by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
DRIVING IN THE ELAND.
Of all the family Hendrik was the hunter _par excellence_. It was he whohabitually stored the larder; and upon days when they were not engagedin the chase of the elephant, Hendrik would be abroad alone in pursuitof antelopes, and other creatures, that furnished their usualsubsistence. Hendrik kept the table well supplied.
Antelopes are the principal game of South Africa--for Africa is thecountry of the antelope above all others. You may be surprised to hearthat there are seventy different species of antelopes over all theearth--that more than fifty of these are African, and that thirty atleast belong to South Africa--that is, the portion of the continentlying between the Cape of Good Hope and the Tropic of Capricorn.
It would require the space of a whole book, therefore, to give a fairaccount--a monograph--of the antelopes alone; and I cannot afford thatspace here. At present I can only say that Africa is the great antelopecountry, although many fine species exist also in Asia--that in Americathere is but one kind, the prong-horn, with which you are already wellacquainted--and that in Europe there are two, though one of these, thewell-known "chamois," is as much goat as antelope.
I shall farther remark, that the seventy species of animals, bynaturalists classed as antelopes, differ widely from one another inform, size, colour, pelage, habits; in short, in so many respects, thattheir classification under the name of Antelope is very arbitraryindeed. Some approximate closely to the goat tribe; others are more likedeer; some resemble oxen; others are closely allied to the buffalo;while a few species possess many of the characteristics of wild sheep!
As a general thing, however, they are more like to deer than any otheranimals; and many species of them are, in common parlance, called deer.Indeed, many antelopes are more like to certain species of deer than toothers of their own kind. The chief distinction noted between them andthe deer is, that the antelopes have horny horns, that are persistent orpermanent, while those of the deer are osseous or bony, and are annuallycast.
Like the deer the different species of antelopes possess very differenthabits. Some frequent the wide open plains; some the deep forest; somewander by the shady banks of streams; while others love to dwell uponthe rocky steep, or the dry ravines of the mountains. Some browse uponthe grass; while others, goat-like, prefer the leaves and tender twigsof trees. In fact, so different are these creatures in habits, thatwhatever be the natural character of a district of country, it will befound the favourite home of one or more species. Even the very deserthas its antelopes, that prefer the parched and waterless plain to themost fertile and verdant valley.
Of all antelopes the "eland," or "caana" is the largest. It measuresfull seventeen hands at the shoulder--being thus equal in height to avery large horse. A large eland weighs one thousand pounds. It is aheavily formed animal, and an indifferent runner, as a mounted huntercan gallop up to one without effort. Its general proportions are notunlike those of a common ox, but its horns are straight and risevertically from the crown, diverging only slightly from one another.These are two feet in length, and marked by a ridge that passes spirallyaround them nearly to the tips. The horns of the female are longer thanthose of the male.
The eyes of the eland, like those of most antelopes, are large, bright,and melting, without any expression of fierceness; and the animal,though so very large and strong, is of the most innocuousdisposition--showing fight only when driven to desperation.
The general colour of this antelope is dun, with a rufous tinge.Sometimes ashy grey touched with ochre is the prevailing hue.
The eland is one of those antelopes that appear to be independent ofwater. It is met with upon the desert plains, far from either spring orstream; and it even seems to prefer such situations--perhaps from thegreater security it finds there--though it is also a denizen of thefertile and wooded districts. It is gregarious, the sexes herdingseparately, and in groups of from ten to a hundred individuals.
The flesh of the eland is highly esteemed, and does not yield indelicacy to that of any of the antelope, deer, or bovine tribes. It hasbeen compared to tender beef with a game flavour; and the muscles of thethighs when cured and dried produce a _bonne bouche_, known under theodd appellation of "thigh-tongues."
Of course the eland affording such excellent meat, and in so large aquantity, is zealously hunted for his spoils. Being only a poor runnerand always very fat, the hunt is usually a short one; and ends in theeland being shot down, skinned, and cut up. There is no great excitementabout this chase, except that it is not every day an eland can bestarted. The ease with which they can be captured, as well as the valueof their venison, has led to the thinning off of these antelopes; and itis only in remote districts where a herd of them can be found.
Now since their arrival, no elands had been seen, though now and thentheir spoor was observed; and Hendrik, for several reasons, was verydesirous of getting one. He had never shot an eland in his life--thatwas one reason--and another was, that he wished to procure a supply ofthe fine venison which lies in such quantities over the ribs of theseanimals.
