THE BOSHUANAS- 
door ; and an open space in front being employed 
for cooking, the interior is kept free from the in- 
convenience of smoke. Coolness is maintained 
by a species of large mimosa, with which every 
house is overshadowed, and the branches of which 
are preserved with religious care. The people 
are not entirely black, like the eastern KafFres j 
some are of a bronze colour, and others of a 
brown, approaching to that of the Hottentots. 
They have not the fine athletic figure of the 
kaffres, but have made greater progress in civili- 
zation and the arts. Though pasturage be their 
chief occupation, they also cultivate the ground, 
and raise different species of seeds, of which the 
principal is the Holciis siirgum, commonly boiled 
with milk. This labour, however, as in all rude 
states, is entirely devolved upon the female sex. 
They have an eager passion for tobacco. They 
eat without distinction the flesh of all the wild 
animals whom they kill in hunting, even that of 
wolves, leopards, and hyenas. The party offered 
knives in barter, which were rejected with con- 
tempt, as they had knives of their own made to 
cut with two edg^s, and of much superior quality. 
Cattle, knives, and beads, were their standing 
commodities, and circulated as money. 
The government of the Boshuanas is patriar- 
chal. The old men form a council, without 
whose advice the king undertakes nothing of im- 
