CH. i] WILDEBEEST 27 



But what I really wanted were two good speeimens, 

 bull and cow. of the wildebeest. These powerful, un- 

 gainly beasts, a variety of tlie brindled gnu or blue 

 wildebeest of South Africa, are interesting creatures of 

 (jueer, eccentric habits. With their shaggy manes, heavy 

 forequarters, and generally bovine look, they remind 

 one somewhat of our bison at a distance ; but of course 

 they are much less bulky, a big old bull in prime con- 

 dition rarely reaching a weight of seven hundred pounds. 

 They are beasts of the open plains, ever alert and wary. 

 The cows, with then* calves and one or more herd-bulls, 

 keep in parties of several score ; the old bulls, singly or 

 two or three together, keep by themselves or with herds 

 of zebra, hartebeest, or gazelle ; for one of the interesting 

 features of African wild life is the close association and 

 companionship so often seen between totally different 

 species of game. Wildebeest are as savage as they are 

 suspicious ; when wounded they do not hesitate to 

 charge a man who comes close, although of course 

 neither tliey nor any other antelopes can be called 

 dangerous when in a wild state, any more than moose 

 or other deer can be called dangerous ; when tame, 

 however, wildebeest are very dangerous indeed — more 

 so than an ordinary domestic bull. The wild, queer- 

 looking creatures prance and rollick and cut strange 

 j capers when a herd first makes up its mind to flee from 

 . a stranger's approach ; and even a solitary bull will 

 I sometimes plunge and buck as it starts to gallop off; 

 while a couple of bulls, when the herd is frightened, 

 may relieve their feelings by a moment's furious battle, 

 i occasionally dropping to their knees before closing. At 

 I this time, the end of April, there were little calves with 

 the herds of cows ; but in many places in Equatorial 

 Africa the various species of antelopes seem to have no 



