BUT FEW SLAVES ATTACKED BY OPHTHALMIA. 281 



these people, and supplied their wants at the same rate as 

 paid by the other Hottentot tribes residing in Great Nama- 

 qua-land. Moreover, thej have lately admitted a mission- 

 ary among them, and it is to be hoped that through good ex- 

 amples they may ultimately be civilized. 



The chief stronghold of the Red Nation is about the Ku- 

 bakop, but a part of the tribe is settled on the Fish River. 

 Taken as a whole, they possess probably the worst portion 

 of the northern part of Great Namaqua-land. They call 

 themselves KaiJchous, a word signifying large ridges of hills, 

 in contradistinction to Zwartboi's tribe, the name of which is 

 Kharikhous, or small ridges. They look upon Jonker and 

 his people, who are known as " Oerlam," not only with jeal- 

 ousy, but with something akin to contempt. 



I found but few Damara slaves among the Red Nation, 

 which at first struck me as singular, for their outrage on the 

 Damaras was, at least, of equal extent to that perpetrated 

 by the rest of the northern Namaquas. I could only explain 

 this by supposing that they killed their prisoners. I after- 

 ward learned that my conjecture was correct, and that, hav- 

 ing surrounded a werft, they coolly shot down every soul, 

 women and children not excepted. However, having lately 

 discovered that the Damaras make yseful drudges, they have, 

 from interested motives, become less bloody-minded. 



While staying with Cornelius I was attacked by ophthal- 

 mia, and for a few days suffered great agonies, but, fortunate- 

 ly, before the disease had arrived at its maximum, it took a 

 favorable turn. 



Having succeeded in disposing of the greater part of our 

 goods, we took leave of our host, and bent our steps toward 

 Rehoboth, which was on our road to the Cape. The day 

 after our departure we met with vast numbers of the larvae 

 of the locust {gryllus devastatot', Lich.), commonly called by 

 the Boers " voet - gangers," literally, foot -goers. Infsome 

 places they might be seen packed in layers several inches in 



