158 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
the mouth as if he were rabid. I was hardly sure if 
I had not killed him, but as I relaxed my grasp on 
his muzzle, he gradually came to, when I tightened 
the leathers and gave him a repetition of the above, 
when inclined to be refractory. At last, my voice 
had the desired effect, and he lay on the top of 
me all night; and I firmly believe the warmth of 
his body was the means of saving my life, as I 
was so cold I could do nothing till the sun was 
high. It must have been an unusually cold night, 
as I saw wildebeests get up so stiff they could 
hardly stir for many minutes. When I eventually 
got the use of my limbs, I took very violent exer¬ 
cise, to set the blood in circulation ; went to the 
highest visible ground, and fired my first shot into 
an ant-heap, that I might recover my bullet, and 
then, having plenty of powder, fired some tremen¬ 
dous heavy charges with six inches of grass, tightly 
hammered down, to make a terrific report, but no 
answer ; and knowing I must, by going due east, 
come to the sea at last, I took that course, and about 
eleven o’clock saw a faint smoke; made for it at 
once, and found the remains of a large fire, which 
my party had left burning as a guide for me. They 
had passed the night there, and gone on ; and after 
off-saddling a bit, I followed the spoor, and overtook 
them about 4 p.m. 
Proudfoot and Schikkerling, my companions, had 
been all the morning in quest of me, firing innumer¬ 
able shots, and the former quite sure I should even- 
