e^6 EGGS AND FEATHEES OF THE OSTRICH. 



give nourishment to the young birds before they are strong enough to follow their parents 

 and forage for themselves. 



Each eo'f^ will weigh on the average about three pounds, being equal to two dozen 

 ordinary fowl's eggs. Yet one of them is not thought too much for a single man to eat 

 at a meal, and in one instance two men finished five in the course of an afternoon. The 

 approved method of dressing Ostrich eggs is to set the egg upright on the fire, break a 

 round hole at the top, squeeze a forked stick into the aperture, leaving the stem protruding, 

 and then to twist the stick rapidly between the hands so as to beat up the contents of the 

 eaa while it is being cooked. Within each egg there are generally some little smooth 

 bean-shaped stones, which are composed of the same substance tliat forms the shell. 



These eggs are put to various useful purposes. Not only are they eaten, but the shell 

 is carefully preserved and chipped into spoons and ladles, or the entire shell employed as 

 a water vessel, the a])erture at the top being stuffed wdth grass. The mode of filling 

 these shells from sandy pools is ingenious and simple. The business of procuring water 

 is entrusted to the women, each of whom is furnished with a hollow reed, a bunch of 

 grass, and her egg-shells. She makes a hole in the bed of the water-pool as deep as her 

 arms will reach, ties the bunch of grass at the end of the reed, pushes it to the bottom of 

 the hole, and rams the wet sand tightly round it. After waiting a little for the water to 

 accumulate, she applies her mouth to the upper end of the reed, drawing the water 

 through the tuft of grass at the bottom and so filtering it. Having filled her mouth with 

 water, she puts another reed into the egg-shell, and pours the water from her mouth into 

 the shell. In this manner a whole village is supplied with water, the shells being care- 

 fully buried to prevent evaporation. 



The Bushmen make terrible use of these water shells. When they have determined 

 on a raid, they send successive parties on the line, loaded with Ostrich egg-shells full of 

 water, which they bury in spots known to themselves alone. The tiny but resolute little 

 warriors start off on their expedition, get among the dwellings of their foes, carry off as 

 many cattle as they can manage, shoot the rest with poisoned arrows, and then retiring 

 over the burning desert are able to subsist upon their concealed water stores, while their 

 enemies are totally unable to follow them. 



After removing the eggs from the nest, the approved method of carrying them is to take 

 off the " crackers " or leather trousers, tie up the ankles firmly, fill the garment with eggs, 

 and set it astride the shoulders if the captor be a pedestrian, or in front of the saddle 

 should he be on horseback. The shells are so strong that they are able to bear this rather 

 curious mode of conveyance without damage, provided that no extreme jolting take place. 

 A frisky horse will, however, sometimes smash the whole cargo, with disastrous con- 

 sequences to himself and the vessel in which they were carried. 



Among the Fellatahs, an Ostrich egg on the top of a pole fixed to the roof of the hut 

 is the emblem of royalty. The Copts call it the emblem of watchfulness, and carry out 

 the idea by making the empty shell defend their church lamps from the rats, which crawl 

 down the cords by which the lamps are suspended, and drink the oil. Their plan is to 

 run the cord through an Ostrich shell, wdiich is placed at some little distance above the 

 lamp, and, by its smooth polished surface, forms an impassable barrier even to rats. 



The feathers are too well known to need description. On an average, each feather is 

 worth about a shilling. The best time for obtaining them is in the months of March and 

 April. The greater number are furnished by means of the poisoned arrow, the natiA^e 

 hunter scraping a hole in the sand near the nest, and lying concealed there until the birds 

 come to their eggs, when a few rapid discharges will kill as many birds. Sometimes the 

 hunter envelops himself in the skin of an Ostrich, his natural legs doing duty for those 

 of the bird, and his arm managing the head and neck in such a way as to simulate the 

 movements of the bird when feeding — an imitation so admirably managed that at a 

 short distance it is impossible to distinguish the sham bird from the true. The 

 enterprising little hunter is thus enabled to get among a flock of Ostriches, and to shoot 

 one after the other with great ease, the birds not being able to understand the reason why 

 their comrades should suddenly run away and then lie down, and permitting their enemy 

 to follow them up until they share the same fate. 



