^ *775- and fired at him diredtty. What, perhaps, in fome mea- December. J - n. j • x. fure put a flop to his boldnefs was, that we itood on higher ground than he did: for feveral veteran fportfmen have affured me of it as a fa£t, that they know from experience, that the buffaloes do not willingly venture to afcend any hill or eminence in order to attack any one. The'third ihot, which afterwards was obferved to have entered at the belly, was fatal. This occafioned the buffalo to take him- felf down again into the vale, dying the ground and buihes all the way he went with his blood. Though ftill hot upon the chafe, yet we advanced with the greateft caution, accompanied by two of our Hottentots, through the thin and more pervious part of the wood, where the buffalo- had taken refuge. He was advancing again in order to attack fome of us, when Mr. Im m e lm a n , from the place where he was polled, ihot him in the lungs. Notwith- ftanding this, he had ftill ftrength enough left to make a circuit of a hundred and fifty paces, before we heard him fa l l : during his fall, and before he died, he . bellowed in a moft ftupendous manner; and this death-fong of his in- fpired every one of us with joy, on account of the vidtory we had gained : and fo thoroughly fteeled' is frequently the human heart againft the fufferings of the brute creation, that wehaftened forwards, in order to enjoy the pleafure o f feeing the buffalo ftruggle with the pangs o f death. I happened to he the foremoft amongft them; but think it impollible for anguilh, accompanied by a favage fiercenefs, to be painted in ftronger colours than they were in the countenance of this buffalo. I was within ten fteps of him when he perceived me, and, bellowing, raifed himfelf fuddenly again on his legs. I had reafon reafon to believe fince, that I was at the time very much frightened; for before I could well take my aim, I fired off my gun, and the ihot miffed the whole o f his huge body, and only hit him in the hind legs, as we afterwards difcovered by the fize of the ball. Immediately upon this I flew away like lightning, in order to look out for fome tree to climb up into. Notwithftanding the tedious prolixity it might occafion me to be guilty of, I thought the beft and readieft method o f giving my reader an*idea of the nature of this animal, and of the method of hunting it, as well as of other contingent circumftances, would he to adduce an inftance or two o f what occurred during the chafe. My Hotteiitots cut up the buffalo with their ufual alacrity and ardour; but as they had a great way to carry the flelh to the waggon, they took it thither in a rather unufualway. This was as follows: they cut out large flips of flelh whole and entire, with' holes in the middle, wide enough for them to put their heads and arms through, and loaded themfelves with it in this manner before, behind, and on every fide o f them; the meat all the while dangling about their bodies in a manner ludicrous enough, though not much adapted to create an appetite in the fpeclator. In this way, their hands being entirely difengaged, excepting that each man carried a ftick, they clambered up the brow of the hill that overhung the vale, and thus walked on towards the waggon, whither one might trace them all the way by the blood. In the mean while the Hottentot, who was our principal ihot, had, at no great diftance from this place, ihot V ol. II. S an
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