Here the
wounded animal lay unable to rise, and his conqueror commenced a slow
retreat across the plain.
Leaving B. to extinguish the wounded buffalo, I gave chase to the
retreating bull. At an easy canter he would gain a hundred paces and
then, turning, he would face me; throwing his nose up, and turning his
head to one side with a short grunt, he would advance quickly for a few
paces, and then again retreat as I continued to approach.
In this manner he led me a chase of about a mile along the banks of the
lake, but he appeared determined not to bring the fight to an issue at
close quarters. Cursing his cowardice, I fired a long shot at him, and
reloading my last spare ball I continued the chase, led on by ignorance
and excitement.
The lake in one part stretched in a narrow creek into the plain, and the
bull now directed his course into the angle formed by this turn. I
thought that I lead him in a corner, and, redoubling my exertions, I
gained upon him considerably. He retreated slowly to the very edge of
the creek, and I had gained so fast upon him that I was not thirty paces
distant, when he plunged into the water and commenced swimming across
the creek. This was not more than sixty yards in breadth, and I knew
that I could now bring him to action.
Running round the borders of the creek as fast as I could, I arrived at
the opposite side on his intended landing-place just as his black form
reared from the deep water and gained the shallows, into which I had
waded knee-deep to meet him. I now experienced that pleasure as he stood
sullenly eyeing me within fifteen paces. Poor stupid fellow! I would
willingly, in my ignorance, have betted ten to one upon the shot, so
certain was I of his death in another instant.
I took a quick but steady aim at his chest, at the point of connection
with the throat. The smoke of the barrel passed to one side;--there he
stood--he had not flinched; he literally had not moved a muscle. The
only change that had taken place was in his eye; this, which had
hitherto been merely sullen, was now beaming with fury; but his form was
as motionless as a statue. A stream of blood poured from a wound within
an inch of the spot at which I had aimed; had it not been for this fact,
I should not have believed him struck.
Annoyed at the failure of the shot, I tried him with the left-hand
barrel at the same hole.
