as an object
of worship. The dreary uniformity of gloomy forests and open flats must
have a depressing influence on the minds of the people. Some villages
appear more superstitious than others, if we may judge from the greater
number of idols they contain.

Only on one occasion did we witness a specimen of quarreling. An old
woman, standing by our camp, continued to belabor a good-looking young
man for hours with her tongue. Irritated at last, he uttered some words
of impatience, when another man sprang at him, exclaiming, "How dare
you curse my 'Mama'?" They caught each other, and a sort of pushing,
dragging wrestling-match ensued. The old woman who had been the cause of
the affray wished us to interfere, and the combatants themselves hoped
as much; but we, preferring to remain neutral, allowed them to fight
it out. It ended by one falling under the other, both, from their
scuffling, being in a state of nudity. They picked up their clothing and
ran off in different directions, each threatening to bring his gun and
settle the dispute in mortal combat. Only one, however, returned, and
the old woman continued her scolding till my men, fairly tired of
her tongue, ordered her to be gone. This trifling incident was one of
interest to me, for, during the whole period of my residence in the
Bechuana country, I never saw unarmed men strike each other. Their
disputes are usually conducted with great volubility and noisy swearing,
but they generally terminate by both parties bursting into a laugh.

At every village attempts were made to induce us to remain a night.
Sometimes large pots of beer were offered to us as a temptation.
Occasionally the head man would peremptorily order us to halt under a
tree which he pointed out. At other times young men volunteered to guide
us to the impassable part of the next bog, in the hope of bringing us
to a stand, for all are excessively eager to trade; but food was so very
cheap that we sometimes preferred paying them to keep it, and let us
part in good humor. A good-sized fowl could be had for a single charge
of gunpowder. Each native who owns a gun carries about with him a
measure capable of holding but one charge, in which he receives his
powder. Throughout this region the women are almost entirely naked,
their gowns being a patch of cloth frightfully narrow, with no flounces;
and nothing could exceed the eagerness with which they offered to
purchase strips of calico of an inferior descri