AFRICA. 



AFRICA. 



130 



the immense quantities of ivory annually imported into Europe from 

 the western coast of Africa alone. A considerable quantity of this 

 ivory is said to be found in the woods, being either broken by the 

 animals in their combats with one another, or in their attempts to 

 uproot different kinds of trees for the purpose of feeding upon their 

 roots and branches ; but much the greater part of it is the produce 

 of the chase, whole tribes often devoting themselves to this employ- 

 ment. During their hunting expeditions, which often last three or 

 four months, the hunters live entirely upon the flesh of the slain 

 elephants, and frequently collect as much ivory as enables them to 

 live in what they consider affluent circumstances for two or three 

 years afterwards. The African elephant is not now, as far as we 

 know, employed in the service of man; though the Ptolemies 

 undoubtedly obtained elephants of war from Ethiopia. 



Of the rhinoceros, one species at least, and probably more, inhabits 

 the middle and southern parts of Africa, frequenting the same 

 localities as the elephant, and hunted as ardently by the people, 

 though its hide and horns are the only parts of it that can be turned 

 to account. Of the hide shields are made in some parts, and in 

 others traces and harness ; for all of which purposes its great thick- 

 ness and durability render it extremely appropriate. The African 

 rhinoceros, like, that of Sumatra, has two horns, but it is distinguished 

 from the latter species by having no front or incisor teeth. 



The hippopotamus is found in the large rivers and lakes of Africa 

 south of the Great Desert ; and from being less hunted and more 

 difficult to come at than either the elephant or rhinoceros, is in many 

 parts extremely common. This animal appears to have kept posses- 

 sion of the fresh-water lakes and rivers of Africa, and to have inha- 

 bited the very same localities which it now occupies, from the earliest 

 ages. The Greek >ind Roman writers frequently mention it as an 

 inhabitant of the Nile ; and Hanno, the Carthaginian admiral, in his 

 voyage along the western coast of Africa, informs us that he came to 

 a large river which, it ia supposed, must have been either the 

 Senegal, or the Gambia, or the Rio Grande in which the hippo- 

 potami were very numerous. At the present day the hippopotamus 

 is never seen below the second, and perhaps not below the third 

 cataract of the Nile ; but on the opposite coasts of the continent, in 

 the Senega], the Gambia, and the Niger, they are numerous, and 

 extend southward as far as the Cape. Within the boundaries of the 

 Litter colony, indeed, this animal is at the present day rarely met 

 with ; but it was formerly as abundant as in other parts of Africa, 

 and still existe on the northern and eastern frontiers. 



The engallo, or wild boar of Africa (Phacochceriui), is a very 

 different species from that of Europe, though the latter is likewise 

 said to be found in Egypt and Barbary, as it certainly is in India 

 and other parts of the East. The engallo is perhaps the most hideous 

 of all mammals in appearance. It resembles the elephant in the form 

 aiid structure of its molar teeth. Of these there are never more than 

 two in each jaw ; they are not renewed as in ordinary quadrupeds by 

 the new one growing under the old, and gradually pushing it out of 

 the socket ; but the young tooth is formed in this case behind the 

 old one, and gradually advances forward and assumes its situation as 

 ' ter is worn down by constant use. 



The zebra, the dow, and the quagga (Equu* zebra, E. duplivirgatut, 

 and E. quaccha) are found in most parts of southern and central 

 Africa which are known. These beautiful animals, equally remark- 

 able for the symmetry of their forms, the rapidity of their course, 

 and the brilliancy and wonderful regularity of their colours and 

 marking*, associate in large herds upon the open plains and gentle 

 declivities, and are the frequent prey of the lion, which is said to 

 prefer their flesh to the dry and tough venison of the various species 

 of gazelles and antelopes that inhabit the same localities. It has been 

 repeatedly remarked by African travellers, that these animals and the 

 ostriches seem to have a natural predilection for each other's society, 

 ;m<l tliat the flocks and herds of these very different species are con- 

 stantly found intermixed, though they refuse to associate with other 

 animals. It is not a little remarkable, that the same was observed by 

 Xi-imphoii, during the expedition of the 10,000 Greeks, with respect 

 tn the ostrich and quagga or wild ass, on the plains of Syria and 

 Mesopotamia. 



Among ruminating animals, Africa is chiefly remarkable for the 

 nse numbers of different species of antelopes which it contains ; 

 no t'-'wer than 60 species, out of 80 which have been enumerated in 

 this extensive genus, being proper to that continent. This is a very 

 peculiar feature in the zoological character of Africa, especially when 

 we consider that there have been only two species of deer (one of 

 which is our common fallow deer, which has been ascertained to be 

 indigenous to North Africa) hitherto discovered throughout the whole 

 extent of the continent. Asia, on the contrary, whilst it abounds in 

 many different species of deer, contains comparatively very few ante- 

 loped, being thus completely opposed, in an important zoological 

 feature, to Africa. Among other indigenous ruminants the most 

 remarkable is the giraffe, or camcleopard, which i found from the 

 bank* of the Dareep to the southern borders of the Great Desert. 

 ..r tun., wild species of buffalo also inhabit the woods and 

 ni:iirthy grounds of the interior, but we know little of their forms or 

 C'lffn; or wild i 'he Cape, has the base of 



xtending all over the top of the head and forehead, in the 

 DIV. VOL. I. 



manner of a helmet; he is a savage and dangerous animal, much 

 dreaded by travellers. 



