444 . THE ENGRAVED ROCK OF KOPONG AND LOE. 



but at one sixjt there is a coarsely hacked-out circle less than 

 15 cm. in diameter. 



On all the rock slopes, however, and especially along the 

 trails, spoors innumerable were easily detected. 



These occur sometimes singly, but more often in large 

 numbers, close together, facing both towards and away from the 

 hole, just as though herds of animals, in wending their way 

 to and from the water, had left their imprints on the rock. 



Unfortunately, wherever these occur on the actual trails 

 they have been almost obliterated (PI. XLI). But lying a little 

 off the beaten track there are still a number that Mr. Knobel 

 and the Bakwena " boys " were able to identify. 



One well-defined group is reproduced here (PI. XLII). In 

 the foreground the spoors are quite distinct, especially the two, 

 about life-size, of the eland. In addition, there are spoors of 

 the hartebeest, kudu, lion, ant-bear, zebra and its young, and' 

 the baboon. In the background they are very indistinct, but 

 only because they have become so in nature. 



In the case of another group (PI. XLIII) the spoors have 

 been so smoothed down that only those of the eland and its 

 young, the wildebeest and the zebra can now be made out. 



Traces of humans were eagerly loolvcd for, but with little 

 success. 



Near the eland spoors (PI. XLII) there is what may have 

 been intended to represent a set of human toes, and on the 

 distant rocks, to the right of those photographed (PI. XL),. 

 there is the exception above referred to — a small human foot,^ 

 short and square-toed, like those at Lx)e. 



The so-called spoors are, of course, engravings in the rock.. 

 In technique they closely resemble those at Loe, though the 

 latter, on the whole, must have been more deeply engraved. This 

 probably is the reason why they are to-day in a better state of 

 presentation, not because they are '"^f later date. 



At Loe the engravings occur crowded round the water- 

 hole, here they are scattered over a comparatively wide area; 

 at Loe the actual number is smaller, and there seems to be less 

 variety in the* spoors. On the other hand, there appear to be 

 here no representations of animals, and the human interest is 

 almost lacking. 



At Loe, again, the hole seems deep and suggestive of mys- 

 tery, whereas here there is but a sand-choked hollow. 



For this reason perhaps the Bakwena say that cut of Loe 

 came the Bechuana (including the Bakgalegadi), whereas out 

 of Kopong came only the despised Masarwa. 



Since the publication of the paper on " The Engraved Rock 

 of Loe," Mr. Frank Cruden, of Alicedale, has called the writer's 

 attention to an earlier version of the Loe legend that appeared 

 at Lovedale in the Christian Express of August, 1903, pp. 122- 

 123. As this publication is not met with in most libraries, a 



