AFRICA. 271 
bouchis,they could not get any more iron from 
them, though they were In great want of 
that commodity. They then begged me to 
give them fome, the ordinary requeft of thefe 
poor wretches, which I little expefted; but I 
anfwered their ungracious petition with a 
mortifying refufal. 
To indemnify them, I diftributed amongfl: 
them all my beads, toys, tinder-boxes, tinder, 
and a large quantity of tobacco; In retura 
for which they begged me to accept a couple 
of their oxen : I however replied, that inftead 
of taking from them a bleffing fo valuable to 
unfortunate people, I wifhed rather to be in 
a fituation that might enable me to augment 
the number of their cattle. This m'ark of 
kindnefs touched them the more, as they 
confider the white people to be the moft dan^ 
gerous and mifchievous beings in the world. 
With that ingenuous and fincere modefty 
which is ever afraid of hurting thofe on 
whom it beftows praife, they made a confef« 
fion to me which remained long imprinted 
in my memory : Hans declared to me, in 
their name, and in very energetic terms, that 
I refembled the only worthy man of my race 
whom they bad ever met with ; fome years 
before 
