ch. vii] ELANDS FOR THE MUSEUM 157 
ahead and to our left. The ground was too open to 
admit of the possibility of a stalk; but, leaving my 
horse and the porters to follow slowly, the gun-bearers 
and I walked quartering toward them. They hesitated 
about going, and when I had come as close as I dared, 
I motioned to the two gun-bearers to continue walking, 
and dropped on one knee. I had the little Springfield, 
and was anxious to test the new sharp-pointed military 
bullet on some large animal. The biggest bull was half 
facing me, just two hundred and eighty yards off. I 
fired a little bit high and a trifle to the left; but the 
tiny ball broke his back, and the splendid beast, heavy 
as a prize steer, came plunging and struggling to the 
ground. The other bull started to run off, but after I 
had walked a hundred yards forward, he actually trotted 
back toward his companion, then halted, turned, and 
galloped across my front at a distance of a hundred and 
eighty yards ; and him, too, I brought down with a 
single shot. The little full-jacketed, sharp-pointed bullet 
made a terrific rending compared with the heavier, 
ordinary-shaped bullet of the same composition. 
I was much pleased with my two prizes, for the 
National Museum particularly desired a good group 
of eland. They were splendid animals, like beautiful 
heavy cattle, and I could not sufficiently admire their 
sleek, handsome, striped coats, their shapely heads, fine 
horns, and massive bodies. The big bull, an old one, 
looked blue at a distance. He was very heavy, and his 
dewlap hung down just as with cattle. His companion, 
although much less heavy, was a full-grown bull in his 
prime, with longer horns, for the big one’s horns had 
begun to wear down at the tips. In their stomachs 
were grass blades, and, rather to my surprise, aloe- 
leaves. 
