156 A Breath from the Veldt 



— men who sprang originally from the best stock in Zululand, but have now 

 got pretty well mixed by intermarriage with other tribes. A good example, 

 and a very fine type of cranial development, is shown in " Umsheti," Lobengula's 

 Prime Minister. His is a face of great intelligence and character. The rough 

 sketch I give of him was done from nature ; and a tough job I had to get the 

 old man to sit still or look at me. Suffering badly from indigestion at the time, 

 he was not in the most heavenly of tempers, so I had more than ordinary trouble 

 to get anything like a fair presentment of his fine head. 



Next in the downward grade one would class the pure Basuto, together 

 with a large number of other tribes which vary enormously from types quite 

 as fine as the Zulus, down to a much lower form. In this class may be placed 

 the M'Pochs and Shangans (who are really sub-branches of the Zulus), the 

 M'Yambans, the Amatongas, the Swazis and Bamangwato. 



Thirdly comes a much lower type again — the Maketese ; and then the 

 Mashunas, a race altogether mongrel and mixed, for there is no such thing as 

 a pure Mashuna. 



The Hottentots seem to form a distinct branch all to themselves, with their 

 yellow skins and short, well-made bodies. Their intelligence far surpasses that 

 of any of the native races, though they too often lack the honesty and 

 faithfulness which are such fine attributes of the better type of black man. 



Then come the Ovampos, Damaras, and Masarwa bushmen of the Kalahari ; 

 and finally, the old colony bushmen, now well-nigh extinct, whose cranial 

 development and modes of life are of so low a type that one can readily accept 

 Darwin's theory of their affinity to the Anthropoid apes. 



Whilst returning from the koodoos with the donkeys we found a good deal 

 of fresh spoor of the reedbuck, and after working all the afternoon homewards, 

 an old ewe of this species sprang up close to Oom and galloped away, heading, 

 as is their wont, straight away from the reeds for the bush. She was still 

 going at full speed when the old hunter fired at her ; and a prettier shot with 

 the rifle I never witnessed, for the bullet struck her fairly in the middle of her 

 back and caused her to turn a complete somersault, like a shot rabbit. Prince 

 and I put down our rifles and applauded the old man loudly, at which I fancy 

 he was much pleased, though too modest to say so. If he had been an 

 ordinary Dutchman he would have told you he did that sort of thing every 

 time. Now shooting any of these South African antelopes on the move is a 

 decidedly difficult feat, unless they are very near and very big. They advance 



