THE ZEBRA IN CAPE COLONY. 109 



Igneese, the Kaffir, I caught a ghmpse of the herd. 

 I remember the day well. We had sallied out for 

 a day's rhebok shooting, on a distant part of the 

 farm, and after a long and unsuccessful tramp over 

 some of the wildest mountains, and through some of 

 the deepest and most lovely kloofs I ever saw in 

 South Africa, we came to an abrupt corner (" hoek " 

 the Boers call it) of a mountain, near to its summit. 

 Stealing quietly round a sort of pass, the Kaffir 

 suddenly whispered, or rather gasped, "Wilde 

 paarden ! " and I beheld, right in our front, and 

 rather above us, standing on a rocky platform, a 

 magnificent zebra, and a little beyond him six 

 others. The troop was about two hundred and 

 fifty yards distant, and for two or three minutes we 

 stood motionless, regarding them. My host strictly 

 preserved, as far as he could, these rare creatures ; 

 so, of course, shooting was out of the question, 

 though the light in the Kaffir's eye plainly showed 

 what his feelings upon the subject of preservation 

 were. After a pause, we moved very stealthily 

 forward, to get, if possible, a nearer view. In an 

 instant, the sentinel we had first seen had discovered 

 us, and at a wild, shrill neigh from him, the whole 

 troop took to their heels, galloped headlong over the 

 mountain top, and were quickly lost to view. 



I had a fleeting glance at this troop on one other 

 occasion, and I think, if time had permitted, I 

 might have made closer acquaintance with them ; 

 but, shortly after, I left Naroekas Poort, in whose 

 gloomy yet hospitable recesses I had passed so 

 many happy days. 



Since then I have heard occasionally from my 

 friends in the poort and its neighbourhood, and a 



