And presently the advance guard
of the great army appeared against the skyline on the edge of the
beetling cliffs, almost immediately opposite where I was standing; first
a solitary eland, then three gemsbok, closely followed by seven or eight
hartebeeste, then a small troop of quagga, upon the heels of which came
a herd of some fifty klipspringers. All these advanced right up to the
edge of the cliff, halted abruptly, staring down into the ravine below,
and then, wheeling sharply to right and left, threw up their heads and,
with characteristic cries of dismay, took to their heels and galloped
furiously along the very edge of the cliff, in an evident effort to
escape the pressure of the great army in their rear. But as these first
arrivals wheeled and sped, terrified, to right and left, others appeared
in increasing numbers and, suddenly realising their danger, sought to
escape it, some following in the footsteps of the vanguard, while others
faced about and strove to retreat along the way by which they had come.

It soon became evident, however, that escape was impossible, for even as
I stood watching their efforts the front rank of the main body appeared,
a great compact mass of animals extending fully half a mile along the
edge of the cliff; and although it was evident that this front rank now
realised that danger threatened it in front, and was trying to hang
back, the pressure of the vast multitude in its rear was irresistible,
and foot by foot it was pushed forward until in a few seconds I was
gazing at the awful spectacle of hundreds of helpless animals being
thrust over the cliff edge and falling to their death more than two
thousand feet below, while the air throbbed and vibrated with their
cries of terror. It was a terrible experience to stand there and
helplessly watch those unfortunate creatures pouring over the cliff like
the waters of a cataract, to listen to their cries as they found
themselves being irresistibly thrust forward to their death, and to see
the long and rapidly growing pile of the dead stretching along the foot
of the cliffs.

There were several varieties of animals in this great migrating army
which was being so disastrously wiped out, some of them being of a kind
that set me wondering by what extraordinary accident they could have
become entangled among such incongruous companions. For example,
tightly wedged in among a herd of blesbok I saw a full-grown lion forced
over the cliff;