2 46 ANTELOPES 



" Springbuck, when frightened, occasionally give vent to a shrill 

 whistle, although one might hunt them for a whole year without 

 hearing this sound. They drop their young in West Africa towards 

 the end of December and the beginning of January ; seldom, if ever, 

 giving birth to more than one fawn at a time. They are very fleet, 

 getting over the ground in the great bounds from which they derive 

 their name ; but a trot is also a favourite pace. If hunted with dogs, 

 they become exceedingly wild and difficult to shoot. On the Coroque 

 river, south of Mossamedes, springbuck abound, but it is impossible to 

 approach them much within 500 yards, owing to the fact that in times 

 past the Portuguese and natives of the country hunted them with dogs 

 and killed numbers at a long range. In the Benguela district they 

 are, however, much more tame, and I have often approached on horse- 

 back to within 70 or 80 yards of a troop. Firing does not disturb 

 them much ; and many a time, when I have made a bad shot, and the 

 bullet has passed over them, they have merely given a jump, walked a 

 few yards, and continued feeding, while sometimes they have only 

 shaken their heads, without moving from the spot at all. They are 

 fond of returning to the same piece of ground to graze, and frequent 

 the sandy plains, where they seem able to exist on very scant herbage. 

 In addition to grazing, they feed a good deal on mimosa-bush. They 

 seldom, if ever, drink, the early morning dews apparently being sufficient 

 for their wants. Unlike their South African relatives, springbuck 

 in the west are very fond of the mountains, and on the top of 

 a range close to and running parallel with the coast they may be 

 found in large numbers. They also seem to like associating with the 

 zebra ; and, during the rains, when these animals come near the coast, 

 springbuck and zebra may be seen dotted about on the open plains, 

 feeding together, 



" At first springbuck-shooting is by no means easy, and one may 

 fire away a large number of cartridges and not bag a buck. There 

 are various reasons to account for this preliminary failure. Springbuck 

 have long legs, and not very deep bodies ; the atmosphere and also the 

 colour of the ground cause the sportsman to fancy that the buck are 

 much closer than they really are ; but when these difficulties are got 

 over, and one understands their ways, they are easily shot. Spring- 

 buck-shooting, either on foot or on horseback, is a fascinating sport of 

 which I have never tired ; the buck may be hunted at any hour of the 

 day, and seem to be always on the feed. At certain seasons springbuck 

 congregate in one vast herd, and ' trek ' to some other veldt, where they 

 again disperse into smaller troops. I saw this on one occasion when 



