44 EXPEDITION INTO 



visits and curiosity of crowds of these ladies, who appeared 

 to have no domestic concerns to attend to : and, althouo-h 

 the assertion may subject me to the accusation of want of 

 g-allantrv, I am compelled to state that the effluvia arising- 

 from their persons, which are not always free from vermin, 

 was far from ag-reeahle. Their lang-uag-e termed Sichiianay 

 is exceedingi)^ melodiovis. Few syllables end with a con- 

 sonant, and the remarkable abundance of vowels and li- 

 quids g'ive it a smoothness of sound to which both sexes 

 do ample justice by the g-entle tones of their voice. 



Early the following- day our wag-g-ons were surrounded by 

 a tatterdemalion band of natives with skins and carosses* 

 for sale. Foremost in the motley g-roup was Mahura, the 

 Batlapi chief— brother of Motibe, king- of that tribe — a portly 

 personag-e of exceeding-ly forbidding* manners and unprepos- 

 sessing- exterior. He was habited in a threadbare braided 

 jacket and leathern trowsers, with a broad-brimmed white 

 hat which obscured a larg-e portion of his sinister physiog-- 

 nomy. His A. D .C. — another prominent fig-ure — had induc- 

 ted his shrivelled frame into a g-reen surtout and military 

 chaco, being- withal the least martial character I ever beheld. 

 We made them propitiatory offering's, and handed round the 

 snuff-box : but far from meeting- our advances, the}^ seemed 

 disposed to quarrel more especialty when they discovered 

 that we knew exactly how many yards of brass wire were 

 esteemed an equivalent for a caross. At leng-th, finding- it 

 impossible to come to terms, we closed our little shop, 

 and were preparing- to depart — when on a sig-n made by 

 Mahura, a tall g-aunt savag-e pounced upon a drinking- cup, 

 and declared his intention of retaining- it in compensation 

 for alleg-ed 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 rig-ht 



* Vide Note at Chapter V. 



