My second shoot

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My Second Shoot




MS 381296 /2












MY SECOND SHOOT.

A Tale of North Western Rhodesia.

By

Captain W. F. Reichwald. R. H. A.

Photographs by Lieutenant Philip R. Bald. R. E.




To

my late Brother-officers
of* the

XVIIIth Brigade Royal Field Artillery
these pages are dedicated.





CON£H|iT£

Pages
Preface. ... i. iii
Chapter I, ... 1. 17
Chapter II. ... 18 28
Chapter III. 29 -- 49
Chapter IV. 50 65
Chapter V. ... 66 84,
Chapter VI. 85 107,
Chapter VII. ... 108 127,
Chapter VIII. 128 149,
Chapter IX. 150 182,
Chapter X. ... 185 216,
Appendix.




PREFACE.

The following account has been compiled from daily notes taken during my wanderings through
North Western Rhodesia in the months of August, September and October, 1909. Events have been
described in chronological sequence and the whole has been left more or less in diary-form in
order that it might the better serve as a guide to others desirous of undertaking a similar expedi-
tion. I have endeavoured to write a full and accurate narrative and I have added such further
information as I thought would be of use to my brother-officers and others, but I cannot too strongly
emphasize the fact that my remarks apply only to a particular part of Rhodesia at a particular time
of year.

Many hunters, in describing their travels, forget to point out that what they say has
reference only to some particular time and place. The consequence is that others who try to benefit
by their recorded experiences find themselves misled by statements or advice never intended to be
universally applicable, and so, much inconvenience and needless expense are often caused. Stores,
Supplies, and articles of equipment, for instance, well suited to one field of operations, are taken
to another where they are useless; they have then either to be abandoned or else dragged about for
months together, and in the end they as often as not have to be sold at a heavy loss, perhaps to the
same tradesmen from whom they were originally purchased. It is, of course, almost impossible to
entirely avoid useless expenditure. Some things may or may not be required arid so have to be taken
"on spec"; thus my companion and I bought a dozen blue lights for which we had to pay two guineas
we never used one during the whole trip and were glad to get seventeen end sixpence for the lot on


'$ur return to civilization; but it would have been foolish, to start without them, for they might at

any moment have become necessary in the event of our getting a chance of sitting up for lion or buf-

falo.

Further, it must be borne in mind that my narrative deals with a year that cannot -be

considered normal. During the early months of 1909, very heavy rain fell over South Africa, and in

the Transvaal and Orange River Colony more than forty inches fell in January and February alone. What
this means may be imagined when one considers that the average rainfall for England is only thirty
inches or thereabouts, and if, will be readily understood that the practical inundation of the land at
the beginning of the year was bound to affect big-game hunters for many months afterwards. Briefly
put the effect of the abnormal amount of rain was two-fold; it left the grass unusually long,and game
could drink wherever they liked. The first of these circumstances made ponies an absolute necessity
in many parts of the country, for unless a man had the advantage of the extra height gained by being
on horseback, he could see nothing; the second caused the game to be widely scattered instead of
being more or less concentrated near a few water-holes and river-beds. At the same time the abun-
dance of water greatly simplified arrangements concerning our marches, and we rarely had any difficul-
ty about getting sufficient for our own supply.

What little I hatfe had to say regarding the curing of skins must also be held to apply only

to dry months; once the rains have broken the treatment must be entirely different.

On the whole, however, it will be found that Nature plays a great game of compromise and

that what she takes away with one hand she gives back in some form with the other. The only thing to

do, therefore, is to study her idiosyncrasies and humour her vagaries.

Sportsmen must, in fact, study their hunting-grounds just as the Intelligence Department of


iii.

an army studies the peculiarities of* a theatre of* war before the outbreak of hostilities. Only so'
can disappointment, waste of money, and failure be avoided; only so can existing conditions he turned
to the best adavntage.

Accurate information is everything both in peace and war, and I have compiled the following
pages in the hope of adding in some small measure to the information available from other sources.

The writing of this account has been a pleasure to me and a labour of love for those of my

late brigade with whom I spent so many happy months. if what I have said can help them on their way
and save them a "fiver" here and there, I shall have achieved my purpose.

W.H.Eeichwald.

Captain. R. H. A.

I.Ihow.

Central India.
May, 1910.





M£ SECQH2 shoot.



CHAPTER T.

In the Year of Grace 1900, I did "My First Shoot". It was undertaken from India across the
Himalaya Mountains to the further side of Changchenmo which, adjoining the Tibetan frontier,forms part
of that weird and lonely land Ladakh, with its Lamas and monasteries, its manis and chortens, and its
scenery second to none in the world.

Ever since those days the memories of my first attempt at big-game hunting have remained viv-
idly in my mind, and times without number have I wished myself -back in those silent, peaceful valleys
where I could go for days without meeting a human being other than those belonging to my own little
column, and where I have marched for many hours without seeing or hearing a living thing of any soft,
or kind.

On many, I know, *the loneliness of Ladakh has a depressing influence, the death-like silence
seems to them uncanny; the mighty snow-capped mountains awe-inspiring as they tower high above the
barren stretches of desolate land*dwarf into utter insignificance man and all his works. But to me
the unearthly silence was the chief attraction; it was a silence that spoke, that called and even
seemed to beckon me to come on and ever on to see what lay beyond and beyond again, until &t last I
should reach those vast stretches of unknown land in Central Asia which, from my earliest, childhood, I


had always so ardently.longed to visit. The mountains clearly outlined against the sky in all their*
brilliant whiteness appeared, especially on moonlight nights, to be the embodiment of* all that stood
for majesty, for power and for the latent strength of Nature. They fascinated me and though they
made my breath come short and fast as I clambered up to heights of nearly nineteen thousand feet, tho1
the cold wind from their summits chilled me to the hone as X lay in my tent at night, though the heat
reflected from their sides beat mercilessly down by day it was with a heavy heart that I turned my
back upon them to re-enter the domain of civilization with its hustle and worry, its railways and tele-
graphs, its collars and cuffs, and all other disagreeable, concomitants that go to make up the pande-
monium in which most of us are doomed to spend our lives. I asked myself when I should be really
free again, and I wondered how long I should be shut up in towns and cantonments.

My patience was to be sorely tried; for four more years I served on in India without a -chance
of going far afield. Then followed four years, four dismal years, at Home where the otter, the fox,
and the red herring, were all that I had to remind me that there, was still game to hunt;where Dartmoor,
the New Forest, and the Downs of Sussex and Berkshire, kept up my hope and told me that there were
still places where a man could see and breathe and move. At last my deliverance came,and my. feelings
can be better imagined than described Yfhen, on October 30th, 1908, I found myself on board the"Braemar
Castle, bound for South Africa. Harrismith was my destination, and in that delightful spot I learnt
to appreciate the beauties of veldt and kopje. The silence of the South African night fascinated me
as the silence of Ladakh had done in years gone by. Behind me the Drakensberge, with the sun setting
gorgeously beyond, recalled those restful evening; hours in Changchenmo*, in front the gigantic Platberg,
shutting out all view, urged me to scale his summit and see what lay far away to the North, just as
many a snow-capped Himalayan mountain-range had done in former days.


, However, I must drop my reveries and get to -business which began when one fine day an old

friend of mine, Captain T.S.Lambert of the East Lancashire Regiment, ashed me whether I would cars to
do a shoot with him. X was all for it, of course, so we at once set to work on our "bundobust".

Lambert had been up in Rhodesia in 1907 and, as he knew the ropes, I gladly let him do the
lions share of the labours connected with our preliminary arrangements. All went smoothly until
suddenly Lambert was ordered Home. This was a sad blow to me, but I had shot alone before and so X
determined to shoot alone again. Obtaining all the information I could get from my departing friend,
I continued the negotiations he had begun and, amongst .other things, I wrote a letter to a profes-
sional European hunter called Walters, whose services I hoped to procure. The letter was written on
April 26th, and for seven long weeks I waited without receiving any reply although my first epistle
had been followed by several others in which I urged the necessity for an early answer.

In the meanwhile I had gone, to Potchefstroom practice-camp with my battery and, after patient-
ly waiting there for some time, I at last gave up Walters and made enquiries about other hunters. I
obtained several names and addresses (which I append belowj and wrote to all simultaneously,for I had
learnt my first lesson, viz:- that it is a mistake to depend on securing the services of any parti-
cular man.^1*

Most of these professional hunters are traders or transport riders as well, and in the

(1). Cooper Brothers. Hunters. Kalomo. N.W.Khodesia.

Piet de Beer. : : : : :

Mr. Walker. : : : : :

Mr. A.G.Hay. Agent, etc. Buluwayo.

He is not himself a professional hunter but a private gentleman. He must therefore be
addressed accordingly and requests for his assistance or advice must be appropriately
worded.


non-shooting season, they spend their time trekking about the country bartering mealies or doing any
odd job they can. The consequence is that they are often away in the wilds beyond reach of the Post
Office for many months together, and so they can neither send nor receive letters until they get back

to civilization. This had happened in the case of Walters, and it is noteworthy that only two of

the letters I subsequently wro.te to other men elicited replies.

It was while waiting for these that I was fortunate enough to discover an officer anxious to
accompany me. This was Lieut. Philip R. Bald of the Royal Engineers, commonly called "Peter", by
which appellation he will henceforth be known.

When the replies came in from the hunters, Peter and I discussed them together and soon de-
cided to close with one of the brothers Cooper.

The terms of our contract were as follow:-

Cooper was to provide an ox-wagon with a span of ten oxen, seven gun-bearers, a cook and a
waiter, besides a driver and a "voorlooper" for the team. The oxen and the boys were to be paid and
fed by Cooper, who also undertook to provide at his own risk three ponies, one for himself and one

for each of us* His charge for the whole was eighty pounds (£80J a month, plus ten pounds (£10) a

month for each pony.

Now, this may seem a high, price and it undoubtedly is so when the money had to. come out of
the average officer's pocket; but Peter and I found ourselves confronted by two alternatives, and we
had to decide between them. We could either run our shoot on the cheapest possible lines, or else
do things well and thoroughly, though at considerable expense.

The adoption of the first alternative meant going without a hunter and without ponies^whilst
for transport we should have to depend entirely on carriers collected for us by the Commissioners


through whose Districts we passed. The objections to such a course were many.

In the absence of a hunter we would have to procure an interpreter, who, in adl probability,
would be of little use as a guide, for the native who knows English is, as a rule, of the town-bred
type, knowing little about the lie of the land and less about the habitat of game. Had we known
anything of the language ourselves, the situation would have been different, but for an officer sta-
tioned down-country to learn the jargon spoken up in the North is well-nigh impossible. An acquain-
tance with any one language is, moreover, insufficient; dialects vary considerably, and we found
later that even Cooper was frequently stumped and compelled to get his gun-boys to translate for
him.

Without a hunter it would also be practically out of the question to take a wagon. Much skill
and experience are required in handling and feeding trek-oxen, and I doubt whether a native could be
found who, minus European supervision, would be capable of looking after a team for any length of
time. Besides, no owner of cattle would be likely to hire out his animals to the uninitiated; if he
did he would undoubtedly stipulate for heavy compensation in the event of death or injury.

Again, if we decided on carriers it would be necessary to write at least a month in advance
to the District Commissioner nearest our starting point. This, of course, would have presented
little difficulty; the Commis si oners are always most obliging and would, no doubt, have collected
sufficient for our needs under a good head-boy.

At the same time it will be well for future sportsmen to remember that it is getting more
and more difficult to obtain carriers owing to the fact that the mines and railways now-a-days require
so much native labour. But the great objection to carriers is that they are unreliable; one never
knows when they will leave one in the lurch or refuse to go on. I have heard of numerous cases in


'which they have suddenly struck work because they declared they were being taken too far from their
homes, and I know of instances in which sportsmen have been delayed for days whilst they parleyed
with their boys, or tried to obtain new ones. In fact, the only advantage I can see in carriers is
that they are cheap, their fixed wage being only four pence a day, though this is likely to be in-
creased before long owing to the greater demand for labour referred to above.

In regard to the question of ponies Peter and I were in doubt almost up to the day of start-
ing. To take them seemed like indulging in needless luxury; we were both quite prepared to foot it
and yet there were potent arguments in favour of being so mounted. Men shooting in IT.W. Rhodesia
must remember that they are in the Tropics and that, in tropical climates, they cannot stand the same
amount of exertion as in Europe or South Africa proper. The big-game hunter generally has to put up
with relatively poor food, he will be lucky if he gets any fresh vegetables at all, his night's rest
is often disturbed, and the water he drinks is frequently such that people in England would not even
wash their clothes in it. All these things tend to lower a man's system and if, in addition, he
overworks his mortal frame he is certain to predispose himself to disease. I am convinced that many
cases cf malaria, blackwater fever, etc., would not occur if men would take more care to keep their
bodies in a state fit to resist the germs of disease. One must have something in hand, some reserve
of strength to fall back on. It is the greatest mistake to run one's self down with the object of
saving a few sovereigns; for what doth a man profit if he gain the whole world and lose his health?

Such were the principal arguments that finally induced us to take ponies; the advantage they
gave us in the long grass was one we did not discover until we actually began to shoot.

Thus it will be seen that, after careful examination of the facts at our disposal, we were
rapidly inclining towards the more expensive alternative; but we might not even then have decided in
its favour had it not been for one further consideration. It was this.

Both Peter and I were on


the point of leaving South Africa, probably for good and all. Our present opportunity was therefore
almost certain to he the only one we should ever have. It constituted our one and only chance of
getting South African trophies and of visiting a most interesting part of our African possessions. We
therefore agreed to stretch our financial consciences, to put our hands in our pockets, and to "go the
whole hog"; and I have emphasized this, lest my readers should suspect me of attaching too much im-
portance to the arguments I have adduced against the cheaper alternative. Shooting trips can he done
and are done more cheaply than we did ours. Men do go without hunters, wagons and ponies, hut it
will he found that such men usually have time to gain experience. With several years* African ser-
vice before them, they can he content with a mediocre hag the first season; they acquire knowledge,
learn something of the language and do better the second; in the course of their third season they
will become thoroughly an fait, and by the end of it they will probably have shot everything there is
to he got in the country. That is without a doubt the best and most sporting way to become a compet-
ent big-game hunter, but time is essential for such a mode of procedure. How much it would cost to
shoot under these conditions and how such a shoot should be run, I regret I am unable to say. X made
all sorts of enquiries before we began our expedition, but the estimates given me varied so greatly as
to be quite useless. All I can do to help others is, therefore, to tell them how we ran our own
shoot and to point out to them where we might have effected savings;

Once our minds were made up as to the scale on which our expedition was to be conducted,
things progressed apace, and on June 22nd, we telegraphed to Cooper Brothers of Kalomo and accepted
their terms. Next we ordered supplies, got together medical stores, provided ourselves with ammuni-
tion, and decided on our camp-equipment, personal clothing, etc. The work connected with these
matters was considerable and required a good deal of careful thought; but little of it fell to my lot.
Early on July 2nd, X was sent off on special reconnaissance-duty in the Eastern Transvaal, where, for


three weeks on end, I had a most interesting time and thoroughly enjoyed myself, while the unfortunate
Peter was left to do the drudgery. However, he survived the ordeal, and, much of the comfort we af-
terwards enjoyed was due to his foresight.

Supplies were the biggest item and likewise the cause of our first needlessly heavy outlay.
We ordered them from Ur. F. J. Clarke, General Merchant of Livingstone, and there can "be no doubt
that we should have saved a good deal had we been able to order straight out from the Army and
Navy Co-operative Society. in London some months before we intended to start. I strongly recommend
this course even in cases where officers are not sure whether they will get leave to carry out a pro-
jected shoot. English stores of good quality can always be got rid of at a fair price in South
Africa, so one need have no fear of having them left on ones hands. Another good plan is to buy
ail supplies from the South African Garrison Institute, and to send them on to ones starting-point by
goods train.

There is, however, one advantage in buying stores from a local dealer, and it is worth consi-
dering where carriers are to'be employed instead of a wagon. Carriers* loads should be made up to
a weight of about forty pounds each, and local merchants who, like Mr. Clarke,have equipped many ex-
peditions, will arrange to pack the boxes in such a way, that the normal load is not exceeded whilst
each load contains a complete supply of everything needed for one week; they will also mark and
number the boxes. This is a great convenience and saves constant opening and re-arranging of loads
and packages.

As a guide to others X append a list of the stores we ordered and which cost us just over thir-
ty pounds all told.

Tea........................8 lbs. Quaker Oats............................6 tins.

Coffee.....................4 : Oatmeal ...............................7 lbs.

Cocoa......................4 : Currants............................. 7 lbs.


Sugar . 70 lbs; Rice 14 lbs.
Cerebos Salt. 55 tins. Sunlight Soap. 12 packets.
Common : 30 lbs. Macaroni 4 lbs.
Bacon . 35 Matches 8 gross.
Potatoes . 70 Candles 12 packets.
Oni ons 50 Toilet Soap 8 cakes.
Milk ... 48 tins. Paraffin . 4 gallons.
Flour . 125 lbs. (in tins) Peas. 8 tins.
Baking Powder 6 lbs. Beans 8
Dried Apricots 10 : Curry 3
Dried Prunes. 10 : Keating s Powder. 10
Jams 24 tins. Tinned.Cakes.. 8
Pepper. lb. Potted Meat 10 jars.
Lard 20 lbs. Cheese 5 lbs.
Mustard lb. Lime Juice. 6 bottles.
Biscuits . 12 tins. Turpentine. 1 gallon.
Barley 2 lbs. Washing Soda . 3 tins.

Tinned plum puddings . . 9

We also took twelve bottles of whisky and one bottle of brandy, besides a dozen small bottles,
of champagne, and I strongly advise others to do the same. These things are not an unnecessary lux-
ury; they are much more like an absolute necessity when a man comes in so dead-beat and exhausted
with heat and fatigue that he is unable to eat anything at all.

The above list is not quite accurate as we had to buy a few extra supplies from a small store
at Kalomo later bn; it will, however, serve to show the approximate requirements for three men
shooting for a period of ten weeks. No list can be exactly followed as some cooks are more wasteful
than others and, of course, the appetites of individuals differ. The only things we found we had
seriously underestimated were flour and jam. Of the former we got, I believe, another forty pounds
and of the latter another two dozen tins.

Tinned fruit and jam, by the way, should always be taken in plenty; in a country where fresh
vegetables are practically unobtainable they become a necessity, and half a tin per man should be al-


.lowed for each day. During my first shan't in Ladakh X did not realize this; for some weeks I could
procure no vegetables at all, and X got a mild attack of scurvy in consequence.

Next to food supplies medical stores were an important item, and they were provided for us
through the kindness of a medical officer at Potchefstroom. They consisted of bandages, plaster and
dressings, antiseptics, various medicines made up into pills, needles, and last but not least-
quinine. We also took a copy of The manual of the Royal Army Medical Corps*, and I had my First
Aid to the Injured, published by the St. Johns Ambulance Association, and obtainable post free, for
thirteen pence from St. Johns Cfaie, Clerkenwell, London, F.C.

As a precaution against snake-bites I further provided myself with one of Ferris &

s.

Co.s Snake-bite Outfits, price 6/. The outfit can be got from almost any chemist and is packed
in a small box which I invariably carried in a special pocket of my haversack. When bitten the tape
provided should be tied above the bite as quickly as possible. A number of slight cuts should then be
made with the lancet over the place of the bite# converting the snakes puncture into a small wound.
Into this the crystals of permanganate of potash moistened (if necessary with saliva) should be rubbed.
When bitten it is a great mistake to drink neat spirit, such as brandy or whisky. This treatment

used to be recommended but up-to-date medical opinion has declared it to be most harmful and likely to
result in grave danger. Another excellent snake-bite outfit,besides Ferriss, is that invented by
a friend-of mine Captain Thompson of the 4th Hussars. It holds crystals and lancet the saffie as Fer-
riss, and is contained in a small silver case exactly like a rifle cartridge- and can be carried in a
waistcoat pocket. It is sold by the Army and Navy Stores. ^

(1). Since the above was written the following appeared in the Indian Pioneer: ln the course

6f.certain experiments recently carried out at the Bombay Bacteriological Laboratory to test the
value of potassium permanganate as an antidote for snake-poison, it was necessary to ascertain by ex-
periments on animals whether Potassium permanganate is harmless when injected into the bloodstream.

The results of these experiments have shown conclusively that intravenous administration of the drug
is attended with grave danger, and that this method of treatment should on no account be employed.


11

Now a word as to quinine. We were advised before starting to take a five grain tabloid on an
empty stomach before breakfast every other morning. These instructions we carefully carried out with
the result that, though we were in a very malarial country and much bitten by mosquitos, neither Peter
nor I suffered even a single days fever during the whole of our trip. We began before reaching
Livingstone so as to have the quinine in our systems before we got to our ground, and we continued to
take the prescribed dose for a week or more after leaving the country. This last is most necessary
since malaria has a nasty way of breaking out long after one has quitted the malarial area, I cannot,
of course, tell whether the dose we took would be suitable for other parts of Africa, for I understood
there are different kinds of malaria that have to be treated in different ways. I should therefore
advise others to consult a properly qualified medical officer before starting on any shoot, and not to
rest content with the few remarks I have made. My acquaintance with the science of medicine is of
the smallest, and X know no more of sanitation and kindred subjects than the average officer picks up
as he goes along, but I have knocked about the world sufficiently to realize the truth of a remark
once made to me by an old sailor when X was a boy not more than ten years of age.

I was talking to the old man in his watch-tower at a coastguard station in Northumberland and,

with boyish enthusiasm, I had expressed my admiration for his wonderful physique. He looked at me,
put his horny brown hand on my shoulder and said "Well, youre bred in a place where they dont keep
many weaklings and you look fit enough for a little un, so youve got a good start, but, if you want
to be like me when youre an old man you must look after yourself whilst you're a young man."

Only a year ago X met my old friend again; he was still going strong, though age had com-
pelled him to give up active work. I reminded him of the advice he had given me more than twenty

years before and told him how it had paid me to follow, it; he smiled and answered: "Well,then Hihney, ,

I'm glad Ive been able to do something for you after all.",


And if* my advice can do for others what the-old salts did for me, I shall he satisfied. I
have given it and I have told my story because X have too often seen young men Thread down owing to
ignorance of the most simple precautions, or because they thought they would be considered effeminate
if they "coddled" themselves.

I now come to the question of rifles, ammunition, and equipment.

Rifles are so much a matter of taste, and a mans battery depends so much on the length of
his purse -- or on the generosity of his friends who lend him their weapons that it is difficult

to know what to say. There are, moreover, so many good rifles nowadays that, with my limited ex-

perience, X do not feel justified in recommending one maker before another. I will therefore con-
fine my remarks to matters of a general nature and merely state my opinion that, for the .ordinary
antelope, any light rifle (up to and including the .305) is quite good enough. For" big antelope,
such as; eland, a heavier rifle is advisable as it reduces the chance of losing wounded animals. For

dangerous game, like lion and buffalo, nothing smaller than a .450 bore should ever be used, though,

of course, they may be killed with a lighter weapon if one can make sure of an accurate shot.

Many men, I know, will disagree with the opinion X have thus very briefly expressed. They
will argue, for instance, that a relatively heavy rifle should be used whenever possible, since it is
desirable to fire a bullet that will "knock out" an animal no matter where it is hit. There can be
no doubt that much might be said in favour of -such a view, but, on the other hand, one must remember
that any increase in weight usually means a loss of mobility, i.e., handiness, and it cannot be de-
nied that for quick snap-shooting in thick bush the handier the rifle the better.

As regards the best type of bullet it is again a case of "tot homines tot sententiae", and I
must leave my readers to please their own fancy. I shot everything except my buffalo and my python
with a .275 Rigby Mauser rifle and Jeffreys split bullets.


The number of rifles taken should be sufficient* to allow for accidents, and spare parts should
be provided, for I can imagine nothing more annoying than to find one's self stranded in the bush,
hundreds of miles from anywhere, with a broken weapon and nothing either to replace it or to effect
repairs. Likewise, the supply of ammunition should be ample for each rifle; then, if one goes wrong
another can be used in its stead. Peter Bald lost the foresight of his .350 during the first week
of our shoot and would have been badly carted" had he not had enough founds for his 305 to carry him
through the whole trip. For a three months' shoot I should recommend not less than three hundred
rounds for the rifle one intends to use most, and a like number for one's spare rifle. For a heavy
rifle to be employed against lion, buffalo, etc., take fifty rounds. As to ordinary shot-cartridge a
couple of hundred, including 2's, should be provided, and a box of 25 S.S.G-'s or 4 S.Gs should not be
forgotten. Permits for the importation of arms and ammunition into N.W. Rhodesia -should be written
for in good time. They are obtainable from the Civil Commis si oners, Livingstone. Game licences are
best taken out on arrival at Livingstone where one generally has a few hours to spare. The usual
licences cost twenty-five pounds* an Administrator's licence costs fifty pounds and includes the right
to shoot elephant and rhinoceros.

Needless to say all rifles should be treated with the greatest care and cleaned daily, even if
no rounds have been fired from them. This is absolutely necessary since grit and dirt, particularly
veldt-ash in places where the grass has been burned, have a wonderful knack of working their way into
the mechanism and will certainly cause miss-fires if not removed every day. A reserve supply of
Rangoon oil must be remembered.

The equipment taken will largely depend on the scale on which the shoot is run, but whether a
wagon is provided or not, I would certainly recommend a tent of some kind, even if it be only a so-
called "bivouac. We took an 80-lb. Indian Pattern tent with a double fly and found it most useful.


When the wind was very strong, or rain threatened,-we put it up complete; when the heat was great,and
whenever we left our wagon and travelled through tsetse-country, we used the outer fly only, so as to
lighten our load. This was, of course, an ideal arrangement, and many will doubtless regard it as
somewhat luxurious; and it ia true that, except in the rainy season, a tent is not a necessity. The
"boys will ..rapidly build grass-huts good enough to keep out ordinary rain, and a couple of waterproof
sheets will do the rest, but, should the rain continue for long, X should be sorry to see my precious
rifles left to their fate under any improvised roof.

Mosquito-curtains are indispensable, so no more need be said on the subject;, to go without
them is to edurt disaster. Canvas water-bags are also essential; not less than ten or a dozen should
be taken in dry seasons. Lighting is another important matter; we used candles in Government pat-
tern folding lanterns, and they answered well.

A camp -bedstead is a great boon, though one can very well do without it. X generally left
mine when we cut ourselves adrift from the wagon, and I found long dry grass, cut by the boys, quite
comfortable enough for a good night's rest. An easy chair of the kind generally used on board ship,
is very pleasant when one comes in at mid-day dog-tired after a long morning's shoot.

The above mentioned articles of heavy equipment should, of course, be sent on by goods train a
month or so in advance. Peter and I were unable to do this as the tent and my own camp-kit were being
used on manoeuvres up to the last moment; we were compelled to talce everything by passenger train and
had to pay nearly six pounds for excess baggage in consequence.

Personal clothing is a matter of taste, and it will be found that any ancient garments of a
neutral colour are quite good enough. Head-gear and foot-gear are the only things requiring special
consideration. As regards the former I recommend a species of double-terai hat, i.e.,two wide-brim-
med felt hats placed one over the other; a sheet of silk, owing to its quality of being a poor con-


15

ductor of heat, should he laid between the two. Silk of any colour may be used, but orange is best < as
it most effectively strains out the heat-rays and allows only the harmless light-rays to pass. The
wearing of solar topees, or sun-helmets, of any kind is to be deprecated; they are inconvenient to
shoot in and, being hard, often make a good deal of noise when they come in contact with overhanging
twigs and branches. Gaiters, when worn, should be smooth and soft because hard gaiters like a hard
topee, are apt to give the show away; for long marches X usually wore ordinary KhaJ?i slacks.

Some men wear shorts cut off just above the knee, and they are no doubt excellent to walk in
when it is very hot, but they are no good whatever when it comes to crawling 'over stubble or stony
ground. For such work it is well to have flaps sewn on to the knees of the shorts; these flaps
can then be turned down over the knee when wanted and buttoned behind the calf.

Half-mast trousers, like those a small boy inherits from his elder brother,are also excellent;
they are nearly as coo-l as shorts and come far enough down to protect the knee. To protect the lower
part of the leg when shorts are worn some sportsmen wear putties, but smooth close-fitting gaiters
put on next the skin are cooler.

As to boots there is nothing to beat the so-called Tramp Boots or else ordinary Government
Ammunition boots. Peter wore a pair of the latter nearly all through our shoot and my Tramp boots
served me splendidly. Several pairs of walking boots should be taken, as a change is a great relief
when ones feet are sore and swollen. Xt is also advisable to provide ones self with a supply of
hob-nails in case they are wanted, and a few tins of dubbing should form part of ones outfit.

India-rubber soled boots are sometimes recommended, for stalking, and they may be necessary in
planes where the ground is stony, but I dont think they are essential in ordinary bush country. I had
a pair which I wore a few times, but I found, they were so unbearably hot that I soon got rid of them.

Mosquito-boots should be used in camp where slippers or canvas shoes do not protect the foot
from insect bites; they are, I believe, called Madeira Boots in the trade.


And now a f*ew words regarding the material needed for the curing of* skins must bring this some-
what lengthy chapter to a close. X fear, however, that what I have to say will he of little value,for

I learned a good deal less of this subject than I had hoped I would.

Excellent as Cooper was in most respects, I am afraid he was not an expert at skin-curing. Af-
ter all meat had been carefully removed from the under sides, he simply laid the skins out flat in the

sun, turned the masks inside out and stuffed them with straw. The skins, of course, soon got perfect-
ly dry, but they also became as hard as boards with the result that they could not be rolled, and had

to be laid flat on top of one another in the wagon. The consequence of this was that, when the wagon
moved, the constant vibration and jolting' caused them to rub against each other so that the hair was in
many places scraped off.

When we got back to the railway we washed the undersides of the skins with paraffin and then
dressed them with arsenical soap. This we were subsequently told was also a bad plan, because arseni-
cal soap is dangerous stuff for the taxidermist to handle; in fact, X believe some naturalists refuse
to take skins treated with it, owing to cases of arsenic poisoning having occurred amongst their' work-
men.

With the horns Cooper did absolutely nothing and therefore, when we came to unload them from
the wagon, we found several to be worm-eaten near the points where they joined the skulls.

It will thus be seen that Coopers method of curing trophies was none too successful.

In the course of the shoot Peter Bald and I frequently expressed our doubts about it and tried

to persuade him to make use of the alum, etc., which we had brought with us; but he insisted that his
method was ths right one to adopt in an African climate and declared he had always followed it without
ever spoiling a skin. So we took his word for it and followed his advice with the result already des-
cribed. This result was the more disappointing as we had engaged our hunter largely with the object


17

of protecting ourselves against such mishaps. But the fact is: that many of these so-called "hunters"
are not yet expert hunters in the fullest sense of the word. Rhodesia is a comparatively new hunting
ground, and so it is only a few years since the Cooper Brothers and others gave up their transport
work to become professional hunters of big game. They still have many things to learn, and the best
method of curing trophies is one of them.

This has been recognized by some of the leading taxidermists at home and they have consequent-
ly printed pamphlets and sent them out direct to professional hunters for their guidance and instruc-
tion.

I should therefore advise my brother-officers not to trust their hunters implicitly but to
write for the pamphlets I have referred to and, with their aid, to instruct themselves. Knowledge of
the. subject acquired in other parts of the world, in India for instance, is not sufficient because, as
I have pointed out in my preface, the method of curing trophies depends largely on the climate and
the atmospheric conditions prevalent when the trophies are shot.

N.B. For the pamphlets write to

Messrs. Gerrard, Taxidermists, 61, College Road, Camden Town, London. N.

+***+

*


CHAPTER II

The Cavalry Manoeuvres in the Eastern Transvaal came to an end near Bethel on July 24th, and
about noon on that day I Pound myself safely seated in the Commander-in-Chiefs special train on my
way bank to Harrismith, where I arrived late on the 25th. For the next three days X was very busy
packing my worldly goods and sorting them into four lots ready for the wanderings and changes that lay
before me. There was one lot for the shoot, another for a month*s duty at Pretoria after the shoot,
a third for the .journey from Durban to Mhow, and a fourth to be left unopened until the day I entered
my Indian bungalow. This distribution of my belongings required a good deal of care, and the many
other matters X had to attend to before my departure, kept me fully occupied and mercifully put into
the background the sad thoughts that I knew would force themselves to the front the moment my prepara-
tions were completed.

They were saxi days indeed these last three days at Karri smith, for my departure from
there was likewise my departure from the XVIIIth Brigade. I had been very happy since I took up my
quarters on Kings Hill, and, though I looked forward with joy to the prospect of once more wearing the
much coveted "jacket, I bitterly regretted having to leave my old Brigade. Memories of our days at
Deepcut and Brighton came back to ime bringing with them thoughts of men than whom no better ever held
the Kings Commission. Some had gone and I had become accustomed to their absence; but others still
remained, and amongst these were my three subalterns. To say good-bye to them was the hardest task
of all. We had been friends the three "kids and I; our little mess was like a home to me, and


little did they realize how much their "skipper" would miss their cheery Voices and the quiet fun he
got out of watching them and their escapades. Nor do they realize now that the said "skipper" will
never forget the care and kindness with which they nursed him when a nasty smash with a horse laid him
on the "broad of his back for the best part of two months.

So I was thankful that my last three days at Harrismith were busy ones, and I felt
somewhat relieved when at length my summons came in the shape of a wire from Peter saying all was in
readiness for a start on Saturday, the 31st of July.

I said my good-byes on Thursday the 29th, and joined Peter at Potchefstroom during
the afternoon of the following day.

There are two trains a week to Livingstone, one on Wednesdays and the other on
Saturdays. The former carries the mails and is the faster, but we decided to go by the slower Satur-
day train in the hope that the smaller number of passengers would enable us to get a carriage to our-
selves in which we could stow away some of our heavy baggage without having to pay too much for excess
weight. Our hopes were realized, and it was amusing to see the grin on the kindhearte'd station-mas-
ters face as he wished us good sport and saw the last of our twenty-two packages stuffed int oompartment. The place looked as though it might be anything between a pawnbroker's shop and the
hold of a freight ship, but even so we had to pay about six pounds for the tent and other bulky arti-
cles that went in the guard-'s van. However, we soon settled down comfortably and prepared to make
the best of our four days' journey.

About 7.30 p.m. on Monday, August 2nd, we arrived at Buluwayo, where a friend of ours,Captain
Mockett of the 4th Hussars, received us. At the station we were also met by Willie Cooper, a brother
of our hunter. He had come down country to buy ponies and asked us for an advance of some of the
money due to his brother to enable him to effect his purchases. We gave him a hundred pounds.


Before "turning in at the Grand Hotel for the night we dined with Captain and Mrs. Mockett, wljto
told us much concerning their own plans for a trip down the Zambesi. Captain Mockett is a keen sports-
man, so we listened with interest to all he had to say, duly admired his fine trophies and then retired
to bed after a visit to the Buluwayo Club where we saw more trophies.

Our train for Livingstone was due to leave at ten, a,in., so we had time to buy a few more
things we needed, such as skinning-knives, etc. These we got from Mr. Miolee in Selborne Avenue. He
keeps a well-equipped gun-shop, and X have mentioned his name and address as it is just as well to know
of the existence of a shop of this kind within reasonable distance of ones hunting-ground.

Captain and Mrs. Mockett caine down to the station to see us off and, after we had once more
stowed away our numerous belongings, we began to chat with our fellow-passengers. One of these was
Mr. A.Or.Hay whose name I have already mentioned in connection with hunters. He is a most interesting
man and a well-known character in Buluwayo; he rejoices in the nick-name of Tottie" which, by the way,
is also his telegraphic address; he has seen as much fighting as most men, has killed more game than
many and is a sportsman of the first water. He is always ready to help any one who wants to shoot,and

his cheerful yarns, spun in a rough and ready way, do not lose in the telling. Mr. Hay is, in fact,
a representative of that curious type of individual generally referred to in South Africa as a Hard
case, i.e. a man who has weathered a good few storms without ever suffering disastrous shipwreck.

They are queer fellows these hard cases, and they include in their ranks all sorts and con-"
ditions of men from broken-down noblemen to low-bred ruffians of the deepest dye. I have met a few
during my year in South Africa, and, though there is not one in ten whom I would lend a bob, nor one in
a hundred from whom I would buy a horse, I must say they are excellent company and most interesting to
listen to. Some, too, are Matures gentlemen rough diamonds who never could get their heads
above water owing to sheer bad luck, or because their restless roving spirits never allowed them to


Stick to any particular sort-of work for more than a few months at a time. They are men who have
their fling, take their knocks and go down with a run, only to come up smiling at the first opportun-
ity; men full of spirit and that light-hearted devil-may-care sort of pluck that would make them a
valuable asset in the event of a native rising.

Such a "hard case'* of the best type was our new acquaintance, Nr. Hay. Like many of his

kind he had quieted down with advancing years and he is now in a very prosperous position. Well

known throughout Rhodesia he seemed a favourite with all and we, at any rate, were sorry when he left
us at a wayside station to see to some of his own business connected with cattle raising.

Truly, if a student of human nature were anxious to study original characters, he could find
amongst the "hard cases" of South Africa enough material for several volumes.

About 7.30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 4th, we arrived at Livingstone, having just got a glimpse
of the Victoria Ralls as we passed them.

We had about three hours to spend at Livingstone, and our time was fully occupied in taking
out our licences and taking in our stores. The latter Mr. Clarke had ready for us and so, by 10.50
we were all aboard once more for the last stage of our railway journey.

Shortly before six in the evening we got to Kalomo, where the third of the brothers Cooper
Ben by name met our train. At two o'clockbn the afternoon of Thursday, the 5th, we arrived at
Monze, our destination, and found Cooper with the wagon awaiting us by the side of the line.

Monze consists of two stores and a railway-siding; but there are neither railway-buildings,
nor platforms of any kind, so we dumped our kit down anyhow close to the metals and, after briefly
discussing our plans for the immediate future, lay down to sleep near the wagon. We had told Cooper
to call us at dawn but, as he evidently considered an extra rest advisable after our long journey, he
did not rouse us till 6.30. This was, of course, much too late for any morning work; we were not


on nur ground till nine oclock, fey which, time it was getting warm and the game was beginning to lie
up.

Before starting we had agreed to take Cooper on alternate days, so we tossed up to see who
should begin with him. I won the toss and went with Cooper accordingly. All I got, however, was a
few very long shots at orifei; and I soon gave up the idea of taking on these small antelope at any-
thing much over a hundred yards. I also saw a, reed-buck, but he was travelling fast and was much too
far away for a shot; we followed him up for a while and then lost him in the long grass. Peter, who
had gone off with Johannes, the chief gun-boy, got one guinea-fowl and did not fire at anything else.

About eleven, we returned to lunch and, whilst this was being got ready, had time to take stock
of the men and animals who were to accompany us.

The following were the dramatis personae:

First, Fred Cooper the hunter, our guide, philosopher and friend; a powerfully built man of
middle height, aged twenty-five years and born in the Zeerust district. His father was an Australian
and his mother a Dutch woman.

Next in order of importance came Johannes, the chief gun-boy. He was a young Batonga with a
well-shaped, lithe figure and a nice straightforward face. He was aided and abetted by four gun-
bearers, viz:

Jack, a sharp-eyed boy with a cheery face;

John, a sound, stolid youth with a big head;

Feechan, a boy who wore a troubled anxious look; and lastly,

Soccis, a slow, dull, and stupid fellow whose listless countenance showed signs of something
very much akin to imbecility.

All these were Batongas like Johannes.


Next came Jacob, the pony-boy, a Barotse; then Tom the water-boy, and Jim the waiter.

The wagon was in the hands of* Simon, a Jula, who was ably assisted by a diminutive urchin re-
joicing in the name of "Very Nice. Simon was the driver and an excellent one he was, too; wielding
his huge whip, he would walk along by the side of the team or sit on the front of his vehicle,grunting,
ye: ling and screeching in every sort of key and making use of language quite unfit for publication.
Meanwhile, little "Very Nice" acted as team-leader, or'Voor-looper", and it was amusing to see this
veritable child tugging away at a rope secured to the horns of the leading bullocks. Whether they ever
felt the physical effect of his efforts I dont know, but of their moral effect there could be no doubt,
over and over again we might well have found our wagon stuck in a drift., or jambed between trees, had
it not been for the infant who led the way.

Last but not least amongst our satellites cane Prank the cook, a gentleman from Nyassaland, who
had had the honour of attending to the cuisine of His Grace the Duke of Westminster and the Marquis

Fechari when those two fine sportsmen were hunting in N.W.Rhodesia a few years ago.

Our animals numbered three ponies, sixteen oxen, and one dog. The ponies were Tommy, Jes-
sie, and Poo-on. Tommy was an old chestnut, blind in one eye, he Lad fought in the Boer ranks during
the war and had been wounded. He was a good old pony, fairly fast and wonderfully sure-footed con-

sidering his blindness; he served as Cooper's mount. Jessie carried Peter Bald; she was a young
mare inclined to be skittish and rather given to pulling. She would not allow any one to shoot off
her back, but she had excellent paces and so could be ridden for many hours without tiring her jockey.

Poo-on, or "the Little 'un" fell to my lot. He was a small bay pony with a shaggy mane and

tail. He showed some quality about the head but was as slow as a house, and his paces made me so

stiff and tired that I found it necessary frequently to dismount and stretch my limbs by walking. He


could

cart-

could gallop no faster 'than one could kick ones hat along, hut. this pace, such as it was, he
keep up for any distance. He was exceptionally nimhle over had ground and as cute as a whole
load of monkeys. Often he was first to spot game which he scented long before Cooper or I could see
a sign of it. The instant I dropped the reins, or touched his wither with my finger, he would stop
dead and let me shoot from the saddle; if I jumped off to fire he would likewise stand perfectly still,
even if my rifle cracked within a few inches of his face. X became quite fond of my funny little
pony and was sorry when I saw the last of him.

All our mounts were salted, that is to say, they had had horse-sickness and had recovered
from it. This added greatly to their value in N.W. Rhodesia since they were rendered immune from
one of the worst animal scourges ill Africa. Poo-on, for instance, whose price, if unsalted, might
h,ave been anything between fifteen a^d twenty pounds, was bought by Cooper for sixty-two pounds.

Our dog Lady was decidedly cosmopolitan in appearance and extremely ugly into the bargain.
What particular breed she resembled most it would be difficult to say, but I understand she considered
herself a bull-terrier, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt and be kind to the poor beast that
was to come to such an early and untimely end. On our first trek she was run over by the wagon and
killed.

This was a great misfortune because, though no use after lion, Lady had a marvellous scent,
Many a wounded animal, which we subsequently spoored in vain for many a weary mile, would almost cer-
tainly have been found had we not lost our one and only dog.

We ought, of course, to have had other dogs with us, but we had been unable to find anything
likely to be of use. The hunters themselves have the greatest difficulty in obtaining suitable ani-
mals, and even when they have got them they can rarely keep them for long, so great is the number
killed annually by wild beasts or disease. What is wanted is a dog after the style of Jock of the


25.

Bushveldt"; but be must not b8 too bold if* be is to be used against lion, nor should a single dog be
used when pursuing the king of* beasts. If* one has the good luck to find a lion in the day-time, it is
best to have at least two dogs that will yap and bark all round him without ever getting within reach
of his claws. A lion is not fast; he can easily be overtaken by a pony for instance, and if he finds
himself surrounded by two or three yelping dogs he will become utterly confused and generally stop
thus affording the hunter a chance of an easy shot. A single dog is too easily evaded and will only

make the lion travel faster than he otherwise would. The case of the buffalo is similar, he too will

often stop if he is harassed by dogs of the right kind, but such dogs, as I have said, are difficult to
get and well worth the high prices asked for them when they do happen to find their way into the market.

Our oxen numbered sixteen; each one had a name which he knew, and all understood Dutch the
only language the stolid old trek-ox will have
anything to do with. The mule, on the other
hand, is more accommodating and readily learns
the language of his proprietor provided it is
spoken in the peculiar tone that appeals to him.

The wagon our oxen pulled was an ordin-
ary "buck wagon", i.e., a heavy four-wheeled ve-
hicle which could be used with or without a
hood.

Such then, were the men, the animals, and
the material, 'which composed our column .and with A ffciff Pull.

which, on the afternoon of August 5th, we began our first march into the wild country we had journeyed
so far to behold.


How different was everything now around
us from what I had seen on my first shootl How
different from each other and yet how similar
were the component parts of the land through
which we wandered for the next two months I I
had intended to describe the country as we

moved on from camp to camp, but I gave up the
idea at once; it would have been like trying
to give a description of each single rock and
pebble along a stretch of coast-line instead of
depicting the whole with a few bold strokes of
the pen.

new scenes that lay beyond; no ancient monaster-
ies towering high on rocky pinnacles above tumultuous torrents far below; no giant peaks nor gorgeous
valleys, each in itself a separate picture. Here was but a single picture that must be regarded as a
whole lest the mind become confused by detail.

The entire country was, generally speaking, flat or gently undulating: only occasionally did a
stony kopje, or a few low ranges of hills, relieve the monotony. For a few miles we would traverse com-
paratively open ground; then came a belt of high grass, yellow like standing corn; then a patch of
buffalo-bush so thick as to be almost impenetrable; beyond this a stretch of low scrub with high trees,
dotted about singly or in groups; next a piece of typical English park-land followed by an expanse of
absolutely open plain as level as a bowling-green. Hereupon came a. dambo, or perhaps the dry bed of a
river; then a patch of fields, roughly cultivated by the natives; then more grass, more bush, more

The Span coming in from grazing in charge of
"Very Nice.

Here were no Himalayan mountain ranges veiling


27

tecrub, and finally a vast area studded with, millions of ant-heaps.

This last, which we christened "Ant-heap country,was the most curious of all, and when I speak
of "millions of ant-heaps, I am not quoting a mere figure of speech. I mean that the ant-heaps actu-
ally existed in thousands of thousands, and so close together that one could not move five yards in any
direction without coming across one. They were of all sizes. Some were no bigger than a man's thumb
and of similar shape, others were great cones up to eighteen or twenty feet in height and nearly as
much in diameter at the base. In some places the ant-heaps themselves, as well as the ground between
them, were devoid even of scrub, or grass; in others the intervening ground was covered with rich pas-
ture, whilst out of the apex of each pile rose one or more stately trees. Whether the trees had grown
out of the ant-heaps, or whether the latter had been formed round the trees and grown up with them, was
a problem I could never make up my mind about. Arguments could be adduced in favour of both views,but
I could think of nothing that could definitely prove the correctness of either.

Along the banks of the Kafue were broad swampy flats intersected by numerous deep lagoons. In
some places these flats were five or six miles wide and quite treeless; thus forming a curious con-
trast between the main river and its tributaries which we could rarely see till we were on top of them,
so thick was the bush on either side.

So much for the variety of scene presented to us; and yet there was a strange sameness. Var-
iety lay in the details, sameness characterized the whole. No clearly defined differences distinguish-
ed one stretch of country from another; few prominent land-marks served to guide our steps as we
marched from camp to camp by faint and sinuous tracks, or scoured the veldt in whatever direction we
were led by the sight of a herd or the spoor of a wounded animal.

In short the whole country forcibly reminded me of a huge patchwork quilt of many pieces, and
if my brief description of it is inadequate, or if it creates a wrong impression, I can only hope that


2.8.

amongst/ those of my readers destined to see the country for theiiiselves there may he one who, with
abler pen than mine will some day do it justice.

S-5-++4-

+

an


CHAPTER III.

About one p.m., on August 5th, we marched off to a point on the Samachwe River some fifteen
miles west of Monze. During the first couple of hours nothing of interest occurred, but late in
the afternoon we passed close by a veldt fire of unusual size. Thick, black clouds of smoke rose
high into the air as the fire burned with a continuous roar; its crackling was like the rattle of
musketry and so great its pace that a hundred yards were covered in little more than a minute. The
heat was great, and as the hot: air rose it created a wind that constantly fanned the flames driving
them furiously forwards and upwards. The long, dry grass went down before them, whilst above the
branches of trees were charred and their leaves shrivelled. Behind the thin red line all was black
and smouldering; before it swarms of insects and small birds fled in terror, falling easy victims
to the many hawks and other birds of prey that hovered expectantly on the fringe of the smoke -cl buds
overhead.

This scene forcibly reminded me of the eternal and merciless struggle for existence that
goes on all the world over, and 1 could not help smiling when I thought of those who dream of the
Millenium, and speak of the day when man shall be as happy and free "as the beasts of the field and
the birds of the air", when strife shall cease and war shall be no more.

Here, in accordance with the will of their Creator, were thousands bf harmless animals being
assailed by those who were stronger than they; but not only that, the forces of Nature herself were
actively assisting in the work of extermination to an extent that made escape well nigh impossible.

Beyond the limits of the fire, in the jungle all around, similar scenes were being enacted


day after day and night after night, on all sides were the weak succumbing to the strong, the strong to
the stronger, and these again to the strongest individuals amongst themselves. At every turn were
traces of death and destruction dealt out by those more richly endowed than their fellows with physical
strength or cunning; even the huts of the natives bore outward and visible signs of bloodshed and mur-
der in the shape of rude .earthen pots displayed on their roofs to denote the number of foes killed by
the owner. Everywhere the same tale told in unmistalcable language; everywhere the same lesson for
us to learn and profit by.

And yet there are educated men and women in the world to-day so blind to the stem realities of
life as to deny that the struggle for existence, be it amongst animals or human beings, must, in the
end, always be won by those who possess physical force and the will to use it. The great laws of
Nature, which they ignore, 'or attempt deliberately to violate, teach them nothing; against the wise
provisions of their Creator, Himself the greatest of destroyers, they set their own poor human in-
tellect, that fetish on which alone they pin their faith regardless of those higher qualities of
strength of character and honest manliness which nothing but fighting, discipline, and hardship, will
ever develop to the full, either in the nation or in the individual. With many arguments, plausible
enough at first sight, they point to the decrease in the number of wars and to the corresponding saving
of life; but it is at lea,st an open question whether Nature does not simply take her human toll in
some other way. Of the quality of the lives said to be saved, the fanatical opponents of war make no
mention and, though many of them are undoubtedly sincere, their influence upon their fellow--countrymen
is harmful in the extreme.

The hopes they hold out concerning a state of universal peace in the distant future are eagerly
pounced upon and represented as almost accomplished facts by those anxious to avoid the performance of
any national duty. The exaggerated value they put on life produces selfishness, while the extreme


humanitarian ideas propagated give birth to a national failing which can best be described as "want of

backbone". It is forgotten that the old saving "As gold must be tried by fire, so the heart must be

tried by pain" applies to whole peoples as it does to individuals; the teachings of history are
either ignored altogether, or else only the comfortable theories are extracted from them and served up
in such a manner as to present a wholly one-sided picture of the situation; the warnings 'of serious
soldiers fall on deaf ears, and even the most learned amongst the people themselves labour in vain
when they voice the opinion so admirably expressed by Archbishop Alexander of Armagh in the following
lines: -

"And when I note how nobly natures form.

Under the war's red reign, I deem it true
That He Who made the earthquake and the storm
Perchance makes battle too."

With these and kindred thoughts uppermost in my mind I had scarcely turned my back on the

burning veldt when I saw something that looked like game. Calling Cooper's attention to it, we all

left the track only to find a couple of oribi at to great a range for a shot. Peter then dropped
behind whilst I went on with Cooper. We were riding slowly along together when suddenly, with a
suppressed shout, Cooper dashed forward at full gallop making straight for a thickish belt of trees
just ahead. I instantly followed and soon drew up alongside of our hunter who was eagerly pointing
to a big grey object disappearing behind the foliage. I was still somewhat puzzled as to what we
were after when, amongst the inarticulate sounds of my excited companion, I distinguished the one word
"Koodoo". It was quite enough. Cooper's excitement was at once explained, and I knew we were in
for a gallop likely to rival the best ever offered me by the most sporting fox at home. For the first
few hundred yards we went for all we were worth, gaining' steadily the while; then suddenly the koodoo
stopped and looked back at us. I was off my pony in an instant but, before I could draw a bead


friend koodoo was off too. I fired hurriedly, trying to get him on the run as he crossed cur ffont,,
but, what with the excitement of the gallop and the ducking and dodging to clear trees and branches, I
was so pumped that I missed both shots I fired. Hastily mounting we went on again as fast as the
ponies could travel over the bad ground. Little Foo-on behaved splendidly. On one occasion we went
straight into a regular sieve of meer-cat burrows, and he seemed to have at least three feet in
different holes at the same time; but he recovered himself and all was well. Meanwhile, our -quarry
lolloped along steadily maintaining his lead of two hundred yards, until we got to more open ground
where I again jumped off to have a crack at him. My, first shot made him jink "badly, my next went
wide, so I remounted and set off for the third.time of asking. But without avail; after some little
distance we lost our game in the thick bush and were compelled to give in and go in search of the
wagon. We met Peter just before dusk, but it was eight oclock and pitch dark before we discovered
our camp under a fine fig-tree on the banks of the Samachwe River.

It was too dark to bother about the tent that night, so we dossed down in the open where we had
a restless sleep owing, principally, to the yapping of cur-dogs belonging to a neighbouring kraal and
to the howling of hyenas. We were not yet accustomed to these noises and as we lay awake we had time
to reflect on the meagre results of our first days shooting.

Neither of us had got anything worthy of the hame, and I had missed my chance of getting one of
the finest trophies obtainable in Africa. Many and many a time afterwards, as I spent long and weary
hours looking in vain for a similar opportunity, I thought with regret of my failure; and yet,it would
have been too much to expect Dame Fortune to let me begin my African bag with a koodoo.

In the morning we got up just as the day was breaking. It was Peters turn to go with Cooper,
so I set out with Johannes and one or two boys. For the first five or six miles we traversed thick
scrub where we saw nothing but a few small duiker and oribi. About nine a.m., however, just as I was


thinking of returning to camp, I saw a fawn-ooloured patch to the right of our track and about a hun-
dred and fifty yards away. I stalked carefully lip to about a hundred and twenty yards but could get
no further, for the animal, whatever it was, was grazing and might at any moment raise its head and see

me. Only a portion of the body was visible and I could not for the life of me tell whether it belong-
ed to a male or female, nor whether the head was good, bad, or indifferent. For several minutes I

stood motionless and unable to make up my mind whether to shoot or not. Once my game moved and X
clearly saw a very respectable locking pair of horns, still I was not certain so I continued to wait
until another animal appeared and I felt sure our presence was suspected. I immediately fired at the
horned head which I brought down with one shot, but my joy was turned into utter disgust when I went
forward and found I had killed an unfortunate hartebeest cow. What I said to the boys in Hindustani
and English neither of which languages they understood is not fit for publication, but it served
to make clear to them the reason for my wrath, and for ever after they took good care to tell me whether
I had a male (mujenda). or a female (mujassi) before me.

The thought that X had begun my South African bag with a, wretched hartebeest cow worried me a

lot, but after a while I got over my vexation to some extent. I began to realize that in African bush-

shooting it is often absolutely impossible, even for the expert, to tell the difference between the
sexes. In India male and female are, as a rule, hot easily mistaken for each other; the latter are
rarely horned, and in many cases they are so different in size and colour that no error is possible. In
Africa, however, such distinctions are, with some species, practically non-existent and I defy any one
to make sure of never shooting a cow for a bull in the case of hartebeest, blue wildebeest or roan.

Some men, of course, do not much mind killing females by mistake, and X could even name one or
two who have deliberately added female heads to their collections.

That by so doing they usually broke the game-laws goes without saying, and if they could


square their consciences in this respect it is no business of* mine, hut I have no use for such" sports-
men, nor do I wish ever to number a*female amongst my trophies. To kill female is in my opinion,
justifiable only in the case of dangerous game or vermin; though I admit that, in some exceptional
instances, it may be necessary to prevent the females of any species too greatly outnumbering the op-
posite sex. As a rule, however, the balance will be sufficiently well maintained by the per centage
of cows shut accidentally and by the necessity of providing food for himself and his carriers which so
often compels the hunter to shoot anything he can get.

After shooting the hartebeest I turned back to camp with Johannes only and left the other boys
to bring in the me&t. Y/e had not gone far when we saw a herd of water-buck, so we tied Poo-on to a
tree and went after them. The grass was very long and, as we soon lost all traces of the herd, I sat

down on an ant-heap about eight feet high and told Johannes to go back and bring up the pony. He

found Poo-on right enough but, instead of leading him, he foolishly tried to drive the pony before him.
This was a chance not to be missed, and a few moments later my mount was cantering quietly back to

camp by himself. Johannes ran .after him and so only made matters worse, as he never overtadk the fu-

gitive and left me sitting alone in the bush. I waited in vain for about an hour, shouting at inter-
vals and firing a couple of signal shots, but not a sound came back to me. At last I lost patience
and decided to walk to a high, dead tree a short distance ahead; from its branches I hoped to get a
view of the two low kbpjes whose position I had noted in the morning in case I wanted a landaatrk. The
bush was extremely thick and as I went forward to the tree I carefully observed scrub, etc., so that
I might make certain of getting back to the ant-heap if necessary. It was well I did so; the tree
proved useless and, as I struggled towards it and back again, it was all I could do to hit off the low
mound of earth where Johannes had left me. On all sides the grass rose far above my head and I was
within a few yards from my.ant-heap before I saw it. Once there I determined to make no more at-


35.

tempts to extricate myself from my unpleasant situation; X simply waited till the boys came back to
look f*or me, and I have related this Incident as it taught me a lesson I would recommend others to re-
member. It is this:- If* you are left out alone in the bush, dont on any account try to make your
own way home unless you have absolutely reliable landmarks, an unmistakable spoor, or an abnormally
large bump of locality. Stay where you are, and sooner or later your boys will come back to you and
guide you into camp. They have a wonderful instinct for finding their way about and no European can
ever hope to equal them in this respect. After a time, of course, a European improves greatly, but I
would warn the beginner against over-confidence in his prowess.

When alone in thick bush it is also just as well to tales a look round now and again. Only last
year a solitary hunter stalking an eland was himself stalked and killed by a lion. And Fred Cooper,cn
one occasion when resting after a tiring stalk, suddenly discovered a lion on the point of springing

from a spot not ten yards behind him. He shot
the lion dead.

On my return to camp I found Peter had
shot a good duiker, but had not had much sport
otherwise. We spent the afternoon quietly and
sallied forth again early in the evening. I got
a shot from the saddle at a galloping reed-buck,
whilst Peter bagged a guinea-fowl and a bush-
pheasant. Peter and Cooper also saw seyeral
cow-koodoo and two good bulls, but could not get
Xn_ Camp on the Samachwe River. a shot owing to the failing light.


Next morning Cooper and I declined t go after the two hulls and, for fear of alarming them or
gthers that might he about, we determined to shoot at nothing hut koodoo. Leaving camp about 6.30 we
rode all over perfect looking game-country hut saw nothing except a few duiker, a couple of warthog
with a litter of young, and one solitary hartebeest hull. On our way hack to camp we came across a
native game-trap shaped like the letter X inverted. The forks of the Y consisted of built-up hedges
growing thicker and stronger- as they neared their #oint of junction with'the stem Which ended in a
deep, narrow pit. For use this pit is skilfully covered with a layer of grass, leaves, etc., and the
game is driven into the splay of the Y and up the stem till it falls into the pit where it is des-
patched with assegais. We saw many game-traps later hut never again of this design.

About lunch-time Peter came in with a nice orihi, and about 3.30 we all set out afresh, but,
though we scoured the country till six, we came bank empty-handed; in fact, a single impala, and a
herd which darkness did not permit us to classify, was all Cooper and I saw the whole evening.

On the morning of August 8th, we trekked seven miles North, to a place called Chobani. Peter
and Cooper went together whilst X took Johannes with me. Vvre had gone some three miles and Johannes
was walking just in front of me, when he suddenly stopped and pointed excitedly to the ground. I
looked down and was off Poo-ons back in an instant. There, not five yards away, lay a large female
python, peacefully asleep close to a hole overgrown with weeds and brushwood. I was fortunately car-
rying my 12-bore, loaded with No. 2 shot, at the moment and was wondering which part of the body would
be best to shoot at without running the risk of ruining the skin, when the snake wole up and began tro
move. I hesitated no longer. A single shot sufficed to incapacitate the brute and then I killed
her with a stick belonging to one of the boys. We skinned her on the spot and continued our way in
triumph.

I was delighted with my prize, for, although a pyth6n is not- considered much of a trophy, I


had always been anxious to bag one. They are rarely seen and very rarely killed in Rhodesia; indeed
Cooper told me he had seen only one slain in the seven years he had been in the country. That I was
carrying my shot-gun loaded with 2's was an extraordinary piece of* luck. As a rule I never take a
12-bore when X am after big game, but for once X departed from my custom and was fortunate enough to
score in consequence.

At this juncture, by the way, I may mention a principle which both Peter and I religiously
stuck to all through our trip viz: Always carry yourself whichever weapon you are most likely to want.
No matter how hot the day, no matter how tired you are, or how infinitesimal the chance of getting a
shot, never go unarmed; make a point of having some weapon ready for instant use. You may have a
gun-boy who sticks to your heels like a leech and your rifle may be absolutely ready in his hands,but,
depend on it, the second you lose whilst receiving it from him will cost you a good head some day.

I would also warn those of my brother-sportsmen who are beginners against the danger of allow-
ing anv native to hold a "cocked fire-arm even for a moment. If you want to light your pipe and
cannot find a convenient tree against which to lean your rifle, then let your boy hold it by all means,
but unload it or put it at '.safe first. X once narrowly escaped being shot in the face through neg-
lect of this simple precaution.

On arrival in camp we found the python measured 12 feet 7-J- inches a very respectable size
for an African female. She carried eighteen eggs too, soft yellow things about the size of a hens
egg; so besides adding an interesting specimen to my bag I had been lucky enough to rid the bush of a
whole nestful of undesirables.

About four p.m., I set out again and carefully scanned a promising piece of dambo-country till
half past five, when I came across a herd of water-buck. There were two males with the herd so I
fired at and hit both. The first one got four bullets, including one on the point of his shoulder;


his horns measured twenty-one inches and were therefore poor even f*or this part of* the country where
water-buck rarely run to more than twenty-five inches. The other buck, though pretty hard hit, got
away. We followed him for some distance but had to leave him as it was getting dark. Peter had no

luck, in fact he never got a shot the whole day.

On the morrow Cooper and X went out to look for the wounded water-buck and, had just reached the
spot where lay the carcase of the one I had bagged, when we sighted a fine reedbuck. We followed him

for some time and made various detours to get below wind, but it was not until the third attempt that
I got a chance. I bungled the shot, an easy one, and so exit the reedbuck. We then again turned
our attention to the waterbuck and I made my first acquaintance with spooring in the African bush.

I had never seen spooring of this sort before and, to my untrained eye, it seemed marvellous
how Cooper and the boys followed the line taken by our quarry fourteen hours earlier. The performance
seemed the more wonderful as there was practically no blood and as the ground was covered either with
thick matted grass or else with burnt veldt-ash. The latter, unless the spoor is taken up immediate-
ly, makes tracking very difficult because the ash is so light that the least breath of air almost ob--
literates the spoor and makes it difficult to tell whether it is old or new. Veldt-ash also soaks up
blood in such a manner as to make it most difficult to detect.

This, my first experience of tracking was the fore-runner of numerous others and, like many of
them, it was unsuccessful, so we returned to camp and moved on to Safufa during the afternoon. The

march was uneventful except that within a few minutes of starting, we saw what we took to be a yellow
momba-snake crossing our front at a great pace. We tried to get up with him but failed.

Just before entering Safufa I shot a couple of oribi but Peter had bad luck all day; he got
nothing at all and only saw a few hartebeest and warthog.

That night our slumbers were much disturbed by a "siimg-song" carried on in a kraal near 'by


weird and

The din continued until a late hour and, though it could hardly he called artistic, it was
not unpleasant to listen to. It somehow was in perfect harmony with our surroundings and, as the
voices of the singers rose and fell, as the tom-tom thumped and thudded, as the village "solo" rattled
pff his rapid high-pitched tune,-taken up at intervals by his pals in chorus, it seemed as though no
other kind of music could have been equally suited to such a time and place.

Early next morning Peter went off with Cooper whilst I went with Jack and Soccis. Peter first
saw two eland and was following them up when he came across a herd of roan which moved off. One bull,
however, was behind the rest and stopped as he came abreast of Peter who fired with his .303 and went
over. The bull then moved off but stopped some two hundred yards away and afforded a broadside shot.
Letting fly at once Peter hit him hard in the near shoulder and followed him by a heavy blood-spoor
for two and a half hours when he got up with him in very high grass where shooting was out of the
question. An attempt to ride the bull also ended in failure, so Peter and our hunter were obliged
to return to camp with nothing to show for their hard mornings work. However, there was still some
hope that the bull might be brought to bag, so we abandoned our intended trek and decided on another
effort during the afternoon. This was also unsuccessful and Peter suffered a further disappointment
by missing a fine sable.

My own attempts on this day were no more successful than those of my friend; I did not get a
single shot and during the whole of the afternoon I sighted absolutely nothing. All I saw of
interest was a native contrivance for catching fish. It consisted of a number of cigar-shaped bas-
kets let into a low river-dam. When the water was drained off, it left the fish either in the baskets
or floundering in the mud.

On Wednesday, August 11th, Cooper and I quitted camp shortly before seven and struck West

while Peter went more to the North. We had not been gone much over half an hour whan we saw two


eland.

They had spotted us arid were already, on the move, so we galloped after them at once and gained
steadily for the first half mile. Things were just coming to a climax and all seemed well when a
catastrophe occurred.

Poo-on was pulling badly and I had considerable difficulty in holding him and my rifle and dodg-
ing trees and branches all at the same time.

Suddenly two trees appeared before me like Scylla and Charybdis and, whilst trying to avoid one,
I crashed into the other with the result that I was knocked backwards clean out of the saddle. I went
fairly end-ways; my rifle went in one direction, I went in another, my hat in a third and Poo-on in a
fourth. By the time I had re-assembled my forces thus rudely scattered, the eland was, of course, a
mile away and all hope of getting him was at an end. However, I had reason to be thankful. My rifle
was undamaged and I myself was none the worse except for a few scrapes and bruises, though I felt ra-
ther stupid and shaky for some time.

About half an hour after this episode we were passing through some fairly thick bush when
another eland made his appearance from behind a large ant-heap. We gave chase immediately and a hard
ride of several minutes brought us within eighty yards of our prey. Rapidly dismounting I fired but
could not be sure whether I had hit or not, so I jumped up again and set off afresh. Poo-on was pulling
so badly, however, that, fearing another smash, J passed my rifle to Cooper and hung on to the reins
with a vengeance. We had not gone far when it became obvious that my bullet had found its billet, for
blood was flowing from the elandjfe quarters and he was slightly swinging his off-hind leg. He had: been
going straight away ffom me when I fired and I felt sure that, under normal conditions, a bullet placed
where mine was would rake him through and through. I was certain he must collapse at any moment, so I
called to Cooper to finish him off if he got the chance. I little dreamed how much "finishing off"
there was still to be done. The bull went swinging along at a pace that was quite fast enough for the


ponies over such ground. On and on he went, and I thought of* asking Cooper to return the rifle to m,e,
more especially as Poo-on had at last settled down and was going well. But it seemed a .shame to de-
prive the man (who ordinarily never carried a rifle) of the chance of delivering the finishing blow. So
I let him go on, still fully expecting to see the eland collapse. On^ he went, however, till we again
got level and Gooper dismounted to fire. This time Tommy would not stand. He- jerked Coopers arm
when las was about to pull the trigger and thus necessitated another gallop. Then two more eland crossed
our track, and for a time the wounded one ran with them. But we managed to separate him and again
to draw up within reasonable range. Two or three shots from Cooper all missed their mark as he did not
know my rifle, so once more we had to mount and go full speed ahead. Again Cooper dismounted whilst I
held Tommy; again he missed and for the fifth time of asking we took up the chase.

The bull now made for more open ground and appeared to be slackening his pace as fatigue and the
wound I had given him began to tell. Then Cooper made a desperate bid for it. He galloped slightly
ahead of the eland and let him have a well-aimed broadside that brought him to his knees. He got up
again, however, and it was not until I gave him his final court de grace that he collapsed altogether 80
yards away. He was a six or seven years old bull with twenty-six-inch horns and a huge heavy body, and
I must say I felt sorry for the poor devil as he lay there breathing his last. He had struggled hard
like a good sportsman and he had given us one of the best hunts I had ever had. All honour to those
who die as he did.

On examination we found that my first shot had literally cut his tail in two and struck him high
up. I had used my .275 Mauser with Jeffreys splits and it was the tough vertebrae of the tail that
had opened my bullet and prevented it penetrating sufficiently to prove fatal as early as we had
expected. We estimated our total gallop at something between three and a half and four miles.


Bringing in mv first Eland head

Bobili and John with Wounded Roan Ante lone.

On returning to camp we found Peter wait-
ing for us. He had again been pursued by bad
luck. Pour shots he fired at reedbuck all went
wide owing to the improvised sight he had been
obliged to use in place of the broken one on his
.550.

During the afternoon we marched some five
or six miles North to Sachilene, and the follow-
ing morning I stayed in camp to recover from the
stiffness and general shakiness caused by my toss
of the previous day. Peter went out as usual
but got nothing but a few long shots at harte-
beest.

At Sachilene we engaged three more boys;
they turned out to be good fellows, but their
names were so unpronounceable and inconvenient
that we decided to re-christen them forthwith. We
called them Omi, Bobili, and Botatoo, i.e. No. I,
No. 2, and No. 5, and they and the rest of our
attendants were not a little amused at these ap-
pellations. Impromptu christenings of this sort
were, by the wafr, by no means confined to our
satellites who, on their part soon invented names


for us. Thus Peter came to be known as the "Chiaserfu" or "Eland-slayer", whilst I was dubbed the
"MDahla", which means "the old one", but X emphatically deny that I was so called -because I showed
signs of senile decay; my title was bestowed solely on account of the luxuriant growth of my beard.

