102 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



one of these animals seize a goat by the back of the 

 neck, and throwing it over its shoulders, gallop off 

 with it. This was just outside a native kraal in 

 Western Matabeleland near the river Gwai. I had 

 outspanned my waggon there one evening, and 

 having bought a large fat goat, which must have 

 weighed fifty pounds as it stood, I fastened it by 

 one of its forelegs to one of the front wheels of the 

 waggon. I then had some dry grass cut, and made 

 my bed on the ground alongside of the other front 

 wheel, not six feet distant from where the goat was 

 fastened. 



It was a brilliant moonlight night and very cold, 

 and I had not long turned in, and was lying wide 

 awake, when I heard the goat give a loud " baa," 

 and instantly turning my head, saw a hyama seize 

 it by the back of the neck, break the thong with 

 which it was tied to the waggon wheel with a jerk, 

 and go off at a gallop with, as well as I could see, 

 the body of the goat thrown over his shoulders. All 

 my dogs were lying round the fires where the Kafirs 

 were sleeping when the hyaena seized the goat, and as 

 he had come up against the wind, had not smelt him. 

 But when the goat "baaed" they all sprang up and 

 dashed after the marauder, closely followed by my 

 Kafirs. The dogs caught up to the hyama after a 

 short chase and made him drop the goat, which the 

 Kafirs brought back to the waggon. It was quite 

 alive, but as it had been badly bitten behind the ears 

 I had it killed at once. 



A hyoma once played me a particularly mean 

 trick. I was outspanned one night towards the 

 close of the year 1891 in Mashunaland near the 

 Hanyani river, not man}' miles from the town of 

 Salisbury. It was either the night of the full moon 

 or within a day or two of it. At any rate;, it was 

 a gloriously bright moonlight night. I had shot a 

 reedbuck that clay, and in the evening placed its 



