ever they wished to tnke ;i nietil» one or other of these men would
leave the party for a few minutes, and return with a large piitsa or
clay boiling-pot.
It seems by the report of my Hottentots, who have several
times had an opportunity of knowing the circumstance, that the
natives have placed pots in various parts of the country, concealed
under the bushes, to remain there for general use, or at least for the
use of their hunting parties, all of whom, probably, know the spots
where they are to be found. My knowledge ot the fact here related,
is derived only from the observation ol my Hottentots; and if it is a
common custom, it is an instance, though a solitary one, of labor
dedicated to public convenience.
I had, two days before, made an agreement with a man for the
purchase of two oxen which he said were then at his cattle-place;
and as he represented them to be very large and strong animals, I
allowed a proportionably large quantity of beads. Having gained
some experience of this people’s bad-faith, I would not pay for
them till the cattle were brought home; and accordingly, the beads
in question, were till then deposited in my waggon. But this evening
when the oxen came, they were found to be but steers and not even
full-crrown j and as they could be of no use for the purpose of drawing
my waggons, I rejected them, by briefly reminding the owner
that we had made the bargain for large cattle.
Another man, of whom I had at the same time made a similar
purchase, brought also his two oxen. Finding that they accorded
with our agreement, I was going to pay him the beads which had
been reserved as the stipulated price, though it was known to be
much above that which had been paid by former visitors; when the
by-standers, seeing that I approved of this pair, advised him to
demand more. On this he hesitated, and said, that he would not let
me have the oxen unless I gave him that quantity of beads for each :
I had then in my hand the quantity which he had before asked, as
the price of the two. As I found it would be impossible to proceed
by such a mode of dealing, I replied that unless he would accept that
which he had agreed to receive, I would not take the oxen even at a
single bead more. He was persuaded to believe that I was so much
in need, that necessity would compel me to purchase them at any
rate, in which hope, he refused to lower his demand. The beads were
therefore, again put into the waggon, and the oxen were driven home.
I record these and many other transactions equally trifling in themselves,
because they exemplify much of the national character.
It happened, the night being cold, that I came out of the waggon
to warm myself at the Hottentots’ fire, all of them being at that
hour asleep ; and, as it was my custom on such occasions to look
around to see if all was right, I discovered that the horses were
missing. Fearful that it might be an act of treachery of the natives,
I awoke some of my people to inquire into the circumstance. They
were already well acquainted with it, and had, notwithstanding, laid
themselves very composedly down to sleep, intending to search for
them in the morning ; if the lions should not have made prey of them
in the mean while.
It was again entirely through the neglect of Andries that they
had been lost: it was his day for attending the cattle at pasture, and
he had probably been lying all the time asleep under a bush, instead
of watching to prevent their straying away. The disposition of this
Hottentot, was either so careless, so worthless, or so stupid, that no
reprimand had any effect in causing him to pay more attention to
the duty which had been allotted to him. And though this duty was
the simplest and least laborious of all; being merely to watch the
cattle at pasture and drive them home in the evening; it was, in
another point of view, a very important one, as the loss of the oxen
and horses would have put an end to my journey, at least in its
present form.'
I therefore appointed Van Roye and Cornelis to take charge of
the cattle, each on alternate days, considering them to be men on
whom I might more safely depend. Hitherto no defined employment
had been assigned to these two, because the character which had been
given me with them, as baptized Hottentots and men who had
received some instruction, seemed to promise for them a conscientious
readiness to make themselves useful on every occasion • and for this
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