220 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



me, breaking the thin thong attached to my belt 

 from a ring on the bridle. I was not hurt, but I 

 was unable to extricate myself and regain my feet 

 as quickly as my horse, and he, not being a very 

 well -trained animal, trotted away in the direction 

 taken by the giraffe before I could get hold of the 

 bridle. I now for the first time saw a very young 

 giraffe calf, which I do not think could have been 

 more than a day or two old, running between my 

 horse and its mother, but much nearer to the former 

 than the latter. I suppose this little calf, being so 

 very young, had been purposely left by its mother 

 lying hidden amongst the bushes to await her return, 

 but that we had frightened it and caused it to jump 

 up and run off. As we watched it we saw it run 

 close up to my horse, and as long as it was in view 

 it appeared to be running close behind it. 



I now told two of my Bushmen to run after my 

 horse, and try and get in front of it and then catch 

 it and bring it back to me. This they succeeded in 

 doing before very long, as, after having trotted 

 away for a mile or so, my recreant steed had com- 

 menced to feed. When we met, the Bushmen told 

 me that the giraffe cow had come round and taken 

 off the calf before they came up with my horse. 



Since this giraffe calf was evidently very young 

 and weak, I thought it would be an easy matter to 

 catch it alive, so I told my Bushmen to take up its 

 spoor at once. We had been following the tracks 

 of both the cow and the calf for perhaps a mile, 

 when I saw the head and neck of the latter rising 

 out of some tussocky grass in an opening in the 

 forest. Galloping up to it, 1 found that the poor 

 little creature's hind-legs were stretched out straight 

 behind it, as if its back were broken. It was also 

 bleeding from a few scratches. My Bushmen were 

 now examining the ground round the injured calf; 

 and I heard one of them say, " Ingwi, ingwi mabele " 



