In the course of our journeys, Moselekatse manifested great anxiety to convince me that the ruined towns we passed were the remains of former ages, and not the spoliations of his warriors; and in this instance he was correct. When we reached the Mosega Basin, in which one portion of his warriors dwelt, among thirteen villages, six of which were Bahurutsi, who appeared to be tolerably well treated, he took great pains to point out this to me, as a proof of the benignity of his sway.

Dr. Smith and party having returned from one trip, I rode to Tolane, forty miles distant, and after an interesting meeting, and a day's social converse with the Doctor, I returned to Mosega, to prepare for leaving the country, while the Expedition proceeded towards the tropics. Having received letters by messengers sent to the Kuruman, including one from the American missionaries, proposing to commence a mission among the Matabele, I laid the subject before Moselekatse, to which he gave his cordial ment, not having a shot of ball in my gun. I moved about as if in search of something on the grass, taking care to retreat at the same time. After getting, as I thought, a suitable distance to turn my back, I moved somewhat more quickly; but in my anxiety to escape what was behind, I did not see what was before, until startled by treading on a large cobra de capello serpent, asleep on the grass. It instantly twirled its body round my leg, on which I had nothing but a thin pair of trowsers, when I leaped from the spot, dragging the venomous and enraged reptile after me, and while in the act of throwing itself into a position to bite, without turning round, I threw my piece over my shoulder, and shot it. Taking it by the tail, I brought it to my people at the wagons, who, on examining the bags of poison, asserted, that had the creature bitten me, I could never have reached the wagons. The serpent was six feet long.

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assent.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE COUNTRY.

Thus having settled everything necessary respecting future measures, and surveyed the country to find large timber for the roof of our new place of worship, I returned to the Kuruman, to record again the goodness and mercy which had encompassed me and all the mission families during my absence, Mrs. M.'s health also being much improved.

Before concluding this chapter, I would only observe, that the countries I visited on the present as well as on my former journey to Moselekatse, are the finest I have seen in Southern Africa, and capable of supporting a dense population, which they evidently once did. The soil is exceedingly fertile, and minerals abound. Iron ore lies scattered over the surface of the hills, many of which appear to be entirely composed of it. This ore the natives contrive, with the simplest apparatus, to smelt, and from it they procure iron of a very superior quality. I have seen little hills composed entirely of loadstone, and from experiment found that every fragment possessed a north and a south pole. Copper mines also abound, and from some specimens I saw, would yield about fifty per cent. The Bakone country also yields tin. The mines of this metal I had no opportunity of seeing, but the specimens of moruru, as it is called, which I purchased from the natives, were of the best quality. The country of the Bamanguato and to the east of the great lake is not without timber, but water is scarce. The neighbourhood of the lake itself is reported to be exceedingly fertile.

CHAPTER XXXII.

A journey for timber-The Mission to Mosega resumed-Moselekatse and the farmers-Prospects among the Bakone tribes-Native agency-An itinerating tour-A visit to Mosheu-His first visit to the station-A second visit-Desire for instructionArrive at the village-Eagerness to hear the Gospel-A curious preacher-Anxiety to learn to read-Teaching the alphabet by moonlight-"Auld lang syne"-Departure-Pleasing fruits-The power of pacific principles- A merchant settles on the stationThe chapel opened-Mothibi's conversion-Concluding remarks.

THE Tract Society having kindly supplied us with sixteen reams of paper, Mr. Edwards had, during my absence, printed several tracts in the language, translated by himself and Mr. Lemue. I had, on my

journey, translated the Assembly's Catechism, and an additional portion of the Scripture Lessons; these also were put to the press, while the work of conversion was steadily advancing among the people, and the demand for books rapidly on the increase. Having, from the troublous state of the interior, failed in a former attempt to procure timber from the Bahurutsi, we availed ourselves of the present tranquillity, and Messrs. Hamilton and Edwards started with men, and all the wagons, for that purpose; obtained the timber with great labour, and, what was a no less arduous task, brought it a distance of two hundred miles in ox-wagons. As they returned, they met with the Expedition at Mosega.

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MISSION AT MOSEGA.

When Dr. Smith* arrived at the Kuruman, he found Mrs. M. in such a debilitated state that he considered it necessary for her to avoid the summer heat, by visiting the coast for a few months. The printing of the Scripture Lessons had been greatly retarded from the want of paper, sickness in the mission families, and the late journeys. She was as reluctant as I could be that it should be longer delayed, and therefore cheerfully undertook the journey without me, and was absent seven months. She went down to Graham's Town, under the guardianship of Mr. Hume, a trader, who was in the habit of visiting the station.

Early in 1836, our American brethren, Messrs. Lindley, Venables, and Dr. Wilson, after sojourning a season at Griqua Town, and on our station, removed to Mosega,-where, after a season of deep domestic affliction, every member of the mission families, except Dr. Wilson, having taken a fever, of which Mrs. Wilson died, their prospects were unexpectedly blasted by an inroad of some disaffected farmers, who had located themselves on the Yellow River. pears that the farmers had hunted on what Moselekatse considered his dominions, and had used some people who acknowledged his authority rather roughly. This the haughty monarch would not brook, and sent his men more than once to attack them; and on one occasion a desperate conflict ensued, when the farmers

It ap

Dr. A. Smith, the head of that Expedition, is at present in this country, publishing his work on South African Zoology, and intends, ere long, to give to the public his Travels, a work which the author has no hesitation in asserting will prove an abundant source of deeply interesting scientific information. The author is indebted to Dr. Smith for some of the sketches in this volume.

MOSELEKATSE AND THE FARMERS.

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repulsed their assailants, who, seizing the cattle, retired with them, leaving many of their number dead on the spot where they had intended to massacre the farmers. Exasperated at this, the latter came down in a large body on the mission premises, in rather savage style; and there being only a handful of Matabele in the Mosega Basin, these were cut off; and the farmers, with the cattle they had seized, made a precipitate retreat to the Yellow or Orange River, taking with them the American missionaries, who were so dispirited by the effects of disease, as to be scarcely able to judge how they should act. The latter were prevailed on to leave their property behind, except that which the farmers took for their own use. Thus was the mission to Mosega again broken up. Into the merits of the case we do not pretend to enter. It was altogether a melancholy affair, like many others which have resulted from the unrestrained power of the farmers who emigrated from the Colony; and it is deeply to be regretted that there should have been causes, either real or alleged, for such a procedure.

Moselekatse was soon taught that his shields could not resist the balls of the farmers, who were not Griquas, whom his tried warriors had hitherto routed. To the latter he had the most uncontrollable hatred, and supposed that all the hordes on the boundaries of the Colony, and the vicinity of the Orange River, were Blooms, Berends, and Bergenaars, and such as had made unprovoked attacks on his assumed territories. In the last conversation I had with him I warned him against a rupture with the farmers; and as he had never heard of Waterboer and his people, I took the