286 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



possibly have been the victim of a more perfect or 

 more deadly shot. When I reached it, it was still 

 breathing, but was limp and apparently at its last 

 gasp. Seizing it by the lower jaw, I pulled its 

 head backwards, and was about to cut its throat, 

 when a dark shadow passed over the water below 

 me. Looking up, I saw a vulture sweeping through 

 the sky, whilst half a dozen more of these keen- 

 eyed scavengers were close at hand. No, it would 

 not do to cut the antelope's throat, and leave a 

 great pool of blood on the bare ground where it lay ; 

 for I knew that had I done so the vultures would 

 have torn the carcase to pieces whilst I was riding 

 back to hurry up the waggon. I therefore let the 

 animal's head swing back and fall to the ground, 

 and set to work to cut grass with my pocket-knife. 

 In ten minutes I had completely covered what I 

 believed was the carcase of a dead animal with 

 sheaves of long grass. Then I looked for the one 

 I had first shot, and found it lying dead just beneath 

 a small bush. I propped it up against the stem of 

 the bush to make it look as if it was lying asleep, 

 which I thought would protect it from vultures for 

 the time being ; and then mounting my horse, rode 

 back to the waggon, which I brought to the pool 

 about half an hour later, just as the sun was going 

 down. 



My men and the Masarwas had been extremely 

 delighted to hear that I had killed two tsessebe 

 antelopes. We pulled the waggon close up to the 

 carcase of the one first shot, and then leaving the 

 driver and one of the Kafirs to outspan the oxen, 

 I led the way to where the other one was lying by 

 the water all covered up with grass. There was 

 the grass right enough, but it now lay on the bare 

 ground, and there was no tsessebe antelope be- 

 neath it. The incomprehensible beast had got up 

 and gone off. At' first I thought a lion must have 



