CAMK AND CAMf: i'RKSKKN' A ru ) N 1 \ /.VI.II.A \ I). 3.S5 



is little short o\ surprising, hm it rc(|uires tinu', and unbroken 

 quiet. That such confidence was becoming acquired between 

 the years lyii and 1914. was evidenced by the fact that the 

 writer has on several occasions seen from his guard-hut on the 

 Kwankwa both reedbuck and bushbuck grazing in the middle of 

 the day within fifty yards of the hut, and entirely disregarding 

 the native guards who were sitting round their fires eating and 

 talking. 



Only in a localitA' in wliicli tliey considered their safety 

 assured would the wary bushbuck so tar forget his customary 

 caution as to venture on a prolonged midday meal. 



Deliberate ])oaching in the Game Reserves is almost a thing 

 of the past as regards Europeans, although last year, when the 

 Nagana panic was at its height, and the whole country south 

 of the White Umfolozi was' thrown open to indiscriminate 

 slaughter, several parties entered the Reserve from that side and 

 destroyed game. The natives, however, continue to ]jnach when- 

 ever they get the opportunity, especially those living near the 

 Reserve boundaries; and it is cjuite impossible, with the compara- 

 tively small force of guards at the disposal of the ( ianie Con- 

 ser\ ator, to prevent this. 



Zululand is a large tract of country to patrol with less than 

 twent}' men, and it is fairly certain that if all parts were pa- 

 trolled (as they should -be), each individual area would be 

 visited about once every two vears. 1 he onl\- plan, therefore, 

 to adopt is to station guards at certain spots where the greatest 

 danger threatens, makin.g occasional changes as circumstances 

 suggest. 



The question of the occurrence of \ ermin in Zulular.d is one 

 which has given ri.se to a great amount of inconse(|uent charter, 

 and the time-worn shibboleth, " vermni is bred in the Game Re- 

 serves," is raked up whenever the occasion seems to warrant it. 

 It is an old tale, long ago worn to shreds in the Transvaal, where 

 the Game Warden clearly shoNved its absurdity. 



It still passes muster here amongst a certain class, mainly 

 consisting of those who merel}' talk for talking's sake, and who 

 the while, know nothing whatever about the sulqect. 



Let us for a moment consider the matter dis])assionately, 

 and ask ourselves ( i ) what reason can be given why vermin' 

 should show a partiality fi;r the Reserves as breeding ground>. 

 and (_') is the statement that they do so borne out by facts? 



( I ) Two reasons are commonly advanced for their par- 

 tiality t<j the Reserves, t'/.c., on account of the small risk of 

 disturbance therein, and because they can there obtain plenty of 

 food. As to the first of these, it is certain that outside the Re- 

 serves there are just as many (|uiet, undisturbed s]X)ts as inside, 

 and moreover, those species of vermin which " lair down " in 

 holes of the ground (and amongst these is to ])e reckoned the 

 hunting dog. the greatest criminal of the lot) are by no means 

 particular in this respect. 



I know of a spot where, until last year, two litters of wild 



