Part 87 (2/2)
Since the ta had been attended with tolerable success Not a week passed without adding a pair of tusks--soan to assu near the bottom of the nwana
Von Blooress He thought they h the quaggas were of great service to them, and with these they were often able to overtake the elephant, yet they as often lost their great gaine
But with dogs to join in the hunt, the result would be quite different
It is true these anihtest injury; but they can follow hi his perfor the attention of the elephant away froed is, as we have already seen, exceedingly dangerous On such occasions he will charge upon the noisy dogs, ives the hunter a good opportunity of delivering his fire, and avoiding the deadly encounter of the elephant
Now in several elephant-hunts which they had lately as were neither so eable nor so quick in their movements as horses would have been, and this rendered the hazard still greater Soht one day fall a victiiven for a nuh they were the ht is that can trace the elephant and pester hiht of ta them to the hunt This idea was by no means quixotic The hyena is often used for such a purpose, and perfors
One day Von Bloo over this subject He was seated on a little platforh up--near the top of the nwana-tree--from which a view could be had of the whole country around It was a favourite resort of the field-cornet--his s to enjoy a quiet pull out of his great meerschaum His face was turned upon the plain that stretched from the border of the _bosch_ as far as the eye could reach
While quietly puffing away, his attention was attracted by so at a distance off upon the plain The brilliant colour of their bodies had caught his eye
They were of a lively sienna colour over the back and sides, and white underneath, with a list of black upon the outside of the legs, and soularly defined as if laid on by the brush of a painter They had horns of very irregular shape, roughly knotted--each curved into so directly froest heads ever carried by an aniracefully forh in anarrow heads For the rest their forh, froth
They were antelopes of course--that species known a Cape colonists as the ”hartebeest” There were in all about fifty of them in the herd
When first observed by Von Bloo upon the plain The next moment, however, they were seen to run to and fro, as if suddenly alarmed by the approach of an enemy
And an enemy there certainly was; for in a ht; and Von Bloom no that they were followed by a pack of hounds! I say a ”pack of hounds,” for the creatures in the distance exactly rese in the world Nay, more than resembled, for it actually was a pack of hounds--of wild hounds!
Of course Von Bloom knehat they were He knew they were the ”wilde-honden,” very absurdly na hyena,” and by others, with equal absurdity the ”hunting dog” I pronounce these names ”absurd,” first because the animal in question bears no ; and, secondly, because ”hunting dog” is a very ridiculous appellation, since any dog may merit a similar title
Noould ask, why could these naturalists not let the nomenclature of the boers alone? If a better naiven to these animals, I should like to hear it Why, it is the very perfection of a name, and exactly expresses the character of the ani under their everyday observation, suggested the name
It is quite a libel to call this beautiful creature a hyena He has neither the ugly fore, the dull colour, nor the filthy habits of one Call hi,” if you please, but he is at the sa in creation But we shall name him, as the boers have done, a ”wild hound” That is his true title, let naturalists class him as they may
His size, shape, his smooth clean coat, as well as his colour, approximate him more to the hound than to any other aniround of ”tan” blotched and rey--he bears a striking resemblance to the common hound; and the superior size of his ears would seem to assimilate him still more to this animal The ears, however, as in all the wild species of _Canis_, are of course not hanging, but erect
His habits, however, crown the resemblance In his natural state the wild hound never prowls alone; but boldly runs down his gaanised packs, just as hounds do; and in his hunting he exhibits as uide hip and horn
It was the field-cornet's good fortune to witness an exhibition of this skill
The hounds had come unexpectedly upon the hartebeest herd; and almost at the first dash, one of the antelopes became separated from the rest, and ran in an opposite direction This was just what the cunning dogs wanted; and the whole pack, instead of following the herd, turned after the single one, and ran ”tail on end”
Now this hartebeest, although an ill-shaped antelope, is one of the very swiftest of the tribe; and the wild hound does not capture it without a severe chase In fact, he could not capture it at all, if speed were the only point between the two animals But it is not The hartebeest has a weakness in its character, opposite to which the wild hound possesses a cunning
The forht line, does not keep long in a direct course Now and then it diverges to one side or the other, led perhaps by the forround, or some other circumstance In this habit lies its weakness The wild hound is well aware of it, and takes advantage of it by a ly of reflection on his part
Our field-cornet had a proof of this as he watched the chase His elevated position gave hiround, and he could note everyoff, the hartebeest ran in a right line, and the hounds followed straight after They had not gone far, however, when Von Bloo ahead of the rest, and runningthan the others, but the hunter did not think it was that He appeared rather to be running harder that they, as if sent forward to push the hartebeest, while the rest saved their wind