ABSTRACT
The Bushmen are generally considered as the aborigines of South Africa, and at one time seem to have spread over the whole southern extremity of the continent, till they were encroached on, first by the Hottentots, then by the Bantu, and lastly by the Europeans. Some of the earlier Bantu invaders, however, lived on friendly terms and even to a considerable extent intermarried with them, and thus we find people, like the Abatembu of Cape Colony, and some Bechwana clans, who are partly of Bushman blood, but entirely Bantu in language and habits. The late Rev. John MacKenzie, whose experience extended over many years, thought highly of the Bushmen, and said that he never met one who was not thoughtful and intelligent, and well-informed on matters as had come within his experience. "The Bushman tongue is as yet too insufficiently known to allow to assign it to its proper place in a general classification of languages.
