292 NATURE AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA 



Others, towards 1837, crossed the Vaal and, after 

 several bloody encounters, drove Moselikatse (father 

 of the late Lobengula) and his Matabele hordes north 

 of the Limpopo. These vast regions of the Transvaal 

 and Orange Free State, which were practically taken 

 possession of by the Boers by the year 1840, may be 

 said to have been countries virgin to the hunter. 

 Cornwallis Harris and his hunter-comrade Richardson 

 were practically the only white men who had ever 

 pursued game there before the Dutch appeared. 

 If we except the old Cape Colony, Griqualand West, 

 and South Bechuanaland, no other regions in the 

 world could vie with these new countries in wealth 

 of animal life. And, especially, elands, hartebeest, 

 bontebok,blesbok,quagga and Burchell zebra, brindled 

 and white-tailed gnus, and the innumerable springbok 

 contributed to render the face of the land literally 

 darkened with game. 



Between 1840 and 1875 it is certain that some 

 millions of these animals must have been destroyed 

 in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. As recently 

 as 1860 a drive of game was got up for the Duke 

 of Edinburgh — then Prince Alfred — in the Orange 

 Free State. It was computed that some 25,000 

 head of game were enclosed by natives and driven 

 in. Thousands — some say 6000 — were shot, and 

 several natives were trampled to death by the charge 

 of a terrified herd of BurchelFs zebras. To-day you 



