340 THE STORY OF THE ANTELOPE. 



quickly wheeling about, they kick up their heels, whirl their tails with a 

 fantastic flourish, and scour across the plain enveloped in a cloud of dust. 

 In addition to their speed, wildebeest are remarkable for their extreme 

 tenacity of Hfe; and, owing to the vigorous use they make of their horns, 

 are awkward creatures to hunt with dogs. Europeans find them good 

 practice in rifle-shooting, as they will stand in herds at a distance which they 

 think secure, say three hundred or four hundred yards, and watch the 

 passer-by. Only occasionally can they be approached within easy range by 

 fair stalking; although they may be killed by watching at their drinking- 

 holes at night. During a thunderstorm of unusual intensity, I walked, 

 hardly knowing where I was going, right into a herd of gnu. I did not see 

 them until I was almost among them; but even had my gun not been hope- 

 lessly soaked, the fearful storm made self-preservation, and not destruction, 

 one's chief thought. They were standing huddled in a mass, their heads 

 together, and their sterns outwards, and they positively only just moved 

 out of my way, much the same as a herd of cattle might have done. 



The faculty of curiosity is largely developed in the gnu, which can never 

 resist the temptation of inspecting any strange object, although at the risk 

 of its life. When a gnu first catches sight of any unknown being, he sets off 

 at full speed, as if desirous of getting to the furthest possible distance from 

 the terrifying object. Soon, however, the feeling of curiosity vanquishes 

 the passion of fear, and the animal halts to reconnoitre. He then gallops in 

 a circle round the cause of his dread. 



The native hunters are enabled to attract a herd of gnus, feeding out of 

 shot, merely by getting up a clumsy imitation of an ostrich, by holding a 

 head of that bird on a pole, and making at their back a peacock's tail of 

 feathers. The inquisitive animals are so fascinated with the fluttering lure, 

 that thev actually approach so near as to be easily pierced with an arrow or 

 an assegai. 



The gnu, or wildebeest, inhabits Southern Africa. At first sight it is 

 diflicult to say whether the horse, buffalo, or deer predominates in its form. 

 It, however, belongs to neither of these animals, but is one of the bovine 

 antelopes. The horns cover the top of the forehead, and then, sweeping 

 downwards over the face, turn boldly upwards with a sharp curve. The 

 neck is furnished with a mane like that of the horse, and the legs are formed 

 like those of a stag. There are two species of wildebeest in South and East 

 Africa. The common, or white-tail wildebeest, is strictly South African, 

 while the blue or brindled wildebeest never goes south of the Orange River. 



