Origin and History of the Bushmen. 341 



its head during his approach, and whenever it is possible for 

 its range of vision to extend to him, he remains most perfectly 

 quiet ; but when that is not the case, he advances with circum- 

 spection, and is sustained by such patience, that he will some- 

 times pass a whole day in the pursuit, without any particular 

 prospect of success. When again he adopts the second plan, 

 he remarks the direction the animal is following, and the posi- 

 tion of the best vegetation in the quarter towards which he is 

 proceeding ; and having fully satisfied himself as to its probable 

 course, he digs a hole in the ground, and there conceals him- 

 self till fate determines what shall be the result. The third 

 mode, or that by decoys, is practised generally with success 

 where the requisites for forming such are procurable. They 

 are principally, if not invariably, executed through the instru- 

 mentality of young animals, which, when obtained, are fixed 

 a little way in advance of a low bush fence, behind which the 

 hunter is 'secreted, and from whence he destroys the dam, as 

 she visits her offspring. Another description of plan he fol- 

 lows, and one not less successful, in '^hunting the ostrich, 

 namely, that of digging a hole close to a nest, and concealing 

 himself therein. When in that position, and having previ- 

 ously provided himself with a dog, he throws it upon the eggs ; 

 and as soon as the bird sees the animal in that position, it has- 

 tens to the spot to drive him away, when it instantly falls a 

 victim to the ingenuity of its betrayer. 



Snares they construct in various ways, and by such they 

 often greatly increase their supplies. Some are formed of 

 nooses placed in positions through which animals are accus- 

 tomed to pass, and others consist of large and deep holes dug 

 in the ground, and so covered over with grass and other arti- 

 cles as not to be distinguishable from the surrounding parts 

 till discomposed by the steps of a visitor, when it is usually 

 too late to discover the fraud. By this method, when prac- 

 tised in situations where water or grazing ground occurs, sea- 

 cows, zebras, quaggas, and various of the antelope species, are 

 frequently obtained. By the formation of trenches or long 

 narrow ditches, grasshoppers are also commonly entrapped, 

 particularly when driven in great abundance towards them, as 

 when the^ 1 fall therein they are totally unable to escape again. 

 The resort of the white ants they discover by observing the 

 hole at which they enter the ground ; and when that is accom- 

 plished, and the object is to secure the young, they dig away 

 the earth till the nest is discovered, when it is immediately 

 exposed, and the larvae, as well as many of the older specimens, 

 are selected. In the pursuit of these, they often dig holes 

 several feet in depth, and three or four in diameter ; and after 



that, 



