ent shots, and
very handy men in the field. In education and refinement they were
certainly limited; they were more _au fait_ at spooring an elephant and
skinning an eland than in solving an equation or making a polite speech;
but for good-hearted, dirty, free-and-easy fellows, their equals were
rarely to be met with. If a man desires to see the wild parts of a
country and its sports, he cannot always have the refinements or the
luxuries of civilised life at hand.

Upon continuing our journey, the Dutchmen each made one of their
thinnest specimens of humanity, in the shape of a young Hottentot, mount
a spare horse, and follow with a rifle. These skinny fellows were
useful during a long run to provide a remount, or to turn any herd of
game that was not taking a convenient direction. We were now in the
game country, and had therefore to keep a good lookout all round.

The elands are well-known in England, several fine specimens being in
the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens. No idea of their activity can be
formed from their appearance in that confined space. Give them a good
run, and they would nearly leap over the palings that there surround
them. Their usual pace when alarmed, is a long trot, at which they can
go sixteen or seventeen miles in an hour. It is easy to ride up to them
on a level and unbroken plain; but when a steep hilly country with large
loose bits of rock, or heavy ground, happens to be the hunting fine, it
is a far different matter; they rush down the steep hills like an
avalanche, making prodigious leaps to clear the large stones in their
course. On rising ground the horseman has the advantage over them, but
not enough to enable him to regain what he loses during the descent.

We were all riding along a little ridge which gradually sloped into the
plains to our right, and dipped precipitously into a valley on our left;
when a cry of "Look, look! eland's bull!" brought us all to a stand. In
the plain to our right a large animal was seen pounding away, kicking up
the dust in clouds as he went. If he continued his present course, I
saw that he would pass over the ridge on which we then were, and at
about half a mile in front of us. Taking a look at my gun, therefore,
to see that all was right, I let drop the spurs into my pony and
galloped forward. One of the Dutchmen then called to me to stop, and,
fearing I might be infringing some rule, I pulled up, but soon found
that the Boers had been