£74 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Oct. 10, 1903- 
A Day's Hunt in South Africa. 
We had made a camp on one of the small tributaries 
flowing into the Pungwe River from the north. The 
main party had moA'ed forward, and I had been left be- 
hind to send on meal, etc., for our carriers on their 
returning. This gave me ten days in which I had noth- 
ing to do, and being in one of the best game districts 
south of Zambesi, I filled in the time by morning and 
afternoon hunts, and making the meat into beltong. 
Beltong is made in the most approved manner as follows: 
First shoot the buck; then, if a large beast, quarter and 
bring to camp. When at "camp take out each muscle 
whole, and rub in a little coarse dry salt. Then make 
trestles about three feet off the ground, spread the meat 
carefulty on these so that no two pieces come in contact, 
and half dry with a smudge fire. Then hang up to thor- 
oughly dry and pack away in bundles or sacks. 
The gang of "boys" (all male natives are termed 
"boys" CA^en though they may be gray haired old men) 
numbered eleven, and included my own six personal ser- 
vants. We had also a guide from a neighboring kraal 
(village) who knew the locality well and the likely places 
to find game. My usual way of hunting was to take the 
guide in front and have four to six follow on just within 
sight or call. The guide was a good one and a trained 
hunter, and an unusuall}'- plucky native. 
It had become light and the guide had not turned up 
as he should have done half an hour before, and so I 
started off without him. There was but slight wind and 
that from the usual quarter, east-southeast. As I had 
already spent a week at this camp I knew the country 
locally better than my camp boys, consequently I went on 
ahead, and all the others strung on behind. Soon the 
first stream was passed and \ye were well away from 
camp and camp noises. I looked up the clearing \vhere 
three sable antelope had been bagged, but drew a blank. 
Next the dry vley (marsh valley) where I had just shot 
a buffalo, but nothing was found in it. Evidently the 
game had mo\'ed further away, so T stru.ck out due east 
for fresh grounds. . .... 
Suddenly a bush buck sprang out of cover, and as he 
stopped for a second look, as most African- bucks do, 
I put a quartering shot into his flank and kidneys and he 
dropped dead. With a kidney shot a buck drops in his 
tracks at once; it is more sudden than even the heart. 
The bush buck is a fine antelope of about three feet 
height at the withers, and . has very pretty, graceful 
horns, sharp and dangerous to dogs. As a rule, it does 
its best to escape if Wounded, but sometimes it will take 
cover in a bush and make a sudden attack if followed, 
and a few hunters have been killed or badly wounded by 
following up incautiously. 
As this was a ver}' poor morning's bag I continued on, 
crossed two more streams, and got into a district none 
of us had hunted in. A couple of miles further and I 
became hungr3^ My tin of cold stew was produced and 
I sat down on a fallen branch to put fuel in my furnace. 
As I was eating, one of my boys, a Delagoa Bay native, 
came to me with e3'es open very wide and in a stage 
whisper said "Injobvu, boss, injobvu," but injobvu was 
not in my vocabulary, for I was not familiar with the 
lower South African native tongues, and, excepting that 
this injobvu was mighty important I had no idea. I 
reached for my rifle (a .303 British cal. Winchester, 
'95 model), and looked. My mind was soon cleared of 
doubt as to what "injobvu" was, for about 100 yards 
distant, and coming diagonally toward and past me, 
were a troop of elephants. My rifle, magazine and cham- 
ber, was I'oaded with split bullets, and the bag with my 
spare ammunition wae not at hand. Luckily, however, 
I had sewn on my belt cauA-as loops to hold six cartridges 
(three .303 and three Martini-?Ienry), and three were 
holding solid .303. Carefully and quietly I extracted three 
split bullets from my rifle and put in the three solid, and 
shifting off the branch and on to the ground I waited. 
"Buck fever" days had come and gone, and a lot of hunt- 
ing and matches on the rifle range at military targets 
had given me confidence and trained me to steadiness. 
Many the time had day dreams of shooting elephants 
by the half dozen filled my brain, and the knowledge I 
had from such books as "Rowland Ward on Big-Game 
Shooting," and Sellows' "Wanderings of a Hunter," 
made it seem quite easy. The three fatal shots were, I 
knew, the brain (if you could get at it), the knee, which 
dropped it so that it could not rise, and the heart. R. 
