A DAY’S SPORT 
23 
yards off, and a fine panther, who apparently had been dis¬ 
turbed in his hunt by the scent of humanity I disseminated, 
came to the edge of the grass, and squatted on his haunches, 
peering inquisitively about, with a restless occasional glance in 
the direction of the springbok, and an uncomfortable general 
look around. He had not seen me lying in the long grass on 
the bank, so, cautiously turning round bit by bit each time he 
was looking in another direction, I brought the bead to bear on 
his neck and pulled. When the smoke cleared there was no 
sign of him, for the view was shut out by the long grass where 
he had been sitting; so, casting a glance at the departing 
springbok, who scampered off' at the shot, I walked cautiously 
across the intervening space, prepared for a probable charge or 
spring from the beast—which might have been only wounded— 
and peered about. There was no sign of life; not a blade moved. 
Picking up a handful of sand, the only missile handy, I flung it 
into the grass; and then as all remained still, I climbed the bank 
some yards lower down, and came gently along through the long 
grass, watching with every sense awake for anything to stir, till 
I reached the spot. There lay the finest panther it has ever 
been my lot to see, stone dead, with his neck broken by the 
bullet, a gentle jerk at the end of his tail showing that he was 
not shamming death as these brutes, when hard hit, have been 
known to do. Needless to say, I returned to camp well satisfied 
with the day’s sport. 
The manufacture of biltong from the tender springbok meat 
occupied only a short time in that exceptionally dry atmosphere. 
The meat was simply cut into strips and hung over a reim—a raw 
hide strap—to dry, care being taken that the suspended parts 
were not allowed to touch each other. In the space of thirty-six 
hours the meat was sufficiently case-hardened to stand travel¬ 
ling, only requiring to be hung out at each camping-place during 
the two subsequent days, to give it the necessary dryness to 
preserve it for a long period. 
Many hunters, when making biltong, soak the strips of 
meat in brine composed of salt and saltpetre for some hours 
