An African Game Haunt of the Past DDa 
hundred yards of where I and my boys were sitting. Then they halted, and for a long 
tune all stood quite still with ears pricked and eyes turned towards us. After a time 
the leader came walking slowly forward and was soon followed by a few other 
adventurous spits, the mass of the herd remaining where they were. I was myself so 
absorbed in watching this noyel and interesting sight that I did not observe that one 
of my Kafirs (who took no interest in anything but dead zebras) had stood up behind 
me, until I saw the most venturesome of our visitors turm round and trot back 
to thei companions. JI then told. all my boys to sit down and keep quite quiet, 
but although the old stallion and a few of the bolder spiits amongst his followers 
came forward again, they would not approach nearer than about seventy yards from 
us, the whole troop moying up slowly behmd them. JI suppose I must have sat 
watching these beautiful animals for upwards of an hour, and they did not finally 
trot away until we had got our things packed up and were preparing to move in 
their direction. I found 
both the wart hogs and 
the bush pigs, too, either 
very tame or very stupid. 
and several hippopotami 
which were disporting 
themselves in small muddy 
lagoons were at my mercy, 
had I wished to interfere 
with them; but on this trip 
I killed very few animals 
and never anything larger 
than a hartebeest, nor dia 
I fire a single shot except 
when obliged to do so, in 
order to secure a supply of 
meat for myself and my 
native attendants. Ina 
country so well stocked with 
antelopes, zebras and buffa- 
loes, carnivorous animals, it 
may well be supposed, were 
not wanting, and, deed, in 
no part of Africa probably 
were lions, leopards, hyzenas, 
wild dogs and jackals more 
alent than they were 
some ten or twelve years 
ago in the neighbourhood 
of the Lower Pungwe river. 
But all carnivorous animals 
are more or less nocturnal 
in their habits and therefore 
only ogcasionally encountered 
| WisueRep Aska 1902. “ 
7 = AE. 
im the daytime ; and on the | lo ot af ti, 
occasion of my first visit to —= lad. 
this district I saw neither A TROOP OF BONTE QUAGGA. 
: “Then they halted, and for a long time all stood quite still with ears 
lions, hyenas nor leopards, pricked and eyes turned towards me. 
