450 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
bearers and porters, and ran along the trail accompanied 
only by a native guide. The cow was killed at two hun¬ 
dred yards with a shot from his Winchester. The bull 
yielded more excitement. He was in a herd of about forty 
which Kermit had followed for over five hours, toward 
the last accompanied only by the wild native; at one point 
the eland had come upon a small party of elephant, and 
trotted off at right angles to their former course—^Kermit 
following them after he had satisfied himself that the 
elephants were cows and half-grown animals. When he 
finally overtook the eland, during the torrid heat of the early 
afternoon, they were all lying down, in a place where the 
trees grew rather more thickly than usual. 
Stalking as close as he dared he selected a big animal 
which he hoped was a bull, and fired three shots into it; 
however, it ran, and he then saw that it was a cow. As 
the rest of the herd jumped up he saw the form of the 
master bull looming above the others. They crossed his 
front at a slashing trot, the cows clustered round the great 
bull; but just as they came to a little opening, they opened 
somewhat, giving him a clear shot. Down went the bull 
on his head, rose, received another bullet, and came to a 
stand-still. This was the last bullet from the magazine; 
and now the mechanism of the rifle refused to work or to 
throw the empty shell out of the chamber. The faithful 
Winchester, which Kermit had used steadily for ten months, 
on foot and on horseback, which had suffered every kind 
of hard treatment and had killed every kind of game, with¬ 
out once failing, had at last given way under the strain. 
While Kermit was working desperately at the mechanism, 
the bull, which was standing looking at him within fifty 
