WILD BEES WILLIAM ZWARTBOOI. 137 



fall to pieces." This is a clear, and, I have no doubt, a cor- 

 rect account. I myself have often been astonished to find 

 huge trees, apparently sound, crumble to pieces on being 

 touched by the hand. 



Wild bees very frequently make their nests in the gigantic 

 dwellings of the termites. In some years bees are very nu- 

 merous. The disposition of these insects would appear to be 

 unusually quiet and forbearing. Indeed, I never knew, a man 

 to be stung by them when robbing their nests. Commonly, 

 these are smoked in the first instance, but just as often (as I 

 myself have many times witnessed) they are fearlessly ap- 

 proached, and plundered by the naked savage without this 

 precaution. 



It is another interesting fact in connection with the dwell- 

 ings of the termites that, during the rainy season, mushrooms 

 grow in great abundance on their sides. In size and flavor 

 these mushrooms are far superior to any found in Europe. 

 Care, however, must be taken in selecting them, for other 

 fungi of a poisonous nature are almost identical in appear- 

 ance. Two of the children of one of our Damaras were 

 very nearly killed by eating some of these instead of mush- 

 rooms. 



On the 6th of February I received a visit from a great 

 Namaqua chieftain named William Zwartbooi, and found 

 him a very agreeable old personage. He had met Mr. Gal- 

 ton not far from Eikhams, who had sent him to Schmelen's 

 Hope to wait his return. 



At one time this chief had robbed and massacred the Da- 

 maras in precisely a similar way as Jonker Afrikaner ; but, 

 thanks to the exertions of the missionaries, he had been grad- 

 ually weaned from his evil practices, and was now living on 

 excellent terms with his neighbors. 



Jonker and Zwartbooi associated occasionally, but they 

 were by no means well disposed toward each other. On one 

 occnsion, when the latter had expressed displeasure at his 



