104 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



The eastern Bechuanas and Caffres are fond of carving canes en- 

 twined with snakes. AVhile the cane and snake are made from the 

 same piece, the latter is attached only at a few points, so that the mass 

 of its body is left free. The wooden arrows, which have barbed 

 heads, are used for shooting small game. Sometimes wooden arrow- 

 heads are set loose in shafts of reed, so that, when the latter are drawn 

 out, the points shall remain in the wound. 



Rush mats are made by the Hottentots, by stringing rushes on a 

 needle and drawing a thread through them. Threads and cords are 

 made from bark-fibers and fibers of aloe without the aid of any tools, 

 simply by twisting them with the flat hand upon the leg. Baskets are 

 made from roots and from palm-leaves, where that material can be 

 had. The foundation of the basket is laid with a spiral of thick 

 braid, as our straw hats are begun, to which rings are added and con- 

 nected as compactly as possible by cords, and the vessel is made tight 

 enough to hold milk or any other fluid. Skins are dressed by saturating 

 them with fat, and rubbing and kneading them with the hands and 

 feet till they are perfectly pliable ; or, if they are very thick, by beat- 

 ing them with a club. Straps ai"e prepared by cutting them out 

 sijirally from the skin, so as to get as great a length as the leather 

 will afford. The strap is then slung over a stout limb, so that its 

 ends will come as near to the ground as they will reach ; the ends are 

 weighted with a stone, and the doubled strap is twisted up, with the 

 aid of a lever, as tightly as possible, till the stone is raised nearly up 

 to the limb. The lever is then drawn out, and the strap is allowed 

 to untwist and retwist itself again and again. This process is repeat- 

 ed, with oiling, for several days, till the strap becomes quite pliable. 

 Skins which are to be made into bottles are taken off from the carcass 

 with as little cutting as possible, the knife being generally used only 

 at the tail and the feet, after which the hide is pulled off literally over 

 the ears. The bottles are then tanned in the common manner, but are 

 only used for keeping dry articles. The Hottentots employ bark in tan- 

 ning skins, but it is possible they learned the art from the Europeans. 



Skins are also used for clothing, without any making up, but worn 

 just as they are left after dressing, with at most only a little shell- 

 embroidery, but are not sewed to one another, except when they are 

 to be used for bed-coverings or curtains. Thorns, which grow on the 

 acacias and mimosas, of every shape and size that can be desired, are 

 employed as needles, and for thread the long sinews from the back- 

 bones of slaughtered animals, which are stiff enough to be pushed 

 through the hole made by the thorn without any further aid than their 

 own rigidity. In the ante-European times pins, buckles, and hooks 

 were unknown, and the only means of holding the garment upon the 

 person was by a belt, or the hands ; or, if a whole sheep-skin was worn 

 as a cloak, the head was left to hang down behind, and the hind-legs 

 were brought over the shoulders and tied. 



