CHAP. XV BISON, BEAR, AND ELEPHANT 169 



hunting knife. The unfortunate 8 -bore has a 

 gash on its extension rib to this day. Having 

 reloaded, I flew after the bison. He was bleeding 

 heavily and his tracks ran through high grass. 

 Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, louder than 

 the trackers ever made, and on turning round I 

 found the bull was following me at a walk, poor 

 beast, for he was very done. He lowered his 

 head threateningly, and I killed him with a shot 

 through the forehead at a distance of four or five 

 paces. He had lain up, and let me pass. This 

 was a good bull, and his head is now at Haileybury. 



The next trip was with H. in the Billigirun- 

 gums. We marched up eight miles from the 

 nearest habitations, built our own leaf huts, and 

 had a very jolly time. But H. was deeply in 

 love then and did not take his bison seriously 

 enough. So, having taught me his rhyme, he 

 departed and I moved further into the forest. 



I shot two bulls without incident. One of them 

 I encountered accidentally, and killed with a -577, 

 6 drams and 600 grains hard lead bullet. 



Then I had an all-day trek after a real big bull, 

 an accursed beast who spent his time climbing 

 up every hill he could find. But this was his un- 

 doing, for we saw him at last, making his usual 

 climb. We ran round the hill and waited for 

 him as he came down. I watched him come, 

 rested the 8-bore on a fallen tree, and never felt 

 so sure of a shot in my life. The bullet knocked 

 him head over heels. Being inexperienced, I did 

 not fire the left into him at once. He got up : I 

 browned him, and then had the mortification of 

 seeing him run swiftly down the hill. 



