'-•;

fe

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

(Felis Caracal}.

l'"i ontispiece.

THE

HUNTER'S ARCADIA

BY

PARKER GILLMORE

AUTHOR OF
GREAT THIRST LAND," "A RIDE THROUGH HOSTILE AFRICA," "THE AMPHIBIAN'S VOYAGE,

"ALL ROUND THE WORLD," "GUN, ROD, AND SADDLE," "ADVENTURES ix THE

ROCKY MOUNTAINS," ETC. ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON : CHAPMAN AND HALL,

LIMITED.

1886.

CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS*
CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.

PREFACE.

I WILL here repeat a conversation I had with an
employ*} of the Government ; from it the reader can
take his conclusions :

" Sir, you dress field sports in Colonies in an
attractive garb."

" Not more so than they deserve."

" A man of your years should be ashamed of
himself! You will have all the youngsters going in
for rifles, horses, and dogs, when they should be
studying stock-raising, irrigation, sub-soiling, and
chemical manures."

" Nothing of the kind. You have passed your
life in a Government office at home, and so know as
little of the outer and bigger world as the majority
of stay-at-home Englishmen do — that is, about as
much as an Irish pig does of social etiquette. Listen,
and I will give you my reasons for encouraging a
love of field sports in those youths that emigrate.

vi PREFACE.

Excitement of some kind they must have ; so the
choice is between the nearest canteen, where drinking
to excess and gambling on credit are rampant, or to
shooting, fishing, and hunting. In pursuit of these
last mentioned the sojourner returns home to his un-
attractive shanty too tired and too hungry to again
go forth, yet invigorated and strengthened by his
exercise. In the pursuit of the former, property,
health, and reputation are soon alike lost. Believe
me, your boys, when away from paternal control in
foreign lands, must have excitement ; and the excite-
ment derived from the chase is much healthier than
that inhaled in a pot-house. Good morning, Mr.
Bureaucrat, and may my remarks do you good."

I did not go into the country that this work treats
of to make money by trading, but to see this little-
known part of Africa, and enjoy the Field Sports it
afforded ; thus it may be that I take a more favourable
view of its inhabitants than other visitors have.

There was as much romance in the realities of
my life there, as the most inventive genius could
invest fiction with.

As the perusal of this book may induce some of
its readers to visit Bechuana Land, I will here give
a list of those persons who furnished my outfit, and
to whom I am in no small degree indebted for much
of my enjoyment.

PREFACE. vii

Messrs. Silver and Co., of Cornhill, can supply
the wanderer with anything, and what is procured
from this firm is sure to be excellent. Their port-
manteaux, travelling bags, waterproof sheets and
clothing cannot be too highly commended, while
their gun-pads for reducing recoil are almost in-
dispensable for firing such heavy charges as are
now in vogue for killing large game. Fail not to
have one of their revolvers. As far as natives are
concerned they are not necessary, but there are some
bastard descendants of Europeans knocking about, and
this weapon is better than argument with such wild
beasts. They (Messrs. Silver and Co.) can also
supply the hunting-coat I always use, which will be
found not only cool but capable of resisting thorns.
Their explorer's room is always worthy of a visit,
and the attentive and courteous employes of the firm
thoroughly understand the use and appropriateness of
each article. As your travelling is done by wagon
you need not fear overloading yourself.

The rifle and smooth-bore supplied me by
Mr. Tolley, of Conduit Street, were simply perfect
weapons. Often I have been surprised how they
withstood the hard usage they were submitted to.
A friend of mine uses them now, and he writes that
they are as good this day as when they left the
shop.

vlii PREFACE.

Get a binocular from Dollond and Co., i, Ludgate
Hill ; if you don't, you will regret it. The glass
they supplied me with afforded me no end of pleasure
and service.

As nothing is of greater importance to the
sportsman than his ammunition, I would advise all
contemplating a trip to tropical countries, more
especially to those where large and savage animals
are frequently to be encountered, to obtain their
supply from Messrs. Kynoch and Co., of Witton,
near Birmingham. During the last few years I
have had forty thousand rounds from this well-known
firm, and whether it was employed in rifle or smooth-
bore, it always afforded the greatest satisfaction.
The now old-fashioned paper cartridge never use
when you can procure the new "Perfect" metallic
one, for their superiority only requires to be tested
in warm climates to be acknowledged. Unless
actually compelled, never reload a cartridge, but if
such has to be done, the " Perfect " will be found
the best.

In conclusion, I have to tender my friend Mr.
H. A. Bryden many thanks for the assistance he has
afforded me as amanuensis.

THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

THE START . . I

Kooruman — Baboons — Sand Grouse.
CHAPTER II.

EN ROUTE .10

Guinea Fowls — Successful Shots.
CHAPTER III.

GOOD SPORT . . . . . . . • • .16

The Pauw— A Stalk— A Porcupine.
CHAPTER IV.

PLEASANT PLACES .... 25

African Hares— Small Buck.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

PAGE

NATIVE SPORTSMEN 33

Duiker Buck — Hebes — Change of Camp.

CHAPTER VI.

NATURAL HISTORY ........ 43

Snakes— Secretary Birds— The " Ringkaal.'5
CHAPTER VII.

DUCK SHOOTING -53

The Irrepressible Donna — The American Snipe.
CHAPTER VIII.

CLIMATE .6l

Sunsets — Glorious Colours — A Ground Pig.
CHAPTER IX.

SWEET HOME 68

The Camp— Nature's Favourites — Trekking.

CHAPTER X.

' PAGE

ENJOYMENT 76

The Vley— Ostriches — Old Bull.
CHAPTER XI.

A GALLOP 87

A Special Favourite — Meer-kats — Sunset.
CHAPTER XII.

NIGHT ........... 97

Lost— Outwitted— A Trap.
CHAPTER XIII.

AN UNFORTUNATE 107

The Shadow Bird— Snake-bitten— Sudden Death.
CHAPTER XIV.

STALKING . . . . . . . . .114

African Game — Successful Shots— Spooring.

XI 1

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.

INSUBORDINATION

Cookey — Moonlight — Carrion Feeders.
CHAPTER XVI.

NATURAL HISTORY

Sight or Scent — Ravens— Vultures.

CHAPTER XVII.

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Weaver-birds — Pangolin— A Leopard.
CHAPTER XVIII.

GOOD SPORT .

Klipspringers — Aard-vark.

PAGE
126

161

CHAPTER XIX.

UNKIND TREATMENT .... .176

Attacked by a Vlakke-vark— Wait-a-bit Thorn.

CONTENTS. xiii

CHAPTER XX.

P\GK

UNATTRACTIVE MORTALITY 185

The Vlakke-varke's Home — Game to the Last — Ugly Imps.
CHAPTER XXI.

A CHARMING COUNTRY .192

Indigenous Flowers — Songs of War and Love— A Wise Goat.
CHAPTER XXII.

PERSEVERANCE REWARDED ....... 205

A Brave Lad — An Unenviable Position — Rewarded with Success.
CHAPTER XXIII.

A MUTINOUS SCOUNDREL 2iy

African Leopards— Cookey Again — A Knock Down.
CHAPTER XXIV.

EXCITING SCENE 226

A Noble Quarry— Splendid Hunt— Marvellous Hounds.

XIV

MIGRATION

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXV.

A Free Life — Abdim's Stork — A Yarn.

PAGE
233

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE SCRIPTURAL CONEY 246

The Hyrax — An Interesting Family — Birds of Prey.
CHAPTER XXVII.

SOUTH AFRICAN FLORA 257

A Young Botanist — Bad Shooting — Kindness to Children.
CHAPTER XXVIII.

NATIVE COIFFURE 267

Jumping Hares — A Cheerful Countenance— Ladies' Toilette.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

CARACAL (FellS Caracal) ... ... Frontispiece.

VARIEGATED SAND GROUSE (PtCTOcleS VCtriegatUS) . To face page 8

PAUW (Otis kori) ,,20

DOUBLE-BANDED SAND GROUSE (PtCTOcleS bidnclus) . „ 38

SECRETARY BIRD (Secretanus reptilivorus} . . „ 50

SPUR-WINGED GOOSE (Anser gambensis) . „ 58

NAMAQUA SAND GROUSE (Pteroclnrus Namctqua) . ,, 78

THE HAMMER-HEAD, OR SHADOW BIRD (ScopllS Uinbrettd) „ 1 1C

RUFOUS-BACKED BATELOUR EAGLE (HflotarSUS CCdltdatUS) ,, 124

SOUTH AFRICAN GRIFFON VULTURE (GypS Kolbil) . 3> J34

PANGOLIN, OR SCALY ANT-EATER (Manis TemminckH] „ 154

TSTRATIONS.

ANT-BEAR, OR AARD-VARK (OfJCtei'OpuS C

THE LEOPARD (Fdis pardiis) ....

CAPE HUNTING DOG (LyCdOH Pictlts)

ROCK RABBIT, OR KLIP DAS (Hyi'dX Cdpensis)

KOODOO (Strepsiceros koodoo) ....
THE CAPE JUMPING HARE (Pedetes cciffer}
CHACMA BABOON (Cynocephalus porcarius)

To face page

214

228
250
262

272
282

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

CHAPTER I.

THE START.
Kooruman — Baboons — Sand Grouse.

EVERY person visiting South Africa, who has
shooting proclivities, and is gifted with the smallest
powers of description, deems it his duty to the
world at large, to give information regarding the
sport to be had among the large or semi-large
game of this portion of Her Majesty's dominions ;
but seldom do such writers say a word upon the
smaller game which is to be found there in great
abundance.

Great are the charms which surround the shooting
of grouse and partridge, woodcock and snipe, hare
or rabbit, whether on our moors or stubbles, meadows
or uplands ; but, great as these home pleasures are,
I never can divest myself of the thought that all

WTER'S ARCADIA.

one brings to bag are in a more or less domesticated
state. If the reader, therefore, will travel with me
in thought, at least, I will endeavour to tell him how
and where game can be killed ranging over all the
intermediate sizes between that of the green plover
and roedeer, and to which the stigma of domestication
cannot be attached.

Kooruman I had left two days previous to the
occurrence of the day's sport of which I am about
to give a sketch.

But Kooruman I cannot leave without saying
a word or two descriptive of it and its surroundings,
for a more maligned place it never was my fortune
to visit. The very name of Kooruman brings back
to me the impressions I had formed of it, culled,
doubtless, from the numerous works of the members
of different missionary societies. My early impres-
sions, I find, are exactly identical with those of nine
out of ten of the reading public, viz., a scattered
settlement on a tiny spring, with deserts resembling
those of the Sahara surrounding it, which stretch
to the horizon, and even far beyond it, without a
tree or shrub to break the monotony.

I feel certain that many, as well as myself,

AN EDEN. 3

formed the conclusion that when an unfledged
missionary was ordered to Kooruman his life was to
be in future one of constant hardship, trial and danger.
It is scarcely to be expected that when an ex-
plorer discovers elysiums, he is bound to publish to
all the world the charms and attractions of the retreat
he has become cognisant of; but still, for the sake
of education, geography and progress — three subjects
that missionary societies are ever thrusting down our
throats — it is, in my humble opinion, a disgraceful act,
and unworthy of an honourable body, to call a land
flowing with milk and honey, and possessed of a popu-
lation at once submissive and affectionate, a country
of sterility and hardship, peopled by aborigines that
lust for bloodshed and plunder. If there is an Eden
on the face of this earth, it is Kooruman — Kooruman
that has been represented by Moffat and McKenzie
as a residence unfit for white men, and only one
grade better than the Sahara Desert. Every descrip-
tion of sub-tropical fruit flourishes here to perfection,
the indigenous grains of the country produce the
most luxuriant crops, and the springs, which bubble
forth from beneath their sandstone formation, give
not only an ample supply of water for man and

B 2

4 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

beast, but lubricate many and many a mile of valley
that would grow the necessaries of life for the sus-
tenance of a modern principality.

The youth of the present day think old men
croakers ; the matured man believes that the rising
generation have deteriorated. In our fathers' and
grandfathers' days no doubt the same opinions
swayed them ; but I feel confident that the mis-
sionaries of a past generation — those men, we will say,
who occasionally formed banquets for the untutored
savage — were infinitely superior to those persons who
follow the same avocation at the present time.

After a rest of ten or twelve days at this earthly
paradise, my bullocks being as fat and fit as good
pasture, abundance of water and rest could make
them, I pushed ahead to the north, resolved not to
shoot till forty or fifty miles intervened between me
and my starting-point. The roads were good, and
the sand seldom heavy ; thus my cavalcade averaged
in its progress nothing less than twenty miles a day.
Where I had arrived differed but little from the
country that surrounded Kooruman ; rolling hills,
sparsely covered with brush, valleys clothed with
sorghum and mealies, with here and there an occa-

BABOONS. 5

sional kloof, planted by nature with timber worthy
of a place in any nobleman's park or horticultural
display.

During the night perfect quiet reigned around
our encampment ; for know, kind reader, that the
lion, hyena and jackal, which, thirty years ago, knew
this country as their habitat, have now been almost
all killed off by the use of that diabolical invention
of man's skill and research — strychnine. Baboons
and monkeys, being vegetable feeders, have not
suffered in the same ratio as have the carnivorae ;
thus, from the top of some rocky krantz, occasionally
would boom through the still night air the far from
unpleasant voices of the sentinels of the first-men-
tioned species. Despised brute as the baboon is
by all the human family, he is gifted with wonderful
instincts ; perhaps this causes man to be jealous, and
therefore to dislike him. But let me say, could we
imbue our soldier sentinels with the same indefati-
gable sense of duty and the same powers of detecting
indications of danger, our troops would seldom suffer
surprise or find an enemy penetrating their lines
before being discovered. Early to bed and early
to rise, whatever it promises in the old adage, in-

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

variably predicts luck in field sports in the regions
I write of, for, from break of day till the sun has
reached such an altitude as to make the heat un-
pleasantly powerful, all game, except the carnivorae,
whether fur or feather, are on the move.

The coldest hour of the twenty-four is ever that
which precedes the break of day, and this was the
time at which ' I turned out, shivering at the contrast
I suffered between the temperature of the interior
of my wagon and the uninterrupted night airs.

After raking the glowing embers together which
remained as representatives of many a goodly branch
that had fed our night fires, I next turned my
attention to rousting out my attendants. This is
always a difficult job, for the natives strongly object
to leaving the warmth of their karosses before the
sun has made its appearance. Nor is this to be
wondered at when the observer notes how stiffened
and cramped they appear after doing so, until exercise
has caused their blood to increase its rapidity of
circulation. It would be imagined that past ex-
perience would teach them to provide better protec-
tion against cold, but it does not ; the kaross which
they shivered under the previous night is good

MY POINTER. 7

enough and fit enough for all purposes of the future,
and so on to the end of time.

After much grunting, yawning, stretching, and,
no doubt, numerous complaints, if not curses, at the
inexorable taskmaster whom they have to serve,
Cookey, a fat, oleaginous and on occasions cheeky
scoundrel, puts in an appearance, not to perform his
duties, as might be imagined, but to criticise in no
favourable terms that part of them which I had
taken upon myself to perform.

My morning meal invariably consisted of a stew
or hash left from the previous dinner, which, washed
down with a cup of strong coffee, I found an ex-
cellent preparation for a hard morning's work.

As feathered game was the object of my
expedition, the greyhounds were secured to the
wagons, and Donna, my pointer, was taken in
a leash by my hunting attendant, a stalwart
Zulu, who had strong sporting proclivities, which,
however, were seldom displayed till he had shaken
off by exercise the chills he was suffering from,
or a shot or two had been fired.

First I pursued a course which took me to the
low ground edging upon cultivation. While doing

WTER'S ARCADIA.

this several easy shots were presented at sand
grouse, familiarly known here as Namaqua partridge.
These are of three distinct varieties, each differing
in colour and also in habit, the first being denomi-
nated the double-banded sand grouse, the second,
variegated sand grouse, and the third, Namaqua
sand grouse or partridge.

In size they are all similar, being about the
weight of our woodcock, although of considerably
greater length, owing to the elongation of the
exterior tail feathers. During the morning and
evening they are usually found in small coveys, but
during the day, when the uplands are their favourite
habitat, more generally they will be flushed in
pairs. The whirr which they make at rising is so
startling and abrupt, and their velocity of flight so
great, that the nervous sportsman invariably finds
that shooting sand grouse is not his forte. More-'
over, they carry away a tremendous lot of shot,
and in this respect quite equal our home-bred bird
the wood-pigeon.

The first two varieties mentioned invariably come
to water immediately after sunrise and when the
sun goes down, while the third variety drink about

SAND GROUSE. 9

half-past ten or eleven a.m. On these occasions
they are most interesting to watch ; for, arriving in
pairs, sometimes in threes, they wheel about over
the drinking-place till their numbers are augmented
into dozens, when, with a swoop, they make a descent
of such rapidity as is generally expected only to be
performed by members of the falcon family. When
in large parties their flight resembles very much
that of golden plover ; yet, to my thinking, it is
of a very much bolder and more determined
character.

As I have spoken of the sub-family Pterodina, it affords me
great pleasure to place before my readers an excellent likeness
of the variegated sand grouse (Pterodes variegatus}. The two
others, double-banded sand grouse (Pterodes bicinctus) and the
Namaqua sand grouse {Pterodes Namaqua\ will be found further
on, as incidents connected with them occur. This group is the
more interesting, as the habitat of the last-mentioned is so
extensive that I have shot them in Manchuria, Mongolia, Asia
Minor, Russia and Northern Africa, as well as in the country
this book treats of, viz., the plateau lands of the interior of
Southern Africa. This family is unknown in the Americas.

CHAPTER II.

EN ROUTE.

Guinea Fowls — Successful Shots.

I

larg(

expected

alarm the neighbourhood, I on this occasion allowed
the sand grouse to go on their way without moles-
tation ; the result was, as is usually the case where
forbearance is practised, I soon had my reward, for,
at the entrance to a ravine sparsely covered with
brush, and here and there producing a stunted mimosa
tree, I heard the well-known metallic sound produced
by guinea fowl — even the Bechuanas have observed
the peculiarity of this note, and in consequence,
frequently call the bird " chinky-chinky."

Of all the game birds of South Africa, this is,
probably, the most numerous, and I have frequently
seen it in droves, not of hundreds, but of thousands.
In truth, I do not think I exaggerate when I say
that near Secheli's, on an extensive clear space of

GUINEA FOWLS. n

ground, which once had been a densely populated
village, and which was situated in proximity to a
poort, in which there was a strong fountain, I saw
a flock of these interesting and eminently game birds,
which must have numbered very many thousands ;
in fact, it appeared to me at the time as if they
covered more than a couple of acres ; and so densely
packed were they, that a rifle ball fired into their
midst could not have failed in finding a billet.

As the guinea fowl when young is one of the
very best birds that can be obtained for the table,
and as its succulence was equally appreciated by my
Zulu attendant as by myself, his talents and mine
were soon devoted to obtaining a few of these very
wily specimens of the Gallina family, as additions
to our table luxuries. The guinea fowl is pre-
eminently a suspicious bird, and it has every reason
to be so, for it is a favourite prey, not only of the
lords of creation, but of every skulking fox or hyena,
as well as of every hawk that can muster pluck
enough to attack a comparatively defenceless creature,
whose only attribute of safety against what should
be contemptible foes exists in its superiority of size.

Having obtained the wind, a precaution that never

12

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

must be neglected in the pursuit of game in every
part of the world, and more particularly so in Africa,
I handed my swarthy attendant my shot gun, and
relieved him of my rifle. This course I took for
the reason that at this hour, with a little judicious
management, guinea fowl, when perched, can easily
be stalked to within fifty yards, and their size makes
them as large a target as an ordinary " Hielander's "
capacious bonnet. But there is another reason for
substituting ball for shot, and a very good one too—
the guinea fowl will carry away such a dusting of
No. 6 or 5 shot as would knock the best rocketer
that you ever looked at, into an inanimate body.

Thus Zulu and Donna and self crept forward,
not with that care that either of the party would
have taken if approaching a hartebeest or gemsbok,
but with prudence sufficient to keep our flapping
garments out of sight, and the keen and blood-
thirsty glance of our eyes undistinguishable.

Like the American wood grouse, this bird is not
much alarmed at the report of a gun ; the same
victim will often stand several shots without shifting
its position, and many members of the same family
can be killed in succession when perched together,

INDICATIONS OF WATER. 13

provided always you shoot the lower ones first. The
cause of this, in my belief, is that if a bird on the
upper branch of a tree falls within gaze of its
comrades, the lower members of the family believe
that he has taken to flight from fear, and thus follow
his example, as doubtless, from the elevated station
he was placed in, he was regarded as the look-out,
and, therefore, warner of danger.

But, having got within rifle shot, I soon disposed
of a brace, and would no doubt have succeeded
further in adding to my bag, but that Donna, ever
the most obstreperous of her breed when the day
was early, managed to slip her leash, and, regardless
of consequences, rushed forward to perform what
apparently she more delighted in than any other part
of her professional service, viz., retrieving the dead
or maimed. One glimpse of her spotted coat was
sufficient ; with one accord all the birds, on rapid
wing, took flight to neighbouring localities, deemed
safer from intrusion.

Where water is scarce, and the traveller and his
beasts suffer in consequence, the presence of the
guinea fowl is always more than welcome, for it is-
never to be found far from vley or spring.

14 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

If these birds happen to be in large flocks and
found early in the morning, say an hour or more
after sun-up, their back trail will invariably take you
to the nearest water. If late in the day, the direction
in which they are heading will indicate where the
precious liquid is to be found, for, unless alarmed
by some of their numerous enemies, they seldom
use their wings in flight. During the greatest heat
of the day, when all animated nature in this country
seeks rest and shelter, they will occasionally be
found grouped together under the shadow of the
big flesh-leaved mapani, or other equally umbrageous
shrub, but as soon as this shelter ceases to be
necessary again they are upon their march seeking
for food, and so great is their velocity of foot and
untiring energy in getting over the ground, that I
confidently believe they frequently cover a space of
thirty miles between sunrise and sunset. As in
England, these birds are frequently domesticated by
the Boers and such Bechuanas as live in permanent
stations, but they are bad mothers, and consequently
domestic fowls are generally employed as foster
parents.

All know well the dreadful concern that a hen

A FAVOURITE BULB. i$

manifests when the ducklings she has hatched leave
her protecting care to indulge their natural proclivities
for swimming and dabbling in the nearest accessible
water. Now, the young guinea fowl has a peculiarity
in its nature which very much disagrees with its
foster parents' wishes ; for, instead of being satisfied
to roost under her maternal wings, as soon as the
young bird has been furnished by nature with the
smallest powers of flight, nothing will satisfy it but
to pass its time of rest upon the highest roosting-place
in the neighbourhood.

The South African guinea fowl in its native state
is wonderfully prolific, for it seldom lays less than
fifteen eggs, and often the number exceeds twenty ;
they are a beautiful pale buff colour, and are speckled
with pale gray. One variety alone I have met with
here which has been named Numida cornuta by
Finch and Hartlaub, and Numida mitrata by Layard.
Their food consists of grass, seeds and insects, more
especially grasshoppers ; they also appear specially
fond of a small bulbous root, not unlike that of the
snowdrop, to which all the gallinaceous birds show
great partiality, and which also is an especial favourite
with both Bushmen and Bechuanas.

CHAPTER III.

GOOD SPORT.
The Pauw — A Stalk— A Porcupine.

ALTHOUGH no advocate for promiscuous application
of the whip, there are certainly some dogs that require
an occasional application of it. Donna was one of
these ; but my indulgence of her ever deserved to
be urged as an excuse for her wilfulness and dis-
obedience. Thus, as it was not always convenient
to tie her up, she was permitted to run with
the greyhounds when on the line of march, and as
on such occasions buck and jackals would at times
cross the road, off would go the whole pack in
pursuit, the pointer invariably keeping a good position
in the hunt, and awakening the echoes with her deep,
mellow voice. These were unquestionably the red
letter days in the calendar of her life, for nothing
did she love more, when the chase was successful,
than getting the victim by the throat, when it was in-

ON THE LIMPOPO. 17

deed a hard task to force her to loose her hold. Such
escapades of course made her headstrong, but it was
surprising how soon a little severity brought her to
a proper sense of the manner in which a respectable,
matronly, well-bred pointer ought to conduct herself
when taken alone into the field. Thus Donna got
a talking to and a little corporeal punishment for
rushing in after the guinea fowls, and after the punish-
ment was over affairs settled down harmoniously into
the groove of working order.

Turning my steps again towards the flats, I espied a
large extent of ground which had once been cultivated.
Knowing such land ever to be the favourite haunt of
the pauw (Otis kori of Chapman), I carefully scanned
it over with the hope of obtaining one, for it is a
prize equally acceptable on the score of its beauty
of plumage and richness of flavour when properly
cooked.

The average weight is about 30 lb., although
some have been shot that turned the scale at 70 lb.,
but these very large birds are scarce, as I have
come across only one of such a size in my numerous
and protracted wanderings in this country.

This rencontre was on the banks of the Limpopo,

c

iS

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

about a day's trek to the southward and westward
of where the road branches off from that river to
Bamanwato. It was in the afternoon, my friend Mr.
Frederick Drake and myself being at the time about
a mile in front of our wagons, on the look-out for
the larger species of Francolin, which here abound,
when, to our surprise, an enormous pauw came
from the bush into the path, there halted for a
few seconds to take stock of the intruders, and passed
again into the bush on the opposite side.

The distance it was in advance of us was up-
wards of 150 yards, and the time permitted for my
friend to shoot, for he was armed with a rifle, too
short for him to do so. With just a hope that I
should get within range of this noble trophy, I
quickly substituted cartridges of lopers (buckshot)
for the No. 3 that my chambers had previously
contained. As the pauw is wonderfully swift of foot,
we now hurried forward, I following in the course
it was supposed to have taken, while my friend made
a detour to get to windward of it, and thus cut off
its retreat.

Our finesse was well rewarded, for the giant bird
flushed within sixty or seventy yards from where

A TOWERER. 19

I stood, and promptly the contents of both barrels
rattled audibly on its beautiful variegated cinnamon-
brown plumage, I felt confident that I had done
some damage, for my double- barrel, a lo-bore, was
a remarkably hard hitter, and I had that intuitive
knowledge, which all experienced sportsmen are aware
of, which tells that I had held my tubes straight.

For the first fifty paces the pauw indicated no
other acknowledgment of the peppering I had given
him save by parting with a few feathers ; but now
the affair took a different phase, for the stricken
bird commenced towering in gradually increasing
circles, with a velocity and strength of wing scarcely
to be expected from such mammoth game.

To so great an altitude did it ascend that it quite
strained my vision to retain sight of it, and I fear
I was almost about to give up the task of tracing
its erratic flight, when downward it descended, not
perpendicularly, but at about an angle of 45 degrees,
which caused it to pitch into an open stretch of bare
ground several hundred yards in front of myself and
friend. The pauw was not dead, so, instead of
turning upon his back, as most towerers do under
such circumstances, he simply pulled himself together

c 2

20

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

by the assistance of a good shake, and rapidly made
for some thick brush that margined the course of
the river. Now was my friend's turn : at about a
range of 200 yards he was able to draw a bead
upon the bustard's shoulder, and promptly put a
bullet through it.

Such an admonition, life itself could not deny, so
the bustard turned over and yielded to the inevitable
as quietly and rapidly as ever did grouse or partridge.
Although this bird was not weighed, I am convinced
it would have turned the scale at 70 Ib.

Unable to say so with certainty, still I believe that
there are two distinct species of pauw, these large
birds invariably being found, as I have learned from
inquiry, upon the bush veldt, while the smaller ones
select for their haunts the open Karroo flats and grass
lands. It is strange that none of the few accepted
naturalists of South Africa have observed or made this
distinction ; but the natives, who display wonderful
acumen in distinguishing and noting the varied
characteristics of all the game to be found in their
country, denominate the larger species as GOM pauw,"'"

* (Query) — Any relation to the G.O.M., whom ranting politicians
and mouthy demagogues blindly follow ?

A FAILURE. 21

the smaller, Veldt pauw. Doubtless, the Bechuanas
and Hottentots have obtained these patronymics from
the Boers, as well as numerous others, more especially
such as are indicative of the game of the country.

When about to give up my search as useless over
the flat which I had reached, my Zulu companion
placed his hand quietly upon my arm, and directed my
attention to a shallow dip in the lately cultivated
meadow, covered with greener grass than grew on
the surrounding edges, indicative that more moisture
was there to be found than in the surrounding country.
My attendant insisted that he there saw a pauw, but
my powers of vision did not enable me to confirm his
assertion. However, I knew the lad was right, for
association had taught me that his powers of sight
were unusually good ; so, without hesitation, I
arranged the following plan of operations. The Zulu
to make a detour of a mile or so, taking with him the
clog and using every precaution to keep out of sight of
the quarry till he had gained a quarter of a mile or
more to windward. This being accomplished, he was
slowly to advance upon the game, being careful by his
manner to disguise his intention of driving it before
him. This method would doubtless have suited ad-

22

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

mirably, for I was in a well-screened position to
leeward ; however, the plans of men and mice are
said often to " gang aglee," and on this occasion
mine certainly did so, and in a rather unexpected
manner.

My faithful follower had scarcely left me more than
a minute before he was well out of sight, from the
stealthy mode he had adopted of hiding his presence,
when, to my intense disgust, I heard a yell from my
pointer and a shout from the man.

Glancing rapidly to my front, I saw that the pauw
was alarmed, from the way in which he held his head
aloft and carefully scanned the surroundings with
inquisitive eyes. An old stager this bird evidently
was, for, his fears being once excited, he had no
intention of again relapsing into feelings of security
while in a suspicious neighbourhood. So, with one or
two quick jerks of his tail, indicating his displeasure,
he stretched his broad pinions and hastened to put
space between himself and unknown danger.

With possibly not a blessing on my tongue, I
hurried forward to know the cause of such an un-
expected and thoroughly out-of-place disturbance, nor
was I long kept in ignorance, for on gazing over a

THE FRETFUL PORCUPINE. 23

ridge but a short distance in front of me, I perceived
the black fellow cutting up antics in a dry watercourse
which could well have rivalled the most adroit displays
of an acrobat.

In less time than it takes to state so in writing,
I was by his side, and found that the dog was the
cause of my disappointment. The Zulu, in following
out my instructions, had pushed rapidly forward, and
having more regard to secreting himself from the
game that he was intent on driving towards me, than
to the objects that immediately surrounded him, had
almost tumbled head over heels on a porcupine. Such
a godsend for sport was not to be resisted by the
irrepressible Donna, who, regardless of quills and the
punishment which she was sure to suffer in assailing
such an invulnerable enemy, seized the prickly one
by the snout, and held fast to her fortunate grip, as if
on her success in doing so depended her future
existence.

Now, a Cape porcupine is not much inferior in
point of size to a well-grown clumber spaniel, and,
moreover, is possessed of extraordinary powers of
limb, so my black fellow found it no easy job to get
the combatants parted, and in his attempt to do so

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

had received several quills in that most sensitive part
of a black man's person — his shins. The combat was
in full force when I put in my appearance, and it may
be said with confidence that the bitch so far was
having a good time, as luck had favoured her in giving
her the only grip that she could have obtained without
being fearfully punished ; and well Donna knew this,
for it was not her first encounter, by long odds, with
such a living chevaux de /rise. Hitherto the Zulu had
only endeavoured to separate the pugilists ; now, as
the game we had been in search of was scared, the
flesh-pots returned to his memory, possibly accom-
panied by feelings of vindictiveness against the animal
which had turned his legs into pincushions, and he
with promptness brought his well-tried and constant
companion, his knobkerrie, into play, an adroit
blow or two from which soon decided the struggle.
Although I had wanted a pauw, I had obtained a very
good substitute for it. In my attendant's opinion I
have little doubt but that he considered that I had
received half-a-crown in change for a florin, for the
porcupine is esteemed by the natives, and justly so,
the most succulent food that the Veldt provides.

CHAPTER IV.

PLEASANT PLACES.
.^African Hares — Small Buck.

A PROPER man is kind to his dog, and kindness to his
fellow-creature is, or ought to be, therefore, with him
a paramount duty ; thus I devoted myself to the ex-
traction of numerous quills — no easy thing, for the con-
founded spines are possessed of barbs which have as
much tenacity of hold as those of a fish-hook ; but my
patient was submissive, and yielded with a good' grace
to an operation which unquestionably was painful.
There is a wonderful contradiction in these black
people's character ; for, the moment they become
sick, they at once conclude that their ailment is unto
death, and refuse all comfort or consolation, simply
submitting to what they deem the inevitable ; while,
on the other hand, they will yield to any amount of
external bodily injuries without murmur or complaint.
In the meantime, Hendrick, my driver, who had

26 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

a penchant for wandering about on the Veldt when
his master's eye was not upon him, had heard the
disturbance which had necessarily accompanied the
late adventure, so very appropriately joined our party ;
but, to his disappointment, he was too late to enjoy
any of the fun, and just in time to be transformed into
a beast of burden to take our spoils of the chase to
camp.

On some burnt ground which had lately been
passed over by fire to improve the pasturage, I
knocked over a brace of hares, such places ever being
a certain find for these animals. Scarcely had they
been placed in the bag when I flushed from a clump
of charred brush a large covey of what is doubtless
one of the finest game birds of South Africa, namely,
the larger partridge of the colonists, but which is in
reality the Orange River francolin (Franco linus
Gariepensis\ a bird of great beauty of plumage, as
large as a hen pheasant, and withal as good a table
addition as the most fastidious taste could desire. I
had no difficulty in obtaining a brace, as they lay
remarkably well, being far from wary where cover
exists, so after the first flight I quickly marked them
down, and further reduced the number of the family

AFRICAN HARES. 27

by a lucky right barrel which tumbled over two, and
a fortunate left that winged a third. This party
was originally composed of fourteen, not an unfre-
quent number, although nine or ten, in the majority
of instances, form the covey.

A peculiarity I must not fail to mention in re-
ference to these sporting birds is, that after being
flushed twice it is almost impossible to force them
again to take the wing, and almost as difficult to find
them, even with the assistance of a dog. Like the
Virginian partridge of- the United States, I almost
believe that they have the power of withholding their
scent, and that they do not move from the place on
which they drop. The well-known dryness of African
upland ground cannot fail to assist them materially
in a device ordained by Nature for their greater
security.

The South African hare I have passed over with-
out description, for it much resembles our home pro-
duction, with the exception that it is a fourth smaller,
and provided with fuller and longer ears. It runs well
before greyhounds, but goes to earth in ant-bear or
ratel holes whenever opportunity presents itself.

Our English hare, we all know, is wonderfully

28

7 HE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

quick in turning when pursued by a greyhound ; its
African brother, I am inclined to believe, is even more
so. I had among my kennel six of the best bred
English greyhounds that I could procure for money ;
in fact, two of them had been Cup winners, and a
third had run second in the Puppy Stakes at an
important meeting in the Midland Counties. The last
was a lady, rather undersized, but clever to a degree ;
in fact, in this respect I have never seen her equal,
yet I have witnessed an African hare on open ground
give her, single-handed, so much trouble to kill, that I
would have despaired of a successful finish had I not
well known this lady's gameness and stoutness.

The sun having now got high, I was about to
return to our encampment, when I was joined by my
shooting companion, a gentleman who, from long
acquaintance with foreign field sports, had ceased to
believe in bird guns, and looked with contempt on
all sport in which the rifle did not play the principal
part ; hence the true sportsman. A more plodding,
persevering, and careful sportsman it would be diffi-
cult to find, and the result was that he seldom or
never failed to bring home quarry worthy of his skill
in the art of venery. His trophies were not often

THE ASSEGAI. 29

numerous, but, taking the number of head that he
killed one day with another, his average record of
sport would be found an exceedingly good one.

On the morning in question he had bagged three
small buck, two being steinbok and the other a
duiker ; thus on this morning our combined spoils
were two guinea fowl, two and a half brace of larger
partridge, two hares, three buck, and last, though not
least, a prime-conditioned, full-grown porcupine.

