228 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



us a little before the bok, within forty or fifty yards 

 of their line. No time in this scramble is there to 

 look out for meercat or aard vark holes ; we trust 

 to our good horses and to Providence. Then we 

 pull up suddenly, jump off our nags, throw the 

 bridles over their heads, so as to hang in front of 

 their forelegs (an invariable precaution against 

 bolting, which every Cape hunting horse understands 

 and obeys), and, cocking our rifles, are ready. In 

 a few seconds, part of the herd come flying past at 

 whirlwind speed within fifty yards. Crack go our 

 three rifles, and one antelope drops, but regains its 

 feet and limps after the rest. We hastily reload, 

 and again the three barrels flash, but this time, 

 in the excitement and at the speed the game is 

 retreating, we all miss clean. The antelopes are 

 soon far out of range, and scouring the veldt a mile 

 or two away. 



After some little trouble, and the expenditure of 

 another cartridge, we bag the wounded bok, and 

 then H. canters up. He is, and with reason, a little 

 disappointed at our bad shooting, and tells us we 

 ought to have bagged three or four head of game, 

 but we remind him that two of us are tyros at the 

 business. 



We now rest a few minutes and give our horses 

 a blow, and as the veldt is pretty well disturbed and 

 the antelopes in the vicinity have nearly disappeared, 

 we have time to admire the proportions of the dead 

 game. 



The springbok (Gazella euchore), tsepe of the 

 Kaffirs, Matabeles, and Bechuanas, stands some 

 thirty-two inches high at the shoulder, and two 

 inches higher at the croup, and in length measures 



