the kalahari and the bushmen.
reasons why droughts are prevalent in south africa—vegetation admirably suited to the character of the country—number of tuberous roots—the caffre water-melon—the mesembryanthemums—the animal life of the kalahari—the bushmen, a nomadic race of hunters—their skill in hunting—their food—acuteness of their sight and hearing—their intelligence and perseverance—their weapons and marauding expeditions—their voracity—their love of liberty—the bakalahari—their love for agriculture—their ingenuity in procuring water—trade in skins—their timidity.
a geographical position, not unlike that which condemns the plains along the western foot of the peruvian and bolivian andes to perpetual aridity, renders also the greater part of tropical and sub-tropical southern africa subject to severe droughts, and in general to great scarcity of rain. for the emanations of the indian ocean, which the easterly winds carry towards that continent, and which, if equally distributed over the whole surface, would render it capable of bearing the richest productions of the torrid zone, are mostly deposited on the eastern slopes of the mountain-chains, which, under various denominations, traverse eastern south africa from north to south; and when the moving mass of air, having crossed their highest elevations, reaches the great heated inland plains, the ascending warmth of that hot dry surface gives it greater power86 of retaining its remaining moisture, and few showers can be given to the central and western lands. thus, while the sea-board gorges of the eastern zone are clad with gigantic forests, and an annual supply of rain there keeps a large number of streams perpetually flowing, damara land, the namaqua country, and the kalahari, are almost constantly deprived of moving water.
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from these general remarks it might be imagined that regions so scantily supplied with one of the prime necessaries of life could be nothing but a dead and naked waste; yet, strange to say, even the great kalahari, extending from the orange river in the south, lat. 29°, to lake ngami in the north, lat. 21°, and from about 24° e. long. to near the west coast, has been called a desert simply because it contains no flowing streams and very little water in wells; as, far from being destitute of vegetable or animal life, it is covered with grass and a great variety of creeping plants, interspersed with large patches of bushes and even trees. in general, the soil is a light-coloured, soft sand; but the beds of the ancient rivers contain much alluvial soil, and, as that is baked hard by the burning sun, rain-water stands in pools in some of them for several months in the year.
the abundance of vegetation on so unpromising a soil may partly be explained by the geological formation of the country; for as the basin-shape prevails over large tracks, and as the strata on the slopes where most of the rain falls dip in towards the centre, they probably guide water beneath the plains, which are but ill-supplied with moisture from the clouds.
another cause, which serves to counteract the want or scarcity of rain, is the admirable foresight of nature in providing these arid lands with plants suited to their peculiar climate. thus creepers abound which, having their roots buried far beneath the soil, feel but little the effects of the scorching sun. the number of these which have tuberous roots is very great—a structure evidently intended to supply nutriment and moisture when, during the long droughts, they can be obtained nowhere else.
one of these blessings to the inhabitants of the desert is the leroshua, a small plant with linear leaves, and a stalk not thicker than a crow’s quill; but on digging down a foot or87 eighteen inches beneath, the root enlarges to a tuber, often as big as the head of a young child, which, on the rind being removed, is found to be a mass of cellular tissue, filled with fluid much like that in a young turnip. owing to the depth beneath the surface at which it is found, it is generally deliciously cool and refreshing. another kind, named mokuri, is seen in other parts of the country, where long-continued heat parches the soil. this plant is an herbaceous creeper, and deposits under ground a number of tubers, some as large as a man’s head, often in a circle, a yard or more horizontally from the stem. the natives strike the ground on the circumference of the circle with stones, till, by hearing a difference of sound, they know the water-bearing tuber to be beneath. they then dig down a foot or so and find it.
but the most wonderful plant of the desert is the kengwe, the water-melon of the caffres. in years when more than the usual quantity of rain falls, vast tracts of the country are literally covered with these juicy gourds, and then animals of every sort and name, including man, rejoice in the rich supply.
the creeping plants of the desert serve, moreover, a double purpose; for, besides their use as food, they fix, by means of their extensive ramifications, the constantly shifting sands—thus rendering similar services to those of the sand-reed (ammophila arundinacea) on the dunes along the sandy coasts of the north sea.
the mesembryanthemums are another family of plants admirably adapted to the kalahari, as their seed-vessels remain firmly shut while the soil is hot and dry, and thus preserve the vegetative power intact during the highest heat of the torrid sun; but when rain falls, the seed-vessel opens and sheds its contents, just when there is the greatest likelihood of their vegetating. this is the more wonderful, as in other plants heat and drought cause the seed-vessels to burst and shed their charge.
