—— 
CHAPTER XIII. * 
THE AFRICAN BUFFALO, 
" Mightiest of all the beasts of chase, 
That roam in woody Caledon, * 
Crashing the foreat in Wis race, 
The Mountain Boll comes thundering on," 
AvrHoucs confessedly inferior to the ‘carnivorous and blue-eyed wild bulls’ that were vanquished by the heroes of 
antiquity, and with whose shaggy spoils the vestibule of the temple of Hereules was adorned by Philip of Macedon, the 
genus Bos does not, at the present day, include an animal more formidable in character, or more malignant in disposition, 
than the Cape Buffalo; neither do ‘Afrie’s desert hills, throughout their prolific wildernesses, produce a quarry more difficult 
to be subdued. Yielding little in point of bulk to an ordinary sized Hippopotamus, and wrapt in a tough mantle of hide, 
which is m parts impenetrable to a ball of unadulterated lead —more especially if propelled from a smooth bore—the dark - 
brow of the Caffrarian bull is overshadowed by a rugous mass of horn, spreading like a helmet horizontally over the sam- 
mit of his head, and forming a bullet-proof casque, beneath which a pair of piercing, black, downcast eyes, look gloomily 
forth with a mischievous and sinister twinkle. Neither are appearances, often so deceitful, in this instance belied —the 
sullen, forbidding, and malevolent aspect of the species, being strongly indicative of its fierce and treadherous nature; whilst 
the ponderous and powerful. frame—hbony and gaunt—is encased in ribs of such extraordinary breadth as almost to unite 
with each other, aud is supported upon stout muscular limbs of truly prodigious strength. 
Short are his jegs,, his hams are thick, his hoofs are black as night, 
fike a strong flail, he holds his tail, iu flerceness of his might. * 
The males average from sixteen and a half to seventeen hands at the shoulder, their height being nevertheless greatly 
disproportioned to the general bulk, and chiefly made up of the enormous substance and depth of forehand, unaided either 
by length of leg, or by any hunch or exereseence ‘upon the wither; whence specimens in the prime of years have been 
found to weigh so heavy as two hundred stoue. Unless among the dense forests and jungles skirting the sea-coast of the 
eastern districts, in which a few surviving Elephants also still find a precarious shelter, the Buffel is now totally extirpated 
throughout the Cape Colony, where so many local names testify to its former presence. Lead and gunpowder have done 
their deadly work, and the perpetual warfare waged by the advancing white population, has so effectually cleared every 
preserve, that the hunter now secks in vain for a solitary specimen, in scenes which once formed the head-quarters of the 
largest herds,f So far, however, as the country has yet been explored, this noble beast is extremely abundant, in all the 
eastern portions of Southern extra-tropical Africa,—troops, led by the largest and fiercest bulls, holding their haunts amid 
all the mountain forests and wooded valleys, whence they make wide incursions upon the open plains. Resorting also at 
seasons to the deep verdure of rivers, swamps, and stagnant pools, in the muddy waters of which they delight to wallow, 
they sink their giant forms so deep in the stream, as to be effectually screened from the poisonous flies of the tropical 
forest. Thus surrounded by tall grass and reeds, which afford both concealment ani shade, the herd will lie for hours 
together, the nostrils and gloomy downeast eyes alone protruded, appearing in the enjoyment of perfect ecstacy —certain 
* One of the principal branches of the Nu Garecp, which takes its source in the Quathlamba mountains, is thus denominated, 
| "A party of Boors,” writes the elegant and amusing Pringle, ‘had gone out to hunt a troop of Buffaloes, Which were grazing in a piece of marshy ground, 
interspersed with groves of yellow wood and mimosa trees, on the very spot where the village of Somerset is now built. As they could not convetiiently get within 
shot of the game without crossing part of the vlet or marsh, which did not afford a safe passage for horses, they agreed to leave their steeds in charge of their Hot- 
tentot servant, and to advance on foot, thinking that if any of the Buffaloes should turn upon them, it would be easy ta escape by retreating across the quagmire, 
which though passable for man, would not support the weight of a heavy quadruped. They advanced ancordingly, and under cover of the bushes, approached the 
game with such advantage, Usat the first volley brought down three of the fattest of the herd, and eo severely wounded the great bull leader, that he dropped on his 
knees, bellowing with pain. Thinking him mortally wounded, the foremost of the huntsmen sallied from the covert, ard began reloading hig musket as he advanced 
to give him a finishing shot. But no sooner had the infuriated animal seen his foe im front of him, than he sprang up and rushed headloug upou him, The man, 
throwing down his empty gun, fled towards the quagmire: but the savage beast was so close upon him, that he despaired of escupe in that direction, und turning 
euddenly round a clump of copse-wood, began to climb an old mimosa tree which stood on one side of it, The raging beast, however, was too quick for him, 
Bounding forward with a frightful rowr, be caught the unfortunate man with his horns, just as he had nearly cecaped his reach, and toesed him in the air with such 
violence, that the body fell dreadfully mangled, into a lofty cleft of the tree. The Buffalo ran round the trec once or twice, apparently looking for his victim, until 
weakened with loss of blood, le aguin suik on his kaees, when the rest of the party recovering from their confusion, came up and despatched him, though too late 
to save their comrade, whose body was hanging in the tree, quite dead,” 
* 
