NOHOKOTSA. 
4r> 
children, which cost about £200, and presented it to us, 
saying he thought Mrs. Livingstone had a right to th* 
jraine of her own preserves. 
Foiled in this second attempt to reach Sehituane, we 
returned again to Kolobeng, whither we were soon followed 
by a number of messengers from that chief himself. When 
ho heard of our attempts to visit him, he despatched throe 
detachments of his men with thirteen brown cows to 
Lechulatebe, thirteen white cows to Sokomi, and thirteen 
hlack cows to Sechele, with a request to each to assist the 
white men to reach him. Their policy, however, was to 
keep him out of view, and act as his agents in purchasing 
with his ivory the goods he wanted. This is thoroughly 
African; and that continent being without friths and arms 
°f the sea, the tribes in the centre have always been de- 
barred from European intercourse by its universal preva- 
lence among all the people around the coasts. 
Before setting out on our third journey to Sehituane, it 
Was necessary to visit Kuruman; and Sechele, eager, for 
l he sake of the commission thereon, to get the ivory of 
that chief into his own hands, allowed all the messengers 
to leave before our return. Sekomi, however, was more 
than usually gracious, and oven furnished us with a guide, 
but no one knew the path beyond Nchokotsa which we 
intended to follow. When wo reached that point, we found 
that the n ainspring of the gun of another of his men, 
'tbo was well acquainted with the Bushmen, through whoso 
country we should pass, had opportunely broken. I never 
“ndortook to mend a gun with greater zest than this; for, 
Qnder promiso of his guidance, wo went to the north in- 
®tead of westward. All the other guides were most libo- 
rall y rewarded by Mr. Oswell. 
We passed quickly over a hard country, which is porfoctly 
A little soil lying on calcareous tufa, over a tract of 
Several hundreds of miles, supports a vegetatior of fine, 
^ not short grass, and mopane and baobab trees. 
We found a great nurnbor of wells in this tufa. A plane 
