AFRICA. 65 
as thofe made of large brafs wire. They 
take fo much care of the latter, and fcour 
them fo often, that they become exceedingly 
brilliant, and retain a moft beautiful polifli. 
They are remarkably fond of hunting; and 
in this exercife they difplay great dexterity. 
Befides gins and fnares, which they place in 
convenient fpots to catch large animals, they 
lie in wait for them alfo, attack them as foon 
as they appear, and kill them with their 
poifoned arrows, or their aflagays. When 
an animal is wounded by the former, it in- 
ftantly feels the efFcds of the poifon, which 
coagulates its blood ^ and it often happens 
that an elephant, wounded in this manner, 
falls at the diftance of twenty or thirty leagues 
from the place where it received the deadly 
blow. As foon as an animal expires, they 
are contented with cutting away all the flefli 
near the wound, which theyconfider as dan- 
gerous ; but the reft fuftains no injury from 
the force of the poifon. I have often eat 
the flefh of animals killed in this manner, 
without experiencing the flighteft inconve- 
nience ; but I muft own that I would not 
run the fame rifque with refped to animals 
Vol- II. F which 