I am quite aware that stay-at-home sportsmen of
the modern school, those who are addicted to driving,
warm corners and such other innovations of the age,
may smile at the lowness of the number of head brought
to bag, but the combined weight of the game killed
was almost a load for a horse, and was procured before
the sun had more than half reached his meridian.

It is surprising to see with what deftness the
natives can divest an animal of its skin, with no
other aid than that afforded them by the edge of the
assegai blade ; in fact, this weapon plays a prominent
part in all their avocations, and is as constantly in use,
and as skilfully handled, as is a jack-knife by a school-
boy.

The skins of nearly all the smaller antelopes are

30 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

seldom utilised for any purpose. This, I think, must
result from their abundance, and, consequently, unap-
preciatedness, terms too often synonymous, for, without
doubt, there are numerous services to which they could
be applied. An animal the size of a steinbok or
duiker, if killed at home, would be considered by the
sportsman as a great trophy, therefore I will give a
brief description of each.

Commencing with the steinbok (Tragulus ru-
pestris), it is one of the most beautiful and graceful
animals to be found in any part of the world. The eye
of the gazelle has been lauded from time immemorial,,
by writers of both verse and prose, as unequalled for
its tenderness and beauty of expression. In this
species it is markedly deserving of admiration, the
languishing glance of a Spanish senorita, or the timid,
startled gaze of an Eastern houri, falling far short of
the liquid softness characteristic of the orb of this
charming creature. Its head is short and pointed, the
muzzle being remarkably small, while the mouth is so
dainty and so beautifully placed that for it to feed upon
other than the most delicate herbage would almost
appear sacrilege. The ears are much developed, broad
and round, while the tail, scarcely an inch in length,

THE STEINBOK. 31

might almost be considered rudimentary. The limbs,
although possessed of great muscular development,
taper from the knee downwards to the finest dimen-
sions, while the hoofs that grace the extremities are so.
small as to leave a spoor scarcely larger than the
point of a lady's finger. When it is considered that
this antelope stands quite twenty-two inches at the
shoulder, and is about thirty-six inches in length, such
an impression for its foot to make is obviously very
small. Its general colour is from rufous to a cinnamon
brown, sometimes almost passing into red upon the
back, while the stomach is as pure white as driven
snow.

The female does not possess horns, but the male
has these adornments, which scarcely exceed four
inches in length, the base, which is wrinkled, being
scarcely larger than a pencil, and decreasing gradually
to the finest of points. On emergency, this little gem
of the animal creation can use these tiny weapons with
great effect, and is far from loth to do so when other
means of escape are denied it.

It inhabits indifferently the bush or grass veldt
of high grounds, and is generally to be found in pairs
or solitary. The steinbok affords admirable sport.

THE HUNTER'S ARC A.

with greyhounds, and if, perchance, it should obtain
more than a hundred yards of law when started
from its form, it will take a fleet greyhound indeed
to pull it down. None but strong, large, upstanding
dogs are suitable for this amusement, for frequently
the grass and bush through which they pass is so
high and resisting that a lightly-made pursuer is
placed at an obvious disadvantage.

Once the sportsman learns the habits of this
buck, it is not difficult to get within easy shooting
range, if the rifle be employed, as it has the in-
variable habit of taking advantage of the first inter-
vening obstacle it encounters, behind which it will
frequently remain for minutes, watching the move-
ments of its alarmer. In approaching it at such a
time, the eyesight should never be directed to its
hiding-place, and the advance should be made
gradually and indirectly. Quick, keen powers of
vision are of great advantage to the sportsman on
such occasions, as this animal's coat blends wonder-
fully with the colour of the herbage found in its
habitat.

CHAPTER V.

NATIVE SPORTSMEN.

Duiker Buck — Hebes — Change of Camp.

«

IT is a wonderful circumstance, and especially appli-
cable to African antelopes, that between the inner
and outer skins are ever to be found great numbers
of immense grubs, some of them not unfrequently
upwards of an inch in length, which, when exhumed
from their domicile, are possessed of great activity
and vitality. These larvee must cause great irritation,
or even pain, to the animals on which they subsist,
and the beautiful little steinbok appears to be more
abundantly supplied with these pests than any other
of his race.

The duiker bok (Cep/ialop/ms mergens), of which
my companion had also killed a specimen, is a more
solid and less graceful animal than the last described;
its height and length are also greater, while the

34 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

points of its horns have a universal tendency to
bend forward, and are possessed of a longitudinal
ridge in the front, which commences at the base
and disappears after passing through the annula-
tions. I.ts colour is dark olive above, and white
beneath, with a dark streak passing down the fore
legs, which terminate in black fetlocks. Its tail,
which is tipped with white, is about eight inches
long, and the face is possessed of a long suborbital
slit on either side. The muzzle is bare. Both sexes
carry horns, but those of the female are very short,
and almost buried in a tuft of rufous hair, which
forms an apex on the crown. The name duiker is
obviously given it from its habit of diving into the
thickest bush when disturbed, in which it has a
wonderful facility for concealing itself, much assisted
by a power it possesses of lowering its body almost
to the level of the ground upon which it is
standing.

Its speed is not equal to that of the steinbok ;
moreover, unlike the other animal, if not too hardly
pressed by dogs, it invariably returns to the place
from which it is roused. Thus it affords admirable
sport before hounds, as many of the late Natal

J3 A TLA PINS. 35

garrison are well aware. It is possessed of extra-
ordinary vitality, and, further, will assume death if
no other means of escape presents itself.

About midday we were visited by a hunting
party of Batlapins. Their success was apparent
from the number of kooran and other small game
which they had with them. The only weapons
that I observed among the crowd were knob-
kerries. These sticks are of the thickness of the
first joint of a trout rod, about two feet long, and
terminate in a knob, varying in size from a duck's
egg to a man's fist. With this implement they are
wonderfully adroit up to thirty yards, for their skill
in marksmanship would frequently bring shame upon
many a would-be sportsman armed with a gun.

These people are a happy-go-lucky, devil-may-
care lot ; they had many a joke to crack among them-
selves, probably at my expense, and chaffed each other
most unmercifully on the bad skill displayed by some
of them in their late hunt. But, sharp and pointed
as their jokes evidently were, none lost their temper,
thus teaching a lesson that could often be well followed
by white men. Our attendants received these visitors
with the hospitality they invariably extend to all

D 2

36 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

strangers, the thought never arising in their minds
that they are giving away their employers' food.

If once you obtain in these parts the sobriquet of
a "mean white man," it is bound to stick to you
wherever you travel, and will do you no end of harm ;
thus it is better to grin and bear without remonstrance
a pack of hungry savages, who are stowing away an
amount of food that would probably be sufficient to
sustain your whole party for the next twenty-four
hours. Snuff, although of no use as an article of
trade, is wonderfully appreciated by these people,
when given to them gratuitously. It is a bribe that
seldom fails to make them loquacious, and as I wanted
information in regard to the state of the roads and
the frequency of water in front of me, and was
fortunately provided with some of Taddy's fragrant
preparation, I had recourse to its influence. But
scarcely had each received his quantum, than the
sharp cry of a kooran announced the presence of
that bird in our immediate vicinity. In an instant
each Batlapin was on his legs, a line was formed with
the precision and dexterity of drilled soldiers, and
a hasty advance made in the direction from which the
sound emanated. Soon after three birds were flushed

A LITTLE JOKE. 37

In succession, and each was as rapidly knocked over.
I will not say that there were no misses, for three or
four kerries were thrown at a time, but this I will
state, that none of the game got away.

Scarcely had the koorans been bagged when three
of the double-banded sand grouse (Pterocles bicinctus)
rose almost at the feet of these primitively- armed
hunters. Five kerries in an instant were hurled at
them, the result being that two of the beautiful birds
were added to their rapidly-increasing bag. The
skill of these men with this simple weapon would,
I feel confident, soon tell seriously upon a well-
populated warren. The chief of this coterie, with an
air of generosity worthy of a prince, offered me these
last trophies as a present, but with grave courtesy I
declined to deprive him of such treasures. This self-
denial was the result of a knowledge of how many
hours' stewing were necessary before the birds became
sufficiently tender for ordinary teeth to be able to
masticate them. These black fellows at once saw
that I appreciated their little joke, and laughed
immoderately in consequence.

As this group (sand grouse) is, I believe, only to be
found in the old world, it possesses more than ordinary

38 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

interest for the ornithologist, the paramount interest
being retained by scientists for the apteryx or dodo,
or other equally inelegant representatives of living or
defunct species. To me, sand grouse occupy the same
relative position towards birds that Kate Greenaway's
or Caldecott's children do to the human family. They
are, in very truth, regular little Dolly Vardens in
perfection of outline, beauty and variety of plumage,
and in grace and energy of movement, while their
little feather- trowsered legs impart an air of modesty
that is most piquant ef Those folks that have crossed
the Atlantic have doubtlessly heard "bees" spoken
of by our cousins. Now there are several kinds of
" bees " in America, such as quilting " bees," logging
"bees," and husking "bees." The double-banded
sand grouse has a " bee " of its own, which I will
designate a courting "bee." About midday, in
spring, these little pets will assemble, possibly to
the number of a dozen, and dance the most extra-
ordinary and intricate figures, in which all take a
part. From the back of an ant-hill I have often
watched them at this amusement. In it there is none
of the poetry of the gliding waltz, but all the energy
and go of the Scotch reel as it is performed north

NUDITY VERSUS CLOTHING. 39

of the Tweed after the advent of the wee small hours
and a modicum of "whuskey." Winsome lassies and
gallant chiels show to great perfection then, especially
when the latter are without "breeks," and so do the
little sand grouse when they are footing a measure
on the distant South African veldt.

Scarcely had we returned to the camp-fire when a
party of ladies put in their appearance, relations of the
first comers. Of their personal charms I cannot speak
enthusiastically, although one, if she had been white-
washed and got up with an ample supply of the
starch of European apparel, minus dress- improver
(for Nature has furnished all this race with abundance
of after-development), might have passed muster in a
crowd.

These Hebes would take no denial, so my snuff-
box had again to be produced, and marvellously did
their nostrils devour its contents.

Clothing is no doubt indispensable in our climate
and necessary in civilised countries ; but I cannot
help thinking that it is far from useful or ornamental
among these primitive people. However, nudity is
the first established custom attacked by the Missionary,
the result, doubtless, of prudish ideas ; but I defy any

40 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

one who has been thrown much in contact with un-
clothed races to discover anything immodest or dis-
gusting in this want of covering. On the contrary,
among the numerous black tribes that I have visited,
I have found that the thin veneer of civilisation im-
parted by the introduction of European dress has not
wrought a corresponding advantage in their morality.

Bechuana women are ever ready for a scamper
across the veldt when aught is to be obtained by it,
and a wide, voluminous skirt cannot fail to be found
a great inconvenience when perpetrating such pranks ;
so the females, forgetful of their adornment, gather
up their skirts to an elevation which cannot help
bringing upon the wearers ridicule instead of respect.

I acknowledge that a dress of variously blended
colours is exceedingly attractive when worn by a
young and pretty girl at her father's breakfast table,
or sets off to advantage a ruddy, well-developed
domestic servant, and is most appropriate on both,
but on a black woman's back it looks so curiously out
of place as to kindle a feeling of detestation for all
such and kindred manufactures.

When the sun indicated 3 p.m. the horses were
saddled, as we had determined to shoot over the

SPRINGBOK, 41

vicinity of a vley well known as the favourite haunt
of both pauw and kooran. While we rode off the
oxen were being mustered for trekking, as it was
resolved to change our camp to a fresh locality ten
miles in our front, for we had heard that springbok
already had been seen in that neighbourhood, probably
the advance guard of the trekbokken, or migrating
herds of this animal, that annually inundate the colony
in such immense numbers as to cause astonishment
in the beholders as to where they came from and
whither they are going.

A trekbokken is one of the things in this world
that a sportsman ought to witness, for it is a most
extraordinary sight, both from the number of animals
composing the migratory herd and the effect that
their movements and presence produce upon the
surface of the landscape.

When I was in Africa ten years ago the number
of springbok was so much greater than at the present
time that I fear, if the reduction of this game goes
on in the same ratio as it has done, one of the most
wonderful exhibitions of animal life that can be beheld
will entirely cease.

The extinction of the springbok (Gazelia euchore]

44

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

it, on the veldt or in the kloofs, in fact, everywhere
except in his boots ; there, I can confidently assert,
he never did see snakes, for if he did not display the
insignia of the blue-ribbon, he was a great believer
in its demonstrative colour. Thus no amount of per-
suasion would induce him to accompany me into the
low-lying ground, so again I had to shoot alone.

But a word on this strictly representative bird
of the fauna of this locality I trust will not be out
of place. Although the secretary bird cannot by
any stretch of imagination be classed among the
game of South Africa, from its frequent occurrence
in the country I cannot pass it by without calling
the reader's attention to it.

The name secretary has been bestowed upon it
from the comparatively large feathers which project
semi-erect from the apex of its head, and thus
brought to the ideas of the original bestower of the
title a similarity between its head and a clerk or
secretary with quill pens stuck behind his ears.

It is not numerous in Great Namaqua Land or
Damara Land, but in Bechuanaland, Griqua Land,
Orange Free State, South African Republic and
countries beyond, it becomes so abundant that it is

EXCITING FIGHTS. 45

seldom that it is not to be observed as a prominent
feature in the landscape. The greater part of its
time is spent upon the ground searching for its
food, which consists of rats, mice, tortoises, and
lizards, even insects ; but its principal prey, un-
doubtedly, are snakes ; and hence its services are
deemed so valuable, that in such countries as are
populated by settlers a heavy fine is levied on who-
ever kills a representative of this interesting bird.

It is about four feet in height, the lower portion
of the legs being remarkably long, thus giving to
the observer the idea that he is looking at one of
the waders rather than at a member of the Accipitres.
The contour of its head and bill is bold and hawk-
like, and well may the latter be so, for it is in truth
a most formidable weapon, and capable of splitting
the head of the largest puff-adder with a single
blow. However, puff-adders do not willingly sub-
mit to this operation, thus frequently long and most
exciting fights take place before the bird is able-
to accomplish its purpose.

The visage of the secretary bird is falconish in the
extreme ; if possible, more so than that of the actual
bird it is compared to. This results doubtless from

46 THE HUNTER'S ARCADh

the eyes being larger in proportion, the bill much
longer and the head more flattened than any of the
Falconidce. It also possesses great power and swift-
ness of flight, in the action of which it much more
resembles the eagle than the cranes or herons, to
which (the latter) the inexperienced might at first sight
judge it to belong, when viewed on the wing, from
its lengthy legs projecting so far beyond its body.

To observe the secretary bird to perfection it must
be seen while it is hunting. This duty of its life it
performs in such a serious, methodical and resolute
manner as almost to produce laughter. Slowly and
unhesitatingly it walks forward, while its gaze is ever
on the ground before it, and nothing, however insig-
nificant, I feel convinced, ever escapes the vision of
its fierce and powerful eyes. Its ordinary pace is a
measured stride, about as rapid as that of soldiers
when marching at slow time ; but if necessity should
call for an exhibition of speed, it can show such a
turn of it as will keep an average horse in a canter.

From the fact that these most useful friends of
man are seldom or never injured by the human family,
it is not without difficulty that they can be forced to
take flight — so much so, that I remember coursing

THE MODUS OPERAND!. 47

one for nearly ten minutes before I could induce it
to take wing, and then it ceased flying the moment
it noticed that I discontinued the pursuit.

When the secretary bird is attacking a small snake
— one under three feet in length, suppose — it con-
ducts the encounter in a most summary, off-handed
manner, apparently treating the poison-fanged foe
with the greatest nonchalance. It is done in this
way : — With a few hurried steps, and the head and
neck lowered, the assailant advances, and, when within
reach of the enemy, it draws itself up to its full
height, then presents the tip of one of its wings to
the reptile, which rapidly strikes at it. This is again
and again repeated, but the venomed teeth come
into contact with nothing but the quill feathers.
Snakes apparently are easily fatigued and unaccus-
tomed to excitement and violent exercise, so their
activity and caution gradually decrease, till, in an
unguarded moment, they lay themselves open, , and
the powerful foot of the enemy is placed upon their
body near the head, pinning it to the ground, and
in another instant its brains are laid open. But
when a large reptile is to be dealt with, the tactics
of the encounter are differently conducted. I was

48

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

once eye-witness of one of these fights, and so
interesting did I find it that, in giving an account
of it in extenso, I trust I shall not trespass upon the
reader's patience.

In a locality through which I was travelling,
situated near the eastern limit of the Kalihari Desert,
I found springbok very numerous and tame. Being
extremely anxious to learn some of the minor details
of the life of this beautiful and interesting animal,
I deemed this a fitting opportunity. Thus, availing
myself of the shelter of a dry river-bed, I got
within a hundred and fifty yards of the objects of
my curiosity. The wind exactly suited my purpose,
so I determined, by the aid of several large ant-
hills, to lessen the distance. A sparse karroo shrub
further aided me in my effort, so when at length
I raised my head, my hunting-cap being decorated
with a wisp of grass and leaves to assist my pur-
pose, I found that my dangerous presence was as
yet undiscovered. Nearer to me than the ante-
lopes, however, was a battle royal commencing to
be fought between a secretary bird and what the
Boers designate a " ringkaal," a species of snake that
frequently grows to the length of seven or eight

A HARD FIGHT. 49

feet. It is glossy jet black along the back, but
from there gradually merges into ochre about the
belly, and is decorated with a pure white ring around
the neck — hence the Boer name. This is a very
active serpent, and possesses a peculiarity of spitting
at its adversaries, by which it can eject its secre-
tion to a distance, some say of nine or ten feet ;
but six, I think, would be more like the mark.
From this peculiarity the species is often known as
the spitting serpent.

The " ringkaal " may not seek a fight, but if such
should be forced upon it, well I know by experience
that it is the last creature in the universe to avoid it.

Now the combatants, as far as pluck was
concerned, were about equal ; but, had I been a
betting man, I would have backed the reptile.

The engagement soon commenced, and the
activity of both belligerents was most surprising.
For several minutes feints were made and blows
returned, still neither appeared to have the advantage
of the other.

The springboks also seemed much interested in
what was taking place, for they assembled in a
gradually increasing drove and watched with curious,

5o THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

t

startled gaze what was occurring, at a safe but short
distance to windward.

Again the encounter was renewed, but in this
second round the result seemed equally doubtful.

Then the secretary bird withdrew from it : after
a rather lengthened pause, it uttered a prolonged harsh
note, not unlike the cry of a sheep in pain. I
supposed this was the result of its being wounded ;
not so, for in a minute afterwards it was joined by
a comrade, and the engagement was without delay re-
sumed. The snake now began to have "a bad time /"
for, in spite of his activity and pluck, he was unable
to face both ways, so got frequent blows from
the strong armed wings of his assailants, one of
which for an instant seemed to stupefy him.

This was the chance doubtlessly sought for.
Instantaneously both birds seized the reptile, one near
the neck, the other much farther back, and, as quick
as thought, commenced bearing the wriggling,
struggling body aloft. Up, up, they ascended, till
an elevation of nearly a hundred yards was gained,
when simultaneously they dropped their victim, and
with closed wings descended to the earth with such
velocity as to reach it as rapidly as their prey.

\

DISTILLING POISON. $i

The snake was stunned, doubtlessly, but no time
was left for him to recover, for as quick as thought
he received a blow upon the head which settled
matters.

The fall of the snake and descent of the birds
struck terror into the springboks, and off they rushed
to windward in one mass, each endeavouring to
outstrip the other in speed, or to surpass his neigh-
bour in the height of his wonderful bounds. Pretty,
fascinating creatures, you are well named ! Still it
is to be regretted that a name could not have been
found in our language that would have given also
some better idea of your grace and perfection of
form.

But we were not yet finished with the secretary
birds. Now that the allies had conquered the
common foe they fought for the booty. One would
think that birds would have left such selfishness
for the so-called lords of creation alone to display,
more particularly as the booty was quite sufficient
for the requirements of both.

I wanted the prey, so slipped in and took it,
thus personifying the lawyer between two clients.

The ringkaal I had conveyed to my wagon,

E 2

52 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

then some distance off; still the head continued
to distil clear poison quite an hour after its
arrival.

Snakes are nothing like as numerous in South
Africa as they are in the Western States of North
America, and, as hunters invariably wear long boots,
they are little to be dreaded here. The sportsman
who funks them, and is therefore always looking
for them, will find it a serious drawback to his
success in killing game.

CHAPTER VII.

DUCK SHOOTING.
The Irrepressible Donna — The American Snipe.

DONNA, in spite of her morning exercise, had still
plenty of go and zeal, so before the horses had left
us ten minutes (they having been despatched to the
proposed location of our new camp) the pointer
commenced drawing upon game, and continued to
do so for some time. This dog would never have
satisfactorily exhibited at a field-trial, but for that
very reason she was a rare good one to kill game
over, after the rough edge of her passionate ardour
for pursuit had become toned down. In fact, she
was one of that kind of which I have heard men say
that " it is only fit to be the companion of a poacher."
Still, I never had any serious qualms of conscience
at being seen in her company. Now it was evident
both to herself and me that the birds were running ;

54

THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

so. as soon as she saw that I was on the exact line
that the game was taking, off she broke to the left
at racing pace, and after making a detour of several
hundred yards, headed it, taking every possible
opportunity both to let it see and get her wind.
The ruse worked -admirably, for as I hurried forward,
as if to meet her, three black-and-white winged
kooran flushed, out of which I took a brace.

This bustard (Otis afroides] is a splendid bird,
larger than a blackcock and very strong upon the
wing. While in flight it is extremely clamorous, the
voice being harsh and not unlike a frequent repetition
of its own name (kooran). When forced to fly, it
will frequently continue to do so for several minutes,
not going off on end, but circling round at a con-
siderable distance from the sportsman, as if to make
a strict observation of him or to give warning to all
game, whether furred or feathered, by its oft-repeated
jarring, loud note, " that there is an intruder in their
vicinity that it would be well to give a wide
berth to."

The colour of this kooran is black, with a white
bar across each wing ; the irides are dark chocolate
colour and the legs bluish-gray.

SERGEANT WALSH. 55

In spite of its fine appearance and exceedingly
game look, it is far from a desirable addition to the
table unless served as soup ; this it makes admirably,
particularly with the help of a little Worcester sauce.

This description of game was so abundant this
afternoon that soon I had half-a-dozen brace, so
resolved to reserve my cartridges for something
scarcer and probably more toothsome.

On arriving close to the margin of the water, I
flushed a great number of snipe, but, my shot being
much too large for such small fry, I let them go ;
otherwise I do not think I should have been so self-
denying, for I believe snipe shooting, when the birds
are plentiful, to be the acme of sport with the shot
gun. In Africa, as in other parts of the world that
I have visited, the snipe is doubtlessly migratory,
and the species here is identical with that of Europe.
Sergeant Walsh, once of the 2nd Queen's Regiment
(whom I have known for many years, he having
served under me in China), is by far the best
naturalist I know of in South Africa, and he con-
firmed me in this belief from the inspection of several
specimens which I shot at Linikani, near Zeerust,
Marico, Transvaal. Out of sight, out of mind, is here

$6 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

applicable to a grateful country. Alas ! had he but
been a wind-bag politician, it would not have been so.

(The American species (Scolopax Wilsonii), of
which I have made immense bags on the prairies
of Iowa and Illinois, Audubon says varies from our
home bird by having two more feathers in its tail
or wings. I once told a large assembly of American
sportsmen this, at a dinner they had hospitably given
me at the principal restaurant in New York. My
enthusiastic hosts when they heard it fairly made the
room re-echo with shouts of "Bravo" or " Bully for
the American snipe.")

In this marsh land I flushed a brace of those
extremely wary birds, the curlew (Numenius arguatus).
The first I killed dead, but the second was only
winged, and fell into the water. Hesitating to waste
a cartridge, for here they are scarce and consequently
valuable, as soon as I had reloaded I went in pursuit
of the cripple ; but, to my surprise, for I was not
before aware of it, I found that this curlew swims as
well as a duck. I thus discovered that I had under-
taken a task which was far from easy. Resolved not
to be done, more especially as the eyes of my Zulu
were upon me, I determined to distinguish myself,

ZULU VERSUS BRITISHER. 57

and in doing so became nearly extinguished, for my
foot caught a tangle of weeds, and, before I could
prevent the catastrophe, went sprawling on all-fours
into the black, slimy bottom. I soon recovered
myself, it is true, but in what a state! wet through,
and promiscuously plastered over with adhesive filth,
the accumulation of years of decayed vegetation. If
this misadventure had happened to any other person,
I should have laughed ; but when I saw that my
native was enjoying my discomfiture, I became wroth,
and peremptorily ordered him to my aid.

In spite of my condition I nearly became con-
vulsed, as again and again we — Zulu and Britisher —
clutched, at the bird and missed it, each endeavouring
in his efforts to outdo the other. But I was handi-
capped too heavily, for I was clothed, and those
clothes, being wet, stuck to my skin like wax, while
" the gentleman of colour " was nearly as naked as
our forefathers are reported to have been in the
Garden of Eden. Not far off, on a neighbouring
knoll, was my friend, from whose throat came roars
of mirth, expressive of the delight he experienced
in witnessing my discomfiture, and at his feet reclined
my confounded pointer, whose absence up to this

58 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

moment I had not noticed. To whistle for the dog
was the action of a moment, but before she had
time to arrive I had a second fall, and in coming
down nearly drew the black fellow on the top of
me, which I only failed in doing by being not quite
adroit enough in my attempt. You will perceive
that I was not the least selfish, no, not I, thus I did
not wish to monopolise all the duckings to myself.
Donna, however, soon settled the matter, and brought
the cause of all our discomfiture to hand.

This bird and its mate appeared identical with
those we are familiar with in the British Islands, and
as they were both young and fat, a sine qtid non in
this species for table use, they were found most
palatable when served.

On joining my companion he informed me that
he had seen a bird of " enormous proportions " a short
distance off on the upland, and that it had taken
wing into a grove of mimosa adjoining, where he
believed it to be at the present. On cross-questioning
him about this extraordinary creature, the answers I
received were so vague that I felt quite puzzled as
to what it could be. \Vas it a pauw ? " No, it was too
dark and too short in the leg for that bird." Was it
a kooran ? " No, it was three times the size of it."

A GIANT GOOSE. 59

Was it an ostrich ? At this he waxed wroth, and
inquired if I took him for a fool.

However, we went in search of the unknown,
but nowhere could it be seen, and I really com-
menced to think that my friend was what he supposed
I took him for, when a Hottentot who had joined us
from the wagons called out in his gibberish, and
pointed with his hand in the direction he wished us
to look. "See bass, vilge maccow ;" but it took a
great deal of patient staring before we could detect
what our man evidently saw.

At length we did succeed, which was rather a
wonder, for the object of our search was up in a tree,
and not on the ground. We both came to the con-
clusion that the unknown was a vulture, and thus
unworthy of powder and lead, and would have passed
on ; but Totty got excited at our indifference, and
swore some fearful Boer oaths expressive of its
superiority as an article of food ; so at length my
chum resolved to shoot, and gave it one of the barrels.
The thump that bird made when it came to the ground
was sufficient to startle a nervous person, for it fell
with a thud as sonorous as would be produced by the
descent of a bag of potatoes.

To reach our prey was the work of a moment, and

60 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

what our surprise was, finding it nothing less than a
giant goose, may easily be imagined.

I have shot pretty nearly everything, and wood-
ducks among the number, but it was the first time
that I had become acquainted with a wood-goose.
It was a splendid specimen, forty-two inches in entire
length, and must have weighed over a stone. The
claws on the toes were very sharp, particularly long,
and appeared to be partially retractile, without which
provision it would, I believe, be unable to stand erect
on a moderate-sized limb of a tree.

Chapman, who came across this noble bird in
the vicinity of Lake Ngami, called it the A user
gambensis, and nowhere is it abundant, except in the
vicinity of large rivers, such as the Zambesi, Limpopo,
and their greater tributaries. As night was rapidly
approaching, I returned to the marsh to wait for
ducks, my friend proceeding to the wagons to
superintend the cuisine, in which department he was
well skilled.

CHAPTER VIII.

CLIMATE.
Sunsets — Glorious Colours — A Ground Pig.

POSSIBLY some people think that sunsets are
identical all over the earth ; indeed they are not,
but are as different as is the light of our ordinary
English moon to the light afforded by the same
luminary in the tropics. At sea, in the vicinity of
the equator, grand sunsets are known, but they are
not to be compared to those that are to be seen
here, when the observer looks westward toward
the Kalihari Desert. The rarefaction of the atmo-
sphere in these plateau lands doubtlessly accounts
for this, in conjunction with the total absence of
damp. The sun in this part of Africa descends
in a mass of deepest crimson lines, which gradually
give place to a colour outrivalling gold, which again
loses itself in orange, to be replaced by paler

62

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

shades of yellow till the zenith is reached, where
all disappear into pure cobalt blue. It would be
difficult to tell where one colour commences and
another terminates, but the effect is grand beyond
conception, and, therefore, far beyond what language
can describe.

Actual shooting we all enjoy, but how much
is its pleasure enhanced by witnessing such glories
of the universe surrounding the scenes of our
adventures !

My watch was not so lonely, for my Zulu and
dog were with me ; yet, after the sun dipped, a
solemnity stole over the scene, strikingly calculated
to impress the inexperienced with his isolation.
How often in far-distant America have I done
the same as now ; but, as America and the
country I am in are so far separated, there is
much to tell of the difference between them.

But, for all the solemnity that surrounds you,
there is abundance to inform you that animal life
has not yet retired to rest, for new, and often
unknown, sounds constantly break the stillness.

Foremost among these is the discordant note
of the Goliah heron (Ardea goliali), whose strong,

QUEER SOUNDS. 63

grating, harsh voice much more resembles that
of a hyena than a bird ; and about the same time
the Squacco heron (Ardeola leucopterct) finds out
that he is not dumb, and gives evidence of his.
discovery by making a succession of dismal, weird-
like groans worthy of a " banshee." The white
stork (Ardea ciconia) also finds a voice, which is.
not unmusical, but very plaintive, particularly when
it is borne to the listener's ears from a far distance
aloft in the heavens.

But, close at hand, from among the sedge and
weeds, come to natives of Our Land the voices of
tjiree familiar friends, doubly dear when heard so
far from home. These songsters are the willow,
sedge, and melodious warblers. African travel has.
not damped their ardour, or its climate lessened
the melody of their notes.

There are also gulps and croaks, and a variety
of other sounds, proceeding from frogs, lizards, etc.,
and such like ; but I have no time to trouble over
them, for on swift pinions a flight of teal pass by,
make one circle round, and in a moment after drop
into the water with a distinct splash. This family
party is not over thirty yards off, and almost as

64 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

clear to view as if it was full daylight. As soon
as I raise myself to shoot the birds see me, and
again take wing, but too late for four to continue
with their friends, for the cruel discharge of both
barrels has either killed them outright, or so dis-
abled them that they must remain where they have
fallen.

Again and again flights of the same duck arrive
and are treated in a similar way. It is a shame to
deal such destruction amongst them ; but as an
excuse for the slaughter I can only urge their
excellence as food.

This teal, on account of the colour of its bill,
is called the red-billed teal (Anas erythrorhyncha),
and is the most abundant species in this part of
the country, save at some periods of the year, when
the willow duck (Dendrocygna viduata) will be
found almost equally numerous ; but when the vleys
commence to get shallow the latter leaves for the
large lagoons and water-courses to the north.

Although rapidly becoming dark, and it will
soon be too much so to shoot, a flock of worthier,
because larger, game is heard in the distance ; and
an attuned ear to the sound soon recognises the

THE GAME APPROACHES. 65

producers of it. All who have shot wild fowl at
home or in America can never forget the honk !
honk ! of the wild goose ; and with what anxiety
and increased rapidity of circulation of his blood
has he not waited for this most wary of all feathered
game to come within range ! If you are not well
concealed, and even then do but move, although it
may be so far on in the dusk as almost to be
black night, these suspicious birds are sure to see
you, when good-bye to all your hope for a shot
at the wily game that evening.

Now the knob-billed goose (Sarkidiornis Afri-
cana] that I hear approaching does not honk, but
utters a weak, effeminate bark, such as might be sup-
posed to come from the throat of the most diminutive
pampered cur that ever disgraced a carriage or made a
visit to wealthy maiden aunt unendurable. But this
difference of voice does not affect this species' wari-
ness ; no, not a bit of it, they are just the same
artful, tricky beasts as those that live in the Northern
Hemisphere. Knowing this, I kept quiet — as still,
indeed, as the proverbial mouse — and I considered my
chances were A i. At length I spied the faint outline
of the desired letter V. Gradually it became more

66 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

i

distinct, and the shadowy uncertainty of each bird's
outline was becoming defined ; in a few seconds
more they would have been within range, and I
was drawing my limbs together so as to be able
to rise rapidly and fire, when, pheugh ! the whole
skein turned their heads heavenwards and went with
just such rapidity as these birds alone know how to
exhibit. I fired both barrels in quick succession ;
the shot pattered most admirably off their close
plumage, but did no more, for never a goose came
down.

What alarmed these geese must have been the
white on my pointer, for my Zulu knew his busi-
ness too well to have moved even the expression
of his sooty physiognomy at such an important crisis.

In gathering my ducks, my boy had just such
an adventure as frequently occurs in South Africa
and adds spice to its field sports. An eagle owl, I
believe a Strix lactea, made a swoop at one of the
teal as my lad was about to lift it, and carried it
off. That bird, like the lost salmon of the fisher-
man, was bewailed the greater part of the road
home, as it was considered by him the best of the
lot. How similar are Christians to Pagans ; as far

THE IRREPRESSIBLE POINTER. 67

as patriotism and loyalty go in the present age,
the last-mentioned, however, is the better man.

Before reaching the wagons, Donna had a
brush with an aard-vark (ground pig), which she was
unable to hold, so it escaped to its burrow. To
have got it out would have taken the whole of my
party the best portion of a day, so I left my resolute
and industrious pointer out of sight in the bowels of
the earth, scratching and giving tongue with as much
assiduity as if she had just commenced a day's work
instead of having concluded a most arduous one.

F 2

CHAPTER IX.

SWEET HOME.
The Camp — Nature's Favourites — Trekking.

THERE'S no place like home, whether it be in a
mansion, a hovel, or a wagon. You good folks who
live in civilisation, surrounded by every comfort,
will scarcely believe me when I say that, I have
never enjoyed more perfect happiness and content-
ment than when I have been trekking about the
desert as my inclinations dictated, and knew no
other shelter than my good wagon afforded.

Come, reader, and take a look at my camp from
the outside, unknown to my chum ; for most as-
suredly, if he thought he was being observed, he
would crawl into his shell, and would not be half
as nice and natural as he is now. In him is to be
found an example of how an assumption of manners
depreciates instead of improves the individuality of
nature.

BEAUTIES. 69

The ground selected for the camp is high, and
therefore dry ; it is surrounded by a few scattered
camil-dorn trees from twenty-five to thirty feet high,
which not only supply my people with wood, but
also form convenient larders for hanging our game
in. Moreover, they add picturesqueness to the
scene ; and I am a great advocate for pleasing the
•eye, whether it be in the choice of a sweetheart, a
horse, a dog, or even a gun. I suppose our City
fathers are most gratified by the delights of the
table or the wine-cup, and the exquisite with per-
fumes and the knowledge that he is well dressed,
but give me the sight of a bonnie lass tripping
over the heather, or balancing herself on stepping-
stones that traverse the bed of a murmuring burn,
the sides of which are shut in with feathery, graceful
birches, or drooping, dipping, ever-moving elm-boughs.
But, the reader may say, Africa is surely not
the place to gratify such a pleasure ! But it is ;
for in parts of it there are glades and valleys quite
.as attractive as any to be seen at home ; but, in
place of the blue-eyed, golden-haired, rose-tinted
cheeked lassie, you must substitute the graceful
steinbok, the suspicious duiker, or the elegant yet

yo THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

powerful koodoo, all Nature's favourites, for si
has, with lavish hand indeed, endowed them with
such attractive gifts, that destitute indeed of soul
must be the man who cannot feel enthralled by
gazing on their perfections.