Prom Sachilene we moved on to Sabaserfu, a fairly large village, chiefly remarkable
wonderful Baobab tree standing near its outskirts. Peter took
several photographs of this large product of the bush, and when we
oame to measure it, we found it taped almost exactly ninety-two feet
round. Unfortunately we did not take the trouble to calculate its
height, but I think I can safely say it was by far the biggest tree
I had ever seen anywhere.

About two miles from Sabaserfu X got a very fine reedbjick.Ke
was in high grass but I managed to get in a shot from the top of an
ant-heap. The buck went off for some distance and then disappeared.

We followed him and after a while saw the tips of his horns above
the reeds. I fired a second shot off Poo-ons back, missed, and so
sent him off again but, as he did not go far, it became evident that
my first bullet had got him somewhere. Following him up once more,
we again caught sight of the horns, and from them I was able to gain
a sufficient indication as to the whereabouts of his vitals. Aiming
into the grass at a spot where I imagined his body to be, I pulled
the trigger and was lucky enough to penetrate his neck. Little Poo-
on stood like a rock all the time and I certainly owed this fine
trophy to the excellence of my pony who never flinched as I sat and

for

The Giant Baobab Thee
at Sabaserfu.


Iired with the muzzle of* my gun almost between
his ears. The horns measured 16g inches.

Cooper and I then went on Tor a while
and espied a herd of* roan £n very open ground.

We stalked up to ab^ut two hundred and fifty
, yards; I fired with a strong wind blowing in
* my face and went short. Soon afterwards we
came across a herd of wildebeest, but they
winded us and went off at a gallop whilst the
two bullets I sent after them again went short.

At this point I may mention another of A Good Reedbuck.

the many difficulties with which one has to contend in North West Rhodesia, i.e., that of correctly es-
timating the range in the different parts of this patchwork country. I dont know how its peculiari-
ties affect other men, but I personally found that in thick bush I was always inclined to over-estimate
and therefore go high, whilst in the open I under-estimated and went short. After a while Ediscovered
my tendency to error and made allowances accordingly, so perhaps what X have said may give a hint to
others placed in similar circumstances. Mine seems a common error, moreover, for old "Rooky in "Jack
of the Bushveldt" ascribes the over-estimation of distance in thick jungle to what he calls "Bush Tele-
scopes", i.e., looking through trees is like looking down an avenue in which case distances always
appear magnified.

At Sabaserfu Peter again had bad luck. He shot a crocodile but failed to land him, and all he
brought back was an oribi for the pot. hater in the day he was equally unfortunate in that he missed

a hartebeest which came near our camp at dusk.


45.

"Wayside Repairs*': Self bandaging Tommy's
foot. The background shows typical
fairly "open" bush-country. Poo-.on

in the centre: Jessie on the left,.

We were now close to the edge of the
Kafue flats and on Saturday, August 13th,Peter
went with Cooper whilst I took Johannes and
Jack with me besides a tall villager. The man
seemed anxious to come and.I thought his great
height would be useful as it would enable him
to see over the high grass. This was an im-
portant consideration because Tommy, who had
staked himself galloping sifter the eland, was
still lame and therefore as I had lent Poo-on
to Peter, my party and X were all on foot.

We went North-west from camp and had
not been under way much more than half an hour

when the tall villager saw something. I climbed an ant-heap near by and discovered a herd of roan a-
bout five hundred yards off. Motioning to Jack and the long man to sit down, I went on with Johannes
only, he carrying my .375 in case of need, I carrying my favourite .275 Rigby Mauser.

The ground was favourable for a stalk, there appeared to be not a breath of wind and there were
two well-situated ant-heaps between me and the herd, also an almost imperceptible depression just deep
enough to crawl along unseen. Johannes and I executed our stalk with the greatest care and it took us
nearly a quarter of an horn? to go the three hundred yards to the ant-heap I had selected to fire from.
The grass was thick, and the going under-foot hard and as rough as a ploughed field. The perspiration
fairly poured down my face, and I was thankful when I reached my firing point. I crawled cautiously
up the ant-heap and peered over the top, but the herd was nowhere to be seen. For half a mile round


tihe ground was open, but the roan had completely vanished from view and I could not make out what had
scared them until I looked back and saw Jack and the long man walking bolt upright straight for the spot
where the herd had been! My feelings may be imagined. The long man who, by the way, was ugly enough
to frighten anything, was hardly to blame, but Jack certainly ought to have known better than to leave
the place I had assigned to him, so he got his ears well boxed for his stupidity.

We now moved on and had scarcely covered a thousand yards when I spotted some hartebeest on our
right. There were several coyts, two calves and one bull, and as they appeared to be grazing towards
us, I took cover behind an ant-heap and decided to wait. The herd were nervous and on the aui vive.
but their attention was attracted by Peters firing which was distinctly audible in the distance; they
were much scattered and the cows were nearest me. For some minutes I lay absolutely still hardly dar-
ing to move my eyelashes, whilst the hartebeest sniffed the air and cast searching, anxious glances at
every bit of cover.

It is indeed interesting to watch a nervous herd that feels the presence of danger and yet can-
not make out its cause nor the direction from which it threatens. Every sense is strained to the
utmost; every muscle taut, ready for an instant bound; every nostril dilated; every ear pricked and
every eye gazing intently for the least sign of movement. Animals look their very best in this state
of suppressed excitement, and a man would be a brute if he never felt some momentary pity for his prey.
But it is the feeling that it is a case of "their wits and their strength against mine" that gets the
better of a man and drives away his scruples. It is the old struggle for existence over again; one
simply must give proof of superior skill and endurance and, though such proof may not in the end be af-
forded by the actual killing of ones quarry, yet a successful stalk to within a fair range will often
give one asunuch real pleasure as the bagging of a good head.

Such were the thoughts that passed in irregular procession through my mind as I lay there as


.still as a hare in her form. At last one of the cows came up to about eighty yards and, suspecting
something in my direction, stopped for an instant, turned and then ran back to give the alarm. The
whole herd at once collected as though to discuss the next move in the game. They were about two
hundred yards away. Carefully using my glasses, 1 singled out the bull and fired. He gave a bound
and then rushed madly round and round snorting with rage and pain. I saw he was -badly hit and knew
he could not go far. We waited for some minutes and then followed his blood-spoor till we sighted
him going very slowly a short distance ahead. X. walked up closer and gave him another bullet which
dropped him; finally a third finished him off altogether. He measured 191- inches of horn and : my
first shot had shattered his off* hind a& he faced away from me.

In the meanwhile Peter had also been.busy with harteheest. He came across a good one in a
herd of six and, with the aid of the usual friendly ant-heap, got up to a range of some hundred and

fifty yards. His first shot got the bull fair
and square and he soon lay down; a second shot
hit .another bull. When the first bull was
approached, however, he rose and went off, but
Peter let fly at once and got him in the fore-
leg so that he again collapsed. Turning his
attention to bull Ho. 2 Peter then fired a few
rounds as he ran, but though severely wounded,
this animal was seen no more that day. The
first bull now seemed a certainty and there
appeared to be no chance whatever of further
trouble with him. Suddenly# however, he picked

Cooner with Wounded Hartebeest.


himself* up and made off* at a surprising pace. It was not till he had been galloped for nearly three
parts of a mile, that a final shot in the hind-quarters settled him. Ke proved to be an exceedingly
good specimen with 21-inch horns.

During the afternoon march Peter got a few more shots but had no luck, whilst I bagged a full
grown but young roan with horns of only twenty inches. I much regretted having done this, but he
looked big with the afternoon sun full on him and his horns took me in completely.

Next day we set to work about six-thirty, a.m., Peter going alone and I with Cooper. For the
first hour nothing happened; then Peter became hotly engaged on our right. He must have been nearly
two miles away from us, and yet we distinctly heard several of his bullets "telling" as they'hit some-
thing. It is extraordinary how far the sound of a bullet, as it strikes an animal,will carry through
the still air of the bush-veldt. Time after time when I fired without any visible effect and, with
grunts of disgust or something stronger watched my game as it bounded off, Cooper would re-as-
sure me with the.words: "It's all right, Captain, I heard the bullet." And time after time he was
right too. He was right again this morning, for Peters shots brought down a big reed-buck.

Just after this episode I hit a zebra hard. Ke rolled right over and was unable to get up
for fully two minutes. When we approached him, however, he rose with great difficulty and then, to
our amazement, trotted quietly off as though unhurt. We followed his spoor over bare, open ground
for at least three; miles, but without success. Not a trace of blood did we find, nor did we even
catch sight of him again. I have never before or since seen a wounded animal go off in that way.

Wandering on Cooper and I soon found a whole herd of zebra, but I missed badly at short range
and we were on the point of returning to camp when we came across four more. After a, careful stalk I
got an easy shot and obviously disabled one. The rest did not. make any attempt to bolt, instead they
simply walked round and round the wounded one and inside and outside each other in such a way that, in


a few seconds, I could not for the life of me tell which was the one I had hit. He had begun to walk
about too and the four of them formed a regular* Kaleidscope a sort of glorified "three card trick",
that would have puzzled the shrewdest sharper. At last I pulled the trigger again, but still the ze-
bra remained; I fired a third and fourth shot, once more without seeming effect, and it was not till
after round No. 5 that they finally began to disperse at a slow walk. We watched them as they moved
leisurely away, suddenly one fell over, kicked up his legs for a moment and lay dead. Then' another
and another went down, whilst the fourth began to totter, and I realized that I had hit him too. There
was now nothing for it but to put an end to the poor brute, and a few minutes later the whole quar-
tette lay dead within a radius of one hundred yards.

It was rather a sickening sight. I did not want four zebra, moreover, my lioence allowed
three only. I had had no sport, for the stalk had been child's play, and I got no satisfaction out
of knocking over the wretched animals at short

range. I wanted one

registered a vow never

and of course I was glad

do so.

zebra unless want of

I had got them, but I
again to shoot another
food should compel me to

head and a couple of kins

A Wounded Zebra.


CHAPTER Iff.

During the afternoon of August 15th we treliked to Malindi and pitched our camp by a solitary
tree, Malindi lies on the edge of the Kafue Flats, or Kafue "Lagoons" as they are often called;there
are no houses there and the name Malindi applies only to the camping ground under the shade of the
lonely tree. The spot was already occupied by
a band of Mashukulumbwes out on a hunting
expedition; so we left them in possession and
settled down a short distance away from their
somewhat unsavoury neighbourhood.

The country now around us was weird and
peculiar. To our front, in the direction of
the Kafue river, stretched a great treeless
plain, as green as an English lawn; as far as
the eye could see there was nothing to relieve
the monotony but the occasional swell of an al-
most imperceptible undulation. Behind us lay
mile upon mile of ground almost as level as the "Flats", but so thickly studded with ant-heaps that it
appeared as though this particular patch of the worlds surface were suffering from a local attack of
goose-flesh. Isolated trees were dotted about, and every now and again came a belt of high waving

grass, till at last, far away in the distance, a low range of hills the Monakaira Range cut off
the view and formed a suitable background.


51.

/ Across the lagoons lay a mirage-like haze through which grey figures could he discerned. Their

outline was blurred and they looked almost ghost-like as they moved to and fro, sometimes in small
groups, sometimes in large bodies, sometimes in long lines with intervals between the individuals. They
were herds of* grazing zebra or antelope, and we now for the first time got some idea of the masses of
game that can be seen in these parts when there is nothing to impede ones vision.

The first herd we had seen that afternoon consisted of lechwe. There must have been at least

5

two hundred of them, and a nice buck with 28^-inch horns fell to my rifle. Later in the day I shot
another but, as his horns measured only twenty-seven inches, I did not think the head worth taking
away. This was rather foolish and I regretted my action afterwards, but Cooper declared that a twenty-
seven inch lechwe was a poor specimen so I listened to his advice. As a matter of fact a twenty-seven
inch lechwe is quite fit to keep, and it would have served ms right had I failed to get a better one
later on. It does not do to put on too much "side" and to turn up ones nose at a fair head when one
cannot make certain of a good one.

Lechwe are as difficult to judge as most African heads, if not more so. They often run in
closely packed herds like a flock of sheep and then the good ones are not only difficult to select, but
difficult to hit too, so closely are they surrounded by females and small fry. There is, however, one
hint worth remembering. It will be frequently found that the biggest, buck of all- kesp a short dis-
tance away from the body of the herd. If, therefore, one cannot pick out a good one from amongst the
crowd it is advisable to try for the best of those hovering round the outskirts. Cooper gave me this
piece of advice; I followed it next day and bagged a really fine lechwe with horns over 31 inches.

On arrival at Malindi we decided to make the place our headquarters for some days, and it -was
just as well that such was our intention, for, late that evening, the ponies strayed and put any imme-
diate move out of the question. The loss of our mounts was unfortunate. They might retrace their


steps right away hack to Monze or Kalomo; they might wander off into the hush where it would take weeks

to find them, or they might he taken hy lions. In any case we could not move until every effort had

been made to recover them. Four of the hest hoys were sent out at once and early next morning Cooper
himself started off in pursuit.

Meanwhile Peter and I were left minus our hunter and minus the pick of the hoys,so we determined
to go out together and to take alternate shots. This arrangement did not work well and I cannot recom-
mend it under any'ordinary circumstances. Men who hunt-together are hound to get -in' each other's way;

besides, they employ only half their forces, for whilst one is stalking up for a shot, the other must

needs remain twiddling his thumbs. Unless, therefore, dangerous game has to he tackled, in which case
it might he well to have a second man handy, it is far better for a couple of sportsmen to go off in dif-
ferent directions, and for each to work out his own salvation. Our joint effort did no good, and after
having made various unsuccessful onslaughts we returned to camp for lunch.

About mid-day, much to our relief, the ponies turned up again and about, half past one Cooper
arrived, dog-tired after a walk of seven or eight hours'' duration. We left him in camp for the remain-
der of the day and set out ourselves after lechwe. We soon cams across a herd and each got a long shot.
Mine was roughly two hundred yards, whilst Peter's was more; we both hit our mark hut did not kill out-
right and the two buck went away.

In these circumstances it is usually the wisest policy to leave the wounded animal alone until

it gets quite cold and stiff; it will then lie down and can, as a rule, he finished off with an easy

shot. But the lateness of the hour forbade the adoption of this deliberate method, so Peter and I were
compelled to follow up at once.I jumped on to Poo-on's hack and decided to ride my buck down. He went
off at a gallop as soon as he saw me and headed straight for some high grass on the edge of the lagoons.

It was an exciting chase. Every now and again I gained and thought I was near enough to dismount and


fire; then off went the buck with a spurt and on his part gained a few score yards or more. At one
moment I was racing full speed over fairly hard ground, the next I was splashing across a strip of marsh
or floundering through a muddy stream with the water half way up my saddle-flaps. This sort of thing
continued for a couple of miles when at last a particularly swampy place gave the lechwe an advantage
which X could not make good. He got clear of the lagoons well before me and, joining a herd of zebra,
made off into the high grass. I followed his blood-spoor on foot for some time, but, when darkness
set in, I was forced to desist so I returned to camp after sticking an assegai into the ground at the
spot where I left the spoor.

Next morning we rose at half past five and were just leaving camp at about six when Cooper
showed me some wildebeest not more than six hundred yards away. Leaving pony and boys behind I went
after them at once. They were enjoying breakfast on the edge of the flats, so I decided to bar their
retreat back into cover where they were certain to lie up for the day. I succeeded in getting well
behind them but, at an unfortunate moment, just when I was absolutely in the open and mid-way between
two high ant-heaps, the whole herd suddenly emerged from a narrow belt of grass that had so far acted
as a screen between us. I felt certain that any attempt to reach either of the high ant-heaps would
lead to my discovery, so I rapidly concealed myself as best I could behind a little one not much bigger
than a stable bucket turned upside down. There I lay at full length and let the herd come towards me.
A fine and obvious bull was leading and I got ready for him. Luckily for him, however, he began to
fight with another and so lost the lead which was taken up by a smaller animal. I was much disappointed,
more especially as some of the nearest of the herd were nearly on top of me and were sure to see me
in another moment. In these circumstances there was nothing to be done but to fire at the best I
could find. I did so and knocked over two which both turned out to be big cows with horns nearly twen-
ty- inches across. The whole herd, of course, stampeded immediately in a cloud of dust, leaving me to


curse myself for having once more shot females.

The difficulty of. distinguishing the sexes was really extraordinary, and I was still ruefully
regarding the two dead cows when some of the Mashukulumbwe hunting-party came up and ashed me whether
they might have the carcases. Needless to say I was only too glad to let them take them off my hands,

I now set off with some Mashukulumbwe and their dogs, also John and Johannes to follow up the
spoor of the lechwe wounded the evening before. We soon found the spot where X had planted the asse-
gai, took up the spoor and, after going about six hundred yards, espied the horns of the buck protrud-
ing above some low grass. I fired a shot in his direction and he at once sprang up and made off with
the Mashukulumbwes and their dogs in hot pursuit. We ran him for about a mile when he sought refuge
in a big pool. The dogs went in after him and hung on where they could, but he shook them off, and

broke away again only to be finally run down and

killed soon afterwards, he was a beauty with

Lechwe transfixed with an assegai. The
background shows the nature of the
Kafue Flats.

very thick horns measuring 31|- inches.

This trophy did much to console me con-

cerning the cow wildebeest and so,satisfied with
iny own mornings work, I determined to look for
the lechwe Peter had wounded the previous eve-

ning, but my two hours* search was fruitless and
I returned to camp. When I got there a party
of Mashulmlumbwes were just running off with
their spears. They were obviously going with
some object in view, so I made enquiries and was


informed that another dead animal was lying not far from camp. I went with the men and there, right

enough, was a roan wounded by Peter whilst he and I were out together during the absence of the ponies.

About lunch-time Peter came in having had a stroke of real good luck for once. His morning's

bag consisted of one zebra, two reed-buck and a

spur-wing goose. One of the reed-buck was a

(1)

magnificent trophy with horns 17g inches long,

8

he was up to date quite the finest specimen we
had got and when, later, we showed him and my

5

own of 16- inches to Hr. Handley, one of the
Native Commissioners, he declared he had never
anywhere seen two better heads of this parti-
cular species.

During the afternoon Peter was unfor-
tunate and got nothing. I had more luck and

shot a warthog. X was stalking a herd of roan Cooper with Wounded Heed-buck,

at the time but they were difficult to approach and I felt certain I had been discovered by a fine
bull (with both horns broken) when the pig ran right across my front at a range of about a hundred
yards. The big roan bull with the broken horns was the only one within reasonable shooting distance,
but he was worthless from a collector's point of view. I therefore decided to leave him and his pals
alone and try for the warthog. X "got him in one", as the phrase goes, my bullet going straight
through his heart. He galloped madly for a hundred yards or so, as animals often do when shot

(1). This reed-buck was sent to the 1910 Sports Exhibition at Vienna together with Peter's best
sable and best hartebeest.


through the heart, then turned a complete somersault and lay stone dead. He was a fine "boar, old and
heavy, hut his tushes were, most disappointing being worn down to only three or four inches owing to much
digging in hard ground. He was consequently of* no more use to me than the roan with the broken horns,
but, after my cow wildebeest slaughter of the morning, I was thankful for small mercies and blessed my
stars that I had not shot an old sow.

On the morning of Wednesday the 18th, I went out with Cooper and came across the same herd -of
roan I had seen the previous day. The old bull with the broken horns was still doing sentry, and he'
made it impossible for me to get nearer than four hundred yards to what looked like the next best male
in the herd. I took careful aim, pressed the trigger, and got him plumb through the body. He made
. off in a staggering sort of canter and then stopped a hundred yards or so further on. Up went my
sight to 500 and again I was fortunate enough to hit him. He was clearly in dire straits, so we fol-
lowed him at once and a few minutes later I polished him off from the top of an ant-heap. He measured
29% inches and was the best roan we got during the whole of our trip. And now I must say a few
words as to shooting at these long ranges.

Most big-game hunters are agreed that it is unsporting to fire at any range exceeding two hun-
dred yards, and I am inclined fully to share their opinion. The chances of shooting with accuracy at
longer ranges are small, and so the risk of wounding a wretched animal and leaving it to die a painful,
lingering death are increased. One ought to be able to stalk to within a couple of hundred yards or

so and then, put in a well-placed bullet that will soon prove fatal. If one is not sufficiently skil-
ful to do that one ought not to shoot at all. The man who lets fly at distant ranges and merely

trusts to his rifle without attempting a fair stalk is a trophy-snatcher pure and simple; he is not a

sportsman.

So say many, and so say I with certain reservations.

There are cases in which long range


shots are justified, and where such cases arise they are generally due to the nature of the ground or
the peculiar habits of the game. On the Kafue Plats, for example, it was often impossible to approach
closer than three hundred yards, there was not a vestige of cover, and the game had probably seen us a
mile away; it was only a question of how long they would stand and stare at us before making up their
minds to bolt. Again, a herd of roan will scatter over a square of four hundred yards side, sentries
will be out, and even those that are peacefully grazing will every now and then look up to see whether -
all is safe. If, therefore, the best head happens to be near the centre of the square it is again a
case of a very long shot or no shot at all.

One cannot, therefore, in my humble opinion, lay down the two hundred yards rule as a hard and
fast one, and I am inclined to think it must have been made by men who have never stalked on very open
ground.

The question of telescopic sights is altogether different, and here I say "no compromise. Men
who use them declare that they enable a hunter to pick out with certainty the best in a herd and thus
decrease the risk of his shooting immature animals. Some might even point at my wildebeest cows and
say I should not have made myself guilty of such slaughter had I used telescope sights. They say they
make certain of those deadly shots which lessen the risk of maiming and losing one's quarry and there-
fore, they contend, telescopic sights are humane and their use justifiable. There is truth in these
arguments certainly, but are not one's field-glasses good enough to pick out the best head? Where the
differentiation between the sexes is so hard, will the employment of telescopic sights make it any easi-
er? In nine cases out of ten the man who has & telescope sight carries field-glasses as well; he uses
the latter to pick out his head or to tell male from female; the former he uses merely for his shot
and after he has made up his mind what he wants to hit.

Now, if he can get the animal magnified to look as though it were close to him, is he not like-


ly to shoot at Tour hundred or five hundred yards when a stalk to half those distances would be perfect-
ly feasible? If so, is he not taking an unfair advantage over his game? Is he not deliberately fore-
going half the sport and making the bagging of the head his sole object? Is he not reducing his person-
al exertion to a minimum and so losing half the valuable lessons big-game hunting has to teach? It may
be against human nature to do more work than necessary for the achievement of one's object, but, after
all, to most of us, hunting is a recreation, a pastime, a game in fact and, that being so, it ought to
be played fair.

In war against men by all means use every device and every instrument that the science of the
..optician and the engineer place at our disposal, and use them remorselessly; there it is our aim and
object to kill or at least to disable our enemies; but the beasts of the field are not our enemies.They
are our friends and, though we try to and do kill the best and biggest of them, the contest is not as
one-sided as it appears. Many animals are, of course, of themselves almost defenceless, but we must
not forget the hardships we have to undergo before we reach their remote habitations, nor the diseases
and other dangers to which we on our part expose ourselves. It is these risks that make the struggle a
fair one, therefore let us keep it fair aad eschew the employment of adventitious aids, even though we
may occasionally suffer on account of our self-imposed restrictions.

The hunter who goes under, either from disease or by violence in the fair pursuit of game dies
the next best death to the soldier killed in action.

An hour or so after the long shots which led to the above digression from my narrative, I got
another long shot at a wildebeest standing end on. But my bullet fell short and I was on the point of
returning to camp with Cooper when we sighted a fine roan bull about four hundred on our left. I wounded
him in the off-hind, but he went off so strong that any attempt at immediate pursuit was bound to end in
failure; we therefore decided to leave him till the evening and once more turned homewards. On the way


59.

however, we struck five wildebeest all grazing close together. I hit one hard and killed another out-
right; he measured 24-§- inches. The wounded one could not be followed at once, with any hope of

success, so we made up our minds to make one job of him and the wounded roan late in the afternoon.

It was four oclock when we started and soon we found the wildebeest dead. Moving on in the
direction where we had seen the last of the roan, we spent some time vainly searching for his spoor.
The going was sb hard that he seemed to have made no impression at all. We circled and zig-zagged
with bur eyes glued to the ground; but all to no purpose. Then we began to climb ant-heaps and to
scour the plain with our glasses; still we could see nothing, and we were afraid we should have to
give it up when Cooper suddenly spotted our friend standing behind a low tree about a thousand yards
away. We stalked up with the greatest care and actually got to within eighty yards. Ehere he stood
broadside on and apparently gazing at the ponies which we had left behind under Feechan. I lay down
to fire, took careful aim, pressed my trigger and missed him as clean as a. whistle! I simply could
not believe my eyes when instead of dropping stone dead as any self-respecting animal should have done
in similar circumstances, he galloped away limping but slightly owing to the wound he had received in
the morning.

Meanwhile Peter had been out on the marshy flats and shot two nice lechwe of about twenty-nine
inches each. I wish I could give more details of some of my companions stalks, but though I fre-
quently made notes of what he told me, I found it impossible to picture to myself what actually hap-
pened; and it is always difficult to give a description based on second-hand information. One

receives new personal impressions, all local colour is lost, and one finds one's self reduced to bare
statements of fact to "records of dates and bone-smashings" as I once heard the situation summed
up tone of the best-known hunters and sportsmen iii the Army Colonel H.G-.C. Swayne of the Royal
Fng^neers.


Shortly after dawn on the 19th August, I set out with 'Feechan to try and find the wounded roan.
We went to the spot where I had missed him so badly and soon discovered his spoor which we followed for
some distance. After a while X left Feechan to do the tracking and climbed an ant-heap to have a look
round. For some time nothing was visible, then I discerned a solitary roan about a mile away. Natur-
ally concluding he must be mine, I made a bee-line for him followed by Feechan. It was then shortly
after nine a.m,; by ten I had got to two hundred yards, but I could get no nearer for the roan was
accompanied by a female and by a wildebeest bull who appeared to be doing sentry-go for him. He was
lying down when I fired and hit him; then he sprang up and went away with his off-fore seriously dam-
aged. I watched him carefully and after a while he lay down about eight hundred yards from me, so I
began to stalk him afresh. It was hard work and few stalks have tried me more highly. The ground was
very flat and what few ant-heaps there were were very small. Try as I would I could not get nearer
than five or six hundred yards. Every time I attempted to get closer either the roan-cow or- the
wildebeest gave warning. For three and a half hours I lay watching and waiting for my opportunity.
At last it came. Two zebra approached, passed the trio and advanced straight towards us. Glued each
behind a different ant-heap, lying as flat as we could and scarce daring to breathe, Feechan and I let
the zebra come on and pass right in between us, not twenty yards from either him or me. They suspected
nothing and grazed quietly on, which was precisely what we wanted them to do. The trio, seeing the
zebra pass through the dangerous zone unharmed, became reassured, relaxed their vigilance and began to
move about mere freely. As they moved I did, and so, very gradually, got to Just about three hundred
yards from my prey.

Both roan then lay down: and'I could see nothing but:the'two heads close together. For a long
time I hesitated to fire at so small a target at such a range. But at last I lost my patience and de-
termined to risk it; then a curious thing happened. My bullet went out with a shrill whistle and


dropped not fifty yards away! What occurred I don't know, hut the round acted like an alarm signal.

Up jumped the trio and, after galloping a. short distance, stopped and stood staring in my direction;
Rapidly raising my sight to 400 I fired and, to cut a long story short, got the big roan on the point
of the shoulder. He gave a few great bounds and rolled over dead. When we got to him we found he
was a fine old fellow with thick closely annulated horns measuring a shade under twenty-eight inches.
He was, after all, not the one I had wounded, but I did not much mind that and started gaily back to
where. X had left my pony in charge of Soccis. On arrival at the spot, however, X found the idiot had
gone back to the wagon thinking that my long absence meant I had returned to camp another way. The
walk home was not enjoyable. I had had nothing either to eat or drink since 6.50 a.rn., and was pretty
well done when I sighted the tent about half past five in the afternoon. But I had a good head and
the satisfaction of knowing I had successfully scored off the three most wily customers I had ever
attempted to compete with.

During the same day Peter shot a wildebeest cow by mistake, although Cooper was with him and
helped him to pick the particular animal out of the herd. He also shot a serval, or tiger-cat, one of
the most interesting species we had so far bagged.

The following morning I remained quietly in camp where I busied myself with sewing and other
domestic affairs, superintended the washing, rigged up a clothes-line, etc. Meanwhile Peter went out
with Cooper and came across a herd of roan. They were very much scattered and Cooper was greatly puz-
zled as to how they should be stalked. The herd had already become restless, and Peter and the hunter
could not feet nearer than five hundred yards. Whilst they were hung up at that distance some zebra
came close up to the stalkers who let them pass without frightening them in any way, thus repeating my
pr.ocedure of the previous day. The herd, seeing the zebra unharmed, became less anxious and made an
approach to three hundred yards possible. Cooper then selected a bull, but Peter missed it and the


herd moved off* some distance. Following it up again and getting within three hundred yards* Cooper
picked out what appeared to he a hull. The particular animal was somewhat separated from the rest
and Peter1 s shot broke its near-fore high up; it went off and lay down, hut its spoor was most diffi-
cult to follow and some time elapsed before its horns were seen above the high grass. A single shot
settled the matter, hut to Peter*s intense disgust he found a dead female lying before him. This,
which happened when Cooper himself was present, once again exemplifies the difficulty of distinguish-
ing male from female amongst many kinds of African game. Where it is possible for the professional
hunter to make such mistakes the amateur can hardly be blamed if he errs frequently.

Peter and Cooper next moved in a south-easterly direction and were about to turn homewards
when they sighted two wildebeest bulls. One took alarm when they were about eight hundred yards away
and got up, but, after a long and difficult manoeuvre, the two stalkers got to within two hundred
yards and Peter hit one bull through the shoulder with his .305; another shot through the body did
for him. Pie was a fine specimen with thick horns measuring twenty-four inches and a huge broad head
and we were well pleased with him. Later on, however, we discovered that all the wildebeest we shot
on the Flats ran to small horns. Amongst those we killed were certainly some of the biggest we had
seen, yet they were not a patch on others we got towards the end of our trip. On the other hand the
roan of the Flats were excellent whilst those we shot near the good wildebeest were poor. It therefore
appears that the conditions conducive to the growth of good horn in one species do not produce the
same effect in another, and yet there seemed to be no marked difference in the size and weight of ani-
mals shot in different localities.

The following day was a Saturday, so Peter indulged in a "Europe morning" whilst Cooper and I
went out to look for puku, which we knew had been in the neighbourhood the year before. We rode for
some miles, but not a single puku did we find. The natives we questioned could give us no help and


65.

declared they had not seen a puku for months.
They had evidently moved from their habitat
altogether, probably owing to the exceptional-
ly wet season, so Cooper and X thought we
would ride across the Flats towards the Kafue
River. We were nearing the edge of the
lagoons when a long string of men came into
view. There were at least a hundred of them,
Mashukulumbwes and Batus together, and they
were just lining up for a game-drive, on a
big scale. They formed in a large semi-cir-
cle with from twenty to thirty yards interval
and then gradually advanced, closing in as they approached the banks pf the Kafue against which they
hoped to corner their game.

All were armed with from three to six assegais, and most of them had decorated themselves with
bunches of white feathers and other ornaments stuck into the conical erections, consisting of grease,
etc., which they wore on their heads. They had hardly any dogs with them and so, to make sure of
routing out every living thing, they lit fires all along the line as they moved forward.

We were in for an interesting spectacle, and the men began their work well. They kept their
semi-circle with considerable accuracy and maintained their intervals like infantry in extended order.
As the line advanced and shrunk in length, we could see lechwe and reedbuck springing up before it and
rushing about in terror when they found they were hemmed in. Occasionally some animal would attempt
to break: through. Then the assegais were at once launched, either to bury themselves deep in the

Jack and Co oner with a Wounded
Wildebeest.


soft flesh or, more frequently, to fly harmlessly past their objective. The marksmanship of the
hunters was poor; or perhaps the books of my childhood had led me to expect too much.

One or two buck were killed whilst the intervals were still fairly wide, many got safely away.

As the semi-circle grew smaller and smaller, however, the men came so close to each other that the

game were afraid to make a dash for liberty.

They huddled together, petrified with fear, and only occasionally a short, fitful rush for an
apparent gap in the line indicated that at least some of the terrified creatures still had their wits
about them. But the gaps were snares, for all the men in the line were no longer walking upright;
between any two advancing openly, say twenty yards apart, there were eight or ten others crouching low
in the grass, their dark eyes flashing, their assegais poised ready for instant use. As an animal
approached up sprang the men and a shower of spears went forward to pierce the fugitive through and
through or to drive him back to his panic-stricken brethren. At last, within the ever-narrowing half

circle, there must have been a score or more of head who seemed to have no chance whatever of escape.

Behind them flowed the river, deep and fully a hundred yards across; on three sides stood a wall of
men all bent on destruction.

Then came the deba'cle. The men, seeing their prize so nearly within their grasp, lost their
heads. Whenever one animal, with the courage of despair, made a dash for some point the savages. on
both sides ran'at it, thus breaking the line and creating wide gaps of which the others were not slow
to take advantage. Singly, or by two or threes, they fairly raced for the openings and were through
and away before the excited hunters had time to get back to their places. In this way nearly all
escaped so that the total bag was about half a dozen when it might easily have amounted to''three times
that number.

The whole thing was one of the most striking examples I had ever beheld of the breakdown of


that half-discipline which, in these days, so many people hold to be as good as the genuine article. So
long as there was but little cause for excitement the combination of the men was excellent, they co-
operated perfectly towards the attainment of the common purpose. But the instant a strain was put
upon them all thoughts of cohesion and mutual support vanished. Those who at first exercised some
sort of authority at once lost all control over their subordinates; whilst the latter, with no more
confidence in their leaders than those leaders had in them, began, one and all, to play for their own
hands. Every atom of restraint, every particle of discipline, both individual and collective,was gone.
Here, there, and everywhere, small groups, yelling at the tops of their voices, rushed in wild career
to try and cut off some bounding antelope already hopelessly beyond their reach; in amongst them and
across them,racing in every direction but the right one, were individuals half mad with excitement and
hurling their assegais at anything they saw till they became a positive danger to all.

When the last buck vanished, the excitement subsided and the inevitable re-action set it. One
by one, or in small knots, panting with exertion and sweating at every pore, the crestfallen warriors
returned, in truth:-

"A broken and a scattered host, their standards gone their leaders lost.

It is true thsy were mere savages, but cannot civilized races learn some tiling from their experience of
this day?

The hunt over, Cooper and I rode on to the Kafue and sat down on its bank to have our lunch at
a point opposite Osanga Kraal. There was a great deal of water in the river, and Cooper esqoressed his
doubts about our being able to cross the Kafue at all. Many water-fowl were on the wing, and we saw
a number of large white birds that looked suspiciously like pelican. Osanga offered nothing of
interest; we therefore made an early move back to camp. On the way we passed large, mixed herds of


65. a

zebra, wildebeest and
we left them alone.

leohwe, but, as we had all the specimens we wanted and were not in need of1 meat,
Puku were nowhere to be seen.

S-+*

*


CHAPTER V.

We had now shot everything we could reasonably expect to get. on or near the lagoons and so, on
Sunday, August 22nd, we trekked about twelve miles west to Longa, a spot where there were two small
pools. We had nearly reached our destination when we beheld a huge herd of zebra on our left front.
They were all grazing close together and, as we approached, showed no signs of alarm. We rode quietly
on and, when not more than a couple of hundred yards from them,Peter succeeded in getting a photograph
of the whole herd. They had formed up facing
us and stood almost shoulder to shoulder. It
is, of course, always difficult to judge the
number of any herd, but a soldier can often
make a more or less accurate guess from his
knowledge of the appearance of bodies of mount-
ed troops. Judging by this standard we came
to the conclusion that an estimate of not less
than five hundred was on the safe side. They
looked just like the horses of a regiment of
Cavalry that has dismounted and assembled in
mass whilst waiting for orders on a field-day
or manoeuvres, and they were certainly the

biggest herd of any kind we met during the whole of our trip. Before we left them Peter shot two,
and an hour or so later we were safely encamped once more.

Next morning we did not move before nine oclock. Hail letters had been written the previous

The Herd of Five Hundred Zebra on the Kafue
Elat^.


night, and our photographs had to be sent to Choma by runner for immediate despatch to England, lest the
films should deteriorate through being kept too long in the tropics.

Just before starting Peter and I shot a couple of reed-buck for the kitchen. We then separated

and I struck off south-west with Cooper. We saw a number of reed-buck, hartebeest, and roan,ihcludihg

a fine roan bull, but all were so shy that it was quite impossible to get a shot. So we rode on

and had not gone far when I just caught sight of a fine eland bull crossing our front half a mile away.

He had seen us and broken into a trot; a stalk, therefore, being out of the question, we began, to
canter after him.

The ground was a mass of holes for the first mile:, and so, remembering our experience when last
we galloped an eland together, we went along warily, only just keeping him in sight or not pressing him
at all; he was a heavy bull, moreover, and we knew he could not keep it up for long. On the whole

this ride was not a risky one, for the bush was comparatively thin and there was therefore no dodging

of trees nor ducking under branches. Poo-on had evidently not seen the eland and did not seem to re-
alize that he was after anything, so he went like a lamb without pulling an ounce. We had cantered
about a mile and a half when the bull stopped for a moment. I dismounted but could not get a shot, so

I jumped back into my saddle and off we went again. Once or twice our quarry tried to turn into thick-
er bush, but we rode him off successfully until we reached open country and better ground. We now
increased our pace arid soon got to two hundred yards. Off I jumped, fired, and missed, but a second
shot struck the near hind leg at the hock and absolutely broke it to bits. Snorting with rage and

pain the bull now made a desperate effort to escape, but it was a hopeless game. Three legs were not
enough to carry that ponderous body, for it must be remembered that an eland stands as high as a big
horse and weighs a great deal more. After a few hundred yards he showed signs of the greatest dis-

tress and his coup de grace, fired from the saddle, was the work of a few moments.


, He was a fine specimen, slate grey with age, and though his horns measured only 25-1- inches they
were very thick. When we came to examine him we found that my small .275 Rigby Mauser had inflicted a
terrible wound. The hock-bone was literally smashed into little pieces and the leg was utterly
useless. Of course the weight must have been on it at the moment it was hit, but, even so, it was a
wonderful performance for so light a rifle.

That night we outspanned at Mondonda, which- lies about eight miles south-west of Longa. Peter
had no luck all day, in fact he did not even get a shot after bagging the reedbuck in the early morning.

At six-thirty a.m., next day Peter and Cooper set out in a south-westerly direction and soon
found themselves in exceptionally thick bush in which they wandered for an hour and a half. So thick
was the undergrowth that they could see nothing, and the going was most exhausting. Eventually, having
turned south, they got into less close country- and almost immediately a fine sable antelope got up
about a hundred yards in front of them. Ke halted twice as he made off and gave Peter two standing
shots which he unfortunately missed. Attempts to stalk the bull again were without avail, for he
soon disappeared altogether in the thick bush.

About nine a.m. Peter and Cooper found a pan close to a big kraal, so they sent .for a kraal-boy
to show them the best game-country. The boy led them due west and, without seeing any spoor or any-
thing else, the trio made a wide detour occupying nearly two hours. They were almost giving it up as
hopeless when Cooper spotted a herd of sable. The herd moved off, and Peter and the hunter tried to
canter after them on horse-back but the bush was so thick that riding at any fast pace was impossible.
The herd doubled back on their own tracks a good deal and finally appeared to. go off in a northerly
direction. Still Peter and Cooper persevered and at last their patience was rewarded, for there stood
the herd, thirty or forty strong, quietly grazing on comparatively open sloping ground. All seemed
well, but again the hopes of the hunters were shattered. Something aroused the suspicions of the wary


68

'antelope and they dashed off once more just as
Cooper was trying to pick out the hest bull.
Another pursuit followed, then another move
and another stop on the part of the herd. A-
gain the approach was conducted with the
utmost care and again the herd bolted. The
situation was becoming desperate and there
seemed no chance whatever of overtaking the
fugitives when suddenly a fine bull was seen
standing motionless and carefully watching his

Coouer with Peters first Sable-ante1one. pursuers. There was no time to lose. Peter

Background shows two L-Iashukulumbwe s wearing

the Mpumpi. saw his opportunity and took it. In an in-

stant he was off Jessies back and fired at as much of the bull as was visible between the forked stem
of a tree. There was no mistake aftout it this time; the bull staggered visibly, pulled himself to-
gether for a while and then dropped dead not a hundred yards away with a bullet through both shoulders.
He was a good specimen with horns just under forty-five inches and quite the finest trophy we had so
far secured.

Meanwhile I spent a poor morning. I saw only one hartebeest and three animals which I be-
lieved to be eland, and I missed a shot at a reedbuck. There seemed to be little game on the side I
explored; at all events I saw no spoor or other traces during the several hours I was out. I there-
fore returned to camp and consoled myself with the Pickwick Papers. In the afternoon I shot a duiker,
but lost him, though I followed his blood-spoor for over an hour.

Next day Cooper and I made for the ground where Peter shot his sable. We found a herd without


much difficulty but, having ascertained that the only bull with it was not worth shooting, we turned
our attention to koodoo whose fresh spoor we had observed. For some hours we searched in vain and
then returned to the wagon without any addition to our bag. We had, of course, seen game of one kind
and another including hartebeest, eland and warthog, but these we already had and it would have been
needless slaughter to shoot more unless we saw something altogether exceptional. Blank days, in fact,
were now to become more common occurrences, for we had shot practically all the ordinary species and
were obliged to begin regular searches for the rarer ones.

Tommy, Cooper* s pony, had developed a sore back, so Peter and I set off in different directions
whilst our hunter remained to accompany the wagon during its afternoon trek to Nakajinjee. It was well
he did so, for the march was a hard one. In some places the bush was so thick that a path for the
wagon had to be cut with axes, and, had Cooper not been present, it is doubtful whether our goods and
chattels would ever have arrived at their destination at all.

The march, too, was longer than anticipated and neither Peter nor I got in till nearly V7 p.m.,
During the trek I shot another duiker but found both his horns broken, I was thus again foiled in my
attempt to add one of these insignificant trophies to my bag and so to make up iny round dozen of dif-
ferent species.

On the morrow Peter and Cooper sallied forth after sable and eland with the two fit ponies while
I went on foot. I saw a lot of game and succeeded in adding a small duikar to my list thus complete
ing my twelve species. I also shot my second bdll hartebeest. Peter saw much less than I did, no
sable at all and only one eland which he could not get; close to camp, however, he secured his second
wildebeest.

During the evening I went out again but saw nothing worth mentioning and never fired a shot.
Peter had likewise gone out and soon discovered a solitary eland bull. He stalked to within seventy


yards, fired-and went wide, thus affording another instance of the ease with which one can miss even a
hig target at very short range. A second shot, however, struck the eland somewhere and he went off
followed by Peter and Cooper for about half a mile, when darkness set in and necessitated a return to
camp.

That evening we discussed the situation and decided that we would all go out together next
morning and try to find the wounded animal. It was a long and tedious business and when, finally, we
got to long grass and very hard ground we lost all sign of spoor and were compelled to own ourselves de-
feated.

Late in the afternoon Cooper and I went out and hunted in vain for an hour or more. We then
struck a track and were following it along the edge of some thick bush when I suddenly saw the sharp
flick of a tail at right angles to our line of march.

Whenever I went out with anyone whom I could trust at all I made a point of making my assistant
move a few yards in front of me and, whilst he kept a sharp look-out ahead, I kept a careful watch on
both flanks. This was to my mind much the best division of labour, for a complete half circle is far
too much for any one man to scan unless his rate of movement is to be uncommonly slow. And on this
occasion, as well as on many others, my plan certainly worked. We were almost past the bull-eland when
he betrayed himself. The flick of his tail did not last the tenth part of a second, but it was enough
to give him away. He was only sixty yards off and had not seen us. I was on the ground in an in-
stant and got him on the point of the shoulder with my .27. I should have preferred my .550 for so
big an animal, but it was unfortunately done up in its sling and, with two ponies and four men standing
absolutely in the open, it was not good enough to run more risk of attracting attention than necessary.
The bull staggered, pulled himself together, and crashed into the bush which at once became so thick
that a pursuit on horseback would have been useless. In we rushed after him on foot and for a mile or


71.

more, followed a heavy blood-trail without difficulty. Then the blood ceased and our task became much
harder; still we were on the right line and had not given up hope when Cooper suddenly stopped, and
whispering something I could not quite hear, pointed eagerly in front of him. One of the black boys
also had his eyes fixed on something, and I naturally thought they had both spotted the eland. "Is he
standing?" I asked Cooper hurriedly. "Yes", came the reply, but for the life of me I could see nothing
and, with bated breath, I told Cooper so. He led me forward a few paces, stopped and pointed again,
but still I could make out nothing in the least resembling the massive yellow-grey body of an eland-
bull. I was still staring desperately into the tangle# bush before me when Cooper gave a disappointed
grunt as a fine sable sprang from behind the trees and undergrowth and disappeared in the thicket.

My utter disgust may be imagined. I had never dreamed that Cooper had spotted a sable and I
had failed to catch the hurried words in which he had tried to acquaint me of the fact.

Amongst the mass of different shades and colours before me it might have been hard at any time
to detect whatever portion of the game was visible, but the idea of looking for the jet-black body of a
sable never entered my mind, which was intent only on the yellow-grey of the eland.

Knowing that sable rarely go far, Cooper and I at once set off in pursuit leaving the boys be-
hind with the ponies. But the bush became so dense and the spoor so faint that we had perforce to
give it up and go back on our own tracks. There we found the boys who, to our surprise, told us they

were following the eland spoor and we then discovered that the two spoors ran parallel, that sable and
eland had formed a joint stock company and gone off together. In fact, at the moment when Cooper was
trying to show me the former, the black boy (Feechan) had his eyes on the latter which, like myself,
Cooper had failed to see at all.

Thus the seemingly unfortunate misunderstanding had turned out trumps in the end and our job
was greatly simplified in that we could now follow the two tracks in one. This we did for over a mile


and we were still going 'steadily on when Cooper pulled up sharp, gazed through his glasses and with-
out a word, set off at a full gallop.

Again I expected he had seen the eland and another race seemed probable. After a few hun-
dred yards, however, my companion stopped, hissed the words "sable bull" through his teeth and took
Poo-on by the reins whilst I jumped quickly out of the saddle. There, just over two hundred yards
away, was the sable quietly grazing. I ran behind an ant-heap and lay down to shoot, but I felt I
was too unsteady. X pulled myself together and set my teeth, but by no manner o' means could I keep
my rifle still. It seemed to waggle about like a lamb's tail and I knew it would be hopeless to
fire while I was in such a state. There was nothing for it but to wait. But oh! the torture of
it and the temptation to let fly and just trust to luck! There was my coveted prize moving gradual-
ly further and further away, making my shot more and more difficult with every stride, and there was
I feeling literally like a house divided, with a vengeance, against itself! On the one hand mad
desire to own the head urged and insisted that I must shoot or see my trophy escape untouched; on the
other hand cold reason told me that I was trembling like a jelly and that the chances against hitting
were a hundred to one. With a desperate effort I calmed myself and after a few seconds that seemed
like hours, I was all right again. X drew a deep breath and a careful bead and, as my rifle spoke,I
felt going through me, that strange thrill of hope and fear that so often accompanies a speeding bul-
let. But hope was uppermost this time and rightly so. There was a thud, a sudden jerk of the black
body and I knew the sable was hit, and hit hard too.

Prom where I lay a second shot was hardly possible, but I fired, and missed. Then I sprang
to my feet and ran into the open to put in a third before he should disappear in the bush for which
he was making. I could only just see his outline through the grass and hanging foliage, and the
chance of hitting seemed so remote that I hesitated whether to try my luck or not. I was

still


,unable to make up my mind when there flashed upon me an admonition .of* Coopers given to both Peter and

me the day before:- "When in the bush," he said, "take risks, and shoot whenever you get the least
chance, dont be ashamed 'of missing or afraid to fire on that account; you, particularly, Captain,are
too fond of making certain; you will work your soul out to make sure of success, rather than run the
least risk of failure, you dont gamble enough." He was right, for I was born without a gamble
inside me, and, time after time, I fear, both at work and at play, have I lost opportunities in conse-
quence. I knew my failing as well as he did and had fought against it, but no one had told me the
truth quite so bluntly. I liked the man for it at the time and I wondered why we c-ould not all be a
little more honest with each other. How often could we help a pal had we but the moral courage to
put our thoughts into words!

So I pressed my trigger, and a joyous shout from Cooper told me I had not done so in vain. My

bullet Broke the sables near hind leg just as
he was vanishing. To follow him and finish
him was the work of a few minutes, and I was
more than delighted to find I had added a good
specimen to my collection. He measured just
over forty-two inches.

Night was falling fast as we turned to
go home by the shortest possible path. It led
along the edge of the jungle for some way and
then passed through a grove of high trees with
thick spreading crowns so close together that
Wounded Sable Ante lone. the whole gave the appearance of a great open-


£ided hall whose roof* was supported by many pillars. There was no moon and the light outside was'
faint enough, but, when we came to the edge of the canopy, all was as black as ink, no stars could
penetrate that veil of foliage.

We could scarcely distinguish the massive grey trunks through which we wound our way, and the
ponies trod warily over knotty roots half buried in the ground. There was no sound save the thud of
a hoof striking fallen pieces of timber, or the soft rustling of leaves and brushwood as the boys
stepped cautiously along behind us.

Suddenly there was a shriek as though of a thousand demons all let loose at once. Like a
gigantic syren it began with a brief threatening buzz immediately above our heads; in an instant it
increased a hundredfold in volume, rose to the highest pitch and tore forward through the air at the
pace of a hurricane. Having reached its utmost limit with a piercing screech impossible to describe,
it fell as it had risen, and a moment later all was as still as death.

How long it lasted goodness only knows. It was so sudden that we had no time to think, go
bewildering that we took no count of time; it may have been ten seconds, it may have been thirty, we
could not tell. At the first sound a cold shiver ran down my back; had the gates of hell been open-
ed then and there I could not have been more surprised. But Poo-on brought me to my senses. With a
mighty plunge he shot straight up into space and then, as he landed, stopped dead as though no power
on earth should ever induce him. to move again. With his forelegs firmly planted, his back arched,his
nostrils dilated, his ears pricked straight forward and his eyes flashing fire, he stood petrified
with terror. He was trembling in every limb, and every instant I expected him to make a wild dash
for liberty. The sound was right over us thdn and he might go anywhere. Had he had his choice he
would no doubt have plunged down into the bowels of the earth, but, that being impossible, any other
direction seemed good enough; but he was too frightened to move and so he simply stood, glued to
where he was. Then as the sound rushed forward, his muscles gradually relaxed, he gave a loud snort


and I knew he had recovered his senses.

I now looked round for the others. They were .all staring in blank amazement, but, like Poo-
on and myself*, all on the point of* recovery from the first shock. Whilst the noise was at its
height we remained motionless; as it decreased in volume we cast questi'oning glances at each other
as well as we could through the inky darkness; when it died away we still stood staring, following
with our eyes the direction in which it had gone. But no one spoke. We simply listened wondering
what would happen next, wondering whether the demons would come again, and all afraid tb put the
first foolish question. Suddenly a deep hoarse bark, almost a cough, broke the uncanny calm. We
faced each other squarely now and a loud guffaw from Cooper opened the chorus. We laughed till our
sides ached, for that bark was unmistakable and had fairly "given the show away*'. Monkeys! Baboons!
Those were our demons; those were the elves and witches let loose upon us; those the evil spirits
that had scared us out of our wits.

The whole thing was as ludicrous as its explanation was simple. The troop, which must have
been composed of many scores, had evidently been fast asleep in the trees when we suddenly appeared
right underneath them. Alarmed at our invasion of their sanctum' they had taken fright and jumped
panic-stricken from branch t'o branch and tree to. tree, jostling each other as they went and setting
up the hideous din X have described.

We were, of course, at no time in real danger, for the baboon is, as a rule, a most peaceable
customer w1iq rarely attacks man or beast. Large troops, however, may easily become very dangerous
indeed if one of their number is in any way injured. Sir Percy Fitzpatrick has recorded a vivid and
interesting account of the manner in which a troop of baboons, several hundred strong, once rescued a
comrade who had been seized by a panther. And, whilst stationed at Harrismith in the Orange River
Colony, where large numbers of these great apes inhabited the Platberg and other rocky kopjes, X was


^old the story of a native who had been killed by them. What he actually did .was unknown, but' he
had evidently annoyed a troop in some way; so they went for him in a body and literally tore him to
shreds.

Baboons are occasionally shot by sportsmen but are hardly regarded as trophies, and we never
tried to get one although we saw many. Men who have shot them have assured me they would never do so
again, so forcibly did their plaintive cries remind them of those of a human being in agony.

Our laugh over, we quickened our paces and soon reached camp where we found Peter had shot a
duiker during our absence. Next morning he and Cooper set out together whilst I took some of the boys
to return to the eland of the previous evening. We found his spoor easily enough, but for three weary
hours we followed it in vain. There were many traces of game about and at one spot X had leisure care-
fully to examine a fresh "wildlaagte". A "wildlnagte" is simply a saucer-shaped depression in which
small herds of game lie up during the hot hours of the day, or where they enjoy a good roll in the dust.
They are often found in the open as well as in the bush, and traces of them may Still be seen in remote
parts of the Transwaa-l. At Oshoek near Ernielo, for instance, an English farmer, Mr. George Mossop,
showed me with pride a wildlaagte which he was carefully preserving in the garden of his hospitable
home. It was just like those we now saw in use so many hundreds of miles to the North and it formed
an interesting relic of the comparatively recent days when the gnu, the zebra and the hartebeest, not
to mention millions of spring-bok and bles-bok, roamed far and wide over land now covered with a net-
work of wire and growing many tons of mealies.

Such sights as this solitary laagte in the middle of a well-kept lawn encircled by beds ?pf
homely English- flowers, are certainly interesting, but to the hunter they are sad sights too. They show
only too clearly how rapidly the great exodus has been accomplished, how the teeming millions or.
such as were left ;of them have been mercilessly driven further and further away, like the voortrek-


kers of* old, before the onward march of* civilization. It makes one sad to think of* these things and
one wonders what will happen to the chubby-faced, cheery little kiddies in the nurseries of* to-day
when,' in due course, they take up their rifles, whilst we lay ours aside for ever. Are they to have
no sport? Are they to undergo no hardships that will make men of them? If so, what is to become
of us as a race? Will the sons cff England 'be as ready to go anywhere and do anything in the service
of their country if they have no sport to relieve the monotony of daily routine; if they have nothing
to compensate them for spending their lives in exile? Polo, and a few other things beyond the aver-
age purse in England, will remain, of course, but the greatest attraction of all will be gone.

The preservation of game is beyond the control of the majority of hunters, though the authori-
ties concerned often ask for and accept their advice as to when and where restrictions should be
imposed; moreover many of the men in our administrative services sure themselves keen sportsmen and
therefore frame rules and regulations calculated to preserve game as much as possible. The number of
head that may be shot is often strictly limited and in many parts -of the Empire, in India and Kashmir*
for instance, sportsmen have to report the extent of their bag in detail so that steps may be taken
to prevent any particular locality being shqt out. Thus a good deal is done to guard against th&t
total extermination which must come sooner or later, but the evil day might be postponed 'considerably
if only all hunters would themselves play the game. It is unfortunately true that all do not
invariably do so, and I could mention several flagrant cases of overshooting. One man told me
unblushingly that he had shot twelve of a particular species when his licence allowed him five only;
another, in a country teeming with game of all kinds, shot two koodoo bulls for the potj Again there
are men who are not satisfied with a limited number of good representative specimens; they will go
on killing the same kind of game every time an opportunity offers in the hope of obtaining slightly
better horn measurements. If the total number shot in this manner exceeds the limit allowed the


smaller heads are simply thrown away, if no limit is laid down the whole lot are probably kept. But
what on earth does any man want with more than three of any one sort? The value of a collection
depends not on the number of heads but on the number of different varieties, though, of course, in-
dividual specimens should be as good as possible. It is therefore Quite permissible to shoot up to
ones limit, even if it exceeds three, and then to weed out the smaller heads, but to overshoot ones
limit deliberately is quite inexcusable unless one is driven to it for want of food.

During the afternoon of August 25th we inspanned and trekked to an unnamed waterhole about
eight miles south-west. The following day Cooper and I decided to stay in camp and to. occupy our-
selves with domestic affairs and the marking.of heads. This we did whilst Peter went out tillhalf
past one, p.m. He saw two herds of eland holding about fifty each, but his efforts to obtain a head
were unsuccessful. There were plenty of eland further on, however, so we agreed to push on to our
next camp fdnother unnamed spot) and thus got one march nearer the koodoo and buffalo country.

In,the course of this trek I saw another type -.of native game-trap. It consisted of a row of
deep and narrow pits dug parallel to each other on both sides of a broad track much frequented by
game. There were eight or ten pits in all and their longer sides ran parallel to the track, the twb
nearest pits being not more than a few feet from its centre, so that any animal departing in the
least from- the main track was very likely to come a cropper. The tracks used by men and animals are
often the same, and it is therefore well to look out for pits as one rides along. They are most skil-
fully covered with leaves and brushwood and are frequently rendered really dangerous by the fact that
strong, sharpened stakes are planted vertically in them. A toss pony and all on to the spikes
would probably be serious, whilst a drop into an ordinary pit might well mean a broken leg. Cooper


79

warned us of this and told us of an officer who was laid up for five days after a tumble into one of
these pits. Consequently we usually let a black boy walk just ahead of us and so reduced the risks to
a minimum; the boys are not likely to be caught napping, they either know where the pits are or else
detect them in good time.

Our camp at the conclusion of this day's march was a pleasant one; the country we had come to
was promising and we set out full of hope next morning. J tbok
Johannes, Omi. and Soccis with me and had not been out long before
I shot a reedbuck. He was not a particularly good one, -but we
were glad of him as meat was badly needed. I also saw hartebeest
and roan.

Peter meanwhile went with Cooper and about half a mile
from camp they sighted a herd of sable with wildebeest close to
them. The sable were stalked without much trouble, but, on exam-
ination, it was found that the only bull in the party was not a
good one, so he was left alone.

The two then proceeded north-west along the edge of some
thick bush till they found a herd of roan. Another stalk was be-
gun, but, before it was completed, Cooper spied some eland cows
accompanied by a fine bull. Peter had not yet got an eland, so
he gave up the roan, went for the big bull and killed him stone
dead with a well-aimed shot through the neck. As the bull
dropped the cows showed no signs of fear and Peter got up to with-
in twenty yards of them. It was most unfortunate that he had not

Cooner and Dead Stand.


got -his camera handy, otherwise he might have obtained an interesting photograph. The bull was a hand-
some specimen of* the tuftless variety, measuring just under thirty inches. Whilst two of the boys
were left to bring in the head Peter and the hunter went off after some roan, but, as bad luck would
have it, the two boys crossed the stalk on their way to camp and so the enterprise failed.

That morning Peter saw an extraordinary amount of game uncluding hartebeest, roan, wildebeest,
sable, steinbuck, reedbuck, numerous baboons, and eland. Never had any of us seen more in a few
hours, and the temptation to remain where we were was strong; but koodoo and buffalo were now our aim

and object, so we hardened our hearts and pressed on across the dry bed of the Ugabo River to a place

called Shimafumba Kraal. As usual we hunted as we marched along, but we did little good. Peter

accomplished a difficult stalk after a roan and bagged him, only to find that he measured no more than
twenty-four inches. Cooper and I wandered about for hours and saw only two very small koodoo bull,
although there was a lot of absolutely fresh koodoo spoor in the neighbourhood.

Of all African game koodoo are probably the most tricky customers to deal with. Their senses
of sight and hearing are wonderful and after having once seen their pursuer, they take very good care
never to lose sight of him again. Many animals rush off wildly determined to put as much space as
possible between themselves and the hunter. Others gallop off for some distance and then turn to
look back; if they see nothing they will probably begin grazing peacefully; if they find themselves
followed they will gallop away once more and then turn round to have a second look, and so on.

But the tactics of the koodoo are very different. If he spots you first, it is "all up"

unless the ground is so open that you can ride him down. The moment he sees you he will move softly

away, taking cover with wonderful skill; he will worm his way through the thickest bush without a
sound of rustling leaf or breaking twig; he literally glides from place to place, keeping steadily
ahead of you all the while. He seems to have eyes behind as well as in front, for, even when he turns

PAGE 9

ATale of NorthWesternRhodesia.ByOaptainW.F.Reichwald.R.H.A. Photogaphs byLieutenantPhilipR.Bald.R. E.++++ ++

PAGE 11

Tomylate Brother-o'rricersof theXVllIthBrigadeRoyalFieldArtillerythesepagesarededicated. ++++

PAGE 13

Prefaoe. Cha.pterI..ChapterII. Chapter III.Cha.pter IV.Cha.pter V..ChapterVI.ChapterVII.ChapterVIII.ChapterIX. Ghapt,er X. Appendix.Pages i.--iii.1.--17.1828.2949.5065.6684.85--107.i08---127.128--149.150--182.183--216.

PAGE 15

The following account has beencompiled fromdaily notes taken duringmy wanderings throughNorthWesternRhodesia.inthemonths 'of" August,September and October,1909.Eventsha.vebeendescribedin sequenceandthewhole has been more or 'lessin diary-form inorder that itmightthebet.ter serveas aguide to othersdesirous of'underta.king asimilar expedition.Ihaveendeavouredtowritea f'ul.land accur-abe: narrativeandI''haveadded such fUrther in:formation as I thought wouldbe of' use tomy brother-of:ficers and others,butI ca.nnot toostronglyemphasizethe fact my applyonlyto aparticularpartof'Rhodesia ata timeof'year. l'tTa.ny hunt.er-s,indescribingtheirtravels,f'orgettopointout tha.t,whatthey say has referenceonlytosome pa.rticular time andpla.ce.The consequenceis t:h.at otherswhotry to bene:fitbytheirrecordedexperiences rind themselvesmisledby or advice neverintendedtobeurri.ver-aal.Lyapplicable,andso,muchinconveniencea.nd needless expenseare often caused. stores,suppiie's,and ar-td.oLes of' equipment, :for instance,wellsuitedtoone :fieldof'operations, aretakentoanot.hsrwheretheyar-euseless;theyhavetheneithertobeabandonedorelse draggedabout :for monthst,ogether,andintheendthey asoften asnot have tobesold at aheavy perhaps tothe sametradesmenfrom whomtheywereoriginallypurchased.It is, of'course,a.Imostimpossibleto avoid uselessexpendat.ur-e Somethingsmayormay notbe required. ar.d so havetobe taken "onspec"; thus mycompanionaridIbought 3. dozenblue lights:for whichwe h':td to P?",y two guineas wenever used oneduringthe whole t.rip :;;xld,,{ereg]':'-J ..dto get aeverrt.eanandsixpencef'ortheloton

PAGE 16

ii. Qur returntocivilization;butit:wouldhavebeenfoolishtostartwithoutthem,forthey any moment have become neoessary intheeventofourgetting a, chance of sittingupforlion fa.lo. might a,t or bufFurther,itmustbeborneinmindthat my narrativedealswith a yearthatcannot oonsiderednormal.Duringt.he early monthsof1909,very heavy rainfelloverSouth Afrioa, andintheTransvaal andOrange RiverColonymorethan:fortyinchesfellinJanuaryand Februa.ry alone. What thismeans may beimaginedwhen oneconsidersthattheaverage for Englandisonlythirtyinchesorthereabouts, andit::will bereadilyunderstoodthatthepracticalinundation of the landat the begirmingof theyear wa.s boundto aff"ec.tbig-game hunters formany months afterwards. Briefly put the effect oftheabnormal amount ofrain was two-fold;it left thegrassurlusuallylong,and game could driYl.K wherevertheyliked.Thefirstofthesecircumstancesmadeponies an absoluteneoessityin many partsofthecountry,forunless a man hadt,headvantage of' theextra.heightgainedbybeingonhorseback,hecouldseenothing; the secondoausedthegametobewidelyscatteredinstead of beingmoreorlessconcentratedneara f'ew water-holes and river-beds.Atthesametimethe abUndance ofwatergreatlysimplified arrangements concerningourIuarches,andwerarely gad any diffioul tyaboutgettingsufficient f'ar ourownsupply. Vvllat littleIhave had tosayregardingthecur-Lngof skins mustalsobeheldtoapplyonlytodrymonths;oncetherainshavebrokenthetreatmentmustbeent.tretv different. OntheWhole,however,itwillbe found that Natureplays agreat game of' oompromise and that what shetakes awa.y withonehandshegivesback in sameformwiththeot.her-,Theonlythingtodo,therefore,is to studyheridiosyncrasies aYld hunlourhervagaries.Sport.smenmust,in f'act,study theirhunting-grounds jUBt, astheIntelligenoeDepartment of"

PAGE 17

armystudies the peculiarities of' a theatreofwar'before:theoutbreak of'hostilities. 0!11y so'candisappointment,waste of'money, andfailurebeavoided;onlysocanexisting ,turnedtothebestadavntage.AccurateLnf'o.rmat.Lonis everythingboth in peace andwar,andI have compiledthefollowingpagesinthe hopeo:f addinginsome small measuretotheinf'ormationavaf.Labtef'rom other sources.The writingof' acoounthas been apleasuretomeanda,labourof'Love:forthos:e gf mylatebrigadewithwhomrspent.so manyhappy morrbhs If' whatIhavesaidcanhelpthemontheir way andsavethema ":fiver"here and. Ishall'haveachievedmypurpose.iii.Hh.owCentralIndia. Hay,1910.+++++-W.H.Reichwald. Captain. R.H.A.

PAGE 19

+TTTTCH.A.PTER I.IntheYear 'of Grace1900,Idid "Hy First Sl1oot". Itwas underta..1ren fromIndiaacross theHima,laya tothe rurther side of" Ohangohenmo which, adjoiningthe Tibetanfrontier,f'orms part of'tl1at weird and lonelyland withits Lamas andmonasteries,itsmaniaandchortena,anditsscenerysecondtononeintheworld. Ever sincethose'daysthememories of myf'irstattemptat'big-gamehuntinghaveremainedvividlyin my mind, andtimes withoutnumbe rhaveIwishedmyself'-backinthosesilent,peacefulvalleysWhereIcouldgo fordayswithout meetingahuman being otherthanthose'belongingtomyownlittle column, and where Ihavemarched :for manyhourswithoutseeingorhearingalivingthing of9J1Y s or-t.,orkind.Onmany,rImow, loneliness of' Ladakh has a depre:ssinginf"luence,the death-likesilence seems tothemuncanny;the mighty snow-cappedmountainsawe-inspiringastheytowerhighabove thebarren stretches of desolate intoutterinsignificanoemanandallhisworks.Buttome the unearthlysilence was thechief'attraction;itwasasilencethatspoke, that calledandevenseemedtobeckonmetocomeonandever on tosee what lay:beyondand 'beyondagain, urrtdI atlast, Ishouldreachthosevaststretches of'unknownland inCentralAsiawhioh, from myearliest.childhood,I

PAGE 20

2.hadalwayssoardently.longedto visit.The mountainsclearlyoutlinedagainstthe slC"y inall thei; 'brilliantwhitenessappeared,especiallyonmoon.lLghf; llights,to betheembodiment of' allthatst.qodf'ormajesty, fbr powerandfor the latentstrengthofNature.Theyfascinatedmeand--.thought'heymademy'breathcomeshortand f'ast as I clamberedup: toheLgrrt.sof'nearlynineteenthousand:feet,tho'thecoldwind f'rom theirsummitschilledmetothe' honeasIlayinmytentatnight,though theheat.reflected from their sides beatmercilesslydownby itwaswithaheavyheartthatrturnedmy uponthemtore-enterthedomain of' civilizationwith its hustleandworry,itsrailwaysandtelegraphs,itscollarsandcuf'f's,and o.ther disagreeable: concomf.t.arrts that go tomakeupthepandemoniumin which mostof'usar-edoomedtospendour-lives.Ia.aked myself' whenIshouldbereallyf'ree again,aJ.1.d I howlong Ishouldbeshut up in tOWDS andcantonments. By patience was tobesorely f'or :fourmoreyearsI served on inIn:iia withouta.chanceof' going:faraf'ield.7henfollowedTour years,:fourdismalyears,atHomewheretheotter,thef'ox,andtheredherring, were all tl1at Ihad to remindmethatthere. was still game to hu-11.tjwhere Dartmoor,theNew For-e s.t-,andtheDowns of' SussexandBerkshire, kept upmyhopeandtoldme thattherewerestillplaceswhereamancouldseeandbreathe andmove. Atlast myde1ivera.n.ae came,andmy.f'ee'ling'scanbebetter imaginedtl'...an descr-Lbed 'When, onOct.ober-30th,1908,If'ound myself' onboardthe"BraemarCastle", 1)ound:for South .A:frica.Harrismi"th wasmydestination,andin thatdelightful spotIlearnttoappreciatethebeauties o:f veldt .&Ld kopje. The silence of' theSouth Africannight :fasoinated me asthesilence 'of Lada.khhaddoneinyears gone by.BehindmetheDrakensberge, vfith thesunsetting gorgeously beyond,recalledthose restfulevening; hour-sin Changchenmo; Ln front thegigantic shuttin/i outallview,urgedmetoscalehissummitandsee what layfarawaytotheNorth,justas many a snow-capped Himaiayanmountain-rangehaddonein former days.