W. and S. both said that in the African elephant the 
heart was at the tip of the ear when it was laid back on 
the shoulder, so of course that was where in day dreams 
I had knocked them out of time. But these dicl not 
work properly. The exact place the brain was did not 
seem at all certain; the knee was bobbing about so as to 
be anything but an easy shot, and the tip of the ear was 
"all over the place," for it kept swinging to and fro like a 
large fan. Though all this takes a long time to write, 
the events passed much more rapidly, for the elephants 
were walking along at about four miles an hour. Well, 
I made note of the place where the heart should be, and 
pulled the trigger. All had been going as quietly as 
Sunday in a Quaker A'illage; but Sunday was over. The 
hit elephant swung round on its hind legs and screamed 
in rage and terror; but it looked the wrong way and 
could see nothing. As it swung back I fired again ; it tot- 
tered and fell down, head toward me. A big bull, the 
boss, came rushing up from the rear guard, had a hasty 
survey of the fallen member and swung about and went 
crashing away, the others following, while I sat waiting 
with my last solid bullet to finish the fallen_ beast if it 
attempted to rise. How I have regretted this ; for had 
I known then, as now, that an elephant that falls to a 
shot never rises, I might have had old gran'daddy also. 
When I looked round for my boys none were to be seen. 
As the elephant was evidently dying, I got up and went 
to it, keeping well out of reach of the trunk, for its eyes 
were watching me. The boys were called and came from 
cover, the Delagoa Baj^ boy wild with excitement. He 
begged so hard that I let him shoot at it with the 
Martini-Henry. He put a shot in just below the 
sternum, and a steady spout of blood rushed out. As 
the poor brute was gasping and groaning, I put a_ bullet 
into the brain from the top of its head. The distance 
was just 48 yards from where I shot and it fell. It was 
a cow with a calf, but as the calf had cleared off with 
the troop, it was old enough to look after itself. The 
tusks averaged 25 pounds each. 
Two boys were dispatched to camp and to the kraal, 
and the remaining four made me a camp and commenced 
to cut up the meat. The two shots had entered in about 
two inches from each other, the first going through the 
heart and resting on the inside of the rib opposite, and 
the second taking a forward course cut the large artery 
under the upper fore leg. I had given instructions to the 
boys to be careful and cut out the bullets, and was 
greatly puzzled when they brought me three. On careful 
examination I found that the one that had gone in 
obliquely had slipped out of its nickel jacket. Both 
jackets Avere slightly turned over at the base. These 
bullets I sent to the Winchester Arms Company, together 
with a short account. Late at night my camp gang 
turned up, and early next morning the kraal natives, 
and all day there was cooking, with hacking and quarrel- 
ing, and at night all the meat had not been cut off. 
When I left next morning there were still ribs and a leg 
to be cleaned. 
Sections of the trunk make capital steaks, but the tid- 
bit is the foot. This is plastered Avith mud and roasted 
in a hole under a big fire for eighteen to twenty-four 
hours, then the nmd and skin knocked off and the pad 
can be taken out with a spoon. The tongue is also good 
if Avell boiled. The meat of other parts is tough and 
rank. 
While on the subject of hunting in Africa it may be of 
interest to add a few remarks as to camps, hunting togs. 
First of ail, hunting in Africa is conducted in a 
way quite impossible to say a moose himter in the Mat- 
laAva district, Avhere in the '80s I used to have a few 
weeks of hunting with my father each Avinter, making a 
lumber camp our base. There Aveight had to be cut doAvn 
to one's personal carrying capacity; here in Africa the 
total weight of camp gear is of little moment, if it does 
not exceed single pieces of OA'er sixty povmds. In speak- 
ing of my six camp boys, only bearers for my tent, 
stretcher, folding table and stool, water-tight trunk, am- 
munition, rifles and blankets were taken into account, 
the provisions being quite another affair, and amounting 
to fi\'e boys for each white man. We had 150 carriers in 
all, and not enough. The tent Avas a "Protean" pur- 
chased from Cook & Son, Chicago, by order. Readers of 
Forest and Stream may remember it being advertised 
by Comstock. I ordered six of the 8 by 8 foot size, 
and kept two for myself, selling the others. Since I have 
had made locally two larger flies, cut so as to overlap 
and to reach the ground. Inside my stretcher is spread, 
and a mosquito netting hung from pole to back wall. 
