Wonders of the tropics; or, Explorations and adventures of Henry M Stanley and other world-renowned travelers, including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc .. . ere jackal tails, it isformed from ostrich feathers. The remarkable excellence of the Bechuanas in the arts of peace shouldbe noticed. They are not only the best fur-dressers and metal-workers,but they are pre-eminent among all the tribes of that portion of Africa intheir architecture. Not being a nomad people, and being attached to thesoil, they have no idea of contenting themselves with t
Wonders of the tropics; or, Explorations and adventures of Henry M Stanley and other world-renowned travelers, including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc .. . ere jackal tails, it isformed from ostrich feathers. The remarkable excellence of the Bechuanas in the arts of peace shouldbe noticed. They are not only the best fur-dressers and metal-workers,but they are pre-eminent among all the tribes of that portion of Africa intheir architecture. Not being a nomad people, and being attached to thesoil, they have no idea of contenting themselves with the mat-coveredcages of the Hottentots, or with the simple wattle-and-daub huts of theKaffirs. They do not merely build huts, but erect houses, and displayan ingenuity in their construction that is perfectly astonishing. Whencethey derived their architectural knowledge, no one knows. Why theKaffirs, who are also men of the soil, should not have learned from their LIVINGSTONE AMONG SAVAGES. 69 neighbors how to build better houses, no one can tell. The fact remains,that the Bechuana is simply supreme in architecture, and there is noneighboring tribe that is even worthy to be ranked in the second CURIOUS HOUSES BUILT BY WHITE ANTS. The house of Dingan, the great Kaffir despot, was exactly like that ofany of his subjects, only larger, and the supporting posts covered withbeads. Now a Bechuana of very moderate rank would be ashamed of 70 WONDERS OF THE TROPICS. such an edifice by way of a residence; and even the poor—^if we may usethe word—can build houses for themselves quite as good as that ofDingan. Instead of being round-topped, as is the case with the Kaffirhuts, the houses of the Bechuanas are conical, and the shape may beroughly defined by saying that a Bechuanas hut looks something like ahuge whipping-top with its point upward. It resembles the curious housesbuilt by that marvellous insect, the white ant, itself one of the wondersof the Tropics. A man of moderate
Size: 1468px × 1702px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherphiladelphiapa
