Evening star., 1909-09-05


of hyena, jackal, vultures, and marabou storks
on and about the other, with lion tracks fresh
in the blood, but no sign he had touched the
carcass.
Wanting better wildebeest than that killed
the day before, after breakfast Jordan and l
rode away across the level plain to a low range
of hills south of US
There in those hills we saw such sight as
never shall see again.
Come to the slightly rolling Interest and into
bit of open meadow perhaps two hundred
yards square, to the east of extended far as
one could see an area of open scrub which one
could see into perhaps one hundred and fifty
yards apparently empty of game save for two
wildebeest bulls that stood near its edge; one
a fine one, which later when l got to him,
proved to have a pair of twenty-four-inch
horns, with seventeen-inch spread.
Charged by Stampedns Game
a I the first echo of my shot inferno broke
loose behind him. and out of the seemingly
empty scrub poured wild stampede of game
IN thousands -wildebeest topl, kongoni, ze-
bra, Grant,, thompson, impala. warthogs, gi-
raffe, waterbuck, oribi,-al racing in mad ter
ror, at top speed and in an unbroken column
twenty to one hundred beasts in width and
solid as charging squadron, column that was
ten to fifteen minutes passing US, first and last,
which left our deafened with its thunder,
and we estimated at anywhere from ten thou
sand to fifteen thousand head.
Plunging northwest across our little clearing,
their sleek skins flashing back to the early
morning sun every bright hue Nature had clad
them in, muscles heaving and ripping beneath
their shining hides, it was the sight of life
time, and looked like an allcomers' Marathon
was on and the entire animal kingdom started
in it.
But suddenly while we stood in dumb won
der at the stupendous spectacle, marveling
whether the racing procession would ever end,
some scare or freak of the leaders turned them
back south out of the bush into which they had
disappeared, back into our clearing and straight
down upon Jordan and me as If they were
fends hunting us to the death instead of mere
fear maddened beasts probably unconscious of
our presence.
With neither time nor room to shift out of
their path, there was nothing to do but stand
and shoot into the leaders. And while only
matter of seconds, it seemed lifetime before
we had knocked over three wildebeest and five
zebra and had turned the tide slightly west of US.
Then we caught our breath and stood another
seven or eight minutes in silent awe of their
numbers, their beauty, their grace and speed,
their terror fixed eyes. their then heaving
fanks and shrilling nostris as they pounded
past us, their nearer line never more than ten
to twenty yards from us,-golden impala leap
ing high into the air. only to disappear back
into the angry animal wave beneath them like
porpoise dropping back into storm tossed
sea, zebra galloping low and swift, kongoni
bounding now and then like something had
bitten them, grayish black masses of wilde
beest shouldering everything out of the way,
giraffe awkwardly sidewheeling along in giant
strides and towering above the heaving mass
like ambulant watchtowers, warthogs humping
along as best they could and ripping viciously
with shining tusks when too closely crowded.
1t was not until the tail of the tide had swept
quite out of sight into the south that either
spoke, and then Jordan remarked
Jolly close thing, that, right-oh! Looked
like you and me for pulp. Wonder if there's
another food on and those beggars have heard
Noah ii S all aboard whistler"
Then he strolled away to finish two of the
beest bull, whose life had brought us this in
comparable spectacle, heartbroken that l
could not have had Radclyffe Dugmore beside
me with his camera.
The continuation of Mr.. Bronson's I'm
Closed Territory" series, "A Hideous old
Hdnnter," uiH appear Sunday after next.