Interview with George Swale Alefounder published in the Tacoma Daily Ledger (Tacoma, Washington, USA) on 12 October, 1899.
"Cecil Rhodes is now experimenting on a scheme to supply a superior grade of mules in South Africa, which is as original as himself, though in a different way, of course," said Mr. G. S. Alefounder, a guest at the Commercial hotel, who has traveled extensively and lived in South Africa four years.
"Just outside of Cape Town," continued Mr. Alefounder, "Mr. Rhodes owns a large park, which he has stocked with African animals, among them being a large number of zebras. Some time ago he conceived the idea that a cross between a jack and a zebra would produce a mule superior to anything on the market, and proceeded to put his ideas into practical use. The result was that he secured a striped animal, bearing a remote resemblance to an ordinary mule, which proved to be exempt from the insect pests of South Africa. Of course the scheme could not become of any commercial value, but the success of the experiment was highly gratifying to Mr. Rhodes, as he takes a great interest in such things. The pest he speaks of is the tsetse fly, which, strangely enough, is found only in the districts where lions abound, and whose sting is almost always fatal to horses and mules. About one out of every 100 horses bitten recover, and a 'salted' or immune horse brings a very high price."–New Orleans Times-Democrat.
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Last updated 5th August 2022 by Peter Alefounder |
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