Soldiering and Sport in Uganda 



ing position which they had taken up made it all 

 the more difficult to approach at all near to them, 

 and very careful stalking was required. 



Wanting a fairly long shot to test my new 

 rifle, I did not hesitate, against my usual prin- 

 ciples, to take a careful aim at this distance, having 

 arrived there without any of the undue fatigue or 

 loss of breath usual in a really well carried out 

 stalk. I rested my hand against the mound to 

 steady my shot and then released the trigger. The 

 buck made one bound and disappeared behind the 

 far side of the mound. There was no need to 

 criticize the rifle. My orderlies rushed forward with 

 their knives to cut the animal's throat, as in accord- 

 ance with their Muhammadan religion, if they do 

 not do so they are precluded from eating the meat 

 of the dead animal. To my amazement, I saw the 

 leading man go down all of a sudden on one knee 

 and beckon to me to approach cautiously. This I 

 did, and when I caught him up he whispered "one 

 sick" {i.e., wounded). I did not understand, but 

 supposed that after all I could have only wounded, 

 not killed, the buck I fired at. After I had 

 approached a little nearer a buck got up with a 

 jerk out of the long grass where he had been lying 

 and made off. I could see at once he had been 

 hit, and I experienced no difficulty in giving him 

 his coup de grace. It was not till then I realized 

 that the shot out of my heavy rifle had not only 

 polished off the big buck through the heart, but 

 had also wounded the smaller one, standing close 



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