XV ROAN ANTELOPE SHOT 325 



Looking cautiously over the top, I saw the fine old 

 bull lying down within eighty yards of me. At the 

 same minute he got my wind, and sprang up, giving 

 me a chance that I was not slow to take advantage 

 of, and I planted a bullet right in the centre of 

 his shoulder. He dashed away for about 1 50 

 yards at full speed, and then, pulling up, turned 

 and presented his other shoulder to me, upon which 

 I gave him a second bullet, which sealed his fate. 

 The sun was now down, and torrents of rain, 

 pouring from dense black clouds, drenched me 

 through and through long before I could reach the 

 Kafir town. Owen had managed to get a couple of 

 leaky huts, one for our traps and the other for 

 ourselves ; but everything was dark and wet and 

 dismal in the extreme, and the rain continued to fall 

 in torrents. I at once sent all the boys to bring in 

 the meat of the roan antelope, and when it came I 

 managed to buy a little Kafir corn meal with some of 

 it, off which we at last made our Christmas dinner at 

 about ten o'clock at night, and by the fitful light of 

 a lamp which we extemporised from a little marrow 

 fat in a plate and a few shreds of blanket for a wick. 

 Such is life ! The only grain of comfort we had was 

 the reflection that we were in a country never 

 before trodden upon by even the wandering feet of 

 a subject of Queen Victoria. 



December idth. — Raining hard as day broke, and 

 no light to be seen in the sky at any point. As 

 the next town was reported to be at a considerable 

 distance, and the rain did not cease till late in the 

 afternoon, we remained where we were, llie Kafirs 

 here were very diffiicult to deal with, and would sell 

 us nothing except at the most exorbitant prices. 

 Heavy rain came on again in the evening. 



