When Sekhomi, the Bermangueato chief, became aware of our intentions to pass into the regions beyond him, with true native inhumanity he sent men before us to drive away all the bushmen and Bakalihari from our route, in order that, being deprived of their assistance in the search for water, we might, like the Griquas above mentioned, be compelled to return. This measure deprived me of the opportunity of holding the intercourse with these poor outcasts I might otherwise have enjoyed. But through the good providence of God, after travelling about 300 miles from Kolobeng, we struck on a magnificent river on the 4th of July, and without further difficulty, in so far as water was concerned, by winding along its banks nearly 300 miles more, we reached the Batavana, on the lake Ngami, by the beginning of August. Previous to leaving this beautiful river on my return home, and commencing our route across the desert, I feel anxious to furnish you with the impressions produced on my mind by it and its inhabitants, the Bakoba or Bayeiye. They are a totally distinct race from the Bechuanas. They call themselves Bayeiye (or men), while the term Bakoba (the name has somewhat of the meaning of "slaves,") is applied to them by the Bechuanas. Their complexion is darker than that of the Bechuanas; and, of 300 words I collected of their language, only 21 bear any resemblance to Sitchuana. They paddle along the rivers and lake in canoes hollowed out of the trunks of single trees; take fish in nets made of a weed which abounds on the banks; and kill hippopotami with harpoons attached to ropes. We greatly admired the frank, manly bearing of these inland sailors. Many of them spoke Sitchuana fluently, and, while the waggon went along the bank, I greatly enjoyed following the windings of the river in one of their primitive craft, and visiting their little villages among the reed. The banks are beautiful beyond any we had ever seen, except perhaps some parts of the Clyde. They are covered, in general, with gigantic trees, some of them bearing fruit, and quite new. Two of the Baobab variety measured 70 to 76 feet in circumference. The higher we ascended the river, the broader it became, until we often saw more than 100 yards of clear deep water between the broad belt of reed which grows in the shallower parts. The water was clear as crystal, and as we approached the point of junction with other large rivers _reported to exist_ in the North, it was quite soft and cold. The fact that the Zonga is connected with large rivers coming from the north awakens emotions in my mind, which make the discovery of the lake dwindle out of sight. It opens the prospect of a highway, capable of being quickly traversed by boats, to a large section of well-peopled territory.