200 
AN ARTIFICE 
[1820. 
could recognise only a few of them, and actually 
inquired if these people belonged to our party, 
or if they had come from some neighbouring 
kraal. 
From the time of our leaving Mashow we were 
unacquainted with the number of persons that 
were travelling with us, but this evening the 
company halted nearer to each other than usual. 
There were fifteen fires, around each of which 
were little companies, roasting, boiling, and de- 
vouring flesh with disgusting voraciousness. We 
counted eighty-nine persons present, including 
ourselves, but without the Marootzee party, 
whom we expected every hour to rejoin us from 
Mashow, and which would make the number 
more than a hundred. 
A little before we halted, we saw two rhino- 
ceroses running before the waggons. We wounded 
also a quacha, which was afterwards found dead 
by Pelangye and his men. They endeavoured to 
conceal this circumstance from the others. The 
fact is, they had overheard our Hottentots tell us 
the evening before that they had severely 
v/ounded a quacha, and that he must have died ; 
but daylight being nearly over, they thought it 
loo late to pursue him. Pelangye, a tall, power- 
ful man, who was captain of the Matchappees 
from Old Lattakoo, clever, and possessed of much 
