204 CAFFRARIA. 



ous plants, and some of a great size ; they are inhabited by elephants* 

 buffaloes, Sec. There were also varieties of beautiful birds and but- 

 terflies ; but they were so shy, that I was able only to preserve two 

 birds of that country. 



To judge of the Caffres by those I have seen, says M. Vailiant, they 

 are taller than the Hottentots of the colonies, or even than the Gona- 

 quas, though they greatly resemble the latter, but are more robust, 

 and possess a greater degree of pride and courage. The features of 

 the Caffres are likewise more agreeable, none of their faces contract- 

 ing towards the bottom, nor do the cheek bones of these people pro- 

 ject in the uncouth manner of the Hottentots ; neither have they large 

 flat faces and thick lips like their neighbours, the negroes of Mosam- 

 bique, but a well formed contour, an agreeable nose, with eyes spark- 

 ling and expressive : so that, setting aside our prejudice with regard 

 to colour, there ^.re many women among them who might be thought 

 handsome by the side of an European lady. They do not disfigure 

 themselves by daubing their eye-brows, like the Hottentots, but are 

 very much tattoed, particularly about the face. 



The hair of the Caffres, which is strong and curling, is never greased, 

 but they anoint the rest of their bodies, with a view of making them- 

 selves active and strong. The men are more particular in decora- 

 tions than the women, being very fond of beads and brass rings. They 

 are seldom seen without bracelets on their legs and arms, made of the 

 tusks of an elephant, which they saw to a convenient thickness, and 

 then polish and round. As these rings cannot be opened, it is neces- 

 sary to make them big enough to pass the hand through, so that they 

 fall or rise according to the motion of the arm : sometimes they place 

 small rings on the arms of their children, whose growth soon fills up 

 the space, and fixes the ornament ; a circumstance which is particu- 

 larly pleasing to them. 



They likewise make necklaces of the bones of animals, which they 

 polish and whiten in the most perfect manner. Some content them- 

 selves with the leg-bone of a sheep hanging on the breast. In the 

 warm season the Caffres only wear their ornaments ; when the wea- 

 ther is cold they make use of krosses made of the skins of calves or 

 oxen, which reach to the feet. One particularity which deserves at- 

 tention, and does not exist elsewhere, is, that the Caffre women care 

 little for ornaments. Indeed, they are well made, and pretty, when 

 compared to other savages ; and never use the uncouth profusion of 

 Hottentot coquetry, not even wearing copper bracelets. Their aprons, 

 like those of the Gonaquas, are bordered with small rows of beads ; 

 which is the only vanity they exhibit. 



The skin that the female Hottentot ties about the loins, the Caffre 

 woman wears as high as her shoulders, tying it over the bosom, which 

 it covers. They have, like the men, a kross, or cloak, of calf or ox 

 skin, divested of the hair ; but it is only in the cold or rainy season 

 that either sex wear it. These skins are as soft and pliant as the 

 finest stuffs. Let the weather or season prove ever so bad, neither 

 men nor women cover their heads. Sometimes, indeed, I have seen 

 the head of a Caffre adorned with a feather stuck in the hair ; but this 

 sight is by no means common. 



One part of the daily occupation of the women is making earthen- 

 ware, which they fashion as dexterously as their husbands ; they like- 

 wise make a curious kind of baskets, of a texture so compact as to con- 



