With Fhishli-iit and Rifle ^ 



I Mttempted to penetrate into the marshes I was soon 

 hindered by channels traversing the morass. The only 

 possibility seemed to be to seek out the herds in the 

 very early morning before they had returned to their 

 swampy haunts. Many times I seemed on the point of 

 succeeding ; it was but a (juestion of minutes, and each 

 time I came a tew minutes too late. The sh\ ness of 

 these animals seemed to be unconquerable, and with the 

 breaking light of dawn they had already returned to their 

 hiding-places — a striking example of the sagacious habits 

 necessary to their conditions. One would think that such 

 a powerful beast as the African Ijuffalo would have no 

 cause to fear molestation of any kind ! Yet, whether 

 alone or in herds, these animals had taken in the altered 

 conditions ot things and feared the flash of the luiropean 

 firearms as much as the noiseless and swift poisoned 

 arrows ot the natives. 



Thus passed day after day, but I was determined to 

 persevere. Only thus can the hunter — at least in the 

 tropics — hope to attain his end. One man after another 

 sickened with the malaria, and we Europeans strengthened 

 our doses ot quinine to be more sure of ourseKes. 



During the evenings and nights we went in lor 

 catching crocodiles for a change. After long days of work 

 my men had felled two huge trees, which, falling into 

 the ri\'er Irom each Ijank, just met in the middle, and 

 thus formed a primiii\-e bridge o\c:r to the right bank. 

 About and under this riverdjar large crocodiles assendjled. 

 With the aid of some hooks for shark-fishing wliich 

 had come from London, I endeavoured to get hold ot 



2QO 



