Blesse-bok.

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CHAPTER XVII.

A Chase after Blesse-bôk-Mr. and Mrs. Hartogh-Countless Herds of Bôk-Orebi-Salt-pans-Pig-A Cropper-Buckjumpers-Mere-cat and Kite-Potsabelo Mission Station.

NEXT morning, as we were starting, Captain Persee's servant came down, bringing with him six dogs, greyhounds and deer-hounds, for us to take with the waggon, and a message to the effect that his master would join us on the road. The dogs delayed our trek very considerably, as they took every occasion of fighting each other, and getting into such an entanglement that we had constantly to halt the waggon before we could set them free, only to begin fighting afresh. We had intended to reach the farm in one trek, but the oxen showed such evident symptoms of fatigue that we were forced to outspan half-way. While outspanned we saw a very large herd of spring- and blesse-bôk together, but were not able to get within range. Soon after Captain Persse joined us, and after a snack of lunch, he and A., taking the dogs, set off over the veldt in search of the bok. I stayed behind to bring on the waggon, as P. had not been able to leave Middelburg at the early hour we started. Before we had gone a mile a herd of many hundred blesse-bôk came over a hill

towards the waggon. I jumped on my horse, but the country was so rough that I could not get a fair chance before they were out of range, and I returned to the waggon rather disconsolate; but I was soon cheered up, for straight down the path towards us came a still larger herd at full gallop, driven by the other two. I was on my horse on my horse again in an instant, and this time succeeded in hitting a fine old ram who was heading the herd, but only broke his leg. He turned off from the rest and made off as fast as if unhurt, in the opposite direction, with me after him, but for three or four miles I gained very little on him, as the ground was unfavourable for galloping. To all appearances the old bôk was not travelling faster than a slow horse's trot, but his shambling canter kept him well ahead of me over the broken ground, and on he went, never showing a sign of fatigue. At last the veldt changed its character, and instead of a hard, uneven surface, broken up with broad, deep hollows, and numberless ant-hills, a stretch of, to all appearance, smooth springy grass extended away in front. Now was my time; and touching “Cricket" with the spurs, I increased the pace so much that the bôk evidently began to tire, and before long I was within fifty yards of him; the horse seemed to catch the excitement and raced up almost alongside, when just in front appeared a huge bear-hole. Very cleverly Cricket jumped it in his stride; but the ground was rotten on the far side, and catching his fore feet in the deep loose soil, over we went, horse and rider turning a complete somersault. Luckily it was soft falling, and

Charged by a Bôk.

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I was not long in picking myself up, and to my relief found my rifle uninjured. I looked round for the bôk, and was surprised to see it just laying down on a bit of high grass not 300 yards away, and too exhausted to get up when I rode close to it and jumped off; but as I walked alongside and was pulling out my knife to give it the coup de grace, up it jumped, and charging straight at me, before I could get out of its way, it was upon me, and I was again sprawling on the ground, but not a bit hurt; before it had gone many yards past me I put another bullet through its heart, which brought the bôk down without a struggle.

As the waggon was not a great distance off, and my horse too tired for the extra burden, I returned and sent off a couple of boys with another horse to bring the dead bôk in.

While we were waiting Persse rejoined us on foot, his horse, a young one, having broken away at his shot, and left him unable to follow up a blessebôk he had mortally wounded. I despatched Francis on horseback after the runaway, but it was midnight before he came back with it to us, by then outspanned close to Mr. Hartogh's farm. As all the boys who knew how to cook were engaged, we set to and prepared our own dinners: grilled bôk steak, fried liver, boiled rice, and a supply of fresh milk, butter and bread from the farm-such a dinner as would not have been bad at any time, but which our long hard day's work made a most sumptuous banquet to us. After dinner we proceeded to pay our respects to Mr. and Mrs. Hartogh and their family at the farm,

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who received us in the most hospitable manner possible to conceive. Mr. Hartogh told us that we were to stay as long as we were able, to use his house as our own, send to the farm for everything we wanted, and that nothing would please him and Mrs. Hartogh so much as our asking them to have meals ready for us at any time we could come in and join them. At ten o'clock we said Good-night, after a parting glass of square-face and some slices of most excellent seed-cake for supper.

Next morning, while breakfast was being cooked, Persse, accompanied by A., went out with the dogs to find the bôk he had wounded the previous evening; but the vultures had been beforehand with them, and they only discovered the carcase by seeing a long string of the birds flying off from the remnants of the feast. On their way back they had a capital course with another blesse-bôk, and after a hard run the dogs pulled it down; but the ground was so hard, and the short dry grass so prickly, that all the dogs had sore feet at the finish, and were useless for more hunting.

We had constantly heard descriptions of the numberless myriads in which the various antelope, at one time were to be seen all over the high veldt, and even yet in some of the less frequented parts of it, but we had always received these stories cum grano. In the afternoon, while riding round, more to get an idea of the surrounding country than after game, I came upon a sight which more than vindicated the veracity of all those whom we had ignorantly put down as exaggerators. I had been riding slowly up

the slope of a high ridge, at the foot of which, on the other side, ran the river, forming the boundary of the farm; I had not seen a single bôk of any description, but when I reached the top a sight met my eyes which fairly took my breath away. For many miles a plain stretched away before me, with the river winding through it, and on this plain were countless thousands of black specks, in places so thick as to hide the grass completely. I could hardly believe my eyes that they were really living animals; but it was beyond doubt; and presently, as I began to descend, preparing my rifle and cartridges meanwhile, those nearest to me began to form a long dense black line, miles long, and rapidly to

retreat.

For some time I watched, from where I was, the herds gradually forming into one huge, compact mass; but then, so as not to allow them too far a start, I galloped off in pursuit. The blesse-bôk went first in dull-brown lines, and behind them came the spring-bok, yellow one moment and white the next, as they turned to the side, or exposed their fan-like white quarters.*

I was not long in securing one of the latter; and as I could not carry more if I shot them, I watched the herds retreating to the next rise, where they halted, and stood watching me. Before the wholesale slaughters by the Boers, at the seasons when the bôk were changing their summer or winter quarters, it was no uncommon thing for a waggon to have to pull up for an hour at a time while the herds crossed the path in front, and quagga, wildebeeste, blesse