The stretcher is very simple in design, Avith no hinges, 
joints or mechanism to get broken or out of order; it is 
of the cross-leg type, legs 2 feet long and of 2byi^-inch 
stuff ; longitudinal pieces 2 by 2 inches, and 6 feet long. 
(I'm short myself.) The canvas stands one foot clear 
of the ground. 
The mosquito netting is made of 9-foot Avide stuff Avith 
a spread of 6 feet 6 inches by 5 feet on the base, and 6 
feet 6 inches by 2 feet on top, scAvn to a piece of strong 
cotton of this size (6 feet 6 inches by 2 feet). There are 
loops at each of the four top corners. The extra length 
rests on the ground and is covered Avith sand or earth. 
On the Zambesi it was too hot for a tent, and so I had 
the simple net suspended from four punting poles and the 
stretcher under it, the sand piled on the extra length 
(about a foot) on the bottom kept the netting from 
blowing against me. The table gives me a spread of 
2 feet 6 inches by i foot 6 inches, and stands 2 feet high 
and has simple cross-legs. In carrying, the top and legs 
are separate ; the stool is an ordinary cross-legged one 
covered with bush buck hide, and stands i foot high. My 
blankets, pilloAV and mosquito net go into a roll, and as 
the stretcher is folded goes on the canvas. This makes 
only a light load; but as the carrier has other duties, he 
is entitled to a light load. This stretcher has been in 
almost constant use for eight years, and has had only to 
have a broken leg replaced once — this broken through 
the bearer stumbling and falling heavily. 
To return to my camp. Besides my tent, a thatched 
shade was put up for an afternoon doze. The bearers 
also put up a hut for the extra meat and another for 
themselves. In all the low veldt (country) of Africa 
the grass grows very long and rank, and hunting from 
March to August is very limited on that account. About 
August the grass fires are on, and when the new grass 
sprouts up and until it gets too long, the hunting season 
is cm. About the end of November the rains begin, and 
by the end of April they are all over. The hot season 
is from the end of September until the beginning of 
May. 
I have tried all sorts of plans Avhereby to keep dry and 
have given it up. Waterproof boots only serve to col- 
lect the water. Waterproof coats and trousers are a 
fairy tale, besides being unbearably hot when the sun 
gets up. I therefore have gone to the other extreme, 
and make a business of getting as Avet as possible when 
on a tramp or hunt, and changing to dry things in camp, 
if what I wear is not already by that time dried by the 
sun. 
My togs for hunting are tliese: 
Foot-gear— A pair of Smith's (of Philadelphia) moc- 
casins for Avet Aveatber, and ordinary buckskin Indian 
moccasins for dry. Thick Avoolen socks cut off above the 
boot-top. 
Leggins or putties — None at all. 
Trousers— Cut off above the knee and loose in leg, 
and with strong kharkee pockets. 
Undershirt— Light Avool, low necked, quarter-sleeves. 
Shirt— Old flannel cut off above the elbow. 
Coat— None, the gun-bearer can take Avhat Avould go 
in the pockets. 
Head-gear— A cap. Very few people can do this, how- 
ever, on account of the sun's great heat. My hau", how- 
ever, is thick and not cut close when on outmgs, and I 
have never suffered from the sun. 
Socks— One pair extra strong wool socks for wadmg 
slippery streams. For crossing on damp or water-covered 
stones wool socks stick much better than any other foot- 
ofir I knoAv of. Rubber boots are not to be compared 
v/ith them for the purpose. 
Shirts and pants are dyed to a dirty brownish-gray by 
means of a native bark m'kuti). 
The rifles are— One Winchester .303 caliber taking the 
British Government ammunition. One Martini-Henry 
sporting, .45 caliber, British Government ammunition of 
85 grains powder and 480 grains lead patched with paper. 
Sights — On the .303 a Lyman bead No. 24 Jack and a 
receiA^er sight. On the Martini-Henry the metal bead 
sight originally on it and a Lyman rear sight. Both rifles 
are sighted "dead on" at 75 yards. The .303 does not 
need elevation to 150 yards, and for distances over 100 
yards I use the leaf sights fitted to the Martini-Henry. 
