CH. VI] DANGEROUS BUFFALOES 183 



indeed, the only ones that we saw in this neighbourliood 

 happened to be on domestic cattle — in other places we 

 found them very common on rhinoceros. At night the 

 butralo sometimes came right into the cultivated fields, 

 and even into the garden close by the Boer farmer's 

 house, and once at niglit he had shot a bull. The bullet 

 went through tlie lieart, but the animal ran to the 

 papyrus swamp, and was found next day dead just 

 within the edge. Usually the main herd, of bulls, cows, 

 and calves, kept together ; but there were outlying bulls 

 found singly or in small parties. Not only the natives, 

 but the whites, were inclined to avoid the immediate 

 neighbourhootl of the papyrus swamp, for there had 

 been one or two narrow escapes from unprovoked 

 attacks by the buffalo. The farmer told us that a man 

 who was coming to see him had been regularly followed 

 by three bulls, who pursued him for quite a distance. 

 'J'here is no doubt that in certain circumstances buffalo, 

 in addition to showing themselves exceedingly dangerous 

 opponents when wounded by hunters, become truculent 

 and inclined to take the offensive themselves. There 

 are places in East Africa where, as regards at least 

 certain herds, this seems to be the case ; and in Uganda 

 the buffalo have caused such loss of life, and such 

 damage to the native plantations, that they are now 

 ranked as vermin and not as game, and their killing is 

 I encouraged in every possible way. The list of white 

 hunters that have been killed by buffalo is very long, 

 I and includes a number of men of note, while accidents 

 I to natives are of constant occurrence. 



The morning after making our camp we started at 

 dawn for the buffalo ground, Kerniit and I, Cuninghanie 

 and Heatley, and tlie Boer farmer, with three big, 

 powerful dogs. W^e walked near the edge of the 



