S4 TRAVELS IN 
liberate and blood-thirfty ruffians the peafantry of the Cape 
are compofed. 
Extract of a letter written from the Sneuwberg, the 29th 
day of January 1803, figned O. A. S. Meyer, and addreffed to 
Cornelis de Kok, in Cape Town. 
*' I am going to Inform you of fomething that happened on 
" the 6th of December 1802. About the evening three Bof- 
*' jefmans came to the houfe of the Burger Cornelis Janfen, 
" having with them three pack-oxen [draag-ojfen) ; the faid 
" Janfen immediately reported it to the commandant (F<fA/- 
" Cornet)^ who inftantly fent an armed party [commando) to his 
" houfe. On the following day, being the 7th, there came 
" twelve more to them, having three guns and three pack-oxen ; 
" all the reft were well armed with bows, arrows, and haffagays. 
" The commandant Berger went himfelf to Janfen's in the 
** morning to a{k the reafon of their coming there, when he 
" difcovered that eight of them were Koranas and feven Bof- 
** jefmans. Being afked by the party what they came to do, 
'* they faid that they were come to beg a little dacha [hemp) and 
** tobacco. The commandant had the fame anfwer, but be 
** underjlood the way to quejlion them fo clofely, that he brought 
** them to open confejjion (by horrid tortures no doubt), that they 
" came to examine how their farms (plaatzen) were to be at- 
** tacked ; and alfo to fee if there was water enough to come 
" with a great troop. Being afked who had fent them, they 
*' anfwered Triiter and the Englifh miflionary Kicherer^ in or- 
" der to fpy the places, and return to the kraal whtere Kicberer 
" and 
