, '' ■' '-' SCENES 
 
 ADVENTURES 
 
 IN 
 
 AFRICA, 
 
 COLLECTED FROM 
 
 MOFFAT'S MISSIONARY LABOURS IN AFRICA, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OP PUBLICATION. 
 
 PAUL T. JONES, PrsLISHING AGENT. 
 
 1844. 
 

 Printed by 
 
 WILLIAM S. MARTIEN. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Preface, - - 13 
 
 Introduction, - - - - - - - -17 
 
 The Lion and Giraffe, ^ ----- 25 
 
 The Deserted Mother, 27 
 
 Singular Traits of the Lion, 30 
 
 The Fright, 33 
 
 Thirst in the Desert, ------ 35 
 
 The Narrow Escape, - - - - - - 36 
 
 Beasts of Prey, -38 
 
 The Poisoned Pool, 40 
 
 Heat and Thirst, 41 
 
 The Storm, 47 
 
 The Wild Dog, 50 
 
 The Sea Cow, 51 
 
 The Assault andjVEurder, 52 
 
 Stratagem for Taking Game, 57 
 
 Burial of the Dead, 58 
 
 Wild Dogs Hunting, 60 
 
 The Hyena, 63 
 
 Retribution, 64 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 The Locusts, 67 
 
 The Thieves, 71 
 
 The Lions at Night, 73 
 
 A Night Adventure, ...... 77 
 
 Singular Custom, 79 
 
 The Native Blacksmith, 80 
 
 Houses in a Tree, - 83 
 
 Native Eloquence, 85 
 
 The Captive Redeemed, ..... 88 
 
 Escape from a Tiger, 92 
 
 The Convert, 93 
 
 Missionary Success, 96 
 
 Preaching to the Natives, 102 
 
 Teaching the Letters, 105 
 
 Change Effected, - - 108 
 
 The Contest, - - - - - - - 111 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following sketches are extracted 
 from a deeply interesting work written 
 by tlie Rev., Robert Moffat, descriptive 
 of his missionary labours and personal 
 trials in Southern Africa. Amidst a 
 rude and barbarous people, destitute of 
 the advantages of Christian institutions, 
 and engaged in constant and cruel war- 
 fare, the situation of the missionary was 
 one of great privation and peril. His 
 courage, however, seemed to increase 
 with the number and magnitude of his 
 difficulties, and being anxiously desir- 
 ous of communicating to these poor 
 benighted people the blessings of the 
 Gospel, he resolved to remain at his post 
 at every personal hazard. He tried every 
 winning method to gain their attention 
 
14 PREFACE. 
 
 and confidence, and to induce them to 
 abandon their savage habits. Long he 
 seemed to labour in vain, but at length 
 he had the unspeakable gratification of 
 seeing them gradually adopting the cus- 
 toms of civilized life, and what v^as still 
 better, embracing that religion which 
 reveals the only way of salvation. Some 
 of these sketches will point out the pleas- 
 ing success of his pious efforts to raise 
 the character and hopes of the degraded 
 African. 
 
 From the nature of the country, which 
 is wild and uncultivated, the traveller 
 through Southern Africa, is exposed to 
 oppressive heat, hunger and thirst, and 
 to the attacks of savage beasts of prey. 
 Mr. Moffat encountered all these, in his 
 various journeys, with great endurance 
 and courage. Many of his adventures 
 we have, in'^this little volume, brought 
 together, not only for the entertainment 
 of our young readers, but to give them 
 an insight into the state of the country. 
 
PREFACE. 15 
 
 The natural history of animals forms a 
 pleasing subject of study, and we shall 
 have accomplished one of our objects if, 
 by these sketches, we inspire a taste for 
 such studies. All the works of God 
 display his power and wisdom, and the 
 more closely we regard them, the more 
 we will be inclined to reverence the 
 great Creator. Another object, however, 
 we have in view. While our young 
 readers are entertaining themselves with 
 these sketches, we wish them to contrast 
 their situation with that of the poor 
 African, and remember Him who hath 
 made them to differ. The hardships, 
 dangers and miseries on the one hand, 
 compared with the plenty, security and 
 enjoyments on the other, should inspire 
 the reader with gratitude to that God, 
 who is the giver of every good gift. 
 Let the missionary of the cross also be 
 affectionately remembered, who forsakes 
 the comforts of home and friends, and at 
 the hazard of life goes to teach the far 
 
16 PREFACE. 
 
 distant heathen. The least we can do, 
 while enjoying our own happy firesides, 
 is to encourage him in his labours, and 
 sustain him by our prayers. 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 The continent of Africa, though probably 
 the most ancient field of geographical enter- 
 prise, still IS, and there is reason to believe 
 that It will long continue to be, the least ex- 
 plored portion of our earth. Though once 
 the nursery of science and literature, the em- 
 porium of commerce, and the seat of an em- 
 pire which contended with Rome for the 
 sovereignty of the world,— the cradle of the 
 ancient church, and the asylum of the infant 
 Saviour, yet Africa still presents a compara- 
 tive blank on the map, as well as in the his- 
 tory of the world. Though, according to 
 Herodotus, it was circumnavigated by the 
 PhcBmcians long before the Christian era, and 
 its coast was the first object of maritime dis- 
 covery after the compass had inspired seamen 
 with confidence to leave shores and land- 
 marks, and stand forth on the boundless deep; 
 yet to this day its interior regions continue a 
 mystery to the white man, a land of darkness 
 and of terror to the most fearless and enterpri- 
 sing traveller. Although in no country has 
 there been such a sacrifice of men to the en- 
 
 2 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 terprise of discovery — of men the most intel- 
 ligent and undaunted, of men impelled not 
 by gross cupidity, but by refined philan- 
 thropy; — yet, notwithstanding such suffering 
 and waste of human life, we are only ac- 
 quainted with the fringes of that immense 
 continent, and a few lineaments at no great 
 distance from its shores. 
 
 The inhabitants of South Africa are sepa- 
 rated into three great divisions, Hottentots, 
 Corannas, and lesser and greater Namaquas. 
 From time immemorial these have been the 
 boundaries of their habitations, while the 
 desert wastes and barren mountain ravines, 
 which intervened, became the refuge and 
 domains of the Bushmen, who are emphati- 
 cally the children of the desert. 
 
 All these possess nearly the same physical 
 characteristics, the same manners and cus- 
 toms. I have had in my presence genuine 
 Hottentots, Corannas and Namaquas, who 
 had met from their respective and distant 
 tribes, for the first time, and they conversed 
 with scarcely any difficulty. All use the 
 same weapons, the quiver, bow, and poison- 
 ed arrows, of which the tribes beyond are 
 ignorant, except such as border on them, like 
 the Batlapis, who say they adopted that new 
 mode of warfare in order to compete with 
 them and the Bushmen, from both of whom 
 they obtained these weapons, which they 
 have not yet learned to manufacture. 
 
 The Bushmen are the most remarkable 
 portion of the Hottentot nation. They are 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 to be found scattered, though thinly, among 
 all the Bechuana tribes of the interior with 
 which we are acquainted, even as far as the 
 Mampoor lake, about eight hundred miles 
 north of Lattakoo. The Marosa, or Baroa 
 Bushmen, are found of the same description as 
 those just beyond the boundaries of the colo- 
 ny; and from the oldest traditions we can find 
 among the Corannas and Namaquas, who are 
 the unmixed Hottentots, as also from the Be- 
 chuanas, it may be demonstrated, that they 
 existed a wandering people, without homes, or 
 cattle, or even nationality of character. That 
 they descended from Hottentots, requires little 
 argument to prove. Connected with each of 
 the towns among that people, there are great 
 numbers of what are called " Balala,'' poor 
 ones, who stand in the same relation to the 
 Bechuanas in which the Bushmen formerly 
 stood to the Hottentots, and whose origin 
 doubtless was of the same nature. These 
 Balala were once inhabitants of the towns, 
 and have been permitted or appointed to live 
 in country places for the purpose of procu- 
 ring skins of wild animals, wild honey, and 
 roots, for their respective chiefs. 
 
 Though in general they are able to state 
 to what chief or tribe, they belong, yet, from 
 want of intercourse, and from desolating 
 wars, which are only waged where there is 
 a prospect of plunder, great numbers of them 
 become, in their isolated position, independ- 
 ent. They are never permitted to keep cat- 
 tle, and are exposed to the caprice, cupidity 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and tyranny of the town lords, whenever 
 they happen to come in their way. They 
 live a hungry life, heing dependent on the 
 chase, wild roots, berries, locusts, and indeed 
 any thing eatable that comes within their 
 reach ; and when they have a more than 
 usual supply, they will bury it in the earth, 
 from their superiors, who are in the habit of 
 taking what they please. Resistance on their 
 part would be instantly avenged with the 
 deadly javelin. When hunting parties go 
 out to kill game, the Balala, men and wo- 
 men, are employed to carry grievous bur- 
 dens of flesh to the rendezvous of the hun- 
 ters ; in return for which they receive the 
 offals of the meat, and are made drudges so 
 long as the party remains. They are never 
 permitted to wear the furs of foxes and other 
 animals they obtain. The flesh they may 
 eat; but the skins are conveyed to the towns, 
 for which they obtain a small piece of to- 
 bacco, or an old spear or knife. Indeed, all 
 the valuable skins of the larger animals, 
 which they sometimes procure by hunting 
 and pitfalls, as well as the better portions of 
 the meat, they have to yield to their nominal 
 masters, except when they succeed in secre- 
 ting the whole for their own use. From the 
 famishing life to which they are exposed, 
 their external appearance and stature are 
 precisely to the Bechuanas what the Bush- 
 men are to the Hottentots. 
 
 Their servile state, their scanty clothing, 
 their exposure to the inclemency of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 weather, and their extreme poverty, have, 
 as may be easily conceived, a deteriorating 
 influence on their character and condition. 
 They are generally less in stature, and though 
 not deficient in intellect, the life they lead 
 gives a melancholy cast to their features, and 
 from constant intercourse with beasts of prey 
 and serpents in their path, as well as expo- 
 sure to harsh treatment, they appear shy, and 
 have a wild and frequently quick suspicious 
 look. Nor can this be wondered at, when 
 it is remembered that they associate with 
 savage beasts, from the lion that roams abroad 
 by night and day, to the deadly serpent which 
 infests their path, keeping them always on 
 the alert during their perambulations. All 
 this and much more which might be said of 
 the Balala, may also with the strictest pro- 
 priety be affirmed of the Bushmen. Any one 
 familiarly acquainted with the interior, can 
 have no doubt as to the origin and the cor- 
 rectness of the description given of the " Bec- 
 huana Bushmen," as Mr. Campbell calls 
 them, and of whom he says, " they are a 
 people greatly despised by all the surround- 
 ing tribes.'^ Their numbers have also been 
 increased by fugitives from other towns and 
 villages, which have been reduced by devas- 
 tating wars from peace and plenty, to the 
 most abject poverty, and the inhabitants 
 forced to flee to the desert for sustenance, 
 hardly disputed with the beasts of prey. From 
 this class of people, the Tamahas, or Red 
 people, as the etymology of the word imports, 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 who are by the Griquas called Red Kafirs, 
 arose. They formed a considerable body in 
 the days of Molehabangue the father of Mo- 
 thibi, the present chief of the Batlapis, who, 
 in his commandoes for the capture of cattle, 
 was wont to take them with him. Taught 
 this mode of warfare, and being of an intre- 
 pid character, they sallied forth and took 
 cattle for themselves, which Molehabangue's 
 generous disposition allowed them to keep, 
 and they became an independent tribe, con- 
 tinuing the faithful allies of the Batlapis. 
 
 That such were the Bushmen formerly, 
 there can be no doubt ; and it is equally cer- 
 tain their numbers were increased by parties 
 of Hottentots, robbed, and compelled to aban- 
 don for ever the land of their ancestors; and 
 who naturally sought to satisfy their wants 
 by a predatory warfare, and thus taught the 
 Bushmen to become the pirates of the desert.. 
 Hence arose that kind of policy, once sanc- 
 tioned by the Cape colonial government, of 
 extermination, on which it is impossible to 
 reflect without horror. It appears from the 
 earliest records on the subject, and especially 
 from the journals of those engaged in the 
 work, that the Bushmen were once very nu- 
 merous. I have traversed those regions in 
 which, according to the testimony of the 
 farmers, thousands once dwelt, drinking at 
 their own fountains, and killing their own 
 game ; but now, alas, scarcely a family is to 
 be seen ! It is impossible to look over these 
 now uninhabited plains and mountain-glens 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 without feeling the deepest melancholy, while 
 the winds moaning in the vale seem to echo 
 back the sound, " Where are they?" In this 
 more enlightened age, the farmers cannot 
 refer to the melancholy history of that unfor- 
 tunate race without feelings of regret, while 
 it is but justice to add, that many of the far- 
 mers made strenuous efforts, and collected 
 thousands of cattle and sheep, which they 
 presented to the neighbouring Bushmen, hop- 
 ing to induce them to settle, and live by breed- 
 ing cattle; but these efforts always failed. It 
 was too late ; past sufferings, and past offences 
 on both sides, had produced a spirit of hatred 
 so universal, that it was of no avail to pacify 
 one party, while thousands were thirsting for 
 revenge and plunder. Their numbers are 
 now comparatively few, even among the 
 tribes far beyond the present limits of the 
 colony, from the same mutual strife. 
 
 The Kafirs, the next African tribe to 
 which I shall briefly refer, live beyond the 
 Fish River, on the eastern boundary of the 
 colony. At an earlier period they possessed 
 much of that part of Albany now inhabited 
 by EngUsh farmers and Hottentots, though it 
 is presumed, on very good grounds, that the 
 Hottentot country formerly extended a con- 
 siderable distance into that of the Kafirs. 
 The Kafirs form one tribe of the Great Bec- 
 huana family^ and probably emigrated from 
 the direction of Delagoa Bay, till they came 
 in contact with the Hottentots along the coast. 
 Their origin must be traced to the same 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 source as that of the numerous tribes of the 
 Bechuanas, from the affinity of languages 
 spoken throughout the eastern part of the 
 continent of Africa. Their national character 
 is bold and warlike, and their maintaining 
 their independence to the present day, after 
 all their conflicts with the colony, and espe- 
 cially in the late war, when no less a sum 
 than two hundred and forty-one thousand 
 eight hundred and eighty-four pounds, was 
 expended in the destructive, but fruitless con- 
 flict, in order to drive them from the moun- 
 tain-passes, and the impenetrable jungles, 
 a country over which their ancestors had 
 swayed the sceptre for ages, is a decisive 
 evidence of their martial spirit. Their coun- 
 try is bounded by the ocean on the south, 
 and a range of mountains on the north, and 
 beyond them lie the Amapondo and Zoolu 
 tribes. 
 
 North of Kafir-land, between the Winter- 
 berg mountains and the higher branches of 
 the Yellow River, lies the country inhabited 
 by the Basutos, a tribe of Bechuanas. Since 
 the days of Chaka, the tyrant of the Zoolus, 
 who oppressed them from the east, while 
 the Bergenaars on the west were exercising 
 dreadful barbarities, and reduced most of the 
 tribes to extreme poverty; they have risen 
 again in a fertile country, to comparative 
 affluence. 
 
 Beyond the Basutos, to the north of the 
 Orange River, lie the other Bechuana tribes, 
 whose numbers and. extent we have not yet 
 been able to learn. 
 
SCENES AND ADVENTURES 
 
 IN 
 
 AFRICA. 
 
 THE LION AND GIRAFFE. 
 
 On our route homeward we halted at a 
 spot where a novel scene once occurred, and 
 which was described by an individual who 
 witnessed it when a boy. Near a very small 
 fountain, which was shown to me, stood a 
 camel thorn-tree, {Jlcacia Giraffe.) It was 
 a stiff tree, about twelve feet high, with a 
 flat, bushy top. Many years ago, the relater, 
 then a boy, was returning to his village, and 
 having turned aside to the fountain for a 
 drink, lay down on the bank, and fell asleep. 
 Being awoke by the piercing rays of the sun, 
 he saw, through the bush behind which he 
 lay, a giraffe browsing at ease on the tender 
 shoots of the tree, and, to his horror, a lion, 
 creeping like a cat, only a dozen yards from 
 him, preparing to pounce on his prey. The 
 lion eyed the giraffe for a few moments, his 
 body gave a shake, and he bounded into the 
 
26 THE LION AND GIRAFFE. 
 
 air, to seize the head of the animal, which 
 instantly turned his stately neck, and the 
 lion, missing his grasp, fell on his back in the 
 centre of the mass of thorns, like spikes, and 
 the giraffe bomided over the plain. The boy 
 instantly followed the example, expecting, as 
 a matter of course, that the enraged lion 
 would soon find his way to the earth. Some 
 time afterwards, the people of the village, 
 who seldom visited that spot, saw the eagles 
 hovering in the air; and as it is almost 
 always a certain sign that the lion has killed 
 game, or some animal is lying dead, they 
 went to the place, and sought in vain till, 
 coming under the lee of the tree, their olfac- 
 tory nerves directed them to where the lion 
 lay dead in his thorny bed. I still found 
 some of his bones under the tree, and hair 
 on its branches, to convince me of what I 
 scarcely could have credited. 
 
