270 
THE GUASO NYEKO 
[CH. XI 
bushes close by, and the horse nearly had a fit. I could 
hardly get oft 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 the following day to their pursuit. We saw 
three bands, two of them accompanying herds of zebra, 
after the manner 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 posi¬ 
tion, I thought I would surely kill if I hit it at all, and 
both 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 X 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 Ciceronian theory, that he who throws 
the javelin all day must hit the mark some time. 
Accordingly I emptied the magazines of both my rifles 
at the oryx, as they ran across my front, and broke the 
