124 THE WATER-BUCK 



comparatively wide rivers as the Upper Shire 

 at Gwaza's, and swim strongly and boldly 

 across. On one occasion, coming upon a small 

 herd a few miles above the old Government Boma 

 at Mpimbi, I came upon eight or ten of these 

 animals close to the bank of the Shire where the 

 river made a somewhat pronounced bend. All 

 but one wheeled to my right flank and got away ; 

 but the rearward bull, which was some yards 

 behind the others, seeing me run to cut off his 

 retreat, promptly turned about and from the top 

 of the river-bank plunged boldly into the water 

 and swam out into the stream. Near the centre 

 the river shallowed, and here he paused, looking 

 backward a3 though to see if his companions were 

 following. I was thus enabled to bring him to 

 bag. It is probable that, in crocodile-infested 

 streams like the Urema and the Pungwe, num- 

 bers of these beasts must annually fall victims to 

 the loathsome saurian. I have seen them in the 

 evening, a little before sunset, standing slaking 

 their thirst belly-deep in these rivers, and more 

 than one crocodile which I have seen opened has 

 been found to be full of the meat and pieces of 

 skin of water-buck, doubtless caught in the act of 

 drinking. My old elephant-hunter Len§o told 

 me that on one occasion on the banks of the 

 Madingue-dingue River, an affluent of the Pungwe, 

 he came upon a full-grown water-buck bull just 

 as it had been seized by the muzzle. A tremen- 

 dous struggle took place, which lasted some 

 minutes, when, the crocodile being a small, im- 

 mature one, the bull actually succeeded in draw- 



