124 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



night to drink ; in the morning I took up the spoor and shot 

 one immediately, but after wounding a second had much 

 trouble with him in the thick bush, the horse falling before the 

 charging bull, and I only just escaping. Months afterwards, 

 on our return from Lake 'Ngami, when there was no further 

 object to be gained by opposition, we were encamped at the 

 same pool, and were soon surrounded by the children of the 

 wilderness, who recounted and acted the story of the elephant 

 hunt ; how they had followed and found number two, which 

 escaped at the time, and eaten him ; how they had witnessed 

 it all as invisible spectators ; and now, turning actors, they en- 

 joyed the play vastly : trumpeted like the elephant, fell like 

 the horse, and imitated my attack and retreat, and the noise 

 of the gun. 



During this journey, when very hard up for water, I 

 offered to sacrifice a pony and ride on in advance of the slow- 

 moving waggons, which were to follow on my spoor, on the 

 chance of finding what we needed so sorely. John and three 

 or four Kafirs accompanied me, and we had travelled I dare 

 say twelve miles when I saw a patch of high grass wave as if 

 something were passing through it. Thinking it might be a 

 lion, and if a lion then water was near, I cantered to the head 

 of the ' Jheel,' dismounted, and watched the line of movement. 

 It came to the edge, and some living thing broke from it. 

 I covered it, and only just in time saw it was a woman running, 

 or rather crawling, very fast on all fours. I mounted in an 

 instant, and shouting to the Kafirs to follow, I headed her 

 and made signs to her to stop. She fell upon her knees, 

 and in Sechuana begged me not to kill her. She had never 

 seen horse or white man before, and evidently took me for a 

 hippogriff. I calmed her apprehensions, cut the metal buttons 

 off my waistcoat, presented them to her, and asked where the 

 water was. ' There is no water,' she said, ' I was just making 

 something to drink ' (she was mashing a watery tuber in a 

 wooden bowl) ' when I saw the pitsi (horse).' Bushmen she 

 was of that people we knew, lived for months without real 



