CHAP. I. BUFFALO. 65 



left, and consequently much nearer to the buffalo, but 

 even they would not have succeeded in cutting it off had 

 not a dog that accompanied the former run in, biting at 

 its heels. This provocation brought it round at once with 

 a vicious grunt, and a second afterwards the dog was lying 

 on its back yelping, while the bull with nose in air came 

 straight back at the hunter, who, instead of taking time 

 and giving it a ball in the centre of the chest at a few 

 yards' distance, which would probably have stopped it, 

 fired at once, and, foolishly aiming at the head, the bullet 

 merely grazed one of the horns, upon which he immediately 

 betook himself to the nearest tree. Just as he seemed 

 out of the reach of the buffalo, now not a yard off, the 

 branch to which he was clinging broke, and down he came 

 half way, his legs hitting the astonished old bull in the 

 face, who, though unable to stop at the second, had evi- 

 dently seen its adversary's predicament, and wheeled 

 round to have another go in at him. At this moment I 

 was about five-and-twenty yards off, still running, but at 

 once pulled up and let drive at the brute's shoulder as it 

 came round, causing it to again turn its attention in 

 my direction. It now caught sight of the boys, who 

 were unarmed, except with spears, charged determinedly 

 after them, and, as there were no trees near enough to 

 save them, and no one but myself had a loaded gun, 

 would no doubt have caught them, had I not shouted to 

 them to run past me, and when the animal arrived in 

 pursuit exactly opposite and not five yards from the bush 

 behind which I was, I luckily dropped it dead with a ball 

 through the top of the heart. On examination we found 

 that last night's bullet, instead of being in the shoulder, 



E 



