156 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



although I have not been so fortunate with other parts 

 of my body. 



When in India long ago, tea planting, I dislocated a 

 shoulder playing polo ; and in the South African war twa 

 ribs were smashed by a fall off a " buckjumper," and I 

 have met with a few minor accidents not worth mentioning, 

 although I remember them well ; but up to the present no 

 wild beast has managed to get hold of me, although they 

 may have chances yet ! 



To conclude this chapter, I will give the account of an 

 interesting day's tracking, or the best part of a day. 



While marching along a narrow native path I saw a herd 

 of hartebeest grazing near, but the rifle was in its cover, 

 and just as I got it out and had loaded, the game began to 

 move off. I fired a fairly long shot, and hit a large bull in 

 the rump ; but, instead of stopping him, the wound seemed 

 to act as a tonic, and he went away fast. Before going 

 further, I may say that hartebeests (Lichtenstein's) are 

 usually the poorest sporting animals in Central Africa, as 

 they often behave very foolishly, and watch their com- 

 panions being shot down without making any attempt 

 to run away, at least out of range. 



However, when much shot at, a single bull hartebeest 

 can become one of the wariest animals, and it will need 

 careful stalking and much care to get within range of him. 

 This fact I note, as many authors on sport seem to think the 

 hartebeest is always an obliging animal in offering himself 

 for the pot, and the very opposite can be stated at times. 



After wounding the hartebeest, I waited until my cook 

 and the carriers came up, and told them to go on to within 

 an easy distance of the water, which was in front. I then 

 took four men and began to spoor the hartebeest. We 

 had gone quite three miles before we saw him, when I 

 gave him two shots, which both hit, and he walked a short 

 way and lay down. I then turned to get the "Kodak," 

 and, as I was doing so, he jumped up quickly and absconded, 

 and was into the thick bush before I could grab my rifle 

 and fire again. Two hours after this I got a sight of him 