PAGE 21

3.However,1 must dropmyreveries and getto whichbeganwhenone fine dayanold friendof mine,Captain T.S.Lambertof the East LanoashireRegiment,askedmewhetherIwould care todoashootwith him. Iwasall for it, of course,soweatoncesettoworkonour"bundobust". Lambert hadbeenupinRhodesiain1907and,asheknewtheropes,Igladly'let him. dothelion'sshare of thelaboursconnectedwithourpreliminaryarrangements.Allwentsmoothlyuntilsuddenly Lambert wa.sorderedHome.determinedtoshootalone again. Thiswasasadblowtome,butIhadshotalonebe:foreand.soIObtaining'all iTIrormation Icouldget frommy departing friend, Icontinuedt.henegotiat,ionshehadbegunand,amongat..ct.hez-things,Iwrotealetterto aprofessionalEuropeanhunt.er-oalled Vvalters, whose'servioesIhopedtoprooure. The letterwaswrittenonApril26th, anQror sevenlongweeksIwaitedwithoutreceivingany replyaltppughmyfirst epistlehadbeen followed byseveralothersin Wllioh Iurged the neoessity for anearlyanswer.InthemeanwhileIhadgone.toPotche:fstroompr-aotdce-ecampwithmybattery and,a:fter patient,-lywaitingthere :fortime, IatlastgaveupWaItersand made enquiriesaboutotherhunters.I obtainedseveralriamesanda.ddresses(whichIappendbelow)andwrotetoallsi'multaneously,:for"r had learnt myfirstlessnn, viz:-thatit is a mistaketo dependonsecuringtheservices of any oU.la,r man.{l)partiNostof thesepro:fessionalhunters are tra.dersortransportridersas well, andinthebeHemustthereforebeappropriatelyN.Vv.Rhodesia.Kalomo.Hunters.CooperBrothers.PietdeBeer. :Mr. Walker.Mr.A.G.Hay.Agent,etc.Buluwayo.He is not himselr aprofessionalhunterbutaprivategentleman.addressedaooordingly and requests forhis assistanceoradvioemust w9rded. (1).

PAGE 22

4.non-shootingseason,theyspend their timetrekkingaboutthecountrybarteringmealiesordoing anyodd jobtheycan.Theconsequenceis that they areof'ten awayinthe wilds beyondreach of" thePost f"ormany months together,and sothey can neithersendnorreceivelettersuntiltheygetbacktocivilization.ThishadhappenedinthecaseofWaIters, and itisnoteworthythatonlytwo of thelettersIsubsequently toothermenelicitedreplies.Itwaswhilewaiting for thesethatIwas f"ortunate enoughtodiscoveran off"icer anxious to ace ompany me.ThiswasLieut.PhilipR.Baldof'theRoyalEngineers,commonlycalled"Peter",bywhichappellationhewillhenceforthbe }:nown.vVhen thereplies came in from thehunters,PeterandIdiscussed them togetherandsoondecided to closewithoneof'thebrothersCooper.The termsor ourcontractwereas f"ollow:Cooper.was toprovide anox-wagonwithaspan of" tenoxen,seven gun-bearers, acookanda waiter, besidesadriver and a"voor-Iooper" f"or the team. Theoxen and; ..theboysweretobepaid andfed byCooper,whoa.ls.oundertooktoprovideathisownriskthreeponies,one forhimself" andone each or us ..l-"lis charge for the who.le waseightypounds (.80) a month, plus tenpounds () amonth for eachpony.Now,this seem. ahigh.priceanditundoubtedlyisao whenthemoneyhadto.comeout of" theaverage officer's pocket;butPeterandI found ourselves confronted bytwoalternatives,andwehadtodecidebetweenthem.Wecouldeitherrunourshootonthecheapestpossiblelines,orelse do thingswellandthoroughly,thoughatconsiderableexpense.Theadoptionof'the first alternativemeantgoingwithoutahunterandwithout ponies,whilst f'ortransportweshouldhave to dependentirelyoncarrierscollectedf'orusby theCnmmissioners--

PAGE 23

whoseDistrictswe passed. Theobjectionstosuchacourse weremany. 5.Intheabsence or a hunter wewould ha.ve toprocureaninterpreter,who, in wouldbe <::f lit/tIeuseasaguide, for t.l.enativewhoImowsEnglishis, as arule, of" thetown-bred type,:k:nowing lit,tleaboutthelieofthelandand less about,thehabitat of game,Hadwe knpwnanytrlingof thelanguageourselves,thesituationwouldhavebeen dirferent, but for an officer statibneddowll-country tolearnthejargonspokenupintheNorthiswell-nighimpossible. An acquain-tancewithanyone language is, moreover,insufficient; dialects vary considerably,andwe fOlUld later that even Cooperwas:frequently "stumped" andcom.pelled togethisgun-boystotranslate for him.Withoutahunteritwouldalsobepracticallyout of questiontotakeawagon. Much skillandexperiencearerequiredinhandlingandfeedingtrek-oxen,and Idoubt whethera.nativecouldbe:found wl+o, minusEuropeansupervision,wouldbecapable of' looking afterateam :forany length of'time.Besides,noownero:fcattlewouldbelikelytohireouthis animals totheuninitiated;ifhedidhewouldundoubtedlystipulate f"or heavyoompenaat.tonintheevent of' deathorinjury.Again, if wedecidedoncarriersitwould-beneoessarytowriteatleastamonthin.advance totheDistriot Cormmissioner nearestour starting point.This, of' course,wouldhavepresentedlittle dirYiculty; theCommissionersarealways IQ,ost obligingandwould,nodoubt,have sufficient:for ourneedsunder a good"head-boy".cO'lleotedAtthe sametime itwillbewell:for :fUture sportsmento remember that it: isgettingmore andmoredifficult toobt!aincarriersowingtothe:factthatthe mines andrailwaysnow-a-daysrequiresomuchnativelabour.Butthegreatobjectiontocarriersisthattheyareunre.liable;oneneverknowswhentheywillleaveoneinthe lurcll or rerusetogo on.Ihaveheardof' numerous casesin

PAGE 24

6.lWhichtheyhavesuddenlystruck wDrk becausetheydeclared they were being takentoo from theirhomes, and Ilmow of Lriat.ancesinwhichsportsmenhavebeendelayed :for dayswhilstthey parleye'd withtheirboys,ortriedtoobtainnewones.In fact,the onlyadvantage canseeincarriersisthattheyarecheap, "their:fixed wagebeingonlyf'ourpenceaday,though this islikely to beincreased before lOllgowing to thegreaterdemand for labourreferredtoabove.Inregardtothequestion poniesPeterandIwereindoubtalmostuptotheday of starting. To takethemseemedlike indulging inneedlessluxury;wewereboth quite preparedto :foot itandyettherewerepotent.argumentsin f'avnurof beingsomounted. Men shootinginN.W.Rhodesiamust remember thattheyareintheTropics that,intropicalclimates,theyoannot!standthe same amount of' exertionasinEuropeorSouth Africa proper.The big-game huntergenerallyhasto put upwithrelativelypoor food, hewillbelucky if hegets anyfresh vegetablesatall,hisnight'srestis often disturbed,andthewaterhedrinksis frequently suchthatpeopleinEnglandwouldnotevenwashtheirclothesinit.Allthese things tendtoloweraman'ssystemand i:f, inaddition,heoverworkshismortal frame heiscertaintopredisposehimselftodisease.I am convincedthatmanycases of malaria,blackwaterfever,etc.,wouldnotoccur if menwouldtakemorecaretokeeptheirbodiesinastate fit toresistthe gennsof disease.Onemusthave s0mething inhand, some reserve ofstrength to fall backon.Itisthegreatest torunone's self downwiththeobject of saVinga few sovereigns; for whatdothamanprofit if hegainthewholeworldandlosehis bealth? Suchweretheprincipal arguments that finally inducedustotakeponies;theadvantagetheygaveusinthelonggrasswasonewedidnotdiscoveruntilwe actually begantoshoot.Thusitwillbeseenthat, aftercarefuleXIDQinationof the faotsat ourdisposal,wewererapidlyincliningtowardsthe more expensivealternative;butwemightnoteventhenhavedeoidedinits favour haditnotbeen ror one consideration.Itwasthis.BothPeterandIwereon

PAGE 25

thepoint of leavingSouth Africa,,probablyforgood andall.Ourpresentopportunitywasthereforealmostcertaintobetheonlyoneweshouldeverhave.Itoonstitutedour one andonly ohanceof gettingSouth African trophiesand of visitingamostinterestingpart of our African possessions.We therefore agreedtostretchour financial consciences,toputour hands inourpockets,andto"gothewholehog";andIhaveempha.sLzedthis,lestH.1Yreadersshouldsuspect meof attachingtoomuchimportancetothe arguments Ihaveadducedagainstthecheaperalternative.Shootingtripscanbedoneandaredonemorecheaplythan we didours. Men do go withouthunters,wagonsandponies, but itwillbe round thatsuch men usuallyhavetimetogainexperience.Withseveralyears' African service before them,they can becontentwith a mediocrebagthe first season;theyacquireknowledge,learnsomething of thelanguageanddobetterthesecond;inthecourse of theirthirdseasontheywill become thoroughlyau :fait, andbyt.heend of ittheywillprobablyhaveshoteverythingthereistobegotinthecount.r-y,Thatiswi "t.houta doubtthebestandmost sporting waytobecomeacompetentbig-gamehunter,butt.Lmeisessential :Ear suchamodeof'procedure.How much itwouldcoat.toshootundertheseconditions and howsuchashootshouldberun,I regret I unabletosay.Imadeallsorts of enquiriesbeforewebeganourexpedition,buttheestimatesgivenmevariedso greatly astobequiteuseless.AllIcandotohelpothersis,therefore,totell howweranourownshootandto p;oint out,to them wherewemighthave e:ffected aavf.nga, Qnce ourmf.ndswere made upastothescaleon wbich ourexpedit.Lonwastobeconducted,thingsprogressed apace,and onJune22nd,wetelegraphedtoCooperBrothers Ralomo andacceptedtheirt.erms,Nextweorderedsupplies,got,togethermedicalstores,providedourselveswith aJ1.ununi tion, and decidedonourcamp-equipment, persona.l clot.h.Lng,etc.The work connectedwiththese matterswas considerable and required a deal ofcareful thought;butlittle of it ferl to my lot.EarlyonJuly2nd,rwassent off onspeoLa.l reconnaissance-duty intheEastern Transvaal, where,f'or7.

PAGE 26

8.threeweeksonend,Ihada mostinterest:j:ng tin-leandthoroughlyenjoyed myself", whilethe unf'ortunate' Peter wasleftto dothedrudgery.However,hesurvivedtheordeal,and, muchof the conlf'ort we af'terwardsenjoyedwasdueto his foresight.Supplieswerethebiggest item andlikewisethecause or our first needlesslyheavyoutlay.We ordered them :fromF'. J. Clerke, General Merchantof Livingstone,andt.her-ecanbeno doubt weshouldhavesaveda good deal had webeenabletoorderstraightout from the Armyand:N:avy inL6ndonsome months'bef'orewe intended tostart. Istrongly recommend thiscourseevenincaseswhere orficers arenotsurewhethertheywill get leavetocarryoutapro-jectedshoot.English stonesof goodqualitry can "alwaysbegotrid ofatafair priceinSouth Africa, sooneneedhaveno of having themleft onone's haxlds. Arlother good planis to buyallsupplies froil1 theSouth Af'rican. GarrisonInstitute,andtosendthe 111 ont.oone'sstarting-pointbygoodstrain.Thereis,however,one advantage inbuyingstores from alocaldealer,anditisworthconsi-deringwhere carriers aret.obeemployedLnat.ead ofa wagon.Carriers' loads shouldbemadeuptoaweight of about f'ortypounds each, and localmerohantswho,like Mr. Clarke,haveequippedmanyex-peditions,willarrangetopacktheboxesinsuchaway,thatthe normal loadisnotexceededwhilsteaohloadcontainsa oonWleteor everytl1ingneeded f'or oneweek;theywill also markandnumbertheboxes.andpackages. This is agreat convenienceandsavesconstarrtopening and re-arranging of" loadsAsaguidetoothersIappendalist of thestoresweordered alld whichcostusjustoverthir ty poundsall't.oLd,Tea. Cof"fee. Cocoa 8"lbs.44 Quaker Oats.OatmealCurrants6tins.7Lbs, 7lbs.

PAGE 27

Sugar .70lbs; Hice. 14lbs.Cerebos SaJ.t. 3tins. SunlightSoap. 12packet/se COliIT110n30 1bs. Macaroni 4lbs.Bacon35 Matches 8gross.Potatoes70Candles12packets.Onions 50 ToiletSoap8cakes. Milk -48tins.Par-a.t'r'Ln4gallons.Flour125lbs.(intins)Peas.8t.Lns,BakingPowder6Lbs,Beans8DriedApricots10Curry 3 DriedPrunes.10 Keatin-:?:'s Powder.10Jams24tins.Tinned,Cakes..8Pepper.::llb.PottJed 10jars. -2" Lar-d20Lbs,Cheese5Lbs,Mustard::llb.LimeJuice.6bottles.Biscuits. tins.Turpentine.1gallon. Barley 2lbs. Washing Soda3tins.TiIllledpLumpuddings 9We alsotooktwelvebot.t.Les "0f' whiskyandonebottleof'brandy,besidesadozensmall qottles Iof'champagne,andI strong'ly adviseothersto do the same. Thesethingsarenot,anunnecessaryluxury; they are muchmorelikeanabsolutenecessitywhen a mancomesinsodead-beatandexhaustedwit,hheatand:fatiguethatheisunabletoeatanythingatall.Theabove list, isnot.quiteaccurateaswel.adtobuya few extrasupplies !'rom asmallstoreat Kalomo later on; it wiIJ., however,servet/Oshowtheapproximaterequirements threemenshootingforaperiod of tenweeks.Nolistcanbeexactly followed as cooks aremorewastefUl othersand, of'course, theappetites of individuals differ.The onlyt,hingswe round wehadseriouslyunderestimatedwere :flour andjam.andof'thelatter anotber two d07.en tins. Of"the f'ormerwegot"Ibelieve,ano't.l:..er f"orty pounds Tinnedfruit andjam,byt.he way,should alwaysbe taken inpLerrt.y;inacountrywhere fresh vegetablesarepracticallyunobtainabletheybecomeanecessit,y, and half'atinpermanahouLdbeal-

PAGE 28

,lowed :for eachday.During nwfirst inLadakhIdidnotrealizethis; for some weeka Icouldprocurenovegetablesatall, I got amildattack of scurvyinconsequence. Nex:t to f'ood suppliesmedicalstoreswereanimportanti tern:, andt,heywereprovided forusthrough thekindness of' amedical officer at Potchef'stroom. Theyconsisted of bandages,plasteranddressings,antiseptics, various medicinesmadeupintopills,needles,and--lastbut not least--quinine. Vie also took acopy of"TIieEanualot: theRoyalArmyMedicalCorps", and Ihadmy"FirstAidtotheInjured",publishedby the st.John'sAmbulanceAssociation,andobtainablepost free,for thirteenpence from st.John's Clerkenwell,London, E.C.Asa precautionagainstsnake-bitesI furthermyselr withone of Ferris.& s. Co.'s"Snake-biteOutt"its",price6/. The outf'itcanbegot from almostanychemistandispackedLnasmallboxwhichIinvariablycarriedinaspecialpocket of"my haversack. vVhen bittenthetapeprovidedshouldbetiedabovethebiteasquicklyaspossible.Anumber of' slightcutsshouldthenbe madewith thelancetovertheplace of" the bite, oonver-t.tngthesnake'spunctureintoasmallwound.Intothisthecrystals ofof potashmoistened (if' necessarywithsaliva)shouldberubbed. bittenitisagreatmistaketodrinkneatspirit,SUCllasbrandyorwhisky.Thistreatmentusedtoberecommendedbutup-ta-datemedicalopipionhasdeclaredittobemost harmfUl andlikelytoresultin grave danger. excellentsnake-bite outfit, besidesFerris's,isthatinventedbya:friend -'ot" mineCaptain Thomps.'s>nof the4thHussars.Itholds crystalsand lancet thesame asFer-ris's,andiscontainedinasmallsilvercaseexactlylike arifle cartridgeandcanbecarriedin a waistcoatpocket.It is soldbythe Arhly and Navy stores.(].)(1)Since the abovewaswrittenthe following appearedintheIndian "Inthecourse Qf.certain;experillllmts recentlycarriedoutattheBombayBacteriologicalLaboratorytotest 'the value o:f potassiumpermanganateasanantidote :for snake-poison,itwasnecessaryto.ascertainbyexperimentsonanimalswhetherPotassiumpermanganateisharmlesswheninj.ectedintothebloodstream.Theresults of' these haveshownconclusivelythatintravenousadministration o:f thedrugisattendedwith grave danger,and tha"t thismethod of' treatmentshouldonnoaccountbeemployed."

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Nowawordastoquinine.Wewereadvisedbeforest,arting to takea f"ive graintabloidonan11.emptystomachbefore breakfast everyothermorning. instructionswe caref"ully carriedoutwiththeresult that, thoughwewerein a very Dl3.1axial countryandmuchbittenbymosquitos,n.eitherPeternorI suffered evenasingle d.ay's :feverduringt.hewhole of" ourtrip. \I've began bef"ore reachingLivingstonesoastohavethequinineinoursystemsbeforewegottoour'ground, and wecontinuedtotaketheprescribeddose for aweekornlore af'ter leavingthecountry.Thislastismost necessarysincemalaria has a nastyway of' breakingoutlong arter onehasquittedthemaiarialarea.Icannot, or course,tellwhetherthedosewetookwouldbe suitablef'or otherparts of'Africa,for 'r understood thereare differer.:.t kinds of' malariathathave tobe treatedin dif'f'erent ways.IshouLd therefore adviseotherstoconsultaproperlyqualif'iedmedical officerbefore startingonanyshoot,andnottorestcontentwiththe fewrenmrks Ihavemade.Myacquaintancewith the science of medicineis of thesmallest,andIknow110more of sanitationandkindredsubjectsthan theaverageofficerpicks upashegoesalong,butI h3ve knockedabouttheworld sufficiently torealize the truth of a remark oncemadetome by anoldsailorwhenIwasaboynotmorethan ten years of .age.Iwastalking to theoldlllaninhiswatch-toweratacoastguardstationinNorthunlberlandand,withboyishenthusiasm,I hadexpressedmy admiration for hiswonderfulphysique.Helookedat me, puthishorny brown handon w.y shoulderandsaid"Well,you'rebredinaplacewheretheydon'tkeep many weaklingsandyoulook :fit enough f'or alittle'un,soyou'vegotagoodstart,but, if youwanttobelikemewhenyou're anoldmanyou mustlook after yourselfwhilstyou'rea youngman." Onlyayear ago Imet my old friend again;hewasstillgoingstrong,thoughagehadcompelledhimtogiveupactivework.Iremindedhim of' theadvicehehadgivenmemoret.han twenty yearsbefore and toldh.itnhowithadpaidmeto fol2.ow. it;hesmiledandanswered: "Well,then"Hitmey" I'mgladI'vebeenabletodo somethingfor you after all.".

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12. And.if myadvicecando f"or otherswhatt.he-old salt's did f"or me,Ishallbesatisf"ied.IhavegivenitandIhavet.o.Ldmystory'becauseIhavet,OO of"ten seenyoungmen 'break down owing toignorance of themostsimpleprecautions,orbecausetheythoughttheywouldbeconsidered effemina:teif they"coddled"themselves.Inow to thequestion orrifles,allMunition, andequipment. Rifles aresomuch amatter of taste,arId a batterydependssomuch onthelength of hispurse -:-oronthegenerosity of hisfriendswholendhimtheirweapons-that itis dif'ficu1 ttoknow what tosay.Thereare,moreover,somanygood rifles nowadaysthat,with my limitedexperience,Ido notfeel justifiedin rec0nmending onemaker beforeanother. Iwillthereforeconmyremarks tomatters of a general natureandmerelystatemyopinion that,for theantelope, any light rifle (uptoandincludingthe.303)isquite good enough.For"big ,ordinary antelope, such as'e1a."'1d, aheavier rifle isadvisableasitreducesthechance of losingwoundedanimals.For dangerous game,likelionandbuf'f'a.Lo,nothingsmaller than a.450boreshouldever be used, thoU;9-,of course,theY may bekilledWithalighterweapon if one can makesure of anaccurateshot. llany men,Iknow,willdisagreewiththeopinionIhavethusverybrieflyexpressed.Theywill argue,for instance,thatarelativelyheavy rifle shouldbeusedwheneverpossible,sinceitisdesirabieto firea butLetthatwill"knockout"ananfmalnomatterwhereitishit.There can benodoubtthatmuch might besaidin favourof-such aview,but,onthe otner onemust thatanyincreaseinweightusually a10s8 of mobility,i.e.,handiness,andit carulot 'bede {ued that for quick inthickbushthehandierthe rifle thebetter.Asregardsthebesttypeof'bulletit ia againacase of'"tot hominestotsententiae", and Imustleavemyreaderstopleasetheirownfancy.Ishoteverythingexcept iny 'buf'f'a loandmypython.witha.275 Rigby Mauser rifle and splitbullets.

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Thenumber ofriflestaken srlouldbe surricient toallow far accidents,andspare parts shouldbeprovided, for IcanimaginenothingnIoreannoyingthanto find one's self strandedinthebush,hundreds of miles from anywhere,withabrokenweaponandnothingeithertoreplaceitorto effect repairs.Likewise,the of ammunitionshouldbe for eachriflejthen, if onegoes wrong another can beusedinitsstead.PeterBaldlostthe foresightof his.350duringthe first week of ourshootand "Would havebeenbadly"carted"hadhenothadenoughrounds for his.303tocarryhimthroughthewholetrip. :Flor a three months' shootIshouldrecommendnotoless than threehundredrounds for the rifle oneintendstousemost,andalikenumber for one's spare rifle.Fora heavyrifle tobeemployed against lion, etc.,take fifty rounds. Aa toordinaryshot-cartridgeacouple of" hundred,including2's,shouldbeprovided,andaboxof'25S.S.G'sor4S.G'sshouldnotbeforgotten.Permitsfortheimportation or and intoN.W.Rhodesia be for ingoodtime.Theyareobtainable ":from theCivil Conmissioners, Livingstone.Gamelioences.arebesttakenoutonarrivalatLivingstJonewhereonegener-altvhas a :fewhourstospare.Theusuallicencescosttwenty-five an Aruainistrator's licencecosts :fifty poundsandincludes theright toshootelephant rhinoceros.Needlesstosayall rifles shouldbetreatedwiththegreatestcareandcleaneddaily,even if norounds beenfired :from them.Thisisabsolutelynecessarysincegritanddirt,particUlarlyveldt-ashinplaceswheret.hegrasshasbeenburned,have 3. wonderful knack of workingtheirwayintothemechanism and willcertainlycause lluss-firesif notremovedeveryday.Areservesupply of Rangoonoilmustberemembered.Theequipmenttakenwilllargelydependon scaleonwhichtheshootisrun,butwhetherawagon is providedornot,Iwouldcertainly recoymuend atent of somekind,even if it be onlyasocalled"bivouac". We took an BO-lb.IndianPatterntentwithadouble fly and f"oWld it mostuseful. 13.

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14. :When thewindwasverystrong,orraint,hreatened,-weputitupcomplete;whentheheatwasgreat,andwheneverwe left9ur wagonandtravelledthroughtsetse-country,weusedtheouter fly only,soasto lighten ourload. This was, of' course,anideal arrangement, andmanywilldoubtless'regarditassomewhatluxurious; and it is truethat,exceptintherainyseason,atentisnotanecessity. boys wi-ll:_rapidly buf.Ldgrass-hutsgoodenoughtokeepoutordinaryrain,andacouple of"waterproof" sheetswilldotherest,but, should theraincontinue f'or long,Ishouldbesorrytoseemyprecious riflesleft totheir f'ate under any improvised roof. MosQuito-curtainsareindispensable, sa nomoreneedbesaidont.hesubject;,to gowithout themisto c6urt disaster.Canvaswater-bagsarealsoessential;notlessthanten 'or adozenshould be takeri :in dryseasons. is another importantmatt.er-;weusedcan.dlesinGovernmentpat-general'ly -left theboys,quiteon board ship,I ter-n:folding lanterns,andtheyansweredwell.A isagreatboon,thoughonecanverywelldowithoutit.mine when wecutourselves adrift fromthewagon,andI f"ound Longdrygrass,cutby comfortable enough for agoodnight'srest.Aneasychair of' thekindgenerallyusedisverypleasantwhenoneconiesin ;J/t mid-dayd'og-tiredafteralongmorning'sshoot.Theabovementionedarticles or heavyequipmentshoUld, of oourse,besentonbygoodstrainamont.h or soinadvance.Pet.er-andIwereunabletodo this asthetentandmyownoamp-ki t were beingon manoeuvresuptothelastmoment;wewerecompelledtotakeeverythingbypassengertrainandhadtopaynearlysixpoundsforexcessbaggageinoonsequence.Personalclothingisamatter or taste,anditwillbe round'thatany ancientgarments of aneutralcolour are quitegoodenough. liead-gear and rbot-gear aretheonlythings consideration.As regards the former Irecommend a speoies of double-terai i.e.,twowide-brimmed felt hats--plaoedoneovertheother;asheet of silk,owingtoitsquality of being a poorcon-

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?uctorofheat, should be laidbetween the two.Silk of anycolourmaybeused,butorangeisbestiasitmost effectively strainsouttheheat-raysandallowsonly "theharmless light-rays to pass.Thewearing ofsolar orsun-helmets, of anykindistobedeprecated;they are inconvenienttoshootin beinghard, often make a gooddeal of noisewhentheycomeincontactwithoverhangingtwigsandbranches. Gai ters,whenworn,shouldbesinoot.hand soft becausehardgaiterslikeahardtapee,areaptto"givetheshowaway"; for longmarchesIusually yvore ordinary "1Q1aJd. slacks".Somemenwear"shorts"cut off' justabovethe knee, andthey are no d.oubt excellenttowalkin When itisveryhot,buttheyarenogoodwhateverwhenitcomestocrawling'over-stubbleorstony ground. Forsuchworkitiswellto r.1B.veflaps sewnontotheknees of' the"Shorts";these flaps canthenbe turned downover the kneewhenwantedandbuttonedbehindthecalf". "Half'-mast" trousers,likethoseasmallboyinherits :fronl his elderbrother,are a.Laoexcellent;theyarenearlyascooas".shorts"andcome farenough downtopr,otecttheknee.Toprotectthelowerpart of' the <'leg when"Shorts"arewornsomesportsmenwearputties,butsmoothclose-f'itting gaiter-s putonnexttheskinarecooler.Astobootsthereisnothingtobeattheso-called"TrampBoots"orelseordinaryGovernment"Ammunition"boots.Peterworeapair of thelatternearlyallthroughourshootandmyTrampbootsservedmesplendidly.Severalpairs of walkingbootsshouldbetaken,asachangeisa great relief"whenone's feet aresoreandswollen. !t isalsoadvisabletoprovideone's self witha supplyor hob-nailsincasetheyarewanted,anda few tins of dubbingshould f'orm part of one's outfit. India-rubbersoLedbootsaresometimesr-eo ommended for at.a.Lkf.ng,andthey maY benecessaryin places wherethegroundisstony,butIdon'tthinkthey are inordinarybush country. IhadapairWhichIworea f'ew times,but:If'oundtheyweresounbearablyhotthatIsoongot ridofthem. beusedin whereslippersorcanvasshoesdonot protect the foot insectbit.esjtheyare,Ibelieve,called"MadeiraBoots"inthetrade.15.

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15. Andnow arew wordsregardingthematerialneeded ror thecuring or skinsmustbring thissome whatLerigt.hychaptertoaclose.I rear, however,that what Ihavetosaywillbeoflittle value,ror Ilearnedagooddealless of thissubjectthanI had hopedIwould.ExcellentasCooperwasin most respects,I omarraid hewasnotanexpertatskin-curing. Af terallmeathadbeen care:fUlly removed 'ramthe under-sides,hesimplylaidtheskinsout f"lat inthesun,turnedthemasksinsideoutand stuff'ed themwit.hat.r-aw,Theskins, of' course,soongot perfect lydry,buttheyalso became ashard as boardswiththe result thattheycouldnotberolled,andhad to belaid :flat ontop of one inthewagon.Theconsequence of thiswasthat,whenthewagonmoved,the constant vibrationandjolting'causedthemtorubagainsteachothersothat the hair was in many placesscraped off.\rnen wegotback to therailwaywewashedtheundersides of theskinswith paraffin andthen'dressedthemwitharsenicalsoap.Thiswewere subseqttently toldwasalsoabadplan,becausearsenicalsoapisdanger-ous stUI--r for tb.etaxider111ist. toharidLe;infact,Ibelievesomenabuz-alLat.a refuse totakeskinstreatedwithit,owingtocases of" arsenicpoisoninghavingoccurredamongsttheir'workmen.WiththehornsCooperdidabsolutelynothingand there:fore, whenwecametounloadthem LrOm' thewagon,we round severaltobeworm-eatennearthepointswheretheyjoinedtheskUlls.ItwillthusbeseenthatCooper'smethod of curingtrophieswasnonetoosuccessful.Inthecourse of theshootPeterBaldandI frequently expressedourdoubtsaboutitandtriedtopersuade him tomakeuse of'the alum,etc.,whichwehadbroughtwithus;buthe insisted thathismethodwastherightonetoadoptinan African climateanddeclaredhe had always f'ollowed itwithouteverspoi.lingaskin.Sowetookhisword for itandfollowed his advicewiththeresultalreadydescribed. This resultwas moredisappointingaswehad ourhunterlargelywiththeobject

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of protectingourselvesagainstsuchmishaps.Eutthe faotis: thatmanyo:ftheseso-oalled"hunters"17.arenotyetiexperthuntersinthe fUllest sense of theword.Rhodesiaisacomparativelynewhuntingground,andsoitisonlya fewyears sinoetheCooperBrothersand:.othersgaveuptheir transP9rtwork tobecomeprofessionalhunters of big methodof curingtrophiesisone of them.Theystillhave many thingstolearn,andthebestThishasbeenreoognizedbysomeo:ftheleading at andtheyhaveconsequent-lyprintedpamphletsandsentthemoutdireottoprofessionalhunters for theirguidanceandinstruc-tion.Ishould therefore advisemy brother-officers nottotrusttheirhuntersimplicitlybuttowrite for thepamphletsIhavereferredtoand,withtheiraid,toinstruotthemselves. Knowledgeof the.sUbjectacquiredinotherparts of the world, inIndia for instanoe,isnot sufficient beoause/asIhavepointedoutinmy prefaoe,tIle method of curingtrophiesdependslargelyontheclimateandtheatmosphericcanditionsprevalentwhenthetrophiesareshot.N.E.Forthepamphletswriteto-Messrs. Gerrard,Taxidermists,61,CollegeRoad,CamdenTown, L:Jndon. N. ++-r++++.+

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18.CHAPTERII.TheCavalryManoeuvresintheEastern Tr'ansv2..al cametoanendnearBethelonJuly24th, and aboutnoononthatdayI r.ound myselfsafely seated inthe' speoial "train onmy waybacktoHarrismith,whereIarrivedlateonthe 2!5th. For the nextthreedaysIwasverybusypacking my worldlygoodsandsortingtheminto four lotsready for thewanderingsandchanges that lay beforem.e. Therewas onelotfor theshoot,anot-herfor amonth'sduty atPretoriaafter theshoot,athird for the.journey from Durbanto Mhow, and afourth tobe left unopeneduntil the dayIenteredmyIndianbungalow.This d.istributionofmy belongingsrequiredagooddeal of care,andthemany otr.1Sr matt.ersIhadtoattendto beforemy departure.keptmefullyocoupiedand raeroi:f'Ully putLrrt.o tb.e background the sadthoughtsthatI.knewwould force themselvest.othe :front themoment myprepara werecompleted.Theywere sad daysindeedtheselastthreedaysatHarrismith, for mydeparture from therewaslikewisemy departurefrom theXVlIIthBrigade.IhadbeenveryhappysinceItookup my quarters"onKing'5Hill,and,t.houghIlookedforwardwithjoy iJo theprospect of' onoemorewearing the muchcoveted "jacket", !bitterlyregrettedhaving't.oleavelilYoldBrigade. Memoriesof our days atDeepout Brightoncame backto bringingwiththemthoughts of menthanwhomnobettereverheldtheKing'sCommission.SomehadgoneandIhadbeoomeaooustomedtotheirabsence; but othersstillremained,andamongsttheseweremythreesubalterns.Tosaygood-byetothemwasthehardesttask of all.Wehadbeen:friends--thethree"kids"andIjourlit/tIe mess waslikeahometome,'and

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littledidtheyrealizehowmuchtheir"Skipper"wouldmisstheiroheery voices andthequiet funhe gotout of wat.cht.ng them andtheireacapades,Nordotheyrealizenowthatthesaid"skipper" will never forget thecareandkindness'withwhichtheynursedhilUwhenanasty smashwith ahorse himonthebroad of' hisback for thebestpart of twomonths.SoIwasthankfulthatmylastthreedaysatHarrismithwerebusyones,andI felt somewhat'relievedwhenatlength llW summonscameintheshape of awire from PetersayingallWasinreadiness for astartonSaturday,the31st of July.Isaidmygood-rbyeaonThursdaythe29th,andjoinedPeteratPotohefstroomduringthe afternoonof the fo1:Lowing day.TherearetwotrainsaweektoLillingst.one,oneonWednesdaysandtheotheronSaturdays.The former carriesthemailsandisthe faster, butwedeoidedtogobytheslowerSaturday trail?inthehopethatt,hesmallernumber or passengerswouldenableustogetacarriagetoourselvesinwhichweoouldstow some of' ourlleavybaggagewithouthaving to paytoomuch for exoessweight.Ourhopeswererealized,anditwasamusingtoseethegrin t-nekindhearte"d station.;..mas ter's ashewishedus good sport rold sawthelast of ourtwenty-twopackages stuffedinto'our oompartment.Theplaoelookedasthoughitmightbeanythingbetween a pawnbroker'sshop and thehold of a freightSAip, butevensowehadto pay aboutsixpounds for thetent and other bUl}:yarti cles that wentinthe guard.! svan. However" wesoonset.t.Leddownc omr'or-t.abLyandpreparedto make thebestof"ourfourdays'journey.About7.30p.m.onl';;:onday,August2nd,wearrivedatBuluwayo,wherea friendof' ours,CaptainMockett or the4thHussars,receivedus.AtthestationwewerealsometbyWillieCooper, a brother of' our hunter.He hadcome down countrytobuyponiesandaskedus for anadvance of some of the money duetohisbr-ot.he'r-t.oenablehimto eff'ect hispurchases.We'gavehimahundredpounds.19.

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20. Be:foreturninginatthe GrandHotel:fortbe nightwedinedwithCaptainand :Mrs.Mockett,w!t0 toldusmuchconcerningtheirownplans :for atripdowntheZambesi.CaptainMocl{ettis a keensportsman,sowelistenedwithinteresttoallhehadtosay,dulyadmiredhis :fine trophies and thenretiredtobed a:fter avisittotheBuLuwayoClub wherewe sawmor-etrophies.Our ror Livingstonewasduetoleaveat a.m.,sowehadtimetobuya few more things weneeded,suchasskirming-knives,etc.Thesewegot from:Mr. MioleeinSelborneAvenue. He keepaawell-equippedgun-shop,andIhavemerrt.tonedhisname andad.dressas j-t"is just, aswelltoknow of" theexistenceof' a shop o:f thiskindwithinreasonahledistance o:f one'shunting-ground.Captainand !\o'Trs.Mockett camedowntothestationt.osee usoff and, C3"f'ter wehadoncemor-estowed away ournumerousbelongings,we began tochatwi t,h ourfellow-passengers.One of" t.hesewasMr, A.G.F.ay whose name I }1.-a,ve alreadymentionedincormectionwithhurrt.er-s,Heisamost,Lrrt.ez-estLngmananda well-mown characterinBuluwayo;herejoicesintherrt.ck-name of "Tottie"which, by theway,isalsohistelegraphicaddress;he has seenasmuch fighting asmost,men, has killed mnre gamethan many andisasport.sman or the first water. Fe isalwaysreadytohelpanyone whowants toshcot.sandhis cheerful yarns,spuninaroughandreadyway,donotloseinthetelling.Mr.Hayis,in fact, arepresentative of thatcurioustype of individualgenerally referred toinSouth Af'rica asa"Hardcase",i.e.amanwhohasweatheredagood rewstOrlllS withoutever suffering disastrousshipwreck.Theyarequeer fellows these"hardcases",and they includeintheirranksallsortsandconditions" ormenfrom broken-down t,o"low-bred ruffiansof" thedeepestdye.Ihave met a few during my yearinSouth Af'ric.a, and, t!1ough thereisnotoneinten whom Iwouldlendabob,noroneina hundredfrom whomIwouldbuyahorse,Imust say they are excellentoompanyandmostinterestingtolistentoo. Some, too,are"Nature'sgentlemen"--roughdiamonds wLo nevercouldgettheirhead.sabovewaterowingtosheerbadluck,orbecausetheirrestlessrovingspiritsneverallowedthemto

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taking10.50 t.o.anyparticular work for moret.har; 3.f'ew monthsatatime.TheyaremenwhohavetheirfJ.ing,taketheirknocksandgodownwitharun,ablytocomeupsmilingatthe firstopportun ity;men fullof spiritand that light-hearteddevil-lnay-caresort of pluckthatwouldmakethemavaluableassetin the event of' anativerising.Sucha "hard case" of' thebestt.vpewasournewacquaintance, Nr. Hay.Likemany of hiskindhehadquieteddownwithadvancingyearsandheisnowinaveryprosperousposition. well knownt.nr-oughout.Rhodesiaheaee.nedafavouritewithall arm we,at any rate,weresorrywhenheleftusatawaysidestation't.oseetosome of'his own. businessconnect.edwithcattleraising.Truly,if' a studentof'humannaturewere anxious tost.udyoriginalcharacters,heooul d findamongstthe"hardcases" of Sout,h Africa enough ffisJterialfor severalvolumes.About7.30a.m.onWednesday, August 4th,we atLivingstone,havingjust g:1t a of theViotoria FlaIls aswepassedthem.WehadaboutthreehourstospendatLivingstone,andourtimewas :fully occupiedinoutourlicencesandt/akinginourat.or-es,TheLat.t.er N"lr. Glarkehadready for usandso,bywewereallaboardoncemore far thelast,stage of ourrailwayjourney_ShortlybeforesixintheeveningwegottoKa10ffio,wherethethird of thebrothersCooperBenby name --metourtrain.Attwoo'clockont/he a:fternoonof Thursday,the5th,wearrived at Monze,ourdeat.Lnat.ton,and f'ound Cooperwiththewagonawaf.t.Lngushythe sideof' the'line.Monzeconsists of twostoresandarailway-siding; Qut thereareneitherrailway-buildings,norplatforms of' anykf.nd,sowedumpedourkitdownanyhowcloset,Othemetalsand, afterbriefly discussingourplans for theimmediate future, laydownt.osleepnearthewagon.WehadtoldCooper to, call usat dawnbut,asheevidentlyconsideredanextrarestadvisableafterourlongjourney,hedidnotrouseus tJill 6.30.Thiswas,of'course,mucht.oolate:foranymorningwork;wewerenot

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22.,on.:..ourgroundtillnineo'clook, lsly whicht.Lmeitwasget,tingwarmandthegamewasbeginningtolieUp. Before startingwehadagreedt,O take Cooperonalternatedays, so we tossed uptoseewhpshouldbeginwithhim.Iwonthetoss andwent wit:hCooperaccordingly.AllIgot,however,wasa few verylongshotsatoribi;andIsoongaveuptheidea of onthesesmallantelope at anythingmuchover a hundredyards.I saw a reed-buck,but he wastravelling fastaild wasmuchtoo far away for ashot;wefollowedhimup for awhileandthenlost inthelonggrass.Peter,whohadgone off withJohannes,the chief gun-boy,gotone anddidnot fire atanythingelse.Abouteleven,wereturnedtolunoh and,whilst thiswas being gotready, had time totake stock of the and animals who weretoaccompanyus.The following werethedramatispersonae:First,FredCooperthehunter,ourguide,philosopherand friend; a powerfully builtman of middleheight,agedtwenty-fiveyears and bornintheZeerustdistrict.His father wasanAustralian anq hisluotheraDutchwoman.Nextinorder of importancecameJohannes,thechiefgun-boy.HewasayoungBatongawithawell-shaped,lithe figure anice straightforwardface. Hewasaidedandabettedby four gunbearers,viz:Jack,a s'h..arp-eyedboy withacheery face; John,asound,stolidyouthWithabighead; aboywhoworeatroubledanxipus look; andlastly,Soccis,aSlow,dull,andstupid rellow whoselistlesscountenanceshowedsigns or somethingvery akf.ntoimbecility.AllthesewereBatongaslike Johannes.

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NextcameJacob,f.hepony-boy,aBarotse;thenTomthewatier-boy,aridJimt,hewaiter.The wagon wasin the hand.s of" Simon,aJula, whowas ablyassistedbyadiminutiveurchinrejoicinginthename of" "VeryNice". Simonwa.s thedriverandanexceJ.lentonehe was, too; wieldinghis huge whip, hewould wall: alongbyt.heside orthe teamorsitonthe 'rontof" hisvel1icle,grunting, andscreechingineverysort of" keyandmakinguse of languagequite unfitfor publication.Meanwhile,little"VeryNice"ac-tedasteam-leader,or"voorlooper",anditwasamusingtoseethisveritablechildtugging away ataropesecuredtothehorns of theleadingbUllocks. they ever feltthe physical ef"f'eotof" his efforts Idon'tknow,but of'their moral effect therecouldbenodoubt,over and over aainwe migI-lt well have r'oundour wagon stuckina drifi" orjambedbetweentrees,haditnotbeen :for the inf"ant wholedtheway. L3.st butnotleastamongstoursatellitescameFrankthecook,agentleman f"rom Nyassaland,whohadhadthehonour of a.t.t.erid.Lngt.ot.hecuisine of' Eis Grace theDukeof v'lestminster and theNarquis Pechariwhenthosetwof'Lnesportsmenwerehunt.LnginN.W.Rhodesiaa f'ewyears ago. Our numbered threeponies,sixteenoxen, onedog.Theponieswere-IJes-ale,andPoo-con,Tommy wa.s anoldchest.mrt,blindinoneeye,he Lad r'oughfintheBoerranksduringthewarvandhad b-::aen wounded.Hewas a goodoldpony,:fairly:fastandwonderf"ullysure-footedcon sidering hisblindness;heservedasCooper'smount. carriedPeterBald;shewas'a youngmare inclinedt:obeskittish 3.nd rather given 't.o pulJing. She would notallowanyoneto shootorf" herback,butshe had excellentpacesandsooouLdberidden f'or manyhourswLt.hcut,tiringherjockey.Poo-on,or"theLittle"un" fell tomylot.He was asmall bay ponywithashaggymane and tail.Heshowedsomequalityaboutthe head but was asslow as ahouse,andhispacesmademeso stif'i' aridtired tl1at If'ound it neoessary frequently toodismoWltandat.r-etchmy limbs by walking. He23.

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24.could gallop no f"aster thanonecouldkickone'shat.along,but,thds pace, suchasit was, heoou.ldkeepup forany distance.Hewasexcept.tonal.Lynimbleoverbadground and ascuteasawholecartloadofmonkeys. Often hewas first tospot game whichhescentedlong before CooperorI could seeasign of it.TheinstantIdroppedthereins,ortouchedhiswitherwith nwfinger, hewouldstopdeadandletmeshoot fromthe saddle; if' Ijumped off t.o f'ire he would likewisestandper-t'e ct.Ly still, .even if my rif'le crackedwithina few inches of'hiBf'ace. Ibecamequite f'ondof my fUnny littleponyandwassorrywhenI saw thelast of him. All ourmourrt.swere"salted",thatisto.aay,theyhad had horse-sicknessandhadrecovered from it. TJ'lis addedgreatlytotheirvaluein N.W.R..1-lodesia sincetheywererenderedLmnune :from one of theworstanimalscourges inAfrica.Pan-on,forinstance, whoseprice, if "unsalted",mighthave b?en anyt.hLngbetween f'i:N,een audtwentypound.s, was boughtbyCooper f'or sixty-twopounds.Ourdog"Lady"wasdecidedlycosmopolitaninappearanceandextremelyuglyintothebargain.What particular breedshe resembled most it, wouldbedif'f'iculttosay,but,Iunderstandsheconsidered herselfa bUll-terrier,SoIwillgiveher the.benefitof thedoubt and bekindtothepoorbeastthatwastocometosuch an early and untimelyend.Onour :first trekshewasrunoverbythewagonandkilled.Thiswasagreat misf'ortune because,thoughnouse af'ter lion,Ladyhadamarvellous scent,Manya woundedanimal,Whichwe spooredin vainformanya weary mile, wouldalmostcertainlyhave been:foundhad wenotlostourone and onlydog.Weought, of course,tohavehadotherdogswithus,butwehadbeenunableto find anythinglikelytobe of' use.Thehuntersthemselveshavethegreatest diffiCUlty inobtainingsuitableanimals,andevenwhentheyhavegotthemtheycanrarelykeepthem :for long,sogreatisthenumberkilledannua.lIvbywildbeastsordisease. W'.aat iswarrt.edisadog after the Btyleof "Jock of the

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Bushveldt";buthe lL.Ust not be toobold if'he-is tobeusedagain.st.lion,norshould a singledog be usedwhenpursuingtheking or beasts. If' onehast.hegoodLuck torind alic'nin the day-time,itis"bestto havea.t leasttwo dogs thatwillyap and barkallroundhimwithoutevergettingwithinreach ofhis claws.Alionisnot fast; hecaneasilybeovertakenbya pQnyrJr instance,and if he findshim.self surroundedby two orthree yelping dogshe will becameut.terly confused and. generally stop-thusaffording thehunteracha..nee of"an easyshot.Asingledogis.tooeasilyevadedandwillonlymaketheliontravel fasterthan he otherwise WOUld. case o:f the buffalo issimilar,hetoowill often stop irheis harassedhydogs of theright kind, but,suchdogs,asIhavesaid,are difficult togetaridwellwortht,hehighpricesasked ror themwhentheydohappento rind theirwayintot,hemarket.Ouroxennumberedsixteen;eachonehadanamewhichheknew, and. alLunderstoodDutch--theonlylanguagethestolidoldtrek-oxwillhaveanythingtodow1theThemule,on tl:e et.her is moreacconwodating andreadilylearnsthelanguage of hisproprietorprovideditis spoken inthepeculiartone that appealstoh.un,The wagon ouroxenpulledwas ordinary"buckwagon",l.e., a heavy f'our-wlleeled vehiclewhich beusedWithorwithoutahood.Suchthen,werethemen,theanimals,andthe material, whfchcomposedour columnand with Astiff Pull. W}"'..ich, onthe af"ternoonof' August5th,webeganour :first marchintothewildcourrtzrywe hadjour-.neyed So :far to behold. 25.

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26.TheSpancomingin from grazingincharge of" "VeryNice".Howdi:fferent was nowaround usfrom whatIhadseenonmy first shoot! Howdifferent:from eachotherandyethowsimilarwerethecomponentparts of thelandthroughwhichwewandered for thenexttwomonths(Ihadintendedtodescribethecountryaswemovedon :from camptocamp,butIgaveuptheideaatonce;it would havebeenliketryingtogiveadescription o:f eachsinglerockandpebblealongastretch ofcoast-line instead of depictingthewholewitha :fewbold strokes of thepen. IIere werenoHimalayan mountain rangesveilingnewscenesthatlaybeyond;noancientmonaster-iestoweringhighon rocky pinnaclesabovetumultuoustorrents :far below;nogiantpeaksnor gorgeous valleys,eachin itself aseparatepicture.wholelest,t.hemindbecomeconfusedbydet.a.iL, wasbutasinglepicturethat must beregardedasa The errt.Lr-ecountry was,g8nerallyspea:k:ing,f"lat orgentlyunduLa.t.Lngeonlyoccasionallydida stony kopje,oraf'ewlow ranges ofhills,relieve the monot.ony,For afew mileswe would traversecom-paratively open ground;thencame a belt of highgrass,yellowlikestandingcorn; then apatchof' bUffalo-bush Sothickastobealmostimpenetrable;beyond this astretch of' lowscrubwithhightrees,dottedaboutsinglyorin next a piece of t,ypicalEnglish followed expanse of absolutelyopenplain as levelasabowling-green.Hereuponcame 01 dambo,orperhaps,thedrybed of ariver;thenapatch of fields,roughlycultivatedbythe thenmoregrass,more bush, more

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sorub,andfinally avastareastuddedwithmillions of ant-heaps.This'last,whichwechristened"Ant-heapoountry",wasthe most curious of all,andwhenIspeak of "millions o:f ant-heaps",I am not.quotingamere:figure o:f speech.Imeanthattheant-heapsaotuallyexistedinthousands o:f thousands,andsoclosetogetherthatone could notmove :five yardsin any direotionwithoutoomingaorossone.Theywere of' allsizes.Somewerenobiggerthanaman'sthumb andof' similarshape,othersweregreatoonesupt,Oeighteenor twenty f'eetinheightandnearlyasmuchindtarnet.e'rat)thebase.InsomepLacestheant-heapsthemselves,aswellasthegroundbetweenthem,weredevoideven of' scrub,orgrass;inot.her-st.heinterveningground was coveredwit,hrichpas-27.ture,whilstout,ortheapex of' eachpileroseoneormorestatelytrees. thetreeshad grown out of" theant-sheapa,orwhetherthelatterhadbeen formed r-oundt .hetreesandgrownupwiththem, was a problemIcouldnevermakeupmymindabout.Argument,scoul.dbeadducedin f'avourof' bothviews,butIcould thin..l{: of'riot.hf.ngthat,coulddet'Lnf.t.eLyprovethecorrectness of either.Alongthebanks of' the KafUe werebroad flats intersectedbynumerousdeeplagoons.Insomeplacestheseflatswerefiveorsixmileswideandquit.e treeless; thus:formingaouriousoontrastbetween the mainriverandLt.st;ributarieswhiohweoouldrarelyseetillwewereont.op of them,sothickwasthebushoneitherside.Somuoh f'or thevariety of' scenepresentedto us; andyettherewasastrangesameness.Var-ietylayint.hedetails,samenessoharacterizedt.he whole.JIo clearly defineddif'f'erenoes distinguish-edonestretch o:f count,ry from another; few prominentland-marksservedtoguideourstepsaswemarched from oampt,O camp by :faint andsinuoustracks,orscouredtheveldtinwhateverdireotionwewereledbythesight o:f aherd or thespoor of' awoundedanimal.Inshortthewholeoountryf'orciblyrenundedmeofahugepatchworkquilt of manypieoes,and if' my brief' description of itisinadequate,or if' itcreatesa impression,Icanonlyhopethat

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2.8.amongstthoseormy readersdestinedtosee the c ount.r-y f'orthemselves theremaybeonewho,wit,hanablerpenthanminewillsomedaydoitjustioe. +++++ +

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Aboutonep.m.,onAugust5th,wemarched off toapointonthe Riversome :fifteen mileswest, oT Monze.Duringthe :first couple of hoursnothing of interestoccurred,butlateinthe afternoon wepassedclosebyaveldt:fire of unusualsize. blackclouds o:f smokerose high intotheairasthefireburnedwithacontinuousroar;itscracklingwasliketherattle o:f musketryandsogreatitspacethatahundredyardswerecoveredinlittlemorethanaminute.Theheatwasgreat, asthe hm: airroseitcreatedawindthatconstantly fanned the:flamesdrivingthem furiously :forwardsandupwards.Thelong,drygrasswentdownbeforethem,whilst above thebranches of treeswere clarred theirleavesshrivelled.Behindthethinred-lineallwas black andsmouldering; before it swarmsof' insectsandsmallbirds :fled interror,:fallingeasyvictimstot.he m.a..nv hawksandotherbirds of' preythathoveredexpec't.ant.Lyonthef'ringe ofthesmoke-scLoudaoverhead.Thissceneforciblyremindedme of theeternalandmerciiessstruggle for existencethatgoes on alltheworldover,andIcouldnothelpsmilingwhenIthought of thosewho dreamof" the .. andspeak of' thedaywhenmanshallbeashappyandf'ree"ast.hebeasts of the field andthebirds of theair",whenstrif'eshallceaseandwarshallbenomore.Here,inaccordancewiththewill of' theirCreator,werethousands bf animals -being assailedbythosewhowerestrongerthan they; but:notonly t,ha.t, the "forcesof Nature herself' wereactivelyassistingint.hework of' exterminationtlO an extentthatmadeescapewellnighimpossihle.Beyondthelimits of the f'ire, in the jungle all around,similarsceneswere being enacted 29.

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30.dayafter'dayandnight afternight, onallsidesweret.he weak succumbingt,O t,he strong,thestrongtothestronger,andthese again to t.he strongestindividualsamongstt.hemseIves,Atevery turn weretraces of deathanddestructiondealtoutbythosemorerichlyendowed th3.Jl theirfellows wit,h physicalstrengthorcunnf.ng;event.hehuts of' the nattves boreout.war-dandvisiblesLgns of' bloodshedandmurderintheshape of' rude,earthen pots displayed on their roof'stodenotetheuUrtllerof'foes killedbytheowner. 'Everywhere thesametaletold inlanguage; everywhere the samelesson for us to learnandprofitby.Andyetthereareeducatedmen arld womeninthe world to-daysoblindtothe stern realities of lif'eastodeny 1?ihat thestruggle for existence, 'be "it amongst animalsorhumanbeings,must"intheend,alwaysbe wan bythosewhopossessphysical :force andthewilltouseit.Thegreatlaws of Nature, which theyignore,'orattemptde;Liberately t,oviolate, teach themnothing;againstthewiseprovisions of' their Creator,llimself thegreatest of' destroyers,theysettheirownpoorhumanintellect,that fetish onwhich alone theypintheir faith regardless of'those higherqualities "pistrengthof characterandhonestInanlineaswhichnothingbut righting, discipline,andhardship,will.ever'developtot,he fUll, either inthe nationorint.heindividual. lllO.Y1Yarguments, pLausLbLe enoughat iirst sight,t,hey pointtothedecreaseinthenunlber or wars and tothecorresponding savingof'life; butitisat least anopen question whetherNature aIoes notsimplyt.akeherhumantollinsomeotherway. 0f theQuality of thelivessaidtobesaved,the opponents of warmakenomerrt.Lonand,though m3.l1Yof' t.hemareundoubt.ed.Lysincere,their influence upon their fellow--countrymenis harmfUl intheextreme.Thehopestheyholdoutconcerning 3, st.at.eofuniversal peacein 't.he distan.t futureareeagerlypouncedupon and representedasalmostaccomplished facts byt.hoaeanxioustoavoidthe perf'ormanceof anyna'tdonaIdut.y,Theexaggerat.edvaluetheyputonlifepr-oduces selfishness, whiletheextreme

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humanitarian ideas propagatedgivebirthto a. nationalfailingwhichcanbestbedescribedas"wantof' 31. backbone".It)isforgottenthatthe old goldmustbetriedbyfire,sothe heart must,betriedbypain"appliesto whole peoples as itdoestoindividuals;theteachings of' history are eitherignoredaltogether,orelseonlythe com:fortable theoriesareextracted :from themandsS'rved"upinsuchamannerastopresentawhollyone-sidedpicture of thesituation;thewarnings'ofseriousso'ldiersfallondeafears, and eventhemostlearnedamongstthepeoplethemselveslabqurinvainWhentheYvoicetheopinionsoadmirablyexpressedbyArchbishopAlexander ofArmagh inthefollowing,"AndwhenInot.ehownoblynatures form! Underthewar'sred reign, I deem it'trueThatHeWhomadetheear-t.hquakeandthe storm Perchancemakesbattletoo."Withthesearidkindredthoughts uppermost inmymindIhadscarcelyturned my backonthe burning veldtwhen!sawsomething that lookedlikegame. Calting Cooper'sattentiontoit,weallleftthetrackonlyto find acouple of oribiat greatarangefor a shot.Peterthen dropped behindWhilstIwent011 with Cooper.Wewereridingslowlyalongtogetherwhensuddenly,withasuppressedshout,Cooperdashed forward at full gallop malcing straightforathickishbelt of trees juet ahead.IinstantlYfollowedandsbondrewupalongside of our who was eagerlypointingtoabiggreyobjectdisappearingbehindthefoliage.Iwasstillsomewhatpuzzledas "towhat, wewereafterWhen,amongsttheinarticulatesounds of myexcitedcompanion,Idistinguishedtheoneword"Koodoo".Itwasquit.eenough.Cooper's excitement wasatonceexplained, Iknewwewerein f'or agalloplikelytorivalthe best everofferedmebythemostsporting :fox athome.Forthef'irst f'ew hundredyardswewent :for we were worth,gaining'steadilythewhile;then sudden.lythe koodoostoppedandlookedbackatus.Iwas oIT myponyinaninstantbut,beforeIcoulddrawabead--

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32.f'rie.nd koodoowas off too.I fired hurriedly, t.rying' to get himont.herunashecrossedour front, but,whatwitht.heexcitementofthegallopand the duckingand d.odging tocleartrees and branches,Iwasso"pumped"thatImissedbothshotsI fired. Hastilymourrt.Lngwewentonagainas fast. as the poniescouldtraveloverthebadground.LittleFoo-onbehavedsplendidly.Ononeoccasionwewentstraightintoa regularsieveof meer-cat burrows,a4d heseemedtohaveatleastthree feet in different holesatthesametime;butherecovered himself andallwaswell.Meanwhile,our-quarrylollopedalongsteadilymaintaininghislead of twohundred yard.s, unt.tIwegottomoreopengroundwhereIagainjumpedOI .... i to'haveacrack'at him. 'My,first aho'tmadehi,m jink'badly, my next wentwide,soI set offforthethirdtimeof asking.Butwithoutavail; after somelittle dis4aTIce we10stour game inthethickbush werecompelledtogiveinandgoinsearch of thewagon.WemetPeterjust bef'ore dusk,butitwaseighto'clockandpitchdark before wediscoveredourcampundera fine rig-treeonthehanks 'Jf theSamachweRiver.It was toodarktobotheraboutthetentthatnight,sowedosseddownintheopenwherewehadarestlesssleepowing, totheyapping of cur-dogsbelongingto neighbouringkraalandtothehowling of hyenas. VIe werenot,yetaccustomedtothesenodsea and aswe lay awakewehadtimeto reflect, ont,hemeagreresults of' our first day'sshooting.NeLt.herof' ushad got anything wo'rthY o:fthe tJ.arne, andIhadmissedmychance of'getting one of' the finest trophiesobtainablein Many 3nd a timearterwards, asIspentlongandwearyhourslookinginvain f'Qr asLnrlLar-opportunity,It.nougrrtwithregret ofmy f'alLuz-e ; andyet,itwould have beentoomuchtoexpeotDameFortunetoletmebeginmy African withakoodoo.Inthemorningwegot,up justas thedaywasbreaking.ItwasPeter'sturntogowithCooper,SoIsetoutwithJohannesandoneortwo boys. Forthe first fiveorsixmileswetraversedthicksorubwherewesawnothingbutafewsmall duikerand oribi.Aboutninea.m.,however, justas Iwas

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tJhinkingof' returningto camp, I S:3 ..Wa:fawn-oolouredpatchtotherightofourtrackandabouta hun dred andfifty yards away. Is't.a.Lkedcaref'ully tip toabout,ahundred and. twentyyardsbutcouldgetno fUrther,f'or the animal, whateverit was, wasgrazingandIuightatanymomentraiseitsheadandseeme.Onlyaportion o:f thebodywasvisibleandIcouldnot f'or the lireof" metellwhetheritbeLongedtoamaleorf'emale,norwhethertheheadwas good, bad,or indi:ff'erent. ForseveralminutesI st:::lod motionlessandunabletomakeupmymindwhether to. shootornot.Oncemygame movedandIclearlysawaveryrespectable lQo,king pair of' horns,stillIwasnotcertainsoIcontinue-dto wait untilanotheranimalappeared and I felt sureourpresencewassuspected.Iimmediatelyfiredat the hornedheadwhichIbroughtdownwithoneshot.,butmyjoywas t.ur-nedintout.t.ez-disgust,whenIwentforwardandf'ound I had killedanunr'or-tunate har-t.e'bees'tcow.What IsaidtotheboysinHindustaniandEnglish--neither o.f whichlanguagestheyunderstood--isnot forpublication,butitservedtomakecleartothemthereason f'or mywrath,and ror ever af'ter theytookgoodcaretotellmewhetherI h'3..d a mUle (mujenda).ora f'emale (mujassi) bef'ore me. ThethoughtthatIhad begun mySouth Af'rican bagwithawretchedhartebeestcowworriedmea lqt, but af'tera Igotover my vexationtosomeextent.IbegantorealizethatinAfrican bush shootingitis of'ten absolutelyimpossible,even for the expert, totellthedifferencebetweenthesexes.InIndiamaleand female are,asarule, not easilymistaken for eachother;thelatter are rarelyhorned,andin many casesthey are so different insize and colourthatnoerrorispossible.In Africa, however,suchdistinctionsare,with some species,practicallynon-existentandI def'y anyonetomakesure of nevershootingacow for abUllinthecase of' bluewildebeestor roan. Some men, of course,donotmuchmindkillingf'emalesbymistake,andIcouldevennameoneortwoWhohave added f'ernale headstotheircollections.Thatbysodoingtheyusuallybrokethegame-lawsgoeswithoutsaying,and if theycould 33.

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34.squaretheirconsciencesin tJlis respectitisno-business of' mf.ne,butI have nouse f'or such"sportsm.en",nordoIwishevertonumber a.f'emaleamongstmy trophies.Tokill:femaleisinmyopinion,justif'iableonlyint.hecaseof'dangerous game orvermin;thoughI a..dmitthat, insomeexceptionalinstances,itmaybe necessary to preve4tthe:femalesof' anyspecies greatlyoutnumberingtheopposite sex. Asa rule, however,thebalancewillbe suf':ficiently wellmaintainedbythepercentage o:f cows shot accidentallyandby .the necessity o:fproviding f'ood :forhimself' andhisoarrierswbichso often compelsthe.hurrt.er-t:cshoot anything he can get. Af"tJer shootingthe 113..rtebeest I t.ur-ne d back tocamp wit,hJoharmes onlyand left theother boys to bring inthe.. me.8Lt.V'Ie hadnot;gone f"ar when we sawaherd of' wa:ter-buck, so\lve tiedPoo-ontoatreeandwent after them. grass was very longand, as wesoonlostalltraces of' theherd,I sat downonan 3.!1t-heap about,eight :feet highandto'ld Joha.nnes togobackandbringupthepony.He f'oU:."'1.d Poo-onright enough but,insteadof'leadinghim,he:foolishlytriedtodrivethe pony be:fore hiLl. Thiswasachance nott,o bemissed,anda :.few moments latermy mount was canteringquiet,lybackto camp byhimself. Johannes ran 3.f'terhim andsoonlymadematrt.er-sworse, as henever overt:!Qk the fU gitive andleft me sitting aloneinthe'bush;Iwait.edinvain :for about an hour-,shoutingatintervals riring acouple of' shots,butnotasound came backtome.At last Ilostpatienceanddecidedtowalktoahigh, dead treea short dist,aIlceahead; from it,ebranchesIhopedtoget a view of thetwolow kOpjes whosepositionI had not-edinthemorningincaseIwanteda landJark.The bush was extremelythickand :J.S I went f'orwardtothetreeI oarefully observedscrub,eto., so "that.! mightmake certain of'get,tinli backtotheant-heap if' necessary.ItwaswellIdidso;thetreeproveduseless and,as I struggled towardsitandback again, it W::LS allI cculd dotohit offthe low mound of' earth where Johalmeshad leftme. 0n allsidesthegrassrose far .above my headandIwaswi thin a f'ew yardsf'roTnmy.ant-heap bef'ore Isawit.OncethereIdet.ermf.nedtomakenomoreat-

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35.tempts t:1 extricatemyself' from myunpleasantsit.uat.LonjIsimplywaitedtill tlle boyscame 'tack tolook for me,andIhaver-eLat.ed this t.nc.tderrt as ittaughtmealessonIwouldrecommendo.therstoremember.It is this:Ifyou are lert outaloneinthebush,don'tonanyaccounttry to makeyourownwayhomeunlessyouhave absolutely landmarks,anunmistakablespoor,oranabnormallylargebumpoflocality. Stay whereyouare,andsoonerorlateryourboyswillcomebacktoyouandguideyouintocamp.Theyhaveawonderfulinstinct :for findingtheirwayaboutandnoEuropeancaneverhope to equaltheminthisrespect.After a time, of course,aEuropeanimprovesgreatly,butIwouldwarnthe begirmer againstover-confidenceinhisprowess. Hiver..In_Camp ontheSamachweWhenaloneinthick bush itisalsojustaswe.llto take a.lookroundnowandagain.Onlylastyeara s'Jlitary hunterstalking an elandwas himself' st.a.Lkedandkilled 'bya lion..AndFTed Cooper,pn one occasion whenrestingafteratiringstalk,suddenly disc')vered aliononthepoint of springing from aspotnottenyardsbehindhim.Heshottheliondead.OnmyreturntocampI found PeterhadshotagooddUiker,buthadnothadmuchsportotherwise.Wespenttheafternoonquietlyandsallied f'orth againearlyintheevening.Igotashot fioin thesaddleatagallopingreed-buck,whilstPeterbaggeda guinea-f'owl anda bush pheasant.PeterandCooperalsosawseveralcow-koodooandtwogoodbUlls, but couldnotgeta shot owingtothe failing light.

