64 
THE NEW AFRICA 
senting a separate sex. Then two dancers, one from each row, 
capered towards one another to the accompaniment of a weird 
chant and rhythmical clapping of hands, and circled round each 
other in grotesque attitudes, performing wild leaps in the air : the 
dance continued to the encouraging shouts of the onlookers, 
until, exhausted, the actors retired, to be superseded by another 
pair. Louder and louder grew the chant, fiercer the clapping 
of hands, exciting the dancers to their utmost efforts, until 
the performers, having had enough of this, the chant suddenly 
altered, and the dance began to assume a character which, for 
the sake of decency, had to be put a stop to. This is called the 
dance of sexes, and, in the seclusion of their own homes, is 
carried out to extremes not permitted in civilised countries. 
Next day, some miles ahead of the column, I came across 
some puku buck, but for the life of me could not get the range, 
as the size of the buck was unknown to me, and I estimated 
them larger than actually was the case, firing three shots at 
them with a two hundred and fifty yards’ sight, while they 
stared at me in amazement as the bullets flew over their backs. 
I then realised that the range was one hundred and fifty yards, 
and with the fourth shot hit a young ram hard, when the troop 
of four immediately took to flight. I found the stricken buck 
dead two hundred yards away under a large tree. About the 
size of a small donkey, but not so thickset, the puku possesses 
a skin covered with longish coarse red brown hair, lighter 
under the belly, with sharp-pointed horns gracefully curved 
forward adorning the head. This being a young ram, the horns, 
seven inches long, and perfectly straight, had not yet attained 
the forward curve characterising the mature animal. The 
females have no horns. Much to my regret I cannot describe 
this buck more accurately, as they appear to be rare here, and 
this was the only one we killed. 
While skinning the puku under the tree before mentioned, 
we were startled by a peculiar tympanic grunt occurring at 
short intervals, frightening my boys, who dragged the buck away 
to a more open spot, when the sound ceased. I scouted the 
