Chap. VII.] SOUTHERN AFRICA. 53 



meeting our advances, they seemed disposed to 

 quarrel, more especially when they discovered that 

 we knew exactly how many yards of brass wire 

 were esteemed an equivalent for a caross. At 

 length, finding it impossible to come to terms, we 

 closed our little shop, and were preparing to depart 

 — when on a sign made by Mahura, a tall gamit 

 savage pounced upon a drinking cup, and declared 

 his intention of retaining it in compensation for 

 alleged injury to the fence of his field. Deaf to our 

 remonstrances, he was moving off with his prize, 

 when Richardson seized it from him, and threw it 

 to the right owner. In the mean time another 

 obtrusive savage deliberately seated himself on the 

 pole of the waggon, from which he refused to move, 

 although civilly requested to make way for the oxen. 

 In this posture of affairs I found it necessary to 

 resort to personal violence, which so exasperated 

 him that he sprung at me, brandishing his weapons, 

 and exclaiming that I had kicked him on his own 

 premises. The clamour now became fast and furious, 

 and the threatening attitudes of our assailants 

 obliged us to protrude the muzzles of two or three 

 fowling-pieces from the waggons, so as to bear upon 

 their masses — when they instantly dispersed, leaving 

 us to pursue our journey. 



Mahura and Moselekatse are bitter foes. Shortly 

 after Dr. Smith's expedition arrived at Kuruman, 

 the former, who had carried off several head of 

 cattle from the Matabili, expressed his determina- 

 tion of opposing the Doctor's advance — a threat 



