Seven Years in South Africa, Volume 1

Preparation for second / journey -- Travelling-companions -- Departure -- A diamond -- A lovely / evening -- Want of water -- A conflagration -- Hartebeests -- An / expensive draught -- Gassibone's kraal -- An adventure with a / cobra -- A clamourous crowd -- A smithy -- The mission-station / at Taung -- Maruma -- Thorny places -- Cheap diamonds -- Pelted by / baboons -- Reception at Musemanyana.

In the course of the six months that I now spent in Dutoitspan, I made acquaintance, amongst my patients, with three German families, all nearly related, who were of great assistance to me in my preparations for my second journey into the interior. It was, in fact, owing to the kindness of the head of one of these households that, after I had got together all but 120_l._ of the 900_l._ that the expenses of the expedition would require, I was enabled to procure on credit from one of the mercantile houses of Dutoitspan goods to the amount of 117_l._, for which I should otherwise have had to pay ready money; thus I was in a position to start four weeks before the time that I had originally contemplated.