NARROW ESCAPE. 
355 
At length, however, she sank slowly to the 
ground; and imagining that she was in her death- 
agonies, and all danger over, I walked unhesi¬ 
tatingly close up to her, and was on the point 
of placing the muzzle of my gun to her ear, to give 
her the coup de grace , when, to my horror, she once 
more rose on her legs. Taking a hurried aim, I 
pulled the trigger, and instantly retreated, with the 
beast in full pursuit. The race, however, was a 
short one; for, just as I threw myself into a bush 
for safety, she fell dead at my feet, so near me, 
indeed, that I could have touched her with the 
muzzle of my rifle. Another moment, and I should 
probably have been impaled on her murderous 
horn, which, though short, was sharp as a razor. 
When reflecting on the wonderful and providen¬ 
tial escapes I had recently experienced, my heart 
was lifted in humble gratitude to the Almighty, 
who had thus extended over me His protecting 
hand. 
The second day after the scenes described, my 
bruises began to show themselves ; and on the third 
day they were fully developed, giving nearly the 
whole of my body a black and yellow hue. So far 
as I was aware, none of my bones were broken ; 
but burning and agonising pains in the region of 
the chest were clearly symptomatic of severe internal 
injury. Indeed, at first, serious apprehensions were 
entertained for my life. After great suffering, 
however, I had so far recovered as, with the aid 
of my men, to mount my ox, and resume my 
travels. 
A A 2 
