122 CONFERENCE AT EIKHAMS. [chap. iv. 



whacking big stick, quite as a matter of course, that I 

 should beat him for what he had done. 



The water-skin I had made was not of much use, as 

 the day was comparatively cool. Being fresh from the 

 animal, it had to be used with the hair inside. It held 

 the water very well, but gave a " doggy" taste to it. 

 Swartboy and Cornelius were waiting for me ; the 

 latter was anything but a chief, either in manner or 

 appearance. Nothing had been heard from Amiral; 

 it was barely possible that any answer should have 

 been received, owing to the distance. 



Besides the three chiefs present, there were a great 

 number of the influential men. I used as interpreters, 

 Phlebus, my new waggon- driver, a missionary school- 

 master, and a Griqua : these all spoke Hottentot and 

 Dutch perfectly, and the last two a little English also. 

 I knew enough Dutch myself to be able to check any 

 gross mistake in the rendering fi'om English to that 

 language, and the three interpreters were checks upon 

 one another in the rest. The schoolmaster spoke ; the 

 others interrupted if he was not accurate. 



We met together more than once. The meetings 

 were long and very orderly, many people speaking, 

 and all to the point. These men evidently felt they 

 had gone much too far, and openly acknowledged that 

 the system of robbing had done much mischief to 

 themselves. No planting or sowing was going on ; the 

 Hottentots were idle and restless ; there was no law in 

 the coimtry ; and the Damaras harassed them with 

 frequent retaliation. They begged me to suggest some 

 system on which they could proceed ; and also to di'aw 



