The Hoof Is As Beautifully Proportioned As That Of The Smallest Gazelle,
And His Lengthy Legs And Short Back Give Him Every Advantage For Speed
And Endurance.
There is a rule to be observed in hunting the giraffe on
horseback:
The instant he starts, he must be pressed - it is the speed
that tells upon him, and the spurs must be at work at the very
commencement of the hunt, and the horse pressed along at his best pace;
it must be a race at top speed from the start, but, should the giraffe
be allowed the slightest advantage for the first five minutes, the race
will be against the horse.
I was riding "Filfil," my best horse for speed, but utterly useless for
the gun. I had a common regulation-sword hanging on my saddle in lieu of
the long Arab broadsword that I had lost at Obbo, and starting at full
gallop at the same instant as the giraffes, away we went over the
beautiful park. Unfortunately Richarn was a bad rider, and I, being
encumbered with a rifle, had no power to use the sword. I accordingly
trusted to ride them down and to get a shot, but I felt that the
unsteadiness of my horse would render it very uncertain. The wind
whistled in my ears as we flew along over the open plain. The grass was
not more than a foot high, and the ground hard; the giraffes about four
hundred yards distant steaming along, and raising a cloud of dust from
the dry earth, as on this side of the mountains there had been no rain.
Filfil was a contradiction; he loved a hunt and had no fear of wild
animals, but he went mad at the sound of a gun.
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