42 THE SHIKARI 



The spoor showed that both had followed the rest 

 of the herd ; and, to cut a long story short, though 

 they were followed till sundown they were never even 

 sighted again, and whether or not they both died or 

 both recovered will never be known. Anyway, natives 

 sent to search for their dead bodies the next day 

 came back empty handed. 



Of course, the game is not always lost, and under 

 very similar circumstances two beasts out of three in 

 one herd were eventually bagged, but took both time 

 and patience to again get within shot. 



But the point of these incidents is to show that 

 even if the game is eventually brought to bag, fewer 

 losses occur, much valuable time, patience, and un- 

 necessary suffering to the beasts themselves is saved 

 by using a gun that, after all, weighs only a few 

 pounds more, can be carried by the tracker or bearer 

 the greater part of the day, and makes all the differ- 

 ence between almost absolute success and almost 

 certain uncertainty. 



Two rifles should be taken, one for small and 

 medium game and the other for the larger beasts. 



The '303 I is an excellent weapon for all ordinary 

 small-game purposes, and with soft-nose or split 

 bullet will effectually stop any animal up to about 

 the size of a reedbuck. This can be either double 



' It must not be forgotten that in some countries certain 

 rifles and bores are not admitted, and any legislation on this 

 matter must be known before the battery is finally fixed on. 



