430 botanical information. 



Zeyhbr and Burke; 



South African Collections of Plants. 



(Mr. Burke's Journal, continued from p. 22.) 



The weather is too hot for flesh to keep long, and thus we 

 are often driven hard for want of animal food. Four days 

 again elapsed ere our chace was successful, when we killed a 

 rut-bok. The elands are wild, and keep far off. This part 

 of the country is thickly covered with several species of 

 Acacia. On the 29th we reached the junction of the Croco- 

 dile River with the Stork Stromme, where we saw several 

 giraffes and a large white rhinoceros, which we killed, but 

 could only carry away his head, the whole animal being too 

 heavy a load for our waggon. Two of the giraffes were cap- 

 tured, one of which pined and died, and the other contrived 

 to strangle itself. The horse on which these creatures had 

 been chased, was so terrified, that he ran away, and we lost 

 several days in seeking for him, and when recovered, the 

 creature was so wild as to be almost useless. The lions had 

 pursued him, and I only wonder that he was not devoured 

 the first night. A party of natives gave information, and 

 assisted in recovering the truant, and we rewarded them by 

 shooting Guinea-fowls, of which there were large flocks in the 

 vicinity. Certainly this land seems to be wholly relinquished 

 to wild beasts. When we had chosen our night's quarters, 

 four white Rhinoceros' came out of the bush, and we judged 

 it best to decamp ; but had no sooner seated ourselves else- 

 where, than a lion rushed among the oxen, which all, most 

 wisely, ran directly into the fires, and our people setting 

 up loud shouts, the lion retired as quietly as he came, leaving 

 the cattle unhurt. The Guinea-fowl ran thick here, Hk e 

 fowls in a poultry-yard at home. We shot two elands for 

 food, and caught a fine young male, which proved almost 

 equally troublesome with the giraffe, for he nearly killed 

 himself with dashing against the waggon ; so I fastened him 



