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ALMOST HUMAN 
fence was repaired and reinforced. When this vanquished buffalo was 
examined it was apparent that he had received frightful punishment. He 
was swollen cruelly, and was too sore to move. In a few days disturb- 
ing wounds at first not noticed revealed themselves, and it became evident 
that the worst consequences must ensue from the fight. The longer 
horns of the other buffalo had proved too good a defence for him, and 
he had been able to prevent the other beast from coming near enough 
to use his shorter weapons at all, and so the African had had a monopoly of 
the punishment. Within a fortnight the injured creature died, and when 
an autopsy was made it was found that there was scarcely a square inch 
of his body that had not been battered and bruised. His smaller 
opponent had not even shown signs of fatigue! 
GREAT HELP WAITS ON LITTLE NEED. 
Many years ago there was an exceptionally savage water buffalo 
at the Zoo. No one knew when he would attack the men near him, and 
none cared to go into his compound alone. It was usually arranged that 
several should go in together, so that he would be over-awed by sheer 
force of numbers. One day several men prepared to do the necessary 
work in his enclosure, but when they reached it he was standing on 
guard near the gate, as if challenging one or all to dare enter. They 
were not too eager to take his defiance, and as they stood discussing what 
to do under the unpromising circumstances, the then overseer came up 
to inspect their work. He had not much sympathy for their nervous 
fears, and so he determined to prove how groundless their suspicions 
were. He told them that a bold defiance would cow the creature at 
once, so, taking a broom from one of the men, he lightly vaulted the 
fence to send the bull about his breakfast without more ado. But he 
made a slight miscalculation. There is no saying what would have 
happened if the men had followed their leader. It is quite possible the 
bull would have thought it dangerous to be in a minority and have waited 
for a more favorable opportunity; but when he saw that only one man 
had dared to beard him, he determined to vent his spleen to some pur- 
pose, At once he gave chase, and the overseer saw that he must make 
without loss of a second for a gnarled old tree in the centre of the 
grounds if he wished for safety. The men, who were one and all afraid 
to enter to his assistance, saw precisely how he should act in the 
emergency, and they shouted out all sorts of conflicting instructions to 
the man who was whirling round and round that tree away from the 
angry bull. The head gardener, hearing the shouts and the bellowing. 
