THE BATOKAS. 
393 
2ith. — My plans are at present quite undecided. 
I think I have got nearly as far as it is possible to 
get. The country now in every direction is rugged, 
rocky, and very broken, with great hills and nume¬ 
rous rivers, and altogether an effectual barrier to any 
further attempts with a wagon ; added to which, the 
tsetse abound in all directions, and I cannot at all 
make out my whereabouts. The sun is intensely 
hot, and the nights and mornings bitterly cold. I 
think the thermometer must vary at least forty 
degrees in the twenty-four hours, and the country is 
decidedly most unhealthy at this season. Where on 
earth the elephants have got to, I cannot imagine. 
In my rambles yesterday, I came across another 
nation, calling themselves Batokas. They are horrid 
frights : it is their custom to knock out their four 
front teeth, and to file a small space between each of 
the under ones, and a more hideous lot of grinning 
wretches I never saw. I heard, as a reason for their 
thus disfiguring themselves, that they were anxious 
to resemble an ox as much as possible, that being, in 
their estimation, the noblest of animals. All the 
natives are immensely fond of cattle, but this is carry¬ 
ing their veneration rather far. I have also heard 
that they have a horror of looking like a quagga or 
zebra. Remarking on one of my fellows, they said 
he would be good-looking only for his front teeth. 
The teeth of a Kaffir are splendid, snow-white, 
sound and even, and set off the rest of his face to 
great advantage. 
