146 RELIGIOUS IDEAS OF BAKWAINS. 



in times of danger, as they do now, before they ever heard 

 of white men. The want, however, of any form of public 

 worship, or of idols, or of formal prayers or sacrifice, 

 make both Caff res and Bechuanas appear as among the 

 most godless races of mortals known anywhere. But, 

 though they all possess a distinct knowledge of a deity 

 and of a future state, they show so little reverence, and 

 feel so little connection with either, that it is not surprising 

 that some have supposed them entirely ignorant on the 

 subject. At Lotlakani we met an old Bushman who at 

 first seemed to have no conception of morality whatever ; 

 when his heart was warmed by our presents of meat, he 

 sat by the fire relating his early adventures : among these 

 was killing five other Bushmen. ' ' Two," said he, counting 

 on his fingers, " were females, one a male, and the other 

 two calves." — " What a villain you are to boast of killing 

 women and children of your own nation ! what will God 

 say when you appear before Him ? " — " He will say," 

 replied he, " that I was a very clever fellow." This man 

 now appeared to me as without any conscience, and, of 

 course, responsibility, but on trying to enlighten him by 

 further conversation, I discovered that, though he was 

 employing the word which is used among the Bakwains 

 when speaking of the Deity, he had only the idea of a 

 chief, and was all the while referring to Sekomi, while his 

 victims were a party of rebel Bushmen against whom he 

 had been sent. If I had known the name of God in the 

 Bushman tongue the mistake could scarcely have occurred. 

 It must, however, be recollected, while reflecting on the 

 degradation of the natives of South Africa, that the farther 

 north, the more distinct do the native ideas on religious 

 subjects become, and I have not had any intercourse with 

 either Cafires or Bushmen in their own tongues. 



Leaving Motlatsa on the 8th February, 1853, we passed 

 down the Mokoko, which, in the memory of persons now 

 living, was a flowing stream. We ourselves once saw a 

 heavy thunder- shower make it assume its ancient appear- 

 ance of running to the north. Between Lotlakam and 

 Nchokotsa we passed the small well named Orapa ; and 

 another called Thutsa lay a little to our right — its water 

 is salt and purgative ; the salt-pan Chuantsa, having a 

 cake of salt one inch and a half in thickness, is about ten 

 miles to the north-east of Orapa. This deposit contains 

 a bitter salt in addition, probably the nitrate of lime ; 



