Herds of Impala 



swamp where there were herds of impala. These 

 pretty Httle beasts are very nervous, and make off at 

 the slightest sound. They have a habit of leaping 

 away with successive bounds, which makes it 

 difficult to aim correctly at them. 



One of my men soon arrived, but brought 

 his own rifle, which had no magazine, and only 

 five rounds of ammunition. I soon espied a herd 

 coming down the opposite side of the swamp 

 to drink. Wadingr across and over some tall 

 grass to within a hundred yards of them, I 

 picked out a beautiful specimen. Determining to 

 leave nothing to chance, I went down on my hands 

 and knees and stalked them carefully until I was 

 quite close. Then a female perceived me, and 

 giving- the warninor, the whole herd bolted. I fired 

 at the big male, and to my disappointment missed 

 him. I could not understand how I managed this, 

 as the shot was such a near one ; so I tried the 

 wretched rifle on a Kongoni buck, which afforded a 

 very large target not far away from me, and missed 

 again. Then the brilliant owner of this antiquated 

 "Queen Bess" informed me that the weapon shot 

 extraordinarily high. High ! Skywards I should 

 say! Well, it had been too much for me, and so I 

 had to return to camp, promising myself another 

 chance the following morning. The mosquitoes that 

 evening were truly dreadful, and before I could finish 

 my evening repast I was reduced to a mass of bites.) i 



261 



