law at all. The inhabitants of this settlement can surely have no reasonable or honorable excuse for disliking a government under which they have risen to a degree of prosperity and affluence, unknown to them before. Nor do I believe, that the honest and reflecting part, and the general bulk of the community, entertain any sentiments of this kind; sentiments which are confined within a narrow compass, to a set of men who would prove themselves unworthy subjects in any country, and such as criminal codes have ever been made for.

I ordered my Hottentots to reload our bedding. The poor fellows took up their bags, and, with dejected and disappointed looks, packed them on the oxen again. They had been anticipating, certainly not very unreasonably, the enjoyment of again tasting bread, and of having some change of food, which for a long time had consisted only in meat; and even that, without salt. My mind having been prepared for travelling without luxuries, I felt for these men, much more than for myself, as they had, elate with pleasing expectation, put on all their best clothes, in order to show respect to the first form-house which

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should receive us. Their disappointment was very evident; and it was only by the strictest injunctions, that I could restrain them from the open expression of their indignation at the want of feeling which those men must have, who could suffer any persons under our circumstances, to pass their door without a welcome, or even a civil salutation.

Of one of the Hottentots of the place, we asked instructions respecting the road which we were to take; and as soon as all were ready for starting, our friend Riizo, to whom I had as great pleasure in making a present of a large stock of tobacco, as he had in receiving it, took his leave to return to Kaabi's Kraal. We separated under an expectation, equally agreeable to both, that we should soon meet again. I had supposed that the old Bushman and his son would also have quitted us at this place; but after witnessing the little respect which, at this farm, had been shown even to a white man, he was so fearful that, as soon as I was gone, Oud Baasje Jacob would seize the boy and detain him as a slave, to work for him, that he resolved to leave him under my protection; begging that he might be kindly taken care of, and restored to him at our return.

As soon as this arrangement was agreed to on my part, the father and Riizo, hasted away back to the mountains, while the son (Little Leanman,) well pleased with his lot, slung his bow and quiver at his back, and considered himself now, as one of the Englishman's own party.

As Van Wyk's hospitality, and the business of unloading and loading up again, had not delayed us longer than an hour and a quarter, we had still four hours' sun to enable us to reach some more friendly place. Soon after we left the house, the boor drove off in his waggon, and we saw him going across the plain to the eastward, for the purpose, as we afterwards heard, of reporting to the veldcornet, that a party of strange men had entered the colony.

For two hours we rode along a beaten waggon-road, an accommodation which we had not met with for several months, and which enabled us with ease to travel at a quicker rate than usual. From this we turned out to the right in order to take a nearer path, and

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ascended a rugged kloof practicable only for cattle. A representation of this pass is given in the vignette at the end of the chapter.

At this high level, we entered upon a very extensive open plain, abounding, to an incredible degree, in wild animals; among which were several large herds of quakkas, and many wilde-beests or gnues: but the springbucks were far the most numerous, and, like flocks of sheep, completely covered several parts of the plain. Their uncertain movements rendered it impossible to estimate their number, but I believe if I were to guess it at two thousand, I should still be within the truth. This is one of the most beautiful of the antelopes of Southern Africa; and it is certainly one of the most numerous. The plain afforded no other object to fix the attention; and even if it had presented many, I should not readily have ceased admiring these elegant animals, or have been diverted from watching their manners. It was only occasionally, that they took those remarkable leaps which have been the origin of the name; but when grazing or moving at leisure, they walked or trotted like other antelopes, or as the common deer. When pursued, or hastening their pace, they frequently took an extraordinary bound, rising with curved or elevated backs, high into the air, generally to the height of eight feet, and appearing as if about to take flight.* Some of the herds moved by us almost within musket-shot; and I observed that in crossing the beaten road, the greater number cleared it by one of those flying leaps. As the road was quite smooth, and level with the plain, there was no necessity for their leaping over it; but it seemed that the fear of a snare, or a natural disposition to regard man as their enemy, induced them to mistrust even the ground which he had trodden.

* When Mr. Barrow asserts of the springbuck (Trav. p. 104.) that "its usual pace is a constant jumping or springing, with all four legs stretched out, and off the ground at the same time," he only proves how little he himself knew of a subject on which he was attempting to give information to others; and presents us with a specimen of the accuracy with which his book has been put together. I do not mean to say that in this description he is guilty of any intentional misrepresentation; for I really believe that he wrote it as well as he could.

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This plain was nearly six miles across, and terminated by ranges of mountains or rocky hills. Its surface was uniformly covered with low bushes, diminishing in size as we advanced, till they were, in that part where we halted, not higher, on an average, than nine inches; nor could I find any which exceeded a foot. They were all of that dwarf kind which has been described on a former occasion.*

In the south-eastern quarter of the plain, we came to a large pond; and as it was at this time an hour after sunset, and it was thought too dark to venture farther, we here unpacked, and took up our station in a spot the most bare and unsheltered that can be imagined. Not a shrub could be found, by the side of which we might sleep somewhat protected from a cold wind which at night blew keenly along the surface of the ground; nor was there fuel sufficient for keeping, according to our usual custom, a fire burning till morning. Barely enough of these pigmy bushes could be pulled up before dark, for cooking our food. As stones were every where found scattered about, I ordered a few to be piled up in the form of a low semicircular wall, to shelter my head from the wind; but the men preferred exposure to the weather, to the trouble of collecting a few more pieces of rock for themselves. We were obliged to make our oxen fast, if it can be so said, to loose stones; but they, and the sheep, were nearly as tame as the dogs, and had become so used to the daily routine of our travelling, that they seemed to understand their duty; and, in fact, gave the people very little trouble in looking after them. This spot is distinguished on the map by the name of Pond Station.

19th. On account of the scarcity of fuel, we left this station before breakfast, and after having travelled a little less than two miles, arrived at the termination of this bleak plain; where we found the dwelling of a colonist. It was a mere hut, and had not been inhabited by its owner for some time, but two or three 'tame Bushmen' were living there, to take care of the garden; that is, to keep the cattle out of it, and watch that it was not plundered. They came out to

* At page 314. of the first volume.

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greet us, when we halted a few minutes to inquire respecting our road and the name of the place. This they said was Groote Fontein (Great Fountain, or Spring).

From this place the country continued level and open during the remainder of the day's journey. Great numbers of springbucks were seen, and some gnues; but nothing worth remark was observed during a distance of eighteen miles, excepting the uniformity, and karro-like nature, of the country, every where apparently destitute of water. At the southern extremity of this plain, a few temporary pools were found, near some low hills which form its boundary; but not a tree was any where to be seen in the whole district.

The clouds now began to assume a threatening appearance; we therefore hastened our pace in hopes of reaching some shelter, before the storm commenced. At not more than a mile farther, we came in sight of a farm-house; and, after what I had experienced at Van Wyk's, it was not without some hesitation that I rode up to the door.

On seeing me arrive, one of the family came out, and, after the usual salutations, welcomed me into the house, and, immediately on entering, offered me a seat, in the same hospitable manner which I had found generally practised in most parts of the Cape Colony. To my request that my people might be allowed to take shelter for the night, in one of the out-buildings, the answer was, instantly, "Yes, certainly;" and when I said that more of my party were coming on, they replied, "There will be room for them all."

Scarcely were we under the roof, before there fell as violent and heavy a storm of hail and rain, as I had ever witnessed: the hailstones were three quarters of an inch in diameter. The rest of my people with the pack oxen, were not so fortunate, as they did not arrive till half an hour afterwards; but finding a house ready to receive them, they were in the best spirits, though thoroughly soaked with wet. The rain continued during the remainder of the day, to pour down in torrents.

The name of the place was Krieger's Fontein, and that of the owner Piet Vermeulen. The master himself was at this time absent on the commando, or militia-service, against the Caffres in the

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Zuureveld; where he had been on duty, nearly three months; but his wife received us with the most willing hospitality.

Before it was mentioned by myself, she had discovered that I had eaten nothing that day; and immediately spread the table herself, and set before me, meat, eggs, butter, and some excellent bread. These, although so great a treat after privations such as those of a journey on horseback through the wild country of the Bushmen, were not so gratifying as the benevolent kindness with which they were offered. She had given orders, that my men should be supplied with both bread and meat, and that my cattle should be taken into the fold, along with her own. She expressed great surprise at the journey we had performed, and that a white-man should have ventured in so unprotected a manner amongst the Bushmen; but was still more surprised that I had escaped alive.

These are the common sentiments of the colonists living on the borders, and who are accustomed to regard these savages as a most dangerous race of beings; the very name of them conveying with it the idea of, stealing cattle, and of a cruel death by poisoned arrows. These ideas have not been admitted without cause; and even at this time, the boors occasionally suffer heavy losses: but the Bushmen, in exculpation, declare that they rob in retaliation of past injuries. Thus, the recollection of injustice on both sides, still operates to produce an international enmity which nothing but great forbearance and good sense can ever convert into mutual confidence: a result which I believe to be attainable by means of a steady co-operation of the government and the colonists, as soon as both these shall concur in the undertaking, as in one which is equally their religious duty and their moral policy.

Having been now nearly nine months without having received any intelligence from the Cape, I made many inquiries respecting the state of affairs; but in this remote corner of the colony, nothing was heard from Cape Town; and but little more was known of what was passing at Graaffreynet. At these farms the visit of a stranger is a rare occurrence; and, excepting their neighbours, for so they call those who reside within forty or fifty miles, scarcely any one is seen to pass this

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way. Not even the butcher's man, or slagters knegt*, ever made his appearance at this distant farm; although the owner possessed a flock of not less than four thousand sheep; and many of his neighbours, not less than six.

Still, however, the rearing of cattle was their chief means of subsistence: the family, with their slaves and Hottentots, being fed with mutton at every meal, caused a daily consumption of two sheep, the fat of which was considered almost equal in value to the rest of the carcass, by being manufactured into soap. It was, as they informed me, more profitable to kill their sheep, for this purpose only, than to sell them to the butchers at so low a price as a rix-dollar or less, and even so low as five schellings.† Formerly the alkali necessary for this manufacture, was obtained here from the Ganna-(or Kanna-) bosch; but that being at length, all consumed through a constant demand for it, another species of Salsola growing wild in many parts of the country, was taken as a substitute, and found to be even preferable to the ganna. In the house, I saw a great number of cakes of this soap, piled up to harden, ready for their next annual journey to Cape Town; whither they go, not merely for the purpose of selling it, but of purchasing clothing and such other articles as are not to be had in the country districts, but at an exorbitant price.

The pasture of this farm, and of the whole of the neighbouring country generally, is thought to be less adapted for oxen, than for sheep; on which account, Vermeulen holds a farm in another division, better suited for his larger cattle.

The country in which we now were, is that division of the Graaffreynet district, which is called Achter-Sneeuwberg (Behind the Snow-mountains). It is, as well as several others in this part of the colony, very deficient in trees of dimensions large enough for planks;

* The office of slagter's knegt has already been described in the first volume, at page 201.

† That is; from four shillings to half a crown currency; or about half that sum in sterling money.

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and its inhabitants, therefore, fetch the principal part of their timber from the forests beyond Bruyntjes Hoogte, from those growing on the Bosch-bergen (Forest Mountains), and from the borders of Kafferland, about the Baviaan's rivier (Baboon's river). Doors and tables, and the larger beams, were here observed to be all of Geelhout (Yellowwood); but the rafters were of willow, which is found to answer sufficiently well for this purpose, and is more easily attainable by the colonists living northward of the Snow-mountains, and, who find the banks of the Groote rivier, as they here call the Nugariep where it abounds, a much shorter and easier journey.

From the immense number of cattle kept on these farms, their manure accumulates in the fold, to a great thickness; and this, from time to time, is cut into square pieces in the manner of peat, and appeared to answer the purpose of fuel equally well. The walls of these cattle-pounds, are at many farms here, built entirely of such pieces of manure piled up to dry; and which go by the name of mest-koek (manure-cake). This fuel produces a strong heat; but gives out a disagreeable smell, until it is well ignited.

At this house, there resided one of those itinerant tutors of whom some account has been given on a former occasion.* He was a man of ingenuity, and of some experience of the world, having been in the Dutch service at Malacca, and Batavia, and having passed some time at Moccha in Arabia. He was related, he said, to an opulent family of the same name in Cape Town. At this farm he had been nearly a twelvemonth, employed in giving instruction to three sons of Vermeulen, who, besides these, had five other children.

This meester, as he was called, (that is; schoolmeester, or schoolmaster) considered it part of his profession, like the meester at Pieter Jacobs's, to let every person know the extent of his acquirements. But this was done without any inordinate share of vanity; and, I confess, I was not sorry at his making this display; for, although there was nothing which any person but a Cape meester

* Vol. I. p. 199.

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would boast of, it was an agreeable relief from the monotony of a conversation on agricultural subjects, the only topics which generally are to be expected at such farm-houses. He exhibited some small drawings which, he told me, were done entirely with the juice of the petals of a species of oxalis producing a blue color, of the tint of indigo. He had very ingeniously made pencils from the hair of the springbuck; and as far as my present stock of drawing materials would permit, I was glad at being able to supply his wants, by furnishing him with a few camels-hair pencils and a piece of China-ink. With these be employed himself in the evening in making a copy of my drawing of the rhinoceros. His powers in penmanship were not despicable; and as a proof of steadiness of hand and of good sight, he gave me a piece of paper on which, by the naked eye, he had written the 'Lord's Prayer' twice in a circular space of less than seven tenths of an inch in diameter.

At night I sat down with the family to a hot supper of mutton; to which were added, a salad of cucumbers, and a large bowl of milk: this last being usually the concluding dish at a boor's supper.

The description, in the former volume, of Peter Jacobs's dwelling and of his whole establishment, will convey a tolerably just idea of the place. The rooms in the principal house being but three (that is, one in the middle in which the family sit and take their meals, and one bed-room at each end) a visitor could not be accommodated with a chamber to himself. A bed was therefore prepared for me, in the same apartment with the meester and his three scholars.

This tutor was in every respect, qualified for finishing their education, and for completing them for Dutch farmers; for a man who does not smoke, is a rare phenomenon in this colony, and is generally looked upon by the boors as an imperfect creature; a disadvantage which I myself laboured under, but which, for want of any natural talent for this accomplishment, I was never able to overcome. I might perhaps have partly retrieved my character in their estimation, could I even have shown them that I enjoyed it in taste; or even in smell, by exhibiting both nostrils blackened, and hermetically closed, with that elegant and fashionable dirt, called in

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England, snuff: but in both these arts, unfortunately, I was equally deficient.

This tutor, then, as soon as he was in bed, placed the candle by his side, as I at first thought and hoped, to extinguish it, that I might be left to close my eyes for that sleep which nature demanded after two days of fatigue with little intermediate rest. But finding that the light still remained, I turned my head towards it, and, to my double mortification, beheld the meester lying very quietly, with a short crooked German pipe hanging from one corner of his mouth, while from the other, arose clouds of smoke rapidly following each other, till the room was filled with the fume of tobacco, and myself almost suffocated.

At length when that pipe was finished, I had some little respite, but it was only while he was occupied in filling it again. In this interval, finding that I was not asleep, a circumstance not much to be wondered at, he began to relate to me some of his adventures in foreign parts; and these reminiscences afforded him so much satisfaction, that he allowed himself to talk and smoke in alternate fits, so that the second pipe, unfortunately, lasted twice as long as the first. But, as it would ill become a guest so hospitably received, to interrupt his entertainers' enjoyments, I endured it all with perfect patience till the last; though, at an hour when most mortals desire to be 'lulled into sweet oblivion,' his candle, his pipe, and his conversation, kept three of my senses in a state of continued irritation.

By degrees the smoking became fainter; the anecdotes of Malacca, Batavia, and Moccha, were at length all exhausted; he stretched forth his arm to put out the candle; and bade me Goodnight. But the long-wished-for hour of sleep was not yet come; and it now fell to his turn to be annoyed. Scarcely had we begun to doze, when repeated claps of the most violent thunder, roused us again; and flashes of lightning glaring through the window, gave us opportunities of beholding each other once more.

In a few minutes after this, the sound of the rain out of doors, pouring down in torrents, made me, notwithstanding the tobacco smoke, consider myself fortunate in being at such a time under the

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shelter of a roof. Presently, I heard the meester start up, and, with furious rattling, begin dragging his bed, with the frame which supported it, from one side of the room to the other. He cried out, in a mixed tone of lamentation and surprize, that the rain was running down upon him in a stream, from the groot gat in het dak; and truly enough; for on looking upwards, I saw, what I had not noticed before, a 'great hole in the roof,' just above the place whence he had so long been issuing his fumigations, and his anecdotes of Malacca, Batavia, and Moccha. When I saw this, I began to regret that the storm had not commenced an hour or two sooner. Yet it would have been ungenerous, not to have condoled with him for having to sleep in a wet bed; as he had given himself the trouble of telling his adventures, purely from a wish to amuse me.

20th. These misfortunes consumed the greater part of the night; and the next morning was little better suited to cheer us. The rain had never ceased since it first began, and there was little appearance of our having any sunshine during the day. The clouds hung so low that the surrounding mountains were hidden from our sight; and the ground was every where deluged with streams of rain water, supplied by the torrents, which were seen at a distance rushing down the foot of the mountains.

Our breakfast consisted of coffee, the usual beverage at this meal; after which I was compelled by the rain, to remain in the house more than three hours; the good lady of the house at the same time, and the meester, assuring me that they had known it to rain there with little intermission for a fortnight, before they had any return of fair weather; and that a four or five days' rain was not unusual. But fortunately this was not the case at present; and as soon as it cleared up, I walked out to take a view of the place, while my men were packing the oxen. The clouds had risen above the mountains, and now gave me an opportunity of making a sketch of the house, and of a hill which was very remarkable on account of its great resemblance to the Table Mountain at Cape Town.* The colonists have dis-

* A view of Kleine Tafelberg and Vermeulen's dwelling, is given in the engraving at the head of the sixth chapter. The distant mountains on the right, are a part of Sneeuwberg.

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tinguished it by the name of Kleine Tafelberg (Little Table-Mountain): it appeared to be about a mile and a half distant from the farm-house; and had the pleasing effect of inducing me, for some moments, to fancy that I was standing in the vicinity of that town.

In front of the house, there was a small garden: I saw growing in it, maize, dakka, cabbages, pumpkins, lettuces, cucumbers, and tobacco; but the latter had been stripped of all its leaves, and utterly destroyed by the hail which had fallen yesterday. Wheat and barley are grown on this farm in small quantities; but the climate has been found too cold to ripen grapes; and from the same cause their peach-trees appeared to be in a very unthriving state. In the month of April, they usually expect frost sufficiently severe to kill all their garden-crops; but it must be confessed, that in general the boors take very little pains with their gardens, and, from either ignorance, or slovenliness, are very bad gardeners. The productiveness of the Colony, or its aptitude for horticulture and agriculture, cannot therefore be fairly estimated from such specimens of cultivation as are commonly seen in travelling through it.

It was nearly two o'clock before all were ready for departing. At taking leave, Juffrouw (Mrs.) Vermeulen, who could not be persuaded to accept any remuneration for what we had eaten at her house, repeated her invitation for us to stop there on our return. It was not more on my own account, than for the character of the colonists, that I rejoiced at having, under her roof, met with a treatment which served to do away the unfavorable impressions received at the dwelling of Jacob Van Wyk.

So unusual a quantity of rain had fallen during the last twenty-four hours, that many parts of our road were covered with water, and but just passable.

About eleven miles and a half, brought us to the highest, and principal, branch of the Zeekoe rivier, (Sea-cow, or Hippopotamus, river,) which we attempted to ford, but found it too much swollen to be passed without danger. Just at this place, was the residence of a colonist of the name of Nieukerk, who, as we were endeavouring to cross the river, came out; and, perceiving that it could not be done

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without risk, invited me to stop the night at his house, as the waters, he said, would probably have sufficiently subsided before the next day. I therefore proceeded no farther; but accepted the invitation and entered his friendly cottage; while our baggage was unloaded at a small straw hut in which my men were lodged.

All the buildings were of the most miserable description, and very little superior to that of which a representation has been given in the first volume.* The hut which was on (this occasion, appropriated to my Hottentots, could not, strictly, be called a shelter, as the rain in the night, ran through the roof upon them. Yet still we experienced hospitality, and the evening passed in a manner which was far from unpleasant.

Nieukerk was just returned from the commando, as the farmers term every expedition of a military nature; where he had been three months on duty; and gave us some account of the Caffre war, the object of which, was to drive the Caffres out of the Zuureveld, a district formerly purchased, or taken from them, by the Dutch; but which they afterwards invaded, and had kept possession of for some years, and obliged the white inhabitants to take refuge in the older districts of the colony. This warfare had been going on, already four months, and was not likely soon to terminate; for although possession of the country had been regained by the Cape troops aided by the militia of boors, it was found necessary to keep these troops constantly stationed on the frontier, to confine the enemy within their own territory; but who nevertheless kept the soldiery and farmers always on the alert to prevent their predatory incursions into the colony.

This militia, or commando, consists of boors drawn from the different districts of the Colony, by the immediate requisition of their proper veldcornets, who, on such occasions, call out the inhabitants, not by lot, but by routine. The men so called out repair to the rendezvous, generally mounted on horseback and armed with a musket of their own; and most frequently attended by one of their

* At page 238.

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Hottentot servants. They wear no uniform, but are divided into squadrons, under the command of a veldcommandant, who is also a boor, nominated by the government, and who at all times retains that title, and with it, a rank superior to that of veldcornet. This militia is never called into service, but in cases of necessity; and if the duty should appear likely to continue for a considerable length of time, as in the present case, they are allowed, after serving a certain period, to return to their homes; and are replaced by others called out by the same authorities.

I now heard a confirmation of the lamentable news respecting Mr. Stockenström the late landdrost of Graaffreynet, a man so much esteemed and respected, and so peculiarly well fitted for the station he held, that his death was considered as a loss to the Colony. The circumstances which I afterwards learnt more fully, were, that being under the necessity of conferring with the commander of the troops stationed in the Zuureveld, he went escorted by a cavalry party of twenty-two Burghers (or Citizens; as the Dutch colonists are frequently termed) and their attendant Hottentots. Desirous of going by a shorter road, he ventured, contrary to the advice of the boors, through a part of the country from which the Caffres were, at that time, not completely expelled. He had no hesitation in taking this step, because, having on all occasions before the breaking out of the war, behaved with the greatest kindness towards that nation, he would not believe it possible that they could illtreat one who had been so much their friend. But unfortunately, it happened that a chief who had not been one of those who had shared his liberality, was in that neighbourhood, and heard from his spies that the landdrost was passing. This chief hastily collected a body of men, and sent them off with orders to destroy the whole of the party. When the Caffres met them, they accosted the colonists in an amicable manner; and the landdrost, as he had often done before, made them presents of tobacco, accompanied with friendly advice, to them and to their whole nation, to retire quietly out of the Zuureveld, that the soldiers might not be under the necessity of shooting them. They continued a short time longer in conversation; but at last perceiving

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them growing insolent, and thinking it unsafe to remain amongst them, he was preparing to mount his horse; when they treacherously seized the opportunity and, at the moment of turning his back, pierced him mortally with their hassagays. At this signal, the burghers were surrounded, and ten of them killed on the spot: the rest escaped, only by being on horseback; though several were deeply wounded. On this occasion, the savages displayed a degree of barbarity which had not hitherto been supposed to belong to their character, but which their own mistaken notions respecting warfare, rendered perhaps praiseworthy or, at least, not dishonourable.

At this period, as Nieukerk informed me, the war had cost the lives of not more than thirteen Burghers, exclusively of soldiers and Hottentots; while the Caffres had lost two hundred of their number, before the former could dislodge them from the woods of that district: and, as they still ventured to make incursions, from time to time, many more of these tribes were shot.

I had much reason, in common with the Colony, to lament the death of the landdrost; whose character was, besides, an assurance that I should meet with every liberal assistance in obtaining the object of my journey to Graaffreynet. No other had yet been appointed in his place: the duties of the office, therefore, were fulfilled by one of the Heemraaden, of the name of Maré.

The inmates of Nieukerk's cottage, besides himself and his wife, were, his two brothers, and his wife's father and mother. The two last were far advanced in years, and complained much of the coldness of the climate of Sneeuwberg (Sneeberg), to which they were not yet inured, having resided here not more than two months; before which, they had lived in the Boschjesveld, a warm and dry country. Every one, in fact, seemed to be troubled with a cough; and as they were but new-comers, they found these highlands unpleasantly chilly. They all wore their hats within doors; but the effects of early habits and of a natural pleasure which I felt in showing respect to honest men, though tenants of the meanest cottage, always prompted me, on entering such a dwelling, to testify that respect by the same forms

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which good-breeding pays as readily to the inferior as to the equal. This however the good old father-in-law would not allow, and though the feebleness of seventy, might have excused his moving, he rose from his chair, and fetching my hat, put it on my head, saying, he feared that I should take cold in the same manner as they themselves had done.

After tea, I was required in my turn, to tell the wonders of the Bushmen's country. My account of the treatment which I had received amongst the savages, did not fail to interest and surprise them. The old people, to whom more particularly, anecdotes of Bushmen were subjects of a novel kind, listened, with the greatest attention; and would have forgotten the hour of the night, if supper had not put an end to the conversation, and brought me a respite: for at last, the onus loquendi rested entirely upon myself. Both before and after supper, a pretty long grace was said, or rather sung, by one of the younger branches of the family.

I now for the first time, had an opportunity of witnessing the old colonial custom, of washing feet after supper. A maid-servant carried round to each member of the family in turn, according to age, a small tub of water, in which all washed in the same water. It must be regarded as a proof of their good sense, that they showed respect to the habits of a foreigner, by not pressing me to join in this ceremony: the tub was merely offered to me, and then passed on. But this custom is, I believe, gradually wearing away, throughout the colony. Its utility was more evident in former times, when the colonists went without stockings, as indeed many do at the present time; but since the country has become so much richer, that almost every person can afford to clothe himself more completely, this practice is falling into disuse.

The whole house formed but a single room; and in this a large fireplace at one end served for kitchen, where slaves, and some Hottentot maids, sat within the chimney, cooking both for the company and for themselves. At the other end a screen of mats parted off a bed-room for the female part of the family; while a few blankets spread upon

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a row of mats on the floor, between the supper table and the fire, formed the only sleeping-place for the two young men, and for any casual visitors.

Here I was first informed that in the buiten districten (out-districts, or those far from the Cape) it is the general custom, to sleep without undressing, the coat excepted: but this custom has, I believe, many exceptions; especially at those houses where some degree of affluence enables the owners to furnish them more perfectly in the European style. Where there is nothing better to rest on, than a mat upon the floor, the practice may not be quite unreasonable; but in any case, it is not favorable either to personal cleanliness, or to health.

21st. In front of this house, and commencing immediately on the opposite side of the river, the mountains of Sneeuwberg (Sneeberg) stand full in view, and present a grand and interesting landscape; and which I was tempted to add to the number of my sketches.

On making an attempt to cross the river early in the morning, its waters were found to have risen even higher than they were on the day before; but by eleven in the forenoon, they had run off sufficiently to admit of our fording. In doing this, we were indebted to Nieukerk and his brothers, for pointing out the shallowest part; and as soon as we were safely through, we were saluted by the whole family, who stood on the opposite bank, with Goede reis, (A good journey to you.)

Along the right bank of the Zeekoe river, I observed a road much frequented, which led to the northernmost limits of the colony, and, as I was informed, to the southern banks of the Nugariep, whither the boors often go for the purpose of cutting timber. The mat-rush* grows here in abundance; but not a tree was any where to be seen: with this rush, all the houses in these parts of the Colony, are thatched. The country was mountainous on all sides. We kept gradually ascending, after having, at the distance of about four miles from Nieukerk's, recrossed the Seacow river, which takes its rise amidst the high mountains on our left, and after flowing along the

* Of the sort called Hard matjes-goederen: the Scirpus tegetalis, Vol. I. p. 263.

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foot of Kleine Tafelberg, runs northward inclining to the east, and, passing by Plettenberg's Baaken, takes a more easterly course, as I was informed, and finally joins the Nugariep. A contrariety in the accounts which had been given me, of its course below the Baaken, leaves me in doubt whether, in laying it down on the map, I have adopted the true direction, or not.

At about eight miles and a half from Nieukerk's we passed the next farm-house, the residence of a colonist of the name of Coenraad Herholdt, where a garden with poplars, pine trees, willows, roses, and peach trees, presented in these wild highlands, a solitary glimpse of cultivation.

Beyond this, the road begins to ascend more rapidly, and enters the cold elevated region of Sneeuwberg proper. As we approached it, the air felt very sensibly colder; the grass became more plentiful in the valleys; and nothing presented itself in the prospect around us, but rocky mountains, the summits of which were enveloped in misty clouds. The unsettled state of the weather, assisted in strengthening the character of frowning grandeur which belongs to this scene. The rude and bold features of the wild landscape, and the sublimity of nature, were unmingled with any trace of human works; and the beaten track under our feet, was the only mark which could inform the traveller that these rugged valleys had ever been frequented; or that the abode of man was to be found in a region apparently so deserted and solitary. I halted, to make some sketches, but my fingers were so much benumbed with the coldness of the misty vapor, that I succeeded with difficulty. In less than two hours after passing Herholdt's, we gained the most elevated point in the road over the Snow Mountains. Here the declivities and valleys were covered with abundance of thick grass of a growth equally fine with that which we call 'sheep's fescue-grass.'* The road continued at this great elevation; and we travelled for more than three quarters of an hour, before there was any considerable descent.

On our left we sometimes caught sight, between the mountains, of an immense and lofty peak, the highest point of Sneeuwberg. This is

* Festuca ovina, Linn.

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called by the colonists, Spitskop* (The Peak) on account of its remarkably pointed form, by which it is distinguished at a great distance over all the surrounding country, as much as by its superior height. It has been in later years, very unnecessarily re-named Compasberg.

That this is the most elevated part of the Cape Colony, there can, I think, be no doubt, if in addition to the peculiar and constant coldness of its climate, we deduce an argument from the circumstance of the different streams which proceed from it, taking their course in opposite directions: those on the northern side, flowing through the Seacow, and Gariep, rivers, to the western coast of the continent; while those on the southern and eastern, carry their waters to the eastern sea.

The first step in our descent from this chilly region, brought us to a fine grassy flat, covered with, what is the greatest rarity in Southern Africa, a real turf or sod, though in many places abounding in the mat-rush. Since quitting the Hex river, every stream which we had crossed, flowed towards the west; but at this spot, in a ravine on our right, we found a rivulet taking an opposite course; this may be considered as the highest source of the Sunday river.

A keen chilling mist, or rather a misty rain, now enveloped us; and my whole party complained of being extremely cold. I therefore resolved on taking up our night's station by the river, at the first spot where fire-wood could be procured; as we were all utter strangers to the country, and knew not whether by going forward, we should come to a better, or a worse, place. Wood however was, in this instance fortunately, so scarce that we were kept advancing, till, through the mist, we discovered a house before us, just at a time when evening began to approach. It was the dwelling of Piet Van der Merwe; who very readily, and with marked kindness, received us under his roof. My men, together with my young Bushman protegé, were comfortably lodged in the 'corn-house;' while I myself was

* See the vignette at the end of the sixth chapter; and the note appended to the 5th of May.

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hospitably entertained in the house with the family; who considered themselves well repaid for their trouble by the information which they obtained respecting the Bushmen. They also, in return, communicated some information; that those tribes who inhabit the banks of the Nugariep, or Groote river, as they here called it, were considered so extremely savage, that the boors had never yet been able to bring about any friendly communication with them.

The name of Van der Merwe is one of the most common in the Cape Colony. In cases where several of the same baptismal, and surname occur, it is customary, in noticing them in writing, as well as when they sign their own name, to add the Christian name of their father, either at full length, as in the form, for example, of Jacobsz or Jacobszoon; or by the initials only, as Jz; a practice analogous to that by which, probably, we have obtained such names as Richards or Richardson, Johnson, Jackson, &c. But among neighbours, colonists of the same name are distinguished in a more familiar way, either by the place of their abode, or by some other circumstance. Thus my hospitable host was known to the boors around, by the appellation of Piet Dikwang (Thick-cheek,) on account of a swelling, or wen, upon his cheek.

Most of the family seemed to be troubled with slight coughs, the same as I had observed at Nieukerks; occasioned perhaps, by the foggy state of the weather. A cough appeared the more remarkable, as it was an ailment of very rare occurrence in the countries of the former part of my travels. But it is not to be pronounced a prevailing, or a common, complaint in the Snow Mountains, since I did not afterwards find it to be general; yet, it is more than probable, that the misty cold atmosphere of Snéeberg proper, renders its inhabitants very liable to be attacked by similar affections of the lungs.

The rhinoceros-bush grows abundantly on different parts of these mountains, and was the only fuel which I saw used at this house; other firewood being exceedingly scarce. The rhinoceros, as my host informed me, and as my own experience afterwards confirmed, is now nearly expelled from the Colony; it being very rarely to be seen within the boundary: and hippopotami, formerly so numerous in the

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Zeekoe river, are no longer, unless accidentally, to be found there; but have all retreated to the Black River or Nugariep, where they may, for the present at least, live more undisturbed.

Van der Merwe had learnt from the observations of many years, that at this place, a southeasterly wind, such as we had at this time; almost always brings with it rain. In the winter, long icicles hang from the thatch of his cottage, and the water is covered with a thick ice. At that season the cattle, he asserted, would perish with cold, if they were not all removed to a warmer farm, or leg-plaats.

22nd. The air was exceedingly cold, and a misty rain continued to fall during the whole of the day. I became every hour more anxious to reach Graaffreynet, and therefore, as there was little prospect of gaining better weather by waiting till the afternoon, I determined to depart; not more, for the purpose of getting forward on our journey, than of descending from this cold region, into some warmer tract.

Just as I was on the point of mounting my horse, a man arrived from a neighbouring veldcornet who had received intelligence of a party of strange armed men having entered the Colony. This man had orders to discover, who we were, and what were our intentions. I briefly informed him, that we had none but peaceable intentions, and that I was on my way to the landdrost. This messenger, who by his manners and tone of voice, seemed to think that he was now employed on a very serious affair, preferred the information of Van der Merwe on the subject, to the suspicious stranger's own account of himself. After a few minutes' questioning, he rode off, well satisfied that the business turned out no worse: for it appeared that some alarm had been excited by the fact of people having come into the Colony, in a quarter where no arrival of the kind had ever been known before.

At taking leave, Van der Merwe gave us a warm invitation to make his house a resting-place on our way back. A near prospect of the termination of our present journey, put all my Hottentots in good spirits, and enabled them to set out without feeling disheartened at the weather which they saw we should have to encounter.

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All were now wrapped up in every piece of clothing they possessed; and Ruiter had so tied himself up in skins of various sorts and colors, sheep-skins, leopard-skins, and goat-skins, that he looked more like an automaton pile of furs, than a man. The rain and mist became colder as we advanced; or rather, we felt it more keenly in proportion as we lost the warmth which we had acquired by the fire-side. The mist penetrated, where the rain could not; and every thing was either wet, or damp. The cold grew more piercing, and my people, more silent and dejected. I endeavoured to keep up their spirits, by assuring them that as soon as we should descend the mountain, we should find fair and warm weather: for we were then among the clouds; or rather, the clouds had sunk upon us. Yet, though much chilled and benumbed, I did not myself suffer so much as my Klaarwater Hottentots: they had long been accustomed only to the warm climate of the Transgariepine; and three of them were, besides, advanced in years, and one of these much enfeebled by age. Speelman and Philip, who, like myself, had been somewhat hardened by constant exposure to every kind of weather, and being, excepting myself, the youngest of the party, were the least of all affected by the cold. The sheep, of which we had only two remaining, and the dogs, began to droop. Still, the hope of soon descending to a lower level, gave us courage to go forward.

In this state we had been travelling about two hours and a half, when Philip, as I was riding in advance, hastily came on to tell me that the people were unable to proceed any farther, and that they were of opinion that the Bushboy was dying. When I returned, they all declared that they could endure the cold no longer. Old Cobus Berends's countenance was so much changed, and in so weak a voice he told me that the cold had seized his heart, that I really believed, considering his age, that he was struck with death. I had never before thought myself in so serious a situation: the poor little Bushboy who, excepting his kaross, was nearly naked, had seated himself down by the road-side. When I went to him, I found him affected to so alarming a degree, that he had no power either to move or to speak, and his face had assumed that peculiar yellowness

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which, among blacks, is the visible symptom of, either approaching dissolution, or the decay of energy in the vital functions.

The most distressing reflections crowded on my mind. It appeared that the hand of death lay already upon him. What was I to tell the father at my return! That he had died of cold? This would not have been believed. I should have been accused of being the cause of his death; or of having left him in captivity under some of the boors. My return through the Bushmen's country would be impracticable. Kaabi, and the whole tribe, would have considered me no longer as their friend; but as one who had treacherously deceived them and betrayed the confidence of a father. The whole plan of my travels was deranged. I could not rejoin my waggons but by making a circuit by the Sack river again, and waiting for some favorable opportunity of crossing the Cisgariepine. These sad forebodings rushed upon me, and entirely occupied my mind: they made me forget my own personal feelings, and that every one of my men was now suffering from the severity of the weather.

We had therefore no alternative but to halt, although in an exposed open place without a tree, or scarcely a bush, that could afford us shelter. While those who were able to move, were unloading the oxen, two others went in search of firewood. This spot I have distinguished on the map, by the name of Cold Station; a name which, at this time, was more applicable to it, than to any other station in the whole of my travels.

On account of the rain which continued falling, and the wetness of our fuel, we found the greatest difficulty in kindling a fire; but the people took care afterwards to supply it with large quantities of wood, so that for some hours, it continued to burn in spite of the mist and rain.

My first concern was to bring the Bushboy to life; for he had no other appearance than that of a dying person. We placed him by the fire, and I wrapped him up in one of my own blankets: but he remained for half an hour completely speechless, and nearly unable to move. He took no notice either of the fire, or of any

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thing around him; and Philip and Speelman repeatedly gave their opinion, that he would never speak again.

I saw that it was necessary to restore the activity of the vital functions, which the cold seemed to have nearly stopped: I was regretting that we had nothing of a stimulating quality to give him, when the recollection of having a bottle of volatile alkali, gave me some hopes. I immediately prepared in water, as much as half a teacup-ful, of as great a strength as could safely be administered.

It would appear by the use which I made of it, that I regarded this medicine as my panacea; for I gave a dose to the three old men; and the rest had so much confidence in it, that they were desirous of taking some also; but as I thought they could be restored without its aid, I judged it more prudent to reserve it for those who might have the misfortune to be bitten by serpents. Ruiter suffered almost as much as the boy; and was also speechless: but the warmth of the fire at last re-animated him. Hans Lucas's appearance was most miserable, and Berends's countenance was equally sad; but our Bushman Nieuwveld bore the cold much better than his countryman.

At length the boy was enabled to move his limbs; he crept nearer to the fire, and in a little time afterwards recovered his speech enough to tell me that the medicine had done him much good. After nursing him for about two hours, I rejoiced to find him sufficiently restored to be able to eat; and in order to fortify him against the night, I desired him to eat a large quantity of food; a request which is never unseasonable to a Bushman. Cobus, and the rest, revived by degrees; but all the party sat over the fire very melancholy and dejected.

The rain now had ceased for a short time, and the men took the opportunity to cook their dinner, or rather, supper. The apathy or forgetfulness of Hottentots, was here well exemplified: they had taken their own meal, without ever once thinking of their master, who, in the mean while, had been too much engaged in attending the boy, to think of himself. But being reminded by hunger, I ordered Philip to broil a piece of meat, while I sought for a place where I could pass the night: for it was then evening; the clouds had

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again sunk upon us; and a violent and heavy rain, which ceased not during the whole night, had just commenced. At a little distance from my men, I prepared a spot, by forming a layer of bushes to keep my baggage and bedding from the ground which, being on a declivity, was deluged with streams of water. As it would have been folly to spread out my bed in such a situation, I seated myself upon my baggage, and held the umbrella over me. I waited for nearly an hour, expecting supper; but nothing was brought. I at length rose, and on going to the fire, found it extinguished, and all my people wrapped up in their karosses, for the night. My cook, with true Hottentot sang-froid, informed me that the water, which ran down from the higher ground, together with the rain, had washed away the fire, before the meat was half broiled. So that, finding this, he had put the chop intended for me, upon the bush, and laid down to sleep, without thinking it necessary to put me out of suspense, or to let me know that I was to have no supper that evening.

I therefore resumed my seat upon the layer of bushes, and covered myself up with my watch-coat. In this situation I passed a miserable night; with a cold rain pouring down from above, and torrents of water running under me. I sometimes fell asleep, but my feet being seized with cramp, I soon awoke again, and had sufficient reason for rejoicing at the return of daylight.

23rd. The rain had ceased, but was now succeeded by the same drizzling mist as before; yet I had the consolation of finding all my people able to bear another day's travelling, and the boy not only alive, but recovered.

That a Bushman could suffer so much from the inclemencies of the weather, was a case which I had never expected; nor do I think it one which occurs often. This poor little fellow was young and extremely slender, and at the same time, almost naked; circumstances which might well render him obnoxious to a degree of cold which perhaps, to be estimated correctly, should be considered as extremely severe and uncommon in this part of the globe. I could not but admire the fortitude with which he bore his sufferings: he never complained; but continued without a murmur, patiently walking on, till

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inability to move his limbs prevented his proceeding farther; and then, he merely said to the Hottentots, that he was very cold.

Early in the morning, two boors on horseback, attended by two Hottentot achter-ryders, or according to colonial pronunciation, achter-ryers, (after-riders,) passing by, halted for about ten minutes, and as usual, made inquiries, whence we came and whither we were going. These men, as I was afterwards informed by the landdrost, were then going to Graaffreynet for the purpose of reporting to him our numbers and of explaining who we were. One of them was the veldcornet: their manners led me to suspect this; and I asked if either was the veldcornet, but they replied, No; and to my question, whether they were going to Graaffreynet, they gave the same answer. The Hottentots, who knew the tricks of the boors in such cases, better than I did, were of opinion that the cause of their telling so unqualified a falsehood, was the fear of my putting the veldcornet in requisition for some assistance; as he had been informed by the messenger he sent to Van der Merwe's, that I had that privilege. They asked if we were not afraid to venture in so defenceless a manner through the Boschmans-land; — at this moment, I could not help turning my eyes from them to poor little Magerman, and wondering that men of such gigantic stature, should not feel ashamed to confess that so diminutive a race of savages could inspire them with personal fear.

These achter-ryders are servants intended both for outward show and for use, and correspond in this twofold nature of their duty, to many of our English grooms. A colonist generally takes with him a Hottentot of this description, when he undertakes a journey to any considerable distance from home: and near the borders, such an attendant is far from useless, as he ensures to him some additional safety.

Soon after we left Cold Station, we descended below the clouds and mist, into a drier region; where, had we been better acquainted with the country and my men had been able to travel farther yesterday, we might have passed the night in a less wretched situation.

The country was very mountainous though in some places we

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found intermediate spaces of level ground. At the distance of about five miles from Cold Station we crossed a branch of the Garst (Barley) river, which was at this time so full, as to be but barely fordable; and a mile farther we passed a house and farm belonging also to Piet Van der Merwe, and which he had mentioned to us as a place where we might take up our quarters. From this house, till we quitted the Sneeuwbergen, the hills resume the tabular form so common in the Cisgariepine; and many, which were both large and lofty, succeeded each other, with intervening levels of various extent. The country of the Sneeuwbergen, may be described as a very elevated region, level in many parts, but almost every where thickly studded with high rocky mountains.

After this, we travelled between four and five hours longer, without halting; and were rejoiced at finding ourselves arrived at the top of the descent from the Snow Mountains. The prospect was exceedingly fine, as wild and rocky scenery. Lofty mountains in the distance seemed to close the view before us, but the road, after descending into the valley, leads round on the right, into the extensive plains which lie between the Sneeuwbergen and Graaffreynet. This view, and the appearance of our party, are represented in the second plate.

The descent was very steep, and the road in some places broken and dangerous. Here we found trees of a larger size than we had seen for some time; and the deep glens and bold sides of the mountain, were rendered verdant by an abundance of large bushes of spekboom (fat-tree*,) and were well covered with wood of rich and beautiful foliage. Amongst these were many which I had no where met with before, but which, at this time, I had no opportunity of collecting.†

* Portulacaria Afra.

† Of these, I noted in passing,
Grewia robusta, B. Catal. Geogr. 2845. Ramuli robusti rigidi. Folia parva ovata obtusa crenulata subtus tomentoso-albida. Fructus subhirsutus, sub-tetracoccus. Pedunculi solitarii oppositifolii, foliis paulò breviores uni- vel bi-flori. Flores purpurei.
Celastrus linearis, B. Cat. Geog. 2872. Frutex 6—8-pedalis. Folia integerrima linearia. Spinæ internodiis duplò longiores rectæ horizontales folia proferentes simul cum cymis sessilibus. Incolis Hollandicis dicitur Pen-doorn; nomen aliis fruticibus pariter spinosis commune.

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We continued descending for a long time: the sun had already set, when we reached the foot of the mountain. Here, very opportunely, we found a deserted hut which, though in a very ruinous state, we were happy in taking possession of. It consisted only of one room; part of the roof had been blown off; the floor was covered with the rubbish of the thatch which had fallen in; and the door and windows had been taken away. This I considered as placed in my way by good-fortune; as I began to perceive symptoms of a violent fever; having felt a chill and shivering, even in the sunshine, and the cold I had taken, having already produced a hoarseness.

A fire was made within the walls, and my blankets, which were still very damp, were spread in one corner of the hut, upon some straw which luckily had escaped the rain. I layed myself down immediately and wrapped my driest covering about me, hoping that this treatment and my former remedy, would, before morning, remove the fever, as they had done on similar occasions. As soon as enough embers had been burnt, the men baked in them some bread made with the flour which I had purchased of Van der Merwe.

24th. In the morning, finding the fever rather increased than abated, I resolved to try the experiment of a dose of 'antimonial powder,' and was obliged to keep my bed. The weather was fair, and the day sunny and pleasant; but I was now, for the first time since leaving Cape Town, unable to travel. I sent Philip on the horse to examine if the Zondag (Sunday) river was fordable; and in less than two hours he came back, and reported that we might pass it with safety.

Soon after his return, three burghers on horseback, armed with muskets and well provided with ball and powder, arrived from Graaffreynet, which was about ten miles distant, having been sent officially by the landdrost, for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the reports respecting us. They entered the hut, when my men having pointed out to them their master lying asleep, I was awakened by the sound of Dag, which they repeated till I uncovered my head and returned their salutation.

They began by stating that they were sent by the landdrost to

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make inquiries respecting me and my party, and wished to know when I should be at the village; I replied that it was uncertain, but that it would not be to-day. After some further parley, they became importunate for me to go to Graaffreynet that day, and said, that they had orders to bring me to the landdrost. To this I quickly replied, that I was unwell; and that I neither could, nor would, remove from that place; that they could have no authority for disturbing me; and that they might inform the landdrost, that it was my intention to come to him as soon as I could conveniently. This, and the tone in which it was spoken, put an end to their importunities. But I must in justice to these men, admit that the situation in which they saw me, lying on the ground in the corner of a roofless hovel, was ill calculated to command much respect.

They then, with a little more civility, requested to be informed who I was. Their civility obtained for them, far more than their rudeness would have done; and I gave them to read the government papers which authorized my travelling without hindrance, and permitted me to require assistance. This immediately brought about a revolution in their sentiments and behaviour: they offered to send for a paarde-wagen* and every necessary accommodation for conveying me to the village; and a letter was without delay sent off to the landdrost. I ordered a chop to be broiled for them; and as they had accomplished their mission, they remained merely to gratify their curiosity by questioning my men respecting the countries we had passed through; and continued sitting at their ease for two hours afterwards.

Before these visitors had left me, there arrived two others of a more agreeable kind: I was surprised to see enter my hut, an officer of the 21st regiment of light dragoons; a regiment which I always remember with pleasure. It was Mr. Menzies the surgeon of the regiment, and Mr. Oloff Stockenstrom the younger son of the late landdrost, who now had the kindness to visit a stranger, personally

* A paarde-wagen is a light waggon drawn by horses, and used more frequently for the conveyance of persons, than for carrying any other loads: it is in fact the colonists' carriage of pleasure.—Compare this with the note at page 28. of the first volume.

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unknown to them both; but report having informed them of the circumstance of an Englishman having entered the colony in an unusual manner, they judged it not impossible that it might be either Dr. Cowan or Captain Donovan; and under this persuasion they had brought with them an army list, that I might be gratified with a sight, as they supposed, of my own promotion. They sat down by my bed, and expressed themselves exceedingly shocked at the fatigue which they concluded I must have suffered, and at the wretched lodging in which I lay. I felt so much pleasure in thus unexpectedly meeting with a person with whom I could speak my own language, that as long as they remained, I never once thought of my fever. I asked innumerable questions, and inquired for news of every description.

They afforded me some amusement by relating that, on my account the whole village of Graaffreynet had been for several days in a state of alarm. The current report was, that three hundred of the Klaarwater Hottentots, under the command of a white-man, were marching to attack the colony, taking advantage of the favorable moment when so many boors were absent from their homes and detained on the commando in the Zuureveld. So greatly had the inhabitants magnified my little party, and so strongly was the report believed, that not only constant guard had been kept; but, on account of my near approach and hourly-expected attack, a number of persons remained under arms, and the guard and night-watch had last night actually been doubled. When I explained the circumstances of my journey and the object of my visit to Graaffreynet, Dr. Menzies in a most friendly manner, offered me accommodation in his quarters during my stay.

They had not long been gone, and I had just wrapped myself up again, when Philip came to announce the arrival of two other visitors. They were the acting landdrost and his brother, who, having at last correctly ascertained who I was, had brought the clergyman's carriage, the only one in the village, to convey me to town. They expressed themselves, as my preceding visitors had done, shocked at seeing me ill, and at the miserable abode in which I

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was lodged; but I replied, that had so good a shelter presented itself the night before, I should not at this time have been so unwell. They pressed me to quit the place, and were desirous of taking me to the village, where I should find every necessary refreshment and attention. I resisted all their kind solicitations, as I felt too indisposed to be able to move; but promised, if the fever left me in the night, that I would be at Graaffreynet, on the following day. With this they took leave: and I once more covered myself up with my blankets.

Towards evening, the fever and hoarseness increased, and with the addition of a violent head ache, prevented all sleep. I endeavoured in various ways to excite perspiration; but without success.

25th. In the morning, however, my remedies had their full effect, and greatly relieved my pain. I have described my illness more particularly than I should otherwise have done, because it was, as I afterwards learnt, a species of 'influenza' which had pervaded the whole Colony. Few escaped its attack; and I was told that in Cape Town alone, six thousand persons had been seized with it; although comparatively few had died. A similar complaint was not known to have ever visited the settlement before. This epidemic, after passing over the whole Colony, for I never could hear of any symptoms beyond the boundary, was now on the decline, or supposed to have expended itself; but the air was not yet cleared from its pestilential quality, and we, unfortunately, arrived just in time to prove, that it had ceased, only because it found no more subjects to act upon.

I was still in bed when the landdrost returned: he was accompanied by Mr. Kicherer, the clergyman of Graaffreynet, who having heard that I had letters for him from the missionaries at Klaarwater, came for the purpose of inviting me to take up my abode at his house during my stay. As soon as I was dressed, I left the miserable, but most serviceable, hut; and was persuaded in a very friendly manner, to accept his invitation.

After leaving directions with my people to follow in the afternoon, I entered the carriage and we drove from a spot which, for some moments during my illness, I thought it possible I might never quit again.

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Before we reached the town, we were obliged to cross the Sunday river three times: its greatest depth was, at this time, about three feet.

The missionary's letter began by stating, that they had endeavoured to dissuade me from the attempt to cross the Bushman country; and that, although they had thus written letters, they had little expectation of their ever reaching their destination. Mr. Kicherer, before he was appointed minister of this place, had spent several years as missionary among the Hottentots and Bushmen. For the latter people, he opened a mission at the Zak river; and when that failed, he accompanied those Hottentots who, it has been stated, (vol. I. p. 361.) were living an unsettled life on the banks of the Gariep, and persuaded them to remain stationary at Aakaap, whence they finally removed to Klaarwater. He was therefore well acquainted with the nature of that settlement; and expressed surprise at the fact of the missionaries there, not having been able to render me assistance in hiring the required number of Hottentots; and wondered at their making objections to my opening a road to Graaffreynet, which he considered as an important discovery, and highly advantageous for the missionaries themselves.

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CHAPTER V.

TRANSACTIONS AT GRAAFFREYNET.

BEFORE noon we entered Graaffreynét; where I was introduced by Mr. Kicherer to his family and friends, as the person on whose account they had suffered so much alarm. The news of my having arrived in peace, soon spread through the village; and when busy report had reduced my dreaded party of three hundred, back again to eight, and had changed the expected hostile attack, into a friendly visit, all further apprehensions ceased, and the folly of the mistake, became a source of considerable amusement.

The landdrost who, I was afterwards informed, was at first so much alarmed as to give orders for guarding all avenues to the village, told me that he had received a correct report of the number of my men, but could get no one to believe that it was so small; and that it was found difficult to quiet the fears of the inhabitants, who magnified their danger to a distressing, though ridiculous, degree.

The affair, which had cost me so long and fatiguing a journey, being to myself of more importance than every other object, I lost

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no time in conferring with the acting-landdrost, on the readiest mode of hiring the number of Hottentots required. He called upon me in the evening, for this purpose, and stated that he was unable to point out where any such men could be found; that he knew of none who were at this time out of service; that this scarcity was in great part, occasioned by the commando against the Caffres, the demands for which, had drained all the neighbouring districts; and that he had himself no power in this case, because, being merely an acting-landdrost until the regular appointment of another, he felt unwilling to proceed without the instructions and authority of the commandant of the troops on the frontier, who happened to be the same Colonel Graham, from whose regiment I had obtained my Hottentot Philip. It was therefore agreed, that he should write on the morrow to explain the affair to the commandant, and solicit his assistance, and an early answer.

On the death of the late landdrost, the duties of the office devolved in the interim, according to established custom, upon one of the Heemraaden: and this now fell to the lot of Mr. Paul Maré, a respectable burgher and shopkeeper of the village. This situation of affairs was, therefore, not the best suited to my visit, and appeared likely to detain me longer at Graaffreynet, than I had calculated, on the supposition of finding that office held by Mr. Stockenström. l felt much disappointed at hearing it stated by the landdrost, that he had not this power; as, whatever might have been the reasons which induced him to think so, I myself at the same time believed that he was fully competent to give me the assistance I required, and was afterwards convinced that my opinion was right.

My men did not arrive till the dusk of the evening, but the little Bushman was not with them. He had remained in the hut till the moment of their coming away; when he had taken an opportunity of slipping off unperceived by any one. They waited a long while searching for him in every direction; but could discover no traces; and therefore concluded that his absence was intentional, and that he meant to return to his kraal. We remarked that he had appeared very contented with us, as long as we were alone; but when

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so many strangers with their carriages and attendants continued visiting my hut, yesterday and this morning, and the boy not comprehending whether their object was good or harm, he was observed to look about him with mistrust, and to become evidently uneasy: yet he made no remarks to any one. I had myself while lying in my bed, noticed him very busy in putting in order his arrows, of which he had only fifteen in his quiver, by warming the heads over the fire to soften the poisonous compound with which they were covered; and then rolling them cylindrically on a flat stone, to smoothen the poison and bind it firmer to the arrow: but at that time I had not the least suspicion that he was preparing to leave me, otherwise I would have quieted his fears. Knowing his own intention, he had provided for his return, by begging tobacco from every one of the Hottentots, but had not ventured to take any provisions, as that circumstance would have betrayed his design; nor had he even a tinder box, an article almost indispensable for such a journey. Although uneasy at losing him, I was far less anxious on his account, than I was at Cold Station, where I expected he would die while in our hands. I had now a hope that he would find his way back in safety to his father, and that, by travelling in the night, he would escape detention by the boors; yet the subject remained a source of some anxiety, lest the event should happen otherwise.

A small tent was lent me by Mr. Kicherer, for the use of my men, and they pitched it on the open ground at the back of his garden.

26th. The bustle and variety of business had yesterday completely occupied my attention and given me temporary strength; but I was not so far recovered from my illness as I supposed. I relapsed into a state of great debility, and, in the course of the preceding night and during this day, became much worse than before. The fever and hoarseness increased to a high degree, and l was unable to leave my bed. Nothing could be more truly hospitable and friendly than the attention paid me by Mr. and Mrs. Kicherer, in whose house I thus lay sick: the lady, whose knowledge of domestic medicines was considerable, prescribed for me all those remedies which had been found, or thought, serviceable in the late epidemic;

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but this complaint appeared to be of an intractable nature, and in spite of all which was done, seemed still to take its own course. One of its remarkable symptoms, was, an unusual heat at the throat, followed by a violent cough attended with expectoration. This, I was told, had universally been found to be the effect of the disorder.

On the following day, I received a visit from Dr. Menzies and Lieutenant Schonfeldt, the commissary for troops at Graaffreynet. In most cases friendly visits to an invalid are beneficial, as they divert the thoughts, and thus often operate more successfully towards the recovery of health, than the most efficacious medicines. The polite attention which I experienced from Dr. Menzies during the three weeks of his stay at this village, contributed much to render my detention here less irksome to me, than it otherwise would have been. There were no English residents at Graaffreynet, excepting a few dragoons for the purpose of conveying despatches; nor, during the whole time of my abode here, was it visited by any of my countrymen, excepting once by Colonel Arbuthnot, with whom I had the pleasure, at Lieutenant Schonfeldt's table, of conversing in my own language; a gratification only to be appreciated by those who have long been deprived of it.

28th. Thirty waggons with colonists and their families from various parts of the district, some from a distance of two or three days' journey, arrived and were outspanned on the plain which surrounds the church, and to which the number of white tilts gave somewhat the appearance of a fair. These people came for the purpose of attending divine service and of receiving the sacrament; the following being one of the quarterly days appointed for that duty. On such occasions, it is said, thrice this number are usually seen; but the absence of many boors who were on militia duty in the Zuureveld, had greatly reduced it; and the clergyman, on inquiring why so few now attended, was told that many more communicants would have come, had they not been deterred by a report that a body of three hundred Hottentots were marching in a hostile manner to Graaffreynet.

It is very difficult to account reasonably for the propensity which men, not only in this Colony, but in other countries better informed and more polished, have for propagating false reports. Their fears,

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their credulity, or their folly, may obtain a perverse influence over their judgment; or their private views, or some secret motives, may seduce their feelings and respect for veracity, and lead them to repeat and spread such reports; but those who first set on foot tales which they know to be untrue, are the very worst and most dangerous characters in society, and deserve the heaviest punishment, if any can be found heavier than the universal contempt which follows detection. In the present instance, the misrepresentation was, I believe, to be attributed only to ignorance and fear combined.

April 1st Graaffreynet holds a regular communication with Cape Town, by means of a mail which sets out every first and second Wednesday in the month. This mail is conveyed on horseback from stage to stage, by Hottentots who are under the superintendance of farmers, or other persons, residing at certain distances along the road. It does not proceed directly to Cape Town, which, by the nearest way over the Karro and round by Tulbagh, may perhaps be about six hundred and fifty miles distant; but it is carried to Uitenhage, and thence forwarded to the Cape. By this day's post, I informed my friends at the latter place, of my arrival here, and of the present uncertain state of the question respecting the hiring of Hottentots.

Having now sufficiently recovered my strength, I took a ramble along the river. The rains of the two last days, had rendered this stream impassable for any carriage, and as there is no practicable road towards the south, but through the stream, several of the waggons which arrived on the 28th, were detained two or three days. This, which is a serious inconvenience to the town, might be remedied by a ferry-boat similar to that which has been described when passing the Berg river: or it might perhaps not be found impossible to form a road, for foot-passengers at least, along the mountains on the eastern side; by which the river might be avoided altogether.

The village of Graaffreynet has its advantages, as well as its disadvantages; it is situated in the heart of a country productive in cattle and corn, rapidly increasing in population and property, and surrounded by a fertile soil; it enjoys abundance of water, and, it is said, a healthy climate. Fruits and vegetables of all kinds grow

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here in perfection. An experienced farmer, in this district, informed me that the produce from good corn-land, is, in ordinary seasons, much greater than the same quantity of seed would have yielded in Europe.* The high mountains on either side of the town, add a grand feature, and great beauty, to the view; although they circumscribe rather narrowly the fields of the environs. But for all the purposes of horticulture, there is more land than will in all probability ever be required. These mountains are the haunts of tigers, or, as they are called in Europe, leopards; and abound in baboons of the same species which is common all over the Colony; but, as a counterbalance to this, serpents, it is said, are rarely seen in this vicinity.

This village, with its adjoining gardens and fields, is nearly surrounded by the Sunday river, and sheltered on each side by lofty mountains decorated with perpetual and beautiful verdure, by the abundance of Spek-boom (Portulacaria Afra) which covers their rocky declivities. It consists of one broad principal street, of detached houses, adjoining to each of which is a garden well planted with fruit-trees and continually supplied with water. The church, a

* The following abstract from the official returns, will be the more interesting, as it may be taken as an example of the rapidly improving state of the whole Colony.
1804 In the District of Graaffreynet 1811. Increase in 7 years. Total in 1811.
764 Men 1541 777 white Population 6683
575 Women 1154 579
950 Boys 2001 1051
917 Girls 1987 1070
2397 Male Hottentots 3057 660 Hottentots 6366 Black Population 8336
2527 Female Hottentots 3309 782
579 Male Slaves 1186 607
385 Female Slaves 784 399 Slaves - 1970
1766 Draught and Seddle Horses 3274 1508
3149 Breeding Horses 5810 2661 Horses 9084
9903 Draught Oxen 15,637 5734
36,042 Breeding Cattle 54,747 18,705 Large Cattle 70,384
55,597 Goats 107,395 51,798
536,634 Sheep 1,293,740 757,106 Small Cattle 1,401,135
One circumstance in the above statement is remarkable;—while the numbers of the Dutch colonists and their slaves have more than doubled; the Hottentots have increased but little more than a fourth. A colonist's wife with twelve children, is not extraordinary; but a Hottentot woman with six, is considered more unusual.

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large handsome building, on the ground plan of a cross, stands on a spacious plain at the northern end of the main street, of which it forms the terminating object; while the river, with its banks beautifully clothed with trees and shrubs, closes the southern end. The drostdy, though inferior to the residence of the landdrost at Tulbagh, is a respectable edifice. It stands near to the church, at the upper end of the street, and on the western side. A representation of this building and part of the street, is given at page 139. The plain or green in which the church is situated, is bounded by a hill, from which the lofty Snow-mountains appear full in view. An opening between this hill and the mountains on the east, is the only approach to the village, from the north: from the south, there is no other entrance than through the river. The residence of the clergyman was, at this time, on the western side of the street, and towards the lower end; but a large and handsome edifice intended for the parsonage, was at this time being erected in another street. On the northern side of the principal street, several others intersecting at right angles, together with many detached dwellings, were rapidly rising in every quarter.

At this time Graaffreynet could only be called a village; but, from the projected improvements, and the activity with which they were being carried on, the name of town, would soon become more appropriate. Seven years before this, the number of houses was between fifteen and twenty; but at this date there were seventy-four; of which, indeed, some were not yet completed; besides eight more already planned. I saw at this time, three smiths'-shops, a waggon-maker's, and several shops or houses at which a variety of European goods might be bought. There were also a town butcher and baker, and a pagter, (pakter) or retailer of wine and brandy; who are appointed by licence from the landdrost. Along the principal street a row of orange and lemon trees, at this time loaded with fruit, formed a decoration as novel to an English eye, as it was in itself beautiful by the clean glossy verdure of the foliage, and the bright contrast of the golden fruit. The general fruit-season was just past, but quinces were still hanging on the trees. All kinds of

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vegetables were exceedingly cheap. The price of meat was equally low; that of beef being no more than two stuivers a pound*, and of mutton, one schelling † for five pounds. But house-rent was even higher than at Cape Town. ‡ the immediate vicinity of Graaffreynet, but little timber can at present be found suitable for the purposes of building. All planks and the larger beams are fetched from a considerable distance south-eastward, where they are cut in the forests about Baviaans river, and on the Boschberg.§

The banks of the river were thickly covered with willows and Acacias; many of which were clothed with a species of Clematis climbing upon their highest branches, while others were decorated with festoons of an elegant species of Periploca, the beautiful shining dark-green foliage of which, was interspersed with. a profusion of fragrant white flowers: this plant often grew so luxuriantly that it quite concealed the tree upon which it entwined itself. The branches of these Acacias were sometimes ornamented with a handsome Loranthus, and two or three kinds of Missletoe. Another remarkable plant found on these banks, is a climbing sorrel, which often mounts by the aid of other shrubs, to the height of fifteen feet.║

* One penny English currency, or, at this time, less than three farthings sterling.

† Six pence English currency, or four pence sterling.

‡ A further account of Graaffreynet and its natural history, belongs more properly to a later period of my journal; for which it is therefore reserved.

§ In the forests on this mountain, I found, at a subsequent period of my travels, a beautiful flowering tree, remarkable, not only for rivalling our Laburnum in profusion of bunches of fine yellow flowers, but as an instance of what I have formerly stated respecting the features of Cape Botany (Vol. I. p. 182.), as this tree bears a close resemblance to one which is peculiar to Japan, Sophora Japonica. It sometimes attains the height of thirty feet, but produces flowers at a much smaller size, and even in the deepest shade of the forest. It is the
Sophora sylvatica, B. Catal. Geogr. 3I88. Arbor pulcherrima sub-trigintipedalis (sæpe frutex) glabra. Ramuli virides. Folia pinnata sub-sexjuga cum impari. Foliola opposita ovalia, vel obovata, apice rotundata. Racemi vix foliis longiores multiflori. Flores flavi conferti longiùs pedunculati. Vexillum obcordatum subreflexum; alæ patent. Legumen membranaceum compressum polyspermum (semina circiter 12) per suturam superiorem alatum, vel margine tenui auctum.

║ Rumex (Acetosa) scandens, B. Catal. Geogr. 2890. Radix tuberosa. Caules ramosi scandentes. Folia petiolata sagittata acuminata. Panicula terminalis divaricate supradecomposita. Pedunculi filiformes. Valvulæ nudæ orbiculatæ integerrimæ, basi cordatæ. An R. sagittatus, Th. Fl. Cap. 2. p. 348. ?
At this place I met with a shrub which occurs in various parts of the country; it is not the only species of the genus Ehretia which I have found in Southern Africa.
Ehretia Hottentotica, B. Catal. Geogr. 2117. Frutex sub-5-pedalis. Ramuli albidi. Folia petiolata obovata integerrima lævia, margine scabro. Cymæ paucifloræ extraaxillares. Flores purpurei. Laciniæ corollæ ovatæ obtusæ, marginibus vix conspicuè tomentosis. Calyx profunde 5-fidus, divisionibus acutis subtomentosis. Bacca globosa flava tetrapyrena.

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These mountains are the native soil of an extraordinary plant called Hottentots Brood (Hottentot's Bread). * Its bulb stands entirely above ground, and grows to an enormous size, frequently three feet in height and diameter. It is closely studded with angular ligneous protuberances, which give it some resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. The inside is a fleshy substance which may be compared to a turnip, both in consistence and color. From the top of this bulb arise several annual stems, the branches of which have a disposition to twine round any shrub within reach. The Hottentots informed me, that, in former times, they ate this inner substance, which is considered not unwholesome, when cut in pieces and baked in the embers. It will easily be believed that this food may not be very unlike the yam of the East Indies, since the plant belongs, if not to the same, at least to a very closely allied, genus † as the membranaceous capsules, with which it was at this time covered, clearly proved.

* A representation of this plant, in the proportion of one fifth of its natural size, is given at the end of the present chapter.

† Testuddnaria, Salisb.
By the liberality of my friend, Mr. R. A. Salisbury, I am enabled to anticipate a portion of his long-expected work on a general arrangement of plants according to their natural affinities. In that work, which will soon be given to the public, the present genus stands, along with six others, in his 3d section of the order Dioscoridœ, or among those having a membranaceous pericarp, all the lobes of which are fertile. The name of Testudinaria is peculiarly appropriate, and is meant to express the resemblance which the bulb, or tuber, has to a tortoise. The following generic character is copied from that work.
"Testudinaria. Petala in cyathum coalita, dein reclinata, oblonga, interiors parum latiora. Filamenta 6, longiuscula in hoc ordine. Antheræ oblongæ emarginulatæ. Styli coaliti. Stigmata recurva, obtusa. Semina apice alata.—— Herbæ in Promontorio Boncæ Spei, 7—12-pedales. Radix in tuber grande areolatum supra terram emineus. Caulis superne volubilis, teres, rigidus at quotannis periens. Folia alterna, renifbrmia, in una Soldanellæ. Flores dioici: masculi spicis laxis parum ramosis; fœminei spicis brevioribus; viridi-flavescentuli. Pedicelli breves. Bracteæ solitariæ. Species 2. Tamus Elephantipesy L'Her., aliaque nondum edita."
The present plant, which has much smaller leaves than the species long known by the above name, may be distinguished as the
Testudinaria montana, B. Catal. geogr. 2912. Folia cordata, semicollapsa, latiora quàm longa, obsoletè nervosa, subtus glauca.

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5th. At this time I had nearly recovered from all the effects of my illness; but two of my men were now seized with the same disorder, and in two days afterwards, the whole of them were lying sick in the tent None appeared to suffer so severely as I had; in some, the symptoms were but slight, and more resembling a violent cold. It was now my turn to attend on them, for considering that it was I who had brought them from their homes, where they would have escaped this attack, I felt it more especially my duty to take care of them.

At the end of ten days, all were well again; excepting Cobus, whose age was perhaps the only cause of his remaining indisposed a few days longer than the rest This old man, after making many inquiries among the Hottentots of the country, was unable to gain any certain tidings of his daughter whom he expected to find at Graaffreynet, and on whose account he had taken this long and fatiguing journey.* All that he learnt was, that she was alive, and had, not long since, removed to another part of the Colony. With this intelligence he was obliged to remain satisfied; and now had no other wish left than to return to his friends in the Transgariepine.

Hans Lucas was more fortunate in his journey, for he regained an ox, which he had lost two years before, and which he had relinquished all hope of ever seeing again. He accidentally discovered it among a herd of cattle belonging to the Drostdy. He immediately recognised and laid claim to it: and fortunately the circumstances were so clear, that it was delivered up to him without hesitation. Hans was at that time on a journey to Cape Town, and it was very well recollected by the Hottentots who then drove the landdrost's waggon,

* See Vol. I. p. 542.

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that a strange ox, supposed to have belonged to the Klaarwater people, had mingled itself with their teams, and was brought along with them to Graaffreynet.

7th. On the arrival of the post from Cape Town, many of the inhabitants of the village, and particularly the female part, most of whom had never been inoculated, were put under great alarm by an account of the Small-pox having made its appearance there: and in consequence of this, some intended journeys to the metropolis were postponed.

Among the boors, the demand for Hottentot labor on their farms is everywhere so pressing, that all my search and inquiries for men, ended unsuccessfully. The landdrost declined acting in this business, without instructions from the commandant on the frontiers; and as no answer had yet been received from that quarter, every further arrangement was postponed.

In the interim, having no means of preserving the objects of natural history which I might have procured here, I employed myself in collecting information on the affairs of this part of the Colony, and often amused myself in drawing. The absence of my flute, was now felt to be a greater loss than I had supposed; but I occasionally supplied its place with an instrument which I little expected to meet with in this remote corner of Africa. In one of the cottages of the village I discovered an organ: and through Mr. Kicherer's introduction to the owner, obtained free access to it during my residence at this village. It was at the house of a worthy Hollander of the name of Bremmer. Here I often passed an hour or two; and many times would the sound beguile my thoughts to a land where I had heard it so much better played; and the recollection of distant scenes, or the memory of some delightful hour recalled by a few notes to which my fingers accidentally ran, have afforded me in the honest Bremmer' s cottage, a gratification which I would not have exchanged for all the pleasures of a grander mansion. Whenever they saw me at the door, some one of the family ran with a smile to let me in, and pleased at my coming, immediately went to open the organ and place a seat for me. The two daughters, the eldest of whom was not fifteen, sometimes very goodnaturedly took upon themselves the trouble of blowing the

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bellows; but I usually took with me my Hottentot, Philip, for this purpose, who was more amused perhaps than any one else, and not a little pleased when I was obliged to tell him that I could not play unless he helped me; for it often happened that, his attention being entirely engaged by the music, he forgot to blow. The eldest of the daughters could play some psalm tunes, which she had been taught by the person who 'worked' the organ at the church; for so I must term it.

I had, previously to hearing of Bremmer's, made, by the clergyman's permission, an attempt upon that organ, attended by the organist himself; but was completely disappointed at finding it exceedingly out of order. It was however the donation of a pious boor of the district, to whom it had cost a considerable sum of money, though quite old when he purchased it. Yet, notwithstanding the price, it had a few defects over and above being thoroughly worn out: the keys were so rattling and noisy, and some so loose, and others so tight, that it was difficult to know what force each one required; and often, one or other, after being pressed down, would remain in that position while the pipe kept on growling, or squealing, till accident, or some assistance, stopped it again.

A regular musician could hardly be found to accept a situation which so badly repaid his services; for this person, who played merely psalm tunes in a plain manner and made no pretensions to a voluntary, was glad to accept, in addition to his music, a trifling salary as assistant in the village-school under the clerk.

The number of children taught in this school, was about fifty; and the charge was — for learning to read, including a book, one rixdollar a month; for writing, one more; and for arithmetic, another rixdollar. The master himself was allowed besides these emoluments, a house and garden.

14th. At length a polite letter from the commandant, dated at Bruyntjes Hoogte on the 12th, in answer to one from me on the 31st of the preceding month, informed me that he had written to the acting-landdrost to desire him to assist me in procuring men; and at the same time requested me to restore Philip to his regiment, unless I found him to be indispensably necessary. Now it seemed that I

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was destined always to have favorable opportunities thrown in my way, for trying and proving my patience: for not more than six hours before the receipt of this letter, the landdrost himself had set out on a journey to the commandant, for the purpose of arranging some business which required a personal conference. Nothing therefore could be done with respect to my own affairs, till his return.

As there appeared so much difficulty in obtaining men at any rate, I considered that giving up one out of the only two which remained in my service, would really be 'advancing backwards' in the affair which brought me to Graaffreynet. I however mentioned his colonel's wish to the Hottentot, and now gave him his option of being a soldier again, or of returning with me into the Transgariepine; but he had so little hesitation in the choice, that he was even uneasy at the idea of the bare proposal of sending him back to his regiment. I afterwards repeated this proposal, but as he persisted in the same answer; and as he had been trained to my mode of travelling, and was now a veteran in my service, I considered him to be 'indispensably necessary.'

Speelman also, was claimed again by a person whom he happened unexpectedly one day to meet in the village, and to whom he had formerly been hired for a twelvemonth, but had not served out the whole period. But he escaped from him, by promising to work out the remainder of the time, after his return from the present journey.

During my stay here, much of the time was employed in keeping my people together, and in watching to prevent their falling into harm. They occasioned me continual uneasiness; for as they had now scarcely any occupation, I greatly feared that idleness would lead them into disorderly habits. The money I had paid them, together with that which they derived from the sale of the shamboks cut from the hide of the two rhinoceroses, was to them no source of advantage; and I had the mortification of discovering that nearly the whole of it was spent at the pagter's. I seldom went to the tent without perceiving evident symptoms of one or other of these foolish men having taken too much brandy: but I have a pleasure in doing them

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the justice to declare, that, when in a state of intoxication, at which times there would be no restraint upon vicious inclinations, they generally exhibited a goodness of disposition which, I shall always think, belongs naturally to the Hottentot character.

One day, when they were in this state, Old Hans and Speelman came together into my room, with hearts overflowing with zeal for my service and the most respectful regard for my person. The object of their communication was some information respecting a Hottentot whom they expected to persuade to join our party. Their solicitude for the interest of my journey, and their repeated declaration that they were ready to do any thing to serve me, left nothing further for me to wish, but that they were sober.

Old Cobus had saved his wages till within a day or two of our departure, and had nearly established himself in my good opinion, as a Hottentot who was careful of his property; but, unable to resist temptation and bad example, he faltered at last; and I found him one day lying in the tent, after a fit of intoxication, bewailing the loss of all his money. This misfortune brought him sufficiently to his senses, to confess that he had spent a great part of it at the pagter's; but that the rest, being usually kept in his hat, had been stolen away, while he lay in a state of insensibility, or, as he more delicately called it, sleep. The thief was never discovered, nor even suspected.

One of my men appeared in his manners very different from the rest; he was always silent and sullen; seldom quitted the tent; and whenever any strangers from the village came there, as they frequently did for the purpose of learning some particulars of our journey, he used to cover himself up in his kaross and lie down in one corner as if asleep. On one occasion, when I ordered him to fetch some sheep which I had purchased at a neighbouring farm, he evinced the greatest reluctance to go, and, pretending that he was unacquainted with the road, begged that I would send another instead of him. This diabolical wretch had sufficient cause for desiring thus to hide himself from observation; yet, although the rest of my people sometimes remarked that his behaviour was strange and unaccountable, no one had any suspicions of his being the man whom he was afterwards

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proved to be. I reserve the horrid story for that part of my journal to which it properly belongs; but I cannot without shuddering, reflect how often my life has been in his hands; nor remember without gratitude, the protection of Providence, which shielded me during my travels, from the many dangers, both seen and unseen, to which I have been exposed. This miscreant was he whom we have called Old Daniel

15th. From so irregular a mode of passing their time, my people fell into a neglect of, or rather an inattention to, the only duty required of them during our stay; and I was therefore not surprised at being told that all the oxen were missing. I despatched men in parties, to seek in different directions; and it was not till the seventh day of their search, that all were recovered. One of these animals, influenced by its long habits of sleeping by the waggons and of lying down to rest near our fires and in the society of men, returned home of its own accord: the rest were at last discovered at a distant place, grazing in company with a large herd belonging to the village.

On one of the days while the men were engaged in this search, one party was sent to explore the mountains; and, as tigers were said to haunt those places, they took the dogs with them for safety.Baboons* are also met with here in great numbers; and unfortunately the dogs, through a natural antipathy to this tribe of animals, pursued a small company, which turned upon them, and defended themselves most effectually. They killed one of the dogs on the spot, by biting it through the jugular artery; and another, they severely disabled by tearing a large piece of flesh out of its side; so that, a part of the ribs was laid bare.

18th. In the preceding fortnight, the weather had been dry and

* Cercopithecus ursinus. I have taken the specific name from Pennant, as being sufficiently characteristic, but have not perceived the necessity for adopting the generic name of Cynocephalus proposed by Cuvier. In this, I am supported by the opinion of the learned Illiger, who says "Anne genus Cercopithecorum cum sequente (Cynocephalorum) jungendum." Prod. Syst. Mamm., p. 69.

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pleasant; but in the course of the following week, much rain fell: and for the remainder of my stay at this village, I was troubled continually with a 'cold in the head,' a complaint which had never attacked me while nightly sleeping in the open air. In this, the powerful effect of habit, on the bodily constitution, was remarkably exemplified; while, on the other hand, it proved that luxuries, as the convenience of sleeping in a warm bedroom might now be considered, may be attended with disadvantages.

19th. During my residence at Graaffreynet, I had constant opportunities of noticing Mr. Kicherer's extraordinary zeal in religion, and unremitted attention to the duties of his situation. Through his exertions religious assemblies took place every day in the week, either in the church, or at the meeting-house, or at private dwellings; and similar meetings of females were conducted by his lady. Four times a year, he undertook journeys through his district for the purpose of holding these assemblies in various places, for the convenience and instruction of those whom distance prevented from coming to the church. These pastoral visits were called huisbezoekings, or domiciliary visitations. Though enthusiasm in the evangelical cause is not an uncommon sentiment; I have no hesitation in believing Mr. Kicherer's religious feelings to have been as sincere as they were warm, and that his labors were directed by an earnest desire for the diffusing of the Gospel.

23rd. The landdrost, whose arrival I had been long expecting, did not return till yesterday; and this afternoon he sent to inform me that five Hottentots were waiting at his house ready to engage themselves in my service. Rejoiced at this agreeable intelligence, I repaired thither, immediately, and found them not only willing, but even desirous of undertaking the journey, as he had urged every favorable circumstance to encourage them, and was himself equally desirous that I should hire them. He fixed the wages which they were to receive; and to these, they instantly agreed. I therefore believed myself to be fortunate in having at length obtained the object of my visit to the Colony, and was happy at finding the affair thus at length settled. They had not, indeed, the looks of Hottentots of the

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description I required; yet, as the landdrost assured me they would all prove valuable servants, I had no hesitation in engaging them; although three appeared to be mere boys. On the following day they presented themselves at my tent, ready for the journey; and I then paid to each one, a portion of his money in advance.

24th. Through Mr. Kicherer's recommendation and assistance, I also engaged two other Hottentots, or rather Half-Hottentots, who were considered to be of a much superior class, as having been baptized and taught to read: on this account I agreed to pay them a salary double that of my ordinary men.

The name of one, was Cornelis Goeïman the offspring of a Hottentot man and the daughter of a Dutch colonist; a mixture as rare, as the converse is common; most of the Mixed-Hottentots, in whom there is any Dutch blood, deriving it from the father, but very seldom from the mother. He was taller than the usual stature of men of his father's race, his complexion was fairer, and features nearly European; but his hair was still as woolly as that of a negro, though much less so than in the genuine Hottentot

The other, was Jan Van Roye (or Van Rooyen), a man formerly well known in England and Holland, as one of the three Hottentots who were brought to Europe about the year 1803 by Mr. Kicherer, and exhibited as specimens of missionary conversion. The names of these three, it may be recollected, were Martha, Mary and John. They excited great interest among the curious, more especially among the favorers of missionary labours; and met with much notice from all ranks of the community. Mary, or, as she was here called, Mietje, was the wife of John, or Jan Van Roye. After Mr. Kicherer's return from Europe, John, together with Mary and Martha, remained for some years under his protection as domestic servants; and were treated, as it will readily be supposed, with the greatest indulgence and kindness. But at length, Jan and his wife, giving way to their propensity to that ruinous vice, inebriety, and proving in other respects immoral and undeserving, their protector found himself compelled to put them out of his house; although he still continued, with benevolent feelings towards them, to watch over their conduct.

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The candour with which he exposed to me the faults of these two men, is highly to be admired. He apprised me that they were too fond of brandy, and that, as they could always have access to the pakter's, they often, at Graaffreynet, proved troublesome and refractory; but that, in the journey they were about to undertake and where they could have neither temptation nor the means of gratifying that propensity, he did not doubt that they would be found valuable servants; especially as they were baptized and knew the Christian duties; qualifications which he naturally urged as a strong inducement for preferring them to ordinary Hottentots.

The truth of this account of their defects, was proved on the very same evening; for Cornelis made his appearance at the parsonage, in a state of complete intoxication, and had probably been induced to over-indulgence in his propensity, by the prospect of the wages of his new service. Both the minister and the landdrost, with the view of putting some check upon his excesses, had very wisely, though not perhaps legally, as the man was by his baptism entitled to the same privileges as the Dutch colonists, forbidden the pakter to sell him any brandy, unless he produced a paper signed by the one or the other, specifying the quantity which they allowed him to purchase; according to a colonial regulation framed, expressly for Hottentots, but which, I fear, is too often neglected. In this state, the man, finding his demands for more brandy, resisted by the pakter, flew to the landdrost; and, with violent and impertinent language, insisted on having his right. That step not availing him, he came to the minister, and in a turbulent indignant tone, asked what right any one had to restrain him as if he were a Hottentot: Was he not a Christian! and could he not have as much brandy as he pleased, without being obliged to ask leave of any man!

As these two people, but more particularly Jan Van Roye, might, from the instruction they had received, easily be believed to possess a degree of knowledge much superior to other Hottentots, I conceived they might, in an equal degree, prove superior to them in usefulness; and was, therefore, satisfied at having engaged them, as I could have little to fear from a disposition to drunkenness, in

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countries where they would find nothing to drink but water. To lose no time in securing them for my service, I took them immediately to the office of Mr. Muller the District-secretary, where they were bound for the term of my journey, not in the forms customary for Hottentots, but a regular stamped agreement.

Soon after my arrival at Graaffreynet, Mr. Menzies had mentioned to me a German at that time with the 'commando' on the Caffre frontier, as a man who would probably be willing to serve me, and might be found useful in superintending my Hottentots and in looking after my cattle and waggons; therefore conceiving that such a person would be of great assistance, Mr. Menzies, at my desire, obligingly took the trouble of ascertaining his readiness to accompany me. Mr. Andries Stockenström, who, three years afterwards, became landdrost of Graaffreynet, was at that time on duty in the eastern districts as an officer of the Cape regiment, and, when informed of my wish to hire this man, who belonged to the detachment of which he had the command, he took the very friendly part, with the concurrence of Colonel Lyster, of granting his release from the militia, as he happened fortunately to be one of the disposable force; and without delay, sent him to Graaffreynet, where he arrived on the 14th.

This German had formerly been a corporal in the Dutch East India Company's service, and having lived many years in the Colony, had travelled over a great part of it. He expressed himself exceedingly pleased at the idea of a journey into the Interior, and made promises of the utmost obedience and fidelity: he was, however, very illiterate. His place of residence was on Sneeuwberg; but he appeared to have, on what account I could not clearly discover, several enemies or opposers, at this village. He was free in his religious opinions, and it therefore was not surprising that the clergyman, who had recommended the two Hottentots as valuable servants because they were Christians, should dissuade me from taking a man professing such sentiments: and in this he acted with a consistency becoming his professions. Among others who threw difficulties in his way, on this occasion, was the acting-landdrost,

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Paul Maré*, who raised my suspicions as to the motives of his readiness to accompany me; and proposed, as a security for his good behaviour and to prevent his desertion on the journey, that he should sign a bond in the penalty of confiscation of all his property, on Sneeuwberg. This bond was to be deposited at the drostdy; and to be, either acted upon, or cancelled, agreeably to a certificate which I was to give him at the termination of the journey. To this arrangement the man would on no account consent; because no one, he said, could be answerable for the use that might in his absence be made of the bond, although the property it involved was of little value: nor could my promise of giving him immediately the certificate, or a paper to counteract its effect, induce him to agree to the landdrost's proposal. I was therefore left in equal uncertainty, whether the cause of his obstinacy might not be a consciousness of double-dealing, or whether it might really be the fear that some advantage would be taken of his bond. At length it was, in a few days afterwards, finally settled between us, that the signing of the bond should be relinquished, and that he should proceed home, as soon as possible, to arrange all his affairs for the journey; and that he should meet me on Sneeuwberg, at Herholdt's.

As soon as it became known in the village, what men the landdrost had given me, I received intimation from different quarters, that they were all, excepting one, known for incorrigible scoundrels, and the refuse of the tronk Hottentots.

It must here be explained that the tronk, or jail, is the general receptacle, not only of convicted criminals, but of such Hottentots or slaves as are found, improperly or illegally wandering about the country, without a passport, or unable to give a credible account of themselves; and who are lodged there for examination, or until their masters or owners fetch them away. These are commonly called by

* This is the colonial mode of expression, when mentioning the name of a boor: and it is not from want of respect that they always thus omit the title of Mr. when speaking of a person of this description.

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the colonial term of drossers or gedrost Hottentotten (runaways). It is also a refuge for those who, having been illtreated by their masters, fly to the landdrost for redress: these are called Klagt-Hottentotten, or 'complaining Hottentots;' and are usually kept employed on the Government works, or set to labor at the drostdy, until their masters can be summoned to appear and answer to the charge. If this is clearly substantiated, the man is either released from his engagement with the boor, or given over to another master, or retained to work as a tronk Hottentot; although it often happens, when the baas's story is heard, that he is proved to deserve punishment, instead of redress. It may therefore sometimes occur, that among these tronk volk (jailpeople), there may be good and deserving Hottentots, as well as worthless.

Now, it happened unfortunately for me, that the selection had been made from those of the latter description: as it appeared from the best authority, that before my arrival at Graaffreynet, the landdrost and heemraaden had resolved upon dismissing from the jail, nine of the least useful, or rather, the more worthless; because, as it was said, there could not be found at the drostdy work enough to employ them. Several months afterwards I discovered that one of them had been kept in jail for having, after running away from his master, joined another Hottentot of the same stamp, and lived for several months by stealing cattle. It was reported, how correctly I cannot say, that some one had remarked that such men were good enough for the Englishman, as neither he, nor they, would ever return alive. My people were often called the Englishman's dood volk (dead men); but they assured me that, although many persons of the village had endeavoured to deter them, by saying that I was going to take them amongst the menschvreeters (men-eaters), yet they considered it only as a tale invented for the purpose of frightening them.

25th. Having, on the following day, obtained from the same quarter, the names of such tronk Hottentots as were recommended as fit for my journey, and whose courage and fidelity might be relied on, I immediately sent the German with some of my own men, to

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ascertain if they were willing to be hired. They answered without hesitation that they would gladly engage themselves. On this, I went to the landdrost and requested that I might be allowed to have these men, instead of the five whom I had seen at his house; and at the same time intimated that I had been informed by persons who knew the characters of all of them, that the first set were not such as I ought to trust myself with. His reply was, that he must refer the matter to the heemraaden: which he would do on the following Monday; that being the regular council-day. But in the mean time, he assured me, that the men he had already given, were all trustworthy people, and that, on the contrary, those whom I now wished to hire, were some of the greatest scoundrels in the district.

One of these last Hottentots deserves to be particularly noticed. He had been waggon-driver to Landdrost Stockenström, and since his death, had continued to work at the drostdy. I ascertained that his services were no longer required by that family, who spoke favorably of his character, and that he was resolved if possible to add himself to the number of my party. His name was Júli, a man of whose good and invaluable qualities I was not at this time aware, but who, during the three years and four months that he was constantly with me, continued always to gain on my good opinion, and prove by his fidelity, how fortunate I was in taking him into my service. I shall not, in this place, say all that could be said in his favor: as I became gradually acquainted with his value, so shall his character be gradually unfolded in the course of my journal. The accompanying plate* presents both a portrait of his person, and a correct likeness of his features; and I hope that the physiognomist will not suffer himself to be misled by the want of European beauty or proportions in a Hottentot face, to suppose that in Juli's counte-

* Plate 3. This portrait was drawn in August 1815; only a few days before I sailed from the Cape; but he still continued in my pay nearly two years longer; after which he returned with his wife and child to Graaffreynet. He is here exhibited in his usual dress; a blue cloth jacket, leathern trowsers, a cotton handkerchief round his head, and another about his neck. It was by his own desire that he is represented holding his musket; and the position is that in which he used to carry it when approaching any wild animal.

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nance may not be seen an expression of real goodness of heart. If he has had the same experience among that race, which I have, he will discover it most clearly.

Júli was a Hottentot of the mixed race; as were also his father and mother. The hair of men of this class, being longer and looser or less in tufts, than in the genuine Hottentot, is well expressed in the engraving. His features do not differ very widely from those of the unmixed race. His age was, probably, nearer fifty than forty; as he was the oldest man of the party, whom I took into the Interior.

His father lived in the vicinity of Algoa-bay, but was killed by the Caffres while hunting in the Zuureveld. The mother, induced by distress at her loss, resolved to quit a district which had been fatal to her husband, and removed with her two children, a girl and a boy, to the western side of the colony. Here she was still more unfortunate; for, falling in the way of a brutal colonist who resided on the river which runs through that tract, he seized her children, then nearly grown up and strong enough to be made useful on his farm, and drove her away from the place, as she herself appeared too old to render him much service by her labor. He therefore procured Juli and his sister to be registered in the field-cornet's books, as legally bound to serve him for twenty-five years; which was in fact to make them his actual slaves for that time. The mother clung to her children, wishing to resist this unjust seizure, and desiring to be permitted either to take them away, or to live on the farm with them; but the farmer repeatedly drove her off, and at last, with a resolution to deter her from coming there again, he one evening flogged her so unmercifully that she died the next morning! This, and the harsh treatment which he himself received, were sufficient to drive Juli to despair; and he, in consequence, took the first favorable opportunity of making his escape.

This is a tale which he several times repeated to me during my travels; but as the colonist is now dead, it rests alone upon his veracity. Yet as the word of a Hottentot gains, in general, but little credit in the Colony, so has his story, if he ever dared to make a formal complaint: which I believe he never ventured to do. If he

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or his wife should still be living, when this volume reaches the Cape, I hope there will be found enough humane persons to afford them protection, should they stand in need of any: it will be the greatest personal favor which can be conferred on myself.

Juli and Van Roye, who were acquainted with all the Hottentots at Graaffreynet, had found one named Platje Zwartland, who was very desirous of being of our party; and recommended him to me as a steady useful man. He was shepherd and herdsman to a man of the name of Schemper, the village butcher, and had been engaged to him for the term of one year, which had already expired some little time before: and although the Hottentot wished to quit him, the master was resolved still to detain him, contrary to a law which expressly provides, that 'as soon as the period for which he has been engaged, shall have expired, all further service shall cease, and the Hottentot, together with his wife and children and all their property, shall be allowed to depart without let or hindrance:' a wise and necessary law, which wants no other amendment than a clause decreeing punishment for the infraction of it

Platje informed us, that as soon as the master knew of his intention of going with us, he contrived to get him into a state of intoxication, as he little suspected the cause of his being so liberal with his brandy; and made him in that state promise to continue his servant for another year. Of all this, the man was perfectly unconscious, and declared that he never intended at any rate, to stop with him longer; but that he had always, when asked the question, persisted in his refusal. He seemed much rejoiced at being told that he should go with us, if it could be clearly made out that his story was true.

On the next day, I brought this Hottentot before the landdrost, for the purpose of ascertaining whether he was legally at liberty to enter my service. On searching the official register, nothing was found to prove the truth of the master's assertion, who was present himself; and who, finding that Maré had no power to detain the man, and hoping that the District Secretary could befriend him, referred me to that office: but neither here, could any record or proof be

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found. The Secretary was exceedingly warm with the Hottentot for leaving the butcher, after having promised to serve him another year; and told me that he had been credibly given to understand that he was truly, though only verbally, hired.

Still, with the strongest evidence against him, the master made another struggle to detain Platje, and persuaded the jailer or onder-schout (under-sheriff) to send me a note certifying, fortunately for his conscience, not upon oath, that to his knowledge the man, with his wife and five children, was hired for a twelvemonth at the Secretary's office, on the last day of May in the preceding year, at the sum of twenty rix dollars: wishing by this, to show that his time had not yet expired. For, after having failed to prove that he was legally, or actually, hired for another year, he thought it would answer his purpose equally well, and prevent the man's leaving the village with me, if he could induce me to believe that the period of service would not terminate till the end of May, at which time, he knew, I should long have quitted the colony.

All these endeavours, only served to convince me of the truth of the Hottentot's story; and as he was exceedingly desirous of making one of my party, and anxious lest he should be detained by the butcher, whom he was resolved at all events to leave, I determined, as much on his account as on my own, to take him with me. I therefore requested the landdrost to sign an order to the Secretary, that he should, if no legal objection could be found, prepare the usual agreement, and register him as my servant. This was accordingly done.

But on the Hottentot's demanding the arrears of his wages, of which he had only received nine rix dollars, his master not only denied his claim, but took from him some clothes, which, he said, the man had not paid for. Platje, the following day, summoned him before the landdrost; the butcher asserted that no money was due; and the Hottentot, who was unable to bring forward any witness, or to produce any written testimony, relinquished his demand, and came away, well satisfied with having gained at least his freedom.

I have related the particulars of this story, with the view of showing more forcibly than bare assertion could do, how useful and

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necessary a race of men the Hottentots are considered by the colonists; who feel, and by their conduct prove, that the business of the farms cannot proceed without the labor of their hands. The difficulty which I experienced, not at Graaffreynet only, but in every other part of the colony, in obtaining men for the prosecution of my travels even within the boundary, has, in conjunction with other evidence, convinced me that the demand for them is much greater than the supply: a circumstance which should obtain for this peaceable race every reasonable encouragement, and which must convince the colonists that their true interest consists in securing their fidelity by kind treatment. I do not mean to stand forward on all occasions indiscriminately, as the advocate for the Hottentots against the Boors, nor shall I undertake to defend them against many just complaints made by the latter; for I know that their conduct may sometimes be exceedingly vexatious, and sufficiently provoking to exhaust the patience of their masters. I wish merely to point out how greatly the comfort of both parties depends on a mutual good understanding; and that fidelity on one side, and justice and kindness on the other, are the only means of doing away that mutual suspicion and recrimination, which has so long subsisted between them, and which none but the worst enemies to society and good order, endeavour to cherish and perpetuate. Connected with this question, there exist among the inhabitants of the Cape two opposite parties; and, as I have had numerous opportunities of hearing the opinions of both, and have formed my own upon the evidence of facts only, and the experience of several years, I shall not make to either, any apology for saying, that I believe much blame to be due to both. For, where party spirit exists, there of course, will impartiality not be found; and where there is no impartiality, there of course can no justice dwell: for justice holds an even balance; but partiality, or party spirit, throws a deceitful preponderance into its own scale. A legislature has done but half its duty, when it has made good laws; the other half, is to watch that they are duly obeyed, or enforced.

26th. I sent again for the five tronk Hottentots whom I wished to

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hire, and offered them as wages, considerably more than the landdrost had fixed as the sum to be paid those whom he had first given me. At this, they expressed themselves fully satisfied, and every thing was now finally settled, excepting the act of legally binding them to me before the landdrost. I therefore went without delay, to apprise him that every arrangement excepting that one, was agreed on; and that nothing more was wanting but his consent. This he now granted; and, without referring the matter to the heemraaden, the following morning was fixed as the time for meeting the people at his house, and according to law, entering into engagements with them in his presence.

27th. In consequence of this, he sent word the following morning, that four of the men were then waiting at his house; but on coming there, I found to my great surprise and mortification, that they had all changed their minds and now refused to engage themselves, and even declared to the landdrost that they had never promised to go on the journey with me; an assertion so notoriously false, that I should have believed that he had not been mistaken in their character, had I not known enough of Hottentots to feel aware that, on some occasions, their timidity and dread would make them say any thing which they thought likely to get them out of present trouble. I readily forgave these poor misguidedcreatures, because I suspected that some one in the village might have told them that ifthey went with me, they would never return, or that other arguments might have been used to excite their alarm and dissuade them from their purpose. Besides the landdrost, there was present a person named Carel Gerots, who, I was told, had the superintendance of the tronk Hottentots.

Júli was one of the five Hottentots whose names were on my second list; but he boldly persisted in his intention of accompanying me, although the landdrost declared that, being a good waggon-driver, he could not be spared from the drostdy work. Yet nothing could shake this honest fellow's resolution; therefore, as he was not a slave, but a free man, it would have been an illegal stretch of power, to have restrained him from chusing his own master.

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Thus was I reduced to the necessity of making up my number with three of the first set: of these Keyser Dikkop (Emperor Thickhead) was the only one to whose character no particular objection had been made. The names of the other two were, Stuurman Witbooy, and Andries Michael.

The object of my journey into the Colony being now to a certain extent, obtained, for there was at this place no further prospect of hiring serviceable men, and I judged it would have been even dangerous to take a greater number of such as had been proposed for me, I gave orders to prepare for leaving Graaffreynet on the next day.

I purchased of Maré an additional supply of tobacco, not only for the purpose of distribution among the Bushmen of the Cisgariepine, but in order to increase my original stock; being well assured that a traveller in Southern Africa can never have too much of this commodity. In Maré's shop, I was shown a large quantity which he was just about to send by a fieldcornet, to the borders of the Bushman country northward of Sneeuwbergen, to be distributed among the natives as a present from the Cape government.

During my residence at Graaffreynet, I experienced many acts of friendship from several of its inhabitants, amongst whom the Rev. Mr. Kicherer and his lady, stand the foremost, and well deserve my warmest and most sincere thanks for their hospitality, and the kind interest which they took in my affairs. Even at the last moment he seemed happy at having an opportunity of testifying the continuance of that Christian benevolence with which he hastened to my hut at the foot of Sneeuwberg; for, learning that I had ordered from a neighbour and friend of his, named Hendrik Meyntjes, fifteen sheep as a provision for the journey, and for which I was to have paid two rixdollars each, he privately interfered with his friend, and on my preparing to discharge this debt, I was told that I had nothing to pay: nor could I even discover whether my thanks were due most to Mr. Kicherer, or to Mr. Meyntjes. So unexpected a gift was truly gratifying; because it carried with it, that which only can make a gift agreeable or acceptable — the pure expression of the giver's kind and friendly sentiments.

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To Mrs. Stockenstrom I was indebted for a most useful addition to my store of beads: these were the more valuable because they were not, as I found by experience, easily to be purchased at this distance from Cape Town. They were the remains of some which the late landdrost had brought to Graaffreynet for the purpose of distribution among that very nation by whom he was so treacherously murdered.

From the acting-landdrost and the district-secretary Mr. Muller, I at all times received civility and attention: from the former I readily obtained cash for a bill on my agents in Cape Town. Neither do I forget a voluntary offer made by honest Bremmer, of supplying me with money for my draft to any amount: knowing that there was a scarcity of cash at this place, he wished to prove himself desirous of rendering me a more material service, than the use of the organ.

I indulge myself in acknowledging every act of goodwill towards me, because in doing this I enjoy a second time, the pleasure which they first gave me: and if the course and consistency of my narrative, or the justification of my own proceedings, should compel me sometimes to notice acts of a contrary kind, I hope that every one will do me the justice to believe that I do so, with pain and great reluctance.

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CHAPTER VI.

RETURN FROM GRAAFFREYNET TO THE BOUNDARY OF THE COLONY.

APRIL 28th. Every preparation for departure being now completed, Mr. Kicherer assembled his family and servants, to whom were added some visitors then stopping at his house and part of my own people, for the purpose of joining in prayers on this occasion. I must have had neither feeling nor religion, not to have been affected at beholding an assembly of this kind, on their knees, praying 'with one accord' for my safety and for that of my people, and offering supplications that we might be shielded from the many dangers to which we were about to be exposed. When acts of devotion have the effect of drawing man nearer not only to his Creator, but to his fellow-creatures, he may feel assured that he possesses true religion. But who will be so impious and weak as to assert that prayer can be a useful exercise of the mind, unless it produce both these effects ? It is not their professions, but the actions and conduct of men,

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which prove their virtue or their sincerity. It is not the shadow of forms, but the substance of upright conduct in life, which constitutes real or practical religion. At the head of human nature stands the honest man; at the bottom, the hypocrite.

This ceremony occupied a quarter of an hour; after which I mustered my party, and sent them forward, with orders to make the best of their way to Sneeuwberg, and wait for me at Herholdt's, the place appointed as our last rendezvous. For, Mr. Kicherer had proposed that I should accompany him to the farm of an opulent boor, named Barend Burgers, his particular friend, and who, at that time, happened to be on a visit at his house, and had proposed taking us thither in his paardewagen, promising that he would provide for me the means of conveyance afterwards to Herholdt's. To this proposal there could be no objection, as it gave me an opportunity of seeing another part of the Snow Mountains, and of acquiring further information on the affairs of that part of the Colony.

Mr. Oloff Stockenstrom, whose friendly attentions were continued during the whole time of my residence at Graaffreynet, politely desired to accompany me a part of the way on my journey, as far as my hut at the foot of the mountains, where, in so singular a manner, I first had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with him and Mr. Menzies.

It was nearly noon, before we took our departure from Graaffreynet. In the environs, I passed my men, who, instead of hastening forward, had been loitering in the village with their friends. These, knowing that their separation must be for a long period, and not quite free from the fear of never seeing them again, were as unwilling to say farewell, as my people were to hear it. I could not therefore be displeased at their disobedience to my orders, but permitted them to indulge the feelings of nature, and merely required that they should take their final leave before the day was too far advanced for travelling with safety.

The plains which intervene between the Sunday river and the mountains, were now enlivened with numerous herds of springbucks; although none had been observed when we passed here a month

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before. This animal, and, indeed, many other species of antelope, remove from one part of the country to another, and sometimes to the distance of many day's-journeys, according to the state of the pastures, and season of the year.

As I passed my hut, I silently thanked it for the shelter which it had so opportunely afforded me; and without which, the fever might possibly have gained a fatal ascendency.

The heap of manure in the cattle-kraal, which we found burning at that time, was even now scarcely extinguished. If by any means the ground of a cattle-pound, which consists entirely of manure, happen to take fire, it will continue, without producing flame, to burn for a great length of time, depending only on the quantity of fuel: nor will rain very easily quench it. The fire generally makes very slow progress; creeping along the ground, and sometimes beneath the surface, in a remarkable manner. It is the nitrous salts which so long support the combustion.

When we ascended the mountain we turned to the west, leaving my former road on the right, and soon afterwards came to the hut of Hans Van der Merwe, where we halted to dine. At this place, near the house, I was shown, as a remarkable circumstance, a deep glen, enclosed by rocky cliffs or precipices, in which peach trees grew, as it were, wild, and sowed themselves: the warm sheltered situation causing them to bear abundance of. fruit.

After this refreshment we resumed our journey, travelling over a level country, bounded on either hand by mountains of the tableform already noticed on our former passage over this part of Sneeuwberg. The waggon halted while I went to examine a waterfall at a short distance on the left of the road; having just crossed the stream by which it was supplied. By falling over a perpendicular precipice of great depth; into a woody glen below, this stream forms a very singular unbroken cascade, which would have afforded, from different points of view, several interesting sketches. I was, however, obliged to content myself with taking that one which best exhibited its situation and nature.

Our road presented nothing remarkable; or rather, perhaps, the

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rapid travelling of a vehicle drawn by six horses in hand, left little time for making remarks of any kind. We flew past every object, and, hardly had I turned my eyes to any thing remarkable by the roadside, than it was already behind us. Such expedition was, indeed, a novelty to me, and very different from the rate to which I had been accustomed during the last ten months; but, as a traveller desirous of observing the features and productions of a strange country, I abhorred galloping horses, and would have preferred sitting behind a team of my own oxen, whose steady pace seemed to have been measured exactly to suit an observer and admirer of nature.

Yet, notwithstanding what appeared to me to be great expedition, it was nine o'clock in the evening before we arrived at Cootje Van Heerden's where we had purposed to pass the night. This farm house was superior, in most respects, to all which I had hitherto seen in this quarter, and nearly equal to the best in the Cape District. It was built on a larger scale, and in a more substantial manner, than the general class of Colonial dwellings, and therefore it scarcely need be added, that the owner was in affluent circumstances. My fellow travellers, being the intimate friends of Van Heerden, were received, and myself also, in the most hospitable manner. The appearance of the place and its inhabitants, was altogether as respectable as any I had seen in the colony.

29th. At this farm were many servants: among them a girl was pointed out to me, whose history was. interesting; and who was, besides, a surprising lusus naturæ. Her parents were genuine Caffres, and resided at this farm when she was an infant: on some occasion they went back to their own country, while their child, under pretence of being unequal to the fatigues of the journey, was left at Van Heerden's. But as they never afterwards returned for her, it was supposed that her singular appearance had induced them to desert her. At the time when I saw her, she was sixteen years old, of a very stout make, and of short stature: in which respect she was not different from many Caffre girls, whom I saw about a year afterwards. But the color of her skin, was that of the fairest European; or, more correctly expressed, it was mere pink

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and white. Or, perhaps, it will be more intelligible to a painter, if I describe it as being compounded of pure white and a moderate tint of vermilion, without the admixture of any other color; and therefore, not strictly to be called the complexion of a European. Her hair was exactly of the same woolly nature as that of her countrywomen, but it was of a singularly pale hue, nearly approaching to that which is termed flaxen. Her features, however, were those of a true Caffre.

Southward from this place, is a very elevated tract of land, called Coudveld (Cold-land; or the Cold Country), which, seen from a distance, presents the form of a table-mountain. On the summit of this, there is a single farm-house; it was inhabited by a respectable Dutch widow, who, among her neighbours, passed under the familiar name of Hannah Coudveld. This spot is considered by every Sneeuwberger, as undoubtedly the coldest place in the whole colony.

Van Heerden assured me that, at his house, snow had sometimes fallen in such quantities, that he had seen it lying of the depth of two feet: but probably this depth is not usual, or, at least, it may be partly occasioned by drifting winds. The places along the upper part of the Sea-cow river, are said to be some of the coldest habitations on Sneeuwberg (Sneeberg). That river, in the dry season of the year, is merely a chain of ponds, called 'Zeekoe gatten' (Seacow, or Hippopotamus, holes).

Near the house, were the largest 'Spanish reeds' which I had observed in any part of the colony: but I do not recollect having seen the Bamboo, which requires a warmer climate, growing at any place on the Snow Mountains, or in the Achter-sneeuwberg.

After breakfast we took leave, and, resuming our journey, came in three quarters of an hour to the Buffels rivier (Buffalo river), the highest branch of the Camtoos river, one of the larger streams which flow into the 'Cape sea.' On the banks of the Buffalo river, which we now crossed three times, I noticed a willow, which appeared to be

* Arundo Donax L.

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of a species different from the willow of the Gariep: the branches were less drooping, and it was, here at least, a much smaller tree.

Burger's house stood near to the river, in an open, though not unpleasant, situation. The building and the whole establishment were not only the best on Sneeuwberg, but as far as my recollection serves me, I have not seen a better farm-house in any district of the colony; and no intelligence from this part of the world, would afford me more gratification, than to hear that the Cape settlement had so far advanced in improvement and riches, that every boor possessed so comfortable and respectable a dwelling. It was built of red bricks, in the usual Dutch style of architecture; and it appeared not only externally neat, but was within exceedingly clean: and, if compared with the houses of the greater number of farms in this part of the country, it might seem to deserve the name of palace; although in reality nothing better than an ordinary English farm-house. The surrounding buildings and an excellent garden, rendered this place a little village of itself, and almost an independent settlement. Here were separate and complete workshops for, smiths, waggon-makers, and carpenters; and to these, although not noted in my original journal, I may, I believe, add, a corn-mill turned by a water-wheel. The owner, who was a man far advanced in years, was acknowledged as the greatest sheep-grazier in the colony; a fact which I had no difficulty in crediting, when assured that he possessed 30,000 sheep, besides other cattle.

Immediately after our arrival, servants were despatched on horseback, to apprise the neighbours of the arrival of their minister, and of his intention of holding a religious meeting on the following day at this house; and, to invite them to attend. In the evening all the household together with the slaves and Hottentots of the farm, were assembled; when one of the parables of the New Testament, was explained to them, and commented on, in a manner suited to the capacities of the latter, for whose instruction more especially, it was selected.

30th. The whole of my morning was employed in writing letters

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to my friends both in England and at the Cape, from whom I had not for a great length of time received any intelligence.

In the afternoon the house was crowded with neighbours, who arrived in their waggons, some from a considerable distance, and none without having come a journey of several hours. Coffee and other refreshments were handed round: and in the evening, was held, what is called, an oeffning (or, meeting; as distinguished from the regular church-service); which consisted in alternately reading and expounding parts of the New Testament, in extemporaneous prayers, and in singing psalms.

May 1st. Early this morning, the ground was whitened with frost. That this was the first which had occurred this season, was indisputably proved by the circumstance of all the capsicums in the garden, and which on the preceding day were standing in a flourishing state, being now destroyed by it.

In this family, I found the same friendly disposition, which I have recorded as having been experienced at the houses of many other colonists. One of the family, having discovered that some articles which I had deemed mere luxuries, but which were thought by them to be absolute necessaries, were not among my travelling stores, insisted upon adding them to my baggage, although I was fearful of encreasing its weight or bulk by taking with me any thing which could be dispensed with.

Among the visitors, was the brother of the Van der Merwe, at whose house I had stopped on my way over the Snow Mountains. He kindly undertook to convey me part of the way towards Herholdt's, as far as his son-in-law's, who, he engaged, would assist me in proceeding farther.

Before ten o'clock the whole party began to disperse. Mr. Kicherer returned to Graaffreynet; while, at the same time, I took my leave of the family, and departed in an opposite direction, with Van der Merwe, in his horse-waggon.

As soon as we arrived at the cottage of his son-in-law, whose name was Hendrik Lubbe, we found a dinner ready prepared. After

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we had partaken of it, Van der Merwe continued his journey homewards, leaving me in the care of Lubbe, who immediately harnessed six horses to his waggon, for the purpose of carrying me forward. As my bedding was being put into the vehicle, his wife perceived that I had no other covering than blankets; on which she brought out a scháap-vel kombáars (sheep-skin coverlet), and, to induce me to accept it, she represented, with a solicitude which could only have proceeded from sentiments of true hospitality, that if I slept out of doors in the winter-season with blankets only, I should perish with cold. To this present, she added a bag of salt, an article which, in the hurry of packing at Graaffreynet, had been fongotten.

This kombáars *, or coverlet, is a genuine South-African manufacture, being nothing more than a Hottentot karóss of large dimensions; but which has been adopted by the boors in every district, either from necessity or utility, or from both. The African sheep generally, are covered with fur or hair, instead of wool; and when these skins are properly dressed and cleaned, and a number of them sewed together, they form a much warmer covering than could be made from any other materials. The richer inhabitants, and those of Cape Town, who can afford themselves more expensive coverings brought from Europe; affect to dislike the cheaper kombáars, because, as they say, it smells of mutton. The boor is enabled by his immense flocks, to select only such as have a smooth fur; and thus, he obtains a handsome coverlet, so unlike what a European would imagine for sheep-skins, that it may be doubted whether many persons would ever guess, from what animal it was made. Those which I have brought to England, have often been viewed as the skin of some unknown quadruped.

Few furs can be more beautiful than the selected skins of lambs, thus prepared: and if prejudice did not stand in the way, I think they might supplant many which are seen in our furriers' shops, and with

* This word, agreeably to Colonial pronunciation, would be written by an Englishman, Cambáirce.

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the advantages of being afforded, perhaps, at a far lower price, and of their white color admitting of being changed by any of the dyes suited to woollen. Such a branch of commerce might prove not unimportant to the colonists or to the Colony in general: it might open a new source of profit, and turn to better account those innumerable flocks, for the rearing of which, the greater part of that country seems by nature peculiarly adapted. I would hope that these remarks might induce some judicious speculative person to pursue the subject farther, and ascertain to what extent a trade of this kind, may be rendered lucrative. Since the Cape settlement, it seems, is not so fortunate as to possess a climate and herbage, like that of New South Wales, suited for the growth of the finest wools, it may prove equally favoured in having such as give to its sheep a soft and useful fur.

Hitherto, our road on the Snow Mountains had been level and tolerably easy; but after leaving Lubbe's, it became rough and in some parts dangerous; leading along the steep sides of mountains, or over very rocky and rugged places. From one part of the road we had a full view of Coudveld. The country became more mountainous, and the air colder, as we entered the highland track of Sneeuwberg proper.

It was not till sunset, that we reached the abode of old Jan Viljóen, where Lubbe was to leave me. He came out of his hut to receive us; but when my companion informed him that I was so situated as to require his assistance in proceeding to Herholdt's the next day, he became rather cross and out of humour, and, to my mortification, told him that he had neither waggon nor oxen at home. Hearing this, I began to take into consideration the possibility of going thither on foot, and afterwards sending one of my men with a pack-ox to fetch my baggage. But, fortunately, Lubbe knew his neighbour too well to be deceived by him; and persisted in the necessity of his helping me forward: he urged that it was the minister's particular request to him, and slightly hinted that I carried a government-letter. Whichever of these considerations might have had most weight with him, I know not; but fortunately for me, he at last, and, I am sorry to say, with reluctance, consented to furnish

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means of conveyance; although he had just declared that he had no such means in his power.

The place, the house itself, and every thing about it, formed the greatest possible contrast to what I had seen at Burger's. The principal dwelling hardly deserved the name of house; it was a most forlorn and miserable hovel, about which, nothing could be seen which bespoke an owner's care. Every object displayed neglect: the Hottentot servants, the huts they lived in, and the few outbuildings, were of a character consistent with the house. This dwelling was certainly a degree worse than any which I had observed since re-entering the colony: its inhabitants were, the baas, and his vrouw (wife) and son, two men, a little boy, and two or three female servants, all Hottentots, excepting one slave. Its elevated situation in the midst of lofty mountains, rendered the air extremely cold.

As soon as old Viljoen had a little recovered his usual temper, and manners, which in their best state were naturally coarse, we entered the house together, and were offered seats. By degrees, after a few mutual questions, and some little conversation, we became better friends; and he seemed not to think me so obnoxious a visitor, as at my first introduction I appeared to be. Neither he nor his wife had any curiosity about my affairs; for which I was not sorry, as it saved me the trouble of telling my story over again, and allowed me to take a warmer seat by the fire at the other end of the room; while he amused himself, and his other guest, with reading a small religious tract which he had lately obtained; if, halting at every difficult word; taking time to consider the meaning of a sentence; overrunning the stops; and going back again to find them out; could be called reading. Although it may be doubted whether any one but himself, knew a word of the subject, he now and then turned to his wife or to Lubbe, and exclaimed, "Very true!" During all this time, the Hottentots were quietly sleeping in the chimney corner; excepting two girls who were busy cooking some mutton.

At length supper was ready, and we sat down to a frugal meal; as he had probably forgotten to tell the girls to put a piece more into the pot on account of his visitors: for, in a country where he could

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not have sold his mutton for more than a halfpenny the pound, it could hardly be supposed that he did so from thriftiness.

This being over, and grace said, he sent the Hottentot boy to conduct us to our bed-room. There was no waste of compliments on retiring to rest: and indeed, as the ease turned out, his good wishes for my having a comfortable night's repose, would all have proved null and void, and of none effect.' We followed the boy out of doors, and were brought to a place without a window, at one end of the house, where, pushing open an old door nearly falling off its hinges, our page said; "Here is where baas is to sleep." At the first glance I could not distinguish what sort of a den he had put us into; it resembled a coal-hole, both in size and color; every part, the walls, and the roof, which were all it consisted of were as black as a chimney; no place could exceed it in dirtiness and in wretchedness of appearance. At each end we discovered the bedsteads: they were formed of stakes driven into the ground. Of these I gave Lubbe his choice, who immediately threw himself down upon his couch; and Morpheus shortly afterwards strewed his poppies over him. But it was not so with me: the filthiness of the place was so disgusting that I felt not the least inclination to sleep; and even if I had, my fellow-traveller would not have allowed it; for, dreaming, no doubt, that he was in a pigstye, he very naturally snored in imitation of its proper inhabitants.

Finding that it was in vain to think of rest, I went out to look for the boy. There was no returning into the house again: the doors were fastened, and all were asleep. The moon being exceedingly bright, I attempted to make a sleeping-place in Lubbe's waggon; but the air was frosty, and the waggon had no tilt, it was found so extremely cold, that I was glad to remove back into the black hole again. Fortunately I found the Hottentot, who was not yet gone to bed; and the poor little fellow well-pleased at having to wait upon an Englishman, brought some sticks and made me a fire in one corner of the building. The place we were in, had formerly been occupied by the slaves and Hdttentots of the farm; but was now used only for the accommodation of 'slagter's knegts' and visitors.

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Here I sat nearly the whole of the night, with him for my companion; and as he was both shrewd and communicative, I was for some time much amused by his remarks, and by his mode of viewing things. He had discovered from our conversation in the house, enough to know that I was not a boor; and now, therefore, began to lay open all his complaints, in the usual Hottentot style. Oud baas, he said, never gave them enough to eat: a very common complaint of Hottentots, and often very ill-founded; although possibly it might, in the present instance, be the truth exaggerated. Supposing the interior of Africa to be the country to which I belonged, and that I was now on my return home, he wished to make one of the party, and was delighted at the idea of going to a land where there were no boors; for, said he, they care nothing for 'us black things:' the two other Hottentots would, he hinted, be glad to leave their place if they dared: in short, no one was comfortable. Thus he continued to run over a long list of grievances.

These are the terms in which this people commonly speak of the colonists; but I would recommend that their stories be received with caution. There may have been formerly, I have little doubt, sufficient foundation for such; and it may be credited that among the white population of the colony, there exist even at this time, too many individuals destitute of a proper feeling towards this race; but it should always be remembered that the Hottentots, from having originally had just cause for complaint, may in later days, by hearing the tales often repeated, have acquired a habit of inveighing against the boors. The irregularities, to use a mild term, which have been committed in this part of the world, are not to be defended; nor do they admit of any excuse: but, it may be asked, what would have been the state of any country in Europe, had society not been kept in order by the vigilance of proper laws; or what would it now become, if those laws were to be relaxed, and men left to act as they pleased.

2nd. I experienced from the old man no incivility at parting; and certainly he deserves my thanks for relenting, after having determined to refuse me all assistance. His son yoked six oxen to his waggon;

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and, as it carried no load, we travelled at a quick rate; although along rugged and steep roads, through the highest and most mountainous part of Sneeuwberg. For a considerable part of the way, our course was directed towards Spitskop; and afterwards, by a very steep descent, we joined my former road, at a few miles southward of Hérholdt's, where we arrived before noon.

This colonist and his wife received me with much hospitality and attention, and expecting that I should have been accompanied by the minister, they had made preparations for our accommodation.

Not only the whole of my party were here waiting for me, but several more than I expected. One was a Hottentot whom I had rejected at Graaffreynet, and was one of those who had been selected for me by Maré so that it was thus clearly proved that the men intended for my assistance and protection on a long and perilous journey into unknown countries and among savage nations, were such as had been thought too useless to be retained at the public works; since those whom I had no need of, were turned loose to seek a master elsewhere. This boy being thus adrift, and finding nobody at the village willing to employ him, had followed my people in hopes of being allowed to accompany us; to which step he was encouraged by my having already consented to receive in the same manner, one who had not been hired. As a Hottentot of this description would only have been a trouble to me, I positively forbade his coming.

My party, who were lying at a fire at a little distance before the house, surprised me at first sight by their number: but on examination I found that a whole family had joined us, under the thoughtless supposition, that they would be permitted to remain with us during the whole journey. These were Platje's wife and her two eldest daughters; besides whom, she had three other children left at Graaffreynet. As I already knew by experience that such people would be a heavy encumbrance, independently of the greater difficulty of finding food for so useless an addition, and who could not assist in providing for themselves, I refused my consent to their coming, although Platje pleaded for them, and assured me that they could bear the fatigues of the journey, as well as the men. But this affair was

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ultimately arranged to the satisfaction of all parties; as Herholdt offered to receive them into his service and take care of them, on condition that Platje should consider himself as hired to him, from the day when he should be released from his engagement with me.

The other new-comers were Juli's wife, and her child only three months old. At first he was told that she could not be allowed to follow us beyond the boundary, and, notwithstanding the earnestness with which he begged permission for her, I considered it would be folly to take a woman with so young an infant, on an expedition of this kind; of the real nature of which, my new men seemed not sufficiently aware; although I had explicitly told them that it most probably would not be free from danger and great fatigue. He then solicited that she might go as far as Klaarwater, and promised that she should be left there during our journey farther into the Interior. The poor creature herself, looked so anxious while I was considering the reply, and there was something in her countenance so innocent and mild, and so expressive of goodness, that I could no longer refuse to grant, what I saw would make them both happy, and render them perhaps more contented in my service.

Her name was Truÿ*. She was a genuine Hottentot, although perfectly ignorant of that language, and was, like her husband, acquainted with none but the Dutch. She was of small and very delicate form, with hands and feet of those neat proportions, for which the women of the Hottentot and Bushman nations are remarkable. For her child, whom she had named Windvogel, she appeared to possess the greatest maternal affection. All that I have said on the good qualities and fidelity of her husband, might here be repeated of hers, which if weighed impartially, would I think preponderate. I should do this good creature injustice, if I did not declare, that it is not in my power to point out a fault in her character; or at least, I never had, during all the time of her being in my ser-

* Trúÿ, or as it was here commonly pronounced, Tróëy, is the familiar name for Geertruyda or Gertrude.

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vice, the least reason for saying one angry word to her; and of this, she often used to boast when speaking in praise of her master. But it was not at this time, that I knew her worth, or that of her husband; and I regret that the present volume will not comprise that period of my journal, which would best display it.

I was exceedingly rejoiced, and surprised, at seeing Little Mágerman amongst the party. He had been found at the house of Piet Van der Merwe, who, happening to meet the boy after he ran away, and recollecting that he belonged to me, kindly took him home, with the intention of restoring him on my return; and in the mean time, had employed him in tending sheep. The boy being well fed and housed, and feeling assured that we should pass that way, had remained there very contentedly, without ever attempting to escape. My men had, in consequence of his former invitation, taken up their night's lodging at Van der Merwe's; who treated them as hospitably as before, and delivered the boy into their hands. Thus, by recovering him, I felt relieved of much anxiety, as I could now without fear, venture to pass again through his father's kraal.

Although the party had been sent off with a sufficient stock of meat, I found my little flock of sheep reduced to thirteen, and the people just finishing the second, which had been killed and eaten on the road. Their account was, that some dogs had bitten one to death, and the second accidentally had its leg broken by the shepherd throwing a keeri (or stick) for the purpose of turning it.

The German who was to meet me at this place, came directly he heard that I was arrived. He declared that he had now given up all intention of going with us; for, as soon as the acting-land-drost knew of his having left Graaffreynet, he sent a messenger, who overtook him on Sneeuwberg, and informed him that 'if he crossed the colonial boundary, the landdrost would seize and confiscate all his property.' This would have been an extraordinary, and I think, illegal, stretch of power: at least, the boors on the northern borders are in the habit of infringing the regulation against passing over the boundary, without being visited with confiscation or without any notice being taken of the fact. Besides which, I carried a formal

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permission from the government, for myself and all my people, to go beyond the limits of the settlement. However; as the case was, I shall not say that I complain; because, it might probably have been the more prudent resolution, to pursue my travels without adding any white person to my party, as some suspicions, which I could not wholly lay aside, but which were rather strengthened by what I heard at this place, had been raised in my mind.

3rd. Of Herholdt, I purchased three horses, chosen out of a stud of forty colts, none of which had been broken in. Of these, one was for Van Roye and another for Cornelis. I also bought a musket in addition, as I had several men who must remain unarmed till we reached my waggons.

The people set out early in the morning, while Herholdt hospitably detained me to dinner: after which, he drove me in his paardewagen to Vermeúlen's. At this place we were all received with the same disinterested and friendly treatment as before; and I had the satisfaction of thanking the owner himself, as he was now returned from the 'commando.' *

4th. Here we took our last leave of the colonists; as I intended, if possible, to avoid the dwelling of Jacob Van Wyk, that I might not again give that family an opportunity of showing disrespect to an Englishman.

The party, as far as Klaarwater, now consisted of fifteen men, one woman and her child, four horses, eight oxen, thirteen sheep, nineteen dogs, besides two puppies of an excellent breed, given me at Graaffreynet by Mrs. Maritz.

We advanced this day as far as Groote Fontein, a day's-journey of above nineteen miles. Here we took up our quarters in the unoccupied farm-house, as the weather at night was extremely chilling.

5th. Having from day to day, during our journey into the colony, laid down my track upon paper, I was, by these means, enabled to

* The engraving at page 168. is a representation of Vermeulen's humble, but hospitable, dwelling; and of the mountain called Kleine Tafelberg.

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discover that our course would be more direct, if we kept more to the eastward of that track, leaving Geranium Rocks to the left.

Accordingly we quitted our former road, at Pond Station, and proceeded across a plain of a mile and a half; at the termination of which I halted to take the bearings of Spitskop* and Groote Tafelberg, which were both in sight. These, but more especially the former, will be found of great use whenever a survey is made of this part of the colony, as they are too remarkable to be mistaken, and can be seen in different directions, from a very great distance.

