138 QUAGGAS. 



On the following morning we took leave of Mr. 

 Jacobs, and soon entered upon a plain extending in 

 one direction as far as the eye could reach, and exhi- 

 biting in great abundance a kind of ponderous iron- 

 stone. Low stunted bushes and ant-hills were thickly 

 scattered over its extensive surface, whilst herds of 

 antelopes, quaggas, gnus, and other wild quadrupeds, 

 altogether produced an animated scene. 



The farmers are frequently in the habit of driv- 

 ing a troop of quaggas to the brink of a precipice, 

 which was pointed out to me, when those animals 

 rush over the declivities, like the bisons in South 

 America, and fall an easy prey to their pursuers. 

 Mr. Pringle relates an anecdote, in which a boor 

 adopting this mode paid dearly for his temerity. He 

 was pursuing a herd of quaggas, and being close 

 upon some which were exhausted, attempted, merely 

 for the sake of saving his shot, to drive one of them 

 over a precipice, on which the desperate animal 

 turned suddenly round, and seizing him by the leg 

 with its teeth, dragged him from his horse, and ac- 

 tually tore his foot off at the ankle. The conse- 

 quences were fatal to the huntsman, for, in spite of 

 medical aid, mortification ensued, and he died a few 

 days afterwards. 



While pursuing a rough and rugged path, we 

 came suddenly upon a gnu, struggling in a chasm, 

 into which it appeared to have fallen, by the side 

 of the road. The animal seemed inclined to rush at 



