THE AFRICAN BUFFALO. 



fame time ; at which inftant the Buffalo, which was upon rather lower 

 ground than we were, behind a thin bum, appeared to turn his head round, 

 in order to make towards us. The moment, however, we had difcharged 

 our guns, we had the pleafure to fee him fall, and diredly afterwards get up 

 again, and run down into the thicker!: part of the wood. Induced, from this, 

 to hope, that our mot had proved mortal, we had the imprudence to follow 

 him down into the clofe thickets, where, fortunately for us, we could get 

 no farther. We had, however, as we found afterwards, only hit the hindmoff: 

 part of the chine, where the balls, which lay at the diffance of three inches 

 from each other, had been Ihivered to pieces againlt the bones. Several of 

 our Hottentots now came to us, and threw flones down into the dale, in 

 order to difcover, by the bellowings of the beall, whither he had retired, but 

 without fuccefs. Afterwards, however, he appeared to have recovered his 

 courage, for at lafl he came up out of the dale, of his own accord, to the 

 Ikirts of the wood, and placed himfelf fo as to have a full view of us on the 

 ipot, where we were refting ourfelves fomewhat higher up : his intention, in 

 all probability, and in the opinion of our old fportfmen, being to revenge 

 himfelf on us, if we had not feen him in time, and fired at him diredly. 

 What, perhaps, in fome degree, put a Hop to his boldnefs was, that we Hood 

 on higher ground than he did : for feveral veteran fportfmen have allured 

 me, as a fad, that BufFalos do not willingly afcend any hill, in order to make 

 their attack. The third Ihot, which we afterwards difcovered to have entered 

 at the belly, proved fatal. This forced the Buffalo to defcend again into the 

 vale, dying the ground and bullies all the way he went with his blood. 

 Though Hill hot upon the chafe, yet we advanced with the greater! caution, 

 accompanied by two of our Hottentots, through the thin and more pervious 

 part of the wood, where the Buffalo had taken Inciter. He, on the other 

 hand, was advancing again, in order to attack fome of us, when Mr.Immelman, 

 from the place where he was polled, Ihot him in the lungs. Neverthelefs, 

 he had Hill ftrength enough left to make a circuit of a hundred and fifty 

 paces before we heard him fall. During his fall, and before he died, he 

 bellowed in a molj: ltupendous manner ; and this death-fong of his filled 



