The king's wives do not pick in the corn gardens, but his children do, and also carry water the same as others; his reason is they must learn to do such things; and his daughters go naked like the other girls, and frequently pay my waggon a visit for tufa or tusa (present); sometimes they are seen walking about with black skin kilts. Most of them are young, but they, as well as the women, wear few or no ornaments; very few beads are used, mostly pieces of leather strips round the neck and wrists, none on their legs or head, as is seen on other tribes. The Matabele women do not seem to take so readily to clothes as all the other tribes, who are eager to be dressed up in petticoats, because I presume it gives them greater liberty of action in their loins, from their present cramped and bound-up state in their leather coverings. I was surprised one day, soon after my arrival here, on returning in the afternoon to my camp, to find four Zulu girls sitting under my waggon, chatting and laughing with my Hottentot driver and forelooper, having with them three fine bunches of beautiful ostrich feathers. When I looked under the waggon and they saw me, they all gave a yell of delight, and came out, when I recognised them as old friends who had frequently washed my clothes when I went to Barkly, in Griqualand West, two years back, and always admired their clean neat appearance in their white European clothes. They told me their mother, who was a widow woman, wanted to go back to her nation in Matabeleland, and they had only lately arrived, having been on the road six months; and having heard of my arrival, they came to see me, and had brought me some ostrich feathers as a present, and as they knew my two boys they seemed to be at home again. I asked them what they had done with their clothes. They said they had them tied up in bundles and were in the hut occupied by their mother, where they lived, and as they were amongst their own people they dressed or undressed as the other girls. I found them to be very convenient, as they did my washing and other things for me. I took the feathers and paid them in beads, kerchiefs, tobacco for snuff, and such things they wanted as presents; they would not take them in payment, showing these people have some kind feeling; and during my stay at this station they remained with me the greater portion of every day, their old mother coming occasionally to pay me a visit. They could speak English perfectly; they told me they would like to go back with me if their mother would let them, but four grown-up girls in my waggon would have been too much of a good thing. I should occupy many months in returning, if I ever did, and it turned out that I did not visit Barkly again for three years. If there had been women at this station wearing clothes, these girls would have retained theirs; it only shows the force of example.