.'! I 



284 



(GIRAFFE HUNTING, 



from a worry that not imprubably would have re- 

 sulted in death. These " chevies " never terminated 

 without the pursued in turn turnini; agt^rcssor, when 

 he buried a fresh weapon deep in the exasperated 

 brute's flank or shoulder. At length I got a clear 

 front shot at about forty yards, and I placed my 

 hollow bullet into the unfortunate's chest, a little 

 over where the windpipe entered its body. The 

 result was . metrical ; without an effort of resistance 

 the stricken brute subsided, simply sank on the 

 ground, without even giving a spasmodic struggle. 



The hollow Express bullet at short ranges is a 

 terribly destructive weapon, and could, 1 am con- 

 vinced, be made a much more generally useful 

 instrument if the base of the projectile, or solid 

 part of the bullet, were moulded to thrice the length 

 of those now in vogue. At present it is useless on 

 thick-skinned game ; with the alteration I propose, 

 I cannot help thinking that the reverse would be the 

 result. 



The death of the zebra disclosed what 1 had no 

 idea of, viz. that it had been severely wounded by 

 William's second shot, but the bullet was placed too 

 far back to produce immediate results. I should 

 have thought the hartebeest would have been 

 sufficient to gratify my man's love of slaughter, but 

 it is useless to think or hope so, for a native's craving 

 for blood is insatiable ; moreover, zebra's flesh with its 

 sickly, sweetish flavour is preferred by them to any 

 meat that the veldt produces. In \\\\s penchant \\\(iy 

 resemble the beasts of prey, so that you may always 

 conclude that lions are numerous in a locality if 

 zebras are there plentiful. At first I was afraid that 

 the beautiful mare with the foal was the victim, but I 

 was happy to discover that such was not the case. 

 As it may not be generally known, the teeth of 

 these grand animals are most formidable weapons, 

 and can inflict wounds to which many a human being 