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36.NextmorningCooperandIdeclined to go the twobullsand, iorfearof alarmingthem 9thersthat mightbeabout,wedeterminedtoshootatnothing but koodoo.Leavingcampabout6.30werodealloverperfect'lookinggame-country but sawnot.h.Lngexcepta few duiker, a couple of warthogwitha1it.t,erof'young;andone 681itary hartebeestbull.Onourwaybacktocampwecameacrossanative game-trap shapedliketheletter y. inverted.The forksof' theYconsisted of' 'buf.Lt-uphedges growing thickerand strohger-as theynearedtheir p-oint'ot" junction.with"the'stemwhich endedinadeep,narrowpit.For use pitis skilfully coveredwithalayer ofgrass, leaves,etc.,andthegameisdrivenintothesplay of' theY and. up the stem till it falls intothepitwhereitisdespatchedwithassegais.We sawmany game-trapslaterbutneveragain of' thisdesign.Aboutlunch-timePetercamein with aniceoribi,andabout3.30weallsetoutafresh,but, though wescoured the count.r-ytillsix, I've cameback empty-bp,nded; in f'act, asingleimpala, and aherdWhichdarknessdidnot pennit usto classif'y, wasallCooper and Isawthewholeevening.Onthemorning of' August8th,we sevenmiles IJorth, toaplacecalledChobani.PeterandCooperwenttogetherwhilstItook-Johanneswithme. Vve hadgonesome three milesand Johannes waswalkingjustin frontof' me,whenhesuddenlystoppedandpointedexcitedlytotheground.Ilookeddown andwasoITPOc::1-on's backinaninstant.There,not: :five yardsaway,'layalargef'emale python, peacefullyasleepclosetoahole overgrow.a withweedsandbrushwood.Iwasfortunatelycar rying myl2-bore,loadedwithNo.2shot,atthemoment andW3.S wonderingwhich :partof" t,hebodywouldbebesttoshootatwithoutz-unnt.ngtherisk of ruiningtheskin,whenthe snakewokeupand begant,.o move.Ihesitatednolonger.Asingleshrt sufficed toLncapaoLt.at.ethebruteandthenIkilledherwithastickbelongingtoone of theboys.We her an thespotandcontinuedourwayintriumph.I W3.S delighted with myprize, for, a.Lt.houghva,pyt.honisnot concsidered much of atrophy,I

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hadalwaysbeenanxioustobagone.Theyare rarelyseen andveryrarelykilledinRhodesia;indeed; Cooper toldmehehadseenonlyoneslaininthesevenyearshehadbeeninthecountry. That:rwas carryingmyshot-gunloaded 2'swasanextraordinarypiece or luck.AsaruleInever takea 12-borewhenI am after biggame,but for once!departed from mycustom and was fortunate enoughtoscoreinconsequence.Atthisjuncture,bytheway,I mentionaprinciplewhiohbothPeterandIreligiouslystucktoallthroughourtripviz:Alwayscarryyourselfwhicheverweaponyouaremostlikely to want.Nomatterhowhottheday,nomatterhowtiredyou are, orhow infinitesimal thechance of gettinga 37. shot,nevergounarmed;makeapoint of havingsomeweaponready f"orinstant use.You may haveagun-boywhosticksto your heelslikealeechandyour rirle maybeabsolutelyreadyinhis hands, but,dependonit,thesecondyoulosewhilst}receiving it:from him wi 11costyouagoodheadsomeday.Iwould.also warn those of" llly brother-sportsmenwhoarebeginnersagainstthedanger of allowing nativetoholda"oocked" f"ire-arm even f"or a ffi0ment. If" youwanttolightyourpipeand carmotfind aconvenienttreeagainstwhiohtoleanyour thenletyourboyhold it byall butunloaditorputitat '.'sare" first.Ioncenarrowlyesoapedbeingshotinthe race throughneglect of' thissimpleprecaution.Onarrivalincampwe found thepythonmeasured12 feet7t inches--averyrespectablesize for an Af'rican female.Shecarriedeighteeneggstoo, sort yellow things aboutthesize of' ahen's egg; sobesidesaddinganinterestingspecimen to mybagIhadbeenlUckyenoughtoridthebush awholenestful of undesirables.About four p.m.,I setout againand carefUlly scannedapromisingpiece of dambo-countrytill half' past five, WhenIcameacrossaherd of' water-buck.Therewere two maleswiththeherd so I fired atandhitboth.The first onegot four bUllets,includingoneonthepoint or his shOUlder;

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38.got of Theyellowhecountrywherehardhi t ,gotPeterhadno !liE hornsmeasured twe:Ll.ty-one inchesaridwere tl-.:.erefore pooreven f'or this pa.rtof' thewater-buckrarelyrun to more twenty-f'ive inches.The buck, thoughpretty away.We followed him f'or somedistancebut toleave hiillas it was getting luck,in fact henevergotashotthewholeday.On'themorrowC:)operandI went outtolookf'or t:te woundedwater-buckand ::;'.3..ijustreached thespot,wherelaythecarcase of' theoneI red bagged,when wesighteda reedbuck.Wef'ollowedhim for sometimeandmadevariousdet.our-stoget.belowwind,but,itwasnotuntilthethirdattempt that Igotachance.Ibungledtheahrt.,aneasy one, and so exitt.hereedbuck. Vie thenagain turned ourattentiontothewaterbuok and I made myf'irst acQuaintance withspooringinthe African bush.I had neverseenspoaring of thissortbefore tomy eye,it seellied marvelloushowCooperandt;he bClYSfollowed theline taken byourquarryf'ourteenhoursearlier.Theperf'ormance seemed the morewonderfulas therewaspraoticallynobloodandasthe wascovered either with thickmatted grassorelsewithburnt 'Thelatter,unlessthespooris takenUI> immediately,makestraokingvery difricult becausethe ash issolightthattheleastbreath airalmost ob literates the spocr-and makes it diffioult totellwhetherit isold ornew.Veldt-ashalsosoaks UP bloodinsuch a mannerastomakeitmost diffioult todeteot.This,my first experience of' traokingwasthef'are-runner of numerousothersand,like many them,itwasunsuocessf'ul,sowereturnedtocampandmoved onto Saf'uf'a duringthe afternoon. marchwasuneventfulexceptthatwithina few minutesof' starting, wesaw we took tobeamomba-ianakeorossingourtrontat a. greatpace,Wetried to getupwith him butfailed.Just before entering Saf'Uf'a I shot aoouple of oribibutPeter luckallday;-nothingatallanionly af'ewhartebeest and warthog.Thatnightourslwnbersweremuohdisturbed by a "sitlDg-song" oarriedoninakraalnear

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rne dinoontinueduntil a latehourand,thoughitcould becalledartistio, it: wasweird aild notunpleasanttolistento.Itsomehowwasinperfect,harmonywithouraur-r-ound.Lngaand,asthevoices of' the singers rose aru!lfell, asthetom-tomthumpedandthudded,asthevillage"solo" zaattledOff hisrapidhigh-pitohedtWle,ta.kenupatintervalsbyhispalsinohorus,itseemed as thoughnootherkind of musiccouldhavebeenequallysuitedtosuohatimeandplace.Earlynext Peterwent off withCooperwhilstIwentwithJackandSoccis.Peter first saw tw::> elandandwasfollowingthemupwhenhecameacrossaherd of roanwhichmoved off. OnebUll,however,wasbehindtherest and stoppedashe abreast of Peterwho fired withhis.303 and over.ThebUllthenmoved off butstoppedsometwohundredyardsawayand afforded abroadsideshot. Lettingflyat onoePeterhithim h3rd inthenearshoulderandfollowedhimbyaheavy blood-spoorfor two and a ha.Lf'hourswhenhegotupwithhiminveryhigh grass whereshootingwas outof''the question. AJ."1 attempttoridethebullalsoendedinfailure,soPeterandourhunterwereobligedtoreturntocampwithnothingtoshow for theirhard work. however,there wasstillsomehopethatthebullmightbe broughtto bag,60weabandonedourintendedtrekanddeoidedonanother effort duringthe afternoon. Thiswasalso unsuocessful and Petersuffered a further disappointmentby missing a f'ine sable. :My awnattemptsonthisdaywere n:) more successful thanthose ofmyfriend; Ididnot geta. singleshotand during thewhole elf the Isightedabsolutely nothing. AllI sawof interest was anativecontrivance ror catching rish. Itconsisted at" anumber oroigar-Shaped basketsletintoalowriver-dam.Whenthewaterwasdrained off,itleft the f"ish eitherinthebasketsorrlounderinginthemUd. On August CooperandI quitted shortly before sevenarid struck West wr.ile Peterwentmoret.otheNorth.Wehadnotbeengonemuchover half anhour when we sa.w two 39.

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40. 'eland.They had. spot.t.edusandwere already_ onthemove, so wegalloped afterthem atonceand steadily f'or the firsthalf" mile.Thingswerejust coming t.o .3, climaxandallsee.nedwellwhenacatastropheoccurred. P0o-on waspUllingbadly Ihadconsiderable difficulty inholdinghimandmy rifle anddodgingtreesand branches allat the sametime.Suddenlytwot,reesappearedbet'or-e me likeScyllaandGharybdisand,Whilsttryingtoavoidone,I cr3.shed intotheotherwiththeresultt.hat.Iwasknockedbackwardscleanout of'the saddle.Iwentfairly '2nd-ways; my rif'le went, in one direction, Iwentin another, myhat,in a thirdandPoo-onin fourth. Bythe time I re-assembledmyforces thus rudelyscattered,the elandwas,oL course,amileawayandallhope of' gettinghimwas at ariend.However,Iha .. dreasontobet.hankrul, lIlyrif"le was and I myselL wasnone nhe worseexcept for a f'ewscrapes andbruises,thoughI relt ratherst,upidarid shaky f'or some time. Abouthalf' anhour arter thisepisodewewere passingtlLroughsone-rairly thickbushwhen another eland male hf.sa.ppearanoe f"rom behinda largeant-heap.We gavechaseimmediatelyanda hard ride of" severalminutesbroughtus w it.hdneightyyards of' ourprey.Rapidly dismolUlting If'ired but couldnotbesurewhetherI hadhit ornot, so Ijumpedupaga.Ln and set, art"afresh. Pao-on was pullingsobadly,however,that, fearing a.nothersmash,I passed my rifle toCooper and hungontothereins avengeance. We had not gone f'ar whenitbecameobviousthatmybUllethad:founditsbillet, f'or bloodwas :flowingfromtl-.Le eLandfaquarters and he W3,S slightlyswinginghis off-hind 'leg.He' had': beengoingstraightaway frommewhen I:fireda.rdIf'e;tsure that, underrior-ualoondit.Lona,abulletplacedwhereminewaswould himthrough and I was certainhemustcollapse at anylnoment,soIca ledtoCooper't.o:finishhimQf':f if hegott.hechance.Ilittledreamedhowmuch "finishingoff''' therewasstilltobedone.ThebUllwentswingingalongat a paoethatwasquite fast enough :for the

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poniesJversuchground. andonhewentandIthought or askingCooper-toreturn the rifletome,41.moreespeciallyas Poo-on hadatlastsettleddownandwasgoingwell. But itseemeda.shametode-privetheman(whoordinarilynevercarrieda rirle)of thechance of deliveringthe finishing blow.SoIlethimgoon,still fully expectingtosee the elandcollapse. hewent,however,tillweagaingotlevelandCooperdismountedto t'ire.This timeTommywouldnot!stand.He.-jerkedCooper'sarmwhenhewasaboutt.opullthet,riggerandthusnecessitatedanother g-3Jllop. Thentwomoreelandcrossedourtrack,and fora thewoundedoneranwiththem.Butwe managed to separate himand again todrawupwithinreasonablerange.Twoorthreeshots from Cooperallmissedtheirmarkashedidnotknowmy rifle, sooncemorewehadtomourlt roldgofull speedahead.AgainCooperdismountedwhilstIheld TJrnmy; againhemissedand for the fif'th time of' askingwe took upthechase.The bull nowmade for moreopengroundandappearedtobeslackeninghispaceas :fatigue andthewoundIhadgivenhimbegarltotell.ThenCoopermadeadesperatebid -t'or it.HegallopedSlightlyahead of' theelandandlethimhaveawell-aimedbroadsidethatbroughthimtohisknees,Hegotupagain,however,anditwasnotuntilIgavehimhis f'inal coupde grace. thathecollapsedaltogether80yardsaway. Re was a sixorsevenyearsoldbullwithtwenty-six-inchhornsandahugeheavYbody,andImustsayI relt sorry f'or thepoordevilashelaytherebreathinghislast.Hehadstruggledhardlikeagoodsportsmanandhehadgiven us one of thebesthuntsIhadeverhad.Allhonourtothosewhodieashedid.Onexamination weround thatmy f'irst shothadliterallycuthistailintwo andstruck himhighup.Ibadusedmy.275 Mauser wit.h Jef':frey' s"splits"and it, was the 't.oughvertebrae of thetail that hadopenedmybulletarIdpreventeditpenetrating surficientlyto prove rata 1asearlyaswehadexpected.Weestimatedourtotalgallopataomet.htngbetweenthreeandahaIf'andf'ourmiles.

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42.Bringingin myf'irstEland head.Bobiliand. Jor.Jlwit.h WoundedRoanAntelope.Onreturningt.o camp we :LOW1d Peterwait,ing for us. He had again beenpursuedbybadluck. Four shots f'ired atreedbuckallwentwideowingto improvisedsighthehadbeen to useinplace of thebrokenoneonhis.350.During theafternoon wemarchedsome f'iveor six mdles Northto Sachilene, andthe ingmorningIstayedin canw torecover from the stiffness andgeneral causedby mytossof' thepreviousday'.Peterwentoutasusualbutgotnothingbuta few longshotsathartebeest.,At Sachilene' weengagedthreemoreboys;theyturnedout,tobegood fellows, buttheirnameswere so unpronounceableandinconvenientthatwedecidedtore-christen t,:'lemf'orthwi theWecalledthem Omi, Bobili,and Bouatoo, i.e. No. !,No.2,andNo.3,andtheyandtherest of our attendro1ts werenotalittle amused attheseappellations.Impromptuchristenings ofthis sortwere,bythe way,by nomeans confined tooursatellites.who,ont.hetr-partsooninventednames

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43. :for us.ThusPet/ercametlObeknownasthe"Chiaserfu"or"Eland-slayer",whilstIwasdubbedthe "M'Dahla", whichmeans"theoldone",butIemphaticallydenythatIwassocalled-becauseIshowedsigns of seniledecay;mytitle wasbestowed solelyonaccounto:ftheluxuriantgrowt.h of' my beard.FromSachilenewemovedontoSabaser:fu,a:fairlylargevillage. remarkable for aasuf':ficientLndi.ca't.t onastothewhereabouts of' hisvit.ata,AimingAbout two miles tromSabaserfu! gotavery:fine reedbpck.Ee height,butIt.hf.nkI can aaf'el.ysayitwasby :far thebiggesttreetookPeterFollowing him uponcemore,Ifired secondshot ef'f' Poo-on'sback,missed,andso'I'hebuckwent Qff':forsome distance and thendisappeared. UnfortunatelyVie didnottake the troubletocalculateits 8ame tomeasureit,we:foundittapedalmostexactlyninety-two :feetwonderful Baobabtreestandingnearitsout.skf.r-t.s,severalphotographs o:f thislargeproduct of' thebush,andwhenwe wasinhigh butI ma...naged togetinashot :from thetop or anintothegrassataspotwhereIimaginedhisbodytobe,Ipulledweagaincaught. sightof' thehorns,andfromt.hemI W3JSable t.ogainIhadeverseen round.ant-heap.thetriggerand was luckyenoughtopenetratehisneck.LittlePoo-thereeds.senthim o:ff' againbut,ashedidn.rtgo f'ar, itbecameevidentt.hat.Wefollowedhim 3.,E.jafter awhilesawthetips of' hishornsabove my:first bu.lLet.hadgothimsomewhere.trophytotheexcellence ofmy ponywhoneverflinchedasIsatandonstoodlikearock all thetimeandIcertainlyowedthis f'ine TheGiantBaobab Tree at Sabaser:fu.

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44.twobulletsIsent afi,er t-hemagainwentshort.windedus and went off a.t agallop whilst,the I firedwith astrongwindblowingintheybutSoon afterwardswe cameacrossaherd of wildebeest, my f'aoeand wellt short.firedwiththe mU7.zle of" my gun almostbetweenhisears.Thehornsmeasured inches.8CooperandIthen wentpnfora whileandespiedaherd ofroan veryopenground. We stalkedupto twohundred andfif"tyAtthis pointI mention another ofAUood_ Reedbuck.the manydif'ficultieswith whichonehas'tocontendinNorth West i.e.,that of' correctlyestimatingtherangeinthe different par.ts of thispatchwork couxltry .Idon'tknowhowits'peculiari-ties .af'f'ect othermen,butIpersonally found thatinthickbushI was alwaysinclinedtoover-estimateandthereforego high,whilst intheopenIunder-estimated and wentshort. After awhile :I: d'iscoveredmytendencytoerror andBlade allowancesaccordingly,soperhapswhat I havesaidmaygiveahint to .,othersplacedin similar oLr-cumat.ances, 1.1ine seemsacommonerror,moreover, for old"Rooky"in "Jackof theBushveldt"ascribestheover-estima.tion of distanceinthickjungletowhathecalls Tele-scopes",i.e.,looking through treesislikelookingdownanavenueinwhichcasedistancesalwaysappear magnified. At SabaserfU Peteragain hadbad luck. Eeshot. a croco-dile but failed tolandhim, and allhebroughtbackwasanoribi for the Laterintheday be wasequally inthathe ahartebeestwhichcamenearour atdusk.

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45. 'Nve werenowcJ.osetotheedge of" thestilllameand thereforeas IhadlentPoo-onheightwouldbe useful asitwouldenablehimThiswasanimhimself"galloping af"ter theeland,wasseemedanxioustocomeand.!thoughthis great toseeoverthehighgrass. Kafueflats and,anSaturday,August13th,PeterwentwithCooperwhilstItook JohaDnes andJackwith me besidesatallvillager. The man P9rtant considerationbeoauseTommy,who had"Vvayside R.enairs";Se If' bandagingTommy' s foot. Thebackgroundshowstypical :fairly "open"bush-country. Poo-o1J: inthecentre;Jessieonthe le:ft. toFeter,mypartyandIwereallonroot. 'We wentNorth-west from campandhadnotbeenunderwaymuchmorethan haIr an.hourwhe.ithetallvillager saw$omething. Iclimbedanant-heapnearbyanddiscoveredaherd or roana-bout five hundredyards. q:f:f.Iiotioning toJackandthelongmantositdown,IwentonwithJohannesonly,hecarrying my .375incase o:f need,Icarryingmy Lavourite .275RigbyMauser. The groundwas :for astalk,thereappearedtobenota breathof windandthereweretwowell-situatedant-heapsbetween lue andtheherd,alsoanalmostimperceptibledepression just deepenoughtocrawlalongunseen.JohannesandI exdcuted ourstalkwiththegreatestcarea.ndittookusnearly a quarter of' anhourtogothe three hundr-edyardstotheant-heapIhadseLeot.edto:fire Lrom. Thegrasswast.hLo.k, and thegoingunder-foot hard andasroughasaploughedfield. The perspirationf'airlypoureddownmy face, andIwas thankful whenIreachedmy:firingpoint.Icrawledcautiouslyuptheant-heapandpeeredovert.hetop,but the herdwasnowheretobeseen.For halfa mileround

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46.'thegroundwas open,but the hadcompletelyvanished ITom viewandIcould not makeoutwhat had scaredthemurrtdLIlookedback and sawJackand the long m:3.11 walking bol:E uprightstraight for thespotwherethe herd: hadbeen!My feelings maybet.magtned,Thelongmanwho,bytheway,wasuglyenoughto frighten anything,washardlyto blame, butJack certeLinly oughttohaveknownbetter thanto leavetheplaceIhadassignedtohim,sohe gothisears wellboxed for his We moved onandhadscarcelycoveredathousandyards when Ispottedsomehartebeeston;ourright.There wereseveral cows,twocalves Qne bUll,andasthey appeared tobe grazingtowards us,I f.ookcover beIJ.ind anant-heapanddecided to wait. The herd were nervousandon the.Q..Y.i vive,buttheirattentionwas attracted byPeter's w:lictwas distinctlyaudibleinthedistance;theyweremuch scattered3XldtheC0WS werenearest:me.ForsomeminutesI lay stillhardlydaringtomovemyeyelashes,whilstthehartebeest snif'f'ed theairand casfij aear-chf.ng anxious glancesateverybit of" cover.It indeedintereatingtowatchanervousherdthatf'eelsthepresence of danger and yetcan not outitscause nor direction from which it threatens.Everysenseisstrained tQ theutmost;everymuscletaut,ready f'or aninstantbound;everynostril dilated; everyearprickedandeveryeyegazingintently forthe least sign of"movement.An.Ima.LaLocktheirverybestinthisat.ate of" suppressedexcitement,andamanwouldbeabrute if' henever f'elt some momentary pity f'orhis prey.Butitisthe feelingthat itisacase of" "theirwitsandt:heirstrengt,h against mine"that. gets thebet,ter of aman and drives away hisscruples.Itis the oldstruggle f'or existenceoveragain; one mustgive prJof'of superiorskillandenduranceand,thoughsuch proof'may notintheendbe af'f"orded bytheactualkilling of'one's yetasuccessfulstalktowithina f'air will often giveone realpleasureas bagging or agoodhead.Suchwerethethoughtsthatpassedinirregularprocessionthroughmymind as Ilaythereas

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Q90per withWoundedHartebeest.,stillasahareinher f'orm.At lastone of' the cows cameuptoabout eighty yards and,suspectingsomething inmydirection,stopped ror aninstant,turnedandthenranbaok to givethe alann.The wholeherdatoncecollectedasthoughtodiscussthenextmovein.thegame. They wereabouttwohundredyardsaway. CarefUlly usingmyglasses,IsingledoutthebUlland fired. He gave aboundandthenrushedmadlyroundandroundsnortingwithrage and pain.ISawhewas-badlyhitandknewhecouIdnotgofar.Wewaited for someminutesandthenfollowedhis blood-spao!'"till wesightedhimgoing slowlyashortdistanceahead.I.walkedupcloserand'gavehim another bullet which droppedhim;f'inallyathird finished him of'f altogether.Hemeasured '19t inches 'of' hornand f'irstshothad 3hatteredhis'-'9f'f" hind he:faoedawayf'r-omme.InthemeanwhilePeter had alsobeen.busywithharteheest.He oame aorossagoodoneinaherd of sixand,withtheaid of' the friendly ant-heap,gotuptoarange of somehundredand fifty yards.His firstgot the fair andsquareandhesoonlaydown;asecond shot, bUll.Whenthe rirst bullwasapproaohed,however,heroseandwent off, butPeterlet flyat onceand got himinthe foreleg sothatheagaincollapsed. his ,at/tention tobullNo.2-Peterthenfireda feW roundsasheran,butthoughseverelywounded,thisanimalwasseennomorethatday. Thefirst bullnowseemedacertaintyandthereappearedtobenochancewhatever of'further troublewithhim.Suddenly,however,hepicked 47.

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4-8. upandmade atasurprisingpace.Itwasnottillhehadbeengalloped for nearlythreeparts of amile,that a.final shot i:l thehind-quarters.settledhim.Heprovedtobe an exceedinglygoodspecimenwith2l-inch the afternoon marchPeter got a few moreshotsbuthadnoluck,whilstIbagged afUll grownbut young roanwithhorns of onlytwentyinches.Imuchregrettedhavingdonethis,buthelookedhigwiththeafternoon SWl f'ullon bim andhishornstookmein completely. Next day wesettoworkaboutsix-tl1irty,a.m.,Petergoing alone IwithCooper.Forthe hournothinghappened;thenPeterbecamehotlyengagedonourright.He musthave beennearlytwomilesaway from us,andyetwedistinctlyheardseveral of' hisbullets"telling" as they-hitsome thing. It isexbraordinary howf'arthesound of'a. bUllet, as itstrikes an animal,willcarrythroughthestill airof thebush-veldt.Time after timewhenI firedwithoutany visible effect and,with gruntsof' disgust--orsomethingstronger-watched mygame as itbounded of"f', Cooperwouldre-assure me Withthe-:words:"It'sallright,Captain, r heardthebUllet."Andtime after timehe was righttoo.Hewasrightagain this morning, :for Peter'sshots hrought down a. bigreed-buck.Just artert:'is episodeIhita zebra hard. He rolledrightoverand W9"S unable to getup :for:fUlly twominutes. weapproachedhim,however,herosewithgreat.dif'ficulty arid then,toouramazement,trotted quietlyoff asthough urillurt. We:followed hisspoor over bare, opengroundf'oratleastthree:miles,but wi t.houfsuccess.Notatrace of blooddidwef'ind, nor didweevencatch sightof'him'3.,gain. I have neverbeforeoreLnceseenawoundedarruna),go off int,hatway.WanderingonCooperandIsoon:foundawholeherd of zebra,butI missed badlyatshort rangeandwe wereonthepoint of"rr."eturning to camp whenwe came acrossf'ourmore. Af'tera" stalkIgotaneasyshotandobviouslydisabledone.Therestdidnot,rnake any attempttobolt,insteadtheysimplywalkedround a:J.d rOWld the woundedoneandinside and outsideeachotherinsuchaway that, in

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a :few seconds,Icouldnotforthelifeofmetellwhich was theoneI :r.ad hit.Hehad begtll1. towalkabouttooandthef'our :)f themformedaregularKa.LeLdscope--asortof'glorified"threeoardtrick".thatwouldhavepuzzled the shrewdestsharper.AtlastIpulledthetriggeragain,butstillthezebraremained;I :fireda third :fourth shot,oncemorewithoutseeming effeot, anditwasnottill a:fter round N0. 5thattheyfinallybegan disperseataslowwalk.Wewatchedthemastheymoved away,suddenlyone :fell over,kicked up hislegs for amomentandlaydead.Then'anotherandanotherwentdown,whilstthe fourth tototter, IrealizedthatIhadhithimtoo. Therenow nothing :for itbuttoputanendtothepoorbrute,anda :few minuteslaterthewholequartette lay deadwithin a radius,ofonellundredyards.Itwasrather a siokeningsight.Ididnot want:four zebra,moreover,my lioenoe allowedthreeonly.I had hadnosport, :for thestalk beenchild's play, andIgotno satisfaction out of knockingoverthe at shart range.Iwantedonehead and acouple of'ekinsandof' courseIwas glad Ihadgot butIregisteredavownever again to another zepra unless wantoffood shouldcompelmetodoso.AWoundedZebra. 4.9.

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50. CHAPTER IV.Malindi at'1'ree Solitarytheeyecouldseetherewas nothing torelievethemonotonybut.theoccasional swellof' anal imperceptiblewldulation.Behindus lay mileuponmile of groundalmostaslevelasthe"Flats",butsothicklyat.uddedwithant-heapsthatitappeared as though this patchof' the world's surface were suffering f'roma local attack of'goose-flesh. Isolat,edtreesweredottedabout,andeverynowandagaincameabelt ofhigh waving grass, tillat laat,far inthedistance,alow of hills--theMonakairaRange--cut off' theview andformed a background.Duringthe afternoon of'August15thwe tre] .dr:ed to H alindi andpitchedour camp byas 'o'litarytree.Malindi lies on edge of'theKafue Flats,or KafUe "Lagoons"astheyar-e'oftencalled; there arenohouses there arid the name H alindi appliesonlyt lO the campinggroundunder 'the shadeof' the lonelytree. Tlw spot wasalready oooupiedbyaband of Mashukulumbwes out onahuntingexpedition; so we leftthem in possession andsettleddownashort. away from theirsomewhatunsavouryneighbourhood. The countrynowarounduswasweirdandpeculiar.Toour :front, inthedirection oftheKa.fue river,stretcheda great treelessplain,asgreen asan English as far as

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Across thelagoons lay a mirage.;.like hazethroughwhichgrey :figures could be discerned.Theiroutlinewasblurredandthey looked almostghost-likeastheymoved to and fro, sometimesin smallgroups, sometimesin large bodies,sometimesin long lineswithintervalsbetween the individuals.They were herds of' grazingzebraorarrbeLope, and wenowf'orthe f'irst timegotsome id.eaof themasses ofgame thatcan baseen in these partswhenthereisnothingtoimpedeone'svision.Thef'irstherdwehadseenthat afternoon consisted of lechwe.Theremust havebeen at"leasttwohundred of' them, a.nd. anicebuckwith horns f'ell to my rifle.Laterintheday l: shot another but,ashishornsmeasuredonlytwenty-seveninches,Ididnotthinktheheadworth taking away.Thiswasratherf'oolishandIregrettedmyactionafterwards,butCooperdeclaredthatatwenty-51.seveninch lechwe was a poorspecimensoIlistenedtohisadvice.Asa-'matter of' factatwenty-seveninch1echweisquite f'it tokeep,anditwouldhaveservedme right hadI :failed to get abetteronalateron.Itdoesnotdotoputontoomuch"side"andtoturnupone'snoseat af'air head when onecannotmakecertain of'a good one. Lechwe are asdiff'iculttojudge as most, African heads, if' notmoreso.They often runinCloselypackedherdslikea flockof' sheepandthenthegoodonesarenotonlydif'ficult toselect, butdif':ficulttohittoo,socloselyaretheysurroundedby :femalesand smallf'ry.Thereis,however,onehintworthremembering.Itwillbe f'requently :foundthat theof' all keep ashortdis-tanceaway :fromthe bodyof' theherd.If,therefore, onecannotpickouta goodone :from amongst the crowditisadvisabletotry for thebest thosehoveringroundtheoutskirts.Cooper gave methispieceo:fadvice;Ifolloweditnextday andbagged areallyfinelachwewithhornsover 31 inches.OnarrivalatMalindi we deoidedto 'make theplaceourhead-quarters forsome days, .and it justaswellthatsuchwasourintention,f'or,latethatevening,theponiesstrayedandput anyimme diatemoveout of' thequestion.The lossof' ourmountswas unf'ortunate.They mightretrace "theiT

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52.stepsrightawaybackto l-'Iol1ze orKalomo; theymight wander off. Lrrt-othebush whereitwould.takeweeks tofind them, ortheym.ightbetakenbylions.In any casewecouldnotmoveuntilevery eff'ort, hadbeen made torecoverthem.Four of' the'bestboys ware sentoutatonceandearlynextmorningCooper himself' started off' inpursuit.MeanwhilePeterandIwere lert minusourhunter and minusthepick of'the boys,so we determined togo out together totakealternateshots.ThisarrangementdidnotworkwellandIcannot reoemmend itunder anYordinary-circumstauces. Men are bound toget"in'each other'sway;beatdes,t.hey employ only half'theirf'orces, forwhilst one isstalking up:for ashot,theothermust needsremain twiddlinghist.humba ,Unless,t.her-e t'or-e,dangerous gamehas tobetackled,inwhichcasait might bewellto have a secondman handy,it is foracouple of' t,ogo off' in differentandf'oreach toworkout 3alvation.Ourjoint ef'f'ort didno good, and after havingmade V3XiOU3we returnedto f'or lunch.Aboutmid-day,muchtoour relief', the ponis3 turnedupagain and about halfpa3tone Cooperarrived,dog-tired aftera walkof e6Vel1. or eighthours" duration.We left himincamp forthe remainder of'the dayand eatoutourselvesafterlechwe.We soon acrossaherdandeachgota long shot. Ninewas roughlytwo hundred yards,whilstPeter'swasmore;webot.hhitour mark "butdidnotkilloutrightandthetwo 'buck wentaway. In theseciroumstancesit is usuallythe wisest policyto.leavethewounded animal alone Wltil it,getsquitecold itwillthenliedownandcan, a rule, berinishadorf withan easy shot.Butthelatenessofthehour :forbade theadoption of' t.hdsdeliberatemethod, so Pete'randIwerecompelled .folloW" upatonce.! jumped ontoPoo-an'sback and deoidedtoridemybuokdown. He wentorf'at agallopassoonashesawmeandheadedstraight :for high ontheedge of' thelagoons.Itwasanexcitingchase. Every now andagain IgainedandthoughtI was nearenoughtodismountand

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fire;thenoffwentthebuckwithaspurtand on hispartgained a fewscoreyards pr more.At,onemomentI was racing fUll speedover fairly hardground,thenextIwassplashingacrossastrip ormarsh or floundering t,hroughamuddy stream withthewater half wayupmysaddle-flaps.Thissort of thingcontinuedforacoupleofmileswhenatlastaparticularlyswampy plaoe gavetheleohwe anadvantage whichIcouLdnotmakegood.He got clear of' thelagoonswellbeforemeand,joining a herd of' zebra, madeoff Lrrt.othehighgrass.I f'ollowed hisblood-spooron foot forsometime,but,whendarknesssetin,IwasforcedtodesistsoIreturnedtooampafterstickinganassegaiintothegroundatthespotwhereI left thespoor.Nextmorningweroseat half' past:fiveandwerejustleavingcampataboutsixwhenCoopershowedmesomewildebeest notmorethan sixhundredyardsaway.Leavingponyand boysb'ehiild Iwentafter tr-.Lem atonce.Theywereenjoying breakf'ast ont.heedge of' the :flat.s, soIdecidedtobart11eirretreatbackintocoverwhere they wereoertaintolieup f'or theday.Isucceededin getting wellbehindthembut,ataYlunfortunate moment, just when Iwasabsolutelyintheopenandmid-waybetweentwo high ant-heaps,thewholeherdsuddenlyemerged :from narrowbelt of grassthathadso far acted as ascreenbetweenus.Ifeltcertain that anyattemptt.oreacheitherofthehigharrt-sheapawouldleadtomydiscovery,soIrapidlyconcealed myself' asbestIoouldbehindalittleonenotmuohbiggerthanastablebucketturnedupsidedown.ThereIlayat full length and lettheherdcometowards me. A rineand obviousbUllwasleadingandIgotready:forhim.Luckily ror him,however,hebeganto right Withanotherandsolosttheleadwhichwastakenupby a smalleranimal.Iwasmuchdisappointed,moreespecially as some of' thenearest of theherdwerenearlyontop of meandweresure toaeeme in 3.Uother moment.Inthesecircumstancestherewasnothingtobedonebutto :fire atthebestIcoujdf'ind.Ididso andmocked overtwowhiohbot.hturnedouttobebigoowswithhornsnearlytwenty.inchesacross.Thewholeherd, or course,stampededimmediatelyinaoloud or dust,leavingmeto53.

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54.curse myselffor havingoncemoreshot females. The difficultyor. distinguishingthesexeswasreallyextraordinary, and I was still ruerully regardingthetwodeadcowswhen someof theHashukulumbwehWlting-partycameupandaskedmewhethertheymight ha.ve thecarcases.NeedlesstosayIwasonlytoogladtoletthemtakethem orr my Inowset offwith some ]\{ashukulumbwe and their dogs,also JOMand Johannesto follow upthespoor of thelechwewounded tneevening Wesoon:foundthespotwhereIhad planted theasse-gai,tookupthespoorand, after goingaboutsixhundredyards, espied thehorns of thebuckprotrud-ingabovesomelowgrass.I fired3.shot inh.i.sdirection and he at oncesprangup andmadeoff withthe Mashukulumbwes andt,heirdogsinhotpursuit.We him for about milewhenhe soughtreruge inabigpool.Thedogswent,in after him and hungonwhere they could,butheshookthem off, andThistrophydidmuchtoconsolemecon-thelechwePeter had woundedthepreviouseve-cerningthecowwildebeestandso, satisfied with withwith Vrhen Igotthereaparty of Hashukulumbwes wereju.st rurming of'f' Ireturnedtocamp,ning,butmytwohours'search was fruitlessand rny own work,Ideterminedto 100kfor brokeaway again onlytobe f'inally rundownandkilled snon hewasabeautyverythickhornsmeasuring 3lt inches.some object inview,soImadeenquiries and wasLechwetransfixedwith an assegai. TheQack2round showsthenature of' the theirspears.Theywereobviously with

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55. 1?h3.t anotherdeadanimalwaslyingnot rar:f:roh+camp. Iwentwiththemenandthere, right enough, was aroanwoundedbyPeterwhilstheandIwereout duringthe absenceof theponies.About Petercamein having hadastroke of realgoodluck for once.Hismorning's consisted of onezebra,tworeed-buckandaDuringthe afternoon Peterwas unfor-anywhere seentwobetterheads of thisparti-magnificenttrophywithhorns incheslong,(1)hewasuptodatequitethe finest specimenweI had moreluckandOne ofthe reed-buckwasaspur-winggoose. had gotand when, later,weshowedhimandmyown of inches to Er.Eandley,one of'the 8NativeCommissioners,hedeclaredhehadnevercUlarspecies.tunateandgot shota warthog.rwasstalkingaherd of roanCooperwithWoundedReed-buck.atthetimebuttheywere difficult toapproachandI felt certainIhadbeen disooveredby a fine bUll(Withbothhornsbroken)whenthe pig ranrightacrossmy front at a range of abouta hUndred Yards.ThebigroanbUllwiththebrokenhornswastheonlyonewithinreasonableshootingdistance,buthewasworthless from acollector'spointofview.I decidedtoleave hiill andhispalsaloneandtry for thewarthog.I"gothiminone",asthephrasegoes,mybUlletgoing straigh't throughhisheart.Hegallopedmadly for ahundredyardsorso, animalsoftendowhenshot(I).This reed-buckW3,Ssentto the1910SportsExhibitionatVienna togetber withPeter's best sableand besthartebeest.

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56.t,hrough 'the heart,thenturnedacompletesomersaultandlaystonedead.Hewasa rineboar, aId and heavy,buthistusheswere.mostdisappointingbeingworndowntoonlythreeorf'ourinchesowingtomuchdigginginhardground.Hewasconsequently of' nomoreusetomethantheroanwiththebrokenhorns,but, aftermy cowwildebeestslaughter of' themorning,Iwas thankfUl f'orsmallmercies blessedmy stars thatIhadnotshotanoldsow.Onthemorning of' Wednesdaythe18th,IwentoutwithCooperand acrossthe herd roanIhadseenthepreviousday.Theoldbullwiththebrokenhornswasstilldoingsentry,and .,-;" he madeitimpossiblef'or me togetnearerthanf'ourhundredyardstowhatlookedlikethe next bestmaleintheherd.Itook careful aim,pressedthetrigger,and got himplumbthroughthebody.Hemade. off in a staggeringsort of' canterand tr-.e.:i. stoppedahundredyardsorso fUrther on.Upwentmysightto500andagainIwasf'ortunat:eenought.ohithim. He wasclearlyindirestraits,sowe f'ollowed him atoncea.ida :few minuteslaterIpolished himofffromthe top .atr anant-heap. inchesand was thebestroanwegotduringthewhole of ourtrip.AndnowI must wordsastoshootingattheselongranges.Hemeasuredsaya fewMost big-gamehuntersareagreed itisunsportingto f'ire atanyrangeexceedingtwohun-dredyards,andI am inclined fully to.share tl:.eir opinion.Thechances of' shootingwithaccuracyatlonger ranges aresmall,andsotherisk or wounding a wretchedanimalandleavingittodiea painfUl, lingeringdeathareincreased.Oneoughttobeabletostalktowithinacouple of' hundredyardsorsoandthen.putinawell-placedbUlletthat wil_4. soonprove f'atal.If' oneis'not suf'ficiently skilfUl todothatoneoughtnottoshootatall.Themanwholets fly at dlstant ranges and merelytruststohis rifle Without afairstalkis a trophy-snatcherpureandsimple;heisnota sportsman. Sosay many, andso'sayIwithcertainreservations.Therearecasesinwhichlongrange

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Shots arejustified, and wheresuchcasesarisetheyaregenerallyduetothenature of thegroundor57.thepeculiarhabits of the game. OntheKafueF'Lat;s, for exampLe,itwasof'tenimpossible to approachcloserthanthreehundredyards,therewasnotavestige of cover,andthe game hadprobablyseenusamileaway;it onlyaquestion of howlongtheywouldstandandstareatusbefore uptheirmindstobolt.Again,aherd of roanwillscatterover a square offour hundredyards side, sentrieswillbeout,andeventhose t11at arepeacefullygrazingwilleveryriowandthenlookuptosee whe.ther allis safe.If, therefore,thebestheadhappenstobenearthe oentreof the square itisagainacase of averylongshotornoshotatall.Onecannot,therefore,in my humbleopinion,lay do\Y.n thetwo hWldred yardsruleasahardandf'astone,andI am inclinedtothinkitmusthavebeen madeby menwhohaveneverstalkedonveryopenground.Thequestion of telescopics.ightsisa.ltogetherdi:ff'erent,andhereIsay"no comproIEise".Men Whousethemdeclarethattheyenableahuntertopickoutwithcertaintythebestinaherdandthusdecreasetherisk of hisshootingimmatureanimals.Somemightevenpointat my wildebeestcows and sayIshouldnothavemade myself guilty of'such slaughterhadIusedtelescopesights.They say they make certain of thosedeadlyshotswhichlessentherisk of maimingandlosingone's quarry andthere-f'ore,theycontend,telescopicsightsarehumanearidt.heirusejustifiable.Thereistruthinthe.seargumentscertainly,butarenotone's field-glasses goodenought.opickoutthebesthead?Where"the differentiation betweenthesexesissohard, will theemployment of t,elescopicsightsmakeitanyeasier?Inninecasesout of t,enthemanwhohas telescopesightcarries field-glassesas well;heusesthe latter topiokouthisheadortotellmale Lrom female;the former heusesmerely for hisshotand at'ter he h3,smade up hiB mindwhathewantstohit.Now, if he can getthe animalmagnified tolookasthoughitwereclosetohim,ishenotlike-

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58. to shootat four hundredor five yardswhenastalkto half those wouldbe perfect ly feasible?If so,ishe not takingan unfair advantageoverhisgame?Ishenotdeliberately fore going half thesport aJ.1.dmaking tbebagging of theheadhissoleobject?Ishenotreducinghispersonalexertionto aminimumand solosing half thevaluablelessons big-gamehunting hastoteach?It may beagainst humannature todomoreworkthannecessary for theachievement of one'sobject,but,after all, tomost of' us,huntingisarecreation,a pastime, a game in fact thatbeingso,itoughttobe played fair.In war against men byall means useeverydeviceandeveryinstrumentthatthescience of' the.. ppticia.nand theengineerplaceatour disposal, anduse them remorselessly;thereitisour aimand objecttokilloratleasttodisableourenemies; but thebeasts of the fieldaxe notourenemies.They are our friends thoughwetryto do thebestandbiggest or them, the contestisnotas.one-sidedasitappears. Many3Jlimals are, of course, of themselvesalmostdefenceless,butwemustnotforgetthe hardships wehavetoundergobeforewereachtheir relllote habitations,northediseasesandotherdangerstowhichweonourpartexposeourselves.Itistheserisksthat make thestrugglea fair one, letuskeepit fair eschewthe of adventitiousaids,even though we may occasionally suffer onaccourrt of our self-imposedrestrictions. Thehunterwhogoesunder,either from diseaseorbyvioleneeinthe pursuit of'game diesthenextbest 'ieath t,Othesoldier 1-:illed inaction.Anhourorso after the long shotswhichledtotheabovedigression f'rora.my narrative,Igot another longshrtatawildebeeststandingendon.But my bulletf'eL'l short andIwasonthe pointof returningto campwith Cooperwhenwesighted 3. roanbUllabout four hundredonour left. Iwounded him inthe off-hind, buthewent off sostrongthatanyattemptatimmediate pursuit wasbOUYldtoendinfailure;wethereforedecidedt.o leave himtill the eveningaridonce turnedhomewa.rds.Onthe way

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however,westruck rive wildebeestallgrazingclosetogether.Ihitonehardandkilledanotheroutright;hemeasured 24i Lnches,'I'hewoundedonecouldnot bef'ollowed atonce,with anyhopeof success,so V'1e made up ourmf.ndatomakeone jobof' himandthewoundedroan late inthe.af'ternoon.It wasfour whenwestartedandsoonwe f'ound the wildebeest dead. Moving oninthedirectionwherewehadseenthelast of' theroan, we spent some timevainlysearching f'or hisspoor.Thegoingwas hard heseemedtohavemadenoimpression at all. We circledandzig-zaggedwith our eyesgluedtotheground;butalltonopurpose.Then webegan toClimb ant-heaps andtoscourthe plain Withourglasses;stillwecouldseenothing,andwewere af'raid weshould have togiveit up whenCoopersuddenlyspot.t.edour:friendstandingbehind a lowtreeaboutathousandyardsaway.Westalked up withthegreatestcare and act.uaLl.ygottowithineightyyards. mhere hestoodbroadsideonand apparently gazingattheponieswhichwehad left, behindunder-Feecha.n.Ilaydownto fire, took carerulaim, pressed my trigger and missedhim as oleanasawhistle!ISilUplycouldnotbelievemyeyeswheninstead ofdropping stonedeadas any self-respectinganimalshouldhavedoneinsimilarcircumstances,hegalloped away limpingbutslightly owing tothe wOW1d hehadreceivedinthemorning. Meanwhile Peter had beenoutonthemarshy flats andshottwonicelechwe oabout twenty-nineincheseach.IwishIcouldgive wore details some ofiUY companion'sstalks,butthoughI frequently llladenotEsofwhat hetold me, Ifoundit impossible topictureto myselfwhat actually happenedjanditis alwaysdifficult togive a descriptionbasedon second-handinformation. Onereceivesnewpersonalirnpressions,alllocalcolourislost, one rinds one'sself'reduced to bare stat,ement:s0.1' fact--to"records of'dates andbone-smashings"--asIonceheardthesituationsummed upbr one of the huntersandsportsmen in the .Army --ColonelH.O.C.Swayne ofFlng/neers. theRoyal

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60.Shortly after dawnonthe th August,IsetoutwithFeechantotry andfindthe woundedroan.Wewent to the spot whereIhadmissedhimso andsoondiscoveredhisspoorwhichwe followedfor somedistance. Afterawhile I left Feechantodothe trac}::i:lgand climbedanant-heaptohavealookround.Forsometimenothingwasvisible,thenIdiscernedasolitary roan aboutamileaway.Naturallyconcludinghe must be mine, Imadeabee-line for him followed by Feecnan. It was thenshortly af'ter ninea.m.;bytenIhadgottotwohundredyards,butIcouldgetno nea.rerf'or theroanwas by female and hy awildebeestbullwhoappearedtobedoingsentry-go forhilll. HewaslyingdownwhenIfiredandhithim;thenhesprang upand wentawaywith hi.soff-:rore seriouslydamaged.Iwatchedhimcarefullyand after awhLLehelaydownabouteighthundredyards from me,soIbeganto stalk himafresh. It washardworkand few stalkshavetriedmemorehighly. The gr-oundwasvery flat andwhat few ant-heapstherewerewereverysluall.Try as IwouldIcouldnotgetnearerthan five orsix hundred yards.EverytimeIattemptedtogetclosereithertheroan-cow or thewi'ldebeestgavewarning.Forthree andahalf hoursI lay watchingandwaiting :ror myoppor-t.untty,Atlastit came. Twozebraapproached, passed thetrioandadvancedstraighttowardsus. Glued eachbehind adifferent ant-heap,lying asflatas wecouldandscarcedaringto breathe', Feechan and Iletthezebracomeonandpassrightinbetweenus,nottwentyyards from.ei-ther himorme.Theysuspectednothing and grazedquietlyon,whichwaspreciselywhatwewantedthemtodo.Thetrio,seeing the zebrapassthroughthedarlgerouszoneunharmed, became reassured,relaxedtheirvigilanceandbegantomoveabout murefreely. AstheymovedIdid, and so,verygradually, got tojustaboutthreehundredyards from myprey. Both roanthen-'lay down:and Icouldsee i not.hf.ngbut:the-twoheadsclosetogether. ,"Fora longtimeIhesitatedto rireat so smalla targetatsuch arange. ButatlastIlostmy pat,ienca anddeterminedtorisk it; thenacurioustbinghappened. Hy bUlletwentoutwithashrill whistleand

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droppednotrirty yardsawayI 'What occurredIdon't know,but theroundacted an alarm signal.Upjumpedthetrio and,after gallopingashortdistance,stopped stoddstaringinmy Rapidlyraisingmy sight to 400 Iriredand,to cuta 10ngstoryshort,gotthebigroan an thepoint or theshoulder. Re gavea rew great androlledoverdead. Wnen wegotto him we round he was a fine old fellow withthickcloselyannulatedhornsmeasuringashadeundertwenty-eightinches. Ee was, after all,nottheoneI had wounded,butIdidnot much mindthatandstartedgailybacktowhere.Ihadlertmyponyin or Eoccis.Onarrivalatthe spot, however,I roundthe idiothadgonebacktothewagonthinkingthat. my longabsencemeantIhadreturnedto carap anotherway.Thewalkhomewasnotenjoyable.Ihadhadnothingeithertoeatordrinksince 8.30a.m., andwaspretty well done when Isightedthetentabout half past five inthe af'ternoon. ButIhadagoodheadandthe satisfactionofknJwing I hadsuccessfully scored off thet,hreemostwilycustomersIhad ever attemptedtocompetewith.Duringthe same dayPetershotawildebeestcowbymistake,althoughCooperwaswithhimandhelpedhimtopicktheparticularanimalout of:the herd.Healsoshotaserval,ort,iger-cat,one of the most interestingspecieswe had so far bagged.The followingmorning I remaLned quietlyin camp whereIbusiedmyselfwithsewing and otherdomestic affairs, thewaslling,riggedupaclothes-line,etc. PeterwentoutwithCooper andcame acrossaherd of roan. wereverymuchscattered add Cooperwasgreatly puz ZledastohowtheyahouLdbestalked.Theherd had alreadybecomer-eat.Leas,andPeter and. thehuntercouldnot nearer than:five hundred y3Xds. Whilstt.heywere"hungup" a.t t,hatdistanceacmeze'bra came closeup tostalkers wholet them passwithoutfrightening the&in anyway, thus repeatingmy prpcedureof thepreviousday.Theherd,seeing the zebra unharlued, less and madeanapproachtothreehundredyardspossible.Cooperthenselecteda'bull,but Peter missedit and the61

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62.herdmoved OffsomeFollowingitupagain andgettingwithinthreehundred yards; .Cooperpickedoutwhat tobeabull.Theparticular animal wassomewhatseparated from therest and Peter'sshotbrokeits near-fore high up; itwent off andlaydown,butitsspoorwasmost difficultto followand sometimeela.psed before itshornswereseenabovethehighgra.ss.Asingle anot settledthematter,buttoPeter'sintensedisgusthe found.a dead female lying him.This, Which happenedwhenCooper himself waspresent,once againexemplifiesthe difficUlty of distinguish ingmalefromfemaleamongstmany kinds orAfricangame. Whereitispossible for theprofessionalhurrtez-tomakesuch mistakesthe amateurcanhardlybe blamedifhe errs frequently. Peter and Coopernextmovedin a south-easterlydirectionandwereabouttoturnhomewardswhentheysightedtwowildebeestbUlls.Onetook alarm whentheywere eight yardsaway ard gatup,but, a longand difficultmanoeuvre, thetwostalkersgot to withintwohundredyardsandPeterhit one bUllthroughtheshoulderwithhis.303;anothershotthrough the bodydid for him.He was a fine specimenwiththickhornsmeasuringtwenty-fourinches a hugebroadhead and wewerewellpleasedwithhim.Lateron,however,wediscoveredthatallthewildebeestwe shot ontheFlatsranto small horns. Amongst thesewekilledwerecertainlysome or-the biggestwehadseen,yettheywerenot patch on others wegottowardstheend of ourtrip.Ontheother the roanor theFlatswereexcellentwhilstthoseweshotnearthegoodwildebeestwerepoor.It thereforeappears thattheconditionsconducivetothegrowth of goodhorninonespeciesdonotproducethe saraeeffect inanother,andyetthereseemedtobenomarked difference inthesizeandweight ofani malssh.o'tin different localities.The following daywasaSaturday,soPeterindulgedina"Europemorning"whilstCooper and Iwentouttolook for puku,whichweknew had beenintheneighbourhoodthe yearberore. Werode for some roiles, butnotasinglepukudidwe find. Thenativeswequestionedcouldgiveusnohelp and

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63'.lagoonswhena Btring men came intoclewith fi'om twentytothirty Y3Xds intervalwerejustliningupfor a game-drive,onaTheyformedinalargesemi-cir-Wewerenearingtheedge of theTherewereatleastahundred of them,lywetseason,soCooperandIthoughtwewouldrideacrosstheFlats towards the Kafue theyhadnotseena months.Theyhadevidentlymovedfromtheirhabitataltogether, probably owingtotheexceptional-River.MashukulumbwesandBatustogether, and theyview.big Jack and CooperwithaWoundedWildebeest.andthengraduallya.dvanced,closinginastheyapproachedthe banksof' theKafueagainstwhichtheyhopedtocornertheir Allwerearmedwith fromthree t,Osix.assegaia,andmost of' themhaddecoratedthemselves with bunches of' whitefeathersandother ornmnents stuckintotheconicalerections,consisting of' grease,eto,.;whichtheyworeontJheirheads.Theyhadhardly any dogswiththem and so,to makesureof' routingouteverylivingthing,theylit fires allalongthelineastheymovedf'orward.Wewerein for aninterestingspectacle,andthemenbegantheirworkwell.Theykepttheirsemi-circlewithconsiderableaccuracy maintainedtheirintervalslike inextendedorder.Astheline advanced and shrunk inlength,wecouldseelechweandreedbuckspringingupbeforeitandrushingaboutinterrorwhent.heyf'oundt.heywerehemmedin. some animal would attenwt tobreakthrough. theassegaiswereatonce eithertoburythemselvesdeepinthe

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64.so:ftfleshor,more .frequently,"toflyharmless.lypast theirobjective.Themar-ksmanahl.p of'the hunterswa .. spoor;orperhapsthebooks of'my childhoodhadledme to expecttoomuch.Oneor'twobuokwerekilledwhilsttheintervalswerestill fairly wide, lllany gotsa:fely away.As t:'ne semi-oirolegrewsmallerandsmaller,however,themencamesoolosetoeach.:other that, the game were tomakeadash for liberty.Theyhuddledtagether,petrifiedwith:fear,andonlyoccasionally a short,:fitfulrush :foran apparentgapinthelineLnd.tcs.t.edthatatleastsomeo:f the terri:fiedcr-eat.uresstill had theirwitsaboutthem.Butthegaps were anar-es, f'or:J..Ilthe1"ae1'1 inthelinewerenolonger walking upright; betweenanytwo advancingopenly,saytwentyyardsapart,therewere eig:'lt or tenothers orouohinglowin the grass,theirdarkeyesflashing,their a.ssegais poisedready f'orinstant use.As an animal approa.ohed upsprangthemen anda shower of' spearswentf'orwardtopieroethefugitivethroughand ortodrivehimbacktohispanic-striokenbrethren.At last, withinthe haIr cirole,theremusthavebeenasooreormoreo:f.headwhoseemedto have nochanoewhatever of' esoape.Behindthemflowedtheriver,deepandfullyahundredyards across; onthreesides stood a'wall of' menall' bent ondestruction.Thencamethe Themen,seeingtheirprizeso nearly withintheirgrasp,losttheirheads. \rnenever one animal, withthe courageof' despair,madeadash for somepoint the savages 0 onbothsides ran'at it,thusbreakingtheline andcreating widegapso:fwhich the others not slowto take advantage.Singly,orbytwoorthrees,they:fairlyraced:for theopenings andwerGthroughandaway bef'orethe excitedhuntershad time togetbaok to theirplaces.In this way nearly allesoapedso th3.t thetotalbagwasabouthalf'adozenwhen it mighteasilyhaveamounted'to' -threetimes thatnumber.Thewholethingwasone of themost striking examplesI had everbeheld of' the breakdown o:f

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that,half-disciplinewhich,inthesedays,somanypeopleholdtobeasgoodasthegenuinearticle.Solong as there was butlittlecause ror excitementthecombinationofthemenwasexcellent,theycooperatedperfectly towards the ofthecommon purpose. Buttheinstantastrainwas put 85.upon t}:.:.em allt.nouglrt.s of' cohesion a ..rid mutual supportvanished.Thosewhoatfirstexercisedsomesort of' authorityatoncelostallcontrolovertheir subordina ..tesjwhilstthelatter,withnomoreconfidenceintheirleaders tban thoseleadershadinthem,began,oneand all,to play f'or theirown hands. Everyatomofrestraint,everyparticle of discipline,bothindividual and collective,wasgone.Here,there,andeverywhere,smallgroups,yellingatthetops of" theirvoices,rushedinwild career totrY and cut off some bounding antelopealreadyhopelesslybeyondtheirreach;in amongst them and acrossthem,racingineverydirectionbuttherightone,wereindividualshalfmadwithexcitement and hurlingtheirassegaisat anything they saw till theya positivedangertoall.Whenthelastbuckvanished,theexcitementsubsided and theinevitablere-actionsetit.Onebyone,orin small knots, withexertion and sweatingateverypore,thecrestfallenwarriorsreturned,intruth:-"Abr-okenandascatteredhost,theirstandardsgonetheirleaderslost."Itistruetheyweremeresavages,but CaJ.1.Y"J.ot civilizedraceslearnsomething from theirexperience of'thisday; Thehuntover, Gooper Irodeontothe Karue satdownonitsbanktohaveourlunch at apointopposite Osanga Kraa1. There wasagreatdeal of' waterintheriver, Cooperexpressedhisdoubtsabout,ourbeing able tocrosstheKaf'ue atall. Hariywater-:fow1wereont.hewing,andwesawa numberof largewhitebirdsthatlookedsuspiciously 1i1ce pelican.Osanga nothing of interest;wethereforemadeanearlymovebacktocamp.On.thewaywepassedlarge,mixedherds 'pf'

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65. 3.. zebra,wildebeestandleohwe,but, as we had allthespeoimenswewantedand were notinneedof'meat,we left them Pukuwerenowheretobeseen. ++++

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66.CHAPTERV. Weha,j now shotweCOL1..J.dex-pect to e;et onor nearthe Lagooriaand so, on Sunday, August22nd,we trelr.kedabout twelve miles west to Longa, :j, spo.t wheretbere were twosmall pools.We hadnearly r-eachedcur' -:-lestina,tion when Viebeheld3.huge herdofzebraonour left:front.Tl'leywere all grazingclose togetherand, we approached,ahowedno signs of alarm. Werodequ.Let.Lyonand, when n.ot, moret,}}.:lXl"),coupleof:fr01nthem, Petersucceededingetting aphotograph of the wholeherd. up :facing tot.heconclusionthat 9.J.1. es't.Lma.t.eof notlessaIL10re or less accurateguessfromhisknow ledgeof'the appearanceof' bodies of'rnountJudging by sst.andar-dwecame than five l1Wldred wasonthe sa:fe side.Theylookedjust,likethehorses of' aregiment of' Cavalry thathasdismounteda.ndas sembledinis, of courae,a.Lwaya dif'f'icul ttojudgethenumber ofany herd,buta BoldierCW'l8ften edtroops. andstoodalmostshoulder toshoulder.Itmass whilstwai for orders onafield-dayTheHerdof' :F'i ve HlU1.dre dZebraonthe Kafue ormanoeuvr-es, and t.hey were certainlythe biggestherdo:f any kind we.uet duringt:hewholeof ourtrip.Bef'orewe left themPetershot two,an:). anhouror Solater-,ifeweres3;fe Lyencampedonce more. Next morning wedidnotmovebeforenineo'clock. }Tai 1 lettershaq. beenwrittenthepr-evious

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66.a.night and ourphotographshadtobesenttoChomabyrunner forinEediate despatchtoEngland,lestthe films shoulddeterioratethroughbeingkepttoo inthetropics.Just before startingPeterandIshotacouple of" reed-buck for thekitchen. we andIstruck off south-westwithCooper.We saw anwnber of reed-buck,hartebeest,androan, including afineroanbUll,butallweresoshythatitwasquiteimpossible to get a shot.Sowerodeon and. hadnotgone f'ar whenIjustcaughtsight ofafine elandbu.lI our fronthalf' amileaway.He had seenus and brokeninto atrQt; astalk, therefore, beingout of' thequestion,webeganto canterafter him.Thegroundwasamass of holes for the f'irst andso, rememberiug our experiencewhen lastwegalloped aneland together,we wentalong warily,onlyjustkeepinghimin sight ornot pressing himatall;hewas a. heavybUll,moreover, and weknewhecouldnotkeepit upfor long.Onthewholethisridewasnotariskyone, for thebushwascomparativelythinandthere was thereforenododging of' trees nor duckingunder branches. Poo-onhadevidentlynotseenthe eland anddidnotseemtorealizethathewas afteranything, sohewentlikealambwithoutpulling 3n ounce.We had canteredabouta ffi:lle and CLhalf' whenthebullstopped for amoment.Idismountedbutcouldnotget a shot,soIjumpedbackintomysaddleand oIT wewentagain.Onceortwiceourquarrytriedtoturnintothickerbush,butwerodehim off successfullyuntilwereachedopencountryandbetter Wenowincreasedourpacearid so-on gottotwohundredyards. Off' Ijumped, f'ired,and missed,but a secondshotstruckthenearhindlegatthehock and absolutelybrokeittobits.Snortingwith rageand painthebUllnowmadeadesperate eITort to esca.pe, butitwasahopeless game. Threelegswere not enoughtocarrythatponderousbody, for itmustberemembered that aneland standsas high asa bighorse and weighs a great deal more. Afterafew hundredyardsheshowedsigns or the greatest distressandhiscoupde fired :trom theaadd.te,wasthework of' a f'ew moments.

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He a specimen,slategreywith andthoughhishorns measured only 25t inchestheywere very thick. \\illen we cameto examinehim weroundthat mysmall.275Rigby Mauser hadinflicteda67.terriblewound.Thehock-bonewasliterallysmashedintolittle ::pieces and the legwasutterlyuseless. Of coursetheweightmust beenonit at the moment it washit,but, evenso,itwasa performance solight arifle. ThatnightweoutsparmedatMondonda,whichlies abJut eightmilessouth-westof'Longa.Peter hadnJallday, in :fact hedidnotevengetash9t baggingthereedbuckintheearlymorning.Atsix-thirtya.m.,nextdayPeterandCoopersetoutin a south-westerly directi9nand soonf'oundthemselvesinexceptionallythickbushinwhichtheywandered:for an hour and a b alf'.Sq thiok wa,s theundergrowth thatthey couldseenothing,andthegoingwasmost exhausting.Eventually,roving turnedsouth,theygotintolessclosecountry and almost a finesable antelopeabout 3, hundredyardsin front. d!" them.He halted twiceas he made off."3 .nd gave Peter.twoshot.swhich he unt'or-t.unat.eLy missed.Attempts to stallrthe bullagainwere wi thbuta.vail, gotupstaild.ingf."or hesoon disappeared altogetherinthethickbush.Aboutninea.m.Peter Cooper a closeto big kraal, sotheysent ror akraal-boy t:1 show themthebest game-country.The boy ledthemduewestand,withoutseeing 3J1y spoororanything else, the tri8 made a wide de'tour occupyingnearly two hours.Theywere almost givingit up ashopelesswhenCooperspottedaherd of sable.Theherdmoved off, andPeter and thehunter tried to ca.nter afterthemonhorse-backbutthe bush wa.s so thickthatriding at any:fastpacewasimpossible.Theherddoubledbackontheirowntracksagooddeal appearedto.go in a direction.StillPeter and Cooperpersevered roLd atlasttheirpatience was rewarded,:fortherestoodtheherd,thirtyor ."f"orty strong,quietlygrazingonoomparativelyopenslopingground.Allseemedwell,but thehopesof'thehunterswereshattered.Somethingarousedthesuspicions of thewary

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68.seemedno chance whatever of" overtakingthefugitiveswhensuddenlya fine bullwasseen motionless andcarefully watchinghistherePeterInanin-andThere was notimetolose.sawhisopportunity and tookit.pursuers.situation was becomingdesperateCooperwastryingtopickoutthebestbUll.Anotherpursuitfollowed,thenanothermoveandanotherstoponthepart or theherd.Again theapproach was conductedwiththeutmost careandagain theherdbolted.The 'antelopeand theydashed off" oncemorejustasCooperwithPeter's first Sable-antelope.Backgroundshowstwo liashukulumbweswearing the stant he wasorr Jessie's bacl{ and f'ired atas muchof' thebullaswasvisiblebetweenthe forked stem of" a tree.There was no mistakeabout itthistime;thebullstaggeredvisibly,pulled himgelf"together fora whileandthendroppeddeadnot a hundred yards awaywithabUlletthroughbothshoUlders. Eewasa goodspecimenwithhornsjustunder forty-five inches and quite thefinest trophywe had so far secured. Neanwhile Ispentapoormorning.Isawonlyonehartebeest and threeanimalswhichIbe-lievedtobe eland, andImissedashotat a reedbuck.ThereseemedtobelittlegameonthesideIexplored; at alleventsIsawnospoororothertracesduringtheseveralhoursIwasout.Ithere-forereturnedto camp andconsoledmyselfwiththePickwickPapers.Inthe afternoon Ishot a duiker,butlosthim,thoughIfollowedhisblood-spoorforover an hour.NextdayCooper and Imade for thegroundwherePetershothissable.Wefoundaherdwithout

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much di:f:ficultybut,having a.scertained thattheonlybUll with itwasnotworthshooting,weturned ourattention tokoodoowhose :fresh spoorwehadobserved. FDr somehourswesearchedinvainandthenreturnedtothewagonwithout any additiontoour ba.g. Wehad,of'course,seen game of'onekindandanotherincluding naxtebeest,elandand butthesewealreadyhadanditwould havebeen needlessslaughtertoshoot more un.Leaswe saw somethingaltogetherexoeptional. Blank days,infact,werenowtobeoome more occurreLlces,:forwehadshotpractioallyalltheordinaryspeoiesandwereobligedtobegin regul3.r searches ror the ones. T0nID1Y, Cooper'spony, had developed a soreback,soPeter and Iset off in different direotionswhilstourhunter remo..ined to aocompany the W3.gon duringitsafternoontrek toNa.kajiIlljee. It was well"hedidso, for the marchwas a hard one.Insomeplaoesthe bushwas sothick tha.tapathfor the wagon hadtobecutwith axes, Coopernotbeen present, itis doubtful whetherourgoods and chattelswouldever have arrivedattheirdestinationatall.Themarch,too, was longer than anticipated and nei tl1.er PeternorIgotintillnearly'.7P.ru.,DuringthetrekIshotanotherduikerbut fOillld bothhishornsbroken.Iwasthus.agad.nfoiledinmy atteropt toaddone of these trophiestomy andsoto make up my rounddozen of f'erentspecies.OnthemorrowPeter and Cooper salliedforthafter sable andeland withthetwo fit Iwenton foot. I sawa lotof arld succeededinaddingasmallduikarto nw listthus ingmytwelvespecies.Ialsoshot :my second pUll hartebeest.Peter saw muchlessthanIdid,nosable atall andonlyone elandWhich hecouldnotget;closetocamp,however,hesecured his secondWildebeest.DuringtheeveningIwentout again butsawnothingworthinentioning and never fired ashot.Peter had likewise out soondiscoveredasolitary eland bUll. He stalkedto seventy 69.

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70. yards,rired,and wentwide,thus affordinganotherinstanceor theeasewithwhichone can misseven a big targetat veryshortrange.Asecondshot,however, struckthe eland somewhereand hewent off followedbyPeter and Coopezror about half amile,when darlmessset inandnecessitated a returnto camp..That eveningwediscussed the situation and decided that wewouldallgoouttogethernextmorning and tryto find thewounded animal. Itwasalong and tediousbusinessandwhen, finally, wegottolong andvery hardground welostallsign of spoorandwerecompelledtoownourselvesde feated.Late intheafternoonCooperandIwentoutandhuntedinvain foran hourormore.Wethenstruckatrackandwerefollowingitalongtheedge of sometl1ickbushwhenIsuddenly saw thesharpflick ora tailatrightanglestoourline of march.WheneverI went outwith anyone whomIcouldtrust atall Imadeapoint of making rryassistant movea fewyards infrontof'me and, whilsthekeptasharplook-out ahead, Ikept acarerul watchon bDthThis wastomymindmuchthebestdivision of labour,foracomplete haIr circleis far toomuch forany one mon to scan unlesshisrate of movementistobeuncommonlyslow.Andonthisoccasion, as well as on many others,my plan certainlyworked.Wewerealmostpastthebull-elandwhenhebetrayedhimself.Theflick of histaildidnotlastthetenth partof asecond,butitwasenoughtogivehimaway.Hewasonlysixtyyards off3JJ.d hadnotseenus.Iwasonthegr-oundin an instantandgothimonthepointoftheshoUlderwithmy .27iS.' Ishout.dhavepreferredmy.350for8bigan animal, butit unfortunately doneupinitsslingand,withtwoponies andfour men standing absolutelYintheopen, it wasnotgoodenoughtorunmorerisk of attractingattention thannecessary.The bUllstaggered,pulled himself together, 3.lld crashedintothebush which atoncebecame so thiokthat apursuit onhorsebackwouldhavebeenuseless.Inwerushed after himon foot and ror amileor

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more,followed 3. heavy withoutdi:f:ficulty.Thenthebloodceasedandour taJskbecame much harder.; stillwewereont.herightlineand had notgivenuphopewhenCoopersuddenlystopped, and whisperingsomethingIcouldnotquite hear, pointedeagerlyin frontof him.One ofthe blackboysalso hadhis eyesfixedonsomething,and'! -thouglJ.t"they hadboth SI)otted the 'eland. "Ishestanding?"IaskedCooperhurriedly."Yes",camethereply,but for the 1i:feof me Icouldsee nothing.and, withbated bre.ath, ItoldCooperso.Heledme forward a :few paces,stoppedandpointedagain,butstillIcould make outnothingintheleastresemblingthemassiveyellow-greybodyo:f an elandbull.I was stillstaringdesperatelyintothe tangle. bushbe:fore me whenCoopergaveadisappointedgruntasa :finesablefrom behind tbe trees and undergrowth and disappearedinthethicket.71. :iy utterdisgustmaybeimagined.Ihadnever thatCooper had spottedasable and I hadfailed tocatchthehurriedwords whichhe triedtoacquaintme of the:fact.Amongstthemaas ofdif:fere.tltshadesand coloursbefore me it might havebeen hard atanytimetodetectwhateverportion of the was visible,buttheidea of looking for thejet-blackbodyo:f a sableneverenteredmymind,Whichwasintentonlyontheyellow-grey of theeLand,Knowingthatsablerarelygofar,Cooper and Iatonceset of:f inpursuitleavingtheboysbehindwiththeponies.Butthebushbecame so denseandthe spoor so thatwehad perforceto giveit upand gobackonourowntracks.Tl1.ere wef'oundtheboyswho,toour surprise, toldustheYweref'ollowingtheelandspoor and wethendiscovered that thetwospoors ra.npara.llel, thatsable andeland had formed ajointstock companyand gone off' together.In fact, at the momentwhen C80per wastryingtoshowmetheformer,theblackboy(Feechan) hadhis eyesonthelatterwhich,likemysel:f,Cooper had tosee at a.ll.Thustheseeminglyunf'ortunate misunderstanding hadturnedout trumps intheendandourjobwas greatlySililplified inthatwecouldnowfolloWthe two tracksinone.Thiswedid for overamile

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72. and wewerestillgoing'steadily ,on when Cooper pulledupsharp,gazedthroughhis andwithout a word,set off at full gallop.AgainIexpectedhe had seenthe eland andanother race seemedprobable. After a rew hun-dredyards,however,mycompanfonstopped,hissedthe'words"sablebull"throughhisteeth and tookPoo-onbythereinswhilstI junwed quicklyout of thesaddle.There,justover tWJ hundred yards away,wasthesablequietlygr-azLng,Ir-anbehind anant-heapand laydowntoshoot,butI relt I too wLsteady. Ipulled luyselr together and set nw teeth,butbyno manner 0' means couldIkeepmy rifle still.Itseemedtowaggleaboutlike a tail and 'rknewitwouldbehopelessto fire whileIwasinsuch a state. wasnothing for itbutto Butoh!thetorture of it and thetemptationtolet, f'ly andjusttrusttoluck!There' was mycovetedprizemoving gradua.l ly f'urtherandfurtheraway, makingmy shotmore andmore difficult witheverystride, there was I feeling literallylikeahousedivided,with a,vengeance, against itself! Ontheonehand mad desiretoownthehea.durged and insisted th3.t I must shootor see my trophy escapeuntouched;ontheother hand cold rea.son told methat Iwastremblinglikeajelly andt,h3.. tthechances against hittingwere hundredtoone.With a desperate Icalmed andafterafew secondsthatseemedlikehours,Iwasallright again. Idrewadeepbreath and a careful bead and, asmy rirle spoke,! felt goingthroughme, that strangethrill of hope andfearthat so oftenaccolnpanies speedingbullet.Buthopewasuppermostthistimeandrightlyso.T'nere wasa thud,asuddenjerk of theblackbodyandI thesable was hit,andhit hard too.FromwhereIlaya second shot hardlypossible,butI fired,missed. ThenIsprangto myfeet andranintotheopentoput.inathirdbef'or-eheshoulddisappear i1'2tIle bushf'orwhichhewasmakdng,Icouldonlyjust,seehisoutline tr.lXough the gra.ss a.ndha:nging andthechance of' hittingseemedso remotethat Ihesitated whetner totrymyluckornot..1wasstill

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.unabLetomakeup my mindwhen t"t.ereflashedupon me an adrncnf.tdon.of' giventobot.hPeterandmethe day before:"When inthebush,"hesaid, "takerir-:;ks,and shootwheneveryougettheleastchance,don'tbeashamed'of'missingor a.f'raid to fire on that account;you,particularly,Captain,aretoo fond of making youwillworkyoursoulouttolnakesure .of' success,rather tnan runtheleastrisk of'f'ailure, youdon'tgambleenough."Hewasright,forI was bornwithouta gamble insideme, and, time a:fter time,If'ear-,both G',tl;york and 3.t play, have I lost opportunitiesinconsequence.Iknew nwfailingas well as hedid hadfouglltagainst it,butnoone ha.d toldmethetruthquiteso'bLurrt.jy,I liked themanforitatthet.Lme and I wondered whywec-ouLdnotallbea 73 .littlemorehonest 1jri theaohot.her-,How of't,en couldwehelp apal had we butthemoralcouragetoputourthoughtsintowords!SoIpressedmytrigger, 3J1.d a joyoUE shoutfromCoopertoldmeIhadnotdonesoinvain. Hy bUllet broke the s3.ble's nearhindlegjustashim was theworkof a fewminutes, Iwasmorethan to find I had added a goodspecimentomycollection.Hemeasuredjustover forty-two inches.Night was asweturnedtogohomebytheshortestpossible p3..th. Itledalongtheedge or jungle ror some and then through agroveor hightreeswiththickspreadingcrownssoclosetogether thewhole the agreatopen-WoundedSable he was van5.shing.To f'ollow himand finish

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74. hall whose roof W3.S suppor-t.ed bymany pillars.There was nomoanandthelightoutside W3..S J :faint enough,but,whenwe came totheedge or the canopy,all was as blackas no stars c?uld penetrate thatveil of foliage.Wecould"scaroelydistinguishtheluassivegreytrunksthrough which wewoundour andtheponiestrodwarilyoverknottyroots hal:f buriedintheground.Therewasnosound savethe thud ofa hoofstrikingfallenpieces or timber,orthe soft rustling of' leavesandbrushwoodastheboyssteppedcautiousLyatong us.Suddenlytherewas a asthoughofa demonsallletlooseatonce.Like a giganticsyrenitbeganwithabrief tb.reatening buzzimmediatelyaboveourheads;in an instantitincreased aLundredfo),d involume,rose to the hi??;hest pitchandtore forward throughtheairatthepace ofa hurricane. Having reacheditsutmostlimit vfitha piercingscreechimpossibletodescribe,itfellasithadrisen,andamomentlaterall was asstill as death.Howlongitlastedgoodnessonlyknows.Itwassosuddenthatwehadnotimetothink, so bewilderingthatwetookno cOW1t oftime;it have beentenseconds,it may beenthirty,wecouldnottell.Atthe rirst sound a coldshiver ran downmyback; had gates of hellbeen open edthen and thereIcouldnothavebeenmoresurprised.ButPoo-onbroughtmetomysenses.With a.mighty plungeheshot str3.ight upintospace andtl:.en,as heLanded,at.oppeddead 3.S thoughno power" onearthshOUldeverinducehim.tomoveagain.With hisforelegs firmly his back arched,hisnostrilsdila.ted,hisearsprickedstraight forwardand hiseyesflashingfire,hestood petrified withterrQr.He was treml)linginevery limb,and every instant I expectedhim tomakeawild dashfor liberty.Thesound was rightoverus then andhemightgoanywhere.Hadhe IJ.3.d hischoicehewouldnodoubthaveplungeddownintothebowelsoftheearth,but,thatbeingimpossible, any otherdirectionseemedgoodenough;"buthe was too frightenedto move and sohe sililPly stood,gluedtowherehe was. Thenasthe rushed forward, hismuscles relaxed,hegavealoudsnort

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andIknewhe h3.d recovered his senses.Inowlooked roundf"or theothers.Theywere.a1lstaringin blankamazement, but,likePoo-.on 3..1'1dmyself',all onthepoint o:f'recovery fromt.he 'first shock. thenoisewas at itsheightweremainedmotionless;asitdecreasedinvolwue wecast glances at each otheras well as wecould the darkness;whenitdied we still stood staring,with oureyesthedirectioninWhichit had gone.Butnoonespoke.Wesimplylistenedwondering What would happen next,wonderingwhetherthe demons wouldcome 3.g3..in,and all afraid toputthef'irstf'colLahquestion.Suddenlyadeep hos.rsebark,alm.osta. cough,brokethe uncanny calm.We f'aced each other squarely now andaloud guff'awf'romCooperopened thechorus.Welaughedtilloursidesaohed, forthat bark W3.S unmdat.akabLe and had f'airly "giventheshow away".Monkeys! Baboons!Thosewereour derno--!.s;those weretheelves and witchesletlooseuponus; t.l1ose theevilspirits that had scared usout of ourwits.Thewholething was asludicrous as itsexplanationwassimple.Thetroop,whichmusthave"beencomposed of'many scores, had evidentlybeen f'ast asleepinthet.r-eeswhen we suddenly appeared. rightunderneatht.hem.Alarmeda'tourLnvastonof'their sanctumtheyhadt.akenfright and jumped panic-stricken:frombranch tbbranchandtreeto.tree,jostlingeachotherastheywent 3.1ld settingupthehideousdinI h3V6 describei.Wewere, of course,atno time inrealdanger,f'orthe baboon is, asarule, amostpeaceablecustomer wngrarely attacks or beast.Large troops,however,mayeasilybecomevery dangerous indeed if one oftDeirnWliber isin way injured.. Sir PercyFitzpatrick recordedavivid and interestingaccount of' the in whicha troop of' severalhundredstrong,oncerescueda C01Drade Who had beenseizedby"a panther. And,whilststationed atHarrisll1.:ith inthe Orange RiverColony,Wherelargenumbers of' thesegreatapes the other kopjes,I was 75.

