528 
CAFFRARIA. 
rain came. Gika frequently sent afterwards to the doctor at 
Bethelsdorp, to send rain to his country. 
Mr. Read mentioned, that upon one occasion, while he 
was conversing with Gika, two boys roasted some beef for 
him ; one cut it into pieces when it was roasted, and the 
other put it into his mouth. 
When Messrs. Vanderkemp and Read visited Gika, he 
took a fancy for an old dog belonging to one of their Hot- 
tentots who accompanied them, for which he offered the 
Hottentot a cow, to which he very readily consented. 
Dr. Vanderkemp remarked to the king, that he was giving a 
very extravagant price for the dog, as it was old and without 
teeth. O, said Gika, I shall give him a cow without teeth also. 
The Caffre chiefs may be considered as the nobility of that 
country, such as those in Europe when the feudal system 
prevailed. They are numerous, and possess considerable 
power and influence, but are all subordinate to king Gika, 
and probably were most of them raised to that rank by him 
or his predecessors. 
The only way the chiefs have of checking the king*s 
power is by withdrawing from his dominions, and carrying 
their people along with them. As no king likes to be 
without subjects, this practice has often led to an ac- 
commodation. 
Congo, a chief who formerly lived within the limits of the 
colony, was the first to shake off the power of Gika, and be- 
come an independent chief ; but to the day of his death he, 
in various ways, acknowledged a kind of dependence on him. 
Cobus Congo, his son, must now be completely subject to 
Gika, since he has been driven from the colony to the terri- 
tory of Gika, by the English government. 
Congo was sick in the time of the war with the colony. 
For safety, his friends carried him from his Kraal to the 
middle of a wood, very difficult of access, there being only a 
very narrow path. A commando of boors discovered the 
track, and came to the spot, where Congo, his son, and a 
few of his principal men, were all lying fast asleep. It is 
reported that the commando did not awake them, but shot 
them all dead while they were asleep. 
Congo named one of his sons Tinkhana, after Dr. Van- 
derkemp; he is now about ten years of age. The mother, 
who was very fond of the doctor, is still proud of her son 
bearing his name. 
Yelloosa, another Caffre chief, followed the example of 
Congo, threw off his dependence on Gika, and retired with 
