220 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



the night and early morning, enter and lie up in bush or 

 other thick covert during the day. In the first place, when 

 they are in the open they are easier ( to see, a herd of buffaloes, 

 or even a single one, being a very conspicuous object at a long 

 distance. In the very early morning they are generally to be 

 found, when in a herd, moving along in a fairly compact body 

 (nearly always led by a cow), and not wasting much time in 

 feeding on their way from their drinking-place, but heading in 

 the direction of the covert they intend to lie up in during the 

 day ; or they may be found on the outskirts of the bush, still 

 feeding, before turning in for the day. This is the best time 

 to come across them, as the stalker, when he finds them pretty 

 close together, has a good opportunity of examining them and 

 marking the best bulls. When found feeding in the open close 

 to the bush, or in open bush, they are, with an ordinary amount 

 of care and trouble, easy enough to stalk. It is, however, very 

 often aggravating work to follow on the outskirts of a herd, 

 waiting for a favourable opportunity to crawl on to get a shot 

 at the best bull, but unable to do so from the fact that several 

 cows are feeding between the stalker and the bull. Should 

 they, however, be quite out on the open, and unapproachable, 

 the only thing to be done is to wait patiently inside the cover 

 of the bush they are likely to make for to lie up in, keeping 

 as near to them as possible as they move along, and attempt 

 to cut them off as they enter the bush. I have tried sending 

 men round to move them, but only once succeeded in cutting 

 them off after a long run, and found it much better to wait 

 patiently, as they will generally give the stalker a fair idea of 

 the place at which they will enter the bush. A large herd of 

 buffaloes filing slowly past at a steady walk, within a range of 

 30 or 40 yards of you, is a grand sight, and it is decidedly excit- 

 ing, after waiting for the bull you have marked, to take your 

 shot and listen to the tremendous commotion and crashing of 

 the bush which follows it as the herd stampedes. 



Shooting buffaloes in thick bush, when the only means of 

 finding them is by tracking, is not only intensely exciting works 