At the distance of an hour and a half farther, we passed a farm named Wortel Fontein (Carrot Fountain); but none of its inhabitants had any communication with us. At about six miles and a quarter beyond this, we found the last colonial habitation on our road; and as no one was residing here at this season, we took possession of the empty house.

So large a party occasioned a rapid consumption of our stock of provisions, and we were obliged to kill a sheep, which, had we waited half an hour longer, we might have spared. For Keyser, desirous of proving that he was a good marksman, had immediately on our halting, taken his gun to go in search of game, and soon returned to let us know that he had shot a quakka. This circumstance was doubly pleasing, as, besides giving us a large supply of meat, it showed that this Hottentot had at least one useful qualification.

I climbed the rocky hill close behind the house, to get a view of the country and take some bearings for the construction of my map, and was pleased at distinguishing on the horizon, the Bushman Table-Mountain near Kraaikop's Kraal, although at the distance of not less than sixty-seven miles by the road. This remark is a sufficient proof,

* The vignette at the end of this chapter, represents the mountain of Spitskop, or the Peak of Sneeuwberg, as viewed from the south-east, at the distance of about twenty miles in a direct line. The sketch from which this engraving has been made, was taken about eleven months afterwards when on my final return into the Colony. The intervening country here shown, consists of lofty rugged mountains, which appear to shut in one behind the other, and above which, this lofty and remarkable mountain stands highly pre-eminent.

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and indeed the best that could be had, of the open, and generally level, nature of the intervening country.

6th. The only stranger who came near us, was a Hottentot shepherd belonging to some boor, whose place, he said, was not far off. This man was therefore the last person whom we saw belonging to the colony.

After travelling about ten miles from Elands Fountain, we considered that we had crossed the boundary of the Colony, a line very ill-defined, especially along the northern border, and marked by no appearance which can inform the traveller precisely when he has quitted the settlement, or when he enters the wild country of the Bushmen; both being equally wild, and, excepting immediately around the boors' dwellings, equally destitute of every trace of cultivation or human labor.

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CHAPTER VII.

RETURN FROM THE COLONY, THROUGH THE COUNTRY OF THE BUSHMEN, TO KLAARWATER.

THE first occurrence after quitting the Colony, was that of meeting with the friendly river so often mentioned on our former journey; and as it appeared by the map which I had then made, to run in a direction sufficiently near to what would have been our shortest road homewards, I resolved to follow it the whole way, and not to incur, with so many people and cattle, the risk of suffering from want of water, by attempting any other more direct course.

Just before sunset we arrived and unpacked at an excellent spring of water, surrounded by abundance of reeds. It was known to Platje, who had once formerly visited it on a hunting excursion with a boor in whose service he then was, and who at this place administered a flogging to his slave named Nieuwejaar (New-year); on which account this spot, is called by the Hottentots Nieuwejaars fontein.

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7th. At about eleven miles beyond this spring, we joined our former track; and a little more than six miles farther, we passed Rhenoster poort (Rhinoceros Pass). It was dark before we arrived at the Halfway Spring: here we conveniently stationed ourselves for the night, and made use of our shelter of reeds, which we found remaining just in the state in which we had left it.

My new men, who were all utter strangers to the following part of the journey, and to whom the existence of a kraal of Colonial Hottentots in this direction, was hitherto unknown, seemed much pleased at an opportunity of learning the way to it, and took great interest in our daily progress. Some indeed were a little inclined to fear, at thus venturing into the heart of a country which had always been reported as unsafe for a colonist; but my other people now boldly talked of the Bushmen and their friend Kaabi, in so familiar a tone, that these fears were soon quieted; yet they often expressed their surprise that we could have found any means of gaining the good-will of a race of savages, whom they had been accustomed to look upon as the greatest scoundrels in Africa.

Not one of the natives had yet approached us, although we were certain that we had been seen by them, as two were observed at a distance by some of our party who had straggled from the main body. Their absence was occasioned by our numbers being so much greater than before, that they at first feared it might be a commando sent in search of stolen cattle; and our increased number of horses strengthened that suspicion.

A troop of horsemen is the most alarming sight which can present itself to a kraal of Bushmen in an open plain, as they then give themselves up for lost, knowing that under such circumstances, there is no escaping from these animals. Their conscience allows them little hope of mercy; as they feel aware, that by their repeated incursions and robberies, they have given the colonists sufficient excuse for treating them with severity, and that their own plea of retaliation, or revenge for former injuries, is now turned against themselves.

We had no doubt that, when they had fully reconnoitred us

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from the tops of the hills, and had clearly ascertained who we were, they would come to us as gladly as before; and on this subject I was not under the least uneasiness, as my little Bushman protegé was now with me, and would at any time give notice to his countrymen that we were friends. Had they not at first, mistaken us for boors, we should have been visited by them, the moment we entered their country.

My Graaffreynet people were greatly encouraged when I announced to them the name I had given to this spring, and the certainty of our having advanced half way to Klaarwater; as all, excepting Van Roye and Cornelis, were obliged to travel on foot a great part of the way, and it was only now and then, that they could be relieved by changing places with the ox-riders. The woman with her child, however, was always allowed to ride, either on my horse, or on one of the oxen; and occasionally I dismounted, and gave up my seat to one or other of the people who appeared most fatigued. It will be seen, therefore, on looking over the Itinerary, that we in general made, what under such circumstances must be considered, long days-marches. We had this day advanced more than twenty-five miles, notwithstanding all impediments and many stoppages occasioned by our baggage getting frequently out of order.

8th. The confidence which my Klaarwater party had gained by their former friendly reception among the Bushmen, was very remarkable. As an instance of this, Speelman, accompanied only by Platje, set out early this morning, that they might reach Kraaikop's kraal before the rest, and give notice of our approach.

After a march of above nineteen miles, we arrived at the kraal, where its inhabitants rejoiced to see us again, and greeted us as old friends. The father of the Bushboy soon made his appearance and seemed most happy at finding his son safely returned. What account the boy gave of his adventures, I could not possibly learn; but he was grown so much fatter since he first joined our party, that it was not necessary for him to tell his countrymen that he had been well treated. He was of very sedate and modest manners, and seldom indulged in open mirth and laughter; probably because he had little opportunity

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of conversing freely in his own language: but, after the anxiety I had suffered on his account, it afforded me the greatest gratification to observe the brightness of his countenance, at his return home, and his smiling happy looks. When I reflected on the misunderstanding and possible consequences which might have ensued from our not bringing him back with us, I regarded it as providential good-fortune, that he had been intercepted in his flight, by an honest boor, and by his means placed again in our hands.

As the people of the kraal informed us that the spring, which supplied them with water, was at a considerable distance farther, I judged it most convenient to proceed thither. The chief sent some of his men to guide us; for without that assistance we should certainly not have found it that night, as it lay about two miles and a quarter northward in the open plain. The reasons which they gave, for pitching their huts so far from any water, were, I think, such as could be imagined only by a nation like the Bushmen;—the commandoes of boors in search of stolen cattle, would not so easily find them out in their present situation; while, by being at a distance from the spring, they not only escaped the annoyance of lions and beasts of prey, but they left the water open for the use of other animals, so that they often had an opportunity of shooting game, by lying there in ambush.

It was quite dark when we arrived at the spring. As the Hottentots were much fatigued, and desirous of retiring early to rest, I was not sorry that the natives did not follow us to our halting-place. Their visit was reserved till the morning, which was the time I had appointed for making the distribution of tobacco.

9th. My new stock enabled me to give more liberally than I had done on my former visit, and the whole kraal were rendered as happy as before.

When I mentioned to them, that the boors laid heavy complaints against their nation for coming into the colony and committing so many robberies, they cunningly replied, that they knew other kraals did so, but as for them, they never stole cattle from any body, but were content to live always on game and wild roots. I

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must however, beg old Crowhead's pardon, for strongly doubting the truth of his declaration; but as this was no affair of mine, and I could do the colonists no actual good by preaching to these people against stealing, I thought it more prudent to leave him under the supposition that I believed him to be a very honest man.

At noon we bade these poor creatures farewell; and took a course across the plain in a direction intended to bring us to our former resting-place at Quakka Station. There were very few objects in the country around, sufficiently remarkable to have guided any but men accustomed to traverse pathless deserts; yet from the character of different parts of these plains, and some distant low mountains, we were enabled to find our way without deviation, exactly to the place we wished; although there was neither bush, nor hillock, to mark its position, nor any thing by which it could be recognised at a distance. As we approached the place, we had various opinions whether we should find the same spot again, but most of the Hottentots felt assured that we should not miss it; and I was as much pleased as surprised, when the result proved how direct had been the course which we had steered. We found the remains of our fires, and the bushes which had formed our shelter two months before: but there were evident proofs of much rain having fallen here since that time. On the way we fortunately fell in with an ostrich's nest containing ten eggs, a prize which always afforded us an agreeable and wholesome change of food.

10th. Speelman and Juli had yesterday separated from the rest, for the purpose of hunting, and had, though on horseback, been absent the whole night. But Juli came home this morning with the agreeable information, of their having shot a large male kanna (or eland), which he had left in the plain at a considerable distance northward and a few miles to the right of our course. They had also fallen in with two lions, but had wisely declined having any dealings with them.

We therefore immediately packed up our baggage, and departed, under his guidance. The day was exceedingly pleasant, and not a cloud was to be seen. For a mile or two, we travelled along the

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banks of the river, which in this part abounded in tall mat-rushes. The dogs seemed much to enjoy prowling about and examining every bushy place, and at last met with some object among the rushes, which caused them to set up a most vehement and determined barking. We explored the spot with caution, as we suspected from the peculiar tone of their bark that it was, what it proved to be, lions. Having encouraged the dogs to drive them out, a task which they performed with great willingness, we had a full view, of an enormous black-maned lion, and a lioness. The latter, was seen only for a minute, as she made her escape up the river, under concealment of the rushes; but the lion came steadily forward and stood still to look at us. At this moment we felt our situation not free from danger, as the animal seemed preparing to spring upon us, and we were standing on the bank at the distance of only a few yards from him, most of us being on foot and unarmed, without any visible possibility of escaping. I had given up my horse to the hunters and was on foot myself; but there was no time for fear, and it was useless to attempt avoiding him. Poor Truy was in great alarm; she clasped her infant to her bosom, and screamed out, as if she thought her destruction inevitable, calling anxiously to those who were nearest the animal, Take care! Take care! In great fear for my safety, she half-insisted upon my moving farther off: I however, stood well upon my guard, holding my pistols in my hand, with my finger upon the trigger; and those who had muskets kept themselves prepared in the same manner. But at this instant, the dogs boldly flew in between us and the lion, and surrounding him, kept him at bay by their violent and resolute barking. The courage of these faithful animals, was most admirable: they advanced up to the side of the huge beast, and stood making the greatest clamor in his face, without the least appearance of fear. The lion, conscious of his strength, remained unmoved at their noisy attempts, and kept his head turned towards us. At one moment, the dogs perceiving his eye thus engaged, had advanced close to his feet, and seemed as if they would actually seize hold of him; but they paid dearly for their imprudence, for without discomposing the majestic and steady attitude in which he

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stood fixed, he merely moved his paw, and at the next instant, I beheld two lying dead. In doing this, he made so little exertion, that it was scarcely perceptible by what means they had been killed. Of the time which we had gained by the interference of the dogs, not a moment was lost; we fired upon him; one of the balls went through his side just between the short ribs, and the blood immediately began to flow; but the animal still remained standing in the same position. We had now no doubt that he would spring upon us; every gun was instantly reloaded; but happily we were mistaken, and were not sorry to see him move quietly away; though I had hoped, in a few minutes to have been enabled to take hold of his paw without danger.

This was considered by our party to be a lion of the largest size, and seemed, as I measured him by comparison with the dogs, to be, though less bulky, as large as an ox. He was certainly as long in body, though lower in stature; and his copious mane gave him a truly formidable appearance. He was of that variety which the Hottentots and boors distinguish by the name of the black lion, on account of the blacker colour of the mane, and which is said to be always larger and more dangerous than the other which they call the pale lion, (vaal leeuw.) Of the courage of a lion, I have no very high opinion, but of his majestic air and movement, as exhibited by this animal, while at liberty in his native plains, I can bear testimony. Notwithstanding the pain of a wound of which he must soon afterwards have died, he moved slowly away with a stately and measured step.

At the time when men first adopted the lion as the emblem of courage, it would seem that they regarded great size and strength as indicating it; but they were greatly mistaken in the character they have given to this indolent skulking animal, and have overlooked a much better example of true courage, and of other virtues also, in the bold and faithful dog.

As its skin could not have been brought away, all our oxen being already overloaded, I did not think it worth while to pursue the beast till we had killed it; and judged it much wiser not to run the risk

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of losing any of my men, especially for an object to which we were led neither by necessity nor advantage.

After a march of above twelve miles, we arrived at the place where the kanna lay: it was in the middle of a plain covered with low scattered bushes. Here we found Speelman, who had remained to guard the carcass and prevent its being devoured by vultures, of which great numbers were discoverable hovering at an immense height in the air, and sailing round in circles directly above the spot. This place is distinguished therefore, upon the map, by the name of Vulture Station.

We were soon afterwards joined by a party of natives, the greater number of whom were women, removing with their oxen, sheep, goats, and the materials of their huts, to Kaabi's Kraal.

11th. We had with us seventeen Bushmen, some of whom made themselves useful in lending their assistance to cut up the elandmeat, for which service they and the whole party were, as usual, well paid in meat and tobacco.

At noon, when we began to pack up, we discovered that the backs of some of the oxen, but more particularly of that which carried my baggage, were become so sore, and galled by their loads, that we found them unable to proceed. This inconvenience was the more serious in its consequences, as it would, by travelling, grow every day worse. In this dilemma, I despatched two of the Bushmen to my friend Kaabi, from whose kraal I supposed we were not more than a day's journey, to beg that he would lend me two of his pack-oxen.

In the mean time I sent five of my men out hunting, that I might be enabled to make him a handsome present of game. They were not, however, successful, though the whole plain was covered with the foot-marks of antelopes and other wild beasts which were seen on all sides. Amongst these the lions made constant havoc; and at night the cries and moans of an eland, which we heard one of them devouring close by our station, awoke me in the middle of my sleep.

12th. In the morning, one of the Bushmen fetched away the

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remains of the lion's supper; which, however, was little more than the legs. It was therefore probable that more than one lion had feasted upon the carcass or that a pack of jackals and hyenas, or the vultures, had finished the rest.

The hunters set out early; and it was not long before they had shot an eland. These unfortunate animals were not allowed to rest in safety either day or night, and were now pursued by more formidable enemies than lions. Their flesh being, as before remarked, much superior in taste and in fatness, to nearly all other kinds of game, they were always, by preference, chased by the Hottentots, while other animals were passed by unmolested.

The vultures, attracted from afar by the smell of so much meat, descended in great numbers, and walked around us at the distance of one or two hundred yards, with as much ease and familiarity as oxen or sheep. Accustomed as they are, to feed in society with beasts of prey, they appeared very little disturbed by the presence of our dogs, which sometimes, as if the birds had been merely strange dogs, ran to drive them away from the offal, which they considered as belonging exclusively to themselves.

Of these birds I observed five distinct species, but not having shot any, I am unable to describe them with certainty. They sometimes approached so near, that, besides the two already noticed*, I could distinguish two others, as being new, and probably undescribed species; and which I never afterwards met with again. They both equalled, as well as I could judge under such circumstances, the largest of the African vultures. One was entirely white, and the bare skin of its neck, white also: this might possibly be the female of the following species: of which I made a sketch. This latter was of a sooty black plumage; the naked skin of the neck was of a pale rose color; and the top of the head was covered with feathers of the same color as that of the wings and other parts of the body. Its

* Vultur percnopterus, at page 338, and the large black vulture at page 377, of the first volume.

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beak was straight and long as in the Percnopterus, and the end of it was hooked and orange-coloured.*

One of the old Bushwomen was so characteristic a specimen of her nation at that age, that I made her sit for her portrait. This was no inconvenience to her, as she naturally sat like an inanimate mass. She scarcely, indeed, looked like a human being: a rough sheep-skin kaross, only served to give her a more shapeless appearance; and eyes so sunken as hardly to be visible, together with large clots of red ochre hanging over and covering her forehead, gave to her miserable dirty wrinkled visage, the strongest character of poverty wretchedness and neglect.

The two Bushmen, whom I sent off yesterday at about one o'clock in the afternoon, had made such surprising expedition, that at four o'clock this day, they returned with the two oxen; having travelled on foot a distance of sixty miles within fifteen hours; from which is to be subtracted the time required for their meals and rest. They were accompanied by four of their countrymen, who came with a request from Kaabi that I would send him some tobacco. As soon as they received this, and had hastily taken some refreshment, they started again, to return home.

I was now informed that Kaabi and all his people had for the present removed their kraal from where I first saw it, to a distance of several miles farther northward. Here they were expecting us, and accordingly sent word that they wished me to deviate from our old track along the river, that we might take this new kraal in our way.

13th. With the addition to my own party, of the people and cattle who were removing to join Kaabi, we formed a strong caravan, and perhaps as motley and singular a group as ever could be formed into a picture. The whole affair appeared so curious and strange, and the circumstances so unlike every thing English, that, happening

* Vultur pileatus, B.
Totus fuliginoso-niger. Colli pars superior nuda pallidè rosea. Caput pennatum nigrum. Rostrum capite multò longius, rectum, apice adunco aurantiaco. Species inter majores.

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in the midst of all this, to turn my thoughts back to my own country, I seemed for a few moments to believe that I was only in a dream; and that the scene before me was one of those inconsistent medleys of ideas, which are often produced by a wandering imagination.

The first part of this day's-march was through a country covered with low mountains and rocky hills. Under the guidance of the Bushmen, we next proceeded over a large and rugged plain; and afterwards ascended to a higher level, on which, after travelling two or three miles farther, we found a pond of water; and, as it was already dark, halted there for the night. Kaabi's new kraal was not more than an hour and a half beyond this place, yet it would have been unsafe, in the midst of lions then beginning their nightly prowl, to have travelled at that hour with so many cattle; as the dread of these destructive beasts, would certainly have thrown them into confusion, and scattered or destroyed our baggage. We had marched, according to estimation, twenty-five miles and a half, and the greater part of which being over ground profusely covered with large loose stones, most of my Graaffreynet people were much fatigued.

As soon as we arrived, the Bushmen made, upon the heights, three fires at the distance of about sixty yards apart, and forming an equilateral triangle. These were intended as some private signal, either to let their friends in the surrounding country, know that we were approaching, or to signify that our fires were those of friends, and consequently, to prevent any hostile attack upon us in the dark. I have therefore marked this spot by the name of Three-fires Station.

14th. This morning so many visitors continued arriving, that we were at length surrounded by a large crowd, whom we found to be nearly the whole of Kaabi's people. Among them I was glad to see Riizo; and he appeared equally gratified at meeting us again. These natives came merely for the pleasure of seeing us, and of telling us that they were glad at our having returned into their country. They assisted us in packing our oxen, and we then moved on together in a numerous body.

The distance being but little more than four miles, we reached the kraal in less than an hour and a half; where I was greeted by

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Kaabi and many others whom I personally knew, with happy friendly countenances.

As I had promised to bring them more tobacco at my return, I was immediately surrounded by the crowd, who looking upon me now as an old friend, laid aside all timidity and restraint; and gave loose to the most ridiculous manifestation of their pleasure, when they saw me about to distribute this precious gift. They pushed in amongst one another with heedless eagerness to get near to me, and pressed each other so closely that neither I nor the chief had room to move, and my clothes began to assume the same red color as theirs. The lively clamor which the crowd sent forth, prevented all attempts at speaking, and rendered it impossible for any one to gain a hearing: each one, but more particularly the women, endeavoured to out-do the rest, in the noisy expression of their joy, and I could have fancied myself in the midst of a crowd of happy children to whom I was about to make presents of toys and sugarplums. Kaabi raised his voice and spoke to them; but he was not heard: all that he could do, was to smile, and wait patiently till this sudden ebullition of joy had subsided. My new men seemed astonished at such a familiar, and to them unusual, reception from Bushmen. At length, finding the noise and confusion too great to suffer me to make a regular distribution myself, I announced that their chieftain had undertaken to give to each one his due share; and accordingly I delivered to him the whole quantity of tobacco which I had previously laid apart for our friends at this kraal.

These people were now possessed of large herds of cattle; and when asked how they had so suddenly become rich, the only explanation they gave was, that they had received them from another kraal. That they were stolen, I had no doubt; and Keyser even assured me that he knew the greater part of the oxen to be some which belonged to a boor named Cobus Pretorius, living on Sneeuwberg. I counted forty; but my men afterwards observed ten more; and besides these, a flock of about two hundred sheep.

The policy of this kraal, had induced them to station themselves at a distance of five miles from any water, in an open situation which

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was somewhat concealed from distant view, by a low surrounding ridge of hills. (See the fourth plate.*) I employed the afternoon in making drawings of the scene; together with portraits of Kaabi, of a young woman and her child, and several other sketches. Among the people of this kraal, I observed one woman with very red, or carroty hair; and have since seen in different tribes of Bushmen, other instances of this color; but they were not frequent. Grey hair is equally a rarity.

The vignette at the head of this chapter represents the arms of the Bushmen. From a strap which passes over one shoulder, are suspended the quiver, the bow, and the kirri (keeri) in the manner there seen. Behind these, are shown an arrow and the upper half of a hassagay; all drawn to the same proportion, the bow being usually between three and four feet long, sometimes shorter, but rarely longer. The bowstring is always formed of catgut or the twisted entrails of some animal. The bow itself is made not always of the same sort of

* The huts represented in this plate, are constructed of mats (Vol. I. p. 114. 263.) made of rushes, in the manner shown in a former plate (pl. 7. Vol. I. p. 325.) and more particularly described in a preceding part of this volume. (p. 55. and 56.) The Bushmen of the Cisgariepine most commonly paint their mats lengthwise with stripes of red-ochre. The outermost figure on the left, will give an idea of the appearance of a Bushman as he is usually equipped for travelling, having his bow, quiver, hassagay and kirri. Before him is a representation of one of their dogs, (p. 56.) which are of a race perhaps peculiar to these tribes. Hassagays and sticks, when not in use, are most frequently stuck in the ground by the side of the hut. This plate exhibits, not only the particular view of the spot, but the ordinary appearance of a Bushman Kraal, and the genuine domestic state of its inhabitants, such as they are in their proper and original mode. In this picture, therefore, the number of figures and their occupations, are only those which are consistent with this intention, and have no reference to the unusual and busy scene which this kraal became in consequence of my arrival among these people. The nearest figure in the middle of the picture, is that of a man returning home from hunting, carrying a fawn or young antelope at his back. To the left of him, are two men, and a woman having her child in her arms, sitting in front of their hut, a very common manner of spending their time in fine weather: other parties of the same kind are seen at the other huts. Most of the figures have leathern caps of various forms according to the fancy of the maker or wearer. The outermost figure on the right is a man returning from the neighbouring spring with an ostrich-egg shell filled with water. On the left of him, and close to the hut in the foreground, may be seen one of those sticks already described (p. 29.) as being loaded with a perforated globular stone for the purpose of digging up various eatable wild roots. The soil here is of a reddish color, and scantily covered with herbage and low bushes.

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wood, as the materials vary according to the country in which the kraal resides: that from which the figure was taken, was of the wood of a species of Tarchonanthus from the Transgariepine. The karree-tree (Rhus viminale) is most generally used for this purpose. The quiver is usually made of some thick hide, as of the ox, or the kanna; but the natives more towards the western coast, frequently use the branches of the Aloë dichotoma, which is therefore called by the Hottentots and Colonists, kokerboom or quiver-tree. The hassagay is not made by themselves: these weapons are either purchased from the Caffres, or derived from the Bichuanas by means of barter from one kraal to another.

The arrow is so purely a Bushman manufacture, that the surrounding tribes, often procure them from this nation, as being better arrow-makers than themselves: and I much doubt whether in fact these weapons are ever made by the Bachapins. The shaft is made from the common African reed, and at each end is neatly bound round with sinew, to prevent splitting. The head consists principally of a long piece of bone cut very smoothly to fit exactly into the reed, so as to remain fast without being absolutely fixed. The length of the whole arrow is generally between eighteen and twenty-two inches. At the end of this chapter may be seen, of their natural size, the figures of arrow-heads of various forms. They are tipped with a thin triangular piece of iron made exceedingly sharp at the edges. Immediately below this, is a thick coating of the gummy poisonous compound, already described*; and in this poison, is placed a barb made from a piece of quill. The whole of the head is separate from the shaft, and is made merely to fit into it; so that neither man, nor animal, can draw it out of the wound by means of the reed, which in the flight, may drop off, while the head will still be left buried in the flesh. Sometimes the head consists only of the bone, without the piece of iron, and it is then made very sharp and slender, and is also covered with the poison: when the arrows of this form are not immediately wanted,

* In the first volume at page 539.

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the poisonous point is turned inwards into the reed. The bone of the leg of the ostrich, is the most esteemed material, yet other bones are as commonly used for the purpose. The shape and make of these heads, though essentially the same, vary in some trifling particulars, according to different tribes.*

On my requesting Kaabi to lend me four pack-oxen to assist in carrying my baggage as far as the Gariep, he immediately, and with great willingness, promised that I should have them on the morrow.

Judging from my former track, as it appeared upon paper, that we might reach the Gariep by taking a course directly across the country, I consulted with him respecting the probability of finding water by the way. His opinion was, that there was no impediment to travelling directly northward from this kraal, as the country was open, but we should not find any water; and that it was safest for us to follow that river the waters of which we had so long drunk. I therefore resolved to follow his advice; yet I discovered afterwards, that the natives, at least, can traverse that tract, and consequently must know where to find springs by the way; though it would be too great a risk for a large party of strangers and cattle, situated as we were, to venture on such an uncertain route. Notwithstanding this, Kaabi's advice was most probably given with reference to our circumstances; as he might know that there would not be water enough for so many mouths; as our dogs, horses, and oxen would require perhaps a larger quantity than those springs could supply.

At night there was dancing in one of the huts, the same as

* In the engraving at the end of this chapter, the upper figure shows the arrowhead taken out of the shaft or reed, part of which is seen on the right. The thicker and darker part under the triangular tip of iron, is the poison, at the bottom of which is the quill-barb: the rest is bone. The second figure is a bone-head without the iron tip, and in this the poison is layed on the thinner part. Of the three middle figures; that on the right represents the lower end of the arrow, or that which is applied to the string: that on the left explains the manner in which the piece of iron is fixed into the bone. The above figures are taken from arrows used by the Bushmen visited in these travels: the three lower ones are from those used in Little, and Great, Namaqualand.

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already described; and observation inclines me to suppose that it is a common amusement with these people.

15th. Platje, Van Roye, and Cornelis, requesting leave to ride forward on horseback and hunt through the country before the game should have been disturbed, I permitted them to set out several hours earlier than the time fixed for the departure of the whole party: while at the same time Speelman, Keyser, and Stuurman, went on foot. This I did with a view to procuring a sufficient quantity of meat to be sent back as payment with Kaabi's four oxen.

Before our departure, much delay was occasioned by sending our oxen and dogs to the water, which, according to the report of the Hottentots who took them, lay at a distance which, thither and returning, made a journey of nearly ten miles. The sheep were spared this fatigue, by being naturally better able than the oxen to endure thirst.

When we were about to pack up our baggage, Kaabi came to inform me that it was not in his power to lend us the four pack-oxen; that he himself was perfectly willing to give me that assistance, but that he had been opposed in this affair by some of the principal members of the kraal.

Now it appeared that the presence of my Graaffreynet Hottentots, had created among them some alarm and mistrust: for Keyser, who understood their language, overheard them mentioning to each other, their suspicions that he and Stuurman were spies sent by the boors; as they were recognised as having been seen in the service of the colonists, and Keyser was even pointed at as having been one of a former 'commando' which came into their country to retake some stolen cattle. Platje also made to me a report of the same nature; and all who understood their language, discovered that the cause of their having removed their kraal from Waterpoint, was, the fear of being pursued, and that they now, in consequence of the place of their retreat being known to Hottentots connected with the boors, had resolved to remove to another spot, on the very next day after our departure. On this account, they were themselves

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in want of pack-oxen to transport their mats and the other materials of their huts; for, among the stolen cattle, were none which could be of use to them in this service. There was one grey-headed old man, whose fears, and even displeasure, were much excited by the sight of my new men: he strongly opposed Kaabi, who as strongly insisted on lending me the oxen; but the old man's opinion, that they could not be spared on account of their being obliged to remove immediately, coinciding with that of some other principal persons, the debate terminated in Kaabi's telling me that he could lend me only one, and which was his own. At one time the dispute between the chief and old Gryskop (Greyhead), as my Hottentots named him, was very vehement, as he appeared quite averse from affording us any accommodation at all. His wife, however, interfering and representing how wrong and imprudent it would be, to have any quarrel with us, he at last was pacified, and consented that a second ox should be lent me, as I complained to Kaabi of the unkindness in not giving me assistance when they saw that the backs of my oxen, and even of the horses, were so much galled that I should not be able, without the greatest difficulty, to reach the Gariep with the whole of our baggage.

For the use of these two oxen, I promised not only that he should be paid in tobacco, but that they should bring him back a great portion of the game which we might happen to shoot on the road: and it was therefore agreed that three of his people should accompany us for the purpose of driving them home.

At eleven o'clock I took my leave of Kaabi, and departed from his kraal, with strong impressions of his friendly good-will towards me personally, and of his naturally mild and kind disposition. I have given the character of him and his countrymen, with the moat conscientious impartiality. I have exposed all the objectionable part of it, which came to my knowledge; and if I have given a preponderancy to the better and more pleasing, it is because that part appeared really to preponderate. Their robberies of cattle from the Colony, are committed under the influence of what has now,

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unfortunately, become a long established custom, at least for several generations. They are committed under the influence, too, of temptation by the carelessness of the Hottentot shepherds and herdsmen, and by the very weak protection given to the numerous flocks which graze on the borders. Nor, in weighing this crime, would it be just to omit throwing something into the opposite scale, for poverty and want; for an inveterate and inherited enmity to the boors; for ignorance; and even, for their wild habits and lawless mode of life.

I now could give myself the answer to that question which I had long marked as one of the desiderata of my travels*: but, alas! it is in the negative; and I must now believe, that these savages have not been rendered happier by their communication with Europeans; I must too, believe, that they have not been made better or morally wiser; and I fear I must conclude that the present state of all the Hottentot race, is far less happy, far less peaceful, than it was before our discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. If they rob us of cattle, what is that crime to ours! who have robbed so large a portion of these tribes, of their liberty and of the land of their fathers. If European policy require our taking possession of the country, (and I do not dispute that policy,) let us in return, as the smallest boon, be kind to its aborigines; kind to men who may no longer tread the ground over which their forefathers have led their flocks; over which their ancestors were probably the first to imprint the human footstep.

When we departed, no one accompanied us, as I had expected. Uncertain of the exact course we ought to hold, as I had had no opportunity of laying down my track from Quakka station, we took at first a north-westerly direction for two hours. This brought us in the neighbourhood of two kraals, lying at a distance from each other, of not more than two miles. We met three of their inhabitants; from whom we learnt that the second belonged to those poor creatures who, at the time of my first journey, dwelt at Poverty Kraal. They were exceedingly pleased at seeing us again, and fortunately apprized

* At pages 5 and 6, of the first volume.

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us that, by keeping on in that direction, we should not reach the river that night; an opinion which I had just expressed to my men. We were therefore thankful for the information, and turned our steps to the west.

Continuing to travel for above five hours and a half longer, during the greater part of which we followed a path made by quakkas passing from their grazing ground to the water, we did not arrive at the river till the dusk of evening. This spot is distinguished as Lion Station.

The two Bushmen of Poverty Kraal soon left us; but it was for the purpose of going home to inform their friends of my return: and soon after we had unloaded our oxen and made our fires, their whole kraal arrived at our station, and remained with us till the next day. I now made them all a larger present of tobacco, which failed not to gladden their hearts and give them for the evening, as much happiness and content as the simplicity of their minds renders this race capable of enjoying.

As for myself, I could not feel so much at ease; as I became, during the night, every hour more anxious for the safety of the six Hottentots to whom I had given permission to set out to hunt in advance. I expected that they would have fallen in with our track, and have thus been guided to our station; or that, if, which was more probable, they had reached the river before us, our fires would have been a beacon which might have readily conducted them home: or had they shot any game, one of the party would have been sent to us for pack-oxen. But the chief cause of my uneasiness arose from a supposition that they might, in the dark, have fallen in with lions; animals much more to be dreaded at that hour than by day; and of which it may with equal propriety be said, that, like the owls, they are destined by nature to live and prey only at night.

Although much in want of food, we were unwilling to kill a sheep, until the result of the hunting was known. Thus the time passed in waiting; till we at last lay down supperless to sleep: while our Bushman friends, seeing that we ate nothing ourselves, were content to fast also.

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16th. But in the morning I gave my visitors a meal; for which they were exceedingly thankful, as they had not, I fear, feasted much in our absence.

At two in the afternoon, Speelman arrived, extremely fatigued and exhausted. The sky having been all day cloudless, the heat of the sun had reduced him to a state of great lassitude. He declared that he had neither eaten nor drunk since yesterday morning; and his appearance confirmed his statement. He could give no account of the others, as they had parted company soon after setting out: and he himself had been wandering about, and traversing the country, in hope of getting a shot at some game; but had been quite unsuccessful. He had fallen in with two of the natives; and they passed the night together, under shelter of a bank of earth, where they found a small cave, in which they slept.

I gave to the people of Poverty Kraal, a large quantity of dakka, and desired them, in their way home, to look out for my people, and, if they saw any, or could discover them by following their track, to give them directions respecting our situation. They took leave of us at three o'clock; and in a most friendly manner assured me that they would search for my people and send them home.

On observing some quakkas at a distance in the plain, Philip and Juli with their guns went after them; but were strongly enjoined not to pursue them out of sight of our station. In an hour afterwards, one of them returned with the agreeable intelligence of their having shot a kanna (eland); the other remained by the carcass to guard it from vultures and wild beasts. Pack-oxen were immediately sent off; but it was not till eight at night, that the meat was brought home, and we were enabled to satisfy the cravings of hunger.

In an hour and a half after the Bushmen left us, Keyser and Stuurman arrived, faint and weary from their long wanderings, and suffering much from thirst. I ordered them to have as soon as possible, a cup of coffee, which I knew to be, for persons in their state, a much safer and more refreshing beverage than water. They had, in their way this morning, shot a Gemsbok (Ghemsbok); and to so high a degree had the heat of the day raised their thirst, that they eagerly cut open the animal's stomach, and with the greatest

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avidity drank the liquid, which it contained; but this not being sufficient, they also drank the blood; after which, they made a fire on the spot, and broiled some of the meat. It was the smoke of this fire which fortunately made their situation so soon known to the Bushmen whom we sent in search of them, and who were thus very opportunely and deservingly repaid for this friendly act, by receiving the whole of the game; neither of my Hottentots having as yet recovered strength enough to bring away more than the tongue and two or three slices of the flesh.

In the middle of the night I was awakened by the roaring of a lion; but the sound was peculiar, and very different from that which the animal usually makes. I am assured by the inhabitants of these countries, who have had opportunities of ascertaining the fact, that he produces this noise by laying his head upon the ground and uttering, as it were, a half-stifled roar, or growl, by which means the sound is conveyed along the earth. It now seemed to us very much to resemble that which we had heard in Cape Town at the moment of the earthquake: it seemed also to have a progressive movement, as if it came from the west. I instantly sprang up, and seeing that our fires were nearly out, called to the Hottentots to put on a large quantity of fuel to make a blaze, for the purpose of keeping the beasts at a distance, as they are said to be afraid of flame. But though several of them were awake, they remained without attempting to move, until I called out. As they had supposed it to be really an earthquake, and knew that by sleeping in the open air, there was nothing to fear if such had been the case, they lay very quietly wrapped up in their karosses, till I ordered them to make up the fires. From the uneasiness of the oxen, two of which broke loose from the bushes to which they had been made fast, and from other circumstances, I was convinced that it was a lion; and at length most of the people began to think the same as myself; but Speelman persisted in declaring that it was only an earthquake, till, on examining the ground the next morning, we found the animal's footmarks within fifty yards of the spot where we had been lying asleep. There is little doubt that the beast's intention was to have seized one of the oxen; and as little, that the timely making up our fires prevented

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him. His roaring, was intended to strike fear into the cattle and to put them to flight; in which case, he would have pursued, and easily have secured, his prey. It was his natural fear of man, which alone withheld him from springing upon them at once, or even upon us, as we lay quite exposed upon the bare ground; for we had, as I have remarked, little or no fire burning at that time.

As far as I am enabled to judge, there is no region in any quarter of the world, which can hold competition with Southern Africa in number of large animals. It would be a novel and not uninstructive mode of comparing the zoölogy of different countries, by noting the aggregate weight of the wild animals of each country (meaning one individual of each species) divided by the total number of species. If a table of this kind were formed, I think there is little doubt that Southern Africa would be found to stand at the head of it.

Although we are taught to believe that man is the supreme animal of this globe; and every thing we behold, even in civilized countries, confirms that belief; yet still the mind can never derive so perfect a conviction of this truth, as when viewing a country in a state of nature, where men and multitudes of wild beasts of every class, roam unrestrained, in all the freedom of creation. Can we view animals of immense bulk and strength, either flying from man, or submitting to his domination and labouring in his immediate service, without acknowledging at once that their timidity or submission forms a part of that wise plan, predetermined by the Deity, for giving supreme power to him who is physically the weakest of them all? or can we doubt that a part of that plan was, that man should rule alone by the divine spirit of reason and superior intellect, and, at his own option and freewill, either by the exercise of these, elevate himself above the rest of the animal creation, or by the neglect of them sink himself below the beasts? For man has nought else of which to be proud, but reason and virtue: without those he is still but mere animal, his existence is useless in the great final cause of the universe, and he will surely have to answer for his voluntary deficiencies in them, to that Aweful, Good and Great, Power, who will know no other distinction among man-

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kind than that which they themselves make by their virtuous or vicious conduct.

17th. The absence of the other three men, caused me considerable uneasiness, as we were unable to account for their having remained away two nights. They were all mounted on horseback, and could easily have overtaken us; or have escaped from any inimical kraal of natives who, mistaking them for part of a commando, might have made any hostile attempt upon them. At one time, a suspicion arose in my mind, that they had deserted, and returned back to the Colony; at another, I believed them to be waiting for us lower down the river. In hope, if they happened to be near, of giving them notice of our situation, I sent one of the people to a hillock close by, to make a large fire and keep it burning for several hours; and I resolved in the afternoon to move forward along the banks of the river.

Having waited till more than two hours after mid-day, I gave orders for packing the oxen: but just as we were on the point of departing, Van Roye, Cornelis, and Platje, made their appearance; having been guided by our fire on the hill. Their story was, that having hunted for a great distance northward, and not discovering our track, nor falling in with any Bushmen of whom they could ask information, they concluded that we were still remaining at Kaabi's new kraal, which we had distinguished as the kraal where we had obtained the two oxen, and that they had returned thither in search of us. The inhabitants there had behaved very kindly towards them; and, being just about to remove their whole village, Kaabi had not thought it worth while to send any of his people with us to bring back the two pack-oxen; but desired the Hottentots to tell me that I might keep them till I again returned to his country.

We travelled parallel with the river about eleven or twelve miles, over a flat covered principally with a species of Mesembryanthemum*; and at twilight halted on the banks, at a spot abounding in rushes, and

* Resembling Mesembryanthemum veruculatum.

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which I have therefore marked as, Rushy Station. Here the water was found still to continue perfectly fresh: and it is probably only at the lowest part of this river, and in the dry season, that it becomes brackish.

At this place I found Marsilea quadrifolia, an European plant, growing in the water and along the bed of the river, in abundance. The wide dissemination of many species of cryptogamic vegetables all over the earth, is an interesting fact, and one which might deserve particular attention: from a philosophical view of it, there is much to be learnt. Instances of a similar dispersion of what are called phænogamous plants, are much more rare, and may often be traced to some visible cause, such as the current of rivers or of the ocean, or the winds; or even to the instrumentality of man. I shall not here stop to discuss the subject, but shall merely remark that the seeds of cryptogamic vegetables, being infinitely finer than those of the other class, and so excessively minute as to be, in most cases, invisible, even by the aid of the strongest microscope, are more easily borne along by currents of air: and this consideration should be taken in addition, when contemplating philosophically the admirable harmony and wisdom of their primitive location; by which term I would express, the situation assigned to each species at the creation or commencement of the present order of created objects upon the surface of this globe.

We were visited by a few natives: they were personally strangers, but, having long heard of our passing through their country, they came to us in the usual friendly manner. Some of them were ornamented with a fresh necklace of twisted entrails. This is one of the most common ornaments, not only of the Bushmen and other tribes of the Hottentot race, but also of the Bichuana nations. To imagine that these entrails are hung round their necks just in the same state in which they are taken out of the animal, would be to entertain an exceedingly false idea of them; but it is one which those persons, who do not think, in giving an account of a foreign country, that the truth is sufficiently interesting, endeavour to create, supposing that by such means they render the proverbial filthiness of Hottentots

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more striking and wonderful. It is a representation, not more correct, than it would be, to tell the Bushmen, that the ladies of Europe play upon a musical instrument composed of the entrails of animals, extended between three pieces of wood. These necklaces of entrails, are washed and cleansed as properly and completely as the strings of a violin or a harp; and it is only by the subsequent accumulation of grease and red-ochre, that they become, what we call, dirty, but which Bushmen consider as highly improved.

At midnight we again heard the lion. Although it is impossible to know whether it was, or was not, the same animal which had disturbed us on the preceding night, it is probable that, having been then disappointed, he had followed us in the hope still of getting hold of an ox.

18th. As the sheep, on a long day's-journey, were found unable to travel so fast as the oxen, they were sent forward early in the morning, with two Hottentots under the guidance of Speelman: and after a march of above four-and-twenty miles, we halted late in the evening, for the last time on the banks of our friendly river, at a spot considerably below the place at which we first became acquainted with it. This is therefore marked as the Lower Station.

On our road we spoke with two Bushmen, who informed us that a white-man, or as they expressed it in their language, a'Gowsa, had crossed the Gariep in his way to Klaarwater. This, till we obtained better information, excited the curiosity of all of us, to know who this person could be, or his object in coming into these countries: but the whole story was either a fabrication on the part of the Bushmen, or a misunderstanding on ours; for no person of that description had made his appearance in any part of these countries, since myself.

19th. This day's march brought us once more to the delightful woody banks of the beautiful Gariep. I hailed its airy acacia groves and drooping willows, and derived pleasure from fancying that they waved their branches to bid me welcome again to their cooling shade, and to greet me on my safe return.

Throughout the whole country which we had traversed in our

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present journey, from the Sunday river to this place, not a single Acacia had been seen; and if this fact be coupled with another already noticed*, that this tree does not exist between the Roggeveld Mountain and the Gariep, a very singular geographical circumstance will be discovered: — that although that part of Southern Africa which has fallen under my observation, every where else abound in acacias, there appears to be one large and central region perfectly destitute of every trace of that plant. This region is bounded on the south, by the ridge of mountains, or rather cliffs, which extends in one continued, though irregular, line from the Farther Bokkeveld, along the northern side of the Great Karro, connecting the Roggeveld Mountains with those of the Nieuwveld and Sneeuwberg; as may be more clearly seen by inspecting the map. It is bounded, on the east by the Rhenosterberg and the Nugariep, and on the north by the Gariep, and does not, probably, extend so far westward as to the seacoast. This region, so remarkably by nature distinguished in several respects from the other parts of Extratropical Africa, is in fact that which I have attempted to distinguish in a geographical view, by the denomination of the Cisgariepine.† The sciences of Geography and Botany here elucidate each other: the generally great elevation, and consequently colder climate, of this region, will not allow the Acacia to thrive: and the absence of this, being one of the species of a numerous genus the whole of which are the inhabitants of warm climates, affords some proof of the greater cold, and consequently of the greater elevation of this region. As it is evident that these conclusions can only be drawn from remarks made along my own course, it remains to be confirmed by future observation, whether my supposition that the whole of this region contains no acacias, be either literally, or only generally, correct.

Those of my men who had never before seen this stream, were astonished at its magnitude, and declared that they had no notion of

* At page 314. of the first volume.

† See Vol. I. p. 581., and also page 324.

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there being so large a river in Africa: it contained, they said, more water than all the rivers of the Colony put together. To them this was the first stage of the journey; and it was a circumstance not unimportant to me, that they felt pleasure at having, in our course hitherto, beheld and learnt many things which they thought interesting. The glory of shooting a 'sea-cow' had long, in prospect, occupied their thoughts, and the moment, therefore, the baggage was unloaded, they ran down the steep bank of the river to discover if any were then within shot. As soon as they had taken supper, they posted themselves by the water-side, and remained on the watch during the greater part of the night; but this eagerness was not repaid with success. The light of our fires, and the voices of so many people, had probably alarmed the animals and driven them, either higher up the stream, or, nearer the opposite bank.

At this ford, the place of which is marked on the map by the words Ox-Ford, we found a Bushman kraal of ten huts, the inhabitants of which were of taller stature than the natives whom we had hitherto met with in the Cisgariepine. Or, to prevent any supposition that these were tall men, which would be a notion quite false, as they are every where that small race which I have described, it ought rather to be said, that the Bushmen of the country between the Colony and the Gariep, are among the smallest of the Hottentot race. This difference of stature in those who inhabit the vicinity of the river, is probably to be attributed to a mixture of Kora blood: and the same difference has been observed in other places where the intermingling with other tribes may readily be supposed to have occasioned it: but the genuine Bushmen are all excessively small.

20th. At this ford the river is divided into two channels, by an island; and before we attempted to pass with the whole party, we made some previous trials, and found the ford too deep to be practicable without the aid of oxen; and even then, the water flowed over their backs. As old Lucas and Cobus were supposed to be well acquainted with every part of the river hereabouts, we were guided by their opinion that this was the shallowest place; and therefore prepared for crossing, by collecting together a quantity of dry wood for

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making rafts to pass the channel on the northern side of the island, that being much too deep to be forded in any manner. While thus employed, we were observed by three Koras on the opposite bank, who goodnaturedly swam over to give us their assistance, knowing by previous report who we were.

My men had laboured the greater part of the day, in collecting the wood and carrying it to the farther side of the island, and we had just made the raft and all was nearly ready, when some Bushmen came to inform me that another ford higher up the river, was much more shallow. In consequence of this advice, I ordered my people to desist from further preparations, and resolved on removing thither: for, having now in my party a number of Hottentots unaccustomed to swimming, and a woman and infant besides, I considered myself responsible for their safety as far as it depended on my judgment, and therefore determined to adopt that plan which offered the least possible risk; although some of the Hottentots seemed little pleased at finding that all the labor of collecting wood must be begun again.

It being too late in the day to commence a journey, we remained at this place, and took advantage of the remaining daylight, to put our baggage in the best order we were able. I amused myself in the mean time, in examining the stones in the bed of the river. The shores of the Gariep, not only at this spot, but every where along its course, as I am informed, abound with pebbles of various sorts, and of considerable beauty. They have been found well adapted for seals and necklaces, or other ornaments of that kind; and from their hardness, are susceptible of a high polish. Of these I now collected a few; among which were some very handsome chalcedonies, some curious agates, and other varieties of this class; together with some of porphyry, primitive amygdaloid, amygdaloidal greenstone; and separate pebbles of zeolite, a substance frequently occurring embedded in the other stones of the river.

21st. Before sunrise we began the business of packing the baggage; but in consequence of the Hottentots' dilatoriness and

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want of method, it was not till two hours afterwards, that the whole party were on the march. We soon arrived at the ford, which we found to be the same which bore the name of Engelsche Drift or English Ford. This was also formed by an island which divided the stream; and although it was not so deep as the other, it still required the aid of rafts for passing the channel between us and the island.

On the opposite bank, at some distance higher up, was a kraal of Koras, the same people whom we had seen when we crossed the river before. These soon observed us, and nine of them swam over, and readily, even unasked, lent their assistance in collecting wood for our rafts. The stony shore, partly overhung by trees, was soon a busy scene; which, by the addition of the Koras to our number, together with the horses, oxen, sheep, and dogs, presented a crowded and lively appearance. The broad expanse of water, was the more attractive to the eye, as it was a sight so rare in this part of the globe.

While they were engaged in swimming the cattle through to the island, I employed the time in preserving the memory of these occupations and of this scene, by placing it in my sketch-book. Every additional sketch was, I considered, an additional triumph over oblivion, and a powerful assistant to recollection. I trust I shall be excused for here obtruding the advice upon those who may propose to visit countries little known, or seldom frequented; that they would regard the art of drawing as of the highest importance; not merely as the means of giving their friends an idea of those scenes and objects which they have beheld, but for their own gratification, and for the pleasure of a renewal of past impressions far more lively than any pen can render a written journal.

It was nearly sunset before the whole of my party, and the baggage and cattle, were landed on the island; three hours having been consumed on account of the number of times it was necessary to cross and recross the first channel. In one of these trips, the bands of acacia-bark with which the raft was bound together, broke

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while in the middle of the stream, and a great part of the raft separated and was, together with one of the karosses, and some other goods, carried away by the stream and lost. At this time Truy and her child were going over, and narrowly escaped drowning, as the raft fortunately held together till just the moment when they had nearly gained the shore.

This island was narrow, but of considerable length in the direction of the stream. A few trees or bushes grew upon it, and some rushes of a new and peculiar sort*, which were never met with in any other part of my travels. It was subject occasionally to be overflowed; and the fresh grass and other rubbish left upon the branches by the inundation, proved that the river had very lately risen fifteen feet above its present level. The woods along the banks, were still in their antumnal dress.

The two men on horseback were the first to ford the northern channel; while the rest of us waited on the island to watch the result, whether it would be shallow enough for carrying our baggage over without a raft. This we judged it possible to accomplish by packing the goods high upon the oxen's backs. As soon as these were ready, as many of us as could be mounted, entered the stream. The depth of water was five feet, but we found, as we advanced towards the middle, that the current being straitened by the island, was excessively rapid, and rendered our fording an affair of considerable danger. We found it necessary to keep our view directed only to the opposite bank, to prevent giddiness; an effect which the rapid motion of the water flowing past us, produced upon every one. I confess that I was not less in fear, than my men; for the strength of the flood was almost greater than that of the cattle upon which we depended entirely for our safety; and, added to this, the channel was

* Cyperus scirpoides, B. Catal. Geogr. 2128. Culmi 2–3-pedales, nudi teretes: plurimi steriles. Folia nulla? Involucra et involucella brevissima ex squamis 2 vel 3 erectis lanceolatis. Panicula constans ex spiculis sessilibus et pedunculatis, ex umbellulis paucifloris, simplicibus et compositis. Spiculæ lanceolatæ 8–16-floræ.

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every where covered with large stones. The oxen were more steady than the horses, but their bulk exposed them more to the force of the current: my horse had in this respect the advantage, but being less strong in the legs, he stumbled more frequently; and at one time, when the roughness of the bottom occasioned a false step, he providentially fell upwards against the stream. Had he fallen in the opposite direction, we must both have been swept away with the flood. My men were in not less alarm: all preserved a fearful silence as long as they were in the water, which was between ten and fifteen minutes; but the moment we reached the shore, they congratulated each other on having landed without accident. Old Hans, who was near me and had observed my horse stumbling and scarcely able to stand against the force of the current, exclaimed very fervently when we gained the bank; 'Thank God! Mynheer is safe.'

The sheep were with much difficulty compelled to enter the stream, and it was only by pelting them with stones, that they were afterwards forced to swim over; they were, however, carried far down with the current before they could gain the land.

I had been careful to preserve the watch which I carried on my person, by placing it where the water could not reach it; but unfortunately the one which had been packed in the tin box, was now rendered utterly useless for the rest of the journey. This box had carelessly been placed so low upon the ox, that on coming to land it was found full of water; in consequence of which, I had to sit up a great part of the night to dry my journals and papers before the fire; and anxious to save these from damage, the watch was neglected till too late, when the springs had already contracted rust.

It being now too dark to drive the oxen back for those who had been left behind, we were not till the next morning quite free from uneasiness on their account; as it was not impossible that the river might swell during the night, and overflow the island. Juli, with his wife and child, and Keyser, remained there till morning without any bedding or protection from the cold; but fortunately they found a sufficient quantity of wood to keep up a fire till daylight

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22nd. The first intelligence gained on my arrival in the Transgariepine, was, that of the death of Mulihában*, the chief of the Bachapins, or Briquas, the nation which I intended to visit first; and that, as usual on such an occasion, his successor, Mattivi, had sent to the Klaarwater chief, Adam Kok, a present of two oxen, as expressive of his desire that the two nations, or tribes, should continue on peaceable and friendly terms. This information was given by two Briquas who were in the service of some of the Klaarwater people, as herdsmen, and who, knowing that I was about to make a journey to their country, came for the purpose of apprising me of the circumstance. This certainly was an affair in which we were much concerned; but as the character of their new chief had not yet declared itself, we were left in uncertainty whether the change would be for our advantage or disadvantage.

At noon all the party being at length collected together, we left the river, and proceeded towards the village of 'The Kloof.' On arriving at Jan Bloem's kraal, mutual inquiries compelled us to halt and satisfy their curiosity. He and his friends were eager to learn some particulars respecting the country we had traversed, and we, as eager to hear something of Klaarwater affairs.

The beautiful wire-grass, so much admired on my former journey, was now all dried up, or consumed by the cattle; and the acacias were nearly in a leafless state.

At sunset we entered the Asbestos Mountains, and arrived at The Kloof. Here Willem Fortuyn, the Hottentot who has been mentioned in the former volume as a man possessed of more industry than his neighbours, came immediately to invite me to take up my quarters in his house, which he had cleaned on purpose for my reception, having been apprised of my coming by Van Roye and Cornelis, who, being on horseback and having started early, had preceded us several hours. This was a degree of attention and hospitality, which I had not before experienced from the Klaarwater

* The Bachapíns sometimes pronounce this name Mulihában or Mollihában, and at other times Mulihaváng or Mulihaváng: the first is the most usual.

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people, and I was therefore the more struck with this proof of the man's superior degree of civilization, and felt the more gratified by his consideration of the fatigues and privations which he knew I must have suffered. But as the passing but a single night in a warm house might occasion me afterwards to take cold, I preferred sleeping in the open air, to which I was now more accustomed. When he found this to be my determination, he sent a jug of milk, as the most acceptable present which it was in his power to offer. How superior, in the common feelings of human nature, must this man have been, to the inhabitants of the first farm-house at which we arrived, on our entrance into the Colony.

Fortuyn informed me that Captain Berends and a large party with several waggons, had departed but the day before, on a journey farther into the Interior, for the purpose of hunting elephants: and, that the horses from the Roggeveld, which, as mentioned in the former volume, had been sent there to avoid the paardeziekte, had returned in the preceding week; and by this opportunity, the missionaries had received several packets of letters from the Cape. The latter part of this intelligence, it may be supposed, was most interesting to me, as I hoped that among these letters there might be some for myself.

At another piece of information I was much more surprised: that Kaabi and the old Bushman Gryskop, had been to Klaarwater to fetch the two pack-oxen, supposing that we had already arrived there. They, however, did not think it worth their while to wait for our coming; but on finding us not there, they immediately returned home. Although this report was found to be correct, I could not at first believe them to have been the same Bushmen, because Kaabi was seen by three of my men, at his own kraal on the 16th; and this account having reached the Kloof yesterday and having been two days coming from Klaarwater, three days only were left for them to perform the journey, including the crossing of the river; which proves them to have travelled at the rate of at least forty miles each day.

A serious calamity, according to Hottentot estimation, had be-

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fallen the gardens of this village: an unusually heavy storm of hail had cut all the leaves off their tobacco plants, and totally ruined the expected crop, on which so much of their comforts, and even profits, depended.

23rd. Hans Lucas, Hendrik Abrams, and Nieuwveld, now took their leave of us, and returned to their homes at Groote-doorn, by a nearer road across the mountains. Lucas had proved himself to be a worthy good-hearted Hottentot, and though neither he, nor any of the others excepting my own men, had much more to do on the journey than merely to accompany me, I found in him always a readiness and goodwill, which failed not to gain my esteem. In Abrams I discovered nothing either to censure or to commend; unless I censure him for inactivity, and commend him for quietness. Nieuwveld, as a Bushman, deserved praise for his constant and steady attention to his duty in driving the loose cattle, as long as we had any to require his care. I had very little communication with him by conversation, because he spoke no language but his own; yet in his deportment there was something which claimed my good opinion.

At this village, we left Cobus Berends and Ruiter. The former was, I believe, a good old man; but on account of his age, was of no use whatever to us as an assistant; although his presence, to give the appearance of greater strength to the party, and occasionally his judgment and experience, rendered him an acceptable companion. Ruiter was at the commencement of the journey, a very useful man as an interpreter, but having taken offence at my finding fault with some unfair bartering of which he had been guilty, he became sullen and often refused to interpret; so that ultimately he was of little advantage, excepting by his mere presence: and this was the utmost extent of Old Daniel's service. It appeared to me remarkable that no one of the party, excepting my own people, shot any game, although gunpowder was delivered to all in the same proportion; yet it was always reported as having been consumed. However, we all parted good friends; and I had the satisfaction of having accomplished my journey, without accident to any one, and with the gratification of knowing that no one was the worse for having accompanied me.

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From this time till we reached home, the party, excepting one, consisted only of my own people; and I departed from the Kloof with very agreeable feelings, as I viewed upon the road, the number of men engaged in my service, and with whom I might now look forward without disappointment, to the execution of my plans.

We arrived at Gattikamma just before it became dark; where, from the coldness of the air, we found a fire more necessary than food.

24th. This morning we were visited by several Hottentots from Gert Kok's kraal, which lay at the distance of a few miles northward, and who had last night received intelligence of our arrival, by means of Kok, who happened to pass by just as we were unpacking. Our journey had excited a considerable share of curiosity among the Hottentots generally; as they felt more especially interested in a road being now opened to a part of the colony with which they had not before had any communication. The quantity of game which might be met with along that road, formed for them, a subject of inquiry, not less important.

We left Gattikamma before nine in the morning, and marched at a brisk step, that we might arrive early at Klaarwater. The people seemed to have no idea of the necessity which such a journey imposed on us for keeping together in a body; and had, notwithstanding my orders to the contrary, allowed themselves to straggle and disperse in a manner which would subject us to the greatest danger, in countries where the natives might prove less amicably disposed, than the Bushmen among whom we had just been travelling. But as it is difficult to make Hottentots sensible of the advantages to be derived from good order, I found this likely to be a source of some trouble; for, though I had at starting, issued positive instructions that we should keep together, two of my jail Hottentots, Andries and Stuurman, continued in the afternoon, to lag behind, till, watching the opportunity of my being some little way ahead of the rest, they slipped away unperceived. As I missed them soon afterwards, I halted and sent Juli back to make search, and bring them on. After some delay, they came up with us, having been found

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very composedly sitting smoking their pipes under a bush; where they had proposed to each other to remain till the evening. This, I am willing to believe, was not done in absolute defiance of my orders, but partly from a careless neglect of them, and partly from a wish of having their own way and from a desire of trying how far they might carry disobedience with impunity. Almost all my new men began their service by making experiments to ascertain the strength of my patience and forbearance; and therefore made continual attempts at slighting my regulations. This, however, was a point which I was firmly resolved, at all hazards, to maintain against them; as the safety of the whole depended upon subordination to their head. Fortunately for them, they had to deal with one who was determined on pursuing such measures as he conscientiously felt to be just and right. I watched therefore with a jealous eye, every attempt at disobedience, and considered nothing of so much importance as the preservation of my authority over them: although, I confess, there were subsequent occasions, on which this authority was preserved merely in outward appearance.

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CHAPTER VIII.

TRANSACTIONS AT KLAARWATER, AFTER THE RETURN FROM GRAFFREYNET.

AT four in the afternoon we came in sight of Klaarwater. I halted my men at the top of the ridge above the village, and, according to colonial custom*, saluted the missionaries with twenty discharges of our muskets, as a complimentary mode of announcing our return. They had been yesterday apprised by a Hottentot called Lang Adam, that we were on the road from the Kloof, and should certainly arrive this day. But our salutation remained unanswered; not a musket was fired to welcome us; nor did any one make his appearance to receive us. At this, we were all naturally much surprised; as the noise was loud enough to have awakened the whole village, had every inhabitant been even fast asleep.

* See examples of this, at pages 173 and 328 of the first volume.

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We rode up to the houses, where Gert was hastening to meet us; and my men went forward and unpacked the baggage at my waggons, which I rejoiced to behold once again.

None of the missionaries making themselves visible all this time, I knocked at Mr. Anderson's door: he at last came forward, and in an admirably calm manner, and without the least expression of any emotions, such as worldly men might naturally indulge in, on witnessing the return of a person whom he might consider as having risen from the dead, received me with; So, you're come back again. It must certainly have been vexatious to him, to find all his predictions respecting the dangers and difficulties of the journey, and my failure in the object of it, falsified in the eyes of those people by whom he wished to be thought an unerring example for their imitation; and I readily admit this excuse for his feelings. Therefore neither he nor his brother missionaries, had any reason for rejoicing at my success and safe return; a sentiment which, if they felt it, never once escaped their lips during the whole time I remained at Klaarwater; nor did they ever allow their consistency to be compromised by any vain curiosity respecting the occurrences of my journey; for on this head they preserved a silence well becoming men whose minds were occupied with better things. Nor was any reason ever given for taking no notice of my salute. However; I met with a civil reception from all. I know that it is the doctrine of this sect, to suppress, and even destroy, every lively emotion, and to strive to become serious people. But for my part, I never could bring my mind to so serious a state as to avoid being extremely glad at finding myself, with all my men, safely arrived at Klaarwater, or to avoid being equally rejoiced at getting away from it.

After a little time Kramer and Jansz made their appearance. I delivered a letter from Mr. Kicherer, and gave them some Cape newspapers. In return I received, what was most acceptable, three packets of letters, one of which was from England, and brought, as I have mentioned, by the men who returned with the horses from the Roggeveld. To these I had a fortunate opportunity of replying immediately, by means of some Hottentots going to Kok's Kraal, a place about nine or ten days journey lower down the Gariep. These people

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being in connexion equally with Klaarwater and with the Kamiesberg, undertook to forward letters for the missionaries into the Colony; and mine, being put into the same packet, reached ultimately their destination.

Gert and Hannah, were both in excellent condition, having had nothing to do but to sit by the waggons and fatten themselves. They informed me that my waggons were in all respects in the state as when I left them. I was, however, much vexed at hearing that the Hottentot named Cupido Kok had taken my great rifle-gun with him to Litaakun; the consequence of which was, that I lost the use of it during my whole journey in the Interior. This man having greatly admired the gun, I consented to lend it him till we returned from Graaffreynet, as it was too heavy to be constantly carried in the hand; and as he offered to supply its place with a lighter musket. I gave him at the same time a pound of gunpowder, for which he engaged to let Gert have either game or a sheep in our absence; but this, I now was told, he had not done.

I made my complaint to the missionary, but soon dropped the subject, as I found that the man had been baptized, and that it was not pleasant to hear a bad character given to one of whom he held a good opinion.

I had given Gert at my departure, a quantity of powder and ball, with which he might obtain a supply of provisions during part of the time; but the person to whom he entrusted it, returned him no more than half a springbuck. Captain Kok, however, had fulfilled his promise, and had allowed him to have as many goats, on my account, as he required.

Although two of my men were sent out hunting every day, and their powder-horns were frequently replenished, we never got more than one springbuck during our stay at this village. It being known that I had plenty of gunpowder, I was beset in various ways, and have little doubt that in this particular, as well as in provisions, my own men were often successfully solicited to betray their trust; as they never reported having missed aim, so often as when we were in the neighbourhood of the Klaarwater Hottentots. Keyser, whom I had sent back from the Kloof to the river, for our hatchet, which he had care-

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lessly left behind, returned on the third day with an empty horn, and with the story of his having lost all his powder and ball, and shot nothing: this might be accounted for by his having passed through The Kloof, and afterwards taken a circuit round by Grootedoorn.

25th. My oxen, which had been left under the care of Abram Abrams, were brought that I might see them, and as they appeared to be in the best order, he received the promised reward; and, my waggons being found all safe and in proper condition, Gert also received a present as an encouragement of his fidelity.

27th. A small party of Hottentots returned home to day from a journey to The Hart; where they had been to barter for cattle. They had intended going to the Roode Kaffers (Red Caffres); but were dissuaded by some Bachapins who accompanied them.

It seems to be a common maxim with all the nations of the Interior, to oppose the wishes of any strangers desirous of visiting the tribes beyond; always giving as a reason for doing so, that it is dangerous to travel among people so cruel as they represent them to be; but their real motive is, the desire that no tribe but themselves shall reap the advantages to be derived from trading with strangers.

June 3d. I had intended leaving Klaarwater in a week after my arrival; judging that that time would be sufficient for putting every thing in travelling order, and for making all those arrangements which circumstances might require. But as I had from no one the least assistance, and as my people were more inclined to loiter among their old acquaintances and smoke their time away, than actively to despatch their work, I found the period of our departure, greatly to my annoyance, prolonged from day to day, by various difficulties and obstructions arising in one quarter or another.

The two women Hannah and Truÿ, who, though brought on the journey contrary to my first intention, were still the object of care and concern: they were to be provided for, during our absence, whether we returned to this place, or proceeded through the continent. I, however, made their husbands manage the business as if on their own account, well knowing that otherwise I should have been assailed with the most unreasonable demands for gunpowder and

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ball. It was settled that they should take up their residence at Grootedoorn, where our friend Hans Lucas, and Hendrik, very readily promised to give them protection. I mentioned their case to Mr. Anderson, and requested him to see that they were not in want, and engaged to repay whatever might be advanced on their account.

In Mr. Kramer's care, I left a chest containing my collection of birds, insects, botanical specimens* and drawings, to be taken to

* From the number of new plants discovered in the vicinity of Klaarwater, the following are selected;
Ipomæa suffruticosa, B. Catal. Geogr. 1838. Radix crassa fusiformis, vel bulbosa. Caulis ramosus, non volubilis. Folia argentea oblongo-ovalia, (aliquando obtusa.) Flores solitarii axillares magni speciosi purpureo-rosei. Sepala (calycis foliola) lanceolata sericea.
Mahernia Linnæoides, Catal. Geogr. 1878. Planta humifusa glabriuscula. Caules filiformes. Folia orbiculata petiolata crenata. Flores aurantiaci, longè pedunculati nutantes. Faciem habet plantulæ illæ borealis, ob nomen impositum colendissimæ.
Cleome oxyphylla. Cat. Greog. 1887. Planta sesquipedalis subramosa, scabra punctulis elevatis glanduloso viscosis. Folia longè petiolata, foliolis septenis lanceolatis utrinque acutis. Flores flavi.
Cotyledon trigyna. C. G. 1898. Acaulis. Folia glabra complanata carnosa cuneato-ovalia, (vel suborbiculata). Flores erecti alterni, in scapo elongato simplici (rarissimè bifido). Corolla cylindrica purpurascens, limbo albo brevi reflexo. Faux purpurea. Capsulæ tres.
Aristida (Arthratherum) lanuginosa. C. G. 1917. Culmus solidus (perennans?). Folia linearia striata, (apice sæpiùs pungente) vaginis extus lanuginosis. Panicula composita.
Chironia palustris. C. G. 1925. Herbacea acaulis. Folia plura radicalia conferta spathulata obtusa integerrima. Scapus apice paniculatus, medio bracteis duabus linearibus oppositis.
Asparagus suaveolens. C. G. 1956. Frutescens spinosus sesquipedalis. Caules erecli. Rami patentes breves, spinâ terminati. Ramuli numerosissimi fasciculati inermes; inter quos spinæ tres patentes rectæ. Folia subulata ternatim fasciculata. Flores copiosi albi solitarii vel bini, terminales.
Celosia recurva. C. G. 2111. Folia patentia linearia collapsa, apice recurva. Flores rubri spicati.
At this place several European plants are naturalized, having been introduced probably by means of their seeds mixed with the corn, or with garden seeds.
Veronica Anagallis.
Epilobium tetragonum.
Juncus articulatus.
Ranunculus philonotis, var. α., DC.
Sium latifolium.
Polypogon Monspeliensis. Per. Syn.
Polygonum lapathifolium.
Lolium temulentum.
Chenopodium Botrys. &c.

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Cape Town by any of the caravan of waggons which were to accompany him: and as payment for the carriage of it, I left a draft for thirty rix dollars.† He promised to look after this chest in the mean while; and engaged to take charge himself, of a hippopotamus' tongue for my friend Mr. Hesse.

I paid the captain for the goats, sheep, and corn had of him; and made him a present of a blue jacket, a saw, and some linen which I purchased for him at Graaffreynet.

4th. The hook of the drag-chain belonging to my great waggon, was found broken, and Gert having told me that the captain had borrowed it for ploughing, at which time the accident happened, I sent it to him to be mended, as he occasionally exercised the trade of blacksmith. But it was soon discovered that Gert's story was entirely a fabrication, for the captain sent it back highly offended at the demand, declaring that it had never been used by him. With some trouble I found out, that it had really been lent to another Hottentot: and when Gert was questioned why he had made up so false a story, he replied that as, at my departure, I had desired him to lend the captain any thing which he might want in my absence, he thought it would make the least trouble to tell me that it was he who broke it.

This occurrence, trifling as it was in itself, created some serious misunderstanding for a time; and strangely enough, much irritation against myself instead of my Hottentot. But as Mr. Anderson took upon himself the guidance and regulation of the Klaarwater people, I imagined that, to let all parties have a mutual explanation, would be the shortest way of putting a stop to misrepresentations; and accordingly, on the following day, they met at the missionary's house, where, it soon appearing who was to be blamed, the captain with an openness and honesty too rare in the Transgariepine, and at which I was equally surprised and pleased, confessed himself in the wrong,

† At my final return to Klaarwater I learnt to my disappointment, that this chest still remained there, none of the waggons, as I was informed, having found it convenient to take it.

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and begged me to excuse what he had too hastily said, and declaring that he felt no displeasure towards any one but Gert. In these last feelings he was better justified, as it was an act of ingratitude to one who had, although paid for it, been kind to him in illness, and had regularly furnished him with provisions during my absence. But I now began to discover that this unfortunate Hottentot was a man whose gratitude was not to be won by kindness: he appeared already to have forgotten the treatment which he had received from me, and which was more that of a friend than of a master: he told me that as I had thus made an exposition of him by finding fault with him before all the village, he should cease to be so attentive and careful as he had hitherto always been, and should in future take no more pains than any of the other Hottentots. The sight of the poor fellow's hand checked all the anger which I ought to have shown at such a speech; and I contented myself with ordering him away. Yet I could not but be exceedingly hurt and disappointed, at finding symptoms of unworthiness, in a Hottentot, of whom I was so desirous of thinking well.

5th. Every thing belonging to my waggons being at length put in proper condition, and all our preparations and arrangements being now completed, I gave, with the utmost satisfaction, orders to Philip to fetch my oxen from Grootedoorn.

The missionaries obligingly sent me from their garden some potatoes and onions for my journey, which I accepted as a very useful present; it being my intention to plant them in the Interior, or give them to the natives. For this purpose I had brought a quantity of peach-stones, and other seeds, from Graaffreynet; and had also brought some potatoes from the Cape; but finding these would not keep till I reached Litaakun, I had given them to the missionaries, to receive fresh roots at my departure. I left in their hands, some beads, for the purpose of paying any of the natives who might be the bearer of my letters from the Interior, should I afterwards meet with an opportunity of sending any to Klaarwater.

6th. In the morning Philip returned with the oxen: but reported that in consequence of Abram Abrams neglecting on the night before,

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to secure them, as usual, in the cattle-pound, the Wilde Honden (Wild Dogs,)* had bitten off the tails of three. One had only lost the brush, but the others were deprived of the whole.

This species of hyena is remarkable for hunting in regular

* Hyæna venatica, B. (See the note at page 456. of the first volume.) This animal is smaller, and of a more slender make, than either the common Striped Hyena, or the Spotted or Crocuta. The general, or ground, color is a sandy bay, or an ochraceous yellow shaded with a darker brown. The whole body is bloatched and brindled with black, intermingled in various parts with spots of white; and the legs are generally marked in the same manner. All these spots and markings are exceedingly irregular, and, in some degree, vary in different individuals. Its more constant marks are; a deep black stripe extending from the nose up the middle of the face and between the ears: these, blackish both within and without, and covered with short close hair which is sometimes very thin: at the anterior margin of the ears, on the inside, a thin and observable tuft of whitish hairs: the nose and muzzle, black. The tail is bushy like that of the fox, and is divided in the middle by a ring of black, above which, or towards the insertion, the color is nearly the same as the general tint of the body; but below, or towards the end, it is white.
The osteology of this animal throws some difficulty in the way of its generic arrangement, and even raises some doubt as to the propriety of dividing the Linnæan genus Canis by characters which might pass as merely specific, or as convenient only for a generic subdivision. The Dog, the Wolf, and this Hyena, correspond in having six grinders in their upper jaw: and in their lower, seven; of which the hindmost is very small. They also agree in the form, and number, of their ribs and lumbar vertebræ; having seven of the latter. Their ribs, of which there are thirteen, are thin and narrow. But both in the Striped, and the Spotted, Hyena, they are fifteen in number, and of an extraordinary breadth; and are, proportionally much stronger and larger, than in any quadruped of their size: in these, the grinders are only four, or at most five, in number; and the lumbar vertebræ not more than five.
The present animal, therefore, with respect to its teeth, ribs and lumbar vertebræ, would be arranged in the genus Canis; from which, however, it differs by having but four toes on each foot, and, it is said, in other essential particulars. With the genus Hyæna, it agrees in number of toes, but differs from it in teeth and in conformation of the skeleton. These differences were first noticed to me by Mr. Brookes, in whose valuable museum of Comparative Anatomy, and by whose liberality, I have had an opportunity of examining the skeletons of all these quadrupeds; and where the animal in question is considered as forming a new genus.
At page 222. and at the end of this chapter, are given figures of the Hyæna venatica in different positions. They were drawn from a living subject given me by my friend Mr. Hesse; and which I kept in my possession for thirteen months, chained up in a stableyard. During that time its ferocious nature deterred every body from an attempt at taming it; but it became at length so much softened in manners, as to play with a common domestic dog, also chained up in the yard, without manifesting any desire of hurting its companion; but the man who fed it, dared never to venture his hand upon it.

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packs: though in general a nocturnal animal, it frequently pursues its prey by day; and as it is well formed by nature for speed, none but the fleeter animals can escape. Sheep and oxen therefore are more particularly exposed to its attacks: the first openly, but the latter only by stealth, as in the present instance, surprising them in their sleep and suddenly biting off their tails; which the large opening and great power of their jaws, enable them to do with ease.

I have never heard that large cattle are assaulted by them in any other way; but the loss of their tail is a cruel inconvenience to cows and oxen, in a country where the warmth of the climate subjects them to great annoyance from flies. The colonists are aware of this inconvenience, and have the good sense to allow all their horses to enjoy the use of this most serviceable appendage. There cannot be a greater proof of bad taste and thoughtless cruelty, than, in viewing so beautiful an animal as the horse, so far to pervert all reason and sound judgment, as to consider that a mutilated stump is more handsome than the fine flowing brush which Nature, from whose works all our ideas of taste and beauty ought to be derived, has wisely bestowed. And it is to be hoped that we may yet live to see the time, when this error and folly will be utterly exploded.

Before we started, I sent for Gert to the waggon; and after giving him some useful, but mild, admonitions relative to the faithful discharge of his duty, in showing, by due respect at least, that he had not forgotten all the former kindness of his master, I told him that, wishing that the whole of my party should commence the journey in mutual goodwill, it was my intention to overlook all which had passed, and that I would request Mr. Anderson to use his persuasion in making peace with the captain.

To this end, he was permitted to remain at Klaarwater till the next day, as he could, on horseback, easily overtake us; and the same permission was given to Cornelis and Van Roye, that they might remain still a few hours longer with their friends. The latter

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was well known to many of the Hottentots here, as he had a son living under the protection of one of the families; and whom he now owned, though ashamed and displeased at finding that he knew much more of the Hottentot language, than of the Dutch.

At taking leave of their husbands, the two women shed tears, as if about to part for ever: and I confess that had I not believed in the probability, as well as possibility, of our advancing through to the western coast, I would have allowed them to accompany us. I promised that I would not take their husbands where there was evident danger, and assured them that we should return safe; but I cautioned them not to be uneasy if we remained absent longer than we expected, as it was quite uncertain, and depended upon circumstances, whether I should feel disposed to travel as expeditiously as possible through these countries, or whether I should proceed only at a slow rate. When I told them, they might rely on my taking as much care of the men as of myself, and that they should not be intentionally exposed to danger, Hannah in her usual manner, replied with a word, but Truy expressed herself warmly thankful.

In taking leave of the missionaries, my thanks were due for many little civilities: to Mr. Jansz I considered myself indebted for some friendly acts, which I have already mentioned; nor am I less grateful for whatever attentions Mr. Anderson or Mr. Kramer thought proper to show me: nor do I remember without pleasure, my obligation to Mrs. Anderson's kindness. Little was said at parting; and it was not without some emotion, that I finally bade farewell to the last Europeans with whom I could possibly converse, for a long period.

As I passed by their huts, several Hottentots were waiting to wish me a safe journey, and Dag! Mynheer Bairsey, was their last salutation.

When the waggons had gained the top of the ridge beyond the village, Gert earnestly requested me to allow a parting salute to be fired, and assured me that he knew the inhabitants would not leave it this time unanswered. At first, I deemed it wiser to save my

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powder, than to waste it in mere form; but my people on this occasion, were extremely desirous of testifying an affectionate farewell to the various friends and acquaintances which so long an abode at this settlement, had given them an opportunity of forming. I therefore gave them leave to fire a dozen discharges; soon after which, seven or eight from different quarters, were given us in return.

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CHAPTER IX.

JOURNEY IN THE COUNTRY OF THE KORAS, FROM KLAARWATER TO SENSAVAN.

IT was about four in the afternoon, when we took our last view of Klaarwater, and had fairly entered upon our journey into the Interior. The hills on this side of the country were well covered with shrubs*, though no where so thickly as to impede travelling.

Although I intended to make but a short stage the first day, night overtook us on the road, and extreme darkness, added to deep ruts and holes, required our greatest care to avoid overturning the waggons. That no accident of this kind might happen on the first day, which would have been interpreted as a bad omen, I preceded on foot to discover the more dangerous places, in time to warn the drivers, and leaders. Philip was the driver of the great waggon, and Juli of the other; and their leaders were Stuurman and Andries; an

* Chiefly a Tarchonanthus like T. camphoratus, Spartium cuspidosum, and Rhus tridactyle a shrub of very delicate and pleasing appearance.

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arrangement which was preserved during the greater part of our travels in the Transgariepine.

Meeting thus with a deep hole, I called to the other driver who was at some distance behind, and directed him how to avoid it. We continued for some time to lead the way, till a signal from Juli's whip, announced that some occurrence there required our presence. On going back we found that the leader had carelessly brought the waggon into the very place which had been pointed out. It fortunately was not quite, though very nearly, overturned; but it was not possible for the oxen to drag it out. Spades and pickaxes were immediately fetched from the other waggon, and after an hour's work, the obstructing earth was sufficiently cleared away, and the hole filled with bushes, to admit of the vehicle being drawn safely out.

Without any further accident, we arrived at Moses' Fountain, between eight and nine. Near this spring resided the Hottentot named old Moses, whose cattle were at that time under the care of some Bachapins whom he had engaged in his service. These men had constructed for themselves two neat huts of bushes covered with grass. They were curious to learn from my men, what were my plans, and what was the object of my visiting their country; but I considered it more prudent to caution my people against giving them too much information.

7th. On rising this morning, I discovered that all the Hottentots, excepting Stuurman, were absent. His story was, that they were all, excepting Andries who was attending the oxen, gone in search of the sheep which had strayed away in the night. Speelman, however, who had been yesterday sent to Cupido Kok's place at Taaibosch Fountain*, arrived soon afterwards, with my oxen, having met them four miles off, wandering by themselves, without any herdsman within sight. In driving them home, he met two of the people on the search, who confessed that the oxen were early in the morning loosened

* Taaïbosch (Tough-bush) is a Dutch name given to several species of Rhus. This name was also given to a Kora captain or chieftain, hereafter mentioned on the 29th of July.

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from the waggons, to which they had been made fast during the night, and turned to graze without any one to watch them. Stuurman, thinking I should be less angry at their neglecting the sheep than the oxen, had fabricated his story with that view: yet so far he was correct, that the sheep had also gone astray. But the greatest cause of vexation was, the discovering at our first setting out, that I had those with me, on whose word no dependence could be placed, and who were capable of deceiving their master, on the most trifling necessity.

My object in sending Speelman to Taaibosch, was to fetch the bullet-mould belonging to the gun which had been lent me by Cupido in the place of my great rifle; and to demand from his wife the sheep which was due for the gunpowder. But neither of these objects were obtained, as the woman was not at home, and old Daniel, who was left in charge of the place, refused to give them up.

When the oxen came home, it was too late to commence a day's journey, as the rest of the people did not return till the evening, and after a fatiguing and, on their part, fruitless search.

The weather of this day, might seem extraordinary in the twenty-ninth degree of latitude: the mercury in the thermometer, did not rise above 36; and, during the whole day, there was a light fall of snow attended with a chilling wind. This was the only time I have seen snow northward of the Gariep. It entirely whitened the ground, and remained unmelted till the next morning. This appearance was so unusual to an eye accustomed to Africa, that I viewed it as an interesting sight; but probably some unperceived association of ideas induced me to think so, as the weather was, to bodily feeling, so extremely cold, that it was found painful and scarcely to be endured without the assistance of a watch-coat, and the fur coverlet, the value of which latter as a warm covering, had been well proved during my return from Sneeuwberg, and was now considered as an indispensable article of a traveller's baggage. To him who may enter on a similar expedition, I would recommend

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it, with the certainty of his feeling as thankful for the hint, as I myself am to the person from whom I first received it.

8th. In the morning Van Roye arrived alone, the other horses having strayed away; but he left Cornelis and Gert, with several people in search of them. As they were expected soon to overtake us, I ordered the oxen to be immediately yoked; and permitted Van Roye, who complained of being unwell, to ride forward, and make the best of his way to our next station.

The country was open, and in many places abounding in bushes; but might every where be traversed with waggons; the tracks of which leading from Klaarwater to the different outposts, were crossed several times this day; and by following one of them as our guide over the plain, we were drawn considerably out of our way.

Discovering, at length, that it was conducting us to one of the kraals under Langberg (Long Mountain) a lofty and very extensive mountain in sight to the west, we turned again eastward and, after wandering in uncertainty for some time, fell in with the direct road from Gattikamma to Ongeluks Fountain: a track, however, very little beaten.

In this part of the country, I found, for the first time, a very beautiful species of Acacia, most remarkable for its low growth; being seldom more than a foot and a half in height, and of an herbaceous nature, the stems dying down to the ground every year. Yet its leaves, bunches of flowers, and pods, were larger than any of the arborescent species. It was not at this time in flower, but was afterwards met with in abundance in the sandy plains farther in the Interior; where I discovered that its roots constituted a favorite food with the elephant.* Its Sichuana name is metsissánni.

* Acacia elephantina, B. Catal. Geogr. 2410. Planta herbacea sub-bipedalis, inermis, glabra. Radix longissima lignosa. Caules pauci simplices, erecti, annui. Folia bipinnata, pinnis 12-jugis. Foliola lanceolata et lineari-lanceolata, (sæpe apice rotundato,) circiter 20-juga. Spicæ-elongatæ cylindricæ, solitariæ, axillares. Flores herbacei colons. Antherarum apices glanduliferi; glandula decidua. Legumen maximum (7-pollicare), compressum bivalve.

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Ongeluks Fontein (Accident Fountain) being an inhabited place, it was to be expected that firewood would not, at night, easily be found near the kraal, and my men, therefore, took the precaution, when passing a spot where bushes abounded, to load up in the waggon, enough for our use till morning: as we found, it would be dark before we arrived there. This spring derived its name from the circumstance of a Hottentot having here lost his life by the gun of one of his companions accidentally exploding; by which he was severely wounded: yet there appeared, it was said, every favorable chance of his recovery, until the report of a musket, thoughtlessly discharged too near him, threw the unfortunate man into so violent a state of alarm and agitation, that his death soon followed.

9th. At Ongeluks Fountain, about fifteen huts placed irregularly, and dispersed so wide apart that some were out of sight of the others, form a kraal or outpost where many of the Klaarwater Hottentots reside with their cattle, as long as any pasturage can be found in the vicinity. Its size, and the number of its inhabitants, are, like those of all the Hottentot outposts, so fluctuating that sometimes the spot is quite deserted: nor does it seem that at any season, the least attempt at cultivation is ever made here; as the ground no where appeared to have been broken.

Van Roye, unknown to me, had passed the night at one of the distant huts; and though he heard us arrive, he left me till this morning in some anxiety on account of his absence. I should have supposed that his visit to Europe, and the instructions which he had received, would have taught him the propriety of letting me know that he was at the kraal; but he came to the waggons the next day without making any excuse, or even a remark.

Speelman, Platje, and Keyser, with the same Hottentot unconcern, made their appearance in the morning after having also passed the night at one of the huts. This kind of apathy is very common among Hottentots, and forms one of the unpleasant features of their character.

I had yesterday sent them a second time to Taaibosch for the sheep, of which we were beginning to be in want, as my flock was

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already reduced to six; and gave them a message urging the necessity of its being delivered to us, especially as it was our due. Daniel, therefore, paid them their demand, although, as he said, Cupido had gone away, without leaving any instructions at home respecting the debt.

At noon Gert and Cornelis arrived from Klaarwater with the horses. I now congratulated myself on beholding at length, my whole party removed away from that village; a place, of which the recollection afforded me but little pleasure. The numerous vexatious occurrences and disappointments which I there met with, put my patience severely to the trial; while, to counterbalance these, few circumstances were found, to give my mind those agreeable impressions which I had anticipated when in Cape Town. The reality was indeed, different from the picture. But — I had now quitted it, and began to feel at ease again.

My men were this day employed chiefly in trying their guns, and in putting every thing relating to them, in proper order. It was established as a standing regulation, that the oxen should never, excepting through want of pasturage, be suffered to graze out of sight of the waggons; and that they should every night be made fast.

Speelman, whose future employment on the journey, was to be that of hunting, went out this morning, and in a few hours, returned, having shot a zebra; which, however, could not be fetched home till the next day. This meat though much eaten by Hottentots, is, as already noticed, rejected by the colonists: my two baptized men, therefore, informed me, that they were unable to eat it; and, as they declared that it always created a nausea, I suffered a sheep to be killed, as we had no other game to give them. I thus soon began to perceive, that I had with me, two men who were of a class superior to Hottentots.

10th. It having been previously agreed on, that my interpreter Muchùnka should join me at this place, I sent off Philip, Speelman, and Stuurman, at sunrise to find their way to Willem Casper's (or Jafter's) under the Langberg, where he was residing; to let him know

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that we were waiting for him. This place had been pointed out to us, as bearing due west from Ongeluks; and, as it was at the distance of a long day's journey over a wild country, I delivered out to these three, a supply of ammunition for their defence, as well as for the purpose of shooting any game which might be met with on their return.

11th. At noon a waggon and party of Hottentots, halted for a few minutes, on their way from Klaarwater to Casper's kraal, where they reside. These people are naturally, or habitually, fond of journeying about from one kraal to another; and in this occupation they have worn down tracks across the country, which in several places, assume the appearance of regular roads. That which leads, from the Roggeveld is sufficiently beaten, if seen by daylight, to guide a stranger to Klaarwater: and it is probable that in time, the road which we had now opened to Graaffreynet, will become equally beaten.

The Hottentots who were lying here at this time with their families and cattle, possessed a great number of goats; but I saw among them no sheep. The former, requiring less care, and being at the same time less difficult to manage, are better suited to the indolence of these people; although the preference which they give to mutton, on account of its greater abundance of fat, is an inducement for rearing sheep; of which they might in these extensive pastures, breed innumerable flocks, if they possessed the prudence to refrain at first from using them too freely. The whole number of their cattle at this place, large and small, appeared to be about two hundred.

Observing a family busied in taking their house to pieces, I amused myself in watching the progress of their work, supposing they were about to pack it up and depart; but as soon as this was done, they carried all the materials, after having well beaten them, to a distance only of a few yards; where they soon erected it again. The whole operation of pulling down, removing, and building up, occupied no more than six hours; and it might possibly have been done in much less time. On inquiring the reason of what I thought an odd whim, their thus taking so much trouble,

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and only to move so short a distance, one of the women convinced me of their having very good cause for changing the place, as the spot was swarming with fleas. This is a domestic misfortune very common among Hottentots; and as the active little insect is always found to be too powerful, they endure this ejectment, as one of the unavoidable evils of life, and quietly retreat, leaving their numerous enemies in possession of the field. In warm dry climates these insects are every where troublesome, the Dutch colonists, who in general are far from being neglectful of domestic cleanliness, are in the summer, obliged frequently to sprinkle their floors with water; a method which is found to be effectual for driving them away. But the Hottentots, to save themselves this daily trouble, prefer that of occasionally removing their huts altogether.

12th. In many parts of the plain, in the neighbourhood of this spring, the surface is thickly strewed with stones of quartz; among which are some having the nature of chalcedony, chert in nodules, and some containing thallite.

Here for the first time, I saw trees of a remarkable species of acacia, having thick brown thorns and an oval pod of a solid mealy substance within, and which never opens as those of other acacias: in this singularity resembling only the Acacia atomiphylla, from which, however, it differs in most other respects. The head of this tree is thick and spreading, and of a form and appearance which distinguish it at a great distance from the other trees of the country. It is called Kameel-doorn (Camelthorn), because the camelopardalis browses chiefly on it: but its more proper name is Mokáala; and by this, it is known to all the Bichuana nations. The general form and character of this tree, will be better understood by referring to the fifth and sixth plates of this volume. It is one of the largest in these regions, greatly exceeding the common Cape acacia, though closely resembling it in flower and foliage, but differing in growth, and by abounding only in dry plains and sandy deserts; while the common Karro-thorn is found principally on the banks of rivers. Its wood is excessively hard and heavy; of a dark or reddish brown color; and, is used by the Bichuanas for their smaller domestic utensils, such as

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spoons, and handles of knives. There are some other undescribed species which resemble it in form and growth, and, though botanically distinct, are by the Hottentots, confounded with it under one name; but the pod alone is sufficient to make this particular sort easily known from the rest. The technical name, therefore, of Acacia giraffæ is adopted for this, although equally applicable to other species.

The principal shrubs about Ongeluks Fountain, are the Tarchonanthus, the Hookthorn, the Karrothorn, and a dwarf Acacia* called Síki by the Bichuanas. This last, which is about two or three feet high, is remarkable from the circumstance of its trunk or stem running just beneath the surface of the earth, and from which arise a multitude of shoots or branches. The spring affords an abundant supply of water at all seasons.†

In the vicinity, a number of Meerkats have their burrows: these are a species of squirrel‡ of about the size of our common squirrel. It has no outward ears, and its body is very thinly covered with short coarse hair, which is brittle and may easily be rubbed off; but the tail, which is longer than the body, is furnished with long spreading hairs as in the European kind. It was seen to live chiefly on the roots of plants, which it scratched up with its fore feet. It is common in some parts of the Colony, and being a pretty little animal, is sometimes domesticated.

The mountains which form the range called Langberg (Long-Mountain,) are in view from this place, notwithstanding they were, according to the report of the Hottentots, above thirty miles distant. During the last days of our stay here, they were not visible, on account of the great depth of hazy vapour arising from the intervening plains.

* Acacia stolonifera, B. Catal. Geogr. 2138. Caules subterranei stoloniferi. Ramuli, folia, et etiam spinæ, pubescentia. Folia bipinnata. Pinnæ 3—7-jugæ. Foliola oblongo-lanceolata 7—15-juga. Spinæ geminæ stipulares albidæ patentes, apicibus fuscis is subrecurvis. Flores flavi in capitulis axillaribus pluribus (2—6) globosis pedunculatis. Legumina recta, flava, obliquè striata, cava.

† Mentha Capensis, was found growing by the side of the spring, even at this distance in the Interior: and in the water I discovered a species of Zanichellia, which corresponded with the description of Z. dentata.

‡ Sciurus Capensis.

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They appeared to be very lofty, and it was said that on the other side there is little descent, the country continuing at the same high level: which fact, as the air must there be colder than in the lower plains about Klaarwater, has induced the Hottentots to keep their horses there during the season of the paardeziekte (horse-distemper). The plains on the other side, are called by the name of Zandveld (Sand-country). There is another elevated tract between Langberg and The Kloof, where horses are also kept, and which is therefore named Paardeberg (Horse-mountain). Respecting the regions lying westward from Zandveld, I could obtain no information.

13th. Stonebucks were met with in the surrounding plains; two of them were shot by Juli, who soon began to prove himself a good marksman, a qualification which Hottentots in general are very desirous of acquiring, and which they consider as one of the most valuable and important.

The three men whom I had sent to fetch Muchunka, did not return till this morning, having found the journey to Langberg, longer than they were able to perform in one day. Their powder-horns were empty, all their bullets gone, and yet they had shot nothing: to account for which, they asserted that they had missed their aim every time they fired. But they had been at an outpost of Klaarwater people; and this was the true cause of all their ammunition being gone. What they got in return for it, I could not discover; it is probable that the people at the Kraal required it of them, as an act of friendship from one Hottentot to another. There are two things much wanting with many of these Hottentots, and which, it is to be hoped, the missionaries will not think too much beneath the notice of evangelical teachers to instruct them in the best mode of acquiring: these are, veracity and a conscientious discharge of the moral duties.

However, their arrival, with or without ammunition, gave me much pleasure, when I saw that Muchunka was with them; as I had long been greatly in fear that when the time for his services arrived, it would be found that he also had been dissuaded from venturing to accompany us: but fortunately for me, he was a man not much

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wanted, and of no particular importance to the settlement. I was glad to add to my party, not only an interpreter, but a person whose manners were a little more lively than those of Hottentots; and I hoped therefore that his presence would give some animation to our fireside.

Mr. Anderson, who was desirous of having a drawing of Klaarwater, had requested that I would make one for him. With this I readily complied, as he engaged expressly that it should not be sent to Europe before I arrived there myself, and that it should not, at all events be engraved from. As I was exceedingly anxious to quit that village, I was unwilling to delay my departure on this account; but promised to finish it at Ongeluks, while waiting for Muchunka's arrival. This promise I now performed; and sent the drawing by one of the Hottentots of the out-post, who returned to Klaarwater on the following day.*

14th. All the members of the party with whom the journey was to be performed, were now at length collected together; and amounted only to ten Hottentots, and a native interpreter. As a body of men intended for their own defence, against the assaults of a hostile tribe, this number was very insufficient; but with a due proportion of prudence and personal courage, they would be enough for repelling any predatory attack; and might in a favourable situation, be able, with the advantage of fire-arms, to stand against a multitude of such opponents as those men would probably be, whom we were likely to meet, should they even prove disposed to harm us.

There was still some work to be done about the waggons, which would have employed my people here another day, but as I wished to remove them beyond the reach of further communication with the

* Sequel. — On my return to Cape Town, at the termination of my travels, I found that other people had been much more expeditious than myself; for not only had the drawing reached that town, and proceeded to England, but it had even made its way back again; and was recognised in the form of a print engraved to be the principal ornament of a book of Missionary Travels by a person who visited Klaarwater five months after I finally left it, and who so much admired this drawing, that he has thought it worthy of being published as his own.

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Hottentots of the outposts, who, I feared, might by their conversation give my new men false ideas of the dangers of our journey, I resolved to remove to Doorn river, a distance of six miles.

Here we arrived at ten in the morning; and found merely the bed of a river, in which water was to be met with only here and there in a few shallow pools. A grove of large trees of the common acacia or doornboom gave the spot a pleasant sheltered appearance. On our way we passed a few single trees of the camelthorn which, by their size, attracted our attention.

15th. In the middle of the night I was awakened by the barking of some of our dogs, which continued for a considerable time: thinking it might be occasioned by the approach of hostile Bushmen, I arose and woke some of the people, that they might keep watch against danger; but we should have spared ourselves this trouble, if we had not neglected to attend to the various tones of barking which dogs assume on different occasions; and should have known that it was not men, at which they were now so much enraged. For, in the morning one of the Hottentots found at some distance from our station, the remains of a kaama or hartebeest, which had been devoured by a lion: and this it was, which the dogs either heard or scented, although none of us were able to distinguish the slightest sound. A leg of this hartebeest was brought home and broiled for breakfast.

Our pack of dogs consisted of about five-and-twenty of various sorts and sizes. This variety, though not altogether intentional, as I was obliged to take any that could be procured, was of the greatest service on such an expedition, as I observed that some gave notice of danger in one way, and others, in another. Some were more disposed to watch against men, and others against wild beasts; some discovered an enemy by their quickness of hearing, others by that of scent: some were useful only for their vigilance and barking; some for speed in pursuing game; and others for courage in holding ferocious animals at bay. So large a pack was not, indeed, maintained without adding greatly to our care and trouble, in supplying them with meat and water; for it was sometimes difficult to procure for

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them enough of the latter: but their services were invaluable, often contributing to our safety, and always, to our ease, by their constant vigilance; as we felt a confidence that no danger could approach us at night without being announced by their barking. No circumstances could render the value and fidelity of these animals so conspicuous and sensible, as a journey through regions which, abounding in wild beasts of almost every class, gave continual opportunities of witnessing the strong contrast in their habits, between the ferocious beasts of prey which fly at the approach of man, and these kind, but too often injured, companions of the human race. Many times when we have been travelling over plains where those have fled the moment we appeared in sight, have I turned my eyes towards my dogs, to admire their attachment, and have felt a grateful affection towards them for preferring our society to the wild liberty of other quadrupeds. Often, in the middle of the night, when all my people have been fast asleep around the fire, have I stood to contemplate these faithful animals lying by their side, and have learnt to esteem them for their social inclination to mankind. When wandering over pathless deserts, oppressed with vexation and distress at the conduct of my own men, I have turned to these, as my only friends, and felt how much inferior to them was man when actuated only by selfish views.

The familiarity which subsists between this animal and our own race, is so common to almost every country of the globe, that any remark upon it must seem superfluous; but I cannot avoid believing that it is the universality of the fact which prevents the greater part of mankind from reflecting duly on the subject. While almost every other quadruped fears man as its most formidable enemy; here is one which regards him as his companion, and follows him as his friend. We must not mistake the nature of the case: it is not because we train him to our use, and have made choice of him in preference to other animals; but because this particular species feels a natural desire to be useful to man and from spontaneous impulse attaches itself to him. Were it not so, we should see in various countries an equal familiarity with various other quadrupeds; according to the habits, the taste, or the caprice of different nations. But every where it is the dog only, which

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takes delight in associating with us, in sharing our abode, and is even jealous that our attention should be bestowed on him alone: it is he, who knows us personally, watches for us and warns us of danger. It is impossible for the naturalist, when taking a survey of the whole animal creation, not to feel a conviction that this friendship between two creatures so different from each other, must be the result of the laws of Nature; nor can the humane and feeling mind avoid the belief that kindness to those animals from which he derives continued and essential assistance, is part of his moral duty. To me, during my travels, the horse and the ox were scarcely less the objects of my admiration and gratitude; and his patient performance of his unceasing and daily labors, strongly attached the latter to me.

As the expeditious loading of our muskets, might, under a variety of circumstances, be of the greatest importance, I employed six of the people in making cartridges; and in the course of the morning, we completed between two and three hundred. This being a work with which none of my men were acquainted, I was compelled to be their instructor and overseer.

As both Speelman and Philip had been in military service, I concluded that they would impress their companions with a proper idea of the advantages of this mode of loading. But although all confessed that it was excellent; yet such was the influence and force of habit and custom, that they never could be brought voluntarily to adopt this improvement. Having first learnt from the boors, to carry their powder in a horn, and their bullets in a kogel-tas (bullet-pouch) they were now either too awkward, or too lazy, to practise any new method. Though their ammunition was for a long time delivered to them in this form, and though they always professed to follow my instructions, I discovered that at length they frequently took the cartridges to pieces, and loaded their guns in the old manner; in which much powder is wasted. But during our travels in the Transgariepine, I continued the use of these; although at last they were allowed when hunting, also to carry loose powder and ball. A large stock of cartridges, however, was always kept ready in my waggon, in case of any sudden attack from the savages.

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Andries and Stuurman, who had been appointed to attend the oxen and sheep at pasture, were now so neglectful of their duty, that the latter were suffered to stray. As soon as this was discovered, two men on horseback were sent in search, and they at length found them at Ongeluks Fountain, a distance of six miles. As a punishment for this neglect, and as an example to the others, I withheld their rations of brandy and tobacco.

In giving to the people their usual allowance of brandy, which was portioned so as to avoid the risk of intoxication, I noticed a singular expedient to which they resorted in order to counteract my precaution and to render more sensible the exhilarating effects of the spirit. They had made agreements with each other to give up their rations alternately; and were content to remain one turn without any, in order that on the next they might receive a double quantity. On coming to their fire in the evening, it was easy to perceive, by their unusual talkativeness and animation, whose turn it had been to have double rations.

Our biscuit and flour being all expended, we now began to make use of, what was intended for, our last resource, and opened the sack of rice. Afterwards, when this was all consumed, we continued from necessity, to live on animal food alone, and literally without the smallest addition of any thing of a vegetable nature.

16th. During this day, we travelled over an open country, the soil of which was generally a red loamy earth, thickly covered with grass, in which the track we followed was nearly obliterated, or very faintly marked. At this season we found the grass dried up, though it still remained standing in the same position as when alive and growing. As we were obliged to force our way through it much inconvenience was experienced from its barbed seeds and triple awns, which, adhering to my clothes, and their sharp points creeping through to the flesh, occasioned a constant irritation.*

These plains abounded also in large bushes of Tarchonanthus;

* These were the seeds of two or three species of Aristida (Chætaria), of an Anthistiria, and of different sorts of Andropogon.

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and were varied with frequent clumps of the Karro-thorn. It was remarkable that, although most of the shrubs in these countries are food for various wild animals, neither the tarchonanthus, nor any of the species of Rhus, exhibited marks of having been browsed upon; a sufficient proof, that they are either unwholesome, or unpleasant to their palate.

Those who have acquired a taste for zoological information, will readily comprehend in what manner the footmarks of an animal could be interesting, or afford any particular gratification such as I experienced in this day's journey, when they are told that we now first distinguished the track of the tallest of all the quadrupeds in the world; of one which, from the time of the Romans until the middle of the last century, was so little known to the nations of Europe, as to have been at length considered by most people as a fabulous creature; one not existing on the globe. No person who has read, even the popular books of natural history, could, I think, behold for the first time, the ground over which he is walking, imprinted with the recent footsteps of a camelopardalis, without feeling some strange and peculiar interest at the sight. The animal itself was not observed, but our attention was now awakened by the expectation of soon getting a full view of this extraordinary creature; and the hope of being the first of the party to see it, kept all my men on the look-out the whole day.

Having travelled till sunset without meeting with any water, and being assured by Muchunka that the next spring was too far to be reached before night, we halted at a spot where a clump of acacias* offered us a convenient shelter. Our cattle were made fast to the stems, and carefully watched to prevent their breaking loose; for, as they were unable here to quench their thirst, they would otherwise

* In all the preceding part of the journey, the karro-thorn, having been the predominant species of the genus, has been most frequently noticed by the name of acacia; and whenever this word may in future occur without special distinction, it is to be understood as intending the Acacia Capensis, already described in the first volume, at pages 195 and 196, or a species so closely resembling it, as not to be distinguished but by the botanist.

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by returning to our last station, have caused much delay, besides the trouble of going back a day's journey in search of them. We suffered no inconvenience ourselves from this want of water, as we had taken the precaution of filling two of our casks, before we set out.

17th. Early in the morning we yoked the oxen to the waggons, and, in less than two hours, arrived at a spring where there was still abundance of good water. This was called Bloem's Fountain, after a man named Jan Bloem* who had formerly resided in the Colony, but who stationed himself at this spring, and continued for some years to lead a lawless life. He associated with him a party of Hottentots and a considerable number of the surrounding natives; and, by giving them a share of the booty, induced them to assist him in his plundering expeditions against the Bachapins and other tribes, from whom he carried off innumerable herds of cattle, and thus, for a long time, supported himself by successful villany and unprovoked outrage. Tempted, at length, by the reported wealth of the Nudákketsi nation, he made, conjointly with a Bichuana chief named Makrakki, an attack upon their chief town; but this being situated on a hill and therefore in some respects naturally fortified, he was completely repulsed. It is said that his ally, whose people had formerly suffered also from his robberies, thus disappointed in his booty and fearing some future mischief from his dangerous associate, caused the water at which he was then lying, to be poisoned; and the death of this lawless disturber, was the well merited and unlamented consequence.

On arriving at Bloem's Fountain, we found the spot occupied by a lion, with a lioness and her two whelps; and at the same time a buffalo† was drinking there. On our sending the dogs to drive them out, they all took flight; but the buffalo was pursued on horseback by Philip, and, after a short chase, overtaken and shot.

The little waggon was immediately unloaded to fetch home the carcass; and I accompanied it, that I might have an opportunity of

* Already mentioned at page 6.

† Bos caffer.

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examining the animal before it was cut up; this being the first of the species which I had seen.

The name of buffalo, presents another example of the misapplication of European names to the wild animals of Southern Africa, and of the erroneous notions to which it gives rise. By those who are not read in zoology, the buffel or buffalo of the Cape, called by the Bichuanas Naari, is most frequently supposed to be the same with the animals which bear that name in Italy, Greece, and India, instead of a huge beast much more ferocious and dangerous, and which has never yet been tamed to the use of man. It is, however, an animal hitherto found no where but in the extratropical part of Southern Africa, and is widely distinct from every other species of the ox tribe, and most remarkable by its horns which, though not of more than ordinary or proportional length, are so unusually broad at their base as to cover the whole forehead, and give to it the appearance of a mass of rock; an appearance to which the ruggedness and unevenness of their surface greatly contribute. Its countenance exhibits a savage and malevolent expression. Its bulk far exceeds that of the ox, although its height be not much greater; but it is altogether more robust and strongly made. It is, when not young, but thinly covered with short scattered black hair; that on the under lip and about the corners of the mouth, being longer and somewhat resembling a beard. The wither rises high, but not sufficiently to form a hump; the tail resembles that of the common ox, but is much shorter, and the two spurious hoofs are rather larger in proportion. Its horns turn outwards and downwards; and their points are recurved upwards. The hide is much thicker than that of the ox, and is valued by the Colonists and Hottentots, for its great strength, and for possessing the qualities proper for riems and trektouws. It is of a fierce and treacherous disposition, which, added to its size and strength, renders it dangerous to be attacked without caution, or without the certain means of escape at hand.

The true buffalo having been long domesticated and rendered a useful beast of draught or of burden, has suggested the possibility of taming this animal to the same purposes; and the attempt has several

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times been made in the Colony, by taking them when very young, and rearing them under the domestic cow: but, partly from injudicious management perhaps, and partly from its natural ferocity, no permanent success has hitherto attended these endeavours. Yet, notwithstanding these failures, it is an attempt which might not be wholly relinquished, since it is not unreasonable to expect that a mixed breed between this and the common Cape cow, would produce a more powerful and hardy race of draft cattle, and one which might possibly be exempt from those diseases to which the oxen of the Colony are often subject.

The present animal was a male, and apparently not young, as the points of its horns were much worn, and its ears exceedingly torn and cut, probably in forcing its way through the thickets, or in butting or fighting with others of its species. The Hottentots say they are seldom found with ears quite entire; and my own observations confirm the remark. The meat was in taste like coarse beef; but in younger animals it is very palatable and wholesome, and free from any unpleasant flavour.

It not being possible to lift the animal entire into the waggon, it was cut into quarters on the spot; and as soon as it was brought home, every hand was set to work to cut the flesh into flaps and dry it on the bushes; an affair which occupied all the remainder of that day, and part of the next. The real value of our ammunition may be computed from this circumstance, that two charges of powder and two balls now obtained for us a waggon load of provisions.

I profited by this opportunity and the leisure occasioned by waiting for the drying, to make a finished drawing of the head, as expressive of the distinguishing characters of this remarkable species of buffalo.

The following specimen of the Kóra, or Kóraqua, dialect, was obtained mostly from Muchunka; and is here inserted merely for the purpose of giving some idea of the structure and nature of Hottentot languages in general. This dialect, as it has already been stated, has a greater affinity to that of the Hottentots proper, than of the Bushmen; and though requiring a more frequent use of the

K K 2

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different claps of the tongue than the former, yet it does not employ them so often as the latter.

The system of orthography, and pronunciation here made use of, is the same which I have adopted for the Sichuana language, and will be found more fully explained in another part of this volume. But it is necessary to state, in this place, that the comma (') implies that the following syllable should be preceded by the first clap; the same mark inverted (') requires the second; and the double inverted comma, (") the third.

The first, or dental clap is produced by pressing the tongue against the upper front-teeth and suddenly drawing it away, so as to give a sound resembling that which some people make as a mode of expressing vexation. This is the most acute of the three, or that which gives the highest tone.

The second or palatial is formed by applying the tongue to the middle of the palate, or roof of the mouth, and by withdrawing it in the same manner, a clucking noise is produced, of a lower tone than the first.

The third or guttural is similarly formed by placing the tip of the tongue against the hinder part of the palate; by which the same kind of noise as the second, but of a graver or still lower tone, is produced; and requiring a greater effort of enunciation.

In all of these three, which have already been correctly described by Le Vaillant, the lips do not touch each other; and the sound is followed so immediately by the syllable, to which it belongs, that both seem to form but one syllable. The difficulty of pronunciation, for European organs, is least in the first, and greatest in the third. Yet without these clapping sounds, the words would be unintelligible to a Hottentot ear; and cannot therefore be omitted in speaking any of the dialects of their language.

Some writers, have adopted the mode of indicating all these claps, which they did not distinguish from each other, by prefixing the letter t to the word or syllable; as tky. It appears also that sometimes a g or a k has been used to express the third sort; as in the word gnu. This circumstance is here mentioned for the purpose of

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explaining how it happens that such words are spelt sometimes without those letters and sometimes with them. But this method is liable to objections, as it introduces a false orthography, and consequently a false pronunciation.

A SPECIMEN OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE KORA HOTTENTOTS.

One	'Kuii (or 'Quee, as it might be written according to English pronunciation).
Two	'Kam.
Three	"Gŭná (or Goonah in English). The mark for 'short quantity' (˘) implies that the vowel beneath it, is to be pronounced in a short and indistinct manner. The acute accent (′) is here, as in every other part of this work, used to indicate the syllable which bears the accent, or emphasis.
Four	Hakaa, or Hakā. Double vowels are used merely to express a more lengthened sound, and are to be considered as bearing the accent: or the same thing is signified by the mark for 'long quantity' (¯) placed over a single vowel.
Five	Kŭrū (Kooróo, in Eng.)
Six	"Nánni.
Seven	Hongkū (Hongkóo).
Eight	'Kýsi.
Nine	Guési (Gooáysy).
Ten	Dési (Dáysy).
Eleven	'Kùïka ('Kooë'ka). On comparing this with the word for 'one,' a difference in spelling and accenting, will be observed; but they are here written exactly as they were spoken. It appears that the pronunciation and place of the accent, change according to the composition of the word, or to its place in a sentence: and this probably, may be done merely for smoothness of sound.
Twelve	'Kam'kwa, ('Kam'qua).
Thirteen	"Gùnăkwa. The remarks at 'eleven' are applicable to this and to several of the following words.
Fourteen	Hákă'kwa.
Fifteen	Kùru'kwa.
Sixteen	"Nánni'kwa.
Seventeen	Hónku'kwa.
Eighteen	'Kýsi'kwa.
Nineteen	Guési'kwa.
Twenty	'Kamdésĭ.
Yes	Aa, or ā.
No	Hanhan, or Haan This has a nasal sound like that of the French words, dans, tems.
I	Tírĭ (Teery, in Engl.)

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Thou	Tsaats (Tsarts).
Here	Heeba, or Heeva (Háyba).
Where?	Bába, or Bárha.
Sun	Sŏrréip. Here the ei forms a true diphthong; in which the e and the i are equally blended, by pronouncing them both so closely together, that only one sound is produced.
Moon	'Kaam.
New-moon	'Kám'kaam. Here the dental clap belonging to the second syllable, was pronounced so weakly that it seemed almost to have been omitted. This was often found to be the case in compound words; and is done, probably with a view to soften the harshness of two claps in the same word.
Full-moon	'Ký'kaam.
Moon decreasing, or in the last quarter	Ghydă'kaam. The h in this place gives a strong and guttural aspiration to the G.
Stars	'Kammărūka ('Kammarooka).
The Pleïades, or Seven-stars	'Koodi, or 'Kō;di ('Kody).
The three stars in the Belt of Orion	"Kaankŭkwa ("Kárnkooqua).
Morning-star (Venus)	'Kwākŏmrup (Quarcumroop).
Shadow	'Karáap, or 'Karāp (Cataap).
Clouds	'Kùma (Koomer).
Rain	'Kăviip or 'Kăvīp (Kaveep). It is also called Tūs or Tuus (Tooce) by some kraals.
Hail	"Nánkwa ("Naanqua or "Narnquar).
Lightning	Tabāp (Tabárp).
Thunder	"Gurūp ("Gooróop).
Wind	'Kŭāp ('Cooárp): in two syllables so closely connected, that this word might almost be written 'Kwāp.
Water	'Kámmă.
Fire	'Káaïp, or 'Kāïp, in two distinct syllables.
Smoke	'Ai' kanna. Here the ai forms a diphthong, and bears the accent.
Mountain	Sesin (Saysin). Both these syllables were of equal force; so that the accent was not distinguished.
Many Mountains	'Kýse sesin ('Kýser saysin).*
Spring or Fountain	Mù'kammă (Móo'camma).

* The Greek ε here introduced, is intended to signify that vocal sound of e, i, or u, before r, which is found in the words her, bird, curl; which, according to this system, would be written, hε, bεd, kεl: omitting, as the English generally do, that repercussion of the tongue which properly belongs to the letter r, and which, even in our most correct pronunciation, is not to be distinguished unless found between two vowels. The Dutch final e, as in lengte, hoogte, approaches to it nearly; and the French unaccented e in je, que, de, has some resemblance to it. In other places in the text, I have, to avoid the inconvenience of strange characters, used the è marked with the grave accent (').
For a further explanation of this system of orthography, the note appended to the following 28th of June is referred to.

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Ford	Khorūm (Coróom). Here the h gives a strong aspiration to the K.
Where is the ford?	Barha, (or Baba) Khrùmka?
Sea-water, or Sea	Hūri'kamma (Hóoricamma).
Whale	'Karrab.
Valley, or Watery place	'Karréep. In this word the p is nearly silent.
Path, or Road	'Tarró ('Tarrów).
Horse	Haap (Harp).
Mare	Has (Hars).
Goat	Bri (Bree).
Ox	'Komáamp ('Comarmp). This and the following five words are probably written correctly; although (see Vol. I. p. 201.) they are not offered with certainty.
Cow	'Komáas, or 'Komās, ('Comáss).
Milk	Biip (Beep).
Bread, or food of that kind	Bariip (Bareep).
Knife	'Kwaans or 'Koāns (Cowarnce).
Waggon	'Korokemp.

The preceding list of words was written down, after they had been several times repeated by the native from whom I had them. The orthography will, I think, express exactly his pronunciation as it sounded to my ear; but it ought at the same time to be explained that some letters are in a few cases, commutable, as for instance, the v for the b, though this may be occasioned either by a careless manner of speaking, or by that species of impediment in the organs of speech, from which some individuals find a difficulty in uttering particular letters or combinations, and therefore substitute in their place, others of more easy enunciation.

18th. As the business of cutting and drying our buffalo-meat, had detained us till a late hour, we advanced but a few miles, and halted for the night at the foot of a hill known to the Klaarwater Hottentots by the name of Blink-klip (Shining Rock); but to the Bachapins, by that of Sensaván.

It is a very remarkable mass of rock rising out from the eastern end of a ridge of hills. As we approached it, I easily, even at a considerable distance, discovered by its brown color and shape, that it was of a nature different from any which we had hitherto seen.*

* The engraving at page 233. is a representation of it, as viewed on the northern side. The entrance to the mine is in front, at the foot of the rock; but is not visible in this point of view. On the side of the hill, and nearer towards the foreground, appear three small shallow caves, not connected with the Blinkklip, nor of the same nature.

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Near it are two or three other similar masses, but much inferior in size.

The Sensaván is one of the most celebrated places of the Transgariepine; being the only spot where the sibílo* (sibeelo) is found. Hither all the surrounding nations repair for a supply of that ornamental and, in their eyes, valuable substance. It constitutes in some degree an article of barter with the more distant tribes, and even among themselves; so that the use of it extends over at least five degrees of latitude, or among every tribe which I have visited.

This sibílo is a shining, powdery iron-ore of a steel-grey or blueish lustre, and soft and greasy to the touch, its particles adhering to the hands or clothes, and staining them of a dark-red or ferrugineous color. The skin is not easily freed from these glossy particles, even by repeated washing; and wherever this substance is used, every thing soon becomes contaminated, and its glittering nature betrays it on every article which the wearer handles.

The mode of preparing and using it, is simply grinding it together with grease, and smearing it generally over the body, but chiefly on the head; and the hair is often so much loaded and clotted with an accumulation of it, that the clots exhibit the appearance of lumps of mineral. A Bachapin whose head is thus covered, considers himself as most admirably adorned, and in full dress; and indeed, to lay aside European prejudices, it is quite as becoming as our own hair-powder, and is a practice not more unreasonable than ours; with which it may in some respects be compared. There is however a real utility in it, or rather in the grease, for those who do not wear caps; it protects the head from the powerful, and perhaps dangerous, effects of a burning sun, as it equally does, from those of wet and cold. Although the color of the sibilo be a brownish red, yet the micaceous particles give it a blueish tint in those places which reflect the light more strongly.

I have succeeded in preparing from the sibilo a very singular

* See the note at page 414. of the first volume.

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kind of paint, which may be used either in water-color drawing or in oil-painting, by grinding it either in gum-water or in oil: and in finishing my drawings of the natives, I have found it most admirably suited for giving the exact color together with that peculiar glittering which it would be impossible to imitate by any other means.

On ascending the hill and approaching the rock, I found a large open cavern or excavation about twenty feet high, and penetrating about thirty feet inwards. This, being open to the daylight, afforded a better situation for examining the mine, than the deeper excavations which can only be seen by the light of a torch or lantern. The whole rock appeared to be composed of this species of iron-ore, mingled in some places with a quartzose rock. The ore is mostly hard and ponderous; but frequently friable and easily falling to pieces, so that the floor of the cavern was found deeply covered with the loose powder. To the cieling, a number of small bats were hanging; and on the projecting crags, a species of dove (Columba Guineënsis) takes its nightly roost: thus this cave is never without inhabitants, either the bats by day, or by night the doves. These are called batseeba (batsába) in the Sichuana language; and the bats, mammatwán. A narrow and low passage leads from the outer cavern to an inner chamber, from which this ore is principally dug. The size of this excavation, supposing it to be wholly the work of art, proves that this powder has been in use during many generations; and indeed its glittering property, its red color, and its soft greasy quality, seem to render it exactly suitable to the ornamental taste of all the neighbouring nations.

Muchunka related a melancholy occurrence which took place a few years before, when several Bachapins lost their lives in this mine, by the falling-in of part of the roof while they were at work. The place being open to every one without restriction or regulations, each person had dug away the quantity he wanted, from that part where it was found of the best quality; and no one appears to have reflected on the necessity, in such excavations especially where the rock is in parts of a loose nature, of leaving pillars at proper distances to support the roof. To this ignorance in the art of mining, those poor creatures

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fell a sacrifice, destined to be the means of giving their countrymen better experience, and a fatal proof of their mistake.

At the distance of a quarter of a mile farther westward along the top of the same ridge, Muchunka brought me to another mine excavated in the form of a large open pit of the depth of fifteen or eighteen feet. Here the mineral was more glittering, and contained larger particles of the shining scales; and this, though not obtained so easily nor in such abundance, was preferred to that which is found under the greater rock. As I walked along the ridge, I every where saw traces of the mineral; and am inclined to think that the whole range consists chiefly of this substance intermingled with quartzose rock.

At Sensaván I first met with a shrub* remarkable for being regarded by the Bachapins as bewitched or unlucky, and therefore unfit to be used as firewood. The reason of its having this character, I could never learn; but the fact of their believing it to possess some malignant power, was, on a subsequent occasion, fully confirmed to me. It grows only in rocky places, and is from four to nine feet high with broad oval leaves, between which are produced little clusters of small inconspicuous flowers, succeeded by a large round fruit not much less than an inch in diameter, but which is not eatable. The engraving at the end of this chapter, represents the foliage, flowers, and fruit, of their natural size.

This shrub is otherwise remarkable, as possessing a botanical character or complexion, different from that of the general botany of these regions, and indicating a certain affinity with that of the island of Madagascar, which contains the only species of Vangueria hitherto known; the present plant forming the second of that genus. A striking example of this may be pointed out, in the very close resemblance which exists between the Strelitzia augusta or Wilde Pisang (Wild Plantain) of the Cape Colony, and the Urania speciosa of that island. Of a similar vegetable affinity with that part of

* Vangueria infausta, B. Catal. Geogr. 2629. Frutex 4—9-pedalis. Folia tomentosa ovato-subrotunda, sæpe acuminata, decidua.
Here also a new and remarkable species of Hermannia, and which was found in no other part of these travels, was met with, growing between the rocks near the mine.
Hermannia bryoniæfolia, B. Catal. Geogr. 2141. Rami elongati debiles. Folia cordato-ovata scabra dentata sæpè sinuata. Flores in racemulis paucifloris axillaribus.

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the globe, many examples might be given, if the present were a work exclusively on that science: even at our next station, other plants were found of correspondent stamp.

19th. Although we were now in the middle of winter, the weather during sunshine was generally very pleasant and well suited for travelling and hunting; but the nights were exceedingly cold, and not easily to be endured without a fire. The mercury of the thermometer never rose above 70 of Fahrenheit's scale (21· of the Centigrade scale) and was seldom observed even so high. This morning, just before sunrise, an hour which was always found to be the coldest in the whole twenty-four, it was found sunk to 29 (—1·6 Centig.); and the backs of the horses, as well as the herbage, were white with hoar-frost, an appearance not indeed very frequent, but still not so rare as to be considered by the natives a very remarkable sight.

In the time of the rains, water may be found here in the hollows of a channel which appeared to be at some seasons, the bed of a small rivulet; but at present not a drop was any where to be discovered; and as our cattle had not drunk since we left Bloem's Fountain, we were compelled to depart from Sensavan early in the morning.

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CHAPTER X.

JOURNEY FROM SENSAVAN TO THE KAMHANNI MOUNTAINS.

FROM Sensavan the country was generally level and open, and abounding in tall dry grass, of so great a height that the oxen were half hid as they passed through it; and our party had exactly the appearance of riding through fields of ripe corn.*

This days-journey was, notwithstanding the abundance of grass, the most rocky of any between the Gariep and Litakun, as large spaces frequently occurred, in which the surface was a natural pavement of pure rock, in the fissures of which here and there grew a few shrubs. In some places this rock was of a brown color, and seemed outwardly as if scoriated; although it was certainly not volcanic or changed by the action of fire. It was a primitive limestone, and seemed to be in many parts coloured by some ferrugineous property; it was of the

* A similar scene is represented in the 26th vignette.

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same kind as that which has been noticed in the country between Klaarwater and Spuigslang fountain. In other places this pavement consisted exclusively of a coarse blueish-black cherty flint: and frequently extensive spaces exhibited a bare level surface of the white primitive limestone-rock, first observed about the former place.

The waggons suffered the most violent jolts; and we now felt the great difference between riding over a country strewed with loose blocks and stones, and one where the surface, though flat, is formed of a fixed mass of rock. In the first, the stones, however large, give way a little to the force of the wheels, and the jolts are thereby much softened, if such an expression may be used; but the obdurate immoveable resistance of fixed rocks, and the peculiar violence of the jolting they cause, are hardly to be conceived without having been actually experienced. No artificial pavement can produce an effect equally disagreeable; for in such there is, speaking comparatively, a certain degree of elasticity, the effect of which is not imaginary, nor is it imperceptible to those who have ridden over a natural pavement of solid unyielding rock.

Although the waggons did not appear to have suffered any damage by this day's-journey, yet it is not possible that they could have escaped without, in some respect, receiving injury; and I now could clearly perceive that a good and strong-built vehicle, is one of the most important of the preparations for such an expedition. Besides the strength of workmanship, the greatest attention is necessary to be paid to the quality of the materials; that the wood be well seasoned and of a sort which will not easily split. Much of the safety of a waggon depends on the nature of the iron; this should be of the tough and malleable kind, rather than the hard, which being generally of the quality termed 'short,' is very liable to break asunder.

At an early hour of the day, we arrived at a spring embosomed in rocky mountains, and called by the Hottentots, Klip Fontein* (Rock Fountain).

* In order to distinguish this from the Klip Fontein of the Cisgariepine, described in the first volume at page 294., we were obliged to refer to it by the name of Kora, or, Koraqua Klip Fontein; having already designated the other by that of Bushman Klip Fontein.

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Juli, who, I now began to perceive, was one of the most quiet and steady of all my party, showed himself desirous of gaining my good opinion, by various acts of voluntary service, and a readiness and attentiveness on every occasion where he thought he could be useful. He undertook the office of cook, and succeeded extremely well in boiling the tongue of the buffalo, and in producing something in the form of a curry. To give him the character of being a good cook, according to the judgment of Europeans, would be ridiculously wide of the truth; but among Hottentots he deserved that of possessing superior talents.

None but those who merely 'eat to live' would undertake a journey in Africa, with no better cooks than Hottentots. By their methods, the finest meat is almost always rendered tough and nupalatable; every kind undergoes but one and the same process, which is simply that of cutting it into lumps of the size of a fist, and throwing them into a large iron pot of water, which is usually left standing on the fire till the men are ready to take their meal: the consequence of which is, that their meat is almost alway soverboiled and exceedingly hard. But this very well suits their taste; and from a strong dislike to meat too little boiled or roasted, they chuse rather to go to the opposite extreme. As it was not easy to change the system and notions of these men, I found it less troublesome to accommodate my palate to their cookery, than to pretend to teach them an art of which I knew as little as themselves.

I shall not be classed with those who only 'live to eat', if I place an experienced cook upon the list of persons necessary on such an expedition; as we have discovered by our own sufferings, that the same kind of food, though even of the best quality, continued from day to day for too great a length of time, without any variation in the mode of preparing it, ceases to excite the digestive powers, and no longer affords due nourishment. Under such circumstances, the body, instead of gaining strength, becomes daily weaker; the muscles relax, and an extraordinary debility gradually ensues. It is not disputed, that a change of food either in species or in mode, is necessary to health and strength; and as both these latter are absolutely essential

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to a traveller, it is but common prudence to provide the reasonable means of securing them. This was, I confess, a point of prudence which, among my preparations, was never once thought of, because the full enjoyment of health induced me to regard it as very unimportant and quite unnecessary.

