I30 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



The Rhcebok lives about on the stony hills and rocks in 

 small herds of from six to a dozen, or so. There are now 

 forty or fifty of these antelopes on the estate of a Mr. McKellar 

 at Cape Point, and there are plenty of Grysbok there also. I 

 twice went over to Cape Point Farm from Simons Town to 

 hunt these antelopes. 



The Rheebok are shot either by being stalked, or more 

 easily by being driven as they use regular passes in the hills 

 where guns can be posted. The Rheebok is as large as a 

 small fallow deer, and of a light-grey colour ; it is extremely 

 difficult to see it at any distance, owing to the similarity of its 

 colour to the bush and rocks. It is only as it moves its tail 

 and shows the white underneath it, that the hunter catches 

 sight of it at first ; the white patch under the tail is certainly a 

 very material disadvantage and source of danger to the animal. 

 It is very wary and difficult to stalk ; it feeds in the day-time. 



The Grysbok, on the other hand, lies hid in the thickest 

 bushes or beds of reed, during the day, and only comes out to 

 feed at night time. It is very small, less than half the size of 

 the Rheebok. When rain has fallen, it is easily tracked to its 

 lair, and turned out and killed with shot, but in dry weather 

 the only chance for the sportsman is to drive it up by riding 

 through the bushes and shooting from horseback, or to turn it 

 out with dogs. I saw one only dash for a moment through 

 the bush, spring lightly over a mass of thick low scrub, and 

 disappear instantly in the bush again, before I could get my 

 gun to bear. The animal is of a dark-red colour. Mr. 

 McKellar used to hunt the Grysbok with beagles with great 

 success. 



Mr. McKellar, who was most kindly hospitable^ has an ostrich 

 farm, but his flock of birds was not very large at the time of 

 our visit, owing to his having had bad luck at first in breeding. 

 He owns the actual Cape of Good Hope and a long stretch of 

 the moorland adjoining, and has thrown a wire fence right 

 across the peninsula, so as to give his ostriches the run of a 

 large tract, stretching right down to the Cape itself One old 

 hen ostrich was a pet about the house, but used to do sad 

 damage in the farm-yard, eating the young goslings, swallowing 

 them like oysters. It was amusing to go with Mr. McKellar 

 into one of his breeding paddocks ; here a pair of ostriches 

 were brooding on a nest of eggs, dividing, as usual, the labour 

 between them. The cock was very savage and attacked all 

 intruders, so his master had a long pole with a fork at the end 

 of it, and when the ostrich ran at the party, he caught its neck 

 in the fork. The ostrich was excessively enraged, but soon 

 had to give in. 



