Fatal Accidents to Hunters. 89 



Then a Mr. Tilden, an American cotton planter near the 

 Luangvva river, was killed by an elephant which he had hit 

 and was following up. Perhaps these last three accidents 

 occured through carelessness with the first shot. It is 

 without doubt the all-important one, for it is usually taken 

 when the animal is standing. If a man cannot shoot 

 straight then, the chances are very much against him doing 

 so with subsequent shots, especially if they are taken at an 

 elephant running. 



A few years ago a Mr. Crosby was killed on the western 

 border of North-Eastern Rhodesia by a bull buffalo which 

 he had wounded and followed. I was told that he knew his 

 303 rifle was in bad order and sometimes missed fire, and 

 yet he had the temerity to follow one of the most dangerous 

 beasts in Africa with such a weapon. He came on the 

 buffalo suddenly on rounding an anthill, and it charged at 

 once, knocked him down, and practically disembowelled 

 him, as well as smashing his head to pieces. He had never 

 shot a buffalo before, and doubtless did not exercise due care 

 in following such a dangerous animal. Most experienced 

 hunters, instead of approaching the anthill, would have given 

 it a wide berth to one side, so as to see behind it, though, 

 of course, it is an easy matter to talk or write of an 

 incident that one does not know the exact details of. 

 However, the mere fact that he knew his rifle was out of 

 order ought to have made him exceptionally cautious in 

 following such an animal. 



In such circumstances a man should spare a thought for 

 his relatives when he is engaged on such a business, for the 

 pain of his own death may not be so great as the indirect 

 suffering it may cause to others, and, besides, as I have 

 remarked before, no man goes after game with the object of 

 being killed. 



The intense and thrilling excitement of following a 

 dangerous w r ounded animal, when undergone on many 

 occasions, has usually one of two effects on the human 

 nerves. It either makes a man all the keener to experience 

 this excitement whenever the opportunity offers, or it has 



