Humans avoid the deep Kalahari like the plague because man must have water to live. So the...

Narrator: Humans avoid the deep Kalahari like the plague because man must have water to live. So the beautiful landscapes are devoid of people, except for... the little people of the Kalahari. Pretty, dainty, small and graceful... the Bushmen. Where any other person would die of thirst in a few days, they live quite contentedly in this desert that doesn't look like a desert. They know where to dig for roots and bugs and tubers, and which berries and pods are good to eat. And of course they know what to do about water. For instance, in the early morning you can collect dewdrops from leaves that were carefully laid out the previous evening. Or a plume of grass can be a reservoir. If you have the know-how, a clump of twigs can tell you where to dig, and you come to light with an enormous tuber. You scrape shavings off it with a stick that is split for a sharp edge. You take a handful of the shavings, point your thumb at your mouth and squeeze.

Humans avoid the deep Kalahari like the plague, because man must have water to live, so the beautiful landscapes are devoid of people... except for the little people of the Kalahari. Pretty, dainty, small and graceful, the Bushmen. Where any other person would die of thirst in a few days, they live quite contentedly in this desert that doesn't look like a desert. They know where to dig for roots and bulbs and tubers, and which berries and pods are good to eat. And, of course, they know what to do about water. For instance, in the early morning, you can collect dewdrops from leaves that were carefully laid out the previous evening... or a plume of grass can be a reservoir, and if you have the know-how, an insignificant clump of twigs can tell you where to dig, then you'll come to light with an enormous tuber. You scrape shavings off it with a stick that was split to give it a sharp edge. You take a handful of the shavings, point your thumb at your mouth and squeeze. They must be the most contented people in the world. They have no crime, no punishment, no violence, no laws, no police, judges, rulers, or bosses. They believe that the gods put only good and useful things on the earth for them to use. In this world of theirs, nothing is bad or evil. Even a poisonous snake is not bad. You just have to keep away from the sharp end. Actually, a snake is very good. In fact, it's delicious, and the skin makes a fine pouch. They live in the vastness of the Kalahari in small family groups. One family of Bushmen might meet up with another family once in a few years, but for the most part, they live in complete isolation, quite unaware that there are other people in the world. In the deep Kalahari, there are Bushmen who have never seen or heard of civilized man. Sometimes they hear a thundering sound when there are no clouds in the sky, and they assume the gods have eaten too much again, and their tummies are rumbling up there. Sometimes, they can even see the evidence of the gods' flatulence. Their language has an idiosyncrasy of its own. It seems to consist mainly of clicking sounds.