gon caps
from a distance, so, if they were dead, "their wagons were still alive."

I asked to see this woman, but the native refused to produce her. After
a great deal of talk, however, he offered to sell her to me, saying that
he was tired of her. So I bargained with the man and finally agreed for
her purchase for three pounds of copper wire and eight yards of blue
cloth. Next morning she was produced, an extremely ugly person with a
large, flat nose, who came from somewhere in the interior of Africa,
having, I gathered, been taken captive by Arabs and sold from hand to
hand. Her name, as near as I can pronounce it, was Jeel.

I had great difficulty in establishing communication with her, but
ultimately found that one of my newly hired Kaffirs could understand
something of her language. Even then it was hard to make her talk, for
she had never seen a white man, and thought I had bought her for some
dreadful purpose or other. However, when she found that she was kindly
treated, she opened her lips and told me the same story that her late
master had repeated, neither more nor less. Finally I asked her whether
she could guide me to the place where she had seen the "live wagons."

She answered: "Oh, yes," as she had travelled many roads and never
forgot any of them.

This, of course, was all I wanted from the woman, who, I may add,
ultimately gave me a good deal of trouble. The poor creature seemed
never to have experienced kindness, and her gratitude for the little
I showed her was so intense that it became a nuisance. She followed me
about everywhere, trying to do me service in her savage way, and even
attempted to seize my food and chew it before I put it into my own
mouth--to save me the trouble, I suppose. Ultimately I married her,
somewhat against her will, I fear, to one of the hired Kaffirs, who made
her a very good husband, although when he was dismissed from my service
she wanted to leave him and follow me.

At length, under the guidance of this woman, Jeel, we made a start.
There were but fifty miles to go, a distance that on a fair road any
good horse would cover in eight hours, or less. But we had no horses,
and there was no road--nothing but swamps and bush and rocky hills. With
our untrained cattle it took us three days to travel the first twelve
miles, though after that things went somewhat better.

It may be asked, why did I not send on? But whom could I send when no
one knew the way, except the woma