A LARGE TROOP OF WILDEBEEST 213 
harris buck, but so wild that, although I kept after them at a 
run for five miles, I could not get within range at all. Much 
disappointed, I returned to the waiting expedition, which had 
found a beautiful pan of water close by., Wishing for a short 
rest during the heat of the day, with the intention of starting 
out hunting at about two o’clock, we lay down under the shady 
trees surrounding the pan at about midday and fell asleep, but 
not for long. Hardly thirty minutes had elapsed when we were 
awakened with a start by hearing a succession of shots bang, 
bang, banging away on the right; and, jumping up, found that 
Franz had gone off on his own account, contrary to instructions, 
in that direction, and that these must be his shots. Suddenly 
the thunder of hoofs could be heard approaching, and then from 
our right passing in front appeared a magnificent troop of several 
hundred blue wildebeest sweeping by in grand style. Shouting 
to my own boys to follow my track with plenty of water, I started 
on after the troop, and saw Franz running like a madman in 
their wake ahead of me. I shouted to him to slacken speed, but 
he seemed to have lost all control of himself and ran on, firing 
as he went at every favourable opportunity shot after shot driving 
the game to utter madness. He ran on for about three miles, 
and then in sheer exhaustion dropped on the ground, with not 
a shot of the twenty-five rounds of Martini-Henry cartridges 
he carried left. He had fired them all away in his anxiety to 
kill some meat, and had killed nothing. When I came up to 
him he was so perfectly done that he could not speak, and his 
face had the colour of dark red velvet, an appearance that led 
me to fear he had burst a blood-vessel; but all this was by the 
way and of secondary consideration for the moment. I shouted 
at him, ‘ Have you killed anything ? ’ He shook his head in the 
negative, but indicated that he had wounded two by holding up 
as many fingers and pointing to his side. This news I got from 
him while passing, and shouting to him to send on water, I 
buckled-to to try and run down the wounded wildebeest. I was 
in full training and influenced by the thought of the hungry boys, 
so went mile after mile, but could see no sign of a wildebeest 
