A Breath from the Veldt 341 



head is held straight out without arching the neck, as when galloping. The 

 position of head and neck, when cantering will be seen in my sketch on page 

 332. Until quite recently almost the easiest way to obtain these animals — the 

 way, indeed, in which they were generally taken — was for the gunner to 

 remain concealed near their drinking pool ; then, if they were thirsty and could 

 not quite make out the spot from whence the shots were coming, a number of 

 them could often be killed at short range before the rest took definite alarm. 

 Oom Piet told me that it was owing to this practice that the district had been 

 nearly cleared. 



One evening a few years ago, while working amongst his sheep, he heard 

 numerous shots proceeding from the edge of one of the pans near the main road 

 running through his territory, and out of curiosity he rode over next morning 

 to see what the gunner had been shooting at. There he found the carcases of 

 twenty-seven black wildebeests, from only one of which the skin and meat 

 had been removed ; and the sight so incensed him that he determined to 

 preserve the wildebeests in future. At first he found this a somewhat difficult 

 task ; but by keeping a couple of black boys constantly on the look-out, and 

 helped by his numerous sons, who occupied houses within an area of about 

 thirty square miles and gladly acted as keepers, he managed to stop indis- 

 criminate slaughter ; and now he has the satisfaction of possessing practically 

 the only wild white-tailed gnus in existence. 



I cannot conclude these few notes without relating a little yarn told me 

 one evening by my host as we smoked our pipes after supper, sitting on the 

 bench which overlooked the broad wastes of this southern wilderness. 



" One day," said Oom Piet, " in the times gone by I go out into the Veldt 

 to shoot a wildebeest cow. Ah ! Jan, those were days ! for the blessbucks 

 and springbucks were as the stones in the river, and the wildebeests as the ant- 

 heaps in the Veldt. Oom Piet ^ rides his big black stallion, ' Klinboy ' (little 

 boy), and he could gallop ! Almighty ! he could gallop as fast as a blessbuck. 

 Jan will see the rise beyond the pan. From there Oom Piet looked over the 

 Veldt and saw that the land was moving with game. But what is this cloud 

 of dust that Oom Piet sees, and is making the game to trek from side to side .? 

 A wildebeest cow and calf hotly pressed by three hunting dogs ! One dog is 

 close up and the two others take it easy behind. As they come near I see the 

 dog close up, but the old cow is too quick, and she charges him, driving her 



1 A Dutchman will frequently refer to himself by name, or to his listeners by the name by which they are 

 commonly known. 



