26 THE SOCIETY FOE THE PEESEEVATION OE 



which were brought to Court— one for killing a zebra and another 

 for killing a warthog and impala, and which were severely dealt 

 with ; and also the case of a boy from Portuguese territory who 

 was found hunting with a M.-H. rifle, and who received an 

 exemplary sentence—had the effect of putting a complete stop to 

 depredations on the part of the natives ; and under present con- 

 ditions they are not likely to give much trouble, although it must 

 be borne in mind that natives are quite able to kill and capture 

 large antelope without guns. 



' There has been no proof of any white men shooting in the 

 Eeserve, although I believe that one or two men living at Hector- 

 spruit and Kaapmuiden used to enter the Eeserve and shoot 

 during the last close season until I put a trustworthy ranger at 

 Kaapmuiden. Some of the storekeepers living on the Crocodile 

 near Komati Poort are also suspected of shooting on the Eeserve 

 side of the river, but no proof of it can be adduced ; in any case 

 these men only venture over for an hour or two and close to the 

 river. Now that by-laws have been passed giving me authority 

 to stop people entering except by certain roads my hand will be 

 strengthened against men like the above. 



' 3. Difficulties to be Contended with.— The difficulty was 

 to^ stop men who came into the Eeserve ostensibly to look for 

 minerals. Some of these were genuine, others merely used it as 

 a pretext to cover their shooting. The class of man referred to is 

 quite happy if he can merely shoot a buck and leave it lying on 

 the veld, not even taking away the meat except for immediate use. 

 Several applications have been made to quarry and work coal in 

 the Eeserves, which, if granted, would be absolutely fatal to the 

 scheme of preservation. 



' Portuguese natives armed with guns who can dodge backwards 

 and forwards over the border are also a grave difficulty to contend 

 with. 



'There is a good deal of native traffic between the Crocodile 

 and Sabi, natives going home from working in Komati Poort and 

 Barberton chiefly, or people on the Crocodile visiting their friends 

 north of the Sabi or at kraals under the Drakensberg, and vice 

 versa. There is but little white traffic, and this is confined to men 

 going to shoot near the Oliphants, Customs officials, prospectors, 

 and others whose calling is uncertain. A road has always been 

 kept open for this traffic, and a notice defining it has recently been 

 put in the local paper. 



' 4. Status of Game.— Before the Eeserve was proclaimed the 

 game was attacked by white men chiefly in the winter, by natives 

 and by carnivora all the year round. It now only suffers from 

 the latter, which are being kept in bounds by shooting, while the 

 game is immune from the rifle, so that it will be readily seen that, 

 if game could not be exterminated under the old conditions, it can 

 hardly help increasing under the new. 



' The Sabi Eeserve favours certain kinds of game, while others 

 do not thrive in it so well as they do north of the river. Much of 



