18G EXPEDITION INTO 



allied to the chamois of Europe^ and coney-like^ has its 

 house on the mountain-top, being* furnished with singularly 

 coarse brittle hair, imparting- the appearance of a hedg'e-hog*; 

 whilst the fur of the rheebuck ag-ain, is of a curly woolly 

 nature, resembling* that of the wild rabbit. 



Excepting" the g'arrulous g-uinea-fowl, which usually 

 abounded in the vicinity of wood and water, and whose 

 g^rating" cackle mig-ht here be nig-htly heard as it ascended the 

 trees to roost, feathered game was comparatively scarce 

 throughout our journe3^ Occasionally, however, and here 

 in particular, we found two species of the bustard, or ^;a(??y 

 of the colonists— two of the florican or koraan — with four 

 distinct kinds of partridge. To these, nevertheless, I had little 

 leisure to attend, ni}^ time being fulty occupied from dawn 

 until dark, in the pursuit of, to me, far more attractive objects. 



In the extensive and romantic valley of the Limpopo, 

 which strongly contrasts with its own solitude, and with the 

 arid lands which must be traversed to arrive within its limits, 

 Dame Nature has doubtless been unusualty lavish of her 

 gifts. A bold mountain landscape is chequered by innu- 

 merable rivulets abounding in fish, and watering' a soil rich 

 in luxuriant vegetation. Forests, producing timber of the 

 finest growth, are tenanted by a multitude of birds, which, 

 if not universally musical, are all gorgeously attired ) and 

 the meadows throughout are decked with blossoming ge- 

 raniums, and with an endless profusion of the gayest flowers, 

 fancifully distributed in almost artificial parterres. Let the 

 fore-ground of this picture, which is by no means extrava- 

 gantly drawn, be filled in by the animal creation roaming 

 in a state of undisturbed freedom, such as I have attempted 

 to describe, and this hunter's paradise will surely not require 

 to be coloured by the feelings of an enthusiastic sportsman, 

 to stand out in prominent relief from amongst the loveliest 

 sports in the universe. 



