V SABLE ANTELOPE SHOT 73 



for, with head erect and ears cocked, he now gazed 

 nitently at the spot where I crouched concealed. 

 Seeing that it was useless to attempt to get any 

 nearer, I noiselessly raised myself to a kneeling 

 position, and, taking a careful aim at his chest, fired. 

 At the shot he fell on his knees, but, recovering, 

 sprang up and bounded off at full gallop after the 

 retreating herd ; but his race was short, tor, after 

 rushing along at full speed for about 100 yards, he 

 staggered and fell, and in a few moments the remorse- 

 less assegais of my Kafirs had quenched the last 

 sparks of vitality that still remained. 



On coming up I found that I had made a very 

 creditable shot, considering my weapon (a smooth- 

 bore elephant gun, carrying a four-ounce round bullet, 

 backed by fifteen drachms of coarse powder), the 

 ball, after entering the chest rather low, and passing 

 through the whole length of the body, having made 

 its exit by the left thigh, grazing the heart on its 

 passage. 



As it was now late, and we had both fresh meat 

 and water, I determined to sleep here ; so, after 

 cutting off the grand-looking head, and leaving some 

 of the Kafirs to look after the meat, I went with the 

 rest to try and find a suitable place to make a " skerm." 

 But perhaps I ought to explain first of all what a 

 " skerm " is. In the first place, to make one, a lot 

 of bushes and branches of trees are cut, and a semi- 

 circular hedge made, after which, the ground enclosed 

 by this hedge having been smoothed to some extent 

 with an axe, stumps chopped out, stones removed, 

 etc., a lot of dry grass is cut and laid down in the 

 centre in the form of a bed, at the foot of which a 

 pole is placed, to keep the grass from getting down 

 into the fire, which is lighted some two or three feet 



