Seeing The Magnificent
Herd Of About Fifteen Giraffes Before Him, The Horse Entered Into The
Excitement And Needed No Spur
- Down a slight hollow, flying over the dry
buffalo holes, now over a dry watercourse and up the incline on
The
other side - then again on the level, and the dust in my eyes from the
cloud raised by the giraffes showed that we were gaining in the race;
misericordia! - low jungle lay before us - the giraffes gained it, and
spurring forward through a perfect cloud of dust now within a hundred
yards of the game we shot through the thorny bushes. In another minute
or two I was close up, and a splendid bull giraffe was crashing before
me like a locomotive obelisk through the mimosas, bending the elastic
boughs before him in his irresistible rush, which sprang back with a
force that would have upset both horse and rider had I not carefully
kept my distance. The jungle seemed alive with the crowd of orange red,
the herd was now on every side, as I pressed the great bull before me.
Oh for an open plain! I was helpless to attack, and it required the
greatest attention to keep up the pace through the thick mimosas without
dashing against their stems and branches. The jungle became thicker, and
although I was in the middle of the herd and within ten yards of several
giraffes, I could do nothing. A mass of thick and tangled thorns now
received them, and closed over the hardly-contested race - I was beaten.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 304 of 662
Words from 82458 to 82717
of 178435
