228 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



could see nothing of him. As I stood on the ant-heap consult- 

 ing with my gun-bearer in a low whisper, I heard the well- 

 known hissing cry of a rhinoceros bird, and saw it fly up out of 

 the bush on the farther side of it, a little to the left of me. 

 The buffalo, though disturbed by the warning cry of the bird, 

 was evidently not much alarmed, as he began to move across 

 my front at a slow walk, and I could follow his movements by 

 the shaking of the bush as he passed through it, but could not 

 see him. When he was just about opposite to where I stood, 

 he changed his course and came straight towards me, still at a 

 slow walk, and when he arrived within a few yards of the edge 

 immediately opposite to me, I slipped out of sight behind the 

 ant-heap and waited for him to appear. He came to the very 

 edge of the bush, stopped for about half a minute, and I then 

 began to fear that he had either seen me, as I was quite out in 

 the open, or had heard a slight noise I made in exchanging the 

 500 Express (always loaded on such occasions with solid bullets) 

 for the 8-bore, when the barrels struck together. Whilst I lay 

 on the side of the ant-heap, peeping over the top, he moved 

 forward, and I covered the place where I saw the bush move, 

 in readiness to fire, as he was then only 16 yards from me. 

 At last I saw his grand head, which he held high, come through 

 the bush, but was unable to get a good view of his chest, as 

 directly his head was clear of the bush he lowered it, and my 

 only chance was at his head. Drawing a bead on his forehead, 

 I pulled the trigger, but the cartridge missed fire. He, how- 

 ever, did not hear the click of the hammer, and before he was 

 clear of the bush I dropped him dead in his tracks with the left 

 barrel at a distance of exactly 14 yards, the bullet entering 

 the centre of his forehead about an inch below the frontlet of 

 the horns. 



As I have said before, a buffalo when it charges does not 

 come on with its head down, but always with its nose held 

 straight out, and its forehead almost horizontal ; and it does 

 not even lower its head when at striking distance, but turns it 

 to one side, and, with a rapid sidelong sweep of the horns, 



