disappeared like vermin. Face to face the Bushman is never to be feared;
a whole "camp" or tribal family will scatter if a traveler stumbles into
their midst. It is from behind a tree or under cover of night that he
deals his murderous blow.

A "camp" may consist of ten or twenty individuals, sometimes, perhaps,
of forty, or even fifty, of various ages, and is ruled by the eldest,
who is also the parent. He is absolute master of his "camp", but has no
power or recognition beyond it, so that how many leaders there may be
among them it is not possible even to guess. Nor is the master known to
them as king, or duke, nor has he any title, but is simply the oldest or
founder of the family. The "camp" has no law, no established custom;
events happen, and even the master cannot be said to reign. When he
becomes feeble, they simply leave him to die.

They are depraved, and without shame, clad in sheep-skins chiefly, if
clad at all, or in such clothes as they have stolen. They have no
ceremonies whatever. The number of these "camps" must be considerable,
and yet the Bushman is seldom seen, nor do we very often hear of their
depredations, which is accounted for by the extent of country they
wander over. It is in severe winters that the chief danger occurs; they
then suffer from hunger and cold, and are driven to the neighbourhood of
the enclosures to steal. So dexterous are they in slipping through the
bushes, and slinking among the reeds and osiers, that they will pass
within a few yards without discovering their presence, and the signs of
their passage can be detected only by the experienced hunter, and not
always by him.

It is observed that whatever mischief the Bushman commits, he never sets
fire to any ricks or buildings; the reason is because his nature is to