ANOTHER BUFFALO KILLED KOODOOS. 465 



The night closing in, I determined on once more lying in 

 ambush. I waited long in vain ; but at last I observed a sol- 

 itary buffalo — an immense bull — slowly and cautiously ap- 

 proaching my hiding-place, stopping every now and then to 

 listen. When so near the " skiirm" as almost to touch it, I 

 pulled the trigger, but, to my great annoyance, the gun snap- 

 ped. On hearing the click, the animal wheeled about and 

 hurriedly retreated ; but, after proceeding about forty paces, 

 he suddenly halted, and, turning partially round, exposed his 

 broadside. Having, in the interim, put on another cap, I took 

 advantage of his favorable position, and again pulled the trig- 

 ger. This time I succeeded in placing a bullet well in the 

 beast's shoulder. The instant he received the shot he leaped 

 high into the air, and then plunged violently forward. Im- 

 mediately afterward I heard a deep moaning in the direction 

 he had taken — an unmistakable sign that he was mortally 

 hurt. Nevertheless, what with the severe lesson I had re- 

 cently received from the black rhinoceros, and the well-known 

 savage nature of a wounded buffalo, I did not think it pru- 

 dent to follow him. The next morning, however, search was 

 made, when he was found dead within less than a hundred 

 yards of my " skarm," the ball having pierced his heart. 



Koodoos were also occasionally seen and killed. Of all 

 that varied and beauteous form of animal life to be found in 

 the boundless woods and plains of tropical vSouth Africa, the 

 koodoo is unquestionably the most distinguished for elegance 

 and gracefulness, united with strength. The height of the 

 male at the shoulder is about four feet. The general color 

 of his body is a " rufous gray," marked with several white bars 

 over the back and croup. The male carries his exquisitely 

 formed head, ornamented with ponderous spiral horns of about 

 three feet or more in length, very erect, which gives him an 

 air of nobility and independence. The koodoo, in shortj is a 

 perfect picture ; and " when standing broadside on, is decided- 

 ly one of the grandest-looking antelopes in the world." 



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