The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-04-01
RACE ABOUT EXTINCT.
Few Survivors Of the South African Busli
men Left.

men Left.
One of the most interesting races in til,
world, from an ethnologist's point of view
is on the point of extinction. For man,
years past the bushmen of South Africi
have been dwindling In numbers till tn
survivors may almost be counted on one
fingers. The bushman is first cousin to tn
diminutive race of pygmies found by tn
great explorer Du Chaillu in the coastlandl
of western Africa, near the equator, anC
closely resembles the dwarfs found by
Stanley in the greet Aruwhimi forest II
all probability they are the remnants
the aboriginal race Of Africa which ha
been driven into the corners of the African
earth by successive inva 5ions of Hottentot
Bantu and negro tribes. Their existenc,
IN Africa is mentioned as far back as 1884,
by Andrew Battell, one of the earliest o
Africa's English explorers He describe
them as emo bigger than boys of 12 yeal
old, but very thick, and they live only upo1
flesh, which they kill in the woods will
their bows and their darts.
The bushman Is one of the lowest type
Of humanity, not many degrees removed
from the animal. He is Of small statur
but not dwarfed, and, with high ehee,
bones, his deep set eyes have an exceedingly
cunning look Bushmen are troglodytes
and, remaining in their caves by day, sally
forth at night from their mountain fast
nesses and harass the nearest farmers by
Staying their stock with arrows composed
of reeds tipped with bone or iron saturated
in the fatal juice of the euphorbia tire,
mixed with the poison of snakes and spi
ders. So troublesome did they become ii
Natal during the early history of the col
ony that a special fort was built-noW
known as Fort ttingham-whence ex
petitions were organized against thest
diminutive marauders. Still later a wal
of determination was waged against then
by band of farmers under the Drakens
berg, who raided their haunts in the wilC
mountains and succeeded in freeing them
selves from this troublesome pest. Ever.
busbman fought for himself, and they rec
ognized no chief, much less any primitive
system of government such as prevail
among the Bantu race,
1t is a singular thing that, though so low
in the social scale, the bushman possessei
the power of illustration totally unknown
to his more civilized successors, and very
creditable representations of Glands, ,dingOs
snakes, and even scenes Of hunting ant
battle are to be found in the caves o
DrdkensDerBi ABOVE Ihe SOURCES Vi Gl
Bushman river Several of the drawing
have been removed to the library at Pieter
maritzburg, where they form a yaluabl,
collection for the colonial antiquary. TIL,
bushman's language is mainly composed
of clicks, of which there are six distinc
kinds, but it is impossible on hearing on
of this pygmy race talk to do otherwis
than set him down as an animal. There i
local tradition in Natal that "the last o
the bushmen" was farm laborer at on
Of the homesteads under the Drakensberg
and, falling sick of fever, his end was de
voutly looked for by local scientist who
on the desired contamination, obtainet
his bones and forwarded them to England
where they are now exposed to public gaz
in the South Kensington museum. Chi
cago Chronicle.