CHAP, in.] DAMAEA THORN TREES. 83 



now and then earned something by doing odd jobs for 

 the missionaries. His honesty was unimpeachable ; 

 his family large ; the ladies of it were thoroughly 

 Hottentot, and the younger ones were dressed in 

 leather skii-ts, that showed off their peculiar shapes 

 to great advantage. Half of my things were put on 

 ox-back, half on the mules. Timboo and I rode an 

 ox and a mule between us. John Morta got a mount 

 now and then, but he disliked both animals exceed- 

 ingly. The mule curved his back and cocked his 

 ears and switched his tail much more than was 

 pleasant among the sharp rocks and abominable 

 haMs thorns. These hakis thorns have overspread 

 the whole country on this side of Tsobis ; the tree 

 is seldom more than fifteen feet high, with a short 

 straight stem and a spreading bushy head ; the thorns 

 are all curved (hakis is the Dutch for hook), and, con- 

 sequently, they do not hurt you like other thorns 

 when you tumble into a bush, but only when you 

 try to get oiot of it. My hands were cruelly torn 

 with these thorns, and as I was still in bad condition, 

 all the scratches festered ; it was very paiaful, I could 

 hardly close my hands for pain. Besides these, there 

 were the " black thorn " and the " white thorn" (I take 

 the names as I heard them) ; the fii'st produces crisp 

 tasteless gum La great abundance, the other a very 

 sweet gum, that tastes and feels exactly like jujubes, 

 but has a great tendency to ferment. 



We travelled on very qtuetly to Barmen, as John 

 Morta was lame, and there was no hurry. We were 

 four days in going there. I like gipsying work 



