KAFFIR PUNISHMENTS. 
249 
u In all tribes governed solely by their own 
laws, it is a matter of surprise to Europeans, 
that those offences which they consider very 
small indeed, are regarded by the natives as of 
considerable magnitude. The severe punish- 
ments inflicted for these, which civilised men 
even ridicule as unworthy of notice, are, how- 
ever, the foundation of that order in which they 
are kept ; and, by a strict observance of those 
customs, greater crimes are prevented. 
"Thus, when natives enter the service of Eu- 
ropeans, and begin to understand that these very 
customs, which hold them in check among their 
own people, are ridiculed, the restraints are 
broken down, and they soon commit offences 
which cannot be overlooked. 
prisoner made a very eloquent defence, and urged therein, that from 
the length of the wound, it was quite impossible that a man could 
have inflicted it. He was heard throughout patiently, but when he 
finished, an old " umpukati" cross-examined him, thus: — 
Q. Where did the goring ox's tail grow ? A. On its rump. 
Q. How did it grow there ? Up or down, or at the side ? A. Down. 
Q. Where did its horns grow ? A. On the head. 
Q. How did they grow there ? Up or down, or at the side ? 
A. Up. 
Q. If then that ox gored the other, to do so, he would have to 
put his head down, and tear up, would he not ? A. Yes. 
Q. He could not tear down, could he ? A. No. 
Now examine the wound, and see where the first incision was 
made, at the top, or at the bottom ? He answered, with reluctance, 
The wound is largest at the bottom. 
Finding, The ox was stabbed, not gored, the prisoners are guilty. 
Sentence, Each to be fined two cows. This judgment was received 
with great applause. 
