282 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA 



pant. At length, finding himself much distressed, lie 

 had recourse to a singular stratagem. Doubling round 

 some thick bushes which obscured him from our view, 

 he found himself beside a small pool of rain water, just 

 deep enough to cover his body; i)jto this he walked, 

 and, facing about, lay gently down and awaited our on- 

 coming, with, nothing but his old gray face and massive 

 horns above the water, and these concealed from view 

 by rank overhanging herbage. 



Our attention was entirely engrossed with the spoor, 

 and thus we rode boldly on until within a few feet of 

 him, when, springing to his feet, he made a desperate 

 charge after Ruyter, uttering a low, stifled roar pecul- 

 iar to buffaloes (somewhat similar to the growl of a 

 lion), and hurled horse and rider to the earth with fear- 

 ful violence. His horn laid the poor horse's haunch 

 open to the bone, mailing the most fearful rugged 

 wound. In an instant Ruyter regained his feet and 

 ran for his life, which the buffalo observing, gave chase, 

 but most fortunately came down with a tremendous 

 somersault in the mud, his feet slipping from under 

 him : thus the Bushman escaped certain destruction. 

 The buffalo rose much discomfited, and, the wounded 

 horse first catching his eye, he went a second time after 

 him, but he got out of the way. At this moment I 

 managed to send one of my patent pacificating pills 

 into his shoulder, when he instantly quitted the field of 

 action, and sought shelter in the dense cover on the 

 mountain side, whither I deemed it imprudent to fol- 

 low him. 



On the 28th we marched at sunrise, when one of my 

 wagon-drivers chose to turn his wagon too short, in op- 

 position to my orders, whereby it was very nearly up- 

 set, for which I flogged him with a jambok, and then 



