GO HEAR OP ILL NEWS. [chap. ra. 



Rath and his wife received me with great kindness, 

 and as this place, or its neighbourhood, was to be my 

 head-quarters for some time, I chose my encampment 

 with some deliberation. It was among a group of fine 

 trees, and close by a good spring of water. The 

 natives about the station were excessively annoying 

 and troublesome, and I was strongly inclined to make 

 an example of some of them ; but I still followed 

 a pacific policy. When my encampment had been 

 planned, and the tent pitched, and bushes placed in a 

 wide circle round the cart, I went to spend the 

 evening with the missionary, and to hear the news of 

 the country. The first intelligence shocked me very 

 much; it was, that quite recently the neighbouring 

 Namaqua Hottentots had attacked Schmelen's Hope 

 (three long days' journey ahead), had murdered and 

 mutilated the Damaras that lived there, and, naturally 

 enough, terrified the resident missionary into leaving 

 the place. The cause of this outrage, as far as I could 

 learn, was simply savage barbarism, a little robbery, 

 and a demonstration of dislike to the missionary cause. 



I mentioned, at the beginning of the book, the 

 name of Jonker Africaner, as the most important man 

 among the Hottentots ; it was he who headed the 

 expedition. 



The efi'ect of this attack, which had occurred after a 

 long peace or pause from fighting, was to frighten 

 every Damara who had cattle to lose, into the far 

 interior, so that hardly an ox was grazing within two 

 days' journey north of the Swakop, and to seriously 

 alarm the missionaries, who had hitherto depended on 



