218 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



now ripe and extremely abundant throughout this 

 range. This fine fruit grows on a tree with a very 

 dark green leaf; the fruit is the size and shape of a 

 large olive, and when ripe is bright orange. In the aft- 

 ernoon I went out with Ruyter, and found four buck 

 koodoos on the northern ridge of the mountain. I 

 wounded one of these, and followed up his bloody spoor, 

 and, coming on him in cover on the mountain side, 

 broke his fore leg with a second shot ; he, however, took 

 away down to the level forest beneath, and there I lost 

 him. 



At earliest dawn next day I held down wind with 

 Ruyter, and presently found the fresh spoor of a herd 

 of sable antelope which had got my wind, and were off. 

 I then inclined my steps in the direction in which their 

 ,'5poor led, and presently observed them among the trees 

 within three hundred yards of us, some lying and some 

 standing. One of the old does soon observed us. We 

 sat gently down in the grass, however, and I crept 

 away back, and made a very fine stalk upon the herd 

 in very difficult ground. I was obliged to do a hund- 

 red and fifty yards of it on my breast. A wary old doe 

 kept sentry, and prevented my approaching within a 

 hundred yards. I therefore took this doe, and shot her 

 with a bullet in the shoulder. I then sent Ruyter for 

 the natives, and at once dispatched the head to camp 

 to be stuffed. 



In the evening I fell in again with this same troop 

 of potaquaines on the northern range of the mountain. 

 They heard me coming on before I was aware of them, 

 and held up the wind over very rocky ground and 

 through thick cover. I followed on in their wake like 

 an old stag-hound, keeping close to them, and always 

 halting when they halted ; thus they did not observe 



