J 2 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



footsteps dying away in the distance. When reas- 

 sembled we both angrily enquired from Sunday what 

 he meant by giving such a false alarm. That 

 worthy's reply, and it was supported by all the 

 others, even by the serious and taciturn Umpiqua, 

 was that, he never knew a rhinoceros come up to a 

 fire without charging into it. Fortunately for us, 

 this one was a character apart in disposition from 

 its race, for there w r as not within reach a bit of 

 available shelter to take advantage of. 



The events of that night were not yet finished, 

 for soon after the rhinoceros had disappeared into 

 the distance one of the big antelopes, supposed at 

 the time to be a koodoo, took shelter in the water 

 from the pursuit of a large party of wild dogs. The 

 hounds, judging from their frequent complaining 

 whimpers, seemed very loth indeed to give up the 

 pursuit of their prey, yet did not have pluck enough 

 to enter the pool and make an attack."" Patience, 

 they seemed to think, would meet with its reward, 

 so they apparently resolved to put that virtue to 

 the test, and doubtless would have remained exer- 

 cising it till daylight had not a number of buffalo 

 arrived, who sent the carnivore/, flying ; at least, so I 

 imagined from the snorting and grunting of these 

 formidable and irate members of the bovine family. 



* When the water is just sufficiently deep to force the wild 

 dogs to swim, the larger antelopes can beat off any number of 

 them. 



