tentot race: human nature is nowhere seen in a more Restitute
and miserable condition,J&augteneither the poverty no&
wretchedness of the Bushman, nor the physical degradation
which is their result, ~is greater than that of the. savages of
Australia, or of Tierra deldPuego. In these^stei-ilarly situated
extremities of the earth, we observe the- condition of man-
kind,?hnth physically and morally, nearly the samer E
The native country of the Bushmen, as they are termed by
the colonists of the Cape, is the district which lies between
the Orange River and the mountains extending,, from the
Roggeveld -eastward. to the Snow-M ountains, a district even
more barren than the Karroo itself.* Whole years pass without
the soil being fertilised by rain. The ground is covered
with broken-masses of rock and blocks of Stone, and but a
few of the succulent tribe of plants will grow on the thin soil
This tract of country is situated between two very different
climates, that of the colony of the Cape1,' and of the interior,
or Kafir country. “ It has not the winter-rains of the former,
nor the cooling thunder-storms in the hot season of-the
latter:, now and then, as if by chance, a hasty cloud will discharge
itself in passing over this region.” “ But few animals
can live here. The ostrich, eland-antelope, rhinoceros, and a
few sheep, introduced by neighbouring settlers, are the only
luxuries of the miserable inhabitants. _ Their common objects
of pursuit are serpents, lizards, ants, and grasshoppers. They
will remain whole days without drinking ; as ,a substitute they
chew the succulent plants: they do not eat salt. They have
no fixed habitation, but sleep in holes in the ground, or under
the branches of trees. They are short, lean, and in appearance
weak in their limbs; yet are capable of enduring much
fatigue. They are less indolent than the Koras, and other
civilized Hottentots. Their sight is acute, but their taste,
smell, and/feeling are weak. They do not form large societies,
but wander about in families. Bodily strength alone procures
distinction among them.”
* Lichtenstein’s Travels, translation, vol. ii, p. 193, 194.
H lip Remarks' on |n&>l?n\"sici.tiï Chqfa’cfers of the Hotfeifc
In the is work I hayej%numerated- the
B4shmen^am^gsth<^V)£en|princi})a] \ aucties
of manfcmd’whiehtkdefRb^om^ ^ j^M ^ ^ ^ ^ p ^ ^-idp.tyai^ the
shape1 of fhe skull and in/other pbysiyaltöël■óiliarities.* I have
already described^he peculiaT||^^f-1<tb:& H f u l l y
'as it appeared ne'dg’f^ry . with^as^eyvrk^jdé^^njip^tKb- relation
of that racevtoy 'other brai^|^Sof the huhian«family^ I
Shall now£add^n|jb further particulars,, which.-are'rp^&^iteun
order, to render the s^'scri^Ron*. Ci
The-follo\^i]|t^ outli^l^e^lect’^ ^q^'Mr.
traiture>.ohthe Hottentots: ^
“ Hands and feet little eyè|l;gpSobliqRéjf'that jlfife^drawn
through the/éorners woulRmot coincide*ag/bein^®R the same,
plane, bilt xvould 'intersécfevsometimesj|§si|pow down as- the
middle of the nose; space between thètwo cheek-bones, fiat 5
^ea^cely any perceptible ridg^/plthe^mps^; end of the?n$sd
wide anddepressed; nostrils^l^i^^q^out • of^happ f-ipbin
longhand forward; narrowness,o%‘$hpydp-fr!^part o!ffdacèHp,
character of the race.” , ,
The complexion 8>#Uie Hottentot^|iS'..hke that ofthe palest
Negro, but still more dilute. Dr. Sparrmann (gihLpared it
to the colour of a person effected, with jaundice. .Mr. BarT
row says it-is of a yellowish, brown,, or of the1 hue of/a" faded,
leaf. According to Mr. Burehell, the complexion pf whole
race of Hottentots is of a tawny-buff or fawn-c<|ldur; such as
a painter might imagine that of a Guinea1{Negro%duld; be, if
it were ‘half washed off, and a light tintfpf* dbhre pufoyer the
remainder. Their eyes are of »a deep chestnut colour.:
The hair of the Hottentots is- Snid^by. Sparrmann to' bé
more woolly than that of the NegrpeS. ■ j It is thu^diè^ribqd by-
Mr. Barrow,cf-ff The hair is4of a very singular nature: itRhéêh
not hover thé whole surface of the .scalp, but grows iu small
tufts at certain distances from eacl^pther, and.vritenelipt short,
hasthe appearance and feel of a hard shoeTbrush,. except that
* Vol. i. p. 247. + Vol. i. p. 272, et seqq. ; item p. 312, ét seqq.