第36章

The fifth shot brought luck and sank him.I do not know where he was hit, as of course I could not get to him; but most likely it was in the spine, as so small a portion of his body was above water.

I passed nearly the whole day in practising at long ranges; but with no very satisfactory effect; several buffaloes badly wounded had reached the jungle, and my shoulder was so sore from the recoil of the heavy rifle during several days' shooting with the large charge of powder, that I was obliged to reduce the charge to six drachms and give up the long shots.

It was late in the afternoon, and the heat of the day had been intense.

I was very hungry, not having breakfasted, and I made up my mind to return to the tent, which was now some eight miles distant.I was riding over the plain on my way home, when I saw a fine bull spring from a swampy hollow and gallop off.Putting spurs to my horse, I was soon after him, carrying the four-ounce rifle; and, upon seeing himself pursued, he took shelter in a low but dry hollow, which was a mass of lofty bulrush and coarse tangled grass, rising about ten feet high in an impervious mass.This had been a pool in the wet weather, but was now dried up, and was nothing but a bed of sedges and high rushes.I could see nothing of the bull, although I knew he was in it.The hollow was in the centre of a wide plain, so I knew that the buffalo could not have passed out without my seeing him, and my gun-bearers having come up, Imade them pelt the rushes with dried clods of earth.It was of no use:

he would not break cover; so I determined to ride in and hunt him up.

The grass was so thick and entangled with the rushes that my horse could with difficulty force his way through it; and when within the dense mass of vegetation it towered high above my head, and was so thick that Icould not see a yard to my right or left.I beat about to no purpose for about twenty minutes, and I was on the point of giving it up, when Isuddenly saw the tall reeds bow down just before me.I heard the rush of an animal as he burst through, and I just saw the broad black nose, quickly followed by the head and horns, as the buffalo charged into me.

The horse reared to his full height as the horns almost touched his chest, and I fired as well as I was able.In another instant I was rolling on the ground, with my horse upon me, in a cloud of smoke and confusion.

In a most unsportsmanlike manner (as persons may exclaim who were not there) I hid behind my horse, as he regained his legs.All was still--the snorting of the frightened horse was all that I could hear.Iexpected to have seen the infuriated buffalo among us.I peeped over the horse's back, and, to my delight and surprise, I saw the carcass of the bull lying within three feet of him.His head was pierced by the ball exactly between the horns, and death had been instantaneous.The horse, having reared to his full height, had entangled his hind legs in the grass, and he had fallen backwards without being touched by the buffalo, although the horns were close into him.

I was rather pleased at being so well out of this scrape, and I made up my mind never again to follow buffaloes into high grass.Turning towards the position of the tent, I rode homewards.The plain appeared deserted, and I rode for three or four miles along the shores of the lake without seeing a head of game.At length, when within about three miles of the encampment, I saw a small herd of five buffaloes and three half-grown calves standing upon a narrow point of muddy ground which projected for some distance into the lake.

I immediately rode towards them, and upon approaching to within sixty yards, I found they consisted of three cows, two bulls, and three calves.I had advanced towards them upon the neck of land upon which they stood; there was, therefore, no retreat for them unless they took to the water.They perceived this themselves, but they preferred the bolder plan of charging through all opposition and then reaching the main land.After a few preliminary grunts and tosses of the head, one of the bulls charged straight at me at full gallop; he was not followed by his companions, who were still irresolute; and, when within forty yards, he sprang high in the air, and pitching upon his horns, he floundered upon his back as the rifle-ball passed through his neck and broke his spine.I immediately commenced reloading, but the ball was only half-way down the barrel when the remaining bull, undismayed by the fate of his companion, rushed on at full speed.Snatching the long two-ounce rifle from a gun-bearer, I made a lucky shot.The ball must have passed through his heart, as he fell stone dead.

The three cows remained passive spectators of the death of their mates, although I was convinced by their expression that they would eventually show fight.I was soon reloaded, and not wishing to act simply on the defensive, and thus run the risk of a simultaneous onset, I fired at the throat of the most vicious of the party.The two-ounce ball produced no other effect than an immediate charge.She bounded towards me, and, although bleeding at the mouth, the distance was so short that she would have been into me had I not stopped her with the four-ounce rifle, which brought her to the ground when within fifteen paces; here she lay disabled, but not dead, and again I reloaded as fast as possible.