1 82 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



and looking round for their pursuers. It happened so 

 on this occasion. My klipspringer, the ram, suddenly 

 appeared, as I was toiling up the steep mountain, 

 upon a high, jutting piece of rock 100 yards 

 away, framed in dark bush. I was using a small 

 Remington military rifle used in those days in the 

 Egyptian army ; the rear sight, a circular one, was 

 not over good for game shooting ; but the buck 

 stood for several seconds, and I managed to get a 

 bead on him and bring him down. He was a 

 magnificent little ram, and carried the best pair of 

 horns I have ever seen. They measure 4^ inches, 

 and are only excelled by two others mentioned in 

 Records of Big Game those of Messrs. Vaughan 

 Kirby and the late H. H. Eyre, which reach 5^ 

 inches and 5f inches respectively. I know no form 

 of mountain shooting to compare with klipspringer 

 stalking, especially among the fine hills of the 

 Bechuanaland Protectorate, or the wild and magni- 

 ficent interiors of the sierras of Cape Colony. The 

 scenery is grand, the air is unspeakably clear and 

 sparkling ; and although, now and again, as I have 

 shown, a klipspringer will offer a fair chance of a 

 shot, as often as not he will give the gunner an 

 infinitude of employment for his legs, and call forth 

 the exercise of all his skill, care, and judgment. 



A good klipspringer ram stands about 2 feet or 

 a trifle less at the shoulder, and is of sturdy build and 

 handsome form. The coat is thick and brittle, each 

 hair being hollow, and of varied colour, the whole 

 effect being a hue of speckled, yellowish olive-brown. 



