298 KAFFIKPEOPHET. 



alarm it, and enable me to have a full view. The object 

 moved when I whistled, and rising to nearly six feet in. 

 height, showed itself to me as an old Kaffir man. I was 

 truly thankful that I had not put a bullet into his head. 

 Upon chatting with him, he told me that he was resi- 

 ding two or three days in the bush, previous to his giving 

 a prophecy on some important affair in his kraal. He 

 certainly was no true Kaffir, if he could not tell a thump- 

 ing lie, after three days getting it up, in the solitude of 

 the bush. 



Returning one afternoon from shooting, I saw a party 

 of Kaffirs sitting round my tent, and upon riding up I was 

 informed by one of my dark servants that a chief had come 

 in from the Umzriububu district, to transact some busi- 

 ness, and being his particular chief he had asked him to 

 stay and have a talk with me. I was much flattered 

 by this mark of approbation, and at once asked M'untu 

 Umculu into my tent, where we squatted down and took 

 pinch after pinch of strong snuff, until my guest's shining 

 hide became indistinct and shadowy through the tears that 

 forced themselves from the inmost recesses of my eyes. 



We said not a word, but the long-drawn sighs that now 

 and then with bellows-like expression emanated from 

 JVFuntu, gave earnest of his unqualified delight and pure 

 uninterrupted enjoyment. 



After half an hour of unsneezing silence, I managed to 

 stutter out, Chela pela's indaba incosi (tell me the news, 

 chief), to which M'untu politely replied that "the news 

 should come from me." "VYe had some pleasant and 

 instructive conversation, during which I discovered that 



