SOUTHERN AFRICA. 245 
belly to let the blood run among the entrails ; then cutting 
these with a knife, and pouring in a quantity of water, they 
stirred up all together, and drank the nauseous mixture with 
an appetite that sufficiently shewed it to be suited to their 
taste. Most of the Hottentots kill their sheep by ripping 
open the belly and taking out the bowels, without cutting the 
throat, being persuaded that the flesh is much better by suf- 
fering the blood to coagulate within the body rather than to 
let it escape. 
It did not appear from those we saw, that they were in the 
habit of applying unctuous substances to the body any farther 
than by wiping their greasy hands on the skin ; but the hair 
and faces of many of them had been rubbed with red ochre 
after the manner of the Kaffers, and a few had the face painted 
black, as if they wore a mask : this they usually do with the 
kernel of a small nut burned in the fire. The oil expressed 
from this nut is considered by them as a preventive against 
stiffness in the joints, and by the colonists as an excellent topical 
application for rheumatic complaints. The oil indeed bears 
a very strong resemblance to that called cajapoota, which has 
obtained the reputation of being a specific in this disorder 
The Hottentot name of the plant is kai ; and the nut resem- 
bles the seed of the tea-shrub. 
The constitution of the body in this pigmy race is much 
stronger, and their lives are of longer duration, than those of 
the Hottentots. Many instances of longevity are found among 
those who live in the famihes of the peasantry. In every 
sickness, of what kind soever, it is usual with them to take 
