DRESS OF THE NATIVES. 61 



primitive disciples had, — and was disappointed. When, 

 however, I passed on to the true heathen in the countries 

 beyond the sphere of missionary influence, and could com- 

 pare the people there with the Christian natives, I came to 

 the conclusion that, if the question were examined in the 

 most rigidly severe or scientific way, the change effected 

 by the missionary movement would be considered unques- 

 tionably great. 



We cannot fairly compare these poor people with our- 

 selves, who have an atmosphere of Christianity and en 

 lightened public opinion, the growth of centuries, around 

 us, to influence our deportment ; but let any one from the 

 natural and proper point of view behold the public mo- 

 rality of G-riqua Town, Kuruman, Likatlong, and other 

 villages, and remember what even London was a century 

 ago, and he must confess that the Christian mode of treat- 

 ing aborigines is incomparably the best. 



The Griquas and Bechuanas were in former times clad 

 much like the Caffres, if such a word may be used where 

 there is scarcely any clothing at all. A bunch of leather 

 strings about eighteen inches long hung from the lady's 

 waist in front, and a prepared skin of a sheep or antelope 

 covered the shoulders, leaving -the breast and abdomen 

 bare : the men wore a patch of skin, about the size of the 

 crown of one's hat, which barely served for the purposes 

 of decency, and a mantle exactly like that of the women. 

 To assist in protecting the pores of the skin from the in- 

 fluence of the sun by day and of the cold by night, all 

 smeared themselves with a mixture of fat and ochre; the 

 head is anointed with pounded blue mica schist mixed with 

 fat ; and the fine particles of shining mica, falling on the 

 body and on strings of beads and brass rings, were con- 

 sidered as highly ornamental, and fit for the most fasti- 

 dious dandy. Now these same people come to church in 

 decent though poor clothing, and behave with a decorum 

 certainly superior to what seems to have been the case in 

 the time of Mr. Samuel Pepys in London. Sunday is well 



