1812. 
AGAINST THE NUAKKETSIES. 
50.5 
had, in the beginning of his examination, and to evade several of my 
questions, declared that, although he was then at Melitta, he was not 
himself present at the murder ; but had heard the whole account of 
it from those who actually did see it. I therefore desired him, since 
my mode of questioning was thought not agreeable, to relate, as he 
pleased, whatever he knew of the affair. He then proceeded with 
his story : it was so evidently inconsistent and contradictory, with 
respect to, not only what I had already heard from other mouths, but 
even the different parts of his own account, that the weakest credulity 
could scarcely have listened to it with patience. I, however, took 
the trouble, during this examination, of writing down his answers, as 
it was my intention, I told them, to communicate the information to 
the Cape Government : but the whole tale was dressed up in a manner, 
and attended with a degree of management, so unlike the plain and 
simple clothing and the air of truth, that I could not but feel disgusted 
at their mean and dishonorable attempts, to prejudice strangers against 
their enemies, by the base arts of falsehood. As the declaration of 
my total disbelief of Muloja's evidence, could have been productive 
of no good to any party, but rather, of danger to ourselves ; I made 
no remark on the subject, excepting that I should by the first oppor- 
tunity send a letter to Cape Town to make known what I had now 
heard. On this, the whole assembly exclaimed with great satis- 
faction, that, what I said was very good ; evidently rejoicing at the 
prospect of a great body of white-men being sent to exterminate the 
Nuakketsies. It would be useless here to repeat a fabricated tale of 
events which never took place, as I rose from the assembly with a 
strong conviction that, however little was the doubt which could be 
entertained of the melancholy fate of my unfortunate countrymen 
and their companions, the Nuakketsies were certainly not the perpe- 
trators of the crime with which their enemies the Bachapins now 
charged them. 
In consequence of the request which I had before made of Mattivi, 
that he would order his people to produce for my inspection, every 
article of European manufacture obtained from the Nuakketsies and 
VOL. II. 3 T 
