328 
AFRICAN HUNTING. 
more for a fat giraffe, or some more curried guinea- 
fowls— a little lighter food, this warm weather, than 
the mighty monarchs of the forest. 
ols£ [Sunday). — Nothing but disappointment to 
log up. First and foremost, we entirely mistook 
our whereabouts: after a hard day’s trek through 
dense bush, at length the long wished-for river 
dawned on our sight; it certainly was most refresh¬ 
ing and beautiful, but it proved to be the wrong 
one — my old friend the Zouga once more, which 
I foreswore last year for ever, on account of the 
great scarcity of game, the quantity of hunters, 
Kaffirs, and last, not least, the sickness. It was a sore 
disappointment to me, and here we have been a week. 
We have not been idle, however, as I have painted 
two wagons, which had suffered much from the 
drought, and Baffler has put two new axletrees into 
the old one, and we have had a busy time of it. 
I never saw anything like the number of pheasants 
here ; thirty brace would be a bad day’s sport for one 
gun, but our shot will not allow of more than 
enough for our daily wants. The wolves and tigers 
have been annoying us, the former eating up neck- 
straps and the oxen’s gear. Last night, hearing tigers, 
I set a gun for them within fifty yards of the fire, and 
had only just supped when bang it went. I ordered 
the dogs to be loosed, and we had a most exciting chase 
in the dark, the Kaffirs carrying lighted sticks, and 
setting fire to the grass as we went on. Gyp, my old 
favourite, soon brought the brute to bay, and we 
