Anxious Lest They Should Take Sudden Fright, I Gently
Raised Myself, Wishing To Fire, But I Was Quite Puzzled; There
Was No Mistake About What They Were; Still, Look From As High As
I Would, I Could Not See Their Bodies.
The thought never struck
me they were lying down in such open ground in the day-time; so,
as
I could not go closer without driving them off, I took a shot
with my single rifle at where I judged the chest of the nearest
one ought to be, and then discovered my error. In an instant all
three sprang on their legs and scampered off. I began loading,
but before I had half accomplished my object, those three had
mingled with the three previously seen grazing, and all six
together came charging straight at me. I really thought I should
now catch a toss, if I were not trampled to death; but suddenly,
as they saw me standing, whether from fear or what else I cannot
say, they changed their ferocious-looking design, swerved round,
and galloped off as fast as their legs could carry them. This
was bad luck; but Grant made up for it the next day by killing a
very fine buck nsamma.
20th. - I went again after the herd of six buffaloes, as I thought
one was wounded, and after walking up a long sloping hill for
three miles towards the east, I found myself at once in view of
the Nile on one hand, and the long-heard-of Asua river on the
other, backed by hills even higher than the Jbl Kuku. The bed of
the Asua seemed very large, but, being far off, was not very
distinct, nor did I care to go and see it them; for at that
moment, straight in front of me, five buffaloes, five giraffes,
two eland and sundry other antelopes, were too strong a
temptation.
The place looked like a park, and I began stalking in it, first
at the eland, as I wanted to see if they corresponded with those
I shot in Usagara; but the gawky giraffes, always in the way,
gave the alarm, and drove all but two of the buffaloes away. At
these two I now went with my only rifle, leaving the servants and
savages behind. They were out in the open grass feeding
composedly, so that I stole up to within forty yards of them, and
then, in a small naked patch of ground, I waited my opportunity,
and put a ball behind the shoulder of the larger one. At the
sound of the gun, in an instant both bulls charged, but they
pulled up in the same naked ground as myself, sniffing and
tossing their horns, while looking out for their antagonist, who,
as quick as themselves, had thrown himself flat on the ground.
There we were, like three fools, for twenty minutes or so; one of
the buffaloes bleeding at the mouth and with a broken hind-leg,
for the bullet had traversed his body, and the other turning
round and round looking out for me, while I was anxiously
watching him, and by degrees loading my gun.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 390 of 403
Words from 204057 to 204587
of 210958
