you that he went; he did not listen to us, he has warned us and the Griquas. What are we now to do? If we flee they will overtake us; if we fight they will conquer, they are as strong as a lion, they kill and eat, they leave nothing. (Here an old man interrupted the speaker, begging him to roar aloud that all might hear.) I know ye, Batlapis," continued Moshume, "that at home and in the face of women ye are men, but women in the face of the enemy; ye are ready to run when should stand; think, think and prepare your hearts this day, be united in one, make your hearts hard." Incha, a Morolong, commenced his speech by recommending that the Batlapis should wait till the Mantatees arrived and then attack them; he had scarcely said this, when he was interrupted by Isite, a young chief, who sprang up, calling out, "No, no; who called upon you to speak foolishness? Was there ever a king or chief of the Batlapis who said you must stand up and speak? Do you intend to instruct the sons of Molehabangue? Be silent! You say you know the men, and yet you wish us to wait till they enter our town; the Mantatees are conquerors, and, if we flee, we must lose all. Hear and I will speak; let us attack the enemy where they are; if we retreat, there will be time for those in the rear to flee. We may fight and flee, and at last conquer this we cannot do if we wait till they approach our town.' This speech was loudly cheered, while Incha silently sat down. A chief, considerably advanced in years, afterwards addressed the assembly. "Ye sons of Molehabangue, ye have now had experience enough to convince you that it is your duty to proceed against the Mantatees, who have no object but to steal and destroy. Ye sons of Molehabangue! ye sons of Molehabangue! ye have done well this day. You are now acting wisely, first to deliberate and then to proceed: the missionary has discovered our danger like the rising sun after a dark night; a man sees the danger he was in when darkness shut his eyes. We must not act like Bechuanas, we must act like Makoöas (white people.) Is this our pitsho? No, it is the pitsho of the missionary; therefore we must speak and act like Makoöas." Taisho arose, and having commanded silence, was received with reiterated applause; on which an old warrior rushed furiously up to him, and holding forth his arm, called out, "Behold the man who shall speak wisdom. Be silent, be instructed; a man, a wise man has stood up to speak.' Talsho informed the preceding speaker that he was the man who charged his people with desertion in time of war. "Ye 238 THE KING'S CONCLUDING ADDRESS. cowards, ye vagabonds," he exclaimed. " deny the charge if you can. Shall I count up how often you have done so? Were I to repeat the instances, you would decamp like a chastened dog, or with shame place your head between your knees." Addressing the assembly, he said, "I do not rise to-day to make speeches, I shall wait till the day of mustering. I beseech you to reflect on what is before you, and let the subject sink deep into your hearts, that you may not turn your backs in the day of battle." Turning to the king, he said, "You are too indifferent about the concerns of your people; you are rolled up in apathy; you are now called upon to show that you are a king and a man." Then When several other speakers had delivered their sentiments, chiefly exhorting to unanimity and courage, Mothibi resumed his central position, and after the usual gesticulations, commanded silence. Having noticed some remarks of the preceding speakers, he added, "It is evident that the best plan is to proceed against the enemy, that they come no nearer; let not our towns be the seat of war; let not our houses be the scenes of bloodshed and destruction. No! let the blood of the enemy be spilt at a distance from our wives and children." Turning to the aged chief, he said, "I hear you, my father; I understand you, my father; your words are true, they are good for the ear; it is good that we be instructed by the Makoöas; I wish those evil who will not obey; I wish that they may be broken in pieces." addressing the warriors, "There are many of you who do not deserve to eat out of a bowl, but only out of a broken pot; think on what has been said, and obey without murmuring. I command you, ye chiefs of the Batlapis, Batlaros, Bamairis, Barolongs, and Bakotus, that you acquaint all your tribes of the proceedings of this day; let none be ignorant; I say again, ye warriors prepare for the battle; let your shields be strong, your quivers full of arrows, and your battle axes as sharp as hunger." "Be silent, ye Kidneyeaters,"* (addressing the old men,) "ye who are of no farther use but to hang about for kidneys when an ox is slaughtered. If your oxen are taken, where will you get any more?" Turning to the women, he said, "Prevent not the warrior from going out to battle by your cunning insinuations. No, rouse the warrior to glory, and he will return with honourable scars, fresh marks of valour will cover his * Kidneys are eaten only by the aged, and young people will not taste them on any account, from the superstitious idea that they can have no children if they do so. THE GRIQUAS ARRIVE. 239 thighs, and we shall then renew the war-song and dance, and relate the story of our conquest." At the conclusion of this speech the air was rent with acclamations, the whole assembly occasionally joining in the dance; the women frequently taking the weapons from the hands of the men and brandishing them in the most violent manner, people of all ages using the most extravagant and frantic gestures for nearly two hours. CHAPTER XXII. DURING the interval of eleven days which elapsed before assistance could arrive from Griqua Town, very great uneasiness prevailed on the station, and most of our heavy goods were packed and buried, that we might not be encumbered should flight become inevitable.