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76.yold thestory of'3. nativewho had beenkilledbythem. 'V'lhat heactuallydid.wasunknown;'but"he had evidentlY annoyeda troopinsomeway;sotheywent for himin body literallytorehimtoshreds.Baboonsareoccasionallyshotbysportsmenbut hardlyregarded as trophies, and wenevertried to getonealthoughwesaw lJenvnlohave shotthemhaveassuredmetheywouldneverdosoagain,so forcibly didtheirplaintivecriesremindthem of those of humanbeinginagony.Ourlaughover,wequickenedourpaces and soonreached camp wherewe :found Peter had shot a duikerduringourabsence.Next morning 'heand C'Joper setouttogetherwhilstItooksome Glf the boyS toreturntotheeland of thepreviousevening.We found hisspooreasilyenough, Butfor threewearyhourswe followed itinvain.Therewere traces ofgame about at onespotI leisure care fUlly to examineaf'resh "wildlaagte"A "wildlangte" issimplya saucer-sha.ped dejxresafoninwhiohsmalI gamelieupduringthehothours of' theday,orwheretheyenjoy a. goodrollinthedust. Theyoftenfound intheopen as well as inthe bush, andtraces or them maystill beseeninremote partsof' the Transvaal. AtOahoek near Ermelo, forinstance,an English George showed meWithpride a wildlaagtewhichhe was oare:fulJ.ypreservinginthegarden of hishospitablehome.Itwasjustlike tlTose wenowsawinuseso many hundreds of' milestotheNorth, and it:formedaninterestingrelic of' thecomparativelyreoentdayswhenthe gnu, thezebraandthehartebeest, nottc mentionmillions of'spring-bokand bles-bok,roamed farand wideoverlandnowcovered with anet vo::rk .o:fwireandgr.owingmanytons 'of" meatLes,Suchsights as thissolitarylaagteinthe'middleo:fawell-keptlawnenciroledbybeds 0f' homelYEnglish":flowers, are certainlyinteresting,buttothehunterthey are sadsightstoo.Theyshow only. tooclearlyhowrapidlythegreatexodus has been accompl::tshed,how theteemingmillions--orsuchaswere left ;o:fthem--havebeenmeroilesslydriven furtherandfurther likethevQortrek-

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,kers.)!'old, bef'ore t.he onward mar-chof'civilization.Itmakesone sad tothink of' thesetJhingsand:onewonderswhat will happen't.othechubby-faced,cheerylittlekiddiesinthenurseries ofto-d3..Y when"induecourse,they take uptheir rif'les, whilstwe lay oursaside f'or ever. Are theytohavenosport?Aretheytoundergo r::L0h3Xdshipsth.at willmakemen of' them? Ifso, whatistobecome of'usa.s a race? Will theSODS orEngland-be asreadytogoanywhereanddoanythingintheservice of' t.he.Lrcountry if' theyhavenosport 1?o re1ievethemonotony of'dally rout.Lne; if' they have nothingto themf'or spendingtheirlivesinexile?Polo,and afew otherthingsbeyondtheaveragepursein Fngland,will remain, :)f' butthegreatestattraction of' allwillbegone.Thepreservation ofgame isbeyondthecontrol of' the majorityof' hunters,thoughthe tiesconcernedoften ask forandaccepttheir ::Ldviceas to whenand whererestrictionsshouldbeimposed;moreover manyof' themen in ouradministrativeservices are t.hemaejveakeen sportsmen"andthE::reforef'rame rulesandr-eguLa.t.Lonacalculatedt.opreserve game a.amuch 3.8 possible.Thenumber'. of" head tha.t maybe shot isof'tenstrictlylimitedandin many parts:'of'the Empire, inIndiaand Kash.Ii:lr:for Lnst.ance,sportsmenhavetoreportthe extent of'theirbagin deta.il so that steps may betakentoprevent particular localitybeingshotout.Thus a good deal isdonetoguard against'that totalextermination .whichmust comesooneror later, buttheevildaymightbepostponed -conside:ci:tbJ,..y if'onlyallhunterswouldthemselves"playthegame".Itisunf'or-t.una'beLytruethatalldonotinvariablydoso, and Icouldmentionseveral flagrant cases of overshooting.Onemantoldmeunblushinglythathehadshottwelve of' aparticularspecieswhenhislicenceall.owedhimfiveonly;another,in a country Withgame of' allkinds,shottwokcodoobullsforthe Againthere are menwhoare'not satisfied withalimitednumber of' goodrepresentativespecimens;theywillgo onkillingthesamekind of' gameeveryt.Lmeanoppor-t.unfty offers inthehope of' obtainingslightlybetterhorn.nea.sur-emerrt.s If' thetotalnumber shot ill.this manner exceedsthelimitallowedthe77.

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78. smaller heads aresimply nolimit is thewhole'lot kept. But on does w&nt withmore three anyone sort?The collectiondependsnoton the .humber heads butonthenumber varieties,though, course,individualspecimensshouldbe as go.cdaspossible.It iatheref'ore quite permissible toshoot up toone'slimit,even if itexceedsthree,andthentoweedoutthesmallerheads,buttoovershootonets limit deliberatelyisquiteinexcusableunless-oneisdriventoit :forwanto:f Duringtheafternoon August25thwe insparmed andtrekked to an wmamed waterholeabouteightmilessouth-west.The f'ollowing day Cooper andIdecidedto stay in andto.occupyourselveswithdomestic af'fairs andthe marking.of' heads.ThiswedidwhilstPeterwentout pastone, P.:m. He saw twoherds o:f elandholdingabout f'i:fty buthis to obtainaheadwere unsuccess:ful. Therewereplenty of' eland :further on,however,soweagreed t9 pushontoournextcamp ra-nother unnamed spot)and thusgotonemarch nea.rer thekoodooand buffalo country. In,the course of'this trekIsawanothertype .of' nativegame-trap.It consistedof'a row of' deepandnarrowpitsdugparalleltoeachother on bothsides of' a broadtrackmuch by game.Therewereeightortenpitsinallandtheirlngersidesran paralleltothetrack,the twb nearestpitsbeingnotmorethan a :few:feet:frmn itscentre,sothatany animal departingintheleast f'romtnemain trackwasverylikelytocomeacropper.Thetracksusedbymenandanimals areo:ften the same, anditis welltolookout :forpits asoneridesalong. Theyare mostskil f'ully coveredWithleavesandbrv.shwoodandare f'requently renderedreallydangerous'bythe fact thatstrong,sharpenedstakesareplantedverticallyin tillem. A toss --pony all--onto the spikeswouldpr.obablybeserious,whilstadrop into anordinarypitmightwellmeanabrokenleg. 000per

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us of thisandtoldus of an officer who laidup :t"or :t"ive days arter a intoone or thesepits.Consequentlywe usually let 3., blackboywalkjustahead of' usandsoreducedtheriskstoaminimum;theboysarenotlikelytobecaughtnapping,theyeither 1mow wherethe pits areorelsedetectthem i'1. good. til'l1e Our camp attheconclusion ofthisday's marchwasa pleasant one;the country wehadcometQ from campthey sightedof'sable withwildebeestclose todropped thecowsshowednosigns'of' fear andPetergotuptowith--Joha.nnes,Omi. and Socciswithmeandhadnotbeenoutiongbef'oremile'butweIIalso sawhartebeest Anotherstalk was be-Hewasnotaparticularlygoodone,Thesablewere withoutmuchtrouble,but,on examaccompaniedby a.rine bull.Peterhadnotyetgotan eland, sohe gave uptheroan, went f'orthebigbUlland killed himstone dead withawell-aimedshotthroughtheneck.Asthebull gun, but,bef'oreit W3,S completed, r>-Joperspiedsome elandcowswereglad of' himas meat wasbadlyneeded.androan.PetermeanwhilewentwithCooperandabout half' aination,itwas:found that the only bullin the party was notagoodone,sohewas lef't Thetwo proceededncr-t.h-wesfalongtheedge of' aomethem. promisingandwe set out :LUllof hopenextmorning.Isho.t ,a reedbuck.thickbushtillthey found aherd of' intwenty yardsof' them.It wa.s most unfortunate thathe hadnot CooperandDead

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80.gothiscamerahandy,otherwisehe might haveobtainedaninteresting pho'togr3.ph.The'l?ullwas ahand-somespecimen or the tULtlessvariety,measuxingjust thirtyinches.Whilsttwo oLthe boyswouldwere dertto bringinthehead Peter and 'the hunterwent offafter someroan, but, asbadluckhave it, thetwoboyscrossedthestalkontheir waytocamp andsotheenterprise railed. ThatmorningPetersawanextraordinaryamount of gameuncludinghartebeest,roan,wildebeest,sable,steinbuck,reedbuck,numerousbaboons,andeland.-.Neverhad arwoL usseenmorein a few hours, and the teillptation to remain wherewewerewasstrong;butkoodoo andbuffalo werenowour andobject,sowehardened 9urhearts andpressedonacrossthedrybed of'the Ugabo Riverto aplacecalled Shimafumba Kraal..Asusualwehuntedaswe marchedbut we did littlegood.Peteraccomplished adifficult stalk af'ter aroanand baggedhim, onlyto rind thathemeasuredno more than twenty-four inches.CooperandIwanderedabout ror hoursandsawonlytwoverysmallkoodoobulI, although therewasalot or absolutely fresh koodoospoorintheneighbourhood. Of'allAfricangame koodooareprobablythemosttrickycustomerstodealwith.Theirsenses-of'sightandhearing are wonderful andarter havf.ngonceseentheirpursuer, theytake verygoodcarenevertolosesight of'him again. }Ianyanimals rush off wildlydeterminedtoputasmuch apaceas possiblebetweenthemselvesandthehunter.Othersgallop off:for somedistanceandthenturntolookback; if" theyseenothingthey \'ViII probablybegi11.graZingpeacefully; if' they f'ind themselves followedthey willgallopawayoncemore and thenturnroundto have asecondlook,and so on.Butthetactics of thekoodoo are very diff'erent.If hespotsyou first, itis"alluP"unlessthe is so openthatyoucanridehimdown. The moment heseesyouhewillmove awaY,takingcoverwith wonderful skill;hewillwormhiswaythroughthethickestbushwithoutasound of rustling learor breakingtwig;heliterallyglides from placetoplace,keepingsteadilyahead of youallthe Heseemstohaveeyesbehindaswellasin:front, :for, evenwhen heturns

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awayfromyou,healways appears to whereyou are and whatyouaredoing.Everynowandagainhewillstop"deadtolookbackandlisten;thenhe yousquarely withpricked headerectsothathislonggreyneckisallnostimpossibletotell from the trunka like-colouredtree.Therehe stands like a statuewhilstyouvainlyseektodistinguishhis gracerulrorm witheyescaat;downandbendedneck,eagerly,yetcautiously f'oll:w{his brand-newspoor.Themomentthereistheleastchance of" discoveryheglides off' aga.Ln, and againyouscanthe "push invain or trackinhiswakelittle bLOWing howyou are Andsothe chasegoesonmile after mile,hour af"ter hour,till at youlosethe spoor or,disgusted utterlybewildered,give up the unequa.l contest. Prob3.bly nospecies of'Africangamehas giventhehuntermoretroublethanthekoodoo. know of' menWllO,havingshotalmosteveryotherspeciesintheworldhavecometbNorthWest RJ:iodesia withthesoleobject or procuringsomeofthe :fine aabLeandkoodoo that countryholds. Tb:ey gotthe f"ormer, but,thoughthey spent weeksinthebush,they went homewithoutthelatter. And yet, if', byany thekoodoo rails togetthe f'irst viewheisnotso difficult tobringtobagasmightbesupposed.Thegreatest isnecessary, of course, but easystalkor an easyshot is notout of thequestion, itis of note that thetwokoodooPeterandIatlengthsucceededinbaggingweregotwithout anydiff'iculty whatever.Butthisis events,soIwill ret.urn tomynar-rat.Lve, After our f'irst disappointingdayat ShimafUmba wedecided andifferent We determined to moveontwoparallellines and thentoturnintowardseachother.Butthe pl3..n f'ailed,so we wentback to andsoughtwhatconsolationwecouldinour firstmail whichhadjustarrived.Earlynextmorning,September1st,werenewedour ef'f'orts.Tommyeeing stilllaid up, Iwentonfoot'but saw only a cows;PeterandCoopersawnothing at all.Aboutnoonweweresittingat81.

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82.lunchwhen :from theKraalnearbycame the sound o:ftom-toms and the shrillshoutsof'welcomeutteredby thearrival of' a persono:f importance.Thedistinguishedvisitoronthis pccasion was :rir.C.F.B.Handley the N3.tive Commissioner of' theDistrict.We had beenexpectinghim,sowe at oncesent a note across to hiscampand askedhimtodinewith us intheevening. Handley came over early intheaf'ternoon and s.tayedto tea. Wehadalongchatwithhim about allmannerof' thingsand, of' course,hadaphotographtakentocommemor ourmeeting. done,theCommissionerwent back tohisown C3mp toattend to hisduties,whilst Peter andIwent offto doourusualeveningshoot.If'ootedit and sawnothing,butPeterandCooperhadanexcitingride arter three f'ine koodoobUlls f'ound grazingin the openacouple of' milesorso :from thekraal.When first discoveredthebullswereabout hal:fEr.Ftandley, Cooper andEelf'atShimaf'umba.. amileawayand,asthey had alreadyseentheirpursuers,astalkwasout of thequestion.Theonly chance toridethem down. The kOQdoo, though mucDf'asterancannot travel at anygreat pace, andamoderately f'ast horsewilleasilyget up withhimonanythinglikedecentground.Stillthe planof' gallopirlg after himandjumping of'f'to shootisbynomeanseasytocarryout successfUlly,and thegr-oundPeter and Cooperhadbeforethem was notgood.Theyhadto. cross anextensiveplain sparsely c'overedWithtrees surrounded on allsideswiththickbush.Itwas a questionwhether they couldget SUfficiently closetothekoodooto put inashot before theywereableto :find in

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t:le thioket.Ongoodgroundthetaskmighthavebeerieasy,buthere,theoonditionsweresounr'avour-ablethattheponies wereheavily handicapped from theoutset.Theground was orackedall.overandateverystridethe ponies inup to their fetlooks itbrokeinundertheir It was, in fact, verysimilartoblackcottonsoilinIndia anyonewho has gallopedoversuch cOill1try willappreoiatethe difficultyof thesituat,ion.The poniesgained graduallyneverthelessand a soon became Possible. Itfell shortbut turnedthekoodoo fronl thenearest bush and kept them on theopenplain.Thegrassnowbecamelonger sothegoingwas more"blind" than ever,butstill Gooperarill Peterracedon theirutmostspeed;onthreeoocasionsthekoodoo stopped tolook round andthreetimesPeterjumped off'and. fired.But heno luckat 3,J.l. Thefirst time he forgot.J118rifleW3..S at "safe", sohe lost, theopportunity;thesecondtimehisbUlletwentover, and thethirdtimetherifle missed firejust,asthekoodoo crashed intothejungletobeseennomore.Nextmor-nf.ngwe went inaear-ch of themagainbut, 3.fter waidez-Lng m3J1.Yweary miles,wereturnedto CaJl1P withoutJhavLngseenanythingbutspocr-,Loathasweweretoleaveaplaoewherewe knew: goodkoodoo existed we nevertlleless thereupondecidedtocontinueour ill3xch.Itwou11have been rolly' tostaylongerin:one therewereotherkoodooinRhodesia, and those at'ShifuafUmbahadbeenso scaredthattheywere now bound to be more wary than ever. Mr. Handleyhad told usthatweoould cross the Kafueat Chitumbi,sowein-spannedandmade for that place,haltingthenightat apanabout half waytoit.Duringthe maroh Petershot ro10ther wildebeestaswewere badly inneed of meat fortheboys. On Friday, September 3rd, wedeoidedtodo a doubletreksoastoreachChitumbiintheevening thatday.Wedid notattempt muchshootingaswe hastened along,butIshotoneoribiwhilstPetermissedwhatlookedlike arine roanwhenwithina few miles of ourdestination;allthroughhehadbadluckWiththese animals. 83.

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84.On ar-r-Lva ..1atChitwnbi wewent,tothernission stat,ion whilstthe wagon werlt straight ont.o the river bank.At thestationwe were:t:indly receivedbythe RS!v. EdwinSnlith (o:f the ]jIission) and hiswire. Wetookteawiththem werepressedtostaytosupperaswewere,i.e.,not looking quiteourbest.Butwedidnotwishtoabusethehospitality of our hosts, sowe asked to be togoontoour aftertea, tomakeourselvesasrespectableaswe could underthe andtoreturn for a smokeand chat later".Just at duskwe startecl of'f' :forwhat webelievedtobeouroampLng-cgr-ound.;tIlespot was nearsomehightreesstilldilnlyvisibleinthedistance,butwhenwegot there, we :foundnota sign of thewagonor else. ALter a Brief andperfectlyhopeless we were tll.erefore compelledtoreturntothe stat.ionjust as snd dirtyaswe had beenatteatime. Cooper wouldnot:facetlheordealandstruckouta new lineinsearchofthe C31llP, butPeterandI hardened ourheartsandoncemor-e ourdustcoveredpersonsinto Smith's ++++++

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CHAPTtjR VIWespent apleasant eveningwith Yr.and Smith arldheard agood dealaboutthena tives rrom them. Before-tea theyhadshownustheirhouse and all that belongedtoit,theschoolinprocess or construction,thestablewiththe old horse, Smith'sstudywithitssplendidstock books,thelarder,thestore-room and, lastbutnotleast,thesur-ger-y,Allwasnew,in fact many dfJ thebuilclingswereonly ho.,lf' completed;herewas an outhousejustrisingaboveits Chitumbi Hission-house. there a shed,asyetminus aroof; beyondwasa temporaxy' granary and beyond again stoodthelittletentinwhich Smith and his wire hadlivedwhilstthe first sodswerebeingcut the bricksinthe The Da.tive labourerswerestillat w'orkwhen}'-'T. Smithblew a shrillwhistle,andthemen, -layingdown theirtools,troopedtogetherintothemiddle or thevar-d,Thereeach man's cardwas :filled inwith the number of' hours' work he had doneintheday, a shortprayer :followedtJ ndthe workers wenttorest. :'!Ir. Smithisadiscip linarian, he hisboyswell ID1derhis thumb he doesn'tstand nonsense.Heisa scholar too, and acomprehensive grammar and dictionary --theresult or fiveyears'hardwork--will stand asa85.

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8. monumentofhislabours.Heisprobablythe greatest authorityon connectedwith thoseamongst whomhe has chosen to spendhislife, and it would bewell theservices of missionaries hisstampwerealwaysmore appreciated,.orat least judgedwithlessprejudice. After supperweadjournedtothedrawingroomandthere,foracouple of hoursormore,welistenedto all ournew friend hadtosay the of thecowltry,ofhisownwork andof missionaryworkingeneral.It was noteasytogethilatotalk,butwhen wepliedhimwithquestions,andhesawwewereinterested,hebegan.Icannot,atthisjuncture,attempttorepeatallhesaid, though in a laterchapterIshallendeavourto summarize hi.sviewsandstatements together witJhthoseof'ot.herwhitemenwewere ateenoughtomeet,butthisIwillsay--therearefewamongstus, who realize whatsplendidmen wepossessin manyof ourmissionaries.Wesoldiersaresometimesinclinedtoimaginethatwearetheonlyones privilegeq. tomantheoutposts of'the Empire.Butthatis not, thecase;thehonourissharedbyothers, and it ia wellthatitshouldbeso, for thetaskistoogreat us or forthemalqne.It was latewhen we left hiskindhostandhiswife, and earlynextmorningwhenwecrossedthe KafUe muchless difficultythan we had anticipated.Aheavyironbarge,belongingtotheBrokenHillCopperCompany, wasmoored n9tfar:fl::'om Chitumbi.Intothiswepackedourkitwhilsttheoxen forded thestream the emptywagon after them.Neverthelessthecrossingtookus nearly alldayandweate"ourlunchontheSouthBank.A hippo-hunter calledBennetthappenedtobecloseby,soweaskedhimto share ourmealwithusandtellussomething hisdoings.Hehadbeendriftingdown-stream for a and,inthecourse of thattime, hadbagged sevenhippo.Heseemed fairly withthereSUlt,butwhathesaid of his ways andmeans of'earning his d.aily breadinthese swampsconvincedme that"the life

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87.. of'lhippe--hunterwas f'ar frombe-ing all "beer and.skittles". Bef'are thelast of ourkitwasacross the river, Bennett andIwent aft"af'ter aThisisusually waywithcracs.Idonot }:now, buthegotback watervery deep andthere seemed somechance of not T'ne waterwas Whether Ihit him ornot,crocodile baskingon arocksqmehundreds of gettingthe"croc"if'onlyIcouldhithimyardsabovethe hard.right enough andwas neverseenagain.TheSpanand WacronCrossing theKaf'ue HiveratChitwnbi.They ar'e easy enoughtofind,easyenoughtohit 3....'lQf'a.,irlyeasy tokill;butla.ndingthemis adif'ferentstory. have been aLter themtime tilnebutonlytwicehaveIsucceededinbringingmyquarryashore.Boththese occurred onthe Chambal inIndia,closetoDholpur,and as oneof'themtaught me a lesson, itmaybe "Worth whiletorecord.it.I W3JS walking along thesand-dunea on theleft -bankortheChambalwhen Isawapair or crocslyingnot farfrom the water's edgeabout half amileaway..Therewasverylittlecoverbut,bydint of"cree:Ping andcra.wling,I managed togetupto about ahundredandtwenty-:five yards, closely f'ollowed by Tulsiliked.tobe cs,lled3. syce(groom),buthe was in realitya grass-cutter, anda queerlittle specimen of'humanityhe was too.Reweighed abovefivestoneand stoodabout an equalnumber of feet.He wasas'weakas akittenand his age might havebeen anything; he hada f'uxmy lit-tIeshrivelledupface and usuallywore grin.He was nogood foranything much, 7Jut Ikepthimontodooddjobsandsometimesmade useof himto carrymy LunchwhenI went out.shooting.Onthese

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88.occaadorisheliked "to becalled a"Shikari" orhunter.Hewasactinginthat capaoity onthedayinquestion and asIorawledlaboriouslythrough tDe deep sand, hewriggledhisdiminutive along af"ter me andfinally la.ydown flat whenhe sa.V{ megettingready to shoot.Ipeeredoautiouslyoverthetop a low sand-bank, drew acareful beadontheneck of one of' thecrocs,fired and hithim hard. Hegave a violent start, threw up his headand openedhisjawswidely just. longenoughtogivemetimeto put mysecondbulletinhismouth.Thenheturned :for theriverwhilstIspr-anguptotryandcuthim of'f"; but hewas tooquick for me and althoughI f'iredtwo moreshots,hegotintothewater before I could getinbetweenit him. IreachedtIle spot wherehehad disappeared Icouldsee no"thing. Inhisstrugglestogetbacktohis favourite elementhe had stirredupthemudtillthewaterlookedlikepea-soup, and I reared1!['lad lost him f'or-good and all.But.thecurrent wasf'airly r-ap Ld and theslope of the wasgradual, so itseemedworthwhileto w3.i"t aridlook :for himagainwhen "the water had cLear-ed,Af'terabout "ten mfnut.esIwentbacktothe edge andthenceplainlysaw m\y "mugger"lying f'lat onhisback not morethantwelveyardsawayinthree feetor water. underside or hisbodyshowed up almost white ashelaymotionless,andImaybeexcused rorthat he,oranyother oreatuxewith anysense ordecency at 9,11, must,underthe cirownsta..nces, bestonedead.So Iputdownmy rirle andmadeupmymind towade in and pullhimout.Butthethickblackmudlookedominous,andIverymuchdoubtedwhether it would bear myweightatall.Tulsi was standingbymyside,soweheldacouncil or warandagreed "that heshouldgoin in, front of" meand tha;t Ishouldhang on. "to his in casehesank.If themudwouldnotholdhimitwould cer"tainlyno"t holdme, and weshouldbe to give up ourventure.Wewent, :forward warily,Tulsicarefully feeling his W04Y andmovingside-waysWithhis armout:for metoholdonto.However, all wentwellj the mudwasnot sosof'tas weimaginedandwesoon ourselves near thetl1inend or themugger'stail.This was allIcouldexpectTulsito lift; so

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[ t.o.Ldhim to stay where he was whi 1st Imoved :forwardtoget a griporthetai 1 fUrtheruP.. Thendownwe stopped together to tackleourload,whichTulsicouldonlyjustreachwi clucking hisheadunder water. But h3rdly hadwelaid hands on thegreat tail suddenlythe river appeared tobecomealiveall round us.There was anupheava.landamightyswipe-:fortun:l.tel:yaway f'romus-and then-thegreat bruteturned bodilyover, anythingbutdead. Wedidnotstop :for"marching! orders"butsimply turnedand ranas :fastas wecould tlITough themud. water wasalmost upto my waist and wellup to pooriittleTulsi's,butIdoubtwhether eitherof usever covered.tenyards inbetter time. I drewahead intherace andgotnearlyhalf" waytothebankwhenthere was aloud Shriek behindme.It sent a cold shiverdownmyback--I :felt certaintheboyhadbeencaught.Iturned andmade awildgrab at him;whereI clutcht?d himIdon'tquiteknow,butthenextmomenthe wasf'lYinghead overheelsthroughthe airandlunding face dovmwards intheslush.Undernormal conditions Icouldnever have f'Lunghimha.Lf' the d.istance,but :fearwillmake a mando manythings and it certatnly madsme put everyounce of' strer.LgthI had. into thatthrow. A momentlater Iwas at the water'sedgetooand, thoughIneverrememberedhowIgotthere,Ionlyjust managed itintime. F..a.rdlyhad Igot both:feet onterra when there wasadull thud thatseemed to come from right undernea.th me.Ilookedback and there was themuggerwithhis nosejammed tightupagainst thebankwithinafoot orso o:fmy heels. And thereImus'tleavehim:for a f'ew seconds whilst I turn myattentiontoTulsi.Thatgentle man wassquealinglike a stuckpig and Ithoughthe wassuffering:from hysterical fit crying--broughtonbytheshock iD.1 hisnervoussystem.Butnotso 1tIr. Tulsi. He was :fairly crackingnissi1esWithlaughter andthoughtthe whole thing the bestjokeout.Icouldhavekicked.thelittle icliotf;)rhisbehaviour, buthelookedsoridiculous.thatIalso began to Beethefunny sLde,89.

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90.However,there was notimeto wasteasl hastilypickedUPmy rirle,Wllich wascloseby,andtookanothershotat,themugger. Itwas nottillIhad rired theshotthat.I rully realizedhowveryliluchalivethemugger had beenallthewhile.Asthe bullet struckhimhegaveawild.plungeandthen rairly rushedacr-oaa a shallowbaysomethirty yards inwidth andup bank on the ,other side.It was a moveonhis P9Xtarterrour morebullets inrapidsucoessionhe was deadatlast.Hemeasuredjustundertwelve f'eet andwas of' thesnub-nosedvarietyknownasthe"muggez-J" The kindor Indiancrocodileisgenerallycalledthe goreahl; hehasalong snout,lives la.rgely on fish,and histeeth,likepeeled almonds tolook at, aremuch closer together th3J1the thick thumb-snaped teeth of' themugger.In Africa thereis,so f'ar asI know,onlyonespecies of' orocodile;it is similarinshape of'head tothemuggerwhilstitsteethresemblethose of' the goreBhl. I am unabletosaywhatsizethe African crocrunsto;butinRhodesiaIsawnonetoapproacheither of' :theIndian types, which frequently exceedtwenty feet inlength. Wnen allourgearwas safely acrossthe Kafue wepushedonoversome to Kalanga kraal wherewemade all. unsuccessfulattemptonaomepukube:foreturningin for thenight.Nextmorningwedidadrearytrekovermileso:f flatsto Kebangawhereweoutspanned our halt. En I at another croc Who, asusual,gotbackintothewater,andwebothhadlong and unsuc cessf'Ul shots roanandzebra.Theherdswerewaryandtherangessogreat hittingwasalmostout or thequestion,butwe were so hard up formeat thatwewere conwelled totry and killsomething.Duringthea:fternoonwewentto an unnamed pan some:fivemilesorsoshortof'Nzavu.Themeatquestion was becomingserious, wehad not a scrap left and,as fi:fteen carrierswereexpectedtojoin us nextday,we made upourmindstoshoot anything withinreason.Peter misseda f'ine

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eland"bulland alsoa roan,butI managed togetacoupLeof'reedbuck :for theboys anda duiker :fJr ourselves.Thusourlarderwasreplenished,butItooksomuch timeaver thebusinessthatIwasstill some distancef'romcampwhendusksetin.Iwasridingslowlyalong,withtheboys and. theirloadsof'venison behind me, when suddenlya big animal, lowontheleg, crossedthe pathabout a.hunclreclyards in fronto:f me. I f'airlyhoppedout of thesaddleandlet flyat onceatwhatI:feltcertainwas a lion.Butnosuchluck, :fora momentlaterIdiscovered to my ch3Jgrinthat Ihadf'ired at a fatold piginstead. 'W:'1.ether Ihit him ornotIdonotknow,but,he wentof'f' intothebushlikegreased andleft me feeling rather:foolish, somewhatamusedatmymistake.Onarrivalin camp Irelatedmyexperiencetotheothers and, of"course,camein :for somemild chart' althoughCooper aclmi tted that he himself hadlikewiseonce a porker forafelia leo.Sowe overtheincidentandletitpa.ss,littledreaming that nextdaypooroldPeter was toomakeasimilar mistake of'amuch moreseriouskind.He saw alion,tookhimtobe a pig andd.idnot discoverhiserrortillit W3.S toolate 'to Shoot.Thiswasrealmisf'ortuneandsolittleof' a laughingmatter that referencestopigs and lionswereaVoidedinour laterSeptember 6th W3.S the day whenthissad occurred,andweweresomesixmiles tram1'Tzovu atthetime. Ithappened duringthe march intothatplace andPeter wasnota happyman whenhearriv ed in camp withthe"news and nothing butan oribi toconsole him.Inevergotashotthewholemorning.Nzovuwasapoint at' importanceinthehistory of' ourshoot, f'or it la.y ontheedgeof"a "Fly belt"wherewewere, forthe:firsttime, tocutourselves aclri:ftfrom ourwagoninorder to pr-oceedonf'ootwithbearers carrying justasmuch of ourbelongingsaswouldberequired fora period of tendays.Theseso-calledfly-belts arethe strips of land bythe tsetse-f"ly,and they are in manypartsofAfrica. Itis dif'f'icult to say howbigtheaveragebeltis, but,apparently alengthof' fit'teen milesormore,combinedwith a widthof' :fromfive totenmiles, is byno means unusual. 91.

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92.Thewhereabouts of thebelts is wellknOWYltotraders andrilers,and althoughthey said toshift att,imesandtoaltertheir dimel1.sions somewhat,theyappearnevertheless always tocoverapproximatelythe The momenttheedge of" thebeltLSreached,alldomesticated.animalssuchashorses,oxenanddogs have tobe lert behindorthey are boundto diefrom the e:ff"ectsof' thesting of' the f'ly.. Cooper told methat fourflies were sufficient tokillapony,thoughhowhearrivedatthe rigure Idonotknow. :Eiven thedomesticated animalsof'the cOWltryareno.timmune, and. itisnoticeable that withinabeltthenativespossess LOanimals of'any sort orkind.Abe-Itmaybetraversed. in thenight,butthisis 0 ..risk-y businessparticularly when thereisnomoon.Traders:frequentlyhavetorunthegauntletaridcoristdeztliemselvesluckyif" they escape withoutlosingsome of theirstock.An animal thathasbeenstungby/the flywithersawayand usuallydies withina month.Thesymptoms of tsetse-bitesoonshoWthemselves,andacuriousdeviceisresortedtobythe -traders whentheysuspectananimalofhavingbeenstung.Theysimply theoxorponyina deeppond or stream.for anhourorso, they declare that the diseaseatoncedevelopsin fUll. the tsetse-flyirU1abits thesepeculiarbeltsIwasunabletodiscover, butit is certain thattheinsectlivesentirelY011game.Thetheoryis theref'ore sometimesput f"orward thatthe:flyliveson certain speciesonly,particularlyon buffalo, andthatthebeltscoincidewiththehabitat o:f _the game inquestion.ButIam convinced thistheoryiswrong, for Ihave myselrfound tsetse.onbothkoodooand warthog, which"latterare, of course,scatteredallover Rhodesia. Wild animals are,toallintentsandpurposes,quiteimmuneandIbeLf.evethereisonlyonesingleknown instance.of awild animal "being f"oundwith thetsetse-diseaseonit.This instance isonerecordedby liTr.Montgomery, a veterinary surgeon,whowentout toAfrica onbehalf' ofthe._:Liverp'091or TropicalMedicine;he thegerms of thediseaseinthecarcase of abush-buck.

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Inappearance thetsetse-flyisnotunlikethehomelyEnglish"blue-bottle"thoughhe is narrow-93.erinthe andbrownincolour.Hisbiteismostpai.n:ful,and.heisnosportsmanatall. Even thewily.moaquft.o has sufficientdecencytomakeanoiseandwarn y:>uof hispr-esence,Notsothetsetse.Hecomessilently,likeathiefin "the night,andonedoesnotknowheis u.ntilasort of" red-hotneedle is stuckintoOne'sneck, back,arm,or whatnot.He is respeoterof either, for heattacksblaokandwhitealike willasreadily pierce thehideofanigger,astheshirt,singletandskinoombined of awhite He,oratleastoneof'hisspeoies,is,Ibelieve,said to berespons.ible forsleePingsiokness, butthe proofordisproGfof'thisImust tothemedioal profession. Hetookhistollout of' meandnomistake,but!sleepnomore "to-day thanI q.id whenhewasmycompanion. Aftercarefl111y distributingourloadswemarohedouto:fNzovuwithnineteenoarriersearlyon TuesdaY,September 7th.Alowlineo:fhillsmarkstheedgeof the :fly-country,sowethreewhitesrodeourponiesasfaras this andthensent thembaok tothewagonwhichwehad ;le:ft atthevillageinoharge of theworthySimon.Onleavingtheplainweenteredanarrowgorgetogetherandshortlyafterwardsseparated tq shoot thepot.PetergotaroanWithapoorheadwhilstIgotnothingatall,soour inthe bUffalo oountrydid augur toowell:forthe fUture.About anhourbe:foresunsetwearrivedatGo.o-naznumpL kraal andpitohedourcampinthehigh grass close by. Be:foresettlingdownfor the..m..gh"t,however, wetogk 8, .. preoau'tibn'which I strong;Ly reoommendto others, vdz,,wecleared aspace of'tenyards or moreallround oUr campandkitchen lest astrayspark shou:ltl.settheveldtaligh'ti..and burnusout. The takingo:fsuohapreoautionarymeasuremayseemnomorethancommon sense, butIhavemade a pointof' mentioning it becauseillenhaveaouriousway of :forgettingthesedetails'when they lead the haPPy-go-luckylife of' thebush; and Iknow of atleastonespnr-tsman whoLos't.practicallyallhe pos-

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94.resaed through neglectingtoclear tilegrass ar-oundhim.JThecountrywewerenowin differed widely from anythingwehadso far inNorthWestRhodesia.In place 'ofgiant flats, bush-covered,tree.less,orstuddedwithmyr-Ladant-heaps,therewerebeautifUlgladesandval'leys,rocky kopjes andgorgeswithtrickling'streamsand peaceful pools dotted intervals.Onall sides wereprettyveldt:flowers,nestlinglow like violetsor athome, and visions 'of theNewForest, o:f Devonandbits o:f Yorkshirecamebacktome ever andoveragain.Buttherewasnotimeto tl1inkof' home, :forthe kraal-boyshadreported buffalo notsevenmilesaway.Theyhadbeendrinkingatapoolinastream,andso,bef'or-edawnon :the day fol-towing ourarrivalat Goonamumpi, we setouttogether insear-ch of" them.ItwasmydayWithCooper,and we decidedthatthisshouldgivemetherighttothe :first shot buf"falo weremetwith.Onreachingthepool, we :found neitherbuffalonorspoor and thereforeseparatedtolookforother game. Peterwentaloneandshortly a:f tarhehadleft us we heard acouple ojf" shotswithwhichhebroughtdowna :rine water-buckmeasuringtwenty-fiveanda half inches'ofhorn. Co'oper andIsaw nothing althoughtherewasa-.lotof tresh spoor-,includingkoodooandsable.Water-buckshotnearGunamumpi.Bythetimewegotbackto camp wehadwalkedabout, fifteen milesand, asthe goingwasroughandthe heat oonsiderable,wecametothe ;conclus:i: .onthatwehadhadenough of itfor 0ne morning.Intheeveningwe wentout again, but none or us had

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any Luck at all,except t:1atl Ishotareedbuck for thepot. onSeptember9th,Peterwentwith sawtwokoodoocowsandshota I wentaloneandgot three water-buck,twowithtwenty-three--and-a-halrinchhornandonesmallertheskin or whichIkept.Webroughtinnearlyallthemeat for' ourvoraciouscarriers.Itistrulymarvelloushow muchmeatthe A:rrican nativeswilleatwhentheycangethold of it!Asaruletheygetnone,butwhenopportunity offers theymakeup forlost timewithavengeanceand fairly gorgethemselveslikeVUltures.Ascore of themwillleavenothingbuttheakeLebm of" a flU 11grown after acouple of days, an4 apaltryreedbuckislikeamere drop intheoceantothem.Itisthereforenotsurprisingthatpracticallyallthe,sickness from whichour boyssuf'feredwascloselyconnected with ";LittleNary".'Whilst wehadthusbeenprovidingforthemad.nt.eriance ofJur retinue, Joharmeshad. goneout,withoneortwo :f"ollowers toexaminevarious pools inthevicinity forbllffalb-'spoor. Hereturnedshortly afterhalf pastelevenandtoldushehad found a pan somemilesawaywherethe buffalo hadwatered the previousnight.Weatoncedecidedtomoveintheafternoon and, onourwaytothenew camping-ground, wemadea u_8tour tothepondtheboys hadreferreq. to.Therecould,benodoubtthat johannes was,right,:forthegroundallround. wascloselycoveredwithfreshspoor, and the panitself literallyreekedwiththesmell ofbuffalo. Wellpleasedwithourdiscoverywepitchedourcamprathermorethan half amileawayandturnedinearlysoastobe fit tostartbetimes.Weroseshortly af'ter halfpast four andwereclear of: camp before theaunwas UP.Two kraal-boysledthe way, but,instead of' making :for thepool,Wepassedtothe leftof itinthehope o:f crossing the spoor o:f the buffaloon theirway -back tothethick.cover-in which wepresumedtheywouldlieupduringthehot"hours of: theday.We had notgonemuchmorethana mile whenthetwokraal-boyssuddenly pointedwarily95.

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96.tothefront andsat down.Therest of us followed suit,only remaininguprighttoexaminewhat there wastobe se-en throughmyglasses. 'We were not keptind'oubt,'long.Ina :few minutesseveral'bigblackanfmaf.s, unmistakablybuffalo, becamevisiblenotmore than:four or f'ive hundredyardsaway.They were moving:fromrightto left across our:rront, andwesoondiscovered that wehadthewhole herq. beforeus.Weestimatedtheirnumberat :forty or fi:fty, theywererightoutintheopen,andthegroundthatseparatedus :from them,beingwellcoveredwithlongish grass andstuddedwithseverallargeantheaps,wasmost:favourable :for astalk.Whatlittlewindtherewaswasoomingthe right way,sowehadeverything in ourfavour.Wehadmadeanarrangementalltogotogetherwheneverwewentdeliberately after dangerous game and to takethe first shotinturn.Theonetoset ballrollingatthebeginning ofthe day was-to betheone Whose turnit would otherwisehaveheen to gowithCnoper-, Friday, September 10th,happened tobemyday,soIkeptcloseonCooper'sheelsaswe began tostalk;Peterwasjustbehindme,andalltheboyswere left inoonoealment.Thestalkwasshortandeasy,andaf'ewminutes saw ussaf'elyensoQl1.oedbehindanant-heapwiththenearest buffalo notonehundredyards off. Cooperwatohedtheherd:fora :rew moments and thenbeckonedtome.Armed with a.500 c'orditerifle, lentmebya,brother-officer,Icreptcautiouslytohisside and sawthewholeherdbef'oreme.Theywere of' allages,shapesandsizes, so wehadtotakecaref'ulstock of" them if wewished to avoidshootingapoorhead.Theywereverymuchscatteredtooandwere grazing steadilyon,sowehadnotmuchtimetolose.However,one of' thenearestseemeda goad specimenandIdrewCooper'sattention to him.Hehadalready got hiseyeonhim and, beingsatisfied,toldmetoshoot.T'n8bullwasbrowsingpeacef'ullyandwascoming towards mealmostend on, Iwaited till Ioouldgetagoodviewof'himthroughthe grass and:firedwhenhis head wasdown.Itwas averyeasy shot andmybulLet.,a"SOlid"one,struokhim,ontheback o:fthe neck,plumbinthemiddle

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and aboutone f'oot above the poll. HE:;reIl like a logandneverstirredagain.Thereportcamelikea thunderbolt ontherest of' the herd, andinanLnat.ant. theywerebargeing andcrashinghere,thereand everyWhere, notbeingcertain of' theexact'quarter f'ram whichtheattackhadcame.Now was Peter'schance,Hewasatmysideinamomentand,hastilypickingouta crossingour front, heletdriveandhit him inthe ofr-rdnd leg.It was .a gbOdshot, but.thebulldidnotfall;hesort r)f' knuckledover and went oIT atthetailend o:f theherd,whiohhad'by this timelocated us and wasmaking :forthethickbushacouple of' hundred. away. [!here wasnodoubtabout the bullhavingbeenhit,sa C:ooper f'ireda shot totryand stop him.Sothiok,however, was the :.J..ust kickedupbyourscat.tered :foe thatwehadthegreatest di:ff'icul tyin picl::ing outthewounded animal. Cooper'sbulletwentjustin :fr0ntof him,Peterwasbalkedbythedustandthesmoke :from hisownrifle, and I lLad allIcouldmanagetorel'oadmyheavyblunderbussandtoraisemysighttotwo lwndredyards. Stilltherewasyetachancethat,ifwemadeadashfor it,wemigt.tmanage to knock outthebUlland so avoidthe risks wemustincur ifwefollowed himintothebush.Withasnout,Cooperrushedforwardandwewereallthree puttingonspeed for a frantic effort, when ourhuntersuddenlycaught SelfandBuff'alo. his foot arootand :fell head.tongtothe ground,rif'le andall.Hewas not hurt,however,so af"ter amomerrt.ar-ycheckweranonagain.Butitwastbolate.Whe.nwegottoour new strategio. poslti.onfJ7.

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98. herd had4isappeared andnothing but spoorandacloud of dust showeuus wheretheyhadgone.Wenowwentbacktomybullandbeganto,"examinehimmoreclosely.Heturnedout to benomorethanamediocrespecimenwithhornstapingjustunderthirty-twoinches;buta is a bu:ffalo and we had doneourbesttoselectagood head. So I consoled myself asbestIcould and,after Peterhad standing:beside mytrophy--intheapprovedattitudewecut off hishead thebuffalo's,notPeter's) gotready for the phase,viz.,that o:ffollowing the wounded bullintothebUSh.The Africanbuffalo, likehisIndianbrother,isa dangerous customertodealwithoncehehasbeenwounded.Hedoesnot, like mostanimals, makeoITso. longasthereisachance of escape;insteadhewill begmn pursuingthepursuer,andwoebetidethe uru1ary hunterwho ia'not acquaintedwith hls methods.The woundedbuf'f'al.oalmostinvariablygoes:for thethickest coverhecan:find and thenturns off atrightanglestohistrack.Therehestands'motionlessand, as thehunter:follows,helistensforhimorwatches him untilthepsychoLog-i.ca L momentarrives.Then,theinstantthehunterislevelwithhim,hechargeswithinconceivable rapidity andgoresortrampleshimtodeathunlessawell-aimedbUlletcheckshismadcareer.Butthe chargeofAf'rican buf':faloisdangerous not only afterhehas beenwounded.CautionisadvisableevenWhenapproachinganunsuspectingherd.Herds ofbu:fralo donearlyalltheir feeding andwanderingbynightandlieupinsome safe 'retreat duringtile whole of" theday,Their woul;::l-be pursueris theref"ore compelledeithertowaylaythem during thehours of orelsetofollowtheir spoor. intothedensethicketwhere-theyseekcover from the hea.tof thesun.Towaylaythe bu:ffalosuccessfully it is necessaryto lmow theexactpaththeyare going to

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rollow,or theparticularpoolthat rormstheir habitual driliking-placefor thetimebeing;thenone sits upinatreeandwaitstillthe theindividual animal comesalong. This no doubt soundssimpleenoughand tile plan or takingapot shotfrom the sare coign of vantage arrorded byatreeseemsnotalittleunsporting,butthereisnootheralternative,noris therratter quiteaseasyasitappears.Totakeupone'spositiononterra wouldbe rally,for the nyati(buff'alo)wcmld atonceget wind of'oneand makeoff; itisthereforeabsolutelynecessarytobeupatacertainheightsothat the scentmaypassabovehim. To hit off therightpath ror one'sambushis alS'o adiff"icultmatterandtheelementofchancecomesinlargely, ror the buITaloroams aboutalloverandmay approa9h11i8 drinking-poolfrom direction.A rigged upatthepoolitself'consequentlyoff'ersthebestprospectsthough, of course,agoodmoonisanalmostindispensablecondition or success.-Oldsolitary goalone,and ii suohanonehasbeenhappilylocatedhemay be baggedeven011.thedarkestnight;butwhereaherdisconoernedaoertain amount of'natural light isessentialunLenaoneisgoingtomakeuseof':flaresor rlash-lamps.r"'have neverusedeither of' thesecontrivancesandcannotthereforesayanythingabout them, but it standstoreason that intheir ab sence,onecouldnever make sure of" pickingoutthebesthead without theaid of' themoonwhoserays,'bythe way, shouldf'allf'rombehindthe hunter soasto thesights of" his ri:fle. Theseshould be madeasclearlyvisibleaspossible;alargeivoryf'oresight,orone :fittedwith a small disc of' luminouspaper, a-good tIring,and astrip e:f whitepaper,orsilverpaper,mayalso'bepastedalongthetop bf' the:forwardend of' thebarrel.Shots f'ired at night aregenerallydeliveredatveryshortranges,butit is howeasyitistomissevenunderthe'brightestand most starlitsky;_theadoption or thesimpledevicesIhavementioned is, therefore,wellworth the trouble,andthehunter shouldnot :forget to providehimself'withthe needrul when preparing hisoutfit. 99.

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100.So m1-10hfor night-operationsagainst buffalo.. We now cometothe Gt1:1.er alternative, thatof followingthespoor or aherdor of anindividual,intothebush.Where the latterisconcernedthe dif'fioultiesare notverygreat.Absolutenof.seLeaanesaisasine n011, but the spoor,though of tenlong,isgenerallyoomparativelyeasyto fo-lI"owand whenyoudoat last come upon.that'little patoh",perhapsnotasoore of' yardsaway,youknowyouhaveber'or-eyouthefineoLdbullwiththegoodheadWhomyouhave markeC_c.lown :fordaysand,withanyluok,asingleshotfromaheavyriflewilllayhimlbW,nomatterwhatportion of' his mbtionless bodythepatch VIi thaherditis dif'ferent. Thespoor,clearlymarkedovera frontof:fif"'ty orahundr-edyards,isQuiteunmistakahle,but whatinf'ormation canbegathered horn itbeyondthegeneraldireotiontobe f'ollc)'wed?There' arethefoot-prints of' bulls, cows and cal,ves,of greatand of oldandyoung.There arefresh droppings, freshly brokentwigsand tuftsof'pressed down;thesewillgiveyousomeidea of'the age of' thespoor,buttheywilldonomore. So you make "thebestof' thingsand f'ollow them,steppingoautiously,listeningintentlyandstrainingyoureyestotheutmost ou maygoon f'or onemile orf'ive"f'or one110urortwo,you do not knqWjdetailsof timeandspacelosetheirsignif'ioanoeand without regardtothemyou f'o"llow inthewake of' yourquarry.Thestrain is youreverysenseistunedtoconoertpitoh;nomovement,howeverslight,esoapesyourvision;nosound f'aintfalls on deaf' ear-s, Heanwhi,le you sweatf'rom 'everypor-e, trioklinglikeawetsponge,butyoudon'tknowit,andignoranoeisbliss,soonyougo.Youbend,twistandturn,stephigh a f'allen tree,stridealongtoavoidaoluster of dryleaves,orshorttomissagrey,deadtwigthatwillgo orf' likeapistol-shot if' youbuttouohit. oomes aoheok,thespoorseemstohavedivided.Youstopto whilstthe-boysglidetoeitherside.A momentaryreaotion setsin,instinotivelyyoupassyoursleeve across yourdripping brow, youwanttotakealong,deepbreathandtrytopartyourlips :for thepurpose. But, they

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are stucktogetherarid, as you force them you your tongueburning, hardand dryasleather. That bringsyou to your senses. You are thirsty--nay, haIrmad with thirst thoughyoudidn't"realizeit before.But you have beenoutsince andthesunisnowhighintheheavens;youstruck the spoor uneArpectedlywhen. onyourway back tocampandwhen the morning'swork was deemedto"be6ver,soyourwater-bottle is emptyandthere is nohelp for it.Arnmyouallisdryasdust,notadrop of"anything withinmiles,youlookaboutindespairand get someslightidea of whatmen "like whenthey die o:f thirst. Tl1.en ablackhandwavesgracefully,aduskyheadturnswithagentlenod,thespooristakenupagain,youcloseyourjawswitha and :follow yourkeen-eyedguideinanewdirection.Onand youpressthrough thatinterminab.;Le, almcafLmpenetzrabLebush;youhavelong ago completely lost yourbearings,yourclothesaretorn a.."'1.d tattered,your hands scratchedandbleeding.You swear your rifle mustbetheheaviestevermade,andbeneathyourbreathyoumutterimprecationson"blauw-haak"or"wacht-een-beetje".thornsthat,ascore o:f timesatleast,haveskilfully"hookedyourhatandpulledit off yourhead. thespoorisgetting rresher, theboysaretreadingas softly as cats,they have stopped severaltimestolistenand peer roundmore carefu.llythan ever.Yourexcitementrisesandyou :for getyourtroubles.Youcr-aneyourneckandtry,likeyourcompanions,topiercetheveilaroundyou.Youimagine that youarereallydoingyour share inthesearchalthough,if'youare honest.with vcueself', youadmitthatyou are useless. "'here youcansee one yardtheboyscansee" three, andyouknowit,and :feel your inferiority. Itwasa.false ai'arm though,andtheslim :figure ber'or-eyou gl:iq.es on .agaf,nwithouta.cheokf'or :f1:fty yardsorso, Vf"C-tilst the others :follownoiselesslybehindbearingyoursparerifle,that empty andyourhaversack.-Thisprocess is repeatedha.Lf'adozen 'times, andoneach 101.

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102.occasionyour suPpressed excitementgrowsinintensity.Atlastasort of' thrill'goes.throughyou.Therecanbenomistakeabout it thistime. Your leaderstopsinhisstrideandstandslikeastatue,'hiskeeneyeslook.straightaheadandthenashapeLyarmisraised sloWly totheirlevel.Heseesthegame anq. is pDinting toshowyouwhereitis.Withtheutmostcareyoucloseuponhimand,.prolong ingtneline'of' his-limb,you'gaze along it loqking:forthatlittle 'black 'patchyou' have"workedso bard to :find. Butyoumightaswelltryto see throughastonewall, :for beyondtenyardsyoucanmake,outnothingexceptablurred-medley of' coLour-s,Creenpredominates, of' course,butwhatnumbers ofdi:ff'erent shadesthereare;theyrange :from. thedarkest olive tothealmostyellow of thewithering leaf'. Thentherearebluesand greys, redsandbrownsalljumbleduptogetherandinterwoven at intervalswithstreaksof' goldasthe S'l)..!1'S raysf'allacrossthem.Yetblacksarethe worst. Whereyoucometolook qne you f'inu ascore;neverbeforedidyourealizethatthere could besomuchblackinNature. Sq youlookandstare look again tillatlengthyouseesomethingdarker than allelseandaboutthe.size of aman'shand."Yes, that mustbea buffalo, therecanbenoquestionaboutit,"yousayto yourself'; butevennowyou betoosure.Youhavebeentold of amanonthenyati'strackgettingtowithin ten yards of abUllwhoseexactpositionwasperfectly obvtous tothe native guides; nerired andhitthedarkshadow of abushwhilstthe galloped of'f uninjured,nevertobeseenagain.Buttakeit t::'at yourassumptioniscorrectandthatyoureallyhaveabuf'f'al.obef'oreyou.Eventhenyourpositionisstill unsatisfactory,f'or theoneyousee is onlyone df' aherd;whethermaleorf'emale,heiferorcalf',youcannot tell.To approach closer is outof' thequestion; if' youattempt it youwillbe seen, heard,orwinded,and the whole lot will stampede withoutgivingyouthesmallestchance of evena running shot.Youwillseenothing,notthetremble of' a leaf' northesway

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,-9f' abranch;theywillsimplyvani.shandLeaveyouto ref"lect onyourf'aultytactics whi:}.;st thethunder Qf' their hoof's and the crashing of' the bunh die aw3.Y inthedistance.Soyouare :forced totrusttoluck .andyou let :fly atthebit Qi" blackskininthe hope thatitmaycoversomevital part andthatitsownermaybeabullwithhorns of' atleastpresentabledimensions.Therecanbeneitherskillnor markmanship aboutit,yousimplyhavetotakeyourchanceandletDameFortune'do the rest.Beforethus :firing at random ata member of' a herd, however, it is well, if' youcan,toselectsomeant-heaporstouttreebehind Which youandyourboyscantakecover. This precautionwillhardly be necessary' when youhave rounQ as:)litarybUll,buta whole herdsuddenly will oftenfail tolocatethespotwhencethereport of' your rif'le Springingtotheir feet inwild alarm they wiTl then stampede in any directionandverypossib,lymakestraight f'or you. If'yourshot attheblackpatchis successful andyou placeyourquarry there is,or course,nomoretobesaid,butvery often theblackpatchcoverssomenon-vital part, andthenbeginathesecond ofspooring,lessdifficult thefirst perhaps,though'very muchmoredangerous.The bUff'alo,as Ihavealreadystated, sticksto thedensestcoverhecan find, suddenlyturns Off at right anglesto his courseandthenliesinwait :for thehunter. Tile moment 103.isoppositetohimhechargeswithloweredhead and extraordinary"rapidity.Stemsandbranches,asthickasaman'swrist, go down orbendbe t'or'e him astboughtheywerewispsofgrass,in:fact,nonatural dbstacle willever stop him, for heisshrewdenoughnottoselect anambush tohislightning assumption of'theor'renstve,Heiswithoutadoubtthemostvindictivebrute ontherace of'theearth,and tJ:1e lowroar-half' grunt, half bellow--thatheuttersashe charges' homehasbeenthedeath-knellof' maJ.1.Y man.

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104.Toescapehisrushbyspringingasideat lastmomentmay be possibleattimes,but, asoften asnot,thehunter is lucky he has roomenoughtoturnandraisehis rirlefora shot.stop ping himwithabulletisnoeasymattereither, themassivepalm or thehornsprotectsthe erpart of the head andshoulders.Anentthemeans of defeatingawounded buffalo's tactics, diITerent suggestionshavebeenput :forward. are or muchpracticalvalue,butthebest o:f themadvisesthehunternotto theactual spoor,but tomoveinshort orsemi-circles,totherightor le:ft toreturn to thetrackevery fifty yardsorso.Itissaidthatthisplanwill upset thecalculations of thenyati as hewill 'be watchinghisowntrackonly,andso maybehimself' surprised.Thismaybetruetosomeextent,thefeasibility of the will,however,dependalmostentirelyonthenature of thesurr-oundf.ng.bush; t,hisisat alldensetheea.sLes'tc,andthere:forethemostnoiseless, pathto :followwillbethatpreparedbythe himsel:fjanydeparture Lrom itwillleadintohithertountroddengroundWhereasilentadvancebecomeswell-nigh impossible. Ihavenow,Ithink, brie:flysummed up pretty wellallIknowabout 'bur:falo-hwiting inNorthWestHhodesia. might, o:f course,beaddedbyCUlling f"rom otherwriters,butitwasnot my intentiontoexhaustthesubjectnordbIdesiretomake mysel:f guilty o:f plagiarism.Imerelywished t8 pointoutthePossibilitiestllatlay "bef"ore us, theconsiderationswehadtobearinmind,whenweleftthedeadbulltogo after thewoundedone. :For the :first hundredyardsthegroundwasfairlyopen,andwehad little to:fear f"rom acharge.Wemovedinsingle f"ile,two sharp-eyednativesleading, thenCooper Withmy .'375Marmlicher, thenPaterwith his double-barrelled.500,thenIwithmine,next Johannes withthe.500singlebarrelcordite(the "blunderbuss") and threeor:fourotherboys.Wekepta yardsapartand re'g-

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'ulatedourdistanceaccordin.gtothedensity or thebushsoastoleaveeachotherroom enough to rire orturn, as mightbe necessary.vVe advanced slowly withtheutmostcautiqnand.assilently as wepossiblyoout.d,Thuawecontinued "forabout ha.Lf'amilewhen Cooper stopped and listened. Hehad heardsomeauspdcLoussound,butnothingwasvisiblesowewentonasbe:fore.The'bushonbothsidesthen became verydenseindeed,in ract, therewasbarelyroom to wriggle one'ssel:f along.SuddenlyCooperstoppedagain apd helduphishandwhilstthetwoleadingkraal-boyspointedeagerlytosomet.hf.ngonourright. VV'.nat o;rwhereit 'was wecruLdnottell;even'Cooper'strainedeyecoulddiscernnothing.Therewasnotasoundeither,andyettheboyspersisted-inpointing.Peter,who was behindCooper,couldseenomore than Icould mypositionstill:furtherinthe rear,so therewesimply W1abletodoanything.HowlongweremainedstationaryIdonotknow, 'but atlastCoopersignalledto Joharmes whosqueezed himselrpast me--blunderbussandallandlikehistwo te"ellow-countrymen, atoncespotted"thelittleblackpatch".Invainhetriedagain and againtoenlightenCooper;itwasahopelesstask,nowhitemancouldseethroughsuchascreen of' foliage.Finally,Johannesgrewdesperateand,in hiszeal, askedinthef'ai.ntestwhisper.whetherhemight shootat theobject himself. Itwasastrangerequestand, o:f course,quiteunoonventional :fora blackman.toshootthe Sa:i.ub's game.stil.l,somethinghadtobedone. I:f thewounded therealonehemightchargeatanymomentandvery good sporthe'dhave had, too,bearingdownuponsevenoz-eight of" uswedgedin aswe were. If thewholeherdwere theret:1.6 si tu?-tionmightat anymomentbecomecritical,orevendangerous.Ashot,mightkillthewounded brute and.scar'eawaytheherd,or else bringthewholelotdown pn uslikeanavalanche,butitwouldatanyrateolearupthesituation and perhapsgiveone of'us thechance or seeingsomething.In any case,it was obvious that theexisting stateofaffairs mustnot be allowedtolastamomentlonger.Cooperoonsequentlyovercamehisscruplesand nodded assenttoJohannes.Thatyouth,withalook or intense satisraction in105.

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106.his eyes, atoncebroughtthe-heavy riflemore orless to hisshoulderand advanced a rew pacesontiptoe.Toseehimgothrough t:lis pez-t'ormancewastoof'unn.yforwords.Heheldthegreatblunderbuss,justasthoughit'hasbeenabilliard-cue,balanced,intheapprovedstyle,betweenthe fingers professionalplayer,and,inspite of' thefactthatthecrisiswas ilitminent, Inearlyburst Jutof" alaugh-ing. The momenthepulled tDe triggerIexpectedtoseemy riflefly out of hishandsorelsetoseehim sprawling onhisback. BUtJohannesma.n:f'1illy"stuck to.hfs guns" orrather his gun.Therewasaloudbang,acrashandthenaregularrattle of' breakingtwigsandbranches,whilsttheswish oftile'rustling grassresembledtheangryhiss of abrokenwave as itrushesuptheslope of" ashinglybeach.Weat once realizedthatthewholeherd was in frontof' usnot twenty yardsawayand,witheverynervestrained,ourriflesreadytoshoottheinstantwesawanything,weturnedtobay.The f'irst shotcame'rom Cooper andwasdeliveredatacowcoming on atarunandonthepoint of charging.She was littlemqre than tenyards off whenhe dropped herwitha bullet throughbothshoulders.The too,thoughseverelywoundedbyJohannes,was coming on,andallalongour front (wewere facing totheright of' thetracknow) therewasthethunder of hoof'sandthecrash of bz-eakf.ngwood.Shotnowfollowedshotinrapidsuccession,butwecouldnotseewhat wedid, if indeedwedidany,Wesimply riredat allthatmovedinthehope ofstopping thethreatenedwholesalecharge.We were not "lqng keptinsuspense, f'orsoon thenoisedecreasedand the herdretiredleavingtwo of itsnumberonthefield;thecow dying andthebulldead. We nowexaminedthecarcases carefully and found toourjoythatthebul.L,which mght havebeenanother for weknew,wasunquestionablytheone or!ginally hit by Peter, for therewas the tell-talewoundinthe off-hind leg.Thehugewoundinflictedby Joharmes betweenthespineandthetop of theshOUlder was theretoo,andyetthegallantbeasthaddragged itselff'orward' a fullten yardsin his desperate attempt toget at us.Thecow,equallybrave,wascloserupandmusthavebeen

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107.upon us inaninstant had Coopernot :firedw:i.1enhe did. Wh<:;n wetookstock of the groundwe discovered we hadstruckaregular buf'f'c:,lo-laagte. To this thewoundedbullhadrepairedandtheherd had withhim although theplace was lessthanamilef'romwhereI had. sh.rt.thef'irst tulle Suchconduct tobe the buf'-f'alo who issaidneverto lec'.ve apalinthelurchzolongas hehas t.heleastchance of' keepingup,an-Iitcertainly seemstho.. tin thig instancetheherdwouldnever have haltedataLaagt.esocloseathand hadthey not intended. tohelptheir stricken companion.There was muchjoyandmerrimentin camp that It was truethatPeter'sbullwas a shadesmaller than mineeven,butthree burf'alo inasingle day wasnotabadbag, togetbiggerones wasimposBible.Johalmes wastheheroof'thehour, and allwereloud'intheirpraises of' the' Tabalo",(i.e.,the :fat gun) astheyhad christenedt.heblunderbuss.Johanneg'tip-toeandbilliard-cue performance wasreproducedoverwiththeusualpipes :follow. ducedthemtotakepartin therinal destruc-at and another who had shinned uptrees Weourselvescelebratedtheoccasionand over again,whilstmanygibeswerehurledassoonasthedangerthreatenedand had satcess.therelikebaboonst.ill though"tsof meatin-tion of' theenemy,viz.,thecutting-uppro-withasmallbottle ofchampagne eachandatinned plum-pudding thethree of' us,Peter.Johannes. I;ooper.Kraal-poy,Self, with tl1.etbree Buf'f'a.l o, +++

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108. CHAPTERVII. OnSaturday, September 11th,wemarched frombuffalo-camp tosomekocdoocountryabout three' milesupstreamfromGo onamumpf, 'ive settleddownf'airlyearlyinthedayandinthe afternoon wentouttotryourluck.Isawthreeyoungkoodoobullsquite unfit toshoot,whilstPeter gnatan"eland withtwenty-five-and-a-quarterinchhorns.The following morningneither 'of usdidanygood, but inthe evening Iseverelywounded a niagni:ficent Coopersaidhewasthebesthe had seensincehe left Kalomoandwe f'ollowed himby his 'blood spoor :foratleastthree miles. Itseemedimpossiblethathecouldgo far. Wes_ightedhimtWicemoreand,intheend,camecloseuptowhatwebelieved to bethehogwe wereafter. Igothimslapthroughtheheartandhe :fell dead. Vihen wegotuptohim,however,we :found he was. notmy fine wart-hogatall,butanotherquitemediocretusker,sowereturnedtocampratherdisgust-' ei withthingsingeneral. Next 'dayIwentoutalone,sawsomekoodoocowsandshotanice but his.lefthorn wasbrokenandso badly split that theheadwasuseless.Peternevergotashotthewholemorningand had verybadluckindeed.Hegotuptowithinahundredyards ofafine sablebullwhena hartebeest sawhimand--hartebeest-likegavetheshowaway.DuringtheafternoonI orOssed theriverbya"bridge we lladimprovisedand tried toexplorethe rurther side.Iwas,however,butpoorly'rewarded ror mypains,as Isaw nothingbuta rew water-buckand other thingsIdidnotwant;therewasnotasign of' either sableor koodoo.Peterspenthiseveningspoaringasablehehadwounded,buthewasoompelledtoabandonthechaseWhendarkness came on.

