VIII POOKOO ANTELOPES NUMEROUS 157 



trample out the fresh spoor, and make it most difficult 

 to follow, but often by lying quite close to where 

 elephants are standing, and then running towards 

 them on the hunter's approach, give notice that 

 danger is at hand. 



At the point where we struck the river on our 

 way back — some three or four miles to the westward 

 of our camp — stretched a large flat piece of ground, 

 in some parts over half a mile broad, lying between 

 the steep forest -covered, jungly sand-belt and the 

 bank of the river. This flat might be from six to 

 eight miles long, and lay in the form of a semicircle, 

 in a bend of the sand-belt, that rose abruptly behind 

 it, and ran down to the water at each extremity. 

 The greater part of this extensive tract — once no 

 doubt the ancient bed of the river — was open, though 

 here and there patches of bush were scattered over 

 its surface, and near the river grew many very fine 

 wide -branching camel- thorn trees (^Acacia giraffce^. 

 On coming down from the jungle, about an hour 

 before sundown, and looking across the open ground 

 towards the river, I beheld several herds of" pookoo " 

 antelopes, some impalas, and a small family of 

 graceful striped koodoos — amongst them a grand- 

 looking old bull — whilst far to my left the foremost 

 ranks of a herd of buffaloes were just emerging from 

 the bush, the fourth troop I had seen that day. 

 Thoroughly disgusted with the result of my day's 

 work in pursuit of the elephants, and in order to take 

 the edge off my disappointment, I resolved to lay aside 

 my rule never to shoot game (so long as I had any 

 meat left in camp), and secure, if possible, a good 

 specimen of the head of a male " pookoo," and 

 accordingly on the way home killed two fine rams. 

 The horns of one of these, which I now have in my 



