Panthers and Leopards (Asiatic]. 331 



and directly I touched earth I scrambled off on all 

 fours as fast as I could. Thank goodness the bull 

 was not in a state to wreak his vengeance for though 

 not dead, he was all but so, yet he looked as if he 

 should like to annihilate me with a glance. The 

 wounds he had received from me, combined with the 

 action of the poison from the shikarie's arrow had 

 undermined his constitution, and in a few seconds he 

 rolled over and died. This was about the narrowest 

 escape I ever had in my life. The shikarie was not 

 far off, and soon made his appearance. I pulled the 

 thorn, two and a half inches long, out of my hand, 

 which swelled up to an immense size and gave me 

 intense pain. For many days, as far as shooting was 

 concerned, I was hors de combat. We got back to 

 where the giraffe had fallen ; all the men were there, 

 they had also recovered the second beast. I should 

 have liked to start back at once, but the men 

 evidently were bent on securing all the meat they 

 could, and gormandizing. So we cleared a spot and 

 made up our minds to spend the night there. The 

 hunters cut strips of meat off the giraffe and broiled 

 it over hot embers, and it was really not to be de- 

 spised ; but then I was very hungry, and had it not 

 been for the mosquitoes and the pain in my hand I 

 should not have passed a bad night. Before separating 

 for the night the Africans collected some leaves and 

 after chewing them applied them as a poultice to my 

 hand, but though it relieved me somewhat, it did not 

 altogether alleviate the gnawing pain. I fancy some 

 tendon had been injured. By the next morning I was 

 in a high fever ; the men made a rude palankeen 

 out of my trestle cot, and carried me back, first to 



