38 PEACE: LION HUNTING 



lion. If this were true, the land should be a 

 paradise for the Hon hunter, but I " ha'e ma doots " 

 as to its existence. 



It was in this district I saw my first herd of 

 zebras on the road and shot a stallion, a horrible 

 thing to do, although of course every scrap of the 

 meat was eaten. Unless actually compelled, I 

 shall never shoot another. The dead beast was 

 a very handsome animal, considerably bigger and 

 stouter than either of my two mules, and very fat. 

 Zebras seem too heavily made and too coarse in 

 front to be able to raise much pace, and this, with 

 their sleepy disposition in hot weather, makes 

 them an easy prey and a favourite food for lions. 

 Compared with the fleet and watchful buck, the 

 zebra must be a simple capture in spite of his 

 splendid, hard-looking legs, with fine bone and big 

 joints : any " horsey " man will understand what 

 I mean. The black and white stripes, extra- 

 ordinarily well defined and clear cut, are carried 

 right down to the coronet. In a country where 

 horse sickness is so prevalent, it is a pity that 

 these animals cannot be of more use to man ; for 

 though the zebra may be only a " donkey with a 

 football jersey on," he certainly is the king of all 

 asses. 



On the road across to Mokoya's I struck some 

 old wagon tracks going north, made, as far as I 

 could make out, many years before by a party 

 of trek Boers. It is rather strange that the Boer 

 never took a fancy to the land in this region, 



