SOUTHERN AFRICA. 73 



retunied on the third day— Moselekatse was rejiorted to be 

 at a kraal fifty miles to the northward, at A\"hich he had 

 resided ever since the estahlishment of the Missionaries at 

 Moseg'a, his head-quarters. 



It rained durino- the whole of the nio-ht ; and durino- the 

 whole of the following* day we were surrounded, without a 

 moment's respite, by a crowd of people importuning- for 

 tobacco. They entered the tent and clambered into the 

 wag-g'on without ceremony, leaving' a host of vermin behind 

 them, and becoming* at leng*th so troublesome, that we were 

 compelled, in self-defence, to drive them away with the. 

 wag*g*on-whips. A long- line of Avomen and girls, whose fea- 

 tures exhibited ever)" g-radation of savag*e wonder, however^ 

 still continued to stand at a distance on tiptoe, attempting* 

 to g-ratif}" their curiosity b}' peeping* in at the back of the 

 wao-o'on : whilst others less curious sat and loitered about 

 as if their time were valueless. The g-overnor invited him- 

 self to dinner in the evening*, and as it rained ag*ain, sat so 

 late, that we were at last oblig-ed to send the Parsee outside 

 to start him, which he did by poking* a stick under his 

 person from below the walls of the tent, a hint which he 

 g'ood-naturedly took, and departed. 



We embraced an early opportunit}^ of mentioning* to the 

 Missionaries our intention of leaving* the country by the 

 Yaal River; a scheme which they discountenanced as fraught 

 with peril. But Avhilst they felt sure that Moselekatse would 

 never listen to such an arrangement, they obligingly con- 

 sented to allow one of their domestics, Baba, a converted 

 Bechuana who had accompanied Dr. Smith's expedition as 

 interpreter, to attend us as far as the king's residence, in 

 the like capacity. 



The next morning* we rode through a pass in the hills 

 behind the mission-houses, towards the Mimori Lakes, in 

 order to obtain food for the people ) it being an object to 



