70 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
escaped. These are the sort of tools for heavy game; 
and if the hunter is strong enough for his work, and 
is properly armed with double-barrels, there will be 
every chance in his favour, and he will not be 
included in the gloomy list of casualties that have 
befallen so many of his race, chiefly through the 
inferiority of their weapons. 
I have killed elephants with a No. 16 spherical 
bullet (i oz.), and African buffaloes and rhinoceros 
with a 24 bore ('577) ar *d only 2\ drams of powder, 
in the old days of muzzle-loaders; but these were 
favourable shots in positions which afforded slight 
resistance. Such instances of success are excep¬ 
tions to the rule, and I cannot too energetically 
impress my experience upon all beginners, that 
they must be especially armed with rifles that 
are of proportionate strength to the animal to be 
encountered. 
Although the bull buffalo is generally more 
formidable than the female, the latter is even more 
determined to destroy her antagonist if in defence 
of her calf. I have already described, under the 
head of the “Tiger,” the courage of the buffalo in 
attacking that formidable beast should it presume to 
invade the sanctity of the herd. There is no creature 
in existence so determined as the buffalo to fight to 
the last gasp, when once its combative spirit has 
been aroused. 
There are very few persons who have had a 
really wide experience of buffaloes in the various 
countries which they inhabit, and the description 
