140 LARGE GAME. chap. hi. 



wrong, and that it would be a pleasant change for him to 

 have such capital shooting as a matter of business. Yet 

 such was his sloth and want of energy, qualities conspicu- 

 ous in all African-born whites, that during the four or 

 five months he was in the game country he only killed 

 one buffalo, and devoted his whole time to following the 

 honey-birds, and devouring the honey they took him to, 

 so that when this one showed him to me I half thought 

 it must have recognised him as an old acquaintance and 

 wished me to awake him. Not, however, being desirous 

 of disturbing the slumbers of this dirt-begrimed " honey 

 hunter," as the natives, from his never bringing anything 

 else home, had learnt to call him, I went on across the 

 watercourse, and was in the act of kneeling down to 

 drink some of the lukewarm water it contained, when I 

 caught a glimpse of a white-looking shadow some quarter 

 of a mile off, which I soon made out to be an eland ; and, 

 as I thought I might get close to it by crawling up the 

 stream channel, I started to try, and by dint of imitating 

 the motion of a snake in some places, while in others I 

 could use my hands and knees, I before long got opposite 

 the spot on the bank which I had marked, and, on cau- 

 tiously looking over, I could see one cow pretty plainly, 

 and several others looming through the thorn-trees. 

 When I say, see the cow plainly, there was only one 

 part, her flank, that was really visible, the long grass 

 concealing all below her belly, and her fore part being 

 hidden by the trees ; however, as she stood turned away 

 from me she presented a most undeniable shot, and I put 

 my bullet in at her last rib, perfectly certain that she 

 would not go a hundred yards afterwards, and jumping 



