336 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
a grantii for my larder, and a topi or two for my men whenever 
I wanted. It was wonderful what a strengthening effect the 
meat diet had on my lowered system, with almost magical 
rapidity. I had tried in vain to buy a sheep or a goat from 
our neighbours ; so little do they value the articles of commerce, 
usually dear to savage hearts (or indeed any personal adorn¬ 
ments whatever), that they could not be induced to sell one, 
though they possess considerable numbers. 
I dared use no other rifle now than the .303, for fear of the 
recoil of black powder—even my trusty old .450 was now 
permanently laid aside—and I came to value the wonderful 
powers and pleasant shooting of this minute bore so much that 
I never wished to use any of my others again. The absence 
of recoil and smoke is such a comfort, and the deadly effect of 
the long, thin bullet, propelled with such tremendous velocity, 
so all-sufficient for any animal, that I never wished to go back 
to the noise and other unpleasant habits of the old-fashioned 
weapons. Its one drawback is the tricky mechanism of the 
magazine. Of course I could not carry a rifle myself, and 
could only shoot from a sitting position ; but the trusty Juma 
always accompanied me, and even when creeping up for a shot 
crawled at my heels, ready to put it into my hands at the last 
moment, after I had got within range. It is true he used to 
try my temper severely by his unconquerable habit of handing 
gun or glasses wrong end foremost, or left-handed, which is 
particularly exasperating when one’s eyes are riveted on the 
buck, and hurts the more that one cannot relieve one’s feelings 
by strong names, under such circumstances ; but he was free 
from one most annoying fault of many gun-bearers, he never 
lagged behind. 
Another benefit I gained by being able to kill game again 
was in the matter of light. There were one or two among the 
members of my caravan who could, on occasion, the conditions 
being favourable, manage to kill a sleepy, unsuspecting rhino ; 
but wilder game, especially in the open, was seldom within 
