290 HOW TO MAJSfAGE THE NATIVES THE ONDAKA. 



help smiling. After a little more parley, the conference 

 broke up. 



The Namaquas, however much they may be averse to hear 

 the truth, respect the man who speaks his mind boldly. For 

 this very reason, I was never denied a favor or request, if in 

 their power to grant it. The case was similar with Mr. Hahn, 

 who acted on the same principle as myself. 



In my dealings with the natives, and more especially with 

 the Namaquas, I made it a rule to treat them ci\dlly, and 

 even deferentially, but I never mixed very freely with them. 

 The moment a person becomes too familiar, they lose all re- 

 spect for him. The only check he has on their avarice, and 

 safeguard against their treachery, is to exert, as far as possi- 

 ble, a certain moral influence over their minds. This he ef- 

 fects to a certain extent by showing himself superior to their 

 faults and vices. It might be convenient enough to imitate 

 them in some respects, but, on the whole, it will prove inju- 

 rious and detrimental to the traveler's interest. 



After a short stay at Eikhams, I bade adieu to Jonker, 

 and set off on my return to Rehoboth. 



One morning, when crossing a periodical stream, I ob- 

 served in its sandy bed the tracks of an immense serpent, 

 in size, as it would seem, not much inferior to the boa con- 

 strictor. I had previously heard that such monsters inhab- 

 ited this part of Africa,* but the natives declared they were 



* Large species of serpents of the python family are known to in- 

 habit many parts of the African continent. Dr. Smith, in his " Zool- 

 ogy of South Africa," when speaking of a certain species {python Na- 

 talensis) found sparingly in the neighborhood of Natal, thus says : 



" It occasionally attains a very large size, and, according to the na- 

 tives, individuals have been seen whose circumference was equal to 

 that of the body of a stout man : we have ourselves seen a skin 

 which measured twenty-five feet, though a portion of the tail was de- 

 ficient. It feeds upon quadrupeds, and for some days after swallow- 

 ing food it remains in a torpid state, and may then be easily destroy- 

 ed. The South Africans, however, seldom avail themselves of these 

 opportunities of ridding themselves of a reptile they view with horror. 



