1 8 TALES OF A NOMAD. 



intensity to the joys of murdering and plundering one's 

 fellow-men when on the war-path. 



Accordingly there was no lack of recruits. We might 

 indeed have remained at Jozanns and have hunted the 

 eland, roan antelope, sassaby, quagga, and wildebeeste. 

 The country was fairly open ; there was no tetse fly, and 

 we could have used our horses ; but the royal game, the 

 buffaloes, were down in the fly country to the northward 

 between Jozanns and the port by which the Imbeloose 

 River flows through the Libombo Range, and, both for 

 their value and the superior sport afforded by them, the 

 buffaloes became the chief object of our expedition. 



A burly Yorkshireman, John C by name, was the 



chief of our expedition. He was tall, broad-shouldered, 

 yellow-bearded and blue-eyed, and was without excep- 

 tion the finest shot and keenest hunter I have ever come 

 across. His splendid physique and great powers of en- 

 durance enabled him to cover more ground in a day 

 than I have ever seen any other man able to cover, and 

 as for his shooting all I can say is that at 400 yards' 

 range he was as sure to hit his game well forward as 

 most men who consider themselves no mean performers 

 with the rifle are at 130 yards. Above all, he was a 

 merry, warm-hearted companion and an unselfish sports- 

 man. 



He possessed no such things as nerves, at least, if 

 he had them, it was impossible to shake them, and his 

 bullet fired at a charging animal was as certain to find 

 a correct billet, as though the animal had been running 

 away from him instead of at him. But modesty was one 

 of his characteristics, and when relating some perilous 

 adventure he would say, " Lord, it quite gave me a 

 shock, governor ! " But I have my grave doubts whether 



