CLIMATE OF THE KARROO. 91 



their eggs are under water, and they wander about 

 clucking despondently. By-and-by they will all be 

 happier, when the waters have subsided a little, and 

 they can pick succulent insects out of the softened 

 ground ; but in the meanwhile they show plainly that 

 they do not see the good of living in a half -drowned 

 world. 



And here come two of the horses, with " Septem- 

 ber,"* one of our Kaffir herds, who has been out on the 

 veldt to find and catch them. Like most of the other 

 colonists, we have no stables, and when our animals 

 have done their day's work, we let them go, unless an 

 early start has to be made in the morning ; then, as 

 they sometimes go long distances, and are not to be 

 caught in a hurry, those that will be wanted are kept 

 in the kraal over-night. During severe droughts the 

 horses are fed at the house ; but when there is plenty 

 of vegetation on the veldt, they pick up a living for 

 themselves. They do not get very fat, nor are they 

 handsome to look at ; and if an English coachman could 

 see their bony frames and rough, ungroomed coats, he 

 would no doubt be filled with the profoundest con- 

 tempt. Yet, with all their uncouth appearance, they 

 are far more serviceable than his fat, sleek, overfed 

 animals. They can travel much longer distances ; they 

 do not have such frequent colds and other ailments 

 lameness especially is quite unknown among them 

 and their services are always at the command of their 

 master, of any of his friends and acquaintances, or 

 * Many of the negroes on Cape farms are named after the months. 



