^2 THE SPORTSMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



old become almost black in hue, the cows being always distinguished 

 in the herd by their generally bright yellow colour. The flesh of 

 the latter when fat is much to be preferred to that of any other 

 description of African game, and in quality equals if not excels the 

 primest grass-fed beef, possessing in addition a slight game flavour, 

 those portions on the ribs being the best. The marrow bones are, 

 par excellence^ esteemed the hunter's greatest delicacy, while the 

 hide furnishes material for the best ox whips, and the Bushmen use 

 the inner skin of the stomach for water bags. The flesh of the old 

 bulls is only fit for Bushmen, vultures, and Hyenas. 



The Cape Buffalo {Bos caffer). Fig. lo, Plate lll.—{Buffel 

 of the Dutch ; Nari of the Bechuanas.) 



\_Height about 4 feet lo inches at the withers. Uniform colour.^ 

 grizzly blacky through which the reddish skin shows prominently ; 

 ears tipped with coarse hair; body very thick set; legs short. The 

 largest pair of horns obtained by Mr. Selous had a spread of 3 feet 

 8 inches.] 



A FEW troops of Bufialo are still preserved by the Cape Government in 

 the dense forests in the Eastern Provinces. They are said to be still 

 found in the impenetrable bush country about Delagoa Bay. North 

 of the Crocodile, and particularly in the tsetse fly infected and low 

 lying unhealthy countries through which the Sabi, Gorongosi, Bosi, 

 and Pungwe Rivers flow before emptying into the Indian Ocean, 

 they are in unfrequented places still quite common, and may be 

 come upon in large herds, being, however, extremely diflEcult to get 

 at owing to the deadly nature of the climate. Now almost driven 

 out of Mashonaland, a good many herds yet remain in Northern 

 Matabeleland, along the tributaries of the Zambesi, as also on 

 both banks of the Chobe, and particularly in the angle formed by 

 these rivers before their junction. Once very common throughout 

 the country about Lake 'Ngami, it has now entirely disappeared 

 from there, and is only occasionally seen in the West along some 

 of the swamps of the Okavango. In these unfrequented districts, 

 which are the favoured resorts of the Buffalo, herds exceeding 300 

 or 400 often congregate, and it is not uncommon to observe a few 

 very old bulls associating together quite apart from the cows and 

 calves. 



