CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
STALKING THE BLESBOKS.
When they had got fairly within the boundaries of the blesbok country,the young yagers resolved to make halt for a day or two, and hunt thesebeautiful antelopes. Not that they desired their flesh, but they wishedto strip one or two of them of their bright, parti-coloured robes, to behung up along with their horns in the halls of Graaf Reinet.
After treking some miles across the plains, they outspanned by a vley,and formed their camp.
The following morning they mounted their horses, and proceeded over theplain in search of the purple antelopes.
They were not long in finding them. That is by no means a difficultthing with an animal that herds together in thousands, provided youchance to be in the district it inhabits; and the yagers were not slowin coming within view of a herd of blesboks.
But how to hunt them was a knowledge which none of the party possessed--whether to let slip the buck-dogs and gallop right into the thick of theherd, or to get within shot by stalking--which of these was the propermanner neither the young yagers nor their drivers knew. In Swartboy'scountry neither blesboks nor bonteboks are known. They do not range tothe western half of South Africa, and the young yagers only knew them bytradition. Their fathers had hunted them years before; but both specieshad been long since exterminated south of the Orange River.
As for Congo, although their range extended into a part of the Kaffircountry, he had never chanced to hunt in that particular district. Ofcourse neither Bushman nor Kaffir were on the ground with the hunters.They had been left in charge of the camp; but the advice of both hadbeen asked at setting out, and it was ascertained that they had none togive.
The hunters were at a loss how to proceed, and held a discussion uponit. Groot Willem thought they should be hunted like springboks,--thatis, the hunters should take stand and conceal themselves, while one ortwo rode round and drove the game upon these--a mode practised with thefallow-deer in the forests of North America, and there termed "driving."
Hendrik believed that they could be "ridden into," and run down by thedogs.
Hans recommended "stalking," with which, plan Arend agreed. Of courseno opinion was either asked from or given by the lads Klaas and Jan.Had they been birds, they would have insisted upon their "say" as wellas their elder brothers.
But blesboks are not birds, although in less than an hour after theyproved themselves to be almost as swift.
Now, as stalking was the mode least likely to give the herd the alarmand seed them off, it could be tried first. Should no one succeed ingetting within shot, then Groot Willem's plan might be adopted; andshould it also fail to be successful, it would still not be too late tofollow Hendrik's advice, and ride right at them.
First, then, for a "stalk."
They were not going to stalk them upon horseback. That would never do,though there are some animals that will suffer a mounted man to approachhearer than one afoot. But blesboks are not of that kind.
All dismounted, therefore, and proceeded on foot in the direction of theherd. Not all, exactly. Klaas and Jan remained on the spot in chargeof the dogs and horses. Klaas and Jan were to have no share in thestalk.
The herd was in the middle of a vast open plain--so wide that themountains on its opposite side were scarcely visible. Upon all thatplain not a bush or rock appeared. The grass, as already stated, wasshort cropped, and smooth as a meadow--not a break in the surface tooffer a chance of concealment to the hunter! How, then, could they talkof "stalking" on such ground? They knew that no wild animal, howeverstupid or negligent, would permit them to walk up within point-blankrange and fire at them. How, then, were they going to approach theblesboks, that they had heard were any thing but stupid--on thecontrary, were exceedingly shy and watchful of danger? How? That is apeculiar point, and requires explanation.
Although there were neither rocks, nor trees, nor bushes of any kind,nor long grass, nor inequalities in the ground, there was still aspecies of "cover." Not the best, it is true, but such as would serve askilful hunter who knew how to take advantage of it. Enough to givehopes to the yagers, else they would not have dreamt of such a thing asan attempt to stalk the blesboks.
Scattered over the plain, and standing at irregular distances of fromone to three hundred yards of each other, were numerous singularstructures. They were of the form of obtuse cones, or hemispherical,and all of a light grey colour--the colour of sun-dried mud. On thesides of most of them at their bases could be seen a hole of irregularoutlines, and evidently not made by the neat workmen who had built themounds. Quite the contrary. These entrances to the hollow domes withinwere not for them. Theirs were underground. These had been made bytheir enemies--the burglars who had plundered their houses. I am sure Ineed hardly tell you that the structures thus described were ant-hills,and that the big holes in this side were the work of the long-tongued"aard-vark," or the scaly "pangolin."
The hills in question were dome-shaped, and of moderate size--varyingfrom one to three feet in height. This is by no means as large as manyant-hills found in Southern Africa. Some are four times that height, orstill higher; but I have told you elsewhere of these high hills, andthat there are different species of ants who construct such curiousnests--each species choosing its own style of architecture,--some thecone, or pyramidal form,--some a complete cluster of cones,--some buildthem of cylindrical shape, and others nearly half-spherical, likeinverted tea-basins.
Of these last were the ant-hills now under the eyes of the young yagers.They were the nests of the _Termes mordax_--a species that inhabits allthe plains of the "zuur-veldt" country.
The hunters proceeded to stalk forward, their eyes bent upon theantelopes, and their hopes fixed upon the ant-hills.
Of course they did not commence crouching, until they had tried how nearthe blesboks would allow them to come without cover. This they soondiscovered to be about four hundred yards; and although the animals didnot seem to mind their presence at that distance, but continuedbrowsing, yet the moment any one of the four endeavoured to get nearer,the herd, as if mechanically, moved off, and still kept a width of fourhundred yards between themselves and the stalkers.
The hunters now began to stalk in earnest, crouching from hill to hill.It was to no purpose. None of the four could get within shot. Theyseparated and took different sides. The same result followed--afailure. Although the herd kept on, and always in the same generaldirection, they seemed instinctively to avoid whatever ant-heap a hunterhad chosen, giving it a "wide berth" which carried them beyond the reacheven of Groot Willem's roer! After two hours spent in this fruitlesskind of hunting, the plan was abandoned.
The "stalk" would not do; and Hans and Arend were now sneered andlaughed at by Hendrik and Groot Willem.
"What could _they_ know about hunting? Ha! ha! ha!"