become exceedingly vicious. One o f the Englilh dragoons
perfifted in mounting the female. She kicked and plunged,
and laid herfelf down, but to no purpofe ; the man kept his
feat; till taking a leap from the high bank o f the river, (he
threw him into the water; but, holding fall; by the bridle, 'ihe
had no fooner dragged him to the ihore than, walking up
quietly to him, Ihe put her head down to his face and completely
bit off his ear.
On many parts of the great deferts oftriches were feen
fcowering the plains and waving their black and white plumes
in the wind, a fignal to the Hottentots that their nefts were not
far diftant, efpecially i f they wheeled round the place from
whence they ftarted u p : when they have no neft they make
off, immediately on being difturbed, with the wing-feathers
clofe to the body. There is fomething in- the economy of this
animal different in general from that o f the reft of the feathered
race. It feems to be the link of union, in the great chain of
nature, that connedts the winged with the four-footed tribe;
Its ftrong-jointed legs and cloven hoofs are well adapted for
Ipeed and for defence. The wings and all its feathers are
infufficient to raife it from the ground ; its camel-fhaped neck:
is covered with hair ; its voice is a kind of hollow mournful
lowing, and it grazes on the plain with the qua-cha and the
zebra. Among the very few polygamous birds that are found
in a ftate of nature, the oftrich is one. The male, diftinguilhed
by its gloffy black feathers from the duiky grey female,'Ts
generally feen with two or three, and frequently as many as
five, of the latter.. Thefe females lay their eggs in one neft, to
the
the number of ten or twelve each, which they hatch all together,
the male taking his turn of fitting on them among the
reft. - Between fixty and feventy eggs have been found in one
heft ; arid i f incubation has begun, a few are moft commonly
lying round the Tides o f the hole, having been thrown out by
the birds on finding the neft to contain more than they could
conveniently cover. The time of incubation is- fix weeks. For
want of knowing the oftrich to- be polygamous an error re-
lpedting this bird has ilipt into the Syjlema Natura, where it is
faid that one female lays fifty eggs.
The eggs of the oftrich are confidered as a great delicacy.
They are prepared in a variety of ways ; but that made ufe of
by the Hottentots is perhaps the beft: it is fimply to bury them
in hot afhes, and through a fmall hole made in^the upper end
to ftir the contents' continually round till they acquire the con-
fiftenCe o f an omlet: prepared in this manner we very often,
in the courfe of our long journies over the wilds o f Africa,
found them an excellent repaft. „■ In thefe eggs are frequently
difcovered a number o f fmall oval-ihaped pebbles, about the
fize of a marrowfat pea, o f a pale yellow color and exceeding
hard. In one egg were nine and in another twelve o f fuch
ftones.
At this place it was confidered prudent to furniih our Hottentots,
who attended the cattle, with fire-arms, having of late
been much infefted by parties,, of Bosjefmen. They had not
been out with the oxen above an hour before they were feen
returning with fix ffrangers under their guard. They were
not,