CHAP. viii. ANECDOTES OF ANTELOPES. 389 



ance as this. Two sights which it has never fallen to my 

 lot to witness have been described to me, by those who have 

 been more fortunate, as being very grand, a fight between 

 two old nkonkas in the breeding season, and between 

 an nkonka and a leopard. A hunter of mine shot two 

 of the former while actuaUy fighting, they having, in their 

 preoccupation, allowed him to get within a few yards, and 

 when the first dropped the other continued to charge the 

 body, and ultimately fell within a yard of its adversary. 

 I saw them half an hour afterwards, and both were hor- 

 ribly cut and scarred all over the fore part of the body. 



One day, while engaged in improving a track across a 

 stream so that our waggon might get over, I had occasion 

 to send one of the natives who were working with me into 

 the adjoining bush to cut a stout pole to aid us in remov- 

 ing an obstructing stone. A minute or two afterwards I 

 heard him shout, and being only able to catch the word 

 " nkonka," I took my gun and went in to see what was 

 the matter. Within a few yards of the water was a pre- 

 cipice of some height, under which there was a consider- 

 able space of bare ground ; here the native was kneeling 

 down, examining something. As I got nearer I saw that 

 the ground was deeply indented with hoof-marks, and 

 in some places torn up, while fragments of hair and 

 spots moistened with blood bore witness to some terrible 

 struggle ; this was continued for several yards, and I 

 noticed that the trunks of the trees about were much 

 scratched, and also marked with blood. The mute evi- 

 dences of what had taken place there early that morning, 

 while the baboons peered down upon the conflict from the 

 precipice above, and shrieked and yelled out their hatred 



