CHAPTER XIX. 
THE BLACK ANTELOPE. 
We continued our voyage down the Nile, at times 
scudding along with a fair wind and stream, when a 
straight portion of the river allowed our men respite 
from the oars. This was the termination of the dry 
season, in this latitude 7° (end of March) ;—thus, al¬ 
though the river was nearly level, with the hanks, the 
marshes were tolerably firm, and in the dryer portions 
the reeds had been burnt off by the natives. In one 
of these cleared places we descried a vast herd of 
antelopes, numbering several thousands. The males 
were black, and carried fine horns, while the females 
were reddish-brown and without horns. Never having 
shot this species, I landed from the boat, which I 
ordered to wait in a sheltered nook, while, accom¬ 
panied by the boy Saat and Richarn, I took the little 
Fletcher 24 rifle and commenced a stalk. 
The antelopes did not evince their usual shyness, 
and with a tolerable amount of patience I succeeded 
in getting within about 120 paces of two splendid 
black bucks that were separated from the herd;—a 
patch of half-burnt reeds afforded a good covering 
point. The left-hand buck was in a good position for 
a shoulder shot, standing with his flank exposed, but 
with his head turned towards me. At the crack of the 
rifle he sprang upon his hind legs,—gave two or three 
