CH. x] SPRINGHAAS 227 



can be killed. Springlmas live in big 1)uitows, a number 

 of them dwelling together in one conmiimity, the holes 

 close to one another, and making what in the \\'est we 

 would call a " town " in speaking of prairie dogs. At 

 night they come out to feed on the grass. They are as 

 lieavy as a big jack-rabbit, with short forelegs, and long 

 hind-legs and tail, so that they look, and on occasion 

 move, like miniature kangaroos, althougli, in addition to 

 making long hops or jumps, they often run almost like 

 an ordinary rat or rabbit, i'hey are pretty creatures, 

 fawn-coloured above and white beneath, with tlie 

 terminal half of the tail very dark. In hunting them 

 we simply walked over the fiats for a couple of hours, 

 Hashing the bull's-eye lantern on all sides, until we saw 

 the light reflected back by a springhaas's eyes. Then 1 

 would approach to within range, and hold the lantern in 

 my left hand, so as to shine both on the sight and on the 

 eyes in front, resting my gun on my left wrist. The 

 No. 3 shot in the Fox double-barrel would always 

 do the business, if I held straight enough. There was 

 nothing but the gleam of the eyes to shoot at, and this 

 might suddenly be raised or lowered as the intently 

 watching animal crouched on all-fours or raised itself on 

 its hind-legs. I shot half a dozen, all that the naturalists 

 wanted. Then I tried to shoot a fox, but the moon had 

 risen from behind a cloud bank. I had to take a long 

 shot, and missed, but my companions killed several, and 

 found that they were a new species of the peculiar 

 African long-eared fox. 



While waiting for the safari to get ready, Kermit 

 w ent off on a camping trip and shot two bushbuck, 

 while I spent a couple of days trying for sing-sing water- 

 buck on the edge of the papyrus. I missed a bull, and 

 wounded another which 1 did not get. This was all the 



