Fish River Bush, South Africa. 211 



taint the skin so much that the odour never leaves it. An- 

 other kind is of an entirely grayish-brown sandy colour, and 

 the fur is very soft ; and the furred skin is used by the natives 

 for tobacco sacs, and such uses. It does not appear to be 

 possessed of such a powerful scent as the former kind. 



The Porcupine (Hy stria) affords good sport in the moon- 

 light nights, people going out with dogs, and on horseback, 

 armed with spears, or instruments that will answer such a 

 purpose, and heavy sticks. They come out of their deep bur- 

 rows at that time to feed, and root in the surface of the soil 

 for bulbs, roots, &c. The flesh of the young porcupine 

 makes good kind of pork when dressed for the table. It is 

 a fiction their darting their quills ; but they are easily de- 

 tached from the skin, and their points are very sharp, and 

 resemble very much the blade of an assegai ; and if they 

 enter a certain depth into the body of some unfortunate 

 dog, readily stick there till pulled out. They are very de- 

 structive amongst gardens, and burrow holes in even hard 

 ground very rapidly, dividing the roots that cross by their 

 strong sharp incisors. The skull of the porcupine is very 

 slight and spongy, and easily crushed when dried, which 

 may explain the blow on the nose being fatal to them. 



A troop of Wild Dogs (Lycaon picta, Brookes) are occa- 

 sionally seen crossing the Bush country in the open glades, in 

 the pursuit of some large buck, as a koodoo or bushbuck, and 

 the destined victim seldom or ever escapes the perseverance 

 and avidity of its pursuers, who follow it for miles on the spoor, 

 which is never surrendered till it terminates at the death. 

 Fleetness and the densest thickets are of no avail against these 

 unrelenting hunters ; the leading dog on the scent when tired 

 sinks back into the pack, and a fresher huntsman takes his 

 place, every one working for the common service of the sto- 

 machs of the whole pack. Its appearance gives one the idea 

 of an intermediate form between the dog and the jackal, which 

 it resembles in its pointed nose and long erect ears. 



There are a great variety of Dogs in use in the colony, of 

 all sizes, shapes, and degrees of strength, &c, but few gifted 

 with individual courage and fine discerning scent, like Eng- 

 lish blood-bred dogs, and are only useful when in numbers. 



02 



