CAFFER LAW-SUITS. 259 



obtained. There is no private property in land, 

 except what is derived from actual occupancy, for 

 when a man ceases to cultivate his ground another 

 is at liberty to take it. Cattle are permitted to graze 

 at large without interruption, but the owners are re- 

 sponsible for any damage they may occasion to the 

 cultivated lands. 



Like a cause in the English Court of Chancery, a 

 CafFer law-suit sometimes lasts for two or three 

 generations ; and many an unfortunate fellow has 

 to suffer in his own person the punishment of his 

 great grandfather's guilt. Most of their litigations 

 arise from runaway wives, the husband claiming 

 the cattle he paid for his wife, and the friends of the 

 woman refusing to restore her without additional 

 remuneration, alleging his cruelty to have been the 

 cause of her seeking their protection. The point in 

 dispute is whether the woman absconded or was 

 driven away by ill treatment, and this is frequently 

 a question very difficult to decide. 



The CafFers in general, with the exception of the 

 Zoulah tribes, wear no covering but a kaross, which 

 is formed of an ox-hide rendered soft and pliant, and 

 hangs loosely over their shoulders, in the manner of a 

 cloak. The Amakosa smear their bodies, as I have 

 had occasion to notice, with a composition of red clay 

 and grease, which produces a soft and glossy effect 

 on the skin ; and their short woolly hair is rolled into 

 small round knobs, by a profuse application of the 



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