204 NATURE AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA 



evaded by the clever ponies, when suddenly the 

 dun goes down as if struck by a bullet, and his rider 

 is flung far over his head. It is a nasty fall, but 

 such incidents are common ; the chase is too excit- 

 ing and the pace too good to stop and inquire, and 

 his comrade presses on. Still the gallant game keep 

 a good lead. Presently in the distance a line of 

 bush appears. The hunter sees now that it is time 

 to take action. He pulls up short, jumps off his 

 pony, and fires two shots over the heads of the 

 retreating antelopes. The bullets strike up the red 

 sand not far beyond the troop, and the startled 

 wildebeest, turned from their point, sweep round and 

 head to the right. Another longish gallop, and the 

 same tactics are repeated. Now the dark troop, be- 

 wildered out of their habitual caution, again wheel 

 round, and this time charge almost in line right 

 across the front of the horseman. It is a magnificent 

 sight. As they pass within two hundred ^and fifty 

 yards, the Englishman dismounts, takes steady aim, 

 and fires. That loud ''zwack," as a Boer would call 

 it — plain as a bullet upon a barn-door — tells that 

 one of the big bulls is hard hit. Again turned from 

 their course, the troop bear right-handed and gallop 

 on. Now they sink below a swelling of the plain, 

 and are hidden for a few moments. As the horse- 

 man gallops up, he sees over the brow, two hundred 

 yards away, the wildebeest, now at a stand, halted to 



