THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



would stop and turn any beast at once, even if the most 

 vital part of its body was missed. Therefore, when hunt- 

 ing such dangerous game as the elephant, rhino, lion, or 

 buffalo, the sportsman should always, for safety's sake, 

 take along a big-bore, high-power rifle in reserve for a 

 final shot at close quarters. The heavy rifle is generally 

 carried by a gun bearer, who is supposed to walk close 

 behind the hunter. 



Some men never want the " trouble " of carrying any 

 kind of gun themselves, except just when they want to 

 fire at an animal, their gun bearers always carrying the 

 guns behind them. In this way many a rare animal has 

 escaped before the " sportsman " has had time to take the 

 rifle from his gun bearer and fire, and not a few hunters 

 have thus been killed by suddenly charging animals in 

 dense bush or high grass. I myself would have been killed 

 on at least three different occasions, had I not carried the 

 gun myself and been ready to fire instantly, once not even 

 having time to bring the rifle up to the shoulder. By sheer 

 luck I hit the rhino's head and killed it instantly, less than 

 three yards from the muzzle of the gun, which was only 

 the small .256 Mannlicher. 



10. A good shotgun is a very useful weapon in Africa, 

 as the country swarms with game birds of all kinds, from 

 the giant bustard, with a spread of wing measuring ten feet 

 and more, to the tiny snipe and quail, so delicious for the 

 table. Among other game birds there are ducks, geese, 

 guinea fowl, and partridges, the meat of which forms a very 

 much appreciated change from the venison, and the rather 

 tough zebra and rhino meat. Such a gun, loaded with 

 buckshot, is one of the best weapons at night for leopards, 



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