KOODOO 
263 
through a maze of hill and valley, until at last, when I 
was beginning to think that the aforesaid ^ sportsmen ’ had 
also exterminated the koodoo, I caught sight of a female 
watching me intently. I dared not move a finger. But 
she had made us out ; it was too late, and, followed by 
several others, she crossed a bit of open, and disappeared 
from view. 
We ran hard to our right to cut them off, and beheld 
seven females appear over the sky-line and make towards 
us, and a moment later one of the grandest sights which 
a sportsman can conceive slowly and majestically appeared 
over the line — a huge bull koodoo, with a fine pair of 
horns. But alas 1 the wily cows had not advanced more 
than twenty yards towards us when there was a loud 
bark, which echoed far up the valley, and the whole herd 
slowlv turned round and walked back ag^ain. 
When they had slowly disappeared over the sky-line, I 
ran as fast as the rough, rocky ground would allow me, 
and cautiously peeped over the top. The herd had raced 
downhill, and were now across the valley, standing watch- 
ing us from half-way up the next hill. I crouched down 
and watched them, when my eye caught sight of another 
cow some way to the right of them ; a moment later there 
was a rumble of stones, and five more females appeared, 
again followed by a huge bull. These two herds kept 
apart, so I followed the last, as they had not yet seen 
us. Up and down the hills we careered after them for 
miles. A herd of three cows, and soon after another herd 
of three cows and two young bulls, with poor horns, joined 
them. 
The country was literally alive with koodoo. But as 
fast as I got to the top of every hill, there was the herd 
half-way up the next, standing staring at us, and then 
slowly walking up to the top to run hard down on the 
other side. It was most tantalizing, and at length, having 
left the man with the water-bottle far behind, I had to 
give it up, and after a long tramp returned to camp. I 