Attended by one of my men, I took a ramble to examine the mountains on our left, which form as it were an extensive amphitheatre around the spring. They are composed of rock of a granitic kind, and in some places of a black rock of a siliceous nature. As it was considered dangerous to venture far among these mountains, on account of the Bushmen who might be watching us from behind the crags, and who were reported to be hostile to all Hottentots, I confined my stroll within this amphitheatre which was well clothed with a variety of shrubs and bushes, and to the course of the rill formed by the spring.

Here, however, I found many new and interesting plants, particularly a species of Croton* forming a handsome bushy shrub from four to seven feet high, closely resembling a species peculiar to Madagascar: and this affinity with the botany of that island, was farther marked by a species of Melhania †?which grew close by it; and on the same spot with the Vangueria infausta. This Croton is called Mulókha by the Bachapins. I was informed that the leaves, reduced to powder, are used by the Koras as a Buku; and it is in

* Croton gratissimum, B. Catal. Geogr. 2154. Frutex pulcherrimus 4—10-pedalis ramosus sempervirens. Folia ovato-lanceolata integerrima petiolata alterna, suprà viridia nuda, subtùs argenteo-albida. Spicæ terminales. Flores suavissimè odorati. Folia (contusa) odorem aromaticum (Lauri nobilis) spirantia. Calyx patens profundè 5-fidus. Petala 5 lanceolata patentia, longitudine calycis. Stamina ciciter 15, discreta.
Sir James E. Smith has obligingly compared this with the specimens in his valuable herbarium, once the property of the immortal Linnæus, and informs me that, although a distinct species, it is exceedingly like the C. farinosum, with the description of which, as given in Willd. Sp. Pl, it so well agreed, that at the time of discovering it, I had supposed it might possibly be the same plant.

† Melhania prostrata, B. Catal. Geogr. 2153. Frutex. Caules elongati, 2—4-pedales, prostrati ramosi. Folia petiolata linearia, basi ovata, mucronulo terminata. Stipulæ subulatæ. Flores axillares solitarii, longiùs pedunculati, flavi. Pedunculus rectus, medio geniculatus.

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fact of a much more pleasant scent than any other of the Hottentot Bukues. I detected, by the delightful fragrance which it emitted as I walked over it, a small frutescent kind of basil * not less aromatic than the garden species. An exceedingly pretty sort of Celastrus †?with red branches and very small leaves, decorated these rocks and occupied the same situations here, as at the Asbestos Mountains.

Just where the spring flows out of the rock, I observed some ochraceous deposition; but the water was, nevertheless, wholesome and of a good taste. This fountain affords a constant supply of water throughout the year, and the mountains in the vicinity are said therefore to be inhabited by Bushmen.

Seven years before this, two Hottentots in the service of a missionary named Jan Kok who was himself a Half-Hottentot, were returning home from the Briqua country with their wives and children, with a waggon loaded with elephants' tusks, and a large herd of oxen belonging to the missionary; when the temptation of so much booty protected only by two men, induced the Bushmen to attack them; and after repeated assaults along the road, one of the Hottentots was killed just beyond this spring, and the other not far from Doorn river: while at the same time, one of the daughters was inhumanly stabbed with a hassagay, and several of the children wounded with arrows. The murderers succeeded in carrying off the greater part of the cattle, and were on the point of returning to attack the waggon, now defended only by women and children, when the most providen.

* Ocymum fruticulosum, B. C. G. 2160. Planta fruticulosa pedalis erecta. Folia lanceolata nuda semicollapsa. Racemi terminales nudi. Flores verticillati brevè pedunculati. Verticilli 4—6-flori. Herba tota odore gratissimo (Basilici) gaudet

† Celastrus saxatilis, B. C. G. 1671. Frutex rigidus spinosus 4-pedalis glaber. Ramuli juniores castanei coloris. Spinæ sæpiùs nudæ rectæ patentes. Folia integerrima, in ramulis junioribus solitaria ovata, in ramulis anni præcedentis fasciculata elongatè-obovata. Pedunculi laterales ex fasciculis foliorum, pauciflori. Capsula majuscula coccinea.

At the Kora Rock-Fountain were also found

Olea similis, B.
Acacia stolonifera, B.
Acacia detinens, B.
Acacia Capensis, B.
Acacia elephantine, B.
Pteris ? calomelanos.
Cheilanthus.
Justicia. 2 Sp.
Pharnaceum.
Andropogon.
Tarchonanthus.
Euclea.
Aristida.
Rhus.
Clematis.
Celastrus. &c.

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tial and unexpected arrival of a large party of colonists under Landdrost Van de Graaff, rescued them from the death which awaited them, and obliged the barbarous robbers to take instantly to flight.* The two unfortunate Hottentots were certainly to blame for their imprudence in venturing, with so little probability of being able to defend themselves, to traverse a country of lawless savages, with a large quantity of property, by which the wretches were too strongly tempted to attack them.

This fatal occurrence has contributed to impress the Hottentots with the idea that the Bushmen inhabiting the country between Ongeluks fountain and the Kamhanni mountains, are more ferocious and dangerous than any others; and, consequently, a mutual mistrust and enmity now exists between them. While we were at Klaarwater, it was not omitted to infuse into the minds of my men, serious fears on this account, and I had the vexation of witnessing their effects on several occasions.

Under the impression, probably, of this story, Gert, when he came to my waggon in the evening, seemed, by several indirect questions which he asked, to be very desirous of ascertaining the course and extent of my journey, and spoke as if he hoped, and expected, that I should advance no farther than Litákun. He, and all the rest of my people, knew that it was my intention to explore the country beyond; and therefore, as these questions could only be the result or symptoms of that timidity with which they had been infected at that village, the discovery of such symptoms at so early a period, and at so great a distance from any real cause for apprehension, could not but open a source of some uneasiness. I had no doubt that, being admitted, in compassion to his late misfortune, to more familiarity than the rest, he was employed to find out the real plan of my journey, and at the same time to hint to me their disinclination to venture far into the Interior. On being told that he must not expect our journey to terminate at that town, he replied

* Dr. Lichtenstein, who happened to be one of the landdrost's party, gives in his Travels, an interesting account of this occurrence.

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"Then, Sir, we shall, not one of us, ever come back; we are all murdered men !"

20th. From the Kora Rock-Fountain, we travelled over a level country varied here and there with hills of moderate elevation. The soil, which was of a sandy nature and remarkably red, was every where thickly covered with standing grass about three feet high, which, being at this season quite dry and having assumed an autumnal tint, presented exactly the appearance of European cornfields of boundless extent; and which, from its height and color, very much resembled that variety which farmers term 'red wheat.'*

When we had travelled about twelve miles, my Hottentots, who, like all their tribe, possessed an extraordinary power of sight in discerning objects at a distance, came to me and with evident alarm, reported that they saw on before us, six strange men whom they believed to be Bushmen. The story which I have just related, or the impressions they had received at Klaarwater, appeared to have taken fast hold on their minds, so that they were ready to view every dubious occurrence as the forerunner of danger. I immediately took out my telescope, but although with the naked eye I myself saw nothing, I was enabled with the glass to distinguish but little more than they had already discovered without it. Two of these strange men appeared to carry guns, and as they were running with great speed, we concluded that they had fallen in with Speelman and Keyser who had preceded us for the sake of hunting; and that having murdered them, and robbed them of their muskets, they were thus hastening out of our reach. This suspicion, which was instantly taken for fact by all my men and which I could not myself think very improbable, seemed to be confirmed by our observing

* The chief grasses were of the genera Andropogon, Aristida, Anthistiria and Poa.
A new species of Cissampelos met with here, is to be found generally in every part of the Transgariepine; it is the
Cissampelos calcarifera, Catal. Geogr. 1795. Fruticosa scandens volubilis (sæpè humiliar et erecta). Folia lineari-elliptica, pubescentia. Petioli ad bases subtùs calcare brevi aucti. Flores parvi herbacei.

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eight more Bushmen standing at the top of a low hill close on our right, apparently watching us.

As there was, even under these circumstances, not much danger in an open country, for a person mounted on horseback, I would have sent some of my people forward to ascertain whether the two men with muskets, were natives or not; but every one of them exhibited so much fear and reluctance for this service, that, to save my authority and avoid their refusal to obey my orders, I thought it most advisable not to insist on this step. My own station and duty in cases of danger, should, I conceived, always be that of protecting and defending the waggons, in which were contained all our property, our ammunition, and our provisions. My two baptized men betrayed more timidity than several of their companions; and Cornelis to anticipate and prevent my orders, came to assure me that the backs of all the horses were too much galled to bear the saddle; and was not ashamed to assert this, though he and Van Roye had ridden on horseback almost every day.

In the mean time the enemy disappeared; but I took the precaution of making all the men keep together in a body, and carry their muskets instead of leaving them tied up in the waggons, which they had done to spare themselves that fatigue. We now resumed our march, after having halted half an hour on account of this affair; and advanced with watchful circumspection, not knowing how far we might proceed before the natives poured down from the hills to attack us: at least these were the sentiments of most of my men, who looked around them expecting to find the bodies of poor Speelman and Keyser. This they actually did; for we had scarcely proceed a mile farther, when they were discovered at some distance on the left of our road, —but still alive, and, in good health and spirits, making the best of their way towards us, and having four Bushmen in company, with whom they appeared to be on perfectly friendly terms. At the same time the enemy on the hills poured down upon us, and —with every appearance of peaceable intentions joined our party. One of them being personally known to Muchunka, and being able to speak the Kora language, an amicable communication

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immediately commenced between us. The two men running off with guns, who had occasioned among my people so much consternation, were now found to have been, Speelman and Keyser in pursuit of a buffalo, and who, having followed the animal between the hills without being able to overtake it, had turned back by another way, to meet us.

The Bushmen, now about ten or twelve in number, remained with us till the next morning, and were entertained with a few pipes of tobacco, and as much meat as they could devour. I observed that the natural color of their skin was much lighter than it had appeared to me among the other tribes of this nation which I had hitherto examined. Whether these men kept their persons more free from dirt, or whether they were really of a less tawny complexion than the others, can not be positively decided; but their skin was certainly, not much darker than that of the browner nations of Europe.

In their costume, with respect to that part of their dress which has been already described* under the name of jackal, they had adopted the more compact fashion of the Bichuanas; and this departure from the genuine dress of the Hottentot race, was doubtlessly occasioned by their proximity to, and their intercourse with, those nations. Their stature also was larger than that of the pure Bushmen: a circumstance which was attributable probably to a mixture with the Koras; but certainly not to any consanguinity with the Bachapins, as this would rather have given them a darker, than a lighter, skin. The features also of this party, were of a more agreeable mould. Five of them were merely boys in appearance, yet all were completely armed; and, besides two bows at their back, some carried in their hand a bundle of four or five hassagays. Several wore a necklace of a new kind, composed of the seeds or beans of one of their wild plants. †

At five in the afternoon we arrived at a plentiful spring of water, surrounded by a grove of Acacias; and as Muchunka was unac-

* At page 397. of the first volume.

† Acacia elephantina, B.

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quainted with any name for it, I have been obliged to distinguish it on the map by that of Knegt's Fountain, in compliance with the name which was given to it by my party in consequence of having at this spot buried my dog Knegt, which here was taken ill and died. This scene is represented by the engraving at page 260.

The Bushmen made their fire at the distance of fifty yards from ours, where they in their own manner, cooked the meat I gave them; and where, after having passed the evening with my Hottentots, they laid themselves down for the night

21st. This fountain and the acacia grove were enlivened by numerous small finches of a new species allied to the Wax-bill or Astrild. Its general color was a cinereous brown, with every feather prettily marked at the top with the transverse stripes of black and white: the forehead, and sides of the head, were of the color of redlead.* It seemed to be peculiar to this region and the country about Litakun, as I never met with it in any other part of the continent

Since leaving the Gariep, I had observed but few birds, excepting in the neighbourhood of the different fountains; for, as the smaller kinds require to drink frequently, their nature and wants render them unfit for inhabiting those extensive arid plains which intervene between one spring and another. From the Kora Rock-Fountain to this place, was a distance of-thirteen miles, and as no water was to be found in all that extent, it will not, on consideration, appear a surprising fact, that none of the smaller birds were seen during that days-journey. This is intended as a general remark, applicable in every similar case, to the deserts of Southern Africa.

That our cattle might have sufficient time for grazing, we delayed yoking them to the waggons till it was nearly two hours after mid-day. This consideration for our oxen and horses, was dictated as well by prudence as by humanity, and appeared to be one of the essential prin-

* Loxia maculosa, B. Fusco-cinerea, plumis omnibus ad apices nigro alboquè fasciatis. Frons genæquè, miniatæ, in mare; in feminâ concoloræ. Avis parva gregaria, victitans ex seminibus.

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ciples of this mode of travelling; as the violent and forced speed of those who would pass through these regions more for the sake of saying they had seen them, than of collecting correct information and of understanding what they saw, would strongly prove, by the great number of cattle they would wear out, that hasty travellers should never seat themselves behind a team of oxen. This valuable animal, whose natural pace, as I have before remarked, is quite expeditious enough for the observer, and admirer, of nature, ill deserves, in return for his daily labors, to be denied the time necessary for grazing and rest, and to be forced onwards at the caprice of his driver, till at last, through want of food and strength he sinks under the yoke and, without remorse, is left to perish. Nothing but the safety of the whole party, or the urgency of peculiar and inevitable circumstances, could ever, during my whole journey, induce me to forget the consideration due to my cattle; always regarded as faithful friends whose assistance was indispensable. There may be in the world, men who possess a nature so hard, as to think these sentiments misapplied; but I leave them to find, if they can, in the coldness of their own hearts, a satisfaction equal to that which I have enjoyed in paying a grateful attention to animals by whose services I have been so much benefited.

Our course still continued over a level surface, but with many rocky hills on either hand. The mountains northward of the Gariep no longer exhibited that tedious, though singular, uniformity of tabular summits, which I have noticed as being so common in the Cisgariepine. The soil was a reddish sand, almost every where covered with the tall corn-like grass, before described; through which, a few ostriches were seen stalking, fully visible notwithstanding its height, which would easily have concealed the smaller antelopes, or have favoured the escape, or approach, of an enemy.

In one part of this days-journey, for the space of a mile and a half, the whole plain had in the preceding year, been set on fire, and every bush, as well as the dry grass, consumed or killed; but this circumstance gave me a favorable opportunity for discovering the goodness of the soil, presumable from the rapid growth of the Tar-

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chonanthus the prevailing shrub in these plains. Where they had been burnt down to the ground, they had in one season thrown up a multitude of strong shoots not less than five feet long. In most instances the old charred stems and branches still remained standing, and, being perfectly black, presented a shrubbery of extraordinary appearance. The different sorts of Tarchonanthus are called by the Bachapins, indiscriminately by the name of Mohákă; and their shoots and branches are much used for shafts to their hassagays, and for the outward fences to their houses.

At four we came to a plentiful spring of good water, distinguished as the Little Kósi Fountain, at which grew an abundance of tall reeds *, and on one side a thicket of acacias; but as the great Kosi Fountain was but little more than three miles farther, we halted only a few minutes to allow the loose cattle to drink.

As we advanced we found no variation in the country or its productions, and the same grassy plains brought us just at sunset to the great Kosi Fountain. Here, to guard against surprise by the Bushmen, should they really have those hostile intentions which my men had been taught to believe, I took our station in an open spot, under the shelter only of some bushes consisting of a species of Asparagus. But the men, who, notwithstanding their fears, had neither prudence nor foresight, wished rather to have placed the waggons in the acacia grove, merely because it was more sheltered and pleasant.

The Kosi Fountain is a constant and plentiful spring rising in an open valley, through which a small rivulet appears, at certain seasons, to take its course. This flat, is clothed with grass and rushes, among

* The reeds mentioned in the course of this journal, and from which the Bushmen make their arrows, are to be understood as a species very closely resembling the common English reed, or Arundo Phragmitis; from which, however, it may be botanically distinguished by its ligulæ pilosæ, or bearded joints. Besides this character, there seems to be some difference in the color of the leaves and in the substance of the stalk, which, in the African variety, are yellower, and harder. Having succeeded in raising this plant from seed since my return to England, and cultivated it several years, though hitherto without flowering, I have found these differences constant; and the same having been observed by Mr. Lambert (the author of the magnificent work on the genus Pinus,) in the plants in his collection, and considered sufficient to distinguish it from the English reed, I venture to propose it as a new species under the name of Arundo barbata.

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which a few reeds indicate to the traveller the situation of the water. On the borders of the valley, and in several other places, a considerable number of acacias, forming a little wood or grove, add greatly to the pleasant appearance of the spot: and behind them, on the side towards the north, a long ridge of rocky hills, stretches eastward and westward.

In the character of the landscape and its peculiar tints, a painter would find much to admire, though it differed entirely from the species known by the term 'picturesque'. But it was not the less beautiful: nor less deserving of being studied by the artist: it was that kind of harmonious beauty which belongs to the extensive plains of Southern Africa. The pale yellow dry grass gave the prevailing color, and long streaks of bushes as it seemed, parallel to the horizon and gradually fading into the distance, sufficiently varied the uniformity of a plain; while clumps of the soft and elegant acacia, presented a feature which relieved these long streaks by an agreeable change of tint, and by the most pleasing forms backed by low azure hills in the farthest distance. Our horses and oxen grazing close at hand, added a force to the foreground, and, by contrast, improving the tenderness of the general colouring, completed a landscape, perhaps altogether inimitable; but which, if put on canvass, would form a picture of the most fascinating kind, and prove to European painters, that there exists in this department of the art, a species of beauty with which, possibly, they may not yet be sufficiently acquainted.

This fountain takes its name from a Bachapin chief who formerly resided here. The word kō;si in the Sichuána language signifies rich, and is by metonymy therefore used to imply a chief, as riches seem in all countries, in the early stages of society, to have been the origin of power and importance, and the principal source from which individuals have derived permanent authority. Whether the word was in this case the proper name of the chief or merely an appellative, my interpreter was unable to state; but I have remarked that with this nation, appellatives are very commonly assumed as proper names.

Scarcely were the oxen unyoked, when a large mixed herd of

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wilde-paards (Wild Horses) elands and hartebeests, from the neighbouring mountains, appeared in sight near the water. They were instantly pursued and a wilde-paard (Equus montanus), or quakka, as it was oftener called, was shot. This was a timely and welcome supply to the Hottentots, as the buffalo-meat was already become so dry and hard, that it afforded us but tough and unpalatable food.

So much had been told us by the missionaries and Hottentots, of the peculiarly hostile disposition of the Bushmen who inhabit the vicinity of the Kosi fountain, that, not despising their advice, and chusing rather to be over-prudent, than neglectful of measures of precaution, I delivered out ammunition to my people, and ordered them two by two, to keep regular watch throughout the night; relieving each other every two hours. With these orders their fears rendered them very ready to comply, however uncongenial to the nature of a Hottentot, night-watching might be, under circumstances of less apprehension.

Gert, who had so long in our absence, an opportunity of hearing these tales, and who seemed to have deeply imbibed the timidity they were meant to inspire, related to me a story which he had picked up at Klaarwater, respecting the fate of the first party of Hottentots who ventured among the Briquas; and who were the first visitors which that nation had ever received from the side of the Colony. This party, consisting of a considerable number of Mixed Hottentots, had reached the chief town of these Briquas or Bachapins, and were received apparently with friendship: an ox was on the occasion killed for them by the chief, and a large party of natives were also assembled to partake of it. At this time, it was discovered that some of their pack-oxen were missing; on which, a part of the Hottentots went to look for them: but in the mean time, as it was said, the Briquas seeing the party thus divided, fell upon them and murdered all but five. Of these five, only three reached home alive, the others having, on the way, died of their wounds.

This story, he had learnt from the widows of those who were thus murdered: but the whole appeared so inconsistent with other

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facts with which I was better acquainted, that I had no hesitation in classing it as one of the numerous tales contrived for the purpose of alarming my men; nor was I quite without suspicion of its having been invented by Gert himself, with a view of inducing me to give up the idea of penetrating so far into the interior of these countries, as I had designed.

Had I been earlier aware of this Hottentot's weakness and timidity, I should certainly have left him at the missionary settlement, and should have spared myself much vexation and trouble on his account; but as I did not, at this time, suspect him of a total deficiency of courage, I continued long afterwards to treat him with partiality and to rely on his fidelity. He communicated also a secret of his own, and which probably had no little influence over his conduct towards me; after the termination of the journey, he intended returning to Klaarwater to marry the widow of one of the two Hottentots who unfortunately joined Dr. Cowan's fatal expedition, and who had agreed to become his wife;" for," said he "the one I left at home at Groene Kloof, is a bad one."

22nd. Early this morning we were roused by the very unexpected sound of a waggon approaching, and which soon afterwards halted and unyoked at a short distance from us. The party proved to be Cupido Kok with four other Hottentots and six Koras, returning from Litakun, where he had been to barter for ivory and oxen. He had in his waggon about twenty Elephant's tusks, which had been obtained in exchange at the rate of a sheep for each tusk; the Bachapins being very desirous of procuring cattle of that kind, it having hitherto been little known to their nation, or, at least, seldom reared by them. He was driving home a herd of above forty oxen which had been purchased with beads and tobacco.

I was exceedingly glad at falling in with this man, as I now expected to get back my great rifle. But it seemed that all my dealings with the people of that village, were to produce nothing but disagreeables and vexation; for although I obtained my gun again, it was rendered useless by the want of the bullet-mould, which, he said, he had left at home at his place at Taaibosch Fountain, as he

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had no occasion for it on the journey, having previously cast as much ball as the quantity of gunpowder he took with him would require. This quantity, I found, was no more than the pound which I had then given him, and which was now very nearly expended; so that he was, as he confessed to Gert, venturing his journey homewards with scarcely any ammunition for his defence. He had, indeed, another gun in his waggon, the bullet-mould of which he offered me instead of my own; but this could be of no service as it was much too small. He was therefore told that, as the rifle was the most important of all our guns, and its use absolutely indispensable for the prosecution of my journey, I would wait at our present station till he had returned home and despatched a man on horseback to me with the mould; that I would not proceed without it, and that as soon as it was received I would return him his own gun, which I had brought with me in expectation of meeting him at Litakun; and that it was entirely through his own neglect, or want of reflection, that he had not brought it, knowing as he did, that my gun was useless without it. He at first objected to the trouble of sending a horse and man back so far; but it was represented to him that the distance was barely fourteen hours at a usual and moderate pace, and might be performed with ease, and without danger even for one man; and that it was but just that he should take this trouble, as he alone had occasioned the necessity for it.

Although he was apparently little pleased with my proposal, yet as he made no objection to it, I concluded that the matter was thus settled; and returned to my waggon.

I sent to him the buffalo-skin, to be given to his nephew Captain Dam, as payment for an eland-skin which he had supplied for the use of my waggons: and Speelman and Juli on their own account, requested him to take home for their wives some dried meat; but, not being in a very obliging humour, he gave them an immediate refusal, though he might have granted their request, without the least inconvenience to himself.

Apparently with a view of giving vent to his ill-temper, and to be revenged for my insisting on having the mould, he took advantage of

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this last opportunity, to relate a number of tales to impress my men with the belief that I only intended to lead them into danger. To these, and all similar accounts, they were too ready to listen; while their serious countenances visibly betrayed the doubts and fears with which their minds began to be agitated. This Cupido asserted many things which he could not himself have believed; for, after exaggerating the dangers which, he said, lay before us, he even declared that all the black nations were much more afraid of bows and arrows, than of guns; and that after advancing, and receiving our first fire without fear, they would immediately close upon us, and stab every one, before we could have time to load again. Thinking that my intention was to visit the Nuákketsi, or, as the Klaarwater people call them, the Wánketzen *, he attempted to counteract this, by relating the old story about the murder of Dr. Cowan and his party, and adding to it all the artful fabrications which he had picked up from among the natives. He concluded by telling them that the Nuákketsies, having heard of our coming, had made many remarks on the folly of sending a mere handful of men against them, and had openly declared that they would kill every stranger who should in future venture into their country. In short, he declared that there was the greatest danger in going amongst those nations; as they were all at this time, in a state of warfare and fighting one against the other. Fortunately he remained at the Kosi but three hours; and then collecting his party together, he yoked the team to his waggon, and drove off without further ceremony,

I was just beginning to rejoice that he was fairly gone and out of sight, when Gert delivered a message from him, that as it would be too far to send a man back, it was not his intention to do so; that as I had thought proper to detain his gun as a pledge for the mould,

* This is a corruption of the proper word both by the addition of the Dutch plural termination en, and by mistaking the true sound. At least, the manner in which I have written the name, is conformable to the only mode in which I heard it pronounced by the Bachapins. By not distinguishing the Dutch plural, some writers have set the English plural also upon its back, and the word Wanketzens has been formed in this manner.

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I might keep it; for, as he had now no ammunition for his defence, he did not think it worth so much trouble to redeem it.

I desired Gert to hasten after him and let him know that, notwithstanding his message, I should wait at our present station time enough for him to send the mould, which in our circumstances was of so much importance, that I hoped, and should expect, that he would return it. After this, he finally departed; and I had then little doubt that his desire to recover the gun, would induce him to act as I wished; although it was evident I had nothing to expect from any feeling or principle of justice, which might teach him how much injury he did us, especially in our unprotected situation, by depriving us of the proper use of our largest gun; the peculiar advantage of which, depended on being loaded with a ball which fitted the calibre exactly.

As soon as this party was gone, we began therefore to consider ourselves as stationed at this place for some days. Several of my people went out hunting, and a Hartebeest was brought down by Juli. A new species of antelope which had been shot by Speelman late on the preceding evening, was fetched home; but during the night the hyenas, or wolves as they are usually called by the Boors and Hottentots, had devoured all the flesh; leaving us only the head and the hide. It might be classed as a species of Gnu, which, in general appearance and color, it closely resembled; yet presented marks of difference which immediately showed it to be very distinct. This animal and the hartebeest were nearly of the same size. It is entirely of a black-brown color; having a bushy tail like that of the gnu, but quite black, while in the gnu it is white. It has a long black mane and beard, and two large spurious hoofs. Its horns, which are neither annulated nor twisted, are curved outwards and downwards, and their points recurved upwards; in the same position as in the Cape buffalo. Its horns, more remarkably than in any other antelope, resemble those of oxen in general; and in this particular it differs essentially from the gnu, whose horns are turned forwards, but not outwards: neither is their enlargement

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at the base so remarkable as in that sort. In young animals, the horns are not decurved, but rise more immediately upwards; yet in time they take a downward direction. Its manners and general appearance, are exactly those of the gnu; and it puts itself in the same attitudes, holding its head down, and lashing its tail as it prances about. It is also seen sometimes solitary, and sometimes it is met with in herds. I have distinguished it by name of Antilope taurina.* The Mixed Hottentots have given it the name of Bastaard Wildebeest, implying that it is considered as a spurious kind of Gnu: Wildebeest being the Dutch Colonial name for that antelope. The Bichuanas call it Kokūn (Kokoon), or rather, with a nasal sound of the n, Kokūng (Kokoong). Of this animal, five were shot in the course of our travels. †

Two beautiful zebras made their appearance near the spring, and were fired at. Some of the hunters falling in with the skeleton of a giraffe, or camelopard, in the plains, were struck with astonishment at its size, and the great length of the bones of the leg; and at their return home, excited the attention of their companions by their wonderful account of it, for Philip was the only one among them, who had any knowledge of the animals of this part of Africa. To the eastward of this fountain, and under the same range of hills, there is a place named by the Hottentots, Kameel-hoek, (Camel-Corner,) on account of its being much resorted to, by camelopards.

Not chusing to depend wholly on the Hottentots, for keeping watch against the Bushmen, I sat up myself till a late hour of the

* Antilope taurina, B. Tota nigro-fusca; Cornua lævia extrorsum decurvata, versus medium recurvata. Juba longa, barbaque, nigræ. Cauda equina nigra. Species Antilopi Gnu proximè ordinanda, cui habitu moribusque simillima.

† Of these, two were preserved and brought to England; one of which has been presented to the British Museum.
As in both these species of Gnu, the food passes in the same form as in sheep, deer, and in all the rest of the Antelope genus, one is surprised at finding it asserted of the first Gnu, in a late French work, that "ses excrémens ressemblent à ceux de la vache:" and also, that its horns take a direction "d'abord en bas, et en dehors." Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, par plusieurs professeurs, &c. tome 2. p. 248.

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night to discover if my sentinels did their duty; and employed myself in the meantime, in affixing labels to the botanical specimens hitherto collected, and in registering them in my Catalogue.

At about an hour after midnight, when it was Juli's and Keyser's turn to be on guard, I left my waggon, and took my seat by the fire, as the air was then exceedingly cold. The rest of the people lay fast asleep, some on the ground by the fire, some close under the asparagus-bush, and others either beneath, or within, the baggage-waggon. Those who lay round the fire, always took off their shoes and uncovered their feet, which they placed as near as possible to the embers; a reasonable mode of keeping their bodies generally warm, as the feet, when sleeping in the open air in cold weather, become chilled much sooner than any other part of the body. It seemed almost incredible that Muchunka could sleep at all; exposed, nearly naked, to the freezing inclemency of the night, and having no other covering or clothing, than a short leathern kaross scarcely the length of his body. It was, however, a proof that the human frame may, by custom, become inured to every inconvenience; as it may by the same means, be pampered till at length it can bear none. The dogs were all quietly dozing, and the oxen lying at their ease; circumstances which gave us a confidence that neither wild beasts, nor wild men, were lurking near us. Juli and his companion being both Graaffreynet people, were amusing themselves by talking over the affairs of that part of the colony.

I joined their party without interrupting their conversation, and was much surprised, as well as pleased, at finding that Juli had lent so little ear to the alarming tales we had heard, or had given so little credit to those who told them, that he viewed the spot at which we were now stationed, as a place so far from being dangerous to live in, that he seriously communicated to me a plan which the pleasant appearance of the country had induced him to form, of returning to Kosi Fountain after the termination of our journey, and of bringing all his cattle, which he reckoned at nearly forty in sheep and oxen, and fixing his residence here, in preference to living any longer among the Boors.

As I viewed the poor fellow's plan merely as one of those foolish

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thoughtless schemes which the unreflecting Hottentot often takes into his head, and of which the execution is generally prevented by some other whim equally ill-advised or unpromising, I did not think it necessary, to check the pleasure he seemed to derive from the fancied advantages and riches which he calculated on gaining by that step. I even allowed myself to be amused by listening to his proposed measures: he had already fixed on a spot for his garden; it was in the valley near the clump of acacias beyond the water.

23rd. On the following morning I went with him to inspect it; and it was certainly an excellent and pleasant situation, and very judiciously chosen. As I had brought with me the seeds of various sorts of useful plants, for the purpose of dissemination in the countries of the Interior, this appeared a proper opportunity for commencing it. I gave him therefore, some of peach, quince, almond, and several kinds of esculent vegetables, which he sowed in a suitable soil; and as the moist ground about the spring appeared a natural place for the celery-plant (Apium graveolens) I scattered a considerable quantity of it there. On our return to this fountain six months afterwards *, a few of Juli's seeds were found to have vegetated, and the celery seemed already to have naturalized itself, as it was then in flower and seed; but of so diminutive a size, that it might have been mistaken for another species, had I not recollected that it had been sown there by myself.

* At that time I collected at Kosi Fountain, a variety of new plants, among which the following is remarkable as being the first of that Natural Order which has been found in Southern Africa.
Triaspis hypericoïdes, B. Catal. Geogr. 2531. Frutex 3—4-pedalis pulcher erectus ramosus. Rami fusci glabri oppositi patentes. Folia ovato-linearia glabra pedunculata glauca integerrima opposita (rarò subalterna). Pedicelli axillares solitarii 3—6-flori. Flores pedunculati inodori rosei. Calyx 5-phyllus, sepalis lanceolatis erectis. Petala 5 unguiculata, patentia ovata concava, ad margines laciniato-fimbriata. Styli tres. Stigmata obsoleta. Stamina 10 basi discreta. Pollinis particula globosa. Fructus immaturus conspersus pilis medio affixis. Samaræ tres alâ maximâ peltatâ rotundatâ auctæ. Genus ex ordine Malpighiacearum, et maximè affine Hirææ; cum quâ conjungendum, nisi hæc et Tetrapteris separatæ fuissent a Triopteridibus. Nomen a τζεīς tres et άσπίς clypeus: ob samaras tres scutiformes. —Vide iconem magnitudine naturali, huic capitulo subjunctam.

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Here his scheme ended; as I never from that time, during our whole journey, heard him mention it again. He probably soon afterwards became convinced of the danger he would incur by residing alone and unprotected in the midst of a tribe of Bushmen of suspicious character, who, there is little doubt, would not long have withstood the temptation of his cattle, seeing that their owner might be so easily overpowered, and that he was beyond the reach of all assistance.

Those who view a fine country in which, at the same time, an honest and well-disposed man cannot live in safety, will have learnt by experience how to set a proper value on the blessings of laws and a good government: and an Englishman who is dissatisfied with his own country, needs only to witness a lawless state of society and the mis-rule of many other nations, to make him turn with affection to his own, and forgive those errors to which all humanity and the wisest of men, are liable; and to deplore corruption, as an evil for which there is no permanent or radical cure, but universal honesty.

The groves about this place were much frequented by the birds called Guinea-fowls or pintadoes. Two of these were shot; and were boiled into soup, which, with the addition of some parsley and celery seed, formed an excellent mess. For this purpose, these birds are much superior to any four-footed game.

Our buffalo-meat was become so dry, and even the flesh of the hartebeest, though antelopes in general are dignified by the inhabitants of the Cape, with the name of venison, was so lean, that my Hottentots asked permission to kill a sheep. This they did, not through want of provisions, but merely for the sake of fat, to render the other more palatable.

In the evening, from a very favourable observation, I computed the latitude of Kosi Fountain to be 27°. 52′. 16″.*

24th. On rising this morning, I found all the men absent,

* On the 23rd of June 1812, at Kosi Fountain, the observed meridional altitude of Arcturus was 41°. 59′. 00″.

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excepting four; and was informed that the sheep had been, through the carelessness of Andries whose turn it was to attend them, allowed to stray away; and that the rest were gone in different directions in search of them.

However; he and Stuurman, soon returned, recollecting that the oxen had, in this confusion, been left in the plain without any person to watch them. Soon after this, the dread of being seen by the Bushmen, drove Van Roye and Cornelis home, though they were both mounted and armed, and could have little danger to fear; as that nation are themselves, as I have before remarked, greatly afraid of horsemen: from whom they have, if inferior in numbers, no chance of escaping on the plains; nor, if superior, any possibility of pursuing them. It was therefore pure timidity and cowardice which compelled these two men to return so soon and before they had discovered any traces of the sheep. On such occasions it was more especially the appointed duty of the horsemen to go on search of lost cattle. They excused their return, by pretending that Speelman and Platje had undertaken to follow the track. This was a mere pretence; though it was true that Speelman and Platje were the only two who continued the search: and who, indeed, caused me much anxiety by remaining absent during the night.

25th. As they did not make their appearance on the next morning, I ordered Philip and Van Roye to ride out in the direction in which they were last seen, and make some signal to guide them, in case they might have lost their way. On arriving at a distant part of the plain, they fell in with a camelopard, at which they fired, but without effect. They soon afterwards came upon a Kanna (Eland) which Philip immediately shot. It fortunately happened that the reports of their muskets were heard by Speelman, though still at a great distance; and, these plains being, as already described, covered with tall dry grass, he directly set fire to it; and soon the country for a great extent, was put in a blaze, and clouds of smoke ascended high into the air. Knowing that we could not but be uneasy at his absence, he understood the sound of the guns as a signal made to him; and adopted this most effectual mode of answering it, and of

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more readily pointing out his situation. As soon as Philip and his companion had, by riding forward, ascertained that the two Hottentots and sheep were safe and returning home, they made the best of their way to the waggons to give us speedy intelligence that all was well.

In the mean time, we had observed the smoke; and various were the debates among us, respecting the occasion of it: but all concluded that it bore a suspicious appearance, and was to be interpreted as a signal of some misfortune, or of their having been found murdered by the Bushmen; and when, in about an hour afterwards, we saw the two horsemen galloping at full speed towards us, we were filled with the most melancholy forbodings of the sad tidings which, we supposed, they were bringing to us.

Our rejoicing therefore was the greater, when we were told that the lost men, and the sheep were all safe and on their way homewards.

When Speelman and Platje arrived, they were received with general congratulation; and provisions, of which they stood much in need, were immediately set before them. Their account was; that, having fallen in with the track of the sheep, they followed it in expectation of soon overtaking them; and with this hope were led on the whole day, till the darkness of evening prevented their discerning the footmarks any longer. They then lay down to sleep, and passed the night in the open plain, without fire or food. On their way they had seen two springs of water, one of which appeared capable of affording a copious supply at all seasons. At day break the next morning they continued to follow the track, surprised at being led by it so far; and at length came up with the flock, at some distance beyond our last station at Knegt's Fountain. That they were not discovered and carried off by the Bushmen, or devoured in the night by beasts of prey, was a circumstance to be attributed only to singular good fortune.

These two men had seen nothing of the natives during the whole time; and as none, excepting the few already mentioned, came near us, on our journey from Klaarwater to the northern limits of their

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country, this fact might be taken as a proof, either of their hostile disposition towards strangers, or of their fears of retaliation for past robberies, or of the scarcity of inhabitants in this part of the country. Which last supposition is the least probable of the three; for a land which, it would seem by Speelman's discovery yesterday, is in general not deficient in water considered as a Bushman country, is not likely to be totally unoccupied by their tribes: besides which, we had, during our stay at this station, every night observed their fires at a distance, in several directions around us. I have before made the remark, that, according as the Bushmen view strangers either as friends or as foes; or suppose themselves to be viewed as one or other of these, so their country will appear, either well inhabited, or perfectly deserted.

We had, however, sufficient reason for concluding that at this time they were not watching our motions; otherwise they might easily have made a prize of the sheep. But I could not avoid noticing on this, and on many other, occasions since leaving Graaffreynet, how little prudence belongs to the Hottentot character; and how inconsistent with their fears of the Bushmen and other native tribes, is their want of precaution and vigilance. How often have they through heedlessness and neglect of order and discipline, exposed themselves unnecessarily to the risk of being cut off by the savages, had these been so inclined, or really so ferocious and illdisposed, as their own fears, or the tales of others, taught them to believe.

Having recovered the sheep and our two companions, whom we were just beginning to deplore as lost, and never to be seen more, all our affairs became smooth again, and every one seemed happy and freed from care; even the dread of the savage Bushmen of the Kosi, and the fear of being taken too far into the Interior, appeared to have left them, like an intermittent fever: and there now ensued an interval of tranquillity which lasted for some time.

As soon as Philip returned, the baggage waggon was unloaded without delay, and sent for the kanna which he had shot: this was brought home by eight o'clock the same evening. It being

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a young and fat animal, the meat was excellent; and even Hottentot cookery could not spoil it.

Every night, the jackals, attracted perhaps by the smell of so much meat, approached us, and for two or three hours after dark continued at intervals to bark around us, at the distance, as it seemed, of about two hundred yards. Our dogs never failed to give them an answer each time; but took no trouble to go after them, or to drive these impertinent visitors away. The sound of their barking was peculiar, and might not inaptly be compared to that of laughing. It would not have been easy to shoot one, as they are real cowards, slinking away the moment they perceive any person coming towards them; and, being a nocturnal animal, they can see too well in the dark ever to be surprised or approached by man, who not being at such a time able to take aim, could have little chance of killing one, excepting by mere accident. Thus, to avoid wasting our ammunition and taking much useless trouble, we found ourselves obliged to leave their noisy intrusion unpunished; as they could do us no harm, or, at least, as they would not dare to advance nearer to so numerous a pack of dogs. These seemed to be of the same opinion as their master, and appeared to consider the jackal as a troublesome fellow, beneath their notice, and, among quadrupeds, what some men are, among bipeds.

26th. Cartridge-boxes being, according to our new regulation, a necessary article of our equipment, I undertook to instruct my men in the method of making them out of dry hide; and to render my instruction more intelligible, I assisted in making one as a pattern. But their stupidity and laziness, or perhaps unwillingness, rendered it a business of very slow progress; and it was, at last, evident that unless I would make them all myself, they would never be finished; nor, in fact, could I ever get the requisite number made, but was obliged to remain contented that three of the Hottentots carried them, hoping that the rest would in time be convinced of their utility more especially in saving them trouble. But the same obstinate adherence to old customs, which made them averse to the use of cartridges, counteracted equally my wish to introduce the car-

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tridge-box among them: I was at length obliged to give up the point; and in a month or two, all the people reverted to their kogeltas or bullet-pouch.

Even Van Roye and Cornelis were as stupid, and as unwilling to adopt improvement, as the rest: and the expectations which I had been induced to form of the great usefulness of the former, on account of his having seen Europe and been exhibited as a select example of an improved Hottentot, were already completely disappointed. None were more lazy than these two; and they seemed to consider themselves as hired only to ride along with me for the gratification of their own curiosity to see the country. They had done, literally, no work since the day when they first entered my service; yet, on account of their being Christemensch, they rated themselves so high, that they actually regarded it as degrading, to do the same work as a Hottentot. They carried this ignorant mischievous pride so far, as to deny all knowledge of the Hottentot language; which, with respect to Van Roye, I knew certainly to be an untruth, and always believed the other to be better acquainted with it than he pretended. It was disgusting, though ridiculous, to hear these two woolly-headed men, call their companions, Hottentots, as an appellation of inferiority good enough for Heathens, and proper for making these sensible of the superiority of Christians. This unbecoming spirit was frequently the cause of broils and discords; and their tempers and conduct, so very different from what I had expected, were the source of continual vexation to me, and the germ from which many of my difficulties and disappointments sprang; an example of laziness and insubordination which in time infected the others, and required the utmost vigilance and resolution, to check it.

As the men had been living on animal food for nearly three weeks, I gave to each a ration of vinegar as a corrective of the supposed unwholesome effects of such diet when unmixed with vegetable juices. This, they were all glad to receive; not indeed, in the light in which it was given; but, because its stimulating quality gave it some similitude to wine or brandy. Muchunka, who perhaps had never tasted any before, and appeared ignorant of its nature,

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was just at the moment stopped from drinking it all off at once as he had seen the others drink their sopje (sópy) or dram. His companions were much amused at the simplicity of his mistake, and in the evening when seated round the fire, they made it the subject of their jokes.

Stuurman and Andries were also performers on the goráh; but their powers on this singular instrument were much inferior to those of the old Bushman whose portrait is given in the first volume. In their hands, it produced but little effect, as I could discover no tune in its notes, although its tone was powerful and musical. To my ear, their music sounded unmeaning and monotonous; yet they themselves were very well satisfied and amused, with their own performance. It is perhaps one of the most fortunate circumstances attending the practice of music, and at the same time a very natural effect, that the performer who pretends to nothing above his own amusement, should in general be pleased with his attempts, though even below mediocrity. Were it otherwise, the soothing pleasure of harmonious sounds and the enjoyments of melody, would be the most partial gratification which Providence has bestowed on man.

Speelman's fiddle now lent its powerful aid every evening in enlivening their fireside; and, as Philip was become a musician and Gert had gained the use of his hand by the help of a bandage sufficiently to hold the bow, this ingenious instrument seldom lay unemployed. By occasional praise, I encouraged them in this mode of spending their evenings, conceiving it to be the most harmless in which they could indulge, and one which was of considerable service in promoting a cheerful good-humoured temper among the party: nor was it altogether unimportant to my own views, as it kept their minds from silently brooding over imaginary or anticipated dangers; and in some degree rendered them fitter for the expedition.

They even considered it a relaxation of strict discipline and a favor, that I permitted such an instrument to be used: this I discovered by Juli's seriously asking me, whether it was really sinful to dance, or to play on the fiddle; for, said he, the missionaries tell us

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that such things are an abomination to God, and that a fiddle is Satan's own instrument!

I should not readily have believed that any person of sane mind could have held such opinions, or have thus deliberately misled the poor ignorant Hottentot, if I had not myself heard from the pulpit at Klaarwater, a similar denunciation of the vengeance of the Deity, upon all who delighted in dancing, which was pronounced to be a work of darkness! If such fanaticism and folly is to be called preaching the Gospel, I much fear that the savages will have reason for thinking, in compassion to our ignorance, that it will be their duty to send missionaries among us, to lead us out of our darkness.

I preached, however, the contrary doctrine, that music and dancing possessed, in themselves, nothing of a sinful nature; and that, so far from wishing to see the people serious or hear them groaning, it was always much more pleasing to me, when they spent their evenings in this manner and in harmless mirth and conversation, than when they lay in dull inanimate idleness; a state which I believed to be, both disgraceful to themselves, and displeasing to their Creator. Happy indeed, would it have been for the whole party, had they always followed this doctrine, and had they conducted themselves under a conviction of the truth of my last assertion.

27th. I had now waited six days at this place, in expectation that Cupido Kok would send the bullet-mould and fetch his gun; but more than sufficient time having already elapsed, my men, who seemed to know more of his intentions than I did, were clearly of opinion that we should hear nothing further from him, and that it would be fruitless to remain here longer. Seeing myself thus, for the whole of my journey, deprived of the proper use of my best gun, by an ungrateful Hottentot whom I had formerly shown myself desirous of obliging, and whom I had treated in a manner which proved my good-will towards him, I could not but feel irritated, in whatever light I viewed his conduct. But, as no remedy was now to be had, I resolved to consider this privation as one of the inevitable accidents of my journey.

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I therefore gave orders for our departure; and at an hour and a half after mid-day we drove away from Kosi Fountain. Juli, who complained much of toothache, was obliged for a day or two, to resign to Platje his office of driver of the baggage-waggon.

This waggon was now loaded with as much meat as it could carry; and so large a stock ought, with proper care and management, to have lasted almost as many weeks, as in fact it did, days. But a Hottentot, or a Bushman, must have either gluttony, or famine; either waste, or want. In time of plenty, moderation and economy seem to them, greater evils than absolute hunger.

After clearing the low rocky ground, which may be considered as a flattened part of the Kosi Hills, we continued travelling the remainder of the day, over a sandy country covered with grass. When we had advanced about six miles, I halted to take the bearings of Kosi Fountain, and of the Kamhánni Pass; the country being so open and level as to admit of both being seen at the same time.

As the distance from Kosi Fountain to the next water, was a journey of two days, or, at least, of thirty-seven miles, we had taken the precaution of filling the water-casks, and of allowing the cattle and dogs to drink at the spring just before we set out. Our only care, therefore, was occasioned by the want of fuel; and as these plains produce few bushes, Stuurman and Andries were sent forward on horseback, and followed on foot by Muchunka, to collect a quantity of firewood ready to be taken up by the waggons as they passed. But so great was the scarcity of dry wood in this part of the plain, that we travelled till dark without coming up with the men. At that time, perceiving a tolerably large clump of Tarchonánthus, (C. G. 2173.) and fearing that we might not fall in with so good a shelter if we proceeded farther, we judged it more prudent to halt here for the night. This is distinguished on the map, by the name of Tarchonánthus Station.

The Hottentots not returning by the time the oxen were all unyoked, we fired two muskets to call them back; and immediately made a blaze with a heap of dry grass. We collected from the Tarchonanthus thus bushes, here eight feet high, wood enough for cooking and for keeping a fire burning all night. This the three absent people perceived, and finding we were not coming on, at length turned

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back: but it was ten o'clock before they reached home, as they had, at the time we fired, advanced too far to hear the report.

As the men had not yet forgotten the trouble occasioned by the cattle straying away, these were carefully made fast to the waggons and bushes, and a kraal for the sheep, was formed with green boughs.

28th. In order to bring our cattle sooner to the water, we resumed the journey early in the morning, directing our course northward across the plain, to a range of mountains which forms the boundary between Bichuania, if I may use the word, and the country inhabited by the Bushmen. We were now to take our leave of those hordes of wild men, as they are justly called, and to quit their dubious tribes: —men who are moved by various motives either to hostility or to friendship; to the former, often by feelings of revenge or retaliation, and too often by a spirit of plunder; to the latter, often won by trifling acts of kindness, and by treatment founded on a due and reasonable view of their untutored state and of the comfortless existence of a nation without a head, without laws, without arts, and without religion. Towards such men, vengeance and punishment, however justly merited, should be mitigated by pity and forbearance, such as we are taught by the mild and genuine spirit of Christianity.

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CHAPTER XI.

JOURNEY IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BACHAPINS, FROM THE KAMHANNI MOUNTAINS TO THE RIVER MAKKWARIN.

SIX miles from Tarchonanthus Station, brought us to the entrance of the pass through the Kamhánni Mountains. These I have taken for the line of separation between the two races of the Hottentots and Caffres; as it is, in fact, the middle of that neutral, or rather, common, ground which intervenes between one African nation and another, and is partially inhabited by both. The range appeared at this part of it, to stretch from the south-east to the north-west; and to be formed by a great number of low grassy mountains, a sight rarely seen in the Hottentot portion of the Transgariepine. This range, a little farther onward, takes a northerly direction, and rises into more lofty and rocky mountains: among them, one which I have distinguished by the name of Kamhánni Peak, appeared the highest and most remarkable.

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This pass might be described as a winding defile between the mountains, and which had no perceptible ascent nor descent. The breadth of the Kamhanni range may easily be imagined, from the circumstance that, the passage of it occupied three hours and a half at our usual rate of travelling.

On clearing the mountains, we entered upon a grassy plain perfectly level, extending before us as far as the eye could discern, and presenting, on the north-east and east, a boundless expanse of country. On our left, the mountains continued, as it were, to accompany us at the distance of a few miles.

This I could not but feel to be an interesting point of my travels: I had now entered their territory, and was about to behold a totally different and superior race of men, a nation among whom I was to find some traces of industry and art, and who, by living in fixed abodes and in large communities and by following agriculture, had advanced the first steps in civilization. These considerations excited reflections of the most pleasing kind, the power of which chased from my mind every vexatious sentiment, and banished every thought of those troubles and difficulties which naturally attend a traveller venturing into these countries under circumstances such as mine. Having set my foot in a new region, I prepared for examining with attention all its features, and for enjoying the feast of novelty and instruction, which lay spread before me in every quarter.

Here, the new and interesting forms of some scattered trees of Camel-thorn, or Mokaala, gave a most picturesque and remarkable character to the landscape; more especially as no other large tree of any kind, nor scarcely a bush, was any where to be seen.

Muchunka was also in high spirits, on entering his native country, and communicated to the less lively Hottentots, some portion of his own vivacity, by extolling its pastures, its water, and its abundance of game; and by giving an animated description of the town to which we were advancing, and of the friendly disposition of his countrymen. It was evident that the circumstance of having quitted the district in which they had been so much in dread of the Bushmen, contributed not a little to quiet the minds of my men, and to restore ease and cheerfulness to our party; although

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it was probable that they would not have been without an equal degree of apprehension, on account of the unknown tribe to which we were about to commit ourselves, had not Muchunka's assurances, and the familiar manner in which he spoke of this nation, persuaded them that no hostility was to be feared.

After a day's-journey of nearly seven hours, we arrived at a spring of water, which the natives distinguish as the Little Klíbbŏlĭkhónni Fountain: that which is properly called Klíbbŏlĭkhónni, the source of the Krúmăn river, being situated at a distance of two miles farther eastward. At this time the spring was in its lowest state, as its waters were too weak to run more than two hundred yards from the spot where they rose out of the ground. In the rainy season they form, by the aid of showers, a rivulet which joins itself to the Krúman.

I had already, by the assistance of Muchunka, gained a sufficient insight into the language spoken by the various Bichuana tribes or nations, to enable me to establish a system of orthography capable of expressing with certainty, its proper sounds and pronunciation; and had, in a desultory manner and without any systematic arrangement, composed a small vocabulary. But as I advanced nearer to the country where it was spoken, and became assured that it prevailed over a great portion of the Interior, I conceived a stronger interest in it, and felt both the necessity and the desire, of acquiring a more correct and extended knowledge.

With this view, I now resolved to commence a more regular investigation, and to form, on the plan of a dictionary, a more comprehensive collection of raw materials, in words and phrases; and which might be considered as comprising the whole body of the language, and serve as a source from which, by future examination and study, might be drawn a knowledge of its nature and peculiarities, and of its grammatical construction. I still, however, continued adding to my vocabulary such words and phrases as my daily intercourse with the natives enabled me to learn, and to confirm myself in the right understanding of their meaning. This was used as a repository for that only which was learnt in a more practical manner.

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I therefore in the evening commenced the work, intending to dedicate to it, till completed, every hour of leisure which my other labors and occupations might occasionally permit. As all the party were now in good spirits, and our affairs seemed to proceed more smoothly than they had for a long time, this was the proper season for such an employment; and, having first put my interpreter in good humour by a present of a new handkerchief, I took him to my waggon, to begin his task. To prevent his misapprehending the meaning of my questions, I kept one of my Hottentots sitting by us, to explain in his way any question which I might happen to put, as a European is very liable to do, in terms above the capacity and judgment of an uncivilized and untaught person.

The method which was then pursued, may still be the best by which a traveller may reduce an oral language to a written form, and acquire in the shortest possible time, a tolerably complete knowledge of it; or at least, may fix it on paper in a state in which it may afterwards be more fully and critically examined. I had before me a printed dictionary (in this case it was in Dutch, because in that language all my questions were put), from which were selected, in their order, all those words which admitted of interpretation in the dialect of a people ignorant of science or nice moral or metaphysical distinctions; or, in other terms, such words only were taken, the meaning of which could be made intelligible to their simple minds. My question was begun by endeavouring to obtain a native word exactly equivalent to that which was in the book; but if it was perceived that my interpreter found any difficulty in understanding it, a short phrase was proposed, in which the meaning of that word was involved; and his translation was then written down exactly as it was pronounced; taking care at the same time, to divide the syllables by placing points beneath the word, and to note the accent and short vowels.* This, however, was not done without much trouble and many explanations; but he was desired to repeat it so often that one could not easily be mistaken in the words or their sounds. By these

* See page 253. at the word 'three'.

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means, on several occasions, a variableness was discovered in his pronunciation, which my imperfect knowledge of the idiom, has not yet enabled me to account for.

Those, whose minds have been expanded by a European education, cannot readily conceive the stupidity, as they would call it, of savages, in every thing beyond the most simple ideas and the most uncompounded notions, either in moral or in physical knowledge. But the fact is; their life embraces so few incidents, their occupations, their thoughts, and their cares, are confined to so few objects, that their ideas must necessarily be equally few, and equally confined. I have sometimes been obliged to allow Muchunka to leave off the task, when he had scarcely given me a dozen words; as it was evident that exertion of mind, or continued employment of the faculty of thinking, soon wore out his powers of reflection, and rendered him really incapable of paying any longer attention to the subject. On such occasions, he would betray by his listlessness and the vacancy of his countenance, that abstract questions of the plainest kind, soon exhausted all mental strength, and reduced him to the state of a child whose reason was yet dormant. He would then complain that his head began to ache; and as it was useless to persist invitâ Minervâ, he always received immediately his dismissal for that day.

When at a subsequent period, another native was employed in this business, I discovered in him nearly the same inability to sustain mental exertion; and saw, therefore, the absurdity of seeking in their language for that which was not to be found in their ideas, —a mode of expressing those abstract qualities and virtues, and those higher operations of the intellectual power, which, perhaps, belong only to civilized society and to cultivated minds.

The Bachapins call this language the Sichuána; and as the inconvenience which would attend an increase of the bulk of this volume beyond its present size, compels me to omit the Dictionary or Vocabulary, together with various remarks on the language, and a fuller exposition of its structure, I have judged it not superfluous

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nor useless in this place, to notice, in the note below*, some of the essential particulars; and which are more especially necessary

* The vowels may be considered as having the sound which most of the European nations, excepting the English, give to them. This may serve as a general precept; but their more exact pronunciation is reserved for a future opportunity.
The a, without here making nice distinctions, may be sounded as the a, in father or farther: but â with the circumflex accent above it, is intended to represent that broad vocal sound which is heard in the words all, awl, nor, nought, caught.
The e in most cases resembles the short e in tell; but when separate or bearing the accent it is like the a in able: and ee or ē like the long a in save. It is sometimes used with the grave accent (è) instead of c, [See the note at page 254.] to avoid the inconvenience of foreign characters in the text.
The i is the same as the e in delay: and the ii or ī as ee in deep.
The o is sounded as in motive. It has very rarely the English sound which is heard in cottage, solid; but in this case it is marked with the grave accent (ò). The oo or ò, is to be pronounced the same as the long o in bone; but not as the oo in boot. In the same manner all the other double vowels are to be pronounced as the single vowel much lengthened in sound: they always bear the accent, and generally one of them is omitted when the 'acute accent' is placed over the other; as Litaakun or Litákun. The ow is most frequently used in the text instead of the Greek character , and sounds as in the words owl, now.
The u in Sichuána, is sounded as the oo in tool, or the u in rule: it is the same as the German or the Italian u. It may generally be substituted for the W. I have used the ù with the grave accent (') to signify that vocal sound which is beard in the words sun, one, undone, begun, and which is, I believe, almost peculiar to the English tongue.
The y is always a vowel, and is sounded as in my or as the long i in mine.
Two vowels coming together are to be taken as diphthongs; unless separated by a diaeresis (").
The ch must be pronounced as in chin; and as the Spanish ch: it is the same as the Italian c before e or i.
The j is the same as the y in yes; and in general an i might be substituted for it.
When m, or n, begins a word, and is followed by a consonant, it forms a syllable by itself, and is to be pronounced in a close and peculiar manner, as though it were preceded by a very faint vowel rather more resembling an u than an e or an i.
The ng, when coming together, are not to be separated in pronunciation; they form a true and peculiar consonant, which I have in writing expressed by a character composed partly of the n and partly of the g; but this could not be imitated in printing, without casting a type for the purpose.
The ph is merely a p followed by a strong aspiration, but is never as an f or as we commonly pronounce the Greek φ. In the same manner, the th is not the Saxon ð, nor our Greek θ, but simply an aspirated t.
The ts is to be considered as forming an indivisible consonant; and also the tz, which is merely a modification of the same, and by some natives is used in its place.
For further explanations, the observations at the words 'three,' 'four,' 'sun,' 'moon decreasing,' and 'ford,' at page 253. may be consulted; as also may, the remarks on the Sichuána language, to be found in the last chapter of this volume.

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to be attended to, by those who would read correctly the Sichuana names and words which occur in the course of this narrative.

The English reader, unacquainted with foreign pronunciation, may complain that by not adopting the orthography of his own language, the difficulty of reading the names in this journal, is much increased; but he might with equal propriety object to the use of French or German orthography in a book of travels through France or Germany. As an apology for the method here followed, it may briefly be stated, — that the vocal sounds of the two languages are essentially different; that English orthography, being, in its present state, referrible to no general principle, is so inconsistent as to modern pronunciation, that in some words it designates the same sound by several different letters, and in others, employs the same letters for several very different sounds: and, that the adoption of a system expressly adapted to the genius of the Sichuāna and following simple and rigid rules, is in reality attended with much less inconvenience, and with much more certainty, than the use of a system, if it can be called one, so multifarious in letters and uncertain in sound, as that of our own language. I have, nevertheless, for more general convenience, added in parentheses, wherever it was necessary, the same word spelt according to English orthography.

29th. The various duties of preserving what had been collected, of arranging the notes and recording the observations of the day, had employed me in the waggon the whole of the night, and this, added to a considerable fatigue occasioned by a long day's-journey, kept me so much later than usual, before I awoke the next morning, that my people began to fear that I was either dead or very unwell. At length Speelman's uneasiness increasing, he resolved to ascertain whether I was alive or not, and knocked against the side of the waggon, when he told me that, instead of morning, it was afternoon, and that the sun had already sunk more than two hours. I was not less surprised than my men; and could only attribute this extraordinary long and sound sleep, to an effort of nature, to repair that exhausted state into which a too great attention to the numerous affairs of the journey had insensibly brought me. The oxen were

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put to the waggons without delay, and all were soon ready to depart

The magnetic needle was here so much affected by the particles of iron contained in the rocks at this station, that it was not to be depended on. It was my usual practice at every station, to take the bearings of as many of our former stations as were either in sight, or of which the situation could be indicated with tolerable exactness; and at the same time, those of any other remarkable objects, and of our next station forward whenever it was known and could be indicated with precision, were noted down. By these means, the bearings, being taken both backwards and forwards, gave a double check to any inaccuracy which might arise from errors of the needle, or from mistaking the position of stations not actually in sight

In order that this very necessary part of a traveller's duty might not, in the confusion of a multitude of heterogeneous occupations, be forgotten, these Operations were almost always deferred till the moment when the oxen were brought forward to be put in the yoke; so that I thus became habitually reminded of what was to be done, and my men were by the same means prepared for pointing out the bearing of these stations and places which were too distant to be visible. On such occasions I generally consulted them, and placed more or less confidence in their opinions, as these proved either unanimous or at variance.

Fearing that we should not reach our next station before dark, we hastened the oxen forward at their best pace, and advanced at the rate of eighteen revolutions* in a minute; which was equal to 3 miles, 1 furlong, and 170 yards, in an hour. As our road was over deep sands, this rate might be considered as very expeditious, for a waggon on narrow wheels, heavily laden and drawn by oxen. In some places, a black mottled flinty rock, showed itself through the surface of the ground.

* The mode in which this was ascertained, has been already explained at page 289 of the preceding volume.

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Although the sun shone pleasantly the whole day, the air was cold, and the thermometer not higher than 56. (13·3 Centig.; or 10·6 Reaum.) It was now the middle of winter, or, more properly speaking, cold season: for the word, winter, seems to an English ear, to imply a severity of cold, and to raise ideas not consistent altogether with the weather of these latitudes. Occasionally, however, a degree of cold is felt, which the contrast of intervening warm days, renders almost as chilling as the wintry weather of our own latitudes. During the month of June, as may be seen by the 'Register,' the thermometer sunk several times below the freezing point; on one day the ground was whitened with snow; and hoar-frost at sunrise, was not unfrequent The middle of the day was generally pleasant and moderately warm: but the mercury never rose higher than 71; (17·3. R.; 21·6 C.) and for the greater part of the four-and-twenty hours, was below the temperate point.

At a little after sunset, we came to the Krúmăn, a beautiful little river running in a plentiful stream of the clearest water. At this part of its course it was fifteen feet broad and abounded in tall reeds. A sight so delightful for African travellers, had not been seen since we left the Gariep. This river, small as it was, as far surpassed all the others in the intermediate country, if rivers they could be called, as the Gariep surpassed this. It is formed by the Klíbbolikhónni, the most copious spring which I have seen in Southern Africa. Unlike Other rivers, the Kruman is largest at its source, and rises from the earth a full and broad stream, which, by the combined powers of evaporation by the sun and of absorption by the sandy soil, is gradually lessened as it flows on; till at last after a course of a few days-journeys, it is lost in the sands, and entirely disappears. It is said, that in the wet season, it is joined by the Moshea (Moshowa); and that, in those years when an unusual quantity of rain has fallen, the united streams find their way to the Gariep.

We continued for an hour, travelling westerly along the banks of the Kruman, till, it becoming too dark to venture farther, we were obliged to halt, and unyoke for the night, at a spot distinguished on

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the map, by the words Kruman Station, close to the Kamhanni mountains.*

Although we had advanced many miles into the country, we had not yet met a single Bichuana. In the evening, while sitting at my usual employments in the waggon, my attention was frequently attracted by Muchunka, whose extraordinary manner this evening, appeared for a long time unintelligible. He was sitting with the rest of the men around the fire, and conversing with them either in the Dutch, or in the Hottentot, language; when suddenly he started up, and without leaving his place, held a long oration in Sichuana, in a tone of voice astonishingly vociferous. This he did repeatedly in the course of the evening: yet none of the natives were seen, nor did any come near us that night. But the object of these theatrical movements, was to let them know, that we were friends; and, should any one, seeing the waggons and observing men in European dress, approach us with hostile intentions, to give them notice, by the sound of their own language, that some of their countrymen were with our party: or should they, on the contrary, be intimidated by our appearance, these speeches were to have the effect of encouraging them to come forward.

30th. We remained a day at this place, for the purpose of hunting; as it was necessary to recruit our stock of provisions before we proceeded farther. Six Hottentots were thus employed, and not without success, as they brought home two species of antelope which I had not before met with, and of which I found no account in any of the zoological books I had with me. Their skins were therefore a greater prize than the meat.

One is called Paala (Parla) by the Bichuanas, and is known by the name of Roodebok (Redbuck) to those of the Mixed Hottentots who have travelled into this country; for, although very

* The word Kamhánni may possibly be a corruption of Krúmani. I have once heard these mountains called by the name of Nchŏ Jamháan; which latter word may probably have been a careless mode of speaking Kamhánni.

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numerous in most parts of the country of the Bachapins, it is rarely to be seen southward of the Kamhanni Mountains. It much resembles the springbuck in form and general color. It is, however, considerably larger, and has not those remarkable long white hairs on the back, which have been described* as peculiar to that antelope; but it takes occasionally the same leaps; and in this particular, as well as in general habits, it may be considered as a proximate species. Its color, as the Dutch name implies, is every where, on the upper parts of the body, of a uniform yellowish red, but darker than that of the springbuck. The sides are of a paler tint; and the under parts are white. The tips of the ears, are black; and the face is of a browner color than the body. The tail is short and white, and along the upper part a short black line run on to the rump. A similar black line or stripe passes down the hinder part of the haunch. These lines are not found on the springbuck, which on the contrary is marked along its sides with a broad dark stripe which is wanting in the paala. At the back of the hind legs just above the foot, is a remarkable black tuft of short hair, which has suggested its technical name.†?With respect to its horns, this species differs essentially from the springbuck; not only in having them of a different form, more than twice as long and spreading much wider apart, but in the want of them in the females. This last character, though at variance with the only systematic description which has hitherto been given, is certainly correct, as we shot, during these travels, not less than twenty paalas of both sexes, and saw several hundred others. It is a handsome and elegantly-made animal; but in beauty of color, yields to the springbuck. Its flesh is well-tasted and wholesome: but, like that of nearly all other antelopes, is very deficient in fat. This is one of the more rare species. Of the kokoon, described in the preceding chapter, and of the following animal, the skins obtained on this

* At page 290. of the first volume.

† Antilope melampus, Licht.: Of this animal, and of the Springbuck, I have presented skins to the British Museum, where their differential characters and affinity, as above indicated, may be confirmed.

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journey, were probably the first, now in England, which had ever been brought out of the country.

The other antelope shot at this place, is called by the Bichuanas, Peeli (Pály) or, with a strong aspiration, Pheli It is found in various parts of the Cape Colony, where it is known to the Boors and Hottentots, by the name of Vaal Reebok (Fallow Roebuck). It is entirely of a brown-cinereous or grizzled color, like that of our wild rabbits: the under part of the body is lighter. The legs, ears, and head, are of the same color as the body. The tail is short and bushy, and thickly covered with long white hair. The horns are slender, erect, and nearly straight and parallel; and are slightly annulated at the lower part. But the character best distinguishing it from every species of antelope which has fallen under my observation, is the soft curly or woolly nature of the hair, which, being unlike that of every other kind, has suggested the specific name here adopted.* The engraving at the end of this chapter represents the skull of the Peeli, and the horns in front and in profile.

Besides these two animals, the hunters shot a zebra at a considerable distance in the plain; and, happening to fall in with two Bichuanas, (or, as the Hottentots usually called them, Caffres,) they engaged them to remain by the carcass to save it from being devoured by the vultures or beasts of prey, until the waggon could be sent to fetch it home. These two natives were very willing to lend us their assistance, prompted, no doubt, by the expectation of receiving a share of the meat as a reward for their trouble; for nothing could be more wretched and pitiable than their meagrè starving appearance. They were men of the middle age, and of tall stature; that is, above five feet and a half high, which, to us who had been so long

* Antilope villosa, B. Cornua recta gracilia teretia parallelo-erecta, basibus annularis (fœminæ ecornes). Vellus lanatum molle fusco-cinereum. Cauda brevis densè villosa, pilis elongatis albis.
The name of lanigcra having been already applied to another species, I am precluded, by its similarity, from the use of that of lanata.
In the British Museum I have deposited a skin of this animal, the horns of which are rearly eight inches and three quarters long: but they are rarely found of this length, being most frequently of five or six only.

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accustomed to the diminutive figure of Bushmen, appeared at this time remarkably tall.

Having been used to regard a well-greased skin as a proof of being well-fed, we viewed their dry bodies as a certain indication of poverty and want; which their disinclination to talk, and the depression of their countenances, sufficiently confirmed. They informed us, that they were Bachapīns * and had been herdsmen to the late chief Mulihában; that at present their only means of support was hunting, or digging up wild roots: and in this employment, it was unnecessary for them to say, that they had not lately been very successful. They informed us that it is the law of the country, that whenever men of their class kill any game, within a reasonable distance of the town, the best piece, particularly the breast, must be sent to the chief. The engraving at page 291. will give an idea of the general appearance of a poor Bachapin herdsman.

These two men stopped with us as long as we remained at this station; and were of some use in assisting us to cut the meat in pieces for drying. I ordered the Hottentots not only to feed them

* It may not be useless here to explain, that the word Bichuána is used when speaking generally of those tribes of the Caffre race, who speak a language which they call Sichuána, and inhabit the countries comprised in the northernmost part of the map; and that by the word Bachapīn (Bachapeen) or the Hottentot word Briqita (Breequa, signifying Goat-men) is intended that particular tribe only, which is governed by Mattīvi, and the chief town of which, is Litákun.
Bichuána (Beechuárna) is the plural form of the word Muchuána (Moochuárna); but as it has not been thought necessary in the journal to preserve this distinction, the first has been adopted for both cases. The root of the word seems to be, chuána; which, however, cannot correctly be used, as it is never spoken without the adjunct.
It is the singular property of the Sickuána language, to apply as prefixes, those particles which, in similar cases in other languages, are employed as terminations. Thus, as an example, in the names of the Bichuana nations, the syllable Ba, with which most of them begin, corresponds with the qua which terminates many Hottentot names: both of them answering to the English word man, as compounded in German, Norman. This remark is exemplified in the names Bachapīn, Bamakwīn, Batámmaka, (sometimes called Támmaka) &c.; and in Námaqua (sometimes, but less correctly, pronounced Namáqua) Bríqua, Mokárraqua, Dámmărăqua (which Hottentots substitute for Dámmara), Auteniqua Gónaqua (often called Gonáqua, or Gonáh), &c. By attending to this, it will be easy to distinguish many Hottentot and Sichuana names on the map, and to discover their nature.

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well during the time they were with us, but to give them a large portion to take home.

They informed me that Makrákki, the chief of the Māibues *, a division of the Barolóng tribe, had fled, together with Mókkaba chief of the Nuákketsies, farther into the Interior; having heard that a body of white men were coming to take revenge on them for the alleged murder of the last English party which had visited their country.

Thus, at my first entrance into their territory, I began to experience some part of that deceit and disregard for truth, which, although pervading more or less every African tribe, seem scarcely to be considered by the Bichuanas as a vice or as a disgraceful practice; and which, in these countries, so deeply contaminate every class of society, that I afterwards proved by too many trials, that no man's word, not even the Chief's, could be relied on in any case where the least advantage was to be gained by falsehood.

This report which now reached me, perhaps not accidentally, had not the least foundation in truth; and therefore the mention of it might have been omitted, if the regularity and consistency of the journal did not require it to be noticed, in order to account for various proceedings, and for the colouring given to them. By adhering strictly to the daily record of the impressions and opinions of the moment, a more correct picture is given of our actual situation; and the nature of a journey in the interior of Africa, is more faithfully displayed. From this adherence to the original journal, some contradictory facts and sentiments will occasionally be met with; but the former are to be attributed to the difficulties which beset a traveller whenever he is reduced to the necessity of getting his information from the mouths of others; and the latter, to that change of sentiment and opinion which was induced either by a change of circumstances

* The es at the end of this and similar names, which in the singular end with a vowel, is not to be considered as belonging to the original word, but, as that plural termination which, in strictness, the English language requires; although I have not ventured in every case to follow this rule, wishing rather to leave those words as much as possible in their Sichuana form.

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or by an opportunity of viewing the subject on another side. As they are the sentiments which belong to that date only; there are consequently some subjects, of which a just view cannot be obtained from detached portions of the journal. By recording these sentiments in their place, the reader is enabled ultimately to gain more correct ideas, and to form his judgment upon natural and unpicked evidence.

From an observation of the sun's meridional altitude, the latitude of this station was calculated to be 27° 22′ 25″.*

At the distance of about two miles lower down the river, is the spot where stood the chief town of the Bachapins, at the time when it was visited by Landdrost Van de Graaff and Dr. Lichtenstein, in 1805 †; who were sent by the Dutch government for the purpose of ascertaining the true state of the settlement at Klaarwater. This business being accomplished, they advanced as far as the Kruman, and after remaining there four days, returned to the Colony.— In the year 1801 the same tribe was visited by Dr. Somerville and Mr. Truter, who, with a large party, were sent thither by the English governor for the purpose of obtaining oxen for the supply of Cape Town.‡ Having, during a stay of fifteen days, obtained the object of their mission, they returned to Cape Town. This party found the chief town of the Bachapins not far from the spot where it stood at the time I visited this tribe: it then bore the same name of Litaakun.

These facts serve to prove that the nation has not yet arrived at that degree of civilization which is marked by permanently fixed abodes; but that it approaches it very nearly. This permanency of abode depends, as remarked on another occasion, on a two-fold cause; on the solidity and perfection of their architecture, and on their pro-

* At Kruman Station, 30th June 1812. The observed meridional altitude of the son's upper limb, was 39°. 42′. 40″.

† This party consisted of 25 persons. Of these; 12 were Hottentots; 5, slaves; and 8, white persons, among whom was the unfortunate Jacob Kruger (Krieger). They were 25 days beyond the boundary of the Colony.

‡ This party consisted of 40 persons. Of these; 12 were white men, among which number were, Mr. Samuel Daniell the artist, and Mr. Borcherds the present Deputy Fiscal at Cape Town. The others were, 24 Hottentots and 4 slaves. They were about five months beyond the Colonial boundary.

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gress in agriculture; neither of which, it will be seen, has yet quite reached the requisite degree of improvement Until this shall be the case, none but the ruder arts can be cultivated; and to this it follows as a corollary, that the introduction of a taste for better arts, would soon bring them to that desirable point.

The country about our station once abounded in large mokaala trees (camel-thorns), till the Bachapins removed their town to the Kruman; when they were cut down, for the purposes of building, and to clear the land for cornfields: at this time but few were standing.

By the present state of vegetation, it appeared that the flowerseason was either past or not yet come.* Most of the shrubs were without leaves, and those which still remained on some of the deciduous plants, were rendered so brittle by the long continuance of dry weather, that they could not be handled without breaking in pieces.

July 1st. At noon we resumed the journey, and after crossing the Kruman which was about fifteen feet wide and a foot in depth, continued for the remainder of the day travelling over a boundless plain, generally sandy and covered with dry grass from three to four feet high. These plains, with here and there a little variation of scenery and diversity of surface, extend as far as Litákun; and, possessing in some respects a pleasing character of their own, it was found convenient during my journey, to distinguish this portion of the country as the Great Plains of Litakun. They in general abound, to use this word with reference to Africa, in springs of excellent water, the situation of which is always indicated to the traveller by little groves of acacias; though these trees are seen scattered in considerable number at some distance in their vicinity, or occupy those hollow places which receive water only in the rainy season.

Between their present capital, and the site of their former town on the Kruman, the natives have had so much communication, that, by constantly passing to and fro, they have formed what may be called a Bachapin highroad. This consists of a number of footpaths wide

* A small procumbent species of Eoolvulus was here met with: and is the first proof of the existence of that genus on African continent.

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enough only for a single person, and running either parallel to each other, or crossing very obliquely. I counted from twelve to about eighteen or twenty of these paths, within the breadth of a few yards. They are nothing more than what may be supposed to be the beaten track of several men walking in company, each picking his own way wherever the ground may be most free from obstructions.

In a part of this plain, where grew many large bushes of tarchonanthus from six to ten feet high, we passed a fountain of clear water, in which stood a few reeds. This fountain or spring, though not copious enough to produce a stream, formed a small pond which had the appearance of being constantly supplied with water. A little farther, a number of small olive-trees, of the height only of eight feet, were observed; these had exactly the foliage of the European olive.

After a pleasant day's journey of nearly twenty miles, we arrived in the evening at the river Makkwárin (or Makklwárin), where we intended to remain several days, to put the waggons and all our baggage in order, and to make various preparations and finish all necessary work, previously to our arrival at the town of Litakun.

I would here take the opportunity of making some remarks on the name of this town. It may be written in various forms according as the Dutch, German, or English, orthography is followed. The first would give Litáakoen; the second, Litákun; the third, Letárkoon; the French, Litákoun; and the Italian, the same as the German. Conformably to the system of orthography cursorily explained at page 296. I have spelt it Lĭtākun or Lĭtaakun. The Bachapīns (Bachapéens) are never heard to place the accent on any other syllable than that which is here marked, although the forms under which it has already appeared before the public, would seem to indicate a very different pronunciation. It is sometimes, though very seldom, heard spoken as Tākun, by dropping the first syllable, without changing the accent; but this is probably a careless mode of speaking. The word Tăkoon, is almost as frequently made use of by the natives as Lĭtákun; and here the accent is shifted to the last syllable, which becomes lengthened, and is pronounced, as in English, Tăkóne; in Dutch, Takóon; or in French, Takaúne. To account for this variation, it must be

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explained, (according to the information of my interpreter,) that this town takes its name from the stone cattle-pounds, which, in the singular number, are called Takóon, and in the plural Litákun; the syllable li being the prefix used for marking that number, in nouns inanimate, in the same manner as ma is generally employed for nouns animate.

It is much to be regretted that an orthography, given at random and established without rule, should often be the means of introducing a false pronunciation. When such names have gained currency, which they the more readily do, as few persons in Europe can detect their inaccuracy, it becomes difficult afterwards to interrupt bad habits, and substitute a more correct orthography and pronunciation. These remarks, which I make with reluctance, are applicable to too many names which have already appeared in print; and as it would seem invidious here to point them out, I leave them to be discovered by a comparison with the map or the journal; at the same time, without its being pretended that either of these are infallible. It is freely admitted that such names cannot be obtained correctly without much trouble and repeated questions, nor without great attention, as the natives themselves sometimes substitute one letter for another, and even remove the accent from one syllable to another; but there is reason for believing that these are, for the most part, not arbitrary variations, and that they depend, either on euphony, or on the grammatical peculiarities of the language. It is conceived to be an indispensable part of a traveller's duty, when making known the names and words of an oral language, to mark at least the accented syllable, for the use of those who can have no other means of becoming acquainted with it. This could be attended with no trouble, but would, on the other hand, be of the greatest utility. It is, however, too often neglected.

Having since had occasion to observe that every person who has visited that country, writes the names of this language in a manner peculiar to himself, (among whom Lichtenstein appears to be the most correct,) and some in a self-contradictory manner, I cannot but with diffidence venture to adopt a mode which in so many

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instances differs from all others. With respect to so remarkable a discrepancy, it must be concluded, either, that the natives are very careless and uncertain in their pronunciation, or, that the organs of hearing perform their duty very differently in different persons. Yet as that mode of spelling which is most at variance with the one here used, is that of a writer who, I regret that the case compels me to say, misunderstands even the commonest Dutch names and words, and spells them with extraordinary incorrectness, it may reasonably be supposed that his Sichuana words are still more incorrect. I have, however, followed the only and best guide which can be found for an oral language, and thus have written all the words exactly as they sounded to my ear, and according to a strict system of orthography. I may be allowed therefore to assert that this orthography is the true representation of what I heard; since I had never till then seen five-and-twenty words of it on paper, and am not aware that any considerable vocabulary of the Sichuana language has ever been formed before that which has been attempted by myself.

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CHAPTER XII.

OCCURRENCES AND OBSERVATIONS AT THE RIVER MAKKWARIN.

JULY 2nd. Our first business this morning, was to station the waggons in the most convenient spot; to make a shelter round our fire; and to construct a hut with mats, bushes, and dry grass.

At the place where we halted, the Makkwárin was merely a ditch about twenty feet broad, without a tree, or even reeds, to mark its course; although acacias are here and there scattered on the adjoining plain. There was abundance of water in the deeper hollows of its bed; and at two or three hundred yards below our station, it ran in a plentiful stream. The singularity of a river being dry in some parts, running in others, and in others merely a stagnant pool, has been already explained, when describing the Reed River in the Roggeveld.

The banks of the Makkwarin are in some places ten feet deep, and by this circumstance it was ascertained that the substratum of this part of the country, is a compact lime-stone rock of primitive formation. The depth to which this rock descends, or the nature of the next

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stratum below it, I had no opportunity of discovering; but am inclined to suppose it to be of great thickness. It lies every where in a horizontal position; and in no place rises into hills, or above the general level of the country. I could not observe in its structure, the slightest appearance of stratification, nor have I ever seen, in any part of the Interior, the smallest trace of organic remains. It probably forms the foundation of the whole land of the Transgariepine; as far at least as the line of my travels extended; and may be considered as the great floor, upon which apparently all the mountains are placed; and upon which a superstratum of sand forms those immense plains which occur almost every where throughout these regions. The depth of this sand appeared very unequal; in some parts it is scarcely a foot: in many places the denuded rock itself forms the surface. It would seem that the abundance of springs depends on the proximity of this rock to the surface, or, in other words, on the less quantity of sand which covers it: for in those parts of the country where I have observed it near the surface, springs have more generally been met with; and in those where it is not visible, and where immeasurable plains of deep sand extend for many leagues, there the land is totally deficient in water. The fact explains itself: the water which falls from the clouds quickly sinks through the sand; and wherever springs flow out of the soil, or permanent ponds are found, it is evident that there must lie beneath them a stratum of compact rock, which prevents their being absorbed by the earth. This I believe, from many observations, to be the case in the Great Plains of Litákun; and the numerous springs or ponds of clear water which are there met with seem to confirm this hypothesis.

On this great floor of lime-stone rest, probably, the mountains of clay-slate, or of sand-stone. Green-stone, and sometimes serpentine or pot-stone, and granite, are found; though rarely, and in small proportions. The bed on which these repose could not be ascertained; but it seems not unlikely that it is the same primitive lime-rock, unless we adopt the supposition hereafter noticed on the 13th. The remarks in my journal are here anticipated, in order to give, previously to entering these regions, some idea of their nature.

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The geological character of the Transgariepine, as far as my observations enable me to give an opinion, appears very simple. It is that which has been termed primitive. But its most remarkable feature, is the undisturbed, and generally unbroken state of its great strata: these lie in, what may be supposed, their original position, and present rarely any evidence of those violent convulsions of nature which, beyond all doubt, have once, at some immeasurably remote period of time, shaken the whole fabric of the globe.

Equally with astronomy, the science of geology is capable of leading the human mind to the most sublime prospects of the creation; and presents, for man's reflection, the most interesting subjects which can engage the attention of a liberal and enlightened understanding. It places before our eyes, and in our hands, the clear and legible record of an antiquity, compared with which, all other records are but the tale of yesterday. It offers to us, if I may use the expression, the most tangible proofs of the aweful power of that inconceivably Glorious, and Incomprehensible Being, by the spirit of whose Wisdom, all which we behold has risen into existence; and which may sink into chaos, whenever, at His nod, a similar convulsion may happen again.

In collecting information from the mouths of others, even the natives of the country, a traveller here should consider himself as always liable to be deceived, notwithstanding his greatest caution in examining into the probability of what is told him. On the authority of Muchùnka, whom there was every reason for supposing well acquainted with this country, I recorded in my journal that the source of the Makkwarin was at a great distance eastward of this place; which would imply at least a hundred miles: but an inspection of the map will show that we passed in every direction eastward, within a dozen miles, and yet found no traces of it, unless the ravine at my 'Garden' should lead into it; although it appears more probable that this is connected with the Kruman.

In these wild regions, where little is to be procured but what nature gives, every useful article of European manufacture becomes invaluable. With this conviction, it was judged worth

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while to take a journey back to our last station, to search for a small pocket-knife which was now missed and supposed to have been lost at that place. It was composed of various articles of convenience, some of which were of great service in the operations of preparing the birds for my collection.

As the most important post for myself, was to remain by the waggons for their protection, I appointed Van Roye and Cornelis, as being the horsemen and having hitherto done less than any of the others, to ride back and seek for it at the spot where the waggon had stood. On this occasion, I made the unfortunate discovery, that, in time of danger, Van Roye's courage would be as little to be depended on, as Gert's: and I began to feel the mortifying persuasion, that he would prove on trial, to be as timid as he had already proved himself lazy. No sooner did he hear that he was appointed to this duty, than he began to complain of a pain in his back, which, he said, rendered him utterly unable to ride on horseback; although he had ridden twenty miles the day before, and had not till this moment, been heard to complain of any illness. One of the other Hottentots, however, betrayed the truth, that the only pain he felt was that of fear.

In this case, no compulsion could be used, as I had determined never to require any service, which my people could possibly call unreasonable; and therefore appointed Keyser in his place. Yet, on further reflection, suspecting that even these two would not really go so far as the Kruman, but would merely keep out of sight the whole day and make their appearance in the evening with a report of their not having been successful in their search, I resolved on going thither myself, Gert having hinted that most of the Hottentots had more or less reluctance to venture alone so far from the waggons.

Accordingly I set out early in the forenoon, taking with me only Cornelis. We were both well armed, and supplied with a good stock of cartridges; and had taken care to provide ourselves not only with four and twenty hours' provisions, but also with the means of producing fire.

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On such excursions a leathern cup was always found to be a most useful part of the equipment; as it was made of a single piece without seam, and could be folded to lie flat in the pocket.

The Hottentots and Bushmen have, in travelling, no need of any drinking-utensil: they supply its place with their hand, in a most extraordinary manner: not, as we should suppose, by taking up the water in the hollow of it; but by bending over the stream or pond, and throwing, or scooping, the water up to their mouth with their fingers held straight and close together. I have often admired the expertness with which it is performed by those who have been long accustomed to this method; and have smiled at the awkwardness of those who would imitate them; as they generally threw the water over their face and clothes, without being able to guide it into their mouth.

We followed, as our guide, the track made by my waggons, although the Kamhanni Peak, which is in sight from every part of the country to the distance of two days-journeys, is generally depended on, as the chief beacon for those who wander over the surrounding plains. We found the waggon-track in most places more convenient; as the high grass, which would otherwise have impeded us, was thus beaten down. The ride was exceedingly pleasant, and the weather agreeably warm, yet not so hot as to occasion fatigue; and the corn-like appearance of the grass, seemed almost to persuade me that we were travelling through some district where agriculture displayed all her riches.

On arriving at the place, the horses were committed to the care of the Hottentot, while the object of our journey was sought for in every spot. But all was without success; and we concluded that the knife must have been found by some native who had passed by, after we left the station; or, that it was accidentally buried in the sand, and therefore irrecoverable.

After waiting till the horses had sufficiently rested, and had been allowed time to graze along the banks of the stream and take a draught of its pure waters, we saddled again, and returned homewards.

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In our way, we saw a solitary kokūn (kokoon) in the open plain, prancing about, exactly in the manner of the gnu, holding his head very low, and lashing his tail. Suddenly he stopped and turned round to look at us for about a minute, and then galloped off; his erect mane giving him the appearance of having withers considerably higher than his head.

A little farther, two ostriches of the largest size, were feeding in company with a herd of about ten zebras. This latter animal is called by the Bachapins, Piitĭ or Pitĭ (Péetsy) and sometimes, Píitsĕ. It is remarkable that the ostrich and the zebra or quakka, are found most frequently in the society of each other.

I stopped to examine these zebras with my pocket telescope: they were the most beautifully marked animals I had ever seen: their clean sleek limbs glittered in the sun, and the brightness and regularity of their striped coat, presented a picture of extraordinary beauty, in which probably they are not surpassed by any quadruped with which we are at present acquainted. It is, indeed, equalled in this particular, by the dauw, whose stripes are more defined and regular; but which do not offer to the eye so lively a colouring. The dauw, or 'mountain-horse,' inhabits, as I was informed, the Kamhanni mountains, but was never seen in the plains, unless in their immediate vicinity, whither, on being pursued, it always fled for refuge.

It had been previously agreed on, with the people at home, that, on our firing a musket as soon as we came within hearing, they were to answer it immediately by another discharge, to let us know that all was well at the waggons. Otherwise, their not giving the answer, was to be considered as implying that matters went wrong with respect to the natives; and that we must advance with caution. This arrangement was made on the possibility that some prowling gang of robbers might fall in with them during my absence, and, discovering that the party was divided, might first overcome them, and afterwards place themselves in ambush to intercept the rest.

On arriving at this distance, at which time the sun had already set, I discharged a pistol, and before it was reloaded, the answer

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was given: when we rode forward without hesitation, and on reaching home, found all well. We had been just three hours and ten minutes on our return; which corresponds with the relative proportion usually supposed to exist between the pace of a draught-ox, and that of a saddle-horse, after making a proper allowance for the greater degree in which the latter is retarded by a sandy road.

3rd. The two Bachapins, whom we saw at the Kruman, had assured us that for several days-journeys we should find but little game, as the grass was dried up, and the animals had removed farther northward, where the herbage still remained green. This account was confirmed by Speelman, who reported that he had not fallen in with any, although the ground was every where imprinted with their footsteps.

He had observed two natives at a distance in the plain, who immediately on seeing him, concealed themselves under the bushes. He thought it not advisable to approach them, as these movements appeared suspicious; but, taking particular notice of the spot where they disappeared, he came home and informed Muchùnkă, who, following his directions, went to them and brought these formidable strangers home, when lo! they proved to be two old women, who had left their dwellings early in the morning, to seek at this distance their daily food, a few wild roots the scanty gains of many hours' search. On seeing the hunters, whose costume, being different from that of their own countrymen, had alarmed them, they hid themselves through fear; but were easily persuaded by Muchunka to come to the waggons, where he promised them a good meal.

From the meagre looks of these women, one might be authorised in supposing them not to have had, for many weeks, a sufficiency of food. The eldest of the two might have been mistaken for a Bushwoman; and her features proved that her parents had belonged to the Hottentot race, though she was herself a Bichuana the wife of a poor herdsman. They were provided only with a pointed stick to dig up these roots, and a dirty leathern bag in which they carried them. On examination these appeared to be of some species of Ornithogalum; but being without leaves or flower, this opinion was

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mere guess: they were little bigger than a pigeon's egg, and were exceedingly bitter, yet roasting or boiling might lessen this quality, and render them more palatable.

After feeding these poor creatures, and giving them a meal very different from that which they had looked forward to when they left their home, they departed; having stopped with us above two hours and entirely overcome the fears which the first sight of us had occasioned.

Our principal work this day, was, casting bullets, making cartridges, and completing more cartridge-boxes. These bullets were of two sorts: one of lead only, which was intended for all general purposes of hunting and defence; the other, of a mixture of two thirds of lead and one of tin to render them harder, for shooting those animals whose hide was too thick, or too hard, to be easily penetrable by a leaden ball, which has been often found, if fired from any considerable distance, to flatten against the skin of a rhinoceros, or against the bones of other animals of that size. As tin causes such balls to be lighter than those of pure lead, and consequently, prevents their flying so far, they were never to be used but as the particular case required.

The great change of temperature in the course of this day, was very remarkable, at two in the afternoon, the thermometer rising to 79. (20·8 R.), and at midnight, falling to 37. (2·2 R.).

The weather was exceedingly pleasant; and notwithstanding the coldness of the evening, my men, seated around a large fire, passed their time cheerfully; and conversation, and playing the fiddle, seemed almost to make them forget they were in a strange land. When they retired to rest, they preferred lying on the ground by the fire, to sleeping in the waggon, which being elevated and exposed to the wind, is much colder than any other place. I allowed them, therefore, to make their bed where they found it most agreeable, although it would have been a greater check to robbery had they slept by the pack-waggon; but, for myself, I dared not indulge in the same manner, as it would have been extremely imprudent to have left unguarded my own waggon and the property it contained.

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The fur-coverlet proved every night more useful and necessary; and in cold windy weather, it seemed the only covering which could enable a person to sleep with tolerable warmth in one of these waggons; for along both sides, there was between the upper le'erboom and the mats, a wide opening through which the wind found free entrance. In hot weather, however, it was exceedingly convenient, as it admitted, what then was only a delightful cooling air.

4th. After instructing my people in the use of cartridges, I delivered to each his proper complement, and repeated what I had before said on the great utility of them, in case of an attack, by enabling us to load more expeditiously.

Van Roye, in order to carry on the deception of his pretended pain in the back, was obliged to remain in the hut all day, and by this irksome confinement he inflicted his own punishment. I visited him, yet saw no appearance of illness; nor was he able to specify his complaint. On the following day he was perfectly recovered.

5th. About noon, a party of three or four Bachapins came to the waggons. They had no previous knowledge of our being in the country; but were passing at some distance off, on their way from Litakun to Sensaván, with several pack-oxen, for the purpose of fetching sibīlo: when, perceiving the tops of the two waggons which they at first thought to be two great rocks, their curiosity induced them to turn their steps towards us, while their companions and the oxen held on their proper course. They had, early this morning, left a cattle-post in the vicinity of the town, and intended reaching the Kruman this evening; at which rate they would probably accomplish the whole journey of a hundred and twenty-seven miles, in three days, unless through fatigue, their oxen should oblige them to rest, or to slacken their pace. They carried in their hand each two or three hassagays, their only weapons; and wore no other clothing than a red leathern kaross, which in their language is called a kō;bo.

In place of that kind of covering which has been described as used by the Hottentot race, under the name of a jackal, these men, according to the fashion of the Bichuanas, wore what they call a

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pukoō;i.* This is formed by a piece of leather nearly of a triangular shape; each of the three corners ending in a lengthened point, to one or two of which, is frequently fastened a leathern thong. This piece of leather being placed in front as an apron, is tied round the waist by two of its corners, and the third fastened behind. It is this fashion which constitutes the only essential difference in dress, between the Bichuana nations, and the various tribes of the Hottentot race. †

On these Bachapins coming up to us, Muchunka met them, and at first, while asking a few questions, the tone of their voice was low and reserved, yet not timid; but it was not long before it changed to that of a free and lively conversation. One of them, who said he had been on a warlike expedition, or rather, a predatory excursion, which had lately been sent against the Nuákketsies‡, and in which six of that nation were killed, told me, as a voluntary communication, that he himself had seen many of them wearing European clothes, such as jackets and coats; and that these were part of the contents of the waggons belonging to the late unfortunate travellers, whom they had murdered. I was now informed, that the report of the Nuakketsies' having fled from their town and retired farther northward, was not true. These Bachapins expressed much regret that my party was so small; and asked me why the governor of the Cape did not send a strong body of white-men to punish the Nuakketsies. They gave me also the information, that the son of Mass or Massáo, (Massów) the chief of a neighbouring tribe, having been plundered of all his cattle by a body of marauders from another nation, had taken refuge at Litákun, where he was still residing when these men

* This is the name as pronounced by Mattīvi the chief. Some pronounced it pukō;ghe; and others, pokō;je. All of which are also the name of the animal itself, the jackal, or Canis mesomelas.

† The usual appearance of the pukō;ghe, may be seen in some of the figures in the 28th vignette.

‡ This word may be written Nuákketzies, with a soft z. The original form is Nuákketsi. (See the note at page 304.)

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came away. They further informed me that the Bachapins intended to have a grand hunt in about a month, and in which all the principal inhabitants of the town were to assist.

These grand hunting-parties are conducted with great regularity; and sometimes not less than five hundred men are engaged in them. Their mode of proceeding consists in making a wide circuit, so as to enclose a portion of the country, many miles in extent. This circle of hunters gradually contracts itself, while the wild animals of every sort, are driven towards its centre, and the ring closes and at last becomes a thick and continued line of men. The animals, finding themselves thus surrounded, make a push to escape, and at the moment of their passing through this line, the hunters throw their hassagays, and sometimes kill a considerable number.

The countenance of one of these men in particular, of him who was so ready to give me the above information, was exceedingly animated, and very expressive of a keenness of understanding. It was, it must be owned, a complete contrast to the general expression of a Hottentot countenance; and, after their wearisome apathy, the liveliness of these visitors recommended them strongly to my good opinion, and began to prepossess me in favor of their nation. This mode of judging, though a very common one, was not, indeed, very philosophical, or altogether just, since it often happens that under a dull or reserved exterior, much goodness of heart may lie concealed, and even some talents; but the comparison often made their coldness seem tedious, and I rejoiced at the prospect of finding the Bachapins to be a race of men possessed of more animation.

These men addressed me by the title of Hárra (father), which is their usual and most respectful mode in speaking to a superior. They seemed much pleased at having fallen in with us, and exhibited no surprise at the sight of a white-man, which, probably, was not altogether new to them. They appeared to be of a higher class than the two poor half-starved herdsmen who came to us at the Kruman; and their spirits would not have been so good, had they, like them, been living in want of the necessary food: but their bodies exhibited the best

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proof of their having enjoyed abundance. They begged for lishuéna (snuff); and to each I gave enough to have lasted two days, at a moderate rate of using it.

Their mode of taking snuff was certainly no imitation of Europeans, whose finger and thumb are generally found sufficient for this purpose; but the Bachapins think otherwise: they lay a large quantity in the palm of their hand, and draw the whole of it up their nostrils at once. It was in this manner that I saw it now taken, and with an eagerness which proved how great was the enjoyment it afforded them; although, from seeing their eyes streaming with tears, it would rather have been concluded that it must have been painful.

But, I will not dare to dispute that there is pleasure in a custom which, by having been followed by so many, and such various, nations, must, I imagine, really possess something agreeable, to have thus gained adoption so generally. The same remark may be made on that of smoking tobacco, or similar drugs, a practice still more general, and even more at variance with the simple course of nature; if such an opinion may be pronounced of any artificial habits, to which common consent among the generations of several centuries, seems to have lent a character which gives them a place among legitimate, and even reasonable, indulgences.

From the New Continent, the native soil of the tobacco, the practice of inhaling the smoke of its leaves, and along with it, the plant itself, have spread over almost every country of the Old World, and have been received as a valuable addition to the comforts of life. In no nation can it be estimated at a higher rate, than among those of Southern Africa; an assertion which has been well proved in the preceding parts of this journal; and, in those which follow the same testimony will be found.

It may be convenient to bring together in this place, the substance of the information obtained on the subject of Bichuána tobacco. Although the tobacco-plant has not yet reached the Bachapins, and although they do not, more than the Bushmen, cultivate it; yet it has long been travelling southward over the con-

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tinent, probably from the Portuguese settlements, and is, at this time, growing among their northern neighbours, from whom they had obtained it by barter, long before it came to them from the side of the Cape of Good Hope. The leaves are prepared, they say, by boiling, or rather, perhaps, by steeping in hot water. This process renders the smoke less acrid, though less powerful: yet, by my own men who obtained some at Litakun, it was pronounced pleasant; but, in their judgment, its mildness was considered to be a defect, and they, as well as the Bachapins themselves, always gave the preference to that which had been prepared in the Colony. From some inquiries, made of natives who had seen the plant growing in those countries, there seems reason for supposing that it is the round-leaved species* which is there cultivated; that which is grown in the Colony, being the long-leaved Virginian sort.†

Our present visitors, as soon as they had enjoyed their handful, for it could not be called a pinch, of snuff, began to beg for tobacco, with much good-humoured importunity; and held up their finger as the length of the piece they wished for. But, on showing by the half finger, how much was intended to be given them, they smiled, and said Niá Hárra (No, Sir,); yet, when I remarked to them that as we travelled on, many more of their countrymen would make the same request, and that it would be out of my power to distribute to all, if I were to give away pieces so large as were asked for, they replied, 'Yes; that is true;' and then went away very well satisfied with the little which I gave them. Besides this, they received some meat; and, as soon as they had broiled it, ran off with great speed to overtake their companions.

It was now perceived that Gert felt strongly disposed to encroach on indulgence, and that, unfortunately, kindness only encouraged disrespect. Although I had long followed a rule of giving my people their rations of tobacco and brandy on Mondays, he now demanded them before the time, and told me that the quantity which was allowed to the people, was not half enough, and that the boors always

* Nicotiana rustica.

† Nicotiana Tabacum.

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gave their Hottentots brandy whenever they asked for it. This language was not to be endured with forbearance, as authority here, could be supported by nothing but resolution and prudence. I was therefore compelled to order him instantly, and in a peremptory manner, away from my waggon: hoping thus to check a spirit which otherwise might soon spread among my whole party.

It was about this time that I began to discover that in Juli I possessed a valuable servant, and to perceive symptoms of fidelity which gradually gained my confidence, notwithstanding the disappointment which, in this respect, the conduct of some of the others had caused to me. I had not yet reposed in him greater trust than in any of the rest; but he often deserved it by a conscientious desire which he manifested for doing his duty. His manners Were steady, without being over sedate: he often could be lively and cheerful; but never allowed his temper to approach either extreme. He had not, it is true, that degree of animation which had pleased me in Speelman; but he was less irregular in his movements and opinions. In short, he was more honest, and less inclined to deceive me or conceal the truth, than any other of my Hottentots.

6th. A nightly watch had first been established at Kosi Fountain, and from that time, it had been regularly continued. I had myself kept the sentries to their duty during the first half of the night, as my occupations in the waggon in writing and arranging the notes and collections of the day, had always engaged me till after that hour. But sometimes, in order to keep them on the alert during the latter half, I took my sleep earlier, and rose between midnight and daybreak.

This gave me an opportunity of making a comparison between the dawn of an African day, and the superior beauty of that hour in Europe. This inferiority of the African Aurora, is occasioned, perhaps, by the aridity of the climate and clearness of the atmosphere. It is to the want of clouds and vapor to receive and refract the first rays of the sun while still beneath the horizon, that we must attribute the deficiency of those rosy and golden tints, and those beams of light, which decorate the morning sky of European

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countries. Yet the approach of daylight in the interior regions of this continent, is not totally devoid of pleasing effects; and, though less glowing and less enlivened by variety of hues and forms, it offers to an admiring eye a beauty of a more quiet and modest kind. While watching the cold darkness of night, the eastern sky becomes less obscure, a faint light gradually increases; the stars seem to fade away, though the earth still continues in night; a warm glow is perceptible, and soon spreads itself over the vault of heaven; the trees along the horizon become visible, and, backed by the sky, the upper branches of those which are nearer, are seen more distinctly; the landscape begins to show its outline; the light has reached the west; the forms of objects are visible, but as yet, present a painting in one color only, a sombre brown, equally strong in the distance and in the foreground; the whole atmosphere is illumined, and reflects its light upon the earth; the farthest verge of the plain becomes fainter and recedes, while the various clumps of trees follow to their place in the picture, and, assuming a just keeping, change their brown, for the less dubious colors of day; the azure of the sky is every where suffused with a warmer light; Nature is awake; and, unattended by cloud or vapor, the sun himself is seen rising above the horizon in noontide brilliancy.

Whatever wind may blow during the day, in the countries of the Interior, it most frequently subsides at sunset. This circumstance, so fortunate for those who sleep in the open air, was more especially favorable to my astronomical observations, as it admitted of using the artificial horizon without any kind of covering to protect the surface of the mercury from agitation by currents of air, of which it is exceedingly susceptible.

At this season of the year, the sky, either by night or by day, is seldom veiled by a cloud; nor is the slightest dew ever felt but in the time of the rains, when, however, it falls very copiously. Though in the Transgariepine the days in the winter months, of which we were now in the coldest, are very pleasant, and sometimes even hot; the nights are cold; and our feelings, as well as the thermometer, indicate that the temperature of the air is near the freezing point. On most

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mornings, just before sunrise, the grass is observed to be covered with hoar-frost: but as there is rarely either vapor, or cloud, to diminish the heat of the sun, this appearance quickly vanishes.

By taking equal altitudes of the sun before, and after, noon, with its correspondent bearings by the needle, I found the magnetic variation to be 27° ⅛ W. My instrument for ascertaining these bearings, was not, indeed, constructed for the smaller subdivisions; but this defect was remedied by adopting a more careful process, and therefore the result may perhaps be depended on, to within an eighth of a degree, which may be considered accurate enough for a traveller's purpose.

One of the dogs which had unfortunately been run over by the waggon, a few days before, was so much injured that it died at this place. The body was taken to a short distance from our station, but the crows and vultures soon discovered it, and, assembling around, immediately began to tear it to pieces. These birds, so little disturbed by the presence of man, seem to consider all dead bodies as their perquisites; and the natives view them without feeling the least desire to molest them.

And here we cannot but again see and admire that wisdom, and perfection of plan, which exist in every part of the creation. Vultures have been ordained evidently to perform very necessary and useful duties on the globe; as, indeed, has every other animated being, however purblind we may be in our views of their utility; and we might almost venture to declare that these duties are the final cause of their existence. To those who have had an opportunity of examining these birds, it need not be remarked how perfectly the formation of a vulture is adapted to that share in the daily business of the globe, which has evidently been allotted to it; that of clearing away putrid or putrescent animal matter, which might otherwise taint the air and produce infectious diseases. Many of the vultures are among the largest of the feathered tribe, and all, even the smaller species, have great bodily strength in proportion to their size. Their legs are strong, but as they are not, like the eagles and owls, intended for seizing and preying on live animals, they have not been furnished with

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claws so sharp, or with nails so much curved as theirs; though here it may perhaps be said that their mode of life, in standing on the ground while feeding, wears off the points of these. Yet this is not less the result of Divine decree; for the different species of the feline genus* have excessively sharp nails, notwithstanding their walking on the ground; and for the preservation of their points, so essential to their mode of seizing their prey, Nature has given them an admirable and peculiar power of drawing them back. The head and neck of vultures could not have been, like other birds, covered with feathers, because these, not being in the reach of their beak, could not have been easily kept clean, and would soon have become clotted together by the blood or dirt of the carcasses on which they fed. These parts are, therefore, either quite bare, or clothed only with a short woolly or downy covering. Their wings are long and large; and their bones, though thick, are remarkably light, a conformation which enables them to sustain their bodies for so great a length of time, in the highest regions of the atmosphere. Their beak is strong and hooked; and remarkably well formed for tearing out entrails, or dividing putrid flesh. Their own flesh smells strongly like carrion, and no other animal, however pressed by hunger, will eat it; a quality of importance to their preservation: for, were it eatable, they would be exposed to destruction while in the exercise of their duty, which often obliges them to feed in company with hyenas, and other beasts of prey which occasionally satisfy their hunger by a dead carcass. But so nicely is the mutual relation of all things balanced, that none of these animals, nor the domestic dog, show the least inclination to take away the life of these birds. For this reason they are, in every country, it would seem, tolerated by man, and sometimes treated even with respect. They have an extent of privilege, which their associates the hyenas have not; because they never harm the living.

* I may be allowed here to make the remark, although it belong properly to a part of the journal not comprised in the present volume, that the South-African animal Luipard (Leopard) by the Dutch colonists, and 'Nkwi and Nkwáni (Inkwani) by the Bachapins, and supposed to be the Felis jubata, has not the sharp retractile claws which distinguish the feline genus.

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On taking a view of the surface of the globe, we discover life under so great a multitude of shapes, that it may reasonably be doubted whether the researches of man, have as yet made him acquainted with the half of them. Every part of it teems with animated forms; air, water, and even earth to a certain depth, contain a countless variety of objects endowed with that mysterious principle, Life. This principle, modified, supports the existence of every organised object in the creation, and must not be confounded with animation: for this is to be distinguished as the visible operation of the anima; or, if we may be allowed so to call it, the breath of Divinity. Organized bodies have always, and by universal consent, been divided into the two classes of Animal and Vegetable: both these possess the principle of life, but only the former, that of animation. Abstract these principles, and there remains Matter; this still continuing for a longer or shorter period afterwards, to retain its organization.

Now, the conclusion which may be drawn from this view of terrestrial objects, is; that organized matter, whether, independently of modification, it really be, or be not, essentially different from mineral or inert matter, has been destined to be common property, and to circulate through the whole system of living objects. By this circulation, it passes from one to the other, in unceasing support of vitality; proceeding and returning, sometimes in a wider and sometimes in a smaller circle, through an endless succession of periods. It may be asserted that no new particle of matter ever comes into the world; for this would imply a new creation: that none can be lost, for this would imply the annihilation of what the wisdom of the Deity has created; a supposition to which man's reason can not assent. Vegetables, most of which are observed to grow more luxuriantly in earth impregnated with animal juices or with disorganized animal particles, are the first producers of organization; animals, the destroyers of it. It is evidently the law of Nature, that matter once made capable of life, shall never cease from the same duty; and it is equally so, that animal bodies shall receive no nutriment but from organized substances. From this it follows, that in one body life must cease or be destroyed, before another can obtain that species of food which its conformation renders necessary. The eagle therefore de-

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stroys this, himself; the vulture waits till it has been destroyed by others, or till vitality has departed through other causes. If we look around at the animal creation, from the huge whale to the most minute object that moves, we everywhere behold examples of one species maintaining its existence by the destruction of others upon which it feeds; and of those which have been formed to require vegetable aliment, becoming themselves the food of others which have been created carnivorous; these latter, perhaps, never preying naturally on species of their own class. The beasts and birds of prey, together with vultures, are, in their turn, the food of innumerable maggots the larvæ of beetles* of various species, which, like the vultures, have the faculty of discovering a carcass as soon as putrefaction commences; and are then seen in the air, approaching from the leeward in swarms, guided only by their sense of smell.

This picture of a succession of destruction among the animal creation, though natural and immutable, is not an agreeable one; and the Power which made things so, has implanted in the human mind a sentiment which, if not stifled, causes this prospect, however interesting and instructive, to appear unpleasing; and, from the view of rapacity and death, warfare and bloodshed, even though the result of natural laws, we gladly turn towards that part of animated nature where more peaceful scenes present themselves: from the tiger to the lamb, from the hawk to the dove, we turn with pleasure. Or, if more tranquil thoughts delight us, we change to the contemplation of the beauties and perfection of inanimate objects; to the verdant foliage of the spreading trees which clothe the mountain-foot, or to the lively hues of the fragrant flowers which adorn the valleys.

Thus we see, throughout the whole system of nature, all things connected together, and necessary to each other's existence; useful in life, and useful in death: each animated object submitting to its

* These beetles were of the genera, Necrobia, Thanatophilus, Silpha, and Dermestes. But on other occasions, when they were also attracted by smell, they consisted of various species of Copris, Onthophagus, Ateuckus, Sisyphus, Gymnopleurs and Onitis: and it was amusing to see them in great numbers, one after another thus coming up from leeward.

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superior; and all, to man. In him terminates this scale of rapine and destruction; in him, this graduated tyranny reaches its height.

To return to the subject; we shot one of these vultures: it was a female, and measured seven feet from the point of one wing to that of the other, when extended. The top of the head was covered with a white feathery wool, which at the back part was longer, and stood in a reversed position. This bird was of a blackish brown color above; but the thighs and under parts of the body and neck were white. The quill feathers, and those of the tail, were black. That part of the neck, which was bare, together with the base of the beak, were white; the beak and feet were of flesh-color; the bare part round the eyes, white; and the irides, of the color of burnt-umber. Before the skin was taken off, I made a drawing of the head: this is given in the vignette at page 310, in the proportion of one third of the natural size. By the Bichuanas, it is called Linō;ng.

The operation of preparing this bird for my collection was exceedingly disgusting, and the Hottentot whom I employed to assist me, suffered as much as myself from its naturally putrid smell. We were unable to continue long at the work, as it soon began to excite a nausea; and it was not till the second day that it was completed.

The tire, or iron band, round the wheels of all Cape-made waggons, being of one entire piece, possesses, indeed, the advantages of strength and security, but it is at the same time liable to the disadvantage of expansion in hot weather; while the fellies, if not made of wood perfectly seasoned, are contracted by the same cause. The consequence of which is, that the joints open, and the tire becomes loose in every part; a serious imperfection in vehicles for travelling over a wild and pathless country, where the assistance of a waggon-maker, or a blacksmith, is not to be obtained. In the midst, there-

* Vultur occipitalis, B. (Mas.) Corpus, supra fusco-nigrura, subtus album. Caput lanugine albâ tectum, occipitali reversâ. Colli pars superior nuda, posterior plumis patentibus nigris, et anterior depress is brevissimis albis, tectæ. Remiges rectricesque nigræ, rachidibus supra nigris subtus albis. Tibiæ (femora) plumis albis densé vestitæ. Rostrum et pedes, incarnata. Orbita denudata, colli pars, et cera, alba. Ungues nigri. Lingua brevis integra, apice rotundata, basi sagittata laciniata.

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fore, of other, and very different, occupations, the task fell upon me to direct and superintend the business of caulking the joints with, either pieces of canvas dipped in hot pitch, or with small wedges of wood. I employed others of my people in casting musket-balls, and some in making cartridges.

In the meantime Andries, whose turn it was to attend our few remaining sheep while at pasture, seemed desirous of giving me proofs of his worthlessness, and so totally neglected his duty, that, at an early hour, it was discovered that they had strayed away. Two Hottentots were sent in search, and after a few hours, brought them home. But, determined on putting my patience to another trial, he suffered them, in the course of the afternoon, again to stray so far that they could not be found that night. On the next morning, men were sent out to follow their track; and it was very unexpected good fortune, that they were all met with and brought back by noon. It was seldom that my Hottentots would condemn, or give evidence against each other; but this time they all exclaimed loudly against Andries, as he had given them so much trouble in repairing his neglect, and recommended that his rations of tobacco should be withheld: a recommendation to which I readily attended; as we had on several occasions ascertained that it was a mode of correction in which there was considerable efficacy.

Desiring my men to wake me at a little after midnight, I pointed out to one of them, who was at that hour to be on guard, the star Arcturus, and ordered him to call me when he saw it setting. I thought it useful to show by my occasional presence at such times, that I did not impose on them any hardship, in which I was not willing to bear a share, as I conceived that it might lead them to think lighter of the task.

The night was exceedingly chilly; and, being now in a part of the country where Bushmen seldom came, we were not, as hitherto, prevented, by the fear of betraying our position, from keeping up a large fire: and those whose watch was ended, not being inclined to sleep, the number of the party round the fire continued increasing till the morning. They amused both themselves and me, by relating to

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each other their various adventures, and accounts of Bushmen; and among their descriptions, one given by Keyser, of a Hottentot of Sneeuwberg being pierced by so many arrows that when they found his body he looked more like a porcupine than a man, was in the genuine style of African anecdote.

Few Hottentots knew more histories of this kind, than Keyser; and being of short stature, in features not unlike a Bushman, and speaking that language fluently, his companions would sometimes teaze him, by pretending to believe that he was really a wild Bushman who had been caught when young, and brought up in a boor's family. He was, however, a Colonial Hottentot; and from much experience in such affairs, his anecdotes relative to the colonists proved that these had frequently suffered great losses in cattle, from the incursions of the Bushmen; but that they had sometimes taken unsparing vengeance on the offenders. He asserted from his own knowledge, that a Hottentot, who had gradually and by small doses habituated himself to the practice of swallowing the poison of snakes, for the purpose of rendering his blood unsusceptible of its effects, was once severely wounded by a Bushman's arrow; yet though the wound would otherwise have been certainly mortal, he did not die. That the blood may be thus fortified against the consequences of a poisoned wound, is a very common belief among Hottentots; but it did not appear that they often tried this mode, as those few who ventured, were particularly distinguished among them as gifi-drinkers (poison-drinkers).

The Hottentots of that part of the Colony northward of Graaffreynet, call the bordering tribes of Bushmen, Sāqua or Saakwa; but the Klaarwater Hottentots, and the Koras, as Muchunka told me, designate the Bushmen living southward of the Gariep by the names of 'Ksa'kýkwa or Ksa'kwa (Kowsaqua), which imply 'men beyond the river.' Those who inhabit the northern side of that river, are called Núsakwa (Nóosaqua), a name of correspondent import.

7th. I was visited by a Bachapin, apparently of a poorer class than those whom we had last seen. I offered him some snuff, and learnt by his refusal, that, however general the custom of taking snuff may be among his countrymen, it is not universal. Tobacco, for

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smoking, was accepted with warm expressions of thankfulness; but he was much less importunate in begging, and less talkative, than his nation usually are. He was even timid: this might be occasioned by his being alone as a Bachapin, among so many strangers; for numbers always give to savages a degree of boldness, and sometimes insolence, of which, under other circumstances, they exhibit no signs. On coming to me as I sat in the waggon, he exclaimed, Kō;osi, Kō;osi! (rich chieftain); and when I endeavoured to assure him that I was not such, that I had but little property in the waggon, and but few oxen, he significantly shook his head, as if to express that he could not believe me.

A young Kokūng (Kokoon or Kokoong) was shot in the plain by Speelman. This Hottentot took so much delight in hunting, that he was generally the foremost in parties of this kind, and was perhaps one of the most successful. It was the duty which had been allotted to him; yet, when circumstances demanded it, he was employed in a variety of others, and was found to be, as a Hottentot, active, intelligent, and useful; though requiring always the superintendance and guidance of a master. Having been longer in my service than most of the others, he seemed to consider himself entitled to the privileges of an old servant, and to have acquired some degree of attachment to me, which, though often dormant, was, to do him justice, oftener awake.

8th. Taking a walk this morning round our station, I observed growing in rocky places, a handsome species of Aloë*, which the Bachapins call tō;kwi, and which apparently was of the same kind as one seen near the Kygariep. I here met with, for the first time, a remarkable kind of Mesembryanthemum†, which may be reckoned in

* Resembling Aloë saponaria; but it was probably a new species.

† Mesembryanthemum aloïdes, B. Catal. Geogr. 2197. Planta acaulis, radice fusiforme. Folia spathulata, basi connata, acuta, margine Integrâ, supra plana, subtus convexa, duplò latiora quàm crassa, obscurè viridia punctis albidis conspersa. Flos sessilis flavus.
This plant, together with ten other new species raised in England from seed collected on the journey, have been already made known to botanists by an author whose extensive knowledge of this numerous genus, and whose experience in the cultivation of vegetables of this tribe, have enabled him to present to the public the most correct arrangement of it, which has hitherto appeared. See "Supplementum Plantarum Succulentarum; Autore A. H. Haworth."

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the number of those wild plants, the roots of which are eaten by the natives, as a substitute for better food. There were not many things to be found at this season; but I discovered, almost accidentally, happening to sit down on the ground close by them, two small plants, the singularity of which consisted in their being so exactly of the color of the white limestone on which they grew, that scarcely any eye could have noticed them in walking by.*

Experience teaches, that many curious and minute plants will escape detection, unless sought with more than ordinary attention; and that; by sitting or standing still and carefully looking around, many interesting objects of natural history may be discovered, which otherwise would have been passed unheeded and unknown. In those parts of my journey where the riches of botany or entomology were more profusely scattered, I seldom sat down to rest myself during my rambles, without perceiving some object which would not have caught my eye under any other circumstances.

9th. I now got out from one of the store-chests the beads and other things which were intended as presents to the Bachapin chief; as it was not likely that there would be, before we arrived at the town, so favorable an opportunity for assorting and arranging them without interruption.

In addition to which reason for opening the store-chests at this place, was that of preventing the natives from knowing how large a stock I had of these things. To have allowed them to see the contents of the chests, would have been, to tempt them to rob me; or, should their sense of honesty restrain them from such an attempt; still the sight of so much riches might render them covetous, and induce them to practise every extortionate and unfair stratagem to

* These were a species of Crassula ? with scale-like imbricated leaves; and
Anacampseros lanigera, B. Catal. Geogr. 2196. Planta uncialis, tota lanâ densâ albâ involuta, inter quam ramenta rigida tortuosa.

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get possession of them. Muchunka had assured me that the Briquas (Bachapins) would not ill-treat me; and though this account of his countrymen should be correct, I conceived, on mature reflection, that they ought not to be trusted with any knowledge of my affairs or plans, which it was possible to conceal from them, lest that information should precede me in the countries beyond them, and prepare those nations for impeding my progress, or suggest the idea that my waggons would be a valuable booty.

Five of my people were out hunting all day, but no game of any kind was seen, excepting an antelope which good-fortune threw in Juli's way, and which luckily he shot. It was an entirely new species, and the sequel proved it to be extremely scarce, as I never met with it again during the whole of my travels. Juli returned immediately for help to bring it home, and two of the Bachapins voluntarily accompanied him, and lent their assistance. The meat proved to be tender, and of a delicate taste. The name which they gave it, was, Khaama; but as this is the name which the Bichuanas, in common with the Hottentots, apply to that animal which the Dutch colonists term Hartebeest*, it would rather seem that the new species is not sufficiently frequent in their country to have obtained, generally, a distinct name. But this is mere surmise; for the true Kaama differs from it so much in the form of its horns, that the two sorts never could be really confounded together, even by the most unobservant savage. The species to which it has the nearest affinity, is that which, in the Cape Colony, is more properly called Blesbok; but it is a larger animal than either that or the hartebeest. Its horns, of which a representation, both in front and in profile, is here given, have suggested the name of Antilope lunata†, by presenting, when viewed in front, the form of a crescent. They were ten inches long,

* The Antilope Bubalis, of Linnæus.
† Antilope lunata, B. Nigrescente-fusca. Femora et tibiæ fulva, illa anticè nigrescentia. Facies et frons, nigrescentes, lateribus purpureo-fuscis. Cornua subreclinata, extrorsùm arcuata, apicibus introrsum versùs, teretia, dimidio inferiore et ultrà annulato. Cauda brevis, pilis longis nigris jubata.

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when measured in a straight line from the base to the tip; and their points were nearly that distance apart Their position on the skull was about two inches and a half asunder, and reclining a little behind the facial line. The general color of this antelope was, when living, a dark iron-grey, or what a painter would call a light blue-black; but which changed to a lighter and browner hue after the skin had become dry. The whole of the face, as far even as the ears, was almost black; and this mark, with the form of the horns and greater size, constitute the only obvious difference between this animal and the Blesbok. * The nose, and sides of the face, were of a purplish brown; and the ears were of the same color as the rest of the body, excepting some white hairs which fringed their inner margin. The legs were of a tawny or reddish brown, but of a darker, or blackish, color in front down to the knees. The feet, below the two spurious hoofs were blackish; and these hoofs, of a roundish form, and placed at equal heights. The real hoofs were black; and those of the fore-feet rather more than four inches long. Their pointed

* The Blesbok is called, from having a white mark on its forehead, similar to that which, in horses, is termed, in Dutch, a bles, and by English horsemen a star, or blaze. Late systematic writers have applied to the Blesbok the name of Pygarga (White-rump), which, by earlier authors, was intended for the Springbok: and as this name becomes absurd and contradictory when thus used, I have taken the liberty of substituting in its place, that of albifrons.

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form and smoothness prove that this animal is not an inhabitant of mountains or rocky places. Their figure, and that of the tail, drawn in proportion to the horns, may be seen at the end of this chapter. The tail, which was about nine inches long and was like that of the blesbok, was furnished on the upper side with long black hair; that, towards the tip, being the longest, and measuring five inches. The fresh skin, when spread out upon the ground, measured, from the end of the nose to the tip of the tail, seven feet and seven inches; across the middle of the body, four feet; in extent between the ends of the two fore legs, eight feet and five inches; and the same of the hind legs, eight feet. The length of the ears was eight inches. From these dimensions it would appear that, at the withers, the height of the Crescent-horned Antelope is nearly four feet, and the diameter of its body a little more than fifteen inches.*

* Of this antelope, the first and only skin ever brought to Europe was, along with a number of others, as I have stated in the note at page 383. of the preceding volume, presented to The British Museum. At the time of writing that note, and previously to it, I confined my complaints against that establishment, to its long protracted delay in placing them before the Public, and to its neglect of a donation which was made under the implied condition of being immediately disposed of in the proper manner. Finding the Museum so dilatory in this case, I repeatedly complained, and urged in support of my complaint, the injustice which was done to the Public, as well as to a collection which had been pronounced valuable to zoological science. At first, orders were given for these skins to be put into proper form with as little delay as possible; and a few (7) were in consequence then stuffed; after which the work proceeded no farther. To my remonstrance, it was replied, at one time, that these quadrupeds would require more room than that building would allow. At another time I learnt that the expense * was greater than the funds of the establishment would authorise. Be all this as it may, I know that several quadrupeds received long since mine, have been stuffed, and some preserved in a much more expensive manner; and that hundreds, and I believe thousands, of pounds have, since that time, been expended by the Museum in the purchase of objects of natural-history.
To these subjects my complaints were at that time confined; because I relied on an official communication which stated that all requisite care was taken of my animals, and that no fear need be entertained respecting their security and preservation from damage by insects. How unexpected, therefore, was the additional mortification which I felt, when I had occasion, in July last, (1822) to visit the Museum for the purpose of making a drawing of the horns of the above described antelope. I was shown a large chest which was intended to contain my collection; but on examination, the antelope I sought, was not there, neither were some others which were equally rare and valuable. At length an old packing-case was found, which had been nailed up in a manner which evinced that the preservation of its contents had not been the purpose for which it was intended; and on its being opened I discovered, the skin of my Antilope lunata, together with another undescribed species, of which that also was the only individual ever shot or seen, and six others, all swarming with live moths and maggots, and their hair dropping off. That this irreparable destruction was attributable to a want of due care cannot be denied; since those duplicates which I had retained in my own collection, remained still in as good condition as when they were first brought home. The motives which induced me to give these quadrupeds to our national museum, induced me also, to give the best of all which I possessed; and I therefore permitted the person who was engaged by the museum for stuffing them, to come previously to my house and select those which he thought the finest and the most perfect.
I have now only to regret the time and labor which have been lost during my travels, in preserving and bringing away those skins; as it would have been less vexatious to have left them to be eaten by maggots in the deserts of Africa, than in the British Museum: and I do hope, for the credit of that establishment and for the character of my country, as it relates to the pursuit and encouragement of science, that every future gift will meet with less neglect, and with a better fate, than mine has unfortunately experienced.

* It was estimated that the expense of stuffing them would not amount to 300l.: one third of which had already been paid; and the most expensive part of the work, occasioned by setting up the two Camelopards, was then completed.

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We had not, in our daily hunting excursions, which extended to the distance of several miles from our station, discovered any village or residences of the natives. Those who had visited us, had always come a long way from their home; and this was the reason of our having hitherto seen so few inhabitants; but in the afternoon, three Bichuanas joined our party, and remained with us till the next day. They told me they were herdsmen to Mattīvi, and were lying at a cattle-place lower down the Makkwarin.

They had lately been at Litākun; and now reported to me that the elder brother of Mattivi, as soon as he heard of the approach of a white-person from the Colony, and supposing that he would return immediately after visiting that place, had conceived the desire, and actually formed the resolution, of making a journey to Cape Town, of which he had heard many accounts at Klaarwater. His plan was to return thither with me, and he had therefore long been expecting my arrival with impatience; but having heard that I had finally left the Transgariepine, and had gone back to the Colony, (this report related to my journey to Graaffreynet) he had now, under great disappointment, relinquished his intention.

This story raised my curiosity and, at the same time, a wish to

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ascertain the truth of it. Revolving it often in my mind, I endeavoured to imagine, what might be his motive for such a journey. When I attributed it to that desire, so rare in a savage, of visiting other countries for the purpose of enlightening his mind and of acquiring a knowledge of civilized arts, I glowed with so pleasing an idea, and almost regretted that I should not have the gratification of conducting him thither, of showing to him the practical advantages of those arts, and of inspiring him with sentiments which, at his return to his own country, might stimulate him to the imitation of what he had seen, and to the civilizing of his countrymen.

But his own countrymen, as far as I could yet see, had no dreams of this nature: their thoughts embraced little beyond eating and smoking. Our visitors begged for snuff and tobacco as soon as they accosted me; and when they had obtained this and some meat, they seemed to enjoy as much happiness as man in a state of mere animal existence, probably ever attains.

