. South Africa. a living by bartering or stealing cattlefrom the natives and selling them to the even pretended they were the Companysservants, with the result that the Hottentots becameangry and distrustful. Van der Stel tried his best tocapture the scoundrels, but the settlers concealed thembecause they wanted cheap cattle. The natives beganto take revenge, and poor van der Stel had endlesstrouble with them; while on the other side theDirectors blamed him for forbidding the cattle traffic. But for the end of this great three-cornered quarrelbetween settlers, Company, and Govern
. South Africa. a living by bartering or stealing cattlefrom the natives and selling them to the even pretended they were the Companysservants, with the result that the Hottentots becameangry and distrustful. Van der Stel tried his best tocapture the scoundrels, but the settlers concealed thembecause they wanted cheap cattle. The natives beganto take revenge, and poor van der Stel had endlesstrouble with them; while on the other side theDirectors blamed him for forbidding the cattle traffic. But for the end of this great three-cornered quarrelbetween settlers, Company, and Governor, we mustwait until the next chapter. Let us first finish withSimon van der Stel. We see the man he was ina hundred different ways. We see him sendingexpedition after expedition to explore the interior; butmore we see him, himself an explorer, penetrating farinto Namaqualand, winning from the Namaquas thegreat secret of the Orange River, which van der Stelwas the first to place upon the map of Africa, and 138. THE HOUSE OF VAN DER STEL bringing back with him a sample of the copper orewhich would one day become an important source ofcolonial wealth. It was a great achievement thisjourney, and van der Stel and his devotion to knowledgemay be measured by the pains he took to make hisexploration successful. Think of it! The Governorsets out with fifteen wagons, eight oxen in each, eightcarts, and his own coach. He takes with him a hundredspare oxen, besides twenty horses and mules, and a boatfor crossing the rivers. He has besides over a hundredfollowers, sixty of them Europeans, and to inspirerespect among the natives two small cannon form partof the train. Thus equipped he passes north overmountain range and river valley, travelling slowly butsurely, week after week, month after month. The partylived on the flesh of the hippopotamus and the elandthat then roamed over country which now supportsvineyards and cattle farms. Sometimes they come ona herd of elephants, sometimes on a
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