Buffalo-Hunting 37 



which flutter their wings and make a great noise. 1 It 

 is strange that these birds have not already denounced 

 us, for, ordinarily, they warn the animal of danger by 

 flying away with shrill cries. As the big buffalo 

 which I covet is badly placed and too far away, I 

 decide to content myself with the one which appears 

 to me the easiest to hit, and, accordingly, lodge a 

 bullet in his shoulder in the hope of killing him on 

 the spot. But the whole herd takes to flight. We 

 follow the track of the wounded animal proceeding 

 with caution, as the ground is covered with a very 

 dense vegetation and soon perceive our animal lying 

 down on the track and on the point of expiring. So 

 as not to make unnecessary noise, we put it out of 

 its misery with a piece of wood. The horns of this 

 buffalo were magnificent. What a pity that I had 

 to forego his elder, whose horns were finer still ! 



At half-past six o'clock the meat had been brought 

 to the camp in quarters, and we commence to make 

 biltong. 2 About eleven o'clock in the evening the 



o o 



lions give us a magnificent concert, but shortly after- 

 wards they move away. Everybody is asleep, when 

 some one cries : " Litumbui, litumbui ! " the name 

 of large carnivorous ants, 3 which invade our camp in 

 serried rows, attracted by the pieces of meat and the 

 blood spilt on the ground. Each one gets up, relights 

 the fires, and repulses the invasion with burning 



1 For insectivorous birds, see Mes Grandes Chasses, p. 163. 



2 See Mes Grandes CJiasses, p. 125. 



3 Ibid. p. 315. They have been called black erroneously; they 

 are, rather, brown. 



