All the above stratagems are of a collective nature—two or more animals, that is to say, take part in them—and these are more interesting than where merely one is concerned, since the capacity to combine of itself shows a high degree of intelligence. A simpler sort of ruse or wile may be displayed in the manner in which a beast of prey assaults and overpowers its victim, and this is especially the case where it hunts alone, and the quarry is much more powerful than itself. These two wild dogs were prepared, evidently, to attack a large animal jointly, but either of them, probably, would have been able to run down and kill one of equal size, in the open. A sable antelope is a larger animal, I should say, than the Basuto pony I was riding—it stands higher, at any rate, and has a very formidable pair of horns, which it can use most adroitly, and with deadly effect. The Cape hunting-dog knows this well, and when it overtakes its dangerous quarry, which it can do with ease, instead of holding on to it, in which case it would be immediately transfixed, it springs up and inflicts just one bite in the flank, letting go instantly and then pursuing it again. In its next spring it gives another bite in just the same place, and in this way it, at last, succeeds in tearing open the poor beast’s flank, from which the entrails then protrude and can be cruelly torn out and devoured. Of course, under these circumstances, the poor antelope soon dies, and is eaten by the dog—a process, however, which, in all probability, is commenced by the latter some time before life is extinct. Such is Nature, and as there is no appeal from her ways, it is no use quarrelling with them. The best plan is to be an optimist, and then everything seems right in a trice. As far as I know, there is only one published account of a sable antelope being pursued by a single Cape hunting-dog, in this way, nor was the incident, in this case, witnessed to its natural conclusion. It has not been absolutely proved, therefore, that such a chase may be brought by the dog to a successful conclusion; but I myself have no doubt whatever that it both can be and sometimes is, for I do not believe that wild animals ever attempt what it is not within their power to achieve, though, of course, they may sometimes fail in the attempt. They are guided by their experience, and though there are exceptions to every rule, it is safe to assume that, in the important concerns of their life, we never see a grown wild animal either making a first experiment or doing a foolish thing. [Illustration: THE END OF THE CHASE. Sable antelope attacked by Cape hunting dogs.]