 The lion will sometimes manage to mount 
 the back of a giraffe, and, fixing his sharp 
 claws into each shoulder, gnaw away till he 
 reaches the vertebrae of the neck, when both 
 fall; and ofttimes the lion is lamed for his 
 trouble. If the giraffe happens to be very 
 strong, he succeeds in bringing his rider to 
 the ground. Among those that we shot on 
 our journey, the healed wounds of the lion's 
 claws on the shoulder, and marks of his teeth 
 on the back of the neck, gave us ocular de- 
 monstration that two of them had carried the 
 monarch of the forest on their backs, and yet 
 come off triumphant. 
 
27 
 
 THE DESERTED MOTHER. 
 
 On reaching the spot, we beheld an object 
 of heart-rending distress. It was a venera- 
 ble looking old woman, a living skeleton, 
 sitting with her head leaning on her knees. 
 She appeared terrified at our presence, and 
 especially at me. She tried to rise, but, 
 trembling with weakness, sunk again to the 
 earth. I addressed her by the name which 
 sounds sweet in every cUme, and charms 
 even the savage ear: "My mother, fear not ; 
 we are friends, and wiU do you no harm." 
 I put several questions to her, but she ap- 
 peared either speechless, or afraid to open 
 her lips. I again repeated, " Pray, mother, 
 who are you, and how do you come to be in 
 this situation ?" to which she replied, " I 
 am a woman ; I have been here four days ; 
 my children have left me here to die." 
 "Your children!" I interrupted. "Yes," 
 raising her hand to her shriveUed bosom, 
 "my own children, three sons and two 
 daughters." They are gone," pointing with 
 her finger, " to yonder blue mountain, and 
 have left me to die." " And pray why did 
 they leave you?" I inquired. Spreading 
 out her hands, " I am old, you see, and I am 
 no longer able to serve them; when they kill 
 game, I am too feeble to help in carrying 
 home the flesh; I am not able to gather 
 wood to make fire ; and I cannot carry their 
 children on my back as I used to do." This 
 
28 THE DESERTED MOTHER. 
 
 last sentence was more than I could bear ; 
 and though my tongue was cleaving to the 
 roof of my mouth for want of water, this 
 reply opened a fountain of tears. I re- 
 marked that I was surprised that she had 
 escaped the lions, which seemed to abound, 
 and to have approached very near the spot 
 where she was. She took hold of the skin 
 of her left arm with her fingers, and, raising 
 it up as one would do a loose linen, she ad- 
 ded, "I hear the lions; but there is nothing 
 on me that they would eat ; I have no flesh 
 on me for them to scent." At this moment 
 the wagon drew near, which greatly alarmed 
 her, for she supposed that it was an animal. 
 Assuring her that it would do her no harm, 
 I said that, as I could not stay, I would put 
 her into the wagon and take her with me. 
 At this remark she became convulsed with 
 terror. Others addressed her, but all to no 
 effect. She replied, that if we took her, and 
 left her at another village, they would only 
 do the same thing again. " It is our custom ; 
 I am nearly dead ; I do not want to die 
 again.'' The sun was now piercingly hot ; 
 the oxen were raging in the yoke, and we 
 ourselves nearly delirious. Finding it im- 
 possible to influence the woman to move, 
 without running the risk of her dying con- 
 vulsed in our hands, we collected a quantity 
 of fuel, gave her a good supply of dry meat, 
 some tobacco, and a knife, with some other 
 articles ; telling her we should return in two 
 days, and stop the night, when she would be 
 
THE DESERTED MOTHER. 29 
 
 able to go with us; only she must keep up a 
 good fire at night, as the Hons would smell 
 the dried flesh, if they did not scent her. We 
 then pursued our course ; and after a long 
 ride, passing a rocky ridge of hills, we came 
 to a stagnant pool, into which men and oxen 
 rushed precipitately, though the water was 
 almost too muddy to go down our throats. 
 
 On our return to the spot, according to 
 promise, we found the old woman and every 
 thing gone, but, on examination, discovered 
 the footmarks of two men, from the hills re- 
 ferred to, who appeared to have taken her 
 away. Several months afterwards I learned, 
 from an individual who visited the station, 
 that the sons, seeing from a distance the wa- 
 gon halt at the spot, where they had so un- 
 naturally left their mother to perish, came to 
 see, supposing the travellers had been view- 
 ing the mangled remains of their mother. 
 Finding her alive, and supplied with food, 
 and on her telling the story of the strangers' 
 kindness, they were alarmed, and dreading 
 the vengeance of the great chief, whom they 
 supposed me to be, took her home, and were 
 providing for her with more than usual care. 
 I have often reasoned with the natives on 
 this cruel practice ; in reply to which they 
 would only laugh. It may be imagined that 
 people might devote their friends, and nobles 
 their first born, like the Carthaginians, to ap- 
 pease some off'ended deity; and that mothers, 
 too, should smile on the infants their own 
 hands had murdered, from similar motives ; 
 
30 TRAITS IN THE LION. 
 
 but it appears an awful exhibition of human 
 depravity, when children compel their pa- 
 rents to perish for want, or to be devoured 
 by beasts of prey in a desert, from no other 
 motive than sheer laziness, or to get quit of 
 those on whose breasts they hung in helpless 
 infancy, whose lips first directed their vocal 
 powers, whose hand led them through many 
 a weary waste, and who often suffered the 
 most pinching want, that the babes whom 
 nature taught them to love might be sup- 
 plied. I have more than once handed food 
 to a hungry mother, who appeared to have 
 fasted for a month, when she would just 
 taste it, and give it to her child, when, per- 
 haps, that very child, instead of returning 
 grateful services to the infancy of old age, 
 leaves that mother to perish from hunger. 
 
 SINGULAR TRAITS IN THE LION. 
 
 Much has been written about African 
 lions, but the half has not been told. The 
 following trait in their character may not be 
 intrusive, or partaking of the marvellous, 
 with which the tales of some travellers are 
 said to abound. I give it as received from 
 men of God, and men who had been expe- 
 rienced Nimrods too. The old lion, when in 
 company with his children, as the natives 
 call them, though they are nearly as big as 
 himself, or when numbers together happen 
 
TRAITS IN THE LION. 31 
 
 to come upon game, the oldest or ' ablest 
 creeps to the object, while the others crouch 
 on the grass ; if he be successful, which he 
 generally is, he retires from his victim, and 
 lies down to breathe and rest for perhaps a 
 quarter of an hour; in the meantime the 
 others draw around and lie down at a re- 
 spectful distance. When the chief one has 
 got his rest, he commences at the abdomen 
 and breast, and after making havoc with 
 the titbits of the carcase, he will take a se- 
 cond rest, none of the others presuming to 
 move. Having made a second gorge, he re- 
 tires ; the others, watching his motions, rush 
 on the remainder, and it is soon devoured. 
 At other times, if a young lion seizes the 
 prey, and an old one happens to come up, 
 the younger retires till the elder has dined. 
 This was what Africaner called better man- 
 ners than those of the Namaquas. 
 
 Passing along a vale, we came to a spot 
 where the lion appeared to have been exer- 
 cising himself in the way of leaping. As 
 the natives are very expert in tracing the 
 manoeuvres of animals by their footmarks, it 
 was soon discovered that a large lion had 
 crept towards a short black stump, very like 
 the human form ; when within about a dozen 
 yards, it bounded on its supposed prey, when, 
 to his mortification, he fell a foot or two short 
 of it. According to the testimony of a native 
 who had been watching his motions, and who 
 joined us soon after, the lion lay for some time 
 steadfastly eyeing its supposed meal. It then 
 
32 TRAITS IN THE LION. 
 
 arose, smelt the object, and returned to the 
 spot from whence he commenced his first 
 leap, and leaped four several times, till at 
 last he placed his paw on the imagined prize. 
 On another occasion, when Africaner and an 
 attendant were passing near the end of a hill, 
 from which jutted out a smooth rock of ten 
 or twelve feet high, he observed a number of 
 zebras pressing round it, obliged to keep the 
 path, beyond which it was precipitous. A 
 lion was seen creeping up towards the path, 
 to intercept the large stallion, which is always 
 in the rear to defend or warn the troop. The 
 lion missed his mark, and while the zebra 
 rushed round the point, the lion knew well 
 if he could mount the rock at one leap, the 
 next would be on the zebra's back, it being 
 obliged to turn towards the hill. He fell 
 short, with only his head over the stone, 
 looking at the galloping zebra switching his 
 tail in the air. He then tried a second and 
 a third leap, till he succeeded. In the mean 
 time two more lions came up, and seemed to 
 talk and roar away about something, while 
 the old lion led them round the rock and 
 round it again ; then he made another grand 
 leap, to show them what he and they must 
 do next time. Africaner added, with the 
 most perfect gravity, " They evidently talked 
 to each other, but though loud enough, I 
 could not understand a word they said, and 
 fearing lest we should be the next objects of 
 their skill, we crept away and left them in 
 council." 
 
33 
 
 THE FRIGHT. 
 
 The foHowing fact wiH show the fearful 
 dangers to which soUtary traveHers are 
 sometimes exposed. A man belonging to 
 Mr. Schmelen's congregation, at Bethany, 
 returning homewards from a visit to his 
 friends, took a circuitous course in order to 
 pass a smaH fountain, or rather pool, where 
 he hoped to kill an antelope to carry home 
 to his family. The sun had risen to some 
 height by the time he reached the spot, and 
 seeing no game, he laid his gun down on a 
 shelving low rock, the back part of which 
 was covered over with a species of dwarf 
 thorn-bushes. He went to the water, took a 
 hearty drink, and returned to the rock, 
 smoked his pipe, and being a little tired, fell 
 asleep. In a short time the heat reflected 
 from the rock awoke him, and opening his 
 eyes, he saw a large lion crouching before 
 him, with its eyes glaring in his face, and 
 within little more than a yard of his feet. He 
 sat motionless for some minutes, till he had 
 recovered his presence of mind, then eyeing 
 his gun, moved his hand slowly towards it; 
 the lion seeing him, raised its head, and gave 
 a tremendous roar ; he made another and 
 another attempt, but the gun being far be- 
 yond his reach, he gave it up, as the lion 
 seemed well aware of his object, and was 
 enraged whenever he attempted to move his 
 
 3 
 
34 THE FRIGHT. 
 
 hand. His situation now became painful in 
 the extreme ; the rock on which he sat be- 
 came so hot that he could scarcely bear his 
 naked feet to touch it, and kept moving 
 them, alternately placing one above the 
 other. The day passed, and the night also, 
 but the lion never moved from the spot ; the 
 sun rose again, and its intense heat soon ren- 
 dered his feet past feeling. At noon the lion 
 rose and walked to the water, only a few 
 yards distant, looking behind as it went, lest 
 the man should move, and seeing him stretch 
 out his hand to take his gun, turned in a 
 rage, and was on the point of springing upon 
 him. The animal went to the water, drank, 
 and returning, lay down again at the edge of 
 the rock. Another night passed ; the man, in 
 describing it, said, he knew not whether he 
 slept, but if he did, it must have been with 
 his eyes open, for he always saw the lion at 
 his feet. Next day, in the forenoon, the 
 animal went again to the water, and while 
 there, he listened to some noise apparently 
 from an opposite quarter, and disappeared in 
 the bushes. The man now made another 
 effort, and seized his gun; but on attempting 
 to rise, he fell, his ankles being without 
 power. With his gun in his hand, he crept 
 towards the water, and drank, but looking at 
 his feet, he saw, as he expressed it, his " toes 
 roasted,^ ^ and the skin torn off with the 
 grass. There he sat a few moments, expect- 
 ing the lion's return, when he was resolved 
 to send the contents of the gun through its 
 
THIRST IN THE DESERT. 35 
 
 head ; but as it did not appear, tying his gun 
 to his back, the poor man made the best of 
 his way on his hands and linees, to the near- 
 est path, hoping some soUtary individual 
 might pass. He could go no further, when, 
 providentially, a person came up, who took 
 him to a place of safety, from whence he ob- 
 tained help, though he lost his toes, and was 
 a cripple for life. 
 
 THIRST IN THE DESERT. 
 
 Being disappointed in the object of our 
 journey, we endeavoured to reach home by 
 a shorter route further to the east on the 
 borders of the southern Zahara desert, Avhich 
 lies between Namaqua-land and the country 
 of the Bechuanas. We had nearly paid 
 dear for our haste, for we found ourselves in 
 a plain of deep sand, and were on the point 
 of abandoning the wagon. Each went in 
 search of water, but it was in vain, we found 
 only water melons, and those as bitter as 
 gall. I shall never forget the ghastly looks 
 of our party — nothing could provoke a smile. 
 Some had started off in the direction of a 
 river called 'Kam Toaap, which signifies 
 " the water is done," where they happily 
 found some, and (after drinking largely 
 themselves) filled their calabashes and re- 
 turned; but before reaching the wagon, their 
 thirst again became excessive, and by the 
 
36 THE NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 next morning they had nearly finished all 
 they had reserved for us. On my tasting 
 the water, and it was indeed but a taste, for 
 I wished that others should wet their lips, 
 the rage for water seemed to increase, and 
 we hastened towards the river. When we 
 reached the top of the deep bed of the river, 
 a scene presented itself which, though twenty- 
 three years have elapsed, is as fresh to my 
 mind as though it occurred but yesterday. 
 Two of the men who had preceded us, im- 
 mediately seized the thong of the two lead- 
 ing oxen, to prevent them from precipitating 
 themselves with the wagons down the rug- 
 ged steep, after the example of wiser heads; 
 for all the people, without exception, rushed 
 down the bank, some kept their feet, others 
 rolled, and some tumbled headlong into the 
 muddy pool, in which they seemed fain to 
 lie, clothes and all. It was well that the 
 water was warmed by the sun's scorching 
 rays, for Africaner, as well as others, record- 
 ed several instances of thirsty travellers drink- 
 ing largely in their heated state, and instantly 
 expiring with their faces in the water. 
 
 THE NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 At one of these places I had slept on the 
 ground near the door of the hut in which the 
 principal man and his wife reposed. I re- 
 marked in the morning, that it appeared that 
 
THE NARROW ESCAPE. 37 
 
 some of the cattle had broken loose during 
 the night, as I heard something moving 
 about on the outside of the thorn fence, un- 
 der which I lay. " Oh," he replied, " I was 
 looking at the spoor this morning, it was the 
 lion;" adding, that a few nights before it 
 sprang over on the very spot on which I had 
 been lying, and seized a goat, with which it 
 bounded off through another part of the fold. 
 " Look," said he, " there is a part of some of 
 the mats we tore from the house, and burned 
 to frighten him away." On asking him how 
 he could think of appointing me to sleep in 
 that very spot; "Oh," he rejoined, "the 
 lion would not have the audacity to jump 
 over on you." This remark produced a 
 laugh in me, in which he and his wife joined 
 most heartily; and reminded me of a cir- 
 cumstance in his own history, with which I 
 was well acquainted; for he had been in the 
 jaws of a lion. One night, he, and about a 
 dozen hunters, were fast asleep, with a circle 
 of bushes placed around their fire. When 
 the blaze was extinguished, a lion sprang 
 into the midst of the sleeping party, seized 
 my host by the shoulder, and with his caross, 
 dragged him off to some distance. The 
 others, aroused by the scuffle, snatched up 
 their guns, and, not knowing one of their 
 number had been carried off, shot in the 
 direction whence the noise proceeded. One 
 ball happened to Avound the lion, and, in 
 trying to roar, it let the man drop from its 
 grasp, who instantly ran off, leaving his 
 
38 BEASTS OF PREY. 
 
 mantle, and bolting among his companions, 
 crying out, " Do not shoot me ;" for they 
 supposed for a moment that he was the lion. 
 He showed me the ugly marks of the lion^s 
 teeth in his shoulder. 
 
 BEASTS OF PREY. 
 
