SPORT IN MOZAMBIQUE 



to make a knot with the hairs of the tail of the animal 

 before cutting it up, a precaution which, say the 

 natives, is a preventive of dy sentry. There exists 

 a host of other traditions concerning dead game, 

 which I shall note according to the incidents of the 

 narrative. 



The abundance of game which I find at Gorongoza 

 makes me prefer this district to Neves-Ferreira, where 

 formerly I have killed so many animals, but which is 

 now decimated by the white hunters. 



It is in this district that I meet with Wahlberg's 

 zebra, which is common in the territory ; almost 

 every day I encounter troops ranging from five to 

 one hundred head. It loves not solitude ; if it be 

 deprived of companions, it mingles with herds of 

 other animals. Like many antelopes, it displays 

 constancy, remaining long beside a dead comrade, 

 and mourning its loss by a kind of braying, something 

 like that of the ass. Its flesh, which is mixed with 

 yellow fat, is not much according to my taste r 

 although the Kafirs and the Hon are fond of it. When 

 wounded, this animal is dangerous, and it is necessary 

 to beware of its kicks and its bites. I myself have 

 seen a zebra thrice charge one of my men who 

 approached it in order to put it to death. 



The zebra is a creature so wonderful, ready to 

 render great services in a country where draught 

 animals perish, that I regret that hitherto no one 

 has attempted to domesticate it except by shots from 



(58) 



