1811. ' FOR THE JOURNEY. J52 
farewell to his comrades, many of whom would gladly have followed 
him, and hastened away to take possession of his new office. 
His name was Philip Willems. He was of small and compact 
figure, not above five feet high, steady and measured in his motions ; 
of a countenance possessing somewhat of a melancholy cast, and of a 
complexion rather darker than the generality of his nation. He was, 
however, a genuine Hottentot, and seemed to be about thirty years 
of age. His nose was very much depressed, so that the mouth or 
lips projected beyond it ; and the chin was narrow, and cheek-bones 
high, like all of his race ; but the forehead had a good elevation. 
His hair, which had been lately cut, resembled nothing more than 
very small tufts of black wool, sprinkled over the skull so thinly, 
that the bare skin might be seen between them. He had scarcely 
any beard, excepting on the upper lip, where it was short and 
woolly. His eyes would be considered small, if measured by Eu- 
ropean proportions, but were rather large for a Hottentot: they 
exhibited a good deal of animation, the pupils being of a bright 
black, although the surrounding part of the ball was of a yellowish 
white. He seemed on this occasion to possess some vivacity and 
shrewdness ; and I readily allowed myself to believe that I had now 
hired a man on whose qualifications and fidelity I might rely. 
I appointed him to be the foreman of the party, as well as the 
driver of my waggon ; a post of dignity with which he appeared 
much pleased. After examining every particular part of the waggon 
with the same ceremony and attention as had been done by Magers 
and Jan Kok, he set himself to work to put the various apparatus in 
readiness for travelling. 
His uniform, musket, and accoutrements having been given up 
to the regiment, my first care was to clothe him, and furnish him 
with bedding. Amongst the different articles of his equipment, he 
was most proud of a large watch-coat, in which, I believe, he fancied 
that he looked as big and important as a Dutch boor. 
I commissioned him to make enquiry among the Hottentots 
of his acquaintance, for the number of men still wanting to make up 
Y 
