Page:Seven Years in South Africa v1.djvu/387

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
From Molopolole to Shoshong.
315

by the great Namaqualand; on the north by the eastern and western Bamangwato; on the east by the Limpopo and Marico on the Transvaal frontier; and on the south by the country of the Banquaketse. The southern frontier lies under lat. 24° 10′ S., and runs down past Kolobeng, in a south-east direction, as far as the Dwars Mountains and the Great Marico; the northern frontier, on the side of the two Bamangwato kingdoms, is in lat. 23° 30′ 8., and partly follows the course of the Sirorume River. I should estimate the number of Sechele’s actual subjects to be about 35,000, whilst the Batlokas, Bakhatlas, and Makhosi that reside in the country, but are not tributary to him, amount to 18,000 or 20,000 more. The entire population of Banquaketseland is nearly 30,000; the subjects of Montsua, the Barolong king, muster 35,000; whilst the smaller Barolong tribes that reside further in the neighbourhood of such towns aS Marokana, and do not pay tribute to Montsua, may be estimated at 30,000 more. Mankuruane, the Batlapin king, has more than 30,000 people under his dominion; and in the little Mamusa kingdom there are now scarcely 8000 inhabitants, although a few years ago there were at least 10,000 in the neighbourhood of Mamusa Town alone.

On the evening of the 21st, our encampment in the Molopolole valley was visited by an ill-clad Dutchman, who worked here as a smith, and by two natives, who directed us where to find pasturage for our oxen. They were soon followed by Mr. Price and Mr. Williams, the two missionaries, who came