TREKKING THROUGH THE THIRST 161 



At last we spied a herd of topi, distinguishable from 

 the hartebeest at a very long distance by their dark coloring, 

 the purples and browns giving the coat a heavy shading 

 which when far off, in certain lights, looks almost black. 

 Topi, hartebeest, and wildebeest belong to the same group, 

 and are specialized, and their peculiar physical and men- 

 tal traits developed, in the order named. The wildebeest 

 is the least normal and most grotesque and odd-looking of 

 the three, and his idiosyncrasies of temper are also the 

 most marked. The hartebeest comes next, with his very 

 high withers, long face, and queerly shaped horns; while 

 the topi, although with a general hartebeest look, has the 

 features of shape and horn less pronounced, and bears a 

 greater resemblance to his more ordinary kinsfolk. In the 

 same way, though it will now and then buck and plunge 

 when it begins to run after being startled, its demeanor is 

 less pronounced in this respect. The topi's power of leap- 

 ing is great; I have seen one when frightened bound clear 

 over a companion, and immediately afterward over a high 

 ant-hill. 



The herd of topi we saw was more shy than the neigh- 

 boring zebra and hartebeest. There was no cover and I 

 spent an hour trying to walk up to them by manoeuvring 

 in one way and another. They did not run clear away, 

 but kept standing and letting me approach to distances 

 varying from four hundred and fifty to six hundred yards; 

 tempting me to shoot, while nevertheless I could not esti- 

 mate the range accurately, and was not certain whether I 

 was over or under-shooting. So I fired more times than 

 I care to mention before I finally got my topi at just five 

 hundred and twenty yards. It was a handsome cow, weigh- 



