SURROUNDED BY BUFFALOES. 91 



fore evident we were close upon a herd. Shortly after- 

 wards, Coke and Said arrived from an opposite point on 

 the same hunt. It fell, however, to my lot to have the 

 first shot, for Essafi pointed out a buffalo through an 

 almost impenetrable bush, standing about forty yards 

 from us. Hopeless as it was, I fired, for Essafi's excite-; 

 ment would not admit of any hope of creeping nearer^ 

 and the only result was that the ball probably glanced 

 off a branch close to me, whilst I startled a large herd,: 

 which for a moment we caught sight of tearing across 

 an open strip of land. We then started in pursuit ; but, > 

 finding that the others were well ahead of us, we returned; 

 to the wood to get our horses, which we had tied up to 

 some trees on the outskirts. On entering it we heard a 

 shot ahead, and in a minute it was succeeded by a rapidly 

 increasing noise in the brushwood. It then became evi- 

 dent that Coke had succeeded in turning the buffaloes,, 

 and tliat they were bearing down directly upon us. A' 

 few more moments and the noise became tremendous, 

 though nothing could be seen until they were within 

 twenty yards of us. As they crashed past us in their 

 headlong career, and a very few yards off, they were 

 treated to a right and left from my eight-bore, but, much 

 to my disappointment, without apparently stopping any 

 of them. Essafi, however, looked about him carefully, 

 and soon found one standing about fifteen yards off. 

 It had faced round, and was looking at us as if preparing 



