THE CAPE COLONY HOUSE. 327 



A most striking instance of the extraordinary endurance 

 of Colony horses occurred a few years ago in Great Nama- 

 qua-land. The animal in question belonged to a son of the 

 Hottentot chief Zwartbooi, who one day, while hunting in an 

 open tract of country, fell in with a troop of eleven giraffes, 

 to which he immediately gave chase, and the whole of which 

 he rode down and shot in succession. But the immense ex- 

 ertion was too much for the gallant creature, whose life was 

 thus sacrificed. 



This remarkable horse was well known throughout Great 

 Namaqua-land, and is said to have been quite mad with ex- 

 citement when he observed a wild animal. He only ceased 

 to pursue when the game was either killed or no longer in 

 sight. 



The Colony horses, with a little training, answer admira- 

 bly for either hunting or shooting. They may be taught to 

 remain stationary for hours together hy merely turning the 

 bridle over their heads, resting the extremities of the reins 

 on the ground. They seldom trot ; the usual pace is a can- 

 ter, and occasionally an amble. 



So much has already been said and written on the Cape 

 Colony, its sturdy Boers, its soil, its productions, and so forth, 

 that it would be superfluous to add any thing farther. Suf- 

 fice it to mention a few of the most remarkable incidents of 

 my journey. 



Soon after leaving Komaggas, my horse — a young half- 

 trained stallion which had only been ridden thrice — shied, 

 and, rearing on his hind legs, came to the ground on his back 

 with sudden violence. Providentially, the soil was soft and 

 yielding, and although I sustained his whole weight for a few 

 seconds, I escaped with no worse consequence than a tight 

 squeezing. 



After leaving Komaggas the homesteads of the Boer be- 

 came daily more numerous. Riding up one morning to a 

 house, with a view of obtaining some bread and flour, I was 



