The natives had also lighted the grass a few hundred yards in our rear.
Presently I saw a slate-coloured mass trotting along the face of the
opposite slope, about 250 yards distant. I quickly made out a
rhinoceros, and I was in hopes that he was coming towards me. Suddenly
he turned to my right, and continued along the face of the inclination.
Some of the beautiful leucotis antelope now appeared and cantered
towards me, but halted when they approached the stream, and listened.
The game understood the hunting as well as the natives. In the same
manner that the young children went out to hunt with their parents, so
had the wild animals been hunted together with their parents ever since
their birth.
The leucotis now charged across the stream; at the same time a herd of
hartebeest dashed past. I knocked over one, and with the left-hand
barrel I wounded a leucotis. At this moment a lion and lioness, that had
been disturbed by the fire in our rear, came bounding along close to
where Molodi had been concealed with the luncheon. Away went Molodi at a
tremendous pace! and he came rushing past me as though the lions were
chasing him; but they were endeavouring to escape themselves, and had no
idea of attacking.
I was just going to take the inviting shot, when, as my finger was on
the trigger, I saw the head of a native rise out of the grass exactly in
the line of fire; then another head popped up from a native who had been
concealed, and rather than risk an accident I allowed the lion to pass.
In one magnificent bound it cleared the stream, and disappeared in the
high grass.
The fire was advancing rapidly, and the game was coming up fast. A
small herd of leucotis crossed the brook, and I killed another, but the
smoke had become so thick that I was nearly blinded. It was at length
impossible to see; the roar of the fire and the heat were terrific, as
the blast swept before the advancing flames, and filled the air and eyes
with fine black ashes. I literally had to turn and run hard into fresher
atmosphere to get a gasp of cool air, and to wipe my streaming eyes.
Just as I emerged from the smoke, a leucotis came past, and received
both the right and left bullets in a good place, before it fell.
The fire reached the stream and at once expired. The wind swept the
smoke on before, and left in view the velvety black surface, that had
been completely denuded by the flames.
The natives had killed many antelopes, but the rhinoceros had gone
through their nets like a cobweb. Several buffaloes had been seen, but
they had broken out in a different direction.
