538 THE KLIPPSPRINGER. 



coming suddenly upon the creature in its lair, they pepper it with shot before it has time to 

 get out of range. I tried this system for several days, but at length found that better and 

 neater sport might be had by using a bullet instead of shot. As, moreover, the grass was in 

 many places five feet in height, it would have prevented me from seeing the animals as they 

 rushed off, whereas, from the back of my horse, I could look down upon the Ourebis as they 

 moved out of their lairs. These animals are found in some parts of the colony of the Cape, 

 and are very numerous in the plains about Natal. 



" They produce one fawn at a time, which can be easily caught with a good dog, and is 

 particularly recommended as a table delicacy, when cooked with a proper mixture of fat. 



"The Ourebi does not carry off so heavy a charge of shot as the duyker or the reit-bok, 

 and if wounded by a bullet, the sportsman is certain to secure his prize, provided that he 

 watches the animal with care. When badly hit, they will frequently retire into long grass, 

 and crouching low, will hide themselves from the casual observer. They will then creep away 

 for several yards, and lie down behind a stone, ant-hill, or some similar cover. When the 

 hunter passes and overlooks them, they will jump up and retreat as soon as his back is 

 turned. Taking advantage of this practice, I always avoid looking directly at an Ourebi if I 

 see it lying on the plain, and after taking ' bearings ' of its position, I ride round the prostrate 

 animal in circles, gradually drawing nearer and nearer, until it can be easily shot." 



The Ourebi stands about two feet in height at the shoulder, and is about four feet in 

 length. The horns of the full-grown male are about five inches long, straight, and pointed, 

 and covered with bold rings at the base. 



The color of the Ourebi is pale tawny above, and white below. The female is hornless. 



One of the prettiest and most graceful of the Antelopes is the Klippspringee, or Kainsi 

 (Oreotragus saltatrix). 



This "darling little Antelope," as Gordon Cumming terms it, almost equals the chamois 

 in its agile traversing of the precipitous localities in which it takes up its residence. 



It is peCTiliarly formed for rocky ground, its hoofs being small, hard, sharply-pointed, 

 and so formed that when the animal stands, its weight rests only on the tips of the feet. 



It may often b?. seen perched on some narrow point of vantage, standing like the chamois, 

 with all its feet drawn closely together, and calmly surveying the prospect from a height 

 which would prove instantly fatal were one of its feet to miss its hold. When startled, it 

 dashes at once at the most precipitous rocks that are within reach, and bounds up their appar- 

 ently inacessible faces as if it were an India-rubber ball endowed with sudden vitality. The 

 least projection serves it for a foothold, and its movements are so rapid, that a very few 

 seconds serve to place it in safety from any other foe than a rifle-ball. 



The Bechuanas have a curious idea that the cry of the Klippspringer is a kind of invo- 

 cation to the pluvial powers of the air, and are therefore in the habit of catching a number of 

 these poor little creatures whenever they suffer from drought, and of making them cry con- 

 tinually by blows and pinches until rain falls. They rightly boast that it is a most infallible 

 method of making rain, which is truly the case, as they never cease until the desired moisture 

 is seen. In a similar manner the American Indians vaunt the potency of their sacred bison- 

 dance for attracting the "buffalo," for if the bison herds do not make their appearance at the 

 proper time, they commence the efficacious saltation, and never leave off until their scouts 

 bring news of the desired herds. 



The color of the Klippspringer is dark brown, sprinkled largely with yellow, which gives 

 to the coat a grizzled aspect. Each hair is yellow at the extremity, brown towards the end, 

 and gray for the remaining part of its length. The tint of this animal is rather variable, 

 according to the season of the year and the age and sex of the individual. 



It is a very little creature, being scarcely twenty-one inches in height when full-grown. 

 In general form it is not unlike the ibex kid of six or seven months old. The female is 

 hornless. 



The graceful and slender-limbed Madoqita (Neotragus saltidna) is one of the tiniest of 



