SOUTHERN AFRICA. 155 
fupport, the foul of their exiftence. The thongs of dried fkins 
that had encircled their legs from the ankle to the knee, as a 
protection againft the bite of poifonous animals, were now de- 
fpifed and thrown away, and beads were fubftituted in their 
place. Thus what had been adopted as a matter of neceffity 
and prudence pafled into an afiair of falhion. Their necks, 
arms, and legs were loaded with glafs beads : but the largeft 
and moft fplendid of thefe ornaments were beftov;ed upon the 
little apron, about feven or eight inches wide, that hangs from 
the waift and reaches barely to the middle of the thigh. Great 
pains feem to be taken by the women to attradl notice towards 
this part of their perfons. Large metal buttons, fliells of the 
cypraea genus with the apertures outwards, or any thing that 
makes a great fhew, are faftened to the borders of this apron. 
Thofe who either cannot afford to wear glafs beads, or have no 
tafte for the fafhion, wear an apron of a different fort, which 
has a very odd appearance : it is the fkin of an animal cut into 
threads that hang in a bunch between the thighs, reaching 
about half-way to the knee ; the exterior and anterior parts of 
the thigh are entirely bare. The threads of fuch an apron are 
frequently too thin and few to anfwer the purpofe of conceal- 
ment. Inftead of the tail worn by the men, the women have a 
fheep's flvin that entirely covers the pofterior part of the body 
from the waift to the calf of the leg, and juft wide enough to 
ftrike the exterior part of the thigh. The rattling of this hard 
and dry fkin announces the approach of a Hottentot lady long 
before fhe makes her appearance. The reft of the body is 
naked. Some, however, wear fkin-caps on their heads made 
up into different fhapes, and ornamented as caprice may diredt. 
X 2 In 
