A HUNTER'S CAMP-FIRES 



by numerous herds of game. Hartebeests, Burchell's zebra, 

 and Thomson's gazelles were visible in considerable numbers, 

 and a few brindled wildebeests and ostriches wandered about 

 among the herds of more plentiful game. The great bustard, 

 crested crane, secretary-bird, and marabout - stork stalked 

 through the grass in pursuit of smaller forms of life; and buz- 

 zards, vultures, and hawks of several kinds circled about in 

 the clear sky or rested on the surface of the plain. Coke's 

 hartebeest (Bubalis cokei) was the hartebeest common to this 

 region, and existed in countless thousands throughout the 

 country. They were very shy, and aptly deserved the name 

 hartebeest (in Dutch, "tough animal ") , given them by the early 

 Boers in South Africa, owing to their remarkable vitality when 

 wounded. It is a rather large antelope, of a reddish-yellow 

 color, with sloping hind quarters, and a comical, elongated face, 

 surmounted by a pair of ringed lyre-shaped horns. Neverthe- 

 less, it is a fleet if not graceful animal when in action, and, 

 like all other dwellers of the plains, possessed of remarkably 

 keen sight. 



After unsuccessful attempts to creep within range of several 

 large herds, I eventually found two lone males which permitted 

 me to worm my way through the grass to within three hundred 

 yards before they threw up their heads preparatory to flight. 

 A careful broadside shot at the nearest hartebeest at this range 

 caused both animals to canter across the plain in the clumsy 

 gait peculiar to these antelopes. By following their flight with 

 the field-glasses, I discovered that one was lagging behind, and 

 immediately started in pursuit, with the porters following a 

 quarter of a mile in the rear. During the first mile I had sev- 

 eral long-range shots at the wounded animal; then I com- 

 menced to gain slowly but steadily. After listening to several 

 bullets whistling in its vicinity, the unwounded hartebeest de- 

 serted its doomed companion and disappeared in the distance. 



Another half mile, and I was within a few yards of the rapidly 



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