CHAP. i. BUFFALO. 43 



clear of the smoke, and as I did so I heard that vicious 

 grunt that has heralded death to so many hunters, and a 

 bull made a vicious charge into it, while I could hear the 

 other buffaloes breaking on the opposite side. I had 

 waited until he had passed me, and was just going to fire 

 again when he wheeled and came towards me, causing me 

 to think that he had seen me. This was probably not 

 the case; most likely he was going to follow the rest; but 

 thinking so made me fire hurriedly and bolt. I missed 

 him clean, and when he noticed me I heard him utter 

 that murderous grunt again. Bolting out through the 

 open, I made for the little thicket where the herd had been 

 standing, and diving in, dodged round, and threw myself 

 down flat, meanwhile thrusting cartridges into my gun. 

 As the brute followed me I heard my companion, who had 

 luckily been unable to get a shot at the others, fire, and saw 

 it make a heavy stumble as the ball struck, then another 

 shot, and with a crash it fell within a few yards of me. 

 I lay motionless, watching its head, uncertain whether it 

 could rise again ; but the moment the hunter's ramrod 

 was heard at work it got up, and standing still, turned 

 its head round in the direction of the sound. This was 

 my opportunity, and aiming at the ear, I pulled the 

 trigger ; down it came again, stunned ; but as I was too 

 well acquainted with the thickness of a buffalo bull's skull- 

 bones to fancy that he was dead, I jumped up, and run- 

 ning round behind it, I put the other barrel through its 

 brain from the back of the head the most deadly shot 

 there is. 



A careful examination of all the bullet-marks made us 

 think that this was the bull that I had wounded at the 



