CH. xj] STALKING BIJFFALO 303 



habitually spent the day. Two or three hours passed 

 before we found what we sought ; and we at once began 

 to follow the trail. It was in open thorn bush, and the 

 animals were evidently feeding. Before we had followed 

 the spoor half an hour we ran across a rhinoceros. As 

 the spoor led above wind, and as we did not wish to 

 leave it for fear of losing it, Cuninghame stayed where 

 he was, and I moved round to within fifty yards of the 

 rhino, and, with my rifle ready, began shouting, trying 

 to keep the just mean as regards noise, so as to scare 

 him, and yet not yell so loudly as to reacli the buffalo if 

 they happened to be near by. At last I succeeded, and 

 he trotted sullenly off, tacking and veering, and not 

 going far. On we went, and in another half-hour came 

 on our quarry. T was the first to catch a glimpse of the 

 line of bulky black forms, picked out with white where 

 the sun glinted on the horn bosses. It was ten o'clock, 

 a hot, windless morning on the Equator, with the sun 

 shining from a cloudless sky ; yet these buffalo were 

 feeding in the open, miles from water or dense cover. 

 They were gi'cedily cropping tlie few tufts of coarse 

 herbage tliat grew among the sparse thorn bushes, which 

 here were not more than two feet high. In many 

 places buffalo are purely nocturnal feeders, and do not 

 come into the hot, bare plains in the scorching glare of 

 daylight ; and our experience with this herd illustrates 

 afresh the need of caution in generalizing about the 

 habits of game. 



We crept tow^ard them on all-fours, having left the 

 porters hidden from sight. At last we were within 

 rather long range — a buffalo's eyesight is good, and can- 

 not be trifled with as if he were a rhino or elephant — and 

 cautiously scrutinized the herd through our glasses. 

 There were only cows and perhaps one or two young 



