the cicala, the twittering of many-plumaged birds, and the hoarse challenge of the bull-frogs are pre-eminent. Conspicuous among the birds are to be noticed especially the little crested kingfisher, showing a perfect gem of colour, several varieties of sugarbird--a species somewhat allied to the hummingbirds, or "hoverers," which are constantly to be seen flying restlessly over the aloe blossom--the orange-throated lark, the blue jay, and the Zulu finch, whose black and white plumage and red throat are set off by his long, streaming tail, the feathers of which are so prolonged that when flying they nearly overbalance him. The sandy plain on which the first fort was built was covered with stunted karoo bush, and was full of Duyker gries-buck and bush-buck, while two kinds of hares frequented the plain, the larger kind grey-furred like the English rabbit, and a small red mountain species, much better eating than the former, but which is scarcely considered fit for the European table, on account of its scavenging propensities. Colonel Buller's Frontier Light Horse was also largely reinforced, its last augmentation being Captain Marshall's new troop of eighty well-armed and well-mounted men. A corps of Natal Mounted Kaffirs, principally recruited from the Edendal Mission-station, had also been added to this command, and they were found most trustworthy and intelligent. They were armed with the short Martini-Henry carbine, and drilled with equal steadiness to the European troopers.