>775- elude the day. We likewife paid a vifit to them that December. ; p x morning, but foon found it more prudent to return to our waggon again ; as a great number o f them now came to pay their refpedts to us, and at the fame time became more troublelome than ever, by importuning us for tobacco. I do not know whether I ihould look upon it as a mark of the greateft iimplicity, or as a witty and ingenious compliment in one of them, who delired my interpreter to tell me, that he had never feen a waggon before, and therefore wilhed me to inform him, whether mine had grown up in the fame ftate in which he then iaw it. In the mean while, in order to obtain a truce from their tirefome practice o f peftering us for tobacco, we excited their aftoniihment by ihewing them our watches, f even attempted to acquire fome refpedt from thefe people, as not being without fome knowledge o f magic. This, it may well be fuppofed, did not proceed from any mifplaced ambition, but rather from motives of prudence, and with a view by this means o f curbing their growing defires, which might probably terminate in fome bold attempts on the iron-work o f our Waggon, 8cc. For this 'purpofe I bid thefe Hottentots, and at the fame time my own, endeavour to take -feme quickfilver with their fingers out of a parcel o f it Which I had brought with me. The various attempts they made ftill proving abortive, excited in them the greaT- eft aftoniihment, and proved an inexhauftible fubjedt to them o f converfation and laughter. Afterwards, to their utter amazement,-I took out feveral globules o f quick- 7 filVer, filver, having previoufly, unperceived by them,"rubbed D^ ^ r- my fingers over with tallow. Neither did I omit aftonilh- ing thefe fimple fwains, with the wonderful magnetic properties of the needle belonging to my compafs. I remember, indeed, having read fomewhere o f a certain great commander, who, being in America, in order to intimidate the natives, and make them behave peaceably, fet fire to fome brandy, which they took for water, at the fame time threatening to fet fire to their rivers and bum them u p ; but I had no occafion to have recourfe to extremities, as the miracles I had before performed, feemed already to have deterred them from attempting any hofti- lities.— It was particularly from thefe baftard Caffres, that I got the Caffre words, which are to be found at the end o f this volume. The government of this community, was faid to be chiefly vefted in a man, who at the fame time was pointed out to me as being the richeft among them. He held this office by inheritance, and appeared to be a fober, fedate, middle aged man. His manner difcovered no particular preeminence or authority; on the contrary, he had more trouble with the milking than any o f the reft. So that riches, even among the uncultivated Hottentots, are attended with uneafinefs and trouble. There was another perfon here, whofe bufy manneF, continual chattering and gefticulation, plainly denoted, that he was a man in office, and o f fome confequence. In fa<ft, be was the forcerer (as they term it) o f the community ; and confequently, by virtue o f his office, was mafter of the F a cere
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