 Flocks of Guinea fowl would occasionally 
 add to the varied scene, with their shrill cry, 
 and whirling flight, from the open plain to 
 the umbrage of the sloping bank, where they 
 pass the night amidst the branches of the tall 
 acacias. But here too the curse reigns ; for 
 the kites and hawks might be seen hovering 
 in the air, watching the motions of the crea- 
 tures beneath, and ready to dart down, with 
 the fleetness of an arrow, on a duckling stray- 
 ing from its parent, or on a bird or a hare 
 moving too far from the shelter of a bush or 
 tree. The fox also might be seen, stealing 
 slowly along from the desert waste, to slake 
 his thirst in the refreshing stream, and seek 
 for some unfortunate brood which might fall 
 within his reach ; and the cobra and green 
 serpent, ascending the trees, to suck the eggs, 
 or to devour the young birds; while the 
 feathered tribe, uniting against the common 
 enemy, gather around, and rend the air with 
 their screams. The African tiger, too, comes 
 in for a share of the feathered spoil. With 
 his sharp claws he ascends the trees, in the 
 
BEASTS OF PREY. 39 
 
 dead of night, and seizes the Guinea fowls 
 on their aerial roost. The hyena, also, here 
 seeks his spoil, and gorges some strayed kid, 
 or pursues the troop for the new-fallen ante- 
 lope or foal ; and, to fill up the picture, the 
 lion may be heard in the distance, roaring for 
 his prey; while man, 
 
 " The great enemy to man," 
 
 is no less so to fish or fowl, or spotted deer. 
 Wherever he wanders he seeks to regale his 
 varied appetite ; and more than this, he, as 
 the enemy of enemies, fears not to attack the 
 ponderous elephant, face the lion's glare, and 
 for his amusement lay prostrate in the dust 
 the innocent. 
 
 Reclining on a rock one day, waiting till 
 my shirt, which I had washed, was dry, I 
 noticed a crow rise from the earth, carrying 
 something dangling in its talons. On direct- 
 ing my companions to the sight, they said, 
 " it is only a crow with a tortoise ; you will 
 see it fall presently;" and down it fell. The 
 crow descended, and up went the tortoise 
 again to a still greater height, from which it 
 dropped, and the crow instantly followed. I 
 hastened with one of the men to the spot, and 
 scared away the crow from the mangled tor- 
 toise, on which it was enjoying a feast. On 
 looking around the flat rock, there were many 
 wrecks of former years ; and on my remark- 
 ing I did not think that the crow was so cun- 
 ning, my companion rephed, " The kites do 
 the same thing;" which I have since fre- 
 quently observed. 
 
40 
 
 THE POISONED POOL. 
 
 On one occasion I was remarkably pre- 
 served, when all expected that my race was 
 run. We had reached the river early in the 
 afternoon, after a dreadfully scorching ride 
 across a plain. Three of my companions, 
 who were in advance, rode forward to a 
 Bushman village, on an ascent some hundred 
 yards from the river. I went, because my 
 horse would go, towards a little pool on a 
 dry branch, from which the flood or torrent 
 had receded to the larger course. Dismount- 
 ing, I pushed through a narrow opening in 
 the bushes, and lying down took a hearty 
 draught. Immediately on rising I felt an 
 unusual taste in my mouth, and looking at- 
 tentively at the water, and the temporary 
 fence around it, it flashed across my mind 
 that the water was poisoned for the purpose 
 of killing game. I came out, and meeting 
 one of our number, who had been a little 
 in the rear, just entering, told him my sus- 
 picion. 
 
 At that moment a Bushman from the vil- 
 lage came running breathless, and apparent- 
 ly terrified, took me by the hand, as if to 
 prevent my going to the water, talking with 
 great excitement, though neither I nor my 
 companions could understand him ; but when 
 I made signs that I had drunk, he was speech- 
 less for a minute or two, and then ran ofl"to the 
 village. I followed; and on again dismount- 
 
HEAT AND THIRST. 41 
 
 ing, as I was beginning to think for the last 
 time, the poor Bushmen and women looked 
 on me with eyes which bespoke heartfelt 
 compassion. My companions expected me 
 to fall down every moment ; not one spoke. 
 Observing the downcast looks of the poor 
 Bushmen, I smiled, and this seemed to ope- 
 rate on them like an electric shock, for all 
 began to babble and sing ; the women strik- 
 ing their elbows against their naked sides, 
 expressive of their joy. However, I began 
 to feel a violent turmoil within, and a fulness 
 of the system, as if the arteries would burst, 
 while the pulsation was exceedingly quick, 
 being accompanied with a slight giddiness in 
 the head. We made the natives understand 
 that I wanted the fruit of the solanum, which 
 grows in those quarters nearly the size and 
 shape of an egg, and which acts as an emetic. 
 They ran in all directions, but sought in vain. 
 By this time I was covered with a profuse 
 perspiration, and drank largely of pure water. 
 The strange and painful sensation which 
 I had experienced gradually wore away, 
 though it was not entirely removed for some 
 days. 
 
 HEAT AND THIRST. 
 
 We continued our slow and silent march 
 for hours. The tongue cleaving to the roof 
 of the mouth from thirst, made conversation 
 extremely difficult. At last we reached the 
 
 4 
 
42 HEAT AND THIRST. 
 
 long-wished for " waterfall," so named, be- 
 cause when it rains, water sometimes falls^ 
 though in small quantities ; but it was too 
 late to ascend the hill. We allowed our poor 
 worn-out horses to go where they pleased, 
 and having kindled a small fire, and pro- 
 duced a little saliva by smoking a pipe, we 
 talked about our lost companions, who hap- 
 pened for their comfort to have the morsel of 
 meat, and who, as Jantye thought, would 
 wander from the position in which we left 
 them towards the river. We bowed the 
 knee to Him who had mercifully preserved 
 us, and laid our heads on our saddles. The 
 last sound we heard to soothe us, was the 
 distant roar of the lion, but we were too 
 much exhausted to feel any thing like fear. 
 Sleep came to our relief, and it seemed made 
 up of scenes the most lovely, forming a glow- 
 ing contrast to our real situation. I felt as if 
 engaged during my short repose, in roving 
 among ambrosial bowers of paradisaical de- 
 light, hearing sounds of music, as if from an- 
 gels' harps; it was the night wind falling on 
 my ears from the neighbouring hill. I seemed 
 to pass from stream to stream, in which I 
 bathed and slaked my thirst at many a crys- 
 tal fount, flowing from golden mountains 
 enriched with living green. These Elysian 
 pleasures continued till morning dawn, when 
 we awoke, speechless with thirst, our eyes 
 inflamed, and our whole frames burning like 
 a coal. We were, however, somewhat less 
 fatigued, but wanted water, and had re- 
 
HEAT AND THIRST. 43 
 
 course to another pipe before we could arti- 
 culate a word. 
 
 My companion then directed me to a pro- 
 jecting rock, near the top of the hill, where, 
 if there was water at all, it would be found. 
 I took up the gun to proceed in that direc- 
 tion, while he went in search of the horses, 
 which we feared might have been devoured 
 by the lion. I ascended the rugged height to 
 the spot where water once was, but found it 
 as dry as the sandy plain beneath. I stood 
 a few minutes, stretching my languid eye to 
 see if there were any appearance of the 
 horses, but saw nothing; turning to descend, 
 I happened to cough, and was instantly sur- 
 rounded by almost a hundred baboons, some 
 of gigantic size. They grunted, grinned, and 
 sprang from stone to stone, protruding their 
 mouths, and drawing back the skin of their 
 foreheads, threatening an instant attack. I 
 kept parrying them with my gun, which was 
 loaded ; but knew their character and dispo- 
 sition too well to fire, for if I had wounded 
 one of them, I should have been skinned in 
 five minutes. The ascent was very laborious, 
 but I would have given any thing to be at 
 the bottom of the hill again. Some came so 
 near as even to touch my hat while passing 
 projecting rocks. It was some time before I 
 reached the plain, when they appeared to 
 hold a noisy council, either about what they 
 had done, or intended doing. Levelling my 
 piece at two that seemed the most fierce, as I 
 was about to touch the trigger, the thought 
 
44 HEAT AND THIRST. 
 
 occurred, I have escaped, let me be thankful ; 
 therefore I left them uninjured, perhaps with 
 the gratification of having given me a fright. 
 Jantye soon appeared with the horses. 
 My looks, more expressive than words, con- 
 vincing him there was no water, we saddled 
 the poor animals, which, though they had 
 picked up a little grass, looked miserable be- 
 yond description. We now directed our 
 course towards Witte Water, where we could 
 scarcely hope to arrive before afternoon, even 
 if we reached it at all, for we were soon 
 obliged to dismount, and drive our horses 
 slowly and silently over the glowing plain, 
 wJiere the delusive mirage tantalized our 
 feelings with exhibitions of the loveliest pic- 
 tures, of lakes and pools studded with lovely 
 islets, and towering trees moving in the 
 breeze on their banks. In some might be 
 seen the bustle of a mercantile harbour, with 
 jetties, coves, and moving rafts and oars ; in 
 others, lakes so lovely, as if they had just 
 come from the hand of the Divine artist, a 
 transcript of Eden's sweetest views, but all 
 the result of highly rarefied air, or the re- 
 flected heat of the sun's rays on the sultry 
 plain. Sometimes, when the horses and my 
 companion were some hundred yards in ad- 
 vance, they appeared as if lifted from the 
 earth, or moving like dark living pillars in 
 the air. Many a time did we seek old ant 
 hills, excavated by the ant-eater, into which 
 to thrust our heads, in order to have some- 
 thing solid between our fevered brains and 
 
HEAT AND THIRST. 45 
 
 the piercing rays of the sun. There was no 
 shadow of a great rock; the shrubs sapless, 
 barren, and bhghted, as if by some blast of 
 fire. Nothing animate was to be seen or 
 heard, except the shrill chirping of a beetle 
 resembling the cricket, the noise of which 
 seemed to increase with the intensity of the 
 heat. Not a cloud had been seen since we 
 left our homes. 
 
 We felt an irresistible inclination to remain 
 at any bush which could aiford the least 
 shelter from the noonday^s sun, the crown of 
 the head having the sensation as if covered 
 with live coal, and the mind wandering. 
 My companion became rather wild. Hav- 
 ing been anxious to spare him all the toil 
 possible, I had for a long time carried the 
 gun ; he asked for it, apparently to relieve 
 me, but his motions were such that I was 
 glad to recover possession of it. 
 
 My difficulties and anxieties were now 
 becoming painful in the extreme, not know- 
 ing any thing of the road, which was in some 
 places hardly discernible, and in my faithful 
 guide hope had died away. The horses 
 moved at the slowest pace, and that only 
 when driven, which effort was laborious in 
 the extreme. Speech was gone, and every 
 thing expressed by signs, except when we 
 had recourse to a pipe, and for which we 
 now began to lose our relish. After sitting 
 a long while under a bush, oh ! what a rehef 
 I felt when my guide pointed to a distant 
 hill, near to which water lay. Courage re- 
 
46 HEAT AND THIRST. 
 
 vived, but it was with pain and labour that 
 we reached it late in the afternoon. Having 
 still sufficient judgment not to go at once to 
 drink, it was with great difficulty I prevented 
 my companion doing that, which would 
 almost instantly have proved fatal to him. 
 Our horses went to the pool, and consumed 
 nearly all the water, for it appeared that 
 some wild horses had shortly before slaked 
 their thirst at this spot, leaving for us but 
 little, and that polluted. 
 
 Becoming cooler after a little rest, we 
 drank, and though moving with animalcules, 
 muddy, and nauseous with filth, it was to us 
 a reviving draught. We rested and drank, 
 till the sun sinking in the west, compelled us 
 to go forward, in order to reach Griqua 
 Town that night. Though we had filled 
 our stomachs with water, if such it might be 
 called, for it was grossly impure, thirst soon 
 returned with increased agony; and painful 
 was the ride and walk, for they were alter- 
 nate, until we reached at a late hour the 
 abode of Mr. Anderson. 
 
 Entering the door speechless, haggard, 
 emaciated, and covered with perspiration and 
 dust, I soon procured by signs, that universal 
 language, for myself and my companion a 
 draught of water. Mr. A., expecting such a 
 visitor from the moon, as soon as from Na- 
 maqua-land, was not a little surprised to 
 find who it was. Kind-hearted Mrs. A. in- 
 stantly prepared a cup of coffee and some 
 food, which I had not tasted for three days; 
 
THE STORM. 47 
 
 and I felt all the powers of soul revive, as if 
 I had talked with angels — it was to me a 
 " feast of reason and a flow of soul." 
 
 Retiring to rest, the couch, though hard, 
 appeared to me a downy bed; I begged Mr. 
 A. just to place within my reach half a bucket 
 of water ; this he kindly and prudently re- 
 fused, but left me with a full tumbler of unu- 
 sual size ; such, however, was my fevered 
 condition, that no sooner was he gone than 
 I drank the whole. After reviewing the 
 past, and looking upward with adoring gra- 
 titude, I fell asleep, and arose in the morning 
 as fresh as if I had never seen a desert, nor 
 felt its thirst. We remained here a few days, 
 in the course of which our lost companions 
 arrived, having, as we rightly supposed, wan- 
 dered towards the river, and escaped the thirst 
 which had nearly terminated our career in 
 the desert. 
 
 THE STORM. 
 
 In the afternoon, when bidding farewell to 
 the dear brethren, with whom I could have 
 wished to pass a month, Mr. A. remarked 
 that the weather to the westward looked like 
 a storm ; but as these appearances often pass 
 over without a drop of rain, we set oif, and 
 trusting to the strength of our recruited 
 horses, we hoped to pass through the desert 
 to the Orange river without much suffering. 
 Mrs. A. had provided us with some biscuit, 
 
48 ' THE STORM. 
 
 which one of the men placed in a sack also 
 containing tobacco. We intended to sleep at 
 Witte Water that night, but long before we 
 reached that place, we were overtaken by an 
 awful storm of thunder. The peals were 
 deafening, and our horses frequently started 
 from each other at the vivid glare of the 
 lightning. It poured torrents, so that by the 
 time we reached the spot where we intended 
 to halt we were drenched to the skin. We 
 let our horses go, and sat down Jike half- 
 drowned fowls, at a bush which could afford 
 us no shelter either from wind or rain. After 
 the vehemence of the storm had abated, we 
 began to think what must be done, for, by 
 the falling hail and piercing wind, we trem- 
 bled as if we should die Avith cold. After 
 much patient search, we found a very few 
 substances capable of ignition, and struck a 
 light in the only box where the tinder was 
 dry, but in vain we looked for fuel to supply 
 our fire. We threw most of our clothes off, 
 for the suffering with them on was unbear- 
 able, and leaving one to blow the fire, we 
 sallied forth in quest of materials to burn. 
 At some distance we succeeded in gathering 
 a few small branches, when we found at 
 least four hyenas looking on in a most daring 
 manner, and resolved to attack us. Such as 
 had both hands occupied, soon relieved one, 
 and with stones scared them a little. But, 
 alas ! the light of the little fire we had left 
 had disappeared, and we knew not the di- 
 rection from which we had eome» We 
 
THE STORM. 49 
 
 shouted to the man who had remained with 
 it, but no answer, save the ugly howl of the 
 hyenas. Now we were completely bewil- 
 dered, every one pointing in a different di- 
 rection, as that in which we had come. A 
 second storm pelted us most unmercifully, 
 and the wind seemed to penetrate through 
 and through our almost naked frames. After 
 a long search, we found the little bush, the 
 man asleep, and the fire out. We threw 
 down our crow-nests which we had gathered 
 for fuel, resolving to brave it out ; but the 
 prospect was horrible, of shivering till the 
 next day's sun should warm us. Each lay 
 down in a lump, on a goat skin, which had 
 served as a saddle cloth. Two of us tried to 
 get down to dry earth, for though there had 
 been a stream on the ground, it was scarcely 
 six inches deep. Beyond our expectation, 
 we fell asleep, and as I lay rather lower than 
 some of my comrades, the rain and sand bu- 
 ried nearly the half of my body. It would 
 be vain attempting to describe my feelings 
 on awaking at daybreak, stiff, cold and dizzy, 
 my hair clotted with mud. We crawled off 
 to the pool of rain water, and though very 
 thick, we enjoyed a thorough ablution. Af- 
 ter wringing the water out of our clothes, we 
 put them on as they were, being obliged to 
 proceed. Before starting, we resolved to 
 have a delightful taste of our biscuit, but, 
 alas ! when the contents of our bag were 
 turned out, we found that the rain having 
 saturated the tobacco and biscuit, the latter 
 
50 THE WILD DOG. 
 
 was reduced to a dark brown paste. Smo- 
 kers as we were, this dish was too unpalata- 
 ble . for us, and a good draught of muddy- 
 water had to supply the deficiency. 
 
