ON AN EAST AFRICAN RANCH" 65 



when they did go they rushed half hidden through the grass 

 and in and out among the bushes at such a speed, and with 

 such jumps and twists and turns, that I found it wellnigh 

 impossible to hit them with the rifle. The few I got were 

 generally shot when they happened to stand still. 



On the steep, rocky, bush-clad hills there were little 

 klipspringers and the mountain reedbuck or Chanler's reed- 

 buck, a very pretty little creature. Usually we found the 

 reedbuck does and their fawns in small parties, and the 

 bucks by themselves; but we saw too few to enable us to 

 tell whether this represented their normal habits. They 

 fed on the grass, the hill giants, and the tips of certain of 

 the shrubs, and were true mountaineers in their love of the 

 rocks and rough ground, to which they fled in frantic haste 

 when alarmed. They were shy and elusive little things, 

 but not wary in the sense that some of the larger antelopes 

 are wary. I shot two does with three bullets, all of which 

 hit. Then I tried hard for a buck; at last, late one evening, 

 I got up to one feeding on a steep hill-side, and actually 

 took ten shots to kill him, hitting him no less than seven 

 times. 



Occasionally we drove a ravine or a range of hills by 

 means of beaters. On such occasions all kinds of things 

 were put up. Most of the beaters, especially if they were 

 wild savages impressed for the purpose from some neigh- 

 boring tribe, carried throwing-sticks, with which they were 

 very expert; as indeed were some of the colonials, like the 

 Hills. Hares, looking and behaving much like small jack- 

 rabbits, were plentiful both on the plains and in the ra- 

 vines, and dozens of these were knocked over; while on 

 several occasions I saw francolins and spurfowl cut down 

 on the wing by a throwing-stick hurled from some un- 

 usually dexterous hand. 



The beats, with the noise and laughter of the good- 

 humored, excitable savages, and the alert interest as to what 

 would turn up next, were great fun; but the days I enjoyed 

 most were those spent alone with my horse and gun-bearers. 