one of this family possesses a tuberous root, which may be eaten raw; and all are furnished with thick, fleshy leaves, with pores capable of imbibing and retaining moisture from a very dry atmosphere and soil; so that if a leaf is broken during the greatest drought it shows abundant circulating sap.
the peculiar and comparatively abundant vegetation of the88 arid plains of south africa explains how these wastes are peopled by herds of herbivorous animals, which in their turn are preyed upon by the lion, the panther, or the python. hundreds of elands (boselaphus oreas) gemsbucks, koodoos, (strepsiceros capensis), or duikers (cephalopus mergens), may often be seen thirty or forty miles from the nearest water. these, having sharp-pointed hoofs well adapted for digging, are able to subsist without water for many months at a time, by living on moist bulbs and tubers; while the presence of the rhinoceros, of the buffalo and gnu (catoblepas gnu), of the giraffe, the zebra, and pallah (antilope melampus), is always a certain indication of water being within a distance of seven or eight miles.
koodoo.
the tribes of the kalahari consist of bushmen, probably the aborigines of the southern part of the continent, and of bakalahari, the remnants of an ancient bechuana emigration.
the diminutive bushman occupies nearly the lowest degree in the scale of humanity. equalled in size by the chimpanzee, far surpassed by the gorilla, and with as little prominence of the nasal bone as in those highest of the simiæ, he nevertheless walks erect, and by the equal and uninterrupted series of his comparatively small teeth, by his well-developed great toe and the large opposable thumb, by his plantigrade foot and prehensile hand, vindicates his claim to the genus man. inhabiting the arid deserts of south africa, from the confines of the cape colony to the banks of the zambesi, or possibly even as far north as the valley of the nile, he is the only real nomad in south africa, as the scanty means of subsistence the land affords compel him to a life of constant wandering. he never cultivates the soil excepting perhaps for the sake of a little dacha or wild hemp for smoking, nor rears any domestic animal save wretched dogs. as a hunter he rivals the american indian in his intimate acquaintance with the habits of the game, and the skill he evinces in their capture. he follows them in their migrations from place to place, and proves as complete a check upon89 their inordinate increase as the other carnivora. when game is scarce, he manages to live on bulbs, snakes, lizards, termites, ants’ eggs, locusts, and any other garbage he can get. inured to every privation, he equals the camel in his endurance of hunger and thirst, and will remain for days without tasting a drop of water, except such as is contained in the pulp of succulent plants. his refuge at night is some natural cave or self-made burrow, or the shelter of a bush, where, covered with the skin of a sheep or antelope, he rests like a wild animal in his lair.
it may naturally be supposed that a life like this must act unfavourably on his physical development; but, though apparently weak, his meagre body is capable of great exertion. his sight and hearing are remarkably acute, as he is constantly practising them in the pursuits of the chase; but it would almost seem as if he were devoid of taste, smell, and feeling, for he expresses no disgust at the most loathsome food, and is quite insensible to all changes of temperature.
when each individual only seeks the momentary gratification of his first animal wants, without any thought of the future, the ties of society must necessarily be very slack. thus, the whole nation is subdivided into small hordes or families, and even these are frequently forced to separate as the same place does not afford sufficient nourishment for all. there is no distinction of hereditary rank; bodily strength is the only quality conferring superiority, and enables its fortunate possessor to tyrannize over his weaker companions.
though occupying about the same rank in the human family as the fuegians, and leading a mere brute existence, the bushmen give many proofs of intelligence. they are with difficulty roused to exertion, but when they have once conquered their habitual laziness, an uncommon perseverance characterises all their undertakings. nothing will induce them to quit the spoor of an animal they have once pursued; they will dig for days in places where they expect to find some water.
both in the fabrication and the use of their weapons, they show great ingenuity and skill. like the south american indians, they understand the art of poisoning their arrows, which scarcely ever miss the mark within a distance of eighty paces; they also have recourse to pitfalls, poisoned water, and other stratagems. in the art of surprising their game, they can90 hardly be surpassed. it is not an easy task, in the midst of a naked plain, to avoid the eye of the shy antelope or of the far-sighted ostrich, so as to be able to approach them within a distance of fifty or sixty paces. this, however, they perform, by slowly creeping along almost on their bellies, by strewing dust over their bodies, so as not to be betrayed by any difference of colour, and by remaining motionless as soon as the animal shows any marks of attention. this tedious pursuit often lasts several hours, without ever tiring their patience; and the prey thus tracked, however swift and wary, but seldom escapes them.
