THE HARTEBEESTS AND GNUS 117 



said, the true Bastard hartebeest of Africa, its name 

 having been bestowed upon it by the Trek-Boers, 

 when they first became acquainted with it in the 

 Transvaal and Bechuanaland some sixty years since. 

 It is sometimes also known by them as the Zulu 

 hartebeest. Tsesseby is the Bechuana name for this 

 antelope ; the Zulus and Swazis know it as Mzansi ; 

 the Matabele as Inkolomo ; the Masarwa Bushmen as 

 Luchu ; the Makalakas as Inyundo ; and the Barotse 

 as Kaboli. In colour of a dark rufous, the Tsesseby 's 

 smooth, satin-like coat is distinguished by a wonderful, 

 purplish, irridescent sheen, which in life is extra- 

 ordinarily beautiful, but which fades a good deal 

 after death. Portions of the body, the face, 

 shoulders, hips, and the upper parts of the limbs 

 are very dark, almost black in colour. The tail 

 tuft is black. The horns, crescent-shaped and annu- 

 lated nearly to the tips, are strong and robust. The 

 face is not so long as in the true hartebeests. In 

 stature the Tsesseby attains close upon 4 feet ; a 

 good pair of horns measures from 14 to 15 inches 

 over the curve. 



In speed and in staying qualities this amazingly 

 fleet antelope is not to be excelled by any animal in 

 Africa. It is even more impossible to run down on 

 horseback than the Cape hartebeest. It is, however, 

 by no means difficult to stalk, and if approached by 

 a mounted hunter, and not too hardly pushed, will, 

 like its cousin the Hartebeest, occasionally wheel 

 round to gaze at its pursuer. A bullet dropped in 

 front of the troop will, as in the case of so many 



