VII EXPERIENCES WITH CHETAHS 125 



We had just commenced to skin the wild dog I 

 had shot when, on looking round, I caught the eye 

 of one of the other two that was lying dead, as we 

 had thought, at the foot of the tree, and instantly 

 saw that it was alive. It must have been sham- 

 ming dead all the time in order to recover its 

 strength, as immediately it caught my eye it sprang 

 to its feet and dashed off. Two shots were fired 

 at it as it ran, but it got clean away, apparently 

 none the worse for the worrying it had endured. 

 The other one which had been caught by our dogs 

 was not quite full-grown, and as it had been held 

 by the throat by one of our most powerful hounds, 

 was quite dead. 



I can offer no explanation as to why we were 

 able to overtake this pack of wild dogs so easily, 

 after chasing them for less than a mile, but the facts 

 are as I have stated them. It is possible, I suppose, 

 that we disturbed these wild dogs soon after they 

 had killed some large antelope, and just after they 

 had made a heavy meal. I cannot say, but I re- 

 member that the one I galloped over had its 

 tongue lolling from its jaws, and showed every sign 

 of distress. 



I have, however, had two somewhat similar 

 experiences with chetahs, which are generally 

 credited with being the swiftest of all four-footed 

 animals ; yet upon two separate occasions, once 

 in company with the Boer hunter Cornells van 

 Rooyen, and again with three English friends, I 

 have galloped after and overtaken a large male 

 chetah. On each occasion the chetahs squatted 

 suddenly when the horses were close upon them, 

 and lay flat on the ground, in which position they 

 were both shot. 



As I think that these somewhat remarkable ex- 

 periences ought to be put on record, I will briefly 

 relate the circumstances under which they took place. 



