286 RETURN FROM LAKE BARINGO TO THE COAST ^ 



were all out in tlie open steppe. It was impossible to stalk 

 them, so we merely approached them, keeping in the right 

 direction for them to get wind of us, trusting to their curiosity 

 to arouse them. The first attempt was successful, for the herd 

 soon became uneasy and took to flight. A shot fired by the 

 Count into their midst, at a distance of no less than 300 paces, 

 had yet force enough to break the hind leg of a powerful bull, 

 which fell out of the herd and galloped slowly off in the direc- 

 tion of two rhinoceroses. There was no fear of the animal 

 eventually escaping us, and as another herd was approaching 



BUFFALO HUNTING ON THE GUASO NYUKI. 



US from a different direction we gave up following our quarry 

 for the present. This second herd advanced rapidly upon us, 

 though the ground between us and them was as flat as a barn, 

 and it was a fine sight to see the huge beasts moving on like a 

 mighty black phalanx. We remained perfectly still till they 

 were within 200 paces of us, when they gradually slackened 

 their speed, evidently quite at a loss to make out the meaning 

 of the unusual apparition. We waited till they were yet 

 another fifty paces nearer, and then, thinking it time to bestir 

 ourselves, fired shot after shot into the closely packed mass of 