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109.'ruesday,September 14t:J.,again r'ound usoutaf'terkoodoo.Cooper came with me, ana. Petersetoutalonemainlywj.ththeidea of tryingto:findthesablehe had lostthenight before,but hoping,almostagainsthope,that)he might f'Lridakoodooas well. Hehadgonenomorethan a couple of' milestowardsthe spot wherethelasthadbeenseen o:f sable-spoorandwaswalkingacrossalmostopengr .. oundw:lensuddenLytwomagni:ficentkoodoobullsappearednota hundred yardsto hisleft:front. They werecoming diagunallytowardshimand hud notseenhim tDough they stopped almostatonceevidently'suspiciousaboutsomething.Peterwasactuallystandinguprightwithnothingbetweenhimandthekoodoosavelow grass (notmore than twof'eet.sixLncheshigh) and a fewvery thinshr-ubs,Thelatter,however, sufficedfor concealment so longashedid notshiftIllSposition. Tobringthe rifle upandto:fireattheleading bullwasthe work of amoment;he wasthen notmorethaneighty yarj.s:from Peterandthe:first,shothit llimhard. Peterkeptabsolutelystill;somotionless,in fact momentslaterthedeedwasdone. !J.idheremain thatt,he'bulIcouldnotlocatepeda-idPeterrapidlyputLnasecondshot.comingThenthekoodoostop-Athirdanda fourth shotOn wentthe bullagain, but hewassocon-up his mind what todo andso didnothurryintheleast.nearer if' anvt.h.Lng ,himand.r-anrightacrosshisrront, fol'lowed inrapidsuccession,anda f"ewf'used by this timethathecouldnotmakeThus, after many (iaysof' constant ef'-rort,after repeated failure anddisappoint-Peter's whereheFellin f"air1ymghGras.s_..

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110.even if wedid not shootanotherhead 'or anycalculatedtocreateit and todevelopitinsessit at theoutsetIknow of nothingbetter the .Andpatience If a doesnot pos-Fortune:favoursthe brave,aye, sort or }:ind. anotherword for bravery.nonecouldcallourcombined baga poor huntermust pussess. andthepatienttoo, for patienceis oftenbut ment,andaf'termanyawearytrudge,asplendidkoodoowithhorns 'bf 565incheswasatlast Ei.vdded toourlist of' trophies, and henceforthJohnwithPeter's him thanthe pursuit of' biggame.Onemuststicktoitandtryagain and againundauntedby failureof' anykindisoonerorlaterone'sluckmustcome as itdidin the case of' Peterandhiskoodoo. !ieanwhile Cooperand I hadawearywalk for nothing,nota of' koodoodidwesee;in fact, the animalwemetwiththewholemorningwasa hare, the f'irst Ihadbeheldduringthewhole of ourtriP. At themoment when we saw hershewasbeingstalkedbyawildcat, and thepair of" them were nota scoreof'yardsaway:Lram us. If wehadshotatall the catwouldhavebeenour butwewereanxious todisturbother game, sowesimplystoodstill and watched the scene.Bothanimalshadalreadydiscoveredus,buttheharewastooterrifiedtomoveinanydirection andtIle catwas too greedyto'let his preyescape.Suddenlyhemade a spring,but,Whetherput orr byour presence ornotIcannottell,hetriedtoolongaone, reIlshortof llismarkbyayardormoreanddarednotadvance further. Theretheysat,pursuedandpursuer,botheyeing usand eachotherinturn.RarelyhaveI

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seen suchaLook of" terroras was stampedalloverthef'aceand:form of' thepoorlittlehare,and.never-,perhaps,alook of moreprof'ounddisgust than woretheoldtom-cat.Hewaswithin an aoe o:f agoodsquaremeal,andtherewerethose infernal whitemenwiththeiruglyf'acesandmoreuglygunsbalkinghis efforts! The of' Tantaluswerenotinit,andhelookedaperfectpicture of" mingledscorn,hatred,andgreedwithasmattering of' f'eart.hr-ownin. For, half'amt.nut.eatleast things remainedin .Q.1!Q., then,allof'asudden,the hare,af'ter alongandsearching inourdireotion, rushed:forward andsquatted dovm withina fewyardsof' ourfeet. Thiswas toomuch f'or Thomas;he one more lookof'supremedisgustand,seeingmyriflemovingas my fingersitchedto,let him113.Ve it,heturnedandf'led.Amoment later, thehareraised herselfslightly, shook with evidentrelief',gaveusaf'riendly sort-of' "nodand thank you"and madeoffinto thenearestcover.Ithadbeenapretty interesting sigrffi, thoughonethat becalledunique, f'or wildanimals 'o:ften 'realizethattheyhavelesstof'earf'romman wit:1. allhismurderousweapons than theyhaveto f'earf'rom theirownkind.A simila..r instancecameundermynoticesome ornineyearsagoontheNorthWestFrontier or India.Iwasstandingdismountedwithanumbero:fnativesoldiers and ourhorseswerecloseby,wb.ena small oame flitting aboveourheads,twitteringplaintivelyandinevident:fear of something. We lookedupandbeheldahawkcirclingrOWld,lowtothegroundanddoingall he knewtoscarethesmallbirdfurtherawayf'romus.Itold the mentoat.and qUite still,butone of them railed tohearmeand,bef'orercouldstophimhestruckatthebirdWithhisooat. gavea alarmand f'lew awayashortdistancebutreturned almost atonce.Themennowsaw the reasonf'or my order and stoodasstillasIdid,whilstthelittle fugitive hoppedaboutbetweenour feet andrightunderthehorsesuntilthehawkgaveupindespairand lert himto rly awayin safety.Ill.

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112.Intheevening Cooper Iwentbackto the koodooground for a final attempt,butour efforts were of noavail so wereturnedtocamphavingwalked,inthecourse of theday,nearly twenty-fivemiles. The following morningwestruckoampandmovedto Mufairly kraalabouttwelvemilestothe east. Onthe"waywemetanativewho :feredto wavehisclaimaridtoletCocpez-ao-gladlyacoepted,soCooper and Iwent orr withthenativeand had a.lookroundtheadjaoentIntheTse-tseFly Country. Carriersresting.Smoke fromfire in IThis offerIt wasreallyPeter'sIt was, however,soverydense that,afbUSh.teranhour'strudging,wegaveupthehope-ourselvesinkoodoooountry.earlyinthemorning. o0mpany mewheneverin future weshould f'ind showedusaspotwherehehadseentwokoodoo uay togowithCooper,buthe,generously orlesssearchandmarchedonhaving first set fireto asmuoh of thehighgrassas we COUld.Wedidnotgetintillnearlytwointhe afternoon, and'webothhadaboutenough of itbythattime.Acouple or hours'restrestoredus, and byfour-thirtywewere off oncemore. Again wefailedto find koodooandagainIshota whoturnedouttobeworthless,although.Cooperassuredme hewasagoodone.Itisreally often most difficult totellgood'wart-hog from badbecausethe bendupwardsandinwards,sometimes forming almostacompletecircle,andsotheirlength cannot well

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be unlesstheboarstandsfacingyou.Justbef'oredarkIshotabull hartebeest which com pletedthe three Iwanted.Peterspentthe whQle eveninglookingf'orabush-buck"but :round noneandneverevengota shot. Thatnightweheardlionsroaringcloseto camp andtheref'ore,whenCooper and I out afner koodooatsunrise,wedecided first tovisittheplaceswhereIhadshotthe pig andthehartebeestonthe previous evening.Itseemedquitepossiblethatthelionmighthavediscoveredthecarcases,inwhichcaseweshouldprobably rindthem near Wehadcaref'ullycoveredthehartebeestwith brailches, aswewantedtopreservethemeatf'orourselvesandhadtakennote of' thespotwhereitlay so astof'inditwithout difficulty. Butwewerenot s6 sureof'thewart-hog,infact,theVisittohimhadbeenmerelyanaf'terthoughtof'mine,andIdidnot suggest itto Cooper untilwehadleftthecamp.However, 'we trustedtothevillagerswhoareusualiywonderfullygood at:finding theirwaybacktoanyparticularspot,no mattern9w thick-thebushnorhowtortuousthetrack.Butthe Muf'airly kraal-menwere,aswesubsequentlydiscovered,absolute duf'f'ers inthisrespectandweconsequentlydidnotstrikethe pig's localityasweshouldhavedone.Insteadweonly got there or thereaboutsandthenhadtospreadouttolook :for whattherelllight'be leftof ourporker. Wbilst wewerethus-rather-blunderingabout suddenly gave a gasp andan angry snarlthatatoncetoldmesomethinghad gonewrong. Ilookedupandtherewasahugelion trottingof:f abouttwohundredyardsawayIWehadgottothespotallright, for therelaythe pig'sentrails at my very feet, butthe rest of'himwasgone.Thel.ionwasjustdisappearing :1;>ehind anant-heapwhen I sawhimand, though it was toolate for ashotatthemomerrt,therestillseemedachanceof' doing somegoodif'wewerequickaboutit.Inaninstant Cooper andI were racing along.for allwewereworth.Wesoonr-eachedtheant :q..eap andIwasonthe point of' Climbing up it tohavea 10Qk fromthetop,whenhe'beckonedtomeandsignifiedhisintention of runningontotheedgeof'somelowgrassalittlefurtherahead.I unf'or113.

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114. tunately followed anda momentlater wasstandingbeside himtrying invainto spot anobject whichhepointedwiththegreatest exciteQent. Iknewitmust 'be the'lionbutIcouldseenothing.Itried in everypossiblewayto follow hisline of vision,butitwashopeless.Thathorrible grass hid everythingfrom myunpractisedeyeandIoouldseeabsolutelynothing resenillling eveninthe estdegreeanypart or alion'sbody.'Oh,hadIonlyremained 'on thatant-heapand gotfrom theretheviewIwan.ted!I stared agalnand aga.Ln, andhaIraminutemusthaveelapsedbe:foreIatlastsawsomething.Ilookedharderthanevernowandintheendcouldjustmakeouta narrowirregular yellow'line .not quitethe same colourasthewavinggrass.Itwasthetop of'the lion'smane.Upwentmy rifle, butit was toolate.BeforeIcoulddrawabeadhegavetwoorthree great'bounds. andwas orr towardsbettercover.Itwasmaddeningto see'him,nol tinglikea fTightened ctrr--doginstead of standingto :right asone wight havehoped oftnekingofbeasts. However,therewasnothingtobe'donebuttochasehim again,so we' 'ran harder tl1..an bef'ore.Theliondidlikewiseandsoondisappearedaltogether;thelastwe sawwas -hisgreatyellowbodybounding withgiant strides through the highgrass somehundreds of yardsaway.Utterlydisgusted with our-bad luck and.our'ownblunders,CooperaridIwalked'backto Where wehadpassedthehodyof'the pig aswe ran along.We felt surethelionwouldreturn for his half-finishedmeal, andsowedeterminedtositinambushnearit.Butwhenwe got therewediscoveredthatduring '.9.urbrief absencethose :roolsof'kraal-boys from ?iluf'airly hadcutuptheremains of thewart-hogLrrt,o'littlepiecesandt.akenthembackto tb.e village;suchwastl1.eirgreed :.E'or meat. G"ooper wasrampantandswor-enota man inthekraalshouldhave.ascrap ofanything weshot.Boyswere at oncedespatchedto bringthe meatback and. induecourseitwasproduced.Welaiditdown carefully,left Boccdsto watch it'ramadistance

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iand went.off tothe harte?eest intendingtoreturnas soon as Wehadnotgone far, however, when wef'oundthatthosevoraciousniggershadplayedasecondprank. Wl:tilstCooper andIwere thelion,andsome of' thevillagerswerehackingupthe pig, therest of' themwenttotheothercarcaseand"begantocut,thatup tJo, atthesametime, of' cour-se,scaringaway anygamethat theremighthavebeennearit.Thiswastoobad f'or anything 'but worsewasyettocome, :for wewerestii.lnear the harte-beestwhen a dozen ormore Mashukulumbwes came up andtoldusthatwithin an hour of' ourleavingthe pig thelionhad gone backtoitandhadbeenseenandscaredawaybythem.ThisreallywasthelaststrawandCooper's anger knewnobqunds. Of'myqwn f'eelingsI wi-ll saynothing;boththeyandmy language 'hadbetter 'belefttq theimagination of thereader.Ithadneverenteredourheads for a momentthatlionwhohad been aotuallyohased for a Quarterof' amile,"andwhomwehadlast'seen bolting likeasoaredrabbit,wouldpossesstheextraordinaryoheektoreturntothescene )f hisroutinlessthananhour,andin broad daylighttoboot.Butthere was no doubt it;Soccishad"seenhimt.o'o and had soughtrefuge inthe uppermost "branches of atree when t.he lion approaohed.Therewasonlyone ray()f'hope"lefi. Itseemedquiteprobablethatalionas fondof' his grub asthisone appearedtobe mightnothavebeen finally frightened away evenbya dozen Mashukulumbwes.Sowedecidedtogobacktothepigand thereto remaininhidingtillnight fell. WesentanotebacktoPeterandaskedhimto send out foad andtheheavy rif'ie, we"thenwentstraightback,selectedasuitableambushand began ourVigil.The f'ood soonturned up, andwithitthe-blunderbussandsomedrink,whichlatterwesorelyneeded.Hour after hourpassedandnothinghappened,thenthevulturesthathadbeencirclingoverheadcamenearerandperchedonthetreesaroundus. Vye layperf"ectlystillthroughthe sweltering heat115.

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116. of" theday,whilstthey,thoughunconsciuus of" ourpresence, ogled andeyedthe. mangled carcase notdaring tobegintheir loathsome :feast.Atlast,one,moreboldthanthe re,st,:flapped hisheavy wings andcameto ground. This was themoment we hadbeen awaiting,:f$i:'weknewthatif-' theLLonwere anywherenear hewouldalmostcertainly todrive o:ff" thevultures.Butagainnothinghappened.Fora :few momentsthesingle birdremained inundisturbedpossession,thenothersdescended,andin fivemiuutes ascareormore of' these most:filthy, butmost usef'ulof'nature's scavengerswere :fully ontheirdisgusting,orgie.Inhalf'anhourallwasgone,noteventhebonesremained.Stillwestayedon,hopingagainsthopethatthelionwoul.dcome'back. As theshadowslengthene'da sillVer jackalapproached,and we watchedhim with interest,but so cleanasweephad the vulturesmade of" everythingthat, a:fter oneor twosni:f:fs, hepassedon.All was overnowsowepickedupeur-seLvesandourkitandstumbledhome through thedarkness wiser andsaddermen.ThusdidIlosemyoneandonlychance o:fbagging an lion.Iheversawanotherdur ing theresto:fourtrip,though 'We heard many andconstantly left' outbaits for them.Ourmode of procedurehadcertainlybeenfaulty, we had bad luck.too. 'Wecould'hartllyhave'foreseen' thatthose kraal,,'boys v{ouldtake'awaythe pig theinstantourbackswereturned f'or a f'ew minutes, and itwas bad'luckthat when thelioncameback,theMashukulumbwes Whould havebeen passing theveryspotwhere our-nait lay.still,Ihavehardly' aright Ididnotgetalioninthecourse of' ashoot 'lasting 'buttenshortweeks.Othermenhavespentyearsinthecountrywithout gaining the mast coveted of"A:frican trophies.Cooper, f'or instance,underthe relatedbelow,hadshotonlyonelionduring his sevenyearsin R.hodesia; another ,man Imet wasten yearsinthecountrY "before hegotone,thenhesuddenlyshot two in oneaf'ternoon; andIbelieveI am, rightin saying

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thatthat f'ine sportsman Hr. Seloushuntedbiggame :for thirteenyears bef'ore alion fell tohisgun,It is a f'actthat, theday-time,onecomesacrosstheRhodesianlionmerelybychance,Thereareanynumber '
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118.'species will at.t.ack,even afier they liave beenwounded, sqtong asescape seems possible.By rlight, however,the li9n is often very hold andonehastogetaccustomed to sleepingon peacefully whenone hears himroar-Lnginthevicinity of camponapitch-blacknight.Solongasheroars,there is )f'cour-se,nothingtobe feared,but unpleasantdevelopmentsarenotimpossible when allisstill.Then the lion arJund insearch offood, andhewill as readilydragawhiteman f'rom histentashewill gooff withablackboy,a trek-Jx orapony.Insome p::u-ts of'Rhodesiathelions are sodangerousatnight tllat smallgroups of meninvariablysurroundthemselveswithazareba before theyliedowntorest.We saw oneortwo of these zarenas inthecourseof'our wanderings and, though we any Idoubtwhetherwewerealtogetherwisetoruntherisk we did.Wetrustedtothesize of ourpartyandnothinghappened; a very verynearly: lJefeTl anotherequallynumer-ouspartywemettowardstheend of' ourshoot.This. party consisted of' LieutenantsLeslie and Stirling of the2nd Iiounte:iInfantry.Dley wereWithCooper'selderbrother,Ben,somewhere up near-the Kafue River.Onenightallwerequietlyslum:bering whenone of thehcr-ses became restive.BenCooper,who was -lying on thegroundnot farf'ro;m thetwo officers, awokeandsawa large animalcloseby.The animal --alion--apparently armoyed at being discovered,atoncegave upth?ughtsofhorsesor cattleandcamestraightforBenCooper.He, like all of' us,neverslept witl1.r.1ut aLoadedweapon by hissideand. so, asthelioncameon,hehad just timetofiretworapidshots.Hemissedwithboth,butthey suf'f'iced toturnthe lionwhosa claw-marks, hesuddenlycheckedhfmeeLr',cutdeeplyintothegr-oundandwereclearlyvisiblenextmorningwithin five yards 'of thehunter's shake-d9wn. Now, from, whatI have said of thenocturnal habitsof'the lionitwouldseemtha:tone's hestof' gettingontermswithhimmustliein ta}cing himonathisowngame,i.e.,in sitting up for himat nightmuch asonewould dof'or a pa..l1ther inIndia.Theplan.may 1::>e f'easible,butIhavenever

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trieoditnordoIpersonallykn.owanyone who ha.sjImusttheref'ore ref'erto otherbookson Af'rican spdrtthose of' myreaderswhowish for f'urther information. Thereare,however,a f'ew devicesthatmayberesortedtointhedaytime,andtheseIwillbrief'lymentionbef'oreIconcludethispart of' theSUbject.Thereis f'irst theveryelementary dodge ofleaving dead game aswe left qutthewart-hog and the hartebeest "besidesnumerousotheranimals.Inourcaseonlyone of' themanybaitswastouched,with the resultalreadydescribed.Thebaitshouldbe left wherekilled,or,betterstill,drag ged forsomedistanceandthendep.ositednearto roLy sort of'cover that CWL beeasilysurroundedor"cleared" -by: means of' a"drive"next morning. Inbothcasestheanimalshouldbecutopensothatitmaygive off thestrongestpossiblescent.Ifthe 'bait be left inthiok'bush f'ound byalion,hewilleathis f'i1l andthenlieuptowatchitsomewherecloseby. If' itbe left intheopenhe wll1 drag it awayintocover,andthenlieupas before.To preventthenatives stealing thebaitit ia welltocutseveraldeepcrossesinthe f'lesh. Inthiswaythenativesthemselvesprepare carcases whichtheywishtopoison f'or thedestruction of' carnivora,andtheywillieavethemseverelyalone if' they see thewellknqwncross-cuts.In C?rder tomakeone's'ownboys'believethatpoisonhasreally been applied,itisonlynecessarytoinsertapinch of'mixeq saltandpipeash,tobacoo-dust, pepper, or of'that kind.A few drops of' watercolouredwithpernlanganate of' potashwill do equallywell.Needlesstosayabaitshould'beapproachedwiththegreatestcaution,andone Shouldcarerul ly:note its exactpositionsoas to avoidblundering.on tqit asweblunderedon to the pig.If' onehasanydoubt,thepresence of' vuitureswill often serve as anindication.Infact if' oneseesthemanywhere sittingabout ontreesinconsiderablenumbersitisnowaste of timetostopand.observethem.Aslikelyasnot they are watchinga carcasewhichalion, lying upcloseby,is guarding againstthem.Everynowandthenabirdmay'beseentodescendand tofly upagainasthelionris.

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iL20. advances to the,intruder.Alionfoundinthedayt.Lneisbestattackedwiththeaidof'a fewdogs whowi'llconf'use and stophimby yappingand "barkingaroundhimandthusprobably af'f'ord one areas..onable shot. Of' this,however,Ihavespokenin 3, previouschapter;I 'will theref'oreonlyaddthatdaga of the right tem.pez-ament.areextremely dif'f'icv.lt to get holdof'and fetch very high priceswhentheydomanagetof'Lndtheirwayintothemarket.Nexttodogs,poniesarethebest. Two orthree men on.nor-ae-rbackwillsoonroundup a Ldonwhowillbecome conf'used andstoptospitandsnarllike an angrycat when he findshis retreatcut off inseveraldirectionsatonce.Buttheroundingupprocessmustnotberepeatedtoo often orthelionwillrealizethathe is cornered,anda chargewill f'ollow.'Itisalsojustaswelltorememberthat,if'one nnnis mountedwhilsttherestareonfoot,a charging lionvdllalmost bly charge themountedmaninpreferencetotheothers, probably "becauseheand his hor-ae are lesslikelytostandabsolutely still thanmenon f'oot. On Friday;, September we beganourtrekbacktotheKaf'ueRiver.Itwasaplea.santmarch aad wemorethanoncestoppedtoadmirethepretty veldt-flowers thatwere beginning to appear onallsideswiththeapproach of spring. VY.hat theywereIknownot, for I am nobotanist,but for themost part theynestled low inclustersorgrewon small shrubsbythewayside.Theiroolours were various and -bright scarlet aridwhite,blue and yellow,"but;mostnoticeable a.mongstthemwere the severa.ldelica,te shades ofmauveand purple.Wewereto.emerge f'rom the f'ly....;bel t to-dayand had tl1.ere:foredespatchedCL messengerbackt.othe wagon totellSimontosendtheponiestomeetus.Wemetthem atakraal not farbeyond the footofand withthemwere .one or twoof our'boys from camp,Whilstwe sat down fora, shortrest bef'ore mounting,Cooper and one of theboys begantotalk. Icouldnotunderstandall

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,theysaid, I heard repeatedref"erencesto andthe"big nyati" andnoticedseveral sidelpng 121. glances inmydirection.BeLngabitof'a pe ssimistbynature,Ibegantosuspect something had gone wrong',whenCoopercametowards rue lookingveryglum.Ina few wordshetold me what had hap-pened.Inordertolightenthe loads.of' ourcarriers we hadsentthe 'buf"falo-heads 'backtothe wagonatNzovua few days before, andSimonhadtakencharge of them;'but,instead of placingthemout'of' harm's wayatnightfall,hehad left themonthe ground withthe remdt thatahyenahad got hold ofmy headandbrokenittobits.Herewasaprettykettle of'fish, andmy mortification maybeimagined.Iwasnever Sufficient of' aphilosophertotakemy }:nocks veryplacidly,andI fear Ioomplainedbitterly about thisstroke of thoroughlybadluck.Nootherhead-wouldhavematteredmuchbuttolosemy buffalo wasaterrible blow. Complaints,however,thoughtheylet off acertainamount ofsteamand easeone's feelings tosomeextent,haveaway ofaffording preciouslittlerealrelief.The damage wasdone and therewasnothing for itbuttorideonto camp .andseeitsactual OnarrivalI found the reportonlytootrue.Bothhornshadbeenbadlybrokenandtheentire "palm" the broad swellbetweentheactualhorns--wassmashedtopieces.Thelowerjawhaddisappearedentirelyandtheskulltoowas'badlyfractured. themaskhadbeenpackedaway onthewagonwith the'others;it was thereforequiteunharmedandsotherewasstill.somehopethatthe skil:ful hand 'of" thetaxidermistmightbeabletopatch up thehead suffioiently welltomakeitatanyratelookpresentable.(l)I notpartioularly happyfor therest of thatday, and eventhetworeedbuckIshotin(1). Thia hopehasbeenrealized, forMessrs.Uerrard have effected such wonderful repairsthatlittleornotrace of thedamage nowremains.

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122.the afternoon failed toconsole meinanyway. camped forthenight on thesame groundwehad 9ccu pied onSeptember5th,and spent theevening writing letters, amongst them oneto the District Commissioner at?,Iapanza askinghim to sendtwentycarriers to Ghunguso that theymightbeready togo withus to theeLepharrt.-countzr-yon the banks oftheNbila River. Early daywe started forKalanda.Ishotalong theroute withCooperandbroughtdownWhat.Lookedlikeagoodroan,but.hisheadturnedouttobeapooroneso welef't himdeadandwentour way. Shortly afterwardswe sawaherd offully ahundredeland.Thewind was the wrong way, b,.owever,and they got suchearlyscent of us that ashot was impossible. After ourmid-dayhaltwepressedonagainand got a :few head of game for thepot,Peter three guinea-fowl. which knocked.overwith onebullet fromhis .303 rifle. Hethought therewas onlyone,"butthe threeweresittingabsolutely in-linesohe got themall, anqalthoughthe:first onewasblowntobits,the othertwowere butslightly damaged and formed awelcomeadditiont.oFrank'slarder.Imay here mentionthattheshooting "ofguinea-f'ow). witha riIfIe isnouncommon thing inRhodesiawhenoneishar-dputtoit forfood. Theycarrya deal.of leadand rew mentake suff'i6:tent heavyshot-cartrid.gesWith the;m.Nothinglighter thanNo.2 is.of the slightest useunlessthe'birdbehitinthehead,andmattersare not made the f'act thatthe gUinea-rowl rarelygetsonthe wing. Shootinghimis,in fact, verylike shooting rabbitsathome.Assoonashe :finds him self pursued,heruns orr ata great pace,andwedid notoftengetshots atundersixtyyardsrange.Just reaching Kalanda,CooperandIespiedsomepukuwithonebuck amongst them.Theywereveryshy., andtwolongsh"Jts I fired atthebuck 'both missedtheirmark. Hewentonat onceandIthoughtallwasup-but followed himnevertheless.Wewereclosetothe edgeof adeep thegrass wasverylong,andthepuku dodged aboutinthemostexasperatingway.Finallywelost si-ghtof himaltogetherandcame to theconclusionthathe must havelain dovr.n. Aconsultation fal-

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lowed arm weagreed that Ishould squat behindanant-heap closeat hand,whilstCoopershouldworkround t0wardsthe .Lagconandtryto putthe "buckUP.!.watchedhis progress withinterest,'butthingswerenotpromising.EverynQwand then Isawhisbroad-brimmedhatabovethegrass,thenhewoulddisappearaltogether f"or awhileandthen pop upagainsomewhereelseasbegraduallymadehisway round inasemi-circle.Buttherewasnosign of" thebuck,.notsomuchasthetips of hishorns coul-d. Isee.AtlastCooperstood still whereIcouldseehimplainlyandwavedto metQ joinhim.Iwentandwas informed that the puku was lyingdownatthe edgeof"the lagoon.Weapproached carefully andthere bewas sureenough, 'butso lowinthegrass we could bnly justseehishorns.Theubiquitousant-heapwasthereagain, of" course,buttheparticularonebehindwhichwewerewasthickly overgrovr.n with dry, crackling twigs andsosteepthatIcquld not geta fqotingon thesides.I might havescrambledup it somehow,but the noise of" the breaking twigs would certainlyhave me.Still,Ihadtoraise myself" bysomemeansor otherand Cooper'sbackseemedtheonlymeansavailable.SoIutilisedourhunterasapropand,withhis undermy leftfJot, his right handunder the other,andmybodyleaningagainstthealmostverticalside of"the mound,I gotready to f"ireat allI could see,viz., a little bitof"the back of thepuku'shead.ItwasaLudf.cr-ouaattitude fora shot, and I felt likea fly onawall;mymarktoowasasmallone though the range wasnotmorethansixtyyards.Isteadied myself withsome difficulty, drewa'beadand pressed the trigger. Thepukususpected nothing but,justasmy rifle spoke,he sprang tohis reet, sideon to meand gazed utterlybewilderedineverydirectionexceptthe right one.A wide red gash onthe side;or hisneck showedvl"J1ere my-bullethadgrazedhim.Thewound,thoughsevere,wasnotlikelytoprove f"atal sotherewas nn time to lose.Rapidly putting a freshcartridge intothecham-ber,Ihastilyaimedagainandthistimedroppedmy deadwithashotjustunderthe spine. He123.

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124. was a good specimen with sixteen-inchhorns.Byeighto'clocKnext morning Peterhad got a too,soheand CObper pushedon with the wagontoe:i.fectthecrossingof" theriver, Whilst Iwent off" toapoint upstreamwith theintention of'workingdownwar'.is towardsthe f'ord. arealwayspossibilitiesaboutariver and Iwas f"ullof hope;I f'elt sureIshould getsome shotsatcr-ocs,I thought ICooperwith might slayanother or,with great luck,perhapsa situtunga. RutIhadnoluckatall;Ionly onepukuandalthoughI f'ired atseveralcr-oos,I railed tolandanyof' them. It Viasfor meoneof'those vfeary daysthatareinevitableevery,now and. agad.n,andmymarch was extremelytiringintothebargain. Foragoodf'if'teen milesI t'ru.dg edthroughthemost f'atiguingstuff imaginable;stretches of' mattedgrass that tied itself' in regulark110ts aboutmyankles; belts ofhighhippo-reedthatmademestumbleateveryturnandprickedmercilessly through mythingarments;thentherewerebroad .of' marshintersected by lagoons,throughwhichIsplashedandf'l'oundered,andlastlytherewasasun beating down pitilesslyfromabove.From wellbef'orenoonwecouldseethetreesthat marked theposition of thef'ord; some timeswe got qudt.eclosetothemandthl)ughtourtrials were nearlyover;thena "broadlagoon-would barourway,or a bend of theriverwould force usback,till itseemed weshOUldneverreachour goal. But"needsmustwhenthedevildrives",so westruggledon mile after nrlLe and. finally, well soaked and.thoroughly tired., Vie reached.the ford about five 0Iclock.

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'125.OurpreviouseveningattheHissionhadbeeninteresting,butrevelationtometohearsuch-broad and comprehensiveviews express-Vii thitandbegantopitchcamp, 'whilst Peter went onto the?.flission Descending the Bank of' the Ka:fl,.1e River.and not,The Lnr'ormat.Lon Cooper IstayedWebeganbydiscussingtheHere Er. Smith was inhiselement, his good wiferepeatedthekind Wemade n::fussabout accepting thistimeand,ButImustn)tdigressatthispoint.latest news; thentheconversationturnedtolocal aff'airs, mission our wayUP-cowltry. Thewagon hadjust gotsafelyacross and 'Was onthepointofwork,theeducation of'the native,thetreatmento:fthenative, and edbyone "oe"1onging toa profession vihosemembersare unfortunately, always :free:from thetaintofintolerance.thisoneproved to bestillm.rce-so.mostinstructivewere nnny )fthethings'hesaid;infact,it was a trin1IIl.ed ourbeards, puten Jur partymannersandstrode ,):ff' "intoa:fter changing intothecleanestkitwe CJuld raisebetweenus, 'We nativepolicyingeneral.sooiety".negotiating the last two mlLesto Chitum,bi. stationtosee ?:ir. Smith.inVitationtosupperalready given when we said tothemonvoucrraar'edbyJurkindhast,togetller with that furnished byothers,is summarized inalaterchapterwhereitmustremain.Ournextthreedays were uneventful. The:first tookustoKalongawhere wemet .Handley;onthesecondwepassed andonthethirdwereachedSambot).Duringthese

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tbree mar-one swe g)t nothing but aroan, anda hartebeest,bothTfwhich:fell toPeter's gun. AtSambot,,) wewereagain in }c))doJ-countrv, so we decidedto stop anatryourluckoricemjre.But "We didnogood; we savrnothingbut cows andyoung -bulls,besides3,:fewgrys-bu.cl:cand bush-buck whichwec.l3.X'ednot sh)ot f'orfearalarming thekoodoo.On Frid::lY, September24th, we tre}>'"J-:ecl 126. for Chungu.Cooper waswithme andwe saw ascoreormore of'sableCows -hutonlyonebutl, He was lying down inthe UIJ::1ergrowtllVii thonlythelower portionof hIshorns, his neck and maskvisible. These'were blackenoughand,ashe appeared tobealone, we took hirtl tobe an old solitary customer.I fired andgJt him through-bothshoulders, 'but when vie gotupto him we found toourregret that he was quite a young animal withhornstapingnomorethanthirty-twoinches.Atnoononthe24th, we halted on t.he Shakelete orKaleta Hi ver wheretwentycarrlers,sent -bytheCommissioner of' metua,Intheevening 'we pushedonPeterCutting COJper'sHair. An ,.open-airBath.

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toChungu and Ishotaduiker the pot enroute.Nothingelse or interesthappened, so we turned 127.inin go)d timeinordertorestourlimbsbe:forethelongtrekintothe elepilal1.t-countrythat laybe-:foreus.+++++ +++ .;.

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128. CHAPTER VIII.Ourroutetothe layacrossthe River, pastand towards the'bendof' the Nusa River. This river,atri-butary of' theKaf'ueontherightside,f'ormed partof' thethenexistinggame-reserveto which accesswas, 'of' course,deniedus.Iwishit werepossibleto append to. myaccount,aroughsketch of' thecountrywe .but. wehad notimetodo any sketchingourselvesandtheonlymap wewere ableto"obtainwassohopelesslyLricompLet.e and inaccurate, that it was practicallyuseless. N.:>thalf'a dozen of' thevillageswevisitedwere shoVITl onit,rlorwerethe f'ewthe mapdidhappentoshowalwaysmarkedintherightplaces.Itisreally extraordinary thatanationlikeours shJuld gJoncommittingthesamesins of' omission. During theBoer Vl[ar theabsenceof'a suf'f'icient supply at' goodmapswasvery sorelyfelt, andyetto-daythere still appear to be partsof' ourEmpire of' which nb mapsworthy of' thenameexist.Small wars and tribalrisingsare alwaysPossib1einsuch 0utlying regiGusandwere suchtroubles to take placeinRhodesiatherecanbelittle doubtth3.t the difficultieswhichoccurred inSouthAfricawouLd-be experienced overagain. The"Worst)f' itisthatin these casestheblameisuaualLyheapedontheWar Office":or ontheunr'or-t.unat.e ot'f'icers towhomisentrustedtheleading 0t' thetroops.Toapportion the 'bLamein thiswayis,however, unjustbot.h t.) theWar OITice and to thesoldier;itahouldrather 1Je heaped:ont.hose of our Covernment Of'f'LcLa.LsandDepartments who arereally responsi ble f'orthe Government of" thecountry.It is truethatRhodesia i8 under-the Chal:-teredCompany's ruIe and thatGovez-nmenz Of'f'icials now have littlesayinthematter.ButGovernmentoriginallydelegatedits powers totheChartered Company and ought atthattime to haveinsistedontheexecution of' a

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completesurvey"within a certainnumber o:f years.Theimposition o:f such a conditioncouldnot"beconsidereda hardsnip, mJreespecially" when one t-eflects thatGovernmentmightnotincJnceiva;bly 'becalled upontoprovidethetrJopsnecessaryto see theCompanythroughitspotentialtroubles.It is,heY/ever, only:fairtomentionthat, according toruaour,animprovedmap 6:rN?rth WestRhodesiaisinthemaking;somemenevenwentso:farastosaythatitwas:finished.Buthowever this maybe,the :fact remainsthat:foryearsamerecaricaturewasconsideredquitegoodenough,andthatthiscarioature was allthatcouldbe obtained bytravellersand--othersdesirous o:f learningsomething about thecountry.Iamconsequentlyunabletosaymoreaboutourproposeditinerary than Ialreadyhave done atthe begirmingof" thischapter,thoughImightperhapsadd that theconfluence )f" the Husa andtheKa:fueliesnearthepJintwherethelattermakesits prO!1Qmced bendtotheEast..Forthe :further guidanceof'othersanxioustoshootinthe partswe visited,thenamesof' -tJlrough willbestatedintheirorder;alsoso :far as possible theapproximatedistancebetweenthem.Todescribeindetailthe whereaboutso:f water-holeswouldbeuseless, i:f notmisleading,sincetheyvarya good dealaccordingtoannual rainfall andtheseason o:f theyear.Asregardswater-supply,there:fore,thestatements O:f localnativesmustbedependedupon.Webeganour"elephant-trek"on So..turday, September25th,and :from sixtillnine,a.ID.onthatdaywereverybusysortingourstoresandarrangingtheminloads :for the carrier whoweretoaccompanyusintothenew :fly...;be1t thatlaybef'oreus.Bynine-thirtyallwasinreadiness, so westeppedoufbrisklytothestrainsof'"the This was providedbyJim, otm' exceptionallyuglywaiter, and wasper:fectlyridiculoustoseehimswinging along atthehead ef' thecolumn his"Wooden whist-le.Jim,withallhis :faults, wasagood-natured:fellowwhodidnotintheleastmindturninghimsel:fintoa "buffoqn:for thebene:fit 01' therest o:f theparty.Onthemorningwe129.

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130.instrumentto take abackseat.andtheonlythingweshotbetweenuswasaduikerI baggedf'or theof'hours,sowekepttogetherurrtdlwecametoourmid-day halt atThewaterwasvile, sobad inf'act that Therewasnothingtobegot :for thef'irstcoupleDuringthe weseparated,butsawverylittlegame,t.houghheevincednoregretatleavingeither of them as heOur first car.a.ping-ground was tobeat. Habomba about :fourastherewas n:1thing else,wehadt ) make thebest of' it. to the fT)nt totakeup hi.s uuua.Lpasition,whichhemaintaineduntilthe possible presenc.e of' gamemadeit advisableforhim and his peopleat home wouldhavehesitatedtowashtheirclothesinit,but,teen mileswest. a p ooL' bythewavsLde, lef't C } lU-P-gu he V{3.S inparticularly high spirits, f'or theplacewashis hO:!lle,andhinwife andchildhadcome to see him incamp.Of'thebeauty orI.-ITS. Jim itwould notbe pbli tetosay anything, but Baby Jim,aged twoortber.ea"'b0uts,was every' 'bitasugly ashis patStill, Jim seemedquitesatisfiedwithhisspouseandhis offspring"The Band". as ProvidedbyJim.theWaiter. pot lateintheevening.OurnextmarchwastoMal.eeLaBaniamaKraallyingonthe 1!wilaRiver thirteenmilesawayinanorth-westerlydirection.Itwasmy turn togoalone ItrUdgedalong hourswithoutseeinganythingworthhaving.At last I found awarthogandwoundedhimbadly,buthewent )ff intothethicket,andcompelledmeto follen, him.Wetrackedhis blood-spoor somedistanceuntil wecame to bush thelike of whichI had neverseen before. On

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all sideswere broad trackswher-e grassand -br-ushwood were completelytroddendown, at-everyturnstood treeswith great torn them, and under foot theground was pitted withdeepimpressions twelveinchesormorein ci1ame'ter. Wewerein ane"lepha.n.t-hauntand myhopesrose,thoughnone or thespoorCJuldpossibly ha.ve beenless thana. monthold."There something aboutthatplace sometimethesight of' itput otherthoughtsout of' my mind.Evenkoodooseemed an a.l t:)gether secondaryconsideration and IstillhadeLephant.s well onthe-brain when Isat dovm byone of' theirdrinking-pJolstorest andeat mysandWiches.Ihadmadea consid.erable detourandit llas veryhot,buttherewaslittletimetolose,thesun was risinghighintheheavensandIdidnotknowhow f'ar Iwas from camp.SoIquickly f'inished my f"rugal meal,knockedtheashesout of' mypreciouspipe calledtotheboys tof'ollow me. Bef'ore wehadwalked IDQre t.hana f'ew minutes Joharmes stoppedtohissthewords "Jun(bololo,Mujassi,"(f'emale koodoo)inmyear.Elephantsstiilruled mentalroostandIhadseen so manykoodoocowsthat Joharmes' words'barelyservedtorouseme.Ther.e were the cows rightenoughabout a couple of' hundredyardstothe front, andI f'ully expected to seecowsandcowsonly, f'or neveryethadwe f'oundbulls andcowstogether.IthadLrrvar-Lab'Ly'beenacase of oidbullsalone, young bullsalone,or cowsalJne. Onlya f'ew days bef'ore, however,Ihadasked'Cooperwhethertherewas anyTike,1Ji.hoodorfinding bUllsand COViS inoneherd at thistime or year.Hisanswerwas:-"Certainly,youcannevertell what koodoowilldo."Thesewordscamebacktomeandinducedmetobegin my stalkwiththe utmostpossiblecare. Withoutm.uch dif'f"iculty Ireachedall.ant-heapabouteightyyards or so from the nearestcow, croucheddowntowatchandhad barely got comfortably settledwhentwobigbullsappeared! WholeherdwasgrazingandmOVing Slowlyacross my front;the bullswereroughlyahundredand f'ifty yards131.

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132. qfr, whilstthecowswerebetweenthemandme.Thebushwas not verydense,bUta of ant-heapsenabledthekoodoo to playa gameor hide-and-seek,and tointerchange their positions withintheherdinsuchamanner that Ihadtokeepmyeyesvery caref"ully onthe two. buuLa,Theleadingonewasa full-growTIl male,and his hornswere, I shouldsay,certainly not under fifty inches.Thesecondbull me.Inthebodyhewas asbig astheother,orbigger,andjudgingbythecolour of hiscoat, hewasubviouslytl12 olderanimal;buttherewas something curiousabouthishorns.Icouldnotsee them well, fqr heremainedabsolutely broadside onand so gavemeno chanceor dbservingeither splay orcurve.They were shorter,too,thanthose c!Jr the.rt.he.r'hull andhada stumpy lookaboutthem,yettheywere massive andbyno means out of' proportiontotheSize ortheirowner. I ditd notknowwhattomake of thesituationand was sosorelypuzzledthatI would havegiven to havehad Cooper bymy side. only grOVITl-UP bullI had everseenwas the oneIhadgallopedthedaywe leftMonze,and Ihadlittle opportunityof' judginghisheadasweracedoverthe groundarter him.SincethenI had. developeda perfect horror of shooting immn.ture animalsand,thoughI felt certain "that thehorns or the bUllweregood,Ifeltequallycertain thathe wastheyounger of' thetwo.Rarely I foundgreaterdifriculty inmakingupmymind' betweentwoalternatives,andmychoioe was. notmadeeasierbythe fact that my licencealldwedasinglekoodooonly. If I shot abadoneIthrewaway my chance ror therest of thetrip; tI1US IwasliterallyinwhatIoneeaf'oreignercall a"dilerame.or horns".However,Ihad tocome toadecisionsomehow,andthatquickly,Theherdwas moving steadilyonandmaking my shotmore roLd more diffiCUlt, soI plumped infavour of theolderbullashe stopped amoment,letdriveandgothimthrough body.Heturned complete lyroundandthen stood stock still, broadsideonagain.Theherd 'wentorf atoncebut'beforehecould follow themIhit himasecondtime. Hegave a violent start, succeededbyaseries or plunges,anddisappeared from view.

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Iknewhewas hard hit,butIhadseensomany duetoexcessivehastein following wounded game thatIdeterminedtocarry Jut mypursuitwitht,hegreatestcare.Leavingtheother boys behind,JohannesandIcreptcautiously forward. It was wellwedidso, for hardlyhadwe reached thespotwhere "ire had lastseen thebut t whenwe discoveredhimstandingunder a treenot two hundred yardsaway. Three shotsfired in rapid auccessiondropped him 1ead,andwewent f.orward toexamineour prize. IIia.d no tape with me, sa Iroughly measured hishorns with my fingers and :found tomy i1;1 tensedisgustthattheycametoonly 3.boutforty-five inches.Theirshape,too, wasextraordi!1,f.Lry -almoat,likean"8"openatbothends,orliketwo3'8r'acLngeachother.Yetthebullwasold,hiscolourwasundoubtedlythat of aveteran,andthehorns loo}red quiteasthick at thebase as those of Peter's fine specimen.Iwas:fairlypuzzledandsomuch armoyed thatIactuallywalked a.way andle:fthimWhere helay, cursing myself uphillanddowndale for havLng flung away myoneand o.nlychance of akoodoo,andwishingtogoodnessIhad:firedattheotherbullinstead.Intime,however,Ibecamemore I fished'out mypipetohelpto mytroubledmind,andsatdown."SometimesIsitsand thinks, andsometimes I merely si repliedtheoldrarmerwhenaskedhowhepassedhistimeon his lonelyhomestead;andunoonsctous.tyI :followed theoldman'sexample.At Imerely sat, thenI tothinkandfinallyIpersuadedmyselfthatIwasa toleavethekoodoohead ror goodandallwithoutmaking :fUrthBr investigations; it seemedwiseatanyratetohaveitproperly 'measuredberore Ide:finitelydecidedwhethertorejectitornot.Soweretracedoursteps,recoveredhorns mask, and made abee-line ror thenearesttrackto The sun,was trying,thehot sand burnedmy:feettilltheypositivelyached,andIhadathirst wurthhaIr asovereign.ButIstillthought of notllingbutthekoodooandscarcelytook rny eyes off thehorns,as 135.

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134 theywereca:x:-ried along bef'ore me. Sometimes theyseemedtogr.ow tomagnificent dimensions, S0me timestheyseemedtoshrinktillthey lookedli}::::e acouple of" cor-lr--scr-ews, Thus,weary inbodyandworriedinmind,Itrudgedalong'behd.ndmyboys f'or manyatiring mile tillatlastweer-casedadongaattheedge of somehigh f'orest andsawthecampcloseby.It washalf' pastone'bythetime wegot to it, andright If'eltwhen I }:new myday'swork was over.The :first thing do Y"foJS totakemy boots of'f",thenext,to ).Qwer several of' the1onge st drinksprocurable.Thisdone,Icalled t'or tIle tape and,withtremblinghandsandCooper'sassis tance.apPlied it caxefullyto eachhorninturn. They wereexactlythesamelength,viz.,just f'or ty-sixand one-eighthinches.Somy rough estimate hadnotbeen f'arwrongafterall, andmy lasth'bpes 'were d.ashed. tothe ground. Iatoncedetermined tJthrow thehead away andtqgive up f'oreverallthoughts of' addingakoodootomycollection.I t'elt betterwhenthesuspensewasover and myresolution I f'elt prettydesperateall the same. To those 'who haveneverhuntedbiggamethementalanguf.snIhad suf":fered thatmorningmayseemincomprehensible,butmy willunderstand.Itisnosmalltrial tQ travel'hundreds oLmiles, totoilday day inthehope of'f'inding someparticularspecies of whioh but asinglespecimen allowedand then, whenthatspecimenis rinallyround andkilledtodiscover it is worthless.Andworthlessmyspecimenseemedtome spite oL allCoopercouldsay.Hewasboundtoadmitthatthe horns wereshort,buthesworethebUllwasagoodone,pevertheless.Hepointedtothe of' thehornsthroughouttheirlength and tothecolour of neckandmask,andpersistentlyurgedmetogobackonmydecision.Peter,too,chimedin,andbetween them thetwowereatlasttoomuch f'or me.I was tootiredtoargueanylonger,soIagreedtokeep my"trophy" tillwe got'1Jack tocivilization wherewemight beable to obtain further opinions aboutit. Itwasahappydecision, for, WhenIsubmittedtheproblemtootherswhoseknOWledgecould not

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lily Koodbo.Ourdayat Maleela Baniamawasamemorableone. Myown andtroublesmoreorlessrightedthemselvesintheend,butPeterhadastroke of' reallybadluck. \'\tllilst IWas hWLtingrAY koodoohe shot a bushpig. Itwasthe first wehadseeninthecountryandaverY'bigoneintothe bargain; buton exroaination histusheswere found tobesopoorastorenderthewhole head worthlessasatrophy.Thiswasbadenough,butworsewas to :follow.In the eveningheand Cooper wentouttogether.taking bedoubted andasked for theirimpartialjudgment.IwasLrrt'rrmedthattwodistinctvarieties of' koo doe existedinNorthWesternRhodesia. Thefirst varietyis,itappears, of thekindshotbyPeter,withcorkscrewhornssplayingoutwardslikethesides ofan: isoscelestriangle;itisthe more highlyprizedbecause of thegreaterlength hornsattainto. secondvariety is represented by thetypeIshot.It is less frequently With--thoughnotmorevaluedonthataccount --and thehornsinstead of splayingoutwardscontinously,.curlLnwar-dsabout;theirmiddle and arenot,onthewhole,unlikea coupleof' "threes"turnedf'acetoface.Whetherasimilardistinction is madebynaturalistsIcannottell,butIhavecertainly sincre seenseveralpairs of' hornslikemineinother Thusendedthekoodoo-conundrum, andniy headwenthometoLondonwiththerest.I wasnDt overproudo:fit,Imustconfess,but r :feltIneed not,after all,beashamedo:f my trophy.

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l3G. afewof the gun-boys and localkraal-boywiththem. Notfar:fromcamp the partyweremoving alonginsingle file throughopen andat.rathera :fast pace.In:frontwas the local }:ro..alboy, thencameCooper,then thenthegun-boys. Suddenly oneofthe last-named saw "Something aheadandran :forward topointitouttoCooper.He,however,could seetheobjectowingtointerveningtreesand,though Petersaw it at once,hecouldnot shoetbecause theboyandCooperwere way. There wasCO'Jperwith Peter' f;BU.h-pig.a momentary anddisastrous pause'ber'o.reour hWlt-er realized what theboy was pointingat,and nastily steppedaside.Atthat instant the --alioness-slipped. of'f'intocover wi th.)ut ..:rf,)rding theleastpossible c>:anceo:fEt.shot!Itwas alloverina of asecond andbeforeanyone hadtime totake inthesituationortorealize quitewhat hadhappened.There wasnownJ help :for itbuttomakeadash,soPeterandCooperrushed :forward totry for asecondchance.They had justreachedthespot where thelionesshaddisappearedwhen they heard bleatingnoise and,looldng round,beheldaduikerstandingbesidethem,bewilderedanddazedwithterror.Thiathelionesshadevidentlycaught,and she musthavebeenplaying with itasacatplays With' amouse when the hlUlters cameuponher; oneof' theboyspickedthe c1uikerup inhisarmsbutitcontinuedtobleatsopersistentlythatPeter, whG very rightly thougl1tthenoiseundesirable,tt1dtheboytostop :It. Hecouldeasilyhavedone this by simply pressing the littleanimal's jaws togetherin the

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same way asone a refractory puppy who raisesnoisyobjectionstohis weekly tub,Butinsteadthe stupid boysilenced tb.eduiker's plaintivecriesbylettingitgoaltogether.Thusthe"kill",towhiohthelionesswouldalmostcertainlyhavereturned was gone for ever andwithit the lastchanceof 'baggingthelioness.Theincident, my ownexperiencesat J!Iufarly,wellillustrates howeasilythingsgo wrong, whenonemeets With theunexpectedin the bush. It seemsimpossibletodevise precautions wherebyone can makecertain oranything.Even thoughone'sarrangements-be perfect thereisalwaysthe gravedanger thatsomefoolishattendant willupset the apple-cart. Andyetonecannotdo Without one'sattendants, for theirpresenceisindispensable; one musthaveaspare rifle andaboy to carryit; is neededto carryfood anddrink,Whilstatleastone morewillbenecessaryto show the way and to help to spot the game,Thustheattendants Jf a hunting-partyarejftenof"necessity morenumerousthan theparty itselfjustas and thenon-'combatants.)f anarmy frequentlyfarbut-number the fighting force.ButPeter'ssadexperienceexemplifiesanotherproblem. +8 itbettertorun after alionin the hope ofgetting asnap-ishct,asoneverywell may --oris it advisableto.resistthetemptationand to trusttohiscomingbacktothekill?Ipersonally amnow infavour of thelatteralternative,thoughIshOUldbesorrytorecommenditunderallconditions.,Everylionisnotsoboldas was myf'riendat Muf'airly, andmany aonehasbeenbroughtto'bagbymeans of apromptanddeterminedpursuit.Onemust simply-do What seems best atthemomentandthentrusttoluck.On Monday, September27th, ne started forNa,nzela, a.IsoknownasSusungu's Rraal.r,t'here was no water thewholeway,so we didnotstoptill we gottosomeoutlyinghutswhichhardlyformedpart of Nanzelaproper.A strong wind was blowing,andthefinegreydust flew incloudsthat ourraid-day siestafarfromagreeable. Wetherefore went onassoonas we couldandabout tea-time dumped137.

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church138. down ourloadscloseto t,necompouudcif the Eif:,sion Hourie ,Here we metthemissionaryinchargeandhis wife(Nr. and Price)and,toour'surprise, :''fX. Smith,whom.we:fondlyimagined to bemiles away atChitumbi'.Asusualwe were received with thegreatest hospitality and, after anexcellentdirmer, fully appreciatedbyatleastthreeoftheparty, we allbetookour-seIves to thechurchnearbyto'witnessan ent.ertai!.1J1lentgotupfJr theedificati)n of thenatives.Thechurch was aspaciousbrickbuilding withrowsofpews madeout of baked.mud.Therewereno regularWindows, but simply holescutinthe,walls; they servedasventilatorsand windows ccmb.Lnedand, thoug...l-J. thelighttheyadrnittedbydaymayhavebeen sufficientfor allemergencies, we found t11a:t asverrtdtat.or-stheyentirelyfailedtomeettherequirements of thepresent occasion. Theplace wa;1simply packed with natives fioinYfhom exudedan"espritdecorps"that was anything tnat pleas ant, whilethe atmospherewas suchthatone might certainlyhaveknockedbits autofitwitn astick. Stii.l, these thingsweremere trifles,andI for one would gladlyvisitthatlittle again under theconditions.The entertainmentbegan with a hymnandprayer;then follqwed someselectionson :Mrs.Pri-ce's. phonogr-aphand a:rter that f.'Ir. Smith' magiclantern was setgoing.The pictures producedwerenumerousandvariedgreat,lyincharacter,andtherecanbenodoubtthatthemagiclanternis ot some-educational value inthatitteaches the savagetounderstandwhatapictureis. Someplates 'represented the kraal, sothat the audience abletorecognize andtheir friends, othersrepresentedanimals,andgreat was thedisappointmentofthemultitud"ewhensomelions (:phjtQgraphed lying down in cageintheLondon CQuld notbemadeto getup and walk about. theportrait of His liJ:ajesty theKingappear-edthenatives clapped handsastheydo fO'r asalute;sothelantern toteachthemtherudiments of loyaltytoo. whole concluded witha hyntn which appeared onthescreenand was read off andsunginthevernacularbytheVillagers. ?:'heirvo:&oes

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were notbeautifUl,forthey sanginakind of drawlwitha curious nasaltwangaboutit; still, Isuppose theyuidtheirpest andonecannotdemandmore than that fromroLyman. Whenall was over the nativesdispersedtotheirhomeswhilst we withdrewtothemissionhouse garden andsattalkingandsmoking foran h9urormore.Iagainseized myopportunity and fairly bombar-dedpoor Hr. Smith with ar-unnf.ng :fireo:f ques'tdoris,Ipumpedhim :for allIwas worth, but nedi:ln't aeemtomindintheleast. "\fiith anamount of patiencethat wastruly remarkablehe.listenedoarefullytoeverythingIaskedandgavemeallthe infJrmation hecouldinthetimeatourdisposal.I ama:fraid hemusthave :felt relievedto see thelast of' me whenIsaidgood-byenextmorning,butIcouldnotheLpmyself'and r onlyhopehebear-sme no ill-will for my importUnity. Ournextmovewasto 1fKala, and :for sevenmileswe CUltivationandpassedkraal a:fter}:raal. There was not the slightestchanoe or ashot,so we never leftthe traoktilllatein the afternoon. It,was awearytrekbut, we weref'u.ll, of' hopea.selephants had been one and ahalfday'sjourneytothe arunouralsostatedthataboyhadbeenreoentlykilledbyasolitarymale. 'We'wererunnings!.Lort<;If" meatonoemoreand :fresh suppLt.esof' .eggsandvegetables werea.lsobadlywanted. theformerweobtainedafew,butvegetableswerenottobehad for loveormoney;evensweet potatoes wereunpr-ccur-abLe, v'le enquiredatone kraalafter anotherbutcould 'buynothing, nordid we see of' interest we trudged along except, perhaps, somenativedrumsI:found in one of' the kraals I entereq.. Thedr-umswerefour :feet ormoreinlengthand aboutfifteen inchesindiameteratthe widestpart;they weremade ofwood,shaped likehigbottlesandcoveredatthe tr-dck endwithzebra or grysbuck whichappearedtobetheonlyskinsused forthepurpose. Shortly af'ter five p.m.we arrivedatNkala and pitchedourcampolose to another mission-l39.

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andthey broken-horned 140. p.ouse.Itwas incharge of' aBasuto'teacherandhis wif'e. Bothspoke weIl, presenteduswithabasket of' verywelcomelemons;in"return we gavethemajoint of'a duikerIhadbowled acouple of' milesshortofthevillage.Inthe coursebf' theevening we madeall poscible enquiriesabouttheelephants andwere in f'ormed thattheywereashort march nearakraalcalledSanjolo,saidtoliebeyondtheLooenjeeRiver. Vie lo.oked for thi.sname on ourmap,but,as itwas not shown,we continuedintheprescribeddirectionnextday. After Windingabout f'or ninemiles 6r morewestruckadeepriver-bed,quite dry, but f:>r anoccasionalpoolhereandthere.Itmightormightnotbethemuchtalked of' "Lo.oenjee",-but,asthere were no signs atall of'Sanjolo, wethoughtitbest tocamp on itsbanksandto someboystolook for theplaceandbringinwhatnewstheycould. Itwas ratherannoying to have to remaininactivesoclosetothe rwnoured elephants,andyetahalt would havebeenimperativeevenhad weexactly where were.A 'serious meat-crisis bad arisen; we hadonlya few scraps lef'tfor ourselvesandnothingwhatever for ourthirty ormorefollowers. Wewerethereforecompelledtostopandkillnotonly f'or immediaterequirements,butalsoinordertolayinastock for theelephant-countrywheretheshooting of' ordinary gamewoald be quiteoutof' thequestion. Bo we setouta:fterteainquesto:f meat andkeptupoursearchtill night :fell.Igotnct.hf.ng, though Iwounded aroan and losthiminthe darlmess, 'but,Peterbrought'backacouple of' reedbuckandasmallpukuwhichservedto. satisf'y ourmostpressingwants.When wegot backtocampwe f'ound ourboyshadreturned f'romSanjql0 accompaniedbysomeboys of' thekraal.Theytoldusthatnothingatall was known of' theelephant and that the riveronwhichwewereencampedwasthe SOthere we wereattheend of'our tether, :for westoodontheedge of' theforbiddenland (the

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ge-reserve)ani wouldbecompelledtogiveuptheelephantswehadtrudgedsixty-:fivemilesto find. Itwas truethat the.momerrtwegottotheriverwebegantohave.oursuspicl'GIlIS, butnoonehadever141.mentionedthe Musa, whilsttheword"Looenjee" was oneverybody's tongue.Our-vfretched mapgaveuslittleassistancethough,o-fcourse,we knewtheMusacouldnotbe:faraway. It seemedpossiblethatthebedwehad :found wasthat oran unmapped tributaryflowing betweentheNkalaandMusarivers,andwehopedwemightstill :find theelephantsbe:fore reqching the laLter. Butthedefinite information Our fUrther-:progress wasbarred and we had nosuppliedbytheboys completely shatteredourhopes.ohoicebuttoretraceour steps. Theturn of eventscameasa grea"4 disappointmenttous.Wesorelywantedelephantsnoton-lyonaocount of thesporttheywould arford, butalsabecauseagoodpair of tuskswouldgosome way towards def'raying theheavyexperises or ourexpedition.However,itwasnottobeandourlongtrekwasundertakenin vai? Ithadbeena-regularwild-goose-chase,anditwas be:forewediscoveredthetruthabout;the"Looenjea" rive;r:whose whereabouts had. puzzledussomuch,Itappearsthat theterm. "Looenjee" ;r:-iv-er river, and that it is usually applied bythe natives to the KafUe. Smallwonder, tpererare,that we failed togetup with the but,the most astonishingreatureof thewholecasewas that Cooperdid not knowthe term; ourboysalsoseemed to beignorant of itsmeaning,otherwiseIam surethey wouldhaveenlightenedus, if onlytoridthemselves of thelong,-hotmarchesonscant food andbadwaterwhichour trek hadentailed. P1ter dinner that.night wehelda cpnsultationand decided to haveacouple of days'restbeforeweturnedback. Vie madeupourmindssimplytopotter-aboutthebanks of'theMusa,toreplenish ourlarderandtotake -things easy.It thereforewitheveryintention of"slackingoff abit" 'tha't I s'tar'tedout aloneon 'the morning Qf September30thWhilst Peterand Cooper,likewise sufferingfrcmreaction,set outtogether.

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142.I haJnotgQnefarbefore I saw asingleelandgrazingontheedge of some fairlytbickbush.Re was hundred,yards away and, asa stretohof opengroundlaybetweenus,Imadea detourto reacha f'avoura.'ble ant-heapnearmy 'quarry.Them0W11 was oovered with dry cracklingscrub,it was atleast eighteen feethign andso steep"that Ihad to orawluponllYhands a.nd knees.Ateverymove the: nod.ae ofthe deadsorub threatened'to betraymy prftsenoe"and. so abrup't wastheslopethatIrid myselfofmy heavyrifleandolamberedonunarmed. '.\Then IreaohedthetopIraised myaelJ"slightly, peered oautiously round, and beheld,notonesingleelandbut three beautiesonlyeightyyardsaway.Onewaslyingdown wbils't thetwootherswere standing in the ahate,and they lookedaopeaoeful that there seemed nochanceoftheirmoving .:for aometime to come.Thereappeared to be not the least examineddoubtaboutmy being able getone ofthe trio,-soItook out myglasses andcarefully them, bent onmakingsure o.f'shootingthehest rJobn,the gurr-boy,washalf way up 'theann-heap justbehind,an],like me, hol.dd.ngonby his eye-lashes. ImadeupmymindwhichbUll to aimat, so Itook tile rifle f'rom John and pret,() make comf'ortable for ap.ot-shot as circumstances permitte-l. I didnottake myeye offformore thanhalf'aminute,but intbat time,and for someunaccountablereason, tne one th3,t .hadbeenlyingdowngotup,andthe other ,twobejantowalkawayand,beforeIcould firefrom my pinnacle, allthreehad putanother ant-heap between meand themselves. FurioUSathavingwastedso many minutesoverdecidingonthe besthead, Irushed foran'theapNo.2" and gotthere just i11timetosee -'the threebullsdisappearagain.Inow a detourandcameupwiththemWithoutdifficulty, out only tofindthatthey'-had joinedalargeherdwhiohhadbeencloseby 3.11 thewhile.This was mosturrfartunate,forthebullsbeoame more'diffioultto andI nearly fired at abigoow by mistake.However, after somelittletroubleI.gotup fiftYyardsof one of thebullsashe movedalongontheoutskirts of the

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herdwhiohhadbegun to suspec't,somethingand was growingrestless.ThebUll stopped an instant 143.tolookbackandIwason thepointof :firingwhenJohn,whohad not kept su:ff'ioiently olosebehindme, showedhimself'and sentthe whole lot,bulls andall,crashing off intothethioketleavingmeto myself' f'ormy hesitancyand excessiveoaution. That was dlsappoiIitmen'tNumbexr one.Asalreadystated,Ihad.everyintention of' takingiteasyandgettinginearly".I theref' ore put theelandoutof'mymindandbegantodescribeasemi-oirolebaok to oamp. Be:fore I had gone far, however,:fourbush-pigcameintoviewonour left; one of abigonewithfine tushes, was abou't twohundredyardsaway.I tookcareful aim, fired, andmissed.Thesounder startedviolentlyand clumpedtogether,but,beingunable totell whence theshot hadcome,wereevidentlymuchpuzzledastotheirnextmove.Suddenlytheymadeuptheirminds,anda moment laterwerecoming straightat usas astheycouldgo. We stoodabsolutelymotionlessandletthemrushblindlyontowithin tyyards.Then,as they sawusandturnedbroadside,Itookanothershot at thebig boar now ga1lopingfor"all"he was worth.Ihithimandhepeckedbadly but managed to reoover himself and to goonleavinga"heavyblood-spoorbehind. Thia wefollowedforsomedistancewhenthegroundbecameunfavourableand allspoorceased.Invainwe cast about in everydirection,andthingswerebeginning to lookunpromising when akraal-boymost appeared with'three dogs.Iwasdelighted,and myhopes roserapidlyonlytosinkmorerapidlystillwhenthedogsturnedout to be u'tterly useless.Theycould pickthe scent atallandnever got ontothe spoor inspite of the fact ,thatwepractioallyrubbed theirnosesori it.Our fUrther eff'orts to workwithoutdogswerewithoutavail,sowe suffereddefeat. atthe hands ofthepig justas webaddoneinthecase of theeland. Two. ThatwasdisappointmentNumber The SWl washighin the heavenswhen wegaveupthehopelesstaskandmadeforcamp. I 'told

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,144. the boys to go asstraightas possible, buttopassone or two river-poolson theoff-ohanceof find-ing buffalo-spoor.We weremovingUP theright bankof "theHusa and.werewithin two miles of'thetent. whensigns of alargeherd orbuffalo became evident. Thespoorwasabsolutely fresh andrandown towardsthe river;it waseasy follow too,for,besidesthe many there'wereanynumber of brokentwigsand grasaes, green leaves recently tornoff, eto,,eto,, Itseemed obvious thatthe wholeherdhadbeen trekkingtoits drinking-placeonlya few hoursbefore,andwe fully expected to comeupon 'the pool at, anymoment.Bydegrees,however,thespoorturned offfrom theriverandcurvedgraduallyround some exceptionallydensebushat footof a rangeof' low It ledalmost straight away fromoampbut, determinednot to giveupourquest,wenevertheless went oneverincreasing cautionasthebushthickened.Theheat was becomingverytrying butstuck toour until,judgingby the sun,wethoughtitmustbe about noon.Thenwesatdown for a Quarterof' anhour'srest. {:' Thisoverwe pushed on again and had notproceededmorethan hundred yards whenJOhrland anotherDay pulledup short andpointedexcitedly before them.There,sureenough,andnot 'twenty yardsaway,was that littleblackpatchwehadbeentrying60hardtofind. It wasthesameoldstory.Besides "buffalo" whatdid thelittlel>M.ch spell Duil, cow, or'calf; neok, barrelorhindquarters. It wasnobigger asaucer and but forits heightaboveground, (about three feet) gavenoindicationwhateverastoWhich portionor thebodyitrepresented. Its oneredeemingfeaturewas 'that itseemedbigenoughtopreclude of' amiss, Ithereforehopedthat,Withmy .500 cordite,Ishouldbeable to slay my opponenteven if' mybulletdidnotstrikeavital part.presence wasobviouslyquite unsuspected,but anyfurthermovementwasout of''thequestion; soIseated myselfas silently as possible, tookcareful aimandfired.Inan instant therewasan

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uproar suchas Ihave :r:are1yheard; it sotUlded as whole of'cavalryweretearing pas't withina fewfeetof usand,addedto the'thunderof''the many hoofs, was thecrashingofbranches, therustle of' grass,and theapi't and _splut'terofgrit, andstoneschurned upandscat/teredfar andwide.Allwaschaosand confusion, and for a Ithought 'the herdwouldbreakourway.Isprang hastily behindaslendertree,theonlycoverIcould find, andstoodready for asecond shot. Butallwas145.well.Wewereon comparatively opengroundontheveryedge of thethicket; the herdhadlocatedtheBound my andtore away intheoppositedirection.We stoodfor a fewmomentstill thenoiseSowerejectedtheidea of' amissandset .off atonce diea downand then advanced fullofconfidenceto WhereIexpectedtofindmygame aead or My disgustmaybe imagi:p.ed whenIgottothe spot anddiscovered that the buffalohad pickedhimself up andgone off' Withtheherd!Icouldhardlybelievemyeyes, butthere. wasno doubt. about; it. Therewasthespotwherehe had.fallen, therewerethe marks cut.deepin grotUld wherehe had struggled to rise,there was'the clearimpressio.nof' his bodyinthethickgreyduat., But therewas no signof' bloodand for amomerrbthehorriblethoughtcrossed my mindthatperhapsIhadmissed hilp,.af terall.I expr-easedmyfears tothe boys,buttheypooh-poohed and cJohn in sworehe bad seen the animal f'all. J'ohnhadhisf'a.. ults, like mostof us, but hewasnoromancerandhe had-the markson the gr-oundtosupporthis statement. to follow thespoor.Therewasnodoubt about thelinetheherdhadtaken;indeedwewished. thespoor hadbeenlessobvious, for soclosewerethe foot-printstogether, so scarredwasthe surfaceof the. thatitwas quiteimpossibleto follow thetrack of' anyparticular animal,thedust,the andthebrokengrass,alltrampled foot, helpedtoconcealall tra.?es of'blood.Thespoorcoveredabroad :rront tooandweadvancedbutslowlyaswespreadoutor across from sidetoaideaccording to circumstances.

