Chap. XXVII. 
LEADERS OF HERDS—HOXEY--GUIDE. 
■547 
half a minute or more where to direct the flight. On one occasion I 
happened to shoot the leader^ a young zebra mare^ which at some 
former time had been bitten on the liind leg by a carnivorous 
anim^l^ and^ thereby made unusually wary, had in consequence 
become a leader. If they see either one of their own herd or any 
other animal taking to flight, wild animals invariably flee. The 
most timid thus naturally leads the rest. It is not any other 
peculiarity, but simply this provision, which is given them for 
the preservation of the race. The great increase of wariness, 
which is seen to occur, when the females bring forth their young, 
causes all the leaders to be at that time females; and there 
is a probability that the separation of sexes into distinct herds, 
which is annually observed in many antelopes, arises from the 
simple fact that the greater caution of the she antelopes is 
partaken of only by the young males, and their more frequent 
flights now, have the effect of leaving the old males behind. I 
am inclined to believe this, because, though the antelopes, as the 
pallahs, &c., are frequently in separate herds, they are never seen 
in the act of expelling the males. There may be some other 
reason in the case of the elephants; but the male and female 
elephants are never seen in one herd. The young males remain 
with their dams only until they are full grown, and so constantly 
is the separation maintained, that any one familiar with them, on 
seeing a picture with the sexes mixed, would immediately con¬ 
clude that the artist had made it from liis imagination, and not 
from sight. 
December 2, 1855.—We remained near a small kill, called 
Maundo, where we began to be frequently invited by the honey- 
guide {Ouculus indicator). Wishing to ascertain the truth of the 
native assertion that this bird is a deceiver, and by its call some¬ 
times leads to a wild beast and not to honey, I inquired, if any of 
my men had ever been led by tliis friendly little bird to anything 
else, than what its name implies. Only one of the 114 could say 
he had been led to an elephant instead of a hive, like myself with 
the black rhinoceros mentioned before. I am quite convinced that 
the majority of people who commit themselves to its guidance are 
led to honey, and to it alone. 
On the 3rd we crossed the river Mozuma, or river of Dila, 
having travelled through a beautifully undulating pastoral country. 
2 N 2 
