274 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
and Gouvimali trotted fast on the trail, and in order to be 
fresh for the shot I mounted Tranquillity. Suddenly out 
bounced the wounded bull from some bushes close by, 
and the horse nearly had a fit; I could hardly get off in time 
to empty my magazine at long range—fortunately with 
effect. It was a magnificent bull of the variety called 
Patterson’s eland, with a fine head. Few prize oxen would 
be as heavy, and in spite of its great size, its finely moulded 
limbs and beautiful coat gave it a thoroughly game look. 
Oryx were now what I especially wished, and we devoted 
all of the following day to their pursuit. We saw three bands, 
two of them accompanying herds of zebra, after the man¬ 
ner of kongoni. Both species were found indifferently on 
the bare, short-grass flats and among the thin, stunted 
thorn-trees which covered much of the plains. After a 
careful stalk, the latter part on all-fours, I got to within 
about three hundred yards of a mixed herd, and put a 
bullet into one oryx as it faced me, and hit another as it 
ran. The first, from its position, I thought I would surely 
kill if I hit it at all, and both of the wounded beasts were 
well behind the herd when it halted a mile away on the other 
side of the plain. But as we approached they all went off 
together, and I can only hope the two I hit recovered; at 
any rate, after we had followed them for miles, the tough 
beasts were still running as strongly as ever. 
All the morning I manoeuvred and tramped hard, in 
vain. At noon, I tried a stalk on a little band of six, who 
were standing still, idly switching their tails, out in a big 
flat. They saw me, and at four hundred yards I missed the 
shot. By this time I felt rather desperate, and decided for 
once to abandon legitimate proceedings and act on the 
