CHAP. i. BUFFALO. 63 



I slightly shook the reeds, in the hope that he would rise 

 and afford me a good chance. This, however, having no 

 effect, I took a dry reed and broke it, with a like result. 

 I now felt pretty sure of how things were, though not 

 quite, and to make certain I threw the broken pieces on to 

 his body, and that failing to rouse him, I went up and 

 found him, as I now expected, stone dead, his last thought 

 evidently having been to lie so that he would front any 

 one who followed him. 



I was just in the act of severing his tail, when I heard 

 my Kaffir name shouted, and on forcing my way through 

 the reeds I found a couple of hunters, accompanied by the 

 little boy whom I had sent for soap, come after me. I 

 had forgotten how peculiar my appearance must be, having 

 nothing on but a shirt completely saturated with blood, 

 much of which had run down into my shoes, while a few 

 daubs ornamented my face, with no hat or cap on, and 

 my long hair waving over my shoulders ; but the hurried 

 way in which the men came across, and in an evident 

 fright asked me where I was hurt, reminded me, and I 

 eased their minds by jumping into the river, and there 

 removing the stains. 



Though I have often, as I have already mentioned, 

 been indebted to others for a saving shot at a critical 

 moment, it has rarely fallen to my share to be in my turn 

 of equal service to them, and I only recollect one occasion 

 of the sort, and then each of my two barrels prevented a 

 wounded buffalo from doing damage. The animal in ques- 

 tion had been fired at by one of my hunters at dusk, close 

 by a water-hole, which they were both approaching with 

 the same thirsty intent, and, according to his account on 



