Off Went The Herd; Shambling Along At A Tremendous Pace,
Whisking Their Long Tails Above Their Hind Quarters, And Taking
Exactly the direction I had anticipated, they offered me a
shoulder shot at a little within two hundred yards' distance.
Unfortunately, I fell into a deep hole concealed by the high
grass, and by the time that I resumed the hunt they had increased
their distance, but I observed the leader turned sharp to the
right, through some low mimosa bush, to make direct for the open
table land. I made a short cut oblquely at my best speed, and
only halted when I saw that I should lose ground by altering my
position. Stopping short, I was exactiy opposite the herd as they
filed by me at right angles in full speed, within about a hundred
and eighty yards. I had my old Ceylon No. 10 double rifle, and I
took a steady shot at a large dark-coloured bull: the
satisfactory sound of the ball upon his hide was followed almost
immediately by his blundering forward for about twenty yards, and
falling heavily in the low bush. I heard the crack of the ball of
my left-hand barrel upon another fine beast, but no effects
followed. Bacheet quickly gave me the single 2-ounce Manton
rifle, and I singled out a fine dark-coloured bull, who fell on
his knees to the shot, but recovering, hobbled off disabled,
apart from the herd, with a foreleg broken just below the
shoulder. Reloading immediately, I ran up to the spot, where I
found my first giraffe lying dead, with the ball clean through
both shoulders: the second was standing about one hundred paces
distant; upon my approach he attempted to move, but immediately
fell, and was despatched by my eager Arabs. I followed the herd
for about a mile to no purpose, through deep clammy ground and
high grass, and I returned to our game.
"These were my first giraffes, and I admired them as they lay
before me with a hunter's pride and satisfaction, but mingled
with a feeling of pity for such beautiful and utterly helpless
creatures. The giraffe, although from sixteen to twenty feet in
height, is perfectly defenceless, and can only trust to the
swiftness of its pace, and the extraordinary power of vision, for
its means of protection. The eye of this animal is the most
beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle, while the colour
of the reddish-orange hide, mottled with darker spots, changes
the tints of the skin with the differing rays of light, according
to the muscular movenment of the body. No one who has merely seen
the giraffe in a cold climate can form the least idea of its
beauty in its native land. By the time that we had skinned one of
the aninmals, it was nearly six o'clock, and it was necessary to
hurry forward to reach the river before night; we therefore
arranged some thorny boughs over the bodies, to which we intended
to return on the following morning.
"When about half-way to the river, as we were passing through
grass about four feet high, three tetel bounded from a ravine,
and, passing directly before us, gave me a splendid shot at about
sixty yards. The Ceylon No. 10 struck the foremost through the
shoulder, and it fell dead after running a few yards. This was
also my first tetel (Antelopus Bubalis); it was in splendid
condition, the red coat was like satin, and the animal would
weigh about five hundred pounds live weight.
"I had made very successful shots, having bagged three out of
four large game; this perfectly delighted the Arabs, and was very
satisfactory to myself, as I was quite aware that my men would be
only too willing to accompany me upon future excursions.
"It was quite dark before we reached the river; we had been much
delayed by repeated falls into deep holes, and over hidden
stones; thus I was well satisfied to find myself once more at
home after having crossed the river, in pitchy darkness, in a
similar manner as before. Every person in the village had had a
good view of the stalk; therefore, as two giraffes had been seen
to fall, the Arabs were waiting on the bank in expectation of
meat.
"September 3.--This morning I crossed the river with about twenty
men, some swimming with inflated skins, and others supported by
logs of ambatch. A number of swimmers were holding on to a pole
to which four inflated girbas were attached; this is an excellent
plan for assisting soldiers to cross a river, as they can land
together in parties, instead of singly, with their guns dry,
should the opposite bank be occupied by an enemy. I sat in my
gun-case, with the two rifles that I used yesterday, in addition
to the little Fletcher; heaps of clothes and sandals belonging to
the swimmers formed my cargo; while, in case of accident, I had
taken off my belt and shoes, and tied my ammunition within an
inflated skin. Neptune in his car drawn by dolphins was not more
completely at home than I in my gun-case, towed by my fish-like
hippopotami hunters. After pirouetting in several strong
whirlpools, during which time a crowd of women on the Sofi side
of the river were screaming to Allah and the Prophet to protect
us from crocodiles, we at length arrived.
"We took a direct course towards the animals I had shot on the
previous evening, meeting with no game except a large troop of
dog-faced baboons (Cynocephali), until we reached the body of the
tetel (Antelopus Bubalis), which lay undisturbed; leaving people
to flay it carefully, so that the skin should serve as a water or
corn sack, we continued our path towards the dead giraffes.
"I had not proceeded far, before I saw, at about a mile distant,
a motionless figure, as though carved from red granite; this I
felt sure was a giraffe acting as sentry for another party that
was not yet in view; I therefore sent my men on towards the dead
giraffes, while, accompanied by Florian's black servant Richarn,*
who was a good sportsman, and a couple of additional men, I
endeavoured to stalk the giraffe.
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