After leaving Philippolis, I was for a few days Mr. Schultze’s guest at his farm at Ottersport, where for the first time I had an opportunity of seeing tame ostriches. Now that the feather trade is on the decline, it is less expensive to keep the birds in this way than to hunt them wild; and they are bred in such numbers in South Africa, particularly in Cape Colony and the Free State, that in 1879 there were at least 100,000 of them. Directly it is out of the shell an ostrich chick is worth 5l., a half-grown bird varies from 20l. to 50l., and as much as 150l. has been paid for brooding-hens. Ostriches are generally bred in the localities where sheep and cattle-breeding has proved unremunerative.
The greatest difficulty that the ostrich farmer has to contend with is the parasite plague. From five to twenty-five per cent. of the birds each year die from being infested by tape-worms, which swarm in thousands and eat their way into the body; a great number of them are likewise attacked by palisade worms, occasionally a yard long, that gnaw into the muscles of the heart. Not unfrequently the parasites take possession of the eggs before the shell is formed; and from an English newspaper that I recently received from the Cape I learnt that some ostriches’ eggs had been found quite full of worms.
Having crossed the river at Mr. Ross’s ford, I arrived at Colesberg. Here I had so hospitable a reception, that I did not like to refuse the request made by a number of my friends that I would deliver a lecture. It was the first that I had ever attempted, but the result was so satisfactory that I ventured to plead in this way for the opening up of Central Africa from the south in some of the other towns of the colony.
In company with Mr. Knobel I paid a visit to the Colesberg hill. It is equally interesting to the botanist, the geologist, and the zoologist. The number of mountain-hares, rock-rabbits, birds of prey, starlings, pigeons, snakes, lizards, spiders, and other insects that I saw more than repaid the exertion of the clamber.
Hence my next stage was towards Cradock, not however by the shortest route, because of the parched state of the district, but viâ Middleburg, so as to find better fodder for the bullocks. The first destination on the route was Kuilfontein, Mr. Murray’s farm, where Mr. Knobel told me he had seen some fossilized animal remains in a wall. I obtained permission of the owner to take as much of the wall down as I wanted, and found some fine pieces of the skeletons of saurians embedded in hard sandstone; they belonged principally to the dicynodon and to the lacertan and crocodilian species; besides these I discovered a fossil plant in the grey sandstone overlying the dicynodon strata that are common in the eastern province of the colony. I stayed over a week at the farm, and so pleasant was my entertainment, and so full of interest my fossil investigations that I should have been delighted to avail myself of the hospitable invitation to remain longer, but I knew that in consequence of the drought Mr. Murray was at a great expense in buying food for part of his cattle, and in sending the other part off to a distance where some grass survived, and I would not permit myself to encroach upon his kindness longer than I could help. My host, during the time I was with him, took me for several excursions around Kuilfontein, and I found strata of clay-slate containing small mollusks, as well as traces of huge lizards, probably dicynodons. The only game that I saw was springbucks, bustards, grunters, partridges, wild pigeons, and wild ducks. On the farm itself I secured three of the herons that are nearly tame, and build every year on the pastures beside the springs.
The continuation of the extreme drought made the latter stages of my journey to Cradock very arduous. At Newport Farm I found some pretty fossils, including some impressions of lizards. Here, again, I had a hearty welcome, and was sorry not to be able to accept an invitation to join a party that was being arranged for gazelle-hunting and fishing. The Newport Farm scenery is the best in the Middleburg district, and I look forward to making good use of a photographic apparatus on a future visit.
My intention had originally been to stay only a few days in Cradock to recruit my bullocks, all of which were now very weary, a few of them having succumbed to insufficient food. But, as I have said, I found myself detained by a different cause, and I had to apply myself to my old profession to recover various losses that I had sustained. I have a most grateful remembrance of the kindness I received from many of the resident families, and their cordiality did much to alleviate the temporary difficulties by which I was harassed.
Before I finally made up my mind to settle for a few months in the town, I remained quartered in my waggon about half a mile further up the opposite bank of the Fish River. I soon had about twenty patients, and had to ride into Cradock several times a day. My horse Mosco did me good service, although on one occasion he very nearly came to grief.
NARROW ESCAPE NEAR CRADOCK.