276 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
out I'rom him his sparrow-hawk kite, 
wliicli he draws back by the cor(i which 
retains it, launching it out again and 
again as occasion may require. At the 
same time the whole body of hunters 
raise a chorus of the most unearthly 
cries. Frigliteiied by the din, and the 
sparrow-hawks floating over them, the 
flock of birds gradually descend lower 
and lower, until, by skilful manoeuvring, 
they are made to alight just beneath the 
vertical nets. Now is the time for the 
gentleman in the shelter-hut. He lets go 
the cords which retain the nets in posi- 
tion, the nets fall forward upon the 
frightened birds, and, voila tout ! 
Of pigmy stature, and of perhaps the 
lowest grade of any of the races of hu- 
manity, i)ossessing"neitlier headmen nor 
chiefs j nor even pro]>er names, the miser- 
able Bushman or Bosjesman of South 
Africa is yet dreaded and avoided by the 
stalwart and warlike Kaffirs, Zulus, and 
Hottentots by whom he is surrounded. 
So much is this the case that these tribes 
submit in quietness to the loss of the 
greater part of theii; worldly goods in the 
shape of cattle and horses, which are con- 
stantly being stolen by their crafty little 
enemy, who can hide himself behind a 
stone'or a few shreds of scanty herbage, 
or, if necessary, bury his yellow body in 
the sand, which in color it so nearly re- 
sembles, in order that he may escape de- 
tection and carry out liis nefarious de- 
signs. Indeed, it is not until their pa- 
tience is utterly exhausted by the numer- 
ous depredations to which they are sub- 
jected that a number of them will reluc- 
tantly combine together to root out their 
wily foes. And wiiy is this ? No one who 
looks at that puny savage carrying a tiny 
little l)ow and a quiver of wretched, 
featherless arrows, never exceeding 
eighteen inches in length, and of about 
the thickness of a, quill, the heads fre- 
quently composed of pieces of bone, and 
only occasionally of small triangular- 
shaped bits of that to him almost price- 
less metal— iron, would imagine that he 
possessed much power to harm any liv- 
ing being, much less the magnificent na- 
tives of tJie Cape and the adjacent country. 
But these same wretched little arrows are 
tipped with a subtle poison, which in 
almost all cases carries death witli a 
scratch, and in some cases, according to 
the kind of poison used, causes the vic- 
tim excruciating torture, speedily ending 
in the loss of reason and dea.th. The lit- 
tle weapon is manufactured first of a 
reed, bound at one end by a piece of liga,- 
ment from an ostrich, or some other ani- 
mal ; on the other end is placed a ])iece of 
bone, to give weight at the tip, and assist 
the arrow in its flight; and next comes 
the sharp triangle of bone or iron which 
is to form the barb, and which is placed 
loosely in its socket, so that when it has 
struck the mark the shaft of the arrow 
may be withdrawn, but the head will re- 
main within the wound. Three kinds of 
poison are used, the first entirely vegeta- 
ble, the next vegetable with which is- 
mixed virus extracted from the poison- 
bag of the cobra, or some other venom- 
ous serpent, and the third consisting of 
the juice of a grub called n'gwa or k'aa,, 
which latter kind causes the indescriba- 
ble agony already referred to. It is a dis- 
puted ])oint whether or not any antidote 
exists with regard to the first and third 
of these i)oisons, but in respect of the 
second the mixed nature of the venom 
renders the application of any remedy 
out of the question. Fortunately for his- 
neighbors, the Bushman is but an indif- 
ferent marksman, and unless he can get 
within six or seven yards of his target 
anything smaller tlian a haystack is- 
pretty certain to escape unhurt. The 
Bushman carries several of his arrows in 
his headdress. This is his invariable 
practice, so that he may always have 
some ready to hand, and such is the 
rapidity with which he ca.n snatch them 
from their plac© and fit them to his bow 
that it is no uncommon feat for a Bush- 
man to get off three shots within two sec- 
onds. 
Now we come to what is perhaps the 
most remarkable of all weapons. Cer- 
tainly it is the only one that possesses 
the power of returning to the hand of its 
owner after it has been thrown, provid- 
ing always it has failed to hit tlje mark,, 
and its flight has not been affected by 
coming into contact with any object. An 
Australian native is not overburdened 
with goods and chattels, and usually car- 
ries the whole of his worldly property 
with him. This consists of his loin cloti], 
with a cord spun from the fur of the opos- 
sum round his waist, in which is stuck at 
the back, his hatchet, the head of which 
comes exactly over and in a line with his 
spine. In tlie same cord, which is very 
elastic, are i^laced his boomerang, or 
kiley, and his dow-uk, a short heavy 
stick for flinging at the smaller animals. 
In his left hand he carries his thro wing- 
stick and several spears, headed in two or 
tliree different ways, to answer the vari- 
ous requirements of war or of hunting. 
See him when engaged in the chase of 
the cockatoo, as he crawls noiselessly to- 
wards the edge of some broad lagoon, 
yet not so noiselessly but he rouses tlie 
susi)icion of the sentinel cockatoos, who 
draw in to the main body of the floclv, 
which is asleep on the branches of ihe 
trees which cover the banks. Presently 
the Australian springs to his feet as the 
birds take the alarm and circle in dense 
masses above the still water, Kaisiug his 
right hand over the shoulder, he takes 