in the marauding expeditions which they frequently undertake for the purpose of stealing the cattle of their neighbours, the caffres, bechuanas, or boors—for, having no property themselves, they have little regard for the property of others—they show no less expertness and cunning, never venturing an attack before having first carefully spied out every circumstance, and taken every precaution to ensure success. at the time of the last quarter of the moon, their thefts are most to be feared, for they then execute their robberies in the dark before midnight, and afterwards profit by the moonlight for a more rapid flight.
their physiognomy has the characteristic traits of the hottentot race, but their eye is infinitely more sharp and wild, their countenance more expressive and intelligent, and all their gestures more lively—a difference caused, no doubt, by the greater mental and bodily actions to which a life full of hardships and privations constrains them.
as may be imagined from the few ideas it has to express, their language is very poor, and, on account of its peculiar and characteristic click and its harsh gutturals, more resembles the screeching of an animal than a human idiom.
when a horde has been successful in some hunting or marauding expedition, it keeps the fact as secret as possible, for as soon as the intelligence spreads, everyone hastens to the spot to come in for his share of the feast.
for fear of being obliged to divide with others, the prey is devoured as fast as possible, with inconceivable gluttony, and what cannot be used is instantly destroyed, merely from the dog-in-the-manger motive, to keep others from its enjoyment. when, for instance, the bushmen have found a nest of ostrich91 eggs, and circumstances will not allow of their remaining on the spot, they take away as many as they can carry, and break the rest; or, when they meet with a great herd of springbocks, they will wound as many as possible with their poisoned arrows, though six or eight would suffice them with food for many days. it is a state of society like that to which, probably, the communists would reduce civilized europe, if their insane doctrines could ever be realized. despite the many privations they have to endure, the bushmen prefer the utter freedom of the desert to the constraint of an agricultural and pastoral life. they live in the kalahari by choice, the bakalahari from compulsion, and both possess an intense love of liberty.
the bakalahari are traditionally reported to be the oldest of the bechuana tribes driven into the desert by a fresh migration of their own nation. though living ever since on the same plains with the bushmen, under the same influences of climate, enduring the same thirst, and limited to the same scanty food for centuries, they still retain in undying vigour the bechuana love for agriculture and domestic animals, hoeing their gardens annually, though often all that they can hope for is a supply of melons and pumpkins, and carefully rearing small herds of goats, although to provide them with water is a task of no small difficulty, since the dread of hostile visits from the adjacent bechuana tribes makes them choose their abode far from the nearest spring or pool, and leads them not unfrequently to hide their supplies by filling the pits with sand and making a fire over the spot. when they wish to draw water for use, the women come with twenty or thirty of their water vessels in a bag or net on their backs. these water vessels consist of ostrich egg-shells, with a hole in the end of each, such as would admit one’s finger. the women tie a bunch of grass to one end of a reed about two feet long, which they insert in a hole dug as deep as the arm will reach, and then ram down the wet sand firmly round it. applying the mouth to the free end of the reed, they form a vacuum in the grass beneath, in which the water collects, and in a short time rises into the mouth. an egg-shell is placed on the ground alongside the reeds, some inches below the mouth of the sucker. a straw guides the water into the hole of the vessel as she draws mouthful92 after mouthful from below; and thus the whole stock of water passes through her mouth as a pump, and when taken home is carefully buried to prevent its loss by evaporation. a short stay among the thirsty bakalaharis might teach us better to appreciate the blessings of an abundant supply of water.
these poor people generally attach themselves to influential men in the different bechuana tribes near to their desert home, in order to obtain supplies of spears, knives, tobacco, and dogs, in exchange for the skins of animals which they kill. these are small carnivora of the feline race, including two species of jackal, the dark and the golden, the former of which has the warmest fur the country yields, while the latter is very handsome when made into the skin-mantle called kaross. next in value follow the small ocelot, the lynx, the wild and the spotted cat. great numbers of duiker and steinbuck skins are also obtained, besides those of lions, panthers, and hyænas.
the bakalahari are a timid race, and in bodily development frequently resemble the aborigines of australia. they have thin legs and arms, and large protruding abdomens, caused by the coarse indigestible food they eat. their children’s eyes have no lustre, and such is their want of the animation so natural at that age that dr. livingstone never saw them at play.
a bechuana may meet a troop of bakalahari, and domineer over the whole with impunity; but when he meets a bushman he is fain to adopt a more humble tone, well knowing that if the request for tobacco is refused, the free son of the desert may endeavour to obtain it by a poisoned arrow.
