immediately commenced between ns. The two men running off
with guns, who had occasioned among my people so much consternation,
were now found to have been, Speelman and Keyser in pursuit
of a buffalo, and who, having followed the animal between the
hills without being able to overtake it, had turned back by another
way, to meet us.
The Bushmen, now about ten or twelve in number, remained
with us till the next morning, and were entertained with a few pipes
of tobacco, and as much meat as they could devour. I observed that
the natural color of their shin was much lighter than it had appeared
to me among the other tribes of this nation which I had hitherto
examined. Whether these men kept their persons more free from
dirt, or whether they were really of a less tawny complexion than
the others, can not be positively decided; but their skin was certainly,
not much darker than that of the browner nations of Europe.
In their costume, with respect to that part of their dress which
has been already described * under the name of jackal, they had
adopted the more compact fashion of the Bichuanas; and this departure
from the genuine dress of the Hottentot race, was doubtlessly
occasioned by their proximity to, and their intercourse with, those
nations. Their stature also was larger than that of the pure Bushmen
: a circumstance which was attributable probably to a mixture
with the Koras; but certainly not to any consanguinity with the
Bachapins, as this would rather have given them a darker, than a
lighter, skin. The features also of this party, were of a more
agreeable mould. Five of them were merely boys in appearance,
yet all were completely armed; and, besides two bows at their back,
some carried in their hand a bundle of four or five hassagays.
Several wore a necklace of a new kind, composed of the seeds or
beans of one of their wild plants, ■f
At five in the afternoon we arrived at a plentiful spring of water,
surrounded by a grove of Acacias; and as Muchunka was unac*
At page 397. of the first volume,
■j- Acacia elephantina, B.
quainted with any name for it, I have been obliged to distinguish it
on the map by that of Knegt’s Fountain, in compliance with the
name which was given to it by my party in consequence.of having
at this spot buried my dog Knegt, which here was taken ill and died'.
This scene is represented by the engraving at page 260.
The Bushmen made their fire at the distance of fifty yards from
ours, where they in their own manner, cooked the meat I gave them;
and where, after having passed the evening with my Hottentots, they
laid themselves down for the night.
21 st. This fountain and the acacia grove were enlivened by
numerous small finches of a new species allied to the Wax-bill or
Astrild. Its general color was a cinereous brown, with every feather
prettily marked at the top with the transverse stripes of black and
white: the forehead, and sides of the head, were of the color of red-
lead. * It seemed to be peculiar to this region and the country
about Litakun, as I never met with it in any other part of the
continent.
Since leaving the Gariep, I had observed but few birds, excepting
in the neighbourhood of the different fountains; for, as the
smaller kinds require to drink frequently, their nature and wants
render them unfit for inhabiting those extensive arid plains which
intervene between one spring and another. From the Kora Rock-
Fountain to this place, was a distance of thirteen miles, and as no
water was to be found in all that extent, it will not, on consideration,
appear a surprising fact, that none of the smaller birds were seen
during that days-journey. This is intended as a general remark, applicable
in every similar case, to the deserts of Southern Africa.
That our cattle might have sufficient time for grazing, we delayed
yoking them to the waggons till it was nearly two hours after mid-day.
This consideration for our oxen and horses, was dictated as well by
prudence as by humanity, and appeared to be one of the essential prin-
* Loxia maculosa, B. Fusco-cinerea, plumis omnibus ad apices nigro alboquè fiusciatis.
1 rons genæque, mirnatæ, in mare ; in feminâ concoloræ. Avis ex semimbus. *parva 0«reg0aria-», victitans