BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 
3°4 
“i.ivingstone’s eland” 
Even when wounded it is doubtful whether they charge in the open. The 
danger in connection with shooting buffaloes is this, that the wounded beast 
retires into long grass or thickets. If the sportsman follows him up then the 
buffalo puts no bounds to his rage and is also very cunning. He will charge 
from out of his hiding place and pursue his enemy with a great deal of 
intelligence, that is to say not altogether in blind rage, and if he succeeds 
Soon after we had landed at the mouth of the Songwe we found ourselves in the midst of an enormous herd 
of buffalo. So far from their retreating before us these animals began to toss their heads and paw up the 
ground. It seemed as though an imprudent shot would provoke a charge of buffaloes which would drive 
us into the crocodile-haunted reeds of the marshy lake margin, so that at first we refrained from firing until 
one bull buffalo advanced in front of the herd and came so near that we had no option but to shoot. The 
beast fell, then rose to his feet, but instead of charging made for the river, and was dropped by two more 
shots from our rifles. The rest of the buffaloes turned and fled. 
