ARRIVAL AT THE FRONTIER. 
367 
2 ftth.—Lobatse .—Reached Merico on the 21st, and 
found my oxen all in prime condition. Meercat and 
Ngami, my two youngsters, also show signs of good 
caring for. I left all my jaded oxen behind in the 
charge of a German missionary, Zimmerman by 
name ; he is a good Samaritan, and took every possible 
care of the last batch. Four more are dead of lung 
sickness, and three others will follow their steps 
shortly, I fear. 
I laid in a great store of mealies, pumpkins, 
corn and meal, tobacco, dry peaches, potatoes, and 
onions, all in barter for rice, tea, coffee, and sugar, 
and made a sheep into sausages. There was a 
great harvest this year in Merico, and I found plenty 
of everything. 
When I arrived at the frontier, commandants, 
field cornets, and all officers appertaining to the ad¬ 
ministration of Boer government, had gone to a public 
sale of sheep, cattle, and land, some eighty or a hun¬ 
dred miles off, a very rich Boer having most oppor¬ 
tunely for me departed this life, and I was annoyed by 
no one, and might, as it happened, have had a wagon 
load of powder and lead ; but my 100 lbs., for which I 
have a permit, is my all. 
Yesterday, I had a fit of the blues, in consequence 
of my old Kaffirs, Tanga and Matakitakit, leaving me. 
The former I have had off and on for eight years, and 
the latter has been with me the last five years, con¬ 
stantly, in all my long rambles into the interior ; and 
I am really sorry to lose them, as they knew my 
