ENDURANCE OF HORSES. 71 



and was not alarmed by the smell of a fresh lion's skin 

 past which I rode one day. 



The Boers are generally very heavy men, and the small 

 shooting-ponies that they ride appear fearfully over- 

 weighted : a pony of twelve or thirteen hands is ridden 

 long journeys, and hunted, by a Boer of some fourteen or 

 sixteen stone weight. The game little animal does its 

 work well in spite of the weight it carries ; and one of the 

 surprising facts to an Englishman fresh in the African 

 hunting-field is the pace at which the Boers thus mounted 

 go across country. Neither whip nor spur is spared during 

 a chase, and, not contented with the day's hard work, 

 these Boers sometimes on returning home take a half- 

 mile gallop as a test of the enduring qualities of their 

 ponies. During my experience in Africa, I was but once 

 unfortunate enough to have a horse that 1 was riding 

 knock up with me : the animal was a new purchase, and 

 had led a life of idleness during some previous weeks. The 

 results of its failing me were a thorough ducking and 

 a very unpleasant journey of near five miles. It may 

 give an idea of the manners of the civilized man of South 

 Africa, if I detail the circumstance. I left Pietermaritz- 

 burg about three o'clock in the afternoon, and purposed 

 resting for the night at Stony Hill, the distance being 

 twenty-five miles. About eight miles had been accom- 

 plished, when I was attracted by a grand fight between 

 two bulls. I watched the struggle for a considerable time, 

 and admired the courage of each combatant : sometimes 

 they would charge each other, and, falling on their knees, 

 roar and bellow with mingled rage and pain. Victory 



