A Breath from the Veldt 327 



Oom Piet meant as to the hunting trophy I was anxious to obtain. I went to 

 him at once, and told him that I did not wish for the wildebeest, and should 

 certainly not pay for it ; upon which he seemed much annoyed — marvelled too 

 that any man should care to be at the trouble of shooting one himself when 

 here was what he wanted lying, as it were, at his feet. After a long altercation, 

 in which I made him understand that unless I shot the wildebeest myself I 

 should not care to have it, he became so irate that I saw I must buy the carcase, 

 or he would not allow me to shoot at all ; so at last I cashed up on the under- 

 standing that I might shoot three more myself Jan the son, it seemed, had 

 shot the animal that morning as it came down to a pool to drink, and thinking 

 that his work was done, had driven off, after depositing it at his father's house ; 

 and it was only on my promising to pay an exorbitant sum for his services in 

 driving me about on the Veldt that he consented to do so ; and without further 

 parley off we went. 



When not actually on the feeding grounds in the morning and evening the 

 white-tailed gnus have a habit, in common with many other antelopes, of 

 selecting some particular spot in a large area of country to which they faithfully 

 adhere all the year round for the purpose of resting and basking there during 

 the warm hours of the day. One of these herds — the first we saw — was resting 

 close to the road, about half a mile from the farm-house. They were about 

 twenty-five in number, and we hoped by sticking to the road to get within 

 three or four hundred yards of some of them, when by good luck I might 

 obtain a steady shot at the old bull, whose presence I had detected. At a 

 distance, however, the sex of black wildebeests facing the spectator is difficult 

 to determine, the size of neck and horns not being so easily distinguished as 

 when the animal is in profile. As we got nearer several good shots at the 

 cows presented themselves, but it was not till the troop had begun moving 

 about uneasily, shaking their savage heads and whisking their tails about, that 

 I let my rifle off. Then I found I had under-estimated the distance, for the 

 shot passed between the forelegs of the animal I selected, and off they all went 

 in two diverging strings, displaying their unique antics. This was really the 

 best chance I had during the first three days, most of one's shots having to be 

 taken at from 450 to 600 yards, at which distance even a mark the size of a 

 wildebeest is very difficult to hit. Towards the end of the third day, having 

 killed only a blessbuck in spite of letting off a good many cartridges, I began 

 almost to despair of getting a bull. Again and again, as we came fresh on the 

 different troops that wandered over Piet Terblans's country, fair shots at the 



