nearly a hundred; and that although no elephant was observed, yet they
are found in this district. At the distance of a little more than one
hour's march from their place of encampment on the previous night, his
party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many
more. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles. Of course it
was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals crowded
together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in great
numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed through that day, as
"being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and
still more thinly with mimosa-trees." The waggons were not prevented
travelling in a nearly straight line.
Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with the
natural history of the Cape, has read of the herds of antelopes, which
can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The numbers
indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude of birds of
prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one
evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowling round Dr.
Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist remarked to me, the
carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed be terrific! I confess
it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find support in
a country producing so little food. The larger quadrupeds no doubt
roam over wide tracts in search of it; and their food chiefly consists
of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment in a small bulk.
Dr. Smith also informs me that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no
sooner is a part consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock.
There can be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent
amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much
exaggerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an animal
of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of the desert.
The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must
necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the converse
is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when entering
Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of the
South American vegetation contrasted with that of South Africa,
together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In his Travels, [6]
he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if
there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest
herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely curious. If
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