CHAPTER IX. 

 HUNTING BUFFALO. 



False economy is bad at all times ; it is especially 

 so when purchasing a doubtful horse for hunting in 

 the bush veld. On one trip I had only two horses, 

 the one very good, and the other a worthless brute, I 

 had taken it on the word of one of my friends in 

 exchange for one much better. I had sent notice to 

 the chief Mapela to open all the game pits while I was 

 in the veld, but one row near the Mahalaquena 

 River had been left covered, and my best horse and 

 a fine " salted " mare of Philip Minnaar's (who was 

 hunting with me) fell in, were staked and killed. 

 The chief pretended to be very sorry and promised 

 to pay 10 oxen for each horse, but he never did. He 

 was not friendly at the time, and some Boers who 

 were hunting there left the ground, as they feared 

 that the Kaffirs might kill them. Shortly after this 

 a Boer commando attacked Mapela on his mountain, 

 and General Nicolas Smit, (who was afterwards 

 conspicuous at Ingogo and Majuba,) was wounded. 

 This stronghold of Mapela's is a succession of high 

 bluffs facing the Mahalaquena River. It is formed of 

 conglomerates, in places carrying a certain amount of 

 gold. The escarpment is most picturesque. The loss 

 of this horse spoilt my trip, as I always shot from 

 the horse's back when hunting large game ; the 

 horse I had left proved a sluggish, clumsy brute, and 

 brought me to grief more than once. A clumsy 

 horse is useless in the bush veld as he only frightens 

 the game, and then cannot catch up to it when 

 started. One day, whilst riding this slug, a wounded 

 buffalo cow got into some thick gwarrie bushes. 



