52 RECENT HUNTING TRIPS. 



buU standing in fnll view. He was then almost 

 facing the canoe with his head down on the 

 water, either drinking or more probably eating 

 some part of the water lilies, which were 

 growing just where he was standing. It would 

 have been madness to have fired at him as he 

 stood in this position, as the bullet would in aU 

 probability have broken up in the thick skin 

 and great muscles at the back of the neck. 



So I waited, and soon he raised his head and 

 turned a little towards the cow, and then I 

 fired as well as I could — it was fast getting 

 dusk — for the point of his shoulder, and saw 

 immediately that I had hit him about right, as 

 he flinched when the bullet struck him, and as 

 he tried to turn I saw that his left foreleg hung 

 useless from the shoulder. I believe this bullet 

 would have killed him, but I fired three more 

 into him as he turned round and stumbled 

 towards the shore of the lake. He just managed 

 to reach dry ground and fell dead close to the 

 water's edge. 



All this time the cow and calf had been 

 standing quite stiU, looking curiously towards 



