730 



Personal characteristics. — They are a good-natured, 

 happy-go-lucky people. Of course, their characters are as 

 varied as those of the white race ; there are cheerful as well 

 as sullen individuals. But, taking them on the whole, they 

 are a happy people, extremely fond of their children; two or 

 three big children have often been seen to throw their arms 

 around their mother and caress her. The men give up much 

 of their time to entertaining the boys and girls ; but whatever 

 the amusement may be it is always in the form of an educa- 

 tional matter. For instance, at night they will smooth the 

 sand down in the firelight, and a man will make different 

 tracks of birds, mammals, insects, etc., with a piece of stick, 

 then there will be a guessing competition, and if one of the 

 youngsters make a "howler" they will all chaff him about it. 

 At an early age the girls follow their mothers out hunting for 

 food, and are soon drawn into the almost incessant work of 

 food hunting, which is looked upon as a woman's work. The 

 boys follow their fathers, and when quite young are started to 

 make toy spears and trained how to throw them, the favourite 

 target being a white ants' nest or hill. These dark reddish- 

 brown masses of clay have been seen covered with shattered 

 spears, their points having pierced the hard outside covering. 

 Their hair is dark and coarse ; some long and vigorous beards 

 were seen, yet in some instances the face was almost destitute 

 of hair. Some of their bodies were very hirsute — legs, arms, 

 and chests being covered with long dark hair. They sleep 

 upon the bare ground in a row, with a small fire between each 

 pair ; more than twenty have been seen in a line, thus one fire 

 does for two men. They were quite without covering, and 

 the fires required replenishing every little while throughout 

 the night. One of the natives who accompanied us acquired 

 some cast-off clothing, and he was seen wearing it all through 

 the heat of the day, but when the severe cold set in at night, 

 and he lay down between two fires, he divested himself of all 

 clothing. 



Shelters. — During wet or inclement weather shelters are 

 put up, principally for the mothers and young children. This 

 is done by placing two forked sticks together, with a third 

 leaning away from the weather side, forming a triangle •, 

 against this boughs are placed, then porcupine or other grasses 

 are heaped up. Many of these shelters are seen in different 

 stages of decay near good watering-places, but never close up 

 to the water, for the natives always form their camps out of 

 sight, if possible, so that they do not disturb the game or reveal 

 their presence to other natives. Many travellers say that 

 these shelters made by other tribes are not used the second 

 time, because it is easier to construct new ones; this has not 