It was, therefore, with great delight, that Hendrik one morning receivedthe report that a herd of elands had been seen upon the upper plain, andnot far off. Swartboy, who had been upon the cliffs, brought this reportto camp.
Without losing any more time than sufficed to get the direction fromSwartboy, Hendrik mounted his quagga, shouldered his rifle, and rode offin search of the herd.
Not far from the camp there was an easy pass, leading up the cliff tothe plain above. It was a sort of gorge or ravine; and from the numeroustracks of animals in its bottom, it was evidently much used as a roadfrom the upper plain to that in which were the spring and stream.Certain animals, such as the zebras and quaggas, and others thatfrequent the dry desert plains from preference, were in the habit ofcoming by this path when they required water.
Up the gorge rode Hendrik; and no sooner had he arrived at its top, thanhe discovered the herd of elands--seven old bulls--about a mile off uponthe upper plain.
There was not cover enough to have sheltered a fox. The only growth nearthe spot where the elands were, consisted of straggling aloe plants,euphorbias, with some stunted bushes, and tufts of dry grass,characteristic of the desert. There was no clump large enough to havesheltered a hunter from the eye of his game; and Hendrik at once came tothe conclusion, that the elands could not be "stalked" in the situationthey then occupied.
Now, though Hendrik had never hunted this antelope, he was wellacquainted with its habits, and knew how it ought to be chased. He knewthat it was a bad runner; that any old horse could bring up with it; andthat his quagga--the fastest of the four that had been tamed--could dothe same.
It was only a question of "start," therefore. Could he get near enoughthe bulls to have a fair start, he would run one of them down to acertainty. The result might be different should the elands take thealarm at a long distance off, and scour away over the plain.
To get within fair starting distance, that was the point to beattempted.
But Hendrik was a wary hunter, and soon accomplished this. Instead ofriding direct for the elands, he made a grand circuit--until he had gotthe herd between him and the cliff--and then, heading his quagga forthem, he rode quietly forward.
He did not sit erect in the saddle, but held himself bent down, untilhis breast almost touched the withers of the quagga. This he did todeceive the elands, who would otherwise have recognised him as an enemy.In such a fashion they could not make out what kind of creature wascoming towards them; but stood for a long while gazing at Hendrik andhis quagga with feelings of curiosity, and of course some little alarm.
They, however, permitted the hunter to get within five hundred yardsdistance--near enough for him--before they broke off in their heavylumbering gallop.
Hendrik now rose in his saddle, put spurs to his quagga, and followedthe herd at full speed.
As he had designed, so it came to pass. The elands ran straight in th
edirection of the cliff--not where the pass was, but where there wasnone--and, on reaching the precipice, were of course forced to turn intoa new direction, transverse to their former one. This gave Hendrik theadvantage, who, heading his quagga diagonally, was soon upon the heelsof the herd.
It was Hendrik's intention to single out one of the bulls, and run himdown--leaving the others to gallop off wherever they wished.
His intention was carried out; for shortly after, the fattest of thebulls shot to one side, as if to escape in that way, while the rest ranon.
The bull was not so cunning as he thought himself. Hendrik's eye wasupon him; and in a moment the quagga was turned upon his track.
Another burst carried both game and pursuer nearly a mile across theplain. The eland had turned from a rufous dun colour to that of a leadenblue; the saliva fell from his lips in long streamers, foam dappled hisbroad chest, the tears rolled out of his big eyes, and his gallop becamechanged to a weary trot. He was evidently "blown."
In a few minutes more the quagga was close upon his heels; and then thehuge antelope, seeing that farther running could not serve him, haltedin despair, and faced round towards his pursuer.
Now Hendrik had his loaded rifle in his hand, and you expect to hearthat he instantly raised it to his shoulder, took aim, fired, andbrought down the eland.
I must disappoint you, then, by telling you that he did no such thing.
Hendrik was a real hunter--neither rash nor wasteful of his resources.He knew a better plan than to kill the eland upon the spot. He knew thatthe animal was now quite in his power; and that he could drive himwherever he pleased, just like a tame ox. To have killed the creature onthe spot would have been a waste of powder and shot. More than that, itwould have rendered necessary all the trouble of transporting its fleshto camp--a double journey at least--and with the risk of the hyenaseating up most of it in his absence. Whereas he could save all thistrouble by driving the eland to camp; and this was his design.
Without firing a shot, therefore, he galloped on past the blown bull,headed him, turned him round, and then drove him before him in thedirection of the cliff.
The bull could make neither resistance nor opposition. Now and again hewould turn and trot off in a contrary direction; but he was easilyheaded again, and at length forced forward to the top of the pass.
