I70 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



deavoured to kiss my shooting-boots. I hopped backwards 

 round the room Hke a hen, and the grateful female on hands 

 and knees after me. The rest of the party seemed to enjoy 

 the incident too keenly to answer quickiy to my frantic appeals 

 to them to tell the good lady to desist ; but, as luck would have 

 it, she never caught me, only very nearly, for she went with 

 remarkable ease and speed on her hands and knees. . 



Soon after this M. Campione came in and told us that we 

 nmst take our positions, whereupon my wife and I proceeded 

 with M. Campione and a chasseur to my post, by a large 

 uprooted tree at some distance from the hut. The forest was 

 here rather open ; on my left stretched a small glade, which 

 gave me a clear view of anything crossing it to a distance of 

 about two hundred yards. On the right, though the trees were 

 fairly thick, there was but little underwood. In front the bushes 

 and undergrowth were much denser, but the ground sloping 

 away from where I stood gave a view of a small clearing about 

 three hundred yards off. Between this clearing and my right 

 and left I could see nothing but underwood. 



A great many of the large forest trees were magnificent 

 limes which supported quantities of wild bees, of which there 

 are so many in the forest that men were employed to rob the 

 nests of the honey. M. Campione explained to me in a whisper 

 that they were trying to drive the aurochs past me, the wind being 

 light from the front. We waited in perfect silence for about half 

 an hour, and then I heard the breaking of sticks and crashing of 

 branches, as the herd approached at a gallop. Across the clearing 

 they came, heading to pass me on the left across the small glade. 

 There were about fifteen of them, all thoroughly alarmed, and 

 presenting exactly the appearance of a herd of American bison, 

 the same carriage of the head, and the tail carried in the same 

 manner. Though I had but one short view of them, one bull 

 immediately caught my eye as being much larger than the 

 others. As they crossed the glade almost in file, he was the 

 second, and M. Campione whispered ' Le second cest le vieux^ 

 tirez-le ! ' At that moment they disappeared in the brushwood, 



