THE BLUEBUCK 647 
The flesh of this buck is celebrated for making good soup, and the skin for the thongs 
of the long waggon whips. As a general fact, the venison of South Africa is very inferior, 
being dry ‘and tasteless, but to the epicure sportsman I can recommend the liver of all the 
small Antelopes as a great delicacy. The Dutch have an ingenious plan of improving 
the flavour of the native venison, by scooping a number of little holes in the meat before 
it is cooked, and pushing into the cavities bits of fat taken from the eland or the 
hippopotamus. This process is, indeed, a simple kind of ‘larding, and is very effectual 
in rendering the meat less dry. 
As a general rule, a buck, or any animal, should be watched for some time after it 
has been fired at. It may be badly wounded and yet go away very freely at first, but 
after proceeding for a hundred yards or so, it usually comes to a halt, and gives evident 
tokens of distress. Many bucks which I thought had escaped my bullets ‘T afterwards 
found to have been mortally wounded, and amongst them the Duy ker was one which 
would frequently go off as if unharmed, though it had received a deadly hurt. Whenever 
the sportsman passes through long grass, or near low stunted bushes, he should be on the 
look out for a Duyker.” 
The height of the Duyker-bok is about twenty-one inches at the shoulder, but the 
animal is somewhat higher at the croup, where it measures nearly twenty-three inches. 
It may be distinguished from the other species belonging to the large genus in which it is 
placed, by a ridge upon the front surface of the horns, which runs through the four or five 
central rings with which the horns are marked, but does not reach either to the tip or to 
the base. "The general colour of this animal is brown-yellow, fading into white on the 
abdomen and all the under parts, including the tail, The upper part “of the tail is black, 
and there is a black streak running up the ‘legs, and another on the nose. 
The RHOoDE- -BOK, OF Natat Busa Buck (Cephdlopus Natalensis), is, according to 
Captain Drayson’s MS., “ very common in the Natal forests, and although the advance of 
civilization and the spread of fire-arms among the Kaffirs must greatly reduce the numbers 
of these animals, still, from their watchful habits and selection of the most retired parts 
of large dense forests as their residence, they will remain much longer in their old 
quarters than those animals which inhabit plains and are destitute of any secure retreat. 
This buck is solitary, and rarely leaves the dense forests except in the evening or during 
rainy weather, when it seems to prefer feeling the rain-drops aw naturel to receiving them 
second-hand from the bushes. 
It is very amusing to watch the habits of this wary buck when it scents danger in 
the bush. Its movements become most cautious ; lifting its legs with high, but very slow 
action, it appears to be walking on tip-toe among the briers and underw ood, its ears 
moving in all directions, and its nose pointing up wind or towards the suspected locality. 
If it hears a sudden snapping of a branch or any other suspicious sound, it stands still like 
a statue, the foot which is elevated remains so, and the animal scarce shows a sign of 
life for near a minute. It then moves slowly onwards with the same cautious ‘step, 
hoping thus to escape detection. If, however, it obtains a sight of danger, or clearly 
scents some foe, it gives a sharp sneeze, and bounds aw ay through the forest, alarming all 
other animals in its progress. 
The Kaffirs lay snares for this animal by making a noose which is held to the ground 
by a small peg, while the other end of the cord is fastened to the bent-down limb of a 
living tree. As soon as the head of the buck passes into the noose the peg is released, and 
the victim is jerked into the air by the recoil of the liberated branch, and so strangled. 
The Red Buck is about two feet high, its horns are about three inches long, straight : and 
pointed, and its ears are rather large. The colour is a deep reddish- brown, which is 
difficult to distinguish in a dull day, but can be more easily seen on a bright sunny 
morning, especially if a gleam of light shines through the thick branches and ‘alights on 
the ruddy coat of the animal.” 
“The BLUE-BUCK (Cephalopus pygmea) is scarcely more than a foot in height, and 
about two feet long; it possesses small straight horns, about two inches in length 
closely annulated, its colour a dark blue or mouse tint. 
