with me till we arrived at Klaarwater; and afterwards of engaging
himself for the journey onwards.
20th. With respect to the long journey before us, none of the.
men were acquainted with my intentions ; and I now thought it
time to ascertain the degree of willingness with which they would
enter into my plan. Without being directly informed of this, they
were told that my object was to penetrate far into the interior of the
country, and that we should, most probably, be a long time absent.
To this none made the least objection; but, seemingly pleased at
the idea of a rambling life, and in high spirits at finding themselves
now in the midst of a, kraal of people of their own nation, they
declared that even a twelvemonth’s journey would not exhaust either
their patience or their strength. This declaration was most agreeable
and satisfactory, as I had calculated that it would be possible to
reach the Portuguese settlements on the western coast, in nearly that
time.
I distributed amongst them various useful articles, and assured
them that whatever could be supplied for their comfort should
always be freely given, as long as our stores lasted; and that they
would never be put forward into hardships which I would not myself
participate in. I thought it proper, while we were on such good
terms with each other, to state, without reserve, that, although they
might confidently depend on my never feeling dissatisfied with any
of them, so long as he conducted himself to the best of his ability
and judgment; yet, as it was indispensably necessary for the general
safety, that each one should zealously do that part of the duty which
had been allotted to him, that they might feel equally certain that
I should not overlook any wilful neglect.
This mutual declaration • created a perfect confidence on both
sides; and there appeared to be established betwixt us, a correct
understanding, and cordial good-will. To confirm and strengthen
this, I permitted them, without restraint, to visit their new friends
at the kraal during our stay.
My work confined me the whole day to the waggon, but I
received innumerable visits from the Hottentots of the village.
They introduced themselves first by a salutation of Dag Mynheer! *
and then proceeded to admire the make and strength of the waggon
; which, although I was sitting within, writing, they unceremoniously
shook, in order to know whether it ran lightly or heavily.
One, having satisfied himself of its good qualities, proposed to exchange,
waggons with me, and foolishly offered to give ten oxen into
the bargain, although his own was quite new, and just arrived from
the Cape: he was much yexed at his proposal being rejected.
Another offered his services as huntsman during my stay at the
Kloof, for which he wished to have, as a remuneration,. the half of
the game he might shoot. Some experience which I had acquired
on the journey, induced me to suspect that, after supplying him
with a great deal more powder than he would use, I should get only
a share of my share of the game. The value of gunpowder naturally
increases in the proportion of the distance from Cape Town ; and it
was already become too valuable, and of too much importance, to
allow us to waste a single charge. On declining his services, he still
continued, for some time, begging for ammunition. Many others
solicited, with equal importunity, for the same article, but with no
better success.
Each- visitor, as soon as a few minutes had passed after the first
salutation, and a few of my questions answered, began to beg strenuously
for some article in the waggon ; and, when that was refused,
asked, unabashed, for something else: for it appeared that nothing
would come amiss, and that every thing they saw, seemed, in their
With respect to the "pronunciation of the various Dutch »¿mes which occur in these
travels, thefollowing remarks should have been added to those contained in the note at pagel5
of this volume. The D at the end of words, or syllables, may be pronounced as a T ;
and the G, in similar situation^, as a K. The G has a peculiar guttural sound, especially
at the commencement of words; but which there is no necessity, for the present purpose,
to aim at acquiring. It may be partly represented by imagining such words spelled with
a Gh. The V. at the beginning of words may be spoken as if it were an F; and the Z in
like places sounds as an S.
By attending to these precepts,, together with those for the vowels at page 15, the
English reader may, if not approach to a correct ponunciation, at least avoid a ridiculous
one.