OUR RECEPTION BY HIM. 32 
found no difficulty in conversing with them. ‘They 
cultivate the ground to a great extent, having 
abundance of Caffer and Indian corn, melons and 
pumpkins, and two species of vine were exceedingly 
abundant wherever we travelled. I have seldom seen 
aricher field for a botanist. ‘They make a great 
deal of beer, which is sometimes brought to the king 
in fifty large calabashes at once. On our approach- 
ing within three days of the town, of which the king 
was made acquainted, we were met by several wo- 
men, who were sent by him, each with a calabash of 
beer for us. This he directed them to carry by the 
side of the waggon for our use, that we might be 
able to refresh ourselves whenever we found it need- 
ful. The art of distilling is happily yet unknown 
among them. They have no sheep, except a few 
stolen from the Bechuanas ; nor have they any goats, 
but they possess great numbers of horned cattle. 
Their houses are constructed of mats. 
On the arrival of our waggons, this heathen king 
did everything in his power to excite our admiration. 
He assembled his people, an immense concourse, 
who danced and sang, slaughtered cattle, and drank 
beer to an extent that the oldest of his people said 
they had never been allowed to do on any previous 
occasion. The king, never having seen a waggon 
before, was highly amused with its motions. He was 
also much gratified with the stateliness and speed of 
VOL. Il. D 
