HUNTING THE GIRAFFE. 161 



animal on earth lay vanquished at my feet, where I could 

 but gaze upon its noble form in wonder and admiration. 



But my attention was now called to Mr. Barrill. He 

 had singled out his game and shot the animal in one of 

 the hind legs thus preventing it from bounding away. He 

 had then got alongside and shot it in the shoulder, so that 

 it fell upon one side, unable to go farther. Instead of 

 killing it, then, my friend had dismounted, and when I 

 turned to look at him, he was leaning upon his rifle, gazing 

 at the beautiful skin and eyes of the beautiful creature. 

 And thus he continued till the giraffe fell upon the plain 

 in the last shivering agony of death. 



The giraffe is admirably formed by nature to adorn the 

 gorgeous forests that clothe the plains in the interior of 

 South Africa. When a herd of them is seen scattered 

 through a grove of acacias, on the uppermost shoots of 

 which they are enabled to browse, grace, beauty, and 

 dignity are in all their movements. The height is usually 

 about seventeen feet, the male being at least a foot taller, 

 when full grown. Of this colossal height, the legs have 

 seven feet, and the neck about six. The head is small 

 and tapering. The eyes, being large, black, and having 

 a melting glance to which the long silken lashes add ex- 

 pression, far surpass those of the famed gaselle of oriental 

 climes, these orbs are so constructed that the animal can 

 see both before and behind without turning its head. On 



14* 



