7 6 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
they seemed to be aware of the danger of a 
close approach, and, without any apparent effort, 
they kept the horse at its maximum ^peed. 
They are, as the Dutch name implies, “ hard 
beasts,” and require correct practice with the rifle. 
Unless shot in a vital place they will travel for 
an unlimited distance, and will seldom be recovered. 
As the colour is bright, they are readily distinguished 
among the green foliage, and upon open ground 
they can be seen at a great distance. 
Like many others of their tribe, they are difficult 
to approach, and they generally place a sentry 
upon some favourable position, that will command 
a distant view. The white ant hills in Central 
Africa are very numerous, and being 5 or 6 feet 
above the surface, they afford admirable watch- 
towers, upon which the sentry generally takes 
his stand, while the herd grazes in security in 
the immediate neighbourhood. 
The tetel feeds principally upon grass, but it 
is attracted by the tender young shoots of the 
various mimosas at the commencement of the rainy 
season. 
The distressing months, when a continuance 
of rain has encouraged a giant growth of herbage, 
cannot be appreciated by those who have not 
experienced the block of vegetation. The entire 
country becomes impassable, being clothed in a 
dense mass of coarse grass from 8 to 10 feet high. 
By degrees this ripens, and when the dry weather 
has continued for two or three months, it becomes 
