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 .. . -kalahari to choose their residence far from water, and they not unfre-quently hide their supplies by filling the pits with sand and making a fireover the spot. When they wish to draw water for use the women comewith twenty or thirty of their water-vessels in a bag or net on theirbacks. The water-vessels consist of ostrich egg-shells, with a hole inthe end of each, such as would admit ones
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 .. . -kalahari to choose their residence far from water, and they not unfre-quently hide their supplies by filling the pits with sand and making a fireover the spot. When they wish to draw water for use the women comewith twenty or thirty of their water-vessels in a bag or net on theirbacks. The water-vessels consist of ostrich egg-shells, with a hole inthe end of each, such as would admit ones finger. The women tie abunch of grass to one end of a reed about two feet long, and insert it in ahole as deep as the arm will reach ; then ram down the wet sand firmlyround it. Then applying the mouth to the thin end of the reed theyform a vacuum in the grass beneath, in which the water collects, and in ashort time rises into the mouth. An egg-shell is placeci on the groundalongside the reed, some inches below the mouth of the sucker. A strawguides the water into the hole of the vessel as she draws mouthful aftermouthful from below. The water is made to pass along the outside, notthrough the C647) 648 WONDERS OF THE TROPICS. An intelligent Bakwain related to me how the Bushmen effectuallybaulked a party of his tribe which lighted on their village in a state ofburning thirst. Believing, as he said, that nothing human could subsistwithout water, they demanded some, but were coolly told by theseBushmen that they had none, and never drank any. Expecting to findthem out, they resolved to watch them night and day. They perseveredfor some days, thinking that at last the water must come forth; but, not-withstanding their watchfulness, kept alive by most tormenting thirst, theBakwains were compelled to exclaim, Yak! yak! these are not men; letus go. Probably the Bushmen had been subsisting on a store hiddenunderground, which had eluded the vigilance of their visitors. Ostrich C
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