is now only to be seen (except in a part of the Colony where a
herd is preserved) in the Portuguese territories along the Zambesi and
the east coast. The recent cattle-plague has fallen heavily upon him.
So the ostrich would probably now remain only in the wilds of the
Kalahari had not large farms been created in Cape Colony, where young
broods are reared for the sake of the feathers. On these farms,
especially near Graham's Town and in the Oudtshorn district, one may see
great numbers; nor is there a prettier sight than that of two parent
birds running along, with a numerous progeny of little ones around them.
Though in a sense domesticated, they are often dangerous, for they kick
forward and claw downward with great violence, and the person whom they
knock down and begin to trample on has little chance of escape with his
life. Fortunately, it is easy to drive them off with a stick or even an
umbrella; and we were warned not to cross an ostrich-farm without some
such defence.

Snakes, though there are many venomous species, seem to be less feared
than in India or the wilder parts of Australia. The python grows to
twenty feet or more, but is, of course, not poisonous, and never assails
man unless first molested. The black _momba_, which is nearly as large
as a rattlesnake, is, however, a dangerous creature, being ready to
attack man without provocation, and the bite may prove fatal in less
than an hour. One sees many skins of this snake in the tropical parts of
South Africa, and hears many thrilling tales of combats with them. They
are no longer common in the more settled and temperate regions.

Although even in Cape Colony and the Dutch republics there is still more
four-footed game to be had than anywhere in Europe, there remain only
two regions where large animals can be killed in any considerable
numbers. One of these is the Portuguese territory between Delagoa Bay
and the Zambesi, together with the adjoining parts of the Transvaal,
where the lower spurs of the Quathlamba Range descend to the plain. This
district is very malarious during and after the rains, and most of it
unhealthy at all seasons. The other region is the Kalahari Desert and
the country north of it between Lake Ngami and the Upper Zambesi. The
Kalahari is so waterless as to offer considerable difficulties to
European hunters, and the country round Lake Ngami is swampy and
feverish. So far the wild creatures have nature in their favour; yet the
pas