“It is undeniable that of the tribes of today the Bushman is the ‘oldest inhabitant’ and that the others are immigrants, black from the north and white from the south,” wrote Dr. Tyrrell in Tribal Peoples of Southern Africa. The Bushmen are an endangered yellow-tinged race similar in size to the Pygmies of central Africa. They are among the last people of earth who survive solely by hunting and gathering.

The way of life of the Bushman was not compatible with that of the Hottentots and the African tribesmen. War over land intensified with the arrival of Europeans, who required large farms for their stocks. Though incredibly courageous, the little hunter was forced to give way, finally succumbing to the sophisticated weapons of the white man. Some were absorbed into other nations, like the Sotho, while others survived in the inhospitable Kalahari.