I was here much amused, and perhaps gained a new idea, by observing in them the workings of an untaught mind. I had my interpreter by my side, but wishing to put to the test, what I had hitherto learnt, or rather, written down, of the Sichuana language, I read to these men various words and sentences out of my book. These were readily understood by them, who at first, supposing me to have a tolerable knowledge of that tongue, talked a great deal, to which I could give no answer; but when they at length discovered that I could speak only when I looked in the book, they stood with eyes and mouth wide open; wondering both at the book and at myself, and unable to conceive how it could be, that 'the white thing in my hand,' told me what to say; or how, by only looking at it, I could know more than when I did not. But the most singular part of this little comedy, was performed by Muchunka, whose simple brain seemed not yet to contain a true idea of the nature of writing or of the real purport and utility of our evening exercises at the dictionary and vocabulary. As it would have been only a proof of my own folly to have asked him to explain the operations and conceptions of his mind on this subject, I am left to suppose that he

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believed I always committed to memory his answers to my questions, and that my making 'black scratches' upon the paper with my pen, was only what he had at Klaarwater seen and heard called schryvende (writing). He was, he said, exceedingly surprised at my remembering so well every thing he had taught me, and even those words which he had never told me but once. When I explained, that it was the marks which I had made in the book while he was in the waggon, which now showed me what I was to say, he laughed most heartily, and desired to see the very words which I was pronouncing. On pointing them out, he laughed again; and his three countrymen, whose mouth and eyes had by this time recovered from their expression of surprise, joined in the laughter; while I myself, as I shut the book, was unable to resist the impression which their ludicrous appearance and distorted countenances made upon me.

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CHAPTER XIII.

JOURNEY FROM THE RIVER MAKKWARIN TO THE TOWN OF LITAKUN.

JULY 10th. We departed from the Makkwárin at noon, bending our course to the south-east. We still continued travelling over the Great Plains of Litakun, where nothing but the distant horizon bounded our prospect, excepting behind us, where the blue summits of the Kamhanni mountains near the Kruman, rose to break the evenness of the line. The soil, as hitherto, was in most parts sandy and of a very red color, abounding in tall grass and, in the latter half of the day's-joumey, ornamented with many beautiful thick clumps of mŏhaaka trees (tarchonanthus) of ten or twelve feet in height, which from their more diffuse ramification, appeared to be a new species.* In the course of the afternoon, we passed through many extensive areas of those kinds of grass which have been mentioned as giving to the plains the appearance of fields of wheat. †

* Catalogus Geographicus, n. 2202.
† The above vignette will give an idea of the scenery here described. It will, together with the others of this and the former volume, present at the same time a specimen of the perfection to which the art of engraving on wood may be carried; and will not lessen the reputation which Mr. Branston's talents in this art had already gained.

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Among these grasses, was a very remarkable sort with long curved awns growing from one side of a thin spike.* Here I first met with a very ornamental shrub†, three feet high, covered with small silky leaves, and decorated with a profusion of yellow flowers: it abounds in several parts of the plains south-westward of Litakun.

When we were about half way on the day's journey, a spot was pointed out, at a considerable distance on the right, where, as a remarkable circumstance, a kraal of Bushmen were then residing. It was from their being known as less addicted to robbing, that they were permitted by the Bachapins, to take a temporary residence so near to their chief town. This spot was called Kláatălăkúmŏ or, Klaatalakomo; and was surrounded by a thick grove of large acacias. Some of its inhabitants were seen, but they did not approach us. They left the place a few weeks afterwards, and removed their kraal more within the boundaries of their own country; if so nice a distinction of territory can be made between these nations. The Bachapins and Bushmen are, in general, not on very good terms; but they are tolerated in each other's country, if they excite no suspicion of their being come there with the design of stealing cattle; for robbery of this kind is, between the various South-African nations, the only cause of warfare, whether as avowed plundering, or as pretended retaliation.

Notwithstanding the whole days-journey being over sandy ground, the oxen stepped on for the greater part of the time at the rate of eighty-six revolutions of the wheel in five minutes, which, according to the table already mentioned as having been calculated for this purpose, indicated three miles and a hundred-and-thirty-eight yards in the hour: in the heaviest parts of the road, our rate was only eighty-one revolutions. From these data, combined with the time we were travelling, which was five hours and fifteen minutes, the length of this day's-journey may be stated with tolerable exactness, at fifteen miles and a quarter.

* Catal. Geogr. n. 2220.

† Passerina? Catal. Geogr. 2203.

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A traveller, therefore, who would adopt this method of ascertaining distances, would be careful to note down in his memorandum book, not only the number of revolutions at different times; but the times by his watch, when the waggon first moves on, and when it arrives at the station; besides keeping an account of the time lost by occasionally halting on the road.

An apparatus of clock-work on the principle of the perambulator, may, on smooth roads, as it does in Europe, answer this purpose, and be attended with much less trouble; but a similar contrivance would very soon be put out of order, by the violent jolts which a waggon receives in travelling over a wild and rugged country: and if the strong iron-work of the vehicle itself, is not always able to resist these shocks, it is to be feared that slighter mechanism would fail also. The experiment, however, is worth trying.

The sun had already sunk below the horizon, before we reached our next station. This spot, called by the natives Sikklŏniānĭ, was a collection of small grassy ponds of clear and excellent water, supplied by constant springs which rose at the bottom of them. They were surrounded by a grove or wood of acacias, which rendered the situation exceedingly pleasant, as well as convenient. Hither, and to many other similar fountains which are found in these plains, the inhabitants of Litakun bring their cattle during the dry season, and having erected temporary huts, take up their abode till the country nearer the town has regained its verdure. At this time, however, we found no one residing here: and as I had noticed that the ponds were frequented by numerous flocks of water-fowl, I determined to halt a day, in hope of being able to add some new birds to my collection.

The latitude of this spot, was found to be 27°. 9′. 21″.* While watching till the star, from which this observation was taken, should come to the meridian, I discovered that we had a day too much in our reckoning; and that instead of this, as we supposed, being

* At Sikkloniani, on the 10th of July, 1812, the observed altitude of a Centauri, was 57°. 5′. 57″.

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Saturday, it could not be more than Friday. For, as I now observed that the moon was still to the east of the planet Venus, which could not have been the case, had this been, as we reckoned, the eleventh of the month, those two bodies would not, according to the 'Astronomical Ephemeris,' be in conjunction till the morning of the eleventh. This error of my journal, lay within a small compass; as I knew from my astronomical memoranda, that my reckoning was right on the preceding Monday.

From this circumstance it may be remarked, that a traveller acquainted with but a few of the stars, may always check a false date in his journal, by recording in it from time to time, the situation of the moon as compared with a known star to which it is approaching, or from which it is receding. And though he should then have no astronomical almanack, to compare his observations with, these will be equally useful for the purpose; as the comparison can be made, either by himself or by others, at any future time. Indeed, so admirably applicable are the motions of the heavenly bodies to the exact measurement of the course of time, whether for periods of years or centuries, or for days or minutes, that, if we could suppose an astronomer, at any moment of time, to know neither the century, the year, the month, nor the day, he might read all this in the face of the starry heavens, in the legible characters of endless multitudes of glorious luminaries which revolve and shine, the great unerring dial of eternity.

That a person whose attention was constantly occupied by a great variety of affairs, should mistake a day, cannot appear surprising; but that the whole party of eleven persons, should fall into the same error, is more extraordinary. There were several of my people who, by means of notched tallies which they always carried about them, kept a careful account of each day, by the cutting of an additional notch. When this tally was thus filled, the amount was transferred to another, on which certain notches represented weeks, or months. In this manner they were generally able to mark accurately the lapse of time for short periods, and sometimes even for several years. But I do not think that any of the aborigines of

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Southern Africa, excepting the Hottentots of the Colony, who perhaps have borrowed the idea from others, ever keep a similar account.

Among my men, Speelman was regarded by his companions as the grand almanack-maker, and was often referred to, for the day of the week: and I have sometimes, on putting to him questions relating to the past occurrences of the journey, been surprised at the accuracy with which he was by these means enabled to recollect when they happened. If he was in doubt, he would pull out his 'almanack,' which was always secured to some part of his dress by a small thong of leather, and after examining his notches, tell me Correctly, or very nearly, the length of time which had passed. It is not meant to be asserted that these tallies were infallible; or that they were in any light extraordinary, unless when viewed as the effort of an untutored Hottentot.

11th. During the whole of the preceding evening and this morning, I remarked an unusual and melancholy silence prevailing among my people: the sound of the fiddle was never once heard; and conversation and laughter no longer enlivened the fireside. As I sat alone in my waggon, I might have fancied that all my men had deserted me: when I came to the fire, it seemed from this strange stillness, as if a funeral were about to take place, and that we were now going to commit to the earth, the bodies of some of our companions who had just been murdered. I looked around to discover the cause, but saw nothing which could inform me; no one appeared unwell, or to have met with any accident; all the party were together; all my cattle were safe; all the wheels were entire. Still, it was certain that this gloominess and dejection could not exist unless there had happened some serious misfortune to occasion so sudden a change from mirth to melancholy. But none of my people seemed willing to disclose to me the distressing secret; and, expecting some intelligence fatal to my expedition, I was almost afraid to ask for information.

At length, by waiting some time at their fire, I discovered by a few short remarks which they occasionally made to each other, that —

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all their rations of tobacco were exhausted, and that not a pipe had been smoked since yesterday morning! From the ill-foreboding state of mind which appearances had occasioned me, it may easily be imagined that this was an agreeable discovery; and although their rations would not be due till the Monday following, I gladly infringed the regulations, and gave each an extra piece enough to last till that day: and finding by their representations, that a larger weekly supply, would add greatly to their comfort, I promised for the future, to increase their rations by two inches more. Such are highly important affairs, when we have to deal with Hottentots.

Immediately, their voices were heard again; and loud talking, laughing, joking, whistling, and fiddling, enlivened our home once more.

Various sorts of birds were found to inhabit these groves, and frequent the fountains; but all excepting two, were already in my collection. A species of Lanius*, or Butcher-bird, was now shot for the first time, though probably to be found within the Colony. Several kinds of Lanius, especially those having a plumage in which black and white are the predominant colors, are called Fiscaal vogels (Fiscal-bird) by the colonists. Their notes are very loud and powerful, and their sound has the nature of a whistle rather than of a bird's singing. The Bachapins call them by the name of Lekókko.

I here also added to my collection, a small and very pretty species of grouse, and, I believe, hitherto undescribed. † It appeared to have a great affinity to the little 'Namaqua grouse;' but its feet were furnished with only three toes, and it had not the two long acute tail-feathers which distinguish that sort. The upper parts of its body were variegated with white, brown, yellow, and black;

* Very much resembling Lanius collaris, from which it appeared to vary only by a white mark over each eye.

† Tetrao (Pterocles) variegatus, B. Suprà albo, fusco, flavo, nigroque, varius: subtus ferrugineus. Remiges nigræ, rachidibus albis. Cauda brevis æqualis, cum dorso con-color. Pedes lanuginosi ochracei, tridactyli, digitis longitudinaliter auctis. Unques nigri. Irides angustæ ochraceæ. Lingua brevis acuminata. Sexus vestitu non dignoscendi.

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beneath it was of a ferrugineous, or rust-color. The wing-feathers were black, with a white midrib. The tail was short and of the same color as the back; the feet, covered with an ochre-colored wool; the toes, edged with a narrow membrane; the nails, black; and the irides, narrow and yellow, or of the color of 'Roman ochre.' The colors of both sexes were alike. This bird, which was seen no where but in the Bichuana countries, frequents the fountains, only to drink; but at other times it is an inhabitant of the open plains.

The purple hoopoe * was also procured here, and afterwards at Litakun; which gave me an opportunity of learning its singular name, Nuenjánni Chúkuru (Rhinoceros-bird); though I could get no clear explanation of the reason why it was so called. The Egyptian goose †?was also shot at Sikkloniáni; together with the crimson-billed duck ‡, here called Sihúrri;' the large coot§ and the armed plover. ║ This last is a very noisy bird; by night, as well as by day, uttering a sharp cry which was fancied to articulate the words Brŏthĕr Kēēvĭt! Brŏthĕr Kēēvĭt! Its name in the Sichuana language, is, Lĕtájan (Letáryan). The groves around this spring abound also in pintadoes.

In the neighbourhood of this water, there resided an old Bachapin, who, as soon as he heard of our arrival, paid us, or rather our pot, a visit, which lasted as long as we stopped at the place. His miserable, dirty, and meagre appearance bespoke the same degree of poverty which was exhibited by the two Bachapins whom we met on first entering their land. Like them, he too was herdsman; not to the late, but to the present, chief of Litakun.

I could not but be struck by this coincidence.; and as similar observations were afterwards made, it formed the subject of further inquiry, in order to gain some satisfactory explanation. Such explanations are not easily obtained among this people; and this difficulty is occasioned, partly by the questions being unusual and

* Upupa purpurea, B.

† Anas Ægyptiaca.

‡ Anas crythrorhyncha.

§ Vol. I. p. 263.

║ Charadrius armatus, B.

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above their comprehension, and partly by their little regard, for truth, and a very general inclination for misleading others; and simple as the case may appear, it was not to be understood till I had gained clearer notions of the state of society in this country.

I had hitherto been accustomed among the Bushmen, to see all men on an equality; that is, that of the individuals of a kraal, no one possessed more property than another, or, at least, there was not so much difference as to occasion them to make a distinction between rich and poor. But those tribes are, as I think the preceding parts of this journal prove, in the lowest degree of human polity and social existence; and in such only, can all men be on a level with respect to property: or in other words, a nation, to be equal, must, even in the aggregate, possess no property at all; which is precisely the case with the Bushman nation.

But the state of society, or, I might almost begin to use the word civilization, among the Bichuana tribes, has reached a much higher point; and, from the possession of property, the distinction of men into richer or poorer classes has followed as the natural consequence. Those who have riches, have also, it seems, power; and the word kō;si, as I have before noticed, has a double acceptation, denoting either a chief or a rich man. The various means by which this ascendancy is gained, is a point well understood by more polished nations; and I saw no reason for doubting that the Bichuanas pursue, in their humble and petty way, exactly the same; and add to them, that of plundering the adjoining countries. According to this scheme of society, the chief will always be the richest man; for once arrived at supreme authority, he holds within his own hands the power of obtaining property. With this view it is, that corporal punishment, excepting in cases of atrocious crime, is commuted for fine; and that confiscation is often superadded to corporal punishment; and that, in some instances, life and property are both forfeited together: I am however led to believe, that the Bachapins do not often punish with death.

But, to return from this digression: Mattīvi possesses numerous

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herds of cattle; these are pastured in various parts of the country, and furnish employment for a considerable number of the poorer class of his people. They receive for their service, nothing more than mere sustenance, and, as it would appear, barely that; being allowed only a certain portion of the milk, and left to supply themselves with meat by occasional hunting. The produce of this, precarious as it is, is lessened by a law or custom, by which they are obliged to send the breast of every piece of game to the chief; and it was said, though there may be some doubt of the information, that the infraction of this law is a capital offence.

This class of the inhabitants is greatly oppressed, not only by a despotic, but by an aristocratic power also: for, that authority which the chief exercises over the kō;sies or richer order, these exercise over their servants and immediate dependants, to so unjust a degree that they will not suffer them to acquire any property whatever; and should any of this illfated class become, by means however honest, possessed of a cow or a few goats, he would be a rare instance of good fortune or favor, if his master did not take them from him. This tyrannical conduct the kō;si would justify by telling him that a muchùnka or a mollála (a poor-man, or servant) had no need of cattle, as he had only to mind his duty in attending those of his superior, and he might always be certain of receiving as much milk and food, as would be necessary for his support

This poor herdsman, being old, and probably less able to undergo the fatigues of hunting, or rather, of approaching the game by creeping unseen towards it, had seldom been so fortunate as to kill any; and his principal dependance was on searching for wild roots. Our halting at this place gave him several plentiful meals; and though we must have appeared much more strange to him, than he to us, yet he sat by our fire and mixed with the party, with as much ease as if he had been at his own home.

He informed me that Mattīvi had long been expecting me at Litakun, and had therefore postponed the intended grand hunt, that he might not be absent at the time of my arrival; but that his

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people were exceedingly unwilling to make any further delay, as they, and even Mattīvi, believed the report, that I had finally returned to the Colony. But Serrăkútu the present chief's uncle and brother to Mulihában, was the principal adviser that they should still continue to wait for me. For, having been to Klaarwater in the interval of my journey to Graafreynet, he had seen my waggons there, and was then assured by Muchùnka that it was my fixed intention to visit Mattīvi. He left with him injunctions to use every argument to persuade me to come as soon as possible; as he had many things to say to me. Our visitor further added that Mollémmi*, (for that was the name of Mattīvi's elder brother,) was very impatient to accompany me back to Cape Town.

By such information I was enabled to prepare myself for the first interview with the chief, and to consider my answers, and the most judicious mode of proceeding, so as to undeceive him without exposing the plan of my future movements; for I had the satisfaction to perceive that he knew nothing of my intention to travel farther northward.

Not long after the herdsman, came a woman with her two children, and also took up her abode with us during our stay at Sikkloniáni. Her eldest child was a girl about six years old; the other was much younger. She appeared to be about thirty, and told us that she had long been deserted by her husband, who left her that he might take another wife. Since that time she had wandered about with her two children from place to place, making any hut her quarters as long as its owners were willing, or able, to share their food with her. To subsist on charity among the Bichuanas, is a melancholy dependance; but this instance serves, at least, to prove the existence of this virtue, though hospitality, which Hottentots extend to a fault among themselves, and often exercise towards other tribes, forms, it would seem, no part of the moral duty of men of this nation.

* This name was sometimes, though less frequently, pronounced Móllemo or Móllema, with the accent on the first syllable.

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Although this woman's appearance did not indicate want of necessary food; yet it certainly did not prove that she had been living in plenty. She was talkative, though sedate; and the freedom and mature confidence with which the daughter often held a conversation with the mother, were remarkable: yet there was, in the child's manner, nothing disrespectful. She seemed to treat them with all maternal affection; and at night, as she lay down on the bare ground to sleep, she wrapped them up with her under her own kobo.

I may here remark that kaross and kobo are but two words for the same thing; the former belonging to the Hottentot, and the latter to the Sichuana, language. They signify the skin-cloak, already described; and may be used indifferently; although the latter is more proper to express the Bichuana cloak, which differs in fashion a little from the other, as it does also in materials; the kaross being generally made of sheep skin with the wool on, and the kobo, either of the fur of various small animals, or of some larger skin made into leather. The latter sort, called kóbo-kaama, because most commonly made of the skin of the kaama antelope, is therefore more properly intended for summer; but the fur-cloaks, called kō;si-kobo, being very expensive to purchase, or very difficult to procure, on account of the number of animals required in making it, poverty obliges the greater part of the nation to wear their leathern cloaks at all seasons, though they are considerably colder than those of fur.*

This poor creature possessed, she said, nothing on earth, but the clothes she wore: and, from the kindness which she testified towards her children, she certainly would not have allowed them to remain almost naked, if she could have obtained another cloak. She was however, besides her cloak, the owner of a pītsa (péetsar) or earthen pot; and which she had brought with her as a very significant emblem of

* Of the kinds of kobo here mentioned, that made of fur is represented in plates 7 and 8; that of leather, in plate 10, and in the 21st, 31st, and 36th vignettes. The sheep-skin kaross may be seen in the vignette at page 1.

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her wants, and of the object of her visit. I ordered the men to supply her with meat, although we had little to spare; and it was not long before her pot was on the fire, doing its duty. The children were lively and in good spirits; and it was most probably to the sight of this, that the talkativeness of the girl and her mother, was to be attributed.

12th. This morning an ostrich having been observed feeding among the trees, one of the Hottentots crept under the bushes unperceived towards it, sufficiently near to shoot it. My men now obtained a supply of their favorite ornament, and each one decked himself with a white plume in his hat.

These birds are in general found to be more difficult of approach than the antelopes; which may be occasioned by the greater height of their eye above the ground, enabling them to see over all the shrubs of the plain. This was an old male, and, on account of its feathers being dirty and much damaged, was said to be a 'nest-bird' or one which had been sitting on the eggs. The small feathers which cover the wings were undamaged and of a fine black; but these were not prized by the Hottentots.

In weight and size, the leg of this ostrich, including the flesh of the thigh, was really surprising when viewed as the leg of a bird: it was as much as one man could carry. The flesh was dark-colored, and resembled beef; and was exceedingly coarse and tough, though tolerably well-tasted. It is sometimes, as the Hottentots affirm, of a disagreeable oily flavor; but I could not here distinguish any taste of that nature. The stomach is considered to be the best part of the whole bird, being both tender and delicate; but my men, who were acquainted with this circumstance, took care to eat up the whole of it before they gave me this piece of information.

Our provisions being nearly consumed, this bird came very opportunely in our way, and besides, enabled me, by giving the poor Bachapin woman one of the legs, to keep her pot employed for several days after our departure.

We were now within a very moderate day's-journey of Litakun;

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but as I conceived it would be more convenient to arrive there as early in the day as possible, so that there might be sufficient time to have an interview with the Chief, and make some arrangements before the night came on, I determined to advance this day no nearer than the last water on this side of the town.

When we had travelled two miles, we halted for a few minutes to fill the water-casks at a shallow pond of clear water surrounded by acacias, a fountain similar to Sikkloniáni; having been told that the spring at which we were to unyoke was slightly brackish, yet not unwholesome. At the distance of a mile beyond this, we came to another similar pond; and, as I depended upon Muchunka, who was well acquainted with the country, and assured me that this was the only water until we reached Litakun, I halted here for the night, though we had not proceeded more than three miles. But on the following day I discovered that we might have advanced six miles farther, as this would have brought us to a plentiful rivulet of excellent water, within four miles of the town.

What this man's reason might be for wishing me to halt at this place instead of going forward, as I should have done, to the rivulet, I never could learn; nor why, after leaving Little Klibbolikhonni, he led me in a northerly direction down the Kruman river, when he knew that the direct and usual course would have taken us to the source of it, at the Klibbolikhonni Spring, in the bearing of northeast. Yet, that it was some selfish motive, I have no doubt; although my suspicions as to his want of fidelity were not awakened at this time. It is to be feared that every traveller who shall spend among these African tribes time enough to learn their true character, will find, to his trouble and vexation, that the only principle by which they are guided is selfishness; or rather, that they have not the fixed inflexible principle of honor to restrain them from swerving from the path of rectitude.

The place at which we had halted was called Lobŭtsānĭ, if my interpreter's word can be relied on. The air was now, as it had been during the whole day, extremely cold; its chilling effect being increased

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by a strong easterly wind; the thermometer not having risen during the day higher than 58½°, (11·7 R.), and remaining all night at 43°, (4·8 R.).

13th. It was my intention to fix my residence at Litakun for some time, as the most favourable situation for studying the character of the people and observing their customs. An abode there of several weeks, would, I conceived, be highly advantageous in preparing me for the journey onwards, and would enable me to gain much more experience, and in much less time, than could be expected while travelling hastily through the other parts of the country, where we should, only occasionally, see a few straggling individuals; if a judgement could be formed from the number which we had hitherto met. We should, by continuing to travel every day, soon reach, indeed, the farthest extremity of their country; but it would be long before I had made myself acquainted with their manners and customs, or had acquired that practical knowledge and experience, which I deemed essential to my safety and success. It appeared, therefore, to be accordant to reason, that I should make myself tolerably well acquainted with one tribe or nation, before I proceeded to the next.

At an earlier hour than usual, we began to yoke the oxen to the waggons; and it seemed as if some new sensation was felt at our near approach to a large and populous town. I could evidently perceive that the thought of terminating this days-journey in a scene so different from all which we had hitherto beheld, roused in my people some strong feelings; and though they were not apparently those of fear, yet I have little doubt from subsequent experience, that, had not Muchunka been with us to inspire the party with confidence in the peaceable disposition of his countrymen, I should have found great difficulty in persuading the whole of my men to advance another step beyond Lobutsáni.

This being the day for receiving their rations of brandy and tobacco, they requested to have them before we set out, as it was not likely that I should have leisure for giving them at the usual hour in the evening. With this wish I most readily complied; not

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only because I had resolved to conceal from the Bichuanas all knowledge of my having any intoxicating drink in the waggon, but because I had lately witnessed how necessary tobacco was to amuse, if I may so express it, the minds of my men, and imagined that the exhilarating power of the brandy would be on this day especially useful.

There was among all my party, a certain degree of curiosity to see this long-talked-of town, in praise of which they had heard so much; and this enlivened them, and perhaps, during its continuance, counteracted their timidity. I need not describe my own sensations at so interesting a point of my journey; they may easily be conceived by those who have ever felt a desire to visit a foreign land that they may view and contemplate the human character in some new light; and that, by tracing the gradations and shades of notions and ideas, through the various customs of different nations, and even to their first feeble source in uncivilized life, they may better understand themselves, and learn by the comparison, to form a juster estimate of that society which more immediately surrounds them, and to which they more properly belong. Those will feel as I felt; and will find in their own heart, a ready apology for all those stratagems by which I endeavoured to draw my men into a consent to accompany me to nations still more remote, and still less known.

Our course this day, was over the same level country which I have called the Great Plains of Litákun, a denomination which does not express too much, as our journey through that part only which lay on this side of the town, was, according to my estimation, not less than forty-seven miles, extending in one unbroken expanse. They still preserved their sandy and grassy character, though occasionally varied with bushes; and were not without the pleasing relief of frequent clumps of acacias. The lime-stone rock, which, in some places, of a white and in others of a blackish color, had been here and there observable during nearly the whole distance, now began to disappear beneath the surface, and sandstone and granite rocks, a kind not before noticed in the Transgariepine, introduced a change in the

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geological appearance of that part of the plain in which the town was situated.

Agreeably to the hypothesis which I have ventured to assume, and which has already been explained *, these rocks must rest upon the great limestone floor; unless we adopt another, which, though it would suppose the limestone to be the superincumbent stratum, does not contradict the assertion that the whole country is geologically a primitive region; and although no favorable opportunities for ascertaining the fact, presented themselves, yet it is not impossible that the granite may protrude itself through this limestone. In either case, it still remains a fact, as far at least as my observation extends, that the limestone never rises above the surface, and that wherever hills or mountains occur, they are found to be either of clay-slate, or of sand-stone: none which I examined were of granite, this substance having been met with only in a comparatively small proportion.

As we advanced, the surface of the plain, which had hitherto been sandy, became more rocky. At first the rocks were of limestone, though of a blackish color; as we proceeded, they changed to a red sandstone; and farther, they were composed of a coarse granite.

In this part of our days-journey, the pretty flowering shrub already noticed †?grew in greater abundance, and tempted me to halt a few minutes to lay some luxuriant specimens into the press; an operation which at other times had always been deferred till the waggons arrived at the night's station; but in the present case there could be no expectation of having sufficient leisure at the usual hour.

At the distance of six miles from Lobutsáni, we crossed to the right bank of a rivulet which was running in a plentiful stream; and which was said to join itself to the following. At two miles and a quarter beyond this, we came to a larger stream, which our guide called the Litákun river, though distant from that town a mile and a

* At page 311. of this volume.

† The Passerina? mentioned at page 341.

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half; but which I afterwards found to be the highest and principal branch of the Moshwa (Mŏshówa), and the river which flows by the original town of Litákun now deserted and in ruins. Its banks were steep; and it was not till after some delay in searching for a practicable road for the waggons, that they could be dragged safely to the opposite bank. The bed of this river, or more properly, rivulet, was but a few yards wide, and of this the water occupied but a small part; yet, as it flows constantly during the whole year, it is regarded by the natives as a considerable stream, though much inferior to the Kruman.

As we approached the hills which partly enclose the valley in which Litákun stands, the ground became more uneven and rocky. A number of oxen, attended by several herdsmen, and a few straggling inhabitants showed us that we were not far from the town; while some large mokaala trees, and every bush around, indicated, by the unsparing manner in which they had been lopped and cut for fuel, that we were in the immediate neighbourhood of a populous place. Many narrow foot-paths leading forward in one general direction, pointed out our way, and began to awaken my attention to the unexpected magnitude of the town; for as yet I had not been able to gain any distinct notion of its size: every person of whom I had asked questions on this head, denominating it a very large kraal, but being unable to give me any other more defined idea: so that my expectations as to its extent were very much below what I actually found it to be.

At length, the most gratifying sight which my journey had yet afforded, presented itself; and part of the Town of Litákun now appeared before me. As we advanced nearer, and gained higher ground, the multitude of houses which continued rising into view as far as I could see, excited astonishment; while their novel form and character seized my whole attention, as my eager eyes surveyed and examined their outline though yet at a distance. They occupied, in detached groups, a portion of the plain, not less than a mile and a half in diameter. The situation of the town appeared open,

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though surrounded by hills. The spaces which intervened between the houses, were sparingly covered with low bushes and a halftrampled herbage. A few mokaalas were here and there to be seen standing amidst the dwellings; but excepting these, no other tree was visible in any quarter. The usual appearance of Bachapin houses is exhibited in the annexed engraving.

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CHAPTER XIV.

RECEPTION AT LITAKUN.

WHEN the waggons had nearly reached some of the first houses, which lay irregularly scattered on the skirts of the town, and our approach was discovered, many of the inhabitants flocked round us, and the crowd increased at every step. All seemed highly pleased at our arrival, and moved forward by the side of the waggons, with a briskness and alacrity which seemed to show that they regarded my coming as a public holiday, or as a great event which rejoiced them the more as their expectations of seeing me had so long been disappointed.

As for myself, I scarcely once thought of the rest of my party, and seemed to have entirely forgotten that I had either waggons or attendants belonging to me; so completely was my attention absorbed by the interesting scene before me, and by the novelty of all which I beheld. The good humour which beamed in the countenances of the

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crowd, reflected a sunshine upon every object, and from the first instant, banished every uneasy sensation which the uncertainty of our reception might have created. With the recollection of the vexations and disappointments which had so long attended my progress into the Interior, I felt as though I had, by advancing thus far, gained a triumph over the numerous difficulties which must always beset and oppose every traveller who shall attempt to explore these regions, alone and unsupported, cheered by no friend, upheld by no aid. While surveying with rapidity the new character of this bustling crowd of Africans, and admiring the social appearance and magnitude of a town, so different in every respect from those of Europe, I caught a spirit of enthusiasm which seemed like some fascinating power emanating from the strange objects which every where surrounded me, and excited feelings which rendered my first view of the town of Litakun, a moment, which, in its peculiar gratification and delight, was never surpassed by any other event of the journey. Accustomed, as I had been, for so many months, to the sight of only the frail moveable huts of Hottentots and Bushmen, I rejoiced at finding myself at length arrived among a nation whose dwellings claimed the name of buildings. Although the weather was cold, yet the sun shone bright and shed animation upon the scene and enlivened the appearance of these dwellings, as much as the arrival of the white stranger, seemed to lend a pleasing active curiosity to their gazing inhabitants.

Muchunka, who was in high spirits, led the way as our guide through the labyrinth of houses. He had equipped himself with a gun and cartridge-box on this occasion, that he might display before his countrymen some marks of superiority; and of which he was not a little proud. My own men, of whom three were mounted on horses and the rest on foot, kept closely together; while I myself sat in front of the great waggon, by the side of Philip, and whom I was glad to see managing his long whip without the least symptom of being confused by the presence of so large a throng. My attention was too much occupied another way, to allow me to observe whether all of my party were equally at their ease; but I suspected that they

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were not. He, indeed, had, some years before, made a journey to the Kruman at the time when the Bachapins were residing in a town on that river; but to all the others, this country and its inhabitants, were not less new, than they were to myself.

The buildings were nowhere ranged in the form of streets, nor placed according to any regular plan; but were scattered about, in some places far apart, and in others standing so closely together, as not to admit a passage for my waggons between them.*

I had desired Muchunka to conduct us at once to the dwelling of the Chief. As we proceeded towards the middle of the town and the waggons drove past their dwellings, the families ran out to get a sight of us; the women half-astonished, the children half-afraid: but the men immediately quitted their employment and added themselves to the countless crowd by which we were already surrounded, and almost impeded. Yet, they conducted themselves without the least disorderly behaviour or boisterous noise: nor did they, though naturally most importunate beggars of tobacco, attempt at this time to interrupt our progress by any solicitations of the kind. One man who was walking by the side of the waggon, once, as he looked up in my face, pronounced the word mŭchúko (tobacco); but no others followed his example as I took no notice of it, being fearful, from the experience I had already gained, that had I complied with his request, the whole crowd would soon have been in an uproar; and the only word to have been distinguished, would have been, muchuko.

At length we arrived before Mattivi's house: it differed in no respect from other houses, nor did its appearance exhibit the least superiority, or indicate it to be the dwelling of the Chief of so large a town, and the ruler of a whole tribe.

I waited a minute, expecting that the Chief himself, or some

* The fifth plate will give some idea of the appearance of the town of Litákun, on entering it from the west, and looking northward. The various objects seen in this view, will be found fully explained in the two last chapters of this volume. On the left, is represented a man carrying a parasol made of ostrich-feathers; and in the middle of the picture, are the figures of two women and a child. The large trees are mokaalas, or camelthorns.

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person in authority who might have been in readiness, would have come forward to meet me; but as I could distinguish in the multitude no person of this description, all being dressed alike, I ordered my men to loose the oxen from the yoke, and drive them and the other cattle back to the open space on the outside of the town.

The crowd which had collected round us, was now so much increased by the people who flocked from all parts of the town to view us, that I was soon enclosed in so great a multitude, that every object beyond them was excluded from my sight. Muchunka, as my interpreter, remained close by my side; but my Hottentots were so intermingled with the natives, that I saw little of them after the oxen had been unyoked.

In this situation I found that I was surrounded by most of the principal men of Litakun. Among the foremost and most loquacious was the Chief's uncle Serrakútu(Serrakóotoo) the brother of Mulihában, and the first who was introduced to me: for here, the peculiarity of the case required that the practice of civilized countries should be reversed; and instead of introducing the stranger to the chief personage, it was necessary to point out this one to the stranger, who, otherwise, could not have distinguished him from the rest of the crowd; though, on the other hand, there was little necessity for indicating to him who was the stranger.

After waiting about five minutes, a man who stood close by my side, was without much ceremony brought to my notice as Mattīvi, the Chief of the Bachapins. Whether he had stood there the whole time, or had but just forced his way through the crowd, I was too much engaged to have noticed; but in his peculiar silence and reserved manners he formed a striking contrast to his uncle Serrakútu, who now openly exulted in the superiority of his judgment in having, contrary to the opinion of the Chief himself and of every one else, persisted in assuring them that, notwithstanding the report of my having returned to the colony, I should certainly visit their town. This person, therefore more especially, seemed pleased at my coming, and placed himself so far forward in the conversation, that had I

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been left to my own decision, I should not have hesitated in addressing him as the Chief.

Mattīvi in outward appearance differed in no respect from those of the crowd by whom he was surrounded. Compared with the rest of his nation, he was in stature of an intermediate proportion, and of a good figure; neither tali nor short, neither thin nor corpulent. In his countenance there was little expression of openness, or of that good-natured easy disposition which might be seen in the features of several who stood near him. He wore an ordinary leathern kobo or cloak, and was ornamented round the neck with a thick necklace of twisted sinews, one string of large beads alternately white and purple, and several small cords from which, conformably to general custom, a common knife of Bichuāna manufacture* was suspended. He was barefooted, and wore nothing on the head; but his hair was plastered with a thick covering of grease mixed with sibīlo which caused it to shine with perfect metallic lustre. On bis left arm, above the elbow, were five broad rings of ivory. †?His age appeared to be above forty; but it is possible that it might not have been quite so much; as his grave and sedate deportment on the one hand, and his uncle's talkativeness on the other, seemed to bring their ages nearer together than, it may be supposed, they really were. A thicker beard than commonly seen among his countrymen, who often have none at all, assisted much in producing these impressions.

He stood perfectly still, with his hands before him folded in each other, and with his eyes directed rather downwards, but now and then looking up and showing that he was attending to all that was said. He spoke very little or almost nothing; and left the conversation to Serrakútu and his brothers. These were pointed out to me; for to say, introduced, would create an idea of some form or ceremony, and give a very erroneous impression of the whole affair. The brothers who were present on this occasion, were Mollémmĭ Molaalĭ, and Măhúra. Mollémmĭ, whose name has already been

* Such as may be seen represented by the upper figure of the 39th vignette.

† See the 38th vignette.

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mentioned, was a tall thin man, of a countenance most remarkable for its long and disproportioned features. The mother of him and of his elder brother Mattīvi, was a Kora; but the others were the sons of a Bichuāna woman. Molálĭ (or Molaală) was a fine well-proportioned young man of a genuine Bichuana countenance and complexion, approaching somewhat to the negro. The younger brother, Mahúra, was remarkably handsome as a black, and seemed to be about twenty years of age. He was of fine proportions, and in limbs and figure, not unlike the well known statue of Antinoüs, though somewhat fatter. On his feet he wore sandals*, and his head was bound round, not inelegantly, with a leathern handkerchief, nearly in the manner which has been shown in a former plate.†

The conversation which took place between us, amounted to but little; being much interrupted by passing through the mouth of an interpreter. This man seemed quite at home among these people; and, being personally known to most of them, who called him familiarly by his name, he often continued the conversation for his own pleasure, quite forgetting his official duties, and leaving me to guess, by their looks and gestures, or by a single word which now and then, though rarely, caught my ear, the purport of what was said between them.

It must not be supposed, because I have called him my interpreter, that he performed his duty with much regularity; or that he had any very strict notions of the nature of his situation. His ideas on this subject were the most vague; and he seemed to think, that by giving me occasionally a little of the information, he acquitted himself of his obligation. Neither must it be imagined, that at this introductory meeting either the Chief or myself, made many complimentary speeches to each other, or conducted ourselves with much courtly formality: to relate such incidents in this manner, might perhaps, set off a traveller's story to much advantage, and excite a pleasing wonderment in his readers; but the inflexible rule of truth

* Figures of the Bachapin sandal are given at the end of this chapter.

† That of the 'portrait of a Kora.' Plate 10. of the first volume.

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will not allow him thus to decorate his narrative, while conscience whispers that he ought to tell a plainer tale.

At this time the principal remarks which were made by the assembly, were merely to inform me that they had for a length of time been expecting me at Litakun: to which I replied, that as I had long felt a strong desire to become acquainted with them, it was never my intention to return home till I had visited their town. Serrakútu rejoined, that I spoke very rightly, and he was glad to hear me say so. As Mattīvi seemed so little inclined to speak, I put myself on a level with him, by merely saying to him that I was come to see him: to which he replied by one or two words expressive of approbation and assent. Muchùnkă was much pleased in pointing out to me the different relations of Mattīvi, who were standing by us: he spoke to every one in his usual and animated manner, and might have been taken for one of the most important personages, if men's importance were to be measured by their confidence. Yet it was not the confidence of presumption: it was not in the smallest degree wanting in due respect towards them.

Our interview had thus lasted about ten minutes, when the Chief, addressing himself to me, said he wished that we should sit down. We were then standing near my waggons, in an open space between the houses. I expressed my desire to do as he wished; but remained on my feet till he should first be seated. Seeing however that he waited for me, I sat myself down upon the ground, in the African manner; and immediately he did the same, placing himself opposite to me; while the different members of his family, and the kō;sies or subordinate chieftains*, formed round us a circle two or three deep; the rest of the people still continuing standing, as close as it was possible for them to crowd together. The engraving at the head of the chapter (page 358.) will give some idea of this scene.

The Chief still preserving his taciturnity, Serrakùtu assumed

* I here use the word chieftain, as the nearest to my meaning; although to some persons, it may possibly seem to express too much: but the sense in which it is to be understood may easily be discovered from my explanation of the word kosi, at pages 272. 347. and 348.

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the prominent station, and made himself the principal speaker; although Mollémmi also, took a share in the debate. The younger brothers and sons, though attentive to all which was passing, remained respectfully silent. The surrounding spectators seldom attempted to speak; but the kosies who formed the sitting circle, occasionally addressed themselves to my interpreter. He, whether to save himself trouble, or because what they said was not spoken directly to me, left the greatest part of their remarks uninterpreted. It appeared that they were questioning him on various subjects relating to my journey; such as the length of time since my departure from Cape Town, which place they called Mŏkaapa; the reason of my subsequent return into the colony; the quantity of tobacco and beads which I had brought with me; the object of my visit to Litakun; and others of the same nature. What answers were made to all these I know not; but he afterwards gave me to understand that his replies were conformable to that which he had always heard stated by my Hottentots.

Addressing myself to the Chief, I told him, that my object in coming into his country, was to form an acquaintance with him and his people, whom I had heard so favorably spoken of at Kárrĭkammă (Klaarwater): that so much had been said in praise of Litakun, that I had been very desirous of seeing his town: that I wished at the same time to hunt the wild animals, that I might be enabled to take home the skins of them to my own country: that I intended to stop with the Bachăpīns long enough to learn their language, so that I might be able to tell them myself many things which I wished them to know, and that we might by these means understand each other's sentiments more clearly than they could be explained through an interpreter: and that I hoped we should thus become true friends, that I might at my return home, report of the Bachapins that they were a good people, and that on hearing this, other white-men would visit him and bring abundance of beads and tobacco. I therefore wished now to know from himself, whether he thought that what I had said, was good; and whether he approved of my remaining a long time at Litakun.

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To this, his answer, or rather that of the interpreter, was simply, "That is the same.' By which he meant to say, that I was at liberty to stay as long as it pleased me, or to depart whenever I chose. He thus, by confining his reply to my last words, cunningly avoided giving at our first meeting, any opinion on the other parts of my speech.

The surrounding multitude were in the highest degree attentive to all we said; the eyes of every individual were fixed upon me, and examined me with the utmost curiosity. As I thought I could perceive satisfaction in their countenances, I felt perfectly at ease; but could not, on viewing the assembly and snatching in the midst of these transactions a moment to reflect on my situation, a solitary Englishman wandering among lawless nations in the heart of Africa, to gratify a desire of beholding human nature in its uncivilized state, I could not but feel sensible of the risk I incurred.

After sitting thus for about ten minutes, the Chief rose and left the circle, Serrakútu ordering the crowd to make way for him; which they instantly did, without confusion or noise. All the rest remained in their places, and a conversation of the same nature as before, was renewed between the kosies. A few trifling questions were put to me, who in my turn put others of as little importance; asking if they had many elephants and camelopards in their country, and if there was much game to be found in the vicinity of the town. At some intervals little was spoken by any one; the attention of all being engaged in watching every motion I made, and in observing my features.

In five minutes the Chief returned. The crowd opened a passage for him, as before; but no one rose or quitted his seat: he stepped between the chieftains, and took his place within the circle. He had risen and gone into the house, for the purpose of fetching a small calabash, of milk; which, as soon as he was seated, he offered to me. He said nothing, but intimated by his motions and looks that it was presented as a testimony of friendly feeling towards me. Accordingly, I took a part of it; during which ceremony, Serrakútu, Mollé;mmi, and Muchunka, continued talking, while the

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rest of the assembly and the crowd, in silence rivetted their eyes upon me, with looks of uncommon interest and surprise; as a great number of them, there is no doubt, had never before beheld a white man.

As I conceived it would not have been decorous to have returned any part of this present, I gave the remainder to Juli that he might set it in the waggon; for on looking round at the crowd I at that moment discovered him close to me. My own men had been completely excluded from me, but he, not yet knowing whether my reception was friendly or not and becoming anxious for the result, had thus forced his way to his master's side.

After this we continued sitting; but no further conversation took place between us. At length Serrakútu asked me to give him some tobacco; but, though I had put some in my pocket for occasional distribution, I declined giving him any at this time, as I feared that some confusion might arise, should all the others make the same request, and as I knew that the quantity I had about me would not suffice for the whole assembly if I began to give a piece to each. I answered him, that until the Chief had received that which was intended for him, it would not be correct to make a present to any one else; and he expressed himself satisfied with my excuse.

That we might not sit silent and unemployed, I opened my snuff-box, and held it towards Mattīvi, who took two thirds of its contents, and returned it to me: but, as I was sure that he would be better pleased with three thirds, I put the box again into his hand, and found that I had not mistaken his feelings. He emptied the whole into the hollow of his hand and drawing from its sheath, the knife which hung from his neck, he, with the point of it, distributed a small quantity to each of his family and to all the chieftains who sat in the inner circle, reserving for himself no larger share than he had given to any of the rest; a display of generosity to which he was induced by the presence of the assembly. On this, a general snuff-taking ensued, in the manner already described; but the quantity which each received, was not sufficient to produce that strong effect, nor even an inclination to sneeze.

On asking Muchùnka privately if this would not be a proper

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moment for bringing forward the presents which I intended making to the Chief, he advised that I should wait till another opportunity, as he knew, he said, that Mattīvi would be better pleased if they were given to him when quite alone.

At length Mattīvi rose, and without ceremony, or speaking to any one, left the assembly. I remained a few minutes after; but on ascertaining that he would not return, I quitted the circle also, and retired to my waggon; on which, the chieftains rose, and the crowd dispersed.

During this interview, which lasted little more than three quarters of an hour, the principal object of my attention had been to discover, if possible, the character of the man to whom I was about to commit myself, and on whose dealings so much depended. But his silence baffled all power of guessing; yet I thought I could discern through all this affectation of dignity, indications of a want of mind and of that which constitutes real dignity. To have expected to find this last quality in him, was not expecting more than was possible, since it is as much the gift of nature as of refined education; and an uncultivated savage may often possess it in a higher degree than those whom art would elevate, but to whom nature has refused her support. Although I observed nothing which could be considered as prepossessing in his favor; yet the impressions of a first interview had not disappointed the expectations which I had allowed myself to entertain of his character.

To make use of the word king when speaking of such a man; or of queens, princes, or princesses, to designate his wives, sons, or daughters, would betray a childish vanity which, instead of adding importance to my journal, would only serve to give extremely false notions of the persons whom it means to describe. I am content with humble terms for expressing humble things. It is, I may be excused for saying, very far from being the object of this narrative, to create an interest in it by any of the arts of exaggeration; among which, that of elevating the character of ideas by false names, or of depressing it by similar means, is not the least dishonest.

Scarcely had I seated myself in the waggon, when another crowd formed itself. From the first, all women, girls, and boys had been

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excluded; but now the throng consisted entirely of these. In order to get sight of me, they had arranged themselves in a long line, extending from the back of the waggon, the end usually open; so that they might look into it, and have a full view. This was a scene as amusing and interesting to me as to them; and therefore to gratify both parties, I seated myself forward; by which a greater multitude were enabled to see at once. They talked a great deal, and in a very familiar and lively manner; but unfortunately their volubility of utterance prevented my distinguishing a single word; and my interpreter had at this time left me to myself. At last, that important word mŭchūko was often repeated by those who stood nearest: on which I endeavoured to tell them, by a combination of words and signs, that I could not give them any tobacco till Mattīvi had received some. This mode of conversing, being, I supposed, quite unintelligible to them, appeared to afford these Bachapin ladies much amusement. At this moment Muchunka, seeing me so completely beset by this curious good-humoured crowd, came to my assistance; and explained to them what I had been endeavouring to say. One of those who had been importuning for tobacco, was the wife of the Chief; but notwithstanding her rank, she was as little successful as the rest. This crowd was composed only of the wives, younger daughters and sons, of the richer inhabitants; those of a lower class were not permitted to approach me till a day or two afterwards. They continued standing in this manner for some time, till they had satisfied their curiosity; on which they returned to their homes.

Soon after this, Mattūvi, Serrakútu, and Mollémmi, came and took their seats in the waggon. As they appeared to have no other object than that of mere curiosity, I took out my vocabulary and read various sentences to them in their own language. These, as my pronunciation was not unintelligible, seemed to afford them considerable amusement; and Muchunka did not fail to let them know that I had learnt them from him. But though they appeared pleased, they exhibited none of that surprise which I have described as having been witnessed on a former occasion; and even Muchunka's astonish-

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ment was now much moderated. They could scarcely be quite ignorant of the nature and use of books and writing, as several white-persons, had at different times, visited their country. It seemed to afford them much pleasure, when I repeated that it was my intention to learn their language, that I might talk to them without an interpreter. Mattīvi's manners, though still sedate and reserved, were now somewhat more familiar, and he had evidently laid aside that assumed apathy and silence, which he may have thought more becoming him in a public assembly composed of the principal men of property and influence, belonging to the town; and even among the larger crowd, there were, perhaps, but few of the poorer class then present.

He pointed to a large circular enclosure close by, surrounded by a fence or hedge of dry branches, where he wished my waggon to be stationed, as he remarked that I should find the open place where it now stood, to be very inconvenient on account of my being there too much exposed to the general crowd of the inhabitants. I therefore ordered my men to move it thither: which they easily effected without the oxen, as the ground was level and even. We still remained sitting within, while they drew it along; and it was exceedingly amusing to behold this Chief of the Bachapins, who, a few minutes before, sat in the midst of a great assembly of his nation, with a gravity of deportment which would hardly permit him even to return an answer to my address, now, as pleased with the ride, as a child when drawn about by its nurse. All his dignity in my eyes, was at an end: he seemed now to be only a Bachapin named Mattīvi. He regretted that the distance was so short; and his uncle and his brother, not less than himself, were delighted with the motion of the vehicle, and betrayed their satisfaction by countenances exhibiting an intermediate expression between smiling and laughing.

They descended from the waggon as soon as it was brought within the enclosure; and Mattīvi showed me a hut on one side of the area, which he gave for the use of my men. The plan of it was circular; the sides, which extended round two thirds only of the circumference, were made with roughly-interwoven branches

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and twigs; and the roof was covered with dry grass. It was of very rude construction, and in no respect resembled the neat dwelling-houses of the town: it differed from a Hottentot hut only in materials and greater size, and was intended merely as a place of shade. My people, however, were very well pleased with it, as we had seldom found so good a shelter on the journey; and they easily rendered it more comfortable, by closing the front with the mats which we had brought with us for similar purposes.

The Bachapin kosies, or chieftains, do not receive visitors or transact business in their houses or within the fence by which they are incircled; but appropriate to this use a large open area, from five-and-twenty to thirty yards across, surrounded by either a hedge of branches, or a rough irregular palisade. ln this area, which they call a móotsi (móatsy), or mútsu (móotsew), all public business is transacted; and it is here, where they and their attendants and friends, usually sit during the day and in fine weather. It is the place of public resort for the men, but not for the women; whose laborious employments call them another way. Sometimes a large tree is left standing in it, for the sake of shade, but more frequently they are quite unsheltered: that belonging to Mattīvi was of this kind, without a bush or green twig within the fence; the hut being intended to supply this deficiency.

It was in an enclosure of this kind, where my waggons were stationed; than which, no situation could afford a more favorable opportunity for observing the manners of the principal inhabitants, and the mode of conducting public affairs; as it was that particular móotsi which belonged to the Chief.*

Soon after we had made these arrangements, a Bachapin presented himself to me as an old acquaintance, and spoke Dutch with great fluency. I had however no recollection of him, until he reminded me of his having joined our caravan at the Karree river, on our journey through the Roggeveld. At that time he attracted no particular atten-

* The outside of one of these public enclosures, is shown in the 6th plate, under the large trees, and in the same engraving, the situation of the waggone may be seen.

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tion, as he did not then make himself known to me as a native of Litakun; and from his speaking the language of the Colony so readily, and wearing the same dress as the other people, I supposed him to be a Hottentot of the mixed race. He now told me that he had been living in the service of the boors in the Bokkeveld and Roggeveld, from the time of his childhood; but knew not, as he said, by what means he was brought away from his native country. On the arrival of our caravan in that part of the colony, he conceived a desire to visit the land which gave him birth; although he was utterly ignorant of the name of his parents, and even of the name they had given him, by which he might be enabled to make himself known to them: and besides this, he was totally unacquainted with the Sichuana language. He had received from the Boors, the name of Adam; and by this he was now generally called. Having been told that I was coming to this place, he had intended to accompany my waggons thus far; but the various delays which had impeded my progress, and the reported uncertainty of my ever returning alive to Klaarwater, had at last induced him to make the journey in company with some Hottentots; with whom he arrived here about a month before me. To his great pleasure, he had at length discovered his father; and who, to his further satisfaction, proved to be one of the richest chieftains in the town, and consequently, a man of some importance; to which advantages he thus found himself suddenly, and most unexpectedly, entitled. His father's superior affluence might be estimated from the circumstance of his having four different dwelling-houses, and as many wives. Adam was endeavouring to learn the language; but as yet bad experienced great difficulty in making himself to be understood by his countrymen. It was not, he said, his intention to fix his residence permanently at this place, as he preferred living on the Gariep, with the Hottentots, under captain Berends; to whose manners, language, and mode of life, he was more accustomed; as he knew little of any others. He had partly laid aside his colonial dress, and had adopted that of the Bichuanas, excepting only the pukóli: instead of this he retained his leathern trowsers, to which he had been accustomed all his

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life; and at this time expressed himself as averse from adopting that part of their dress, after having been so long clothed in a very different manner.

With respect to the covering of the human body, we may remark that among the various nations of the globe, whatever advancement they may have made, they rarely if ever make a retrograde change. And, could this opinion be established as a rule, it would lead us to conclude that the aborigines of Southern Africa could never have descended from a nation once accustomed to wear complete clothing.

The place allotted for my cattle, was in the same pound with those of the Chief. A little before sunset, a Bachapin, who said he was Mattīvi's son-in-law, entered the enclosure, driving in my oxen before him. They were found in the town, without any one attending them; and, being used to come home at that hour, had of their own accord gone into one of the mootsies, which happening to be his, they were immediately recognised as belonging to me, and every one selected, without mistake, from among his own with which they had mingled; a further proof of the faculty which all these South-Africans have, of distinguishing and recognising oxen in the midst of numerous herds. He claimed a piece of tobacco for his trouble, and, on receiving three inches, departed as much pleased at my cattle having strayed into his kraal, as I was vexed at finding that they had been so much neglected by my own herdsman. But I consoled myself with having by these means discovered that there existed so much good faith and honesty in the inhabitants, that on such occasions they were ready to restore the lost oxen to their owner, instead of concealing them, in order to profit by my loss.

Adjoining the public enclosures, are others of the same kind, called likháaï, and also móotsi, in which the cattle are confined at night, and to which there is usually no entrance but through the first: so that by placing a guard here and around the hedge, their cows and oxen are well secured, both from breaking out, and from any attempts of their enemies.

A wooden jug, containing about a gallon of sour or thick milk,

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was brought to me by a chieftain's servant; and soon afterwards Serrakútu came to inform me that it was he who had sent it; and at the same time begged me to give him some tobacco. Not wishing to be troubled by similar importunities from others, I put a piece secretly into his hand, requesting that he would not let any one know that he had received it from me. This caution was quite unnecessary, as he valued it himself too much to give any away to others; which he could not have avoided doing, had it been known; as his friends Would, in that case, have beset him on all sides. He instantly concealed it under his cloak and hasted away home to deposit it in a place of safety.

When Mattīvi left the waggon, he took his seat on the ground at the distance of a few yards, where his attendants and brothers sat in a small party, engaged either in desultory conversation with each other, or in observing our movements. At some times they appeared not to heed our presence; at others, to watch every thing with apparent curiosity and interest. The spot where he had seated himself, and which he used as long as I remained at Litakun, was directly facing the open end, or back, of my own waggon; so that he had a constant and full view of me, whenever the canvas flap was tied open; which it usually was, during the first fortnight of my residence at this town.

Numbers of the inhabitants were standing about unemployed, except in looking at the waggons and observing all which we did; but, awed or restrained by their Chief, they did not interrupt me, or venture to importune for any thing; a sufficient proof that he had issued strict orders to forbid begging at that time. These, and my own declaration that nothing would be given away till Mattīvi had received what was intended for him, were the only cause of my remaining all day unmolested in this respect.

Among my stores, I had coffee still remaining; and as soon as some was prepared, I sent a large cupful to the Chief, who drank it immediately it was presented to him, and expressed his approbation by the words, It is good. He admired the vessel which held it, and inquired if it was made of ivory. This remark was not injudicious,

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as a small jar of white glazed earthenware, was not altogether unlike ivory: it was the last remaining European article of that nature, which I had then left to supply the place of a coffee-cup; every thing else having long been broken to pieces by the unavoidable accidents of travelling.

In the evening, as soon as my Waggon was closed and the candle lighted, Mattīvi climbed in and took his seat, accompanied by his brothers Mollémmi and Moláali, and attended by Adam the Bachapin, whom they brought with them as interpreter: but, as he was too little acquainted with the Sichuana language, I Was obliged to call in the assistance of Muchunka. We were therefore all closely crowded together, as my sitting-room, if I may call it so, had been made only large enough conveniently for one person.

The coffee-kettle was still standing more than half full; and on seeing this Mattīvi asked for another cup, which was accordingly poured out for him, and the same quantity also presented to his brothers. This beverage appeared to be highly agreeable to their palate, and so much were they pleased with it, that as soon as one cup was drunk, they asked for another, and repeated their request till the kettle was emptied.

Among other remarks it was explained to me that the name Mollémmi signified 'left-handed;' a circumstance which first led me to conclude that these people do not receive their names while infants; but that, in all probability, these are given, only when they have attained an age at which they begin to exhibit some character of their own. This may not be the case on every occasion, since I had no opportunity of ascertaining this point clearly; but it certainly is so on many, of which this is an instance; as Mollémmi was really left-handed. He used the knife with that hand, and did with it what others usually do only with their right; being in several things, ambidextrous.

The Word moláala signifies, a person who is possessed of little, and is used as a common appellative for a servant or inferior attendant. The name Muchùnka has nearly the same signification, but implies a lower rank. The name of the Chief's youngest brother

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Mahúra, may be expressed in English by 'fat;' a word which most correctly accorded with his figure.

When they had drunk all the coffee, they seemed inclined to enter into conversation. Mattīvi commenced by saying, that Muli- hában his father, a short time before he died, had desired him to be kind to all his brothers, and to take every care of them; that they were numerous, and all depended on him for protection. He then remarked that Mulihában was always a great friend to white-men. To which I replied; Yes, I had already heard that he was, and that the white-men would therefore lament, on receiving the news of his death; but that when I should inform them that Mattīvi was equally their friend, they would rejoice again, and white-men would again come to see him.

These remarks, and a few others of the same kind, were made in a desultory manner, and appeared to have no mutual connection, nor any particular object: they were merely meant as an introduction to another more important subject which it seems, had occupied their thoughts long before my arrival, and had been a matter of national consultation. It had previously pressed so much on their minds, that it had evidently been resolved to make it the very first point of discussion, as soon as I had reached their town. The Chief, therefore, informed me that since Afrikaander * had now supplied the Bamuchárs with guns, he could no longer consider himself safe in this part of the country, unless he could procure similar arms; and that as soon as this most desirable object was obtained, he intended to remove his town and all his people nearer towards the Gariep, to the spot where it stood at the time of his birth. He expressed himself highly displeased with the Klaarwater people, because they had hitherto refused to sell him any of their muskets; but that now I was come among them, they expected I should be their friend and should let them have one of mine, as they saw I had many, and could therefore easily spare one out of so great a number.

* I here write this name as it is commonly pronounced, and as it was spoken by his own family, although it would be more correctly written, Afrikaaner

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So unexpected a demand, and of such a nature, for it had more the character of a demand than of a request, and made on the very moment of my arrival, was a circumstance exceedingly unpleasant, as the earnestness with which it was made, convinced me at once of the difficulty of the situation in which it placed me. I had no more than just muskets enough to arm all my men, and three even of these belonged to the Hottentots themselves, who had preferred bringing their own guns as being more accustomed to them. It was putting into the hands of this people a weapon which in the event of any future misunderstanding would be used against outselves; so that we might lose our lives by the very instrument which we had brought for the purpose of defending them: besides which, ammunition would also be required. If I refused giving it, I must run the risk of its being taken either by force or by stealth. I had but an instant for reflection; my answer must follow the question. I resolved not to grant his request; although I foresaw that my refusal would produce some unpleasant consequences.

I therefore replied, that I had no more than one for each of my men, and that if I were to give up any, some of my own people must go unarmed, which, as he well knew, was a thing not to be ventured in travelling through a country inhabited by Baróba (Bushmen); that as we were but very few in number, we had the greater necessity for retaining our arms for our own defence; that they were not all my own, and must be taken back to the colony again; that besides this, he saw that we had no food but what was procured by hunting, and must be well aware that we had in these countries, no other means of support, consequently that our lives depended on our guns, which was not the case with them, as they had abundance of corn, milk, and cattle. And I concluded by assuring him, that I felt the most friendly sentiments towards him and all his people, otherwise I should not have come to see him; that if I had more muskets than were wanted, I would willingly let him have one, but that it was impossible to think of disarming my own men.

All these arguments, which they must have had discernment enough to think perfectly reasonable, appeared to have no effect in

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inducing them to relinquish their demand. They continued to talk on the subject, with the same confidence as though they had not heard what I had said; and both Mattivi and Mollemmi were most importunate in urging their request. They declared that they intended to give me the value of it, and would to-morrow send to their cattle-stations for some fine oxen which they proposed offering to me, and were sure that I should not then, refuse to grant what they so much wished. I repeated over again all I had said, and ventured to assume a more positive tone. They continued, however, as much determined as before, not to desist from importuning; if so mild a term can express their manner of asking. Mattivi said; where was he to get a gun if I did not give them one ? To this I replied, that a gun would be of little use to people who could not themselves make gunpowder and ball: but the moment these words had passed my lips I felt that I had used but a weak argument; as he quickly rejoined, that he expected that I should be friendly enough to supply him with those things also.

I found myself now so closely pressed by these two, for Molali said but little, that I thought it not prudent to venture farther in the subject, without taking some time for deliberation. I therefore declared that as I had already said so much, I found myself unable to talk more at present, and begged them to wait till the morning. Still, however, they both urged their argument, with the same perseverance; while I, remained obstinate in making the same replies: nor was it till past nine, and when they felt their legs becoming cold from sitting so long up in the waggon, that they left me and went to the fire in my men's house.

Thither I was also compelled by cold to follow them; for the whole day, and more especially the evening, had been rendered exceedingly chilly by a strong easterly wind. The chief with his two brothers, and Adam and Muchunka, went away together and without ceremony or distinction sat down by the side of my people, where they remained nearly an hour longer, warming themselves and smoking their pipes.

Every hour at Litakun presented some new and interesting fact

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to my observation; and, even in the midst of all the confusion of novelty, the care which my situation created and the watchfulness which it demanded could not prevent me from enjoying the contemplation of the strange scene to which this day's journey had brought me. I beheld every where, a harvest of new ideas, and lamented that I was working alone in so extensive a field, and where so many eyes were wanted to observe, and so many hands to record.

The existence of supreme power without the least distinction, of ceremony or superiority of outward appearance in the possessor, was a combination of facts, quite new to me, and of which, the view of Mattivi as he was sitting at our fire, gave me an instructive proof. Every one who saw him, knew that he was the person who held that power; and the consideration of this, seemed to satisfy all his ambition. He affected nothing different from those around him; he squatted on the ground by their side, and sometimes took a whiff from Muchunka's pipe. He frequently on other evenings, took his seat amongst my Hottentots, and talked with them in very familiar terms, often asking them for their pipe which, there is little doubt, he did with a view to saving his own tobacco; as I did not perceive that he was equally ready to return them the same favor.

After Mattivi and his party had retired, and we were left once more by ourselves, excepting two of the chief's servants who remained in the hut all night, I discovered, on inquiring where my men had secured the horses, that neither they, nor the sheep, nor Andries, nor Stuurman, had returned home that night; nor had they been seen or heard of since the teams were loosed from the waggons and they had gone away to drive the cattle out of the town to pasture. These Hottentots, it now appeared, had again neglected their duty; and thus, at a moment when so many other subjects demanded my attention, were my cares encreased by their worthlessness; nor could I, under the pressure of these feelings, scarcely avoid the wish that those who reduced me to the necessity of hiring such people, and those who prevented better from engaging in my service, might some day be placed in a situation to feel all those anxieties and difficulties which their ungenerous dealing caused me for so many months to

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suffer. Keyser (Kyser) was also absent; and no one knew whither he was gone, nor for what reason he was thus away from us. The loss of the horses was, in some respects, a more serious misfortune than that of the men; who, by this conduct, proved that they would be of little value in time of danger. I felt the more persuaded that these things had not been occasioned by any treachery on the part of the natives, as they had so honorably brought home my oxen, which, to them, would have been a far more valuable prize than the horses and sheep. As nothing could be done this night, the rest of my Hottentots as well as myself, awaited in much uneasiness of mind, the result of the next morning's search.

I then retired to my waggon, not to sleep, as nature and past fatigues demanded, but to record as concisely as possible the numerous observations and transactions of the day, before an accession of fresh matter for my journal, should confuse my recollection of occurrences so numerous and so various. In this employment I suffered much inconvenience from the coldness of the night; as the mercury of the thermometer, at an hour and a half after midnight, was found to have sunk within three degrees of the freezing point.

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CHAPTER XV.

RESIDENCE IN THE TOWN OF LITAKUN; AND AFFAIR OF THE GUN.

JULY 14th. Early this morning, and before I had left my waggon, the Chief sent me, as a present, a fatted cow. This I would willingly have reserved for the sake of its milk during the following part of Our journey, but knowing that it was given in the expectation of our making immediate use of it, and of distributing some of the meat among our Bachapin attendants and visitors, I Was compelled to resign it for slaughter. This mark of hospitality is customary between all the Bichuana chiefs when they pay a visit to each other; and as I was

The above engraving represents the Chief and a small party of his friends, as they usually sit in the public enclosure, when engaged merely in desultory conversation. As he persisted in refusing to allow any drawing to be made of him, this sketch was taken unknown to him, as he sat in view from my waggon: the figure, of which only the back is seen, was drawn from him. The back-ground shows part of the outward fence of the enclosure.

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considered in this light, the same custom, consequently, was followed on the present occasion. It seemed to be intended rather as the sign of friendly reception, than as a desire to furnish me with provisions during my residence with him; for it was never repeated but once afterwards. And although I daily obtained a supply of milk, this was always given in expectation of regular payment in tobacco, and required no thanks on either side; for different chieftains sent it by their servants, who took back the money, as the tobacco might very properly be termed, often without my knowing from whom the milk was received. Yet these supplies came more frequently from the chief or his relations, than from other persons; and who endeavoured to confine this trading to themselves. One of my Hottentots obtained this morning half a gallon for four inches of tobacco; and reported to me that Mattivi had scolded his servants for not bringing us the milk earlier.

On looking out of my waggon as soon as I rose, I found the Chief and his party, which consisted of about ten or twelve of his principal attendant chieftains, sitting in a part of the enclosure opposite to me, employed in scraping the hair off from a skin intended for a kobo. The instrument with which this was done, was a small adze of the form already described.* The skin lay extended on the ground, and was occasionally sprinkled with water, to facilitate the removing of the hair. He was the only person at work upon it; the rest were doing nothing, except now and then for a minute or two conversing together.

I was allowed to take my breakfast undisturbed; for although they attentively watched all my motions, no one came to the waggon. I sent the Chief a pot of milk and rice, which he immediately ate, in a manner which showed that he considered it very palatable.

I soon after this, took my seat in the circle, and, informing him of the time when my dinner would be ready, invited him and as many as he thought proper to bring with him, or as my waggon could accommodate, to come and partake of the meal; telling him als

* In the first volume, at page 406.

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that, as I had never admitted any one else to eat in my waggon, this invitation was intended as a mode of expressing my respect for him, and, at the same time, my friendly sentiments towards all his family. He listened to this with great gravity of countenance, but made no reply, as he was now sitting in public, and attended by his council; for in this light, it will be seen, these attendants are properly to be regarded.

Just at this moment, I had the pleasure of seeing Philip and the other two Hottentots whom I had sent out on search early in the morning, returning with the horses, and accompanied by Stuurman, one of the three men who had been missing. Philip reported that after he had left the town, and had been a long time seeking in vain, he met some Bachapins who, on his inquiring if they had seen either the horses or the Hottentots, gave him to understand, by signs and pointing to the place, and by a few words which he in part comprehended, that he would find them all in that direction. By following these instructions, he and his companions walked a mile or two farther and happily discovered the three lost Hottentots sitting together under a bush, with the horses near them.

The explanation of this affair as given by themselves, together with the particulars I afterwards learnt from the rest of my men, partly from Keyser's (Kyser) confession, was, that immediately on our arrival at Litakun and as soon as the teams were unyoked and sent to the outskirts of the town under the care of Andries and Stuurman, Keyser seeing me instantly surrounded and enclosed by so great a multitude of people, and not knowing what would be the result, actually lost his senses through fear: his mind became literally deranged and he knew not what he was doing. He flew to the baggage-waggon, into which he climbed with the utmost haste, and crept under the people's bedding to conceal himself and escape the cruel death which he supposed awaited him, and which he believed had already befallen me. Just at that moment, one of the natives happening to look into the waggon, merely from curiosity to know what it contained, this Hottentot scrambled with the greatest precipitation and terror to the other end; at the same time crying out, in the agony of fear, to Speelman who was a short distance off, that

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the natives were going to murder us; and with agitated voice, asking why we did not begin to defend ourselves and fire upon them. Speelman, whatever might have been his own fears at that moment, had not, most fortunately for all, so far lost his reason as to listen to Keyser's recommendation; but, disregarding our terrified fellow-traveller, left him in that situation and took his station as near to me as the closeness of the crowd would allow him. In the mean-time, the Hottentot, watching for a moment when the attention of all the natives was directed towards the circle where their Chief was sitting, slipped away unperceived, at least by any of my own people; and, as fast as he could run, fled into the country under an impression that he had just escaped from death. When he came up to Stuurman and Andries, who were tending the cattle and horses, his mind was so utterly confused, that he fired off his musket, threw down his cartridge-box, and, with the vehemence of a madman, tore his hat from his head and dashed it on the ground, crying out to them to beat him, for he could not speak, he could not say what had happened. At length, he told them, that he was the only one remaining alive out of all the party; the rest were all murdered: he had himself seen the natives run me through the body with their hassagays; and to conclude, advised them to fly for their lives and make the best of their way back to Klaarwater. After this declaration, the truth of which, his great terror and agitation seemed to confirm, they all three instantly mounted the horses, and, leaving the oxen and sheep to their fate, rode off at full speed, till they had nearly reached our last station at Lobutsáni. There they passed the night, without fire, for they were afraid of being discovered and murdered; and without food. In the morning, the other two were induced, by some inconsistency which they discovered in Keyser's story, to suspect that affairs had not proceeded to that extremity which his account had at first led them to believe. They had suffered much from cold during the night, and now began to feel the pains of hunger: they perceived, too, on reflection, that by separating themselves from me and the waggons, they were both defenceless and helpless, and were in the greatest danger of being cut off, in their way back, should they persist in retreating from us. So that on a cooler view of their case,

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they considered, supposing I was not really murdered as Keyser had reported, that they were running into more certain danger by deserting me, than by returning to Litakun. They therefore refused any longer to follow Keyser's advice; especially as, on beginning to recover from his panic, he consented to go back with them to the town, or as near as they might venture with safety, in order to discover whether I, or any of the Hottentots, were still alive. On this, they came to within two miles of Litakun, when their fears or doubts prevented their advancing farther; and, as they knew nothing of the language, their difficulties were increased by not being able to ask any questions of the natives whom they met. Uncertain what step to take, they seated themselves under a bush, to consider how they were to act, and to watch for an opportunity of gaining some correct intelligence. In this situation they were fortunately seen by the natives, who afterwards met Philip.

In coming home with him, they met Platje, who was attending my oxen at the river; and Keyser's fears returning in proportion as he approached the town, he could by no argument be persuaded to proceed. Therefore he and Andries were left there, as they promised that they would come with the cattle in the dusk of the evening. This they afterwards did; but still continued penetrated with fear.

We had given up the sheep as utterly lost, but here again, contrary to my expectations, they were recovered; for a man, who also called himself a son-in-law of the Chief, having found them straying in the plains this morning, brought them safely home to the waggons, asking merely a piece of tobacco as payment for his trouble.

This affair, in spite of our wish to conceal it, was soon made known to the Chief and the whole town, who, most unfortunately for me, were now convinced that I was accompanied by men who would be ready to desert me on the first appearance of danger. These people were discerning enough to discover every symptom of fear, as soon as it appeared; and the opinion which they now formed, became daily more confirmed by the manners and behaviour of most of my Hottentots, whose unfounded timidity, added to the smallness of our number and the circumstance of my being the

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only white person of the party, operated very quickly in emboldening the natives, and in encouraging them to take those liberties in their dealings with me, which, under other circumstances, they would not, there is little doubt, have ventured to take. The effect which the sight of our weak number had on their minds, was sufficiently manifest in the unhesitating manner in which they made so unreasonable a request as that of asking me to give up any of my arms.

The mootsi was, from the morning till night, crowded with people; most of whom appeared to belong to the richer, or upper, class of inhabitants. They came there evidently on my account; as so large an assemblage of visitors to their chief, is not usual, excepting on occasions of important debate. They were lounging about with no other view than to gratify their curiosity, and, more especially, to be ready to receive whatever might be given away from the waggons. In order to secure these gifts to themselves, they over-awed the lower class, and kept them without the hedge; where different parties were standing at a respectful distance, watching eagerly to get a sight of what was passing within. All their movements were conducted with perfect decorum, and though every one, even the lowest among them, enjoyed the most unrestrained liberty with the Chief, without manifesting the slightest symptoms of servility or restraint, there was a mutual respect, and a propriety of behaviour toward each other, which would not allow me, when viewing them in this light only, to consider them as savages or uncivilized men.

In a retired corner of the enclosure, stood a party of girls and young women, observing with the greatest attention every transaction at the waggon; yet too timid to approach near enough for having a full view. But I found that two words were sufficient to dispel all their timidity, and bring every one of them to me; for on calling out to them, Bassárri mùngklie!* (Pretty girls!) they imme-

* Bassárri is the plural of Mossárri, which signifies a woman of any age, or a girl who has attained her full growth. Mùngklie or Mùnklje is a word, never, I believe, used but with reference to personal beauty. The Sichuana language possesses but one word for expressing both woman and wife; a remarkable defect, which, however, it has in common with several European languages.

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diately advanced without waiting for a second invitation; and with a very lively and amusing manner, began to importune for snuff or tobacco. Notwithstanding my determination, not to make any public distribution before the Chief had received his presents, I could not remain so ungallant as to give them a refusal, when their request was urged with so much good-natured earnestness. They each in their turn, held out their hand; into which I put a small quantity of snuff. This trifling gift seemed to render them so happy, that no one could have witnessed it without partaking in their pleasure, nor without feeling convinced that to those who know no wants but of the simplest nature, the attainment of a trifle brings as much enjoyment, as others of more refined and multiplied desires, derive from the acquirement of more valuable objects. Even at so sparing a rate of distribution, the snuff-box which I now was obliged to carry always in my pocket for the use of my visitors, was not large enough to supply every hand which was held up; and, as I had also some loose tobacco in my pocket, I gave to some a share of this, with which they were equally pleased, since it was to them no difficulty, to manufacture it into snuff. The spirit of begging seemed in this people to be innate; for children of every age above that of four years, came to ask for tobacco or snuff. The number of this party had greatly increased since I began the distribution, and as soon as it was perceived that although I had persisted in withstanding the solicitations of the men, I did not refuse to give snuff to the girls, many of the chieftains sent their daughters and children to join the crowd.

Even the dignified Chief himself followed their example, and was so far overcome by a greedy desire for tobacco, that he brought his daughter to me, that he might use his influence in obtaining for her, or rather for himself, a larger share than the others. When she came up, I had in my hand as much tobacco as I intended for five, and was giving her rather a larger portion; but, as he stood by my side, he slyly took hold of my hand and turned all its contents into his daughter's. He then walked away with the very undignified satisfaction of having by these means gained a pipe more tobacco than would have fallen to her lot had he not practised this little trick.

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In about half an hour after this, he came to ask me for snuff for himself; although he knew that he was to receive his presents at the first opportunity when it could be done privately. I gave him my box, which had been previously filled, and he took the half of it; being perhaps ashamed to betray so much covetousness as to take the whole, after having emptied my hand but a few minutes before.

During the whole of the day, the natives continued asking for tobacco, and I found myself at last obliged now and then to give a little. When I assured them I had no more left, they were so incredulous that they felt the outside of my coat-pocket to ascertain the truth; nor would they believe that its contents could be aught else, till I had taken every thing out to show them. All this was done with good humour; and I was sometimes able to stop their importunities by some joking remark.

Mattivi and Mollemmi now renewed their request for one of the guns; and as I was at this time prepared with a plan on my part, which should ultimately frustrate theirs, I had no objection to the debate; although I still wished to induce them to relinquish their object. I repeated the arguments I had before used, respecting the impossibility of disarming my own men, and of giving up my only means of procuring food or of obtaining those skins of animals, the hunting of which, I said, was one of the principal purposes of my journey into the Interior. I represented to them, that as my party was so small in number, I ought not to weaken it by giving up any part of our arms; while, on the other hand, they were so numerous and powerful a nation, that nothing could harm them; and that a musket in addition to their present means of defence, would add very little to their strength. But they immediately convinced me that 'e'en tho' vanquished, they could argue still,' and obstinately persisted in their demand. I asked Mattivi why his father had not, if a gun was so necessary to them, obtained one from other white men who had formerly visited him; to which he replied, that as he was at that time, only a young man, and under Mulihaban, he had no authority to act in such an affair, and could not presume to interfere in matters of business; otherwise the Bachapins would have been long before now

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in possession of fire-arms: and that one of them had, indeed, made a promise of letting his father have a musket; although he had not performed it. I then explained to him that such instruments were very unsafe for every person excepting those who well understood how to use them: and, to impress this the more forcibly on his mind, I sent for Gert, and exhibited his mutilated hand as one of the distressing consequences to which he would be liable, if I were to consent to let him have one. But nothing which could be said, had the least effect in turning him from his determination: he replied, that weapons of every kind caused accidents to those who used them; that the Bachapins were sometimes, while running hastily, thrown down and pierced by their own hassagay, or even lost their lives by falling on their own knife.

When I reflected on my defenceless situation in the midst of a populous town, with a few Hottentots, on several of whom, I already knew, no dependence could be placed; and when I considered that it was in Mattivi's power, should he be so inclined, to take without my permission, not one gun only, but all, I judged it imprudent any longer to resist his wishes; more especially as I believed his only object to be that of gaining by such a weapon a superiority over the neighbouring tribes, whom he represented as incessantly harassing his people by irruptions into his country, and by robbing them frequently of large herds of cattle. Besides which, I judged that his having fire-arms in his possession, could not render him very formidable, or even obnoxious, to any one, as the extent of their power would be limited by the quantity of gunpowder which he might hereafter procure, and of which there was no prospect of his being able to obtain any, unless it should be given, or sold to him, from Klaarwater. I also foresaw that if I persisted in my refusal, even should he preserve the good faith not to offer me open molestation, my stay at Litakun would be rendered unpleasant to myself and perhaps unwelcome to him; in which case I must have departed before I had completed my observations on its inhabitants and had acquired sufficient experience and knowledge of their manners and

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customs to have been enabled with advantage to enter the next nation beyond. And besides this, I feared that he might give vent to his displeasure, by sending forward into those countries, some reports which might occasion to me an unfriendly reception.

I therefore told him that on one condition only, would I consent to let him have a musket; which was, that I should retain it till my return to Karrikamma, and that he might then send some trusty person thither to receive it; but that I would on no consideration give up any of my arms until I had arrived at that place.

I conceived that by this agreement I was dealing with him in his own way, by outwitting him; as it was of course not my intention to return to that village, but to proceed onwards farther into the Interior.

He appeared very satisfied with my answer and pleased at the success of his negotiation; and replied that he would send his brothers Mollemmi and Molaali to receive the gun. I then remarked that as I had done more for him than any other white-man who had visited his country, he ought to regard me as having proved my friendship for him by the strongest possible testimony.

Here the debate terminated, and thus was the affair concluded to the satisfaction of both parties. On this, they left the waggon and took their place in the circle of attendant chieftains, to communicate to them the result of our conversation.

When they left the waggon, others came and took their place, seating themselves by me in the manner in which they were accustomed to do, by their chief, and indulging their inquisitiveness in examining with their eyes every thing within my sitting-place. Every person in the enclosure seemed to have little or nothing to do; all sat or walked about as if their time was useless: but, for this apparent want of occupation, the presence of a white-man with his two waggons loaded with goods of the most extraordinary kind, was a full excuse; and it might be admitted, that in observing my person and in satisfying their curiosity on so great a variety of novel objects, their minds, at least, were actively employed. With this view

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Mollemmi soon returned, with Molaali and several others; and as I considered that whatever I did would amuse them, I took out my journal to record a few facts and occurrences as they passed. Whenever I wrote, the spectators watched the motion of my hand with great attentiveness, and several of them evidently comprehended the nature and intention of what I was doing.

When they had seen enough of writing to give them as clear a notion of it as they were capable of, several, and more particularly Mollemmi, became very desirous of knowing what was concealed behind the canvas partition which parted off the sleeping-place from that end of the waggon at which we were sitting; and although it was explained to them that it was the place where I slept, and that there was nothing in it but my bedding, they would hardly believe me till some of them had taken a peep behind the curtain.

I had been previously aware that this place would be examined, and had taken care at night to put into the chests upon which my bedding lay, every thing which they were likely to covet, or which might excite particular attention. Little therefore was visible but such objects as were familiar, or well-known, to them; unless it was some few articles of which I could not avoid making open use. Similar precautions are of the highest importance to a European traveller in these countries; but they require at the same time, to be so managed as not to excite any suspicion of concealment; as such suspicion might in some cases be more dangerous than an open exposure of every thing; because, when once raised, it generally leads the natives to imagine more riches to be concealed, than there are in reality.

To pass away the time and give me opportunities of seeing more of their character, I exhibited some drawings of animals, which I had made on the journey. I found them quick of apprehension and far superior in this respect to the Bushmen: they instantly knew what objects my sketches were intended to resemble. One of these drawings represented a Kanna (Eland) and a Hottentot in the attitude of shooting it. With this subject they were excessively delighted; and expressed their satisfaction by such loud laughter, that Mattivi

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and his attendants came also to have a sight. He climbed up into the waggon, and my sitting-place was soon filled with men huddled and crowded together, so that neither he nor I could without difficulty find room for our feet. Every part of the waggon which they leaned against, was reddened with the ochre and sibilo from their kóboes and bodies; and my own clothes began to assume the color of theirs.

After having thus unexpectedly afforded by this exhibition, the highest gratification to the whole party, and to all who were in the enclosure, the crowd by degrees retired to their places, and the Chief and his brothers were glad to get their legs released from the cramped posture in which the contracted space in the waggon and the unceremonious crowding of his people, had confined them. However inconvenient this want of accommodation might be to my visitors, it exactly suited my own wishes, as it prevented my having more at one time than I could watch and attend to.

An old chieftain named Bŏklóokwĕ was one of those who frequently paid me visits. His manners were always friendly, and he appeared to take pleasure in my society; though I did not flatter myself that his friendship or attentions were purely disinterested or merely personal, or that they were altogether unconnected with muchuko (tobacco). As the portrait of him, drawn several weeks after this date, presents a just specimen of an old Bachapin kosi, I have added it at the end of the chapter.*

When my dinner was prepared, which was not till four in the afternoon, I sent Gert, whom I at this period generally employed as my personal servant, to inform Mattivi that the meal waited for him. He brought with him only his uncle Serrakútu, who appeared to share much of the supreme authority. I explained to him, that as I was at

* This engraving, though executed on wood and much reduced from the original drawing, preserves very correctly the character of countenance peculiar to the individual for whose portrait it is given. His hair was clotted by an accumulation of sibiilo and grease: and, affixed to the top of his head, he wore as an ornament, some hair from a kaama's tail. From his ear was suspended a large plate of copper, called a lekaaka; more particularly described in the eighteenth chapter. His beard grew only on the upper lip, and but scantily on the point of the chin. His dress is the ordinary leathern kobo already described.

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present unacquainted with the customs of the Bachapins, I had followed those of my own country, and hoped that he would be pleased with the manner in which I received him. There was little need for apology, as he appeared indifferent to ceremony of this kind, and regarded all my arrangements as perfectly correct and duly respectful.

The dinner consisted of all which it was in my power to set before him, a piece of boiled beef, part of the cow which he had given me in the morning, some boiled rice, some melted sheep-tail fat, and some salt. I gave to each a knife and fork; and they made use of them with tolerable facility, but more frequently put the meat into their mouth with their fingers. Mattivi ate heartily of every thing excepting the beef, and when he was invited to take more, he replied that his digestion was bad, and that beef always gave him a pain at his chest. This was however only a polite excuse; for the truth was, that the meat, being fresh-killed and perhaps old, was exceedingly hard; and I found some difficulty in practising myself what I was pressing him to do. But Serrakútu was not so fastidious: he feasted plentifully and made no complaint. Towards the end of this dinner, Mollémmi, Molaali, and Mahūra, joined us, and partook of the beef. My rice met the complete approbation of my guests; who did not desist from praising it, till the whole of it was eaten.

I thought it prudent not to produce any brandy: this I on all occasions carefully concealed from the natives, as I feared the consequences of allowing them to know that, excepting beads and tobacco, my waggon contained any thing which could be desirable for them. And I confess that it was principally a selfish feeling which prevented my offering them any wine:—there was but little remaining, and I had often experienced the beneficial effects of half a glass of this, the artificial stimulus of which lent considerable assistance in renovating bodily strength which had been too much exhausted by over-fatigue. Those who have never been deprived of the use of it, will not easily, without similar experience, form a just idea of the value it possesses on such occasions.

Instead of wine or brandy, I presented my guests with tea;

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which they called mētsi-morrúka, and with which they were as much pleased, as with the rice. We had no sugar, but as they had not seen me use any, they thought the tea equally pleasant without it; but without waiting to be guided by my example, they added to it a small quantity of milk as readily as if they had been accustomed to this beverage every day; and had probably seen it thus used at Klaarwater, or had been informed that such was the practice of white-people.

I considered that there were now sitting in my waggon, the highest personages at Litákun, and that I might view them as the most accomplished of their tribe. I watched their manners, and the workings of their mind, as far as they could be seen in the remarks they made; and though I felt much interested in tracing what I viewed as the first steps of civilization as compared with the tribes I had hitherto examined, yet the contemplation of these specimens served only to convince me how many degrees the untutored Bachapin stands below the cultivated European. This is, however, an assertion not to be made without some modification, nor without a fair exposition of the sense in which it ought to be taken, nor without some limitation to its extent: but these will be best explained, and exemplified, by the following pages. Conduct apparently contradictory in itself, and sentiments seemingly inconsistent with each other, will only be rendered intelligible by an unprejudiced, and abstract, consideration of the nature of man. It is the combination of a two-fold nature and of contending principles, which produces that diversity of feature and inconsistency of character, by which an observer may, unless with the utmost caution and attention, be confused in his judgment and misled in his conclusions. If then, there be some difficulty in obtaining at first, a clear view of this subject, there may be still more, in communicating it to others; and the safer mode of exhibiting general character, will perhaps be that of allowing it to declare itself through the means of numerous particular facts.

Serrakútu, who was extremely eager to have a sight of the various goods which I had brought with me, whispered, just loud

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enough for the interpreter to understand, that, as soon as all these things could be laid out ready for inspection, I should close up the waggon, and privately give him and Mattīvi notice, that they might come and see them before any one else should be admitted. It should here be remarked that this nation had never hitherto, excepting one or two instances, been visited by a white-person, or by the Hottentots, but for the purpose of bartering for cattle or ivory: and this they supposed to be one of the objects of my visit to Litákun.

Mattívi, who always assumed a more friendly and familiar tone when seated in my waggon, than when surrounded by his people, said that we, meaning himself and me, must not, while sitting in public, talk on business of this kind, but must keep it all to ourselves; and at the same time he gave me to understand, that it was the custom in these countries to let the Chief have the first sight of all beads which were brought for barter, that he might have the option of being the purchaser of them.

It is evident that their whole conduct and conversation were directed by the most selfish motives and gave the strongest proof of a total absence of the nobler sentiments of the mind; while they presented a picture of the most debasing covetousness and meanness, the contemplation of which distressed me the more, as it disappointed my expectations, or at least, my hopes. The feelings which had induced the Chief to desire that the presents should not be made to him in public, were of a nature so petty and unworthy, that one is inclined to think that even a savage would be ashamed to own them: he told me, that if his friends and attendants were to see how much he received, they would not cease begging from him, as long as they knew that he had any thing left. This confession and explanation portray one characteristic feature of this tribe:—they are all beggars of the meanest kind. Though, I am willing to admit in their favor, that I am judging rather severely, because I allow my judgement to be guided by the feelings of a European; while those of an African, would acquit them, perhaps entirely, and plead in extenuation, that the extraordinary rarity and value of the objects in question were a temptation which might naturally excite in the mind of a poor

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Bachapin so strong a desire to possess them, that for such men to yield to it, would be at worst but a veniable fault.

When our meal was quite finished, Serrakútu expressed a wish that I would leave the waggon and sit on the ground, that Mattivi might have some further conversation. I therefore seated myself in the open area: when immediately the chieftains and all who were admitted within the mootsi, gathered round us. The Chief might now be considered as sitting in council: the favorite subject of the gun was then renewed, as being an affair of public importance, and one in which all the assembly were interested. He said that he had sent for the oxen, which he intended to give me; and wished me then to let him have possession of it, instead of obliging him to wait till the time agreed on. But to this I replied, in a more positive tone than I had hitherto used, that most certainly it should not go from my hands till I should be on my return; and that they ought to content themselves on the subject, with what I had already consented to do. The topic was then changed; and soon afterwards the party broke up, apparently well satisfied with having obtained on any terms the long-desired object.

By this time the evening had commenced: I retired to my waggon to relieve, by a few quiet moments, some symptoms of headache created by the wearying noise and debatings of the day; while many of the Bachapins, among whom were Mollémmi and Molaali, took their place in the hut, where my Hottentots were dancing, to the sound of Gert's fiddle.

Gert had now sufficiently regained the use of his hand; and could play with ease a variety of European country dances which he had learnt in the Colony. Of the same class, was the music of my other men; and I am inclined to believe that among the Colonial Hottentots, their aboriginal airs have given way to those of the Dutch and English. The music most congenial to a Hottentot ear, would seem to be, those lively tunes which are best adapted to dancing; at least, among all the musicians of this description who were at different times in my service, none ever played any other kind: nor did I ever hear a Hottentot performing a slow air,

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or singing to his own performance. In the same manner the ancient Hottentot dance, which differed little from that of the Bushmen, has given way to others which have been adopted from the colonists. That which my own people at this time usually danced, resembled the reel, in every thing but the steps.

That they who, I knew, were not altogether at their ease, should now be engaged in this apparently happy manner, was a circumstance quite unexpected; but by a little observation, I learnt to consider it, during my residence among the Bachapins, as in reality nothing more than an outward manifestation of certain inward uneasy feelings which were closely connected with fear. This was almost always, I believe, the true interpretation of their dancing, whenever we were surrounded by the natives; although at all other times, this occupation was, as it ought to be, the genuine expression of a state of mind free from care.

I had scarcely been ten minutes in my waggon, before Mollémmi came and took his seat on the after-chest, with no other view than that of passing away time. Muchùnka, who of course came with him, happened to have a lighted pipe in his hand, which the other took from him and began to smoke. This gave me the greatest uneasiness, as there was, unknown to him, a large quantity of gunpowder close to the place where he was sitting; a circumstance which I feared to mention, lest it should lead to a request for some. I hinted that as I did not smoke myself, the fumes of tobacco gave me a head-ache; but he paid no attention to me, and continued to please himself. At length the pipe being out, he began to talk, and I gave him a piece of tobacco, saying at the same time that it was for him to smoke when at home. Notwithstanding that this present was totally unexpected, he begged for a little more; and on complying with this, he seemed perfectly satisfied with the gift. His satisfaction arose principally from having gained by his begging, something over and above what had been intended for him. Among this people, covetousness is, as I have just explained, a vice of which even the highest personages are not ashamed; and, like the other Caffres, they seem never to think that they have received enough.

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After the dancing in the hut was ended, Gert came to my waggon, where I desired him to remain, as I found him sometimes useful in explaining in the Kora language, some expressions which Muchùnka could not comprehend. Mattīvi and Mollémmi being, as already stated, brothers by the same mother who was a Kora, were, from this circumstance, both well acquainted with that tongue: Molaali and Mahúra, in features and figure more resembled the true Bichuana or Caffre, and being the sons of another woman, were therefore but half-brothers to the other two. Now it happened, in this respect fortunately, that Gert by his long residence at Klaarwater, had acquired some proficiency in the Kora dialect, which was facilitated by his own knowledge of the Hottentot language; for he was thus enabled to rectify several of Muchùnka's interpretations, when the latter made use of that dialect in explaining what I had said. These mistakes of my interpreter arose, at this time, both from heedlessness and from an insufficient acquaintance with the Dutch. Mollémmi, who professed friendship towards me, declared on this occasion that he was truly glad that Gert had been able to explain my real meaning, as it caused him to feel still more my friend than before. He repeated the request, that I would allow him and his brothers to have the first choice of all the beads which I had brought for barter.

When I was again alone, Mattívi came with one of his wives, to bring me a pot of thick milk, and for which I paid her in tobacco. I then desired him to come into the waggon, and having sent for Gert and Muchùnka, I showed him the things which I had brought as a present for himself, independently of the rest of his family for whom I intended some other articles of less value.

The present which he received at this time, consisted of, a quantity of beads of the favorite colors, white, black, and light blue, and weighing all together nearly five pounds; a small roll of tobacco, of three pounds; a brass pocket-tinderbox and steel, made expressly for lighting a pipe; a sheath-knife; a cotton handkerchief; a snuffbox; and a gilt chain.

Both in the selection, and in the quantity, of these articles, I was guided by the advice of the Klaarwater people, who considered them

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as forming a very handsome present. I should, otherwise, not have thought so, and without such advice, should certainly have given much more; which would have been not only useless generosity, but would have established a precedent which in time might become a heavy tax upon every individual who in future might make a journey into these countries; and those who, because the value is trifling, make in similar cases larger presents than would be looked for, are guilty of imprudence in themselves, and of injustice towards all of their own countrymen who may come after them, and from whom a tribute, gradually increasing in amount, will be expected, till at length in the course of years, it may form not so inconsiderable a part of the expence of a visit to the nations of the Interior, as it does at present.

With these things, Mattīvi was much pleased, as they were all such, the use and value of which he understood: and it is this consideration which should guide those who wish their presents to be acceptable. It is certain that he would have preferred the brass tinderbox to a gold watch; and the sheath-knife, to a case of mathematical instruments. As the best mode of expressing his satisfaction and gratitude, if this latter word does not imply too much, he assured me that all the elephants' teeth which he could procure, should be reserved for me when I came again; that he should let nobody else have them, and that I might therefore depend on having an opportunity of purchasing as much ivory as my waggons could carry away.

His ideas respecting my object in coming to Litakun, were formed upon the visits of missionaries who had made journeys to this country, two of whom in particular, as I was informed at Klaarwater, had carried on this species of traffic for ivory with so much success that one was enabled to purchase a farm in the Colony; though the other, who had also made considerable profits, was unfortunately murdered near the source of the Kruman river.

It is remarkable that in the Sichuana language there is no word to express thanks; and whenever I desired my interpreter to say to any of the natives that I thanked them, I often heard him make use

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of the Dutch word, just as I had spoken it, and then explain what I meant to declare by it. It would not be an unreasonable supposition, were it to be concluded from this circumstance that gratitude is not of frequent occurrence among these nations; they have, however, a mode of making known the satisfaction they feel at receiving a gift, by telling the giver that he is monáati (good) or that pélu ĭ monáatĭ (the heart is good). But it is doubtful whether the latter expression mean the heart of the giver or of the receiver; as either may be supposed with equal propriety.

Mattívi said much more to me, expressive of his satisfaction and of his good-will towards me, but Muchùnka was too lazy, or too bungling, an interpreter to explain it. He mentioned, that if Gert, whom he looked upon as my upper-servant, should wish during my absence, to come back to Litákun to barter, he would always protect him, and let him have fine oxen, if he would bring his beads to nobody but himself or Serrakútu, whom the chief called his great friend.

This unexpected favor, though a mere promise, pleased the Hottentot so much, that he felt now warmed with gratitude, and thanked me for having brought him to a place where he met with so friendly a welcome; for, as he had intended ultimately to make Klaarwater his place of residence and take a new wife from there, and had heard the Hottentots of that village talk of the profits they made by trading at Litákun, he now began to think of doing the same; and his timidity actually left him for at least four-and-twenty hours.

I was given to understand, that it was expected I should barter my beads at this place, and that if I did not, the Chief would think that I intended taking them to some other town; an act which would be highly displeasing to him. I therefore desired the interpreter, and my own people, to impress the natives with the idea that I had but a small quantity of beads or tobacco in my waggon.

I therefore determined on satisfying them to a certain degree, as far as this bartering could be rendered useful to me on the journey. In my original plan it was thought necessary, in such an expedition, to have a double team; but by the purchase of a second waggon there

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was now but a single team left for each, and this number was still further reduced by the loss of two oxen supposed to have been destroyed by the lions: so that we were obliged to put the same cattle into the yoke every day; and, should the country prove mountainous or very sandy, we should be reduced, by want of strength, to the alternative of proceeding at so slow a rate of travelling, that, in a region deficient in springs or rivers, we might perish before we could reach water: and, in addition to these unfavorable chances, we might occasionally lose an ox by accident or sickness. Another point was not to be overlooked in calculating the probability of events;—after the sheep, of which there were only three remaining, should be consumed, it might happen that we met with no game, or that our huntings were unsuccessful; in which case we should be driven to the necessity of occasionally killing one of our draught-oxen. In this view of our circumstances, I saw that prudence called upon me to provide against these chances and to secure the means of prosecuting the long and unknown journey before us.

Under these considerations I saw no objection to bartering away as much of my stock of beads, as would procure the number of oxen thus required; and I sat up till a late hour of the night, taking advantage of the time when all the natives were asleep, to arrange my beads and merchandise ready for commencing trade, after having first submitted them to the inspection of the Chief and his family.

15th. It was only by a stratagem that time could be found for writing my journal;— I ordered my people to keep all strangers away from my waggon, by telling them that I had been much fatigued, and that, until I made my appearance in public and the waggon was thrown open, they were always to suppose that I was then asleep and must not be disturbed. In the mean time, I was busily employed in writing in my sleeping-place, the only part where I could keep myself undiscovered. For, as I remained thus occupied till noon, Mattivi and several of the chieftains were cunning enough to suspect that it might be only a trick to keep myself alone; and they therefore, as they walked by the end of the waggon, peeped in to ascertain the truth: but when they saw that I was not in my

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sitting-room, they concluded that I was still really asleep, especially as I took the utmost care not to make the least noise, nor by any movement, to cause the waggon to shake.

Having taken out as much of my beads and other goods, as I judged sufficient for the purpose, I sent for Mattīvi and his brother. They admired every thing, but the beads pleased them most. After they had satisfied their curiosity, they sent many others to look at them.

Among these was Adam, the Bachapin, whose singular history has been mentioned, who as soon as we were alone, made me the offer of eight oxen for the purchase of a gun. This of course, I rejected at once; though I have little doubt that he would readily have given more. This price may, to a European, sound much above the value of the article for which it was proposed; but in reality it was otherwise in this town: because, with only moderate success in hunting, the owner would soon have repaid himself the quantity of meat which he had given for it; after which, supposing he could obtain a supply of ammunition, it would always provide more ready means of support than the rearing of cattle, as long as the country abounded in game. The money which a gun at that time cost in Cape Town, if employed there in the purchase of beads, would at the usual rate of barter in these countries, have obtained that number of oxen. These statements will serve to illustrate Mattīvi's character as displayed in the following affair.

In the evening, at the time when all the numerous herds of the town return home from pasture, the Chief sent for me to come and sit with him in the circle of his brothers and attendant chieftains. Unsuspicious of his motive for desiring my presence, I immediately complied with his request; but when I had taken my seat, I found that it was for the purpose of seeing the oxen which he intended to give me for the gun. This step appeared to be very premature, as it had been agreed that they were to receive the piece, only after my arrival at Klaarwater, and I had no expectation that any further transaction was to take place till then. But I now concluded that their object was to bind me more surely to the performance of my promise, by

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compelling me to accept in consideration, something beforehand. I began to feel that it was likely they would outwit me, by thus forcing me, either to confess that I did not mean to return again to that village, or to complete my agreement by giving them the gun before I left the town.

Soon afterwards, several Bachapins entered the mootsi driving before them two Oxen, and followed by four men bearing two very large tusks of ivory. These tusks might probably have weighed about ninety pounds each, as they were too heavy to be carried by one man. Mattīvi then asked me if I thought the two oxen and the teeth a satisfactory payment for the gun. I replied, that the ivory was of no use to me; and besides, that, if he set so little value on the gun, it would be better that he gave up the idea of having it, as at all events it would be a long time before I should reach Klaarwater. This reply caused much earnest consultation among the members of the council, the purport of which I could not learn. They broke up soon after this, and nothing further was said on the subject that evening.

16th. Early in the morning four oxen were produced for my acceptance. By their following up the affair so closely, and by their pertinaciously endeavouring to make me receive a payment beforehand, I perceived that their intention was to establish a claim to have immediate possession of their purchase. I had now put it out of my power to break off the negotiation by a peremptory refusal to part with any of my arms; because I had consented, though under a remote condition, to let them have a musket. There was no plea left, by which I could save my gun, but that of objecting to the price; and though it was barely probable that they would relinquish it on that account, I should at least gain, as some compensation, a greater strength in oxen, a point on which no small share of our future safety and success depended: for, to have hinted that it was intended as a present, would leave me no excuse for withholding it when it should be discovered that I was not returning to the place appointed for receiving it. This plea, they must have been well aware, might now be urged on reasonable grounds.

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On my objecting therefore to the four oxen, as being but half its value, they replied that they had learnt from the people of Klaarwater that a musket might be purchased in the Colony for that price. They appeared however resolved to have it on their own terms; and there is little doubt that they were emboldened to act in this manner, by observing the symptoms of fear which the looks and behaviour of my own men, had, from the first hour of our arrival, but more especially during these transactions, too visibly betrayed.

Mattīvi and his chieftains now appeared in serious debate; while I sat in the midst of them, totally ignorant of what resolutions they were forming. At this moment Speelman, Philip, and Gert, came, and in great trepidation, begged me to leave the circle. I saw so much alarm in their countenances, that I was led to suppose that they had overheard the council proposing violent measures; and I therefore rose and walked with them to the waggon. They entreated me to give up the point in dispute, as they saw clearly, they said, that it was bringing us into danger. Muchunka and Adam strongly advised that I should not reject what was offered, but rather let them have the gun at any price, as it was to be feared that otherwise bad consequences might ensue.

Whether this advice was well-founded or not, I had no time for examining; but as I perceived at this instant, reason for believing that my men would desert me if I increased their alarm by pushing the affair farther, I desired the interpreter to tell the assembly that although I considered the gun as worth much more than the price at which they had rated it, yet, as I desired nothing so much as their friendship, I should dispute with them no longer on the subject. To this, moved, as I supposed, by the conciliatory manner in which I spoke, they replied that six oxen should be given.

Immediately they all rose; and Mattīvi then said, he should wish to see the gun fired off. This was a request which I could find no pretext for refusing, although I saw too clearly that all these transactions were tending towards a point which I was endeavouring to avoid; that of getting it into their possession before the time which had been agreed on.

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We therefore proceeded to an open place on the outside of the town, attended by a numerous crowd of spectators. A part of my men being left to guard the waggons, I ordered the rest to follow me with their muskets loaded. When the gun in question was discharged, the Chief desired that the others might also be fired.

In complying with this request, the one which had been loaded by Stuurman, could not by any means be made to explode; and on examination it was found that he had rammed in the cartridge with the ball downwards. A failure of this kind, while exhibiting to the natives the power of our arms, was the more unlucky, as it led them to believe that my party was not entirely composed of men who were properly skilled in the use of them; for they watched all our motions with the most prying attention.

Mattivi then requested that Molaala might be allowed to fire off one of the guns. Neither could this be refused; but as soon as he had discharged it, instead of returning it to the Hottentot, as it was not the musket which had been intended for him, he was ordered by the Chief to take it home to his house. At so flagrant an act of bad faith, I loudly expressed my dissatisfaction, as it was an open breach of our agreement; but he, in his turn, pretended to be equally dissatisfied with me for wishing to detain what he had now bought and made his own; the whole party at the same time crying out, that they ought not to give it out of their possession. At this moment I felt exceedingly irritated at their conduct, so deficient in honor and every just principle; but I suppressed my feelings as well as I was able, since a glance at the crowd and at my own men, showed me too truly that I was completely in their power, and that my gun was irrecoverably gone. They must have read in my countenance, what I thought of their dealings; but they walked away, exulting in the success of their cunning, and even, perhaps, inwardly proud of their superiority over a white-man in this essential qualification, the possession of which seems in their eyes, and, I am ashamed to confess, in the eyes of many Europeans, to constitute a man of talents.

Although the state of my feelings at this time rendered me but little disposed to have further dealings with them; yet as the state

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of theirs was of the opposite kind, and all were delighted at having at last obtained a gun, there was on their side no dissatisfaction or irritation against me. As it would have been useless, and, perhaps, not good policy, to have explained the true object of my visit to their country, they conceived that all business which now remained for me to do, was to proceed with the bartering; and as it was known that the beads had been exhibited with this view, they now called upon me to bring them forward.

In the mode of managing such business, I submitted to the instructions of Muchunka, who was acquainted with the practice usually adopted by the Klaarwater Hottentots, and who directed that the canvass covering of one of the waggons should be extended on the ground in the middle of the public enclosure, and the beads laid out upon it in parcels. I had, during my residence in the Transgariepine, learnt the usual relative value of beads at Litakun, and had taken care to expose no more than would be sufficient for the purchase of oxen enough for one team, which I judged would be as many as my present exigences required.

Neither the chief nor any of his brothers were inclined to barter, notwithstanding their eagerness to have the first sight of the beads. Serrakutu brought a large elephant's tusk for exchange, although I had expressly declared that it was oxen, and not ivory, which I wanted. He therefore took this home again; but brought nothing further to market. Adam, who knew the value of all my goods, took a quantity, for which he agreed to bring me six oxen on the following day; but when he showed the purchase to his father who had promised to give him the required oxen, he was ordered by him to demand more beads in addition to the quantity which had been bargained for. As such a mode of trading would, I foresaw, produce endless disputes, should this be taken as a precedent by the other inhabitants, I refused to make any alteration after an agreement had been made, and therefore took back the beads. The Chief and all his party, together with a crowd of lookers-on, were present the whole time. Mattīvi begged for a knife, and Serrakutu did the same; but this was done privately. I afterwards complied with their wishes, but enjoined them

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not to mention that it had been given to them. The former, seeing some loose beads lying on the canvass, greedily scraped them up and gave them to one of his sons.

This market lasted about an hour and a half, and though I offered at least twice as much beads for an ox, as were usually obtained from the Hottentots, yet not more than two oxen were actually purchased. This apparent disinclination to barter, did not arise from any deficiency of oxen among them, or from any want of desire to possess my beads; but, as I afterwards had reason for suspecting, from a hope of thus compelling me to part with fire-arms and ammunition, in return for oxen which they knew to be essentially necessary to my progress.

The remaining goods were then put again into the chest, and I retired to my waggon, where I was soon afterwards visited by the Chief. He brought with him a calabash of milk, intended, as I supposed, for a peace-offering, as he gave it me without demanding any thing in payment. I offered him, however, the usual piece of tobacco; which he very readily accepted. He, on his part, had no cause for being out of temper; but as he knew that I had, he seemed desirous of testifying his good-will towards me; and sat in the waggon above an hour, which he spent chiefly in teaching me Sichuana.

We were joined by other chieftains, who also took amusement in giving me lessons in their language. These people were always found to be very ready to render me service of this kind, and much pleased when they had taught me any new word or expression; but they never forgot at the end of it, to request a piece of tobacco. In begging for any trifling gift or remuneration, they never asked for sikháka (beads); these being considered more especially as money, to be employed only as the medium of trade with distant tribes, and for the purchase of the more expensive articles; while muchúko and lishuéna (tobacco and snuff) being consumable merchandise, are, though highly valued, regarded as a less important species of property.

I had sufficient reason for admiring one of the customs of the Bachapins; that, notwithstanding they never at any other time left

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me alone, they always retired the moment my dinner or breakfast was brought to me. This gave me a few moments' relief from the fatigue of incessant conversation; for, when one person was satisfied with seeing and hearing me, another came and took his place: and this routine, with scarcely any intervals, continued from the time I rose in the morning, till the hour at night when they retired to sleep.

In the evening Mollémmi wished me to see some oxen which he had brought for the purchase of another gun. I was now forced to declare most positively, that I would not give up any more arms; and refused even to look at the oxen, though he entreated me in a submissive and friendly tone, to see what fine cattle he had selected for me. As I had experienced the unpleasant consequences of entering into any conversation on the subject, I resolved to make a trial of the efficacy of silence. After having once pronounced the refusal, I gave no further opinion; I made not the least reply to his remarks. In this mode of treating the business, I persisted, with an unshaken obstinacy, in spite of the most teasing solicitation; and was extremely happy to perceive that it produced the desired effect.

The chieftains who were now assembled as before, said nothing on this occasion; and both Mattīvi and Mollémmi at length appeared to relinquish the demand. They even confessed that they were so much pleased at having obtained one, that they would not again make mention of another, as they saw that more could not be spared. Mattīvi now repeated, that other white-men had promised his father a gun, but that, as I was the only person who had let them have one, he by this could perceive that I was a very great chief; and therefore, that he would in future trade with no one but me and my people; that he would sell the ivory to nobody else; but would save it all for me, when I came again. There then followed much more nonsense of this kind; and after I had heard enough to convince me that it had no meaning, I rose and left the circle.

But the piicho or assembly remained sitting in easy conversation for nearly an hour longer. At these assemblies or councils, Mattīvi, Serrakútu, and Mollémmi, took their turns in presiding; or rather in conducting, and more especially attending to, the debate: for the

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chief himself must at all times have been the real president, though I am not able to state the rules by which the members of the piicho, and the officiating president, are guided in giving their opinions and in managing the business of the meeting.

Besides a nightly watch of six or seven Bachapins stationed round the outside of Mattivi's cattle-enclosure, four of his servants came every night to sleep in the Hottentots' hut; so that these poor fellows were as much tormented by company, as their master. No sooner had they filled a pipe and put it to their mouth, than one or other of the natives cried out, Lee kĭ rō;ki!* (Give me smoke!) to which I advised them to answer, Bā-pélu (Wait a little); an expression, of which I was myself obliged to make frequent use.

But they found it impossible, by any artifice, to save their tobacco; and at last, to conceal it, they resolved to leave off all smoking in their presence. This they mentioned to me as a most distressing grievance; and though I could not sympathize in these feelings, I pitied them for their sufferings under this privation, which, to a Hottentot, I knew could not be a trifling restraint.

In addition to this, I saw the necessity of imposing on them another restriction, by desiring them to be circumspect in what they said to each other; as it appeared to me that the four men, who slept in their hut, were placed there as spies upon us. One of them, named Champáni, had paid frequent visits to Klaarwater, and had lived among those Hottentots till he had acquired a knowledge of Dutch, sufficient to enable him to understand the general tenor of our conversation, and to express himself intelligibly.

But this restraint on their smoking was not their greatest inconvenience: their fear had been so strongly excited by the violent debates respecting the gun, that they all confessed themselves to feel very uneasy at this place and ardently to desire to return home. Some even ventured to hint, in an indirect manner, that they did not intend to go farther northwards. This confession, or the last part of

* The word roki is probably a corruption of the Dutch word rooken, 'to smoke,' which they may have learnt from the Hottentots.

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it, I could not but consider as a circumstance of serious importance; and although it made on me a deep impression, I affected not to heed or understand it. I took no other notice, than merely replying that we had much farther to go before we should turn our faces towards the Cape.

Among the most timid of my men, was Platje: he was exceedingly anxious to quit this place. It was not, he said, fear, which made him so anxious, though his looks plainly proved the contrary; but he felt his heart beat to see his wife and his dear children again, whom he had left in the Sneeuwbergen; that after having been so long in a wild country, he thought it time to return home; and that if we did not make haste to re-cross the Great-River, the drooge-tyd (dry season) would be gone by, and we should find that stream impassable for many months.

17th. The Chief, now considering that the important affair of the gun was brought to a conclusion, dedicated the whole of this day, from seven in the morning till five in the afternoon, to dancing. As no intimation had been given me, that such an amusement was about to take place, I was surprised when awakened by the sound of music; and on looking out of my waggon I saw the Chief and a number of his party, standing together tuning their pipes ready for a concert.

These pipes, which they call lĭchákă, are simply reeds* of various sizes and lengths, tuned to concord generally by means of a small moveable plug in the lower end, and having their upper end, or mouth, cut transversely. This mouth is placed against the under lip, and the sound is produced by blowing into them, in the manner of a Pan's-reed. In order to keep the pipe steady, the forefinger rested above the upper lip, and the thumb against the cheek, while the other three fingers held the reed to its place. Each performer had but one pipe, and consequently was master of only one note of the scale; although at the same time, there were among them, several pipes in unison; and it seemed, that those notes of the gamut which

* From the common reed (Arundo barbata) which grows in their rivers.

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were most likely to. have produced discords, were rejected from this band. Between the highest and lowest pipe, there might, I imagined, be comprised an interval of twelve notes.

I saw no other instrument but the licháka; nor were these used by any but the dancers themselves, each of whom was furnished with one; and which he sounded frequently though irregularly. In this music I could discover no particular air; neither was it possible for me to write it down; as many notes were heard at the same time, joining in, perhaps merely accidentally, or without any preconcerted order. It must not, from these remarks, be concluded that this people are insensible to harmony and melody: a sufficient proof to the contrary will be found in another place. By the dancers keeping time in their movements, a certain cadence was now and then perceptible in their music; but, excepting this, no regularity could be distinguished in their performance; although I doubt not that their ear guided them in some manner, as the general effect of this music was pleasing and harmonious. It was not of a sprightly cast, nor noisy, neither was it sluggish or heavy; but possessed something agreeably soothing, which prevented it, though continued with little intermission for ten hours, from wearying the ear. As there was in it no particular tune to be listened to, it seldom obtruded itself with a force which could distract the attention from other subjects. The effect of this concert, considered abstractly as musical sound, was very similar to that which in England may be felt on hearing, while at a little distance, the country-waggons passing along the road with a full team of well-tuned 'latten bells;' than which, few mixtures of sounds not constituting regular music, can, I think, be more pleasing.

When the dancers, who were all men, had tuned their reeds, they formed themselves into a ring, which sometimes consisted of about thirty persons, and at others, of not more than ten or twelve, according to the inclination of those who joined or left the party; but without attention to any observable order, or to any pre-arranged figure. The ring was drawn as closely together as their number would conveniently allow; but each person danced separate without

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any attempt at a particular step or acquired movement of the feet; nor at any time did they join hands. In this form they moved round in a body, keeping time together, by the assistance of a small party of women and girls, who, without joining in the dance, followed them round, and regulated their steps by clapping hands in exact measure; but without singing or any other noise.

The number of women engaged in this, was not more than six or seven. Neither these nor the dancers were ornamented or dressed in any manner different from that in which they usually appeared.

The most of the men wore their kobo, placed so as to cover only one shoulder, a style of wearing, usual in warm weather, and which their present exercise required. The grease and sibilo with which their heads were decorated, melted with the warmth, and frequently ran down their face in drops. Some of them carried in their hand a very long Kavăklúsĭ, which they occasionally used to wipe off the moisture from their face or neck.

This Kavăklúsĭ* is formed of two or three jackals' tails joined together in length, by a stick of about four feet long thrust through them in the place of the bone. This stick, which must cost much labor to form, is generally taken from the heart of the Mokaala-tree or camel-thorn, as that part of the wood is extremely hard and of a fine black color.

Although the dancers moved briskly, the ring itself turned but slowly; so that it made not more than one round in a minute. Sometimes after a round or two, it moved back again with a contrary motion; keeping, however, always on the same spot. A number of people, above a hundred besides women and children, were in the mootsi during this performance: some stood looking on; but the greater part sat at a distance, or walked about.

* Sometimes pronounced Kába-klúsi: it is also called Kaava-pukō;li (jackal's tail). The Bushmen, as already described (at page 57.), apply the tail of this animal to the same use. The pŭkō;li or pŭkō;ji is the Canis mesomelas; the klúsi is another species which has a yellower or redder fur, and may probably be the Canis aureus; but this I do not affirm, as the klusi was never shot by any of our party, during our travels in the Transgariepine.

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Mattivi and Mollemmi were among the most constant dancers; but the whole party rested themselves at frequent intervals of two or three minutes. In this manner, and without any variation, they continued the amusement during the whole day. The pleasure which they derived from it, seemed to have more the nature of soothing enjoyment, than of mirth. Laughter was rarely to be observed, and talking was as seldom heard among those who were engaged in the dance. The women and children seemed to take equal delight in the scene, though merely spectators.

Dancing appears to have been in all ages of the world, and perhaps in all nations, a custom so natural, so pleasing, and even useful, that we may readily conclude that it will continue to exist as long as mankind shall continue to people the earth. We see it practised as much by the savage as by the civilized; as much by the lowest as by the highest classes of society: and as it is a recreation purely corporeal, and perfectly independent of mental qualification or refinement, all are equally fitted for enjoying it: it is this, probably, which has occasioned it to become universal. All attempts therefore at rendering any exertion of the mind necessary to its performance, are an unnatural distortion of its proper and original features. Grace and ease of motion are the extent of its perfection; because these are the natural perfections of the human body. Every circumstance and object by which man is surrounded may be viewed in a philosophic light; and thus viewed, dancing appears to be a recreative mode of exercising the body and keeping it in health, the means of shaking off spleen, and of expanding one of the best characters of the heart, — the social feeling. Where it does not effect this, the fault is not in the dance, but in the dancer: a perverse mind makes all things like itself. Dancing and music, which appear to be of equal antiquity and equally general among mankind, are connected together only by a community of purpose: what one is for the body, the other is for the mind.

While affairs were thus going on smoothly, I took the opportunity of sending some of my men out to hunt, as our provisions were nearly exhausted; and no food of any kind was to be purchased

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at Litákun. Having barely enough for their own necessities, the inhabitants were very unwilling to part with any; and the fact is remarkable that, during the whole of my residence at this town, and of my travels in the country of the Bichuanas, I never once could purchase of the natives, corn enough for my party, for a single meal. We could procure nothing but milk; and this not in so large a quantity as we required. The cow which was presented to me by Mattivi for slaughter, was totally eaten up in three days; the greater portion having been consumed by his own servants and other inhabitants, who, by incessant begging, compelled my men to give them meat, both for themselves while they sat with us, and for their families when they went home.

The hunters returned with a paala and a springbuck; a part of which was given to some natives who accompanied them. Juli had shot one paala and was pursuing another; but during the short time he was absent on this pursuit, and while employed in skinning and cutting up the second into loads for each of the Bachapins who attended them, the vultures, which were found to be excessively numerous about Litákun, had discovered the first, and had devoured all the best part of the meat and so much lacerated the rest, that nothing remained worth the trouble of bringing home.

Their attendants, when the animal was shot, were exceedingly delighted at seeing it fall: they admired the power of the musket, that it could bring down the game at so great a distance, when compared with their own hassagay; and expressed their pleasure in the most animated manner. On such occasions, these people were always most ready to lend their assistance; but it is to be regretted that their conduct would not suffer us to believe that they did so from the pure motive of obliging us; their willingness was far from being disinterested; for they often laid claim to a larger share of the game than we thought proper to allow them. They were, however, always so well paid for their trouble, that we were never in want of attendants.

At sunset when all the cattle of the town came home, the Chief called me to look at two oxen which he offered for the purchase of

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ammunition. In his eagerness to get possession of the gun, he had quite forgotten the requisite accompaniments of powder and ball; and now, on reflection, found that he had been in too great a haste. On my part, I considered the result of my attempt to obtain oxen by barter with beads, to be a serious disappointment; as the prospect of my journey, showed me the necessity of recruiting my teams, before I advanced into countries where the means of obtaining any addition to them, might perhaps not be found. I had not been able to purchase more than two oxen; and under these circumstances I gave up all idea of making Mattivi a present of the gun, and which, indeed, he had, by his fraudulent conduct, so little deserved.

I therefore determined to accept his offer of oxen in payment; and, as I began to suspect, by his bringing these two oxen as a temptation to give him ammunition before he had produced the promised equivalent for the gun, that he meant to leave that subject at rest altogether, I now asked him where were those oxen. To this he replied, that they should be brought on the morrow: but, instead of the six which he had promised before he had the musket in his possession, it was now discovered that he intended me to have only four.

I saw that he was evidently taking advantage of the weakness of my party, and that he supposed I should on that account submit to any terms which he might propose. I foresaw, that if he succeeded in a first step, he would take a second, and thus advance till affairs became serious; and that, if a character of non-resistance preceded us in the journey, every petty chieftain we should meet would know that he might plunder us with safety. I considered, too, that as the Bachapins derived from direct and indirect communication with the Colony, great mercantile advantages over their more northern neighbours, they would not readily be induced to forfeit these, by proceeding to extremities with me and my party. These reasons convinced me that a resolute opposition to encroachment, and a determination not to be intimidated, were the safest and most prudent measures that could now be adopted.

I therefore gave the Chief and his council to understand what were my sentiments respecting their present mode of dealing with a

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stranger who came in friendship to visit them; and, without waiting till the interpreter had finished his duty, I rose from the circle and retired to my waggon, declaring, that as they had taken the gun from me against my consent, they might now keep it as their own; but that, for myself, I should instantly quit their country. These words, which were understood by Champáni, and perhaps by several others who were present, were immediately communicated to them, and to all who were then in the enclosure, the number of which was about a hundred.

The whole mootsi was now a scene of debate; and every countenance became serious. The assembly broke up; and Mattivi seated himself with a small party in one corner of the enclosure. My own men, fearing the worst consequences, came round me, and earnestly entreated me rather to allow the affair to take any course which the natives might desire, than to irritate a people, who had it in their power to put us all to death before the morning. My interpreter anxiously begged me to desist from further contention, as he knew not what might be the result. Speelman, in the greatest trepidation, declared, that could he have foreseen that I should ever have brought my people into so dangerous a situation, he would never have engaged himself for the journey.

Mattivi's brothers and sons, with several others, continued passing to and fro before the waggon, anxiously looking in as they walked by, to discover what were my movements or what steps I appeared about to take; as, it seems, they were apprehensive that I should give orders for leaving the town immediately. Had I done this, they would have been in a state of great hesitation, respecting the measures they were to adopt; whether to detain me, which act they feared would put an end to all future confidence between them and the Colony; or whether to allow me to depart, by which they would have lost all further advantages from my visit. As they passed, I could read disappointment and uncertainty in their countenances: but this, my men construed in a very different manner.

Gert, Speelman, and Muchunka were, in the greatest agitation, giving me their advice, when Mollemmi, having Champani with him,

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came and seated himself oh the after-chest of the waggon. He seemed dejected, and said nothing. I repeated, that he must be aware that taking advantage of a stranger who visited them as a friend, was not the way in which I ought to be received; and that they had not rested from their endeavours, till they had taken from me that which they knew I did not wish to give up. At last he replied, that Mattīvi and all the people were much distressed at hearing that I thought they meant to take the gun from me in any unfriendly manner. They were yesterday rejoiced at finding that they had at length gotten into their possession, that which they had so much wished for; but now they were sad, because they saw me displeased. He had long meditated on accompanying me back to Cape Town; but now he felt great disappointment, as he feared that I should give our Chief an unfavorable opinion of his nation; which would prevent his intended journey.

So submissive and unexpected a confession, I looked upon as the termination of our dispute, since my only object in acting as I had done, was, not to recover my gun, nor to obtain a greater number of oxen, but to give a check to a growing spirit of intimidation and imposition, which I feared would, if not timely prevented, occasion us serious difficulties.

I replied; unless men acted according to their promise and agreement, it would be impossible for me ever to rely on their word; that as I came to Litákun as a friend, I wished, and hoped, to leave it as one; that I desired nothing more earnestly than to be on good terms with every body, and that I should be sorry if Mattivi did not feel equally friendly towards me: and to convince him that I still was desirous of his friendship, and ready to gratify his wishes as far as it was in my power, I would make him a present of as much powder and ball as I could safely spare; and that, with respect to the subject in dispute, I should leave him to his own conscience to do whatever he thought just and right, and should urge that affair no farther; for, if the Bachapins really cared for the good opinion of the white-people, I was certain that they would in every respect act fairly in their dealings with me.

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Immediately Mollemmi went to the Chief, and communicated this to him. They both returned together, and took their seat in the waggon. Mattivi commenced the conversation by saying, that I had made him and his people exceedingly happy by letting them have a gun; that I had done more for him than any one had ever done before. He here repeated all the remarks which he had already made on this subject. He now said that he would give me the six oxen he had first promised; but, as if to excuse the unfairness of his conduct, he assured me that he was just at this time very poor in cattle, having given away a great number to Măssáo's son, who, having been lately robbed of all his own, had come to him in much distress to beg relief. I could not ascertain whether this act of generosity which he pleaded, were really a fact; but the matter is so improbable, that I always doubted the truth of this assertion; especially as the plea of poverty must have been totally unfounded, if one might rely on common report for the number of large herds which he possessed. He expressed thanks for the ammunition which I intended to give him; and wished to have it on the next morning, as his people, he said, had put off the grand hunt until they should have obtained the gun and powder. I again told him how desirous I was of being always on good terms with him and the Bachapins, whom I had come so far to see. He answered; that he should have felt very sorry if I had suddenly left his country, as he had hoped that I should remain a long time with them, that it gave him great pleasure to observe the friendly treatment which many of his people received from my men, in being allowed to sit at their fire and partake of their meat; that he would not have suffered them to importune us and trouble us as they did, but it was not in his power to keep them away. This last remark only served to convince me that the men who had fastened themselves upon us, and continued almost constantly day and night in the but, were there not only by his permission, but by his orders. The white-men, he said, were great people, but he was only a Bachapin; and it would exceedingly distress him to have their displeasure. As he had a great number of servants, he would order some to remain in the mootsi to assist us in fetching water and to go out with my hunters

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to carry home the game for 'them:' if he had here added 'selves' his meaning would have been better expressed; but he explained it sufficiently when he confessed that he was glad to see how kind we were to his people in giving them part of what we shot. He concluded by saying, that he would let his brothers accompany my Hottentots in their hunts, that they might learn rightly the use of the gun.

This conversation elucidates a prominent part of Mattivi's character: as far as it expressed promises beneficial to his visitors, it meant nothing; but where it implied any thing for his own benefit, it was sincere. He appeared to me to be selfish in a high degree, and cunning without sufficient depth of policy to conceal it: it required but little discernment to see the real meaning of all he said and did. Had he been a man of talent or reflection, he either, would not have given me palpable cause for complaint and remonstrance, or he would not have employed such weak arguments in defence of his conduct, or used so thin a veil to conceal his true motives.

This favorable turn of, what my men considered to be, the crisis of our fate, rendered them so happy, that they gave themselves up this evening to a greater share of cheerfulness, and even of mirth, than I had witnessed in them since we came among this nation. Till now, all of them had appeared full of thought and anxiety, talking no longer in their usual tone of voice, but speaking only in a low timid manner which betrayed how much they desired to be away from this people. In the hut, they passed the evening in friendly familiarity with those who came to sit by their fire. The sound of the fiddle was heard, but instead of dancing, laughter indicated more truly that their minds were at ease.

