CH. VIII] RUBBING-POSTS 183 



same kind of* ""ame flee in mad fright when twice the 

 distance to windward. Sometimes there are inexphcable 

 variations between the conduct of beasts in one locaHty 

 and in another. In East Africa the hyenas seem only 

 occasionally to crunch the lon<>- bones of the biggest 

 dead animals ; whereas Cuninghanie. wlio pointed out 

 this fact to me, stated that in South Africa the hyenas, 

 of the same kind, always crunched up the big bones, 

 eating both the marrow and fragments of the bone 

 itself. 



Now and then the game will choose a tree as a 

 rubbing-post, and if it is small will entirely destroy the 

 tree ; and 1 have seen them use for the same purpose 

 an oddly-shaped stone, one corner of which tliey had 

 worn quite smooth. They hav'e stamping-grounds, 

 small patches of bare earth from which they have 

 removed even the roots of the grass and bushes by the 

 trampling of their hoofs, leaving nothing but a pool of 

 dust. One evening I watched some zebras stringing 

 slowly along in a line which brought them past a couple 

 of these stamping-grounds. As they came in succession 

 to each bare place half the herd, one after another, lay 

 down and rolled to and fro, sending up spurts of dust so 

 thick that the animal was hidden from sight ; while 

 perhaps a companion, which did not roll, stood near by, 

 seemingly to enjoy the dust. 



On this same evening we rode campward facing a 

 wonderful sunset. The evening was lowering and over- 

 cast. The darkening plains stretched dim and vague 

 into the far distance. The sun went down under a 

 frowning sky, behind shining sheets of rain, and it 

 turned their radiance to an angry splendour of gold and 

 murky crimson. 



At this camp the pretty little Livingstone's wheatears 



