260 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



held on close behind her companions. Presently, 

 however, she began to fall behind, and suddenly 

 coming to a halt, turned broadside and stood looking 

 at her pursuer. She let me ride up to within fifty 

 yards of her without moving, and it was only when, 

 after having pulled in and dismounted, I had given 

 her a shot through the heart, that she made a short 

 rush forward and then rolled over dead. 



I was now at least two miles from where I had 

 disabled the bull, and as I knew that it would be 

 a long time before my after-rider could come up 

 with the Bushmen, I set to work to skin the animal 

 just killed. She was a beautiful beast, but it was a 

 terribly hot job skinning so large an animal without 

 any assistance in the open shadeless plain, for it 

 was already past midday and the heat of the sun 

 was simply intense, and I was somewhat hungry 

 and very thirsty as well, since I had left my waggon 

 (which was standing at a pool of water on the road 

 between Bamangwato and the Mababi) just at 

 daybreak. At last my task was ended, and I then 

 disembowelled the carcase of the dead antelope, 

 and covered it as well as I could with dry grass, 

 an operation that took some time, as grass only 

 grew in scanty tussocks anywhere near at hand. 

 I was also careful to throw sand over all the blood- 

 stains on the ground, these precautions being 

 necessary to keep off vultures, for although none 

 of these birds were at the moment in sight, I was 

 afraid that they might collect and destroy the meat 

 after I had left, and before the Bushmen came for it. 



I have satisfied myself over and over again that, 

 in South Africa at least, vultures are guided to 

 their food entirely by sight, and not at all by scent ; 

 for should an animal be killed in the midst of dense 

 bush, it will often lie there for days, untouched by 

 vultures, no matter how many of these birds may 

 be circling about overhead ; but unless the carcase 



