The morning news., 1899-11-19
AFRICAN
GAME.
SOUTH
,,,xrING GROUNDS WHERE FUR
,xD FEATHERS ARE PLENTIFUL.

s,ortsman's Mecca-Stories That
uove Been Brought From Boerland
-. Devotees of Wild Sport Among
.he JunGIes-SIodes of Operation.
~, tbe New York Mail ana Express.
+1,yn in South Africa, where man is
eng man with loaded shotgun aud
a,,rs.r and Lee-Metford rifles, there axe
- laws and game lairs that put 70
- some of the pretenions conceits of
.~s advanced civilization. Sweeping off
,i-ns and the more ungainly denizens of
tbe tuns5es, the ivory-weighted elephants,
,s for a long time the aim of the Afri-
rordsrs rifle, but even this has its same
,ose and tameness and with true Nimrod
..ri- the hunters of Africa for the last
ears have devoted their attention and
,,,erripg aim to the dropping of the things
of The air. rather than the giants of the
field.
The stories of great expeditions for fur
ond feathers which have been brought
North by travellers to those parts, which
t7r.es have been vouched for by the most
e,i5ale au horities, have oDaned the eyes
and ercoura ged The ambitions of many of
tba most successful hunters and trappers
- mis- country as well as Great Bri ain.
rbe most access be hunting grounds un-
der ordinary circumstances are on the
ros+ and south of the .Transvaal There
are certain reas- ms why the average Eng
Tsb-sneaking hunter might find the local
inv oopressvely hot at present, but that is
a matter to suit individual taste.
Here is 10 be found he best kind of l.
ro1nd shooting, and from May to Novem-
her when little rain falls and general
health abounds, the most modest hunter
Fyr a1nc h1fh
ewes bang away and find an antelope ly-
ms dead a few rods away.
Next 10 this Transvaal section, that por-
tion of the Portuguese territory that lies
n the noithward of the Pungwe river, and
almost bordering upon Beira, teems with
quail GU nea-fowl, sand grouse, snipe,
wild duck, wild geese, rails, widgeon and
-eaJ Next 10 these two important hunting
sgots comes The section that lies for forty
oid miles to the north and northwest of
Fort Salisbury. The latter is some 400
miles from Mafeking, the scene of some
recent hard fighting, and has an elevation
of 5000 feet. Here The roam antelope and
sable are as free as flies along the sea-
coast in summer.
Distances do not seem to be OF much
consequence in South Africa, but the more
experienced hunters begin their trips to
The north from either Kimberley or Pre-
toria because at either of these points,
which is not so in other sections. all sup
plies and advice may be had at reasona~
bic prices.
Natural Hunters.
They say in Cape Colony that one In
every ten male adults has his eye on the
sight so long as he is able to stand on his
pms This however, is an extravaganza,
which while intended as a compliment is
hardly so. The Beers, on the other hand
are noted hunters. They slaughter or ex-
terminate rather than keep within the
bounds of wisdom in their hunts. There
are game laws there as in the Cape Col
ony and heavy punishments are inflicted
but a single case of violation will mean
an awful slaughter before it becomes nee
essary 10 punish Inc offender.
In the Cape Colony are to be found gen
tie reminders 20 these wholesale murder
ers of fur and feathers. Here and there
are posted rude signs of warning which
end up with the very appropriate line,
Remember there are others to come ar
Ter YOU This lesson in unselfshness
does more to prevent the wholesale de-
srucdon of game than many of the
"Whereases" in the code of hunting
ethics.
One of the greatest drawbacks to hunt
ing IN South Africa is the TRANSPORTATION
rom place TO place Next to good guns it
is absolutely necessary to have a tent
wagon and a team of twelve to sixteen
oxen in the outfit. These wagons, which
resemble the prairie carts of this country.
are made without springs, have extra
Wdth and are made of the strongest kinds
OF wood for up-country work. They are
htted with extensive lockers for provisions
and blankets, and, being closed in with
canvas, furnish fair sleeping accommoda-
tons.
The cost of outfit will range from $500
to I,500 Each member of the hunting
parry L must provide himself with horse,
mat IN South Africa costs SIS. What are
Known as "salted" horses, or horses recov-
cred from horse sickness, and absolutely
indispensable to the party if the trip is to
be extended beyond the winter cost as
much as $500 each.
Another serious handicap to hunters
al'er small game such as partridges, is the
absence of suitable dogs CANNES that are
broken TO the gun are scarcely purchasable
IN South Africa, and must be specially
imported by the hunter One of the chief
reasons for the scarcity of such dogs is
mat the mail boats from England to Cape
Town charge over SIG for the importation
Of each hunting dog. The best shooting
oog oDtainable in the colony at present
Is Is cross between a pointer and a setter
mere are any number of mongrels, many
lar IN shooting, but the majority are
iohg-halred dogs, and Objectionable be-
cause of the ticks
bryden, who was as fond of shooting as
apout the game birds of this out-of-the-
way place, and he said: English sports
men nave but little conception of the di-
sgrs'ty Of feathered game that lies every
"nere at hand in South Africa, or l i'm
asine that Cape Colony would be much
hitherto
nave seen within the colony alone no
,. ssS lhan six kinds of francolns, seven
Alnus Of bustards. two species of quail
t"o Oh guinea fowl two of the sand grouse
ldlnlly and two sorts of snipe. 1 have
seeh many species of rails, teal, widgeon
anu Wild duck, and wild geese abound"
Hunting Wild Birds.
me ostrich is, of course, the largest wild
SucK bird to be found in South Africa.
y aany OF the wild birds are such in name
my having been cast adrift by the set
- e.s ana farmers when seasons were un-
Il a.ouIaoIe. To the north of the Orange
"Nd Naal rivers the genuine wild bird ie