wood, as the materials vary according to the country in which the
kraal resides : that from which the figure was taken, was of the wood
of a species of Tarchonanthus from the Transgariepine. The karree-
tree (Rhus Viminale) is most generally used for this purpose. The
quiver is usually made of some thick hide, as of the ox, or the kanna ;
but the natives more towards the western coast, frequently Use the
branches of the Aloe dichotoma, which is therefore called by the
Hottentots and Colonists, kokerboom or quiver-tree. The hassagay is
not made by themselves : these weapons are either purchased from
the Caffres, or derived from the Bichuanas by means of barter from
one kraal to another.
The arrow is so purely a Bushman manufacture, that the surrounding
tribes, often procure them from this nation, as being better
arrow-makers than themselves : and I much doubt whether in fact these
weapons are ever made by the Bachapins. The shaft is made from
the common African reed, and at each end is neatly bound round with
sinew, to prevent splitting. The head consists principally of a long
piece of bone cut very smoothly to fit exactly into the reed, so as to
remain fast without being absolutely fixed. The length of the whole
arrow is generally between eighteen and twenty-two inches. At the
end of this chapter may be seen, of their natural size, the figures of
arrow-heads of various forms. They are tipped with a thin triangular
piece of iron made exceedingly sharp at the edges. Immediately
below this, is a thick coating of the gummy poisonous compound,
already described*; and in this poison, is placed a barb made from
a piece of quill. The whole of the head is separate from the shaft,
and is made merely to fit into it ; so that neither man, nor animal, can
draw it out of the wound by means of the reed, which in the flight, may
drop off, while the head will still be left buried in the flesh. Sometimes
the head consists only of the bone, without the piece of iron,
and it is then made very sharp and slender, and is also covered with
the poison : when the arrows of this form are not immediately wanted,