34. 
HOTTENTOT ADMIRERS. —BUSHMAN STONE-POT. 2, 3 March, 
I feared he would then have thought a European worse than a 
Bushman. 
Having hitherto been unable to procure any game, the diminu- 
tion of my little flock of sheep became to my men as well as to 
myself a subject of some anxiety ; and the addition of a number of 
natives to our fire-side, increased our uneasiness. Yet resolved on 
omitting nothing which could gain and secure their good will, we 
always gave them a share of our provisions ; and when a sheep was 
killed, they seemed to expect all the entrails as their due. The 
pretty young Bushwoman was my men's favorite, and to her they 
often gave a larger portion ; but the act of receiving a pot of blood 
with smiles and evident pleasure, had so little of elegance in it that 
their master was not likely to be one of her admirers. In slaughter- 
ing cattle, both the Hottentots and Bushmen save the blood. This 
being set on the fire, and kept stirred, soon becomes nearly of the 
consistence of liver, and is then eaten as a dainty. 
The Bushmen received a share of the fat with equal delight, and 
immediately began to melt it in a little j^o^ of their own manufacture, 
and one which, apparently, was intended only for that use. It was 
indeed the rudest piece of workmanship imaginable, being simply a 
rough bit of stone, in which they had contrived to hollow out a small 
cavity : it, however, perfectly answered the purpose for which it was 
used. As we stood at their fire admiring rather the rudeness, 
than the ingenuity, of it, these poor beings with all their wretched- 
ness even possessed vanity at their own works, and seemed to smile 
at our ignorance, and to view our surprise with feelings of conscious 
superiority. The figure of this pot may be seen at the end of the 
chapter ; where, opposite to it, on the right, is the representation of 
another, made of burnt clay, the workmanship of which, if not 
Bachapin, does them more credit, being moulded to that form by 
the hand only. 
The great extent of the plain and evenness of its surface, 
admitted my viewing the constellations until they disappeared below 
the horizon. At this time the three well-known stars in the belt of 
Orion were just setting, and induced a train of reflections on the 
