and coarse cheese; but they are immensely fond of spirituous liquors, and will never fail to get drunk with them if they have an opportunity.
This little, and no more, of the customs of this much-spoken-of people I had myself an opportunity of seeing: from the Dutch I heard much, and select the following from their accounts:—
Within the boundaries of the Dutch settlements are many different nations of Hottentots, differing from each other in custom very materially. Some are far superior to others in arts. In general, however, all live peaceably with each other, seldom fighting, except those who live to the eastward, who are much annoyed by people called by the Dutch Boschmen. The latter live entirely upon plunder, stealing the cattle of the Hottentots, but not openly attacking them. They are armed, however, with lances or assagais, arrows (which they know how to poison, some with the juice of herbs, others with the poison of the snake called cobra di capelo[1]), and stones (which some particular tribes throw so well that they will repeatedly strike a dollar or crown-piece at the distance of a hundred paces). They train up bulls, which they place round their crawls or towns in the night: these will constantly assemble and oppose either man or beast that approaches them, nor will they desist till they hear the voice of their masters, who know how to encourage them to fight, or to make them in an instant as tame and tractable as their other cattle.
Some nations know how to melt and prepare copper, which is found among them, probably native, and make of it broad plates to ornament their foreheads. Others again, indeed most, know how to harden bits of iron, which they procure from the Dutch, and make of them knives superior to any the Dutch can sell them.
Their chief people, many of whom have a large quantity of cattle of their own, are generally clad in the skins of lions, tigers, or zebras, etc., which they adorn and fringe very
- ↑ The term cobra di capella is only applied to the common Indian species of the cobra.
