inftantly fet off on full gallop, and in a moment found our-
felves in the middle o f the kraal. Day was but juft beginning
to break ; and by the faint light I could difcover only a few
ftraw-mats, bent each between two flicks, into a femicircular
form ; but our ears were ftunned with a horrid fcream like the
war-hoop of favages ; the ffirieking of women and the cries of
children proceeded from every fide. I rode up with the commandant
and another farmer, both o f whom fired upon the
kraal. I immediately expreffed to the former my very great
furprife that he, of all Others, ihould have been the firft to
break a condition, which he had folemnly promifed to obferve
and that I had expedted from him a very different kind of con-
dua. “ Good God !” he exclaimed, “ have you not feen a
“ fliower of arrows falling among us?” I certainly had feen
neither arrows nor people, but had heard enough to pierce the
hardeft heart ; and I peremptorily infilled that neither he nor
any o f his party ihould fire another fhot. In juftification of
their conduà they began to fearch on the ground for the
arrows, a fearch in which they were encouraged to continue,
in order to give the poor wretches a little time to fcrambfe
away among the detached fragments o f rocks and the ihrub-
bery that flood on the fide of the heights. On their promifes
I could place no fort of dépendance, knowing that, like true
fportfmen when game was fprung, they could not withhold
their fire. O f this I was prefently convinced by the report of
a mufquet on the oppofite fide of the hill; and, on riding
round the point, I perceived a Bosjefman lying dead upon the
ground. It appeared that as one o f our party, who could fpeak
their language, was endeavouring to prevail upon the favages
to
to come down from the heights, this Bosjefman had ftolen
dole to him behind a rock, and was taking deliberate aim with
his drawn bow, which another of the colonifts perceiving,
levelled his mufquet and fliot him dead. It had been hoped
the affair would happily have been accompliihed without the
ihedding of human blood, and that the views of the expedition
would have met with no interruption from an accident of fuch
a nature. They foon perceived, however, that there was no
attempt to purlue them up the heights, which could eafily have
been done ; but that on the contrary the party had laid down
their arms and turned their horfes out to graze. Upon this,
in a ihort fpace of timé, feveral little children came down upon
the plain; Among thefe we diftributed fome bifcuits and other
trifles, and then fuffered them to return: prefently afterwards
the women and young girls, to the number o f thirty or forty,
came towards us, not without fymptoms of fear. Thefe being
treated in the fame manner, were fent back to defire their huf-
bands would alfo come down in order to receive a pre&nt of
tobacco. The men, however, had lefs confidence in the
Chriftians than the women. They hovered a long time round
the fummit of the hill, doubting what ftep they ihould take ;
and the women had gone and returned, at leaft a dozen times,
before they were able to prevail upon one man to defcend ;
and when at laft he ventured to come down, he approached us
half-laughing, half-crying, trembled and adted juft like a
frightened child. A large piece o f tobacco was immediately
given to him, and he was fent back to his companions to let
them know there was alfo a prefent for each o f them. Three
others muftered refolution to come down to us, but no more
n n chofe