Notes on the Bushmen of Basutoland. 439 



Great Trek of 1836. They were driven out of the Orange Eiver 

 Colony by the emigrant Boers, and went south to the Quthing 

 district, where they Hved in a cave called Qhoasing = at the water. 

 Their chief's name was Mphaki, also a Sesuto appellation. From 

 there they were chased away, on account of their cattle-lifting, by 

 Pafodi, son of Morosi, chief of the district. Some of the petty chiefs 

 in that part of Basutoland still possess poisoned Bushman arrows, 

 given to them by these people. From Qhoasing they divided into 

 two bands, of which one went up the eastern side of the Senqu, or 

 Orange Eiver, the other up the western side. Those who went up 

 the eastern side were led by a chief called Melikane, from whom 

 the river Melikane takes its name. He had four sons — Eamatlamo 

 (Sesuto, *' Father of calumny "), Swai (Bushman, " Knife "), Motseki 

 (Sesuto, " One who quarrels "), and Qang. Melikane remained at 

 the cave on the river Melikane. The later history of Eamatlamo 

 and Motseki is unknown. Swai went farther up the Senqu Eiver, 

 and lived at the cave known as Sehonghong. From thence he made 

 forays on the cattle of the Basuto and Kafirs. The tragic end of 

 Swai and his clan will be more fully related, in connection with the 

 causes which led to the extinction of the Bushmen as a people. 



Near the river Melikane is another river called the Tsuediki. On 

 the banks of this river are rock shelters containing paintings, but as 

 no Bushmen are known to have lived there, it is supposed they 

 belong to some of Eamatlamo's or Motseki's people w^ho went up 

 the river — a supposition that is strengthened by the fact that similar 

 paintings are found higher up the river in the cave called Leqhoa, 

 a hybrid word consisting of the Sesuto prefix Le = thing, and 

 Bushman qhoa = water. It is believed these people also retired 

 to Griqualand East when the Basuto occupied this tract of 

 country. 



The second band went up the western side of the Senqu. The 

 head of this band was Ntharetsane (Sesuto probably "I am en- 

 tangled," " I have lost my senses "), who had two brothers, Qabane 

 and Sekitsene (Sesuto, " The little swift one "). It will be observed 

 that all these names, as well as those of the previous clan, are 

 descriptive names, bestowed upon the Bushmen by their enemies, 

 the Basuto. This band seems not to have been guilty of any theft — 

 rather an unusual thing for Bushmen, and which raises an interest- 

 ing question as to whether the Bushmen were originally the habitual 

 thieves both black and white men describe them to have been, and 

 which undoubtedly they usually were. Their paintings are found in 

 the cave they inhabited. They came there about 1860. The last 

 family, a father Kholoboto and his son Hoko, came hither about the 



