190 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS chap. 
antelope is invaluable, as it provides flesh more 
or less palatable for his party, at the same time 
that the skins of all varieties are useful, and can 
be readily tanned by the omnipresent mimosa bark, 
and the pods of the soont (Acacia Arabica). The 
fawns of antelopes must be destroyed in great 
numbers by the numerous carnivora, as they are 
completely helpless; they are also the prey of 
pythons, which seldom attack large animals, but 
subsist upon the calves, as their bones are easily 
crushed in the coils, and prepared for swallowing. 
Some species will defend their young; among 
these the tetel (A. bubalis ) is remarkable. I once 
witnessed a striking example, where the entire herd 
came to the rescue of a calf. I was shooting with 
only one attendant, a native named Shooli, who was 
a most trustworthy man and a devoted follower. 
This man was an experienced hunter and a first- 
rate tracker. The country was covered with high 
grass, that was not sufficiently dry to burn 
thoroughly, but in some places the natives had 
ignited it, and cleared small patches, in which the 
young grass had quickly sprouted to the height 
of several inches. These open places were an 
attraction to the game, which was otherwise in¬ 
visible in the vast mass of tall vegetation. 
We were prowling cautiously through the 
country, keeping watchful eyes upon our 
surroundings, when, upon passing a clump of trees, 
we observed a fine bull tetel standing sentry upon 
an ant-hill about 400 yards distant. 
