274 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CIIAP. 



my happy lain ting-grounds, Mtnncria lake and plain ; buffaloes were 

 swarming. The 3-oz. was in the best of humours, and its j)er- 

 fonnance led my friend Dick to imagine that buffaloes were, after 

 all, not such resolute beasts as had been described. He was armed 

 with a ridiculous single-barrelled rifle, No. 20 spherical ball. He 

 hod fired a number of shots from this toy uselessly, and I had killed 

 the various buffaloes with the heavy weajwn ; I prevailed upon him 

 to double his charge of powder. After some time, during which 

 we had walked a considerable distance along the margin of the 

 lake, we saw a solitary bull buffalo in a state of great excitement, 

 on the opposite side of a small creek leading from the lake towards 

 the jungle, about half a mile distant. As we drew nearer, the 

 buffalo faced us, and tore up the turf with its horns, at the same 

 time looking down the perpendicular bank, as though questioning 

 the possibility of a descent. We now arrived at the creek ; there 

 could not have been a more favourable position for Dick's little 

 rifle with a double charge (about 3 drams), as the breadth of water 

 which divided us from the opposite bank was not more than 30 

 yards. There was no danger, as the vertical bank, upon which the 

 angry bull was standing in a menacing attitude, was at least 12 

 feet high, therefore it was impossible for the animal to cross over. 

 I told Dick to be ready, and to aim at the back of the neck should 

 the buffalo lower its head. To effect this, I threw a hard clod of 

 earth across the creek ; this splashed loudly in the water imme- 

 diately beneath the buffalo's position. It looked down, and exposed 

 its neck ; at the exact moment Dick fired. The bull turned round 

 convulsively, and fell upon its side. " Well done, Dick ! " I ex- 

 claimed, " the double charge has done it ; " and we hurried round 

 the creek, wading through a shallow place as a short cut. Upon 

 arrival at the spot, we found a mighty specimen of a bull buffalo ; 

 in the exact centre of the massive neck a minute hole, that was 

 hardly perceptible, denoted the position of the tiny bullet which 

 had overthrown this colossal animal. Dick stood in front of the 

 bull's head, and revelled in the delight of his first buffalo, which 

 he had killed by a neat shot from so insignificant a weapon. 



" Never stand at the head of a buffalo, whether dead or alive," 

 I exclaimed to my excited and delighted friend ; " but always 

 stand upon the side facing the back of the animal, well away from 

 the legs as I am standing now." 



The words were hardly uttered when, to our intense surprise, 

 the apparently dead buffalo suddenly sprang to its feet, and 

 blundered forward straight at the astonished Dick, who was not 

 3 feet distant. He attempted to jump backwards to avoid the 



