CHAPTER II. 



SOME OF OUR PETS. 



Friendliness of South African birds and beasts Our Secretary bird- 

 Ungainly appearance of Jacob His queer ways Tragic fate of 

 a kitten A persecuted fowl Our Dikkops A baby buffalo 

 Wounded buffalo more dangerous than lion A lucky stumble 

 Hunter attacked by " rogue " buffalo A midnight ride Followed 

 by a lion Toto A pugnacious goose South African climate 

 dangerous to imported dogs Toto and the crows Animals offered 

 by Moors in exchange for Toto. 



SOUTH AFRICA is the land of pet animals. The feath- 

 ered and four-footed creatures are all delightful. They 

 have the quaintest and most amusing ways, and they 

 are very easily tamed. The little time and attention 

 which in a busy colonial home can be spared for the 

 pets is always repaid a hundredfold ; and often you 

 are surprised to find how quickly the bird or beast 

 which only a few days ago was one of the wild crea- 

 tures of the veldt torn suddenly from nest or burrow, 

 and abruptly turned out from the depths of a sack or 

 of a Hottentot's pocket into a human home has be- 

 come an intimate friend, with a clearly-marked indi- 

 vidual character, most interesting to study, and quite 

 different from those of all its fellows, even of the same 

 kind. On one point, however, the whole collection is 



