I40 ANTELOPES 



confiding little G. tJiouisont) was so wild that I could not get within 

 range of anything excepting a bustard, which I missed. 



" In open bush-country the sportsman should have little difficulty 

 in circumventing these wildebeest by a fair stalk ; but on really open 

 plains he may find them quite unapproachable, when, rather than run 

 the risk of merely wounding the game by long shots, a drive is 

 preferable. With a few extra men besides the gun-bearers, this is not 

 difficult to manage, as there are always enough ant-heaps scattered 

 about to afford sufficient covert, and the gunner has but two things to 

 remember : firstly, to have the game driven down or across the wind, 

 the former for choice ; and, secondly, that he and his gun-bearers must 

 take up their position without being seen. Gun-bearers should be 

 posted on each side of the sportsman, about 300 to 400 yards off, to 

 act as stops, but should not show themselves unless the game is coming 

 towards them and likely to pass out of range of the gunner, who, when 

 once game is in sight, must lie absolutely still, however uncomfortable 

 he may feel. The men told off to drive — six to a dozen are enough — 

 should be instructed to keep well in line, and a fair distance apart 

 (otherwise the game may break back), and to walk slowly, so as not to 

 hustle and flurry the beasts. When they see that the game is getting 

 near the sportsman they should stop altogether, and the wildebeest will 

 most probably pass in single file ; if this is not done they will perhaps 

 go past with a rush, when it will be impossible for the gunner to dis- 

 tinguish a bull from a cow. To my mind there is nothing so exciting 

 as a drive, as the suspense is little else than awful ; but at the same 

 time I think it is not justifiable unless the game are otherwise 

 unapproachable, as it makes them so wild. Should a drive be imprac- 

 ticable, the only thing to do is to adopt the Bushman's stratagem, and 

 use an imitation ostrich. 



" The measurements and weight of an old bull in good condition 

 shot by myself were as follows : — Total length, 8 feet i inch ; height 

 at shoulder, 4 feet 4^ inches ; tail, i foot 9^ inches ; weight, 475 lb." 



At certain seasons the brindled gnu is much harassed by " maggots," 

 or bots — the larvae of parasitic flies, which infest the nose-chamber and 

 the cavities in the cranial bones. And it is stated that the grotesque 

 antics (" pronken " of the Boers) indulged in by the animals at such 

 times are due to the torture occasioned by these parasites. 



With this species we take leave of the first subfamily of antelopes 

 — the Biibalidince — comprising hartebeests, blesbok, tsessebe, and gnus, 

 and pass on to one represented by species of much smaller bodily size, 

 which consequently appeal much less strongly to the sportsman. 



