60 A/(; (/./.I/A' SHOOTING 



fourteen dogs, our night watchmen ; so I took up my gun, 

 which was only loaded in one barrel, and strolled out on the 

 chance of a shot ; but as, kill or miss, I intended to return 

 immediately, I did not carry any spare ammunition. A reedy 

 pond lay close in advance of the waggons in a little opening ; 

 beyond this, as on every other side, stretched a sea of bush 

 and mimosa-trees. Two hundred yards from the outspan I 

 came upon a clump of quagga and wounded one, which 

 though mortally hit struggled on before falling. I followed, 

 and marking the place where it fell, set my face as I thought 

 towards the waggons, meaning to send out men for the 

 flesh. No doubt of the direction crossed my mind the pool 

 was certainly not more that 400 yards in a straight line, and 

 I thought I could walk down upon it without any trouble ; 

 so taking no notice of my out tracks, which had bent slightly 

 in following the quagga, I started. It was now about 10 A.M. ; 

 little did I think that 5 P.M. would still find me seeking three 

 vans nearly as large as Pickford's, and half an acre of water. 



In my first cast I cannot say whether I got wide or stopped 

 short of the mark I was making for, and it was not until I had 

 wandered about carelessly hither and thither for half an hour, 

 feeling sure that it was only the one particular bush in front 

 of me which hid the waggons, that I very unwillingly owned 

 to myself that I was drifting without bearings in this bushy 

 sea. The sun was nearly overhead, and gave but slight help as 

 to direction, and the constant turning to avoid thick patches of 

 thorns rendered it nearly impossible, in the absence of any guid- 

 ing point, to hold a fixed course through this maze of sameness. 



I tried walking in circles in the hopes of cutting the wheel 

 tracks, but though on a previous occasion this plan had 

 succeeded, it now failed. As with empty gun I plodded on, 

 occasional small herds of rooyebuck and blue wildebeest, 

 evidently very much at home, swept and capered by me, and, 

 stopping and looking at me with wondering eyes, increased 

 my feeling of loneliness. I had no doubts of regaining my 

 party next day at latest, and cared but little for passing a night 