The natives, after having just beheld a storm gathering over themselves and us, were, I believe, not sorry at finding it disperse without harm. They seemed to associate with us in a more cordial manner; and even took one or two of the Hottentots, with whom they had formed a more particular acquaintance, to their houses, where they remained a great part of the evening. These, at their return, reported that they had been kindly treated, and had experienced, what must be considered as, great and unusual hospitality

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among Bachapins, having been entertained with milk and corn. It could not, however, be said that more than the half of my party had thus banished their fears: the others, though less uneasy than before, were evidently not in a state of tranquillity.

18th. Early in the morning, before I had risen, the promised oxen were delivered over to my men; and had been driven out to pasture along with my own cattle. Mattivi had, I found, now given me two more than I had expected; one as a present, with the same intention with which he had at first given me the cow; for slaughter: the other as a return for the gunpowder. I gave him to understand that the last was not due to me, as the powder was meant as a free gift; but he replied, that what he had once given, he could never receive back again; and that to return it to him, would be an affront.

The Chief had issued orders for about five hundred of his people to commence the great hunt early in the morning. These spread themselves over the plains to the distance of several miles, and by preconcerted arrangement according to their custom, encircled an extensive tract of country, driving all the wild animals which happened to be thus enclosed, towards the town.

These were but few, and consisted only of paalas, springbucks called tsépi in the Sichuana language, zebras, and buffaloes; all which were thus made so exceedingly wild, that the Hottentots had no opportunity of shooting more than four springbucks; and probably the natives did not kill so many.

My own men, of whom I allowed no more than Speelman, Philip, Juli, Gert, and Cornelis, to go, were looked up to as the principal hunters on this occasion, and were each attended by a separate party, one of whom was generally employed to carry their gun in order to save them that fatigue. From this, we may see the inconsistency and imprudence of these Hottentots: they, who at other times believed there was reason for dreading that these natives would murder them, were now so thoughtless as to put into their hands the power of accomplishing such a purpose, and voluntarily to give up the only means by which they might defend their lives.

Speelman was attended by Mollemmi with Mattivi's gun. The

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former having with the same ball, as he said, killed one springbuck and wounded another, which also fell, Mollemmi immediately fired at it, and declared that it was he who had brought it down; although the other natives, who were of that party, honestly owned that the animal belonged to the Hottentot. But Speelman was wise enough to give up both the honor and his claim, when he found the other inclined so obstinately to persist in asserting that they were due to him.

The Bachapins proved on this occasion, that in any emergency they can run with great swiftness, or, as my men expressed it, like horses; but that they are unable to continue long at that pace, and are, in this qualification, perhaps, much inferior to the Bushmen, who have greatly the advantage by being lighter and smaller in person.

The field of their hunting was at a considerable distance eastward from the town, where the country was found to be a boundless grassy plain, which my men, who were separated from each other, traversed in different directions, and every where met with strong springs of water, one of which they reported to be nearly as copious as the Klibbolikhonni. This tract is still a continuation of the Great Plains before described, and extends, as I afterwards learnt, above a day's journey in this direction. The Hottentots saw grazing in different parts, innumerable herds of oxen, which were much larger and finer than any we had seen in the Chief's cattle-pound in the town; and they were inclined to believe that those which had been given to me in the morning, were some of the worst which he possessed.

Mattivi and his attendants, who had also been on the hunt, came home again at noon: he employed himself during the rest of the day, in making handles for hatchets, such as have been already represented. The main body of the hunters, many of whom were exceedingly fatigued, and my own men, did not return till the evening.

I was myself compelled to remain at home by the waggons; as it would have been highly imprudent to have laid temptation in the

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way of the inhabitants, who finding them unguarded might not have been able to resist so favorable an opportunity for purloining something: for, of the four men whom I kept in town, three were utterly incapable, through fear, of taking any charge; and so just were my suspicions, that it was discovered the next morning, that every button had been cut from off all the Hottentots' great-coats which were left in the hut under the care of Van Roye, Platje, Keyser, and Stuurman. This we supposed to have been done by women and children, as many of them had frequented the enclosure in the course of the day: but whether by women or by men, it was evident that they were tempted by the absence or carelessness of those who ought to have watched over them.

Did a Hottentot possess the notions of a European, I should not have been sorry at this robbery, because it would have made him more careful in future; and the inconvenience of a buttonless coat would have daily reminded him of his neglect, and have taught him a useful lesson. But his apathy gives him quite another character, and renders him insensible to any stimulus of this kind: what he has lost, he never thinks of afterwards; and rather than burden his mind with any new or additional care, he is content to take the chance of another loss, considering himself to be greatly the gainer if he escape robbery the next time.

Platje, Andries, and Keyser were so completely subdued by their fears, that they never spoke, not only to the natives, but even not to their companions. While at the town, they concealed themselves in the hut all day, and manifested so distressing a state of timidity that they attracted the notice of the inhabitants. Mollemmi asked us why they were so much afraid: They have not, said he, any occasion to be so; we shall do them no harm.

As soon as the hunters had set out this morning, the rest of my men whom I had ordered to remain with me at the waggons, deserted me; or at least, I found myself left the whole day in the town with no one near me but Stuurman and Andries, mere boys. On inquiring for the others, they informed me that Platje was so much in dread that the inhabitants, for the sake of plundering the

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waggons, would come and murder the few who remained with them, that he had taken his musket and gone away, intending to pass the day out of the town, with Keyser, who was tending our cattle at pasture. Van Roye was not less penetrated with fear; as his looks too clearly betrayed: he had in the same manner absconded till the evening.

Such was the state of the Hottentots, at this time. In Juli, no undue, or unreasonable, fears had hitherto been observed; and I viewed his steadiness and general conduct, with a satisfaction which was increased by contrasting him with the others. In talking with him on this subject, he confessed that, on the first appearance of bad intentions towards us, on the part of the natives, it was much to be feared that every man of my party, excepting Speelman and Philip, would run away and leave us to defend ourselves. This was precisely my own opinion; and I derived, therefore, some pleasure from this proof of his discernment; and some consolation from the assurance that I had at least three men who would stand by the waggons in time of danger; for, although Speelman had once or twice shown some symptoms of timidity, I had sufficient confidence in his attachment, to believe that he would not desert me at such a time. Neither Philip nor Juli had betrayed any want of real courage.

I observed the skin of a very extraordinary animal lying on the hedge of Mattivi's cattle-enclosure, placed there, as I was told, to preserve the cattle from the evil effects of sorcery. The name of it was khāakă: it was of the genus Manis, but whether the pentadactyla, or a new species, I could not at that time determine; because the feet, head, and tail had been cut off, and the descriptions contained in the books of my travelling library, were too imperfect to assist in the decision. I neglected describing it from the mutilated skin, having no doubt of procuring afterwards the complete animal; but in this expectation I was disappointed, as it is not only a scarce creature, but one which it is very difficult to secure. This skin was two feet long, and covered with scales an inch and a half broad, of an obtuse or roundish form, the outward edge of which was very sharp.

The sum of all the information which I could obtain from the

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natives respecting khāakă, is, —that by day it lives generally in holes in the ground, in the same manner as the Takkarú*, but does not burrow so deep, and is more easily unearthed. It has a long tail, and which it uses in digging its hole; (a fact so extraordinary, that it may, I think, be doubted: one person informed me that it does not dig its own burrow, but lives in that of another animal). It has a long snout, and a tongue which it can extend far out of its mouth. It lives upon ants; and on being alarmed or disturbed climbs up the nearest tree for refuge. When it comes out by day to feed, it is exceedingly cautious; and standing up on its hind legs, stretches out its neck to look around, and immediately on perceiving any person approaching, draws its head quickly back to its body. It walks on its heels to preserve its claws, and therefore, as it is said, imprints on the ground a foot-mark exactly like that of a rhinoceros in miniature. Whenever a recent track is met with, the animal is traced to its hole and dug out if possible, as the flesh, which is extremely fat, is esteemed so great a delicacy that the law requires that every khaaka which is killed shall be brought to the Chief.

When I requested Mattivi to order his people to procure for me a complete skin, he would not promise to do so, although I offered a great price in tobacco; and as Serrakutu was equally reluctant to comply with this request, it appeared not improbable that they were withheld by some superstitious belief relative to it: yet I was not more successful in my offer to purchase any other animals which the inhabitants would bring me.

In the evening the Chief came, and sat with me in the waggon for half an hour. Neither he, nor any of his brothers, ever approached me without asking for tobacco, notwithstanding the handsome present which I had made him. As he was so careful to conceal from his friends what he had received, he could not have much diminished this quantity; and his begging must therefore have proceeded from pure covetousness.

* The Aard-vark of the Dutch colonists; and Myrmecophaga capensis, Lin.—See Vol. I. p. 342.

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As an experiment, I adopted his own style of solicitation, and complained that his servants had brought me no milk that day; but he was not to be taken unawares, for his excuse lay ready-fabricated upon his tongue: he said, that this was the season when milk was scarce, and that he had really but few cows. My answer was not very ceremonious, but it was not against the rules of Bachapin politeness; I replied, I could not believe that, while I knew him to be so rich that his cattle were grazing in every part of the country; and therefore begged he would every day send me a large quantity. I was induced to make this demand, by having discovered that the art of begging follows one of the rules of an algebraïc equation; that, like-quantities on both sides, annul each other, and may be expunged, as not affecting the result. Whenever I began to beg of the Bachapins, their begging ceased immediately, and thus, neither party gained nor lost.

Mollémmi also came, to inform me of his feats in hunting, and to tell me of his having shot a tsepi with the new gun. He said he felt very tired; and on my giving him some tobacco, seemed glad to leave me and go home. Muchunka was teaching him a few Dutch words, to prepare him for his intended visit to Cape Town, the real object of which, it was at last discovered, was to procure guns from the governor; having been told at Klaarwater, that he was the only person from whom they could be obtained.

19th. This being Sunday, my flag was hoisted upon a tall bamboo-cane and fixed at the hinder part of my waggon, conformably to a regulation which we followed while beyond the boundary of the Cape colony. This practice was of considerable utility, in dividing our time, and in assisting the Hottentots in keeping an account of the days of the week. By having this object before their eyes for twelve hours, a connection of ideas was established between the flag and every occurrence which took place on that day, as well as between that and the station at which it was hoisted. We were thus enabled more easily to recollect the place at which, or the day when, it was Sunday, and consequently to keep a check upon mistakes in our reckoning.

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That predilection for one's own country, which has been implanted by Nature in the human heart, and which, for a European in these wild regions, seemed to have acquired a more warm and powerful character, raised in me some agreeable feelings, on beholding the English flag waving above my head; in the middle of an African town. But it may be doubted whether such feelings, while coupled with a want of respect, or of philanthropic kindness, towards the other nations of the globe, can ever be pure as Nature intended them. This predilection, it must be confessed, is a virtue which some nations carry so far, or so much pervert, that it becomes almost their characteristic vice.

I wished, during my residence at Litákun more especially, to make this literally a day of rest as far as it regarded my intercourse with the natives; whose incessant conversation and wearying importunities, left me scarcely one moment to myself, from the time of my rising, till they retired to their homes at night. I therefore closed up my waggon, and desired Muchunka to let all the natives know that it was Sondak (Zondag, or Sunday); taking advantage of a word, the meaning of which they had learnt from those who had visited Klaarwater.

Thus relieved from the intrusion of strangers, I was left to my own occupations for the whole day, excepting a visit from Mollémmi with which I was more pleased than interrupted. He brought Muchunka, Champáni, and another Bachapīn, with him; and when he first intruded himself under the canvass, and took his seat in the waggon, I felt somewhat vexed, and told him that I had given notice that it was Sunday, and wished to be left alone. Muchunka further explained to him that he knew it was the custom at Klaarwater to do nothing on that day, excepting to say prayers. He wished to know what prayers were; and I explained this to him in a manner suited to his intellect and adapted to make some useful impression on his mind. He replied very modestly, that he had come because he liked much to be with me and to talk to me; but, that it was good that I had now told him the custom of my country, and that in future he would not interrupt me.

In forming my opinion of Mollémmi's character, I was for

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some time in uncertainty; as he appeared a different person under different circumstances. On some occasions he was obstinate and most vexatiously troublesome; on others, submissive and good-tempered: but, notwithstanding that I suffered much from the unpleasant part of his character during my stay at this town, I must do him the justice to believe that he was not without some share of goodness of heart, nor without a desire to oblige others, where his own interest was not in the way to prevent it. Although he plagued me even more than his brother Mattivi did, I must acknowledge that of the two, he was the better character; as he had much less of that mean insatiable covetousness, and was often more easily persuaded by reasonable argument.

He listened to the explanation which I gave him respecting prayers, with so much more attention than I should have supposed the subject could have awakened in him, that I pursued it farther, not only with a view to gratifying my own curiosity as to his knowledge and conceptions of the Divinity, but with a wish also of giving him some new and better ideas. I found no difficulty in making him sensible of a future state of existence, as the Bachapins seemed to possess some confused notions of this kind; but of their belief in retributive justice after death, I never could gain any clear account. Neither did it appear to me that they had any very sublime idea of the soul or of immortality. Of the worldly superintendence of a Supreme Power, they are not ignorant; but their knowledge is so mingled with superstition, that this can be of little practical benefit to their moral conduct or religious feelings. These superstitious notions could only have been the offsprings of the weakest mind; and the respect which continues to be paid to them, proves, better than any argument, how low is the state of intellect and reason among these people.

Yet, with an education so unfavorable to mental improvement, Mollemmi listened to me with an apparent desire of learning, and with a facility of assent, which I should not have expected. All which I told him, of our notions respecting the Deity; of the absolute necessity of a virtuous life; and of the preservation of good-

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faith between man and man, and between nation and nation; all, was received with an interest, and even eagerness, which increased the longer I continued the conversation. This enticed me to proceed in my exposition, to a considerable length; and I felt a peculiar satisfaction in pouring into a mind apparently so open to receive it, some instruction which I hoped might contribute a ray of light towards showing him a better path to present and future happiness.

Champáni and the other native, listened to this discourse, with no less attention than Mollemmi. The former, by his knowledge of Dutch, comprehended more quickly and forcibly, than the others who heard only through an interpreter, the purport of what was told them; and, as if convinced of the truth of my representations, spoke occasionally to the others to enforce or explain my meaning: while Muchunka, with the same view, frequently added much of his own over and above the proper interpretation.

After having endeavoured to give them some notions of the goodness of that Being by whose will, the existence of every thing around them was continued, Who beheld all they did, and to whom every word of untruth, and every act of injustice, was in the highest degree displeasing, I proceeded to show them the practical good which would surely result, not from merely believing in this, but from regulating their conduct conformably to such notions, and from restraining their evil propensities by those precepts which would naturally flow from such knowledge. I assured them that, if the Bachapins, the Nuákketsies, the Batámmakas, the Māibues, and all the tribes of this land, did but know these things, and act in conformity with the will of the Deity, there would be no more fighting one against the other, or stealing cattle; but that all would be at peace and would visit each other as friends and brethren.

As long as I continued speaking, there was the greatest attentiveness, and an evident wish to comprehend clearly all which was said: from their manner, it seemed that this mode of argument and explanation, was entirely new to them, and even to Muchunka though he had lived at Klaarwater. It appeared strongly to excite their curiosity; and, had the object of my visit to Litákun been

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such as it may be supposed that of a missionary would be, I think I should have found it not impossible to have gained over their minds an ascendancy, which, with a little management, might have been rendered useful in disposing them for the reception and adoption of the purer principles of religion. It is by making the untutored savage see and feel the advantage of a virtuous life, that he can be taught to submit to its rules. Where this is not done, the missionary will labour all his life, to no purpose but to cheat himself.

Having communicated to my visitors as much as they could be supposed able to remember, or capable of understanding without confusing one idea with another, I concluded by an assurance that they might rely on the truth of the facts which had been stated. Mollemmi replied, that it was very good that I had informed him of these things; that he was glad to hear them; and that, as he much wished to know more, he would often come to me when I was alone and had time to talk to him. It was no inconsiderable proof of the effect which my conversation had on him, that he never once begged for any thing. It would give me always, I said, great pleasure to tell him or any one else, all which I might know on this subject; and whenever he felt disposed to listen again, he would find me ready at any time to instruct him; as I felt sincerely desirous of doing him and his countrymen as much good as might lay in my power. He replied, that he would always listen with the greatest attention; that he would never forget what I had already told him, but would tell it also to the people, that they might know these things as well as himself.

The conversation having gradually changed to other subjects, it fell at last upon my flag; and his remark proved that he was not altogether wanting in the faculty of observation; he noticed that it was of the same kind as that which he had seen with the party who visited them in 1801, but different from that of 1805. In this he was quite correct; for the former was sent by the English government, and the latter, by the Dutch. This naturally led to an explanation that these were two different nations, and that they came to the Cape from different countries and spoke different languages: facts

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of which he was totally ignorant; although Champani, who was regarded as a man of information, was aware that some white-men were distinguished as Dutch, and others, as English; which he might probably have learnt from the circumstance of there being missionaries of both nations at Klaarwater.

I mentioned to them, in as comprehensible a manner as possible, some particulars relative to my own country and Europe; all of which they seemed to think very wonderful and interesting. If any of the Bachapins, I said, would come to England, they should with their own eyes see the truth of all which I had told them, and that when they came back again, they would be able to instruct their countrymen respecting all the fine things which they had seen, and to tell them all the wonders of the other land. Mollémmi replied, that he was certain I was one of the greatest chiefs in that land; and when I endeavoured to assure him of the contrary, he said he never would believe that, because he could himself see how rich I was.

When they left me, their thoughts were so involved in the novelty of the information which they had received, that they never once mentioned the word muchúko.

Towards the evening, Mattīvi came and sat with me a short time; I gave him a large piece of tobacco, thanking him for having prevented his people from disturbing me. He and his attendants had been passing their time as usual; nor could I discover during the whole of my residence at Litakun, or in any part of my travels among the Bichuanas, the least appearance of any regular day of rest, or worship. He and his friends, he told me, had been admiring my flag, which they thought exceedingly beautiful as it waved in the wind.

On my mentioning that I intended to send three of my men out to hunt on the morrow, he said he should let his brother Molaali go with them, to practise shooting and hunting according to our method. He did not intend going himself, because he must remain at home to take care of me and restrain his people from troubling me so much as they had lately done. His presence certainly had some effect in checking their importunities. Observing me writing

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down some Sichuana words, he asked if I did it that I might learn them when I returned to my own country: and on being told that it was done that others might learn them also and come to Litákun to see him, he was much pleased. I could perceive that a week's acquaintance had worn off much of his reserve: he appeared sometimes in a more friendly light, and sufficiently familiar; but he had not yet won my confidence and esteem. On taking leave of me at night, his usual word was, Rumēela; a polite and friendly term of greeting, often used also at meeting, in answer to the word Eēs.

Mollémmi paid me a short visit in the evening, when I gave him some tobacco for Molaali whom I had not seen since the morning before. On asking why he had not been to visit me, he said that it was because he had had much business to attend to.

At this time, Molaali's duty in the Bachapin government, was to convey the Chief's orders wherever the case demanded, and to see them put in execution: he also was employed on those commissions for which the presence of a person of authority, was required in any distant part of the country within Mattīvi's jurisdiction. It was he who was generally sent to inquire into crimes and misdemeanors, and bring the offender, if not too powerful, to town. A short time before my arrival he had been thus employed, in taking into custody a man who had stolen and killed one of the Chief's oxen, and who was afterwards punished with death. Such an offence may be commuted for a fine of three or four times the value, if the means of paying it can be found; or it is visited by seizure, when the offender is of the higher class. During my stay at Litákun all business with the different cattle-stations appeared to be transacted by Molaali; who was considered as the official messenger on all occasions of importance.

Molaali, as soon as he was told by his brother that I had been making inquiries after him, paid me a visit; and seemed much pleased at my having noticed his absence. He sat with me about a quarter of an hour, and was entertained with a cup of tea. His behaviour was at all times modest and unpretending; he was far less troublesome to me, than his elder brothers were; but assumed somewhat more liberty than his brother Mahúra, whom I saw less fre-

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quently, and who, I believe, was employed generally in the same manner, though in business of less consequence.

Neither the Chief, nor any of his family, considered it beneath their rank to pass their evenings at my Hottentots' fire, and smoke and talk with them as if they themselves had been Hottentots, or these had been chiefs. But their Colonial dress was in the eyes of the Bachapins a badge of the highest rank; and which caused them to be every where regarded as inferior to no one but myself.

When all besides were asleep, I went into the hut to warm myself by the embers, and found two of the natives, who usually slept there and whom I have suspected of being spies upon us, instructing Stuurman in their language. This Hottentot knew nothing of it; nor was it likely that he ever could learn much, by such a mode of instruction as that which his two tutors had adopted. They were pronouncing various words or sentences, without giving any kind of explanation, and which they made him carefully repeat word for word after them. This, I found him doing very patiently, but without understanding a single word: and when he had with great pains and gravity pronounced what they told him, they burst into laughter at the end of every expression. This merriment I discovered to be occasioned, not, as he thought, by his ridiculous pronunciation, but by the improper meaning of that which they made him so innocently repeat.

This species of wit is much admired by most tribes of savages; and an inquisitive traveller is always liable to be thus imposed on. If his knowledge of the language should not be sufficient for affording him a clue by which he may trace and detect the imposition, he may attentively watch the countenance of his instructor, and should he observe the slightest symptoms of mirth, he may know that their instruction is not worth listening to. Jokes of this kind are more easily discovered in the presence of several natives, than when there is not a second to enjoy the imposition, and betray it by his laughing.

Most of my men had, however, picked up a few words, which they used upon almost every occasion, and managed by the help of these, and of signs, to make themselves in general to be understood. But

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frequently for mere amusement, as I supposed, and to pass away the evening, they used to hold long conversations, if they can be called such, with the natives, each party using his own language and comprehending very little of what was said by the other; and talking probably on subjects widely different. One of these men made Stuurman repeat after him, an account of a warlike expedition which was sent against a neighbouring tribe: such being a favorite subject of conversation among these people, and one of the most important which the events of a Bachapin life can supply.

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CHAPTER XVI.

TRANSACTIONS AND OCCURRENCES DURING THE FIRST RESIDENCE AT LITAKUN.

July 20th. While I was employed this morning in making a drawing of the mootsi, or public enclosure, in which my waggons were stationed, the Chief and his party remained sitting in their usual place near the hut, passing their time in desultory conversation, and occasionally in shaping handles for their corn-hoes, a kind of mattock, used by the women in digging or breaking up the land preparatively to sowing, as that season was now advancing. These handles were nearly in the form of the kirri, and about three feet long. The work now bestowed upon them, and which was performed with a common knife, was that of making them smooth and straight; but it proceeded at an extremely slow rate, which plainly showed how little they valued time, or how little work they had to do.

To make my sketch, I seated myself at the farthest part of the enclosure; and during this time no one molested me with begging;

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nor did any person come near me, excepting two or three children. These were at first rather timid and shy; but I soon found means of gaining their confidence. Their playmates, who were at a little distance, observing that I had no dislike to their company, added themselves to the party one by one, till at last I found myself surrounded by a crowd of little urchins, all desirous that I should take notice of them. The occasional society of such companions may often afford the greatest relaxation, and the attractive innocence and simplicity of youth contrasted with the repulsive duplicity of a more advanced age, possess a charm which may agreeably beguile an hour, and recreate a mind fatigued by graver cares. I left off my drawing, that I might thus amuse myself; and it was not long before their shyness was converted into playful familiarity. They appeared delighted and happy that I thought them of so much importance as to spend my time in talking with them and in answering all their questions. One asked the name of my book, and on being told it, others came eagerly forward to know what I called the pencil, my boots, and the different parts of my dress. They repeated the name, several times over, at first very seriously; and on communicating it to the rest, laughed as if highly pleased at having learnt something new, or, perhaps, at the strange sound of the word itself.

I enjoyed this amusement alone, as none of the men had curiosity enough, or thought it worth while, to take their seat by my side, to see what I was doing; or probably Mattīvi had ordered that I should not be interrupted while at work. But no sooner had I finished it, and returned to my waggon, than the men began as usual to torment me with begging for tobacco, or snuff. I found it impossible to get rid of them without giving some; and I now saw the necessity of reducing the quantity as low as possible; as my bestowing too liberally to so great a multitude, would before long have put it out of my power to give to any one. When one party, or as many as could stand on the step of the waggon, had gained the object of their visit, another immediately took their place. I hoped to avoid their importunities, by leaving the waggon; as they supposed that I

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was there seated in the midst of tobacoo; but I no where found relief; I was assailed on all sides by, Lee muchúko: — 'Mpá muchúko, Monárri: — Muchúko okái? 'Give me tobacco:' — 'Give me some tobacco, Sir:' — 'Where's the tobacco?' To whatever spot I went, thither I was followed: and their incessant begging was all which I had to attend to during the rest of the forenoon.

By this time, I had acquired among the natives, the name of Monár or Monárri, which I suppose to be a corruption of the Dutch word Mynheer (Sir) used by the Hottentots; but my interpreter explained it as being a title which they frequently give when addressing their own chieftains. I was sometimes styled Kaptèen (Captain), a word well known to all the native tribes who have any connection with the Cape Colony, and understood by them in the sense of 'a chief,' or 'a chieftain;' this being the rank in which they thought proper to place me. My own men had little occasion to make use of my real name, as there was no other European in the party, to render such a distinction necessary: in speaking of me, they used the Dutch words de Heer, and in the distant parts of the Colony that of de Engelsche Heer was the more common designation, although my name was affixed to both the waggons.

In the afternoon, I walked to a little distance, to make a sketch of part of the town. I would not take any interpreter with me, that, by pretending not to understand what they said, I might escape the annoyance of beggars. Some of the inhabitants followed me, and others came and took their seat by my side while I was drawing. When they asked a question which I understood, I endeavoured, in the best manner in my power, to give them an answer; but when I heard the word muchúko or lishuéena, I affected not to comprehend their meaning; and, seeming to listen with great attention as if desirous of making out what they said, I tired them out by repeatedly saying. Búä káapi (Say it again); and at last declared, Na ka si boa ūkbwa (I don't understand you). Some of them, however, were shrewd enough to see through the trick; and on its detection, we laughed at each other:—but I gave no muchúko. This little ruse was so much in their own style, that they were far from being displeased at it: it rather,

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I believe, gave them a higher opinion of the qualifications of white-men.

Mattīvi's principal herdsman, who generally brought a small calabash of milk, said that he had received orders to supply me with some every day; adding, that he would always bring it himself, that he might be assured of its being regularly delivered to me. But the real cause of his punctuality, was the present or payment of a piece of tobacco, which he never failed to demand. And besides this, the Chief himself always expected a daily present of the same kind, in consideration of his 'royal bounty;' so that I generally paid twice over for what he often alluded to as a proof of his generous and friendly disposition towards me: and as a further proof of his friendship, he frequently, when thirsty, did me the favor to come to my waggon and, signifying his wishes with, 'Mpá maashe (Give me some milk), drink up generally half of what he had sent me only an hour or two before. I soon discovered the truth of what the Hottentots had said at Klaarwater; when they told me in their Dutch, In de Briqualand zal Mynheer nicks kryg voor nicks; 'In Briqualand you will get nothing for nothing.'

While I was thus engaged in the town, some of my men were employed in hunting in the neighbouring plains; and in the evening two paalas and a stonebuck were brought home: others went to the river, and passed the day in that very unromantic occupation of washing our linen.

In the evening, when we were all reassembled round the fire, the sound of our music enlivened the mootsi, and attracted to our hut the great milk-giving Chief and his brothers. Several boys, when they had ended their daily business of attending the cattle, came and spent the remainder of their time with the Hottentots: they listened so attentively to the tunes which were played on our violin, that they soon learnt them perfectly, and often gave me the pleasure of hearing them sung with a readiness and correctness which surprised me; while I felt some gratification from the idea of our being most probably the first visitors who had actually introduced among them a European air.

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One evening a party of about ten or twelve of these boys amused themselves in dancing. They formed themselves in a circle, in imitation of the dance used by the men, and appeared to follow the same rules; but, instead of the reed pipes, they substituted their voices. Sometimes one of them led the band, and the rest afterwards joined in at different intervals; and, guided only by the ear, attuned their notes in correct harmony. The elder boys, whose voices were of a lower pitch, sang the bass; while the younger, produced, in their turn, the higher tones of the treble. The sound of the various voices, was altogether extremely pleasing; and the natural manner in which the dancing and singing were performed, would, simply from the engaging manners of youth, have gratified even those who have enjoyed these arts in their more refined state. The words Kána Kána, which convey no meaning, were pronounced by each one in every bar, merely to assist in articulating the air. This dance was continued, with little intermission, for nearly an hour. The same tune was repeated during the whole time without variation; and occupied, in singing it once over, just twenty-two seconds: but it has not been thought necessary to write the different parts in score, separately as they were sung by each dancer; since they may be readily distinguished by mere inspection. The following notes will give some idea of them, and will also serve as a specimen of Bachapin music.

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21st. During part of the forenoon, I was employed in my waggon in finishing my drawings; but at no hour of the day was I allowed to be there alone. Several natives were always sitting on the chest before me, and watching every motion; but I was mistaken in my first supposition that their curiosity might be the effect of a desire to learn the arts of white-men, and to improve their knowledge by conversing with strangers. It did not appear to have so useful an object: although I cannot but believe that the occasional visits of Europeans, must, at least insensibly and almost involuntarily, enlarge their notions and give them many new ideas which may ultimately raise the nation somewhat higher in the scale of intellect and civilization. The effects of such visits, have hitherto perhaps been fleeting; as no strangers of this description had passed a sufficient length of time among them, to communicate much information, or to make any permanent impression on the minds of the people in general.

A few days before we reached Litákun, a party of Nuákketsies had arrived there, with a present of oxen from their chief Mókkaba, as a testimony of his desire of being on peaceable terms with Mattīvi. They had also brought a large quantity of iron-ware of their own manufacture, consisting of knives, hassagays, and hatchets; together with tobacco, copper and iron beads, copper bracelets, and ornaments for the ears; which were exchanged here for porcelain beads, and sibīlo. They still remained at this town, not having yet disposed of all their merchandise. Two of them came this morning into the public enclosure: they appeared of a blacker color than the Bachapins; which might possibly be merely the consequence of their not being painted with red ochre or sibīlo. They had thicker lips and more flattened noses; but I will not, from these few individuals, venture to assert that such are the national features: yet subsequent observation seemed to authorise the supposition that, by travelling farther northward, the tribes would be found gradually to approach in features and color, nearer to the negroes of the equinoctial part of the continent.

Serrakútu, whom I had not seen for the last two days, paid

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me a visit, and sat for about half an hour with me. When I inquired why he had remained so long without coming to the waggons, he answered, that he had been very busy making a kóba. On my remarking that I was always glad to see him; he replied that he felt particularly desirous that we should become very intimate friends: and, to conclude these complimentary speeches, I rejoined that there was no doubt that such would be the case, as soon as we were a little more acquainted. In the mean time I would give him, I said, an opportunity of proving his sincerity by ordering some of his people to get me the skin of a khaaka, for which I offered him a foot and a half of tobacco. He made no promise that he would procure me the skin; but wished that the offer should be made in beads instead of tobacco. This was a proposal which could not prudently be complied with, as it was now evident that no purchase could be made in the Interior without beads, and my teams were still incomplete. I invited him to make a journey to Cape Town, where he would, I assured him, not only get beads in abundance, but would behold so many extraordinary and handsome things, that he would never afterwards find time enough for relating to the people of Litakun all the wonders which he had seen. Yet all my representations seemed to have little effect in exciting any desire for such a journey: he replied; 'At home I have two wives, who prepare for me every meal; but if I go to the Cape, who will then cook my food, if I do not take them along with me?' He was, however, a man of as much quickness of understanding as any of his countrymen; but, as he found his present situation and mode of life suit his habits better than those of the makwá-mashú (white-men), he seemed not much inclined to risk any experiment with a view to ameliorate his condition, or merely to acquire knowledge; deeming, perhaps, all which white-men regarded as fine things and strong temptations, to be of little importance to him, excepting the beads. He ended these remarks by reminding me that I had a day or two before, promised him some tobacco. I gave him, therefore, a piece of three inches, but desired that he would let no one know of it. He was equally anxious himself to conceal it, fearing that his friends would

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pursue him for a share of it, with as much ardor as they had pursued me; while it was his intention to take the smoking of it wholly into his own hands, disdaining all assistance in an affair, for the management of which he was so well qualified.

A chieftain whose name was Krámŏrĭ, and who resided in a distant quarter of the town, came to offer me an elephant's tusk in exchange for beads; and when told that it was oxen, and not ivory, which I wished to purchase, he replied, that the tooth was so large and heavy, that he had not been able to bring it to the waggons, but that if I would come and see it at his house, he was certain that I should immediately desire to purchase it. Without promising this, I consented to accompany him, in order to examine his house and take a view of a distant quarter of the town, which I had not yet seen.

I was attended by Muchùnka and Champāni, and by a few natives who added themselves to our party. As we walked along, one of them amused himself in throwing his tsámma or walking-stick in the manner of a hassagay, the shaft of which it exactly resembles. He was careful to aim always in the direction in which we were going, that he might have no other trouble than to pick it up as he passed. This was, for a person who walks out merely for exercise, an excellent mode of beguiling the way, as it exerts the upper limbs equally with the lower, and thus gives employment to all the principal muscles of the body: though the object sought in the present case, was probably that of perfection in the art of using the hassagay, their usual warlike instrument.

In our way we passed through many clusters of houses; between which there were most frequently large spaces of unoccupied ground. Each of these clusters might generally be considered as the village of a different kósi or chieftain, and inhabited for the greater part, by his relations and connections; yet not necessarily, nor perhaps always, following this as a rule. The houses were all built in the neatest manner imaginable; but beyond the fence which encircled them, not the least labor had ever been bestowed; nor, in any part of this extensive town, did there exist works which might be considered as

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being of a public nature: no care extended beyond private interest; and it may be doubted whether the Chiefs of these nations ever exert their authority for the general good of their subjects, by putting in requisition the labor of the community, for the accomplishment of any work of this kind.

The intervening ground remained in a state of nature, scattered over with bushes and here and there with a tuft of smaller plants or a patch of herbage, between which appeared the naked sandy soil of the same red color which had been remarked almost every where in the Plains of Litākun. The site of the town had formerly been occupied by a grove of acacias; mostly of those species which have hitherto been confounded under the name of 'camelthorn.' Among them was a new sort called by the inhabitants, múkwi, or mókwi, or mokála-mókwi, distinguishable by the unusual thickness of its branches and even of its youngest shoots.*

As I passed through the different clusters of dwellings, the inhabitants ran out to view me. The greater number were women and girls; the men being abroad in the plains, either hunting or attending their cattle. A white-man must have been a perfectly novel sight to the younger children; and, judging from the eager looks and surprise of many of the older people, this must have been the first time in their lives that they had beheld so extraordinary a phenomenon. They did not attempt to follow me, but continued standing without the door of their fence, gazing with fixed attention, till I had reached some distance from them. We passed a few of the houses before they knew that I was in that quarter; and, my visit being quite unexpected, the haste with which they scrambled out to the door to have a look at me before I had gone too far from their abode,

* Acacia robusta, B. Catal. Geogr. 2265. Arbor 20—30-pedalis, trunco robusto, ramis ramulisquè robustissimis. Folia bipinnata, pinnis 3—4-jugis glandulâ solitariâ inter ultimis. Foliola 8—13-juga glabra, oblonga obtusa. Spinæ geminæ stipulares albæ rectæ, plerumque longæ, at sæpe aliæ breves in eodem ramulo videndæ. Flores odorati pallidè flavi, ex gemmis ramulorum anni præcedentis (in A. Capensi, ex ramulis anni instantis) proveniunt, in capitulis globosis pedunculatis pluribus (usque ad 10). Legumen fuscum nudum lato-lineare bivalve rectum, Acaciæ Capensis duplò majus. Habitus et facies arboris est Acaciæ giraffæ, at legumina diversissima.

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was highly amusing. But the men were more moderate in their curiosity, as most of them had already had an opportunity of seeing me at my waggons: some joined our party, and all inquired, whither I was going.

The different engravings in this volume, will give some idea of the appearance of this strange and singular town; yet nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it and beholding its living inhabitants in all the peculiarities of their movements and manners, can communicate those gratifying, and literally indescribable, sensations, which every European traveller of feeling, will experience on finding himself in the midst of so interesting a scene: — a scene not merely amusing; but one which may be highly instructive, for a contemplative mind. Let us endeavour to imagine the contrast, and to conceive the full force of it, by supposing ourselves, — while occupied in the busy metropolis of our own country, with all its bustle, its refinements, its complicated affairs, its extended views, its luxuries, its learning, its arts, the ingenuity and perfection of its manufactures, its numerous and beautiful piles of masonry, its floating edifices those admirable efforts of human skill; in fine, its intellectual and exalted characters, and its pure knowledge of the Deity; — let us, by supposing ourselves instantaneously transported to the spot which I am now describing, the mental image of which is still before me as bright and glowing as the reality then was, endeavour to form in our mind the picture I would attempt to draw; — of a nation and a town whose secluded existence, deep in the interior of an unexplored quarter of the globe, was unknown to us a few years before, and whose names even, had not hitherto reached us correctly; of men who knew as little of the rest of the world, as the rest of the world knew of them, and whose personal appearance, dress, and customs, are so widely different from all which we have in our own country been used to behold; of manners of the simplest kind; of intellect unexpanded or in its weakest state; of a society without arts, without other occupation than that of providing for daily wants and for the support of mere animal existence; of minds insensible to the charms of exalted virtue, unconscious of the better destiny of

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the soul, or of the glorious and beneficent nature of the Great First Cause, the Source of all which is good, the Divine Father of the universe. Let us, in short, contrast piety with atheism, the philosopher with the rude savage, the monarch with the Chief, luxury with want, philanthropy with lawless rapine: let us set before us in one view, the lofty cathedral and the straw-hut, the flowery garden and the stony waste, the verdant meadow and the arid sands. And when our imagination shall have completed the picture, and placed it in a light which may invite contemplation, it will, I think, be impossible not to derive from it instruction of the highest class. If that truly wise but difficult precept, Know thyself, has been judged so valuable and important, as to deserve being inscribed in letters of gold on one of the greatest temples in the world; most certainly, a precept which should command men to seek wisdom by gaining a knowledge of human nature and of the globe which they inhabit, cannot be less important or less deserving of being inscribed on the tablet of the mind.

The extent of the town far exceeded the estimation which I had previously formed from a distant view of it; and we walked more than a mile, in a direction northward from the Chief's mootsi, before we reached Krámŏrĭ's residence, although we were still at some distance from the farthest houses. In the direction from west to east the diameter of the town, or rather, of the ground over which it is scattered, is considerably more.

As soon as we entered the fence which encircled his habitation, the front court became crowded with neighbours, who ran in to get a sight of me and to witness what was going on. Every body seemed pleased at my paying a visit to their quarter of the town, and Krámŏrĭ's was proud of showing me his dwelling.

It was one of the largest houses; nor could it be excelled by any, in neatness and in the cleanliness and good order of every part. In the back-yard, were two others of smaller dimensions: one was a store-house; the other, a sleeping place for his servants or attendants. The whole of these buildings and the outer fence, were circular. The engraving at the head of the 17th chapter, is the representation of

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the front of the principal dwelling-house or that occupied by the chieftain himself and his family. The inner apartment, which constituted the centre or main body of the building, was about nine feet high, and as much in diameter. The roof, thatched with long grass, projected four feet beyond the outer wall, and the eaves were supported five feet from the ground by unhewn posts of mokaala wood, but from which the bark had been entirely taken off. These posts were connected at bottom, in the manner best explained by the engraving, by a low wall six inches thick, and carefully plastered with a composition of sand or loam and the manure from the cattle-pounds. This formed, with the outer wall of the building, a kind of veranda about ten feet in length, in which the family usually sit in the day time, and generally the whole evening. Three girls were sitting here at this time, busy in grinding and preparing red ochre for painting their bodies. This substance, however, is used chiefly by the men. At one end of this veranda was a small and shallow bason hollowed out of the floor and rendered more capacious by an elevated margin, for the purpose of occasionally receiving a fire whenever the coldness of the air rendered it necessary. None of the houses had any window or aperture for giving light to the inner room: the door, which was scarcely eighteen inches wide and five feet high, was the only opening. The outer fence, which might better be named a wall than a hedge, enclosed the whole at a distance of seven feet, and was formed of straight sticks or long twigs of the moháka tree, (or tarchonanthus) compactly bound together. The front-court, in which we were assembled, was divided from the back yard by a transverse, and similar, wall. The back part of the house, which corresponded with the front veranda, was wholly filled with large corn-jars some four, and others five, feet high, and three in width, built of the same materials as the wall of the house, and raised six or twelve inches above the ground.

The bystanders appeared exceedingly pleased at my admiring and examining the buildings; and more especially, when I told them and Krámŏrĭ, that I should come again another day to learn

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the manner of making such a house, that when I returned to my own country, I might build one exactly like it for myself. As I stood within this front-court, surrounded by the family and neighbours, all happy, as they really appeared to be, in being visited by a white-man who took an interest in the work of their hands and admired their ingenuity, I felt the secret influence of sympathy, and enjoyed the counterpart of their pleasure and gratification.

Kramori, who was a man of about forty years of age and of a fine well-proportioned figure, took much pains in showing me the different parts of his dwelling; and when I had sufficiently examined it, he brought me a gourd-shell full of thick-milk, a most agreeable refreshment after walking in the mid-day heat. When I had taken a small portion, I gave the rest to Muchunka and Champaani, who almost in an instant greedily devoured it up.

The elephant's tusk in question was dragged out of the store-house to tempt me, but I did not purchase it. I lifted it up in my arms, to enable me to form a guess at the weight of it, which I concluded to be between eighty and ninety pounds. When the natives saw me heaving it up and down with apparent ease, they seemed greatly surprised, and considered me to be a person of extraordinary strength; and to some of their friends, who came in afterwards I observed them explaining the circumstance by making the same motion with a tsámma laid across their arms. This circumstance is mentioned for the purpose of proving a fact, which subsequent observation further confirmed, that the Bachapins are in general, men of little muscular strength, excepting, perhaps, in the Achilles-tendon and muscles connected with its use: at the same time, it showed that continual labor and bodily exertion, if not carried too far, will greatly increase that strength. Desirous of gaining, among these people, the character of being múnŏnă tatáaïo (a strong man), I confess that in this instance I exerted my utmost force with a view to induce them to suppose that the tusk was, to my hand, comparatively light; for as I knew that, guided by outward appearances, they judged themselves to be my superiors in muscular power, I regarded it as an

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important point of prudence and policy, to give them the impression of my being personally able to defend myself against any attempt on their part, should they ever feel disposed to offer open violence.

On taking leave, I gave Kràmŏrĭ four inches of tobacco for himself and his family, who, as it appeared to me, were almost as thankful as the Bushmen of Cisgariepine would have been at receiving a similar present.

In the evening Mollèmmi annoyed me by his importuning manners; begging for a number of different things, and asking, among many other requests, for the use of my own fowling-piece, as he was going out hunting, he said, on the next morning. To this I gave a direct refusal; but he was not at all abashed by it, for immediately, as if to sound my opinion, he told me that he had been bargaining with Cornelis for the purchase of his gun. This last remark was not merely a teazing solicitation: I considered such determined perseverance to get possession of our fire-arms, as a serious misfortune to us, and felt that I had some reason still for being uneasy at the renewal of this conversation. Instantly I answered in a peremptory manner, that I would certainly not permit any transaction of that kind; and asked him if he was not satisfied with the favor I had already done him and his brother, by allowing them to have one of my muskets, although it was, as they must know, exceedingly inconvenient to me to give it up at this time; and I concluded by requesting that he would talk no further on that subject. It seemed that my tone of voice gave a check to his importunities, at least for the present: for, on giving him some tobacco, he left me that he might light his pipe at my men's fire; and I was glad to find that he returned no more that night.

22nd. In the morning I took a walk, and ascended the rocky ridge of hills, which encloses the southern side of the town, for the purpose of drawing a bird's-eye view of Litakun, to give an idea of the plan and general appearance of a South-African town. I was accompanied by Mattīvi and his attendants, who were mostly kosies; for he never walked out without a dozen of these in his train. He was much pleased when I explained to him what I was about to do, and

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when I told him that it was in order to show his town to my friends at home in my own country, and to let them see how extensive it was. He took much interest in my operations, and conducted me to a spot whence I could have the best prospect.

His choice was just, and I made my drawing from the very point of view to which he brought me; but the numerous clusters of dwellings spread so far both to the right and to the left, that the laws of perspective would not allow me to include in my sketch more than a third of the town, without having recourse to the principle of a cylindric medium.* But as there was no variation in the

* The method of drawing in perspective on the principle of an imaginary cylindric medium not having hitherto, I believe, been noticed by any writer on this branch of optics, it becomes necessary to make the above allusion to it intelligible by a brief explanation.—
The usual method supposes this medium to be a transparent plane through which the objects are beheld; the 'point of sight,' to be that point in the plane, where a line from the eye, or visual ray, would strike it perpendicularly; the 'point of distance,' to be a point in the plane, at a distance from the point of sight, equal to that between the eye and the medium; and 'accidental points' to be those to which all lines not actually parallel to the medium, nor perpendicular to it, appear perspectively to converge. This, at least, is the method usually taught, and is that which I acquired under the instruction of that excellent artist Mr. Nattes, whose works prove that he was truly a master in the art of perspective drawing. In putting this method into practice, the view seen through the medium, or rather the medium itself on which the objects are imagined as depicted, becomes the picture; which picture, to be strictly and optically correct, must represent these objects larger in proportion as their places on the medium may be farther from the point of sight; an enlargement similar to that which is required in the projection of extensive maps.
Until the extent of landscape exceed an angle of about fifty degrees, this enlargement will be inconsiderable in drawings of moderate size; but when it is much beyond that, the picture, if the correct principles of perspective be strictly adhered to, must become an anamorphosis, and will not admit of being viewed in any other position, than that in which the eye of the spectator is exactly opposite to the 'point of sight,' and at the same distance from it, as the 'point of distance.' This is, however, the position in which all perspectives ought to be viewed: notwithstanding a practice, too often seen in galleries, of hanging such pictures so that the visual ray cannot fall perpendicularly upon its proper point, nor even upon any part of the painting.
But by adopting that principle which supposes this medium to be the superficial concavity of a perpendicular cylinder, the eye being placed at any point in the axis, a method is found by which a landscape may be extended to any number of degrees, and by which every object on the same horizontal line may be delineated in the same proportion; which may be demonstrated geometrically by showing that all the visual rays from the axis of a cylinder, and falling on the same horizontal line, are equal; while all those which fall upon a plane, increase in length as they spread farther from the point of sight. In practice, the cylindric method has several advantages and facilities, although it requires that very long horizontal right lines which are much above or below the 'horizontal line' properly so called, or that which passes through the point of sight, should be represented more or less curved; but this is a case which very rarely occurs. In landscape-pictures which comprehend a larger horizontal angle than the eye can clearly take in at one view, such as the cylindric principle admits of, it would be incorrect to enlarge the angle of altitude, or height of the picture, in the same proportion; although this precept, which naturally depends on the powers of vision, appears to be in general little attended to.
In the course of studying this art from nature, we may discover that all the rules which are usually given us for delineating the different parts of a view where a great number of 'accidental points' are required, may be reduced to one, and thus the theoretical difficulties of the art exceedingly simplified, if not altogether done away. The following rule will be found to be universal, and applicable to every possible case; The point to which any straight line in nature appears to tend, is that point in the medium, whether plane or cylindrical, where a visual ray parallel to that line would fall. And then, by corollary; All lines which are parallel in nature, must, in a drawing, be made to converge to the same point: and further; All lines which are horizontal in nature, must tend to some point in the 'horizontal line;' and those which actually incline downwards, must in a picture be drawn to some point below that line, and those upwards, to some point above.
It is not only in pictures of buildings, that a knowledge of the principles of perspective is necessary, although in such it is absolutely indispensable; but, in every branch of the art of drawing, it is eminently useful; a consideration which has occasioned the subject to be noticed in this place. In confining this explanation to the space of a note, many particulars must necessarily be omitted which might perhaps make the above remarks more available to those who are but little acquainted with the theory of the art; but this exposition of the principles which guided my own practice, will, it is hoped, be sufficiently intelligible to those who take any particular interest in the subject.

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appearance of the different clusters, nor in that of the houses, a view of one-third would convey a complete and just idea of the whole.

The Chief and his party seated themselves around me, and watched my proceedings, not with that degree of curiosity which indicated a desire of learning the art, but merely with that which the novelty of the affair excited. Some, without much reflection, indeed, took their stand before me, and on my requesting them to move aside, Mattīvi scolded them very unceremoniously, for obstructing my view: on which they laid themselves down on the rocks, or stationed themselves behind me.

The Chief's dinner-hour happened during my drawing; and, as he chose to remain with me till I had finished my work, his servants brought his dinner to him. He used most frequently, or when not

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prevented by the weather, to take these meals in his mootsi, in the open air. No repast could be more frugal, more simple, or less ceremonious, than these. The meat, as usual, was small pieces of boiled beef, set before him in a wooden bowl; and from this he distributed some in his fingers to each of his attendants, who received it also in their hands; and who immediately gnawed it in pieces without ceremony, or sometimes they took the trouble to cut it with their knife.

The quantity of meat which came to each person's share, appeared not sufficient for a meal, unless they afterwards ate again in their own houses: but in public I never saw the Chief and his party eating more than once in the day; and this consisted only of beef, without any other kind of food in addition; nor was it ever observed to be cooked in any other manner than by boiling.

The Bachapins have not the least idea of making their meals the opportunity for displaying luxury and refinement: they eat because nature demands it, and imagine that a meal can require no ceremony or forms more than those of chewing and swallowing. They look only to the gratification of bodily appetite, and appear quite insensible to the mental pleasures of conviviality. Their mode of using the knife at their meals, is uncouth and singular enough, and could not be imitated by a European, without incurring the risk of cutting off his under lip: on applying the lump of meat to the mouth, one end or corner of it is seized between the teeth, and the hand which holds it, pulls with some force while the mouthful is severed from it, with the knife close to the lips. In default of a knife, I have often seen the hassagay made use of.

This mode is not peculiar to the Bachapīns or the Bichuanas; it is so common among every tribe of the Hottentot race, that I am unable to decide, to which nation the honor of its invention is due. But as the Hottentots are distinguished among the tribes of Africa by many peculiarities, and as the extraordinary mode of drinking already described* is properly theirs, it seems probable that this mode of eating may be also theirs.

* At page 314. of this volume.

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Neither on this occasion, nor on any other during my travels among the Bichuanas, was I ever invited to partake of their meals. It is not however to be inferred that their greediness is so excessive that they never give away food; since some of my own men have now and then received a portion from Mattīvi's bowl, and have sometimes eaten corn and milk in several houses at Litakun. But the notion which these people seem to have of white-men, is, that they are so inexhaustibly rich, that from the moment when they first set foot on the Bachapin territory, it is their duty to be constantly making presents to the natives, who think themselves to be a nation possessed comparatively of so little, that they ought to be receivers only, and under no obligation to do a favor in return, or to express their gratitude in any other manner than by words. Judging from their general conduct, one would conclude that they suppose that the white-men who visit them, can never while in this land, be in want of food or of the least assistance of that kind; but are, on the contrary, able to feed as many natives as chuse to seat themselves round their fire.

From the hills on which we were standing, of which the outside, at least, is formed of loose angular blocks of red sand-stone, the view is that of a most extensive plain. The prospect, looking down upon the town, is totally unlike every thing but itself, and well worth the trouble of climbing the rocks. The whole plan of Litákun, (which will be more particularly described in the seventeenth chapter,) and of its clusters of houses, of the dwellings themselves, and of the adjoining mootsies, is here seen at once, as distinctly as on a map.

On this hill, between the rocks and stones, grow a few shrubby plants; but as they are continually broken for firewood, or browsed upon by the goats, few therefore are to be found of any size excepting the Vangueria infausta. Among the numberless superstitious and absurd beliefs, is that which has been already mentioned, as attributing to this shrub an unlucky influence over those who use it for fuel: consequently there was here an abundance of decayed and dry wood: a circumstance very fortunate for us, as otherwise we must have sought our firewood at the distance of a mile or two from

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the town, every dry stick in the vicinity having been consumed by the inhabitants.

When I had finished my sketch, Mattīvi, pleased at the thought that the magnitude of his town would now be made known in the country of the white-men, inquired very particularly if I had drawn every house; yet though my answer was contrary to his wishes, he remained well satisfied by being told that I had drawn as many as my paper could contain, and that I intended making a sketch of the other part of the town, from the opposite hills.

We all then descended the hill together. In our way I sought for flowers, but could discover nothing new; every vegetable was so completely dried up, that scarcely a specimen could be procured. Some of the natives seeing me gather a plant, very good-naturedly made search for more of the same kind, and brought them to me; but nothing was found worth preserving.

The path by which we returned, brought us to Serrakutu's mootsi, the first dwelling to which we came, and situated at a little distance from the foot of the hill. I walked in to examine a beautiful tree of a new species of acacia, called by the inhabitants, Móshu*, and to gather some of its singularly twisted or curved pods, which just at this season were hanging in abundance.

Serrakutu, who was sitting in one corner of the enclosure, and whom I did not at first observe, called out to me with a loud voice, Hēeēla! Hēela!† and seemed much gratified by my paying him a

* Acacia Litākunensis, B. Catal. Geogr. 2205. Arbor 40-pedalis, (vide tabulam sextam) comis partialibus depresso-patentibus. (In plantulâ hortensi bienni; Folia sub-pubescentia, bipinnata 4–6-juga, foliolis interstitio invicem separatis, angustè oblongis, 9—13-jugis. Spinæ stipulares geminæ breves recurvæ.) Legumina bivalvia tortuosa.

† Héla! (Háylah) is a common exclamation among the Bachapins, and is used when calling to a person at a distance. The first syllable is usually protracted to a length proportioned to the distance of the person called. If he be only a few yards off, Héla! is supposed to be sufficient; if at a much greater distance, Hēela! if still farther, Hēeēla! and even Hē—ē—ēla!: and when it is considered that both the tone and the strength of the voice are heightened and increased in the same proportion, it will readily be conceived that this is not a word of mean importance, nor much less resounding than the πολυϕλοισος αλασσα. It is, however, in its more moderate form, employed in common conversation or debate, as the means of calling the attention of the company or the assembly, to the person who is speaking.

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visit. He was then wearing Gert's hat, which he had borrowed for the day; and perhaps he mistook the smile, which his incongruous dress occasioned in me, for joy at meeting with him at home. He asked me to show him the sketch, and this obliged me to enter into the same explanation of my object in drawing it, as I had given to his nephew Mattīvi. He was in the same manner as the Chief, surrounded by a party of his friends: their employment appeared to be a mixture of work and conversation.

As he had, a day or two before, invited me to see his house, I now requested him to show it: on which he immediately rose, and, followed by his friends or attendants, conducted me to the house of his younger wife; while Mattīvi and his party proceeded homeward. She exhibited her paintings in a manner which evinced that she was well satisfied with her own performance. They were, the figures of several animals, rudely drawn, with a paint of white earth, against the front-wall of the house. Among these I distinguished two lizards; but the rest might have enabled a fanciful person to see in them, any animal he pleased, or that he wished to see. They were, however, intended to represent some of the common animals of the country.

He then took me to the house at which he more usually resided; which was that of his elder wife Marrĭklŏnámi, a good-looking woman apparently about thirty-five years of age, whom he introduced to me. Makúε (Makooër), his daughter by Marriklonami, was also introduced: she was probably about eighteen. Neither of them, nor several others who were present, had ever before, as they told me, seen a white-man. They looked at me with the most carious attention; and to make a greater display before the crowd, for the front-court was filled with people, Serrakutu requested me to unfold my umbrella and allow his wife to stand with me under the shade of it.

While, to the surprise of all, we were thus exhibiting ourselves, I felt now and then some person behind me cautiously feeling my hair, which being rather unfashionably long, admitted of their doing this, as they supposed, without being perceived.

Serrakutu so much admired the air of importance which the

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umbrella gave us, that he wished me to make him a present of it. I replied, that it was indispensably necessary to me, as I could not draw without it, the whiteness of the paper, in the sunshine, completely dazzling me and preventing my seeing either the objects before me, or my own drawing; but I added, if he would wait till I had ended my journey, I would then gladly give it to him. He did not, he said, seriously mean, or expect, that I should part with it; but only asked it in talk; yet, if he were to ask for a piece of tobacco for himself and his wife, he then should mean what he said. That this ingenious mode of begging might not fail in its object, I promised that, as I had, to avoid being troubled by beggars, put none in my pocket before I came from home, I would send him some as soon as I returned to my waggons.

Marriklonámi desired her husband to let me know that she much wished to see my hair, and begged me to take off my hat. I did so; and had it been a man with eyes in every part of his head, who had thus unexpectedly appeared before her, she could not have expressed greater astonishment. She lifted up both hands with amazement; involuntarily drew herself back a pace, as though fearful of a strange animal; and remained for a minute or two fixed in silent wonder. The greater part of the crowd also stood gazing with surprise at the extraordinary sight, and seemed scarcely to credit the testimony of their own senses, that there could exist on the earth a race of men whose heads produced a similar covering: yet none ventured now to approach and examine it more nearly. One man said, he thought long hair very beautiful; but when I told him that I much doubted whether he admired it so much as the hair of his own countrywomen, he made no reply, and confessed by his silence, that black wool twisted into threads shining with grease and sibílo, was in his eyes much more charming.

Having allowed the party time sufficient for satisfying their curiosity, I again put on my hat; and all then began giving to each other their opinions respecting the white-man; at least, such appeared, by their manner, to be the subject of their conversation.

Serrakútu, with a view to give me some idea, as it appeared, of

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Bachapin ingenuity and workmanship, ordered two girls to bring me his corn-sieves to look at. They were in the form of a large shallow bowl, and made in a very neat manner, with flat split twigs interwoven with the greatest exactness: but on pressing him to sell them, I discovered that they were in reality the manufacture of the Nuákketsi tribe, as he was unwilling to part with them, because, he said, he should not for a long time have an opportunity of getting others in their place; and it was an article with which he could not dispense.

Both these dwellings were situated at the distance of only a few paces from his mootsi; and his wives, of whom he had only two, had proved themselves to be good builders, by their houses being of the largest dimensions. That of the youngest may be seen on the left in the foreground of the sixth plate. The same cleanness, good order and neatness, which are the striking features of the houses of Litákun, were equally conspicuous in these.

After having seen various other domestic articles, I returned home, leaving them all exceedingly pleased at my visit, which, I doubt not, furnished them with abundant matter for conversation during the remainder of the day.

I had scarcely seated myself in my waggon, before Mollemmi came to see me, for the purpose of being shown what I had drawn. I made use of the opportunity for asking him to let me take his portrait: but this he was unwilling to allow; nor would he give any reason for his refusal.

The rest of the afternoon was employed in finishing my sketch; though I was never without tobacco-beggars before me. I now, however, succeeded better in resisting their importunities and gave away less than on any previous day.

Speelman and keyser, who had been out hunting since yesterday morning, and had passed the night in the plains, returned this afternoon; having shot a quakka (zebra). They were attended, during the whole time, by three natives, who assisted in bringing home the meat, and whose knowledge of Bachapin customs, was of great service in finding cooking utensils; wherever the chase led them, or when-

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ever they wished to take a meal, one or other of these men would leave the party for a few minutes, and return with a large piitsa or clay boiling-pot.

It seems by the report of my Hottentots, who have several times had an opportunity of knowing the circumstance, that the natives have placed pots in various parts of the country, concealed under the bushes, to remain there for general use, or at least for the use of their hunting parties, all of whom, probably, know the spots where they are to be found. My knowledge of the fact here related, is derived only from the observation of my Hottentots; and if it is a common custom, it is an instance, though a solitary one, of labor dedicated to public convenience.

I had, two days before, made an agreement with a man for the purchase of two oxen which he said were then at his cattle-place; and as he represented them to be very large and strong animals, I allowed a proportionably large quantity of beads. Having gained some experience of this people's bad-faith, I would not pay for them till the cattle were brought home; and accordingly, the beads in question, were till then deposited in my waggon. But this evening when the oxen came, tliey were found to be but steers and not even full-grown; and as they could be of no use for the purpose of drawing my waggons, I rejected them, by briefly reminding the owner that we had made the bargain for large cattle.

Another man, of whom I had at the same time made a similar purchase, brought also his two oxen. Finding that they accorded with our agreement, I was going to pay him the beads which had been reserved as the stipulated price, though it was known to be much above that which had been paid by former visitors; when the by-standers, seeing that I approved of this pair, advised him to demand more. On this he hesitated, and said, that he would not let me have the oxen unless I gave him that quantity of beads for each: I had then in my hand the quantity which he had before asked as the price of the two. As I found it would be impossible to proceed by such a mode of dealing, I replied that unless he would accept that which he had agreed to receive, I would not take the oxen even at a

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single bead more. He was persuaded to believe that I was so much in need, that necessity would compel me to purchase them at any rate, in which hope, he refused to lower his demand. The beads were therefore, again put into the waggon, and the oxen were driven home. I record these and many other transactions equally trifling in themselves, because they exemplify much of the national character.

It happened, the night being cold, that I came out of the waggon to warm myself at the Hottentots' fire, all of them being at that hour asleep; and, as it was my custom on such occasions to look around to see if all was right, I discovered that the horses were missing. Fearful that it might be an act of treachery of the natives, I awoke some of my people to inquire into the circumstance. They were already well acquainted with it, and had, notwithstanding, laid themselves very composedly down to sleep, intending to search for them in the morning; if the lions should not have made prey of them in the mean while.

It was again entirely through the neglect of Andries that they had been lost: it was his day for attending the cattle at pasture, and he had probably been lying all the time asleep under a bush, instead of watching to prevent their straying away. The disposition of this Hottentot, was either so careless, so worthless, or so stupid, that no reprimand had any effect in causing him to pay more attention to the duty which had been allotted to him. And though this duty was the simplest and least laborious of all; being merely to watch the cattle at pasture and drive them home in the evening; it was, in another point of view, a very important one, as the loss of the oxen and horses would have put an end to my journey, at least in its present form.

I therefore appointed Van Roye and Cornelis to take charge of the cattle, each on alternate days, considering them to be men on whom I might more safely depend. Hitherto no defined employment had been assigned to these two, because the character which had been given me with them, as baptized Hottentots and men who had received some instruction, seemed to promise for them a conscientious readiness to make themselves useful on every occasion; and for this

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reason it was deemed more advantageous to the expedition, and conferring some distinction on them, not to limit their duty, in the manner which it had been found necessary to do with respect to the rest. But during the three months in which they had been in my pay, they had literally done no work at all; unless the act of one making the horses fast in the evening when they were brought home, and the other untying their halters in the morning, could be regarded by them as a service of importance enough to entitle them to higher wages than any of my other men. Although two of these horses were seldom ridden by any but themselves, they left all the actual care of them to the other Hottentots. They had carefully avoided all the usual business of travelling; such as cooking their own food, lighting a fire, fetching fuel and water, assisting in taking off the skin and cutting up the game, drying the meat, greasing the waggon-wheels, driving the sheep or oxen when we travelled, cutting branches for making a cattle-pound to secure them at night; as they chose to view these employments as beneath the character of a Christian. On one occasion when all, excepting Cornelis and Stuurman, were either hunting or otherwise absent from the town, I gave orders that the former should broil a steak for my dinner, but without any hesitation he sent me word that he understood nothing of cooking: I was therefore obliged to wait till it could be broiled by one of the Hottentots. And even, when I have wished to employ these in any work above that of a Hottentot, they have invariably made the same reply, that they did not understand how to do it. Van Roye once told me with a great deal of ease and unconcern, that he did not know how to cut up meat into slices for drying; probably because he saw all the other people doing this work. I now told them, that as it would endanger the safety of the whole party, to trust the cattle any longer to the care of Andries and Stuurman, I appointed them to this duty, believing them to be people on whom I might place reliance.

23rd. This morning the Chief's principal herdsman, came to my waggon to announce that there was in the mootsi, waiting to see me, a man who had brought four oxen for the purchase of a musket.

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Every transaction with Mattīvi relative to this subject, was well-known to all the inhabitants, and I was therefore surprised at any further attempt, more especially as I had given a positive refusal to Mollemmi on a similar occasion. I now felt a suspicion that the present proposal proceeded in reality from the same quarter. I therefore expressed myself decidedly resolved not to listen to any offers of this kind: and the oxen were, in consequence, driven away without either they or the man having been seen by me.

Soon after this, Mollémmi came to ask for three charges of powder and ball, which he said he wanted, as he was going out hunting. I replied that as he and his brother had already received as much as could be spared, no more could be given them. He then demanded some tobacco; this I gave him, though the tone of voice in which it was asked, was much less civil than usual.

In the afternoon, one of the chieftains who was frequently in Mattīvi's party, desired to look at my beads again, as he intended offering me two oxen for sale. I told him that I found myself obliged to give up all further bartering, as it had always been found to end, not in purchase, but in dispute; that as my object, in coming to Litākun, was to form a friendly acquaintance with the Bachapīns, I was most desirous of avoiding every thing which could lead to the least misunderstanding. He persisted, however, in bringing the oxen; but I continued fixed in my resolution; and thus the affair ended.

During the whole of the day, without the shortest respite, I was surrounded by people constantly begging or waiting for tobacco; and I had the mortification to find that a day had thus passed by, without any useful or agreeable result.

Van Roye, whom I had supposed to have entered upon his new duty of attending the cattle, with perfect willingness, convinced me in the evening when he brought them home, how much I had mistaken his character. On my sending for him to inquire if he had found in that part of the plain, grass enough for the oxen, he answered in a surly tone, and with insolent gesture, Yes; and added, that, it

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was very strange that Andries could not take care of the oxen; as the new ones were not so unruly as he had represented them to be.

Cornelis uncalled for, came up at the same moment, and with equal insolence, told me that if the ox-leaders did not take proper care of the cattle, it was the duty of the drivers to attend to them. On this, they both with a step very expressive of defiance to my authority, marched away.

When I called the latter back, to ask him what meaning he had in making that remark, he replied with an intolerably disrespectful manner, that if I would appoint them to be the waggon-drivers, they would look after the oxen; otherwise, they would not go out with them again. Having said this, they turned their back, and in open contempt walked out of the enclosure.

Much as I had hitherto borne, of these worthless Hottentots' laziness, this behaviour, in the presence of all the rest and of the Chief and a large party of chieftains who were at that time assembled in the mootsi, was not to be endured; as the certain consequences would have been, the total want of subordination of all my men and some serious liberties on the part of the natives, who would now be convinced that I was unable to check even the disobedience of my own servants. But knowing that the safety of all depended on unanimity, or, if that was inattainable, at least, on due subordination, I resolved at all hazards to maintain my authority; and, buckling on my pistols and cutlass, I hastily followed Cornelis, with Speelman and Platje whom I ordered to bring him back. But as he was the tallest and stoutest man of our party, they declared that they were afraid to approach him.

I was obliged therefore, to support the step which I had taken, by hastening alone towards him; and on overtaking him, commanded him instantly to return to the waggons. He was at the first moment, on the point of refusing obedience; but observing me to be armed, and seeing me determined on enforcing my words, he thought it more advisable to obey; and with a slow and reluctant pace, walked before me to the enclosure.

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Mattīvi, on seeing me arm myself to pursue this man, had quitted his party and alone followed me at a short distance, as if to witness the result; but he said nothing, nor in any manner interposed his authority, either to restrain my proceedings or to assist them,

As soon as we had reached the waggons, I assembled my men, and in their presence, declared to Cornelis that unless he begged my pardon for the great disrespect of which he had been guilty, I would instantly have him punished. He seemed to hesitate. At this moment I felt myself placed in that critical situation which was balanced between violent measures and all the dangers of ineffective authority. Nothing could be more discordant to my disposition, or wishes, than the former, nor more fatal to the expedition, than the latter. While I assumed the appearance of a firm resolution to have my threats put immediately into execution, I in reality made a delay of a minute or two, in order to give him time to reflect on the dangerous position in which we all stood. This had the effect so much hoped for; and he at length begged pardon for his conduct. He did it, however, in so unwilling a manner, that it was evident that I had preserved nothing more than the bare appearance of my command.

When this affair was ended, as I supposed, and all had returned to their hut, Mattivi and Mollemmi came to my waggon, and sat with me for about half an hour. In the course of our conversation, he noticed what had just passed, and said, he was glad that I had succeeded by words, in making him obedient; that whenever any of his servants were disobedient, he always endeavoured to bring them to their duty by the same means.

But during that time, Cornelis, whom my manner had alarmed into a concession of his error, had recovered his refractory spirit, and began to repent of having shown submission. As soon as they were gone, he came once more to the waggon to ask me why I went to him with arms in my hand. I succeeded in stifling all my anger at this revival of his insolence, and replied; that I should give neither him, nor any of my men, reasons for what I did; that I most seriously advised him not to try the experiment of again irritating me, but to go away and remember that as he was my servant, he was

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bound to be obedient and to do the duty to which I thought proper to appoint him; and that, let the consequences be what they might, I was resolved that my men should obey me. Seeing therefore no prospect of gaining the mastery by intimidation, he made no further reply, but walked quietly away.

I afterwards took an opportunity of talking to Speelman, who, I knew, disapproved of his conduct and reprobated his uselessness. I desired him to advise the other to be cautious in his behaviour, never in future to attempt resistance to his master; and to tell him that I recommended him, as he had learnt to read, to look frequently over the written agreement by which he was engaged in my service, and to conform to what was there stated to be his duty; and that he and all the rest of my men might know that if I required of them any unreasonable service or acted unjustly towards them, I was amenable to authorities in the Colony as much as they were; but that, as long as we were wandering in a country where unanimity was necessary to our safety, I would be obeyed; and that it should be perilous for any man of them to resist my orders.

Thus ended one of the most turbulent days which I had experienced since the commencement of my journey.

24th. On the next day Cornelis came in a respectful manner to ask for some leather, that he might make himself a pair of shoes; all Hottentots generally, being their own shoemakers. He begged that he might be allowed to remain at home to make them, and that I would in the mean time appoint some one in his place, to attend the oxen till his shoes were ready.

Although this seemed to wear some little appearance of being only a plea for deferring an open submission to my former regulation, yet, as I considered his refractory spirit as now subdued, I gave him immediately what he asked for. I took this opportunity of calmly admonishing him against disobedience, and of advising him, as well as the others, that, if they thought a reasonable objection existed against any orders which I might issue, they should rather represent the case to me in a respectful manner, when they might be assured that I should always be ready to listen, and, that if their

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representations were just, I should suffer myself to be guided by them. He then voluntarily confessed that the words which he had yesterday made use of, were uttered in haste and without reflection, and that he now felt sorry at having expressed himself in so unbecoming a manner.

Mollémmi, who had long resisted my solicitations to sit for his portrait, was this morning prevailed on by the offer of a quantity of tobacco, to grant my request.

This being the first portrait which I had drawn at Litākun, it was fortunate that I succeeded in obtaining a strong likeness, as the circumstance made a very favorable impression on the natives and pleased them excessively. As soon as it was known, for he immediately went and told every body what I had done, every one crowded to see it. Mattivi came smiling, and calling out, Akkŭï bō;n! (Let me see!): and after his first surprise was over, he exclaimed, Síngke! Singke! (Very pretty! Very well!) But the astonishment of the crowd, on seeing Mollemmi in a book, is not very easily to be described; nor perhaps imagined, without having been witnessed. They fixed their eyes on it with a degree of attention which seemed to give to their countenances an expression not very unlike that of fear. It was evident that so strange and unexpected a sight, absorbed all their thoughts; till, on taking their eyes off the drawing and turning to their companions, they burst into laughter and expressed their surprise and delight in a variety of modes, all equally comic. Their quickness in comprehending a hasty uncoloured drawing, for I was obliged to complete it in a quarter of an hour, and in discovering at the first glance the meaning of every line, gave me a favourable opinion of their discernment.

Having remarked, when I paid the visit to Serrakutu, that the view of Litākun seen from a spot close to his mootsi, comprised enough of the general character of the scenery to give a good idea of the nature and appearance of the town, I again took a walk thither, for the purpose of making a drawing of it; and which forms the subject of the sixth plate.

As I now began to consider Juli as more faithfully attached to

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me, than most of my other Hottentots, I took him as my attendant in this walk, that it might be rendered more pleasant by the presence of one whose conduct, by forming a contrast with that which has just been described, seemed in some degree to have the effect of an antidote against the vexation which that had caused me. While, the occupation of drawing, and the expectation that I should one day, surrounded by my friends, have the pleasure of showing them by these means the interesting scene now before me, relieved my mind from the uneasy sensations at the past, and enabled me to enjoy all the gratification and instruction which the prospect afforded.

In addition to this, I had the good-fortune to be allowed to take my walk through the town without great molestation from tobacco-beggars; and during my drawing I was not much incommoded by the curiosity of the inhabitants, as there were seldom so many collected together at one time, as to form a crowd around me. They stood looking over me for a little while, and then went away. Those who happened to be passing that way, as they were returning home with their jars of water, or loads of firewood, stopped a minute or two to inquire the object of my employment. Others were walking idly about, or sitting on the ground occupied merely in occasional conversation, or in asking questions of those who had just been looking at my drawing: while a larger party were in a similar manner passing their time under the beautiful acacias in Serrakutu's mootsi.*

* The sixth plate represents a view of part of Litákun as seen from the foot of the hills on its northern side, and looking westerly. It exhibits scarcely a third of the town; the other part lying extended over the plain much farther to the right, and occupying the lower part of the valley as far as the distant hills. About the middle of the picture, and just above the trunk of an acacia, may be seen the roof of the Chief's dwelling, and close to it the móotsi (moatsi) or public enclosure, distinguished by the two waggons. The horizon on the left, is formed by a boundless view over the Great Plains of Litakun; that on the right is intercepted by low hills similar to those which shelter the town on the south, and which may be imagined as rising up immediately behind the spectator. The nearest house on the left, is the residence of Serrakutu's younger wife, and his mootsi enclosed by a hedge of dry branches, is seen farther to the right. The large trees within that fence, are of the kind named Acacia Litākunensis, and called móshu by the inhabitants. As they are faithful portraits of the trees from which they were drawn, they will convey to the botanist, as well as to the general observer, a correct idea of their growth, and ramification, and of the elegant form of their light masses of foliage. The stumps or trunks are of the Mokāla tree or Acacia giraffœ, and having been cut down for the purpose of building the town, the branches which have since sprung from them, serve by the number of years growth which they exhibit, to confirm the statement that this town had not stood in its present situation longer than six years, at the date of these Travels. The other bushes are younger plants of the same species. All the figures represent men, excepting the three in the foreground, and the one more distant and immediately to the left of these. On the right, are two armed men returning from a distant cattle-station, and driving before them an ox loaded with bags of milk. Just above the hedge under the great trees, may be seen the heads of persons assembled in the mootsi. The woman in the foreground, carrying a piitsa (a pot or jar) on her head, and an ox-horn in her hand, is going for water. She is clothed only in the makkābi and musēsi, and wears a number of thick leathern rings round her ancles. Her daughter, who is playing with an ostrich-feather, wears, as usual at her age, only the makkābi: her peculiar figure or the hollowness of the back, is often very remarkable among the children of various African tribes. The other child, a little boy, has, as usual at that age, no clothing whatever. The other objects seen in this engraving, will be rendered sufficiently intelligible by the descriptions contained in the two following chapters.

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The weather was now exceedingly agreeable; and to those who have felt the inconvenience of the over-moist air of the British islands, and of their great variability of weather, the almost constant sunshine of Africa has, during the winter season when the heat of its beams is moderate, a cheering and enlivening effect. A constitution naturally susceptible of these effects, would feel them the more sensibly when, as at the present time, the nights were extremely chilly. The average mid-day heat during this month, did not exceed 70° (16·8 R.; 21·1 C.), a temperature at which the presence of the sun was welcome, and even desirable.

About sunset we were surprised by the cracking of whips, and the rattling of two waggons driving into the town; and shortly afterwards, their owners came to me. I was much pleased at finding it to be our old acquaintance Berends the Hottentot captain: having with him Jan Hendrik one of the inhabitants of Klaarwater, together with about fourteen other Hottentots. These were part of the hunting expedition which had been already noticed as having set out from the Asbestos Mountains on the day before I reached that place on my return from Graaffreynet.

Berends informed me that he had left the rest of his party with

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six waggons waiting for him on the banks of Makkwárin, at a spot much farther westward than that at which I had crossed it. His object in coming to Litákun, was to barter for ivory and cattle. During the expedition they had shot thirty-nine full-grown elephants, besides a number of young ones; and would have continued their hunting longer, had not all their gunpowder and ball been expended.

Berends's waggon was stationed in Serrakutu's mootsi, and Hendrik's in that of another chieftain who was his maat (partner, or agent), a term which will be explained hereafter.

These men seemed pleased at falling in with me in this distant part of Africa; and on both sides, our meeting was a very unexpected circumstance. To me it was far from disagreeable, notwithstanding my recollection of what we had experienced at Klaarwater, and the just cause which I had for hoping that after I lost sight of Cupido Kok at Kosi Fountain, I should never have to encounter any of that people again.

This hunting party had long consumed all the provisions and stores which they had laid in for the whole journey: they had been for some time living only on what they procured with their muskets; and latterly, on the cattle which they had driven with them. Berends was rejoiced when I offered him three quarters of a pound of gunpowder for a peck of salt, which he said he had in the waggons at the Makkwárin, and which I engaged to send for. They expressed their warmest gratitude when I presented to them some brandy, tobacco, and a small quantity of tea leaves, the three greatest luxuries, besides meat, which can be given to a Hottentot.

Berends said that all his people were heartily desirous of reaching home, from which they had been absent so great a length of time, two months; and began now to be really tired of hunting. As for himself, he was less anxious on that account, as he had taken with him the principal part of his family, and had been accompanied on this toilsome expedition by his wife. But my surprise at a female being able to endure the fatigues of so rough a journey, gradually ceased as I became more acquainted with the Hottentot character; and I learnt at last to consider a Hottentot woman as fully equal to

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the task of following her husband in all his migrations and wanderings, and of bearing all the hardships of a savage life.

When these men had returned to their waggons, my mind, which had very unexpectedly received some recreation by their arrival, was again put into a state of irritation and uneasiness by discovering that Van Roye manifested a determination not only to resist my authority by disobedience, but even to act in open defiance of it. Notwithstanding my having yesterday appointed him to attend the oxen and horses, and forbidden Andries being sent with them again, he had ordered him and Philip, for he often assumed over the other Hottentots, an insolent command which he supposed to belong to him in right of his being a 'Christemensch,' to take the cattle to pasture; while he absented himself during the day till about three in the afternoon, at which time he came home, giving me to understand that he had been the whole time with the horses, and had brought them to the river, where he had left them to be driven to town by the herdsman.

At this time I took no notice of his conduct, but in the evening, I sent by Philip my positive orders that he, and no one else, should attend the cattle on the following day; and warned him against disobedience, as I was resolved not to allow it to pass a second time; but would most surely convince him, in the severest manner, that any attempt of that kind, would be in vain.

Could I, three days before this, have believed that these two men were so little the better for the instructions they had received, that they would thus have acted in breach of all moral and religious precepts, or could I have foreseen the difficulties, and the dilemma, to which their defiance of my authority would have reduced me, I should rather have chosen patiently to support them as worthless lazy encumbrances on my journey, than incur the risk of so dangerous an example for the rest of my men, as that of a disposition approaching towards mutiny. But as the affair had, by steps which could not be averted, proceeded thus far, there was now no choice remaining, and it was evident that, if my expedition was to be preserved from a fatal termination, there were no means left for my adoption, but that most

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uncongenial alternative, of maintaining my command by violent measures.

25th. In the evening, when my cattle returned home, I found that they had been the whole day under the care of Platje; that Van Roye, who had again absented himself till the hour of their return, had ordered this Hottentot to attend them, and had himself not gone near them till a little before that time. In order more clearly to show me his disposition, and his inclination to disrespect, he conducted himself before me with a gait and looks, which were too clear and visible to the rest of my men and the natives, to admit of my pretending not to see and understand them.

It became therefore unavoidable, to take serious notice of his conduct; and I immediately ordered all my men to be present at the waggons, and declared that it was now my intention to punish his disobedience; but that I would first hear, in the presence of all, what he had to say in his defence. Jan Hendrik was in the mootsi at this time, and I desired him to seek for Berends with a message requesting his attendance, as being a Hottentot captain, to witness my proceedings with one of my men who had dared openly to disobey me.

I laid my pistols and sword close at hand on the chest in my waggon, to impress more strongly on my people the serious nature of the affair. The formalities with which I conducted every thing, and the approach of night, rendered the whole more solemn, and commanded a certain degree of respect from all those who were present. The Hottentots waited in silence the arrival of Berends and Hendrik, and stood motionless around my waggon. Mattīvi and his chieftains, whose whole attention was fixed on us, were sitting at a little distance: not a word was spoken by any one; nor was the least sound to be heard in the mootsi. Neither the Chief, nor any of the natives, attempted to interfere with these transactions; nor did they make the smallest remark: all were serious and still.

At length Berends and Hendrik arrived; together with most of their people; I commenced the business by informing them that I had desired their presence, in order that what I was about to say

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and do, as well as the conduct of one of my men, might have some credible witnesses and pass before impartial judges whose opinion I wished to have: and that Berends more especially, who was a captain acknowledged by the Cape government, should take notice of the proceedings.

I then, with the aid of a light, read aloud the written agreement by which he, and Cornelis, had legally bound themselves in the obligation to go with me wherever I should think advisable, and punctually to obey every order, under penalty of all his wages, and of legal punishment.

After this I called on my men to declare freely, and without any apprehension of gaining my displeasure by giving an opinion against me, whether I had ever issued to Van Roye or any of them, orders to which they were not bound, or not able, to conform: their answers I wished to be directed rather to Berends than to me. They replied that it could not with truth be said that I had ever given a harsh order. I then required them to declare whether they were of opinion that I had, or had not, just cause of complaint against that Hottentot for having done so much less work than any of the rest of my people, that he might be considered as having done nothing. All immediately answered, that it was not to be denied that he had done very little.

When Platje was called forward to give his evidence, he made attempts at prevarication, and would have given answers different from those which I received when interrogating him at the moment of his return home with the oxen.

On being questioned where Van Roye was during the day, or if he had been with the cattle, he replied that he did not know, but believed him to have been passing his time with some of the Hottentots of Berends's party. Philip followed his example in offering a statement very contradictory to that which he had made to me in the morning; at which time he told me that, on the previous evening, in answer to the orders communicated by him, Van Roye said that he would never attend the oxen.

Van Roye, on being applied to for his defence, asserted that he

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was the whole day with the oxen, though, he confessed, it was at a distance, and that it was the pursuit of some spring-bucks which took him away. On being asked how it happened that, contrary to express orders, any one besides himself had attended the oxen, he was unable to make a reply. Platje observing this, stepped forward and testified that, for his own part, no one had ordered him to take charge of the cattle, but that he went to attend them purely of his own accord.

Perceiving how little hesitation these men had in fabricating any contradictory story which they thought could answer their purpose, and how little regard they had to truth, although they knew me to be already as well acquainted with the facts as they themselves were, I produced a Dutch Testament, and as Van Roye could read tolerably well, I bade him take notice what book it was. With some formality, I administered to him the usual oath to relate the truth; relying on his being ignorant that the practice of courts of law did not require an accused person to make his defence on oath: but the present case demanded some departure from legal strictness. He then proceeded to relate his story and reply to my questions; but, in so contradictory a manner, and with so much hesitation and prevarication, that I failed in my endeavours to obtain from him the truth.

Seeing this, I admonished him of the dreadful crime which he would commit by uttering a falsity at the moment when he called God to witness his veracity: I explained to him in the most solemn and impressive manner, the respect which he as a Christian ought to show to that book; and that it was better he should at once condemn himself by confessing his fault in the presence of his companions, than by prevarication and wilful misrepresentation, pronounce his own condemnation in the presence of God, to whom all our actions and thoughts were known.

These admonitions had their proper effect upon him; I read in his countenance and manner, that he began to feel his error in persisting to defend conduct which he knew to be wrong, and that a few words more would decide him to confess that he was blameable.

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I therefore, after repeating to him the substance of several passages in the New Testament, desired him to lay his hand on the book, and say, whether, in his own conscience, he really thought that his conduct towards me was influenced by the spirit of obedience which that book taught and commanded a servant to show to a master. Self-conviction instantaneously operated on his mind, and he answered, No. I then asked him, in a tone which might encourage him to give the answer I wished, if he now felt disposed to conduct himself in future as his duty demanded: to which he readily replied, Yes. To conclude: I told him, that if he did as, in the presence of all, he had now promised to do, I was willing in the same manner to promise forgiveness; and would, according to his fulfilment of this promise, even forget all past cause of complaint.

Then, turning to my own men and to Berends and the other people who were assembled, I said, that I felt most happy that the affair had terminated thus, as it had been my fixed resolution, in case it had been otherwise, to have inflicted the severest punishment which the laws would sanction: that so long as we were within the limits of the Colony, it would have been my duty to have brought an offender before a regular court of justice, or a landdrost; but that when a party of men, legally under the command of one of their number as their head, quitted those limits, and at any time refused to obey him conformably to their agreement, he possessed the power of punishing them himself: that I had no doubt that my men were not aware of the great crime which they committed, nor of the severe punishment which they incurred, when they disobeyed my orders or disputed my authority; but, that having now explained to them the true situation in which they stood, I felt assured that no one would be wicked enough, or so forgetful of his own interest, as ever to offend in future.

With this I dismissed them: and, thanking Berends and Hendrik for their attendance, these, and their people, returned to their waggons.

My own men had received a useful lesson; and appeared not only disposed to profit by it, but to feel those sentiments with which

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I was desirous of inspiring them. As I had principally endeavoured to convince them that I wished to make them respect and esteem, rather than fear, me, they were not made uneasy by these proceedings, but seemed satisfied that they were just, and such as the case required. As to Van Roye, I rejoiced to find that I had succeeded in working a change in his feelings, which were at length, by means of some serious and admonitory conversation which I afterwards had with him in my waggon in the presence of Juli, converted into those of a becoming humility and obedience: and although, unfortunately, this change was not permanent, yet it continued for some time to produce a good effect. The check which his and Cornelis's insolent temper now received, taught them and all my party, that they would not be suffered easily to take the reins of affairs out of the proper hands: unless, indeed, they resorted to open mutiny and force; an experiment which I did not fear their being hardy enough to attempt, as they could not but know that by proceeding to that extremity they would render their return into the Colony impossible, and forfeit to the laws every advantage which they might expect, or hope to derive, from that quarter.

To maintain a command over these Hottentots, I was compelled, by my peculiar circumstances, to assume an authority which legally did not belong to me; but this affair served to convince me how important, and indispensably necessary, it is for the safety and success of every similar expedition, that the leader of it should be fortified with special power to enforce, if occasion required, the obedience and due co-operation of its members: for, the perverseness of human nature when uncontrolled, seems every where alike to seduce men from unanimity, and strangely to mislead them to prefer turbulence to peace.

26th. Observing a little child, apparently about five or six years old, standing by our fire and anxiously watching my men in hopes of getting a piece of meat, and seeing that its features were not those of a Bachapin child, I had the curiosity to go nearer to examine them. But I never beheld an object which more strongly excited my compassion: the sight of this wretched poor little creature,

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pained me to the heart, and I stood for some minutes shocked at the view of its emaciated and more than half-starved figure. Those who have seen a human skeleton of that age, may obtain an idea of this child's form, not greatly exaggerated, by imagining the bones of the body and limbs, to be wrapped round with a wet cloth. Those rounded shapes which are given to the human figure by flesh only, had dwindled quite away. The legs and arms were merely straight sticks; the calf was entirely gone; the fibula and ulna were plainly distinguishable; and the knees and elbows were comparatively large knots. The abdomen was contracted in an extraordinary degree; and behind, scarcely any flesh concealed the shape of the bones termed os sacrum, and os ilium. The collar-bones seemed to project unnaturally; and the blade-bones, the spine and the ribs, were in appearance covered only with skin. In short, this miserable little boy, who from his age could not have been capable of harm, or guilty of offence, was on the point of being starved to death.

A Bachapin who was sitting in the hut, seeing me look so attentively and compassionately on this object, told me that it was a Bushman's child, and belonged to him; that in an attack upon a Bushman kraal, he had siezed him, and carried him off as a prisoner of war; that he was therefore his by right; and that, if I wished to buy him, I should have him for a sheep!!

This is Man, without morality or religion! This is the selfish savage, without feeling! This man, because the unfortunate child was not his own, did not think him worth feeding, although he would gladly have sold him, for food to gratify his own gluttonous appetite, and to have enabled him and his family, for about two days, to feast without ceasing. Alas! Man who vaunts himself the noblest work of the creation; how closely does he approach to Brute, when reason lies dormant, or when the passions usurp its place! The power of speech forms but a weakly distinctive character, for him whose intellect is never exerted. The boasted human form will hardly raise him in rank above some quadrupeds, when it serves no better purpose than that only of ministering to animal appetite.

Other instances of want of feeling, are to be found in this

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land, and the first which commonly meet a traveller's eye, are the wretched half-starved dogs, which, driven by hunger, prowl around him to devour every piece of animal substance which they can find; and unless he be every evening careful to place his riems, trektouws, and even his shoes, out of their reach, he will most probably find them, in the morning, gnawed to pieces, or perhaps even carried off entirely. That the cattle belonging to this nation, are more fortunate, with respect to food, than the domestic animals, is to be accounted for solely by their living on grass, and not on any substance which their owners can convert into food for themselves.

As Berends and Hendrik had visited several Bichuana nations of whom little was hitherto known, and were of the first and only party which had advanced so far into the Interior, I took the opportunity of gleaning from them, all the information they were able to give, and engaged them in my waggon the greater part of the forenoon. What they now related, was afterwards found useful as a clue to further inquiries among the natives themselves; from whose testimony I was enabled to confirm the principal part of their account.

They mentioned a Bichuana of the name of Morúna, as a person who could give some information relative to a distant tribe called Kárrikarri, very little known and living to the north-north-west of Litākun. At my request they went to his house, to bring him to me; but he could not be found. They learnt that he was about to set out on the following day or the day after, on a journey to the Kárrikarri country, for the purpose of bartering for the skins of jackals, and kaamas, and various smaller skins used for making the fur-cloaks. His visits to that tribe, were regular and frequent, perhaps every year; and his stay amongst them was usually a month or two, which he employed in collecting together a quantity of these skins sufficient for the loading of two or three oxen.

I am satisfied to rely on Hendrik alone, as a confirmation from the natives could not of course be obtained, for a botanical fact which is exceedingly interesting: that in the country of the Nuakketsis he had seen the wagenboom, which he pronounced to be exactly the same tree as the one which is known by that name in the

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Cape Colony. Whether this be really so or not, it is doubtless a species of Protea, and proves the re-appearance of that tribe of plants, after an interval of above seven degrees of latitude from the last spot where I had seen any of the species. In the whole of that interval, this genus, and several others which characterize the botany of the Cape, are, as I have formerly remarked*, no where to be seen. At Klaarwater, a piece of the stem of a tree or shrub, was shown to me, which was said to have been cut in the country of the Nuakketsis, and which gave me the idea that the botany of that region, had a character different from that of the southern part of the Transgariepine. This piece of wood was about an inch and a half in diameter, and so deeply quadrisulcated, that a transverse section appeared like a cross.

These Hottentots still persisted in repeating the old story of the dangers of venturing farther into the Interior. To this story, my ears had for many months been so much accustomed, that, like the palate habituated to stimulating food, they were no longer susceptible of any excitation from that which had, at first, produced considerable sensation: but an addition which was now made to it, possessed a stimulus sufficiently sharp to rouse my attention and create some degree of uneasiness. Mattivi had been in conversation with Berends relatively to the course which I might mean to take, after leaving Litākun; and had questioned him respecting my intentions of proceeding farther northward. On this subject, he fortunately was not able to give any certain information; although it was evident by the Chief's answer, that the latter had some suspicions. He told Berends that if the white-people at the Cape would bring a strong party of men to revenge the murder of the two Englishmen already mentioned, and of their companions, he would send a large body of Bachapins to accompany them to Melítta, where they would soon be convinced who had been the authors of it. Berends, who gave credit to this account, and who, as well as Hendrik and several others of their people, were ready and willing to engage in such an undertaking,

* In the first volume, at page 208.

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said that they would promise to furnish more than fifty men armed with muskets and mounted on good horses, in case the Cape government would send ammunition and a strong commando. Mattivi talked very seriously with him, and appeared warmly desirous that I should return to the Colony and bring back a more numerous party; for, said he, if Monárri means to go among the tribes beyond Litākun, with so few men as he has now with him, he will only go there for his death, and I shall therefore oppose his proceeding farther in that direction.

This declaration was too important, and interested me too closely, not to create some uneasiness in my mind, lest he should eventually attempt forcibly to restrain me from travelling in that quarter. As to the truth of the story, or the just foundation there might be for these pretended fears for my safety, I believed Mattivi, as little as I had believed the Klaarwater tales; because, I could discern through that flimsy veil, motives which had no connection whatever with my safety or with my success.

He told Berends, that he had just received information that the oxen, which had been sent to him as a present from Mókkaba (or Màkkaba) the Nuákketsi Chief, were so infected with the poison of sorcery, for the purpose of causing his death, that he did not dare to make use of them. He added, that as there happened to be one of these among the oxen which he had given me, he should take it back and give me another; for, that if I should retain it and take it home to my country, it would induce ill-will between my nation and his. When Berends offered to take these oxen from him in barter, Mattivi was highly averse from the proposal, and declared very positively, that he would never consent to any of his friends having one of them.

Soon after these Hottentots left me, the whole town was thrown into a state of alarm, by intelligence brought by a small party of Bachapins who had just arrived from their out-posts or cattle-stations situated at a considerable distance northward. This party had travelled with their utmost speed since the morning of the day before, and hasted directly to Mattivi, to inform him that four of these cattle-stations had been attacked in the night by a large body

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of Támmăkas (or Bătámmăkas), who had succeeded in carrying off the whole of the cattle, after having killed one of the men, and three of the boys, who had charge of them. These out-posts are in general but weakly guarded, as the herds are attended chiefly by very young boys; there being at each post, seldom more than three or four men for its protection. The enemy, it seems, came quite unexpectedly; and, favoured by the darkness of the night, had stolen upon them before they had time to disperse the herd or drive the oxen to some other place of greater security.

The same degree of despatch, with which this intelligence had been conveyed, was employed in all their movements; for in less than half an hour after its arrival, a large body of men from the lower part of the town, and to which these cattle had belonged, marched, or rather ran, off with the utmost speed to overtake the enemy if possible, and recover their property. They took with them no provisions, nor any thing but their hassagays. I watched them with my telescope, as they passed over the hills on the farther side of the town, till they were out of sight: they departed in a confused manner, without the least appearance of military regularity; of which I do not believe that these tribes have any notion. Several smaller parties quickly followed in the same straggling manner.

The crying and loud lamentations of women, for, either the loss of those who had been murdered, or for their husbands or sons who had just left them, and might, perhaps, never return alive, were now heard in various parts of the town. Mollemmi was, on this occasion, the principal acting person in sending off the detachments: the Chief himself, and Serrakutu, were so much occupied in this affair, that we saw little more of them in the mootsi, during the rest of the day.

We were not, however, left without our usual company of natives; and nearly as many as before, continued to frequent the enclosure, and to sit around our fire. In addition to these, we had several of the Klaarwater Hottentots; and the whole party thus assembled, always expected to receive a piece of meat from out of our pot.

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In the evening one of these natives related to us some particulars respecting the murder of the English travellers before mentioned, and described various European articles which he said he had seen among the more northern tribes; and asserted that they were part of the plunder. He exhibited two long scars which had been purposely made down his thighs, and told us that they were marks of honor which he was allowed to bear in consequence of having killed two men in war. He showed us something hanging at his neck, resembling a piece of shrivelled leather, which he said was part of one of them. He assured us, in a manner which appeared serious, that when an enemy is killed in battle, they cut out the liver, or the lungs, and broil and eat part of it. On my questioning him closely whether this were literally a fact, he did not seem to persist in the truth of it: but I shall not assert that his reason for relinquishing the story and for not attempting to vindicate the custom, did not proceed from some sense of shame occasioned by the horror and and disgust which he must have seen expressed in my countenance. That which he wore at his neck, appeared to be what he represented it for: and it is not improbable that this and the practice of swallowing some small part of the body of an enemy, may be the result rather of superstition or some absurd belief, than of a desire of eating human flesh, a crime of which I fully acquit the Bachapins; and consider that to apply to them the name of cannibal, would be extreme injustice.

27th. I rose at an early hour in the morning to perform the pleasing task of writing a letter to England, to describe to my family, as far as it could be foreseen, the prospects of the following part of my journey. While thus employed, in the midst of a scene so different from that in which this letter would be opened, a thousand animating reflections mingled with warm hopes, passed rapidly over my mind; and I confess that some agitation disturbed me, while for an instant I thought of the possibility of this being the last letter which they might ever receive, and admitted a momentary idea, that it might be my destiny never again to behold the land of

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my birth or those to whom I was now writing. This letter, at length, safely reached its destination, and was, perhaps, the first ever received in Europe, which bore a date from Litákun.

Berends and Hendrik having ended their bartering at this town, were ready with their waggons and all their party, to take leave of me at noon; but I detained them an hour longer, till I had concluded my letter. They intended soon after their return home, to make a journey to the Cape; and promised to take the utmost care of every thing which I had committed to their charge: a promise which I afterwards, at my final return to Cape Town, found they had performed with the greatest punctuality. At parting, I made them some further presents; to which I added some more gunpowder, as they complained of being in great want of it. For this indispensable provision for a journey, they expressed the warmest thanks; the quantity being estimated as sufficient for procuring more meat than they could obtain by killing four or five of their oxen.

They were accompanied by Mollémmi; and I was not sorry at his leaving Litákun: for, his frequent importunities for gunpowder and his unremitted endeavours to get possession of another musket, were the source of much uneasiness and vexation to me. His intention, however, was only to visit Klaarwater; and though I had earnestly advised him to take advantage of so favorable an opportunity for going to the Cape, he was obstinate in refusing to make that journey with any one but myself.

28th. The dryness of the weather had caused the fellies of the little waggon to shrink so much, that the joints began to open, and the tire itself became loose. This misfortune was not entirely to be attributed to the weather, as the larger waggon, made by Kilian in Cape Town, was still in perfect order; while the one bought of De Bruyn at Tulbagh, was beginning already to fall to pieces. The difference was occasioned by the fellies having been made of timber not duly seasoned. I therefore employed Juli in filling up the vacancy between the tire and the fellies, with small wedges of wood dipped in tar and driven in as tightly as possible. A crowd of natives stood around us, watching our operations; and, if it be in the nature

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of a Bichuana ever to adopt the arts of Europe, they gained, probably, some new and useful ideas. In this work Van Roye assisted; and now, for the first time, appeared willing to render us service. These symptoms of improvement were to be attributed to the threats and admonitions with which I had lately endeavoured to rouse him, and I readily flattered myself that they indicated a permanent change of conduct.

Cornelis also showed himself a more effective member of our party, and, mounted on one of the horses and leading another by a thong, had started early in the morning to fetch the salt from the waggons at the Makkwarin. He was to have accompanied Berends yesterday, but the horses, being gone to pasture, could not be found in time. He returned on the evening of the following day, bringing about a gallon. Those who have never been in want of salt, will scarcely think this small quantity worth a journey of ninety miles, or that when obtained, it should appear to us a valuable and important acquisition.

Being, if I may use the expression, the only 'portrait-painter' at Litákun, I should soon, had I not rejected many who presented themselves to me for this purpose, have been as much overwhelmed with work as their blacksmith, who, in his profession, was also the only artist; especially as my terms were more profitable to the person who sat, than to the painter.

Among those whose likeness I was desirous of possessing, was Mattivi's younger brother, Mahúra whom I have before noticed as a young man of remarkably handsome countenance as a black. There was a certain characteristic expression in the eyes, and a smooth and undefined cast of features, which I found extremely difficult to represent; and in this attempt I failed, or, to speak more favorably, I did not, at this time at least, succeed in a degree which could give a correct idea of that peculiar expression. The natives were not, on this occasion, so civilized as to flatter me and pay a compliment at the expense of truth: they very honestly declared, as soon as it was finished, that it was máshuë (ugly, or, incorrect.)

They then asked again to see the portraits of Mollemmi, of

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Sĭlláĭ, and of Mŏkwátsĭ: the two latter were young men who were frequently among the Chief's party and, for the first three weeks, almost constantly in our hut. At the sight of these likenesses, the crowd were again as much delighted as when they first saw them: they examined them for a few moments with the same surprise and attentiveness, and then laughed most heartily, as if unable to conceive what caused the drawing to look like those persons.

In the afternoon, I took a walk to see another part of the town. While I was making a sketch of this view, two men came to beg for tobacco; but I affected to misunderstand them, and showed the drawing. They were, however, not gifted with much reflection or judgement; for they asked if that was Mollemmi. As some excuse for their apparent stupidity, these were, probably, people who, having never seen a portrait, had not the least idea of one; and having heard by report that Mollemmi was 'in the book,' they supposed that what they there saw, was that which had been spoken of.

All the game within reach of the inhabitants of the town, was either destroyed, or rendered by their constant huntings so wild and difficult of approach, that we were barely able to supply our daily wants. One or two of my men were out with their gun every day, and on such excursions several Bachapins never failed to accompany them. They were useful in looking out for the game, and in bringing it home; but the Hottentots were always obliged to give up to them a fore-quarter, the head, and all the offal; while the remainder was devoured, or carried off by our parasites, almost as soon as it was brought home. Every part of the carcass is eaten by the natives, and the filthiest of the entrails was therefore deemed by them too good to be given to our dogs, which they thus robbed of their food. From this cause, these poor animals began to grow miserably lean, and too much to resemble the dogs belonging to the town. The hut where my people cooked their food, was always so crowded at meal-times, that the Hottentots had scarcely room to sit down at their own fire. After the natives had finished their daily employments, they usually joined our party and remained with us till

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they retired to sleep, which was generally between nine and ten o'clock; although they sometimes stopped much later.

Such occasions afforded very favorable opportunities for learning their real character; as they were always fond of conversation. But though they were ready in communicating information, I soon discovered that a traveller who should repeat every thing he might hear, would widely mislead others, as to a just idea of the character of the Bachapin nation.

29th. The Bachapins had but lately begun to practise the art of working in iron, and, as yet, there was but one mŏtūrĭ, or blacksmith, among them. This man obtained his knowledge from the northeastern nations; and though he was at this time but a beginner and an imperfect workman, he was, notwithstanding; overwhelmed with work from every side. His townsmen gave him more to do than he could perform, though he daily rose before the sun and was constantly employed till the evening. His work consisted generally in making hatchets, adzes, knives, hassagays, and hoes or mattocks for breaking up their corn-land. For this, he was paid either in unwrought iron obtained by barter from the north-eastern tribes, or in corn, oxen, cows, goats, tobacco, beads, koboes, leather, or undressed skins. Even the Chief claimed no right to his labor, without paying him at the same rate as any other person. This blacksmith was, of course, rapidly growing rich and reaping the just reward of his industry: it is therefore surprising that he had not more imitators; for I could hear of no more than one of his countrymen who showed any inclination to follow the same lucrative business.

I this morning satisfied my curiosity by paying a visit to what my men had dignified with the name of 'the blacksmith's shop;' and of which a representation is seen at page 434. I found this industrious motúri (motóory) at his work as usual: he was sitting in the open space on the outside of the fence which enclosed his dwelling, and having on one side of him a slight hedge of dry branches to skreen his fire from the wind. This fire was made in the open air, and upon the bare ground, without any thing for retaining its

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heat. The fuel was charcoal: the art of making which, he had also learnt from the Nuakketsies.

The most ingenious contrivance was his múubo or bellows: this was formed of two leathern bags made from goat-skins taken off entire or without being cut open lengthwise.* The neck was tightly bound to a straight piece of the horn of an antelope, which formed the nozzle of the bellows. These two nozzles lay flat upon the ground, and were held in their place firmly by a large stone laid upon them: they conveyed the wind to a short earthen tube, the end of which was placed immediately to the fire. The hinder part of the bag was left open, as a mouth to receive the air, and was kept distended by two straight sticks sewed along the lips or opposite edges, in a manner which admitted of opening the mouth to the width of about three inches. These sticks are so held in the hand that they may be opened on raising the mouth, and closed on depressing it; by which means the wind is collected and forced through the tube. By taking a bag in each hand, and continuing this action of raising and depressing them alternately, a strong and constant stream of wind was produced, which presently raised a very small fire to a degree of heat equal to rendering a hatchet red-hot in two minutes.

A stone for his anvil, a horn of water for cooling the iron, and two or three very small iron hammers, were the only apparatus, and all the tools, which he made use of. He was then busy in making hatchets and corn-hoes, of which latter, one is represented in the engraving above referred to, lying upon the hammer. He was surrounded by eight or nine people looking on; but whether for the purpose of learning the art, or of passing away idle time, it seemed doubtful. My presence did not interrupt his work; he appeared as much pleased at the attention with which I watched his operations,

* A bag thus formed of the skin of any animal taken off entire, and which is very common among all the native tribes, is distinguished by the Colonial Hottentots with the special name of knapzak (knapsack); and is occasionally used for holding even honey or other liquids, as well as dry goods.

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as I was myself at beholding, in the midst of a nation which sought to enrich itself, only by the plunder of its neighbours, so rare a specimen of honest industry, one of those moral virtues which elevate the character of a people upon a basis incomparably more firm and respectable than any which can be raised by the sword, and in the same proportion in which the arts of peace stand morally higher, and are more honorable, than the arts of war.

That I might possess a genuine specimen of his workmanship, I sent him some spike-nails to be made into a knife and a hassagay. These he accomplished with tolerable exactness; and, if the tools with which he worked, be considered, they afford a proof of some skill.

After leaving the blacksmith, I went to a different part of the town to take a further view of it, and make another sketch. All the buildings were formed so nearly alike, that a painter finds but little variety of subject for his pencil, if the outlines of the houses only be regarded; but the scene is every where so strange and interesting, and the moving accompaniments so varied and remarkable, that he might for a long time employ himself at Litákun.

At my return home, I found a little girl standing in the mootsi, looking at my people as they were at work. She was the prettiest I had hitherto seen, and appeared to be about twelve or thirteen years of age. She was the daughter of Mattivi; her name was Măssisān (Massisaan); and as she presented a good specimen of Bachapin beauty, I asked her to sit for her portrait; to which she consented with a degree of good nature which might give a favorable opinion of her disposition. Seeing the book in my hand, she immediately comprehended what was required of her, and with remarkable patience stood perfectly still, till I had quite finished the drawing.

The accompanying plate will give a correct idea of her features and appearance, and will, besides, exhibit the usual dress, and the peculiar manner in which the females of this tribe twist their hair so as to give it the form of a cap. This singular fashion will be more particularly described in the eighteenth chapter. The only ornaments which she wore, were two manjénas or mangjénas (manyánas) or

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copper ear-drops in her left ear, and a brass button in her right. Round her neck hung several folds of thick cord* made from the sinews and entrails of animals, and a necklace formed of many thin strings neatly twisted of the inner bark of the acacia. Her hair was copiously adorned with sibílo; but below the part which has the appearance of a cap, some portion was to be seen of its natural color and appearance. The engraving of the face has been done with sufcient care to render unnecessary any particular description of her features, or of the expression of her countenance, which was, in the living person, exceedingly pleasing and innocent: her manners were mild and, in my presence at least, rather reserved.

Her father, who was much pleased at my drawing her portrait, seemed desirous that I should write down her name correctly, and repeated, as I wrote, mŏssárri ŏ Mŏrrūpi, Massisān, (Morrūpi's wife Massisān). From which it may be seen that she was already betrothed, although not yet of an age to take care of her husband's house, who in the mean time had, probably, one or two other wives. The custom of bespeaking wives while they are still children, obtains among the Bichuanas, as among the Bushmen and perhaps other Hottentot tribes. It thus happens that an unmarried women is a rare occurrence, and a man without a wife, is still more rare.

As a reward for Massisán's patience and good temper, I tied round her neck, with a piece of pink ribbon, a pretty necklace of black and gilt beads; a present which, in her eyes, appeared of the highest value.

During the whole time, I was overlooked by a crowd of men and women who, without considering that I was then occupied, kept almost incessantly asking me to exhibit Mollemmi's portrait; and those who had seen it but an hour before, wished to see it again. As soon as I was at leisure, I was compelled to open the book to them: I had scarcely shut it, after one party had seen the portrait,

* Of the same nature as those which have been already described at page 209. of this volume.

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when I had to open it again for another; and thus the same scene of surprise and laughter was performed so many times over, that it became at last tedious, and I was glad to escape into my waggon.

Massisan's mother, whose name was Kibbŭkíili, was so pleased at seeing her daughter 'in the book,' that she earnestly desired to have her portrait taken also. This I promised to do, on a future day, when I should be more disengaged. Many more presented themselves for the same purpose, but as there were numerous other affairs of the journey which demanded my attention, it was impossible to dedicate, even to so agreeable a department of my labors, more time than was justly its due.

In the course of the day, a numerous party of Kora Hottentots arrived at Litákun, from a kraal situated at a considerable distance eastward. They were conducted by the son of a Kora chieftain named Taáïbosch.* This latter was lately murdered by some Bichuánas; and the son, whose kraal was situated on the banks of the Gariep near to the 'English Ford,' was now removing all his father's cattle to that place. Among his father's property, was a musket, which he had formerly purchased. The inhabitants of old Taaïbosch's kraal, deeming that part of the country unsafe to live in, were also removing all their cattle and property to the son's kraal.

The younger Taaïbosch now reminded me that we were already acquainted, and I immediately recognised him as one of the friendly Koras who have been already mentioned as giving us their voluntary assistance when we crossed that river on our return from Graaffreynet. At that time we did not know the names of any of these good-natured people, nor even of their captain: our meeting again was as pleasing to me as it was unexpected.

A day or two before this, I had given Muchùnka leave of absence for a few days, to go and see his mother who was living at old Taaïbosch's kraal. For safety, and as a companion, I allowed him to take Stuurman with him; but having, in his way thither, unexpectedly met the Koras, and finding his mother among them, he

* See the note at page 234.

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hasted home as quickly as possible, in order to be present at our weekly distribution of tobacco and brandy. I had given him, just before he started, a quantity of tobacco as a present for his mother; yet this affectionate son now came to ask for more, and confessed that he had not given her any, as he and Stuurman had, on the road, smoked away, not only their own share, but the whole of his mother's: and I fear that of the second quantity which I now gave him for the same purpose, she enjoyed as little as of the first.

Among the property which this caravan of Koras had with them, was a quantity of salt, which they informed me they had procured from a salt-pond at a considerable distance in an easterly or north-easterly direction. For a knife, I purchased of them about half a gallon.

In order to secure a continuance of friendly behaviour on the part of Mattivi, it appeared necessary at this time to make him some additional presents, especially as he had suffered me to rest for four or five days without giving me much trouble by importuning for things which could not be spared. Among these presents, was a straw-hat, such as are worn by the Malays in Cape Town; and this, being ornamented with twelve strings of beads of the favorite colors, pleased him the more as it was an act of liberality quite unexpected. But it is probable that his pleasure was occasioned more by the beads than by the hat itself.

I gave him also a bag of fresh peach-stones which had been brought from Graaffreynet; in quantity about a quart: nor did I fail, at the same time, to impress on his mind a just idea of their value and nature, by telling him, that they would produce trees which would continue every year to yield, without further trouble, abundance of large fruit of a more agreeable flavour than any which grew in the country of the Bachapins. The quality which I most insisted on, as recommending them strongly to his notice, was that of supplying food without requiring the labor and care of man. I advised, that he should give a few to each of the chieftains: which he promised to do. From the manner in which he expressed himself, he seemed to feel that in making him this present, I was

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actuated by friendly sentiments, as I assured him that they were brought for no other purpose than to benefit the Bachapin nation by introducing into their country a useful fruit which it had never before possessed.

He then gave them to the care of his principal herdsman who was standing by, and whom he always treated as an equal; or, at least, behaved towards him with as much attention and familiarity as towards the richest or highest of his kósies or chieftains. This man had filled the same office under the late Chief Mulihában.

I had still in my waggon some dried peaches remaining, and with a view of giving him a foretaste of the fruit, to induce him to take more care of the young trees, I afterwards prepared a small quantity, by first softening them in water, and then adding some sugar and a little salt of lemons, to regain the flavour which they had lost. He greatly approved of the taste of these; and, contrary to his general custom when in public, of giving a small portion of such things to those who sat by him, he ate the whole himself, excepting a piece which he gave to his uncle.

As if prompted by a rising sense of gratitude, Mattivi said he should never come and tease me for tobacco as other people did; but would always wait till I gave him some, of my own accord. This was so handsome a speech, and so becoming the dignity of a monarch, that, with princely liberality, I immediately presented him with a pipe of tobacco.

30th. There being at this time but little game in the vicinity of the town, the difficulty of obtaining provisions reduced me to the necessity of giving up for the supply of my people, one of the oxen received from Mattivi, and which, otherwise, was intended for the team. We had now but one sheep remaining, and this it was prudent to reserve till want of candles, should compel us to kill it for the sake of the tallow and fat; which, while they were on the animal, were safe, but which otherwise would soon have been stolen or consumed. Our meat had been so often secretly carried off by the natives who frequented our hut, that we were constrained to complain to the Chief: he then gave some general reprimand, and we

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were, in consequence, not so much molested; but as we could no longer trust our provisions in the baggage-waggon where we had been used hitherto to leave them, the Hottentots were at last obliged to keep every thing of that kind behind them in the hut where they were sitting.

This scarcity of provisions, and the continued state of fear in which most of my men had been during our residence at this town, determined me to make an excursion for three or four weeks, in order both to gain a stock of dried meat, and to allow my party some respite from their fears and some time to recover their former tone and spirits.

To convince them, that such was my intention, I desired Gert, who, as I have remarked, could speak the Kora dialect with tolerable facility, to inform the Kora Captain privately, that when he and his people left Litákun, they should wait for me at the distance of two or three days-journeys out of the town; and that I would follow them thither for the purpose of exchanging beads for some of their oxen: but that it was requisite that this arrangement should be kept a secret from the Bachapins, who possibly might endeavour to interrupt my bartering with them. This proposal afforded him much satisfaction, and was gladly accepted.

Mattivi possessed a large share of that species of cunning which is peculiar to low and little minds, and which often has, upon the unwary, its intended effect. As I had seldom shown myself very credulous of tales fabricated from such materials, he considered that they would more easily operate upon my Hottentots, than upon myself; and, therefore, frequently intermingled information of this nature, in his conversations with them, as he sat by their fire in the evenings.

It was with the view of deterring me from attempting to travel into the country of the Nuakketsies, that he informed my men that the three people of that tribe, who lately visited Litákun under pretence of bartering, were, in reality, only sent as spies, and detached from that body of robbers who had carried off the cattle from the three out-posts; that their object was to ascertain who the white-man

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was, and the strength of his party; as they remarked, he said, when they saw us, that we were only eleven in number, and that none excepting two were large men or seemed to be very strong.

The detachment of Bachapins who were sent in pursuit of these robbers, returned on the next day, without having fallen in with them or with any of the cattle. I found that the search had been soon given up, and that the whole of this display of spirit and promptitude had ended in nothing. Mattivi, as if ashamed that I should see any appearance of pusillanimity, and to cover his want of resolution in tamely submitting to the loss, told me that he had now sent out only a few men merely to trace the direction in which the oxen had been driven off, and to ascertain what tribe had taken them; but that after my departure, he should go himself with a large army and bring them away with him, even should they have been carried to the enemy's chief town; and that his reason for not doing so immediately, was, the fear that, if he left me alone and unprotected, the Nuakketsies, who would know of my situation, would send a party to murder me and all my men.

In this story he forgot that I knew the robbers were Batámmakas, and not Nuákketsies. Which proves that in Africa, as well as in Europe, he who attempts to fabricate a tale, or make a misrepresentation to answer his own views, will surely betray himself, and give evidence that he has been wilfully guilty of an untruth. But Mattivi's inveterate hatred against the latter tribe, was the real cause of his casting the odium of the robbery upon them, in order to raise in my mind a prejudice against them and to deter me from any idea of travelling into their country.

When I questioned Muchunka, who was at all times ready to support whatever Mattivi asserted, why those three Nuakketsies were suffered to trade at Litákun and were entertained as friends, if they were believed to be spies and robbers; he replied, that to put a man to death in their town, even an enemy who visits them in a peaceable manner, is viewed as a very 'ugly' act; it being only in battle, that they kill their enemies. And in order to give me a suitable idea of the magnitude and power of the Bachapin nation, he added, that if,

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their Chief were to order the whole of his people to assemble for a great war; I should behold so countless a multitude, that my eyes would open wide with wonder. His men would stand, he said; so closely together that they would tread on each other, and the ground all about us would be crowded with them, like reeds on the bank of a river. Whether my interpreter's assertions were well-founded or not, I could not but admire the beautiful simile which he employed, and which so expressively conveyed the idea of a multitude.

Mattivi complained greatly of the frequent losses of cattle, which his people continued to sustain from the north-eastern tribes, and spoke, with painful recollection, of the former attacks from the Caffres to the south, and who have been already noticed as having emigrated from Kafferland to the banks of the Gariep. But now, that he possessed a gun, he said, he considered himself able to defend himself from the latter, and should therefore remove back again to Nokanníin, a place to the south-west of the Kamhánni mountains, where the chief town of the Bachapins formerly stood, and where he himself was born.

31st. He this morning accompanied two of my Hottentots who went out in search of game. His object was to learn their mode of hunting, and the manner of using the gun; as he took his own with him. The men were unsuccessful, through scarcity of animals, and he, as might be expected, through want of skill; although he fell in with a springbuck and fired at it.

In the mean time Speelman and Philip were employed in exploring the banks of the river, for birds. The former, who was the keener sportsman in this department, added to my ornithological collection more than any of my other Hottentots. Juli, however, was in this respect, very little inferior to him, either in the number, or in the value and rarity, of the objects which his zeal and industry procured for me. I ranked myself only as the third, and Philip as the fourth; but the rest of my people were at a great distance behind, and most of them were unable to boast that they had contributed even a single bird.

Here, for the first time, I met with, in its wild state, a handsome

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and singular bird, of the finch tribe, distinguished from all which inhabit the southern point of Africa, by the disproportionate length of its tail, together with the remarkable circumstance, of having this tail only in summer, at which season it is black; but in winter it is brown, and not longer than the common proportion of all other birds of that tribe. The wings are black, but the body undergoes the same annual mutation of color as the tail. In its full dress it is entirely of a deep black, excepting the shoulders which are orange-coloured or scarlet, and the margins of the wing-feathers which are white. Though but a small bird, it measures in length above twenty-one inches, of which the tail takes nearly sixteen. On account of this length of tail, it appears at that season to fly with difficulty, and is then generally seen on the ground or among the bushes. During the rain, and while its feathers are wet, it is scarcely able to fly at all; and it is a common opinion among the Hottentots, that it may then be easily taken with the hand: but no instance of this fact ever occurred within my own knowledge. The Bachapins call it nuenjánni (nuenyánni) mŭláapo or 'river-bird,' as it usually frequents the banks of rivers or reedy valleys. The Dutch colonists have named it Kaffers-vink (Caffrefinch)*, as it is found chiefly at the eastern extremity of the colony and in the country of the Caffres.

A species of falcon† called 'nchi, was now shot for the first time on the journey. As several boys were accompanying Speelman, he gave it to one of them for the purpose of carrying it: but it narrowly escaped being utterly spoiled, as he accidentally and fortunately happened to turn his eye towards them, just at the moment when they were preparing to cut off the claws. These I have observed to be a favorite ornament with the children of Litákun, and are worn, either hanging round their neck, or affixed to their hair.

* See the note [‡] at page 20. of the first volume.

† Le Rounoir, of Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. pl. 16.
A particular account of the ornithology of Litákun and the vicinity, is here omitted, as it pertains more properly to a later period of the journal.

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A number of women assembled round my waggon, and in a goodnatured manner demanded to see me. When, in due obedience to the commands of the fair sex, I presented myself before them, I found they were come to see Massisān. The fame of this portrait, which was the first female I had drawn, had spread throughout the town, and had, it appeared, excited a strong curiosity among that sex, who seemed to consider it an important mark of respect to them, that I had put women 'into my book,' as well as men.

The surprise, the laughter, and the whimsical gestures, of this crowd when I showed them the drawing, need not again be described; they were the same as before, or perhaps, rather more marked. Among this party, were Mattivi's two sisters: one was a fine woman, who, as a black, might be termed handsome; but the other was exceedingly ugly, a misfortune, if, indeed, it ought to be called so, which had been occasioned by the smallpox. Similar ravages on faces which before had, perhaps, been comely, were frequently observed among these tribes.

After this crowd had left me, Massisān herself came, and in a very modest and half-timid manner, begged me to give her some tobacco. As she did not smoke, I was at a loss how to interpret the meaning of this request, till I saw her run away immediately to her mother, who was standing at some distance, and give it to her. The old lady, or, if she must be called so, the old queen, so often came begging at my waggon, that she knew there was no reasonable hope of getting any more 'smoke' this day; and necessity therefore compelled her to devise a new expedient. She thought that I should not refuse her daughter; being aware that the simple petition of an innocent little girl might probably have in it more persuasive oratory, than the selfish importunities of an insatiable beggar.

I proposed to Mattivi that he should sit for his portrait; but he evaded the question by replying, that I must first draw his younger wife Mahútu. He then brought her to me; and having succeeded in obtaining a good likeness, with which he expressed himself much pleased, I hoped that he would thus have been induced to allow his own to be drawn also; but, without giving any reason for it, he

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continued always to persist in his refusal. As his obstinacy in this respect, was never to be overcome by any solicitation, or by any offers of presents however great, there is little doubt that it arose from some superstitious belief connected with himself personally as Chief.

The eighth plate* gives a representation of Mahútu; but is not to be viewed as a specimen of genuine Bichuana features, as she possessed more of the Kora, than of the Bachapin, countenance. The dress here given, is exactly that which she then wore; nor was she ever, during my abode at Litakun, seen dressed or ornamented in any other manner.

Mattivi had two wives, and several children. The eldest son who, according to the Bachapin law in such cases, was to succeed him as Chief, appeared to be about fifteen, a handsome well-proportioned lad, and of a pleasing countenance; but I seldom saw him, or indeed any of the other children; as these were too young to be brought forward, or to attract much notice or attention.

Just before my departure from Cape Town, the Governor made a special request, that on my arrival among the tribes of the Interior, I would make all possible inquiry, for the purpose of ascertaining whether Dr. Cowan, or any of the persons who accompanied him†, were yet alive; and that, in the case of my obtaining the desirable intelligence that he or any of his party were still in existence, I would endeavour by all means in my power, to give them assistance, should they be in a situation to require it, or in which it might be practicable to afford help: or that, if on the other hand I should not be able to

* This plate requires here but little explanation, as the general description of the female dress and ornaments, in the eighteenth chapter, will render every part of the engraving sufficiently intelligible. It may at present be merely repeated, that the bonnet-like appearance on her head, is produced by the peculiar mode in which the Bachapin women dress their hair. The color here shown, is occasioned by the sibiilo with which it is powdered. (See page 256.) In her ear is a piece of reed, slightly ornamented with lines cut upon it. She wore a necklace of several strings of porcelain beads; and another of the sinews or entrails of animals, twisted into a thick cord. Her kobo, or cloak, is of that kind which has been described (page 350.) as composed of a great number of skins of small animals of the weasel, or cat, genus.

† Some particulars of this expedition have already been given in the first volume, at page 50.

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gain any certain account of their fate, I would engage some of the natives to go in search of them, by promising, in his name, an adequate reward for their services if they brought back any authentic information. His Excellency was pleased to add that, although himself. on the point of quitting the Colony, to return to England, he should leave instructions for the colonial secretary to fulfil whatever promises of this kind, I might find it necessary to make: and concluded by requesting me to communicate to the secretary, by the earliest opportunity, the result of my endeavours, or any intelligence respecting this unfortunate party, which I might be able to gain.

To this request, my own feelings dictated the reply, that although His Lordship should not have honoured me with this commission, I should, for the satisfaction of my own mind as a point of duty and common humanity, as well as from natural inclination, have neglected no opportunity which circumstances might place within my reach, of affording all the aid in my power, to men, and countrymen, situated as they were: and that, should I gain such intelligence as might induce me to believe that they were still in existence, and stood in need of any assistance of mine, or that my presence would relieve them from any difficulties, I should not hesitate a moment in deviating entirely from my own track, to accomplish so important a purpose.

It now appeared to me, from various reports which I had heard since my arrival at Litákun, that there was a probability of gaining at this place, if not a satisfactory account of those travellers, at least some clue, as a guide to further inquiries: and, being prepared by these reports, I sent my interpreter to request Mattivi to come to my waggon, as I wished to have some conversation with him.

He came immediately; and when he had taken his seat and the waggon was closed, I informed him that I had been commissioned by the Governor of the Cape to ask him if he knew any thing relative to the fate of the persons in question. Hitherto, this subject had never been mentioned between us, although he had discoursed freely on it with my men; but he now entered upon it with much readiness, and seemed desirous of communicating the required information.

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Mattivi's story ran thus. — A long time ago, when he was on a warlike expedition against the Nuákketsies, his people obtained, among various articles of plunder, many things of European manufacture which he knew to have belonged to those persons. Being afterwards at the chief town of the Barolóngs under Makrákki, he there saw a quantity of clothes and many knives, of the same manufacture, which that people said they had received from the Nuakketsies. At a subsequent period when he was at peace with this last-mentioned tribe, he visited them in consequence of a friendly invitation from Mókkăba their Chief; and then saw a great number of other articles which were certainly part of the contents of the waggons belonging to those travellers. He particularized, a red-painted board, knives, clothes, and other things which, by his description, were a pair of men's-braces, and an epaulette. On my asking if he saw any guns, he said; No, the guns were beaten to pieces, and the barrels made use of for sharpening their knives upon. Expecting to discover, in his account, some traces of watches, or of optical or mathematical instruments, I inquired if he saw any things of shining metal different from those which he had seen in my possession; for I had been careful to conceal from the natives every article of this description: but he replied, that he had observed nothing but clothes, and the goods which he had specified. Molaali, he said, had brought home a green-handled knife; but this was lost on the day before I arrived at Litakun. Happening to cast his eye upon a metal tea-pot which was standing in the waggon, he remarked that one of his people was bringing away a similar pot, but at length finding it heavy and troublesome to carry, he threw it away on the road. When I asked if he could not send the man to fetch it, and promised to reward him liberally, he said; that could not be done, as it was thrown away at a spot too far off. I expressed a strong wish that, as the Nuakketsies were now at peace, he should send a party of his men to Melitta to purchase for me some of the goods which had belonged to my countrymen. This was a request with which nothing could induce him to comply, as the inhabitants of that town, he asserted, would certainly murder every Bachapin who came there.

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And on my offering to accompany such a party, to protect them with our guns, his tone of refusal became still more positive and seemed to indicate that he was displeased at my entertaining even the bare idea of venturing to go among so dangerous a tribe of men. He then informed me that the detachment, which was lately sent to pursue the robbers who carried off the cattle, had returned almost immediately, as they were afraid to advance against the enemy; or rather, as I suspect, were afraid to overtake them. On his boasting that, if I had not been at this time on a visit to him, he would have gone against them himself with the whole body of his people, I said that I would leave Litākun, and remain absent on a hunting excursion, till he returned; but his answer then was, that he must wait till the season of hot weather, before he could make his intended attack.

