A USEFUL PLANT HUNTING FISHING. 483 



is fit for use at any time by simply mixing it with water, 

 when it is not unlike honey in appearance, and has a sweet, 

 agreeable flavor. Strangers, however, must use it cautiously 

 at first, for if eaten in any large quantity it is apt to derange 

 the stomach. The moshoma invariably grows on the banks 

 of rivers, or in their immediate neighborhood, and may, with 

 the greatest facility, be conveyed down the Teoge to the 

 Lake. The Bayeye use the timber extensively for canoe- 

 building and in the manufacture of utensils. I found the 

 moshoma growing in Ovambo-land, and I am also given to 

 understand that it is common throughout the countries west 

 of the Portuguese settlements on the East Coast. 



The Bayeye store their corn and other products of the soil 

 in large baskets, not unlike those of the Ovambo, manufac- 

 tured from palm-leaves and other fibrous and tenacious sub- 

 stances. 



The Bayeye are fond of hunting, and as the country 

 abounds in game, the spoils of the chase contribute material- 

 ly to the support of the people. They are, moreover, ex- 

 pert fishermen. They either strike the fish with a barbed 

 spear, or, more commonly, capture them in nets. These are 

 made from the fibrous stalks of a species of aloe, which is 

 found in abundance throughout the countries of the Naraa- 

 quas, Damaras, the Ovambo, and others lying to the east- 

 ward, but only grows to perfection about the Teoge. The 

 fibres are of great tenacity, apparently stronger and more flex- 

 ible than hemp, though requiring less labor and attention in 

 its growth and manufacture. Could this plant be natural- 

 ized, it would no doubt prove a valuable acquisition to any 

 country. I believe the nets are also occasionally manufac- 

 tured from fibrous and tenacious leaves, rushes, and grasses. 

 The meshes are knotted the same way as in Europe. 



From the humid nature of the country, the Bayeye, al- 

 though, generally speaking, a healthy race, suffer at times 

 i'rom rheumatism and other similar afl^ections. Ophthalmi?^ 



