“That’s right! Now, see that your water-bottles are full, and put a pound or two of biscuit and some ‘biltong’ (pieces of beef, venison, or other meat dried in the sun) into your wallets; then you’ll be independent for the next forty-eight hours. Bear in mind one thing! never when attacking any animal have both your rifles unloaded at the same time; always be prepared for danger, as that is the readiest way of escaping it. Be very careful of your horses; don’t over-ride them, and look out for sore backs.”
“All right, father, we’ll not come to grief if we can help it,” rejoined Tom, tightening his girths. “Now, Patrick, hand us over the ‘grub’—there, that’ll be plenty. Are you ready, George?”
“Yes, quite ready,” was the reply. “Come along!”
“Mind you approach the herd to leeward,” shouted the Major, as the boys galloped off.
A smart “scurry” over the yielding turf soon brought our young sportsmen within three or four hundred yards of the unsuspecting hartebeest, when Tom called to his companion to pull up.
“We mustn’t go at them with a rush,” said he. “In fact, I almost think our best plan would be to tether the horses to these trees and stalk the herd on foot. What do you say?”
“I agree with you, old fellow,” replied young Weston. “You see we’re not much accustomed to shoot from the saddle.” And so they both dismounted, tied up their horses to separate trees (for Tom’s nag was rather given to using his heels), and having unslung and loaded their rifles with more than usual care, they advanced towards the hartebeest. The hartebeest—generally supposed to be the Bubalus of the ancients—is one of the commonest breed of deer in Southern Africa. It stands from four to four-and-a-half feet at the withers, the form of its body being something between that of a red-deer and a heifer; the tail reaches nearly to the hocks and is terminated by a tuft of coarse hair. The head of the hartebeest somewhat resembles that of an ox, but the ears are “asinine” in shape, and the eyes are placed very high; below each eye is a pore from which exudes a matter: this matter the Hottentots preserve as a rare and valuable medicine, but what diseases it is supposed to cure we cannot say. The hartebeest is furnished with a pair of strong black horns, embossed with rings; the horns are quite close together at the base, diverging upwards, and at the tops bending rearwards in a horizontal direction almost to the tips, which are several inches apart. The colour of this animal is a dark cinnamon, except the hind-quarter and inside the thighs, which are of a yellowish white; the face and the fore-part of the legs are marked with black.
When galloping, the hartebeest appear to go heavily with a donkey-like action; but nevertheless they get over the ground quite as fast as other large deer; if, when followed, they manage to get ahead, they are apt to stop short and gaze at their pursuers. When hard pressed, this animal—like the wood-antelope and nil-ghau—drops on his knees and shows fight.
Cautiously the two boys crept up to the herd, keeping well under cover of the bushes and tufts of karoo-grass.
“Now, Tom,” said George, who, by the way, was much the best shot; “we’re well within range. I’ll take that big fellow standing near those mimosa bushes.”