AFFRAY WITH A PORCUPINE. 107 



erally a breeze of wind, and the nights were cool. Our* 

 vley was daily decreasing, and I saw that, unless we 

 were visited by rains, it would soon be no more. On 

 the morning of the 22d I had rather an absurd adven- 

 ture with a porcupine, which cost me my pack-saddle, 

 the only thing of the sort I had in camp. Long before 

 day-break I saddled up, and rode north with my two 

 after-riders and a spare horse with the pack-saddle. As 

 day dawned I came upon a handsome old porcupine, 

 takine his morning airing. At first sight he reminded 

 me of a badger. Unwilling to discharge my rifle, as it 

 was probable that we were in the vicinity of oryx, I re- 

 solved to attempt his destruction with the thick end 

 of my "jambok," the porcupine, like the seal, being 

 easily killed with a blow on the nose. I jumped off 

 my horse, and after a short race, in which I tried him 

 with many turns, when he invariably doubled back be- 

 tween ray legs, giving me the full benefit of his bris- 

 tling quUls, I succeeded in killing him with the jambok, 

 but not till I had received several wounds in my hands. 

 My boys the while sat grinning in their saddles, en- 

 joying the activity of their " baas." 



Having covered him with bushes, we rode on, and 

 shortly came upon an immense, compact herd of several 

 thousand " trekking^ springboks, which were exceed- 

 ingly tatne, and in the middle of them stood two oryx. 

 These we managed for the first time to drive in a south- 

 erly direction, being that in which the camp lay ; and, 

 after a sharp and rather circular burst, I headed the 

 finer, and bowled her over. She proved to be a young 

 cow about three years old. Having disemboweled her, 

 and prepared her for the pack-saddle with a couteau-de- 

 chasse, by splitting the brisket, passing the knife along 

 the gristly bones on one side of it, and breaking the 



