On Sunday morning the whole Division paraded at 6 A.M. for divine service, forming in "contiguous column of brigades," on the left of the camp; a missionary of the English Church from Smithfield read the prayers.
Though two days before we had waded across the river only knee deep, it had on the 6th risen nearly fifteen feet; the boiling eddying flood bearing along in its resistless course masses of grass and broken branches, with huge trees tumbling over and over in the whirling pools. Many of the men amused themselves by swimming about in mid-current, getting astride the floating trunks, and sailing rapidly down the stream. The quantity of drift-wood greatly interfered with the operations of the pontoon under the charge of Lieutenant Siborne, R.E., in getting over waggons with supplies. The cattle, after being forced into the water with great trouble, were swept a long way down the river, many of them sticking for a time in most ridiculous positions in the trees growing on the bank.
On the morning of the 8th, the Head-Quarters and Second Brigade having left the camp an hour before, we marched at 6 o'clock, arriving, after some miles, at the first halting place just as they were quitting it. We passed two solitary Dutch farms, for which, as usual when such raræ aves came in sight, five or six officers dashed off across country at full gallop to forage for their respective messes, provided with empty bottles for goat's milk, and plenty of small change; overtaking the column again, with perhaps an enormous cabbage and a couple of old fowls with bleeding necks hanging from the saddle, or a bunch of onions, and a handkerchief full of eggs. Late in the day a good many springbok were seen, which we 'jagged' for some distance, getting plenty of long shots; but the sight of a large wildebeest, or gnu, cantering leisurely along the plain, drew off all the hunters in pursuit of the nobler game. Having already done up my horse and expended all my ammunition, I could only follow him with a wistful gaze. He was a splendid fellow, as large as an ox, and came so close past me, as I led my horse back towards the column, that I could have hit him with a stone. Mortified as I was at my ill luck in having at such a moment an unloaded rifle and empty pouch, I stood fixed in admiration as he came wildly bounding along, his massive bristling head bent down, whisking his white tail, while his fierce eyes and recurved horns gave him a most formidable appearance.
We had fairly entered the game district, and as our Brigade was in front the following morning, some of us rode on about a mile ahead, so as to come on the herds before they were alarmed by the approach of the column. Very shortly after daylight we spied a large herd of springbok at half a mile distant, and following a slight hollow gained five hundred yards before they discovered us, when away they went, springing twenty feet at a bound, and we after them in full chase, firing away right and left. Two of them being wounded and appearing every moment likely to fall into our hands, led us on for a considerable distance, when finding further pursuit useless we pulled up. We were miles away from the column, which was nowhere to be seen; there was nothing whatever to guide us, and as in our windings and turnings, we had lost all idea of our course, we could only guess what direction to steer. The silence was awful, not a living creature was to be seen besides ourselves, and we felt as small as we looked in the vast plain stretching before and around us in endless undulating ridges of brown grass. After a time we saw a large herd of black looking animals grazing two or three miles distant, which our glasses showed us were wildebeest. For several hours we rode steadily on in a north-westerly course, and at last, to our great delight, beheld, a few miles off, a point or two to the north, the white tops of the waggons outspanned. When we rode in to bivouac, having bagged a fine rheebok by the way, the Brigade was falling in after an hour's halt.
