36 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN 



to its cost when it tackles a rabbit with a nest 

 of young. 



A native once brought me a half-grown lycaon pup. 

 A more uninteresting pet could not be imagined. 

 Under captivity his natural intelligence seems to 

 evaporate, and nothing takes its place. These 

 wild dogs rely on numbers to enable them to 

 obtain food, and I expect that when the bitches 

 lie up with whelp many succumb to starvation. 

 Single-handed they could capture nothing. Their 

 numbers, so far as I could ascertain, had decreased, 

 as those of all carnivorous animals do as the game 

 becomes scarce from being disturbed or shot. I 

 think the wild dog of South Africa is now a dis- 

 tinct species and has probably evolved from a 

 cross between the common semi-domestic dog 

 and a hyena, taking after the latter in appearance. 

 The fact that he is called the Cape hunting dog 

 suggests that the most southern tract of South 

 Africa is the birthplace of the tribe. 



The year 1891 was a great one in the develop- 

 ment of Mr Cecil Rhodes' imperialism. The 

 British Bechuanaland Border Police formed part 

 of the mechanism which was to open up a con- 

 siderable part of the continent of Africa. A rail- 

 way to unite the two extremities of the Cape and 

 Cairo was the grand inspiring call of a gigantic 

 scheme. It brought the British nation into 



