ves were still bunched tightly together; but I
observed that the mass thus formed was distinctly smaller than it had
been when I last looked upon it, and I believed I could guess pretty
accurately at the process which was going on within it. I felt very
strongly disposed to have the tree cut down and subjected to
examination; but there were two strong arguments against this, one being
the overpowering carrion-like effluvium which the tree exhaled, while
the other was Piet's point-blank refusal to have anything to do with
such an attempt.

On this day we saw two new species of animals, one being a hyena nearly
twice as big as any that I had hitherto seen, and of quite different
marking, the ground colour of its skin being very similar to that of the
lion, while it had a black head, a distinct black mane, a broad black
line running along its spine from the base of the skull to the tail, and
an alternation of black stripes and irregular blotches upon the whole of
its body except the under part, which was white. We came rather
suddenly upon a pack of eleven of these creatures disputing possession
of the carcass of a buffalo with a flock of vultures, and were therefore
afforded an excellent opportunity to note carefully their peculiarities
before they made off, which they did slowly and unwillingly, uttering
the most dreadful maniacal laughs as they went. The other creature was
a kind of jackal, as big as a full-grown leopard, with a splendid coat
of long, fine, glossy black fur. This beast broke cover about fifty
yards away from us, and, unlike the rest of his species, instead of
beating a hasty retreat upon seeing us, turned promptly and attacked us
with indescribable fury. Luckily, I had my rifle ready, and shot the
brute dead as he was in the very act of leaping at Prince's throat; and
it was well that I did so, for upon examining him we found that he was
possessed of a set of terrible fangs, capable of inflicting dreadful
injuries had he been afforded the chance. We stripped off his hide, and
left the carcass to the vultures to dispose of, which they did with
commendable promptitude, as Jan subsequently informed us when we
rejoined him at the next outspan. We also saw in the distance, on that
same day, a herd of about thirty elephants; but I did not attempt to
interfere with them, as I hoped that before long I should have something
even more valuable than ivory with which to load the wagon.

As we proceeded, the