54 MY SOMALI BOOK 



I wanted a really good aoiil head, but there were 

 none visible until we were two-thirds of the way across 

 the Plain, when we spied a scattered herd away to 

 the west. I got up to within 250 yards, which was 

 as near as they would allow on the flat open plain. 

 Putting up the 300 yards sight, as I did not want 

 to wound low, I fired and hit the selected buck. 

 He did not fall and to my surprise the glasses showed 

 him to be wounded a trifle far back and low. A second 

 shot was a miss. 



By this time the aoul had all run together and the 

 wounded buck among them. I followed, trying to 

 single him out and at last thought I marked him and 

 fired, scoring a hit but again not a good one, the buck 

 going off on three legs. I decided to try and ride him 

 down, so mounted and started to gallop, ordering 

 Elmi to follow with the mule. The wounded one got 

 in among the herd and I rode straight at them. For 

 a mile and a half it was a grand gallop, Brian going 

 better than I ever thought he could do. 



The aoul, about 150 in number, ran close together 

 in a regular phalanx ; a charge of shrapnel into the 

 crowd would have bagged dozens. I expected to see 

 them go right away as blackbuck do if they are not 

 playing with you, but to my astonishment I quickly 

 got up to within tw^enty or thirty yards of the herd 

 and stayed there, though they were unquestionably 

 in a fright and seemed to be going their hardest. 

 Possibly they crowded each other somewhat, but even 

 so, the aoul must be considerably inferior to most of the 

 gazelles in speed. 



I could not spot the wounded buck at first as he 