Look into the camp, though. Observe the two
snow-white tilted wagons drawn up side by side,
about twelve feet apart, the intervening space covered
with a new duck sail. This is our sanctum sanc-
torum, and sacred from the intrusion of any but our
body servants or invited guests. Note it at the
present time, and you will observe in it a portable
table covered with a cloth that shames in cleanliness
many to be found in European restaurants, while at
each end stands a folding chair as luxurious to rest
in as ever decorated drawing-room.

Twenty yards behind the wagons burns a bright,
clear fire, around which three or four natives are
attending to the cooking ; while between them,
wherever space will permit, are assembled dogs of
high and low degree, from the pure-bred English
greyhound to the Kaffir cur. Note the interest
these animals take in each pot, and with what
thorough decorum they conduct themselves.

NATIVE GENTLEMEN. 71

To leeward, some twenty paces off, is another
fire, twice the size of the cooks' ; around it are
assembled voorlopers, horse-boys, and all the strangers
and hangers-on that have been picked up on the
way. They are a queer heterogeneous mob, and
represent half the tribes of South Africa. How
jolly they are, how their faces beam with good
nature, and how their eyes sparkle in anticipation
of their coming feast ! Talk about change of facial
expression ! No English actor that ever was born
could rival these men, and their pantomimic action
is so inimitable that, even without a knowledge of
their language, the observer can almost understand
every scene or action they are describing.

If it, the subject of their conversation, be war
or the chase, how excited they become ; if love
and intrigue, how honeyed, suave, and plausible they
appear !

Politics these people discuss with all the energies
of their nature ; the last scandal they repeat with
all the gusto of the oldest club roud. Yet they
never quarrel, because they never offend natural
delicacy, knowing how far they can go, and never
overstepping that bound. If these people were

72 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

colonial natives, or picked up in the vicinity of the
mission stations, could so much be said of them ?
No ! So much for our boasted civilisation and
teaching.

It wrould require the brush of a Rembrandt to
render justice to such a scene as this camp-fire pre-
sents, and the scene is quite worthy of the pencil
of that Great Master.

From the near shadows the outlines of our nags
are seen, clothed, it is true ; still a judge of horse-
flesh can see at a glance how many good points they
possess. With what contentment they thrust their
muzzles to the bottom of their nose-bags, so as not
to lose a grain of their mealies ; but, at the same
time, their eyes and ears are all intent on what is
passing around them.

In the distance, and almost out of sight, because
they are so far off, in a double row, stand or lie the
patient yet obstinate bullocks. They are pretty
beasts to look at, quite as much so as any you will
see at home ; indeed, from the excessive largeness
and intelligence of their eyes, I think that they are
often more attractive. Their life is not always an
easy one, and their punishment is often too severe ;

A GOOD TREK. 73

which latter is much to be regretted, for how could
the white man travel without them in this country ?
But whacking is no unusual return for good service.

It only remains for me to now give the reader
a glimpse into my wagon. On my baggage will
be found a comfortable bed, covered with a scarlet
blanket for quilt and a couple of large air pillows for
feather ones. On each side are arm-racks, in which
are hung several rifles and shot-guns, while around
the sides are innumerable bags, in which everything
is to be found, from a tooth-brush to a "hold-all," or
from a needle to a cookery book.

I have said so much on what is not actual
shooting in order that the reader may the better
understand the surroundings when we come into the
country of larger game. So off to bed, to be up in
the morning early.

Before sun-up the oxen were in the yoke, for
three long treks were before us, with only one
probable watering-place. The road was good but
heavy, and the air cool and invigorating, so we
stepped merrily along.

As my chum was a late sleeper when nothing
particular was on the tapis, my wagon took the

74

THE HUNTER'- S ARCADIA.

lead, and from its box, on which I was seated, a hne
view of the distant country was obtainable.

Guinea fowl were numerous ; at every turn of the
track three or four, sometimes half-a-dozen, of these
swift runners took the road in front of us, and only
left it when inclination suited them to do so.

Duiker and steinbok every few hundred yards
hopped out of some bush, took a long, startled stare,
and off they went to parts unknown, while aloft in
the air incessantly passed little parties of two or
three of the swift-winged and plaintive-voiced double-
banded or variegated sand grouse.

I was in contemplation of all these charming
scenes, and thinking what a free and independent
life I was leading, when my driver came to my
seat, and, taking the vacant place at my side, ex-
claimed, "Look der, Bass ! Look der, spring-boken" ;
and there indeed are the spring-buck, not in thousands
as I expect to see them, but in parties of seven or
eight. They were not over three or four hundred
yards off, consequently within rifle range, so I got
out my binocular (the most useful of all the instru-
ments, and, at the same time, the one most conducive
to pleasure, that the traveller in these parts can

HURRY FORWARD. 75

possess) and for long watched their various graceful
attitudes and antics.

As we have meat sufficient and to spare, I for-
bid shooting (two of our people being excellent
game shots, particularly my Hottentot driver), as I
am anxious to reach the expected water, for upon
its abundance depends our remaining by it a few
hours or a day, and shooting invariably entails stop-
pages.

CHAPTER X.

ENJOYMENT.
The Vley— Ostriches— Old Bull.

UNTIL we get to the out span, I will say a few words
about the spring-bok (Gazella euchore], for the reason
that for one that is familiar with them at home,
there are thousands that are not.

This beautiful and most graceful animal breeds
in the Kalihari Desert, and I am inclined to believe
that none which enter the colony ever return from
it. They are about the size of our fallow deer, but,
from possessing greater length of limb, appear to
stand higher. Their colour on the back, flanks, and
a portion of the head, is the brightest fawn ; else-
where they are snow - white. Their heads are
beautifully long and tapering, and they are crowned
with the most perfect lyre-shaped horns, deeply
corrugated for several inches from the base, where

JAW EXERCISE. 77

they become smooth and terminate in the finest
points. They are essentially grass feeders, and re-
quire but little water. By choice they prefer level
plains of short grass, but when the migratory fits
come on them, they unhesitatingly pass through wide
extents of bush-veldt. To the natives their ap-
pearance is an inestimable boon, but to the farmers
they are a plague as much to be dreaded as locusts,
for not only do they consume all the growing crops,
but will eat every blade of grass off the flats, so
that not a particle is left to support cattle or sheep.

The expected vley of water at last was reached ;
in it there was " water galore," and hovering over
and about it were thousands of Namaqua sand
grouse.

While the cattle were being taken out of the
yoke, I got out my shot-gun, and being joined
by my chum, we proceeded to the lower end of
the vley, to procure some of these beauties. Tough
as they are to our teeth, they are excellent for
native consumption, for they give their jaws a lot
of exercise, and thus save better food.

My friend took one side of the pool and I
the other, and as but little shelter was required

78 THE HUNTER >S ARCADIA.

to hide our presence, the reports of our guns soon
awoke the latent echoes. The velocity of this
sand grouse's flight is something remarkable, for
at, say, forty yards, to make certain of killing, in
cross shots I have to hold at least two feet in front
of them. Moreover, they carry away lots of shot,
if a vital part be not struck ; and even those that
are wing-tipped appear to be able to sustain them-
selves in their flight twice the distance of any
other fowl I know of.

A strange thing I note about this little beauty is
that it often makes no attempt to descend to drink
till it is directly over the water, into which it
sweeps from an altitude of fifty yards with the
velocity of an arrow — not on to the land, but
actually into the liquid — whence it swims ashore
with as much nonchalance as if it was strictly aquatic
in habits. This is the more remarkable, as its
legs are feathered to the feet, and the latter are
peculiarly small. As a matter of course, it cannot
stand a protracted bath of this kind, but I am
convinced that I observed several swim ten or even
twelve yards.

This species (Pteroclurus Namaqua) feeds upon

NAMAQUA SAND GROUSE (PteroduntS Nailldqua}.

To face page 78.

A CHEAP HORSE. 79

small bulbs, berries, and grass seeds ; never, I think,
upon insects.

Its colour is about that of the woodcock, but
paler and brighter. The lower mandible is white,
the upper blue, the eye a pale yellow, with a
dark-brown iris.

Let not the trout or salmon fisherman visiting
this land neglect to procure a skin or two of this
species, for from its hackles and wing can be tied
the deadliest summer fly for the former, whilst it
is a most valuable addition to those destined to
allure the prey of the latter.

Some Bakalihari, who looked as if they had been
upon very short commons indeed, although they had
just had their immediate wants satisfied by our folks, as
a natural result became communicative, and informed
my friend that, as they crossed from their kraal, they
had seen ostriches a few miles to the westward. This
was big enough game in all conscience to excite
his passion for the slaughter of something large,
so "the gray," alias "the old moke" (one of the
best hunting horses a man ever laid a leg over,
and purchased by me for a song out of a trap
at the diamond fields), was ordered to be saddled

8o THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

and brought up. My chum was soon ready for
the chase, and as he got into the saddle he repeated
Pringle's lines, with every word of whose writings he
was familiar : —

The fleet-footed ostrich over the waste

Speeds like a horseman who travels in haste,

Hieing away to the home of her rest,

Where she and her mate have scooped their nest,

Far hid from the pitiless plunderer's view,

In the pathless depths of the parched Karroo.

So, when he was gone sufficiently long to have
placed a couple of miles between us, I sent for my
pet mount. Well, he was a beauty. I picked him
up in Griqua Land West, also out of a trap, when
from being so low in flesh you could have hung your
hat on his hips. But, if you are a judge, when can
you see the points of a horse better than then ? He
had the character of being a buck-jumper, but I did
not mind that, so I paid my money and felt happy.
By this time rest and plenty of food had worked
wonders, and, with the exception of the second day
I rode him, we had no differences of opinion. This
submission was due to a firm seat, and more especially
to sensitive hands backed up by common judgment,

AN OUTING. 8 1

which taught me not to pull my horse's mouth about
as if I was dragging on the tiller-lines of a family
boat.

When Nemo (for so I called him) came up to be
saddled, he looked fit to go for a man's life. He once
had to go for mine ; but time enough for that.

The pack, which numbered about twenty, were
ordered to be released, the pointer and an old
phlegmatic, half-mastiff, half-bull dog among the
number. There was to be no partiality, favour or
affection shown that day, so no broken, anxious,
pining hearts were to be left behind in sorrow and
despair.

There was joy in that crowd, I can assure you,
and dear "old bull" showed the fulness of his honest,
manly, brave heart by sitting on his rump, looking
me full in the face and giving utterance to the most
doleful, yet deep and sonorous, bow-wows that ever
emanated from a chest of similar girthage.

Yes, I was going to give the children a complete
outing ; and, as they had all at various times hunted
for my pleasure, on this occasion I was going to
hunt for theirs.

I can hear the cynic ask, " What could a big

82

THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

porpoise of a brute such as you are describing as
* old bull/ do among a lot of full or half-bred
greyhounds ? " I will answer, enjoy himself first ;
secondly, make himself useful ; since he was never
thrown out of the hunt if the others were a mile
ahead, for straight on their spoor he would be
found toiling, occasionally, it is true, perchance,
lying down for a momentary rest, but, for all that,
his mellow voice never ceased.

If, by chance, the greyhounds had over-run
their game and were hopping up and down like
india-rubber balls in every patch of bush or long-
grass in the vicinity to try and regain a sight of it,
after a time — it might be a long time — "old bull"
would come up, clap his nose to the lost scent,
give two or three of his stentorian howls, to bring
his companions about him, the weakest of whom
he would possibly nearly knock off their legs with
repeated wallops of his cudgel of a tail, and in a few
minutes after all were assembled around him, the
buck would be turned out of his temporary shelter,
and probably having to face the open, got pulled
down before going far.

But before getting into the saddle, and while my

CATCHING A TARTAR. 8$

boy is bringing my Express rifle, I will tell you an
act of prowess of this ancient Roman, for it shows
what true courage he possessed, and how little display
he made in exercising it.

Five of the slowest, but probably the most
powerful of my pack were out with me and " old
bull." A brunt-sick spring-buck was started, and
went off at a rattling pace for an animal in bad health.
After about three miles of as fast going in the open
as I ever wish to have when handicapped with a
double-barrelled rifle, the buck gained a large piece of
loose brush a good three hundred yards in front of
his pursuers. With their usual ardour they dashed
into the cover, and I, close up, did the same;
but all of a sudden I lost sight of the hounds,
and for some time could see nothing of them, so
I pulled up Nemo to breathe him and to take
observations. In the distance, quite half a mile
off, I could hear the deep, sonorous voice of
honest " old bull " bringing up the tail of the hunt.
Scarcely understanding why I was deserted by the
dogs, unless they had killed, I cast about in search of
them. Soon afterwards I was joined by first one
and then another, till all were with me but one,

G 2

84 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

a cross between a German boarhound and greyhound,
a well-plucked beast, sulky and obstinate to a
degree, but possessed of this selfish peculiarity,
that he would never leave game he had killed till
he had made a heavy meal off it.

This more thoroughly convinced me that a kill
had been made, so I cast about to find the carcase.
While doing so I noticed that when I headed in a
certain direction my attendants showed a manifest
dislike to following me ; but, as the missing dog bullied
all the others, and would brook none to feed alongside
of him, I attributed their conduct to fear of punish-
ment from him.

Again I turned my horse to go further up to
windward, when I found the truant standing fixed
and rigid, his lips curled up to show all his teeth,
and a demoniacal expression about him that told
plainly as words could express it, " There is an enemy
in front of me ; I would fain attack, but I fear I
am not quite equal to the job."

I slowly advanced, the courageous dog preceding
me, and in a few steps the mystery was unravelled,
for in front of me were two hyenas, tearing at the

THE DEATH. 85

carcase of my buck. They were of the big spotted
species, and, therefore, larger and heavier than any
mastiff. Of course I could easily have shot them,
but I thought, I'll wait for " old bull," who I could
hear was not now far astern.

In the meantime the plunderers had seen me, and
the smaller of them, thinking that prudence was better
than valour, stole off. But no such intention seemed
to actuate the larger, for, although he glowered at
me, he continued to tear off large portions of flesh
and swallow them without the slightest attempt at
mastication.

Had I advanced upon this brute he, doubtless,
would have given way ; but that was not my game,
as I have previously said. With a rush that was
distinctly audible from the breaking off and parting
of the dry brush and grass, up came " old bull,"
panting like a high-pressure engine. With a shout
I cheered him on, but even that he did not require.
In his passage by me the big hound joined him. In
an instant after, the last-mentioned made a dash at
the thief, which as rapidly turned to ward off the
attack, but this move was the hyena's death-warrant,

THE HUNTER'S ARC AD.

for in an instant " old bull " had him by the throat,
which grip he never released till the united pack had
worried the last particle of life out of the enemy's
carcase.

CHAPTER XL

A GALLOP.
A Special Favourite — Meer-kats — Sunset.

" STAND! stand! darling, stand!" I exclaimed, as I
gathered the reins together on Nemo's withers pre-
viously to putting my foot in the stirrup, for the pet
was so anxious to be off that his anxiety to start
could scarcely be restrained. An observer would,
on such an occasion, have thought my good horse
was full of vice ; for he would glance backwards with
his large, full eyes, lay his small, velvety ears down
upon his neck, and expand his nostrils to the fullest
extent, while his off fore-leg would paw the ground as
if despising the earth he stood upon ; but how wrong
would he be to judge so by these petty demonstrations,
for, had I just dismounted and turned the reins over
the horse's head, there he would remain almost
stationary, except when the desire to nibble at an

88 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

attractive bunch of grass, or sweet-leafed bush, mighi
cause him to advance a few paces.

This acquirement (remaining where left) is of the
greatest importance in a hunting horse, and seems
to be intuitively learned by an African one.

The pack at this moment are clamorous and all
excitement to start, but when I swing myself into
the saddle the climax is reached, and each and all,
giving vent to their feelings in many-toned yelps, go
off at racing pace.

Taking just sufficient pull upon Nemo's mouth to
steady his pace and keep his stride well within his
control, we settle down to work and play our re-
spective parts in a business-like manner. Now I
place my foot home in the stirrup, employing no
other pressure upon its bar than is necessary to
know that I feel it ; not so gently with my knees,
for with them I take a grip that, if it does not crack
my mount's ribs, tells him that I am so hard and
fast to the pigskin that it will take something more
than usual to unship me. But, to ease both horse
and man, from my knees I raise myself so as to
reduce the weight on the cantle of my saddle and
more evenly distribute it, at the same time advancing

COLONIAL HORSEMEN. 89

my head and shoulders to the front, the better to
obtain the balance I desire.

Thus I ride when the pace is sharp and the ground
is rough. It may be said that I am not asked to
teach riding ; but there are such a lot of duffers in
this world who think they can ride, that I cannot help
stepping out of my province to give them a lesson.
Colonel Dodge, of the United States service, depre-
cates English horsemen. For my own part, I think
he is right, and never do you see this more fully
proved than when you note one of our countrymen
for the first time outside of a foreign horse in an
unknown land.

On a well-bred and well-broken horse to ride
with hounds in Leicestershire is the easiest matter
in the world, provided the equestrian retains his
head ; to ride well in our cramped counties with
the foremost flight is a more difficult thing to do ;
but to take an untried horse and make the most
out of him over a South African country requires
the rider to be a man of iron nerves, great judgment,
excellent hands, and a seat very much composed
of shoemaker's wax.

Our colonists, in the country I am writing of,

9o

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

can do this, so there remains little in the shape of
horsemanship for them to learn, save, let me remem-
ber before coming to a decision, riding on a high-
stepper in Rotten Row, with your trousers strapped
down so tight as to take the breath out of your
mouth, while your boots armed with spurs, brilliant
in their polish, project so far from the heels in
which they are set as to give the impression that
the wearer is the most bloodthirsty of men. To
impart this impression to beholders is very important.

As Nemo and I have now got over a mile or
so of ground by fair, honest, good galloping, and
we are about getting into a bit of country consider-
ably undermined with meer-kat holes, I take a pull
upon his head so as to slacken the pace and keep
his legs ready for emergencies, since they are awk-
ward things for a horse to put his foot in, for,
although not quite as deep as a draw-well, they
are quite as perpendicular as far as they go.

But the name meer-kat is as unknown, doubt-
less, to stay-at-home Englishmen as the animal is
itself. I will attempt to describe it. It is about
the size of a pole-cat ferret, of a bright red colour,
and gifted with a very long, squirrel-like tail. In

DWELLERS TOGETHER. 91

the evenings and mornings it is to be found out of
doors, when, on being alarmed, it sits upright at
the entrance to its burrow ; so upright, indeed, that
it appears difficult to imagine where the kink can
come in its caudal appendage so as to allowr it to
be held perpendicular. Like the squirrel, it uses
its fore-paws as hands, which, when not employed
in transferring food to its mouth, it crosses in front
of its chest with an air of devotion.

Meer-kats live together in communities, and I
should not doubt they lead a very happy life, but that,
from such close association, they interfere with each
other's domestic affairs. When secreted behind an
ant-hill with my binocular, I have noticed this. I
believe that most of their troubles originate from
the lady wives showing preference to neighbours. It
is not to be supposed that these beasts can have
travelled to England to learn such delinquencies, but
the lady meer-kats seem to pay much more attention to
their visitors than they do to their lords and masters.

In the burrows of the meer-kat the puff adder and.
pearl- spotted owl always appear to find a shelter. It
is open to question whether their visits to these
burrows are not dictated by selfish motives. A

92 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

mature meer-kat is not bad to eat, I can attest ; a
young one, therefore, is probably a delicacy.

The meer-kat on this Continent plays exactly the
same part that the prairie-dog does in America, but
in form and appearance they have this difference :—
the latter is pursy and phlegmatic, the former long
and slim. This formation is doubtlessly attained in
Africa from their being total abstainers— their burrows
being often found far from water — thus they become
attenuated like Blue Ribbon martyrs, in contradistinc-
tion to those who go to bed mellow.

Let me describe the country we have got to. It
is composed of spurs of land, two or three hundred
yards apart, the summits of which are covered with
bush, the greater portion of it being thorny ; not after
the manner of our home-bred wild roses and brambles,
for the thorns here will, if chance be offered, run them-
selves as far into you as the blade of a pocket-knife
could reach. Among these thorns are occasionally
to be found mimosa trees, but they are far and wide
apart ; thus a good view, with few interruptions, is
generally to be obtained.

With Nemo well in hand I traversed several of
these dips and valleys without finding the game we

COURSING. 93

desired, although at every few hundred yards bush
kooran (Ruppell's bustard — Otis Ruppelli) would be
flushed ; but at length, in turning a corner, up jumped
a spring-bok in full sight of my pack, and with nearly
one hundred and fifty yards law.

Riding with well-bred fox-hounds, when they are
in view of game, the pace is generally very stiff; but
riding with greyhounds the pace is unquestionably a
little more so, so I let my gallant little horse go, and
he proved himself capable of carrying thirteen stone
(over a country not the easiest in the world) pretty
close to the fag end of the hunt.

I could not attempt to describe where each
particular dog was situated, as Virgil does in the
pulling down of Actaeon ; but this I can tell, that
sleek, bonnie, pretty little Connie Gilchrist had
the lead, and just behind her followed a yellow-
haired, fat Jezebel, whom no judge at a dog-show
would award the quality of pace to. The hunted
animal doubled and doubled again ; but all such
efforts were fruitless, and each turn brought up
the rest of the pack, when dear old " Arrack " (he
who assisted to slay the spotted hyena) got within
reach of the game, by running cunning, seized the

94

THE HUNTER

ICADIA.

spring-bok by the thigh and tumbled him over in
his tracks.

There was a "hew bellew" now among my
beasts ; such a worrying and tearing as never was
seen took place, and I thought no man ever possessed
such a swift and unapproachable pack of hounds,
until I inspected the quarry, and then, to my
disgust, I discovered that it was a victim of brunt
sickness, and therefore far from up to its best
running form. Yet do not let the reader imagine
for a moment that the run was completed in a
few hundred yards, for that would be a mistake ;
three miles at least were traversed before the buck
was brought to earth, and if it had not been weakened
by disease, it is quite possible, with such a start
as it obtained, it would have shown me and mine
a clean pair of heels.

We were not finished with that afternoon's
work, for it was too early in the day to go home,
and tell the dogs that they had had their outing ;
so I rode through some more brush, and soon had
another spring-bok afoot ; it was rapidly pulled
down, and, like its predecessor, suffered from
brunt sickness.

BRUNT SICKNESS. 95

The appearance of this disease I can only
describe, the origin I attribute it to is only
hypothesis.

On the back or saddle of the victim is a large
space of scab ; the Boers say it originates from
the beast being bitten by some noxious fly, after
which it licks the wound, and upon the saliva the
blue fly and common house-fly of the country alight,
and deposit their ova. From the appearance of the
sore, I think this most probably the cause of the
disease.

As the few clouds that exist are now in the
west, and the sun, their king, is among them, re-
proving some for their dull sombreness, or imparting
to his favourites some of his resplendent colours, I
know that night is at hand, and that little time is
to be lost if I wish to reach the -wagons before
darkness descends ; so, with a shout to summon my
companions, and a cheer to encourage my good nag
to further exertions, we soon cover the intervening
distance with the exception of a few hundred yards,
where I witness one of those scenes that occur now
and then to give zest to a hunter's life. It was the
assemblage of all my servants and their staff in the

96 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

immediate vicinity of an earth, endeavouring to draw
out an aard-vark which they had discovered secreted
in a hole big enough for a Newfoundland clog to
act in as fox-terrier.

CHAPTER XII.

NIGHT.
Lost— Outwitted— A Trap.

AN aard-vark is not a "sonsie" animal, nor is it a
pretty one, and, as it appears, it is not a desirable one
to try to capture ; still it is good food in the eyes of
the natives, so my followers had made the attempt to
dig this one out. And dig they did, for soon they
made an excavation big enough for cellars to an ordinary
cottage, if not for a house. I arrived at the critical
moment when they had succeeded in getting a rheim
round one of the unfortunate's hind legs, which my
Zulu, two voorlopers and several outsiders were hanging
to ; but, in spite of this immense amount of human
energy, I expect they would have been worsted (for
these creatures dig into the soil as fast as a mole),
if it had not been for that irrepressible pointer and
''old bull" making a dash into the cavity, where each
obtained a hold upon the poor beast's flanks, which

H

98

THE HUNTERS 'ARCADIA.

incommoded it so much that it resolved to fight
its battle above ground.

In carrying out this resolution it gave up its
hold to the burrow, so came out all of a heap ;
and so unexpectedly was this done, that every one
of the darkies pulling upon the treck-tow, with several
of the dogs that were in close vicinity to them, fell
topsy-turvy into such an unravellable heap that it
was hard to tell which was nigger and which was

The prey, however, was secured, and the prospect
of a good feed upon what they consider the most
succulent of food prevented the coloured gentry com-
plaining or possibly regretting their barked shins or
bruised crania.

That pointer and " old bull " were on this oc-
casion perfect Parnellites in swaying the balance of
power ; but the poor dumb animals did it from
uninterested motives — who can say the same of the
other animals alluded to?

The poor aard-vark had scarcely been knocked on
the head and skinned when one of my boys informed
me that several " pauw " (bustards) had alighted on
the adjoining flat. Desirous as I was of securing

LOST. 99

some of this noble game, I deferred my campaign
against them till the morrow. The illustration will
perhaps convey to the reader some of the enthusiasm
I felt.

If there is one thing more than another that
annoys me, it is being kept waiting for my dinner ; yet
it always appears to me to be so abominably selfish
to sit down and feed alone, that I kept postponing
my meal till patience ceased to be a virtue. That
evening, if simply for the purpose of passing the
time, I had paid more than usual attention to the
cooking, and, so I flattered myself, not without
producing good results. Therefore not having my
friend's company was the more to be regretted.

As the sun had been down considerably more
than an hour, and there was no appearance of the
absent one, I naturally began to feel uneasy, and
conjured up in my mind the possibility of all kinds
of accidents having occurred to him.

For some years lions had disappeared from this
vicinity, thus I had nothing to dread from the
possibility of the king of beasts having attacked
my chum. Again, he was so skilled in the use of
firearms that there was scarcely a chance of his

H 2

ioo THE HUNTER'S ARCADi

disabling himself by an accidental explosion ; but
he was unquestionably a bad horseman, and spills upoa
the African veldt are of every-day occurrence ; and,
although rarely serious injury results from them, a
man might have his arm or collar-bone broken.
To this latter possibility, therefore, I was about to
attribute his lengthened absence, when a fresh
reason for his failure to return rose in my mind, viz.,
it was just possible — nay, more than that, probable
—that he had lost his way.

Of all the hunting companions I have ever had
— and they have been numerous enough — I never
was associated with one who had a worse idea of
direction. It has puzzled me times beyond count
how any man could be so stupid in this respect ;
in fact, it has not unfrequently almost made me
lose my temper to see with what persistency he
would adopt the wrong course, and, worse still,
stick to it, in spite of all argument or persuasion.

Now, my friend was an educated man — even
more, a gentleman who had distinguished himself
at his university ; so better things might have been
expected from him. But I have invariably re-
marked that, the higher the type of a man ia

TRAPS. 101

breeding and educational acquirements, the more
certain he is to be an adept at wandering when
left to his own resources. The lowest organisations
to be found in the human family, such as the
Digger Indian and the Bushman, never get lost ;
however similar the landscape they traverse may be,
they will retrace their steps to their starting-place
without hesitation or doubt.

For the better cleanliness of the camp, I had
insisted upon all the offal and debris being transported
to a hollow, about a hundred and fifty yards from
the wagons. This refuse had not only attracted my
own dogs, but a number of jackals, and between them
they made such an incessant row that I ordered my
canines to be tied up. This being accomplished, I
proceeded to the scene of the late disturbance with
four traps, hoping by this means to secure a few
skins, as those of the jackal make the best karosses.
In this work my Zulu boy accompanied me, and we
had just finished placing the gins in such positions
as appeared most probable to bring success, when
the sharp " patter patter " of a horse's feet was heard
approaching. A few seconds sufficed to take me
into the camp, and in a moment or two afterwards

102

THE HU1

UA.

the " old moke," with heaving flanks, sweat-stained
hide, and startled eyes, entered it. It was evident
to an observer that his pace had been fast, and that
he had not been particular in selecting his path, for
the saddle-flaps were deeply scratched, the stirrup-
leathers and irons gone, all denoting a hasty flight.
This was sufficient enough evidence, in all conscience,
that something had gone wrong ; therefore, without
losing a moment's time, I organised a party to go
in pursuit of my friend, having first provided them
with an abundant supply of blank ammunition, so
as to keep up a fusillade that would attract the
attention of my missing friend, and thus cause him
to direct his steps to his rescuers.

My people had hardly got beyond a few hundred
yards from the camp when there arose on the night
air a hullabaloo that told as plainly as possible that
a dog had got caught in one of the traps. On
inspection I found Master Arrack missing, an empty
collar indicating where he ought to be.

Now, Arrack, with all his peculiarities of bad
temper and resistance to control, was, on account of
his pluck, unquestionably my favourite of all the
pack. So I summoned " Cookey," that great, fat,

ARRACK. 103

greasy beast whom I have previously described,
ordered him to fetch the wagon lantern, and, with
him, proceeded to release the captive. At the best
of times Arrack was not an easy beast to manage,
but with this attachment to his leg he certainly did
look a fiend incarnate. Master " Cookey," under the
pretence of assisting me to release the dog, danced
about all over the place, without being of any service
whatever. At length, however, I secured the dog's
head between my legs, imprecating in no very
measured terms this swarthy son of Ham for not
pressing down the springs to enable the jaws of the
trap to be opened, when, to my amazement — I may
almost say amusement — the unfortunate darkie thrust
his left foot into another trap, whose existence I had
temporarily forgotten, and commenced forthwith to
bellow with all the powers he possessed, making,
between him and Arrack, a pandemonium easier to
be imagined than described. This I will say, that,
under circumstances which were exactly similar, the
poor dog behaved very much better than did the
man. Fortunately I succeeded in placing my foot
upon the spring of the trap, and so effected the
release of the former, who acknowledged my kindness

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

by a thankful look and a grateful wag of his
but without a vocal expression of the pain he had
suffered. Not so with the black man, who not only
sang out as if he were being murdered while I was
disengaging the trap from him, but kept up the
same music the whole way to the wagons, and for
some time after our arrival at them.

Soon after my companion came in, looking none
the worse for his misadventure. As his taciturnity
was proverbial until he had eaten, I deferred
questioning him upon the cause of his protracted
absence until he had satisfied his hunger. His
narrative was as follows : — " About three or four
miles from here I almost rode on the top of an
ostrich ; in fact, it jumped up so close before me
that I felt assured the horse had trodden on it. In
this belief I became more and more confirmed from
it appearing impossible for the bird to do more than
keep in front of me. I pushed the gray, and every
moment expected to be able to knock my quarry
on the head, but somehow or other, at the very
moment I expected to do so, the bird seemed to be
gifted with a fresh spasm of vitality. This went on

DISGUSTED. 105

for several minutes, so, naturally, I became impatient
for the termination, so would have jumped off and
used my rifle, but the bush was thick, and I
was afraid of losing sight of the game for an
instant.

" Thus we doubled backwards and forwards, to and
fro, till at length I began to believe that I was being
humbugged, so I clapped my spurs into the * old
moke' to make a final dash, when the brute put his
foot in a hole and sent me spinning over his head.
I wasn't hurt, but considerably shaken, and for some
minutes I remained in a sitting posture, looking at
my horse, who seemed to be actuated with the same
feelings, for he stood still looking at me. But the
trance was broken immediately I rose and advanced to
capture him, as then he wheeled upon his heels, and,
with a neigh, no doubt of satisfaction at having got
quit of me, started for home as fast as his legs would
take him. I felt so disgusted at the whole perform-
ance— loss of ostrich and loss of horse — that I almost
felt like taking a slap at the latter with my rifle as
he disappeared through the bush and bade me good-
bye. As long as it was light I was able to follow my

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

beast's spoor ; when it got dark, I made out in the
heavens the reflection of the blaze from the wagon
fires, and was steadily making for it when I came
across the people you sent after me."

CHAPTER XIII.

AN UNFORTUNATE.
The Shadow Bird — Snake-bitten— Sudden Death.

GENTLE reader, you don't know my friend ; he is
wondrously quiet, even bashful, particularly when
ladies are present. Still, he possesses a quiet fund
of dry humour, which, when he chooses to let loose,
and that is very seldom, is immensely entertaining.
Moreover, he was a gentleman that never liked to
be beaten at anything he undertook, but to be sold
or humbugged was, to him, one of the bitterest pills
he could be asked to swallow.

Now, he had been sold by this ostrich, and when
he learnt that such was the case, he was wroth, said
little, but looked fierce.

The explanation is this. An ostrich acts exactly
as does a wild duck or peewit when surprised upon
its nest — it feigns lameness, pretends to be injured,
and consequently unable to escape from the disturber,

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

all or either of these assumptions being for the
purpose of wiling the uninitiated away from its nest.
My chum well knew all these tricks of our home
birds, but never for a moment supposed that African,
and therefore uneducated ones were up to the same
artifices ; so he had been led on step by step till a
safe distance had been placed between him and the
object of the quarry's solicitude.

That night we sat up long and late, not from
desire, but from circumstances over which we had no
control. First, some of the oxen broke loose and went
off on end, scouring over the veldt as if the "old
gentleman " himself was at their heels, and such
good use did they make of their legs that the small
hours had arrived before they were brought back.

Soon after this contretemps a jackal was caught in
one of the traps, which caused all his companions to
unanimously deplore the misfortune in their most
doleful notes, and this, as a matter of course, started
all the dogs howling, which, in spite of forcible
language and threats of whip, they refused to desist
from. So there was nothing for it but to kill the
captive, lift the traps, and untie our pack.

This last step did not lessen their confounded

THE HAMMER-HEAD. 109

rancorousness, only the scene of it was changed
from the vicinity of the wagons to the offal hole a
hundred and fifty yards off.

The non-enthusiastic sportsman would doubtlessly
object to all these disturbances, but they are the
disagreeables that have to be accepted with the
pleasures. There is no such thing as perfect happi-
ness. If there was, I fear it would be a very
namby-pamby affair.

But in the intervals between the scrimmages of
the dogs and jackals, other and more pleasing sounds
can be heard, viz., the "bocking" of the spring-
buck, the queer, half-timid, half-fierce call of the
ostrich, and the shrill whistling note of the quagga.
This last is a satisfactory noise to the hunter's ears,
for as sure as you find this fleet and graceful animal
in numbers, so sure are you to find their most
devoted and assiduous attendant, the lion.

But a shadow at times flits by, and its direction
is to the adjoining water. The experienced know
what it is, but the uninitiated would imagine it to
be an immense owl. This is the hammer-head or
shadow bird (Scopiis umbretta), a queer, weird-like
creature, which, if found in Scotland or Ireland..

110

would be ever associated with ghosts and hob-
goblins. Its plumage is a dark funereal brown,
which, in some lights, shows metallic tints ; even the
quills are black, while its eyes are dark brown, and
its bill the colour of the blackest ebony. Its voice
is very human, and reminds the listener of that of
a querulous, aged invalid. For hours it will remain
almost motionless, with an attitude strongly indica-
tive of suffering from oppressive grief; then a
reaction seems to seize the creature, and with it a
determination to be jolly under adverse circumstances,
when it will rush from its resting-place to its
nearest neighbour or neighbours, and all will com-
mence a dance as ludicrous and boisterous as it is
possible to imagine. Many of the cranes have the
same proclivity, and their attitudes are often very
laughable, but their performances are not a patch
upon those of this bird.

My chum, who is a Scotchman, and had imbibed
several of the superstitions of his countrymen, when
he first heard the voice of the shadow bird, on
learning what caused it, remarked (sotto voce) that
"it must be neither canny nor earthly to make such
a queer noise."

THE HAMMER-HEAD, OR SHADOW BIRD (Scopus umbntla).

To face page no.

PANDEMONIUM.

in

Its nest is a curiosity, for it would be a load
for an ordinary wagon ; moreover, it is roofed over,
and so firmly are the sticks placed that they would
support with ease the weight of a man.

