522 



tion of larches that stood in a corner of the 

 cover, when a hen pheasant, flushed by 

 the spaniels, rose almost under my feet. 

 She was, of course, taboo, but the keeper, 

 wishing to give me a chance, shouted " a 

 bird to you, Mr. Charles." So I put gun 

 to shoulder, and took sight. Now, as the 

 bird rose straight up between the trees, 

 and the gun was elevated perpendicularly, 

 my left eye caught the sight, and the 

 bird fell dead. 



Reasoning upon this incident, I soon 

 made up my mind (for the deduction was 

 obvious) to shoot henceforth from the left 

 shoulder ; and, after a little practice, I 

 found not only that the gun came up 

 quite easily, but that there was a decided 

 improvement in my shooting. So 

 thoroughly did I carry out the idea, that 

 when I ordered my first gun, made by 

 Best, of Oxford, I had the stock set pur- 

 posely for left-hand use ; and from that 

 day, though I never distinguished myself, 

 I could hold my ov;n among average 

 shots either in cover or in the stubble or 

 turnip field. The gun was perfectly 

 plain, being made for hard service rather 

 than for show ; but locks and barrels 

 were tested and passed by one whose 

 word on such subjects was more than 

 law, and I believe that a better weapon 

 for driving and hard hitting with shot of 

 all sizes, from dust to loopers, was never 

 turned out of a gunmaker's shop. For a 

 smooth bore its effect with a hardened 

 bullet within 60 yards was marvellous, 

 and up to that distance no rifle could 

 shoot truer. The gun was not very safe 

 in strange hands, as the upper trigger dis- 

 charged the left barrel ; but I was, of 

 course, familiar with its peculiarities, and 

 they at least afforded an excellent excuse 

 for declining to lend it even to one's most 

 intimate friend ; though the old rule 

 which restricted the use of horse or gun 

 to the owner thereof had not yet been 

 superseded by the profuse hospitality of 

 the millionaire, who counts his guns by 

 racks, and his studs by stablesful, the 

 average sportsman being content with one 

 gun and perhaps a couple of hunters on 

 which he put their full value, and that a 

 high one. 



With that same gun (it was only a 14 

 bore) I killed my first and last eland (for 

 I never had another chance) across a 

 kloof in the big Noodsberg, after a tearing 



gallop of two or three miles. My first 

 buffalo (but by no means my last) was 

 lying in long grass near the mouth 

 of the Umlalazi. I got a shot at him also 

 across a kloof, or wooded donga, at full 

 fifty yards distance, and struck him be- 

 tween the ribs ; and when I ran him 

 down on the bank of the Matikutu, aud 

 gave him his coup-de-grace as he lay 

 struggling on the ground, my bullet 

 just showed under the skin on the oppo- 

 site side to that which it had struck, aud 

 a slash of the knife brought it out. One 

 more instance and I have done. It was 

 in the winter of 1855 that Capt. Stephen- 

 son, Long Francis,as he was called, of the 

 Umgeui, and the writer, with a following 

 of boys— half-breeds and native carriers — 

 were making their way between St. 

 Lucia Bay and the Pongolo, and were 

 approaching the latter river. We had 

 just entered a strip of the Coast bush 

 through which the path runs, and were 

 in single file, Stephenson leading. 

 A sharp turn in the path dis- 

 closed an opening in the forest of 

 green grass, with an oblong pool in the 

 middle ; and in this pool, squatting on his 

 belly, with his rump towards us, was a 

 huge white rhinoceros. Stephenson 

 turned, and made signs for the Kafir to 

 hurry up with his big rifle, which carried 

 a conical bullet, three to the pound. I 

 was left in front, with the old gun in my 

 hand, for the moment. J ust then the brute, 

 catching our wind, sprang to his feet and 

 swung round. As I caught a broadside 

 view of the neck, I took s^ady aim and 

 fired (the distance was not more than 20 

 yards), and lodged the bullet in his wind- 

 pipe, which effectually crippled him ; 

 though it took several discharges of the 

 big elephant gun to stretch his ungainly 

 carcase on the soil. The beast was ad- 

 judged to me ; but beyond my share of a 

 glorious breakfast which the hoof 

 afforded, when dug out of a hole over 

 which the camp fire had been kept burn- 

 ing for some ten or eleven hours; and a 

 strip of hide which for years formed the 

 achteros sjambok of the Start wagon, I 

 got, to use the language of the market, 

 but little profit out of the transaction. 



The skull may be lying there to this 

 day, for no grass fire could reach that 

 green spot in the forest ; and 45 years 

 would make little impression on that 