 THE WILD DOG.- 
 
 As the sun arose towards the meridian, the 
 heat became excessive ; and if we had been 
 nearly frozen at night, we were almost 
 scorched during the day; and before we 
 reached water the following night, we would 
 have given a crown for a bottle of that in 
 which we had washed in the morning. Our 
 return was little different from our outward 
 journey, "in fastings oft." A kind Provi- 
 dence watched over us, and in some cases 
 remarkably interposed in our behalf, which 
 the following incident will show. We had 
 passed the night without food; and after a 
 long day's ride, the sun was descending on 
 us, with little prospect of meeting with any 
 thing to assuage the pains of hunger, when, 
 as we were descending from the high ground, 
 weak and weary, we saw, at a great distance, 
 on the opposite ridge, a line of dust approach- 
 ing, with the fleetness of the ostrich. It proved 
 to be a spring-buck, closely pursued by a wild 
 dog,- which must have brought it many miles, 
 for it was seized within two hundred yards 
 of the spot where we stood, and instantly 
 dispatched. We, of course, thankfully took 
 
THE SEA COW. 51 
 
 possession of his prize, the right to which the 
 wild dog seemed much incUned to dispute 
 with us. I proposed to leave half of it for the 
 pursuer. " No," said one of my men, " he is 
 not so hungry as we are, or he would not run 
 so fast." 
 
 THE SEA COW. 
 
 The night before reaching home we had 
 rather a narrow escape from a sea-cow (hip- 
 popotamus.) We were obliged to cross the 
 river, which could only be effected by passing 
 over two low islands, nearly covered with 
 reeds and jungle. 
 
 They were a great distance from each 
 other, and it was now nearly dark. We had 
 just reached the first, when a sea-cow came 
 furiously up the stream, snorting so loud as 
 to be echoed back from the dark overhaiig^ 
 ing precipices. Younker Africaner shouted 
 out to me to escape, and, springing from his 
 horse, which appeared petrified, he seized a 
 large stone, and hurled it at the monster of 
 the deep, for our guns were both out of order. 
 The enraged animal then made for the next 
 ford, through which two of us were forcing 
 our horses, up to the saddle in a rapid torrent. 
 A moment's delay on our part would have 
 been fatal to one or both of us. The other 
 three men remained till the infuriated animal 
 had got again into the rear, when they also 
 
52 THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 
 
 escaped to the second island, where expecting 
 another encounter, we made the best of our 
 way to the mainland, effectually drenched 
 with perspiration and water. We soon after 
 reached a village of our own people; and it 
 wa^ with the liveliest gratitude to our heav- 
 enly Father that we reviewed the mercies of 
 the day. These animals, in their undisturbed 
 lakes and pools, are generally timid, and will 
 flee at the approach of man; but when they 
 have been hunted and wounded, from year 
 to year, they become very dangerous, as the 
 following fact will prove. A native, with 
 his boy, went to the river to hunt sea-cows. 
 Seeing one at a short distance below the 
 island, the man passed through a narrow 
 stream, to get nearer the object of his pursuit. 
 He fired, but missed; and the animal in- 
 stantly made for the island; and the man, 
 seeing his danger, ran to cross the bank of 
 the river ; but, before reaching it, the sea- 
 cow seized him, and literally severed his 
 body in two with its monstrous jaws. 
 
 THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 
 
 While Edwards and Kok were in that 
 country, two additional labourers were sent 
 out by the Dutch Missionary Society; but 
 from the hopeless prospect of usefulness, 
 under the existing state of things, they aban- 
 doned that field of labour, and returned to 
 
THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 53 
 
 the Colony. The residence of Kok and Ed- 
 wards among such a people, without being 
 thoroughly identified with them, was neces- 
 sarily attended with risk, and demanded no 
 common share of personal courage. Travel- 
 ling also was dangerous, from the Bushmen, 
 who had kept up a constant predatory Avar- 
 fare with the Bechuanas from time imme- 
 morial, and upon whom they wreaked their 
 vengeance whenever an occasion offered. 
 Kok and his attendants took no part in these 
 outrages, but this did not exempt them from 
 the inveterate hostility of the Bushmen, — an 
 hostility exercised against all who possessed 
 herds or flocks, as the following heart-rending 
 catastrophe will prove. Kok was accom- 
 panied by two brothers, Griquas, of the name 
 of Bergover, who afforded him not only 
 society but assistance. When Kok visited 
 Cape Town, these two remained behind, but 
 for some reasons thought proper soon after 
 to follow him with sixty head of cattle, and 
 a quantity of elephant's teeth, which they 
 had obtained by barter. On the third day 
 after leaving the Kuruman, they were joined 
 by a few Bushmen, who received from them 
 the offals of game which had been killed. 
 The oxen, however, they possessed, excited 
 their cupidity, and tempted the Bushmen to 
 lay plans for their seizure. The Bergover 
 party consisted of two men able to bear 
 arms, their mother, their wives, and fourteen 
 children. The Griquas soon had reason to 
 suspect the designs of their visitors, by little 
 
54 THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 
 
 provocations which their prudence had hith- 
 erto overruled. One morning, when the 
 two brothers were working at a Uttle dis- 
 tance from each other, and while one was 
 stooping, in the act of repairing the wagon 
 pole, a Bushman thrust him through with his 
 spear. His daughter, eight years of age, 
 seeing her father fall, uttered a shriek, when 
 she, too, was transfixed with a spear by 
 another. The other Griqiia, hearing the 
 alarm, and beholding his brother prostrate in 
 his blood, rushed furiously on the eight 
 Bushmen, who fled. He hurled a small 
 hatchet, which he had in his hand, at the 
 murderers, then seizing his gun, fired, and 
 wounded one in the shoulder, but all escaped, 
 leaving their bows and arrows behind them. 
 Distracting beyond measure must have been 
 the situation of the sufferers, with only one 
 individual to defend them, for days, while 
 passing through the country of those who 
 were sure to renew the attack with increasing 
 numbers. They removed from their frail 
 wagon the ivory, which they concealed in 
 the ground. They placed in the wagon the 
 corpses of their slaughtered relatives, with a 
 view to their being interred during the night, 
 to prevent their being treated with that in- 
 dignity which the Bushmen often offer to the 
 bodies of the slain. The next morning they 
 continued their flight, with hearts beating at 
 the sight of every distant object which ap- 
 peared like a human being; for Bushmen 
 were descried on the heights, watching the 
 
THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 55 
 
 progress of the weeping and terrified band. 
 Another night passed on the plain, a sleep- 
 less night, except to the infants unconscious 
 of their danger. Next day, passing a thicket 
 of acacias, a shower of poisofted arrows fell 
 around them, like hail-stones, some of which 
 shghtly wounded several of the children. 
 Bergover fired his gun, and they fled, but the 
 attack was resumed. Thus he continued, 
 with the assistance of his boy, urging on his 
 oxen ; and though several of them fell under 
 the poisoned arrows, they were quickly re- 
 placed by others. In the act of unyoking 
 them, he and his son were both wounded, 
 himself severely; nevertheless, the father 
 continued to defend his children and herds. 
 The gloomy night again set in, with the 
 prospect of all being butchered. The morn- 
 ing dawned on them, and witnessed the 
 closing scene of a catastrophe, at which even 
 those inured to savage life must shudder. 
 Greater numbers of Bushmen appeared, as- 
 sailing the wagon on all sides; and the mo- 
 ment the father fired his gun, all directed 
 their arrows at the only individual capable 
 of resistance, and to whom the agonized 
 mothers and children could look for help. 
 They looked in vain; severely wounded, he 
 staggered to the wagon, while the Bushmen 
 seized the oxen, and drove them oif, with 
 the shout of victory. The woimds were 
 fatal, recollection failed, the words died away 
 on the weeping widow's ear, and in the 
 course of an hour Bergover ceased to breathe. 
 
56 THE ASSAULT AND MURDER. 
 
 Here they were, far from human aid ; three 
 women and thirteen helpless children, their 
 only friend and defender being a ghastly 
 corpse. The axle-tree of their wagon was 
 broken, and Bushmen were still hovering 
 around, eager to dispatch their victims, and 
 seize the remaining draught-oxen which still 
 stood in the yoke. Three days and nights of 
 anguish had now passed, without either food 
 or rest. This was a period of terror and 
 despair; weeping mothers encompassed by 
 wounded, distracted, and fatherless children, 
 could only lift up their voices to God in 
 prayer; and at that moment, deliverance the 
 most unexpected was approaching. The 
 melting scene which followed, cannot be bet- 
 ter described than in the language of an eye- 
 witness, Dr. Lichtenstein, whose description 
 accords exactly with that which I received 
 from the lips of one of the surviving widows. 
 "The traveller having been joined by Kok, 
 on his way to the Kuruman, and seeing the 
 tilt of a wagon at a distance, writes, ' We 
 hastened up to the wagon, and reached it 
 before we were observed by any of the 
 party; at the moment we came up, one of 
 the women seeing us, uttered a loud and 
 piercing shriek, and falling prostrate on the 
 earth before Kok, embraced his knees in a 
 tumult of agony. In an instant after, the 
 children ran towards us, crying, sobbing, and 
 lamenting, in the most piteous manner, so 
 that it was some time before my worthy 
 companion, down whose cheeks tears were 
 
STRATAGEM FOR TAKING GAME. 57 
 
 Streaming, had power to ask the -anfortimate 
 woman where her husband was. For a 
 while, renewed sobs were the only answer 
 he could obtain. We looked up, and saw, a 
 few paces from us^ a boy about twelve years 
 of age, making a grave with an old iron axe, 
 and near him, lying on the ground, the body 
 of his father, wrapped in a mat. ^The Bush- 
 men have murdered him,^ exclaimed the 
 unfortunate lad, and letting his axe drop, he 
 broke out into the most bitter cries and 
 lamentations.' " 
 
 STRATAGEM FOR TAKING GAME. 
 
 The plate exhibits a stratagem, by which 
 the Bushman approaches to game, in the 
 garb of the ostrich. The method is inge- 
 nious, though extremely simple. A kind of 
 flat double cushion is stuifed with straw, and 
 formed something like a saddle. All, except 
 the under part of this, is covered over with 
 feathers, attached to small pegs and made so 
 as to resemble the bird. The neck and head 
 of an ostrich are stuffed, and a small rod in- 
 troduced. The Bushman intending to attack 
 game, whitens his legs with any substance he 
 can procure. He places the feathered saddle 
 on his shoulders, takes the bottom part Of the 
 neck in his right hand, and his bow and poi- 
 soned arrows in his left. Such as the writer 
 has seen were the most perfect mimics of the 
 5 
 
58 BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 ostrich, and at a few hundred yards distant 
 it is not possible for the human eye to detect 
 the fraud. This human bird appears to pick 
 away at the verdure, turning the head as if 
 keeping a sharp lookout, shakes his feathers, 
 now walks, and then trots, until he gets 
 within bow-shot; and when the flock runs 
 from one receiving an arrow, he runs too. 
 The male ostriches will on some occasions 
 give chase to the strange bird, when he tries 
 to elude them, in a way to prevent their 
 catching his scent; for when once they do, 
 the spell is broken. Should one happen to 
 get too near in pursuit, he has only to run to 
 windward, or throw off his saddle, to avoid 
 a stroke from a wing, which would lay him 
 prostrate. 
 
 BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 The following is a brief sketch of the cere- 
 mony of interment, and the custom which 
 prevails among these tribes in reference to 
 the dying. When they see any indications 
 of approaching dissolution, in fainting fits or 
 convulsive throes, they throw a net over the 
 body, and hold it in a sitting posture, with 
 the knees brought in contact with the chin, 
 till life is gone. The grave, which is fre- 
 quently made in the fence surrounding the 
 cattle fold, or in the fold itself, if for a man, 
 is about three feet in diameter and six feet 
 
BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 59 
 
 deep. The body is not conveyed through 
 the door of the fore-yard or court connected 
 with each house, but an opening is made in 
 the fence for that purpose. It is carried to 
 the grave, having the head covered with a 
 skin, and is placed in a sitting posture. 
 Much time is spent in order to fix the corpse 
 exactly facing the north; and though they 
 have no compass, they manage, after some 
 consultation, to place it very nearly in the 
 required position. Portions of an ant-hill 
 are placed about the feet, when the net 
 which held the body is gradually with- 
 drawn ; as the grave is filled up, the earth is 
 handed in with bowls, while two men stand 
 in the hole to tread it down round the body, 
 great care being taken to pick out every 
 thing like a root or pebble. When the earth 
 reaches the height of the mouth, a small twig 
 or branch of an acacia is thrown in, and on 
 the top of the head a few roots of grass are 
 placed ; and when the grave is nearly filled, 
 another root of grass is fixed immediately 
 above the head, part of which stands above 
 ground. When finished, the men and wo- 
 men stoop, and with their hands scrape the 
 loose soil around on to the little mound. A 
 large bowl of water, with an infusion of 
 bulbs, is then brought, when the men and 
 women wash their hands and the upper part 
 of their feet, shouting "pula, pula," rain, 
 rain. An old woman, probably a relation, 
 will then bring his weapons, bows, arrows, 
 war axe, and spears, also grain and garden 
 
60 WILD DOGS HUNTING. 
 
 seeds of various kinds, and even the bone of 
 an old pack-ox, with other thnigs, and ad- 
 dress the grave, saying, "there are alJ your 
 articles." These are then taken away, and 
 bowls of water are poured on the grave, 
 when all retire, the women wailing, "yo, 
 yo, yo," with some doleful dirge, sorrowing 
 without hope. These ceremonies vary in 
 different localities, and according to the rank 
 of the individual who is committed to the 
 dust. It is remarkable that they should ad- 
 dress the dead ; and I have eagerly embra- 
 ced this season to convince them that if they 
 did not believe in the immortality of the soul, 
 it was evident from this, to them now un- 
 meaning custom, that their ancestors once 
 did. Some would admit this might possibly 
 have been the case, but doubted whether 
 they could have been so foolish. But with 
 few exceptions among such a people, argu- 
 ment soon closes, or is turned into ridicule, 
 and the great difficulty presents itself of pro- 
 ducing conviction where there is no re- 
 flection. 
 
 WILD DOGS HUNTING. 
 
 During our stay at this place, a circumstance 
 occurred which may throw some light on the 
 habits of these people, and confirms the old 
 adage, " that the one half of the world does 
 not know how the other half lives." It was 
 at noon-day when a fine large hartebeest 
 
WILD DOGS HUNTING. 61 
 
 (kbama of the Bechuanas,) the swiftest of the 
 antelope species, darted close past the wagon, 
 and descended towards the extensive valley. 
 Startled by so unusual an occurrence, one of 
 the natives called out, " It is the wild dogs;" 
 and presently the whole pack made their 
 appearance, following their leader, which 
 was pursuing the antelope. We seized our 
 guns to attack them as beasts of prey. The 
 poor people who were sitting around their 
 flesh-pots started up and followed, begging 
 of us most earnestly not to kill the wild dogs, 
 for they were their providers. We of course 
 laid down our guns again, and directed our 
 attention to the khama, which was soon over- 
 taken and seized by the hind leg. It turned 
 round to defend itself, and then started off 
 till again seized by the wild dog. As we had 
 in a measure retarded the speed of the pack, 
 about thirty in number, the single dog en- 
 gaged baiting the khama looked round and 
 gave a piteous howl for his companions to 
 come to his assistance. When they overtook 
 the poor animal they fell upon it with one 
 accord, and instantly brought it to the ground. 
 One of my men ran off in order to secure a 
 piece of the skin of which he wanted to make 
 shoes, but by the time he reached the spot, 
 nothing remained but bones, and those well 
 picked. These the poor people afterwards 
 collected for the sake of the marrow. On 
 further inquirj^, I found that these people are 
 in the habit, when they see an antelope, or 
 even an ostrich, pursued by the wild dogs, of 
 
62 WILD DOGS HUNTING. 
 
 endeavouring to frighten them away, that 
 they may come in for a share of the prey. 
 One of the men, with much feeUng for him- 
 self and companions, said, patting his hand 
 on his stomach, " Oh, I am glad you did 
 not shoot the dogs, for they often find us a 
 meal.^^ 
 
 At another place the poor people were 
 very glad, on the same account, that we had 
 not killed the lion, which had been trouble- 
 some to us during the night. These children 
 of the desert very promptly described the 
 manner of the wild-dog chase, which I have 
 since had opportunities of witnessing. When 
 the dogs approach a troop of antelopes, they 
 select one, no matter how it may mingle with 
 others on the dusty plain ; the dog that starts 
 never loses scent, or, if he does, it is soon 
 discovered by the pack, which follow after, 
 as they spread themselves the more readily 
 to regain it. While the single dog who takes 
 the lead has occasion to make angles in pur- 
 suit of his prey, the others, who hear his cry 
 or short howl, avoid a circuitous course, and 
 by this means easily come up again, when a 
 fresh dog resumes the chase, and the other 
 turns into the pack. In this way they relieve 
 each other till they have caught the animal, 
 which they rarely fail to accomplish, though 
 sometimes after a very long run. Should 
 they in their course happen to pass other 
 game much nearer than the one in pursuit, 
 they take no notice of it. These dogs, of 
 which there are two species, never attack 
 
THE HYENA. 63 
 
 man, but are very destructive to sheep and 
 goats, and even to cows, when they come 
 in their way. 
 
