Q2 EXTEDITION INTO 



made in my nnme oiilv. The discussion liaving' been sup- 

 pressed bv nie, led to a disao-reement among- themsehes ; 

 they fought \\ ith inconcei\able fury for half an hour, and 

 were with difficulty prevented from murdering* each othrr. 

 With blood streaming- from many a ghastly womid, they 

 at leng'th retired to ablute themselves, and returned better 

 friends than ever. The eng-agement had been Avitnessed by a 

 party of sa\ag'es, who carried undjrellas of ostrich feathers, 

 twisted round a lono- stick so as to resemble the noddino- 

 plumes of a hearse. In honour of their own courag-eous 

 bearing-, the Hottentots purchased a nundjcr of these for a 

 small })iece of tobacco, and binding- them round their liats^ 

 strutted forth knights of the sable plume. 



And here, for the reader's especial information, I must be 

 permitted to cast a little light upon the j)rimitive mode in 

 Avhich transactions of a connnercial nature are conducted 

 by barter amongst these illiterate tribes, who, it may be 

 supposed^ are but imperfectly conversant with the rules of 

 arithmetic. The savage having- sjiread on the g'round his 

 caross, which whilst it is generally the only marketable com- 

 modity at his disposal, is most commonly comjiosed of the 

 skins of the jackal, or Avild cat, curiously sewn tog-ether a\ ith 

 the animal's sinew, a piece of tobacco a S2)an in leng-th, a 

 small string- of beads, an ell of brass-wire, a button, or some 

 other commodity equally valuable, is carefully placed upon 

 the head of each skin composing- the upper row. Having* 

 satisfied his suspicions as to the fairness of the proceeding* 

 b}' the most sinister g-lances and tedious scrutiny, intolerable 

 to any being of mercurial disposition, the vendor suddenly 

 makes up his mind, and closes the negociation b^' g-reedily 

 scraping- together the equivalent, with which he immediately 

 makes off in triunq)h, leaving- the hap})y purchaser in undis- 

 turbed possession of his barg-ain. ]5y virtue of six yards of 

 pig-fail, and a suitable stock of i)atience; it is practicable to 



