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"THE AFRICAN BUFFALO 223 
I ink: dale can be little doubt that very old bulls, which 
are almost invariably solitary, become nearly if not quite deaf, 
and it is partly owing to this infirmity that many accidents 
have happened to unarmed natives, and occasionally to caravan 
porters prowling in the bush in search of firewood, &c. The 
buffalo, being deaf, is not aware of the approach of an enemy, 
and when he perceives one close to him is so startled that 
he charges in self-defence, his onslaught being so quick and 
furious that the man (equally taken by surprise) is unable to 
get out of the way. In support of this theory as to deaf- 
ness I remember when in Turkwel, in the Suk country, on 
December 14, 1889, the camp had been pitched at least 
two hours, and some 400 porters had been roaming about 
collecting firewood and water, shouting and yelling, as their 
custom is, when a man came into camp to say that a buffalo 
was lying under a tree within 200 yards of us. The man’s 
story appeared so improbable, although he pointed out the 
exact tree, which I could see as I sat in my tent, that I did 
not credit it in spite of his earnest protestations of ‘ Queli, 
bwana, queli’ (True, master, true), so I sent my head gun- 
bearer to verify it. In a few minutes he returned and reported 
that a bull buffalo was certainly there apparently lying asleep at — 
the foot of an ant-heap under the tree. I immediately went 
out, and walked straight up to the ant-heap, on the top of which 
there was a large leafless bush, and on crawling up the side 
of the heap I saw the buffalo within five yardsof me. Just at 
that moment he turned his head, and, seeing me, stood up, 
had a look at me, and turned to bolt, but before he had got 
many yards I knocked him over all in a heap with an 8-bore 
bullet which raked him from stern to stem. On another 
occasion, in the Kidong Valley (July 30, 1890), when camp 
was being pitched with its attendant turmoil, a porter came 
in to say that a buffalo was lying asleep close at hand. 
Accompanied by Dr. Mackinnon, medical officer to the expedi- 
tion, I went out, and we weré led by the man direct to the 
4 beast, which was lying evidently asleep under a small bush, and 
