Chap. XXIV. CHARGE OF A BUFFALO. 491 



proclaimed. The Mambowe hunters were much alarmed until my 

 name was mentioned. They then joined our party, and on the 

 following day discovered a hippopotamus dead, which they had 

 previously wounded. This was the first feast of flesh my men had 

 enjoyed, for, though the game was wonderfully abundant, I had 

 quite got out of the way of shooting, and missed perpetually. Once 

 I went with the determination of getting so close that I should not 

 miss a zebra. We went along one of the branches that stretch out 

 from the river, in a small canoe, and two men, stooping down as 

 low as they coidd, paddled it slowly along to an open space near 

 to a herd of zebras and pokus. Peering over the edge of the 

 canoe, the open space seemed like a patch of wet ground, such as 

 is often seen on the banks of a river, made smooth as the resting- 

 place of alligators. When we came within a few yards of it, we 

 found by the precipitate plunging of the reptile, that tins was a 

 large alligator itself. Although I had been most careful to 

 approach near enough, I unfortunately only broke the hind leg 

 of a zebra. My two men pursued it, but the loss of a hind leg 

 does not prevent this animal from a gallop. As I walked slowly 

 after the men on an extensive plain covered with a great crop of 

 grass, which was laid by its own weight, I observed that a solitary 

 buffalo, disturbed by others of my own party, was coming to me 

 at a gallop. I glanced around, but the only tree on the plain 

 was a hundred yards off, and there was no escape elsewhere. I 

 therefore cocked my rifle, with the intention of giving liim a 

 steady shot in the forehead, when he should come within three or 

 four yards of me. The thought flashed across my mind, " What 

 if your gun misses fire ?" I placed it to my shoulder as he came 

 on at full speed, and that is tremendous, though generally he is 

 a lunibering-looking animal in his paces. A small bush, and 

 bunch of grass fifteen yards off, made him swerve a little, and 

 exposed his shoulder. I just heard the ball crack there, as I fell 

 flat on my face. The pain must have made him renounce his 

 purpose, for he bounded close past me on to the water, where he 

 was found dead. In expressing my thankfulness to God among 

 my men, they were much offended with themselves for not being 

 present to shield me from this danger. The tree near me was a 

 camel-thorn, and reminded me that we had come back to the land 

 of thorns again, for the country we had left is one of evergreens. 



