The Live Weight Of The Male
Would Be About Five Hundred Pounds; The Female, Like The Nellut
(Tragelaphus Strepsiceros), Is Devoid Of Horns, And Much
Resembles The Female Of The Sambur Deer Of India.
This antelope
is the "water-buck" of South Africa.
On arrival at the camp, I resolved to fire the entire country on
the following day, and to push still farther up the course of the
Settite to the foot of the mountains, and to return to this camp
in about a fortnight, by which time the animals that had been
scared away by the fire would have returned. Accordingly, on the
following morning, accompanied by a few of the aggageers, I
started upon the south bank of the river, and rode for some
distance into the interior, to the ground that was entirely
covered with high withered grass. We were passing through a mass
of kittar and thorn-bush, almost hidden by the immensely high
grass, when, as I was ahead of the party, I came suddenly upon
the tracks of a rhinoceros; these were so unmistakeably recent
that I felt sure we were not far from the animals themselves. As
I had wished to fire the grass, I was accompanied by my
Tokrooris, and my horse-keeper, Mahomet No. 2. It was difficult
ground for the men, and still more unfavourable for the horses,
as large disjointed masses of stone were concealed in the high
grass.
We were just speculating as to the position of the rhinoceros,
and thinking how uncommonly unpleasant it would be should he
obtain our wind, when whiff!
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 377 of 556
Words from 102447 to 102713
of 151461
