110 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
the wind being very favourable, I might, had I 
known they were sea-cows, almost have gone up and 
scratched them, and made dead sure of my shot; as 
it was, owing to having no white paper on the 
muzzle of my gun, I could not aim with any 
certainty. Saw several large snakes about the St. 
Luey, and one horrid puff adder alarmed me consi¬ 
derably. I was trying to despatch him with an iron 
ramrod, when his head and throat swelled to an 
enormous size, turning a hideous livid colour, as he 
reared himself up, and, with a horrid hiss, pitched 
himself at me; but I managed to dodge him, and he 
disappeared. Got a couple of crocodiles, and caught 
a small one, about one foot long, alive—a wicked 
little monster; took from one a lot of beautiful fat, 
which burns brilliantly ; have got about 350 pounds 
of ivory to take down with me, and shall endeavour 
to make up my load with twenty-five buffalo hides, 
as I hear there is a sale for them. 
2hth. —After losing the oxen for a couple of days, 
and a couple of stick-fasts, got on to the missionaries 
without any adventure. Mothlow shot a sea-cow, 
and I went down with a whole troop of Kaffirs to 
bring up half a wagon-load of speck, hearing she was 
a very large cow, and so she proved, but as lean as 
a crow. It was an awfully wet night, so I made a 
Kaffir kraal, and stayed the night, supping on a 
delicious wild duck, amas, tchualla, and coffee, and I 
contrived to bake a loaf of bread between two 
pieces of a broken Kaffir pot, so that I was truly in 
