>776- January. fell. Being mounted on fleet horfes, we were able to ride by them all, and feparate one of the herds from the reft, from whence we drove away a calf, which we took home with us alive. It was of this that I afterwards made the diffedtipn, to which'I have referred in page 133, for the proof of what I there advanced. The height of this animal was two feet, and the length from the ears to the tail meafured nearly the fame; the tail itfelf was fix inches long, and very hairy, with white and briftly hairs at the tip. To conclude, the predominant colour in this animal is a very pale or light brown; the belly is white, the nofe black; there is a black circle round the eyes; it is likewife black about the ears, and its forehead is of a dark brown colour; the mane is black, two inches long, and rather of a briftly nature, being fet off on each fide by hairs equal to its length, which cover the neck, and which are twice as long as they are in other parts of the body; the beard too inclines more to grey, or is of a lighter colour than the reft of the animal’s body. I had likewife pre- viouily feen and examined another tame one of the fame fize, which was intended for a prefent for the governor: it was feared, however, that this, as well as the young hartbeefts which they were endeavouring to bring up tame, would be fubjeft to a kind of furor .or madnefs. The cry o f the young gnu was fometimes onje, and at other times na- Dond., a good deal refembltng the nonje of the colonifts (meaning mifs,) and their ufual contraction of the words goeden avond, or good evening; fo that in the dark, the found might eaiily be miftaken for the voice or falutation o f a child. The roafted fleih of this gnu-fawn, the animal being extremely young, was foft and flabby., On the day I have mentioned we likewife ihot a qilagga, which was almoft entirely devoured within a few hours by birds o f prey, after having, according-to their ufual cuitom, begun with the’ eyes. An animal of the height of eighteen inches was known to the farmers here by the name of the’ grey jackal, as it approaches pretty near the common jackal in fize, as well as in the ihape of its head and body; but to judge from the teeth alone, as far as I can recolledt them at prefent, the grey jackal feems rather to bear the charadteriftic marks by which the viverra, or weafel kind is diitinguiihed in the Syjlem of Nature, Edit. XII. The hair with which the grey jackal was covered, was a mixture o f light grey and black; fo that this creature was o f a dark aih colour all over, excepting towards the tip of the tail, which, for the length o f three inches, was quite black; it was befides pretty buihy, and reached down to the animal’s heels. The hairs, indeed, over the whole body were pretty long and foft, but on the back they were about twice as long as in other parts, fo that they appeared to form a bruih pr comb: for which reafon, this animal may for the prefent be called the viverra crijlata. I fay for the prefent, as well on the account that the fluffed ikin o f this creature was itolen out of my waggon by fome hounds with which we had been out a hunting, before I had time to draw up a more accurate defcription of it, as likewife be- caufe it is very difficult as yet to define the genera belonging to the order of ferce. I made a drawing o f the grey jackal’s liver, and on going to examine it with this view, I found it divided in a fingular manner. The right lung V o l . II. A a likewife
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