78 Great and Small Game of Africa 



cannot find that it was ever known except in these portions of South Africa. 

 It is, however, just possible that it occasionally ranged as far as the southern 

 borders of the Bechuana country. In the old days its habitat extended far 

 south in the Cape Colony, almost up to the verge of the Indian Ocean ; in 

 fact, wherever open country offered a suitable feeding-ground. 



Thunberg, one of the earliest European travellers at the Cape — in 

 the year 1773 — writes of meeting with quagga on the plains near the 

 Zwartkops River and the adjacent salt-pan, not far from the site of the now 

 great and thriving coast town of Port Elizabeth. 



The quagga has been shown but twice in the gardens of the Zoological 

 Society. The last specimen, presented by Sir George Grey, then Governor 

 of the Cape, in 1858, existed till 1872, by which time it was, undoubtedly, 

 one of the very last survivors of its ancient race. Several good photographs 

 of this animal, taken by Mr. Frederick York, are in existence. These 

 were, however, I imagine, taken when the animal was getting on in years, 

 and they can scarcely be considered fair representations of the wild quagga 

 on its native karroos. 



Only one stuffed example of the quagga exists in British museums, and 

 that an old, worn, and extremely poor skin, now to be seen in the collection 

 of the Natural History Museum. In Cornwallis Harris's Portraits of the 

 Game and Wild Animals of Southern Africa, there is a fair coloured drawing 

 of this animal by the author. The quagga in this picture is, however, 

 made somewhat too equine in appearance, and the reddish-brown body- 

 colouring is a trifle too light. My memory of the body-colouring of the 

 quagga which died at the Zoological Gardens in 1872 is, that it was con- 

 siderably darker than that depicted in Harris's drawing. Climatic influence 

 may have had something to do with this ; but Harris's drawing is 

 considerably lighter than the colouring mentioned in his own written 

 description in the same handsome folio. The stripings, as may be seen 

 from Mr. York's photograph, a copy of which is to be found at p. go 



