50 CENTRAL AFRICAN GAME AND ITS SPOOR. 



and putting it togetlier again (the more difficult process) are very useful. Strong cases 

 for rifles will be required. The best for keeping out water are Silver's patent watertight 

 cases, built on the same pattern as their travelling boxes, but, if these are not taken, 

 black glazed or green rotproof canvas will do. Rifle covers are generally made of 

 leather or canvas ; if strongly made and bound with leather the latter are strong 

 enough to stand lots of hard wear and tear. A bandolier should be bought for 

 cartridges in clips, such as Mannlicher or Mauser, and one for the "303 would be 

 handy, but this the native hunter would carry, and the sportsman would put a couple 

 of clips in his pocket for immediate use. For "303 cartridges a pair of loops to 

 hold six cartridges, each side sewn on the coat, would be the best, or a strap to hold 

 twelve to slip on the belt if one shoots in shirtsleeves. Sometimes the sportsman 

 may sit up at night for a lion or leopard. In that case he should have night sights 

 for his rifle ; the best, we think, are three silver balls, one to slip on in front of the 

 foresight, and the pair behind the backsight. It is best to have the strongest 

 light from the back, so that the sights will show up well ; so be careful to pick 

 a position where the moon is likely to show behind at the time the animal is 

 expected to come to the kill, or animal tied up for him. A shot-gun is not such 

 a useful weapon in Central Africa as a rifle, and the big game hunter will not 

 bother much about the smaller feathered game, but a gun might be useful to 

 shoot guinea-fowl, duck, or partridges for the pot. Anything from 12 to 20 bore 

 would do, with S.S.G., No. 3, and No. 6 shot. The S.S.G. is a useful charge 

 for a lion or leopard at close quarters, and also for killing small buck, such as duiker, 

 but we think all four-legged game (barring rabbits and hares) should be killed with 

 the rifle, as it is more sportsmanlike. Cartridges, especially those for the rifle, 

 should be soldered up in tins, in lots of fifty cartridges, to preserve them from 

 the damp, and it is not a bad thing to distribute them in different boxes, for if 

 they were all in one box, which by some mischance was lost or went astray, the 

 hunter would be left in a fix. " Pegamoid," being the best damp-resisting paper 

 cases, would be the best type of cartridge for the shot-gun. A couple of strongly 

 made cartridge bags, one for cartridges, and the other for carrying odds and 

 ends such as tape-measure, notebook and pencil, compass, string, &c., should be 

 taken out shooting. One soon learns by experience what to take and what 

 to leave behind. A hunting knife must be carried for finishing off and bleeding 

 a buck. We have found a kind known as the " Bushman's Friend " (which is a 

 better class of butcher's knife) the best, for the temper of the steel is not too 

 high, and it can be easily sharpened. 



The ordinary thick-bladed hunting knife usually sold by stores and cutlers 



