94 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



are as susceptible to the slightest taint in the atmo- 

 sphere as a dogvane is to a breath of wind. This is 

 surprising when we consider this animal's great 

 altitude and leads one to believe that their powers 

 of scent are superior to any beast's that wanders 

 over these almost unknown and boundless wilds. 

 This immense stature also gives them an enormous 

 range of vision, while their ever restless largely 

 developed ears, incessantly on the move, are sus- 

 ceptible of detecting the slightest sound. 



From what I have said, it will be seen that to 

 stalk the cam He (Boer name) successfully requires in 

 a pre-eminent degree all those gifts that com- 

 pose the qualifications that constitute a first class 

 hunter. There is one thing, nevertheless, that 

 favours success in their pursuit, viz., that if possible 

 they will invariably try to continue upon the path 

 through the veldt that they have selected, but if by 

 compulsion driven from it, then they will go up wind. 

 This last peculiarity has its advantage to the sports- 

 man, for it often affords him an opportunity to cut 

 off the game and so obtain a second shot or even 

 third. 



We had not been a quarter of an hour secreted 

 in our ambush when Umpiqua's quick ear detected 

 the sound caused by the advancing drove. At the 

 time that he announced his suspicions, the old hunter 

 was lying upon the ground with his ear close to its 

 surface. To my less sensitive organisation the 



