130 HARTEBEEST-CHASE. 



The Boers came into, my tent each night, and by their 

 conversation and anecdotes gave me a great fund of useful 

 information on the biped and quadruped life of Africa, 

 and on the craft that was necessary in carrying on a 

 successful campaign against either. 



Whilst on a visit to an English settler, who resided 

 about forty miles from Pietermaritzberg, I had some 

 good sport with hartebeest. 



Having made inquiries from the few Kaffirs who lived 

 in this neighbourhood, I found that a troop of hartebeest 

 were usually found feeding on some table-land about 

 twenty miles from the house at which I was staying. I 

 therefore started alone one beautiful bright morning at 

 daybreak to have a quiet gallop after these animals. 

 Unfortunately, my telescope had been forgotten, and I 

 could not scan the country with such accuracy as to dis- 

 tinguish the antelope from the stone on the flat distant 

 hills. After riding an hour or two, I reached the country 

 that had been indicated to me as the hartebeest kop ; I 

 off-saddled for half an hour to have my horse as fresh as 

 possible, in case of a run, and then continued my ride. 

 On rising a little stony ridge, I suddenly came on a troop 

 of nearly forty hartebeest : they were grazing, but imme- 

 diately took the alarm. As usual, they did not at once 

 make straight away, but took two or three circling gallops 

 round me ; they kept at such a safe distance that I did 

 not try a shot for some time ; at length, seeing that they 

 were going away, I rode at a point for which they were 

 making. I had to keep my horse at full gallop to hold my 

 position with them, although they seemed to be merely 



