CHAPTER XII. 

 AN UNPLEASANT RIDE. 



Messrs. Evans & Churchill of Natal had branch 

 stores in Pretoria and Zoutpansberg, and I accom- 

 panied Mr. Evans on a trip to the latter place. At 

 Krantz Kop, beyond Waterberg, we came on a farm 

 where the people were all on the " spree/' and when 

 I introduced Mr. Evans, who was a particularly 

 natty, well-dressed man, one awful looking " tak- 

 haar " with fiery red beard tried to kiss him, and I 

 nearly got into a row rescuing him. I shall never 

 forget his look of despair and horror when he said 

 " Struben you can never allow this ;" poor man, it 

 gave him a fright and he didn't forget it ! He was 

 an amateur geologist, and when we were outspanned 

 at Lun's Klip, he showed me what he said was gold 

 bearing strata. Years afterwards the Eersteling 

 goldfields were discovered near here. I did a lot of 

 work for Messrs. Evans & Churchill. They were the 

 best class of British merchants ; both educated, 

 intelligent gentlemen, I showed Mr. Evans the wild 

 cotton in Zoutpansberg, out of which the natives in 

 the early days made coarse rugs, bags, etc., and I 

 often tried to get someone to experiment in the 

 Spelonken in growing cotton, coffee, tea, tobacco, 

 etc.. but I had neither time nor money to do it 

 myself " a miss is as good as a mile." 



One trip I did for Evans & Churchill nearly 

 prevented me writing this journal for you children. 

 They had a business connection at Rhenosterpoort 

 run by an old Scotchman named Watt, who had 

 married a Boer girl, and been settled in the country 



