The Red Cloud chief., 1885-06-05

: VIVA e
There are no d Thbb
= fac; which is % gene Known
for q constantly hears o. ~hunss
a; the Cape-a mistake tina; is Co.
by the native habit Of calling any c-ea-'
ture belonging - the ca, Or ,ige- fam
ily q "tger." Colonisis also fall into
the sa-ue mistake. Partners and leop-
ards ar Unfortunately tigers to the
kafir. and the wildcats are al tiger
cats" and even these so-calied ..;igers.s !.
which are Il realty q small kind Of
leopard. have become 80 rare in the civ
ilized parts that = Tger"-hun; there Is
now q rare diversion.
Leopards are exceedingly shy crea-
ture-. A. the farms and villages have
increased. they have rctreated further
in!ant- 80 that :he report Of ~onaobelng
seen about a village Or farm create.
quite 3 sensat~n. and he j. soon hunted
and kllcl, or driven back TO his proper
domain. The increasing scarcity ~ this
particular kind Of zane" though q
matter oi lament 10 ,portsmen. is for
t,Inaie for the farmer. as these animals
are terrible robbers. The depredations
which ' e one VIII commit in a herd
OF flock are ruinous. because they not
only Xii what they Ca; al the time. but
they ike 10 have Il well-filled larder,
and when they get a chance lay up pro-
visions in some secret place for 4 future
day. a leopard not heinz. ! imagine.
over particular A. to the STATE of preser-
vat On his dinner NAV be in when he
requires II. This i, such q difficult ami
ma. 10 get ~. that a kaflir who man
ago 10 Kill n Is regarded as a kind Of
hero, and receives an ovation from his
brother-haiiirs, who 1t the same time
are not 3 little envious Of him who has
earned such a distinction. A leopard
Is i great prize 10 a kaiiir. Its teeth
and claws lac strings together for a
necklace. and very well they look glis-
tening against his dark skin; the hide
he makes into u carross or rug; and the
tai is dangied by a string from his
waist II he happens to have several of
these ornaments hung round him he is
looked upon as q great swell. quite in
full dress, indeed. kanirs seem to think
that there Is something royal about a
leopards skin. and Their chefs thrones
are often composed of one thrown over
q mound OF earth.
Though the leopard is so scarce in
Natal that persons need have little fear
of coming face 10 face with one. Vet
there is a smaller edition Of the same
tribe which is more to be dreaded. on
account Of It's frequent and daring dep
relations in the poultry-yard. This is
the 'tiger-cat, or. properly speaking.
bush-cat Wherever there are fowl. To
be had. these creatures will haunt the
place. and take every Onr. unless the
fowls are securely shut up. They break
through the kafiir-built huts. which
people often unwisely keep their fowls
in. As a neighbor of ours found to his
cost. for one morning all his fowls were
strewn about dead in the fowl-hOuse,
,illed by the tiger-cat These creatures
are much larger than the common cat.
and very fierce and strong, though Ca
pable of being iamcG.
Another kird Of ca; also does a deal Of
harm in Natal. namely. the common cat
run wild. Cats get driven away from
home. or left behind when people leave
their farms. these colDnise, and become
great pests. When We left our house.
there was d brood of kittens on the roof
which we could not GET near; they We're
perfectly Wild. ] hayt heard people say
that these cats become fiercer and do
more harm than eventhe bush-cats.
There ART some other enemies to pOul-
try of all kinds, which should be care
fully kept as a distance. One of these
is the jackal. the black backed one be-
ing the most common in Natal. This
animal j. CITED with = rapaciouS appe-
lite. to winch nothing tonnes amiss. He
will walk of with any small. weak crea-
lures that come in his way. Fowls.
young pigs. lambs, and even small pup
pies are never safe from him: and he
has been known to erter houses and
take even tie cooked meat. Luckily,
they. too. ars getting ,carcer in Natal.
though Their are still a number left
about Cape Town. T1e Kafiirs make
splendid cayrDsses of their skins. par
ticularly Of tie rare silver iackal. a very
handsome a rmal. which skins they sew
together witt perfectly even stitches.
The most skled workwoman could not
do them bster. though the process
must require d great deal Of patience.
from the peculiar manner in which they
sew. They vsnch holes with a strong
thorn in the sdgcs Of the things they
want 10 faster together, and then pass
a long piece ofsinew as fine a. q thread
backwards arl forwards through the
holes.
Another SOAh African animal much
sough; after IL the sake 81 its pretty
fur must also be refused admittance to
to the fowlpuse. 1t is n of the
smallest Of fos% and can therefore creep
through y vers small hole. 1t is called
the asse or eaama- 1t does not xiii
fowls. Its SPECIALITY ieggs of all kinds
Even the eggsf the ostrich is not safe
from it As il teeth are too small To
break through NE shell. it rolls the eggs
about until t1ey smash against the
other eggs. or Something hard. They
are excessively greedy. l have had >
nestfnl Of eggs taken of in no time. no
doubt BY one OF these creatures. They
have no objee3on to an egg having
been sat upon added ones and al
kinds are acceaable.- Jour-