The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1853-08-25

broad, thick cover; and of course Hans, sha-
ken as he was, let him 60. There were no
dogs to follow him, so he was allowed to die
in peace, and subsequently his spoor was ta-
ken up, and his remains found"
Many more stories on this subject might
be quoted, but we prefer passage on dispu-
ted creatures. What if the left hand sup
porter of the royal arms of England should
turn out reality after all, and the cockatrice
not metaphorical.
Gas the Bushman learnt to understand
our Hottentot little better, we had some
long talks about the animals on the river
that joins the western ends of the lake; that
there are many there quite new to the Hot
tentots is beyond doubt, as several carosses
were stolen by the Kubabees and brought
back south, and the skins that many of these
were made from were quite unknown to
them. The Bushmen, without any leading
question or previous talk upon the subject,
mentioned the unicorn. l cross-questioned
them thoroughly; but they persisted in de-
scribing one horned animal, something like
a gemsbok in shape and size, whose horn
was in the middle of its forehead, and point
ed forwards. The spoor of the animal was,
they said, like that of zebra. The horn
was in shape like gemsbok's but shorter.
They spoke of the animal as though they
knew Of it, but were not at all familiar with
it. 1t will indeed be strange if, after all, the
creature has real existence. There are re-
cent travellers in the north of Tropical Afri-
ca who have heard of it there, and believe
in it; and there is surely plenty of room to
find something new in the vast belt of terra
incognita that lies in this continent.
"Of another fabulous monster, the cocka-
trice, most widely spread belief exists
The Ovampo, the Bushmen of this place, and
Timboo, all protested that there is such a
creature, and that they had often seen it
They described it as a snake, sometimes Ten
feet long, anu as thick as the arm; slender
for its length, with brilliantly variegated
skin; it has comb on the head exactly like
guinea fowl, but red, and has also wattles;
its cry is very much like the cry of fowls
when roosting-I do not mean Growing, but
subdued chuckling; its bite is highly ven-
omous, and it is tree snake. | heard an
instance Of ten cows having been bitten one
after the other; they said that sometimes
people when on their way home at night
hear chuckling in the tree, and think that
their fowls have strayed, and as they are
peering about under the branches to sec
where they are, the snake darts down upon
them and bites them. II appears to be a par
ticularlv vicious snake. / have generally
heard it called shangara.' l never heard Of
its having wings"
Mr.. Cation confirms the observation of
other travellers as to the existence of slave
nv in Africa as a regular part of society
His description of the slave is striking, and
we quote it:
"All over Africa one hears of giving men
away: the custom is as follows. A negro
has CHANGED to live certain time in anoth-
er's employ; he considers himself his prop
erty, and has abandoned the trouble Of think
inc what he is to do from day to day; but
leaves the ordering of his future entirely to
his employer. He becomes too listless to
exist without master. The weight OF in
is heavier than he likes, and he
will not bear it. He feels unsupported and
lost if alone in the world, and absolutely re.
quires some one to direct him. Now, it the
employer happens to have no further need
of the man, he gives him, that is to say, ne
makes over his interest in the savage to a
friend or acquaintance; the savage passively
agrees to the bargain, and changes his place
without regret; for, as long as he has mas
ter at all, the primary want of his being is
satisfied. A man is given either for term
of wears or forever; and it was on this tenure
that held several Of my men. Swarthboy
gave me his henchman; Khaikend cattle
watcher; Mr.. Hahn, very useful man,
Kambanya. AS definition of the phrase
.eiving man. should say it meant making
over to another whatever influence one
possessed over a savage, the individual
who is given not being compelled, but being
passive"
We have never seen the real hardships OF
savage life more clearly andvividly depicted
than in the pages of Mr.. Galton:
at is very difficult to find out how many
neople are killed or wounded in occasions
like these, as hyenas soon devour the dead
bodies, and those who survive scatter in all
so that nc clue remains towards
the number missing. | saw tive poor wo-
men, one with both legs cut off at her ankle
Joints, and the other with one. Ihey hao
crawled the whole way on that eyentful night
from Schmelen's Hope to Barmen, some
twenty miles. The Hottentots had cut them
off, after their usual habit, in order to get on
the solid iron anklets that they wear.
These wretched creatures showed me how
they had stopped the blood by poking the
stumps into the sand. A Europe
an would certainly have bled to death under
such circumstances. One of Jonker's sons,
q hopeful youth, came to child that had
been dropped on the ground, and who lay
screaming there, and he leisurely gouged out
its eyes with small stick"
at is one of the most strongly exciting po- !
sitions that sportsman can find himself IN,
to lie behind one of these screens or holes
by the side of a path leading to watering
place so thronged with game as Tounobls.
Herds of gnus glide along the neighboring
paths in almost endless files; here standing
out in bold relief against the sky, their NOV
ing line Just visible in the deep shades; and
ali noiseless as dream. Now and then
slight patting over the stones makes you
start; It Jars painfully on the strained ear,
and a troop of xebras pass frolicking by
All at once you observe, twenty or thirty
Yards off, two huge ears pricked up hgn
above the brushwood; another few seconds,
and sharp solid horn indicates the noise
less and cautious approach of the great rhl,
noceros. Then the rifle or gun is poked
slowly over the wall, which has before been
covered with a plaid or something soft, to
nuffie all grating sounds; and you keep
sharp and anxious lookout through some
granny in your screen. The beast moves;
nearer and nearer; you crouch close up nn,
der the wall lest he should see over It and
Derceiye YOU. Nearer, nearer still; yet