Page:George McCall Theal, Ethnography and condition of South Africa before A.D. 1505 (2nd ed, 1919).djvu/80

56 forthwith. But that poison of theirs, many kinds of it are known to hunters of the elephant. That then is the dreadfulness of the Abatwa, on account of which they are dreaded.”

The Bushmen wore few ornaments, not because they were careless about decorating their persons, but because it was difficult to obtain anything for the purpose. They were without metals of any kind, and in the vast interior, as they knew nothing of commerce, they could not obtain sea-shells. The best they could aspire to was to cut little circular disks of tortoise and ostrich egg-shell, drill holes in them, and string them on thongs. It requires some reflection to realise the amount of patient labour expended upon a single ornament of this kind, manufactured with stone and bone implements. In other cases they made grooves round the teeth of animals, and then strung a number together. These ornaments were worn on the forehead, and round the neck, arms, waist, and legs. Sometimes a cord of sinew was passed through the nose and ostrich egg-shell disks were strung on each side, which then hung over the cheeks.

A consideration of how much value such a simple implement as a tinder-box would have had to these people may aid in enabling a European to comprehend the life that they led. They knew how to obtain fire by twirling a piece of wood round rapidly in the socket of another piece, but the preparation of the apparatus took much time, and a considerable amount of labour was needed to produce a flame. Under these circumstances it was a task of the women to preserve a fire when once made, and as they moved their habitations to a large animal when it was killed, instead of trying to carry the meat away, this was often a difficult matter. Sometimes it necessitated carrying a burning stick for four or five hours, or, when it was nearly consumed, kindling a fire for the sole purpose of getting another brand to go on with. No small amount of labour would therefore have been saved by the possession of a flint and a piece of steel.

These wild people lived in little communities; often consisting of only a few families. It was impossible for a large number, such as would constitute an important tribe, to gain a subsistence