A Breath from the Veldt 201 



The usual herd of sable seen in Mashonaland is generally ten to thirty 

 cows, and quite young bulls, with one old bull, who is easily noticeable by his 

 great neck and his habit of standing apart from the others. This old bull is 

 generally the last to run, and keeps his position well in rear of the troop when 

 on the move. Mr. Banks, a successful English sportsman in Mashonaland, 

 encountered shortly after I met him a herd of over seventy of these antelopes, as 

 well as a great herd of elands. These two species probably become gregarious 

 to a certain extent, whilst moving out of the tsetse fly country in September to 

 get the young green grass that is just shooting up in the charred burnt lands. 



The sable is a villain to run, once he is fairly under weigh, so it is best to 

 make as sure as possible of your first two shots at the old bull, otherwise you 

 will probably lose him altogether, even though he be badly wounded. All 

 the Dutchmen affirm that you cannot ride the sable to a standstill ; but I very 

 much doubt this. I think a good man on a well-fed horse in open country 

 should be more than a match for him.^ Still, it is not worth trying unless 

 you are well and plentifully horsed, as you will ruin your nag by playing the 

 game too often, especially when you are in a country where you cannot get 

 mealies or Kaffir corn. The endurance and strength of the sable are very 

 great, much greater than that of any of the large antelopes ; but he has no 

 advantage over them in point of speed, and a decent horse, if made to go, can 

 range up to the game in a mile or under. Some men prefer this style of 

 shooting, and it is no doubt very effective, but then to enjoy it to perfection 

 you require not only a first-class horse, but a perfectly-trained one, which is 

 about as hard a thing to get as a fat Government appointment. 



A sportsman need never be afraid of filling a sable bull with too much 

 lead. He will carry away an amount of shot that will at first surprise the 

 hunter, so it is best to keep on firing till he is hors de combat. He is, moreover, 

 a very dangerous brute when in possession of more than one leg, and should 

 not be approached nearer than thirty yards, unless he is down. As you come 

 near a wounded bull, whether he be lying down or standing up, you will see 

 him draw in his head, which he slightly lowers while giving vent to a loud, 

 coughing snort, which means to say, " Look out ! " Then, if you have any 

 regard for a whole skin, you had better lose no time in putting an end to him. 



This loud snort is the only noise made by the sable, and I have heard an 



1 Mr. Selous says : "As a rule, the sable antelope runs very swiftly, and has good bottom ; but in this 

 respect different individuals differ considerably, as is the case with all animals ; and I have run down, without 

 much difEculty, individual sable antelopes and roan antelope and one gemsbuck, whilst others have gone clean 

 away from me." 



2 D 



