542 
THE KOODOO. 
The Sassaby, or Bastard Hartebeest, as it is sometimes called, is by no means an 
uncommon animal, although some few years ago it was only known through the means of a 
mutilated skin. 
The general color of this animal is reddish-brown, the outer sides of the limbs being dark, 
and a blackish -brown stripe passing down the middle of the face. Sometimes the body is 
washed with a bluish-gray. It lives in small herds of six or ten, in the flat districts near the 
tropic of Capricorn, and is a most welcome sight to the wearied hunter when perishing with 
thirst. There are many Antelopes which are almost independent of water, and can quench 
their thirst by means of the moist roots and bulbs on which they feed. But the Sassaby is a 
thirsty animal, and needs to drink daily, so that whenever the hunter sees one of these ani- 
mals he knows that water is at no great distance. It is rather persecuted by the hunters, as 
its flesh is in great esteem ; but as it soon becomes shy and wary, is not easily to be killed. 
Concerning one of these animals, Gumming gives the following curious anecdote:— 
Having shot a Sassaby as I watched the water, he immediately commenced choking from 
the blood, and his body became swelled in a most extraordinary manner : it continued swell- 
ing with the animal still alive, until it literally resembled a fisherman’s float, when the ani- 
mal died of suffocation. It was not only his body that swelled in that extraordinary manner, 
but even his head, and legs down to his knees.” The poor animal must have been shot 
through the lungs in such a manner that the air was forced by its efforts at respiration 
between the skin and flesh, until it assumed that puffy aspect. 
The regularly lyrate horns of the Bohte-bok, or Nitkni, serve to distinguish it from its 
congener, the sassaby. 
The color of the Bonte-bok is a purplish-red, the outside of the limbs deepening into a 
rich, blackish-brown, and contrasting strongly with the white hair which appears upon the 
face, the haunches, and front of the legs. From the vividly contrasting tints of the coat, it 
has derived the name of Pied Antelope, or White-faced Antelope. The female is not so highly 
colored as the male, and the throat and under parts of the body are white. This animal is 
found in the district that borders the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, and lives in little herds 
of six or eight in number. Herds of much larger dimensions are said to be found in the more 
northern district. The height of the Bonte-bok is nearly four feet at the shoulder, and its 
length is about six feet, being thus superior to the common stag in size. The horns are black 
in color, and are furnished with a series of ten or twelve half -rings in their frontal surfaces. 
Their length is about fourteen or fifteen inches. 
The Bless-bok ( Damalis dlbifrons) has sometimes been confounded with the bonte-bok ; 
there is, however, a marked distinction in the color of the coat. The name, Bless-bok, or 
Blaze-buck, is given to this animal on account of the “blaze” of white upon the face, and is 
equally applicable to the bonte-bok. 
By far the most striking and imposing of all South African Antelopes, the Koodoo, now 
claims our attention. 
This truly magnificent creature is about four feet in height at the shoulder, and its body is 
rather heavily made, so that it is really a large animal. The curiously twisted horns are nearly 
three feet in length, and are furnished with a strong ridge or keel, which extends throughout 
their entire length. It is not so swift or enduring as the bless-bok, and can be run down with- 
out difficulty, provided that the hunter be mounted on a good horse, and the ground be toler- 
ably fair and open. Its leaping powers are very great, for one of these animals has been known 
to leap to a height of nearly ten feet without the advantage of a run. 
The Bushmen have a curious way of hunting the Koodoo, which is generally successful in 
the end, although the chase of a single animal will sometimes occupy an entire day. A large 
number of men start on the 1 £ spoor, ’ ’ or track, one taking the lead and the others following 
leisurely. As the leading man becomes fatigued he drops into the rear, yielding his place to 
another, who takes up the running until he too is tired. A number of women bearing ostrich 
