IV A PROFITABLE HUNT 6^ 



him no more. The dog had three bad flesh wounds, 

 but soon recovered. I think that the narrowness of 

 the stream prevented the crocodile from making 

 much use of his strength. From here another four 

 days' trekking brought us to the mission station 

 of Inyati, and we finally reached Gubulawayo on the 

 28th of December. I have not mentioned my horses 

 during this narrative, and suffice it to say that they 

 had been dying of the fatal sickness ever since 

 October, so that I only brought one back with me, 

 which I gave to Lobengula, as the price of the 

 hunting country. Besides the 450 lbs. of ivory which 

 I had shot myself, I had traded nearly 1200 lbs. 

 besides ; and altogether, after paying my debt to Mr. 

 Kisch, found I had made a clear profit during the 

 three months of nearly ^300. Let no one think, 

 however, that this may be done at the present day, 

 for things have changed terribly for the worse since 

 that time — there being few successful hunters to 

 trade with, and fewer elephants still to shoot. 

 When I told the king that his elephants had not 

 driven me out of the country, but that, on the con- 

 trary, I had killed several, he said laughingly, " Why, 

 you're a man ; when are you going to take a wife ? " 

 Shortly after this my friends Mandy and Dorehill 

 started for the Diamond Fields, Sadlier having 

 already left for Bamangwato before our arrival ; 

 whilst I elected to remain in the country and try and 

 go in hunting again the following year with George 

 Wood. 



