IN THE PACIFIC. 97 



covered with tangled brushwood and small 

 rotten trees, none of which would bear a man's 

 weight. I had my double-barrelled smooth- 

 bore loaded with ball, and my coxswain stood 

 behind me with a Winchester repeating rifle as 

 a reserve. 



Presently I espied a fine brindled bull coming 

 up the hill, not forty yards off : getting a good 

 sight of him through the trees, I gave him a ball 

 behind the shoulder ; he dropped instantly on 

 his knees, but was quickly up again, looking 

 round for his enemy, when a second ball crashed 

 through his ribs, and he rolled over never to 

 rise again. I had hardly reloaded when an 

 immense black bull came in sight, and received 

 a ball in the shoulder, which dropped him in his' 

 tracks ; he was succeeded by two others, at both 

 of which I fired, but with what success I could 

 not tell, as they turned and charged down the 

 hill, and were lost to sight. Reloading my gun, 

 a snap-actioned breechloader (Powell), we went 

 up to where the first bull was lying dead ; we 

 were about to " gralloch " him, and Ricketts, 



H 



