VARIOUS. 77 



to them. On creeping up the bank and peering over I 

 saw an eland about twenty yards off. I rested the 

 barrel of the gun on a stone, placed the butt against my 

 nose, directed the muzzle towards the eland and pulled 

 the trigger. I do not quite know what happened, for I 

 seemed to be blind and deaf for some short time, but 

 when I came to, I found myself lying at the bottom of 

 the gully, and the gun was behind me. My face was 

 as you now see it, and I was bleeding. The elands had 

 gone away. Son of a white man, it was very kind of 

 you to lend me the gun, but it is too good a gun for me 

 it is a powerful gun too strong for me. It requires 

 the wisdom of the white men to manipulate it properly 

 farewell ! " 



Umkotyisa himself came over one evening to pay me 

 a visit. I knew him previously, for he used to hunt for 



my friend Mr. H on the Usutu River, and I once 



witnessed a brilliant sporting feat performed by him. 

 We had driven a troop of buffaloes into the reeds of the 

 Usutu. It was an extremely dangerous place, for if you 

 entered the reeds you might come upon a buffalo within 

 two yards before you could perceive him. I took off my 

 shoes, and putting on two pairs of socks so that I might 

 move about with silence, entered the reeds, accompanied 

 by my spoorer Jacha. Our only chance of finding the 

 position of a buffalo was to stoop down and peer under- 

 neath the reeds. By so doing we could see the feet and 

 legs of the buffaloes. Near the ground the stems of the 

 reeds are bare, and you can see for some distance, but 

 above the reeds spread out their leaves and form a 

 curtain which completely obstructs the vision. 



It is true that in reeds, as in dense bush, there is no 

 wind, i.e., the game may get wind, but they do not know 



