assegai inte 
in greatest abi the waeeon top, and exclaiming with agonised accents every ten minutes “TI dont sce master.” Having however tasted 
Living in small cofor thirty hours, it will easily be understood why I was not over attentive to his anecdotes,—introduced @ propos of my 
such game as chance 1 luckless pilgrims of his acquaintance, who had been torn piece-meal by lions, or toasted upon the assegais of 
excursions ; and having obtaia tly impus 
under the denomination of /ishwena « nent of as much | 
happiness as man, in a state of mere ant. 
Xenophon, when describing the chase « the army of the 
younger Cyrus, declares the flesh of that animal to - snder, than that of 
the red deer! The savage epicures of Southern Africa wou h respect to that of 
the Zebra, although to us it appeared infinitely more rank, oily, ana . ige associates had 
their incisorial teeth filed to a point, probably to admit of their more reaw_, time even our own 
followers affected to prefer Zebra’s flesh to excellent mutton, which John April, on :d their inability to 
eat on account of its fatness! Latterly however, the lazy rascals became somewhat less a. lly eaten, and the 
flesh of the Zebra rejected, upon the score of a tradition that those who ate long, of the latter, inyariably became striped !! The fact of 
the ostrich and wild ass mixing together with a seeming relish for each other’s society, which was also remarked by Xenophon, is 
likewise observeable with reference to Burchell’s Zebra, the spire-like neck of the gigantic camel-bird being very commonly seen towering 
in the midst of the richly painted herd. Decorated with white and black plumes from the ostrich, the scalp and mask of the Zebra, 
with the ears on, formed the favorite head dress of our followers—the fashion having first been set by Frederick Dangler, whose inimi- 
table taste in all matters connected with the toilet, was acknowledged by every one. A foal, perfectly striped, and withal one of the 
most beautiful little creatures that can be imagined,—mistaking our motley party for his own, from which it had been separated by a 
charge directed against a drove of portly Elands,—once joined us most confidingly, neighing and frisking by the side of our horses a 
very considerable distance during the chase, ere it discovered its mistake, 
Beautifully clad by the hand of nature ;—possessing much of the graceful symmetry of the horse, with great bone and muscular 
power, united to easy and stylish action—thus combining comeliness of figure with solidity of form,—Equus Burchellii, if subjugated 
and domesticated, would assuredly make the best pony in the world. Although it admits of being tamed to a certain extent with eon- 
siderable facility—a half domesticated specimen with a jockey on its brindled back being occasionally exposed in Cape town for sale—it 
has hitherto contrived to evade the yoke of servitude. The love of liberty, which in our own species is extolled to the skies, never fails 
when found in the animal creation, to bring reproach under the denomination of obstinacy and vice; and those persons who have had 
the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with the character of this species, pronounce it, even in its most tractable state, as 
wicked, treacherous, obstinate and fickle. The voice of this free-born of the desert has no analogy to the discordant braying of the ass, 
but consists of a shrill abrupt neigh, which may be likened to the barking of a dog, as heard by a passer by, from the interior of a 
house. The senses of sight, hearing, and smell, are extremely delicate, The slightest noise or motion, no less than the appearance of 
any object that is unfamiliar, at once rivets their gaze, and causes them to stop and listen with the utmost attention—any taint in the 
air, equally attracting their olfactory organs, Instinct having taught these beautiful animals that in union consists their strength, they 
combine in a compact group when menaced by an attack either from man or beast; and if overtaken by the foe, they unite for mutual 
defence with their heads together in a close circular band, presenting their heels to the enemy, and dealing out kicks in equal force and 
abundance. Beset on all sides, or partially crippled, they rear on their hinder legs, fly at the adversary with jaws distended, and use 
both teeth and heels with the greatest freedom. 
To him who explores unknown regions for the advancement of science, or to the man whom the fickle billows have tossed upon 
a desolate shore, how indispensable is a knowledge of the huntsman’s craft! An intimate acquaintance with those gentle arts which are 
most successful in the cireumvention of the nobler species of game quadrupeds, might frequently prove the means of saving the life of 
the adventurer, whose existence, from fortuitous circumstances, may have become dependent on his skill in wenerie, There are even 
situations in which the rational and civilized being will be inwardly sensible of his inferiority in some respects to the uncultivated child 
of nature ;—situations in which he will feel that all the accomplishments upon which he has most prided himself, and which he has most 
laboured to attain, would be well exchanged for the iron bound frame of the savage, that knows uo fatigue, neither flags under any 
privation ;—for the eye that, ranging over the trackless waste, or the barren mountain side, can distinguish landmarks to direct the 
course, where, to his unpractised gaze, all around assumes one uniformly perplexing exterior. The country adjoining the desert of 
Chooi, North of Litakoo, in which we first fell in with Burchell’s Zebra, is particularly remarkable for this sameness of feature. 
Immense sandy flats, with a substratum of lime, are uniformly covered with mokaala trees, low scrubby looking thorn bushes, and sun- 
scorched grass,—interspersed with numerous dry tanks, each wearing a precisely similar appearance. Here and there occur clusters of 
deserted wigwams, all redolent of savage smells, equally abounding in vermin, and alike strewed with fragments of ostrieh egg shells, 
and with portions of animal hide. But it not unfrequently happens, that for whole days together not a single human being is to be 
discovered ; and nowhere is there seen either hill, or other conspicuous object, which might serve as a beacon to guide the footsteps of 
the wanderer. Out of this strange uniformity of landscape arose the troubles which shall now be detailed. ; 