Among the cetaceous mammals which inhabit the seas and coasts 

 of Africa, we need only mention the lamantin (Manatus Senegalensis), 

 which frequents the moutha of the great rivers on the Atlantic and 

 Indian Oceans, and feeda upon the aquatic plants that it can reach 

 along the shores. It was this animal which, from the pectoral situa- 

 tion of its mamma;, and from the habit of raising itself half out of 

 the water, especially when in the act of suckling its young, gave 

 origin to the fable of the mermaid, by which name it is often 

 mentioned by ancient African voyagera and travellers. 



Of the ornithology of Africa we cannot undertake to give more 

 than a very general account. Indeed, from the physical conformation 

 of birds, they are not so confined and limited in their geographical 

 distribution as quadrupeds ; and consequently the ornithology of par- 

 ticular countries is never so peculiar nor exclusive as its mammalogy. 

 Birds, possessing powers of locomotion which quadrupeds want, 

 often migrate to the most distant climates. Thus many of our 

 European species, such as the common quail, the landrail, the cuckoo, 

 and the different varieties of swallows, which spend the summer and 

 autumn in northern climates, njigrate for the winter season to Africa ; 

 and others of our common species are found distributed over the 

 whole eastern hemisphere without presenting any sensible difference, 

 even in the colour of a feather, hi the most remote localities. Tho 

 ostrich has already been incidentally mentioned as an inhabitant of 

 Africa. At the present day, indeed, it would appear to be exclusively 

 confined to that continent, though in the age of Aristotle and 

 Xenophon it was found in the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia. 

 Captain Lyon informed us that the best ostrich feathers imported from 

 Barbary are not procured from the wild birds of the desert, but from 

 semi-domesticated individuals which the Arabs take young and breed 

 up in stables, where they are well supplied with soft bedding to 

 prevent them from wearing or injuring the feathers. Similar to the 

 ostrich in many of their habits, and even somewhat in appearance, 

 are the bustards, many different species of which inhabit the Karroos 

 and arid plains of Africa. Of gallinaceous fowls, adapted to the 

 poultry-yard, Africa possesses but a single genus, the Guinea-hens 

 (Numida), which, however, are found in no other part of the world. 

 These birds, of which there are three or four distinct species, go in 

 large flocks of 400 or 500, and are most frequently found among 

 underwood in the vicinity of ponds and rivers. There are besides 

 many species of partridges and grouse in different parts of Africa ; 

 but as these are not fitted for domestic purposes, and have otherwise 

 nothing remarkable in their habits or economy, it will be sufficient at 

 present to indicate them thus generally. Wild fowl of various species 

 are also abundant on the lakes and rivers, as are likewise various 

 species of owls, falcons, and vultures, the latter of which, like the 

 hyaenas among the quadrupeds, are highly useful in consuming the 

 offal and carrion which might otherwise taint the air and produce 

 disease. The exquisite sense of smell possessed by these birds is 

 truly surprising. One of the most remarkable and useful birds of prey 

 peculiar to Africa is the secretary (Faico serpentarius), which may be 

 not improperly described as an eagle mounted on the long naked lega 

 of a crane. This bird preys exclusively upon serpents, which it pursues 

 on foot, and destroys in amazing numbers. 



Among the smaller birds of Africa are many species remarkable for 

 the gaudiness and brilliancy of their plumage, or the singularity of 

 their manners and economy. Of the former kind may be mentioned 

 the innumerable varieties of parrots and parroquets, which, from the 

 size of a sparrow upwards to that of a raven, swarm in all the forests, 

 and make the woods resound with their hoarse unmusical screams. 

 Of the latter kind, it will be sufficient to mention the honey cuckoo 

 (C'uculut indicator, Linnaeus) and the little bird called the republican 

 (Loxia tocia, Latham). 



Lizards, serpents, and other reptiles abound in every part of Africa. 

 The crocodile inhabits all the large rivers of the tropical parts, and is 

 still abundant in the Nile below the first cataract ; different species of 

 chameleons may be seen on every hedge or shrub ; and the enormous 

 python, a serpent 30 feet hi length, lurks in the fens and morasses. 

 Among the venomous species, the dipsas, the asp, and the cerastes, or 

 horned viper, are frequently mentioned by the ancient classical writers ; 

 whilst the garter-snake, the puff-adder, and other species, arc at 

 present employed to poison their arrows by the Bosjesmans. 



Of the insect tribes, Africa also contains many thousand different 

 kinds. The locust has been from time immemorial the proverbial 

 scourge of the whole continent ; scorpions, scarcely less to be dreaded 

 than the noxious serpents, are everywhere abundant ; and the zebub, 

 or fly, one of the instruments employed by the Almighty to punish 

 the Egyptians of old, is still the plague of the low and cultivated 

 districts. For a particular account of the ravages of this dreadful 

 insect, the reader is referred to Bruce's 'Travels,' (4to edit.) voL i. 

 p. 388, and ' Appendix,' p. 188, where there is also a good figure. 



VIII. Plants of Africa. The nature of African vegetation will be 

 best understood by tracing geographically the change* it undergoes 

 between a state but little different from that of the south of Europe, 

 ;uiil the singular flora of the Cape of Good Hope. To the traveller 

 who passes from the south of Europe to Tangier, the nppcarance of 

 the African coast presents nothing remarkably different from what he 