 THE HYENA. 
 
 One night we heard a woman screaming 
 in the town, and, on inquiry in the morning, 
 found that a hyena had carried away her 
 child, which had happened to wander a few 
 yards from the door. On our expressing 
 astonishment, we were informed that such 
 occurrences were very common, and that 
 after night-faU the hyenas were in the habit 
 of strolling through all the lanes of the town, 
 and carrying away whatever they could 
 seize. As these animals were thus accus- 
 tomed to gorge themselves with human flesh, 
 it became extremely dangerous to pass the 
 night in the open field, especially on the con- 
 fines of a town. I pointed out plans by 
 which it appeared to me they might succeed 
 in extirpating them, but they seemed very 
 indifferent to my suggestions; urging as a 
 reason, that there was something not lucky 
 in coming in contact with the blood of a 
 hyena. 
 
 One evening, long before retiring to rest, 
 we heard, in the direction of the water pools, 
 the screaming of women and children, as if 
 they were in the greatest danger. 1 sent off 
 a few men, who ran to the spot, and found 
 
64 RETRIBUTION. 
 
 three children who had been drawmg water 
 closely pursued by hyenas, which were on 
 the point of seizing them. The men suc- 
 ceeded in driving the animals away, on 
 which they ran towards the women, whom 
 the men also rescued. I understood that it 
 frequently happened, that children sent to 
 the pools for water nevfer returned. Many 
 must thus be devoured in the course of a 
 year, a reflection calculated to make any one 
 shudder. 
 
 RETRIBUTION. 
 
 The infection of war and plunder was 
 such, that scarcely a tribe or town in the 
 whole country was exempt. The Batlapis, 
 who of all the neighbouring tribes had suf- 
 fered the least, owing to their proximity to 
 our station, instead of being thankful for this, 
 authorized one of their number, the king's 
 brother, to go with a body of warriors and 
 attack the outposts of the Bauangketsi. They 
 proceeded as far as the Barolongs, where 
 they met with the Chief Gontse, who re- 
 ceived and fed them, being related to the 
 royal family of the Batlapis. Gontse, who 
 Avas an amiable and sensible man, dissuaded 
 them from such a daring attempt, which ► 
 could only terminate in their destruction. 
 The chief of the party convinced of this, 
 resolved on returning, but watching an op- 
 portunity, when the cattle of the town where 
 
RETRIBUTION. 65 
 
 they had received such hospitaUty and good 
 counsel had gone to the fields, seized on 
 them, and having two or three guns com- 
 pelled their owners to flee. Elated with the 
 success of this disgraceful achievement, they 
 returned to the neighbourhood of our sta- 
 tion. We said nothing on the subject, ex- 
 cept that our hearts were sad. The chief of 
 this band of robbers, induced his brother, 
 Mothibi, to convene a public meeting, in 
 order to make a kind of bravado. Spies and 
 sycophants had been sent to hear our judg- 
 ment on this subject, but they learned no- 
 thing more or less than that " we were sorry." 
 This having displeased him, after pointing 
 out to the audience, that we missionaries 
 were the only human beings in the world 
 who did not steal cattle, he declared that in- 
 stead of being thereby awed, he would show 
 them and the tribes around, that if his name 
 had hitherto been Molala (poor,) henceforth 
 he would be a lion, and such should be his 
 name. 
 
 Thus he spoke, and departed with a com- 
 pany to hunt. One afternoon, seeing a giraffe 
 in the distance, he seized his spear, mounted 
 his horse, and ordered his attendant to follow 
 with his gun on another. The master being 
 on the swiftest animal, and evening coming 
 on, he disappeared on the undulating plain, 
 and the servant returned to the rendezvous. 
 Next day, the latter with some companions 
 pursued the trail, found where his master 
 had come up with the giraffe, and appeared 
 
 6^ 
 
66 RETRIBUTION. 
 
 to have made attempts to stab it, and then 
 from the course he took, it was evident he 
 had wandered. They slept, and with the 
 returning day continued to pursue his foot- 
 marks, which in the evening brought them 
 to a spot where a number of hons had been. 
 Beside a bush, where they supposed the 
 chieftain had laid himself down the second 
 night, they found the horse, killed by the 
 lions, but scarcely touched, while the man, 
 his clothes, shoes, saddle and bridle were 
 eaten up, and nothing left but the skull. 
 What was rather remarkable, the master, 
 seeing he was leaving his servant in the rear, 
 turned about and gave him his tinder-box 
 for fear of losing it himself Had he retained 
 this, he might have made a fire, which would 
 have protected him from the lions, and led to 
 his earlier discovery. This event was too 
 striking to be overlooked by the people, who 
 had frequently heard of a Divine Providence, 
 but they were silent and endeavoured to re- 
 lieve their minds by driving from their me- 
 mories the visage and vain boastings of him, 
 who had been devoured by the very beast of 
 prey, whose name and powers were to be 
 his motto, and the characteristics of his future 
 actions. 
 
67 
 
 THE LOCUSTS. 
 
 After several years of drought, we had, 
 in the early part of 1826, been blessed with 
 plentiful rains, and the. earth was speedily 
 covered with verdure; but our hopes of 
 abundance were soon cut off by swarms of 
 locusts, which infested every part of the 
 country, devouring every species of vegeta- 
 tion. They had not been seen for more than 
 twenty years before, but have never entirely 
 left the country since. They might be seen 
 passing over like an immense cloud, extend- 
 ing from the earth to a considerable height, 
 producing, with their wings, a great noise. 
 They always proceed nearly in the direction 
 of the wind, those in advance descending to 
 eat any thing they light upon, and rising in 
 the rear, as the cloud advances. " They 
 have no king, but they go forth, all of them, 
 by bands," and are gathered together in one 
 place in the evening, where they rest, and 
 from their immense numbers they weigh 
 down the shrubs, and lie at times one on the 
 other, to the depth of several inches. In the 
 morning when the sun begins to diffuse 
 warmth, they take wing, leaving a large 
 extent without one vestige of verdure; even 
 the plants and shrubs are barked. Wherever 
 they halt for the night, or alight during the 
 day, they become a prey to other animals, 
 and are eaten not only by beasts of prey, but 
 
68 THE LOCUSTS. 
 
 by all kinds of game, serpents, lizards, and 
 frogs. When passing through the air, kites, 
 vultures, crows, and particularly the locust 
 bird, as it is called, may be seen devouring 
 them. When a swarm alights on gardens, or 
 even fields, the crop for one season is de- 
 stroyed. I have observed a field of young 
 maize devoured in the space of two hours. 
 They eat not only tobacco, and every thing 
 vegetable, but also flannel and hnen. The 
 natives embrace every opportunity of gather- 
 ing them, which can be done during the 
 night. Whenever the cloud alights at a 
 place not very distant from a town, the in- 
 habitants turn out with sacks, and often with 
 pack-oxen, gather loads, and return the next 
 day with millions. 
 
 It has happened that in gathering them, 
 individuals have been bitten by serpents, and 
 on one occasion a woman had been travel- 
 ling several miles with a large bundle of 
 locusts on her head, when a serpent which 
 had been put into the sack with them, found 
 its way out. The woman supposing it to be 
 a thong dangling about her shoulders, laid 
 hold of it with her hand, and feeling that it 
 was alive, instantly precipitated both to the 
 ground, and fled. The locusts are prepared 
 for eating, by simple boiling, or rather 
 steaming, as they are put into a large pot 
 with a little water, and covered closely up ; 
 after boiling for a short time, they are taken 
 out and spread on mats in the sun to dry, 
 when they are winnowed, something like 
 
THE LOCUSTS. 69 
 
 corn, to clear them of their legs and wings ; 
 and when perfectly dry, are put into sacks, 
 or laid upon the house floor in a heap. The 
 natives eat them whole, adding a little salt 
 when they can obtain it; or they pound 
 them in a wooden mortar, and when they 
 have reduced them to something like meal, 
 they mix them with a little water, and make 
 a kind of cold stir-about. 
 
 When locusts abound, the natives become 
 quite fat, and would even reward any old 
 lady who said that she had coaxed them to 
 alight within reach of the inhabitants. They 
 are, on the whole, not bad food ; and when 
 hunger has made them palatable, are eaten 
 as matter of course. When well fed they 
 are almost as good as shrimps. There is a 
 species not eatable, with reddish wings, 
 rather larger than those described, and 
 which, though less numerous, are more de- 
 structive. The exploits of these armies, fear- 
 ful as they are, bear no comparison to the 
 devastation they make before they are able 
 to fly, in which state they are called 
 "boyane." They receive a new name in 
 every stage of their growth, till they reach 
 maturity, when they' are called "letsie." 
 They never emerge from the sand, where 
 they were deposited as eggs, till rain has 
 fallen to raise grass for the young progeny. 
 In their course, from which nothing can di- 
 vert them, they appear like a dark red stream, 
 extending often more than a mile broad; 
 and from their incessant hopphig, the dust 
 
70 THE LOCUSTS. 
 
 appears as if alive. Nothing but a broad 
 and rapid torrent could arrest their progress, 
 and that only by drowning them; and if one 
 reached the opposite shore, it would keep 
 the original direction. A small rivulet avails 
 nothing, as they swim dexterously. A line 
 of fire is no barrier, as they leap into it till 
 it is extinguished, and the others walk over 
 the dead. Walls and houses form no impe- 
 diment ; they climb the very chimneys, either 
 obliquely or straight over such obstacles, 
 just as their instinct leads them. All other 
 earthly powers, from the fiercest lion to a 
 marshalled army, are nothing compared with 
 these diminutive insects. The course they 
 have followed, is stripped of every leaf or 
 blade of verdure. It is enough to make the 
 inhabitants of a village turn pale to hear that 
 they are coming in a straight line to their 
 gardens. When a country is not extensive, 
 and is bounded by the sea, the scourge is 
 soon over, the winds carrying them away 
 like clouds to the watery waste, where they 
 alight to rise no more. Thus the immense 
 flights which pass to the south and east, 
 rarely return, but fresh supplies are always 
 pouring down from the north. All human 
 endeavours to diminish their numbers, would 
 appear like attempting to drain the ocean by 
 a pump. 
 
71 
 
 THE THIEVES. 
 
 It was not surprising that our scanty sup- 
 pUes, which we were compeUed to procure 
 from a distance, were seized by the hungry 
 people. If our oxen or calves were allowed 
 to wander out of sight, they were instantly 
 stolen. One day two noted fellows from the 
 mountains came down on a man who had 
 the charge of our cattle, murdered him, and 
 ran off with an ox. Some time before the 
 whole of our calves disappeared ; two of our 
 men went in pursuit, and found in the ruins 
 of an old town the remains of the calves 
 laid aside for future use. On tracing the 
 footmarks to a secluded spot near the river, 
 they found the thieves, two desperate looking 
 characters, who, seizing their bows and poi- 
 soned arrows, dared their approach. It 
 would have been easy for our men to have 
 vshot them on the spot, but their only object 
 was to bring them, if possible, to the station. 
 After a dangerous scuffle, one fled, and the 
 other precipitated himself into a pool of 
 water, amidst reeds, where he stood mena- 
 cing the men with his drawn bow, till they 
 at last succeeded in seizing him. He was 
 brought to the station, with some of the 
 meat, which, though not killed in the most 
 delicate manner, was acceptable, and was 
 the first veal we ever ate there; for calves 
 .are too valuable in that country to be slaugh- 
 tered, not only because they perpetuate the 
 
72 THE THIEVES. 
 
 supply of milk from the cow, but are reared 
 to use in travelling and agriculture. 
 
 The prisoner had a most forbidding ap- 
 pearance, and we could not help regarding 
 him as a being brutalized by hunger; and, 
 in addition to a defect in vision, he looked 
 like one capable of perpetrating any action 
 without remorse. His replies to our queries 
 and expostulations were something like the 
 growlings of a disappointed hungry beast of 
 prey. There were no authorities in the 
 country to which we could appeal, and the 
 conclusion to which the people came, was to 
 inflict a little castigation, while one of the 
 natives was to whisper in his ear that he 
 must flee for his life. Seeing a young man 
 drawing near with a gun, he took to his heels, 
 and the man firing a charge of loose powder 
 after him, increased his terror, and made him 
 bound into the marsh and flee to the opposite 
 side, thinking himself well off to have esca- 
 ped with his life, which he could not have 
 expected from his own countrymen. He 
 lived for a time at a neighboring village, 
 where he was wont to describe in graphic 
 style his narrow escape, and how he had 
 outrun the musket ball. When told by some 
 one that the gun was only to frighten him, he 
 saw that it must have been so ; he reasoned 
 on our character, made inquiries, and from 
 our men sparing him in the first instance, and 
 ourselves giving him food, and allowing him 
 to run off after he had received a few strokes 
 with a thong, he concluded that there must 
 
LIONS AT NIGHT. 73 
 
 be something very merciful about our cha- 
 racter ; and at last he made his appearance 
 again on our station. He was soon after 
 employed as a labourer, embraced the Gos- 
 pel, and has, through divine grace, continued 
 to make a consistent profession, and is be- 
 come an example of intelligence, industry, 
 and love. 
 
 LIONS AT NIGHT. 
 
 On the night of the third day's journey, 
 having halted at a pool, (Khokhole,) we lis- 
 tened on the lonely plain for the sound of an 
 inhabitant, but all was silent. We could dis- 
 cover no lights, and amid the darkness were 
 unable to trace footmarks to the pool. We 
 let loose our wearied oxen to drink and 
 graze, but as we were ignorant of the cha- 
 racter of the company with which we might 
 have to spend the night, we took a firebrand 
 and examined the edges of the pool, to see, 
 from the imprints, what animals were in the 
 habit of drinking there, and, with terror, dis- 
 covered many spoors of lions. We immedi- 
 ately collected the oxen, and brought them to 
 the wagon, to which we fastened them with 
 the strongest thongs we had, having disco- 
 vered in their appearance something rather 
 wild, indicating that, either from scent or 
 sight, they knew danger was near. The 
 two Barolongs had brought a young cow 
 
74 LIONS AT NIGHT. 
 
 with them, and though I recommended their 
 making her fast also, they very humorously 
 rephed that she was too wise to leave the 
 wagon and oxen, even though a hon should 
 he scented. We took a httle supper, which 
 was followed hy our evening hymn and 
 prayer. I had retired only a few minutes 
 to my wagon to prepare for the night, when 
 the whole of the oxen started to their feet. 
 
 A lion had seized the cow only a few steps 
 from their tails, and dragged it to the distance 
 of thirty or forty yards, where we distinctly 
 heard it tearing the animal, and breaking its 
 bones, while its hello wings were most pitiful. 
 When these were over, I seized my gun, but 
 as it was too dark to see any object at half 
 the distance, I aimed at the spot where the 
 devouring jaws of the lion were heard. I 
 fired again and again, to which he replied 
 with tremendous roars, at the same time ma- 
 king a rush towards the wagon, so as exceed- 
 ingly to terrify the oxen. The two Barolongs 
 engaged to take firebrands, advance a few 
 yards, and throw them at him, so as to afford 
 me a degree of light, that I might take aim, 
 the place being bushy. They had scarcely 
 discharged them from their hands when the 
 flame went out, and the enraged animal 
 rushed towards them with such swiftness 
 that I had barely time to turn the gun and 
 fire between the men and the lion, and provi- 
 dentially the ball struck the ground immedi- 
 ately under his head, as we found by exa- 
 mination the following morning. From this 
 
LIONS AT NIGHT, 75 
 
 surprise he returned, growling dreadfully. 
 The men darted through some thorn bushes, 
 with countenances indicative of the utmost 
 terror. It was now the opinion of all that 
 we had better let him alone if he did not 
 molest us. 
 
