CHAPTER FORTY TWO.
ROOYEBOK.
As our travellers advanced up-stream, the wide level plains becamenarrowed into mere stripes of meadow that lay along both sides of theriver. On both sides, and not a great distance off, wood-coveredmountains trended parallel to the course of the stream. Sometimes theirspurs approached very near to the banks--so as to divide the bottom landinto a series of valleys, that rose like terraces one above the other.Each of these was a separate plain, stretching from the river's bank tothe rocky foot of the mountain.
Nearly every one of them was tenanted with game of one sort or another--such as had already been met with on the route--but beyond killingenough to keep their larder supplied with fresh meat, our party did notmake any stay to hunt here. The guide had informed them, that beyondthe mountain where the river took its rise lay the country of theelephant, the buffalo, and the giraffe; and in hopes of reaching thislong-expected land, the sight of a herd of springboks, or gnoos, orblauw-boks, or even elands, had little more interest for the youngyagers than if it had been a drove of tame oxen.
Ascending into one of the upper valleys, however, they came suddenly inview of a herd of antelopes whose forms and colours distinguished themfrom any our hunters had yet met with. This at once decided them tohalt the wagons, and prepare for a chase.
That the animals seen were antelopes, there could be no mistake. Theyhad all the grace and lightness of form peculiar to these creatures;besides, their horns were conspicuously characteristic. Theirappearance bespoke them to be true antelopes.
They were large ones too--that is, of medium size--about as large as reddeer; but of course small when compared with such species as theblauw-bok or the huge eland. Each would have measured nearly three feetand a half in height--and even a little more, over the croup--foralthough there are some antelopes, such as those of the _acronotine_group--the "hartebeest," "sassabye," and "bekr-el-wash"--that standlower at the croup than the shoulders, the reverse is the case withother species; and those now before the eyes of our hunters possessedthe latter characteristic. They stood high at the croup.
None of the yagers had ever seen one of the kind before; and yet, themoment they came under view, both Hendrik and Groot Willem cried out--
"Rooyebok!"
"How know you that they are rooyebok?" demanded Hans.
"From their colour, of course," replied the others.
The colour of these antelopes was a deep fulvous red over the head,neck, and upper parts of the body; paler along the sides; and under thebelly pure white. There were some black marks--such as a stripe ofblack down each buttock, and also along the upper part of the tail--butthe general colour of the animals was bright red; hence their beingtaken for "rooyebok," or "red-bucks," by Hendrik and Groot Willem.
"The colour is not a good criterion," remarked Hans. "They might aswell have been `grysbok,' or `steinbok,' or `rooye rheebok,' for thematter of colour. I judge by the horns, however, that you are right inyour guess. They _are_ rooyebok, or, as the Bechuanas call them,`pallah,' and, as naturalists style them, _Antilope melampus_."
All looked at the horns as Hans spoke, and saw that these were fulltwenty inches in length, and somewhat like those of the springbok, butmore irregularly lyrate. The two nearly met at their tips, whereas attheir middle they were full twelve inches apart. This was acharacteristic by which they could easily be remembered, and it hadenabled Hans at once to pronounce upon the species.
Strange to say, there was but one pair of full-grown horns in the wholeherd, for there was but one old buck, and the does of the pallah arehornless. A "herd" is hardly a proper term; for this species ofantelope cannot be called gregarious. What our hunters saw before themwas a _family_ of rooyeboks, consisting of the old male, his wives, andseveral young bucks and does--in all, only eleven in number.
Our hunters knew, from what they had heard, that the rooyebok is both ashy and swift antelope--difficult either to be approached or run down.It would be necessary, therefore, to adopt some plan of proceeding, elsethey would not succeed in getting one of them; and they had fixed theirminds most covetously on the large knotted horns of the buck. Theyhalted the wagons to await the result of the chase; though the oxen werenot to be outspanned, unless it should prove successful. If so, theywould camp upon the ground for the night--so as to enable them to dressthe meat, and preserve the "trophies." With such resolves, they madeready to hunt the pallah.
Upon first coming in sight of the rooyebok, the hunters were upon thecrest of a high ridge--one of the mountain-spurs, that divided thevalley they had just traversed from that in which the red antelopes werefeeding. From the eminence they occupied, they commanded a view of thisvalley to its farthest border, and could see its whole surface, except asmall strip on the nearer side, which was hidden from them by the browof the ridge on which they stood.
Around the sides of the valley there were trees and bushes; though thesedid not form a continued grove, but only grew in detached clumps andpatches. All the central ground, where the pallahs were feeding, wasopen, and quite destitute of either bush or cover of any kind. Betweenthe bordering groves there was long grass; and, by the aid of this, askilled hunter might have crept from one grove to another, withoutattracting the attention of the antelopes.
It was decided, therefore, that Hendrik and Groot Willem should stealround to the other end of the valley, keeping under cover of thethickets and grass. Then the pallahs would be between two fires, asthey must either go up or down the valley in trying to escape. On theright lay the steep mountain; on the left, the deep rapid river. Theywould not likely attempt to move off on either hand. So this design tointercept them was good enough.
The horses were now tied to trees and left on the back of the ridge,while the hunters moved forward upon the brow that overhung the valley.
They had not advanced far before that part of the valley hitherto unseencame under their eyes, and there, to their astonishment, another herd ofanimals appeared; not of antelopes--although, from their colour, theymight have been mistaken for such. No--the short round heads, elongatedbodies, thick massive limbs, and long tufted tails, told at a glance,that it was no herd of peaceful ruminants the hunters were gazing upon,but an assemblage of dreaded _carnivora_--a troop of lions!