Further, this bird seems to be an unsatiable
collector of curiosities, for around its domicile will
be found every small article that comes under its
notice, such as buttons, nails, fragments of cloth,
and even sardine boxes, and tins that have con-
tained coffee or preserved milk.

Its habitat is South Africa and Madagascar,
beyond these it has never been found ; which being
the case, if for no other reason, it is worthy of the
notice of the naturalist.

It is quite possible to have an excess of tobacco,
and it is equally possible to have too little sleep,
so at length I turned in, determined not to be dis-
turbed ; but Somnus would not come to my aid,
and it is scarcely surprising that he did not, for
what between my friend's grumbling, the servants'
snoring, and the dogs7 barking, a perfect pande-
monium reigned outside ; but the whole was brought
to a climax by one of the dogs returning from the
feasting-place to the wagon, yelling with the full

ii2 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

power of his voice, and in such notes of anguisl
that, in spite of my resolution, I was compelled to
come from under the blankets and learn the cause
of his discomfiture. The victim was a greyhound
that I had not mentioned before, for he was un-
worthy of notice ; but, now that he has forced him-
self upon our attention, I am obliged to say some-
thing of him. What ailed the brute I could not
make out, for his conduct was so strange and un-
accountable that I had never seen the like before.
It could not be hydrophobia of a new type, for
canine madness is almost unknown in this part of
the world. But what could it be ? The beast
rushed about as if blind, ricocheted off a wagon-
wheel on to an ox, for which he got well kicked ;
then made a rush through the fire, upset a sauce-
pan, and scalded himself, and finally laid down in
the most unnatural position, and ultimately, from
sheer exhaustion, I imagined, remained silent.

Such silence, under the circumstances, was but
natural, for the unfortunate had expired without a
struggle, without an effort, and I fear without a
regret from any one. No wound could I discover
about the defunct, nothing to indicate .the cause of

A COBRA. 113

death, if I except a slight swelling about the eyes.
The whole affair was so sudden that I was really
startled ; as I think people generally are when they
witness such a result without knowing the cause.
However, I consoled myself with the knowledge
that, of all the pack, this victim could best be
spared.

The cause of the greyhound's death was soon
explained. In the morning one of the boys went
to the vicinity of where the offal had been deposited,
to procure some firewood. While pounding away
with his hatchet on a log, he thought he smelt a
snake, and immediately afterwards a large cobra
(Naia haje, Smith) came forth, which he instantly
killed. On inspection its poison sacs were fairly
bursting with venom.

From the time the dog was bitten till it died
not over seven or eight minutes can have passed.
With a human being the result would, doubtless,
have been the same ; not a very long time to con-
sider to whom you are to leave your personal
effects.

CHAPTER XIV.

STALKING.
African Game — Successful Shots — Spooring.

PERHAPS the reader will think that I exaggerate the
incidents, that I have narrated in reference to an
African night, but this is not so ; as they have
been told, so they occurred.

Africa, although no new country, is at the present
time the hunting-ground par excellence of the whole
world. The buffalo has nominally disappeared from-
North America; the grizzly bear, the terror of the
Rocky Mountains, is now scarcely to be found ; but
Africa still possesses such animals as are worthy of
the intrepidity and skill of the most daring sports-
man. If the traveller goes far enough into this
great continent he will there meet an elephant worth
slaying, not the semi-domestic beast of India ; and
instead of the tiger of Hindostan he will be brought
into the presence of the lion, and within range of

PAUW. 115

numerous breeds of antelopes, such giants in size
and form as almost to startle man when he raises
his rifle to accomplish their destruction.

If the reader is entering with me into a country
where such mammoth beasts of the chase as the giraffe,
hippopotamus, and rhinoceros exist, he must not be
horrified at being thrown into contact with jackals
and all such small game, before he arrives at the
scene where the greater beasts are to be found.

As I finally turned in under the blankets that
night, I could distinctly hear pauw calling to each
other on the adjoining flat, reminding me that
they were in my vicinity, and that it was my
intention to add some of them to my larder as soon
as time was granted for me to carry out my
purpose.

Pauw, like all feathered game (except the duck
family), will not permit themselves to be approached
when the dew is on their plumage, so I delayed
my expedition against them till the sun was high
in the heavens. The fire of our camp had disturbed
this game ; consequently, I did not find it until I had
ridden nearly a mile. Their position was admirably
selected to guard against surprise, nothing occurring

I 2

n6 THE HUNTER'S ARC A.

on the flat veldt in front except ant-hills (the
characteristic marking of this part of the African
country) to intervene between me and the quarry
I sought after.

There are few persons who have not seen a
drove of turkeys in a farm-yard. How stupid they
apparently look, but, at the same time, how con-
foundedly cunning they really are ! So it was with
these pauw ; for I soon found out that if I did not
practise my best stalking skill I should not get
within rifle range of them.

I was, on this occasion, riding an old mare,
her recommendation being that she had all the en-
dearing characteristics of a dog. Well, I left the
old thing to try to stalk the pauw; but no, the
birds would not have it, for as quickly as I advanced,
as quickly did they retire. At length an extra high
ant-hill occurred, and I resolved to make use of
it, and, I think, crawled about a hundred yards to
do so, when one of the birds got on another ant-
hill, telegraphed some kind of message to its
comrades, and then all sailed away till far beyond
range.

It was now apparent to me that I was out-

A STALK. 117

generalled, so it became necessary, if I desired to
be successful, to enter into a new plan of campaign.
Therefore I went for one of my boys ; I selected
the Hottentot, as he was the lighter weight, and
thus accompanied, recommenced the hunt. After
traversing a couple of miles of as beautiful riding
ground as the most fastidious could desire (barring
the ant-hills), I again discovered the pauw, con-
siderably augmented in numbers, indolently feeding
on a sunny slope fairly sprinkled with karroo brush.
But their position was so open that for a long time
I feared it would be impossible for me to get within
easy range.

I was about deciding to give up the pursuit as
impossible, or chance a long distance shot at the birds,
when it struck me that between me and them ran a
donga, or land-crack. A careful inspection of the
ground with my field-glass assured me that such was
the case ; still I felt more than uncertain that if I
gained its friendly shelter I should be within a
desirable shooting distance. However, Master Tottie
and I withdrew from our place of observation, and
held counsel on the subject. The decision was that
he was to make a detour with the mare, and get to

ii8 THE HUNTER'S ARCS.

windward of the birds, keeping at such a distance
from them as not to alarm them, but, if possible,
drive them a little before him and towards me.

Thus instructed, my servant left, while I, after
some trouble, got into the donga. It was very regular
along its bottom, and just sufficiently deep for me
comfortably to crawl along it on hands and knees
without being seen. Having judged correctly the
distance to be travelled, I gently raised my head, my
cap being ornamented with a bunch of grass, when to
my delight I observed that the birds had not in any
way been alarmed, for some had already settled down
as if resolved to commence their siesta.

I could make out no fewer than nine of these
noble birds within a space of fifty yards of each other,
yet the nearest to my place of ambush was too far
off for me to be certain of hitting it with my Express.
However, I exercised patience, and in this instance
the quality indeed proved a virtue, for, after a delay
of twenty minutes or so, first one and then a second
of those pauw that had been sitting down rose to their
feet, and all began to erect themselves to their greatest
height and look earnestly to windward. This was
an anxious moment, for my success or failure almost

A DOUBLE SHOT. 119

depended upon my Tottie's prudence, for if he hurried
the lot would take to flight, but if he behaved
cautiously and did not point his course for them, in
all human probability they would direct their steps
towards my hiding-place. Tottie was a great Nimrod
in my estimation. On this occasion he did not lose
his reputation, and I vowed inwardly that he should
have an extra supply of tobacco, when what appeared
to be the largest of the hens, with cautious, hesitating,
and graceful steps, took the lead and came towards
me. Soon another, and then another, and finally all
followed her example, not after the manner of grouse
or partridge, but as if each were acting independently
of the other. Believe me, it was one of the noblest
sights a sportsman ever beheld, for the pauw is
amongst birds what the salmon is amongst fish.

Old as I am, and much as I have shot, I could
feel my heart beat quicker and quicker as the space
between the game and myself became diminished. At
last only a hundred yards severed us, and their manner
appearing uneasy, as if the game suspected danger,
I waited for two birds to get aligned, when I pulled
the trigger of the .right barrel, and with the report
a couple of the pauw turned over ; then, springing to

120 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

my feet, I fired at the largest cock, just as he gained
flight, and brought him down with my left barrel. I
was in luck that time, three of the finest game birds
in the world falling to two shots.

It was not long before fresh cartridges were inv
the breeches of my rifle, and I was alongside two of
my trophies, for the other had disappeared, and how,
goodness knows, for my eyes were not off it for more
than a few seconds. But miracles do occur sometimes,
and, I am inclined to imagine, more frequently to
the sportsman than to any other person. It often
astonishes one where a quail or a woodcock can have
got to, when we feel convinced that we have marked
it down to an inch, and are equally certain that the
bird is dead. But here was a fowl infinitely larger
than a turkey, knocked over at a less distance than
a hundred yards ; yet, search as I would, not a vestige
of it could be seen.

I began to think that there must be an ant-bear
hole in the neighbourhood, and that the wounded
pauw had crawled into it, so began reconnoitring
for one of this interesting animal's burrows, and,
while so engaged, was joined by my Tottie, who
had a grin on his countenance so broad that it

NEVER GIVE IN. 121

opened his mouth from ear to ear. The vision of
a future picking of the bones of two pauws was
sufficient pleasure in anticipation to account for this ;
but, when he heard that I had knocked over another
and that it could not be found, sorrow took the
place of mirth and regret that of anticipation.

My sable attendant was a good " spoorer," but,
from the ground being dry and the grass withered,
it was no easy task to ask him, skilled as he was,
to unravel the mystery, more especially as I had
tramped a good deal over the locality. I pointed out
to him exactly where I thought the bird fell. Round
and round it he circled, at length gave a grunt,
and in satisfied words explained, "Him down!"
After that, noting the direction of the wind, he
made a cast — skilful as ever was made by veteran
huntsman — picked up the trail, ran it a short distance,
lost it, then took it up again. At length he came
to a dead stop. This was not to be wondered at,
for karroo brush grew here and there through the
veldt grass, thus affording considerable covering
to the soil. Mounting my mare and bearing my
troph^.s, I followed at a slow pace, now beginning
to despair of success ; but " never give in " is a

122

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

good motto, for just then I saw the Hottentot hurl
his knobkerrie, and a second afterwards caught
sight of the pauw going like a racehorse up the
donga. Shaking up my mare, I went in hot pursuit ;
but, encumbered as I was with the other birds, I found
that I should be nowhere in the chase in the rough
ground till I disencumbered myself. So I threw
them and my rifle to the darkie, and received in
exchange his knobkerrie, and thus armed, resolved
to go in and win. The mare was in good condi-
tion, keen for a run, and handy as a polo pony,
so I had little or no doubt of the result.

I know men who have told me they have ridden
down an ostrich. I can only say I have several
times seen it tried, but never successfully. To catch a
wounded pauw on horseback is quite work enough for
me. I will not for a moment infer that the mare
had not the heels of the bird, but I defy any horse
living to have kept alongside of it, from the rapidity
with which it turned. Moreover, each of these
turns was so ingeniously made as to place me upon
the wrong side of my prey for striking. Thus,
after two miles of most exasperating and disap-

JB ATE LOUR EAGLE. 123

pointing toil, I reluctantly took a pull on the mare,
and gave it up, I being of the two the more
distressed.

As the sun had now got warm, I returned to
camp, but with the resolution of renewing the hunt,
aided by a couple of my best greyhounds. The
sun was about two hours high when I reached
the spot where I had quitted the chase ; the dogs
were fresh, and I anticipated a splendid run. That
I should soon find the bird I had little doubt, as
the ever-useful Donna was one of the party.
Already she had begun to feather, when my chum,
who had accompanied me, gave the view halloo,
and, true enough, about two hundred yards before
us was the pauw, legging it like a giraffe. Soon
as we saw the game, the dogs were as quick. We
were just getting settled into what promised to be an
exciting run, when, like a thunderbolt, a bird de-
scended upon our quarry. A few violent, spasmodic
flaps of the wing and all was over. When we reached
the spot, we naturally concluded that the depredator
would give way ; but no, nothing was further from
his intention, and it was with the utmost difficulty

124

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

that we could prevent the dogs from feeling the
power of his talons.

To save the pauw, the gallant eagle had to be
knocked on the head, which was a sad necessity,
for this is not only one of the bravest but one of
the most beautiful of the falconidae. Its powers
of flight are something marvellous, and this may
well be imagined when I state that its wings protrude
far beyond its tail. It is only to be found in Africa,
and in the locality in which we then were it is the
most common of the birds of prey. Morning and
evening it can be seen sailing in the heavens at
an immense height, its wings apparently motionless,
until a victim attracts its attention, when the velocity
of its descent is probably unrivalled by any bird
of prey. During the heat of noon it rests occa-
sionally upon a rock, more generally upon a tree,
but its wariness is so great that it is almost im-
possible to get within shot of it. The base of its
beak is dark orange, lower down yellow, while the
tip is black. The iris of this species is a mag-
nificent brilliant transparent brown, while the feet and
the skin between the eye and the beak are coral

RUFOUS-BACKED BATELOUR EAGLE (HelotCtrSUS

To face page 124.

A WORTHY REPRESENTATIVE. 125

red. Such a combination of colours, united to its
resolute, defiant appearance, renders this bird a
worthy representative of the great game country
it inhabits.

CHAPTER XV.

INSUBORDINATION.
Cookey — Moonlight — Carrion Feeders.

SEVERAL natives visited the wagons soon after sun-
down, two of whom I knew, and in whose word I had
implicit confidence. They reported a great scarcity
of water on the route I intended travelling, and that
there was not more than a sufficiency of the precious
fluid in the vley in our front — where I had at least
expected to find an abundance, and remain a week —
for twenty-four hours' use, and moreover, what existed
was so tramped and polluted by game that it was
scarcely fit to be utilised. Upon this information
my friend and self had a consultation, the result being
that we resolved to trek that evening as soon as the
moon rose, and we did so at about half-past nine.
When our decision was communicated to our
attendants, it was easy to see that it was most dis-

A MUTINOUS SCOUNDREL. 127

pleasing to them ; for, although they said nothing,
their conduct was sufficiently eloquent. Having
ordered the fachees (barrels for carrying water) to be
filled, I retired to my wagon to put things in order
for the trek. This occupied me for quite half-an-
hour, after which I thought I would visit the boys*
fire, and see if my orders had been attended to. Just
as I suspected, the fachees had not been unhooked
even from their fastenings, and had not, therefore,
received a drop of water. Calling up the drivers,
I repeated to each my former instructions, informing
them that I would return in thirty minutes to see
that I had been obeyed ; but as I was leaving them,
that fat, greasy beast of a cook made a remark far
from complimentary to white men generally, and
myself in particular. I had long known this fellow to
be a soldier lawyer, and a very artful and dangerous
one, too, so had made up my mind, when cir-
cumstances justified me, to fetch him up with a round
turn. Therefore, when Master Cookey made his
observation, I turned to him and told him that I
should not only expect, when I returned, to see that
my orders in regard to the water were obeyed, but
that he had all the cooking apparatus clean and packed

128

THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

ready to be

the

tray (the place where

wagon
it was carried on the line of march).

Although I was not aware that any lions had been
seen along our intended line of route for two or
three years, yet, as these animals are frequently
compelled to change their hunting ground from want
of water or scarcity of food, I deemed it desirable
that both my companion and self should have all
our guns loaded and some surplus ammunition laid
-out.

Another cause for my taking this step was, that
from the troubled state of the frontier, arising from
there being a big war between Massouw and Moshette
on one side, and Moncorani and Monsewa on the other,
gunpowder had become too valuable to throw away
upon wild beasts ; and as wild animals, in a wondrously
quick time, learn where they can or cannot intrude,
I thought it was just possible, more especially
as game was reported plentiful about the vley we
were making for, that His Majesty the King might
be interviewed on the road. To welcome him with
a royal salute — one becoming to his high caste — was,
therefore, my solicitude. To make such important
preparations took quite half-an-hour, after which I

KNOCKED DOWN. 129

returned to the boys' fire to see if my orders had
been obeyed.

The fachees were filled and slung in their places,
but the flesh-pots were lying around the fire or in
use, exactly as they had been previous to my orders.
On asking for explanation of this dereliction of duty,
I received in answer, first prevarication, next abuse,
so I seized Master Cookey by the collar of his coat
with the right hand, with the left foot sent his
legs from under him, and with an effort threw
him upon his back among those who appeared to
be his supporters. In an instant three of these
were upon their feet, and showed that they were
prepared to avenge the insult to their leader, but
they wisely hesitated when they observed " Chummy "
at my elbow. He was a good six-footer, very un-
demonstrative, but when called upon he was " all
there." But, in spite of this, these misguided men
did not learn wisdom during their pause, but came
on with a rush, led by a stalwart Zulu — a sulky
clog of a fellow, who had often previously been
suspected of inciting to mutiny — but down he went
as if shot ; and his supporters, thinking better of
the matter, fled into the bush. One of the late

K

1 3o

THE HUNTER* S ARCADIA.

arrivals, an old acquaintance of mine, had felled the
big Zulu with his knobkerrie ; and the whole was
done so quickly, and, I may say, expertly, that
none knew who had struck the blow until the
whole affair was over. This episode I have narrated
at length, for it is but a sample of what frequently
occurs when your people are ordered to march
from a camp where there is an abundant supply of
food.

The moon was up sooner than we expected,
so that by half-past nine the cattle were in the
yoke ; plenty of grass, plenty of water and rest,
had had the desired effect upon them, and had
made them look fit to go for a man's life. " In-
spanning," that is, putting the cattle in order before
placing them in the yoke, is always an interesting
as well as a bustling sight. It *is done in this
way : — the cattle of both wagons are driven up,
and when halted, the animals of each span separate
from one another. These are driven apart, but
still there may be a young ox or an obstreperous
one, which will intrude into the wrong division, so
he has to be hunted out, and, in course of this, he
generally gets a good hiding and pelting for the

INSPANNING. 131

unnecessary trouble he is giving. When each span
is assembled, the driver places himself in front of
them with the rheim of each beast upon his arm,
while the voorloper takes his place behind armed with
a jambok, by the application of which each bullock
is kept in its place till the driver has placed his
rheims over the horns of each. They are then led
in pairs to their respective yokes, the after oxen
being generally " inspanned " last. As a rule, the
most mutinous and troublesome ox immediately
succumbs to the control of the driver the moment
he feels the noose over his horns ; should he not
do so, he will have ample reason to regret his
objection to discipline, for the driver will not brook
such conduct for a moment, and at once suppresses
it by the severest means.

I have had experience of how cattle are handled
both in America and Australia, in which places the
work is done entirely on horseback ; but the African
driver and voorloper does all his work on foot,
and there is no reason to imagine that the beasts
of the two first-mentioned places are one whit
more dangerous than those of Africa. Of course,
occasionally serious accidents do happen, but they

K 2

132

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

are very rare. In Spain I have often witnessed
the adroitness and grace with which a matador,
or tulero, avoids a bull's charge. A smart and ex-
perienced Tottie is quite as adroit as the Spaniard ;
of his grace we will say nothing.

If the traveller in Africa wishes to make a long
and quick trek, let him do it at night, particularly
when there is a moon, and he will be surprised how
his cattle get over the road. The coolness pre-
vailing at those hours doubtless does much towards
this. At the same time I think the uncertain light
gives a helping hand, for in it the beasts have not
the power of distinguishing in the distance, pas-
tures by which they would love to linger or wade
belly deep in.

A good start was made. The sand was nowhere
heavy enough to be a serious obstacle, so, with
the exception of an " outspan " of an hour shortly
after midnight, nothing took place to prevent our
logging a good journey. All night was to be
heard on either side the bleating call of springboks,
the whistle and rasping neigh of quahas, the gut-
tural, jerky note of ostrich, while the pretty little
jackal tittered away from the adjoining ridges, and

OUTSPANNED. 133

the hyena's deep-toned half-whistle, half-sigh struck
frequently upon the ear. Several times we passed
through considerable areas of brush, but towards
daylight we traversed one that seemed interminable.
At the coldest hour of the morning, that immediately
preceding the advent of day, one of the dogs that
had wandered some distance from the track sang
out most lustily. I knew from the voice that it
was a black Kaffir cur which I had picked up along
the road. As she was a plucky little animal, and
most watchful at night, I had grown to like her
very much, and therefore felt solicitude for her
safety. Soon after, however, she joined me, when
I discovered over her left cheek two deep longitudinal
cuts, evidently the handicraft of some of the cat family.
It was not the work of a leopard, for that animal
would have carried the bitch off bodily, so I con-
cluded it was the doing of a caracal, a near relation
of the lynx of Europe and America, and tolerably
abundant in the bushy and rocky parts of this country.
At sun-up we " outspanned" for a couple of
hours, when we again got the bullocks into the
yoke, hoping to continue travelling till an hour
before the sun reached the meridian. While

134

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

enjoying my coffee I noticed that one of my most
valuable dogs had a fit of lethargy upon him, which
I could not account for. He evinced no indications
of pain, but showed an evident dislike to move
about or to be in the society of his comrades.
The cause of this sudden alteration in the animal's
character I was at a loss to account for ; never-
theless it was very marked, for, without exception,
he was always the most light-hearted and demon-
strative of the pack. Being very busy getting
the cattle " inspanned," and seeing the horses
started with the rest of the live stock, I for-
got all about this dog and his ailments till
we had travelled about five miles, when I discovered
that he had been left behind. I had one man
especially told off to look after the dogs, and this
was his sole duty, so the reader may imagine that
I gave him a rating of words that were very forcible.
I then rode back in search of the lost one, and
where I expected to find him, there he was. I
could not have made a mistake in my search, for
upon every ant-hill in the vicinity of where the
poor beast lay were a couple of southern corbivan
(Corvultur albicolis], birds as large as, and probably

1

EMPHYSEMA. 135

more powerful than, our ravens, waiting for the
dog's demise. It was a wonder to me that they had
so much patience, for before now I have seen a
brace of them attack a wounded steinbok and harass
it to death. However, the corbivans had not
molested my poor dog, nor had some dozen South
African griffon vulture (Gyps Kolbit) that were
sitting in his immediate vicinity, redolent with a
gravity in their manner only to be expected from
the members of a coroner's inquest.

When I looked upon the greyhound, I was
more astounded than I had been in my life before.
Its body was swollen up to twice, possibly three
times, its original size, and on passing my hands
along his flanks the air that was accumulated
beneath produced a crackling sound, not unlike
electricity in a new karross, but a great deal more
distinct. It was evidently a case of emphysema,
but what had produced it was a question I could
not answer. I have known animals shot through
the lungs get it, but in such cases there was a
visible cause, although a very extraordinary one ;
still, there was a cause. In the case of the dog
I was not aware of one, nor could I discover any.

135 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

The poor beast knew me when I approached him,
and testified his pleasure at my presence as dogs
do. I am not very soft-hearted, but I almost shed
tears to see the poor thing in such a strait. After
some coaxing I got him on his legs, and, by
exercising a deal of patience, I succeeded in making
him try and exert himself; and so, between rests
and short walks, we at length reached the camping
ground. The impudence of these corbivan (I had
better call them ravens, for, save the white collar
round their necks, there is little difference between
the two) was most trying. Doubtless they thought
that I was taking their legitimate prey from them,
and, in return, tried to intimidate me by making
swoops within a foot or two of my own or horse's
head, causing the latter to become quite nervous ;
or lighting in the track, and cawing within a few
yards of my advance, as if premeditating an assault
on my shins. At length my patience Was exhausted,
and I drew my revolver and knocked over the
ringleader, missing his rival with a second shot.
Poor bird I His companions attacked him as soon
as I had passed, and those who, a moment before,
had been admiring his pluck, doubtless made a

SAVED. 137

meal upon him. This is contradiction of the West
Indian nigger's assertion, " Dog no eat dog, massa,
no nevar."

After this episode the ravens dropped behind,
but the vultures followed me into camp, where they
perched upon the few withered adjoining mimosas,
drew their heads down close between their wings,
and by their manner expressed a willingness to await
results, as if the chances were, in their belief, five
to one in their favour ; but the carrion-eating brutes
were out of their reckoning this time, for my poor
dog, after enduring many a day of sickness, swallowing
a dose of croton oil of no infinitesimal quantity,
and quite a box of Hollo way's pills, recovered
sufficiently to keep up with the wagon, but it
was a long time before he again took an interest
in springbok and duikers.

CHAPTER XVI.

NATURAL HISTORY.
Sight or Scent — Ravens — Vultures.

IT has long been a vexed question among
naturalists whether vultures discover their prey by
sight or scent. I do not pretend for a moment
that I have had better opportunities of judging than
other people, or that I possess more discrimination.
Only this I will say, that, in my belief, it is upon
the organ of sight they depend for their food,
and not upon their sense of smell. It must not
be understood from this that I think vultures
destitute of scent ; but I do think that in them
the sense is not excessively developed. I have
known a large animal, such as a wildebeest or
buffalo, shot in thick brushwood, where there
was only an occasional scattering of trees, remain
for a day without being detected by the vultures,

SECRETED GAME. 139

although, if you gazed steadily in the heavens,
numbers of these birds could be seen sailing far
aloft. The moment after the game had been
paunched, the scavenger-beetle would find it out,
however light the wind might be, and if you went
down the wind for half a mile, or even more, you
could hear these busy insects booming past you,
proceeding with unerring precision to where the offal
lay. Not so with the vulture ; for I have known
them feed on a carcase not more than a few hundred
yards from another, and never discover its whereabouts.
At the same time, it should be stated that the dead
game which they did not find was well covered over
with limbs of trees and brushwood ; but this covering
would in no way obstruct the smell arising from flesh
that had commenced to decompose being disseminated.
If a dead beast be secreted under a thick screen of
bushes, the first bird to discover its whereabouts
I have invariably found to be the corbivan. This
possibly arises from the fact that the flight of this
bird is generally close to the earth, and that it
is of such an inquisitive turn, of mind that it
examines carefully anything that strikes it as new,
or previously unobserved. Satisfied that the novelty

140

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

is not an ambuscade, inquisitiveness induces it to
pry further, when the secret is discovered. This
may occasionally be the case ; but more frequently,
I think, they find their prey by noting an unusual
number of scavenger-beetles hurrying in one direction
and following them up. And, lastly, the sight of
a jackal, with his nose in the air, or of a hyena
upon the trail of something, will bring every raven
in the vicinity around him to watch his proceedings,
well knowing, as they doubtless do, that these
nocturnal gentry would not be abroad in daylight
unless there were attractions worthy of such out-
of-time exertion. As soon as the raven discovers
the carrion, like a very foolish creature, it begins
to publish to the world its success, when every one
of its species hastens to participate in the banquet.
Before condemning them, however, for doing
this, it would be well to learn if a trade-union does not
exist among these birds. Whether or not such
be the case, the vulture, high aloft, notes this
stir among the sable gentry, and knowing well,
from experience, what it means, closes its wings
and comes to earth with sufficient velocity to
indicate that it does not intend to be the last at the

, CRUEL PUNISHMENT. 141

feast, although uninvited. The extraordinary agility
of this individual vulture strikes all his race within
sight with amazement. Nothing but powerful reasons
could induce their friend to such unaccountable velocity,
they doubtlessly argue within themselves, so they hurry
to learn the cause, and others hur.ry after them, and
they keep coming and continue coming till not enough
meat is left on the carcase, whether it be originally
as large as an elephant or as small as a steinbok, to
bait the tiniest hook to catch a minnow with.

The only occurrence I know resembling the above
scene, is the actions of the members of the legal pro-
fession pouring into .the Law Courts, when there is a
cause celebre on trial, in which both plaintiff and
defendant are reputed to be millionaires.

" Amba ! Amaga ! Trek ! " and almost before the
last word is finished by the driver, his whip swings
round his head, and by a sudden backward turn of
the wrist the lash produces a report as loud as a
gun-shot. Woe, then, to the ox that does not get
his shoulder firmly against the yoke, for an eagle
eye will detect his delinquency, and a skilful hand
punish him with a severity that the uninitiated could
never expect to be possible with a whip. Two more

142

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

long treks over moderately heavy ground brought
us to the expected vley, the water of which we
found in such a filthy state as to be utterly useless
for all human purposes. Nevertheless, the bullocks
drank abundantly and the horses and dogs sparingly,
so we resolved tp make as short a stay in the
vicinity as possible.

Another reason for not delaying our departure
was that the grass in the neighbourhood had been
cropped so closely by the game that there was
scarcely an ox's mouthful to be obtained in an acre.
The edges of a horsepond in a farmyard could not
have been more thoroughly kneaded than were those
of this slough, while the variety of spoor indented
upon its margin was sufficient to warm the heart of
a sportsman, and drive into ecstasy the dabbler in
natural history. Accompanied by my Totties I made
a tour of inspection, but could not detect the slightest
trace of evidence that the king of -beasts had been
in the vicinity. I had almost expected this to be
different, for where the wild game assembles in force,
there His Majesty is almost certain to be found. This
pan of water was surrounded on every side by
dense brush ; thus, without searching for it, we had

CHALLENGED. 143

no chance of learning how close game was to be
found, and as all were too tired from our late
journey, nobody seemed disposed to go forth and
seek for it.

At moon-up we were again " inspanned," and,
soon after starting, the features of the landscape
underwent a complete change, open park-like country
replacing the dense jungle we had so lately passed
through. Sailing over a smooth sea with just suffi-
cient wind to get six or seven knots out of your
craft, galloping over a good grass country on a well-
bred horse up to your weight, are both delightful
sensations ; but neither are more enjoyable than a
trek across the "high veldt" at night, when the
moon is at her full. The temperature at that time
is all that can be desired, while your beasts invariably
appear in such excellent spirits that they impart light-
ness of heart to both master and attendants. On
turning a small -clump of bush that jutted into the
track, we were suddenly brought to a halt by a
native challenging us. This stranger soon after made
his appearance, when, having inspected us and being
satisfied that no danger was to be apprehended from
our party, he gave a low plaintive whistle (in imitation

144- THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

of the night plover), which was rapidly answered by
half-a-dozen similar calls, each coming from a different
direction, and shortly afterwards we were joined by-
six natives. These people, we learned, were an
outpost of a Batlapin chief on his wray to Kooruman
to complain of the repeated thefts of cattle that had
lately been made from his tribe by Massouw's or
Moshette's people. As an advanced guard, advanced
pickets, or for feeling their way through an enemy's
country, there is no race of men in the world more
admirably suited for these purposes. We learned from
them that their chief Bareekie was only a few miles in
our front, so that, after giving our cattle and horses
a rest, we . should be with him soon after sunrise.
Such proved to be the case ; but, early as the hour
was, when we reached his locale he and his counsellors
were already assembled in the kotla of an adjoining
village, discussing affairs of state. Before <c outspan-
ning,1' I sent my driver to report our arrival, and learn
where ; we were to unyoke, a courtesy that never
should be omitted when visiting the residence of
Boer or Bechuana. The outspan that was given
us was close to an abundant supply of water, shaded
with innumerable willows, and altogether presented

SOUPJES OF BRANDEWEIN. 145

as agreeable a coup d'ceil as the most fastidious could
desire.

Breakfast had scarcely been got under weigh
before three persons, in European clothes, approached
us, followed by a tag-rag and bobtail of semi-naked
savages. The centre of these three was his Serene
Highness. On his left was an adjoining chief named
Toto, while the right-hand place was occupied by
Morocco, without exception the best interpreter and
most agreeable — I may say gentlemanly — Bechuana
I ever met. Of course, the usual hand-shaking
accompanied our greeting, which was scarcely over
when a demand was made for a soupje of brandewein.
To this demand I had to comply, for in ' this chiefs
country we intended hunting, and from him obtaining
guides, etc. The object of our visit being explained,
the chief laughed, and through Morocco told us that
perhaps we would get hunted, ourselves, as he had
been a week or two before. On requesting an
explanation, we received the following :

" I started from Honey vley to come here. I had
two wagons and a number of my people with me.
The night was dark and stormy, but that did not
matter, for every one knew the road since he was

L

146

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

a boy. Honey vley is never without lions, but as
long as they don't kill cattle we leave them alone,
for, you see, they furnish many a feed for my bush
people. Soon after sundown we started, but at mid-
night, as we were going through a very stony, rough
piece of kloof, where the brush comes down to the
track, a lion growled in front of us, answered, after a
minute or two, by a roar, and immediately after seven
or eight lions took up the signal, and made such a
row around us that we could scarcely hear each other
speak. We are accustomed to lions, so the drivers
cracked their whips at them, and shouted to them to
be off about their business, while we lighted fire-
brands to throw in their faces ; but before we had
succeeded in doing the last, the oxen wheeled round
sharp, nearly upset the wagons, and refused, in spite
of every exertion, to go on. When this occurred it is
a wonder that there was not a general smash-up ; and
there would have been, but that my drivers were
good men, and the cattle knew them well. Soon we
had fires lighted, but that didn't drive the lions off,
for up till morning they remained around us, roaring
incessantly. The oxen had now become so thoroughly

A MAN-EATER. 147

scared that they refused to go forward, so there was
nothing left for us to do, but to return to Honey vley.
When we got back there, I sent one of my oldest hunters
to tell Toto, chief of the Langberg, how I had been
stopped, and that I would join him in a few days.
In a week my messenger didn't return. This I was
surprised at, for he was known to be the speediest
runner in the tribe. Another day passed without any
tidings of him, so I sent some young men with their
guns to look for him. A short distance beyond where
the wagons had been stopped they found his rifle, a
little further on his bandolier and kaross, and after-
wards some of his bones. The spoor around showed
what had killed him, for no rain had fallen to wash
it out. It is not often that a lion kills a man in this
part of the country, although I have known an old,
worn-out beast, that had got too stiff to catch game,
or too feeble to 'jump' an ox, to take a woman or a
child. No, it is quite an uncommon circumstance in
my country, but when you go up north on the edge of
the desert, west from Secheley's, you look out. It is
only a few days since I came through that kloof, with
a number of my young men with me, all anxious to

L 2

I48

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

kill the brutes that had eaten their comrade, yet
although we searched the hill-sides, we could not
see a sign of them."

This was a long speech for our new friend to
make without getting thirsty, but he made up for the
delay by the size of the drink he took to moisten his
parched lips when he was finished. There is one
thing to be said in his favour, he was exceedingly
liberal with our liquor to his friends : if he should
be so to his attendants with what is his own, he is
doubtlessly considered a jolly good fellow. From the
border warfare then being carried on between these
tribes, ammunition had become exceedingly scarce
amongst them, thus Master Bareekie importuned
us in the most beseeching manner for a trifling
supply, and after much pressing I consented to give
him a couple of pounds of gunpowder, on condition
that he would turn out all his available people to
assist us on the morrow in a grand battue ; further,
that he should lend us a couple of his attendants
to conduct us to the next water, who, in turn, were
to procure us two guides to show us the way to
Honey vley.

CHAPTER XVII.

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR.
Weaver-birds — Pangolin — A Leopard.

IN the afternoon my friend went off to look for
some small buck among the adjoining copjes, while
I took my shot-gun and proceeded up the river in
search of anything edible or curious. If it had
not been the dry season, this locality would have
been very attractive in a botanist's eyes, but then
game would have been scarcer, for water would have
been scattered over the veldt, and not confined to
the one water-course. Thus the time for collecting
specimens of animal life is the least suited for
researches of the scientist in that study.