 Having but a scanty supply of wood to 
 keep up a fire, one man crept among the 
 bushes on one side of the pool, while I pro- 
 ceeded for the same purpose on the other 
 side. I had not gone far, when, looking up- 
 ward to the edge of the small basin, I dis- 
 cerned between me and the sky four animals, 
 whose attention appeared to be directed to 
 me, by the noise I made in breaking a dry 
 stick. On closer inspection, I found that the 
 large, round, hairy-headed visitors were 
 lions; and retreated on my hands and feet 
 towards the other side of the pool, when 
 coming to my wagon-driver, to inform him 
 of our danger, I found him looking, with no 
 little alarm, in an opposite direction, and 
 with good reason, as no fewer than two 
 lions, with a cub, were eyeing us both, ap- 
 parently as uncertain about us as we were 
 distrustful of them. They appeared, as they 
 always do in the dark, twice the usual size. 
 We thankfully decamped to the wagon, and 
 sat down to keep alive our scanty fire, while 
 we listened to the lion tearing and devouring 
 his prey. When any of the other hungry 
 lions dared to approach, he would pursue 
 them for some paces, with a horrible howl, 
 which made our poor oxen tremble, and 
 
76 LIONS AT NIGHT. 
 
 produced any thing but agreeable sensations 
 in ourselves. We had reason for alarm, lest 
 any of the six lions we saw, fearless of our 
 small fire, might rush in among us. The 
 two Barolongs were grudging the lion his 
 fat meal, and would now and then break the 
 silence with a deep sigh, and expressions of 
 regret that such a vagabond lion should have 
 such a feast on their cow, which they antici- 
 pated would have afforded them many a 
 draught of luscious milk. Before the day 
 dawned, having deposited nearly the whole 
 of the carcase in his stomach, he collected 
 the head, backbone, parts of the legs, the 
 paunch, which he emptied of its contents, 
 and the two clubs which had been thrown 
 at him, and walked off, leaving nothing but 
 some jfragments of bones, and one of my 
 balls, which had hit the carcase instead of 
 himself. 
 
 When it was light we examined the spot, 
 and found, from the foot-marks, that the lion 
 was a large one, and had devoured the cow 
 himself. I had some difficulty in believing 
 this, but was fully convinced by the Baro- 
 longs pointing out to me that the foot-marks 
 of the other lions had not come within thirty 
 yards of the spot, two jackals only had ap- 
 proached to lick up any little leavings. The 
 men pursued the spoor to find the fragments, 
 where the lion had deposited them, while he 
 retired to a thicket to sleep during the day. 
 I had often heard how much a large, hungry 
 lion would eat, but nothing less than a de- 
 
NIGHT ADVENTURE. 77 
 
 monstration would have convinced me that 
 it was possible for him to have eaten all the 
 flesh of a good heifer, and many of the bones, 
 for scarcely a rib was left, and even some of 
 the marrow-bones were broken as if with a 
 hammer. 
 
 NIGHT ADVENTURE. 
 
 Being in want of food, and not liking to 
 spend a harassing day, exposed to a hot sun, 
 on a thirsty plain, in quest of a steak, I went 
 one night, accompanied by two men, to the 
 water whence the supply for the town was 
 obtained, as well as where the cattle came 
 to drink. We determined to lie in a hollow 
 spot near the fountain, and shoot the first 
 object which might come within our reach. 
 It was half moonlight, and rather cold, 
 though the days were warm. We remained 
 for a couple of hours, waiting with great 
 anxiety for something to appear. We at 
 length heard a loud lapping at the water, 
 under the dark shadowy bank, within twenty 
 yards of us. " What is that?" I asked Bo- 
 gachu.- "Ririmala," (be silent,) he said; 
 " there are lions, they will hear us." A 
 hint was more than enough; and thankful 
 were we, that, when they had drunk, they 
 did not come over the smooth grassy surface 
 in our direction. Our next visitors were 
 two buffaloes, one immensely large. My 
 wagon-driver, Mosi, who also had a gun, 
 
78 NIGHT ADVENTURE. 
 
 seeing them coming directly towards us, 
 begged me to fire. I refused, having more 
 dread of a wounded buffalo than of almost 
 any other animal. He fired; and though 
 the animal was severely wounded, he stood 
 like a statue with his companion, within a 
 hundred yards of us, for more than an hour, 
 waiting to see us move, in order to attack 
 us. We lay in an awkward position for that 
 time, scarcely daring to whisper; and when 
 he at last retired we were so stiff with cold, 
 that flight would have been impossible had 
 an attack been made. We then moved about 
 till our blood began to circulate. Our next 
 visitors were two giraffes; one of these we 
 wounded. A troop of quaggas next came ; 
 but the successful instinct of the principal 
 stallion, in surveying the precincts of the 
 water, galloping round in all directions to 
 catch any strange scent, and returning to the 
 troop with a whistling noise, to announce 
 danger, set them off at full speed. The next 
 was a huge rhinoceros, which, receiving a 
 mortal wound, departed. Hearing the ap- 
 proach of more lions, we judged it best to 
 leave; and after a lonely walk of four miles 
 through bushes, hyenas and jackals, we 
 reached the village, when I felt thankful, re- 
 solving never to hunt by night at a water- 
 pool, till I could find nothing to eat else- 
 where. Next day the rhinoceros and buf- 
 falo were found, which afforded a plentiful 
 supply. 
 
79 
 
 SINGULAR CUSTOM. 
 
 A CUSTOM prevails among all the Bechu- 
 anas whom I have visited, of removing to a 
 distance from the towns and villages persons 
 who have been wounded. Two young men 
 who had been wounded by the poisoned ' 
 arrows of the Bushmen, were thus removed 
 from the Kuruman. Having visited them to 
 administer relief, I made inquiries, but could 
 learn no reason, except that it was a custom. 
 This unnatural practice exposed the often 
 helpless invahd to great danger; for, if not 
 well attended during the night, his paltry 
 Httle hut, or rather shade from the sun and 
 wind, would be assailed by the hyena or lion. 
 A catastrophe of this kind occurred a short 
 time before my arrival among the Barolongs, 
 The son of one of the principal chiefs, a fine 
 young n:jan,had been wounded by a buffalo; 
 he was, according to custom, placed on the 
 outside of the village till he should recover; 
 a portion of food was daily sent, and a per- 
 son appointed to make his fire for the even- 
 ing. The fire went out ; and the helpless 
 man, notwithstanding his piteous cries, was 
 carried off by a lion, and devoured. Some 
 might think that this practice originated in 
 the treatment of infectious diseases, such as 
 leprosy; but the only individual I ever saw 
 thus affected, was not separated. This disease, 
 though often found among slaves in the co- 
 lony, is unknown among the tribes in the 
 
80 THE NATIVE BLACKSMITH. 
 
 interior, and therefore they have no name 
 for it. 
 
 THE NATIVE BLACKSMITH. 
 
 Among the different tribes congregated in 
 this wilderness part of the World, the Bahu- 
 rutsian refugees were the most interesting 
 and industrious. Having occasion to mend 
 the linchpin of my wagon, I inquired for a 
 native smith, when a respectable and rather 
 venerable man with one eye, was pointed 
 out. Observing from the cut of his hair, that 
 he was a foreigner, and inquiring where he 
 practised his trade, 1 was affected to hear 
 him reply, "I am a Mohurutsi, from Kurre- 
 chane/' I accompanied him to his shop, in 
 an open yard at the back of his house. The 
 whole of his implements consisted of two 
 small goat-skins for bellows, some small bro- 
 ken pots for crucibles, a few round green 
 stone boulders for his anvil, a hammer made 
 of a small piece of iron, about three-quarters 
 of an inch thick, and rather more than two 
 by three inches square, with a handle in a 
 hole in the centre, a cold chisel, two or three 
 other shapeless tools, and a heap of charcoal. 
 " I am not an iron-smith,^' he said, " I work 
 in copper;'^ showing me some of his copper 
 and brass ornaments, consisting of ear-rings, 
 arm-rings, &c. I told him I only wanted 
 wind and fire. He sat down between his 
 
THE NATIVE BLACKSMITH. 81 
 
 two goat-skins, and puffed away. Instead 
 of using his tongs, made of the bark of a tree, 
 I went for my own. When he saw them he 
 gazed in silent admiration; he turned them 
 over and over; he had never seen such inge- 
 nuity, and pressed them to his chest, giving 
 me a most expressive look, which was as 
 intelligible as "Will you give them to me?" 
 My work was soon done, when he entered 
 his hut, from which he brought a piece of 
 flat iron, begging me to pierce it with a num- 
 ber of different sized holes, for the purpose 
 of drawing copper and brass wire. Request- 
 ing to see the old one, it was produced, 
 accompanied by the feeling declaration, " It 
 is from Kurrechane." 
 
 Having examined his manner of using it, 
 and formed a tolerable idea of the thing he 
 wanted, I set to work; and finding his iron 
 too soft for piercing holes through nearly 
 an half-inch iron plate, I took the oldest of 
 my two handsaw files to make a punch, 
 which I had to repair many times. After 
 much labour, and a long time spent, I suc- 
 ceeded in piercing about twenty holes, from 
 the eighth of an inch to the thickness of a 
 thread. The moment the work was com- 
 pleted, he grasped it, and breaking out into 
 exclamations of surprise, bounded over the 
 fence like an antelope, and danced about the 
 village like a merry-andrew, exhibiting his 
 treasure to every one, and asking if they ever 
 saw any thing like it. Next day I told him, 
 that as we were brothers of one trade, (for, 
 
 7 
 
8J THE NATIVE BLACKSMITH. 
 
 among the Africans, arts, though m their 
 infancy, have their secrets too,) he must show 
 me the whole process of melting copper, 
 making brass, and drawing wire. The broken 
 pot or crucible, containing a quantity of cop- 
 per, and a little tin, was presently fixed in 
 the centre of a charcoal fire. He then applied 
 his bellows till the contents were fused. He 
 had previously prepared a heap of sand, 
 slightly adhesive, and by thrusting a stick 
 about two eighths of an inch in diameter, 
 like the ramrod of a musket, obhquely into 
 this heap, he made holes, into which he 
 poured the contents of his crucible. He then 
 fixed a round, smooth stick, about three feet 
 high, having a split in the top, upright in the 
 ground, when, taking out his rods of brass, 
 he beat them out on a stone with his little 
 hammer, till they were about the eighth of 
 an inch square, occasionally softening them 
 in 3, small flame, made by burning grass. 
 Having reduced them all to this thickness, 
 he laid the end of one on a stone, and rub- 
 bing it to a point on another stone, in order 
 to introduce it through the largest hole of his 
 iron-plate ; he then opened the split in the 
 upright stick to hold fast the end of the wire, 
 when he forced the plate and wire round the 
 stick with a lever-power, frequently rubbing 
 the wire with oil or fat. The same operation 
 is performed each time, making the point of 
 the wire smaller for a less hole, till it is re- 
 duced to the size wanted, which is sometimes 
 about that of thick sewing cotton. The wire 
 
HOUSES IN A TREE. 83 
 
 is, of course, far inferior in colour and quality 
 to our brass-wire. The native smiths, how- 
 ever, evince great dexterity in working orna- 
 ments from copper, brass, and iron. 
 
 HOUSES m A TREE. 
 
 Having travelled one hundred miles, five 
 days after leaving Mosega we came to the 
 first cattle outposts of the Matabele, when we 
 halted by a fine rivulet. My attention was 
 arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree, 
 standing in a defile leading into an extensive 
 and woody ravine, between a high range of 
 mountains. Seeing some individuals em- 
 ployed on the ground under its shade, and 
 the conical points of what looked like houses 
 in miniature, protruding through its ever- 
 green foliage, I proceeded thither, and found 
 that the tree was inhabited by several fami- 
 lies of Bakones, the aborigines of the country. 
 I ascended by the notched trunk, and found, 
 to my amazement, no less than seventeen of 
 these aerial abodes, and three others unfinish- 
 ed. On reaching the topmost hut, about thirty 
 feet from the ground, I entered and sat down. 
 Its only furniture was the hay which covered 
 the floor, a spear, a spoon, and a bowl full of 
 locusts. Not having eaten any thing that day, 
 and from the novelty of my situation not wish- 
 ing to return immediately to the wagons, I 
 asked a woman who sat at the door, with a 
 
84 HOUSES IN A TREE. 
 
 babe at her breast, permission to eat. This 
 she granted with pleasure, and soon brought 
 me more in a powdered state. Several more 
 females came from the neighboring roosts, 
 stepping from branch to branch, to see the 
 stranger, who was to them as great a curi- 
 osity as the tree was to him. I then visited 
 the different abodes, which were on several 
 principal branches. The structure of these 
 houses was very simple. An oblong scaffold, 
 about seven feet wide, is formed of straight 
 sticks ; on one end of this platform a small 
 cone is formed, also of straight sticks, and 
 thatched with grass. A person can nearly 
 stand upright in it; the diameter of the floor 
 is about six feet. The house stands on the 
 end of the oblong, so as to leave a little square 
 space before the door. On the day previous 
 I had passed several villages, some containing 
 forty houses, all built on poles about seven or 
 eight feet from the ground, in the form of a 
 circle ; the ascent and descent is by a knotty 
 branch of a tree placed in front of the house. 
 In the centre of the circle there is always a 
 heap of the bones of game they have killed. 
 Such were the domiciles of the impoverished 
 thousands of the aborigines of the country, 
 who, having been scattered and peeled by 
 Moselekatse, had neither herd nor stall, but 
 subsisted on locusts, roots, and the chase. 
 They adopted this mode of architecture to 
 escape the lions which abounded in the coun- 
 try. During the day the families descended 
 to the shade beneath to dress their daily food. 
 
NATIVE ELOQUENCE. S5 
 
 When the mhabitants increased, they sup- 
 ported the augmented weight on the branches 
 by upright sticks, but when hghtened of their 
 load, they removed these for firewood. 
 
 Asa proof of the necessity of such an ex- 
 pedient as above described, I may add, that 
 during the day, having shot a rhinoceros, we 
 had reserved the hump of the animal to roast 
 during the night. A large ant-hill was se- 
 lected for the purpose, and being prepared by 
 excavation and fire, this tit-bit was deposited. 
 During the night, a couple of lions, attracted 
 by the roast, drew near, and though it was 
 beyond gun-shot, we could hear them dis- 
 tinctly, as if holding council to wait till the 
 fire went out, to obtain for themselves our 
 anticipated breakfast. As the fire appeared 
 to have gone out altogether, we had given up 
 hope till morning light showed us that the 
 lions had been in earnest, but the heat of the 
 smouldering ant-hill had efiectually guarded 
 our steak. 
 
 NATIVE ELOQUENCE. 
 
 On a Sabbath morning I ascended a hili^ 
 at the base of which we had halted the pre- 
 ceding evening, to spend the day. I had 
 scarcely reached the summit, and sat down, 
 when I found that my intelligent companion 
 had stolen away from the party, to answer 
 some questions I had asked the day before, 
 and to which he could not reply, because of 
 
86 Js'ATIVE ELOQUENCE. 
 
 the presence of his superiors. Happening to 
 turn to the right, and seeing before me a 
 large extent of level ground covered with 
 ruins, I inquired what had become of the in- 
 habitants. 
 
 He had just sat down, but rose, evidently 
 with some feeling, and, stretching forth his 
 arm in the direction of the ruins, said, "I, 
 even I, beheld it V^ and paused, as if in deep 
 thought. "There lived the great chief of 
 multitudes. He reigned among them like a 
 king. He was the chief of the blue-coloured 
 cattle. They were numerous as the dense 
 mist on the mountain brow ; his flocks 
 covered the plain. He thought the number 
 of his warriors would awe his enemies. His 
 people boasted in their spears, and laughed 
 at the cowardice of such as had fled from 
 their towns. ^ I shall slay them, and hang 
 up their shields on my hill. Our race is a 
 race of warriors. Who ever subdued our 
 fathers? they were mighty in combat. We 
 still possessthe spoils of ancient times. Have 
 not our dogs eaten the shields of their no- 
 bles? The vultures shall devour the slain of 
 our enemies.' Thus they sang and thus 
 they danced, till they beheld on yonder 
 heights the approaching foe. The noise of 
 their song was hushed in night, and their 
 hearts were filled with dismay. They saw 
 the clouds ascend from the plains. It was 
 the smoke of burning towns. The confusion 
 of a whirlwind was in the heart of the great 
 chief of the blue-caloined cattle. This shout 
 
NATIVE ELOQUENCE. 87 
 
 was raised, ^They are friends,' l)ut they 
 siiouted again, ^ They are foes,' till their near 
 approach proclaimed them naked Matabele. 
 The men seized their arms, and rushed out, 
 as if to chase the aaitelope. The onset was 
 as the voice of lightning, and their spears as 
 the shaking of a forest in the autumn storm. 
 The Matabele hons raised the shout of death, 
 and flew upon their victims. It was the 
 shout of victory. Their hissing and hollow 
 groans told their progress among the dead. 
 A few moments laid hundreds on the ground. 
 The clash of shields was the signal of 
 triumph. Our people fled with their cattle 
 to the top of yonder mount. The Matabele 
 entered the town with the roar of the lion; 
 they pillaged and fired the houses, speared 
 the mothers, and cast their infants to the 
 flames. The sun went down. The victors 
 emerged from the smoking plain, and pur- 
 sued their course, surrounding the base of 
 yonder hill. They slaughtered cattle; they 
 danced and sang till the dawn of day; they 
 ascended, and killed till their hands were 
 weary of the spear." Stooping to the ground 
 on which he stood, he took up a little dust in 
 his hand; blowing it off", and holding out his 
 naked palm, he added, " That is all that re- 
 mains of the great chief of the blue-coloured 
 cattle!" It is impossible for me to describe 
 my feelings while listening to this descriptive 
 eflusion of native eloquence; and I after- 
 wards embraced opportunities of writing it 
 down, of which the above is only an abridg- 
 
88 THE CAPTIVE REDEEMED. 
 
 merit. I found also from other aborigines 
 that this was no fabled song, but merely a 
 compendious sketch of the catastrophe. 
 
