CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSHMEN. 17 



Desert ; but these and all other kinds of food are only used by the Bushmen 

 and other African tribes when they cannot get flesh meat. Almost all South 

 African animals, both herbivorous and carnivorous, and birds eat locusts. 



Speaking of the Bushmen, Dr. Moffat says : — 



"As a whole they are not swarthy or black, but rather of a sallow 

 colour, and in some cases so light, that a tinge of red in the cheek is 

 perceptible. They are generally smaller in stature than their neighbours of 

 the interior; their visage and form is very distinct, and in general the top of the 

 head broad and flat ; their faces tapering to the chin, with high cheek bones, 

 flat noses, and large lips. Since the writer has had opportunities of seeing 

 men, women, and children from China, he feels strongly inclined to think 

 with Barrow, that they approach nearest in colour and in the construction 

 of their features, to that people than to any other nation." Among the 

 Bechuanas, the Bushmen are kept in a kind of vassalage, and are called 

 Balala. " These Balalas," Dr. Moffat says, " were once inhabitants of the 

 towns, and have been permitted or appointed to live in country places, for 

 the purpose of procuring skins of wild animals, wild honey, and roots, for 

 their respective chiefs. The number of these country residents was increased 

 by the innate love of liberty, and the scarcity of food in towns, or the 

 boundaries to which they were confined by water and pasture. These again 

 formed themselves into small communities, though of the most temporary 

 character, their calling requiring migration, having no cattle of any descrip- 

 tion. Accustomed from infancy to the sweets of comparative liberty, which 

 they vastly preferred to a kind of vassalage in the towns, or kraals, they 

 would make any sacrifice to please their often distant superiors rather than 

 be confined to the irksomeness of a town life. Such is their aversion, that I 

 have known chiefs take armed men, and travel a hundred miles into desert 

 places, in order to bring back Balala, whom they wished to assist them in 

 watching and harvesting the gardens of their wives. . . . They live 

 a hungry life, being dependent on the chase, wild roots, berries, locusts, and 

 indeed anything eatable that comes within their reach ; and when they have 

 a more than usual supply they will bury it in the earth from their superiors, 

 who are in the habit of taking what they please. 



. . . Their servile state, their scanty clothing, their exposure to the 

 inclemency of the weather, and their extreme poverty, have, as may be easily 

 conceived, a deteriorating influence on their character and condition. They 

 are generally less in stature, and though not deficient iu intellect, the life 

 they lead gives a melancholy cast to their features, and from constant inter- 

 course with beasts of prey, and serpents in the path, as well as exposure to 

 harsh treatment, they appear shy, and have a wild and frequently suspicious 

 look. Nor can this be wondered at, when it is remembered that they associate 

 with savage beasts, from the Hon that roams abroad by night and day, to the 