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146. Fortwohoursat leastwe'wanderedon,thebush growing graduallythioker the while,tillat lastlIegot;" intoa patch more hadimagined possible. We coula bareiywriggle throughit; atevery turn stumps or deadbranches caught our clothes andheldusbaclc,or 'roo'ts closedroundour feet liketentacles;sharp thorns, shapedlike f'ish-htloks, scratchedourhands and faces,and,as' often aa' not, wehadtocrawl.The simplypoureddownme;'I was positivelywringingwet and mybackached from oonstant Theboyswere betteroIT tbanI,beingnar-rowerand"more'lightlyclad,yeteventheyshowedsigns of' distressat times.Butthey behavedsplendidly, thespoor With thegreatestzealandkeeping close tomewiththespare rifles. Theirskillt80was for trackinghadbecomemore difficult OWingtothedensity of' the bushwrdohformed sothiokacanopyoverhead that nosuncouldpenetrate.Inconsequenoetherewas nothinggrowingunder foot; notr.ampledgrassshowedus oUrline, the groundwas as :hard asstone,andiallwe hadto'guide us was anocoasionat"'f'oot-print, a brokentwig,or,hereandthere, a piece of -bark chipped-off'astemasthebuffalo had forced theirhorllsthrough themassof stuntedtrees.Howtheygottheirbodies"thrOUgh thatbushat allwas amystery, anditseemedincrediblethat they=shOUld beabletomoveatanypace.YetI 101ewfull well, thcit, atanymoment,a sudden crash and alowangry roarmightbeall the warningweshouldget from thewounded charging down uponus withthe speedof arace-horse.Theboysknewit too,andthekqowledge only served to sharpentheir wits;.-therewereno faint-hearted onesamong'them. It havebeen nearly threeo'ClockwheTlwethoughtweheardaslightrustlingnoise before our oaution.weadvanced towards it andhoped forthe best. direotidn andwas n"ow downwind,so"therewaslittle chance:from theoutset. But theherdhadchangedSuddenlyJohn I was byhissidein aninstant andat once spotted the littleblackpatch; it wasblurred tinctcertainly, butIhad learned tolook for by thistime and recognized it.Wewere about,

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fortyyard'eofr__ asIraisedmy rifleto shoot, butberore Icouldeven aimaseries of loudcr-aahea me all was up.My patch vanishedand withthe herd,leavingus baffled and oncemore'. To our pursuitwasnow outquestionfor we knew we should notcomeup'withtheherdagainthatday;theymightgomiles,and darknesswouldcertainlyoverbake-us.tt. was hard tohavetogivein after all workwehaddone, wasahopeless game in terriblebush,andIlmewit. wasnouseblinking f'acts,so Itoldtheboys homewardsand wearilyf''01 lowedLntheirwake.WehadscarcelystartedWhen crash,onourrightthis time, stopped usstGokstdll as to theground.Iturnedto f.'aceit, andmyheart'gaveabound as the.thought flashed throughmethatitmustbethewounded buffalo, nolongerable keepupWith "the herd, charging 'downtohave outwithus. was ananxiousmoment, Iadmit,but paradoxicalthough it may seem, me0001.Igrew conler stillwhen a later :rrealizedthat., insteadof ap proachingthesound was goingaway from me"and,by the timeithadceasedaltogether, my wasdowntozeroor I felt utterly inclined vowIwouldchuck rest of myshoot.,rejoin myba"ttery, sellmy andneverhun:tbiggame again. Thesound,as i"t diedaway" had crossedournew :front, and "thelast weheard '.it,-haI>>>ened tocomemoreorless from thedirectioninwhichwe movingtowardscamp.Hopelessasourpros pectsappeared wethereforedecidednot relaxourvigilance "tillthe very last chancehadgone.For a_fewyards wecrouched,craWled, andwatched, aswe.haddonealldayandgraduallyworked.ourway "towards'the linewebelievedourquarry'had taken. Wecouldseeno spoor, butsoskilfullydid:fateand circumst.a.nces combine to lureuson, tha.twemarched straightto "thespo't where, for'the secondtimeofasking,our buffalo was s"tanding He saw or heard us first, 147.

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148. and. yras likea shotjust as bef"ore.Wewere -on "the apoorina moment and once all. exhausting stalk wlUcb:.:-lastednearlyan hour.By the end of'tha,t timewe felt ithopeless case,for, whether thebuffalo was woundedor not,the chances ofgetting up with him lIlore wasawere practicaJly nil.As matterof:rac1i hewasprobably not the woimded, one at8111, but simply ..asolitary yvha,'themannerof hiskind,.livedmoreorlessapart fromthe'bodYof''the!lard. itbeena the rwisehe would almost certainlyof boltingeachtimewe came nearhiJP,;but Idid not knawennugh of' thehabits errbuffalotorealizethe truth,and '80 we wastedfrom disappointment ended Thus littleenergywehad left overaperfectlyuseless enterprise. NumberThree. Wha-tmt.l>penedto thewounded btif:falo Idonefknow,buta :rewdays'after our departure Muaa Rivel! camp a ;:teadI'emalewas :found ina stateof' decompositionclosetowhereIhadspentmy long.gaya:r-terthe herd.(Itwas five-;thirtyp.m. bythetimewereachedcampandIownI was thoroughlydonewhen I sankd:OWll chairandcalledforastiff neat 'brandyto putmeright before Icould face one ofthe biggest"teas"ever gotoutsideof.With only fifteen minutes'ba.-lt,w1th no foodat allandonly verylittleto drink,we had crawled,run, and scrambled :for upwards of' ten solid hours Uhder atropical sUn. Onlyonce,in Ladakh, hadI known a trying experience. P..nd now, perhaps,my readerswillask why Ihave beenat suchpainstodescribeaday'sworksoutterly d.evoidof eucceas, Myobject was two-fold.First, I wished toemphasize the advisa'bi-l.1tyof'never.. anycircumstances set"tingout'without asupply of' food; second, I wanted tobringhometo..others -the :sort orday a big-gamehuntermustfromtime totimeexpect. In. mostorthe booksI haveread. on shootingexpeditions,such daysasIhave attemptedto

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descrioeare, ror somereasonorother, treateq scantceremony.Perhapstheauthorsdonotwish149.toboretheir rQaders withdepressing orwoe; perhapsthereareeven SOLle who fear their rep ut-ations as huntersandmarksmenmay suffer bytoodetailedanaccount, of theirfai.lures;butwhateverthecause,theresultis un.fortunate inthatanentirelywrongimpressionis created.in themind of the begtnner. Hereadsglowingaccounts or sportandadventure,hesees fine collections of heads, doesherealizewhat efforts havebeenmadetogetthemIHedoesnotthink of heat,thirst, and fatigue,nor of' thebitter.disappointmentconsequentona m;Lssat theendofatry-ingsta,lk of manyhours'duration. ge seesthebrightsideonly of thehunter's life andoonsequent-lyoftenconsiders thatFate is treating him shamefullyif hegoesto a good game-oountry andhasan blank day But tihesebl'iink dayscometo allof us,even to thosewith 'the straightesteye and themost oonsumm.?te lmowledge.of woodcraf"t;and itiswellthatitis so,forwereit, otherwise,we should: "soon becomeasboredand blaseas the carpet,-knightsof Society.Whenblankdayscome they mustbe faced, aye,andblankweekstoo;theywon'tcontinueforever and even if anentireshoot-bedestinedtoendin failure, the next onewil'lturnouta.Ilthebetter.Thespe11isbound to bebrokensooner-or fater,_ BOthe motto "Never 'say die" applies't.o.tlle._oig":,,,gcWe ...hunter".asmuch.asto any otherman. ++++

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150. 'CHAPTER IX.unaucoeaar'uldaydescribedin the last 1 ....wards calledit --Peter baggedamagnificent Iwasspending the long anaa slouch arterHe -carriedgun overhisshoulder,wore the usual malringuseo.:rthefew remainingminutes. oftwilight by rifles, whenawhite man suddenlycame towardsus. -mydayp:f "might-havebeens". a;s weelandwithhorns or justover thirty inches.He was notbackwhenIreturned tocamp, so'Iknewnothing of hisgood fortuneand wasCooperwithPeter'sBig Elanq. hat a.ndShabbyclothes,-and looked,in fact,just asmuch oraru:rfianastherestofthefew wandererswe haa encounteredsincewe left oiviliza-tion.Hewastaller than Cooper, so,or course,Itookhim for Peterandcalledoutto askwhat"lUdkhe had met with.Tomysurprise the answercameinastrangevoice; itwas oneI b,adheardbefore,but inthef'ading light Iwas quitelUlabletoits owner.Somewhat pU7,7.1ed Irose to .my feetand walkedtomeet the visitorwho,a momentlater,turned out tobeLieutenantLeslie orthe5th Northumberland Fusiliers and2nd MOWltedInf'antry. Wehad met at the TransvaalCavalry Manceuvres inthe monthof Julyandhaddiscussedtheprospects ourprojeoted shoots, butneither of usever

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dreamedthat weshouldstumbleacross each otherin thissortof way.Lesl1ewas accompanied by Lieutenant Stirling ofthe Argyle Eighlandersand, as"151.hunter,thetwohadtaken with themBenCooper,ourOooper'sbrother.Theyhad started'from Kalomo, if Irememberrightly,and,havingcrossedandrecrossed KafUetothe west of us, nowgraduallyworkingback tothe railway.On the night of ourmeetingStirlingwas outafter a buffalo soLeslie and BenOooperalonespent the eveningwithus. Peter andFredCooper arrived with the bigeland just beforedarkand, after a hasty wash,weall settled down to a joint meal. Wea cheeryparty,andthecombined effortsof the two cookswerehighly Many were "the yarnsspunand many the dimensions of'headscompared;wetold of' ourkoodooand buffalo, they ofthe lion charged BenCooper; we laudedourroanandreedbuck;theytheirsableandpuku;we describe'd ourtreksin detail,' but found ourachievementscappedby theirs. So we topped themwith our eland "tillthey wentone withsomethingelse.we never'departedone hair's'breadth fromthetruth! Andsoitwenton, but,of course, it appearedtherewas not much to choosebetween thereSUlts obtainedby "the rival parties. Asregardsall ordinary gamewewere fairly 'equal, and as regards the rarerspecieswemadeup for theirlioness,panther,andlion--cub,withour buffalo andkO.adao. It. was '-late by the timeweknockedout'ourpipesandturnedin 'bo "sleep after coming to an as to thedirectionsinWhich we would operate next morning.Long before dawnwewere.arousedbyalion roaringquite close tocamp.Ea kept 'i't uptillsunr-ise and',as thesound. 'camefrom'the direction inwhich Peter hadshot, hiseLand; wethree,agreed'to go togetherand see whether he"hadbeen at thecarcase.There sign or him,however,'sowe parted.compfW,Yand,bef'o'!'e long, 'Oo.operand I tf'oundthe 'bushpigIhad.woundedthedaybefore. Fe was ; severalhundredyardsaway fromand had aforeleg broken but,though weran after him 'fora mileor

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152.more,wecould not himand inallylost him Soon a:fter thisIgotaco.uple of anap-eshot.aata be hadseenusandwas ga,lloping across.our f'ront at a range of" about 'two hundred yards. The ground wasalmost free'f'rom bush,butapanther is nobigtargetat c:w-Y timeandIwastherefore not surprisedwhenbot.hmybUllets went wide. Before going to camp Ishotan orib! for 'the po.t,.andsodidnotreturnquiteso empty-handeSl asPeter ,who hadnoluckwhateveralldaylong.IntheeveningCooperandIwentout tolook for some whosespoorwe had seen. Vie:found themwithoutmuchtroubleandIwasfortunateenoughtobagtheonlymaaein the herd. He measuredatrifleover .fifteen inches, wnich isnotbad f'orNorththough,of' course,.much smalle:r thancanbe go't in o'ther partsof' .Africa.INhatwith eLandand'myoribi-,'we had now enoughmeatto lastus for aday.ortwo;wetherefore to inthe carQaseofthe impala and to lay i 1;, downnearcampinthehope ofat"tracting the who '4ad disturbed.ourslumbers. After_caref"UI1JT.,.exposing the intestines. wedragged the body for some distance and le-ftit near 'the edgeof'apromisingbitofcQver;butourenergywas wasted,f'or agroup of'hyenasfoundour'ba.i tand.,devQureditwholesale.leavingnothing 'but their spqor-behindthem. That night stirling, hav:f:ngfailed to bag his buffalo"came intocamp andt,hus broughtournumberupto a round haIr dozen.Wespentanothercheeryeveningwell worthyofthe oocasion, forif,' ,1snot oft.enthatsixwhite men f'orega"ther these. put.Landdsh parts. Onthemorning of' October 2nd; we separated, Lea.tLeand Stirling havingdecided toz-emain near theMusa for adayortwolonger,whilst-we m.ade upourminds to"gostra1gh't''to the D,iama;ra,:'Riverfor onemoretryforelephant that were-, reported .t.ebe'there. The wasnot shown onour-ma,p but to get'toit, we bad topass throughNka.,la.and Nanzelaby tbeway we had come.

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Ichose the gz-ound tothe rightof' 'thetrack andmadetheusual .Therewas lit"tle 153. game astirandIthoughtmyself'lUckywhenI agoodduiker at theend of' anhour'swalk.We took its heM, andtheboys. and Iwerepushingslowlyonwith theusual precautionswhenwesuddenlycameupon f'ive koodoobullsquietly grazing in front of'us!.Theysawusalmostassoon as wesawthem but, motionless,Truly,asCooperhadsaid: "Yourcan instead of'running away,theysimplystoodandstared.tell what koodoowilldo."Theretheywerebarely two hundr-edyards off, watohingourappr-oachandstandingneveralmostinthe open! "Itwas a prettyandinterestingsight,but t ownIfairlyitched fora shot.My little Mauser, of'thebestftiends Iever had, seemedtorise automactioallyinto the"ready"posi in myleft handI feltthebarrel, "heatedbytheStU1;in my right lay thesmall of' the andthe"brigger.guard withmy fingers playingnervously around them.ButI dared not shootfor Ialreadyhadtheonlykoodooallowedme. Day afterday Ihadsearchedinvain for thosewilyOUS-Thenone of' Onebyone 'the tomers,walking and riding :formany milesunderascorohingsun; '"timea:rt.ertime 'Ihadbeendisappointed,havingfound notbing whereallseemed fullof promise".AtlastIhad what 1:firmlybe lievedtobeamediocrehead,andhere,whenmyoneandonlychancehadpassed,stood fivefine koodoosimplyasking for abullet!Howlongwestood facing eaohotherIdonotknow,but it seemedlike"anage.thebulls swunggracefully r-ound and,with af'ewbounda,disappearedinthe thic:ket'. othersf'ollowed his exampleandina few momentsallweregone.AgainmyMauserdidhiswork of hisownacoordashe sank slowlybackinto the positioninwhiohIwaswont tocarry him. But whenILookeddownon my littlebrown friend, heseemedtolookback at me reproachfully andsay "Why didn'tyoushoot? Vlha"b a fool youwere;no "onewoul'd havebeenthewiserhad.YoU bad koodoo and let"mekillone ofthose 'big oneS." Perhapshe

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154. ,!lajl':?igh't,.putfI upand ,stif,led hisvoice ws I st.rodea.long by tuck:lng -him f,igh'tly under-my Tha"t"waat.illl:e weevezv.had a-row,'t;helit.t.leMauser andI;his detiretoshQot.was,'no.grea"te:r;'tha.p. -but.he had'to .. tPa,t.,sho,Q't he.did :he ... must. shoot "s'traight" in 88D1188It waslong after noonbythetimeIgottoNkalawhereI round Peter.and Oooperhavingfin-t.heir and me.,: On." the wayIhadmeta' native,going'backtot.rueMusa, soI him-,a. ,n.ate to_ and Leslie ;in hope thatI 'might put-themon.the traCkof'thekoodoo."they.got:-oBs,,I bubitseemed wQrt.h whileto sendthem the.news, The :bi,i ,atNkalC! _Us we le oDleshade,sunwas 'blazing relllnt,less lyand atoHe was'surnoundeuby a comple'tecirele,'-rainbow-like.' 'iri whoser,adius, with.our, --. of,at,leas'ttwenty_:_It_ an unusual,sight.and; one of'"themos't curiousnaturalphenomenaeither Peter orI Abput p...m. set,-offagain '.. and hadnotproceededmore than amile aloDg:.thewe;Mr-. and, .:Mrs.Price:
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Of oourse,westopped for aohatandgladlyacoeptedour friends' kind of the tree run oftheir 155.house,including the bath room. Thislastwas a realboonandwe rully appreciated theof our:first hot tub when,after adustydreary march" wearrivedatNanzelaabouteleveno'Clocknext nt.ng ,Bythree p.m. wewereonthemove again" bound :forShiamalaand by t"ive we had reachedourcamping-ground"neara damned-upstream onthe left bank of theNanzelariver.Itwasanuninterest-ing butPetershotacouple o:f waterbuok for thepotandIareedbuok for thesame purpase,so weturnedinoontentedWithourday's work" feelingoleanerandmore "comfY" thanwehaddone for sometime.Ournext trek was to takeusstraightintoShiamalawheretheelephan:tweresaid to be.We had sentJohannesonaheadto make enquiriesaboutthemandstrode hopefully alongexpectingtosee him oomingtowardsusat any moment. Af'ter :firstvisitingone of' deadwaterbuok,whiohhadnotbeentouched by hyena,we separatedasusual.I took the leftof theroadandverysoonsightedaherd offive wildebeest.Theapproachtothemwas easy enough, but theysuspeotedsomethingat the lastmoment and galloped off whirlingtheirtal.lsround,in their oharacteristioway,like thearmsof' awindmill.Ithoughtthegamewasup lookingsadly after themwhentheythought betterof'itand stoppedtolookback. Raisingrifle asquicklyas possible I f'iredat one the It a. longshot,but my bullettold.With anangrysnortthebUlldashed :forward a race-hor!Sefora, hundred yards ormore;thenhef'ellstonedeadandrolledoverinacloud of dust for I hadgot himrightthroughtheheart.Therest of'the herd had,of' course,gone off atonce,but,seeingtheir ,cOmpanionfall,they oircledr-oundhimLnabead of' goingrightaway. WhenI steppedout intotheopen,theysawme andSlowed up to watchtheproceedings;then,asIgotolosetotheirlate oompanion,"they

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156. Checked altogether andformed up racing me, fullor curiosity.ThedeadbUllwas lying insuchaway that Icouldnotbesurewhetherhe 'was agoodoneornot butamongstthe inquisitive quartette thatstood before metherewasonewholookedabeauty.Hestoodendon and hishornssplayedout grandly. If'eltsurehewasbetterthananyIhadyetseenand, tha' Idid reallywantanotherwildebeest,Ithought it worthwhile to haveatry for thisone.Carefully takingaim,Ifired, and struckhim full inthechest.WithamightypIungehe'rushedforwardjust the other had done, and a few seconds later alsorolledoverstonedead, a regular somersaultashe fell..I:e, too, had beenhitrightthrough theheart andwasaslifelessas the pro-verbialdoor-nailwhenI got tohim.OntakingmeasurementsI fOWld both heads weregood,soIkeptthe bet'ter anewhichtapedjust twenty-seven inches. Vlliilstthe boyswereouttinghimupIsatdowntoenjoyapipeandsoon notioedsomesmall buok of reddish-fawnoolour.They had evidentlybeen alarmed bymy shots, but, though theyoanteredaway for somedistanoe,theydidnotgo far andIwatchedthemwith the nakedeye,takingthem for reedbuok. Af't.er awhile they stoppedaltogether,soIbroughtmyglassestobearonthemand,coming tothe oonclusion.they must beimpala,Idecidedtogo after themlaterOD.ThisIdid,and, aneasy sta+k, I managed to.hittheonlymale amongstthem.Hewentoff badlywounded,butIran aLterhimand dr-oppedhimwitha second pulletand found tomy surpris.e( Ihadshotapuku. hornswerenotremarkably inches)buttheywere thickandsoregularinshapethatthey f':I:ll1y madeup fortheir want oflength. Well withmymorning'sbag of twowildebeestandonepukuInowmadestraight for new campat Sherenkeandreacheditaboutnoon.PeterandCooper had not soIa;teo.urlunoh'inSOlitUde, mademyself as comfortable aspossible,lit my pipe and settled down with a book.I

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-expect.edtheothers atany moment, but whentea-timehadpassedandstilltherewasnosign or themI began to :fear thatsomethinghadhappenedandthought of'going out to Look f"orthem incasethey hadfollowed thewrongtrack.Buttheboysassuredme that a mistakeofthatsort was -impossible,for therewasnoother kraalof importance for manymilesround.I dismissed myrearsand setoutin questof' someimpala thatwerelmown'to be Forsome time I failedtof'ind a signanything, but,onapproachingtheriver,I spotteda solitarj[impa,ia, obviously qent ontakinghiseveningdrink.Theboyshad not, seen him "at all and,asthegroundwas tooopen for a numberof mentomoveunobserved,Imadethemiiedown flat andpursued 'the gamealone.The s_ta.l-kthat:followed wasone of'tlhe mostinteresting -: experiencedduringthewhol&of ourshoot and Iwaswellsatisf'iedwhen it endedinmy gettinga goodheadwith sixteenand.. a half inche-s of' horns.157. Meanwhile Peterhad brought toa atrulywretchedanddisappointingday. Earl.y in thestory morninghewounded et puku with asolidbullet thatwent cleanthrough doinglittle or-no damage and,thoughhefOllowedthe animaJf'or severalmileshecould not bring itto bag.Thenhewounded: awater'buckwith thesameresult and finally gotback to camp dead-beatand weary with nothing to show for his arduouslabours andnotlling "tote 11 but, a taleof' woe relieveci, however,'-by an amusing against himself.Peter, J..ike-the" rest of'us,bad beenon short commons of" late,and luxuries hadbeen few indeedsince ohanWagi.J.e and tinned plum-puddinghadcheeredour hearts thenightweshot our buffalo.True, we' had had.aomegood squaremeals at 11fr.Smith's" anda;tNanzela,but they wereplain meals,not.rancy ones, and1'i 11ingrather than"dainty. So whenmy galla.l1.t comrade,walkingthrough "thebuah,espied a"bee-hivesomewhere"ina tree-,it wasno ma"tterorsurprisethat heshOUldsmackhislips and thoughts of" honey.He _sat him

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plan;It wasasimple:down tohat,ch aplotand,havinghatched it, .rose 'toputit inexecutdon,a directfrontalattack wastoprecedeaboldassault by open force. Now, f'ortune f'avours the brave,at 'times, andshe favoured my friend; onthieoccasion.He dr-ovehomethe at'tackwith vigour,and discovere-d with joy, thatthe major partof''thehostile swarm.wasonaforay,raiding f'ar andwide, the' f'astnessi'tself washeld butfeebly byamere fractionof' enemy.Thesehedispersed, .of' course, then seizedthespoilsand themoff' in 'triumph, intendingtoeat them inpeace andsa:rety. Butplatestherewerenot,spoonsweremilesaway,thoughasmall penlmifeand his fingers --thesehehadandwiththemhebegantostowawayhisprize.Theywerenotall,however, f'or hehada beard besides,anda as well that curled a.1J.put htaupperlip.Bothhadbeen with him from our earliest march;themoustache,apleasing bitof'well-Drimmed andcared for; thatrivalledmine, Iwould notadmitit; the beard, a healthyI?,lant,,:that grewandbuddedastheweekspassedby,thoughCoopercalledit"pat.chv";These things, IwaywerePeter's,but,such is'thethoughtlessnessof man,that,onceremoved from drawingroomsand he quitef'orgot the:fact o:f theirexistence.Thisignominious wasre but,sincetheycouldnotgive to theirviews,they kept theirpeaceandwaited somehappychanceshOUld them theirpresence felt. Theywaitedlongin vain, butin the -end the chancedidcome. Theytook it andthehoney too,for eachtimePeter'sfingersraised a'tasty morselto_hislips,theygrabbed theirshare" andstuckto it likemen. Noto!l:lythat,fthe individual members_of each growth, Withtrue and generosity, passed onto otherswhat theydidnot want themse.lves;andsoeach. singlegreat or small, livingnomatterwherebeneaththechin orback below theear, received his quota ofthe totalspoils..Thusallwererenderedhappy andgriev norcould and master seeacausewhy'they not.if so divide wealth in socialistic :fashion.

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But 'therewere otherswhohelddif'rerentviewsandcould notbear"to see mousta.che andbeard159.enjoying'alltheluxuries oflife whilst they themselveshad nothing. "Flies" they were "named,'these monsters, who, like l:uns, swoopeddown to rob unsuspecting of theirprey, in swarms advanced toofferbattle.came the soouts, 'a trif'11ng orso, then lines ofskirmishers aidedbysupports, 'thenstronger linea, thenstronger stillandlast of' all the-'se:r:Tiedrankso-r 'battalions,Who,insolidphalanx, drove theonslaughthome.Beardand mous1Jachethrew upthespongeatonce and criedaloudf'orhelp totheirforgetfulmaster;against such f'oroesthey could not stand alone andtheywouldmore than readilyforgiveall pastinjustice andneglect if' onlyhe.. woUld cometotheirassis'tance. Hecame, and forawhilehe f'oughtagainst longoddsWith hand andhatandhandkerchief'combined; but allin'vain, the onrush wastoogrea,t so 'the only.hoperemainedin flight.Soflee hedid t,wosolid'miles throughheatand. dust,through bushand veldt until hefound theriver. Eere hehadawash--a most prosaic wash one 'that saved hia honour,.turned.the 't-1de o"fbat1j:l"e and, attlle last-moment,snatched tihepa1l1l. of'viotory :from pursuers.The daya.t"'terthissticky adventure withthe flies.,weremained' at Sherenkain the hopeof' getting1mpala.Petersl+ot one,andI wotmdedanotherbutlosti"taf"terrollowingi"ts blood-spoorf'oraconsiderabledistanoe. The morning, October was 'dull Thick grey cloudsdbscured "the sunaswe marchedoutof' campnot sorry 'to seethe lastof'the place where we had beenso 'terriblypesteredwi'thtsetse. They vfoXTiE!d usdayand Iiights"tinging"6ur handa, arms,and andpenetratingour Clothes'thoughthey hadbeen niade of' cobwebs. ",Wefor Diamaraand,as "there wasrioteven the f'aintest traCK toguideus, we wereledby .. ;o:e. kraal-boys s'braight through Lthe"bush forthe greaterpartof'theW-ay. Cooper and

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160.Iwalked at thehead o:eto,2hootjustwhat we-could without,leavingourroute, WhilstPeter, who wantedanothertook-a line of" hisownand started about,a quarter of' an hour !' ,.Viedid. We.hadnof gone', muchmore 'thana milewhenacouple of' z-eedbuck,anoriM, and a male impala spra..ngup rightin fi"ont"of' US..They _"wen'toff in differen't direc.tions,but, as theystqpped verysoon,.OooperandIdecided tostalk theimpala. we:r.-e-Metting onwellandall'seemedf'avourablewhensuddenlyawretchedblackdog, thathad.at'tacheditse.;tr'to our carriers.a'tNanzela,'bralre loose from theboyordered to lead it and in hot pursuit oT'the reedbuck.Th1s upse't theimpa1awho atonoe galloped off andjoineda hitherto unobservedherdof'hisown species oloseby.I a.long shotat ashe away,and missed, butsti1.l, neither .the particularwe northeherd in generalseemed at .all alarmed, sowe rollowed againin the hope ofgettinganotherchance. Ju.st then,thedog,having quitted reedbuck, saW theherd, madeforit,and,qf'cEU!'se, drove i.toffaltogether.Iurious_with!rhe dog,Cooperand stiOPPIt4&fltl" inimpotent rage,wat,ched thebuckas 'theygal': Loped away;"thenwelookedroundandtooursurprisesawPeter,likewise fur1'ous,emerging'-fromthe drybed of a stream tous. followedrrom these it became evident Peterhadall been stalking the erd:fr9m-anothel? quarter andwhen, ourbuck j01nedit,.-itwas'com-ing nearer and nearertohim. andwas in fact almostwithineasyrange. Thenthat 'bruteof'adog madeitaand .spoilednot but hisaswell and.thUsdeprivedhim"of his lastchwlceorgettipg.a secondimpa1a Sherenke. The whole af'fair pur-e anotherexampleof the many slipsttwixtcup and lip' the hunter hasto put upwith; 'but Ihaverelatedthis .1ncid:ent indetail riotwith's,view-to oncemorebewailing misfortune, ratherto out that thisWasthe onlyoccasion duringthe whole of our-shootonwhichwe inter:f.ered. with.eachother 's sporti Looked atfi'nmthis-standpoin'bt'think the

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pccurrenceis worthremembering becausesomanypeopleconafdezmen oannot hunfincLoae161.proximi tyto one another. For otherpartsof'thew.orldthis maybe,and veryo:f"tkn is, peri"ec"tlytrue,but in NorthWestitcer"tainlydoesnot holdgood,providedsome sortof understanding'iscome tobefore thehunterssetout for their work. Somewhat upsetbytheblackdog fiasco wetrudged"ontoapanninemilesawayand haltedfor mid-day. After lunchwecontinuedour march upthe bedof the Diamara, a mere depression, dry everybutfora'few poolshere and there.he was againworthlessasatrophy Beforewe reachedour des"tination Ishota war"t-hog,but ..Onarrivalatthecamping-groundweround "thetentpitchedandeverything inreadiness for ourreceptionbut, as a' fewhours'dayligh"t stillremained,Cooperand'!decided to pushonbeyondo amp ,toseewhatwecouldget beforenigh"tfall. Wewerenowintypicalcountry for sableand "therefore,. thoughwehadseen none of'these .. handsomeantelopeabout,we our-eyeswell skimled moved with the utmost caution.Weweresoon forCoopercheckedsuddenlyin f'rontof metopointat a fineblackbUll half concealedbythebushnotmorethanahundredand fiftyyardsaWa. He wasnotstandingwell for ashot, however, secondshot.sowetriedto get o Loser-,buthesawusandgalloped off'before I couf.d direct. a-bead.Now,-a .sable disturbedLnthisway,oreven after beingf'ired,'at,rarelygoesfar,and, if'care is taken, itis no't, asarule,dif:ficultto :follow.him up a.:E.d get'close enough'for aBearingthisinmind we traoked theone wehadseenandtwice got aview of' himstand-ing butIcouldnot rire on either occasion and" soa rurtherat"tempt'had to'bemade.We madet .f'0w:d ourbull for the fourth time of' asking;hewas standing still a range of'enshundr-ed -and f'i-f'tyya:r;ds endonand offering meaperfeotchance at his jet biack,'neck.Iwas downbehindaloWant-heapina jif'f'Y, took careful aim and pressed thetrigger. A sharp snap tol-

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162.'lowedbutno and .:ror an instant"that horrible "thoughtmethat,'for onceinhis life.,my 11 tt1.ebrown.p'C?-ltheMauser haddone'medown. ridge, said r, hastilywithdrawingthe.bolt. No, thatwas impossible;i"tmust beade:fective oart ...; Bu"t nothingwas ejected,andsothe rim of the cartridgeor "the extractorseemedat raul"t."the workmanIpromptly my"toolsand neverdreamed :for amoraent, tr.et I migh"t betheguilty party. PuzzledbeyondmeasureI-now loOked into "thechamber andthen,and nottillthen, didthe "truth becomeevident.I had hadno cartri-dge in the phamber a"t alland hadbeen stalkingthesable :ror amileormorewithanemptybarrel!How it,happe:i.i.ed Icouldnottell,nordoIknownow. X had "fired severalrapidshots-atthe wart-hogld:-lledin'tbea.:rternoon andhad to "the -end of mymagazLnein-the -process; I,badthen re-loaded hurriedlY.a.nd,asIthought, :rorced one.r-oundup" in"tothechamber.But somethinghadgonewrong;"I'hadeithernotdrawntheboltback f'ar enoughandthuscausedit toslide over the top of'the uppermost cartridge withoutpressing it. home,-orelseIhaddroppedacartridgealtogether and60put inone less thanI Lmagd.ned ,Thisappearedmost probable, :forone of the'boys hadfOW1d. oneonthe when werana:fter -thepigandhadreturned it tome.However,the harm. wasdone; the'sable was off'before IcouIdLoadaga.in;darknesswasclosingin-and Iwasobligedtogohome'and takeallthe h lameuponmyse If, andmyse If" 'alone.s: Andmyself I did'with a Neverberore hadIbeen gUiltyof' euch' unpardom. able.carelessness; rarely,if.ever',bad I thrown awaye.-ohance such culpableneglect. ForonceI had'forgotten-the :firstmaxim of'thehWlter,impressed uponmebymy:rather many yearsago when he f'irst me-t.oshoot 'with anair-gun: "'"{men youhave' wotindedgattle," hewould"Never, on any account.,moveontopursue itbef'ore .vou ha ..vecarefullyre-loadedyour-weapon-." "Andcarefully Lndeedhad Imany.h.ul)d:redsoftimeswhen those words' came back"tome, and thoroughlyweil.1t, had again.-and to'do.ao,To-dayI had.f'orgotten my-maxfm and'hadlO'st inconsequenceone

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of'the'trophies Imost .highly prized.All through ourshootIhad,tillthen,seenonlyonesingle163. good sable;Ihadkilledhimcertainly,.butIsorelywantedanother.Nowwewerenear "the end of ourjourney;nineweekshadpassed with butonesabletomycredit;was it likely 'that"theten'th andlastwouldbringmemysecond?Suchweremytroubled "tpoughts asI stumbled homethrough thedarkness,rollowing Coopermech-anically. wasasmuchdistressedasIwasandscarcelyawordpassedbetweenUB 'till'the tentwasreached.Therewe round Peterwhohadalsobeenin difficulty"though not,likeme,through any fault of hisown.Hehadbeen a:ftersable"tooand had followed andlostabUllalthoughhehadhithimtwiceandbrokenone :of his'legs.Our net results ror thedaywere tl:1er'efore nothing "to beproud of, but :from allwehadseen it wasobvious that therewereplenty of about.Wethereforedecided "to tryourluckagainin-stead of' marchingnexfmoz-nfng ,PeterandCooper wentofftogether 'and-beganby' looking for thesablewoundedthepreviousevening. vYh!lst so engaged theycameacrossthreehartebeestandsomezebra.Ashotfired at oneof'thef'ormermiss.editsmark, butput upasable that promptlyjoined a herd of sevenothers.--allbulls--grazingclose at hand.'Forsometimeitwasimpossible toap proachowing tothe ground,but after a theherdmoved 'towards cover gave Pe'terchance.He got to withineightyyards,pickedoufagoodbUlland hit him, wi'thout, however,bringinghimdow;n.Astheherdmoved offPeter firedseveralmoreshotsandsucceede4, after a short pursuit,indroppinghisbulldead;hemeasured forty-two and three-quar'ter inches.Thesearch f'or thesable wOWlded theday bef'ore wasthen taken up agail1-and,af"terabout'twen tymfnur.es careful spooringinlong thebUll sprang tohis feetjust .Ln fi'ontofCo0err,who fired andbrokeanother of hislegs.and f'oW1.d hemeasured 43Q. inches.8A few momentslaterPetercameup,-gavehim jlms coupde grace

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164.generouslywasIAll this -timeso tookcompassiononmeandproposed that Coopershouldgowi tnme:i.il'the eveningwhilsthe wentoffto look for someimpalahehadseensomemiles fromcamp. Igladly acceptedtheoffer and about now tl:lree sable--all bet"terthan myone-nexttonothing andnever firing ashot. At lunchwediscussedthesituation.Peterhada wretched morning, formdles,aeeing AWoundedSable four p.m.dulysallied forth withourhunter. Afewofthe boysoame 'too andthewholelot of ustogether out oroamp justas though wewere offfor' apie-nic, forit seemedabsurd to-, begin walking on tip-toethemoment we tioorof. ourtent; were not, asarule,in thehabitof roundtotake afternoontea-with us.still,on this particularoccasiononeanimal not didso farforgot"aii ordinaryconvent10nalitiesastogoverynearpayingusavisit. -actualiy come andahare our tea,but'he tookhisownasnearusashedecentlycould. Viehadriotgone twohundr-ed andwerehardlybeyondthesmell of' the whenweallstoppeddeadwithoneaccordand inamazement without aword.There,barely hundred yaras'away, was ahugeblack sablebUllwalkingrightoutintheopen toward.s a poolfor,hLSevening drinkIThere was notavestige ofoover betweenusand, lad helookedourway __ hemust l1a.ve seen every' one or; us just asplainlyaswesawhim.We cOllld hard-lybelieveoureyes;buttherewasnomistakeaboutit,and therefore the rirst thing to-do wasto

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reg.uce our partyto the lowest. possiblelimitsbystowing away theboysasbestwecould. This done,CooperandIbegan tostalk,and atoughbit of work it wastoo.Thesunwas still highin the heavenswhenwemoved off': therewas not asquareinch ofshadeanYwhere andnocoverwhateverbetween'usandour quarrybut alowant-heapnotmore than two feet high wi"th a scraggybushonthetopof" it. Carefully,keepingthis between usandthesable,wecrawled.alongonour andkneesinsinglef"ile,Cooperleading.'Wegotto the ant-heap served,butonlyto findtha"t thebUllhadgonestraighton. His pacewas quiteasfas"t asours, 1W wasjustas far awayas before andwasmakingstraightf"oranalmostimperceptibleriseaquarter ofa mile. orso ahead. Anymovebeforehe.hadtopped "this wouldhavebeen f'atal, sowe lay downandwaited patiently;At lasthedisappeared beyond"the tinyswelland,ashedidso,onwewentagain to reach orest.Iot wasaterriblecrawl, the heat andthemuscular strainQombined werealmost unbearable.Of' course,Ihad "to bringmy rifle along "too andhadbesides to keep itcarefullyout',of thedust.Thisdidnot makematters easier,andthe sortofthree-leggedshufflethatresulted,though probably hign.ly amusingto watch,was not particularly f"tuUlyfrom mypoint of' view. It seemedasthough that quar ter milewouldnevercome to anendand,when atit did,we thebUllwithjustasgoodaleadaseverandquietly asJleaaunter-edalong. was.nowapproachingsometrees and ant heaps and if' hewouldonlygoon in"the rightdfreotion,wemightgetachance.Butourfriend.wasinnohurry whatever,be'bhe .gr-ound bet,ween.h1mand us wasabqpen so "there wasnothingf'or itbut tocall another haltandawaitdevelopments.Ournineweeks'trekhadmademe pret'tyf'it, butI was rarelymoreglad of ahal tthan Iwas of'this one.Ididmy bestto easemy stiff and weary limbs,whilsttheperspirationf'airly drippednay,trickled -off myforehead,nose,andbeard.Howlongwelaythere,'goodnessonly knows! .

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,166.,It mayhave been five nrtmrtea,itmayhavebeen ten,but long enough it wasfor .me to leave my hallmarkon thesand, aneatlittleovalpuddle,thesize of' asaucer,beneath. thespotwhere my f'acehadbeen.All the whilewecarefullywatohedthesable,nothingbutour-eyes andthe topsof'our hatssp.owing wherewelaymotionlessbehind therise. had leisure too to take stock of' and '"to oomparehim with those numbered. in, ourbag. 'How bighewas we couldnottell, but hisbody ..was coal-black,andhismightyhorns swept roundingraoeful curves andalmosttouohedhisspinewheneverberaised hisheadtosee if' allwassafe. Par atimehe :remained almoststationary, then hewentonagain,and to ourjoy, 'burnedatrightangles making.straight forthe coverwehadhoped seek.Instead of'being obliged tofollow sloWlyinhis wake, wecouldnowmove parallel tohisline of advance, sowere'better able to choose ourowntimeandpace.In fact, strategicallyspeaking,he hadunwif,tingly.given uptheinitiative tous, andwewere quick toseizeit.'-Keepingjust under-cover of' therise we moved a.Longabreast of himinsucha'way that pursuers andpursued simultaneously thelessopenground that markedtheSlld or our.passiveoperations.ThestalktocloserQuarterswas begwl in,.earnest,andin less. thantenminuteswewerelyinglowbehind an ant-heaponly a hundred fifty yards from another that concealedthe sablefrom ourview. How longhe remainooncealed to 'tell, but it seemedcertain that hemust showhimself on eithe1." onesideorthe o'ther before manyminutes wereover.Butwewaitedinvainandnothing tillthe t,hought us hemight again bemovingin a straightline. It'this wereso,heWOUld, of' course,.oontinue.to receive-protectionfrom theant-heap till he was so far awayasto,be c,?mPletely 'beyond range. We determinedtoleaveour own cover-andto
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however,hadwe si"Jeppedout Lnbo the openwhen t ,he sable,evidently suspecting some thing, dashed out frombehindhis rampart andgallopedaway "to "therigh'tstraight acrossour front.r atoncelevelledmy rifle andwasonthe pointoffiring when pooper whisperedhurriedly:"Don't shoot yet,he ia going to stop."Itseemeda strange remark,but some'thing. intheanfmal t agait 8Pe&%'t!'d: to have betrayed his intention to thehurrtej-"spractisedeye.SoIwai tied 'and,sureenough, af''ter ascore or boundsthebUlldidstop,at.ood stock st.illand s'taredfullat, us I Nowwasmy chance,bu'ttherewas notimetolose;in aninstant, hewouldberOWld andoff likea flash. Iwas standingbol'tuprigh't andsowashe;the 'ground between uswas as flat andasopenasatelUlis-court,the distanoe onlyahundred alld twentyyards.Thesituation absurdandcouldnotlast byanychanoe.Steadyingmyself asbestI COUld, Itook.myaimanddrewmybead with'thegreatreatcare.There wasacrack,and f'or asecondormore :thegrea.t blacksablereeledandse.emedaboutto fit.ll.Then he himself and,dazedandhalf-stunnedashewas,camestraighttowardsus.I fired againandmissed,buttheshotbroughthimto his senses;it himandhedashedaway. But,notforlong, mynext; shot struckhimfullontheroot of the "tail, touchedhisspinalcoLumnanddroppedhimdead. Great wasthejoy of" Cooper,andgreater still wasmine,when wegot up 'to ourtrOPhyand f'oundhe was indeedabeauty. 1 : is bodywasenormousand must haveweighed half" asmuohagainaa anyof' t.heotherswehadkilled;hiscoatwasasblackasooal,andhis magnj.:f1centhornsfar sur-pa.asedallwehadeverse.en ol' thekind,either alive, ordead.Itwas 1.U1fortunatethat wehadnotape With us;.hisgirth, hia heightat "the wither,and othermeaaurement.awould.havebeen in"teres'tirig'to record,but,as ;Lt wa.s, we bad toccnterrtourselveswith rou.ghly meaaur-Lngthehornsalone.We estimatedthem atnothingless than:forty-eight Whentheboyscameupwetookthe head and ;leaving the oaroase out f"or lion.Thenweturned homewards andon f'1ndip.gPeter;. whohadthe 'tape, was. nof ye't backwesettled downto'tea 167.

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168. andpipes, expeoting momerrb, but,the :timepassedbyand there'-was;n-o'sign;'set inand st.'ill hedi'd not come.So we''t,ook 'our' "gunsand,every nowandthen,'would fireshot.sfrom'bo"th-at onoe.Foralongwhile even-"bI1.lshad no. effect.and it well af"terea.ght. 0'clock '-beforewegot. ananswe'r-,'By eight-thirty'Peter:was in, tihe'tape wasproduced,and, withthea:i.dat:lamps,thesabLe hornswere carefully meaaured,The lefione, .. camEi to f"or;.ty-nine'and seven-eighthsinches and the right one 'toexactly.fifty. Wehadno 'bookof records'withus,sowewere 1.U1a'ble :totell eXactlywhere my trophy wouldbeplaced, bu-t we knew.it mus:t f'ifih or sixth on the listcompiledbyMr.Rowland Ward At d.innert.hatnightwe were a cheery partyandoncemoreOrpached.oUr' tinnedplum-puddingsand Three sable werenot bad bag f'orasingleday,and Peter got', '&11 '1ln;pala Hehad f'oW1d't.he herdhewent after and'woundedone of'tThe'ma.le'slate in the everrtng,.Thebuckwent off,however,andMY Big'Sa'ble. hadto betrackedalongavery dif'f'icultJ bloodlessapooz-,,;Time atter'time itwascrossed byot.hera.J.02tfpra. while a.n.dfound,-again;tJheni'twas-completelyobliterated, andcasting routldhad to be resorted tO,tillityasstruckafresh.-':A"t one particularjuncturef"orty-:rive"minutesspent'tin trackingadistance of only two hundredyards.ButPeter stuck to it. with characteristic de terminatipn in tb.e end was well rewarded'for'hispains. On 'the"evening of' October8'th,we oorrtd.nued ourway"toChungu,marchingabout':ninemiles E.

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to a fair-sized poolin the bed theDiamara"River.Cooper:and I were'together,andW"e160. visiting"the SpDt wheremysablehad-fallen.But therec wasno traceof" him left,:for hyenahad,asusual,madeacleansweep of everyparticle of skin,flesh, and bone.Thenwewentonandsawseveral mOFe.sable, -but 1?heywere alongway off, and,as'wenowhadpleii:ty of''theirparticular speoies,we left theminpeace.Wereachedcamp,atnoon withoutfiring a shot andhavingseen tIe of interest beyond alot of'buffalo andelephantspOoramonthorsoold.TheeLephanf.:spoorwasneara smal"! pan that hadevidentlydriedupbut rec-ent1y and,thoughtheelephantsthemselvesandallothergame gone;theyhadbeen enoughtoleave their pals,the tsetseAtone momentIcourrtedthirtyonCooper'sbackashewalkedalongin front,of me, andflies, behind.distraction.Theplacewas simply alive with thesepests,andtheirstingsalmost drove ustomyown'back,neok, and facewere 'bitt,ento suchan extent that, in spiteofthe terrlblt!hea't, Ihadto putolfmy coat mu.N'le myheadina handkerchief'to keepthem off. During 'theaf'ternoon' CooperandI waited in vainfor Peter, and when,by fouro"clook"-he had not wesentoutsix of the'boys tofindhis spoorandbring bim in. At thesamehourwe wentofftoshoot;but we got nothing areedbuck far'thepot and returned'to campearlyinorder to avoidadrenching from a threa;teningthUIiderstorm. Onarrivalwe learned'bha;b Peter'sgurr-boy JJhn hadbeenin and thathehad left againa few'.IIi.iIiutes before.He toldPrank,'the cook, that Peter,whowasalong wa.yoft',hadsenthim'bo look forthe carriers' he11..ad.foundi"H but,instead of'going straight.back withhis information,.he misunders'tood hisorderandcameonLnt,o camp.Prank, verywisely,gave John some 'food anddrink forPeter andhisparty,and atoncepundled him ,off again..Inthe meanwhile Peterwasadopting thewisest. possiblecourse;he remainedwhere he was and Waited patiently for .Jchn, But when, af"ter twohoursanda half,thatgen'tleman did not' pufinan

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170. Peterupfortunately madean attempth%mself to findthecarriers' spoor withthe aid ofthepoyswi'th him. walkedtillsevenp.m.,whenhe gaveit upanddecided to spend thenight inadrywate.r-hole.Hehadneither coat norcovering. ofany kind,norwasthere anyfoodlef"t exoepta ooupleof verydiminutive biscuits, a few sticks of andsomeLazenby Thelastnamed had,for somereasonorother,beenstowedawayinanoddbox tha'tformed theload of oneof' thecanriers; thiscarrier himself lost his way,butluckilymanagedto stumble across Peter andhiscrew and thusdepositedhispreciousload.justwhereit was mosturgentlyrequired.About eight-thirty asmallpuddlewas found, astewwaspromptlybrewed, the chocolate was dishedupasdessertandthenPeter settled downinhiswater-holeand,withtheaid of' .a fire, madehimself ascomfortableas circumstances permitted. thistime Cooper andI weregetting abitanxious,norwereour fears allayedwhen the sixboysreturnedlong after darktosay that notrace of' thepartycouldbediscovered. Eoweverj weknewthat John, --probablyour.most skilfultracker -hadgone back,sowewaited patiently firing offsig!1al shotseverynowand,again.Butthenightwore onandstill therewas nosign of' Peter.Yetnothingcouldbedone;evenaherd of elephantscould scarcely havebeen tracked onsucha night,and weknew that, -whereverourcompanion'm1ght havegot to,he must havecalledahaltwhendarkness. fell. We gaveup Qur andturnedin till dawnwhenCooperhimself' setout to follow John'strack,.hoping, in,thisway,finallyto reachthe spot wherePeterhad last beenseen. It was ca."'less search, of"course,.f'or marched for manyhours at'ter John's :rat"lure toreturn to_hiID,.;-and.at dawnhe quit,t,ed hisready-made inthewater-hole andwent -on againto renewhissearch forthe carriers'spoor.Thusthree parties werenowoneachother's andthe carriers' track,and if'we sent out,any more therewouldaoonbenobody leftat headquarters at all.SoI Iwasandsimply pattered roundin with justasgooda chanoe

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of".running intotheabsenteesasanybodyelse.ButIsawnoone,nordid I'ftl1d anything" ofinterest beyond theof anelephantkilledbynatives,anda cbameleon-theonlyoneIhad ever-met withoutsidea Zoo. It was elevena.m. when,after aweary march,Peter atlastsolvedtheproblemf"orhim'selfbyfindingthetrack of thecarriers after all,andhewasinbyhalf-pasttwelvehaving atfleast 171.thirty-fivemilessinceourpartingat the sable-killonly thirty hours before. Cooper didnrrbreturntill four o'clock; he hadbeenonPeter'sspoor formany hours-and had, in fact, followedhistracksrightinto camp. John toowas verylate. But, "All'swell that ends-well,"fornoone was the worsefor theadventure and"thoughPeter hadthemisfortWletomissatiger-catinthecourse of hisperegrinationshesoon forgot,his troublesin the depths .ora.profound slumber.Theincident ended astamelyas couid have-beendesired,andI have relatedit ay length-onlybecause it servedoncemoretosupport an opinion already inthese 'pages,viz.,that thenovicelostinthebushshouldnot-stir f'romthespotwhel'e hiscompanionslastknewhimtobe. If heisaccompaniedby natives, asPeterwas,thecaseassumesa different as-pectandmovementbecomespermissible,provided, however,that thesaid natives areknown to "begoodtrackers;i:fthereistheleastdoubtaboutthis,movementbecomesriskyand itis'bet'ter toremainstationaryeven for manyhourstogether.AtsunriseonOctoberlOthwe started ina north-easterly direction for Mabomba;theplacewasaboutelevenmilesaway and hadalreadyservedas our camping-groWldonSeptember25th.-Be foremakingforthedireot, track,however,wewent off alongthe river-bankfor acouple of miles to visitaspotwhereI had shot a reedbuckandacowelandthenight before. The eland: wasone of' aherd of atleastahWldred.Theygavemealong,tryingstalkandIthought I haddonequitea"'big 'thing" whenIat last found myself withineasy rangeof what like a fine bUll.A shotthrQughboth

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172.shouldersdropped myquarry dead, and Irantriumphantly.towards it only tofind Ihadshotanenormous COW._Atfirst Icould not imaginehowIhad made sucha-mistake at so short arange, but closerinvestigationshowed that someexcuse atleast existed.Thecowwasverybigin-body and so slate-greyin colourthathercoatstronglyresembled thatof' abull evenwhen examined at a few yards'distance.;herhorns,thoughthin,werelong,andbetweenthem at theirbasewasafairly 'thicktuftof" blackhair. T1).is it'was,I 'think, thatdeceivedme most forIwas not, aware 'thatfemale elandever the tuft atall,norhadCooperever seen aspecimen of'the kind.However,ourvisitto the carcaseprovedabortive,notevenajackalhadbeennear,sowemade for the Chungu track at onceandtrampedalong to anunnamed pan. wherewestopped tohold ourmid-day siesta. wepushedonagain and just before duskpitchedour tent outsidea kraal SaIDesevenmilesshort ofChWlgt1. OnthewayIshota du:l.ker and.sawa -bUllsable,but, ,:&'8 thehorns of thelatterwerecertainlynotmorethanthirty-sixinches,I left himalone.On October11th,wedidthelast shortto Chunguwherewerejoinedourwagon and. paid off'the carriers. Therewaelittle gamealong the road and neither of usgot anything, althoughI woundedaduikerandlost it in-high grass.Itare-iief"to feelourponies -under usoncemore wb.en we-beganourmaroh 'to Kalomo, at two0'clockin theafiernoon."Ne hadcome tothelast phase of' ouz-. 'trek, and wehad to dowas the main trade-routedown 'totbe railway-line roadwas adUlloneLoading NptheLast,Mgrni;M

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andtJ1-e.game along itpractic.a11y nil;in fact"from the moment we left,Chungu wesaw nothing more wor-thhaving, and a.ll we. shot between uswas oneroan and."two duikerf"orthe pot,. Thustheadvd.cenotto start.tram Ka.Lomo,givenus.someweeksbeforewe quittedPotchefstroom., provedwellworthfollowing,.and!oan recommendothersto gofurther up the line 'towards Broken Ili11ifthey: wishtoavoidmuchwaste of"-time and 'q.1sappain'tment duringtheir first marohes.Thereis, Qf course, a certainamount of" game st.i!.lleft aboutKalomo, butit isvery diffioult. to find and shyf"or obviousreasons.Kalomousedtobethe headquartersof" theGovernmentand,thoughit hars long Qeen givenupon grounds"a number of trade-roadsstillconverge it.Alongandbetween theseroadsshooting had ta-leen place :foryears,wi;th the 'naturalresulttha;t ... tha-:-J:!a.rer--specias beenkilledor scared away,whilst the common are butPoor or hornand just as outeas'the proverbial OnTuesday,the ;I.2th, wedidnineteenmilestoPick-holescamp;the 13'th sawusonthe-; banksof River,andbynoon opOctober 14thwe outspannedforthe lasttimeatKalomoproper. Itis notaprepossessing spotand,as weappr-oached it our windingtrack, wecouldnot:fail 'to notioe tromafarthehavocwrought bydire disease inthedays of" KaLomo"s "greatness". .The inanyempty houses, unroored andtumbled-down,doorless,windowles's,andsurrounded bybroad belts of weeds--gardensof'bygonedays--showedonlytoo clearly whereoncemenwerewonttolive, but where 'they lived no more. It. was. amelancholy sightla spec't,acle to make menaadandset them thinking.Herein theearly' days been assembled.thoseof'tHat brave,undaunted tyPeso rarely known, sorarely evenhe.ardof,bY,'the,.folkat home. Here'bhey hadmanned anou'tpos't of'the Empire Jherethey l1.ad laid the.f'irst.f'ounda"ti011:_stones, here theyhad.worked and slavedand 'toiledtill scourge.and sicknesscut,the"m down andf"i11e.dthegravest,hat-'lay oneveryside. -Here theyhad fought likesoldiers -in 173.

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174. "thefore-frontor abattle,and yetthey were notsoldiersmostof'Traders, prospec'tors,clerks,andcivilservants, m.enof' ill fame andgood,failuresin other walks life, your rolling stones,your,rovers;men of':g,igh birth andmeans, men of thepeople;menofevery age; some with greatbrains,manymore without; some withhigh principlesandsome with none, yet possessed of courage that, at.onedahundr-edtimes for everyviceand magnified a hWldredf'old eachsinglevirtue. Here",at onlyKalomo,theyhadfoughtand fought'till, decimatedbydisease, re'treat remained their oneandchoice. ,Retreat did,but nnt for long; theytookame.rest.epbackwardsfora 'bette:t! spring and reoUlerpour mieUrb sauterbeoame "their motrto,.Theywe'nt to Livingstoneand therebeganthe work afresh. Theysentthe 'traderwi"th hiswagon tt)travel :farandwide from kraaltokraa1;, 'theycut himtracks to helphim through thebush, and calledthem"roads",forwhat is ina name? Along 1Jhese roadsthey:builtuphomest.eads still;c theycalledupartisansand andof theirsettlement madeatown.Theyraised f'ine-bUildings, openedshopsand markets,they laidout gardens, and 'theythey tilled 'the 80il;they minesandbroughttherailwayup :from Buluwayo, 'then pushed itfar beyong'to BrokenHi11. Meanwhile'their men of" learning deal't withlawandnatives,sending to-,dlistatltpar'tspoliee, commissioners"and o'thers'to oreateorderoutof'chaosand giver men ,. justioeWhere 'there had beenn9ne.Thusby degrees,andstepby step, they carried ontheirworkof'empire-building,and thustheystill it 'to-day; itis nothalf"completed, in fact,it is morethan justbegun, norwill 'there ever,comea whentheycanfold 'their hands and Say nIt's done". Thereis no end "to civiliz nortothe "sacrifices theyentail;even atLivingstone the,yearlydeath-roll'''is "no smallone,andisthereone amt)ngst us could' quote theworthingold of all theeffort andthe energy expendedbythosewhobearthe -heatand bur-den of"tb,e day?They'areour empire-builders andalthough,

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likemost us,they'reworking and foremostfor themselves,there arethemmany who,withscarceathought of purely selfish gain,stick to their to servetheir King andCountryandlabour for thegreatness of theirrace.-.And of' theothers,promptedby Jiloble-mptives, wemustbearthisinmind,thattheyatleast possef3s theplucktogoabroadand "righttowork", to1i...k theirfortunesand"todoordie",insteadof'joining,astheyquitewell could"the unemployed or unemployableathome. Our first goalat Kalomo wasthePost Offioe wherewecalledforour whilstthe-wagon onto oamp attherailway-station.Wehad, of' oourse,got.af'ewlettersduringourtrek, butmany more had missedusormisoarriedtilltheywerefinallycollectedandstowedawayunder. the wingof'thepostmaster.To.seethepilesheaped up beroz-eusandto.readthemmadeone:feelrather'likecomingaliveagain after beingburied f'or awhile. It isperf'eotly extraordinary whata of'stUff accumulatesinthe short space of twoandahalf'mnnt.ha,Therewere from ourownhomes,letfrom otherpeople'shomes,long documen'!='s marked"O.H.M.S. ",sh:ort documentsreading"To aco,aunt rendered",a f'ew rarestampedonessaying"Receivedwiththanks", andnewspapers;cata-loguesandmagazines,notioes from'betting-touts and,lastbutnot teas dinner-par"tiesl Theywere,amotleymass_ourletters,butitdidnottakeuslong to severwheat fromand weweresoonbusilyporingoverthe columnsof' variousnewspapersand theof' ourowncorresMost of'thelatterwere,ofcourse, privateand of' no interest to any one'butourthere was, however,onedistressingdooumenttowhichI must makespecialreference. bill for pounds from a firm Livingstoneon-aocount offivelarge packing-cases wehadordered.for thepurpose of' sending trophiestoEngland..The welland oarefUlly madein accordancewith indicat.edbyus, t.he woodwasgood,newdealand theYsorewadtogether,not nailed. still, excellentas the caseswere,thepriceseemedpreposterous,andwe

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'176. couldnotmake out how on 'earth sohigha charge hadbeen'arrived at. Wehad forgot1:Jentoseetopacking-oases onourway upthrough Livingstoneandhad had t,O writeforthemfrom Nzovu before we set out a:f"ter the,bu:rfalo.Thelongdistance letters had tobecarried, combinedwithuncertaintyas to 'ourown movements, madeitimpossible for ustoawaitrepliesconcerning the ooat.andcompelled''usto give ourorders straight awayandto trustthat thechargeswouldbereasonable. But we little knewwhatwewereasking,andlittlerealized the conditionsunderwhich the oaseshad to bemade.strangeas it mayseem,therewasnodeal at allinLivingstone,andsothe ma-ter1al:hadto'be Buluwayo, and"sent up by train :from there;thecost of labour, too, wasveryhigh.Themakers,guessing thatthere mustbesomemisunderstanding,triedtogetintouch with us'to'makeenquiries;but, .:failing inthis,they adop'ted theonlyproper course byloyallyexe cutingour ordersandraiiingthecasesuptoKa1omo where we :foundthemonthe platform. Wewerehorrif'iedwhenwesawthem;onelookeda full-grown sentry-b'ox, the o t.hez-a have betweenpiano-cases andyoung However,therewas out of' it;been anything wehadtokeep themfor thetimebeing, and allwecoulddowastostowourtrophiesaseconomically as pos -sibleand trustthat the maker-swouldtakebackanycaseor'-cases that might remain over.By dintofcaref"Ul utilization of spaceandweedingout in.:ferior specimens,we at lastsucceededin cramming allwewanted intothreeor theboxes; the other two wetook baok empty to Livingstonewhere themakers obligingly usan aliowanceofseven pounds forthe pair. Thus ended our only seriousfinancial blunder,andI hopeothers willtake warning'from our loss,for thequestion ofpacking-casesis one that mustbe faced and it isonly toooftennottreatedwi'thdue consideration,atthe righttime. Ipersonallythink: 'the bestplanis'tosend-up emp-ty casesbygoodstrainfrom'one's oF1ginalstar'ting-point, orelsetowritesomemonths in' ad vance toMr. Glarkeof'the L1vingstone stores and askhinitoput byan assortment of'boxeslikelyto

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'be Thisplanwill,Ibelieve,answer for mostpurposes,butitmay be impossibleto find 177.aready-madearticle that willtakea of koodoohornsortheskullandivory of a bigelephant.If so,Istronglyrecommendsportsmen to gotothe expenseof havingoneor two specialboxes madefor these.Somemen are -contentsimply towrap apair of goodhornsinsackoloth,and toletthem travelseparatelyWithnomorethanalabelattached. Butthis isamostriskyproceeding.Thehornsarenotonlyliabletoinjury, but anyonecanseeataglancewhat they areand,sinoe they arelikelyto fetch agoodpricein the market,theyareequallylikely to finda thief 'willing to "relieve owner of them.Inaclasedboxtheyare safefrom thepubliogaze,andrisk of damageisreduced to a minimum.Objeotionssimilartothoseagainstsackoloth bind'ings obtainalsointhe caseof"open orates.Thehornsareexposed to viewandare liable tobeshakenabout-tosomeextent. As regardspacking of thehornswithintheboxes,itis, of course,essential horns themselves, as wellastheskullsandsockets,shouldbe oleaned.Wetookasmanyof" ourhorns aspossibleright off theskullsandpouredaliberalsupply ofparaffin oilinto every hollowandorevioe ofboth. Thenwesandwiohedlayers of headsandskins'betweenthioklayers ofperfectlydrygrass andfinallysmotheredeaoh withKeating'spowder.Ourskinswere, or oourse, "all thoroughly dried longbef'orewereachedKalomo, but onarrival,wenevertheless smeared'them'w1'tharsenioal soapand applied turpentineor paraffin well. The reSUlts of' our preoautions wereemin-ently thewholeof" ourtrophieswere'ingoodconditionwhenlarldedinEnglandsome .. later.We shc;>uld. ,now-ever, havedone bet"ter hadwe._no:t_used. o"therexoellen1Jare obtainablethroughMessrs.Rowland ward,Messrs.an4 so long as they (1) An exce1lent pamphlet on the care of' trophies,theirskinning, et:c., hasreoentlybeenpub,lisbed by Messrs. EdwardGerrard&SonS of' 61,College'Place,CamdenTown,N.W.

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178.canbeprocuredi i anot,fair'toafikt.axidermis'ta tohandl.e J.Y"thing wi 'th soap whioh (1) mor-e 'tha11 oncebeenthecause of ar-senac poiso!ling. "" After PeterandIhadsomewhatrecovered from theshock ocoasioned bythe conqerning theboxes,wespent.our last cheeryeveningin oamp withCooper,thestation-masteranda .few looalTheywere cheeryfellows, andthe statiqn-magnates'the :form of transportriders andmaster in was amostexcellentandworthyperson.some of" mymail letters requiredim-mediaterepliesandso,whenwe left ourtablefairly eqrly, heaskedmeoverintohislittle officewhere Icouldsit al1d tomy heart's content. It was 'two avm,bythetime-I finished, andIcouldwellhavedonewithanother forty winkswhenhabitwokemeatdawna fewnours later. It wasabusydaythat 15thcrf October,and the:firstbag all taken.toget,her and.ourselveswithit,intheapproveditern of' ourprogramme wC!os aphotograph, Which anold farmer,ourJ"le wantedForthispurposewehadtoarrangethe heads -and :Mr. Penny,hadpromised.totake :for us. s"tyle. skinsina largegroup ontherailway platf"orm. Thisdone,the waspr-eaaed.andthen began the.paoking.'Howweper apb!edstanding. ouf-thereinthe burning sun, andhow w;ehadfiddle and. fumble 'to squeezeourpreoious,bootyintothose three expensaveboxesI Butmany handsmake lightwork, andOur' Eai.at.Ka1omo (l}. As regardstheof,heads,e.tG., after the..vbave beencured 'and set up, allI.do is'to sprinklemine thoroughlywith benzolineonoeayear.Iuseasmall powerful syringe for thepur-poseand fieely pourthe fluid into the earsand likely to.This__ ._. plan was reOomtne"rtde"d''tome'bY-theold"caretaker ofla. Sei6us' -priva,t,e museum at, his Vforplesden residence,and answers-perfec'tly.wopk, however, sho,pld bedone ou'tsideand"the'trophies shOUld..' beleft intheopenair for aeme,hours, otheryiise' a mostobj.ect1onabJ.e smellwi-11 resul't.from"theevapora tion of thebenzo11neindoors. TheextremeiDrIamm&bll1tyofben7.oline mustalso be remembered.

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179. thehands labouredthatday werenotoursalone.Ourcheery friendsof'thenight!before turnedout to a man and,inreturn for what littIe hospitality wehadshownthem,pliedscrew-driversand withhis Bag.hammersandnails,MyTrophies. When Cooperhad -aocompaniedusasfaras"Livingstone.and, during bitswith suchastoundingvigour that bysundownall was ready. the goods train came at seveno'clockinwent the cases; midnight we found ourselvesfollowingbypassengertrain,andearly next Peterwas unfortunately obliged to go straight on to Potchef'stroomby the 11.30mail, but Iremained for a fewdays toseetheVictoria Palls, tosettleaccounts,to obtain thenecessarypermits far hasteningthedespatch of ourtrophies(l),andto try andwork off' some of themass of' correspondence 'that hadaccumulatedduring my the nexttwo days,when hestayedwithmeatthe ho'tel, Ienjoyed many absence...fJ ..'__.... .. -.. .... .(1). Theanaformalltiesconnected with the despatchwerewellattendedtoby Fisher & Shelmerdine,ForwardingAgents, Livingstone.. ningwewerebackatLivingstoneinthemidst of civilization. With hisKOQdoo.

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apleasantchatwithour unassuming last of' him.Hewasa ri'gh"t goodfellowand Iwas sorry tosee''theTheVlCygr1a Falls. The Devil's CataractL Onthe of' ourarrivalIpaidmy tothe Administrator, :Mr. Wallace, at GovernmentHouse,and the sameeveninghisPrivate :Mr Francis, came to return my callandtoinviteme tovisittheFalls withhiminaGovernmentboat.I acceptedthe invitationwith thegreatestplea sureand so, .onSundaymorning,Mr. Prancis andI setoff seeone of"thegrandest

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Morethan that I cannot say,for feeblepencandono sort orkind It failsme soIwill notthehDpelesstask. Some sights 'ever produced-byor justice to such magniricence. have a rew, perhaps,have !Jla.naged to upto& cer PO=!-Ilt,but noman11 ving hasasyet in anr Language,poetry,.'or 'prose. all that the gra.nd,euror theFallsincludes.Ileavethem, thereroreto the imagination.Qf myreaders, and onlyhope thatamongst thosewhohavebadtheto :followme_as earas this __may-besome will ihO Viotoria Ealls. The -First Bendin the Gorge.180.

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IBO.a.one.d"ay t.aketotheZambesisothat"they-may behold "its wonders for themselves.Bysix p.m., wewereback atLivingstone and half an Iwas sitting in thelittle church the eveningservice.TheChaplain, IvTr. Eogers,a botanistof" note,hadbeen amongst myearliestVisitors,anditwaslargelydue to hiskindness that I was sopromptlymadeatemPorarymemberofthe CivilServiceClub.During the sermon a suddenandviolentthunderstorm burst,andthe rainwaspouringdownintorrentswhenthe lastn.An1enn was said.Ihadneither coat nor umbrella,aiui myflimsywhitesilksuit was nomore proof againstsuchrain asheet ofwide-meShed wi"re-netting. whether to waitornot,and half' inclinedtomakeadash,Ihadstooda few seconds at theopendoorwhenacheerful"Comealongwithus,"came f"rom alustyvoicebehindme.The next, momentIwasstriding af"f'tothe Club,hookedintothe arms andprotectedbythe"brollies" tlf" a pait-of itskindlymembers. WIth themandothersI spent theevening,and the nextoneandthe next, and if evertruekindnessand hOBpitality wereappreciatedbyanyman,theywereappreciatedbymeattheLiving stone Club.ButInotonlyenjoyedhospitality;Ienjoyedbesidesmy f"requentopportmtltiesof' conversingaboutRhodesiaandRhodesian affairs withthe men I met. I pumpedthemasIhaddoneMr. Smithat f'ar-awayChitumbi,and if Iboredthem, as I fear I did,apologi29 all'hUDlil1ty.EarlyonWednesday,October20th,mystaycametaanendand, af"ter threeandahalfdays inthe train,Igot to Potchef'straom.HereIspentadayortwowithPeter,thenIwentontoJohannes'bur-g f"or a :few daysmore,andonSaturday,October30th,Iarrivedat Roberts' Heights, Pi:tetoria,where I joinedmy newbatteryintimetopackupmykitandgoontoIndia.Thusitcameaboutthattheend of myshoot synchronized toallintentsand purposeS"witht,he end ormy tourof'servicein SouthAfrica. PeterBald's fate wassimilar, for littlemore tllan.afortnightOU, the forEnglandin 'the"Braemar andI:forthe East, in the goodship"Dufferin" of theRoyalIndianlllIarine.