* As it had been frequently reported that there were white men among the invaders, when the commando, consisting of about a hundred horsemen, arrived, it was the general opinion that I ought to accompany them; as, having some knowledge of the language, my presence might have more influence in bringing about a treaty; and Mr. Melvill, government agent at Griqua Town, having arrived with the intention of accompanying the commando, we started on the following day. Before leaving, we all met to pray for divine counsel, which we felt we greatly needed. The future appeared dark and portentous, and we were convinced that nothing but an Almighty power could preserve the country from an impending man on * Mr. Thompson, who, with a guide, reconnoitred the movements of the Mantatees whom he witnessed entering Old Lithako, returned to the colony to give information of the near approach of so powerful an enemy. He had taken the liveliest interest in the whole affair as well as in the welfare of the mission, which endeared him not only to us, but to the natives, who had very characteristically described him as a whom the light of day might shine. His kind and generous disposition sympathised with us in our anxieties and troubles, which at the same time afforded him opportunities of forming a correct estimate of our real situation and danger, which he has so well described in his "Travels," long before the public. ruin, by arresting the progress of those whose feet were swift to shed blood. A blessing on the means of preventing its further effusion was earnestly implored, and if recourse must be had to violent measures, that the heads of those engaged might be shielded in the day of battle. Having bivouacked at the Matluarin River, Waterboer, the Griqua chief, I, and a few others, mounted our horses, after dark, rode forward for about four hours, and then halted among some trees till morning. At day-break we again proceeded till we came within sight of the enemy, who were Îying a short distance south of the town of Lithako. A second and more numerous division occupied the town itself. Our first impressions were, on seeing an immense black surface on the opposite declivity, from which many small columns of smoke were arising, that the bushes and grass had been set on fire during the night; but on closer inspec tion were startled to find it the camp of one portion of the enemy containing a mass of human beings. As we drew nearer, we saw that we were discovered, and considerable confusion prevailed. The war axes and brass ornaments could be distinctly seen glittering in the sun. Waterboer and I rode up to a young woman whom we saw in one of the ravines. In reply to our question, made in the Bechuana language, she said that the invaders had come from a distant country, but would give no farther information. She was gathering the pods of the acacia, and eating them; which, as well as her appearance indicated the most extreme want. Having told her who we were, and that our object was to speak to the people, and not to fight, we gave her some food, and a piece of tobacco,—requesting her to go and apprise them of our wishes. We then advanced within two musket shots of the enemy, where we found, reclining under a small rock, an old man and his son; the latter without the least signs of animation, while the father could scarcely articulate that he too was dying from hunger. We could only learn from this object of pity, that the people to whom he belonged were the common enemy so much dreaded. We remained here for about half an hour, to allow the young woman ample time to inform the main body, and at the same time to convince the enemy we were not afraid of them, nor disposed to injure them. In the mean time we despatched one of our men to give information to the commando, who were about twenty miles behind. On looking around in search of water, we saw the dead bodies (reduced to skeletons) of several of the enemy, who had come to the pool to drink, and there expired; one lying partly in the element with which we had to quench our thirst. While standing, we observed that all the cattle were collected and inclosed in the centre of the multitude. No one came near us, except a few warriors, who, in a threatening attitude, dared our approach, but whose spears fell short of the mark. It had been agreed that one of our number, and I, after advancing within a short distance of the enemy, should dismount, and go forward unarmed, and invite two or three of them to come and speak with us. This plan, however, was entirely defeated. We had all just approached within a hundred yards, and two of us were just about leaving our saddles, when the savages uttered a hedious yell; and I had hardly time to say, "Be upon your guard, they are preparing to attack," when several hundred armed men rushed forward in a furious manner, throwing their weapons with such velocity, that we had scarcely time to turn our terrified steeds, and gallop clear of them. Having retreated a few hundred yards, we stopped, and stood perfectly astonished at their savage fury. Seeing no possible means of bringing them to a parley, we retired to a height at a short distance, but within view of the enemy. we remained the whole day, and, to supply our wants, shot two khoris, called by the colonists wild peacock, a species of bustard, which we very thankfully roasted and ate. We, at a very great risk, sent the horses to the water,-all to inspire confidence in the Mantatees, that some one might be influenced to draw near,-but none approached. At sunset Here I left Waterboer and the scouts, and rode back, to confer with Mr. Melvill and the other Griqua chiefs, and to devise some scheme to bring the enemy to terms of peace, and prevent, if possible, the dreadful consequences of a battle. The Griquas had come, headed by their respective chiefs, Adam Kok, Berend Berend, Andries Waterboer, and Cornelius Kok; but it was unanimously agreed that Waterboer should take the command. Cornelius, nobly and generously, insisted on my taking his best horse, urging that my life was far more valuable than his. This kind act was the more sensibly felt as the horse was one of the strongest in the commando; and but for this circumstance, I could not have done what I did, nor, humanly speaking, could I have escaped with my life. Having spent an almost sleepless night on the plain, from extreme cold, we were all in motion next morning before daylight. The attempt made the preceding day to bring |