SOUTHERN AFRICA. 41 



waistcoat in the evening", however, had the effect of soothing- 

 his feelino's. 



The next morning, a messeng"er arrived with letters for 

 us from Mr. Moftat to the missionaries at Motito and 

 Moseg"a. A Bechuana g-entleman of quahty, to whom we bad 

 been introduced at Kuruman, came at the same time with 

 his two daug'hters; having- conceived a desire to join our mess 

 as far as Motito. We had received a bad character of this 

 personag-e, but as far as our experience of him went, he was 

 ver}' orderly, and afforded a fund of entertainment by his 

 ridiculous attempts to colloquise in Dutch. His skin was 

 blacker than a boot, and in texture resembled a rhinoceros 

 hide : yet he studiously interposed a parasol, composed of 

 ostrich plumes, betwixt the sun and his nobility, leading- his 

 little daughters to bestride a pack-bullock, and their com- 

 plexions to take care of themselves. 



Our march was a very hot one, across measureless plains, 

 vaulted over by a sky of pure and spotless azure, and 

 bounded only by the distant horizon : the ftiding* blue sum- 

 mits of the Kamhanni Mountahis near the Kurunian, very 

 slig-htly breaking- the evenness of the line from ^^•hich we 

 were receding-. The soil consisted chiefly of red sand, 

 abounding- at intervals with long- coarse grass, \^•hich being- 

 dry, gave to the plains the delusive appearance of ripe 

 corn-fields. Fourteen miles brouo-ht us to the Matluarin — 

 a periodical river, with a few detached pools of hardly 

 drinkable water — where bulrushes, and a scanty turf, af- 

 forded barely sufficient pasture for the oxen. 



We had hitherto failed in our endeavours to obtain an 

 interpreter to accompany us — the only available person iu 

 that capacity being a Bechuana residing- at Motito, against 

 whom we had been particularly warned by Captain Sutton 

 as a mischief-maker y but in default of a better, we had 

 resolved, by the advice of Mr. Moffat, to entertain this man. 



