some objects moving rapidly
in the distance. They were coming towards us.

"They are ostriches!" cried my uncle; "we must try and kill a few to
obtain their plumes."

We halted, and remained perfectly still, hoping that the birds might
approach us. Now they ran as fleet as a race-horse, now they stopped
and went circling round. Two or three odd-looking birds, as they
seemed, were moving at a much slower rate.

"Those Bosjeemen!" cried Jan.

We at length saw that the latter were human beings, their legs covered
with white pigment and carrying the head and feathers of an ostrich on
their backs, while each had in his hand a bow and a number of arrows.
Presently they cautiously approached the ostriches to leeward, stopping
every now and then and pretending to be feeding. The ostriches would
look at the strange birds, but, not suspecting danger, allowed them to
approach. One of the Bosjeemen then shot an arrow, when the wounded
bird and his companions ran off; the former, however, quickly dropped,
when the other birds stopped to see what was the matter, and thus
allowed their enemy to draw near enough to shoot another arrow.

In this way three little yellow-skinned fellows each shot, in a short
time, four magnificent ostriches. They had seen us in the distance, but
instead of running away, as we feared they would do, one of them,
guessing we were traders, came forward to bargain for the sale of the
feathers, and Jan acting as interpreter, my uncle expressed a
willingness to trade. The Bosjeemen then produced a number of reeds,
scarcely the thickness of my little finger. Having plucked off the
feathers, they pushed them into the reeds; and, thus preserved, the
feathers were fit to travel any distance without being spoilt.

It was late by the time the whole operation was performed, and we had
given the articles they had agreed to take in exchange. As the reeds
weighed but little, the loads were considerably lightened.

Jan now explained to our new friends that they would be further rewarded
if they would conduct us to water. They at once agreed to do so, and
one of them, hurrying away to a spot at a distance where they had left
their travelling equipage, returned with a dozen ostriches' eggs in a
net at his back; he then made a sign to us to follow him, while his
companions remained with the ostriches they had shot. Sooner than we
expected he reached a hole, into which he rapidly dug with his hand;
then, in