In my route I came across a very numerous
herd of cattle, on the backs of which were feeding
large numbers of the buffalo weaver-birds (Textor
erythrorhynchus). My presence, or the walking, or

ISO

THE HUNTEi

even running of the beasts did not in the least
seem to alarm them, or prevent them continuing
at their labour, viz., divesting the cattle of the in-
numerable ticks with which they appear ever to
be covered in this part of the world. With the
buffalo they are also upon the same friendly terms,
for not only do they do their best to free him of
vermin, but further watch over him while he sleeps,
and give him ample warning if anything dangerous
approach his resting-place. Many a sportsman,
through the officiousness of this meddlesome bird,
has had his stalk destroyed ; so doubtless angry
language that has been hurled at it has been frequent
and explicit. However, in spite of this disagree-
able proclivity it must do a great amount of good,
so is well deserving of pardon. These finches build
in communities, the giraffe-acacia being usually the
tree it selects, which is reported to die soon after
being so utilised. The nests consist of an immense
amount of twigs, ten times as many as would be
supposed necessary for their purpose, and the whole
is so firmly woven together as to render it a difficult
matter to pull it apart. The entrance into their
nursery is most skilfully fashioned, and would repel

NAM A QUA DOVE. 151

the approach of anything larger than the smallest
of snakes.

Another charming bird to be found abundant in
this vicinity is the Namaqua dove (Columba capensis).
It is very little larger than a canary, and is possessed
of all the warm, soft, blended plumage of its species,
with the exception of the black ring round its neck,
which, is larger and more distinct. The nest of this
dove differs from that of its congeners, for it is very
neatly put together, the fork of the limbs of a low bush
being generally selected for its resting-place, and the
eggs, which are semi-transparent, have a delicate pink
tint; in fact, they are exactly such as would be
expected to be produced by such a little darling.

Bareekie, the chief, had given me a youth as an
attendant. His sharp eyes found me this dove's nest,
but he was consulting his own interests, not mine,
when he did so ; for, before I became aware what the
urchin was prying about, he had swallowed one egg,
and was about to repeat the experiment on the
other. However, I was in time to thwart his little
game.

This youth was, or nearly so, a full-bred bushman,
and had without exception the most repulsive figure

152

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

possible to imagine, for his limbs were no thicker
than broomsticks ; yet his stomach protruded to an
extent quite impossible to be imagined by a person
not acquainted with the race. On the other hand, the
little imp had a bright, merry eye, with a mouth that
appeared destined for constant laughter. He was, I
should think, about twelve years of age ; his manner
and intelligence said that he could not be less ; still,
I doubt if he exceeded four feet in height.

A species of iguana is very common in nearly
all parts of South Africa, some of which grow to a
considerable size. One of these brutes I spied in
the river bed. Its attitude indicated that it was
alarmed, and that it would be off into the reeds in
another moment, so I fired a barrel at it. The shot
was not deadly, but the reverse, for it seemed to put
new life into the creature ; for, with a spring in the air
and a couple of summersaults, it gained the water,
which it soon lashed into a strong resemblance of
soap-suds. I would now have given the stricken
creature another barrel, and probably so ended matters,
but that my retriever, my black boy, had not been
taught to down charge, so rushed after the prey,
directly in my line of fire. This tadpole of a creature

. A HARD STRUGGLE. 153

could run, too. There was no mistake in the rapidity
with which he got over the ground ; for, in a moment
after, he had the iguana by the tail, and although
the water was up beyond his waist and the prey
struggled most violently, once he had got his grip,
like a bulldog he was resolved to keep it. That
this youngster was accustomed to such emergencies
was evident, for the knobkerrie which he had
previously carried in his hand was now between his
teeth, for well he knew that the first step to secure the
brute was to get it out of the water, to do which
required both hands. Moreover, while the wounded
beast was floundering around and trying to dive
I doubt much whether the youth could have handled
his club effectively.

The iguana, which was over four feet long and
very solidly made, appeared to be gifted with
additional strength when it beheld its assailant,
and tremendous were the efforts that it made to
free itself ; but such tactics were unavailing and
were relinquished, but not with the intention of
resigning to fate. No, not a bit of it. Thus,
instead of trying to get free, it endeavoured to
turn upon its assailant, exhibiting at the same time

154 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

a most formidable mouth, but it never could reach
the object it desired, for the boy, with a dexterous
and powerful shake, forced it to straighten itself.
I had little fear now who was to be victor. Step
by step the young imp of darkness drew his prey
on to the bank some feet clear of the water, then,
with rapidity equal to a conjurer's, took his knob-
kerrie in his right hand from his mouth, and with
it showered such blows upon the amphibian as
caused it to cease from troubling. I should like to
have taken that boy with me ; plenty of good food
would have soon made wonderful and improving
alterations in him. Although I pointed all this out
to his chief, he would neither lend nor hire him to
me. With such an addition* my manage would have
been perfect.

On a sandbank further up stream I found the spoor
of a leopard. It had probably been made about sun-
rise. From the numerous small rocky copjes in the
vicinity, I should not be surprised to find that these
gentry were abundant hereabouts. On pointing out
this spoor to the small boy, it was too good a treat
for one man alone to be witness of the pantomimic
actions he employed to endeavour to explain to me

A SCALY ANT-EATER. 155

what had made it. It was simply perfect even in
the minutest details.

On my way home I got several shots at Hot-
tentot teal, and two barrels into, not the brown,
but the gray of a dense flock of guinea fowl, the
result of which was that both myself and atten-
dant were pretty well loaded before getting to the
wagons.

Having told Morocco in the morning that I
should like to purchase any queer animal that the
natives had, more especially a young baboon or
small gray monkey, I found, waiting anxiously my
return, a crowd, but none possessed anything worth
having, if I except a pangolin, or scaly ant-eater.
At one period these extraordinary animals were
common enough all over South Africa, but of late
years they have become scarcer ; this is the more
to be regretted as they are great destroyers of that
insect pest of the country, ants. However, the black
people have found out that they are a bonne bouche ;
thus they wage a constant war upon them, as they
do against the aard-vark. The body of the pangolin
is covered with large scales, not unlike the divisions
of a fir - cone, and lap over each other with the

1 56 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

greatest precision. When attacked, it rolls itself up
after the manner of a hedgehog, in which formation
it is able to defy even the formidable jaws of the
hyena. But the Bushman, or Bechuana, armed with
his assegai, cannot thus be thwarted ; for, rolling
.the unfortunate creature over till the opening is
discovered where the tail laps over the head, he
inserts into it his weapon till a vital part is reached.
The mode of progression of this animal is very
novel, for, instead of walking on the soles of its
feet, it only uses the outer sides, keeping the claws
turned in.

After supper, while endeavouring to get my new
.pet to unroll himself and permit me to cultivate his
acquaintance, we were disturbed by a tremendous
hullabaloo from the vicinity of the adjoining cattle
kraal, women and children yelling and men shout-
ing, while a number of Bechuanas sitting around my
camp fire enjoying the edifying conversation and
tobacco of my Hottentots, seized brands and rushed
off in the direction of the disturbance. One of my
people called to me that a hyena had got into the
kraal amongst the goats, so, picking up my handiest

A NIGHT PROWLER. 157

gun, which, as chance would have it, was a smooth-
bore loaded with buckshot, I rushed round to the
further side of the enclosure, with just a hope
that the intruder would attempt to make his exit
there.

Although the moon was up, the light was ex-
ceedingly bad, for the heavens surrounding it were
covered with a dense mass of flakey white clouds,
such as we should designate in England a mackerel
sky, thus it was anything but desirable for shoot-
ing. Night shooting at all times is uncertain, but
under such circumstances it is particularly so. What
between the cursing of the men, the shrill screech-
ing of the women, the crying of children and the
bleating of goats, such a pandemonium of sounds is
seldom heard, so it would be a brave wild animal
indeed that did not get out of the vicinity as
soon as possible. I was standing at a corner of
the fence that composed the kraal ; it was made
of branches of the prickly mimosa, piled stiff and
solidly to the height of six feet, from the bottom
of which I concluded that the hyena must have
torn out a passage or undermined an entrance. In

158 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

consequence I kept my eyes fixed on a parallel
line, eighteen inches or more above the surface of
the soil. To do this I was forced to stoop, with
one knee upon the ground. I had not been more
than a few seconds in this position when almost
directly over my head passed what appeared a
shadow ; the light at the instant was better than
it had been, enabling me at once to see that the
marauder was a leopard, and not the animal sus-
pected. Springing to my feet, I fired both barrels
where I deemed the big cat should be, but I had
little anticipation of a successful result. The only
thing that struck me as strange was that as soon
as my shots were delivered I heard the thief utter
his well-known barking grunt, which ultimately be-
came fainter and fainter as he approached nearer
to the adjoining copjes. That he had dropped his
prey, if he had succeeded in making a capture, was
certain ; for, with his mouth full, it would have
been impossible for him to make this noise. At
this conjuncture I was joined by a number of the
natives, who asserted that the beast was hit. My
opinion, however, was the reverse, for such a result

TWO SNAP SHOTS. 159

could only have been a mere chance. Firebrands
were nevertheless brought, and a search made to
see if blood could be found. In this we were
successful, but it was only from the carcase of a kid
about two or three weeks old, and, consequently,
little larger than a well-grown hare.

The unexpected reception the big cat had re-
ceived at such close quarters had doubtless alarmed
him, so in his fright he had dropped his prey.
This animal was well known by the natives, as he
had been in the habit of paying that identical kraal
a weekly visit for some months, and having always
succeeded in effecting his purpose without interrup-
tion, no doubt a couple of heavy charges of buck-
shot whistling about him in close proximity, so
startled him as to cause him to forget the object
he had in view, and thus drop the prey he had
secured. Daylight revealed nothing to justify the
supposition that the leopard had been hit — scarcely
a flattering tribute to my skill in marksmanship.
To miss a beast of that size at, say, twenty or
twenty-five yards, with a couple of charges of buck-
shot— even with such uncertain light — was indeed.

i6o

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

bad shooting ; so, as the reader may imagine, my
friend " Chummy7' thought proper to chaff me, not
once, but half-a-clozen times during the next day
or two.

CHAPTER XVIII.

GOOD SPORT.
Klipspringers — Aard-vark.

I AM a great believer in the efficacy of a charge of
buckshot at close quarters, but twenty-five yards is
nearly double what should be considered that
distance ; so that it is far from certain whether I
was justified in discharging both barrels of my gun
at this formidable animal, more especially as my aim,
through the defective light, must have been anything
but certain. However, I did so, and probably should
do so again under similar circumstances. But I do

o

not make this assertion with a view of inducing
others to do likewise, for old hands are known to
take liberties which would be condemned as un-
pardonable in younger votaries of the chase.

I can well imagine any old Indian sportsman,
whose eyes may chance to read these experiences,

M

1 62

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

growling audibly at any one being barbarous enough
to shoot at a leopard with buckshot, and to be
brazen enough to tell of the exploit afterwards ; but
then he must remember under what circumstances
the affair took place. India has unquestionably
produced many of the finest " all-round sportsmen "
known, but in some points I think they display an
excess of punctiliousness as to the mode in which
field sports should be conducted, and the above might
possibly be a case to which they would take exception.
For my own part, when in search of dangerous
animals, I think a man is perfectly justified in using
what missiles he deems to be the most certain to
guarantee success ; and certainly the effect of a
charge of buckshot out of a ten-bore gun, with five
drachms of powder behind it, at ten to fifteen paces,
is most terrible. It is generally acknowledged in
Africa that there is no animal so dangerous and
difficult to stop as the buffalo (Bos caffir). In this
I entirely agree ; yet I have known a charge of
buckshot, at short range, save a hunter's life, and
bag the assailant. It occurred in this way. I and
some acquaintances had gone down from the
Transvaal gold-fields to a district of country situate

A COW BUFFALO. 163

about sixty miles north and east from our starting-
place. Large game was then very abundant in that
locality, particularly impala. One of our party, a
German, shot fairly with loopers (buckshot), but very
indifferently with ball, so naturally he preferred using
the former when possible. Shortly before sun-down
he fired at an impala* which was crossing him, knocked
it over, but in a moment after it was on its feet and
gained some dense brush skirting a watercourse.
Believing that the stricken game could not go far,
he called off a couple of Kaffirs from the beaters
and went in pursuit. When within twenty yards
of the edge of the jungle, he heard the noise of
some large animal rushing through it. The German
was not aware of what was coming, but the natives
were, so they bolted right and left for the nearest
accessible tree. My friend was not kept long in doubt
of what had caused the alarm, for out of the brush
rushed a cow buffalo, head and tail in the air, which
charged for him. When she was only a few paces off,
and before she had lowered her head to use her horns,
he gave her his first barrel into the top of her breast.
This reception made the infuriated beast alter her

* A large bush bok.

M 2

164

THE HUNTER'' S ARCADIA.

course to the left, when she got the second barrel close
behind the point of the shoulder ; a heavy lurch
and powerful effort to keep her legs followed, which
was so far successful that the wounded animal
succeeded in regaining her original shelter.

It is most dangerous at any time to follow a
wounded buffalo into thick cover, more especially
for white men to do so, as their clothing militates
against their activity, and marks them out as a special
object of attack. Although we all knew this, and
our friend was equally well informed, to follow up his
game he was determined upon ; so with two of the
Kaffirs he took up the spoor. However, they had
not to go far before they found the prey, dead, and
a calf only a day or two old by the carcase. I mention
this as a proof of what loopers can do at short range
when used by a person who has nerve to withhold
his fire till the quarry is but a short distance from him,
not as a recommendation for their employment. At
the same time, let those who choose to use them do
so, but let me have the bullet ; for it is certainly a far
more sportsmanlike missile, and can be successfully
used at distances where the other would be perfectly
useless.

A NAKED CREW. 165

To our no small astonishment, we discovered,
when about to start for our grand battue, that
Bareekie, Toto, and Morocco had departed at a late
hour on the previous night for the south. This
news was rather a damper to our ardour ; but it
was short-lived, for soon we learned that the
worthy potentate had been as good as his word, so
that already a great number of his liege subjects
were assembled to give us the benefit of their
assistance in the field. The less we say about the
clothing of this levy the better, for, with the exception
of a few of the head men, the others were without
even the familiar kaross. As a rule, they were all
fine specimens of the genus homo, upright, active,
and well-formed, and evidently they looked forward
with more than ordinary delight to a promise of
sport. A few of these warriors carried assegais, but
all were armed with the formidable knobkerrie,
guns, of which the tribe possessed a considerable
number, being conspicuous by their absence.

Beaters at home are generally a very awkward
squad, difficult to get into their places, and infinitely
more difficult to keep there ; but not so with these
people, who had evidently been trained to their

1 66 THE

work, and knew perfectly how to do it. As we did
not intend commencing operations until we reached
some flats five or six miles off, my chum and I rode,
and although we kept our nags at a pretty sharp
pace, when we reached our destination there were
neither " bellows to mend " nor stragglers among the
crowd, which must have numbered upwards of a
hundred persons.

Where we began business was just such a place
as the most fastidious would have pronounced emi-
nently suited for our purpose : a large extent of
open grass land, with clumps of an acre or more
of short brush closely scattered over it. The forma-
tion adopted was that familiar to all acquainted with
the tactics of Zulus when on the war-path, viz., about
a third of a circle, the extremities of which projected
more than a hundred yards in advance of their centre.
My friend and myself being armed with rifles, and
consequently able to kill game at greater distance
than our sable attendants, each took a flank.
Scarcely had we broken ground, when the sport
commenced to be fast and furious. Still, not a word
was spoken, the only sound audible being the
whistling of the knobkerries through the air. This

THE BATTUE. 167

beat was about two miles in length, during which
I only obtained five shots, my friend six, out of
which we bagged six small buck, the natives, with
their primitive weapons, killing a similar number,
besides numerous partridges, hares, and sand grouse.
From thence we proceeded to a kloof, or ravine,
between two extensive copjes. This was covered
with tolerably stiff brush, and promised remarkably
well ; for, as we approached it, we not only saw a
number of springbok, but a magnificent bull koodoo
(whose horns would have been a fitting decoration
for any nobleman's hall) bid us good-bye over an
adjoining ridge. That our attendants thoroughly
understood what they were about was amply proved
by the careful and sportsmanlike manner in which
they conducted the campaign. Having placed us
each on the summit of some loose rocks that guarded
the pass, only our servants remaining with their
respective masters, the entire posse made a detour
round one of the copjes, which brought them to the
head of the ravine, the wind being at their backs,
which would thus enable them to drive the game
before them, and therefore right up to our position,
we being to leeward.

1 68 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Having some time to wait, I lit my pipe an<
took a quiet survey of the surroundings. They
were indeed charming, the trees and grass being
abundant and green from the dampness of the
situation, while the rocks and boulders that over-
looked the expanse of this miniature valley were
of that soft reddish tinge that never fails to give
a mellow, warm tint to the landscape. In the
sky, with the exception of a few fleecy fragments,
there was not what could properly be designated
a cloud, and the sun, though bright, had not yet
become sufficiently powerful to be objectionable.
Moreover, there was just sufficient breeze stealing
down the kloof to make outdoor exercise attractive.
After being occupied for a quarter of an hour, or
thereabouts, inhaling into my soul the beauties
of the scene that surrounded me, and appreciating
the enjoyable circumstances under which I witnessed
them, I heard the preconcerted signal which was
to announce that the beat had commenced ; so
forthwith my pipe went into my pocket, and all
the attention of myself and boys was devoted to
the object of our vigil.

Wild animals become wonderfully soon aware

A PLUCKY BUCK. 169

when man intrudes into their haunts, particularly
when he comes between the wind and their nobility ;
the result was that before the beaters had been
many minutes engaged in their occupation, the rocky
cliffs that overhung the ravine, which previously ap-
peared devoid of animal life, were now teeming with it.
I saw several parties of klipspringers (Oreotragus
saltatrix) going up the sides of the rocks and
making a passage for themselves through and over
such obstacles in their way that no other animal, if
the chamois be excepted, could accomplish. The
klipspringer is a sturdy little buck, robust and
powerful in form, with a short and broad forehead,
very tiny muzzle, and seldom exceeds twenty-two
inches in height at the shoulder. The horns,
which are little longer than a good-sized darning-
needle, strike the sportsman as very absurd weapons
of offence or defence ; but let the stranger corner
one of them that has been wounded, and if he have
an empty gun in his hand and be not gifted with
wonderful agility, he will most assuredly wish himself
out of that locality, for the klipspringer can use its tiny
prongs with such effect that it has been known fre-
quently to beat off the tiger-cat, and, rumour says, even

i?o THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

the leopard. The back of the klipspringer, which is of
an olive-brown colour, gradually becomes lighter down
the flank till the stomach is reached, when the
colour is of an ashy gray, the whole so wonderfully
blending with the surroundings of its habitat that
it requires the most experienced eye to detect this
antelope among the rocks. I was most anxious to
get two of these buck, as their hair, which is brittle
and twisted, makes incomparably the best stuffing
for a saddle that can anywhere be obtained. On
such an occasion as the present I did not expect
to succeed in my desire, for these beauties will not
be driven, but invariably break off to the right or
left flank. Scarcely had the klipspringers made their
appearance, when numerous families of baboons
followed their example and took to the rocks, the
females, with their young, leading the way, the old
males bringing up the rear, their extraordinary
instinct telling them that that was the place of
danger. I acknowledge that baboons are far from
pretty animals, yet they have some wonderfully
good points in their characters, the most marked
of which is the pluck and determination with which
they will meet any foe that attempts to molest

A HOT CORNER. 171

either the juveniles or ladies of their families. I
confess, too, that I possess a great liking for baboons,
and thus I was probably paying more attention to
them than circumstances justified me in doing,
when my boy touched * my elbow and pointed
downwards to the open space in front of my position ;
but he was too late in calling my attention, for I had
only sufficient time to see a steinbok go full pelt
out of range, and two duikers dive into the brush
that margined the watercourse. However, these
were only the advance guard of a numerous contingent
that was to follow. My friend, who was opposite,
and about 150 yards from my post, now commenced
shooting, and for some minutes his fusillade was
equal to that enjoyed among the pheasants when
the gunner is placed in the familiar "hot corner."
However, my turn had come, so for the time being
I will treat of my own performances.

A brace of steinbok showed themselves, and
seemed to hesitate for a moment whether they would
make a run for it ; at length they mustered up
courage, and the two beauties started across the
open at racing pace. I give each a barrel, the first
dropping the game in its tracks, the second bringing

172

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

the quarry to the ground, which as rapidly recovi
itself, and was immediately afterwards lost to view.

Next an old buck duiker thrust out his head
from under a bush, stuck his nose into the air, sniffed
for a minute, and not being quite satisfied, wheeled
round rapidly and disappeared in the direction from
whence he had come. But the beaters were now
within 200 yards of his position, so he had no alter-
native but to face them or the space commanded by
my rifle. The latter course he selected, so with
cautious, mincing step he came forth and revealed
himself. This hesitation sealed his doom, for in a
moment afterwards I sent an Express bullet through
his shoulder. The game now came faster than I
could load for, hares, partridges, and guinea-fowl
being abundantly interspersed with buck. The first
three mentioned I allowed to go scatheless, for the
simple reason that I had no other alternative, my
weapon being entirely unsuited for such small fry.
However, I brought down a brace more steinbok
and another duiker, making more misses than hits.
By this time the Kaffirs were near the end of the
covert, when out bounded a large caracal (Felis
carafal], which " Chummy" and self both shot at, and

A STRANGE BEAST. 173

he finally stopped with his last barrel. Next came
a venerable vlakke-vark {Phacochcerus Africanus],
sometimes called warts hog, which instantly got
greeted with both barrels, either of which, I believe,
should have stopped him ; but no, nothing of- the
kind. These old boars have as much vitality in
them as the proverbial cat with nine lives. From
the waddle in his gait I knew he would not travel
far ; still, he might require a lot of shooting before
he made pork. The beaters were by this time almost
out of covert, and I had already risen from my post
to descend into the hollow, when out came a rum
one — the strangest-looking beast in figure and action
that mortal man ever looked at. But for its solidity
and heaviness of carcase it might almost be said to
trundle along like a hoop, deviating neither to the right
nor the left, but going steadily straight on end, with that
persistent air that would, doubtless, take it through a
barn cloor, or any similar obstacle that should be in
its way. The right barrel hit it hard, the left one
did ditto, and still the brute went forward with an air
of " what's the odds as long as you are happy ? " My
companion, who, in the meantime, had approached,
took a shot at short range, and the uncouth brute

174 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

surrendered life without a struggle. This animal is
the aard-vark, or great ant-eater, which is always
regarded as strictly nocturnal in its habits, and,
therefore, creates no small amount of wonderment
in the minds of both, as to what should be the
reason that he is not at home in his burrow when
the sun is so high in the heavens. A close exami-
nation of the carcase told the story. In his snout
were found several punctures, in one of which
adhered a porcupine's quill. This was sufficient for
the beaters ; that one spine in a moment told them
the whole tale, for with the habits of the animals
of their own country they are as conversant as
School Board children are with their alphabet. One
of the head men therefore explained to me that,
while the aard-vark was abroad last night seeking
for his food, a porcupine had taken possession of
his home, and, instead of turning out, as an intruder
of an honest turn of mind should have done when
the legitimate proprietor returned, refused to vacate
the warm nest he had stolen into, thus proving that
there are other animals than human ones which
consider possession nine points of the law.

Thus the poor aard-vark had to sleep where he

AN INTRUDER. 175

could, till the porcupine got hungry and had to
come forth to satisfy his appetite, when the legal
proprietor would be able to re-establish himself in
his own domicile.

This is a painful story, for it teaches that there
are rogues among beasts as there are among men,
and most unmitigated scoundrels, too ; for here is
an instance of an honest ant-eater returning to his
home to find it occupied, and a spine as large as a
goose's quill stuck in his nose because he remon-
strated ; but the mischief does not terminate here,
for the porcupine having abdicated, and the original
possessor being re-established, it is more than doubtful
if he dare go abroad that night to get his dinner,
and so had to go hungry to bed, for the reason
that if he did so, on his return he might again
find his lares and penates in the possession of the
stranger.

CHAPTER XIX.

UNKIND TREATMENT.
Attacked by a Vlakke-vark — Wait-a-bit Thorn.

I HAVE heard it said that " men are often unjust
to one another,' women always so," but I am certain
they cannot be more so than the porcupine is to
the aard-vark. Moreover, but for the presumption
and barefaced cheek of the prickly, irascible animal
in question, the poor creature he had so summarily
turned from his home would be like " he who runs
away, lives to fight another day," and be now alive.
The aard-vark possesses extraordinary power in its
muscles and claws ; its fore-arms have but to be
examined to prove that this is the case ; but even
that proof becomes doubly convincing when the
ant-hills that it demolishes are examined. In portions
of South Africa, more particularly in the Orange
Free State, Southern Transvaal and parts of Natal

ANT-EATERS.

177

and Zululand, ant-hills will be found all over the
country, frequently not as much as fifty yards apart.
These structures in this part of the country are often
quite three feet high, with a diameter at their base
of seven or eight feet ; and so hard are they that it
is not uncommon for a lightly loaded wagon to pass
over them without breaking their surface : but this
ant-eater in ten minutes' labour will make a hole in
them large enough to bury an ordinary terrier in.
When the retreats of the insect inhabitants are thus
laid bare, their enemy places his long and slimy
tongue over the principal thoroughfares, and when
that member is covered with prey the mass of life
is drawn in and rapidly devoured.

The flesh of this ant-eater is exceedingly good
eating, resembling young pork in both appearance and
taste, and is consequently eagerly sought after by the
Bechuanas ; for that reason, if for no other, it deserves
a place among the game of their habitat.

Of one thing I would warn the inexperienced :
handle it and the pangolin, when dead, as little as
possible until they have been scalded, or submitted
to a good singeing, for they both possess innumer-
able parasites, which have the bad, or good taste,

N

i;8 THE

to attach themselves to the human family when
opportunity offers, and are as difficult to get rid
of as they are easy to acquire.

A hot bath, in which plenty of carbolic soap
has been dissolved, will cure this evil, so the traveller
will know what to make use of to free himself from
these irritating pests, if at any time he should have
to handle these curiosities of the animal creation (not
the insects), with a desire to bring one or other of
them alive to his native land.

The aard-vark we had killed measured (of course
including tail) nearly seven feet in length, and when
it was slung upon a pole for transportation to camp it
was quite a load for two able-bodied Bakalihari.
Although this animal is remarkably timid, and thus
seldom seen, if it should be intercepted in retreat
to its earth, or taken by surprise, and so compelled
to defend itself, it will do so most gallantly, against
any odds. Woe betide the cur then, that thought-
lessly places itself within reach of its formidable claws,
for they have quite as much the power of cutting
as have the tusks of a wild boar.

Having seen the ant-eater forwarded to camp,
" Chummy" and self, with three of the natives, started

DA HA. 179

to hunt up the steinbuck that had been wounded
early in the drive, as we belteved it could not go
far, reserving the death of the hog for a later per-
formance. The bush we found a tolerably thick
tangle of dwarf shrubs, interspersed with a good
many trees, few of which exceeded twenty feet in
height ; and but for the numerous runs, or game-
paths, we should have found what we had under-
taken, viz., threading this maze, no easy task, more
especially as "wait-a-bit" thorns formed no inconsider-
able portion of the impediments. A patriarchal gray-
beard of the tribe, as spoorer, led the way ; his two
sons, great, powerful, mature men, brought up the rear.
For this service I had promised the family the entire
carcase, for, without doing so, they would not have
now aided us ; for already the rest of the party
were smoking their loved daha (keef of the Moors, a
description of wild hemp),* and so expressed dis-
inclination for further exercise, on the plea that an
abundance of animal food had been already obtained.

* I would call the attention of readers to this strange and in-
teresting fact, viz., the inhabitants of the extreme North and South
of Africa use in the same manner this weed, a proof, I think, that at
some period they must have had intercourse with each other.

N 2

i So

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Such conduct is the greatest obstacle to sport
in this country. It matters not how well you pay
these worthies, like the lower classes of Irish, work
they will not, unless upon an empty stomach. How-
ever, there is one fortunate weakness they possess,
which obviates this difficulty : whenever they obtain
the wherewithal to gormandise, they will not cease
gorging till all is finished, when labour must follow
to obtain a fresh supply.

Well ! grand Seigneur Graybeard led the way, we
following close behind, anxiously and attentively
watching every movement of the old man's hands,
and expecting momentarily an indication that our
services were required in the front, when, mirabilc
dictu, the aged warrior sprang at least four feet in
the air. ' I saw something big and grizzly between
his legs, and at once comprehended that, instead
of being the assailants, we had been attacked, and
that the enemy was a vlakke-vark. Shoot, under the
circumstances, I could not, without endangering the
old man's life, so I sprang on one side, and, as luck
would have it, into a perfect tangle of wait-a-bit
thorns. It was fortunate that I was not at the
moment asked to go further, for that I could not

TABLEAU. 181

have done, being as thoroughly tied up by these
confounded creepers as ever was one of the Daven-
port brothers supposed to be, when knotted up by
a knowing old "salt." Convinced that the clanger
was over, and that the hog had passed on, I slewed
myself round to find how it had fared with
u Chummy." I was scarcely in a laughing humour
at the time, for I deemed that I had had a very
narrow escape from getting ripped ; still, I could not
suppress a giggle on witnessing what I saw, for my
friend was hanging by his hands to a bough, with
his knees as near to his chin as his knowledge of
gymnastics enabled him to bring them, while his
countenance bore an expression of extreme disgust
at being forced into the performance of such violent
exercise, and by compulsion occupying such an un-
dignified position. Beyond my companion, but near
at hand, was one of the darkies, perched on the top
of a big bush, and, further on, the other one, fleeing,
evidently in search of a similar sanctuary. Tableau :
Five good men and true routed by a wartz-hog.

" Why didn't you shoot him ? " exclaimed Chummy
to me, as he straightened himself, and then dropped to
the ground.

1 82 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

" Because I thought I might hit the old man.
Why didn't you ? "

" Because I thought I'd hit you."

So we both laughed over the absurdity of the
whole affair, and at the beaters' discomfiture, and
there and then pitched into them, like considerate
white men, for their want of pluck and the facility
with which they could be put to flight.

It was well for all parties that this vlakke-vark was
the one that had been so severely wounded a short
time previously. If such had not been the case, I have
little doubt that some of us would have had to indent
heavily on the medicine chest for diachylon plaster.
But I am going the pace too fast, for I am still bound
literally "neck and crop" with the wait-a-bits, and no
easy matter had I to release myself; in fact, I almost
doubt whether I could have done so but for the
assistance of my hunting-knife, for the moment you
move to disengage yourself from the thorns of one
tendril those of another are sure to lay hold of you.

The wait-a-bit, or wacht-an-beckee of the Boers,
deserves a word of notice, for its name occurs in every
book of travel that treats of South Africa. It is a
long, thin, green climber, belonging to the acacia

NATURE'S BEAUTIES. 183

family, the tendrils of which are frequently no thicker
than ordinary whipcord, and not unfrequently extend
many yards from the roots. Every six or eight
inches, and close to where the leaves are thrown out,
are to be found two thorns, the upper one straight, the
lower one curved like a fish-hook. This arrangement
is formidable enough, in all conscience ; but the same
diabolical combination exists on the other side of the
tendril, which, by the way, is as tough to break as a
piece of salmon gut. Thus, if you happen to be caught
by the thorns on one side and you pull against them,
those on the reverse side will turn round and assist
their brethren. So the more you haul, pull, and
especially jerk yourself to get free, the firmer will you
become bound.

" All's well that ends well." Nobody being injured,
we continued our search for the steinbuck, which, in a
short distance, we found lying across the path, dead.
These little beauties are certainly the perfection of
form and shape. I never kill them without regret ;
but justify my conduct in doing so with the belief, that
they were intended for man's food, and so resolve
that to no other purpose shall their bodies be
applied.

1 84

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

However, we have to settle accounts with the
vlakke-vark, and that promptly, if for no other reason
than to provide a solatium to the wounded pride of all
our party. We therefore return to the idle beaters to
obtain their co-operation, as well as the service of a
couple of curs that were with them.

These people are natural orators. " The aged
one," with fluency, fire, and grand declamatory action,
described what had taken place. He showed most
graphically to the audience how he had jumped into
the air, how I had got tied up, how " Chummy " hung
from a branch, how one of his sons had got on to a
bush and the other one bolted, and as he came to
each different scene of the narrative, he pointed out
the persons that had played the principal part in
their respective roles, and then appealed to his audi-
ence for aid. This oratorical effort had the desired
result, for the response was an offer of service from
at least a dozen stalwart volunteers.

CHAPTER XX.

UNATTRACTIVE MORTALITY.
The Vlakke-varke's Home— Game to the Last— Ugly Imps.

Two miserable starved dogs accompanied the rein-
forcement, and we, of course, went to see the fun
which was confidently expected, as the dusky hunters
were armed solely with assegais.

The wild boar has been speared on foot in India,
I am aware, but such instances are so few and wide
apart, that the rencontre is marked down in the sports-
man's memory as an event always to be remembered.
But in South Africa, to kill either the bosch-varke
or vlakke-varke with the assegai is almost a daily
occurrence. An Indian shikari will smile with derision
when I compare, in a sporting sense, the representa-
tives of the pig race in both continents. " Every crow
thinks its own young one the whitest." I know both
animals well, and I unhesitatingly say that African

1 85

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

hogs are quite as dangerous as those of India, being
equal in speed, activity, and courage. The reason
it has not been made a practice by Europeans in
Africa to ride down and spear these animals, doubt-
less is, that they are seldom found in galloping ground;
and, further, when they are hard pressed, they go to
earth. To see these beasts do this last perform-
ance is wonderful. The brute, when pursued, rushes
to its burrow, on reaching v/hich, without an appa-
rent halt, it turns round, as if on a pivot, and
backs into the ground. I believe, and have been
told, that unless it did this, it would be unable to
turn round to come out again, on account of its
rotundity of figure ; and as the holes they take
shelter in are apparently small for the purpose to
which they are devoted, the above supposition has
evidently good grounds for being accepted as correct.

The burrows occupied by the vlakke-vark are not
of their own construction, but made by the ant-eater
originally, though probably enlarged by the new tenant,
for in these earths the sows produce their young,
rear them, and ultimately remain there domiciled, until
the family gets broken up by the course of events.

On account of the hardness of the surface of the

EXCITING WORK. 187

various game-paths that ran through the bush, we
were a long time before we could discover the spoor
of our late enemy, and when we did the curs refused
to acknowledge it, possibly on account of the dryness
of the soil and the heat of the day, which had already
become quite overpowering. Nevertheless, the beaters
indefatigably continued their search, doubtless seeing
in futuram the prospect of grilled pork- chops —
savoury morsels, I can assure the reader, when
cooked over a clear wood fire. The skill of these
men in tracking game I have previously noticed as
something wonderful, far surpassing Indian red man
or Oriental chicaree, and in this instance they afforded
us -a specimen of their superlative talent.

The examination of the surface of the ground,
finally led us to the almost dry river-bed ; on its
margin was a mud-bank, without water flowing over
it, but still damp ; its surface told the tale, as plain
as words could speak it or pen write it, viz. that
Master Piggy had passed that way. The spoor was
irregular in line and of unequal depth, showing but
too truly that the poor beast was hard stricken.
Following this for a hundred yards, it left the river
bed, and here the curs for the first time commenced

1 88

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

to show that they took some interest in our occupa-
tion, for both, after nosing about as if their curiosity
had been excited, went to the front and disappeared
into the adjacent covert. Tracking here became
impossible, so there was nothing for it but to wait
for the dogs to give indication that they had found
the game, which every one of the natives, judging
from the expectant expression of their countenances,
confidently hoped they would do.

In a few minutes a whimper was heard, soon after
several, and then the curs opened up a chorus in grand
style. At this signal off went the darkies to their
dogs as fast as their legs could carry them, heed-
less alike of brush and thorn. I never pretended to
be much of a runner myself, so soon was out of the
crowd; but " Chummy," who deems himself " some
pumpkins " in this description of manly exercise,
nevertheless did not get so far in front of me as to
prevent my availing myself of the openings made
through the bush by his stalwart figure. It was
desperately hot work, and in consequence I was
perfectly bathed in perspiration, and my eyes almost
blinded with sweat ; still I pushed forward, deter-
mined, if possible, to see or assist at the death of
the plucky old boar.

