ea beyond what may tend to the gratification of the appetite; and I
have myself seen them with women's gowns, petticoats, shawls, &c, tied
round their legs, and between their toes, and in this manner they would
run wildly into the woods, shouting in exultation. These people had got
information that we were their avowed enemies, and come to destroy them
and take from them their enormous herds of cattle; they were, therefore,
driven far into the interior of almost inaccessible parts of the
country, where we could not follow them. Some few stragglers were left
in the neighbourhood, to watch our movements, with whom we had some
slight skirmishes; but, from the extreme intricacy of the woods, we
could do but little with them.

The Caffres may unquestionably be considered as a formidable enemy. They
are inured to war and plunder, and most of them are such famous marksmen
with their darts, that they will make sure of their aim at sixty or
eighty paces' distance. When you fire upon them they will throw
themselves flat upon their faces, and thus avoid the ball; and, even if
you hit them, it is doubtful whether the ball would take effect, the
skins worn by them being considered to be ball-proof. Added to this, as
they reside in woods, in the most inaccessible parts of which they take
refuge on being hard pressed by their enemies, an offensive warfare
against them is inconceivably arduous.

Before they deliver the darts with which they are armed, they run
sideways; the left shoulder projected forward, and the right
considerably lowered, with the right hand extended behind them, the dart
lying flat in the palm of the hand, the point near the right eye. When
discharged from the grasp, it flies with such velocity that you can
scarcely see it, and when in the air it looks like a shuttlecock
violently struck. They carry, slung on their backs, about a dozen of
these weapons, with which single men have been known to kill lions and
tigers.

From this harassing warfare, travelling through almost impenetrable
woods, over tremendous hills, and through rivers, we were soon in a
terribly ragged condition. Our shoes we managed to replace from the raw
hides of buffaloes, in the following manner: the foot was placed on the
hide, which was then cut to the shape of the sole, and fastened to the
foot by thongs made of the same material, sewed to the sole instead of
upper-leathers. In two or three days this dried, and formed to the shape
of the fo