4 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS cu. 



spanned upon its banks, when a Kafir chief rode up, 

 accompanied by about twenty followers. He proved 

 to be Manchuran, one of the most influential chiefs 

 among the Batlapins; but for all this, after we had 

 given him and his brother a good dinner, he was not 

 above begging for sugar, tea, coffee, or anything else 

 he could think of. A Kafir will seldom miss a thing 

 for want of asking for it. 



Early on the next morning we reached a large 

 Batlapin village, where we found the houses very 

 clean, nice, and comfortable. They are divided into 

 two compartments, whilst outside there is a sort of 

 verandah, and round the front of the house a yard 

 very neatly enclosed, and plastered with cow-dung. 

 Inside, these houses are large and roomy, being at 

 least eight feet high, and most of them having a 

 recess in the wall with shelves for pots, etc. At this 

 village we tried our 'prentice hands at trading. It 

 was very tedious work, as the natives wanted to look 

 at everything, and talked a great deal about every 

 article they inspected before buying anything. Greatly 

 to my surprise, they paid for what they bought in 

 hard cash. The following day we left the banks of 

 the Vaal river, and trekked through a country 

 covered with wait-a-bit thorn-bushes towards 

 Campbell's-dorp, an old mission station ; on the way 

 I saw two hartebeests, but could not get a shot at 

 them. Campbell's-dorp had evidently known better 

 days, for there were many deserted gardens and 

 ruined cottages about the place ; still, although most 

 of the people seemed a lazy, poverty-stricken lot, 

 some of the better class of Griquas were living in 

 houses quite as comfortable as those of the lower 

 class of Transvaal Boers. 



On November 9th we trekked, and reached Griqua 



