Il6 MODDERPOORT OXE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 



of some of her people, who came ostensibly to trade with the 

 Mankoane. She asked leave to visit them ; her mistress refused, 

 but her master, good easy man, said " Let a Mosuto visit Basuto." 

 She returned from the first visit, but the second time remained 

 away. It is significant that these friends of hers had come to 

 buy corn in exchange for skins. 



They wanted to get a change of diet from perpetual game, by 

 exchanging the spoils of that game for corn, perhaps raided from 

 their own fields. An interesting example of how trade comes 

 in to heal the wounds of war. I dare say her good-natured 

 master was not so sorry she escaped. 



It must be remembered that these things were long before the 

 days of a compact Basuto nation, which is an artificial political 

 unity, formed as tribe after tribe, Becoana and Bataung from 

 the north-west, Bapeli from the north and Zuhis from the north- 

 east, gathered around the growing power and influence of Moshesh. 

 It is not, like the English nation, a recent amalgam of widely various 

 races inextricably mingled of old, but a recent conglomerate of 

 fairly cognate tribes, coming from different quarters. 



The native account of the arrival of first missionaries at Modder- 

 poort in June, 1833, is as follows : — Moshesh wanted to buy two 

 Baruti, so he sent 20 head of cattle. A Bushman of the Makho- 

 mokholo tribe (so called by the Basuto) took and ate the cattle. 

 It was this tribe which painted the pictures. Moshesh sent 30 

 head. The Bushman kept them and killed the herds. Then 

 Moshesh asked for peace and two of his daughters in exchange 

 for the cattle. The Bushman gave him his daughter Qea and 

 another called by Basuto 'Matseola. Moshesh also gave his 

 father-in-law leave to hunt eland in the Maluti. He was then 

 able to send 500 cattle to bring the Baruti. They were stopped 

 by hungry lions by the Grange at Modderpoort. Moshesh sent 

 people with dogs and then Letsie his son, with 22 goats for the 

 whole company. They passed as the railway does now on the 

 Viervoet side of the Spitzkop. Letsie feared the lions which 

 stole two goats, and slept at Ladybrand on the way back to Thaba 

 Bosni. Then Moshesh came with his litona and all the Basuto 

 came with dogs. Ramakainyane passed this side of Spitzkop 

 (which was better than the other side) though both were full of 

 reeds. They shouted with excitement and the Mosuti shot with 

 Moshesh's gun. They then hurried to come, (I am bound to say 

 that I have read M. Casalis' account of his arrival, and this exciting 

 hunt does not appear. Either he is quite unnecessarily modest 

 or else we have an interesting example of the growth of myth). 



An educated native, son of the missionaries' first interpreter, 

 gave me this interesting gloss on the above account : Moshesh 

 only sent one lot of cattle, which was captured by Griquas after 

 they had passed Modderpoort. The missionaries then said they 

 would come without being bought, and they brought the word of 

 God, which should not be bought with cattle. It was these 

 Griquas which went to Basutoland. 



But let me leave you with the naive native view of my former 

 informant, a daughter-in-law of Moshesh. The Hottentot Kompi 



