192 THE GIRAFFE— CAMEL— BIFF ALO 



"Our stealthy approach," says the writer, "was opposed by 

 an ill-tempered rhinoceros, which, with her ug"ly calf, stood directly 

 in the path; and the twinkling of her bright little eyes, accompanied 

 by a restless rolling of the body, giving earnest of her intention to 

 charge. A discharge of musketry, however, put her to flight, and I 

 set spurs to my horse. At the report of the gun and the sudden 

 clattering of hoofs, away bounded the giraffes in picturesque confu- 

 sion, clearing the ground by a series of froglike hops, and soon leaving 

 me far in the rear. Twice were their towering forms concealed from 

 view by a park of trees, which we entered almost at the same instant; 

 and twice, in emerging from the labyrinth, did I perceive them tilting 

 over a hill far in advance. 



"In the course of five minutes the fugitives arrived at a small 

 river, the treacherous sands of which receiving their long legs, their 

 flight was greatly retarded ; and, after floundering to the opposite side, 

 and scrambling to the top of the bank, I perceived that their race was 

 run. Patting the steaming neck of my good steed, I urged him again 

 to his utmost, and instantly found myself by the side of the herd. The 

 stately bull being readily distinguished from the rest l)y his dark 

 chestnut robe and superior stature, T ap])lied the nuizzlc of my rifle 

 behind his dappled shoulder. with my right hand, and drew both trig- 

 gers. But he still continued to shuffle along, and being afraid of 

 losing him, should I dismount, among the extensive mimosa groves 

 with which the landscape was now obscured, T sat in my saddle, loading 

 and firing behind the elbow; and then placing myself across his path 

 until the tears trickled from his full brilliant eyes, his loftly frame 

 began to totter, and at the seventeenth discharge from the deadly rifle, 

 like a falling minaret bowing his graceful head from the skies, his 

 proud form was prostrate in the dust." 



The meat of the giraffe is held in high regard by the natives, who 

 cut it in strips and hang it out in the sun to dry. In the state of 

 preservation that it acquires it is called biltong. The hide is used for 

 making shoes and various other leather articles. The trail or foot- 

 print left by the giraff'e is a curious one. easily followed. It is shaped 

 somewhat like a parallelogram, about eleven inches long, rounded at 

 the heel and tapering toward the toe. However, the African jungle 



