ON SAFARI IN SOTIK WILDERNESS AND LAKE NAIVASHA 421 



lurking place in a papyrus swamp bordering a small river, the animals 

 having made many trails through the swampy ooze. It was their habit 

 to graze in the neighboring grassy plains, spending the night in the 

 swamp and feeding by day. If they had devoted themselves to the 

 grass alone no harm would have been done, but there was always 

 danger of their invading the planted fields and seriously damaging 

 the growing crops. In addition to this was their tendency at times to 

 charge furiously on any one who came near theni, a habit which had 

 led to many deaths. For this reason the planters welcomed anyone 

 who helped to abate this nuisance and were glad to abet the desire of 

 the Roosevelt party to add to their prizes a number of these ferocious 

 creatures. 



The bufifalo is a wary beast and not easy to stalk, but on the first 

 outing of the American hunters in the swamp district they were able, 

 by keeping under shelter of the bushy fringe of the swamp, to approach 

 within fifty yards of four bulls which were grazing out on the plain. 

 At this close distance the animals showed signs of alarm, and Mr. 

 Roosevelt and his son quickly let them have it right and left. Instead 

 of making for the swamp, the startled animals ran out into the plain, 

 with the result that in the end all four of them were bagged. Two of 

 the bulls fell dead in the field, the others, desperately wounded, took 

 refuge in the swamp, and the hunters sent their dogs in to rout them 

 out. This proved unfortunate to one of the dogs, which crawled out 

 with a mortal hurt from the horn of one of the wounded beasts. These 

 died in the swamp and eventually science was enriched with the skins 

 and skulls of three of the slain animals. 



On a later trip the hunters stalked some bufifaloes in the swamp, 

 wounding two of them. There was nothing to show that more than a 

 few were present, when suddenly, to the surprise and alarm of the 

 party, a herd of not less than seventy or eighty of these great creatures 

 rushed out into the plain, swung round in a long curve, and halted 

 facing the hunters. 



The lives of the whole party at that moment were in imminent 

 danger. Had the brutes charged upon them with their accustomed 

 fury not a man of them could have escaped alive. Nerve was wanted. 

 Had any man shown the white feather and started to run it would 