 THE CAPTIYE REDEEMED. 
 
 It has been before stated that I was accom- 
 panied to Moselekatse by Mokatla, chief of 
 the Bahurutsi. Dreading being driven with 
 his subjects from his own native home and 
 picturesque wilds, and the tombs of his fore- 
 fathers, and perhaps extirpated, as other tribes 
 had been — whose bones lay withering in the 
 blast, on the plains and vales which lay in our 
 course,— he placed himself and attendants un- 
 der my protection, though I was myself a 
 stranger, and had not seen the object of his 
 terror, and that of the tribes around. He 
 hoped that as the missionary character had 
 recommended itself to him, also a savage, he 
 might go and return unscathed, and obtain 
 the friendship of one who, as he sometimes 
 expressed it, "prevented his peaceful slum- 
 bers." His attendants were respectable, all 
 anticipating feasting and favour from one wfcio 
 wallowed in the spoils of war. There ,#as 
 one exception. This was a poor man, whose 
 appearance, dress, and manner, informed me 
 that he was truly the child of poverty, and 
 perhaps of sorrow. This led me to take more 
 notice of him than any other of the chiePs 
 attendants. I felt sympathy for the man, 
 supposing he had been compelled to follow 
 
THE CAPTIVE REDEEMED. 89 
 
 the train of his chief, and leave behind him a 
 family ill supplied, or some beloved member 
 sick. No ; his downcast look arose from other 
 causes. He had had two sons, about the ages 
 of eight and ten. These had been absent in a 
 neighbouring glen, when a party of Matabele 
 warriors seized the boys, and carried them as 
 spoils to head-quarters. He and his partner 
 in affliction had for more than a year mourned 
 the loss of their children, and, by taking a few 
 trinkets and beads, his little stock of orna- 
 ments, the father hoped to obtain their re- 
 lease. After a journey of deep interest and 
 a flattering reception, and days passed in fes- 
 tivities and displays of kindness to the stran- 
 gers, the man sent in his humble petition by 
 one who could approach the presence of the 
 king, offering the little he had to redeem his 
 two boys. 
 
 Some time afterwards the proprietor of his 
 sons came and seated himself before my wa- 
 gon, as I drew near to witness the transaction. 
 The poor man spread his ragged mantle on 
 the ground, and laid on it a few strings of 
 beads and some native made ornaments, va- 
 luable to him, but on which the haughty 
 noble would scarcely deign to cast his eye. 
 The father sighed to see his look of scorn. 
 He then drew from his tattered skins, which 
 he had brought with him, and on which he 
 reposed at night, a small dirty bag, contain- 
 ing a few more strings of half-worn beads, 
 and placed them beside the former: these 
 were borrowed. The scornful look was 
 
 8 
 
yO THE CAPTIVE REBEEMEB. 
 
 again repeated. He then took from his 
 arms two old copper rings, and rings of the 
 same material from his ears. The chief an- 
 swered the anxious eyes of the now despond- 
 ing father with a frown, and an indignant 
 shake of the head. He then took from his 
 neck the only remaining link of beads which 
 he possessed, and which it was evident he 
 had worn many a year. This, with an old, 
 half-worn knife, he added to the offered ran- 
 som. It was his all; and it is impossible ever 
 to forget the expression of those eyes, which, 
 though from national habit, they would not 
 shed the tear of sorrow, were the index of 
 the deepest anxiety as to the result. Nei- 
 ther the man or his ornaments excited the 
 smallest emotion in the bosom of the haughty 
 chief, who talked with those around him 
 about general affairs, maintaining the most 
 perfect indifference to the object of paternal 
 agony before his eyes. He at last arose ; 
 and being solicited by one who felt some- 
 thing of a father's love, to pity the old man, 
 who had walked nearly two hundred miles, 
 and brought his little al| to purchase his own 
 children, he replied, with a sneer, that one 
 had died of cold the preceding winter, and 
 what the father offered for the other was not 
 worth looking at; adding, "I want oxen." 
 "I have not even a goat," replied the father. 
 A sigh — it was a heavy sigh — burst from his 
 bosom: — one dead, and not permitted even 
 to see the other with his eyes. The chief 
 walked off, while the man sat leaning his 
 
THE CAPTIVE REDEEMED. 91 
 
 head on the palm of his right hand, and his 
 eyes fixed on the ground, apparently lost to 
 every thing but his now only son, now doubly 
 dear from the loss of his brother, and he, alas ! 
 far beyond his power to rescue. On taking 
 up his mantle to retire, he and his party being 
 obliged to leave early to return to the place 
 whence they came, he was told to be of good 
 cheer, and an effort would be made to get 
 his son. He started at the sound, threw his 
 mantle at my feet, and spreading out his 
 hands to what he had offered, said, " Take 
 these, my father, and pity me." " Retain 
 them for yourself," was the reply. He 
 kissed the hand of his pledged benefactor, 
 and departed, saying, Ki tla na le boroko. 
 "I shall have slumber," (peace of mind.) 
 
 In the course of the following day, a fa- 
 vourable moment was sought to bring the 
 case before the king. He instantly ordered 
 his brother, the individual who possessed the 
 boy, to wait upon me, which he promptly 
 did; and on receiving several pounds of a 
 valuable kind of bead, he immediately de- 
 spatched a messenger to bring the boy, who 
 was at a distance, and who arrived the fol- 
 lowing day. 
 
 On my retifrn to Mosega, and approaching 
 the base of one of those hills amidst which 
 the town lay embosomed, a human being was 
 seen rushing Jown the steep towards the wa- 
 gons, with a rapidity that led us to fear that 
 she would fall headlong. Every eye was 
 upon her, while some said, " It is the alarm 
 
92 ESCAPE FROM A TIGER. 
 
 of war." The wagon driver, who sat by 
 me, most emphatically exclaimed, " It is a 
 woman, either running from a lion or to save 
 a child." Yes, it was the mother. She had 
 heard from some of the party who preceded 
 the wagons that morning, that her son was 
 there : she had ascended the hill behind 
 which the town lay, and gazed till the wa- 
 gon emerged from a ravine. Frantic with 
 joy, she ran breathless towards me. To pre- 
 vent her coming in contact with the wagon 
 wheels, I sprang to the ground, when she 
 seized my hands, kissed and bathed them 
 with her tears. She spoke not one word, 
 but wept aloud for joy. Her son drew 
 near, when she instantly rushed forward 
 and clasoed him in her arms. 
 
 ESCAPE FROM A TIGER. 
 
 In one of my early journeys, I had an 
 escape from an .African tiger and a serpent, 
 no less providential. I had left the wagons, 
 and wandered to a distance among the cop- 
 pice and grassy openings in quest of game. 
 I had a small doable-barrelled gun on my 
 shoulder, which Avas loaded with a ball and 
 small shot; an antelope passed, at which I 
 fired, and slowly followed the course it took. 
 After advancing a short distance, I saw a 
 tiger-cat staring at me between the forked 
 branches of a tree, behind which his long 
 
THE CONVERT. 93 
 
 spotted body was concealed, twisting and 
 turning his tail like a cat just going to spring 
 on its prey. This I knew was a critical mo- 
 ment, not having a shot of ball in my gun. 
 1 moved about as if in search of something 
 on the grass, taking care to retreat at the 
 same time. After getting, as I thought, a 
 suitable distance to turn my back, I moved 
 somewhat more quickly, but in my anxiety 
 to escape what was behind, I did not see 
 what was before, until startled by treading on 
 a large cobra de capello serpent, asleep on 
 the grass. It instantly twirled its body round 
 my leg, on which I had nothing but a thin 
 pair of trowsers, when I leaped from the spot, 
 dragging the venomous and enraged reptile 
 after me, and while in the act of throwing 
 itself into a position to bite, without turning 
 round, I threw my piece over my shoulder, 
 and shot it. Taking it by the tail, I brought 
 it to my people at the wagons, who, on ex- 
 amining the bags of poison, asserted, that 
 had the creature bitten me, I could never 
 have reached the wagons. The serpent was 
 six feet long. 
 
 THE CONVERT. 
 
 Another of these grandmothers, who had 
 wallowed in the very sewers of heathenism, 
 the dupe of all the superstitions of former 
 times, had been an active agent of the wicked 
 
94 THE CONVERT. 
 
 one in opposing the progress of the Gospel. 
 As the representative of bygone ages — for 
 the snows of many a year were seen through 
 the mass of grease and dirt which adorned 
 her head — she was regarded with reverence 
 by the younger females on the station, as the 
 oracle of ancient wisdom. She was wont to 
 tell them what they knew not, of the cus- 
 toms of their ancestors. Had she been a man, 
 her contaminating influence would long have 
 been arrested; for there were those on the 
 station whose influence would have driven 
 her to seek an asylum elsewhere, but she was 
 borne with because she was a woman. She 
 hated the very sight of the place of worship, 
 and had taught many to blaspheme. One 
 day she entered the chapel in quest of a child, 
 and was constrained to sit a few minutes. 
 She had not heard many sentences, when 
 she fled from the hated spot. On the Sab- 
 bath following she came again, when all 
 who saw her felt alarmed, lest violence was 
 intended against some one; but she quietly 
 heard the voice of mercy, and retired in an 
 orderly manner. In the course of a few days 
 she came to the author in a state bordering 
 on distraction. "My sins, my sms!" was 
 the language of her lips; tears streaming 
 down her already furrowed cheeks. Her half 
 frantic soul would hear no comfort, nor listen 
 to any counsel. Night after night she would 
 call me out of bed, to tell her Avhat was to 
 become of her soul. One day, meeting her 
 in the street, with both hands she grasped 
 
THE CONVERT. 95 
 
 mine, and, as if her heart would break, ex- 
 claimed, "To Kve I cannot — I cannot die." 
 Again she was directed to the Lamb of God, 
 and the fomitain opened for her sins ; but she 
 interrupted, by saying, " You say the blood 
 of Christ cleanses from all sins; do you know 
 the number of mine ? Look to yonder grassy 
 plain, and count the blades of grass or the 
 drops of dew ; these are nothing to the amount 
 of my transgressions." After continuing in 
 this state several weeks, she was enabled to 
 believe, when the being who once persecuted 
 and cursed all who bore the Christian name, 
 a mass of filth, which had given her haggard 
 and aged form an unearthly look, was found 
 sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in 
 her right mind, adoring the riches of Divine 
 grace, to one who was, as she would describe 
 herself, " like the mire of the street." Ke- 
 marking to her one day, that, from her con- 
 stant attendance on every means of instruc- 
 tion, she seemed like the Psalmist of old, 
 desiring " to dwell in the house of the Lord 
 forever," she replied, " I am old in the v/orld, 
 but I am still a child in the school of Christ." 
 She continued fervent in spirit; the subject 
 of Divine mercy and love so completely 
 absorbing all the powers of her mind, that 
 when visited in seasons of affliction, it was 
 difficult to elicit any thing about her disease; 
 for, if her answer commenced with the flesh, 
 it was certain to end with the spirit. When 
 subscriptions were making for the Auxiliary 
 Missionary Society, she one day brought in 
 
96 MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 
 
 her hand her mite, a pumpkin; and when 
 my wife remarked that she might retain it, 
 and she would put down her name for a 
 small sum, her soul seemed to melt within 
 her, while she asked, " Who is so great a 
 debtor to the Saviour as I am? Is it too 
 small? I shall go and borrow another/' 
 This was verily the widow's mite, and was 
 doubtless followed by the widow's reward* 
 
 MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 
 
 Some months previous to these changes, 
 Aaron Josephs, who was once a runaway 
 slave, but who had, through the kind inter- 
 ference of G. Thompson, Esq., obtained his 
 manumission for the sum of fifteen hundred 
 rix-dollars, the proceeds of ivory he had col- 
 lected for that purpose, left his farm for a 
 time, and came to reside at the station, for 
 the sake of the education of his children, as 
 well as to improve himself in reading and 
 writing. 
 
 Both he and his wife were steady and 
 industrious, having come from the colony, 
 where they had enjoyed some advantages. 
 He, also, was awakened to a sense of his 
 danger, and having a tolerably extensive 
 knowledge of divine truth, he was soon a 
 candidate for Christian fellowship, and was, 
 with his three children, baptized at the same 
 time with our own infant. The scene, from 
 
MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 97 
 
 the previous state of feeling, was deeply im- 
 pressive and exciting. Notwithstanding all 
 our endeavours to preserve decorum in the 
 crowded place of worship, strong feeling 
 gave rise to much weeping and considerable 
 confusion; but, although it was impossible 
 to keep either order or silence, a deep im- 
 pression of the divine presence was felt. 
 The work which had commenced in the 
 mmds of the natives received an additional 
 impulse from the above circumstance ; so 
 that the sounds predominant throughout the 
 village were those of singing and prayer. 
 Those under concern held pra5^er meetings 
 from house to house, and when there were 
 none able to engage in prayer, they sang till 
 a late hour, and before morning dawned, 
 they would assemble again at some house 
 for worship, before going to labour. We 
 were, soon after this interesting occurrence, 
 delighted with further results. Aaron and 
 two other men came and offered to take upon 
 themselves the labour and expense of raising 
 a school-house, which would serve as a place 
 of worship, till one for that special purpose 
 was erected. All they required was the plan, 
 and the doors and windows, with their frames, 
 which they would also have made, but they 
 lacked ability. This department, of course 
 Mr. Hamilton thankfully undertook. It was 
 a voluntary act on their part, without the 
 subject having been once hinted at. We had 
 scarcely laid down the plan, fifty-one feet 
 long by sixteen wide, when Aaron, who was 
 
98 MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 
 
 by trade both builder and thatcher, set all in 
 motion. The season happened to be a rainy 
 one, and as the walls were made of clay, 
 there were serious interruptions ; but it was 
 nevertheless soon completed ; for all who felt 
 interested in the work, even women and 
 children, gave what assistance was in their 
 power, carrying clay, laths from the bushes, 
 materials for thatch, or whatever else could 
 contribute to its erection. It afforded us no 
 small gratification to see the building finished 
 with zeal equal to that with which it was 
 commenced. Many important improve- 
 ments were at the same time made in the 
 outward affairs of the mission, in which 
 there was no lack of native assistance, while 
 the language and translations were attended 
 to, to supply the wants of those who were 
 now beginning to thirst after divine know- 
 ledge. 
 
 The building was opened in the month of 
 May, 1829, and in the following month we 
 selected from among the inquirers six can- 
 didates for baptism. This was not done 
 without much prayer and deliberation. — 
 These had given us very satisfactory proofs 
 of a change of heart. After particular pri- 
 vate examination, separately, they were 
 found to possess a much larger knowledge 
 of divine truth than was expected ; and 
 their answers were most satisfactory. It 
 was truly gratifying to observe the simplicity 
 of their faith, implicitly relying on the atone- 
 ment of Christ, of which they appeared to 
 
MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 99 
 
 have a very clear conception, considering the 
 previous darkness of their minds on such sub- 
 jects. They were therefore baptized on the 
 first Sabbath of July, when other circum- 
 stances concurred to impart additional in- 
 terest to the solemnity. It appeared as if it 
 had been the design of Providence to call 
 together, from all quarters, an unusual and 
 most unexpected number of spectators from 
 Philippolis, Campbell, Griqua Town, and 
 Boochuap. From these places there were 
 present about fifty Griquas, who happened 
 to congregate here previous to their proceed- 
 ing on a hunting expedition. These were 
 suitably and profitably impressed with what 
 transpired, for they themselves had been for 
 some time previous in a lukewarm state, and 
 were thus awakened to a jealousy about their 
 own condition, by seeing the Bechuanas pres- 
 sing into the fold of Christ, while they by 
 their backslidings were being thrust out, and 
 to this we frequently afterwards heard that 
 people bear testimony. 
 
