Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-04-24
GIRAFFE HUNTING.
Primeval Creatures which Once
Roamed the World.
BENT ONLY UPON DESTRUCTION.
The Chase of this Survival of the Fauna
of the Dark Ages an Excite
ment Indeed.
ENT ONLY UPON DESTRUCTION.

stretches of country to this hour almost
as remote and unfooted as in the dim
days before Vasco de CANA had
doubled the stormy Cap and white
men had discovered South Africa.
Waterless as are these solitudes, they
are yet singularly picturesque;-and
from their very inaccesibility they
afford shelter to various species of
desert bred animals, which, in these
days of determination, are extremely
scarce. In the northern portion of the
Kalahari, especially, are to be found
troops of Gland, gemsbok. hartebeest,
and even koodoo-all beasts of chase
which possesses the rare faculty of sup
porting life for long periods of time
without recourse to water.
Towering above all these great ante
lopes, there yet wander from forest to
forest strong bands of the tall giraffe,
one of the most strangely beautiful
even of the varied forms of wild life to
be found in Africa, one Of the last
relics of those primeval creatures
which once roamed the world.
Perhaps the most characteristic of
the scenery of the upper Kalaharic
consists Of those vast and ancient wood
lands of giraffe acacia, where, amid
open parklike glades. interspersed
with dense thorny thickets, the
giraffes of Southern Africa freely wan
der to this hour.
OF late years the bechuana tribes bor-
dering upon the Kalahari, having be-
come possessed Of horses and breech-
loading rifles, have penetrated far into
the desert, and, during the season of
the rains. work havoc upon the great
game. But, although these black hun
ters are steadily denuding the Kalahari
of it's wonderful store Of great game,
there yet remain remote and unknown
solitudes to which even they can scarce
attain, natural preserves where the
sound of the rifle has never yet been
heard. 1t is to be feared, however,
that even these sanctuaries must be-
fore very long yield their treasures of
animal life to the meroiless skin-hunt-
ers, bent only upon destruction.
For the skin and horns of an Gland
or gemsbok, the Bechuana hunter can
nowadays obtain a sovereign at the
up-country store. For the hide of a
full grown giraffe greatly sought after
for whip and sandal making) he can
obtain from e3 to e5 For these paltry
considerations the native and the
Boer hunter are prepared to brave all
the dangers and difficulties of desert
travel. SO that they may slaughter
whenever and wherever they shall
find opportunity. The English hunter
is, and always has been, more merci-
full. And in these days, when the
game is vanishing from Africa as
snow melts from before the sun, he is
content to secure few trophies to sup
py his camp with meat, and then stay
his hand. OF all great game giraffes,
when first seen and hunted, are perhaps
the most calculated to fire the white
mans imagination, to stir his blood.
Their gigantic height. strange shape,
beautiful coloring; the headlong speed
at which they travel when reused;
their rocking gait Ga curious comming-
ling of the sublime and ridiculous); the
failing of their tremendous neoks,
swinging in unison with their strides;
the difficulty of pursuing such game in
the thorny wildernesses through which
they plunge-all these things unite to
make the first giraffe hunts unforgeta
BILE. After the frs few hunts, how
ever. Englishmen seldom shoot a
giraffe. unless to supply necessary food,
or procure unique specimen. The
great creatures are so timid, SO defense
less, and SO rarely beautiful, that it
seems sin to destroy them. Let us
watch briefly giraffe hunt in this
far wilderness Of the Kalahari.
1t is just dawn in the desert; round
the remains Of an overnight campfire.
just upon the edge of the Kamoel doorn
(giraffe acacia) forest, little knot OF
hunters is preparing for start. Coffee
and mouthful of food are swallowed
and the horses are saddled up. The
hunters are camped thirty miles from
their wagons; their nags have had no
water since yesterday morning, and
they will taste none for another dozen
hours at least. But, like all South
African ponies, they are hardy beasts,
and are ready and eager for the fray.
The two white hunters (they are Eng
lishmen mount their nags and, pre-
ceded by three bushmen spoorers. ride
into the forest. 1t is no great while
before they have found spoor Of a small
troop of giraffe, and now, hour after
hour, they follow it up. But the
track has been very winding, the forest
is thick, the eddies of what wind there
is are full of betrayal, and at the end OF
three hours it is plain that the troop
they are following have got theil
wind and run. 1t is useless following
them at present. The sun is now
| 1 Al. L.. Ix,kaxanlt. hot (ro.