BAKED, BLINDED, AND POISONED. 209 



thing in the attitude that a prizefighter would assume, and 

 the body violently jerked up and down. Every now and then 

 one of the party would give a signal, when they all would 

 stop, and a man, with a very high tenor voice, shout a 

 few words; at the termination of these a chorus would 

 join in amidst yells and shrill whistles. Throughout, how- 

 ever, they kept a sort of regularity, and, although bar- 

 barous in the extreme, it was music of its kind. They 

 did not seem to understand why I preferred to remain 

 outside in the cold, and repeatedly asked me to come 

 inside the hut ; so not to appear exclusive, I took off my 

 coat and waistcoat, and joined the festive scene, by which 

 I appeared to give great satisfaction. In a quarter of an 

 hour, however, I had had quite enough of it ; I was baked 

 nearly to a cinder, blinded with the smoke, and poisoned 

 with the smell. A Kaffir, after his bath, is not the most 

 sweetly perfumed animal in the world ; but when five-and- 

 twenty hot men assemble in one hut, and sit round a fire, 

 it becomes too much to get over even with the aid of 

 powerful snuff. I therefore pitched my tent outside, and, 

 concealing myself between its folds, was soon asleep. The 

 moon was still high when I awoke, and, not feeling in- 

 clined to sleep again, I took my gun, and wandered out 

 in the cool night-air. Not a sound indicated the presence 

 of human beings; the country all round could be as 

 plainly seen as during the daylight, the night was so clear 

 and bright. Several mysterious sounds occasionally could 

 be heard both far and near; the hysena's laugh was fre- 

 quently audible, and twice I molt distinctly heard the 

 deep growl of a lion, sounding as though he were on a 



