50 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



etables; and the wild velt came up to the door-sills, and 

 the wild game grazed quietly on all sides within sight of 

 the houses. It was a very good kind of pioneer life; and 

 there could be no better pioneer settlers than Boers such 

 as I saw. 



The older men wore full beards, and were spare and 

 sinewy. The young men were generally smooth-faced or 

 mustached, strongly built, and rather shy. The elder 

 women were stout, cordial, motherly housewives; the 

 younger were often really pretty. At their houses I was 

 received with hearty hospitality, and given coffee or fresh 

 milk, while we conversed through the medium of the sons 

 or daughters who knew a little English. They all knew 

 that I was of Dutch origin, and were much interested when 

 I repeated to them the only Dutch I knew, a nursery song 

 which, as I told them, had been handed down to me by my 

 own forefathers, and which in return I had repeated, so 

 many, many times, to my children when they were little. 

 It runs as follows, by the way; but I have no idea how the 

 words are spelled, as I have no written copy; it is supposed 

 to be sung by the father, who holds the little boy or little 

 girl on his knee, and tosses him or her up in the air when 

 he comes to the last line: 



Trippa, troppa, tronjes, 



De varken's in de boonjes, 



De koejes in de klaver, 



De paardeen in de haver, 



De eenjes in de water-plass! 



So groot myn kleine (here insert the 



little boy.'s or little girl's name) wass! 



My pronunciation caused trouble at first; but I think 

 they understood me the more readily because doubtless 

 their own usual tongue was in some sort a dialect; and 

 some of them already knew the song, while they were all 

 pleased and amused at my remembering and repeating 

 it; and we were speedily on a most friendly footing. 



