NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



I naturally urged him on all I could, knowing what 

 a sensation the discovery of a few survivors of the 

 once numerous race of Quaggas would cause. The 

 war, however, broke out shortly after, and the 

 investigation was held up. 



I am now endeavouring to secure, through two 

 well-known hunters in the South-West Protectorate, 

 a skin and skull of one of these alleged Quaggas with 

 a view to settling the question one way or the other. 



The name Quagga comes from the Hottentot 

 name which imitated the cry of the animal. To 

 distinguish it from the Zebra or Wilde Paard (Wild 

 Horse) the Voortrekker Dutch called it Wilde Esel 

 or Wild Ass. 



Like the true Zebra, the Quagga resisted capture 

 with both teeth and heels, and early writers mention 

 instances of natives being killed, or pieces bitten out 

 of them by wounded stallions. 



The Quagga was the first of South Africa's large 

 fauna to become extinct, for the reason that it was 

 a dweller of the plain, and its range was very limited. 

 The Voortrekkers shot these animals to provide 

 meat for their Hottentot and other native servants, 

 and also for the skins, which made excellent leather 

 for veldschoens (home-made shoes). The skin was 

 also used for making large bags or sacks, in which 

 they stored dried fruits and biltong. 



An old Dutchman told me that his father and 

 several uncles made their living solely by shooting 

 Quaggas, Zebras and large antelopes, and selling 



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