432 
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
very high and prominent cheek-bones and a sharp chin; they are not 
much inclined to steady employment: the attending of cattle, and the 
indolent and wandering life in which they pass their time, suit their 
disposition. They at times hire themselves out to the farmers, re¬ 
ceiving cattle as wages. In the colony they do not bear a very high 
character for honesty and faithfulness. They are expert drivers of 
wagons, but are otherwise careless and inattentive. They are deemed 
an improvident race, though there are some instances of their showing 
great attachment to individuals who have treated them well. Their 
numbers now are variously stated; but little dependence is to be placed 
on the accounts given, as is evident by their ranging from ten to thirty 
thousand. 
Upwards of thirty thousand slaves in the colony have been manu¬ 
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 
w T ould wish to seek adventure, the exploration of Africa offers at 
present 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 appear¬ 
ance 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 
