270 THE GUASO NYERO [ch. xi 



bushes close by, and the horse nearly had a fit. I could 

 hardly get off in time to empty my magazine at long 

 range— fortunately with effect. It was a magnificent 

 bull of the variety called Patterson's eland, with a fine 

 head. Few prize oxen would be as heavy, and, in spite 

 of its great size, its finely moulded limbs and beautiful 

 coat gave it a thoroughly game look. 



Oryx were now what I especially wished, and we 

 devoted all the following day to their pursuit. We saw 

 three bands, two of them accompanying herds of zebra, 

 after the manner of kongoni. Both species were found 

 indifferently on the bare, short-grass flats and among the 

 thin, stunted thorn-trees which covered much of the 

 plains. After a careful stalk — the latter part on all- 

 fours — I got to within about three hundred yards of a 

 mixed herd, and put a bullet into one oryx as it faced 

 me, and hit another as it ran. The first, from its posi- 

 tion, I thought I would surely kill if 1 liit it at all, and 

 both the wounded beasts were well behind the herd 

 when it halted a mile away on the other side of the 

 plain ; but as we approached they all went off together, 

 and I can only hope the two I hit recovered ; at any 

 rate, after we had followed them for miles, the tough 

 beasts were still running as strongly as ever. 



All the morning I manoeuvred and tramped hard, in 

 vain. At noon I tried a stalk on a little band of six, 

 who were standing still, idly switching their tails, out in 

 a big Hat. They saw me, and at four hundred yards I 

 missed the shot. By this time 1 felt rather desperate, 

 and decided for once to abandon legitimate proceedings 

 and act on the Ciceronian theory, that he who throws 

 the javelin all day must hit the mark some time. 

 Accordingly I emptied the magazines of both my rifles 

 at the oryx, as they ran across my front, and broke the 



