130 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



The thick coat is rufous-yellow in hue, with white 

 underpants. The skin of this buck is much sought 

 by natives, who use it I suppose from its damp- 

 resisting properties as a sleeping-mat. Never 

 found very far from water, the Jechwe, with its 

 handsome form, gallant carriage, and fine horns, is 

 one of the greatest ornaments of the rivers and 

 lagoons of Central and South- Central Africa. I 

 found this antelope in fair abundance about the 

 lagoons and spreading alluvial flats of the Botletli 

 river, where we had first-rate and most interesting 

 sport with it. It has plenty of speed, and upon the 

 dry, sun-baked flats, where one sometimes found it 

 before the inundation had reached this locality, it 

 was fleet enough to outrun for a mile or two our 

 hunting ponies. It makes always for shallow lagoons, 

 dense reed beds, and flooded flats, and a small troop 

 of these antelopes, bounding through the water with 

 huge leaps, driving showers of spray on all sides of 

 them, forms a most beautiful spectacle. 



The lechwe is a first-rate swimmer, but shuns, as 

 far as possible, the deeper, crocodile- haunted rivers. 

 Lechwe stalking is one of the most varied and 

 interesting forms of sport. These animals are ex- 

 tremely wary, and great care, patience, and fair 

 shooting are required in dealing with them. They 

 have immense vitality, and more than once I have 

 lost lechwe that seemed absolutely certain of coming 

 to bag. The feet of these antelopes, as of the 

 situtunga, are completely devoid of hair from the 

 false hoofs downwards, smooth black skin showing 



