AT JOUBERT’S. 
149 
returning to England. I was much amused last night 
at my Kaffirs trading with the Maccateese for ostrich 
feathers ; they could not understand one word of each 
other’s language, and my fellows were trying to make 
them believe buttons were money, and would buy of 
the white man cows, horse, or gun, and eventually 
succeeded in buying a lot of black feathers for ten 
buttons. I lost my supper in waiting to see the re¬ 
sult. The Maccateese brought heaps of mealie kops 
to make a big light lest they should be cheated, and 
went through the most frightful gesticulations. 
15 th .—Bought some meal, oranges, potatoes and 
dry peaches, the latter very cheap, 2s. a stable bucket- 
full ; left Younkman behind dead lame in the hip ; 
outspanned for the night at a Boer’s. 
1.6 fA.—Of course my oxen had been on the land, 
my dogs had eaten the frau’s soup, and I must 
pay damages. I gave some lead, coffee and sugar, 
as they were decent people, barring stealing my curb- 
chain, which is a great nuisance, as I cannot replace 
it. Arrived about mid-day at Joubert’s, to whom I 
lent four oxen in Natal when he was on his last legs; 
received a most hearty welcome, but he has only a 
hartebeest house made of reeds, and the good wife 
was sorry she had nothing in the world to give 
us but flesh, and set us down to a large dish full 
of broiled wildebeest—rather poor fare for a weary 
traveller, but I had still some biscuits left, and we 
made out pretty well. The repast was hardly ac¬ 
cording to English notions ; but I am well used now 
