A Breath from the Veldt 



301 



this year, and mates we will remain." I really could have got along now quite 

 well by myself, but so determined was he that I should not return alone that in 

 the end I consented, stipulating only that the others should go on and apprise 

 the old lady of our coming. Accordingly with one waggon we went back to 

 the Bubye and spent the next three days hunting assiduously for the game, of 

 which a good deal had come in to the bush and surrounding lands during the 

 past two months. Every day we saw koodoos, waterbuck, and pallah ; and 



SKETCH OF A BLUE WILDEBEEST BULL 



the second day, whilst hunting in the evening by myself, I chased a waterbuck 

 ram for about two miles to the river, and was beginning to overhaul him when 

 Spotty put one of his fore-legs in a jackall burrow and came down with me, 

 but luckily without damaging either me or himself By the time I was on 

 again the buck had got into the thick bush by the river, and I lost him. As I 

 turned from the spot, however, I saw a small troop of pallah and five koodoo 

 cows crossing a flat in front of me ; and riding up to the koodoos as near as I 

 dared under fear of disturbing them, I tied Spotty to a tree and tried a bit of 

 a stalk, hoping there might be a bull which I had not seen. Koodoos are 



