into a sharp
curve. It is strung with twisted sinew. The arrow, which is neatly made of
a reed, the thickness of a finger, is bound with thread to prevent
splitting, and notched at the end for the string. At the point is a head of
bone, or stone with a quill barb; iron arrow-blades obtained from the Bantu
are also found. The arrow is usually 2 to 3 ft. long. The distance at which
the Bushman can be sure of hitting is not great, about twenty paces. The
arrows are always coated with a gummy poisonous compound which kills even
the largest animal in a few hours. The preparation is something of a
mystery, but its main ingredients appear to be the milky juice of the
_Amaryllis toxicaria_, which is abundant in South Africa, or of the
_Euphorbia arborescens_, generally mixed with the venom of snakes or of a
large black spider of the genus _Mygale_; or the entrails of a very deadly
caterpillar, called N'gwa or 'Kaa, are used alone. One authority states
that the Bushmen of the western Kalahari use the juice of a chrysalis which
they scrape out of the ground. From their use of these poisons the Bushmen
are held in great dread by the neighbouring races. They carry, too, a club
some 20 in. long with a knob as big as a man's fist. Assegais and knives
are rare. No Bushman tribe south of Lake Ngami is said to carry spears. A
rude implement, called by the Boers _graaf stock_ or digging stick,
consisting of a sharpened spike of hard wood over which a stone, ground to
a circular form and perforated, is passed and secured by a wedge, forms
part of the Bushman equipment. This is used by the women for uprooting the
succulent tuberous roots of the several species of creeping plants of the
desert, and in digging pitfalls. These perforated stones have a special
interest in indicating the former extension of the Bushmen, since they are
found, as has been said, far beyond the area now occupied by them. The
Bushmen are famous as hunters, and actually run down many kinds of game.
Living a life of periodical starvation, they spend days at a time in search
of food, upon which when found they feed so gluttonously that it is said
five of them will eat a whole zebra in a few hours. They eat practically
anything. The meat is but half cooked, and game is often not completely
drawn. The Bushman eats raw such insects as lice and ants, the eggs of the
latter being regarded as a great delicacy. In hard times they eat lizards,
snakes, frogs, worms and caterpilla