SOUTHERN AFRICA. 251 



had with considerable difficulty been kindled in an ant-hill. 

 The country over which we passed was usually covered with 

 dome-shaped mounds of clay^ thrown up by the pismire, 

 and invariably scooped out either by the long- nails of the 

 ant-eater, or by Bushmen, so as to resemble a baker's oven. 

 In wet weather especialty, or during a dearth of fuel, these 

 mounds were our stoutest allies; but on the other hand, 

 the Hottentots not unfrequently put the streng-th of our 

 wag'g"ons to the test by driving- carelessly over them. 



Two distinct animals are found in this part of the country, 

 that alike burrow in the ground, and appear to subsist en- 

 tirely upon ants and termites, leaving* upon every habitation 

 thrown up by those minute insects, unequivocal marks of 

 their desolating- visits. Of these the Ant-bear, or Aard vark^ 

 of the colonists is the more common ; it is from six to seven 

 feet in extreme leng'th, covered with coarse brow^n hair, and 

 furnished with a slimy, flexible tong-ue, capable of being- 

 protruded to the extent of eig-hteen or twenty inches beyond 

 the attenuated snout. It possesses the singular peculiarity 

 of walking-, or rather hobbhng, upon the sides instead of 

 upon the soles of its fore-feet. The latter are provided w ith 

 four robust nails, which form a complete rake, and with which 

 the animal digs into the bowels of the mound, its taper 

 tongue being- always in readiness to seize the swarming- 

 inmates as fast as they issue from their beleaguered abode. 



Although differing greatly in external aijpearance, the 

 equipments, as well as the habits, of the second species, are 

 essentially the same. Seen from a distance, the Pangolin, 

 or Manis,t might easily be mistaken for a small alligator. 

 The upper parts of the body are clad in a complete suit of 

 flexible armour, consisting- of numerous stout horny scales, 

 overlapping- each other like the tiles of a house, and pre- 

 senting an appearance precisely similar to the bark of the 



* Or)/cteropus Capensis. f Manis Temminckii. 



