392 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



Boors consider gunpowder and urine as very efficient, and pre- 

 scribe those in every arrow-wound, and in every case of snake-bite. 

 Cupping would seem to be the Bushmen's favourite treatment of 

 every complaint accompanied with pain, and so frequently do they 

 resort to this, that by the time they are full grown they appear scars 

 all over. 



The length of time a Bushman can live without food is sur- 

 prising, often living for three and four days without a mouthful ; 

 and the quantity they can devour after such abstinence is equally 

 remarkable, one man having been known to eat an African sheep 

 (thirty pounds) in a single night. When unable to procure food, 

 a belt round the body is tightened as the craving increases, and 

 they resort to the smoking of dalcka (a species of chanvre or hemp), 

 which produces intoxication. The narcotic effects of this plant 

 no doubt produce much of that shrivelled appearance which is 

 observable in all of any age. When possessing plenty of their 

 dalcka, they can smoke and sleep for several days and nights with- 

 out eating. 



A Bushman has no idea of the perpetuation of property; I might 

 say, no notions of a prospective existence. He is wholly depend- 

 ent on nature or on man : he will neither imitate the Caffer nor the 

 Boor, will neither grow corn nor breed cattle. 



The figures drawn by them on the rocks are often remarkable 

 for the correctness of the outline; they hit the attitude of the ani- 

 mal, but seldom care about truth in the colouring : speaking phre- 

 nologically, they have the organ of form, but not of colour. I have 

 never seen any animal resembling the unicorn among their paint- 

 ings, but such an animal is said to exist beyond the Orange River. 

 They are fond of music and dancing, but their musical instrument 

 is rude, and without power or variety, consisting of one string 

 stretched upon a bow, whose vibrations are produced by the breath, 

 with great exertion. 



The Bushman's conception of a Supreme Being is, that he is an 

 evil deity ; and their notion of futurity, that there will be an eter- 

 nity of darkness, in which they will live for ever, and feed on grass 

 alone. They imagine that the sun sends rain, and when he is 

 clouded, they hold up burning wood, in token of disapprobation. 

 They believe that the sun and moon will disappear, to produce the 

 darkness they anticipate. 



The Bushman's bow is made of a peculiar tree, called the Blue 

 Bush, whose branches are almost moulded by nature to the artificial 

 form. The sinews of the quagga yield powerful bow-strings, and 

 the arrow is formed of a slender reed, headed with antelope's horn, 

 and pointed with a small triangular piece of metal, which they pro- 

 cure from the Caffers. 



AURORA BOREALIS. 



In the evening of the 7th this interesting meteoric phenomenon 

 was observed at Gosport, from fifteen minutes before till a quarter 

 past nine o'clock, when the moon rose, and her light overpowered it. 



The 



