We had heard from some gentlemen who were on land yesterday about a fellow countryman named Sievers(56); That's why we looked for him first. He is the supervisor of a magazine for the South Australian Society(57), an old artillery officer from Hanover. He received us very hospitably in his magazine, which was made entirely of iron in the shape of half a cylinder, and also accommodated us for the night, as we did not want to go on board again because we had business in town the following morning. Of course our camp was not the gentlest; it consisted of two boards covered with jackets; We each covered ourselves with a soldier's cloak and expected at least a mediocre rest; but partly the cold and partly the obnoxious fleas did not allow us to sleep.

Mr. Sievers lives in an area where the natives often and frequently gather, so that with him we had the best opportunity of observing them in the entire city. They are very fond of him and he [is] very familiar with them; He knows how to keep them busy in various ways, one fetching him water from the stream, the other fetching him coffee, the third ( 047 ) bread, and finally the fourth lights a fire in front of the storeroom and makes his coffee. The reward for such small services is bread, pipes, peas, and the like. When the others see this, they leave their nearby fires and come to him for a small gift. In general, begging is their most disgusting trait. The tribe in the city now receives daily gifts from the government consisting of rusks and similar foods, but despite this they are always hungry and beg for bread and money everywhere.

They know a few bits of English to demand this and that, but among themselves they always speak their own language with apparently great fluency. I asked some of them the name of the sun, the names of the members of the body, etc., which they gave me with great willingness; They're not bad at all, but they definitely don't want to work properly. Just as the natives of New Holland(58) have been portrayed as unrivaledly ugly, they have also been portrayed as shockingly stupid; But just as the first is not entirely true, the last is entirely false. On the contrary, you will find in them a liveliness, docility and alertness that one could only ever wish for. When you come to a group, their question is: “Your name”; Once you have answered them, everyone begins, one after the other, to make their comments, which are always accompanied by a playful laugh. A few days ago I asked someone where his lubra (wife) was; After he showed me hs weife, I asked him by pointing with the fingers if he had more than one, whereupon he showed me two fingers. I shook my head and showed him one ( 048 ) finger; Then the man laughed heartily and made me understand that others had three or four. By the way, the women don't seem to be treated very well; If they had bread or meat, the man always received it first and then gave the woman as much as he wanted. At first I thought that perhaps the lack of food was making women so disproportionately thin; but I was told afterwards that the early marriage was to blame.

That evening they had one of their usual dances, called Corobari(59); It was night, and so you could only hear the singing they were doing. Eyewitnesses, however,