Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa

Chapter 2

Chapter 288 wordsPublic domain

of native Children for Slaves--English Traders--Alarm of the Boers--Native Espionage--The Tale of the Cannon--The Boers threaten Sechele--In violation of Treaty, they stop English Traders and expel Missionaries--They attack the Bakwains-- Their Mode of Fighting--The Natives killed and the School- children carried into Slavery--Destruction of English Property--African Housebuilding and Housekeeping--Mode of Spending the Day--Scarcity of Food--Locusts--Edible Frogs-- Scavenger Beetle--Continued Hostility of the Boers--The Journey north--Preparations--Fellow-travelers--The Kalahari Desert--Vegetation--Watermelons--The Inhabitants--The Bushmen- -Their nomad Mode of Life--Appearance--The Bakalahari--Their Love for Agriculture and for domestic Animals--Timid Character--Mode of obtaining Water--Female Water-suckers--The Desert--Water hidden.