Topi Buck 



to men passing along the road, when they saw my 

 caravan of porters chanting their way onward, instead 

 of running away, they made for the nearest of the 

 many ant mounds which dot the plain, and standing 

 up to their full height on the top, so as to obtain the 

 best view, gazed steadfastly in our direction. They 

 really look most noble in their sentry-like attitude, 

 but they offer at the same time a most tempting 

 shot, their brownish-purple skin making them very 

 distinguishable, I desired, moreover, to treat my 

 hard-worked porters to some meat before paying 

 them off at the base, as some slight reward for 

 their energies. 



Instructing the "safari " to proceed in their usual 

 fashion, and detailing five or six porters to remain 

 behind, I took the heavy rifle, and advancing under 

 cover of stray ant-heaps, without much loss of time 

 I arrived within four hundred yards or so of a fine 

 upstanding male, carrying very fair-sized horns, 

 looking straight towards me. A second buck stood 

 on the same mound searching the ground with his 

 gaze to my right, in the direction where my long 

 line of porters were trailing along the main road, 

 looking sufficiently grotesque in all conscience, each 

 with one of my loads upon his head, notwithstanding 

 that acting upon my previous instructions they had 

 deferred their monotonous chant and shrill "coo-eys" 

 until out of sight. The buck had scented danger 

 with unerring instinct, and their very long sight had 

 enabled them, although half a mile away, to detect 

 the point from, which it threatened. The command- 



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