MOSAROS HIDE WATER 
179 
this additional load, without compunction she flings the child on 
to, or into, the nearest bush, and proceeds on her way without 
any qualms of conscience, so long as the ragged mats and house¬ 
hold utensils it is her lot to transport reach the camp in safety. 
Thus they trek from place to place in the desert, guided only by 
their desires and necessities, to find wild fruit or roots that they 
know are ripening in a district often many miles distant from 
where they happen to be at the moment. 
The Mosaros naturally are acquainted with all or most of the 
pans of water existing in the desert, and usually camp some 
miles away from these, that the secret of this knowledge may 
not unwittingly be betrayed to a casual passer-by, who might 
take advantage of the knowledge and bring more people to 
the spot to help consume the meagre store of fruit or roots on 
which they subsist. Extremely jealous of their water, often only 
existing in little pits dug in the damp sand, they have been 
known to watch others suffering the acutest thirst and never 
betray their secret, hoping probably that, as well as protecting 
their own welfare, they may perhaps profit by the death of the 
travellers, whose goods in this event will fall to their lot. 
Their natural intelligence seems warped to the conditions sub¬ 
sisting around them, and all the so-called better feeling amongst 
other races seems to have no part in their existence. Selfishness 
and fear are the only two distinguishing emotions that prompt 
their actions, and these are brought about by the harsh condi¬ 
tions that govern their lives, and the brutal treatment meted out 
to them by the other natives with whom they of necessity must 
occasionally come in contact. 
From the data I could gather concerning these people, it 
appears that they have been fugitives from civilisation since the 
early days when the Cape Colony became peopled by Whites. 
They are descendants of Hottentots, and, spite of occasional inter¬ 
mixture with pure natives, still maintain the chief anatomical 
characteristics distinguishing their forefathers, as well as many 
customs belonging to the Hottentots. They resemble most the 
Gona Hottentots, many of whom were still residing near 