Having leave from the Colonel Commanding to rejoin the column at the evening halting place, we exchanged our horses for the fresh ones led by the servants; and replenishing our ammunition from the pack saddles, set off with three or four companions in the direction of the herd of wildebeest. We soon fell in with several large herds of springbok, though they were too wild to allow of our coming within rifle range; a few blesbok, the largest of the antelope tribe, were sighted, but were equally wary. From a low ridge we now saw the most magnificent sight; on an immense plain hundreds of wildebeest grazed in herds scattered far and near, with springbok and blesbok. I shall never forget the exciting interest with which, for the first time, we saw these noble animals feeding in herds on their native plains, or the thrill of pleasure it gave us as we watched them through the telescope cropping the short brown herbage, switching the flies from their dark glossy sides, and impatiently stamping their delicate taper legs. As we lay concealed behind some large stones, we observed the rest of our party stealing unperceived round the principal and nearest herd, so that presently it was between us. Gazing at us as we rapidly approached, they angrily tossed their heads, bounded into the air snorting and making most extraordinary noises, and went off full gallop, the waving mass of manes and tails flying before us with the thundering of a thousand hoofs over the sun-baked earth, which was covered so thickly with the skulls of gnu and antelope, as to make it dangerous riding. A fine old bull, with long white tail and mane, being detached from the rest, was followed by three of us for several miles, after which I found myself quite alone in the pursuit. Every few hundred yards he would turn round and stare at me, snorting and throwing up his head; when I dismounted and fired, he kicked up his heels into the air, wheeling about in the most fantastic and absurd style, and off he cantered again, his tail whisking round and round without ceasing; every now and then as if seized with some sudden whim, he would spring into the air and go off harder than ever, flinging out his heels right and left. In our course we passed through several astonished herds with which he appeared to have no acquaintance. Suddenly I found myself in a perfect nest of large holes, the burrows of wild-dogs, when the undermined earth breaking through, my horse rolled over, the old wildebeest, not 300 yards off, looking at us as much as to say, I knew how it would be. Without rising, I fired at his forehead; the ball struck one of his horns with a sharp crack, he butted savagely at the ground and flew off full speed. My next bullet hit him in the neck, when he rushed right at me, my horse running back in affright and pulling the rein off my arm. I dropped behind an ant-heap as he charged, and firing a pistol in his face which made him swerve a few feet, his impetus carried him a hundred yards beyond me, so that before he could wheel round, I was on horseback again and reloading. He darted off in a new direction, but had not gone far before a shot in the leg brought him rolling to the ground in a cloud of sand; but my triumph was short, he was up and off again, though by this time only able to trot quietly along; marking his track with drops of blood. Sure of my game, I had just dismounted to give him a finishing shot, when, to my astonishment, bang went a score of rifles at him from just over a little ridge in front, and the balls came pinging right over my head most unpleasantly close. We had come suddenly on the Column, and not many yards over the rise I found a crowd of officers collected round the dead gnu. His tail was cut off and presented to me. The Colonel having lent his private mule waggon to convey the carcase to camp, I had it taken there and it was skinned and cut up; the meat, though totally devoid of fat, proved of excellent flavour, and supplied the soup kettles and frying pans for the next two days. We had often heard that the brain of the wildebeest harbours gentles or grubs, to which its wild extraordinary vagaries are attributed, and being anxious to ascertain the truth of such a strange phenomenon, the head was opened by Dr. Fasson, R.A., in the presence of a number of officers. In the very centre of the brain, still quite warm, there was found a large maggot, which when put on the table wriggled across it with great activity. How such an animal comes there in the first instance, how it exists, and propagates, and whether it really causes the mad antics of the wildebeest, are questions worthy the attention of naturalists.
Our tents had not long been pitched when hundreds of wildebeest appeared not a mile off. Our Commanding Officer, and all who had fresh horses, were off in a few minutes, and right in the midst of the herds. After some hours' excellent sport we brought in several calves and one cow wildebeest; the veal was very good. A wounded bull charged at Stapleton, of the 43rd, and striking his horse about the shoulder, sent him and his rider flying and rolling over on the ground.
An officer of the 2nd, who had formed one of our hunting party of the early morning, was still absent. At "tattoo," none of the others, who had straggled in during the evening, having seen anything of him, great fears were entertained for his safety. In the morning a party of Cape Corps was sent back to look for him, and we marched off in column of brigades. Though there was an hour's interval between each brigade's starting, the tail of the waggon train of each reached nearly to the head of the body in its rear, the whole being in sight at once, winding slowly along the brown barren ocean-like expanse in a continuous line of nearly five miles long.
In the evening, as the setting sun crimsoned the warmly tinted rocks of the higher hills, whose base was already veiled in shade and blue haze, we halted, after twenty miles' weary march, at Sanna Spruits, in one large encampment, placing outlying picquets of Cavalry on the rising ground; the lances and pennons seen against the glowing sky gave the groups a most picturesque appearance. Two or three ostrich eggs were found in the sand, and brought into camp; they made excellent omelettes. Next day the face of the country slightly improved, the grass approached nearer to green, and a fine range of blue mountains was seen in the horizon, some like domes with pointed minarets, others sharp serrated peaks, and one or two resembling chimneys.
The scanty vegetation of the plains was varied now and then by patches of orange, purple, and pink mesembryanthemum; the beautiful hæmanthus, and brilliant convolvulus; also by small yellow and scarlet poppies, with sharp prickly leaves like the thistle.