BOER MARKSMANSHIP. 241 



without much regard to aim. This soon makes 

 the game animals very wild, and, in proportion to 

 the number of cartridges expended, very little game 

 is gathered, and an enormous waste by wounding 

 occurs, as few hunters care to follow game animals 

 wounded at distances which mean, at any rate, a 

 long and uncertain stern chase, and mostly end 

 in failure. 



Even in their palmiest days as hunters very 

 few Boers could be reckoned as first-class shots, 

 although most of them could account for a good 

 deal of game, the result not so much of their 

 shooting skill as their aptitude in negotiating 

 difficult and somewhat dangerous ground on 

 their active and well-trained shooting horses. 



At times I have hunted a good deal with the 

 Boers, but of first-class performers among them 

 can only remember some half-dozen who came 

 nearly up to that mark, and strangely enough none 

 of that number used modern weapons. Indeed, 

 two of them stuck to flint and steel till their deaths 

 some few years ago. 



In support of my poor opinion of Boer shooting, 

 I may mention that shortly after the introduction 

 of breechloading rifles with brass cartridge-cases 



R 



