He was a dare-devil
fellow, and feared neither hounds nor man, every now and then
charging through the pack, and coming almost within reach of the
Tamby's spear. It was a difficult thing to know how to kill him.
I was afraid to go in at him, lest in his struggles he should
drag the hounds over the precipice, and I would not cheer the
seizers on for the same reason. Indeed, they seemed well aware of
the danger, and every now and then retreated to me, as though to
entice the elk to make a move to some better ground.
However, the buck very soon decided the question. I made up my
mind to halloo the hounds on, and to hamstring the elk, to
prevent him from nearing the precipice: and, giving a shout, the
pack rushed at him. Not a dog could touch him; he was too quick
with his horns and fore feet. He made a dash into the pack, and
then regained his position close to the verge of the precipice.
He then turned his back to the hounds, looked down over the edge,
and, to the astonishment of all, plunged into the abyss below! A
dull crash sounded from beneath, and then nothing was heard but
the roaring of the waters as before. The hounds looked over the
edge and yelled with a mixture of fear and despair. Their game
was gone!
By making a circuit of about half a mile among these frightful
precipices and gorges, we at length arrived at the foot of the
cliff down which the buck had leapt. Here we of course found him
lying dead, as he had broken most of his bones. He was in very
fine condition; but it was impossible to move him from such a
spot. I therefore cut off his head, as his antlers were the
finest that I have ever killed before or since.
To regain the tent, I had a pull for it, having to descend into
the village of Peréwellé, and then to reascend the opposite
mountain of three thousand feet; but even this I thought
preferable to returning in cold blood by the dangerous route I
had come.
Tugging up such a mountain was no fun after a hard morning's
work, and I resolved to move the encampment to a large cave, some
eight hundred feet lower down the mountain. Accordingly, I
struck the tent, and after breakfast we took up our quarters in a
cavern worthy of Robin Hood. This had been formed by a couple of
large rocks the size of a moderate house, which had been detached
from the overhanging cliff above, and had fallen together.