A LUCKY THRUST. 189

The noise of the rapid advance of the natives, the
incessant yelping of the curs around the quarry, and
not improbably the effect of the wound the beast had
received, had made him take shelter in a hollow, under-
mined out of the bank by the wash of the stream, in
some former flood. The space around the shelter he
had selected was clear from undergrowth, but some in-
tervening earth which had fallen from the overhanging
bank entirely prevented myself or my friend obtaining
a shot. The natives shouted to their dogs to en-
courage them, but were extremely guarded at first in
exposing themselves to a possible attack ; delay, how-
ever, appeared to increase their confidence, so, closer
and closer they approached the game's hiding-place.
At length delay made them reckless, under the im-
pression, possibly, that the hog was by this time so
stiffened by his wound as to be incapable of becoming
the aggressor ; but they had calculated without their
host. A powerful young man, whom I had noticed
in the morning take a most active part among the
beaters, now came to the front, and, assegai in hand,
walked directly up to the entrance of the hollow where
the pig was supposed to be. Supposed to be ! Phew !
there was no longer supposition, for out he came like
a dart, every bristle erect, and vindictive hate flashing

1 9o THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

from his pigmy eyes, but not too quick for the native
to deliver his weapon, turn on his heel, and spring
out of the way. The impetus of the boar carried him
at least twenty yards before he pulled up ; and this
halt, I am disposed to think, was forced upon him
through the shaft of the assegai catching on the
ground, and thus driving the head of the spear
farther into his carcase. Poor wretch, it was easy to
see that his days were numbered, but, game to the
last, he turned his head and bit off the stem of the
cruel blade close to his now heaving side. That
movement was his death-warrant ; every one of his
destroyers in an instant drew round him, and neither
knowing where to fly, nor whom to attack first, the
gallant beast fell, pierced by nearly a dozen weapons.
Of course, both my friend and myself had abun-
dant opportunities in which to have used our rifles ;
but to see a wild boar speared on foot is not a sight
to be witnessed by a white man every day. So we
desisted, and right manfully and skilfully did his
attackers perform their work. No doubt many will
say, who chance to read this, had not the boar been
wounded, such a successful issue would not have been
obtained. In this I cannot agree, for the quarry came

UNATTRACTIVE HUMANITY. 191

forth apparently as fresh and anxious for the encounter
as any animal could have done ; so in my belief an
unwounded hog would in the same manner have
received the first assegai, and on the skill with which
it was thrust depended the whole result.

Being too exhausted for further exercise, we all
started off for some adjoining pits, where the horses
had been ordered to meet us. Here we met the
whole crew of our beaters assembled, and with them
many women and children, whose delight at inspecting
the veteran boar, and handling his formidable tusks,
is easier to imagine than describe. These little imps
are wonderfully precocious, but attractively so, and
quite as clever as their parents in expressing them-
selves by signs, and, but that they are as a rule
so fearfully ugly and cursed with such protruding-
abdomens, they would make rather interesting pets.
Frank Buckland (not the auctioneer) would, I believe,
almost have given his life for one, for his greatest
hankering was ever after monstrosities.

CHAPTER XXL

A CHARMING COUNTRY.
Indigenous Flowers — Songs of War and Love — A Wise Goat.

WHEN seated at the pits just mentioned, enjoying the
antics of these embryo men and women, four strangers
joined us, who had a long and rather angry controversy
with the heads of our party. I was most anxious
to learn the purport of their conversation, but my
Tottie refused to gratify my curiosity until he had
learned further of it. The energy of the disputants,
and the vehemence with which they addressed one
another, was worthy of a Home Rule debate, when a
certain Irish member I wot of, has the floor, or
almost as forcibly reminded me of such scenes as
I have witnessed in the Levant, or even at Nix
Mangare Stairs, Malta, as to who should possess
a copper that had been thrown among the crowd.
At one moment you confidently expect to see each

BOSH! 193

belabouring his neighbour or, possibly, giving him
a taste of cold steel, for an Anglo-Saxon cannot
imagine such an amount of energy got up for any
purpose in which life and limb are not concerned.
But the most remarkable thing of all is, as soon
as their differences are settled, each and every one
appears disposed to - caress, even kiss, his former
enemy. So it was with these people around me ;
and what would you suppose the dispute was about ?
The new arrivals had got two young caracals for sale,
and were disposed to take a price for them which
my friends deemed quite inadequate in payment for
such treasures, and on that account were browbeating
the new-comers so as to force them to squeeze the
white man. Uneducated and unsophisticated as these
people are, still they are wonderfully sharp in making
bargains themselves, or in assisting others to do
so ; when the latter is the case they take precious
good care to see that the vendor pays a heavy
commission for the service rendered.

" These people require a deal of protection from
the dishonest white man," so said a missionary once
to me. Indeed ! Bosh ! Such is a good song for
some of our philanthropists to sing, but the boot

194 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

is in reality upon the other foot ; for no one, if we
except a Whitechapel Jew, a Greek, or a Scotchman,
would have any chance of holding his own with these
aborigines in a trade. Our ride to the wagons took us
between numerous copjes, with large timber growing
in groups upon them, the intermediate ground being
generally fair grazing land. Nor are flowers wanting
to give a charm to the landscape. The most remark-
able of these is the flowering aloe, whose brilliancy of
colour is most striking. They are generally to be found
in some rocky, isolated position, as if keeping watch
and ward over the country ; while close to them, often
in their immediate vicinity, curious-looking euphorbias
rear their heads. In the grasses, on the more level
ground, the eye frequently rested on the lobelia, while
heliotrope and the flowering verbena are in such
profusion that I doubt not that the horses crushed
quantities of them every few paces ; but their scent
is sadly deficient in comparison to their English
congeners. When there is more moisture in the
soil than at present the floral exhibition doubtless
will be much finer ; but the land, as it is now, affords
abundant proof what a fine pasture country this might
become with a little care.

NATIVES. 195

On our way we passed several troops of baboons,
several of which took very little trouble to get
out of our way, some going so far as to let us
come within thirty or forty paces before they left
our intended course. The natives, even among the
mature men, I have noticed have a considerable fear
of these animals, although I believe that, unless
molested, they are perfectly harmless to human beings.
No greater insult can be offered a Kaffir than to
tell him that he resembled a baboon. However, such
a simile might not be pleasing to a white man.

That evening we had in camp a grand show
of game and a big assortment of natives. It is
doubtful which afforded the greatest amount of
contemplation. If the study were intended to be
of an agreeable nature, then I should select the
former.

When I resided among the North American
Indians, I had a great liking for gazing on a dusky,
taciturn, hulking Sioux brave, or a more sprightly and
active Blackfoot ; it also affords me much pleasure to
watch the Bechuanas at their ordinary avocations,
but I dislike to see any of these aborigines feed, for,
when gratifying their hunger, they show more selfish-

o 2

196 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

ness and certainly much less grace than the brute
creation do when so employed.

The caragal killed in the morning was a
fine adult male specimen, with a most perfect coat,
which I soon had the carcase divested of, for it, with
that of the gray, or narwal jackal, form the warmest
and softest karosses obtained from the skins of any
animals to be found on the tropical South African
hunting veldt. However, they are more susceptible
of injury from damp or wet than any of the furs I
know, thus do not repay the trouble of bringing
home, unless the possessor designs to exhibit them
as trophies.

The caracal lives principally upon small buck,
which it is very successful in hunting ; in fact, there
are no animals I wot of that are more thorough sports-
men in all their proclivities. However, they do not
hesitate to pick up a pauw or kooran when opportunity
offers, and the velocity with which they make their
dash upon these birds is equal to that of the Indian
cheetah.

It is a very extraordinary thing that, although they
will frequently go off with the most fearful shot or
bullet wound, a very insignificant blow from a stick

MUSIC. 197

across the loins will instantly disable them. The same
is the case with their congener on the American con-
tinent, the Canadian lynx, or pees/wo.

I thoroughly believe that the superabundance of
meat in a camp has the same effect upon the tribes
of the interior of Africa, that an excess of spirituous
liquor has upon white men, for both appear to
equally set the tongue going and predispose the in-
dulgers to late hours. Without calling the Bechu-
anas a musical people, still they are not entirely
without a knowledge of symphony ; thus many of
their melodies are sweet and plaintive, with stirring
choruses in which all join, that could scarcely be
excelled anywhere, for the perfect time in which they
are chanted.

Songs of war, and also of the chase, are in great
repute amongst them, the exciting parts of which are
delivered with great pantomimic and declamatory
action, each verse finishing with a unity of voices
not unfrequently of such power as to make the
rocks and kloofs re-echo. The grand period at
which to hear these musical displays is on the advent
of a new moon, and for several nights after its
appearance. On these occasions the dusky ladies

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

of the kraal honour these convivial assemblies, and
with flashing eyes and clapping hands exhibit, with
inexpressible empressement ', the enjoyment they derive
from being present at their reunions.

There is in common use among these people a
peculiar musical instrument, which, in the hands of
a skilful player, produces many soft and harmonious
notes ; herd-boys appear to be particularly conversant
with its use, and often, when over half-a-mile from
where the player was situated, I have heard it dis-
tinctly. On such occasions, mellow as this music
may be when close at hand, distance seems to refine
it to such an exquisite quality that, if the listener be
at all superstitious or imaginative he might well
attribute its production to the skill of a fairy. This
instrument is simply a bow about two and a half
feet long, which is strung sufficiently tight to permit
great reverberation of the string. One end of the
wood is held between the teeth, the left hand steady-
ing it about the middle, while the fingers of the right
hand touch the chord slowly and at different distances
from the performer's mouth.

At first, when I visited this hunter's arcadia, the
music accompanying these social meetings kept me

MASTER BILLY. 199

awake, but use soon caused me to disregard it, and
therefore sleep soundly throughout the most festive
assemblies. Furthermore, if the traveller be not of
an irascible disposition, I would advise him by all
means to encourage these social gatherings, for they
tend to make his followers happy and contented, as
well as doing much to prevent the onslaughts of
wild animals, as the smaller skulking fraternity — yes !
and even the larger— are aware that there are too
many wakeful persons about for them successfully to
carry on their avocation when the musical mania is
in full swing.

When travelling up country a few years ago, I
made a considerable proportion of my journey in the
society of one of the oldest, best known, and most
popular traders of the interior. He had a pet goat
which had been his constant companion for ten
years on these dangerous expeditions. Experiences
such as had been gained by this animal had made
it wonderfully wide awake to the- dangers that sur-
rounded it on every hand, particularly after dark.
Thus, after the sun had gone down, nothing on earth
would have tempted Billy from his master's side, or
the immediate vicinity of the wagons, on the forebox

200 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

of one of which he always slept. But when these
fandangoes were going on amongst the natives,
Master Billy would double his legs under him, and
remain all night perfectly happy and contented among
the revellers, as if no such thing as jackals, hyenas,
and caragals existed in this part of the earth. The
very cuteness of the character of this goat deserves
more notice than I should feel disposed to bestow
upon an ordinary animal. When trekking, if the
country was open, he would follow the wagons forty,
or even fifty yards behind, provided always he had a
number of dogs on each side of him. If brush, that
was dense, had to be passed through, the place of
security he then considered best, was immediately
between the hind wheels ; but if an alarm was given,
the wagon-box, in an instant, became his perch, which
he would gain, whether the vehicle was in motion
or not, by a single spring, quite astonishing to
the beholder to see a beast of such rotund pro-
portions capable of making. I have said he slept on
the wagon-box, but this was only when marauders
were not about, for if he got a sniff of one of the
carnivore? out on the prowl, with one rush he dived
into the wagon and, apparently, did not consider

A WATCHFUL GOAT.

201

himself safe until he was on the top of his owner's
bed. The master of this animal told me that he
would not have taken ^100 for him, as he had never
made a trip into the interior in which Billy had
not saved him twice that amount of money by warning
him that his oxen and horses were in danger from
lions.

I always provided myself with a pet goat, and
found it infinitely more watchful than dogs, its only
rival in this excellent quality being a baboon. Some-
how, however, my goats invariably came to grief,
sooner or later. I suppose this resulted from their
being too young when taken into the dangerous
country. They can, however, easily be replaced,
as nearly all the Bush people possess herds of them,
and a cup of trade gunpowder is generally considered
sufficient compensation for your selection of the best
of a flock. Thus much has been said about goats, as
I should advise every hunter to take one with him on
an excursion into the interior of this country ; for,
independent of their services as watchmen during the
night, their antics, quaint ways, and excessive selfish-
ness of character will help to while away the tedium of
many a monotonous hour.

202 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

The men previously alluded to who had the young-
caracals to dispose of, seemed anxious to come to
terms with me for their sale. This no doubt arose from
the fact that I treated their presence with perfect in-
difference, and without expressing a desire to become
possessed of their treasures. So on the following
afternoon, while I was busily employed washing out
the dirty clothes, they seated themselves beside the
tub. After turning my back upon them about a dozen
times, and their changing their position as frequently
to avoid being offered this indignity, they broached
to me the subject of their visit. After considerable
haggling, I agreed to pay them an old jersey, a pound
of tobacco, and a cup of gunpowder on delivery of
the young beasts in camp. The remuneration was
evidently satisfactory ; but still there was a hitch,
which ultimately, I was informed, resolved itself into
the fact that the cubs had not yet been caught. The
Bushmen, however, knew where they were, and had a
firm belief that they could capture them, and that
there would be little risk in doing so, as the caracal
which had been shot the previous morning they
thought was the sire of the proposed objects of
barter. But, for all this explanation, I preferred

A BUSH-BOY. 203

retaining my goods to parting with them upon such
doubtful security.

This decision greatly depressed the spirits of my
visitors ; so, as they were really civil enough fellows,
and possibly meant honestly, I ultimately agreed to
pay them the stipulated price provided they allowed
me to accompany them when the capture was made.
So the following afternoon I met them at their kraal,
from whence we proceeded to a rocky kloof filled
with small krantzes thickly covered with brush.
In addition to our party was a small Kalihari Bush-
boy, a perfect specimen of his race, for, although
quite twelve years of age, his height did not exceed
forty inches. Ugly he was unquestionably ; in fact,
I doubt if it could be possible to find an uglier ;
yet these people are such indefatigable hunters, such
extraordinary spoorers, and possess such an intimate
knowledge of the habits of all animals that frequent
their country, united with an affection towards those
who treat them kindly, that they cannot fail to be
appreciated by the sportsman. After a tedious and
exceedingly rough scramble the entrance to a cave was
pointed out, the floor of which was covered with fine
white sand. This tell-tale, upon inspection, showed

204

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

that one of the parent caracals had but lately gone
forth, so it was considered advisable that the young
imp should immediately undertake the duty allotted
to him, viz., playing the part of terrier. As there
were known to be two other entrances to this den,
which were separated from our present position by
a considerable distance, it was arranged that I should
keep guard where we then stood to obstruct the
ingress of the absent parent, while the natives
watched the remaining approaches. For this purpose
they left me, affording me an opportunity to uninter-
ruptedly admire Nature, and drink into my soul the
glory and grandeur of the works of the Great Creator.
The better to study, the better to think, I lit my pipe.
Soother of all griefs, still I cannot help thinking that
you are somewhat out of place between the lips of
one whose entirety is struggling to teem with poetry
and romance.

CHAPTER XXII.

PERSEVERANCE REWARDED.
A Brave Lad — An Unenviable Position — Rewarded with Success.

I DON'T think that there are many European boys
who would have accepted the task of going in total
darkness into the bowels of the earth, as this youth
did, with possibly an infuriated beast at its termina-
tion. Yet he seemed to accept it all as a matter of
course ; his manner, indeed, indicating that he enjoyed
the undertaking as a deuced good lark. There is no
accounting for taste, but I suppose that all depends
upon education ; for if I missed the maternal parent,
or she effected an entrance into the cavern by another
route, it is scarcely to be doubted but that she would
make it uncommonly hot for the intruder into the
sanctity of her nursery.

Before the Bush-boy entered the den of the
caragal I was to receive a signal from the others,.

205

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

notifying me that they had reached their respective
posts. At length I heard the preconcerted whistle,
and the boy, armed with nothing but the blade of an
assegai and a worn-out harass, which he dragged after
him, disappeared into the bowels of the earth. This
was not effected without many twists and contortions
and an abundant use of his nails, with the employment
of which he appeared almost as great an adept as an
aard-vark ; for although a mature caracal stands almost
as high as a well-grown colley, like all the cat family,
it possesses wonderful powers of compressing itself
into a small space.

After the boy had been lost sight of, I could not
help feeling that if anything happened to him I should
have much to blame myself for ; but I consoled myself
with the knowledge that I would zealously and truly
perform my part, and that nothing living should pass
me. I had time now to take close observation of my
surroundings. Below me and to the right extended
a wild rocky valley, while above and to the west-
ward, commanding my position, was an elevated
ridge, the surface of which, from its more exposed
.situation, was but sparsely covered with vegetation.

The silence of death reigned around, seldom

AN OMINOUS SHADOW.

207

broken except by the mellow cooing of a dove or
two beneath, or the occasional chatter of the beautiful
bronze-green parroquets peculiar to this part of the
world. The sun by this time was rapidly declining,
and the toiit ensemble formed a scene of loveliness
that an admirer of Nature in its primitive state would
have gone into ecstasies over.

This very absence of intrusion on my privacy, I
suppose it was that caused me again and again to
revert to the dangerous position the Bush-boy was
in, if by any chance the female caracal gained access
to her children. Possibly fancy made me believe his
position worse than it actually was, for in my mind I
could see the naked youth fighting for life in a space
so confined that his usual activity of body would be
quite thrown away, and only armed with a weapon
scarcely superior to an ordinary pocket-knife, while
his arms would probably be so restricted as to render
him unable to use them effectively.

During this rather unpleasant study, a shadow
suddenly passed over me ; at first I thought it might
have been caused by an aas-vogel (vulture), but as
nothing, however trifling, must be disregarded in
these maiden hunting lands, I raised my eyes cautiously

208

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

to learn the cause. For some minutes I could observe
nothing ; at length slowly I made out, to my as-
tonishment, that not over twenty yards from me, on
the western ridge, was to be seen the head and
shoulders of a caracal, with a kid in its mouth,
obviously making inquiring observation of who and
what was the intruder that dared to place himself at
the entrance to its home.

Slowly I raised my rifle, and as I did so the
object on which I was about to align my sight
appeared to become more prominent. With the
report came the thud, a sound indicative that the
bullet had sped truly to its destination, and the quarry
sprang into the air ; in doing so it dropped its prey,
and in a moment after the big cat had disappeared
down the front of the slope into the thick bush that
clothed the sides of the kloof.

The echoes that answered the shot from the
adjoining rocks and krantzes had scarcely ceased to
respond to my rifle's report, when my companions
joined me. They knew well that I would not shoot
except at the game expected, and, of course, thought
that my aim had been successful ; so when they
did not find a dead caracal they were much dis-
appointed.

A VALUABLE KID. 209

In total disregard of the Bush-boy's safety, possibly
through thoughtlessness, we left the cave and the
lad in it, and sought for the animal I had fired at.
The reward was a mutilated kid, but not the corpse
of its slayer, which carcase was recognised as the
property of one of my associates.

There was grief in the hearts of my companions
when they took its body up ; for why ? it was stated
to be the flower of their flock, the apple of their eye,
the child of their old age. I never thought adult
human beings could be so upset by the death of a
kid (for I have known people rejoice at the death of
near relations), so I commenced to believe that these
aborigines possessed feelings of affection infinitely
stronger than did the children of civilisation, when
lo ! to my surprise, they threw the carcase brutally on
one side, made several grimaces and as many panto-
mimic actions, pointed to some blood upon the her-
bage, and started down the kloof at a steady dog-trot.

Little cared they for the Bush-boy in the bowels
of the earth. But to be charitable, possibly they
knew better than I that the youth could take care of
himself ; so deserted him, confident in their belief.
Not being so well informed on such matters I did
not follow the example set me, but returned to my

210 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

relinquished post ; and, as night was rapidly approach-
ing, and the foe that would have been dangerous to
encounter driven off or killed, I did not hesitate to
get on my knees and call upon the lad to come out
as soon as possible.

" Ya, ya, Bass," I thought I heard him answer, but
the sound appeared to come from so great a distance
that I felt quite uncertain whether my ears informed
me correctly. Like many another person under similar
circumstances, however, I accepted the response as
I wished it to be, so took a seat, again lit a pipe, and
ardently wished that my term of " sentry-go " was
over, and that I was on my way to camp, if not in
it, for I commenced to yearn for some of the succulent
food that I knew would be about ripe for feeding on
at this hour.

My companions of the hunt, the fellows who had
departed on the spoor, did not return. " No, no, the
selfish beasts had gone home," I concluded; "what the
deuce did they care about a white man being left out
in the wilds all night ? not a fig ; not a con— - ; "
there I stopped, for a voice informed me, a hollow,
sepulchral voice : " All right, Bass, I have got them."

In a few minutes after, first one chocolate-coloured

AN UNGRATEFUL CAT. 211

leg, then a second, protruded from the hole, afterwards
came successive parts of a carcase, and last a woolly
head, in the teeth of which were firmly fixed the
corners of the kaross, thus transforming into a bag
this well-worn, greasy garment, and in its depths
obviously struggled something possessed of life.
With alacrity I helped the apparition to his feet,
hurriedly released him from his load, and opened it,
when, to my joy, I found the cubs inside, but, alas !
one was dead, smothered, the other in extremis.

In my younger days, at the time when I wore
the livery of our gracious Majesty, I have known
divine creatures, generally those whose age was
doubtful, with whom one of our fellows, possibly
myself, had lately waltzed, get overcome and
faint ; so had learned that nothing, under such
circumstances, was so likely to bring them round as
fanning, or, let me recall the experiences of those days,
stiff brandy and water, if procurable ; thus, having
none of the latter, I adopted the former curative to
resuscitate the juvenile caracal. As I had found
the benefit of this restorative in days gone by, so I
found it now ; the young cat gasped a little first,
then uttered some inarticulate expressions, and soon

p 2

212 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

after became conscious of its worldly surroundings ;
in proof of which I received a gentle reminder in
the shape of a severe bite and elongated scratch, to
evince that the object of all my solicitude still pos-
sessed teeth and claws, and knew how to use them.

It was so nearly dark now that it behoved me
to make an immediate start, or else the prospects
were, that I should not get out of the kloof that
night, much less regain my wagons, so the lad
shouldered the kid, while I took young "spitfire"
under my special care. That boy was a wonder of
gentleness, kindness, and forethought, for not a
stone, shrub, or briar obstructed my path but he
warned me of, or removed ; so, safe in limb and
skin, I reached home about three hours after sun-
down, my prize having endured the journey quite
as well as its bearer, that is, if an opinion can be
formed from the vindictive manner with which it spat
at "Chummy" when he attempted to caress it,
although he continued to repeat, in most endearing
tones, those soothing words, " Poor wee beastie, poor
wee beastie."

Like a good, kind, thoughtful pal, as he ever
was, he had not forgotten that I was mortal, so

LEOPARD SHOT. 213

had an abundant supply of all that was needful
ready to gratify my hunger, and it took me but
short time to satisfy that importunate enemy. Still,
before I had done so, the comrades of my day's
adventure brought in the mamma of young spitfire.
She was found dead some distance up the kloof, but
instead of returning to me when they had recovered
the carcase, Bechuana-like, the fellows took it to
their kraal for exhibition, and doubtless over it, ex-
patiated before admiring wives and sweethearts upon
the wonderful deeds they had performed in accom-
plishing her destruction. I was about to open out
upon them in rather forcible language, severely ex-
pressive of my indignation at their leaving me alone
to find my way home, when, to the surprise of both
''Chummy" and self, a heavy shot was heard from
the adjoining copje. In a moment every native was
on his feet, and rushed off to the scene of the
explosion. Not a soul was left to give an ex-
planation of this exodus except that greasy, over-fed
rascal Cookey, for gluttony had rendered him obese,
and obesity does not produce a desire for violent
exercise. For a time he refused an explanation.
At length his lordship was pleased to inform us

214 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

that my driver had set a gun for a wolf (
As this mode of killing game more often fails than
succeeds, we were not a little surprised to see the
deserters return with a leopard.

In the morning I had a duty to perform far from
unpleasant, viz., to despatch a messenger to my old
and tried hunting companion, Cigar, to inform him
that I had thus far advanced into the country, and
intended immediately starting for Honey vley, where I
hoped he would join me. This plan I pursued in
consequence of an arrangement entered into with him
a couple of years previously. As Cigar's name in my
future narrative will not unfrequently occur, I may at
once state that he was, without exception, the best
native sportsman I ever met with in my numerous and
varied wanderings. As a shot at game he was equal
to any white man ; as a spoofer no Bushman could
surpass him. A Hottentot by birth, he had passed
his early years in the colony, and in boyhood had
been attached to a racing stable, where he had learnt
to ride — not simply to sit on a horse's back as success-
ful pawnbrokers or stockbrokers do in Hyde Park, but
unerringly to pilot a second-rate horse, leader to the
winning-post. I am sorry to say, however, that this

THE LEOPARD (Felis Jar Jus).

To face page 214.

CIGAR. 215

mighty Nimrod was not generally popular amongst
white men ; but the fault was not his. Thus the
missionaries objected to him because he refused to
be converted, or even, more important still in their
eyes, to profess that he was ; the traders disliked him,
because he declined to work for them, at any of the
numerous crafts he was acquainted with, for smaller
wages than were paid to colonial or European
artisans. If I had believed all that was told to me
in depreciation of this man's character I never should
have known him ; but, with a spirit of independence,
and a resolution to learn for myself this Hottentot's
character, I gave him a trial, and never regretted
having done so. True, he was the coffee colour of
his race, and his head was ornamented with in-
numerable peppercorns of wool, while his cheek-
bones were high, his nose flat, and the white of the
eyes stained to a muddy tinge, all of which pecu-
liarities the reader will allow detract much from a
human being's personal appearance. Still, saddled as
he was with all these unprepossessing insignia of his
race, I never in my life encountered a braver, truer,
or more devoted friend. By this panegyric I do not
mean to say that Cigar was faultless ; but his error

216 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

alone injured himself, which was, an excessive
attachment to intoxicants. When we were in the
veldt, however, he was unable to gratify his cravings
for the demon, spirits, so that it seldom happened
that I saw him under its influence.

I had for some time looked forward to Cigar
joining me, and now that I had reached the country in
which I might at any moment encounter large game,
I did not feel disposed to defer sending him the
necessary information, that I was so close at hand.
So, armed with a split stick, in which was fastened
a letter, and provided with a small sum of money
to liquidate any trifling debt that the Hottentot might
owe to his adjoining trader, I started off a runner
with orders to make a speedy journey, and not to
presume to again look me in the face unless the
redoubted Cigar was with him.

This runner had 130 miles to travel before per-
forming my commission, yet he trotted off on his
errand as good-naturedly, as if about to carry a note to
a neighbour's farm not more than a few miles distant.

o

If nothing occurred to impede this messenger, I
confidently expected to see him back in seven days ;
good travelling, all must agree with me, for a person
not in training.

CHAPTER XXIII.

A MUTINOUS SCOUNDREL.
African Leopards — Cookey Again — A Knock Down.

THE leopard killed last night was a small female
that had just reached maturity. She was well
nourished, and possessed of a beautiful hide, the
orange-tawny ground, being particularly dark and
brilliant, while the sable spots, in shape like large
pansy flowers, were, except in their centre, as black
as jet could be. This decided contrast is ever indi-
cative of youth, whereas a tendency of the respective
colours to blend, denotes the reverse.

I am decidedly of opinion that there are two, if not
three, distinct species of leopard in South Africa,
among which I do not include the hunting leopard,
or cheetah, which I am disposed to think possesses
more of the characteristics of the dog than of the cat
family. The subdivisions that I make in the group

2i8 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

of Fells pardus are the mountain dwellers and those
that are found upon the lowlands. The first men-
tioned is a much shorter-legged animal than the
latter, and seldom exceeds the length, including the
tail, of six feet. Its limbs are possessed of extra-
ordinary power and development, and its courage,
more especially when wounded, is not to be surpassed ;
in fact, its capacity of doing injury to a foe is quite
equal to that of the larger f elides. Its mode of attack
has been frequently described to me, and my own
experience endorses it, viz., when its enemy is within
springing distance it charges with incredible velocity,
and on reaching its molester, seizes him about the
shoulders with its formidable claws, at the same time
commencing to rend his face and neck with its power-
ful teeth. Moreover, like the smaller cats, it does not
hesitate to use its hind legs as further auxiliaries to
its destructive powers, tearing and lacerating with
them the abdomen and thighs of its victims.

From the diminutive size of the mountain
leopard, a casual observer would be inclined to
imagine that two or three good dogs would be more
than a match for it ; but this is not the case, for,
unaided, I believe this animal would be more than

DISTINCT SPECIES OF LEOPARDS. 219

equal to double that number of the most powerful
hounds I have ever seen. Small bok, dogs, goats,
and pigs are its favourite prey, but it is not choice in
its dietary, for poultry, wild fowl, and even porcupines
are frequently utilised for its repast. During the day
it may frequently be found sunning itself upon some
cliff or table rock adjoining its den, but night is the
time that it devotes to hunting, when it will fearlessly
approach the residence of the farmers or kraal of the
natives, and by the very sudden and unexpected nature
of its descent succeed in carrying off its booty.

Poison of late years has been very successfully
employed to thin the numbers of many of the
carnivorce, but with the leopard, it has not been so
fortunate ; this I account for, as it is very seldom a
carrion feeder. Even now, at the present day, this
animal is not unknown in the vicinity of Cape Town,
and is still to be found in considerable numbers in the
neighbourhood of the mysterious-looking range of
mountains, the Hottentot Hollands and many of its
adjacent spurs.

The other leopard, which is a much larger animal
than that previously described, is at once distinguish-
able from it, by standing higher — more erect upon its

220 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

legs, which do not appear to be so muscular in their
development. Seven feet six inches, inclusive of tail,
is about its length, although a few have been killed
exceeding this measurement, for I obtained one in
the Makalaka country which was at least a foot longer.
The favourite haunts of this beast are the rush-grown
and grassy edges of vleys and rivers, or the dense
jungles of the country adjoining the eastern coast. In
this selection of hunting grounds it has much similarity
to the lion, which it also resembles in its mode of attack.
During daylight it passes the greater part of its time
in sleep, and altogether may then be considered an
indolent animal ; but, when night approaches, and
hunger has whetted its appetite, I defy the observer
to note a more perfect example of grace, ease, and
rapidity of movement. The colours of the fur of the
leopard of the plains and woodlands are not so
brilliant as those of its confreres of the mountains ;
still, it is very beautiful, and outshines those of all
other animals in richness and elegance.

A few years ago I brought home a number of both
these animals' skins, which, after being retanned and
shaved down on the inner side to the thickness of
chamois leather, made the most attractive drawing-

A DANGEROUS ANIMAL. 221

room antimacassars I ever saw ; in fact, they pro-
voked such universal admiration, that I should advise
any young brother sportsman, who possesses an
ardent attachment for a lady fair, in whose super-
lative graces he wishes to bask and breathe out
existence, not to forget to provide himself with an
abundant supply of these lovely skins as gifts for
his innamorata, for failure after such a donation must
be his fault, and his only.

With the natives, the skin of the leopard makes
their most aristocratic kaross ; thus we see the un-
civilised and uneducated Bechuanas and Matabeles
adopting the favourite mantle of Greece in the
olden times ; for Homer, in his " Iliad," speaking of
Menelaus, says :

" With a pard's spotted hide his shoulders broad
He mantled o'er ':

The general mode of attack made by this animal
upon such of its prey as are formidable from size,
is to dislocate the victim's neck by means of its
powerful teeth and claws simultaneously used. This
is done by a sudden wrench, made with such force as
to at once break the vertebra of even an ox or horse.

222 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

The Boers do not like attacking the leopard unless
under favourable circumstances ; all the natives, except
the Bushmen, decline the contest altogether ; but
although this warning may not prevent my country-
men hunting it, I trust it will have the effect of
guarding them from encountering it, otherwise than
with the greatest care and circumspection.

At mid-day orders were issued to prepare to march
in three hours. This command was received in any-
thing but a friendly spirit, for my attendants had formed
many agreeable acquaintances, and did not consider
that they had yet used up half the game that was
to be found in the locality. Master Cookey, as usual,
was the most mutinous, and, although repeatedly
cautioned that such conduct would lead him into
trouble, warnings were thrown away upon him.
While busy making a new yoke skey, I heard angry
words between him and " Chummy." Now, my
friend was about the last person to provoke a dis-
cussion, or initiate a dispute, but, if led into either,
he had a quiet way of his own of getting out of
them, which was thoroughly effective and dignified.
So, in no way alarmed as to the result, I thrust my
head round the corner of the tilt of the wagon (under

"TAKE THAT, THEN." 225

the shadow of which I was working with a draw-
knife), and thus had an excellent survey of the whole
scene.

My friend had ordered this indolent and bloated
disciple of Soyer to expedite the packing of his
cooking apparatus, which he refused to do, at the
same time expressing disapproval of our general
conduct, and more particularly of our departure from
this favoured locality. Now Master Cookey's tongue
not only wagged freely, but when he was declaiming,
his arms were thrown about in a most threatening
manner to give emphasis to his elocution. Again
I heard him ordered to shut up, but this gentle
admonition was not received in the sense it was
intended. Quite the reverse, for his tongue became
more prolific of abuse and his arms more threatening
of action. I was almost commencing to think that
''Chummy" was deferring the finale too long, more
especially as some of the mutineers who supported
the spokesman were already grinning in high delight
at one of the Basses being thus publicly defied, when
I heard my friend quietly hiss between his teeth,
"Take that, then." And he did take it, a good
straightforward hit right from the shoulder, which

224 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

grounded the foe like a felled bullock. Cookey,
although fat, was still not incapable of activity when
emergency demanded its employment, so he picked
himself up in an instant and, head clown, rushed
forward, with the intention of grappling with his
chastiser. I suppose this disobedient retainer thought
that if he could once obtain a hold, it would all be
up with the white man. Poor fellow, he was wonder-
fully deceived, for just as he reached the proper
distance, my comrade dexterously raised his right
knee and caught the refractory servant in the mouth ;
this straightened him up to his full height, which
gained, he received a left-hander on his nob, that
laid him out as straight as if about to be deposited
in his coffin.

The whole affair did not exceed thirty seconds
in being enacted, and so perfectly was it performed
that roars of laughter greeted the discomfited warrior
as he arose, and proceeded without further hesita-
tion to fulfil his allotted task. I do not approve of
employing such measures ; but, if discipline has to
be maintained, it is sometimes necessary to adopt
them.

At the appointed hour the cattle were in their

BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. 225

yokes, and, after much hand-shaking and innumerable
good wishes from the residents of the adjoining
station, we started. The river-bed, which we had
to cross, and the incline up its opposite side, were
both stiff pulls ; but our beasts were fresh and in
good heart, so each was accomplished without a
halt, when before us lay stretched a truly charming
upland country. In many parts of it, more particularly
in the hollows, the timber reached to a goodly size,
while its foliage was varied with every tint, from
deepest green to dark orange colour, all resting upon
a carpeting of scarlet-flowering verbena. Amongst
the woodland, frequently reclined enormous slabs of
sandstone rock, some of them of gigantic size, lying
one upon the other, as if piled up by some Titanic
agency, and now covered with parasitic plants, green
as the pine or ivy, giving them a close resemblance
to many a mediaeval ruin to be seen in our dear old
island home.

CHAPTER XXIV.

EXCITING SCENE.
A Noble Quarry — Splendid Hunt — Marvellous Hounds.

IN many parts of the earth there is far grander
scenery to be found than in Bechuana Land. For its
excellence in this respect I claim nothing ; but, for
sites for homesteads of pastoral farmers, it would be
very difficult indeed to find a more attractive country.
It is not all so, I must acknowledge ; but then the
magnitude of the country ought to be remembered,
and, having taken that into account, the attractive
portion will be found quite equal in extent to that
which does not recommend itself. It is true, I would
not care to reside in it when the game is killed off;
but the question naturally arises, Where would I
prefer a residence that possessed no wild animals ?
Nowhere; the land that suffers from such a misfortune,

A HUNTED ZEBRA. 227

could never be a dwelling-place of mine, although
it possessed the wealth of the Indies. For this reason
if for no other, I could never make New Zealand
my home.

