South Africa, I am surprised at
the reckless indifference that was shown by the sailors and male
passengers of our party, in not taking such precautions as should always
be taken in a strange country.

I had slept under the canvas each night near the ladies of the party,
whilst the men had selected various places near, on which they had made
a bed of grass; and by sticking a few branches of trees in the ground,
they had made a covering so as to keep off the dew, which fell very
heavily each night. Thus the men were separated, whilst I and the
females were all together.

It was towards the morning, although no signs of daylight appeared, that
I awoke suddenly, with the feeling of some danger being near. I could
not tell what it was, but it seemed like a dream in which I had escaped
some danger. I could not get to sleep again, but lay listening and
afraid to move. I must have remained in this watchful state about a
quarter of an hour, when there was a noise as of men moving through the
grass and bushes, the sound of blows, two or three groans, and then all
was quiet again. I crawled along the ground to where Constance was
lying, and found her awake and trembling. I whispered to her, "What is
it?" She said, "I don't know, but keep quiet." We were afraid to move,
but I could hear my heart beating, and it was as much as I could do to
prevent crying out. We seemed to be hours in this state before the
first signs of daylight appeared, and the objects round us could be
seen. Day breaks quickly in those latitudes, and we were soon able to
see what to us was a most astonishing and alarming sight. Seated on the
ground and looking like stone figures, there were about forty black men.
They had been sitting in a circle round the tent in which I and the
females had been sleeping. They were each armed with some short spears,
a large knobbed stick, and each had a black and white shield, which he
held in front of him. My surprise was great on first seeing these men,
and I called to Constance, who was asleep, to look at them. I could see
none of the sailors or male passengers, and wondered how it was they
were not showing themselves anywhere. As soon as Constance and the
other ladies sat up to look at the black men, they became alarmed, and
asked each other what it all meant. But they were not left long in
doubt as to what to do, for a very tall black man rose and made a speech
in a language none of us could understand; a