124 PROPOSED CONFERENCE. [chap. ia'. 



by the name of the "felon face;" I mean that 

 they have ijromuient cheek bones, bullet shaped head, 

 cowering but restless eyes, and heavy sensual lips, and 

 added to this a shackling dress and manner. The 

 ladies have not universally that verj'^ remarkable 

 development which was so striking in Petrus' wife at 

 Barmen. It is a peculiarity which disappears when 

 one of the parents have European blood, while other 

 points, more especially the absence of white at the 

 root of the finger nails, remain after many crosses 

 with the Dutch. Some few of the lads and girls 

 have remarkably pleasing Chinese -looking faces. 



Jonker is decidedly a talented man, and seems in 

 full vigour though upwards of sixty years of age ; his 

 remarks were particularly shrewd, and his descriptions 

 concise and graphic. He came out quite as a diplo- 

 matist in the long conversations I had with him, 

 artfully trying to turn the conversation to his own 

 ends. I could not make out that there were more than 

 forty horses belonging to Jonker and his men ; neither 

 they nor any others would sell me one ; they said they 

 could not possibly spare them. Those I had seen 

 were sorry, half-starved creatures, but with many good 

 points about them. They were all from the country 

 about the Orange River. I endeavoured to appoint a 

 general meeting at Schmelen's Hope for the Hottentot 

 and Damara chiefs, where I would feed them well, and 

 cement peace between them, as far as such an affair 

 could do it. A time was fixed — about a fortnight 

 thence — but it never came off. Everybody mistrusted 

 his neighbours, and only Swartboy, who was my guest 