For heavy game I would like to add a .50-100 Win- 
chester '86 model, for shooting with the .303 pencil-ljke 
bullet is risky at elephant, rhinoceros, or a charging ; 
buffalo. _ _ . ' 
For nearly all shooting I use the .303 with a split | 
nickel jacket cut off at the top to expose a little of the 
lead. The Martini-ITenry is to fall back on and it never 
fails, though it has had eight j^ears of use and very little 
attention. Many hunters make it their mainstay. How- 
ever, as I kept record of a hundred shots and had forty- 
five kills, and this 100 shots included misses, wounded 
buck getting away, and shots to put_ a dying buck out of 
pain, T consider the rifle quite efficient for our heaviest 
antelope. The eland goes to over 1,000 pounds. 
My stamping ground extends from the Zambesi on the 
north to the lower Sabi on the south, about 300 miles ; 
and from the coast on the east to long. 33 degrees east 
on the west. This is nearly all low veldt (country), and 
from nothing to 1,000 feet above the sea on the flat. Near 
the coast are large stretches of plains Avith only a few . 
trees fringing the rivers and pools. Further inland it 
becomes better wooded and there are low rounded hills 
and high bald granite peaks with pools. This is the 1 
home of the elephant and rhino. Buffalo, and ,, 
zebras, and many antelopes, lions, hyajnas, jackals, and 
wild dogs are there also. At the edge of the low veldt I 
it is more broken and better Avatered Avith small floAving 
streams. The timber is larger but in it are lovely little 
opens of various lengths, shapes and widths, and when 
the long grass is. burnt and the . fresh grass comes up it , 
is the easiest matter to make a successful early morning 
stalk and pick a good pair of horns or two. 
The hunter has a magnificent list to choose from_ of 
OA^er twenty different species of antelope, from the little 
blue buck of hardly a foot high and with hoofs smaller 
than one's little finger nail to the sable and eland, buffalo, , 
zebra, and hippopotamus. There are also feathered fowl in ; 
abundance, guinea foAvl, pheasant, partridge, and numer- 
ous ducks and geese. Year by year, hoAvever, the game 
is getting less and less, and soon, unless good game laws 
shall be made and enforced, it will be the old story of the 
spring buck on the Transvaal flats and the buffalo on the , 
western prairies, as far as the larger game is concerned. 
The smaller buck do not seem to be thinning out so 
rapidly; doubtless the jackals, Avild do^s, and leopards 
are their worst enemies, and the man with a gun is not 
so dangerous. ^Shotcalila-a-gwanza. 
Another View of Kipling's Poetry. 
Editor Forest and Etream: 
In your issue of Sept. 26 Mr. L. F. Brown criticises 
ivipling's verses: 
"Do you know the blackened timber? Do you know that racing 
stream? 
With the raw, right-angled log-jam at the end, 
And the bar of sun-warmed shingle, Avhere a man may bask and 
dream, 
To the click of shod canoe poles round the bend?" 
J<or sixty years I have been familiar with the scenes 
Mr. Kipling is describing, and I thought when I first 
read it, and still think the same, that there is no_ de- 
scription in the English language which so vividly, 
A MAINE LOG JAM. 
briefly and truthfully tells the story of logs and Avater. 
It is true in every detail to what may be seen in Maine ^ 
any year. Hoav many places of "blackened timber" If 
remember, and "racing streams" is the exact term for 
many streams in Maine and New BrunsAvick. . 
Mr. BroAvn says that "no actual log-jam is 'raw,' j 
'right-angled,' of ''at the end' of such a stream." Any 
one who has ever seen drives of logs has seen many 
places Avhere they jam beloAV a short bend and give the 
appearance of cutting oft" the stream completely. The 
tAvo photographs which I inclose, though not typical of 
such jams, shoAV the tendency of the logs to rear up at' 
right angles. The Avord "raw" is just the word to use 
for such a scene, using it, after Webster, as "not al- 
tered from the natural state." The color Avhich one, 
sees in any scene depends so much upon the sensitive-- 
ness of the indiAddual that no one could object if a man 
made out all the colors of the rainboAv; but as to the 
"sih'er of lichens and green and crimson of mosses" 
they simply do not exist on a log-jam. The logs are 
driven the first year they are cut, and they grow no moss 
on their way doAvn our rivers. If by chance a jam has, 
to be left over one season it must be cleared away the 
next to let the next cut of logs through, and in case 
of even the most stubborn obstruction, the bark simply' 
peels off, leaving a smooth, shining surface, Avhich,| 
washed by rain and seared by the suns of summer,! 
offers no encouragement to "green and crimson 
mosses." ■. 
Mr. Brown objects to the "click of shod canoe-polesr 
