66 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
of
the old hands are from 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 6 inches in height. To
this high range the Batlapins from Bechuanaland are the most notable
exception, for they often are not much larger than the dwarfed Bushmen
of the Kalahari desert. They are not favorites at the mines with the
other tribes, or with the whites, for they are often impudent and
meanly selfish, and difficult to instruct in underground work.
The
ordinary dress of the natives in the compound is a woollen shirt,
trousers, and shoes. They rarely wear any underclothing, and when at
work in the mines, a pair of ragged
