NORTH-WESTERN RHODESIA 27 



with the herd the next day. The bush was 

 exceedingly dense; and when I wounded an 

 animal and it got away we began to anticipate 

 trouble, for a wounded buffalo in dense cover is 

 as nasty a customer as one can wish for. An old 

 bull — in fact a buffalo of either sex which has 

 arrived at years of discretion and cunning favours 

 this plan of campaign when wounded — will often 

 double back on his tracks and charge his pursuer 

 in the rear. Frequently the buffalo gets a deal 

 the better of the game, and becomes hunter 

 instead of quarry with a vengeance. However, 

 this particular animal did not give us much 

 trouble, as I got in a couple of shots in the 

 lungs shortly afterwards, which brought the day's 

 sport to a rapid finish. 



That night the great herd walked right by my 

 camp. It was a direct challenge, and my hunter 

 boys, led by the ever- energetic Kwamwendo, 

 picked up fresh tracks just as the soft mellow 

 light of first day was robing the forest in a delicate 

 sheen of splendour. Before many minutes had 

 elapsed we saw great, black bodies feeding in a 

 " dambo " and leisurely sauntering towards the 

 bush. Ere they entered I crept up to within 

 sixty or seventy yards of a couple standing by 

 themselves and gazing curiously in my direction. 

 Singling out the bull, I let him have a 270-grain 

 bullet behind the shoulder. He made off for 

 the friendly shelter of some mopani trees, bellow- 

 ing with pain and rage, but before he got there 

 I hit him twice more, and he fell over on his side 

 and breathed his bovine last. 



Next morning I was again afoot very early, 

 and after a couple of hours' spooring came up 

 with the herd in the heart of the forest. The 

 vegetation was extremely dense, but after a 