 There were also present parties from dif- 
 ferent places of the interior, who had come 
 for purposes of barter. The place of wor- 
 ship was crowded to excess, and the greatest 
 interest excited by a scene which was indeed 
 a novelty to many, the service being con- 
 ducted in the Bechuana language. After a 
 sermon on John i. 29, a suitable address was 
 given to the candidates, and when a number 
 of questions had been asked, they were bap- 
 tized, with five of their children. Among 
 
100 MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 
 
 them was Rachel, the wife of Aaron, whom 
 Mr. Hamilton addressed in Dutch, she being 
 more conversant with that language ; the 
 others were Bechuanas. In the evening we 
 sat down together to commemorate the death 
 of our Lord. Our number, including our- 
 selves and a Griqua, was twelve. It was an 
 interesting, cheering, and encouraging season 
 to our souls ; and we concluded the delightful 
 exercises of the day by taking coffee together 
 in the evening. Our feelings on that occa- 
 sion were such a,s our pen would fail. to de- 
 scribe. We were as those that dreamed, 
 while we realized the premise on which our 
 souls had often hung. ''He that goeth forth 
 and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
 doubtless come again with rejoicing, bring- 
 ing his sheaves with him.'^ The hour had 
 arrived on which the whole energies of our 
 souls had been intensely fixed, when we 
 should see a church, however small, gathered 
 from among a people who had so long boast- 
 ed that neither Jesus, nor we, his servants, 
 should ever see Bechuanas worship and con- 
 fess him as their King. 
 
 It is only necessary to glance at the records 
 of that mission from its commencement, to be 
 able in some measure to conceive the emo- 
 tions such a change produced on our minds. 
 We had long felt assured, that when once the 
 Spirit was poured out from on high, and when 
 some of the natives had made a public pro- 
 fession of their faith in the Redeemer of the 
 world, or, in other words, when Jehovah 
 
MISSIONARY SUCCESS. 101 
 
 should perform his promise, great would be 
 the company of those who would publish or 
 bear witness to the same. In this expecta- 
 tion we have been fully borne out by the 
 number of missionaries who have since en- 
 tered the country, the chapels which have 
 been built, the schools raised, the crowded 
 audiences and flourishing churches which 
 have succeeded, not only at our own stations, 
 but at those of the French and Wesleyan 
 missionaries ; and extending from the Win- 
 ter Bergen, which bound Kafraria, to the 
 Kalagare desert on the west. 
 
 Great as was the change, we still rejoiced 
 with trembling ; having too often witnessed 
 the successful attempts of Satan to frustrate 
 our efl"orts, and blast our former hopes, to 
 imagine that he who had hitherto reigned 
 without a rival among the tribes, would 
 calmly submit to the violence done to his 
 ancient rights, without attacking us on fresh 
 ground. His kingdom had at last been suc- 
 cessfully assailed, and a breach made, but he 
 who had lately roared so loud might roar 
 again. We therefore felt we needed a double 
 portion of the Spirit that we might be watch- 
 ful to preserve, as well as to win souls. A 
 great work had yet to be done before we 
 could dare to glory. We knew that there 
 were many prejudices to be overcome, much 
 rubbish to be cleared away. The relation in 
 which the believers stood to their heathen 
 neighbours would expose their faith to trial. 
 Some of them were a kind of serfs of others, 
 
102 PREACHING TO THE NATIVES. 
 
 who would rage at any innovation made on 
 their former habits, all of which were con- 
 genial to sensual men, and opposed alike to 
 conversion and civilization. But we prayed 
 and believed that he who had begun a good 
 work would carry it on. 
 
 PREACHING TO THE NATIVES. 
 
 On reaching his village, after having tra- 
 velled the whole day over a rough and bushy 
 country, and walked much, I was fit only to 
 throw myself down to sleep. The moment 
 I entered the village, the hue and cry was 
 raised, and old and young, mother and child- 
 ren, came running together as if it were to 
 see some great prodigy. I received an affec- 
 tionate welcome, and many a squeeze, while 
 about five hundred human beings were thrust- 
 ing themselves forward, each exerting himself 
 to the utmost of his power to get a shake of 
 the hand. Some, who scarcely touched it, 
 trembled as if it had been the paw of a lion. 
 It was nearly midnight before they would 
 disperse, but their departure was a great re- 
 lief to a wearied man, for their exclamations 
 of surprise, and their bawling out to one an- 
 other in two languages, was any thing but me- 
 lodious. On awaking from a short sleep, and 
 emerging from my canopy, before my eyes 
 Avere thoroughly open, I was astonished to 
 find a congregation waiting before the wa- 
 
PREACHING TO THE NATIVES. 103 
 
 gon, and at the same moment some individ- 
 uals started off to different parts of the village 
 to announce my appearance. All hastened 
 to the spot. I confess I was more inclined 
 to take a cup of coffee than to preach a ser- 
 mon, for I still felt the fatigues of the prece- 
 ding day. I took my Testament and a hymn 
 book, and with such singers as I had, gave 
 out a hymn, read a chapter, and prayed; 
 then taking the text, " God so loved the 
 world," etc., discoursed to them for about 
 an hour. Great order and profound silence 
 were maintained. The scene was in the 
 centre of the village, composed of Bechuana 
 and Coranna houses and cattle folds. Some 
 of these contained the cattle, sheep and goats, 
 while other herds were strolling about. At 
 a distance a party were approaching riding 
 on oxen. A few strangers drew near with 
 their spears and shields, who, on being beck- 
 oned to, instantly laid them down. The na- 
 tive dogs could not understand the strange 
 looking being on the front of the wagon, 
 holding forth to a gazing throng, and they 
 would occasionally break the silence with 
 their bark, for which, however they suffered 
 the penalty of a stone or stick hurled at their 
 heads. Two milk-maids, who had tied their 
 cows to posts, stood the whole time with their 
 milking vessels in their hands, as if afraid of 
 losing a single sentence. The earnest atten- 
 tion manifested exceeded any thing I had 
 ever before witnessed, and the countenances 
 of some indicated strong mental excitement. 
 
104 PREACHING TO THE NATIVES. 
 
 The majority of my hearers were Bechu- 
 anas, and but few of the Corannas could not 
 understand the same language. 
 
 After service, I walked to an adjoining 
 pool, in the bed of the river, to refresh my- 
 self with a wash, hoping on my return to get 
 something like a breakfast, but found, owing 
 to some mistake, that the kettle was not boil- 
 ing. The people were again assembling, and 
 again requested me to preach. On begging 
 half an hour for refreshment, the chief's wife 
 hobbled off to her house, and immediately 
 returned with a large wooden vessel full of 
 sour milkj saying, with a smile on her coun- 
 tenance, " There, drink away ; drink much, 
 and you will be able to speak long.'' Hav- 
 ing cheerfully accepted this hasty African 
 breakfast, I resumed my station, and preach- 
 ed a second time, to, if possible, a still more 
 attentive congregation. When I had con- 
 cluded, my hearers divided into companies, 
 to talk the subject over, but others, more in- 
 quisitive, plied me with questions. While 
 thus engaged, my attention was arrested by 
 a simple looking young man, at a short dis- 
 tance, rather oddly attired. He wore what 
 was once a pair of trowsers, with part of one 
 leg still remaining. For a hat he had part 
 of the skin of a zebra's head, with the ears 
 attached, and something not less fantastic 
 about his neck. I had noticed this grotesque 
 figure before, but such sights are by no means 
 uncommon, as the natives will hang any thing 
 about their bodies, either for dress or orna- 
 
TEACHING THE LETTERS. 105 
 
 ment, without the sUghtest regard to appear- 
 ance. The person referred to was holding 
 forth with great animation to a number of 
 people, who were all attention. On ap- 
 proaching, I found, to my surprise, that he 
 was preaching my sermon over again, with 
 uncommon precision, and with great solem- 
 nity, imitating as nearly as he could the ges- 
 tures of the original. A greater contrast 
 could scarcely be conceived than the fan- 
 tastic figure I have described, and the solem- 
 nity of his language, his subject being eter- 
 nity, while he evidently felt what he spoke. 
 Not wishing to disturb him, I allowed him to 
 finish the recital, and seeing him soon after, 
 told him he could do what I was sure I could 
 not, that was, preach again the same sermon 
 verbatim. He did not appear vain of his 
 superior memory. " When I hear any thing 
 great," he said, touching his forehead with 
 his finger, " it remains there.'' This young 
 man died in the faith shortly after, before an 
 opportunity was afforded him of making a 
 public profession. 
 
 TEACHING THE LETTERS. 
 
 It was now late, and both mind and body 
 were jaded, but nothing would satisfy them ; 
 I must teach them also. After a search, I 
 found, among some waste paper, a large sheet 
 alphabet, with a corner and two letters torn 
 
 9 
 
106 TEACHING THE LETTERS. 
 
 off. This was laid down on the ground, 
 when all knelt in a circle round it, and of 
 course the letters were viewed by some stand- 
 ing just upside down. I commenced point- 
 ing with a stick, and when I pronounced 
 one letter, all hallooed out to some purpose. 
 When I remarked that perhaps we might 
 manage with somewhat less noise, one re- 
 plied, he was sure the louder he roared, the 
 sooner would his tongue get accustomed to 
 the "seeds,'^ as he called the letters. As it 
 was growing late, I rose to straigthen my 
 back, which was beginning to tire, when I 
 observed some young folks coming dancing 
 and skipping towards me, who, without any 
 ceremony, seized hold of me. "Oh, teach us 
 the ABC with music," every one cried, 
 giving me no time to tell them it was too late. 
 I found they had made this discovery through 
 one of my boys. There were presently a 
 dozen or more surrounding me, and resis- 
 tance was out of the question. Dragged and 
 pushed, I entered one of the largest native 
 houses, which was instantty crowded. 
 
 The tune of "Auld lang syne" was pitch- 
 ed to A B C, each succeeding round was 
 I joined by succeeding voices till every tongue 
 
 was vocal, and every countenance beamed 
 , with heartfelt satisfaction. The longer they 
 
 ' sang the more freedom was felt, and Auld 
 
 lang syne was echoed to the farthest corner 
 of the village. The strains which infuse 
 pleasurable emotions into the sons of the 
 north, were no less potent among these chil- 
 
TEACHING THE LETTERS. 107 
 
 dren of the South. Those who had retired 
 to their evening's shimbers, supposing that 
 we were holding a night service, came; "for 
 music/' it is said, "charms the savage ear." 
 It certainly does, particularly the natives of 
 Southern Africa, who, however degraded 
 they may have become, still retain that re- 
 finement of taste, which enables them to ap- 
 preciate those tunes which are distinguished 
 by melody and softness. After two hours' 
 singing and puffing, I obtained permission, 
 though with some difficulty of consent, and 
 greater of egress, to leave them, now com- 
 paratively proficient. It was between two 
 and three in the morning. Worn out in 
 mind and body, I laid myself down in my 
 wagon, cap and shoes and all, just to have 
 a few hours' sleep, preparatory to departure 
 on the coming day. As the "music hall" 
 was not far from my pillow, there was little 
 chance of sleeping soundly, for the young 
 amateurs seemed unwearied, and A B C to 
 Auld lang syne went on till I was ready to 
 wish it at John-o'-Groat's house. The com- 
 pany at length dispersed, and awaking in the 
 morning after a brief repose, I was not a lit- 
 tle surprised to hear the old tune in every 
 corner of the village. The maids milking 
 the cows, and the boys tending the calves, 
 were humming their alphabet over again. 
 
108 CHANGE EFFECTED. 
 
 CHANGE EPFECTED. 
 
 When I went among the Griquas, and for 
 some time after, they were without the small- 
 est marks of civilization. If I except one 
 woman, (who had by some means got a tri- 
 fling article of colonial raiment,) they had 
 not one thread of European clothing among 
 them; and their wretched appearance and 
 habits were such as might have excited in 
 our minds an aversion to them, had we not 
 been actuated by principles which led us to 
 pity them, and served to strengthen us in 
 pursuing the object of our missionary work; 
 they were, in many instances, little above the 
 brutes. It is a fact, that we were among them 
 at the hazard of our lives. This became evi- 
 dent from their own acknowledgments to us 
 afterwards, they having confessed that they 
 had frequently premeditated to take away 
 our lives, and were prevented only from ex- 
 ecuting their purposes by what they now 
 considered an Almighty power. When we 
 went among them, and some time after, they 
 lived in the habit of plundering one another; 
 and they saw no moral evil in this, nor in 
 any of their actions. Violent deaths were 
 common ; and I recollect many of the aged 
 women told me their husbands had been 
 killed in this way. Their usual manner of 
 living was truly disgusting, and they were 
 void of shame ; however, after a series of 
 hardships, which required much faith and 
 
CHANGE EFFECTED. 109 
 
 patience, our instructions were attended with 
 a blessing which produced a great change. 
 The people became honest in their dealings ; 
 they came to abhor those acts of plunder 
 which had been so common among them; 
 nor do I recollect a single instance, for seve- 
 ral years prior to their late troubles, which 
 could be considered as a stain upon their cha- 
 racter. They entirely abandoned their for- 
 mer manner of life, and decency and modesty 
 prevailed in their families. When we first 
 settled among them, we had some Hottentots 
 with us from the Zak river. With their as- 
 sistance we began to cultivate the ground 
 about Riet Fonteyn; but, notwithstanding 
 our exhortations, remonstrances, and exam- 
 ple, the Griquas manifested the greatest aver- 
 sion to such work, and appeared determined 
 to continue their wandering and predatory 
 habits. At the end of six months the Hot- 
 tentots left us ; and our prospects as to the 
 future cultivation of the ground, became very 
 gloomy. We determined, however, to abide 
 by them ; and in wandering about with them 
 we constantly endeavoured to impress upon 
 their minds the superior advantages they 
 would derive from cultivating the ground, 
 and having fixed habitations. After a con- 
 siderable time had elapsed, we prevailed 
 upon them to try the experiment, and a com- 
 mencement was made. This event was pre- 
 ceded and followed by a great and visible 
 improvement among them as a body. Con- 
 sidering the circumstances of the people. 
 
110 CHANGE EFFECTED. 
 
 much land was cultivated at this time ; and 
 in the following years the land under culti- 
 vation was much increased. I have seen 
 the whole valley, from the Fountain to the 
 Lion's Den, which must include four square 
 miles, covered with corn and barley. This 
 refers to Griqua Town alone; and the ground 
 around the neighbouring fountains was in a 
 similar state of improvement. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE CONTEST. 
 
 Would'st thou view the lion's den ? 
 Search afar from haunts of men — 
 Where the red encircled rill 
 Oozes from the rocky hill, 
 By its verdure far descried 
 'Mid the desert brown and wide. 
 
 Close beside the sedgy brim 
 Couchant lurks the lion grim ; 
 Watching till the close of day 
 Brings the death-devoted prey. 
 Heedless, at the ambushed brink, 
 The tall giraffe stoops down to drink: 
 Upon him straight the savage springs 
 With cruel joy. The desert rings 
 With clanging sound of desperate strife — 
 The prey is strong and strives for life. 
 Plunging oft with frantic bound. 
 To shake the tyrant to the ground — 
 He shrieks — he rushes through the waste 
 With glaring eye and headlong haste. 
 In vain !— the spoiler on his prize 
 Rides proudly — tearing as he flies. . 
 
112 THE CONTEST. 
 
 For life — the victim's utmost speed 
 
 Is mustered in this hour of need : 
 
 For life — for life — his giant might 
 
 He strains, and pours his soul in flight ; 
 
 And, mad with terror, thirst, and pain. 
 
 Spurns with wild hoof the thundering plain. 
 
 'Tis vain ; the thirsty sands are drinking 
 
 His streaming blood — his strength is sinking ; 
 
 The victor's fangs are in his veins — 
 
 His flanks are streaked with sanguined strains — 
 
 His panting breast in foam and gore 
 
 Is bathed — he reels — his race is o'er : 
 
 He falls — and, with convulsive throe. 
 
 Resigns his throat to the ravening foe. 
 
 — And lo ! ere quivering life has fled, 
 
 The vultures, wheeling overhead. 
 
 Swoop down, to watch, in gaunt array. 
 
 Till the gorged tyrant quits his prey. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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