Iron County register., 1899-12-21
NIGHT ON THE VELDT.
Queer Animals That Are Abroad In
the Vast Fields of the
TransVaal.

There is absolutely nothing on earth
more beautiful and solemnly impress
sive than the starlit serenity of
South African night. The sky is
cloudless, the air is fresh and cool, the
silence is full of busy hummings of
insects and suggestions of life on all
sides. And yet there is the sense of
complete isolation, of Il certain aloof-
ness from mundane things, which is
awesome and inspiring.
The veldt rolls out its great waves
of short stubble from horizon to
horizon, broken here and there by
sugarloaf shaped antheaps and
sparse vegetation of zuikerbosch or
dwarf mimosa. The Southern Cross
shines in the sky and the Milky Way
seems to have trebled its myriads of
tiny scintillating consultations.
Anon a cicada cheeps with a shriIl,
high, vibrating note, which is repeat
ed with the monotony of a tightly
strung tomtom. A couple of nachtaa-
pies, curious little beasts, part mon
key, part mouse and part bat, drop
from the Zuikerbosch and dart
through the thornbush. A meercat sits
in the starlight, its whitley gray
breast shining like silver. 1t looks
around in an impudent way, and takes
stock of the veldt and the human in
truders. \ springhaan, or locust, her
aids passing swarm of silent, ghost
ly, violet-winged spirits of the depart
ed. \ thousand soft sounds seem to
heighten rather than to break the
stiffness of the night.
Creeping along the side of the near
est antheap comes curious, uncanny
insect, with a long neck and a longer
body, misshapen like a cricket bat,
and very. similar to it in color. This
is a ''Hottentot god" so-called be-
cause the Hottentots are supposed to
worship it. The little Boer boys often
catch these funny insects and set
them on to fight one another, which
they are easily persuaded to do, with
an amount of ferocity which is almost
alarming in such little creatures.
From the distance comes the hoaree
cry of a great paauw. or bustard, re-
sembling that of peacock, but less
shri1. They are good shooting, and
even better eating, partaking of the
character of the turkey, to which, in
deed, they are nearly allied. Another
veldt bird which is game in every
sense of the word is the knorrhaan,
also spelled koran, something between
a partridge and wild duck. Its pre-
fix ''knorr" is said to be derived from
the curious kind of rafting purr
which it makes when it thinks itself
in any danger.
The honeybird is well-known C1eni-
zen of many parts of the Transvaal.
1t has the unique popularity that it
does not fear men and women. but
actually flies up to them, uttering a
plaintive low note, and, flying about
their heads, tries to lead them on to
the nearest clump of rocks or kopie.
The bird knows full we'll that under
certain rock lies a store of honey,
concealed by the cunning bees, and,
rock honey being as much esteemed
by birds as by human beings, the
clever little fellow tries to induce a
friendly being with two strong hands
to push aside the rock, so that it NAV
get to the honey.
If it succeeds in its object and the
traveller on the veldt. attracted by the
birds futterings to and fro between
himself and the rocks, finds the honey,
the bird changes its plaintive tone to
one of joy and pleasure. as much as
to say: Thank you very much."-
London Mail,