ADVENTURE WITH BUFFALO 99 



from Salim, my gun-bearer, ready for use that it never 

 occurred to me to look at it. We crept forward, when, 

 to our perturbation, we found that the whole line was 

 advancing towards us. I dropped on my knee, aimed 

 at the leader, and pressed the trigger. Nothing 

 happened the rifle was unloaded. I felt at the same 

 moment very foolish and very angry, besides being 

 rather alarmed, for the buffalo were coming on. How- 

 ever, my orderly, who, however excitable, was full of 

 pluck, had rushed forward, and with Prittie's man 

 attacked the herd in flank with our light rifles, and 

 fortunately they turned and ran. We got a bull out 

 of that herd, and in his dying rush he trampled on the 

 delinquent orderly, so that he got his deserts for so 

 nearly letting me in. 



We had another little adventure near this spot. We 

 were doing the morning's march ; I was walking ahead, 

 looking out for bush -luck, for it seemed a likely spot ; 

 Prittie was riding behind, having a bad foot. Being 

 occupied looking ahead, I did not see a large buffalo 

 head that was lying close to the path, but Prittie 

 found it, and we stopped to look at it and pick it up. 

 It was truly a beauty ; it measured 45 inches across the 

 horns, and was the largest head I had ever seen. It 

 must have been killed (probably by a lion) some little 

 time before, for no vestige of the carcass remained 

 except his skull, which was quite clean and bare. We 

 decided to carry it along, and my mule was brought up 

 for the purpose. Our boys tried to tie it on to the 

 saddle, but the mule didn't like it, and began bucketing 

 about, and there was some confusion and shouting and 

 laughter. In the midst of this I heard a voice call 

 out, * Mbogo! Mbogo! ' (' Buffalo ! ') Turning round, 