During this conversation, I remarked that he mentioned nothing which might not have been known and seen while those travellers were at Litākun on their way to the more northern tribes; and I therefore endeavoured, by various questions, to discover such circumstances as could have become known by no other means than by a complete plundering of their waggons; but I could obtain only such answers as were mere evasions of my questions, or such as were inconsistent with the other parts of his story, and served only to strengthen my former suspicions that the whole was nothing else than a fabrication, for the purpose of creating in the minds of white men a prejudice against those tribes towards whom he entertained either enmity or jealousy. That this was the object at which he aimed, was sufficiently betrayed by his frequent exclamations against the Nuákketsies, and by his often repeating, with peculiar earnestness, that the governor of the Cape must send a strong body of men to punish them severely for this murder. When I asked how it could be possible for a numerous body of men to find provisions in his country, when even so small a party as mine, were unable to obtain at Litākun the necessary daily food, he replied, that he would engage to give them both oxen and corn, and would, moreover, accompany them himself with all his people. I then told him, that the governor

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would not, I could assure him, send out a 'commando' unless he were fully convinced, by the most certain proofs, that the tribe which he had named, were the murderers of our unfortunate countrymen; and therefore it was requisite that he should command all his people who had in their possession any European goods which were believed to have been part of the contents of those waggons, to bring them to me, that I might, by examining them, be enabled to report to the white-men, that of what I related, I had myself seen indubitable proofs. This he promised should be done on the morrow. He gave me a complete and circumstantial account of the murder, which he said he had received from a man and woman who had been eyewitnesses of it, and who were now at Litākun. I desired that these two people might be brought to me, that I might ask them some questions on the subject. Here the conversation ended, and he took his leave.

As Gert and Muchunka were both present during this communication; they related all to the rest of my men, who, I found, gave full and implicit belief to the whole of Mattĭvi's story. Their reason for so readily crediting all the tales of this kind, which they heard, was, probably, the justification which these seemed to afford for the timidity of their own conduct and their reluctance to advance farther into the Interior.

After all the natives had left the mootsi, and my own men had retired to sleep, I took, unknown to any one, an observation to determine the latitude of this place; which I computed to be 27°. 6′. 44″.* The motive for keeping secret those operations which required the use of instruments, which might appear desirable to the natives, has already been stated†; and the present and every subsequent occasion, convinced me that it is always practicable; at least, with reference to the ascertaining of the latitude by a star: and I believe that in these regions, it was never known to any but my own

* On the 31st of July 1812. at Litākun, near the Chief's residence, the observed meridional altitude of α Pegasi (Markab) was 48°. 42′. 7″.

† In the first volume, at page 577.

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Hottentots, that the waggon contained any thing so showy and attractive as my sextant. To travellers under similar circumstances, it may therefore be recommendable, that all their astronomical instruments should be made as plain as possible, and that the metal should be either discoloured, or its natural brightness concealed.

August, 1st. As the Chief received daily in his móotsi, or public enclosure, the visits of a greater or less number of kósies, or chieftains, who remain sitting with him generally the whole morning, he may be considered as holding a píicho, or council, every day. The number of chieftains assembled at these ordinary píichoes, seldom exceeds twenty, and is often not more than half a dozen; but on extraordinary occasions, such as that of debating on the propriety of making war, or of removing their town, or that of the arrival of a white-man amongst them, this assembly consists of a much more numerous body; and by their opinion, or that of the majority, even their Chief is influenced and guided.

Early in the forenoon, Mattīvi informed his council of the conversation which we had held on the preceding evening. One of the kosies very strongly urged his opinion, that all goods of European manufacture which could be found, should be brought for me to see; and the Chief, in consequence, issued orders to this effect, or at least, pretended that he had done so. He was absent from the mootsi all the remainder of this day; and might possibly be busied in searching or making inquiry, for some articles which might be adduced in proof of the account which he had given me yesterday.

Nothing further worthy of remark occurred this day; and the evening passed as usual, with a house full of parasites. When the inhabitants first saw us making use of the 'unlucky wood' (Vangueria infausta) for fuel, they warned us of our danger, and among themselves made many remarks on our imprudence. They said, as Muchunka expressed it, 'We shall soon see all these men die; for they not only make their fire of this wood and warm themselves by it, but they even boil their meat over it.' It would, indeed, have been a 'lucky wood' for us, if it had sufficiently retained its charm, to have checked them from coming to our fire, and to have kept

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their hands out of our pot. But finding that we did not die, as they expected we should, the argument between hunger, or rather gluttony, and superstition, turned in favor of the former; and even the fear of death, was vanquished by the love of eating.

2nd. This day also passed without any occurrence deserving of notice; but in the evening, about eight o'clock, the town was suddenly thrown into the utmost alarm and consternation. Morúna, the Bichuana who, it has been mentioned, had set out a few days before, on a journey into the country of the Karrikarries, unexpectedly returned to Litākun in great haste, and spread terror among the inhabitants, by crying out, as he ran along, that a strong body of Batámmăkas were in the land. When he had reached the distance of a days-journey from the town, he fell in with their track to the westward, and as it appeared to take a southward direction, he instantly turned his steps back again, and travelled with the greatest possible expedition, to give the Bachapins timely notice of the danger which threatened their cattle-stations, and to warn them to remove immediately all their herds out of the line of march which the invaders seemed to be pursuing.

At this time Mattīvi happened to be sitting by our fire in the hut, and, as usual, amusing himself in smoking and occasionally in conversing with the Hottentots and with those of his friends and attendants who were accustomed to join our evening parties. Before Moruna arrived at our mootsi, the noise and confusion which his intelligence caused in the more distant parts of the town, were distinguishable. The Chief listened attentively for some minutes, and as soon as he caught a few expressions which led him to suspect the occasion of them, he started hastily up from his seat, without saying a word, and we saw him no more that night.

The uproar and clamor soon became general, and confusion reigned in every quarter. The vociferations of the men denouncing vengeance against the invaders, and the cries and lamentations of the women, filled the air and reached the ear in every direction. Amid these tumultuous sounds, the violent howling of some of the women, was heard above the rest, and impressed the mind with

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sensations which may be more easily conceived than described, and which were well suited to give a complete idea of a state of warfare among savages. One of the chieftains who were sitting with us, rose and in the loudest voice, upbraided all his countrymen for their cowardice in suffering these marauders to continue their depredations in the country, without instantly taking up arms and flying to meet them. Others remarked that they had seen, during the afternoon, unusual clouds of dust rising from the plains in the direction of north-west; and which, it now appeared, were occasioned by the various herds of cattle which their keepers were driving out of the way of the enemy, and bringing towards the town for protection; having been warned by Moruna as he passed the different stations where they were lying. Many women, in a state of great trepidation, entered the mootsi, and assembled around my waggons; probably, supposing that greater safety was to be found under the protection of our muskets than at their own houses.

The panic which had seized these poor creatures, soon communicated itself to my own men, who, alarmed by the serious aspect of affairs and the general consternation which prevailed among the inhabitants, gave themselves up for lost; and instead of endeavouring to conceal from the natives, their weakness and want of courage, and of showing, by outward appearance at least, that we felt confident in the power of our fire-arms, nearly the whole of them betrayed their fears by the most distressing agitation, and by the greatest uneasiness of manners. Speelman, whom I had hitherto believed to be one of the least timid of my party, came to me as I was sitting in the waggon, and with terror strongly depicted in his countenance, exclaimed, "Sir, this will never do! Give me some more balls and powder! We shall not one of us ever escape from this place alive!" Fright rendered him unable to say more, or to explain if hostilities had actually taken place in the town, or if any-affair had just occurred to cause in him so great an alarm: but it was not till I had repeatedly put the question, that his spirits became sufficiently composed to admit of his giving a coherent answer.

I endeavoured now, as I had done on every former occasion, to

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inspire my people with confidence in our own strength and resources, and to convince them that the most certain way to escape from danger, was by keeping their minds cool and free from agitation. This, I assured them, would give our little party the advantage over superior numbers, should the enemy really have it in view to attack the waggons; which, however, I did not believe to be their object, so much as the cattle of the Bachapins. I desired them, whatever might happen, not for a moment to entertain the idea of separating from each other and seeking safety in flight, which would infallibly lead to the utter destruction of us all: but to stand together in a body round the waggons; in which position, we could defend ourselves longer than in any other, as we should then secure a constant supply of ammunition.

With this view I placed a large quantity of cartridges in a secret part of my own waggon, and privately informed my Hottentots where they would find them, should any sudden attack, of which however I had not much expectation, be made, either on the Bachapins or on ourselves.

We kept watch during the whole night; none of us feeling sufficiently assured of the peace of the town, to venture committing ourselves to sleep, till the approach of day-light or till we might safely dismiss the fear of any hostile attempt; the first dawn of day being generally supposed to be, according to the practice of African warfare*, the moment most to be guarded against. That these hours might not pass as lost time, I continued to employ myself in the waggon in preparing, and in writing the descriptions of some birds which had been shot in the vicinity.

The night passed without further alarm: the tumultuous feelings of the inhabitants and the lamentations of the women gradually subsided; and all, at length, retired to their homes, leaving the mootsi entirely to ourselves and our usual Bachapin attendants.

3rd. In the morning, affairs appeared to have resumed their usual course, and the natives began again to assemble in the public

* See page 494. of the first volume.

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enclosure, in the same manner as they had been accustomed to do since my first arrival at the town; but we understood that a body of armed men had been, without loss of time, sent out to expel the invaders from their territory.

Early in the forenoon, Mulója (Moolówya), the man who had been mentioned to me by Mattīvi as having been an eye-witness to the murder of the former party of travellers under Dr. Cowan and Captain Donovan, was brought into the mootsi, for the purpose of giving me his evidence relative to that melancholy catastrophe. I desired Muchunka to bring him to my waggon, as I could there more conveniently write down his answers to my questions; but Mattīvi opposed this mode of examination, as it admitted only of as many hearers as the very confined space of my sitting-place could accommodate. It soon, however, became apparent that his real motive for wishing the man not to be examined in private, was the necessity of assisting and directing him in a story fabricated entirely to correspond with his views of exciting the resentment of the Cape government against his enemies.

I therefore complied with the Chief's wishes, and took my seat in the hut; one side of which was, on the occasion, thrown open, that all our proceedings might be seen and heard by the whole crowd of kosies who were then in attendance. I began by putting to Mulója such questions as were most likely to produce such information as might convince me that his account was a genuine narrative of facts. I put the veracity of his evidence to the test of cross-examination; a test which I soon perceived it was unable to stand. I asked the same question at separate times and in different forms, but the replies were often contradictory. He rarely gave any answer without waiting till Mattīvi or some of the chieftains who were sitting by him, had put the words into his mouth, or had given him a hint of what he was to say. The Nuakketsies, among whom he had lived some time as prisoner of war and who had but lately allowed him to return to his own country, were the people who, by the orders of Mokkaba their chief, had, according to his story, put those travellers to death and plundered their waggons. Among many

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other questions, I asked him if the Nuakketsies or their chief had ever alleged any cause of complaint against those white-men, or if my countrymen had in any manner given them offence:—he replied; No, none whatever. When I inquired if their bones were still to be found, and offered for them a great reward if they could by any possible means be brought to me, he said that these had been all beaten into very small pieces and thrown into the fire. I promised payment in my best beads for any part of those waggons, or of the iron-work belonging to them; but the waggons, he said, were burnt, and the iron was all converted into knives, hatchets and hassagays: some European clothes, however, were still to be seen at Melítta (the chief town of the Nuakketsies), as were also the sheep and oxen; but the horses were killed a short time afterwards, and the saddles were burnt. On expressing a desire to obtain some of the white-men's hair, which, I said, had probably been saved as a curiosity, he replied that that also had been thrown into the fire. When I asked him, relatively to the contents of those waggons, whether he had seen any very extraordinary things, different from any which had ever before been brought into the country, he was unable to answer until the Chief told him to say, a great number of gilt chains exactly like that which I had presented to Mattīvi. I proceeded at first to question him very particularly as to all the circumstances of the alleged murder, in order to derive some internal evidence which might convince me either of the truth or falsity of his testimony; but Muloja himself and Mattīvi and all the chieftains who sat round us, finding that their story could not stand against this scrutiny, began to show themselves displeased at my making such minute inquiries; and the man, apparently confused in his account, asked roughly, why I put so many questions, as though I doubted his veracity: he had, he said, beheld the whole affair with his own eyes, and had seen Mokkaba's people cut off their heads and arms; and that ought to be enough to convince me that it was the Nuakketsies who had put all the party, to death, excepting, however, only one of the Klaarwater Hottentots; who escaped and took refuge in Makrákki's town, where, by order of that chief, he was stabbed the next morning. Muloja here forgot that he

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had, in the beginning of his examination, and to evade several of my questions, declared that, although he was then at Melitta, he was not himself present at the murder; but had heard the whole account of it from those who actually did see it. I therefore desired him, since my mode of questioning was thought not agreeable, to relate, as he pleased, whatever he knew of the affair. He then proceeded with his story: it was so evidently inconsistent and contradictory, with respect to, not only what I had already heard from other mouths, but even the different parts of his own account, that the weakest credulity could scarcely have listened to it with patience. I, however, took the trouble, during this examination, of writing down his answers, as it was my intention, I told them, to communicate the information to the Cape Government: but the whole tale was dressed up in a manner, and attended with a degree of management, so unlike the plain and simple clothing and the air of truth, that I could not but feel disgusted at their mean and dishonorable attempts, to prejudice strangers against their enemies, by the base arts of falsehood. As the declaration of my total disbelief of Muloja's evidence, could have been productive of no good to any party, but rather, of danger to ourselves; I made no remark on the subject, excepting that I should by the first opportunity send a letter to Cape Town to make known what I had now heard. On this, the whole assembly exclaimed with great satisfaction, that, what I said was very good; evidently rejoicing at the prospect of a great body of white-men being sent to exterminate the Nuakketsies. It would be useless here to repeat a fabricated tale of events which never took place, as I rose from the assembly with a strong conviction that, however little was the doubt which could be entertained of the melancholy fate of my unfortunate countrymen and their companions, the Nuakketsies were certainly not the perpetrators of the crime with which their enemies the Bachapins now charged them.

In consequence of the request which I had before made of Mattivi, that he would order his people to produce for my inspection, every article of European manufacture obtained from the Nuakketsies and

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considered as part of the plunder of those travellers, a man afterwards brought me, and it was the only article which could be found, a piece, of about two feet long, of a red sash, such as is usually worn by military officers; asserting, at the same time, that it had been procured from the people of Melitta. But as I had already been assured, on the authority of a person who was present on the occasion, that this sash was given to Mulihában by Captain Donnovan, the bringing of it forward now, as a proof of the alleged murder, served only to confirm my suspicions that the whole tale was a base fabrication, and a proof of nothing more than the falsehood and dishonorable motives of those who invented it.

As soon as this examination was finished, I informed Mattivi, that, as all our provisions were now exhausted and we found great difficulty in procuring game in the vicinity of the town, I intended to make a hunting excursion at a distance in the country, and expected to be absent from Litákun about a fortnight or three weeks.

I therefore requested him to make known to all his people, that, as the Batámmakas were now in the land with hostile views, and as we, not being able at a distance to distinguish this tribe from the Bachapins, should consider any party of men approaching us under suspicious appearances, to be a detachment from the enemy, and should fire upon them accordingly, the Bachapins, whom we regarded as our friends and whom we should always be glad to see at any station where we might happen to be, must be careful not to visit us in large bodies, lest we should unfortunately mistake them for the enemy. To this request he replied, that he would give his people the necessary caution.

It being now publicly known that I was on the point of quitting Litákun, the inhabitants, and more especially the chieftains, were most importunate for tobacco. They pressed around me and climbed into the waggon in so intruding a manner, that I was obliged to defer my meal till I should have left the town; as they were determined, for the last day, to push their beggings to that extremity at which they began to assume almost the appearance of demands, in order to

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profit by the only opportunity remaining: and in the early part of the morning, some of the natives stole from the hut a few trifling things belonging to the Hottentots.

Serrakutu now became very troublesome by his request for beads; and seemed as though he would not hear a denial: but when I offered him tobacco on condition of his sitting for his portrait, he soon afterwards left me, although he had given his consent to be drawn.

The Chief's wife Kibbŭkíili, the mother of Massisān had, in consequence of my having a few days before promised to 'put her in the book,' dressed herself in her best Nuakketsi hat*, to set herself off, as she supposed, to the greatest advantage, and give her an air of importance becoming so great a personage. She had been waiting in the mootsi the greater part of the morning; but I had been too much engaged to attend to her, till, seeing me preparing for departure, she desired Muchùnka to remind me of my promise. As I succeeded in obtaining as good a likeness of her, as I had of Mollemmi, I was rewarded in the same manner with the approbation of the bystanders; who now seemed to think that for this approbation they were entitled to some muchuko.

A kosi brought an ox which he offered me for sale; and as he appeared extremely desirous of exchanging it for beads, I allowed myself to treat with him, in order to avoid giving offence: although, in consequence of the disputes which had always arisen from those transactions, I had resolved to have here no further dealings of this nature. Wishing to conclude the bargain at once without dispute, and by extraordinary liberality to prevent all disagreement on his part, I showed him in payment a quantity of beads, which was twice

* Of this hat, a representation will be found at the end of the chapter. It was said to be a manufacture of the tribe above-mentioned; and is made, apparently, of some species of rush. (Vol. i. p. 263.) The manner in which it is wove together is the same as that which is practised by the Caffres Proper, in the making of their milk-baskets. (Vol. i. p. 269.) It is held fast upon the head by a thong of leather passing under the chin. Among the Bachapins, this hat is not often seen; and, being of foreign workmanship, it is considered as too expensive an article of dress for general use.

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as much as the price at which the Hottentot elephant-hunters had, only a week before, bought a number of oxen. The man, however, exemplified, very forcibly, the difficulty of satisfying a covetous disposition: he immediately answered, Okétsa (Add more). Mattivi was standing by, and urging him to increase his demands; but I positively declared that nothing more would be given than the quantity which was then produced before him, as I knew by experience that, had I assented to the price he asked, and concluded the purchase of the ox, he would shortly afterwards have found some trifling excuse for complaining that I had not paid so much as it was worth; and I should thus have been compelled, in order to avoid contention and serious misunderstanding, to give a price so exorbitant, that it would have been to me little less in effect than actual plunder. The necessities of the long journey before me, rendered it highly imprudent to waste my beads, which, as already mentioned, are the only money of the regions in the Interior; at least, as far as report had given me to understand. I was therefore not sorry to see the man drive his ox home again.

As the taking of a single sheep along with us on this excursion, would have been attended with great trouble and inconvenience, I left the only one we had remaining, to run with Mattivi's flock till my return; and requested him to receive among his herd an ox which was due to me from a man named Klowānĭ, whom I had already paid for it, but which, on account of the distance of his cattle-station, had not yet arrived in town. The Chief again urged a request for more ammunition, but in our present want of provisions, which we had no means of remedying but by powder and ball, I found an admissible excuse for refusing it.

As soon as my teams were brought into the mootsi, I ordered my Hottentots to yoke them to the waggons. These preparations for immediate departure attracted a great concourse of the inhabitants around us, and the enclosure was soon completely filled with men, women, and children.

It was not till within, an hour of sunset, that all was ready for travelling; when we drove out of the town, attended by Mattivi

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himself with his brothers and most of his chieftains, besides an innumerable crowd. Not knowing whether so large a body of men was to be viewed as a friendly escort or as a preparative for some act of intimidation or treachery, I armed myself with a cutlass, and buckled on two braces of pistols, as though my usual travelling accoutrement.

No other molestation, however, than begging, was offered to me; but, under the impression that I was about to leave them finally, or, at least, that I should be absent a long time, their importunities were now more unrestrained than ever: some of them even demanded tobacco enough to last till my return; and one man, who to gratify his own curiosity in so new a mode of conveyance, had been riding a short distance, claimed a piece in consideration of his having been bruised by the jolting of my waggon. Mattivi, for the same motive, jumped up behind the great waggon as it was moving on, but, unused to the rough motion of the vehicle, he was unable to keep his hold, and, on its passing over a rocky spot, was shaken off; after which he made no further attempt at riding.

In the confusion of the crowd, my thermometer narrowly escaped being lost: its usual place while travelling, was in one of the bags which were fastened within the tilt; but by the violence of the jolts it was thrown out, and fell to the ground unperceived by us, when Krámori, who happened to be walking immediately behind, picked it up, and was in the act of secreting it under his kobo, when fortunately the red color of its leathern case caught my eye, and on my instantly demanding it from him, he found himself obliged, though with apparent reluctance, to deliver it up.

The greater number of the men who were present at our departure, believing that they should not see us again, had followed me, with the expectation of receiving some parting presents; but when I assured them, that I should most certainly take up my residence again at Litákun, the crowd, after accompanying us for about half a mile from the town, by degrees turned back again homewards. Mattivi, with his brothers and attendants, having continued with us for a short distance farther, took leave, and, turning their steps

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towards Litákun, left us to pursue our journey unmolested and alone.

My own men, feeling themselves now freed from a place where they had been living in a state of fear and uneasiness, regained, in proportion as we increased our distance from it, somewhat of their usual mood, and began to encourage a hope that I should ultimately relinquish all intention of returning. But, as I was desirous of completing my knowledge of this tribe, or, at least, of collecting information on many subjects with which I considered myself as not yet sufficiently acquainted, I had resolved not to allow the troublesome manners of the inhabitants to deter me from an abode among them as long as there appeared a prospect of obtaining there any portion of the principal object of my travels, or of acquiring that kind of experience which I deemed necessary to success in my future progress through the unknown regions of the Interior.

The narrative of these travels having now proceeded as far as it was intended, the two following chapters, containing observations extracted principally from the subsequent parts of the journal, are added for the purpose of completing the work as an account of the inhabitants of the interior regions of Southern Africa, and more especially for conveying as much general information as may be sufficient for filling up the description of the Bachapins.

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CHAPTER XVII.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN OF LITAKUN;—ITS HISTORY;—REGULATIONS;—POPULATION;—ARCHITECTURE;—DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENT;—SITUATION;—AND CLIMATE.

THE Town of Litákun (Letárkoon) lies in the parallel of 27°. 6′. 44″. of south-latitude; and, according to estimation by course and distance, on the meridian of 24°. 39′. 27″. of east longitude from Greenwich. It is distant from Cape Town about 972 miles by the road, in the direction of north-east. The nearest sea-coast is, according to the latest charts, that which is named 'the coast of Natal,' on the eastern side of the continent; a distance which, if actually travelled, would probably be found to be not less than 700 miles; as Algoa Bay, the nearest sea on the south, is at a journey of about 750 miles. The mouth of the Gariep*, the nearest coast on the west, appears to be equidistant with Algoa Bay.

* The mouth of this river has been placed in various maps, in the latitude of 281/2°, on the authority only of an observation, said to have been made by Colonel Gordon, a Dutch lieutenant-governor of the Cape.

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This town had not occupied its present situation more than six years. Previously to that time, the chief-town of the Bachapins stood on the Krūmăn river, and then bore the same name as the river; on which spot it had not existed for a longer period than four years, having been transplanted, in the year 1802, from the banks of the Mŏshwa (Moshówa), where it bore the more proper name of Litákun*; and this name, though with less propriety, has been transferred to the present town, as being situated not far from its ancient site. At the time when it stood on the Moshówa, it contained more than twice as many inhabitants; but the greater number had emigrated to a spot many days' journey farther north-eastward, with a Chief named Makrákki, who separated from Mulihában on account of a quarrel occasioned by the latter having taken away one of the other's wives: while Mulihaban, on the same occasion, removed with all his tribe, or rather adherents, to the Kruman. During my residence with Mattīvi, he frequently assured me that it was his determination to remove, ultimately, to Nokānníin (Nokănnéen) the place of his birth, and the country where the Bachapins anciently resided: it was described as being situated several days' journey south-westward from the Kruman town. The first step of his removal, which he intended taking in the course of the following year, was to be once more to the banks of the Kruman; so that the chief-town of the Bachapins would then no longer bear the name of Litakun.

These facts show how far this people is to be considered as a wandering tribe, and in what degree it is entitled to be regarded as a settled nation: they seem to prove that the Bachapins stand just on the line which marks the division between an agricultural or stationary, and a nomadic, life.

The present town occupies the greater part of a plain of about two miles in diameter, surrounded by hills or mountains of moderate elevation. The soil, as in most parts of these regions, is sandy and

* See the meaning of this name explained at page 307.

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of a red color. This plain, the surface of which is not, however, perfectly level, appeared, from the number of stumps and stems of trees every where standing, to have been originally a grove of mokálas, or camelthorns; all of which, excepting here and there a single tree, had been cut down for the purposes of building the houses, and for fuel. A town of similar construction can, it seems, be erected only in a wood or grove, in which, therefore, houses take the place of trees; and consequently it cannot conveniently, and I believe, never is, on a subsequent removal, re-erected exactly on the same place where it formerly stood. This may with great probability be supposed as the reason why the present Litákun was not built on its former site. The ground about the town and in the intermediate spaces between the houses, was generally grown over, in a scattered manner, with bushes and wild herbage, but scarcely any grass was to be seen: or in other words, every part of this plain was left in its natural and rough state, excepting the areas enclosed by the fences which surround the houses.

The town had been built without the least attempt at regularity of arrangement; and the houses were placed with as little appearance of order or of any particular plan, as the trees of the grove which stood there before them. Consequently there were neither streets nor squares; and the only circumstances which seemed to have determined the position of a house, were evenness of ground, and clearness from bushes; for, in a spot destitute of trees and water, these people find nothing to guide their choice, excepting, perhaps, the nature of the ground on which they are to build.

Such a town may be considered as a collection of little villages, each under the superintendance of its own chieftain: and, from as much as I was enabled to observe, I was induced to suppose, that when the Chief of the tribe or nation, has, with the concurrence of the principal inhabitants, fixed on any place as a convenient site for their town, each chieftain or kósi pitches his house on a separate spot, while all his relations and friends, or dependants, build theirs around him; and often so close to each other as barely to leave a

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passage between the outer fences, though more frequently placed farther apart.

The concurrence of the Chief, in the choice they make of the spot on which they are to build, is always required; and when a Bachapin, who has been living at another village or station, desires to fix his residence in the town, he applies to the Chief; who with his kō;sies goes to inspect the spot, and either confirms the choice or appoints another.

A permission of the same kind is necessary before any person can take possession of a spring of water and make use of the surrounding pastures; but as long as the occupier chuses afterwards to remain there, he is never disturbed or interrupted in his right, nor does he pay any other acknowledgment for this privilege, than the first ceremony of asking leave. It must not, however, be concluded that this nation are acquainted with any of those distinctions of landed property, which would class such possessions either as allodial, or as feodal lands; or that the soil, as I have before stated, is ever regarded as the property either of the Chief or of his subjects.

A considerable space of unoccupied ground generally separates the division of one chieftain from that of another; though sometimes they adjoin. The number of such divisions, or clusters of houses, appeared, as I viewed the town from the surrounding hills, to be between thirty and forty. From the same point of view, I was enabled to form an estimate of the number of dwellings or families; and this I found to be nearly eight hundred. Most of these dwellings consisted of an enclosure containing two, and often three, houses, in which the different members of the family, and the servants, were lodged; or of which one served as a storehouse for corn and other provisions of that nature.

By collecting together all the different data which could be obtained both from observation and inquiry, and taking the average of their results, I have ventured to state the number of inhabitants at Litákun, at five thousand; and believe this to be rather below, than above, the actual amount.

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The walk from the southern extremity of the town, to the northern, occupied half an hour, which may be taken for a distance of at least a mile and a half; and, in an eastward direction, the length was above two miles. The town, on approaching it from any part of the surrounding plains, appeared to be formed of an innumerable collection of houses contiguous to each other; and it was only from a considerable eminence that the great quantity of intervening vacant space and its irregular plan, were very observable in a single view.

The business of building the houses, as well as that of keeping them in order, is a duty which, in this nation, custom has allotted to the women only; and I was always assured, that every part was the work of their hands; although I never had any opportunity of seeing the construction of one of these buildings in its progress.

The spot of ground appropriated to each dwelling was in general between forty and sixty feet in diameter, and in every case was enclosed by a strong fence. This area was circular, or as near to that form, as it could be conveniently made: it was sometimes, however, on the plan represented by the engraving at the end of the chapter, or of two elliptical or circular areas conjoined. This engraving, and the one at page 511, together with the 9th Plate*, will render the following descriptions more easily intelligible, and supply many of the smaller particulars which have, for this reason, been omitted in the text.

The outer fence never exceeded seven feet in height, nor was it less than four and a half: in the better houses it was most commonly about six feet high; and at the bottom, the thickness was two feet and a half, gradually diminishing to nine or twelve inches at the top. It was constructed of straight twigs and small branches, placed

* Plate 9 is a plan, with a geometrical elevation, or rather section, of a Bachapin dwelling. In order to show its structure, it is here represented as cut through the middle, in a direction from the great corn-jar to the side of the door-way in the outer fence. In the ground-plan, A is the veranda; B, the outer room; C, the inner, or central room; D, the storeroom; E, the corn-house; F, F, corn-jars; G, the servants' house; H, the fire-place; and I, the outer fence.

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upright and parallel to each other, but so carefully interwoven, or connected, that they formed a defence so close and firm, that they were impenetrable to a hassagay and, at their lower part, even to a musket-ball. They were, both within and without, extremely neat, and not the smallest twig projected beyond the surface, which was as even as that of a basket. These twigs had been first divested of all their leaves, and were most commonly cut from the mohaaka, a tree or shrub which grows in abundance in every part of the Great Plains of Litákun.

This fence from its solidity and strength, might rather be called a wall, than a hedge. It is generally bound together at the top by a line of twigs running all round within and without, as may be observed in the 6th Plate at page 464; and when the entrance is properly closed, it is a sufficient protection against a surprise from either their enemies or wild beasts. It constitutes an excellent shelter against violent winds, which, in so open and exposed a situation, are not unfrequent; and which are more easily resisted by a circular, than by any other, form.

The fences of the poorer inhabitants were frequently made of other less suitable branches, such as the various kinds of acacia: in which case, they took the pains to turn the thorns inwards, and often made very neat fences even with these rough materials: yet in my walks through the town I observed several of these hedges not more even than a faggot, and scarcely five feet high.

In these fences, there is never more than one door-way or opening by which the enclosure can be entered; and which at night, or at other times when no one is at home, is closed by a rude wicker door. This opening is adapted only for the admission of a single person, and is very judiciously made smaller at bottom than at top, in the same proportion which the width of the feet bears to that of the shoulders; thus by leaving as small an opening as conveniently possible, the enclosed area is better sheltered from wind.

The dwelling-house generally stands in the middle of the enclosure, which is divided into a front-court and a back-yard. The

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floor of both these, is formed of clay tempered with the manure from the cattle-pounds, and beaten or spread exactly level, and perfectly smooth. Yet when there is within the fence, no more than one building, it is often placed on the side of the enclosed space.

The houses are universally built on a circular plan, and are, without a single exception, of the same general form and outward appearance; though varying, to a certain degree, in their internal structure or arrangement, according to the wants or inclination of the owner. They vary also somewhat in the proportions of the different parts, and in size; but the linear dimensions of the largest were never so much as double those of the smallest.

It is a circumstance worthy of remark, that the Bachapins, and perhaps every other Bichuana nation, very rarely exhibit angular forms either in their architecture or in any of their works. This, whether derived from ancient custom or from natural judgement, shows a distinct and peculiar taste, and marks an essential difference between their architecture and that of civilized nations. I never saw among them a building, or enclosure, with straight, or right lined, sides; and it seems therefore, that their own observation and experience, has taught these people by practical demonstration, the axiom that a circle comprises a greater area than any other figure of equal circumference; or, as we may suppose their mode of expressing it would be, that a greater number of men or cattle may be contained in an enclosure of that shape, and that thus, the making of the outer fence, or the walls, is performed with as little labor as possible.

The roof of the larger houses, covers a space of ground of about six-and-twenty feet in diameter, and the eaves are supported at the height of four or five feet from the ground, by a number of posts at the distance of two, three, or four feet, apart. These posts are merely rough stems of trees: sometimes, though seldom, the bark is taken off to give them a neater appearance; and in many houses, they are connected together by a wall formed of sticks neatly plastered over with a composition of sandy clay and the fresh manure from the cattle-pounds, or grass cut into small pieces. This wall is about half

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the height of the posts, generally level at top, or sometimes fancifully indented or waved from one post to the other: its thickness is between four and six inches, and it extends only round the front part of the house, or that part which is comprised in the front-court; it is sometimes built separate from the posts and at about six inches on the outside of them. At the distance of about three feet and a half within these posts, stands the principal, or outward, wall of the building, reaching up to the roof and constructed of the same materials as the half-wall. The space between these walls, is commonly used as a sitting-place, when the heat of the sun renders shade desirable; or in rainy or cold weather, at which time a fire is made on the floor, in a placed hollowed out for this purpose.

At other times the fire is always made, in a similar hollow in the floor of the front-court. This fireplace, as already mentioned, is a circular and very shallow basin, having its edge raised a little above the floor, and about two feet in diameter. The fires which are made in these, are very small, as well on account of the scarcity of fuel in the vicinity of so large a town, as of the fear of sparks or flame catching the thatch: for, where all the materials are so combustible and in this climate generally so dry, the destruction of such a house, would be but the affair of perhaps twenty or thirty minutes.

The size of the house properly so called, or the space enclosed by the principal or outward wall, is from eight to thirteen feet in diameter; which are the measures of the smallest, and of the largest houses. In this wall there are no windows, or opening for the admission of light, such being unnecessary, as this part of the dwelling is appropriated to the purpose of a sleeping-place: it serves also as a store-room for clothing and arms, for which, darkness is convenient as it conceals the property from the knowledge of their neighbours or of strangers. The only opening therefore, is the doorway; which may be better described as, a hole in the wall just large enough to admit a person to creep through, and of the shape of an irregular oval, the larger end of which being upwards, and the smaller a foot above the floor.

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Some houses have no further internal divisions: one of this kind is represented in the engraving at the end of the chapter; where it may be seen that an additional wall or skreen is built up within the doorway, for the purpose of making this sleeping-place either darker, or more secure.

Others have a small inner apartment which occupies the centre of the building, as shown in the 9th Plate. This, I was informed, is used as a winter sleeping-place; otherwise, it may be supposed to be intended as the bed-room for the parents, while the outer apartment is for the children.

To comprehend clearly the domestic arrangements of these people, it must be borne in mind that every individual, with very few exceptions, enters the state of marriage as soon as he arrives at a proper age, and then lives in a house of his own; consequently the parents have the care only of the younger children.

This inner or central apartment is frequently built in the shape of a cone, or of a half-ellipsis, the point of which reaches up to the height of the roof which it serves to support and strengthen. In other instances, as in the Plate, its form is cylindrical; and this appeared to be an improved construction. The walls of this, as of all the others, are formed of stout upright stakes or posts, the interstices of which are filled up with smaller branches and twigs, and the whole plastered, and entirely covered, with prepared clay, so as to give the appearance of a smooth wall. The floor of the house is neatly made of the same clay or composition, and kept always smooth and clean. In the largest houses, the height in the centre is about nine or ten feet, and under the eaves, four or five.

The roof is in the shape of a depressed cone, the sides of which form an angle always greater than ninety degrees and most commonly a hundred and twenty; as may be observed in the 5th and 6th Plates, where the figure and angle of the different roofs are exactly those of the houses from which they were drawn. It is constructed of rough poles, or branches, bound together generally with acacia-bark, and meeting at the centre or top. Over these, sticks

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and twigs are tied transversely; and upon them is laid a thatch of long grass or straw; for which purpose the tall grass of the surrounding plains is extremely well suited, and forms a very neat and close covering. To secure the thatch from being blown off by the violent winds, to which so open a situation is often exposed, or by the whirlwinds which occasionally occur in the hot days of summer, a number of thin twigs are stuck into it by both their ends; and several transverse rows of these, alternating with those above and below, are found perfectly to answer that purpose.

In most of the Bachapin houses, the back part both inwardly and outwardly, is divided from the front, by transverse walls; and in the same manner a cross fence separates the front court from the back-yard. This after-part was not enclosed by walls; it might be considered as an open shed, and was generally intended as a granary, or store-room for the principal bulk of their dry provisions.

The corn is preserved in what may be termed large jars, of various dimensions, but most commonly between four and five feet high, and three, wide. The shape of these corn-jars is nearly that of an egg-shell having its upper end cut off: sometimes their mouth is contracted in a manner which gives them a great resemblance to a European oil-jar. They are formed with stakes and branches fixed into the ground and interwoven with twigs; this framework being afterwards plastered within and without, in the same manner as the walls of the building. Frequently the bottoms of these jars are raised about six inches or a foot above the ground: and the lower part of the stakes being then uncovered, gives them the appearance of standing on short legs. Their contents are usually protected by a covering of skin or straw.

This mode of keeping their corn and beans, shows a degree of ingenuity equal to that which is displayed in the construction of their houses, and is to be admired for its simplicity and perfect adequateness to the purpose. In the dwellings of the richer inhabitants, the back part of the house is completely filled with jars of this kind, among which, I have sometimes observed one of much larger dimen-

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sions, and others much smaller. Many families require, for these purposes, an additional corn-house, to contain several more such jars. This house is placed in the back-yard, and is built in the same style, and of the same materials, as the principal house; but is always smaller and enclosed only with a single wall; the doorway or opening taking a sixth, or even a fourth, of the circumference.

Besides this hut, there is commonly, in the enclosure of the kosies, a small hut for their immediate servant or attendant. This is also placed in the back-yard.

There is one quality for which the Bachapins, and probably the other tribes of Bichuanas, are greatly to be admired, and in which they excel all the more southern inhabitants of this part of Africa; the neatness, good order and cleanness of their dwellings. Nothing can exceed their neatness; and by cleanness I mean to say, the great carefulness which they show to remove all rubbish and every thing unsightly: not a twig, nor loose pebble, nor dust, nor even a straw, is to be seen on the floor within the fence; nothing lies out of its place, and it is evident that in the better houses they are continually attending to these circumstances. The houses of the poorer people are not so remarkable for this care; but still they exhibit much neatness.

It is remarkable that the dwelling of the Chief and that of his brother Mollémmi were less important in size and outward appearance, than those of many of the inferior chieftains. The perspective elevation and plan, at the end of this chapter, were drawn from Mollémmi's house; and Mattívi's was in no respect different from this, unless, as I had no opportunity of examining its interior arrangement, it might possibly have been differently divided within. They were both of smaller dimensions than those which are given in the 9th plate; or than those of the engraving at page 511. which is the representation of a house of the largest size. By referring to the explanatory note to that plate, and to the preceding descriptions, the different parts of these two engravings, will be easily understood. A dwelling house belonging to Serrakútu the Chief's uncle, was also of the largest size; a circumstance to be ascribed perhaps more to

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the architectural talents of his wife, than to his own rank or situation in society.

If we consider the habits and customs of this nation, their mode of life, and the state of society among them, we must acknowledge that such dwellings as have now been described, are exceedingly convenient and perfectly suited to every want and fitted to every circumstance; nor, as long as they and the neighbouring tribes remain stationary at their present degree of civilization, can any improvement be required. But should they ever learn so much of the arts of Europe as to acquire a taste for greater refinements and a thirst for higher knowledge, they will naturally feel the want of a different and better kind of dwelling, and will consequently be ready to adopt such innovations as the improved state of their mind and of their mode of life, will render necessary. But whether such an improved state will be seen by the present generation, or by the next, or ever, is an event which may reasonably be considered as at present problematical.

Attached to each division of the town, is generally to be seen one or more enclosures called a móotsi (móatsy)*, cattle-pounds, and in which the cows and oxen are secured for the night. These have been already described; and the nature of the public enclosures where the chiefs and their friends meet for business or for amusement, has been sufficiently explained (at page 371).

It is in these mootsies, or rather in the cattle-pounds, where the chiefs and the different chieftains are buried. The inhabitants in general bury their dead either in their cattle-pounds, or in any convenient spot without the town; but I confess that with respect to their funerals or the ceremonies, if any, which are observed at them, I am unable to give any particular information, as an opportunity of witnessing them, never occurred. It is evident that the Bachapins

* This word is sometimes pronounced mŭtsi (móotsy) and mŭtsi (móotsoo). It has also the signification of a dwelling in general, and includes the idea of house and cattle-pound. The word likháai is used for the same purpose, but I believe signifies more correctly, a cattle-pound.

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are desirous of concealing the burial-places of their friends, or at least, that they have no wish to perpetuate a knowledge of the spot by setting up any mark over the grave, as I no where could distinguish even the smallest appearance of any memorial of this nature. On the contrary, I have heard it frequently repeated, that they often leave the corpses in the plains, as food for hyenas and vultures; though it is not in my power to vouch for the correctness of this information. The former Chief, Mulihaban, who died only three months before my arrival at Litakun, was buried in the cattle-pound next to the enclosure where my waggons were stationed; and I know that it was the law, that no one might enter that mootsi with sandals or shoes on; and that my Hottentots to avoid the trouble of taking theirs off, usually employed one of the natives to drive out my oxen in the morning. Whether this law, or observance, was intended as public respect for the dead, or arose from some feelings of superstition, it could not be clearly ascertained; but it probably is to be attributed to the latter cause.

As it would be impossible to find, in the vicinity of the town, pasturage for the whole of the cattle belonging to its inhabitants, they retain at home no greater number than their wants render absolutely necessary; the rest being distributed at the various cattle-stations, and entrusted to the care of their own servants or herdsmen, or to the younger branches of their family. From these stations the milk is sent once or twice in the week, according to their greater or less distance from town.

The milk thus sent, soon changes its nature, and on its arrival, is always found converted to that kind which they call māshe (or māshi) a buriila (sour or thick milk); and by the shaking which it receives on the journey, little balls of butter are most frequently produced in the bags, the only mode of churning which they are acquainted with, and, I believe, the only occasions on which that substance is produced. These milk-bags are made of a piece of ox-hide sewed together in the manner and form shown in the 42nd vignette hereafter described; and in the 6th plate may be seen the usual appearance of an ox with a load of milk, returning to town from one of the distant stations.

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The cattle usually kept at the town, are generally cows, retained there only by those who prefer or require sweet milk. Some pack-oxen for occasional service, and a few goats, are also fed in the surrounding plain; but oxen for slaughter are always pastured at the out-posts, and driven to town only as they are wanted for use. Of these last, a considerable number are brought in every night, and killed early the next morning. Among their small cattle, I saw a few sheep; but these belonged mostly to the Chief, who had obtained nearly the whole of them by bartering with the Missionaries and Hottentots of Klaarwater. The Bachapins prefer them to goats, and are now endeavouring both to rear and to purchase large flocks, although as yet they are scarce and in the possession of none but the chieftains or richer inhabitants, who have purchased most of them at the rate of an elephant's tooth for each sheep.

The Bachapins possess dogs, but not of a large size, nor apparently of any very valuable qualifications: they are generally very thin and meagre, as their masters themselves devour all the offal which should fall to the share of the animals. They feed them so sparingly that they barely preserve them from starvation; giving them nothing but the bones, and not always these, as the more spongy parts, such as the ends of the leg bones, are frequently eaten by the men, after being pounded to small particles. The hydrophobia or canine madness, is unknown in these regions; and indeed in the whole of the southernmost part of Africa. Even in the Cape Colony this dreadful disorder is so rare, that I never heard of an instance of it during the five years of my being in that part of the globe.

Of horses they have literally, none: and this is also the case with all the Bichuana nations, as well as the Bushmen, and, I believe, with the whole Hottentot race, excepting the Hottentots proper.

With the cat, or other domestic animal, they are totally unacquainted, nor have they the least notion of rearing poultry, or of taming any of the wild animals or birds. Such occupations belong not to the pastoral life; nor can they exist here, as a common employ-

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ment, without a higher degree of civilization than that at which these people have hitherto arrived.

The great and powerful cause which will long operate to check the extension of the cultivation of grain, is the abundance of wild animals to be met with in all parts of the country; and until these shall be reduced in number or driven out of the land, it is hardly to be expected that the natives will turn to settled agricultural pursuits. The introduction of fire-arms among them would ultimately operate to the promotion of tillage, notwithstanding that their first effects might occasion the neglect of it. By hunting, this people would at first obtain food in a manner so much more agreeable than by agriculture, that grain would probably become but a secondary resource; but the evil would remedy itself, and the more eagerly they pursued the chase, and the more numerous were the guns and the hunters, the sooner would the game be destroyed or driven out of the country.

This, although an experiment not to be recommended in these regions, has actually taken place in the Cape Colony, and the result clearly proved that which has just been stated. In a few years more, the game will probably be forced to quit their districts, and the colonists will, consequently, cease to think of hunting. There can be little doubt, that the wild animals have, on this account, been rendered more numerous beyond the boundary, whither multitudes have fled for refuge. And in the same manner, it is probable that the tribes beyond the Klaarwater Hottentots, have benefited in this respect by the fire-arms and continual huntings of these latter.

The mountains in the immediate vicinity of Litakun are composed of a red sand-stone, or grit-stone; varying in compactness, and sometimes of a friable nature. Small fragments which have long been exposed to the air, often exhibit some resemblance to a biscuit or loaf of bread; the atmosphere producing on the ferrugineous particles contained in them, an effect which gives them outwardly the appearance and color of crust.

A rock which may be called serpentine, of a greenish hue and

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prettily marked with black spots or streaks, is found here. It is cut by the natives and by the Hottentots, into tobacco-pipes, and approaches in its nature, to potstone, but is of greater hardness. The natives pretended to set a value upon it, and on my sending one of the Hottentots to get me some pieces, they demanded payment. This was the only spot in the whole of my travels, where we met with this kind of stone; but it is found in Great Namaqua-land, where the variety, though of the same nature and colors, is more handsomely marked or variegated, and is much prized by the Dutch colonists, who also form the bowls of their pipes of it, and have therefore given it the name of pyp-klip (pipe-stone). The Bachapins call it líinchui-a-kăkáana which has exactly the same interpretation; líinchui signifying a stone, rock, or rocky mountain, and kăkána a tobacco-pipe.

The mountains about Litakun are of moderate height and of rounded or flattened forms; and everywhere bare of wood, excepting a few low scattered bushes. Among the shrubs growing on that mountain which I ascended, the Vangueria was the largest; the superstitious belief attached to it, having alone preserved it from the fate of all the rest, which had been cut up for fuel.

The trees which constituted the grove in which the town had originally been built, appeared to be all acacias, but of several species; four of them confounded, by the Hottentots, under the name of camelthorn*, and of these, two were now met with for the first time. The hookthorn, the Cape acacia, and another of smaller growth, grew in some places; but, at this season the vegetable productions of this spot were found to present but few new features.

The climate of Litakun demands in this place no particular description, as it differs little from that of Klaarwater, excepting by a greater degree of warmth. The range of the thermometer, during the three months which I passed at this town and in the surrounding region

* These were Acacia giraffæ; Acacia heteracantha, B; Acacia Litakunensis, B; and Acacia robusta, B. The other species were Acacia Capensis; Acacia detinens, B, and Acacia stolonifera, B.

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within twenty-five miles, is exhibited in the table below*, and the Register of the Weather at the end of the volume will supply further details, which, therefore, are here omitted. The air, though exceedingly hot in summer, and sometimes even cold in winter, is certainly to be considered salubrious, as I never heard the natives complaining of any prevalent disorders which could be attributed to it. Indeed, its aridity during the greater part of the year, and the openness of the country and general dryness of the soil, are a sufficient security against many complaints to which countries of an opposite character are liable: nor is it improbable that all noxious vapors and the baleful influence of an exhausted or contaminated atmosphere, if such may be supposed ever to exist in these regions, are destroyed or corrected by the few nights' frost which occur in the course of the winter.

The landscape about Litakun is generally of that extensive and open kind which presents for the pencil, little which European artists are accustomed to consider as picturesque. It possesses, however, some beauties of its own, which depend more on the effects of aërial tints and the coloring of a warm arid country, than on richness of subject or a romantic outline.

Soon after the commencement of the rainy season, the land in the vicinity of the town, is converted into numerous plantations of corn, beans, and watermelons, and which, equally with the buildings, are the work only of female hands.

* In this table, the observations from which the mid-day heat was reckoned, were not made literally at that hour, but as nearly about the middle, or warmest part, of the day, as circumstances permitted. The thermometer was always in the shade.
Thermometrical Observations made at Litakun. 1812. July 1812. Aug. 1812. Sept.
Number of days observed 15 19 17
Average mid-day heat, by Fahrenheit's scale 69¾ 71 771/2
Highest mid-day heat observed 79 83 881/2
Lowest mid-day heat observed 53 52 61
Lowest degree observed 281/2 43 40

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Excepting these cornfields and the houses, no traces of human labor are visible in any part of the country; no road nor pathway but such as may have been accidentally worn down by passing and repassing, is to be seen either in the town or in the neighbourhood. Within the fence of their own dwellings, all marks of their industry are confined; unless the numerous stumps of trees, to be seen every where about the town, are to be viewed as evidence of their laborious perseverance in the use of the hatchet; but which at the same time bear witness to their want of taste and judgement, in not leaving a greater number of these beautiful trees standing as graceful ornaments to their town, or as a useful shade to their enclosures, or as shelter to their dwellings.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BACHAPINS.

THEIR ORIGIN; POPULATION; GOVERNMENT; WARFARE; POLICY; TRADE; AND LAWS. NATURE OF THEIR CHIEF'S AUTHORITY. THEIR RELIGION OR SUPERSTITION; MORAL CHARACTER; NATURAL DISPOSITION; MENTAL CAPACITY; FIGURE; CAST OF FEATURES; WOMEN; MARRIAGES; CLOTHING; PERSONAL ORNAMENTS; UTENSILS; DISORDERS; MODES OF CURE; LANGUAGE; FOOD; AGRICULTURE; MANUFACTURES; ARTS; AND, AMUSEMENTS.

THE following general description of the Bachapins, is intended rather as a supplement to the foregoing pages, than as a complete account by itself; as the particulars already given in the preceding chapters, are not repeated in this, or are but briefly alluded to: it is therefore necessary to consider them as referred to on every occasion, to supply those deficiences which may here occur, or to elucidate those remarks which may appear to require further explanation.

The origin of that race of men who have been named Caffres, is unknown; and as it seems on every side to be a disputed point which, in the absence of all historic record, will probably long continue

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undetermined, there is no sufficient reason why they should not be regarded as the aborigines of the countries which they now inhabit. The name of 'Caffre,' which signifies, 'an infidel,' is of Arabic extraction, and appears to have been bestowed by Mahometans, on the natives of the southeasternmost coast of Africa, in allusion to their ignorance of Islamism. As the inhabitants of the coast to the east of the Cape Colony, are generally acknowledged to be men of the same race as that to which this name had formerly been given, there cannot be the least hesitation in considering the Bichuánas as Caffres also*, although speaking a different language, and following different customs. In features and person, they bear so close a resemblance, that, on a subsequent occasion, when I had an opportunity of seeing several hundreds of that nation which I have distinguished as the 'Caffres proper†,' I could easily have imagined myself to have been again surrounded by the inhabitants of Litakun, and have fancied that I again beheld many of my former Bachapin acquaintances. Although the languages of these two people are very distinct, yet in both may be found many words which seem to have had a common origin; and some which are exactly the same, or which differ but little. The Sichuána language, however, draws a line of separation between them, and proves that for many centuries the history of the Bichuana nations or tribes, has had little connexion with that of the more southern divisions of the Caffre race. The practice of circumcision, as a custom handed down among them from time immemorial though apparently having no reference to religious rites, is on the one hand, considered as a proof of their descent from some more civilized Mahometan nation; while on the other, I am more inclined to view their close woolly hair, as a natural and stronger proof of their having always been, as they now are, a genuine African race‡:

* See Vol. I. p. 582.

† In distinguishing those African tribes which inhabit the country immediately adjoining the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony, as the Caffres proper, I merely comply with the common custom of the colonists; without pretending to decide the question, whether they, or the Bichuanas, be the more genuine Caffres.

‡ See also page 373.

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besides which, the very name of Caffre contradicts all modern supposition of such a descent. For that practice, they are, as far as I could learn, unable to give any other reason than that of its being the custom of their forefathers, which they are therefore bound to follow; and are probably deterred from the neglect of it, by some traditionary superstition. Neither do there exist among them, the slightest traces of the art of writing, or of any symbolical mark or character; and consequently we must ever remain without hope of assistance from any written record of their past history. Nor are there any where to be found, the smallest remains of antiquity, a subject which in so many other countries, offers to the traveller a field for the most interesting inquiries; but which, nowhere in these regions presents itself for investigation. But there is one record, their languages, which if carefully studied and compared with others, might afford some light by which our reasonings might proceed with safer steps, than mere surmise guided only by facts of an equivocal nature. The importance therefore of gaining some insight into language, in the absence of recorded history or tradition, ought to be deeply impressed upon the mind of every traveller who visits a nation whose origin is unknown. Even the smallest gleanings of such knowledge may often prove highly interesting and useful.

Quitting for the present, the obscurity of conjecture, it will be more satisfactory to take a view of the actual state of the Bichuanas; and more particularly of the Bachapins.* These nations or tribes, as far as we are yet acquainted with them, pursue generally the same mode of life; that is, their riches consist chiefly in cattle; they have each but one town, properly so called; their architecture is circular; their arms are hassagays; their clothing is made of the skins of animals; they wear the kobo†, and their dress is fashioned in the manner already described‡, but the greater part of their body is uncovered; the land which they inhabit is the common property of the whole tribe, as a pasture for their herds; they have no fixed

* See the explanation of these words, at page 303.

† See page 350.

‡ At pages 395—398. of Vol. I., and 318. of the present volume.

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dwellings, excepting in their towns, all others being merely temporary grazing-stations; they are often in a state of warfare with each other, for the sake of plunder, on pretence of mutual retaliation for past robberies, their real object being always the acquisition of cattle; the corn which they cultivate is a species of 'Indian millet;' their tradings are conducted commonly on the principle of barter; beads are the principal medium through which they effect exchanges of goods; and, they are governed by hereditary chiefs whose authority is absolute, although more frequently tempered by general opinion, and still possessing much of a patriarchal nature.

The principal nations of which I could procure any account from the natives, were;—eastward from Litakun, the Támmăkas or Batámmăkas, (Red people) called by the Klaarwater Hottentots, Roode Kaffers (Red Caffres). Their houses are said to be in part formed like those of the Kóras, and their chief town to be but small:—the Kojás (Koïás) or Lukojās, farther eastward, of which little is known:—north-eastward, the Barŏlóngs, consisting of two divisions, the nearer called Marrŭwónnăs under a chief named Massáö, stationed on the Mŏláppo or Mălóppo river; and the farther division called Máïbu, under Makrákki:—the Nuákketsies, whose chief-town, larger than Litákun, is situated on a hill and governed by a chief named Mákkăba, whose country produces the copper ore which is there manufactured:—the Mŏrútzies, (sometimes called Măhútzi) in a direction more eastward than the Nuákketsies:—beyond these, there is said to be a large river flowing to the southeastward, and very probably discharging its waters into Delagoa bay; the river bearing the name of Măkátta, and the nation who dwell on the other side of it, that of Bamăkátta:—the Măkwiin or Bamăkwiin, said to be a numerous and more civilized tribe with respect to some few arts, and are the most northerly of whom I could obtain any intelligence:—the Kárrĭkarrĭ or Bakárrĭkarrĭ, lying far to the westward of these last, and to the northwestward of Litakun; a few of the more southern part of this tribe, and the whole of the following, acknowledging Mattivi as their Chief:— and lastly; the Bamŭchárs and the Mŏkárrăquas, who inhabit the town of Patāni, and the neighbouring country to the westward.

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Of these Bichuana nations, the Bachăpīns* constitute one of the smaller, though not the smallest. In estimating the total population of this, it was not possible to compute from any but the most vague data; and to all my inquiries under this head, I could obtain no better defined answer than, an assurance that there were as many Bachapins living at the out-posts or cattle-stations, as at Litakun. Their numbers, therefore, may be stated at about ten thousand, of which the males constitute a little less than the half. In this estimate, the inhabitants of the town of Patāni, many of whom are of Kora descent, are not included, though nominally under the same chief. The country inhabited by this tribe, may be characterized as every where flat and open; of a sandy soil; and, (as an African country,) well supplied with water.

The mode in which the Bachapin government is conducted, and the history of the tribe, as far as any particulars worth recording are known, have been sufficiently developed in the course of the preceding chapters.† By their rule of succession the chief authority descends from the father to the eldest son. The brothers and other relations, share this authority in a subordinate degree‡; but never appear to interfere in opposition to the prerogative of absolute power. This power, however, is moderated and, to a certain degree, regulated by the opinions of the inferior chieftains or principal men of property in the community§, who are very frequently called together by the Chief for advice; but I was given to understand, by the natives, that even when exerted without control, it is still obeyed without dispute. Thus, should any sudden emergency require a warlike expedition to take the field, the Chief commands the inhabitants to arm; and immediately every man, or as many as may have been called upon, is ready to depart and put in execution whatever orders may have been issued.¶ I was assured that no instance of

* This word I have sometimes, though rarely, heard pronounced Bakăpīn.

† For some information respecting the poorer class of Bachapins, pages 346, 347, and 348. are referred to.

‡ See pages 392. 408. and, 431.

§ See page 272.

║ See pages 476. and 500.

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disobedience, was known. This council or assembly of chieftains, is called a píicho (peecho).

Of the idea of soldiery, or a body of men trained exclusively to arms, or of any corps in the form of a standing army, they are totally ignorant. Every male in the nation, is accustomed from his youth, to the use of the hassagay; and he never leaves his home without taking one or more of these weapons in his hand. This is a custom which the life of a Bichuana renders doubly necessary, both for his personal defence against straggling parties of a hostile tribe, and for the purpose of killing such game as may chance to come in his way. Every man is therefore so much a soldier, that all the nation are equally prepared for warfare, and are equally acquainted with the mode in which it is conducted. All persons capable of throwing the hassagay, are liable, whenever occasion may require, to be called out by the Chief and sent on warlike expeditions, whatever may be their rank or employment: nor is such a requisition ever received but with ready obedience; as any hesitation would be, in a superior, highly disgraceful, and, in an inferior, severely punishable.

Their warfare consists rather in treacherously surprising their enemy, and in secretly carrying off their cattle; than in open and courageous attack or in any regular combat. Their stratagems have in view, rather to fall upon the objects of their hostility during their sleep, to invade their country unexpectedly, or to out-number them, than to meet them in open day face to face, or to fight bravely on equal terms. But if neither honor nor glory, agreeably to European notions of them, attend these petty wars; neither do streams of human blood stain their fields of battle: in their humble way, they boast as much of having killed six men in a single rencounter, as civilized nations do, of as many thousands.

In their warlike expeditions they usually carry shields of thick hide from three to four feet long; but during the whole of my travels in these countries I never saw them in their hands on any other occasion. Neither have I ever seen them carrying a bow and arrows; although they sometimes, yet rarely, are said to obtain these from the Bushmen by barter with hassagays, But it is probable that

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some arrows of this kind, which I saw in their possession and which I purchased from them, were gained by the murder of their owners, or by an attack upon their kraal. And I believe these to be a species of weapon, of which they seldom, if ever, make use.

It is regarded as an honor, to have killed a man on such expeditions, by whatever means it may have been affected; and as a testimony of this, they are allowed to mark their thigh with a long scar, which is rendered indelible and of a blueish color, by means of wood ashes rubbed into the fresh wound (p. 478.). I have not unfrequently seen men with several scars of this kind, and have sometimes counted as many as six: a greater number, however, are said to be not uncommon. But their principal object being the acquisition of plunder, more than the destruction of their enemies, they often succeed in bringing away large herds of cattle: and of these, the Chief always claims a certain proportion. It is by such means, added to a lucrative trade in beads with other tribes with whom they may be at peace, that the Bachapins have greatly enriched themselves in this species of property.

They sometimes also bring away a few prisoners-of-war: these are generally retained as servants; and as they in most instances, fare as well as the lower class of Bachapins and, perhaps, as well as they would, had they remained in their own country, they do not, it was said, often take advantage of opportunities for escaping and returning to their own country: nor could I ever, by any outward appearance, distinguish them from the natives. Such captives cannot properly be regarded in any other, than in the light of prisoners-of-war; or if they are to be called slaves, (a term which must always sound detestable in the ear of every feeling man), they were not generally considered by their masters as common saleable property; and I have heard of several instances, in which they have been allowed to return home; but whether through the payment of any ransom, or by voluntary manumission, I was unable to learn. Muchunka, on being questioned on this subject, assured me, that they rather endeavour to kill their enemies than take them prisoners; but confessed that when children fell into their hands, they were carried away, and brought up as servants; and that these were

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so far rated as their own property, that they were sometimes, though rarely, transferred to another master. This was done only when their captor had a greater number of such servants than he required or than he had the means of feeding: yet they were never, I believe, sold to another tribe or nation. Whenever their parents desired to have their children home again, which often was the case when they were grown up, their masters never refused giving them up for a certain ransom, which amounted usually to the value of an ox and a cow, or a cow and two oxen.

It is true, this practice stands precisely at that critical point where all which is wanting to ripen it into perfect slave-trade, is the presence of one of those unfeeling Europeans who still continue to disgrace, not only a civilized nation, but human nature itself; it hangs on that nice balance, which may with equal facility be turned either way: and here, the presence of a genuine and philanthropic missionary might do some real and substantial good, by preaching the doctrine (now apparently in disuse among a great portion of mankind) of 'doing unto others, as we would have others do unto us.'

In their political alliances and friendships, the Bachapins, it would seem, are an inconstant people, guided only by selfish views and the prospect of booty. There is scarcely a nation around them, excepting the Bushmen, with which they have not at different times been both on friendly terms, and in a state of hostility: one year joining strength with some neighbouring tribe, to plunder another; and the next, perhaps, assisting that which they had robbed, to plunder their late ally. With the Bushmen, they have never, I was told, formed any alliance; but cherish always the recollection of the losses which the Bachapins have sustained from these more successful robbers, for whom they feel well-founded fear and a natural antipathy. Nor had they at this period, a less antipathy for the Nuakketsies, whom they always described to me, with evident hatred, as the worst men of the country.

But a traveller visiting any of these nations, will always be misled, if he depend on any one of them, for the character of the other. In such misrepresentations, mercantile jealousy is largely

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concerned; especially with the Bachapins; for, as these obtain from the Cape Colony beads at first-hand, and at their own price as long as they prevent a communication with any other tribe, they endeavour to deter all visitors from the south, from penetrating farther beyond them, by representing the natives in that quarter as men of ferocious habits.

A short time before my coming into their country, the Bachapins had joined with the Nuákketsies, in an expedition to plunder the Morútzies. Thus far, they were friends; and even till a few weeks before my arrival, as Mókkäba (or Mákkăba) their chief, had just then sent Mattivi a present of several oxen: but since this, some cause of enmity had arisen; or rather perhaps, a jealousy on the part of the latter, lest, by having any good opinion of the Nuakketsies, I might become desirous of visiting their town. A great share of cautious cunning, therefore, was set to work in filling my ears with tales fabricated to their discredit; but these tales were so full of contradictions, that they quite failed in their intended effect. One of the Klaarwater Hottentots, who, with a party of his countrymen, had about four or five years before, visited the Nuakketsies, told me at Litákun, that he and his companions were received there in a friendly manner, and, having bartered away their beads at a very profitable rate, were invited to renew their visit and continue the acquaintance. An English missionary was of this party, and was equally successful in the object of his journey; that of trading for ivory.

The Barŏlóngs, though represented to me and my men, by Mattivi, as a dangerous tribe, were found to be equally friendly; and when they were subsequently visited by a missionary named Jan Kok in company with another missionary, Makrákki their Chief was exceedingly pleased to see them: but, from the same principle of mercantile jealousy which had actuated the Bachapins, he objected to their proceeding on to the next tribe beyond him, whither they were desirous of going, with a view to further trading.

The story of this visit, as I had it from one of the party, clearly illustrates what I have before asserted from my own knowledge

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respecting this principle in Bichuana policy. When the chief-town of the Bachapins was situated on the Kruman river, four missionaries had taken up their abode there under the protection, or, to use a more correct term, sufferance, of Mulihaban, and having brought with them from the Colony a flock of about two hundred sheep, and a large quantity of beads, and judging it possible to barter at a more profitable rate than it was found practicable to do among that tribe, they planned a journey farther into the Interior, in consequence of the favorable reception which the first party just mentioned, had met with. Mulihaban, through fear of deterring other white-men from visiting him in future, did not chuse to prevent them by force; but took steps to frustrate their plan, by representing to them, that certain danger of their lives would be incurred if they persisted in going to the Barolongs, and by assuring them of his having heard that Makrakki would put to death every Colonist who came into his country. At the same time he sent private information to Makrakki, that a party of white-men was coming to murder him, and that he must without delay adopt measures for his safety.

The consequence of this double-dealing was, that on their first arrival, Makrakki's manners towards them, wore a very suspicious appearance, until the parties came to an explanation and the truth was at last discovered; Kok, fortunately, being able to speak the Sichuana language with tolerable fluency. A brisk barter then took place, and four waggon-loads of ivory were procured at the rate of a sheep for each tooth. Their beads obtained but the smaller part of this quantity, because the Barolongs were then more desirous of collecting a flock of sheep, than of purchasing beads; for which latter they were not so eager, knowing that they could always, though at a higher rate, be had from the Bachapins, who on the other hand were not inclined to part with any of the few sheep which they then possessed. These were, indeed, procurable from several of the western tribes of the continent, the Kárrĭkarrĭes, the Namaquas, and the Dámmăras; but as they are a particular variety having long thin tails only, the Cape sheep were far preferred on account of their large tails of pure fat, a substance almost essential to the bodily comfort

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of an African. Part of the beads was therefore brought back, as one party required only sheep, and the other, only ivory; but many more elephants' teeth, as I was informed, might have been obtained, had the visitors brought with them a greater number of these cattle, part of their flock having been consumed on the journey.

Mattivi at the present time still continued to follow exactly the line of policy which his father had drawn, and if all future communications or trade between the Colony and the more northern nations, were to be made through the medium of the Bachapins, it is evident that these would ultimately become more rich, and consequently more powerful, than any of the other tribes.

I would here wish to awaken some attention to a subject connected with the export trade of the Colony; and therefore deserving of a more careful examination: I mean that of establishing with the Bichuana nations, a regulated trade for ivory. Having on a former occasion* confined myself to a mere hint on this subject, among many others proposed in a point of view more especially suited to that occasion, it may, possibly, be not altogether useless now to present it in a clearer light.

The forests or groves of those countries, as far as hitherto explored, are known to abound in elephants. Their tusks are collected by the natives, partly for their own use in making ivory rings and other ornaments, and partly for barter with a few Hottentots who occasionally visit them for that purpose; but it is yet to be ascertained, whether the whole of the ivory thus collected by the Bachapins finds its way into the Colony, or whether any part of it, or of that which is collected by the more northern nations, moves by means of barter from one tribe to another, till it ultimately reach some European settlement or factory, on the eastern or western coast; or in fine, whether a great portion of that which is annually produced in the more inland countries, be ever collected at all, or

* "Hints on Emigration," &c. p. 47. — It has not been thought necessary to incorporate with the present work, all which has before been stated in that pamphlet; because the view which is in that place taken of the various subjects, will be more clearly comprehended in the connected form which it is there presented.

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converted to any use or profit. Enough has been shown in the preceding account, and which my own knowledge of the prime-cost of ivory fully corroborates, to prove that the gains in such a trade, whether on a large, or on a small, scale, would be unusually great; for, as sheep in any number may be purchased in the grazing districts of the Colony, for two rix-dollars* each, it may easily be calculated, after deducting all the necessary expenses, how large a share of profit would remain, even supposing that in future the prime-cost should be doubled, or that beads or other goods of European manufacture should, instead of sheep, become the medium of purchase. But there is little doubt that farther in the Interior, or among tribes hitherto unvisited by traders, the quantity to be obtained would be greater, and the price, less. The establishment of an authorized body of traders, or a joint-stock company, would more effectually obviate those irregularities among the natives, which might possibly ensue from a competition of speculators having separate interests. Such traders would constantly bear in mind that fair-dealing with the natives, would be the only means of ensuring to their speculation, a continuance of success. By forming themselves into an annual caravan of eight or ten waggons with the necessary complement of men, under the direction of a person of discretion, they would be fully equal to their own protection; and by making the port at Algoa bay the point of commencement and termination of their journey, the expenses and duration of the expedition, would be rendered considerably less than if it should be undertaken directly from Cape Town. And besides which, the route from that bay would be much more pleasant and convenient both for the traveller and for his cattle, as it would follow the course of large rivers for the greatest part of the way, and would pass through no country so deficient in water, as the Karró and several other parts of my former track to Klaarwater and Litakun. The arrangements should be so made that

* A Cape rix-dollar, as I have before stated, is equal nominally to four shillings currency, the real value of which varies, according to the rate of exchange, and is at this time (1823) less than two shillings sterling.

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the traders would not arrive among the Bichuana nations during the months when their corn is standing on the ground, as no business of this nature could, agreeably to their customs, be transacted at that season. A glance at the map will at once point out the most advisable road: from Uitenhage the caravan should take the direct road to Graaffreynet; thence, over the Snow Mountains, and along the Seacow river, in which district the required number of sheep may be purchased at the cheapest rate, should the natives still continue to prefer these to beads: the caravan should then cross to the right bank of the Nugăríep, along which it should continue to travel till it reached the Kygăríep; and afterwards following the course of this river upwards till it fell in with the Hart river, it should keep company with this latter stream as far as the Kóra Kraal of that name; and from this point, proceeding northward, it would arrive in the heart of the elephant-country, without communicating with the inhabitants either of Klaarwater or Litakun, whose jealousy, possibly, might operate in throwing obstacles in the way of persons whom they might consider as interfering in a market which they might wish to render exclusively their own.

The length of the journey here proposed, appears, indeed, to present some obstacle to an undertaking of this nature; but it may, with respect to time, be rendered less formidable by stationing a relay of draught-oxen at one of the farms near to, but not immediately on, the Colonial boundary: an arrangement which would be equally beneficial to the caravan either outward or homeward-bound. With respect to the expense attendant upon so long a journey, it would seem that the profits of a trade of this kind, would well counterbalance it; and offer sufficient inducement to put the speculation to the test of at least one journey.

The history of geographic knowledge shows us that mercantile enterprises have, more frequently than any other single cause, opened the way to a better acquaintance with foreign nations and countries. They bring men in contact for their mutual advantage, and bind them in friendship, by the benefits which each derives from the other: they make nations known to each other, whom no motive besides self-

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interest, would have drawn together; and it may be doubted whether there exist among the bulk of mankind and among the different people of the globe, any motive for distant intercourse, so powerful, and so widely extended as this. That policy which induces a state to fetter its own commerce by restrictions on that of its neighbour; for one is the consequence of the other; is narrow and blind indeed, and built upon a principle which seems better adapted for generating international jealousy and enmity, than for exciting an honest spirit of competition by means of greater perfection in manufacture, or increased exertion of industry.

Although a mercantile expedition to the tribes of the Interior, may not appear to promise many advantages beyond that of a trade in ivory, yet it would open the way for men of science and observation who might sometimes accompany it, to examine the contents of those regions: and it will hardly be asserted that by such means we might not discover some source of gain, some stimulus to adventure, of which our present knowledge of the country may scarcely be sufficient to enable us to form any just idea. But to ascend a step higher and take a nobler view; science and general knowledge might assuredly be benefited, and the cause of philanthropy and civilization might probably be promoted, by such intercourse.

To return from this digression, to the policy of the Bachapins; it may be said that they possess none but that which is of the weakest or lowest kind; and which might be designated, more correctly, by the name of cunning. They are not insensible of the value of a friendly connection with the Colony, and always appeared to me to be desirous of possessing the good opinion of white-men; in which light, possibly, we may view their practice of extolling their own pacific disposition towards us, and of representing every other tribe as hostile to all strangers. And it is probable that if the intermediate country, were not inhabited by Bushmen, a race of men whom they hate and fear, they would frequently visit the Cape, or at least, the borders of the European settlement.

The Caffres, who have been mentioned in the preceding volume as having emigrated from their own country on the east of the Great

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Fish River, which, by passing through the Colony by twos and threes, without attracting notice, they accomplished some years before, and established themselves on the Gariep not far below the Asbestos Mountains, had proved themselves, by the aid of fire-arms, formidable enemies to the Bachapins, and had, about the year 1805, made an incursion into their territory and murdered great numbers of the inhabitants, and carried off large herds of their cattle. On this occasion, the Hottentots at Klaarwater and the missionaries, as they informed me, joined in remonstrances and threats to the Caffres, and compelled them to restore the stolen cattle, and conduct themselves peaceably in future. To this spirited step, the Hottentots were not only moved by the complaints of the Bachapins who believed, till assured of the contrary, that it was they who had supplied the robbers with guns and ammunition, but were equally urged by their fear of losing the friendship of the people of Litakun, from whom, in fact, they derived considerable gains by trading; while on the other hand, the Caffres were both unprofitable and troublesome neighbours. The interfering on such an occasion, was much to the credit of the missionaries, and strictly becoming the character of men who profess a religion the prominent feature of which is peace. It is sufficient to prove that the utility of a missionary among savages, is not necessarily confined to preaching.

A short time before the Caffres made this incursion, they had murdered six of Afrikaaner's men; by which act they became possessed of six additional muskets. Thus strengthened they drove the Bachapins before them, and struck them with a panic which, together with the fear of an expected attack by Afrikaaner himself, was the cause of their removing their town from the banks of the Kruman, farther northward to the spot where it was at this time standing.

Of the particular laws by which the Bachapins are governed, I shall say but little; because, whatever they may be, they are not to be known correctly but by a long residence among this people, and by the aid of a better knowledge of their language than I at that time possessed: and the same remark may, with still greater propriety, be applied to

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their superstition; for, of religion, as shown by outward forms of worship, I saw not the least sign.

With respect to their laws and government, as applicable to the lower class of the nation, they seem to be conducted on a perfectly despotic principle; such persons being in fact, the unpaid servants either of the Chief or of the various chieftains, who allow them a scanty portion of food or milk and leave them to make up the deficiency by hunting or by digging up wild roots. The poor, as my interpreter informed me, are always kept poor; and if I might judge by appearances, there are many of that description. Those whom I supposed to be free or without a master, were always emaciated; and this was attributed, I know not with what truth, to a total neglect of hospitality or charity, even towards their own countrymen. In this quality they differ most widely from every tribe of the Hottentot race.

Of crimes not considered capital, the government or Chief, seldom took cognizance, unless they were committed against himself, or by his own servants: offences of a higher kind were, after the necessary investigation, visited with customary punishment; but Mattivi, as I have before remarked, once told me that he always endeavoured to make peace between the offender and him who has been injured, and that he felt the greatest disinclination to harsh measures. I will not venture to assert that this was said through policy and a wish to appear of a mild disposition before white-men, because his words were so far supported by facts, that I never witnessed, nor heard of, any capital punishment or even corporal punishment of any kind, inflicted during my stay in that country: although these affairs, it is true, might easily, from the same policy, have been kept from the knowledge of myself and all my men.

Of the execution of one criminal, which took place a few weeks before our arrival, we were informed without reserve. Having, as already mentioned, secretly slaughtered one of the Chief's oxen, he was apprehended and brought to town; where he was shut up in his own house, and the whole building and the poor wretch consumed

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together, while a party of armed men surrounded it, to prevent his escape. The unconsumed remains of this fire, were seen by some of my men, who, being in search of firewood and not knowing the circumstance, immediately began to pick up the half-burnt sticks. Some of the inhabitants, observing this, desired the Hottentots to lay them down again, informing them that their customs, and perhaps some superstitious feelings, forbade that any person should make use of wood which had been employed for such a purpose.

But the most peculiar of their laws, and one which the Chief was said to be careful to preserve from infraction, is that by which he claims the breast of every animal, whether tame or wild, killed by any of his subjects; and, as I have before remarked, the legal punishment for disobedience to it, is death: but I shall not venture to assert that this is always inflicted, since no particular instance of it ever came to my knowledge, although of the existence of this, as a positive law, I was repeatedly assured.

My observations on the national government of these people, and on the results of it, have led me to believe that it is conducted with regularity and according to established law existing in the form of long-acknowledged customs. It is fully efficient in preserving good order and strict subordination, and in binding a large population together into one body obedient to the authority of a single man, a chief to whom his present power may perhaps have descended through an undisturbed succession of ancestors; although their own traditions will scarcely carry their history back more than two or three generations.

In the preceding chapters of the journal, the character of the Chief's authority is better exemplified by facts, than it could here be explained by abstract description. Being personally known to, perhaps, all his subjects, and acknowledged as that individual to whom naturally, that is, by inheritance, the right of presiding over the national councils and of directing the public movements of his countrymen, belongs, he needs no exterior distinctions to point him out to them, nor has he any necessity for being intrenched with forms and ceremony to secure to him their respect. It seems therefore,

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that as long as an independent head of society is personally known to all who are submitted to his rule, and is approached as an equal unmarked by outward appearances, his authority bears the genuine stamp of patriarchy, a form of government from which legitimate sovereignty has been derived.

By tracing the growth of political society and authority, from infancy to manhood, we behold, first, the father ruling his family with a power which he has received from nature; then the patriarch extending that same power over the distant branches of his family, uniting by common interest all their scattered members, and exercising a species of authority which is removed but one step from parental. As society multiplies, so must authority be strengthened and a power assumed which shall be adequate to the preservation of the common welfare, and to the compulsion of those members who would disturb it: thus, the family becomes a tribe, and the father a chief. At length the numbers of the tribe increase and spread themselves over a wide region: the Chief is no longer equal to the task of taking cognizance personally of every transaction; and a large part of this multiplied family no longer know their ruler, but by name. It now becomes necessary to extend his power in the same proportion, to call in assistants, and to delegate to them smaller shares of his authority; while he himself, conscious of possessing intrinsically neither personal nor mental superiority over those by whom he is surrounded, feels the necessity of investing himself with external distinction: he adopts forms different from those used by the rest of the tribe, assumes prerogative, and seats himself on a throne. The sapling, in its earliest years, while adorned with leaves only, is then but a weak and slender twig; but as its growth increases, and innumerable branches spread widely around, this twig becomes the mighty trunk to which nature has assigned the duty of dispensing nutriment and health to every spray and leaf; and when, alas, the cankered stem ceases to fulfil its office, the oak of centuries, the proud ornament of the land and the admiration of every traveller, withers and decays. So, we behold the father and his children, succeeded by the patriarch and his kinsmen; by the chief and his

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tribe; and finally, by the monarch and his nation: the same parental authority and affection, the sap of nutriment and health, constituting the vital essence of a monarch's, as of a father's, power.

Besides that authority and mode of government which are founded on the parental principle, and which both the history of past ages, and the present state of mankind, seem to pronounce the most natural, because the most general, there is another mode which, though more unfrequent, has, under its proper circumstances, the sanction of a natural principle and of the voice of reason. Orphans continue together to conduct the affairs of the family for their mutual benefit; and small families associate by compact, for mutual protection. If the republican form of government be not so regularly derivable from these principles, as the monarchical, from the paternal, it takes from them, nevertheless, a primary example which Nature offers for imitation in parallel cases.

If those who have lost their natural parents, orphans by misfortune, agree to appoint one of their number to the management of their affairs, or if combined families entrust their power to any individual, whom they may be free to select, retaining at the same time to themselves a certain share of it and a right of control over him, a mixed form of government arises, which is sanctioned by a principle equally just and equally existent in nature.

The authority derived from conquest, though real and often permanent, has in the earlier state of society, no example on which to found its right, but on that of the first robber. So dissimilar is its nature from that of either of the others, that it stands in direct opposition to them all: there is but one case in which it is not high injustice; and self-protection is the only plea to be brought forward in its support.

It did not appear that among the Bichuana nations there was any example of, either the republican, or the mixed, form of government; unless the influence of the chieftains in offering their counsel to the Chief, may be viewed as tending to give it somewhat of the latter character; a conclusion which his conduct on many occasions, will not allow me to draw. Neither could I learn that any of the

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different chiefs possessed a power obtained purely by conquest; but it seemed rather, that weak tribes voluntarily put themselves under the protection of a stronger, as in the instance of the Bamuchars at Patani whose numbers were too few to exist as an independent town, and who have therefore submitted to the authority of the Chief of the Bachapins their nearest neighbours. In the same manner, those of the Karrikarries, whose distance from the great body of their own nation, leaves them almost a neutral and scattered people, acknowledge the Chief of Litakun as their head; while other borderers of the same tribe consider themselves as attached to the Barolongs; nor does it, in fact, make any difference to their individual condition, whether they acknowledge their own natural Chief or whether they place themselves under the protection of any other. The Sichuana language, being common to all these different tribes, seems to unite them into one great nation; and a change of rulers therefore is, to them, little more than a change of persons.

Of the existence of any tribe governed in the forms of a republic, I could gain no intelligence; and such is probably not to be found among the Caffre race. It is a remarkable fact, that while this race have reached nearly the highest degree, or modification, of patriarchal authority, the Hottentot race remain every where at the lowest; and, as it has been shown in the preceding parts of this journal, almost without any head possessed of an actually governing power, a lawless, wild, and uncontrolled people, living in the simplest and rudest form of human society. On contemplating the great difference in many respects between these two races, one cannot but feel a conviction, that there must exist in them some innate and essential principle to cause so permanent a distinction, and which proximity of territory and the intercourse of ages, have been unable to do away or to modify. Every different view of the Hottentot tribes, whether physically, geographically, or morally, considered, serves only to strengthen the first impression which they make, that they constitute an isolated and very distinct race of human beings, whose locality at the southernmost point of Africa, is a mystery hitherto unexplained, and the history of whose first existence in the

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land which they now occupy, will probably for ever remain unknown, as one of those many circumstances of the Creation, the incalculably remote antiquity of which has veiled them, perhaps at the will of the Creator, with the deepest obscurity.*

The movements and emigrations of man over the surface of the globe, form a subject of high interest to a reflecting mind; and in tracing these, we trace the general history of the world. In the greater number of cases, the only records to which we can refer for information and guidance, are personal features, language, and ancient customs. Of these, the two latter are the more usually attended to by travellers, and frequently, as before remarked, supply the most valuable evidence; but the first is certainly not of less importance, and has been neglected only perhaps on account of the greater difficulty of obtaining faithful and characteristic national portraits, to enable us to make comparisons, for the purpose of tracing, or discovering among them, a similar or dissimilar cast of features or of ascertaining the comparative proportions of form and figure. To this task, the pen is quite inadequate, and for the performance of it there remains therefore only the pencil; not, indeed, the pencil of the mere picture-maker who, apparently, has no higher object in view than to please the eye or ornament a book, and whose works, unfortunately, may too often deserve the name of fraudulent im-

* It is a common opinion that the Colonial portion of the race of Hottentots, is yearly diminishing in number, and that it is to be feared that in time it will become extinct within the boundary. How far this opinion is at present supported by fact, may be seen by consulting the table at page 144 of this volume; by which it appears, that in the course of the last seven years, that part of the population of, at least one, and the largest, district, has increased more than a fourth. But it will also be seen, that the numbers of the Colonists have during the same period been more than doubled; and it is this slower supply of Hottentot labor, to the more rapidly increasing demands of the white population, which has created a scarcity of labourers of this class, and which will continue to operate, till it will have at length produced so great a disproportion, particularly on the farms, that necessity will reduce the white population to supply the deficiency from among themselves. It is this proportionate decrease which has probably given occasion to the supposition, that there has been an actual diminution of the numbers of the Colonial Hottentots. As far as that opinion respects the district alluded to, it is certainly erroneous; and further inquiry into the subject may prove that, if not altogether incorrect, it is applicable only to the vicinity of Cape Town.

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positions, and serve but to mislead those who, in search of such information, should draw conclusions from them.

The superstition of the Bachapins, for it cannot be called religion, is of the weakest and most absurd kind; and, as before remarked*, betrays the low state of their intellect. These people have no outward worship, nor, if one may judge from their never alluding to them, any private devotions; neither could it be discovered that they possessed any very defined or exalted notion of a supreme and beneficent Deity, or of a great and first Creator. Those whom I questioned, asserted that every thing made itself; and that trees and herbage grew by their own will. Although they do not worship a good Deity, they fear a bad one, whom they name Mulíimo (Mooléemo), a word which my interpreter translated by the Dutch word for Devil; and are ready to attribute to his evil disposition and power, all which happens contrary to their wishes or convenience.

How degraded a condition of the human heart, how deplorable a degree of ignorance of itself and of its final cause, does this picture exhibit! But it may, perhaps, be more common than we suspect. Instead of turning with cheerful gratitude towards the Author and Giver of all good, they forget to be thankful for what they receive, and think only of what is withheld; they consider Beneficence as dormant; and are insensible to the sun which daily shines upon them, while they behold no active spirit but Malignity, and feel only the passing storm.

The principal object of their superstition appeared to be this evil spirit; whose operations and influence they supposed themselves able to avert from their own persons and affairs or to direct toward their enemies, by the most childish observances or by the silliest beliefs. The representation of an amulet for this purpose to be worn round the neck, may be seen in the fifth figure of the 38th vignette. It is composed of four separate pieces of horn strung together; of these, the two on the outside are made from the hoofs of one of the

* At page 427.

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smaller antelopes, cut to a triangular shape and scored with certain lines, and the two intermediate pieces which are flat bear on their edges several notches which are thought to contribute greatly to its protective and salutary power.

Many of these absurd practices and observances are connected with, or relate to, the growth of their corn, and are imagined to be strongly efficacious, in obtaining a plentiful harvest, and even necessary to promote the falling of a due quantity of rain, which otherwise would not visit their fields. The killing of certain animals during the time while their corn is growing or standing on the land, is strictly forbidden by a law which is scrupulously attended to by every one; and the trading in ivory is under the same restriction.*

The belief in lucky and unlucky omens, is of course, one of their follies; and witchcraft, or rather sorcery, (for in this country old women are not suspected of having any hand in such matters,) occupies a very considerable share of their attention, and forms the principal article of their creed. A reasonable person would not easily conceive the inconsistent notions which they entertain on this subject, or the foolish tales they relate as proofs of the important and serious part it plays in this land. The death of Mulihában their late chief, who, in the month of March had died in reality from the infirmities of age, was said to have been caused by the sorcery of his former friend, and late enemy, Makrákki; and so firmly was this believed by Mattivi and his friends, that it had been resolved to revenge it by warfare and plunder: the son thus pursuing with outrage the man whom his father had already injured. This threat, however, was not put in execution during the time of my travels in the Transgariepine. The oxen which the Nuakketsies, as already related, had sent as a present to the Chief, just before my arrival at Litakun, were found, according to their judgment, to be, by means of Mókkaba's sorcery, completely saturated with evil, for the purpose of causing the death of Mattivi. In order to frustrate the intentions of his adversary, one of these was given as food for my

* See page 481. of the first volume.

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people, and the rest were sent to a distant cattle-station for the use only of his herdsmen.

Without bringing forward every foolish tale and absurd story which they thought proper to tell me, whether they seriously believed it or merely did it to amuse or deceive me, their religion may, in short, be characterized as an inconsistent jumble of superstition and ignorance, among which no signs were to be discovered of its having been ever derived from any purer source, or that it was aught else than the offspring of barbarous and uncultivated minds, in which some occasional traces of cunning might be perceived.

The moral character of the Bachapins, though in general lamentably debased, possesses, however, some virtues, and contains some points for which it may be admired and even held up for more general imitation. These people are, in common society, exceedingly well ordered, and conduct themselves with a remarkably careful attention to decorum in several respects. During the whole of my residence at their town and in my travels through their country, I never saw two men openly quarrelling, nor heard them using abusive language towards each other; neither have I witnessed any of that tribe in a state of intoxication from drinking. The former may fairly be viewed as a positive merit; for the observance of this rule, is, in their estimation, if we may depend on the character which they give of themselves, the highest proof of being a good man: the latter is but negative, as they are not sufficiently acquainted with the art of preparing spirituous liquors, to prove by experiment whether they can maintain their sobriety with more firmness, than the Hottentots have done since the introduction of brandy into their country. They are not altogether ignorant of the effects of fermented drink, as they, in common with the Hottentots, possess the art of making a beverage of this kind from honey and water put into a state of fermentation by the addition of a certain root or by the dregs of a former preparation. This beverage is called boïálloa by the Bachapins, and is well known to the Hottentots by the Dutch name of honing-bier (honey-beer).

Although it has been stated that the Bachapins were never seen

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quarrelling, it must from this not be inferred that they never disagree; for it appears that sometimes, though perhaps rarely, serious quarrels take place, and that these, not being on subjects personally affecting the Chief, are mostly terminated by fighting; as their laws allow the private wrongs of families or individuals to be settled by the parties themselves.*

Their women appeared to deserve the character of exemplary modesty and of the greatest propriety of conduct; as far at least as my own observation and the assurances of others, enable me to give an opinion. They are said to be almost universally faithful wives; and, that they shall be obedient ones, the men have taken sufficient precaution by establishing a law which permits a husband to put his wife to death for certain crimes or even for the offence of offering him personal violence, should he chuse to declare that she did so with murderous intention: while, at the same time, he retains for himself the privilege of committing those same misdemeanours with impunity. But no instance of such punishments ever came to my knowledge. To the ear of an Englishman, the assertion, that women are merely animals or beings of a rank much inferior to man, must sound truly savage: but this I have more than once heard asserted by Bachapins; and hope, for the character of the whole tribe and for their own character as men, that it was said merely as a joke or for the purpose of misleading me.

The great attention of the inhabitants of Litakun, to the removal of every thing unclean or dirty from their dwellings, constitutes a laudable part of their character, but is counterbalanced by a want of personal cleanliness: yet the necessity of greasing their bodies, to protect their skin from the effects of a parching air, may be admitted as some excuse; and the woolly and, if I may coin a word, uncombable nature of their hair renders it almost impossible, except by shaving their head, to free themselves from a disgusting nuisance which generally extends itself also to their clothing.

Among the vices of this people, a universal disregard for truth

* A similar case has been mentioned in the first volume at page 373.

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stands high above the rest. Inferior only to this, is their want of honorable adherence to their promise. The consequence of this habitual practice of falsehood, is the absence of shame, even on being detected.

But the foulest blot on their character, is the indifference with which murder is viewed among them. It excites little sensation, excepting in the family of the person who has been murdered; and brings, it is said, no disgrace upon him who has committed it; nor uneasiness excepting the fear of their revenge. Shall we not hesitate to assert that human nature is superior to the brute creation, when we find among this people instances of the fact, that the shedding of human blood, without the pretext of provocation or offence, and even by the basest treachery, has fixed no infamy upon the perpetrator of so awful a crime; and rarely drawn upon him any punishment from the chief authority; an authority which the Giver of power entrusts to mortal hands, only for the protection of the weak and for the common good? Such, at least, are the sentiments which they express, and such were their replies to my questions on this subject. But I will be more careful of the character of this tribe, than they themselves appear to be: I will not add my own testimony against them; as I cannot give it from my own knowledge of any fact of this nature. And although I have heard tales, and have read similar accusations, yet I hope and believe there may be some foundation for a better opinion of this people, and that, with respect to murder, the Bachapins are not actually so depraved a race.

Selfishness and deceit are vices which thrive luxuriantly in this soil; and, like rank weeds, smother and destroy other qualities deserving of cultivation. Avarice has here also taken root, and grovels along the ground; but ambition of twofold nature, a virtue or a vice, a tree of lofty growth, is here unknown. In company with such characteristics, it cannot be expected that hospitality should exist, even in sentiment; for, some color of an excuse for neglecting it in practice, might occasionally be drawn from poverty or the want of means; but here the richest individuals use the same language to exonerate themselves from this duty, as the poorest; they all alike

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say they are too poor to give. The owner of a hundred cows, after begging for, and obtaining, a present of tobacco, will, if asked for a little milk, answer either, Ka kwóna maashe (I have not got any milk), or Maashi kāaïo (the milk is all gone).

Yet they have among them a custom, which at first sight has somewhat of a hospitable appearance; but which on nearer examination is discovered to be merely an affair of convenience, and much resembling in principle that of mercantile friendships, which end in an even balance of accounts. It obtains only, I believe, between them and the Klaarwater Hottentots, and consists in the selection of a particular person as the friend from whom they are to procure whatever they require. These favors are, either returned in kind, when the other party makes a journey into the country of him whom he has thus befriended, or they are repaid at the time with a present of equal value, if the Hottentot be the party who has received them. Thus, a Hottentot from that village, when he visits Litakun, which he never does but for the purpose of barter, goes directly to the house of his correspondent, whom he calls his maat (a Dutch word identical with, 'mate') who supplies him with milk and assists him in making his purchases of oxen or ivory, and even engages to secure, or collect for him, a quantity of these articles ready at the time of his next visit. From what has been stated of the selfish character of the Bachapins, it will readily be supposed that this generosity is not intended as gratuitous, and he does, in fact, receive in tobacco or other things, what in his estimation is quadruple the value of his trouble, for on their time, these people set no value. On the other hand, if the Bachapīn visits the Hottentot village, he lives with his 'maat' at free quarters; besides the advantage of accompanying the latter from Litakun, on which occasions he himself takes no provisions for their journey. I am unable to say whether this be a general custom between all the Bichuana tribes; but even so far as it has already been traced, it is sufficiently interesting, as it exhibits the first dawn of one of the essential principles of international traffic, and shows us what mercantile agency is in its infancy, or at its birth.

The character of the Bachapins, as it relates to their natural

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disposition and temper of mind, will leave on the traveller a less unpleasing impression than that which he must receive from it when viewed morally. They appeared to possess a remarkably even temper, or otherwise, an admirable command over their resentment. I rarely observed any other expression of displeasure, than a change of countenance, or a more silent manner, or a thoughtful reserve; and my own observation alone, would lead me to conclude that vehement anger is never to be found among them. This conclusion though not literally correct, may, confidently be taken as a general assertion very characteristic of the people. This quality cannot here, as in the Hottentot, be the mere negative effect of apathy; because these men are widely distinguished from him, by a great share of animation. A lively activity keeps them constantly in health, and subdues all tendency to a melancholic or phlegmatic habit.

Their pleasure and surprise are expressed without the least reserve; and perhaps if one of these natives were to be exhibited in the more polished society of our own country, he would be thought the most vulgar creature on earth, while the Hottentot would pass for a man of better breeding. But this part of their character must be defended from misinterpretation, and it must be declared that I never witnessed in their country, any of that low disrespectful boisterous freedom and rudeness which constitute vulgarity, according to the meaning which we attach to the term: as to the literal import of the word, no Bachapin is vulgar in manners, whatever some may be in rank, for as there is no perceptible difference between the address and behaviour of the Chief and of the lowest of his subjects, and as the highest personage in a country must be supposed to be so far remote from vulgarity as to be the best model of its opposite qualification; consequently none of this tribe can possibly be called vulgar in either sense of the word. This was, in reality, the idea which their presence and manners always gave me; and a manly confidence combined with respect untainted with servility, raised them equally in the scale of society, and in my opinion.

They possess a considerable share of good-nature, and a readiness to render any assistance which personal service can give. The former

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I believe to be a genuine expression of their sentiments; but I may not assert that the latter always proceeds from a disinterested motive.

They are fond of conversation; and in this manner spend much of their time. They rarely meet each other without stopping to chat; and in travelling about the country, they will go a long walk out of their way, to see another for the purpose of inquiring, and communicating, news. In listening to a person who is relating what he has seen or done, they attend to him without offering any interruption, unless it be to assent to his narration, by occasionally introducing the word Eē (āy), meaning 'yes,' or by sometimes repeating the last word or two of a sentence. This is a natural mode of politely showing that they are listening to the speaker. Many facts may be noticed among wild unlettered nations, which prove that true politeness and complaisance are natural perfections, and not artificial acquirements; and that rudeness and coarse behaviour are not necessarily the accompaniments of an uneducated mind, but rather the manifestations of a depraved one. The semblance of politeness is nothing more than a tribute which some men pay to the real image, as an acknowledgement to virtue.

The Bachapins are active, and, when occasion may require, never shrink from the fatigue of a long journey. They are far from being slothful, although they have in fact, allotted several of the more laborious duties to the women: but they have retained for themselves all those which are the most active. A man's merit is estimated principally by his industry, and the words múnŏnă usináachă (an industrious man) are an expression of high approbation and praise: while he who is seldom seen to hunt, to prepare skins for clothing, or to sew koboes, is accounted a worthless and disgraceful member of society. From their earliest youth, every individual in the nation, without distinction, is trained to all those occupations which are regarded as befitting a man; and therefore, the business of tending their cattle, forms the usual duty of the boys, with the assistance, and under the superintendance, of a few men at each cattle-station. Filial obedience is strenuously enforced; and fathers were said to take especial care that they would never spoil their sons by sparing the stick.

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They are exceedingly careful to avoid exposing themselves to the rain; as wet injures the leather of their cloaks, and occasions them much additional trouble in rubbing it continually to prevent its becoming hard in drying. However desirous and anxious they may be for showers during the time while their corn is growing, they seemed to have a strong natural dislike to be themselves wetted by a shower: the sensation of rain beating on the skin, is said to be disagreeable, and this, added to the consideration that every part of their clothing is of leather, may be sufficient to explain the haste with which at such times they run to shelter, and the reluctance with which they quit it, excepting in dry weather. Some portion of this dislike may be attributable to constitutional feeling, which, in a country where the ordinary state of the atmosphere is excessive aridity, must be very different from that of the inhabitants of England, where it is exactly the reverse.

Considered generally, they are a timid race of men; but to remedy this defect, they adopt stratagem; yet no experience or knowledge of my own would justify me in giving them the character of being treacherous as a nation: I have not, however, equal hesitation in giving them that of gaining their private ends, by cunning and bad-faith. True courage, one may be inclined to believe, is but thinly sprinkled over this land; and the whole tribe would probably fly with precipitation, before a handful of brave and resolute men: or, if they ventured to attack these, it would only be by night, or from an ambuscade.

However defective or perverted their judgment may be on many subjects, they are to be admired for the candour with which they freely own that white-men are greatly their superiors, not only in arts and customs, but even in mental capacity: and we must confess that in this acknowledgment they are greatly our superiors in good-sense, and deserve in this particular point, to be respected and imitated by those European nations whose arrogance or blindness makes them imagine that the inhabitants of no other country are equal to themselves. Such Europeans who despise the humble example of these Africans, may yet be taught one lesson of humility;

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and, by turning their view to some Asiatic nations, may be made to confess that in vanity and arrogance, they are there out-done.

White-men are called măkwá măshū; which appears to be a literal translation of the English word, if I may thus venture a conjectural explanation. The first man whom the Bachapins ever saw wearing the European dress, were some Colonial Hottentots, who about twenty years before the date of my visit, began to find their way into this country, and to whom the first discovery of the Briquas (Bachapīns) is attributed.* These latter, adopting then, according to this supposition, the Hottentot term qua or kwa, for ' men,' and adding their own prefix mă, called their new visitors makwá: but afterwards, finding that another nation also wore the European clothing, who differed widely from these 'makwá' by the white color of their skin, they distinguished these second 'makwas' by the word shu (white), adding to this also, as the proper idiom of their language requires, the prefix ma; thus forming the term makwá-mashū.

Of the mental capacity of the Bachapins, I have given an example when explaining my method of gaining some knowledge of their language†; but this is, perhaps, the most unfavorable specimen; and in many affairs, connected with their own mode of life, where necessity has gradually developed the faculty of reflection, they exhibit considerable shrewdness. In forming our judgment respecting the degree of intellectual power which may exist in men of uncivilized habits and untutored minds, we must not pronounce absolutely on the evidence before us, but must endeavour to imagine what it would be capable of effecting by due care and cultivation.

The Bachapins are unable, or seldom make an attempt by words, to numerate above ten, which they call súmi‡ (soomy); and denomi-

* The name of Briqua occurring in Sparrman's map, proves that the existence of this tribe, was known at least by name, so early as forty years before; and the word Houswana in Le Vaillant's, ten years afterwards, is most probably intended for Muchuána or the same people (see the note at page 303.): but in both maps they are placed not far from the western coast, very distant from their true situation, and where, it is said, no Briquas or Muchuanas have ever resided.

† See page 295.

‡ Sometimes pronounced shúmi.

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nate any greater number by the term íntzi-íntzi or intsíntsi; or an unusually great number, by the expression intsíntsi lisŭm (a great many tens). In reckoning the number of a large herd of cattle, they separate them into tens, and thus gain a more distinct notion: but in ascertaining whether any be missing from a herd with which they are acquainted, they depend, as they say, solely on their knowledge of the colors, particular spots, size and countenance, of each animal. This last method proves their great strength of memory *, as well as some mental perception, when necessity forces them to use it: and although this latter faculty may not be found equally strong when applied to other purposes more unusual in their mode of life, yet the fact plainly shows that it needs only a different education to bring it into action on many other occasions where at present it appears lamentably feeble.

There is little doubt that, small as this power may at present appear, it will admit of an extension much beyond its present bounds, although it be an experiment which hitherto has never been tried. With this view it would be highly interesting to make the trial, by bringing half a dozen, or more, boys of this nation, to England, to be educated in useful learning and instructed in those arts which might be most likely to contribute to the civilization or improvement of their countrymen at their return. In this manner they would by mutual conversation with each other while in Europe, preserve the knowledge of their own language while they were acquiring ours, and at the same time would give us a favorable opportunity of examining theirs, and of reducing it to a regular written form by which they might be enabled to record useful information and, under the care and assistance of some liberal-minded and sensible European, communicate to the youth of their own country the civilizing influence of letters.

When I speak of civilizing the native tribes of Southern Africa, I mean not to be understood as asserting that their minds are susceptible of a very high polish, or as being very confident that they are

* See page 373 of the present volume.

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naturally capable of the higher branches of human knowledge. For, without any example before us, of a nation of blacks who have risen to the higher degrees of civilization, such a presumption would be utterly groundless: it can therefore, at present, rest only on the wishes of the philanthropist. But, that they may be rendered better and more reasonable men, by the introduction of a purer system of morality than that which they are now following, is an assertion which may be made, without the least hesitation.

The Bachapins are men of well-proportioned figure, and generally of the height of six feet; but many are met with of shorter stature, and a considerable number are taller. Though they have the appearance of being robust, yet they possess much less muscular power than Europeans. As they always travel on foot, and thus increase the strength of those muscles which are used in walking, they are able to perform very long journeys with comparatively little fatigue; and from the same cause, they have acquired by constant practice, the power of throwing the hassagay with some force; but in all other modes of exertion they evince a weakness which the form of their limbs would not seem to indicate. To a traveller who has been first accustomed to see the small and delicate hands and feet of the Hottentots and Bushmen, those of the Bachapins appear to be large. Though the hand is nearly of European proportion, the feet are, from walking oftener without sandals than with them, larger and generally very coarse.

The Bachapin whose portrait is given in the tenth plate*, was

* The tenth plate is the portrait and figure of Chaasi, a Bachapin of the richer class. The whole of these portraits, as here engraved, were completed from the life, without presuming to embellish them by additional decoration, or improvement of any kind. This drawing was made at a place which I have distinguished on the map as my Garden, where Chaasi accidentally visited me. It was my custom, as before mentioned, to pay in tobacco, those who allowed me to draw their likeness; and as this man's sibbáta (snuff-bag) was not large enough to hold the quantity given to him, he tied the remainder up in a knot at the corner of his kobo. It was necessary to mention this circumstance, in order that the knot might not be viewed as the usual form of the cloak. For the same reason, it must be explained that the kobo is not always worn in front, as it is here represented: but in walking, it is a very common practice to place it so that it may protect them either from the sun or the wind. The stick or club in his hand is called in the Sichuana language, a mullamu: by constant practice, these men have acquired the power of throwing it with great precision; and frequently kill the smaller animals, such as hares and weasels, which they occasionally surprise in the plains. The upper part of his head was thickly covered with sibiilo; but the lower hair was left in its natural state, and is here engraved in a manner which will give a correct idea of its short woolly appearance.

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selected from among his countrymen, as exhibiting a fair specimen of the national character, with respect to figure and cast of features. A number of other portraits, which were taken during my residence at Litákun, were drawn for the purpose of showing every variety of countenance and feature, and among them are several which differ much from that plate: some having more resemblance to the Guinea Negro, and others, on the contrary, to the Hottentot or Kora, with whom there frequently exists a real consanguinity; which latter resemblance may be seen in the eighth plate. The head of Bŏklóokwĕ at page 433. shows the change which Bachapin features undergo from age: and the two at page 529. are given as a representation of a fanciful mode in which the young men often cut their hair. They have not the excessively flat and dilated nose and the very thick lips of the Negro of Guinea; although examples more or less approaching towards them, may often be seen: nor have they the remarkably pointed chin or narrowness of the lower part of the face, which distinguishes the Hottentot race. In figure they are much more robust than the latter.

While drawing many of these portraits, I was much struck with the little agreement which their proportions have with those of a European head. The relative position or distances of several features, differed often in a most remarkable degree; and the head of Mollémmi would set all the rules of the art at defiance. In this occupation it appeared that nothing could be done but most scrupulously to copy the subject, even in those parts which a portrait-painter does not consider necessary to be done from life: but a traveller must, whether he would copy figures or landscapes, adopt more rigid rules, and unless he throw aside all European 'manner,' and cease to indulge in those licences which custom seems sometimes to tolerate

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in the professed artist, it is impossible that his drawings can fulfil the purpose which he may be supposed to have in view; that of bringing home faithful representations of what he has seen, whether as memorials for his own gratification, or for the information of his friends, or for the use of the public; the object of the 'artist' being rather to display his talents in the art, by producing a pleasing picture. The former considers the art as the means of exhibiting nature, and of conveying information: the latter regards nature as the medium through which he may display his art, and afford amusement.

The women are in figure very different from the men, and exhibit little or no beauty of proportion or form. Besides their great inferiority in stature, the inelegant manner, excepting the kobo, in which they are clothed, adds much to the clumsiness of their shape; and those of the shorter size, resemble a mere bundle of skins.

They wear the same dress as the Hottentots*; but call the 'fore-apron,' by the names of makkaabi or moteeno (motáyno), and the 'hinder apron,' by that of museesi (moosáysy). Their legs, from the foot to calf, are most commonly covered with thick leathern rings, not indeed for ornament, as they give their legs a most clumsy appearance, but for defence against thorny bushes, and similar obstructions, which they almost every where meet with in walking over the plains.

They seemed to possess a full share of good-nature and a kind disposition. In their youth they are lively; but as they advance in years, the laborious duties of their station, and the complete submission which it demands, render them sedate and careful. I remarked nothing in which theirs differed from the general female character of other nations; a milder temper than the other sex, a greater inclination to domestic employment, and an affectionate care for their infants, were as visible here as in a civilized land. It would appear that the female character, independently of the influence of education, is less distinguished by national differences, than that of the male:

* The Hottentot dress has been described in the first volume, at page 395.

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the range and variety of its occupations being naturally more circumscribed, it continues nearly in the same state, because the situations in which it is placed, have many circumstances in common with all the rest of the world. Often, when in the presence of a crowd of these poor African women, one might be led to fancy that they were not so very far below the uneducated peasantry of Europe, as the term 'savages' induces us to suppose; and this, certainly, would not altogether be an imaginary feeling: for, surrounded by a crowd of men, one could not, for a moment, forget that we were in the midst of a nation differing extremely from our own; but on turning to hear the conversation and remarks of the women, we might seem, in an instant, to have travelled several thousand miles nearer to Europe, and to feel less sensibly the impression of being in a strange land.

In public the women do not much associate with the other sex, their occupations being distinct: the men employing themselves in the chase; in warfare or plundering; preparing leather; sewing clothes, even those for the women; making various implements, such as hatchets, knives, and all similar articles; milking; in attending cattle; and in all work in which oxen are used: — while the women build the houses; plant and reap the corn; fetch water and fuel; and cook the food. It is very rarely that the men are seen helping the women, even in the most laborious work. It must not however be inferred from these remarks that they are deficient in mutual affection; that would be too unnatural to be probable; but their affection towards each other, if a stranger may give any opinion, appeared to possess little of a refined character.

Nor is this to be wondered at, when most of their marriages are formed without consulting the inclinations of the intended wife. In many cases the girls are betrothed while yet but children; the bargain is made with the parents, and to them the price is paid: for she is in reality sold; and on this account, the husband considers her generally as a servant whom he has bought to build his house and cook his food. There is little difference between such a wife and a domestic slave. Though the girl should have arrived at a marriageable age before a husband appear, yet even then she is purchased of

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the parents; whose consent or refusal is of more importance to the match, than the approbation or disapprobation of the daughter. Ten oxen is accounted a high price for a wife: but judging from the poverty of the greater number of Bachapins, the average value may be rated as below five; and as there are few of the lower class who possess more than the cloak which covers them, their wife would be too dear, if she cost only a goat. According to the information I obtained, there were scarcely a dozen men among the whole tribe, who were not married: nor can this appear an extraordinary circumstance, but to those who have been born in a civilized country, where the artificial state of society renders that union an affair of the head rather than of the heart, and where calculating prudence often steps forward to forbid it altogether. Here the poorer class do not stop to consider whether their wages will enable them to support a wife and family; nor does any of the richer wait till he have accumulated more property and increased the number of his herd to that of his neighbour's. On this point the savage stands superior, and here he seems, according to the law of Nature, wiser than the polished inhabitant of a more civilized land.

If the marriages of this tribe be attended with any special ceremony, this is altogether unknown to me: I never could learn that any particular form took place, as necessary to confirm the matrimonial contract, and render it legal; nor do I believe that any further arrangements are required, than those which have just been stated.

Those women who are of pure Bachapin descent, have very little personal beauty; and all that can in general be said, is, that in their youth their features are not unpleasing. Those of Kora descent might, perhaps, sometimes be thought tolerably pretty at that age; and in more advanced years they often preserve a better appearance than the others; as may be observed in the eighth plate. The number of Bachapins who have taken wives from among the Koras, is not small. This seems to be a prevailing custom, with that class who can afford to purchase them; while at the same time the Kora

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parents prefer foreign husbands for their daughters, because the Bachapins pay them ten oxen, which is more than they can obtain in their own tribe. On the other hand, the Koras, as if to counterbalance this irregularity, are equally unpatriotic in their choice, and often select their wives from among the Bachapins.

It may be said that vanity is to be found even at Litakun, and that it follows the same general rule as in other countries, and in most instances holds in direct proportion to the gifts of Nature in personal endowments. I have often been amused at the various effects produced on a party of young women, by my looking-glass; those who were pretty continued for some length of time viewing themselves with a smiling air, while those of a different complexion returned the glass after the first glance, and were unable to prevent their countenance from betraying disappointment.

But all feel that universal desire for personal decoration, which is not only natural to the sex, but the total absence of which, more especially in youth, may even be considered as an indication of a wandering from the usual track. They sometimes, when desirous of exhibiting their beauty in its most attractive light, adorn themselves on the cheeks, the forehead, or the nose, with streaks of red ochre mixed up with grease. This piece of coquetry may gain the admiration of their own countrymen; but it would have a very different effect upon a European, who would view it as the most absurd disfigurement which could be devised.

They are fond of wearing some ornament in their ears: that which is in most general use, is the manjéna (manyána) or ear-drop, a small pendant made of copper wire, and of the form and size represented on the opposite page, by the two outermost figures. It consists of a thin wire very neatly wound about another of larger dimensions and terminated by a small knob formed by a piece of copper hammered round the end; the upper part being bent into a ring by which it is fastened to the ear, in the manner shown by the 7th plate. They are not always worn in both ears at the same time: sometimes as many as six are appended; and most frequently more than one.

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These and most other personal ornaments, excepting the ostrichshell girdle * for the women, and the lekáaka for the men, are worn equally by both sexes.

The place of the manjéna is often supplied by a tállămă or button, either of metal or of wood; or even by a piece of stick or a reed.

The upper figure of the above engraving represents, in its proper size, part of a necklace formed of small bits of wood very neatly cut to fit and cross each other alternately.

Another very common ornament is the liséeka† (lisáyka) or copper bracelet; which exhibits considerable ingenuity, and skill in workmanship: but neither these, nor any other ornaments made of copper, are the work of the Bachapins. They are manufactured by some of the more northern tribes; particularly by the Bamăkwīns (Bamăkwéens) and Morútzis (Morootzies), in whose country that

* Described in the first volume, at page 396.

† Or măshéeka.

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metal is said to be so abundant that a sufficiency for their constant consumption may be collected on the surface without the labor of mining.*

These bracelets are perfectly pliable; and the manner in which they are rendered so, and the neatness of the work, prove that those tribes have attained some skill in the working of metals. They may be considered as a ring of hair covered with copper wire. This wire is of their own manufacture: the hair employed, is taken from the tails of the kokūn, of the giraffe, or of other animals affording thick and long hairs. The four lower figures of the engraving in the preceding page, represent, of their proper thickness, a part of four different bracelets; for the purpose of showing, not only their structure, but their different varieties. That on the right, is the plainest and most common sort: the two intermediate bracelets are made in the same manner, but with the addition of small rings, (such as are represented separately,) fixed on at intervals: the one on the left is the least common, as it evidently cost more trouble in making, being formed entirely of such rings fastened on separately. These rings are in fact but short bits of copper bent into that form, and the ends skilfully hammered together: from which it may be concluded that they are unacquainted with the art of soldering; nor did I ever see among the natives any example of this art. These bracelets are so favorite an ornament that the wrist is frequently covered with them. The same, but larger, are sometimes worn above the elbow; and by some they are worn under the knee.

Beads, which they call sikháka, are, it is scarcely necessary to repeat, worn in profusion by both sexes, in the manner either of

* To the mineralogist it may be interesting to remark that the Bamăkwiin and Morútzi countries, and the koperbergen in Little Namaqua-land, are the only places in the extratropical part of Southern Africa, where copper has, as yet, been found, although its existence in other places, is not improbable. It is said, perhaps with some exaggeration, to be so abundant about the koperbergen (Copper-mountains), that it lies on the surface of the earth in the form of loose lumps of ore; and judging from a specimen in my possession, this ore appears to be sufficiently rich in metal to deserve more attention than it has hitherto received. The subject is, at least, worth some investigation.

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bracelets, or of girdles, or of necklaces; although a large proportion of the inhabitants are too poor to afford themselves this decoration; which thus becomes in some degree a mark of distinction. The favorite colors at this time, were, as already noticed, black, white, and light-blue; and the size, between an eighth and a quarter of an inch in diameter. Other colors and sizes, were also worn; and a sort variegated with lines or spots of a different color, and but little less than half an inch in diameter, were much admired. Besides the common porcelain beads of European manufacture, iron or copper beads are much worn, though less esteemed. These are made by the same tribes and in the same manner, as the small rings just described. Plain rings of brass or copper, are frequently to be seen on their fingers: this ornament is called mitsánna.

But the most remarkable peculiarity of a Bachapin woman, is the mode in which she dresses her hair. The appearance and form of it, may be seen in the 7th and 8th plates. The hair in its natural state* is so excessively woolly that it never forms itself into locks, unless it be left to grow for a great length of time and clotted together with grease or dirt.† It can therefore be only by much pains and continual care, that the women bring their hair into so singular a state. They form it into innumerable threads of the size of thin twine, which, hanging in equal quantity all round the head, have the appearance of being fastened at their upper ends to the centre of the crown; while their lower ends, being all of an even length, are never allowed to descend lower than the top of the ear. These threads, being well powdered with sibilo which adheres to them by the assistance of grease, continue perfectly loose and separate from each other. The weight which they derive from this mineral, keeps them always in a perpendicular position, and so exactly parallel, that the head seems to be covered, rather with something artificial in the form of a cap or small bonnet, than with any thing which naturally belongs to it. It is only when the wearer walks or makes a sudden

* Which may be seen in the portrait of Chaasi; plate 10.

† Such as may be seen in the portrait of Boklóolwe, at page 433.

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motion, that these threads are seen to separate; but on the person standing still, they immediately resume their proper place, and are hardly ever observed out of order. Women of the poorest class, or those who care little about personal decoration, do not wear their hair dressed in this manner; but all the rest follow this as the general fashion.

The usual dress of the men consists of no more than three articles — the kóbo, the pŭkóje, and the licháaku: to which may sometimes be added, the khúru.

The kobo, or cloak, is of two sorts, which have already been generally described*; and a reference to the different plates of this volume, will give a complete idea of all its varieties: sometimes in very hot weather, a small leopard-skin is worn instead of the larger kinds. Some account of the various skins of which it is made, and of the mode of sewing them together, will be found in the following pages.

The pŭkójĕ (pookóye) or, 'jackal' requires no further description in this place†, as its form or size never vary. Sometimes one of the corners by which it is tied, is lengthened by a cord which is allowed to hang over one hip as low as the knee and is ornamented at the end with a few large beads.

The licháaku (lechárkoo) or sandals, have been mentioned before‡ and by the representation of them at page 380§, it will not be difficult to comprehend the manner in which they are made. The soles consist of a single piece of thick hide, generally that of

* At page 350.

† The pŭkójĕ, pŭkō;li, or pŭkóghĕ, has been described at page 318.

‡ At page 398. and in the note at page 459. of Vol. I.

§ That engraving shows the upper and under sides of two pairs of sandals of different makes. In the figure on the right, the leathern straps pass between the great toe and the next: in that on the left, they are intended to pass over all the toes. The two small intermediate figures are given for the purpose of showing the manner in which the strap, which is of a single piece, passes over the foot, (in the figure on the left), and is fastened to the two transverse straps which are fixed to the sole. The upper, of these two figures, shows the end of one of the transverse straps; and the lower, the form which the other strap takes when fixed into it. Their appearance on the foot may be seen in the engraying at page 291., and in the ninth plate of the first volume.

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the ox; and the straps, of that of some antelope. These soles are always much larger than the feet, especially in the fore part, for the purpose of guarding them from the grass and bushes, or, perhaps, of giving a firmer step on loose sands. Unless when the nature of the ground or of the country require them to use such protection, these people more frequently go barefooted, even the chieftains, and the chief himself.

The khúru (khóoroo) is merely a cap of fur or leather, made to fit close to the head: it is of no constant or particular make; nor is it worn by the greater number.

Ivory rings, such as the two upper figures here represent, are worn round the wrist, or above the elbow, by men of the richer order:

sometimes more than one are seen; but whether these be any peculiar mark of rank or distinction, or whether the wearing of them depend only upon the persons ability to purchase them, is a question which my information does not enable me to determine; but there is little doubt that here, as in other countries, many signs by which the higher classes of society are distinguished at first sight, as dress or

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equipage, are to be regarded merely as a display of their riches. The poorer Bachapins were more frequently without any personal decoration whatever.

Of these two rings, the figure on the right, was taken from one which was presented to me by Mollemmi, the last time I saw him, and two months after I finally left Litakun. He took it off his arm at the moment of parting, and delivered it to me as a proof of his friendship. It is the only thing of the kind which, during my travels among the Bichuanas, I ever received gratuitously.

The platted bracelet, shown by the middle figure, is made of the entrails and sinews of animals, or more rarely of bark. It is decorated with copper or porcelain beads, and, when new, has a large appendage formed by the loose ends of the plat hanging together in a long bunch which in time becomes much clotted by the accumulation of grease and red ochre, or sibilo.

Amulets of various forms hang constantly round the neck of those who have faith in them, or who feel a necessity for their protection; but many persons are seen without any thing of the kind. The lower figure on the right represents one which has already been described at page 550.

The opposite figure on the left is that of the makká (makków) or dancing-rattles, which are worn round the ankles during the time of dancing; but I never on any occasion saw them made use of: in their nature and effect they do not differ from those used by the Bushmen and described at page 65. Each separate pod, which appears to be formed of skin, contains usually a few small pieces of the shell of an ostrich-egg, or little pebbles.

The lekáaka (lakárkar) or ear-plate, is a thin plate of copper suspended from the ear in the manner shown by the engraving at page 433., where it is represented nearly of the largest proportion. Its weight is considerable, which, with its size, would render it a most inconvenient ornament to any person who had not been gradually accustomed to wear heavy substances in that part. It is suspended by means of a short piece of stick passing through the lobe of the ear, and to which stick it is fastened with strong gum or wax.

[page] 573

It is made of various sizes between two and five inches in length, and was observed to be worn only by men of the richer order; but never by women.

Tállăma or buttons, whether of European, or of Bichuana, manufacture, are much esteemed; and those which are quite plain, are preferred to such as bear any stamped figure. They are employed in a variety of ways, as ornaments; but never, as fastenings for their clothing: for this purpose, they find small thongs of goat-leather more useful, and more secure.

Various parts of animals are viewed as ornamental; and hares' tails appeared to be regarded as a great decoration to the head; and the bladder of that, or of some small quadruped was often to be seen affixed to the hair. Of these latter there were most commonly more than one; and sometimes six or more, were appended. Hair from the mane or the tail of the kokung, was often placed as a crest upon the crown of the head: and the tail of the kaama, or that of the Crescent-horned Antelope, with the hairs spread out and pressed flat, formed a very usual, and much admired, appendage to their leathern cloaks, in the manner shown by the engraving at page 529.; in which, and in plate 10., may be seen a very common practice of ornamenting the edge of such cloaks with small holes.

Young men, especially those of the richer class, are not without a desire of exhibiting themselves to the greatest advantage, and sometimes an affectation of peculiarity in dress or decoration, points out the aspiring youth of haut-ton. The two figures at the beginning of this chapter, represent the heads of two 'dandies' of Litakun. Their hair had lately been cut, and doubtlessly in the newest and most admired fashion. In that on the right, the lower part of the back of the head had been shaved, or rather, scraped, bare; and two parallel and curved lines, also scraped bare, surrounded the head, and at their meeting behind, formed an angle: while the rest of the hair was left in its natural state, thick and woolly. They say that this operation of scraping is attended with pain, and I readily believed them when I saw the instrument with which it was performed; a small piece of iron sharpened at the end

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like a chissel, bat with an edge not keener than an ordinary knife. These bald lines, which might be compared to a path-way mowed through a field of corn, were sometimes single; and some of these fashionable young Africans were observed having the whole of the head scraped bald, excepting a small patch on the top. In the figure on the left, the lower part of the hair is also scraped away; but instead of those bare lines, the fancy of the wearer led him to distinguish himself in a manner which he thought more becoming, by allowing a tuft of hair at the back of the head, to grow as long as possible. This latter was a fashion followed also by Mattivi, who, in addition, covered the top of his head with a profusion of grease and sibilo. Some, instead of sibilo, protect their head by a khúru or cap either of fur or plain leather; but as this piece of dress is not common, there are very few who are not at all times both bareheaded and barefooted. Some of the young men display their taste by wearing very large ivory-beads round the ankle.

Many of the chieftains, and others of that class, when not armed, carry a stick about five feet long and of the same size as the shafts of their hassagays. This they call a tsámmă*, which implies a 'walking-stick,' though it is merely carried in the hand, and never used as a support or assistance in walking: from being so much accustomed to the hassagay, they take the tsámma probably with no other view than to avoid being empty-handed.

The true color of their skin, which is black though considerably lighter than that of the Guinea negro, is so universally disguised by red ochre or sibilo, as more fully has been explained on a former occasion (page 256.), that a Bachapin in his natural color, is a rare sight. It is in the dry season of the year, that they most adorn themselves with sibilo, as rain is considered inimical to its beauty; though in reality this substance is used, but in a somewhat less quantity, at all seasons.

Several useful articles are carried about them as constant

* The word tsámmă means also 'to walk' 'to go away' or 'to depart'.

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appendages, and are always hung round the neck. Of these the tĭpa (téepar) or knife, is the most common and the most indispensable. The first or uppermost of these figures will convey an idea of the kind most frequently seen; the second represents one without its sheath and with a more ornamented handle; the third is one of the

most handsome, its handle and sheath being carved out of ivory. The blade, which is made with an edge on both sides, is mere iron: the Bachapins seemed to be unacquainted with the difference between that and steel.

Their knowledge of metals is very imperfect; and they were totally ignorant of their relative value according to the estimation of civilized nations. The word tsiipi or tsīpi (tseepy), used alone, signifies iron,; tsīpi ĕ kúbĭlu, literally 'red iron,' expresses copper: tsīpi ĕ tsē;ka, 'yellow iron,' was the name for gold as well as brass; and silver was called tsípi ĕ chu (or shu), or 'white iron.' It seems, therefore, that the word tsipi may be taken as equivalent to that of 'metal.'

The handle and sheath are most commonly of horn or wood variously carved; the latter part consists of two flat pieces bound together with sinew: the front piece alone is ornamented. To the hinder

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part is tied a thong by which it is fastened to a necklace, while the lower end of it is left hanging below the knife for the purpose of keeping it in a perpendicular position.

In the lower figure, the two weasels on the sheath are left in 'high relief;' and from this some idea may be formed of the patience of these people in carving. But all work of this kind is done, perhaps, merely for amusement; as it is generally carried about with them, and taken in hand only when they have nothing else to do: so that it proceeds in a very desultory manner, and a long time passes before it is finished. Those parts which are black, are cut into the ivory, and filled up with a dark gummy substance.

Suspended in the same manner as the knife, they frequently carry a sibbáata; which is a small bag for holding tobacco or snuff.

The thū;ko (tóoko) or needle, is a very usual appendage; it belongs exclusively to the men, and is one of which great use is made. It is always kept exceedingly sharp, and may more properly be named an awl. The figures here represent a thūko, and three varieties of

sheaths. These sheaths are varied merely according to the taste of the maker: they are made of leather, and at their upper end a

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transverse tube of the same material is formed for the purpose of receiving the cord which goes round the neck, and perhaps also for keeping them in a perpendicular position.

The work which they perform with this instrument, although proceeding very slowly, is admirably neat and strong, two qualities in which it far excels all which I have seen of European sewing. Their thread is the divided sinew of animals*; than which, no fibre possesses greater strength. Their manner of sewing is; to place the two edges of the leather to be connected, close by the side of each other, and, if fur, to place the hairy sides together; a hole, barely large enough to admit the thread, is then, with the utmost precision, pierced with the thuko, and the sinew inserted with the hand. The durability of these seams consists not only in the strength of thread, but in each stitch being fastened; so that the breaking of one does not affect any of the others: they are also rendered impervious to the wind, by the care which they take to make the holes no larger than the thread. To this end the gradually tapering form of the thuko is especially adapted; for thus, with the same needle, holes of any size may be made with the greatest precision, by so placing the finger and thumb, that the instrument shall not penetrate beyond that part which is just of the thickness to make a hole of the size required; or, in other words, they place the finger at the part where it is of the same thickness as the thread. Although they admired the greater expedition with which my Hottentots worked with needles which drew the thread through by means of an 'eye,' yet they expressed not the least wish to possess any of these or to make use of them; and when some of my people employed them to assist in making their leathern trowsers, the natives always used the thuko. Their method was in reality the best in every respect excepting despatch; but as expedition in work, instead of being an advantage to people who have more time than employment, is rather a disadvantage, as it would often leave them without the means of amusing their otherwise vacant hours, they viewed our superiority

* See Vol. I. page 214.

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in this and in many other things, as a matter of mere curiosity, but not of interest.

They frequently wear suspended from their necklace, a whistle; either of ivory, as the second of these figures; or of wood, as that on

the left, the string of which is decorated with iron beads. They are sounded in the same manner as the reed-pipe*, and give a shrill tone, well suited for the purpose of making signals to persons at a distance: they were said to be used also on their elephant-hunts. In short, whatever article is of frequent use and of light weight, is fastened to the neck.

