SPORT IN MOZAMBIQUE 



head between its legs, presents the tips of its horns 

 towards me, and gallops at me on its three sound 

 legs. The brave beast, which is unwilling to die 

 without revenging itself, is not more than five-and- 

 thirty paces from me ; the harsh and sharp report 

 of the smokeless powder rends the air, and the animal 

 rolls over, hit by a bullet in the chest. Every one 

 takes as much meat as he can carry, the rest is left 

 as a feast for hyaenas, and I give the signal to 

 return. 



The sable antelope was described for the first time, 

 under the name of Harrisbuck, in a work written in 

 1840 by Captain Harris under the title of " Wild 

 Sport in Southern Africa." Naturalists have named 

 it Hippotragus niger. 1 This animal attains a stature 

 exceeding that of a red deer. Its coat is black in the 

 adults, with the exception of the under part, which 

 is white, and the ears, which are rufous. The muzzle 

 is marked with white ; the eye is underlined by a 

 white patch, formed of thick hairs. The neck and 

 withers, excessively developed, make the fore-limbs 

 appear taller than the hind ones, — an illusion accen- 

 tuated by the presence of a thick black mane. The 

 tail, which is of fair length, terminates in a large tuft 

 of black hairs. The livery of the young passes through 

 all shades of fawn to chestnut-brown, and then to 

 bay-brown. Its head is elegant, surmounted by 

 ringed horns, curving backwards, and terminating 



1 The Kafir name is pala-pala. 



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