EVENING STROLLS WITH A RIFLE. 95 



But to get back to my sable, which had disappeared. It was getting dark, though 

 I could make out the spoor of the herd fairly easily, so I spoored them until it 

 got too dark to see, and I had to leave the beast for the time being. Next day 

 I returned with two natives and spent a whole morning on the spoor, but could 

 not find the wounded animal; so I hope he recovered from his wound, though I 

 doubt it. 



On Christmas Day, 1908, which I spent with my friend, Mr. T. A. Barns, at his 

 house on the Kapundi stream, I thought I would try to get some meat, so went out 

 by myself in the evening. By this time the grass is beginning to get long, and it is 

 difficult seeing game unless it is large enough to show over the grass. While strolling 

 along thinking of many things, such as the good dinners that would be eaten on this 

 evening at home, I suddenly noticed the tops of the grass waving about fifty yards 

 from where I was standing. 



Getting on my knees, I crawled in the direction, and then peeped over the grass 

 and saw a fine bush-pig busy feeding and a little further on another. Taking a 

 steady standing shot with my '275 rifle, I had the satisfaction of seeing piggy tumble 

 on his back, but he recovered his feet and rushed off, only to fall again after going a 

 short distance. The other one disappeared among the trees, but while I was looking 

 at the dead one I heard it grunting, so I went towards the sound and saw the pig 

 standing behind a small bush, evidently waiting for her comrade to come on. As 

 two pigs are better than one when it comes to feeding hungry natives, I gave her a 

 bullet which killed her where she stood. 



Some of my boys, hearing the shots, soon arrived and carried one of the pigs to 

 the house, the other being left out until the following morning. 



I can remember many another successful evening's sport and some unsuccessful 

 ones. It sometimes gave me greater pleasure to watch game than to kill it, unless 

 the meat was badly wanted. Often one will put in more hard work over bagging a 

 small duiker or oribi than in shooting a large animal such as a kudu or sable. 



The smaller antelopes are beautiful creatures, being so neatly and gracefully 

 formed. Duiker and klipspringers, when caught young, make nice pets, as they 

 become very tame with handling. A friend of mine has a young eland which runs 

 with his cattle and is quite tame. 



Another friend who lives near Zomba, in Nyasaland, has a female sable which is 

 great friends with a half-bred bull. They follow one another all over the place and 

 are inseparable companions. I have heard that in Southern Rhodesia there are some 

 half-breds between cattle and eland, which may be possible, as the eland is distantly 

 related to the ox family, as his scientific name, Taurotragus oryx, denotes. It would 