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To-daythe land of kopje,bush,and veldt, lies rar behindmeand,asmythoughtsgoback toit each single hour,theycalltomindahost or men, of scenes, of episodesasstrange,as"fascinatingandassadascould 'be marshalledby welf-nigh anyretrospect of"peaceful times.Itiswellknownthat, a inSouth Africa isnotpopularwithsoldiers,nor are thereasons for state of things toodifficult to find.. The discomforts aremany, the pleasuresare few, and the costof'livingisconsiderableevenwhenpleasuresarereduced to a minimum.;wheretheyare ind'l!lged in it'becomes almostprohibitive.Thus,meharef'orced to vegetateand,whentheirturn for leavecomesround,they often havenooptionbuttolet mt passorelse to spend it injohannesburgorother towns dothemlittlegood,andswallowuptheirscantysavingsinaweek. It 1s therefore much to be that something is notdonetowardsbringingwithinthe meansof' numberssuchf'orms Of recreationas of' realandlastingvalue.Amongthese, it,ia, Ifancy, safeto saythat,big-gamemmt.Lngtakesthef'orem'ostplace, for travelisinseparable fromit, andthisalonemustbringexperienceinitswake. But big-gamehuntingdoes far morethan that. Itmakesthe highest possible demands ,uponaman'sdetermination,andthereiscertainlyno form of'sportorplaythatcalls for moresustainedexertion. It teachespatienceandthe art,of' taking tlie roughthingswiththesmooth,justastheycome,thoughnot wif.thfoldedhands andwoefulcries of Work,work,andconstant worlt becomes the-hunter' smaxim,and, though his bepoorandhereturndowncastanddisappointedwithoutatrophyworthy of thename,theworkhedidwillleaveitsmarkuponhim,andhewillgain both strengthand comfort:fromII/Ir. Gladstone'swell-knownwordsthat "Effort, honest, ma.nfUl, humble effortsucceeds,'byitsreflective actionupon character,'better thansuccess". ThatmaY be high f'alutin'talkand whereplainand huntersareconcerned, and coldindeed may seem thecomf"ortthat it brings; butwemustraiseourthoughtsabove the mere181.

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182.and see thegreater things that liebeyond.Thetoilandhardshipwillbeborne with cour" ageanc1soon whentheworkisaone,whilstmenwillbethe strongerfor theirlabours an(1'bet.terfittotakeplace inwar.War-is the raison d'etreofthe soldier,and,when onethinksofthis,isit,t,oo much toask"that hebe"helped tofit himself "tomeetit,bythosefor whomhespendshis life .abroad?He ha,s'to liveinexilewilly-nilly,sowhy not ease thestrain uponhis purse?Let men ofmeans and leisure pay thefull pricedlicence, butletthe hard-Upsoldier offwithhalf.Ifthis weredone 'there wouldbe" manyothers, wholike trusted friendand me, woul"ti say, not "Africa, that dismalland of dustandwirefences", bu't"Africa,"that's wherewe spent'thebes'ttd.iD.eof our11vesi" sel:( TakenatKalomp.

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CHAPTER X. "I havegatheredaposyof' other men'sf'lowers,andonlythethreadthat 'binds themismyown.".183.In Ihave tothe many converning.North Western Servants,MissionariesRhodesiaanditspeople,whichweresokindlycommunicatedtomebytheCiviland o'thers we had thegoodf'ortunetomeet. It wasmyoriginalintentiontoembodythosedetailsinmynarrativeandtoinserttheminchronologicalorderas they cametomylmowledgedaybyday. But thisarrangementwouldhaveled 'to theirbeing scatteredabout inisolated fragments andwouldhave it. difficult f'ormyreaders 'to gainaclearimpressionof'thewhole.Ihavetheref'orepreferredtocollectmydetailsand to theminasinglechapter'devotedonly to themandtheirconsideration.Todothisseemsasimpletask,andyetIapproachitwithacertain dirf'idence,for socon flicting is evidencebothdirect roidbircumetantial, numerousand confusingare theideas and principlesinvolved,andsogreatisthe dirficUltyofarriving attrue deductions, thattheaveragehuntercannot,asarule,domorethantouch the outer tringeof' thecomplex which, slowly but surely, areapproachingtheir solution allround him ashewandersabroadamongstraceswhosedevelopmentisstillinitsearliest infancy .Hemust,therefore,treadmostwarilyand rest con tent if'hecanpiecetogetherthe gatheredashe on :from campto camp, andhewouldbeindeedaman of morethanordinaryboldnesswerehe to muchmorethanthis.Andyet barefacts"insufficient; they'cannot; Obe&dduo.d '.' ".w1thou1)"connecting links,

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184.:for,were they soarrayedbe:foreourmentalvision,a warpe-d andpatchypicturewouldresult.ThusI :forcedagainstmyowndesiretotry upgapswheretheyexist,todrawconclusions from myobservations,toweld together whatIsawandheard. My:facts are :facts beyondalldoubtandcavil,theyaresuppliedbymenwhose kndwledgewaJs beyond dispute, thepaddingonlyismyinvention,andBaIadd it just for whatit'sworth.Atthehead o:faffairs inNorth Vvest Rhodesia,andappointedby "the CharteredCompanyGovern-ment,isthe Ac?Jninistrator with the followingdepartments h.Jtm:: The Departmento:f the Secretaryo:f the The Deparumento:f the :for Native Affairs. TheTreasury Department. The Departmentfor DistrictAdministration.TheLegalDepartment.TheDepartment of Health,Education,Lands,and Mines, PublicWorksandCustoms.ThePostalandTelegraph Departments. ThePrinting e:md StationeryDepartment. The Departmentf'or ?Xansport andSupply.The Departmentfor Policeand Rifle Associations. ThecoUJ;ltry isdividediirtoeleven diairictsas follows: Batoka District.Sesheke District.Baro'tse District.MashukulumoweDistrict.

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185. F'eira Distriot.Mkushi ADistrict. NdolaDistrict.Thesesocalled Kasempa District.BalundaDistrict. KafUe District. Loangwa District.Thetotal areaof these districts is175,000squaremiles, and thetotalnative numbers about337,000souls.ADistrictCommissionerisincharge of thegeneral affairsof eachdistrictandheisalsothe Chief Magistrate;underhimareNativeCommissioners who collect taxes andwhosejudicialpowersextendtocasesbetweennatives only.Europeans arenottaxedexcept by customs-dutyandEurop-ean settlers canpurchaselandat:fromthreepencetotwoshillingsA tfaitiye Policeman.peracre.Aa regards theeconomic NorthWestRhodesia,itismost diffioulttoform "Native"CommissionersareEuropeans,andtheyandtheDistrictCommissionersareassisted by apolice forceof twentywhite officers and four hundrednatives;thelatterare.,mostlyrecruited rioID thetribes of' N.E.Rhodesiaandaretrainedonmilitarylines.Adult native malespayapoll-tax of tenshillingsperannum,butinsomedistrictsthetaxisonly five shillings.One Wife isallowedonthesetaxes,and if thenumber of wivesexceedsonea further tax of tenshillingsis paYablefor everyadditionalwit'e.

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186-.sort of opinion fromcasual enquiriesconductedonthespot.Menwho.earntheirliving there havetheirownideasonthesubject, but theyarenaturallychary of be.trayihgthem 'to astrangerlest he'be arivalcometospyout the land.On tJhe whole,however, i't appears tJo beahighlymineralized area likelyto produce bothgold copperbesidesanumber of baser Thereisanyamount of ironandthereiscoalin the Luanavalley.Nativelabourissaidtobegood,cheapandwellsuitedtoexploitminingoperations.0oncern1ngthecUltivation of cereals,etc.,theprospectsseemtobeless promisingalthough opinions differ onthispoint.The country cannotproduce wheat,'because therain,when it does fall, istooheavy,whilstthesubsequent drought is too long. VY.heat requiresamoreevendistribu-tion of rainorelse, of" course,irrigationonalargescale.Thesoilisnotnaturallyrich'exceptinsmallpatchesandonsuchpatches anything canbegr-ownj thebest patchesareusually those that,..have been cleared of" thicktimber.Mealiescanbegrownbutnot Over Lar-geareasandgr-oundhas to bespeciallyselected for theirproduction.Theyrequire,moreover,a fairlylight soilthatwillnothold too muchwater and they will notgrow at allinlow-lyingground or aswampy Unless, therefore, somethingcanbedoneincourse of" timetoacclimatize,orrather,tonaturalize grainto",. thecountzeyitappearsthatNorth Rhodesiawill not producemore ofthe cerealsnecessary tolifethanare required for herownconsumption.Ontheother it isprobable that apices,tobacco, etc., canbe cultivated satisfactorily andboth cotton andrubberoffer everyprospect of success.Vegetablesand f'ruit suchas orangescouldalsocertainlybegrown,andplantains thrive well. That timberaboundsgoeswithoutsaying, 'but itis shortandstuntedowinglargely to the frequency Somewoods,notablyblue ?f' valueas"mining-poles"whichcorrespond tothe pit-props of Europe,anditis saidthat theirworthliesintheir softness which

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causesthem to showsigns ofany unduestrainthatmaybeputuponthem befQre theyactuallysnap.The cattleof thecountryaremostly of nativestockandshowtraces of havingbeenimprovedbyimportedbullssupposedtohavebeen "li:ftedu andbroughtintotheterritoryduringtheMatabe1e is? rebellion.Alittle bloodhasalsobeen infUsed throughthemedium of the Com-pany,Theaveragevalue of amilch-cowisabout four pounds.Horsesarepracticallynon-existent,norarethereeverlikelytobe any solongas tsetse-fly and horse-sickness prevail. Of thehistory Of thenativeslittleis for theyhavenowriting of theirownandoon-sequentlynorecords.Theyare,however,withoutadoubt,desoendants of thegreatBantupeople.Thename Mashukulumbwe isacollectiveonebestowedby theBarotse andembracingBalla,Batwa,and other tribes.Precisely Mashuku1umbwe means Iwasunabletoascertain;somesaid it meantonething,somesaiditmeantanother,butthemostprobableexplanation ofthe.'term is.. one.;..giv:en."to .meby Anderson,theDistrictCommissioner of the Kafue District,.Hedeclareditcame from theword_----"I'Shukulu",which ia the rMe appliedtotherhinocerosinthe8ecolo10language.The prefixZ denotedthesingular,M thepluralandtheref'ore meansthe"rhinocerosmen"; and 'they aresocalled becauseof the similarityof them'pumpitothehorn of therhino. The In<'pumpi istheconicalpile of' greaseandhairalready alluded towhichthemalenativeswearontheirheads.Nowadays it rarely exceeds six inchesinheightand is, in fact, purelyanornainent; in former times"however,am'pumpitwo feet highormorewas thingand itsdbjectwastoenablewarriors.to lmow eachother' a whereabouts when fightingin The feathersandother-decorations ofdifferent colourswhichwerestuckinto itfurther served ta distinguish friendfromfoe. To build upam'pumpithehairof'ayoungboyisshavedin amannerasto nothing buta top-knot,;this is carefullycultivated and afterwards, withtheaid of gr-ea.se,etc.,

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188.decorationsare various and manifold andinconver'tedintothe smallconicalerection.Theeludebeads, feathers, buttons, and so forth. Ievensawone"dandy withsomething suapi-said mostthrough ageand bothMr.Smith andMr. Handley warlike;a few details them maytherefore 'be of interest.The Ba:tlaare men of considerablecour-theBa1laarethemost important andthe like aknitting-needlepushed the apex of' his Amongstthe many MashukulumbwetribesGroup of Mashukulym,bwewearingM'pumpiandClapping HAnds Us.thatthey thought nothing ofattacking lionsarme-donlywith their aasegads,Ononeoccasion twoyears bef'ore ourarrivalatChitumbialion attacked aherd ofcattle guar-dedbyonlytwomen; theyatoncewentfor him and, although they werebadlymauled,succeededinkillinghim.On another occasionfourmenattackedalion With theirflimsyweapons,; againtwo werebadly injpred1 in fact, killed, if't remember rightly,'butthey slewtheir :foe nevertheless.As fightersagainst mentheBallawouldbeformidable too weretheya'ble to.combine, themselves.But thistheyhave neverdoneyetandwhen, yearsago, the Bar at se invad-edamongst'their territorythey fOW1dnodifficuity inpersuadingone Bailakraalto help another.Even to'::'daythe kraals tnaJre waruponeachotherand iaby.nomeans' outside hisown distr'ict; ourboys, :for instance,whenrunningin and ouf with'the mails to go in pairs. safe

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189.or more earthen pots eachof'whichmeans a, originisf'orinstance,amuchmore grave of'-a chief tocommitadulteryWithawoman of' low NayiveHuts. BackgroundshowsTop of Hut .deooratie d wi'thEa.X1jhenpert,toindicate onemankillgdin batitleJytheOwner. -They also decoratetheir tendencies,andonemay often see the top of'hut decprated wi'th one Tne natives make no att,emptto conceal man slainby theowner. theirdwellingswith the hornsof' antelope and otherof' thechase.Theirmorals arebestial and disgust in--f'act,theymaybesaid to havenomoralsat a,11, andyet :t.hey aresingularlyparticularwithregard tocertain matters. fencethanwouldbe consti'tuted werealow-bred man tocommit adUltery with the-wifeof achief.Thus it isevidentthat the commission of'theactitself is consi4ere-d lessserious'than'the loss of' prestigewhich the chief' suff'ers'throughhis intercourse wi'th-a,woma.rlof' -low The attachedto thepreservation of blueblood inaramilyisagain 'exemplifiedinthelaw of' succession.The rightof' succession often goes through a woman and this custom is upheldsoas 'to ensure purnessof bloodin atleas't one of' the parents.< Theremay 'be adoubtas to whoisthe fatherof' achild, but therecanbeno doubt whatever aboutthe-mother. chief"s Wife isnotheld to be of thesameblood asthechiet'himself and'sinoe it is'-possib-leN"owa she may bear child ofwhichthechief is not'thefather,"tbimeftorenot'thesonofthechief-'s but the son ofthe -sisterwould,in cases,succeednhe-ch1eftainsh!p, is

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).90. 'bcund tobeof' purebloodonhis mo"ther' sside. Further, awoman of'high degree may,Undercertain conditions, herself succeed to the chieftainship inwhichcasesshe marries severalhusbands;thusLadakhisnot the onlyplaceintheworldwherepolyandryispractised. TheBaila practisepolygamy too andhave curiousmarriagecustoms. Girls are ataveryearlyage,and the prospectivehusbandcontr.ibutestowardshis fiancee's. keep until shei's enough tomarry him.Inter-marriage between members of aclanisforbidden,and it maybenotedinpassingthatthiscustom is thevery of thatenjoined bythe castesystem of India,where a castemay be fairly accurately defined asbeingan endogamQus oommunity. a chief dies,hissuocessor takes overhiswiveswith the rest of the In fact, wives,sincethey wnrkfor theirlord-andmaster,areoonsidereda asset, buttheir valuehas theand Children. and (WomenBaiia.of Group. The dress of"'theBalla oonsists ofsuspendedfrom: thewaistandthesecskins arel-ittle more than theirbirthday sUit,so. their tailqrs'bi'lJ.sareThewomen usually weara lechwe s;ldn much valued bythem._They areextremely ugly, perfectlyhideoue-that they a.ppearto:Rave rec,ognizedthe fact themselves and havegivenupashopelessev-ery attempt .to theirappearances bygonedownconsiderablysincethe taxoften shillingsper wife perannumwasintroduced, nunfberof':J.n isnow 'being reducea. ilr'consequence.

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J.9l.B.rt,ificial means. At all events Icanfind 'should traitin their theygiveuptheironeandonlynatural'embelliahment inorderto decoratethe strongersex.Awoman not only calls itbad formto wearmuchin the way of'hair,bu't shewill actual lyshaveherhead perfectly bald andthenA Groupof, Bai.la Women.noother,exptanat.Lonfor the feebleness of their efforts inthe directionofpersonaladornmanDand,if my surmdse is correct,if indeedwehaveacase of ..sour grapes beforeua, it is nevertheless ahighly commendable presentthe to her betterhalf so thatit mayserve to enlargehis m'pUID.Pi'-1'WIle,after this.cansaywehave nothingto learn from the savage?gave we not hereacustomwellworthy of imitationandwould not;its introduction,ina modifiedf'orm.,be a boontoEuropean.communities? It woulddomuchtodecrease thedis'tress1ngnUDlberof'''bladders of' lard 11weseeinourm:1dst..othercustoms of' the Bails. arelessworthy of' imitation f'orexample,thecustomof 'knock ing outwitha thefrontteethofpoys when they reach theageof' themale Baila are-good specimensofhumanity. The,y are fa.irly 'tall,'-1i"the, well bUlltand capabj.e exertio;n,whilsttheirintellect, is by no -means.of' an iirf'erior't ..order.Onthe Whole we.liked them and,thoughthey a"ttimesshowetlsignaof'UPPishanddnd'ependent, generaldemeanour let"t'little'to. To salu"te whi t,he:v, all sitdown and-clap

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The women enliven the proceedingsbybreaking192. theirhandskeepingperfecttime.'out intoshrillscreeohes of welcome.Practicallyallthemenwe met weregoodtrackers;some werewonderfullyexpertandthese,enough, wereoccasionally farfrom being tIle cleverestinotherways.Poor,dUll, stupid Soccis, for .Lna'tance,wasquiteone ofthe of"ourownboysonany spoor."Heis justlikean animalhimse'lf"," saidCooper',"sohecan't.help it, hedoes it by and animals do notfollow eaoho,ther'stracksexceptby Scent therealmostseemedtobe Sgmetruth inourhunter's remark. Thehunting-boys have certain superstitionsconnectedwith theircraft.If" asnakeis killed ,earlyinthemorningthey 'believe nogamewillbe thatday; andif thewif"e of' anymember ,ofthehurl'ting-part,y happenato -beencein1Je_'the wholepartywillbeunsuccessful.They inasense fatalistio. OnoneocoasionIhada_..s.pel'l ofbad luokandoould fin4 nothingIwanted foraweek ormore.Thelessgamethereappearedto"'bethemor-e.I strained myeyesto try,and:rindit, "buttheboysdidnotbackmeupandseemedto grow moreand more listless.I sco'lq.ed them to thebe.st of" myabilityand finally told'Cooper about theirslackness.Hetackled OR"thesubjec't.. and the replyhe got; showedtheir :frameof" mind."It'sno .g.qod, Baas,"answered Johannes, "the M'da.bla shootstoo straight.He killedsomanyanimalsat the beginning that the ,friendsof"tthoaeanimalswa.m1ed Q,thers,these toadothers againandnowtheyhaveall Theyknow that oncetheM'dahlahaaseen theyare'as 4pod asdead,sotheywatchhim fromafarandrun ,away 'be.. fore hecan get the' leaatchanceof' a shot;;, itis "therefore nouseour 'lookingfor"them, .weshall neverfind them." Thisanswer was flattering tomy perhaps, "but,itwas not for Iknew 'that, as-longas the boys'wentabout, with suchanideaintheirheadstherewas lit-tle chance for meunlessIcould finds'ome'thingmyselfandbreak thespellby atuckYshot.iEus

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I The natives, of" course,do not likebeing "taxed,.but, takingall thingsintoconsideration,"they19.3. seem conten"ted with our ruleandwiththelarge amountoffreedom they are allowed. They are fairlY well-to-do and wouldbemore so cou.Ld "they onlybe thoroughly tocul"tiva;te theland, but, like m..ost backWardraces,theyareLmpr-ov.tderrt,toa degz'ee and take no "thoughtfor"the morrowso.. long as "they haveenough tomee"t theneeds of"to-day. Atthepresent timemanyorthe so-called"boys"go .:to workinthemines and ontherailways about BuluwayoandBrokenHill. ':Phis is, of" course,unavoidablesincethereisnootherlabour available, and yetitseemsa pity thattheyhavetobe firawninto towns theyarealmostcertainto acquireother vicesinaddition to thosetowhichthey alreadyaddicted.Ihavestatedelsewhere Baila literatureisnon-existent, and the same, oralmost the same,mustbe of thearts and sciences.Theonlyartisticdesignswesawwere of"thecrudest kind,andtooktheform of" roughwood-carvings.allacquaintedwithisthescience of" medicine.Astosciences,theonlyone they appear "tobe atHowmuch "they know Icannct.,evenguess bu"t thereis.no doubt that,likemostsavageraces,theyhavecertainremedies of'their own and they are willingto them to Europeanswho -'bef"riend'!Jhem.'Ehe Rev. E.W.Srpithj :forinstance .. wasonceserious.ly in juredbyaparticularspecies snake--I forgetits name 7whichspits at itsvictim andgenerally directsitsvenomous discharge into the victim'seye.He suffered acutepain days when an oldnativecameandappliedhisremedyallround injured part.Theinflammationq.isappeared ina few hoursand wasnot long'berore our friend wascompletelycured .:As the pr-inciples which form:the basis of' of'Governmentin NorthWest Rhodesia pointshave. to considered.One of' themostlaudabletraitsintheSouthernandCentral Africancharacter lsthereverence

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194.inwhich chiers andoldpeople areheld. Thisisverynotioeableamongst theBasu"to, f'orinstanoe,and, olgsely oonneotedwithit is almostpart andparcel of'the religion of otherr-aceB ;Jow,it isobvious that" where it'exists, thisinnaterespect for personsinauthorfty mustt>e' purelyadvantageous "to-ourGovernmen't, provided that wecangetthosepersonsunderour influenoe.Thus natural or the Afrioan tohonourand,obeyhisseniors and bettersbecomes an -politioal f'actor inourdealingswithhim, f'or weneedonlysupport the authority of' the ohiefs andstrengthentheirpositioninorder to bringboth them and their peopleatonoeon to ourside.Ourtheory,therefore;seemssimpleenough, but, like many theories, itis none too easy to putintopractioe at all times. andinallplaces.Tobeginwith,respeot for theireldersis not nearlyso prevalent 'amongst theBa1laas-itis in 'the oase of' otherraces, and apart from thisone of'thethings we often have to doisseriouslytodiminish the power of the chief'sbyputtingastoptothebarbarous punishmentswhiohthey have beenaocustomed 'toinfliot andwhich are praotioally the onlyonestheirsubjeots fear.These punf.ahmerrba takethe:form of outting off a culprit's ears,handsor feet;''theinjuredpart'beingthenput into thefire'tos'top'the bleeding.Now, if' we prevel;l.tthese practices" -as-we-naturally :must,it isolear that weundermine 'theauthorityofthe chi.ef'overhisf'ollowers. rrhey may oontinueto respecthim to some ex'tent"'bu't, in;thecase of savages"the foundationofrespeotso&of'ten restson fearofpunishmen'ttha't,if we '&lItm-inatetheweabolishrespeo'tthesame time_Notonlythis;thedestruotionof'respect fortheohief', thehead of the tribe,.tetlds alsoto tribalf'eelingandalthoughtribalfeeling,whenitrunsto'o,high, -my'become dangez-ous, it islike1y 'tobe lesssothan that whichwill besubstitutedforit intheevent of' its total abolition. Man isa gregariousailimal, hehasa natural tendency to combine,andif'we suddenly destroy 'thecombinations,tribalorotherwise, to whiohhehasbeen

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accustomed for centuries,hewillonlyformnewoneslesssuited to hisintellectualstandardand tothe social c0nditions in which helives. Sach combinationshavingbeenpractically forqed upon him'by extraneouscircumstances,willbeunnatural,premature growthsCld mayveryeasily take theshape of dangerousreligionsorpoliticalmovementsona grand scale. is,for example, nQt beyond the 'bounds of' possibility that theymightgivebirth to a fanaticismthathoUndthe Ethiop1an ChUrChagainstthe Church of Christ;orthat they might egg oncolour against colourand,underthecry 'of."AfricafortheAfricans"., let'loosethe dogsof war for a life anddeath struggle of'blackagainstwhite. That greatquestion as tothe predominanceall the worldoverof'anyonecolour--whetherblack, White, oryellow--willhavetobesolvedsomedayispossIble,but that question, solution o'f Whichmus't.rbeanecessaryprelude to the Iv.lillenium, isquite'beyond the scope of' these195.pages.Itmaycomeup for solutioninthe fulnessof time,but,untilsuch timehas elapsed,we must. be carefulnotto force the issueby hasty,ill-considereq action.Tribalf'eeling,i.e., It is imposaibletoQivilizepatriotism,' is the onlykind of patriotism at presentsuited tothe majority ofAfrican savages; let ustherefore guard, preserve,anddeveLop it,for patriotism is thehighestvirtueof' the human race.'But,let' usbesure thatwhat wedevelopeisof' rightkind,andaboveallthingsletuspr-oceedwiththe utmost patience.Let us nourish tribal feelingandsupportthepower of the chief untilthesavageis readytofollow the lead of ahigherpower; then andnot til'lthen, letus takethe. nextstep f'orward,but letusagainmakesure that itisnot too big.in ahurry.That isthetheory, but, thoughwerecognizeitsworthandtrytof'ollow it, how ?oon do wemee-t'Withpra.c'ticaldifficulties when wedescend to thelevel of everyday life? We know the :x,:ight, way to set ,to work,wetry upon thebestthat exists,but the "bestis not goodsowe're

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196.topreventabuse oftJ::1e giventhem"they wouitihave tobecontrolledandtheir judgIDents made "to rso respeots,andherespeotshimmainlybeoausehe fears him. Yet weoannot leavehim hisoruelpowers;wemust takethem or bre'ak themandwiththemremovethemost powerful"bonO. betweenrulerand rtiled:. Itis very wellto say 'thatVieoan invest the "Lnduna". with other powersto reptlace thosewehave taken:from him.Wecould,nodoubt, him toaward.fines or term1?of imprisonment, or even permi:t himtoeent.ence to so many lashes.Butthe inflioti.onof lashes, if notcarried. out under-proper.su pervi'siongo parlousnear the barbarouspunishments.wehave had tostop;whilstinvestmentof'the ohier witheventhe estformof authoritywould often necessitateamuchmorenumerous staffofEuropeanofficials than.weoould ohiefisallSavage chi.efsare not born and arford to forced to set toand itinpart.AnInduna.could theadminis"trat1onof justice be ensured .Itthusbecomes moreevidentthan ever that theapparently. simpleexpedient ofgoverJ;;1.ing.::-t!Ietripesmen throughthemedf.um of theirchief's cannot beadoptedinits e:r;ti:re",?Y, andso. it, comes .. ......aboutthattheactual controi of'affairs mustof'necessityrestalmost withEuropean offi-Yetthegreatprinc"i:pleof workingthroughthe cpie;rs isnever l.o51:;s:j.ghtat:_ arepernij.tted 'andeven to dealwith l1!inor offencesandtodecidedisputeswhere conwensation

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is due to theinjuredparty;and often,if trivial oases arebroughtbeforeaCommissioner,he will send thembarckto bedisposed elf by 'the Lnduna,Now, itmaybesUpposedthat suohamode of' prooeduremustleadto many anomalies.On the onehandthereisthe induna asavage--administeringjustice acoordint9-to thenative law,if' -Lawitcanbecalled;on the other 'thereistheBritisher withBritishideas rightandwrong. It wouldseemthat the twomust beincompa'tibleandthat they cannotexert their influencefor theoommon weal inone andthessmterritory. Thingsare,however,notas incongruousasthey appear.Britishlaw i1:5cer'tainly supposed 'to beappliedbyour Gommdssioners, but i'tcannotbe applied manymodiflcations,andfrequent1y whenBritishlaws are inapplicable,.nat.tvelawsare enforced. Our Conuni.ssioners, in fact, make aC point of applyingnative.lawswhenever 'they are notcon'trary'to ourideas. The punishmentsnow inflicted bythe chiefs are,ashasbeen s'tated, minor punishrrients:e.Qr minor ofrencesonly.Those inflicted byour CODmissioners mustnext be oonsidered.Theyusuallytake theformof' imprisonment,payment; of' compensa'tion andlashes.Imprisonment thenatives do not muchmind.Itisnodisgrace t.o them, and theysoon ge't accuat.omed 'to (ioitlg wi "th outtheir.wives,their beer, and Theythen se't'tle down quite and afew weeks after their liberationthe memories of''their existenceingaoloease "to have any-aeterr&nt ef'fect. Payments .of' compensa.'tionfines, though nbminallyinflicted ontheindividual" often take theformof'col:lective punf.shmerrbe ;For instance, anoffenderis fined tenhead of'cattle, butitiswellknown thatthe whplekraal contribu'tesandthus manyaremade 'tosuffer f'orthe delinquenci-esof' one. This is,of'course,absolutely con'tr,ary.to British iq.easof' justioe"but i't ismuchthe mos't manner of' dealingwithcrimeandvery similar to the methodwhioh,I is stillinvogueinIndiaviz:the of' a detaohment of' policein arecalcitran't village. The ..police.

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+.98. 'liveinthevillageat ofthe villagers,and of unwelcome is eothathosts verysoon cometo senses Shortof capital andlong termsor imprisonment,co.rporalpunt.ahment, isf"licted inNorth WestRhodesia andtherecan 'be no doubt that,properlyadministered, itis-farandaway the best, although hyper-humanitarian peoplein England:objectt.9i"t.ThenativesofAfricaare,.-after all,in many respectslikechildren,sowhyshould they not be"thrashed justaswe thrash orcanea Moreover, af'Lneorimpri.sonmentawarded 'to thehead ofahop.seholdoften spellsstarvationorother sUfferingror thosedependent upon him;ahidinghits :theoffenderhimself' andno oneelse.Ina and,ready country.you haveroughandreadyjustice;.slowand, elabora'te SyB-terns are wholly imprac"ticable alarge staffof"offioials cannot'bemaintained.Were w:eto try and runourColonies'on mor.e Europeanlines,we.shouldhavetof'loodthemwithswarms -offunctionariesof allkinds,andwe.shouldoommitthevery whioh turns theoolonies of certainother great Powersinto.suohunprofitable concerns.. ".Thepay of .thesaid funct-ioruu'ies would absorbmostof therevenue,and the Whole the administrative .machrner-y would" soon 'be Instead oftra.velling aboutthe apd so gettingto know both it and itspeople,our WOUld,before long, findcomfortable seatson office stoolswhere 'they wouldrapidly get out of' touchwith everything redtape. Of course,wemusf guardagainst going to the 'te extreme,asI fear we are sometimesin-olined "to do.OurCommissionerin the Kaf'Ue District, hadonlyfive EuropeanAssistants inthat which 1a two-thrdsthesize of Ireland;heisa youngof thirty-five and hastogovernapopulation oftwenty-eightthousandto supervise theof their iaxes, to 'D}ete outjustice., e'tc.iteitherfair orwise,especiallyinatryingclimate,toplaceso great a ontoone man however and energeticheand hisdiminutive band ofhelpers may be?

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Is it possible forany such handfulof'.white mentodoall tha;t:ls.:necessaryfor"the development a youngoountryandthecivilization of' asavagerace,evenwhere theinfluenceQf local chiefs over 'theother classes of' thecommunityis greaterthanit is amongsttheBalla?Their societyclasses,besides thechief's, arethreein number, viz: freemen,and slaves. Thelastnamedare usually taken ininter-kraal f'ights, and thebuying andselling of' slaves goesonalthoughit iB, course,prohibitedby theCharteredCompany GQvernment.It isnoticeable thatthere isno distinctcaste olass invested with theofficeof priesthood.Thesocialdistinctions of'the people,togetherwiththeir habits and are, as isso often thecase,closelyboundupWiththeirreligion,and offers awideandintenselyinteresting. fie Id forstudy. Europeans frequentlyregar
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200..valueto the Universe. What, then,arethe outward andvisible facts connected with thereligion ofthe Baila?istheirconception, if'. any; of'theAlmighty andthelif'e hereaft,er, and what,isthe ultimatewhat obJect teaching.seeksto Thereligiousbelief's of' the .Baila areclosely -bound upwiththeirhabitsand customsof'every day weknow,aredisgustingt.oa d.egree and h:Lghlyinun.oral!'rom our point of'view. Ofmany of' customs it isimpOssible to writeindetail,oreventowritea.tall, 'but thereare o-thersthatw:l,ll.. serveour purpose.0 Take for exampletheirburialrites.Ordinarymortalsaresometimessimplyputunderground within thekraalenclosure,andnothing,noteven a stoneormound, isleft toshowthe spot. But,as a rule, a markormonursenf of' somekind ia. erected,andthe typemost commonly metwith consists of aminiature. grasshutabout'the size ofa bee-hive,and simi1ar in.build to a native dwelling-house.Theshrines ofchief's and.headaman elaborate; ar,elarger andmay be f'ound underthespreading branchesof big.detachedtrees,or theymay 'besur-r-oundedby.. a grove of' trees carefullyplanted in a circle.Ontheground there maybe potsof beer, all?-!Tom the branches maybe hWlgmaize cobsorotherkinds offood. Thereis no"thingwrongS-E)far,:ce;rata,1nlY;nottdng:'barbarous or "but 'there ismore to follow. "'.nen a. chief dieshun-dreds of" peopleassemble fiom all sides; they 'bringwith them ofgoatsandbatt.'le andthe'searekilled. Not only this; thewives, thech:!-ldren andtheslavesofthe departedare gottogetherandthey. are killedtoo.In.some partsofAfrica-thedeathof'agreat chief'has led to theslayingofS90res or hundreds of'hisrelatives and followers.Now, whatis the object of itall? itthe.outcome of purecruelty and love 'bloodshed,or thereconcealeubehinditsomething of deep some meaning, some subtle reason that

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we fail.to see at Purewantoncruelty it is oertainly not, fortheAfrican savageisnocruel manbynature. Theremustbe, theref"ore, so.mehiddenmeaninginhis gh:astly burialrites.;and it isthe food he brings,for his that givesus thefirst clue to what thatmeaning is.Hebelieves, as we do_that death is nottheend of all things;the body of his chief may there cold and stiff beforehim, but thesoulcontinues its 'existenceinanothersphere. What,tha'tsphere isandwherehe is notsure of', buthe three a'bodenfor humanaouLs,Of these one iathe landbeneaththeearthwhere mengo to, good anabaq. alike,andwheretheylivetheirlivesastheydidhere.Theyfollow habitualoccupations,they hunt, theycul-tivatetheland,but,yettheyare not whOllyindependent of' all the goodthingstheyenjoyed on earth. They must havefood, andsotheir" Loyalkinsmenproduceit and placeitontheir graves;if' theywererichmentheymuat,havetheir oa'ttle, so 'the,se arekilled and givenbytheclan. If theywerechiefs retinueisneeded,their theirohildren, theirfollowersand slaves,so areslainas we'll and with,theirohieftaincontinuespiritlivesbeyondthe styx. Thuswesee that,farfrom' being theoutoome ofbarbarousferocity, one ofthemostterrible cuat.ome ofthe BadLa ia basedon a beliefweourselveshuld,viz: the belief'inthecontinued existenoeof the soul afterofthe' body.There of course,in these' timessome amongst uswhodonotholdwiththis belief andwhomaintain thatit,s Long isonlyareiic of our ovm barbaricdays. Butwiththese"enlight.ene-dtJpersonst am not prepared toazgue here;Iwouf.dmerelypo.lrrb out.to them thatt.hey didnotreach their muoh-vaunted stare inasi,p.glebound, put by meansoce a gj:-adualprocessof evolutionextendingthroughmanygenerations of'forefathersfrombarbari.sm down tothepresent day,Their pl1esemmen"ta:land moralstateis thereforethe result orthe.many stages'throughwhiohtheir anoestors passed,and201.

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202. t.!.
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ofwhichis a'beliefin "the:close'rela"tionshipbe"tween menandanimals. The "termto'temismis derived from"the word whichsignifiesananimal f'igure usedas af'amily-symbol."'bythe.American Indians.Amongstthe Bafla, however,the totem"implies morethanamere sYmbol.arenamedarter some particular animal,whichtheyregardastheirpatron and treatwith 'thegrea"test-reverence; and if', duringhis a man wishestoarrange f9r hissoulto pass Lrrt,othe totemof' hisclan, hecando so -by obtainingon payment certainmedicinesfrom "the "bangangs"or dOC"tors. He can also203.arrange f'or hissoul "to migrateintoanyanimal other thanhistotem,providedhesecuresthe ar:y medicines fromthedoc'tors.ThusaBa11a canchoose whether, in afterlif'e, he will be acrocodile,a buffalo, oranythingelsehehasa fancyfor. Theparticularspecieshehasisprobablymowntohis friends and if",shortlyafter theman's dea'th,arepresen'tative necessa"lion,selected of that species isseenin the neighbourhood,orisheardroaringnear the kraal at night,theywillat,once'believetheirlate companion hasreturned to theminhisnew guise. Inconsequence 'they will refrain:fromm-olestingh'lm andwiilevenbegEuropean hun'ters not, to killanimalsinwhich 'thespiri'tsof' theirdeparteddwell.Thespirits ofthe deadare not., however, alwa,ys revered; manyof"them strike 'terror into 'theheartsof"the living.On earth'there are .good peopleand bad"and"of" course,apersonretains hischaracter in 'thenext world. So there arebeneficent andmal Lgnant;spirits,and 'thelatter ,work havocin the land,causing death, diseaseand SODrow.Theyare inthepower of the baloshi, orwitcheswhosend them totrouble.andkill.. Theymake them enterinto' snakes, "lions,.:'or-.. other dan gerous beasts,or the witchescanthemselvesenterintothese animals. Menandwomensuspected of" beingwitchesare often cruellykilled, jus"t as 1Jhey wereinEnglandless 'two centuriesago.To theAfrican most dea1Jhsare believed to becausedby and whenapersondieshis

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certain204.relatives trytodiscoyer'V!ho bewitchedhimso that"they, inturn, may kill the witch. Thus one death leads to another, andhas beenstated thebelief inwi tchcrafi has,in Africa,costmore humanlives than eventhe withall i"ts horrors.Of'cour-se,suchwholesalemurderisbecomfng:rarer and, likethecustom ofhumansacrificesatthe death of a practioally stamPed outwith theBritish butuntilquite these things flourishedandIcanwell 'believethe statementthat cann:Lbalism is still practisedneartheNorthernborder of the Congo, notmorethantwohundred from thenor-bher-nmoat,pointwereached.But i1J appearstobeunnecessaryfor sou'ls alwaystomigratei;ntoor toremain in, .animals. Some.spiritsaresupposed to dwellintrees, for theBaila"believe that even objects havesouls.Others tha"t.:frequent thevicinity of gravesseemtotakeonno outwardand'v!sl'ble and the grovesplantedroundburial-groundsaresadd.t.ebemereresting-places forthem-. Therespectinwhf.chgrave.sareheldisconsequentlyverygreat,so great indeed tha"t when a chief diesit is customary "to removethewholevillageandtoselectanothersite farfrom"thehabitatof"roaming. spirits. The ideais, of course, that, provoked, thespirits willspeedilyavengethemselves 'and it ia interestingtonotehow hashamperedt\le development of the people.The Boer "voortrekkers"andof oldwerealway.sonthemoveinsearch offresh pastures for their :flocks and cattle .Nature,besidesothercircumstances, forced. thisnomadic upon them andevennowtheywilldrivetheirherdsonto ne"! grolJIld manymiles at certainseasons of' the "Viemustkeeponthemove;"said an oldDut.chman "to me ; notamonth be:fore Ibeganmyshoot, we don'toursheepwillwitherawayanddieina years;thissettling-downin surroWlded 'bywirefenceswillendintheruinof'stockraising."Hewasone of theold type', and it willbe interesting toseewhetherhis comestrueorwhether agriculture, irrigation,andtheinterruption of moreEuropeanstockwillenablethe SouthAfricanfarmerofthe:fUture toseehis

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Republics. th&n hovels;-:villageSwere f'ew,andtqwns werefewerstill.TheBoez-wasbynaturenotamanuallabourer, but even it hehadbeen it wasnot worth hiswhile tic spendtimeandmoneyonrbheprovision -!'permanent works andbuildings forapopulationina perpetua.lstate'offlux;not even were a necessityinthatwide,open country;ifatrack waswashed away, orbecometoodeeply rutted,the simply took theveldtalongside tillthey madeanother; onlydrifts Thus many Boer farmswere li ttJe 0absent, :from it forhalfthe year.sheep and cattlethrivewithin the narrow confinesofa single The beliefinthe abs9,luteneceasi'tyfor movementso 'strongly expressedbymyoLd:acquaintance,was 'thebelief' handeddowntohimbyhis forefathers, anditwas the prevalence of''this be liefamongst'tlJemthat wassolargelyresponsible for'the ba.ckward' stateof the When a man knows 'tha't hewill never be a'tres't, he na'turai+y prefers a house wit.hfour wheelsunderi't to any otheor;andevenwhen hedoesbuild astationary dwe11ing at Bomecentral spot, hewillbeneitherablenorwilling totake muchtrouble aboutit/if heis tobe OldAgeinthe Buslko.and ocoasionalkopjes theirway.Thus thespans of' oxen notbe confinedto certain definite routes along, Which theestablishmentof townswouldhave-been So towns unborn,tradewas at industrywasnon-existent andthe spread of education nighimpossible. .And as waswith"the Boersin 'those earlydays,so it is,andso it has beenfo'11generations

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206. 'With theBaila.Theywere forced tomove onfrom timetotime,notsomuch by war-sand the vagaries of Natureasby theirom1 religious belief whichbadethemquittheir homesandgive them up tothesoulsof' the chief's whoclaimedpossession afterdea.th. Duringour"wanderingsPeterandI saw dozens of desertedkr-aa.l,s,andtherecanbelittledoubt, thatof themhadbeen.abandonedsolelyonreligious.grounds.Now, theBalla donotrespect the souls of departed chief's theyalsopayhomagetothe soulsofothers whoweregreatand good amongstthem.Thesewerecalled the mizhimo,and it'Will, Ithinkbereadilyadmitted trJat thisreverence for thesouls of menwho, apartfrom theirsocial status, wereendowedwithhighqualitieshereon isamostimportant factor inour analysisof theBa1lareligion. The dividing-linebetween the reverence fprthe mizhimoandaregular systemof an cestor-wbrsl1ip isavery f'ine one;andwhat difference istherebetweensuchancestor-worshipand thewQrehipof saintsinmanycivilize"tlcountries?Sohereweha.veadecidedsimilaritybetween the be liefofthe savage at one oftheChristian religions. Butit iswhenwecometothe "fUnctions"if' Imaysoexpress myself' -of' themizhimo that theirimpor:tance mostmani fest, for theyare the intermediaries betweentA-a livingandthe Great Unknown. The mizh1moweregood,braveandpowerfulasmenandare consi"dered moreso in. theirspiritualcapacity;they lmow theneedsandsorrows thoseWithwhom theyon-earth and arethereforebest suited tomake intercessionfor the Creator of' allthings. Thus wesee thattheBal1a believein theexistenceof SupremeBeing; letus nowconsiderinwhatlight t4ey regardHim.Theirideas His arevague andThey call by many of whichthe most common ts a worq.thatalso means"rain";thus theycloselYHim wi'thwhatis,to one Nature's eP:eatest Theyassociate Him alsowithothernaturalpheno-

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menasuoh asthunder,lightning andwind, -]Jut.'they donot regard Himas nothing more than'the powers207. ofNature pure.andsimple.Theydonot lmowanythingabou't thelawsof'Nature '1)u'tattribute every-thingtothedireotaot of" aomeperson,. 'andthis persontheyoa1l Leza. HeisnotidentioalwithNature;He surpasses it,issuperior toitand distinot from it.Thisbecomesevident fromthe other namestheygiveHim,suchas:-"Hewhogivesandrots," "the andMoulder of' allthings," "the undisputed IvIaster andOwner of' all,""the'CreatorandBegirmer of' all," "the Lord of'da:y-s orsuns."These titlesare descriptive,inaoo6rdance withAfrican custom, and they are not synonymous;'butit mustnot be thatthey -referto severaldeities;.theBaila'believesinone God only, andif' hecalls Himbydifferent nameshedoesnomore thanwe do.Hereagain, thereiore, wehaveapointincommonbetweenhis ours, but therere-mains'between the twooonceptionsof'Godonegreatandfundamental differenoe.TheBalla associatesGodwith no moralideas; thereia nothingethicalinhis belief. TohimGodi,sneitherjustnor merciful; He isfeared butnotloved.Heholdsnodireotinteroourse with men,whopray toHim throughthemedium of themf.zhdmo,Heisf'ar from them and lmowsnothingof' their need a.ndtlroU'B-. les,;He is, in f'act, "an absentee God".Heis great butnotholy;andherein,as Smithput it, lies the weakestpoLrrbin the religion of"the Baila," for solongas theyregard theSupreme Be'ing as.1'...theydo. at present,theywillneverrealize that aboveallthingsHe righteousness from themand that theythemselvesarepersonallyresponsibletoHim for everywordanddeed.Religionand ethios wiilremaindistincttllings, a non-ethicalreligionispractioallynoreligionatall;itoannever sa.tisfythe needs of norleadthem to a higherplaneor oivilization.Noroan e"thios sucoeedalone-withoutreligion,but, before weexaminetheethiosofthe Ba1la and oonsider howtheycanbe pest developedalongtherightlines,itwillbewell to ref'ertothelastandmost point or resemblancebetween their religionandours, viz: theirbeliefinaohild of God.

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208.TheChild of God imowntothe Bailaiscalled J:&.m,and, inordert,-omake cleartheextraordinary similaritybetween his life and thelifeof ourownSon orGott, Icannotdo betterthanquote verbally :fromtheRev. E.W.Smith'sinterestingpamphlet"TheSecret of the Af'rioantl Herelatesinthefollowingwords thestqry asitwas told tohim'bythree''ba.mi'',orprophet-'''Long ago, inacertaindistrict,whichthey(thebarni)named, Mwana Leza,thechild of God,appearedamong-men, and formanyyearshelivedamong them. Hewaskindandgentle,and went about tellingthe people to" lettheir spear? sleep, tofight no buttoliveinpeaoe, A:f'ter some tin,le thepeoplebecame angry withhimandputhim "to death.. Butthou16h his-bodyperishedhissoulwent'backtoGod; he sent hisspiritintooertainpeopleon'earth-the .Bami, whogoabout preaching peace." Thatisthestroryof' MwanaLeza,anditwouldsurelybealmostimpossibleto find morelike the story of Christ;soremarkable,in fact, isthelikenessbetweenthe two thatoneisinclined trojumpto theoonolusionthat it mustbethestory ofChristandmo-re, and thatit, musthave got to theBaila throughDr.Livingstone, although that great missionaryneverpassed thro'their territory.Theseeming pt" this Smithhimself suggests but,unfortunately expLanatdon,hegoes'on to say it cannot,be, -r'cr"this conception of achild of'Gqd"enters':large-ly intoanoient Baila folklore. It maybe, of course, that abit of' Livingstone'steaching beoamegra.ft,ed onto theexl.sting belief of a chi-Idof God,and thatthiswas preservedwithoutmodifioaby thebut isthere another explanation?If we the Christatall, isitnot possible that Herevealed Himselftoothers aswellas tothe Jews?Is it nof possible'that,unlmownto us,He visitJe'd the earth morethanonceand Hewastreated,by .qthers justasHewastreatedbythechildren of'Israel? A terrtble andprofane suggestion somewilisay;'but the idea of' theexistence of aohild of

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Godisnotuncommonamongstuncut.t.uredr-ace s and:'after8Jl1, why should weagainclaimamonopoly?NowI come tothequestionconcerningthemoralideasprevailing amongst theBaila and, indis cussing thatquestion,Iregard theword "moral"initswidestsense. W'.nat aretheethic"s of' the Bafla? aretheirideas of rightandwrong? To answerthesequestions,I oncemore rerer tothewritings of' ourhospitable fr1end. 209. Theractthatthe Baila"recognizemoraldistinctionsisshownbytheirlanguage.Of'apersonorthingthatisright, pr.operand honest,theyaay"itisstraight"; of' a personor ttdng thatisnot right,they say"itiscrooked". Butthese distinctionsarebasednotontheidea thatt,he SupremeBeingisrighteousandthatHe demandsrighteousness from man.The Bafla havenosuchidea;theirmoralstandardissetlargely if' notentirely, 'by thetraditional customsof' theirtribeas "down to thembytheir foref'athers. Their mural lawisaconsuetudinarylaw,a lawof' precedent. Ev:erytndng isbasedupon and, if' youtouch their youtouchtheapple of' theireye. There is,forinstance,theterriblecustom of' inf'anticide,aceor-ddngtowhi.chchi l<1ren "born withcertainir regularities are t,hrown to the wildbeastsorburiedalive. Yet, the Ba1laare not def'icient in paren"talaffection,they are ju,:;;t as :t'bndof' their "oMldren asotherpeople,butwiththem the habit of' obediencetocustomisstrongerthan parental love.Itis customthat rulesthemateveryturn,and if"they are remons"trated withtheiranswer is, "It is our custoItI," and that, tothem,iseven more:finai thanisthe e'ternal"""das"toornehin had,"tothenative or India.Manycustoms,says Mr.Smith, areassociated witrh theidea of" which maY be-describedasthecrudest expression of'moral lif'e. Itis thef'irst idea of' the "ought not", of the"t.hou shalt no.tUwhich,even in our ten commandments,so la.ugely predominatesoverthe"thoushalt". From our point,;of' view, of' theirtaboosarenot of' anethicalcharactersincetheyconcernprohibitionsre-

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210. ;$ardingcertainarticlesof Some customs are associatedwith the totem idea.All memnersor a clan,:for example,are'banded together in comradeship and bOW1d tohelpeach o'ther;intermarriage'betweenmembersofa clan'is forbidden.Thus wesee 'thattheBa1la are hemmeq. inonallsides by prohibitions,and if theybreakthelaws of customevilresults mechanically. Theyknow that certainthingsarerightand thatothers arewrong;itcannot therefore besaid that theyarewithoutmoralconsciousness. Of course,many 'thingsthatJ weregardas theyregardasperfectly legitimp,te, andthisis ma'tters concerning 'the relations -be'tween thesexes. the lmowledge thatanparticularlysoact of anykindinis doesnot preventits perpetration, theyare'therefore notnon-moralbut iDDlloral; in fact" just1ikeagood many otherpeople,they notalwayspractisewhattheypreach.Tosumup,then, the religion theBaila, it maybe saidto bewithoutany ethical aspect whatever.There is nothinginit to raiseorelevate,itengendersneitherhopenor fearof punish it f'ailstooreateanysenseof'personalresponsibilityorduty;itmakesno attempt, to appe.a1 toortodevelopconscienoe, and it isoo:m,plicated andobscuredbyinnumerablesuperstitionswhioh are almostinextrioably"boundupwithcertainmoreorlessclearlydef'inedbeliefs.Yetinthose. 'beliefs thereismuohakintoourown, a'strikingsimilarityexists between thesuperstitions oftheBa1laarid those of ourown Teutonic forefathers.They,too, all natural phenomena the agenoy of gods or demons; theirbelier in witchcraft wasstrong;theyhad same 9f thetotemclan, similarduties and_prohibitions;theyregardedall material as peing possessedof' soul. akintotheirown; they worshippedtheirdeceased ancestors and offered human Their beliefswere crude and tJleirexplanationsohildish, thoseexplanationswerethebeginning of'soience. Theyweretheearliest gropings ofthehumanmind;the first attem;pts madeinsearoh of" knowledgeandunderstanding.

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The conceptions or ourearly forefathers arereproducedin the conceptions of the Baila to-day.Theyarealsogropinginthedark, and.it isourbusinesstohelpthemjustasGregory the Great,by211.sending hismissionaries, helpedusmore than thirteenhundredyearsago. This dutywe' nize,this wemustfulf'il, no matter whetherweagreewithso-called"mission-work"pureand -simple ornot, for thetaskisnotareligiousoneonly;itisanImperialtask of the firstimportance. Theconsequence of' theconversionof'Britainto Christianity andthe benef"i'ts derivedthere:from werenotpurely"religious",andtomakethisclearIagain quotemy:friend,Mr.Smith, He """'hat didChristianitydo :for. them?(ouranceat.or-a},First,kindlinesswas enforced as a duty tow'ara.s sLaves,paupersandpersonsnotof'their OvID f'amf.Ly;Next,therewasthegreater truthfulnessand stricterkeeping of whichrenderedhigherpolitical progress possible.Third,the imPortanceof todutywasmoredecidedlyenjoyed.Fourth, the crueltorturesand roul superstitionsconnectedwithwitchcraftwere ,_putaway.Fifth, greater simplici tJyandreasonableness of thenew f'ai thopenedthewaytof'ur.theradvancement of thoughtLastly,thenew faith "br-ought.itsTeutonicvotariesLnt.otouchwithotherEuropeannations, with anterior'civilizationsandwithacertain amountof' knowledgewon from naturebywisemenin past.nLebeginningsor awrittenliterature, of" art,and of'improvedlllethodsof" agriculturecame :from thesame 'source."Thus itis evident from moralprogressJconsiderablematerial advantagesresulted:from the of ChristianityinEngland. Theref"ore, even if" wearesordidenoughto lookfor nothingbut material.it., seemswe might do worsethancarry"toanoutlYing limb of' theEmpire the Faiththat di4 somuchto give vitalitytothe Empire'sheart. "History knows' of' revivals of moral livingapartf'rom somenewreligiousimpUlse",andwhat"religious impulse", wha:t."rellgion" can-dof"ornationhas 'been exemplif"ie.d inourowndaysbytheriseof'Japan.Andit notprove to spreadtheChristian Faith inour Rhodesianterritory.TheBaila alreadybelieveinone uod andinaSon or God;they believe alsoin the persistence of lif'e after death.Thesethreebelief's.alone areof value,though,of'co.urse,theymust bestripped of' themanyabsur-dideasthenatives attach'to them..Theymustbe purif'ted,"thesuperstitions or thepeople be removed.Thismaybeno asy task,buttheRhodesianMissionarywill

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212.have fewerdiffioultiesthan hisfellow-workersinother lands who often havemuch less in the way of a"spring-board" to take offfrom. Hehas, mo"reover, anotherpoint in his :favour; heisnotoon fronted byanyregular"oasteorclass or priestswho, if only frODl purely selfish motives,wouldcombinestoutly to resisthis efforts:from the outset,as suchcastes have doneinso many other cases.Yetthetaskof' theworker amongsttheBail8, notbesosimple that hecan afford'to rushheadLongintothe fray and, v'lith'both hands,seizethebull 'by thehorns. not, as a rule,acquainted with thedetails of mission-work,butmany of' them,inthecourse of theirwonderings,meetavery rair number of missionarieswhosemeritsanddemerits theynaturally enough afterwards disousswith Ihave listened to discussions of' kind and Ihavebeen struckbytheconstant recurrence of a thatthe average missionary tries to goahead toofast.There are, of oourse, manymissiopariesagainst whom this charge cannot obebrought with juatice,butsuchmen aretheexception rather than therule,and thefollowing is,Ithink,a fair andtruesummary of whathappensinthemajority of cases.Theyoungmissionaryis brought upin a religiousatmosphere;he istraineeiand"educated by ardent votaries of' hisownparticular denomina.tion,everything isdone to develophisenthusiasm,and, fromthef'irst, he istaughtto believethatthe lif'e-work he hassethimself'"to doisthehighest andnoblest possible.This ia asitshouldbe, forgoodwork o:fanykindcanrarelybedonebymeninwhomenthusiasmiswanting;butitcannotbedeniedthatthedevelopment of'enthusiasminanyonedirection has a tendencytonarrow themind and to result intheindividuallosinghissense of proportion;and of noform." of' enthusiasm 1s thismoretrue thanitisof enthusiasminthecauseof""re"lig10n.Inconsequence the -hor-Lzon of'the WOUld-bepreaoher ofthe Gospel ifoften "extremely limiteq., hislmowledge of the worldiss-light, and,as regards purelyreligious matt,ers, he is

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intolerant,orevenbigoted.Thusequipped,he out :from home to beginhiswork213.amongst,peopleof' whom he knows nothing.;heis crammed up withbiblicallore,butof: thoseheis "to"teach hehasprobablyscarcelyheard, if: onlybecausehisdestinationmaynot'be him(1)untilthe lastmoment.Arri vedonthesceneheatonce'setsto workwith the utmost zealand,without enquiry into theexistingbelief'sof: thepeople,he,moreoften "than no"t, beginsby tetling them that, everything havehithertobeentaughtisutterly falsefromstarttofinish. Withonesingleblowhe tries to des'troy alltheoldheathen beliefs andsuperstitions, forgetfulof the fact thatthesesuper stit;tons,w.orthles6'thoughthey mayappear,are often theonly f:orm:or religion the savagehas,andtherefore :the onlymoralorotherrestrainthe knows and. towhichhe wilL submit. lif'eof' thepeopleandthattheyarethe most cherishedtraditionshandeddowntothembytheir f'ore-fathers. Small wonder,.thentff thelistenersturninabodyagainst missionary and flatlyrefuse to hisstatements.Whereit1s.otherwise,wherethenewteaching .u accepted'bysome,thesearealmost invariably the lowest thelowinthetribe;thosewithout pride.ctheir raee,their family, orthemselves;thosewithoutanatom of thoseonlytowhomthe traditRns. andcustomsoftheir fathers arenothing; and. itwouldbe iale toimagine thattJievbecome "Christians"for anything1;>eyond the materia.lprofitand advantage they know'theywillgainf'r-om the 'mission-station. --Theof thishas exemplified timeswithoutnumberin India.where,aa arule/thelowest'castes OnlyrecentlYayoung lad.y missionary of' myacquaintancewasled to believethat tobe her sphere of action; justbefore she was duetosail,however, she wassuddenlyorderedto Burmah Lnat.ead,

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214. alonerepresent thenativeChristianpopulation;and is it likely wheresuch casteslead,'thehighercastes will f'ollowlThustheoftheifretarded bymisappliedzeal.Now,is the missionaryreally himself'toblame"ror this?Does the rault lieratherwiththosewell-meaningbut Wlinf'ormed supporters of mission-work at homewhosendhimoutand impa.tiently f'or re13ults,figures andstatisticsshowingthenumber of "conversions"to the Christian Faith? arethe baneof'my lif'e"werethewordsof' a missionary J: oncemet,andIcouldwellbelievehim. But the good peopleathome 'ttmn:their Biblesandread:"Goye thererore andteachall nations" (St.Matthewxxviii.19.},andhere haveacommand that cannotbe'ignored'.Itmustbeobeyed withou:t question,yet much dependsonour interpretatdonof' the word "teach".Inreligiousteaching, as inallother,wemustproceed from theknowntothe unknovnl,step bystep,andnot toforce on immatureminds lmowledgethathas taken therest ofrilankind centuriesto aCquire. Theremaybe some whowillcallthisprocesstooslowandwhowill whilstweare"dawdling" of'souls gotoperditionbecausethe truthhaS notbeenrevealedtothem. If suchthere'be,andItrustthereare few;,then'!can onlyrecommendthem.to reflect onthewordswhichCharlesKingsleyin"AItonLocke" puts Lnt.othe mouthof' oldSandyIvIackayeashe describes his interviewwith LadyEllerton--"There was a gran' leddy,abonnyleddy,cameinandtalked like an anlll 0'God to puirauld Sandy,anent thesalvation0'hisSOUl.ButIta'uldherno' tofash hersel'. nomy view 0'huma.n 1if'e,that a.. :rp.an'ssentintothe worldjusttosavehisSOUl,ant creep outagain.An'IsaidIwadleave the savin'0'mysoul to Him that mademySOUl ,;itwasinricht_gude keepin.'.there, I'd wa,rrant. An'thenshewasunco f'ieyed whenshefoundIdidnahaudwe'the Athanasiancreed...An' I tauld her, na;if' HethatdiedontheCrosswassica ane assheandI 1:Jeuk Himtobe,therewasna'thatpridenorspiteinHim,besure, to sendapuirauld sinfUl, guidelessbodyto eteraalfire, be-

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causehedidna.a'thegitherunderstand _the honourduetoHisname." .Andif' those words don'ta.llaytheir f'ears, thenletthemstudy"TheEmpire ot: Christ"byBernard Lucas.215.Gannottheref'ore theEnglishSocieties ror thepropagation or theGospelexercisepatienoe?Cantheynotlearntoappreciatethe dift:icultiesoftheir emissaries and givethemtimetoworkand before theypressthemtoshowresults?Itwouldbewell if they coulq, and if they seethesituationasitis,not as theywouldlikeittobe.Theoldheathenedificecannotbeblowndownwithdynamite;eaohsingle unsaturd-:-s'tonemust 'be carefully andseparatelyremovedandthen,andnottillt.heri, be replacedbyasoundone.Thusthe ancien't 'building will never :faIl1jvith acrash, btit a new onewillgradually grow out.. of it.Thenew must be graf'ted ontotheold,thegoodgraduallydivorced from thebad.Theoldreligion,theold restraint.,cannot be abolishedwithone fell swoopnor-j.urrtdIanewrestraintis:framedandf'aahf.oried reany totakeitsplace; but suchnewrestraint must aboveallthings be onethatthe'savageismentally fit toreceive. Formere subserviencetocustom, for instance,must besubstituted conscientiousnessandasense ot: duty,patriotismin fact, in the highestsense of thewor-d;Butthatwilltakegenerations,centuries, if onlybecauseitislargelya matterof educa'tdorijit must betaughtintheschoolsjustas i't istaughtinJapan--andatChitumbi--to-day.Theseculareducation orthe savagemustgohandinhand withreligious teaching, but again t'festina lente" mus't bethemotto.It is amistaketoteachuncivilized-or mento andwriteinEnglish before they can thoroughlyread andwrite theirownLanguage,Itisamistaketoprovidetheshrewdest of themwithaveneer of so-callededucationandtosend them outaa"teachers"amongat;theirownpeople;it is agreater mistakestill toletthose"teachers"goup forexaminations andtoletthemsitside

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216.bysidewithEnglishcandidates.Thoseexaminationstheir vvonderful memoriesenabt.ethem to passandtheyatoncethinkthemselvesasgood,as"civilized"andas "eduoa,t,eEl" asthewhite man" whilstinrealityallthey. Leaz-nedupparrot-like is ina f'ew months. If'we "educate" the native of'Africa in that way,weshall create whatwehavecreatedinIndiaandwhatCharlesKingsley calledthe most dangerous class of' agitators,viz:-"menconscious o:f unaatisf'iedandunemployedintellect";andtheywillbe '!imemployed" because,inpractice,.theyare"unempLoyab'l.e"; It isasimpossible to'!educate"as itisto"civilize"inahurry.Inthecourse of' a :few yearswehavebroughtmanysavageraces of'Africafrom a stateof constantinternecine war toastate of lastingpeace;thatisenough :for severalgenerationstodi-gest. Let thatbecome partof' their f'lesh andblood bef'9re wegivethemthe dose. And,f'inally, letthe timef'orthe next dose, itsingredientsandits quantity bedecidedonbythe on thespot, whoshouldalsobe lef't to admin.tster"i"t. Notonlytheworkingof"details,butalsothe of' greatprinciplesshouldbeentrusted to them.

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++++

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LISTOF BAILAWORDSAND PHP..ASES. For furtherinrormation thereaderis referred totheRev.E.W.Smith'sDictionary and Grammar of the Baila Language.Thevowels a, e,L,and0, are pronouncedasinFrench; y or .Q.Q.. is as in"book". '--'signifies ashort vowel, -a longone;) the syllableonwhichstressislaid.OomiBob!li BotatooSaO'neSesano Oonzi.Soonoo Chi:fuma Ozola.I Ozola Masuo lvIasuooonziBoongai 06PiLIiabiJibdrto One. Two. Three.Four. Five.Now,to-day.Thismorning.To-morrow. Yesterday. Yesterday afternoon.Days. Everyday.How many? -,Where?Bad.Good. Cale'caleCoolale KollaEna ferna /Pe.Waziwena?Toozi. Buisi KoolettiMoopi Ita Bisa MoofaTelaila EisaBoalaGutikombeli Bij4na .Veryold. (e.g.of aspoor)Alongway ocr.Af"ter. Thereis.No,not.Doyou la.10W? Idon't lmow..Give (imperative). .To call. .To clean.Tocatoh.Tohear. send. Bring, come.Go forward. A

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ii. Kala Ow Lekanga,.LebiloFombana. Diazarrte,MorIa IsUma.MukdndoIzuvva Langa MoaziBaniama MgassiFuntaMaya,ISibindaKanta Nanja.'iaMb{ji Shoombwa Nya,tiBainyati stop .And (imperative) Fast.Q.uickly ..Iwant,Clean.Wagon.Aspear.Thesun.Moonormonth.Hot.Game. Skin.Horns.Liver.Head.Lechwe.Horse. I,.ion. Bt.1ffa.lo Buffalo (plural) Sikist1nuPempa:f.riSikihclve Inglovo Timpa SokwiNkaborMoobooaPomba InkongaPijiNsosi800looeUrizoniBazaunkonz.L Iserwi / )Chishibwaba)Choairr Nakaf'if"iNalUf"iMusa'irf'uSikiktilUJib1zi Puku,Rhinoceros Situ'tunga.Elephant. Grysbuck. J :Ionkey.Snake (Ghere:chinlooh)Dog .Baboon.Jaokal.Hyena.Serval(tiger-oat).Mere-oat.Bird. l \fIarabout stork.Spur-winggoose.DUck.Oribi.Reedbuck.Eland(aiasin Waterbuck.Zebra.

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Jambololo YurumpirumpiReingoo :MkonziMunyUmbi ISankuli NagassiJienaIvruje'ndaMujcissi Noombi Mukainto MUlombano M'dahlaKoodoo.Roanantelope. Sable antelope.Hartebeest '''lildebeest. Warthog.Duiker.Leopardorpal1.ther(generallyspoken of'as "tiger"by Europeans) Crocodile.Male. Female. Spoor.Cattle.Oxen. W'ODlarl.Man, boy.Old man.MauutIndUna.Moosh1mbi Tomb6.loManziMail'lYt1ndaJoombaniMoonchermiSakoMap6pe Mup"-tiMafutaMulifuMush6ndase:ro6wa :roowa Chief'tain.Headman.Girl. GtUl. Water.Fields.Sweet potatoes.Kaf:rir corn. Monkey nuts.Grass.Mealies.Big. Fat. Long.Little.A :rool. (Anabsolute :rool oridiot;a ( :ravouritetermof' abuse.iii.+++++

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iv.Wa fa? Dakamu jaia? Wakamu jaia. Guinakumu jaia. Wa di kajaia pa.nzi '?Wadikajaia panzulo? Langa xn,ate'ntr Soko wa,ka pia?Soko w8.ka. pooma?Di lash1ka izuwa.on boobi?Ishedead?DidIhithim? Youhavehithim.Youhave not hithim.DidIshootshort? Did Ishootover?Look for thespoor.Has the grassbeenburned?Hasthegrassgrownup?Wherewillthe sun be?(i.e.whattimewill it be)whenwe get there?N.B. When askedhow farit istoanyplace,orhowlong it willtaketo get there,thenative Will not answer in.terms of milesorhours;hewillpoint to thepositionthesunwilloccupywhenthe"destinationisreached.+++++

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1:.dd ". j11ATHE FEAR OF 1rU .NIiq' WILD ANIMAiS.-Ithas oftenbeenstatedthatwildanimalsaremoreafraidofmanthanofeachother.Generallyspeakingthisisnodoubttrue,butitisbynomeansalwaysthecase.SomeyearsagoIwasengagedinmilitarydutyonthenorth-westfrontierofIndia.Iwasaccompaniedbyascoreorsoofnativecavalrysoldiers,andmostofourtimewasspentinthesaddle.One coldwintermorning,havingcovered agoodmanymilessincedawn,I decidedtohaltmypartysoastoeasethehorsesandletthemenstretch their limbs. Wedismounted wasclearlyterrifiedofsomething,butthereasonforits fearwasnotatfirstevident.Menand horses wereall close together,butthelark,insteadofkeepingontheoutskirtsofthe crowd,deliberatelvmadeforthecentre,whereit immediatelyunderahorse, orefosetothefeetof a man. settledbeside thenextman.Thismusthavecontinuedforwelloveraminute,whenoneofus,happeningtolook Th'e letthelarkseekrefugewhereitliked.Itremainedinamongstusforquiteanotherminutebeforethehawkdecidedthatthegamewasupandtookhisdeparture.Whenhewaswelloutofsighttliolarkflewquietlyaway.On b{tegb:t gun-boyswhenhe suddenly stoppedandpointedtosomesquattinglowinsomeshortgrassandwatchingusintently.Itwas obviousthatsheknewwehadseenher,andIwas hareandnotfiveyardsfurtheroff.Itoldthe gun-boy tokeepstill, andtherethefourofusremainedcloselyeyeingeachother.Theharewasalmostexactlyhalf-waybetween !ar;idt tomeandviceversa.Atlastshemadeuphermind.Withacoupleofquickboundsshesprangstraighttowardsme andlaydownflat, a few inches frommyfeet.Thiswas toomuchforthecat;withanairof disgust.thatmademygun-boyshoutwithlaughter,heturnedtailandfledintothonearestthicket.Afewmomentslatertheharefollowed hisexampleinthemost leisurelymanner,butwiselychose a thicketin the oppositedirection.-W.F.BLAKER(Lieut. Colonel,R.F.A.).