202 
GUM USED FOR FOOD. [1820. 
in the field ! Did it die without a bullet ?" " There 
was no bullet." " So we shall now find quachas 
dead in the field without bullets ! shall we ?" 
Here the conversation ended without a direct ac- 
cusation, as the accuser had no proof to adduce 
that the quacha was shot, it having been cut in 
pieces in the field, and perhaps that part of the 
skin, through which the bullet entered, thrown 
away. However, all heard the conversation, and 
considered the transaction to be a nefarious one. 
Our people, during their ranging for game, met 
various parties of children belonging to Boot- 
shuana Bushmen, collecting gum from the mimosa 
tree to eat ; a sign of a scarcity of provisions, 
for, though the gum supports life, they have an 
idea that when taken in quantities it is injuri 
to their constitutions. 
