Horns 



prised for words. At one instant apparently full 

 of life and wickedness, and next instant dead or, 

 any way, disappeared, and that meant down. I 

 could see nothing of him from where I was, and 

 circumspection was still necessary with this bull, 

 for whom I had the greatest respect and the best 

 of reasons for mistrusting. Signalling to the men 

 that he was down, I commenced a wide circuit, so 

 as to approach the bison from the opposite side 

 of the maidan. It was not till we had got to a 

 point almost opposite to the spot I had last fired 

 from that anything was visible, and then I 

 suddenly saw the bison. He was lying on his side 

 with his head stretched out, and appeared quite 

 dead. It was necessary to make perfectly sure 

 before approaching too close, and as I was un- 

 willing to use one of the last remaining cartridges 

 of the heavy rifle, I asked the men whether one of 

 them would now go and creep quietly up at the 

 back and get the other rifle whilst I covered the 

 bull in front. Kanig flatly refused to go. His 

 remembrance of his altogether too close proximity 

 already once that morning was enough for him. 

 Jitman volunteered to go, and he was soon back 

 with the rifle. I put a bullet into the body with 

 no visible result, and we then slowly advanced, 

 the men throwing lumps of earth and stones at 

 the body — a proceeding made necessary by the 

 nasty habit these animals have of shamming 

 death and then jumping up and charging with 



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