I can see your politician, manufacturer, merchant,
and all such selfish wretches smile at the above
assertion. They are, of course, at liberty to do so
if they choose ; but infinitely more dear to me are
the pleasures of the chase, the enjoyment of un-
polluted nature, and the study of animal life, than
the gratifying of selfish ambition, amassing wealth,
or glorying in the success you have obtained at the
expense or the ruin of others.

About sundown we were trekking along, and, as
frequently occurs, a considerable space, say three
hundred yards, separated the wagons ; a splendid
zebra passed between them. A finer specimen of
the breed could not have been found, even if sought
for. The animal's appearance denoted distress, for
its lips were lathered with foam, while many a flake
of the same adhered to its chest and flanks ; still it
was galloping well within itself, and looked capable
of doing many another mile. Both "Chummy" and
self had a fair chance to shoot it, but desisted, for we

Q 2

228 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

had meat in abundance to satisfy all our wants, an<
to add to the store would only have had the effect
of demoralising our people, and consequently pro-
longing the journey ; so we let the beautiful specimen
of the Almighty's creation go on unharmed.

A few minutes after a sharp yet half-smothered
yelp struck upon our ears. The note was new to
my companion, not so to the writer, so I told him
to retire with me a short distance — for we had not
yet crossed the zebra's spoor — and he would see a
pack of hounds in full cry that for speed, nose, and
endurance would surpass any he had ridden to at
home. Fifty paces at the most brought us back
to the voorloper of the hinder wagon, when we
halted, so as not to foul the scent and annoy the
pursuers. If a master of foxhounds reads this—
one I know of in the Midland counties especially—
I can, as I write, hear him say, " Good men, good
men," while possibly an adjective or two are added
to his encomiums that he doubtlessly derived from
some of his ancestors that served with our troops in
the " low countries." But there is a great deal of
excuse for masters of hounds in using strong exple-
tives ; for every one will acknowledge that it is trying,

MUSIC IN DRIBLETS. 229

very trying — well, here I was about to let go in the
superlative degree — to see a lot of ribbon- vendors
and bankers' clerks, with a modicum of juvenile saw-
bones, vets and legalised robbers (attorneys), trying
their best to ride over the ornaments of the hunt.

But let me cast back. We were not kept long
waiting: through the long grass first one head and then
another made its appearance, and soon after were
not only the leaders in full view, but from twelve
to fifteen couple more, closely up to their sterns.
It was a grand sight, and right willingly would I
have cheered the gallant hounds on, but that I
feared such a course would have been injurious, to
them, until they had passed forward of where we stood.
That the scent was hot — burning — there could be
no doubt, for the pace was terrific, every head being
up and every stern down, while the music was
reduced to driblets.

Although the day had so far waned, if we had
had horses saddled, " Chummy " and self would have
been in the " pig-skin " in a minute, and in spite
of ant-hills, porcupine and meer-kat holes, seen the
finish ; but, alas ! our nags were half-a-mile in the
rear, and to call them up in time was utterly im-

230 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

possible. Man is a queer anomaly, for — can the
reader believe it ? — we both sympathised with the
zebra, yet we both sympathised with the hounds ;
probably more with the latter. Goody-goody people
will say this was wrong, for the weak and the
hunted ought to have had our good wishes. I know
such was taught me at school, and doubtlessly is
inculcated by School Board teachers into the rising
generation ; but on such an occasion as the above
I fear ''precept and practice do not dovetail."

But while moralising on what is wrong and what
is right, the gallant pack has passed out of view,
so I will try to describe the appearance of its
members, instead of their future exploits.

The Cape hunting dog, hyena dog, wilde honde
(Lycaon pictus), is, to all intents and purposes, a
dog, yet exhibits many points of resemblance to the
hyena, more especially in its head and ears, as well
as in the droop that takes place from its shoulders
to the hind quarters. Its height seldom reaches
two feet, twenty-two inches being nearer the average.
In extreme length it is usually under four feet and
a half. The colour of the body of the Cape hunting
dog is very diversified, still very fox-hounclish, being

SCENTING POWERS. 231

a combination of gray, intermixed with black and
brown spots, while the nose, muzzle, and face are
black. The tail, which is bushy, but much less
so than that of the fox, is divided by a dark ring,
the upper part of which is sandy gray and the
lower white. Its destructive powers are enormous ;
so much so that pastoral farmers, before the intro-
duction of strychnine, were often driven by its
ravages from their homesteads.

In character this animal is a strange combina-
tion of courage and timidity, for at one time it will
treat the presence of human beings with contempt,
nay, even attack them, while, on another occasion,
it will avoid them by the use of every artifice with
which it is cognisant.

Several times I have possessed these animals.
To tame them I found impossible on account of
their extreme nervousness. One specimen that I
possessed for a short time would go into a fit if
suddenly alarmed or an attempt made to handle it.

When hunting, the wild hounds always go in
packs, the number of members in such an associa-
tion being sometimes over fifty ; and so perfect
are their powers of scent that, when once they

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

settle down upon the trail of game, its fate is
certain, unless it should reach water of sufficient
depth to cause the assailants to swim when ap-
proaching it.

The larger antelopes, zebras, and quaggas, having
gained such a sanctuary, at once come to bay, and
with their sharp and powerful hoofs soon beat off
their antagonists, but seldom before many of them
have been disabled or killed outright.

However, if such an asylum is not within reach,
the hunting dogs lie alongside their victims till a
chance to lay hold occurs, when, if the prey be a
male, they emasculate him ; if a female, tear off her
udder, or open her intestines by dragging on her
flank.

In this respect the African animal exactly re-
sembles its Indian brother, and of it, in the Colony,
similar stories are in circulation to those narrated by
the natives of Hindostan regarding their indigenous
beast, viz., that the former will not hesitate to attack
and kill the lion, as the latter is reported frequently so
to do to the royal tiger.

CHAPTER XXV.

MIGRATION.
A Free Life — Abdim's Stork — A Yarn.

THAT evening we reached a vley, welcome from the
large quantity of pure, clear water it possessed. The
reason of this, doubtless, was that it was situated
upon a stone bed, with rock surroundings entirely
free from sand or alluvial deposit. But for this
natural protection, combined with the precipitousness
of its banks, it must have been fouled by the numerous
wild animals that frequented the locality. If any of
the neighbouring bok had been induced to risk their
safety by descending this steep enclosure, it is more
than doubtful whether they would ever have been able
to regain the top of the banks, so the reader will
perceive that wild animals have often more judgment
than is accredited to them. On the other hand, the
very fact of the water being so far beneath the level

234

THE HUNTER''S ARCADIA.

of the surrounding country, afforded us no end of
trouble in obtaining the required amount of this
valuable commodity to supply the wants of each
bullock. While my attendants were employed in
this necessary duty, I wandered a short distance
from our camp ; the sun was about setting, and the
west was one glorious sheet of scarlet, gradually
decreasing in the intensity of its colour till it entirely
disappeared in the zenith. Not a flaw of wind stirred
a leaf or blade of grass, and, but for the voices of my
men, or the occasional low of a fatigued ox, one might
have imagined that he had been suddenly dropped
into an uninhabited world. There is a freedom in
this life that makes it truly charming ; there is a
fascination in it, to drink of which causes one further
to crave for its repetition. Your fellow-man you
love not the less, but this world you love the more
for the relief that is afforded you, by finding it
possible to be removed from the bustle and ex-
citement of dense population. If duns are not
numerous, or beggars not importunate, at home, there
is much pleasure in hearing the postman's knock ; but
who, in civilisation, I should like to know, does
not either dread the first, or fear the latter ? But

MIGRANTS. 235

here you have no postman, no importunate creditor,
no cravers for charity, no disgusting specimens of
wretched, debased humanity.

During the latter portion of our march I had
frequently heard a noise, so subdued by distance
that I could scarcely be certain what bird produced
it. Now I was about to learn, for loud and clamorous
became the formerly doubtful voices. Raising my
eyes aloft, against the gradually decreasing opal tints
of the western heavens were thousands of birds circling
around, one flight apparently being over the other,
till the more distant totally disappeared in the altitude
that they had obtained. As I supposed these birds
not to be nocturnal, I impatiently waited to see them
alight ; nor was I kept waiting, for as the long, dark
shadows of trees and rocks that precede darkness
were rapidly elongating themselves across the veldt,
and mingling more thoroughly with each other, a
few of the nearest birds closed their wings and,
with rapid swoop, descended upon the earth. This
seemed to be the signal for all to do likewise, for
with one accord the most distant and the nearest at
hand followed the example set them, until the plain
was covered by many thousands.

236

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Not till then did I recognise what these unknowns
were. Now I became aware that they were Abdim's
storks (Ciconia Abdimif), perhaps the handsomest of
all the species of this family. The extent of country
which they inhabit may well be imagined when I state
that I have found them in equal abundance in the
toundras of Mongolia, the marshes of Southern Siberia,
the flats surrounding the Mababe river, or the locality
of Lake N 'Garni. Like all the storks that I have
met with in Southern Africa, they possess that
ludicrous habit of dancing and posing themselves
in strange attitudes in front of each other. The
reason of these movements is, doubtless, to excite
the admiration of the opposite sex. It is a strange
and quaint way of doing so, we may think ; still,
it is not half so absurd, I may say senseless, in
them, as the sight of human beings dancing some
of their most popular sets when deprived of the
charitably disposing influences of music.

Abdim's stork appears to be gifted with most extra-
ordinary powers of digestion and a love for a variety
of food, for it devours with equal gusto, locusts or
beetles, with a wholesome intermixture of frogs, water-
rats, snakes, and fish. Nature, in her providence, has

EXTRAORDINARY TRAVELLERS. 237

gifted this bird with the most attractive plumage, the
chin and the inside of the ears being vermilion red, the
front of the head light flesh-colour, and the remainder
bluish-purple ; the legs are green, changing to ver-
milion at the joints, with toes dusky on the upper and
lower sides. The iris is grayish-brown, with a streak
above the eyes extending half-way to the setting on
of the bill, a minute spot on the lower eyelid termi-
nating my description.

The whole flock appeared to be exhausted from
excessive travel, for, soon after they had reached
the ground, each member seemed to court repose.
It was a shame to disturb them, nay, almost a crime to>
do so. Yet when will man deny himself what he
longs for, even when it be at the expense of the
happiness of others, whether they be equals or in-
feriors in his arbitrary scale of rank in the animal
world ; so I fired two shots into the storks, each of
which produced a victim, when the remainder sailed
off into the gloaming in search of another and
more peaceful resting-place.

From Manchuria to the Red Sea, and from the
Red Sea to South Africa, probably this flight of
birds has travelled, and yet, although they have

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

encountered Kalmucks, Tartars, Chinese, Persians,
Arabs, and numerous black races, it may be safely as-
sumed they had not met such an uncharitable welcome
until they encountered a representative of civilised and
Christianised humanity. I suppose I am no worse than
my neighbours, and that they would have done as I
did ; still it is small credit to them as well as to myself.
The following day, as we drew close to our mid-
day halt, while marching at the head of our wagons,
I was solicited by one of those well-known specimens
of African ornithology, the little honey guide (In-
dicator minor) to follow it. Its efforts to attract
attention and its boldness in doing so at first strike
the inexperienced with surprise, for it not unfrequently
flies and hovers so close to the traveller's head as
to be almost within grasp of his hand. This bird
is a true cuckoo, and lays its eggs indiscriminately
in the nests of various species which are not large
enough to resent the intrusion. I fear the domestic
character of both sexes is really very bad, the ladies
light of love, the gentlemen inconstant, or they
would not be so destitute of affection as to desert
their progeny in this barefaced manner. I have
several times made the attempt to keep them in

THE FORE-SLAGHT. 239

captivity, but have always failed ; the reason, no
doubt, being that when immured in a cage they
are unable to procure their proper food, viz., insects.

That the little honey guide will lead you to the
nests of bees, is beyond dispute, and that it will wait
for a portion of the spoil to be given it, is equally true ;
but the natives assert that it is a mischievous little
^lf, and that reliance is not always to be placed
upon the honesty of its solicitations, for that
frequently, out of very devilment, it will take its
followers into the jaws of a lion, or possibly into the
haunt of some formidable poisonous snake. This
I deem an error ; at the same time do not doubt
that when human beings have been following it to
procure the honey it wished to point out to them,
they have run in contact with a beast of prey, or
nearly stepped upon a venomous serpent.

Our halting-place that day was a beautiful grove.
The giant among the trees that composed it was
a large banyan, under which we drew up our wagons,
alike sheltered from heat and glare. While the cattle
and horses are grazing, come, gentle reader, and seat
yourself beside me upon the disscl-boom of the wagon,
for I have to prepare a new fore-slaght (lash) for my

240

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

driver's whip, and, while I do so, I can conv<
with you without interruption to my work. Let me
say, before proceeding farther, that the fore-slaght
is a thin slip of brayed leather, about the size of a
boot-lace, and between two and three feet long. The
skin of the bless-bok is supposed to make the best,
and care must be taken in cutting it that it tapers
regularly from one end to the other. Moreover, it
has to be delicately trimmed down so as to remove
the edges, after which preparation it is stiffened by
being saturated in water or saliva. It requires a
sharp knife to produce a workmanlike one, and to
get the necessary keen edge nothing makes a better
strop than the side of a yoke-skey.

Before I commence to narrate, take a look round
and see that the beasts are settled to their pasture.
You may well say it is a beautiful scene that surrounds
us, and not to be excelled in the eyes of those who
love nature, for it is a landscape, unchanged, un-
altered, since the Almighty vouchsafed it the finish-
ing touches of His master hand.

I have stated that I sent for Cigar, the Hottentot.
Well, you want to know what manner of man he is,
and I will now record one of his adventures, as

BULL BUFFALO. 241

narrated by him to me when trekking one night
between Bamanwato and the Matabele country.
But before doing so you must remember that he
speaks English as fluently as I can myself.

"You remember, Bass, 'my lord,' so the person
was called by all his friends and acquaintances, from
the gorgeous apparel he wore and the eccentricity of
the mannerism he ever adopted ; but these absurdities
covered a brave and kind heart. Well, we were in
Mashoona Land together, he having trekked up from
Bamanwato to Bulwio, where he joined me; for I was
then trading for ivory in the Matabele country. Game
had become a little scarce, for much shooting had
been done in the neighbourhood ; so, as we had a
large following of attendants, we were not very
particular what fell to our rifles as long as it filled
the pot.

" As I had secreted several elephants' tusks in an
adjoining sand river, I resolved to take some of my
people with me and go and bring them in. When
about to start * my lord ' joined me, armed with his
Express rifle, with the hope that he might pick up
a bok by the way. We had about completed our
tramp, when we came across an old bull buffalo, whose

242 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

temper we could see was none of the sweetest ; and
well it might be so, for his back was badly clawed
by lions. Of course the old bull had beaten his
enemies off, or he wrould not have been where he
was, and but little the worse for the encounter, or
he would not have given us the trouble he did.
The aged warrior would not get out of our way,
on the other hand, showed a strong disposition to
attack us ; so, as the old fool was scarcely worth a
charge of powder and lead, we made a bend in our
course to avoid him. Another reason, possibly, for
adopting this plan was that none of us were armed,
except with assegais, if ' my lord ' be left out, and
his small-bore was scarcely the thing for killing such
heavy game ; well, when I say killing, I may be
wrong in that, but it would not drop it where it
stood. It was a long time before I could get this
white man to give up the idea of making the attempt
to shoot the beast ; but at length he consented to do
so, after a great waste of time and words, for he
was as obstinate as he was plucky. Even then I
should not have gained my point if I had not told
him that, if he did so, he must move his camp from
mine, for, as long as he was with me, I felt responsible

A PERVERSE SUBJECT. 243

for his safety ; in fact, the Matabele king had told
me as much before I left his kraal.

"While we were hunting up the ivory, 'my lord'
strolled off to look for game ; but, as he did not
come back when we were ready to return, I took a
couple of my people, and went in search of him. His
spoor led us from one copje to another, and, as we
thought it was probable he had returned to our
starting-place without us, we were about to give up
the search, when one of my men pointed out the
white man in a hollow scarcely three hundred yards
off, and at the moment in the attitude of firing.
At what ? Well, the same confounded old bull we
had seen earlier in the day.

"The buffalo was not fifty yards from him, and
its manner showed that it meant mischief, for it
was tossing its head about and beating its flanks
with its tail. This was bad enough ; but, worse
still, there was not a tree or bush in any direction
within two or three minutes' run, that would afford
shelter, if our friend had to take to his legs ; and
this description of game can go almost as fast as a
horse for the first three or four hundred yards. I
would have raised my voice to shout to him to hold

R 2

244 THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

his fire, but what good would that do ? The mischief
was done already, for, fire or not, he could not now
avoid the contest. But puff went the rifle. The bullet
hit, I thought, in the head, for the brute shook it
violently about for some seconds, and then came on
with a rush. Your countryman stood his ground
well, and gave the mad beast another shot. This took
effect for a moment, for it caused the bull to stumble
for a stride or two ; but nothing more. To shove
cartridges into the breeches of his rifle there was
not time, so ' my lord ' adopted the last chance he
had of escape, and, under the circumstances, it
was a poor one — poor as could be — made a run
for it.

" While this was taking place I and my people
were doing our best to render our friend what help
we could, but without fire-arms it was little enough
indeed, excepting that it was just possible that we could
draw off the beast's attention from him. However,
that chance seemed to be denied us, for, before we
were a hundred yards from the scene, the buffalo
caught its enemy in the back and sent him spinning
head over heels for many a yard in its rear. Fortu-
nately the grass was rather long where he fell, and he
had the sense to lie still, so the bull lost sight of him.

A FATAL RESULT.

245

But this delay could not last long, for the now infu-
riated animal would be sure to ultimately wind its
prey and trample out of him what little of life remained.
Who could stand by and see this game played and
not interfere ? Well, I could not, so I seized two
assegais from one of my people and rushed at the
bull ; nor was I an instant too soon, for at that
moment it had discovered its victim.

" Possibly this was the reason that the buffalo did
not see me, it being intent on completing the work
it had commenced ; for, before the beast could lower
its head to pick up its victim when it charged, I had
passed one assegai into its shoulder, following it
up with the second through the neck as the brute
turned round to charge me. It was the last thrust
that did the work, for as soon as it was delivered
blood spouted for yards from the bull's nostrils. He
made several efforts to charge, but could not, so my
people soon put him beyond doing further mischief.

" This did not save the life of ' my lord ; ' he died
next day from his injuries, and is buried at the root
of the murruli tree where his wagon was outspannecL"

Comment on Cigar's, the Hottentot's conduct,
in this affair, I will not make ; I leave that for the
reader to do.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE SCRIPTURAL CONEY.
The Hyrax — An Interesting Family — Birds of Prey.

BY the time my fore-slaght was finished, " Chummy"
brought his folding-chair and took a seat beside
me. My friend had a most reassuring countenance,
and the manner in which he enjoyed his otium cum
dignitate was really comforting. His consumption
of cigarettes was enormous — in fact, the quantity
of these romance-constructing trifles (for do they
not whisper memories of the languishing eyes and
graceful walk of signoritas mui bonita f) that he con-
demned daily to suffer from his inordinate love of
the weed, must have been a small fortune to dealers
in soothing, good-fellowship-promoting tobacco. How
daintily many a fair equestrian handles her switch,
how bewitchingly many a daughter of Eve uses her
fan ; but " Chummy " could almost rival both these

WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER. 247

in the delicate, half-supercilious way in which he re-
tained between his lips the most trifling hold of his
cigarette.

His talking proclivities were not great, but when
the sound of the crack of a distant whip struck upon
both our ears he ejaculated : " One would almost
have supposed us far enough from civilisation not
to have our ears defiled by such a mark of it,"
and so agreed I.

On looking round, two wagons were observed in
sight, heavy-loaded, travel-stained, and much the worse
for wear and tear. Soon they drew up alongside of
ours, and a stalwart Boer descended from the fore-
chest of one to make our acquaintance. He was not
clean to look at, and he smelt offensively — neither
objectionable state being uncommon among this
erratic race. But this was scarcely to be wondered at
in this instance, for his conveyances were loaded with
green hides — skins of every kind of game known in
the neighbourhood. When will this wholesale slaugh-
ter of the ornaments of creation terminate ? Never,
till grasping, covetous man has destroyed all, for the
sake of the filthy lucre they get in return for their
skins. If the receiver of stolen property is as bad

248

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

as the thief, the smug-faced, well-to-do colonial store-
keeper's conduct in purchasing such wares is more
reprehensible than the slaughterer's is, for the first
is educated, the last the personification of ignorance
and brutality.

From this descendant of Holland, the new arrival,
I bought two excellent Bassuto ponies and the skins
of some rock rabbits, the klip das of the Dutch, the
Hyrax capensis of the naturalist, the hides of which
can be converted into innumerable useful purposes.

After informing our new acquaintance, on which
subject he seemed to be extremely solicitous, our
names, whether married or not, and the number of
hinders each possessed, " Chummy" thought his turn
had come to be questioner, so asked the Boer his
name.

" Grobler," was the answer

"Grobler!" in surprise murmured "Chummy."

"Ya! Grobler," said the Dutchman, with em-
phasis.

" Yes ; I understand, Grobler," said my pal,
measuredly but emphatically ; " but my friend, will
you inform me where do you expect to go to when
you die with such a name ? "

ROCK RABBITS. 249

" With such a name ! Grobler good name. When
I die I go where no dom Inglander gets in."

And with wrath he was about to depart, when
" Chummy " added :

" I trust not, for the society would not be pleasant
for my countryman."

In writing a description of such a scene, justice
cannot be done to it, for it was the manner of both,
and their antithesis to each other in bearing, that
made it irresistibly ludicrous. From the ludicrous
to the serious is conceded to be only a step, and
such brutes as these were the slaughterers of the
youth and flower of our troops during the late Trans-
vaal war, and with whom was made a dishonourable
peace.

Of the rock rabbit I should say a few words.
It is supposed to be the coney of the Scriptures,
and certainly it does take up its residence in the
stoniest of stony places ; but, for all this, naturalists
make it the transition from the rhinoceros to the
hippopotamus ; this classification doubtlessly arising
from its dental formation ; more extraordinary still,
to the uninitiated, is its being placed among the
Pachydermata .

250

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Unquestionably scientists are correct in
classification. Still, the ordinary observer would
scarcely hesitate at first sight to believe this strange,
wary, timid little beast to be a rodent.

Learning from several of my visitors that rock
rabbits abounded on some neighbouring copjes a short
distance to the westward, I resolved to spend an
afternoon shooting them. These animals are so
exceedingly wary that without a knowledge of their
habits, and taking advantage of a weakness (curiosity)
in their characters, the sportsman might almost inter-
minably go without the reward of even a sight of
them. To be brief, then, like nearly all mountain
residents, the klip-das only appear to apprehend danger
from beneath, therefore they must be approached from
above. Moreover, they are gifted with such curiosity
and a love of strange musical sounds, that they will
remain for almost any length of time staring and
listening when their attention is so attracted, pro-
vided always that no attempt is made to become on
too familiar terms with them. Thus I resolved on
the following programme : After proceeding to such
a position as would make the almost exhausted wind
of the afternoon favourable, a native was to enter

ROCK RABUIT, OR KLIP DAS (ffyrax capensis}.

To face page 250.

RED-LETTER DAY. 251

a kloof between two of the copjes, robed in a scarlet
blanket, and provided with one of his people's
primitive Jew's-harps, there to contort himself in
such a manner as would be certain to attract
the attention of the beasts sought after, while
I, by making a detour, came up the back of
one of these hillocks, that overlooked the conies'
retreats.

The part of the programme I had undertaken was
very fatiguing, from the rough and irregular nature
of the ground, while the heat was as intense as the
interior of an oven, on account of the reflected rays
of the sun. But the copje was not very high, so
that my perseverance was rewarded ere it became
exhausted, and I found myself on the summit before I
expected.

From my position, several hundred feet above
the plain, I had a grand view over a country quite
different from that we had lately travelled ; for
instead of undulating grass lands, miles and miles
of rough and broken ground extended north and
westward, making exactly such haunts as are in-
variably chosen by the rock-loving koodoo and klip-
springer.

252

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Having noted these circumstances, I raised my
head gently over the margin of the brow to see if
my attendant was visible — yes, there he was, just as
hoped for. For once a native had obeyed his in-
structions to the letter ; so, what between his punc-
tuality and the startlingly brilliant scarlet blanket
encircling his shoulders, I anticipated having a regular
red-letter day to add to my calendar of pleasant
reminiscences.

Elevating the muzzle of my rifle, to which was
bound my pocket-handkerchief, as a signal to let
the Bechuana know that I had reached my perch,
at once the fellow commenced to dance and play
with the ardour of Terpsichore and the enthusiasm,
if not the skill, of Orpheus.

Whatever the rock rabbits thought of the diver-
tissement I know not, but to me it was irresistibly
funny. I once heard some negro minstrels in one
of the Southern States sing that highly edifying and
thoroughly instructive melody, " Sally come up, Sally
come down, Sally come twist your heel around/' and
interlard each verse with the most comical, dexterous,
and violent breakdown. I considered that performance
fine — very fine, but my darkie down below was in

AN EXCELLENT AUDIENCE. 253

no way inferior to the burnt cork gentlemen across
the Atlantic, but rather topped them, by adding
occasional variations of the ever graceful can-can
step, which step, by-the-bye, Paris doubtlessly im-
ported from Bechuana Land, as she has done numerous
other useful and ornamental things from foreign climes.

The scarlet blanket, fastened gracefully around the
man's chest, with a couple of feet of it at the ' least
trailing behind, was a great improvement on the
accepted negro costume of a Very long swallow-tailed
coat and striped, close-fitting pants, for the reason
that such a toga was such as might be expected upon
a Booth or Forrest, instead of hanging from the
shoulders of a real, veritable, uncivilised representative
of the human family. There was one drawback, alas !
to my amusement ; it was a selfish one, doubtless, still
it did exist, viz., that the pas de seul I was watching
was "rather rough" on my blanket.

If I was entertained, there were others also who
were equally amused. These were a family party
of little gray monkeys on a heap of boulders to my
left, and several rock rabbits on the edge of a cliff
directly beneath my position. My presence in my
sanctuary was quite unknown to both, so I had a

254

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

grand opportunity of learning some of the charac-
teristics of each race.

Both species were an excellent audience, but they
conducted themselves differently ; for the first-men-
tioned stared, blinked their eyes, made faces, relieving
the monotony of this programme by an occasional
hurried scratch of their flanks or underneath their
arm-pits, the more juvenile ones not unfrequently
without ceremony (for this race does not seem to be
respecters of age) crowding their elders to one side
to make room for themselves ; or, when this effort
was ineffective, pulling a senior's tail with sufficient
force to show that they had not much veneration for
that graceful appendage.

The rock rabbits, on the other hand, were more
phlegmatic spectators, only occasionally expressing
approbation by the utterance of a gentle note, not
unlike that of a pleased guinea-pig, or turning
solemnly to their next neighbour with an inquiring
expression depicted in their eyes, as much as to
say, "What do you think of that, now?" The
klip-das is unquestionably the Dutch burgomaster
of the quadruped creation, being undemonstrative,
rotund, indisposed to exertion, with a certain formality

MONKEYS.

255

about its waddling movements that speaks as plainly
as words can say, " Any undue hurrying of my
locomotion, any forced precipitancy in my movements
will be rewarded with my severest displeasure."

While making these comments on the characters
of both the animals under observation, the violence
of the exercise which my follower was undergoing
commenced to tell upon his powers of endurance,
or the delay he was submitted to lessened his zeal,
so I deemed it better to select my victims and fire.
The right barrel did its work clean, the left was
not so effective, yet it tumbled the object aimed at
into a crevice beneath, where it fell upon its back,
and from which position it was unable to extricate
itself, either from its rotundity of person or the
severity of its wound. But pause, reader, before I
pick the game up, and observe the effects of the
sound of my rifle's reports upon the animal life
that was so lately in view. To the left the monkeys
will be perceived going as if ''the old scratch'*
himself was after them, hopping and bounding with
tails in the air, and evidently only intent on their
individual safety ; selfish — the quintessence of selfish-
ness— they undoubtedly are, giving them an additional

256 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

claim to be placed by naturalists in the rotation
in which the order Mammalia is classified, close
in proximity to man. The rock rabbits, too,
have disappeared, but their retreat has not been
disgraced by such precipitancy or apparent disregard
for the safety of their comrades. Previously not a
bird had been in sight ; now numerous hawks and
carrion feeders are sailing aloft on broad, expanded
pinions, inspecting with inquisitive eye the intruder
into the privacy of their domain, while lower down,
and closer to earth's surface, numerous black and
white ravens, very clerical in appearance and very
fond of meddling in affairs that don't concern them,
hurry out of range, cawing incessantly a warning to
the inferior animal creation that they had better be
on the look-out, as the most dreaded and most
destructive of all animals — man — is in their vicinity.
I could forgive these ravens, for their intentions
doubtless are good, still would prefer that they
took some other means of showing them.

CHAPTER XXVII.

SOUTH AFRICAN FLORA.
A Young Botanist — Bad Shooting — Kindness to Children.

BY this time my "boy" has joined me with the
game, and two fine plump fellows they are, over
whom my follower fairly gloated in anticipation of at
no distant date enjoying a feed upon their carcases.

Following round the face of the rocks nothing
worth shooting presents itself; still, to the observant
eye, indications are to be detected that tell that
the locality was not always so deserted.

The variety of heaths to be found in these
highlands are as numerous as they are beautiful,
and present a field of research for the botanist that
has been but little intruded upon. When I travelled
in Japan, about twenty-five years ago, I was for a
lengthened period in constant companionship with
Mr. John Veitch, alas! now dead. He was a most

s

253

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

skilful and enthusiastic botanist, and well can
remember the ecstasy he would go into over the
flora found upon the hillsides and in the valleys
that surrounded land-locked bays, which our ship,
now and then, was forced to take shelter in from the
dreaded typhoon raging without on open ocean. In
those days no European foot had ever traversed these
far distant braes, much less a lover of the vegetable
kingdom seeking for new species upon their slopes ;
thus this search had an additional, I may say excep-
tional, attraction for him, and perseveringly and
zealously did he take advantage of it ; in proof of
which the observer had but to note the loads of cut-
tings, leaves, roots, and flowers with which he would
return to the ship at sundown. Mr. Veitch was
far from loquacious, but to hear him speak of the
treasures he had obtained was almost sufficient to
make the listener as enthusiastic in his noble science
as himself.

Now here, in the country I am now describing,
is a field almost as attractive for the botanist
as was distant Japan. I admire, yes, I idolise
flowers, and the man who does not do so is, I
believe, without a belief in a future state. On the

BROKEN WINDED. 259

other hand, the person who is an enthusiast in his
admiration of these gems of creation, lives in the
knowledge of the existence of a Creator, who origi-
nates all things, controls all things. Admire man's
handiwork as you will, his knowledge of the harmony
of colour, his capacity of construction ; with all his
ingenuity he can never in any respect approach in
rivalry the most unobtrusive flower or the glorious
blossoms that rejoice in the presence of a tropical
sun. Perhaps they are given to remind us of the
future state in store for those that love Him.

But, while thinking with regret how ignorant I
am upon subjects touching upon botany, a clatter of
stones is heard above me, my attendant as rapidly as
possible halting in his advance to point to what caused
the noise, and in silent pantomime asking me to shoot.
The alarm is caused by two koodoo bulls rapidly
passing out of sight. Still, I have time to fire at the
last one, but I have to be quick, so after all it is but
a snap-shot, and I miss, just as a good many men
have done before me ; but I do not get into a
rage, swing my rifle about my head and abuse it
as the cause of my want of skill, as I know some
who invariably do on such occasions. No, I simply

s 2

260

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

hope for better luck next time and many more
chances of performing equally unskilfully.

Having reloaded, my companion hurries me along-
side of the brow of the ravine for several hundred
yards, then over a dip in the ridge for about the
same distance, both being performed at such a killing
pace as to be alike unconducive to comfort of body
and grace of movement. I never was much account
at such spurts, and I did not acquit myself better
on this occasion than I usually do, so that when I
got well over the ridge it was a case of bellows to
mend, and a very bad pair of bellows, too. Oh 1
that cruel, inconsiderate son of a heathen parent—
beseechingly first, imperatively afterwards, he insisted
upon my making another effort to reach the shelter
of a boulder nearly a hundred yards distant, the
intermediate space being covered with rocks and
stones varying in size from the dimensions of a
pianoforte to that of a cocoa-nut. Fool that I was
not to resist the mandate, for in my effort I nearly
came a cropper, which, if it had taken place, must
either have smashed some important part of my
construction or that of my rifle's. However, I have
reason to thank that Providence that looks after

CROOKED POWDER. 261

poor Jack, for I reached the stone without mishap ;
but, oh ! what a state I was in. I once heard a
song, when in the land of " the stars and stripes,"
which commenced somewhat after this fashion —

Oh ! my heart was made to flutter,
As I stepped across the gutter,

By the pretty girl that winked at me.

Now, that young man's case was nothing to mine ;
for, instead of my heart fluttering, it was hammering,
thump, thump, against my ribs, as if it desired to
escape from the control of a person who treated it
-badly."

I have no delicacy in confessing that I leaned
against that rock. More, I may as well acknowledge,
while in a truthful frame of mind, if that rock had
not been there, I should have laid down, so was
commencing to feel grateful for its support, when
the villainous black fellow seized me and tried to
draw me from my resting-place. It was not in my
power to resist, so I made a virtue of necessity,
and came forth, when, straight in front of me, not
thirty yards off, were the two bull koodoos passing,
their pace being about as rapid as might be expected

262

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

in animals that, as a rule, took this world easily,
and had become fat through always looking at the
bright side of life.

" Fire, did you ? " I can hear the reader ask.
Yes, I did fire, and both barrels, too. The bullet
of the first went into space, for it left no indication
of its lodging-place. That out of the second hit
the ground about ten yards in front of me, my
judgment in elevation being evidently very, very
faulty.

Such want of success was trying, no one will
doubt. However, I was prepared to put up with it ;
but when the Bechuana commenced to reproach me in
the choicest epithets of that most melodious language,
I felt "mean," deuced mean, which is always a bad
state for a Christian to be in, particularly an educated
one, for when a man fails to respect himself he
is in a truly deplorable condition.

Our journey home did not take long, for it was
not interrupted by a flow of conversation or a feast
of good fellowship ; in fact, I don't think either of
us cared much how soon we parted company. For
my part, I rather think I should have preferred the
parting, for then I should not have to listen to

, KOODOOS. 263

the sooty pagan narrating over the camp fire, to
his grinning associates, how the bass, with both
barrels, missed a pair of koodoo bulls (beasts as big
as a three-year-old steer) at about thirty paces.

I was not far enough gone in the late misadventure
not to recognise that they were bulls I had failed to
shoot, for the simple reason that the cows do not
carry horns, and such horns as these had — I think I
never previously saw finer ; and, in my opinion, of
all the trophies that come from South Africa they
are the most to be coveted. As I have shot
numbers of these animals previously in this sports-
man's paradise, I will here do my best to describe
their beauties. At the shoulder it stands not un-
frequently over fourteen and a half hands in height.
The body is a dark slate colour, marked by regular
transverse bars of white, as if at one time or other
it had been galled by a very complicated set of
harness. Its eyes are particularly noticeable from
their fulness and soft liquid expression, while the
ears, which are very much developed, are almost
unceasingly in motion, a certain indication of the
animal's incessant watchfulness. From its chin,
down the throat extends a mane, which also is to

264 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

be found upon the back, from the horns along the neck
to some distance beyond the withers, while its tail,
which is of moderate length, is covered with rough
and wavy hair. The horns, however, are its chief
characteristic feature, and never to be confused with
those of other antelopes when once seen. In length
they sometimes exceed four feet, and are possessed
of the most regular, graceful, spiral twist from the
base almost to the points, along the whole length of
which runs a well- developed ridge. Its hoofs, which
are very deeply indented and very sharp at the
edge, are almost as hard as flint, and thus enable
it with impunity to gallop over the roughest and
most breakneck-looking country.

