ANOTHER BEIT-BUCK. 203 



He was supplied with powder by a Dutchman at Natal, 

 for the purpose of shooting elephants, half the ivory 

 falling to the said Dutchman's share. He informed me 

 that buffaloes and elands were not farther off than we 

 could walk while it took the sun to go from "there to 

 there," pointing to two clouds in the sky. I was now 

 pleased that I had not paid any attention to the croakers 

 who had assured me there was no game whatever about 

 here. Elephants were not far off either, and bucks so 

 plentiful that they would often destroy the mealeas (as the 

 Indian corn is here called), if it were not regularly watched. 

 Inkau very graphically described the manner in which a 

 buffalo was to be shot: "You must get close to him, 

 and shoot so" said he, standing steady as a rock and 

 aiming with his gun. " If you do like this, you won't kill 

 him ;" at the same time giving effect to his explanations 

 by shaking himself, and holding his gun as if in a great 

 fright. Inkau's description was correct. 



As it was still nearly an hour to sundown, I went with 

 two or three Kaffirs to a neighbouring ravine, in which a 

 reit-buck was generally found. Inkau, like nearly every 

 Kaffir whom I have seen, could only shoot well at a sta- 

 tionary object; this reit-buck, therefore, by keeping a 

 sharp look-out, had managed to escape so many times from 

 Inkau' s erring bullet, that at last he gave up firing at 

 him as a waste of powder. On our nearing the long 

 reeds, the buck sprang out, and cantered quietly up the 

 hill ; the Kaffirs shouted to me to fire, but I waited until 

 his outline stood out in bold relief against the sky, when 

 I lodged an ounce of lead in his shoulder, which had the 





