54 
form was prostrate in the dust. Never shall I forget the intoxicating excitement of that moment! At last, then, the summit 
of my hunting ambition was actually attained, and the towering Giraffe laid low. Tossing my turbanless cap into the air — 
alone, in the wild wood, I hurraed with bursting exultation, and unsaddling my steed, sank exhausted with delight beside the 
noble prize that IL had won. ‘ 
When I leisurely contemplated the massive frame before me, seeming as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, 
and wrapt in a hide an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer matter of astonishment that a bullet, discharged from 
a distance of eighty or ninety yards, should have been attended with little effect upon such amazing strength. Did stature 
alone constitute precedency, observes M. Le Vaillant, the Giraffe would undoubtedly claim the highest rank among quadrapeds. 
From the crown of the elegantly-moulded head to the sole of the hoof of this magnificent animal, the extreme height was 
eighteen feet; the whole being equally divided into neck, body, and leg. Two hours were passed in completing a drawing: 
and Piet still not making his appearance, I cut off the ample tail, which exceeded five feet in length, and was measurelessly 
the most estimable trophy I had ever gained; but on proceeding to saddle my horse, which I had left quietly grazing by the 
side of a running brook, my chagrin may be conceiyed, when I discovered that he had taken advantage of my occupiition to 
free himself from his halter, and abscond. Being ten miles from the waggons, and in a perfectly strange country, I felt con- 
yvinced that the only chance of saying my pet from the clutches of the lion, was to follow his trail, whilst doing which with 
infinite diffieulty, the ground scarcely deigning to receive a foot-print, I had the satisfaction of meeting Piet and Mohanycom, 
who had fortunately seen and recaptured the truant, Returning to the Giraffe, we all feasted heartily upon the flesh, which, 
although at this season highly scented with the rank Mokaala blossoms, was far from despicable; and losing our way, in conse- 
quence of the twin-like resemblance of two scarped hills, we did not finally regain the waggons until after the setting sun- 
beams had ceased to play upon the trembling leaves of the light acacias, and the golden splendour which was sleeping upon 
the plain, had gradually passed away. 
The spell was now broken, and the secret of Camelopard hunting discovered. The next day Richardson and myself 
killed three; one, a female, slipping upon muddy ground, and falling with great violence, before she had been wounded, was 
despatched by a shot in the head as she lay floundering like a tommy-long-legs. From this time we could reckon confidently 
upon two out of each troop that we were fortunate enough to find, by always approaching as near as possible, in order to 
ensure a good start, galloping, into the middle of them, boarding the largest, and riding with him until he subsided. A few 
only, struck in a vital part, fell at once in a mighty crash, and arose up no more. The rapidity with which these awk- 
wardly formed animals can move, is beyond all things surprising, our best horses being unable to close with them under two 
miles.* Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, the fore and hind legs on the same side moving together, instead of 
diagonally, as in most other quadrupeds, the former being kept close to each other, and the latter wide apart like a pair of 
oars, so that in riding by the animal's side, the hind hoof extends behind and beyond the horse, momentarily threatening to 
overthrow him. The motion arises less from the roof-like slope of the back, than from the total absence of channel, the stern 
appearing exactly as if it had been plastered. Perhaps the complicated sawing progress of this strange animal might be 
aptly compared to that of a horse whose fore feet were shackled; but altogether, it reminded me rather of the pitching of a 
ship, or the rolling of a rocking-horse, than of anything living; and the remarkable gait is rendered still more automaton-like, 
by the switching, at regular intervals, of the long black tail, which is inyariably curled aboye the back, and by the corres- 
ponding action of the neck, swinging as it does like a pendulum, and literally giving the creature the appearance of a piece of 
machinery in motion. 
The ordinary pace, although more stately and dignified, is also rapid, by reason of the great length of the legs; and 
owing to the condensation of the carease, the hinder feet instead of covering the fore, as in most other quadrupeds, are still 
invariably placed in advance of them, considerably on the outside. The cloven hoof measures from ten to twelve inches in 
length, and being parallelogrimmatic, with a ronnded heel and pointed toe, resembles a pair of slippers placed side by side. 
Be the Giraffe ruming or walking, the lofty neck is invariably protruded, and carried in the prolongation of the slope of the 
back, without forming any angle with the withers, in the manner usually represented; and possessing only seyen joints, it 
appears, although beautifully flexible, to move on a pivot, instead of being curved, like that of the swan or peacock. Nume- 
rous folds of loose skin betwixt the fore legs enable it to straddle wide, but the operation of bringing the head to the ground 
* “ The first ran of the Giraffe,” writes M, Thibaut, “is exceedingly rapid, and the swiftest horse, if unaccustomed to the desert, could not come up with it unless 
with extreme difficulty. It was on the 15th August,” he continues, “that I saw the first two of these animals, about four days’ journey to the south-west of Kordofan, 
A rapid chase on horses, accustomed to the fatigues of the desert, put us in possession, at the end of three hours, of the larger of the two. Unable to take her 
live, the Arabs killed her with blows of the sabre, antl cutting her to pieces, carried the meat to head-quarters, which we had established in a wooded situation,— 
an arrangement not less necessary to our own comfort, than to secure pasturage for our camels of both sexes, which we had brought with us in aid of the objects 
of our chase. We deferred until the morrow the pursuit of the young Giraffe, which my companions assured me they would have no difficulty in discovering. The 
Arabs are very fond of the flesh of this animal. L.partook of the repast. The live embers were quickly covered with slices of the meat, which I found to be excel- 
lent eating, 
“On the following day the Arabs started off at dawn in search of the young one, of which we had lost sight not far from our camp. The sandy nature of the 
soil of the desert is well adapted to afford indications to a hunter, and in a very short time we were on the track of the animal which was the object of our pursuit. 
We followed the traces with rapidity and in silence, cautious to avoid alarming the creature while it was yet at a distance from us, Unwearied myself, und anxious 
to act in the same manner as the Arabs, I followed them impatiently, and at nine o'clock in the morning, had the happiness to find myself in possession of the 
Giraffe. A premium was given to the hunter whose horse had first come up with the animal, and the reward is the more merited, as the laborious chase is pursued 
in the midst of brambles and thorny trees.”"—M. Thibaut’s Letter to the Zool. Soviety, 
