A NAKED CREW. 165 



To our no small astonishment, we discovered, 

 when about to start for our grand battue, that 

 Bareekie, Toto, and Morocco had departed at a late 

 hour on the previous night for the south. This 

 news was rather a damper to our ardour ; but it 

 was short-lived, for soon we learned that the 

 worthy potentate had been as good as his word, so 

 that already a great number of his liege subjects 

 were assembled to give us the benefit of their 

 assistance in the field. The less we say about the 

 clothing of this levy the better, for, with the exception 

 of a few of the head men, the others were without 

 even the familiar kaross. As a rule, they were all 

 fine specimens of the genus homo, upright, active, 

 and well-formed, and evidently they looked forward 

 with more than ordinary delight to a promise of 

 sport. A few of these warriors carried assegais, but 

 all were armed with the formidable knobkerrie, 

 guns, of which the tribe possessed a considerable 

 number, being conspicuous by their absence. 



Beaters at home are generally a very awkward 

 squad, difficult to get into their places, and infinitely 

 more difficult to keep there ; but not so with these 

 people, who had evidently been trained to their 



