enunciation o f founds is liable to undergo many alterations in
palling from one generation to another, even among nations
that have the means of catching the nice inflexions of voice,
and of handing them down, in a vifible form, to pofterity.
The genius of a language is generally difcoverable in the
application o f new words to new ideas. The Hottentots who
had never feen nor heard the report of a gun before their unfortunate
connexion with Europeans, had a new word to invent
in order to exprefs it. They called it kaboo, and pronounced"
the word in fo emphatic a manner that it was fcarcely poflible
to miftake their meaning. The ¿0 is thrown out with a ftrong
palatial ftroke of the tongue, in imitation of the found’ given, b y
the ftroke o f the flint againft the cover o f the pan ; and' with
eutftretched lips, a full mouth, and prolonged found, the boo
fends forth the report. This language at firft appears to be of
fiich a nature as to make it impoflible for an European ever to
acquire ; the difficulty, however, which is chiefly oceafioned' by
the aftion o f the tongue, is foon got over. Moft o f the Dutch
peafantry. in the diftant diUriels fpeak i t ; and many o f them
are fo very much accuftomed to the trie o f it, that they introduce
into their own language a motion o f the organ o f fpeech
fufficiently diftinU to fhew from whence they procured it.
Notwithftanding the inhuman treatment that the Hottentots
experience from the Dutch farmers, the latter could very ill
want the a i f fiance o f the former; and, were they fenflble of
their own intereft, and the intereft of their pofterity-, inffeadof
oppreffing, they would offer them every encouragement. To
guard
guard their numerous herds ; to drive them from place to place
in fearch of food and waiter, fometimes on plains which produce
not a ihrub to fcreen them from the fcorching rays of an
almoft vertical fun at one part of the year, or to afford them a
fhelter from the cold winds, froft, and fnôw that happen in the
other, would ill agree with the temper or with the conftitution
of the colonifts ; yet ihould the prefent fyftem of Oppreffion
continue, the time is not far diftant when their own children
muft take upon them the charge now committed to Hottentots.
Slaves are too e’xpenfive. I® the whole d i ft rift of Graaff Rey-
net there are not more than fix of fevea hundred blacks, which
is about one to each family ; and the faid dill rift contains about
10,000 Hottentots great and final!. The total number of this
people in the whole colony may be about fifteen thoufand.
Broken up and difperfed as the tribes of this nation now are,
few of their ancient ufages are retained among them. I f they
ever had a religion of any fort, all traces of it are now loft :
they marry without any kind of ceremony, and inter their dead
in the fame manner. One cuftom, however, ftiH remained,
which feemed to be pretty generally obferved : this was that
of ihavlng the heads o f young girls as foon as the firft fymp-
toms of maturity began to appear ; at the lame time all the
ornaments worn on thé neck, legs, and arms are removed, the
body for once in their lifetime clean waihed and fcoured ; and,
during the continuance of the periodical fymptoms, they are’
reftrifted to a milk diet, and are not fuffered to mix in the
company o f men.
On