ii2 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



now and again wheel round suddenly with the pre- 

 cision of a troop of horse a most beautiful sight 

 and take stock of their pursuers. A fair shot may 

 then be obtained at 200 or 250 yards. At night 

 these animals are extremely fond of resorting to the 

 salt-pans of Bechuanaland and the Ngamiland country. 

 Here, as they lick the white brack, they are occasion- 

 ally secured by hunters on moonlight nights. This 

 hartebeest, like all its congeners, is, however, desper- 

 ately tenacious of life, and, unless very well hit, will, 

 more often than not, make its escape. With a 

 broken leg or a bullet through the barrel, or even 

 through one lung, it will, in eight cases out of ten, 

 simply wear down the mounted man following it, and 

 effectually secure its retreat. The flesh of this 

 antelope is moderately good eating, and makes fair 

 biiltong, i.e. salted and sun-dried flesh. An expanding 

 bullet of moderate calibre, .303 to .450, if well 

 placed, is sufficient to secure the downfall of this 

 animal. These hartebeests can, and do, exist for 

 long periods without drinking, and, thanks to the 

 dry and desert nature of their habitat, are likely to 

 remain to South Africa for a good many years yet to 

 come. Native names for the hartebeest are Khama 

 of the Bechuanas and Masarwa bushmen ; Kama of 

 the Hottentots ; Ingama of the Makalakas ; and 

 Inhluzele of the Zulus. The Boers usually designate 

 this animal the Rooi (red) hartebeest, to distinguish it 

 from the " Moff hartebeest " (Lichtenstein's) and the 

 " Bastard hartebeest," or Tsesseby. 



