HISTORY. 229 



them. But the Caffres are in a peculiar degree attached to 

 this dangerous exercise : they pursue the chase in companies ; 

 and when an individual discovers the herd, he winds a small 

 pipe made of the thigh-bone of a Sheep, and his companions 

 hastening to his aid. they environ the game, and pierce them 

 with spears. The Bushmen, for the same purpose, use jave- 

 lins and arrows dipped in poison. 



The flesh of these animals is said to be juicy and well- 

 flavoured. But it is chiefly for their hides that they are 

 valued by the African hunters and the farmers of the Cape. 

 These are so thick and tough, that they may be formed into 

 targets, musket-proof; they are used, too, for whips, and 

 for the straps of harness, and are said to form the only halters 

 that can be depended upon for securing horses and oxen, 

 when picketted in travelling, and alarmed by the stealthy 

 approach of the Wolf, or the rustle of the Lion.* 



The use of fire-arms is rapidly thinning the number of these 

 powerful creatures within the European territory of the Cape : 

 they slowly retire to the woods of the interior, where they 

 can be safe from the dangerous weapons of their destroyers. 

 Nor is man their only enemy : the Wolf, the Hyaena, and 

 other fierce creatures, are the inhabitants of the same woods ; 

 and the Lion, it is said, steals upon and attacks them. The 

 natives speak of having been witnesses of these murderous 

 conflicts ; and say, that wounds inflicted by Lions are often 

 observed in the muzzles and bodies of such Buffaloes as are 

 killed in the clmse ; and that the carcasses of Lions are some- 

 times found gored by the terrible horns of the Buffalo. A 

 question that arises is, can these wild and dangerous animals 

 be subjected to servitude and domestication ? Sparrman in- 

 forms us, that he saw a Buffalo calf, taken soon after birth, 

 grazing amongst the other calves of the farm, and as docile 

 as any of the herd. He accordingly expresses his belief, that 

 the Buffalo calves, if taken young and properly trained, might 

 be broken to the yoke. But the animals should not only be 



* Sparr man's Voyage. 



