s gentleman."

Hans pointed to the "aard-vark." "And dress him so that he don't
spoil," he continued; "for _you_ know, Swartboy, that he's a tit-bit--a
regular _bonne bouche_--and it would be a pity to let him go to waste in
this hot weather. An aard-vark's not to be bagged every day."

"You spreichen true, Mynheer Hans,--Swartboy know all dat. Him skin an'
dress da goup."

And, so saying, Swartboy out knife, and set to work upon the carcass.

Now this singular-looking animal which Hans called an "aard-vark," and
Swartboy a "goup," was neither more nor less than the African ant-eater
(_Orycteropus Capensis_).

Although the colonists term it "aard-vark," which is the Dutch for
"ground-hog," the animal has but little in common with the hog kind. It
certainly bears some resemblance to a pig about the snout and cheeks;
and that, with its bristly hair and burrowing habits, has no doubt given
rise to the mistaken name. The "ground" part of the title is from the
fact that it is a burrowing animal,--indeed, one of the best "terriers"
in the world. It can make its way under ground faster than the spade
can follow it, and faster than any badger. In size, habits, and the
form of many parts of its body, it bears a striking resemblance to its
South American cousin the "tamanoir" (_Myrmecophaga jubata_), which of
late years has become so famous as almost to usurp the title of
"ant-eater." But the "aard-vark" is just as good an ant-eater as he,--
can "crack" as thick-walled a house, can rake up and devour as many
termites as any "ant-bear" in the length and breadth of the Amazon
Valley. He has got, moreover, as "tall" a tail as the tamanoir, very
nearly as long a snout, a mouth equally small, and a tongue as extensive
and extensile. In claws he can compare with his American cousin any
day, and can walk just as awkwardly upon the sides of his fore-paws with
"toes turned in." Why, then, may I ask, do we hear so much talk of the
"tamanoir," while not a word is said of the "aard-vark?" Every museum
and menagerie is bragging about having a specimen of the former, while
not one cares to acknowledge their possession of the latter! Why this
envious distinction? I say it's all Barnum. It's because the
"aard-vark" is a Dutchman--a Cape boor--and the boors have been much
bullied of late. That's the reason why zoologists and showmen have
treated my thick-tailed boy so shabbily. But it shan't be so any
longer; I stand up for