164 SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
quiver, which, is bound upon the back, is com- 
posed of bark or rushes, interwoven with nar- 
row thongs of hide, or the intestines of animals. 
Each of these contains from two to three dozen 
of reed arrows, about eighteen inches long, and 
pointed by a piece of barbed flint, or sometimes 
bone, placed in a notch at one end of it. This 
is strongly impregnated with poison which they 
extract from the juice of the Euphorbia, the 
Amaryllis Toxicaria, or the Illiteris bulbs, and 
also, it is said, from the fangs of the viper.* 
When preparing for war or plunder, the Bush- 
men draw forth all their arrows from the quiver; 
and, fastening a fillet of skin round the head, 
they stick them round it in a kind of coronet 
or diadem ; for the twofold purpose, it is sup- 
posed, of rendering their appearance more ter- 
rific, and of having the arrow placed so as to 
be ready for speedy use. In addition to this, 
they usually carry a piece of thin stick, or a 
porcupine's quill, thrust through the cartilage 
of the nose ; similar war ornaments are also 
worn attached to their ears. 
Their dwellings are varied in form, according 
* Mr. Moffat, in Ms account of the Bushmen of the desert, says : — 
" They cut off the head of the poisonous kinds of serpents; this they 
dissect, and carefully extract the hags or reservoirs of poison, which 
communicate with the fangs of the upper jaw. They mingle this 
with the milky juice of the Euphorbia, or with that of a poisonous 
bulb. After simmering for some time on a slow fire, it acquires the 
consistency of wax, with which they cover the points of their arrows." 
