40 THE SHIKARI 



steinbuck, reedbuck, and such small things — but wait 

 till you see half your animals just go off as though 

 not touched." 



Of course, he was not believed. But disillusion 

 quickly came, and a larger bore rifle (a "577) was soon 

 invested in. 



As an illustration of the disappointment that often 

 ensues through the use of weapons too light for heavy 

 game, the author when shooting in East Africa lost 

 several good heads through using a '303, instead of 

 taking out the heavier rifle. 



On one occasion hours of careful tracking from a 

 waterhole in well-wooded country brought him up to a 

 large herd of sable, and a very fine bull was picked 

 out with the aid of the glasses. The shot was taken 

 and the animal brought down, but in the dim light 

 and stampeding of the others it was lost sight of for 

 a moment, and when looked for had got up and gone. 

 This occurred about middle day ; the beast was followed 

 till sundown, and though obviously weak, having lost 

 much blood for the first mile or so, was not come 

 up to, and was only sighted once on the far side of 

 a stretch of open country, wandering hopelessly on 

 and on. 



Night put a stop to the day's proceedings, and the 

 next day at dawn a return was made to the spot left 

 overnight, and the spoor was picked up and followed. 



As the morning wore on, it became obvious from 

 the spoor that the poor beast was getting weaker, but 



