OSTRICHES. 151 



are on the same side of the fence then, even Burns's 

 mouse' had no greater " panic " in his " breastie " than 

 that which impels the senseless biped to dash straight 

 into the wires on his left; though miles of unfenced 

 veldt, along which he might run with safety and soon 

 distance the dog, stretch away to his right. The dog, 

 of course, was not in either case troubling his head 

 about the ostrich ; and only wonders what all the 

 commotion is about. 



One of T 's birds performed the "happy de- 

 spatch " in quite a novel manner. Seeing a tempting 

 quince growing on the further side of a hedge, he 

 squeezed his head and neck through a narrow fork in 

 the branches to reach it. Having secured and eaten 

 his prize, he tried to draw his head back. But what 

 was difficult enough before was now impossible; his 

 neck, bulging with the quince, kept him a prisoner, 

 there was no one at hand to help, and the more he 

 tugged and jumped in the frenzied manner of ostriches 

 when held by the head, the more firmly he stuck. 

 And he was found at last, with his neck broken, and 

 his head, to all intents and purposes, pulled off. 



Another ostrich, running up against some projecting 

 ends of wire, tore his throat open ; inflicting so deep a 



gash as to divide the oesophagus. T (surgeon as 



well as everything else a colonist requires to be) went 

 in quest of needle and thread to sew up the wound ; 

 and, on returning, found that his patient, having dis- 

 covered a sack of mealies, was busily helping himself 

 to the contents ; though with the unsatisfactory result 



