enj°y ^le fbast; since, not being' able to carry the meat to their
houses, they had removed their houses to the meat,
These bones, which exceeded in size all that I had hitherto
seen, struck me with astonishment, and, for a long while, fixed
my attention. On first arriving in the country inhabited by creatures
so monstrous, and actually beholding their gigantic remains,
the mind cannot avoid surprise and wonder, however familiar the
idea of the magnitude and unwieldy bulk of a hippopotamus may
have been from the days of one’s youth. Yet, until that magnitude
be rendered, as it. were, tangible, it can never make that forcible and
just impression which properly belongs to the object. The thighbone
appeared like the stem of a tree just barked; and the.skull,
which had been much chopped and disfigured, might have been
mistaken for a large mass of rock. The Bushmen had .left nothing
but the bones; and even these had been picked pertectly clean.
30th. The Yellow River is much narrower than the Gariep;
but it is here apparently very deep, gliding with a smooth and clear
stream, between moderately high banks, thickly clothed with woods,
consisting of willows in the front rank, and behind them Acacias, intermixed
with the Black-bark, Red-leaf, Karree-tree, and Bwffalo-
fhorn, entangled and rendered almost impenetrable, with the Asparagus
already mentioned. At the water’s edge, and in the water
itself, grew abundance of reeds, and a tall species of Cyperus.
No- situation- could be more pleasant than that which we had
chosen; in the midst of trees and shade, enlivened by the notes of a
variety of birds, with the ever-charming river before us, the opposite
banks of which were reflected by a limpid glassy surface; while
a fervid cloudless sky rendered the view of the water doubly refreshing.
Clumps of Acacias, with a countless multitude of stems,
formed vistas and mazes, through which it was delightful to ramble,
shielded sufficiently from the mid-day sun by their soft airy foliage.
Along the grassy bank, an open path, trodden by the natives or by
the river-horse, afforded a pleasant walk by the side of the water,
sometimes winding through thickets of green reeds, or over swelling
mounds agreeably diversifying the surface. Here and there, short
openings conducted down to the water, and tempted the bathers
into the stream; who sported about, or swam to the opposite side,
with a facility and fearlessness which would have persuaded one
that they had never heard of drowning. Their light-brown skin
now appeared with its true color, and cleanliness rendered it not
unpleasing. With hearts probably devoid of all care, and brow
undisturbed by anxiety or reflection, they sported in the cooling
element, playfully enjoying their salutary amusement.
Leaving them to their gambols, and striking out of the path
into the woods and groves, little parties of Hottentot women and
girls were met with, seated in the shade, and busily employed
in twisting cord from the Acacia bark, while others were chopping
down the branches, or stripping off long pieces of it from the stems.
Some were engaged in an occupation of a double nature ; for, instead
of dividing the fibres by pounding them on a large stone, they
performed the operation by chewing, as they fancy the juice to possess
an agreeable taste.
Considering the mode in which it is manufactured, this cord is
made very expeditiously. The workwoman, for this is a work that
forms a part of female duty, being seated on the ground, and having
a quantity of prepared bark at hand, spins two yarns at once, by the
simple process of rolling them down her thigh with her palm ; and
then, by bringing them close together, and rolling them upwards
with a turn in the contrary way, they are neatly twisted into a
strong single cord. A large quantity was made during our stay
at this place, and carried home to Klaarwater, where it was used
in making the mats, for which the party we had left below the
Salt-pan Ford, were collecting the rushes. This process, which
can only be performed on the bare thigh, or sometimes down the
outside of the calf, if continued for a long time, renders that part so
sore, that they are obliged to desist for several days; but after much
practice, the skin becomes sufficiently hardened to endure it without
inconvenience.
Among the Hottentots an amusing bustle and activity was now