The kētsi (káitsi) or bag, hangs by a long cord across one shoulder, and is usually taken with them when they leave home, or go on a journey: in this they carry any thing which cannot conveniently be slung about the neck; and as it hangs as low as the hip, and sometimes much lower, it is virtually the same as a pocket.

* Which has been already described at page 410.

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In hot weather they sometimes carry an umbrella made with ostrich-plumes fixed round a small circular piece of stiff hide through the centre of which a long stick passes and forms the handle. The whole apparatus has precisely the form of our parasols, and differs only in its materials; but has an exceedingly elegant appearance.

The smaller black feathers which cover the wings and body of that bird, are applied to a very different, but equally useful, purpose. They are tied round a thin stick of the size of the shaft of a hassagay, which is thus covered for two or three feet along the upper part of its length; their points turning outwards. This feather-stick often renders the natives important service when hunting or attacking the larger and more ferocious wild animals. If in approaching too near, these creatures should suddenly turn upon them, their only chance of escaping, is by immediately fixing the feather-stick into the ground, and taking to flight. As this apparatus is always carried in a manner to be most conspicuous, the animal, seeing it standing up before him, mistakes it for the man himself, and vents his fury upon it: by which stratagem the man gains time, either to escape to a place of safety, or till his companions come up to his assistance. In this manner the life of one of my Hottentots was once saved from an enraged rhinoceros.

When they are on a journey, and often at other times, they carry suspended from their neck, a lorúlo or stick for procuring fire. Nothing can be more simple, as it consists only of two sticks about six inches long and not so thick as a finger. On the side of one of these, several round hollows, although one would be sufficient, have been cut out for the purpose of receiving the end of the other stick. When they have occasion for fire, either for cooking their food or for lighting their pipe, they place the hollowed stick on the ground and hold it steady by pressing the foot upon one end: some dry wood is then scraped into one of the holes, and the end of the other stick inserted or placed perpendicularly in it; while a small quantity of combustible matter, such as dry grass, is heaped close round the hole: the perpendicular stick is then twirled round between the palms of the hands, with as much velocity as possible; and by continuing this

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motion, the violent friction upon the lower stick, in a short time causes the powder and the grass to take fire. The Bachapins were unacquainted with any other mode of obtaining fire, till the Hottentots taught them that of the flint and steel; but though a considerable number of small brass tinder-boxes and steels, made expressly for being carried in the pocket, have been from time to time brought to Litakun, yet these people were rarely seen to make use of them; and habit is still so powerful that they seem to think their own lorúloes, or fire-sticks, the most convenient.

Of the personal appearance, dress, and decorations, of the Bachapīns, the foregoing descriptions may suffice for giving a general idea.

The aridity of their atmosphere, conjointly with a plain and simple diet, is the cause of the catalogue of their disorders being but short. The small-pox has, once or twice, as before stated, found its way into this country; and, besides carrying off great numbers of the inhabitants, has left on the faces of many whom it spared, lasting proofs of its visit; but I never saw among them any symptoms of elephantiasis or other variety of leprosy, nor of any other disease of that complexion; although indubitable proofs of these dreadful maladies may be observed among all the more southern tribes. Under these and so many other exemptions, therefore, it may be called a happy land. They are sometimes visited with ophthalmia; but a single case of blindness was all that came under my observation: nor did I any where see a cripple or a person of deformed figure.

There are men among them, who make a profession of curing disorders; but I had no opportunity of learning whether they really possessed any medical knowledge; as all the answers which could be obtained to numberless questions put at different times on this subject, only tended to show that the healing-art among them was nearly as low as their religion, both equally founded on the most absurd beliefs and mixed with the grossest ignorance. They seemed to rely more on charms and amulets, than on the properties of any drug; and those plants which were pointed out to me as medicinal, were most frequently directed to be used in a manner which, if they

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had any efficacy, could hardly bring it into action. But as it is a well established fact, that the mind, through the medium of the innumerable nerves which pervade every part of the animal system, acts in many cases more powerfully upon the body than medicines, it is not improbable that these charms and amulets, however ridiculous they may appear in our better judgment, may have often a useful, and more than imaginary, effect on those who have faith in them. These pretended healers do not deserve even the name of empirics, since their practice does not appear to be guided even by observation or experience. For the cure of inflammatory affections of the eye, which at particular seasons are very prevalent, they are said to use no application whatever.

There are, however, some few rules which, though now followed as custom, may have formerly been the result of more observant men. Their mode of arresting the progress of the poison in wounds from the arrows of the Bushmen, as it was related to me, is not unreasonable, though rather rude: it consists in scarifying the flesh around the wound with long and deep gashes. It is evident, whether they know it or not, that by dividing the veins which lead from the wound, they intercept the circulation of the blood through that part, and, consequently, prevent the poison from spreading. It is probable that they also cut out the part immediately surrounding it; although this is merely surmise. But such a method can only be successful, where the arrow has not penetrated deeply. Neither the Bichuanas, nor the Bushmen, poison their hassagays, and therefore the wounds made by them are healed merely by the application of a salve compounded of grease, and charcoal reduced to powder.

Their language, so important and interesting a point in the investigation of man in an uncivilized state, so important to the philologist as an historical and geographical record, and so interesting to the philosopher as a picture of the art of speech in a state but little beyond its infancy, would seem to claim a more attentive examination than it would be convenient, in a work of this nature, to bestow on the subject. As far as my researches hitherto, have enabled me to make a comparison between the Sichuana and other

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African languages, it may be said that some faint traces of it are to be seen over the whole of Southern Africa, but that, to the north of the equinoctial line, alluding to the western coast, not the least appearance of it is to be discovered in the vocabularies of any of those languages which have come within my reach. In that of the Caffres immediately adjoining the Cape Colony, many Sichuana words occur; but the dialects of the Hottentot language continue to this day, as distinct from those of the Bichuanas, as the two races themselves.

The general tone of the Sichuana language* is exceedingly soft to the ear, and, few syllables ending with a consonant, the remarkable abundance of vowels and liquid letters gives it a smoothness of sound in which it is not surpassed by any language of Europe; while the great number of double vowels† produce an easy flow which, in deliberate conversation, is most expressive and pleasing.

A proof that there exists in it a just and harmonious combination of vowels and consonants, is, the surprising rapidity of utterance which it admits of, whenever any animating subject excites the speaker to rise above the usual tone, and hurry beyond the usual rate; both which are moderate in all ordinary conversation. This extraordinary volubility of enunciation, not to be imitated in the Hottentot tongue, offers another confirmation, if it were necessary, of the widely distinct origins of these two races of men.

From the specimens of the Sichuana, which I have collected, it would appear, either that this people's love of euphony or smoothness of sound, induces them, as before noticed, very frequently to sacrifice grammatical precision; or that this language possesses a variety of inflections which follow perhaps no rule but that of present custom. Various unconnected particles, perhaps unexampled in other languages, intervene between words; if these particles are not

* For the pronunciation and orthography of this language, the note at page 296. must be consulted.

† These I have often written as single, with the mark of 'long quantity' over them.

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to be considered either as terminations or as prefixes. The plural numbers of nouns are very frequently formed in a manner which appears reducible to no general form; and in substituting one letter for another, great licences are taken, instances of which have been given in many parts of the foregoing pages.

The following specimen of the Sichuana language will serve to exemplify the preceding remarks.

Múnŏnă	A man.
Móontu	Men.
Mŏsárri	A woman.
Băssárri	Women.
Mŏsárri o Muchŭána	A Bichuana woman.
Băssárri ba-Bichŭána	Bichuana women.
Mŏsárri o mùngklje	A handsome woman.
Múnŭna o máashue	An ugly man.
Shu	White.
Măkwáa măshū	A white man.
Síngkă kwa	Look there.
Unkŏ kwáanu or kwánu	Come here.
Lee kwānu	Give it me: literally; Give here.
Ee	Yes.
Niá or njá	No.
'Nchá	A dog.
Máncha	Dogs.
'Nchu	Black.
'Nché	An ostrich.
Njátu	A cowry shell.
Loháka	A feather.
Lipáka	Feathers.
'′Nku	A sheep.
'′Nko	A house.
'Nkó	The nose.
Klóŭ	An elephant (and sometimes, by synecdoche, Ivory).
Maklóŭ	Elephants.
Péeri	Two.
Chárnu	Five.
Klóŭ tsérri péeri	Two elephants.
T or Táŭ	A lion.
E táŭ péeri	Two lions.
Táŭ lĭchárnu	Five lions.
Tsámmŏ ŭépa lichúsi	Go and dig roots (small bulbs).
Tsammā	Go away.
Tsámmă	A walking-stick.
Tsámmă e teliili	A long walking-stick.
Tsámmă e kutsáali	A short walking-stick.
Mabáali or Măbbáani	Yesterday.

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Tiipa i bŭkáali	A sharp knife.
Tipa i bŭbūï	A blunt knife.
Litiipa	Knives.
Hárra	Father.
Na tiipa i ne hārri	Give (the) knife to (my) father.
Lee siháaka Mollémmi	Give (the) beads (to) Mollémmi.
'Mpá máashe	Give (me some) milk.
Lee kíghe	Give (me something to) eat.
Eēs	(A Bachapin form of salutation.)
Eē ĕ rumēela	(The answer to it. See p. 431.)
Mā	Mother.
Ma chun	Our mother.
Nuanjánna	An infant.
Nuenjánni	A bird.
Linuenjánni	Birds.
Ku e nuenjáani, or Kúlŭku nuenján	A little (paululùm).
Sicháka	A bird's nest.
Licháka	Birds' nests.
Silléepi	A hatchet.
Liléepi	Hatchets.
Bíina	To dance.
Biitsa	To beat.
Biitsar ĭ kō;bo	To beat a cloak.
Ke sarríi	I am busy.
Méetsi achílĭ mŭshä	The sand absorbs the water; or sand absorbs water: literally; Water, (acc.) drinks sand (nom.).
Máashĕ achílă líinshe, or 'ntsi	The fly drinks the milk: literally; The milk, (acc.) drinks the fly (nom.).
Ná ka si ūklwá	I do not understand (you).
Búä káapi	Say (it) again.
(ow) u ŭklwi	Do you understand? or, hear?
Ti ă ŭkwa	I understand (you): or; I hear.
Ka ki ŭklwi Sichuáana	I do not understand Sichuāna.
Ka ti búï Sichuāna	I can not speak Sichuana.
Mattiivi o káï	Where is Mattívi?
Mattiivi búä Monārri ĕ kwárri Takóon	Mattivi says (that) Monārri (must) come (to) Litakun.
Ki a kwárri Takō;on	I am going to Litakun.
'A ki íitsi or 'A che éetsi or 'A ke siíitsi	I do not know.
Táata	Strong.
Mútŭö tătáajŏ	He (is a) strong (man).
Buklóoku	Sick; unwell; bitter; sour; poisonous.
Méetsi ă bŭklóoku	Brackish water.
Múnŭna ŏ bŭklō;oku	A sick man.
(ow) u bŭklō;oku	Are you unwell?
Mosárri buklóku táata	My wife is very ill: literally; Wife ill very.
Liină jă háaku ĭ māng	What is your name? literally; Name your's, what?
U	Thou, ye, or you (nom.).

[page] 585

Ueena	Thee or you (acc.)
Okáaï	Where?
U e ăkáaï	Whither are you going?
(ow) káaka kantsíntzi	How long shall you be gone?
Ki káaka koréli (or koríri) péeri	I shall be absent two months.
U cho ĕkáaï	Whence do you come?
Ki chua ko Krúmăni	I come from the Kruman.
Tia bóona	I see.
Ke bóonje klu mabáali	I saw an elephant yesterday.
Ti síilă kŏ bóono üēna or üēla	I am come to see you.
Lée ki bóonji	Let me see it: literally; Give (that) I (may) see.
Rubĕētsi	He sleeps.
Ba rubĕētsi	They sleep.
Ki a kāana	I will not.
Kómo	An ox; or 'horned cattle' in general.
Kómo ĕ namăkhári; or by syn alœpha, Kóme namăkhári	A cow: literally; a female 'komo.'
Kóme '′nchŭ	A black ox.
Kómo tser '′nchŭ	Black oxen.
'Nchá ĕ shiili mŏkácha	The dog has burnt his tail.
I káchuĕ pítsa	Clean the pot.
Pítsa ĕ káchŭa riili	The pot is clean.
Pállămă ŏ kuchára siséeshi	Climb (up the tree) and gather a flower.

In giving the preceding selection, as a specimen of the Sichuana language, my object here is merely to exhibit its structure and some of its peculiarities. This I have judged to be more interesting than a bare list of words, from which no insight into its nature or grammatical construction, could be obtained. Several examples of irregularities or, what I have supposed to be, incorrect pronunciation, may be seen. As the particular case which each phrase is intended to exemplify, may be discovered by inspection or by a little examination, I have, in order to confine the subject within the limits of a summary, abstained from critical remarks. With respect to the pronunciation of these words, and the marks here made use of, sufficient explanations have already been given on different occasions*; and to which a reference, if necessary, may now be made.

The Bachapins are a people who, in almost every thing they do,

* See pages 253, 254. 296. 303. 307, 308, and 309. of the present volume.

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adhere to ancient customs; but this character has nothing of peculiarity in it, as it belongs to that great mass of mankind who are too indolent in mind to think for themselves; and for whom custom is, perhaps, the safest guide; though one which never leads to improvement or discovery. From this cause, Bachapin agriculture is extremely simple, and artless; it is, as before remarked, performed entirely by women. To prepare the ground for sowing, they peck it up to the depth of about four inches, with a kind of hoe, or mattock, which differs in nothing from the pēeklo or adze* excepting in its being two or three times larger.

The corn is put into the earth in the months of August or September, according to the earlier or later falling of the rains; and is said to be reaped in April or about that time. It is of that kind which is known by the names of Indian Millet, and Guinea-Corn; and is called in the Cape Colony, by that of Caffre Corn†, being of the same species as this last, yet differing somewhat from the others, although the difference is scarcely to be distinguished but by the botanist. The growth of the plant resembles that which is well known in English gardens under the name of Maize or Indian Corn; and, vulgarly speaking, it may be said to differ from it only by producing a large upright bunch of small round grain, instead of a solid cylindrical ear. The Bichuanas call it mábbĕlĕ (mábbaly)‡ and are fond of chewing the stalk, or rather, cane, the juice of which they find agreeably sweet and refreshing.

This grain is most commonly eaten simply boiled; but they sometimes pound it (having nothing that can be denominated a mill), and after boiling it with milk to a solid substance, leave it till it become very sour; in which state they call it bukóbi, a name which my interpreter explained by the Dutch word brood (bread), a word which the Colonial Hottentots apply to any vegetable preparation of a similar consistence, however different in quality.

* Described in the first volume at page 406.

† Holcus (Sorghum) Caffrorum.

‡ Sometimes pronounced mabbēli.

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They cultivate also a considerable quantity of lina (lenówa), a small species of kidney-bean.* The seeds are, I believe, eaten only when ripe, and not in the state of green pods. These seeds are of scarcely half the size of the smallest beans of the English gardens, and like them, vary much in color; but the plants themselves are all of the same growth, being erect, about a foot and a half high, and showing no disposition to twine. Their flowers, in some varieties, were of the most beautiful blue; and in others, of a yellow color. The pods grew upwards and in pairs.

At the time of my residence at Litākun, it was not, what may be termed, their garden-season; and no where was the least appearance to be seen which could have induced me to believe that they practised horticulture, as all their crops had long been gathered, their land lay neglected and uninclosed, and they had not yet begun to plant the seeds for the next season. I obtained, however, seeds of various sorts with their names, and descriptions of the vegetables. They were principally varieties of a species of water-melon called lekătāni: one with yellow seeds was called lekătāni leféeü; another with red, lekătāni náhănă; with green, lekatāni kwóü; and with black having a white margin, lekatani 'nchŭ. These were said to admit of being dried in the sun, for the purpose of being preserved as a store for winter; but whether they were at this season unusually scarce, or the natives were too greedy to part with their food, it is a remarkable fact, that I never once saw any of these latter, nor was I able to procure any by purchase. They have also another sort of water-melon named leshuátze, which is eaten boiled; and another called lekhāpu, which was said by my interpreter to be 'the Cape sort.' The lepútzi or pumpkin is equally common in their gardens; and the calabash gourd† is much cultivated for the sake of its shell or síkkwo which performs a very important part in their domestic economy, as it furnishes them with drinking vessels and milk-bowls, of all sizes.

* This corresponds with the description of Dolichos Catiang, a species which is also cultivated in the East Indies.

† Cucurbita lagenaria.

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This is the extent of their horticulture: and, that it does not include the tobacco plant, is a circumstance greatly to be wondered at, when it is considered how excessively fond they are of smoking, and that the nations beyond them, as well as the Hottentots at Klaarwater, cultivate it with success; and where they have therefore seen, and become well acquainted with, the plant. But this is again a proof of the force of custom, and of the slowness with which uncivilized men admit improvement, when it combats ancient habits or prejudices; for, on being asked why they did not themselves grow tobacco instead of begging it from every stranger, who visited them, they replied, that they did not know the reason, but believed it was because it had never been their practice to plant it. Yet the cultivation of this, and of various useful vegetables which I mentioned to them, was confessed to be a desirable object; and it appeared from this acknowledgment that they were not absolutely averse to making the attempt. They were, on the contrary, exceedingly pleased and thankful, when I put it in their power to cultivate the potato and the peach, by giving them, as before related, a quantity of each.

The pursuit of agriculture, though deemed by them of high importance, is not, however, carried so far as to put the nation in a state of plenty; and it will have appeared in the course of the foregoing pages that want of food is sometimes the lot of many, and that abundance is the good fortune of comparatively only a few. To fill up this deficiency, and escape starvation, or at least to mitigate their daily hunger, they are reduced to the necessity of searching the plains for those wild roots which nature offers; the produce of the chase, though sometimes plentiful, being too precarious for their constant dependence; and spontaneous fruits of no kind, excepting the small berries of the Guárri* and the Moréekwo†, being any

* Different species of Euclea are, as before mentioned, called Guárri by the Hottentots (See Vol. I. p. 387.); but that species which I met with most abundantly in the country of the Bachapins, is the
Euclea myrtina, B. Cat. Geogr. 2573. Frutex 4—5-pedalis, foliosus, ramosus, dioicus. Folia nuda plana lanceolata obtusa. Baccæ glabræ globosæ pisi magnitudine, nigræ, dulces et sub-astringentes.

† Moréekwo is the Sichuana name for the Grewia flava. See Vol. I. p. 364.

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where to be found. The berries of the moreekwo bush, are of an agreeably sharp flavour.

Among their various eatable wild roots*, the most remarkable is the Táma, on account both of its enormous size, and of its being the only species of Bauhinia† hitherto discovered in Southern Africa. The plant consists of several long slender branches spreading on the ground to the distance of six or ten feet, furnished with round leaves which are nearly divided into two, and producing large yellow flowers, which are succeeded by a pod of considerable magnitude, containing several brown seeds or beans. It grows only in sandy plains, where the root attains the size of a foot and a half in length, and half a foot in diameter. It is of a reddish color when dried, and in appearance not much unlike the water-yam; but is of a very astringent taste, which the natives correct by boiling in milk. The seeds also,

* Of the wild roots which are more commonly eaten, a species of Gladiolus called litúin or litúing, and another of Babiana called lichús, which is the general name for bulbs of these genera, are met with very frequently in the Great Plains of Litakun: and besides these, there are various other species of Ensatæ, which the natives dig up for the same purpose. They have all, when slightly roasted, a sweet and agreeable taste, much like that of chesnuts.
Gladiolus edulis, B. Catal. Geogr. 2240.
Bulbus oblongus. Scapus simplex 1—11/2-pedalis. Folia angustissima linearia glaucescentia trinervia (nervis duobus marginalibus elevatis) scapo duplò triplovè longiora. Flores dilutè purpurascentes. Corollæ laciniæ, acuminatissimæ apicibus contortis, obovatæ; quarum superior erecta, et reliquæ 5 æquales patentes maculâ lanceolatâ saturatè purpureâ medio flavido notatæ. (Vide Bot. Reg. 169.)
Babiana hypogea, B. Catal. Geogr. 2241.
Folia linearia angustissima, et etiam ferè filiformia, (aliquando minùs angusta) villosa scapo (2—3 plovè) longiora (variat aliquando foliis glabris). Scapus subterraneus, ut quoquè tubus corollæ, et capsulæ. Flores purpurei brevitèr pedunculati, laciniis corollæ mucronulatis. Spatha bi-vel potius tri-valvis, valvis 2 coadunatis ad apices verò discretis.
Cyanella lineata, B. Catal. Geogr. 2256, 2.
Scapus spicatus subramosus. Pedunculi elongati, basi bracteâ lanceolato-lineari suffulti, medio aliam minorem gerentes. Petala ovato-lanceolata dilutè rosea, nervis 5 saturatioribus picta; 3 superiora reflexa intermedio recurvo, infimo cymbiforme. Anthera inferior reliquis major.

† Bauhinia escalenta, B. Catal. Geogr. 2414.
Radix ingens (sesquipedalis) esculenta. Caules humifusi 6—10-pedales subramosi, cirrati. Folia nuda orbiculata integerrima, ad basin ferè bipartita. Racemi laterales. Pedunculi elongati. Caules, folia nondùm explicata, et calyx, rufo-pubescentia. Petala flava obcordata, et obovata. Germen pedicellatum. Semina magna subglobosa fusca glabra.

[page] 590

which are called támmănĭ or litámmănĭ, are much eaten; and are sometimes strung into necklaces.

The Bachapins may be said to be little acquainted with arts, and to manufacture only a few things of the simplest kind. I have given them due praise for their architecture, with regard to the neatness of their dwellings and the plan on which they are constructed; and for the perfection to which they have brought the art of sewing leather. But though in other works they possess, what may be termed, latent ingenuity, yet I could discover nothing, except these two, which could claim absolutely any admiration from a European. With reference, however, to the implements they make use of, several articles of their manufacturing deserve commendation, as exhibiting at least proofs of great patience.

The means by which they bring raw hides, and the skins of animals, into the state of leather, seemed to be principally mechanical, as they certainly do not at present practice the art of tanning by steeping the skin in any lixivium. They sometimes smear them with the brains of the animal, and say that this assists their other operations in rendering the skin more supple and soft: the Hottentots and Bushmen follow the same practice, but not always; nor is it an essential part of the process. They may possibly employ the juices of some plants containing the tanning property*; but this never came under my observation.

Their method therefore consists in loosening the texture of the skin by continued rubbing, stretching and scraping: this is performed in various ways. Small skins are prepared in the hand, and are frequently carried about with the person, that they may be thus rubbed whenever he may find leisure, or be in want of amusement.

The larger skins consume much labor and time before they are made fit for use. The manner in which these people usually work upon them, singular as it may appear to a stranger, is not unreasonable, as it seems to have been devised with a view to convert a laborious

* See page 243. of the first volume.

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employment into an amusement. The skin being laid upon the ground, and having another skin stretched under it, several men, from two to as many as can sit round it, employ themselves upon it at the same time. The operation of bringing it into the state of leather consists in alternately pushing it together and distending it. If only two persons are at work, they sit or kneel opposite to each other, and at the same instant, push the skin forward, not only by the movement of their hands, but by that of their whole body; by which the operators are brought almost in contact with each other. Then quickly rising, they draw themselves backwards, and pull the skin open. Immediately they again drive it together, and again stretch it out; continuing all the while to keep time to these movements, by a strange savage noise more like that of dogs fighting over a bone, or of wild beasts growling and yelling over their prey, than of men singing for amusement; for such it is meant to be, although more properly described as a howling and grunting. If several persons engage in this employment, half their number at a time go through these motions; and on rising up, the other half fall forwards and push the skin into a heap in the centre: thus each party making their movements alternately in quick succession, the skin, to which they generally add grease to diminish its stiffness, is rendered, after a few days' work, exceedingly pliable, and perhaps much softer than it could have been made by the usual method of tanning in a ley of bark. Afterwards, those parts of the skin, which have not been sufficiently softened by this process, are rubbed together by the hand. The raw hide, previously to the above operation, undergoes much preparatory scraping, either with an adze or with a sharp piece of stone.

The form of the kobo differs a little in shape from the Hottentot kaross, by having the two upper corners, which meet over the breast, enlarged by a broad appendage for the purpose of more completely protecting that part of the body. The leathern cloaks are more commonly made of the skin of the kaama*, which is preferred as being

* Either the Antilope Bubalis, Linn. or the Antilope lunata.

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the strongest; but that of the kokoong, the kudu, the gemsbok, and of other antelopes, as well as of the domestic goat, are frequently used. In those fur koboes, called kóbo e kósi, made of the skins of small animals, of which from sixty to eighty are required for a single cloak, the row which forms the upper edge, has the skin of the head and muzzle left on for ornament, and the lower edge shaped in scallops and strengthened on the inner side with a neat border of thin leather.

The animals, the skins of which were most usually employed for making these fur-cloaks, were four species of the weasel-tribe, which the natives call, inghé, (ing-háy) kotókwi, kháluï, and nakéeri: of these, the first is the most common, and the last, which resembles the polecat, the least numerous.

The skin of a small animal of the cat-tribe, with a spotted fur, was frequently used for this purpose: it was named kakikáan, and appeared to be an undescribed species.* In size it is not larger than the domestic cat, as the skins measured from the point of the nose to the insertion of the tail, not more than from sixteen to eighteen inches. The general color of this animal is tawny, or that of the 'light brown-ochre' of painters; but fainter on the under parts of the body. It is entirely covered with black spots, rather long than round; neither annulated nor ocellated. A few of the spots on the back of the neck are sometimes elongated into stripes; while those on the fore part of the shoulders join and form very black transverse stripes or irregular bands, of which several surround both the fore and the hind legs. In some older individuals, the upper spots seemed faded nearly to a brown. All these marks on the lower part of the body are extremely black; and the under parts of the feet are the same. The tail is of the same color as the back, and confusedly spotted, at least to four inches from its base; but it was in no part annulated: its length cannot be stated with certainty, as, in all the skins, not less than fourteen, which I examined, a part of it had been cut off.

* Felis nigripes, B. Fulva. Tota nigro-maculata. Maculæ simplices magìs elongatæ quàm rotundatæ; quædam in cervice virgatæ. Femora omnia, et humeri, fasciis irregularibus atris transversè notata. Cauda dorso concolor, indistinctè maculata. Auriculæ ovatæ obtusæ unicolorè fuscæ, pilis brevissimis adpressis; margine anteriore pilis prælongis albis prædito. Pili interscapulars reliquis plerumque longiores. Magnitudo F. Cati.

[page] 593

The top of the head is of a darker color than the body. The ears are ovate, obtuse and of a uniform grizzled dark-brown, covered with very short close hairs; the anterior edge being furnished with upright white hairs as long as the ear itself. The hair over the eyes is whiter; the cheeks are of the same color as the sides; and the whiskers are white. The general length of the hair on the body is one inch; but along the withers it is sometimes of double that length.

The following figure represents a Bachapin milk-bag. It is

formed from a single piece of raw ox-hide, sewed together in a manner which the engraving will best explain. The opening at the top is closed by a large wooden stopple, and at bottom there is always a small hole by which the klówa, the whey or thin part of the milk, is drawn off.

As these bags can never be cleaned so perfectly that all taint of former sour-milk is taken away, they, in a few hours, coagulate whatever milk is put into them; an effect which these people, are in general not desirous of preventing, as milk in that state is found to be much more refreshing and agreeable in hot weather, than when it is fresh or sweet. The little butter which they have, and which is generally used for greasing their skin, is made accidentally by the

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motion of the oxen in carrying the bags of milk to town. They give to butter the name of mahúra (which signifies 'fat,' a any form); to cream, that of lobébi; and to the curds, or the thick part of sour milk, that of māshi a buriila.

Their manufacture of earthen pots is not despicable: they answer their purpose completely, and are neither clumsy nor illshapen. They are made of clay well kneaded, and mixed, as it was said, with ashes and chopped grass, and burnt hard, but not glazed or vitrified. Their shape, which is generally globular with a wide mouth, is not inelegant, and considering that they are moulded entirely by the hand, they may be admired for the exactness of their form. They are of various sizes; and some were seen which would hold more than two gallons.* As they have no knowledge whatever of any machinery to answer the purpose of a potter's wheel, nor of the method of burning and glazing their earthenware properly, it would be rendering an essential service and one which they would fully appreciate, to impart such to them. Instruction in arts of this kind would be the readiest means of gaining their good will, and, to a certain extent, of promoting their civilization.

Their wooden spoons, which they call lúshua, are carved out of the hard wood of the mokaala tree or camel-thorn. The two upper figures on the opposite page, are intended to give an idea of their shape; and from these we may observe the great similarity which in form and proportion, they have to spoons of European make. Their fashion has not however been received from the Colony, and very probably is entirely of Bachapin or Bichuana invention. They are carved out of a solid block of wood; and judging by the angle which the handle makes with the bowl, they must require no trifling degree of patience and labor; but this labor, as I have before mentioned, is generally considered as an amusement, because it is the means of passing away time which would otherwise perhaps be unoccupied. The

* The usual figure of their earthen pots for holding water or milk, may be seen in the 6th plate; and of those made more especially for boiling, the engraving at page 45. will give an idea.

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work of these spoons proceeds in a very desultory manner, as they are usually carried about with them, that they may be always ready at hand to fill up a leisure hour; and as they were an utensil in which they abounded, this work would appear to be one of their favorite occupations.

Among the above figures, may be seen all the different sizes. It has not been thought necessary to represent more than the bowls of the lower five, as they have been selected only for the purpose of showing the carving, upon their outside. This, to judge from appearance, is first cut in, and afterwards discoloured by burning the marks with a hot iron, leaving the white lines very slightly prominent, and of the natural color of the wood. The blackness of the parts which are burnt, renders the figure of the work very distinct. The instrument

with which some of these lines are cut, is of this form. The handle is made from the point of an antelope-horn.

The figures of the spoons are given principally with the view of

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exhibiting in what degree the Bachapins are possessed of ornamental taste. The grace of these decorations is evident, and of some, the elegance of turn is not surpassed in the works of more polished nations. Of the three following figures, which have been copied from their knife-sheaths, the two first are remarkably beautiful: I do not recollect having seen elsewhere any thing exactly similar to that on the left.

In the imitative arts, the few attempts which came under my observation, were in the rudest style, and manifested little natural talent of this kind. I was once shown what was regarded by the natives as a superior effort in the art of delineation, and which was exhibited as one of their best specimens: it has been already noticed at page 453. It was nothing more than the outlines of some animals; daubed against the wall of their house; but which were so ill drawn as barely to be recognised.

The carved figures in relief, which are sometimes seen ornamenting their knife-handles and a few other utensils, are the work of the Bichuana nations beyond them to the north-east, who appear, from various specimens of their manufactures, to be a much more ingenious people, and to have advanced in arts several degrees beyond the Bachapins; a circumstance which seems clearly to indicate the quarter whence civilization, if it may be called so, has commenced its progress into the interior of Southern Africa. On the western coast, bounded by a wide and unfrequented ocean, there existed formerly no source from which a knowledge of arts could be derived; and con-

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sequently, in that portion of the continent, few traces of civilized notions are now discoverable: but on the eastern, the existence of nations, higher northward, among whom science and arts have flourished, may reasonably be considered as the remote cause that the state of society and arts among the northeastern tribes, was found, as Hottentots who have visited them reported to me, to be more advanced, in proportion as they travelled farther in that direction.

As a practical illustration of the extremely slow pace at which knowledge moves through these countries, it may be remarked that the Bachapins are now only first beginning to acquire the art of working in iron. The only blacksmith at this time at Litakun, was the man whom I have already mentioned*, and who had very lately learnt it by attentively watching the operations of the smiths at Melítta the chief-town of the Nuákketsies, where he had been on a visit to barter for iron goods of their manufacture: the Bachapins having been hitherto in the habit of obtaining all articles of that kind from these northeastern nations.

As a proof of the skill with which the Nuakketsies work in that metal, I subjoin at the end of the chapter, a representation of the head of a kóveh, a sort of hassagay which is distinguished from the rúmo or lĕrúmo, the ordinary sort†, by the barbed form of its blade, and its jagged stem. The upper figure shows the iron head with a part of the wooden shaft; the lower figures are given of the natural size, for the purpose of exhibiting more intelligibly both in front and in profile, the manner in which the stem is jagged. This stem appears to have been first forged plain, with squared corners; and these afterwards to have been cut into sharp points standing in opposite directions. These points are cut out from the corners, with an accuracy which many European workmen could not surpass, and which many others could not equal.

The kóveh, therefore, is far beyond the powers of the Bachapin

* At page 482.

† The lerúmo may be seen represented in the tenth plate of the first volume, and in the vignette at page 186. of the present volume.

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blacksmith, who, as before stated, is harely able to hammer out a hatchet, a hoe, an adze, or a common hassagay: and his nation still continue to depend almost wholly on the north-eastern tribes for the supply of their wants in all articles manufactured from either iron or copper.

The amusements of the Bachapins appeared o consist only in dancing, if we except such employments as were sometimes to be viewed rather, as the means of passing, away time, than as works of necessity. I have in the preceding pages described as much of their dancing* and music†, as came under my own observation; nor do my inquiries on these subjects authorize me to suppose that they have any other kind.

The licháka was the only musical instrument which I ever saw in the hands of any of the Bichuana tribes; and if they are no better instrumental musicians than my own experience would lead me to conclude, they are in this respect inferior to the Hottentot race, who can, as it has been shown, produce on their goráa some little variety of notes; while the Bachapin, with his reed-pipe, is unable to express more than a single tone.

But it is not from this to be inferred that the Bichúanas have not an ear susceptible both of melody and harmony: the specimen which I have given of their singing‡, and the readiness with which they caught several European airs they had heard frequently played on the violin by my Hottentots, prove that there exists in them no natural inaptitude for either. The attention with which they listened to the flute, evinces that more varied music affords them pleasure, and renders it probable that he who should put into their hands the flageolet and teach them to play a few simple airs, or to combine together into one instrument, an octave of their reed pipes, would long be remembered among them.

Some airs which I have occasionally heard them singing, incline me to a belief that it would not be impossible to find in these

* See pages 411—413.

† See page 410.

‡ See page 438.

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countries, some pleasing wild melodies worth the trouble of being put on paper; although I had little opportunity myself, of writing down more than two or three, merely as a specimen.

The seasons, as they informed me, in which they more especially indulge in singing, are, the time of the rains, and of the harvest; and although they give no other reason for this observance than that of its having always been their custom, yet it is clearly to be perceived that it must have had its origin in those feelings of gladness which would be so naturally excited by the fall of copious and frequent showers in a land where all hopes of an abundant crop of corn, depended wholly on the rains: nor would the fulfilment of their wishes by a plentiful harvest, be less a season of rejoicing.

The general description contained in this and the preceding chapter, though intended more specially as that of the tribe who distinguish themselves by the name of Bachapins, may, as far as my own knowledge of the surrounding people enables me to form an opinion, be in most cases generally applicable to the other Bichuana nations, and will not perhaps give a very incorrect idea of some of the principal features in the character of the whole Caffre Race. Of the Hottentot Race, including the Bushmen and Koras, the remarks which have been interspersed throughout the Narrative, and which are the result of the most impartial and unprejudiced observation, will place their character in its true light, and, combined with those which belong to the other tribes, will, it is believed, exhibit a faithful picture of the present state of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the southern point of Africa.

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[page] 601

THE

ITINERARY

AND

REGISTER OF THE WEATHER.

1812.	DISTANCES.		STATIONS AND PLACES ON THE ROAD; With their Latitudes, calculated from Astronomical Observations made on the Journey: to which are added their English names and intermediate Distances.	WEATHER.
	In Times; on Oxen.	In English Miles.
Feb.	H. M.		Klaarwater. Latitude 28° 50′ 56″ S. Longitude 24 3 0 E.	A fine day.
24	7 —	22	Gattikamma, or Wittewater (Whitewater). 4 h. 40 m. or 14 miles.
25	7 —	21½	Aákaap, or Riet Fontein (Reed Fountain). 2 h. 20 m. or 7½ miles.	An excessively hot day: the sky cloudless.
			The Kloof, a Hottentot village in the Asbestos Mountains.	Rain at night.
26			1 h. 15 m. or 4 miles.	The sky cloudless, and weather very hot.
	3 15	10	A kraal of Kóras. 2 h. 6 miles.
			Jan Bloem's Kraal
27			1 h. 20 m. 4 miles.	Cloudless sky during the whole day.
	2 10	6½	Engelsche Drift (English Ford). — 50 m. 2½ miles. Commíssie Drift (Cowan's Ford).	At night, dry.
28	2 30	8½		The day excessively hot.
			Riizo's Kraal.	A serene and cloudless night.
29	4 —	14
March			First Station, on the 'Friendly River.'	At night some rain fell.
1	7 —	24½	Driedoorn Station (Threethorn).	Fair in the forenoon; but it rained during the whole of the afternoon; and in the evening, much distant lightning.
2				Dew in the morning.
			— 35 m. 2¼ miles.
	3 30	12½	Freshwater Halt. 2 h. 55 m. 10¼ miles.	The sky cloudless.
			Grass Station.
3			2 h. 20 m. 8¾ miles.
	4 52	18	Poverty Kraal.	An extremely hot day.
			3 h. 32 m. 9¼ miles.
			Astrild Station.

VOL. II. 4 H

[page] 602

March	H. M.		Astrild Station.
4	3 —	10½		Fair during the forenoon.
			Hunters' Station.	A heavy shower in the afternoon.
5				A very hot day.
	1 40	4¾
			Kaabi's Kraal.
6				A cloudless and hot day.
7			14 miles.	A warm day. Fair.
			First rhinoceros.
8			5½ miles. Second rhinoceros. 19½ miles.	The air exceedingly chilly just before sunrise; but the day became excessively hot.
			Kaabi's Kraal.	Weather fair and warm.
9	1 25	4¾
			Reed Station.
10	5 20	18½
			Quakka Station.
11
12	4 20	15¾		Rainy during the preceding night, and the whole of this forenoon.
			Kraaikop's Kraal (Crowhead's Kraal).	At night a cold wind accompanied with rain mingled with hailstones half an inch in diameter.
13				The air so cold, that the hailstones were this morning found congealed together into a solid mass.
	5 20	17½		A continued rain all the middle part of the day, with occasionally some violent showers attended with much lightning and tremendous thunder.
				Much hail still remained unthawed, and the weather windy and extremely cold and wintry.
			Halfway Spring.
14			9 miles.	Fair during the forenoon; but towards the evening the rain set in, and continued to fall in torrents during the whole night, attended with a strong wind.
	6 —	21	Rhenóster Poort (Rhinoceros Pass)
			12 miles.
			Southern Station, on the river.
15				Both the day and the evening, were exceedingly fair and pleasant.
16	2 30	8		A fine cloudless day.
			Geranium Rocks.
17	4 20	14
			Boundary Station.
18			2 h. 15 m. 14 miles. Groote Tafelberg (Great Table Mountain). 1 mile.
	7 5	24½	Jacob Van Wyk's. 11½ miles.

[page] 603

March	H. M.		Boundary Station.
			A rugged kloof. 4 miles.
			Pond Station.
19			1¾ miles.
	5 55	21	Groote Fontein (Great F.). 19¼ miles.	Rainy during the afternoon.
			Krúger's Fontein, or Piet Vermeúlen's.	A most violent storm of rain and hail. The hailstones were three quarters of an inch in diameter. At night heavy rain with lightning and thunder.
20				Much rain fell in the morning.
	3 15	11½		Fair during the middle of the day.
			Zéekoe Rivier (Sea-cow River) at Nieúkerk's.	In the evening it continued raining for several hours.
21	6 30	22	4¼ miles.
			Sea-cow River.
			4¼ miles.
			Hérholdt's.
			13½ miles.	Rainy and cold. Wind southeasterly.
			Piet Van der Merwe's.
22	2 30	8¾		An excessively cold misty rain. The wind and rain continued during the whole day most piercingly cold.
			Cold Station.
23			1 h. 30 m. 5 miles. Garst Rivier (Barley River).
	6 50	23	20 m. 1 mile.	Fair all day; and sunny in the afternoon.
			Piet Van der Merwe's cattle-place.
			5 h. 17 miles.
			A Hut in ruins, at the foot of Snéeuwberg (Snow Mountain).
24				A sunny day.
25	3 —	9½	Graaffreynét. Latitude 32° 15′ 19″ S. Longitude 25 0 40 E.
26				Fair.
27
28
29
30				Rainy.
31
April
1				A fine day.
2				Fair.
3
4				Fine sunny weather; but the air often chilly.
5

4 H 2

[page] 604

April	H. M.		Graaffreynét.
6				Fine sunny weather; but the air often chilly.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18				Rainy.
19				Rainy during the whole day.
20				A sunny day.
21				Rainy.
22				Rainy at intervals.
23
24
25
26				Fair.
27
28	— —	40
			Jacobus Van Heerden's.
29	— —	6
			Bárend Búrger's.
30
May
1				A frost early in the morning.
	— —	30	Héndrik Lúbbe's.
			Jan Viljoen's.	At night the air frosty and sky cloudless.
2	— —	11
			Herholdt's.
3	— —	20
			Krieger's Fontein; or, Vermeulen's.
4	— —	19¼		Very chilly.
			Groote Fontein (Great Fountain) 0h. 25 m. 1½ mile.
5	3 45	13	The termination of the plain. 1 h. 30 m. 5¼ miles. Wórtel Fontein (Carrot Fountain) 1 h. 50 m. 6¼ miles. Elands Fontein (Elks Fountain) 4 h. 42 m. 16½ miles.
6	6 35	23	Brakke Rivier (Brackish River) 1 h. 53 m. 6½ miles. Nieuwe-jáar's Fontein (Newyear's Spring.)

[page] 605

May	H. M.		Nieuwe-jáar's Fontein. 3 h. 8 m. 11 miles.
7	7 18	25¼	First track from Klaarwater. 1 h. 48 m. 6¼ miles.
			Rhenóster Poort (Rhinoceros Pass) 2 h. 22 m. 8 miles.
			Halfway Spring. 2 h. 10m. 7¾ miles.	Fair.
8	6 —	21	Brakke Rivier (Brackish River.) 3 h. 10 m. 11 miles.
			Kraaikop's Kraal (Crowhead's Kraal.) 0 h. 40 m. 2¼ miles.
			Kráaikop's water.
9	4 30	14½
			Quákka Station.
10	3 40	12¼		A cloudless day.
			Vulture Station.
11
12
13	7 40	25½
			Three-fires Station.
14	1 20	4½
			Oxen Kraal; or, Kaabi's New Kraal.
15	7 40	24½
			Lion Station.
16				A cloudless and hot day.
17	3 25	11½		Rather cloudy.
			Rushy Station.
18	7 45	24½
			Lower Station on the 'Friendly River,' or Brakke rivier.
19	5 20	16½
			Ox Ford, on the Gariep.
20				The weather very cold.
21	1 30	4½
			Engelsche Drift (English Ford.)
22	4 —	14
			The Kloof village in the Asbestos Mountains.
23	6 —	21½
			Gáttikamma; or, Wittewater.	The air very cold.
24	6 10	22
			Klaarwater; or Kárrikamma.
25
26
27
28				A very windy day. Wind from the N.N.W.; a quarter whence, at this season of the year, it blows more frequently.

[page] 606

1812.	DISTANCES.		STATIONS AND PLACES ON THE ROAD; With their Latitudes, calculated from Astronomical Observations made on the Journey: to which are added their English names and intermediate Distances.	THERMOMETER in the Shade.			WEATHER.
	In Time; by Oxen and Waggons.	In English; Miles.		Time of Observation.	By Fahrenheit's Scale.	By Reaumur's Scale.
May	H. M.		At Klaarwater.	H. M.
29
30							A calm pleasant day.
31							Very windy.
June
1							Fair in general.
2
3
4
5
6	4 —	11					Some rain in the evening.
			Moses's Fontein.
7				1 — p	36	1·7	The whole day very cold, with wind and snow.
8				9 —a	36½	1·9
	5 45	17					Very windy during the forenoon.
			Ongeluks Fontein (Accident Fountain).
				9 — p	43½	5·0	Wind abated.
9				12 — a	49	7·5	A cloudless and calm day.
				8 — p	44	5·3
10				7 30 a	35	1·3	Cloudless.
				10 45 p	48	7·1
11				12 — a	61	12·8	The atmosphere hazy and calm. The day cloudless.
				3 30 p	70	16·8
12				7 — a	41	4·0
				4 30 p	67	15·5
				7 — p	55	10·2
13				7 — a	45	5·7	This and the preceding day were so exceedingly hazy that the distant mountains were rendered invisible.
				10 15 a	59½	12·2
				2 — p	68	16·0
				11 — p	50	8·0
14				7 — a	47	6·6
	2 2	6
			Doorn Rivier (Kora, Thorn River.)
				12 — a	68½	16·2
				6 30 p	54	9·7
				10 — p	48	7·1
15				10 30 p	41	4·0	The days were now become very fine and warm; but the nights still continued cold.
16				12 — a	67	15·5
	4 19	13
			A station without water.	9 — p	52	8·8
17	1 45	5		6 30 a	43	4·8
			Bloem's Fountain.	1 30 p	68½	16·2
				11 — p	42	4·4
18	1 27	4¼
			Sensavan; or, Blink-klip

[page] 607

June	H. M.		Sensaván; or, Blink-klip (Shining Rock)	H. M.
19							At sunrise a hoarfrost.
				6 48 a	29	1·3	Fair
	3 —	9
			Klip Fontein (Kora, Rock Fountain)	12 40 p	45	5·7
20	4 —	13
			Knegt's Fountain.
21			2 h. 28 m. 7½ miles.	8 — a	43	4·8
	3 38	11	Little Kosi Fountain. 1 h. 10 m. 3½ miles.
			Kosi Fountain. Latitude 27° 52′ 16″ S. Longitude 24 0 0 E.	11 30 p	45	5·7
22				12 45 a	71	17·3
23							Fine weather. Wind northerly.
				5 40 p	55	10·2
24				8 40 a	32	0·0
				10 — a	46	6·2
				3 30 p	69	16·4
							A very strongly defined lunar halo the diameter of which subtended an angle of 40°.
25							Fair.
26				12 — p	48	7·1
27				12 — a	68	16·0	A fresh northerly wind.
	4 12	14
28			Tarchonánthus Station. 2 h. 5 m. 6¼ miles.
			Entrance to the Pass through the Kamhánni Mountains. 3 h. 30 m. 10 miles.
	6 50	23	Exit from the Kamhánni Pass. 1 h. 15 m. 4 miles. Little, Klibbolikhónni Fountain.
29				3 30 p	56	10·6	Sunny day. Wind southerly. Air cold.
			1 h. 41 m. 5¾ miles.
	2 39	9½	The Krúman river. 58 m. 3¾ miles.
			Krúman Station.	7 — p	43	4·8
			Latitude 27° 22′ 25″ S. Longitude 24 13 50 E.	10 30 p	39	3·1
30				6 — a	31	–0·4	A very light fall of snow which melted almost before it reached the ground.
				10 — a	47	6·6
				12 — a	59	12·0

[page] 608

July	H. M.		Krúman Station.	H. M.
1				1 — a	40½	3·7
	6 5	19½	4 h. 49 m. 15½ miles. A small pond of clear water. 1 h. 16 m. 4 miles. Makkwárin River.	10 10 p	41	4·0
			Magn. Var. 27⅛ W.
2				11 15 p	37	2·2
3				2 — p	79	20·8	Wind S.E.
				12 — p	35	1·3
4				1 — p	69	16·4	A fine cloudless day. A.M. the wind N.E.
				11 — p	42	4·4	—P.M. S.E.
5				6 30 a	28½	–1·5	About this time it was observed that whatever wind might blow during the day, it ceased as soon as the sun had set; and the air continued calm during the whole night. This remark was found to be very generally applicable to the Transgariepine and to a great portion of the more southern regions.
				12 — a	74	18·6
6				3 — a	34	0·8	In the mornings before sunrise the grass was generally whitended with hoar frost.
				5 — a	34	0·8
				10 — p	36	1·7
7					35	1·3	Just before sunrise. This point of time was found to be, especially in the summer season, the coldest part of the twenty-four hours.
				3 — p	71	17·3	Wind northerly.
				8 — p	40	3·5	At this season of the year the air is clear, and a cloud is rarely to be seen either by night or by day.
8
9				2 — a	36	1·7
				2 — p	73	18·2
10				3 — a	36½	1·9
				10 — a	64	14·2	A perfect calm.
				11 30 a	68	16 0

[page] 609

July	H. M.		Makkwárin River.	H. M.
10	5 15	15½
			Sikkloniáni Fountain. Latitude 27° 9′ 21″ S. Longitude 24 30 20 E.
11
12				10 20 a	58½	11·7	An exceedingly cold day: with a fresh easterly wind.
	1 2	3	0 h. 42 m. 2 miles.
			A pond of good water. 0 20 1
			Lobutsáni.	10 30 p	43	4·8
13				8 — a	43½	5·0
			2 10 6	10 20 a	53	9·3	This day felt even colder than the preceding; an effect which was chiefly to be attributed to the strong easterly wind.
			A rivulet.
	3 35	9¾	0 50 2¼ Moshsa (Moshówa) River. 0 35 1½
			LITAKUN: the chief-town of the Bachapō;ns. Latitude 27° 6′ 44½″ S. Longitude 24 39 27 E. Distant from Cape Town, about 972¼ miles The Colonial Boundary at Sack River 665¾ Klaarwater 183¼
14				1 30 a	35	1·3	Fair.
				9 — a	64	14·2
15
16
17				2 — p	79	20·8
18				1 30 a	49	7·5
19				9 — a	59	12·0	Wind southerly.
				2 — p	69	16·4
				9 — p	42	4·4
				12 — p	39½	3·3
20				11 — a	63½	13·9	Fair; but chilly at night.
21
22				11 20 p	54½	9·9
				12 — p	52	8·8
23
24
25				3 15 a	48	7·1
				1 30 p	73	18·2
				12 30 p	50	8·0
26				6 40 a	50	8·0
27
28				7 30 a	44	5·3
				3 — p	72	17·7
29				2 — a	48½	7·3
				1 30 p	75	19·1	Wind northerly.
30				1 45 a	51½	8·6	Fair.
				6 40 a	47	6·6

VOL. II. 4 I

[page] 610

July	H. M.		At Litakun.	H. M.
30				2 — p	70½	17·0	Fair.
31				6 40 a	46	6·2
Aug.
1				1 — a	51	8·4	Fair.
				12 — p	43½	5·0	Wind easterly.
2							Fair.
3				4 30 a	47½	6·8

[page 611]

THE

ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL

INDEX.

THE figures which belong to the second volume, are distinguished by a preceding II: all the rest refer to the first volume. The B. which follows some of the names, points out those new quadrupeds, birds, fishes, insects, and plants, which are now first described, or named, in this work.

ACÆNA latebrosa 255. 257.

Acacia II. 146.

—— atomiphylla, B. 336. 341. 539. II. 240.

—— Capensis, B. 114. 189. 195. 325. 429. II. 29. 211. 248. 264. 442. 526.

—— detinens, B. 310. 320. 333. 336. 349. II. 264. 526.

—— elephantina, B. II. 236. 264. 268.

—— giraffæ 430. 453. II. 240. 242. 465. 526.

—— heteracantha, B. 389. II. 526.

—— Litakunensis, B. II. 452. 464. 526.

—— robusta, B. II. 442. 526.

—— stolonifera, B. II. 241. 264. 526.

—— vera 429.

—— viridiramis, B. 300.

Acanthus 298. 310. 341.

Acarus Ricinus 290.

Acheta 327.

Achyranthes 537. 544.

—— (Desmochæta) hamosa, B. 308.

Adiantum 182. 208.

—— Æthiopicum 31. 37.

Æschynomene 22.

Agave Americana 15.

Agrostis linearis II. 5. 7.

Aikinia 538.

Aira 277.

Aitonia Capensis 340.

Aizoön 225. 243. 277. 419. 453.

—— lanceolatum 181.

Alauda Capensis 501.

Alchemilla Capensis 37.

Allium 296.

Aloë 243. II. 332.

—— claviflora, B. 272.

—— dichotoma 24. II. 199.

—— plicatilis 23.

—— saponaria II. 332.

Alopecurus Capensis 20.

Alyssum glomeratum, B. 255. 257. 260.

Amaryllis ciliaris 186.

—— lucida, B. 536, 537. 541. II. 3.

—— purpurea 23.

—— toxicaria 539. 541.

Anacampseros lanigera, B. II. 333.

Anas Ægyptiaca 283. II. 346.

—— cana 265.

—— erythrorhyncha, 283. II. 346.

—— punctata, B. 283.

Anchusa Capensis 298.

Ancistrum latebrosum 255. 257.

Androcymbium 259.

———— volutare B. 213.

Andropogon, 465. II. 247. 264. 266.

———— hirtus 19. 37. 57.

Anthericum 304. 389. 538. 549.

———— contortum 56.

———— fimbriatum 51.

———— graminifolium 67.

———— squameum 225.

Anthia 283. 417. 465.

—— decemguttata 283.

—— effugiens, B. 417.

—— fimbriata 465.

Anthistiria II. 247. 266

———— imberbis 19.

Antholyza 132.

———— lucidor 117.

———— nervosa 29.

Anthospermum 296. 298.

———— Æthiopicum 31. 67.

———— ciliare 186.

———— lanceolatum 57. 186.

Anthus 501.

Antilope albifrons, B. II. 335.

—— Bubalis, 420. II. 82. 334. 591.

—— Caama, (vide, A. Bubalis) 420.

—— dorsata 290.

—— Euchore 290. II. 109.

Antilope Gnu, 24. 431, 432. II. 278.

—— Grimmia 187.

—— lunata, B. II. 334. 591.

—— marsupialis 290.

—— melampus II. 301.

—— mergens 187.

—— Oreas 245.

—— Oryx II. 23.

—— Pygarga 290. II. 335.

—— rupestris, 202. 281. II. 15.

—— Rupicapra II. 23.

—— saliens 290.

—— strepsiceros, 267. 337. 374.

—— taurina, B. II. 277.

—— villosa, B. II. 302.

Antirrhinum aphyllum 19.

Apate 325.

Apis 376.

Apium graveolens II. 280.

Aphodius vespertinus, B. 376.

Aphyteïa Hydnora 213.

—— multiceps, B. 213.

Aponogeton distachyon 51.

Aptosimum, B. 286. 289. 298. 341. 389. 453. 549.

—— (genus,) B. 219.

—— abietinum, B. 308.

—— depressum, B. 260.

—— indivisum, B. 219. 225.

Arctotis 132. 213. 229. 257, 258. 289.

—— dentata 37.

Arduina bispinosa 191.

Arenaria rubra 31.

Aristea bracteata 67.

—— cyanea 15. 20. 56. 59.

—— spicata 19. 59.

Aristida 225. 289. 537, 538. 544. 549. II. 247. 264. 266.

—— Capensis 19. 31.

—— centrifuga, B. 266.

—— fruticans, B. 492.

—— lanuginosa, B. II. 226.

—— piligera, B. 288.

Arnica crocea 58.

—— Gerbera 19.

4 I 2

[page] 612

Arnica inuloïdes 131.

—— piloselloïdes 37.

Artemisia Afra 296. 480. 489.

Arthratherum fruticans, B. 492.

—— lanuginosum, B. II. 226.

Arum Colocasia 24.

Arundo barbata, B. II. 271. 410.

—— Donax l05. 185. II. 173.

Asclepias crispa 59.

—— Curassavica 22.

—— Syriaca 22.

Aspalathus 132. 186.

—— pungens 19.

—— spinosa 31.

Asparagus 208. 298. 232.

—— exuvialis, B. 432.

—— laricinus, B. 537.

—— rivalis, B. 400. 404. 426.

—— scandens 37.

—— suaveolens, B. II. 226.

Aspidium Capense 37.

—— aculeatum 37.

Aster 208. 272.

—— angustifolius 181.

—— cymbalariæ 42.

—— taxifolius 42.

—— tenellus 19.

Ateuchus II. 328.

Athanasia aspera 57.

—— crithmifolia 15. 31. 58.

—— parviflora 15. 31.

—— trifurca 99.

Atraphaxis undulata 15. 19.

Atriplex 208.

—— albicans 207. II. 21.

—— microphylla 225.

Aulax pinifolia 43. 45. 132.

—— umbellata 88. 93. 117.

B.

Babiana hypogæa, B. II. 589.

Bambusa arundinacea 23. 142.

Barleria 308. 341. 538. 548.

Bauhinia esculenta, B. II. 589.

Berckheya ciliaris 29.

—— setosa 181.

Bignoniacea 299.

Blairia 29. 53. 176. 182.

—— ericoïdes 29. 53. 63.

Blechnum Australe 31. 37.

Boerhaavia pentandra, B. 432.

Borago Africana 225.

Borbonia crenata 19. 131.

—— ciliata 37.

—— lanceolata 15. 19. 31.

Bos Caffer 482. II. 249.

Bostrichus 325.

Brabeium stellatifolium (Holl. Wilde Amandels) 37. 123.

Briza Capensis 19. 57.

—— maxima 19.

—— nigra, B. 537.

Bromus 245. 294.

Brunia 132.

—— abrotanoïdes 57.

—— nodiflora 15. 67. 88. 132.

—— squarrosa 56.

Bryonia 318. 467. 538. 541. 544. 549.

—— Africana 30.

—— pinnatifida, B. 547.

—— punctata 37.

Bubalis II. 82.

Bubon gummiferum 15. 31.

Bucco niger 318. 327.

Buchnera 182. 186. 225. 294. 400.

—— Æthiopica 29.

—— aurantiaca, B. 388.

Buchneræ, genus affine 258.

Bupleurum difforme 131.

C.

Cacalia 389.

—— bipinnata 42.

Cacti 251.

Calendula 182. 225. 257. 277. 286. 295. 298. 341.

—— amplexicaulis 222.

—— fruticosa 93.

Calodendrum Capense 23, 63.

Camellia Japonica 23.

Camelopardalis Giraffa 482. II. 248. 336.

Campanula 432.

—— denticulata, B. 538.

—— hederacea 538.

—— procumbens 51.

Canis aureus II. 412.

—— Crocuta II. 229.

—— familiaris II. 229. 244.

—— Hyæna II. 229.

—— Lupus II. 229.

—— mesomelas 180. 464. II. 285. 319. 412.

Canna Indica 23.

Capparis albitrunca, B. 343. 432. II. 18.

—— punctata, B. 492.

Capraria 304. 541.

—— lanceolata 124. 180.

Caprimulgus pectoralis 501.

Carabus fimbriatus. 465.

—— thoracicus 465.

Carex clavata 31.

—— flavescens, B. 467.

Carissa Arduina 191.

Caroxylon Salsola 419.

Carphalea? 544.

Cassine 182.

—— Maurocenia 15. 31.

Cassia arachoïdes, B. 341. 432. 537.

—— corymbosa 20. 23.

—— multiglandulosa 23.

Castanea vesca 106.

Casuarina stricta 23.

Cassytha filiformis 19. 29. 37.

Ceanothus Africanus 20.

Celastrus 341. 465. 544. II. 264.

—— ilicinus, B. 340.

—— laurinus 31.

—— linearis, B. II. 133.

—— pyracanthus 15. 31.

—— saxatilis, B. II. 264.

Celosia odorata, B. 389. 432. 537. 543.

—— recurva, B. II. 226.

Cenia turbinata 57.

Cetonia Bachapinica, B. 464.

Centopodium, B. 340.

Cercopithecus ursinus 45. 67. 143. 193. II. 153.

Ceropegia (Microloma) tenuifolia, 20. 62.

Certhia (Nectarinia) chalybea 17.

———— famosa 245.

Cervus Alces II. 23.

Ceterach 544.

Chætaria; (vide Aristidam) 31. II. 247.

Charadrius 344. 502.

—— armatus, B. 501. II. 346.

—— Himantopus 283.

Chasme 54.

Cheilanthus II. 264.

———— Capensis 19.

———— pteroïdes 19.

Cheiranthus 432.

———— torulosus 298.

Chenolea (Salsola) diffusa 51.

Chenopodium Botrys II. 226.

Chilianthus, B. 94.

———— oleaceus 94.

Chironia baccifera 15. 31. 59.

—— frutescens 37

—— jasminoïdes 46.

—— linoïdes 15. 19. 56.

—— lychnoïdes 19. 56.

—— palustris, B. II. 226.

Chironymus 417.

Chloris 549.

Chrysitrix Capensis 46.

Chrysocoma 213. 286. 295. 304. 467.

———— Comaurea 19. 31.

Cineraria 257.

—— lobata 245.

Cissampelos 29. 298. 465.

———— angustifolia, B. 389.

———— calcarifera, B. 465. II. 266.

———— Capensis 59.

Clematis 394. II. 5. 146. 264.

—— brachiata? 465.

Cleome 538.

—— diandra, B. 548.

—— heterotricha, B. 537.

—— juncea 340. 388.

—— oxyphylla, B. II. 226.

—— pentaphylla 537.

—— rubella, B. 543.

Cliffortia 132. 208.

—— falcata 59.

—— ferruginea 56.

—— graminea 62.

—— ilicifolia 61. 67. 131.

—— obcordata 59.

—— odorata 99.

—— ruscifolia 19. 43. 45.

—— sarmentosa 51. 59.

—— strobilifera 29. 51. 58. 62.

—— trifoliata 19.

Clitorea Ternatea 23.

[page] 613

Cluytia Alaternoïdes 15. 46. 181.

—— polygonoïdes 67.

—— pulchella 15. 29.

Codon Royeni 225, 226.

Coffea Arabica 23.

Colius erythropus 214. 335.

Collapsum, folium, B. 543

Columba 318

—— Capensis 318. 327. 501.

—— Guineënsis 501. II. 257.

—— risoria 213. 318. 501.

Colutea (Sutherlandia) 283. 296.

—— frutescens 225.

Commelina 538.

—— Africana 19.

Compositæ 229. 284.

Conferva 124.

Conium 279. 417.

Convolvulus 222. 304. 341. 465. 538.

Copris II. 328.

Corchorus asplenifolius, B. 400.

—— serræfolius, B. 537.

Corvus 257.

—— albicollis 501.

—— scapularis 501.

Corymbium glabrum 19.

—— scabrum 57. 62.

Corythaix 20. 214.

Cotula 225. 229.

—— coronopifolia 51.

—— integrifolia, B. 51.

—— nudicaulis 222.

—— (Cenia) turbinata 57.

Cotyledon 182. 272.

—— (Holl. Boterboom) 192.

—— parvula, B. 219.

—— trigyna, B. II. 226.

Crassula 213. 300. II. 333.

—— coccinea 41, 42.

—— columnaris 272.

—— imbricata 300.

—— pyramidalis 272.

Crinum erubescens 23.

Croton 396.

—— farinosum II. 263.

—— gratissimum, B. 396. II. 263.

Cuculus auratus 464. 501.

—— Persa 20. 214.

Cucumis 541.

—— Colocynthis 126.

—— prophetarum 143.

Cucurbita Citrullus II. 587.

—— lagenaria II. 587.

—— Pepo II. 587.

Cunonia Capensis 142.

Curcuma longa 23. 93.

Curruca 440. II. 91.

Curtisia faginea 180.

Cuscuta Africana 20.

Cussonia thyrsiflora 30.

Cyanella 310.

—— Capensis 20. 57.

—— lineata, B. II. 589.

Cyclopia genistoïdes 37.

Cynanchum filiforme 37.

———— viminale 465.

Cynocephalus II. 153.

Cynoglossum echinatum. 304. 340.

Cynoglossum hirsutum 222.

Cynosurus uniolæ 19.

Cyperus 186. 404. 417. 465. 538. 549.

—— corymbosus 51.

—— fascicularis 51. 63. 124.

—— lanceus 19. 30. 51.

—— polystachyos 30. 124.

—— prolifer 57.

—— scirpoïdes, B. II. 215.

—— textilis 51. 114. 263.

—— usitatus, B. 417. 537. 548. II. 26. 99.

Cyphia 196.

—— hastata, B. 225.

Cypræa Moneta 291. 444.

Cyprinus aëneus, B. 280. 441.

Cyrtanthus obliquus (Colonis, Nysna lily) 23.

Cysticapnos Africana 245.

D.

Dactylis serrata 37.

Daïs 286. 289. 385.

Daphne Indica 23.

Dermestes II. 328.

Desmochæta 549.

Dianthus 56.

Digitaria 537.

Dilatris corymbosa 30. 131.

—— viscosa 45.

Dioscorideæ II. 147.

Diosmæ 143. 208. 479.

Diosma 132. 208. 396.

—— capitata 143.

—— crenata 46.

—— oppositifolia 42. 57. 63.

—— pectinata 181.

—— rubra 30.

—— rugosa 31.

—— serratifolia 479.

—— villosa 15. 31.

Dipus Cafer 343. 482. II. 3.

Disa barbata 57.

—— flexuosa 46.

—— patens 46.

Dodonea angustifolia 131.

Dolichos Catiang II. 587.

Donax arundinacea, vide Arundo. 105.

Dorylus 376.

Dracocephalum 417.

Drosera Capensis 19.

—— cuneifolia 46. 57.

E.

Echites succulenta 340.

Echium argenteum 20

—— fruticosum 15.

—— glabrum 29. 68.

—— verrucosum 59.

Edolius 501.

Ehretia Hottentottica, B. II. 147.

Ehrharta 272. 294.

—— ramosa 46.

—— uniflora, B. 57.

Elegia juncea 46.

Elichrysum, vide sub Xeranthemum.

Emberiza longicauda 20. II. 492.

Embothrium sericeum. 23.

Ensatæ 27. 417. II. 589.

Epilobium tetragonum II. 226.

—— villosum 59.

Equus Asinus 139.

—— montanus, B. 138, 139. 265. II. 273.

—— Quakka 139. 420.

—— Zebra 139. 420. 453. 482.

Ericæ 208.

Erica 132. 182. 208.

—— axillaris 89.

—— baccans 19. 29.

—— calycina 57. 63.

—— bruniades 29.

—— cerinthoïdes 15. 19. 29. 42. 53.

—— coccinea 42

—— comosa 46. 131.

—— concinna 53. 59.

—— empetrifolia 45.

—— fascicularis 87, 88

—— fastigiata 131.

—— gelida 46.

—— glutinosa 46. 88.

—— gracilis 53.

—— helicacaba 46.

—— imbricata 19. 46.

—— margaritacea 53. 57. 63.

—— Massoni 89.

—— Monsoniana 203.

—— mucosa 58.

—— nudiflora 62.

—— Petiverii 15. 31. 42.

—— planifolia 42. 46.

—— Pluknetii 46. 88. 209.

—— pubescens 15. 19. 29. 143.

—— racemosa 63.

—— ramentacea 29. 63.

—— Sebana 46. 61.

—— spumosa 45.

—— taxifolia 87, 88.

—— tenuifolia 46.

—— tubiflora 46.

—— verticillata 53.

—— vestita 117.

—— viscaria 59.

Erinus 225. 259. 277. 289.

Eriocephalus 208. 213. 225. 259. 272. 277

———— decussatus, B. 272. 300. 305.

———— purpureus, B. 232.

———— racemosus 28. 181.

———— spinescens, B. 272.

Eriospermum 538.

ErythrinaCaffra(Holl. Kaffers boom) 23. 24.

Euclea 465. II. 264.

—— myrtina, B. II. 588.

—— ovata, B. 387.

—— racemosa 29. 62.

Eugenia Jambos 23.

Euphorbiæ 251.

Euphorbia 389.

—— genistoïdes 28. 175.

—— Mauritanica 192. 219. 251. 272.

[page] 614

Euphorbia tenax, B. 219. 272.

—— tuberosa 19. 174.

Euryspermum 54.

Evolvulus II. 306.

Exacum albens 46.

—— aureum 57.

F.

Falckia repens 51.

Falco II. 492.

—— musicus 394.

—— Tinnunculus 338. 501.

Felis jubata II. 326.

—— Leo 24. 66.

—— Leopardus 16.

—— nigripes, B. II. 592.

—— Tigris 24.

Ferraria undulata 304.

Festuca 222. 465.

—— ovina II. 124.

Ficus 243. 492.

Folium oleraceum, B. 543.

—— collapsum, B. 543.

—— semicollapsum, B. 543.

—— subcollapsum, B. 543.

Formica 448.

Frankenia Nothria 51.

Fringilla 214. 336.

—— arcuata 246. 259. 296. II. 91.

—— Canaria 20.

Fucus buccinalis 28.

—— corneus 30.

—— tomentosus 30.

Fulica cristata 263. II. 346.

Fumaria capreolata, var. B. 245.

—— (Cysticapnos) vesicaria 245.

Fungi 394.

Fusanus compressus 29.

G.

Galaxia ciliata 175.

—— graminea 25.

Galenia 308. 400.

—— Africana 196. 207.

Galium verum 394.

Gardenia florida (vulgô, Katjepiring) 22.

—— Rothmannia 23. 63.

—— Thunbergia 23.

Gazania 225. 277.

Geranium incanum 37.

—— spinosum 225, 226.

Gethyllis ciliaris 29. 54.

Gissonia 54.

Gladioli 35.

Gladiolus 132. 182.

—— (Tritonia) 279.

—— edulis, B. II. 589.

Gleditsia triacantha 24.

Gleichinia polypodioides 46.

Glycine 186. 544.

—— bituminosa 29.

Gnaphalium 208. 222. 272. 277. 304. 308. 318.

Gnaphalium denudatum 29.

—— fœtidum 29. 37.

—— grandiflorum 42.

—— hirsutum 61.

—— nudifolium 62. 68.

—— umbellatum 61. 68.

Gnidia cyanea, B. 255. 257.

—— oppositifolia 46.

—— sericea 37.

—— simplex 56.

Gomphocarpus 465. 467.

—— tomentosus, B. 543.

Gorteria diffusa 286.

—— personata 20.

Grewia flava 364. 389. II. 588.

—— occidentalis 37.

—— robusta, B. II. 133.

Grielum sinuatum 286.

Grimmia campestris, B. 259.

Grus 502.

Grylli 453.

Gunnera Perpensum 29.

Gymnopleurus II. 328.

H.

Hæmanthus (Amaryllis) ciliaris 186.

—— coccineus 19. 53.

Halleria lucida 24. 37.

Hallia Asarina 46.

—— cordata 30.

—— flaccida 57.

—— imbricata 19. 57.

Hebenstreitia 208. 289.

—— cordata 29.

—— integrifolia 260.

Helichrysum, vide sub Xeranthemum.

Heliophila 272.

—— chamæmelifolia, B. 222. 225.

—— linearis 29. 61.

—— pectinata, B. 260.

—— pubescens, B. 259.

—— seselifolia, B. 258.

Heliotropium 541.

—— Peruvianum 23.

Hemimeris 225. 245. 257. 260.

—— diffusa 222.

—— montana 222.

Hermannia 186. 196. 225. 272. 286. 294. 298. 304. 341. 538. 544.

—— bryoniæfolia, B. 258.

—— bipinnata, B. 310.

Hermas capitata 46.

—— depauperata 42. 131.

—— gigantea (Holl. Tondelblad) 131.

Hesperanthera 186. 273. 296.

Heterobranchus Gariepinus, B. 425.

Hibiscus 544.

—— cucurbitinus, B. 278.

—— Æthiopicus 19.

—— gossipinus 37.

—— mutabilis 23.

Himantopus melanopterus 283.

Hippopotamus 86. 263. 403. 404. 482.

Hirundo 335. 336.

—— Capensis 30. 501.

Holcus Caffrorum II. 586.

—— asper 42. 46.

Hordeum murinum 340.

Hyæna venatica, B. 456. II. 99. 229.

Hydrangea mutabilis 23.

Hydrocotyle. 132.

—— Asiatica. 19. 42.

—— hederæfolia, B. 46.

—— virgata 37.

Hyobanche sanguinea. 225.

Hyrax Capensis 265.

I.

Indigofera 208. 225. 432. 537. 544. 549.

—— coriacea 19.

—— filifolia 37.

—— psoraloides 20.

—— sarmentosa 42.

Ipomæa suffruticosa, B. II. 226.

Iulus pluvialis, B. 449.

Ixia 186.

—— erecta 57.

—— minuta 153.

J.

Juncus 454. 465.

—— articulatus II. 226.

—— bufonius 59.

—— Capensis 19. 31. 37.

—— punctorius 31. 51.

—— serratus 30. 91. 140

Justicia 308. 210. 341. 548. II. 264.

K.

Kiggelaria Africana 15. 31. 59.

Knowltonia hirsuta 20.

—— vesicatoria 37.

Kyllingia 538. 544.

L.

Lachenalia 286. 294.

—— viridis 548.

Lactuca 549.

Lamia virescens 417.

Lamprotornis 318. 440.

Lanipila, B. 259. 272.

Lanius 502. II. 345

—— atrococcineus, B. 387. 440. 501.

—— barbarus 387.

—— collaris II. 345.

—— Collurio 501.

—— forficatus, 440. 501.

—— Zeylonus 245.

Lantana 544.

Lapeyrousia 213.

—— corymbosa 19.

Lappago 537. 549.

Larvæ 473.

[page] 615

Laurus bullata, B. 72.

Leonotis Leonurus (Holl. Wilde Dakka) 15. 20.

Lepidium 318.

—— Capense 20

—— subdentatum, B. 245.

Leptochloa 549.

Lessertia 400.

—— annularis, B. 304.

—— pulchra 20.

Leucodendrum 54. 132.

—— argenteum 17. 54. 61. 69.

—— concolor 93.

—— corymbosum 144.

—— decorum 59.

—— Levisanus 54.

—— plumosum 131. 181.

—— salignum 45.

—— uliginosum 57.

Leucospermum 132. 182.

—— buxifolium 93.

—— Conocarpa 25. 29. 62.

—— Hypophylla 58.

—— puberum 132.

Leysera 225. 260. 272. 295.

—— gnaphalodes 31.

—— squarrosa 19.

Lichenes 232. 394.

Lichtensteinia 232. 286.

—— lævigata 543.

Lidbeckia 277. 298.

—— turbinata 186.

Lightfootia 132.

—— subulata 15. 19. 31.

Limosella cœrulea, B. 259.

Linum Africanum 19.

Liparia 132.

—— lævigata 131.

—— umbellifera 131.

Lithospermum papillosum 340.

Lobeliæ 99.

Lobelia 208.

—— coronopifolia 19. 29.

—— lutea 19.

—— minuta 42.

—— pinifolia 131.

—— secunda 37.

—— triquetra 19.

—— repens 19. 57.

Lolium temulentum 340. II. 226.

Lomaria Capensis 19.

Loranthus 213. 320. 389. II. 10. 146.

—— canescens, B. II. 90.

Loxia, Lin 214. 336. 502.

—— Astrild. 266. II. 41. 91. 269.

—— Caffra 20. II. 492.

—— maculosa, B. II. 269.

—— oryzivora 20.

Lycium 30. 194. 225. 260. 284. 286. 308. 318. II. 31.

—— Afrum 225.

—— horridum 260.

—— tetrandrum 260.

Lythrum Hyssopifolia 37.

M.

Macromerum, B. 388.

———— junceum, B. 492.

Mahernia 208. 294. 304. 341. 453. 544.

—— grandiflora 295.

—— incisa 28.

—— Linnæoïdes, B. II. 226.

—— oxalidiflora, B. 295.

—— pinnatifida 30.

—— spinosa, B. 279.

—— vernicata, B. 278.

Malva 208. 277.

—— Capensis 29.

Malurus 214. 335.

Mangifera Indica 23.

Manis. sp. II. 423.

Mantis lucubrans, B. 418. 465.

Marrubium Africanum 225.

Marsilea 310.

—— quadrifolia II. 209.

Matthiola torulosa 298.

Medeola asparagoïdes 222.

—— angustifolia 260.

Medicago 277.

Megastachya brizoides, vide sub Brizam.

Melhania 544.

—— prostrata, B. II. 263.

Melia Azedirach. (Holl. Kaapsche Seringe) 22. 119.

Melianthus 298. 341.

Mentha 225. 465. 467. 497.

—— Capensis 255. II. 241.

Menyanthes (Villarsia) ovata 46.

Merops Apiaster 372. 501.

Messerschmidia 389. 432.

Mesembryanthemum 132. 243. 538. II. 44.

———— aloïdes, B. II. 332.

———— arboriforme, B. 343.

———— campestre, B. 259. 260.

———— coriarium, B. 243.

———— croceum 272.

———— edule 54.

———— magnipunctatum, B. 272.

———— pomeridianum 29.

———— spinosum 215. 267.

———— turbiniforme, B. 310.

———— uncinatum 243.

———— veruculatum II. 208.

Mespilus Japonica 23.

Metrosideros angustifolia 181.

Microloma sagittatum 175.

—— tenuifolium 20. 62.

Milvus parasiticus 501.

Mimetes cucullata 93.

—— fimbriæfolia 46. 47.

—— Hartogii 43. 47.

—— purpurea 176.

Mirabilis Jalapa 23.

Mohria thurifraga 20.

Moluris vialis, B. 305.

Monodon Monoceros II. 77.

Montinia acris 15. 20. 36. 57.

Morœa 310.

—— bituminosa 19.

—— collina 245.

—— gladiata 67.

—— spathacea 58.

Motacilla II. 91.

—— aurantia 270.

—— Capensis 30. 501.

—— macroura 214. 335.

—— macroura? var ocellata, B. 336.

Muraltia. Vide Polygala.

—— Heisteria 15. 19.

—— linophylla, B. 51.

Mus Capensis 57.

—— maritimus 56.

Musci 394.

Muscicapa 246. 336. 464.

Mygale 539.

Mylabris asparagi, B. 400.

—— bifasciata 400

Myrica cordifolia (Holl. Waschboschjes) 30.

—— Æthiopica 42.

—— quercifolia 15. 19. 56.

—— serrata 15. 19.

Myrmecophaga Capensis 342. II. 97. 424.

Myrsine Africana 15. 31.

Myrtus communis 23.

N.

Nectarinia chalybea 17. 222.

—— famosa 245.

Necrobia II. 328.

Nemesia 225. 245. 286. 318. 341. 544.

Nerium Oleander 20. 22. 119.

Nicotiana Tabacum II. 322.

—— rustica II. 322.

Notoxus 376.

Numida 426.

O.

Ocymum fruticulosum, B. II. 264.

Œnanthe ferulacea 42.

—— inebrians 31. 37.

Œnothera nocturna 59.

Olea 467. II. 307.

—— Capensis 61, 88.

—— similis, B. 177. 343. II. 264.

—— undulata 180.

Oleraceum, folium, B. 543.

Onitis II. 328.

Ononis 225. 277.

Onthophagus II. 328.

Ophiologia 473.

Oriolus 502.

—— arundinarius, B. 464. 501.

Ornithogalum II. 316.

—— nervosum, B. 537.

Orobanche Capensis 46.

—— purpurea 48.

Orycteropus Capensis 342. II. 97. 424.

Osteospermum 208.

[page] 616

Osteospermum ilicifolium 42.

—— imbricatum 37.

—— polygaloides 29.

—— spinescens 15. 31.

Osmites camphorina 61.

Othonna l82. 208. 225. 259. 260. 296.

—— abrotanifolia 181.

—— amplexicaulis 181.

—— capillaris 181.

—— crassifolia 62.

—— denticulata 181.

—— frutescens 181.

—— tenuissima 131.

—— trifida 259.

Otis 186. 233.

—— Kori, B. 393.

Oxalis 27. 153. 182. 186. 208. 245. 259. II. 115.

—— lupinifolia 257.

—— monophylla 20.

Oxygonum, B. 548.

—— alatum, B. 548.

P.

Panicum 537, 538.

—— Dactylon II. 5.

Papaver Gariepinum, B. 318.

Papilio Hyperbius? 45.

—— (Hipparchia) montana, B. 45.

Pappophorum 225. 278. 400. 544. 549.

Parkinsonia aculeata 23.

Parmelia 232. 257.

Paschanthus, B. 543, 544.

—— repandus, B. 543.

Passerina? II. 341. 355.

—— capitata 57.

—— cephalophora 42.

—— filiformis (Holl. Bakkerboschjes) 15. 19. 31. 37.

—— uniflora 57.

Passifloreæ 543.

Passiflora cærulea 23.

Pedetes Caffer 343. 482. II. 3.

Pedunculans flos, B. 219.

Pelargonium 208. 257. 272. 295. 298.

——— angulosum 88.

——— grossularioïdes 99.

——— melananthum 20.

——— munitum, B. 225, 226.

——— pinnatum 20.

——— rapaceum 57.

——— renifolium 208.

——— saniculæfolium 42.

——— tabulare 31.

——— tragacanthoïdes, B. II. 98.

Penæa acuta 67.

——— fruticulosa 57.

——— mucronata 29. 37. 46.

——— squamosa 89.

Pennisetum 544.

Pentzia nana, B. 400.

Perdix Capensis 270.

Periploca 182. II. 146.

——— Africana 29.

Petiolans, folium, B. 219.

Phalaris Canariensis 340.

Pharnaceum 341. 544. II. 264.

——— incanum 20.

——— salsoloïdes, B. 286.

Phlomis 225. 341. 400. 465.

——— Leonurus 20.

——— micrantha, B. 340.

——— parvifolia, B. 225.

Phœnix dactylifera 23, 24.

Phylica 132. 182. 186. 208.

——— buxifolia 28. 30. 88.

——— plumosa 37.

——— secunda 56.

——— stipularis 19. 42. 68.

Phyllanthus 400. 453. 544.

Physalis 548.

——— tomentosa 20.

Picus terrestris, B. 245.

Pimelia inflata 339.

Pinus Pinaster 23.

——— Pinea 23, 24, 25.

Plantago 225.

——— hirsuta 19.

Platalea nivea 501.

Plotus 440.

Poa 304. 537, 538. II. 266.

—— filiformis 37.

—— spinosa 211.

Podocarpus 72.

Pogonias 318. 327.

Poinciana pulcherrima 23.

Polianthes tuberosa 23.

Polycarpum tetraphyllum 29.

Polyergus 448.

Polygala. Vide quoque Muraltiam.

——— 257.

——— Asbestina, B. 543.

——— bracteata 29.

——— ephedroïdes, B. 400. 465.

——— Garcini 19. 37.

——— (Muraltia) Heisteria 15. 19.

——— leptophylla, B. 400.

——— pungens, B. 304.

——— rigens, B. 465.

——— ? spinosa 19. 61.

——— (Muraltia) stipulacea 19. 29.

Polygonea 340. 548.

Polygonum 426.

——— aviculare 340. 426.

——— Hydropiper 57.

——— lapathifolium II. 226.

Polypogon Monspeliensis II. 226.

Populus canescens 23.

Portulacaria Afra II. 133. 144.

Portulacca oleracea 543. 545.

Potamogeton marinum 51.

Potentilla 426.

Proteaceæ 208.

Protea, genericè 54. II. 474.

——— 132.

——— acaulis 19.

——— amplexicaulis 132.

——— argentea 17. 54.

——— Conocarpa 62.

——— cordata 87.

——— corymbosa 144.

Protea cucullata 47.

——— cynaroïdes 46. 123.

——— glaucophylla 203.

——— grandiflora. 67. 123. II. 474.

——— incompta 59.

——— incurva 89.

——— Lepidocarpon 30.

——— Levisanus 54.

——— longifolia 131.

——— mellifera 61, 62.

——— nana 131. 203.

——— purpurea 58.

——— repens 203.

——— Sceptrum 88.

——— scolymus 176.

——— speciosa 87, 88. 131.

Prunus Barrowiana 72.

Psoralea 186. 208.

——— aphylla 15. 19. 58.

——— bracteata 19. 29.

——— capitata 37.

——— decumbens 37.

——— pinnata 58.

Pteris 544.

——— calomelanos 294. 340. II. 264.

Pterocles 265.

——— Namaquanus. 303. II. 345.

——— variegatus, B. II. 345.

Pteronia. 213. 245. 258, 259, 260. 272. 277. 289. 296. 300.

Pterygodium atratum 46.

Pyrus Cydonia(Angl. Quince) 118.

Q.

Quercus Africana 72.

R.

Rafnia opposita 61.

——— triflora 61. 131.

Rallus 502.

Rana fasciata, B. II. 32

Ranunculus pantothrix 283

——— philonotis II. 226.

Regulus 327.

Relhania 260. 300. 400.

Reseda dipetala 467. 538.

Restiaceæ 208.

Restio 54. 124. 132. 182.

——— tectorum 26.

——— tetragonus 37. 57.

——— Thamnochortus 57.

——— verticillatus 99.

Retzia spicata 89.

Rhigozum, B. 299. 400.

——— obovatum, B. 389.

——— trichotomum, B. 299 305. 448. II. 23.

Rhinanthus glaber 63.

Rhinoceros bicornis 86. 259. II. 75.

——— simus, B. II. 75.

Rhus. 124. 132. 389. II. 234. 248. 264.

—— angustifolium 31.

—— concinnum, B. 360.

[page] 617

Rhus cuneifolium 88.

— glaucum 29.

— incisum 181.

— mucronatum 19.

— pyroïdes, B. 335. 340. 465.

— rosmarinifolium 68. 93.

— serræfolium, B. II. 100.

— tomentosum 29.

— tridactyle, B. 340. 453. 465. II. 233.

— villosum 29. 67. 94. 144.

— viminale. 178, 179. 207. 209. II. 29. 199.

Ricinus 423.

Roëlla ciliata 15. 19. 68.

—— muscosa 42.

—— spicata 56.

Rosæ 23.

Rosmarinus officinalis 23.

Rottböllia 544. 549.

——— dimidiata 19. 29.

Royena 390.

—— decidua, B. 317.

—— glabra 15. 19. 62. 124.

—— microphylla, B. 348.

—— pubescens 24.

Rubus pinnatus 62.

Ruellia 537.

Rumex sagittatus II. 147.

—— (Acetosa) scandens, B. II. 146.

—— spinosus 340.

S.

Saccharum 454. 465.

Salicornia 51.

——— fruticosa 30.

Salix Gariepina, B. 316, 317. II. 29.

Salsola 272. II. 113.

—— aphylla 267. 419.

—— diffusa; vide, Chenoleam. 51.

Salvia 182. 221, 222. 227. II. 93.

— Africana 15. 31. 143.

— aurita 19.

— Æthiopis 465.

Sambucus nigra 23.

Samolug Valerandi 465.

Sanseviera 465.

Saxicola 335. 501.

—— leucomelana, B. 335.

Scabiosa 465.

—— rigida 37. 68.

—— pumila 19.

Schizæa pectinata 37.

Schœnus capitellum 57.

—— inanis 260.

Scirpus 465.

—— Holoschœnus 51.

—— (Fuirena) Hottentottus. 19.

—— lacustris 51.

—— tegetalis, B. 260. 263. II. 123.

—— maritimus 51.

Sciurus 343.

—— Capensis II. 241.

Scolopax 502.

Scoparia arborea 94.

Selago 196. 225. 232. 257. 260. 277. 537. 549.

—— corymbosa 19.

—— fasciculata 42.

—— rapunculoïdes 37.

—— spuria 30. 46.

Semicollapsum, folium, B. 543.

Senecio 225. 258. 277. 289. 295. 318. 432.

—— longifolius 19.

—— rigidus 68.

Septas 232. 257.

Serissa Capensis 31.

Serpicula repens 19. 57.

——— rubicunda, B. 37.

Serruria 132. 182.

—— Burmanni 61.

—— glomerata 58.

Sesamum 213.

Seseli 232.

Sida 341. 453. 544.

Sideroxylum inerme (Holl. Melkhout) 29.

Silene 225.

Silpha II. 328.

Silurus Gariepinus, B. 425.

Simia, vide Cercopithecum.

Sinapis tripinnata, B. 318.

Sisymbrium 208. 286 304.

——— Gariepinum, B. 548.

Sisyphus II. 328.

Sium latifolium II. 226.

Solana 255.

Solanum 272. 544.

—— giganteum 23.

—— tomentosum 28. 30.

Sophora Japonica II. 146.

—— sylvatica, B. II. 146.

Sparaxis 232.

Spartium cuspidosum, B. 348. 360. II. 233.

Spatalla 89.

Spielmannia Africana 58.

Staavia glutinosa 45.

—— radiata 45. 57. 63.

Stachys Æthiopica 20. 29. 31.

Stapeliæ 243. II. 31.

Stapelia pilifera 243. 245.

Statice 454. 465. II. 21.

—— scabra 30. 51.

Stilbe ericoïdes 42.

— pinastra 29.

Stobœa atractyloïdes 20. 31.

Stoebe 132.

—— ericoïdes 131.

—— incana 46.

—— prostrata 42.

—— rhinocerotis. 101, 102. 176. 186. 255. II. 126.

—— virgata 131.

Strelitzia augusta 24. II. 258.

——— reginæ 23.

Strobilaria, B. 54.

Strumaria filifolia 186.

——— spiralis 153.

Struthio Camelus; vide, Ostrich. 24. 203. 244. 279.

Struthiola erecta 57.

——— juniperina 37.

Struthiola virgata 57.

Stylans germen, B. 219.

Subcollapsum folium, B. 543.

Sutherlandia 283. 296.

Sylvia 304. 372. 440. 501.

— flaviventris, B. 335.

Syngenesia 284.

Systrepha, B. (Ceropegia?) 546.

—— filiforme, B. 546.

T.

Tabernæmontana 23, 24.

Tænia 283.

Talinum 419. 541. 544.

Tamus Elephantipes II. 148.

Tanacetum 465.

——— multiflorum 29.

Tarchonanthus 321. 341. 448. II. 199. 233. 247. 264. 271. 289. 307. 340. 445.

———— camphoratus II. 233.

Taxus elongata 72.

Telephium 544.

Terminalia Catappa 400.

—— erythrophylla, B. 400.

Testudinaria II. 147.

——— montana, B. II. 148.

Tetragonia 298. 548.

——— fruticosa 29.

——— hirsuta 175. 179.

Tetrao (Pterocles) Namaquanus. 265. 303. II. 345.

—— (Pterocles) variegatus, B. II. 345.

Thanatophilus II. 328.

Thesium 272. 298. 544.

—— capitatum 46.

—— Colpoon 29.

—— strictum 19. 37. 42.

Thalictrum 394.

Thuïa cupressoïdes 59.

Thymeleæ 212. 255.

Tillæa 259.

Todea Africana 37.

Tournefortia 538.

Tortula recurvata, B. 259.

Triaspis hypericoïdes, B. II. 280.

Trichonema 258.

——— spirale, B. 260.

——— tortuosum, B. 259.

Trifolium repens 51.

Triglochin maritimum 51.

Tripsacum 537.

Tritonia 279. 296. 298.

Trochili 18.

Tropœolum Nasturtium 23.

Tulbaghia alliacea 466.

Turdus 318. 327. 464. 501.

——— bicolor 394.

——— Capensis 327.

——— nitens 318. 440.

——— Zeylonus 245.

Typha latifolia 51.

VOL. II. 4 K

[page] 618

U.

Umbellifere 394.

Uncaria, B. 536.

——— procumbens, B. 536, 537.

Uniola 400. 549.

Upupa Epops 394. 501.

——— purpures, B. 326. 464. II. 346.

Urania speciosa II. 259.

Uropetalum, B. 544. 548, 549.

——— glaucum, B. 548.

Urtica urens 340.

V.

Vahlia 400. 417.

Vangueria infausta, B. II. 258. 451. 499.

Verbena 298. 541.

——— officinalis 37.

Veronica 426.

Veronica Anagallis 340. II. 226.

——— acutellata 426.

Vespertilio, Lin. II. 257.

Villarsia; vide Menyanthem. 46.

Vinca rosea 25.

Vipera inflata, B. 469.

Virgilia Capensis 23.

Viscum Capense 143. 147.

———, var. B. 213.

——— retundifolium 181.

Viverra 343. II. 592.

Vultur aurieularis 377. 501.

——— oceipitalis, B. II. 329.

——— Perenopterus. 336. 338. 474. 501. II. 194.

——— pileatus, B. II. 195.

W.

Wachendorfia hirsuta 19.

Watsonia alopecuroïdes 15.

Watsonia plantaginea 57. 186.

——— spicata 57.

Weinmanma trifoliata 143.

X.

Xeranthemum 132.

——— (Helichrysum) canesces 132.

—————— sesamoïdes. 29.

—————— speciosissimum 42.

Z.

Zanichellia II. 241.

Zizyphus bubalinus 317. II. 20. 29.

Zygophyllum 225. 289. 294. 300. 310.

——— sassilofolium 19.

[page 619]

THE

GENERAL INDEX.

The pages of the second volume are distinguished by a preceding II.: all the rest refer to the first volume. The pronunciation of the foreign words, is marked by a (') or a (-) over the accented syllable.

Aákaap 328. 342. 561. 538. II. 3.

Aárdvark 342. II. 97. 424.

Aás-vogel 377. 501.

Aborigines of Southern Africa, distinguished 582.

—————— conclusions drawn from their present mode of dress II. 375.

'Abrams: Abram, a Hottentot. II. 225. 228.

——— Hendrik, a Hottentot. 499. 516. II. 219.

Acacia, of the Cape, its Colonial names 195.

—————— representations of it 189. 228. 325.

—————— other species closely resembling it. II. 248.

—————— compared with the Camelthorn. II. 240.

———bark, used in tanning. 243.

—————— used for cord 405.

——— grove of 324.

——— a beautiful species of. 336.

——— a new and remarkable species of 389.

——— useful for enclosures for cattle 407.

——— produces Gum-Arabic. 429.

——— nowhere seen growing in the Cisgariepíne II. 211.

——— a new species, in Serrakutu's mootsi II. 464.

——— different species growing near Litakun II. 526.

Accident Fountain II. 237.

——— River 220.

Achter-ryders: their office explained II. 132.

Achter-Snéeuwberg II. 113.

Adam, a Bachapín: his history. II. 371, 372. 402. 406.

Adder: the Puff; described. 469.

Æolus 4.

Africa and Europe, contrasted. 495, 496.

African and the European, contrasted II. 443.

Africa, Southern, its western coast. 49.

Africánders, or Afrikaáners; colonial signification of the word 21.

Africáander, a Hottentot freebooter: some account of him 270.

——— robs a Hottentot kraal. 494.

——— reports respecting him, intimidate the author's Hottentots 525. 534.

——— remark on the name. II. 376.

——— six of his men murdered by the Caffres. II. 543.

Agates II. 213.

Agriculture at the Asbestos Mountains 356.

——— at Kláarwater 365.

——— a country capable of. II. 36. 42.

——— of the Bachapins. II. 306. 525. 586.

Agter-stel 150.

Agter: see, Achter.

Akkŭï bō;n! (Let me see). II. 463.

Albany: district of 75. 580.

Algoa Bay II. 511. 540.

Alkali, for making soap: how obtained by the Colonists. 419.

——— volatile: its use against the bite of snakes II. 130.

Alkaline water II. 19. 21.

Alluvial soil 467.

Almanack: a Hottentot mode of making one II. 243.

Almond 80. II. 280.

——— the Indian 400.

Aloë: the great American 15.

——— a new species of 272.

Aloë, called Tō;kwi II. 332.

Alder, of the Colony 142

Alsem: Wilde 480.

Amándels: Wilde (Brabeium stellatifolium) 37.

Ammonia: an instance of its efficacy against the bite of a serpent 392. 541.

Ammunition purloined II. 242.

Amulet: description of one worn by the Bachapins II. 550.

Amygdaloid II. 213.

Amygdaloidal greenstone. II. 213.

Anderson, Mr.: a missionary. 49. 64. 351. II. 223. 231. 243.

Andries, a Hottentot of the author's party. II. 166. 233. 330. 379. 383. 422. 457.

Animal matter: its mutations. II. 327.

Animals; wild: the possibility of taming them 487.

Animated nature: a picture of. II. 328.

Ants: a black species of them, very troublesome 425.

Ant-hills, and a large species of Ant; described 448.

Anteater 342. 448. II. 97.

Antelopes: nature of the meat of. 187.

Antelope: new species of; described II. 277. 302.

——— the crescent-horned. II. 334. 573.

Anýs-Wortel (Anise-root) 232.

Apron of the Bachapín women. II. 563.

Architecture, of the Bachapins, and Bichuánas II. 305. 517.

Arcturus 555. II. 330.

Aridity of the atmosphere: its effects 282. 488.

——— of soil and climate, favorable to health 275. II. 580.

4 K 2

[page] 620

Arrows of the Bushmen, II. 62. 198. 199, 200.

—————— made from a peculiar species of reed. II. 271.

—————— a mode of curing the wounds made by them II. 581.

Arrow-poison: its nature, and antidote considered 539, 540, 541.

Asbestos: a beautiful and immature species of 334.

——— Mountains: arrival at. 328. 541.

—————— plants found there 340. 543, 544.

—————— beautiful scenery among them II. 5.

Astrild, or Róodebekje. 266. II. 269.

Astrild Station II. 41.

Astronomical peculiarities, in the Southern hemisphere 80.

—————— calculations: a remark respecting those here employed. 204.

—————— observations: some remarks on 333. 556. 576. II. 324.

Astronomy: the atmosphere of the Interior peculiarly favorable to. 375. 484.

——— a practical application of II. 35.

——— useful to a traveller in rectifying the dates of his journal 343.

Atmosphere: extraordinary clearness of 65. 375.

——— its excessive aridity in the Transgariepíne 283.

Atmospheric heat: the principle of it conjectured 496, 497.

Attăquas kloof 89.

Auctions, or Vendues 79.

Aurora: African II. 323.

Auteníqua-land 82. 92.

Autumnal colors II. 10. 215.

Avond-bloem (Evening-flower). 186. 273.

B.

Ba; a Sichuána prefix II. 303.

Baas, a colonial title. 87. II. 94. 159.

Baboons (see also Baviáans). 67. 143. 193. II. 144. 153.

Babylónsche Tóren; a mountain remarkable for being visible at a great distance 100.

Bachapīns.—The following references are given only for the purpose of collecting together the scattered observations on this people: the other particulars will be found in the 17th and 18th Chapters, at pages 511. and 529. See also the words Bríqua, Bichuána, and Litākun.

Bachapīns (Bachapéens) remarks on the name II. 303.

——— boundary of their country 346.

——— how called by the Hottentots 364.

——— some of their superstitious notions 481, 482.

——— boy: one brought to Klaarwater 483.

——— one hired for the journey to Graaffreynet 541.

——— interpreter, engaged. 484.

——— not arrow-makers. II. 199.

——— in service of the Half-Hottentots II. 234.

——— the degree of civilization to which they have arrived. II. 305.

——— roads, described. II. 306.

——— dress II. 319. 412.

——— grand hunting-parties. II. 320.

——— mode of taking snuff. II. 321.

——— timidity: cause of. II. 332.

——— and Bushmen: their hostility towards each other. II. 341.

——— the state of society among them II. 347, 348.

——— one named Adam, brought up under the Boors II. 372.

——— remarks on their names. II. 375.

——— hospitality II. 382.

——— manner of conducting themselves towards their Chief. II. 386.

——— their importunate begging II. 387.

——— ready in comprehending a drawing II. 391.

——— mode of showing their general character. II. 394, 395.

——— derive advantages from the Colony II. 415, 416.

——— a grand hunt near Litákun II. 420.

——— inferior to the Bushmen in the power of running. II. 420.

——— religious notions. II. 427.

——— punishments II. 431.

——— opinions of the Colonial dress II. 432.

——— house, described II. 444.

——— meals II. 449—451.

——— a notion respecting white-men II. 451.

——— bad-faith in bartering. II. 456. 459.

——— warfare, and marks of honor II. 478.

——— acquitted of cannibalism II. 478.

——— marriages II. 485.

——— opinion respecting white-men II. 558.

Bachapīns, first visited by a party of Hottentots II. 559.

——— remarks on the possibility of civilizing them. II. 560.

——— concluding remarks on them II. 599.

Bakárrikarri (see also Kárrikarri). II. 532.

Bákkerbóschjes (Passernia filiformis) 15.

Bamăkátta II. 532.

Bamăkwïins II. 532. 567, 568.

Bamboo Cane 142. II. 172.

——— the Sea 28.

Bámbosberg 581.

Bámbus, or Hottentot wooden-jug. 406, 407.

——— used as a drum. II. 65. 87.

Bamŭchárs II. 532. 543.

——— obtain guns from Afri-kaander II. 376.

——— boundary 346.

Bang-hóek, 144.—its beauty of scenery 145

Banyan tree of India: its singular character mimicked by the Willows of the Kygaríep. 423.

Bā-pélu II. 409.

Barbet 318. 327. 502.

Baróba, or Bushmen II. 377.

Barolóngs II. 304. 532. 548.

——— their friendly reception of a party of Colonial Hottentots II. 537.

Barracks in Cape Town 26. 74.

Barrow, Mr.; his description of the Stinkwood 72.

—————— Róggeveld 346.

—————— Koránas 346.

—————— Springbuck II. 109.

—————— Gnu. 432.

——— his map 577, 578.

——— character of his Work. See the vindication of the author's "Hints on Emigration" appended to Vol. I.

Bartering with the Bachapíns. II. 400. 406. 456. 508.

Barter: the mode of estimating tobacco II. 49.

——— a mode of conducting it by an agent II. 555.

Basil; a frutescent species discovered II. 264.

Bassárri mùngklic. (Pretty girls). II. 386.

Bástaards, (or Mixed-Hottentots) explanation of the term. 154. 361.

——— Wíldebeest II. 278.

Batámmakas II. 303. 532.

——— invade the country of the Bachapīns II. 500.

Bats II. 257.

Batséeba(Dove, or Pigeon). II. 257.

[page] 621

Baviáan (see also Baboon), inhabits rocky places 45.

Baviáan's Kloof (see Genádendal). 106.

—————— the Houtbay-kloof formerly called so 61.

——— river II. 114. 146.

Beads II. 407. 537. 568, 569.

Beans, cultivated by the Bachapīns II. 527. 587.

——— how preserved at Litákun. II. 520.

Beauty: want of 415.

Becreeping cap II. 56.

Bees: Wild 376. II. 81.

Bee-eater, a bird 372. 464. 502.

Beer, of the Hottentots and Bachapīns 364. II. 552.

Beetles; new species of 305. 464.

——— the carnivorous kinds found in the Transgariepine. II. 328.

Beggars; Bachapin II. 387.

Begging: a mode of resisting the importunities of II. 425.

Bekrúip-muts, or hunting cap of the Bushmen II. 56.

Belfry: the kind usual in the Colony 128.

Bellows; description of a peculiar kind seen at Litakun. II. 483.

Benguéla: the author's intention relative to 511.

Bérends: a family of Hottentots. 363.

——— the Hottentot Captain. 230. 235. 267. 329. 361. 481. 541. II. 4.

——— the Hottentot Captain: unexpected meeting with him at Litakun II. 465. 479.

——— Willem, joins the author's party on a Hippopotamus hunt. 378. 418. 437.

——— Klaas; engaged to carry letters to the Colony. 521. 527. 535. 541.

——— Cóbus; accompanies the author from the Asbestos Mountains to Graaffreynét 542. 545. 547. II. 148. 152. 219.

Bérg-haas (Mountain Hare) 488.

Berg-river: the Little 129. 137.

——— the Great 129.

—————— its ford, at Burgher's Drift 140.

—————— its Ferry (Pont). 178.

Berg Zwáluw (Mountain Swallow). 372. 501.

Bézem-riet (Broom-reed) 124.

Bichuánia; the country of, defined. 581.

——— first entrance into. II. 292.

Bichuánas, referred to the Caffre Race 582.

Bichuánas, remarks on the name. II. 303.

——— usually called Caffres, by the Hottentots II. 302.

——— nations, general character II. 599.

——— nations, advancement in arts and manufactures. II. 596.

——— tribes; language. II. 293. 303.

——— disregard for truth. II. 304.

——— want of hospitality. II. 349.

——— tobacco II. 321.

Birds: 17, 18. 20. 24. 30. 186. 203. 213, 214. 222. 233. 244, 245, 246. 257. 259. 263. 265, 266. 270. 279. 283. 296. 303, 304. 318. 326, 327. 335, 336. 338. 344. 372. 387. 393, 394. 426. 440. 464. 474. 501, 502. 549. II. 41. 194, 195. 269. 329. 345, 346. 492.

——— the familiarity of some. 30.

——— singing in the night 304.

——— collected in 1811. 550.

——— few found in the great arid plains 288. II. 269.

Blaáuwberg 25. 44.

Black-bark 317. 404.

Black River (see also Nugaríep). 581.

——— its different names. 391.

——— first arrival at it. 389.

——— probable origin of its name II. 43.

Blacksmith at Litákun II. 482.

Blésbok; a species of antelope. II. 334, 335.

Blés-moll (White-faced Mole). 57.

Blight in corn: an instance of. 334.

Blínk-klip; or, Shining Rock (see also, Sibílo) II. 255.

Bloem's Kraal, in the Asbestos Mountains II. 6. 217.

——— Fountain II. 249.

——— Jan; the robber: his history II. 249.

Blóemtyd (Flower-season) 222.

Blóodelyf Kaffers (Naked Caffres). 436.

Boat: substitute used for it by the natives 416.

Bóekoe. (see also Bóokoo, and Búku.) 396.

——— azyn (Buku-vinegar). 479.

Boer (Farmer) 87.

Boere-Plein 73.

Boïálloa, a fermented drink. II. 552.

Boiling-pots, or Píitsas, found in the plains of Litákun. II. 546.

Bókkeveld, Cold; its nature. 80, 81.

——— higher than Róodezand. 130.

——— Karró, a view of 210.

——— the Farther 579. 581.

Bŏklóokwĕ, an old Bachapīn Kósi. II. 392. 562. 569.

Bólderwagen; or Stage-waggon. 76. 146.

Bónteberg (Spotted Hill) 262.

Boode (or Geréchtsboode), a messenger 135. 241.

Book-making: the art of 384.

Bóokoo (see also, Búku, and Bóekoe) 396. II. 59.

——— the virtues of: recommended 479.

——— vinegar 479.

Bóontjes Kraal (Bean Kraal); occasion of its name 94.

Boor: definition of the word. 87.

Boors (or Dutch farmers): various examples of. 85. 87. 93. 117. 122. 126. 140. 174. 179, 180. 182. 184. 190, 191. 194. 198—206. 210, 211. 220. 222. 233, 234. 238. 241. 248, 249, 250. 273, 274, 275. II. 95. 104—108. 111. 118. 125—127. 132. 135. 140. 149. 154. 157—160, 161, 162, 163. 165, 166. 170, 171. 173—175. 176—180. 182, 183.

——— their journeys to Cape Town. 52. 92. 250. II. 113.

——— care of their oxen 86.

——— the mode in which a traveller introduces himself at their houses 121.

——— hut, description of one 198.

——— hut: description of one in the Karró, and Róggeveld. 237, 238.

——— children: education of 199. II. 114.

——— topics of conversation 117, 118.

——— an artifice respecting pasture. 223.

——— their respect for government orders 241.

——— their clothing 243.

——— their prosperity under the English 244.

——— and Bushmen, their hostility towards each other. II. 15. 50. 331.

——— cautions to be attended to, in giving a general character of them 13. II. 96.

——— and Hottentots; their differences. II. 161, 162. 164. 179.

Bóschberg; or, Bóschbergen, (Timber Mountain) II. 114. 146.

Bósch Duif, (Wood Pigeon) 501, 502.

Bóschjesveld II. 121.

Bóschman; see, Bushman.

—————— úyentjes, small eatable bulbs. 417. 548. II. 26.

Bósjes or Heaths 23.

Bósjesveld; its name 119.

—————— nature of 120.

Bósjesman: see Bushman.

Bot river 93.

[page] 622

Botanic garden at Cape Town; proposed 24.

Botanical boundaries 208. 324. II. 475.

—————— features of a country, change with its mineralogy. 208. 307. II. 100.

—————— specimens: a new mode of preserving them, when the regular mode is not practicable 133.

—————— specimens; a package of them, lost in a manner never accounted for 250.

—————— specimens: the trouble of drying them 293.

Botany of the Cape; its profusion and great variety 16. 18.

——— of the Cape Colony: its features II. 146.

——— of the Cape Colony. (See also Comparative Botany.)

——— of the Cape Peninsula. 154.

——— of African plains 536.

——— of the Nuákketsi country. II. 475.

——— a remarkable change in: at the Karró-pass 208.

——— and Geology, connected. II. 100.

——— and Geography, connected. II. 211.

——— desiderata in. 212. 255. 454.

Bóterboom (Butter tree) 192.

Boulder stones; a remarkable kind of II. 43, 44.

Boundary of the Colony: a law respecting it 162.

—————— of the Colony, ill-defined II. 185.

Bóven-land, the term explained. 88.

Bowls of the Hottentots; the mode of making them 406.

Bows of the Bushmen II. 198.

Boys; Bachapīn: their employment II. 557.

Bracelets, of the Bachapīns. II. 572.

Brackish River 289.

Brákke Rivíer 261. 289.

—————— an unexplored river, improperly so called. (See also, Friendly River.) II. 19.

Brak-bóschjes, a plant II. 21.

Brándewyn-básch 364.

Brand Valléy, or Brandt Valléy: its hot-spring described. 21. 124, 125.

Brandy: reasons for concealing it from the savages II. 393.

——— of the Colony 80. 119.

——— bush 364.

Brass: how denominated by the Bachapīns II. 575.

Bread: Hottentots'; a plant of singular growth II. 147.

——— of the Bichuānas II. 586.

Breede Rivier (Broad River). 104. 126. 185. 189.

Brewery: a villa near Cape Town. 35.

Bréy-paal; an apparatus used in preparing leathern thongs. 351.

Bríeskap; a ford through the Garíep 307.

Bríqua: meaning of the word. 364. II. 303.

Bríqualand 486. II. 437.

Bríquas, (see also, Bachapíns) first discovered II. 273. 559.

——— language (see also, Sichuāna) 201

British inhabitants, at the Cape. 77, 78.

——— Museum. 139. 383. II. 336.

—————— some of the animals presented to it. 139. 342. II. 278. 301, 302. 334.

Bruyn, Jacob De 184. II. 479.

Brúyntjes Hóogte II. 114.

Bryony; a new kind of 547.

Búä káapi (Say it again). II. 436.

Buffalo of Southern Africa 578. II. 420.

——— described II. 249.

——— one pursued by Speelman and Keyser II. 268.

——— thorn. 317. 404. II. 20. 29.

Búffel II. 250.

Búffelbout 303.

Búffeldoorn 317. 404. II. 20.

Búffels kraal, in the Vale of Hex-river 194.

——— rivier II. 172.

Búik-plank 149.

Búiten distrícten: meaning of the words II. 123.

Bukóbi, or Bichuána Bread. II. 586.

Búku (see also Bóokoo, and Bóekoe): representation of the plant 476.

——— a kind of scented powder, much used by the Hottentot tribes 356. 396. II. 59.

——— its medicinal qualities, recommended to notice 479.

——— a kind of it, made from a fragrant species of Croton. 396. II. 263.

Bulb-bag, described II. 57.

Bulbous plants: uncertainty of their flowering 153.

——— plants: the rapidity of their vegetation II. 3.

Bullets: the different kinds used during the journey. II. 73. 317.

Bullet-pouch 167. II. 286.

Burgers: Bárend: description of his dwelling on the Snow Mountains II. 173.

Burghers: three sent by the landdrost of Graaffreynét. II. 134.

—————— of the Colony II. 120.

—————— ten murdered by the Caffres II. 121.

Burial-places of the Bachapīns. II. 522.

Burning the pastures: its effects and utility 117. 419.

Bushes of diminutive size 314. II. 110.

Bushmen.—The following references under this head, are given for the purpose of collecting together the principal parts of the information scattered throughout these volumes; and from which a knowledge of the manners and general character of these tribes, may be drawn.

———— Bóschman, Bóschjesman, or Bósjesman, (sometimes termed Sáqua by the Hottentots): meaning, and application of the words 64.

———— one of the tribes bordering on the Colony 77.

———— one of the ingredients in their arrow-poison 192.

———— Tame. 227. 533. II. 110.

———— Captains: their authority 227. 230.

———— the author's first meeting with 227. 230.

———— frequently attack the shepherds of the Colonists. 238.

———— an attempt to establish a Mission among them, at the Zak (Sack) river 281.

———— precautions against them on entering their country. 281.

———— their stature and personal appearance, described. 291. II. 212.

———— cautions to strangers travelling through their country 294.

———— Góedhart, a chief, who vowed perpetual warfareagainst the Colonists 297

———— often conceal the situation of their kraals 315. II. 284.

———— one of the means of gaining their good-will 326.

———— language, compared with that of the Kóras 345.

———— the uncertain boundaries of their country 346.

———— a mode in which they frequently redress their wrongs. 373.

———— their customary perquisites, when strangers hunt in their territory 379.

———— their pitfalls for catching wild animals 386. 403.

———— sign of their distrust in strangers 388.

———— a party receiving presents 390.

———— a tale of their barbarous treatment of a prisoner of war. 391. 392.

———— language: its great variety of dialects 407.

[page] 623

Bushmen: their superstitious notions 408

———— cutting up a hippopotamus 413.

———— their food often consists of small wild roots 417.

———— liberty and symmetry of figure 422.

———— dismiss all mistrust of a stranger, as soon as they become convinced of his peaceable disposition 494. II. 48.

———— instance of expertness, in striking fish with a hassagay 424.

———— precautions against a surprise from them at night. 434.

———— their signals by night. 434. II. 196.

———— kraal: a visit to 435.

———— much feared by the Kaffers 436.

———— their probable notions respecting robbery 443.

———— often unjustly suspected. 455.

———— a player on the Goráh. 459. 463.

———— the extreme poverty of one of their kraals 456.

———— deplorable ignorance of some 460.

———— their music. 460. II. 66. 87.

———— a tale, respecting two brothers 461.

———— the cause of their being dreaded by the neighbouring tribes 539.

———— arrows: the nature of their poison 539, 540.

———— Country: geographical remarks on it 580.

———— Race 582.

———— pipe II. 24.

———— reflections on their state of poverty and hardship. II. 37.

———— kraal: description of one. II. 53. 55, 56.

———— their general character. II. 54. 599.

———— longevity II. 57.

———— marriage customs. II. 58.

———— mode of mourning. II. 61.

———— expertness in using the bow II. 61, 62.

———— dancing II. 63, 64. 87. 200.

———— not incapable of gratitude II. 68. 86. 447.

———— activity in driving cattle. II. 71.

———— and Colonists at variance II. 112. 132. 201.

———— of the Nugaríep. II. 126.

———— mistrust of the Colonists. II. 141.

———— their alarm at a troop of horsemen II. 187.

Bushmen; their robberies of cattle. II. 189. 197. 203.

———— their arms. II. 198, 199.

———— proofs of their expeditious travelling II. 218.

———— a lighter-coloured and taller tribe of them II. 268.

———— an improvident people. II. 289.

———— farewell remarks on quitting their country II. 290.

———— their mode of drinking. II. 314.

———— Keyser's anecdotes of them II. 331.

———— some of the names given to them, by the Hottentots and Koras II. 331.

———— in the country of the Bachapīns II. 341.

———— the state of society among them II. 347.

———— called Baróba by the Bachapīns II. 377.

———— child, seen at Litákun; nearly starved to death II. 472.

———— and Bachapīns: their hostility towards each other. II. 536. 542.

———— arrows: a mode of curing the wounds made by them. II. 581.

Bushwomen: their personal appearance and manners. 291. 420.

—————— probable cause of their early appearance of old age. 415.

—————— appearance of some far advanced in years 460. II. 195.

—————— singular conformation observed in them. 216. II. 60.

Bush-girl; one pretty, and vain. 413. 420. 422.

Bustard; a species of: called Koórhaan, or Knórhaan 186.

——— a small species, peculiar to the Karró 233.

——— a new species, called Kóri. 393.

Butchers of Cape Town: their mode of purchasing cattle in the grazing districts 201.

——— Hall, in Cape Town 74.

Butcher-birds, or Fiscal-birds. 502. II. 345.

Butter: its use among the Bachapīns II. 593.

——— tree(Boterboom) 192.

Buttons: their use and value at Litākun II. 573.

——— stolen by the Bachapīns. II. 422.

C.

Cáama: see Káama.

Caffres, or Kaffers; application of the word in its more extended meaning II. 302. 529. 530.

——— their mode of warfare. 494.

——— Race: general observations on it II. 529. 548. 582. 599.

——— Proper 64. 582. II. 550.

—————— extent of the country inhabited by them 77. 580, 581.

—————— their language compared II. 582.

—————— their features and personal appearance II. 529.

—————— warfare between them and the colonists. II. 8. 111. 119, 120, 121.

—————— some living at Genádendal 111.

—————— a lusus-naturæ, perfectly white II. 171.

—————— emigrants into the Cisgariepíne, and to the banks of the Gariep 64. 185. 223. 227. 278. 287. 298. II. 52.

—————— the author's first meeting with them 268.

—————— attack and plunder the Bachapīns. II. 542.

——— Red: called Tammakas, or Batámmakas II. 225. 532. 477. 500.

——— Corn, described II. 586.

——— Finch, described II. 492.

Calabash, or Síkkwo II. 587.

Calcareous incrustations 454.

———— substratum indicated by a plant 394.

———— substratum of the Transgariepíne II. 310, 311. 355.

Calculations: astronomical. 204.

Celebés: Wilde 278.

Caledon: the Earl of 12. 169. II. 494.

——— village, and district of 75, 76. 95.

Camel-Corner II. 278.

Camelopard, or Giraffe. 482. 543. II. 282. 336. 568.

—————— first discovery of its footsteps II. 248.

—————— a skeleton of one, found II. 278.

Camelthorn, or Camelopard-thorn. 389. 430. 453. II. 292. 306. 412. 465. 526. 595.

—————— described II. 240.

—————— representations of. II. 360.

—————— new species of 389. II. 442.

Camps Bay, or Van Camps Bay. 16. 45.

———— an excursion to 27.

———— Kloof 15.

[page] 624

Camp of the Hottentot regiment at Wynberg 60.

Cámtoos river II. 172.

Canári-býter; a bird 18.

Canary-bird 20. 502.

Candles: difficulty of making them, in the Interior 332.

Cannibal, a name not to be applied to the Bachapīns II. 478.

Canoe: the "wooden-horse" used as a substitute for it, by the natives 416.

Canopus; a beautiful star, visible in Southern Africa 80.

Cape of Good Hope; first view of, at sea 1.

————————— discovery of. 75.

————————— remarks on the geographical abuse of the name. 580.

——— Colony, taken by the English. 77.

—————— its character as a settlement 82.

—————— its increasing population II. 144. 549.

——— Flats, defined 58.

——— Town, viewed from the sea. 9.

—————— remarks on its situation. 53.

—————— latitude and longitude of 555.

—————— a general description of. 70—82.

—————— Mollémmi proposes to make a journey thither. II. 337. 349. 417. 425. 479.

—————— Serrakútu invited to visit it II. 440.

——— Botany (see also, Botany): remarkable features in 182. 208.

Capóc-berg, seen from Table Mountain 44.

Capóc-vógel (Cotton Bird) 214.

Captains of Bushman and Hottentot kraals; their authority acknowledged by the Cape Government 227.

—————— Hottentot: account of one. 351.

—————— the title of; as understood by the bordering tribes. II. 436.

Carbonáadtjes 219. 514.

Card-playing: a Hottentot game, so called 233.

Carp: a species of 280.

Carrot Fountain II. 184.

Cartridges made by the party. II. 246. 285.

Carving in wood, by the Bachapīns II. 595.

Castle, at Cape Town 11. 26. 73.

Cásper's kraal II. 239.

Cat, the domestic II. 524.

——— a new species of II. 592.

Cats-eye: a beautiful species of stone resembling it 334.

Catalogues; Local: their utility. 154.

Catalogus geographicus 18. 536. II. 279.

Caterpillars: a new mode of preserving them 473.

Cattle; a large herd stolen by the Bushmen II. 197.

—————— of the Colony: their increase II. 144.

—————— of the Bachapīns II. 524.

—————— Place of the Boors; (see Leg-plaats) 207.

—————— Stations of the Bachapīns. II. 476.

Cavern at Sensaván II. 257.

Celery, naturalized at the Kósi Fountain II. 280.

—————— Spring 267.

Chaasi, a Bachapin II. 561. 569.

Chalcedony II. 213. 240.

Chamois of the Alps II. 23.

Champáni, a Bachapīn. II. 409. 416. 426. 428. 430.

Charcoal made by the Bichuánas. II. 483.

Chert II. 240.

Chesnut: the Wild 63.

Chicken-thief (Kúikendief); a kind of kite 502.

Children: their amusive power. II. 435.

—————— of Bushmen: their timidity II. 30. 39.

Chimera 432.

Christemensch (Christians): application of the word, in the Colony 221.

————————— (Christians): advantage taken of the name. II. 156. 286. 467.

Christianity: the genuine spirit of. II. 290.

Christian names, of the Colonists. 191. II. 126.

Christmas day in Africa, contrasted with Europe 495, 496.

Chúkuru (Rhinoceros) II. 346.

Churches in Cape Town. 25. 72, 73.

—————— in the Colony 76.

———— at Genádendal 106.

———— at Túlbagh 128.

———— at Stellenbósch. 136. 145.

———— at Kláarwater 350. 352. 355. 367.

———— Stephánus's 362.

———— Lutheran: its latitude determined 555.

———— at Graffreynét II. 144.

Cisgariepíne, a natural division. 324.

—————— geographically defined. 581.

—————— its mountains. II. 100. 133.

—————— a remarkable characteristic of it II. 211.

Civilization of the aboriginal inhabitants of Southern Africa. 109—111. 224. 334. 352. 358. 422. 483. II. 560. 594. 596.

Clanwilliam: District of 75.

Clay: a strong blue 307.

——— slate 333. II. 311. 355.

Clematis, a climbing plant growing wild 394. II. 5. 146.

Climate of the Cape 80.

———— of the Transgariepíne. 368. II. 527.

Cloth-stone (Dóekstein) 333.

Clothing of South-Africans: conclusions drawn from it. II. 373.

Clusters of houses at Litākun. II. 441.

Cóbus Bérends (see also Bérends). II. 148. 152.

Cocksfoot-grass; a species of: growing wild in the Asbestos Mountains II. 5.

Coffee: a substitute for it 366.

———— readily drunk by the Bachapīns II. 374, 375.

Cold districts of the Colony 81 254.

——— Land (Cóudveld) II. 172.

——— Station II. 129.

——— weather of the Colony. 253. 254. 257. II. 128. 131.

—————— of the Transgariepíne. II. 299. 368.

Collections in Natural History. vii. viii. 18. 24. 31. 46. 131. 133. 250. 505. 511. 523. 536. 550. II. 226, 227.

Colonial customs, in travelling through the Colony. 121. 141.

————————— at departure on a long journey, and at return. 173. 328. II. 2.

————————— respecting names of the Boors. 191. II. 126. 158.

————————— mode of riding, in the distant districts 205.

————————— of the early colonists on meeting on the road. 221.

————————— at dinner 240.

————————— of washing feet. II. 122.

————————— respecting bedding II. 123.

———— Hottentots: remarks on their supposed decrease in numbers II. 549.

———— names of animals and plants, often carelessly applied. 143. 229. 265. II. 23. 250.

———— Secretary's office 162.

Colonists: wandering or nomadic. 273, 274, 275.

—————— their general character often given, either with partiality or with prejudice. II. 96.

—————— their sentiments, with respect to the Bushmen. II. 112. 132.

—————— their true interest, with respect to the Hottentots. II. 164.

[page] 625

Colonization northward of the Róggeveld 284.

—————— on the banks of the Garíep 319.

—————— along the 'Friendly River' II. 32—103.

Coloquintida; Wild: the preparation of 126.

Combustion: spontaneous. II. 170.

Comets, seen 160. 431.

Commándo, or a body of armed Boors II. 111. 119. 201.

Commerce: benefits attendant on it II. 541.

Comparative Botany. 182. 243. II. 259.

Compasberg, or Spítskop; the highest peak in the Colony. II. 125.

Compass rendered useless by ferrugineous rocks 277.

———— renders important service to the party, in a stormy night 302.

———— obtains the confidence of the Hottentots 467.

———— Variation of. 266. 271. 375. 563. II. 325.

Composite-flowers: nearly all the plants of the Róggeveld, are of this order 284.

Concert, in Cape Town 21.

———— Bachapín II. 410.

———— of frogs 509.

Constántia: visit to 61—63.

Cóntreberg seen from Table Mountain 44.

Convulsions of children; a frequent disorder at Kláarwater. 371.

Cóodoo; see Kóodoo.

Cookery of the Hottentots. II. 88. 262.

Coots 197. 263. II. 346.

Copper II. 532. 575.

Copper-ore II. 568.

Cord, made from rushes 114.

——— made from Acacia-bark. 405.

Corn: its productiveness in the Cape Colony II. 144.

——— cultivated in the Transgariepíne 334. 336. 491.

——— of the Bachapīns, described. II. 586.

——— superstition of the Bachapīns respecting it, while growing. 481.

——— difficulty of obtaining it in Bichuánia II. 414.

——— fields at Litākun II. 527.

——— hoes of the Bachapīns. II. 434.

——— sieves at Litâkun II. 455.

——— houses of the Bachapīns. II. 521.

——— jars of the Bachapīns. II. 445. 515. 520.

——— eater; a bird. 246. 259. II. 91.

Cornélis (see also, Goeïman): his conduct during the journey. II. 155. 156. 282. 286. 457. 467.

Cornélls: his disobedience. II. 460—462. 469.

Corneous additamenta of animals. II. 76.

Cosmetics of the Hottentots and Bachapīns. 396. II. 59. 256. 445.

Cotton-plant introduced into the extratropical part of Southern Africa, by the author 366.

—————— like seed: a shrub producing it 321.

—————— bird (Capóc-vógel) 214.

Cóudveld, an extremely cold country 81. 254. II. 172. 176.

Coughs observed on Sneeuwberg. II. 126.

Courage: an emblem of it. II. 192.

Cousin (Neef): a word of frequent use in the Colony 499.

Covetousness of the Bachapīns. II. 395. 397.

Cowan, Dr. his fatal expedition into the Interior of Africa. 50. 232. 498. II. 136. 276. 478.

—————— inquiries made by the author to ascertain the fate of his party II. 494.

—————— and his party: their fate; according to the tales of Mattīvi, and Mulója. II. 496, 497. 503—506.

Cowry shells; reflections on seeing them worn by Bushmen. 444. 291.

Crabs found in the rivers of the Róggeveld 272.

Crane: the large blue 508.

Creation: harmony of 225. 505.

Cricket: a species producing an extraordinary noise 327.

Cross; a beautiful constellation of the southern hemisphere 81.

Crow White (Witte Kraai); a species of vulture 338. 502.

Crows; their familiarity. 257. 481. 502. II. 325.

Crowhead (Kraai-kop); a Bushman captain II. 85. 188.

Cryptogamic plants, widely disseminated II. 209.

Cubic pyrites of iron 202.

Cuckoo: the Golden; or Green-and-gold 464. 502.

Cúpido Kok; a Hottentot of Klaarwater. 581. II. 224. 235. 238. 288.

—————— the meeting with him at Kósi-Fountain. II. 274—277.

Curry, a dish much eaten in the Colony 93.

Currency, compared with sterling money 79.

Custom-house in Cape Town. 74.

Cylindric medium, in the art of drawing in perspective; explained. II. 448.

D.

Dag (Dak): a common salutation. 113. 221. II. 85. 134. 231.

Dákka, or dried Hemp-leaves: used for smoking instead of tobacco. 366. II. 4. 7. 85.

