HERD OF BUFFALOES. 185 



another ant-hill, attracted my attention, beckoning me 

 to come to liim. I was soon at his side, and pointing to 

 a black mass on the plain, apparently within a few 

 yards of the verge of the forest, he said, " That jovo." 

 However, I soon discovered that they were not ele- 

 phants, but buffalo, and there seemed to be at 

 least a hundred of them. There was no excuse for 

 me now. It was on our way, and I had promised to 

 kill meat. But how were they to be approached ? 

 Certainly not by crossing the plain, as I should soon 

 be discovered, and they would be off; and it would 

 have taken an hour or more to make a circuit of this 

 open space and reach the forest. Tlie idea struck me 

 that if I could obtain a canoe at the village, I might 

 get below them in a few minutes, and as the bank 

 was high, should run no risk of being discovered. I 

 communicated this idea to Moloka, and he simply re- 

 plied, " Good ! good ! Come quick ! Suppose we 

 catch canoe !" 



We were soon in the village. Many of the people, 

 who had been watching our movements for some time, 

 met us and said we were welcome. They told us the 

 boat had gone down long since, but though they had 

 asked them to stop they had not done so. As I had 

 no time for talking, I asked for a canoe, which was at 

 once placed at my disposal for two charges of gun- 

 powder, and the promise of some meat should I suc- 

 ceed in killing a buffalo. Two men, probably the 

 owners of the craft, volunteered to accompany me. I 

 must confess I did not feel at all comfortable in this 

 native " man-of-war." It was very long, narrow, and 

 giddy. However, there was nothing else for it, so 



