WATER-BUCK. 57 



It was not quite 4 p.m. when I left the men hard 

 at work building our huts, and taking two Ajawahs 

 and a spare gun, I strolled into the forest, in the 

 hope of getting some meat both for ourselves and 

 our men. Passing over a hill in the rear of our camp, 

 I entered a stretch of undulating forest land, where 

 the grass, standing some ten feet high, was only parti- 

 ally burned, and where it had escaped the fire. I soon 

 saw tracks of buffaloes, though some days old, and 

 the men who accompanied me said there were several 

 herds of these animals abgut. I had not gone far 

 when I saw some half-dozen water-buck walk out of 

 a patch of long grass, and having taken a good look 

 round, they commenced feeding on the young and 

 green shoots of new grass that had sprung up from 

 the old roots over a burned tract of some couple of 

 acres. On examining them with a glass, I found that 

 there was but one buck amongst them, and though 

 his horns were not first-class, I determined to try my 

 luck. A long stalk brought me to within a hundred 

 and fifty yards, when, either by a shift of wind, or the 

 unavoidable cracking of one of the numerous dry 

 twigs with which the ground was covered, my pres- 

 ence was discovered by one of the does. She stood 

 and gazed at me intently, and her example was soon 

 followed by the other does. The buck alone con- 

 tinued to crop the grass, unconscious of danger, and 

 as he offered a good broadside shot, and I knew they 

 would all be off in another minute, I gave up all 

 hope of getting closer, and taking a steady aim be- 

 hind the shoulder, fired. He fell to the shot, but re- 

 covering himself again, quickly disappeared in the 



