224 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
wooden pegs thrown over. I cut drains all round, 
and slept warm and dry as a toast, though the rain 
was very heavy and of long continuance. Swartz 
shot three buffaloes out of one troop, though the 
ground was very heavy, and the buffaloes had a tre¬ 
mendous start. My horse Veichman has been for¬ 
tunate enough to get through the sickness, by plen¬ 
tiful bleeding, just in the nick of time, and careful 
treatment, having a stable made for him every wet 
night. However, he could not go the pace, and I 
did not like to push him in his present feeble condi¬ 
tion, so I had nothing to say to them. We have been 
varying our diet with guinea fowl, ostrich eggs, and 
sucking pigs — a pleasant change, this hot weather, 
from continual flesh meat. Our meal has run very 
short,* and we have bread only once in two or three 
days, as a treat. The roof of my mouth is quite 
sore with masticating so much tough flesh. 
Yesterday a troop of about seventy giraffes came 
swinging past the w r agons; the Kaffirs and dogs yelled 
loud, and there was a general rush for guns. They 
all turned short to the left and put on the steam. I 
was the only one that got my gun in time, but, ere I 
could get her out of the case, they were at least 400 
yards off. I fired at the head of the nearest cow, 
and we all heard the bullet clap loudly, but as we 
could see no alteration in her gait, we took no fur¬ 
ther notice, and the whole herd were lost in the 
bushes. About two hours before sunset, Hendrick, 
Sechele’s son-in-law, sang out, 6 Sur, sur, sur—surs a 
