28 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



own light, I can sincerely express a deep regret that his pen 

 throughout his life was unemployed. No one could describe 

 a scene more graphically, or with greater vigour ; he could tell 

 his stories with so vivid a descriptive power that the effect 

 was mentally pictorial ; and his listeners could feel thoroughly- 

 assured that not one word of his description contained a par- 

 ticle of exaggeration. 



I have always regarded Oswell as the perfection of a 

 Nimrod. Six feet in height, sinewy and muscular, but 

 nevertheless light in weight, he was not only powerful, but 

 enduring. A handsome face, with an eagle glance, but full of 

 kindliness and fearlessness, bespoke the natural manliness of 

 character which attracted him to the wild adventures of his 

 early life. 



He was a first-rate horseman, and all his shooting was from 

 the saddle, or by dismounting for the shot after he had run 

 his game to bay. 



In 1 86 1, when I was about to start on an expedition towards 

 the Nile sources, Oswell, who had then retired from the field 

 to the repose of his much-loved home, lent me his favourite 

 gun, with which he had killed almost every animal during his five 

 years' hunting in South Africa. This gun was a silent witness 

 to what its owner had accomplished. In exterior it looked like 

 an ordinary double-barrelled rifle, weighing exactly ten pounds ; 

 in reality it was a smooth-bore of great solidity, constructed 

 specially by Messrs. Purdey & Co. for Mr. Oswell. This use- 

 ful gun was sighted like a rifle, and carried a spherical ball of 

 the calibre No. 10 ; the charge was six drachms of fine-grained 

 powder. There were no breech-loaders in those days, and the 

 object of a smooth- bore was easy loading, which was especially 

 necessary when shooting from the saddle. The spherical ball 

 was generally wrapped in either waxed kid or linen patch ; this 

 was rolled rapidly between the hands with the utmost pressure ; 

 the folds were then cut off close to the metal with scissors, and 

 the bullet was again rolled as before. The effect was complete ; 

 the covering adhered tightly to the metal, which was now ready for 



