404 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



said that game was very scarce about here, and that, 

 unless God helped us, we should not find anything. 



According to agreement, I was up at daylight the 

 following morning, and after having a cup of strong 

 coffee took the field under the guidance of the old 

 Bushman and his son in search of game. We were 

 out nearly the whole day, but never saw a living 

 thing, nor the spoor of any large game such as 

 giraffes or elands fresh enough to follow. Wretched 

 objects though the Bushmen looked, they stepped 

 along briskly the entire time in front of my horse 

 with a dogged perseverance that an unkind fate did 

 not reward. The following day, May 13, I started 

 the waggons at sunrise and then rode out again in 

 search of game. The young Bushman was knocked 

 up with his exertions of the previous day, but the 

 old gray-headed sportsman again accompanied me. 

 Once more we were unsuccessful, seeing nothing 

 larger than a steinbuck. It seemed hard that 

 Providence did not throw an eland or a giraffe in 

 my way to kill for these miserable children of the 

 desert, who seemed to be starving to death by inches. 

 This day we trekked through frightfully thick thorn 

 bush. It was dreadful work for the oxen, as there 

 was no road, the sand was very heavy, the sun hot, 

 and they got scratched to pieces by the wait-a-bit 

 thorns. Whilst trekking along close to the bank 

 of the river the following morning, we met some 

 Makalakas, who asked me to stop a bit and hunt ; 

 as they said there were a good many gemsbuck 

 about, I decided to do so. 



M.ay i^th. — Rode out and came across a small 

 herd of gemsbuck, eight altogether, all cows and 

 calves. After a sharp chase in heavy sandy ground, 

 and through innumerable small thorn bushes, I shot 



