74 LARGE GAME. chap. ii. 



for me to see anything more, and covering it, I fired 

 without any idea of what the animal might be. As the 

 smoke cleared I ran forward and saw an nkonka, or 

 male bush-buck, running round in a circle, evidently 

 stupified by the shot, and as I had learned by dear- 

 bought experience that they are nasty beasts for charging, 

 I thought I would rather waste another bullet than go 

 up to it as it was. I afterwards found that the first ball, 

 entering exactly where it was aimed, had pierced right 

 throuofh the animal and had come out at the chest. It 

 fell to the second, and then I had the hard task of carry- 

 ing it to camp, and as an nkonka is generally supposed 

 to be a good load for two, and I have seen four men 

 carrying the larger specimens found in the heavy timber 

 jungles, it may be imagined that my chest and arms 

 ached for some time after I had thrown it down. It was 

 lucky that I had come across this antelope, fOr half an 

 liour after my return the two hunters came in empty- 

 handed, sajdng that the herds of buffalo they had respec- 

 tively been after had not remained in the neighbourhood, 

 but had crossed the open and gone in the direction of the 

 hills ; and indeed in this hot dry weather they would be 

 sure to make for the highest ground, only coming down 

 to drink. 



Our camp was a primitive one in all ways, for I had 

 been guided in choosing it chiefly by the sight of a dead 

 tree, the nearness of which would save our one boy a good 

 deal of trouble in getting firewood. I had not, however, 

 while doing so, altogether forgotten my wood craft, and 

 from the other side of the umtombe tree under which it 

 was placed, it was impossible to see our camp-fire, so that 



