The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 



a huge one at that, but that he was very much 

 alive. He heard us coming, turning his head 

 over his shoulder to look at us. This was quite 

 a different proposition from a dead beast, for a 

 wounded buffalo is one of the most dangerous 

 animals a hunter can possibly face. It has a 

 trick of disappearing in dense cover, then re- 

 turning on its tracks to lie in wait for its 

 pursuers. The position can then be very easily 

 reversed, the hunter becoming the hunted. Many 

 men have been killed by buffalo in this way ; 

 they are therefore to be approached with due 

 deference. The mound aforesaid chancing to be 

 between the beast and ourselves, we promptly 

 mounted it. Now he got up on his legs, looking 

 uncommonly nasty. " Look out ! " exclaimed 

 Weddell ; " he's coming." At this time we were 

 within thirty yards of him, and just as he started 

 I fired with my *577 Express, hitting him hard 

 on the point of the shoulder. This shook him, 

 but as he still came on I gave him the other 

 barrel, which settled the matter, and he sank 

 wearily on to his knees. Weddell then fired a 

 shot at him to settle matters, as he still moved, 

 and this finished him. On going up to inspect 

 the head, which was quite an excellent one, we 

 discovered that this was not one of the bulls I 

 had wounded, but that he had been sorely cut 

 up and wounded by lions. He had a long and 

 terribly deep gash in his off shoulder, which 



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