2G0 EXPEDITION INTO 



ticate this statel}^ bird for equestrian purposes; and the 

 puny Bushman avails himself of the disg-uise afforded by its 

 skin to mix with a troop of wild animals, and select his 

 victim. At the twang- of his tiny bow, away scours the 

 herd in dire consternation^ and more alarmed than all, off 

 scuds the imposter with them, ag"ain propelling- a shaft a^ 

 soon as the panic has subsided. The destruction committed 

 in this manner is incredible — a slender reed^ only slightly 

 barbed with bone or iron, but imbued with a subtile poison, 

 and launched with unerring- dexterity, being* sufficient to 

 destroy the most powerful animal. 



The principal ing-redient of this deadl}^ bane is said by 

 Pring-le to consist of the venom of the most dang-erous ser^ 

 pents that infest the desert. In seizing- and extracting- the 

 poison from beneath the fang-s of the fatal puff-adder, or the 

 cobra-di-capello, the despised African displa3^s the most 

 wonderful dexterity and boldness j simply placing- his naked 

 foot on the neck of the writhing- reptile, and not unfre- 

 quently closing- the exhibition of his intrepidity by fearlessly 

 swallowing- the contents of the bag- he has extracted^ as a 

 supposed antidote, or rather as an effectual charm, ag-ainst 

 the deleterious consequence of the venom, should it ever be 

 accidently broug-ht into contact with his blood. Being- of 

 itself too thin and volatile to retain its powers long- unim- 

 paired, this animal poison is skilfully concocted into a black 

 g-lutinous substance, by the due admixture of powerful veg-e- 

 table and mineral poisons ', the former being- g-enerally ob- 

 tained from the root of a species of amaryllis, called by the 

 colonists the gift-hol* \Ahilst the latter is an unctuous or 

 bituminous substance, 'which is said to exude from certain 

 rocks and caverns that exist in particular parts of the Bush-^ 

 man countr}^ 



Late in the afternoon, as we were journeying-, several imj)- 



* Poison Bull). 



