CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 459 



mitted ; but the success of these as free labourers is by no means 

 encouraging. The cooleys or bearers have regular employment, but 

 the great majority of these are Malays or people from India. 



I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Mr. Thompson, the 

 intelligent African traveller, to whom the world is indebted for his 

 interesting accounts of the Bushmen, and the chief knowledge we 

 have of the interior of the colony. We are indebted to his exertions, 

 through the liberality and joint action of some gentlemen of the Cape, 

 for the many attempts that have been made to penetrate into the inte- 

 rior of Africa. When the difficulties and perils of such efforts are duly 

 considered, it is not surprising that so little success has been met with 

 in the various expeditions undertaken with this view. To those who 

 would wish to seek adventure, the exploration of Africa offers at pre- 

 sent a wider and more novel field than any other portion of the world. 



The colonial government has of late years had much trouble with 

 the Caffre tribes on the eastern limits of the colony. These have 

 frequently made incursions, and driven off the cattle of the settlers, 

 in revenge for the injuries they have sustained from the whites. The 

 usual result, is taking place ; here, as elsewhere, civilized man is 

 driving the savage before him, and occupying their hunting-grounds 

 for permanent agriculture. The missionaries have in some cases 

 pushed their establishments among these savage races, and from 

 them the accounts of the Caffres have been mostly derived. Their 

 appearance as well as character seem to indicate a totally different 

 origin from the negro and Hottentot tribes. One of the marked 

 peculiarities about them, is that they avoid marrying the women of 

 their own tribe, preferring to purchase wives from their neighbours, 

 for whom they barter their cattle. Tamboukie women are preferred, 

 although they are described as very ugly, being short, stout in the 

 body, and having strong muscular limbs. 



Those who have visited the country of the Caffres, describe them as 

 extremely hospitable, and very cheerful in their dispositions. They 

 mostly go naked, particularly during the heat of summer, though 

 they wear the caross of skin in the winter. Their arms consist of 

 the spear and club, with a shield of bull's-hide to protect the person. 

 Their principal food is the milk of their herds, which they value 

 beyond any thing else : they are a pastoral people, and the cattle-fold 

 is considered the great place of honour, so much so that their chiefs 

 are always found to occupy it. They have of late years obtained 

 many horses ; formerly they used the ox for riding, and this animal 

 is said to have been even trained by them for the race. 



