302 A Breath from the Veldt 



remarkably quick of scent as well as of ear, but as the ground was undulating, 

 and the grass partly burnt made my progress almost noiseless, I got within 

 forty yards of the troop in some thick wait-a-bits without their seeing me, and 

 could easily have killed any of the cows had I cared to do so. They were 

 moving along slowly and evidently were somewhat uneasy, and I had the finest 

 opportunity for observing their peculiar walk and the sensitive motions of their 

 ears, but, alas ! there was no bull with them, and they soon disappeared in the 

 thick trees. 



On the following morning Oom and I set out for the open flat lands, which 

 are the favourite resort of the roan antelope, and in passing through the heavy 

 bush which grows near the rivers we came across the fresh spoor of what was 

 either a Lichtenst'ein's hartebeest or a blue wildebeest bull. As we were 

 emerging from this thick cover and had reached the more open veldt we 

 heard a shot from Piet far away to our left, and in about two minutes we 

 descried the dark form of an animal cantering through the trees straight towards 

 us. Catching a glimpse of its horns, I thought at first it was a buffalo cow, 

 and in another minute was off my pony ready for a shot as it passed by. Then, 

 as the animal stood facing us at about fifty yards' distance, I recognised in my 

 friend the well-known blue wildebeest. Now my shooting had been pretty 

 groggy for the last week, but I thought I was on the animal, when up went 

 his black tail as he capered and cantered off again, heading straight for the open 

 country apparently unhurt. But he was an old bull, and seemed to go a bit 

 lame, so there was hope of another chance at him. On his standing for the 

 third time I made rather a lucky shot as he was on the move preparing to 

 gallop ofi^ again. The shot struck him in the left haunch, completely disabling 

 him, and, coming to close quarters, another shot in the neck ended his career. 

 This was almost as good as the longed-for roan antelope, for the blue wildebeest 

 is now getting very scarce in Southern Mashonaland, and I did not expect to 

 be so fortunate as to see, much less to obtain, a specimen. So much has been 

 written on this extraordinary-looking antelope that it seems superfluous to add 

 any notes except as to his peculiar movements. Compared with his flashy and 

 interesting cousin, the white-tailed gnu, the blue wildebeest is a clumsy and 

 stupid-looking brute, and his movements, though quaint and comical, altogether 

 lack the fire and dash of the black wildebeest. Before starting for a gallop he 

 kicks up his heels and whisks his tail in the most ridiculous fashion, and then 

 runs off" in something like a semicircle, but there is little spirit in his move- 

 ments. On seeing the animal for the first time one is struck with the great 



