MY SOMALI BOOK 203 



worth. It is shared by good and experienced shots ; 

 for instance, Captahi Stigand and Mr. Lyell, joint 

 authors of Central Africaii Game and its S'poor, a book 

 which contains more sound and practical advice on the 

 subject, from all aspects, of big game shooting in 

 Africa than any work I know. (Though, as a later 

 chapter will show, I venture to disagree in some 

 measure with its authors' views on the choice of rifles 

 for dangerous game.) 



It is a different matter once the quarry is wounded. 

 Then one should be prepared to take any shot that 

 offers a chance of success. What many men forget, 

 or do not appreciate, is the immense importance of the 

 first shot that hits an animal. Subsequent wounds 

 do not seem to cause anything like the same shock to 

 the system, and often appear for the time being to 

 bestow renewed vitality. One frequently finds that 

 a well-placed bullet, which would infallibly have 

 dropped an unwounded beast, has little or no imme- 

 diate effect on one that has been previous^ wounded. 

 If this fact were more generally realised, I believe 

 many would be more careful than they sometimes are 

 in placing their first shot, whether in dealing with 

 dangerous game or in long shots at antelopes. 



One may occasionally come across a man who does 

 not at heart care two straws how many animals he 

 may leave wounded, but he is rare. It is inexperience, 

 thoughtlessness, or lack of self-control under excite- 

 ment, that are most to blame. I know it has been so 

 in the past with myself, and when tired and dis- 

 appointed one may be tempted to slacken or cease 

 one's efforts to recover a wounded beast. For these 



