

360 ftfn0s' of tbe 1Rofc, IRtfle, anfc Gun 



of his death, the result of an engagement with a 

 rhinoceros. Oswell would, for instance, ride up alongside 

 of a hyaena, and unloosing his stirrup leather while at 

 full gallop, brain the beast with the heavy stirrup." 

 Again, Sir Samuel Baker, in my opinion the greatest 

 sportsman of the century, says : " His extreme gentleness, 

 utter recklessness of danger, and complete unselfishness, 

 made him friends everywhere, but attracted the native 

 mind to a degree of adoration. He was the Nimrod of 

 South Africa, without a rival and without an enemy, the 

 greatest hunter ever known in modern times, the truest 

 friend and most thorough example of an English gentle- 

 man." Sir Samuel adds : " I have always regarded Oswell 

 as the perfection of a Nimrod. Six feet in height, 

 sinewy and muscular, but nevertheless light in weight, 

 he was not only powerful but enduring. A handsome 

 face with an eagle glance, but full of kindness and 

 fearlessness, bespoke the natural manliness of character 

 which attracted him to the wild adventures of his early 

 life." 



Oswell was a first-rate horseman, and all his shooting 

 was from the saddle or by dismounting for the shot after 

 he had run his game to bay. His favourite weapon, 

 with which he did nearly all his work, was a lo-gauge 

 double-barrel Purdey smooth bore, weighing 10 Ibs., 

 and carrying a spherical ball wrapped in either waxed 

 kid or linen patch, with a charge of six drachms of fine- 

 grained powder. In days before breech-loaders such a 

 gun could be easily and rapidly loaded on horseback, 

 the powder-charge being made up separately in the form 

 of a paper cartridge, the end of which could be bitten off 



