. A voyage to Cochinchina, in the years 1792 and 1793. To which is annexed an account of a journey made in the years 1801 and 1802, to the residence of the chief of the Booshuana nation. The whole is covered with a tent-shaped roof, supportedon poles built into the wall, and forming in front an opencolonnade. The roof is carefully and compactly thatched withreeds, or the straw of the holcus, and bound together withleathern thongs. All the houses were enclosed by a fencemade of strong reeds, of the straw of holcus, or twigs of wood ;and within this enclosure, contiguous to the dwelling-house,th
. A voyage to Cochinchina, in the years 1792 and 1793. To which is annexed an account of a journey made in the years 1801 and 1802, to the residence of the chief of the Booshuana nation. The whole is covered with a tent-shaped roof, supportedon poles built into the wall, and forming in front an opencolonnade. The roof is carefully and compactly thatched withreeds, or the straw of the holcus, and bound together withleathern thongs. All the houses were enclosed by a fencemade of strong reeds, of the straw of holcus, or twigs of wood ;and within this enclosure, contiguous to the dwelling-house,there stood a large clay vessel erected upon a raised flooi ofthe same material, which served as a store for containingtheir grain and pulse. These granaries had the appearanceof large oil jars, the capacity of some of them being not lessthan 200 gallons. They are raised from the ground onthree legs, jjre from six to nine feet high and, like thedwelhng-houses, are covered with a pointed roof of SOUTHERN AFRICA. 393 The dwelling of a Booshuana is not ill calculated for theclimate. In elegance and solidity it may probably be quiteas good as the Casa or first houses that were built in imperialRome, and may be considered in every respect superior in itsconstruction and in coilifort to most of the Irish cabins, intowhich the miserable peasantry are oftimes obliged to crawlthrough puddles of water. The hut of a Booshuana is notonly raised upon an elevated clay flooring, but the ground ofthe whole enclosure is so prepared that the water may run oftthrough the gateway; and the whole of their cookery beingcarried on in this open area, the inside of the dwelling is freefrom smoke and soot. So well is he acquainted with thecomfort and convenience of shade, that his hut is usuallybuilt under the branches of a spreading mimosa, every twig ofwhich is preserved with a religious care, and not a bough suf-fered to be broken off on any emergenc}^, though the article offuel must sometimes
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1800, booksubjectvoyagesandtravels
