33 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



to impale that too, for the long straight thorns on 

 these trees are innumerable. As the brute, in his 

 vain attempts to get at me, kept lifting up his nos- 

 trils in throwing back his head, I watched my 

 opportunity, and as he next did so, I brought 

 down my left leg and with all my might gave him a 

 kick on the nose ; but in doing this idiotic trick, my 

 right foot also got disengaged ; my lower extremities 

 were thus at his mercy, and no doubt inwardly 

 chuckling, he made a vicious prod at my legs, but 

 beyond a graze he missed his aim. Before he could 

 repeat the blow I had drawn up my legs out of harm's 

 way again ; but it was impossible for me to bear the 

 tension on my arms much longer. Where the 

 shikarie was I did not know he knew nothing of the 

 use of firearms or he might have aided me by letting 

 drive the contents of the big bore into the mon- 

 ster, and I unjustly accused him of cowardice and 

 abandoning me ; but I was wrong, the man had done 

 his best, for as soon as he saw the buffalo he fired a 

 poisoned arrow into its chest, and not till then did 

 he slip aw r ay. I could only have been a few minutes 

 suspended in mid air holding on to the thorny branch 

 for dear life, but it seemed to me an hour. 



I found I could not hold on a couple of minutes 

 longer. Just then I saw a dark mass wa^Lk away a 

 few yards and lie down ; my strength failed me, so I 

 let go to drop, although my left hand was, as it were, 

 nailed to the branch. Expecting to be tossed up high 

 amongst the thorny branches or to be impaled on the 

 horns, not of a dilemma, but of the buffalo, was not 

 a pleasant prospect, but let go I had to, the weight 

 of my body releasing my hand as the thorn broke 