———— Wilde (Leonotis Leonurus), or Wild Hemp 15.

Dak-riet, or Thatching-reed. 25, 26.

Dal van Josaphat 139.

Dámmaras 582.

Dámmara Country 579.

Dámmărăqua: on the word. II. 303.

Dance: Riizo's II. 87.

Dances of the Colonial Hottentots. II. 396.

Dancing, at a Bushman kraal. II. 63. 87. 200.

—————— absurd doctrine respecting. II. 288.

—————— of the Bachapīns. II. 410. 598.

—————— general remarks on. II. 413.

—————— of boys at Litâkun. II. 438.

—————— rattles, of the Bushmen. II. 65. 89.

—————— rattles of the Bachapīns. II. 572.

Dandy: a Hottentot II. 102.

Dandies at Litâkun II. 573.

Daniel Kaffer, or Old Daniel, a Hottentot 553. II. 235.

————————— his character. II. 152. 219.

Dánser, a Caffre chief 186.

Das, or Dásje; an animal resembling a rabbit, and inhabiting rocky places 265.

Dássenberg 25. 44.

Dássen Island 44.

Date Palm (Phœnix dactylifera) 24.

Dates, rectified by astronomy. II. 343.

Dauw, or Mountain horse. 139. 265. II. 315.

Deer and Stags (Cervi) compared with Antelopes 312.

Delagoa Bay 582. II. 532.

Deserts, not wholly destitute of picturesque appearance. 288.

Deserter: melancholy fate of one. 498

Despatches: a mode of conveying them through the Colony. 93.

Devil's Mountain 38. 41. 43.

Dew in the Transgariepíne. II. 324.

Dialect; Dutch: of the Hottentots. 13. 87. II. 437.

—————— of the Bushman language. 407. 581.

Digging-stick, described. II. 29. 198.

Dignity: affected, and real. II. 368.

Disorders of the Bachapīns. II. 580.

Dísselboom, or Pole of a Cape waggon 150. 180.

Distances in travelling: how ascertained. 90. 289. II. 31. 298. 316. 341, 342.

VOL. II. 4 L

[page] 626

Districts of the Colony 75. 579, 580. II. 144. 549.

Diver, a bird 440.

——— an antelope. See Duiker.

Dóekstein, or Cloth-stone 333.

Dogs; common domestic. 237. 247. 349. 381, 382. 384. 401. II. 2. 183.

——— remarks on their various barkings II. 244.

——— remarks on their attachment to man II. 245. 524.

——— and Jackals 464. II. 285.

——— attack a lion II. 191.

——— of he Bushmen. II. 56. 198.

——— of the Bachapīns. II. 474. 524.

——— the Wild: a new species of Hyena 456. II. 99. 229.

Dollars: Cape. See Rix-Dollars.

———— Spanish 79.

Dóorn-boom (Thorn-tree). See Karró-doorn; Wítte-doorn; Cape Acacia 195. 211. 213. 317. II. 244.

Doorn River, in the Karró. 211. 213.

—————— in the Transgariepíne. II. 244.

Doves: Turtle 213. 501, 502.

——— Guinea 502. II. 257.

Downs, near Cape Town 26. 58. 84. 147.

Drákenstein 138. 144. 178, 179.

Drawing: the art of: as connected with the views of a traveller. 336. 411. II. 214. 391. 561. 562, 563.

—————— in perspective: its principles explained II. 448.

Driédoorn, or Threethorn: a shrub of remarkable growth 299. II. 23. 41.

Drooge-tyd (Dry-season) II. 410.

Dróssers, or Runaways II. 159.

Drostdy; the Residence of the Drost, or Landdrost. 128. 135. 146. II. 145.

Drum, of the Bushmen. II. 65. 87.

Dry-Mountains, or Karréebergen. 293.

Dry weather: its effects on vegetation II. 306.

Dúbbeltjes: a coin so called. 78.

—————— doorn; a Colonial name sometimes given to the Centopodium 340.

————————— a Colonial name sometimes given to Arctopus echinatus, and some species of Tribulus.

Ducatóon; a Dutch silver coin worth six shillings English. 248.

Duck: the Crimson-billed 283. II. 346.

——— Wild 197. 538.

Duif: Bosch, (Wood-Pigeon) 502.

——— Námaqua (Námaqua Dove) or Cape Pigeon 502.

——— Tórtel (Turtle Dove). 501, 502.

Duíker (or Duyker): a species of Antelope 187. 202.

———— a bird 440.

Duívelsberg, at Cape Town 26.

Duívels-kop; a mountain 89.

Dúnkerhóek-berg, (Dark-corner Mountain) 117.

Dupléssis, in the Bosjesveld, his mistake 122.

Dust: columns of; lifted into the air by a whirlwind 507.

Dutch inhabitants 21. 38. 78. II. 96. 107. 164. 167.

—————— language, necessary to a traveller 13.

—————— names: general precepts for the pronunciation of them. 15. 331.

—————— names of places in the Colony may be Anglicised. 100.

—————— money compared with English 78.

—————— weight, compared with English 154.

Du Tóït's house and farm in the Bosjesveld (or Boschjesveld). 117, 188.

—————— Kloof, near the Paarl. 89.

Dúyker, a bird 440.

———— or Duíker: description of. 187. 202.

Dwaal river 277.

———— Rivier's Poort 279.

———— river; rocks at II. 43.

Dye: yellow 212.

E.

Ear-plate, of the Bachapīns, described II. 570—572.

Earthenware of the Bachapīns. II. 594.

Earth Hog (Aardvark) 342. II. 97.

Earthquakes in 1806 369.

—————— in 1809 27.

—————— in 1811 26. 38. 157—160. 169. 194.

—————— the roaring of a lion mistaken for it II. 206.

Eastern Districts 581.

Eclipse of Jupiter's Satellites, observed 484.

Eels: a remarkable fact respecting them 425.

Eerste Rivier 84. 146.

Egyptian sacred Vulture 338.

Eisenrahm, a mineral 414.

Eland, or Elk (more properly Kánna; which see); a species of Antelope. 267. 309. 311, 312, 313. 482. II. 23. 190. 194. 273. 391.

Eland's Kloof; one of the mountain-passes 88.

—————— Valley, or Elk's Pond; in the Cisgariepine 299.

Elands Valley, or Fountain; in the Transgariepíne. 333. 353. 477. 482.

———— vogel (Eland-bird) 245.

Elk. See Eland, or Kanna.

Elze, Roode, a tree 142.

——— Witte 143.

Electrical phenomenon 519.

Elephant tramples a man to death. 201. 301.

—————— abound in the Interior. II. 539.

—————— hunts. 376. 481. II. 466. 578.

—————— tusk seen at Krámŏrĭ's. II. 446.

—————— River. 80. 96. 580, 581.

—————— acacia 236.

Elephantiasis II. 580.

Emigration to Southern Africa. 76. 274, 275. II. 539.

—————— Hints on.—See a vindication of this pamphlet, appended to the first volume.

Engelsche Drift II. 214.

—————— Heer II. 436.

England compared with other countries II. 281.

———— letters to 510. II. 478.

English inhabitants in the Cape Colony 78. II. 142.

———— language (in 1815) little known, excepting in Cape Town, and Albany 14.

———— names of places may, in some cases, be substituted for Dutch 99.

———— orthography, reasons for not adoptinght for the Sichuāna language II. 297.

———— plants, naturalized in Africa. 37. 340. 544, 545. II. 236.

———— Ford II. 10. 214.

Englishman: the price of being one 239

Enthusiasm; religious: its effects. 358. 462.

Entrails of animals, used for necklaces II. 209.

Epidemic complaint, in the Colony. II. 137. 141. 148.

Equal Pass 261.

Europe and Africa, contrasted. 495, 496.

European and African, contrasted. II. 443.

—————— luxuries: probable sentiments of the savage tribes respecting them II. 440.

Evaporation; its effects, to bodily feeling 337.

Evergreen plants II. 11.

Exaggeration: the art of II. 368.

Exchange, built at Cape Town. 74.

—————— mercantile: the rate of, in 1810. and 1823. 79. II. 540.

[page] 627

Exotic plants and flowers, at the Cape 22.

Exports of the Colony. 57. 79. 126. 204. 429. II. 175, 176. 539. 568.

F.

Farms in the Colony: their original extent 76.

Farmers in the Colony. See Boors, or Boers.

Faisánt (Pheasant), a kind of Partridge 270.

Falcon: a species of 394.

———— the Little Red 338.

False Bay 46. 86, 87.

—————— the Downs of 44.

Feather-stick: its important use. II. 579.

Female character of the Bachapīns. II. 563.

Ferry, over the Berg river 178.

Fever: a mode of treating it. II. 78.

Fiddle: one made by Speelman. 499.

—————— absurd doctrine respecting it II. 288.

Field-commandant, (Veld-commandant) 250. II. 120.

Field-córnet. (See also, Veld-cornét.) 76. 174. 188. 191. 227. 238. 241. 248. II. 108. 119. 127. 132.

Fig: Hottentot 54.

— marygold. See Hottentot Fig.

— tree: a species of 492.

Finch: new species of 214. 440. II. 269.

—————— a remarkable species of. II. 492.

Fire-arms: the ultimate effect of a free use of them in a country abounding in game. II. 525.

Fire-places, at Litakun II. 518.

Fire-wood: its scarcity in the vicinity of Cape Town, and a hint for remedying it 54.

—————— scarcity of it, in the vicinity of Hottentot settlements. 116.

—————— a sort which burns when green 176.

——— stick, of the Bachapins, described II. 579.

First river (Eerste Rivier) 84.

Fiscáal-vogels(Fiscal-birds). II. 345.

Fiscal: the office of 78.

Fish, in Cape Town 79.

——— the Yellow 262. 280.

——— the Flat-head 425.

——— River in Great Námaqua-land. 579.

——— the Great. 100. 575. 579.

Flag: English, hoisted on the journey II. 425, 426. 429, 430.

Flat-head; a fish, described 425.

Fleas: how avoided by Hottentots. II. 240.

Flint: a kind of II. 261.

Floors, of the Boors' houses. 105.

———— of the Bachapīn houses. II. 517. 519.

Flower-gardens at the Cape 22.

———— seasons in the Karrō;. 222.

Flycatcher: a species of 502.

Fonteín (Fountain); a word much used in the Colony 259.

Food of various nations: remarks on II. 33.

Fording a river: the dangers of. 90. 140. II. 215.

Fortuýn; Willem: an industrious Hottentot 335. II. 217.

Fransche-hóek (French Corner). 144.

Freezing Station 257.

French settlers in the Colony. 77. 144.

Friendly river. II. 44. 91. 94. 186. 210.

Frogs, in the Karrée river 271.

——— a concert of 509.

——— a new species of II. 32.

Frost 366. 370. II. 174. 259.

Fruits: wild, eatable 54. 387. II. 588.

——— in the gardens of the Colony 79, 80.

Fuel; a peculiar species made use of, on Sneeuwberg. II. 114. 126.

Fullers' earth II. 98.

Funguses of rare occurrence in the regions of the Interior. 394.

Furs of the Colony 57. II. 175.

G.

Gánna-bosch, (see also Kánna). 267. II. 113.

——— Kraal 267.

Gans. Wilde (Wild Goose). 265.

Garden; the public: at Cape Town. 24. 73.

——— of the Hottentots at Genādendal 114.

——— of the Boors 93. 118. II. 118.

——— a spot so called, where some useful plants were introduced by the author into the Transgariepíne. II. 312. 561.

Gariep: its branches, and names. 200. 319. 389. 391. 562. II. 125.

——— one of the most beautiful of the African rivers 320.

——— pronunciation of the word. 314.

——— geographical remarks on it. 280. 324. 579. 580. II. 511.

——— first arrival at 314.

——— its breadth by trigonometrical measurement 319.

Gariep: its great length 320.

——— its inundations 316, 317.

——— remarks on the increase of its waters and their sources. 442.

——— its climate 394.

——— its navigation 319.

——— the proper season for crossing it 442.

——— nature and value of its woods 429.

——— abounds in beautiful pebbles II. 213.

——— a beautiful view of. 316. 321.

——— mode of crossing it on rafts. II. 13. 215.

——— compared with the Kruman. II. 299.

Grarlick; wild: the changeable odour of a plant so called. 466.

Garst river II. 133.

Grattikamma, or Wittewater. 343. 347. 538. 548. II. 3. 236.

Géurits River 100. 137. 579.

Gazette of Cape Town, may be rendered instrumental to the improvement of the Colony. 78.

Gedrost Hottentotten (Runaway Hottentots) II. 159.

Géelhout (Yellow Wood) 72. II. 114.

Géelvisch (see also, Yellow-Fish). 262. 280. 326.

——— surprise excited by a drawing of one 441.

Gémsbok II. 25. 99. 205. 592.

Genádendal, a missionary settlement: its first establishment. 105.

——— its population 108.

——— reflections occasioned by a view of it 109.

——— gardens of the Hottentots 108. 114. 359.

Geographical Catalogue of plants. 18. 536. II. 279.

——— remarks 575.

Geography and Botany, naturally connected II. 211.

Geological features of the Roggeveld 257.

——— nature of the country, assuming a different character. 306.

——— appearances about Litakun II. 354.

Geology of the Transeariepíne. II. 311. 312.

——— importance of the study of. II. 312.

George: the District of 75.

——— the village of 76.

Geranium Rocks II. 98.

Geréchts-boode; see Boode.

German Colonist proposes to join the expedition II. 157. 182.

4 L 2

[page] 628

Gert, or Gérrit Roodezand, one of the Hottentots who accompanied the author on the expedition into the Interior: his conduct and character. 184. 500. 503. 552. II. 227. 230. 265. 274. 287. 322. 596. 398. 400.

——— his hand shattered by the bursting of a gun, and management of the cure. 477—481.

Gift-appel (Poison-apple) 143.

——— bol (Poison-bulb) 539.

——— drinkers (Poison-drinkers). II. 331.

Giraffe or Giraffa (see also Camelopardalis) II. 278.

——— Acacia II. 240.

Gmaap. See Maap 391.

Gnu, a species of antelope; and remarks on erroneous descriptions of it. 24. 431. II. 109. 278.

——— a new species of, described. 277. 315.

Goats in the Colony: their increase II. 144.

——— of the Hottentots at Ongeluks Fountain II. 239.

——— at Litākun II. 524.

——— sucker: a bird 502.

Góedhart, a Bushman chief. 297. 497.

Goeïman; Cornelis, a Hottentot. See, Cornelis.

Gold II. 575.

Gónaqua II. 303.

Goose: wild 197. 265.

——— Egyptian 283. II. 346.

Goréh, a musical instrument, described. 458, 459, 460. II. 287. 598.

Goudínie: a part of the Colony. 127.

Góudsbloem (Marygold): wild flowers so called 229. 289.

——— Hoogte 229. 231.

Government: origin of the different forms of II. 546.

Governor's levee and ball 38.

'Gowsa; or white-man II. 210.

Graaffreynét: District of 75.

——— Village of. 50. 76. 96. 564. II. 541.

——— orthography of the word 530.

——— ——— a journey to, projected 530.

——— ——— a description of the village II. 143.

Graaf-stok (Digging-stick). II. 29.

Grahamstown 76.

Granite 29. II. 311. 354, 355.

Grapple-plant, described 536.

Grass, an extraordinary kind of. 211.

——— extremely scarce in the Róggeveld 260.

Grass: Plains of 537, 538. 547. II. 260. 266. 270. 340.

——— annually set on fire 419.

——— a beautiful species, recommended II. 5. 7.

Grasses: inconvenience from their barbed seeds II. 247.

Grass-station II. 32.

Gratitude of Bushmen. II. 38, 39, 40. 86.

Graves, of the Hottentots 522.

——— of the Bachapīns II. 522.

Great Fountain: see Groote Fontein.

——— River 287.

——— Thorn: see Groote-Doorn. 482.

Green-Point 9. 27. 153.

Greenstone rocks. 342. 347, 348. II. 43. 311.

——— a species of: giving the sound or a large bell 278.

Groene Kloof: the missionary settlement at 106. 162. 166.

——— Spreeúw (Green thrush). 318.

Groente Plein, or Vegetable market. 73.

Grosbeak: a species of 502.

Groote-doorn; a Hottentot kraal. 359. 482. 501. II. 226.

——— Fonteín, in the Kóra Country 452. 553.

——— in Achter Sneeúwberg II. 111. 183.

Gróotkop; a peak in the Bósjesveld 123.

Groote Rivíer (Great River), or Garíep 200. II. 114. 126.

———— ——— in the Karró. 216.

——— Táfelberg (Great Tablemountain) II. 105. 184.

Grouse: Námaqua 265. II. 345.

——— the variegated II. 345.

Grýskop, a Bushman II. 202.

Guáap, an eatable plant 243.

Guârri 387. II. 588.

Guinea fowl, or Pintado. 364. 426. II. 281.

Gum-arabic, may be obtained from the Acacia of the Cape. 429.

——— ——— tree, of Egypt, compared with the Doórnboom of Southern Africa 196.

Gun: an unfortunate accident occasioned by the bursting of one 479.

——— the subject of dispute at Litâkun II. 376. 388. 396. 402. 415. 447. 458.

——— one in possession of the Kóras. II. 486.

Gunpowder: its value and importance exemplified 331. 372. 438. II. 12. 224. 251.

Gypsies, compared with Hottentots. 549.

H.

Háakdoorn (see also Hookthorn), a remarkable thorny shrub. 309. 320. 333. 336. 432. 435. II. 6. 241. 526.

Haas: Spring (Leaping-hare). 487. II. 3.

——— Berg (Mountain-hare). 488. Hail. 369. 535. II. 88. 90. 111. 118. 219.

Hair of the Hottentots, described. 161.

——— of the Bachapin women, described II. 569.

——— rarely seen grey, or carroty, among the Bushmen. II. 198.

——— of Europeans, excites great astonishment at Litākun. II. 453, 454.

Halfway-Spring II. 91. 187.

Hángklip, in the Karró. 217. 229.

Hanglip, or Hángklip, near False Bay 46.

Hannah, a Hottentot woman who accompanied the author's party. 168. 354. 500. II. 225. 231.

Hans Lucas, a Hottentot who accompanied the author, during a part of his travels. 353. 378. 433. 438. 519. 532. 552. II. 148. 152. 226.

Hántam-berg 254. 531.

Hardiness of plants, considered. 255.

Hares 279. 290. II. 31.

Hare: the leaping, described. 487. II. 3.

——— the Mountain 488.

Harpies: the idea of them recalled by the view of some vultures. 377.

Harpúis-bosch (Resin-bush) 259.

Hárra (Father) a Bachapin title of respect II. 320. 322.

Hart, the chief kraal of the Kóras. 346. 430. II. 225. 541.

Hártebeest, or Káama; a species of antelope. 420. II. 81. 99. 273. 277. 334.

Harvest at Klaarwater 491.

——— time; a season of rejoicing among the Bachapīns. II. 599.

Hássagay II. 199. 597.

——— representation of one. 491. II. 186. 599.

——— wounds: how cured by the Bachapins II. 581.

——— hout (Hássagay-wood). 180.

Hatchet: its aboriginal Hottentot form 406.

Hay: the general use of it in Africa, recommended 547.

Health: aridity of soil and climate, conducive to it 275.

[page] 629

Heat of the weather: various examples of. 26. 81. 332. 338. 368. 390. 438, 439, 440. 491. 508. II. 78.

——— atmospheric: an hypothesis respecting 496, 497.

Heaths: a remark respecting those at the Cape 23.

——— their northernmost parallel of latitude 209.

Héemraad; or, Héemraaden: the members of the District-council 183. 191. II. 121. 160.

Heer. 184. 194. 200. 259. II. 436.

Héeregragt; a street in Cape Town 25.

Hēela ! or Héla ! a Bachapin exclamation II. 452.

Heks-rivier. See, Hex-river.

Hémel-en-aarde; a place so called. 101.

Hemp leaves, used for smoking. 366. II. 4.

Hemp; Wild, or Wilde-dákka (Leonotis Leonurus) 15.

Héndrik: Jan; a Hottentot. II. 465. 479.

Herbaria: a mode by which they may often be enriched. 134.

Hérholdt's, on Sneeúwberg. II. 124. 180.

Herons 326.

Hesse: the Reverend C. H. F. 12. 16. 170. 510. 535. II. 227. 229.

Hex-river; or Heks-rivier 190. 280. II. 125.

——— Kloof 89. 192. II. 5.

——— Vale of 194.

Hide-shoes 214. II. 102.

Hippopotamus; River-horse; Zéekoe; or, Sea-cow: various remarks relative to it. 86, 263. 317. 378. 403, 404. 409—413. 417, 418. 423. 427, 428. 430. II. 126.

Hoar-frost II. 259.

Hoes used by the Bachapīns. II. 434. 586.

Hond: Wilde (Wild Dog); a new species of Hyena. 456. II. 229, 230.

Honey: wild; the mode in which it is obtained by the Hottentots. II. 81.

——— bees 376.

Honeycomb stone 306.

Honeysuckle: a wild plant compared with it 321.

Hóning-bier (Honey-beer) 364. II. 552.

Hoofs of animals: a remark respecting them. 139. II. 336, 337.

Hookthorn; see Háakdoorn. Hoopoe: the purple. 326. 394. 502. II. 346.

Horizon: artificial; used in the astronomical observations. 229. 332.

Horny substances: theory of. II. 76.

Horses of the Colony: increase of. II. 144.

——— the folly of mutilating their tails II. 230.

——— none possessed by the Bichuánas II. 524.

——— Distemper: (Páarde-ziekte). 370. 510. II. 218. 242.

——— Mountain, or Paardeberg, in the Transgariepíne. II. 242.

——— lsland (Páarden Eiland). 51.

——— waggon; or, Páarde wagen, of the Colony 28. II. 135.

——— Grave; a station in the Cisgariepíne II. 98.

——— of the mountains, or Wilde Paard 138. II. 315.

———: River: see Hippopotamus.

———: Wooden, a Hottentot mode of crossing rivers. 415. II. 13.

Horticulture: state of it in the Colony II. 118.

—————— of the Bachapīns. II. 587.

Hospitality among the Boors; reciprocal 141.

Hot springs in Southern Africa. 96. 98. 124, 125.

Hottentots.—The following references under this word, are intended for collecting together, merely in the order in which they happen to stand in these volumes, a few of those scattered remarks and occurrences, from which some general ideas of the Hottentot character, and of the principal features of that race, may be obtained. See also the words, Bushman and Kora, and the names of those Hottentots, of whom a more particular mention has been made.

——— their situation before the discovery of the Cape 5.

——— speak a corrupt dialect of the Dutch language, which it is necessary for a traveller to learn 13. 156. II. 437.

——— their evidence not to be rejected 13.

——— an infringement on their liberty 34.

——— have been found to be the most serviceable soldiers for the defence of the Colony against the bordering tribes. 60.

——— soldier: the opinions of one, with respect to military service 66. 160.

——— the proportion of their numbers in the Colony. 77. II. 144.

——— generally dislike living in towns 77.

——— their names of places, preferable to those which have been substituted by the colonists 100. 286.

Hottentots; a proof that they may be brought to submit to all the rules of decorum required in a church 109. 356.

———— may be taught to sing psalms with great correctness. 109. 357.

——— huts at Genádendal. 112. 115.

——— manufacture a peculiar kind of mat 113.

——— nearly all of them employed in the service of the Colonists 114.

——— have, in general, little inclination for gardening. 114. 334. 352. 359.

——— their customary wages. 115.

——— mistrustful of colonial promises 148.

——— of the Mixed, or Half breed, called Bastaards, by the Boors 154. 361.

——— the ridiculous names sometimes given to them by the Colonists 155. II. 166.

——— descriptions of particular individuals. 155. 161. 167, 168. 184.

——— frequent too much the Págter's, or Brandy shop. 162. II. 151.

——— scarcely ever know their own age 167.

——— the mode of life most congenial to their natural, disposition 173.

——— their quickness and memory, in all affairs relating to cattle 175. 242. II. 8.

——— their helplessness in a particular accident at Olyvenhout-bósch 177.

——— the figures of several. 178.

——— their services usually secured by legal forms. 183. 247. II. 162, 163.

——— a servant rarely participates with his Master in the hospitality of the Boors. 190.

——— regard tobacco and brandy as necessaries 195.

——— women: remarks on an occasional peculiarity of shape. 216.

——— at their meals 217.

——— their game called cardplaying 233, 234.

——— easily find their way over the country. 236. II. 190.

——— leather, the most usual material of their clothing. 243.

——— their mode of healing abscess in oxen 246.

[page] 630

Hottentots often exemplify great patience 251.

——— their mats made of different kinds of rush 263.

——— appearance and description or a large caravan. 267.

——— prefer hunting to fishing 280.

——— an example of their expeditious travelling 287.

——— a kraal on the Gariep. 324.

——— the mat-houses made by them, convenient for the pastoral life 325.

——— visitors, in the Asbestos Mountains 331.

——— boys and girls: their youthful liveliness deserts them at an early age 338.

——— language compared with that of the Kóras 345.

——— unpleasant odor of their bodies, trom buku and grease. 356.

——— mode of punishing criminals 363.

——— captains or chiefs: nature of tneir authority 363.

——— of Klaarwater: the mode in which they treat their wives. 364.

——— an appropriate motto for them 365.

——— at Klaarwater: their laziness and want of perseverance 367, 368.

——— the aboriginal dress, described 395—398.

——— manufacture cord from bark, or rushes 405.

——— hatchet, bowl, and bambus 406.

——— recover lost cattle, by following their track 456.

——— musical instrument called a Gorán 458. 460. 559.

——— their opinion of the compass 466, 467.

——— waggons 385. 468.

——— compared with Bachapīns 486.

——— huts at Klaarwater. 493.

——— an example of their power of travelling on foot; and the fortunate escape of one who ventured alone from the Colony to Klaarwater. 497.

——— an example of the facility with which they sometimes suffer themselves to be misled and of their slowness in listening to reasonable argument. 503, 504.

——— an ancient custom in burying their dead 522.

——— frequently change their place of abode and remove their houses and their whole family 549.

Hottentots: the various tribes which constitute the Hottentot race. 582.

——— definition of the term 'Hottentots Proper,' made use of in this work 582.

——— description of one of their kraals II. 6, 7.

——— are naturally fond of music II. 9.

——— their commercial speculations II. 50.

——— sometimes fickle and uncertain in their movements. II. 67.

——— are in general very bad cooks II. 88. 262.

——— instances of their apathy and unconcern II. 130. 237. 422.

——— less prolific than the colonists II. 144.

——— their manners during a state of intoxication. II. 152.

——— the differences between the Hottentots and the Boors, impartially weighed. II. 161. 162. 164. 179.

——— a colonial law for their protection II. 162.

——— their natural timidity frequently renders them the dupes of secret intimidation. II. 165.

——— their readiness at finding their way II. 190.

——— their filthiness exaggerated II. 209.

——— situation of their race since the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. II. 203.

——— often inclined to disregard regularity and good order. II. 220.

——— a specimen of their language II. 251.

——— mode of avoiding fleas. II. 239.

——— often adopt thoughtless schemes II. 280.

——— want of prudence, a part of their character II. 284.

——— are seldom provident for the future II. 289.

——— a remark on the names given by them to different tribes or aborigines II. 303.

——— their singular mode of drinking II. 314. 450.

——— almanack II. 343.

——— the music and dancing of the Colonial Hottentots, or Hottentots Proper II. 396.

——— instance of their want of prudence II. 420.

Hottentots sometimes betray great timidity when among strange tribes II. 422. 423.

——— women accustomed to the hardships of a wandering life II. 466.

——— not neglectful of the duties of hospitality. II. 349. 544.

——— considerations respecting the locality of the Hottentot race, and its supposed decrease II. 549.

——— language, totally distinct from that of the Caffre race. II. 582.

——— call various vegetable preparations by the name of bread II. 586.

——— their instrumental music compared with that of the Bachapīns II. 598.

——— a remark respecting the general character of the Hottentot race II. 599.

Hottentotaria, or Hottentaria, the country of the Hottentots; defined 582.

Hottentot's Brood (Hottentot's Bread): an extraordinary plant. II. 147.

Hottentot-Fig 54.

——— Holland 85.

——— Mountains. 41. 81.

——— Kloof, or Pass. 86. 580.

——— Zeer (or Sore): its nature and mode of cure 371.

Houhóek 92.

Houses of the Colonists: description of some which are built of mud 119.

Hout-Bay (Wood-Bay) 60.

——— Kapper (Wood-cutter), a bird. 318.

Houte-paard (Wooden-horse): a mode of crossing rivers by it 415. 416.

Houswana: remarks on the word. II. 559.

Hugo; Piet; a colonist 190.

Huisbezóeking, (or, pastoral visitations) II. 154.

Húning-berg, (Honey-Mountain), 130.

Hunt, of the Bachapīns, in the vicinity of Litákun. II. 320. 420.

Hunting preferred to agriculture, by the Hottentots. 334. 365.

Hunter's-Station II. 42.

Hurricane, in the Abestos Mountains 337.

Hydrophobia, or, Canine madness, II. 524.

Hygrometer 282.

Hyena 578. II. 277. 326.

——— the Hunting. 456. II. 229.

——— the Striped II. 229.

[page] 631

Hyena: the Spotted II. 229.

Hyena-Mountains, in the Cisgariepíne II. 27. 36. 44. 47. 71.

I.

Ice 81. 564.

Iguana II. 33.

Imports of the Colony 79.

Industry among the Bachapins. II. 557.

Influenza: a species of. II. 137. 141.

Inghé (Ing-háy), a species of weasel. II. 592.

Inhumanity: an instance of it at Litākun II. 472.

Ink, of a yellow color 212.

Inns: the want of them in the Colony, frequently remedied by hospitality 141.

Insects: remarkable. 310. 400. 418.

Interpreter for the Sichuána language 485. II. 363.

Intramontane 581.

Intzi-íntzí, a Sichuána word expressive of multitude II. 560.

Inundation of the Garíep, and Núgaríep 316. 319. 390.

Iron II. 575.

——— cubic pyrites of 202.

——— ore: appearances of 95.

———— a species found at Sansaván. II. 257.

———— a species of 414.

——— -stone rocks 386.

——— -ware, manufactured by the Nuákketsies II. 439.

Isthmus of Cape Town, viewed from Table Mountain 46.

————————— a ramble over 51—58. 84.

Itinerary: the longitudes given in it 205.

———— remarks respecting it. 251. II. 53.

Ivory, brought by the Hottentots to Cape Town 154.

——— the price of it in the Interior II. 274.

——— at Litakun II. 403. 406.

——— obtained from the Nuákketsies and Barolóngs. II. 537. 538.

——— on establishing a regulated trade with the Bichuána nations II. 539.

——— a mode of procuring it. II. 555.

——— rings; an ornament of distinction worn by South-Africans II. 362. 571.

J.

Jackals 180. 464. II. 83. 99. 285.

——— tail: its supposed virtue and use II. 57. 412.

Jackal; a part of the Hottentot dress, so called. 397. 398. II. 318.

——— Fountain 258.

Jacobs: Pieter; a colonist 197.

Jacob: Oud Baas. II. 94. 95. 108.

Jan Hendrik II. 465. 479.

Jan-Tadentáal: a bird so called. 364.

Jan Van Roye; or Van Rooyen: see, Van Roye.

Jansens: General 12.

Jansz's Fountain 463.

Jas (Yas), or Watch-coat. 233. 270.

Jasper 334.

Jaundice 371.

Jerboa of the Cape. See Spring-haas, or Leaping Hare.

Jónker's Water 306.

Josaphat: Dal van 139.

Journal: a mode of gaining time for writing it II. 401.

——— a remark respecting it. II. 304.

Júffrouw Vermeúlen II. 118.

Juk Rivier (Yoke River) 225. 229.

——— rivíers Hóogte (Yoke River Heights) 229.

——— -schei 151. 246.

Júli, a faithful Hottentot: his character and history. II. 160, 161. 165. 233. 242. 262. 279, 280. 323. 367. 423. 463. 491.

Jupiter's Satellites, observed. 483.

Justice; the administration of; in the Cape Colony 77. 78.

K.

Káabi, a Bushman captaín. II. 22.

——— his wife II. 25.

——— his friendly assistance. II. 195.

——— his kraal, alarmed by suspicion of spies II. 201.

——— character of him and his countrymen II. 202.

——— and Gryskop, visit Klaarwater II. 218.

Káama; or, Kháama. II. 81. 99. 334. 350. 392. 573. 591.

Káapsche Duinen (Cape Downs). 58. 84.

——— Vlakte (Cape Flats). 58.

Kárt-spel; a Hottentot game, so called 233.

Káava-pukō;li (Jackal's tail). II. 412.

Kába-klúsi II. 412.

Káffer: see Caffre.

Káffers-boom (Erythrina Caffra). 23. 24.

——— Vink (Caffre Finch.) 20. II. 492.

Kakikáan, an animal of the feline tribe II. 592.

Kalkóentje: Wilde 501. 502.

Kameelpáard; see, Camelopard.

Kaméel-doorn 453. II. 240.

Kameel-hoek II. 278.

Kamhánni: remarks on the word. II 300.

——— Mountains. II. 340. 491.

——— Pass II. 289. 291.

——— Peak II. 291. 314.

Kamiesberg 361. 581. II. 224.

Kámma; a Hottentot word: its meaning and application. 259.

Kamnási-land; a division of the Colony 96. 579. 580. 581.

Kána-kána, a Bachapin air, II. 438.

Kanári vogel, a bird so called. 502.

Kánna, a species of antelope. See also Eland. 312, 313. II. 23. 42. 81. 190. 193. 199. 285.

Kánna-bosch (Kánna-bush); ashrub, from the ashes of which, the Colonists make soap. 267. 419. II. 21. 113.

——— Kraal 267.

Kánnaland: a division of the Colony 267. 579, 580, 581.

Kaptéen (Captain), a title not unknown to the extra-colonial tribes II. 436.

Kardóuw's Kloof 88.

Karóss; or, Hottentot Cloak. 267. 397. 459. 490. II. 86. 350. 375.

——— the fore- and hind- 292. 395.

Karrée-hout (Karrée-wood) or, Karrée tree. 178, 179. 207, 208. 317. 343. II. 29. 199.

Karrée river 267. II. 371.

Karréebergen, or, Karree Mountains 293. 295. 297. 299.

—————— Plain 301.

—————— Poort; or the Pass of the Karree Mountains. 298.

Kárrikamma; see Klaarwater. II. 365.

Kárrikarri, a tribe of Bichuanas. II. 474. 532. 548.

Karró: meaning of the word. 207.

——— geographically defined. 75. 581. 558.

——— the nature of its soil. 210. 240. 244.

——— its climate 81. 187.

——— the Great; its rivers. 137. 213. 215.

——— -doorn: see, Karrō;-thorn.

——— Ground: its nature. II. 44.

——— Plains: a view over them. 218, 219.

——— Thorn. 195. II. 29. 240, 241. 248.

——— Poort (Karró Pass). 207. 555. 557, 558. II. 98.

Karupny, a Bushman Kraal 436.

Katjepíring, or Katjepíri (Gardenia florida) 22.

Kastánje: Wilde, (Wild Horse-chesnut) 63.

[page] 632

Káva; see, Káava, or Kába.

Kavaklúsi (Tail of the Klúsi). II. 412.

Kéeri: see Kirri 354.

Kees, see Muchùnka.

Kéevit (Peevit), or, Plover. 344. II. 346.

Keísikamma River 387.

Kerk-straat at Tulbagh 129.

Kérstenbosch, near Cape Town. 68.

Kestrel, a species of hawk. 338. 502.

Kētsi (bag) of the Bachapīns. II. 578.

Keyser, one of the Hottentots who accompanied the author. II. 166.

——— and Stuurman, suspected of being spies II. 201.

—————— their sufferings from thirst II. 205.

——— his anecdotes of Bushmen. II. 331.

——— his desertion. II. 380. 383.

Khāakă, a species of Manis; described II. 423. 440.

Kháluï; a species of weasel. II. 592.

Kháama. See Káama.

Khamiesberg; see Kamiesberg.

Khúru, or Bachapīn cap II. 571.

Kibbukíili, the wife of Mattīvi, and mother of Massisān. II. 486. 507.

Kings, Queens, Princes, &c. of the Bichuána tribes II. 368.

Kírri 354. 491. II. 198.

Kite: a species of 502.

Klaarfonteín; see Klaarwater. 271.

Kláarwater, Kláarfontein, or Kárrikamma, a Hottentot village and Missionary Station in the Transgariepine. 49. 64. 154. 248. 329. 349. 352. 359. 389. 391. 398. 482. 501. II. 2. 222. 238. 239. 243. 365. 466. 541.

Kláatălăkúmŏ, a Bachapin cattle-station II. 341.

Klagt Hottentotten (Complaining Hottentots) II. 159.

Kleine Táfelberg (Little Table-mountain). II. 117. 124. 183.

Klíbbolikhónni, a copious fountain, the source of the Krúman River. II. 293. 299. 352. 421.

—————— Little II. 293.

Klip Fonteín (Rock Fountain) in the country of the Bushmen. 293, 294.

——— Fonteín, of the Kóra country. II. 261.

Kloof, signification of the word. 16.

——— near Cape Town 15.

Kloofs, or Mountain-passes of the Colony 88. 89.

Kloof Village, in the Asbestos Mountains 328. 541. 545. II. 217.

Klówa, or whey, of the Bachapins. II. 593.

Klúsi, a species of jackal II. 412.

Knápzak (Knapsack): Colonial application of the name 483.

Knegt: Slagter's 201.

Knegt's Fountain II. 269.

Knife: Bichuána, or Bachapīn. 491. II. 575.

——— -sheaths of the Bachapins. II. 596.

Knóflook: Wilde, (Wild Garlic); its changeable odor 466.

Knóflooks Kraal 93.

Knórhaan, see, Kórhaan or Koorhaan.

Kóbo, or cloak worn by the Bachapins. II. 318. 350. 382. 392. 412. 570. 591.

Kóedoe. See, Kóodoo, and Kúdu.

Kóeberg (Cow-Mountain). 25. 44.

Kógeltas (Bullet-pouch). 167. II. 246. 286.

Kojās, a tribe II. 532.

Kok, a family of Half-Hottentots, 363.

——— Adam, a captain of the Mixed, or Half-Hottentots, or Bastaards, living at Klaarwater. 351. 365. 381. 385. 433. 468. 517. 524. II. 227. 275.

——— Cúpido II. 224. 466.

——— Jan; a Hottentot who accompanied the author from Cape Town to Klaarwater. 155, 156. 329.

——— a Half-Hottentot and Missionary. 431. II. 264. 537.

——— Kraal, on the Gariep. 362. II. 223.

Kóker-boom, or Quiver-tree (Aloë dichotoma) 24. II. 199.

Kókman's Kloof 89.

Kokóon, or Kokóong. See Kokún.

Kokūn, or Kokūng; an animal allied to the Gnu. II. 278. 301. 315. 332. 568. 592.

Kombáars; or, Vel-kombáars (Skin-coverlet). 360. II. 175. 235.

Kommedákka, a botanical parallel. 209.

Kóodoo; Kúdu; or, Kóedoe, a species of Antelope. 337. 374. 380. II. 592.

Kool-saláade, a Colonial dish. 190.

Kóorhaan, or Kórhaan: a species of bustard 186.

——— of the Karró 233.

Kóorn-vreeter (Corn-eater), a bird resembling the domestic sparrow 246. 259. II. 91.

Kō;osi Kō;osi! II. 332.

Kop: signification of the word. 123.

Kóperberg; or, Kóperbergen (Copper-Mountains). 581. II. 568.

Kópjes Fontéin 285.

Kóras; or, Koránas; or Kóraquas, one of the tribes of the Hottentot race 345. 582.

——— their country defined. 346. 580.

Koras: their language. 201. II. 251.

——— their general character. 388. II. 213. 599.

——— less civilized than the Hottentots 361.

——— their kraals, or villages. 538. II. 5. 10. 204.

——— one of their laws of inheritance 373.

——— description of one of their captains, or chieftains 490.

——— first met with at Gáttikamma. 344.

——— astonishment of some, at a coloured drawing of a fish. 441.

——— a numerous party arrives at Litákun II. 486.

Korána, or Koráander (more corcorectly, Kóra, or Kóraqua). 345.

Kō;rhaan 186.

Kō;ri, a new species of Bustard. 393.

Kosás; or Caffres Proper. 77. 268. 582.

Kō;si: meaning of the word. II. 272. 332.

——— or Bachapīn chieftain. II. 364. 392. 488.

Kō;sies; or chieftains: the nature of their power II. 348.

——— their dwellings at Litákun, described II. 441. 514.

Kósi Fountain II. 271.

——— Hills II. 289.

——— kóbo; or Bachapīn fur-cloak. II. 350. 592.

Kotókwi; a species of weasel. II. 592.

Kóveh, a kind of hassagay. II. 597.

Kówsakwa; or, Ksaqua; a name by which some of the Bushmen are distinguished. II. 331.

Kówsakykwa; or ksakyqua. II. 331.

Kraai: Witte (White Crow). 338. 502.

——— Witte-hals (White-necked Crow) 501.

Kráaikop, a Bushman captain. II. 85. 190.

——— Kraal. II. 85, 86. 188.

Kraal: the proper signification of the word 227.

Kraals, or villages, of the Hottentots 324. 334. 336. 360.

————————— Kóras. 538. II. 5. 10. 204.

————————— Bushmen. 429. II. 16. 55. 86. 189. 197.

——— or Cattle-pounds. 118. 360. 407. II. 290. 464.

Krámori, a Bachapin chieftain. II. 441. 444. 509.

Kráanvogel: Groote blaauwe (Great blue Crane) 502.

Kreúpel-boom 25.

Kríeger (or, Krúger): Jacob, a colonist who accompanied an un-

[page] 633

fortunate expedition to explore the Interior. 50. 201. II. 305.

Kríeger (or Krúger): Carel; trampled to death by an elephant, 201. 301.

Krieger's Grave; a place in the Cisgariepine 300. 497, 498.

——— Fonteín, a place behind the Snow Mountains. II. 111. 183.

Krúger: see, Kríeger.

Krúman river. II. 293. 299. 306. 543.

Krúman; the Bachapin Capital in 1802 and 1820 II. 512.

Kúdu; see, Kóodoo.

Kúikendief, or Kite 501. 502.

Kúilenberg, in the Middle Roggeveld 259.

Kúkumakránki, a scented fruit. 54.

Kúyer, a Colonial word in frequent use 329.

Kwákka; or, Quákka.

Kwákka Fountain 277.

Kwíkstaart, or Wagtail 30. 501.

Kygariep, a branch of the river Gariep. 319. 391. 401. 427. 428. 447. II. 332.

Kýsi-gat (Kysi-pit) or pitfall for catching wild animals. 386. 403.

Kýsikamma River 387.

L.

Laburnum: a tree compared with it II. 146.

Lake: a periodical 307.

——— Optical; described II. 28.

Lánddrost: the nature of his office. 75.

Landed property: state of; among the Bachapins II. 514.

Landscape scenery: a peculiar kind of 288. II. 272. 527.

Lángberg (Long Mountain); an elevated district in the Transgariepīne 370. 376. 510. II. 236. 238. 241.

Lange Kloof (Long-Pass) 581.

Language of the Hottentots Proper. 337, 338. 345.

—————— Bushmen 345. 407. 581.

—————— Kóra Hottentots. 345. II. 253.

—————— Bichuánas, called by them, the Sichuána. II. 293. 303. 581—585.

Lángwagen, a part of a Cape waggon 150. 256.

Lark; of the Cape 502.

Laws and mode of trial in the Cape Colony 78. 162.

——— of the Bachapins. 543. 544, 545.

Leaf: a singular kind of 336.

Leanman, a name given to a Bushman captain and his son. See, Magerman.

Learning, a display of, by Mr. Barrow 72.

—————— the Meester. 199.

—————— Wántrouw. 384.

Leather of sheep-skin; its uses. 243.

——— the manner of preparing it among the Bichuánas. II. 590, 591.

Lee kĭ rō;ki II. 409.

——— muchúko (Give me tobacco). II. 436.

Le'er, a part of a waggon 149.

Le'er-boom 149. II. 318.

Léeuwe Fonteín (Lions Fountain) in the Cisgariepine. 287. 289.

Léeuwenhof, a villa near Cape Town 17.

Léeuwenkop 100.

Léeuwenkuil (Lions Den), a place in the Transgariepine. 359. 361. 491.

Leg-plaats, or Cattle-place of the colonists. 207. II. 100. 127.

Lekáaka, or ear-plate, of the Bachapins II. 392. 567. 572.

Lekătáni, or Watermelon. II. 587.

Lekhápu, a sort of Watermelon. II. 587.

Lekókko (Fiscal-bird, or Butcherbird) II. 345.

Lemons. 78. 194. 248. II. 145.

Lens, or Linchpin of the Cape waggons, described 149.

Leopard; or Tiger, of the colonists. 16. 18. II. 144.

——— or Luipard, of the colonists II. 326.

Leprosy. 101. 275. 276. II. 580.

Lepútzi, or pumpkin II. 587.

Lĕrúmo. See, Rúmo.

Leshuátze, a sort of Watermelon. II. 587.

Lĕtájan, or the Armed Plover. II. 346.

Letter: the first from Litákun to England II. 478.

Letterbag, broken open by a Hottentot 266.

La Vaillant. 66. 214. 578. 579. II. 252. 559.

Levee of Kóras 344.

Li, a Sichuāna prefix II. 308.

Liberty, in the wilds of Africa. 515. 422. II. 37.

Licháaku, or Bichuāna sandals. II. 570.

Lichákă; or, Reed-pipe. II. 410.

Lichens, rarely found in the Interior regions 394.

Lichtenstein: Dr. 12. 578, 579. II. 265. 305.

—————— See page 2 appended to Vol. I.

Lichtenstein: Dr.; exposes the numerous errors and misrepresentations of "Barrow's Travels." 346.

Lichús; an eatable root. II. 589.

Liésbecks river 35. 51. 54.

Life, modified under different forms. II. 327.

Lightning, confuses the caravan. 302.

——— of Southern Africa, described 369.

Lígter, of the Cape waggons, described 150

Lígtervoet 150.

Likháai, or Cattle-pound. II. 373. 522.

Lime, made from shells 71

Limestone Rock. 283. 359, 360. 398. II. 260. 311. 354.

Linō;ng, a kind of vulture II. 329.

Lion: a tame one 67.

——— footmarks of this animal first observed 286.

——— one shot near Lion Fountain. 287.

——— his titles disputed. 289. II. 192.

——— the caravan obstructed by one 306.

——— Gert alarmed at the footmarks of one on the banks of the Kygaríep 409.

——— the party disturbed by one at night: symptoms of his approach; ana mode of keeping him at a distance 450.

——— and their prey. II. 82, 83. 193.

——— one of a black variety, shot II. 191.

——— the pale, or common variety. II. 192.

——— the dangerous visit of one; and its roaring mistaken for an earthquake II. 206.

——— -Den, a place so called. 491.

——— Fountain 287. 289.

——— Mountain, at Cape Town. 4, 5. 14.

——— Head, a mountain at Cape Town. 3. 5. 16. 41. 43. 58. 100.

—————— one resembling it, near the Asbestos Mountains 342.

—————— the False 3.

——— Rump Mountain 20.

Liquor Ammoniæ: its effects as a remedy against the bite of a serpent 392. 541.

Liséeka, or copper bracelet. II. 567, 568.

Lishuéna (snuff) II. 321. 407. 436.

Litáakoon; or, Letárkoon. See Litākun.

Litākun: 49, 50. 376. 485. 564. II. 303. 609.

——— its situation in the year 1801 305.

——— remarks on the word II. 307. 512.

VOL. II. 4 M

[page] 634

Litākun; a general description of. II. 511.

——— the original town of. II. 356. 512.

——— some description of it; and reflections excited by a walk through it II. 441—445.

——— a view of it from the hills. II. 451.

——— its size II. 464.

——— thrown into a state of alarm II. 476. 500.

——— the first letter from that town to England II. 479.

——— its site described II. 513.

——— mercantile jealousy of its inhabitants II. 541.

——— River II. 355.

——— the Great Plains of. II. 306. 340. 354, 355. 421. 442.

Litúin, or Litúing; an eatable root II. 589.

Lizards II. 25.

——— their eggs eaten by Bushmen II. 32.

Lobébi, or Cream II. 594.

Lobŭtsānĭ, a fountain in the Great Plains of Litākun II. 352.

Lóeri; see Loory.

Lokatáy; Riizo's dance II. 87.

Longevity among Bushmen. II. 57.

Longitudes of the author's stations. 556. 205.

Long-Mountain, or Langberg. 370. II. 236. 241.

Looking-glass: its effects on a party of kóras 344.

—————— its effects on a party of Bushmen 461.

—————— its effects on some Bachapin women 566.

Loop! (Lope) an exclamation of the Cape Waggoners. 169. 301.

Lóory, or, Lóeri, a handsome bird, otherwise called Tooracoo. 20.

Lorúlo, or Fire-stick, of the Bachapins II. 579.

Lúbbe: Hendrik II. 174. 178.

Lucas: Hans; a friendly Hottentot of Klaarwater, who accompanied the author to Graaffreynét. 353. 378. 433, 434. 519. 532. II. 219.

Lucubrating Mantis 418. 465.

Lúipard (Leopard) II. 326.

Lukojās II. 532.

Lutheran Church 25. 555.

M.

Ma; a Sichuāna prefix II. 308.

Máagers. See Mágers.

Maap River, a branch of the Garíep 319. 391. 401. 436.

Maat (Mate) meaning of the word as used by the Hottentots in the Transgariepine. II. 466. 555.

Mábbĕlĕ, or, Bichuána Corn. II. 586.

Madagascar: some instances of botanical affinity with parts of Southern Africa. II. 258. 263.

—————— negroes of: in the Cape Colony 33.

Mágers; a Hottentot in the service of the author, from Cape Town to Klaarwater. 155. 329. 380. 392.

Mágerman: Oud (Old Leanman) a Bushman who accompanied the author from a Kraal in the Cisgariepine to the borders of the Colony II. 89. 101. 108. 188.

—————— Klein (Little Lean-man,) a Bushboy who followed the author into the Colony, as far as the foot of the Snow-Mountains. His character. II. 101. 108.

—————— nearly starved with cold II. 128.

—————— absconds through fear II. 141.

—————— regained, and restored to his father. II. 182. 188.

Magnetic needle, strongly affected by ferrugineous rocks. 277. II. 298.

——— variation. 266. 271. II. 325.

Mahometan worship in Cape Town. 73.

Mahúra; (Fat) II. 594.

——— one of the brothers of Mattīvi the chief of the Bachapīns: his person described. II. 363.

——— his name II. 375.

——— his duty in the government. II. 431.

——— attempt at drawing his portrait II. 480.

Mahútu, wife of Mattīvi the Bachapin Chief II. 493.

Mahútzi: see Morútzi.

Máïbu; a division of the Barolóngs. II. 304. 532.

Mails of the Colony. 76. 93, 94. II. 143.

Maize 366. II. 7. 586.

Măkátta River II. 532.

Măkhówta; see also Rúiter. II. 15.

Mákkaba, the Chief of the Nuákketsies; see also, Mókkaba. II. 476.

Makkābi (Makkáabi), or Bachapin petticoat II. 465. 563.

Makkás (Makków), or Dancing-rattles II. 572.

Mákke Bóschjesman (Tame Bushman) 227. 533.

Makkwárin, or Makklwárin, River. II. 307. 310. 312. 466.

Makrákki, chief of the Barolóngs; poisons Jan Bloem the robber. II. 249.

Makrákki: false report respecting. II. 304.

——— his separation from Mulihában II. 512. 532.

——— his reception of visitors from the Colony II. 538.

——— accused of sorcery. II. 551.

Măkwá măsh (White-men): the word analysed II. 559.

Măkwíin, a tribe of Bichuānas. II. 532.

Malays in the Cape Colony. 32, 33. 70. 73.

Mălóppo River II. 532.

Mammatwān (Bat) II. 257.

Man: the Race of. 457. II. 329. 530. 548, 549. 561.

——— remarks on his omnivorous nature II. 33.

——— the supreme animal of the globe II. 207.

——— naturally adopts the dog as a companion. II. 245.

Manis; a species of, seen at Litākun II. 76.

Manjéna; or, Mangjéna (Manyana), an ear-ornament. II. 484. 566.

Mantis: the Lucubrating; a remarkable insect. 418. 465.

Manure neglected by the colonists. A heap of it found in a state of slow combustion. II. 170.

Manure-cakes, used for fuel. II. 114.

Maps of the Cape Colony, and Southern Africa. 48, 49. 575. 577. II. 97.

Map: remarks relative to that which accompanies the present Work. 575. II. 31. 183, 184. 298.

Maré: Paul; acting landdrost at Graaffreynét II. 121. 136. 140. 180. 182.

Maritime Districts 580.

Marítz: Gérrit — his readiness as field-cornet 241 248. 514.

—————— his opinion of Klaarwater 249.

Markets of Cape Town 73.

Marriages, among the slaves of the Colony 33

——— of Hottentots at Klaarwater 357.

——— customs of the Bushmen II. 58.

——— among the Bachapíns. II. 485. 519. 553, 564, 565.

Marrĭklŏnámi, wife of Serrakútu: her surprise at the first sight of a white-man II. 453.

Marruwónnas, a Bichuāna tribe. II. 532.

Martha, Mary, and John, three converted Hottentots. (See also Van Roye) II. 155.

[page] 635

Marygold-Heights. See, Goudsbloems Hoogte.

Māshi ă buríila, or Coagulated milk II. 523. 594.

Máshuë (Ugly): application of the word II. 480.

Massáö, or Mass, a Bichuāna chief. II. 532

——— his son takes refuge at Litakun II. 319. 418.

Massissān, the daughter of Mattïvi. II. 485.

——— begs tobacco for her mother II. 493.

Mats of the Hottentots 113.

———— Bushmen II. 198.

Mat-rushes. See Mátjes-Góederen.

——— houses: their convenience for a nomadic life 325.

Mate. See Maat.

Materia culinaria II. 33.

Mátjes-góederen 263. II. 123.

Matter; its modifications considered II. 327.

Mattīvi, or Mattüvi, the chief of the Bachapīns or Brīquas. II. 303.

——— the author's first interview with him II. 361.

——— his person and dress. II. 361.

——— his trick to obtain tobacco for his daughter II. 587.

——— invited to dinner in the waggon II. 392.

——— unjustly takes away the gun II. 405.

——— a conversation with him. II. 418.

——— his salutation II. 431.

——— his remarks respecting disobedient subjects II. 461.

——— his acceptance of peach-stones.

——— his sisters II. 493.

——— refuses to sit for his portrait II. 493.

——— his story respecting Dr. Cowan II. 496.

——— his herdsmen II. 348.

——— his dwelling. II. 360. 521.

Measles: its first appearance in the Transgariepine regions. 371. Meat: mode of drying it for travelling 311.

——— the price of, at Graaffreynét II. 146.

Medical knowledge, of the Bachapins II. 580.

Méerkat; or, Méerkatje. 343. II. 241.

Méester; or, Schóolmeester, or Itinerant Tutor, in the Cape Colony 199. II. 114.

Mélkhout (Milkwood). See, Sideroxylum inerme 29.

Melons cultivated by the Bichuānas. II. 587.

Memory of Hottentots, instances of 175. 373.

Menagerie, in Cape Town 24.

Ménschvreeters (Men-eaters) II. 159.

Meridional altitude of the sun: remarks on 332.

Mérwe: Piet Van der: of Wágenmakers Valléy 180.

——— Frans Van der: of the Bókkeveld 210. 515. II. 8.

——— Piet Van der: of Snéeuwberg.

Mest-koek. See Manure-cake.

Metals; among the Bachapīns. II. 575.

Meteorological remarks on the Transgariepine regions 372.

Metsissánni, a beautiful herbaceous species of Acacia II. 236.

Míetje, a converted Hottentot woman who had visited England and Holland II. 155.

Militia of the Colony II. 119.

Milk: its agreeable taste, when turned sour II. 593.

Milk-bags of the Bachapīns. II. 465. 523. 593.

Mill at Cape Town; the most elevated habitation in Table Valley 40.

Mill at Genádendal 108.

Mill: description of one used by the boors and by the Hottentots at Genádendal and Klaarwater 113. 365. 379. II. 4.

——— at the Paarl Village 142.

——— at Bárend Búrgers's on the Snéeuwbergen II. 173.

Mimosa. See Acacia.

Minerals found in the Asbestos Mountains 354.

Mineral waters, in various places. 96.

Mining in various parts of the Cape Colony recommended 97.

Mint; a species indigenous to Africa, found to endure the greatest cold of England. 255. 466.

——— Pepper-: discovered in the Transgariepine 493.

Misfortune River. See Ongĕuk's River.

Misrepresentations corrected. 82. 86. 118. 346.

Missionaries: the first who resided in the Cape Colony 105.

—————— the Moravian 105.

—————— their utility entitles them to respect 110.

—————— may render important services to uncivilized tribes. II. 429. 536.

—————— the harm done by those who are unqualified. 111.

—————— reflections on their attempts 224.

—————— driven from Námaqualand by Africáaner 270.

Missionaries; their establishment at Zak River. 281. 361, 362. II. 138.

—————— remarks on their exaggerated reports of their success; and an appeal to the reasonable philanthrophist. 358.

—————— the means pointed out, for rendering their stations permanent 367.

—————— their hearers not always influenced by the desire of religious knowledge: attention to the instruction of children, recommended 483.

—————— travels of one H. 243.

—————— their doctrine respecting the fiddle, and dancing. II. 288.

—————— successful trading in ivory II. 399. 537.

—————— at Klaarwater. 352. 517, 518. 526. 531. 533. 551. II. 138. 223. 231. 243. 543.

Missletoe, or Vógelent, of the Cape 143. II. 146.

Misty weather of rare occurrence 208.

Mitsánna (finger-ring) II. 569.

Mixed-Hottentots 154. 361.

Mixed form of Government: its natural origin II. 547.

Módder Rivíer (Muddy River) a branch of the Garíep. See also Maap 391.

Módder-gat, in the Cisgariepīne. 307. 499.

Mohāka, or Moháaka, a species of Tarchonanthus. II. 271. 340. 445. 516.

Mokáala, or Mokāla, a large and remarkable species of Acacia. See also, Camelthorn. II. 240. 292. 306. 360. 412. 465. 575.

Mokáala-Mókwi; see Mókwi.

Mokáapa, or Cape Town, so called by the Bachapīns II. 365.

Mókkăbă, the chief of the Nuákketsies II. 304. 439. 476.

Mŏkárrăquas, a tribe of people. II. 532.

Mokwátsi, a Bachapīn II. 481.

Mókwi, a new species of Acacia, or Thorn-tree II. 442.

Molālĭ; or, Moláală, one of the younger brothers of Mattīvi the Chief of the Bachapīns. II. 363.

——— remarks on his name. II. 375.

——— his duty in the Bachapīn government II. 431.

Mŏláppo, a river in the Transgariepine II. 532.

Mole, the Sand 56.

——— the White-faced 57.

Moll: Zand 56, 57.

——— Bles 57.

4 M 2

[page] 636

Mollála, or servant II. 348. 375.

Móllema, or Móllemo. See, Mollémrai II. 349.

Mollémmi, the eldest brother of Mattlvi the chief of the Bachapins:–his proposed journey to Cape Town. II. 337. 349. 425.

——— explanation of his name. II. 349.

——— his person described. II. 363. 562.

——— his attempt to obtain a gun II. 408.

——— conversation with him on moral and religious subjects. II. 426–429.

——— his character. II. 416. 426.

——— his portrait. II. 463. 480. 485.

——— visits Klaarwater II. 479.

——— his house described. II. 521.

——— presents his ivory bracelets to the author, as a token of friendship II. 572.

Monāati (Good) II. 400.

Monarchical form of government: its natural origin II. 546.

Monárri, a name given to the author, by the Bachapins. II. 436. 476.

Money of the Cape Colony 78.

—————— Bachapins (see also Beads) II. 407.

Móotsi (Móatsi), or Public Enclosure, in which the Bichuánas usually assemble and hold their public meeting or Píicho. II. 371. 373. 386. 464. 522.

Moravian Mission: the first established in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 105.

Moréekwo, an eatable berry. II. 588.

Morg Maníll! a salutation of some Caffres 269.

Morúna, a Kárrikarri trader. II. 474. 500.

Morútzi, or Morútzies, one of the northern Bichuāna nations. II. 532. 537. 567, 568.

Mossárri (Woman or Wife). II. 386. 485.

Moses, a Half-Hottentot. 299. 497.

——— Fountain II. 234.

Moshówa, or Mosha river. II. 299. 356. 512.

Móshu; a new speeies of acacia. II. 452. 464.

Mosses: their scarcity in the interior regions of Southern Africa 394.

Mósterts-hoek; a pass in the Cape Colony 126. 137. 190.

Motéeno, or Bachapin woman's fore-apron II. 563.

Moths: the surprising variety of, noticed in the Transgariepine. 376.

Motūri (Blacksmith) at Litākun. II. 482.

Mountains: the effects of the air of their summits 43. 47.

——— of remarkable shape, in the Karréebergen. 296. 298, 299.

——— of the Colony, rich in rare plants 203.

——— at Modder-gát Poort. 308.

——— of the Cis- and Transgariepine compared II. 270.

——— of Clay-slate. See, Clay-slate.

——— of sandstone II. 100.

——— Hare 488.

——— Horse 265.

Mourning: a manner of expressing it, among the Bushmen. II. 61.

Mozambique: negroes of; in the Cape Colony 33, 34.

'Mpá máashe (Give me some milk). II. 437.

'Mpá muchúko (Give me tobacco). II. 436.

Muchuāna (Bichuāna) remarks on the word II. 303. 559.

Muchūko (tobacco). II. 360. 369. 392. 407.

Mŭchúko ŏtkái (Where is the tobacco?) II. 436.

Mŭchùnkă (a Servant, or Poor Man) II. 348. 375.

——— or Kees, a Half-Bachapin, engaged by the author as interpreter at Litākun 485.

——— unwilling to accompany the author to Graaffreynét, 543.

——— joins the party at 'Ongeluk's Fontein II. 242.

——— his manners on entering Bichuánia II. 292.

——— his extraordinary orations II. 300.

——— his ideas of books and writing II. 338.

——— his display on entering the town of Litākun. II. 359.

——— his character as interpreter. II. 363, 364, 365. 398.

——— sets out to visit his mother II. 486.

——— his simile II. 491.

Mud: a plain covered with 307.

—– a kind which in drying assumes the consistence of stone. 546.

—– -walls: mode of building them 120.

Muddy-hole. See, Modder-gat. 307.

——— River. See also, Maap. 391.

Muis-vogel (Mouse-Bird). 214. 335.

Múkwi, a kind of Thorntree. II. 442.

Múlder Piet; arrival at his hut. 249.

—————— takes charge of a package of botanical specimens 250.

Mulihában, late chief of the Bachapins: first intelligence of his death II. 217.

——— remarks on the name. II. 217.

——— his injunction to Mattivi. II. 376.

——— his quarrel with Ma-krakki II. 512.

——— his death attributed to sorcery II. 551.

Mulíimo, the Devil or Evil-Spirit. II. 550.

Mullāmu (club) II. 562.

Mulója, a pretended eye-witness to the murder of Dr. Cowan and his party II. 503.

Mulókha, a beautiful aromatic shrub II. 263.

Múnŏnă tatáaïo (a strong man). II. 446.

——— usináachă (an industrious man) II. 557.

Mùnklje, or Mùngklie (pretty or handsome) II. 386.

Músch-vógel, a bird 213. 355.

Musēsi, Bachapin petticoat, or hinder apron II. 465. 563.

Museum at Cape Town, proposed. 24.

——— British (see also British): forty-three large quadrupeds presented to it by the author. 383.

—————— the mode in which this present has been treated, and the irreparable loss occasioned by it II. 336.

Music at Cape Town 21.

——— at a Hottentot kraal near the Gariep II. 8, 9.

——— at Graaffreynét II. 149, 150.

——— and dancing: remarks on. II. 413.

——— Hottentot 500. II. 287. 396. 437.

——— Bushman. 458. II. 66. 87.

——— Bachapin. II. 410. 438. 598.

——— European airs first introduced at Litākun II. 437.

Musical instruments of the Hottentots and Bushmen 458. II. 65. 287.

Múts-vogel, a bird 214. 335.

Mútsi, or Mútsu (see also Móotsi). II. 522.

Mutton constitutes the chief food in many parts of the Cape Colony 240. II. 113.

——— and beef: the price of; at Graaffreynét II. 146.

[page] 637

Mūubo, or Bichuāna bellows, described II. 483.

Mynhéer (Sir) corruptions of the word 269. II. 436.

Myrtles: the great height they attain near Cape Town 22.

N.

Náari (see also, Buffalo) II. 250.

Nă kă sĭ ūklwa (I do not understand you) II. 436.

Nakéeri; a species of Polecat. II. 592.

Námaquas, a tribe of the Hottentot Race 77. 582.

——— pronunciation of the word II. 303.

——— -Land. 96. 362. 579. 581. II. 200. 568.

——— duif (dove) 318. 502.

——— partridge, or grouse. 265. 303. 347. II. 345.

——— pyp-klip (pipe-stone). II. 526.

Names of places in the Colony: some remarks on them, and the mode in which the Dutch names may be Anglicised. vi. 99.

——— of places in Southern Africa: tne folly and vanity of substituting European names for those of the aboriginal inhabitants 100. 286.

——— of places in Southern Africa: necessity and apology for the temporary names given in this Work to the author's Stations 286. 557. II. 19.

——— of Colonists: observations respecting them 118. 191. II. 126. 158.

——— a Hottentot custom of giving new ones to strangers. II.89.

——— of Bachapins, remarks on them II. 375.

Náppĭka mountain II. 27.

Narrative of these Travels, written on the principle of adherence to the original Journal. vii. II. 304.

Nature: the works of; considered. viii. 226. 265. 288. 504. II. 328.

Naturalized plants 31. 37. 340. II. 226. 280.

Natural History. See Collections.

'Nchŏ Jamháan; a range of mountains so called II. 300.

Necklaces of the Bachapīns. II. 567.

——— made of twisted entrails. II. 209.

Needles of the Bachapīns. II. 576.

Negro Race, compared with the Caffre Race 582.

Nék-strop, a part of the harness of oxen 151.

New-Holland, its botanical affinity to the Cape 182.

Newland: the District of. See Nieuwveld.

Newlands, near Cape Town, the country-seat of the governor. 35.

New Year's Fountain. See Nieuwjáars.

Nia Hárra (No, Sir) II. 322.

Niewejáars Fonteín II. 186.

Nieúwkerk's II. 118. 121.

Nieúwlands. See Newlands.

Nieúwveld, a division of the Cape Colony 256. 272.

———— Mountains 581.

———— a Bushman in the author's service, from Klaarwater to Graaffreynét 533. 552. II. 219.

Nightingale: an African species of. 304.

'Nkwi, or Nkwāni, a spotted animal resembling the Leopard. II. 326.

Nokanníin, the original town of the Bachapīns II. 491. 512.

Noomnóom, see Numnūm.

Nuákketsies, one of the Bichuāna nations, (see also Mákkaba, and Melítta) II. 532.

———— remarks on the word. II. 276. 319.

———— attacked by Jan Bloem. II. 249.

———— reported flight of their chief II. 304.

———— Bachapin reports respecting them II. 319.

———— visited by Bachapin traders II. 439.

———— their corn-sieves. II. 455.

———— a conjecture respecting the botany of their country II. 475.

———— Mattivi's political hatred against them. II. 475, 476.

———— send spies to Litākun. II. 489.

———— a description of the hats manufactured by them. II. 507.

———— the first visit to this tribe II. 537.

———— a proof of their skill in the art of working in iron. II. 597.

Nuenjánni-chúkuru, (Rhinoceros-bird) II. 346.

————mŭláapo, a remarkable bird II. 492.

Núgariep, or Nú-Garíep, the largest branch of the river Gariép, (see also Black River, and Zwart Rivier,) its branches and sources 319, 320.

———— first arrival at it 389.

Núgariep in a state of inundation. 390.

——— remarks on its names. 391. II. 43. 114.

——— first explored by the author 436.

——— forms the eastern boundary of the Cisgariepine. 581. II. 211.

——— observations relative to it II. 123. 126, 127. 541.

Numeration; how performed by the Bachapins II. 559.

Numnūm, a thorny shrub, the berries of which are sometimes eaten by the Hottentots. 192.

Nūsakwa, a tribe of Bushmen. II. 331.

Nýsna lily (Cyrtanthus obliquus). 23.

O.

Oak trees of Europe thrive in the Cape Colony 25. 35. 102.

—————— attain a large size 144.

Observations: astronomical, (see also Astronomical) 204.

Obelisk: one in the Cisgariepine, formed by Nature II. 44.

Oéffning, or Religious Meeting. II. 174.

Official papers. See Papers.

Okētsa (add more) II. 508.

'Olifants-vógel (Elephants' bird). 245.

Olive-tree of Southern Africa. 177. 343. 473. 538. II. 307.

Olýf-boom, (see Olive tree) 177.

Olývenhout-bósch: accident at. 177.

Onder-schout, (Under-sheriff,). II. 163.

'Onderstel; a part of a Cape waggon 150.

'Onder-veld; a colonial term. 88.

'Ongeluks Fonteín 351. 360. II. 257. 247.

———— rivíer 220.

Onion: an eatable species found wild 296.

Opal 334.

Ophiology: improvements in. 473.

Ophthalmia, in the Transgariepine regions 370. II. 580.

Optical lake II. 28.

Orange trees II. 145.

——— River, or Oránje Rivíer, (see more properly, the Garíep).

Organ; at Graaffreynét. II. 149, 150

Organized matter II. 327.

Oriole 464. 502.

Ornithological collection viii. II. 491. 502.

Ornithology of Klaarwater 501.

Orthography of Dutch words, vi. 15. 84, 85. 331.

[page] 638

Orthography of Hottentot and Sichuāna words, vi. II. 252. 297. 303. 307–309.

Osse-wagen. See Ox-waggon.

Ostrich: remarks on the present mode of obtaining their feathers, and on the means of preserving the trade in them. 203.

——— its great swiftness. 204. 258. 547.

——— one shot, and the nature of its flesh described. II. 351.

——— associates with bras and quakkas II. 315. 420.

——— its plumes, used for a parasol II. 360.

——— uses made of its feathers, by the Bachapins II. 579.

——— nests found; and described. 279. II. 20. 190.

——— its eggs 244.

——— the Hottentot mode of cooking them II. 22.

——— girdles ingeniously manufactured from its egg-shells. 396. II. 567.

Oud Kráaikop. See Kráaikop.

Outeníqua; see Auteníqua (Ow-teníqua).

Out-posts or the Bachapīns. See Cattle-stations.

Oútspan (more correctly, Uitspan), a Colonial word m frequent use 52.

——— -places; their nature and use explained 92.

Overberg: Colonial signification of the word 88.

Oxen: the prices of 134. 364.

— draught: their rate of travelling 28. II. 316.

— saddle: their rate of travelling II. 31.

— their names and characters retained in memory by the Hottentots 175. II. 8. 373.

— the Hottentot mode of breaking them in, for riding. 228.

— attacked with strangury: the cause and mode of cure. 175.

— a Hottentot mode of healing abscess in cattle 246.

— suffer from want of water. 300. 303.

— six lost in a storm, and scared by lions 303.

— their sagacity with respect to lions 450.

— sometimes stray to a great distance 549.

— an extraordínary circumstance respecting one II. 8.

— of the Colony: increase of. II. 144.

— well adapted for a journey of research and observation. 193. 171. II. 246. 270.

Oxen: the difficulty of obtaining them at Litákun II. 456.

Ox-waggon: its rate of travelling. 28.

P.

Paala, a species of antelope. II. 301. 414. 420. 437.

Paard: Wilde; (see also Dauw, and Mountain-Horse), an animal hitherto confounded with the Zebra 138, 139. II. 273.

Páardeberg (Horse-mountain) in the Cape District. 25. 44. 130.

——— in the Transgariepine. II. 242.

Paárden Eýland (Horse Island). 51.

Páarde-wagen (Horse-waggon), of the Cape Colony. 28. II. 135.

Paarde-ziekte (Horse-distemper). 254. 509. II. 218. 242. 370.

Paarl, a remarkable rock, so called. 144.

— or Paarldorp: the village of. 76. 143.

Paauw: Wilde (Wild Peacock), a bird so called 393.

Págter, or licensed retailer of wine and brandy. 162. II. 145. 151.

Painting: remarks connected with the art of. 68. 265. 288. II. 272. 448. 562, 563.

——— at Litākun, by Serra-kútu's wife II. 453.

Pákter; see Págter.

Palmite, (or Pálmiet,) a remarkable plant which grows in many of the rivers m the southern part of the Cape Colony. 91. 140.

—– a new plant allied to it. 454.

—– River: remarks on its dark-coloured waters 89.

Pampóen Kraal, near Tygerberg. 174.

Panoramic view of Cape Town. 11.

Papers, granted to the author by the Cape Government. 162. 180. 183. 193. 200. 239. 241. 249, 250. 256. 518. II. 132. 135. 140.

Paradise, a place near Cape Town, so called 36.

Parasol of Ostrich feathers. II. 360.

Partridges of the Cape Colony. 94. 270.

——— Námaqua 265. 303.

——— Fountain. See Patrýs Fontein.

Pásbrief; or Passport, required for slaves and Hottentots 34.

Passes of the mountains: the most usual in the Colony (see also Kloof) 88, 89.

Pastures of Africa: a remark on them 419.

Patāni: the town of II. 532, 533. 548.

Paterson; his route and map. 577, 578, 579.

Patriarchal form of government. II. 546.

Patrys Fonteín 287, 288.

Peach-stones, taken for dissemination in the countries of the Interior II. 228. 280. 487. 588.

Peaches: the dried fruit much used by the Colonists; and useful for travellers II. 488.

Peacock: Wild. See Paauw.

Peak of the Snow-Mountains (see also Spitskop) II. 125. 184.

Pears: a kind of; found, when dried, to be a useful part of the stores of a South-African traveller 206.

Pebbles of the Garíep II. 213.

Péeklo, or Bachapin adze. II. 586.

Péevit, or Kéevit 344.

Péetsy; see Píitsi.

Péeli; a species of antelope. II. 302.

Pálu ĭ monáatĭ; a Bachapin expression of thankfulness. II. 400.

Pén-doorn, a shrub II. 133.

Peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope, defined 75. 580.

——— rich in Botany 154.

Peppermint: a species of 493.

Perspective drawing, on the cvlindric principle, explained. II. 448.

Phænogamous plants: the dispersion of II. 209.

Pheasant; of the Colonists 270.

Phēli. See Péeli.

Philip, a Hottentot who was two years and four months in the author's service during these travels. 160, 161. 169. 206. 427. 474. 500. II. 150, 151. 233. 360. 423. 469. 491.

Physiology of vegetables: desiderata in 255. 454.

Picturesque: the true 288.

Píenaar, a veld-commandant in the Bókkeveld, receives a package belonging to the author, but which was afterwards lost, and never accounted for 250.

Pigeon: a small long tailed species, generally called Námaqua Duif 327. 502.

——— Wood. See Bosch-duif, and Dove.

Píicho, the Bichuāna Assembly, or Council II. 408. 499. 534.

Píitsa, or Pītsa; a Bachapin boiling-pot II. 350. 465.

——— found in the plains. II. 456.

Píitsi, or Pītsi, or Píitse: the Zebra. II. 315.

[page] 639

Pikeníers Kloof 88.

Pine trees 23, 24, 25. II. 124.

Pintádo, or Guinea-fowl 364. II. 281. 346. 426.

Pipe; used by the Bushmen for calling their companions. II. 24.

——— of the Bachapīns. See Licháaka.

Pipe-stone, a kind of stone of which tobacco-pipes are made. II. 526.

Piquét-berg; a high mountain in the Cape Colony 130.

Pisang: Wilde (Wild Plantain) Strelitzia augusta. 24. II. 259.

Pitch-stone 334.

Pitsa. See Píitsa.

Pitsi. See Píitsi.

Pitfalls, made by the Bushmen for catching wild animals. 386. 403. II. 41.

Planets; an hypothesis respecting their heat 497.

Plantain: Wild. See Pisang.

Plants: remarks on the hardiness of 255.

——— an instance of their effects on a landscape 305.

——— one mistaken for a stone. 310.

——— European. See, Naturalized.

——— exotic 22.

——— dried: Collections of. viii. 18. 46. 245. 293. 511. 550.

——— cryptogamic, and phænogamous; remarks on their dissemination 61. II. 209.

——— primitive location of. II. 209.

——— minute: a mode of detecting them II. 333.

Plātje, a Hottentot in the author's service, hired at Graaflreynét: illegal attempts to detain him. II. 162.

——— desirous of taking his wife and children with him, on the journey II. 180.

——— his excuse for timidity. II. 410.

——— his excessive fear at Litākun II. 422.

——— prevaricates in his evidence. II. 469.

Platte-klip 40. 48.

Plátte Kloof 89.

Pláttekop (Flat-head), a fish caught in the Garíep 326. 425.

Plátte-lens, a kind of linchpin. 149.

Pléttenberg's Báaken; the north-easternmost point of the Cape Colony. 530, 531. 564. II. 124.

—————— Bay 50.

Ploughs: the kind used in the Colony 365.

Plover 344. 502. 548.

——— the Armed; a new and remarkable species 346. 502.

Plover: the Long-legged 283.

Pof-Adder, a Venomous serpent. 469.

Poison used by the Bushmen for their arrows (see also Arrows). 192.

——— drinkers, fortified against the bites of serpents and wound of arrows. II. 331.

——— bulb, the Gift-bol of the Dutch Colonists 559. 541.

Pokō;je, a part of the Bichuāna dress II. 319.

Pole of a waggon: the wood best adapted for it 177.

Polecat; a species of II. 592.

Politeness: its existence among savages II. 557.

Polygamy among the Half-Hottentots 357.

—————— Bushmen. II. 60.

—————— Bichuānas. II. 372. 440. 453. 512.

Pond Station; behind the Snow-Mountains II. 110.

Pont, or ferry-boat 140. 178.

Poort, an opening through mountains 41. 207.

——— egáal; in the Róggeveld. 261.

Poplars introduced from Europe, have become common in all parts of the Cape Colony. 102. 178. II. 124.

Population of the Cape Colony. 77. II. 144.

——— of Litákun II. 515.

——— of the Bachapin tribe. II. 533.

Poppy; a new species of 318.

Porcupine (see also Yzer-vark). II. 76.

Porphyry 398. II. 213.

Portraits: remarks on. II 561, 562.

Portuguese Settlements on the western coast: the time supposed necessary for a journey thither, from the Cape of Good Hope 330.

Post, often detained by rivers. 94.

——— to Stellenbósch 146.

——— to Graaffreynét. 76. II. 143.

Potatoes first introduced among the Bichuānas II. 588.

Pots manufactured at Litākun. II. 594.

Potstone: a species of. II. 311. 526.

Poverty Kraal. II. 37. 40. 203. 205.

Prámberg 300.

Prayer proved by its effects. II. 168.

Prejudices of different nations, relative to food and taste. II. 32.

———. against blacks. II. 101.

Presents to the Chiefs, hints respeeting them II. 399.

Pretórius: Cobus: his oxen stolen. II. 197.

Prisoners of war among the Bachapīns II. 535.

Pronunciation of Dutch words. 15. 86,87.

—————— of the Dutch consonants 331.

—————— of the Kóra and Hottentot languages. II. 252.

—————— of Sichuāna words (see also Sichuāna). II. 296. 585.

Protractor: the place of one supplied 133.

Provisions: difficulty of obtaining them in. Bichuánia. II. 414. 488.

Pudding-stone 398. II. 10.

Puff-Adder 469.

Pukō;ghe, or Pukō;je, or Pukō;li, a part of the Bichuāna dress. II. 319. 372. 412. 570

Pumpkins 114. 195. 366. II. 7. 587.

Punishments among the Bachapins. II. 431. 544.

Purslane, found growing wild in the Transgariepine 545.

Pk-klip. See Pipe-stone.

Pyrites of iron: cubic 202.

Pyramid (or Obelisk) Pass. II. 45.

Q.

Qua, a Hottentot termination; explained 345. II. 303.

Quadrupeds: collection of. See, British Museum.

Quágga (Dutch orthogr.) see more properly, Quákka.

Quákka, or Kwákka: its specific character, distinguishing it from the Zebra, which is also called Quákka 139.

——— or Zebra (see also Zebra) remarks on the taste of the meat 280. II. 83. 238.

——— two shot, and a skin preserved 452.

——— a foal caught, and remarks on the possibility of taming it 486.

——— often associate with ostriches II. 315.

——— frequently seen and shot for food. 280. 287. 420. II. 42. 81. 90. 94. 98. 184. 273.

——— Station II. 83, 84. 190.

Quarterly Review. See p. 1—4. appended to Vol. I.

—————— Wántrouw's works, to be properly recommended in it 384.

Quartz rocks 306. 342. II. 240.

Quince trees 119. II. 145. 280.

R.

Races: Horse; at Cape Town. 27.

——— of Man: considerations on their origin II. 549.

[page] 640

Raft: mode of constructing one. II. 11.

Rail 502.

Rains of the Cape Colony. 81. 197.

——— on Green Point 153.

——— in the Karró. 215. 240. 248.

——— of the Transgariepine. 369. 495. 515, 516.

——— unpleasant to the Bachapins. II. 558.

——— a season of rejoicing among the Bachapins II. 599.

——— worm 449.

Redbeak (Róodebekje). See also Astrild 266. II. 41. 91.

Redbuck. (See also Róodebok, and Páala) II. 301.

Redleaf (Róodeblat) a tree found on the banks of the Garíep. 400. 404. 425.

Redness of the soil, remarkable. 304. 308. II. 266. 442. 513.

Réebok II. 23.

——— Vaal II. 302.

Reed: the African species of (see also Riet). 296. II. 199. 271. 410.

——— employed in a simile. II. 491.

——— indicate a spring of water. II. 29.

——— Broom. (Bézem-riet) 124.

——— called 'Spanish' by the Colonists 105. 185. II. 172.

——— Thatching 25.

——— Fountain in the Transgariepine (see also Aákaap) 342.

——— pipe of the Bachapins (see also Licháaka) II. 410.

——— River, in the Róggeveld. 261. 264. II. 310.

——— river Pass 263. 266.

——— Sparrow 440. II. 91.

——— Station II. 80.

Refraction: atmospheric. 101. 333. 452.

Régenwerm (Rain-worm) 449.

Religion of the Bachapins. II. 543. 550. 552.

Rémschoen (Skid, or Lock-shoe). 151.

Republican form of government: its natural origin. II. 546—548.

Resin-bush 259.

Rhenóster, or Rhinóster, See Rhinoceros.

Rhenósterberg 581.

Rhenóster-bosch (see also Rhinoceros-bush) 101, 102.

Rhenóster Poort II. 91. 93. 187.

——— Rivíer 259.

——— vogel 245.

Rhinoceros; its hide converted into Shamboks or whips. 86.

——— one shot by a Bushman II. 41.

——— hunt II. 52.

——— the first shot II. 69.

——— mode of hunting it. II. 72.

Rhinoceros: nature of its hide. II. 73.

—————— meat. II. 74.

——— its measures II. 75.

——— a new species discovered II. 75.

——— remarks on its horn. II. 76.

——— rarely to be seen within the boundary of the Cape Colony II. 126.

——— means by which a Hottentot escaped being killed by one II. 579.

——— bush (see also Rhenóster-bosch) 176. 255. II. 126.

——— Mountains. See Rhenósterberg.

——— Pass. See Rhenóster Poort.

——— River. See Rhenóster Rivier.

Rhus: none browsed upon by the wild animals II. 248.

Rice, grown in the Colony 80. II. 393.

Ríebeck, the founder of Cape Town 77.

——— Kastéel; a mountain so called 25. 44. 130.

Riem, or leathern halter. 151. 450. II. 250.

Riet: Dak. See Reed: Thatching.

——— Bézem. See Reed: Broom.

——— Spansche. See Reed: Spanish.

——— Fonteín, in the Transgariepine. See Aakaap.

——— Rivíer (Reed River) 261. 264.

——— rivíer's Poort 263. 266.

Rifle-gun, 164. 275. II. 224. 235. 274.

Ríizo (Réezo) a friendly Bushman who accompanied the author from the Garíep to the borders of the Cape Colony.

——— his kraal, described II. 16.

——— his dance II. 87.

——— his character II. 101.

——— returns to his kraal. II. 108.

——— second meeting with him. II. 196.

Rivers of the Colony: the principal 126.

——— of the Colony: a remarkable difference observed in the color of their waters. 89. 90. 116.

——— fatal accidents occasioned by their suddenly overflowing their banks 178, 179.

——— Periodical. 215. 216. II. 18.

——— the paucity of; in the Cisgariepine 261. II. 299.

——— of Southern Africa: a remarkable circumstance observed with respect to their fishes 425.

Rivers: some which run to the Western, and others to the Southern Coast, have their sources in the Snow Mountains II. 125.

——— the means used by the Hottentots and Bushmen, for crossing them 416. II. 13.

River-Horse, (see also Hippopotamus, and Zéekoe or Sea-Cow): first sight of its footmarks 317.

—————— remark respecting the propriety of its names. 412.

Rix-dollar: its value in English money, in the year 1810. 79.

—————— in the year 1823. II. 540.

Roads over the mountains 130.

——— of the Karró 211.

——— of the Róggeveld 257.

——— of the Colony 256. 455.

——— of the Bachapīns II. 306.

Róbben (Seal) Island, in Table Bay 6. 44.

Rocks of the Colony 29.

——— sonorous 277. II. 43.

——— having a black and shining surface II. 43.

——— of recent formation on banks of the Gariep 398.

——— Fountain, in the Cisgariepine. 293, 294.

—————— in the Transgariepine II. 261.

Roebuck (Réebok) II. 23.

——— Fallow (Vaal Réebok). II. 302.

Róggeveld (Ryeland, or Rye-country), an elevated district of the Cape Colony 81. 207. 254, 255. 306. 346. 527.

——— Middel (Middle) 256.

—————— the mountain of. 207. 232. 246. 249, 250. 466. 558. 581. II. 211.

—————— difficulty and danger in ascending the Mountain in wet weather. 251. 253, 254.

——— Onder (Farther) 579.

Rō;ki II. 409.

Róndebosch, near Cape Town. 35. 59.

—————— a list of plants growing in the vicinity of 57.

Roode. This word, which signifies 'Red,' is usually, in the Cape Colony, spoken as an Englishman would pronounce Ro-ey, or Rō;wey.

Róode-békje (Red-beak) 266. II. 4l. 9l.

Róodeblat (Red-leaf) 400. 404.

Róodebloem (Red-bloom) 35.

Róodebok (Red-buck) see also Paala II. 301.

Roode Elze (Red Alder) 142.

[page] 641

Roode Hóogte (Red Heights). 86.

——— Kaffers (Red Caffres); see also, Támmaka and Batámmaka II. 225.

——— Valk: Kleine (Little Red Falcon) 338.

Róodezand: District of. 125. 581.

Roodezand's Kloof (Redsand Pass). 136, 137. 181.

Roofs of houses at Cape Town. 71.

—————— Litākun. II. 519.

Roots: eatable wild. 51. 232. 417. 465. II. 316. 332. 589.

Ropes, or Cords: the manner in which they are manufactured by the Hottentots 405.

Roses 23. II. 124.

Roye, or Royen. See Van Roye.

Rugged-Kloof II. 109.

Rúiter (Rúter), a Half Bachapīn in the author's service, from the Asbestos Mountains to Graaffreynét. 542. II. 3. 15. 89. 219.

Rúmo, or Hassagay II. 597.

Rushes of which mats are made. 114. 263. II. 125.

——— of the island in the Garíep. II. 215.

Rúyter, a Bushman captain. 497.

Ryksdáalder. See Rixdollar.

Ryeland. See Róggeveld.

S.

Sabbath: (see also, Sunday.) II. 430.

Sack River (Zak Rivíer) forming (in 1812.) part of the northern boundary of the Cape Colony. 261. 280. 361, 362. 560. 562. 564. II. 609.

St. Helena: Island of 79. 545.

——— Bay, in the Cape Colony. 131. 579.

St. Paul de Loando 511, 512.

Saldanha Bay 131.

Salt: its scarcity and value in the Transgariepine II. 480.

——— lakes, or ponds. 399. II. 487.

——— pan Ford 399.

——— Table-mountain 419.

——— River, near Cape Town. 51, 52. 100. 147. 170.

Sámbie, a Caffre chief: one of his brothers killed by the Bushmen 268.

Sandals, worn by the aboriginal inhabitants of Southern Africa. 398. 459. II. 570.

Sand: clouds of; raised by a whirlwind 508.

Sands of the Cape Isthmus: the possibility of rendering them firmer and more easily passable for carriages 54.

Sand-Country. See Zándveld.

Sand-Flats, near Cape Town (see also Zand Vlakte, Isthmus, and Downs) 51. 58. 84. 172.

Sand Mole: its fur supposed to be valuable 56, 57.

Sandstone: rocks of. 29. 43. 294. II. 100. 103. 311. 354.

Sāqua, or Sáakwa, a name sometimes given to the Bushman nation 64. II. 331.

Satellites of Jupiter, may be observed in the Interior of Southern Africa, with a small telescope 484.

Schaapdrólletjes: a shrub, or tree, so called 31.

Scháapenberg (Sheep-mountain). 85.

Schaap-vel Kombáars (Sheep-skin coverlet) its value and utility. II. 175. 235.

Scháap-wagter (Shepherd) 236.

Schaapwágtertje, a familiar bird, so called 270.

Schélling, a denomination of Colonial (Dutch) money 78.

Scheen, a part of a waggon 149.

Schíet Fonteín, in the Cisgariepine 296.

—————— Poort 298.

Schistus: argillaceous (see also Clay-slate) 29.

School at Graaffreynét II. 150.

Schúrfdeberg, a mountain in the Bókkeveld 131.

Seacow (see also Zéekoe, Hippopotamus, and River-horse) remark on the name 412.

——— Pork (Zéekoe Spek), esteemed a delicacy 411.

——— Holes (Zéekoe Gatten). 263.

——— River (see also Zéekoe Rivier). II. 118. 123. 125. 127.

—————— its climate considered to be one of the coldest in the Colony II. 172.

Sea Unicorn II. 77.

Seasons in the Cape Colony. 80, 81.

Secretary's office, at Cape Town. 78.

——— of District 183.

——— bird 578.

Seldery Fontéin 267.

Sensaván, a remarkable cavern in the Transgariepine, where the sibīlo is found. 414. II. 255. 256. 318.

Serínge-boom (see Melia Azedirach) 22.

Serpentine: a species of; from which tobacco pipes are made. II. 311. 525.

Serpents: an antidote against their bite 392.

——— a new mode of preserving them 470, 471, 472.

——— their venom, an ingredient in the Bushman arrow-poison 539, 540, 541.

——— their venom, sometimes drunk by Hottentots, as a preventive against their bite. 331.

Serrakútu, uncle to the Chief of the Bachapīns. II. 349. 361. 374. 394.

——— a conversation with him. II. 440.

——— visit to him, to view his wife's paintings II. 453.

Servants at Litākun II. 521.

Settlers in Southern Africa. 78. 274.

Sewing: the manner in which it is practised by the Bachapīns. II. 577.

Shallow-ford, on the Garíep. 321.

Shímbok, a whip formed of a strip of the hide of a Rhinoceros or Hippopotamus. 86, 87. 411. 437. II. 78.

Sheep of the Cape Colony. 238. 325.

—————— their rapid increase II. 144.

—————— their price in the Róggeveld (in 1811.) 239.

—————— their price in the Snow Mountains (in 1813.) II. 113.

—————— a flock returning home from pasture 242.

—————— their food. 257.

—————— the beauty and value of the fur of lambs. II. 175.

——— why preferred to Goats by the Hottentots II. 239.

——— of the Bachapīns. II. 524.

——— of the Kárrikarries, of the Námaquas, and of the Dámmaras II. 538.

——— boor, or Sheep-farmer. 240. II. 173

——— skin coverlet. See, Schaapvel Kombaars.

Shepherd: Hottentot 238.

——— bird 270.

Shining-Rock. See, Blínk-klip, and Sensaván.

Shoes of hide (Vel-schoen): their nature, and the mode of making them 214. II. 102.

Shower: thunder. 314. 337. 449. II. 90. 111.

Shrike, (see also, Butcher-bird, and Fiscal-bird) 502.

Shúmi, (ten) II. 559.

Sibbāta, or Sibbáata, the Bachapin Snuff-bag II. 561. 576.

Sibīlo, or Sibiilo, a shining mineral powder much used by various South-African tribes for adorn-their hair and body 414. II. 256. 318. 362. 392. 412. 484. 494.

Sichuāna language: its extent and utility II. 303. 548.

—————— mode of reducing it to a written form. II. 293—295.

—————— its orthography

VOL. II. 4 N

[page] 642

and pronunciation II. 296. 307—309.

Sichuāna language, various remarks on it. II. 303, 304. 386. 399.

—————— a specimen of it II. 581—585.

—————— readiness of the Bichuānas to give instruction. II. 407.

—————— surprise of the Bichuānas on first hearing it spoken from a book. II. 338.

Sifting-mat of the Bushmen. II. 25.

Sihúrri (Coot) II. 346.

Sikhāka (beads): their value and importance among the Bichuānas II. 407. 568.

Síki, a kind of acacia II. 241.

Sikklŏniānĭ, a fountain in the Great Plains of Litākun II. 342.

Sillābi, a Bachapīn II. 481.

Silver II. 575.

——— tree (see also Wítteboom). 17. 54. 61. 67.

Singing of the Hottentots. 109. 357.

——— of Bushwomen. II. 66. 87.

——— of the Bachapīns, II. 438. 598.

Síngke II. 463.

Sítsikamma 580.

Skámmel, a part of a waggon. 150.

Sketches of a traveller, constitute a pleasing kind of journal. II. 214.

Sketching, often the most expeditious mode of making a description 411.

Skid, or Lockshoe, used in the Cape Colony 151.

Skirmish Fountain. See Schiet Fontéin.

Skoft, (a day's journey). 191. 576.

Slagter's brief 201.

——— knegt (Butcher's man, or servant) 201. II. 113.

Slate (see also Schistus, and Clay-slate) 29. 359. 492. 505.

Slaves in the Cape Colony. 13. 32, 33, 34.

Slavery among the Bachapīns. II. 535.

Small-pox, sometimes makes its appearance in Southern Africa. 371. II. 149. 580.

Smell: some genera of plants may be detected by it 143. 186.

Smelling: the sense of; in vultures. 377.

—————— in some beetles II. 328.

Smi-eendje (Widgeon) 283.

Smoking tobacco; a universal custom among the Dutch colonists II. 115.

——— remarks on. II. 321.

Snakes, (see also Serpents, Puff-adder, Spitting-snake) 469. II. 331.

Snéeuwberg Proper (Snow Mountain): one of the highest mountains of the Cape Colony. 254. II. 123, 124.

——————: Achter. See also Achter II. 331.

Snéeuwbergen (Snow Mountains) an elevated and cold district in the north-eastern part of the Cape Colony. 80, 81. 581. II. 121.

Snipe 502.

Snow, in the Cape Colony. 81. 146. 157. 185. 194. 198. 255. 271. II. 172.

——— in the Transgariepine. 369. II. 235.

——— perpetual; a remark respecting the probable cause of it. 497.

——— Mountains: Proper; or Snéeuwberg II. 123—133.

Snuff, (see also Lishuēna) 164. II. 116. 321. 367.

Snyman: Gérrit; a veld-cornét of the Róggeveld 237.

——— his ideas respecting the author and his travelling. 239.

Soap, manufactured in the Cape Colony 419. II. 113.

Sóndak (or Zóndag, Sunday) a word adopted by the Bachapīns II. 426.

Sópje, or dram II. 287.

Sorcery practised by the Bachapīns. II. 540.

Sorrel: a climbing species of. II. 146.

Southeaster: nature of this wind. 58.

Space, in which the solar system revolves: an hypothesis relative to it 497.

Span of tobacco; its quantity and weight II. 49.

Spansche Riet, a useful kind of reed, cultivated in the Colony. 105. II. 172.

Sparrman: character of his book of travels 98.

——— his character as zoölogist, defended 432.

——— his route, and map. 577, 578. II. 559.

Sparrow: a species of; called Koorn-vreeter (Corn-eater). 246. 259. 296. II. 91.

——— a species of 502.

——— Reed; a kind of. 440. II. 91.

Specimens of plants (see also, Plants): a mode of preserving them 134. 245.

Spéelman, a Hottentot who accompanied the author from Cape Town into the Interior, and continued three years and three months in his service.

Spéelman: some account of him and description of his person, and of his wife 167.

——— legal forms of binding him in service 183.

——— his grotesque appearance in a cocked hat 260.

——— finds twenty-six ostrich-eggs: his extraordinary contrivance for bringing them home 279.

——— departs with the oxen to Elands Valley 353, 354.

——— his hut burnt down. 378.

——— his manners contrasted with Philip's 427.

——— his ingenuity and accomplishments, in making a fiddle and playing on it 499.

——— his solicitude for his 'dear wife.' 500.

——— shoots two rhinocerotes. II. 72.

——— in full dress II. 102.

——— claimed by his former master II. 151.

——— his display of zeal and fidelity II. 152.

——— the alarm occasioned by mistaking him and Keýser for Bushmen II. 266.

——— his signal mistaken. II. 282.

——— some traits in his character II. 323.

——— the nature of his services, and his attachment to his master II. 332.

——— his almanack II. 343.

——— his character with respect to courage. II. 416. 423

——— his services in shooting birds for the author's collection II. 491.

——— exhibits some symptoms of timidity during a general alarm at Latākun II. 501.

Spékboom (Fat-tree) a succulent shrub or tree II. 133. 144.

Spider: a venomous species, used by the Bushmen for poisoning their arrows 539.

Spies sent by the Nuákketsies. II. 489.

Spiō;nberg, a mountain seen in the Cisgariepīne 288.

Spítskop, the most elevated peak of Snéeuwberg or the Snow Mountains; and probably the highest in the Cape Colony. 125. 184.

Spitting-Snake. See Spúigslang.

Spoon, or Lūshua, of the Bachapins. II. 595.

Spoonbill 501.

[page] 643

Spotted Hill. See, Bónteberg.

Spreeúw: Groene. (Green Thrush, or Starling) 318.

——— Wítgat. (White-rumped Thrush, or Starling) 394.

Spring-season, at the Cape 81.

Springs and ponds in the Transgariepīne: an hypothesis relative to them II. 311.

Springbuck (called Spríngbok, by the Dutch colonists), a beautiful and numerous species of antelope: — its remarkable and distinctive characters, and its various names. 290. II. 109. 335.

——— abounds in various parts of Southern Africa. 342. 348. 373. II. 81. 414.

——— a stratagem employed by the Bushman hunters, for approaching it and other game II. 56.

——— annually migrates to various and distant parts of the country in quest of pasture II. 169.

——— compared with the Páala II. 301.

——— called Tsépi, by the Bichuānas II. 420. 425.

Sprínghaas (Spring-hare, or Leaping Hare). 343. 487, 488. II. 3.

Spúigslang Fonteín (Spitting-snake Fountain) 386. II. 261.

Spy-mountain. See Spiō;nberg.

Squirrel: a species of; peculiar to Southern Africa II. 241.

Stáart-riem; or Hottentot Tail-piece 397.

Stádhuis, in Cape Town (Burgher-Senate House, or Town Hall). 73.

Starling. See Spreeuw.

Stars: some remarkable ones in the Southern hemisphere, which are not visible to England. 80.

——— their practical utility to a traveller 576. II. 35. 343.

Stations on the journey: a remark respecting their names 286.

—————— the utility of adding the dates to them on the Map 576.

Steatopyga, a remarkable peculiarity of figure, in the women of the Hottentot race 216.

Stéek-lens (linchpin) 149.

Stéenbergen (Stony-mountains) in the Peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope 2. 61.

Stéenbok (Stone-buck), a species of antelope; described 202.

——— found in various parts of Southern Africa 281. 432. II. 15. 242. 437.

Stéenbrass or Steenbrassem river. 87.

Stellenbosch: the village of 76. 145.

Stellenbosch: the District of 75.

Stephanus, a pretended missionary among the Half-Hottentots on the banks of the Garíep: his history 362.

Stink Fonteín 266.

Stínkhout (Stinkwood) a valuable timber tree of the Cape forests 72.

Stiver (Stuyver, or Stuíver) a denomination of money used in the Cape Colony 79.

Stóckenström, Mr.: landdrost of Graaffreynét, who was unhappily murdered by the Caffres. 530. II. 106. 120. 167.

Stoep (Stupe) a raised platform or terrace in front of the houses of Cape Town 71.

Stonebuck. See, Stéenbok.

Store-room of the Bachapīns. II. 520.

Stórmberg, or the Storm Mountains 581.

Straat (Street): a singular rocky defile, so called 197.

Streets of Cape Town. 16. 44. 70, 71.

Strangury in oxen: the cause of, and cure 175.

Stúurman, a Hottentot in the author's service; from Graaffreynét, into the Transgariepine. II. 166. 233, 234. 379. 383. 405. 422. 432. 458.

Stuyver, or Stuíver. See, Stiver.

Succulent plants: drawings of them should be made on their native soil 212.

Sugarbirds: their beauty of plumage 18. 222.

——— the Green 245.

——— Station 222.

Sugarbush, a handsome shrub. 18.

Suíker-bosch. See, Sugarbush.

——— vógel. See, Sugarbird.

Sūmi, a word used by the Bichuānas, to express 'ten' or 'many' II. 559.

Summer in the Cape Colony. 81.

——— in the Transgariepine. 368. 491. II. 526.

Sunday, at Tys Kraal 231.

——— at Klaarwater 355, 356.

——— at Groote Fonteín, in the Transgariepine 462.

——— at Litākun 425, 426.

——— River (Zóndag Rivíer). 100. 580, 581. II. 125. 138. 144. 169. 211.

Sunrise on Table Mountain 40.

——— on the banks of the Garíep. II. 17.

——— in the Transgariepine. II. 323, 324.

Superstition of the Bushmen. 408.

——— of the Bachapīns. II. 423, 424. 550.

Swallows 30. 335. 502.

Swallows useful to travellers, by indicating the presence and situation of water 21.

Swallow: Mountain. See Bergzwáluw, or Bee-eater.

Swellendám, or Zwellendám. 75, 76. 578.

T.

Táaïbosch (Tough-bush), a shrub. II. 234.

——— a Kóra chieftain: his arrival at Litākun. II. 214. 486.

——— Fountain II. 234. 237.

Table Mountain (Tāfelberg) at Cape Town:—first view of it at sea 1.

——— the remarkable cloud with which its summit is often covered 3. 8.

——— its enormous mass, viewed from the Town 14.

——— an excursion to its summit 39.

——— its height 43.

——— view from its summit 44.

——— its botanical productions 42. 45, 46.

——— seen from Baviáans Kloof 111.

——— seen from Wítsenberg 131.

——— seen from beyond Pampóen Kraal 176.

——— seen from a distance of forty-eight miles in a direct line 181.

——— of the Karréebergen, innumerable 293.

——— a remarkable one on the southern side of the Kygariep 419.

——— Bushman. II. 84. 100. 184.

——— Great; on the Colonial boundary northward of the Snow Mountains. See also Groote Tāfelberg. II. 105.

——— Little; in Achter-Snéeuwberg. See also Kleine Tāfelberg II. 118.

Tadentáal (see also Guinea fowl, and Pintādo) 364.

Tāfelberg. See Table Mountain. 100.

——— Groote 94. 105.

——— Kleine. II. 117. 124. 183.

Tails of animals: the cruelty and folly of mutilating them. II. 230.

Tail-piece, a singular part of the Hottentot dress 397.

Tăkō;on (Tăkō;ne): remarks on the word II. 307.

Takkarū (see also Aárdvark, and Ant-eater) II. 424.

Tállămă (Buttons), a favorite ornament with the Bachapīns. II. 567. 573.

4 N 2

[page] 644

Tāma, a large eatable root, growing in the Transgariepine. II. 589.

Tambóer: Jan; a Hottentot. 65, 66. 148. 155. 160.

Tambóokies, or Tambúkis, a tribe belonging to the Caffre race. 582.

Támmakas, or Batámmakas (see also Red Caffres), a tribe of the Caffre Race. II. 303. 532.

——— invade the country of the Bachapīns and carry off their cattle II. 476. 500.

Támmăni, or Litámmăni, a large seed, sometimes eaten in the Transgariepine, or used for necklaces II. 590.

Tang, one of the principal parts of a Cape waggon 150.

Tanning: the manner and materials adopted by the Boors and Hottentots 248.

——— a process used instead of it, by the Bichuānas. II. 590, 591.

Tape-worm, a species of, found in a bird 283.

Tarchonánthus, a shrub bearing cotton-like seed, and very abundant in the Transgariepine II. 241. 247. 264.

——— its leaves not eaten by the wild animals II. 248.

——— Station II. 289.

Tárka: a district in the northeastern part of the Cape Colony 75. 96. 581.

Taste of different nations, not to be condemned II. 33.

——— disgusting depravity of. II. 69.

——— of imagination, should take its rules from Nature 288.

——— among the Bachapīns II. 596.

Tea, a beverage much drunk by the Boors 142.

——— the Hottentots exceedingly fond of it. 364. 433. II. 466.

——— not unpleasant to the palate of a Bacnapīn II. 393.

———a refreshing and necessary drink for travellers in the hot climate of Africa 385. 433. 508.

Téerput (Tarbucket) a necessary part of the equipment of a travelling waggon 151.

Teeth of the Bushmen: a singular fact respecting them 292.

Telescopes for astronomical purposes in the Interior; not required to be of great power. 484.

Thállite II. 240

Thanks: the Bachapīn mode of expressing them II. 399.

Thatch: a durable kind of. 26. 263.

——— at Litākun II. 520.

Thatching Reed. See Reed.

Theatre at Cape Town 20. 74.

Theodolite: one easy of construction, with which a traveller may remedy the want of a better instrument 132, 133.

Thermometrical Observations, during these Travels. 251. II. 53.

—————— at Cape Town 81.

—————— at Klaarwater 368.

—————— at Litákun II. 527.

Thermometer: remarkable instances of its wide range during a few hours 261. 283. 375.

——— accidents with them. 438. II. 509.

Thorn-tree (see also Doornboom, Karró-doorn, Acacia, and Camel-thorn) 195. 501.

Thread: Hottentot (Hottentotsch Gáren); divided sinew, so called in the Cape Colony. 214.

Threethorn (Driedoorn), a remarkable shrub. 299. 448. II. 23. 41.

Thrush: the Green. See Spreeuw.

——— a species of 502.

Thūko, or Bachapīn needle. II. 576.

Thunberg: his travels in the Cape Colony 98. 153. 175. 225. 577. 579.

Thunder-storms 314. 337. 450. II. 90.

Ticks, found on hares 290.

Tiger of Africa. (See also Leopard). 16. 167. II. 40. 144. 570.

——— of Asia 24.

——— Mountain. See Tygerberg.

Timber used in Cape Town. 71, 72. 92.

——— in the Róggeveld. 223.

——— in the district beyond the Snow Mountains. II. 114.

——— at Graaffreynét II. 146.

——— at Klaarwater, in the Transgariepine 367.

——— at Litākun II. 513.

——— waggons from Auteníqualand 92.

Tinder-boxes among the Bachapīns II. 580.

Tīpa, or Bachapin knife. II. 575.

Tky, an eatable root 465.

Tkýsi. See Kýsi, or Keísi. 386. 403.

Tobacco, a production of considerable importance to the inhabitants of the Cape Colony. See also, Smoking 80.

——— indispensable for travellers in Southern Africa. 195. 326. II. 166.

——— Hottentots, Bushmen, and all the tribes of the Interior excessively fond of smoking it. See also Muchūko 156. 206. 292. 297. 364. 388. 391. 408. 480. II. 18. 36. 39. 49. 86. 89. 95. 197. 189. 219. 322. 369. 588.

Tobaccos of the Colony: the form in which it is usually manufactured II. 48.

——— the manner of employing it in barter II. 49.

——— the want of it, produces an extraordinary effect on the author's party II. 344.

——— Pipes, made of a kind of stone II. 526.

——— Plant: its introduction into Southern Africa. II. 321.

——— not cultivated by the Bachapīns II. 588.

Toga of the Romans, compared with the Karóss and Kō;bo. 397.

Tóït's Kloof 89.

Tóït: Jacobus Du 117,118.

——— Cóotje Du 191.

Tō;kwi, a species of Aloë growing in the Transgariepine. II. 332.

Tóndelblad, or Tinder Plant. See Hermas gigantea 131.

Torch-thistles of South-America, are represented in Africa by various species of Euphorbia. 251.

Tórtel Duif (Turtle Dove). 213. 318. 501.

Tough-bush. See Taaibosch.

Toúracoo. See Loory, or Lóeri.

Tracks: cattle followed by means of their footsteps. 456. II. 283.

——— of animals: the art of ascertaining them. II. 91, 92, 93.

——— of waggons: informatīon deducible from them. II. 91. 93.

Transcariepīne, a geographical division of Southern Africa. 324. 581.

——— its weather. 368. 372. II. 526, 527.

——— grassy mountainss rarely seen in it II. 291.

——— its geology. II. 311, 312. 354, 355.

——— its sky, cloudless during the greater part of the year II. 324.

Trap, the step of a Cape waggon. 150.

Travels: the author's views and general scheme. v. viii. 13. 49. 193. 511—513. II. 353, 354. 510.

——— Narrative of the present; written on the principle of adherence to the original journal vii. II. 304.

——— books of: the advantages and disadvantages which they offer to a traveller 163.

Travellers: the necessity for their

[page] 645

acquiring a knowledge of the language of the country. 13.

Travellers, substitute for a theodolite 132, 133.

——— mode of drying specimens of plants, without press or paper 134.

——— in the Cape Colony: a caution to 250.

——— advice to those who explore the country of the Bushmen 294.

——— remarks on the art of drawing, as applicable to their views. 411. II. 214. 562, 563.

——— confidence in the natives. 424.

——— in the Interior of Africa: the difficulties of their situation 506, 507.

——— in Africa: advice respecting their observations for the latitude 576.

——— their duty with respect to names of places, and new words II. 308.

——— guilty of dishonesty, by practising any of the arts of exaggeration II. 368.

——— ignorant of a language; liable to imposition 13. II. 432.

——— the degree of authority necessary to their success. II. 472.

Travelling in the Colony: the usual mode adopted by the colonists 76. 92. 141, 142. 220.

——— distances: a rule for estimating them 90.

——— with ox-waggons. 28. 86. 135. 163. 166. 174. 576. II. 171. 298. 341.

——— with horse-waggons. 28. II. 171. 316.

——— on oxback II. 31.

——— on horseback. 220. 576. II. 143. 316.

——— by night: objections against it 179.

——— expeditious; disadvantages of 193.

——— on foot: instances of great expedition, in various tribes of the aboriginal inhabitants. 287. 498. II. 71. 195. 218. 318.

——— a mode of ascertaining the distance 289. II. 341.

——— the pleasures and enjoyments of 444. 474.

——— the salt of 445.

——— in the Interior: some remarks on 504.

——— in the Interior: its dangers and difficulties. 518.

——— in Southern Africa: an essential principle of. II. 270.

Trees: their scarcity in some parts of Southern Africa. 102. 314. II. 110. 113.

Tréktouw (Drag-rope). 151. 450. II. 251.

Trigonometrical measurement of the breadth of the Gariep. 319.

—————— measurement of the breadth of the Kygariep or Yellow River 441.

Tronk volk, or Jail Hottentots. II. 158, 159. 164.

Trúy (more commonly pronounced Tróëy) a Hottentot woman (the wife of Júli), who accompanied the author's party,—her excellent character. II. 181.

——— her alarm at a lion II. 191.

——— and her child, narrowly escape being drowned in crossing tne Garíep II. 215.

——— is left at the Hottentot kraal at Grootedoorn; till the return of the party from the Interior II. 225. 231.

Tryn, or Katryn, a Hottentot woman affected with steatopyga 216.

Tsámmă, or Bachapīn walking-stick II. 441. 446. 574.

Tsēpi, a species of Antelope. II. 420. 425.

Túlbagh: the village of 76.

——— the district of 75.

——— a visit to, and description of 127, 128.

——— second visit to 182.

——— distances from. 555. 557.

——— Drostdy: description of. 128.

—————— objection to its situation 128.

—————— information received there, of the arrival of a package belonging to the author, which was never afterwards accounted for 250.

Turf, or green sod: its scarcity in Southern Africa II. 125.

Turmeric 93.

Turtle-doves 213. 318. 502.

Tutor: Itinerant. See Meester.

Tway! a Bushman salutation. II. 84.

Twilight: its duration, in the Transgariepine 336. 493.

Tygerberg (Tiger Mountain). 25. 44. 173.

Tys-kráal 229. 231.

U.

Úitenhage: the Village of. 76. 92. 96. II. 541.

——— the District of 75.

Úitspan. See Outspan.

Umbrella: its utility to a traveller in Africa 509. II. 454.

——— made of ostrich-plumes. II. 579.

Uncle (Oom): in what sense this word is used in the Colony. 499.

Unicorn of the Moderns; considered to be merely a creature of the imagination 432.

—————— arguments against its existence II. 77.

——— the Sea II. 77.

Unlucky-Wood, a remarkable shrub II. 258. 451. 499.

Ursa major; a constellation never visible at the Cape 80.

Úyenties: Bushmen's: small eatable bulbs 417. 548. II. 26.

——— Water 51.

Úyentje-zak II. 57.

V.

Vaal Leeuw, (Pale Lion) II. 192.

——— Rivíer. See Kygariep.

Vaccine matter, taken into the Interior 183.

—————— occasion of its failure 371.

Vaccinators: a caution to 276.

Vaillant. See, Le Vaillant.

Valk: Kleine Roode 338. 501.

Valleý: various interpretations of the Dutch word; and its pronunciation 519.

Vanderbýl, a colonist at the Paari Village 140.

Van der Merwe; a colonist on the Snow Mountain II. 182.

Van Héerden, a colonist on the Snow Mountains II. 171.

Van Roye, (or Van Rooyen), a Hottentot in the author's service: (see also Roye) his history II. 155.

——— hired II. 155.

——— meets with his son in the Transgariepine II. 230.

——— his absence, at Ongeluks Fountain II. 237.

——— sent on search of Speelman and Platje, at Kō;si Fountain II. 282.

——— his character II. 286.

——— feigns illness, for the purpose of evading a journey back to the Kruman. II. 313. 318.

——— through fear, absconds at Litākun II. 423.

——— his services during the journey II. 457, 458.

——— his disobedience and bad conduct II. 459, 460. 467.

[page] 646

Van Roye, tried at Litākun, for mutiny II. 468.

Van Wyk: Jacob; a boor on the northern borders of the Colony: inhospitable reception at his house. II. 104, 105. 108. 183.

Vanity: personal. 413, 414. II. 566. 573.

Variation of the compass. 266. 271. 375. II. 325.

Vegetable physiology. See Plants.

——— life II. 325.

——— fit for culinary use, seldom found wild in Africa. 545.

——— culinary; introduced into the Transgariepine (see also, the Garden) II. 280. 588.

—————— 80. 93. 118. 240. 248. 366. II. 118. 143.

Vegetation on the northern and southern sides of the mountains, differs 91.

——— its rapidity, after the rains. See Rains.

——— of bulbous plants. See Bulbous plants.

Veld-cornét (Field-cornet) a civil officer in the Colony: the nature of his official duties. 76.

——— various examples of. 174. 189. 191. 238. 241. II. 119, 120. 127.

Veld-commandánt (Field-commandant) a leader of the Colonial militia 250. II. 120.

Vel-kombáars (Sheepskin Coverlet). See Kombáars.

Vélschoen (Hide Shoes) the manner in which they are made. 214.

Vendue. See, Auction.

Venison of Southern Africa. II. 281.

Verkéerde Valleý 197. 579.

Vermeúlen: Piet; a boor in Achter-Snéeuwberg. II. 111. 183.

Vignettes of the present work. vi. II. 340.

Viljóen: Jan; a boor on the Snow Mountain II. 176.

Villages of the Colony, enumerated. 76.

Vineyards. 63. 74. 118. 144. 179.

Vinegar, its utility to South African travellers II. 287.

Visch Rivíer: Groote (Great Fish-River) 100. 575. 579.

——— in Great Námaqualand 579.

Víscher's-hoek, in False Bay. 86.

Vlier: Wilde (Wild Elder) 94.

Vógelent (Mistletoe) 143.

Volatile Alkali, a valuable medicine against the bite of venomous serpents. 392. 541. II. 14. 130.

Volcanic appearances. 95. 175. 308. 474.

Vóorhuis, the hall of a Dutch colonist's dwelling-house. 118. 140.

Vóorspan, a relay of oxen provided under the authority or government 183. 185. 236. 256.

Vóor-stel; the fore-part of the carriage of a Cape-waggon. 150.

Vóortouw; or Fore Drag-rope. 174.

Vrouw 500. II. 177.

Vulgar: a term not applicable to the Bachapīns II. 556.

Vultures 214. II. 414.

——— the Sacred Egyptian Vulture, called by the Boors, Witte Kraai, or White Crow. 338. 502. II. 194.

——— the large black. 377. 492. II. 194.

——— the nest of one, found. 473.

——— new species observed in the Cisgariepine II. 194.

——— their utility, conformation and habits, examined. II. 325.

——— description of the Linō;ng, a new species II. 329.

——— Station II. 193.

W.

Wāgenboom (Waggon tree): remarks on the nature and appearance of its wood 123.

——— said to have been seen in the country of the Nuákketsies II. 474.

Wāgenmaker's Valley. 139. 178. 179.

Waggons of the Cape Colony: a description of one 149.

—————— well constructed for travelling over a rugged country 152.

—————— representations of them 26. 52. 82.

—————— additional remarks on their construction. II. 261. 329.

—————— See also Ossewagen, and P´ardewagen.

——— belonging to the Half Hottentots. 232. 331. 385. 468.

—————— picturesque appearance of a caravan of. 282. 288.

——— the author's: a description of 149. II. 479.

—————— a representation and plan of. 148. 171.

—————— its contents 164. 169.

—————— proves to have been overloaded. 174. 177.

Waggon: the author's: the only shelter or home during nearly four years' travelling 194. 244. 246. 261. 317, 318. 474, 475.

—————— its internal arrangement. 163. 165. 241.

—————— a second purchased. 184. 256. 372. II. 479.

Waggon-tracks. See Tracks.

Waggon-tree. See Wāsenboom.

Walk of mud: the mode of constructing them. See Mudwalls.

——— of sticks and clay, at Litākun. II. 518,519.

Wánkets,(Nuákketsi) a tribe: remarks on the word II. 276.

Wántrouw, the author's dog: his history 382, 383.

——— his travels and memoranda 384.

——— 415. II. 2. 25.

War: the arts of: compared with those of peace II. 484. 547.

Warfare of the Bushmen. 373. 391. 392. 436. 443. 539. II. 61. 62.

—————— Caffres 494.

—————— Bachapīns. II. 477, 478. 490. 500. 534, 535.

Warm Baths, at Zwárteberg. 95.

——— in the Cape Colony and adjoining regions 96.

——— at Brandt Valley. 124.

Wáschboschjes (Wax-bushes.) See Myricæ, in general, 15; and Myrica cordifolia, in particular 30.

Washing feet; the ceremony of II. 122.

Water: its general scarcity on the western side of the extratropical part of Southern Africa. 82.

——— deficiency of it, in the Karró, during a great part of the year. 215. 220. 222, 223. 225. 240.

——— sufferings from want of. 300. 303. II. 205.

——— of many rivers along the southern Maritime Districts of the Colony, of a brown colour. 89.

——— delusive appearance of. II. 28.

——— a word very frequently found in the names of places in the Cape Colony, and over the whole of Hottentotaria. 259.

——— indicated by birds. II. 20

—————— plants. II. 29.

——— the Bushmen often live at a distance from it II. 189.

——— Mineral 96.

Water-drum, of the Bushmen. II. 65. 87.

[page] 647

Waterfall on Snóeuwberg. II. 170.

Watermelons, cultivated by the Bachapīns. II. 587.

Water-point, in the Cisgariepine. II. 36. 47.

Water-úyentjes, an eatable root. 51.

Waveren. See, Roodezand. 125.

Wáwakoo, a Bushman dance. II. 66. 87.

Waxbill. See, Astrild; and Roodebekje.

——— a new finch allied to it. II. 269.

Wax bushes. See Wáschboschjes.

Weasel; a species of; called Méerkatje 343.

——— various species used for making fur-cloaks II. 592.

Weather of the Cape Colony. 81.

—————— Transgariepine. 368. II. 259. 465.

——— observed during these travels 251.

Weights; Dutch; compared with English 154.

Werf: Colonial signification of the word 238.

Western Districts, of the Colony. 580.

Wésthuisen: Jan Van der; his mode of attending to the duty of furnishing the relays 249.

Whips of the Cape waggoners: their extraordinary length. 52.

—————— the powerful sound produced by them, and their great utility in making signals 169. 422. II. 234.

Whirlwinds 507.

Whistles: Bachapīn II. 578.

White-men; called 'Gása or 'Gowsa, by the Bushmen II. 210.

—————— Makwá mashú, by the Bachapīns II. 440.

——— opinion of the Bachapīns respecting them. II. 558.

——— astonishment occasioned by the first sight of. II. 454.

——— their proportionate population of the Colony. 77. II. 144.

White-stem (Witgat boom), a remarkable tree. 343. 432. II. 18.

Whoo-āh! (Halt!) a cry of the waggon-drivers 305.

Widgeon. See Smi-eendje.

Wilde (Wild). Names beginning with this word, and not found in this place, are to be sought for under their proper name

Wíldebeest 431. II. 109. 278.

Wilde Kastánje (Wild Horsechesnut) 63.

Wilde Paard (Wild Horse). 138, 139. II. 273.

Wíllems: Philip. See Philip.

Wílgan-boom. See Willow.

Willow of the Garíep, described. 317.

——— a singularity observed in the growth of some, on the banks of the Kygariep 423.

——— an instance of their quickness of growth 490.

——— indicate to a traveller, at a distance, the situation of water II. 29.

——— a species observed on the Snow Mountains II. 172.

Winds at Cape Town. 36. 58. 81.

——— their dry nature and effects in the Interior 488.

——— in the Transgariepine. 508. II. 324. 516.

Wind-heúvel; a steep mountain in the Karró 231. 233.

——— Station. 233. 235, 236.

Wine of the Colony. 62, 63. 118. 206. II. 393.

Winters of the Cape Colony. 72. 81. 153. 176.

——— Snéeuwberg II. 127.

——— the Transgariepine. II. 299. 324.

Winterhóek, near Túlbagh. 129. 185.

Wire-grass II. 5. 7. 217.

Wítgat boom 343. II. 18.

——— Spreeúw 394.

Wítsenberg, a mountain near Túlbagh 130.

Wítteberg, or Wittebergen. 207.

Wítteboom, or Silvertree 17. 54. 61. 67.

——— a place near Cape Town 61.

Wíttedoorn (see also Karró-doorn, Dóornboom, and Acacia.) 195.

Witte-Elze, a tree so called by the Dutch Colonists 143.

Wíttehals Kraai (White-necked Crow) 501.

Witte Kraai (White Crow) 338.

Wíttewater, in the Transgariepine. See Gattikamma.

Wolf: the Common; compared with the Hunting Hyena. II. 229.

——— the Spotted Hyena, commonly so called, in the Colony. II. 277.

Women: Hottentot: remarks on a peculiarity of form, occasionally observed among them. 216.

——— Bushman. See Bushwomen.

——— Kóra 344. II. 565.

——— Bachapīn. II. 553. 563, 564.

Wood: its structure, if more deeply examined, may afford some additional light to the study of Botany 123.

Wood: the Unlucky; a shrub not used by the Bachapīns for fuel II. 258. 45l. 499.

Wood-cutter (Hout-kapper), a bird so called 318.

Woodpecker: a remarkable species of 245.

Wórtel Fonteín II. 184.

Wormwood: Wild, or African. 480.

Wyk: Jacob van. II. 104. 105. 183.

Wýnberg 59, 60. 65.

Y.

Yam (Dioscorea): a wild plant, botanically allied to it II. 147.

——— the Water: the cultivation of it neglected 24.

Yellow dye, or ink, may be extracted from a wild shrub found in the Karró 212.

——— Fish (Géelvisch) 262. 280.

—————— astonishment of some Koras at a drawing of one. 441.

——— River (see also Vaal Rivíer, and Kygariep). 391. 401. 441. 581.

——— Wood (Géelhout), one of the largest trees of the Cape forests, much used for timber. 72. II. 114.

Yokes of the Cape waggons, described 151.

Yoke River 225. 229.

Yzerhout (Ironwood) 180.

Z.

Zand-Moll (Sand Mole) 57.

Zak Rivíer. See Sack River.

Zand Valleý, near Týgerberg. 172.

—————— in the Cisgariepine. 309.

Zándveld, in the Transgariepine. II. 242.

Zand-Vlakte, near Cape Town, (see also Sand-Flats, Isthmus, Downs) 58.

Zebra, distinguished from the Quakka and Dauw or Mountain Horse 139. II. 315.

——— a skin of it, formed into a tanning-vat 243.

——— a remark on the name. 420.

——— a troop of thirty, seen 420

——— a male and female, shot. 451, 452, 453.

[page] 648

Zebra, a foal, caught; and an attempt to rear it 486.

——— the flesh eaten by the Hottentots and other aboriginal tribes II. 238.

——— its extraordinary beauty when seen on its native plains. II. 315.

——— is frequently found in company with the ostrich. II. 315.

——— an animal of frequent occurrence in the Transgariepine; but not observed southward of the Gariep. II. 278. 302. 420.

Zee-bámbos, a large kind of seaweed peculiar to the Cape of Good Hope 28.

Zéekoe (Sea-Cow) a Colonial name for the Hippopotamus. 409. 411, 412. II. 212.

——— gatten (Sea-cow holes). 263. II. 172.

Zéekoe Rivíer II. 118. 123.

——— no longer abounds in Hippopotami II. 127.

——— Valléy, near False Bay. 46.

Zeolite II. 213.

Zíekenhuis (hospital) for lepers. 101.

Zítzikamma. See Sítsikamma.

Zóndag Rivíer (Sunday River). 100. II. 125.

Zonderéinde Rivíer (Endless River) 103, 104. 116.

Zoölogy of Southern Africa, compared with that of other countries 24. 252. II. 207.

Zoölogical Boundaries 324.

——— Reasonings II. 76. 77. 325—329.

Zóut-pans Drift (Saltpan Ford) 399.

Zoute Rivíer, near Cape Town, see also Salt River) 51. 100.

Zúureberg 581.

Zúureveld (pronounced Sóorfelt). 82. II. 119. 120.

Zwáluw: Berg. (Mountain Swallow) 372. 501.

Zwart Rivíer (see also Black River, and Núgariep) 391. II. 43.

Zwártebast (Black-bark), a shrub or tree, so called 317. 404.

Zwárteberg Warm-Baths 96.

——— remarks on the name. 99.

Zwártebergen; or the Great Black-Mountains 580, 581.

Zwártland: the map of 579.

——— Church 76.

Zwártwater Poort; a remarkable circumstance by which it is connected with the Karrō; Poort 209.

Zwellendám (or, Swellendám) 75, 76. 82. 103. 578.

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