BREECH-LOADER VERSUS MUSSLE-LOADER. 281 



upon our faces. We had not the least doubt but that we 

 had wounded him mortally my aim as well as my ear 

 assured me of that fact when, having given a moment's 

 space, in order that if the bull had looked towards the 

 position of the noise he might have satisfied himself that 

 no enemy was there to be seen, we both raised our fore 

 heads sufficiently to observe that the hump was moving 

 slowly away to our right, and then gradually it disap 

 peared in a fashion to indicate lying down rather than a di 

 rect fall. The monster was still not much above forty yards 

 from us, and very probably, if not dead, as furiously savage 

 as a mortally stricken beast of the size and age could be. 

 And now became manifest the great superiority, in 

 situations such as this, of the breech-loader over the 

 muzzle-loader. I dared not, for the life of me, kneel up 

 to load my John Manton rifle, or I should have been con 

 fessed to the savage and dying foe. Had I done so the 

 bull must have heard and seen me, and had he charged 

 we should have been dependant on three shots at his 

 said to be impenetrable head. Bayard, laying flat on the 

 ground, charged Pape's breech-loading rifle in a moment, 

 and without the necessity of drawing the slightest atten 

 tion from the wounded beast, and I had still Prince's 

 breech-loading carbine. As soon^as he had reloaded we 

 again crawled towards our foe, when, on looking through 

 the high grass, we saw him lying down, and looming as 

 wildly savage as those very savage-looking animals can 

 look his head and body obliquely away from our position. 

 It was no use to shoot at him thus, so we resolved to 

 take to the short grass, risk being seen, and open out his 

 broadside, determining that if he detected us, and rose 

 to charge, our fire should be at his heart while in the act 

 of turning, and Bayard's last barrel retained in the event 



