1812. 
JACKALS AND DOGS. — CARTRIDGE-BOXES. 
286 
a young and fat animal, the meat was excellent ; and even Hot- 
tentot cookery could not spoil it. 
Every night, the jackals^ attracted perhaps by the smell of so 
much meat, approached us, and for two or three hours after dark 
continued at intervals to bark around us, at the distance, as it seemed, 
of about two hundred yards. Our dogs never failed to give them 
an answer each time ; but took no trouble to go after them, or to 
drive these impertinent visitors away. The sound of their barking 
was peculiar, and might not inaptly be compared to that of laugh- 
ing. It would not have been easy to shoot one, as they are real 
cowards, slinking away the moment they perceive any person coming 
towards them ; and, being a nocturnal animal, they can see too well 
in the dark ever to be surprised or approached by man, who not 
being at such a time able to take aim, could have little chance of 
killing one, excepting by mere accident. Thus, to avoid wasting our 
ammunition and taking much useless trouble, we found ourselves 
obliged to leave their noisy intrusion unpunished ; as they could do 
us no harm, or, at least, as they would not dare to advance nearer to 
so numerous a pack of dogs. These seemed to be of the same 
opinion as their master, and appeared to consider the jackal as a 
troublesome fellow, beneath their notice, and, among quadrupeds, 
what some men are, among bipeds. 
26th. Cartridge-boxes being, according to our new regulation, a 
necessary article of our equipment, I undertook to instruct my men 
in the method of making them out of dry hide ; and to render my 
instruction more intelHgible, I assisted in making one as a pattern. 
But their stupidity and laziness, or perhaps unwillingness, rendered 
it a business of very slow progress ; and it was, at last, evident that 
unless I would make them all myself, they would never be finished ; 
nor, in fact, could I ever get the requisite number made, but was 
obliged to remain contented that three of the Hottentots carried 
them, hoping that the rest would in time be convinced of their 
utility more especially in saving them trouble. But the same 
obstinate adherence to old customs, which made them averse to the 
use of cartridges, counteracted equally my wish to introduce the car- 
