210 P E S H A U N A. 



range of hills some three or four miles off: there was no 

 mistaking his voice when once heard. I stopped out for 

 nearly an hour, enjoying the beauty of the moonlight, 

 and the wildness of the noises that alone disturbed the 

 night : not a breath of wind was stirring. I could see 

 indistinctly dark forms moving about on the opposite hills, 

 an occasional shriek from which indicated some prowling 

 jackals or hyaenas on the look-out for prey. I soon began 

 to feel very cold, and returned to creep again under the 

 folds of my tent. 



The following day was spent in an unsuccessful trip 

 after elephants that Inkau had heard were near the 

 Imvoti ; we saw nothing of them, and returned home tired 

 and hungry. 



Amongst the members of this kraal was a very nice- 

 looking Kaffir woman. The women can be handsome, 

 although perhaps admiration for them is an acquired 

 taste. Well, Peshauna (the girl's name) was the best- 

 looking of Inkau's wives, and was placed as head woman 

 of Inkau's kraal ; she did but little work, and was highly 

 dressed, in the extreme of the fashion, not in crinoline or 

 embroidery, but in beads and brass. Round her head she 

 had a broad band of light-blue and white beads ; a 

 pendent string of the latter hanging in a graceful curve 

 over her eyelids, giving them the sleepy, indolent look 

 assumed by so many of our fair sex. Round her neck in 

 numbers, strings of beads were negligently hung, and a 

 little apron of fringe about a foot long was fastened round 

 her waist ; this was nelitly ornamented with beads of red, 

 white, and blue; her wrists were also decorated with 



