of the Dutch word, just as I had spoken it, and then explain what
I meant to declare by it. It would not be an unreasonable supposition,
were it to be concluded from this circumstance that gratitude
is not of frequent occurrence among these nations ; they have,
however, a mode of making known the satisfaction they feel at receiving
a gift, by telling the giver that he is mondati (good) or that
p'elu § mondati (the heart is good). But it is doubtful whether the
latter expression mean the heart of the giver or of the receiver ; as
either may be supposed with equal propriety.
Mattivi said much more to me, expressive of his satisfaction
and of his good-will towards me, but Muchunka was too lazy, or
too bungling, an interpreter to explain it. He mentioned, that if Gert,
whom he looked upon as my upper-servant, should wish during my
absence, to come back to Litakun to barter, he would always protect
him, and let him have fine oxen, if he would bring his beads to
nobody but himself or Serrakutu, whom the chief called his great
friendT. hi•s unexpected favor, though a mere promise, pleased the
Hottentot so much, that he felt now warmed with gratitude, and
thanked me for having brought him to a place where he met with
so friendly a welcome; for, as he had intended ultimately to make
Klaarwater his place of residence and take a new wife from there,
and had heard the Hottentots of that village talk of the profits they
made by trading at Litakun, he now began to think of doing the same;
and his timidity actually left him for at least four-and-twenty hours.
I was given to understand, that it was expected I should barter
my beads at this place, and that if I did not, the Chief would think
that I intended taking them to some other town ; an act which would
be highly displeasing to him. I therefore desired the interpreter,
and my own people, to impress the natives with the idea that I had
but a small quantity of beads or tobacco in my waggon.
I therefore determined on satisfying them to a certain degree, as
far as this bartering could be rendered useful to me on the journey. In
my original plan it was thought necessary, in such an expedition, to
have a double team ; but by the purchase of a second waggon there
was now but a single team left for each, and this number was still
further reduced by the loss of two oxen supposed to have been
destroyed by the lions: so that we were obliged to put the same
cattle into the yoke every day ; and, should the country prove mountainous
or very sandy, we should be reduced, by want of. strength, to
the alternative of proceeding at so slow a rate of travelling, that, in
a region deficient in springs or rivers, we might perish before we could
reach water: and, in addition to these unfavorable chances, we might
occasionally lose an ox by accident or sickness. Another point was
not to be overlooked in calculating the probability of events; ■— after
the sheep, of which there were only three remaining, should be consumed,
it might happen that we met with no game, or that our
huntings were unsuccessful; in which case we should be driven to
the necessity of occasionally killing one of our i!rauglu.-oxen. In
this view of our circumstances, I saw that prudence called upon me
to provide against these chances and to secure the means of prosecuting
the long and unknown journey before us.
Under these considerations I saw no objection to bartering away
as much of my stock of beads, as would procure the number of
oxen thus required; and I sat up till a late hour of the night, taking
advantage of the time when all the natives were asleep, to arrange
my beads and merchandise ready for commencing trade, after having
first submitted them to the inspection of the Chief and his family.
15th. It was only by a stratagem that time could be found for
writing my journal; — I ordered my people to keep all strangers
away from my waggon, by telling them that I had been much
fatigued, and that, until I made my appearance in public and the
waggon was thrown open, they were always to suppose that I was
then asleep and must not be disturbed. In the mean time, I was
busily employed in writing in my sleeping-place, the only part where
I could keep myself undiscovered. For, as I remained thus occupied
till noon, Mattivi and several of the chieftains were cunning enough
to suspect that it might be only a trick to keep myself alone; and
they therefore, as they walked by the end of the waggon, peeped in
to ascertain the truth: but when they saw that I was not in my
VOL. II. 3 F