SECHELE'S LETTER. 107 



selves out of sight in the blooming groves, while the mountains re-echo with 

 the driver's harsh voice and the crack of his huge whip. 



" We halted during the day at a spot where Isaak, a half-witted Hottentot 

 lad by whom I was attended, noticed a plant of the cactus or euphorbia tribe, 

 known by the name of elephant's trunk. Isaak plucked several of the younger 

 shoots of the plants, and, rubbing off the prickles with a stone, set me the 

 example of eating some. Notwithstanding that I knew the plant to be freely 

 eaten by the Namaquas, I thought, on tasting the first mouthful, that Isaak 

 was bent upon poisoning me, and made some horrible wry faces. Isaak 

 however, devoured several pounds of the nauseous plant." 



Livingstone, in pursuance of a design intimated at the close of last chap- 

 ter, and further alluded to in the letter published in this chapter, accompanied 

 his family to the Cape, from whence they were to be conveyed to England. 

 On his return he was delayed at Kuruman for a fortnight by the breaking of 

 a waggon wheel, which prevented him from being present with Sechele and the 

 friendly Bakwains at Kolobeng, when the long-threatened attack of the Boers, 

 already detailed, was carried into effect. Previous to this, Sechele had sent 

 his children to Mr. Moffat at Kuruman to be educated. 



The news of the attack of the Boers was brought by Masabele, Sechele's 

 wife. She had herself been hidden in a cleft of rock, over which a number of 

 Boers were firing. Her infant began to cry, and terrified lest this should 

 attract the attention of the men, the muzzles of whose guns appeared at every 

 discharge over her head, she took off her armlets as playthings to quiet the 

 child. She brought Mr. Moffat a letter which tells its own tale ; nearly lite- 

 rally translated it is as follows : — 



" Friend of my heart's love, and of all the confidence of my heart ; I am 

 undone by the Boers, who attacked me, although I had no guilt with them. 

 They demanded that I should be in their kingdom, and I refused. They de- 

 manded that 1 should prevent the English and Grriquas from passing (north- 

 wards). I replied : These are my friends, and I can prevent no one (of them). 

 They came on Saturday and I besought them not to fight on Sunday, and 

 they assented. They began on Monday morning at twilight, and fired with 

 all their might, and burned the town with fire and scattered us. They killed 

 sixty of my people, and captured women, and children, and men; and the 

 mother of Baloriling (a former wife of Sechele) they also took prisoner. They 

 took all the cattle and all the goods of the Bakwains; and the house of 

 Livingstone they plundered, taking away all his goods. The number of 

 waggons they had was eighty-five, and a cannon ; and after they had stolen 

 my own waggon and that of Macabe, then the number of their waggons (count- 

 ing the cannon as one) was eighty-eight. All the goods of the hunters (cer- 

 tain English gentlemen hunting and exploring in the north) were burned in 

 the town : and of the Boers were killed twenty-eight. Yes, my beloved 



