Tnaugxtral xXddress. 3 



SOUTH AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS. 



Le Vaillant. 



I propose now to recall to your minds a few of our 

 more illustrious predecessors, to whom we chiefly owe 

 what knowledge we now possess of South African orni- 

 thology. 



The first of these is undoubtedly the Frenchman, Francois 

 le Vaillant (1753-1824) : this celebrated sportsman and 

 naturalist was born at Paramaribo, in Dutch Guiana, in 

 1753. His father was a wealthy merchant of that place, 

 who originally came from Metz, then in France, and was 

 the Acting French Consul. When only ten years old, 

 Le Vaillant was sent to Holland, and from there returned 

 to France, and rejoined his parents there. He early evinced 

 a great taste for natural history, and employed a great deal 

 of his time hunting and collecting birds. Finally he deter- 

 mined to go to Africa for this same purpose. He embarked 

 from Texel, in Holland, at the end of 1779, and did not reach 

 the Cape till early in 1781, having been more than a year 

 making the voyage. He spent three months at the Cape, 

 and made a celebrated journey to Saldanha Bay, where he 

 stayed on board the ' Middelburg,' one of the ships of the 

 Dutch fleet, which was ordered in that year to retire there 

 to avoid the English expedition under Commodore Johnston. 

 The English squadron, however, appeared, and all the Dutch 

 fleet was captured except the ' Middelburg,' which was fired 

 by her skipper. Van Glennep, and sunk in the shallow water 

 of the bay. Poor Le Vaillant made his way back to Cape- 

 town on foot, having lost his collections and most of his 

 possessions. However, he found some friends, who assisted 

 him, and after equipping himself with a wagon and all the 

 necessary paraphernalia for an extended journey, he started 

 off" on his eastern trip towards Kafiirland, which lasted for 

 sixteen months ; he travelled along the south coast of the 

 Colony, not far from the coast, but apparently did not get 

 much further east than the Great Fish River ; on his return 



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