264 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
her way back to her father’s, with one whity-brown 
little boy. He has deserted her, or she him; the 
latter I believe to be the truth. She is a very good- 
looking girl. I gave her some tea, meal, and salt, 
as I was sorry for the poor thing. She is going in a 
canoe as far as the river goes, but how she will get 
across the desert I cannot conceive. She has a strong 
party of Sechele’s men ivith her, and plenty of cows, 
oxen, sheep, and goats. It is a bad business ; it will 
be the means of giving Englishmen a bad name, and 
Sechele will probably stop our coming in future. 
Hottentots are necessary evils, as they know the 
language of the natives and the line of country; 
but they are lazy, useless dogs, receiving high wages 
and doing nothing, wanting to be masters, and 
making the trek very unpleasant; but I am entirely 
dependent on them at present, and they know it. 
John left me on the veldt to-day, to find my own 
way to the wagon. I had, luckily, taken particular 
notice of the course we had come, SW.; therefore, 
of course, I must ride HE. to return. I made a good 
deal too much to the east, as I had only the sun to 
guide me, but managed to come across the wagon- 
spoor, where I found my gentleman coolly drinking 
coffee and smoking, declaring that he never heard me 
fire or shout, and thought I had ridden back. He has 
a bad countenance, is a shocking thief, and the biggest 
cur and loudest talker I ever came across. 
Lechulatebe’s State , Lake Ngarni. — 15^A.—We 
arrived here on Friday, the 11th, not until I had 
