CH. viit] COLOIRINU OF GAME 181 



T()])i. hartebeest, wildebeest, and gazelle gazed at us as 

 we rode by, the sunlight throwing their shapes and 

 colours into bold relief against the parched brown grass. 

 1 had an hour to myself after reaching camp, and spent 

 it with Lowell's " Essays." I doubt whether any man 

 takes keener enjoyment in the wilderness than he who 

 also keenly enjoys many other sides of hfe ; just as no 

 man can relish books more than some at least of those 

 who also lo\e horse and riHe and the winds that blow 

 ' across lonely plains and through the gorges of the 



mountains. 

 , Next morning a lion roared at dawn so near camp 

 , that we sallied forth after him. We did not find him, 

 but we enjoyed our three hours' ride through the fresli 

 I air before breakfast, with game, as usual, on every hand. 

 j Some of the animals showed tameness, some wild- 

 j ness, the difference being not between species and 

 I species, but between given individuals of almost e\'ery 

 I species. While we were absent two rhinos passed close 



by camp, and stopped to stare curiously at it ; Ave saw 



1 them later as they trotted away, but their horns were 

 ,1 not good enough to tempt us. 



At a distance the sunlight plays pranks with the 

 colouring of the animals. Cock ostriches always show 

 jet black, and are visible at a greater distance than any 



\ of the common game ; the neutral tint of the hens 

 making them far less conspicuous. Both cocks and 

 hens are very wary, sharp-sighted, and hard to approach. 

 Next to the cock ostrich in conspicuousness comes the 



I wildebeest, because it shows black in most lights ; yet 

 when headed away from the onlooker, the sun will often 



1 make the backs of a herd look whitish in the distance. 

 Wildebeest are warier than most other game. Round 

 this camp the topi were as tame as the hartebeest ; they 



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