23O GIRAFFE HUNTING. 



when I settled myself down to ride, with the Griquas 

 nearly a hundred yards in front of me. My skimmel 

 nag got over space beautifully, although he was no 

 daisy-cutter indeed, a horse that galloped close to 

 the ground would be little use here for the sight of 

 his species in front tended to increase his ardour 

 and spirit of emulation. No need of "persuaders" 

 now. All I had to do was to shove my feet home in 

 the irons, sit down well in my saddle, keep my hands 

 low, and let the horse, comparatively speaking, choose 

 his own ground, for meer cat's and ant-bear's holes 

 were numerous ; but an up-country African horse 

 is so familiar with them, as to know their danger 

 and the treacherous nature of the soil in their 

 immediate vicinity. I was commencing to get 

 placed well in the hunt, when a bush-pig Boer, Bosh- 

 varke suddenly disturbed from his noon-tide siesta, 

 joined the last of the retreating game. He was a 

 splendid beast, over forty inches at the shoulders, 

 and with tassels on the tips of his ears, that would 

 well have served an artist in priming before laying on 

 colour. If I had possessed a spear then, I would have 

 let the giraffes go to the deuce ; but to do a hog to 

 death in a rideable country with any other weapon 

 since my residence in India has ever appeared to 

 me as grievous a sin as shooting a fox in a hunting 

 county. However, Master Piggy did me a good 

 turn ; he took a dry earth crack at a flying leap, 

 which informed me of its existence, and that it was 

 negotiable. I doubt, however, if this current belief is 

 always correct, for it has led me into difficulties on 

 more than one occasion. 



The Griqua hunters were now on either side, and 

 most unfairly I looked foward to their course being 

 arrested by this jump, but in that I was mistaken, for all 

 got over it a moment or two before I did, in spite of their 

 slack and wobbling riding, and an evident attempt to 

 preserve their balance by hanging on to their reins. 



