New Travels Into the Interior Parts of Africa, by the Way of the Cape of Good Hope, in the Years 1783, 84 and 85. Translated from the French of Le Vaillant. Illustrated with a Map, ... In Three Volumes. ...G. G. and J. Robinson, 1796 |
Common terms and phrases
affiftance affured Africa againſt alfo aloe dichotoma alſo animal appeared arrived aſked bafin beafts becauſe Befides Bernfry birds brandy Caminouquas camp Cape cattle cauſe confequence confiderable courſe defert defirous difcover diſtance eaſily faid fame fatisfied favages feen felf fent fervice feven feveral fhall fide fimilar fince fingle fire firſt fituation fkin fome foon fpecies ftill fuch fuffered fufficient giraffe glaſs himſelf hippopotamus horde horſe Hottentots hyæna itſelf journey killed Klaas Bafter kraal leaft leaſt lefs leſs moft moſt mountains muſt myſelf neceffary night Nimiquas notwithſtanding obferved obliged occafion oxen paffed paſs perceived Pinar planters pleaſed pleaſure poffible poiſon prefent procure purchaſed purpoſe quadrupeds reaſon refolved reft requeſted reſpect river ſay ſcarcely Schoenmaker ſeeing ſeen ſeveral ſhe ſhould ſkin ſome ſpeak ſpecies ſpring ſtate ſuch Swanepoel thefe themſelves theſe thofe thoſe uſe vifit waggons weft
Popular passages
Page 362 - I hav& juft defcribed, the Greater Nimiquas ufe another, that of daubing their hair with a thick layer of greafe, mingled with the powder of different odoriferous woods. Many of them tattoo their faces, arms, and even bodies. But the latter cuftom is not fo prevalent among them, as among other people more to the north. This too may be a native cuftom, which the fame fpirit of coquetry that gave rife to it in other nations may have equally prompted the Nimiquas to invent.
Page 364 - They have even a peculiar implement of war, which their neighbour* have have not. This is a large buckler, of the height of the perfon who bears it, behind which the Nimiqua can completely conceal himfelf. But, befide that his natural apathy prevents him from giving or taking offence, he is in reality pufillanimous and cowardly from the coldnefs of his difpofition. To utter only ths name of Houzouana before him is fufficient to make him tremble.
Page 278 - Giraffe, and occasions this apparent difference between the legs, is the height of the withers, which may exceed that of the crupper from sixteen to twenty inches, according to the age of the animal; and which, when it is seen at a distance in motion, gives the appearance of much greater length to the fore legs. "If the Giraffe stand still, and you view it in the front, the effect is very different.
Page 49 - The fcantinefs of her attire left great part of her charms expofed to view ; but fhe thought no more of indelicacy in exhibiting, than of modefty in concealing them. A man of lefs temperance would have had no favour to afk, and no denial to fear. Meanwhile it appeared ftrange to me, that, b'eing defcended from a white parent, and having it in her power to live among whites, , andfettle herfelf in a habitation like her father's, fhe fhould renounce fuch an advantage.
Page 356 - For this purpofe, they put him in a coop, as it were : that is, they fhut him up in a trench made under their hut, where, being deprived of motion, he lofes little by perfpiration, while they feed and cram him in a manner with milk and greafe. By degrees the child fattens, and gets as round as a barrel ; and when he is come to fuch a ftate as not to be able to walk, but to bend under his own weight, the parents exhibit him to the admiration of the horde; who, from that period, conceive more or lefs...
Page 277 - ... of Africa where the tree does not grow. This, however, is but a vague conjecture, and which the reports of the ancients seem to contradict.
Page 277 - This is not a fleshy excrescence, but an enlargement of the bony part, the same as the two little bosses, or protuberances, with which its occiput is armed, and which rise as large as a hen's egg, one on each side of the mane, at its commencement. Its tongue is rough and terminates in a point. Each jaw has six grinders on each side, but the lower jaw only has eight cutting teeth in front, while the upper jaw has none. " The hoof is cloven, has no heel, and much resembles that of the ox. It may be...
Page 280 - I did not perceive it use them against my dogs; and these weak and useless weapons would seem but an error of Nature, if Nature could ever commit error, or fail in her designs. " In their youth, the male and female Giraffes resemble each other in their exterior. A knot of long hair...
Page 30 - ... feems to offer the beft mark to the ball or the arrow; and if the hunter cannot always eafily get at it after he has...
Page 357 - I took eare, under different pretences, to examine, one after another, all the huts of the kraal, and to afk which was the eldeft child of the family : but I no where faw any thing that indicated either this pretended coop, or this pretended cramming. It is probable that fuch a tale may have originated among the planters refiding on the Namero, and in the neighbourhood of the country of the Nimiquas ; that it was a pleafantry of fome wit of the place on the leannefs of thefe people, which indeed...