CHAPTER III. 

 MY THREE SEA-COWS. 



" N'KOS, there are many seacows at the Umlumazi River 

 it is four days' march from here, but if a man went 

 swiftly and carried nothing he could do it in three days." 



Thus spoke Mataffayen, one of my Caffres who had 

 accompanied me from Natal, as we sat round the camp 

 fire conversing on things in general. He was an old 

 elephant hunter, and had lost the forefinger of his right 

 hand by the bursting of an overcharged gun, but he 

 managed to shoot by using the middle finger of his 

 right hand as the trigger finger, and, indeed, could use a 

 waggon-whip just as well as though his hand were 

 uninjured. 



After shooting for some time at any particular spot, 

 however good the sport, I used to have a desire to 

 change my hunting ground for a few days, and thus 

 vary the monotony. 



" What other game are there, Mataffayen ? " I asked 

 in reply. 



" There are a great many koodoo, so I am told, sir, 

 and we should be on the edge of the giraffe country. 

 Buffaloes there are also, though they are not so numerous 

 as they are here," replied Mataffayen. 



Accordingly I made up my mind to leave my belong- 

 ings at Gumban, and to make an expedition with eight 

 Caffres to the river Umlumazi, intending only to stay 



