86 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



bounding through the high grass with a few short 

 hollow grunts ; as if quailing at our formidable 

 numbers, was wheeling to our right, when a volley 

 laid her low ; and after she fell, some shameful 

 dropping shots from the armed servants tore the 

 grass about her, and cut the skin off her back. 



" Those who had fired reloaded, and we hastily 

 mounted to push on for her mate. We had the 

 advantage of the height, about five and twenty paces 

 above the clump of reeds, when he started up, and 

 wheeled away across us with the same appearance 

 of adopting second thoughts ; three or four shots 

 were fired, and he fell head over heels into a sunken 

 pool of water, heavily struck in the body. He 

 swam across to the side next us ; and, as we des- 

 cended, we saw his head and bristling mane, and 

 glaring eyes, protruding through the screen of reeds, 

 as the wounded but undaunted creature clung to 

 the bank, struggling to drag himself up and charge. 

 A few shots in the head put him out of pain, and 

 he fell back. When we looked over the edge, he 

 lay quite dead, and almost under water ; so having 

 found a place where the bank shelved to the bottom, 

 two of the party stripped and plunged in ; and one 

 taking him by the head, the other by the tail, they 

 swam across to the creek. The scene was highly 

 amusing and novel ; the sun shining brightly on 

 the animated party above, and on the oily brown 

 skins of the naked Hottentots standing in the water, 

 and the white gleaming shoulders and arms of the 

 swimmers, as they impelled the half-seen corpse 



