76 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



with small herds of wildebeest scattered among them. 

 I fired two or three very long shots without success. 

 Strydom, however, was more fortunate. He fired into 

 a herd of about a hundred bucks at three hundred yards, 

 and hit one fine old buck right in the middle of the fore- 

 head, the ball passing clean through his skull. We Jiid 

 him in a hole in the ground, and covered him with 

 bushes, and then rode on to our Hottentots, whom we 

 found waiting beside a small fountain in a pass formed 

 by a wide gap in a low range of hills, situated between 

 two extensive plains which were thickly covered with 

 game. I took up my position in a bush of rushes in 

 the middle of the pass, and remained there for upward 

 of eight hours, during which our boys were supposed 

 to be endeavoring to drive the game toward us. 



The Boer took up the best pass about a quarter of a 

 mile to my right. Before we had been an hour at our 

 passes, the boys drove up four beautiful ostriches, which 

 came and stood within fifty yards of Strydom, but, 

 alas ! he was asleep. About this time I was busy try- 

 ing to remember and practice a childish amusement 

 which once delighted me as much as rifle-shooting — 

 namely, making a cap of rushes, when, on suddenly 

 lifting up my eyes, I saw standing within eighty yards 

 of me about a dozen beautiful spriagbdks, which were 

 coming up to the pass behind me. I snatched up my 

 rifle, and, lying flat on iny breast^ sent a bullet through 

 the best buck in the troop, smashing his shoulder. He 

 ran about fifty yards, and fell dead. I unfortunately 

 left him lying exposed in the path, the consequence of 

 which was that three other troops of springboks, which 

 were coming up as he had come, were turned to the 

 right about by his carcass. 



It was amusing to see the birds and beasts of prey 



