VAST HERDS OF BLESBOKS. 243 



ward, and, suddenly halting, sprang' from the saddle, 

 and, giving my rifle at least two feet of elevation, fired 

 right and left into one of their darkest masses. A no- 

 ble buck dropped to the right barrel, and the second 

 shot told loudly ; no buck, however, fell, and after ly- 

 ing for half a minute the prostrate blesbok rose, and 

 was quickly lost sight of among his retreating com- 

 rades. In half a minute I was again loaded, and, after 

 galloping a few hundred yards, let drive into them, but 

 was still unsuccessful. Excited and annoyed at my 

 want of luck, I resolved to follow them up, and blaze 

 away while a shot remained in the looker, which I did ; 

 until, after riding about eight or nine miles, I found my 

 ammunition expended, and not a single blesbok bagged, 

 although at least a dozen must have been wounded. 

 It was now high time to retrace my steps and seek my 

 wagons. I accordingly took a point, and rode across 

 the trackless country in the direction for which they 

 were steei-ing. 



I very soon once more fell in with fresh herds of 

 thousands of blesboks. As it was late in the day, and 

 I being on the right side for the wind, the blesboks 

 were very tame, and allowed me to ride along within 

 rifle-shot of them, and those which ran charged reso- 

 lutely past me up the wind in long-continued streams. 

 I took a lucky course for the wagons, and came right 

 upon them, having just outspanned on the bank of the 

 Vet River. I could willingly have devoted a month to 

 blesbok shooting in this hunter's elysium, but, having 

 heard from a party of Bastards that the Vaal River was 

 low, and being extremely anxious to push on, I in- 

 spanned, and continued my march by moonlight. Be- 

 fore proceeding far we discovered the deeply-imprinted 

 spoor of an enormous lion, which had walked along the 



