36 TRAVELS IN 
tends his nightly prowl to the very skirts of the town, enticed 
by tlie dead cattle and oft'als from slaughter-houses that are 
shamefully suffered to be left or thrown even at the sides of 
the public roads. In the caverns of the Table Mountain, and 
indeed in almost every mountain of the colony, is found m 
considerable number a small dusky-colored animal about the 
size of a rabbit, with short ears and no tail,, called here the 
Das, and described in the Si/stema NatiircB of Limiceus under 
the name of Hyraa) Capensh^ and by Pennant under that of 
Cape Cavy. The flesh is used 'for the table, but is> black, 
dry, and of an indifferent flavor. The Steenbok, once the most 
numerous of the antelope tribe that inhabited the peninsula, is 
DOW nearly exterminated out of this part of Africa, though 
equally abundant with the otiier two beyond the isthmus. 
This animal is the Antelope Gra/zmea of Pallas, and the Guinea 
antelope of Pennant. The horses of the Cape are not indi- 
genous, but were first introduced fromi Java,, and since that, 
at various times, from different parts of the world. The 
grizzled and the black Spaniard first brought hither, about 
twenty ^^ears ago, from South America, where the breed now 
runs wild over that extensive country, are the horses that are 
most esteemed for their beauty, their gentleness, and service. 
Though small, and often very ill-fed, they are capable of sus- 
taining a great degree of hard labor. Heavy waggons, how- 
ever, are chiefly drawn by oxen. Tiicse are all indigenous, 
except the breed from a few European cattle that have lately 
been introduced. The Cape ox is distinguished by its long 
legs, high shoulders, and large horns. 
The larger kinds of birds that hover round the summit of 
the Table Mountain are vultures, eagles, kites, and crows. 
