their huts being built upon an inlet of the lake. Their
mode of fishing was to dam the narrow waterway, so as to
prevent the fish from escaping, after which they would wade
in with cane baskets made for the purpose of capture. Some
of these baskets were seven feet in length, and the ends were
formed in such a way that, once the fish entered, escape was
impossible.
A villager here reported elephants in close proximity. 1
had seen the spoor, but thought it was of the day before.
Under this incitement I readily forgot a repast which Mara
was preparing, and leaving the party to rest, started on the
spoor, the evidence of the presence of game being ample,
for in every direction the wide tracks of the huge beasts
were to be seen. After going on, however, for about a
couple of miles, my guide gave in. Speaking was impossible.
I dared not stay away much longer from my party, for
the day was advancing, and I hoped ere sunset to cover at
least eight miles further.
On our return journey we cut the spoor of some buffalo,
and this time had better luck. A walk of two hundred
yards brought us to a thick clump of tangle and dwarf forest,
through which we had to crawl on the spoor, our chief
anxiety being to keep from making a noise, for even by the
breaking of a twig the game is lost. I had to pick the
spots where each hand had to be placed, all the while twisting
and turning like a snake in order to avoid branches and
thorns.
Reaching a favourable point, I looked sharply to the
front, and through the yielding thicket sighted clearly the
massive form of a buffalo bull, while close before him were
a number of others. As these animals irresistibly push
their way through the dense network, the jungle closes
behind their track, so that it is exceedingly difficult to get
a shot; The tangle often turns the bullet.
I had come within fifteen paces of the bull. To go further
without being detected was an impossibility, so at once
aiming for the well-known tail shot, I banged off the eight-
bore. Being in a very contorted position, through trying
to avoid the thick branches which stood in the line of sight,
the concussion threw me on my side, the recoil of the heavy
rifle cutting my face and blacking my eye. For a moment
vision was dimmed by the smoke, but hearing a bellowing
sound, the thought struck me “ he’s down! ”
But in a second, and before I could get a chance of
another shot, the brute had gained its feet and rushed madly
past, raising a storm of dust as he cleaved crashing and
smashing into the thicket like a well-charged projectile
he was gone!
Buffaloes are the quickest animals in bush that I have
ever seen. I had given a good shake to this one, for he
had fallen, and had time allowed I would have followed,
for there was blood spoor; but as on many similar occasions
there was nothing for it but to abandon the wounded game,
a thing I was always very reluctant to do. The old plague
the carriers were ever being changed from tribe to tribe,
and consequently it was never safe to remain long away
from the camp. After this disappointment we ran home at
a jog-trot, and the heat being excessively strong, we soon
looked as though we had been in the water bathing—rags
and all. Close to the town I shot a small antelope, with
minute horns like those of the duiker, sharp as needles, and
much coveted by the Angoni as ornaments.
When we returned to the village we found that a large
fire had been started, which roared and crackled in so close
a proximity to the huts of straw, that I thought every