After a good night's rest I awoke in the morning
in a happier frame of mind than I had retired
with ; so, having swallowed a strong cup of coffee, I
superintended the bullocks being put in the yoke, and
the start being made. The country through which
we passed was bright and undulating, covered in many
places with good wholesome grass, with numerous
attractive flowers interspersed through it. The well-
known kamil dorn, the mohaalaa of the natives, and
Acacia giraffe of science, is to be found abundantly

ATTRACTIVE NATIVES. 265

scattered over the country, the leaves of its umbrella-
shaped top being the favourite food of the animal
from which it takes its name. At the season of the
year in which this tree is in blossom, the whole air
is impregnated with the aromatic perfume produced
by its yellow flowers. Not many years ago all this
country swarmed with the larger species of antelopes,
as well as quagga and ostriches ; but skin-hunters,
and other abominations of civilisation, have either
exterminated the beauties or driven them into distant
regions. Springbok and lesser game are still to be
found here in considerable quantities ; in fact, they
are in sufficient numbers to satisfy all such persons
as shoot alone for sport. In the afternoon our course
was directed more to the eastward, and about the
time the sun dipped the western horizon, we reached
a most picturesquely- situated kraal, with many trees
growing within the enclosure of its fence, and a
goodly grove around it. The men were temporarily
absent ; but this did not prevent the women and
children visiting us, the former supplying the camp with
an abundance of milk, the latter, quite regardless of
age and size, mixing freely among my people. One
very good trait all these coloured races possess, that

265

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

is, kindness to children, and which is specially ob-
servable at the time meals are being taken. If a
"tiny mite" approaches on such occasions, and
asks for a morsel, it is certain to receive it ; even
Cookey himself, whom I believe to be the greediest
specimen of humanity I ever came across, would not
hesitate for a moment, on such a demand being made,
to part with a portion of his food. Before dark the
males of the population returned. They were a well-
grown, healthy lot of men as could be desired — a
good proof that they possessed plenty of food ; but
this necessary of life must have been animal, for they
refused to sell us any mealies (Indian corn), of which
we commenced to run short, as our horses consumed
about three buckets daily. At first I imagined that
the natives were deceiving me, but after a time I was
satisfied that they told the truth, for the captain, id
est, head man, without pressing, stated that they ex-
pected some bullock loads of grain to arrive shortly.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

NATIVE COIFFURE.
Jumping Hares — A Cheerful Countenance — Ladies' Toilette.

ADJOINING my new camp were several fields that had
all the appearance of being lately cultivated. I inquired
of those Bechuanas that visited me why they did not
grow a sufficiency for their wants. So they had tried
to do, was the answer, but the jumping hares (Pedetes
coffer] destroyed it before it had time to mature.

Now, as the j'umping hare is very succulent food,
affords sport, and moreover is a very destructive
animal to the agriculturist's crops, a battue was re-
solved against them ; and as there is no time like
the present, it was determined that it should take
place that night, for it is only after dark that success
against these gentry can be hoped for, they being
quite nocturnal in their habits, passing the entire day
in sleep within the limits of their extensive and often

268

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

very deep burrows, the ramifications of which are
most intricate.

Our intention was most popular among the
villagers ; so, when the appointed hour arrived, there
were at least a couple of dozen native volunteers
assembled to assist in the extermination of their
enemies. The arms of all were the favoured knob-
kerrie, of which I have formerly spoken, as well as
narrated with what skill the Bechuanas use this
primitive weapon.

We were fortunate in our choice of weather, for
the night was both dark and still — great considerations,
for this hunt is conducted by fire-light. To many
this will appear impossible. No such thing ; not a
bit more so than it is to shoot a deer by the light
of a torch, a performance which is accomplished too
frequently, I fear, for those beautiful animals long
to remain in abundance in the settled parts of North
America.

As we are proceeding to the place where we
expect to find the game, I will give the reader a
description of it ; for, without a knowledge of what
the animal's appearance is, the incidents that occurred
on the evening in question would lose much of their

THE JUMPING HARE. 269

interest. The Cape jumping hare, " spring-haas " of
the Boers (Pedetes coffer), is a little larger than our
home-bred animal, which it resembles in colour ;
but, instead of a scut, the African beast has a long,
bushy tail, which forms a very important part in its
configuration. The claws on the four toes with which
its hind feet are furnished, from their great size, might
almost be taken for hoofs of some of the smaller
antelopes. This creature is found pretty evenly dis-
tributed all over the colony, and in parts of Bechuana
Land they abound. When slowly moving about they
go on all-fours, but when alarmed, they adopt the
kangaroo's method of progression, making springs
frequently of thirty feet.

This hare is very timid, and this failing not un-
frequently causes it to run into the very danger it
seeks to avoid. Its time is spent between sleeping
and eating — rumour saying that its appetite is in-
satiable. Hence the destruction may well be imagined
that a score or more of these large beasts can commit
in a mealie garden of three or four acres. Their flesh
is excellent food, the result of their being entirely
vegetable feeders. The females produce three or four
young each season, and although externally so much

270

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

resembling many of the Australian animals, the sub-
ject of my remarks is not a marsupial.

If some of our aristocratic home-bred sportsmen
had seen my party as they started that evening for
the scene of our work, they would have pronounced
them a motley group, and well might they have
done so, for there was not among the lot as much
clothing as would have made an ordinary-sized table
napkin, while their hides shone resplendent with
health and frequent lubrications of rancid butter.
This skin dressing does not tend to the sweetness
of their scent upon the olfactory nerves of a
European, but this is the sole disagreeable that it
possesses, while it unquestionably results in pro-
ducing great comfort to the adopters of the system.
In the Bible we learn that oil gave cheerful counte-
nances to the ancients therein spoken of. Here, in
our modern times, among a primitive people, un-
contaminated by the vices of civilisation, the same
result is obtained through the medium of butter. It
might be interesting to my readers, especially if I
should chance to be honoured by any of the fair
sex, to inform them how a Bechuana belle performs
her toilet. Her hair, of which she is very proud,

VARIETY OF COIFFURE. 271

and of which she takes no small amount of care,
is dressed in various fashions, fashion being as much
a controller of custom there as at home. When
first I visited Bechuana Land, all the ladies wore their
locks plaited into innumerable small plaits, which hung
down like a fringe around the head, under which the
ears were perfectly hidden. Each of these plaits after
being made was then abundantly lubricated — so abun-
dantly, in fact, that from the end of all was frequently
suspended a drop of grease, which with heat and exer-
tion kept drip, drip, dripping upon the shoulders,
ultimately running in little channels down to the
waist. Now, however, the coiffure is of a different
fashion, the hair being teazled out fibre by fibre,
with a porcupine's quill, till their heads look as if
a gigantic mop had been placed upon them. On
the top, and in the centre of this redundant wig, a
pound or even more of animal grease is placed,
which has first been well kneaded with a metallic
substance extracted from the earth, and which re-
sembles small flakes of mica (sibilo) in brilliancy and
composition. A lounge in the sun for half-an-hour
causes this composition to dissolve, when the grease
finds its way over the body and leaves this greatest

272

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

adornment of the sex glittering as if sprinkled with
diamond dust. Around the ladies' necks are placed
several rows of beads, and suspended over their busts
innumerable tiers of the same adornments. These
are of endless colours, according to the freak and
fancy of the wearer, blue and pink being the
favourites. The wrists and ankles are decorated in
the same way, occasionally relieved by bangles of
brass or copper wire. Their earrings, the produc-
tion of some Birmingham manufactory, are large
and showy, while over all is worn a kaross, made
generally from the hide of the springbok, or, among
the aristocracy, from the pelt of the caracal or
common jackal. It is not an ungraceful method
of decorating the body, when one gets accustomed
to it, but I must acknowledge that it takes some
time to do so.

But, leaving the ladies for the present, as we
have reached the scene of our battue, our plan of
attack was immediately decided upon, viz., to drive
in line up wind, with a large lantern on each
flank.

The game was exceedingly plentiful, but wilder
than anticipated, so the knobkerries did not perform

A DREADFUL DEATH. 273

so satisfactorily as they usually do. However, I got
a couple of shots at twenty yards, or less, both of
which proved effective. It could scarcely have been
otherwise, when I state that the poor beasts were
sitting up like pigmy human beings, with their entire
figures clearly defined, gazing with large, lustrous
eyes in amazement at the sanctity of their domain
being invaded by such a brilliant and unknown
display.

In this enclosure there must have been upwards
of thirty or forty of these animals, for the rush they
made on passing round my flank resembled the tread
of a small drove of sheep. I might have fired into
the "brown" of them, it is true, and been successful
in adding further to my bag, but I hesitated from
doing so, in the belief that many more would have
gone away wounded than would have been secured.
I don't know why, but it has always appeared to
me a fearful thing for a wounded animal to die shut
up in the cold, damp interior of the earth. There
may be some mawkishness in this, for the burrow of
a rabbit or a jumping hare may present all the attrac-
tiveness to these animals that a well-furnished
bedroom does to man, and the majority of the

274 THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

human family prefer to resign life in such a place.
For my part it is not so ; when the final summons
comes for me to attend my last parade, I should
select to obey it in harness and actively em-
ployed.

Our want of success in our first essay against
the spring-haas induced us to change our plan of
campaign at the next mealie garden we visited. This
was to surround it and enter it simultaneously from
all sides, thus driving the occupants into the centre,
when we hoped to be able to account for them more
satisfactorily than we had done. A few whistles
announced that all was in readiness, so we entered ,
I having my Zulu henchman in close attendance,
with a lantern suspended a little behind me and
over my head. Soon I got several shots, but equally
rapidly I recognised that firing with a shot-gun
under such circumstances was about as dangerous to
the beaters as it was to the game, so, from necessity,
I was compelled to desist. Not so with my black
friends ; little cared they where their knobkerries
went and what damage they did, and so reckless and
fast was their discharge that I found myself in as
hot a corner as ever I desire to be. In dodging

SURROUNDED. 275

one kerrie I upset my black attendant, and in his
fall the lantern was nearly extinguished ; but he
rapidly regained his legs, in no way disconcerted
at the catastrophe, or at the prospect of becoming
the target of one of these dangerous missiles. Quite
the reverse ; he appeared to enjoy the danger and
excitement of the mise-en-scene, if a conclusion might
be formed from the display he made of his pearly
white teeth, which apparently formed a connecting
link from the lobe of his right to that of his
left ear.

A wise man would at this moment have lain
down, and I confess that for a moment I had my
doubts whether or not I should do so, but as
rapidly I dismissed the idea, from a knowledge that
it would place my prowess in a very doubtful
position in the eyes of the Bechuanas surrounding
me. The ring which had been formed around the
hares could now have scarcely exceeded twenty
yards in diameter, and about fifteen or twenty of
the game were in the enclosure, seeking an outlet ;
round and round, grouped together in a pack, they
coursed, every moment their numbers becoming
diminished. At length a resolution seemed to be

T 2

276

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

come to by the leaders of this persecuted crowd,
for with a rush, all at the same time dashed forward
at what they doubtless supposed the weakest portion
of the enclosure, fear appearing to give them
additional power of flight, and in a moment after
the prey was through our cordon with a bound. The
assailants did not escape this concerted attack
scatheless, for two of the most active of the hunters
on my left were knocked head over heels, and no
wonder can such result have been, when the size
of the animals, the velocity, and length of their
leaps are remembered ; in fact, the concussion that
the unfortunates experienced could not have been
much unlike one of our home-bred hares being fired
at a beater's head out of a catapult. But the hares
were gone, and with their departure came a flight
of knobkerries past my cranium, which were hurled
in pursuit of the escaping animals, that far outdid
in danger to human life or limb any of the previous
portion of the fray. Fortunately I escaped, but
that I solely owed to luck, for a knobkerrie that
missed my head wounded my Zulu and smashed
my lantern into atoms.

The slaughter of the innocents had been great,

SEARCH FOR THE KOODOOS. 277

for seventeen dead and dying were gathered together,
by far the greater part of which had been killed
by my allies. The two men who were knocked
down, it is satisfactory to know, suffered only a
little blood-letting, the first having received a severe
scratch on his forearm from one of the beasts' claws,
while the other had a usually very flat nose still
more pancaked, and from which poured a tolerably
abundant stream of not blue, but very black blood.
Spring-haas shooting, when followed in the manner
I have just described, is unquestionably very exciting,
and productive of a heavy bag, still I do not think
that I care specially for the amusement ; in fact, I
may add that I have not practised it since, and do
not intend to do so again. When I want a jumping
hare as an addition to my larder, I much prefer the
simple though less successful plan of going in pursuit
of the game, viz., with a single attendant to carry my
lantern, and I alone the weapon of destruction.

At daylight next morning we were up and doing ;
I superintended, as usual, the yoking of the cattle,
and when that was accomplished, I took the mare
and stole off to the westward, in the hope of coming
across the brace of koodoo bulls that had so

278

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

thoroughly beaten me on the preceding aft
I communicated my intentions to no one, as I did
not desire to have any witnesses of a failure. Lately
the horses had had little work, and the mare I now
bestrode less than any of the others, as she, being
still only partly broken, was therefore reserved for
my special use. The air was cool and balmy, such an
exhilarating atmosphere as I believe is only to be
enjoyed on this plateau ; its influence had its effect
upon my quadruped as well as upon myself, for, after
we were out of sight of the teams, I gave her her
head, which she had long been struggling to get,
and allowed her to select the pace, which for a
mile or more was about as fast as she could go.

I am not young now, and it requires more than
an ordinary pleasure to bring to me the sensations
of delight which I once knew, but nothing seems
to do it so thoroughly as a gallop upon a willing,
fresh horse over an open country, where the footing
is good, and rocks and stones do not crop out to
cause you to tighten rein or alter your course. This
little mare was a most promising pupil, strength,
substance, and symmetry all being combined in her,
while her spirit and energy never appeared to permit

A PAIR OF WORTHIES. 279

her powers to feel overtaxed. The earliness of the
hour still allowed several of the nocturnal prowlers
to be out of their dens, for I came across a brace
of jackals, who, after giving me an impudent stare,
as if inquiring what the mischief I was about at
such an unseemly time, whisked their voluminous
brushes in my face and at once sought shelter in
the nearest cover they could find. At that moment
I devoutly wished that I had with me some of my
greyhounds, the country being open and admirably
suited for a course ; and jackals are, to my think-
ing, a much more worthy prey for well-bred dogs
to show their merits upon than poor, timid, long-
eared puss. While regretting my inability to witness
the performance of my greyhounds, I almost galloped
upon a pair of hyenas, whose dislike at my intrusion
was exhibited by the ugly manner in which they
curled their upper lips and exhibited their formidable
ivories. But the skulking scoundrels had no idea
of waiting for closer intimacy, and at once started,
at their long lope, for the rocky country which was
now close before me. Before they gained it there
was a good three-quarters of a mile (of what looked
fair travelling for the little roan) to be traversed by

280

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

them, so I determined to try her against the speed
of this well-known fast animal. At first the mare
did not appear to like her work, the smell that the
carrion feeders exuded no doubt being the reason ;
but when she felt a gentle reminder from my spurs
that I was master and determined that she should
do my bidding and her utmost, she settled down
to the work demanded without further remonstrance
than two or three angry shakes of the head. For
the first three or four hundred yards it seemed to
me to be even betting as to who had the best of
the race ; but when I gathered my mount together,
leaned over her withers and gave a war-whoop of
encouragement to her, and of intimidation to the
enemy, the willing little beauty appeared to imbibe
a fresh addition of speed and fairly to fly with me.

There was no mistake now who had the best of
the pace, and evidently the hyenas were awrare of
it, for they at once separated, the larger going to
the right and the lesser to the left. To the first
I devoted my attention, and, after a good quarter
of a mile, was within twenty yards of his tail, and
I felt convinced, from his wobbling gait, that he was
sadly blown, the rotundity of his stomach evincing

A TREASURE. 281

that he had partaken of an unlimited meal the pre-
ceding night. Thus I estimated that two hundred
yards would bring me alongside of the pursued, and
had almost decided upon the effort, when my little
roan began to indicate that she, too, had had enough ;
so, as there was nothing to be gained by killing the
skulker, I took a strong hold of her mouth and gradu-
ally pulled up. I was glad to find, on examination,
that she was not much distressed, for, after relieving
her of the saddle, permitting her to roll in the sand,
and causing her to stand with her head to the breeze
for a few minutes, except for the sweat soils upon her
flanks, a stranger would scarcely have been aware that
she had lately gone through such a severe spin/"

A quarter of an hour after I had saddled up, I
found the place where I had seen the koodoos the
previous day. Here I knee-haltered my nag, and
left her to graze until my return. After a walk of
several hundred yards, I took a close observation of
my surroundings with my Dollond — a binocular, let
me say here, never surpassed by any field-glass I

* My saddles were made by Mr. Smith, Strand, next door to
Somerset House ; they are a new pattern of his invention, and
are simply perfect in ventilation and in comfort to man and beast.

232

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

have possessed or have seen. I purchased it ot trie
makers the day before sailing, grumbled much at
the price, and found out afterwards that I had not
been overcharged for it ; I wish I could say the same
of another part of my outfit ; but, to my cost, and
I may say sorrow, I cannot.

From behind a screen of rocks I had a long,
searching gaze up to windward ; nothing animated re-
warded my effort, should I except a few baboons,
who seemed, thus early in the day, not yet to have
recovered from the chilliness of the previous night.
They were a long way off, so had not discovered
me. Poor beasts ! Perhaps they supposed that they
were free from danger, as the sun had risen, and
their greatest foes of all — the leopards — had by this
hour returned to their cavernous homes in the ad-
joining krantzes and caves.

Stealing away quietly — in fact, making my exit
from my lurking-place as silently and as invisibly
as I possibly could, for a sportsman should ever be
a gentleman, and to awaken, frighten, and, perhaps,
terrify baboons is no more a gentlemanly per-
formance than to scare old women, for there are
invariably ladies and kinders in their assemblies

I
fi

MODERN POLITICIANS. 283

—I stole to the edge of an adjoining kloof, passed
down its near side, and ascended the opposite.
Long I lay and scanned the russet-brown, igneous-
looking stones, but not a sign of the animals I sought
for, could I see. It was a land of desolation, without
inhabitants I commenced to conclude, and so inclined
to give up the search. To do so mattered little, for
I was out on my own resources, and no human eye
was present to make public my failure. Like the
rest of my race, I love laudation for my success ;
like the rest of my race, I hate censure or condem-
nation when defeated. To gain the first I would
do much ; to avoid the latter, much more. Do none
of our politicians suffer in a like manner ? Aye, they
do, and often, I fear in modern times would sacri-
fice country, nation, all, in preference to sustaining
a defeat. In acknowledging my weakness, I deem,
though possibly erroneously, that I have a right to
castigate others. But, I would ask, is what is par-
donable in the sportsman, pardonable in the politician ?
Decidedly not ; for the first acts for himself only, the
latter for his constituents and country. Politicians of
the present day are, at their best, but place-hunters ;
patriotism, in its proper sense, is almost unknown

284

THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

among them, and the sole object in life of many, is
an unquenchable longing to filch from those that are
better and less avaricious than themselves, the now
more than historical "loaves and fishes" gained by their
merits or by the patriotic deeds of their forefathers.

Leaving what is now a dirty business, viz., politics,
on one side, I was about to shut up my glass, when
over its focus passed a new object. It was not for
a moment to be doubted what it was, for the erect
tips of horn, supported by several spiral twists, told
at once the tale. No, there was no room for doubt ;
it was the splendid adornments of a koodoo bull.
The ornaments I viewed might not have been the
property of either of the animals I made such a
contemptible display over the previous evening, but
if they were not the same, they were at least equal
to those of my former acquaintances, so I resolved,
coute qiie coute, to possess them.

Woman, in all your freaks of fashion, it matters
not whether you wear chignons or puffs in your hair,
cut it short behind like schoolboys, or friz it over
your foreheads after the manner of Skye terriers,
I can admire you in all and every type of coiffure ;
but, with nervousness, I almost hesitate to say that

A NUT-BROWN JUNO. 285

the head adornments of that koodoo absorbed my
longing for their possession more than ever did. the
golden locks or chestnut tresses of sprightly, vivacious
New York belle or more developed, Cleopatra-
like Anglo-Saxon beauty.

Thus my readers may well imagine the value I put
upon the reward I should receive if I obtained the
prize before me. To my ancestral halls, if I had any,
I would have consigned them ; but, alas ! I have none.
Blame me not for that circumstance, for at my ances-
tors' door is this heavy sin to be laid, and much I
regret that I have it in my power to do so. But,
although I have not spacious halls in which to place
them, or lofty study in which to hang them, there
is a nut-brown Juno, whose home is near the upper
waters of bonnie, fretful, trout-loving Clyde, who
could find a resting-place most suitable for these
trophies ; and what would be more gratifying to me,
they would always be under that loved one's eyes,
that told descent from a race of heroes, and expressed
enough fire in them to show that she could rival those
ancestors in the deeds they had done, although, perhaps,
they were only in sheep-stealing and cattle-lifting.

Perfect in form, beauteous in colour, and agile,

236

THE HUNTERS ARCADIA.

graceful, and fleet as you are, poor koodoo, yoi
merits can scarcely save you from destruction.
No, far from that, they only increase the desire of the
pursuer to be your destroyer ; so I creep from stone
to stone, from rock to rock, at one time walking with
almost broken back, the next minute crawling along
the ground like an animal that revels in the mire,
till at length a boulder is reached that stands erect
upon a crest that overlooks many a hundred yards
of the intervening country.

Yester-afternoon it was wTith me a case of bellowrs
to mend when I came within shot of this glorious
game. No such misfortune is the matter with
my frail carcase this brilliant, glorious morning, for
now the panting, exhausted man is replaced by one
who stalks with the silence and stealth of the Indian,
resolved that no mortal ailments shall prevent his
unerring rifle doing its duty. From behind the
giant boulder I long, anxiously, and disappointed
gaze. Not a vestige of animal life is before me.
Again and again I survey the ground in front of
me, and, to my disgust, nothing animate can be
discovered. I am dreaming, or must be in a trance,
or my eyes, that have never deceived me before,

SOLD. 287

are now lying to me ; for otherwise could such
caution and strategy be thrown away ? It was long
before I could be convinced that I had been beaten ;
for to convince a man against his will is a hard
matter indeed, but at last I was so. The cause of
my indescribable disappointment I at length sought
with my glass all over the middle distance. For a
long time I was unrewarded in my search, but at
length I discovered the truant koodoo more than a
thousand yards off, standing with the full light of
the early sun upon him (for the position he had
selected was the summit of an adjoining ridge). No
possible situation could have been better chosen to
show the bonnie beast to perfection than the one
it had taken, or, let me further add, to increase my
own exasperation.

Through the medium of my glass I could almost
with certainty judge the size, weight, condition, and
perfections of the horns of the animal that had
outwitted me. More, I believe — mind, kind reader,
I only say believe — I saw a twinkling in the grand
old bull's voluminous expressive eyes which said,
"If you want to circumvent me you must get up
earlier in the morning." Heaven forbid that I

288

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

should ever be compelled to make a practice of
getting up before daybreak, as I had done on this
memorable occasion.

I have heard Americans say in the Western
States, when they were similarly outwitted, that
they have felt like a skunk. Never having been
a skunk, I do not know how that small animal feels
when he has failed in his efforts to catch his prey,
but that I felt extremely insignificant there cannot
be the remotest doubt. And when I thought of
the nut-brown lassie on the edge of Clyde, and of
the impossible gift that I could ne'er bestow on
her, I got riled, and did the most probable deed
under the circumstances that could be expected—
shut my glasses with a slam, perfectly indifferent
whether I smashed them or not, and forthwith
started for my mare.

On my way back to my beast, I brooded much
over the mutability of human affairs ; but, strange
to say, that interesting study did not prevent my
making safe and rapid progress over the rough
ground I had to traverse ; in fact, I must have
been like one intoxicated, that finds the pavement
too narrow for his progress, yet can find his way

AN UNFEELING WRETCH. 289

to his bedroom, although the course to it is up the
most intricate staircase that human ingenuity ever con-
structed. When all goes right with us in this world,
we are courteous, considerate, and easily satisfied ;
when the opposite is the case, we are the reverse.

I found the gallant and willing little mare where
I had left her ; the saddle was soon girthed tightly
•on her back, and her patience while the operation
was being performed was most exemplary. Still I
was fractious and dissatisfied with her conduct, so
spoke to her roughly and unkindly. When my feet
were in the stirrup-irons, with her usual will and
energy to please, she lay down to her long, easy
gallop, destined soon to take me to the wagons.
Inadvertently and unfortunately the good little darling
stumbled, when I, in a spirit of revenge for such an
unavoidable contretemps, cruelly chucked her delicate
mouth about, and — would you believe it ? — drove the
cruel Latchfords into her silky flanks.

Disappointment in not having killed the object
of my hunt could scarcely have made me such a
brute. No ! I much fear it was not having the
trophies to lay at my bonnie lassie's feet that did it.
Oh, woman, woman ! you have much to answer for.

u

290

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

Mark Antony sacrificed all for his divinity.
Although, in this realistic age, such sacrifices become
less common, there are still, I think, men left
among us, that would make them ; and, strange as
it may appear, I do not think the worse of them
for that.

When speaking a few moments ago, I said that
I thought it would be ungentlemanly to intrude upon
the baboons, because their vrows and their bambinos,
otherwise hinders, would probably be with them.
Having made this statement, I will give my reasons
for doing so. I am a Scotchman and a Celt, but
all know that there is a wide divergence between th<
Celt of Scotland and the Celt of Ireland; in fact,
there are Celts and there are Celts. Such being the
case, I have carefully studied those differences which
separate the Celt of Ireland from the Celt of Scotland,
Coming to no hasty conclusion, and giving due weight
to a matter that is worthy of more than ordinary
consideration, I find that of all the races of human
beings that I have become acquainted with, whether
they be Digger Indians from the Rocky Mountains
of Sonora, whether they be Kalmucks from the steppes
and toundras of Siberia, or whether they be natives

BABOONS. 291

«

of the interior of Africa, none so much resembles the
baboon as an Irishman who claims his direct descent
from Finn M'Coul, or some king whose name begins
with an O' or Me. Kings were as plentiful as black-
berries in those days. What a delightfully aristo-
cratic place Ireland must then have been to reside
in ! I have stood upon heights in Connemara
that overlook the broad Atlantic, and I have rested
upon the bluffs that back Carlisle and Camden Forts,
in Co. Cork, and I believe that the sight of angry
breakers and turbulent ocean has a natural tendency
to make a ferocious people. In the Drakensberg,
where they attain their loftiest summits, com-
manding the undulating pastures of Natal or the
widespread flats of the Free State, there baboons
exist in numbers. Irishmen of the lower orders have
the Atlantic Ocean to gaze upon, the baboons have
their waving plains ; the one has water, the other
has land as a prospect, but the result is wonderfully
similar in producing likeness in physiognomy. Of
course I only mean such Irish as one sees in the
steerage of emigrant ships, or loafing about the
" Five Points," New York, or idling round the
grain elevators of Chicago, or doing a little steve-

292

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

doring on the levee of St. Louis, or attending politic;
meetings, where they do a lot of mouthy oratory.
In no way do I make the above comparisons applicable
to Ulster men, for the reason that that province is
as far out of Ireland, and distinct from it, as New
Jersey is said to be out of and distinct from the
United States.

Note the Connemara Irishman, with his heavy
jaw, his protruding upper lip and teeth, that, if it
were possible for them to be hid, it would be a charity
to hide them. The same are the characteristics of
these interesting animals that are to be found in every
rocky spur or stony kloof of our South African de-
pendencies. Never having associated with baboons,
and thus made them my personal acquaintances, it
is quite possible that I make errors in describing
their social life ; but, as far as I can judge, they are
an exceedingly moral people. I am not aware that
they require to have legal referees, for the simple
reason that disputes or differences of opinion seldom
arise between them. I have never heard of divorce
or elopement ever occurring amongst them. If
serious dissensions do not occur, trifling ones will
occasionally take place, for sometimes an old grand-

LORDLY MAN.

293

father baboon will whack a youngster who has
been indiscreet enough to take his tail for a bell-
pull, or his majestic gait for a piece of assumption.

But an idea arises in my mind : supposing human
beings were suddenly gifted with tails, they would at
first be naturally repulsive to look upon, because an in-
novation upon our present structure, but, once the eye
became accustomed to them, they would be thought an
adornment, or scarcely attract attention, and then how
useful they could be made if well developed. Thus the
agricultural population, by having a metal addition at-
tached to their tails, could with them hoe the ground,
the man of fashion lead his St. Bernard by it, and
those treasures, the jewels of our sex's eyes, "the
ladies," wear their bracelets, bangles, and rings upon
them.

Baboons are monogamous, and if fate or accident
should deprive them of their helpmate, the Bechuanas
tell me that they never marry again. Thus, when
a baboon becomes a widower, he retires from the
coterie, composed of happy spouses, and devotes
himself to the service of the commonwealth by be-
coming a permanent sentry. This is self-sacrificing,
all will acknowledge, and few human beings would

294

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

do the same ; but it shows that animals, whom
lordly and self-assuming man looks down upon, have
some points about them that deserve admiration.

I don't think that School Boards have been intro-
duced among baboons, for the reason that they cannot
count correctly. Thus, if you want to shoot them,
the best plan to adopt is to enter a mealie garden,
in parties of four or five, upon which they are in
the habit of making depredations, when one should
drop behind and secrete himself ; and the baboons,
not being able to distinguish between four and five,
return to the scene of their spoliation, unconscious
that a latent enemy has been left behind. This plan,
when adopted at dusk, is generally successful. I have
never practised shooting these interesting animals in
this way ; but then I am neither a Moonlighter nor
a Home Ruler.

The children of baboons are brought up to in-
dustrious habits ; their mothers at an early age take
them forth and explain to them what they should
and should not eat, and where they should seek
for their support. Onions and vegetables of a
garlic-like savour are their favourite food, and such
being the case, I should imagine that the parents

PARENTAL AFFECTION. 295

occasionally find the breath of their offspring
militates very strongly against their treating them
with that affection which they otherwise would do.
Moreover, baboons are exceedingly fond of eating
centipedes and scorpions ; for this eccentricity nobody
can blame them, for, after all, both have a strong
resemblance to shrimps, and we all know how
popular tea and shrimps are at Greenwich. I have
said a great deal about the ordinary habits of baboons.
I have compared them with human beings, to whom
they might feel offended at being compared, and I can
confidently state that no pluckier brute ever was born.
On one occasion, when in the vicinity of
Harrismith, in the Orange Free State, I surprised
a number of baboons — I would not do so now, but
I did so then — viz., hied on to them half-a-dozen grey-
hounds, that were at my heels ; the whole party
of baboons fled, but one youngster seemed in-
capable of keeping his place among his seniors, and
was overtaken by my dogs. Rapidly this victim
would have been destroyed, but a couple of the
patriarchs of the drove turned back and fought such
a gallant battle that they actually repulsed the enemy,
although three to one against them.

296

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

When this occurred, " Chummy" and I jumped
from our nags and rushed to the support of our canine
pets, but when we saw the beasts make such a
stand and thought in what a proper spirit they had
done so, we desisted. I am very partial to having
a baboon in my wagon ; but the person who indulges
in that taste must have a youngster, who has not
acquired the vices of his ancestors ; he can then
mould the young creature's manners to a certain
degree into habits suited to the ideas usually en-
joyed by a Christian people.

While I have been making these notes, I have
been travelling through a country where baboons
abound, and from every ridge of rock and precipitous
kloof that we have passed by, they have indicated
their presence with their basso pro/undo voice, saying
plainly that they object to the advance of wagons,
alias civilisation, into their country.

Where we outspanned was simply a wash, other-
wise a vley on a small scale — that is, an indentation
in the ground where rain water has settled. There
was enough for the beasts to drink, but not an
abundance, so it became necessary that we should
hurry up to the next place where we should find water.

A SUCCESSFUL SHOT. 297

The spoor about our immediate vicinity was so
numerous that I took the Totty with me and went
in search of some of the game that had made it.
A number of Bushmen had joined our cortege, and
judging from their contracted physiques and starvation
belts, there could scarcely be a doubt that they had
been existing on very short commons. To shoot game
for the requirements of these poor people ceased to
be a sin, but became a duty. To the rechte hand
pat (right-hand path), after a trudge of half-an-hour,
wre got into what in Africa would be considered
forest-land ; but forest-land in this part of the world
must not be confused with the beeches of Burnham
or the old oaks of Cadzow Forest. Soon after I
entered this wooded district I noted a bird flitting
from tree to tree in front of me. The Totty said
there was game not far off; and, sure enough, he
was right, for immediately afterwards a steinbok
left some bushes in my front, trotted across an open
glade, and then stood as if desirous of having a closer
acquaintance with the European intruder, who thus un-
expectedly forced himself upon his observation. That
halt was fatal ; the steinbok fell, for a 500 Express
bullet from my Tolley rifle passed through his pretty

293

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

flank. After taking his hide and such meat as was
desirable, we wandered onward further to the east, our
inducement to do so being that the spoor of several
oryx (gemsbok) led in that direction. Every sports-
man likes to add the horns of this noble beast to his
collection of trophies, for, independent of their great
beauty, this is the accepted animal from which our
fabled unicorn is taken. But the oryx was not to be
stalked, and Totty and I fruitlessly wandered on till
an hour before sundown, when we sat down upon
two fallen mimosas, and conversed upon our want of
success, and the probability that we should have better
luck on a future occasion.

Sportsmen at home would sit side by side when
discussing such momentous questions, but we sat
vis-a-vis, for why ? — it gave both our optics the control
of the distance beyond us ; for in this country it is
imperative to guard against your being stalked while
you are stalking. When the shadows began to
become so heavy and solid as to remind me that
a past day had to be added to the repertoire of my
memory, we started up together, and knocked the
ashes out of our pipes with the intention of hurrying
homewards. It is needless to say that I am an

THE SPOOR OF SPOORS. 299

inveterate smoker, and my Hottentot companion
was the same ; to you, who know not the delights
of tobacco, I need not urge the pleasures to be
derived from its use. You that are smokers well
know how painful it is to deprive yourselves of even
the last whiff. But night told us we must be going,
or else we should sleep without the friendly shelter
of our wagons. Therefore westward we went, and
went and went, till the sun was almost down, and
the shadow of one tree ran into that of another, and
" birds that were not canny began to talk from nook
and cranny,'; telling plainly that the draperies of
night would soon be over all things, when we came
upon a vley.

A vley, my readers already know, means a pool
of water, and this pool of water was just such as the
most fastidious could have desired to make. Fancy
a long sheet of liquid standing in a wood, with grassy
slopes surrounding it for, at least, a hundred yards
from where the timber ceased, and its clear, pellucid
contents margined with a wide streak of fairest snow-
white sand. We approached it, we tasted its waters,
and I laved my head in it, it was such an unexpected
pleasure ; but when satisfied I turned round to see

300

THE HUNTER'S ARCADIA.

what had become of my attendant, for I had
him. My eyes had not far to search ; behind me
he stood, his big eyes, bleary and chocolate-coloured
as they usually are, were now distended to double their
ordinary size, a fixed, intent stare was in them, and
an expression that spoke big words, nay volumes.
What was he staring at ? What was the fascination
that had such an influence upon him ? A trifle to
the uninitiated, a mere bagatelle, a simple indentation
in the sand, but to the experienced it told a tale that
the monarch of the brute creation had consecrated
the spot by placing his foot upon it. It was the
spoor of a lion ! Thus we leave the small game
of South Africa, and enter into the habitat of the
larger. My reader is not, however, to suppose that
the lesser, but none the less attractive, animals cease
to be met where the larger and more formidable
are to be found, and in pursuit of which I hope
soon to take him.

THE END.

CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL i'ALACE PRESS.

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