34^ TRAVELS IN 
It seems to be a fact well established, that the lion prefers 
the flesh of a Hottentot to that of an}'^ other creature. He 
has frequently been singled out from a party of Dutch. Th& 
latter being disguised in clothing, and the former going gene- 
rally naked, may perhaps account for it. The horse, next 
to the Hottentot, seems to be his favorite food ; but on the 
sheep, perhaps on account of his woolly covering, which he 
is too indolent to uncase, he seldom deigns to fix his paw. 
From the Cape to the Khamies berg, very little occurs in, 
the animal kingdom to interest the natural historian, espe- 
cially one who may have made a previous journey to the 
eastward, where almost the whole tribe of quadrupeds pe- 
culiar to Southern Africa may be met with. In a Namaaqua 
hut I observed the skin of a jackal, with a black bushy tail, 
that seemed to be different from any I had seen on the other 
side of the continent. It was covered with thick fur. The 
dogs of the Namaaquas were of the same sort as those of the 
Bosjesmans ; and it was here observed of them, that their 
tails, contrary to the description of Linnaeus, given as the 
specific character to the domestic dog, were almost in- 
variably recurved on the right side. 
In our descent of the mountain, we were driven to seek 
shelter from the violence of the rain in a mixed horde of 
Bastaards and Namaaquas. The chief was of the former 
description. In his younger days he had been a great lover 
of the chace, and his matted hut within still displayed a 
variety of the skins of animals that had fallen before his. 
