230 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



spoor, whilst he, a yard or so in advance, with rifle at full 

 cock and ready for instant use, keeps a sharp look-out ahead 

 of him. 



A buffalo very often but not always, as some writers main- 

 tain gives a deep bellowing groan when just on the point of 

 dying, and the sportsman should always be on the alert for 

 such an indication, as much time can be saved by walking 

 straight up to it without fear, instead of cautiously poking and 

 peering about in the bush, as is generally done when following 

 up a wounded buffalo. 



The following account of a hunt I once had in the Arusha- 

 wa-chini district in March 1887 will serve as an illustration of 

 a buffalo's cunning, ferocity, and vitality. 



I was encamped on the river Weri-weri, a short distance 

 above the native villages, but as the people were afraid to 

 prowl far from their homes on account of the Masai and other 

 enemies, game was not only very plentiful but less wild than 

 elsewhere. Buffaloes were very numerous, in large herds, 

 besides a good many old bulls, either solitary or in small bands 

 of two or three. This country was also one of the best I was ever 

 in, from a stalker's point of view, as the alluvial plains on 

 both banks of the river, though open, were dotted about with 

 trees of various kinds and sizes, and were in places quite 

 park-like in appearance. There were also numerous ant- 

 heaps, and occasionally small bushes dotted about, besides 

 the grass, about 18 inches high, all of which afforded capital 

 covert. The plain on the left or eastern bank of the river 

 varied from a mile to a mile and a half in width, and was 

 bordered on its eastern side by a belt of thick bush and clumps 

 of forest trees, in which the buffaloes took up their quarters 

 during the heat of the day, coming out again in the evening to 

 feed in the open during the night and early morning. The 

 bush, like most African bush which borders on open plain, 

 was fairly thin on the outskirts, and was what is commonly 

 known as open bush. Here was a very favourite feeding- 

 ground for water-buck, impala, and other bush-loving antelopes, 



