CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.
THE WATERBUCK.
The bank upon which the yagers had encamped was about five or six feetabove the surface of the water, as it now stood. The bank on theopposite side also rose above the water level; but on both sides therewas a break or declivity that sloped down into the channel. Thesebreaks corresponded with each other. They were not natural gorges, buthad evidently been made by heavy animals, such as rhinoceroses andothers, that were in the habit of coming either to drink or ford theriver at this point. The tracks of many kinds of animals could bedistinguished leading down to the water or up into the meadow--so thatthe place was evidently a "drift," or crossing-place for the wild beastsof the country around.
Perhaps at night many would cross here, and Hendrik and Groot Willem hadresolved to watch that night and have a little moonlight sport. Amoon--and a very fine moon--was expected; for the queen of the heavenswas nearly in the full at the time, and the sky all that day had beenwithout a cloud.
But they were destined to enjoy a little sport before the moon arose--even before the sun had gone down.
While engaged around the wagons, their attention was attracted by amovement among the reeds on the opposite side of the river. There wasalso an open space on that side corresponding to the meadow in whichthey were encamped. Around the opening grew a thick brake of tallreeds, interspersed with willows and other low trees. It was amongthese reeds that the movement was observed.
Presently a large animal came out of the covert, and stepped boldlyforward into the open ground, where the short sward enabled them to seeit from horn to hoof--for it was a creature with hoofs and horns--without doubt an antelope.
It was a species, however, which none of the party had ever seenbefore--an antelope of majestic form and elegant proportions.
It stood nearly five feet in height by full nine in length, and itsgeneral colour was a greyish sepia brown. Its face, however, was of adeeper brown around the bases of the horns and over the frontlet tingedwith rufous. The lips and muzzle were white; a white patch marked thethroat; a white streak was before each of the eyes; and a curious ovalband of white encircled the tail. The hair over all the body was harsh,more resembling split whalebone than hair; but that which covered theneck was longer than the rest, and stood out all around like a mane onend. The horns were nearly three feet in length, and curved firstupwards and then slightly inwards. They were closely ringed to withinsix inches of their tips, and of a whitish green colour. The tail ofthe animal was about eighteen inches in length with a tuft at its tip.
The shape and set of the horns, the rigid hair that grew all around thethroat and neck, and the elegant upright bearing of this antelope,enabled the naturalist Hans to tell his companions to what species itbelonged. It was the famed "waterbuck," (_Aigocerus ellipsiprymnus_).
I have said "famed" antelope, because the waterbuck is in reality one ofthe finest and most famous animals of the whole tribe.
Its name would seem to imply that it was a dweller in the water. Such,however, is not the case. It is called waterbuck because it is neverfound far from the banks of a river or other water, in which it delightsto plunge, and bathe itself during the hot sunshiny hours of the day.Of course it is an excellent swimmer, and, indeed, such confidence hasit in its powers of swimming, that when hunted or pursued by whateverenemy, it makes directly for the river and plunges in, no matter whatdepth may be the water. It is the habit of many species of deer to makefor water when hunted, but with them the object is to throw the houndsoff the scent, and having once crossed a river, they continue on throughthe woods. Now the waterbuck does not leave the river for any greatdistance. It either swims downstream, or, having gone out on theopposite bank, returns to it, after making a short detour through thewoods. It seems to regard the water as its haven of safety, and whenovertaken usually stands at bay in the very middle of the stream.
It loves to dwell along rivers where there are marshy banks covered withtall sedge and reeds; and at certain seasons of the year, when these arepartially inundated, the waterbuck is rarely seen--as it then makes itshaunt in the very heart of morasses which are impenetrable to thehunter. Its long spreading hoofs enable it to pass with safety overmarshy grounds, where other species of antelopes would be "mired" anddestroyed.
The waterbuck has been classed by naturalists with antelopes of the_aigocerine_, or goat-horned group; but it differs greatly, both inhorns and habits, from any of these, and deserves to be ranked as anantelope _sui generis_. If it were established as a separate genus, itwould not stand alone, since another "waterbuck"--evidently a secondspecies--has been discovered by late explorers a little farther to thenorth, upon the shores of the Lake Ngami. The latter is termed by thenatives the "leche," and in the shape of its horns, and most of itshabits, it bears a decided generic resemblance to the _Aigocerusellipsiprymnus_.
Still a third species of waterbuck has turned up during the recentexplorations to the afore-mentioned lake; but this, though in habit verysimilar to the others, differs widely in regard to its physicalcharacteristics. Its horns are of the spiral form, greatly resemblingthose of the koodoo, (_Strepsiceros koodoo_), and naturalists aredisposed to class it in the genus _Tragelaphus_. Its name among thenatives is "nakong."
The reason why none of our young hunters were _personally_ acquaintedwith the waterbuck was, that none of them had ever seen it before; andthe reason why none of them had seen it was, because it is not found inany part of the country through which they had hitherto travelled. Itis altogether a tropical or sub-tropical species, loves a warm climate,and does not range so far south as the Cape settlements. It is possiblethat there may be other species by the rivers that run through theunknown interior of Africa; for between that southern territory, whichhas been yet explored, and the Great Saara, there lie many strangecountries, and many strange creatures, of which the geographer and thenaturalist yet know nothing.
So, my boy reader, if you should be desirous at any period of your lifeto achieve the reputation of a Bruce, a Park, a Denham, a Clapperton, ora Lander, you need not fear the want of an opportunity. There is stillenough of "unexplored Africa" to employ adventurous spirits for perhapsa century to come. At all events the ardent naturalist will find plentyof new ground up to the new year's day of 2000! That I can safelyguarantee.
The Young Yagers--by Captain Mayne Reid